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This paper investigates trends in downtown real estate and urban responses to real estate demand shifts during the COVID and post-COVID recovery periods for a selection of U.S. downtown areas. It charts the diverging responses of different real estate sectors to the COVID-19 pandemic—and the implications for the spatial allocation of activity across metropolitan areas. Using local data from four major U.S. metro areas, it documents how sustained shifts in rents and vacancy rates are putting pressure on cities to reconsider—and in some cases redefine—the "highest and best use" of much of their downtown real estate assets. After analyzing economic and policy constraints that are hindering responses, it concludes by proposing strategies for how the downtown real estate sector can adapt to the shifting needs of the post-pandemic population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering (17264073) is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Today’s society and one of its main pillars, mobility, is undergoing significant changes due to accelerated technological development. The previous mobility criteria may require revision due to changes. The work presents a study about the urban-rural-highway separation, which is widely used and crucial for the sustainability assessment of road mobility devices. Its characteristics are presented, and the test procedures based on them are considered. By comparing these with mobility trends, these need to be complemented due to the changing mobility use of space. The introduction of a new category, whose main dimensions are indicated, is proposed, and we highlight the areas where further research is needed.

De‐centralization has depleted the vitality of mid‐size city downtowns for years. Growing the downtown residential population will help achieve smart growth and strategic infill objectives. Demand for a downtown residential lifestyle can animate many facets of revitalization (e.g., economic, social, cultural, public space). Resident views on factors that they believe would grow the demand for living downtown is the focus of this article. A survey and focus groups were used to learn how to enhance Downtown Saskatoon as a place to live. Findings indicate a convenient lifestyle close to work, school, retail, services, and nightlife, and preferably housing within a couple of blocks of the river valley, make Downtown Saskatoon desirable. Concerns with safety, lack of food stores, and absence of a sense of shared purpose among residents, businesses, and institutions downtown are barriers. The residential context is potentially quite appealing downtown, and demand can be cultivated if downtown's efforts at revitalization are choreographed by a collaborative multi‐sectoral network of actors with strong leadership. Key messages: Many mid‐size city downtowns are not inviting to residents.Those interested in downtown living like its convenience, vitality, and walkability.New housing within blocks of the river would be popular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Architectus is the property of Oficyna Wydawnicza Politechniki Wroclawskiej and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Urban forms and configurations are very influential in building up urban life; they affect street configuration, visual permeability, and spatial accessibility. However, the importance of this in impacting the performance and vibrancy of urban spaces has not been comprehended so far. Thus, the following paper takes a closer look at the key areas within downtown Baghdad, namely Alshorja and Bab AlSharqi, to analyze their urban characteristics. A comprehensive methodology was developed for this research that combined qualitative and quantitative methods, including field survey, GIS digitization, and space syntax analysis, which enabled an in-depth investigation into the street pattern, visual permeability, and spatial accessibility of the chosen case studies. The findings show sharp differences between the organic, random street pattern of AlShorja—which tries to make pedestrians move and socialize more easily—compared to Bab AlSharqi’s grid system, which tries to promote an extensive flow of vehicles and businesses. AlShorja, therefore, has higher local connectivity and street vitality in its condensed layout than Bab AlSharqi, which comes with higher visual permeability and spatial accessibility and presents the image of a CBD. The study concluded that the blending of historical context with contemporary needs should be considered to develop livable urban environments. Pedestrian-friendly features to integrate in AlShorja combined with the principles of accessibility and navigability in Bab AlSharqi will, in turn, enhance urban vitality and connectivity. More diversified methods in future research will enrich urban planning and design for cities like Baghdad, including wider metropolitan areas.

