Urban fiction

Clarence N. Stone’s regime theory, is a theory that states the proper way to identify a city’s needs for prosperity and the steps taken to enhance a city as a whole. In a regime theory, one would observe the city and decide what is needed for the city based off of the results from the observation. Since a regime theory includes the citizens’ voices in government, these citizens come together to express their thoughts about what they believe is needed for a city to prosper. Two examples of…

Tempe Land Use: Going to Plan? A city’s general plan is an important aspect when building a successful city. The city of Tempe, Arizona uses a general plan to help spread their vision. Tempe wishes to create a community of vital neighborhoods, visually attractive, transit sensitive, with resident participation in making crucial decisions about the future (United). Tempe’s general plan is then broken down into the elements of history, land use, design and development, economics, conservation,…

Gangxia village is an urban village situated in the central part of Futian CBD, Shenzhen. The urban village comprises two parts, as shown in Figure 4.2, Heyuan and Louyuan, the case study here only covers Heyuan block, which takes up a population of approximately 68,000 (only 900 are indigenous villagers, the other 67,000 are migrant tenants) and an area of approximately 151,600 m2 (Futian Government Online, 2007). Regarding the large size of redevelopment and the complex interests among various…

In many parts of the world people are facing the effects of overpopulation and the process called urban sprawl appearing more often (Randolph). This urban sprawl is a direct result of overpopulating a region with an inadequate room for growth (Randolph). It involves stretching the urban boundaries further and further, thus consuming precious farm land and many other types of land use (Randolph). This realization of a population and space crisis is what has driven only a few cities in the United…

Mary DeSena wrote an article on how the design of smart growth can solve the problems related to urban sprawl (DeSena, 1999). The article, “‘Smart Growth’ Designed to Solve Urban Sprawl-related Problems”, discussed what costs are associated with sprawl to cities, policies that contain sprawl, and the success of Portland’s smart growth management policies. Sprawl has caught the attention of charities, grant makers, and even foundations to combat the sprawl problem (DeSena, 1999). They believe…

Introduction Both Jane Jacob and Richard Florida are huge influence in contemporary urban development while both of them emphasized the importance of creativity. This article provides us very general ideas of both Jane Jacob and Richard Florida towards the definition and composition of creative class, which opens up the topic for broader discussions. This short essay used qualitative analysis based on based on two interviews. On the one hand, the main argument of Richard Florida that is drawn…

a reference to a "locked room mystery", a popular form of early detective fiction. (Wikipedia) "The locked room mystery is a subgenre of detective fiction in which a crime—almost always murder—is committed under apparently impossible circumstances. The crime in question typically involves a crime scene that no intruder could have entered or left, e.g., a locked room. Following other conventions of classic detective fiction, the reader is normally presented with the puzzle and all of the clues,…

3.1 NEIGHBORHOOD SUSTAINABILITY INDICATORS: FROM PLANNING THEORIES Howard’s idea to divide the “Garden city” into wards is considered to be one of the earliest notions of neighborhood in city planning. He visualized self-sustainable, compact neighborhoods with easy access to jobs, parks and shops for daily necessities. Howard clearly emphasized on efficient transportation network, combination of various social groups and integration of human and nature. Inspired by the “garden city”, Perry’s…

effects of global economy, transition from representative democracy to pluralistic and participatory democracy have influenced urban systems and traditional planning approaches have not been able to come up with the solutions to problems that arise in the new urban systems. (Hillier, 2008) . Berke & Conroy (2000) mentioned that the concept of sustainability plays…

many communities in the United States were razed down and built back up by urban planners, who claimed they were transforming the spaces for the better. The planners often neglected to consider the needs and priorities of the people who had and were expected to live in their projects, and thus they ended up destroying rather than improving community life. Activist and urban studies writer Jane Jacobs explored instances of urban renewal in neighborhoods across America during the 1950-60s, and…