Infrastructures of progress and dispossession

Focaal ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 (74) ◽  
pp. 28-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Astrid Oberborbeck Andersen
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Urban Ecology ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Nonstate Actors ◽  
Medium Scale ◽  
Southern Peru ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Production Resources

This article examines what economic growth and state versions of progress have done to small and medium-scale farmers in an urban setting, in Arequipa in southern Peru. The general reorganization of production, resources, and labor in the Peruvian economy has generated a discursive move to reposition small and medium-scale farmers as backward. This article analyzes how farmers struggle to find their place within a neoliberal urban ecology where different conceptions of what constitutes progress in contemporary Peru influence the landscape. Using an analytical lens that takes material and organizational infrastructures and practices into account, and situates these in specific historical processes, the article argues that farmers within the urban landscape of Arequipa struggle to reclaim land and water, and reassert a status that they experience to be losing. Such a historical focus on material and organizational infrastructural arrangements, it is argued, can open up for understanding how local and beyond-local processes tangle in complex ways and are productive of new subjectivities; how relations are reconfigured in neoliberal landscapes of progress and dispossession. Such an approach makes evident how state and nonstate actors invest affects, interests, and desires differently within a given landscape.

Revisiting the Madrassa Question in Pakistan: Worlding Lived Religion and Religious Education in Urban Spaces

2018 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-326 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonora C. Angeles ◽  
Omer Aijazi
Keyword(s):  
Religious Education ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Meaning Making ◽  
Urban Sociology ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Lived Religion ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
Breeding Grounds ◽  
Community Spaces

The association of madrassas as “breeding grounds for terrorists” is problematic, exacerbated by a lack of understanding of how Islamic religious schools function and contribute to cities and urban social life. Our article provides an interpretative examination of the so-called madrassa question by explaining the urban-spatial embeddedness of madrassas and emphasizing the heightened sense and deployment of religious identities in the quotidian “worlding” of “lived religion” and “lived religious education” of research participants in two madrassa communities in Islamabad, Pakistan. Positioned within the growing research on urban sociology and geographies of the intersections of religion and education, this article examines lived religion and religious education within urban spaces. It discusses ethnographic findings on the performance and reproduction of spatially grounded extrareligious roles, identities, and practices in city-based madrassas. We emphasize the religious and nonreligious meanings people attach to these identities and practices, and how these are manifested, represented, and experienced in urban community spaces. We demonstrate madrassas’ connection to people’s place-making practices and meaning-making as historical processes and purposeful action. Urban landscape, quotidian religious practices, and extra-local political economy are important to linking place, human aspirations, and lived religion in reframing the madrassa question in Pakistan.

scholarly journals Energy Engineering Approach for Rural Areas Cattle Farmers in Bangladesh to Reduce COVID-19 Impact on Food Safety

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8609
Author(s):  
Mohammad Nur-E-Alam ◽  
Mohammad Nasirul Hoque ◽  
Soyed Mohiuddin Ahmed ◽  
Mohammad Khairul Basher ◽  
Narottam Das
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Economic Growth ◽  
Power Generation ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Farming Systems ◽  
Film Coating ◽  
Thin Film Coating ◽  
Medium Scale ◽  
Hybrid Power ◽  
Cattle Farming

This paper reports on the optimization of thin-film coating-assisted, self-sustainable, off-grid hybrid power generation systems for cattle farming in rural areas of Bangladesh. Bangladesh is a lower middle-income country with declining rates of poverty among its 160 million people due to persistent economic growth in conjunction with balanced agricultural improvements. Most of the rural households adopt a mixed farming system by cultivating crops and simultaneously rearing livestock. Among the animals raised, cattle are considered as the most valuable asset for the small-/medium-scale farmers in terms of their meat and milk production. Currently, along with the major health issue, the COVID-19 pandemic is hindering the world’s economic growth and has thrust millions into unemployment; Bangladesh is also in this loop. However, natural disasters such as COVID-19 pandemic and floods, largely constrain rural smallholder cattle farmers from climbing out of their poverty. In particular, small- and medium-scale cattle farmers face many issues that obstruct them from taking advantage of market opportunities and imposing a greater burden on their families and incomes. An appropriate measure can give a way to make those cattle farmers’ businesses both profitable and sustainable. Optimization of thin-film coating-assisted, self-sustainable, off-grid hybrid power generation system for cattle farming is a new and forward-looking approach for sustainable development of the livestock sector. In this study, we design and optimize a thin-film coating-assisted hybrid (photovoltaic battery generator) power system by using the Hybrid Optimization of Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER, Version 3.14.0) simulation tool. An analysis of the results has suggested that the off-grid hybrid system is more feasible for small- and medium-scale cattle farming systems with long-term sustainability to overcome the significant challenges faced by smallholder cattle farmers in Bangladesh.

