Framework For Urban Development Research Articles

How Does Foreign Capital Impact Urban Green Development? Evidence from Central China

Background: Foreign capital, a significant component of the contemporary export-oriented economy, helps to solve ecological and environmental issues and encourages the green transformation of urban development techniques. This study develops an assessment framework for urban green development using panel data from 80 cities in Central China between 2007 and 2022. Simultaneously, the impact of foreign capital on urban green development was tested through the mechanism of green technological innovation using the panel mediating effect model, and the impact of economic development level on the impact of foreign capital on the same was tested using the threshold effect model. The primary research findings are as follows: (1) Foreign capital has greatly enhanced urban green development in Central China; (2) Green technology innovation acts as a major mediating variable in the process by which foreign capital influences urban green development; (3) Economic development has a single threshold effect on foreign capital influencing urban green development. This article suggests that the government focus more on the prudent use of foreign capital in light of the findings above. The study's findings offer an empirical foundation for more effectively encouraging urban green development as well as some theoretical direction for the long-term growth of human society in underdeveloped nations or areas. Objective: The objective of this study is to explore the key factors affecting urban green development in Central China, including the direct impact of foreign capital, the mediating effect of green technology innovation and the threshold effect of economic development, with the aim of improving urban green development in Central China. Theoretical Framework: This study mainly refers to Sustainable Development Theory and Schumpeterian Innovation Theory. Because urban green development belongs to the category of sustainable development, and the mediating analysis in this article is consistent with Schumpeterian Innovation Theory. Method: The entropy method is used to measure the degree of urban green development. Baseline regression is used to analyze the direct impact of foreign capital on urban green development. The mediating model is used to analyze the mediating role of green technology innovation in the impact of foreign capital on urban green development. The threshold model is used to analyze the threshold effect of economic development on foreign capital in affecting urban green development. Results and Discussion: The results confirmed the hypothesis. First, foreign capital has a positive impact on urban green development. Second, green technology innovation plays a mediating role in the process of foreign capital affecting urban green development. Third, economic development plays a single threshold effect in the process of green technology innovation affecting urban green development.However, this study still has certain limitations. Because there are certain differences between official statistics and reality, and the indicators selected in this article are limited, they cannot fully reflect the actual results. Research Implications: The practical and theoretical implications of this research are discussed, providing new ideas for urban green development in Central China from the perspective of foreign capital. And the role of green technology innovation and economic development cannot be ignored. This is not only in line with the world theme of green and sustainable development, but also conducive to accelerating the internationalization process of Central China. And this research also provides theoretical support for green development in developing countries or regions. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by being based on official data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China and using a series of recognized empirical methods to study Central China's urban green development and key influencing factors. The value of this article is that it not only enriches the research on urban green development in Central China. It also provides a reference for green development and international development in other developing regions in China and other developing countries or regions around the world.

Housing Market and Household Consumption in Urban China: A Debt Perspective

Urbanization precipitates substantial economic transformations, with housing markets playing a pivotal role. The expansion of cities escalates housing demand, subsequently increasing housing debt, which is a crucial factor influencing household consumption. This study utilizes data from six rounds of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) spanning 2010 to 2020 to investigate the impact of housing debt on household consumption in urban China. Given the dynamics changes in housing debt status, as well as the endogeneity problems caused by reverse causality and selection bias between households’ debt decisions and consumption behavior, this study employs both the difference-in differences with multiple periods and groups (DIDM) model and the two-way fixed effects model. The results show that the average consumption expenditure of households with housing debt is 14% higher than those without. A 1% increase in housing debt size correlates with a 0.011% rise in consumption. Moreover, this positive effect is more pronounced among low-income households and those with older household heads, as well as those owning multiple properties. Compared to non-durable consumption, the impact of housing debt is more substantial on durable consumption. Further mechanism analysis reveals that the effect of housing debt on household consumption is primarily driven by an increase in housing assets, spurred by the rising housing prices. This study underscores the importance of integrating housing debt management within the framework of sustainable urban development, which not only ensures equitable access to housing but also fosters the promotion of sustainable consumption.

