How to govern the city? Polish debates about urban policy during the First World War

The subject of the article are Polish debates on urban policy during the First World War. This four-year period of time was, on the one hand, a huge economic and humanitarian crisis in the cities of the Kingdom of Poland. On the other hand, society achieved the possibility of self-organization through the organization of civic committees, but later also by taking part in municipal elections to councils established in the areas occupied by Central Powers and political campaigns in Warsaw or Łódź – two biggest and the most important cities in the Kingdom of Poland. Author analyzes the most representative aspects of an urban discourse from that period (including press and specialist literature published in Warsaw and Łódź), with particular emphasis on the issue of the dispute about the optimal shape of urban policy, scope of the self-government and the proper direction of urban development on the eve of Poland’s regaining independence and other Central and Eastern European countries. although the issue of municipal self-government appeared in almost every newspaper at that time, the new framework for city politics in Poland emerged in discussions between specialists and authors with the biggest knowledge and longtime experience in writing about this subject.

The Business of Improving Neighborhoods. A Critical Overview of Neighborhood-Based Business Improvement Districts (NBIDs) in Sweden

This article offers an overview of neighbourhood-based BIDs (NBIDs) in Sweden. Swedish NBIDs tend to appear in stigmatized residential areas engaging with pressing sets of urban issues that have been longstanding concern of social policy. Their overarching goal is raising property values in neighborhoods on the edge between urban decline and (re)development potential. Emerging in a neoliberalizing institutional context, NBIDs present themselves as correctives to public-policy failures by promoting property-oriented solutions. The adaptation of the BID model in the Swedish ‘post-welfare’ landscape, however, exhibits, and arguably exacerbates, the shortcomings found in BID elsewhere. Their opaque institutional structure and lack of accountability contribute to curbing democratic influence over local development, thus reinforcing spatial inequalities. We argue that the growing political advocacy for the institutionalization of the BID model in Sweden presents a new milestone in the neoliberalization of urban governance, as private actors are promoted to legitimate co-creators of urban policy.

São Paulo’s strategic master plan and the challenges of sustainable urban transformation

Cities play an essential role in the challenge of sustainability, and urban planning is one of the main tools for guiding urban transformation processes. This paper analyses the São Paulo Master Plan 2014, considering the principles and guidelines on compact cities, sustainable adaptation and ecosystem-based adaptation. An urban development model within sustainable parameters, however, involves conflict dynamics. In this sense, the views and demands of the main stakeholders seeking to influence the regulatory arena of São Paulo's urban policy are mapped. The analysis focuses on attempts to change the zoning law that would affect several of the definitions agreed in the Master Plan, prioritising mainly the interests of real estate developers.

City Branding: communication and marketing strategy for an island urban policy

Hoy en día, en la conocida “Sociedad de la Información”, nadie puede dudar de que el marketing y la comunicación dentro de una ciudad turística son cruciales para su existencia y desarrollo. Por ello, la investigación de la marca de la ciudad ha incrementado el interés en la literatura internacional durante los últimos años. El presente artículo se centra en la implementación de una estrategia competitiva de marca de lugar en el caso de Santa Cruz de Tenerife, una capital insular de tamaño medio para explorar el mecanismo central de este fenómeno, desde una perspectiva aplicada y como resultado de la experiencia adquirida en varios proyectos de transferencia de conocimiento liderados por los autores. Específicamente, el objetivo de esta investigación fue identificar y analizar las condiciones actuales que prevalecen en la capital de una isla periférica junto a las posibles colaboraciones entre los interesados. Una extensa investigación bibliográfica sobre el destino y la marca de la ciudad, así como estudios de casos exitosos de otras ciudades, llevaron a la formación del panel de discusión. También se lleva a cabo una investigación cualitativa, desarrollando entrevistas en profundidad con actores locales, líderes de opinión de la Administración pública y emprendedores del sector privado.

