Migration into big cities and small towns — an uneven process with limited need for multiculturalism

The following paper is based on preliminary research on the consequences of recent migration in Germany for the different administrative levels and especially for local governments. In the same way as there is no uniform immigration process on the one side, there is no single society or a single nation state in the sense of single actors on the other side who could relate to immigration as an integrated whole. Migration itself consists of heterogeneous migration strands moving on different lines into different cities and towns. And local governments are part of an internally highly differentiated political system. Modern welfare state organizations handle migration in the logic of their own processing. In order to understand the consequences of migration and the meaning of multiculturalism on the local level further research will have to take into account the position of local governments in this differentiated system.     

小城镇污水治理研究--以天津市汉沽区为例

一、概述 城镇污水是造成我国水环境污染的主要原因之一.我国现有城镇2万多个,星罗棋布,绝大多数都没有污水处理设施,对水资源构成严重威胁.根据"十五"计划纲要和<"十五"城镇化发展重点专项规划>,"十五"期间要新增城市污水处理能力2600万立方米,2005年城市污水集中处理率要达到45%,50万人口以上的城市要达到60%.据统计,到2005年要建550座城市污水处理厂,其中日处理能力5万立方米以下的污水处理厂278座,日处理能力5万～8万立方米的污水处理厂90座,小城镇污水集中处理设施将呈高速增长的态势.     

关于小城镇与城镇化的若干问题

一、关于城镇化 中国约有9亿农民生活在村镇,面临着不断改善居住环境、提高生活质量,并最终实现农村现代化的现实问题.而引导农民进入各级各类城镇、走城镇化道路,则是提高农业生产效率、增加农民收入、扩大内需、彻底解决"三农"问题的根本途径.因此,城镇化问题自"十五"计划起便被列入国家议事日程,成为国家层面的大战略,受到了上至中央下至庶民的广泛关注.但是我国在城镇化的认识问题上仍然存在着种种误区.     

New community governance in small rural towns: the Australian experience

State and federal governments in Australia have developed a range of policy instruments for rural areas in Australia that are infused with a new sense of ‘community’, employing leading concepts like social capital, social enterprise, community development, partnerships and community building. This has encouraged local people and organisations to play a greater role in the provision of their local services and has led to the development of a variety of ‘community’ organisations aimed at stemming social and economic decline. In Victoria, local decision-making, before municipal amalgamations, gave small towns some sense of autonomy and some discretion over their affairs. However, following municipal amalgamations these small towns lost many of the resources—legal, financial, political, informational and organisational—associated with their former municipal status. This left a vacuum in these communities and the outcome was the emergence of local development groups. Some of these groups are new but many of them are organisations that have been reconstituted as groups with a broader community focus. The outcomes have varied from place to place but overall there has been a significant shift in governance processes at community level. This paper looks at the processes of ‘community governance’ and how it applies in a number of case studies in Victoria.     

Planning for change in small towns or trying to avoid the slaughterhouse blues

Rural farming communities throughout the Prairies and Great Plains have sought to reverse decades of slow economic decline by attracting value-added processing of agricultural products as a means of economic development. The meatpacking industry has been attracted to the region by the availability of fed cattle. It has created thousands of low-paying jobs and boosted local agricultural economies by increasing the demand for animals and feedstuffs, while at the same time impairing water quality and bringing a host of social problems to packinghouse communities. This article examines how the town of Brooks, Alberta prepared and dealt with these challenges over a two year period following the expansion of a beefpacking plant. Despite the advance warning of the social changes that would accompany the hiring of additional workers the town failed to meet the housing needs of newcomers recruited to work at the plant and experienced a significant increase in a variety of social disorders. The study concludes that preparing for change begins with the recognition that social and environmental impacts are inevitable with the arrival of a new industry. A pro-active response to protecting the environment and ensuring that basic human needs are met is better for a community and its workforce than having changes thrust upon it by an industry whose only interest is in maximizing profits.     

Innovative models of aging in place: Transforming our communities for an aging population

As the proportion of the global population over 60 continues to grow, the issue of where and how elders are going to live becomes increasingly pressing. The idea or “aging in place” – in which elders remain in their own homes and communities – is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to age-segregated retirement communities. This article documents three new models of aging in place – naturally occurring retirement communities (NORC-SSPs), villages and campus-affiliated communities – and explores how they seek to provide both services and meaningful connections among members. Data from interviews and site visits reveal both promising practices as well as challenges such as how to ensure access for low and moderate-income elders, integrating elders from diverse cultural and linguistic back grounds, and building the leadership and participation of elders. By looking critically at these models, the author argues that many previously held theories and assumptions about the aging process and social capital formation must be reexamined in light of the agency of elders and the new organizational models. Ultimately the design of our communities – both physically and socially – and our approach to retirement must be restructured to support the needs of an aging population.     

