Dynamics of colonial urbanism: a view from Israel/Palestine

Posted on: 28 January 2014
By: mackene
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This is a video of a talk by Dr Haim Yacobi, a lecturer in the Department of Politics and Government at Ben-Gurion University as well as an architect and planner. The term “mixed cities” is widely used in Israel, describing an urban situation in which Jewish and Arab communities occupy the same urban jurisdiction. However, a critical examination questions this terminology that brings to mind integration and mutual membership of society, while reality is controversial. Similar to other cases of ethnic nationalism, a clear spatial and mental division exists between Arabs and Jews in Israel, and hence the occurrence of “mixed” spaces is both exceptional and involuntary. Rather, it has resulted from a historical process during which the Israeli territory, including previously Arab cities, has been profoundly Judaized. In this process, the Palestinian community remaining in Israel following the 1948 war, has become a marginalized and dispossessed minority. Beyond the significant effect of the social and political processes, the ex-Palestinian urban fabric has been dramatically transformed. 

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Assessing global land use: Balancing consumption with sustainable supply

Posted on: 24 January 2014
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This report was produced by the International Resource Panel, a consortium of 27 internationally renowned resource scientists, 33 national governments and other groups, hosted by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The findings of the International Resource Panel show that the world has witnessed an unprecedented sharp decline in terrestrial ecosystem services and functions during the past decades. Forests and wetlands have been converted to agricultural land to feed growing populations but at a cost that is not sustainable. The report attempts to answer the question: how much more land can be used to serve the growing demand for food and non-food biomass while keeping the consequences of land use change (e.g. deforestation) at a tolerable level?

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Residential wealth distribution in Rio de Janiero

Posted on: 24 January 2014
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Housing is an important component of both a household’s net worth and aggregate national wealth or stock of residential capital. Aggregate residential wealth is the sum of the values of all housing units. In Brazil, residential structures represent about one-third of total net fixed capital, so their value is important for economic and social policy. This analysis asks: What variables determine the stock values of residential property? How do location and neighborhood conditions affect these values? What is the aggregate residential wealth in the Rio de Janeiro Metropolitan Region (Metro Rio)? What is its distribution among household income and housing value groups? In other words, what generates residential wealth? How much residential wealth is there? Who holds it? Where is it located? This article appears in the January 2014 issue of Land Lines.

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The urgent need for skilled planners in developing world cities

Posted on: 23 January 2014
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A video interview with Vanessa Watson, professor of city planning in the School of Architecture, Planning and Geomatics at Cape Town University. She is interested in the effects of inappropriate planning practices and theories especially in Africa.

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On city size distribution: Evidence from OECD Functional Urban Areas

Posted on: 17 January 2014
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An increasing amount of empirical evidence documents that city-size distribution within a country follows a power law, often in the form of Zipf’s law. This paper provides new comparative evidence on city size distribution across OECD countries. It uses a database where urban agglomerations are consistently identified across different countries, through an algorithm based on population density and commuting patterns. The paper investigates whether Zipf’s law fits well with data. A robustness check is carried out using a traditional administrative definition of cities. Results show that Zipf’s law describes well city size distribution not only at country level, but also at wider spatial scales. The law does not fit as well with the data when using a traditional administrative definition of cities.

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The human city. Sao Paulo, 4-6 June 2013

Posted on: 8 January 2014
By: mackene
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The New Cities Summit offers an unparalleled platform for urban leaders, thinkers and innovators to tackle the most pressing challenges as well as the huge opportunities arising in our rapidly changing urban landscape. Videos of the event are available online.

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Colonial and postcolonial urban planning in Africa. Lisbon, 5-6 September 2013

Posted on: 7 January 2014
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This conference aimed to examine the history of colonial and post-colonial urban planning in Africa. Abstracts of paper presented are available online.

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Urban development in a changing world. Hanoi, 12 February – 12 April 2013

Posted on: 3 January 2014
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The 37th Congress of the International Urban Development Association (INTA) provided an opportunity for Vietnamese planners to get more insights into some international good planning practices that may assist decision-making processes at a national and local level in Vietnam. Presentations are available online.

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Social, environmental and economic impacts of BRT systems: Bus Rapid Transit case studies from around the world

Posted on: 10 December 2013
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Bus rapid transit (BRT) is a high-quality, efficient mass transport mode, providing capacity and speed comparable with urban rail (light and heavy rail). Its insertion in urban transport systems is relatively recent and as a result there remains a need to introduce the concept to several audiences, particularly urban transport decision makers, and to better understand its cost, performance and impacts. To that end, this report provides a synthesis of existing literature and new data, and develops a detailed analysis on selected case studies to explore the economic, environmental and social impacts of BRT. This report aims to synthesise available evidence regarding BRT performance, costs and impacts, and contribute new evidence from four case studies: TransMilenio, Bogota, Colombia; Metrobús, Mexico City, Mexico; Rea Vaya, Johannesburg, South Africa; and Metrobüs, Istanbul, Turkey.

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Cities prepare: Reducing vulnerabilities for the urban poor

Posted on: 9 December 2013
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The report warns of rapid urbanisation and the increased risk this poses as systems are put under pressure. The report highlights six other Asian cities – Bangkok, Thailand; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kolkata, India; Kathmandu, Nepal; and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea – to contrast the different levels of preparedness across Asia. The report urges governments, businesses, civil society and communities to immediately address the changing urban landscape and ensure disaster preparedness is central to planning, future legislation and research. The report recommends governments place more emphasis on disaster risk reduction (DDR) programmes for homes, schools, businesses and in developing policies in areas such as health care and municipal planning. It also calls for more partnerships to eliminate gaps in disaster planning at the municipal level and increased involvement of children in disaster preparedness plans.

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