Border City Research Articles

Self-governing from below: Kurdish refugees on the periphery of European societies

ABSTRACT This study looks at how ordinary Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers set up self-governing formations to organise their life in border cities on the periphery of European societies. The Kurdish immigrants organise themselves into social communities that serve as autonomous social spaces in which they form and exercise self-governance, navigate through bureaucratic and structural obstacles, and regulate their cultural and social affairs. In this paper, I argue that contextual Kurdish identities and the immigrants’ capacity to respond are the fundamental components of four different models of immigrant self-governing establishments. Ideological agendas, kinship relationships, and shared spatial origins are significant contextual elements of collective identities that they use to construct three models of self-governance, whereas their responses to common concerns drive them to form a fate-based model of self-governance. Based on ethnographic field research and 76 in-depth interviews with Kurdish refugees and asylum seekers in bordering cities in Northern, Southern, and Western Europe, the article illuminates four self-governing models of ordinary Kurdish immigrants, their various patterns and identities, as well as internal dynamics. It sheds light on how these self-governing models of the marginalised Kurdish immigrants arise from below to produce and regulate social life without interference from state authorities.

Regional Coordinated Development in the Megacity Regions: Spatial Pattern and Driving Forces of the Guangzhou-Foshan Cross-Border Area in China

With globalization and informatization, cross-border areas have become increasingly critical interactive spaces, experiencing rapid development and extensive changes in residents’ cross-border travel, constantly changing the spatial patterns of neighboring cities. However, existing studies lack in-depth discussions of the new spatiotemporal characteristics of human activities, spatial pattern evolution, and the driving factors behind them. Therefore, taking the Guangzhou-Foshan metropolitan area as a case, this paper focus on the analysis of the cross-city travel of residents in these border areas in 2019, and investigated the evolution of spatial patterns and the driving forces in the border area during 1985–2020. We found that, instead of the previous one-way attraction pattern caused by the spread of residence, a large number of cross-city trips for leisure and entertainment purposes emerged, and the one-way unbalanced flow, “Foshan to Guangzhou”, changed to two-way circulation. We also explore the scenario in which the travel behavior of urban dwellers in these two cities considerably interacts with the effect of urban structure to produce the observed mobility patterns. Second, we determined the spatial pattern of the Guangzhou-Foshan region from 1985 to 2020 to be on of spreading expansion, with Liwan District as the central core, connecting to several sub-centers. The cross-border area in the Guangzhou-Foshan region represented a compact, extremely high degree of integration and a well-matched functional space. Third, driven by the forces stemming from the planning guidelines and the improving transportation network construction in the border area, the growth points of the two cities continued to expand toward the borderline regarding integrated development, while the growth axis was mainly in the direction of the city border, urban arterial roads, and subway lines. We concluded with development suggestions for increasing travel interactions and optimizing spatial patterns to build a common vision of the whole Guangzhou-Foshan pattern of integration.

The U.S.‐Mexico border as a model for social‐cultural theory: A brief discussion

AbstractThe US–Mexico border has influenced social‐cultural theory by drawing attention to hybrids that stand apart from supposedly cohesive wholes. This point, albeit important, does not exhaust the lessons to be learned from the US–Mexico border region. It also displays highly unequal power relations. Adjacent, interactive, but profoundly asymmetrical border city pairs are key sites for analyzing unequal relationships between the so‐called global South and global North. This social relationality of apparently contrastive endpoints, and the cultural frameworks and practices that mediate the connections, is yet another lesson from the US–Mexico border. Culture occurs in a matrix of often highly unequal social relationships. Culture is made and reproduced at relational meeting points between differentiated positionalities, even when there is an apparently exclusionary border in between.

