Ethnic identity, political identity and ethnic conflict: simulating the effect of congruence between the two identities on ethnic violence and conflict

This thesis outlines and presents an alternative hypothetical process to the emergence of ethnic conflict. Ethnic conflicts, rather than being dependent upon pre-existing 'ancient hatreds', are instead the result of a congruence between ethnic and political identity which grants individuals the ability to use ethnicity to identify and eliminate political threats. This hypothesis is formed by the examination of three case studies of ethnic conflict: Lebanon, Northern Ireland and Croatia. This hypothesis is then formalised and tested using an agent based simulation in which agent interactions are dependent upon ethnic and political identity and the congruence between the two. As predicted there was a strong positive correlation between how accurately ethnic identity reflected political identity and the level of ethnically motivated violence in the simulation, although the relationship was not linear. Furthermore the effect of a shift in congruence was found to be roughly comparable to the effect of initialising agents with a moderate level of pre-existing ethnic antagonism

MetaCity: ways of thinking and making city

Metacity launched the challenge of reflecting on the ‘implicit’ and mostly ‘invisible’ drivers that influence urban transformation. The call asked participants to explore the nexus between scientific knowledge, political and economic actors and social mobilization in the production of contemporary urban space. Questions were raised: What concepts, methods and fields of knowledge – instituted or to be established – can and will inform urban development theory(s) and practice(s) in the near future? What types of urban knowledge are still considered legitimate and what is their relevance? How public policies, governance practices and development strategies had change cities and how can we re-think these instruments? What, after all, is the effective importance of political and social mobilization of urban scientists and technicians in the process of “making cities”? We were pleased to received several contributions from different disciplines and geographies that have shown these are cross-cutting issues on a global scale. Some of these contributions were collected in this book and we will briefly present their main subjects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Agent-based modelling of urban economic and cultural dynamics under the rent-gap hypotheses

This work proposes a theoretically grounded, generative approach to the study of urban dynamics, based on the Critical Geography line of thought. We implemented a variant of the ’Rent-Gap theory of gentrification’ in a set of agent- based models of varying degrees of abstraction. A stylised model of the theory - coupled with residential mobility and cultural exchange in a city-wide context - is capable of reproducing certain observed dynamics of the past century of urbanisa- tion. Cycles of investment, the formation of persistent pockets of disinvestment, the emergence and dissolution of culturally homogeneous areas, and phenomena such as gentrification were all dynamics emerging in the simulation solely as the product of profit-driven investment in housing. A more descriptive version of the model, informed with official data derived from the UK Census and the Land Registry, provides an empirical validation of the core tenets of the theory in the context of contemporary British cities. The descriptive model is also employed to hypothesise on the mechanics and possible outcomes of large scale regeneration programmes, demonstrating a potential impact in the formulation and evaluation of urban policy. Ultimately, this work wishes to challenge the view that theory might be an un- necessary extravagance in an era of large datasets and suggestions of ’algorithmic governance.’ At the same time, it wishes to highlight the actuality and insightfulness of the critical geographical approach, especially in the wake of the decidedly urban nature of the current economic crisis

Co-curating the City

Co-curating the City explores the role of universities in the construction and mobilisation of heritage discourses in urban development and regeneration processes, with a focus on six case study sites: University of Gothenburg (Sweden), UCL East (London), University of Lund (Sweden). Roma Tre university (Rome), American University of Beirut, and Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. The aim of the book is to expand the field of critical heritage studies in the urban domain, by examining the role of institutional actors both in the construction of urban heritage discourses, and in how those discourses influence urban planning decisions or become instrumentalised as mechanisms for urban regeneration. It proposes that universities engage in these processes in a number of ways: as producers of urban knowledge that is mobilised to intervene in planning processes; as producers of heritage practices that are implemented in development contexts in the urban realm; and as developers engaged in campus construction projects that both reference heritage discourses as a mechanism for promoting support and approval by planners and the public, and capitalise on heritage assets as a resource. The book highlights the participatory processes through which universities are positioning themselves as significant institutions in the development of urban heritage narratives. The case studies investigate how universities, as mixed communities of interest dispersed across buildings and urban sites, engage in strategies of engagement with local people and neighbourhoods, and ask how this may be contributing to a re-shaping of ideas, narratives, and lived experience of urban heritage in which universities have a distinctive agency. The authors cross disciplinary and cultural boundaries, and bridge academia and practice

Co-curating the City: Universities and urban heritage past and future

Co-curating the City explores the role of universities in the construction and mobilisation of heritage discourses in urban development and regeneration processes, with a focus on six case study sites: University of Gothenburg (Sweden), UCL East (London), University of Lund (Sweden). Roma Tre university (Rome), American University of Beirut, and Federal University of São Paulo, Brazil. The aim of the book is to expand the field of critical heritage studies in the urban domain, by examining the role of institutional actors both in the construction of urban heritage discourses and in how those discourses influence urban planning decisions or become instrumentalised as mechanisms for urban regeneration. It proposes that universities engage in these processes in a number of ways: as producers of urban knowledge that is mobilised to intervene in planning processes; as producers of heritage practices that are implemented in development contexts in the urban realm; and as developers engaged in campus construction projects that both reference heritage discourses as a mechanism for promoting support and approval by planners and the public, and capitalise on heritage assets as a resource. The book highlights the participatory processes through which universities are positioning themselves as significant institutions in the development of urban heritage narratives. The case studies investigate how universities, as mixed communities of interest dispersed across buildings and urban sites, engage in strategies of engagement with local people and neighbourhoods, and ask how this may be contributing to a re-shaping of ideas, narratives, and lived experience of urban heritage in which universities have a distinctive agency. The authors cross disciplinary and cultural boundaries, and bridge academia and practice

