The city,the (Member) state,and the European Union

This contribution to a Debate on “The Nation-State and the city” foregrounds the recently adopted Urban Agenda for the European Union. It discusses the new role of cities in the European policy making process and its relevance for relations between State and City in the light of EU membership.     

European Integration,Urban Economic Change,and Public Policy Responses

Most empirical work on changing disparities in income during recently increased European integration examines the European Union (EU)‐defined regions because of a dearth of readily available urban units of analysis and economic indicators. Moreover, a lack of systematic data on urban entrepreneurial efforts fuels debate over their effectiveness in enhancing urban prosperity. I combine a quantitative analysis of trends in income disparities for the Western European urban system for 1980‐1994, with comparative case studies using qualitative and quantitative information for three problem cities in Britain that were selected in order to investigate the types and effectiveness of their urban entrepreneurial efforts. On the one hand, the macro analysis provides no clear evidence of convergence in urban incomes. On the other hand, while the public‐private partnerships in the problem cities vary somewhat depending on local context, their entrepreneurial strategies are remarkably similar. Higher levels of economic development spending, however, do not translate necessarily into improved urban performance.     

Palaeomagnetic study of Palaeoproterozoic granitoids from the Voronezh Massif, Russia

A palaeomagnetic investigation has been carried out of rocks from the eastern part of the Voronezh Massif, which constitutes, together with the Ukrainian Shield, the Sarmatian segment in the southern part of the East European Craton. The samples were collected in a quarry close to the town of Pavlovsk (50.4°N, 40.1°E), where a syenitic-granitic body intrudes Archaean units. U–Pb (zircon) dating has yielded an age of 2080  Ma for the intrusion.
  Two characteristic magnetic components, A and B, were isolated by thermal and alternating-field demagnetization. Component A was obtained from granites and quartz syenites (11 samples) and has a mean direction of D = 229°, I = 28°, and a pole position at 12°N, 172°E. This pole is close to a contemporary mean pole (9°N, 187°E) for the Ukrainian Shield, which implies that the Voronezh Massif and the Shield constituted a single entity at 2.06  Ga. These poles differ from contemporaneous poles of the Fennoscandian Shield, indicating that the relative positions of the two shields were different from their present configuration about 2100  Myr ago.
  A component B, isolated only in quartz monzonites (five samples), has a mean direction D = 144°, I = 49°, and a pole position at 4°N, 251°E, which is close to late Sveconorwegian (approximately 900  Ma) poles for Baltica. This suggests that the East European Craton was consolidated some time between 2080 and 900  Ma. Comparison with other palaeomagnetic data permit us to narrow this time span to 1770–1340  Ma.     

A fluvial sediment budget for upper Wolumla Creek,south coast,New South Wales,Australia

Extensive valley fills have formed at the base of the escarpment in granitic catchments along the south coast of NSW. On the 1865 portion plan, the valley fill surface in the upper part of Wolumla Creek, in the Bega River catchment, was intact, but within a few decades of European settlement of the area the valley fill had been incised. Today the incised channel is up to 10 m deep and 100 m wide. The catchment drains an area of just 18.2 km². Based on detailed field mapping, with extensive drilling and angering, the volume of the intact valley fill in upper Wolumla Creek in 1865 was approximately 5000 × 10³ m³. Between 1865 and the present day, approximately 3500 × 10³ m³ of this material has been removed, leaving roughly 1500× 10³ m³ of material stored on the valley margins. During an initial period of discontinuous gullying, approximately 230 × 10³ m³ of sand accumulated as a floodout. Subsequently, the incised channel became continuous, cutting through the floodout; over 50 per cent of floodout deposits were removed. Flushing of the materials released from upland valley fills has been very efficient in the Wolumla Creek catchment, with a sediment delivery ratio of around 70 per cent. The efficient downstream transfer of deposits reflects bedrock confinement in downstream reaches. Extensive volumes of material have accumulated along the lower reaches of the catchment, exacerbating the transformation to the geomorphic character of the lower Bega River.     

DIE POSTSEDIMENTÄRE VERTEILUNG DER ADSORBIERTEN KATIONEN IM MARSCHBÖDEN

Skjoldager, Arne: Die postsedimentäre Verteilung der adsorbierten Kationen im Marschböden. Geografisk Tidsskrift 77: 48–58 Juni 1, 1978.

