Social Innovations in the Urban Context

Social Innovations in the Urban Context
Author: Taco Brandsen
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 309
Release: 2016-04-05
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3319215515

This book addresses the practice of social innovation, which is currently very much in the public eye. New ideas and approaches are needed to tackle the severe and wicked problems with which contemporary societies are struggling. Especially in times of economic crisis, social innovation is regarded as one of the crucial elements needed to move forward. Our knowledge of its dynamics has significantly progressed, thanks to an abundance of studies on social innovation both general and sector-specific. However, despite the valuable research conducted over the past years, the systematic analysis of social innovation is still contested and incomplete. The questions asked in the book will be the following: 1. What is the nature of social innovations? 2.What patterns can be identified in social innovations emerging at the local level? 3.How is the emergence and spread of social innovations related to urban governance? More precisely, which conditions and arrangements facilitate and hinders social innovation? We explore these questions using different types of data and methods, and studying different contexts. In particular, we focus on innovations that aim at solving problems of the young unemployed, single parents and migrants. This analysis is based on original research carried out in the period 2010-2013 in the framework of a European project with a specific empirical research strategy. Research was carried out in 20 cities in 10 different European countries.

The Urban Context

The Urban Context
Author: Alisdair Rogers
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 284
Release: 2020-12-23
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 100032303X

Addresses issues of current social and theoretical concern such as urban ethnic conflict, multiculturalism and immigration.How do people make sense of their lives amid the social and cultural diversity of cities? The essays in this volume argue that a powerful and related set of methodologies - including comparative research, the ethnography of situations such as dances and parades, and social network analysis - can further our understanding of the intertwined processes of ethnicity and community, class and gender. Written by leading researchers from a number of disciplines, these essays demonstrate a sensitivity to places and contexts ranging from Los Angeles to Queensland. Students of anthropology, geography and urban studies will find this book an invaluable guide to the intricacies of urban social life in the late 20th century.

Urban Resilience in a Global Context

Urban Resilience in a Global Context
Author: Dorothee Brantz
Publisher: transcript Verlag
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2020-10-31
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 3839450187

Urban Resilience is seen by many as a tool to mitigate harm in times of extreme social, political, financial, and environmental stress. Despite its widespread usage, however, resilience is used in different ways by policy makers, activists, academics, and practitioners. Some see it as a key to unlocking a more stable and secure urban future in times of extreme global insecurity; for others, it is a neoliberal technology that marginalizes the voices of already marginal peoples. This volume moves beyond praise and critique by focusing on the actors, narratives and temporalities that define urban resilience in a global context. By exploring the past, present, and future of urban resilience, this volume unlocks the potential of this concept to build more sustainable, inclusive, and secure cities in the 21st century.

The City as a Terminal

The City as a Terminal
Author: Markus Hesse
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2016-03-16
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 1317038118

The on-time delivery of goods is regarded as a primary factor of the urban economy and is being monitored by businesses and government alike. However, much analysis of freight transportation and the flow of goods into, out of and within urban areas focuses on functional, business-related approaches. This book examines the interrelationship between logistics development on one hand and urban development and geographical issues, such as land use and location, on the other. Avoiding certain one-dimensional views on 'logistics impacts on the city', it discloses the complex interaction of the logistics system with the entire urban environment. It also bridges the gap between recent geographical research into new production systems and (post)modern consumption patterns. Illustrated with case studies from the United States, Germany, France, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom, it examines issues such as: the historical nexus between urban areas and logistics; current urban developments with regards to goods distribution; city-region related characteristics of freight flows; locational dynamics; and specific freight related urban problems and conflicts.

Managing Cities

Managing Cities
Author: Patsy Healey
Publisher:
Total Pages: 344
Release: 1995-07-11
Genre: Political Science
ISBN:

This book is about the contemporary city and its management. Relates the analysis of urban and regional change to challenges for urban governance. Explores the socio-spatial consequences of economic, social and political change as these impact on the urban city. It reviews the conceptual and empirical challenges of understanding the future of urban management.

