scholarly journals The Smaller the Market, the Better the Rent Capturing: Electrification in North Portugal during the Interwar Period

Author(s):  
Isabel Bartolomé Rodríguez

AbstractThis article analyses the origin of the persistently high level of electricity prices that hampered the expansion of electricity consumption during the interwar period in Porto. Initially, the rent-seeking behaviour of both the supply firm and the City Hall at the local level affected the expansion of the local electricity market. During the 1930s, this collusion at municipal level coincided with unpredictable energy policies at state level. This circumstance impeded the indispensable increase of scale and the building of a regional market of electricity in north Portugal. The literature on regulation and institutional analysis has proved very useful. Finally, though equally important, primary sources from company archives and institutional bodies were also employed.

2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (313) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alicja Małgorzata Graczyk

The city of Heidelberg has won twice the price of European Sustainable City Award. The paper presents the latest author’s investigation (July 2014) about the sustainable development in the Heidelberg. The aim of the article is an analyses and assessment of the implementation of sustainable development in the city. The policy and economical instruments implemented at the local level at the very early stage (early 90s) help the city to build ecological education and shape ecological style of life.. The city citizens have a very high level of ecological awareness and very often participate in policy decisions, shaping sustainable development goals of the Heidelberg. The main local priorities for sustainable development are: climate and environment protection, rising energy efficiency by using renewable energy sources, local heat district, ecological transport and building in passive standard.


2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (S1) ◽  
pp. S151-S158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clive M. Tan ◽  
Daniel J. Barnett ◽  
Adam J. Stolz ◽  
Jonathan M. Links

ABSTRACTRadiological terrorism has been recognized as a probable scenario with high impact. Radiological preparedness planning at the federal and state levels has been encouraging, but translating complex doctrines into operational readiness at the local level has proved challenging. Based on the authors' experience with radiological response planning for the City of Baltimore, this article describes an integrated approach to municipal-level radiological emergency preparedness planning, provides information on resources that are useful for radiological preparedness planning, and recommends a step-by-step process toward developing the plan with relevant examples from the experience in Baltimore. Local governmental agencies constitute the first line of response and are critical to the success of the operation. This article is intended as a starting framework for local governmental efforts toward developing a response plan for radiological incidents in their communities.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:S151-S158)


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Eliška Drápalová ◽  
Kai Wegrich

Abstract Although scholarly interest in populism has increased as populist parties have risen across Europe, the subnational level has been largely overlooked. This article adopts an original subnational focus and explores an unlikely but increasingly prevalent political agenda: the combination of technocracy and populism. We focus on technocratic populism as a political and governance strategy at the municipal level and assess how the interaction of populism and technocracy plays out empirically in relation to administration and public policies and how the tensions and synergies between technocracy and populism are solved at the local level. The article argues that the local level is especially prone to this kind of intersection between technocratic and populist ideology. While the article is mainly an exercise in concept development, two illustrative cases at the city level, namely the Movimento 5 Stelle (M5S, Five Star Movement) in Rome and the Akce nespokojených občanů (ANO, Action of Dissatisfied Citizens) in Prague are used to support the argument.


Author(s):  
Valerijs Skribans ◽  
Maris Balodis

One of the problems of the Latvian economy is related to the energy sector. In this sector the increasing competition is related to regional market expansion, building new transmission connection; fuels and electricity market price conjuncture significant change; energy efficiency requirements increasing, renewable energy requirements increasing and new market regulatory mechanisms. The system dynamics model can solve sector competitiveness problems. With the help of the developed model, it has been estimated that increase in total electricity consumption (around 10%) can be expected in Latvia during the next 10 years. Decline in electricity loss and electricity imports is predicted. Increase of the capacity of production means and the amount of the produced energy is being forecasted.


Social Change ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 69-88
Author(s):  
Kanchi Kohli ◽  
Ashish Kothari

