Small Urban Centers Research Articles

Determinants of Population Growth Trends for Tanzanian Small Towns

The largest share of urbanisation in Sub Saharan Africa is taking place in settlements that are smaller than cities. However, these small urban settlements are conceptually neglected and mostly mistheorised as overriding land governance concepts and institutional procedures were designed for large urban centres or the extreme opposite, villages. As a result, there is either a total lack of specific policies on small urban centres or the policies are designed wrongly thus contributing to challenges of informality, poor servicing and environment degradations. This paper, using the Tanzanian case, is an attempt to contribute in understanding the dynamics of small towns through establishing the population thresholds that can appropriately be classified as small towns and the factors driving their growth. The study analyses census data spatially using geographical information system and statistical software. The results indicate that the typical size of small towns where polarisation forces still gravitate towards the town has a number of people between 10,000 and 50,000 people with population density at the core of the settlements ranging from 40 to 120 people per hectare. The major factors for the development are the presence of economic activities that have value addition options contributing to off-farm employment, and the typical radius of its hinterland for each small town is about a one hour drive. As the number of small towns continues to grow in Sub Saharan Africa due to continued polarisation forces, policies and interventions for the management of small have to be pre-emptive and anticipatory.

“People like us”: spatialised notions of health, stigma, power and subjectivity among women in street sex work

Most spatially-oriented studies about health, safety and service provision among women in street sex work have taken place in large urban cities and document how the socio-legal and moral surveillance of geographical spaces constrain their daily movements and compromise their ability to care for themselves. Designed to contribute new knowledge about the broader socio-cultural and environmental landscape of sex work in smaller urban centres, we conducted qualitative interviews and social mapping activities with thirty-three women working in a medium-sized Canadian city. Our findings demonstrate a socio-spatial convergence regarding service provision, violence, and stigma, which is common in sex trading spaces that double as service landscapes for poor populations. Women in this study employ unique agential strategies to navigate these competing forces, many of which draw upon the multivalent uses of different urban spaces to optimise service access, reduce the propensity for violence, and manage their health with dignity. Their use of the spatialised term ‘everywhere’ as an idiom of distress regarding issues of power, agency and their desire to take part in wider civic discourse are also explored. These data contribute new insights about spatialised notions of health, stigma, agency, and subjectivity among women in sex work and how they manage ‘risky’ environments.

Socio-Economic Determinants of the Development of Small Cities in the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region

The identification of socio-economic determinants of the development of small urban centers functioning in the conditions of transformation and metropolization of space constitutes a significant research problem in the area of urban geography. In this study, the problem is discussed in the context of East Germany. The aim of the article is to characterize the most important contemporary determinants and factors influencing the development of small cities in the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. This characterization is based on analyses involving over 100 cities and refers to the spatial and population development of individual urban centers in the years 1990–2015. The research also used statistical material and spatial data sets published by official German national and regional institutions. In the course of the analyses, it was established that the conditions determining the development of small urban communes within the research area are very complex. This results from the overlapping of transformation determinants and factors universal for the whole area and the determinants resulting from the metropolization processes, whose nature and impact diversify in space.

Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan: The friendly little monster

The Severn Sound Remedial Action Plan began as a federal-provincial initiative and became a “friendly little monster” when the community of small urban centers and rural townships took their responsibility seriously and became fully committed to the restoration of Severn Sound as a “toxic hot-spot” on the Great Lakes. Severn Sound is a complex of bays and inlets in south-eastern Georgian Bay. The Area of Concern was listed in 1985 because of eutrophication and habitat loss. This article will explore the changes in organizational structure supporting Remedial Action Plan development and implementation from an external federal-provincial program to a local organization supported by a variety of partners. Key principles of funding the remedial actions and administration of the local Severn Sound Environmental Association will be highlighted. This transition led to successful implementation and ultimate delisting of the Area of Concern in 2003. Following delisting, creative local partnership agreements and financing were arranged to continue long-term implementation and to meet emerging environmental challenges.

