62 research outputs found
Old and New. Delving into the Origins of Collectivization
No full textSoviet experiences played an important part in the broader international debate on rural planning throughout
the early decades of the twentieth century. In this respect, the competition for the Green City of Moscow and the
project for new forms of human habitat in the Urals by M. Ginzburg and the OSA group (Sverdlovsk, Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk, 1926-32) –much too often labelled as “utopian” by architectural historians– deserve due reconsideration (Meriggi, 2009).
Based on research begun with MA (Kravchenko, 2019; Meriggi, 2019) and PhD students (Batunova, 2017), this paper
focuses on Verblyud, Gigant and other collective villages of the Salsk steppes, taking us to the origins of collectivization and epitomizing the 1920s and 1930s Soviet planning theory and practice.
Underpinning aspects include, firstly, the land: its population and settlement patterns before and during the modernization process. Secondly, the actual extensions of each production unit and the ratio between the number
of farmers and arable land. Finally, we cannot but venture a tentative understanding of the hierarchy of new rural settlements – some acting as sovkhoz headquarters, others as smaller kolkhozy and communes.
What follows is an attempt to piece together a heterogeneous set of information with the help of historical maps, building on a methodology in use by the author since 2000 for studying Soviet avantgarde projects performed by iteratively cross-checking bibliographic sources, visual documentation, cartographic selection, interpretation, and elaboration. Historical maps became a tool to contextualize the projects’ actual impact on the places concerned.
In the case of the Salsk steppes, the key research output is a map showing the evolution of the main settlements from the early1920s until the late 1930s. Two sources have guided our work: the economic geographer Nikolay Baranskij (1956a), and Eisenstein’s documentary film Staroe i novoe (Old and New), depicting the situation ex ante, the political terms of collectivization and its protagonists. In addition, this contribution is mainly based on Russian sources, maps, journals, books and reports dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, as well as recent scholarly works.
This contribution expands the research carried out at Politecnico di Milano on sovkhoz-heritage sites near Zernograd
(lit. “city of grain”), the former Verblyud (lit. “camel”), whose populations, like that of many other medium size towns in the Rostov Region have both been shrinking (Meriggi, 2019).
This paper examines four rural areas and settlements along the Rostov-Salsk railway line: the Tselinskij rayon (Tselina District, former Zapadno-Konnozavodcheskiy rayon), 1922–6; the Stalin kolkhoz (originally the Sejatel’ Commune), 1930s to 1950s; the Gigant zernosovkhoz no.1 (Gigant State Grain Farm), 1928¦; and the Uchebno-opytnnyj zernosovkhoz no.2 (Educational-Experimental State Grain Farm, originally named Verblyud), 1929. It argues that, from the early 1920s to the late 1950s, the Salsk District became a testing ground for early Soviet rural planning and
architecture
La città verde
No full textIl tema della “città verde” è oggi indissolubilmente legato all’idea di bioarchitettura, da un lato, e di città sostenibile, dall’altro. “Città verde” è il titolo di un concorso di architettura del 1929 per la costruzione di una città del riposo nei pressi di Mosca che produsse quattro progetti di maestri dell’avanguardia russa che fecero del tema il pretesto per la proposta di nuove tipologie insediative. In questo libro, il termine “città verde” riunisce una serie di esperienze che, come quei quattro progetti, hanno cercato di delineare una nuova tipologia insediativa strutturalmente fondata nella campagna e nel territorio e alternativa alla grande città come forma di habitat per lo sviluppo della società moderna.
Il libro è diviso in due parti. La prima parte, "La città verde", scritta dall'autore - è composta da sei saggi in cui attraverso il confronto tra quattro esperienze di progettazione di insediamenti fondati sul territorio e complementari alla città negli anni '30 e '40 del Novecento: tra Russia (Il concorso per la "Città verde di Mosca" e il disurbanesimo), Italia (La campagna padana di Gaetano Ciocca) e Stati Uniti (I progetti per gli insediamenti TVA). Nei casi di studio vengono delineati gli elementi tipici di una forma insediativa complementare alla grande città, con le sue tipologie architettoniche distintive. La rassegna si conclude con un capitolo finale sulle caratteristiche del progetto di "città verde" desumibili dal confronto tra casi di studio che apre la seconda parte del libro. La seconda parte, “Per un atlante delle città verdi”, redatta da autori invitati e specialisti - è composta da sei saggi che propongono una rilettura di noti casi di architettura moderna in chiave di progetto di “città verde”: dalla visione fisiocratica negli Stati Uniti (Thomas Jefferson, M. C. Loi) e in Francia (Claude N. Ledoux, D. Chizzoniti); alle cittadelle industriali modello negli Stati Uniti (Henry Ford, F. Bucci) e in Italia a Ivrea (Olivetti, F. Bonfante); alle visioni del secondo Novecento di nuove forme insediative fondate sul territorio in Italia (“ruralistica” di Amos Edallo, G. Frassine; “l’eco-città” di Marcello D’Olivo, G. L. Ferreri).
