A social perspective on the reformed urban housing provision system in China : Three cases in Beijing, Xi'an and Shenzhen
In the 1990s, the Chinese housing reform reached a pivotal moment. The dismantling of the old public housing system and the high price of the commercial housing left the housing needs of a large number of the population unresolved. In 1998, a new multilevel housing provision system was schemed to solve this dilemma. The focus of this thesis is to bring the social housing perspective to this new development in the Chinese housing reform. In terms of theorization and methodology, the housing study is characterized by being atheoretical and positivist work. As a response, social constructionist methodology has been gradually introduced which alerts housing researchers to the unrecognized metanarratives embedded in their studies. The debate on the divergent and convergent views on the social housing development is introduced for two purposes: on the one hand, their generalization can serve as the background knowledge to the different roles and forms of social housing; on the other, the debate serves as a reminder of the author the complicated relationship between social housing and its historical and social context. The present definition of social housing serves as the start point of discussion. The main method of this study is historical-informed and discourse-aware case studies. At the beginning of the thesis, a historical study of the policy changes of the Chinese housing reform since the early 1980s suggests the affordable housing issue has gradually become the driving force of the reform especially in the 1990s. This social housing perspective on the reform is tested in explaining the persistent work-unit housing phenomenon in the 1990s. The argument is that, with the affordability question of the commercial housing, the work-unit has been fastened to the role of the affordable housing provider before alternative housing provisions emerge and take over. In the light of this, the housing reform policy of 1998 is understood as an effort to construct such housing provisions. Three types of new housing provisions are brought under investigation in the following chapters: the Economical and Comfortable Housing (ECH), the Low-Rent Housing, and the New Local Authority Housing. The first two are prescribed on the 1998 policy, while the latter is a unique practice of the local authority of Shenzhen. Each of these provisions is studied by relating a case-study project to its local contexts. The process, product and performance are analyzed in terms of their beneficiaries, affordability, and land, planning and design features. Serving as the housing for the mid- and low-income population, ECH in Beijing has encountered difficulties, both in targeting the desired population and regulating the affordability. The reasons are the multi-intentions attached to it and the conflicting expectations of it by the parties involved. It reveals that releasing the state from housing responsibility is still the priority of the housing reform, while the strategy of making profit-driven developers affordable housing providers is problematic and makes their role ambiguous. The first Low-Rent Housing project in Xi’an is still in standstill two years after its completion in 2001. Though defined clearly as housing for the disadvantaged population, in practice, the actual needs are underestimated. Besides, there are no concrete financing measures and significant advantages facilitate the implementation of the project These questions have resulted in the local authority hesitating to continue such development. The New Local Authority Housing in Shenzhen is a very special phenomenon. On the one hand, it has successfully transformed the old public housing into a new system based on the privatization principle; one the other, its benefits are mainly restricted to the municipal employees, and their needs are measured by the bureaucratic hierarchy instead of actual housing needs. The societal needs of affordable housing are neglected in this new system. This complicated and fragmented scenario of new housing provisions is brought to a theoretical examination in the Conclusion. By relating the historical study and the three new housing provisions to the theoretical framework of social housing, the nature of the new housing provisions are discerned; furthermore, the implication and limitation of present knowledge to the understanding of the Chinese housing reform are identified. Although providing valuable knowledge on the roles and forms of social housing, the present knowledge fails to support fruitful analysis of the complicated expectations and contexts attached to the new housing provisions in China. At the end of the thesis, the paradoxes in these new housing provisions are identified, and alternative solutions are suggested. Further theoretical and empirical investigation are anticipated for the social housing issue in the Chinese housing reform.
Norwegian University of Science and Technology - NTNU
Unravelling the global city debate : Economic inequality and ethnocentrism in contemporary Dutch cities
globalisation, economics, global city, urban change, ethnocentrism
It is hard to overestimate the scholarly impact of Saskia Sassen’s global city theoretical framework, which revolves around the impact of economic globalization on the social, economic, and political reality of cities in advanced economies. Yet, more than two decades of research dedicated to a ‘global city debate’ have left its main issues unresolved. In Unravelling the Global City Debate Jeroen van der Waal argues that this is because scholars have hitherto merely interpreted urban change according to the central theoretical notions in this debate, and neglected to assess their empirical validity. Therefore he unravels the global city debate into the distinct theoretical notions it consists of and puts these to rigorous empirical tests by using data on one of the most urbanized and globalized developed economies in the world: the Netherlands. By doing so, he shows that the standard research practice in the global city debate leaves much to be desired, for it yields both an under- and overestimation of the impact of economic globalization on urban labour markets in contemporary cities in the advanced economies.