Die Untersuchung behandelt die postsedimentäre Änderungen der adsorbierten Kationen in dänischen Marschböden. Ausserdem wird die Probleme über die Bestimmung den adsorbierten Kationen beleuchtet.     

Scale and the construction of urban space: Temporary re-scaling in Lahti,Finland, during the European Union meeting of 2006

There has recently been discussion on the framings and representations of scale, in particular ways in which scales are constructed and used in legitimizing contrasting views. In these debates, scale has been regarded as an epistemological rather than an ontological question. Moreover, scale has been seen as processual instead of regarding it as a pre-given structure. Drawing on the debates on scale framings and the processual ideas of scale, the article focuses on the temporary framings of scale related to occasional events. The interest is in the discursive framings of scale, and also in the ways in which temporary re-scalings are materialized and embodied in urban spaces. This is illustrated with material related to a European Union meeting that took place in the city of Lahti in Finland in 2006. The case demonstrates how scale-thinking occurs within the city and how an event can produce temporary framings of scale. Using newspaper articles, interviews, field notes, and photographs, the article examines which viewpoints on scale were expressed during the EU meeting, and what kinds of scalar strategies were used in legitimizing different views.     

Neoliberalism, climate governance and the scalar politics of EU emissions trading

The neoliberalisation of international climate policy through devices such as emissions trading has led to a significant restructuring of governance competencies between supranational, national and non-state actors. This article explores the implications of this restructuring for the scalar politics of climate governance by examining the European Union emissions trading scheme, the world's largest multi-state carbon-trading scheme. Analysis shows that although the member states were prepared to accede to a common legal framework for emissions trading, its implementation has been characterised by intense sovereignty disputes over emissions allowances. The article concludes by reflecting on the scalar politics of international climate governance in an unevenly regulated and competitive world.     

Combining field and modelling techniques to assess rockfall dynamics on a protection forest hillslope in the European Alps

Adequate management of a mountain forest that protects downslope areas against impacts of rockfall requires insight into the dynamics of the hillslope environment. Therefore, we applied a combined approach, using field and modelling techniques, to assess the determining factors for rockfall source areas, rockfall tracks and rockfall runout zones on a forested slope in mountainous terrain. The first objective of this study was to understand why rockfall occurs in the study area. The second objective was to translate the knowledge obtained in the field into a model that simulates rockfall dynamics on a forested slope realistically. The third objective was to assess which hillslope characteristics primarily determine the distribution of active rockfall tracks. To achieve these objectives, we made a geomorphological map of the whole study area, and we measured the major discontinuity planes in the bedrock that are exposed in the rockfall source areas. Furthermore, a test site for simulation modelling within the larger study area was defined in which both a forest and a hillslope inventory were carried out. The available data and our developed rockfall simulation model allowed us to assess the slope characteristics that mainly determine the distribution of areas affected by rockfall. We found that in decreasing order of importance, both standing and felled trees, the surface roughness and rockfall resistant shrubs primarily determine the distribution of rockfall-affected areas. Simulation tests without a forest cover produced similar rockfall runout zones as fossil rockfall events identified in the field. We believe that the combined field and modelling approach is a prerequisite for understanding how forests can protect against rockfall.     

Ledgers and landscapes: Indicators of rural landscape change in southern New Zealand, 1878–1919

Our objective was to develop and calibrate numerical measures to represent the timing and magnitude of landscape change between 1878, and 1919 using information in a stock and station agency's ledgers. Relative expenditures on fencing materials peaked in the 1880s, were lowest in the early 1900s, and rose to one‐fifth of annual expenditures from 1914 onwards. In contrast, relative expenditures on soil preparation, cropping and harvesting grew steadily after 1879, peaked in 1900, and declined from then until 1919. This research found that periods of intensive landscape investment between 1878 and 1919 were separated by longer intervals of landscape maintenance.     