Построение самопроверяемых цифровых устройств на основе модифицированных кодов Хэмминга с контролем самодвойственности вычисляемых функций

The article presents a methodology for optimizing transport costs with the use of modeling in PTV Visum software package. Based on the analysis of transport problems in large urban agglomerations, a quality criterion was chosen for the assessment of passenger transport performance. An approach has been proposed to introduce transport hub systems with the purpose to minimize time spending on transfer, in particular, and on trip by public transport in a whole. This optimization method for transport spending represents an algorithm of 3 key blocks: the formation of transport model for being studied agglomeration, the placement conditions and the choice of transport hub locations. The model is formed on the base of 4-step approach, the trips distribution in a network is based on entropy approach which is considered in the second section in more details. The placement conditions go from an idea to minimize time total spending on moving, the number of hubs being introduced is limited by their construction financing. The approach application is demonstrated on the example of northwestern urban agglomeration Sertolovo-Osinovaya Roshcha-Pargolovo which represents being actively built-up residential districts on St. Petersburg city border. The specificities of its transport network, including also hubs and highways with complicated traffic, are determined. Based on open sources and statistical data, a transport model was developed, its calibration was pursued. 3 options for placing transport hubs on network of the agglomeration are presented. As a result of the research, the analysis for the options of transport hub placements is presented and the most promising option from the view of purpose meaning achievement for hub placement in being considered agglomeration is proposed.

Формирование системы транспортно-пересадочных узлов в городской агломерации

The article presents a methodology for optimizing transport costs with the use of modeling in PTV Visum software package. Based on the analysis of transport problems in large urban agglomerations, a quality criterion was chosen for the assessment of passenger transport performance. An approach has been proposed to introduce transport hub systems with the purpose to minimize time spending on transfer, in particular, and on trip by public transport in a whole. This optimization method for transport spending represents an algorithm of 3 key blocks: the formation of transport model for being studied agglomeration, the placement conditions and the choice of transport hub locations. The model is formed on the base of 4-step approach, the trips distribution in a network is based on entropy approach which is considered in the second section in more details. The placement conditions go from an idea to minimize time total spending on moving, the number of hubs being introduced is limited by their construction financing.
 The approach application is demonstrated on the example of northwestern urban agglomeration Sertolovo-Osinovaya Roshcha-Pargolovo which represents being actively built-up residential districts on St. Petersburg city border. The specificities of its transport network, including also hubs and highways with complicated traffic, are determined. Based on open sources and statistical data, a transport model was developed, its calibration was pursued. 3 options for placing transport hubs on network of the agglomeration are presented. As a result of the research, the analysis for the options of transport hub placements is presented and the most promising option from the view of purpose meaning achievement for hub placement in being considered agglomeration is proposed.

Translocal networked public spheres: Spatial arrangements of metropolitan Twitter

In this study, we theoretically conceptualize and empirically investigate translocal spatial arrangements of networked public spheres on social media. In digital communication networks, actors easily connect with others globally, crossing the borders of cities, nations and languages. However, the spatial notions evoked in public sphere research to date remain largely territorial. We propose a theoretical framework drawing on Löw’s sociology of space, which highlights the relational and translocal nature of spatial arrangements. In a case study of the translocal interaction network of Berlin Twitter users, we demonstrate how this framework can be leveraged empirically using network analysis. Despite the overall network of Berlin’s Twittersphere spanning the whole world, we find territorialized as well as deterritorialized translocal communities. This points to the simultaneity of territorial and networked spatial logics in digital public spheres.

China’s Supply Chain During COVID-19: Disruption and Mitigation

COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is a contagious virus that damages the respiratory system and has been spread worldwide from the end of 2019 until present. Most countries have implemented border closures, city closures, and quarantine to stop the spread of the virus, which led to mobility restrictions. China, being one of the most critical roles in the global supply chain, has faced stress from product supply, inefficient logistics and transportation, and financial crises on firms. Thus, this paper suggests three solutions to resolve China's supply chain disruption: unclog the foreign logistics system, strengthen foreign cooperation, and ensure financial security. In this way, China's supply chain can regain its robustness and resilience, which benefits the global supply chain and the global economy as a whole.

