Patricia Roberts Harris, Former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

General note: Title and date provided by Bettye Lane.

The Distributional Effect of Events on Rural and Urban Households in China

International tourism is considered an effective means of economic development. However, the effects of tourism are not evenly distributed between rural and urban households in China. In the wake of significant socioeconomic events, the uneven distribution of the economic effects has huge welfare implications for Chinese households. This study is the first attempt to evaluate the distributional effect of two large, recent, sequential events on China's rural and urban households. It adopts an innovative approach that combines an econometric model and a two-household computable general equilibrium model. The results show that in terms of welfare, urban households were more adversely affected by the events than rural households. To mitigate the loss of welfare, measures should be taken to continually promote China as a destination and attract tourists after such events occur. Meanwhile, training and education should be made more accessible to rural households to increase their job opportunities.

Integrated Optimal Power Flow for Distribution Networks in Local and Urban Scales

This paper develops an integrated optimal power flow (OPF) tool for distribution networks in two spatial scales. In the local scale, the distribution network, the natural gas network, and the heat system are coordinated as a microgrid. In the urban scale, the impact of natural gas network is considered as constraints for the distribution network operation. The proposed approach incorporates unbalance three-phase electrical systems, natural gas systems, and combined cooling, heating, and power systems. The interactions among the above three energy systems are described by energy hub model combined with components capacity constraints. In order to efficiently accommodate the nonlinear constraint optimization problem, particle swarm optimization algorithm is employed to set the control variables in the OPF problem. Numerical studies indicate that by using the OPF method, the distribution network can be economically operated. Also, the tie-line power can be effectively managed.

Resilience and Urban Risk Management

International audience

Designing Happiness: Architecture and urban design for joy and well-being

Scientific studies exploring the environmental and experiential elements that help boost human happiness have become a significant and expanding body of work. Some urban designers, architects and planners are looking to apply this knowledge through policy decisions and design, but there is a great deal of room for further study and exploration. This paper looks at definitions of happiness and happiness measurements used in research. The paper goes on to introduce six environmental factors identified in a literature review that have design implications relating to happiness: Nature, Light, Surprise, Access, Identity, and Sociality. Architectural precedents are examined and design strategies are proposed for each factor, which are then applied to a test case site and building in Baltimore, Maryland. It is anticipated that these factors and strategies will be useful to architects, urban designers and planners as they endeavor to design positive user experiences and set city shaping policy.

Measuring the effectiveness of two public policies on the sectors of labor markets and urban infraestructure. Experimental and quasi-experimental evidence from developing countries

La tesis presenta evidencia rigurosa de la efectividad de las políticas públicas utilizando metodologías experimentales y cuasi-experimentales. La tesis comienza con una introducción completa y una revisión rigurosa de las metodologías que se utilizarán en el análisis posterior de los datos. El primer capítulo, "Habilidades personales y habilidades técnicas en programas de formación de jóvenes. Evidencia Experimental de Largo Plazo de República Dominicana ", evalúa el impacto de un programa de empleo de los jóvenes en una serie de variables de interés. El programa ofrece capacitación en las habilidades vocacionales y en las habilidades no cognitivas a jóvenes en riesgo de exclusión social. Cabe destacar que la metodología utilizada para evaluar el programa es un ensayo controlado aleatorio, que proporciona evidencia robusta del efecto causal del programa. Mientras que estudios previos analizaron el impacto de los programas para jóvenes relacionados, ningún estudio anterior había evaluado los efectos de 4 años después de la implementación del programa. Esto representa una contribución importante debido a que las ganancias a corto plazo de varios programas de desarrollo han demostrado no ser sostenida en el tiempo. Esto es también lo que este estudio encuentra para los resultados del mercado de trabajo: mientras que el programa genera una mejora a corto plazo de los resultados de empleo para las mujeres, este efecto se disipa en el largo plazo. Sin embargo, el programa parece conducir a cambios persistentes en las expectativas del mercado de trabajo de las mujeres: las mujeres que asistieron al entrenamiento de informar una visión más optimista de las perspectivas del mercado de trabajo hasta 4 años después del programa...

