The paper explores what unites the social environment the material environment. both thematerial form, and, jointly, the sensibility that echoes it. .It argues that urban geographersneed to develop a research model drawing on urban geography, on urbanism and on landmanagement and capable of integrating the thoughts, the emotions, the affects and the valuesof city dwellers and citizens and therefore knowledge situated at a micro-social level.However, such research still would need to lead to truly regulatory knowledge. Its translationinto practical measures needs to be democratically approved, especially by actors whoknow how to think and act both locally and globally, in relation to multiple and complexterritories of affiliation and intervention. This implies a huge effort of the imagination andof construction, both at the theoretical level and at the level of the operational tools needed.Indeed, the concept of “ urban project ”, which has been frequently encountered since theend of the ‘70s and which is supposed finally to supersede functionalist urbanism, cannotbe conceived of without taking into consideration the population’s capability to participateand embrace projects or, on the contrary, to oppose them.

innovative scientific knowledge --- social science --- urban form --- sustainability --- relation --- lifeworld --- socio-affectives relations and analysis --- urban research agenda

At the beginning of the 21st century, there are various social theories that speak of globalchanges in the history of human civilization. Urban models have been through obviouschanges throughout the last century according to the important transformation that are proposedby previous general theories. Nevertheless global diversity contradicts the generalizationof these theories and models. From our own simple observations and reflections wearrive at conclusions that distance themselves from the prevailing theory of our civilizedworld. New York, Delhi, Salvador de Bahia, Bruges, Paris, Cartagena de Indias or Kathmandustill have more internal differences than similarities.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- globalization

Cities, increasingly, are the principal arenas in which global, national and local forces intersect.Canadian cities are no exception. Those cities are currently undergoing a series ofprofound and irreversible transitions as a result of external forces originating from differentsources and operating at different spatial scales. Specifically, this paper argues that Canadiancities are being transformed in a markedly uneven fashion through the intersection ofchanges in national and regional economies, the continued demographic transition, andshifts in government policy on the one hand, and through increased levels and new sourcesof immigration, and the globalization of capital and trade flows, on the other hand. Theseshifts, in turn, are producing new patterns of external dependence, a more fragmented urbansystem, and continued metropolitan concentration. They are also leading to increased socioculturaldifferences, with intense cultural diversity in some cities juxtaposed with homogeneityin other cities, and to new sets of urban winners and losers. In effect, these transitionsare creating new sources of difference - new divides - among and within the country=surban centres, augmenting or replacing the traditional divides based on city-size, location inthe heartland or periphery, and local economic base.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- globalization --- Canada

This contribution intends to show somecharacteristics of the special development of Slovenian towns in the lastdecade. Trends of spatial development are more or less similar in alltowns, irrespective of their size, economic orientation of the town anddevelopment of the gravitational area. The main caracteristics is that themajority of Slovenian towns gradually moves from a high density compacttown into a dispersed, regional town.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- regional development --- Slovenia

In Slovene towns and urban areas severalprocesses of social transformation and change have been present in the lastdecade. As a consequence of political and economic transition increasedsocialdifferentiation resulted in increased social segregation in urbanareas.Some areas such as high-rise housing estates and part of older innercity areas were affected by social degradation and concentration oflow-incomepopulation and ethnical minorities. In some parts of inner citiesprocesses of reurbanisation and gentrification are taking place. However,the degree of social segragation is lower than in the cities of mosttransitional countries of Central and Eastern Europe.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- suburbanization --- urban population --- Slovenia

The consequences of full incorporation into the European Union and the effects of globalisationcontributed to the modification of social structures in Spain. The accelerated rise inimmigration has been decisive in creating the post-modern Spanish city. The cities of thetwenty-first century are more complex, but also more cosmopolitan, multi-cultural, rich anddynamic.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- population geography --- migrations --- globalization --- Spain

Tel Aviv was mentioned as a world city for the first time by Kellerman (1993) who emphasizedthe existence of leading economic functions typical for the late 20th century city. Thispaper extends the notion of Tel Aviv as a world city in evolution, using up-to-date worldcity literature and indicators. Greater (metropolitan) Tel Aviv with 2.6 million population in2000 (Tel Aviv City had 350000) has been Israel`s primate urban agglomeration since the1920s. Since the 1990s it has evolved into a hard core of Israel`s post-industrial, globallyorientated economy, and has displayed a post-modern physical ambience and social andcultural lifestyle. Tel Aviv evolved into a global city in spite of the fact that it is located at afrontier in its own region, the Mideast, and at the cul-de-sac site relative to the mainstreamglobal economic centers with which it maintains most of its network links. In addition tocommon attributes of a world city one of the main assets of Tel Aviv is its high R&D intensiveindustry, acting as a growth pole for the local and national economies. Future researchavenues are an in-depth analysis of Tel Aviv`s social inequalities and the linkage patternsthat Tel Aviv maintains with other urban centers of world city caliber.

