Urban Development Policies Research Articles

Mobilization, assembling and translation of integrated urban development policy in Ukraine: revealing strategies, actors and labors

ABSTRACT Drawing on the conceptual-methodological framework of assembling urbanism, the paper sheds light on the strategies, actors and labors of mobilization of the integrated approach to urban development in Ukraine in the late 2000s, its further consolidation after the Euromaidan Revolution of 2013–2014 and transformation into a dominant policy assemblage with discursive and normative power for strategic socio-spatial changes at the national and municipal levels. The research findings deepen the understanding of the complexity of mobilization––assembling––translation processes, revealing the dynamic and affective dimension of relations between heterogeneous actors and underscoring the role of political and politics in assembling urbanism studies.

What Is the Effect of Cultural Greenway Projects in High-Density Urban Municipalities? Assessing the Public Living Desire near the Cultural Greenway in Central Beijing.

Cultural greenway projects (CGPs) are widely regarded as an urban planning approach which connects open green spaces and sites of sociocultural value to provide access to living, working and recreational spaces and enhance local social well-being. This paper examines the impact of such CGPs on public living desire before and after a given project is completed through analyzing housing prices in the surrounding area. We deployed a hedonic pricing model (HPM) and differences in differences (DID) model to analyze and record any changes in housing market trends that may have been caused by such a cultural greenway project. Via analysis of single-family home sale transactions in central Beijing from 2013 to 2017, we found substantial evidence that proximity to a cultural greenway project is positively linked with rising property prices. Once complete, CGPs were similarly associated with positive increases per HPM and DID modeling. Our results revealed that the distance to greenway contributed significantly positive impact on the housing market after the cultural greenway project completed. Moreover, our result indicated that once a CGP was open to the public, it increased the price of properties within 1 km by 13.3%. Seller and buyer expectations of the development of local, green public infrastructure also began to factor into housing prices prior to the greenway opening to the public. Post-completion, the positive trend in property pricing due to local CGPs indicates that the public still have an increasing desire to live near the greenway. These results will help policymakers better understand how cultural greenways affect neighborhoods in high-density urban contexts, and will support the development of urban greenway policies for cities in China that reap the maximum economic benefit.

Influencing factors of urban innovation and development: a grounded theory analysis.

Urban innovation and development are a core driver for promoting the industrial, economic, and social development of cities. However, the factors that affect the innovation and development of cities lack systematic analysis as well as interaction analysis. Based on a multidimensional perspective, this study suggests that natural, economic, and social factors are three major factors conditioning urban innovation and development. A grounded theoretical qualitative method is further adopted to code relevant research literatures, news reports and interview materials, resulting in an onion factors model. We find that natural factors–including environmental quality, geographic location, and city scale–are prerequisite for conditioning urban innovation and development. Economic factors are also key, including economic level, industrial structure, industrial agglomeration, and technological innovation. Social factors are guarantee factors, including administrative hierarchy, cultural environment, population structure, and government management and services, i.e., they are essential for cities to become adaptable in the current dynamic situation. The study provides theoretical support and practical directions for the formulation of policies for urban innovation development.

Preliminary Analysis of the New Urban Agenda: The Brazil Case Study

The following analytical exercise wants to provide the reader with a brief introduction into the New Urban Agenda, an international guideline elaborated by UN-Habitat and agreed by all UN member countries, including Brazil. It should off er a broad overview about the context of the document, how the agenda is structured, what the principal appeals for action are, what the interconnections with other international guidelines are, how the agenda should be implemented on the regional & national level as well as what the UN-Habitat wants to achieve with it. The study will subsequently present exemplary the challenges to institutionalize the New Urban Agenda in general, and specifi cally in the context of Brazilian metropolitan. The information obtained in this text was contextualized for the territory of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre / RS, focusing on the approach of sustainable urban development based on the relations between the rural and the urban and the challenges faced by the metropolis of Rio Grande do Sul. The research indicates that the institutional arrangements for metropolitan governance in Brazil do not yet have several structural elements for the application of the guidelines proposed by the NAU, thus hampering the advancement of urban development policies in the country.

