This paper foregrounds the under - theorised figure of the policy maker in the environmental social sciences. To do so, it focuses on the case of “social practice theory” (SPT), a school of thought which has gained prominence in human geography and further afield in recent years. The paper outlines the context of environmental policy literatures and identifies a tension in many treatments of the topic by practice - oriented scholars: while it focuses on emergent social change, the traditional policy imaginary which has circulated in this literature often portrays benign, top - down policy makers who, given adequate information, are amenable to conducting the right policy “intervention.” A “governance on the inside” approach is proposed as an alternative imaginary, drawing from prominent work on polycentric governance and community economies in geographical and economic scholarship, as well as more recent work in SPT itself. Opportunities for a geographical mapping of policy difference and reflexive engagement are highlighted, hinting at rich future possibilities.
{"title":"Policy, polycentrism, and practice: Governance imaginaries in sustainability transitions","authors":"Thomas S. J. Smith","doi":"10.1111/AREA.12560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/AREA.12560","url":null,"abstract":"This paper foregrounds the under - theorised figure of the\u0000policy maker in the environmental social sciences. To do so, it\u0000focuses on the case of “social practice theory” (SPT), a school\u0000of thought which has gained prominence in human geography and\u0000further afield in recent years. The paper outlines the context\u0000of environmental policy literatures and identifies a tension in\u0000many treatments of the topic by practice - oriented scholars:\u0000while it focuses on emergent social change, the traditional\u0000policy imaginary which has circulated in this literature often\u0000portrays benign, top - down policy makers who, given adequate\u0000information, are amenable to conducting the right policy\u0000“intervention.” A “governance on the inside” approach is\u0000proposed as an alternative imaginary, drawing from prominent\u0000work on polycentric governance and community economies in\u0000geographical and economic scholarship, as well as more recent\u0000work in SPT itself. Opportunities for a geographical mapping of\u0000policy difference and reflexive engagement are highlighted,\u0000hinting at rich future possibilities.","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"358 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75899601","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
After years of public debate about same-sex marriage, the Australian Government put the issue to the electorate in the “Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey” in late 2017. The survey asked voters whether the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry. Nationally, 61.6% of voters responded “Yes.” But there were marked variations by electoral division, with the proportion of “Yes” votes varying from 26.1% to 83.7%. The aim of this paper is to explore the geographical pattern of the percentage of voters responding “Yes” by federal electoral division and identify its correlates. Results of the survey by federal electoral division were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS); other variables for electoral divisions were obtained from the ABS and the Australian Electoral Commission. Multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression were employed to establish the relationship between the percentage of “Yes” responses at the electoral division level and the characteristics of electoral divisions’ populations. In 133 of 150 electoral divisions there was a majority of “Yes” responses. Strong predictor variables of the percentage “Yes” vote included the proportions of: the population describing themselves as having no religion, those with post-school educational qualifications, those with a birthplace in Oceania, Europe, or the Americas, and those who did not vote for conservative parties in the 2016 federal election. A marginally better fit was obtained with geographically weighted regression. In conclusion, the geographical pattern of responses in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey is closely associated with a small number of characteristics of an electoral division's population.
