Anticipatory logics of the smart city’s global imaginary

The smart city encompasses a broad range of technological innovations which might be applied to any city for a wide variety of reasons. In this article, I make a distinction between local efforts to reshape the urban landscape, and a global smart city imaginary which those efforts draw upon and help sustain. While attention has been given to the malleability of the smart city concept at this global scale, there remains little effort to interrogate the way that the future is used to sanction specific solutions. Through a critical engagement with smart city marketing materials, industry documents, and consultancy reports, I explore how the future is recruited, rearranged, and represented as a rationalization for technological intervention in the present. This is performed amidst three recurring crises: massive demographic shifts and subsequent resource pressures, global climate change, and the conflicting demands of fiscal austerity that motivate the desire of so many cities to attract foreign direct investment and highly skilled workers. In revealing how crises are pre-empted, precautioned, and prepared for, I argue that the smart city imaginary normalizes a style and scale of response deemed appropriate under liberal capitalism.     

Evaluation of the SNOWPACK model’s metamorphism and microstructure in Canada: a case study

The snow thermodynamic multi-layer model SNOWPACK was developed to address the risk of avalanches by simulating the vertical properties of snow. Risk and stability assessments are based on the simulation of the vertical variability of snow microstructure, as well as on snow cohesion parameters. Previous research has shown systematic error in grain size simulations (equivalent optical grain size) over several areas in northern Canada. To quantify the simulated errors in snow grain size and uncertainties in stability, the snow specific surface area (SSA) was measured with a laser-based instrument. Optical grain size was retrieved to validate the optical equivalent grain radius from SNOWPACK. The two study plots are located in Glacier National Park, BC, and Jasper National Park, AB, Canada. Profiles for density and stratigraphic analysis were obtained as well as grain size profiles, combined with snow micropenetrometer (SMP) measurements. Density analysis showed good agreement with the simulated values (R² = 0.76). Optical grain size analysis showed systematic overestimation of the modeled values, in agreement with the current literature. The error in SSA evolution for a rounding environment was mostly constant, whereas error for conditions driven by a temperature gradient was linked to the size of the facetted grains.     

The drivers and spatial distribution of economic efficiency in China’s cities

Journal of Geographical Sciences - This study analyzes cities in China at the prefecture level and above to calculate indices for “urban economic efficiency” (the relationship between...     

Urbanizing the nation-state? Notes on the geopolitical growth of cities and city-regions

This article suggests that the developments during the past few decades indicate a qualitative shift in the city/state relation, and conceptualizes this shift as the geopolitical growth of cities and city-regions. Originally a state-orchestrated process, today this is manifested in the attempts of major cities and city-regions, in particular, to demand a stronger national and international political role even as claims are made for urban separatism. This process is connected to a geopolitical reasoning of the heightened role of cities in inter-state competition during the age of post-Fordist capitalism. Furthermore, the geopolitical growth of cities and city-regions is partly constituted in academic theories and expert knowledges that combine certain type of urbanism, economic growth, and political success, and which in so doing destabilize state-centered geopolitical imaginations.     

“Finding their way”: the negotiation of the city by low-skilled service sector migrant workers in Dublin

The city has become the context for a dialectical relationship not only between the global and the local but also between migrants and the host society. Whilst there is considerable work on migrant integration, integration is rarely examined from the perspective of the workplace, or from a geographic perspective, which problematizes the spatiality of migrant workers’ experiences. This article studies migrant workers in low-skilled jobs, with a focus on Temporary Service Sector Providers in catering, cleaning, and security, in order to understand how they negotiate their position in the city and are active agents of this negotiation. The study, based upon a survey of 60 migrants complemented by 20 in-depth interviews, questions how integration should be understood: in particular it suggests that—in some respects—integration may be difficult for all low-wage precarious workers, whether migrants or not. The study also highlights how migrant workers retain agency—the capacity to act, to make decisions, and appropriate certain places—even in challenging circumstances.     