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Cities throughout North America are experiencing a population boom in the city centre, fueled by changing consumer preferences, particularly amongst young adults. However, not all communities have experienced this phenomenon equally. In Prince George, a mid-sized city located in northern British Columbia, the downtown has not undergone a population resurgence. Instead, development continues to expand outwards at the edge of the city. Using a web-based survey, this research seeks to better understand the attitudes of young adults in Prince George, to gauge their perspectives about living downtown, and to understand the factors that constrain market demand. Our findings indicate that respondents hold negative perceptions about the downtown, which leads to soft market demand and impedes plans for population growth in the downtown. KEY MESSAGES * Young adults are fueling population growth in the downtowns of cities throughout North America. * Many mid-sized cities, such as Prince George, have not experienced this same phenomenon, because of soft market demand, stemming from negative perceptions about the downtown. * To increase the downtown population and contribute to the broader goal of revitalization, the city, in collaboration with other stakeholders, must first address the underlying factors that are impeding market demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cities aim for more sustainable patterns of urbanization, intensification has emerged as a core planning strategy. In 2013, the City of Regina set new intensification targets: absorb 30% of annual population growth through intensification and add 10,000 residents to the city centre by 2035. In the decade since, implementation has been unsuccessful. This study explores the barriers to core area intensification in Regina by engaging with key informants through semi‐structured interviews. Our findings identify the most significant barriers as soft market demand, a city centre that is unappealing as a residential context, insufficient political will, an absence of developers who specialize in core area intensification, and unfavourable development economics. These findings illustrate the unique challenges faced by mid‐size Canadian cites in disrupting entrenched development patterns and driving development towards the downtown. Key messages: Despite having adopted ambitious goals for intensification in 2013, Regina has been largely unsuccessful with implementation, as dispersed and decentralized development patterns have prevailed.The major impediments to intensification include soft market demand, limited appeal of residing in the city centre, insufficient political will, absence of developers who specialize in core area intensification, and unfavourable development economics.The barriers identified in this research illustrate the unique challenges and circumstances in mid‐size Canadian cities relative to their larger counterparts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article explores how the notions of place, belonging, home and identities are relationally constructed through convivial encounters in diverse and precarious spaces. Drawing on "convivial" ethnographic study among Nigerian migrant entrepreneurs in Downtown, Harare, the article shows that while anti-immigrant rhetoric and nationalistic attitudes characterize migrants' quotidian lives, both migrants and Zimbabwean nationals often accommodate these tensions, and identify mutual commonalities based on relational ontologies of "togetherness". Thus, convivial encounters act to reposition Downtown from being an exclusionary space to a more accommodating space where difference is routine, and regularly, often amicably negotiated in prosaic social interactions. By exploring these dynamics, the article has contributed to scholarship on urban research that develops concepts such as "light-touch relations", "niceness" or "kindness", to articulate how diversity and exclusion can be breached. The article also challenges the Eurocentric bias that has dominated debates on conviviality from its inception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the precarity of urban society, illustrating both opportunities and challenges. Teleworking rates increased dramatically during the pandemic and may be sustained over the long term. For transportation planners, these changes belie the broader questions of how the geography of work and commuting will change based on pandemic-induced shifts in teleworking and what this will mean for society and policymaking. This study focuses on these questions by using survey data (n = 2580) gathered in the autumn of 2021 to explore the geography of current and prospective telework. The study focuses on the Greater Golden Horseshoe, the mega-region in Southern Ontario, representing a fifth of Canadians. Survey data document telework practices before and during the pandemic, including prospective future telework practices. Inferential models are used to develop working-from-home scenarios which are allocated spatially based on respondents' locations of work and residence. Findings indicate that telework appears to be poised to increase most relative to pre-pandemic levels around downtown Toronto based on locations of work, but increases in teleworking are more dispersed based on employees' locations of residence. Contrary to expectations by many, teleworking is not significantly linked to home–work disconnect – suggesting that telework is poised to weaken the commute–housing trade-off embedded in bid rent theory. Together, these results portend a poor outlook for downtown urban agglomeration economies but also more nuanced impacts than simply inducing sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Downtown Eugene's retail core transformed drastically after the institution of the pedestrian mall in 1971. The "Eugene Mall," which was demolished across four stages between 1985 and 2002, was a part of the city's federal urban renewal program of the late-1960s. This research examines (1) the reasons for the mall's failure, (2) the displacement of retail businesses and brief rise and decline during the first phase of the mall's existence (1971–1985), and (3) the resurgence of the downtown core through a shift in approach, specifically one that allowed diverse non-retail projects during its second phase (1986–2002). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main city square, Trg Nezavisnosti, in Podgorica is a relatively young square formed as a part of the new city "Nova Varoš". Its turbulent history of existence is anticipated from the initial placement of a central square distanced from public social events. With several changes in design and outlook over a short period, the square still fails to fit within the general urban image. Besides not being recognized as the central point, citizens do not identify with it in the current state. This paper offers an overview of the square development through an analysis of the social background of each affected period. Through the analysis of unsuccessful attempts at construction and reconstruction, we can sense a much deeper problem that transcends just the physical forms and boundaries. Chains of events and urbanistic decisions that lacked more profound research provided temporary solutions that could not grow old within the city and community. In the transitional period, this place shares the destiny with many others, as decentralization and the fast pace of new urban dwellings make it hard to find a single central point. This research explores more layers of societal problems that physically and visually manifested in the example of the main square in this capital city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intensive urbanization and global warming are impacting the health and well-being of urban population. Nevertheless, urban environments with different designs will have different micro and local climate conditions. This study used data from micrometeorological measurements performed in different urban spaces (downtown, urban park, riverside) in Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, on hot summer days in June 2021. Air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and globe temperature were measured and Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt), Psychologically Equivalent Temperature (PET), and modified Psychologically Equivalent Temperature (mPET) were calculated for each location. Results show that the downtown is the most uncomfortable area in terms of the highest TA, Tg, Tmrt, PET, and mPET values registered at this location. The urban park is the most comfortable area with the lowest values of Tg, Tmrt, PET, and mPET. Relative humidity is the highest at the riverside and the lowest in downtown. Furthermore, riverside had lower average TA during summer daytime compared to urban park and downtown likely due to the synergy between river cooling effect (evaporation and sensible heat transfer) and tree shade.

