bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Geography of Council House Sales in England — 1979-85
Authors: Dunn Richard , Forrest Ray , Murie Alan
Published: October 2006

Analyses of the social, economic and spatial consequences of council house sales have tended to rely on local case study evidence or limited official statistics at the national level. This paper seeks to provide more systematic evidence for England as a whole. Sales which were completed between 1979 and 1985 are mapped by local authority to indicate the uneven geography of the privatisation of council housing in England. Statistical analyses of key variables are then used to draw out some of the factors at work contributing to high and low levels of sales. One of the principle conclusions is that sale of council houses is leading to a greater unevenness in the national pattern of housing tenure.
A Dissatisfied State? Consumer Preferences and Council Housing in Britain
Authors: Forrest Ray , Murie Alan
Published: October 2006

Within debates about the sociology of consumption and more general critiques of state provision there are strong assumptions concerning majority preferences in housing. This paper reviews available survey evidence on housing tenure preferences and presents some original data concerning the attitudes towards home ownership and state housing among households who purchased their council dwellings between 1968 and 1973. In doing so the paper demonstrates the complex and contingent nature of attitudes to housing tenure and engages with those analysts who present council house purchase as an example of dissatisfaction with statist modes of provision.
Implications of Subdivision Activity for the Urban Growth of Madina
Authors: Abdulaal Walead
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this article is to analyse the implications of land subdivision activity for the urban growth of Madina. The city of Madina is one of the large cities of Saudi Arabia. Land subdivision is considered the main process by which rural land is converted to urban land. Land has been subdivided with diminutive reference to any rate of development or occupancy, which has resulted in an enormous proportion of the subdivided plots remaining vacant. This article aims to address the issues concerned with subdivision activity in relation to the urban growth of Madina, and to outline public response to these issues, which aims at extending more control over the process of land development.
Modelling Intra-urban Location Preferences under Rational Expectations
Authors: Andrikopoulos Andreas A. , Prodromidis Kyprianos P. , Tsionas Efthimios G.
Published: October 2006

The purpose of this paper is to: (1) extend the traditional Generalised Linear Expenditure System, as it has been applied in location theory, by including rational expectations in the formulation; (2) rank intra-urban places in accordance with households' location preferences; (3) investigate the impact of location preferences on housing demand and urban growth; and (4) study the role of price and expenditure expectations on the formation of housing demand. The theoretical model was tested for seven departments of the Region of Attica, Greece, using monthly data for the period July 1977-October 1988. The Full Information Maximum Likelihood procedure was used to estimate the model. The findings provide useful information including guidelines for government policies concerning income, housing price and interest rate subsidies.
The Effect of Job Access on Black and White Youth Employment: A Cross-sectional Analysis
Authors: Ihlanfeldt Keith R. , Sjoquist David L.
Published: October 2006

This paper examines the effect of access to employment opportunities on the employment probabilities of black and white youth aged 16-19 years. The empirical results, based on data from the central cities of 43 SMSAs, suggest that the nearness of jobs is an important determinant of teenager employment probability.
The 1987 Crash and the Spatial Incidence of Employment Changes in the New York Metropolitan Region
Authors: Cox Joseph C. , Preston Valerie , Warf Barney
Published: October 2006

Following the stock market crash on 19 October 1987, the securities industry contracted nation-wide. In New York City, over 10 800 jobs were lost within eight months of the crash. Bonuses, a major component of salaries in the industry, also declined. The short-run induced effects on regional output, employment and personal and business income were computed using an Input-Output model of metropolitan New York. Employment effects were decomposed by occupation, industry and county of residence. Output and total employment fell by $1.8bn and 28860 jobs, respectively. The incidence of increased unemployment was borne by clerical workers in the securities industry (primarily through the direct effects) and by service and unskilled sales staff in wholesale and retail trade (through the indirect and induced effects.) Manhattan and the adjacent inner ring counties were most affected.
China's City Hierarchy, Urban Policy and Spatial Development in the 1980s
Authors: Chen Xiangming
Published: October 2006

