This study examines a case of urban renewal in Shibuya, one of Tokyo’s most prominent downtown areas, featuring Miyashita Park, a dilapidated 10,000‐square‐meter park that transformed into a modern commercial complex consisting of a multistory commercial building with a roof park and an 18‐story hotel. Shibuya Ward, the park’s administrator, selected private companies—initially Nike Japan and subsequently Mitsui Fudosan—as the redevelopment agency to install and operate park facilities—a public–private partnership that went beyond the conventional park concept by building sophisticated commercial facilities. This redevelopment, which began at the end of the 2000s, was met with fierce opposition. To investigate these dynamics, the article draws on qualitative content analysis of Shibuya Ward Assembly minutes (2008–2020), obtained from the official digital archive, alongside media coverage. By systematically reviewing committee and plenary debates where key policy decisions were made, the study traces how the project was planned, debated, and implemented. The findings show that despite legal ambiguities and strong criticism, the ward advanced the project by framing the park as an unprofitable facility requiring private‐sector expertise, redefining regulatory boundaries, and limiting resident participation to a formal procedure. This process illuminates how public–private‐partnership‐led redevelopment, embedded in Japan’s broader neoliberal urbanism, can proceed through strong political conviction at the local level amid opposition and limited transparency. The study contributes to international debates on urban public space, highlighting how local governments act not only as regulators but also as active promoters of privatization and the erosion of urban commons.
فضاهای عمومی نقش بسزایی در حیات شهرها داشته و در دستیابی شهرها به کیفیت زیست مناسب و توسعۀ اقتصادی، اجتماعی و فرهنگی مؤثرند. برنامهریزی فضاهای عمومی در زمینۀ سیاسی، اقتصادی و اجتماعی فرهنگی و باتوجه به سنت برنامهریزی متفاوت است. چگونگی تاثیر سنتهای برنامهریزی بر فضاهای عمومی، سوال پژوهش است که درک آن از حلقۀ اتصال دو مفهوم فوق میسر است. "منافع عمومی" که مورد توجه همۀ سنتهای برنامهریزی بوده و با موضوع فضای عمومی همپوشانی دارد، نقطۀ اتصال دو مفهوم فوق است. پژوهش با تحلیلی نظری به معیارهای فضای عمومی و مطالعۀ سنتهای برنامهریزی پرداخته و با استفاده از ماتریسی تقاطعی، سنتهای برنامهریزی را در ارتباط با فضای عمومی مقایسه می کند. این معیارها عبارتند از نقش دولت، عرصۀ عمومی، پویایی، تکثر، اهداف اجتماعی و مشارکت. تفاوتها، ظرفیتها و محدودیتهای سنتهای برنامهریزی، بکارگیری رویکردهای متفاوتی را (عدم کفایت هیچکدام از رویکردها بهتنهایی) برای رسیدن به اهداف اجتماعی میطلبد که با توجه به شرایط و زمینۀ ساختاری تعیین میشود. فضای عمومی با داشتن ویژگیهای چندوجهی، بستر تعاملات اجتماعی و تنوع و تکثر منافع، ارتباط بیشتری با سنتهای برنامهریزی مشارکتی دارد که به اهداف غیرکالبدی و اجتماعی میپردازند. سنت های برنامه ریزی با رویکردهای مشارکتی به گروههای متنوع و اهداف متکثر توجه داشته و شیوههای ارتباطی و مشارکتی را در فرایندهای برنامهریزی بهکار میگیرند. برنامه ریزی شهری در ایران نیازمند تغییر رویکرد به روش های مشارکتی است که در آنها تنوع و پویایی زندگی شهری در فضای عمومی مورد تاکید است.
Understanding who wields power in local resource distribution is important because it can explain what types of policies are prioritized and who benefits from these policy choices. We analyze the decision-making processes of community redevelopment agencies (CRAs), which are special purpose districts created by local governments for economic and community development. We explore who sets their investment agenda, what factors explain their influence, and what policies are prioritized as a result. We deploy institutionalist theories of urban politics and governance to analyze CRAs in Florida's four largest cities: Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, and Tampa. We find that formal electoral institutions, geographies of CRA districts, and participatory governance institutions partially explain the distribution of power. Informal institutions mediated their effects by altering whose voices are considered and served as a check against the concentration and potential abuse of power. We conclude by identifying the institutional conditions that could foster more redistributive policies.
