No description available.

In focusing on the influences of culture on urban regeneration, this research has attempted to show a broad perspective that looks beyond existing short-term urban policies. The history of Masjid-i-Soleyman, an Iranian oil-based economy city, which has passed its rich-oil days and is now suffering major social and economic problems, is used in this research as a suitable ground for a wider investigation into human capacity and urban life. Reviewing the dominant approaches in both theory and practice showed that the analysis of urban problems had two main gaps. First, current urban studies and initiatives have mostly focused on economic urban outcomes and improving standards of living rather than on quality of life and considering the moral and cultural values as a goal and also a driving force for sustainable development. The second gap was the lack of attention given to a competent role to people in producing plans and decision making, as in giving them a real voice and a way of contributing to an improvement in their quality of life. The whole structure of the study has been based upon a premise that solutions to mounting urban problems are incomplete and ineffective without a consideration of cultural and traditional values beneath the surface of the contemporary city. The "human capacity building" approach has been developed in this theses to emphasise that a unifying culture, in many societies, as in the case study area, acts as a human capital, can generate social mobilisation and cause environmental changes. "People " are at the centre of this concept. In the model of "the city as culture" we develop this idea in the context of the city, emphasising the role of people's culture in urban life, and underpinning the key elements (family, community, education, work and communication). Considering such a conceptual foundation, we re-consider the evolution of MIS and the existing problem. This showed that the socio-cultural changes in the citizens of MIS, during 50 years of domination by foreigners over their lives, dramatically decreased both the human capability and social mobilisation of the society. The people who had previously built their environment had been changed in a way which allowed the environment to build their lives. And the people with unified cultural values, social unity and strong social relations had been changed into individuals who sought their own preferences and maximised their own benefits. So, it has been emphasised that the decline of MIS had started many years before the exhaustion of oil; i.e., the decline had begun when the oil industry started to grow. Finally, with concentrating on "knowledge", "social relations" and "motivations" as the key elements which increase "social mobilisation" in the society, the research suggests a strategic policy approach to achieve quality of life and urban regeneration in MIS. This leads us to consider that economic regeneration alone will not bring prosperity to MIS, and similar cities; and sustainable development cannot be summarised in economic growth. Much greater attention must be paid to investing in human capital as an effective strategy for long-term socio-economic regeneration. Cultural factors such as traditions and social relations and family relationship must also be considered seriously. Such strategies should re-consider individuals, groups and communities, and be capable of providing an adequate sphere for people in order to enable them to feel confidence and self-esteem to be involved in building their future effectively, as active agencies rather than victims of the development and change.

No description available.

ABSTRACT A key feature of Canada’s urban system is the uneven distribution of population and economic growth. The 2011 Census showed that in the past five years more than 80% of the country’s growth was concentrated in the 10 largest Canadian Metropolitan Areas. As a result, more than 33% of Canada’s population centres lost population while another 27% experienced slow growth. Despite affecting a third of the country’s communities, population loss was concentrated primarily in remote communities with a population of less than 10,000. To better understand the processes and effects of slow growth and shrinkage in Canada this research was guided by three questions: • How do planners, economic developers and local officials define slow growth, decline and shrinkage? • What factors cause a community to implement growth appropriate planning tools and strategies and; • What components should be part of growth appropriate planning and economic development strategies? These questions were addressed using a qualitative survey which was answered by 70 participants in 51 communities. Overall there was little variance in how respondents defined decline and shrinkage. Given their stigma, each term was primarily associated with population loss, vacant structures and a variety of problems including financial stress and the loss of employment opportunities. When asked approximately 80% of Canadian communities used at least one progressive planning tool or strategy. The implementation of these tools was largely in response to the effects of slow growth and shrinkage as well as future economic outlook, support from local actors (municipal staff and officials, residents, local businesses) and senior governments. Few communities however used these tools to acknowledge or explicitly deal with their slow growth or shrinkage as it was feared that accepting either trend would scare away future investment. Almost all of the research participants agreed that areas of slow growth and population loss required different planning strategies than those experiencing rapid growth. These strategies included altering existing strategies to meet local needs and or creating entirely new planning tools and strategies, collaborating with other professionals, amending existing or creating new roles for planners, leverage local resources for community improvements and using an approach which equally addresses a community physical, economic, environmental and social needs. In addition, respondents noted that more research was required on how to plan in growth challenged areas and in particular, small rural communities.

The City of Bradenton is a patchwork city, whose neighborhoods vary greatly in quality. While its neighborhoods differ in type based on consumer preference, they vary in quality because of federal, state, and local planning and urban policy. These policies have resulted in inequality of place and race, clustering racial minorities in center city neighborhoods with deteriorated infrastructure and income inequality. This impacts the ability of the City to be competitive with other cities as a metropolitan whole. The City's economically and racially segregated neighborhoods are not the inevitable outcome of market forces, but rather reflect decades of federal, state, and local policy decisions. This study will provide new scholarship in the body of knowledge about inner city decline in small Sunbelt cities.

ABSTRACT A key feature of Canada’s urban system is the uneven distribution of population and economic growth. The 2011 Census showed that in the past five years more than 80% of the country’s growth was concentrated in the 10 largest Canadian Metropolitan Areas. As a result, more than 33% of Canada’s population centres lost population while another 27% experienced slow growth. Despite affecting a third of the country’s communities, population loss was concentrated primarily in remote communities with a population of less than 10,000. To better understand the processes and effects of slow growth and shrinkage in Canada this research was guided by three questions: • How do planners, economic developers and local officials define slow growth, decline and shrinkage? • What factors cause a community to implement growth appropriate planning tools and strategies and; • What components should be part of growth appropriate planning and economic development strategies? These questions were addressed using a qualitative survey which was answered by 70 participants in 51 communities. Overall there was little variance in how respondents defined decline and shrinkage. Given their stigma, each term was primarily associated with population loss, vacant structures and a variety of problems including financial stress and the loss of employment opportunities. When asked approximately 80% of Canadian communities used at least one progressive planning tool or strategy. The implementation of these tools was largely in response to the effects of slow growth and shrinkage as well as future economic outlook, support from local actors (municipal staff and officials, residents, local businesses) and senior governments. Few communities however used these tools to acknowledge or explicitly deal with their slow growth or shrinkage as it was feared that accepting either trend would scare away future investment. Almost all of the research participants agreed that areas of slow growth and population loss required different planning strategies than those experiencing rapid growth. These strategies included altering existing strategies to meet local needs and or creating entirely new planning tools and strategies, collaborating with other professionals, amending existing or creating new roles for planners, leverage local resources for community improvements and using an approach which equally addresses a community physical, economic, environmental and social needs. In addition, respondents noted that more research was required on how to plan in growth challenged areas and in particular, small rural communities.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

Urban decline is one of the most important factors dealing with the creation of urban ills and formation of slums in the city centers. This study investigates the roots of urban decline in urban areas. In order to do so, symptoms, types, causes and participant factors dealing with the process of urban decline are investigated. Also functional decline, as one of the most important triggers of urban decline, is introduced and its force that results in low quality of urban places is explored. The scale of participant factors in the process of functional decline is various. These factors are observed from changes in the global political trends and economy till the regulation changes in local scale. Moreover the ways of talking with urban and functional decline, that is classified into four major category of political considerations, economic financing, planning policy and enhancing the quality of places are explored. Finally the forces of urban and functional decline that have lead to low quality of place in the case of Salipazari, Istanbul are examined. As the scale of study area is in the neighborhood scale, the most important concern will be on the low quality of place in exploring decline in this area.