Urban and community planning Research Papers (original) (raw)

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- Tourism Studies, Urban Planning, Urban and community planning

In urban communities, infrastructures that support living are indispensable. There is increased interest in alternative ways of providing such support systems, including semi-autonomous infrastructures resulting from the self-organization of local actors. In this study, we analyze the emergence and management of such infrastructures in light of the theory of complex adaptive systems, within which they are called ‘inverse infrastructures’. Empirical evidence is drawn from the case of water cooperatives in the town of Ikaalinen, Finland. Our analysis shows that, with favorable preconditions in place, inverse infrastructures may contribute significantly to local infrastructure services and so also to the functioning of society.

- by Ari-Veikko Anttiroiko
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- Water, Self-Organization, Infrastructure Planning, Urban Planning

In the last decades, the ideology of managing the city form and performance through predetermined plans has gradually lost its validity. Some contemporary urban planning theories suggest the application of smart design techniques for managing urban complexity. However, the proposed approach has partially been experienced in practice, and more research on how to integrate them into urban planning is needed. This study aims to present an insight into the rule-based design as a smart design technique for a shift from predetermined urban plans to design rules. The methodology is based on a comparative analysis between the experiments of some cases in the north of Europe. Research findings highlight that the capacity to deliver variety with harmony, the distinction between the roles of code writer and building designer, the potential to support the implementation process and to prescribe specific qualities, both for the spatial and organizational purposes, are significant factors for the integration of smart design techniques to urban planning.

- by Giuseppe De Luca and +1
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- Urban Planning, Urban and community planning, Design and Technological Planning of Architecture, Rule Based Design

近年來產業群聚逐漸成為台灣經濟、地理、都市規劃、與公共政策學界討論的熱門議題。然而，目前國內大部分討論群聚的文獻，鮮少從工廠用地是否合乎土地使用規範來區別其研究對象，因此難以深入理解未登記工廠進行的生產活動與效果。另一方面，少數探討未登記工廠的文獻又只關心如何將其合法化的問題，同樣未能解釋非正式產業聚落可能產生的創新效應，以及其與都市發展的關係。為了回應上述的理論疑點，本文選擇新北市塭仔圳地區作為研究對象，提出核心問題如下：非正式產業聚落在某個地區的形成與演變，是否有其空間與社會的邏輯？這個邏輯如何有助於我們重新認識都市化過程？通過檢視新莊金屬製造業之群聚發展、塭仔圳工廠之跨域生產網絡、自然環境對廠房供需機制的影響，以及地方政府對未登記工廠的處理等面向，本文指出，塭仔圳是製造業廠商與地主在新莊都市化過程中，挪用了時間－空間縫隙所創造的「臨時性棲地」。這個棲地和新莊金屬製造業的發展密不可分，也是新莊都市化過程中不可或缺的一個「拼裝體」。
In recent years, industrial agglomeration is increasingly becoming a major issue in the academic fields of economics, geography, urban planning and public policy in Taiwan. Most studies, however, merely focus on the effects of agglomeration taking place in institutional industrial districts, overlooking the industrial clusters composed by undocumented factories spreading all over Taiwan. On the other hand, those few studies concerned with undocumented factories tend to treat these issues from the perspective of administrative management, neglecting the possible effects of agglomeration these undocumented factories might produce and their relations to documented factories. In responding to such theoretical gap, the present study looks at the undocumented factories in Wenziazun, New Taipei, exploring the relations among industrial agglomeration, creative milieu and informal landscape. This study asks a fundamental question: As a component of urban social and spatial assemblage, how is Wenzaizun related to Xinzhuang’s urban development? By analyzing the development of manufactural industry clusters in Xinzhuang, the production network of factories in Wenzaizun, the supply-demand mechanism of factory buildings, and the ways local government manages undocumented factories, this study suggests that Wenzaizun is best understood as a “temporary habitat” where business owners and land owners appropriate a time-space interstices during Xinzhuang’s urbanization process. This habitat is inseparable from the development of metal manufactural industry in Xinzhuang, and it is an indispensable “assemblage” in the industrialization process of Xinzhuang.

We often think of cities as major drivers of economic development and growth. Big cities expand our access to infrastructure like public transit and public education. They allow for more efficient distribution of social services such as government assistance and health care. Cities create large markets for business, and can attract international investment and tourism from around the world. They are hubs of non-agricultural, high-paying professional jobs like banking, law, and engineering. Diversity and face-to-face interactions can lead to new ideas and cross-cultural collaborations. Conventional wisdom holds that cities are good for the economy.
Indeed, the link between a country’s level of urbanization and the size of its gross domestic product (GDP) is well established.

