In Paraisópolis, a slum in São Paulo (Brazil) housing over 100.000 inhabitants, the Covid crisis seemed to have less of a death toll (0,0217%) than in other areas of the city (an average of 0,0652% ...as of May 2020); or at least it did at first. The sense of community in the area is strong, leading to many community initiatives and organisations to rise to the challenge of combating the pandemic with little help from the authorities. The community’s initial efficient response to the Covid crisis relied heavily on self‐reliance and self‐organization to mobilise common resources. Despite their later failure in containing the virus, the community’s response to the pandemic is exemplary of a well‐known phenomenon: how communities are able to mobilise the commons to create general welfare. The commons concept is used in this contribution to help us better understand slum governance and the power and limitations of community reliance. At the same time, we aim to refine our understanding of the commons as a contentious category rooted in agonistic relationships instead of the romanticised leftist social imaginary that views the commons as purely anti‐capitalist. Thus, we explicitly argue for a view of the commons and commoning that transcends the narrow “Leftist imaginary” of the commons as egalitarian, inclusive, anti‐capitalist, horizontal, and as expressions of sharing (and caring), and instead views the commons as embedded in everyday realities, where commoning practices emerge as practises that support the reproduction of (social) life.
On the occasion of Jane Jacobs’ 100 anniversary, the chair of Spatial Planning and Strategy of the Delft University of Technology, together with the OTB Research Institute for the Built Environment ...and the Rotterdam Erasmus University College organised a two-day conference on Jane Jacob’s legacy at TU Delft on 24-25 May 2016. This event was complemented one year later by a ‘Jane Jacobs Year’ closing event. We wished to celebrate the life and accomplishments of one of the most important urban thinkers of our time, someone who has influenced generations of designers and planners and others concerned with the built environment: the great Jane Jacobs. This volume contains a number of papers presented at the celebratory conference held at TU Delft in May 2016, with six tracks coordinated by guest scholars. Track 1: Jane Jacobs, ethics, and the just city Track 2: Jane Jacobs and Street Spaces – Streets as public places Track 3: Jane Jacobs and the dynamics of neighbourhoods Track 4: Jane Jacobs and the Reshaping old urban fabrics in Chinese cities Track 5: Jane Jacobs and organised complexity Track 6: Jane Jacobs and safety in public space
The photosynthetic reaction center (RC) from the Rhodobacter sphaeroides bacterium has been covalently bioconjugated with a NIR-emitting fluorophore (AE800) whose synthesis was specifically tailored ...to act as artificial antenna harvesting light in the entire visible region. AE800 has a broad absorption spectrum with peaks centered in the absorption gaps of the RC and its emission overlaps the most intense RC absorption bands, ensuring a consistent increase of the protein optical cross section. The covalent hybrid AE800-RC is stable and fully functional. The energy collected by the artificial antenna is transferred to the protein via FRET mechanism, and the hybrid system outperforms by a noteworthy 30% the overall photochemical activity of the native protein under the entire range of visible light. This improvement in the optical characteristic of the photoenzyme demonstrates the effectiveness of the bioconjugation approach as a suitable route to new biohybrid materials for energy conversion, photocatalysis, and biosensing.
We studied the volatility assumption of non-life premium risk under the Solvency II Standard Formula and developed an empirical model on real data, the Danish fire insurance data. Our empirical model ...accomplishes two things. Primarily, compared to the present literature, this paper innovates the fitting of Danish fire insurance data using a composite model with a random threshold. Secondly we prove, by fitting the Danish fire insurance data, that for large insurance companies the volatility of the standard formula is higher than the volatility estimated with internal models such as composite models, also taking into account the dependence between attritional and large claims.