Cities play an important role in population distribution and economic development. Policies which alter city systems can create new patterns of spatial economic development. This paper, using the most recent data, examines changes in China's city hierarchy, urban policy and spatial development in the 1980s in international, national and local contexts. The time series data show that the process of urbanisation had been gradual between 1949 and the late 1970s but accelerated rapidly in the 1980s. The growth of cities and towns in various size categories reflects the influence of urban policy in reshaping China's urban hierarchy. Using multiple measures of urban primacy, the analysis suggests that China has distinctive city systems at the regional level varying along demographic, industrial and infrastructural dimensions. Moreover, there is a growing discrepancy in socioeconomic development between inland and coastal cities that is consistent with the recent policy of favouring the coastal economy. The study provides perspectives and evidence on the extent to which economic efficiency and spatial equality are balanced under a changing model of socialist urban development.
From Need to Affordability: An Analysis of UK Housing Objectives
Authors: Whitehead Christine M. E.
Published: October 2006

Recent housing policy debates in the UK have shifted away from discussion of housing need to more market-oriented analyses of affordability. This article discusses the principles that lie behind the concepts of need and affordability and the ways in which they have been defined. It then traces the development of policy and debate in the UK with respect to both need and affordability. In particular it discusses the different ways in which policy is specified in different tenures and the extent to which implementation depends upon administrative allocation mechanisms. It concludes that up to the present time the shift in emphasis is more one of rhetoric than of reality and, more fundamentally, that the forms in which current policies are implemented bear very little relationship to those suggested by analysis of basic principles.
Deindustrialisation and the Reality of the Post-industrial City
Authors: Lever W.F.
Published: October 2006

The processes of deindustrialisation and disurbanisation, and the emergence of the postindustrial society or city, have been debated within a number of disciplines since 1960. However, much of the debate has been conducted at the general or aggregate level. At the level of the individual city the situation is often considerably more complex and the positive and negative attributes are less easy to compare. In this article we use the example of Glasgow and the surrounding conurbation to characterise the major elements in the processes and as a test bed for current urban policy.
Habitability Laws for Rental Housing: The Impact of Tenant Inputs
Authors: Miceli Thomas J.
Published: October 2006

Court decisions in the 1970s dramatically changed the distribution of legal rights in the landlord-tenant relationship in seeking to improve the welfare of tenants, thought to be at a disadvantage in their search for housing. Both landlords and tenants contribute to the quality of services but the fact that the rights of ownership and use are separated prevents both parties from fully internalising the benefits of their efforts. The paper develops a simple model of the housing rental relationship capturing the impact which both landlord and tenant have on housing quality. It shows that, because of the moral hazard problem, the non-co-operative equilibrium of the model is inefficient in that, in the absence of any regulation, both parties invest too little in maintaining the quality of the unit. The model, assessing the relationship between the two parties, indicates that (i) increased landlord maintenance raises tenant utility and lowers landlord profits, (ii) the joint benefits of landlords and tenants first rise and then fall as greater maintenance is required, and (iii) housing quality varies ambiguously with landlord maintenance, given that increased maintenance is met with reduced tenant input.
Industrial Diversification and City Size: The Case of Yugoslavia
Authors: Begović Boris
Published: October 2006

The theoretical explanation for the industrial diversification-city size relationship is studied. As an explanation on the basis of variation in factor prices is not adequate, attention is paid to the theory of agglomeration economies, which offers a framework for a consistent theoretical explanation of the industrial diversification-city size and the industrial share-city size relationships. The results of some empirical research into the agglomeration economies-city size relationship are reviewed. Two econometric models are formulated of the industrial diversification-city size and the industrial share-city size relationships in Yugoslavia. The estimation of these models (based on 1981 data) gives evidence to support the hypothesis that there is a statistically significant relationship between city size and industrial diversification/share.
Art and Culture as Central Place Functions
Authors: Heilbrun James
Published: October 2006

Data on artists by location in 1970 and 1980, and on the non-profit theatre sector in 1988-89, indicate that art and culture are pre-eminently central place functions. The concentration of performing artists into large metropolitan areas increased from 1970 to 1980, while that of painters and sculptors diminished. New York and Los Angeles are the top locations for performing artists, although Los Angeles is largely a centre for mass media production rather than live production. Other studies cited in this paper indicate that local market structure in the non-profit theatre strongly affects artistic policy, supporting Chinitz's emphasis on the importance of supply-side factors in urban studies.
The Private and Social Costs of Planning Delay
Authors: Keogh Geoffrey , Evans Alan W.
Published: October 2006

This paper examines planning delay and identifies the difficulty in establishing an appropriate definition and measure of delay. It then outlines an economic framework for the analysis of delay costs, distinguishing between private costs and the various elements of social cost. It shows that the costs of delay are contingent upon the restrictiveness of planning and should be assessed in relation to the benefits of planning control. Available estimates of delay cost are identified, but are shown to be deficient even as measures of the private cost of delay. Various suggestions are made for the improvement of existing approaches, but it is concluded that the assessment of private and social delay costs requires case-study research which distinguishes between property sectors, locations and different points in the cycle of property development.
The Origins and Activities of Tenants' Associations in Britain
Authors: Caimcross Liz , Clapham David , Goodlad Robina
Published: October 2006