欧盟吸引跨国公司R＆D投资的政策走向及其启示

欧盟是世界上R＆D全球化程度最高的地区之一,也是对跨国公司R＆D投资竞争最为激烈的地区。近年来,欧盟各国普遍采取了吸引外国R＆D投资的政策措施,主要集中于促进与R＆D有关的直接投资政策、采取R＆D激励措施和引进科技精英人才3个方面。有针对性地制定适合本国吸引R＆D直接投资的综合政策是欧盟从R＆D全球化中受益的基本经验。     

Different Borders‐Different Cooperation? Transborder Cooperation in Poland

The aim of this paper was to analyze the role of border and borderland type in transborder cooperation. To this end, 591 projects under six Interreg IIIA Programs in which Polish border regions participated from 2004 to 2006 were examined. These programs were compared to identify the various factors influencing projects in different border regions. Although research on cooperation usually focuses on a national scale, actual cooperation depends largely on regional and local conditions, which are the focus of this study. Despite a common legal and institutional framework, the Interreg projects were not all realized in the same way. Different local conditions had impacts on programs and implementation. Therefore, the effectiveness and achievement of transborder cooperation objectives depended on the modification of each program to specific regional conditions.     

EARLY MODERN EXPANSION AND THE POLITICIZATION OF OCEANIC SPACE*

ABSTRACT. The definition of oceans as international politicized space is an integral but little analyzed aspect of early modern European expansion, which took place between about 1450 and 1800. In this essay I explore the implications of thinking about the development of European imperialism and global dominance in oceanic terms. I argue that oceanic, rather than terrestrial, dominance characterized early modern European empires, particularly in relation to Africa and Asia, where indigenous political and economic control prevailed. The long apprenticeship in mastering oceanic space contributed to the ability of Europeans to build land-based empires in Asia and Africa in the nineteenth century. As well, the international relationships worked out by Europeans in the nonstate but militarized arena of the high seas contributed to an emergent global order.     

欧洲文化遗产保护及对中国的启示——评《旅游文化资源：格局、过程与政策》

对于文化遗产的保护越来越受到国际社会的重视。《旅游文化资源：格局、过程与政策》一书探讨了欧洲文化遗产保护的特点。较为全面地介绍了欧洲各国在遗产保护方面的法律制度,文化遗产保护和经营理念,以及在鼓励公众参与,利用信息技术保护、规划、管理等方面的探索,这些经验对于我国的遗产保护工作具有一定的启示作用。     

欧盟空间规划研究进展及启示

欧盟空间规划是世界上最早的跨国空间规划。其新的空间规划理念、跨国规划实践、新的规划方法与制度等,在世界空间规划领域产生了较大的影响。欧盟从上世纪80年代以来先后启动实施了欧洲标准区域划分(NUTS)、欧洲空间发展远景(ESDP)和欧洲空间规划研究计划(SPESP)等3个不同的空间规划研究项目,在空间规划理念、空间区域划分等方面取得了重要的研究成果。此外,欧洲区域发展基金、欧洲社会基金、结构基金以及监测评估网络的建立,是欧盟空间规划实施的重要政策保障体系。文章最后进一步探讨了欧盟空间规划实践对我国当前空间规划研究的若干启示。     

欧盟排放权交易机制之立法解析

欧盟于2005年建立了世界上第一个跨国排放权交易机制,经过3年的发展时间,业已成为当今全球最大的碳市场.2008年年初欧洲委员会提交了修改排放权交易机制指令的提案,目的是进一步改善和扩大现行的排放权交易机制,此举势必影响未来全球碳市场的发展趋势.力图从法律的角度对欧盟排放权交易机制进行剖析,解析排放权交易机制的立法背景与主要的立法内容,希冀为我国应对气候变化政策法律的制定以及碳市场的建立提供一定的启示和参考.     

"The Same But Not the Same": The Discursive Constitution of Large Housing Estates in Germany,France, and Poland

Since the 1960s, large housing estates have shaped the geography of suburbia in many Western and Eastern European cities. This paper examines the constitution of the social and spatial meanings of large housing estates within three different national contexts: in Germany, Poland, and France. Employing discourse theory and an empirical analysis of the coverage of major national newspapers, we identify cross-national and specific national patterns of discourses that (re)produce particular social spaces and distinct social orders. Quantitative discourse analysis reveals differences, similarities, and ruptures in various constructions of the meaning of large housing estates. We find that large housing estates in France and Germany are constituted in print media as threatening places and as places of foreignness located "outside" the "proper society." In contrast, Polish large housing estates are framed discursively as threatened places located in the social "inside."     

Unemployment and economic activities in the EC

Nielsen, Bue: Employment and economic activities in the EC. Geografisk Tidsskrift 84: 62–69. Copenhagen January 1984.

Regional disparities in unemployment and economic activities in the EC in the late 1970'es. Various concepts of unemployment are discussed. The performance of regions and countries using different concepts are illustrated.