Boosting Entrepreneurism as a Product of Urban Creativity and Governance

2016 ◽  
pp. 574-599
Author(s):  
Jorge Gonçalves ◽  
Inês Vilhena da Cunha
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
University Professors ◽  
Social Crisis ◽  
Business Opportunities ◽  
Local Actors

This chapter aims to describe and reflect on the experience developed in a metropolitan territory that ambitiously wanted to articulate entrepreneurship, creativity and urban governance. In spaces marked by economic and social crisis the requirement to mobilize synergies between local actors is even more pressing. From the municipality's leadership, Almada Idea Laboratory Project sought to involve university professors and students to generate creative ideas as well as business hosting centre for the installation of projects with greater viability and the community in general that had the opportunity to assess and discuss the product of this effort. The council offered its urban space as a living laboratory. Ideas, business opportunities and, above all, the possibility of creating and strengthening links between actors, often distant, proved a very successful experience both in objective results as in the formation of useful social capital to develop new projects.

scholarly journals John Lindsay, the Association for a Better New York, and the Privatization of New York City, 1969-1973

2018 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 557-577
Author(s):  
Joe Merton
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Labor Relations ◽  
Street Crime ◽  
Urban Problems

Focusing on the collaboration between Mayor John Lindsay and business advocacy group the Association for a Better New York (ABNY), this article illustrates the utility of public and elite anxieties over street crime in legitimizing new, privatized models of urban governance during the early 1970s. ABNY’s privatized crime-fighting initiatives signified a new direction in city law enforcement strategies, a new “common sense” regarding the efficacy and authority of private or voluntarist solutions to urban problems, and proved of lasting significance for labor relations, the regulation of urban space, and the role of the private sector in urban policy. It concludes that, despite their limitations, the visibility of ABNY’s initiatives, their ability to construct a pervasive sense of crisis, and their apparent demonstration of public and elite consent played a significant role in the transformation of New York into the “privatized” or “neoliberal” city of today.

The Private Eye of Public Life: Surveillance, Security, and Urban Governance in the City of Toronto

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Carter
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Private Security ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Market Forces ◽  
Governance Model ◽  
Private Policing

Market forces increasingly drive the development of urban space in globalized cities. Following deindustrialization, some municipalities have become dependent upon tax revenues derived from office towers. City managers and officer tower developers work under the pressure of competition to ensure their spaces are attractive to this highly mobile work force; safety and security are key selling points. In Toronto, large sections of urban space have been privatized and are policed by private security. Much of the privately owned space is designed to be publicly accessible, creating new dynamics between private security and public police. Changes to federal and provincial legislation, combined with a rapid expansion in the deployment of private security guards, signal an emerging urban governance model that supports private-public partnerships in policing. Under the supervision of David Murakami Wood, I conducted interviews with high-ranking politicians, security professionals, and social services executives in Toronto. These interviews revealed concerns about the erosion of public space, the treatment of marginalized populations, and inadequate private security regulations. Some argue the legal rights of private property owners permit security and surveillance practices that violate democratic values. Clearly, there is tension between the market forces that inform private policing, and the civic accountability of public police forces that remains unresolved. My research suggests new legislation is required to ensure this emerging urban governance model, which features private policing, preserves the democratic rights and freedoms of all citizens.

scholarly journals Wpływ kapitału społecznego mieszkańców na kształtowanie przestrzeni wspólnych w środowisku mieszkaniowym

2020 ◽  
pp. 42-54
Author(s):  
Anna Cudny
Keyword(s):  
Social Capital ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Development Strategy ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
National Development ◽  
Local Communities ◽  
Aesthetic Quality ◽  
The Social ◽  
The City