Status city : Consumption, identity, and middle class culture in contemporary Bangkok
status, middle class, consumption, identity, urban space, class, social stratification, urban anthropology
Following decades of sweeping social change, a 'new' Thai middle class emerged to become the main agents of the mass demonstrations which have rocked Bangkok for the better part of the past four years. Yet, the academic literature reveals a marked paucity of data on the urban middle class, and on Bangkok's systems of stratification. This dissertation addresses this lacuna with research based on eighteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Bangkok. My investigations suggest that an indigenous spatial-symbolic matrix, encapsulated in centralising and hierarchising mandalic principles, continues to inform both cultural understandings of stratification and the socio-spatial structure of Bangkok. However, traditional status distinctions are now pervaded by the idiom of material wealth introduced by the forces of global markets. Today, life in Bangkok is framed by a hierarchy of affluence which echoes the numerical precision of the premodern sakdina system of status differentiation. Accordingly, I argue that the notion of the 'urban-rural divide' popularly used to describe the conflict obscures a more complex reality in which city and countryside are linked by reciprocal relations within both urban and national systems of status and class. This is clearly discernable in the nature of everyday interclass relations in Bangkok which have been exacerbated by contemporary diminishment and marginalisation of upcountry Thais by the urban middle classes. It is an incendiary dynamic that has been exploited to tremendous effect in the current political power struggle. I demonstrate that the middle class is significantly stratified internally, and explore how middle class culture and identity are drawn in large part from their understandings of status practices of elites. Much of this takes place in the public spaces of the city's scores of shopping malls, which articulate a local vernacular of prestige where hierarchical power relations are inscribed in urban space. Structural constraints and the societal privileging of wealth and connections are constant challenges to middle class aspirations for upward mobility, and the Bangkokian middle class harbours no illusions of Thai society as a meritocracy. This disenchantment has been channelled into a churning politics of resentment with demonstrably explosive potential. Ultimately, however, I argue that middle class discontent will contribute little to reform while the majority of individuals feel their only avenue for social mobility is to negotiate a pre-existing system of stratification which many perceive as unjust.
Clustering, segregation and the 'ghetto' : The spatialisation of Jewish settlement in Manchester and Leeds in the 19th century
ghetto, Jewish, spatial analysis, residential segregation, social segregation, urban segregation
This thesis deals with the urban phenomenon of minority clusters, which are invariably referred to as 'ghettos'. A review of the literature on 'ghettos' suggests that the clustering of identifiable minorities is commonly associated with segregation - be it physical, economic, social or linguistic - although it is the physical segregation which tends to be most frequently noticed. Moreover, one type of segregation, such as physical - is believed to lead to another type, such as economic. Through studying Jewish settlement in Leeds and Manchester in the 19th century, two key questions are addressed in this thesis: The first is whether there is a link between spatial clustering and spatial segregation and the second is whether spatial clustering is linked to other forms of segregation, such as economic, occupational and social. Another two questions arise from the analysis: whether Jewish settlement patterns are distinctive in their own right, and whether it is possible to identify a pattern in the process of formation of Jewish settlement that may have broader implications for immigrant/minority settlement in general. The techniques and theories of 'Space Syntax' are used here to analyse the settlements in question by using detailed street-level mapping of census data on the entire Jewish population of Manchester and Leeds and of all non-Jewish individuals in the key Jewish districts of each of the cities (the key Jewish districts are generally referred to as 'ghettos'). This enables a multi-level socio-spatial comparison to be made: between Jewish families and their immediate neighbours; between Jewish families and the population of the city as a whole; and between the initial and secondary stages of Jewish settlement. In order to investigate questions relating specifically to immigrant settlement, non-Jewish people born outside of Britain are also considered as a separate group, although they are not the main subject. The analysis suggests that spatial clustering does not necessarily lead to spatial segregation and that spatial clustering may also be associated with some types of segregation, such as occupational but not with others, such as economic. It also suggests that Jewish settlement patterns are distinctive and that they are identifiable for a longer period than expected after immigration, when compared with other immigrants. This thesis also sheds light on the process of the formation of Jewish settlement, proposing a pattern whereby after establishing a core of settlement, streets already established become more densely populated, whilst new streets are settled more slowly. Analysis of the key districts of Jewish settlement also suggests that certain areas of cities are especially prone to settlement by the disadvantaged, due to characteristics that make such areas firstly, tend to be economically unsuccessful due to their spatial segregation and secondly, less attractive to those who have the means to move elsewhere and that such areas are not so much defined by their immigrant constituents, but by their long-standing inhabitants that cannot move elsewhere.
