City, Culture and Society最新文献

The technologically endowed Smart Cities take credit for managing the COVID-19 pandemic more effectively than other urban centers. However, Indian smart cities seemed unprepared for the outbreak, with reported highest cases of death and positivity rates. Thus, it becomes essential to understand why these smart cities could not handle the pandemic despite their technologically advanced infrastructures and the citizen’s role in managing it. This paper analyzes the impact of the Smart City Mission (SCM) interventions from a citizen-centric perspective and its influence on pandemic management and citizen inclusivity. The study draws from the right to the smart city framework along with stages of the digital divide. The study conducted a content analysis using secondary sources like published and unpublished papers, policy reports, and news analyses spanning the timeline of 2015-2022. The analysis infers that the lack of initiatives to link marginalized citizens with Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) through the SCM policy led to the underutilization of the various initiatives launched during the pandemic, deepening the digital divide. The deduction from the analysis highlights that the ‘chatur citizens’ act as a solution by transitioning their formal access to ICTs into effective access enabling the marginalized communities to bridge the divide.

Many cities in Western Europe have become superdiverse. Yet, even if different ethnic groups live in the same neighbourhoods, they often do not interact. In particular, people without a migration background tend to segregate in multicultural cities and have little contact with people of other ethnic backgrounds. To receive a better understanding of mechanisms underlying processes of segregation in such neighbourhoods, we focus on contexts in which people without a migration background are a numerical ethnic minority while another ethnic group is dominant. Using a vignette survey experiment conducted in Amsterdam (n = 364), we show that certain forms of inclusion indirectly increase the willingness to frequent places in the neighbourhood in which people without a migration background are an ethnic minority. In particular, we examine the effects of a direct (all-inclusive approach) and an indirect (numerical representation) form of inclusion on the feeling of belonging. The results show that the feeling of belonging is increased by a direct sign of inclusion which in turn increases the willingness to frequent the contexts. This article contributes to our understanding of mechanisms underlying processes of segregation from the perspective of people without a migration background in context where they are a numerical ethnic minority.

This paper considers the two concepts: the cultural and creative ecosystem, and the circular economy. It explores superficial commonalities and differences, as well as what can be learned from this ‘cyclical’ thinking (which we later frame as relational and contextual thinking). We lay out the common narratives of circularity in the representation of environmental and cultural sustainability. The aim is to move beyond superficial comparisons and understand the conceptual shifts that underlie them. The paper then seeks to explore what lessons can be learned from this understanding for the creative economy, about which there has been recent debate about its environmental impact. The final section turns to the governance of the (proto-) circular economy, and explores what sort of a ‘fit’ these new ideas have with existing institutions, and what changes are likely to be needed to current institutions and governance.

This research paper aims at contributing to the debate on the crucial role of adaptive reuse of cultural heritage in transitioning towards a circular-human centered adaptive reuse. Through the lens of heritage as a living system (Fusco Girard 2019), this paper explores how the entrepreneurial journey of an award-winning industrial heritage building, namely: De Hoorn in Leuven, Belgium, led to establishing a positive impact real estate developer, namely: Miss Miyagi. This young Belgian start-up initiated another award-winning industrial heritage building and launched an innovative cooperative investment fund. By narrating a positive impact entrepreneurial journey, this paper showcases the role heritage plays as a unique opportunity for commoning, innovation and contributing to the circular perspective. Finally, since the opportunity, entrepreneurial characteristic, and the process are not the only essential ingredients to success, this paper highlights how building an ecosystem and being supported by an enabling environment was also crucial. In the first part of this paper, the living system experience is put into context. In the second part, the author sheds light on the regenerative, generative, and symbiotic capacities of this living system (Fusco Girard 2019). Finally, the last part reflects on this novel experience.

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive perspective to heritage economics, and the contribution of that field to urban conservation. Cultural economics, and in particular heritage economics, is often envisioned as a margin discipline to help conservation specialists in assessing additional outcomes and benefits to the expected cultural values from preserving heritage. This paper is built on the conservation paradigm (consistent with the urban agenda in a sustainable context) which considers economics as primary goal of conservation, on the basis that sustainable conservation projects are better legitimized when they match economic, social, and environmental objectives. The scope of this paper is tangible (built heritage) and intangible heritage. The approach is the value chain of all activities directly and indirectly related to the conservation of cultural heritage, namely: the creation of value, conservation and co-production of value, dissemination, and transmission/fruition & engagement.

In recent years the government of Brussels Capital Region has put considerable effort into leading the transition from a linear to a circular model of economy. Within the construction sector, identified as key by the local authorities, specific measures have been developed to stimulate and support this change. While some actors have embraced the challenge, placing themselves as frontrunners, a large part of the construction sector has still to fully engage in the transition.

Building on the review of the main strategies and researches, as well as on direct observations and in-depth discussion with practitioners and other construction stakeholders, this article dives into the reality of the day-to-day practice to provide feedback on the level of acceptance, understanding, development, and implementation of circular strategies and tools in Brussels’ construction sector, thus aiming at strengthening the link between research and practice.

It emerges that Circular Economy principles and strategies are not yet broadly understood and applied. To generate a deeper engagement of all the actors it seems crucial to create a shared culture around Circular Economy by addressing knowledge gaps, developing technical support, and clarifying the integration of circular practices within the other regional strategies for the sector's decarbonisation and sustainability.