The Construction of Neighbourhoods and its Relevance for the Measurement of Social and Ethnic Segregation: Evidence from Denmark

In this paper we propose a model for constructing neighbourhoods based on geo-referenced data and administrative data. The 431,233 inhabited hectare cells in Denmark are clustered into 9,404 small and 2,296 large neighbourhoods, inhabited on average in 2004 by 572 and 2,343 persons respectively. The priorities in the clustering process are to obtain neighbourhoods that are unaltered over time, delineated by physical barriers, compact, homogeneous in terms of type of housing and ownership, relatively small, homogeneous in terms of number of inhabitants, and comprised of a contiguous cluster of cells. To illustrate the importance of detailed neighbourhood information we compare social and ethnic segregation measured by Isolation and Dissimilation indices on the levels of municipalities and of small neighbourhoods. Our findings demonstrate substantial variation in the residential mix in neighbourhoods within a given municipality, and thus show the importance of having information on a more detailed geographical level than that of the municipality.geo-referenced data, neighbourhoods, segregation

The Construction of Neighbourhoods and its Relevance for the Measurement of Social and Ethnic Segregation: Evidence from Denmark

In this paper we propose a model for constructing neighbourhoods based on georeferenced data and administrative data. The 431,233 inhabited hectare cells in Denmark are clustered into 9,404 small and 2,296 large neighbourhoods, inhabited on average in 2004 by 572 and 2,343 persons respectively. The priorities in the clustering process are to obtain neighbourhoods that are unaltered over time, delineated by physical barriers, compact, homogeneous in terms of type of housing and ownership, relatively small, homogeneous in terms of number of inhabitants, and comprised of a contiguous cluster of cells. To illustrate the importance of detailed neighbourhood information we compare social and ethnic segregation measured by Isolation and Dissimilation indices on the levels of municipalities and of small neighbourhoods. Our findings demonstrate substantial variation in the residential mix in neighbourhoods within a given municipality, and thus show the importance of having information on a more detailed geographical level than that of the municipality.Geo-referenced data, neighbourhoods, segregation

Local aspects of disentanglement induced by spontaneous emission

We consider spontaneous emission of two two-level atoms interacting with vacuum fluctuations. We study the process of disentanglement in this system and show the possibility of changing disentanglement time by local operations.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figure

Free-floating carsharing in Copenhagen: A study on user experience in a cycling city

Free-floating carsharing is emerging in cities around the world. Based on a survey of car2go (n=95) and DriveNow users (n=737) in Copenhagen, followed by in-depth interviews with selected car2go users (n=12), this paper focuses on the practices and motives related to the use of a freefloating carsharing service in a city with a distinct cycling culture. Data were collected within the first year of the car2go and DriveNow launch. Like in other studies, users were mainly young, highly educated males, living in the city centre. However, different from other studies, they were predominantly daily cyclists. A key finding was that car2go did not substitute or compete with primary transport modes, especially sincecar2go (as well as DriveNow) was only used to a small degree for commuting. Based on in-depth interviews, different motives and user patterns could be identified depending on car ownership status. Non-car owners primarily used car2go for leisure or business trips and for transporting goods, whereas car owners mostly used car2go to avoid driving their private car in the city. For both groups, car2go could not fully cover their car needs. The withdrawal of car2go from Copenhagen after 17 months of operation is reflected based on the identified mobility patterns and user experiences.Free-floating carsharing is emerging in cities around the world. Based on a survey of car2go (n=95) and DriveNow users (n=737) in Copenhagen, followed by in-depth interviews with selected car2go users (n=12), this paper focuses on the practices and motives related to the use of a free-floating car sharing service in a city with a distinct cycling culture. Data were collected within the first year of the car2go and DriveNow launch. Like in other studies, users were mainly young, highly educated males, living in the city centre. However, different from other studies, they were predominantly daily cyclists. A key finding was that car2go did not substitute or compete with primary transport modes, especially since car2go (as well as DriveNow) was only used to a small degree for commuting. Based on in-depth interviews, different motives and user patterns could be identified depending on car ownership status. Non-car owners primarily used car2go for leisure or business trips and for transporting goods, whereas car owners mostly used car2go to avoid driving their private car in the city. For both groups, car2go could not fully cover their car needs. The withdrawal of car2go from Copenhagen after 17 months of operation is reflected based on the identified mobility patterns and user experiences

The impact of economic and demographic changes in the city of Athens during the inter-war period (1922-1940).