Il volume si apre con una prefazione di Guido Canella e si chiude con una postfazione di Jurij P. Volchok. Nel dare il profilo di ciascuna delle esperienze citate, tutti gli autori dei diversi contributi hanno di volta in volta teso a evidenziarne soprattutto la proattività in termini di discorso architettonico e di progettazione insediativa. Le “città verdi” che compongono il libro sono frutto di ricerche svolte dagli autori nell’ambito di dottorati di ricerca e per progetti europei (COST C 11) e MIUR presso il Dipartimento di Progettazione Architettonica del Politecnico.The theme of the “green city” is today inextricably linked to the idea of bio architecture, on the one hand, and of a sustainable city, on the other. “Green City” is the title of a 1929 architectural competition for constructing a city of rest near Moscow that produced four projects by masters of the Russian avant-garde who made the theme the pretext for the proposition of new settlement typologies. In this book, the term “green city” brings together a series of experiences that, like those four projects, have sought to outline a new settlement typology structurally founded in the countryside and in the territory and alternative to the big city as a form of habitat for the development of modern society.
The book is divided into two parts.
The first part, "The Green City", written by the author - consists of six essays in which through a comparison between four experiences of planning settlements founded in the territory and complementary to the city in the 30s and 40s of the twentieth century: between Russia (The competition for the "Green City of Moscow" and disurbanism), Italy (the Po Valley countryside of Gaetano Ciocca) and the United States (the projects for the TVA settlements). In the case-studies, the typical elements of a form of settlement complementary to the large city are outlined, with its distinctive architectural types. The review ends with a final chapter on the characteristics of the "green city" project deducible from the comparison between case studies that opens the second part of the book. The second part, “For an atlas of Green Cities”, written by invited authors and specialists - consists of six essays that propose a rereading of well-known cases of modern architecture in the key of the “green city” project: from the physiocratic vision in the United States (Thomas Jefferson, M. C. Loi) and in France (Claude N. Ledoux, D. Chizzoniti); to the model industrial citadels in the United States (Henry Ford, F. Bucci) and in Italy in Ivrea (Olivetti, F. Bonfante); to the visions of the second half of the twentieth century of new forms of settlement founded in the territory in Italy (“ruralistica” by Amos Edallo, G. Frassine; “the eco-town” by Marcello D’Olivo, G. L. Ferreri).
The volume opens with a preface by Guido Canella and closes with an afterword by Jurij P. Volchok.
In giving the profile of each of the experiences cited, all the authors of the different contributions have from time to time tended to highlight above all the proactivity in terms of architectural discourse and settlement design. The "green cities" that make up the book are the result of research carried out by the authors in the context of research doctorates and for European projects (COST C 11) and MIUR at the Department of Architectural Design of the Polytechnic
Subsidies for technology adoption : Experimental evidence from rural Cameroon
No full textWe use a two-stage experiment to study how a short-term subsidy for a new product affects uptake, usage, and future demand for the same product (a new solar lamp). We use an auction design to gauge willingness-to-pay, and randomly vary the strike price across villages to create random variation in purchase prices and uptake across villages. Our main results are that subsidies do not adversely affect subsequent product use, but stimulate uptake. If subsidies depress future willingness-to-pay, then this effect is outweighed by additional learning about the benefits of the new product. The net effect is that short-term subsidies increase future willingness-to-pay. However; prices play an important allocative role, and lowering prices via subsidies encourages uptake by households with low use intensity. We do not find any evidence supporting social learning and anchoring beyond the initial sample of beneficiaries
Data and Code for: An Experiment in Candidate Selection
No full textThis entry contains the de-identified datasets and code to replicate the tables and figures in the manuscript "An Experiment in Candidate Selection" and accompanying online appendix
Mutualistic Relationships between Microorganisms and Eusocial Wasps (Hymenoptera, Vespidae)
No full textEusocial wasps are represented in the Vespidae by the subfamilies Stenogastrinae, Vespinae and Polistinae. These wasps present colonies that are sometimes composed of thousands of individuals which live in nests built with paper materials. The high density of the adult and larval population, as well as the stable micro environment of the nests, make very favourable conditions for the flourishing of various types of microorganisms. These microorganisms, which may be pathogens, are beneficial and certainly contribute to model the sociality of these insects. The mutualistic relationships that we observe in some species, especially in Actinomycete bacteria and yeasts, could have important fallouts for the development of new medicines and for the use of these insects in agricultural environments
La nazione populista di Marco Meriggi. Una introduzione al dibattito
No full textThe author introduces the discussion of Marco Meriggi’s book by summarily describing its contents and highlighting some features that are particularly worthy of attention. He points to some general themes for reflection referring to more detailed critical contributions of the participants in the discussion
Strengthening Political Accountability During Covid-19: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Digital Town Halls on the Legitimacy of Government in Freetown, Sierra Leone
