Mid-sized City Research Articles

Sanctuary as Praxis: Engaging Families at the Crossroads of Disability, Education, and Migration

ABSTRACT This qualitative study is focused on the political and social connections among disability, race, language, and migration that affect how emergent bilingual students are labeled as disabled and marginalized in schools despite—or, perhaps, through—educational and migration policies. Specifically, this study is concerned with the connections between educational policies at the school-level and the sanctuary policies at the community-level which purport inclusion, belonging, and care without authentically and critically engaging and responding to the diverse needs and perspectives of the stakeholders these policies are intended to serve. Based on the findings of a qualitative study in a mid-sized sanctuary city in Upstate New York, the author offers a reconceptualization of sanctuary as a critical reflexive process, rather than stand-alone policy or political boundary, and what this means for the education and engagement of emergent bilingual students labeled as disabled (EB/LAD) and these students’ families and communities.

Awareness of segregation in a welfare state: a Finnish local policy perspective

Segregation is a relatively recent issue in larger Finnish cities. The existence of segregation contradicts the Nordic welfare model, and segregation has been raised to the national policy level in Finland to combat a slowly widening gap between social groups on a spatial level. Local municipalities are central actors in urban policies. Therefore, we look at segregation from a local policy perspective. Our results confirm that segregation has not been seen as a burning issue in Finland on a local level, and recognition depends on the size of the city. Where segregation is acknowledged, it is often named a problem in city strategies but does not translate into anti-segregation policies locally. In mid-size cities, ‘spatial deprivation’ rather than segregation is acknowledged, rendering systematic interventions aimed at segregation even more difficult.

Coping with inflation: Social perceptions and ordinary measures of price increases in contemporary Argentina

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, in a significant part of the world, the cost of living has once again become a central issue in the agenda of both governments and populations. However, in some countries, inflation has been a distinctive feature of the economy for more than a decade, which the pandemic has only exacerbated. Argentina is one of these countries. Based on a 4-year qualitative investigation carried out among low- and middle-income households in a mid-sized city in Buenos Aires province and complemented by observations made among senior households in the same province during the pandemic, this article seeks two purposes: on one hand, to analyze how price rise appears in people’s concerns when we focus on domestic economies and, on the other, to account for the ways of measuring inflation and evaluating its impacts on such economies. The document intends to contribute to the construction of a perspective on inflation that is attentive to how people act and think about the economy in their everyday lives.

Puebla City Water Supply from the Perspective of Urban Water Metabolism

The city of Puebla is a mid-sized Mexican city facing multiple water-related challenges, from overexploitation of water sources and extreme pollution of rivers to water conflicts and contestation processes due to the privatization of water supply. Due to the complexity of urban water systems and their relevance for urban life, a holistic and integrative perspective is therefore needed to inform policymakers addressing such challenges. In this paper, Urban Water Metabolism (UWM) has been used to offer a comprehensive understanding of current water insecurity in the City of Puebla and its metropolitan area. Water inflows and outflows have been estimated using the Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method with data either obtained from official sources or simulated with the Monte Carlo method. Our findings show that the UWM configuration in the City of Puebla and its metropolitan area is effective for generating profits for service providers and water-related businesses, yet ineffective for guaranteeing citizens’ Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), a right recognized in the Constitution of Mexico. We conclude that to advance towards an inclusive and sustainable long-term provision of water, economic goals must follow socio-ecological goals, not the other way around. We consider UWM accounting useful for informing policy and decision-making processes seeking to build a new water governance based on both the best available knowledge and inclusive and vibrant social participation.

Do young adults want to live downtown? Understanding attitudes in Prince George, BC

ABSTRACT Cities throughout North America are experiencing a population boom in the city centre, fueled by changing consumer preferences, particularly amongst young adults. However, not all communities have experienced this phenomenon equally. In Prince George, a mid-sized city located in northern British Columbia, the downtown has not undergone a population resurgence. Instead, development continues to expand outwards at the edge of the city. Using a web-based survey, this research seeks to better understand the attitudes of young adults in Prince George, to gauge their perspectives about living downtown, and to understand the factors that constrain market demand. Our findings indicate that respondents hold negative perceptions about the downtown, which leads to soft market demand and impedes plans for population growth in the downtown.