settlement geography // urban geography // Israel

This study investigated recent changes in migration and population structure of the GreaterBangkok considering the impact of economic globalization. The spatial policy of the Thaigovernment has lead newer investments for manufacturing to locate away from BangkokMetropolis and thereby the industrial structure of Bangkok Metropolis has gradually turnedinto service-dominated, while the region surrounding Bangkok Metropolis has attractedfactories mainly owned by foreign capital. Light industry and electronics industry are concentratedin the adjacent provinces to Bangkok Metropolis and the heavy and petrochemicalindustry tends to be located in the outer zone of the surrounding region. The service sectorand light industry as well as electronics industry prefer female workers and Bangkok metropolisand the adjoining provinces have become female-dominated population structurewhile male workers tend to gather in the outer zone attracted by heavy and petrochemicalindustry. It is possible to mention accordingly that the unbalanced spatial distribution of sexstructure of population which might cause changes in the norm to the family formation infuture is one of the consequences of economic globalization of Thailand, which the investmentpromotion policy of the government did not assume.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- globalization --- Thailand

In modern urban systems the economic growth of cities is largely driven by services. Inmany regions employment growth in primary and secondary activities is close to zero, oreven negative. Growth depends on the ability to attract jobs in the services. This studyexplores the pattern of specialization in various service activities for 159 Canadian urbanareas in 1996, as the basis for a series of maps for the Atlas of Canada. The hierarchicalspecialization is evaluated for each service sector by computing a regression model of serviceemployment as a function of urban population and income per capita. The rapidlygrowing business and financial services are the most strongly oriented to larger cities. Thehorizontal specialization is measured as residuals from the regressions. Strong regionaldifferences contrast the central place roles of agricultural communities with the more localizedmarkets of resource and manufacturing centres. Public sector decisions about the locationof major health and education facilities complement the choices of the private sector.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Canada

This paper aims to analyze the pattern and process of distribution of cities in the newlyopened regions by tracing the historical changes of the urban system in Hokkaido, Japanand in the Republic of South Africa. The history of colonization is not so long in the newlyopened regions. This means that we can study the genesis and development process ofcities from the beginning of colonization. These frontier cities often have the gateway functioninfluencing over the wide surrounding region. The main concern of this study is to findout how urban functions and the urban system change from their beginning in the newlyopened region. This study examines the relation between the hierarchy of cities and thelocational characteristics of branch offices for the analysis of the postwar urban system inHokkaido. We can discern the three stages in the development of the urban system in newlyopened regions. First stage is the formative period: coastal regions were the centers of theexploitation and port cities were dominant. Second stage is the growth period: the exploitationmade great progress in inland regions and the coastal cities and inland cities werein conflict with each other. Third stage is the reorganization period: the economical centersmove towards inland regions and the inland capital gets dominant.

http://www.ff.uni-lj.si/oddelki/geo/Publikacije/Dela/files/Dela_21/025%20teraya.pdf

The Japanese-affiliated enterprises in China are considered to have played important rolesfor economic development of both two countries. Looking at cities with Japanese-affiliatedenterprises, this research investigates the changes in the international urban system betweenChina and Japan. We selected 5084 direct investments items from Japan to China and investigatedthe spatial structure of the international urban system in 4 periods.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Japan --- China

The professional and political debate on the superficial or in-depth reorganization and reformof Hungary 's administrative regions – which has been a constant feature on the agenda,albeit with varying levels of importance since the regime change of 1990 – has today beenrevived. The reforms carried out in Hungary during the part decade, although affecting areaorganization at many levels, have failed within the modified conditional system to provide aviable and comprehensive system. The internal structure of a state is determined by the stateboundaries. To speak of state borders with regard to a uniting Europe is no easy task,since the import of the expression is changing within the framework of this integration.The outer borders of the EU lie along natural boundaries, and therefore may be clearly defined,while serving as protective enclosures for achievements which present inhabitantsreached over many decades. In recent decades this produced a predominantly isolatingtendency, and its liberalization in relation to penetrability may be mainly interpreted asa result of the expansion process. It seems appropriate to emphasise this notion, sinceafter enlargement in 2004, today’s Schengen border will partly become an internal one, andin parallel will be gradually pushed eastwards, creating a wall or barrier in regionswhere it was traditionally desirable to maintain penetrability.

political geography --- regional geography --- regional development --- Hungary --- European Union

The history of the role neighbourhoods are expected to play in everyday life of the residentsis highly dynamic. This paper gives an overview. Some hundred years ago neighbourhoodsformed the almost complete framework for everyday life. This changed due to increasingmobility. Many people expected the end of the relevance of the neighbourhood, but in a newrole the neighbourhood will be quite important: as a context of responsibility for the residents.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- commuting --- Netherland

Ten dimensions from the affective domain are proposed as characterizing the major attitudesand feelings found in areas of high crime in cities. These dimensions are related to apreviously proposed model of community differentiation by the author, that tried to summarizethe range of features that cause community or residential areas to differ from oneanother. It is suggested that these crime area dimensions are variations of the previouslyproposed dimensions rather than unique sources of differentiation.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- crimes