No full textIn this study, we provide experimental evidence on the efficacy of a low-cost and easily adoptable
type of digital participatory budgeting town hall (DTH). The DTH was designed to facilitate
citizen-representative interactions and horizontal (citizen-citizen) deliberation during the Covid-
19 pandemic (January - March 2021). We study whether being invited increases satisfaction with political representatives and the political system, political efficacy and interpersonal trust. Our field experiment is situated in 30 of 48 wards of Freetown, Sierra Leone. In study wards, a random subset of property owners who were scheduled to receive a property tax notice in 2020 were invited to take part in one of 55 Digital Town Halls. These Town Halls took the form of a moderated WhatsApp chat and allowed the up to 40 invitees to interact with representatives and to deliberate with fellow property owners from their neighborhood. DTH discussions revolved around how a budget of approx. $1,500 should be spent in their ward
Agricultural development in the poorest countries: insights from the poultry sector in Sierra Leone
No full textIn many African countries, agricultural development has been slow, and many people remain food insecure. Productivity growth in the agricultural sector is crucial as the majority of the population depends on agriculture for food and income. We focus on Sierra Leone, which like many African countries has followed a growth path of agricultural expansion rather than intensification. Over the past decades the country has become increasingly dependent on food imports, and hard-earned foreign currency is used to purchase food that the country could produce itself. We argue that the prospects of further growth and development along this path are limited. We focus on the poultry sector, and, based on our work in the country, identify promising directions for change. We argue for a growth strategy based on agriculture-based industrialization for domestic and regional markets. We highlight the importance of learning and coordination within the value chain and argue that prospects for sectoral development may not materialize without complementary (trade) policies. Central in this process is the development of an agri-industry, which helps scale productivity and the possibility to add value in the supply chain. Growth in agriculture is achievable with local resources and likely creates more broad-based prosperity than investing in other sectors. A policy focus on such sustainable intensification of agriculture seems to be the best approach here as well as for similar African countries
On the role of bacterial gut microbiota from supralittoral amphipod Talitrus saltator (Montagu, 1808) in bioplastic degradation
No full textDespite the promise of a reduced environmental impact, bioplastics are subjected to dispersion and accumulation similarly to traditional plastics, especially in marine and coastal environments. The environmental impact of bioplastics is attracting increasing attention due to the growing market demand. The ability of the supralittoral amphipod Talitrus saltator to ingest and survive on pristine starch-based bioplastic has already been assessed. However, the involvement of the gut microbiota of this key coastal species in making bioplastics a dietary supplement, remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the modification of T. saltator gut microbiota following bioplastic ingestion and the effect of this change on the modification of their chemical composition. Groups of adult amphipods were fed with: 1 — two different kinds of starch-based bioplastic; 2 — a 50 %/50 % chitosan-starch mixture; and 3 — paper and dry-fish-food. Freshly collected, unfed individuals were used as control group. Faecal pellets from the amphipods were collected and characterized using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy. DNA was extracted from gut samples for metagenomic analysis. Spectroscopic investigation suggested a partial digestion of polysaccharide components in the experimental polymeric materials. The analysis of the gut microbiota revealed that bioplastic feeding induced modification of sandhopper's gut microbial communities, shifting the abundance of specific microbial genera already present in the gut, towards bacterial genera associated with plastic/bioplastic degradation, especially in groups fed with starch-based bioplastics. Overall, our results highlight the involvement of T. saltator's gut microbiota in bioplastic modification, providing new insights into the potential role of microbial consortia associated to sandhoppers in bioplastic management. © 2025 The Author
Recruiting and Incentivizing Community Service Providers in Sierra Leone
No full textRecruiting and incentivizing service providers is a central challenge for many low-income country governments. Research emphasizes the potential benefits of involving beneficiary communities. However, we do not know whether community monitoring is more or less effective than performance-based payment schemes or how these monitoring schemes depend upon personnel recruitment strategies. For example, state-led recruitment strategies may mitigate the effectiveness of mechanisms of community monitoring, as locally embedded workers may be more responsive to community pressures. We collaborate with the Ministries of Health and Agriculture in Sierra Leone, and implement a field experiment involving Community Animal Health Worker recruitment and incentives in 300 villages. We use a factorial design and randomly assign health workers to community monitoring and/or a pay-for-performance scheme. In addition, in a subset of villages, we also manipulate worker recruitment strategies, where workers are selected either by state authorities in collaboration with Paramount Chiefs or communities themselves. We use behavioral measures to quantify the quality of worker performance
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