- by Peter M Mulenge
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- Geography, Human Geography, Cultural Geography, Historical Geography

מאמר זה עוסק בהיבדלות במגורים בשכונה חרדית מרכזית בירושלים,
מתוך ניסיון לקשר בין יחסים אתניים למבנה העירוני ולתפרוסת מרחבית. תהליכים
חברתיים ומרחביים המתרחשים בתוך שכונות חרדיות זכו עד כה להתייחסות
מחקרית חלקית ומכלילה. מחקר זה מבקש לעדכן גישות תיאורטיות קודמות
באמצעות חקר הסגרגציה הפנים–חרדית בסנהדריה, שכונה המאוכלסת ברובה
במגוון זרמים חרדיים ומציעה מקרה מבחן של היבדלות לא כלכלית בסביבה
עירונית. המחקר עוסק בשתי רמות מרחביות: רמת השכונה ורמת הבניין היחיד.
האוכלוסייה החרדית נוטה להסתגר בריכוזים עירוניים הומוגניים ולקיים קשרי
גומלין מוגבלים בלבד עם אוכלוסיות שכנות. עם זאת, ולמרות דרגת ההיבדלות
הנמוכה יחסית של זרמים חרדיים ברמת השכונה, המחקר חושף תהליכי היבדלות
ניכרים גם ברמת המבנה היחיד, ואלה מאירים באור חדש את המרחב החרדי.

- by Shlomit Flint Ashery and +2
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- Urban Geography, Spatial Analysis, Segregation, Community Development

This report culminated a team survey and study conducted by the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network for the then Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation -- now Mid-Atlantic Arts. A team of folklorists, artists, and oral historians surveyed 113 Appalachian counties in Ohio, Virginia, and West Virginia to identify practitioners and constituencies for the folk and traditional arts, and to develop a proposal for programming in the region. This report details the findings of the study. The proposal is here. Since the study Mid-Atlantic Arts has launched a program entitled:

- by Mary Hufford and +1
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- Appalachian Studies, Folklore, Participatory Research, Urban and community planning

In the past decade, urban regeneration policy makers and practitioners have faced a number of difficult challenges, such as sustainability, budgetary constraints, demands for community involvement and rapid urbanization in the Global South. Urban regeneration remains a high profile and important field of government-led intervention, and policy and practice continue to adapt to the fresh challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century, as well as confronting long-standing intractable urban problems and dilemmas. This Companion provides cutting-edge critical review and synthesis of recent conceptual, policy and practical developments within the field. With contributions from 72 international experts within the field, it explores the meaning of ‘urban regeneration’ in differing national contexts, asking questions and providing informed discussion and analyses to illuminate how an apparently disparate field of research, policy and practice can be rendered coherent, drawing out common themes and significant differences. The Companion is divided into six parts, exploring: globalization and neo-liberal perspectives on urban regeneration; emerging econceptualizations of regeneration; public infrastructure and public space;
housing and cosmopolitan communities; community centred regeneration; and culture-led regeneration. The concluding chapter considers the future of urban regeneration and proposes a nine-point research agenda. This Companion assembles a diversity of approaches and insights in one comprehensive volume to provide a state-of-the-art review of the field. It is a valuable resource for both advanced undergraduate
and postgraduate students in Urban Planning, Built Environment, Urban Studies and Urban Regeneration, as well as academics, practitioners and politicians.

Historically, the mechanical energy of wind has been harnessed to power navigation or for agricultural use. Today wind energy is captured to produce electricity and stands out as a major source of renewable energy. In this paper, I will provide an overview on wind energy, the current statistics of its use in different parts of the world, the environmental impact issues that wind farm developments face, and the ways they have been dealt with. A major issue that wind farm developments face is in addressing their effects on landscape aesthetic values, and landscape architects have adopted different methods to deal with such problems, mostly through siting strategies implemented before the onset of a new wind farm development (Figure 1). This, with many other factors, calls for assessing the suitability of wind farm developments at any given location. For a better understanding of the issues I will examine a case study for wind farm site selection in Norwest Ohio conducted by P. V. Gorsevski and others using a prototype group based Spatial Decisions Support Systems (SDSS) tool, which is often used to address various spatial decisions problems in environmental and economic domains (Gorsevski, et al. 2013).

العمارة هي الفن والعلم المعني باستيعاب النشاط البشري داخل البيئات الداخلية والخارجية ، وتتعلق بتنفيذ الأنشطة التي تشكل رفاه المستوطنات البشرية من الناحية الوظيفية فضلاً عن الجمالية ، وتشمل الهندسة المعمارية جميع أنواع المباني مثل المباني السكنية والتجارية والإدارية والضيافة والترفيه ومراكز التسوق والمطاعم والمسارح والمطارات وغيرها ، وبالعمل بشكل وثيق مع المهندسين ومديري البناء ومخططي المدن ومصممي الديكور الداخلي والمهندسين المعماريين للمناظر الطبيعية، يكون على المهندسين المعماريين تحديد جميع الاحتياجات المادية والفسيولوجية والنفسية والاقتصادية لمجموعات المستخدمين المختلفة الذين يستخدمون المبنى، وإعداد برنامج للمشروع بغرض تلبية هذه الاحتياجات، وإجراء تطوير التصميم، وإعداد المخططات التنفيذية والوثائق التعاقدية، والإشراف على تشييد المباني.

