Reimagining incremental housing: city-making within and beyond the state

Incremental housing drives urbanization worldwide, and is recognized as the basis for socially relevant solutions to housing shortages in the global South. However, scholarship on incremental housing continues to focus largely on tenure, building materials and housing conditions at a local level, while incremental housing is embedded in – and dependent on – larger urban and regional systems and flows. We argue that a further reconceptualization of incremental housing is needed that acknowledges the embeddedness of local incremental building practices within broader industries, markets and practices of city-making. Starting from this observation, we suggest an extended framework for understanding the city-wide industries and flows around incremental housing, in relation to five dimensions: 1) land, 2) finance, 3) infrastructure, 4) building materials and 5) labour. Mapping these dynamics is necessary to understand fundamental questions of where, how and why initiatives aimed at improving or developing incremental housing advance or get stuck.

Urban mobility is a very fragile factor for urban areas in the context of ensuring sustainability and resilience and its relational role between urban systems. Urban mobility is the most vital and essential component of urban life and urban systems. However, it is also a vulnerable system at the same level. Just as the mortar connects the bricks to form the building, it is both a connector of urban functions and an urban function in its own right. A problem in the mortar used or in the building will threaten human life. Just as a disruption in the urban mobility system can cause severe urban and social life problems. In addition, the sudden natural disasters that have increased with climate change, especially recently, will add to the chaos experienced. Even in such sudden situations, the absence of catastrophic disturbances in the system depends on the fact that the system is equipped with alternatives that will absorb the negative, is reliable and resilient, can return to its usual order as soon as possible and can be managed correctly. The resilient structure that will be formed by combining all these factors and other necessary components; is expressed as “resilient urban mobility”. The current state of this structure, on the other hand, shows the level of resilient urban mobility. This study it is aimed to understand the present concept of “resilient urban mobility” and to lay a theoretical basis for future studies for researchers on this subject. In the study also, the measurement and application draft framework developed to create resilient urban mobility in Turkish cities is proposed for the first time.

Guest Editorial: Special Issue on “Sustainable urban energy systems – Governance and citizen involvement”

Public or private? The role of the state and civil society in health and health inequalities across nations

By 2022, 42.39% of the sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA) population was living in urban areas. This urbanization correlates with increasing poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, environmental pollution, and the prevalence of informal settlements. These challenges worsened urban food insecurity during the COVID‐19 pandemic in SSA cities. This review analyzed the role of urban farming system as a pivotal means to enhance urban food security, incorporating socioeconomic integration and environmental sustainability. The analysis is grounded in a systematic review using specific keywords, evaluating 46 articles and institutional reports related to the subject. The results revealed that 3.62% of SSA countries have implemented national urban governance and policies with minimal focus on urban farming. Rapid urbanization, urban population growth, and climate change are key factors contributing to cities' vulnerabilities to food insecurity in SSA. Predominantly characterized by horticultural practice, urban farming enhances the food supply system, nutritious security, jobs and income generation, reduces transportation costs, promotes the consumption of fresh food, and mitigates food loss in cities. Despite its importance, urban farming in SSA encounters several challenges: (i) urbanization governance and policy, (ii) knowledge and technology in urban farming, (iii) access to land and water, (iv) financing and capacity building for urban farming, and (v) environmental pollution. SSA countries need a coordinated mix of urbanization policies and technological advancements to integrate innovative urban farming methods, bolstering cities’ resilience to food insecurity. Implementing these measures could advance the achievement of sustainable development goals 2 and 11 in SSA cities.

Cities never function in isolation but as nodes in overarching systems characterised by flows of goods, people, and information. To fully understand the evolution of cities, a relational approach is needed, which investigates cities in relation to other cities and urban regions. While a significant part of urban system research has focused on aspects such as the concentration of populations and economic activities, the understanding of the actual networks connecting cities and their impact is still limited. However, the required data is notoriously difficult to obtain. This dissertation contributes to knowledge on the relationship between cities in the Netherlands by exploiting – in novel ways – three data sources: web pages mentioning cities, local historical newspapers, and administrative registers. After providing an overview of the systems of cities literature, the toponym co-occurrences method is explored. This method aims at identifying patterns of relations between cities in a systematic way by looking at the co-mentions of cities in text documents (here in web pages). Using text as data appeared as a great direction for studying urban systems, and elements from this first exploration are used in the next section of the thesis where the past dynamics of the Dutch urban system is reconstructed using information flows retrieved from digitised historical newspapers. Finally in a last empirical part, the potential of information from individual-level registers about professional and residential trajectories for measuring relations between places at multiple spatial scales is investigated. This measure is then used to reveal the nested hierarchy of functional regions in the Netherlands.

