DIE ERDE – Journal of the Geographical Society of Berlin
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The European City – a Model for Future Urban Development and its Elements
Get PDFCities in Europe have slowly evolved and developed over several centuries. During quite a long period we have seen phases of rise and of decline of cities in Europe. Before the period of industrialisation, feudalism, trading and the growing importance of national states influenced and shaped cities as well as city networks in Europe. Industrialisation, a phenomenon of the modern age, again produced new cities and also an enormous growth of European cities. Urban development policy in Germany has set the focus on the “European city”. The article concentrates on how the term is used in German urban development policy and on the challenges German cities are confronted with. Expectations addressed to the European city model are reflected. Imports as well as exports of this type of city are considered. The findings lead to conclusions on the importance of the European city as a model and guiding vision in urban planning
Multilocational Households in the Global South and North: Relevance, Features and Spatial Implications
Get PDFBoth in the Global North and South, labour-related circular migration is on the rise. However, an integrated view on multilocality in both contexts is wanting. Addressing this gap and based on primary and secondary data, this paper identifies key structural factors shaping labour-related circular migration in both South and North: economic transformation, spatial structures, transportation/communication technology, societal modernisation. It ascertains the important (albeit dissimilar) role of households in motivating multilocational living arrangements at both ends. Different spatio-temporal patterns and socio-economic characteristics of the involved households in countries of the North and South are related to dissimilar effects of the structural factors in each context
Urban Regeneration – Strategies of Shrinking Cities in Eastern Germany
Get PDFThis contribution is meant to contrast the often negative images and scenarios of demographic change in eastern German cities by a more differentiated picture, by discussing regeneration processes running parallel – and sometimes even opposite – to shrinking. In this context, the regeneration of cities is understood as a complex process including demographic, socio-economic and physical dimensions. In the first part of the article the term will be discussed and some conceptional aspects will be presented. The second part will present evidence for a differentiated development of mediumsized towns. In the third part, we will present the hypothesis that strategies of urban development influence regeneration processes. This hypothesis will be evaluated by the examples of three cities with different regeneration approaches: Brandenburg an der Havel, Görlitz and Greifswald. Finally we will draw some general conclusions on urban development policy in eastern Germany
Towards an Integrated Understanding of Demographic Change and its Spatio-Temporal Dimensions: Concepts, Data Needs and Case Studies
Get PDFDemographic change is a macro-phenomenon, driven by decisions and events at the individual level. However, individual-level events are often influenced by the spatial socioeconomic context in which the actors are embedded. This context usually changes slowly over time which suggests that the present circumstances depend to a large extent on past developments. In this paper, we outline how a GIS-based empirical research approach can deepen our understanding of the spatio-temporal dimensions of demographic change. This approach can benefit from the concepts and methods of at least three disciplines: demography, geography and historical sciences. In addition, we describe the recent improvements in the (geo-)data infrastructure, with the goal of overcoming data limitations that have so far restricted research in this field. Three case studies illustrate the potential of such an approach
Can Households be Multilocal? Conceptual and Methodological Considerations based on a Namibian Case Study
Get PDFThis contribution deals with circular migration, remittances and rural-urban support networks in Namibia’s southern Kunene region and with the question of how to conceptualise the household as a unit of analysis in the context of these dynamics. Based on an outline of the methodology used to gather quantifiable data on rural-urban exchange and empirical data, it focuses on the domestic unit and analyses its role in the context of high mobility and rural-urban networks. It offers a critique of the ‘multilocal household’ approach and suggests the concept of translocal livelihoods as an alternative approach
After the Flood. Mobility as an Adaptation Strategy in High Mountain Oases. The Case of Pasu in Gojal, Hunza Valley, Karakoram
Get PDFThe high mountain environment of the Hunza Valley in the Karakoram is characterised by significant potential energy, extended glaciation and related events that tend to threaten habitations and settlements. The village oasis of Pasu is taken as a case in point to highlight adaptation and coping strategies over a longer period. The village lands of Pasu have been shrinking over time owing to glacier outburst floods in the upper valleys. The inhabitants of Pasu have developed a set of coping strategies that are linked to mobility. Shifting populations to newly created irrigated oases in previously barren lands, out-migration to urban areas within the Karakoram and to metropolises in downcountry Pakistan in search of employment and education, international migration to overseas destinations, and the broadening of income generation by reducing the importance of agriculture in favour of services and tourism are measures of adaptation that are embedded into the sociopolitical and economic framework conditions. The shrinking village lands of Pasu have posed tremendous challenges to the mountain farmers, who have developed their own responses
Visualisation and Interpretation of Moraine Landscapes in North- East Germany – the Ideal View on Landscape
Get PDFVisual representations of the earth’s surface can nowadays be produced on the basis of data with high resolution and accuracy. Especially 3D-visualisations can provide an excellent basis for “comprehensive cognition”. However, specific accentuations and generalisations are necessary to turn them into an adequate cognitive tool. Here we introduce a specific generalisation approach, presented by visualisations of two lowland landscape sections in the state of Brandenburg, Germany
The Hukou System as China’s Main Regulatory Framework for Temporary Rural-Urban Migration and its Recent Changes
Get PDFMore than 50 years ago China’s government established the hukou system in order to prevent rural urban migration, requiring people to stay in the area where they were registered. Migrating to the city without being registered as ‘urban’ implied that the migrants had no access to education, food, housing, employment and a variety of other social services. In 1982, when unskilled labour was in short supply in the booming cities, a programme of gradual reform was started which eased the strict regulations. However, the level of liberalisation varied from one province to another and from one metropolis to the other, creating remarkable differences in the regulatory framework. The paper describes the history of the hukou system and its consequences as well as its reforms from the early beginnings to the present day and discusses the need for further reform
Changing Local Government Responses to Migration in South Africa
Get PDFConstitutionally empowered to be a leading force for development, provincial and municipal authorities have been wary of addressing population movements or seeing them as fundamentally tied to socio-economic development. In many instances, authorities fear that developing pro-active, positive responses to migration would only encourage more of it. Whatever the reason, budgeting and planning exercises make little reference to extended population projections or other insights into the relationships among mobility, livelihoods, and community development. As the population continues to move, the shortcomings of these planning exercises and interventions have become increasingly evident in terms of limited access to critical services, physical and economic insecurity, marginalisation, and social conflict. This essay explains why and suggests means of addressing these challenges