Urban Form, Everyday Life, and Ideology: Support for Privatization in Three Toronto Neighbourhoods

10.1068/a3948 ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Alan Walks
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spatial Form ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Welfare State

One of the trends marking neoliberalism and the attack on the welfare state from the right is the move toward the privatization of public services. Recent research in both the United States and Canada suggests that residents of the suburbs of large urban regions are more likely to vote for political parties on the right and to support neoliberal policies such as privatization, while the opposite is true for inner-city dwellers. However, the reasons why such a spatial division should occur have received little academic attention. This paper seeks to fill this gap in the literature by analyzing the relationship between residential location, spatial factors, and attitudes toward privatization, using survey data collected in the Toronto region. Results suggest that the way urban space influences residents' daily routines and personal experiences may then mediate their perception of the uses of public services and the efficacy of government spending, factors which are found to affect spatial disparities in support of and/or in opposition to privatization. Thus, there is some evidence that urban spatial form is important for understanding the geographic unevenness of support for neoliberalism, and thus ultimately for the production of ideology.

scholarly journals Urban specters

2021 ◽  
pp. 026377582110302
Author(s):  
Asha Best ◽  
Margaret M Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Black Women ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Women Artists ◽  
Social Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Spatial Method ◽  
Urban Futures ◽  
Black Life ◽  
The Relationship

In this piece, we take up haunting as a spatial method to consider what geography can learn from ghosts. Following Avery Gordon’s theorizations of haunting as a sociological method, a consideration of the spectral offers a means of reckoning with the shadows of social life that are not always readily apparent. Drawing upon art installations in Brooklyn, NY, White Shoes (2012–2016), and Oakland, CA, House/Full of BlackWomen (2015–present), we find that in both installations, Black women artists perform hauntings, threading geographies of race, sex, and speculation across past and present. We observe how these installations operate through spectacle, embodiment, and temporal disjuncture, illuminating how Black life and labor have been central to the construction of property and urban space in the United States. In what follows, we explore the following questions: what does haunting reveal about the relationship between property, personhood, and the urban in a time of racial banishment? And the second, how might we think of haunting as a mode of refusing displacement, banishment, and archival erasure as a way of imagining “livable” urban futures in which Black life is neither static nor obsolete?

scholarly journals “Viajando em Jesus”: os evangélicos norte-americanos e a contracultura

2020 ◽  
pp. 924
Author(s):  
Axel R. Schäfer
Keyword(s):  
Christian Right ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Mobilization ◽  
Political Movement ◽  
Cultural Form ◽  
Conservative Protestant ◽  
New Christian Right ◽  
The 1960S ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

The political mobilization of conservative Protestants in the United States since the 1970s is commonly viewed as having resulted from a “backlash” against the alleged iniquities of the 1960s, including the excess-es of the counterculture. In contrast, this article maintains that conservative Protestant efforts to infiltrate and absorb the counterculture contributed to the organizational strength, cultural attractiveness, and politi-cal efficacy of the New Christian Right. The essay advances three arguments: First, that evangelicals did not simply reject the countercultural ideas of the 1960s, but absorbed and extended its key sentiments. Second, that conservative Protestantism’s appropriation of countercultural rhetoric and organizational styles played a significant role in the right-wing political mobilization of evangelicals. And third, that the merger of evan-gelical Christianity and countercultural styles, rather than their antagonism, ended up being one of the most enduring legacies of the sixties. In revisiting the relationship between the counterculture and evangelicalism, the essay also explores the larger implications for understanding the relationship between religion and poli-tics. The New Christian Right domesticated genuinely insurgent impulses within the evangelical resurgence. By the same token, it nurtured the conservative components of the counterculture. Conservative Protestant-ism thus constituted a political movement that channeled insurgencies into a cultural form that relegitimized the fundamental trajectories of liberal capitalism and consumerist society.

