Improving Robustness in Social Fabric-based Cultural Algorithms

In this thesis, we propose two new approaches which aim at improving robustness in social fabric-based cultural algorithms. Robustness is one of the most significant issues when designing evolutionary algorithms. These algorithms should be capable of adapting themselves to various search landscapes. In the first proposed approach, we utilize the dynamics of social interactions in solving complex and multi-modal problems. In the literature of Cultural Algorithms, Social fabric has been suggested as a new method to use social phenomena to improve the search process of CAs. In this research, we introduce the Irregular Neighborhood Restructuring as a new adaptive method to allow individuals to rearrange their neighborhoods to avoid local optima or stagnation during the search process. In the second approach, we apply the concept of Confidence Interval from Inferential Statistics to improve the performance of knowledge sources in the Belief Space. This approach aims at improving the robustness and accuracy of the normative knowledge source. It is supposed to be more stable against sudden changes in the values of incoming solutions. The IEEE-CEC2015 benchmark optimization functions are used to evaluate our proposed methods against standard versions of CA and Social Fabric. IEEE-CEC2015 is a set of 15 multi-modal and hybrid functions which are used as a standard benchmark to evaluate optimization algorithms. We observed that both of the proposed approaches produce promising results on the majority of benchmark functions. Finally, we state that our proposed strategies enhance the robustness of the social fabric-based CAs against challenges such as multi-modality, copious local optima, and diverse landscapes

Gentrification as a Blanket Concept: A Tale of Resisting and Contesting Neoliberal Urbanization Programmes

This study focuses on the hegemonic ascendancy of neoliberalism encountering contestations and social unrest in Istanbul (Turkey).Through the case of Sulukule (Istanbul), our aim is to illustrate how gentrification as a neoliberal instrument utilized by a conservative/Islamist local government intervene the urban space not only for economic purposes but also culturally. This study analyzes this process, which went through in Sulukule, a former low-income neighborhood, mainly inhabited by a Gypsy community, sustaining livelihoods through a historically created entertainment culture, which was not welcomed by the conservative political cadres. This study turns the attention to the dynamics generated at the interstices of economy, politics and society, and delivers a tale of resistance and contestation to the uneasy marriage between conservative Islamism and neoliberalism. The concept of gentrification/re-generation is very much employed and referred to the diffusion of neoliberal urban policies in the context of neighborhoods as it is also put forth in this study. The case of Sulukule is a representative case in the Turkish context, especially when the urban and metropolitan transformation of Istanbul is taken into account. The way neighborhoods transform and serve the interests of the market and the capital is similar to the historical functioning of capitalism. Thus, the globalization of gentrification arguments made in the literature should not surprise us given that it is a neoliberal strategy to extract value whenever and wherever possible, in the form of gentrification aiming to revalorize usually decayed spaces or slum areas. In general, what we gather from the literature on gentrification is seen as a quick solution, or in Slater's terms as a savior for cities, its content has been depoliticized, and proposed as a key strategy to approach complex urban problems. They are complex because they are creating both winners and losers, and the irony is that nobody is really keeping track of what is happening to communities who are dislocated because of disruptions through investment in their area. While gentrifiers are shown as the primary actor of this process, the “gentrified†(both the community and the physical space) constitute the other half.

The City is the Factory: New Solidarities and Spatial Strategies in an Urban Age

[Excerpt] Urban public spaces, from the streets and squares of Buenos Aires to Zuccotti Park in New York City, have become the emblematic sites of contentious politics in the twenty-first century. As the contributors to The City Is the Factory argue, this resurgent politics of the square is itself part of a broader shift in the primary locations and targets of popular protest from the workplace to the city. This shift is due to an array of intersecting developments: the concentration of people, profit, and social inequality in growing urban areas; the attacks on and precarity faced by unions and workers\u27 movements; and the sense of possibility and actual leverage afforded by local politics and the tactical use of urban space. Thus, the city —from the town square to the banlieu—is becoming like the factory of old: a site of production and profit-making as well as new forms of solidarity, resistance, and social reimagining.We see examples of the city as factory in new place-based political alliances, as workers and the unemployed find common cause with right to the city struggles. Demands for jobs with justice are linked with demands for the urban commons—from affordable housing to a healthy environment, from immigrant rights to urban citizenship and the right to streets free from both violence and racially biased policing. The case studies and essays in The City Is the Factory provide descriptions and analysis of the form, substance, limits, and possibilities of these timely struggles

Culture and Urban Revitalization: A Harvest Document

Advocates have long argued that the economic benefits of the arts and culture provide a firm rationale for public support. Recent scholarship on the "creative class" and "creative economy" is simply the latest effort to link cultural expression to community prosperity. In contrast, the social benefits of cultural engagement have received relatively little attention, even though -- as we shall see -- they provide a stronger case.We need to avoid a simplistic either-or choice between the economic and social impacts of the arts. People who live in our cities, suburbs, and countryside are simultaneously consumers, workers, residents, citizens, and participants. Culture's role in promoting community capacity and civic engagement is central to its potential for generating vital cultural districts. To separate the economic and the social impacts of the arts makes each more difficult to understand.This document provides an overview of the state-of-the-art literature on culture and urban revitalization. In Part 2, we place the creative sector in contemporary context with a discussion of three social dynamics. The "new urban reality" has restructured our cities by increasing social diversity -- fueled by new residential patterns, the emergence of young adult districts, and immigration; expanding economic inequality; and changing urban form. Shifts in the economic and political environment have changed the structure of the creative sector. Finally, the changing balance of government, nonprofit, and for-profit institutions in social policy development -- the shift to transactional policymaking -- has profound implications for cultural policy and the creative sector broadly defined. These three forces -- the new urban reality, the changing structure of the creative sector, and the emergence of transactional policy-making -- define the context within which culture-based revitalization takes place

Better Together

Calls for a nationwide campaign to overcome civic apathy and outlines the framework for sustained, broad-based social change to restore America's civic virtue

Resident Participation: A Community-Building Strategy in Low-Income Neighborhoods

Resident participation has been an area of community development aimed at increasing involvement of tenants in housing development, management and community-building. The precise roles and mechanisms of resident participation are not well understood, however. This paper explores the role of resident participation and its interaction with other factors that drive community revitalization. By understanding the necessary conditions, factors and other variables that strengthen resident participation, public policies can help low-income populations manifest their power and make a difference in their communities. The research presented here (1) describes the challenges and benefits of resident participation; (2) identifies examples of residents successfully contributing to the development and management of their homes; (3) details the conditions necessary for success; and (4) addresses the issue of assessing effectiveness. For those seeking to encourage resident participation, the are three major challenges include time and money; limited options due to economics; and limited community capacity. Examples of successful resident participation are presented, such as the Demonstration Disposition in Boston -- one of the most notable examples of resident participation in development in the past 10 years. Building management has also been an arena for various levels and types of resident participation, and many community development corporations have developed creative ways of involving residents in community-building efforts. The interplay of external and internal factors together creates conditions for resident participation. This paper identifies four major factors: impetus, politics, resources and values, describing the internal and external resources affected by each. To connect these external and internal resources, bridging resources of trust, community organizing, strategic partnerships and organizational capacity are necessary. Community planning and education make up a noteworthy bridging resource that allows for the necessary learning process to take place. Community education and planning happen in three phases: building a foundation, teaching skills, and following through. While there is general support for resident participation in housing development, management and community-building, measuring its effectiveness has received limited research attention. This paper describes the effectiveness of resident participation looking at the individual, building and community levels. These testimonials will be strengthened if hard measures of resident participation are developed and used to study its effects