Integrating Land Use Planning and Transportation: Policy formulation in the Belfast Metropolitan Area

Much of the interest in sustainable cities relates to the inexorable rise in the demand for car travel and the contribution that certain urban forms and land-use relationships can make to reducing energy consumption. Indeed, this demand is fuelled more by increased spatial separation of homes and workplaces, shops and schools than by any rise in trip making. This paper evaluates recent efforts to integrate land-use planning and transportation policy in the Belfast Metropolitan Area by reviewing the policy formulation process at both a regional and city scale. The paper suggests that considerable progress has been made in integrating these two areas of public policy, both institutionally and conceptually. However, concerns are expressed that the rhetoric of sustainability may prove difficult to translate into implementation, leading to a further dislocation of land-use and transportation.

The Integrated Mass Transit Systems Program in Colombia: an Example of Recentralization of the Cities´ Management?

The Integrated Mass Transit Systems are an initiative of the Colombian Government to replicate the experience of Bogota’s Bus Rapid Transit System —Transmilenio— in large urban areas of the country, most of them over municipal perimeters to provide transportation services to areas undergoing a metropolization process. Management of these large scale metropolitan infrastructure projects involves complex setups that present new challenges in the interaction between stakeholders and interests between municipalities, tiers of government and public and private sectors. This article presents a compilation of the management process of these projects from the national context, based on a document review of the regulatory framework, complemented by interviews with key stakeholders at the national level. Research suggests that the implementation of large-scale metropolitan projects requires a management framework orientated to overcome the traditional tensions between centralism and municipal autonomy.

Community mix, affordable housing and metropolitan planning strategy in Melbourne

Income segregation across Melbourne’s residential communities is widening, and at a pace faster than in some other Australian cities. The widening gap between Melbourne’s rich and poor communities raises fears about concentrations of poverty and social exclusion, particularly if the geography of these communities is such that they and their residents are increasingly isolated from urban services and employment centres. Social exclusion in our metropolitan areas and the government responses to it are commonly thought to be the proper domain of social and economic policy. The role of urban planning is typically neglected, yet it helps shape the economic opportunities available to communities in its attempts to influence the geographical location of urban services, infrastructure and jobs. Under the current metropolitan strategy ‘Melbourne 2030’ urban services and transport infrastructure are to be concentrated within Principal Activity Centres spread throughout the metropolitan area and it is the intention that lower-income households should have ready access to these activity centres. However, the Victorian state government has few housing policy instruments to achieve this goal and there are fears that community mix may suffer as house prices and rents are bid up in the vicinity of Principal Activity Centres, and lower-income households are displaced. But are these fears justified by the changing geography of house prices in the metropolitan region? This is the key research question addressed in this paper which examines whether the Victorian practice of placing reliance on the market to deliver affordable housing, while intervening to promote a more compact pattern of urban settlement, is effective.

Synchronisation and commonalities in metropolitan housing market cycles

This paper examines the degree of commonalities present in the cyclical behavior of the eight largest metropolitan housing markets in Australia. Using two techniques originally in the business cycle literature we consider the degree of synchronization present and secondly decompose the series’ into their permanent and cyclical components. Both empirical approaches reveal similar results. Sydney and Melbourne are closely related to each other and are relatively segmented from the smaller metropolitan areas. In contrast, there is substantial evidence of commonalities in the cyclical behavior of the remaining cities, especially those on the Eastern and Southern coasts of Australia.

Synchronisation and commonalities in metropolitan housing market cycles

This paper examines the degree of commonalities present in the cyclical behavior of the eight largest metropolitan housing markets in Australia. Using two techniques originally in the business cycle literature we consider the degree of synchronization present and secondly decompose the series’ into their permanent and cyclical components. Both empirical approaches reveal similar results. Sydney and Melbourne are closely related to each other and are relatively segmented from the smaller metropolitan areas. In contrast, there is substantial evidence of commonalities in the cyclical behavior of the remaining cities, especially those on the Eastern and Southern coasts of Australia.

METROPOLITAN AND INDUSTRIAL BIRD PROBLEMS: Panel Discussion

As a pest control industry, we are interested in bird control, especially in areas of residence, commercial buildings, food plants, mills and elevators, commercial feed lots, farms, and even area wide controls in some of our cities. We run into all kinds of problems; I suppose you men do, too.

Urban air pollution: a representative survey of PM2.5 mass concentrations in six Brazilian cities

In urban areas of Brazil, vehicle emissions are the principal source of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The World Health Organization air quality guidelines state that the annual mean concentration of PM2.5 should be below 10 mu g m(-3). In a collaboration of Brazilian institutions, coordinated by the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine and conducted from June 2007 to August 2008, PM2.5 mass was monitored at sites with high traffic volumes in six Brazilian state capitals. We employed gravimetry to determine PM2.5 mass concentrations, reflectance to quantify black carbon concentrations, X-ray fluorescence to characterize elemental composition, and ion chromatography to determine the composition and concentrations of anions and cations. Mean PM2.5 concentrations and proportions of black carbon (BC) in the cities of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Recife, and Porto Alegre were 28.1 +/- 13.6 mu g m(-3) (38% BC), 17.2 +/- 11.2 mu g m(-3) (20% BC), 14.7 +/- 7.7 mu g m(-3) (31% BC), 14.4 +/- 9.5 mu g m(-3) (30% BC), 7.3 +/- 3.1 mu g m(-3) (26% BC), and 13.4 +/- 9.9 mu g m(-3) (26% BC), respectively. Sulfur and minerals (Al, Si, Ca, and Fe), derived from fuel combustion and soil resuspension, respectively, were the principal elements of the PM2.5 mass. We discuss the long-term health effects for each metropolitan region in terms of excess mortality risk, which translates to greater health care expenditures. This information could prove useful to decision makers at local environmental agencies.

