Milan: The city of constant renewal

Traditional models of urban development are no longer adequate to describe current metropolitan transformations. These are now at the centre of a debate concerning management and administration. In Italy, delays in resolving problems of urban and metropolitan government, despite the legal framework provided by Law 142/90, have weighed heavily on the larger urban areas of the country: Rome, Naples, Milan, which have not been able to tackle the issue of metropolitan government. Recent legislation, while not providing a pre-defined institutional solution, allows separate administrative districts to collectively establish metropolitan institutions of `variable geometry'. The Milan urban area is not one city, but a system of mutually-dependent cities, linked to each other and the rest of the world by a transport network still requiring much investment. The vitality of its economic structure (especially its small firms) is held back by seriously inadequate infrastructure and low external economic efficiency. The provincial capital may boast `historic centrality' but the most interesting potential for development is to be found on the periphery and in the administrative districts immediately surrounding it, in the recovery of derelict industrial areas and dormitory towns established in the 1950s and 1960s, especially to the north. Recovery of derelict areas, green areas, and better transport links within the urban area and with the outside world are the key elements in the reorganization of `Greater Milan'. In this situation of rapid transformation the most appropriate political strategies involve negotiated planning. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Recycling in the Puerto Rican mantle wedge, Greater Antilles Island Arc

Abstract The initial volcanic phase of Cretaceous island arc strata in central Puerto Rico, at the eastern end of the extinct Greater Antilles Arc, comprises a 6‐km thick pile of lava and volcanic breccia (Río Majada Group). Preserved within the sequence is a conspicuous shift in absolute abundances of the more incompatible elements, including Th, Nb, and the light rare earth elements (LREE: La, Ce, Pr and Nd). The compositional shift is marked by a decrease in La/Sm from averages of 2.11 in the lowest third of the pile (Formation A) to 1.48 at the top (Formation C), and by a distinctive flattening of LREE segments of chondrite‐normalized REE patterns. i⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ?_Nd average about 0.7035 and 8.2, respectively, in early Formation A basalts. These ranges normally overlap samples from later Formations B and C. Isotope compositions of the latter group are more variable, however, and several samples are considerably more radiogenic than Formation A basalts, such that i⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr averages almost 0.7042 while ?_Nd‐values decrease to 7.5 in Formation B and C basalts. Theoretical models of non‐modal melting processes in both amphibole peridotite and spinel lherzolite sources provide insight into the origin of depleted Th, Nb, and LREE abundances in Puerto Rican basalts. Low Nb concentrations less than normal mid‐oceanic ridge basalts in Formation A basalts indicate the wedge was slightly depleted by low‐volume decompression fusion due to induced convection in the back‐arc region prior to entry of the source into the arc melting zone. However, depleted patterns in Formation C basalts cannot be generated by relatively greater degrees of decompression fusion in the back‐arc, because addition of the La‐enriched slab‐derived component to more depleted source material invariably produces elevated rather than decreased La/Sm. Refluxing of Formation A harzburgitic residua is similarly precluded. In contrast, the observed patterns are readily reproduced by multistage melting models involving hybridized sources containing normal Formation A lherzolite source material blended with recycled, unrefluxed harzburgite residua. Successful models require hybrid sources containing large volumes of recycled harzburgite (up to 50%) during generation of Formation C basalts. Slightly elevated radiometric Sr and Nd isotopes in a few flows from Formation C are attributed to partial refluxing of the hybrid sources within the wedge.     

探测大城市活断层的地球物理方法

简要地介绍了开展大城市地震活断层探测的意义及世界各国开展活断层探测的基本情况。城市及邻近地区地震活断层引起的直下型地震 ,将会给大城市造成巨大的地震灾害。准确地探测出大城市的活断层分布 ,采取有效措施 ,可大大降低地震时的损失。文中重点介绍了开展地震活断层探测的地球物理方法的类型和主要特点 ,在区域探查与初步鉴定阶段、详细探测与精确定位阶段、孕震构造探测阶段可能涉及到的各种地球物理探测方法、适用范围及所能解决的主要问题     