Evaluating Equity and Inclusion in Access to Water and Sanitation for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS in Wukro, Ethiopia

For more than a decade, foreign aid-supported water interventions focusing on an increase in household private connections have been implemented in the small urban center of Wukro. However, little has been investigated about the effectiveness of these interventions in achieving equitable and inclusive access to water and sanitation for all, including the most vulnerable. With this purpose, a cross-sectional comparative analysis of service provision between the HIV-infected population (n = 199) and non-infected population (n = 199) was undertaken. Findings suggest significant inequalities regarding the primary water source, monthly expenditure in water, water consumption, and time employed to fetch water, as well as the type of toilet facility, number of users, and the time employed to access it. Results also show a reported feeling of discrimination with regard to service provision within the HIV-positive population. This study provides evidence on local-scale interventions increasing the number of household water connections but overlooking the pursuit of equity and inclusion for the most vulnerable. The study also presents recommendations on how to specifically target the needs of persons living with HIV/AIDS in order to achieve equitable and inclusive access to water and sanitation for all.

Downscaling incidence risk mapping for a Colombian malaria endemic region

To map at a fine spatial scale, the risk of malaria incidence for the important endemic region is Urabá-Bajo Cauca and Alto Sinú, NW Colombia, using a new modelling framework based on GIS and remotely sensed environmental data. The association between environmental and topographic variables obtained from remote sensors and the annual parasite incidence (API) for the years 2013-2015 was calculated using multiple regression analysis; subsequently, a model was constructed to estimate the API and to project it to the entire endemic region in order to design the risk map. The model was validated by relating the obtained API values with the presence of the three main Colombian malaria vectors, Anopheles darlingi, Anopheles albimanus and Anopheles nuneztovari. Temperature and Normalized Difference Water Index (NDWI) showed a significant correlation with the observed API. The risk map of malaria incidence showed that the zones at higher risk in the Urabá-Bajo Cauca and Alto Sinú region were located south-east of the region, while the northern area presented the lowest malaria risk. A method was generated to estimate the API for small urban centres, instead of the used reports at the municipality level. These results provide evidence of the utility of risk maps to identify environmentally vulnerable areas at a fine spatial resolution in the Urabá-Bajo Cauca and Alto Sinú region. This information contributes to the implementation of vector control interventions at the microgeographic scale at areas of high malaria risk.

Artistas y decoradores en el Teatro Municipal de San Nicolás de los Arroyos a principios del siglo XX

In Argentina, by the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, several opera houses appeared, in both large cities and small urban centers. One example is the Teatro Muncipal in San Nicolás de los Arroyos, inaugurated on August 10, 1908. This paper analyzes the historical-artistic aspects of the theater and the imaginary it contributed to build in a provincial city at the beginnings of 1900. Some peculiarities of this theatre lead us to highlight alternative routes of artistic circulation, where Buenos Aires is not always the center and where local intermediaries have had preeminence; since a greater dialogue with the city of Rosario than with the nation’s capital was established.

O crime do tráfico de drogas e a relação com a violência: uma contribuição interdisciplinar

A proposta deste artigo é a de analisar a relação entre o tráfico de drogas e o aumento da criminalidade e da sensação de insegurança verificados nos últimos anos no Brasil. Como metodologia adotou-se a pesquisa bibliográfica valendo-se de leitura exploratória, análise e interpretação de materiais já publicados. As fontes consultadas referem-se a publicações do período de 2006 a 2016, com exceção dos autores considerados clássicos em seus respectivos campos do saber. Como conclusão temos que o território do tráfico de drogas, presente tanto nos pequenos quanto nos grandes centros urbanos, contribui para o aumento da criminalidade, em especial com o crime de homicídio, já que o narcotráfico, para manter sua consolidação criminosa, se articula em redes de proteção que promovem desde execuções de membros de grupos de facções rivais a consumidores em débito. Essas organizações do tráfico acabam aumentando a violência não apenas na periferia pois quando dominam esses espaços, começam a cometer crimes nos espaços elitizados o que aumenta muito a sensação de insegurança da população e a violência de forma generalizada.

Improving the impact of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis implementation in small urban centers among men who have sex with men: An agent-based modelling study.