Rapid Shift from SARS-CoV-2 Delta to Omicron Sub-Variants within a Dynamic Southern U.S. Borderplex

COVID-19, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), remains an ongoing global health challenge. This study analyzed 3641 SARS-CoV-2 positive samples from the El Paso, Texas, community and hospitalized patients over 48 weeks from Fall 2021 to Summer 2022. The binational community along the U.S. southern border was predominantly SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant (B.1.617.2) positive for a 5-week period from September 2021 to January 2022 and quickly transitioned to the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529), which was first detected at the end of December 2021. Omicron replaced Delta as the predominant detectable variant in the community and was associated with a sharp increase in COVID-19 positivity rate, related hospitalizations, and newly reported cases. In this study, Omicron BA.1, BA.4, and BA.5 variants were overwhelmingly associated with S-gene dropout by qRT-PCR analysis unlike the Delta and Omicron BA.2 variants. The study reveals that a dominant variant, like Delta, can be rapidly replaced by a more transmissible variant, like Omicron, within a dynamic metropolitan border city, necessitating enhanced monitoring, readiness, and response from public health officials and healthcare workers.

Risk Factors for 30-day Hospital Readmissions After Peripheral Vascular Interventions in Peripheral Artery Disease Patients at the US-Mexico Border.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD) is associated with high rates of readmission following endovascular interventions and contributes to a significant hospital readmission burden. Quality metrics like hospital readmissions affect hospital performance, but must adjust to local trends. Our primary goal was to evaluate risk factors and readmission rates post-percutaneous peripheral intervention in a US-Mexico border city, at a single tertiary university hospital. We performed a retrospective review of patients with PAD undergoing first time peripheral intervention from July 2015 to June 2020. Among 212 patients, 58% were readmitted with median 235-day follow-up (inter-quartile range (IQR) 42-924); 35.3% of readmissions occurred within 30days, and 30.2% of those were within 7days. Median time to readmission was 62 days. Active smokers had 84% higher risk of readmission (hazard ratio (HR) 1.84, 95% CI 1.23-2.74, P < .01). Other significant factors noted were insurance status-Medicaid or uninsured (HR 1.94, 95% CI 1.22-3.09), prior amputation (HR 1.69, 95% CI 1.13-2.54), heart failure, both preserved (HR 4.35, 95% CI 2.07-9.16) and reduced ejection fraction (HR 1.88, 95% CI 1.14-3.10). Below the knee, interventions were less likely to be readmitted (adjusted HR .64, 95% CI 0.42-.96). Readmission rates were unrelated to medication adherence.

Breast Cancer Beliefs and Screening Practices among Syrian Refugee Women and Jordanian Women.

Despite significant declines in breast cancer (BC) incidence in the West, this disease is widespread in Jordan, where cancer detection occurs at much advanced stages. This is particularly concerning for Syrian refugee women resettled in Jordan, who are less likely to undergo cancer preventative procedures because of poor health literacy and lack of health services access. The present work assesses and compares breast cancer awareness and breast cancer screening behaviors among Syrian refugee women and Jordanian women residing close to the Syrian-Jordanian border city of Ar-Ramtha. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a validated Arabic version of the Breast Cancer Screening Beliefs Questionnaire (BCSBQ). A total of 138 Syrian refugee women and 160 Jordanian women participated in the study. Results indicate that 93.6% of Syrian refugee women and Jordanian women ≥ 40 years of age reported never having undergone a mammogram. Syrian refugee women and Jordanian women reported low attitudes toward general health checkup (mean score for Syrian refugees 45.6 vs. 42.04 among Jordan women; p = 0.150). Barriers for BC screening were higher among Syrian refugees (mean score = 56.43) than Jordanian women (mean score = 61.99, p = 0.006). Women with higher education were more likely to report fewer barriers to screening (p = 0.027). The study documents a significant lack of BC screening awareness among Syrian refugee women and Jordanian women, indicating that future work is needed to alter current attitudes towards mammograms and early detection measures especially for Syrian refugee women and Jordanian women residing in rural areas of Jordan.