This paper presents the results of a survey of tenants' associations in six local authority areas in Britain. The aim is to dispel the prevalent notion that there is a common reason for the formation of tenants' associations and that they travel a similar evolutionary path. Rather the paper aims to show that tenants' groups are formed for a variety of reasons and can follow a number of paths. It draws particular attention to the actions and attitudes of housing managers and councillors which can have a vital influence on whether tenants' groups can achieve their goals.
The Inequality of Unemployment Experience in a Local Labour Market
Authors: Elliott R.F. , Theodossiou I.
Published: October 2006

This study applies a recently developed methodology in order to estimate the extent of the inequality of unemployment experience in Aberdeen. The findings show that the unemployment burden is indeed unequally shared and that this inequality exhibits only a limited decrease through time.
Urbanisation in East Central Europe: Social Processes and Societal Responses in the State Socialist Systems
Authors: Enyedi Gyorgy
Published: October 2006

The paper analyses the changes in the production system and their effects during the socialist era. The author states that European spatial forms of urban development were propagated in East Central Europe during the last 40 years as a consequence of (a) general industrialisation, (b) urban planning which aimed at 'catching up with the West' and (c) the strength of informal society which continued to express traditional urban values.
Societal Responses to Changes in the Production System: The Case of Barcelona Metropolitan Region
Authors: Sánchez Joan-Eugeni
Published: October 2006

Changes in economic and production activities have affected Barcelona. Three important processes can be identified: the process of industrial restructuring since the 1960s; innovation and technological change in the productive process; and the integration of the Spanish economy within the European Community. A societal response matrix, comprising agents at all spatial scales, applied to the metropolitan area of Barcelona is proposed in order to analyse the role of agents, policies and strategies in the process of economic and urban revitalisation. In Barcelona's case, it is evident that at present the public sphere is dominant in that its actions encourage other agents, whilst the private sector appears to be led by public initiatives. At the local scale the Barcelona city council shows a clear dynamic both in long-range actions, e.g. the Olympic Games, and as an agent dynamising important public projects and promoting the participation of other economic agents, both public and private, at all scales: the Strategic Plan, a Technical Park, the cities lobby, etc.
Structural Change and Spatial Response in the Retail Sector in Germany
Authors: Kulke Elmar
Published: October 2006

This study shows that in the past decades retailing in Germany experienced profound changes in the supply structure combined with massive shifts in shops' locations. Until the end of the 1950s the locational structure was decisively influenced by the spatial distribution of demand. Changes in demand, especially due to consumers' increased mobility, gave retail businesses a relatively free choice of locations. In more recent decades spatial development was mainly determined by changes in the types of retailing and their typical locational preferences. During this period, new non-integrated shopping locations developed and there were trends of thinning out in scattered locations and of a decrease in importance of the integrated subcentres. Since these shifts have adversely affected the centres' structure and have conflicted with social and political goals, planners and politicians have increasingly taken account of spatial development in retailing. They try to minimise the negative effects of the restructuring.
The Provision of Low-cost Housing by Private Developers in Bangkok, 1987-89: The Result of an Efficient Market?
Authors: Tuan Seik Foo
Published: October 2006

A sample survey was undertaken of two groups of formal housing developers in Bangkok, one which did not undertake low-cost housing development in the 1987-89 period and one which did. The first group, which represented a 90 per cent majority of developers in Bangkok, was not able to supply low-cost housing primarily because profits were affected mainly by market impediments in the form of high prices for land and building materials. The minority group could 'profitably' supply low-cost housing because the main market impediments were absent, especially that of land. However, banked land was largely used, probably resulting in suboptimal profits although they were not perceived to be so. The overall findings indicate that private sector supply of low-cost housing in Bangkok resulted mainly from the effect of both a competitive product market and the exceptional, suboptimal use of banked land for low-cost housing by a small minority of developers.
Received Concepts and Theories in African Urbanisation and Management Strategies: The Struggle Continues
Authors: Lusugga Kironde J.M.
Published: October 2006