城市用地与人口的异速增长和相关经验研究

由于城市土地利用变化涉及的因素多，使获取动态研究研究所需的资料十分困难，所以，用少数几个主要因素定量地表达其变化就显得十分重要。从前人的成果，即以人口表示的城市位序-规模法则和建成区面积表示的位序-规模法则出发，绽绎出城市的用地规模和人口数量呈异速增长。这意味着，如果把整个城市看成是一个生命有机体，那么作为反映城市特征的城市用地规模和城市人口这两个重要变量，就是城市这个有机体的两个器官，他们的增长率是成比例的。还通过这个关系建立了城市建成区面积与市场人口和经济发展水平的数学模式。对我国部分城市的经验研究在一定程度上分别证明了这两经验关系。     

城市群演化的空间过程及土地利用优化配置

城市群演化包含了诸多内容 ,如人口、产业、城市类型、城市职能等 ,而空间过程是最直接、最综合的表现。     

中国城市与城市发展理论的历史

论述中国自周期以来的城市概念和理论，指出中国城市性质和城市结构的自有特点及其与西方发展经验为基础的城市概念和理论不同，将中国漫长的演变历史分为封建时代，中华人民共和国建立至1978年和1978年以后的改革开放3个时期。3个时期所形成的城市概念和理论，都有中国特色，是中国城市及城市化向前发展的重要的理解和指导基础。     

基于神经网络的单元自动机CA及真实和忧化的城市模拟

提出了一种基于神经网络的单元自动机（ＣＡ）。ＣＡ已被越来越多地应用在城市及其它地理现象的模拟中。ＣＡ模拟所碰到的最大问题是如何确定模型的结构和参数。模拟真实的城市涉及到使用许多空间变量和参数。当模型较复杂时，很难确定模型的参数值。本模型的结构较简单，模型的参数能通过对神经网络的训练来自动获取。分析表明，所提出的方法能获得更高的模拟精度，并能大大缩短寻找参数所需要的时间。通过筛选训练数据，本模型还可以进行优化的城市模拟，为城市规划提供参考依据。     

A New Model for Heat Flow in Extensional Basins: Estimating Radiogenic Heat Production

Radiogenic heat production (RHP) represents a significant fraction of surface heat flow, both on cratons and in sedimentary basins. RHP within continental crust—especially the upper crust—is high. RHP at any depth within the crust can be estimated as a function of crustal age. Mantle RHP, in contrast, is always low, contributing at most 1 to 2 mW/m² to total heat flow. Radiogenic heat from any noncrystalline basement that may be present also contributes to total heat flow. RHP from metamorphic rocks is similar to or slightly lower than that from their precursor sedimentary rocks. When extension of the lithosphere occurs—as for example during rifting—the radiogenic contribution of each layer of the lithosphere and noncrystalline basement diminishes in direct proportion to the degree of extension of that layer. Lithospheric RHP today is somewhat less than in the distant past, as a result of radioactive decay. In modeling, RHP can be varied through time by considering the half lives of uranium, thorium, and potassium, and the proportional contribution of each of those elements to total RHP from basement. RHP from sedimentary rocks ranges from low for most evaporites to high for some shales, especially those rich in organic matter. The contribution to total heat flow of radiogenic heat from sediments depends strongly on total sediment thickness, and thus differs through time as subsidence and basin filling occur. RHP can be high for thick clastic sections. RHP in sediments can be calculated using ordinary or spectral gamma-ray logs, or it can be estimated from the lithology.     

Transport and Housing Security in the Klang Valley, Malaysia

This paper explores links between transport and housing security issues for the urban poor using the example of the Klang Valley in Malaysia. The interface between these issues is identified as a gap in the literature, including policy debates, on both housing and transport. A number of linkages are shown to be important and likely to be relevant in many cities of the South, especially those with rapid motorisation and large numbers of "squatters". A simple framework for understanding these linkages is presented. Key examples include displacement to make way for transport infrastructure and the impact on transport problems for the poor of policies affecting the location of urban poor housing, including relocation sites and transit accommodation. The case study of the Klang Valley is used to illustrate and test the relevance of a focus on this issue and the utility of the conceptual framework. Some policy implications of the investigation and case study are suggested.