Urban poverty,economic restructuring and poverty reduction policy in urban China: Evidence from Shanghai, 1978–2008

This article uses the city of Shanghai as a case study to analyze the changing institutional mechanisms for the new urban poverty stratum in China. Specifically, the article examines urban poverty in relation to economic restructuring and the transformation of the welfare provision system in three stages of market reforms. The article first examines the overall economic growth strategies at the national level, and then examines local government policy outcomes at the city level. The impacts of institutional changes on urban poverty and social inequality are subsequently. Finally, the article assesses the current poverty reduction policies and proposes a “social inclusion” framework to alleviate urban poverty in China.     

Adult youth workers’ conceptions of their work in an under-resourced community in the United States

This study examined adult workers’ conceptions of their work with youth in a large, underserved, urban region in the northeastern United States. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 18 youth workers from various organizations, affiliated with a community coalition focused on substance abuse prevention, we explored how adults viewed their role of working with youth. We were particularly interested in whether these workers saw youth empowerment and collaboration with youth for community change as part of their role. Our data suggested that while workers in this study were very supportive of youth, the support and actions they provided were on behalf of rather than with them and that, in general, partnering with youth for community change was not a part of what they envisioned their work to be. While a few of the adults attempted to work more collaboratively with youth, they were clearly in the minority.     

‘Tourists go home’: anti-tourism industry protest in Barcelona

This profile looks at the wave of at times violent protests against the economic, social and environmental consequences of mass tourism in Barcelona, which came to international attention in the summer of 2017. It outlines the leading role played by left-wing nationalist activists linked to the Candidatura d’Unitat Popular (CUP, Popular Unity Candidacy) political party in the protests. I examine CUP’s direct-action methods, targeting local business interests and foreign tourists, as well as the largely critical response this prompted from the wider anti-tourism industry movement. This profile addresses the CUP’s justifications for the action and the echo effect it had in other parts of Spain. It argues that to understand the events requires a focus on aspects of both continuity and change in urban social movement mobilisation in Barcelona, against processes of neoliberal urbanisation, in which anti-tourism industry contestation is to the fore.     

Regenerating Urban Waterfronts—Creating Better Futures—From Commercial and Leisure Market Places to Cultural Quarters and Innovation Districts

This paper investigates the contemporary issues in waterfront regeneration strategies. It evaluates and analyzes the legacies from past international waterfront projects through case examples and review policies, practices, trends and issues that pertain to waterfront regeneration. The impact of these within urban regeneration and urban cultural contexts are in turn considered. In this respect, the paper tracks the changes from typical festival-type market regeneration initiatives of the 1980s and 1990s to more culturally and entrepreneurial-focused projects evidenced today. Contemporary issues that stakeholders should consider when evaluating waterfront projects are considered. The paper gives recommendations for the direction of future waterfront development strategies. Conclusions promote the accommodation of more inclusive, socially responsible, culturally relevant, innovative, entrepreneurial and integrated regeneration objectives to ensure the future success of waterfront projects.     

Spatial Planning in Ghana: Exploring the Contradictions

The purpose of this research is twofold: to explore the complexity of spatial plan preparation and implementation in Ghana using Kumasi as a case study; and second, to examine the contradictions of spatial plans and ‘actual development’ occurring in Kumasi. Using social science research methods (semi-structured interviews) and physical survey (land use plans), findings indicate that spatial planning in Kumasi is a bureaucratic process hijacked by urban planning agencies with limited involvement of urban residents. As a result, urban development is considerably influenced by spontaneous informal development patterns (i.e. self-organization). This phenomenon of self-organization is expressed in a context of uncertainty created by weak spatial planning system which encourages haphazard development. Regrettably, in Kumasi, self-organization is often overlooked by spatial planning agencies as they focused on rigid and exclusionary spatial plans. This paper advocates consideration and integration of self-organization processes in spatial planning efforts to respond adequately to the urban development challenges confronting Kumasi.     