Grounded Theory Approach to Understand Self-Management of Opioid Recovery Through Pregnancy and Early Parenting

ObjectiveTo develop a theory to explain the processes women use to self-manage recovery from opioid use disorder during pregnancy, the postpartum period, and early parenting. DesignConstructivist grounded theory approach. ParticipantsWomen (N = 16) who gave birth during the past 12 months and used medication for opioid use disorder for recovery through pregnancy and the postpartum period. MethodsWe recruited participants through seven medication-assisted treatment clinics in a mid-size Midwestern city and the surrounding suburbs and through online parenting and recovery community groups with national-based memberships. We conducted semistructured, individual audio interviews from November 2020 to July 2021. Interviews continued until we reached theoretical and meaning saturation. We used constant comparative methods during initial and intermediate coding. ResultsParticipants described a central process, Growing as a Healthy Dyad, that included six processes they used to self-manage recovery: Maintaining Vigilance, Performing Self-Care, Putting in the Work of Recovery, Advocating, Navigating Social Support, and Acquiring Skills and Knowledge. These processes were affected by personal and social contextual factors. ConclusionsThe grounded theory, Self-Management of Opioid Recovery Through Pregnancy and Early Parenting, can be used to explain the unique processes of self-management by women in opioid recovery and highlights the need for a strengths-based approach to caring for the maternal–infant dyad.

Exploring the Barriers and Potential Opportunities of Technology Integration in Community-Based Social Service Organizations

Community-based social service organizations often face multifaceted challenges, including limited resources, inadequate staffing, funding constraints, and high demand for their services. These challenges are often exacerbated when serving vulnerable communities with complex social needs. Despite these difficulties, technology holds the potential to help bridge the service gap, enabling these organizations to respond more effectively to the diverse needs of their communities. In our work, we conducted 21 semi-structured interviews with representatives from different community-based social service organizations in a mid-sized city in Northern Indiana. This city struggles with high rates of poverty and homelessness in several of its neighborhoods. Our findings revealed that although these organizations faced numerous technological challenges, data and knowledge management was a particularly significant issue. Based on our findings, we offer design recommendations for empowering community-based social service organizations and the people they serve through technology. By leveraging the capabilities of technology, our study aims to promote social justice by assisting community-based organizations in better serving their communities.

Modeling the impacts of building energy efficiency on the thermal microclimate in a midsize German city

Increasing building energy efficiency (BEE) is an established mitigation measure against climate change. However, it is currently less understood, if the implementation of increased BEE could have an impact on urban microclimate and therefore potentially interferes with adaptation efforts to climate change. In this modeling study, we tested the hypothesis that decreased thermal diffusivities of building facades due to building retrofitting will increase sensible heat fluxes at the facade surfaces and can therefore lead to an increase in urban heat exposure. Our modeling results conducted with the urban microclimate model ENVI-met for two different neighborhoods in the mid-sized city of Braunschweig, Germany indicate that retrofitting complete neighborhoods might lead to an increase in urban temperatures by up to 2.5 K locally and 1 K when spatially averaged at daytime. However, at night-time a cooling effect of almost the same magnitude is noted that could reduce the maximum of the urban heat island. Overall, it can be expected that a necessary increase in BEE standards due to their role in climate change mitigation lead to an increase in daytime outdoor heat exposure. Methods to alleviate this trade-off between climate change mitigation and adaptation should be studied in the future.

Coping with Community Violence: Perspectives of African American Young Adult Men and Hispanic/Latino Young Adult Men.