Algerian cities, like other cities, the Mediterranean in particular, have not been spared the negative influence of certain factors such as weather, nature, and people (combined or sporadic) that have been imposed on them. Imposed, which has lost some of its momentum, their function and their sense of civilization. However, the old and historic urban fabric of these cities has experienced most of the impact. As in most Algerian urban centers, the city center of M'sila is part of the old residential districts which are experiencing a number of problems that have affected its urban and functional status, and which reflect the way of life of its inhabitants, which has led to the appearance of urban disorder and the dissemination of a distorted urban image of the architectural heritage of this region. Over time, he became unable to keep pace with developments and was far from his aspirations. In order to know the mechanisms necessary to rehabilitate its urban sphere and work to develop it and preserve this cultural heritage, and to contain this phenomenon, we had to seek to reform this situation with the aim of providing conditions of comfort to its inhabitants. In this study, we have therefore opted for the search for the most important causes which are at the origin of the problems encountered by the center of this city, and consequently to propose appropriate solutions to this situation, while preserving the ancient heritage of the city, which would correspond to its characteristics and ingredients and work for its development and promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Amman’s growth expansion was shaped by its topography (valleys and hills), which generated a special character and patterns of the urban form. The city was built on seven hills, which are connected by steep stairs that serve as pathways to the downtown core. The rapid urbanization caused by uncontrolled population growth, as well as random and unplanned formations that were far from following any kind of aesthetic, resulted in the expansion of the center towards the surrounding seven hills. The continuous intersection of these hills caused their boundaries to blur and melt. As a result of the intense transformation, which is causing the hills’ appearance to become more uniform, their continuing overlap may completely destroy the unique character and imageability of downtown Amman. Methods: This research made use of topographical context analysis and the Geographical Information System (GIS) as well as its 3D modeling function to identify the optimal visibility and viewing angle when looking from the valley towards the hills and between the hills. Results and discussion: We identified the main vistas, i.e., highly significant views, which could subsequently be adopted as the locations for proposing landmark scenarios via 3D model GIS analysis. The projection process helped determine the significant views from the valley towards the hills and between the hills. Overall, three scenarios were proposed for the landmarks, out of which, the best one was chosen. It corresponds to the topographical analysis and the community needs, depends upon the local context and urban fabric, and is optimal for decision-making.