Barriers to rental housing (RH) pose significant challenges to urban development in India. This study examines critical success barriers (CSBs) to implementing RH policies, offering novel insights into this underexplored area. Despite rising demand for RH, significant obstacles hinder effective policy execution. Through expert surveys with 36 respondents and RIDIT analysis, the research identifies and prioritizes 16 CSBs, categorized into Regulatory and Institutional, Economic and Market, and Infrastructure and Development groups. Key findings reveal that the most critical barriers are inflexible rental agreements, negative social attitudes, and the absence of government incentives. These interdependent barriers impact the feasibility, attractiveness, and sustainability of RH projects. Inflexible agreements limit participation, negative social attitudes hinder inclusive development, and lack of incentives reduces private investment. The study recommends revising rental agreements, providing substantial incentives to private investors, and promoting high-density development through modified zoning regulations. Emphasizing multi-level governance, stakeholder engagement, and regular policy evaluations is crucial for effective implementation. Addressing these barriers can enhance the RH sector's sustainability and scalability. This research contributes to the existing literature by providing a quantitative framework for identifying and prioritizing CSBs in the RH, offering valuable insights for policymakers, developers, and stakeholders in urban housing.
Aulina Adamy, Meillyta Meillyta, Lisa Maharani
et al.
Among all of the Indonesian islands, Java poses the highest risk for all types of disasters, making it a significant threat to low-cost houses due to its high population vulnerability. The objective is to enhance comprehension of it by conducting a building typology analysis concerning various natural hazards/ risks. The methodology consists of 10 sample houses field observation, AutoCAD drawing, literature analysis, and built environment expert interviews. The results developed four categories of houses emphasising brick or timber walls with a combination of clay tile or zinc roofs. Related to disaster vulnerability, an improper building structure is the main problem. Smooth roof material is significant in a volcano eruption, a complete interconnection of structure is a must for the tornado, light materials are preferable in an earthquake zone, natural material is not recommended for high risk of forest fire, and elevating floor is mandatory in flooding. Focus on designing the four categories’ houses and quality control of the construction process are two strategies recommended. Also, a minimum of two types of disasters in the area should be considered in the design. Resilient low-cost houses will have an impact on reducing casualties, environmental damage, and economic losses. Covering more samples and areas in Java in future studies will provide a comprehensive understanding of low-cost houses.
The shopping mall has emerged as an important component of many cities. While the rapid development of malls and the increasing patronage show their viability and acceptance by the populace, respectively, there is a dearth of studies that examine the impact of its physical and behavioural attributes on attachment. This study examines the effect of physical characteristics, activities, and socioeconomic characteristics on place attachment to the first standalone mall in Ibadan, Nigeria. From a sampling frame of 7, 115 shoppers, quantitative data was obtained from 350 respondents using systematic sampling on April 29, 2017, through a structured questionnaire. The data was analysed using mean, factor analysis, cross-tabulation, correlation, and categorical regression. The findings show that the most prevalent activities are meeting others (α = 0.77); leisure (α = 0.75); and, parties and hanging out (α = 0.70). The important physical attributes are circulation, wayfinding, and aesthetics (α = 0.87); access to mechanical conveyors, mall decoration, and quality materials (α = 0.80); and, ambience (α =0.79). However, the regression results show that the most important factors of attachment are access to mechanical conveyors, mall decoration, and quality materials (β = 0.334); leisure (β = 0.279); purchasing activities (β = 0.236); and, meeting others (β = 0.165). Hence, these factors should be considered in creating new malls in the city. In the context of urbanism, this is key to the social and economic revitalization of cities.
