The new geography of global civil society: NGOs in the world city network

Recent research on the geography of NGOs in Global Civil Society yearbooks has emphasized a north-west European bias. This has been taken to imply that global civil society is but a pale geographical shadow of the power concentrations in global economy and governance. Using an interlocking network model and data on 74 global NGOs with offices across 178 cities, NGO connectivity values for cities show that there is a ‘global South’, especially sub-Saharan African, geographical bias. Nairobi is the most connected world city with respect to NGO activities. This marked contrast to recent received wisdom implies a diffuse network power relationship. To the extent that global NGOs reveal the new geography of global civil society in a space of flows, these results support a positive interpretation for NGOs contributing to an emancipatory global agenda.     

How small cities affect the biodiversity of ground-dwelling mammals and the relevance of this knowledge in planning urban land expansion in terms of urban wildlife

Fundamental principles regarding urban biodiversity are based on studies conducted in large cities. However we cannot know whether the same phenomena occur in smaller cities or how small cities affect biodiversity. Small cities are an inherent element of urbanization and in the future, most global urban growth is expected to take place in small and medium-sized cities. Understanding the effects of small cities on biodiversity will be an important aspect in planning urban land expansion. Our study examined the effects of a small city on communities of small ground-dwelling mammals on 41 sites arranged in a four step gradient of urbanization. In 6700 trap-days, we caught 2333 individuals comprising 15 species. In the downtown area the same phenomena as those described for large cities were observed: a reduction in species richness and diversity, a decline in the abundance of urban sensitive species and an increase in synurbic species. However, in contrast to large city studies, green areas outside the downtown area did not differ from rural sites in small mammal population parameters. This phenomenon of relatively unchanged fauna outside the downtown area shows that small cities have the potential to maintain a high level of diversity of small ground-dwelling mammals if appropriate planning of further building expansion is implemented. More studies of small cities are needed to better assess their impact on biodiversity. This knowledge can then be applied in better planning for urban wildlife. Generalizations based solely on large city studies are inadequate and may lead to incomplete or inappropriate conservation strategies for small cities.     

构建全球人才枢纽:原因、内涵与策略

城市和人才之间历来存在紧密的联结。全球城市是人才国际流动与集聚的交汇点,同时,能否成为全球范围内人才流动和集聚枢纽成为现时代全球城市的主导因素。全球人才枢纽是在由人才自由流动基础上建构起来的全球人才网络中,因人才高度集聚形成的对全球人才流动配置、集聚等具有中心功能、关键作用、重要影响的核心节点。形成中的全球人才枢纽,一般经历极化、嵌入、融合、形成与重构阶段。要成为崛起的全球人才枢纽,必须培育人才竞争优势、嵌入全球人才网络、搭建世界级事业增值平台、营造宜居活力人才生态、建构具有竞争力的人才治理模式。     

Global cities in Global Commodity Chains: exploring the role of Mexico City in the geography of global economic governance

In this article I assert that global cities are critical nodes in Global Commodity Chains because it is from them that producer services are provided. I explore forward linkages of producer service firms in Mexico City, showing that there are important service flows to companies responsible for the globalization of the 'Mexican' economy. Based on this finding I also indicate reasons why Mexico City is 'on the map' of global cities and of Global Commodity Chains. I argue that both access to local knowledge and close contact to clients are key factors. A third issue dealt with is the position of Mexico City in the geography of governance of commodity chains. The analysis suggests that it is useful to break up global city functions into the management of the world economy and into its command and control, because Mexico City is certainly a place for the former, while the scope of influence exercised from the city is rather limited.     

City networks and commodity chains: identifying global flows and local connections in Ho Chi Minh City

Any analytical framework for understanding actual forms of the intensified incorporation of cities into the world economy needs to go beyond the exclusive focus on advanced producer services, which is characteristic of most of the World City Network (WCN) approach. Simultaneously, an account of the role of advanced producer services will strengthen Global Commodity Chain (GCC) analysis. A combination of the literatures on WCN and GCC can contribute to a broader conceptualization of the connections and connectivities of global cities. In addition, a combined approach will improve our understanding of globalization processes within many so-called 'third-world' cities that are experiencing booms in export-oriented industrialization and in migration from rural hinterlands as they are being integrated into Global Commodity Chains. We illustrate our argument with insights from GCC analyses of the electronics industry located in Ho Chi Minh City and the agricultural sector in its rural hinterland, the Mekong Delta.     