As rapid urban growth is happening worldwide, the situation affected Bangladesh too. If the current trend remains, Bangladesh will face more than 50% of urban people of the population by the year 2030. But to ensure properly planned growth and a sustainable living system, residential area (RA) plays a vital role. A properly designed living area consists of adequate housing, planned land use with every type of facilities in one place for the inhabitants. As the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka faced more haphazard growth than other cities resulting in scattered development and unplanned placement of establishments. Mirpur is one of the major city centers of Dhaka facing the same problem in some sectors. This study aimed to find out the satisfaction level (SL) in each sector in Mirpur based on resident's observation of living. The SL was analyzed based on three environments, i.e. Physical (air, water, and sound quality, temperature and transportation condition), neighborhood (utility features, solid waste management, educational, commercial, medical & recreational facilities and local security) and social (privacy level, religious and community perception) environments. Total 97 samples were collected with a 95% confidence level and a 10% confidence interval. Both primary and secondary data were used. The result showed satisfactory condition in Mirpur DOHS, Cantonment area and moderate satisfying scenario in 10, 13, 14 sectors. The streets are narrow and inadequate conditioned in some areas. Also, the lack of proper electricity supply and occurrence of slum problems are common drawbacks in some sectors. This study reveals that lack of proper planning in an urban expansion leads us to the unacceptable housing system, misplacement of facilities, and improper mixing of residential class. This study will help urban planners and policymakers to redesign the residential areas based on the needs of the residents and to control urban growth more accurately.

- by Abdullah Al Rakib and +3
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- Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Housing, Urban And Regional Planning

Tourism destination planning and marketing are fundamentally place making actions intended to shape the image and imageability of a place. Place making is an innate human behavior, ranging from the organic and unplanned actions of individuals, defined here as " place-making " , to planned and intentional global theming by governments and tourism authorities, defined here as " placemaking ". Place-making and placemaking are ends on a continuum of options, with most places have a mix of local and global elements. These elements also range from the tangible (base in urban design) to the intangible (peoplescapes and imaginations). The tools of place making are essentially the same for both organic place-making and planned placemaking, but the intentions and outcomes can vary enormously. Tourism development, as an economic activity, almost always has a neoliberal planned placemaking agenda. Organic place-making emerges through individual agency, which if allowed to proceed, will make its imprint even in a heavily master planned tourism landscape. An understanding of place-making and placemaking gives insight into research questions on the political economy of tourism and the roles of hosts and guest in co-producing tourism places. Examining the elements of place making in a tourism landscape can more clearly identify how different worldview perspectives have contribute over time to the making of tourism places, and thereby assist in planning for the future development of destination communities. Definitions 'Place making', 'place-making' and 'placemaking' are three ways of spelling a popular concept that has at least two broad definitions in the academic literature, as well as many finer definitions. Although these definitions exist, there is no consensus on how they might be associated with the three ways that the concept can be spelled. A review of 62 publications that make use of at least one of the three

- by Alan A Lew
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- Tourism Studies, Tourism Marketing, Tourism Planning and Policy, Community Development
- by Luisa Cannas da Silva
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- Architecture, Higher Education, Urban Planning, Urban Morphology

The paper explores the relationship between the economic, social and political forces shaping urban regeneration and its impact on selected case studies (London-Beirut). It draws on experiences with planning and delivery of regeneration schemes through various forms of public / private partnerships in England and Lebanon. The paper discusses urban regeneration definition and its analytical framework, policies, strategies, and key success factors. Then the study analyses two international experiences of urban regeneration for land with high urban value namely; Canary Wharf in London and Downtown Beirut, in order to draw an outline of the objectives of this process, its approach and its analytical framework. Finally, the paper summarizes the most significant findings and highlight the importance of funding resources, institutional management and public / private partnerships to achieve successful and sustainable results.

Mobilities are being greatly reshaped in order to respond to contemporary challenges, such as automobile dependence, environmental pollution and so on. Mobilities performed by Autonomous Vehicles (AV), or driverless mobilities, will play a leading role in this process due to the vast array of new possibilities they may bring. In particular, this technology will bring a sharp decrease in the overall cost of mobilities system, including their spatial, social, environmental etc. negative externalities, and notably contribute to their optimization. However, since their implementation is at a rather immature stage, many aspects including, but not limited to their potential effects, technological readiness, legal issues, ethics and societal acceptance are still largely undiscovered. Aim of this project is to elaborate on the future modus operandi of driverless mobilities, as well as to identify which are the supportive driving forces and the challenges in their implementation. Examination of two cases where driverless mobilities have been practiced, in Aalborg, Denmark and Trikala, Greece, pointed out a strong impact of three elements in making driverless mobilities. Safety goes first. Embodiment of AV into existing mobilities practices will be impossible if actual and perceived levels of safety are not high enough. Then come two factors of equal importance, namely proof of usefulness and perception of people towards them.