Regarded as critical infrastructure for a city's planning and design, pedestrian facilities are considered to be crucial to the health and economic well-being of a city's inhabitants. This study assesses the walkable environment of two urban neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi's main island. The research aims at providing the primary data required to facilitate the development of policies, design strategies, and systems that will support sustainable walking environments throughout the Emirate. Specifically, the study examines the walking behavior of the users of two neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi. The following questions were explored: (1) What patterns of walking behavior are observable in the street, and what are their diurnal and seasonal rhythms? (2) What potential reasons could explain the observed walking behavior? (3) To what extent do the built environment and climate affect walking in Abu Dhabi? (4) What particular strategies could be adopted to encourage walking in Abu Dhabi? Data collection and analysis tools include the following: (1) Geographic Information Systems (GIS), (2) fieldwork, and (3) qualitative data assembled from a survey questionnaire. Survey results presented walking as a widely used form of non-motorized transportation for both leisure and utilitarian purposes among blue-collar employees working in the service and retail sectors. Transportation, entertainment, physical fitness, and health were reported as major reasons for walking. Although participants' walking patterns were not significantly affected by climate, respondents reported that weather was the main source of discomfort while walking. Policy and design changes, infrastructure enhancement, and potential shading methods are proposed to enhance the walking experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Main Street Program is a popular smaller-scale economic development strategy used to revitalize historic town centers across the rural United States. In this article, a difference-in-differences design using longitudinal business establishment data is implemented to estimate the program's causal impact on job and establishment growth in downtown retail districts. Using a pooled sample of four Midwest states, the author found no significant effect of Main Street Program adoption on downtown jobs or establishments. However, for each individual state, a substantial degree of structural heterogeneity across states exists. Iowa emerges as a state where the Main Street Program appears to yield its hypothesized economic benefits to the downtown business districts of participating communities. These findings suggest that Main Street Program participation effects are not generalizable across states and that implementation and local context matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local authorities are developing urban management plans for the sake of enabling the urban opportunities offered and rationally react to the challenges imposed. Parking Management Plan, especially in downtowns, is of central importance, due to the challenges of meeting the parking demand, and the economic, environmental and urban consequences. In response, cities have formulated innovative parking management strategies. These strategies go beyond filling the gap between supply and demand to the minimization of demand. At the local level, the city of Assiut -the Capital of Assiut Governorate- is the largest city in Upper Egypt, and the most attractive and important in the region, especially in the economic and service domains. However, Assiut downtown encounters various urban challenges, among which parking is considered the most severe. Despite successive traffic and planning solutions, the gap between supply and demand remains. In this paper, Parking Management Strategies that would contribute to the local context are investigated. International management strategies are reviewed, the local context is surveyed and analyzed, the appropriateness of these strategies for application is investigated, and requirements of application are identified.

North American downtowns are struggling to recover from the global COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the varying rates of recovery experienced by downtown areas in the 66 largest cities of the United States and Canada. Leveraging Location-Based Services data extracted from mobile phone location trajectories, we assess the recovery rates in the 2023 post-pandemic period, juxtaposed against pre-pandemic 2019 levels. We find significant disparities in downtown recovery rates. Economic factors emerge as crucial determinants, where downtowns hosting a concentration of sectors with remote/hybrid work options – such as information, finance, professional services and management – displayed sluggish recovery. Conversely, downtowns with a focus on industries like accommodation, manufacturing, education, retail, construction, entertainment and healthcare exhibited greater resilience post pandemic. Furthermore, higher density, crime rates and education levels were correlated with slower recovery rates, as were harsher weather conditions and longer commuting times. Lower-density and auto-orientated downtowns demonstrated a swift rebound, even surpassing pre-pandemic activity levels. These findings underscore the necessity for tailored policies to bolster the revival of North American downtown areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research provides a historical analysis of the American experiment with pedestrian malls. Specifically, we ask why some pedestrian malls have failed and were reopened to vehicular traffic while others have succeeded. Over 120 post-war malls from across the United States are statistically analysed, examining the relationship between the mall's lifespan and a variety of geographic, demographic, and economic factors. Using a Cox proportional hazard model, we find that cities' population density, the median age of the residents, the percent of the population that is white, proximity to beach, whether or not the City is a tourism destination, length of the mall, and the percent of sunny days are all significant in explaining a pedestrian mall's longevity. In addition, we also examine qualitative, design-based characteristics in order to better understand why certain pedestrian malls, despite their locational disadvantages, have thrived to the present day. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a time when funding for small communities is limited, an analysis of investment strategy is critical. Façade improvement grant programs are thought to spur spillover of both direct and indirect investment in downtown districts by leveraging built capital and harnessing a sense of place. Through case study, with interviews and observational analysis, we empirically analyze this phenomenon in three U.S. communities in the state of Montana; Helena, Kalispell, and Anaconda. Findings show that direct public-private investment through downtown façade grants, administered by downtown-focused organizations in accordance with long-range plans and visions, leverages positive indirect spin-off via supplementary privately initiated renovations and building maintenance. This implies that strategic downtown investment through façade grants generates a multiplier effect, creating layers of return on investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay examines the presence of Milton Babbitt at two important moments in new music in the late twentieth century: the New York Philharmonic's 1984 Horizons festival, and the inaugural Bang on a Can marathon in 1987. In an era in which aesthetic movements like minimalism and neo-Romanticism increasingly represented the artistic vanguard, Babbitt was invited to these events to serve as a stand-in for academic modernism and the immediate musical past. But Babbitt had agency in these encounters: he purposefully took on the role of contrarian while also subtly subverting the expectations of those institutions who sought to render him a symbol of a bygone era. Playing into, but also prodding against, the clichés around his image, Babbitt clearly knew how to perform the identity that had become closely associated with his name. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article aims at analyzing the possibility of including developers (private companies focused on profits) into the process of revitalizing tenement houses located in the center of Poznan. The consideration is located in the capital city of Wielkopolska and takes into account the analysis of both the local housing real estate market and developers’ enterprises in the city. The authors, supported by economic calculation and a case study, have researched the case of a free-market developer’s project of revitalizing a well-located, yet run-down tenement house, and, on the contrary, the case of a developer taking over a property being a municipal resource. Having researched the market in order to set the parameters of further research works, both scenarios where evaluated when it comes to their economic, social and spatial results.