High-End Street Vendor Economy and Sustainable Urban Development: A Comprehensive Analysis of Policy, Planning, and Social Engagement

This article explores the high-end street vending economy in China and its implications for sustainable urban development, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It examines the policy planning and social engagement that have facilitated the growth of this economic model, which has emerged as a vital component in alleviating economic pressure, promoting employment, and safeguarding livelihoods in urban settings. This study utilizes case studies to present the current status, potential, and developmental trends of the high-end street vending economy, highlighting its popularity and governmental support in cities such as Shanghai. Additionally, the research delves into the challenges and opportunities presented by this economic model, including environmental impacts, resource sustainability, social inclusivity, and economic sustainability. It provides a comprehensive analysis of how high-end street vending can contribute to urban planning, public space utilization, and the promotion of cultural diversity and urban image. Finally, the paper concludes with policy recommendations and a future outlook on the integration of high-end street vending economies within sustainable urban development frameworks.

Empirical Study on the Impact of Different Types of Forest Environments in Wuyishan National Park on Public Physiological and Psychological Health

Amidst the challenges of global environmental change and urbanization, the salutary effects of natural environments on public health are increasingly being recognized. This study investigates the specific effects of varied forest environments in China’s Wuyishan National Park on physiological and psychological health. Eight distinct forest environments were carefully selected, and a repeated-measures ANOVA approach was used to evaluate 41 participants over three days. Physiological assessments included Heart Rate Variability, Skin Conductance Level, and surface Electromyography, complemented by psychological evaluations using the Profile of Mood States. The key findings include the following: (1) Notable variations in physiological indicators were observed among different forest types. In valley tea gardens and broadleaf forest streamside, significant changes in heart rate indicators highlighted the influence of these settings on autonomic nervous activities. Skin Conductance Level and surface Electromyography also indicated varying emotional arousal and pleasure across the forests. The mixed broadleaf and coniferous forest valley, along with the rock-bedded streamscape, elicited emotions of low arousal but high pleasure, inducing feelings of calmness and pleasure. The valley’s tea gardens were associated with low arousal and pleasure, suggesting tranquility without positive emotional induction, while the broadleaf ridge forest induced high arousal and pleasure, reflecting an exciting and joyful environment. (2) The study found that different forest environments had a notable impact on participants’ mood states, indicating reductions in tension, anger, fatigue, and depression, along with an increase in vigor levels. In summary, forest environments offer unique psychological and physiological health benefits compared to urban settings. These findings underscore the importance of integrating forest environments into urban development and public health frameworks, and the need to further explore their impact on the health of diverse populations.

Urban Planning Approach and Production of Counter Architecture: A Case Study of New Market, Khulna

Informal spatial practices in cities of the Global South are often regarded as activities taking place outside the realm of regulatory oversight. The prevailing urban governance and planning paradigms, which are largely derived from developed countries, struggle to adapt to the dynamic nature of these practices and the inherent conflicts they entail. Furthermore, the influence of disorderly political systems further complicates matters at the local level. In response to planned development, informal spatial practices persist as a critical yet overlooked/integral aspect of ever-evolving urban realities. This paper provides new insights into the current dynamics surrounding the creation of informal urban spaces in Global South cities and their interaction with the formal planning framework. Our study focused on the city of Khulna in Bangladesh, a compelling case study with a history of failed industrial planning dating back to the 1960s, when it was designed by a group of British consultants. Following its initial failure and the city’s subsequent decline in population, Khulna has witnessed an unforeseen surge in ‘counter spatial’ development driven by the imperative to meet socio-economic and cultural needs. This paper underscores the significance of such type of informal spatial production and introduces/highlights the concept of ‘counter architecture’ as a pivotal element of society that demands recognition and inclusion in the broader urban development framework. It suggests that the ‘counter architecture’ lens provides a foundation for challenging the rigidity of master planning and understanding the interconnectedness between formal and informal urban spaces. This perspective emphasizes the need to consider the lived experiences and tactical attributes of spatial formation, ultimately highlighting the resistance of ‘inhabitants’ and ‘users’ against the static codes of modern master planning in cities of Global South like Khulna.