The street constitutes the main public space in informal areas. While they usually emerge spontaneously, and in an unplanned way, their examination allows us to understand that there are spatial patterns of organization. Physical and spatial aspects that make these urban spaces become different types of urban places. Through the understanding of these patterns of organization and by street-based upgrading strategies, urban places can be formally set, making the streets not only spaces for mobility, for accessibility or for the pipelines, but also productive spaces where local economies and social and cultural activities can be promoted, and where the sense of community is enhanced. Recent approaches to the regeneration of low-income and informal settlements are evolving into strategies characterized by improving their existing conditions, minimizing relocations of their inhabitants. This on-site approach together with street-based upgrading constitutes an effective eviction alternative that facilitates the regeneration of informal areas. This paper shows how the improvements in low-income and informal settlements based on the understanding of physical organization patterns and on street-based upgrading constitute very powerful catalysts for the revitalization and regeneration process of informal areas, preserving the social organization network of communities and securing land tenure rights. This conclusion will contribute to the urban regeneration strategies for planning informal areas based on streets and public spaces, and to its transnational applicability.

- by Oscar Carracedo
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- Urban Planning, Sustainable Urbanism, Urban Regeneration, Urbanism

China’s post-economic reform industrialization, mass-migration and accelerated urbanisation has had an impact on cities that is unprecedented in scale and in speed. Either expressed by expansion patterns of industrial-driven peripheries, planned new towns or high-densification of city centres, urbanisation is defined by a profound transformation of urban space and prior socio-spatial orders . Largely impacted is the basic socio-spatial unit of the city - the urban community (xiaoqu or shequ) - often destroyed and relocated, and which have been the homes of people and traditionally the organisers of social relations in China . Communities are centred spaces - as centring is the making of space into a place . China aims to build a new society, based on the neighbourhood unit, that can be more autonomous, responsible, and essentially more stable . In a context where both society and space are on the move - how can planning assist centring space thus creating communities? This paper is a qualitative study that explored the history of a long-established community case in the inner centre of Shanghai – showcasing the present pressures of urban renewal and realities of spatial decay, overcrowdedness and relocation uncertainty. It argues for the importance of socio-spatial permanence, which requires the action of planning collaborating with community managers that is presently fragmented and lacking both diagnosis and communication.

Urban transformations form a central challenge for enabling global pathways towards sustainability and resilience. However, it remains unclear what kind of capacity is needed to deliver urban change that is actually transformative. Against a backdrop of current claims and efforts to achieve urban transformations, this special issue reviews the relational concept of urban transformative capacity and how it can inform novel approaches in research, policy and practice. Drawing on seven papers analyzing diverse empirical contexts, we identify four requirements that should guide future action: 1) Foster inclusion and empowerment as prerequisites, 2) Close the intermediation gap and strengthen the role of local academia, 3) Challenge and reinvent urban planning as a key arena, 4) Enhance reflexivity through novel self-assessment techniques. Overall, current levels of urban transformative capacity are assessed as very low, making its development a high priority objective for all stakeholders, but for planning and research policy in particular.

- by Marc Wolfram and +2
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- Urban Geography, Complex Systems Science, Knowledge Management, Transformative Learning
- by Luke Barnesmoore
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- Critical Theory, Philology, Modern History, Social Theory

Developing environments responsive to the aspirations and needs of
older people has become a major concern for social and public policy.
This article aims to provide a critical perspective on what has been
termed ‘age-friendly cities’ by shifting the focus from questions such
as ‘What is an ideal city for older people?’ to the question of ‘How age friendly are cities?’ This approach, it is argued, might be more suited to
deal with the complexities of cities as sites of interlocking and conflicting commercial, social, and political interests. This theme is developed by examining: first, the main factors driving the age-friendly debate; second, constraints and opportunities for older people living in urban environments; third, options for a critical social policy; and, fourth, examples of involving older people in the development of age-friendly environments. The article concludes with a brief summary of current tensions and contradictions in the age-friendly debate.

The Guillermo Esteves school building is significant, at state level, under Criterion C for architecture and Criterion A for education. The property embodies a method of construction used in early 20th century school buildings in Puerto Rico. This building reflected the island wide education program implemented by the Government of Puerto Rico during the second decade of the 20th century. In the area of education, the school, at the time of its construction, served as the largest institutional concrete building built locally and was the primary educational center for the municipality of Naranjito in the first three decades of the 20th century. The school’s plans were prepared by the Division of Public Buildings of the Department of the Interior of Puerto Rico and were revised by Architect Rafael Carmoega (1894-1968). The building’s contractor, José Moíses Colón Virella, started work at the site in 1924 and completed work in1926.

