Historic City Research Articles

Indigeneity, Subalternity and Lakota Territorial Resurgence: Disrupting Urban Settler Colonial Order in a US Bordertown

At first glance, the concept of the subaltern seems to perfectly describe the position of Native Americans within contemporary US society, yet, until recently, it was not commonly used by Indigenous studies scholars. This has changed partly due to the emergence of the field of settler colonial studies, born of the dialogue between postcolonial and Indigenous studies. In particular, scholars have looked at the historical and contemporary role cities are playing in highlighting patterns of dispossession and resistance. In the article, we look at the contributions of this new theoretical framework, then focus on the case of Rapid City, SD, presenting its history of dispossession and violence, and showing how Indigenous resurgence challenges that history.

Popularization of the New Museum Space “Prison Castle” of a Small Town in Western Siberia

The article examines the potential of a small historical city with unique historical and cultural heritage. Based on the results of a scientific expedition that studied the potential of a small cultural space, and the small town of Western Siberia — the city of Tyukalinsk, Omsk region, a new museum space “Prison Castle of the county town of Tyukalinsk” was designed. The main results were based on the local history interviews conducted with local historians and museum workers of Tyukalinsk. In addition to that, the process of designing the future excursion object — the architectural museum complex was carried out based on the archival and museum funds of the small town. The analysis of the conducted research allowed us to conclude that it is necessary to design a new museum space that will attract the interest of a wide audience, local residents, and new potential tourists. The reconstruction of the museum space with an unusual theme allows us to present the historical events of the Civil War era in a new way. By drawing attention to the historical past of Tyukalinsk through the creative museum space, we thereby preserve the values of historical and cultural heritage.

An application of a cost-based programming model for the management of seismic vulnerability of the historic center of San Giorgio a Cremano (Italy)

Within historic city centers, custodians of a timeless cultural heritage, lies an often-overlooked reality: the seismic vulnerability of buildings. These ancient structures are often constructed with techniques and materials that do not meet modern seismic safety standards. In the outlined framework, the contribution aims to address the issue of managing the seismic vulnerability of urban and historical fabrics, implementing a tool capable of coordinating and optimizing resources, whether public or private. This is achieved through the application of a cost-based programming model for the management of seismic vulnerability in the historic center of San Giorgio a Cremano (Italy). Operational areas of relevance for the present study include the conservation of architectural-urban heritage, the management of territorial planning processes and urban redevelopment, and the implementation of economic assessment and programming tools to support decision-making processes.

Demographic trends in urban structures: Comparison of development in the broader centres of the cities of Brno (CZ) and Vienna (AT) in the 21st century

Czech Republic is facing housing insecurity and cities are challenged by a shortage of housing supply. The issue of housing affordability can be demonstrated on the cities of Brno and Vienna, which are connected by a close geographical position and a similar urban development in the 19th century. After 1918 (the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian Empire), the Austrian capital Vienna has focused on a continual support of social housing. The development of housing in the Czechoslovak city of Brno was changing and influenced by the period of socialism. Since the beginning of the 21st century, the housing development in Brno and Vienna has been therefore, after a politically different period, comparable again. Vienna has a similar historical development to Brno, and in the long term, it represents an adequate comparative study due to a successful social housing policy. In this paper, we mobilize a comparative study of broader city centres. The development of housing is monitored in the parameters of demographic trends. The paper reviews comparable demographic data obtained from databases of the office for national statistics of Austria and the Czech Republic: population development and population ageing expressed as a percentage of the population aged 65+ to the population aged 0-14. The study demonstrates the importance of these two indicators of demographic changes, which can reflect the attractiveness of housing for different groups of residents. The results show that in both cities, there is a population decline in historical city cores. While in the vicinity of the historical core of Vienna, there is moderate population growth, a similarly uniform trend cannot be observed in Brno.