Romania’s urban policy in the context of COVID-19 pandemic time

Under the conditions of frequent changes, of some edifying transformations and perpetual challenges, urban policy undergoes changes/adjustments/updates over certain time intervals. These changes generate increasingly more complex requirements that impose drafting a flexible multidisciplinary framework able to support the future development of a territory. In full debate-process, the new urban policy of Romania promotes sustainability, resilience and inclusive growth, on the background of a critical period under the dominance of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic. This new policy brings around the discussion table experts from relevant fields: decision factors, urbanists, economists, architects, citizens, civic initiative groups, etc. The national urban policy must address all categories of urban areas (defined as a city area considered as the inner city plus built-up environs, irrespective of local body administrative boundaries), being fundamental in implementing the goals set by the New EU Urban Agenda, approved in the framework of the Habitat III conference of the United Nations (2016) and the new provisions of the New Leipzig Charter (2020). Urban policy must ensure a single planning framework that would support the implementation of the programs and projects financed from European and national funds, preparing thus the financial exercise 2021-2027. Considering the above mentioned, the present paper aims to review the important and strategic elements of the future urban policy from Romania and its role in promoting and supporting balanced territorial development under the conditions of the SARS-CoV2 pandemic crisis which is far from over.

The participatory process in the review of the Master Plan of Vitória (2014-2018)

The Federal Constitution of 1988 defined the Master Plan as a 'basic instrument' of urban development policy and subsequent legislation, which regulated the Urban Policy chapter (Estatuto da Cidade, Federal Law No. 10,257 / 2001), reinforced a set of participatory requirements in the availability and implementation of the corresponding policies. Based on this new institutional arrangement, this research paper analyzes a participatory structure in the process of reviewing the Master Plan for the municipality of Vitória, capital of Espírito Santo, in the period 2014-2018. The investigation took as an analytical parameter the participatory methodology proposed by the Ministry of Cities, whose distinguishing feature was the dissemination of democratic management instruments. The empirical analysis shows that several participatory mechanisms were implemented, such as public hearings of regional and social segments, thematic seminars, round tables, territorial assemblies, implementation of a collaborative website, involvement of the Municipal Council of the Urban Master Plan (CMPDU) and realization of the Municipal Conference on Urban Policy (Encontro da Cidade), in which the draft of the Master Plan bill was presented, discussed and voted on. Thus, the process incorporated the participatory methodology recommended by the Ministry of Cities and the corresponding legislation. The effectiveness of participation according to the guidelines of the City Statute is still an ongoing process, but the inclusion of democratic management mechanisms is a reality in Vitória, constituting an institutional advance.

Towards an Intersectional Perspective in Cycling

In recent years, concerns about climate change have elevated cycling on urban policy agendas worldwide. The rapid implementation of temporary cycling infrastructure in cities across the globe during the Covid-19 pandemic has further elevated the importance of cycling in facilitating a green and just recovery. However, if cycling is to be a key part of a green and just recovery for cities, then an intersectional perspective is needed to ensure that cycling can be an equitable and inclusive mode of transport. An intersectional perspective acknowledges that there are multiple systems of oppression, which interact in complex ways to compound inequalities and reinforce certain power dynamics. Structural and spatial inequalities contour urban mobility, as evidenced by well-documented gender, racial and socioeconomic disparities in cycling. This paper provides an overview of gender and other inequalities in urban cycling and makes the case for adopting an intersectional perspective to cycling policies and infrastructures, so that cycling in cities can be more diverse, equitable and inclusive.

Urban Policy And Heritage Planning: The Disproportionate Designation Of Heritage Conservation Districts (HCDs) In The City Of Toronto

<div>This Major Research Paper (MRP) examines the disproportionate designation of Heritage Conservation Districts (HCDs) within the City of Toronto, which are predominantly located in the City's downtown core, compared to the City's inner suburban areas. To illustrate the discrepancies in HCD designation, two potential HCDs in Scarborough, one of three inner suburbs in Toronto, are chronologically examined. Both Agincourt and Midland Park’s HCD represent the most recent examples of heritage designation in the inner suburb, which stands as the only area in the City that has zero HCDs. Before the case studies are discussed, the effects of Toronto's 1998 amalgamation, select timeframes of the City's planning history and recent changes to Provincial planning legislation that govern municipalities' heritage approach are examined. It is determined that a series of factors contribute to the disproportionate designation of HCDs in the City of Toronto. These factors include the incremental designation of heritage properties post amalgamation, the lengthy heritage designation process, the intergovernmental nature of municipal heritage policies, the lack of public education on the benefits of heritage and a complex HCD prioritization process all contribute to the disproportionate designation of HCD’s in the City of Toronto. Four key recommendations are offered to help resolve the heritage designation issue in the City of Toronto.</div><div><br></div><div>Keywords: Heritage Conservation Districts; Toronto; Urban Planning, Urban Policy, Heritage Urbanism.</div>