Sources of air pollution-related health impacts and benefits of radially applied transportation policies in 14 US cities

As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, growing populations are exposed to poor ambient air quality and at risk of the associated health outcomes. Urban air quality is affected both by local sources of air pollution and sources outside city borders. Policy-makers who develop air quality policies need to know whether it is most effective to focus on local policies or to spend resources fostering larger regional air quality management cooperation. Identifying the fraction of air pollution exposure from emissions as a function of distance from the city is a critical element of air quality management design. We estimate the health burden associated with exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from county-level anthropogenic sources in and around 14 US cities; this analysis is a test-bed to conduct future global analyses. We use adjoint sensitivities calculated from the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem, high resolution satellite-derived surface concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2, and health impact assessment methods. For the 70.2 million people living in these cities, we estimate that 27,740 PM2.5- and O3-related premature deaths and 126,600 NO2-related new asthma cases were attributable to air pollution exposure in 2011. Development within the GEOS-Chem adjoint framework enables sectoral attribution and policy analysis in addition to the rote assessment of impact. We find that 70% of deaths and nearly 100% of these asthma cases were attributable to anthropogenic emissions. There is great variability in the sources of the anthropogenically-related health impacts; within-urban emissions make up 5% in Austin to 56% in Los Angeles and Phoenix (median: 31%) of urban premature deaths and 18% in Austin to 82% in Los Angeles (median: 59.5%) of new asthma cases, with the remaining portions attributable to emissions from outside the urban area. For each city, we estimate the air quality related health benefits associated with the adoption of a vehicle-miles-traveled fee in that city and in multiple spatial regions surrounding the city. The findings suggest that the proportion of urban air pollution that is regional is greater for premature deaths than new asthma cases and for the eastern US than the western US.

A 2200-year-old document of planning history: the border city planning system in Chao Cuo’s memorials to the throne

ABSTRACT A series of memorials to the throne written by Chao Cuo (200–154 B.C.), a high-ranking official of the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.–A.D. 24), contained systematic thoughts and methods of border city planning, and could be regarded as a valuable 2200-year-old document of planning history. Based on the textual interpretation of the classical texts, a historical analysis method that mixes theoretical construction and empirical evidence is applied to analyse the planning thoughts and methods proposed in Chao Cuo's works, including the strategic layout of human and land resources at the territorial scale, city site selection based on natural geographical conditions, multi-scale constructions of physical space from region to residence and social governance balancing people's livelihood and military affairs. The purpose of the planning system proposed by Chao Cuo was to build cites that were suitable for both military defence and people's daily lives, so that people would settle in the frontier and form a stable military force to resist enemies. Chao's works explain a typical feature of ancient Chinese city planning as an instrument of political governance, and demonstrated the interaction between urban form and way of life.

Coyotaje, Corruption, and Border Enforcement in “Ambos Nogales” in the 1930s

In the 1930s, agents from Mexico’s secret intelligence agency began to investigate reports of collusion between a Mexican coyote named Ramón Preciado, U.S. border agents, and U.S. government officials. Migrants and residents of Nogales, Sonora, accused the man of extorting migrants, sexually assaulting women, and reporting migrants to the Border Patrol. In turn, Border Patrol agents would deport those migrants who refused to pay bribes to Preciado. However, U.S. consular officials described him as a friend of the government, an advisor, and a trusted partner. This article uses this case to illustrate how corruption in migration agencies on both sides of the border allowed migrant smuggling to flourish as a profitable business in the twin border cities of Nogales, Sonora and Nogales, Arizona. Meanwhile, both U.S. officials and coyotes profited from the deportation of migrants, and the nascent Border Patrol used these inflated numbers to champion the success of its agents in guarding the border.