Damming China’s rivers to expand its cities: the urban livelihoods of rural people displaced by the Three Gorges Dam

Over the next two decades, China, the country with the world’s largest urban population, is orchestrating the urbanization of some 300 million rural people. In its National New-Type Urbanization Plan (2014) the State Council has outlined a range of strategies to grow its cities not least of which is rural-to-urban migration. This plan will have significant effects on other types of displacement, particularly, the forced displacement and resettlement of those living in the path of large dams. This paper reviews what is known about New-Type Urbanization Approach to Reservoir Resettlement. Then, based on a longitudinal study of 145 resettled households at the Three Gorges Dam, the livelihood effects of rural-to-urban resettlement are unpacked to provide lessons for its use in advancing urbanization. It finds that rural-to-urban resettlers have lower incomes than their urban-to-urban and rural-to-rural counterparts, and higher rates of food and income insecurity.     

Contingencies of environmental justice: the case of individual mobility and Grenoble’s Low-Emission Zone

Low-emission zones (LEZs) are core urban areas where vehicles that are deemed especially polluting are prohibited, in the hope of reducing the population’s exposure to outdoor air pollution. LEZs have proliferated in Europe during the past decade. While an emerging body of literature considers LEZs’ impacts on pollution, studies thus far have not tackled LEZs’ impacts on mobility. This article uses household-travel survey data to assess how a projected LEZ in Grenoble, France could affect individuals’ mobility, specifically enquiring whether or not the impact would be socially differentiated and might constitute a social injustice. Four likely scenarios are considered and logistic regressions show that, indeed, the probability that people will be affected by the LEZ is related to their social group. However, interpretations in terms of social justice may vary, depending on the reference population considered and hypotheses regarding the reduction of pollution exposure.     

Are all cities with similar urban form or not? Redefining cities with ubiquitous points of interest and evaluating them with indicators at city and block levels in China

Urban forms reflect spatial structures of cities, which have been consciously and dramatically changing in China. Fast urbanisation may lead to similar urban forms due to similar habits and strategies of city planning. However, whether urban forms in China are identical or significantly different has not been empirically investigated. In this paper, urban forms are investigated based on two spatial units: city and block. The boundaries of natural cities in terms of the density of human settlements and activities are delineated with the concept of ‘redefined city’ using points of interests (POIs), and blocks are determined by road networks. Urban forms are characterised by city-block two-level spatial morphologies. Further, redefined cities are classified into four hierarchies to examine the effects of different city development stages on urban forms. The spatial morphology is explained by urbanisation variables to understand the effects. Results show that the urban forms are spatially clustered from the perspective of city-block two-level morphologies. Urban forms tend to be similar within the same hierarchies, but significantly varied among different hierarchies, which is closely related to the development stages. Additionally, the spatial dimensional indicators of urbanisation could explain 41% of the spatial morphology of redefined cities.     

Creating public space,creating ‘the public’: immigration politics and representation in two Copenhagen parks

ABSTRACT

Contestations over immigration, citizenship, and belonging play out every day in urban public space. In this article we study the design processes and use of two Copenhagen parks, Superkilen and Mimersparken, to explore the creation of public space and the “public” in Denmark. Who is part of the Danish “public”? What right do immigrant residents have to shape public space and their neighborhoods? How are the boundaries of Danish national identity policed and contested in public space in Copenhagen? The Danish government has increasingly moved toward far-right anti-immigrant stances, even while Copenhagen promotes a multicultural vision of a diverse and cosmopolitan city. Superkilen and Mimersparken illustrate the shortcomings of Copenhagen’s multiculturalism: though Copenhagen celebrates immigration, it left little space for residents to make meaningful decisions as political actors. In the case of Superkilen and Mimersparken, designers’ stylized idea of immigration is more celebrated than the actual presence of immigrant residents.     

