Art and Neighbourhood Change Beyond the City Centre

In critical urban research, artists are typically seen as drivers of central city gentrifi cation and public arts asdepoliticized tools of the creative city agenda. This paper takes Toronto’s Main Square as a case study, first,to delineate the multiple ways that community arts can influence social change beyond gentrifi cation, andsecond, to identify suburban space as an important site of cultural and creative policy articulation. We claimthat the unique non-central location of Main Square appears as a significant factor shaping the trajectory oftransformation and delimiting the political potential of arts in engendering public values and in addressingspatial injustice. We claim that rather than following the script of neoliberal creative city policies, communitybased public art can work within and against a market-driven logic of cultural programming to pose newopportunities for public space and public life.Dans la recherche urbaine critique, les artistes sont généralement considérés comme moteur de l’embourgeoisementde centre-ville et les arts publics sont perçus comme des outils dépolitisés du programme des villes créatives.Dans cet article, nous analysons les transformations de Main Square à Toronto pour illustrer les multiples façonsdont l`art communautaire peut infl uencer des changements sociaux au-delà de l’embourgeoisement. De plus,nous identifi ons l’espace de banlieue comme un lieu important pour la formulation de politiques culturelles etcréatives. Nous affi rmons que l’emplacement unique et non-central de Main Square apparaît comme un facteurdéterminant de la production de l’espace public et qui délimite le potentiel politique des arts pour lutter contrel’injustice spatiale. Nous affi rmons que l’art public communautaire n’est pas simplement un outil commercialisé,mail ce dernier peut créer de nouvelles opportunités pour l’espace public et la vie publique

Editor's Introduction: Public Space Beyond The City Centre: Suburban and Periurban Dynamics

Through this special issue, we bring together papers interested in public space beyond the city centre. That is, public space in suburban and periurban locations, including high-rise neighbourhoods and new exurban divisions, and in communities located at the interstices of the city-region. We are interested in how the values associated with public space—as an accessible site open to a range of uses, and a place of collective engagement and interaction—map out as we step away from downtown. Additionally, we are concerned with how struggles over and within public space proceed in non-central places

Underlying Equity Discourses of the World Health Organization

Background: Globally, increasing attention has been paid to the concept of equity in the context of health, largely stemming from the work of the World Health Organization (WHO) beginning in the late 1970s with the Declaration of Alma-Ata (WHO, 1978) and more recently following the Commission on the Social Determinants of Health (CSDH, 2008) and their final report in 2008. Despite increasing attention to this issue, there is global ambiguity on the true definition of “health inequity”, “health inequalities”, or “health disparities” (Braveman, 2006, p. 167; Braveman & Gruskin, 2003). Methods/Design: This original scoping review clarifies how the WHO conceptualizes equity. It also identifies the theoretical underpinnings guiding the WHO’s approach to equity and its broader implications. This protocol followed the PRISMA guidelines for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) (Tricco et al., 2018), with details discussed in the full protocol. Discussion: To date, much of the research on health equity globally has been restricted to chronological discussions over time or specific research fields (Borde & Hernández, 2018, p. 3). Therefore, researching the WHO’s approach to equity in terms of alignment with theory and broader normative standpoint(s) becomes increasingly important in addressing a gap in the literature. In addition, because the definition of equity in the context of health has practical implications for its operationalization (Guerra, Borde, & Salgado De Snyder, 2016), this work seeks to clarify in the concept of equity used by the WHO in hopes of moving towards a shared understanding to bridge action [e.g. in measurement and accountability (Braveman & Gruskin, 2003)]

Probing key informants’ views of health equity within the World Health Organization’s Urban HEART initiative

To date, no studies have assessed how those involved in the World Health Organization’s (WHO) work understand the concept of health equity. To fill the gap, this research poses the question, “how do Urban Health Equity Assessment and Response Tool (Urban HEART) key informants understand the concept of health equity?”, with Urban HEART being selected given the focus on health equity. To answer this question, this study undertakes synchronous electronic interviews with key informants to assess how they understand health equity within the context of Urban HEART. Key findings demonstrate that: (i) equity is seen as a core value and inequities were understood to be avoidable, systematic, unnecessary, and unfair; (ii) there was a questionable acceptance of need to act, given that political sensitivity arose around acknowledging inequities as “unnecessary”; (iii) despite this broader understanding of the key aspects of health inequity, the concept of health equity was seen as vague; (iv) the recognized vagueness inherent in the concept of health equity may be due to various factors including country differences; (v) how the terms “health inequity” and “health inequality” were used varied drastically; and (vi) when speaking about equity, a wide range of aspects emerged. Moving forward, it would be important to establish a shared understanding across key terms and seek clarification, prior to any global health initiatives, whether explicitly focused on health equity or not.publishedVersio

A Timescale for Evolution, Population Expansion, and Spatial Spread of an Emerging Clone of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus

Due to the lack of fossil evidence, the timescales of bacterial evolution are largely unknown. The speed with which genetic change accumulates in populations of pathogenic bacteria, however, is a key parameter that is crucial for understanding the emergence of traits such as increased virulence or antibiotic resistance, together with the forces driving pathogen spread. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a common cause of hospital-acquired infections. We have investigated an MRSA strain (ST225) that is highly prevalent in hospitals in Central Europe. By using mutation discovery at 269 genetic loci (118,804 basepairs) within an international isolate collection, we ascertained extremely low diversity among European ST225 isolates, indicating that a recent population bottleneck had preceded the expansion of this clone. In contrast, US isolates were more divergent, suggesting they represent the ancestral population. While diversity was low, however, our results demonstrate that the short-term evolutionary rate in this natural population of MRSA resulted in the accumulation of measurable DNA sequence variation within two decades, which we could exploit to reconstruct its recent demographic history and the spatiotemporal dynamics of spread. By applying Bayesian coalescent methods on DNA sequences serially sampled through time, we estimated that ST225 had diverged since approximately 1990 (1987 to 1994), and that expansion of the European clade began in 1995 (1991 to 1999), several years before the new clone was recognized. Demographic analysis based on DNA sequence variation indicated a sharp increase of bacterial population size from 2001 to 2004, which is concordant with the reported prevalence of this strain in several European countries. A detailed ancestry-based reconstruction of the spatiotemporal dispersal dynamics suggested a pattern of frequent transmission of the ST225 clone among hospitals within Central Europe. In addition, comparative genomics indicated complex bacteriophage dynamics

Genomic epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 in a UK university identifies dynamics of transmission

AbstractUnderstanding SARS-CoV-2 transmission in higher education settings is important to limit spread between students, and into at-risk populations. In this study, we sequenced 482 SARS-CoV-2 isolates from the University of Cambridge from 5 October to 6 December 2020. We perform a detailed phylogenetic comparison with 972 isolates from the surrounding community, complemented with epidemiological and contact tracing data, to determine transmission dynamics. We observe limited viral introductions into the university; the majority of student cases were linked to a single genetic cluster, likely following social gatherings at a venue outside the university. We identify considerable onward transmission associated with student accommodation and courses; this was effectively contained using local infection control measures and following a national lockdown. Transmission clusters were largely segregated within the university or the community. Our study highlights key determinants of SARS-CoV-2 transmission and effective interventions in a higher education setting that will inform public health policy during pandemics.</jats:p

Transit justice as spatial justice: learning from activists

The provision of mass urban transit is frequently tied to agendas of social justice and equity. Yet there are persistent challenges to locating justice within urban mobility regimes. Drawing on two cases of transit activism – Free Transit Toronto and Black Lives Matter in the San Francisco Bay Area – this paper identifies three limitations to transport justice scholarship and practice, namely the theorization of mobility, space, and justice. These activist struggles demonstrate that justice cannot be adequately defined through an abstract accounting of how harms and benefits are distributed, but also concerns the contextual and conflictual processes of producing space and subjects

Building a Grand Paris: French Neoliberalism and the Politics of Urban Spatial Production

This dissertation is an in-depth analysis of the Grand Paris regional agglomeration and redevelopment initiative launched in 2007 by French President, Nicolas Sarkozy. At the base of this multifaceted project is a political and economic mandate to address unrest caused by racialized segregations and vast inequalities in wealth and social service provision between the historic core and the peripheral suburbs, and to recast metropolitan Paris as a socially cohesive and globally competitive region. Through an examination of three important Grand Paris policy sites--artistic re-imaginings of the region, improved transportation infrastructure and government rescaling--the dissertation argues that the attempt to create a unified and poly-centric Greater Paris region is, paradoxically, poised to further entrench existing social and spatial inequalities by orienting the city around the values of economic growth and territorial competition. It argues that the emerging urbanization regime of Paris has serious detrimental consequences for sociospatial justice and for possibilities of grassroots control over spatial production. Furthermore, the dissertation identifies a new mode of neoliberalism in France that combines the republican values of social cohesion and vast public spending, particularly in infrastructures of mass transit, with speculative development, global finance and private enterprise

An Exploration of Autistic Children’s Prosocial Behaviour

Recent shifts towards a neurodiversity perspective of autism have highlighted misunderstandings regarding Autistic people’s social interaction. In the area of prosocial behaviour (e.g., helping, sharing, comforting), diagnostic criteria and tools suggest that Autistic children lack prosocial capacities. However, evidence has indicated conflicting outcomes. Therefore, in the face of mixed theory and evidence, further research is needed. The overarching aim of this thesis was to clarify our understanding and increase knowledge about Autistic children’s prosocial behaviour and associated predictors. To meet these aims, Study 1 outlines a systematic review of published peer reviewed literature. Twenty-nine studies presented in 31 articles are reviewed. Study quality limitations and the various methodologies used to-date are outlined. A narrative synthesis of reviewed studies reveals positive findings regarding the frequency of Autistic children’s prosocial behaviour when compared to neurotypical children. Observations via the synthesis include numerous predictors of prosocial behaviour and identified differences in Autistic children’s approach to the behaviour. By collating this diverse body of literature, the review serves as a useful entry-point into the field and should prove a valuable resource for Autistic individuals, researchers and practitioners. Study 2 met the aims of the thesis through empirical examination of the prosocial behaviour of 51 children with Autistic characteristics via parent-report measures. Findings revealed increased prosocial behaviour with age, and towards familiar targets with whom increased empathy was experienced. Findings contribute to the evidence base that highlights the social context of Autistic social interaction. Recommendations are provided for clinical practice and research including a neurodiversity-affirmative position which celebrates Autistic differences. A relational approach towards assessment, intervention and future research is further advised. Overall, the present thesis highlights the prosocial strengths and potential of Autistic children, and the numerous ways their prosocial behaviour can be supported