The Development of Initiatives and Municipal Referendums in Germany

Direct democracy offers possibilities for citizens to influence political decisions especially at the local level. In Germany, the local political systems have been affected by the introduction of direct democratic tools such as citizen initiatives and local referendums since the Reunification. The state legislations defined new conditions for citizen initiatives and municipal referendums with a minimum number of valid signatures for initiatives and a minimum approval rate for referendums. The chapter evaluates the practice of local initiatives and municipal referendums in Germany and examines the routinization of these tools in local politics.

Using New Tools to Attract Visitors to Museums and Heritage Sites

This chapter discusses the ways in which museums and heritage sites have adapted to the need to create technology-based experiences in recent decades culminating in the intensive online provision during the COVID period. The aim of both online and live visits should be as inclusive as possible of different audiences, stimulating interesting, rich, multi-cultural experiences that encourage re-visitation or at least recommendation to others. Ideally, sites should create meaningful as well as memorable experiences. This process includes several aspects and is very complex requiring the combination and harmonisation of education, heritage interpretation, marketing skills, and local initiatives. This chapter uses case studies to analyse the extent to which museums are rising to these challenges above, including the principles of the so-called ‘new museology', the need for more innovative technology to create visitor experiences, and COVID-19.

Good Practices and Sustainable Tourism of Marginal Mountain Areas. The Case of Wine Cannonau in Mamoiada, Sardinia – Italy

Mountain regions have been modified by human activity for centuries, which lead to more or less of significant changes in their ecosystems and consequently in landscapes. Some of these changes have been generated by traditional farming practices, such as the viticulture, giving distinctive shapes and identities of the space. Even if in many areas, the farming traditions have been abandoned as the consequences of technological progress applied in agriculture, Sardinia is a good example of vineyards cultural heritage preservation. Thus, linking this cultural heritage to the wine tourism, and promoting good practices at local initiatives, Sardinia limited the depopulation of the mountain areas. A very successful example of the increasing of positive tourism impact on territory planning, over the past few years, is the municipality of Mamoiada, in central Sardinia. The paper highlights the role of the using of environmental, cultural and identity tourist resources of Sardinian territory as far as they are part of good practices and furthermore, they could be the basis of sustainable development strategy. Moreover, the aim of our work is to investigate how the cultural, identity, landscape and socio-economic impact on the wine sector plays an important role for the rural community of Mamoiada.

„Pejzaż górski nie odpowiadał mi malarsko”, Zakopiański epizod graficzny Jana Skotnickiego

