City Growth under Conflict Conditions: The View from Nyala, Darfur

2012 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Bartlett ◽  
Jennifer Alix–Garcia ◽  
David S. Saah

The developing world today is challenging conventional accounts of city growth and change. In Africa, for example, conflict and mass displacement are reconfiguring the urban landscape in ways that are hard to ignore. This paper analyzes how conflict and the arrival of a large humanitarian aid infrastructure influence the dynamics of city growth and bring about a distinct spatial structure, niche gentrification, and informal economy in Nyala, Darfur. Using data from a three–year field study, we show how the size and socio–spatial organization of the city changed, the directions in which the city grew, and the factors that drove these changes. We look at interaction patterns between residents of Nyala itself and those now residing in internally displaced person (IDP) camps on the edge of the city. We show that considerations of both insecurity and risk are vitally important to understanding the processes of conflict urbanization. Conflict generates a distinctive social structure as internal displaced people, international aid workers, and long–time urban residents all move within the city.

Urban Science ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Wanjiru-Mwita ◽  
Frédéric Giraut

Toponyms, along with other urban symbols, were used as a tool of control over space in many African countries during the colonial period. This strategy was epitomized by the British, who applied it in Nairobi and other parts of Kenya from the late 1800s. This paper shows that toponymy in colonial Nairobi was an imposition of British political references, urban nomenclature, as well as the replication of a British spatial idyll on the urban landscape of Nairobi. In early colonial Nairobi, the population was mainly composed of three main groups: British, Asians, and Africans. Although the Africans formed the bulk of the population, they were the least represented, socially, economically and politically. Ironically, he British, who were the least in population held the political and economic power, and they applied it vigorously in shaping the identity of the city. The Asians were neither as powerful as the British, nor were they considered to be at the low level of the native Africans. This was the deliberate hierarchical structure that was instituted by the colonial government, where the level of urban citizenship depended on ethnic affiliation. Consequently, this structure was reflected in the toponymy and spatial organization of the newly founded city with little consideration to its pre-colonial status. Streets, buildings and other spaces such as parks were predominantly named after the British monarchy, colonial administrators, settler farmers, and businessmen, as well as prominent Asian personalities. In this paper, historical references such as maps, letter correspondences, monographs, and newspaper archives have been used as evidence to prove that toponyms in colonial Nairobi were the spatial signifiers that reflected the political, ideological and ethnic hierarchies and inequalities of the time.


2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (135) ◽  
pp. 20170413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob D. Davidson ◽  
Deborah M. Gordon

Local interactions, when individuals meet, can regulate collective behaviour. In a system without any central control, the rate of interaction may depend simply on how the individuals move around. But interactions could in turn influence movement; individuals might seek out interactions, or their movement in response to interaction could influence further interaction rates. We develop a general framework to address these questions, using collision theory to establish a baseline expected rate of interaction based on proximity. We test the models using data from harvester ant colonies. A colony uses feedback from interactions inside the nest to regulate foraging activity. Potential foragers leave the nest in response to interactions with returning foragers with food. The time series of interactions and local density of ants show how density hotspots lead to interactions that are clustered in time. A correlated random walk null model describes the mixing of potential and returning foragers. A model from collision theory relates walking speed and spatial proximity with the probability of interaction. The results demonstrate that although ants do not mix homogeneously, trends in interaction patterns can be explained simply by the walking speed and local density of surrounding ants.


X ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Gron ◽  
Eleni Gkrimpa

The cities in the fortifications: the Ionian islands in Greece. Knowledge and enhancement of a heritage Residing in the Mediterranean Sea, Ionian islands signify the passage from the west to the east. A constantly sought-after region due to the trade routes, was for a long time garrisoned and under the authority of the Venetian Republic (fourteenth-eighteenth centuries) that hindered with its fleet the Turkish invasions. The bigger islands that constitute the cluster of the Eptanisa: Corfu, Lefkada or Santa Maura, Ithaka, Kefalonia, Kythira, Zakinthos and more, that had strategic positions with respect to the usual routes, had since the middle ages fortifications like walls, towers and castles, that over the time were expanded and restructured by the Venetians in order to defend those islands from the enemy attacks. The rich iconographic historic material, considering the Ionian Islands, allows to document the characteristics of those wide spread defensive structures and to identify each strong part of this big and unique fortification cluster. It has to be noted that every one of those structures gives us clues about the urban history of the city it resides since they were part of the urban landscape revealing this way the urban layout. The compelling story of the architectural consistency of those fortresses, as it is described in the historic documents, cannot be always verified. Many of those structures are nowadays completely destroyed and only a few remains are left. There are many ways to organize a project for saving those structures and in particular one that will be related with the cultural tourism.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109-117
Author(s):  
Ирина Владимировна Зыбина