After resurgent regions, resurgent cities? : Contesting state geographies in Hungary and England
region, geography, State, urban policy, neoliberalism, governance, spatial analysis
This thesis was motivated by an interest in the phenomenon commonly labelled as ‘new regionalism’ and in how ‘new regionalism’ underwent a change as attention turned to cities and city-regions from around the year 2000. The main objective of this study was to develop a framework for understanding how regions and city-regions have – if at all – ‘resurged’ in Europe as new objects and subjects of policy-making. I examine new (city-)regionalism in view of the general ‘neoliberalization’ of the state and of the related changes in the role of the state as the primary unit of socio-economic regulation, political organization and identity-building. To use a much-recurring term of the body of literature that inspired this study, I approach the actual outcomes of state spatial reorganization processes as the spatial manifestations of “actually existing neoliberalisms” (Brenner and Theodore, 2002). On this basis, my aim was to elaborate a theoretical and conceptual perspective from which the ongoing struggles to (re)define the spatial organization of the state can become better understood and the concrete outcomes of the struggles be better explained.
The invention of the historic city - building the past in East Berlin 1970 - 1990
architecture, urban planning, heritage, heritage status, tenement, neighbourhood, urban renewal, history of urban planning
The idea of a “historic city” is a rather recent phenomenon. As a conceptual framework, it evolved over the course of the 1970s and 1980s from the intellectual foundations of modernist urban design. This is especially well illustrated in East Berlin, where a heterogeneous group of politicians, architects, and scholars called for an urban environment that provides the individual experience of historicity. Their ideas were most prominently infused in a series of showcase projects built during the 1980s. For the celebration of Berlin’s 750th anniversary in 1987, some of the long-despised late-19th-century tenement neighborhoods were remodeled and fitted out with the insignia of historic every-day life. In addition, a number of representative architectural ensembles were built that made use of different historic styles. The invention of the historic city collapsed the memories of different historic periods into a generic notion of “the past.” This process relied on a specific elasticity of the language employed by designers and theorists. Over the course of the 1970s and 1980s, terms such as preservation or reconstruction retained a positive connotation while simultaneously time undergoing a radical change in meaning. In the same way, the quasi-biological conception of the city as a body with a life cycle, where “obsolete” neighborhoods had to be regularly demolished, was gradually suspended. Through both remodeling and new construction, the East German leaders and their collaborators initiated a renaissance of once neglected neighborhoods, which after the German reunification became prime locations for upscale housing and retail. Construction policy before and after the German reunification therefore has to be seen as a continuous development rather than a break. Despite the different political and economic system in the German Democratic Republic, East Berlin design politics during the 1970s and 1980s paralleled the approaches in Western countries, where real and imagined urban history was increasingly commodified and marketed to local elites and tourists. The historic city also became the conceptual background for a widely practiced exegesis of historic residues, through which Berlin’s middle classes claimed social and political legitimacy.
TU Berlin - Technische Universität Berlin
The spatial economy in the urban informal settlement
informal settlement, kampong, poverty, spatial analysis, urban space, economics, spatial economy, slum, colonial city, urban society
In the rapidly urbanizing world, the informal settlement has been forming a significant part of the common urban scene in many cities in the developing countries. It holds a particular role in the city as it houses millions of urban poor who has no access to the public housing. However it does not only offer accommodation but also economic opportunities that enables the inhabitants to survive. The informal settlement displays a very specific and particular mechanism of survival that is significantly characterized by the notion of flexibility in term of production and spatial occupation. This research aims to investigate the local spatial economy or the spatial dynamic of survivability in the informal settlement. It focuses on the notion of space and locations of the process of survival in such settlement by analyzing the way the spaces are organized and negotiated as one of the most important tool of production and the place of production. It analyzes the dynamics by relating it to the notions of the social capital and the life chances in the informal settlement. Moreover in order to offer a deeper understanding of the problem, apart from the looking at the actual and the localized problem, it will also look at the root of the problems by relating it to its past as an element of a colonial city; and analyse the major economic forces that contribute to its creation by relating it with the Dual City theory in order to accentuate the nature of the problem and its position in the metropolitan context. The research employs the case of kampong to illustrate the case of the informal settlement in the city of Jakarta, Indonesia. The result of the research shows that the dynamic of the survivability in the informal settlement is characterized by a multi-tier relationship between the formal and the informal economy. The continuity of its production is related to the wider economic sector; namely the formal sector, that creates demands and economic opportunities for them. It is also strongly bounded with its actual location; dislocation would therefore destroy the local livelihood. The local economic activities are also determined by the flexibility of the local spatial organization and production. These particular characters enable the inhabitants to manoeuvre in order to survive amidst the limited capital and resource. The process of production is highly depended on the intensity social relation that makes the spatial negotiation and the flexible production possible to take place. The local survivability therefore is in the same time very flexible and fragile.
