Coproducing urban space: Rethinking the formal/informal dichotomy

Providing an introduction to the special section ‘Close encounters: ethnographies of the coproduction of space by the urban poor’, this article sets out to argue that the image of ‘the informal’ as unruly, messy and dirty continues to inform urban planning around the world. As a reaction to this view, it contends that the informal and formal should be analysed as interconnected and that the informal sphere should be revalued. Urban development is studied as close encounters between established practices, with a locus and a history (tree‐like), and newly emerging, unstable and untraceable practices (rhizomatic). Contrary to the tendency in urban planning to conflate the formal with the tree and the informal with the rhizome, we argue that from the perspective of marginal urbanites, formal planning tends to be very arbitrary and frightening (rhizomatic), whereas informal practices can be very predictable and stable (arboreal). The article analyses residents of marginalized urban areas as inventive navigators who explore the changing physical, spatial and sociopolitical environment, avoiding threats and looking for opportunities, grounded in their everyday practices and life histories. The article concludes that marginal urbanites should be acknowledged as coproducers of urban space and that the right to ‘coproduce’ the city lies at the heart of the call for the right to the city.     

ADOP in closed form for a hierarchy of multi-frequency single-baseline GNSS models

Successful carrier phase ambiguity resolution is the key to high-precision positioning with Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS). The ambiguity dilution of precision (ADOP) is a well-known scalar measure which can be used to infer the strength of the GNSS model for carrier phase ambiguity resolution. In this contribution we present analytical closed-form expressions for the ADOP. This will be done for a whole class of different multi- frequency single baseline models. These models include the geometry-fixed, the geometry-free and the geometry-based models, respectively. And within the class of geometry-based models, we discriminate between short and long observation time spans, and between stationary and moving receivers. The easy-to-use ADOP expressions can be applied to infer the contribution of various GNSS model factors. They comprise, for instance, the type, the number and the precision of the GNSS observations, the number and selection of frequencies, the presence of atmospheric disturbances, the length of the observation time span and the length of the baseline.     

Instantaneous BeiDou+GPS RTK positioning with high cut-off elevation angles

As the Chinese BeiDou Navigation Satellite System (BDS) has become operational in the Asia-Pacific region, it is of importance to better understand as well as demonstrate the capabilities that a combination of BeiDou with GPS brings to positioning. In this contribution, a formal and empirical analysis is given of the single-epoch RTK positioning capabilities of such a combined system. This will be done for the single- and dual-frequency case, and in comparison with the BDS- and GPS-only performances. It will be shown that with the combined system, when more satellites are available, much larger than the customary cut-off elevations can be used. This is important, as such measurement set-up will significantly increase the GNSS applicability in constrained environments, such as e.g. in urban canyons or when low-elevation multipath is present.     

Glacial and Holocene terrestrial temperature variability in subtropical east Australia as inferred from branched GDGT distributions in a sediment core from Lake McKenzie

Branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether (GDGT) distributions observed in a sediment core from Lake McKenzie were utilized to quantitatively reconstruct the pattern of mean annual air temperature (MAAT) from coastal subtropical eastern Australia between 37 and 18.3 cal ka BP and 14.0 cal ka BP to present. Both the reconstructed trend and amplitude of MAAT changes from the top of the sediment core were nearly identical to a local instrumental MAAT record from Fraser Island, providing confidence that in this sediment core branched GDGTs could be used to produce a quantitative record of past MAAT. The reconstructed trend of MAAT during 37 to 18.3 cal ka BP and timing of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in the Lake McKenzie record were in agreement with previously published nearby marine climate records. The amplitude of lower-than-present MAAT during the LGM potentially provides information on the latitude of separation of the Tasman Front from the East Australian current in the subtropical western Pacific. The Lake McKenzie record shows an earlier onset of near modern day warm temperatures in the early Holocene compared to marine records and the presence of a warmer than present day period during the mid-Holocene.     

The free surface assumption for marine data‐driven demultiple methods*

In the past, integral formulations for marine data‐driven demultiple methods have been derived from reciprocity theorems. Two fundamental assumptions in these derivations were that the sea‐surface is flat and has a known reflection coefficient, often taken to be minus one. In this paper, we show that for dual sensor data these assumptions can be relaxed. The sea‐surface has to obey the same conditions as any other reflecting boundary in the subsurface: it must be constant in time but shape and reflection strength can vary in space. For both surface‐related multiple elimination, and multiple attenuation by multi‐dimensional deconvolution, we derive integral equations that depend only on the measured pressure and particle velocity fields. Finally, we show there is an intimate connection between the integral equations for the methods.     