In a medium sized city such as Angers functioning as a student space, festive nights are an important component of downtown liveliness. The impacts are both economic and symbolic, constructing the city’s image as a young and festive space. A survey with diverse businesses downtown (e.g. bars, minimarkets) revealed the role that students’ visitation at night has on the dynamics and orientation of the city’s business activities. As in other French cities, the municipality holds policies for night animation shaping the spatial dynamics of commercial activity downtown.

Few studies of post–World War II, Washington, DC, focus on the development decisions local black officials made following the passage of limited home rule measures during the 1960s–1970s. This article uses the 1976 Bicentennial as a lens to study the divisions that urban development sowed locally while the city's government was in transition. It focuses on one of the most deeply divisive projects contested during the Bicentennial, the construction of a convention center in Downtown DC, and argues that a new coalition of stakeholders used the Bicentennial to implement a prodevelopment agenda at the expense of the city's black residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the postwar urban renewal era, many US cities constructed high-rise downtown apartment buildings to lure families back from the suburbs. These projects met demand for high-end downtown housing. They often remain occupied today—in stark contrast to the more rapid demise of many other redevelopment projects designed for shopping, entertainment, or public housing use. Yet, they also often fell short of their larger demographic goals. This occupational history of New Haven, Connecticut's first downtown high-rises shows that the projects' architecture, site planning, public realm, and rental structures never lived up to either suburban alternatives or their own marketing promises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to characterize the site, location, and morphology of parking lots in downtown Bahía Blanca; to determine their contribution to environmental urban problems; and to suggest strategies to turn them into spaces in which to apply new urban principles. Strategies related to sustainable urban development, with comprehensive solutions for energy efficiency, sustainable construction, biomass conservation, and resource optimization were considered. The results show that parking lots have increased as urban land use typology within the city downtown. It was observed that parking lots are concentrated in some areas of the city downtown, and that concrete and sheet metal are the main construction materials. The lack of vegetation is also a major characteristic. Their location in urban areas implies vehicle circulation on downtown streets and avenues, which is directly associated to atmospheric pollution. Finally, each parking lot potential was analyzed in order to implement sustainable development measures, related to green policies, design, and construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A growing literature is pointing towards the prevalence of healthy lifestyles, such as adequate walking, in the Central Business District (CBD) of many cities. However, only one study has investigated the presence of walking hotpsots. Using coarsely geocoded, routinely collected survey data from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), and a unique 'overlap of spatial clusters' approach, we investigated if a) There were patterns of clustering in walking behaviours, b) If these clusters were co-located and therefore associated with various built environment characteristics and c) What the demographic and active transport use profiles of the residents of these clusters were. A hotspot of walking was found in the CBD of the ACT, co-located with hotspots or spatial clusters of dwelling density, public transport frequency and destination accessibility. Residents of the hotspot walked approximately an hour more than the average ACT resident and had significantly higher odds of using active transport to workplaces relative to driving. Odds ratios of walking relative to driving to work were 9.20 (5.97, 14.18) and bicycling were 3.54 (1.87, 6.69) in the walking hotspot compared to non-hotspots. Policies directed towards creating a 'CBD like' built environment in various locations of cities or refurbishing and redesigning existing CBDs to make them more liveable helps encourage walking behaviors. In addition coarsely geocoded, freely available routinely collected survey data can be used to investigate relationships that may help drive policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is a case study of failure at the federal, state, and local levels. In 1956, Newburgh, New York, undertook an ambitious, arguably oversized, urban renewal program. Between 1962 and 1974, city officials successfully cleared roughly 120 acres of prime waterfront real estate for redevelopment, displacing a largely black population. But combined with economic recession and changing federal and state policies, conflict between and among white city officials and black residents prevented reconstruction. Newburgh's greatest assets were its scenic waterfront and historic architecture. Clearance of the former led to destruction of the latter. Newburgh's waterfront remains largely empty even today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large Polish cities are currently dealing with an increasing significance of downtown areas, extending outside of the city centers (meaning the area directly surrounding the city square). The downtown alone seems to influence the fate of entire cities, facilitating their success or contributing to their failure. A good demographic, social and economic condition of a downtown, its positive image and the dynamic development of the part of the city perceived as the business and administration centre and a meeting place of residents and tourists, contribute to the image and potential of the whole city to a great extent. Changes in urban surroundings, the signs of which may be observed in