Further study is needed regarding the intersection of community violence exposure, coping strategies, and health behaviors among young adult African American men and Hispanic/Latino men. This study did so in Lake County, Indiana, which contains multiple areas with disproportionate prevalence of violence relative to population size. Approximately 22 miles from Chicago, Lake County includes noteworthy mid-sized cities such as Gary, Hammond, and East Chicago. This study explored the perceptions of African American men and Hispanic/Latino men ages 18 to 25 regarding coping strategies and both healthy and health risk behaviors after directly witnessing or indirectly experiencing a violent act or event. We used aspects of social cognitive theory to design this community-based participatory research study. Thirteen males who self-identified as African American, Hispanic/Latino, or both, completed 34- to 80-minute, audio-recorded phone interviews. Audio recordings were transcribed, and NVivo 12 Windows was used by the research team (primary researchers and two coders) to complete transcript analysis. Findings from this study provided insight around African American men and Hispanic/Latino men regarding (a) witnessing violence directly or indirectly experiencing violence; (b) changes in everyday life experiences; (c) coping strategies that involved socio-emotional health, spiritual health, social health, and risky health behaviors; (d) rationales for not asking for help; (e) observations of significant others' coping; (f) what to do differently in the future; (g) beliefs about mentors; and (h) beliefs about mental health providers. Delving into participants' experiences revealed that African American men and Hispanic/Latino men in Lake County, Indiana chose to adopt a range of health risk and health positive strategies after directly witnessing or indirectly experiencing violence. Becoming knowledgeable about African American men's and Hispanic/Latino men's diverse coping strategies and health behaviors may help inform the community about how best to cocreate spaces that aim to alleviate the traumatic experience of having directly or indirectly experienced community violence.

Utilising PLS-SEM and Km2 Methodology in Urban Logistics Analysis: A Case Study on Popayan, Colombia

The development of Latin American cities has been characterised by disorderly expansion. This urbanisation looks set to continue, and, by 2050, there will be a considerable demand for resources, spaces, and food to survive in emerging societies. All this requires an increase in urban freight logistics operations. Although several stakeholders are involved, citizens tend to be overlooked when planners and decision makers look to solve the problems generated by freight operations. This research focuses on logistics activities and stakeholder perceptions in areas of high vehicular flow and commercial establishment density in the mid-sized Colombian city of Popayán. Drawing on the methods proposed in previous studies conducted in Latin American cities, this paper’s scientific value lies in its comprehensive approach, integration of quantitative and qualitative data, and application of PLS-SEM analysis. Its contribution to sustainable urban planning is evident through insights into optimising urban logistics, enhancing stakeholder engagement, promoting sustainable transport, and informing policy formulation. These aspects make the paper a valuable resource for researchers, policymakers, and urban planners seeking to create more sustainable and efficient urban logistics systems. The results show a correlation between commercial establishments’ locations and urban logistics operations. Overall, the research creates an ample scope for studying stakeholder perceptions and urban logistics in other mid-sized Latin American cities.

Contextual factors in local energy policy choices: comparative case of solar energy policy in two cities

Numerous recent calls have been made for policy design research to embed itself throughout the policy process and explore avenues for matching tools and targets. These calls have argued that policy design research, while emphasizing the content and the choice of design, has been under-leveraged, particularly in exploring rationales for effectiveness. In this paper, we conduct a comparative case study to explore variation in participation rates for two similarly categorized solar policies across two mid-sized cities. In this regard, three contextual factors are examined, including the population characteristics, the existing configuration of policies, and the physical environment, which all contribute to shaping policy effectiveness. We argue that policy design is situated within an explicit context and that without capturing the context, the effectiveness of policies may not translate if diffused.

Im/mobilising bus travel as an infrastructure of care: student experiences in a mid-size city

Many universities are transforming campuses by responding to globally significant, locally specific, economic, political, and social imperatives. Some are implementing urban and regional transformations in higher education delivery to increase student access and diversity. Their success can depend upon infrastructures provided by other parties. Public transport is an example. Transit accessibility and equity affect quality of life, livelihoods, life course, and liveability in cities. Growing numbers of international studies consider factors shaping student travel to and from university campuses by public transport; fewer address local socio-spatial experiences of travel. Informed by debates about differential accessibility of suburban and city campuses, we examined student experiences at an Australian regional university undergoing transformation. We report on a study assessing multiple trips to and from two campuses to five destinations. Rich insights were drawn from experiences of antisocial behaviour, vulnerability, and sub-optimal service provision and reveal why some students think public transport is a mode of last resort. Universities and their stakeholders need to know more about student experiences of mobility. Such knowledge could inform tailored transport interventions and universities’ willingness to encourage public transport providers to view their services as infrastructures of care.