The German Urban Commission is currently monitoring a phenomenon not entirely new:the economic and demographic shrinking of cities. As outlined during the Pretoria Conferencein 2002, this process is increasingly puzzling for both urban planners and politicians,and in some regions – especially in eastern Germany – the situation is getting dramaticallyworse (see chapter 1). In chapter 2 and 3 of this paper we will illustrate the effects of economicand demographic shrinking, by analysing the example of the eastern German City ofEisenhüttenstadt. In chapter 4 we will outline Eisenhüttenstadt’s perspectives for the futureand discuss its efforts to adapt to these new challenges. The conclusion will put forward anumber of theses for further discussion.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Germany

The paper is based on the preliminary results of the research of socio-spatial structure inZagreb. The main socioeconomic indicators: educational structure, average earnings, andthe structure of employed and unemployed population were analysed. Despite the lack ofrelevant statistical indicators, results show notable changes of socio-spatial structure inducedby transition processes. Differences between city districts, expressed by socioeconomicindicators can be viewed as a beginning of the process of socio-spatial polarisation inZagreb.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Croatia --- Zagreb

The article concentrates first of all on the analysis of spatial differences in the sixty-yeardevelopment of the population within the concentric zones: city centre, flanking region, oldand new suburban circle and dispersed settlements. Indicators, which were subject of a specialanalysis were age, socio-economic and ethnical structure of the population.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Denmark

In the recent two decades, as result of growing preference among the Jewish middle classfor detached residence, many suburbs and villages were subject to gentrification. Especiallyprone to gentrification, were housing estates built in the 1950s at low densities. It was, then,the increasing suburbanization middle-class households that brought about the gentrificationof these neighborhoods. A similar process took place in immigrant towns and villageson the periphery of metropolitan regions.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Israel

The study of urban geography has primarily focused on large cities, but geographic trendsaffecting smaller urban areas also merit the attention of researchers. The local economies ofsmaller municipalities in Japan, for example, have been more seriously damaged by therecession of the last decade than the economies of larger cities. Typically, store vacancieshave increased in small cities as a result of the recession. Moreover, the population of smallcities is aging rapidly, obscuring their prospects for the future.This paper examines the outcome of changes in the case of the small city of Saga, Japan,with particular attention to the decline of its urban center and its unsuccessful efforts atdowntown revitalization. As the center of Saga Prefecture in southwestern Japan, the city ofSaga performs communication, education, administrative, and cultural functions that aresignificant in the local and regional economy. As in other small cities in Japan, the downtownof Saga has declined with the regional economy in recent years. The outlook forSaga's urban environment is serious, with increasing urban problems anticipated. In response,downtown revitalization and redevelopment efforts have been undertaken, but thesehave been unsuccessful. This study concludes that a lack of both public participation andclear policy purpose were contributing factors in the failure of Saga’s revitalization efforts.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Japan

Since the 19th century, Beirut has known a spectacular development in its physiognomy aswell as its morphology and its space extent. Each era has left its mark on the city, thus constitutingterritories inside which various visual messages delimitated ideological space.Presently, 13 years after the end of the war, Beirut has become a huge agglomeration andoffers several faces. What are those faces?

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Lebanon

By the example of the Austrian city of Graz whose old town has been declared a world heritagesite in 2000 attention shall be focused on the more or less “unnoticed” changes of thehistoric roofscape that can be observed and that should attract more interest from a geographical(creation of new living space, attraction of new social groups to the city-center), planningand urban zoning (redevelopment of the building and functional structures) or architectonic(urban conservation) perspective.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Austria --- Graz

The study identifies the changes in the living conditions in the Agglomeration of Warsaw1995-2001 and their impact upon the decentralisation process of the population and businesses.It has been confirmed that spatial re-distribution of people and jobs in suburbanzone is affected by the living conditions in the areas, but the impact of land rent seems to bealso important.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Poland

The purpose of this study is to elucidate gender differences and regional differences of commutingactivities by inhabitants in Japanese metropolitan suburbs. I found the differentparts by districts in the metropolitan suburb. Regional factors cause gender differences incommuting activities and result in regional differences: In residential areas, inhabitants whowork in metropolitan centers occupy much of the population. In older built-up areas, thereare many “local” persons. In rural areas, motorization is progressing because access to railroadshas been inconvenient. These regional factors influence the behavioral characteristics ofcommuting by married men, married women, never married men and never married women.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Japan

This paper proposes to use the concept of “sense of place” to describe the particular atmosphereprevailing in any specific residential environment. The sense of place is expressedthrough a number of variables of behavior and variables of personal feeling. The studyidentifies the sense of place in and around two new housing developments, built in twoneglected neighborhoods in the city of Ramat Gan. Results were based on ethnographicanalysis of in-depth interviews of residents, half of them living in the new buildings andhalf of them in adjacent old buildings.

settlement geography --- urban geography --- Israel