scholarly journals A Comparison of the Impact of Protective and Preservative Video Surveillance on Urban Territoriality: the case of Switzerland

2002 ◽  
Vol 2 (2/3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Klauser

This paper focuses on a comparison between two forms of video-surveillance and their consequences for the territoriality of public space users: the preservative, which aims to preserve public order and to prevent 'anti-social' behaviour; and the protective, which protect specific risk-points like buildings or objects. The fundamental difference between preservative and protective surveillance is linked to the spatial logic of its functioning, that can be deduced both from the position of the cameras and the general orientation of its view. Following Lefebvre and Raffestin, it argues that these socio-spatial relationships of social players may be considered as an inherent part of public space. In consequence, their transformation directly affects the qualities of public space. These theoretical explored are illustrated with a cartographical study of the cameras within the city centre of Geneva and a study of public sensitivity and perception of video surveillance in the Swiss city of Olten.

2017 ◽  
Vol 27 ◽  
pp. 752-759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Szarata ◽  
Katarzyna Nosal ◽  
Urszula Duda-Wiertel ◽  
Lukasz Franek

Food Security ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Kiaka ◽  
Shiela Chikulo ◽  
Sacha Slootheer ◽  
Paul Hebinck

AbstractThis collaborative and comparative paper deals with the impact of Covid-19 on the use and governance of public space and street trade in particular in two major African cities. The importance of street trading for urban food security and urban-based livelihoods is beyond dispute. Trading on the streets does, however, not occur in neutral or abstract spaces, but rather in lived-in and contested spaces, governed by what is referred to as ‘street geographies’, evoking outbreaks of violence and repression. Vendors are subjected to the politics of municipalities and the state to modernize the socio-spatial ordering of the city and the urban food economy through restructuring, regulating, and restricting street vending. Street vendors are harassed, streets are swept clean, and hygiene standards imposed. We argue here that the everyday struggle for the street has intensified since and during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mobility and the use of urban space either being restricted by the city-state or being defended and opened up by street traders, is common to the situation in Harare and Kisumu. Covid-19, we pose, redefines, and creates ‘new’ street geographies. These geographies pivot on agency and creativity employed by street trade actors while navigating the lockdown measures imposed by state actors. Traders navigate the space or room for manoeuvre they create for themselves, but this space unfolds only temporarily, opens for a few only and closes for most of the street traders who become more uncertain and vulnerable than ever before, irrespective of whether they are licensed, paying rents for vending stalls to the city, or ‘illegally’ vending on the street.


2020 ◽  
pp. 177-192
Author(s):  
Iman Hegazy

Public spaces are defined as places that should be accessible to all inhabitants without restrictions. They are spaces not only for gathering, socializing and celebrating but also for initiating discussions, protesting and demonstrating. Thus, public spaces are intangible expressions of democracy—a topic that the paper tackles its viability within the context of Alexandria, case study Al-Qaed Ibrahim square. On the one hand, Al-Qaed Ibrahim square which is named after Al-Qaed Ibrahim mosque is a sacred element in the urban fabric; whereas on the other it represents a non-religious revolutionary symbol in the Alexandrian urban public sphere. This contradiction necessitates finding an approach to study the characteristic of this square/mosque within the Alexandrian context—that is to realize the impact of the socio-political events on the image of Al-Qaed Ibrahim square, and how it has transformed into a revolutionary urban symbol and yet into a no-public space. The research revolves around the hypothesis that the political events taking place in Egypt after January 25th, 2011, have directly affected the development of urban public spaces, especially in Alexandria. Therefore methodologically, the paper reviews the development of Al-Qaed Ibrahim square throughout the Egyptian socio-political changes, with a focus on the square’s urban and emotional contextual transformations. For this reason, the study adheres to two theories: the "city elements" by Kevin Lynch and "emotionalizing the urban" by Frank Eckardt. The aim is not only to study the mentioned public space but also to figure out the changes in people’s societal behaviour and emotion toward it. Through empowering public spaces, the paper calls the different Egyptian political and civic powers to recognize each other, regardless of their religious, ethnical or political affiliations. It is a step towards replacing the ongoing political conflicts, polarization, and suppression with societal reconciliation, coexistence, and democracy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (Suppl.) ◽  
pp. 21-36
Author(s):  
Simone Fattorini ◽  
Cristina Mantoni ◽  
Davide Bergamaschi ◽  
Lorenzo Fortini ◽  
Francisco J. Sánchez ◽  
...  

