scholarly journals Urban Inequality: The City after the 2007 Crisis

Urban Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 62 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesús González-Pérez

After the impact of the 2007 crisis and post-crisis austerity policies, cities are being reconfigured under the auspices of inequality. Social divides are widening, and there is a growing population of excluded and poor people. The urban and welfare state crises of the 1980s are currently being replicated, albeit even more acutely, given that the welfare state in many countries is very weak and there are worrying signs of a crisis of democracy. In the present urban order of globalization, new players have emerged from the financial sector, including investment funds and the so-called vulture funds. Our contribution to this Special Issue is an analysis of urban inequality today based on theoretical and empirical research. The issue includes articles on social movements and resistance in Latin American cities, vulnerability in crisis-hit Spanish cities, and the segregation and quality of basic services in US cities.

Author(s):  
Fernando Robles

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the location decision of multinationals across major cities in Latin America. Based on agglomeration economics and institutional theory, the paper explores whether institutional quality of a city can temper the attraction of agglomeration factors. Design/method/approach The paper analyzes the geographic dispersion of three global fast-food franchise networks in 45 Latin American cities. The explanatory variables are horizontal aggregation of other multinationals and the institutional quality of a city. The direct and indirect impacts of horizontal agglomeration are explored through negative binomial regression with controls for city population and economic power [gross domestic product (GDP)]. Findings The key finding is that location choice of fast-food networks is driven principally by market conditions and to a lesser extent by horizontal agglomeration. The institutional quality of a city has a positive influence on the agglomeration of fast-food networks. A city with strong institutional quality makes this relation stronger. Research limitations Other multinational and national fast-food franchises are not included in the paper. Future studies should include a greater number of global and local fast-food franchisers. Practical implications The positive reinforcements of agglomeration and strong institution are important for the investment location decision of fast-food multinationals. The institutional quality of the city should be an important consideration in the location decision as it expands regionally and within a country. Smaller cities may not offer the agglomeration advantages of the large metropolitan areas, but their good institutional quality may reduce the business costs for multinationals. Social implications Large cities in Latin America tend to reap the benefits of agglomeration. As a result, smaller secondary cities struggle to be relevant in generating economic activity and attracting private investments. One strategy to achieve relevance is to build strong and transparent institutions and a solid business environment. Originality/value The inclusion of institutional quality at the city level as moderation of the agglomeration factors influencing the location decision of a multinational is original. This paper contributes to our understanding of the importance of regional cities in attracting the investment of multinational firms.


Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 398
Author(s):  
Eliza Sochacka ◽  
Magdalena Rzeszotarska-Pałka

A growing number of urban interventions, such as culture-led regeneration strategies, has emerged alongside growing awareness of the concept of re-urbanization. These interventions evolve to create a holistic urban vision, with aims to promote social cohesion and strengthen local identity as opposed to traditional goals of measuring the economic impact of new cultural developments. Szczecin’s, Poland urban strategy is focused on the expansion of culture—a condition for improving the quality of life and increasing the city’s attractiveness. This article assesses the potential for re-urbanization of Szczecin’s flagship cultural developments. Questionnaire surveys and qualitative research methods were used to assess the characteristics that distinguish cultural projects in the formal, location-related, functional, and symbolic layers, as well as examining their social perception. The results show that the strength of these indicators of urbanscape identity affects how the cultural developments are assessed by the society. Semiotic coherence and functional complexity of the structures have a significant impact on the sense of identification, while their monumentality and exposure contribute to the assessment of the impact on their surroundings. A development with a firm identity, embedded in the city’s tradition not only preserves the cultural heritage of the city but also makes inhabitants feel association with the new project.


1962 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 473-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard M. Morse

This essay will advance two interrelated hypotheses about the Latin American city. The first of them has to do with the role of the city in the settlement of the New World. The second suggests certain characteristics of the modern Latin American metropolis.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 428 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monika Kuffer ◽  
Jiong Wang ◽  
Michael Nagenborg ◽  
Karin Pfeffer ◽  
Divyani Kohli ◽  
...  