Zooming in on Urban Life in Early Modern Amsterdam. Time Machine as a Tool for Researching Everyday Urban Experience Across Space and Time

How do we make sense of urban life in the past? What do we do when we study urban history, and to what extent do our methods fully capture the complexities of historical city living? These are crucial questions for any scholar interested in the historical dimensions of urban experience. Notwithstanding the interest of most urban historians in the relationship between the physical form of urban space and its experience by inhabitants and visitors, very few scholars have written histories that systematically integrate these two areas of inquiry. In this article the authors argue that such research requires a method and an accompanying digital tool that can analyze historical urban life in a more integrated, holistic way. The authors propose a way forward by introducing the Time Machine platform as a scalable data visualization and analysis tool for researching everyday urban experience across space and time. To illustrate the potential, the authors focus on a case study: the area of the Bloemstraat in early modern Amsterdam. Unpacking a section of the Bloemstraat, house by house and room by room, this case shows how the Time Machine forms an instrument to connect spatial layouts to the arrangement of objects and to the practical and social use of the space by the inhabitants and visitors. The authors also sketch how this tool illuminates more dynamic spatial and temporal practices such as how people, goods and activities are connected to locations in the wider city and beyond.

Can Social Media be Used as a Tool to Increase the Income of Artisans - A Study with Specific Reference to Marble Artisans of Makrana, Rajasthan

The wave of social media has stormed all parts of the world, including India, with several platforms being used as marketplaces to sell traditional Indian handicrafts. Marble handicraft, deeply rooted in the historical city of Makrana, Rajasthan, faces a paradox where the artisans, despite their extraordinary craftsmanship, remain ensnared in low-income brackets. This research explores the potential of social media as a tool to increase the income of Makrana's artisans and elevate their work to a national and global platform. It aims to assess the effectiveness of social media in increasing artisans' income.

Analyzing accessibility to urban services for new residential buildings. A case study of Craiova city

The present study uses methods based on Geographic Information System (GIS) to investigate the distribution of new residential buildings in Craiova (Romania) and assess their accessibility to key urban services. The focus is on collective housing developments constructed after 2015, encompassing both completed and ongoing projects. The research evaluates accessibility at the neighborhood level, considering key facilities and services such as banking services, pharmacies, kindergartens, primary schools, supermarkets, sport facilities, and green urban areas. Data for urban services were collected from opensource databases (OpenStreetMap, Copernicus Land Monitoring?Urban Atlas) and completed by field investigations. Isochrones, representing travel time from each residential building to the selected services, are used to measure the residents' accessibility by multiple travel modes. Additionally, the study considers the proximity of new residential buildings to the old historical city center, as a hub for shopping and leisure activities, and the walkability of the neighborhoods where the collective residences are located. The findings shed light on the spatial distribution of new residential developments in relation to essential urban services, providing valuable insights for urban planning and development strategies in Craiova, as well as for future residential investments.

THE PROCESS OF FORMATION OF THE JEWISH SUBURBAN QUARTERS IN LVIV

nderstanding of formative and historical processes is basic for the comprehensive approach to the regeneration of historical city quarters, those of the ancient Jewish ghetto of Lviv in particular. According to archaeological and scientific urban studies, theneighbourhood started its development as part of the princerly “posad”, having an ancient Volyn road trading route as one of its forming factors (which survives to this day). Through the centuries jewish community has organically grown here, forming a unique ensemble of residential, religious and public buildings which naturally integrated in the spatial-planning structure of the city as it grew. One of the most prominent structures was the Great Suburban Synagogue (XVI cent.) which was the centre of ghetto’s life and spatial structure. Degradation of historical urban matter of the ghetto was caused by the tragedies of WWI and WWII, which also obliterated ghetto’s social basis and absence of any further practical and public re- consideration for the spatial-planning and historic background of the neighbourhood. Today, most of its blocks have remained a gray zone in the structure of the city center for more than 70 years. Disregard for the ghetto’s formation history and cultural background resulted in inconsistency of realised development approaches and interventions and general public unawareness of the district’s role in the history of the city. The author conducts research and visualizes the characteristic stages of the ghetto’s development, as well as the formative factors that determined it, taking 3 neighbouring historical quarters within its bounds as a basis for study. With this work, author aims at During the research, on-site study and measurements were performed, archival materials and historical iconography were analyzed, modern research works on the history of Lviv and Halychyna were analyzed too, and the obtained information was summarized. As a result, development of the historical quarters of the Jewish suburban district was characterized and structured from princerly times to present day while highlighting the quarters’ architectural and spatial-planning value.