Abstrakt: W artykule omówiona została graficzna twórczość młodopolskiego malarza Jana Skotnickiego, przypadająca na lata 1909–1914. W 1908 r. artysta wraz z żoną Teodorą z Trenklerów wyjechali z Krakowa do Zakopanego. Pobyt artysty zbiegł się w czasie z intensywnym rozwojem kulturalnym kurortu. W miejscowe inicjatywy Skotnicki angażował się osobiście, przy finansowym wsparciu swego teścia, łódzkiego przemysłowca i kolekcjonera, Henryka Grohmana. Jednocześnie tutejszy krajobraz i popularna w owym czasie góralska sztuka ludowa, zupełnie artysty nie inspirowały, przez co niemal zarzucił malarstwo, a zainteresował się grafiką i kilimiarstwem. Polem nowych zainteresowań stała się otwarta staraniem Grohmana eksperymentalna pracownia wyposażona m.in. w prasy drukarskie. W kolejnych latach Skotnicki prezentował swoje ryciny na licznych wystawach, także tych towarzyszących organizowanym konkursom graficznym (1911, 1914), a po wyjeździe do Warszawy (1912) przyłączył się do Towarzystwa Przyjaciół Sztuk Graficznych. Skotnicki uprawiał techniki metalowe, bardzo szybko osiągając w nich wysoki poziom zauważony przez krytyków. Łączył akwafortę, akwatintę, suchą igłę i ruletkę, eksperymentował z drukiem barwnym i kolorował odbitki, mocno indywidualizował prace podczas ich odbijania, stosując tintę. Jego dorobek graficzny oszacowany zastał na ponad 50 kompozycji, przy czym w kolekcjach publicznych znajduje się ich obecnie przynajmniej 36. Są to pejzaże, widoki miasteczek i architektury, akty, studia postaci i zwierząt, w wielu przypadkach wzorowane na własnych szkicach i obrazach. Tematycznie i kompozycyjnie wykazują one wiele podobieństw do prac twórców młodopolskich, zarówno z grona profesorów (J. Stanisławski), jak i rówieśników podejmujących próby graficzne (W. Skoczylas). W sposobie budowania kompozycji, kadrowania, asymetrii i fragmentaryczności przedstawień widoczne są wpływy sztuki japońskiej, stanowiącej ważne źródło inspiracji za sprawą kolekcji i działalności Feliksa „Mangghi” Jasieńskiego. Znacząca była również kolekcja Grohmana, za pośrednictwem której Skotnicki mógł poznać twórczość XIX-wiecznych odnowicieli sztuk graficznych, jak i artystów kolejnych pokoleń (J.M. Whistler, F. Rops, E. Carrière), co znalazło odbicie w jego rycinach. Nieco zapomniana działalność Skotnickiego wpisuje się w ogólniejszą tendencję: zainteresowania młodopolskich artystów sztukami graficznymi i zaangażowania na rzecz ich popularyzacji na przełomie XIX i XX w. Jest przykładem poszukiwania własnego języka wypowiedzi w nowym medium, samodzielnie podejmowanego eksperymentu. Choć Skotnicki nie był pionierem sztuk graficznych na ziemiach polskich, to z pewnością stał się ich propagatorem. Summary: The article discusses the graphic output of Jan Skotnicki, a painter of Young Poland, which he created in the years 1909–1914. In 1908, the artist and his wife, Teodora née Trenkler, left Cracow for Zakopane. The artist’s stay there coincided with the intensive cultural development of the resort. Skotnicki was personally involved in local initiatives, with the financial support of his father-in-law, an industrialist and art collector from Łódź, Henryk Grohman. However, the local landscape and the highland folk art popular at that time did not suit him at all. As a result, he nearly gave up painting and became interested in prints and kilims. An experimental studio, opened thanks to Grohman’s efforts, became Skotnicki’s new field of interests. It was equipped with, among other things, printing presses. In the following years, Skotnicki presented his prints at numerous exhibitions, including those accompanying print competitions (in 1911 and 1914), and after moving to Warsaw (in 1912), he joined the Society of Friends of Graphic Arts. Skotnicki used metal techniques and quickly achieved a master level, which was noticed by critics. He combined etching, aquatints, drypoints and roulette, experimented with colour printing and coloured prints. He strongly individualised his works while creating prints by using tint. His graphic output was estimated at more than 50 compositions, with at least 36 currently in public collections. They include landscapes, views of towns and architecture, nudes, studies of figures and animals, which in many cases were modelled on his own sketches and paintings. In terms of themes and composition, they show many similarities to the works of Young Poland artists from the group of professors (J. Stanisławski) as well as peers undertaking graphic attempts (W. Skoczylas). The way of building the composition, framing, asymmetry and fragmentation of the representations reveal the influence of Japanese art, which was an important source of inspiration thanks to the collection and activity of Feliks "Manggha" Jasieński. Grohman’s collection was also significant, as Skotnicki could learn from it about the works of 19th-century restorers of graphic arts, as well as about the artists of subsequent generations (J. M. Whistler, F. Rops, E. Carrière), which was reflected in his prints. The somewhat forgotten activity of Skotnicki was part of a more general trend: the interest of Young Poland artists in graphic arts and their involvement in their popularisation at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. His output is an example of searching for one’s own language of expression in a new medium, and an experiment he performed independently. Although Skotnicki was not a pioneer of graphic arts in Poland, he certainly became their promoter.