ObjectivesIdentifying prescribing strategies that improve the efficiency of PrEP should increase its impact at the population level. This study identifies PrEP allocation criteria that most effectively reduce 10-year HIV incidence by 25%, in accordance with the US National HIV/AIDS Strategy’s goal for the proportionate reduction in new diagnoses.MethodsWe used a discrete-time stochastic agent-based model to simulate several PrEP engagement strategies. The model represented MSM aged 15–74 in Rhode Island and was calibrated to statewide prevalence from 2009–2014. We simulated HIV transmission in the absence of PrEP and compared the following PrEP engagement scenarios: 1) allocation to the current patient population; 2) random allocation; 3) allocation to MSM with greater than 5 sexual partners in one year; 4) allocation to MSM with greater than 10 sexual partners in one year.For each scenario and coverage level we estimated the number and proportion of infections averted and the person-years on PrEP per averted infection.ResultsIn 2014, HIV prevalence before PrEP implementation was between 4% and 5%. In the No PrEP scenario 826 new infections (95% simulation limits [SL]: 711, 955) occurred over 10 years, with an incidence rate of 3.51 per 1000 person-years (95% SL: 3.00, 4.08). Prevalence rose to 7.4% (95% SL: 6.7, 8.1). None of the PrEP scenarios reduced new HIV infections by 25% while covering less than 15% of the HIV-uninfected population. At 15% coverage, allocating PrEP to the current patient population, MSM with greater than 5 sexual partners in a year, and MSM with greater than 10 partners reduced new infections by at least 25%, requiring 161 (95% SL: 115, 289), 150 (95% SL: 107, 252), and 128 (95% SL: 100, 184) person-years on PrEP per averted infection, respectively.ConclusionsEngaging MSM with high numbers of sexual partners would improve the population-level impact and efficiency of PrEP in settings where PrEP coverage remains low. However, the sustained population-level PrEP coverage needed to reduce new infections by 25% is substantially higher than current levels of PrEP uptake.

Theorizing Small Towns in Anthropological Views in Nepal

This paper has attempted to define the terms urban, urbanism, cities and towns which are confusing terms however interrelated. An interdisciplinary approach has been adopted to achieve this objective. The towns are small in size, population along with development basis than cities. Earlier stage of towns or small towns was village. As a foundation, village was the original form of all. In this sense, it is focused on the overall urban−rural structure where rural/village has crucial role to develop town to cities. Archeologically, the effort to subsist in primitive people was based on the process of agricultural farming. The first and early civilization in human behaviours was found in Near East (similar as Middle East in West Asia) as initial town at the bank of the river. Therefore, the origin of the towns indicates early people began to be civilized in their daily activities. Later, the towns were extended. In Nepal, there are generally urban areas, cities, towns and villages as local levels in the forms of Metropolitan Cities, Sub Metropolitan Cities, Municipality, and Rural Municipality at the one side, DUD BC at the other has classified into five classes− metro city, sub- metro city, city, sub-city or small town and urban centre based on urban faculties and population.

Community resources for small city creativity? Rethinking creative economy narratives at the Blue Mountains Music Festival

ABSTRACTLimitations in scale, infrastructure and business opportunities in combination with a greater sense of community in small centres require a more diverse understanding of the small city creative economy. Entrepreneurship and business development builds on non-capitalist resources, creative community initiatives, volunteers and community networks. Fostering the creative economy in small cities requires a rethinking of creative narratives that iterate the key role of non-capitalist community resources. I illustrate this argument via a case study of the Blue Mountains Music Festival, in New South Wales, Australia. It examines the gap between creative economy aspirations of a small city government and the reality of creativity ‘on the ground’. The City of the Blue Mountains is a small urban centre on the fringes of metropolitan Sydney and regional New South Wales. Its council has recently adopted a creative industries approach to enhance local employment in line with national and metropolitan creative agendas. The Blue Mountains Music Festival was launched in response to creative economy policy more than 20 years ago, but has now lost this connection as it fails to fit current policy aspirations. The festival is, however, an effective example of how creativity in a small city unfolds, demonstrating that beyond jobs and growth are key matters of non-capitalist community networks and resources.