Городской вид как культурная ценность

The article analyzes cityscapes from the point of view of their value for the formation and preservation of the spatial and temporal unity of the cultural landscape of the historical city. The author distinguishes between cityscapes (urban views) as images of any urban location or composition and cityscapes (urban views) as configurations of architectural and other material spaces that we can observe in a real urban environment. The cityscape is defined in this article as a freely perceived, “readable” architectural urban composition, having high artistic significance and “supporting” the surrounding urban tissue, being the most important factor in the activity of citizens and guests of the city, and is also “responsible” for a specific identity urban space as a whole. A cityscape usually consists of several spatial patterns. The space of a traditional Russian city is formed as a system of urban views that reveal both its geographical design and its sacred semantics. Damage (destruction) of one or more cityscapes leads to degradation of the urban environment as a whole. The author defines the main reasons for the destruction of cityscapes and determines the consequences of these processes. The author concludes that cityscapes (urban views), as spatial structures that form the supporting frame of the visual environment, are fundamental part of the entire culture structure called ‘the city’. The system of urban views carries a number of integration functions: logistic, aesthetic, semiotic, local-historical, cultural-identification, social. The system of cityscapes directly reveals the specifics of the city. The preservation of cityscapes as fundamental pillars of the urban environment and as cultural heritage values ensures the actuality of the historical past, the spatialtemporal unity of an identical urban environment, and also instills in citizens a sense of belonging to their city, which exists only in a ‘long time’ of culture.

Beyond Conservation: A Framework for Quantifying Urban Qualities in Historic City Centers

What gives a place its unique character? What makes this place valuable to its community? Questions like these ultimately revolve around the practices that contribute to urban qualities. Historic city centers in MENA regions, despite their cultural significance, face challenges due to neglect, economic constraints, over-density, and inappropriate urban development. While conservation efforts have been extensive, they often overlook the urban qualities of these areas. This research aims to develop quantitative methods to assess the impact of conservation on urban qualities. By analyzing various conservation approaches and their effects on both physical (buildings, streets and other urban elements) and non-physical (comfort, safety, services) urban elements, the study seeks to identify key factors contributing to urban quality. Quantitative techniques will be employed to evaluate these factors, including aesthetics, sense of place, heritage, and social interaction. The research will ultimately propose a methodological framework for quantifying urban qualities in conserved historic areas, aiding in the evaluation and optimization of future conservation efforts.

Interdisciplinary insights and inspirations of symmetry

The second issue of Volume 35 of the Symmetry: Culture and Science journal arrives shortly before the Symmetry Festival 2024, marking its debut in Italy, in the historic city of Pisa, from July 17 to July 20. This event will be a tribute to the founder of the International Symmetry Association and a friend to many of our readers, György Darvas, who passed away in late 2023. In Volume 35, Number 2, we celebrate Darvas’s ongoing legacy of symmetry as a unifying principle across diverse disciplines. This issue presents a diverse range of interdisciplinary research in mathematics, science, art, education, and architecture, emphasizing the interconnectedness inherent in symmetry. We hope these contributions inspire further exploration and appreciation of symmetry’s multifaceted nature.

