Urban ethics: Towards a research agenda on cities, ethics and normativity Publication date: Available online 13 November 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society Author(s): Eveline Dürr, Moritz Ege, Johannes Moser, Christoph K. Neumann, Gordon M. Winder

Natural disaster and informality (re)production in Chile Publication date: Available online 1 November 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society Author(s): Irina Tumini, Angela Poletti Abstract This paper addresses the crucial need to gather more in-depth knowledge on the social construction of hazard by exploring risk exposition in informal settlements. The confluence of certain hazard conditions and inherent or contextual vulnerability configurations increases exponentially the risk of damages in the case of calamitous events. This suggests that the eradication of urban informality may contribute to reduce the vulnerability to natural hazards as well. This study proposes the use of the Geography of Opportunity and the Basic Liveability approach to understand the processes triggering the (re)production of informality and, more specifically, the factors driving settlements localisation into hazard-exposed areas. Two Chilean cities have been taken as case studies, as they constitute a paradigmatic example of social construction of hazard in Latin-America. The proposed case studies allow us to analyse the residential deficit and informality eradication policies in Chile. As a result, we observed that informal settlements are strategically located in relation to the structure of metropolitan opportunities, but the trade-off for this is the occupation of marginal and hazard-exposed areas. The conclusions give some recommendations in order to support policymakers to provide more comprehensive urban planning and risk management strategies to face future challenges, involving issues as urban poverty, social inequality and housing policy in addition to aspects related to pure hazard exposition.

The punk and the post-developing city: Subculture-led urban regeneration in Seoul? Publication date: Available online 10 October 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society Author(s): Hyunjoon Shin Abstract Contrary to conventional wisdom, subculture is not completely separable from urban regeneration. Taking the case of underground punk subculture in Seoul, Korea, which relocated from the gentrified neighborhood of Hongdae to the dilapidated Mullae, I focus on the spatial practices of the key members of this subculture, rather than taking for granted the notion of rebellion within a dichotomous structure. Before discussing the places and the actors of the case study, the key concept of subculture is investigated. Then, the mobility, place-making, international-cum-translocal connections and everyday negotiations of the subcultural actors are examined. The vernacular concept of ‘youth as surplus’ is developed to explain the pure energy engendered by the subculture and the ironic relation between subculture and urban transformation in both local and translocal scales.

Urban transformation and cultural evolution of post-socialist European cities. The case of Timisoara (Romania): From ‘Little Vienna’ urban icon to European Capital of culture (ECoC 2021) Publication date: Available online 4 October 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society Author(s): Sorin Pavel, Ioan Sebastian Jucu Abstract Few non-metropolitan cities in Eastern Europe have such a culturally meaningful background as Timişoara, the capital of Romanian Banat. The graceful ‘Little Vienna’ has been the scene of significant historical events that have shaped the inner urban patterns evident in its cultural landscape, reflecting the impress of a succession of diverse cultures over time. Against such a background, an urban icon appeared due to the ongoing urban changes that always preserved the culture of the city. It was the major attribute that alongside with various interventions in local urban management directly contributed to the cultural heritage preservation, a basis on which Timişoara has now been designated a European Capital of Culture for 2021. This new status has stimulated new policy initiatives for its urban development that have the potential to transform Timişoara into a major European city. This paper aims to investigate the most relevant urban transformation and cultural evolution of this city tracing the most relevant cultural stages that contributed to the post-socialist urban identity formation. The ways in which each period has left its distinctive spatial mark on the city are analysed in their relationship to contemporary challenges and the new opportunities for Timişoara's future as a European Capital of Culture. The research is designed on a multi-method approach with methods as participant and ethnographic observation, GIS analysis, historical resources investigation and statistic data research framing an appropriate background for key and relevant findings. They highlight that in the face of various political regimes flowing among the time the cultural heritage of a city can be preserved, thus generating a valuable framework to capitalise the local culture. The cultural background of Timisoara made the city an European Capital of Culture, strengthening its cultural position in Europe next to other major non-metropolitan cities, that opens new avenues for further research under the post-socialist cultural evolution umbrella.