Regionalism in the new globalized economy : Politics of scale and the discourse of regionalism - comparative politics of two Japanese global city-regions
region, regionalism, globalisation, urban policy, political sciences, world city, global city, economics
This study examines the effects of globalization on state restructuring and the status of cities and local governments. I conduct a comparative case study of two Japanese world cities, Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. Existing globalization theories offer only partial explanations that fail to grasp the dynamic aspects of such rescaling. To explore the dynamics of government restructuring, this study investigates the relationship between decentralization, regionalization and globalization, highlighting the role of local leaders who employed political rhetoric in their efforts to rescale the city. This research finds that uneven economic effects of globalization are not the direct cause for the political actions of local leaders for government rescaling. Instead, local leaders pursued regionalism as political strategy, including to improve their ability to gain central government aid and to improve independent local economic viability, depending on the conditions of locally specific intergovernmental relations. Regionalism was a function of competition between city-regions over central government aid rather than globalization. The Japanese central government favored directly Tokyo as its strongest city-region for investment under globalization. In response, the leaders of the disadvantaged region Osaka sought decentralization for autonomy and regionalization for economic viability. The consequence is the combination of decentralization and regionalization under globalization. This process observed in Japan can provide insight as to the effects of globalization on government structure and the importance of local politics in the government rescaling. This theoretical approach to globalization and its effects on government does not contradict existing theories in the literature. Rather, this local strategic interactive approach supplements them by weaving them together. By introducing the strategic actions of local actors to the existing theories, it can reconcile competing theories, such as world cities thesis versus the nested scale theory and state globalization versus new localism.
The magic of the city : Representing places of the dead in the contemporary Western metropolis
urban culture, magic, cemetery, graveyard, memorial, dead
This thesis posits that throughout history, the Western city has been made and understood according to a shared image of the cosmos. It argues that though the contours of this cosmos have changed over time and place, collectively held understandings of the city endure to the present day. Drawing on literary and cultural theory, this way of understanding the city may be conceptualised as "magical", that is incorporating knowledge which is hermeneutic and mythical, as well as empirical. The specific example of places of the dead, understood as cemeteries, memorials and other locations at which the dead are actually or symbolically interred, is used in this thesis to test the notion that that the city may continue to be understood as a reflection of world view. Places of the dead provide an appropriate test case for this task, as their forms and locations have clear associations with temporally and culturally specific understandings of the city. This thesis applies textual analysis and discourse analysis to seven case studies of contemporary places of the dead in order to examine the way in which the magic of the city may operate in one typology of place. It considers the representation of these case studies in a large array of texts, with particular emphasis on fictional, and thus potentially "magical", texts such as novels, television series and architectural drawings, as well as postcards, movies, cartoons, photographs, songs and paintings. The results of the case studies are used to argue not only that the city continues to be understood using a wide variety of ways of knowing, but also that these alternative epistemologies offer insights into contemporary cities which are not gained through the use of conventional methodologies.
In whose interest? A critical approach to Southeast Asia’s urban transport dynamics
transport policy, public transport, transport, infrastructure
During recent decades, urban transport systems in Southeast Asia’s industrialising high growth economies were transformed. The ownership and use of privatelyowned cars and motorcycles grew in all cities, simultaneous to the introduction of new forms of public transportation including rail rapid transit in the larger metropolises. While these cities all experienced dynamic change, the relative rate and direction of the changes to urban transport systems varied greatly as did levels of success. Singapore emerged as a highly efficient transit metropolis whilst Bangkok and other cities gained notoriety as some of the world’s great traffic disasters. Why these differences emerged, particularly given a regional and global context of increasing interaction and exchange of ideas and of capital flows, presents a compelling question largely unanswered by previous research. A review of the general state of knowledge about urban transport worldwide reveals fundamental disagreements over basic questions such as the social value of motorisation, the relative merits of specific modes and technologies, and prescriptions for change. However, there is a general consensus that interest groups or rent-seekers influence urban transport, which can not be understand in solely technical or value-free terms. A literature review focused on Southeast Asian cities finds that in contrast to theoretical perspectives on cities of the industrialised world, there is less acknowledgement of interests and values and more emphasis on instrumental knowledge which can be used to address immediate problems such as rapid growth in motorisation, traffic congestion, and pollution. Questions such as who wins and who loses from changes to urban transport systems are not systematically examined in the existing literature on Southeast Asian cities. In order to address this gap, a case study analysis of three key cities, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and Singapore is undertaken. This analysis utilises policy and planning documents, monographs and academic works, newspapers and archival materials, discussions with key informants, and participant observation, to reveal the significant actors and processes which shape urban transport. The study finds that the presence or absence of actors and complexions of interests in the development of urban land, urban transport equipment, infrastructure construction and operation, and local environmental improvements are linked to specific urban transport outcomes. The findings provide a basis for future research, particularly in cities of the developing world characterised by economic growth, rapid motorisation of urban transport systems, and substantial inequalities of wealth and power.