В городском пейзаже важной характеристикой является понятие «образ города» как проявление духовной сущности материального городского пространства, выражение общих черт и уникальных особенностей, отражение исторической и культурной памяти, этнокультурной идентичности, присущих городам. Изучение эволюции образа города в изобразительном искусстве позволяет выявить представления о ценностях, эстетических категориях, социальных нормах определенного исторического периода, тенденции в развитии городских пространств. При обсуждении конструкции города по типам элементов в общегородском масштабе выделяются: районы, границы, дороги, узлы, ориентиры. Однако "только во взаимосвязанности частей в единое целое пути могут раскрыть последовательность и характер районов и связать различные узлы; Узлы соединят и очертят пути, границы охватят районы, а ориентиры обозначат центры активности”. Полная проработка всех этих звеньев с помощью света способна связать их в целостный ночной образ, ибо ориентир обладает достаточной силой, если он виден с большого расстояния и в течение  долгого времени; если, опираясь на него, можно установить собственную локализацию; узлы, как концептуальные опоры образа городов, которая может поддерживаться специфическим устойчивым освещением (применение ритмической световой инсталляции при визуальной организации  узлов предоставляет такую специфическую особенность в ночное время, что делает его более четким); четкие пределы позволяют легче распознавать узлы; районы города как однородные по характеру территории лучше воспринимаются при организации однородного фонового освещения. In the urban landscape, an important characteristic is the concept of the "image of the city" as a manifestation of the spiritual essence of the material urban space, the expression of common features and unique features, the reflection of historical and cultural memory, ethno-cultural identity inherent in cities. The study of the evolution of the image of the city in the visual arts allows us to identify ideas about values, aesthetic categories, social norms of a certain historical period, trends in the development of urban spaces. When discussing the construction of a city by the types of elements on a citywide scale, the following are distinguished: districts, borders, roads, nodes, landmarks. However, " only in the interconnectedness of the parts into a single whole, the paths can reveal the sequence and character of the districts and connect various nodes; The nodes will connect and outline the paths, the boundaries will cover the districts, and the landmarks will indicate the centers of activity.” A complete study of all these links with the help of light is able to link them into a complete night image, because the landmark has sufficient strength if it is visible from a long distance and for a long time; if, relying on it, you can establish your own localization; nodes as conceptual supports of the image of cities, which can be supported by specific stable lighting (the use of a rhythmic light installation in the visual organization of nodes provides such a specific feature at night, which makes it clearer); clear limits make it easier to recognize nodes; city districts as homogeneous in the nature of the territory are better perceived when organizing uniform background lighting.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (03) ◽  
pp. 252-268
Author(s):  
Gani Wiratama ; Franseno Pujianto

Abstract - Cirebon is one city that has been established for a long time in the archipelago. The city of Cirebon existed before the Dutch arrived. The city that has long been experiencing a process of change is longer than other cities that are relatively newer. Cirebon at the beginning of its growth, was a city centered on the Kingdom and included in the cosmic city according to S. Kostof (1991). Settlements in Cirebon City were initially oriented to the Cirebon Palace, one of which was the Kanoman Palace. The settlements around the Kanoman Palace were originally settlements that surrounded and centered on the Kanoman Palace. These settlements experience growth and change to become the form they are now. The objection of the research is to find out how the growth and development (morphology) of a settlement and what elements of the settlement were lost or maintained by the local residents and the Kanoman Palace. Settlement elements that are seen as changes are roads, nodes, district groups, landmarks, and edges. To find out growth, development, and change, it is necessary to compare the physical elements based on the longest maps that can be found, namely maps of 1695 to maps in 2019. In addition to archival data, other data are sourced from direct observation to the Kawassan settlement of Kanoman Palace, interviews with elders and the family of the Kanoman Palace. It was concluded that the housing mass grew rapidly and still maintained the Kanoman Palace and the Square as a regional landmark that had symbolic historical and religious values. Key Words: morphology, maintained, settlement elements, Kraton Kanoman


Iraq ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 66 ◽  
pp. 177-185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirko Novák

During the last century of Assyria's existence the urban landscape was characterised by a bipolar structure. The old capital Ashur was still the religious, ceremonial and cultural centre, while Nineveh was the seat of royal power (Maul 1997). Both cities were not only the oldest urban entities of the Assyrian heartland, flourishing at least from the third or even fourth millennium BC onwards; they both also represented two different regions within Assyria with very specific geomorphologic environments and distinctive socio-ecological conditions. While the Ashur region is situated at the southernmost edge of the dry farming belt, the Nineveh area is one of the most fertile regions in northern Mesopotamia (Fig. 1).The political fates of the two cities were unconnected for a long time. Ashur became an important trading centre and an independent kingdom at the beginning of the second millennium, whereas for a long time Nineveh stood in the shadow of more powerful neighbours. But in the seventh century it was Nineveh that became the capital of Assyria and the outstanding urban structure of the whole Near East. The refounding and enlargement of the city by Sennacherib was by far the most ambitious town-building programme ever realised in Assyria. Furthermore, it marked the end of a long process of moving the political centre of the country from the Ashur region northwards to the Nineveh region, which coincided with the rise of Assyria from a small kingdom to a world empire. During this development there were several (other) temporary capitals, all of them new foundations like Kār-Tukultī-Ninurta, Kalhu and Dūr-Šarrukēn.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 117-145
Author(s):  
İsmail Güllü