Human-Induced Resource Scarcity in the Colorado River Basin and Its Implications for Water Supply and the Environment in the Mexicali Valley Transboundary Aquifer

The Colorado River delta is a sedimentary alluvial formation that embodies the Lower Colorado River transboundary aquifer. The Mexicali Valley overlies the Mexican part of the aquifer, and the Imperial Valley the aquifer’s portion north of the Mexico–U.S. border. Mexico receives an annual water allocation from the Colorado River stipulated by an international treaty between Mexico and the United States. The Colorado River water allocation to Mexico is shared by farmers in the Mexicali Valley and by several border cities, rural communities, and industries in the northern region of the State of Baja California. Farmers withdraw groundwater from the Mexicali Valley’s aquifer to make up for insufficient Colorado River water to grow their crops. Groundwater withdrawal has created overdraft of the Mexicali Valley aquifer with associated adverse impacts: sea water intrusion, declining groundwater levels, upwelling of brackish groundwater, land subsidence, degradation of groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and emigration of displaced farmers. This article reviews the natural and human histories in the Colorado River basin and the Mexicali Valley, and presents a methodology applying remote sensing, geographic information analysis, and hydrologic analysis to calculate the annual water deficit in the Mexicali Valley. Finally, this work evaluates the valley’s annual water deficit in reference to current agricultural and socioeconomic trends observed in the study region. Aquifer and related environmental degradation have adversely affected small-scale farming and exacerbated demographic instability.

The epidemiological follow-up process for suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 in migrant shelters on the northern border of Mexico from July to December 2020: Between contagion underestimation and containment.

Elements associated with an increased risk factor for the contagion of COVID-19 in shelters include the turnover and overcrowding of people, time spent in communal areas, daily supply needs, water availability, and sanitation levels. The "Report on the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Migrants and Refugees," shows that factors such as the shortage of food, supplies, water, sanitizing materials, spaces for healthy distancing, financial resources for rent and essential services, and the lack of medical or psychological care complicated providing care for migrants and applicants seeking international protection. We describe shelter operations regarding the detection and follow-up of suspected and confirmed COVID-19 cases showing mild symptoms among the migrant population housed in the border cities under study. We conducted semi-structured, in-depth interviews with study subjects (people in charge, managers, coordinators, shelter directors) from 22 migrant shelters, and 30 with key informants. We studied the cities of Tijuana (Baja California), Nogales (Sonora), Ciudad Juárez (Chihuahua), Piedras Negras (Coahuila), and Heroica Matamoros (Tamaulipas). The research was based on a qualitative methodological design with an ethnographic approach. The information collected was transcribed and systematized into two tables or analytical templates, one for interviews with study subjects, and another for interviews with key actors. Overall, seventy-eight registered shelters provided accommodation services for migrants in the five cities the study focused on: thirty-seven in Tijuana, five in Nogales, twenty-two in Ciudad Juárez, eight in Piedras Negras, and five plus a camp (six in total) in Matamoros. The major concentration of shelters was in Tijuana (47.4%) and Ciudad Juárez (28.2%). At the beginning of the pandemic, only a few shelter facilities met quarantine and isolation guidelines, such as having separate bathrooms and sufficient space to isolate the "asymptomatic" and "confirmed" from close "contacts". The lack of isolation space and the inability to support the monitoring of patients with COVID-19 posed a challenge for those housed in shelters, forcing many shelters to close or continue operating behind closed doors to avoid becoming a source of infection during the pandemic. Contrary to speculation, during the onset of the pandemic northern border migrant shelters did not become sources of COVID-19 infection. According to the data analyzed from 78 shelters only seven had confirmed cases, and the classification of "outbreak" was applied only in two facilities. Contagion control or containment was successful as the result of following a preventive containment logic, including the isolation of all suspected but unconfirmed cases, without a clear understanding of the human and financial resources required to maintain isolation areas. However, shelters in the study implemented protocols for epidemiological surveillance, control, and prevention with elements that interfered with monitoring spaces, and processes that caused oversights that resulted in underestimating the number of cases. Due to travel restrictions imposed to prevent and contain coronavirus infections it was impossible to stay on-site in the cities studied, except for Tijuana, or carry-out recordings of migrants' views in shelters.