Urban ecosystems: the human dimension

This paper develops a human ecological perspective on cities and urban regions. It describes the role of cities in the expanding human ecological niche and its implications for sustainable urban development. I have used a new technique, ecological footprint analysis, to convert the material and energy flows required to sustain the human population and industrial metabolism of the city into a landecosystem area equivalent. This approach emphasizes that, although urbanization has become the dominant human settlement pattern, cities themselves constitute only a small part of the total ecological space appropriated by their human inhabitants. In short, the ecological locations of human settlements no longer coincide with their geographic locations. Every city and urban region depends for its existence and growth on a globally diffuse productive hinterland up to 200 times the size of the city itself. Cities are therefore increasingly vulnerable to global ecological change and geopolitical instability. Given the deteriorating state of the ecosphere, policies to decrease the ecological footprint of cities while increasing regional self-reliance may enhance urban sustainability.     

A comparative study of urban fragmentation patterns in small and mid-sized cities of Idaho

Urbanization has a massive impact on ecological function and impedes the provisioning of environmental services. The interaction between urbanization and the environment has been researched extensively. However, the existing research focused on the urbanization characteristics of large metropolitan areas. In this paper, we investigate the urban fragmentation patterns of small and mid-sized cities in Idaho, USA. To capture the urban morphology for each site within the study we use both concentric ring and transect analysis as well as several spatial/landscape metrics. Our results show that the characteristics of urbanization in small and mid-sized cities (and those in second-tier regions that attract relatively little scholarly attention) are consistent with growth phase theory of urbanization, urbanization along a gradient, and urbanization patterns of metropolises.     

Influence of habitat type and distance from source area on bird taxonomic and functional diversity in a Neotropical megacity

The Neotropical region has been subjected to massive urbanization, which poses high risks for some global biodiversity hotspots and losses of ecosystem functions and services. In this study, we investigate how distance from large patches of native forests (source areas) and vegetation (green)/and infrastructure (gray) characteristics affect bird species richness and functional diversity in São Paulo megacity, southeastern Brazil. We analyzed the effects of source areas and green/gray characteristics on species richness and functional diversity (richness, evenness, and divergence) indices. We detected 231 bird species, and our data confirmed our predictions: (1) bird species richness in urbanized habitats was found to be (~?50–85%) lower than in source habitats; (2) species richness and trait composition significantly decreased as the distance from the source area increased, while functional richness was not affected by this metric; and (3) shrub and herbaceous covers and maximum height of trees were positively correlated with species richness and unique functional traits regarding habitat, diet, foraging and nesting strata and dispersal ability of birds in the forest-urban matrix. The number of buildings was negatively correlated with bird species richness and functional richness. Maximum height of buildings caused dramatic declines in functional evenness. Functional divergence was notably lower in sites with high shrub cover. Our study stresses the complexity of vegetation embedded in large Neotropical urban settlements and the need to maintain large protected areas surrounding megacities to mitigate the impacts of urbanization on birds.

     

Urban “slums” and social mobility

Informal urban settlements determine the wellbeing of a large section of global humanity. Yet there has been little research on their role in facilitating social mobility. In theory such settlements may foster human progress by linking rural–urban migrants to the services, contacts and livelihoods concentrated in cities. The article uses longitudinal data for South Africa to explore the magnitude of social progression among people living within informal settlements compared with rural areas and formal urban areas. It finds that there may be some advantage from living in an informal settlement compared with a rural area, but the effect is not strong. The impact may be larger in the more prosperous Gauteng city‐region than in other urban regions.     