Cities never function in isolation but as nodes in overarching systems characterised by flows of goods, people, and information. To fully understand the evolution of cities, a relational approach is needed, which investigates cities in relation to other cities and urban regions. While a significant part of urban system research has focused on aspects such as the concentration of populations and economic activities, the understanding of the actual networks connecting cities and their impact is still limited. However, the required data is notoriously difficult to obtain. This dissertation contributes to knowledge on the relationship between cities in the Netherlands by exploiting – in novel ways – three data sources: web pages mentioning cities, local historical newspapers, and administrative registers. After providing an overview of the systems of cities literature, the toponym co-occurrences method is explored. This method aims at identifying patterns of relations between cities in a systematic way by looking at the co-mentions of cities in text documents (here in web pages). Using text as data appeared as a great direction for studying urban systems, and elements from this first exploration are used in the next section of the thesis where the past dynamics of the Dutch urban system is reconstructed using information flows retrieved from digitised historical newspapers. Finally in a last empirical part, the potential of information from individual-level registers about professional and residential trajectories for measuring relations between places at multiple spatial scales is investigated. This measure is then used to reveal the nested hierarchy of functional regions in the Netherlands.

Cities never function in isolation but as nodes in overarching systems characterised by flows of goods, people, and information. To fully understand the evolution of cities, a relational approach is needed, which investigates cities in relation to other cities and urban regions. While a significant part of urban system research has focused on aspects such as the concentration of populations and economic activities, the understanding of the actual networks connecting cities and their impact is still limited. However, the required data is notoriously difficult to obtain. This dissertation contributes to knowledge on the relationship between cities in the Netherlands by exploiting – in novel ways – three data sources: web pages mentioning cities, local historical newspapers, and administrative registers. After providing an overview of the systems of cities literature, the toponym co-occurrences method is explored. This method aims at identifying patterns of relations between cities in a systematic way by looking at the co-mentions of cities in text documents (here in web pages). Using text as data appeared as a great direction for studying urban systems, and elements from this first exploration are used in the next section of the thesis where the past dynamics of the Dutch urban system is reconstructed using information flows retrieved from digitised historical newspapers. Finally in a last empirical part, the potential of information from individual-level registers about professional and residential trajectories for measuring relations between places at multiple spatial scales is investigated. This measure is then used to reveal the nested hierarchy of functional regions in the Netherlands.

This article explores the interactions between the French cities from a multi-dimensional and multi-scale approach. Most of the time, these relations are analyzed in a segmented way, focusing solely on one dimension among a multifaceted reality. To take into account the great diversity of exchanges, we simultaneously consider several types of inter-city links, reflecting individual mobility, economic relations and scientific partnerships, on which we apply flows selection methods and a scoring approach. These methods also allow distinguishing several interdependent scales of territorial dynamics: first, twenty six local urban systems are identified. Comparisons between these systems are conducted according to their more or less polarized organization and to the nature of the flows within these systems. On the other hand, the horizontal relations between regional urban centers are analyzed taking into account the range and diversity of interactions and also according to the way local and regional urban systems connect to each other. Finally, relations with Paris are highlighted depending on the specialization of these links and the size of the cities involved.

The involvement of civil society in state-building is a kind of starting point for introducing innovations and active state-building. The novelty of this study lies in its comprehensive examination of the interplay between the state and civil society within the state-building process, particularly in the context of contemporary global challenges. This study shows how technological advancements and socio-political dynamics shape and influence state-building efforts. The article aims to examine the specific interactions between civil society and the state, identify the main directions of influence of globalization, information technology, political, economic, and socio-cultural factors on state-building, and suggest practical recommendations that can enhance state-building processes.

The present-day Ruhr region is characterized by a general south-north (regional) divide in terms of urban and social structures. The chapter tries to show that the multi-phase nineteenth and early twentieth century industrialization has caused different urban systems of (dis)organized complexity; that the multi-phase process of post-war de-industrialization has been disrupting the urban system on different scales; that, within the region, different urban systems came into being and were changed by the decisions/interests of influential groups in various alliances; that two multi-phase periods of immigration contributed to these different urban systems; and that current planning approaches are increasingly adjusting themselves to the forms of urban complexity.