The continuous increase in deprived living conditions in many cities of the Global South contradicts efforts to make cities inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable places. Using examples of Asian, African, and Latin American cities, this study shows the scope and limits of earth observation (EO)-based mapping of deprived living conditions in support of providing consistent global information for the SDG indicator 11.1.1 “proportion of urban population living in slums, informal settlements or inadequate housing”. At the technical level, we compare several EO-based methods and imagery for mapping deprived living conditions, discussing their ability to map such areas including differences in terms of accuracy and performance at the city scale. At the operational level, we compare available municipal maps showing identified deprived areas with the spatial extent of morphological mapped areas of deprived living conditions (using EO) at the city scale, discussing the reasons for inconsistencies between municipal and EO-based maps. We provide an outlook on how EO-based mapping of deprived living conditions could contribute to a global spatial information base to support targeting of deprived living conditions in support of the SDG Goal 11.1.1 indicator, when uncertainties and ethical considerations on data provision are well addressed.


2010 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inaiá María Moreira de Calvalho ◽  
Gilberto Corso Pereira

En este artículo se analiza la evolución reciente de la segregación socioespacial y la de la conformación urbana en la ciudad de Salvador, a la luz del debate sobre las transformaciones de las metrópolis dentro del capital globalizado. Si bien se reconoce que todas las grandes ciudades terminan siendo alcanzadas por la globalización, en el texto se resalta, sin embargo, que los efectos de ese proceso no son uniformes ni convergen en un modelo único de ciudad. Es necesario considerar la conformación histórica de cada una de ellas, sus instituciones, actores y decisiones políticas locales dentro de una dinámica definida por la continuidad/transformación, donde lo que ya existía condiciona la irrupción de lo nuevo, que en muchos casos ya había comenzado a delinearse en el pasado. Mediante la demostración de la conformación de una metrópoli extremadamente desigual y segregada y la medida en que las transformaciones han agravado tales alteraciones al paso de los últimos años, esta revisión del caso de Salvador se propone exponer algunas reflexiones para entender mejor los efectos del proceso de globalización sobre las grandes ciudades de América Latina. AbstractThis article analyzes the recent evolution of the socio-spatial segregation and urban configuration of the city of Salvador, in light of the debate on the transformations of metropolises within globalized capital. Although it is a well-known fact that large cities end up being absorbed by globalization, the text stresses the fact that the effects of this process are not uniform nor do they converge in a single model of a city. It is essential to  consider the historical moment of each of them, their institutions, actors and local political decisions within a dynamic defined by continuity/transformation, in which what already existed conditions the emergence of what is new, which in many cases, had already begun to be shaped in the past. Through the demonstration of the configuration of an extremely unequal, segregated metropolis, and the extent to which the transformations have aggravated these alterations over the years, this review of the case of Salvador proposes offering some reflections to provide a better understanding of the effects of globalization on major Latin American cities.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geordie Gordon

The transition of waterfront land use from industrial to post-industrial is a global phenomenon. There are several forces that are driving this change, including the advancement of shipping technology and the relocation of industrial processes to areas with greater availability of land. In place of industrial uses, many cities have undertaken, or are in the process of undertaking the redevelopment of their waterfront. As a result of past industrial use, there often exists, a significant amount of transportation infrastructure that isolates the city from the waterfront. This paper establishes the context for waterfront redevelopment, before examining the impact of infrastructure urban forms by using the work of Kevin Lynch as a tool for analysis. Several case precedents are used to examine the course of action that other North American cities have pursued to mitigate the impact of infrastructure forms on the waterfront and how they may influence the way Toronto deals with its waterfront infrastructure.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 791
Author(s):  
Lidia Rodríguez ◽  
Juan Luis de León ◽  
Luzio Uriarte ◽  
Iziar Basterretxea

A number of empirical studies have shown the continuous lack of adherence and the growing autonomy of the population regarding religious institutions. This article reflects on the kind of relationship between deinstitutionalisation and religious experience based on the following hypothesis: the evident decline in religious institutions does not necessarily lead to the disappearance or the weakening of religious experience; rather, it runs simultaneously with a process of individualisation. Our aim is to provide empirical evidence of such transformations; therefore, we do not get involved in speculations, but take into account the contributions of scholars concerning three key terms integrated in the conceptual framework of “religious experience’’: “experience of God”, “God image”, and “institutional belonging”. We analysed 39 in-depth interviews with a qualitative approach; interviews were conducted during the years 2016–2018 amongst Evangelical and Catholic populations in three Latin American cities (Córdoba, Montevideo, and Lima) and in the city of Bilbao (Spain). These interviews clearly indicate a growing autonomy from the religious institution, while evidencing a rich range of experiences of God and a great diversity of God representations. In both cases, they point to processes of individualisation of believers who elaborate their own religious experience in a personal and complex way.