Yarım aşırı aşan bir geçmişe sahip Almanya’ya göç olgusu beraberinde önemli bir edebi birikimi (Migrantenliteratur) de getirmiştir. Farklı adlandırmalar ile anılan bu edebi birikim, kendi içinde de farklı renkleri de barındıran bir özelliğe sahiptir. Edebi yazını besleyen en önemli kaynaklardan biri toplumdur. Yazarın içinde yaşadığı toplumsal yapı ve problemler üstü kapalı veya açık bir şekilde onun yazılarına yansımaktadır. Bu bağlamda araştırma, 50’li yaşlarında Almanya’ya giden ve ömrünün sonuna kadar orada yaşayan, birçok edebi ve düşünsel çalışması ile Türk edebiyatında önemli bir isim olan Fakir Baykurt’un “Koca Ren” ve Yüksek Fırınlar” adlı romanları ile birlikte Duisburg Üçlemesi’nin son kitabı olan “Yarım Ekmek” romanında ele aldığı konu ve roman kahramanları üzerinden din ve gelenek olgusu sosyolojik bir yaklaşımla ele alınmaktadır. Toplumcu-gerçekçi çizgide yer alan yazarın, uzun yıllar yaşadığı Türkiye’deki siyasi ve ideolojik geçmişi bu romanda kullandığı dil ve kurguladığı kahramanlarda kendini göstermektedir. Romanda Almanya’nın Duisburg şehrinde yaşayan Türklerin yeni kültürel ortamda yaşadıkları çatışma, kültürel şok, arada kalmışlık, iki kültürlülük temaları ön plandadır. Yazar romanda sadece Almanya’daki Türkleri ele almamakta, aynı zamanda Türkiye ile hatta başka ülkeler ile de ilişkilendirmeler yaparak bireysel ve toplumsal konuları ele almaktadır. Araştırmada, romanda yer alan dini ve geleneksel unsurlar sosyolojik olarak analiz edilmiştir. Genel anlamda bir göç romanı olma özelliği yanında Yarım Ekmek romanında dini, siyasi ve ideolojik birçok yorum ve tartışma söz konusudur. Romandaki bu veriler, inanç, ritüel, siyaset ve toplumsal boyutlarda kategorize edilerek ele alınmıştır.  ENGLISH ABSTRACTReligion and identity reflections in literature of immigrant: Religion and Tradition in Fakir Baykurt’s novel Yarım EkmekThe immigration fact which has nearly half century in Germany have brought a significant literal accumulation (Migrantenliteratur) in its wake. This literal accumulation, which is named as several denominations, has a feature including different colours in itself. One of the most important source snourishing literature is society. Societal structure and problems that the writer lives inside, directly or indirectly reflect on his/her compositions. In this context, the matter of religion and tradition by way of the issue and fictious characters in the novel of Fakir Baykurt who went to Germany in her 50’s and lived in there till his death and who is a considerable name in Turkish literature with his several literal and intellectual workings; “Yarım Ekmek” which is the third novel of Duisburg Trilogy with “Koca Ren” and “Yüksek Fırınlar” are discussed sociologically in the study. The political and ideological past of the socialist realist lined writer in Turkey where he spent his life for a long time, manifest itself on the speech and fictious characters of novel. In the novel, themes of new Turks’ conflict, cultural shock, being in the middle, bi culturalism in their new cultural nature in Duisburg which is the city they live in. The writer not only deals with Turks in Germany but also personal and social subjects via comparing them to Turkey and even other countries. In the study, religious and traditional elements analyzed sociologically. Besides the speciality of being a migration novel in general, there are a lot of religious, political and ideological interpretations and discussions in the novel. These datum in the novel are examinated in the context of belief, ritual, politics and social categorisation. 


2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard B. Apgar

As destination of choice for many short-term study abroad programs, Berlin offers students of German language, culture and history a number of sites richly layered with significance. The complexities of these sites and the competing narratives that surround them are difficult for students to grasp in a condensed period of time. Using approaches from the spatial humanities, this article offers a case study for enhancing student learning through the creation of digital maps and itineraries in a campus-based course for subsequent use during a three-week program in Berlin. In particular, the concept of deep mapping is discussed as a means of augmenting understanding of the city and its history from a narrative across time to a narrative across the physical space of the city. As itineraries, these course-based projects were replicated on site. In moving from the digital environment to the urban landscape, this article concludes by noting meanings uncovered and narratives formed as we moved through the physical space of the city.


2015 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-35
Author(s):  
Julian Wolfreys

Writers of the early nineteenth century sought to find new ways of writing about the urban landscape when first confronted with the phenomena of London. The very nature of London's rapid growth, its unprecedented scale, and its mere difference from any other urban centre throughout the world marked it out as demanding a different register in prose and poetry. The condition of writing the city, of inventing a new writing for a new experience is explored by familiar texts of urban representation such as by Thomas De Quincey and William Wordsworth, as well as through less widely read authors such as Sarah Green, Pierce Egan, and Robert Southey, particularly his fictional Letters from England.


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