This chapter on urban water in large population centres like Halle/Saale and Leipzig (Germany) focuses on the source, distribution and transport behaviour of xenobiotics as indicator substances for anthropogenic impacts on urban water systems. The xenobiotics reported here are micropollutants including pharmaceuticals, personal care products (collectively known as PPCPs) and industrial chemicals, which show low concentrations in urban waters. Such chemicals can be endocrine disrupters or are otherwise eco-toxic. The concepts presented herein required a new methodology for assessing the impact of human activities on the urban water system and processes in urban watersheds. To this end, we used different approaches in relation to the hydrogeological and hydrodynamic settings of the cities of Halle and Leipzig. For the Halle urban area, a conceptual flow and transport model was developed based on interaction between the river Saale and groundwater, and mass fluxes were computed, based on water balance calculations. For Leipzig, as a first approach, we established a monitoring program that involved various urban land use types and investigated their influence on the urban water system. Multivariate statistics and integral pumping tests were applied to account for the spatially highly heterogeneous conditions and time-varying concentrations. At both sites, we demonstrated the use of indicators consisting of physico-chemical parameters, ions, isotopes and compound-specific patterns of xenobiotics. The chosen indicators of pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, redox conditions, nitrate, sulphate, chloride, boron, the isotopes of hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, sulphur and boron, as well as bisphenol A, carbamazepine, technical 4-nonylphenol (t-nonylphenol), galaxolide, tonalide, and gadolinium, helped to balance urban substance fluxes and assess urban effects on surface water quality. From our current quantification, it is clear that predicting contaminant behaviour in urban areas demands a detailed process understanding which cannot be derived from laboratory experiments or phenomenological analyses at the catchment scale. Through an installation of measuring equipment at the interfaces between the unsaturated and saturated zone as well as between ground- and surface water, in situ contaminant transport and fate can be quantified from the cm- up to the m-range.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that unsustainable revenues in municipalities are short term and may have an adverse effect on urban systems. Focusing on stable financial resources can reduce such adverse effects. According to the legal obligations of municipalities in the creation of sustainable revenue, developing tourism-based activities in municipalities can play a significant role in providing a sustainable income. Design/methodology/approach This study aims to assess the positive effects of economic opportunities related to tourism for the municipalities in Iran’s large-scale cities and to identify the hidden opportunities of tourism. Also, from interviews and analysis of themes based on the situation, task, action, result model, tourism opportunities have been extracted and classified. Findings As a result of this research, hidden income-generating opportunities of urban tourism have been identified for municipalities, including those depending on situation, tasks, actions and results. For each of these categories, strategies for the realization of tourism opportunities are presented. Tourism’s hidden opportunities include those relating to organizational aspects, tourism planning, tourism diplomacy, handicrafts, health tourism, event tourism and urban tourism marketing. Originality/value By taking advantage of these opportunities, income generation, employment and urban management will be improved in the municipalities.

The paper presents the ongoing results of a design research carried out at the School ofArchitectureandDesign” EduardoVittoria”of Ascoli Piceno(SAAD)of the university of Camerino. Thespecificobjectiveoftheresearchistodevelopaninnovativeandreplicabledesign methodology, and to experiment new design strategies devoted to the sustainable, compatible and innovative-construction after natural disasters in rural areas and low-density urban systems. The research is based on a “local-to-global” approach: it refers to Italy as a case study but it aims to achieve general results applicable in different geographical contexts. Thespecificcasestudyrelatestotheearthquakethatin2016/2017affectedasignificant area of Central Italy and that strongly hit a large part of the so called “Italian village system”, i.e. a peculiar environmental and productive urban system that is still now in real emergency. As in most of the international reconstruction experiences, this reconstruction will certainly require along process which,still today,is full of unknowns. The massive damage caused by this disastrous event, the constraints imposed by regulations and the need for and adaptation of the buildings stock to the current housing standards, exclude the possibility of applying design strategies focused on a “where it was/as it was” model. This awareness, which increases the uncertainty about the future of the ”earthquake” communities, requires an innovative approach in relation to apparently incompatible aspects: the preservation of the identity of lost places and the upgrade of building performance often explicitly required by the population and however connected to a new housing demand. In relation to worldwide territories with a high level of disaster risk, this scenario can nowadays be considered a global issue which concerns both cultural and technical aspects. The design methodology pursued is based on a scientific approach to re-construction that focuses on a “systemic” and “design to build” approach that concerns also productive and technological aspects in relation to purposes of low-cost performance, constructive simplicity, cost-effectiveness of the interventions. This approach aims also at the introduction of the lightweight building system in contexts of traditional and massive construction, according to an idea of a construction site as an “assembly point” of prefabricated parts, light and modular, with a controlled life-cycle.

Survey data on types and levels of trust in Russian society show that Russia has not achieved the situation typically found in modernized societies. Trust in institutions, and especially in the state, is low, and civil society involvement is low. This situation has been influenced by the fact that development in Russia was typically imposed from above, and did not grow organically out of social relations within the general population.