Patterns of changing residential preferences during late adulthood

ABSTRACTEarlier research on residential mobility has demonstrated a tendency for the young old of the 55+ population to prefer peripheral locations, whereas older age groups choose central locations. Here, we present survey results indicating that such late-adulthood differences in preferences are supported by age-related shifts corresponding to differences in housing preferences expressed by individuals in peripheral as well as central locations in Sweden. A sample of 2,400 individuals aged 55 years and over was asked to select the seven most important characteristics of a dwelling from a list of 21 alternatives (Survey of Housing Intentions among the ELDerly in Sweden (SHIELD), 2013). The preferences expressed were used as dependent variables in logistic regressions to determine to what extent the housing preferences of older people are linked to age, gender, socio-economic status and type of geographical area. The results demonstrated a close link between neighbourhood characteristics and housing preferences. Owning the dwelling, having a garden and access to nature were stressed as important by individuals living in non-metropolitan middle-class areas and in suburban elite areas. The youngest cohort expressed similar preferences. Older age groups instead stressed the importance of an elevator, single-storey housing and a good design for independent living; preferences that have similarities to those expressed by individuals living in large cities and smaller urban centres where such housing is more readily available.

Photovoice as a visual-verbal strategy for studying contents and processes of social representations: a participatory project on sustainable energy

ABSTRACT Photovoice is a participatory action-research strategy that has been mainly adopted to give voice to “unheard” groups. In this article, we adapted this strategy in a study on the social representations (SRs) of sustainable energy shared by young citizens (ages 11–12) in Narni, Italy, a small urban center with a history intertwined with sustainable energy issues. In particular, the study suggests that photovoice could be useful to jointly examine verbal and visual components of social representations and to highlight communicative formats that contribute to shape SRs. Images of sustainable energy produced by participants show technocentric and ecocentric contents, confirming previous studies conducted with adults. Anthropocentric components also emerge, potentially identifying a challenging figurative nucleus. Photo-elicitation and small-group discussions show a twofold communicative activity: reification formats and homogamic communication are used to reaffirm shared representations, and the consensualization format is used when potentially disruptive elements for the community are at stake. Overall, results show the potentialities of photovoice experience for SR research and suggest that photovoice could actually benefit from further in-depth analyses of images and of communication within groups. Implications of the results for civic engagement are discussed.

“Undesirables Entering the Town to Look for Good Times”: Banff Confronts Its Counterculture Youth Scene, 1965–1971

Small urban centres remain largely overlooked in historical studies of the counterculture in Canada. This article examines the rise and fall of the scene in Banff, Alberta—a single-industry town with an economy based on accommodating travelling pleasure-seekers, that lacked an elected municipal government. Beginning in 1965, a fast-growing number of counterculture and transient youths trekked to Banff each summer. Some used its public spaces for behaviour Banffites deemed inappropriate and also bothersome to tourists, which pushed officials, business owners, and other permanent residents to debate the nature and limits of tolerance in their community. A few facilities and services welcomed counterculture youth, but most residents remained apprehensive about how Banff’s image might be affected during the high tourist season. After years of mounting frustration and resentment, tensions reached a crescendo in 1971, following which Banff’s status as a counterculture destination abruptly collapsed.

Coworking spaces in mid-sized cities: A partner in downtown economic development

The 21st century economy is knowledge-intensive, creative and flourishing in larger urban centres. Less is known about how smaller urban centres are faring in this new economy. This research aims to fill that gap by exploring whether mid-sized cities, in a designated growth area in Ontario, Canada, can leverage the knowledge economy and foster local economic development to help revitalize their ailing downtowns. Through a case study approach, this research looks at the role that coworking, or shared workspaces, can play in the local economy of mid-sized cities in Ontario. Recognizing the role that community-based actors play in urban affairs, this paper uses a local economic development framework to explore the role of coworking spaces in the urban economic fabric of mid-sized city downtowns. Survey responses and interviews, coupled with insights from global surveys on coworking and a literature review, begin to tell the story of how economic change is playing out in mid-sized cities, illustrating the importance of an innovative, collaborative and inclusive approaches to city building and local economic development.

