The binational reality of border-crossing cities

In a time of changing border functions city pairs on either side of national state borders have increasingly become objects of attention, because of border crossing contacts and co-operation at the local level. This paper focuses on conceptual aspects of such city pairs, owing their existence to either duplication of an already existing city or to partitioning of a once united city. In search of a proper name that expresses the relations between such partner cities without metaphorical exaggeration, the current vocabulary is reviewed. Especially the notion of the ‘binational city’ receives critical attention. A discussion of selected cases of paired cities in Europe and North-America has been included to underline the importance of local conditions and historical backgrounds with regard to the mutual relations and conditions of co-operation. In conclusion the author states that for the time being ‘border–crossing’ cities seems to be the best name for city pairs of different national backgrounds, the emergence of true ‘binational cities’ being a rather exceptional outcome in a far future. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

San Diego–Tijuana: Not quite a binational city or region

The cities of San Diego and Tijuana have faced each other across the international boundary for over 100 years. The question raised by this article is whether they comprise a binational city or region. After a brief comparison of their histories, economies and political systems, a review of some indications of cross border attitudes and a discussion of binational regionalism as it is impacted by continentalism, it is concluded that the relationship between these cities is driven by factors of economics not friendship or trust. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The utopia of the binational city

Kerkrade and Herzogenrath, on the German-Dutch border, look back at a common past in the former Land of Rode. This ceased to exist in 1815 when the border was drawn between Prussia and The Netherlands. Since then the people turned their backs to each other more and more and started orientating towards their own nation state. Only after the dramatic nationalism of World War II subsided, did the border loose some of its dividing effects on political and social life. Unification processes of the European Union strengthened this, and the rapprochement between Kerkrade and Herzogenrath has become so intensive that they present themselves as one town: Eurode. The identification of both towns as one territorial, institutional and social entity was and is essential for the success of Eurode. Yet, creating a feeling of 'we-ness' is not enough if the actions and thoughts of the inhabitants do not match this feeling. This article therefore deals with the different stages of cross border integration necessary before one can speak of a 'binational city'. The question remains open however, whether the binational city can ever be more than Utopia. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Dictators and their capital cities: Moscow and Berlin in the 1930s

Stalin and Hitler planned major changes in the townscapes of their capital cities. These plans were part of their effort to install highly mobilized despotic regimes that needed a wide-ranging set of symbols to focus allegiance and to impress awe. These plans remained to some extent paper exercises but part of it left significant traces in the contemporary cities, particularly in Moscow. The intended changes showed similarities in their megalomania expressed in plans for a gigantic dome surrounded by a huge public square in the core of the city. There were also differences as regards the type of symbols used due to both dictotors' different roles within their regimes, the degree of didactic intent due to the nature of the commanding ideologies and the level of modernization of both countries, and the diverging versions of antimodernist building style (which they shared with many others elsewhere at the time).     

Environmental geology of ancient Greek cities

Man-environment relations in the ancient Greek world, as now, were complex interactions. To understand them, we need to study a range of physical features and man's impact on the setting. The underlying geological reality of this area is karst, which is widely distributed, dominating Greece, the southern half of Turkey, and southern Italy and Sicily, where the Greco-Roman cities that we study were located. Year-round water from karst springs was important because of scarce rainfall, intense evaporation, and infertile soil—none under human control. Examples from the Greek mainland (Corinth), an Aegean island (Rhodes), Turkey (Priene), and Sicily (Syracuse) are selected and described to suggest the way that karst water potential played an important role in site selection and development. A wider look at criteria for urban location and a new classification of urban patterns help to revise conventional understandings of these ancient cities. In conclusion, some modern findings about the interaction between city and setting suggest new research agendas for geologists and engineers, ancient historians and archaeologists, and water policy makers—preferrably working together.     

The changing distribution of incomes in Dutch cities: myth and reality

Segregation is a central concept in the debate on urban issues, both in scientific literature and in society in general. The process of globalisation is particularly expected to increase polarisation and segregation in cities, resulting in the emergence of ‘ghettos’ or – as they are called in the Netherlands – ‘income neighbourhoods’. This paper tries to judge the situation in Dutch cities by studying changes over time; by looking at segregation within cities as well as between cities and the wider metropolitan area; and by comparing socio-economic differences with socio-cultural and socio-demographic characteristics. The analysis shows that the empirical facts are quite different from the ongoing debate. It establishes that socio-economic segregation is more moderate than segregation with respect to the other two dimensions. Contrary to suggestions from the vernacular debate, segregation within cities is scarcely increasing, but between cities and the surrounding area it is rising with respect to all three dimensions. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The future of industrial cities and regions in central and eastern Europe

Economic transition in central and eastern Europe (CEE) has had a particularly strong impact on industrial cities and regions. Following their economic collapse, most of them are now confronted with serious problems such as high unemployment and vast ecological damage. The paper presents findings from a pan European research project that investigated the problems of these cities and regions as well as the strategies being adopted to cope with structural change. It examines the differences in approaches and addresses the question whether existing EU policy is suitable for supporting the redevelopment of old industrial cities and regions in CEE countries. The paper concludes with recommendations for future directions in policy making.     