Collective memory and urban regeneration in urban spaces: Reproducing memories in Baharestan Square, city of Tehran, Iran Publication date: September 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society, Volume 18 Author(s): Azadeh Lak, Pantea Hakimian Abstract Baharestan Square as the most memorable square in Tehran, has many historical and cultural monuments. This square as the historic public space, faces urban decay and dilution of social belonging due to urban transformations which are eroding the collective memory of not only its meaning but also its physical environment. This research aims to propose a theoretical model for continuing and reproducing features of collective memory in historic urban spaces. Qualitative research is applied via field study and in-depth interviews with 20 residents and users aged 25–65 years. The respondents were known as local residents in Baharestan neighbourhood in Tehran. The observations, interviews, and related documents and texts were analyzed with qualitative content analysis. The data gathering was continued up to theoretical saturation. This study indicates that collective memory is composed of objective and subjective dimensions, including place, events/activities, history, and personal values/images. This framework can be applied through the culture-led regeneration of historic urban spaces with the help of interventions in relation to the needs and attitudes of social groups, local users, and residents.

Farmers and the city: Urban sprawl, socio-demographic polarization and land fragmentation in a mediterranean region, 1961–2009 Publication date: September 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society, Volume 18 Author(s): Luca Salvati Abstract Southern European cities experienced important transformations toward a more fragmented socio-demographic structure in recent decades. Under the hypothesis that farm characteristics were influenced by the local context where holders live, long-term patterns of socio-demographic polarization in a Mediterranean city were assessed using diachronic data on basic characteristics of farms held by residents in urban and rural districts of the Athens' metropolitan region, Greece (1961–2009). Evidence of this study indicates that the spatial distribution of farms according to the holder's place of residence reflects both traditional and new social gradients linked with the dominant phase of urban expansion. As a result, the local context was related to farmers' preferences and long-term strategies, influencing decisions toward a (more or less) sustainable management of peri-urban land. Results of this study aliment the debate on future development of contemporary cities, shedding further light on the (evolving) socioeconomic relations with the surrounding (rural) regions.

Publisher's Note Publication date: September 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society, Volume 18 Author(s):

Editorial Board Publication date: September 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society, Volume 18 Author(s):

Cutting through the clutter of smart city definitions: A reading into the smart city perceptions in India Publication date: September 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society, Volume 18 Author(s): Sarbeswar Praharaj, Hoon Han Abstract Smart city development has emerged as a favoured response to the 21st-century urbanisation challenges. A wide range of definitions surfaced over the last decade characterising the smart city, primarily pushed by the global elite corporations and influential academics. Simultaneously, a series of urban development expressions, such as digital city, knowledge city, eco-city is used interchangeably with the smart city, significantly mystifying the reading of the concept. This paper, first argue that smart city interpretation needs and requires the input and contribution of the local stakeholders. The aim of this research is to provide an evidence-based framework to capture the perception of local urban actors in India vis-à-vis their interpretation of smart cities given the existing urban conditions and the proposed developments under the 100 Smart Cities Mission. This research also examines the underlying linkage between the smart city and its conceptual relatives and highlights the ones with a significant convergence with the emerging urban agenda in India's Smart Cities Mission. The analysis presented in this paper show that to emerge as a holistic concept, smart cities definition models should engage with the sustainability and community issues, beyond the use of digital technology. The research reveals that the Indian urban stakeholders strongly associate the smart city concept with sustainable city and eco-city, much more than the technology-loaded phrases such as ubiquitous city and digital city. The first-of-its-kind inclusive approach developed in this paper to define smart city takes on the monopolies of top-down smart city definitions and support the democratisation of the rapidly proliferating concept.

A spatial-temporal gender and land use analysis of bikeshare ridership: The case study of Baltimore City Publication date: September 2019 Source: City, Culture and Society, Volume 18 Author(s): Amirreza Nickkar, Snehanshu Banerjee, Celeste Chavis, Istiak A. Bhuyan, Philip Barnes Abstract Bikeshare programs are growing in popularity across the United States as cities aim to provide an alternative mode of transportation that addresses last-mile needs while promoting recreation and tourism. In fall 2016, Baltimore Bikeshare System (BBS) launched with 20 stations. Using trip data for over 17,000 trips from October to May, this study explores the temporal and spatial patterns of bikeshare use in the city. The current study has two main goals: first, exploring the influence of socio-demographic factors on travel patterns of Baltimore's bikeshare ridership, and second, evaluating possible relationships between gender and land use in terms of origin/destination stations of their trips. The methodology of this study was based on statistical analysis including ANOVA, and binary and multinomial logistic regression models. The results of the study include several findings. First, the travel pattern of riders differs according to the status of their memberships, the day of week, and the land use of where they started and ended their trip. Second, there is a large gender difference among BBS membership users, and males are the dominate users. Finally, females tended to have more recreational trips and start and end their trips from/to the same station when compared to male riders.