Neighborhood-Based social capital and life satisfaction: the case of Rotterdam,The Netherlands

ABSTRACT

In this study, we examine the relationship between neighborhood-based social capital and residents’ life satisfaction by considering resident heterogeneity. Using a database of the city of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, we find a small but significant positive association between neighborhood-based social capital and individual life satisfaction. However, we also find considerable differences among residents because neighborhood-based social capital is important mainly for people who are more likely to spend considerable time in the neighborhood or who are more neighborhood dependent (i.e. less-educated people, people who live on welfare, people with poor health, retired people, and those who are divorced or widowed). Our results confirm the importance of neighborhood-based social capital for residents’ life satisfaction in terms of both actual social contacts with neighbors and the perceived social cohesion within a neighborhood. At the same time, the importance of neighborhood-based social capital varies among different groups of residents. These findings have important implications for policy-makers.     

Wave dissipation by vegetation with layer schematization in SWAN

The energy of waves propagating through vegetation is dissipated due to the work done by the waves on the vegetation. Dalrymple et al. (1984) estimated wave dissipation by integrating the force on a cylinder over its vertical extent. This was extended by Mendez and Losada (2004) to include varying depths and the effects of wave damping due to vegetation and wave breaking for narrow-banded random waves. This paper describes the wave dissipation over a vegetation field by the implementation of the Mendez and Losada formulation in a full spectrum model SWAN, with an extension to include a vertical layer schematization for the vegetation. The present model is validated with the original equation and results from Mendez and Losada (2004). The sensitivity of the model to the shape of the frequency spectrum, directional spreading and layer schematization are investigated. The model is then applied to field measurements by using a vegetation factor. This model has the ability to calculate two-dimensional wave dissipation over a vegetation field including some important aspects such as breaking and diffraction as used in SWAN model.     

Regimes of spatial ordering in Brazil: Neoliberalism,leftist populism and modernist aesthetics in slum upgrading in Recife

This paper shows how regimes of spatial ordering in Brazil are produced by the entangling of neoliberalism, leftist populism and modernist visions. The paper focuses on Prometrópole, a slum upgrading project in Recife funded by the World Bank, which commenced in 2007. In this project, the neoliberal dimension manifests in the idea that the state, private companies and citizens together are responsible for (re)constructing urban space, and further, that beneficiaries should behave as autonomous citizens, taking responsibility for their new living environment. The leftist political dimension is seen in participatory procedures to involve the target population from project design through to implementation, in expectation of their cooperation with the government. The modernist aesthetics – of straight lines, open spaces and visible order – informs the project design with the requirement to use the new houses and public spaces according to the standards of ‘modern civilization’. As our research shows, such a regime of spatial ordering clashes with the livelihoods of the urban poor, whose quality of life might even deteriorate as a result of the intervention. Furthermore, so‐called participatory procedures fail to grant the target population any real influence in creating their environment. Consequently, these residents of the new housing estate drastically reconstruct their private and public areas, reappropriating the urban space and contesting the regime of spatial ordering imposed upon them.     

Instantaneous Precise GPS Positioning under Geomagnetic Storm Conditions

Due to the maximum of the solar cycle, ionospheric activity increased considerably last year. At frequent times warning were sent out announcing geomagnetic storms disturbing the ionospheric electron content. In this article the influence of such geomagnetic storms on fast and precise GPS positioning (for surveying applications at midlatitude regions) is studied. And here with “fast” it is aimed at the shortest observation time possible: carrier ambiguity resolution and position estimation using only one single epoch of data. To apply this instantaneous data processing technique successfully to GPS baselines of medium length (up to 50 km), additional ionospheric information is inevitable, not only under geomagnetic storm but also under more quiet conditions. However, in this article it will be shown that under geomagnetic storm conditions, even for rather short baselines (<10 km), for which the ionospheric delays under more quiet conditions could be neglected, one has to account for significant relative ionospheric delays. Therefore an important facet of this contribution is the investigation of how to process baselines of varying length in a more uniform way, making use of a permanent GPS network (if available in the surveying area) and a stochastic modeling technique of the ionospheric delays. ? 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Stakeholder analysis of the governance framework of a national SDI dataset – whose needs are met in the buildings and address register of the Netherlands?

ABSTRACT

National spatial data infrastructures are key to achieving the Digital Earth vision. In many cases, national datasets are integrated from local datasets created and maintained by municipalities. Examples are address, building and topographic information. Integration of local datasets may result in a dataset satisfying the needs of users of national datasets, but is it productive for those who create and maintain the data? This article presents a stakeholder analysis of the Basisregistratie Adressen en Gebouwen (BAG), a collection of base information about addresses and buildings in the Netherlands. The information is captured and maintained by municipalities and integrated into a national base register by Kadaster, the Cadastre, Land Registry and Mapping Agency of the Netherlands. The stakeholder analysis identifies organisations involved in the BAG governance framework, describes their interests, rights, ownerships and responsibilities in the BAG, and maps the relationships between them. Analysis results indicate that Kadaster and the municipalities have the highest relative importance in the governance framework of the BAG. The study reveals challenges of setting up a governance framework that maintains the delicate balance between the interests of all stakeholders. The results provide guidance for SDI role players setting up governance frameworks for national or global datasets.