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Institutional Framework for Open Space Conservation
Get PDFFinding an effective approach to conserve large-scale, multipurpose open spaces through a coordinated network across jurisdictional boundary lines has proved elusive. Because open space infrastructure serves so many functions ranging from recreational trails to ecological systems protection, decision makers have often treated open space as a subpart of another activity and overlooked its importance. After discussing the benefits of open space conservation, this article analyzes the impediments to its realization. Noting the institutional fragmentation that surrounds open space conservation, the article discusses the governmental and private sector bodies that implement actions designed to achieve it. The article argues that open space conservation should be institutionalized on a watershed basis, which most likely covers a geographical area of regional scope crossing a number of local government boundary lines. Thus, the protection of open and green spaces can best be effectuated by a regional governance structure involving collaboration and coordination among state and local governments and the private sector. The federal government can incentivize intergovernmental natural resource protection by making regionally based open space planning a condition for the receipt of federal funds just as it does in the transportation funding realm. Too often governmental officials have marginalized open space conservation efforts by failing to allocate necessary resources for this purpose. The protection of distinct areas of the natural landscape from development provides essential ecological benefits; accordingly, this green space should be treated as vital public infrastructure created and maintained for the public good
The Business of Heritage in Singapore: Money, Politics & Identity
Get PDFSingapore is one of the most rational and unsentimental places on earth. Its government prides itself on its pragmatic approach to policy-making, and is not afraid to slaughter sacred cows if they have to. This is perhaps most dramatically demonstrated by the radical modernization of Singapore’s built environment through its various Master Plans and public housing programmes. This massive physical transformation is perhaps modern Singapore’s most visible sign of progress. In such a milieu, ‘heritage’ is viewed more as a commodity to be bargained over than a common good in itself. The discussion over whether a building should be preserved or whether an artifact should be showcased hinges on its marginal utility to two overriding considerations – money and politics. The value of a building is not measured in the vague and unquantifiable terms of historical value or social memory, but in economically calculated utility and opportunity costs. While this model of decision-making may well result in the most rationale choices being made, it also leads to a feeling of alienation and the lack of identity Singaporeans feel for their land. This paper considers the place of heritage in Singapore from the time of its independence in 1965 to the present day and argues that hitherto, pecuniary and political imperatives have reduced the role of heritage in creating a national identity to a subsidiary one. It will also argue that unless this balance shifts to a more even keel, Singapore is in danger of losing both its heritage and its identity
Book Review, Regulatory Waves: Comparative Perspectives on State Regulation and Self-Regulation Policies in the Nonprofit Sector
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COVID, Housing and Health Disparities: Eviction during a Pandemic
No full textThe United States has a shortage of safe and affordable housing. As a result, low-income individuals and families may experience substandard living conditions, housing instability and homelessness. Socioeconomic groups more likely to face housing hardships are also those disproportionately adversely affected by COVID-19. The outbreak has exacerbated these disparities as many people have lost their jobs and struggle to make rent or utility payments. Eviction moratoria may have helped to mitigate the negative impact in the short term; however, additional legal and policy strategies may be needed to support renters during the pandemic and after. Georgia State Law professors Courtney Anderson and Lauren Sudeall will join law student Lisa Hwang in discussing the importance of secure housing to public health in the midst of a global pandemic, whether the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions’s eviction moratorium will be enough to protect vulnerable communities, how this is unfolding in Georgia’s dispossessory courts and the impact on individuals and families. This virtual event is co-sponsored by the Center for Access to Justice, the Center for Law, Health, and Society, and the Center for the Comparative Study of Metropolitan Growth