Assessment of the quality of the urban environment in the process of construction project management

Recently, the construction of residential buildings in the Russian Federation has been carried out at an accelerating pace, not only in large cities, but in almost all regions of our country. In the current conditions, the issues of rational planning of residential development within the framework of urban construction development are becoming increasingly relevant. At the same time, an important role is assigned to the methods of assessing the quality of such planning. The analysis of the available methods of this kind carried out by the author indicates that at the moment, there are practically no adequate and objective methods for quantifying the degree of accessibility of critical social infrastruc-ture facilities of the city in relation to newly constructed or already existing residential buildings. Based on the results of the applied research carried out within the framework of writing the pre-sented scientific work, the author proposed an innovative method for quantifying the degree of acces-sibility of socially significant urban objects relative to residential structures. The proposed methodolo-gy is unique in that, thanks to the use of such a universal and statistically accessible indicator as the average level of wages, experts have the opportunity to conduct a comparative assessment of the de-gree of accessibility of social objects, not only located within a walking distance, but also at longer distances, involving the use of public passenger transport. The application of the methodology proposed in the framework of writing this applied scientific work for assessing the quality of the urban environment for the accessibility of socially significant in-frastructure objects relative to the location of residential buildings will allow, on a mathematically ac-curate quantitative basis, not only to assess the effectiveness of the work of regional state authorities and local self-government as qualitatively and objectively as possible, but also to conduct a compara-tive analysis of the quality layouts of newly designed residential neighborhoods. In addition, this tech-nique may be of practical interest to realtors and developers in the development and practical imple-mentation of various types of business processes, both in the field of housing construction and in the sale of residential buildings and premises.

Does urban shrinkage equate to a decline in development levels? – Urban development measurement and influencing factors analysis

Under the theoretical framework of urban sustainable development, combined with the development planning and industrial policies being implemented in China, this study constructed a multi-dimensional comprehensive urban development model with Chinese characteristics using Northeast China as the verification object. Then, it extensively analyzed the development status and explored driving factors in the background of urban shrinkage. The trend of expansion–shrinkage–expansion was observed in the urban development degree (∆k) of these provinces and cities as the state steered economic and urban development mode reform and industrial transformation. The results verify that urban shrinkage is a dynamic process and that new economic vitality and impetus for economic and industrial restructuring will enhance urban development. Based on exploratory spatial data analysis, the study analyzed global and local correlations of the degree of urban development in Northeast China and analyzed the factors and spatial effects of urban development. In 2011–2019, the integrated development of urban clusters led to an urban agglomeration effect, resulting in an increase in the global spatial correlation among cities in Northeast China. In addition, the results of the local correlation analysis show that a single economic and social development pattern of resource-based cities puts them in a difficult position to allocate industries and run comprehensive urban functions. In Northeast China, Liaoning Province underwent more profound changes and has been the pacesetter for “re-expansion in shrinkage.” Through the case study, suggestions aimed to contribute to the exploration of development model of shrinking cities and achieving high-quality development were proposed.

FEATURES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN SYSTEMS AND OUR ENVIRONMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF GEO-URBAN DEVELOPMENT

This paper is devoted to issues related to the definition of the spatial landscape framework of urban systems development. The introduction includes some aspects of spatial planning and legal provisions related to spatial planning and the various zoning and development policies that apply in the modern nation-state. The author's views on the influence of landscape on spatial development are also presented. Next, an analysis is made of the incorporation of regional science to assess and analyze the spatial development of urban systems and how this differs from a purely urban planning approach to our surroundings. Specific features of landscape and regional science are discussed. Particular aspects of policy implementation related to the analysis and features of urban space research and development are highlighted, and leading authors and researchers are mentioned. The urban focus of spatial policies is then outlined. The conclusion summarises the author's views on the importance of urban processes for contemporary regional development and spatial governance.