Contribution Isolation of LUCC Impact on Regional PM2.5 Air Pollution: Implications for Sustainable Land and Environment Management

Understanding of the contribution of LUCC to air pollution is the basis for land management and air pollution control. This study aimed to estimate the contribution of LUCC to PM2.5 pollution levels in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan (CZT) urban agglomeration in the central south China. Methodologically, residual analysis was adopted to isolate the LUCC contribution with the aid of multiple datasets from satellite observations and reanalysis products. The results revealed that the PM2.5 concentration increased significantly from 2001 to 2008 and then decreased. LUCC tended to enhance both the increasing and decreasing trends, while the magnitudes varied under different climate conditions. During 2001–2008, LUCC exerted more important influence on the air pollution, which contributed 40.59% of the total increase. During 2008–2014, the changing climate enhanced air pollution removal. During this time, the government of the CZT proposed the “Two Oriented Society” policy for sustainable urban development. Under this condition, the LUCC accounted for only 25.66% of the total PM2.5 decrease. This result suggested that it is necessary to further strengthen the goal of sustainable development rather than following the traditional way of “governance after development”.

Urban Land Expansion from Scratch to Urban Agglomeration in the Federal District of Brazil in the Past 60 Years.

Empirical studies of urban expansion have increased rapidly in recent decades worldwide. Previous studies mainly focused on cities in China, the United States or African countries, with Brazilian cities receiving less attention. Moreover, such studies are rare in purpose-built cities. Taking the urban expansion from scratch (1960) to urban agglomeration (2015) in the Federal District of Brazil (FDB) as an example, this study aims to quantify the magnitude, patterns, modes, types and efficiency of urban land expansion and attempts to reveal some implications within sustainable urban expansion thinking. Annual expansion, landscape metrics, local Moran’s I index, area weighted mean expansion index, and land-use efficiency were computed. The suitability of diffusion–coalescence theory and the impact of population growth and urban development policies on urban expansion were discussed. Urban land continuously expanded and became more fragmented during 1960–2015, which mainly occurred in SSW and WSW directions. Urban land evolved in a polycentric way. Edge expansion was identified as the stable contributor, and the importance of infilling and spontaneous growth alternated. Urban expansion in this region supported the diffusion–coalescence theory. Population growth promoted urban expansion, and the creation of peripheral urban nuclei and their development were associated with the urban expansion and the changes in urban land structure. This study adds new empirical evidence of urban expansion to Brazil urbanization, and compact urbanization, population control, and efficient urban land use should be considered in the future.

Современная городская политика и перспективы реализации концепции «умного города»

The purpose of the study is to consider modern urban policy aimed at achieving sustainable development by cities and implementing the concept of «smart cities». Subject. The study of the prospects for the implementation of the concept of «smart city» based on modern digital and technological developments, in order to achieve the goal of cities sustainable development. Target groups. In order to be able to find new solutions that should be reflected in modern urban policies towards «smart cities», to solve social problems, authors turn to policymakers responsible for urban policy development and to «solution providers». This study may resonate with the scientific community. The methodology applied for this study is based on analytical and logical methods for analyzing the processes associated with the development of modern urban policy and the implementation of the concept of «smart city», a comparative analysis of case studies, practical developments of cities in this area. Results. It is shown that at the present stage of development, the concept of «smart city» needs to be considered in as an integral part of urban policy. It is demonstrated that despite different definitions of urban policy, it remains important that city policies include tasks that contribute to sustainable development, the transition to the paradigm of inclusive and «green» cities. It is shown that the use of the advantages of digital technologies in cities is crucial to ensure the consistent achievement of sustainability. A SWOT-analysis is realized, showing that initiatives embedded in urban policy carry a wide range of opportunities and allow solving a complex of economic, social, and environmental problems, and knowledge of potential weaknesses makes it possible to «turn» them into opportunities or laying down ways to overcome them. Options for thematic areas and planned actions in the development of a modern city policy are considered. It is proposed to compare the developed modern urban policy with the existing best practices, taking into account different approaches to the typology of cities, using a system of indicators. The shortcomings typical for most cities in the development of urban policy and the barriers that hinder its implementation are identified. It is concluded that cities, among other things, will strive for sustainable development as part of the implementation of the concept of «smart city» with a greater emphasis on digital technologies, innovative solutions, potential in the field of big data.

Cities smart transformation

Since the second half of the 20th century, cities around the world have grown at an accelerated pace. Rapid urbanization gave rise to both new opportunities and new problems that required urgent solutions. In the policy of urban development, one of the options for such solutions was the transition to the so-called Smart City model. Despite the multiplicity of interpretations, it is difficult to imagine an intelligent modern city without the widespread use of information and communication technologies. The article discusses the concept of a Smart City, its practical implementation in some megacities of the Latin American region, notes both achievements and problems on the way of the intellectual transformation of cities. The author highlights a large gap in the level of organization of smart cities within the region, their serious dependence on foreign technologies. Special attention is paid to such cities as Medellin, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro, the regional leaders of the international Smart City ratings.