Territorial development, planning reform and urban governance: the case of Ireland's second-tier cities

The increased emphasis within Europe on the role of second-tier cities has implications for the ways in which these urban centres are considered within national spatial planning strategies. In centralised, monocentric states like Ireland, there has been a general ambivalence towards urban policy for cities outside the capital city, and historically this has prevented the development of a strong, diversified urban hierarchy undermining prospects for balanced regional development. This paper examines the extent to which a new found emphasis on Ireland’s second-tier cities which emerged in the ‘Gateways’ policy of the National Spatial Strategy (NSS, 2002) was matched by subsequent political and administrative commitment to facilitate the development of these urban centres. Following a discussion of the position of second-tier cities in an international context and a brief overview of recent demographic and economic trends, the paper assesses the relative performance of Ireland’s second-tier cities in influencing development trends, highlighting a comprehensive failure to deliver compact urban growth. In this context, the paper then discusses the implications of current development plans for the second-tier cities and proposals for Irish local government reform for securing compact urban development.

Rearrangement of the urban space in the sector of Saint Victorino and Saint Ines (Bogota) in relation with the dynamics of informality and marginality (1948-2010)

The present article analyze the urban transformations happened in the sector of Saint Victorino and Saint Ines in the city of Bogota D.C. between 1948 and 2010, making use of the "Genealogical Methodology" during the process of inquiry that allow to contrast the visions that are usually accepted of "progress" and "urban renovation" in the urban market context by the existence of a informal economic and a population in conditions of marginality that configures a good part of the "popular urban culture" of the Bogota in the 20th and 21st century. This vision permit to observe from various perspectives the changes that happened in this sector of the city, the impacts of the history facts occurred en this time period and, in special, the real effects of a rearrangement urban process that began in 1998 and has been prolonged to date, which has left a significant mark about the urban and social physiognomy of the place.

Democracy on the edge: limits and possibilities for the implementation of an urban reform agenda in Brazil

In Brazil the 1990s constituted years of institutional achievements in the fields of housing and urban rights, given the incorporation of the principles of the social function of cities and property, the recognition of tenure rights for slum dwellers and the direct participation of citizens in the decision making process of urban policies, within the 1988 Constitution. These proposals have become the pillars of the Urban Reform agenda which has penetrated the federal government apparatus since the creation of the Ministry of Cities under Lula's administration. The article evaluates the limits and possibilities for the implementation of this agenda through the analysis of two policies proposed by the Ministry: the National Council of Cities and the campaign for Participatory Master Plans. The approach is based on the organization of the Brazilian State in terms of urban development, the relationship with the political system and the characteristics of Brazilian democracy.

Democracy on the Edge: Limits and Possibilities in the Implementation of an Urban Reform Agenda in Brazil

The 1990s in Brazil were a time of institutional advances in the areas of housing and urban rights following the signing of the new constitution in 1988 that incorporated the principles of the social function of cities and property, recognition of the right to ownership of informal urban squatters and the direct participation of citizens in urban policy decision processes. These propositions are the pillars of the urban reform agenda which, since the creation of the Ministry of Cities by the Lula government, has come under the federal executive branch. This article evaluates the limitations and opportunities involved in implementing this agenda on the basis of two policies proposed by the ministry - the National Cities Council and the campaign for Participatory Master Plans - focusing the analysis on government organization in the area of urban development in its relationship with the political system and the characteristics of Brazilian democracy. Resume Au Bresil, les annees 1990 ont ete marquees par des progres institutionnels en matiere de logement et de droits urbains, dans le sillage de la Constitution de 1988 qui integre les principes d`une fonction sociale de la ville et de la propriete urbaine, ainsi que la reconnaissance du droit a la propriete pour les squatters urbains et la participation directe des citoyens aux processus d`elaboration des politiques urbaines. Ce sont egalement les piliers du programme de reforme urbaine qui releve de l`executif federal depuis la creation d`un ministere des Villes par le gouvernement Lula. Pour evaluer les limites et potentiels lies a la mise en place de ce programme, cet article s`appuie sur deux politiques publiques proposees par le ministere, le Conseil national des villes et la campagne en faveur des Plans directeurs participatifs, en analysant plus particulierement l`organisation gouvernementale en matiere d`urbanisme par rapport au systeme politique et aux caracteristiques de la democratie bresilienne.