Influence of social capital of inhabitants on shaping common spaces in a housing environment The last two decades of the century have brought unusually many changes in the built environment. These include not only changes directly related to the emergence of a new urban fabric, but also changes in social attitudes towards common spaces located in residential areas. The built environment has never been evaluated so strongly. This assessment translates not only into the everyday outdoor activities of residents (necessary, optional and social activities), but also to economic projects (purchase, sale and rental of real estate). At the same time, the city ceases to be, as it has been so far, mainly subjected to criticism, and the residents are gradually changing their demanding attitude concerning the development of space to participate in the process of its creation. Society wants to have a real impact on urban space, especially on the space closest to them. Thus, the right to the city is no longer a privilege or a duty, but it becomes a need. Trying to meet this need results in a phenomenon which we can increasingly observe in Poland, and which we have been witnessing abroad for many years: activities in public space are changing into activities for public space. They include the transformation of common spaces related to the place of residence—improving their aesthetic quality, functional changes, modernization of development elements. Observing numerous examples of public participation in shaping public spaces, it was noticed that the initiation, course and effects of activities largely depend on the social capital of the group undertaking said activity. Accordingly, there is a need for research on the mutual relation between the level of social capital and the issue of shaping and managing public space with the participation of local communities, which will be the main topic of the paper. To investigate the above-mentioned issue, qualitative research methods were used in relation to the relationship: site visit, non-participant observation and focus interviews. This contributed to a comparative study of three selected Warsaw case studies. They were analysed in terms of meeting the qualitative criteria selected for the study. These criteria have been indicated on the basis of the Social Capital Development Strategy 2020, which is one of the parts of the Medium-Term National Development Strategy. The result of the analyses is an indication of derived factors from within the group of space users and external factors that have a positive and negative impact on initiating, carrying out and maintaining the effects of changes in common spaces developed with the participation of local communities in Polish conditions. The conclusions can be used to improve future participation processes related to urban space - both by non-professionals participating in them, as well as experts - architects and town planners.

scholarly journals The Asylum Seekers in Non-Metropolitan Areas in France: Between Temporary Integration and Leading to Autonomy. The Case of the Ambertois Territory

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 210
Author(s):  
Rafik Arfaoui
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Asylum Seekers ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Participant Observation ◽  
Regional Level ◽  
Integration Process ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Recent Reform ◽  
Utilitarian Approach ◽  
The One

This article focuses on the integration process of people seeking asylum in non-metropolitan areas in France. It conceptualizes the reception of asylum seekers involving two interrelated approaches: the utilitarian approach and the humanitarian approach. This article is based on surveys, participatory and sensitive cartography, and participant observation conducted in the Ambertois territory between 2017 and 2018. I find the Ambertois territory can be considered a “fragile space,” particularly in terms of demographics, with difficulties in maintaining public services. These difficulties are risks for asylum seekers, and are impacting the urban space. These risks are intensified by the national and regional level policies like the recent reform of the asylum and immigration act on the one hand, and the suffering they experienced throughout their migratory journey on the other. Faced with these risks, local synergies, which facilitate the integration of asylum seekers, are emerging from local actors. This integration is temporary and is considered by local actors as leading to the autonomy of asylum seekers.

scholarly journals THE CONTROL OF OUTDOOR ADVERTISING, AMENITY, AND URBAN GOVERNANCE IN BRITAIN, 1893–1962

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-26
Author(s):  
JAMES GREENHALGH
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Radical Change ◽  
Town Planning ◽  
Visual Environment ◽  
Outdoor Advertising ◽  
Spatial Governance

Abstract This article examines the control of outdoor advertising in Britain, tracking its development as a mirror of the practices of spatial governance. It evidences both a largely forgotten, yet radical change in the urban environment, whilst also functioning as a lens through which we might examine local government's role in driving change in the visual environment of cities and towns. The article argues that, despite important early work by preservationist organizations, local corporations and councils were the principal drivers of legislation, altering attitudes in central government that ultimately led to stringent control of outdoor advertising in urban space. Beginning in the nineteenth century, but coming to the fore during the interwar period, corporations and councils pushed for ever greater controls over the size and siting of billboards, hoardings, and posters. In doing so, they deployed a language of amenity, and conjured with seemingly social democratic notions of citizens’ rights to push their agenda. The study is thus revealing of the ways in which town planning, patterns of holistic control in the visual environment, and the philosophy of urban modernism shaped even the most mundane, extant urban areas and left a lasting impression on the urban landscape.

