Urban Studies current issue

Unravelling the Global City Debate on Social Inequality: A Firm-level Analysis of Wage Inequality in Amsterdam and Rotterdam

van der Waal, J., Burgers, J. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

In this article, an assessment is made of the consequences of globalisation for urban wage inequality. Using data on employers in the Dutch cities of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, it is shown that simply equating global city formation with globalisation, when it comes to urban wage inequality—which is the common research practice in urban studies—leads to a blind spot for the impact of international competition, falsely equates economic restructuring with globalisation and strongly overrates the impact of globalisation on the urban wage structure. Global city formation does not lead to polarising tendencies, while exposure to international competition leads to upgrading tendencies.

In Quest of the Good Urban Life: Socio-spatial Dynamics and Residential Building Stock Transformation in Zurich

Koll-Schretzenmayr, M., Ritterhoff, F., Siebel, W. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

This paper discusses socio-spatial dynamics and the transformation of the residential building stock in the global city of Zurich. It deals with five questions. Does Zurich exhibit the type of social polarisation outlined by the global city hypothesis? If so, how does social polarisation become visible in the context of a European city? Which actors in the real estate market are catering to the special tastes of the new urban middle class? With whom does the new middle class compete for space in the city? The paper argues that real estate developers customise the residential building stock and produce residential units for a targeted market—the new urban middle class. Furthermore, a new socio-spatial phenomenon—ennoblement—has evolved, as the new urban middle class takes residence in traditional upper-class neighbourhoods. By investing its own economic capital, this new middle class is hoping to profit from upper-class social and cultural capital.

The Dynamics of Residential Segregation in Buffalo: An Agent-based Simulation

Yin, L. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Race and class factors have been studied as underlying causes of segregation for many years. Individual choices on race and economic constraints of living in one area versus another play an important role in residential segregation. An attempt has not yet been made to simulate the interplay of neighbourhood racial and economic composition in forming segregation using empirical micro-level data. Using City of Buffalo data, this study explores how individuals’ housing location choices with respect to racial composition and housing sale prices in their neighbourhoods can give rise to aggregate patterns of residential segregation and how segregation at one point in time was contributing to increased segregation at later stages. The results show that observed patterns of segregation in the city could plausibly arise from the interaction of racial and economic factors. This study also demonstrates the application of such models on exploring the possible effects of proposed integration efforts.

From Elevated Freeway to Urban Greenway: Land Value Impacts of the CGC Project in Seoul, Korea

Kang, C. D., Cervero, R. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

In 2003—04, the Cheong Gye Cheon elevated freeway in Seoul, Korea, was torn down and replaced by an urban stream and linear park. This bold initiative aimed to enhance the quality of central-city living by replacing a mobility asset that was also a nuisance with an attractive urban amenity. This research analyses the impacts of the freeway-to-greenway conversion on commercial and residential property values using multilevel hedonic price models. Specifically, for non-residential uses, it was found that there were land value premiums for parcels within 500 metres of the corridor for both the former freeway and the present-day urban greenway. However, premiums were notably higher for parcels within the 500-metre walkshed of the urban greenway entrance points than the freeway on-ramps. It is concluded that Seoul’s unique freeway disinvestment/greenway investment conferred net benefits to both residential and non-residential land markets.

Determinants of Urban Spatial Scale: Chinese Cities in Transition

Ke, S., Song, Y., He, M. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

The unprecedented urban economic growth in China has created a huge demand for urban land. Built upon the standard monocentric city model, this empirical study investigates the determinants of urban spatial scale of Chinese cities using a cross-sectional dataset from 650 Chinese cities. The estimates are surprisingly similar to those found for US cities, with four basic factors (population, income, commuting cost and price of rural land) explaining most of the variation in urban spatial scale of Chinese cities. The findings clearly show that although land use in Chinese cities may have inherited many centrally planned features, market forces today exert a very significant influence. The study also shows that the urban spatial scale of Chinese cities is better understood by a model that consolidates features of both ‘closed’ and ‘open’ cities proposed in the standard urban land economics literature.

Residential Redevelopment and the Entrepreneurial Local State: The Implications of Beijing's Shifting Emphasis on Urban Redevelopment Policies

Shin, H. B. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

The entrepreneurial nature of local government activities has significantly influenced socioeconomic and spatial changes in urban China. It is against this backdrop that property-led redevelopment projects were implemented in Beijing after 1990, guided by a programme whose very success depended on the participation of real estate capital for financial contributions. In 2000, however, a new policy was put in practice, which aimed at supplying affordable housing on government-provided land to increase the rehousing rate. This paper analyses the implications of this shifting emphasis on Beijing’s redevelopment policy and examines whether the local government has become less entrepreneurial and more socially inclusive in its redevelopment approach. Based on the case study of two redevelopment projects, the paper argues that the local state’s entrepreneurial nature has persisted and that this is largely due to its power to dispose of urban land use rights, effectively making local governments de facto landlords.

