Social and Cultural Aspects of Modern Urban Space Gentrification

Modern cities play a special role in globalization processes. They are like the living reflection of the transformation processes taking place in our society. Such processes find expression in changes of infrastructure space of the city, and social and economic weight of urban areas. This paper deals with the processes of transformation of urban space. We consider gentrification as one of trends of modern city development, and we discuss its role as a social, economic and cultural issue. The work focuses on European and Russian examples of gentrification examining aspects such as culture, squatting, creative clusters, or Disneyfication. Based on the analysis conducted, we draw conclusions on the positive(settlement of vacant buildings; renovation buildings; revitalization of the community, etc.) and negative (increase in the cost of living, uncontrolled change of the architectural appearance of the space, etc.) consequences of gentrification in modern urban spaces. We also suggest the necessity of implementing successful practices of gentrification in urban policy for Europe and other regions of the World

Transportation in Agent-Based Urban Modelling

As the urban population rapidly increases to the point where most of us will be living in cities by the end of this century, the need to better understand urban areas grows ever more urgent. Urban simulation modelling as a field has developed in response to this need, utilising developing technologies to explore the complex interdependencies, feedbacks, and heterogeneities which characterise and drive processes that link the functions of urban areas to their form. As these models grow more nuanced and powerful, it is important to consider the role of transportation within them. Transportation joins, divides, and structures urban areas, providing a functional definition of the geometry and the economic costs that determine urban processes accordingly. However, it has proved challenging to factor transportation into agent-based models (ABM); past approaches to such modelling have struggled to incorporate information about accessibility, demographics, or time costs in a significant way. ABM have not yet embraced alternative traditions such as that in land use transportation modelling that build on spatial interaction in terms of transport directly, nor have these alternate approaches been disaggregated to the level at which populations are represented as relatively autonomous agents. Where disaggregation of aggregate transport has taken place, it has led to econometric models of individual choice or microsimulaton models of household activity patterns which only superficially embody the key principles of ABM. But the explosion in the availability of movement data in recent years, combined with improvements in modelling technology, is easing this process dramatically. In particular, agent-based modelling as a methodology has grown ever more promising and is now capable of emulating the interplay of urban systems and transportation. Here, we explore the importance of this approach, review how transportation has been factored into or omitted from agent-based models of urban areas, and suggest how it might be handled in future applications. Our approach is to take snapshots of different applications and use these to illustrate how transportation is handled in such models

Racial, Socioeconomic Status, and Age Distribution Over Time in the U.S.: Trajectories of Neighborhood Segregation in 1970-2010

Segregation has been the subject of extensive study in the U.S., yet we know relatively little about its change from one generation to the next and how closely individual characteristics align with the neighborhood, especially in periods of neighborhood change. Segregation theories, including spatial assimilation and place stratification, have mostly been analyzed through ecological data or intragenerational analysis, making their applicability across generations less certain. In this study, I use a neighborhood classification technique to establish racial, socioeconomic status, and age segregation conditions in 1970-2010 for census tracts inside of metropolitan and micropolitan areas. I use transition matrices and sequence analysis to assess neighborhood segregation stability and change and observe the degree to which individuals follow the neighborhood trends, including across generations. I also explore characteristics in six metropolitan areas to observe the degree of homogeneity or heterogeneity in neighborhood segregation change in places with differing contextual histories. A neighborhood cluster analysis produced a typology of neighborhoods that was related to segregation theories once stability and change were considered. Considerable support for market-led pluralism, dynamic diversity, and segmented assimilation was found for neighborhoods, and this theoretical support carried over to the characteristics of individuals living in the neighborhoods. Metropolitan areas varied considerably in their neighborhood change