Introduction: immigrants and transnational experiences in world cities

Today, in the early 21st century, goods, information, services, financial capital and human beings are flowing across national borders at an ever-accelerating rate. In this context, transnationalism has become a key paradigm in the study of international migration and urbanism. This theme issue on “Immigrants and transnational experiences in world cities” explores these new trends in contemporary international migration, with respect to transnational communities and geographies, in articles grouped according to four themes: international migration and world cities; highly-skilled and low-skilled immigrants; economic impacts; and immigrant experiences in world cities.     

甘肃主要城市地质灾害特征及防治措施探讨

甘肃省的自然地理、地质构造、气候条件、地形地貌等非常复杂,地质灾害非常严重,具有灾害种类多,分布范围广的特点,是我国地质灾害严重的地区之一。各种地质灾害的发生与汛期的关系密切,给百姓造成了很大的危害,其影响是巨大的。本文对甘肃省主要城市的地质灾害特征进行了分析,并有探讨性的提出了防治措施,目的旨在对城市的防灾减灾和经济建设提供参考。     

黄河冲积扇对中原城市群的地质控制作用

黄河冲积扇是中国中东部山前地区最大的冲积扇,其主体位于河南省。黄河冲积扇的形成发育的地质环境条件,冲积扇的地层岩性结构、水文地质特征,以及与其相邻地貌单元的地质和资源条件共同决定了中原城市群各城市的分布、发展规模、发展方向、产业结构等要素。通过黄河冲积扇的形成演化和本身地质、水文地质条件研究,从地质角度分析和探讨了中原城市群城市可持续发展的有利条件和影响因素,旨在为中原城市群的规划、建设提供地质科学依据。     

滨海城市环境工程地质问题的地域分异规律

滨海城市是我国经济最发达的地区,近年来经济与城市建设均得到迅速发展,城市土地开发力度加大,由此引起的环境工程地质问题也日趋严重,本文分析了我国滨海城市地区区域地质环境和人类工程经济活动的地域差异,研究了滨海城市环境工程地质问题的主要类型,并提出了滨海城市环境工程地质问题的地域分异规律。     

滨海城市环境工程地质问题发育特点分析

本文分析了我国滨海城市环境工程地质问题的主要类型,研究了环境工程地质问题的发育特点。     

中国城市水资源可持续开发战略对策研究

城市水资源开发是一项庞大的、复杂的系统工程。作者在研究中国主要城市地质环境背景和分析城市水资源开发现状与问题的基础上,有针对性地提出了一套技术、经济等城市水资源可持续开发综合战略对策,对解决当前中国城市水资源紧缺和合理开发及科学管理有重要意义。     

岩溶山区县级成熟型资源城市经济发展空间差异及演化 ——以四川省兴文县为例

以乡镇为基本单元,通过乡镇组别人均GDP差异、泰尔指数和分离系数探讨近10年来(2006-2015年)岩溶山区县级成熟型资源城市四川省兴文县经济发展空间差异及演化.结果表明:近10年来该县乡镇间人均GDP的绝对与相对差异、泰尔指数(由0.1088上升到0.1697,上升了55.97%)和乡镇组别间分离系数(由2.4041上升到2.8414)均持续上升,经济发展差异呈增大趋势.乡镇组别内经济差异比乡镇组别间差异大(对总体差异的平均贡献率分别为70.43%和29.51%),而乡镇组别间经济差异的上升幅度(76.21%)高于乡镇组别内的上升幅度(47.94%).乡镇组别泰尔指数均值排序为:矿业组(0.2370)>工业组(0.0624)>旅游与矿业组(0.0581)>农业组(0.0108),工业、矿业和农业等乡镇组别的泰尔指数分别上升了193.13%、27.69%和20.18%,而旅游与矿业组则下降了30.95%.经济发展过度依赖资源、工业园区建设、宏观经济影响、旅游开发单一、农业整体滞后且不均衡等是该县经济发展空间差异及演化的主要原因.今后应实施多元产业综合发展、各类乡镇因地制宜实施差异化发展、注重经济发展与环境保护的协调统一等策略.     

Transaction links through cities: ‘decision cities’ and ‘service cities’ in outsourcing by leading Brazilian firms

Most world city studies focus on where the provision of advanced producer services takes place, but in this study the location of the service clients are also taken into account. Production-service transactions are identified as links between ‘service city’ and ‘decision city’ (client HQ) and classified as intra-city (where a firms uses local (same city) services) and inter-city which may be domestic or foreign depending on whether the client uses services in or out of the country. Sampling the leading firms in Brazil, 218 transaction links are described and analysed in terms of cities, firm sectors, ownership and market. The analyses are used to inform a rereading of gateway city functions that takes into account the concentration/dispersal nexus in economic globalization. Thus, whereas the dominance of Sao Paulo in the Brazilian economy is confirmed, this is not interpreted as a simple gateway function with this one city ‘articulating’ the national economy into the world economy. A much more complex situation is revealed with by-passing of the gateway also much in evidence. The conclusion is that this shows concentration and dispersion of economic activity happening simultaneously in Brazil.     

Exploring the attractions of city centre living: evidence and policy implications in British cities

The British city centre has been the focus of dynamic housing development and repopulation strategies as a key dimension of the government's urban renaissance programme. Through large scale interview surveys in the provincial city centres of Bristol and Swansea, this paper explores the positive and negative features of city centre living, and how these vary amongst a range of social and physical characteristics. The findings suggest that the practical and mundane attractions of city centre living are more important than the more widely publicised lifestyle and cultural attractions of the city centre commonly emphasised in the gentrification literature. Moreover, the research points to differences in attitudes between age groups, with younger adults placing greater value on the range of social and cultural activities in the city centre, whilst older people express high levels of satisfaction with the attractiveness of the environment. A number of policy implications emerge to encourage inclusive marketing strategies within the continued urban renaissance, particularly to challenge the negative perceptions and promote the varied attractions of city centre living to a mix of social groups.     

西南典型城市环境地质问题与城市规划

西南地区的昆明、重庆和成都分属高原湖畔城市、沿江山区城市和平原城市,地质环境各异。20世纪80年代以来,伴随城市的发展,均不同程度地出现了与城市可持续发展密切相关的环境地质问题。昆明面临的是地面沉降和软弱地基问题,频繁的崩塌和滑坡地质灾害制约了重庆的发展与扩展,而位于川西平原地下水库上的成都的高速发展已使岷江巨型冲洪积扇地下水系统的完整性及径流交替能力受到严重破坏。环境地质问题应成为城市规划首先考虑的最基本因素,制定合理的规划方案及针对性条款是遏制地质环境恶化的有效途径。     

沿海城市竞争力评价及资源环境约束分析

在借鉴国内外研究的基础上,建立了城市竞争力评价指标体系。通过熵值法和均方差决策法确定各指标权重,对我国14个沿海开放城市竞争力进行了评价。分析发现,各城市综合竞争力具有内部差异大、极化现象突出等特点。从城市竞争力要素层得分及其状况来看,各城市之间差异显著,而生态环境竞争力普遍偏低。从空间角度看,各城市竞争力水平大致形成了以中部上海为核心,南部广州、北部天津为两翼,连接各城市构成了一条倒"V"字型向东突出的城市竞争力发展格局。根据评价结果由高到低可将14个城市分为强竞争力、较强竞争力、一般竞争力、弱竞争力四大类。     

滨海城市高密度电法观测精度问题探讨

在滨海软土地区的城市里,由于地下水较浅,地下水的矿化度较高,视电阻率一般都比较低,加之城市内各种工业与民用电器设施的干扰,使得开展高密度电法探测是一件颇为困难的事情,高密度电法探测的精度如何评价和取舍就成了一个不得不面对的问题,根据在天津地区开展高密度电法的实践,对这一问题进行了探讨。     

Metastability of granulites and processes of eclogitisation in the UHP region of western Norway

The Flatraket Complex, a granulite facies low strain enclave within the Western Gneiss Region, provides an excellent example of metastability of plagioclase‐bearing assemblages under eclogite facies conditions. Coesite eclogites are found <200 m structurally above and <1 km below the Flatraket Complex, and are separated from it by amphibolite facies gneisses related to pervasive late‐orogenic deformation and overprinting. Granulites within the Flatraket Complex equilibrated at 9–11 kbar, 700–800°C. These predate eclogite facies metamorphism and were preserved metastably in dry undeformed zones under eclogite facies conditions. Approximately 5% of the complex was transformed to eclogite in zones of fluid infiltration and deformation, which were focused along lithological contacts in the margin of the complex. Eclogitisation proceeded by domainal re‐equilibration and disequilibrium breakdown of plagioclase by predominantly hydration reactions. Both hydration and anhydrous plagioclase breakdown reactions were kinetically linked to input of fluid. More pervasive hydration of the complex occurred during exhumation, with fluid infiltration linked to dehydration of external gneisses. Eclogite facies shear zones within the complex equilibrated at 20–23 kbar, 650–800°C, consistent with the lack of coesite and with the equilibration conditions of external HP eclogites. If the complex experienced pressures equivalent to those of nearby coesite eclogites (> 28 kbar), unprecedented metastability of plagioclase and quartz is implied. Alternatively, a tectonic break exists between the Flatraket Complex and UHP eclogites, supporting the concept of a tectonic boundary to the UHP zone of the Western Gneiss Region. The distribution of eclogite and amphibolite facies metamorphic overprints demonstrates that the reactivity of the crust during deep burial and exhumation is strongly controlled by fluid availability, and is a function of the protolith.