Urban and rural suicide differentials in migrants and the Australian-born, New South Wales, Australia 1985-1994

We estimated risk of suicide in adults in New South Wales (NSW) by sex, country of birth and rural/urban residence, after adjusting for age; we also examined youth suicide (age 15-24 years). The study population was the entire population of NSW, Australia, aged greater than or equal to 15 years during the period 1985-1994. Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between predictor variables and the risk of suicide, with the focus on migrant status and area of residence. A significantly higher risk of suicide was found in male migrants from Northern Europe and Eastern Europe/former USSR, compared to Australian-born males; a significantly lower suicide risk occurred in males from Southern Europe, the Middle East and Asia. In female migrants, those from UK/Eire, Northern Europe, Eastern Europe/former USSR and New Zealand exhibited a significantly higher risk of suicide compared to Australian-born females. A significantly lower risk of suicide occurred in females from the Middle East. Male migrants overall were at significantly lower risk of suicide than the Australian-born, while female migrants overall had a significantly higher risk of suicide than Australian-born females. Among migrant males overall, the rural-urban suicide risk differential was significantly higher for those living in non-metropolitan areas (RR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.7-2.1). Suicide risk was significantly higher in non-metropolitan male immigrants from the UK/Eire (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.1-1.7), Southern Europe (RR = 1.7; 95% CI: 1.2-2.4), Northern/Western Europe (1.5; 95% CI: 1.2-1.9), the Middle East (RR = 3.8; 95% CI: 1.9-7.8), New :Zealand (RR = 1.4; 95% CI: 1.0-1.8) and 'other' (RR = 2.6; 95% CI: 1.9-3.5), when compared to their urban counterparts. There was no statistically significant difference in suicide risk between rural and urban Australian-born males. For female suicide, significantly lower risk was found in female immigrants living in non-metropolitan areas who were from Northern/Western Europe (RR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.4-0.96), as well as the Australian-born (RR = 0.7; 95% CI: 0.6-0.8), when compared to their urban counterparts. The non-metropolitan/metropolitan relative risk for suicide in female migrants overall was not significantly different from one. Among male youth there was a significantly higher suicide risk in non-metropolitan areas, with a relative risk estimate of 1.4 for Australian-born youth (95% CI: 1.2-1.5) and 1.7 for migrant youth (95% CI: 1.2-2.4), when compared with metropolitan counterparts. We conclude that suicide among migrant males living in non-metropolitan areas accounts for most of the excess of male suicide in rural NSW, and the significantly lower risk of suicide for non-metropolitan Australian-born women does not apply to migrant women. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Demographic profile and health conditions of the elderly in a community in an urban area of Southeastern Brazil

Some specific characteristics of the aging of the Brazilian population in different areas, states and communities all over the country, have shown significant variations. Historical series of demographic and health indicators for the population in their sixties and over in Brazil, state of S. Paulo and in the municipal district of Araraquara are listed as follows: level of education and urban population growth rate, income distribution, mortality rates and main causes of death. In 1991 the aged constituled were 7,8% of the Brazilian population and 9,7% in Araraquara community. The elderly population (of 70 years of aged and above) as a proportion of the whole, has increased and already stands for 40%. The same trend holds good for both the proportion of aged within the urban population and their level of education wich increased to 90% in 1991. The main causes of death are chronic degenerative diseases which have replaced the infectious illness: firts, the diseases of the circulatory sistem (which account for more than 40% of all deaths) and the neoplasms (which let to 15% of the deaths). On the basis of these health and demographic data relating to people of 60 years of age and over, this study suggests some procedures for the improvement of the quality of the assistance given to the target population: a) the assistance give to the aged should be improved by providing gerontological training for general physicians and nurses, both of public and private clinics; b) the already exixting educational activities for the aged, for health workers and for teachers of secundary education should be further developed; c) the number of day-hospitals should be increased for the purpose of avoiding unnecessary confinement so as maintain the low rate of institutionalization in homes for the elderly (0,7% in Araraquara). It is reported that at least 35% of the aged population in this area is entitled to private health assistance, wich brings out the importance of including such services in the local health programs for this group.

Urban change monitoring using GIS and remote sensing tools in Kathmandu valley (Nepal)

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies