The geometry of slums: boundaries, packing and diversity

The geometry of squatter settlements on the northeastern coast of Brazil is examined and compared to settlements in the central region of Kenya. In particular, fragmented structures, often squatter settlements composed of islands of dwelling or �habitations� in these settlements, and void areas which are unoccupied regions between dwellings, are studied. We find that such settlements, when constrained by urban and natural boundaries, present robust configurational patterns, which we can express best by statistical distributions with the scaling properties. Such scaling properties, when considered in the context of urban planning, can be useful for describing and predicting the spatial and social parameters of such squatter settlements. Several scaling functions and other mathematical formulae, which are of interest in planning, are also derived and discussed

City of slums: self-organisation across scales

The city is certainly a fine example of a complex system, where the parts can only be understood through the whole, and the whole is more than the simple sum of the parts. In the present paper we explore the idea that some of these parts are themselves complex systems and the interrelation between complex subsystems with the overall system is a necessary issue to the understanding of the urban complex system. Spontaneous settlements are clear examples of complex subsystems within a complex urban system. Their morphological characteristics combined with their development process are traditionally understood as chaotic and unorganised. And so are Third World cities, traditionally known for their inherent chaotic and discontinuous spatial patterns and rapid and unorganised development process. The paper consists in a brief theoretical analysis developed on the interrelationship between two urban processes across scales: the local process of formation of inner-city squatter settlements and the global process of urban growth. What is the role that spontaneous settlements play in the global dynamics of the city? We explore this issue by analysing experiments of ‘City-of-slums’, an agent-based model that focuses on the process of consolidation of inner-city squatter settlements within a peripherisation process. The paper also includes two previous studies on these topics where the dynamics of these two urban processes are examined as two isolated complex systems and an analysis of the morphological fragmentation of the distribution of spontaneous settlements within the overall city and within the spontaneous settlements themselves. Based on these analyses, we conclude with a brief discussion on the role of self-organisation in the socio-spatial dynamics of Third World cities

Assessing texture pattern in slum across scales: an unsupervised approach

According to the Global Report on Human Settlements (United Nations, 2003), almost 1 billion people (32% of the world ’s population) live in squatter settlements or slums. Recently, the perception of these settlements has changed, from harmful tumours which would spread around sickly and unhealthy cities, to a new perspective that interpret them as social expressions of more complex urban dynamics. However, considering a report from UNCHS - United Nations Center for Human Settlements, in relation to illegal and disordered urbanisation issue, some of the main challenges faced by cities are related to mapping and registering geographic information and social data spatial analysis. In this context, we present, in this paper, preliminary results from a study that aims to interpret city from the perspective of urban texture, using for this purpose, high resolution remote sensing images. We have developed analytic experiments of "urban tissue" samples, trying to identify texture patterns which could (or could not) represent distinct levels of urban poverty associated to spatial patterns. Such analysis are based on some complex theory concepts and tools, such as fractal dimension and lacunarity. Preliminary results seems to suggest that the urban tissue is fractal by nature, and from the distinct texture patterns it is possible to relate social pattern to spatial configuration, making possible the development of methodologies and computational tools which could generate, via satellite, alternative and complementary mapping and classifications for urban poverty

Philosophy & Architecture

Philosophy & Architecture special number of philosophy@LISBON (International eJournal) 5 | 2016 edited by Tomás N. Castro with Maribel Mendes Sobreira Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa ISSN 2182-437

Three essays on structural breaks

A PhD Dissertation, presented as part of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the NOVA - School of Business and Economic

THE SEEN AS OBSCENE: VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN ROBERT ALTMAN’S FILM ‘SHORT CUTS’

This study aims at analyzing Robert Altman’s film Short Cuts (1993), the equivocal and disputed adaptation of nine short stories and a narrative poem by American author Raymond Carver. The investigation, however, centers specifically on Altman’s revisitation of Carver’s short story “So Much Water So Close to Home” (1981). The study conducted here examines negative responses to the intermedial transposition of the narrative concerning violence against women. Grounds are provided to support the contention that the gender issues are due to the different styles of both Carver and Altman, the change in the mode of engagement (cf. HUTCHEON, 2006, p. 22-27) on the part of the audience and a certain “anti-corporeality” (STAM, 2005) reaction to graphic scenes involving gender-based violence. In order to substantiate such concepts, it is argued that although Short Cuts changes portions of the adapted text, it re-accentuates its psychological crises and gender antagonisms by means of a cinematic construction of visually shocking images and shifting perspectives

Alguns aspectos da reorganização do movimento dos professores públicos do estado do rio de janeiro (1977-1980)

Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro - UFR