Assessment of a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program in El Paso, Texas, from November 2020 to June 2022

ABSTRACT The border city of El Paso, Texas, and its water utility, El Paso Water, initiated a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program to assess virus trends and the appropriateness of a wastewater monitoring program for the community. Nearly weekly sample collection at four wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs), serving distinct regions of the city, was analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 genes using the CDC 2019-Novel coronavirus Real-Time RT-PCR diagnostic panel. Virus concentrations ranged from 86.7 to 268,000 gc/L, varying across time and at each WWTF. The lag time between virus concentrations in wastewater and reported COVID-19 case rates (per 100,00 population) ranged from 4–24 days for the four WWTFs, with the strongest trend occurring from November 2021 - June 2022. This study is an assessment of the utility of a geographically refined SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program to supplement public health efforts that will manage the virus as it becomes endemic in El Paso.

Econometric models of real estate prices with interactions

The main aim of the article was to determine the factors influencing the unit prices of agricultural real estate on the outskirts of an urban agglomeration (Szczecin, Poland). The impact of the variables available in the database was determined on the basis of an econometric model with interactions between explanatory variables. The database contains information on 54 agricultural real estate transactions. The analysis period covers the years 2017-2022. Based on the estimated econometric models, it can be concluded that the real estate unit prices depend on their area, distance from the city borders, real estate surroundings as well as time and location. Interactions between distance from the city borders and surroundings and time (year of transaction) are also statistically significant. Presented models might assist expert systems supporting private investments as well as many type of public policies.

Analysis of New Education Technology method as Innovation and Entrepreneurship System in the Teaching-learning Process at the University of Tijuana, B.C., Mexico

A relevant investigation was made to evaluate the methods used in a high school of the Tijuana city, located in the northwest of the Mexican Republic and is a border city, having a commercial and educative treatments with the California State of the United States of America (USA), sending and receiving students to increase the scholar yielding. This is important because can have more specialized knowledge and skills to when finish his professional studies of the university and go to works in industrial, commercial, health and other type of jobs, can solve fast and efficient complicated situations that sometimes persons with a lot experience can’t solve because need this specialized knowledge. In this scientific study made in 2022, was analyzed some tools of industry 4.0 as internet of things (IOT) to capacitate professors of some topics of mathematics topic using this innovation and entrepreneurship system to increase the capacity of teachers and with this the skills of students of a public university in this important city of Mexico

Koszalin University of Technology (Poland)

Currently, Türkiye is a country with the largest number of refugees in the world. Over 3.7 million of them come from Syria. At the beginning of the migration crisis which affected European Union member states, Türkiye as a transit destination provided refugees with a place at Temporary Accommodation Centers (TACs). After signing the agreement with the European Union (on March, 21 2016) and with the increasing number of refugees in Türkiye, it became impossible to place all of them in refugee camps. Syrians began to migrate not only to border cities and towns, but also to Istanbul and other Turkish metropolises. This article aims to show the impact of refugees on the situation of Istanbul and other Turkish cities. The analysis is intended to answer the following questions: how did refugees change the structure of Turkish cities? How did the migrations of the Syrian community affect the border cities of Türkiye and the metropolises in the western and central part of the country? Which socio-economic problems did the increase in the number of refugees generate in Türkiye? What kind of social problems arose in Turkish cities with the arrival of Syrian refugees?

Пространственная неравномерность распределения по районам города Тюмени транспортного спроса на передвижение индивидуальным и общественным транспортом

The article considers the unevenness of the spatial distribution of the shares of transportation by private and public route traffic in the districts of the city of Tyumen. According to the results of clustering of transport districts of Tyumen, all districts are divided into 9 classes. In areas belonging to the central sector, the share of public traffic transportation is significantly higher than in areas located on the city border. There are specified the dependences of the share of trips by cars and shuttle buses on the average travel time and transportation distance by individual and public transport for each class of transport areas.The results of the study can be used to create new transport areas in the macro-model of the city.