Social Housing in Great Metropolitan Areas: A New Methodology for Integrated Quality Evaluation and Comparison.

Este artículo expone la primera aplicación experimental de un método para el análisis y la comparación de experiencias de vivienda social internacional en el contexto de las grandes áreas metropolitanas. El método, desarrollado en la Universidad Politécnica Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) desde 2009, se basa en la utilización de códigos gráficos y numéricos comunes y la integración de diferentes escalas de aproximación al entorno construido, de la vivienda y su arquitectura, a sus materiales de construcción y llegando más lejos, la ciudad. Además, los datos están vinculados a tres conceptos clave estrechamente relacionados con las condiciones específicas de las grandes áreas metropolitanas: la economía, la densidad y la diversidad. El objetivo final de la investigación es proporcionar una herramienta para la evaluación de la calidad de las viviendas sociales, optimización de recursos y un diseño innovador.

A governação de territórios metropolitanos. Contexto institucional e de planeamento nas regiões de Madrid, Barcelona, Paris e Lisboa / The regional metropolitan governance. Institutional mark and planning in Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Lisbon

Resumo Em resposta aos desafios atuais de muitas grandes cidades, o contexto institucional e o planeamento territorial formam dimensões para melhorar a governação metropolitana. No quadro das regiões capitais do sudoeste europeu, quais poderão ser as inovações e diferenças nos seus modelos e processos em curso? Este artigo propõe uma investigação aplicada para apresentar a análise da governação metropolitana. Através do método de estudos de caso em perspectiva comparada, vários elementos e entrevistas são ponderados qualitativamente nas regiões de Madrid, Barcelona, Paris e Lisboa. As conclusões encontram uma tendência para o equilíbrio entre os esforços dessas duas dimensões da governação territorial metropolitana, não impedindo registrar os seus diferentes percursos: por exemplo Ile-de-France desenvolveu boas iniciativas em matéria de planeamento, que então pedem alguns ajustamentos no quadro político, enquanto Madrid teve “menos actividade” nos últimos anos, em resultado da sua grande estabilidade institucional. A região de Lisboa permanece talvez numa “posição intermédia”, com uma dinâmica de evolução pouco previsível. Mas de acordo com este argumento, admite-se que os seus processos podem levar a melhorias graduais no sistema de governação, com o seu próprio percurso, implementando acções que devem respeitar, em particular, a geografia do território. Abstract Addressing the running challenges of several greater cities, the institutional mark and regional planning are dimensions for improving metropolitan governance. Regarding the southwest European capital regions, what can be the innovations and differences in their currently processes and models? This paper proposes an applied framework to present the metropolitan governance analysis. Through a comparative case study methodology, various elements and interviews are qualitatively measured in the regions of Madrid, Barcelona, Paris and Lisbon. The conclusions find a tendency to balance between the efforts on those two regional metropolitan governance dimensions, which does not prevent to register their different paths: for example Ile-de-France has developed good initiatives in terms of planning, which then require some adjustments in the political mark, while Madrid had in recent years “less activity”, in result of his institutional stability. The Lisbon region maybe stays in an “intermediate position” with a dynamic evolution that is difficult to predict. But according to that argument, it’s possible to admit that his processes can gradually lead to small improvements in his governance system, with his own path, implementing actions that must respect, in particularly, the geography of the territory.

Fifteenth census of the United States: 1930. Metropolitan districts. Population and area.

Forms part of the series of Reports of the Fifteenth decennial census

Metropolitan Los Angeles, a study in integration.

Includes bibliographies.

BEA economic areas : component SMSA's, counties, and independent cities.

One map (24 x 37 cm.) on folded leaf in pocket.

Cyprus: its ancient cities, tombs, and temples. A narrative of researches and excavations during ten years' residence in that island.

Cesnola, L.P., honorary degree, 1880.

Resident perceptions of natural resources between cities and across scales in the Pacific Northwest

As the global population becomes increasingly urban, research is needed to explore how local culture, land use, and policy will influence urban natural resource management. We used a broad-scale comparative approach and survey of residents within the Portland (Oregon)-Vancouver (Washington) metropolitan areas, USA, two states with similar geographical and ecological characteristics, but different approaches to land-use planning, to explore resident perceptions about natural resources at three scales of analysis: property level (“at or near my house”), neighborhood (“within a 20-minute walk from my house”), and metro level (“across the metro area”). At the metro-level scale, nonmetric multidimensional scaling revealed that the two cities were quite similar. However, affinity for particular landscape characteristics existed within each city with the greatest difference generally at the property-level scale. Portland respondents expressed affinity for large mature trees, tree-lined streets, public transportation, and proximity to stores and services. Vancouver respondents expressed affinity for plentiful accessible parking. We suggest three explanations that likely are not mutually exclusive. First, respondents are segmented based on preferences for particular amenities, such as convenience versus commuter needs. Second, historical land-use and tax policy legacies may influence individual decisions. Third, more environmentally attuned worldviews may influence an individual’s desire to produce environmentally friendly outcomes. Our findings highlight the importance of acknowledging variations in residents’ affinities for landscape characteristics across different scales and locations because these differences may influence future land-use policies about urban natural resources.