Managing megacities : A case study of metropolitan regional governance for Dhaka
city politics, megacity, governance, region
Megacities of over 10 million population are a phenomenon not seen before in human history. Among 19 Megacities, 14 are in developing countries and 11 are in Asia. Dhaka represents one of the most extreme examples of rapid Megacity growth having a mere 129,000 at the start of the 20th century, 417,000 by 1950 and more than 12 million in 2001. How can a city be governed that has increased 30 times in size over a person’s lifetime? This thesis makes a case for integrated Metropolitan Regional Governance (MRG) of the Extended Metropolitan Region of Dhaka. The growing problems of Asian Megacities in general and Dhaka in particular are outlined, showing how governance has developed in a sectoral and national way rather than being place oriented. This has fractured and become totally inadequate as a means of solving the deep environmental, social and economic problems of the Megacity. The governance issues of Megacities are traced to the primary problem of the need for integrative functions in strategic and statutory planning as well as development facilitation of the Extended Metropolitan Region (EMR). Ten core principles of Metropolitan Regional Governance are established. Without this, the Megacity’s functions of infrastructure, investment, housing, environmental management, employment etc. are not coordinated or prioritised in ways that lead to ‘common good’ sustainability outcomes. The ten principles are applied to four Asian Megacities – Metro-Manila, Tokyo, Bangkok and Jakarta – to confirm their relevance and application before applying them to Dhaka. The problems of Dhaka are outlined then an analysis of Dhaka governance options is attempted based on the ten core principles of MRG. Four possibilities are analysed and a way forward is suggested combining the options. The proposed structure will build on the present system with greater responsibilities for strategic planning, statutory planning and development facilitation. It will also build up municipalities through a more transparent and engaged local planning process and create partnerships for infrastructure development. The proposed governance structure would use the dynamism of the Megacity to create sustainable solutions and hope for the future of the city. The key to implementation will be finding the political solution to make such painful change, and training professionals in the broad integrative skills of urban sustainability and community engagement that are required for the region as well as the participation and partnership skills at local level.
Civitas et urbs : The idea of the city and the historical imagination of urban governance in Spain, 19th-20th centuries
governance, imaginary, urban history, city politics, urban policy, local authorities
A thesis on the imagination of historical forms of modern governance in Spain in the 19th and 20th centuries. Contents : 1. The city and the historical imagination 2. From the ancient to the modern city 3. The city and the state 4. The regulation of the city 5. The municipal autonomy of the modern city 6. The city as historical representation 7. From the modern to the ancient city Appendix I : The contents of municipal ordinances Appendix II : Figures
Henri Lefebvre and the concrete research of space : Urban theory, empirical studies, architecture practice
Lefebvre Henri, urban space, spatial planning, architecture, urban planning, habitation
This dissertation discusses the mainly unpublished empirical, or "concrete", studies of urban space by Henri Lefebvre (1901 - 1991) and demonstrates that Lefebvre's theory of production of space cannot be understood without taking these studies into account. Based on archival research and interviews with former collaborators of Lefebvre, this dissertation allows for a re-reading of the theory of production of space that demonstrates its relevance for today's urban research and design practice in architecture and urbanism. While Lefebvre's work, since its rediscovery in the 1990s, has contributed to the theoretical renewal of sociology and geography, its significance for empirical analysis and design disciplines has been hardly recognized. This dissertation fills this gap by showing that the crucial sources of the main questions, methods and arguments of the theory of production of space were Lefebvre's engagements in empirical studies on the everyday practices of habitation in the 1960s and 1970s in France and his analyses of suburban housing and collective estates. This allows situating the key concepts of Lefebvre's theory of space within the political, economic, intellectual, urbanistic, and architectural transitions of post-war France.
Urban metamorphosis and change in Central Asian cities after the Arab invasions
urban history, Islamic city, urbanisation, urban form, rabad
This work is a study in urban history, in particular, one that examines a crucial period in the rise and development of large cities and metropolises in the region of Sogdiana within Central Asia, between the seventh and tenth centuries. The primary focus of inquiry is to show the effects of inter-relationships between social change, intense urbanization and religious conversions that occurred within Sogdiana at this time. All of these processes were initiated as a result of the Arab invasions between 625 and 750 A.D. Sogdia or Sogdiana, along with the regions of Bactria and Khwarazm, were incorporated into the Islamic world through the process of conquest that followed these invasions, but once resistance was extinguished and Islam widely accepted among the populace, these regions became among the most vital centers of urban life in the Islamic world. Sogdiana, among these three regions, witnessed the rise, change and unprecedented development of many large metropolises that were distinct in several ways from the cities in other parts of the Islamic world. Traditional cities in the Islamic world further west and south of Central Asia had a dense structure within an encircling wall, and eventually the residential areas were found to extend beyond the wall, only themselves to be eventually protected by another wall. However, in Central Asia yet another further stage of development took place. Here the main administrative functions and markets moved out into this outer residential area and abandoned the central core. This outer area of the city (the rabad) became the locus of political and commercial activity. In due course the process repeated itself - the residential areas overflowing beyond the walls of the rabad, only themselves to be surrounded by a third outer wall. In this way the Central Asian city developed into a distinct type, markedly different from cities further west and south.