Mooring Mobilities,Fixing Flows: Towards a Global Urban History of Port Cities in the Age of Steam

This article critically surveys the current historiography of port cities, which have recently attracted a lot of interest, particularly from global historians of the 19th and early 20th century. The article contextualizes this body of scholarship within larger recent and older trends in the discipline. Recently, historians and other scholars have predominantly analyzed port cities as “nodal points” or “hubs” within global networks. The article argues that these perspectives project spatial patterns defined by the imaginary of globalization today into the past, failing to acknowledge how tightly interwoven globalization and urbanization were in port cities during the age of steam. However, port cities can provide concrete narrative focal points to develop empirically-grounded global histories, and remind us of the various efforts to control, limit, or prevent unsolicited forms of mobility and entanglement in the sites where these were moored or fixed. Finally, port cities can render the labor of the urban masses visible that facilitated the making of steam age connectivity and a globality anchored in the urban space of the ports.     

The role of remote sensing in habitat

The potential role of remote sensing in promoting the well-being of human settlements is identified. This was accomplished by formulating a closed loop system for habitat, wherein it requires a continuous feedback between the flow of information derived from remote sensing and the consequences of managerial decisions to control the basic characteristics of the human settlements, e.g. its environment, utilization of resources, early warning of natural hazards, etc. In addition, applications of remote sensing in both global scale and mesoscale for habitat are documented.     

Urban impacts on tropical island streams: Some key aspects influencing ecosystem response

Improving our understanding of the impacts of urbanization on tropical island streams is critical as urbanization becomes a dominant feature in tropical areas. Although the ??urban stream syndrome?? has been successful in summarizing urban impacts on streams, the response of some island streams is different to that expected. Here we review available information on urban impacts to tropical island streams and describe unique responses to urbanization. We identified three key aspects that play particularly important or unique roles in determining tropical-island stream integrity: biotic response to water pollution, movement barriers along the stream network, and altered geomorphology that results in habitat loss. As expected, water pollution negatively impacts stream ecosystems in tropical islands and in some regions impacts can be severe, as untreated wastewaters are directly discharged into streams. While aquatic insects show the expected responses to pollution, other native fauna (e.g., shrimps and fishes) appear to be less impacted by moderate levels of pollution. Movement barriers along the stream network are especially important as much of the tropical island fauna have diadromous (either amphidromous or catadromous) life histories. Most native freshwater mollusks, shrimps, and fishes inhabiting tropical islands are diadromous and depend on unimpeded connections between freshwater and marine environments to complete their life cycles. The presence of these species in urban streams is best explained by longitudinal connectivity rather than by the degree of urban impact. Finally, in streams that remain connected to marine environments, the presence of native shrimps and fishes is strongly related to the physical habitat. Fish assemblages in channelized and severely altered stream reaches are almost completely devoid of native fauna and tend to be dominated by non-native species. In contrast, relatively diverse shrimp and fish assemblages can be found in reaches that retain their physical habitat complexity, even when they are impacted by urbanization. Our understanding of urban impacts on tropical island streams remains limited. However, the identification of key aspects can help us better understand urban impacts on streams in tropical islands, and best focus our management and research efforts to protect these unique ecosystems.     

Glurbanization theory: an analysis of global cities

This article analyzes glurbanization theory. The theory rests on the premise that major urban transformations and reconfigurations through interscalar strategies and rescaling processes are a good method of increasing the capacity and status of cities (and their regions) to develop global competitive advantages. This urban model stems from the fact that cities are increasingly exposed to global competition. An important tenet of glurbanization is that large cities worldwide, called ‘global cities’, come to share the same essential attributes (i.e., cityscapes, skyscrapers, financial markets, cultural centers, etc.). Another important tenet of glurbanization is that it collapses the global and the local: urban spaces are restructured so that globalization does not become just a top-down hierarchical design whereby the nation-state dictates how things work; rather, globalization is made to happen both from ‘below’ and from ‘above’.     