- by Santiago Gala-Aguilera and +1
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- Education, Puerto Rico, Social History, Urban and community planning

The increment of vehicles due to the proportional increment of populations and a rapid development of modern society is a major concern in Metropolitan cities in developing countries like Bangladesh. So, it is imperative to monitor traffic volume as well as the quality of transport supply termed as the Level of Service (LOS). The present study is an investigation of the behavior of mixed traffic flow in Rajshahi city of Bangladesh. Field Traffic volume survey was carried out to determine the level of service at 3 major Unsignalized intersections in Rajshahi city corporation (RCC). Level of service (LOS) was determined by volume capacity ratio and peak hour factor (PHF) method. Nature of traffic flow in Rajshahi city is heterogeneous. So, this heterogeneous or mixed traffic are simplified by Passenger car unit (PCU). Then estimated PCU was used to determine LOS. LOS was calculated for both directions of roads. Auto rickshaw, easy bike and Rickshaw are the dominant vehicles in Monicottor, Vodra, and Laxmipur intersection. According to PHF method and V/C ratio method, LOS of Monicottor intersection is very unstable and worst. At Vodra intersection which consists of three legs, Talaimari to Vodra lane contains highest traffic volume at evening peak and the LOS of Vodra to Padma Residentail area is very worst in nature after analyzing both V/C ratio and PHF method. Considering and evaluating all the findings it can be recommended that Restriction for truck movement in daytime should be applied in Monicottor intersection and width of Monicottor to Sondighir mor and Vodra to Padma residential area road need to be increased to make the traffic flow suitable. Also, incorporation of an effective traffic signal, traffic rules and regulation should be applied and maintained properly in the worst condition intersection to accelerate the traffic flow in RCC area.

The aim of the study is to analyze the basic information and characteristics of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET), review the design principles for a universal university campus, set the vision and policies to evaluate the criteria for BUET campus regeneration and finally prepare a design proposal for BUET campus. Evaluation criteria include factors such as campus characteristics, analysis of built structures, road network and existing problems and prospects of the campus etc. The study is divided into four objectives. First objective is to study the existing scenario of the campus. Second, third and fourth objective is to execute the task of preparation of a design proposal for BUET campus regeneration based on vision 2035. The study area includes the entire BUET campus area including main campus, teacher's quarters, staff quarters and residential dormitories. Both social and physical surveys were done as a method of data collection. Another purpose of the study is to provide design proposals for BUET campus regeneration for which relevant vision and policies were set. The design proposals were segmented into three phases on the basis of time frame for the convenience of the further practical implementation task. After analyzing and comparing all the data and observations some recommendations have been provided at the end of the report. The study may help to understand the existing condition of BUET campus, the opportunities and threats which can be effectively evaluated for the regeneration of the campus area and thus can help to develop a useful and suitable planning proposal for the regeneration of BUET campus.

- by Nasrin Nahar
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- Education, Development Studies, Sustainable Transportation, Community Development

Placemaking is an approach to designing and planning public spaces, including their management, which is becoming widespread not only in the United States but worldwide. The idea of placemaking is revolutionary because of its approach to urban issues that opens up new possibilities of participatory design. The focus of the practice is on the place, consequently on the community that uses and lives in it because public space symbolizes the “connective tissue” of communities, hence the importance of its care. This paper outlines the issues and major trends emerging from recent placemaking experiences.

Critical commentaries have often treated the smart city as a potentially problematic 'top down' tendency within policy-making and urban planning, which appears to serve the interests of already powerful corporate and political actors. This article, however, positions the smart city as significant in its implicit rejection of the strong normativity of traditional technologies of planning, in favour of an ontology of efficiency and emergence. It explores a series of prominent UK smart city initiatives (in Bristol, Manchester and Milton Keynes) as bundles of experimental local practices , drawing on the literature pointing to a growing valorisation of the 'experimental' over strong policy commitments in urban governance. It departs from this literature, however, by reading contemporary 'smart experiments' through Shapin and Schafer's work on the emergence of 17th-century science, to advance a transhistorical understanding of experimentation as oriented towards societal reordering. From this perspective, the UK smart city merits attention primarily as an indicator of a wider set of shifts in approaches to governance. Its pragmatic orientation sits uneasily alongside ambitions to 'standardise' smart and sustainable urban development ; and raises questions about the conscious overlap between the stated practical ambitions of smart city initiatives and pre-existing environmental and social policies.

- by Federico Caprotti and +1
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- Urban Planning, Urban Studies, Urban Technology & Sustainability, Urban And Regional Planning

This paper discusses the crucial role cities play in the emergence and formation of grassroots socio-technical niches for sustainability transitions. Drawing on research engaged with strategic niche management, grassroots innovations and urban social innovations, it conceptualizes the interdependencies between urban contexts and grassroots niche dynamics, and explores a critical case in point: Current policy efforts in the city of Seoul to create, diversify and network social innovations in urban neighborhoods. The case illustrates how innovative place-making activities in everyday-life urban environs draws on empowerment, proximity and institutional thickness to meet basic conditions for niche formation in terms of networking, shared expectations and social learning, while also raising new issues of inclusion, legitimacy and strategy. In conclusion, four issues are highlighted that appear to decisively impact on the formation of urban grassroots niche and related sustainability transition pathways: 1) Urban empowerment capacities, 2) Embedded holistic innovation, 3) Novel community-oriented governance modes, and 4) Urban niche/regime interactions. These issues thus require particular attention in future research and policy in order to guide the coevolution of cities and urban grassroots initiatives towards sustainability.