Light Zone City

Light Zone City
Author: Christa van Santen
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 128
Release: 2006-04-21
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 3764378298

The face of the nocturnal metropolis is marked decisively by light, and the number and variety of the light sources is increasing to the point of "light terror.” A well-lit urban space can be very inviting, giving residents and visitors a sense of well-being and security. A successful lighting design can also give the city at night an identity of its own and accentuate architectural qualities. In this book, the author embodies her many years of experience as a practitioner and teacher of lighting design. In preparation, she visited ten European cities — including Paris, Brussels, Berlin, London, Budapest, Vienna, and Amsterdam — with different urban situations. This has enabled her to present different planning and design tasks systematically and to illustrate specific solutions. In addition to articulating basic planning rules for the outdoor lighting of buildings, traffic routes, and squares, she presents and elucidates new artificial lighting systems and outdoor lamps with the help of examples.

Behavior and the Natural Environment

Behavior and the Natural Environment
Author: Irwin Altman
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 354
Release: 2012-12-06
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 1461335396

The theme of the present volume concerns people' s response to the natural environment, considered at scales varying from that of a house hold plant to that of vast wilderness areas. Our decision to focus on this particular segment of the physical environment was prompted in part by the intrinsic interest in this subject on the part of a diverse group of sodal scientists and professionals-and of laypersons, for that matter and in part by the relative neglect of this topic in standard treatments of the environment-behavior field. It also serves to bring out once again the interdisdplinary nature of that field, and we are pleased to have been able to inc1ude representatives from geography, sodology, soda! ecology, and natural recreation among our contributors. We believe that this volume will serve a useful purpose in helping to integrate the find ings and concepts in this presently somewhat fragmented field, scat tered as they are over a very diverse array of publications representing a similarly varied group of spedalties. It is hoped that the result will be to stimulate future development of this area and to add a measure of in creased coherence to it. Volume 7 of our series will be devoted to the theme of elderly people and the environment, with M. Powell Lawton joining us as guest co-editor. The titles of the papers comprising Volume 7 are shown on page v. Irwin Altman J oachim F. Wohlwill ix Contents Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Urban Humanities

Urban Humanities
Author: Dana Cuff
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 338
Release: 2020-04-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0262356996

Original, action-oriented humanist practices for interpreting and intervening in the city: a new methodology at the intersection of the humanities, design, and urban studies. Urban humanities is an emerging field at the intersection of the humanities, urban planning, and design. It offers a new approach not only for understanding cities in a global context but for intervening in them, interpreting their histories, engaging with them in the present, and speculating about their futures. This book introduces both the theory and practice of urban humanities, tracing the evolution of the concept, presenting methods and practices with a wide range of research applications, describing changes in teaching and curricula, and offering case studies of urban humanities practices in the field. Urban humanities views the city through a lens of spatial justice, and its inquiries are centered on the microsettings of everyday life. The book's case studies report on real-world projects in mega-cities in the Pacific Rim—Tokyo, Shanghai, Mexico City, and Los Angeles—with several projects described in detail, including playful spaces for children in car-oriented Mexico City, a commons in a Tokyo neighborhood, and a rolling story-telling box to promote “literary justice” in Los Angeles.

Urban Communication

Urban Communication
Author: Timothy A. Gibson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2007
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9780742540620

City leaders now confront a global competition for economic investment, and urban elites are casting about for strategies that promise to secure a share of this future of global economic growth. However, many of these strategies are largely symbolic in nature. City leaders, for example, compete for the Olympics so they can broadcast spectacular urban vistas to global television audiences. Officials pour public funds into tourist amenities to cultivate an image of vitality and renewal. But how are the local politics of urban redevelopment intertwined with the global politics of circulating vital urban images? Urban Communication brings together scholars from communication, cultural studies, and urban sociology to explore the symbolic dimensions of contemporary city-building, drawing on case studies from around the world.