{"title":"The geography of Australia's Marriage Law Postal Survey outcome","authors":"T. Wilson, Fiona Shalley, Francisco Perales","doi":"10.1111/AREA.12558","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/AREA.12558","url":null,"abstract":"After years of public debate about same-sex marriage, the Australian Government put the issue to the electorate in the “Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey” in late 2017. The survey asked voters whether the law should be changed to allow same-sex couples to marry. Nationally, 61.6% of voters responded “Yes.” But there were marked variations by electoral division, with the proportion of “Yes” votes varying from 26.1% to 83.7%. The aim of this paper is to explore the geographical pattern of the percentage of voters responding “Yes” by federal electoral division and identify its correlates. Results of the survey by federal electoral division were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS); other variables for electoral divisions were obtained from the ABS and the Australian Electoral Commission. Multiple linear regression and geographically weighted regression were employed to establish the relationship between the percentage of “Yes” responses at the electoral division level and the characteristics of electoral divisions’ populations. In 133 of 150 electoral divisions there was a majority of “Yes” responses. Strong predictor variables of the percentage “Yes” vote included the proportions of: the population describing themselves as having no religion, those with post-school educational qualifications, those with a birthplace in Oceania, Europe, or the Americas, and those who did not vote for conservative parties in the 2016 federal election. A marginally better fit was obtained with geographically weighted regression. In conclusion, the geographical pattern of responses in the Australian Marriage Law Postal Survey is closely associated with a small number of characteristics of an electoral division's population.","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2020-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"90554361","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The discipline of geography struggles to engage with urban futures on terms that are meaningful to the world's urban majority. This paper reflects the need to open up empirically grounded dialogue on aspirations and their complex connections to perceptions of possibility and temporality. Drawing on research carried out in two medium‐sized cities overlooked by research (Bharatpur, Nepal; Zarqa, Jordan), this paper speaks back to contemporary discourse surrounding urban life and futurity. These two projects explore aspirations located within people's everyday attempts to secure urban presents and carve out spaces for the immediate future within the realm of their control. Urban futures, it is argued, need to be imagined from the perspective of the communities experiencing the complexities and uncertainties of the urban present first‐hand, and who tailor their aspirations and expectations accordingly. In both Bharatpur and Zarqa, “grey space” proves successful in framing the roles of influence, control, and management of power in determining possibility. In Bharatpur, residents learned that only by working together in neighbourhood groups could they begin to influence the local authority to provide certain aspects of physical infrastructure – the paved roads that residents had particularly hoped for. In Zarqa, residents turn to a variety of formal channels – political and developmental – in their attempts to reverse locally manifesting urban decay and provide much‐needed green spaces for the local community. In both contexts, these local, collectively‐held aspirations are deeply linked to local perceptions of possibility, which in turn are a direct result of governance structures seeking to maintain particular urban relations and to control the pace and space of urban development.
{"title":"Aspirations in grey space: Neighbourhood governance in Nepal and Jordan","authors":"H. Ruszczyk, Martin Price","doi":"10.1111/AREA.12562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/AREA.12562","url":null,"abstract":"The discipline of geography struggles to engage with urban futures on terms that are meaningful to the world's urban majority. This paper reflects the need to open up empirically grounded dialogue on aspirations and their complex connections to perceptions of possibility and temporality. Drawing on research carried out in two medium‐sized cities overlooked by research (Bharatpur, Nepal; Zarqa, Jordan), this paper speaks back to contemporary discourse surrounding urban life and futurity. These two projects explore aspirations located within people's everyday attempts to secure urban presents and carve out spaces for the immediate future within the realm of their control. Urban futures, it is argued, need to be imagined from the perspective of the communities experiencing the complexities and uncertainties of the urban present first‐hand, and who tailor their aspirations and expectations accordingly. In both Bharatpur and Zarqa, “grey space” proves successful in framing the roles of influence, control, and management of power in determining possibility. In Bharatpur, residents learned that only by working together in neighbourhood groups could they begin to influence the local authority to provide certain aspects of physical infrastructure – the paved roads that residents had particularly hoped for. In Zarqa, residents turn to a variety of formal channels – political and developmental – in their attempts to reverse locally manifesting urban decay and provide much‐needed green spaces for the local community. In both contexts, these local, collectively‐held aspirations are deeply linked to local perceptions of possibility, which in turn are a direct result of governance structures seeking to maintain particular urban relations and to control the pace and space of urban development.","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"3 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"76364049","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
This paper addresses the difficulty of conducting research about non ‐ white racialised persons while working within predominantly white academic institutions. Specifically, I examine how to conduct research without representing Black bodies as a fixed, exoticised Other that is oppositional to a disembodied white Self. To do so, I use double consciousness alongside Black feminist work on dialogues as a methodological framework to centre Black Muslim women as knowledge producers. This novel approach moves away from simply describing (and fixing) racialised bodies to a particular performance/experience, and instead explores how performances shift as we negotiate different bodies, objects, and spaces. The paper advances discussions in critical race studies and the ethics of geographical research by illustrating how the situated experiences of the researcher and the participant are embedded in processes of knowledge production: I look to subvert the fixing of racialised bodies as deviations from the normative white background of academia.
