Ressenyes

Obra ressenyada: Andrew WOOD ; Susan ROBERTS, Economic Geography. Places, networks and flows. Londres : Routledge, 2011

Scaling and Multiscaling Exponents in Networks and Flows

The main focus of this paper is on mathematical theory and methods which have a direct bearing on problems involving multiscale phenomena. Modern technology is refining measurement and data collection to spatio-temporal scales on which observed geophysical phenomena are displayed as intrinsically highly variable and intermittant heirarchical structures,e.g. rainfall, turbulence, etc. The heirarchical structure is reflected in the occurence of a natural separation of scales which collectively manifest at some basic unit scale. Thus proper data analysis and inference require a mathematical framework which couples the variability over multiple decades of scale in which basic theoretical benchmarks can be identified and calculated. This continues the main theme of the research in this area of applied probability over the past twenty years

Post-globalization, super-urbanization and prospects of social development

The paper presents an attempt to reconceptualize social development and to measure its level for societies facing the post-globalization as globalizing networks and flows are paradoxically localized in super-urban area

UNPLUGGED CITY Escaping from Global Networks and Flows Trap? New Geographies of Logistics :: Urban and Regional Implications

The urban and regional influence of contemporary passengers, goods and information traffic within the new global economy based on knowledge and logistics, and the physical structures that shape the networks (harbours, airports, train stations, motorways) are assumed as capitally important. Nevertheless, so far, the impact of these dynamics is much more attached to hierarchical processes of socio-spatial fragmentation-segmentation-polarization rather than balanced re-distributive systems. Global connectivity has as much strengths as threats, and the integration within the new production, consumption and distribution geographies generates as much opportunities as irreversible mutations. Unplugged City is presented as an incursion on connectivity and accessibility, exploring the strengths and threats derived from the management of logistics and freight transport flows within the frame of the so-called “catch-up†economy. The Trans-European Transport Network Plan (TEN-T) will be on focus as the main policy-making framework behind the new geographical transformation in Europe. The importance of the exponential growing freight transport and logistic sector has been exposed as a key factor to understand the bases of current globalisation. The sharp changes generated by the dropping of transport cost in patterns of production-consumption-distribution geographies have to be contrasted with deep transformations of labour market, linkages between transport and industrial location and new network models. What is close is just what is cheap. Distances nowadays are no measured in kilometres or hours but in Euros, imposing a new logic for the global geographic structure. Regions with better access to locations of input materials and markets are assumed to be more productive, more competitive and hence more successful than more peripheral and isolated regions. But this hypothesis has to be urgently reformulated, contrasting transport policies with quantitative research and the appraisal of real socio-economic impact of the new transport geographies. The assumed idea of connectivity as pure benefiting will be critically discussed as a much complex phenomena. Corridors are fostering the survival of core regional centres meanwhile a growing regional imbalance is monitored; regions that still have to deal with environmental, budgetary and indirect issues derived from the management of these flows.

Traffic Networks and Flows Over Time

In view of the steadily growing car traffic and the limited capacity of our street networks, we are facing a situation where methods for better traffic management are becoming more and more important. Studies show that an individual „blind“ choice of routes leads to travel times that are between 6 % and 19 % longer than necessary. On the other hand, telematics and sensory devices are providing or will shortly provide detailed information about the actual trafficfows, thus making available the necessary data to employ better means of trafficc management. Traffic management and route guidance are optimization problems by nature. We want to utilize the available street network in such a way that the total network „load“ is minimized or the „throughput“ is maximized. This article deals with the mathematical aspects of these optimization problems from the viewpoint of network flow theory

Implications and Issues for London Site Residents

The Olympic Delivery Authority have agreed to undertake in the process of organizing the London 2012 Games, one of the biggest urban regeneration projects seen in Europe for many years, destined to create a new town the size of Exeter once the Games have finished (ODA, 2006). Through examining past Olympic Games, this paper explores some of the soft legacy implications of the London 2012 Games and in particular the fate of the only ‘residents’ being relocated from the Olympic Site, twenty-one traveller families. The paper concludes with a discussion on how legacy can be sustainable and for the benefit of the whole community rather than particular sections

Networks and flows of conservation finance: the case of World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)

Against the background of overall decline and inadequacy of funding for nature conservation, the budgets of the five largest nature conservation organisations have been growing significantly since the 1990s to command over 50% of globally available conservation funding. This thesis focusses on World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) to show how large nature conservation organisations maintain and expand funding for global biodiversity conservation. It begins exploratorily with a thematic review of 64 peer-reviewed articles to find dominant themes recurring around the funding of biodiversity conservation between 2010-2016. The principle finding is that the main challenge in biodiversity financing is not only underfunding but that quite often available funds do not go where they are most needed. Conservation networks play a key role in determining financial flows. This informs the choice for a conceptual framework that is inspired by the network theory postulated by Manuel Castells. This thesis examines how WWF uses networking to maintain and expand funding from public sources, and then shows how much financial income WWF receives from the corporate sector in comparison to other income streams, including from market-based approaches. The main finding is that WWF has been successful in increasing its funding from the public sector at 7.5% p.a. by being in “right networks”, speaking the “right language”, and connecting to “relevant flows”, including dominant governmental ministries, bilateral and multilateral organisations, emerging and graduated economies and the private sector that relates closely with them. However, WWF’s income from the corporate sector has remained low at 11% p.a. and stagnant, and its “bankable projects” are yet to produce any income and remain philanthropic. WWF’s most important funding base is private small donors who contribute 40% of its income. Based on these findings, this thesis points to a possible scenario on the future of conservation finance that combines the time-tested reliability of private small donor funding with the potential of blended finance, that would address both underfunding and poor distribution of conservation funds, for future biodiversity conservation

Rethinking mobility at the urban-transportation-geography nexus

Building on the main sections of the book, this concluding chapter identifies four thematic areas for future research into the urban-transportation-geography nexus as follows: (1) the everyday experience of transport and mobility in the “ordinary city”; (2) the environment and the urban politics of mobility; (3) connected cities and competitive states; and (4) transportation mobility and new imaginaries of city-regional development