Brands and movie making: using storyboards to develop spatial design students' understanding of narrative

Spatial designers use sketch perspectives as a design development tool because they can offer a powerful means of representing physical form on a flat surface. However, whilst perspectives can depict the appearance of a building, they do not describe it as a narrative sequence of events and experiences. Storyboards can do this because they enable a scheme to be investigated and represented in a multi-sensory and dynamic way, but students can find them difficult to use effectively. The University of Bedfordshire's innovative 'Brands and Movie-Making' project addresses this by requiring its spatial design undergraduates to make experimental movies, providing a powerful vehicle for the development of storyboard-drawing skills and a firm base for the discipline-specific work-to-come. But its effectiveness is limited because the students appear reluctant to draw by hand, and this will be investigated further

THE CONCEPTS OF SPECIALISATION AND SPATIAL CONCENTRATION AND THE PROCESS OF ECONOMIC INTEGRATION: THEORETICAL RELEVANCE AND STATISTICAL MEASURES. THE CASE OF ROMANIA’S REGIONS

The issues of specialisation and spatial concentration are important to economic policy and to the competitiveness of the European Union for several reasons. The literature on trade theory concerning economic integration provides different perspectives on the evolution of specialisation and spatial concentration. Both issues have been analysed in the theoretical literature as related economic concepts, but additional empirical research is needed for a better understanding of these phenomena. The purpose of the paper is both methodological and descriptive. First, we display the theoretical literature on trade, which emphasises the role played by economic integration at national level. Second, we try to see which of the trade theories best explains the regional structure of employment in terms of specialisation and spatial concentration. We apply our methodology to a specific case: Romania's development regions and their employment structure. Therefore, regional specialisation and geographical concentration are defined in relation to production structures.specialisation, spatial concentration, trade theories, economic integration, Romania’s development regions.

Energy Transition and Urban Planning for Local Development. A Critical Review of the Evolution of Integrated Spatial and Energy Planning

The aim of the article is to analyse the evolution of spatial and energy planning integration, seen as a mean to foster local development, from the birth of the theme to the current prospects of shared sustainability and Decentralised Energy System (DES) solutions. The paper is a review of the evolution of the spatial and energy planning integration, exploring weaknesses and future opportunities. After an initial period of intense theoretical elaboration, the relationship between energy and city physical-functional organization and planning is still far from finding an implementation. The article explains this lack of integration through the analyses of significant steps in the last 50 years with the aim to outline current obstacles in achieving a more comprehensive vision of energy and spatial planning. The experiences selected highlight critical aspects concerning the trend towards the divergence of energy planning from systemic urban and spatial planning, also due to the low consideration of energy as a factor for local development. From the processes of decentralization and energy localism, some perspectives emerge which converge on the eco-energy district as a projection of the local energy community and which seem to enhance a more systemic and strategic dimension of planning

Conflicts between transport policies and spatial development policies: perspectives on regional cohesion in the European Union

The development of the Trans-European Networks (TENs) in the EU is one of the first attempts at achieving a top-down approach to the development of a genuine European network in the interests of greater competitiveness and cohesion in the European economy. This implies the need for consistency with both national transport policies and with other EU policies, such as those on the environment, regional development and stability and growth. This paper explores the interaction between these policy areas to assess the extent of horizontal co-ordination between different sectoral policies and vertical co-ordination between different policy levels. The analysis of horizontal co-ordination has three main elements: the identification of horizontal spillovers between policy areas; the analysis of how policy responds to the evidence of horizontal spillovers; and the organisational structures put in place to implement policy. A key to this is the distinction between identifying spillovers between policy areas or establishing co-ordination between them as an aim of policy and the implementation of detailed policy objectives and measures to address such matters. This is achieved by examining the extent to which spillovers are recognised in key policy documents and the way this has shaped the policy design and its implementation. As well as the horizontal links between different EU policy areas, the analysis of vertical co-ordination involves enquiring into the relationships between different levels of government and decision making. This addresses the question as to how higher levels of government establish a policy environment within which lower levels operate. This has three main dimensions: the way in which policy is framed to establish the goals which need to be addressed by the lower levels of decision making (top-down policy formation); the extent to which the formation of policy by higher level bodies is informed by and takes cognisance of the views and needs of lower level bodies (bottom-up policy formation); and the way in which high levels of government monitor and police decisions by lower level bodies. The paper provides a schematic framework for analysing policy interaction developed from research as part of the ESPON programme of the EU which identifies opportunities for greater coherence and the risks of conflict. The paper suggests that ignoring these conflicts places the opportunity for further cohesion in regional development in the EU at risk.

The Evolution of the Retail Trade sector in Iberian Cities from the Nineteenth Century to the Second World War.