A comprehensive approach to the study of the housing sector in Iraq with special reference to needs, standards, inputs, density and costs as factors in the analysis of housing problems in Baghdad
housing, urban growth, urban density, urban planning, housing policy
Iraq has a stock of buildings, particularly dwellings, many of which are neither physically fit nor capable of meeting the economic and social needs of today. Many people, particularly in the cities, live in overcrowded and insanitary conditions. Many dwellings are badly located and mixed with derelict land. Population is expected to grow and even without any rise in standards, this would greatly increase the need for building and works of all kinds. At the macro level the main cause of the housing problem must be attributed to the process of migration and urbanization, which have contributed to the creation of slums and squatter settlements. At the policy level, the existing machinery of planning is scarcely adequate. Housing has conventionally received only scant attention in national development plans and this central neglect is mirrored by a similar failure at the municipal level. At the micro level, with which this study has primarily been concerned, it must be emphasised that housing is not simply an economic commodity but has deep social and political as well as environmental implications. The increasing gap between incomes and housing costs has to be contained and this can only be done by operating on a number of fronts simultaneously. The purpose of this study is to examine the housing sector in Iraq with special reference to the city of Baghdad-from the point of view that housing is not only a shelter which provides protection from the elements but a synthesis in which social, economic, physical and political forces interact. The study also develops an argument that housing density is not simply another planning index to be used with others in the formulation of town plans but a crucial variable which once fixed will have far reaching effects not only to the inhabitants of the housing areas but also to the social, economic and physical environment of the urban structure as a whole. The study adopts two related approaches. The first approach is a general survey of the causes and effects of housing problems and the interrelationships of housing aspects. Then, having identified particular topics of concern, the study examines some of these, such as housing needs, standards, housing inputs, i. e. land, finance building materials, labour and the construction industry, housing densities and costs relationships, in some detail. The study stresses the need to establish principles and processes of comprehensive analysis stems from the importance of housing as a community problem area, since housing is a major land use and its form reflects and influences, in a critical way, the pattern of urban experience and activity. Throughout, the aim has not been to produce a model or concrete figures so much as to analyse present trends and suggest some likely future developments in the hope that, with modification and. improvement, this study could act as a basis for further detailed study of the housing sector and assist in the formulation of long - term housing programme.
Urbanisation in Qatar : A study of the residential and commercial land development in Doha city, 1970-1997
urban growth, urbanisation, urban development, land, land use
The state of Qatar provides an interesting illustration of a nation that has recently witnessed spectacular urban development worthy of investigation. Indeed, during the past three decades huge oil revenues have enabled the country to embark on unprecedented national development. The main thrust of this research study is urbanisation and urban development in Qatar and the impact this phenomenon has had on the urban growth of its capital city, Doha. This study sets out to examine a set of issues caused by the urbanisation process within the framework of urban growth and land use development. The present study examines urbanisation and its impact on the city development in the Arab Gulf states (GCC) in general and in Qatar in particular. The main objective of the study has been to trace the influence these changes have had on the general growth of the city and the land uses particularly the residential and commercial land development with particular emphasis on the political and socio-economic factors which form the main thrust of this research. In addition, the examination of the emerging urbanisation phenomenon has aimed to establish the necessary background before dealing with the topic at the scale of the capital city. Following these objectives, the study has adopted a combined approach, which can be described as historical and empirical. The historical setting provides the changing nature of urbanisation in the Gulf States (GCC) and Qatar by establishing the evolution of this phenomenon until the present time. This is clearly done through defining the evolutionary periods reflecting the urban development stages, which included two distinctive phases : the traditional (pre-oil period) and modern/contemporary periods. The empirical/analytical part focuses especially on the city of Doha with respect to its recent urban development, socio-economic characteristics and the changing land use patterns of which the residential and commercial development represents one of the most rapidly growing and changing land use types that took place in a relatively short period (1970-1997). Clearly, the empirical research begins by investigating the socio-economic and physical features of the city. The analysis points out the enormous scale of development that occurred in the city benefiting largely from massive urban development plans engendered by the remarkable growth of the country's oil economy. Subsequently, the