IMPACT OF URBAN PLANNING RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF UNDERGROUND REAL ESTATE

The impact of urban planning restrictions on the use of underground real estate is an urgent contemporary problem that arises from urban development, the need to regulate the process of underground construction, and the broader context of maintaining comfort, safety, ecology, and preserving cultural and historical heritage. Addressing this issue entails finding a delicate balance between the needs of urban planning and the requirements for safeguarding various aspects of urban development. The article aims to study the manifestations of the influence of urban planning factors on the use of underground real estate. Urban planning restrictions constitute an essential component of any developed city, as they contribute to a structured and functional environment for residents and businesses. However, these restrictions can significantly affect the use of underground real estate. In this article, we consider what important aspects urban planning policy encompasses and how it influences underground space utilisation. The paper analyses different approaches to investigating the problems related to underground real estate usage and categorises the various types of urban planning restrictions that bear on such utilisation. Effective urban development requires an integrated approach and discussion of urban planning constraints that consider the interests of all parties: development, environment, and cultural heritage. Maintaining the right balance between the growth and preservation of values is becoming a crucial objective for urban planning and regulatory frameworks. Consequently, the impact of urban planning restrictions on the use of underground real estate requires careful monitoring and regulation within the framework of sustainable urban development. Solving this problem requires scientific research, effective interaction of all stakeholders, and the development of urban planning policies that account for various aspects of urban development and underground real estate. Based on our research findings, we provide a comprehensive overview of the possibilities of optimising the location of underground real estate objects, taking into account current urban planning trends. We also assess the prospects for utilising underground space in the modern structure of settlements. Keywords: urban planning restrictions, underground real estate, urban planning, land use, urban development.

The Kandinsky building in Chile: A case study demonstrating extreme urbanization pressure on coastal ecosystems

This discussion addresses the urgent issue of coastal urbanization in Chile, particularly focusing on the degradation of dune systems due to accelerated urban development and inadequate management frameworks. Using the Kandinsky Building collapse as a case study, this paper elucidates the vulnerabilities associated with extreme coastal urbanization and the absence of robust legislation. The research calls for the immediate implementation of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and Territorial Planning as pivotal tools for effective coastal governance in Chile. Both these mechanisms, when grounded in science, can provide sustainable solutions that balance current land-use demands with future ecological needs. We emphasize the necessity of scientifically informed setback lines, Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs), public education, and fiscal instruments to mitigate the challenges posed by extreme coastal urbanization. A Chile-specific ICZM plan, incorporating scientific research into policy formulation and execution, is imperative for evidence-based, adaptive, and sustainable decision-making.

Agents of change, power, and resistance in the patterns of change of an industrial heritage district: the case of Bellavista, Chile (1970‒2019)

With the global wave of deindustrialization, post- industrial territories have seen local organizations supporting the preservation of industrial heritage. In several cases, these initiatives have met resistance from developers or state- led urban regeneration projects. Using the former textile neighbourhood of Bellavista- Tomé (Chile) as a case study, this paper analyses the combined effect of the site`s morphology and agency of social actors, on the process of changing land use. The methodology used the notion of morphological regions to analyse the neighbourhood’s urban morphology between 1970 and 2019, along with the discourse analysis of semi- structured interviews and secondary data to identify the agency of social actors. The conclusions indicate that, within the neoliberal urban development framework in Chile, the local government has played an ambivalent role regarding the preservation of the industrial fabric. This ambivalence has been greatly influenced by the intrinsic suitability of certain morphological regions for real estate development. The resulting problem threatens the preservation of industrial built legacy and the possibility of promoting urban development while maintaining the local social and cultural identity.

