Suchergebnisse

Traditional Islamic cities have generally gathered orientalized gazes and perspectives, picking up from misconceptions and stereotypes that evolved during the seconf half of the 19th century and were perpectuated by colonialism. More recent scholarship has shed light on the urban organization and composition of such tissues; most of them confined to old quarters or historical centres of thriving contemporary cities within the Arab-Muslim world. In fact, one of the most striking features has been the unveiling of layered urban assemblages where exterior agents have somehow launched or interrupted an apparent islamicized continuum. Primarly, this paper wishes to search for external political factors that have designed regularly geometrized patterns in medium-sized Arab towns. For that, two case studies from different geographies - Maghreb and the Near East - will be morphologically analysed through updated urban surveys. Whereas Nablus (Palestine) ows the urban matrix of its old town to its Roman past, in Azemmour's medina (Morocco) it is still possible to track the thin European early-modern colonial stratum. However, both cases show how regularity patterns challenge Western concepts of geometrical design to embrace levels of rationality related to tradional Islamic urban forms, societal configurations and built environment. Urban morphology becomes a fundamental tool for articulating the history with me processes of sedimentation and evolution in order to read current urban prints and dynamics. Thus, the paper will also interpret alternative logics of rational urban display in Azemmour and Nablus, linked to ways of living within the Islamic sphere. ; Traditional Islamic cities have generally gathered orientalized gazes and perspectives, picking up from misconceptions and stereotypes that evolved during the seconf half of the 19th century and were perpectuated by colonialism. More recent scholarship has shed light on the urban organization and composition of such tissues; most of them confined to old quarters or ...

After coming to power in 2014 Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government announced the ambitious programme of building 100 smart cities in India. The idea behind is to rejuvenate the ailing urban system, improve urban infrastructure, quality of life and achieve sustainable and inclusive development besides other things. Tremendous demographic pressure, inadequate infrastructure and resources to cater to the population which runs in billions, unplanned growth of the peri-urban sprawls characterize India's urban environment. Socio-economic imperatives are the key factors behind the rapid urbanization in India. Livelihood, security and prosperity are some prime movers. Ironically, cities, which on the one hand are considered the growth engines of economy, also attract poverty (socio-economically marginalized population) in large proportion. Consequently posh urban sprawls in Indian cities exist amidst impoverished habitats called slums where the poor inhabitants are condemned to live in sub-human condition. Reconciling growing affluence and abject poverty in cities is a difficult task too. In the backdrop of India's urban challenges this paper seeks to examine some critical issues associated with the development of smart cities to understand: Will smart cities serve India's aspiration or fulfill its urban needs? Can it address the contemporary and future needs of India's urbanization? How will it ensure the participation of the urban stakeholders? How will it ensure social inclusion and finally, whether India needs smart cities or smart urban solutions for sustainable development?

This paper reviews what local governments in more than 50 cities are doing with regard to disaster risk reduction. It draws on the reports of their participation in the global Making Cities Resilient Campaign and its 10 "essential" components, and on interviews with city mayors or managers. These show how resilience to disasters is being conceived and addressed by local governments, especially with regard to changes in their institutional framework and engagement with communities and other stakeholders, also in mobilizing finance, undertaking multi-hazard risk assessments, upgrading informal settlements, adjusting urban planning and implementing building codes. The paper summarizes what city mayors or managers view as key milestones for building resilience, and further discusses their evaluation of the usefulness of the campaign to them. It also discusses how a local government-focused perspective on disaster risk reduction informs our understanding of resilience. This includes how development can contribute much to disaster risk reduction as well as a more tangible and operational understanding of resilience (resistance + coping capacity + recovery + adaptive capacity) that local governments can understand and act on.