research separately examines additional dimensions pertinent to the residential and commercial land development. The findings show to what extent the growth of the city has influenced the emerging patterns of land use that were drastically changed. Also, the findings always reveal the existence of a strong correlation between the overall economic performance of the country and the changing residential and commercial uses. Indeed, the economic and social transformations of Qatar have resulted in new emerging patterns that were utterly unknown before the advent of oil. The thesis presents this research topic in three main parts. The first consists of two chapters, which introduce the methodology and approaches adopted by the study and the theoretical aspects relevant to urbanisation, urban development and urban internal structure along with definitions and concepts as well as previous studies done for Qatar. The second part includes three chapters, which deal with urbanisation in the GCC and Qatar. Chapter three provides an historical perspective of urbanisation and urban development pertaining to the Arab Gulf States. Chapter four presents an in-depth analysis of urbanisation and urban development in Qatar. This is followed by another chapter, which exclusively deals with the overall characteristics of population in Qatar. Part three of the thesis is entirely concerned with the city of Doha. It is divided into five chapters. Chapter six is concerned with the evolution and development of Doha; its changing demographic aspects and the factors affecting the population structure of the city are examined in chapter seven. The remaining three chapters of this part (8,9 & 10) deal with the city's land use development in general and with the residential and the commercial land development in particular. For this purpose, chapter eight investigates the overall characteristics relevant to land use in the city. The central aim is to establish an objective understanding of the evolution of land uses, the major factors influencing their development and the present distribution patterns over the 1980-1997 period. The latter analytical stage involves examining the emerging patterns of the residential land development in an attempt to explore the changing patterns and the housing characteristics. In the third analytical phase, the analysis proceeds to consider the changing patterns of the commercial development within the city. A final summary of the findings, conclusion of the study and suggestions for future research are provided in chapter eleven.
Tradition, continuity and change in the physical environment : The Arab-Muslim city
architecture, urban form, built environment, Islamic city, Arab city, urban change
Issues within the context of the present cannot be isolated from their spatial or temporal context. Neither the past (tradition) nor the future (modern technology) can provide solutions to the problems of the present. Their value lies in the fact that they represent "resources" which broaden our choices and inform us as to how similar issues were or could be dealt with in different times and places. However, a society's past and the way that society conceives of its past provides modes of continuity which give the present its authenticity. If we are to deal with the issues of the present and hope for an authentic future, the authority of the past or tradition cannot be blindly accepted though its authenticity and relevance to the present must be recognized. The problem addressed here is that of a present physical environment in the Arab-Muslim city which is totally different from the traditional one. As a result of this difference, a sense of discontinuity and alienation has developed among the inhabitants of these cities. The purpose of this study is to understand how this process came about and how a sense of continuity with the past can be reestablished. To achieve this purpose four main issues are addressed here : (1) the origin and process of formation of the traditional physical environment; (2) the disparity between the traditional and the contemporary environment; (3) the origins of the disparity; and (4) the possible notions which might be suggested by way of reestablishing a sense of continuity between the past and the present. The legal system is used as a means of analysis in this study. This has helped us to see the physical environment within its socio-cultural context, by informing us about the ideological or structural level of the society and by pointing out accepted social norms and conventions and the mechanism of their social effectiveness. The law has helped us to point out the differences between the traditional and the contemporary process. In the traditional city, the process relied on rules of conduct or social conventions which proscribed certain actions on the part of the inhabitants. In the contemporary city, the rules are physical and prescriptive in nature. They prescribe in physical terms not only what is to be done but also how it is to be implemented. Implied within the traditional process is a reciprocal and possibilist relationship between form and use while the contemporary process advocates a determinist approach to the relationship of form and use. Several factors are believed to have worked in favor of the shift from the traditional process to the contemporary one in the Arab-Muslim city. Important among these are: the existence of certain implied ideologies; changes in the scale of development, power and technology; and problems within the field of architecture and urbanism and their relationship to the Arab-Muslim context. Only by being aware of these processes and factors can we conceive of an appropriate approach to reestablish a sense of continuity with the past that stems from the needs of the present and aspirations for the future.