Determinants and identification of the northern boundary of China’s tropical zone

The influence of monsoon climatic characteristics makes the tropics of China different from those of other parts of the world. Therefore, the location of the northern boundary of China’s tropical zone has been one of the most controversial issues in the study of comprehensive physical regionalisation in China. This paper introduces developments in the study of the northern boundary of China’s tropical zone, in which different scholars delimit the boundary with great differences based on different regionalisation objectives, indexes, and methods. The main divergence of opinion is found in different understandings of zonal vegetation, agricultural vegetation type, cropping systems, tropical soil type and tropical characteristics. In this study, we applied the GeoDetector model, which measures the spatial stratified heterogeneity, to validate the northern boundaries of the tropical zone delimited by six principal scholars. The results show that the mean q-statistic value of the higher latitude boundary delimited by Ren Mei’e is the largest (q=0.37), suggesting that, of the rival views, it best reflects the regional differences between China’s tropical and subtropical zones, but it is not necessarily suitable for guiding the development of tropical agriculture. The mean values of the q-statistics of Zheng Du’s line and Yu Xianfang’s line around the Leizhou Peninsula at a lower latitude were smaller, at 0.10 and 0.08 respectively, indicating that the regional differences were smaller than those of Ren Mei’e’s boundary. Against the background of global climate change, the climate itself is changing in fluctuation. It is, thus, worth our further research whether the northern boundary of the tropical zone should not be a fixed line but rather should fluctuate within a certain scope to reflect these changes.     

The role of money in China’s urban production: the local property industry in Qujing,a fourth-tier city

What has made the urbanization of capital possible in China since the late 1990s? A major strand of literature in urban geography has pointed out land as the main trigger of urbanization. Scholars have highlighted the empowerment of local governments and their subsequent role in implementing China’s national urbanization objectives because of substantial revenues from the commodification of land. Other scholars have looked beyond the supply side, emphasizing the role of demand in stimulating urban development in China. In terms of demand, the speculative rationale of urban households aided land and property development during the 2000s, when property became a main alternative financial asset. However, this still raises the question of how urban production is financed. Based on a case study of the fourth-tier city of Qujing, in Yunnan province, this article investigates the financing of urban production from the perspective of the development industry. For the time being, little is known about how these companies finance their operations.     

Structural-typological characteristics and ecological potential of the Baikal region’s geosystems

We outline the methods and results of cartographic analysis and assessment the present state of a large region’s geosystems: their structural, functional and functional-value characteristics have been revealed. Drawing on the notion of epiformations, we determined the ecological potential of geosystems at the regional level for nature management purposes. A fragment of the typological general-purpose interpretation map “Ecological potential of the Baikal region’s geosystems” is presented.     

Measuring the spatiotemporal variation and evolution of transport network of China’s megaregions

Megaregion has become a prominent feature of modern China. Reflecting upon China’s recent path of transport infrastructure construction, this research examines the spatiotemporal characteristics of transport network development and its accessibility impacts in China’s ten megaregions from 1982 to 2010. Using historical transport network data and multiple national censuses (1982, 1990, 2000 and 2010), we computed two levels of indicators of megaregional transport network: megaregion level and county level, and analyzed the intra-megaregion and inter-megaregion disparities of transport network of the ten megaregions of China. Transport networks at the megaregion level are measured by three indicators: 1) transport network density; 2) infrastructure endowment per capita; and 3) size of transport network’s standard ellipse. Two accessibility indicators for measuring transportation network at the county level are calculated: weighted average travel time and potential accessibility. The research results show the following: 1) Road and rail network densities witnessed the greatest growth during the 2000–2010 period, and growth was more significant for railway network. 2) By 2010, average road endowments per capita in inland megaregions became higher than in coastal megaregions, while average rail endowments per capita in coastal megaregions became higher than in inland megaregions. 3) The sizes and directions of the standard deviational ellipses of road and rail network changed continuously during the study period. However the changes of road network ellipses were relatively small, while the changes of railway network ellipses were more significant. 4) Megaregions have all benefited significantly from transportation infrastructure improvement in the past few decades in terms of WATT and potential accessibility, but the three giant megaregions benefited most.     