Privatization—Chipping Away at Government

2020 ◽  
pp. 106-128
Author(s):  
Donald Cohen
Keyword(s):  
Common Good ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
Right Wing ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
The Public ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Policy Debates ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Right

This chapter focuses on the right wing's astonishingly successful efforts to privatize public goods and services. Privatization has been one of the highest priorities of the right wing for many years, and the chapter shows how it threatens both labor and democracy. Intentionally blurring the lines between public and private institutions, private companies and market forces undermine the common good. This chapter documents the history of privatization in the United States, from President Reagan's early efforts to Clinton and Gore's belief in private markets. Showing how privatization undermines democratic government, the chapter describes complex contracts that are difficult to understand, poorly negotiated “public–private partnership” deals, and contracts that provide incentives to deny public services. With huge amounts of money at stake, privateers are increasingly weighing in on policy debates—not based on the public interest but rather in pursuit of avenues that increase their revenues, profits, and market share. Privatization not only destroys union jobs but also aims to cripple union political involvement so that the corporate agenda can spread unfettered. Nevertheless, community-based battles against privatization have succeeded in many localities, demonstrating the power of fighting back to defend public services, public jobs, and democratic processes.

scholarly journals How Does Polycentric Urban Form Affect Urban Commuting? Quantitative Measurement Using Geographical Big Data of 100 Cities in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyan Li ◽  
Yanchuan Mou ◽  
Huiying Wang ◽  
Chaohui Yin ◽  
Qingsong He
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Policy Formulation ◽  
Spatial Form ◽  
Ct Number ◽  
Main Research ◽  
Healthy Development ◽  
High Degree ◽  
The Impact

The relationship between polycentric urban form and urban commuting has been widely debated in Western academic circles. However, qualitative and quantitative studies have not reached a unified conclusion. The evolution of urban form in China is remarkably different from that of developed Western countries. Many Chinese cities have begun using polycentric structures as their future development strategies. This study quantitatively measures whether polycentric urban form can improve commuting efficiency in China by using traditional statistics and emerging geographic big data. We use the polycentric index (PI) as the dependent variable and the congestion delay index (CDI) and mean traffic speed (MTS) as the main independent variables. Control variables include urban morphological space compactness (CT), number of private cars per thousand people (PC), number of buses per thousand (PB), urban road area per capita (PUA) and urban population density (PD). Regression models are employed to detect the relationships among the variables. The main research conclusions are as follows: (1) A high degree of PI results in low CDI and fast MTS; (2) a compact spatial form increases the impact of polycentricity on commuting efficiency; (3) maturity road infrastructure is an important measure to promote urban commuting under a polycentric urban form; and (4) the order of effect magnitude of polycentricity on MTS is PD > PC > CT > PUA > PB; on CDI, PD > PC > PB > CT > PUA. The results can be used in examining whether the current polycentric urban pattern planning in China’s cities can effectively improve commuting efficiency. They also provide a reference for the healthy development of China’s urban space and policy formulation of subsequent urban planning.

scholarly journals Evaluating the Struggles with International Students and Local Community Participation

2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-131
Author(s):  
Weronika A. Kusek
Keyword(s):  
International Students ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Local Community ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public University ◽  
Daily Routines ◽  
Small College ◽  
Community Data ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The Relationship

International students are not only important for universities, but even more so to the host communities, towns and regions where higher education institutions are located. This pilot study looked at a public university located in a small college town in Ohio. The study explored the relationship between international students and the local community. Data for this study was collected through questionnaires and conversations with international students from seven different countries, and complemented by participant observations. The outcomes of this study suggest that international students at the subject university feel a low level of engagement with the local community. Student questionnaires and conversations indicated that their daily schedules in the United States contained fewer activities and social interactions than in their home towns. The study explored potential reasons for this difference in daily routines and community engagement, as expressed by interviewed students.

Strategy Research on Sustainable Development of Urban Form in Western Sichuan Plain

2014 ◽  
Vol 522-524 ◽  
pp. 1632-1635
Author(s):  
Chun Yan Yang ◽  
Bo Gao ◽  
Yi Min Peng
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Spatial Form ◽  
Development Mode ◽  
Strategy Research ◽  
Western Sichuan ◽  
Geographical Characteristics

the paper aims to summarize a sustainable development mode that adapts to geographical characteristics through the research of urban spatial form in Western Sichuan Plain. The paper uses empirical and comparative research methods to summarize the urban spatial form in Western Sichuan Plain, and proposes three sustainable development strategies. The research conclusions can offers a reference for the study on sustainable development strategy of urban space in Western Sichuan Plain in the future.