The Mathematics Education for the Future Project A Symposium on New Ways of Teaching & Learning The Historic City of Bologna, Italy, August, 2024

The Mathematics Education for the Future Project A Symposium on <i>New Ways of Teaching &amp; Learning</i> The Historic City of Bologna, Italy, August, 2024

Культурный код Великого Новгорода: современность исторического города. Экспертное интервью

The expert interview is devoted to the analysis of the cultural code of Veliky Novgorod and to the architectural techniques, which represent it in the urban environment. The expert considers the general concept of cultural code and examines the modern situation of Veliky Novgorod, where only a small part of authentic objects has been preserved, as most of the structures were destroyed during the Great Patriotic War. Also, the expert evaluates various city objects and projects in terms of combination of Novgorod architectural motifs and modern solutions in them, and emphasizes that the design code, which has been introduced in Veliky Novgorod since 2024, is very poorly connected with the cultural identity of the city. The key thesis of the interview is that all urban objects that are located outside the historic part of the city (outside the berm boundaries) should be resolved in a modern architectural language. In addition, the creation of new projects in contrast with the existing urban environment is described as one of the possible and productive strategies for working in the historical area of the city. In this way, contemporary architects and urban planners can make their original, authorial contribution to the historical city and leave their mark on the urban texture.

Cultural Heritage-Led Regeneration of Historic Cities: A Strategic Intervention for the Metropolis of Tehran

The metropolis of Tehran presents the typical urban challenge of a historic city that has undergone several urban evolutions and faces a decline and loss of cultural heritage. This article illustrates how state-driven urban development plans have compromised the integration of cultural heritage and blurred the image of the city. Tehran has a wealth of cultural heritage sites that call for exploring alternative approaches to urban development and regeneration. In response to this critical inquiry, a design intervention is proposed to consolidate cultural heritage within the planning framework and socio-economic development of the city. The design proposes activating and integrating sites of cultural heritage into the cityscape by presenting cultural heritage as a catalyst for urban regeneration. This can foster an inclusive historical narrative, and strengthen the city’s imageability.

Assessment of the public health risk from noise pollution of the Saint Petersburg center

The purpose of this study is to assess the risk to public health from exposure to road noise in the historical city center of St. Petersburg., the source of which is automobile (freight, passenger, public) transport. The presented article is devoted to an urgent problem – the assessment of the noise environment and the levels of the emerging risk to the health of the population exposed to traffic noise in dense urban areas. The risk assessment was carried out based on the results of field measurements of noise levels in the zone of influence of traffic flows. The quantitative risk assessment was carried out in accordance with the methodological recommendations of MP 2.1.10.0059-12 «Assessment of public health risk from exposure to traffic noise» and Instructions 2.1.8.10-12-3-2005 «Assessment of the risk to public health from exposure to noise in populated areas». The relevance of the work is confirmed by the fact that motor transport is becoming an increasingly priority source of noise pollution of streets, house territories, residential areas. The analysis of the results of the performed acoustic measurements indicates that the values of the equivalent and maximum sound levels at all four control points exceeded the normative noise exposure levels from 6 to 29.9 dBA. At the same time, the actual values varied from 61.2 dBA to 74.9 dBA for L(A)eq. and from 70.4 to 85.7 L(A)max. The obtained result indicates a significant noise impact of motor transport on the nearest residential area, which can lead to adverse health consequences.

Comparison of the distribution of households with regard to worshipping the same shrines or crossings, and their correspondence to the areal extent of tol—A study on the socio‐spatial structure and urban tissue in Bhaktapur, Nepal Part 1

AbstractThis paper aimed to discuss the areal extent and spatial structure of neighborhood, called tol, which possibly demarcate urban tissue with respect to worship of the deity and funerary acts. Bhaktapur is known as one of the historical cities of the World Heritage Site in Kathmandu Valley. The analysis firstly focuses on the dwelling distributions that have the common votary area of the guardian deities' temples/shrines and the use of the same crossing for funerary acts. Then, the authors compare those dwelling distribution with the areal extent of tols to find out how tol boundaries were formed. This result will be a precondition to conduct further examination on historical urban formation in the coming paper.

Garden-Park Landscape Architecture and the formation of recreation areas (on the example of the cities of Uzbekistan)

The article is about the history of the formation of the garden park of the historical cities, several local landscapes from history are cited. There is also talk about ancient gardens that have not lost their perfect landscape design over the years. In addition, the article contains information about the history of parks in the territory of Uzbekistan, and their changes and formation over the years have been discussed.