- by Marc Wolfram
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- Urban Geography, Sociotechnical Systems, Space and Place, Community Development

E’ possibile oggi immaginare una città completamente introversa che riesce a guardare solo all’interno delle proprie mura negandosi ogni ruolo di relazione e collegamento con il territorio? In che misura e a quale scala è ipotizzabile un’azione incisiva di una città media come Benevento? Quali possono essere gli strumenti più adatti a ciò e quali le strategie di riferimento alla luce della crisi globale?
La Provincia di Benevento mostra una composizione territoriale particolarmente frammentata. Dei 78 Comuni di cui è costituita, solo il capoluogo supera la soglia dei 50.000 abitanti, degli altri, pochi hanno un numero di abitanti superiore ai 10.000 e tutti gli altri sono compresi nella
fascia sino a 5.000. L’oggettiva distribuzione della popolazione sannita, unita agli ulteriori fattori di debolezza strutturale quali l’inarrestato fenomeno dello spopolamento e il continuo invecchiamento della popolazione, impongono misure ed azioni capaci di innescare una forte
discontinuità e che, in un quadro di tutela e valorizzazione della propria identità, sappiano rendere il territorio più attrattivo e al contempo capace di accedere alle risorse di conoscenza, tecnologiche e finanziarie.
Il contesto provinciale descritto si inquadra in una crisi economica mondiale ancora in atto che ha vanificato i progressi compiuti dall’Unione Europea negli ultimi 10 anni. La disoccupazione è aumentata, i conti pubblici hanno subito pesantissime ripercussioni e la
concorrenza, ormai da inquadrare a scala mondiale, si è inasprita. Per fronteggiare tutto ciò, l’UE ha elaborato “Europa 2020”, una strategia rivolta al contempo a porre le basi per una rapida uscita dalla crisi economica per poi affrontare le sfide a lungo termine quali la globalizzazione, la pressione sulle risorse, l’invecchiamento della popolazione. “Europa 2020” individua tre priorità per trasformare il vecchio continente in un’economia intelligente, sostenibile ed inclusiva caratterizzata da alti livelli di occupazione, produttività e coesione sociale.
In primo luogo bisogna sviluppare un’economia basata sulla conoscenza e l’innovazione incardinata sull’innovazione continua, sull’istruzione e sulla società digitale. E’ necessario, al contempo, promuovere un’economia più efficiente sotto il profilo delle risorse, più verde e più
competitiva che muova da azioni legate alla competitività, alla lotta al cambiamento climatico e all’energia pulita ed efficiente. Bisogna promuovere, infine, un’economia con un alto tasso di occupazione che favorisca la coesione sociale e territoriale promuovendo più occupazione, più competenze e lotta alla povertà.
In questa ottica le città rivestono un’importanza capitale al fine di raggiungere gli obiettivi di crescita e di occupazione. “…in esse si trovano la maggior parte dei posti di lavoro, delle imprese e degli istituti di insegnamento superiore; la loro azione è inoltre determinante nella realizzazione della coesione sociale. Le città sono i centri della trasformazione basata sull’innovazione, sullo spirito imprenditoriale e sulla crescita economica”. D’altro canto è nelle città che si concentrano le disparità maggiori e dove l’esclusione sociale e il degrado ambientale assumono forme ai limiti della sostenibilità. E’ qui che le disuguaglianze assumono carattere spaziale (tra i quartieri) e sociali (tra i vari gruppi) e non di rado sommano entrambe le dimensioni.
I temi da affrontare, e naturalmente da declinare di volta in volta sulla base delle peculiarità della singola città possono essere identificati in: aumentare l’attrattività delle città, sostenere l’innovazione, lo spirito imprenditoriale e l’economia della conoscenza, sostenere la creazione
di posti di lavoro più numerosi e di migliore qualità, migliorare la governance.