Several works have investigated the impact of urbanisation on carabid activity density using urban-rural gradients. Such works compared activity density recorded from green spaces located in different parts of a city and assigned to categories of increasing urban intensity, which poses two problems: (1) since the gradient is divided into categories, it is impossible to model continuous variations in biotic responses, and (2) sites representative of different urbanisation levels are not true segments of the same ecological continuum. To surpass these problems, we modelled variations in carabid activity density along an urban-rural transect within a single green space extending from the city centre of Rome to rural environments. Carabids were sampled by pitfall traps from sites distributed along the entire gradient. We used breakpoint regressions to model how (1) carabid activity density, (2) carabids/beetles ratio, (3) carabids/insects ratio and (3) carabids/arthropods ratio varied along the gradient. As already observed for various organisms in urban environments, we found that activity density of carabids and their contribution to the abundance of beetles, insects and arthropods, peaked in the middle of the gradient. This supports the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, according to which moderate urbanisation may favour diversity by increasing habitat heterogeneity.


Author(s):  
Sean Parson

Chapter 4 discusses Mayor Frank Jordan’s (1992–1995) revanchist Matrix Quality of Life Program, which sought to enforce a broken-windows policing system in San Francisco. The impact of the policy was felt largely by the visible homeless in downtown San Francisco, who were regularly harassed and arrested by the police and forced out of the city. Because quality-of-life policing desires to sanitize the public space of disruptive and asocial behaviour, the public meals of Food Not Bombs near City Hall resisted the city’s attempt to criminalize homelessness. This chapter argues that the city attempted to construct the homeless as anti-citizens and exclude them from the political and physical spaces of the city.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. e032906
Author(s):  
C Polling ◽  
Ioannis Bakolis ◽  
Matthew Hotopf ◽  
Stephani L. Hatch

ObjectivesTo compare the proportions of emergency department (ED) attendances following self-harm that result in admission between hospitals, examine whether differences are explained by severity of harm and examine the impact on spatial variation in self-harm rates of using ED attendance data versus admissions data.SettingA dataset of ED attendances and admissions with self-harm to four hospitals in South East London, 2009–2016 was created using linked electronic patient record data and administrative Hospital Episode Statistics.DesignProportions admitted following ED attendance and length of stay were compared. Variation and spatial patterning of age and sex standardised, spatially smoothed, self-harm rates by small area using attendance and admission data were compared and the association with distance travelled to hospital tested.ResultsThere were 20 750 ED attendances with self-harm, 7614 (37%) resulted in admission. Proportion admitted varied substantially between hospitals with a risk ratio of 2.45 (95% CI 2.30 to 2.61) comparing most and least likely to admit. This was not altered by adjustment for patient demographics, deprivation and type of self-harm. Hospitals which admitted more had a higher proportion of admissions lasting less than 24 hours (54% of all admissions at highest admitting hospital vs 35% at lowest). A previously demonstrated pattern of lower rates of self-harm admission closer to the city centre was reduced when ED attendance rates were used to represent self-harm. This was not altered when distance travelled to hospital was adjusted for.ConclusionsHospitals vary substantially in likelihood of admission after ED presentation with self-harm and this is likely due to the differences in hospital practices rather than in the patient population or severity of self-harm seen. Public health policy that directs resources based on self-harm admissions data could exacerbate existing health inequalities in inner-city areas where these data may underestimate rates relative to other areas.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (24) ◽  
pp. 7014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrzej Biłozor ◽  
Szymon Czyża ◽  
Tomasz Bajerowski

Changes in land use, which accompany the development of towns, generate a transitional zone on the border between areas of urban and rural use, which—due to its complex (unspecified, fuzzy) land use—cannot be identified either as a rural or an urban area. In order to prevent the unplanned development, it should go according to plan, in line with the spatial order principles, making a coherent whole, taking into account all functional, socio-economic, cultural, as well as aesthetic factors and requirements. This paper describes studies and analyses of the fuzzy set theory applicability in studies of land use in areas around towns. The main aim of the study was to present the methodology, which employs fuzzy logic to identify and locate a transitional zone between rural and urban areas. This study dealt with the transitional zone at the junction of the urban and rural area and its parameters, which affect the type of land use. The attributes of the transitional zone were defined based on an analysis of current land use methods in areas under direct urbanisation pressure. The study was conducted in the city of Olsztyn (Poland) and on its outskirts, directly exposed to the impact of the developing city, with an area of 202.4 km2, within an 8-km radius of the city centre. The study determined the impact of individual forms of land use on the development of urban or rural use. The degree of each type of use—urban or rural—allowed for developing a fuzzy town and country model, identifying the urban investment border and its spatial dispersion, as well as identifying and locating the transitional zone between urban and rural areas. Moreover, land cover models based on the Corine land cover (CLC) data as well as high-resolution layers (HRL) impervious and canopy data were developed. The borders of urban investment determined on the basis of the fuzzy set theory assumptions, CLC, and HRL data were also identified and verified.