Mohadeseh Yousefpour, Mahmoud Jomehpour, Ali Khaksari Rafsanjani
The policy of developing new cities has been adopted in response to the ever-increasing rise in population and its excessive concentration in metropolises. However, a lack of consideration for immigrants' culture and identity has given rise to issues in social sustainability. Moreover, the failure to address population forecasting and incorporate economic planning has disrupted the self-reliance of immigrants in the new city of Pardis. This research aims to investigate the phenomenon of identity dispersion in Pardis and explore approaches to cultivating an independent identity. The qualitative strategy employed in this applied descriptive-analytical study involves content analysis. The target community comprises two groups: the citizens and the urban management staff. Theoretical saturation was reached after conducting interviews with 38 individuals from these groups. Data were collected through targeted, semi-structured interviews, observations, and analysis of urban documents. MAX QDA software was utilized for data analysis. Following coding, ten minor categories and two major categories were identified. The major categories include immigration and the distinctive image of the city, which were found to be distinct entities. The findings of the study reveal that the urban management staffs perceive the enhancement of the city's independent identity to be influenced by the dynamic interaction between the northern and southern parts of Pardis, as well as the establishment of a technopark. On the other hand, residents primarily viewed the employment opportunities provided by the technopark as the most effective means of fostering an independent identity. They also emphasized the importance of leveraging shared ethnic characteristics in defining attractive activities for the community. Overall, this research sheds light on the complexities of identity formation in new cities and proposes potential strategies for cultivating a distinctive identity in Pardis.
There is a noticeable dearth of empirical studies on the mediating role of travel behaviour on the influence of residential density on traffic congestion in developing countries, particularly in Zimbabwe. To address this gap, this study examined the effect of residential density on traffic congestion and delved into the potential mediating role of travel behaviour in this relationship. This study used data from a sample of 384 households in the Harare metropolitan province of Zimbabwe. Structural equation modelling was used to test the research hypotheses. The findings indicate that residential density and travel behaviour have a positive effect on traffic congestion. The results also established that travel behaviour partially mediates the relationship between residential density and traffic congestion. This study adds to the existing body of knowledge by providing an array of indicators that can inform policymakers in transportation and urban planning to alleviate traffic congestion.
Urban brownfield sites are abandoned industrial land and their redevelopment may be affected by environmental pollution, as the latter may pose health risks for residents. In this study, six heavy metals (Pb, As, Cr, Zn, Ni, and Cu) were examined from 87 soil samples extracted from four land use types (industrial area, residential/commercial area, traffic area, and agricultural area) in the Mianyang thermal power plant area, Sichuan Province, China. The soil contamination and environmental risk were evaluated using the single factor index, geo-accumulation index and Human Health Risk Evaluation. ArcGIS was used to map out the spatial distribution of heavy metal concentrations and environmental risk. The results of these analyses have indicated that different land use types have significant effects on the heavy metal contamination of soil. There are 10 non-carcinogenic risk areas of heavy metals in industrial land, while in the other three types there are 9 non-carcinogenic risk areas of heavy metals. Under the brownfield renewal planning, the present study scheme provides an effective method of discernment for ecological remediation of soil heavy metals. In addition, it can aid brownfield in finding different remediation strategies with economic benefits for different risk levels of human health.
A revolutionary book by De Soto to formalize land tenure by changing “dead capital” to “life capital” has become the trademark in Egypt of issuing a temporary reconciliation law of 2019 and its amendment to approve a legal certificate to the violators against a certain fee. The question is does this law legalize informal housing? Is it enough to introduce a legal certificate to secure land tenure for the violators? How would this law apply on the ground? Depending on the deductive methodology, this paper traces sociotechnical transitions concerning legalizing the status quo of building/land, tenure security, real-estate markets (formal/informal) caused by laws on buildings violations reconciliation. The idea is to take a step back and look at a wide-angle of the problem in the future to arrive at a clear picture of the influences of the introduction of a new law on the land market, before making a decision. The paper assumes that the temporary reconciliation law in Egypt is opening the debate on the alteration of land management to govern the status quo of the chaos of the right to land. It concludes this temporary reconciliation law has created a state of decayed/wealth, social inclusion/exclusion of the bottom of the social pyramid nevertheless to whom the justification is affected.
