新加坡城市交通发展模式对广州的启示

新加坡在经济快速发展、人口密度极高、土地资源限制下,仍能保持交通便利与行车顺畅,其成功在于塑造了“公交都市”,通过一系列组合政策运用,避免了交通拥挤带来的问题。新加坡的成功经验表明,交通拥堵问题是系统问题,必须从系统的角度寻找解决交通拥堵的良策,这对目前正努力建设公交都市的广州未来交通政策的制定尤其值得借鉴。     

Fengshui theory in urban landscape planning

The spatial configuration of urban landscapes results from cumulative interactions between human activities and the physical environment. Traditional philosophies and cultural legacies have had important influences on urban development and planning in East Asia. In Seoul, traditional land use practices based on ‘Fengshui’ have significantly contributed to human-mediated patterns of landscape changes, in addition to the role of the socio-economic background (development) and other human activities. The concept of Fengshui was originally founded upon people’s empirical cognition of natural landscape patterns. Recently, however, advanced economic development, westernization and urbanization have been rapidly altering the old traditions of the holistic landscape systems through changing urban planning practices. Since the type, scale, frequency, distribution and spreading pattern of environmental and human disturbances have been changed, a new paradigm for urban landscape planning is necessary to maintain the ecological and cultural integrity of landscapes in Korea. In this paper, we discuss recent concepts and methods of landscape ecology and urban planning from the viewpoint of Fengshui, the traditional land use patterns in Seoul, whose application has so far been restricted only to traditional land evaluation. We conclude that, to maintain the sustainability of the urban landscape, it is necessary to develop a new urban planning framework for the region that is based on the integration between landscape ecology principles with the traditional concepts of Fengshui.     

Palestinian Society

Conclusion Several observations are in order. One is that despite a considerable divergence in the points of view, the authors of the works under review share a single language and methodology, that of the modern social sciences, and a common commitment to understanding Palestinian society. There is a significant overlap of subject matter as well. It is not always possible to infer the personal sympathies of the author from his or her essay.Since the illusion of a Palestinian military threat to Israel has been dispelled, these volumes' lasting contribution is the findings they provide on the political economy of Palestinian society. The Palestinian's future on the West Bank and in Gaza will depend on the differential impact of these territories' incorporation into the Israeli economy on specific groups within the society, as well as by Israeli policies of control, and the will and capacity of the Palestinians to resist them. The work of Tamari, Graham-Brown, Taqqu, Lustick, Migdal, and others contained in the volumes under review here provides a necessary perspective from which to observe events. To the extent that the complex dispute between Israelis and Palestinians turns on the land question, the specific ways in which land is alienated and peasant populations are transformed into workers has a major bearing on ultimate outcomes.Consideration of Palestinian society raises significant theoretical issues. These include the impact upon agricultural societies of their integration into the capitalist world market, the role of the state in the rule of minorities, the study of elite factionalism, and the development of national consciousness. The findings of the works on Palestinian society suggest the following hypotheses: that agricultural populations respond to the market in differential ways, which can work against the emergence of both nationalist and working class consciousness; that the policies adopted by states confronted with highly politicized minorities can have significant impacts; that factionalism is a product of state policy choices (and not foreordained), and that national consciousness does not diminish (and may increase) with economic incorporation. The recent literature on Palestinian society thus has strategic contributions to make to the social sciences.Finally, in studying Palestinian society, we come to grips more directly than we might in a less highly conflicted subject with the problematic epistemological grounds on which the social sciences are erected. Here we can see (somewhat more clearly than normally) the ways in which the questions asked by social scientists derive from their positions in the political and intellectual fields of their societies. This may be a salutary and sobering experience.

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Problems in providing low-income urban housing in Bangladesh

Bangladesh, which is one of the poorest countries in the world, is faced with a critical housing crisis of long standing. It has been estimated that as many as three-quarters of the urban population are unable to contribute anything toward their housing due to their low incomes. The government, because of its lack of resources, does not control the finance to even begin to solve this problem. To complicate matters, the rural-to-urban migration process has only just begun and at present, only about 18% of the nation's population live in urban areas.Since Independence in 1971, the Government of Bangladesh has explored a number of different methods of solving these urban housing problems. Among the approaches considered have been resettlement projects for urban squatters, infilling within suburban residential areas and up-grading in established parts of the capital city Dhaka. The major problem encountered with such proposals has been a financial one. Although the economic returns of such projects are very high in discounted terms, it has been difficult to make proposals which are financially feasible.This paper examines this situation and reaches certain conclusions which must be acknowledged before real progress on Bangladesh's housing problems can be made.     