Urban transportation problems in the Muscat area, Sultanate of Oman
public transport, urban networks, urban transport, parking, urban traffic, transport policy
The economy of Oman, was traditional in character before the development of the oil sector which set in motion the present structural transformation. Economic prosperity gave the opportunity to the public to possess their own private means of transport, thus resulting in a rapid increase in the number of vehicles in the country, particularly in the Muscat Area the capital city of the country. Free essential services such as health and education, and no taxes and duties have led to high disposable household income. Therefore, Muscat is witnessing rapid and successive land-use changes, expansion of the urban area and multi-car owning households. In the last two decades the population of Muscat increased considerably. This population growth was accompanied by a substantial expansion of Muscat's boundaries to provide homes, work places and other facilities. The topographical nature of the area limited the flat land available for housing, shops, schools, and other elements of the infrastructure. The resulting competition for space had as one of its consequences that insufficient land was allocated for car parking in the major activity centres, and the result was an acute shortage of parking spaces in these areas. The expansion of the Muscat Area was accompanied by changes in the employment and residential pattern. This resulted in a significant increase in number of vehicles, trips and commuting, and so the need for effective transport services and facilities became greater than ever before. The topographical features made it more difficult to provide sufficient transportation facilities. Development planning neglected the importance of arranging urban activities in such a way that the need for vehicle movements would be greatly reduced. It also resulted in low density population areas with street patterns mostly not designed for public transport services. This study sets out to discuss the problems of urban transportation in the Muscat Area and seeks to answer the following questions: What are the trip characteristics? How far do the natural topographical features inhibit the development of the Muscat road network? How does the existing network serve the needs of the area? How far can it cope with the traffic movement? Will the proposed major roads solve the present problems of traffic congestion and alleviate future ones? What are the main causes for traffic accidents? To what extent are car parking facilities adequate at the major activity centres? What is the role of Oman National Transport Company buses within the public transport system? The Muscat Area faces problems of traffic congestion and accidents, high demand on parking facilities and inadequate public transport. The situation is liable to deteriorate sharply in the next few years, unless effective action is taken. There is a need for a study that can provide immediate practical solutions and propose guidelines for future policy to ensure that the transport system is expanded and improved to cope with the needs arising from future growth. This study identifies factors contributing to the existing traffic problems with the intention of providing useful information which can help traffic planners and decision makers in understanding the nature of the problems, and finding solutions and guidelines for future policy. As far as methodology is concerned, a literature review is supported by fieldwork involving questionnaires and contacts with relevant authorities. Four types of surveys were conducted in order to collect information that can identify some of the factors that are contributory to the present problems. On the basis of the analysis of the data collected, urban transport problems are identified and discussed together with some possible solutions and recommendations.
Segregation for aggregation? The pattern and logic of spatial segregation practices of young affluent heads of households in the post-war city of Beirut
residential segregation, urban segregation, social segregation, social mix, urban space, neighbourhood
This thesis describes, conceptualizes and explains the segregated spatiality of everyday life of young affluent heads of households in post-war Beirut, Lebanon. It tracks how young affluent heads of households have come to produce the living spaces of their everyday life in a spatially segregated way that rejects the local and is stretched out over the totality of the city. Its main objectives are to contribute to the literature on spatial segregation by (1) conceptualizing segregation in its residential and non-residential manifestations as actively and passively practiced by a certain profile of affluent individuals and (2) explaining the logic behind this type of segregation from the point of view of affluent individuals that are actively pursuing segregation. This research has utilized an ethnographic research approach that started from observing and understanding the motivations of individuals who are actively pursuing segregation. Based mainly on a qualitative research methodology, this research has utilized ethnographic field notes, qualitative interviews and participant observation with young affluent heads of households. The findings of this qualitative research have been supported by questionnaires that were distributed in five elite childcare nurseries in Beirut in which young affluent heads of households were outcropped. A total of 118 questionnaires were collected. The four core chapters of this thesis discuss the relationship of affluence to the local place around the home, to places of play, to non--places and to places of passage in post war Beirut. They conceptualize the spatiality of affluence in Beirut and propose the concept of the layer as one that captures the pattern of this spatiality and unlocks its logic. This thesis concludes by raising questions related to the changing role of neighbourhoods in Beirut and the changing nature of its urban condition. Indeed, to affluent individuals in Beirut the neighbourhood has become a space with which they avoid getting in contact, while, paradoxically, the city is perceived as a small neighbourly space where everyone knows everyone else.
Revisiting "slums", revealing responses : Urban upgrading in tenant-dominated inner-city settlements, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
slum, slum upgrading, tenant, inhabitants, urban space, housing, inner city, gentrification, activist network
About eighty percent of Addis Ababa’s settlements are considered “slum”. The study examines the phenomenon of urban upgrading in tenant-dominated non-planned inner-city settlements of the city. It focuses on tenants’ responses and spatial transformations. The phenomenon is investigated through the analysis of case studies located in three localities. The data are primarily collected through qualitative techniques supplemented by a quantitative technique. The investigation is carried out from the perspective in which upgrading is viewed as a process embedded in a dynamic context, rather than a decontextualised static project. Based on the case studies analytical generalizations are made.