Kindergarten predictors of formal understanding of mathematical equivalence in second grade.

A longitudinal study was conducted to identify unique sources of individual differences in later understanding of the equal sign as a relational symbol of equivalence (i.e., formal understanding of mathematical equivalence). The sample included 141 children from a mid-sized city in the Midwestern United States (Mage = 6 years, 2 months in kindergarten; 88 boys, 53 girls; 71% white, 8% Hispanic or Latine, 7% Black, 3% Asian, 11% multiracial or other race/ethnicity; 42% qualified for free/reduced lunch). Children were assessed on three categories of skills in kindergarten including number knowledge, relational thinking, and executive functioning. These skills were hypothesized to provide a foundation for a formal understanding of mathematical equivalence (assessed in second grade) by preventing a specific, narrow misunderstanding of the equal sign that hinders learning. Results showed that kindergarten relational thinking, particularly tasks assessing nonsymbolic equivalence understanding, uniquely and positively predicted formal understanding of mathematical equivalence and negatively predicted the specific misunderstanding of the equal sign in second grade, controlling for IQ, gender, and free/reduced lunch status. Exploratory analyses unpacking the categories of skills into individual tasks also indicated specific areas of kindergarten instructional focus that may help children construct understanding of mathematical equivalence in future years. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Why Migrants Stay in Small and Mid-sized Cities: Analytical and Comparative Insights

Why Migrants Stay in Small and Mid-sized Cities: Analytical and Comparative Insights

Migration, (il)legal status and housing precarity: Difficulties and coping strategies

ABSTRACT Using evidence from participant observation and qualitative interviews with 54 sub-Saharan African (SSA) migrants—“economic migrants,” refugees (people with any international protection status), (refused) asylum-seekers and irregular migrants—this article identifies the housing barriers and the resources individuals use to cope with housing difficulties in the mid-sized city of Bergamo, Italy. The analysis highlights that while legal status is significant in accessing quality and stable housing, there is no direct relationship between legal status and housing access. All migrant groups faced various challenges to housing access leading to uncertain and precarious housing situations contributing to prolonged housing precarity, and the production of multiple and various coping mechanisms. The findings have implications for policy, housing and migration scholarship.

Critical assessment of emissions, costs, and time for last-mile goods delivery by drones versus trucks

Electric drones as an autonomous mode of transport are scaling up to transform last-mile goods delivery, raising an urgent need for assessing impacts of drone transport from a systems perspective. In this paper, we conduct systems analyses to assess the environmental, economic, and delivery time impact of large drones for delivery scenarios to pick-up centers between mid-size cities predominantly in rural areas, and deliveries within city limits compared with electric and diesel trucks. Results show that large drones have lower emissions than diesel trucks for deliveries in rural areas and that drones don’t compete with electric trucks, mainly due to the high energy demand required for take-off and landing for each delivery. Furthermore, we show that electric drones are an economically more cost-effective option than road-bound transport modes such as diesel and electric trucks due to the high degree of automation, and also provide the fastest delivery times. Our analysis provides unique insights that drones can address rapid electrification and emergency applications due to low costs, high flexibility, and fast operations. However, for regulators and practitioners to realize it as an emission-friendly option it is necessary to determine the optimal size of drones, particularly for use cases in urban areas, avoid very low landings for deliveries, and have home deliveries instead of pick-up points.