{"title":"Throwing our bodies against the white background of academia","authors":"Azeezat Johnson","doi":"10.1111/AREA.12568","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/AREA.12568","url":null,"abstract":"This paper addresses the difficulty of conducting research about non ‐ white racialised persons while working within predominantly white academic institutions. Specifically, I examine how to conduct research without representing Black bodies as a fixed, exoticised Other that is oppositional to a disembodied white Self. To do so, I use double consciousness alongside Black feminist work on dialogues as a methodological framework to centre Black Muslim women as knowledge producers. This novel approach moves away from simply describing (and fixing) racialised bodies to a particular performance/experience, and instead explores how performances shift as we negotiate different bodies, objects, and spaces. The paper advances discussions in critical race studies and the ethics of geographical research by illustrating how the situated experiences of the researcher and the participant are embedded in processes of knowledge production: I look to subvert the fixing of racialised bodies as deviations from the normative white background of academia.","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"8 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-06-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88363210","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Political language − and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists − is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind . (Orwell, 2013 [1946])
{"title":"Political geography and language: A reappraisal for a diverse discipline","authors":"Ingrid A. Medby","doi":"10.1111/AREA.12559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/AREA.12559","url":null,"abstract":"Political language − and with variations this is true of all political parties, from Conservatives to Anarchists − is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind . (Orwell, 2013 [1946])","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"75325698","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Area\u0000 Prize: The Wiley Publisher's\u0000 Area\u0000 Prize for New Research in Geography","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/area.12452","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/area.12452","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"26 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87942986","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The ratio between the rental and sales values of residential properties are a much studied statistic in the field of real estate economics. When these values do not keep pace with each other, and in particular when the ratio is low, some commentators take this as an indication that there may be a housing bubble building. The ratios are also of interest to potential property investors. These ratios are commonly computed on aggregate statistics derived from the housing market and as such rarely provide any indication of sub‐market bubbles, that can occur with particular property types or regions of the country. In this study use is made of a data set from a property listings company that provides sales and, potentially, rental prices for the same properties within England. From the matching that takes place it is possible to calculate the rent/price ratio for individual properties. A regression model is then estimated to explain how the characteristics of the properties; the nature of their neighbourhood; and their location influence this ratio. The model consistently validates the hypothesis that the more desirable a property or affluent an area, the lower the rent/price ratio. It also begins to illustrate the range of “normal” rent/price ratios that may exist in housing sub‐markets. The regression model is then used to provide a map of the geographical distribution of the ratio for England for one property sub‐market.
{"title":"Rent/price ratio for English housing sub‐markets using matched sales and rental data","authors":"Stephen Clark, N. Lomax","doi":"10.1111/AREA.12555","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/AREA.12555","url":null,"abstract":"The ratio between the rental and sales values of residential properties are a much studied statistic in the field of real estate economics. When these values do not keep pace with each other, and in particular when the ratio is low, some commentators take this as an indication that there may be a housing bubble building. The ratios are also of interest to potential property investors. These ratios are commonly computed on aggregate statistics derived from the housing market and as such rarely provide any indication of sub‐market bubbles, that can occur with particular property types or regions of the country. In this study use is made of a data set from a property listings company that provides sales and, potentially, rental prices for the same properties within England. From the matching that takes place it is possible to calculate the rent/price ratio for individual properties. A regression model is then estimated to explain how the characteristics of the properties; the nature of their neighbourhood; and their location influence this ratio. The model consistently validates the hypothesis that the more desirable a property or affluent an area, the lower the rent/price ratio. It also begins to illustrate the range of “normal” rent/price ratios that may exist in housing sub‐markets. The regression model is then used to provide a map of the geographical distribution of the ratio for England for one property sub‐market.","PeriodicalId":72297,"journal":{"name":"Area (Oxford, England)","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2019-05-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85279405","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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