The National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), formulated from 2000 to 2003, was envisaged as a comprehensive action plan for conserving biodiversity in India, that would adequately reflect the aspirations of the hitherto marginalised peoples who have a direct stake in biodiversity conservation. For the first time, a truly participatory approach was adopted for environmental conservation and planning in India. For a country of India's size, biological and cultural diversity and immense social and economic divides, this has been no easy task for Kalpavriksh Environmental Action Group, the NGO with whom the Government of India is collaborating to formulate the NBSAP. In this article, the process and products of the NBSAP are reviewed, outlining its aims, the extent to which these have been met and the limitations in the process of its formulation. Through 33 state-level, 18 local-level and 10 inter-state level plans, the draft National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) recommends a series of bold measures to ensure that the country's ecological security is ensured. These measures call for a major reorientation of the process of economic development and of governance of natural resources, such that the health of the environment, and the livelihoods of biomass-dependent communities become central to all planning. The NBSAP process has been highly successful with respect to degree of involvement of local communities, development of linkages with ongoing conservation action, integration of cross-cutting issues such as globalisation and livelihood into conservation planning, and comprehensive assessment of various aspects of biodiversity. Implementation of the NBSAP has already begun in parts of nine states without external support, showing the high level of impact it has had on active citizens’ groups and governmental bodies. However, the planning process suffered from a number of inadequacies such as ineffective networking with some critical sections of the public such as religious leaders and corporate houses and unsatisfactory degree of involvement of women.


Author(s):  
Ihor Mohyla ◽  
Artem Bezuhlyy

Cycle movement and cycle infrastructure as inherent part of modern city are growing intensively in Ukraine. There are adopted National Transport Strategy on the state level to promote and develop cycle movement. On local level for the same reason more than 15 Ukrainian cities have their own programs or strategies. But based on research results, there is considerable latent demand on cycle movement, which cannot be expressed because of lack of cycling infrastructure, its fragmentation or low design quality. In this article basic requirements and principles of planning and design of cycle infrastructure, particularly for cities with progressing cycle movement, are analyzed. There is also shown that requirements of valid state documents and updated building norms provide presence of cycling infrastructure, but these requirements are not enough for high level of its quality. All outlined is a reason for developing and implementation of new state standard DSTU xxxx:20xx “Planning and designing of cycling infrastructure”, project of which has been developed based on better practices of countries with well-grown cycle movement. It has requirements for planning of cycle network, designing of cycle infrastructure on urban streets and roads (included different street types, narrowed sites, public transport stops, yield, signalized and roundabout intersections), highways and rural roads, requirements for fencing poles, restraining bicycle fences, bicycle racks and parking and constructive requirement for pavement. Project of standard contains also more than 40 schemes to help designers and other stakeholders to work with this standard by visualization of its requirements. Usage of DSTU xxxx:20xx “Planning and designing of cycling infrastructure” during designing of urban streets, highways, rural roadsand spatial development in general will promote development of cycle movement, rising of road safety level, decreasing of traffic volume and negative influence of motorized transport (especially in cities) on environment. Keywords: cycling movement, cycling infrastructure, state building guidelines.


2014 ◽  
Vol 42 (6) ◽  
pp. 981-1001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Licia Cianetti

This article explores the relationship between minority city-level and state-level political representations through the analysis of the contested implementation of state education policies in Tallinn and Riga. Referring to the US debate on this issue, the article asks what role minority incorporation into city-level power structures can play for its substantive representation. The comparison between Tallinn and Riga reveals two potential answers to this question. The case of Riga illustrates how city-level representation can be an alternative representativechannelthrough which the minority can put pressure on state government and magnify its political voice within the country's democratic space. On the contrary, the case of Tallinn illustrates how a municipality can be an alternativelocusof representation, which does not guarantee minority empowerment but rather entraps the minority at the local level within the implicit understanding that the minority (or at least the parties that get the minority vote) can “have its share” locally, but it cannot hope to influence state policies. The comparison between the two cases reveals different levels of legitimacy of the minority's voice in the democratic debate of Estonia and Latvia, and shows the risks and opportunities linked to the two models of minority city-level incorporation.


Author(s):  
Jasmin Nurković

Abstract Serbia was one of the countries in Europe and the world that were most affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. City Novi Pazar was the greatest coronavirus hotspot in Europe on July 1st, 2020, due to several hundred infected people. Even though united data was published at the state level, there is no data by region or city, so the interpretation of the COVID-19 epidemic in Serbia at the regional level is difficult. Different levels of health care and health education of citizens and the degree of respect for the proposed epidemiological measures have led to significant differences in the number of tests, a large number of infected, and several deaths by regions and cities. Insufficiently precise and up-to-date keeping of records and statistical data on COVID-19 at the state and local level also complicates the pandemic’s scientific and epidemiological analysis. Novi Pazar is a city in southwestern Serbia with a population of 100 000. It is similar in population to the city of Bergamo, in northern Italy in the Lombardy region. As of 1st of July, 2020, Novi Pazar had 300% higher mortality per 100 000 population compared to the same month last year, and almost ten times higher mortality than the rest of Serbia.