Geoeconomic and geopolitical mechanisms of the First World War

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Валерий Инюшин ◽  
Valeriy Inyushin ◽  
Максим Медоваров ◽  
Maksim Medovarov ◽  
Андрей Черкасов ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
British Empire ◽  
First World War ◽  
World War ◽  
Internal Logic ◽  
Modern Capitalism ◽  
Historical Processes ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The Usa ◽  
First World

The formation and development of English-Saxon core of world-system of the modern capitalism set the groundwork of the most important geo-historical processes. The exhaustion of economic model of the British Empire and necessity of relaunching of economic growth in the USA confronted to geo-economical competition with Germany and Russia. These and other similar interactions and internal logic of evolution of economic system in many respects defined the greatest geopolitical events of 20 century, particularly the First World War.

scholarly journals POSTCARD FROM ISTANBUL: DIGITAL RECONSTRUCTION OF THE CITY AS MEMORY IN TASOS BOULMETIS’S POLÍTIKI KOUZÍNA / A TOUCH OF SPICE / BAHARATIN TADI

2018 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-77
Author(s):  
Giorgos Dimitriadis
Keyword(s):  
Digital Technology ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
General Concept ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Virtual Spaces ◽  
Digital Reconstruction ◽  
Individual Perception ◽  
Mise En Scene ◽  
Computer Generated Imagery ◽  
The City

Reconstructing space with the use of computer generated imagery (CGI) is commonly used in moviemaking to enhance the depicted pro-filmic reality, creating virtual spaces in which layers of the narrative that are more difficult to represent via realistic mise-en-scene, such as emotional conditions, can become visually explicit. In the 2003 film Politiki Kouzina / A Touch of Spice / Baharatin Tadi, the Istanbul-born Greek filmmaker Tasos Boulmetis digitally combines heterogeneous elements to reconstruct a virtual experience of his own sense and memory of Istanbul: the urban landscape in the film is a hybrid of on-location scenes of the modern city, CGI and enhanced coloring, digitally fused into a mural of historical and personal memories. By deliberately conveying a strong emotional tone to the audience, the film equates the notion of place with the experience one has of it: as the memory of mid-Twentieth century Istanbul is digitally recomposed, the city dissolves under the pressure of its emotionally charged reflection, and the general concept of “location” is redefined through individual perception. Digital technology is used not simply to bring to life a past urban setting, but becomes a tool for affect, thus revealing invisible layers of the filmic narrative.

scholarly journals « Rabat, a Metropolitan City », Between Displayed Image, Reality of Image and Identity

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 85
Author(s):  
Hassan Kharmich ◽  
Mouna Sedreddine
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Spatial Relationship ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Metropolitan City ◽  
Urban Model ◽  
Urban Image ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Embodying for a long time the image of an administrative capital where the functionary dominate, where the urban setting is aging and where quality of life is declining, the city of Rabat has recently embarked on a frantic race to reinvent a new image: a modern, innovative and qualitative image.In order to achieve this, several projects and programs of development, embellishment and construction, has been initiated with a common feature which is greatness (large theater, high towers, large stations, large arteries, new centralities, etc.). This greatness aspect is visible through the importance of the areas involved, the volumes and the shapes designed, the modes of transport developed, the means and resources deployed in add to the promotion of architectural signatures of the renowned architects, and the modes of governance and project management. Henceforth, Rabat shows its ambition as a city of culture, as a green city and as a “city of light”.  The time of Rabat, as administrative city, is over.However, the image displayed and publicized seems controversial compared to the reality of certain urban spaces, often with high heritage value, that develop on the margins of programs and projects initiated. Real deficits are observed in terms of basic equipment and services, in terms of transport network and in terms of urban coherence and social cohesion. Everything contributes to an urban image with two facets: one more qualitative, more modern and more elitist, while the other is more spontaneous, more vulnerable and more devalued.Faced with this identity transition and this double temporality, what image and identity do we want for Rabat? What vocations do we claim for this city which aspires to become a national and international metropolis? What developments should be advocated for a capital with such a rich and diversified history? What relationship can be established between the local identity and the global identity of the city? How does the citizen apprehend his living spaces in the face of such universal urban model, where social connections as well as the spatial relationship mutate towards new practices?These questions will be enlightened through the confrontation of major projects underway and urban realities, through the analysis of the new urban model which is universal, modern and generating a new image and a new urban identity, as well as through the impact of these major projects both on the urban landscape and quality of life. It’s with these considerations in mind that this paper is drawn up: « Rabat, a metropolitan city », between displayed image and reality of image and identity.

