The Suburban Culture of Building and the Reassuring Revival of Historicist Architecture Since 1970

ABSTRACT

In recent years there has been an international revival in the eclectic use of historical architectural styles in modern suburbs. This revival has been largely ignored. When noticed, it has often been dismissed as arbitrary, and by implication devoid of interest or significance. With reference to North American suburbs, this article argues that the historicist revival expresses popular taste. It is the product of a suburban building tradition in which commercial builders are finely attuned, and readily adapt, to consumer taste. A significant cultural trend, it has been associated ambiguously with the rise of neo-liberalism and, contingently, with the fragmentation of consumer taste. It appears to have been a coded, if contentious, expression of changing gender roles while, above all, indicating a search for reassurance in an uncertain world.     

城市历史建筑保护对策研究——以粤港为例

随着经济和商业社会的发展,城市开发建设不同程度地蚕食历史建筑,破坏历史街区的整体风貌。历史建筑是人类发展痕迹的见证,一定程度上反映着地域文化。保护历史建筑也是保护地域文化。粤港政府在历史建筑保护工作方面积累了不少经验,通过分析粤港两地历史建筑保护措施,提出对城市历史建筑保护与利用的对策建议。     

两型社会建设中的长株潭低碳城市群发展对策研究

加快长株潭城市群的两型社会建设,关键在于建设低碳城市群,促进节能减排,保持能源消耗和碳排放处于较低水平,构建低碳化的城市群落生态体系。长株潭低碳城市群建设机遇与挑战并存,区位、资源、人才、科技等优势和基础条件为其发展提供了良好机遇,而重化工产业结构、资源消耗、环境污染等问题提出了挑战。基于两型社会建设要求,长株潭低碳城市群建设需要加强低碳技术创新、低碳产业布局、低碳能源开发与利用、低碳消费与营销等。     

The Impact of Islamic and Customary Laws on Urban form Development in Southwestern Saudi Arabia

Urban form and architecture, whether religious or secular, does not rely only on principles of aesthetics to reflect its essence, but to a great extent reflects a society's religious and social demands. The article reviews Islamic law, shari^cah, and local customary laws, ^curf, and the influence they have had on the structural development of the urban form and architecture of the traditional highland settlements of southwestern Saudi Arabia. Although living conditions in Saudi Arabia are much changed today, the Islamic religion still plays a prominent role in everyday life. The paper argues that the architectural heritage in traditional villages may provide a more satisfactory basis for contemporary community design than the concepts now being implemented since Islamic law continues to influence the organizational characteristics of Saudi settlements. An analysis of physical elements shows how the principles underlying the structure of Islam and the tribal system are pertinent to each settlement's physical development. The conclusion is that the urban form resulted as a response to the Shari^cah and ^cUrf to verify the basic need for defense, climate and the community's social structure.     

Information sharing between the child welfare and behavioral health systems: Perspectives from four stakeholder groups

This qualitative study articulates the challenges, best practices, and facilitators to information sharing when addressing the behavioral health needs of children in out-of-home care. 13 interviews and nine focus groups were conducted to illuminate the perspectives of foster parents, mental health clinicians, provider agency social workers, and city-employed child welfare professionals. In total, 65 individuals participated in this qualitative study and data were analyzed using a modified grounded theory approach. Results indicate that challenges and best practices in cross-system information sharing articulated across the four stakeholder groups are attributed to variation in information accessibility, clarity in roles and protocols, ability in obtaining signatures for consent/release forms, and attitudinal differences towards collaboration. Implications to improve policy and practice are discussed.     

新型地方政府合作模式研究——以广佛同城化为例

广佛同城化是一种新型的地方政府合作模式,不仅有助于推动两市经济社会的发展,而且对中国区域一体化发展也将具有示范意义。鉴于当前中国地方政府合作中存在着不少问题,广佛同城化要想走出现有合作模式的困境,一方面,必须要确定同城化合作的具体内容,没有合作内容,同城化就是虚假的;另一方面,还必须构建一套完整和有效的同城化合作机制,这是广佛同城化的重中之重,如果没有稳定合作机制作保障,那么同城化合作将陷入空想之中。