C. Birdsall, Anastasiya Halauniova, Linda van de Kamp
Introduction to Sensing Urban Values. This special issue assembles a set of papers that respond to a neglected, undertheorized yet crucial question relating to spatial politics and urban renewal: How do economic and non-economic values depend on and co-constitute each other in different urban contexts? In response, the contributors to this special issue build on recent critical reassessments of value; they explore how the spatial and cultural politics of value unfolds in contemporary urban environments globally. They examine cases that traverse Poland, South Africa, Malaysia, Germany, and The Netherlands. The papers demonstrate a theoretical and empirically engaged concern with themes such as the cultural dimensions of place-making processes in contemporary cities; how identity, memory, heritage, and value-making processes may matter for the production of urban spaces today through sensing; aesthetic reorganizations of places, movements, and interactions with urban matters; and through storytelling. Taking up the theme of urban valuation with a multisensory approach has prompted the contributors to explore the multiple and translocal ways through which urban valuations unfold, are performed, and are experienced. This approach reveals the multiple valuations of spaces—not only economic but also symbolic—that inform the struggles for social and spatial justice in cities across the world as well as their scholarly examinations.
Camila de Almeida Teixeira, Fátima Priscila Morela Edra
Este artigo buscou analisar quais os métodos científicos e os assuntos e temas mais utilizados por pesquisadores em pesquisas sobre o turismo de bicicleta. Para alcançar o objetivo deste trabalho, primeiramente, realizou-se pesquisa em três plataformas de busca, utilizando as palavras-chave cycle tourism, bicycle tourism, bike lane, turismo de bicicleta. Em uma segunda etapa desta seleção foram descartados os artigos que não apresentavam relação com a infraestrutura cicloviária ou relação ao uso da bicicleta como atividade turística. E, no terceiro momento, os artigos foram analisados em relação a sua metodologia. O resultado deste levantamento foi sendo apresentado juntamente com o referencial teórico, seção em que foi explicado de maneira sucinta os tipos de coleta de dados e os tipos de análise de dados utilizados nos artigos selecionados. Posteriormente, pode-se fazer uma reflexão sobre as metodologias encontradas neste lavamento a respeito do turismo de bicicleta e da infraestrutura cicloviária. Esta análise mostrou a existência de diversas metodologias que podem ser utilizadas de diferentes perspectivas sobre um determinado assunto.
In recent years, the Nepal government has recognized and prioritized several clean energy initiatives in its national plans and policies. Despite this, more than two-thirds of households still rely on traditional biomass, as their primary source of energy, for cooking and heating, making the household fuelwood consumption per person in Nepal among the highest in the world. However, why households’ transitions to clean energy for cooking is slow has been poorly understood. Using energy-specific information from the World Bank’s Multi-Tier Framework (MTF) survey and the Nepal government’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), the cooking and heating energy consumption situation of households across the provinces by rural and urban areas is analyzed briefly. Also, a simple levelized cost of cooking is estimated using different fuel-technology combinations. The main findings of this paper are: limited availability, unreliable supply and high costs are hindering households’ transitions to clean energy from traditional biomass; the combination of fuelwood, liquified petroleum gas and other clean energy sources (multiple fuel stacking) are common within the same household; and, the use of biogas, and to some extent, solar power, for cooking is limited to scale and geographical location. It is expected that electricity will be the most economic and common primary clean cooking energy option for households in the future provided that the government has the policy to address the reliability concerns of electricity and that it is affordable for lowincome households.
Abstract This paper seeks to gain a clearer understanding of Hong Kong's state-led urban renewal, its justification and value effects, with a concentrate on the redevelopment of occupied dwellings into new residences. This study revisits the establishment of the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) and analyzes key differences in how this agency differs from its predecessor. The theoretical analysis shows that the problem of multi-ownership has played a key role in fostering the pattern of urban renewal in Hong Kong. Given this we propose that the political power of resumption (i.e., taking or eminent domain) critically shapes the URA's low-cost advantage in land assembly and forms the basis that carves a niche for state-led redevelopment. This proposition is tested by estimating externalities of transforming Tong Lau—Hong Kong's unique type of historical strata titled housing—to residences fitting to the modern building structure using difference-in-differences techniques. Findings reveal significant and prolonged effects of urban renewal projects on nearby housing prices. This paper implores researchers and policy-makers to pay attention to residential renewal and questions about why a redevelopment project should be led by the public sector.