‘When we launched the government's agenda…’: aid agencies and local politics in urban Africa

2012 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-420 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel E. Esser
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
Urban Politics ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Local Politics ◽  
Local Policy ◽  
Capital Cities ◽  
Political Empowerment ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Local Actors ◽  
Basic Services

ABSTRACTPolitical realities in the capital cities of impoverished countries emerging from violent conflict illustrate how local actors can be hindered in conducting political affairs independently from the interests and influence of national governments as well as international agencies. This experience problematises the argument that the main cause of political impasse in African cities governed by opposition parties is incomplete decentralisation, whereby a devolution of responsibilities is not matched by a downward reallocation of resources. Although resulting competition constrains local governments' opportunities to deliver basic services, we need to look beyond the national scale to uncover the drivers of institutional change and gauge the promise of donor-driven local political empowerment. Urban politics in Africa continues to be shaped by global aid discourses, which are translated into local policy frameworks through interest convergence between international and national actors. The case of Freetown, Sierra Leone provides an illustration of such macro-level alignment and resulting local frictions. At the same time, it also demonstrates how local politics have challenged the technocratic, apolitical reinvention of urban governance in the global South perpetuated by the international aid industry.

scholarly journals DEVELOPMENT OF THE CAPITAL CITY THROUGH THE PRISM OF INCLUSIVENESS (A CASE OF KYIV)

2021 ◽  
pp. 25-33
Author(s):  
Eu.O. Maruniak ◽  
◽  
S.A. Lisovskyi ◽  
S.A. Pokliatskyi ◽  
A.A. Mozghovyi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Policy ◽  
Urban Governance ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Capital City ◽  
Inclusive Development ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Expert Assessment ◽  
Economic Landscape

The problem of inclusive development has recently taken into account in Ukraine, although at the global level and in the EU such discussions have been going on for a long time, as well as key concepts were included in the documents shaping the international policy agenda. The paper aims to identify local markers of inclusion and/or exclusion within the capital post-socialist city, verify participatory approaches within the context of sustainable urban development research, and create a basis for developing recommendations for further improvement of urban policy in Ukraine. The example of the capital, Kyiv, a city that has been integrated into the global economic landscape for several decades, is the most indicative from the point of view of current and anticipated changes. The article outlines the main features of modern discourse in the field of inclusiveness and integrated urban development. On the case of Kyiv and a few urban neighborhoods, based on a survey and expert assessment, local features of the spatial measurement of inclusiveness, such as accessibility and openness of different types of infrastructural objects, organization of urban space, have been analyzed. The surveys, in addition to positive assessments of the availability of urban infrastructure for residents, and high quality of construction of individual facilities, simultaneously have been revealed significant shortcomings, especially for people with disabilities. The role of urban governance and international projects outcomes to achieve new goals of urban environment quality in Ukraine has been emphasized. The scientific novelty of the article is to identify local signs of inclusiveness and exclusivity in the capital city of a post-socialist country in the context of improving urban policy in Ukraine.

scholarly journals Street Food, Urban Space, and Gender: Working on the Streets of Nineteenth-Century Rio de Janeiro (1830–1870)

2019 ◽  
Vol 64 (S27) ◽  
pp. 229-254
Author(s):  
Melina Teubner
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Small Businesses ◽  
Rio De Janeiro ◽  
Food Culture ◽  
African Women ◽  
Food Sector ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
Port Area ◽  
Local Actors

AbstractThis article focuses on African women (Quitandeiras) who worked in the food sector of the fast-growing port city of Rio de Janeiro during the first half of the nineteenth century. The growing need to supply the harbour workers as well as the crews and captives on the slave ships stimulated the food economy in Rio de Janeiro. The absence of effective government food infrastructure offered opportunities for small businesses. The maritime world on a ship was, in many ways, male. However, there were a high number of female workers in the ports, especially in the informal food sector, frequently mentioned by contemporary authors. This article analyses the involvement of these women as part of a growing working class, who contributed to Rio de Janeiro's crucial role in global networks. The research also focuses on the formation of self-organized groups of female vendors. Thus, it provides further insights into strategies of local actors. By grouping together, the women gained some measure of protection, which empowered them to survive in a difficult and highly competitive market. Through their activities, they also changed the urban space of the port area, leaving their mark on it. They acted as crucial vectors for establishing different diaspora dishes, which met huge demand among many consumers. In doing so, they contributed to the formation of an African-American food culture on the streets of Rio de Janeiro.

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