Benevento è l’unica città media del Sannio. E’ capoluogo di provincia ed è quindi sede di tutti i servizi territoriali che sono legati a questa funzione amministrativa. In passato, un’attenta ed articolata rappresentanza territoriale, è riuscita ad attrarre funzioni urbane superiori (FUS) quali la Scuola Allievi Carabinieri, l’Università degli Studi del Sannio, l’Ufficio delle Dogane e a localizzare in città centri di studi e ricerca come l’ISFOL. La città ha accolto le nuove funzioni, e nel corso degli anni si è adattata ai cambiamenti iniziando a conoscere il fenomeno tipicamente urbano dei cosiddetti “city users”, ovvero fasce di persone non residenti che vivono la città per lavoro o per studio e che alla città chiedono servizi legati all’accessibilità, alla cultura e al tempo libero. Ciò ha prodotto, nuove opportunità di lavoro legate all’erogazione
dei servizi richiesti. Il fenomeno per certi versi è ancora in atto e la sua vera, reale portata è ancora tutta da misurare.
L’attuale contesto di crisi internazionale, che in Campania e nel meridione d’Italia sta assumendo caratteri e ed accenti ancora più negativi, impone al territorio sannita una condivisione e un coordinamento delle azioni di sviluppo in quanto identificabile come uno
dei pochi mezzi per renderle visibili e spendibili. L’azione scoordinata e disarticolata rischia di essere scarsamente incisiva di fronte alla vastità e alle proporzioni delle questioni poste dal particolare momento storico.
La città di Benevento, da questo punto di vista, può rappresentare per il territorio sannita un’opportunità: è l’unica città sannita classificabile come media, ha al suo interno un patrimonio di arte, ambiente e cultura ancora in massima parte inespresso e non presenta i fenomeni tipici delle aree urbane quali criminalità e degrado urbano e sociale, possiede un ricco e consolidato patrimonio di conoscenze e know how in merito agli strumenti di sviluppo.
D’altro canto il territorio sannita, nelle sue diverse articolazioni istituzionali, territoriali e tematiche può rafforzare le potenzialità cittadine e permette all’intero sistema di raggiungere la massa critica necessaria per porre in essere concrete azioni di sviluppo.
In questa ottica le azioni possono essere articolate secondo scale di riferimento diversificate e correlate. In prima istanza è auspicabile una riappropriazione del ruolo di leader territoriale della città di Benevento rispetto al Sannio. Una città, quindi, che sappia mettere a disposizione
le proprie energie, guidare i processi in un’ottica condivisa e fare in modo che tutti beneficino dei risultati raggiunti.
A scala regionale e di mezzogiorno d’Italia, il ruolo di Benevento e del Sannio non è immaginabile in maniera separata da quello che assumerà nei prossimi anni l’area metropolitana di Napoli. Il Sud nel suo insieme migliora se migliorano le condizioni della sua città più rappresentativa e che in questa dialettica è al contempo troppo e troppo poco: troppo
perché fagocita risorse senza restituire servizi adeguati, troppo poco perché non riesce ancora a porsi come capitale del mezzogiorno d’Italia e interfaccia dell’Europa verso il contesto euro mediterraneo pur possedendo eccellenze riconosciute a livello internazionale. In una
chiara e inevitabile condivisione di destini, più che improbabili riassetti amministrativi e prese di distanze, bisogna immaginare azioni in grado di connettersi con le eccellenze al fine di estenderne i benefici anche al Sannio.
Il Mezzogiorno d’Italia può ripensare sé stesso alla luce delle sue specificità culturali e geopolitiche. Essere nello stesso momento Europa e porta aperta sul mediterraneo. Ponte tra territori diversi e laboratorio di dialogo interculturale in cui i confini non sono dei luoghi dove finisce qualche cosa, ma punti di contatto tra culture dove la modernità può percorrere strade diverse ed inattese. Le città del meridione d’Italia, quindi, hanno un compito in più: preparare il terreno ad una società multiculturale che sappia coniugare i cardini della cultura occidentale
con le istanze del Sud e dell’Est.
Per discutere su questi temi i giorni 25/26 giugno 2010 Mezzogiorno Nazionale ha organizzato, in collaborazione con la Camera di Commercio di Benevento, un forum programmatico per riattivare il dibattito sullo sviluppo locale come momento di qualificazione delle politiche di intervento a supporto delle scelte dei policy maker.