Urban Land Use Dynamics and Assessment of Environmental Risks in Bhowali Urban Zone, Kumaon Lesser Himalaya, India using Remote Sensing and Geographic Information System

The study monitored the land use dynamics and its environmental risks in the fast-growing township of Bhowali situated in Kumaon Lesser Himalaya, district Nainital, Uttarakhand, India using an integrated geospatial technique. The major objective of the study is to assess the trends and magnitude of land use changes and assess its environmental implications over the past three decades. The supervised digital interpretation of Landsat TM data of 1991 and Landsat OLI/TIRS data of 2021 was carried out using QGIS 3.16 software to map and monitor land use dynamics. The drivers of urban growth and its environmental impacts have been investigated by analyzing the information generated from field surveys, focused group discussions and key respondents’ interviews and interpretation of secondary data collected from diverse sources. The study’s findings indicate that the built-up area and vegetation cover of the Bhowali urban zone have increased by about 26.68% (i.e. 1.83 km²) and 6.27% (i.e. 0.43 km²) respectively. In contrast, the area under the cultivated land decreased by about 32.95% (i.e. 2.26 km²) over the past three decades. This clearly indicated that the urban built-up area has been fast encroaching upon the natural forests and prime cultivated land in the absence of an urban land use policy. The study also observed that 55% of the built-up area of the town is located in an environmentally unsafe zone disrupting hydrological processes and increasing the vulnerability of the town to the risk of slope failures, landslides and flash-flood under climate change. Further, the unplanned urban growth is increasing the socio-economic disparities by increasing the proportion of urban poor and the population with no access to drinking water, toilets and road, increasing the susceptibility of a large population, particularly underprivileged and poor, to a variety of climate change-induced risks. It is, therefore, inevitable to evolve and implement a comprehensive urban land use policy and a framework for climate-smart urban development considering the environmental sensitivity, ecological carrying capacity and projected trends in climate change.

A Review of Sustainable Urban Development Frameworks in Developing Countries

Cities are considered the engines of economic prosperity and responsible for a substantial amount of the world’s CO2 environmental pollution. Urban sustainable development frameworks have become common to manage these challenges. However, new frameworks are required as existing global frameworks are not sufficient to meet current challenges nor do they consider future requirements in developing countries. These frameworks currently focus on planning and engineering aspects and lack the flexibility to incorporate local issues factoring in views of stakeholders. Examples of this are issues such as political instability, degradation of public services and utilities and damage to the infrastructure and economic deterioration caused by conflict. 
 
 This paper reviews and analyses existing sustainable urban development frameworks, it identifies that they have focused on urban sustainable development assessment tools by electing several urban sustainable development factors with rating systems. 
 
 Through this review, this paper finds several strategies have not been addressed in previous research related to locality specific issues. These include (a) consideration of the views of the public, (b) future urban planning requirements, (c) future domestic property requirements of occupants, and (d) achieving a reduction in domestic energy consumption. 
 
 Thus, this paper proposes that future frameworks should be designed based on considering stakeholder feedback, experts’ consultation, and validation stage. This is a challenging proposition, however it does, provide significant advantages in highlighting and addressing the community’s priorities for solving problems in the local context, experts’ views, in order to combatting the gaps found between decision-maker’s opinions and public priorities.

What Would an Inclusive City for Gender and Sexual Minorities Be Like? You Need to Ask Queer Folx!

From fights against racism to women’s inclusion, from access to education to integration of migrants: “Inclusion” and the “inclusive city” have been used in many ways and at different scales, running the risk of becoming a kind of catchall. Following increasing use by public authorities, media, and urban professionals, the inclusive city now serves as a normative framework for urban development. Although it is aimed at social cohesion, one nevertheless wonders whether it has not become more of a buzzword that obfuscates the reproduction of power relations. Moreover, while being somehow mainstreamed into institutional discourses, the inclusive city has been quite overlooked so far by academics, and an effort is needed to clarify its conceptualisation and democratic potential. This article provides a theoretical and critical perspective on how the concept of inclusion is used in urban public policies in relation to gender, by examining the public these policies address. Using a multiscalar analysis and drawing on Warner’s framework of publics and counterpublics, I examine more specifically which public is targeted in inclusive policies, concerning gender and sexualities, and how this participates in the reshaping of (urban) citizenship and sense of belonging, as well as the implications this has for social justice. Thus, I argue that while the inclusive city has become a normative idiom imbued with the neoliberal grammar of public politics, it also offers a paradoxical framework of democratic cohesion that promotes consumption‐based equality. A focus on (counter)publics serves to highlight the need for a more queerly engaged planning practice—one that draws on insurgent grassroots movements—to seek to destabilise neoliberalism’s attempt at pacification in its use of inclusion and citizen participation.