spatial, aesthetic, architectural, urban-planning and socio-economic aspects, determine the functioning and condition of local real estate markets. Whether potential buyers consider the real estate attractive depends on the assessment of its significant features, of which transaction price is representative. The main research objective of the article is the identification, assessment and interpretation of differences in prices registered in the years 2009-2014 in downtown residential real estate markets. These considerations have been referred to analogical phenomena within the entire cities under examination. The detailed research objective is an attempt to explain the sources of individual reactions of the analyzed real estate markets in downtown areas. The cities under research include: Bydgoszcz, Kalisz, Toruń and Wrocław. The authors applied quantitative analysis (statistical, comparative) to transaction data registered in local residential real estate markets.

This paper offers the perspective that architecture should be considered and seen as public art. Accordingly, this paper adopts an interdisciplinary perspective to the study and practice of art and architecture. Along these lines, the paper will discuss a proposal by Urban Art Lab in the SixtyNine-Seventy Competition, which called for the conceptual “re-envisioning” or re-imagining of two street blocks (69 and 70) in downtown Salt Lake City in Utah. Urban Art Lab’s entry for the competition was an urban cluster within two Salt Lake City blocks that consisted of installations, art interventions and new public spaces.

Problem, research strategy, and findings: In the postwar period, cities in the United States installed pedestrian malls to support downtown retail as suburbanization lured shoppers to malls on the periphery. Many cities removed their malls after downtown retail continued to falter. This failure has fostered a negative perception of pedestrian malls among city planners and the general public. In this research I re-examine pedestrian malls as public space and ask why some cities removed their malls while others remain. I compiled a catalog of all 140 pedestrian malls built between 1959 and 1985 that provides the data to understand the full scope of the phenomenon during this era. The catalog also includes data that tests hypotheses about why some pedestrian malls survived, including climate, proximity to a university, and nearby population. I supplement the catalog with a survey of pedestrian mall managers to understand the role of renovation and management in their survival. The results show pedestrian malls are more likely to survive in places with temperate climates, near universities, and in growing cities, though there are exceptions. City governments or business improvement districts actively manage many remaining malls, and programming and periodic renovations have helped them remain vibrant. Takeaway for practice: Old pedestrian malls failed because cities installed them to save retail and did not consider the fundamentals of placemaking when siting and designing them. Many remaining pedestrian malls are in areas with high pedestrian volumes. Cities have continued to design and manage these spaces according to best practices. Planners considering new pedestrian spaces should not be deterred by the history of old pedestrian malls, as long as they choose their site carefully and manage the space to keep it safe, clean, and inviting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The architectural dynamics and roles of food-vending activities in the cities of developing countries such as Dar es Salaam are yet to be fully explored. In due course, there has always been a tug of war between the vendors, customers and city authority in terms of appreciating and allocating spaces to support such informal activities. This study set out to determine the dynamics of evening street restaurants in Dar es Salaam as an avenue for commercial opportunity, urban vibrancy and space creation. The study was conducted between 2014 and 2016 during which streets with open restaurants in the city centre were studied. The study included an overall mapping of all the streets with open restaurants: location of such restaurants, their concentration in each street, logistics of operation, number of customers in each restaurant, operational hours, type of services offered in each, spatial organisation, spatial quality, and means of protection of customers against moving vehicles in the street. For data collection, questionnaires were administered and interviews were conducted; the respondents included customers, owners of the restaurants and the passers-by. Moreover, physical measurements, sketching and photographing were taken to facilitate the study. The findings show the food-vending activities in the downtown area have multifaceted contributions in spatial, social, economic and environmental aspects which are in line with the Sustainable livelihood theory. Moreover, innovations in using urban spaces has been achieved, job creation and employment have been realised and improved, streetscapes have been created, and safety in the streets has improved thus encouraging more people to stay in the streets until late hours. Based on the findings, it is recommended that these activities should be recognised and integrated in the urban development framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Besides the designations of numerous Kingston’s neighborhoods – Trench Town, Jones Town, Denham Town, Rae Town, August Town etc. – that clearly refer to the names of towns (in the city), the Jamaican capital is divided into two distinct sections, uptown, the northern part where the wealthiest residents live, and downtown, the historic city center situated near the waterfront which accommodates the low-income population. This ‘urban fragmentation’ examined by Romain Cruse (2010) and Rivke Jaffe (2016) actually gave rise to a true societal patchwork highlighting identity, social, political, religious and musical issues. Thus, this paper intends to study Kingston through the prism of differentiation and societal segmentation.