Vase-shaped microfossils and possible trochamminid foraminifera from the Ediacaran Dhaiqa Formation of Saudi Arabia

We report the first discovery of vase-shaped microfossils (VSMs) and possible multichambered foraminifera from the Ediacaran rocks of Saudi Arabia. The Ediacaran successions of Saudi Arabia are well exposed in the northwestern and central part of the Arabian plate but are relatively understudied due to the lack of economic potential. The exposures can be found in different small sedimentary basins distributed along the flanks of Najd Fault system of the western Arabian Plate. The Dhaiqa sub-basin located near the historic city of Al-Ula contains some of the best exposures of Ediacaran Mattar and Dhaiqa Formations with collective exposure almost 400 m thick. These formations (especially the Dhaiqa Formation) were investigated to describe sedimentary facies, depositional environment, and possible microfossils. This study focuses on the identification of vase-shaped microfossils and possible trochamminid foraminifera of Ediacaran age that are herein recognized for the first time in Saudi Arabia. Outcrop samples were thin-sectioned and analyzed to reveal nine sedimentary facies belonging to four facies associations. The observed microfossils were found in a total of four samples from the cherty/siliceous carbonate and sandy microbialite facies. The microfossils are observed to be associated with diagenetic chert, which is abundant in these facies. The two facies contain a sparse microfossil assemblage with vase-shaped microfossils, which are single-chambered microfossils of uncertain taxonomic affinity, and possible multichambered agglutinated foraminifera that resemble trochamminids.

Digital Literacy toward Historical Knowledge: Implementation of the Bukittinggi City History Website as an Educational Technology

This research aims to identify the challenges and opportunities in integrating digital literacy skills into history education. This research focuses on understanding educators' difficulties in integrating digital technologies into the traditional history curriculum. Educational technology as a means and facility to support education and learning is no exception for historical knowledge through access to historical websites. This study analyses digital literacy toward historical knowledge using the Bukittinggi City history website. This research is quantitative research with a survey approach with closed-ended questions. The research population is the millennial generation in Indonesia. Samples were taken with a non-probability sampling approach with purposive sampling. This study involved 831 respondents spread throughout Indonesia. The data analysis technique is partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results showed no difference in historical knowledge scores between males and girls. With a value of 0.697 and a 69.7% variance, the coefficient of determination (R2) result demonstrates significant volatility in historical knowledge. Additionally, Q2's value serves as a gauge for the model's predictive usefulness. The predictive relevance of the model's independent variables was assessed using the predictive relevance test (Q2). Men might be more adept at using online resources to broaden their knowledge of the city's past. Understanding the disparities in digital literacy between men and women will significantly impact the design of educational and literacy programs in Bukittinggi. Enhancing digital literacy can promote access to and understanding of the city's history, especially among women

Digital Literacy toward Historical Knowledge: Implementation of the Bukittinggi City History Website as an Educational Technology

This research aims to identify the challenges and opportunities in integrating digital literacy skills into history education. This research focuses on understanding educators' difficulties in integrating digital technologies into the traditional history curriculum. Educational technology as a means and facility to support education and learning is no exception for historical knowledge through access to historical websites. This study analyses digital literacy toward historical knowledge using the Bukittinggi City history website. This research is quantitative research with a survey approach with closed-ended questions. The research population is the millennial generation in Indonesia. Samples were taken with a non-probability sampling approach with purposive sampling. This study involved 831 respondents spread throughout Indonesia. The data analysis technique is partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results showed no difference in historical knowledge scores between males and girls. With a value of 0.697 and a 69.7% variance, the coefficient of determination (R2) result demonstrates significant volatility in historical knowledge. Additionally, Q2's value serves as a gauge for the model's predictive usefulness. The predictive relevance of the model's independent variables was assessed using the predictive relevance test (Q2). Men might be more adept at using online resources to broaden their knowledge of the city's past. Understanding the disparities in digital literacy between men and women will significantly impact the design of educational and literacy programs in Bukittinggi. Enhancing digital literacy can promote access to and understanding of the city's history, especially among women