Sustainable urban development based on an adaptive cycle model: A coupled social and ecological land use development model

With the emphasis of modern societal development on the ecological environment, urban environmental issues have been lessened. However, green space occupies a significant amount of land resources, leading to more prominent human-land conflicts in some areas, thus creating serious social issues that urgently require solutions. As a result, social and ecological factors must be integrated into urban sustainability planning. Using the Chinese city of Fuzhou as an example, this study constructed an adaptive cycle model framework for sustainable urban development based on adaptive cycle theory by coordinating three core characteristic attributes of sustainable urban development: potential (urban development potential), connectedness (conflicting land use), and resilience (suitability for sustainable development). This framework was used to identify the development stages (exploitation, conservation, release, reorganization) of different areas in the city. Finally, the ecological value of the landscape created by sustainable development was verified through a multi-scenario simulation. The results were as follows: 1) land expansion under the constraints of the sustainable development model had higher ecological value and could effectively mitigate conflicts in urban land use while balancing socio-ecological contradictions during urban development; 2) the model effects varied across urban areas in different stages of development; and 3) our proposed sustainable development planning pathway based on the adaptive cycle model divided land use into eight categories and proposed targeted development measures based on zoning characteristics. This study can effectively alleviate the contradiction of sustainability between urban social and ecological development. It can be used as a policy tool for managing land assessment and zoning during future urban development and land use.

Urban Resilience and the Complexity of Climatic Risk Management in the City of Polokwane, Limpopo Province

Abstract The unprecedented rate of urbanisation has changed the South African urban landscape. The densification of the population in cities has resulted in high consumption of electricity, waste production, a reduction of greenery, and traffic congestion, all of which contribute to climate change. South Africa promulgated legislations and acts such as the Spatial Planning and Land-Use Management Act (SPLUMA), the National Urban Development Framework (NUDF), and the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) to guide climate change adaptation and mitigation aspirations. These frameworks and plans are important for the management of urbanisation, which potentially contributes to climate change. Complexity theory is a lens for reviewing complex systems like urbanisation and cities. Complexity theory gives a thorough account of cities, urbanisation, and urban planning. The method that was adopted for the paper is a mixed-method approach. The data were collected by interviewing and administering questionnaires to municipal officials and residents of four urban areas (Legae la Batho, Emdo Park, Serala View, and Flora Park). Results show that the local municipality continues to be plagued with a lack of qualified personnel to implement policies that affect programme implementation, such as energy mix. Additionally, the City of Polokwane has been experiencing a reduction of green spaces, which has a negative impact on the climate change aspiration. The paper concludes that there are still challenges to a fully capacitated workforce within the Polokwane Local Municipality. The inability to implement policies has deleterious effects on climate change mitigation.

New Rural Housing Construction

Based on the background of the change in the urban–rural relationship in Guangdong Province, this paper constructs an analysis framework of urban and rural coordination development. Using the data of 19 administrative units above prefecture level in Guangdong Province, this paper studies the space–time evolution of urban and rural coordination development during 2000–2015 through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and explores the influencing factors and driving forces behind it. It is found that there is club convergence in the urban and rural coordination development in Guangdong Province. This kind of convergence is reflected in the findings that the east bank of the Pearl River estuary is the best area for the urban and rural coordination development where Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen is the core and the level of urban and rural coordination development in the east, west and north of Guangdong Province is relatively low, which also reflects a geographical polarization feature. Based on the analysis of the factors that promote the urban and rural coordination development in the main years of 2000–2015, it can be concluded that location, economic development and urbanization level are the most important driving forces, followed by industrial structure. This research can be used as a decision-making reference for urban and rural coordination development and new countryside construction in China in the New Era.

