Drawing up the missing link: State-society relations and the remaking of urban landscapes in Chinese cities

2021 ◽  
pp. 0308518X2098681
Author(s):  
George C S Lin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Urban Redevelopment ◽  
The State ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Link State ◽  
Normal Expectation

Studies of China’s urban transformation are characterized by diverse interpretations of the relevance of the theory of neoliberalism and continuing tension of epistemology vis-à-vis ontology. This research foregrounds state-society interplay as an alternative lens and analytical tool to understand China’s urban transformation in the context of neoliberalization and global urbanism. The remaking of the Chinese urban landscape is found to be shaped not simply by forces of agglomeration economies or bid-rent dynamism but more by the contestation and negotiation between a fragmented authoritarian state and a rapidly changing society. Existing land users are motivated by a decentralized power of decision-making and a share of the land conveyance income previously monopolized by the state. Contrary to normal expectation, urban redevelopment plays a role of greater significance in the local land supply of those cities in some less advanced regions than in the demographically dense and economically advanced regions. Administratively, urban redevelopment tends to prevail in those modes of land disposition that are either monopolized by the state or subject to close-door negotiation. Redevelopment is less contentious in a “village-in-the-city” where decisions are made by the collective organization internally than the other involving developers externally. Land use intensity and efficiency have been improved along with intensified social exclusion and marginalization. Drawing up the missing link concerning state-society relations may provide new insights to solve the myth of an urban China so ambivalent when seen in the lens of neoliberalism and help reconcile methodological tension in the studies of comparative urbanism involving China.

scholarly journals From Third World to First World: Law and Policy in Singapore’s Urban Transformation & Integration

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-114
Author(s):  
Eugene Kb Tan
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Renewal ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Water Quality Management ◽  
Urban Redevelopment ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Urban Change ◽  
Spatial Integration ◽  
The Government

AbstractThe physical transformation of a colonial backwater city, Singapore, in one generation has been described as a feat of urban planning, renewal, and development. Less studied is the political will of the government to create a thriving city fit for purpose. Even less studied is the role of law that provides the powerful levers for the rapid and deep-seated changes to the urban landscape in Singapore. In this regard, the mindset shift that accompanied the massive urban transformation has facilitated a national psyche that embraces the material dimension of progress, for which urban renewal is not just a mere indicator but also a mantra for the fledgling nation-state desirous of change as a mark of progress. This essay examines the multi-faceted role of law in undergirding urban planning, policy, and development in Singapore. Rather than just providing a focus on specific laws that enables the government to shape the processes of urban redevelopment, the essay argues that these laws have to be understood within the context of “urban redevelopment pragmatism” in which pragmatism is as much a planning ideology as it is a driver of urban change and renewal. Furthermore, this planning pragmatism, very much mission-oriented towards national goals, has become a potent source of political and performance legitimacy for the ruling People’s Action Party. The legal regime that provided the wherewithal for urban renewal, economic activity, water quality management, and spatial integration of a polyglot society is now being reconfigured for the urgent aspiration of becoming a global city and a smart nation. The essay also considers the limitations to this planning and redevelopment pragmatism, and how the rapid urban change has somewhat enervated the urban heritage and contributed to a weakening of the collective memory of change amid continuity.

Urban China through the lens of neoliberalism: Is a conceptual twist enough?

Urban Studies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 33-43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu Zhou ◽  
George CS Lin ◽  
Jun Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Society ◽  
Urban China ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Critical Discourse ◽  
Property Market ◽  
Urban Inequality ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
State And Society ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Conceptual Difficulties

