44 research outputs found
Local festivals, social capital and sustainable destination development: experiences in East London
This paper explores the nature of social capital arising from engagement in local festivals and the implications of this for the social sustainability of an emerging destination. Two case studies are developed from a longitudinal research project which investigates local festivals staged in the Hackney Wick and Fish Island area adjacent to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in East London, UK between 2008 and 2014. This area has been directly affected by extensive development and regeneration efforts associated with the staging of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The two festivals considered here respond to the challenges and opportunities arising for local people as the area changes. One festival aims to foster a sense of community by creating shared experiences and improving communication across diverse groups. The other draws together the cultural community, links them to the opportunities arising as the area emerges as a destination, and attracts visitors. These festivals increase social capital in the area, but its distribution is very uneven. The accrual of social capital exacerbates existing inequalities within the host community, favouring the âhavesâ at the expense of the âhave notsâ. There are tensions between the development of social capital and social sustainability in this emerging destination
âFourth placesâ: the Contemporary Public Settings for Informal Social Interaction among Strangers.
This paper introduces âfourth placesâ as an additional category of informal social settings alongside âthird placesâ (Oldenburg 1989). Through extensive empirical fieldwork on where and how social interaction among strangers occurs in the public and semi-public spaces of a contemporary masterplanned neighbourhood, this paper reveals that âfourth placesâ are closely related to âthird placesâ in terms of social and behavioural characteristics, involving a radical departure from the routines of home and work, inclusivity, and social comfort. However, the activities, users, locations and spatial conditions that support them are very different. They are characterized by âin-betweennessâ in terms of spaces, activities, time and management, as well as a great sense of publicness. This paper will demonstrate that the latter conditions are effective in breaking the âplacelessnessâ and âfortressâ designs of newly designed urban public spaces and that, by doing so, they make âfourth placesâ sociologically more open in order to bring strangers together. The recognition of these findings problematizes well-established urban design theories and redefines several spatial concepts for designing public space. Ultimately, the findings also bring optimism to urban design practice, offering new insights into how to design more lively and inclusive public spaces. Keywords: âFourth placesâ, Informal Public Social Settings, Social Interaction, Strangers, Public Space Design
Conforto tĂ©rmico em espaços pĂșblicos de passagem: estudos em ruas de pedestres no estado de SĂŁo Paulo
Este artigo apresenta resultados de um estudo sobre conforto tĂ©rmico em espaços pĂșblicos de passagem, em ruas de pedestres nas cidades de Campinas, Bauru e Presidente Prudente, no Estado de SĂŁo Paulo. O estudo foi desenvolvido dentro de uma pesquisa mais ampla sobre o conforto tĂ©rmico em diferentes tipos de espaços urbanos abertos, nas mesmas cidades. A metodologia empregada envolveu o monitoramento microclimĂĄtico (temperatura, temperatura de globo, umidade relativa do ar, velocidade do ar e radiação solar global), em diferentes condiçÔes de tempo, e entrevistas estruturadas, para identificar a sensação tĂ©rmica e as variĂĄveis pessoais dos usuĂĄrios. A anĂĄlise dos resultados permitiu identificar diferenças entre a sensação tĂ©rmica real (ASV) e o conforto calculado pela temperatura fisiolĂłgica equivalente (PET). Os limites de conforto tĂ©rmico variaram entre as cidades: 20-29 ÂșC para Campinas, 21-30 ÂșC para Bauru, e 14-24 ÂșC para Presidente Prudente. Entretanto, a sensação de neutralidade tĂ©rmica para 59,5% do total da amostra (308 de 519 indivĂduos) foi de 18 a 26 ÂșC. Esses resultados sĂŁo compatĂveis com os limites propostos por Monteiro e Alucci (2007) para a cidade de SĂŁo Paulo e podem contribuir como parĂąmetro de avaliação da qualidade tĂ©rmica de outros espaços pĂșblicos de passagem nas mesmas cidades
Cultural Activism and the Politics of Place-Making
In this paper, we explore the relationship between creative practice, activism and urban place-making by considering the role they play in the construction of meaning in urban spaces. Through an analysis of two activist groups based in Stokes Croft, Bristol (UK), we argue that cultural activism provides new political prospects within the wider context of global capitalism through the cultivation of a shared aesthetics of protest. By cultivating aspects of shared history and a mutual enthusiasm for creative practice as a form of resistance, Stokes Croft has emerged as a âspace of nurturanceâ for creative sensibilities. However, we note how Stokes Croft as an autonomous space remains open-ended and multiple for activists interested in promoting different visions of social justice
Effects of improved street lighting on crime
Improved street lighting serves many functions and is used in both public and private
settings. The prevention of personal and property crime is one of its objectives in public
space, which is the main focus of this review. There are two main theories of why
improved street lighting may cause a reduction in crime. The first suggests that improved
lighting leads to increased surveillance of potential offenders (both by improving
visibility and by increasing the number of people on the street) and hence to increased
deterrence of potential offenders. The second suggests that improved lighting signals
community investment in the area and that the area is improving, leading to increased
community pride, community cohesiveness, and informal social control. The first theory
predicts decreases in crime especially during the hours of darkness, while the second
theory predicts decreases in crime during both daytime and nighttime. Results of this
review indicate that improved street lighting significantly reduces crime. This lends
support for the continued use of improved street lighting to prevent crime in public space.
The review also found that nighttime crimes did not decrease more than daytime crimes.
This suggests that a theory of street lighting focusing on its role in increasing community
pride and informal social control may be more plausible than a theory focusing on
increased surveillance and increased deterrence. Future research should be designed to
test the main theories of the effects of improved street lighting more explicitly, and future
lighting schemes should employ high quality evaluation designs with long-term followups