This is an open source public document produced in connection with a UK urban regeneration CPO public inquiry. It should be read in association with other public inquiry documents including my proofs and those of Loretta Lees. In evidence, Professor Lees drew the Inspector’s attention to her current Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded research project. Attention was also drawn to the ESRC website which was said to contain a copy of the relevant research bid document. In fact, the website contains only a summary (appendix 1) of the full bid document that was submitted in evidence on 31 January 2018. The website identifies Professor Lees as the Principal Investigator. At the outset, I would note that the general subject of Professor Lees’ ESRC research outlined in the bid is welcome and necessary. The wish to evaluate the impacts of estate regeneration policy is commendable. That said, this response statement is intended to help the Inspector and the Secretary of State (SoS) understand the relevance of the research bid in the light of this CPO Public Inquiry and the evidence of Professor Lees. This statement provides a response to the research brief as it was called in evidence, for the ESRC project above. The brief is, in effect, the research bid that secured the funding for the project. This response is in two parts: 1) a response to the full research bid and 2) a response to the Abstract that is published on the ESRC website. This website Abstract contains the reference to Mr Boris Johnson’s “Kosovo-style social cleansing” that was referred to in oral evidence by Professor Lees.

Millions of people were displaced in a two decade of an armed conflict that rocked the Northern Uganda region led by LRA rebel leader Joseph Konyi in 1980’s. It is now close to a decade since the initiation of the Juba-peace agreements between 2006 -2008 that saw the signing of ceasefire agreement between the government and LRA rebels. Since then the government embarked on consolidated resettlement of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) through its programme the Peace and Recovery Development Programmes (PRDP) to rebuild the Northern region and assist IDPs who were going back to their home areas. It is believed that the overwhelming majority of those who lived in camps at the height of the crisis returned to their areas of origin. However uncertain numbers of IDPs who moved to urban areas were excluded from the government and NGO resettlement assistance. This is because of their ‘low visibility’ attributed to blending with urban poor in the informal settlements, which makes it difficult for response agencies to assess their protection risks. Little is known about how urban IDPs negotiate their way in the urban environment, their relationships with host communities and their specific vulnerabilities as compared with other urban poor. Therefore, this study attempts to explore how urban IDPs access housing using their livelihoods.
The research design for this study is based upon the foundation of qualitative method in a case study approach. A livelihood framework was used to analyse different strategies that urban IDP pursue to access housing. One of the findings is that urban IDPs pay rent to access housing by engaging in informal economies to earn a living since the urban economy is cash based and their skills do not match the urban labour market. Secondly is by accessing land to build houses especially for the landlords who are urban IDPs. This was possible through social networks and being able to recognise their entitlement of right of occupancy from the Land Act. The third and fourth are what I term as ‘prospective strategies” that is; securing financing for self-help housing project and negotiating with the municipality for security of tenure. The latter strategies are forthcoming because Gulu municipality had joined the government programme of secondary cities to transform settlement of urban poor (TSUPU) supported by cities alliance at the time of this study. The findings are not a panacea to the addressing the questions of access to housing, actions were subject to context opportunities and challenges. More specific is the government’s urban development programmes that enhanced the capabilities of urban IDPs to access housing whilst the municipal land use planning and regulations hindered access of some assets.

The organizational errors of Syrian urban planning have been a major cause of the escalation of the Syrian crisis and its continuation. Syrian cities, including Damascus and its environs, have suffered from the fragility of social security, which is manifested in the form of cohesive human groups in closed communities, influenced by religion, culture, family, class, place of origin of the population, occupation, etc. This article examines the fragility of security during the crisis of 2011-18, with the aim of clarifying the impact of the organizational problems and the processing delay that has generated social security fragility because these closed communities are looking for their own security and safety outside the control of local administrations. The article proposes that the inherent fragility of security in Damascus and its environs should be associated with poverty, organizational errors and slums as a model for the fragility of all Syrian cities.

- by Yassar ABDIN
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- Urban and community planning

In today's scenario, violence, political conflicts, exponential food insecurity, persecutions and natural disasters like earthquakes and rapid floods have left over 6 million people seeking asylum in the last 3 years. Political services and prospects have failed or so far remained elusive in most situations contributing to the alarming refugee crisis faced by the world presently. The number of climate migrants is anticipated to reach near 200 million refugees in the next 30 years as a result of environmental degradation and climate change. There is a dire need to address this issue through both political and humanitarian perspectives to ensure sustenance of these people. A refugee brings along some unique cultural qualities and language, but, cocooned by oppressions, insecurities and social fears, which once eliminated, can lead them to stability, acceptance and empowerment in a foreign land. India's capital city, Delhi has witnessed, over the past six decades, a constant transfiguration of citizen culture and character through a blend of inhabitants from cities all over India and even different nationalities. The city hosts about 30,000 registered refugees all together, struggling to find their place in the conjunction. The crowded conditions lead to morbidity and stress. However, collective consciousness and contextual opportunities may prove to be critical for planning refugee settlements in the concerned metropolis. The research investigates varying patterns of different refugee communities in Delhi and temporal-contextual analysis of legislative aids and their respective effects to the order and bracket of their settlements from the post-colonial period to present day. The study is receptive to conserve the heritage and cultural intangibles attached to the motive and analyses its magnitude in the physical as well as judicial planning for refugees to produce prototypical solutions for their sustenance with dignity and peace in an urban environment.

- by Akhilesh Singh
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- Refugee Studies, Postcolonial Studies, Urban and community planning, UNHCR

An important aspect of public administration is the use of plans to effect policies and programs. Plans describe those actions necessary to achieve predetermined goals and objectives. In the United States, local governments have the primary responsibility for land use planning decisions which form the basis for a community's development. The seriousness of a local government's climate change and sustainability efforts may be gauged by the statements and measures found within its planning documents. An exploratory study utilizing a content analysis of the primary planning documents of fourteen small, rural local governments in Alaska and Oregon was completed to determine the level of interest in climate change and sustainability. Results indicate that few planning documents specifically address climate change and sustainability. The study expands current knowledge by determining how the primary planning tools of local governments within the United States are being used to address climate change and sustainability.

- by John Duffy
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- Sustainable Development, Urban and community planning