As human populations move into cities they are increasingly isolated from the natural world, with associated negative impacts on health and well-being. However, as cities renew themselves through urban redevelopment and climate-adaptation, opportunities arise to improve people’s access to urban green areas that can be informed by modeling the network of urban open spaces. Recent research identified the need for multi-criteria indices of access to urban green spaces. Including open spaces such as empty lots, ground- and air-spaces surrounding buildings, and spaces associated with roads and other linear features can improve planning for urban greenspaces by identifying areas of opportunity for additional greening. Further, the gradient of interconnections among open spaces can be used to prioritize urban greening locations to build green networks. We modelled all open-space connections across 605 km2 in Seoul, population 10.3 million, using Omniscape, a landscape connectivity model. We combined the resulting open-space connectivity map with distance-based indices for existing urban parks and street trees. Combining these criteria permits rank-prioritization of locations where new green spaces would most improve residents’ access. We found 2910 of 3375 (86.2%) locations where urban green spaces already exist within 300 m for city residents. Of the remaining 465 locations, 276 are in areas with the lowest-open space connections. For urban street trees, 44.3% of the 2588 km of the city’s major roads are already planted with street trees. Of the remainder, 210 km (8.1%) are located in the areas with the least connections to green spaces. Nine new urban parks would provide relief for the most highly-impacted areas, where the flow of open space is lowest and where no green spaces are available within 300 m. The integration of a spatial model typically used for conservation assessments with city planning provides useful additional context for building urban health.
Abstract Urban renewal has been an essential strategy for urban development in China. The decision to redevelop land in the process of urban renewal will help to optimize urban spatial layout, guide functional positioning, and improve the physical environment, to solve the urban land resource shortage problem and achieve sustainable development. This research aims to simulate the dynamic trend of land-use change by using the Cellular Automata (CA) model; with various complex settings, the actual urban renewal status, as well as three scenarios for future development, are simulated and analysed in the case study of Chongqing to assist and support stakeholders in making proper decisions for future urban planning. The study proposes a method to embed the rent gap theory, which states that when the value gap between the potential ground rent and actual ground rent is larger, the attractiveness of investing capital in land redevelopment is larger. In the process of CA simulation, the rent gap theory, as a transition rules of land-use change, can reflect the internal mechanism of urban development. When the location-based spatial characteristics are used, the macro-economic factors, such as GDP, interest rate and depreciation rates, can quantify the rent gap in the CA model. In addition, based on the background of China's "government-led" development, combined with the real situation, the endogenous and exogenous influencing factors of the policy are used as the quantitative factors of the rent gap theory and the second type of transition rule of land evolution, respectively, which can accurately reflect the urban development. The results show that the dynamics in the land redevelopment of Chongqing are well described by the model; additionally, the policy implications to manage the urban renewal are discussed in the research.
ABSTRACT With the population of Sydney expected to reach 7 million+ in the next 20 years, current strategic planning policy is firmly growth oriented in its aims, and growth dependent in its settings, with a key focus on promoting higher density redevelopment around rail stations through value uplift. Using the Sydenham-to-Bankstown Corridor as our case study, this paper engages with the contradictions underpinning current templates for market-driven urban renewal. Questioning models privileging a financialised, hypertrophic reconfiguration of existing neighbourhoods, we examine the business of densification and its spatial manifestation(s) to explore potential frameworks for greater inclusivity in both the process, and outcomes, of suburban growth. 摘要： 随着悉尼人口在未来20年内预计将达到700万以上，目前的战略规划政策的目标是坚定地以增长为导向，并在其环境中依赖增长，重点是通过价值提升促进火车站周围更高密度的再开发. 本文以西德纳姆-班克斯敦走廊为例，探讨了当前市场驱动的城市更新模式所存在的矛盾. 在质疑现有街区金融化、过度重组的模式时，我们研究了密集化的业务及其空间表现形式，以探索郊区发展过程和结果中更大包容性的潜在框架