Patrick Geddes as Social-ecologist: A century of mapping underused spaces in Dublin.

The emergent discourse on urban resilience can be considered a response to the rapid pace of change and severe challenges facing urban areas. Urban resilience is understood as the application of social-ecological systems thinking to urbanised areas, and to have evolved from the study of ecological systems in the 1970s. This paper reports on research that places the discourse in a broader legacy that relates back to the emergence of the town planning movement.The research is carried out as part of the inter- and trans-disciplinary EU FP7 TURAS project (Transitioning to Urban Resilience and Sustainability) (2011-2016), which seeks new approaches to urban planning and governance that can build urban resilience. This paper identifies the mapping of underused spaces as an example, exploring the practice through re-examination of a map showing vacant sites in Dublin from 1914 influenced by Patrick Geddes (1854-1932), and review of an experimental online civic engagement platform called ‘Re-Using Dublin’ that was developed by the TURAS Project in 2015.Patrick Geddes interpreted the world in terms of social-ecological systems and applied this intelligence to the city. Geddes was a key figure in the emergence of the town planning movement and has been a reference point for successive environmental planning discourses. This paper re-examines aspects of Geddesian theory and practice in the context of the contemporary discourse on urban resilience. Parallels are drawn between Geddesian thinking and social-ecological resilience thinking in relation to the humanity-nature relationship, city in transition, and community capital, before focusing in on Geddesian thinking in relation to the practice of surveying and vacant sites.Geddes recognized the potential of a multi-disciplinary, inclusive and interactive process of civic survey as a means to engage citizens with local issues, and by extension with global issues. Underused spaces were considered a resource for alternative uses and the 1914 Dublin map of vacant sites provided a management tool for change in response to a severe housing crisis. A century later, Geddesian thinking can be observed in contemporary ICT applications such as ‘Reusing Dublin’, which facilitates the mapping of underused spaces in a participatory civic survey process. Underused spaces are identified through student projects and online crowd-sourcing. Users can discover and share information on any identified underused space and connect with others in relation to any particular space. The website therefore aims to empower citizens to identify opportunities and self-organise, building adaptive capacity to change in an uncertain future. A network of underused spaces is revealed, providing a landscape of opportunities within which communities, municipalities, spatial practitioners and other stakeholders can precipitate social-ecological innovation through adaptive co-management and co-design.The paper therefore seeks to illustrate that Geddesian ideas on vacant sites and civic engagement through the practice of surveying are still very relevant and informing new experimental practices in Dublin, and that the mapping of underused spaces might be considered an example of what urban resilience means in practice

An examination of the contrasting interpretations of the cleansing of the temple in (a) the writings of the early church fathers and (b) more recent historicalcritical scholarship in light of first-century monetary practice

The Cleaning of the Temple as described in Mark 11:15-19 has traditionally been interpreted as an event of great magnitude. “By the blows of one scourge”, Jerome (347-420) wrote, Jesus “was able … to cast out so great a multitude”.1 More recently the scale of Jesus’ actions has been questioned on historical grounds as has also the charge which Jesus made that the Temple had become a “den of robbers” (Mk 11:17). It will be proposed in this study that when Jesus’ actions are examined in light of first-century monetary practice, particularly noting the role of the money-changers in the Temple, there are justifiable reasons in accepting the historicity of this event as traditionally understood. The theft that Jesus was referring to was not so much from the pilgrim Jew by way of inflated animal prices or dishonest trade, as recent scholarship has pointed out, but rather from the Treasury into which the pilgrims deposited their offerings. The revenue that God was to receive there from the annual half-shekel tax payment (and from other mandatory and voluntary payments) was greatly, if not totally, depleted on account of the introduction of the money-changers’ services and the precise form of coinage they were offering in exchange. The nearly universal assumption that their services were necessary in the Holy Place will be challenged. It was, I will argue, these novel monetary practices that had been introduced in his “Father’s house” (Jn 2:16)/“My house” (Mk 11:17) which prompted Jesus’ actions

Setting Priorities for Space Research: Opportunities and Imperatives

This report represents the first phase of a study by a task group convened by the Space Studies Board to ascertain whether it should attempt to develop a methodology for recommending priorities among the various initiatives in space research (that is, scientific activities concerned with phenomena in space or utilizing observations from space). The report argues that such priority statements by the space research community are both necessary and desirable and would contribute to the formulation and implementation of public policy. The report advocates the establishment of priorities to enhance effective management of the nation's scientific research program in space. It argues that scientific objectives and purposes should determine how and under what circumstances scientific research should be done. The report does not take a position on the controversy between advocates of manned space exploration and those who favor the exclusive use of unmanned space vehicles. Nor does the report address questions about the value or appropriateness of Space Station Freedom or proposals to establish a permanent manned Moon base or to undertake a manned mission to Mars. These issues lie beyond the charge to the task group