2016 ◽  
pp. 15
Author(s):  
Mariana Giaretto ◽  
Victoria Naffa

ResumenEn este trabajo analizamos las relaciones entre tomas de tierras y Estado, en elAlto Valle de Río Negro en Argentina. En un contexto general de especulacióninmobiliaria, por la que se encarecen los precios de alquileres y terrenos, y depolíticas de vivienda selectivas y acotadas, los sectores populares acceden aun espacio en la ciudad mediante tomas de tierras. Frente a estos conflictos,el Estado, en sus diferentes niveles y poderes, despliega una forma deintervención basada en la criminalización de las luchas por tierra y vivienda.Al mismo tiempo, el poder ejecutivo nacional crea la Secretaría de Acceso alHábitat, para posibilitar la intervención política orientada a la regularizaciónde los asentamientos. Sin embargo, esta intervención tiende a reinscribir laproblemática habitacional en el campo político, para reducirla a un conflicto“entre partes”, eludiendo la responsabilidad estatal.Desde un enfoque metodológico cualitativo, seleccionamos como referenteempírico el caso del asentamiento de Villa Obrera en Fiske, Menuco (Gral.Roca), y las técnicas de recolección de datos se basan en fuentes secundarias,como expedientes judiciales y normativa, y en fuentes primarias como son losrelatos de los protagonistas mediante entrevistas individuales y colectivas.Palabras clave: tomas de tierras, Estado, criminalización de los conflictos.Conflicts caused by land occupation and modesof State intervention: analysis of an experience ofAlto Valle in Río Negro (Argentina)AbstractThis paper analyzes the relationship between State and land occupation,at Alto Valle in Río Negro, Argentina. In a general context of real estatespeculation, where rents and land prices are expensive, and a policy ofselective and limited housing, popular sectors can have access to a spacein the city through land occupation. In front of these conflicts, the Statein its different levels and powers, displays a form of intervention basedon the criminalization of struggles for land and housing. At the sametime, the national executive creates the Secretariat of Access to Habitat,oriented to allow political intervention for the regularization of settlements.However, this intervention tends to re-register the housing problems in thepolitical arena, reducing it to a conflict “between parties” and eluding theresponsibility of the State.From a qualitative methodological approach, we selected as empirical referencethe case of the settlement of Villa Obrera in Fiske, Menuco (GeneralRoca). The techniques of data collection are based on secondary sources, suchas policy and legal records, and primary sources as the stories of protagoniststhrough individual and collective interviews.Keywords: land occupation, State, criminalization of conflicts.Conflitos sobre ocupações de terras e modos deintervenção do estado: análise de uma experiênciado Alto Valle do Rio Preto (Argentina)ResumoEste trabalho analisa as relações entre a posse de terra e o Estado, no AltoValle do Rio Preto, na Argentina. Num contexto geral da especulaçãoimobiliária, por qual se encarecem os preços do aluguel e das terras, e depolíticas de habitação seletivas e limitadas, os setores populares acedem aum espaço na cidade através de ocupações de terras. Frente a estes conflitos,o Estado, em seus diferentes níveis e poderes, desenvolve uma forma deintervenção com base na criminalização das lutas pela terra e vivenda. Aomesmo tempo, o poder executivo nacional cria a Secretaria de Acesso àHabitat para possibilitar à intervenção política orientada a regularização dosassentamentos. No entanto, esta intervenção tende a registrar os problemasde habitação no campo político, para reduzi-la a um conflito “entre aspartes”, iludindo a responsabilidade do Estado.A partir de uma abordagem metodológica qualitativa, foi selecionado comoreferência empírica o caso do Assentamento de Villa Obrera em Fiske,Menuco (Gral. Roca), e as técnicas de recolecção de dados são baseados emfontes secundárias, como expedientes judiciais e normativos, e em fontes primárias como são as histórias dos protagonistas através de entrevistasindividuais e coletivas.Palavras-chave: tomada de terras, Estado, criminalização dos conflitos.


Author(s):  
Michael S. Danielson

The first empirical task is to identify the characteristics of municipalities which US-based migrants have come together to support financially. Using a nationwide, municipal-level data set compiled by the author, the chapter estimates several multivariate statistical models to compare municipalities that did not benefit from the 3x1 Program for Migrants with those that did, and seeks to explain variation in the number and value of 3x1 projects. The analysis shows that migrants are more likely to contribute where migrant civil society has become more deeply institutionalized at the state level and in places with longer histories as migrant-sending places. Furthermore, the results suggest that political factors are at play, as projects have disproportionately benefited states and municipalities where the PAN had a stronger presence, with fewer occurring elsewhere.


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