Risk Exposure to Particles – including Legionella pneumophila – emitted during Showering with Water-Saving Showers

The increase in legionellosis incidence in the general population in recent years calls for a better characterization of the sources of infection, such as showering. Water-efficient shower systems that use water atomization technology may emit slightly more inhalable bacteria-sized particles than traditional systems, which may increase the risk of users inhaling contaminants associated with these water droplets. To evaluate the risk, the number and mass of inhalable water droplets emitted by twelve showerheads—eight using water-atomization technology and four using continuous-flow technology— were monitored in a shower stall. The water-atomizing showers tested not only had lower flow rates, but also larger spray angles, less nozzles, and larger nozzle diameters than those of the continuous-flow showerheads. A difference in the behavior of inhalable water droplets between the two technologies was observed, both unobstructed or in the presence of a mannequin. The evaporation of inhalable water droplets emitted by the water-atomization showers favored a homogenous distribution in the shower stall. In the presence of the mannequin, the number and mass of inhalable droplets increased for the continuous-flow showerheads and decreased for the water-atomization showerheads. The water-atomization showerheads emitted less inhalable water mass than the continuous-flow showerheads did per unit of time; however, they generally emitted a slightly higher number of inhalable droplets—only one model performed as well as the continuous-flow showerheads in this regard. To specifically assess the aerosolisation rate of bacteria, in particular of the opportunistic water pathogen Legionella pneumophila, during showering controlled experiments were run with one atomization showerhead and one continuous-flow, first inside a glove box, second inside a shower stall. The bioaerosols were sampled with a Coriolis® air sampler and the total number of viable (cultivable and noncultivable) bacteria was determined by flow cytometry and culture. We found that the rate of viable and cultivable Legionella aerosolized from the water jet was similar between the two showerheads: the viable fraction represents 0.02% of the overall bacteria present in water, while the cultivable fraction corresponds to only 0.0005%. The two showerhead models emitted a similar ratio of airborne Legionella viable and cultivable per volume of water used. Similar results were obtained with naturally contaminated hoses tested in shower stall. Therefore, the risk of exposure to Legionella is not expected to increase significantly with the new generation of water-efficient showerheads

Smart Mobility & Urban Development in Haven-Stad, Amsterdam:

Cities are in transition. Most cities, like Amsterdam, are growing in terms of inhabitants, visitors, and jobs, which cause an increase in the movement of people and goods to, from, and around the city. Next to that, socio-economical factors, new insights, policies, and technology innovations change how we live and work in our cities. Mobility operates as the intersection between the city’s infrastructure and its inhabitants; it is the central link in the well-functioning of a city and a key element in the organization of multi-modal transport. We have seen a rise of, among others, Mobility as a Service (MaaS), ride-sharing, and micro-mobility, and even though not implemented yet, autonomous vehicles are one of the relevant technologies to consider when looking at our future cities. How does mobility in the future impact the way our cities are being developed? Just like cities in general, the area of Haven-Stad is in transition as well. From being a harbor area at the edge of the city center, it will be developed into a mixed-use neighborhood and will be the biggest urban generator for future developments in Amsterdam. To gain insight and to better understand the interrelationships between urban development and urban mobility and to show perspectives on integration of future mobility scenarios in an actual urban environment, we asked each of the three groups to elaborate on a specific part of Haven-Stad. Each group came up with a perspective for their area, while looking at a wide variety of aspects: the role and function of smart urban mobility, including Mobility as a Service (MaaS) and emerging mobility options; the travel behavior of a growing number of users; the sustainability challenges and fairness in transport planning; the public and semipublic spaces (and social dynamics therein); the exploration of alternative, marginal and emerging social uses of urban developments as meeting places and culture; the urban integration in the overall mobility system; the interface between architecture and infrastructure within the urban fabric; the programming of future transport nodes and the access and egress to and from such transport hubs of all types of smart mobilities (e.g. conventional public transport, shared mobility, autonomous taxis, et cetera). As the development of Haven-Stad will take over 30 years, the factor time and phasing in the approaches and scenarios is key in each of the three proposals. The eight-day program covered different didactical components. Firstly, participants were introduced to Amsterdam, the current status of the Haven-Stad project, mobility, and future developments. Through various presentations by city representatives, participants were informed on the history, general information and mobility policies on Amsterdam and Haven-Stad. Next to that, experts from TU Delft gave presentations on smart mobility, different modes of mobility, behavioral aspects, and the state of the art of mobility-related research. During an afternoon bike tour, participants had the chance to explore the area and get a better feeling for its size and current atmosphere of the project location. During intensive and interactive work sessions with the seven tutors, analyses were made and the perspectives, approaches, and scenarios were refined. The three groups presented the final results for a group of visiting critics.  With this publication, we want to show the richness of perspectives and insights on Haven-Stad, that were developed during this short but very intensive Summer School. We are proud to present the three different projects, each with their own focus. The invited experts provided the participants with background knowledge lectures and a workshop. Excerpts of these sessions are included in this publication. We thank all participants, tutors and involved stakeholders for their efforts that have made this Summer School a success

Environmental Management

Environmental Management - Pollution, Habitat, Ecology, and Sustainability includes sixteen chapters that discuss pressing environmental issues in diverse locations around the world. Chapters discuss methods, technologies, analyses, and actions that may enlighten and enable decision-makers and managers in their quests for control of environmental problems. The authors present the facts and the challenges behind the assorted issues and offer new perspectives for contending with natural, social, economic, and political aspects of management