美国小镇千姿百态的水塔

如果你去过美国小城镇,你就会发现,在这些仅有几千人至几万人的小城镇里,都有一两座或几座引人注目的水塔.这些散落在全美各地的水塔,千姿百态,异彩纷呈.很多城镇的居民都以自己家乡有座不同凡响的水塔而自豪.一些缺少名人、又没有历史遗存的城镇,就把水塔作为标志性建筑,用水塔的艺术造型装点自己的环境,使自己的家乡因水塔而声名远播.水塔不仅被用于供水和消防,还成为一张当地人值得夸耀的名片.     

对我国小城镇总体发展战略的思考

一、我国小城镇的现状、特点、存在的问题本文所称“小城镇”主要指建制镇(含县城镇)。2000年我国有建制镇近2万个,其中县城镇1586个。从全国小城镇的整体分析,我国小城镇的特点是:数量上东多西少,数量增长速度上东快西慢,平均规模上东大西小、南北接近,分布上东密西疏、南密北疏。一般而言,沿海发达地区小城镇的建设质量好于内陆地区小城镇。这种状况是与地区间经济发展水平和人口分布密度的差异密切相关的,也是在相当一个时期内不会发生根本改变的。我国幅员辽阔,自然环境复杂多样,地域差异极大,因此即使同在一个地带内(东部或中部、西部)…     

我国小城镇健康发展的新思维

我国小城镇悠久发展的历史犹如一部中国农村工业化与城市化荡气回肠的史诗;小城镇的发展有小苗青青、茁壮成长的阶段;有久旱衰败、寒冬枯黄的景象;也有无情压抑和机遇挑战的时期.总之,我国小城镇的发展历史是一部艰难、曲折并伴随着希望的鸿篇巨制.在21世纪的新时代中,小城镇将会在工业化、城市化的过程中重新焕发青春,走上健康发展的新路.     

小城镇城市设计目标体系的构建

一、前言 改革开放以来,伴随着经济的高速增长,我国的城市化发展步伐明显加快,作为中国城镇体系重要组成部分之一的广大小城镇也因此得到了前所未有的发展空间.特别是党的十六届五中全会提出"建设社会主义新农村"的相关精神以来,全国各地掀起了小城镇新农村规划建设的热潮,以广大小城镇为研究对象的城市设计实践活动成为业内人士的重要工作内容之一.     

当前我国小城镇建设的几点思考

小城镇是介于城市与农村居民点之间的．兼有城、乡特点的过渡性居民点．是城市在乡村的延伸．也是乡村的城市雏形。“小”限定了其规模级别．“城镇”指出了其类别所属．即城市的范畴。著名社会学家费孝通将“小城镇”定义为“新型的正从乡村性的社区变成多种产业并存的向着现代化城市转变中的过渡性社区．它基本上已经脱离了乡村社区的性质．但还没有完成城市化的过程”。     

Caring for an aging society: cohort values and eldercare services

Understanding the impact of cohort values is important in trying to project future aging service needs. The cultural characteristics of cohorts yet to reach the age of 65 are compared with those already "old," with specific focus on the Baby Boomers. Aging policies (and available services) reflect the cultural notions of age and aging held as normative during the historical era in which they are enacted. Previous research into lifestyle preferences, consumer practices, and key characteristics is drawn upon to investigate the values of Baby Boomers in light of their projected needs for eldercare services. Cohort research and generational marketing practices offer a promising foundation for exploring how best to develop, target, and deliver aging services that most effectively utilize our social resources.     

Elders and the courts: judicial policy for an aging America

This article examines how trial courts should address complex issues of an aging society. More older people, living longer, will enter courthouses with underlying problems that will impede effective access and court processes and will require judges to enhance linkages with community health, mental health, and social services providers. The article analyzes how court systems perceive these issues and explores how they have begun to address them. It concludes with an argument in support of innovative new approaches to assist courts in responding to emerging issues of older adults.     

A culture of whiteness: How integration failed in cities,suburbs, and small towns

As America's neighborhoods have become more racially diverse in the last half century, are these shared spaces fulfilling the “promise of integration”? In this study, I review the literature on desegregation as it occurs in urban, suburban, and rural places, illuminating how a culture of whiteness works in each of these types of places to reproduce racial domination. The literature on multiethnic urban areas demonstrates how a culture of whiteness reframes gentrification as ‘revitalization’ and nostalgia, which result in social control and cultural displacement of non-white residents. In suburban places, I draw out the ways a culture of whiteness is expressed as ‘niceness’ and ‘governmentality’, resulting in symbolic exclusion and forced assimilation of people of color. Finally, in rural places, a culture of whiteness uses narratives of ‘pollution’ and ‘parasitism’ to understand often low-income migrants of color, which renders them invisible and reproduces their structural disadvantage in the community. Revealing the subtle and obscure mechanisms through which a culture of whiteness reproduces racial domination in diverse places ultimately provides the key to their undoing and opens the door to the promise of integration.     

村镇住宅设计问题的思考

村镇建设是我国现代化进程中的重大历史任务,党的十六届五中全会明确提出建设社会主义新农村的重大战略部署,提出要按照新时代的要求,对农村进行经济、政治、文化和社会等方面的建设,最终实现把农村建设成为经济繁荣、设施完善、环境优美、文明和谐的社会主义新农村的目标。