Biologia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 70 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Klimant ◽  
Ivan Baláž ◽  
Zuzana Krumpálová

AbstractThe study is focused on analyses of the impact of urbanized environment on the occurrence and structure of small mammals that are important with regard to transmission of diseases to man and domestic animals. The city of Nitra (Slovakia) was chosen as a model area, where an urban - rural gradient was determined. It was categorized into three zones, depending on the distance from the city centre. Small mammals were examined by a comprehensive annual research during the seasons. Overall, 12 species of small mammals were found, Microtus arvalis (29.6%), Apodemus sylvaticus (23.1%), Apodemus flavicollis (20.6%) were eudominant. The communities of small mammals showed an increase in species diversity and richness from the suburban to the peripheral zone, and a decrease of diversity and richness with increasing urban conditions from the peripheral to the pericentral zone. The identified species of small mammals were categorized according to their dependence on urban environment as exoanthropic species, avoiding the presence of man and his habitations (A. sylvaticus, A. flavicollis, and Clethrionomys glareolus); hemisynantropic species, which thrive on the edges of towns, with greater or lesser affinity to humans (M. arvalis, Apodemus uralensis, Sorex araneus, Sorex minutus, Mus spicilegus, and Microtus subterraneus); and synanthropic species, tied to human dwellings, very dependent on human resources (Crocidura suaveolens).


2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 77
Author(s):  
Sarah Isabella Chiodi

<p>What do we mean when we talk about public space? We asked this question, among others about the relationship between urban populations and public spaces, to some people in the context of the National Research Program (PRIN 2009) titled ‘Public Spaces, moving populations and urban renewal programs’. This paper reports part of the outcome of the research done within the local unit of Turin (Italy), which has been developed with a set of interviews to local stakeholders and with a field research in the selected areas of the City Centre and the districts of San Salvario and Barriera di Milano.<br />From the answers of the stakeholders emerged some relevant issues that I analysed through a selected literature about the concept of public space. The result is a sort of catalogue of typical public spaces of the city, as acknowledged by the local stakeholders and by the field research, and analysed through the international literature. The typologies identified are: traditional public spaces, ‘cappuccino’ spaces, weak sociality spaces, new virtual public spaces and the ‘District Houses’, a new type of public space emerging in the city. To identify them, some characteristic pictures of public spaces of Turin and interviews’ pieces are also reported.<br />However, facing this scenario built on the empirical research, we should mind that the conflicting views of public space depend also on the professional and cultural background of the interviewees, which is such fickle data that it cannot be catalogued. So, the catalogue proposed is not exhaustive, but only indicative of the trend about new perspectives on the meaning of public space which emerged through research conducted in the city of Turin.</p>


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 144-154
Author(s):  
Hikmet Eldek Güner

Kayseri was an important commercial city throughout history, and with the declaration of the Republic, it continued its importance in different areas. The city has many original buildings from the Early Republican Period and was a model of modernisation set on a western ideology. Modernisation of the Republic was started with industrialisation. Consequently, Kayseri became an industrial city in the early 20th century. Investments (both economic and spatial) made by government were later continued by the private sector. Industrialisation was seen as the most important dynamic of development and key to modernisation. This situation resulted in the establishment of a new Kayseri around the industrial area and was viewed as an example for a modern Turkey. These industrial areas were constructed close to the boundary of the city centre. At the same time, the city centre was reconstructed according to modern city planning and the new style (modern style). The ceremonial ground (city square), an urban grid system, wide main transport routes, new public and municipal buildings, which were symbols of international style, were constructed by destroying the historic city centre in the Early Republic Period.The Republic was not only constructing new public buildings in a modern style; it was tried to build a new life with the modern residential areas. Instead of the traditional dwellings, modern houses were constructed to illustrate the new lifestyle together with new functional buildings such as modern education complexes, a community centre, stadium and train station were all constructed to show how to live the modern life.The city gained a new face with the changes starting from 1930. Today, many buildings, belonging to the Early Republican Period, are not being considered in the conservation of cultural heritage and are in danger. Industrial complexes, residential areas, public places are seen as a building stock destined to disappear and be replaced by new buildings. These earlier buildings hold important historical, social, economic and political values. Similarly, construction techniques and materials were also unique for that period.The aim of this study is to draw attention to the 20th century buildings in Kayseri constructed in the Early Republic Period, and classify these buildings under different headings (industry, housing, public space, educational space, open spaces) with the photographs, plans and history, thus defining their values and why they must be conserved. Republic was not only constructed new public buildings in modern style, it was tried to build a new life with the modern residential areas. Instead of the traditional dwellings, modern houses were constructed for point out of new life style and also new functioned buildings like as modern education complexes, community center, stadium, train station were constructed to show how to live in the modern life. The city has gained a new face with the changes starting from 1930. Today many buildings, belonging to the Early Republican Period, are not being considered in the conservation of cultural heritage and they are in danger. Industrial complexes, residential areas, public places are seen as a stock of a building and faced to disappear for constructed for the new buildings. They have very important values like as historical, social, economic and politic. Also construction techniques and materials were also unique for that period. The aim of this study is, to attract attention on 20th century buildings in Kayseri which are constructed in Early Republic Period, to classify these buildings in different headings (industry, housing, public space, educational space, open space …etc) with the photographs, plans and history. In general, meaning the main aim of this study is to define their values and explain why they must be conserved.


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