What is the Meaning of ‘Social Mix’? Shifting perspectives in planning and implementing public housing estate redevelopment

This paper unravels a variety of perspectives about the concept of social mix, drawing on a case study of the implementation of a redevelopment project in Melbourne. The first part provides a theoretical overview of two internationally predominant academic debates around policy interpretations of this concept, namely social mix as a means for promotion of social inclusion; and as a state-led form of gentrification. These two arguments are usually presented as one, with social inclusion and reductions of concentrations of disadvantage one side of the ‘social mix policy’ coin, and state-led gentrification the other. This paper contributes to the national and international literature on public housing estate regeneration and social mix policies through exploring the question of whether these two ideas about social mix were shared by different stakeholders as the ‘messy’ process of redevelopment unfurled. Interviews were conducted with public tenants, homeowners and homebuyers, private renters and local service providers at the Carlton Housing Estate to explore the diverse perspectives of various stakeholder groups as estate design and implementation shifted. The study identified that as a result of the global financial crisis and the developers exerting pressure on government there was a gradual move away from perceiving social mix as a policy tool for encouraging social inclusion at Carlton, between public housing tenants and private residents, towards a different form of social mix and inclusion. Contrary to intentions, the revised form of social mix at Carlton was perceived as a means to harness market capital and attract higher income residents to the inner city.     

Population distribution and urbanization on both sides of the Hu Huanyong Line: Answering the Premier’s question

In late November 2014, while attending a science exhibition on human settlement at the National Museum, Premier Li Keqiang posed a question to society and scientists regarding the Hu Huanyong Line, which the media subsequently dubbed “the Premier’s question”. This increased awareness and interest in the Hu Huanyong Line and launched a lively debate which provoked a variety of views. In an attempt to address the Premier’s question, this paper firstly reviews the origins of the Hu Huanyong Line, named after the famous population geographer who proposed it in 1935 as part of a wider debate on domestic overpopulation. Using demographic data from China’s first, fifth and sixth censuses, as well as the ArcGIS platform, we analyze the size, proportion and density of populations in the areas southeast and northwest of the Hu Huanyong Line, showing that urbanization and migration have not changed the pattern of population distribution observed by Hu Huanyong. Based on this, we suggest that the pattern of a dense population southeast of the line and sparse population northwest of the line will not fundamentally change for a relatively long time, nor will the situation of urban agglomerations being mainly found in the southeastern region. We also argue that climate and other physical geographic conditions determine that the Hu Huanyong Line shall remain in place. We believe that the question posed by Premier Li Keqiang is solvable, and that with positive policy guidance and rational spatial organization, the northwestern region can achieve more modernization and better quality urbanization, while the same is true for the central region.     

China’s corridors-in-the-sky design and space-time congestion identification and the influence of air routes’ traffic flow

Journal of Geographical Sciences - With rapid development of air transportation, the airspace structure of the future will need to be flexible and dynamic to accommodate the increase in traffic...     

Boston’s Olympic bid and the evolving urban politics of event-led development

The sports mega-events industry is in the midst of a significant reorganization, and the urban politics of event-led development planning is increasingly tumultuous. Three trends stand out: (1) the mega-events industry has been professionalized through consultancies, sports federations' urban policy programs, and city-to-city knowledge-sharing partnerships. (2) Critics of mega-events have been successful in drawing attention to state intervention and public subsidies involved in mega-event planning. (3) A proliferation of anti-bid social movements has pursued a form of urban politics, which more aggressively questions the legitimacy of using mega-events to pursue urban development. I evaluate the implications of these trends with a case study of a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Boston. The failure of the Boston bid illustrates increasing tensions between cities and the mega-events industry.