Effect of habitat characteristics on mesocarnivore occurrence in urban environment in the Central Europe

Although urbanization is generally considered a major threat to local and global biodiversity, some recent studies have shown that urban environments provide suitable habitat for some wildlife species, including carnivores, yet little is known about the factors that determinate their occurrence and habitat preferences. The main aim of this study was to examine the relative importance of habitat characteristics in relation to carnivore occurrence along an urban–rural gradient in the Central Europe. Carnivore occurrence was monitored using scent stations (summer period) and snow tracking (winter period) in the regional city which was divided into the network of 154 quadrates (25 ha/quadrate) for the purposes of this study. From a total of six recorded native carnivore species, the stone marten Martes foina and the least weasel Mustela nivalis were the most dominant and widespread species in both study periods. PCA analysis revealed the existence of two informative axes corresponding to (A) urban vs. non-urban habitat and (B) residential vs. industrial areas. Surprisingly, the only species exhibiting marked habitat selectivity and avoidance of highly urbanized areas was the red fox (i.e. negative correlation with the first PCA axis). The stone marten tends to avoid industrial areas and prefers residential areas; however its presence/absence was not associated with the first PCA axis. On the other hand, the ermine stoat and the least weasel were relatively unselective according to our results. In conclusion, our results demonstrate high adaptability of various species of carnivore mesopredators to urban environment; however their response to the level of urbanization and habitat characteristics exhibits interspecific variation.     

The possibilities for global inequality and poverty reduction using revenues from global carbon pricing

Global carbon pricing can yield revenues which are large enough to create significant global pro-poor redistributive opportunities. We analyze alternative multidecade growth trajectories from 2015 to 2105 for major global economies with carbon tax rates designed to stabilize emissions in the presence of both continued country growth and autonomous energy use efficiency improvement. In our central case analysis, revenues from globally internalizing carbon pricing rise to 8 % and then fall to 6 % of gross world product. High growth in India and China reduces global inequality and poverty strongly over time, but important incremental redistributive effects can be achieved using global carbon pricing revenues. Taking into account both between-country effects and previous literature estimates of within-country effects, a global carbon tax alone tends to be regressive in its global incidence. However, if its revenues are redistributed globally via equal per capita transfers, in our central case the Gini coefficient for world income falls by about 3 % and the share of the bottom decile rises by 81 % on average from 2015 to 2105. The population living in poverty falls by 16 % in 2015. Going further, global poverty could be eliminated entirely by 2015 according to our calculations if one third of global carbon tax revenues were redistributed directly to the poorest individuals.     

Temporal effects on biodiversity and composition of arthropod communities along an urban–rural gradient

Global urbanization is rapidly increasing, yet the prevalence of single order and time point studies likely miss important temporal effects of urbanization on entire communities. We studied three sites along a rural–urban gradient in the Seattle metropolitan area with three sampling periods from 2009–2011 to examine how arthropod communities respond to increasing levels of urbanization in a similar habitat type through time. Consistent with previous studies, urban areas contained altered environmental conditions relevant for litter arthropods, and arthropod biodiversity decreased with urbanization. However, urban arthropod biodiversity was not influenced by environmental measures, supporting the idea of an “urban-filter”. Urbanization was not a factor influencing how communities responded to the effect of time, suggesting that other factors (e.g. disturbance) may ultimately be more important for determining patterns of biodiversity through time in urban areas. Finally, our study illustrates urbanization forces can structuring entire arthropod communities similarly through time, having important consequences for our understanding of urbanization’s temporal effects and indirect influence on community interactions and ecosystem processes. As the effects of urbanization will inevitably vary through time, we suggest that multiple time point studies are required to increase our ability to accurately describe arthropod community responses to increasing urbanization.     

Post‐Socialist Restructuring and Population Redistribution in Hungary*

Abstract This research focuses on pathways by which national level macro‐social transformations are transmitted to local communities. Our case is Hungary where we examine the relationship between post‐socialist economic restructuring, widespread industrial dislocations, and urban‐rural migration. Using secondary data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) and survey data from a study of 49 villages in 4 distinct rural regions, we demonstrate that post‐socialist population deconcentration involved both suburbanization and net movement to villages, especially villages that are located relatively close to cities. Contrary to our expectations, movement to villages was from nearby settlements, not from large industrial centers. Moreover, migrants to villages were substantially better off than longer term village residents in terms of their human capital and attachment to the labor force. Consequently, post‐socialist population deconcentration is not contributing to rural poverty as feared by some scholars.     