Urban Structure and Polycentrism: Towards a Redefinition of the Sub-centre Concept

Roca Cladera, J., Marmolejo Duarte, C. R., Moix, M. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

This paper seeks to extend the definition of a sub-centre beyond the usual definition as a place with significantly larger employment density that has an effect on the overall employment density of the nearby locations. Together with the previous conditions, it is suggested that it is necessary to include another which represents a structural element of an urban sub-system within the metropolitan configuration—that is, a place with intense spatial interaction with its hinterland. Therefore, a metropolitan area can be seen as one comprising urban sub-systems characterised by greater or lesser polycentrism. In this paper, a ‘bottom—up’ methodology based on commuter flows is proposed in order to detect metropolitan sub-centres. Using empirical data from the Metropolitan Region of Barcelona, the proposed methodology is tested, comparing its results with those of other commonly used methodologies (cut-offs, parametric and non-parametric models). The results suggest that the proposed methodology permits optimising the sub-centre delimitation process.

A Property Rights Approach to Externality Problems: Planning Based on Compensation Rules

van der Krabben, E. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Most European countries have implemented some kind of land use planning based on exclusionary zoning principles to achieve spatial goals. This paper argues that, to reduce externality problems, regulatory planning is not always the best planning solution. Therefore, an alternative planning approach, which makes use of compensation rules, is suggested in this paper. This compensatory planning approach is based on property rights theory and refers to recent applications of this theory to planning practice. To illustrate the usefulness of such an approach, it is applied to the planning of out-of-town retail development in The Netherlands. The paper aims to demonstrate how deficiencies in the property rights regime can be repaired to deal with externality problems, achieving a more socially acceptable outcome of out-of-town retail development. The paper concludes with a discussion of the value of spontaneous order solutions for planning practice, by introducing four pragmatic rules on how to choose between different types of government interventions.

Urban Hierarchies and City Growth in the Balkans

Dimou, M., Schaffar, A. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

This paper uses empirical evidence from the Balkan peninsula during the 1981—2001 period, in order to study the dynamic patterns of a conflict-affected city-size distribution. By examining the time variations of the Pareto exponent on the one hand and by exploring cities’ relative growth patterns and intradistribution mobility on the other, the paper shows that city growth dynamics follow a ‘hybrid’ pattern, where city size filters the effects of external shocks. City-size dynamics thus seem more complex than that predicted by random growth or endogenous growth theories. In the Balkan peninsula, during the 1981—2001 period, medium-sized city demographics have resisted external shocks due to conflicts, redrawing of national frontiers and institutional upheaval better than large conglomerations. However, this does not lead to convergence towards a steady city size.

Poor Neighbourhoods and Poor Services: Evidence on the 'Rationing' of Environmental Service Provision to Deprived Neighbourhoods

Hasting, A. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

There is growing political concern that poor neighbourhoods often receive inadequate public services, although little research to date which explores how and why this may be the case. Earlier research on environmental services has suggested that poor neighbourhoods do not tend to get levels of this service which are proportionate to their needs. This paper extends an earlier analysis to explore the processes by which this underprovision occurs. It is argued that three ‘rationing’ processes are central to explanations: institutional rationing which describes a systemic bias against fully meeting the needs of poor neighbourhoods; reactive rationing in which service practices and standards are varied between neighbourhoods; and political rationing where service levels and standards are sensitive to variations in the political resources of neighbourhoods. The analysis reveals how these rationing processes produce levels of environmental maintenance in poor neighbourhoods which are insufficient to address needs.

Book Review: Towards Safe City Centres? Remaking the Spaces of an Old-industrial City: Gesa Helms, 2008 Aldershot: Ashgate 221 pp. {pound}55.00 hardback ISBN 978 0 7546 4804 8 hardback

Huxley, M. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Book Review: Encountering Urban Places: Visual and Material Performances in the City: Lars Frers and Lars Meier (Eds), 2007 Aldershot: Ashgate 190 pp. {pound}55.00 hardback ISBN 978 0 7546 4929 8 hardback

Ozkan, D. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Book Review: Ordinary Places/Extraordinary Events: Citizenship, Democracy, and Public Space in Latin America: Clara Irazabal (Ed.), 2008 London: Routledge 254 pp. {pound}70.00 hardback ISBN 978 0 415 35452 3 hardback

D'Arcus, B. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Book Review: China's Urban Space: Development under Market Socialism: T. G. McGee, George C. S. Lin, Andrew M. Marton, Mark Y. L. Wang and Jiaping Wu, 2007 London: Routledge 260 pp. {pound}75.00 hardback; no price given ebook ISBN 0 415 43805 5 hardback; 0 203 93479 2 ebook

Leontidou, L. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Book Review: Globalisation, the City and Civil Society in Pacific Asia: Mike Douglass, K. C. Ho and Giok Ling Ooi, 2008 London: Routledge 293 pp. {pound}75.00 hardback; no price given, ebook ISBN 978 0 415 39789 6 hardback; 978 0 203 93938 3 ebook

Li, Z. — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST

Books Received

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 09:00:43 PST