Various concepts, theories and attitudes in defining and solving African urban problems reflect assimilated and acquired notions and standards rather than indigenous ones. Over the past two decades or so, commentators and policy-makers have been enjoined to change their approach, but there are still many who have yet to adopt new attitudes. It is argued in this paper that concepts related to urban sanitation, water supply, urban agriculture, urban transport and aspects of housing supply need to be redefined to reflect local circumstances.
The Impact of Land Use Planning and Tax Subsidies on the Supply and Price of Housing in Britain
Authors: Bramley Glen
Published: October 2006

This article presents new empirical estimates of the impact of two types of policy intervention, tax subsidies and land use planning, on the housing market in Britain. The estimates are derived from a set of models representing the demand and supply sides of the market for the new private housebuilding which include an explicit land supply element. The models are fitted to cross-sectional data at the inter-urban (local authority) level, and then employed in medium-period simulations of alternative policies. Modelling at this level enables estimates to be made of the extent of variation between local markets in the elasticity of supply and also in the impacts of policy measures, including the capitalisation of tax subsidies.
A Taxonomy of Suburban Office Clusters: The Case of Toronto
Authors: Pivo Gary
Published: October 2006

Metropolitan plans are commonly based on a system of suburban office clusters. The large variation among recent plans suggests a poor understanding of their nature and impacts. A taxonomy of office clusters could provide a necessary framework. Six hypotheses on the type, frequency, location, employment base and travel characteristics of suburban clusters were tested in a case-study of the Toronto region. Six physical types were identified and found to be associated with certain locations, employment activities and travel mode characteristics. The Toronto metropolitan plan was found to be successful when it conformed with these findings and unsuccessful when it did not. The results lead to provisional guidelines for future metropolitan plans.
Land Use Controls and Housing Prices in Korea
Authors: Hannah Lawrence , Kim Kyung-Hwan , Mills Edwin S.
Published: October 2006

This paper analyses the effects of government controls over land supply on housing in the rapidly growing cities of Korea. Whilst Korea's urban population more than doubled in the period 1973-88, urban land for residential use grew by only 65 per cent. The result has been extremely rapid rises in city residential land values, although the more dense use of residential land has offset some of this rise on house prices. A substantial part of the rise in house prices has resulted from the government's tendency to underallocate land to urban residential use, although part of the government's surplus is used to subsidise low-income housing within the same projects.
Spatial Indices of Segregation
Authors: Wong David W. S.
Published: October 2006

Segregation is commonly measured by means of an index of dissimilarity. A recent 'boundary modified' version of the index was formulated. It was based upon the concept that segregation is a separation created by spatial structure imposed upon the social space and thus interaction between racial groups is limited. The index takes into account one of the spatial etements—contiguity—but ignores the others. This paper argues that the length of the common boundary between two areal units and the shape of the areal units are important spatial components in determining segregation. Thus, a family of segregation indices is derived by incorporating these spatial components and can be applied to various spatial configurations. One of the indices possesses a distinctive property which is useful for comparing segregation levels in regions of various scales.
Forces Shaping Urban Europe
Authors: Hall Peter
Published: October 2006

The paper describes seven major forces which are currently affecting the spatial structure of urban Europe. Globalisation of the world economy has emphasised comparative advantage leading to the deindustrialisation of many older cities and the emergence of a very select group of Eurocities. Changes in east-central Europe will provide a new stimulus to the growth of capital and second order cities in which new investment will be concentrated. The urban impact of the shift to the informational sector is twofold: major capitals will intensify their dominance but at a lower level of function there will be dispersal. Technological innovations in transport and communications are likely to lead to more polycentric cities. Lastly, the impacts on European cities of urban marketing and socio-demographic changes are described.
Changing Urban Systems in Post-communist Societies in Central Europe: Analysis and Prediction
Authors: Musil Jiří
Published: October 2006

This paper is concerned with three levels of urban system changes; changes in the intra-urban structure of cities after the collapse of the communist regimes; changes in the national or state urban systems, i.e. inter-urban systems; and changes in the international system of capital cities in central Europe. The restoration of the land market and the removal of rent controls will lead to socially polarised neighbourhoods and new retail patterns. The reintroduction of market economies will convert the socialist policy of even development into one of increased concentration on growth centres within deindustrialisation in which national capitals will play a greater role. Lastly, at the international level national capitals will hierarchicise as in pre-1914 years and new dynamic frontier zones may arise.
Urban Agglomerations in European Infrastructure Networks
Authors: Bruinsma Frank , Rietveld Piet
Published: October 2006