Urban policy,economic policy,and the growth of large cities in China

It is argued that despite a Chinese national urban policy large cities are still growing rapidly. Policy implementation is considered weak. It is suggested that a better strategy for increased urbanization in large Chinese cities would include integrating urban with economic policy, improving urban facilities, and planning and managing large cities. A short review is given of theories on city size and development in developing countries. Chinese economic reforms and their impact on urban growth are described. During 1978-90 the level of urbanization rose from 17.9% to 26.4%. Five periods during 1949 to present are identified as exhibiting distinct development profiles. Over the 40 year period, policies pertaining to cities of a particular population size changed constantly. During the early 1950s, development focused on major coastal cities and newly expanding industrial centers. After the 1950s and the Great Leap Forward (1958-60), rural areas and small urban places were the focus of Maoist development. Large cities were de-emphasized. The early 1970s emphasized the development of rural industries and small urban places in order to reduce rural-urban inequalities. A national urban policy was prepared in the early 1980s. The aim was to control the size of large cities, to develop medium sized cities, and to develop small cities. This policy was amended later and is now China's Urban Planning Law. However, the percentage of the nonagricultural population (NAP) living in cities of a million or more persons increased from 37.5% in 1978 to 41.6% in 1990. The share of NAP living in small cities increased to 21.5% in 1990. Temporary migrants were an estimated 5-15% of large city populations. Most cities were beyond their population control limit. Large cities had served important roles in development: greater efficiency in the industrial labor force and more profits; centers for culture, education, politics, and transportation; and links to foreign countries. Economic reforms fueled growth. At present controlled growth is an obstacle to economic development in large cities. Improvement is needed in urban management.     

Global production and local jobs: can global enterprise networks be used as levers for local development?

This article is developed out of a research project on ‘Global Production and Local Jobs’ launched by the International Institute for Labour Studies of the International Labour Organization (ILO). It identifies salient features of global production networks in the automobile, electronics and apparel industries, and discusses their implications for local industrial upgrading, jobs and development policy. The approach combines in novel forms complementary analytical frameworks such as the global value chain and industrial district perspectives, in order to highlight interactions between global and local forces in the operation of transnational production networks. Central issues revealed by this approach include: the rise of entry barriers into the most profitable, service‐intensive activities of global value chains, that reduce small firms' prospects for industrial upgrading; the uneven benefits derived from participation in global production networks at the local level; and the need for local institutions to devise policy responses through a flexible, network‐oriented approach involving a broad local constituency.     

A cultivated environment: Exploring the global distribution of plants in gardens, parks and streetscapes

Plants cultivated in gardens, parks and streetscapes are becoming increasingly important to peoples?? experience of biological life, and have been the recent focus of research in ecology, invasion biology, human geography and sociology. However patterns of distribution have not previously been explored at a global scale. In this study, global patterns in the distribution of cultivated floras were explored to determine the significance of biophysical and social factors driving species distributions. The taxonomic similarity of 72 published species lists was examined, covering a wide geographic and climatic range and a variety of land uses. Cultivated floras across urban and rural settlements were found to be very different and unsurprisingly to be strongly filtered by temperature. However we found that human behaviour may overcome other physical drivers of plant distribution such as rainfall in some instances. Social factors were also found to be important. Having a different dominant language (a proxy for cultural background) and difference in GDP per person (a proxy for household income) were also related to the dissimilarity of cultivated floras. Differences in both the social and physical environment are related to floristic differences between cities. However, we recognise that other factors identified in the literature but unsuited to meta-analysis, may also influence the composition of cultivated landscapes. These include changes in policy relating to the provision of street and park vegetation, the availability of plants from nurseries and the preferences of influential gardeners and landscape designers. The significance of the relationship between temperature and species composition suggests that cultivated floras are likely to change in response to climate change. The high level of dissimilarity observed between settlements suggests that patterns of potential naturalisation of cultivated plants are likely to be more complex than currently accepted.