Evaluation of In Vitro Virulence Characteristics of the Genus Pandoraea in Lung Epithelial Cells

Pandoraea species are emerging opportunistic pathogens capable of causing chronic lung infections in cystic fibrosis patients. This study examined the interactions of 17 Pandoraea isolates from the five identified species (Pandoraea apista, Pandoraea norimbergensis, Pandoraea pulmonicula, Pandoraea sputorum and Pandoraea pnomenusa) plus two Pandoraea genomospecies isolates with lung epithelial cells and their ability to form biofilms in vitro. Only three isolates showed an ability to invade A549 lung epithelial cells, and only one isolate was able to form biofilms. In contrast, all isolates triggered a pronounced pro-inflammatory response, with elevation of both interleukin (IL)-6 (two- to 19-fold) and IL-8 (10- to 50-fold) above that observed for a control strain of Escherichia coli. This property is likely to be a major factor in the pathogenesis of the genus

An environmental assessment of the Charleston Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site and surrounding areas : physical and biological conditions after completion of the Charleston Harbor Deepening Project

A monitoring program of the physical and biological condition of bottom habitats within and surrounding the Charleston Ocean Dredged Material Disposal Site was completed after the conclusion of disposal activities associated with the 1999-2002 Charleston Harbor Deepening Project. Approximately 20-25 million cubic yards of inner harbor and entrance channel materials were placed at the ODMDS as part of the project. Findings presented here include analyses of sediment characteristics, sediment contaminants, and benthic assemblages in the disposal zone, inner boundary zone, and outer boundary zone

Mercury in Hair Is Inversely Related to Disease Associated Damage in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune inflammatory disease, and environmental factors are proposed to exacerbate existing symptoms. One such environmental factor is mercury. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between exposure to mercury (Hg) and disease activity and disease associated damage in Total Hg concentrations in hair and urine were measured in 52 SLE patients. Dental amalgams were quantified. Disease activity was assessed using three indexes including the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group Index (BILAG). Disease associated damage was measured using the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology SLICC/ACR Damage Index. Pearson’s correlation identified a significant negative correlation between hair Hg and BILAG (r = −0.323, p = 0.029) and SLICC/ACR (r = −0.377, p = 0.038). Multiple regression analysis identified hair Hg as a significant predictor of disease associated damage as determined by SLICC/ACR (β = −0.366, 95% confidence interval (CI): −1.769, −0.155 p = 0.019). Urinary Hg was not related to disease activity or damage. Fish consumption is the primary route of MeHg exposure in humans and the inverse association of hair Hg with disease activity observed here might be explained by the anti-inflammatory effects of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids also found in fish

Spots & stripes: pleomorphic patterning of stem cells via p-ERK-depenendent cell chemotaxis shown by feather morphogenesis & mathematical simulation

A key issue in stem cell biology is the differentiation of homogeneous stem cells towards different fates which are also organized into desired configurations. Little is known about the mechanisms underlying the process of periodic patterning. Feather explants offer a fundamental and testable model in which multi-potential cells are organized into hexagonally arranged primordia and the spacing between primordia. Previous work explored roles of a Turing reaction–diffusion mechanism in establishing chemical patterns. Here we show that a continuum of feather patterns, ranging from stripes to spots, can be obtained when the level of p-ERK activity is adjusted with chemical inhibitors. The patterns are dose-dependent, tissue stage-dependent, and irreversible. Analyses show that ERK activity-dependent mesenchymal cell chemotaxis is essential for converting micro-signaling centers into stable feather primordia. A mathematical model based on short-range activation, long-range inhibition, and cell chemotaxis is developed and shown to simulate observed experimental results. This generic cell behavior model can be applied to model stem cell patterning behavior at large

European university-community partnership-based research on urban sustainability and resilience

Transitioning Towards Urban Resilience and Sustainability (TURAS) project is based on the partnership between decision makers in local authorities with SMEs and academic institutions to develop and demonstrate transition strategies for urban resilience and sustainability. Out of eleven case study sites, three are presented in this brief, including: brownfield redevelopment in London, community mobilisation around underutilisation of urban sites in Dublin, and a web portal for sustainable mobility in Ljubljana