Infrastructure networks are often assumed to be important determinants of the economic potential of urban agglomerations. This paper addresses the position of 42 major European cities in three infrastructure networks: road, rail and air. A ranking of cities in terms of a gravity-based accesibility index is produced. Also the effects of planned or possible future developments in these networks are studied. The effects of changes in the air and road network on average accessibility are expected to be rather small; in the rail network the introduction of high-speed links will have considerable impacts on average accessibility. Existing inequalities in accessibility are expected to remain rather constant in the air system. In the rail system, the further introduction of high-speed links will increase existing inequalities by reinforcing the position of the cities in the north-western part of Europe. In the road system, on the other hand, it will be the peripheral countries which will benefit most. Further, we note that an analysis of non-physical border-related barriers to accessibility reveals that attention should not be restricted to improving physical infrastructure networks.
Competition within the European Urban System
Authors: Lever W.F.
Published: October 2006

The diminishing importance of national frontiers in western Europe has intensified competition between cities for mobile investment, for the location of public institutions and for hallmark events. This has led to the creation of league tables of cities in which rankings are determined by single or multiple variables. Analyses of changes in rankings focus on whether there has been divergence or convergence amongst European cities. This paper uses data on 117 cities to suggest that there was convergence in 1981-84, followed by divergence in 1984-87. The paper goes on to test three hypotheses which relate urban economic growth to size or capital status, to location within the core or periphery, and location within northern or southern Europe. Overall it finds that capital cities grow more quickly, in economic terms; that the urban south is catching up with the urban north; and that, whilst the cities of the core did best before 1985, there is some evidence that 'crowding out' has relatively helped the cities of the periphery since 1985.
Growth and Decline of European Cities: Changing Positions of Cities in Europe
Authors: Meijer Martine
Published: October 2006

The paper reviews the various models of the core or cores of Urban Europe. Seeking a causal explanation for regional economic shifts the paper uses data on the location of major corporate headquarters offices. An analysis of the 500 largest companies shows a concentration in London and Paris in 1973 which intensifies in the period 1973-88. This period also sees significant growth in southern Europe although not necessarily in the second (Mediterranean) banana. The most significant losers in 1973-88 were the Ruhr and the Randstad. In terms of the urban hierarchy corporate office growth is strongly concentrated in Paris and London and the study offers no evidence of a comparative advantage for smaller cities.
Lodz : The Problems Associated with Restructuring the Urban Economy of Poland's Textile Metropolis in the 1990s
Authors: Walker Antony R.
Published: October 2006

Lodz was developed as a Polish textile centre during the 1820s. Between 1870 and 1914, the city grew rapidly and become the core of one of Europe's premier textile manufacturing regions with a specialisation in serving the Russian market. When the Communist system collapsed in 1989, the city was still dominated by its eastern-orientated textile industry. Despite a number of advantages, the city is nonetheless faced with overcoming a number of serious problems in the quest to restructure the local economy during circumstances of economic and political flux affecting eastern Europe in the early 1990s. The evidence so far suggests that Lodz faces a difficult, competitive situation in attracting the inward investment needed to diversify the local economy away from the ailing textile industry. Potential investors are liable to be put off by the poor state of the city's infrastructure and environment.
Controlling the Housing Land Market: Some Examples from Europe
Authors: Barlow James
Published: October 2006

One major problem for the production of low-cost housing in the UK is the continued lack of control over the market for housing land, yet there is very little debate about ways of controlling land prices. This paper assesses some alternative approaches to land-use planning by focusing on high growth sub-regions in Britain, France and Sweden. It examines the flexibility of these planning systems to changes in the demand for housing land and the relationship between land release, land prices and house prices. The paper argues that the British approach is subject to a high level of uncertainty, exacerbating risk-taking speculative behaviour and price inflation. Under the French system, development uncertainty is reduced and house prices more rigidly controlled, with the result that speculative behaviour is constrained. The Swedish system is dependent on the ability of local authorities to build up land reserves which act as a buffer against price inflation. However, pressure on land prices in the open market has made this approach increasingly hard to sustain.
Choice of Neighbourhoods by Mover Households in Karachi
Authors: Ahmad Nuzhat
Published: October 2006