Memorijalna arhitektura beograda kroz časopis Urbanizam Beograda u periodu 1969-1981

The topic of the paper is the role of the urban profession in the planning of the memorial complexes and monuments in Belgrade from 1969 to 1981, during which the professional journal Urbanizam Beograda was published. Using articles published in the journal Urbanizam Beograda as its main source the paper will address the stance of the expert public in the decision-making process in the planning of memorials. This includes a review of articles on individual monuments in public spaces, urban development policies, and the most important competitions related to the memorials and monuments written about by different authors in Urbanizam Beograda. Looking at the broader historical context of Yugoslavia and its cultural policies through the prism of memorial architecture, different processes and key topics that influenced the urban design of the memorial will be addressed, as well as the regard the expert public had for the decision-making process. The research is based on an analysis of expert articles published in Urbanizam Beograda, as well as an analysis of the broader socio-political context of Belgrade, in order to expand understanding of the decisions and stance of the professional public in the period 1969 to 1981. The paper aims to establish a relationship between politics and the profession, as well as to identify the implementation of different planning mechanisms for creating collective memory, recognized in the journal Urbanizam Beograda. The results of the research point to specific articles about public spaces and competitions published in Urbanizam Beograda, in which the professional public had the autonomy to make decisions based on an interdisciplinary approach to planning, which was not always in line with the socio-political situation.

Promoting integrated urban development. An application in Naples metropolitan area.

Urban development policies that integrate land use and transport were created to reduce urban sprawl, limit the increasing number of motorised trips and present brownfields in strategic areas of cities. They integrate urban and transport-planning theories and practices, whose application may be complex. However, the necessity of densify station areas with high-quality, functional mixed developments is widely recognised in theory. This paper provides an innovative methodology to assess transit station areas and hence support decision-makers in identifying critical assets for investment. The methodology draws on the node-place model developed by Bertolini (1996). The first section summarises its key features, benefits, drawbacks and implementation challenges. It then proceeds to investigate the possibility of implementing the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) approach in the context of a Southern European city, traditionally considered a typical compact form of development and often lacking integrated urban and transport planning. The proposed methodology is applied to the Naples Metropolitan area (Italy) case, which includes 92 municipalities and over 3 million inhabitants one of the highest population density values worldwide. In the last two decades, plans and strategies were designed on a new scale and partially implemented to promote urban and transport development, such as the ‘Piano delle 100 stazioni’ (Plan of 100 Stations) for the municipality of Naples. The application could allow the individuation significant transit corridors and urban hotspots within the Naples metropolitan area, where the implementation of integrated transport and urban strategies would effectively combat current and future development challenges.

Do Community Based Urban Risk Reduction and Development Policies Converge?

Do Community Based Urban Risk Reduction and Development Policies Converge?

Urban Heat Island and Land Use/Cover Dynamics Evaluation in Enugu Urban, Nigeria

This study specifically estimated the effect of land use/cover change (LULC) processes on land surface temperature (LST) in Enugu urban and its suburbs. With Landsat images and supervised classification technique, four LULC classes comprising built-up areas, vegetation, rock outcrop, bare ground/farmland areas were delineated. The LST was extracted from the thermal bands of the images. The rate of change in land cover classes between 2009 and 2018 showed that from 2009 to 2013, built-up areas increased from 31.65% to about 47.5%, while vegetation cover decreased from 18.43% to 11.23%. Also, the periods witnessed about 8.69 km2 of vegetation being converted to other land surfaces. The trend in the LST in Enugu urban showed the highest mean temperatures of 34.5°C in 2018 and 32.26°C in 2015. However, in 2013 there was a slight decrease in mean LST to 31.65°C which further decreased to 31.26°C in 2009. This change in temperature suggests that urbanisation could have significant effect on the micro-climate of Enugu city. Result also revealed weak relationships between LULC classes and the LST throughout the years. The results of the surface heat intensity for the urban and rural areas showed general increase over the years and this suggests that rural areas are also experiencing high temperature which could be due to the loss of vegetation, increase in artificial surfaces and urban encroachment. Findings from this study could be useful for effective urban land-use planning, policy development and management in Nigeria, and elsewhere.

