Cities in the 21st Century

Our Kook: Surfing and the Political Economy of Place in Cardiff, California

Shivaun Watchorn — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:34:50 PDT

Triumph Against the Growth Machine: Examining the Case of the Northeast Minneapolis HHW Facility

Peter Truax — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:33:39 PDT

Offshore Urbanism: The Intersecting Roles of Neoliberalism and Historical Memory in Creating Dubai's Palm Jumeirah

Zach Selke — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:32:06 PDT

SHACKDWELLER CITIZENSHIP

Margaret Scott — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:32:05 PDT

Literature on slum and shack settlements focuses mainly on the staggering numbers of shackdwellers, the steadily increasing urban population, and the perils of rapid urbanization yet largely ignores the rights of the poor people housed in these disputed and often highly politicized areas. Even in literature sympathetic to the need for improved conditions, little agency is granted to those who have the greatest stake in how slums are managed, the shackdwellers themselves. The paper looks carefully at shackdwellers' rights, considering the activism of a South African movement, the Abahlali baseMjondolo. Details on the Abahlali are revealed through a variety of sources, whether newspaper, magazine or journal articles, book chapters, or court documents. All aspects of the Abahlali movement, origins, structure, and activism, reveal a pragmatic and alternative model for citizenship that differs from the citizenship offered by the South African government. The paper utilizes the political economy of place perspective as a lens to understand how the Abahlali baseMjondolo movement's grassroots advocacy counters the market-oriented development put forth by the government. The Abahlali baseMjondolo's inclusive governance and powerful advocacy for a right to the city offer a compelling model of citizenship in a steadily urbanizing world.

Health and Place: Special Commodities in New Urban Development

Chloe Mirzayi — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:30:53 PDT

Flood Control and the Growth Machine in Des Moines

Julian Hyde — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:30:53 PDT

The Soldier and the Growth Machine: An Examination of Fort Bliss, Texas

Robert Heyman — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:30:07 PDT

Integrating the Suburbs: A Park Forest Case Study

Joseph Houlihan — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:30:07 PDT

The production of human living spaces operates largely within the confines of political economy. As such, myriad actors influence the economic and social character of places. And over time, places prove essentially dynamic. This paper considers the influence of political economy on the African American suburban experience during the second half of the twentieth century, focusing specifically on Park Forest, Illinois.

The Struggle for Legitimacy: Dissecting Discourse on the Expansion of Gilo

Elise Goldin — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:28:58 PDT

In August 2009, the United States called for a freeze on Israeli settlements in order to promote peace talks between Israel and Palestine. Israel agreed to the settlement freeze yet less than three weeks later approved a plan by the Israel Land Administration and the Jerusalem Planning Committee to build an additional 900 houses in the town of Gilo. While much of the international community understands Gilo to be an illegal settlement built on occupied territory, Israel disputes this claim and views Gilo as a legal suburb of Jerusalem. Though many states, international organizations, and human rights groups protested Gilo’s expansion at the time of announcement, development continued nonetheless. A great deal of media and other forms of propaganda projects were issued from a multiplicity of perspectives in an attempt to sway the world towards certain political positions on Gilo’s expansion. In order to do this, various parties worked to influence the way that the public imagined or perceived settlement expansion as legal or illegal, humane or inhumane. The Israeli growth coalition and Palestinian groups manipulated the geographic imagination to legitimize or delegitimize claims for land. This idea will be explored through the case study of Gilo to demonstrate how competing actors employ history, race, nationalism, and rhetoric to stake claims to land.

Visions of the Future as Spaces of Engagement: The Political Economy of Transit-Oriented Redevelopment in Tysons Corner, VA.

Avery Bowron — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 11:28:30 PDT

In the 1950s, Tysons Corner was a rural area of Fairfax County, VA. Today, it is the nation's 12th largest collection of commercial and office space, and the textbook example of “Edge City” suburban sprawl. Throughout its history, development in Tysons closely resembled Logan and Molotch's growth machine thesis. Over the past two years, a radically different future has been planned for Tysons with the arrival of the Dulles Metrorail and the drafting of a new Comprehensive Plan. This paper analyzes the new Comprehensive Plan through its series of drafts, public comments, and coverage in the media in order to situate it within the political economy of place framework. What allowed for such a dramatic shift in vision? Perhaps more critically, what role has the growth machine played in shaping this new vision? This case study demonstrates that even in (perhaps especially in) cases which represent major shifts in vison, the growth machine is likely to play a central role in shaping the extent and the boundaries of that vision. Furthermore, it examines the critical role that outside investment plays in revitalizing the growth machine, and positions the negotiation of these investments as spaces of engagement for both use and exchange value interests. In the end, this paper finds that in order to promote alternative visions for growth, one must become a knowledgable agent, capable of manipulating the development process.

Burnsville, Minnesota’s Heart of the City Development and Its Implications for Addressing the Suburban Shortage of Affordable Housing

Patrick Malloy — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:18:02 PDT

Reducing Cars and Increasing Development: How the Creation of a Viable Transit Oriented Development Corridor in Arlington, Virginia has Sparked Growth

Michael Samuelson — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:16:57 PDT

New Urbanism and Social Equity: A Case Study of Heritage Park

Charles Edelman — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:16:56 PDT

Food for Thought: The St. Paul Farmers' Market's Contribution to a Livable City

Yui Hashimoto — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:16:56 PDT

LEED and the Galisteo Basin Preserve: Sustainable Solution to Metropolitan Sprawl?

Angella Kilcher — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:15:51 PDT