The paper studies the factors which influence choice of location of mover households between neighbourhoods in the city of Karachi. The analysis is based on a socio-economic survey of 6275 households in the city. Permanent income, location-specific income (income earned in the neighbourhood of residential location), ethnic composition and the incidence of violence are major determinants of the neighbourhood choice. The significance of location-specific income, level of violence and ethnic composition and insignificance of levels of services indicate that the choice of location and neighbourhoods is driven by different considerations in a developing country from those in a developed one. The results of the analysis show that in future there is likely to be ethnic segregation of population by their ethnic background and movement of households toward violence-free areas. Movement away from employment opportunities, especially for households who are self-employed and attached to a particular location for their livelihood, is less likely.
Close Together and Worlds Apart: An Analysis of Changes in the Ecology of Income in Canadian Cities
Authors: Bourne L.S.
Published: October 2006

The volatile social status of older neighbourhoods has been a concern of both scholars and politicians for some time. Three competing hypotheses, representing different interpretations of past trends and contrasting scenarios for the future, have dominated recent research: the impoverishment (decline), élite (gentrified) and persistence (stability) models. This paper examines these three models with respect to changing income distributions between and within Canadian metropolitan areas and their inner cities from 1950 to 1985. All three hypotheses are found to be wanting. It is shown that the direction of change in inner cities differs markedly among the metropolitan areas, and that while inner-city-suburban contrasts continue to grow in most cities, in a few places these contrasts are overwhelmed by internal diversity and by new clusters of suburban poverty and inner-city wealth. The emerging ecology of income and social status is much more complex and variable than any single hypothesis or research paradigm can encompass.
Self-provided Housing: The First World's Hidden Housing Arm
Authors: Duncan S.S. , Rowe A.
Published: October 2006

Self-provided housing is a major form of housing supply in nearly all the developed countries of W. Europe, N. America and Australasia. In many, like France or Germany, it accounted for the major part of housing output during the 1980s. Contrary to many opinions self-provision is not associated with backwardness, peripherality, or lack of market development. Rather, self-provided housing is often a major element in the expansion of European metropoles and sometimes reaches the heights of 'post-fordist' industrial organisation and product development. Self-provision lowers the money cost of housing and usually ensures higher quality, and in this way enlarges the housing choices of middle-income nuclear families. Materials and land costs remain substantial barriers to self-provision, and the more disadvantaged groups are usually unable to participate. However, the presence of a large self-provided sector can indirectly improve their housing position. Housing cycles will be calmed, spatial polarisation will be less severe, and there will be less competition from the more advantaged in rental markets. A significant self-provision sector can also have important effects on the housebuilding industry, both through direct competition and by presenting a different market environment. The net result is likely to be a decline in speculative behaviour and a concentration on longer-term efficiency. Finally, there are various 'models' for a successful self-provided housing sector, where the necessary social support is organised in different ways by different agencies. These will affect the level and distribution of self-provision. Given the importance of self-provided housing in all these ways, it merits considerably further research than has been the case so far.
Institutional Constraints and Annexation Activity in the US in the 1970s
Authors: Liner Gaines H.
Published: October 2006

This study provides new evidence that annexation laws do matter significantly in determining the rates at which municipalities annex territory. Equally important, the type of municipal governing structure was found significant in determining the rate at which municipalities annex. Where annexations are possible, one could conclude that municipalities that operate under municipal determination annexation laws and a commission type of municipal government are most likely to succeed in expanding corporate limits to protect municipal government revenues. On the other extreme, municipalities that operate under quasi-legislative annexation laws and have mayor-council forms of local government are least able to expand corporate boundaries to protect the revenue base. The results are based on a sample of 370 municipalities from all but seven states in the US. A potential weakness of the findings stems from the nature of the reporting of annexation activity and other pertinent data by municipalities. A second weakness results from differences in annexation laws within a given category of laws. Not all laws categorised the same way have equal impacts on annexation activity due to differences in restrictions placed on cities in different states and sometimes in the same state. Another weakness to consider is that these findings are relevant to the municipalities in the sample, but not necessarily to the municipalities that chose not to report data. Further, municipalities with populations of less than 25 000 people as of 1970 were not included in the study, and their annexation experiences might be different from those reported here.
A Theoretical Framework for the Functioning of the Dutch Property Market
Authors: van der Krabben Erwin , Lambooy Jan G.
Published: October 2006

In this article a theoretical framework will be presented to aid understanding of the functioning of property markets, more particularly the Dutch property market. It will be argued that traditional urban economic theories are not able to explain the structure and processes of the built environment. In the Dutch case, we are confronted with two problems; first, to find a way in which urban economic theories, designed for a context of cities in Great Britain and the US, can be used to explain urban development that takes place in the different context of Dutch cities; and, secondly, to formulate a set of hypotheses appropriate for the Dutch property market. The hypotheses concern the strategies of individual actors on the property market and the underlying factors. It is concluded that, in general, the relation between institutional structure and property development has been neglected both because of insufficient attention from economic scientists, and because empirical research is very complicated.
The Changing Nature of US Urban Policy Evaluation: The Case of the Urban Development Action Grant
Authors: Barnekov Timothy , Hart Douglas
Published: October 2006