Institutional constraints on housing development: The urban areas of Nigeria: The land-use decree and the building plan approval process

This paper argues that the land-use decree and the building approval process have become additional institutional bottlenecks which prospective urban housing developers must contend with. Contrary to these experiences, these two para-legal institutions were made to ease in part, the difficulties associated with housing development in the urban areas in Nigeria. The paper then briefly analyses how these institutions operate that made them cogs in the wheels of housing development. Some remedial measures suggested to obliterate the difficulties associated with these institutional constraints include: the possession, acquisition and servicing of urban land for sale to the general public; the need for a complete land information system through the use of cadastral survey; public enlightenment with regard to the requirements of the planning authorities on local building plans; and the provision of official vehicles or car loans to site inspectors.     

The effect of existing land tenure systems on urban land development: A case study of Kenya’s secondary towns,with emphasis on Kisumu

The Kenya Government has over a number of years pursued policies geared towards the promotion of secondary towns. Included in this strategy is the achievement of an orderly and coordinated urban land development. However, experience from these towns indicates that, planned land development has encountered a lot of bottlenecks particularly in relation to the institution of private ownership of land. This paper traces the land tenure systems that have existed in the Kenya’s secondary towns. In general, the paper examines the effects of land tenure forms on the provision of housing and the related infrastructure. The effects of existing land tenure identified include influence on housing development, influence on planned land development, cloudiness of titles, hoarding and speculation, insecurity, inflexibility and inequity. The paper concludes by making suggestions based on the observed bottlenecks that should be considered to encourage and promote systematic urban land development in secondary towns.     

A case study of urban ecological networks and a sustainable city: Tehran’s metropolitan area

The aim of this study is to propose the application of landscape ecology in planning urban ecological networks to conserve nature in urban landscapes and to develop a sustainable use of urban lands. Compared to the classical planning approach based on socio-economic land suitability, the principles of landscape ecology are helpful simultaneously conserving the ecological processes of landscapes and their steady changes. This approach could help in defining sustainable landscape development, aiming for a balance between both physical and natural systems in urban areas. This research is focused on the ecological networks in Tehran’s metropolitan area as a case study to provide a model for network planning in other urban areas, where urbanization seriously threats the natural environment. In concluding this research, the spatial structure and function of the area are studied and categorized based on the patch-corridor-matrix model. The paper concludes with methods of intervention and suggestions for the structural and functional improvement of urban landscapes towards achieving a more sustainable form of land use planning.     

Palestinian National Authority's public relations policies relating to Israel: Current attitudes among Palestinian officials and media experts

This study investigates attitudes about Palestinian public relations policies during the Palestinian struggle in the Israeli media war and future challenges that will face the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) in public relations planning. This study shows that Palestinian groups have mixed attitudes toward PNA's public relations plans and policies. The media experts tend to see the PNA's efforts as reactive, not pro-active. The experts think that PNA's main concern has been to follow up on daily political events, and thus its approach to public relations has been more of a reaction to Israeli practices rather than a strategic pro-active plan.     

Urban landscape matrix affects avian diversity in remnant vegetation fragments: Evidence from the Phoenix metropolitan region, USA

Biodiversity conservation in urban areas has become increasingly important as cities have expanded to cover larger proportions of landscapes across the world. The careful planning of habitat reserves within urbanized areas has the potential to make significant contributions to regional biodiversity. We surveyed the passerine community in 15 habitat reserves within the Phoenix metropolitan region and explored the relationships between community composition and urban land uses surrounding the reserves. Diversity of different guilds was affected in substantially different ways by reserve characteristics and surrounding urban land use. Guilds responded to land use at all three scales included in the study ?C 200 m, 1000 m and 2500 m. The responses of four guilds, synanthropic, non-synanthropic, insectivore and feeding generalist, were well predicted by the factors considered here. Reserve characteristics (area, shape, isolation), particularly area, had effects on all four of these guilds with non-synanthropic and insectivore species responding positively to area, while synanthropic and feeding generalist species responded negatively. Land use type surrounding the reserves had significant effects on all of these guilds, except for feeding generalists. High density, high diurnal activity land uses decreased diversity, while medium density, low diurnal activity uses increased the diversity of some guilds, particularly insectivores, probably by providing supplemental habitat. This study provides new evidence from an arid urban landscape that not only reserve characteristics, but also surrounding urban land use should be considered during conservation planning, especially if non-synanthropic or insectivore species are among the targeted species.     