This article explores the use of the pattern language approach in bridging the gap between formal and informal urban planning practices in the African context. This study focuses on a case ...application within the urbanised region encompassing the Nakivubo wetland located in Kampala, Uganda. As in other cities in Africa with a colonial past, Kampala’s planning system signals a profound gap between a technocratic, European paradigms-based type of planning and the everyday practices of citizens. This results in a “dual city,” with formal and informal communities using resources and spaces differently, leading to spatial segregation and non-implementation of urban plans. To overcome this challenge, the pattern language approach is utilised in this research to link formal and informal practices through facilitating meaningful community participation and integrating tacit knowledge into the planning process. To achieve this, the researchers conducted fieldwork and interacted with the local community in informal settlements to develop informal patterns, while analysing the history and current organisation of formal planning institutions in Kampala to formulate formal patterns. The patterns were used as input for a community workshop, which resulted in a pattern language of wetland management practices and a framework that begins to bridge both formal and informal domains of urban practice. By using the pattern language approach as a tool to understand informal practices and their possible incorporation into a planning process that captures the needs of citizens, this research offers relevant insights into achieving sustainable and inclusive urban environments.
Light machine: The simplest photosynthetic protein able to convert sunlight into other energy forms is covalently functionalized with a tailored organic dye to obtain a fully functional hybrid ...complex that outperforms the natural system in light harvesting and conversion ability.
This is the third volume in the "Manifesto for the Just City" series published by TU Delft OPEN Publishing. This is a project spearheaded by the Centre for the Just City at the Delft University of ...Technology. The Manifestos in this book endeavour to envision alternative, positive urban futures as a counterpoint to prevailing cynicism and political disillusionment. This exercise is largely based on the ideas of Professor Faranak Miraftab on practices of hope and decoloniality. The 81 Manifestos written by 313 students from 63 universities around the world come in the wake of a four-part workshop in October 2022, in which TU Deft together with its many partners, invites students from all over the world to listen to the accounts of leading academics and practitioners whose knowledge touches aspects of spatial justice and to articulate their own ideas for what makes the just city. The scholars invited in 2022 included Professor Faranak Miraftab from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, US, Professor Clarissa Freitas from the Federal University of Ceará in Fortaleza, Brazil, Dr. Gynna Millan Franco from the Universidad del Valle in Cali, Colombia, Professor Vanesa Castán Broto from the University of Sheffield in the UK and Professor Hiba Bou Akar from Columbia University in New York, US. Teachers from around the world who use the Manifesto as a class exercise have also contributed with short essays. The Centre for the Just City was set up at the Faculty of Architecture and the Built Environment at the Delft University of Technology in response to the pressing challenges of rampant social inequalities affecting the cohesion and the sustainability of cities and communities. Recognising the vital need to address these issues, the Centre emerged as a platform for research, education, and outreach activities for the creation of just cities. Since its inception, the Centre has been at the forefront of bridging theory and practice, fostering collaborations, and influencing policies and actions that contribute to making cities equitable, sustainable, and inclusive. For more information, please visit https://just-city.org.
“Chasing Territorialism” gathers short texts by Emeritus Professor Andreas Faludi, originally written as blog posts over a period of two years. In Andreas’ words: “Stimulated by an, albeit brief, ...encounter with Albania celebrating Europe Day, I began blogging about the continuing relevance of criticising territorialism, as I’d done in The Poverty of Territorialism (Faludi 2018; Edgar Elgar), in particular - but not exclusively - in relation to European integration.” Here, territorialism stands for states claiming a monopoly on controlling their territories much as they try to control the loyalty of their citizens. As such, territorialism is a fundamental principle of political organisation. Continued reflection on the poverty of this principle has acquired urgent overtones with the resurgence of armed conflict in Europe and elsewhere. If anything, the general reaction to this and other continental and even global crises seems to be to further enforce territorialism. But, what if territorialism is the cause of, rather than the solution to our problems? If so, would heeding the call for determined state action not become a case of: ‘Out of the frying pan and into the fire’? This book does not give an answer. What it hopefully does is stimulate debate about what the answer should be.
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