New Rural Housing Construction

Based on the background of the change in the urban–rural relationship in Guangdong Province, this paper constructs an analysis framework of urban and rural coordination development. Using the data of 19 administrative units above prefecture level in Guangdong Province, this paper studies the space–time evolution of urban and rural coordination development during 2000–2015 through Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis (ESDA) and explores the influencing factors and driving forces behind it. It is found that there is club convergence in the urban and rural coordination development in Guangdong Province. This kind of convergence is reflected in the findings that the east bank of the Pearl River estuary is the best area for the urban and rural coordination development where Guangzhou, Dongguan, Shenzhen is the core and the level of urban and rural coordination development in the east, west and north of Guangdong Province is relatively low, which also reflects a geographical polarization feature. Based on the analysis of the factors that promote the urban and rural coordination development in the main years of 2000–2015, it can be concluded that location, economic development and urbanization level are the most important driving forces, followed by industrial structure. This research can be used as a decision-making reference for urban and rural coordination development and new countryside construction in China in the New Era.

Physical Planning Activities in the Newly Created City of Hoima, Uganda: Opportunities and Challenges

Recently some African cities have been scenes of high profile eviction campaigns. These campaigns have elicited heavy criticism from various quarters, domestic and international. Between half and three quarters of all new housing in sub-Saharan African cities is built on land that has been supplied through processes that, in one way or another, do not comply with formal legal requirements related to subdivision, transfer and development control. Such urban development processes are undoubtedly problematic, both for the authorities and for the residents of the areas developed through these processes: unplanned development results in sprawl, hindering the cost-effective extension of infrastructure and services; some developments are built in areas topographically unsuitable for residential use such as steep slopes and flood-prone sites; unrecognized areas do not generate revenue for local councils; residents experience varying degrees of insecurity; access by public transport and emergency services may be difficult or impossible; and the services and utilities available to residents may fall far short of what is desirable. However, in many respects these channels of land supply are highly successful: they continue to make a much larger contribution to urban development than formal channels, accommodating almost all new low-income and many middle-income households; many of the residential areas have regular layouts; there appear to be relatively few conflicts between actors involved in informal land delivery; and many house owners enjoy considerable defacto tenure security. Nevertheless, governments continue to regard informal processes of urban development as undesirable aberrations and persist in attempts to implement formal tenure, subdivision and development control policies and procedures despite their ineffectiveness. Often the laws and policies on which land administration practices are based are colonial imports. The extent to which indigenous tenure systems were understood, recognized and incorporated varied from colony to colony, but it was generally believed that only a formal system based on a European model could provide a framework for urban development and protect the rights of urban property owners (who at that time were mostly expatriates). Embedded in the model were culturally constructed ideas about the desirable form and appearance of cities and assumptions about appropriate roles for the state in regulating urban growth and development. These land administration systems, which were inherited at independence, are governed by formal rules, set out in legislation and administrative procedures. The legislative provisions and the administrative systems that were established to implement them proved quite unable to cope with the rapid urban growth that occurred after independence, but this did not lead policy makers and many analysts to abandon their view that states had both an obligation and the capacity to intervene comprehensively in land management. As a result, research has often focused on documenting and explaining the failures (and, more rarely, successes) of state intervention, thereby privileging formal state law over other socially embedded rules on which actors draw to regulate transactions in land.

Integrating historic preservation into a wider framework of urban development through comprehensive planning: an evaluation of local comprehensive plans in U.S. state capitals

Historic preservation should be integrated into the broader framework of urban development. This makes preservation through local comprehensive planning a good option. However, few local comprehensive plans have demonstrated the content or quality needed to preserve or make effective use of historic resources. This study uses content analysis to evaluate the extent to which US state capitals have integrated historic preservation into local comprehensive plans. Multiple regression is then used to analyze the variables that affect the quality of those plans. The study reveals that historic preservation is integrated into local comprehensive plans to a moderate extent, which varies widely among U.S. state capitals. Indicators in the implementation component of these plans achieve a generally weak performance, as do indicators for the energy theme in urban development. The present study also shows that when preservationists are included among the plan authors and heritage committees are involved in the planning process, the plans are of higher quality. Finally, this study provides policy recommendations, based on these results, to guide planners, managers, decision makers, preservation advocates, and citizens toward more effective ways of integrating historic preservation into the comprehensive planning process.