Neoliberalism as a hegemonic global ideology and framework of governance has been the subject of extensive critical analyses in geography and urban studies. Despite the conceptual difficulties involved, a growing number of scholars have attempted to apply this critical discourse to China. In this commentary, we critically interrogate the urban China literature that deploys the neoliberal lens, mostly authored by scholars outside China, and we raise the fundamental question as to whether this discourse can ever capture the central stories or trajectories of China’s urban transformation. We examine the interpretations of China’s urban land property market, urban inequality and its spatial manifestation, and the emerging urban governmentality – the areas in which neoliberalism has been most often invoked – to highlight the utility and limitations of a neoliberal treatment of China. We argue that the neoliberal representation of China’s urban (re)development, with its preoccupation with capital and class interests, is unable to effectively capture the distinctive nature of entanglement of capital, state and society in China, and thus obscures the driving role and the competing rationalities of the authoritarian state, and the rapid reconfiguration of urban society. By citing examples of recent urban China research, we show that the neoliberalism framework, even in its ‘variegated’ or ‘assemblage’ versions, tends to trap China’s analysis within a frame of reference comfortable to Western researchers, and ultimately hinders the development of diversified, potentially more fruitful inquiries of the urban world.

Planetary gentrification and urban (re)development

2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loretta Lees
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Urban Redevelopment ◽  
Urban Transformation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Income Groups ◽  
Low Income Groups

Abstract Gentrification is no-longer, if it ever was, a small scale process of urban transformation. Gentrification globally is more often practised as large scale urban redevelopment. It is state-led or state-induced. The results are clear – the displacement and disenfranchisement of low income groups in favour of wealthier in-movers. So, why has gentrification come to dominate policy making worldwide and what can be done about it?

Towards Interconnected Blockchains

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (7) ◽  
pp. 1-39
Author(s):  
Ankur Lohachab ◽  
Saurabh Garg ◽  
Byeong Kang ◽  
Muhammad Bilal Amin ◽  
Junmin Lee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
State Of The Art ◽  
The State ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
Layered Architecture ◽  
Blockchain Technology ◽  
Wide Scale ◽  
Effective Development ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Game Changer

Unprecedented attention towards blockchain technology is serving as a game-changer in fostering the development of blockchain-enabled distinctive frameworks. However, fragmentation unleashed by its underlying concepts hinders different stakeholders from effectively utilizing blockchain-supported services, resulting in the obstruction of its wide-scale adoption. To explore synergies among the isolated frameworks requires comprehensively studying inter-blockchain communication approaches. These approaches broadly come under the umbrella of Blockchain Interoperability (BI) notion, as it can facilitate a novel paradigm of an integrated blockchain ecosystem that connects state-of-the-art disparate blockchains. Currently, there is a lack of studies that comprehensively review BI, which works as a stumbling block in its development. Therefore, this article aims to articulate potential of BI by reviewing it from diverse perspectives. Beginning with a glance of blockchain architecture fundamentals, this article discusses its associated platforms, taxonomy, and consensus mechanisms. Subsequently, it argues about BI’s requirement by exemplifying its potential opportunities and application areas. Concerning BI, an architecture seems to be a missing link. Hence, this article introduces a layered architecture for the effective development of protocols and methods for interoperable blockchains. Furthermore, this article proposes an in-depth BI research taxonomy and provides an insight into the state-of-the-art projects. Finally, it determines possible open challenges and future research in the domain.

scholarly journals Planning for a neighborhood and city-scale green network system in Qatar: the case of MIA Park

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raffaello Furlan ◽  
Brian R. Sinclair
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Single Case ◽  
Landscape Fragmentation ◽  
The State ◽  
Network System ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Main Mode ◽  
The Past ◽  
Neighborhood Scale

