“All transport problems are essentially mathematical”: The uneven resonance of academic transport and mobility knowledge in Brussels

This paper presents an inquiry into the capacity of transport and mobility studies to critically engage with contemporary policies. Drawing on the conceptualization of circuits of knowledge, the paper scrutinizes the extent to which transport policy agendas are framed around various approaches within academia. An extensive literature review reveals that the academic field of transport and mobility is organized around a hegemonic core of “neoclassical” and “sustainable” approaches. Meanwhile, a critique of these dominant approaches is emerging in an attempt to (re)embed mobility issues in urban political economy. This threefold knowledge typology visibly resonates within transport policy agendas in Brussels, where we detect a growth-oriented and largely depoliticized dual hegemony of neoclassical and sustainable narratives, with critical academic voices rarely entering official agendas. The paper concludes with a reflection on the difficulties, yet also the need to mobilize critical academic knowledge in the field of transport and mobility.     

“This venue is brought to you by…”: the diffusion of sports and entertainment facility name sponsorship in urban Europe

ABSTRACT

Drawing on a database of 193 football (soccer) grounds and 115 indoor arenas, as well as press releases and media reports associated with them, this study charts the diffusion of sporting and entertainment facility name sponsorship across metropolises, cities, towns, and smaller settlements in six European contexts. Our results show the emergence of naming rights deals in the 1990s, their peak in the mid-2000s, and the current situation with a steadier growth of name sponsorship. Thus far, the corporate re-branding of venues has remained less prevalent in Italy, Norway, and Scotland than in England and Wales, Finland, and above all Germany. In financing newly built venues, however, the corporatized landmark language in focus has become a practically invariable part of local growth, austerity and (re)branding policies. Despite voices of resistance in all regions studied here, pressure towards the corporate renaming of even hereditary, communally endorsed football stadiums is increasingly being felt by municipal and private-sector venue owners.     

基于“3D”框架的江苏省地级市经济地理格局空间演化研究

基于世界银行发展报告中的距离、密度、整合"3D"视角,运用主成分分析和空间自相关方法研究江苏省地级市经济地理空间演化格局,结果表明:1)江苏省各市经济密度和经济整合虽持续发展,但苏南、苏中和苏北地区的差距仍有扩大的趋势;经济距离优势总体表现显著,但苏中优于苏南、苏南优于苏北。2)2000年以来各市的经济地理空间类型各有不同,苏州、吴锡、南京呈现"3D"类型,连云港、宿迁、徐州呈现"0D"类型,其他城市都有一定程度的变化。针对不同的类型,应采取不同的政策优化经济地理空间格局。3)各市3D综合得分空间上呈显著正相关,即高值与高值地区、低值与低值地区相邻,正极化效应和弱极化效应明显,但随着经济发展聚集程度有所变化,且呈线性下降态势。4)经济整合力度弱、经济空间分割强烈是苏中城市面临的主要问题,而经济距离是苏北城市面临的主要问题;苏中城市将成为经济空间优化发展潜力最大的区域,提升苏中各城市的经济密度和整合水平是江苏省经济空间优化的主要方向。     

Sun-Path3D软件在高中地理教学中的应用——“地球运动的意义”教学设计

随着互联网的资源共享和交互功能的逐步强大,可辅助中学地理教学的应用程序不断被发掘。基于SunPath3D软件,本文以“地球运动的意义”为例,进行教学设计,展现Sun-Path3D软件在高中地理课堂教学中的应用价值。     

“They want to live in the Tremé, but they want it for their ways of living”: gentrification and neighborhood practice in Tremé, New Orleans

In this study, I deploy an ethnographic approach to analyze the detrimental effects of gentrification on longstanding residents in New Orleans’ Tremé neighborhood. I focus on conflicts between long-established residents and gentrifiers over the use of neighborhood space on a day-to-day basis as a means for examining the consequent changes in neighborhood life. As their neighborhood gentrifies, long-term residents of Tremé must contend with greater policing, the erosion of place-based knowledge, practices, and cultural traditions, the loss of social networks, and the closure of vital neighborhood institutions. These changes in neighborhood life provide a starting point from which to begin to understand the broader effects (beyond displacement) that longstanding residents experience as a result of gentrification.     

“Is there any time left for walking?” Physical activity implications of suburban commuting in the Barcelona metropolitan region

ABSTRACT

The present study delves into the explanatory factors of the walking patterns of residents in metropolitan regions, who tend to be pressed for time when travelling to their daily destinations or activities. We particularly focus on the effects of the commuting distance on the amount of walking that can be achieved, which has health, socioeconomic and environmental implications. This study confirms the potential benefits of using smartphone tracking data to examine walking patterns. To enable this, a smartphone tracking application was developed to obtain accurate mobility data from a group of adults (n = 93) residing in the Barcelona Metropolitan Region (Spain) and have to commute to a suburban university campus that can only be reached by using motorized transport modes. The results highlight the commuting distance and employment status as strong determinants of the amount of walking time achieved by this study group. Moreover, it was determined that among transit users, the commuting distance of male commuters was negatively associated with walking when compared with female transit users, whereas explanatory factors for private transport users bore insignificant results. Smartphone devices proved their potential as an effective and useful source of data in transportation and health research.     

“Is there a bubble to burst?”-college students’ spatial perception of campus and the city,a case study of rhodes college in memphis,TN

ABSTRACT

This paper builds on the study of student geography by critically examining college students’ perceived space of a university campus and the surrounding urban space. Rhodes College is a liberal arts college situated in the city of Memphis. As a campus with a majority white population located in a predominately black city, Rhodes College exists within but often separate from the city. It serves as a perfect case study to investigate how the college students build relationships with the environment within and beyond the campus. By using mental mapping and focus groups, this research unpacks four spatialities that shape college students’ perception of the urban space: (in)activity space, (im)mobility, boundaries, and center. This research demonstrates that student geography can be gendered, classed and racialized. The perceived space is socially constructed, and is reinforced by the lived and material space. Finally, this paper provides implications to facilitate deeper connections between students, the campus, and the city.