从农民工进城住房入手改革户籍制度

现阶段城市户籍实际代表了三项公共服务:以城市最低生活保障为主的社会救助服务,以经济适用房和廉租房实物或租金补贴为主的政府补贴性住房安排,以及迁移人口子女在城市公立学校平等就学的机会。户籍制度改革的关键,就在于如何通过有效的政策改革方案,为外来人口提供可支付的住房,以及为其子女教育建立有效的融资机制,从而使外来务工人员主要是农民工可以在城市定居下来。土地制度改革可以作为突破口,通过城中村政府和村民有效的公私合作,充分利用市场机制为外来人口提供可支付住房,辅以相关财税体制改革,同时可以有效解决外来务工人员子女的教育问题。在通过土地制度改革和相关财税体制改革有效解决了外来人口住房问题和子女教育问题后,户籍制度改革也就完成了实质性突破。     

Palestinian labour mobility

"Following an overview of demographic and migratory trends since the late 1960s, the article examines labour force participation and analyses the distribution of Palestinian workers between the three labour markets in which they participate: the domestic market of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the Israeli market and the Arab market, consisting chiefly of Jordan and the oil-rich Arab states. Since 1982 there has been a contraction of employment opportunities for Palestinians in the latter two labour markets. Domestic job creation is one of the main tasks confronting the Palestinian administration to be set up under the 1993 Israel/PLO agreement."     

Bending the urban flow: a construction-migration strategy

The excess rate of migration to urban centers is a problem affecting over 50 developing countries and 18 developed ones (68% of the world's population). Policies that rely on compulsion or disincentives have mostly failed because they do not deal with the cause of the problem. This paper proposes a strategy of increasing or decreasing the rate of housing construction in different urban areas as a means of stimulating or reducing migration to those areas; in most developing areas priority is given to residential construction in already congested metropolitan areas. 5 assumptions are the basis for this approach: 1) migrants tend to gravitate to the most powerful growth poles; 2) residential construction is a leading sector of regional and urban economies; 3) the encouragement of construction activity will make itself felt indirectly via its effect on construction-related employment; 4) rates of residential construction may be manipulated through government policy affecting the cost of materials, availability of loans, level of unionization, and price of housing; and 5) residential construction is amenable to quick policy action. The central idea of the strategy is that an increase in residential construction will exercise a pull on migrants, increasing job opportunities, raising incomes, lowering housing costs, and improving the chances of home ownership. This idea has been verified by various projects in Hong Kong, Ghana, Venezuela, Brazil, Bahrain, Mexico, Colombia, Poland, USSR, and the UK. In Bahrain low-income housing programs have been used to relocate Bahraini nationals in new outlying suburbs and to promote population growth in rural villages. In Mexico self-help and low-income housing programs have helped to redirect migrants headed for small towns toward smaller communities. There is also evidence to show that building construction has the potential to expand and contribute to economic growth. Some problems of implementation might be finding an adequate economic base, the need to place new communities close to primate cities, the use of large portions of the national budget, and profit-maximizing plans have been detrimental to the speed and development of construction migration. Some benefits for smaller urban areas of construction migrants in developing countries are: 1) emphasis on the development of a labor-intensive industry, 2) little training of workers as needed, 3) it can provide the housing required by industries planning to move to smaller areas, 4) this housing will be cheaper, and 5) incentives will exist to save and invest in the smaller areas.     

巴勒斯坦非政府组织：类别与功能

20世纪六十年代以来,巴勒斯坦非政府组织得到很大发展并且日渐成熟。它们不仅在巴勒斯坦的社会和经济发展中扮演重要角色,而且在巴勒斯坦建国、巴民主进程以及巴以和平进程中都发挥着重要作用。在特殊的政治和社会环境下,巴非政府组织面临一系列挑战。但在推动国内政治和解以及巴以和平的进程中,巴非政府组织必须而且也有可能发挥更加积极和重要的作用。     

Towards a theory of the American rural residential land market

Since the late 1960s there has been a notable acceleration in America in the demand for rural residential land within commuting range of urban and suburban employment and service opportunities. American rural residential households do not seem to purchase acreage tracts primarily for their ‘productive’, or resource value, however. Instead, they purchase rural land for its ‘consumptive’ or residential value, as its value is primarily derived from the bundle of residential attributes associated with it. Over time, rural land within commuting range of metropolitan areas becomes underproductive and idled — a situation which precedes urban sprawl. Rural residential development has thus become a focus of debate on the effects and inefficiencies associated with urban sprawl. Yet, not enough is known about the nature of the rural residential land market. It is argued that American rural residential households are different from their suburban and urban counterparts for at least three reasons. First, they are distinguishable for their pursuit of self-sufficiency, self-expression, and the cultural status that a rural residential lifestyle offers. Second, they seek low cost rural jurisdictions in order to afford more housing and land than they could afford in higher cost urban and suburban locations. Third, they value distance from the city center colinearly with externalities such as pollution, crime, overcrowding, and noise associated with central city areas. In the latter sense, American rural residential households value land more highly the farther away it is from the city center, but discount land value the farther away it is from the boundary of urban development. In light of these considerations, this paper (a) reviews the literature describing the motivations of American rural residential households, (b) poses a theory of the American rural residential land market, (c) applies the theory to a case study, and (d) offers implications of the theory to planning efforts aimed at preserving resource land and containing urban sprawl.     