AbstractIn the past decade, Doha has witnessed fast-urban growth, an increased population rate, and an over-reliance on the automobile as the main mode of urban transportation. These factors caused social and environmental problems related to (1) the loss of a compact urban pattern, (2) an increased level of air pollution (3) high traffic congestions and (4) increasing landscape fragmentation. In consideration of such concerns, The State of Qatar invested large funds into the urban landscape development of Doha, as envisioned by Qatar National Vision 2030. As a result, in the past five years various parks and/or green areas, such MIA Park, a major public green space located around the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA), were planned and developed within metropolitan Doha. The authors argue that this park is currently facing issues and challenges related to (1) accessibility to/from the neighboring districts, and (2) connectivity to/from the neighboring parks. Therefore, this research study aims at assessing the existing conditions of MIA Park, at considering the broader city context and, at recommending strategies for implementing MIA Park’s green network system. It approached the investigative challenge using a multi-pronged comprehensive methodology, that deployed focus groups, semi-structured interviews and a comprehensive network analysis based on graph theory. The findings, revealed through these hybrid research tactics, allowed the researchers to generate a framework to enhance accessibility and connectivity of MIA Park through a green network system, planned at inter-related neighborhood-scale and city-scale levels. While the research examines most notably a single case, it is advocated that the proposed framework represents not just an optional feature pertaining to the case in Doha, but a valuable reference for the sustainable master planning of future cities in the State of Qatar and across the GCC. The paper proffers numerous key contributions, including the critical exploration of manufactured landscapes in Doha Qatar and the delineation of broadly applicable environmental design strategies to improve the fabric and livability of cities.

scholarly journals STATE SYMBOL OF RUSSIA AND ALBANIA: COMPARATIVE ASPECT

2019 ◽  
pp. 28-38
Author(s):  
Y. Romanenko
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
Political Elite ◽  
Military Coup ◽  
Byzantine Empire ◽  
Authoritarian State ◽  
Head Of State ◽  
Comparative Aspect ◽  
The Russian Federation ◽  
The Church ◽  
Comparative Description

The purpose of this research is a comparative description of the visual features of the national flags of Russia and Albania as symbols of diffusion of macroidentity, which is expressed in the contradictory vectors of their foreign policy and focus on both European and Asian macroidentity. Based on color semantics, the article analyzes the state flags of Russia and Albania, which, as in state symbols, reveal the features of the geopolitical positioning of states. The connection between the axial symbol of identity – the double-headed eagle – and the bifurcation (diffuseness) of political macroidentity is shown. The features common to the two states are shown: a tendency toward geopolitical isolationism, authoritarian state power, the dependence of the institution of the church on the state and statist atheism, the prevalence of corrupt practices, the emphasis on forced modernization and extraordinary technologies for overcoming situations of foreign political challenges. It is stated that in both countries there is a corruption of power, a sign of which is a fierce struggle for power during most of Byzantine history. It was determined that this struggle was not waged by political methods, but by force – a military coup, uprising or assassination of the current head of state. In the geopolitical position of Albania, this was due to Skannerberg’s attempt to combine two in one: Islamic and Orthodox identities, as well as situational adaptation of the country’s political elite to the next occupier: from 1443, i.e. the years of struggle against Turkish rule and until 1944 the coat of arms acquired alternately Turkish, Austrian, Greek, Italian and Soviet-Russian details. The coat of arms of the Russian Federation also contains Byzantine elements, which indicates a spiritual succession with the Byzantine Empire, however, with less borrowing.

scholarly journals الحلقة المفقودة في معادلة الحضارة من منظور التنوير الياباني: إنجازات العزلة وتطورات الانفتاح

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 (82) ◽  
pp. 146-111
Author(s):  
ناصر يوسف
Keyword(s):  
The State ◽  
The West ◽  
Additional Element ◽  
Missing Link ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Japanese Experience

يهدف هذا البحث إلى استكناه الأنموذج الإنمائي الياباني داخل العناصر الحضارية التي ارتسمها مالك بن نبي: الإنسان، والأرض، والوقت. وكذلك امتحان هذه العناصر داخل النموذج الياباني، واختبار نضج الفكرة في حقل التجربة اليابانية، محاولاً الإجابة عن تساؤلين اثنين: هل تسعى هذه العناصر الحضارية الثلاثة إلى إحداث تنمية فيها كثير من طابع البداوة، أو التأسيس لتنمية مُتحضِّرة؟ هل توجد حلقة مفقودة داخل هذه العناصر كانت -فيما بعدُ- سبباً في نجاح انفتاح اليابان على الغرب؟ وقد انتهينا إلى أنّ منظومة العلاقة الدولة-الإنسان هي الحلقة المفقودة في المعادلة الحضارية؛ فمن غيرها تبقى عناصرها كما ارتسمها ابن نبي بدويةً، وعلى نحو ما عاينه ابن خلدون أيضاً. The study aspires to investigate the Japanese model of development based on the elements of civilization - namely man, the earth and time - as portrayed by Malik bin Nabi. It intends to examine these civilizational elements in the context of the Japanese model, and to investigate the level of maturity of civilizational thoughts in the Japanese experience. The study tries to answer two questions: first, are those three elements of civilization moving towards development that is characterized more by nomadism or towards civilized development? Second, is there a missing link within those civilizational elements that was later the cause of Japan’s successful opening to the West? The study concludes that the state-man relationship is the missing link in the equation of civilization, and without this additional element, development, as portrayed by Ibn Nabi and Ibn Khaldoun, remains nomadic.