This is an Accepted Manuscript version of an article published by Taylor & Francis on 16 May 2017, available online at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2373518X.2017.1329195.The evolution of retail trade in European cities during the first decades of the twentieth century can be a powerful indicator about their urban and social dynamics. The growth in the number of shops, the spatial rearrangement of their distribution, and the increased social and political relevance of shopkeepers are features commonly highlighted by the historiography. But this picture is better known for Central and Northern European cities. As for the Iberian Peninsula although some efforts can be mentioned, there are still progress to be made. The papers discussed in this introductory essay address those questions through a double perspective: first, an analysis of the urban space and its impact on the development of the retail trade's spatial distribution and evolution; second, a historical and comparative analysis of four Iberian cities trying to build a better picture about the spatial, social and economic relevance of their retail trade. These perspectives will be explored for the cities of La Coruña, Barcelona, Bilbao and Lisbon studying the retail trade spatial distribution and the introduction of new forms of commercial concentration and consumption, roughly between 1840 and 1940Peer reviewe

Small and medium-sized towns - situation, development and prospects in different types of areas

The situation, development lines and perspectives of small and medium-sized towns in Germany and France are compared and similarities and differences within the central place systems and the spatial planning of both countries are discussed. With different approaches to definition, these towns have received new attention in both countries in recent years, albeit with different focal points. The discussion covers the positions and lines of development of these towns in the respective central place systems; the perspectives of their future development regarding the strengthening of central place functions, their attractiveness as residential and economic locations, and contexts of rural regional development and services of general interest. In addition, aspects of research on small and medium-sized towns as well as approaches to spatial policy in both countries are addressed

The aspect of space in the concept of sustainable development: Overview and consequences for research

The discussion on sustainable development reflects in various regard an important spatial aspect. In its context, spatial and regional sciences integrate important impulses and provide important contributions to the further development and operationalization of the concept of sustainable development. Many already known aspects are newly weighted and organized under the long-term horizon of the ecological, economic and social dimensions of development. Some new aspects emerge. The distinction of four different spatial perspectives for the systematical analysis of the very broad and heterogeneous discussion has proven as evident. (1) From the perspective of biophysical goals and concepts, several interesting aspects emerged due to the goal of sustainability. The paper discusses the spatial scale, on which sustainable development should be achieved. It shows consequences for the industrial countries from the approach of convergence between industrial and developing countries on a global sustainable scale, e.g. the necessary change in the importance of the existing concepts of spatial structures. Different aspects are stressed in the discussion about urban and regional development. (2) In the literature about sustainable development, the policy of implementing the necessary changes in a market economy still plays a subordinate role. Therefore the discussion about policy instruments, as it exists in the field of environmental economics, must become stronger in spatial/regional science. In order to make policy more efficient, for instance, environmental taxes and fees must gain in importance, and they must be differentiated spatially. In addition, the traffic should be charged for its external costs. (3) In regard to democracy and public administration, it needs to be remarked, that the local and regional level were undervalued up to now in their potential. But the other administration levels must not be neglected. With the stronger emphasis on the cities and regions themselves it is not guaranteed that their policy of development becomes more sustainable. Therefore new politics and planning ideals are proposed, which focus in particular participative and cooperative elements. (4) From the perspective of society, which includes the market and the democracy/administration, the concept of sustainability emphasizes the spatial proximity in cities and regions as well as the meaning of small and medium sized groups. In this aspect, social control plays an important role. This frame and the participation of all groups of society would help to change the basic values towards more justice and environmental protection. Summing up it can be concluded that the concept of sustainable development calls for an intensification of research in the spatially oriented sciences. On one hand the demonstrated four fields of analysis and action need more specific investigation. On the other hand their interrelations are to be studied more intensively.

Transformation of Rural Patterns in Greece in a European Regional Development Perspective (The Case of Crete)

Rural space in Greece is experiencing a significant transformation. During the last four decades the traditional urban-rural dichotomy has given its place to complex spatial patterns which are in a process of continuous change. This change is the result of a variety of factors such as the international economic environment, the emergence of new economic activities in rural areas, mainly the service sector and tourism, the changing urban-rural relations as well as the implementation of national and European policies for the agricultural sector and for rural development. In addition, rural development is not any longer dependent solely on the agricultural sector but also on the rural- urban relationships and the presence of a large variety of economic activities in rural areas. In this paper data concerning demographic, economic and infrastructure characteristics of rural areas are analyzed for the last five population Censuses, describing the transformation of rural space in Greece. A number of typologies of rural areas in Greece are presented for different time periods which demonstrate the significant changes of rural patterns in the last two decades. These typologies are employed in order to suggest policy guidelines for rural development in Greece. The results will be presented in a GIS environment and when appropriate will be compared to similar studies in Europe. Finally policies for agricultural and rural development, in the context of European regional and spatial development, will be examined in relation to rural patterns in Greece and the development perspectives of rural areas.

Spatial Tools for Integrated and Inclusive Landscape Governance: Toward a New Research Agenda

Participatory spatial tools—community mapping, PGIS, and others—find increasing resonance among research and non-governmental organizations to make stakeholder claims and community perspectives explicit for more inclusive landscape governance. In this paper, we situate the use of participatory spatial tools in debates on integrated landscape approaches and inclusive development. We show that using such spatial tools is not new but argue that their application for inclusive landscape governance requires a new research agenda that focuses on expanding the scope of application of the tools, improving the inclusivity of the processes, and developing new technologies