A good deal was written about the success of American urban economic initiatives in the 1960s and 1970s. Often, however, claims were made by a particular programme's proponents about that programme's benefits without those benefits being independently assessed. As a consequence, in the late 1970s and early 1980s urban policy evaluation grew significantly as a governmental activity. But by the late 1980s policy evaluation was in general retreat. This paper seeks to analyse why this occurred and concludes that the decline in support for evaluation happened for a variety of reasons, including, in particular, its perceived lack of utility for policy-makers and, relatedly, its lack of effectiveness in actually informing either policy or practice. To illustrate the kind of problems which beset policy evaluation, the Urban Development Action Grant (UDAG) was selected as a case-study, on the grounds that UDAG formed the centrepiece of urban economic development policy in America for almost a decade from 1979 to 1988. The paper goes on to suggest that the problems associated with assessing the UDAG programme were often more ideological rather than simply financial or technical. It is argued that as a consequence, formal, publicly available, urban policy evaluation has been steadily abandoned at both the federal and city levels in the US.
House Extensions and Housing Market Adjustment: A Case-study of Wokingham
Authors: Gosling James A. , Keogh Geoffrey , Stabler Michael J.
Published: October 2006

This paper identifies possible explanations of house extension, based on the literature relating to house improvement and the decision to move. House extension, both as a form of housing market adjustment and as an individual household choice, is examined in a case-study of extension activity in Wokingham. Over the period 1979-89, house extension appears to be closely related to movements in house prices and can be seen as a form of housing development. A questionnaire survey of extenders who successfully applied for planning permission in 1987 provides information on house type, household characteristics, reasons for extending, and the degree of satisfaction with extension expenditure. Extension appears less likely to be triggered by specific life-cycle events, like increases in household size or income, representing instead a progressive upgrading of property to achieve higher space standards.
The Rent Gap Debunked
Authors: Bourassa Steven C.
Published: October 2006

The rent gap theory of gentrification has inspired a substantial amount of critical attention as well as several empirical studies. None of these studies addresses a fundamental problem with the rent gap hypothesis—namely, its dependence on a distinction between actual and potential land rent. That distinction does not contribute to the explanation of either the location or timing of changes in land use. And, contrary to some claims, there are no antecedents for the rent gap in the history of economic ideas—whether Marxian or neoclassical. It is concluded that the standard neoclassical concept of land-use succession is more coherent than the rent gap concept. However, neither approach explains how neighbourhoods previously subject to disinvestment come to be perceived to have the potential for reinvestment and higher land rents.
Negative Equity and British Housing in the 1990s: Cause and Effect
Authors: Gentle Christopher , Dorling Daniel , Comford James
Published: October 2006

This paper is concerned with the emergence in Britain in the early 1990s of a large group of domestic mortgage holders with negative equity (i.e. whose property had fallen below the value of the mortgage advance used to purchase that property). The emergence of negative equity is traced to the conjunction of the long-term trend towards wider home-ownership in Britain and the effects of deregulation of the financial system in the 1980s. Using individual records from a major building society, the temporal, geographical and social distribution of negative equity is assessed. The results suggest that negative equity was far more likely to affect certain social groups living in particular places and that these appear to be the people least well placed to 'help themselves' out of debt. The concluding section attempts to draw out some of the policy conclusions from these findings.
Economic Restructuring and the Realignment of the Urban Planning System: The Case of Dublin
Authors: McGuirk Pauline
Published: October 2006

This paper examines the evolving role of urban planning under conditions of economic restructuring. The increasing mobility and scale of capital have resulted in the necessity for local governments to attempt to lure capital into specific locations and the growing subservience of the state to capital. This has given rise to declining local autonomy and a reorientation of the role and policy directions of urban planning. Using in-depth interviews with urban planners and property developers in Dublin, this paper examines the impact of these conditions on planning's operation and the outcomes of increased central state intervention in the former territory of planning. It is concluded that planning is being reoriented to become more directly facilitative of the demands of capital.
Assessing Urban Planning Schemes by means of Multi-criteria Evaluation Techniques: The Case of Pedestrianisation
Authors: Whelan Jim
Published: October 2006