scholarly journals URBAN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Collado Capilla ◽  
Sonia Gómez-Pardo Gabaldón
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Tall Buildings ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Landscape Assessment ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Strategic Element ◽  
The City

URBAN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT Vicente Collado Capilla1 and Sonia Gómez-Pardo Gabaldón21Servicio de Infraestructura Verde y Paisaje. Generalitat Valenciana. Ciutat Administrativa 9 D'Octubre-Torre 1, C/ Castán Tobeñas 77, 46018 Valencia; 2Servicio Territorial de Urbanismo. Provincia de Valencia. Generalitat Valenciana. Prop I, C/ Gregorio Gea, nº 27, 46009 Valencia. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]  Key words: urban_landscape, streetcape, landscape_value, andscape_assessment, landscape_preferences. The urban landscape assesment as an important element in the quality of life and the sustainable development of the city constitutes an incipient field of investigation from a new perspective that adds meanings and values. An analysis of the different methodological developments and national and international experiences in the assessment of these landscapes will highlight its importance as a strategic element to improve the quality of the city. It starts from the concept of assessment as a system where tangible and intangible values ​​are considered by the population and the experts. These include among other formal, economic, environmental, social, cultural issues (…) and the relationships between them. Consideration of the opinions of experts from different points of view such as urbanism and architecture but also environment, economy, geography, history, archeology, sociology, social assistance, etc. Together with the preferences expressed by the population regarding the spaces they inhabit on a daily basis and their aspirations, strengthen the sense of belonging and the identity of the place as key elements in the perception of the urban landscapes that allows to contribute new qualities, integration criteria and ​​contemporary values to any type of intervention. These are strategies and intervention procedures that start from the complexity of the city as a system and incorporate the perception that citizens have or will have of their immediate environment.  References: Czynska Klara and Pawel Rubinowicz (2015). ´Visual protection Surface method: Cityscape values in context of tall buildings´. SSS10 Proceedings of the 10 th International Space Syntax Symposium. Paquette Sylvain (2008). Guide de gestion des paysages au Québec. Université de Montréal Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005). The Eyes of the Skin. Architecture and the Senses. New York: John Wiley. Ministry of Environment and Energy The National Forest and Nature Agency (1997). International Survey of Architectural Values in the Environment. Denmark . The Landscape Institute and Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (2013). Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment. Third Edition, London: Routledge.

scholarly journals FRAGMENTATION AND DEGRADATION OF THE URBAN LANDSCAPE IN HERGLA, TUNISIA

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (12) ◽  
pp. 60-77
Author(s):  
Meriem Chaggar ◽  
Mohsen Boubaker
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Urban Sprawl ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Landscape Degradation ◽  
The City

This research proposes to identify the factors of the urban landscapes degradation in Hergla’s city (Tunisia) according on the citizen participation. It is based on the survey method which is developed around two axes: the citizen perception of urban landscapes and the factors of their degradation. According to the responses obtained, "the sea" represents the particular value of the landscapes identified as "quality" in Hergla. Citizens don’t appreciate landscapes of urban sprawl which makes the city lose its identity. Moreover, the lack of citizen participation in the urban actions and the non-observance of the urban regulations are the most cited factors of the landscape degradation. These results highlight the importance of involving the citizens in the planning process for a sustainable territory.

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