巴勒斯坦经济发展中的以色列因素分析

第三次中东战争后，以色列对约旦河西岸和加沙地带的占领为巴勒斯坦农业和工业带来了诸多负面影响，并使巴勒斯坦经济具有较强的依附性，突出表现为劳务输出和进出口贸易对以色列的依赖。以色列的占领严重地影响了巴经济的发展，并造成了巴勒斯坦在巴以和谈中的劣势。     

Sustainable urban development? Low-cost housing challenges in South Africa

Low-cost housing provision has been a major focus of government in post-apartheid urban South Africa. While successes can be noted, there is growing concern regarding the social and environmental sustainability of housing programs and the impacts upon both the surrounding environment and human health. Utilizing key informant interviews, survey research, Census data and documentary review, this essay identifies the major impediments to a sustainable low-cost housing provision in urban South Africa. The essay also points to hopeful signs in new policy directions, particularly attention to health issues and informal settlement upgrade programs. However, the major obstacles to a sustainable low-cost housing process, including macro-economic conditions, enduring historical legacies of race and class, the scale and rapidity of urban growth and institutional challenges show little indication of abating.     

Birds biodiversity in urban and periurban forests: environmental determinants at local and landscape scales

A significant decline in biodiversity is associated with the current and upcoming degree of urbanization. A challenging strategy to address this conflict is to make urban growth compatible with biodiversity protection and in this context urban parks can play a crucial role. Urban systems are highly dynamic and complex human-shaped ecosystems, where the relationship between species and environment may be altered and make the preservation of biodiversity within them a challenging goal. In this study, we analysed how different environmental features affect bird biodiversity in one of the most urbanized areas of Italy (the metropolitan area of Milan) at different spatial scales. Bird surveys were conducted in fifteen urban and peri-urban parks and environmental variables at landscape and local scale recorded. Results showed that a mixture of land covers and the presence of water bodies inside urban parks favoured species occurrence and abundance at landscape scale, but a surrounding dense urban matrix deflated biodiversity. At local scale, woodland cover and presence of water bodies were key determinants in ensuring overall high biodiversity but local-specific vegetation management produced an unusual pattern for forests species. In particular, the maintenance of large trees may not result in biodiversity support for forest bird species if large trees are not located in woodland areas with a significant tree density. To understand biodiversity patterns and provide useful information for urban planning and design, we need to provide insights into species/environment relationships at multiple scales in the urban environment.     

Resources,environment and economic development in Nigeria

It is argued that Nigeria must focus on effective environmentally protective intensive farming, resource management methods, and strong family planning programs. Other contributory factors are recognized as the lack of democracy and the "ill-advised" internal policies of the government. The emphasis is on man-made decisions about migration, natality, and land use practices that have ecological consequences that significantly affect the economy. Land degradation in Nigeria is attributed to improper agricultural and husbandry practices. Land degradation has severe ecological, economic, and human costs. Awareness of environmental problems in Nigeria is growing. Natural disasters such as the droughts of 1984-85, continued soil depletion, accumulations of soil wastes, increased flooding in urban areas, and land erosion in Anambra state are evidence of the growing environmental problems. Agricultural development should involve changing rural land use practices, using technology that is "appropriate" to the climate, crops, and culture of the people, and introducing agroforestry. Population growth in Nigeria puts pressure on the fragile ecosystem. Actual carrying capacity is a rough calculation. Nigeria's population growth patterns follow a pattern that suggests population pressure on carrying capacity. The acceleration of population growth has strained the traditional system of agriculture. Land is overused, and cultivation continues on unsuitable land. Domestic policies during the oil boom encouraged rapid industrialization at the expense of the environment. Migration increased to urban centers, but cities did not provide suitable housing, waste disposal, safe water supplies, and other basic facilities.     

City-wide relationships between green spaces,urban land use and topography

The growing proportion of human populations living in urban areas, and consequent trends of increasing urban expansion and densification fuel a need to understand how urban form and land use affect environmental quality, including the availability of urban green spaces. Here we use Sheffield as a case study of city-wide relationships between urban green space extent, quality (vegetation cover and tree-cover), and gradients in urban form and topography. The total area of buildings and length of the road network are equally strong negative predictors of extent of green space, while the former predictor is a more important negative influence upon green space quality. Elevation positively influences extent of green space but negatively influences tree-cover. In contrast, slope of terrain positively influences green space quality and is the best predictor of tree-cover. Overall housing density is a more important negative predictor of extent of green space and tree-cover than the densities of individual housing types. Nevertheless, the latter are more important influences upon levels of vegetation cover. Threshold effects of densities of different housing types suggest opportunities for optimising green space quality, with implications for housing policy. Variation in ecological quality of green space may partly reflect different historical intensities of industrial activity.