Transformative Capacity Building by Systematic Use of Urban Living Labs: A Case Study of Alytus, Lithuania

This article aims to introduce the concept of Permanent Urban Living Lab (PULL) as a method for urban transformative capacity building. Since the beginning of 2000s, the urban living labs (ULLs) are being researched and examined as experimental settings that bring together various stakeholders, such as citizens, researchers, businesses, and policymakers, to co-create and test innovative solutions for urban developments. They offer a collaborative and participatory approach to urban solutions that engages and empowers local communities and fosters a culture of a shared foresight process and mutual learning. In the context of local development, the ULLs can serve as a powerful tool for building the urban transformative capacities (UTC) by providing a platform for local actors to develop their skills, knowledge, and networks for intersectoral cooperation, and by creating opportunities for experimentation and experiential learning. The case of Alytus, Lithuania, is an interesting example of how the urban living labs can be used to drive local development. Alytus is a mid-sized city in Lithuania, Northern Europe that has faced a range of social, geopolitical, economic, and environmental challenges typical of the region in recent years, including declining population, high unemployment, and deteriorating public spaces. The aim of this article is to analyse the perspective of implementation of European policies and methodologies presented in the Urban Europe Programme if applied to the search of transformative capacities’ building for better city co-governance. In this respect, methods of the quadrupole helix model, urban living labs, force field analysis and different forms of co-creation are discussed as the founding elements for initiating a digital platform for citizens’ involvement and participation in urban transformations.

Significant differences in black and brown carbon concentrations at urban and suburban sites

Light-absorbing carbonaceous particles (LAC) may cause and/or exacerbate non-communicable diseases, interfere with the Earth's radiative balance, darken urban buildings and impair vistas. In this study, we explored the temporal behaviour of LAC concentrations measured at wavelengths of 370 nm (brown carbon, BrC) and 880 nm (black carbon, BC) at two sites of a mid-sized city in Brazil. We observed sharp changes in LAC concentrations at the city centre site in response to variations in traffic volume. The highest concentrations were observed when winds originated from both the city core and from the direction of the bus terminal. The suburban site exhibited a notably uniform diurnal pattern and consistently lower LAC concentrations throughout the day. Nevertheless, substantial increases during the evening led to mean BrC and BC concentrations (2.6 and 2.2 μg m−3, respectively) comparable to daytime peaks observed in the city centre (3 μg m−3 and 2.5 μg m−3). This phenomenon was attributed to the burning of residential waste and overgrown vegetation in nearby vacant lots. Moreover, the highest concentrations coincided with periods of low wind speeds, usually linked to non-buoyant plumes from point sources. BrC concentrations surpassed BC concentrations, even at the city centre site. Not only was the Ångström absorption exponent (Å370/880) larger at the suburban site compared to the city centre (95th percentiles of 1.73 and 1.38, respectively), but it also exhibited a wider span. Overall, the combined LAC and Å370/880 data indicated that i) biomass burning is a major source of LAC at the suburban site; ii) at the city centre, bare BC particles may become internally mixed with BrC from biomass or fossil fuel emissions and enhance absorption at lower wavelengths. The occurrence of LAC peaks outside the evening rush hours suggests that other sources but on-road vehicular emissions may contribute to the deterioration of the air quality in the urban core. Tackling air quality across the urban perimeter requires targeting other potential sources but traffic emissions.

COVID relief as ‘dangerous money’ for Black business owners

ABSTRACT The present study examines Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) experiences of a sample of Black business owners in a mid-sized city amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores how Black business owners made sense of the Paycheck Protection Program, and how they came to regard it as an untrustworthy source of economic relief or even a dangerous trap. Less than half of the small business owners we interviewed applied for PPP, and those who did, did so with great trepidation. We find that experiences of Black business owners with the PPP are informed by the longstanding barriers that Black businesses face accessing financing from financial institutions.

Disparities in Dream Capital Among Adolescents: Focused on the Role of Arts Education in Schools of South Korea

This research explores the role of arts education in schools in relation to the regional disparities in adolescent dream capital. A total of 142 adolescents, who received either intensive arts education or general education, were surveyed in South Korea. Based on previous studies, the authors focused on four dimensions of dream capital capacity—imagination, hope, optimism, and resilience—as well as its subindicators, self-confidence and authenticity. Research findings indicate that most subdimensions of dream capital for adolescents in small and mid-sized cities were markedly lower than those in large cities. However, dream feature disparities, such as optimism and authenticity, were not found among those who received intensive arts education. This study extends the current discussion on the inequality of dream capital caused by regional disparity and offers new insights into the role of arts education in schools in alleviating these gaps.