Potential of urban green spaces for supporting horticultural production: a national scale analysis

As urban areas and land-use constraints grow, there is increasing interest in utilizing urban spaces for food production. Several studies have uncovered significant potential for urban growing to supplement production of fruit and vegetables, focusing on one or two cities as case studies, whilst others have assessed the global scale potential. Here, we provide a national-scale analysis of the horticultural production potential of urban green spaces, which is a relevant scale for agri-food and urban development policy making using Great Britain (GB) as a case study. Urban green spaces available for horticultural production across GB are identified and potential yields quantified based on three production options. The distribution of urban green spaces within 26 urban towns and cities across GB are then examined to understand the productive potential compared to their total extent and populations. Urban green spaces in GB, at their upper limit, have the capacity to support production that is 8× greater than current domestic production of fruit and vegetables. This amounts to 38% of current domestic production and imports combined, or >400% if exotic fruits and vegetables less suited to GB growing conditions are excluded. Most urban green spaces nationally are found to fall within a small number of categories, with private residential gardens and amenity spaces making up the majority of space. By examining towns and cities across GB in further detail, we find that the area of green space does not vary greatly between urban conurbations of different sizes, and all are found to have substantial potential to meet the dietary needs of the local urban population. This study highlights that national policies can be suitably developed to support urban agriculture and that making use of urban green spaces for food production could help to enhance the resilience of the national-scale food system to shocks in import pathways, or disruptions to domestic production and distribution.

Market participation of urban agriculture producers and its impact on poverty: Evidence from Ghana

This paper aimed to investigate the impact of urban agriculture commercialisation on poverty and assess the determinants of urban farmers’ market outlet choice. A total of 480 urban farmers were selected for this study. Household Commercialisation Index (HCI) was used, and the Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) model was adopted to analyse poverty. The Two-Stage Least Squares Regression (2SLS) and the heteroskedastic linear regression models were used to analyse the effect of urban agriculture commercialisation on poverty. Probit and Bivariate Probit Models were applied to determine the factors influencing the marketing outlet choice of farmers. The results revealed that age, gender, educational level, experience, household size, household food security and commercialisation significantly influence urban poverty. Also, educational level, postharvest losses, commercialisation, storage ability, grading and sorting, minutes to the nearest market, extension contacts and nature of roads influenced market outlet choice. The study recommended that government, traditional leaders, and other vital stakeholders should integrate urban farming into urban development policies for sustainable poverty reduction in urban areas of developing countries.

Urban simulation incorporating coordination relationships of multiple ecosystem services

● A cellular automata model incorporating ecosystem service interactions is developed ● Future urban expansion under influence of ecosystem service interaction is simulated ● The improved model better captures ES relationship changes caused by urban expansion ● Multi-level ES protection mechanism is highly recommended in spatial planning Rapid urbanization evidently affected ecosystem service provisions. Although numerous models have incorporated ecosystem services into land use decisions, most of them typically ignored the interactions between multiple ecosystem services (MES), as well as their impact on future urban expansion. Here, we propose a novel urban simulation model based on the integration of the coupling coordination evaluation of MES and cellular automata. The Wuhan Metropolitan Area was selected to test the model. Six conservation scenarios at different ecological coupling coordination levels were designed to predict urban expansion in 2030 and examine how ES interactions impact urban expansion modes. The results showed that the proposed model has an accuracy of 84.01% and can better capture the changes in MES interactions caused by urban expansion. A significantly negative correlation exists between the coupling coordination degree of MES and urban expansion, with a decreased coefficient from -0.924 to -0.945 during the period of 2010-2015. Our results also suggest that single conservation scenario may be inadequate to coordinate MES and urban expansion, which necessitates a comprehensive ecological protection mechanism in spatial planning. The proposed model can provide better understanding of relationships between MES interactions and urban expansion, and help planners to generate sustainable urban development policies.