What Prompts Policy Change? Comparative Analyses of Efforts to Create Age-Friendly Cities in 14 Cities in Indonesia

Four years after an age-friendly city (AFC) assessment across Indonesia, this article presents a comparative analysis of policy changes that have taken place across different AFC dimensions and factors associated with more and less change. Nine of fourteen cities initiated changes, ranging from public declarations, regulations, and creation or expansion of services. Our findings suggest that the AFC assessment can offer a means to engage policy makers, which in turn may facilitate city-level change, particularly for larger cities with more substantive budgets and more consolidated rather than dispersed leadership; however, no single factor represented a sufficient or necessary condition for change.     

‘We create our own small world’: daily realities of mothers of disabled children in a South African urban settlement

Parents of disabled children face many challenges. Understanding their experiences and acknowledging contextual influences is vital in developing intervention strategies that fit their daily realities. However, studies of parents from a resource-poor context are particularly scarce. This ethnographic study with 30 mothers from a South African township (15 semi-structured interviews and 24 participatory group sessions) unearths how mothers care on their own, in an isolated manner. The complexity of low living standards, being poorly supported by care structures and networks, believing in being the best carer, distrusting others due to a violent context, and resigning towards life shape and are shaped by this solitary care responsibility. For disability inclusive development to be successful, programmes should support mothers by sharing the care responsibility taking into account the isolated nature of mothers’ lives and the impact of poverty. This can provide room for these mothers to increase the well-being of themselves and their children.     

“结对竞赛”:城市基层治理创新的一种新机制

本文聚焦近年来在城市基层治理转型前沿发生的制度性变革,即基层政府的职能重心从传统的发展经济转向公共服务与社会治理领域,使得上级政府对其治理绩效难以清晰衡量,而更依赖于“印象政绩”的评估与考核。在此条件下,基层治理场域出现了一种上级“条条”部门与下级“块块”“结对竞赛”的新机制。“结对竞赛”有助于条块部门之间紧密合作,携手实现治理创新,克服以前的条块分割问题,以便向上级发送政绩信号;但与此同时也带来了一些负向激励,导致过度创新和成功的创新经验难以扩散到竞争性地区等问题。本研究结合A区民政部门推动“社区分析工具”创新实践的案例进一步呈现了“结对竞赛”的运作机制与组织逻辑,并与“晋升锦标赛”和“项目制”等传统治理机制进行了比较。     

城市经营的融资分析

"城市经营"作为一个热门话题正在为越来越多的城市所接受,而城市经营中的任何一项活动都离不开资金的支持。可以说,离开资金,"城市经营"寸步难行。由此可见,融资对于城市经营的重要性。随着我国社会主义市场经济制度的建立与发展,更多和更灵活的融资方式成为可能。企业或私人投资、共同基金融资、资产支持证券化等方式都突破了传统的政府凡事大包大揽的方式。这些投融资方式无疑会极大地促进城市的发展。文章介绍这几种融资方式,并试着结合我国的具体情况予以简要的评价。     

Urban risks due to climate change in the Andean municipality of Pasto,Colombia: A Bayesian network approach

The current trends of climate change will increase people's exposure to urban risks related to events such as landslides, floods, forest fires, food production, health, and water availability, which are stochastic and very localized in nature. This research uses a Bayesian network (BN) approach to analyze the intensity of such urban risks for the Andean municipality of Pasto, Colombia, under climate change scenarios. The stochastic BN model is linked to correlational models and local scenarios of representative concentration trajectories (RCP) to project the possible risks to which the municipality of Pasto will be exposed in the future. The results show significant risks in crop yields, food security, water availability and disaster risks, but no significant risks on the incidence of acute diarrheal diseases (ADD) and acute respiratory infections (ARI), whereas positive outcomes are likely to occur in livestock production, influenced by population growth. The advantage of the BN approach is the possibility of updating beliefs in the probabilities of occurrence of events, especially in developing, intermediate cities with information-limited contexts.