Brownfield Residential Development: What Happens to the Most Deprived Neighbourhoods in England?

The strategic re-use of brownfield land for housing in the late 1990s in England is a policy instrument introduced to achieve multiple sustainability and urban regeneration objectives. Previous research, mostly relying on qualitative data and local authority case studies, tends to focus on barriers and drivers of brownfield regeneration, rather than on its impact. This study aims to bridge this research gap by examining the impact of residential brownfield development in the most deprived urban areas during 2001–08. Policy impacts in terms of changing housing markets, residential density, population growth and economic deprivation are systematically examined with a series of indicators through GIS analysis and the analysis of variance tests. Conclusions are then drawn on the effectiveness of brownfield development in tackling deprivation and the relevance of these findings for the international debate about planning and land use policy. </jats:p

Fragility and Recovery: Housing, Localities and Uneven Spatial Development in the UK

Hincks S., Webb B. and Wong C. Fragility and recovery: housing, localities and uneven spatial development in the UK, Regional Studies. Uneven spatial development has long been a characteristic feature of the economic and social fabric of the UK. The north-south divide has become something of a hegemonic narrative in the UK and this has served to mask an 'archipelago' of variegated spatial development in housing and locality conditions at sub-national and sub-regional scales. This paper explores the changing nature of sub-regional housing and locality conditions across the UK and evidence is found of significant spatial variation in the way that places responded to the effects of the most recent economic recession. © 2013 Copyright Regional Studies Association

Developing indicators to inform local economic development

Summary. Based on a conceptual framework of 11 factors that are widely perceived to be the major determinants of local economic development (LED), 29 indicators were identi ed to measure these factors. Principal component analysis was rst used to examine the structure of relationships among the compiled LED indicators for local authority districts in England and to explore the spatial patterns that emerge from the analysis. A series of multiple regression models were then calibrated to investigate the relative strengths of relationship between the LED indicators and various performance variables. The nal section concludes with the key issues revealed by the ndings of these multivariate analyses

Premutation in the Fragile X Mental Retardation 1 (FMR1) Gene Affects Maternal Zn-milk and Perinatal Brain Bioenergetics and Scaffolding.

Fragile X premutation alleles have 55-200 CGG repeats in the 5' UTR of the FMR1 gene. Altered zinc (Zn) homeostasis has been reported in fibroblasts from &gt;60 years old premutation carriers, in which Zn supplementation significantly restored Zn-dependent mitochondrial protein import/processing and function. Given that mitochondria play a critical role in synaptic transmission, brain function, and cognition, we tested FMRP protein expression, brain bioenergetics, and expression of the Zn-dependent synaptic scaffolding protein SH3 and multiple ankyrin repeat domains 3 (Shank3) in a knock-in (KI) premutation mouse model with 180 CGG repeats. Mitochondrial outcomes correlated with FMRP protein expression (but not FMR1 gene expression) in KI mice and human fibroblasts from carriers of the pre- and full-mutation. Significant deficits in brain bioenergetics, Zn levels, and Shank3 protein expression were observed in the Zn-rich regions KI hippocampus and cerebellum at PND21, with some of these effects lasting into adulthood (PND210). A strong genotype × age interaction was observed for most of the outcomes tested in hippocampus and cerebellum, whereas in cortex, age played a major role. Given that the most significant effects were observed at the end of the lactation period, we hypothesized that KI milk might have a role at compounding the deleterious effects on the FMR1 genetic background. A higher gene expression of ZnT4 and ZnT6, Zn transporters abundant in brain and lactating mammary glands, was observed in the latter tissue of KI dams. A cross-fostering experiment allowed improving cortex bioenergetics in KI pups nursing on WT milk. Conversely, WT pups nursing on KI milk showed deficits in hippocampus and cerebellum bioenergetics. A highly significant milk type × genotype interaction was observed for all three-brain regions, being cortex the most influenced. Finally, lower milk-Zn levels were recorded in milk from lactating women carrying the premutation as well as other Zn-related outcomes (Zn-dependent alkaline phosphatase activity and lactose biosynthesis-whose limiting step is the Zn-dependent β-1,4-galactosyltransferase). In premutation carriers, altered Zn homeostasis, brain bioenergetics and Shank3 levels could be compounded by Zn-deficient milk, increasing the risk of developing emotional and neurological/cognitive problems and/or FXTAS later in life