Challenges and Responses of Agri-Food Activities under COVID-19 Pandemic: The Case of the Spanish Territories Producing Wine and Olive Oil

The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected economic activities worldwide. The challenge for territories and companies has been how to cope with mobility restrictions. Even in the case of essential activities such as agri-food industries, the adaptation has been a challenging issue to deal with. The paper aims to show how the wine and olive oil industries in Spain have restructured their activities in order to respond to the confinement and the new normalcy, using new technologies as a strategic tool, but also making the most of new actions to keep their presence in the national and international markets. The research was carried out mostly through qualitative analysis, using the in-depth interview as a main tool to gain strategic information from managers of companies and local policymakers. Results show that when local policy makers and managers cooperate, despite the different perceptions they could have, the outcome is positive for facing competitive shocks and carving out new local initiatives, making firms and the territory itself more resilient.

Community Options to Fund Aging Services: A National Study to Track Local Initiatives

The majority of federal support for older people needing in-home services and supports comes from the Medicaid program. However, less than 10% of older people are eligible for Medicaid and to receive long-term services, a person must have a severe disability. Many older people with moderate levels of disability or those who are not impoverished are not eligible. In response to these system limitations, some counties across the nation have developed alternative funding strategies, such as property tax levies, to better serve older members of their communities. After identifying 15 states with such initiatives, a survey was distributed to 414 contacts within these states, with a response rate of 55%. Respondents included organizations such as area agencies on aging, councils on aging, and county departments on aging. Local funding varied within and across states, with annual funding ranging from $8,000-$47 million. Most commonly provided services with local funds include home-delivered (81%) and congregate (73%) meals, transportation (61%), and homemaker services (49%). A majority of programs (63%) indicated that local funds are used to provide at least one family or friend caregiver service. This study is the first compilation and description of locally-funded elder service initiatives in the U.S. Locally-funded initiatives can help older people with long-term services needs continue to live in their own homes and communities. On the other hand, some have raised questions about whether this is a good approach to funding aging services, raising concerns that this will lead to further inequities across states and communities.

Ecological performance of local initiatives on water resources management in Timorese communities, Indonesia

Indonesia is one of the countries under the threat of a water crisis. A total of 106 districts from 16 provinces, including East Nusa Tenggara, experienced drought and clean water crisis of 1.50 billion m3 year−1. This involves ecological characteristics accumulation of semiarid regions, degradation of forest resources, and increased critical land. Mitigation research on a watershed scale provides an understanding of the strong relationship between land degradation and water crisis. However, specific information on biophysical spring sources in semi-arid ecosystems is still very limited. This study aimed to obtain ecological performance based on rainfall, critical land, and land cover from a community-based water resource management model on the Timor island. This study was conducted through field observations at 63 units of water sources and structured interviews. The results showed that the characteristics vary from rainfall distribution, land cover, critical land, and utilization pressure. Furthermore, water source units have a limited carrying capacity of rainfall, the land conditions are generally critical, including the threat of land fires and community use of springs. Meanwhile, the variations of these characteristics determine the management interventions undertaken by the community. Therefore, through various management models of community-based water sources, local initiatives need to get support to preserve water sources for the people’s livelihood.

Sustainable City Forms

Twenty first century characterises with approach of sustainability in different scales of spatial planning. During the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 more and more attention has been paid on health and well-being of population. Remembering that two thirds of all European population live in cities the theme of sustainability of living environment became even more important following SDG 11 “Sustainable Cities and Communities”. People in the cities more often seek for possibility to spend time outdoors, preferably in nature. It has become the important issue not only for individuals but also for governors of local municipalities and big cities providing such opportunity for their inhabitants. In order to find the best possible solution for development of urban environment it is important to know what are the choices available and best practise realized in spatial planning sustainability context. During the last five decades and even earlier different researchers and city planners have been defining possible city forms to ensure sustainability and well-being of todays and next generations. The purpose of research paper is to show the variety of sustainable city forms outlined in research papers and formed by collaboration of progressive cities. To strengthen the importance of new approaches in city planning, there are examples of the best practise of some European counties following SDGs in spatial planning of their territories showed. The analysis of situation in different countries clarifies that development of green infrastructure, use of local resources and support of local initiatives are the best approaches for any place to reach the sustainability because fulfilling the needs of local inhabitants for qualitative outdoors results in better life not only for locals, it plays also important role for forming good image of municipality and country increasing sense of proud of such place. City municipalities need to put more effort for developing sustainable communities providing healthy and attractive living environment for local and even new inhabitants in place where living, work and recreation are in balance with nature.