This paper is part of an ongoing research project which focuses its attention on the relation between the economic, political and social integration of migrants and refugees, the re-organization of the state, the legislative modernization and the economic policy during the interwar period in Greece. The key question of the research is in what different ways and procedures a city can be transformed under emergency conditions, such as that of the massive inflow of refugees and immigrants. In 1922 Greece, a state of 5 million inhabitants received a wave of refugees, the Greeks of Diaspora from Asia Minor, of such a scale (1.5 millions) that it overturned every population balance in the country. The presence of this large number of needy people was a problem whose solution was clearly beyond the limited resources of the Greek state, which was an underdeveloped country, financially exhausted by the Balkan wars, the Word War I and the Greco-Turkish war. The forced clustering of the Greeks within the limits of the Greek state paved the way for urban transformation and the development of the Greek society. The 53% of the refugees, who were of urban origin, settled in urban areas, especially in Athens. In this context Athens rapid urbanization created economic, social and governance challenges while simultaneously strained city’s infrastructure. The paper interprets and works with historical analysis, focusing on policies, economic structures, planning policies and the actual physical urban transformation of Athens, combining methods from architecture and economics. It examines how the new urban structure of Athens adjusted in order to redress social, economic and urban imbalances. The external borrowing, the inflow of foreign capital, due mainly to the international economic downturn, and the development of an informal economy showed the capacity of Athens to survive, to adapt, and to grow despite the stresses and acute shocks it experienced.The human geography of the Athens basin, was so radically transformed that new modes of land and housing allocation emerged. The urban planning of Athens and consequently the type of city that emerged, should be attributed to the inability of the state to impose on landowners regulations for the sound planning, organization and construction of urban real estate. The uncontrolled expansion of the city reflected the regular and irregular practices in architecture and housing development, which were expressed through modernism and legislation on one hand and modern vernacular on the other. The purpose of this paper is to develop a framework for understanding the response of a contemporary city to internal and external challenges. Based on comparative analysis of Athens urban resilience we can identify concepts that will be used to begin to understand case studies of other cities in the modern era

Improving institutional memory on challenges and methods for estimation of pig herd antimicrobial exposure based on data from the Danish Veterinary Medicines Statistics Program (VetStat)

With the increasing occurrence of antimicrobial resistance, more attention has been directed towards surveillance of both human and veterinary antimicrobial use. Since the early 2000s, several research papers on Danish pig antimicrobial usage have been published, based on data from the Danish Veterinary Medicines Statistics Program (VetStat). VetStat was established in 2000, as a national database containing detailed information on purchases of veterinary medicine. This paper presents a critical set of challenges originating from static system features, which researchers must address when estimating antimicrobial exposure in Danish pig herds. Most challenges presented are followed by at least one robust solution. A set of challenges requiring awareness from the researcher, but for which no immediate solution was available, were also presented. The selection of challenges and solutions was based on a consensus by a cross-institutional group of researchers working in projects using VetStat data. No quantitative data quality evaluations were performed, as the frequency of errors and inconsistencies in a dataset will vary, depending on the period covered in the data. Instead, this paper focuses on clarifying how VetStat data may be translated to an estimation of the antimicrobial exposure at herd level, by suggesting uniform methods of extracting and editing data, in order to obtain reliable and comparable estimates on pig antimicrobial consumption for research purposes.Comment: 25 pages, including two Appendices (pages not numbered). Title page, including abstract, is on page 1. Body of text, including references, abbreviation list and disclaimers for conflict of interest and funding, are on pages 2-18. Two figures embedded in the text on pages 3 and 5. Appendix 1 starts on page 19, and Appendix 2 on page 2

Gold, friction and resistance in a globalised land system

In land system science (LSS), the globalisation of land use is often understood via trade flows. Fewer studies have explored the power asymmetries and local resistance that shape global connections. Consequently, calls for a deeper engagement with power and agency have been made within LSS. To accommodate this, we engage the ethnographic literature on encounters, emphasising the concepts of resistance and friction. These capture the ways actors position themselves in global systems, resist, and create global connections. To illustrate its relevance for land systems, we use qualitative data from the mining sector of Tanzania, highlighting the emergence of resource nationalism as an alternative form of globalisation (alter-globalisation). We argue that a focus on resistance, friction and alter-globalisation can move LSS towards a deeper engagement with power and agency in global flows, revealing the competing actors, values and visions embedded in land systems.Peer Reviewe