The introduction of pedestrianisation has led to many environmental and economic benefits particularly in town centres. However, decision-makers have often been faced with the complex task of selecting a most preferable scheme that balances the conflicting objectives associated with this type of planning measure. To assist decision-makers in this process, an international study of some 30 pedestrian-oriented schemes was carried out which examined the impacts of these schemes upon selected attributes and the importance attached to these attributes by various individuals. This information was used within a series of formal evaluation techniques that have been applied to urban planning initiatives, to see how suitable they were for assisting in the selection of pedestrianisation schemes. The results demonstrated the need to exercise caution in the use of particular forms of evaluation techniques, and suggest that there is value in using a number of techniques to overcome method uncertainty and provide decision-makers with more reliable results. The results indicate that the techniques are applicable to a range of urban planning issues.
Social Polarisation in Global Cities: Theory and Evidence
Authors: Hamnett Chris
Published: October 2006

This paper examines the debate over social polarisation in global cities. It focuses on the claims made by Sassen that the processes of economic change in such cities are leading to a growing polarisation of the occupational and income structures whereby there is absolute growth at both the top and bottom ends of the distribution and a decline in the middle of the distribution. It is argued that while these claims may hold true for New York and Los Angeles, possibly because of their very high levels of immigration and the creation of large numbers of low skilled and low paid jobs, her attempt to extend the thesis to all global cities is problematic. In other cities professionalisaton appears to be dominant. Evidence on occupational change in Randstad Holland is presented to support this argument.
Enhanced Histopathology of the Thymus
Authors: Elmore Susan A.
Published: October 2006

The thymus is a primary or central lymphoid organ in which T lymphocytes undergo diffentiation and maturation autonomously within the cortex, without the need for antigenic stimulation, and it is essential for the normal development and function of the immune system. The thymus has been shown to be a sensitive target organ following exposure to immunotoxicants and endogenous corticosteroids, and a decrease in size or weight is often one of the first noted measures of compound-induced effects with cortical lymphocytes (thymocytes) being especially susceptible. Therefore, changes in thymus histopathology and architecture are considered to be of particular relevance for immunotoxicity screening. The separate compartments in each lymphoid organ should be evaluated separately and descriptive rather than interpretive terminology should be used to characterize changes within those compartments ( Haley et al., 2005 ). Therefore, enhanced histopathological evaluation of the thymus involves the determination of the size and cellularity of the cortex and medulla, which should be noted separately. Other changes to evaluate include, but are not limited to, increased lymphocyte apoptosis, lymphocyte necrosis, cortex:medulla ratio and an increase or decrease in the epithelial component of the thymus.
Normal Structure, Function, and Histology of the Bone Marrow
Authors: Travlos Gregory S.
Published: October 2006

While a complete blood count provides information regarding possible treatment-related effects reflected in the peripheral blood, morphological evaluation of bone marrow cytology and paraffin sections provides information about bone marrow tissue architecture that otherwise would be missed by examination of peripheral blood alone. In decalcified, paraffin-embedded, hematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained sections of bone marrow, the more mature stages of the erythroid and myeloid cells, adipocytes, mast cells, and megakaryocytes can be identified, but lymphoid cells as well as immature progenitor cells can not be reliably identified. The quality of the marrow sections is governed by numerous variables related to specimen collection and processing and must be considered. In addition to discussing normal structure, function, and histology of bone marrow, methods for preparation and evaluation of bone marrow are presented.
Enhanced Histopathology of the Bone Marrow
Authors: Elmore Susan A.
Published: October 2006

Changes in bone marrow cellularity can be an indicator of systemic toxicity and, therefore, bone marrow should be included in the battery of tissues examined for enhanced histopathology. However, the majority of changes in the bone marrow that are observed in toxicology studies are a response to hematological changes or lesions elsewhere in the body. For this reason, a consideration of all tissue changes in the body is required in order to differentiate toxic effects versus physiological responses in the bone marrow. While enhanced histopathology involves evaluation of the separate compartments in each lymphoid organ using descriptive rather than interpretive terminology, bone marrow is unique in that it lacks specific compartments. Furthermore, identification of erythroid, myeloid, megakaryocytic, and stromal cells, plus adipose tissue and hemosiderin-laden macrophages, can be accomplished from conventional H&E-stained sections, but conclusive identification of lymphoid lineage cells is not likely. This limits the extent of initial enhanced histopathology on bone marrow and argues for the use of cytological preparations for more comprehensive assessment of potential immunomodulatory effects.