Investigating the Relationship between Urban Form and Economic Mobility in Forsyth County, NC

2021 ◽  
pp. 0739456X2098685
Author(s):  
Zachary D. Blizard ◽  
Russell M. Smith
Keyword(s):  
Urban Form ◽  
Upward Mobility ◽  
The United States ◽  
Economic Mobility ◽  
Census Tracts ◽  
Data Limitations ◽  
Spatial Autoregressive ◽  
Forsyth County ◽  
Policies And Programs ◽  
The Relationship

Forsyth County, NC, is the third lowest ranked county in the United States for upward economic mobility. Urban scholars argue that sprawling development is an obstacle. This paper includes a focused analysis of the census tracts in Forsyth County. Using a spatial autoregressive model, we find some evidence that less sprawling tracts have higher rates of upward mobility. We find that tracts with more bus stops and less brownfields have higher rates of upward mobility. Though there are data limitations, findings still offer insights for policies and programs that may help in reversing the county’s low mobility rates.

The Analysis of Evolution of Spatial Form of Jilin City

2014 ◽  
Vol 488-489 ◽  
pp. 385-389
Author(s):  
Hong Tao Sun
Keyword(s):  
Urban Form ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Northern China ◽  
Spatial Form ◽  
Geographical Environment ◽  
Development Direction ◽  
Urban Pattern ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Three Phases

Jilin is a major city in northern China, and the Special geographical environment and rich history and culture made a profound impact on the evolution of urban form. The urban pattern has common features as other waterfront cities in northern China, and also has its own uniqueness. With the start of analysis of evolution of urban form,this paper divides the development of Jilin City into three phases according time node,and analyzes the form evolution and its causes of each phase,as well as the relationship of the three phases. Finally,the paper presents development direction of spatial pattern of Jilin city based on analysis,and provides reference for the development for cold water cities.

Choice and Voice – A Review

2008 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 255-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ian Greener
Keyword(s):  
Social Policy ◽  
Public Service ◽  
Public Services ◽  
Political Process ◽  
The Political ◽  
Service Users ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Relationship

‘Choice’ and ‘voice’ are two of the most significant means through which the public are able to participate in public services. Choice agendas position public service users as consumers, driving improvements by choosing good providers over bad, which then thrive through greater allocations of funds as money follows their selections (Le Grand, 2007). Choice-driven reforms tend to be about trying to make public services more locally responsive (Ferlie, Freeman, McDonnell, Petsoulas and Rundle-Smith, 2006). Voice-driven reforms, on the other hand, tend to position public service users as citizens, suggesting an emphasis on accountability mechanisms to drive service improvements through elections, with the possible removal of low regarded officials, or a greater involvement of local people in the running of services (Jenkins, 2006). Voice implies that citizens hold the right to participate in public services either through the political process, or through their direct involvement in the running or delivery of the services themselves. Of course, it is also possible to combine choice and voice mechanisms to try and achieve greater service responsiveness and accountability. In this review, choice reforms will be treated as those which are based upon consumer literature, and voice reforms those based upon attempting to achieve greater citizenship.Citizenship and consumption are two areas with significant literatures in their own right, but whereas the citizenship literature is widely cited in the social policy literature, the consumption literature appears rather more selectively. This review examines each area in turn in terms of its application to social policy, and then presents a synthesis of commonalties in the two literatures, which represent particularly promising avenues for exploring the relationship between public services and their users.

scholarly journals Roofing and thawing the sub-Arctic city. Towards the conceptualisation of wellbeing through urban surfaces

2020 ◽  
pp. 45-62
Author(s):  
Essi Oikarinen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Form ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Personal Control ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
User Groups ◽  
The Relationship

An increasing amount of sub-Arctic population is living in cities and settlements. Despite the urbanisation, seasonality still affects the rhythm of life and willingness to spend time outside of home, which, in turn, affects health and wellbeing of the population. In addition to built artefacts, the materiality of sub-Arctic urban environment consists largely of changing weather conditions and seasonality, including phenomena such as thawing, freezing, snow, ice and slush, which have diverse effects on humans using the urban spaces, yet are not often part of conceptualisations of urban space that are formed in southern climates. In this paper, the relationship between sub-Arctic urban form, climate and users of the urban realm is critically re-evaluated using the concept of surface. Based on a review of the literature, the proposed approach gives agency not only to the weather, but also to different types of people inhabiting the urban space. This paper argues that the proposed approach takes better into account the varied nature of sub-Arctic urban spaces and their affordances as an entity: from privatised, roofed and weather-neutralised shopping centres and arcades to sledding hills, skating rinks and other winter-related spaces. This kind of conceptualisation could be beneficial when developing soft mobility plans for northern regions. Encouraging physical activity has direct effects on the physiological health of the population, but in addition to that, the approach attempts to acknowledge personal control of different user groups as a central aspect of wellbeing, which makes the viewpoint more holistic.

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