scholarly journals O Mais Querido Brazil - The Most Beloved of Brazil

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Branislav Tosic
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Landscape Architecture ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Key Factors ◽  
The People ◽  
Fixed Design ◽  
The Many

<p><b>Since the early stages of stadium design, landscape architecture has frequently been overlooked, with the space surrounding these structures relegated to providing parking and accessways. In other words, rather than give consideration to creating aesthetically appealing spaces, the tendency has instead been to create sterile and unappealing concrete jungles, that pay little or no attention to how the users might experience the space as they move through it. This effectively means that potentially attractive public spaces are not being utilised, which is increasingly problematic as urban areas become ever more densely populated. </b></p><p>This issue will be considered by proposing a series of ideas that could be used in the development of a new stadium for the Brazilian football club Flamengo. This club, which is one of the biggest and most popular in South America, currently has its home at the </p><p>Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro. As a result of the privatisation of the previously publicly-owned stadium, Flamengo has decided that it would prefer to develop a new stadium on an entirely new site in Rio. </p><p>The fundamental aim of this research thesis is to demonstrate how landscape architecture can be used to inform the development of stadiums in such a way that the sites surroundings stadiums can become attractive and functional spaces in their own right, that will appeal to a diverse demographic. In other words, rather than being no more than a carpark and accessway, attractive only to those attending an event at the stadium, the surrounding site should be a place that people would wish to visit for itself. To achieve this, the design must take into account a number of key factors, including where the stadium is situated with respect to the surrounding urban landscape, as well as how the stadium relates to the people who will be the primary users. The intention is to create a space surrounding the stadium that is wholly integrated, both physically and socially, with both the adjacent community and the club’s supporters who will travel there to make use of the many resources on offer at the stadium. Issues that are particular to this site, such as how best to turn a previously industrial site into one that is attractive and ecologically viable are also addressed as part of this thesis. </p><p>This design-led research will show how landscape architecture can administer key elements to stadium design, through connection to the urban fabric and fan experience. Exploiting these elements with evidence through the use of adaptive, flexible and also fixed design strategies of sustainability, resilient and regenerative landscape solutions will be achieved between the existing urban setting and Flamengo’s new home.</p>

A Neighbourhood under Storm Zhabei and Shanghai Wars

2010 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 291-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Henriot
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Urban Setting ◽  
Success Story ◽  
Military Conflict ◽  
Major Aspect ◽  
Modern Warfare ◽  
Forms Of Violence ◽  
The City

AbstractWar was a major aspect of Shanghai history in the first half of the twentieth century. Yet, because of the particular political and territorial divisions that segmented the city, war struck only in Chinese-administered areas. In this paper, I examine the fate of the Zhabei district, a booming industrious area that came under fire on three successive occasions. Whereas Zhabei could be construed as a success story—a rag-to-riches, swamp-to-urbanity trajectory—the three instances of military conflict had an increasingly devastating impact, from shaking, to stifling, to finally erase Zhabei from the urban landscape. This area of Shanghai experienced the first large-scale modern warfare in an urban setting. The 1927 skirmish established the pattern in which the civilian population came to be exposed to extreme forms of violence, was turned overnight into a refugee population, and lost all its goods and properties to bombing and fires.

Green Economic Growth Based on Urban Ecology and Biodiversity

2021 ◽  
pp. 45-64
Author(s):  
José G. Vargas-Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Economic Growth ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Urban Ecology ◽  
Biological Diversity ◽  
Economic Value ◽  
Theoretical Literature ◽  
Adaptive Cycle ◽  
Different Dimensions ◽  
The Creation

This chapter has the objective to analyze the urban ecology, the biological diversity or biodiversity, and their adaptive cycle as the fundamentals of green economic growth. The analysis begins questioning the implications that some assumptions of urban ecology and biodiversity, such as the socio-ecosystems, resilience, ecosystem services, and adaptive cycle have on the creation of green economic growth. A series of different dimensions of resilience are proposed as subsystems that contribute to the general resilience of a system. The method used is the analytical based on a review of the conceptual and theoretical literature. This analysis concludes that the connectivity of processes and functions of urban ecology and biodiversity are relevant to the creation of green economic growth in terms of green economic value.

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