•The paper articulates the micro-foundations of the multi-level perspective.•It develops crossovers between social construction of Technology, evolutionary economics and neoinstitutional theory.•It ...develops a multi-dimensional model of agency.•It conceptualizes socio-technical transitions as evolutionary, interpretive and conflictual processes.
The Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) is a prominent framework to understand socio-technical transitions, but its micro-foundations have remained under-developed. The paper's first aim is therefore to develop the MLP's theoretical micro-foundations, which are rooted in Social Construction of Technology, evolutionary economics and neoinstitutional theory. The second aim is to further identify crossovers between these theories. To achieve these goals, the paper analytically reviews the three theories, focusing on: (1) the relevance of each theory for transitions and the MLP, (2) the theory's conceptualisation of agency, (3) criticisms of each theory and subsequent conceptual elaborations (which prepare the ground for potential crossovers between them). Mobilizing insights from the analytical reviews, the paper articulates a multi-dimensional model of agency, which also provides a relational and processual conceptualization of ongoing trajectories in which actors are embedded. Specific conceptual linking points between the three theories are identified, leading to an understanding of socio-technical transitions as evolutionary, interpretive and conflictual processes.
Urban trees influence temperatures in cities. However, their effectiveness at mitigating urban heat in different climatic contexts and in comparison to treeless urban green spaces has not yet been ...sufficiently explored. Here, we use high-resolution satellite land surface temperatures (LSTs) and land-cover data from 293 European cities to infer the potential of urban trees to reduce LSTs. We show that urban trees exhibit lower temperatures than urban fabric across most European cities in summer and during hot extremes. Compared to continuous urban fabric, LSTs observed for urban trees are on average 0-4 K lower in Southern European regions and 8-12 K lower in Central Europe. Treeless urban green spaces are overall less effective in reducing LSTs, and their cooling effect is approximately 2-4 times lower than the cooling induced by urban trees. By revealing continental-scale patterns in the effect of trees and treeless green spaces on urban LST our results highlight the importance of considering and further investigating the climate-dependent effectiveness of heat mitigation measures in cities.
City governments are embracing data‐driven and algorithmic planning to tackle urban problems. Data‐driven analytics have an unprecedented capacity to call urban futures into being. At the same time, ...they can depoliticize planning decisions. I argue that this shift calls urban studies scholars to investigate geographies of algorithmic violence—a repetitive and standardized form of violence that contributes to the racialization of space and spatialization of poverty. This article examines this broader phenomenon through the case of a proprietary market value assessment that is being used to guide development in cities across the United States. The assessment employs an algorithm that helps city officials make critical decisions about which neighborhoods to target for investment, disinvestment and public service upgrades or disconnections. I argue that the racial, infrastructural, and epistemological violence associated with this evaluation can potentially lead to a new kind of municipal redlining. The article brings insights from critical race theory into conversation with critical scholarship on algorithms by analyzing how algorithmic violence works through data‐driven planning technologies to depoliticize and leverage power while further entrenching racism and inequality.
•Urban environments with preferred soundscapes have restorative potential effects.•New criteria were introduced based on restoration-related semantic terms.•Physically low-frequency content in a ...sound environment may affect restoration.•Participants’ overall space preference is key to determine restoration effects.•Individual traits are examined in depth as they affect perception of soundscapes.
This study investigated the potential restorative (PR) effects of urban soundscapes. To establish a new set of PR criteria for urban environments, this study recreated 10 urban sites in virtual reality, instead of using the typical method of questionnaires. A list of restoration-related semantic terms was derived from narrative interviews of 50 subjects who freely expressed their perceptions of the space. PR criteria were determined based on the derived list and two groups were found: the PR group and potential non-restorative group. The objective characteristics of urban soundscapes—acoustic and visual characteristics and characteristics of moving objects—were analyzed. Participants provided their subjective responses regarding sound source identification, perceived affective quality, and overall quality. The Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised-Short Version and Satisfaction with Life Scale were utilized to analyze participants’ individual characteristics. Based on it, a model was developed to predict whether PR criteria could be satisfied, which was 82.6% accurate (85.9% specificity, 71.8% sensitivity). It was determined that the overall level of preference regarding an urban soundscape is a significant factor in satisfying PR criteria. In particular, the design and planning of urban spaces should aim to reduce a space’s loudness and increase the revisitation rate to promote the restoration of the urban residents’ mental health. Furthermore, for individuals, a trait based on acquired experience has a greater impact on the PR effects of urban soundscapes than innate temperament. This study’s findings can serve as supporting data to design sustainable and health-promoting urban soundscapes.
For planners in the UK, this wider sense of unease is exacerbated by a decade of constant change and perennial attacks on the value of their professional contributions to society. Among the ...prescribed remedies for dealing with such a state of flux, the one that is rapidly gaining currency is "resilience". It appears that resilience is replacing sustainability in everyday discourses in much the same way as the environment has been subsumed in the hegemonic imperatives of climate change.
•Social practice lens on the professional domain of urban planning.•Hybrid planning practices of Almere (NL) integrate agriculture in new urbanisation.•Integration of agriculture stretched the ...professional domain of urban planning.•Clear vision, leadership and new expertise fostered hybrid planning practices.
A growing group of cities feels responsible to feed urban populations sustainably. This has stimulated cities to embrace urban agriculture as an alternative in their food system orientation. However, while urban agriculture in all its diversity has arrived in the urban fabric and at planners’ desks, it largely remains an outsider to urban planning practices of peri-urban zones. How could city’s planning practices transform into practices that include urban agriculture in peri-urban zones? This paper reflects at this question with the analyses of the becoming of planning practices of the Dutch city of Almere that fully integrate urban agriculture in a new urban area: Oosterwold.
Using a social practice perspective, our study unpacks the shifting position of agriculture in the planning practices of Almere over a 55-year period. The paper describes the historical reconstruction by examining the meanings, materials and competences in four periods of the urban planning practices. Our analysis reveals that the integration of agriculture into the city’s planning is not just a sign of the times. Agriculture has always been an element of planning from the city’s inception. Nevertheless, it took 55 years to emerge as hybrid urban-rural planning practices that fully integrate agriculture in urbanisation. Furthermore, the case demonstrates how this integration of agriculture stretches the professional domain of urban planning as it required interdisciplinary and unconventional operation as well as leadership to organise.
Equity and inclusion continue to pose significant challenges for many cities. Disparities in access to resources and facilities among the residents of these areas are often influenced by factors such ...as geographical location and income level, among others. Therefore, creating a quantitative basis to detect spatial and socio-economic inequities in residents' access to vital infrastructures is crucial for advancing smart cities. This paper introduces a novel measure of Spatial Inequity that is based on 1) computing building-level scores for each building in terms of access to facilities, and 2) comparing the distribution of the scores of these facilities using the Gini coefficient. The proposed building-level scores will enable the identification of GIS hotspots at a high resolution. Then, the Gini-based measure will facilitate a comparison of the distribution of the scores, and determine if they are evenly distributed and equitably accessible. The Gini coefficient was highest (0.89) for waste management and elderly care, and lowest (0.56) for hospitals, reflecting varying levels of inequality. This study applies this Spatial Ineqity methodological framework to Hong Kong, a representative of Highly Dense Cities. The framework benchmarks urban infrastructure, identifies hotspots, and selects interventions for equitable urban development.
•Novel approach identifies spatial inequities via building-level scores & Gini coefficient.•Precise hotspot identification enhances targeted interventions in dense urban areas.•Applied methodology in Hong Kong offers insights into urban development complexities.•Gini coefficient unveils varying degrees of inequality across essential services.•Geospatial analysis & quantitative measures support equitable urban resource allocation.
Participatory urban planning is considered an important aspect of developing local democracy. Recently, the use of mobile technologies to engage with citizens has gained interest among researchers, ...policy-makers, and activists. The purpose of this article is to introduce a typology that identifies types of mobile applications (apps) supporting citizen participation in urban planning. The presented typology is developed based on theories of participation and has three dimensions: type of data collected, information flow, and empowerment of citizens. Overall, the typology identifies eight types of participatory apps. Participatory apps in use around the world are then plotted into the typology and their contribution is analyzed with reference to the dimensions of the typology. Apps evolve from sharing information on the surrounding environment towards a dialogue aimed to accommodate citizen knowledge into the planning process. The article concludes that the impact of planning apps has yet been modest, but is expected to increase, and discusses ways in which planning apps can leverage citizens' knowledge in the future.
PDF