2019 ◽  
pp. 44
Author(s):  
Marlown Cuenca Gonzaga

ResumenLa informalidad es parte del paisaje urbano en la ciudad de Quito, ha crecido deprisa y heterogéneamente, desbordada por condicionantes físicas y condicionantes económico-sociales propias de la evolución de las ciudades modernas latinoamericanas, cuya economía depende directamente de la extracción de recursos naturales, esto ha creado dos ciudades con características diferenciadas: la ciudad formal y la ciudad informal. Este estudio trata de entender estos dos modelos a través de una herramienta que analice las relaciones de los componentes urbanos insertados en la globalidad de la complejidad urbana. Desde la hipótesis se comprueba que los barrios de invasión y autoconstrucción generan mecanismos y procesos urbanos evolutivos, que guardan mejores relaciones escalares y relaciones internas de conectividad más dinámicas e intensas que los sistemas planificados convencionales para la vivienda social.AbstractInformality is part of the urban landscape in the city of Quito, it has grown rapidly and heterogeneously, overwhelmed by physical conditions and socio-economic conditions of the evolution of modern Latin American cities, whose economy depends directly on the extraction of natural resources. has created two cities with different characteristics: the formal city and the informal city. This study tries to understand these two models through a tool that analyzes the relationships of the urban components inserted in the globality of urban complexity. From the hypothesis it is verified that the neighborhoods of invasion and self-construction generate evolutionary urban mechanisms and processes, which have better scalar relationships and internal connectivity relationships that are more dynamic and intense than the conventional planned systems for social housing.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 518-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeleke Worku

A 3-year long survey was conducted in the Tshwane geographical region of Gauteng Province in South Africa in order to identify and quantify key predictors of adequate municipal services that are routinely provided to customers who operate newly established small businesses in the City of Tshwane, Pretoria, South Africa. Data was collected by using a structured, pre-tested and validated questionnaire of study from a stratified random sample of size 1, 058 small businesses. The key objective of study was to assess the relationship between viability in small businesses and the provision of quality municipal services by the City of Tshwane. The study was conducted against the background of a high failure rate among newly established small businesses in the City of Tshwane. The study was conducted over a 3-year period (2012 to 2014). Data was collected monthly during the three-year period of study on socioeconomic variables that are known to affect the perception of business operators on the quality of municipal services to business operators and the general public. Statistical procedures such as cross-tab analyses, panel data analysis, Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) algorithms and Bayesian methods were used for estimating parameters. The study showed that there was a significant association between positive perception of business operators on the quality of municipal services provided to them and viability of businesses. The results showed that 87% of viable businesses were satisfied with the quality of routine municipal services that were provided to them by the City of Tshwane. The corresponding figure for non-viable businesses was only 14%. The viability of businesses was significantly influenced by 3 predictor variables. These predictor variables were: lack of capacity for fulfilling the business and entrepreneurial needs of newly established businesses [Hazard Ratio = 3.58; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.45, 5.46)], inappropriate policy [Hazard Ratio = 3.19; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.39, 5.28)], and lack of tailor made training programmes directed at newly established small businesses [Hazard Ratio = 2.89; P=0.000; 95% C. I. = (1.24, 4.77)], in a decreasing order of strength. Similar findings were obtained from the analyses of in-depth interviews.


Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 2238
Author(s):  
Sumi Sarkar ◽  
Marium Khatun ◽  
Farzana Mustafa Era ◽  
A. K. M. Mominul Islam ◽  
Md. Parvez Anwar ◽  
...  

Abiotic stresses varyingly affect the grain composition and quality of food legumes. This paper is aimed at discussing the impact of abiotic stresses on the grain composition and quality of food legumes. As protein is the main grain constituent of food legumes for which it is being consumed by humans as a cheap protein source, abiotic stresses such as heat, cold, drought, salinity and heavy metals alter this grain protein content in different dimensions for different food legumes. Moreover, other valuable constituents such as starch, soluble sugar, oil, fatty acid and fiber content are affected differently by the abiotic stresses. The diverse impact of these abiotic stresses ultimately declines the grain quality and yield of food legumes. As food legumes play a vital role in the nutritional diet of millions of people in the world and are occasionally denoted as the meat of poor people, it is important to recognize that the sustainable production of food legumes, even under various environmental stresses, has the potential to ensure protein security for people globally. Therefore, it has become a necessity to improve the productivity and quality of food legumes under abiotic stresses through proper crop management and improved breeding strategies, thus enhancing food and economic security to the farmers, particularly in the developing countries of the world.


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