Urban Rail Transit in Bangkok: Chronological Development Review and Impact on Residential Property Value

Bangkok suffered from the world’s worst traffic congestion in the 1990s due to rapidly increasing car ownership, reflecting the economic growth and road-dependent transport policy beginning in the 1960s. Due to its monocentric but scattered urban structure, traffic congestion is severe, causing tremendous economic loss, deteriorating air quality, and badly affecting the quality of life. A historical review reveals that the urban and transport plan and development were not efficiently coordinated, resulting in unorganized suburbanization and progressively more severe traffic congestion. It is important to reveal the impact of the transportation project on the housing market in order to incorporate the policies for transportation and urban development. To define the impact, the OLS hedonic price model and the local multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) model were estimated, along with the condominium sales data. The results revealed that the impact of rail transit on a rise in property value significantly varied across the study area. It was estimated that, for the area along the major rail transit corridor in the city center, a premium of a location 100-m closer to the station would be more than 200 USD per square meter. At the same time, the value would be less than 80 USD for the area along the rail corridor in the suburb. These findings provide policy insights for future urban and railway development, including the proper coordination of rail transit development and urban development with subcenters, transit-oriented development, and improved pedestrian flow around transit stations.

A Grounded Theory Approach for The Assessment of Urban Development Policies in Indian Cities

A Grounded Theory Approach for The Assessment of Urban Development Policies in Indian Cities

Sense of place and the city: the case of non-native residents in Lisbon

When immigrants move to a new city, they tend to develop distinct relationships with the urban landscape, which in turn becomes the new setting of their routine-based activities that evolve over time. Previous works in environmental psychology have quantitatively examined non-native residents' development of sense of place towards their new environment. In this paper, we introduce the spatial perspective into studying the sense of place experienced by non-natives in an urban context. We study the person-place bonds, relationships, and feelings cultivated by non-native residents living in the city of Lisbon (Portugal) through an online map-based survey. Then, we carried out spatial analysis aimed at distinguishing and visualizing the different facets of sense of place developed by two participant groups: short-term residents and long-term residents. Results showed that while short-term residents reported bonds with places, long-term residents' senses of place were more intense and broader throughout the city. The correlations, associations, and relationships between participant groups and the dimensions of sense of place allowed us to observe features and patterns that were previously described in the literature, although adding the spatial lenses can potentially provide better insights for urban planning, community development, and inclusive policies.

The participatory process in the review of the Master Plan of Vitória (2014-2018)

The Federal Constitution of 1988 defined the Master Plan as a 'basic instrument' of urban development policy and subsequent legislation, which regulated the Urban Policy chapter (Estatuto da Cidade, Federal Law No. 10,257 / 2001), reinforced a set of participatory requirements in the availability and implementation of the corresponding policies. Based on this new institutional arrangement, this research paper analyzes a participatory structure in the process of reviewing the Master Plan for the municipality of Vitória, capital of Espírito Santo, in the period 2014-2018. The investigation took as an analytical parameter the participatory methodology proposed by the Ministry of Cities, whose distinguishing feature was the dissemination of democratic management instruments. The empirical analysis shows that several participatory mechanisms were implemented, such as public hearings of regional and social segments, thematic seminars, round tables, territorial assemblies, implementation of a collaborative website, involvement of the Municipal Council of the Urban Master Plan (CMPDU) and realization of the Municipal Conference on Urban Policy (Encontro da Cidade), in which the draft of the Master Plan bill was presented, discussed and voted on. Thus, the process incorporated the participatory methodology recommended by the Ministry of Cities and the corresponding legislation. The effectiveness of participation according to the guidelines of the City Statute is still an ongoing process, but the inclusion of democratic management mechanisms is a reality in Vitória, constituting an institutional advance.

Are tenants willing to pay for energy efficiency? Evidence from a small-scale spatial analysis in Germany

To address climate change, the decarbonisation of Germany’s existing building stock urgently needs to be prioritised. However, the rate and depth of refurbishment has lagged behind official targets for years. This is a particular problem in the rental sector, where the costs and benefits of energy efficiency measures tend to be unevenly distributed between landlords and tenants (the so-called ‘landlord-tenant dilemma’). Within the context of the current policy landscape, investments in energy efficiency consequently make most sense for landlords if the upfront costs can be refinanced via increased rental income or reduced vacant periods. This paper seeks to investigate the validity of this statement at city level by using a large dataset from one of Germany’s main internet property platforms to examine how the willingness of tenants to pay for energy efficiency varies across residential locations in the city of Wuppertal.The small-scale spatial analysis highlights the existence of a price premium for energy efficiency in the rental market for apartments; however, this premium is generally small (especially in comparison to other property enhancements, especially visible improvements) or even non-existent in some residential areas. Consequently, investing in energy efficiency is rarely an attractive option for landlords. Therefore, strong policy action, aligned with social and urban development policy objectives, is necessary to establish an effective incentive structure in the market and make investing in energy efficiency more attractive for both landlords and tenants.