Un po' spettacolo, un po' forma d'arte, un po' conoscenza : impressioni di alcuni giovani di provincia sul cinema e l'audiovisivo

Digital natives ideally belong to the post-millennial generation, indeed, those who were born after 1995 are more likely to have used digital technology growing up than those who were born before. In Italy, movie theaters are less active than in the past and the consequences of this are particularly felt in small urban centers. Considering the iGen familiarity with digital devices and the lack of working movie theaters, teenagers’ habits towards audiovisual experiences will be analyzed in this paper: the reference sample is a small group of young people living in Sulcis-Iglesiente. This province, situated in south west Sardinia, is sadly known as the poorest region of Italy and it suffers from inefficient public transportation services like many other Italian areas. With an extension of 2.117 km² and 141.628 inhabitants, the territory counts only one operational movie theater situated in the town of Carbonia (even if festivals and temporary shows are organized in some villages on several occasions) and public transportation might stop before the end of the shows. A short survey will be submitted to the sample; questions are easy to understand: possible difficulties in reaching the theater, general interest in cinema and movies, the devices used for watching video content, popularity of other kinds of audiovisual entertainment (like video-games, TV-series, user generated videos) and the use of video in social media. Results will be presented and discussed. A correlation between the distribution of movie theaters and teenagers’ multi media habits in southern Sardinia will be discussed.

An interpretation attempt of Hungarian small towns’ shrinking in a post-socialist transformation con

The rapid shrinking of Hungarian small towns became such a general process after the turn of the Millennium, which does not simply reflect the overall effects of the second demographic transition, and could not even be interpreted with local and regional factors. The aim of the present paper is to analyse the shrinking of small towns among the framework of post-socialists urban trans-formation models and concepts. Many authors have dealt with such transformation issues, but rather focusing on the description of the development of larger cities and analysing the transformation of urban space and society. Despite the evident differences caused by the size of the researched settlements (small urban centres with a maximal population of 30,000 people), some general elements of these concepts give parts of the explanations we looked for. Others are rooted much deeper: our paper finally states that the present day crisis of small towns originates back to the later decades of planned economy, when the forced and somewhat over-dimensioned modernisation of small towns resulted a significant role in the urban network. This modernisation was centrally planned, led and financed, and with the exhaustion of these exogenous sources small towns seem to return to a less intensive development path.

The directions in development for small towns in Podkarpacie considering the contemporary needs of their inhabitants

The article presents three challenges. It focuses on the issue of small towns in the Podkarpacie region, which until recently was perceived as an area of stagnation. Today its potential is becoming increasingly recognised as a result of, among others, landscape values, pro-health and environmental conditions, natural resources, the good condition of the natural environment and the low pollution of air and waters.The second trend concerns small urban centres which, because of limited access to services, including important centres and jobs, are more difficult to promote as significant for the development of city tourism. Very often, they remain in the shadow of larger urban centres, unable to specialise in a given function. The opinion of their residents on housing conditions as well as the needs directed to an inhabited area is another important issue for determining the directions of development for small towns, which is another research problem of the paper.The article presents the results of sociological research carried out in selected urban centres. They concern the assessment of the quality of the residential environment made by respondents - the residents. Their opinion undoubtedly influences the determination of the directions in development for the cities indicated for research

“Undesirables Entering the Town to Look for Good Times”: Banff Confronts Its Counterculture Youth Scene, 1965–1971

Small urban centres remain largely overlooked in historical studies of the counterculture in Canada. This article examines the rise and fall of the scene in Banff, Alberta—a single-industry town with an economy based on accommodating travelling pleasure-seekers, that lacked an elected municipal government. Beginning in 1965, a fast-growing number of counterculture and transient youths trekked to Banff each summer. Some used its public spaces for behaviour Banffites deemed inappropriate and also bothersome to tourists, which pushed officials, business owners, and other permanent residents to debate the nature and limits of tolerance in their community. A few facilities and services welcomed counterculture youth, but most residents remained apprehensive about how Banff’s image might be affected during the high tourist season. After years of mounting frustration and resentment, tensions reached a crescendo in 1971, following which Banff’s status as a counterculture destination abruptly collapsed.

Urban and regional heat island adaptation measures in the Netherlands

The urban planner's role should be adapted to the current globalised and over-specialised economic and environmental context, envisioning a balance at the regional scale, apprehending not only new technologies, but also new mapping principles, that allow obtaining multidisciplinary integral overviews since the preliminary stages of the design process. The urban heat Island (UHI) is one of the main phenomena aff ecting the urban climate. In the Netherlands, during the heat wave of 2006, more than 1,000 extra deaths were registered. UHI-related parameters are an example of new elements that should be taken into consideration since the early phases of the design process.