This article examines the landscape changes of San Francisco's Chinatown resulting from urban redevelopment after World War II. It describes the contested process of community development and documents the intricacies of Chinatown's spatial struggles. Socially constructed as a space of "otherness," San Francisco's Chinatown illustrates the ways in which urban redevelopment process interacted with the social and cultural tensions of a plural and liberal urban society. It also reveals how the existing categories of ethnicity and cultural identity have been renegotiated over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In North America and around the globe, there has been emerging recognition of the size and scope of urban shrinkage, yet little is understood about how decline impacts commercial centers and downtowns. In order to facilitate geographically targeted policymaking, this paper examines the physical patterns of downtown decline in three distinct regions. We seek to test the hypothesis that differences in the process of urban decline in downtown districts vary due to national or historic context. Using statistical analysis and direct observations, we found that while the scale of population decline was greatest in New England, downtowns in both Ontario and Québec have seen substantial decline and have appeared to have better weathered the change with respect to physical signs of decline. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract We analyze the evolution of the spatial distribution of ridership in Chicago's Elevated Train over the last two decades, by means of station-level average daily passenger entries and census data to establish links between ridership changes and urban processes. Overall, we observe that 2007–2008 ridership was slightly below 1989–1990 levels, but recovering since the late 1990s. Ridership gains have shown a strong tendency to concentrate within a 10 km radius from the CBD. Outside of this area, losses since 1989–1990 have been steady. The ridership recovery and its spatial distribution appear, therefore, to be related to an acceleration of urban processes, i.e., gentrification, immigration, employment concentration in the CBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snacks are an important part of the catering industry, whose spatial pattern distribution will directly affect the behavior of residents and tourists decision-making. Therefore, this paper chose 'Shaxian snacks' and 'Chengdu snacks' outlets in the downtown area of Beijing as the research object, taking POI data and GIS spatial data as data sources, using GIS spatial analysis and nuclear density estimation method, to make a comparative analysis of the spatial distribution characteristics of snack outlets in downtown of Beijing. The results showed that ① distribution characteristics of snacks outlets in each district varied greatly. ② Distribution differences of both snacks outlets in each circle was in significant. ③ Distribution of snacks outlets from the center to the periphery along the ring roads took on the "pyramid type". ④ Distribution of snacks outlet show stronger proximity to road than to subway. Distribution characteristics of the snack outlets included ① Spatial distribution of the snacks outlets showed weak centrality. ② The snacks outlets showed significant characteristics of spatial aggregation with great differences in internal structure. According to the above conclusions, combined with municipal planning, this paper according to the classification of the city, put forward suggestions on the distribution of snack outlets in Beijing, ① Recombine the snack outlets in old urban districts. ② According to the city functional orientation, redistribute the snack outlets in new urban districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the long-term sensitivity of street-level retailers to agglomeration to corroborate its theorised benefits under current economic modelling. It does so by studying the annualised chance of closure of retailers as a function of the number of surrounding retailers, as well as how different types of retailers respond differently to agglomeration. A time fixed effect model is used to study the mortality rate of retailers over the period of a century. The study draws from a self-created database of retail establishment locations and types in Detroit, Michigan and The Hague, Netherlands between 1911 and 2011. The case study cities have been selected for their combination of similarities and differences. While downtown Detroit is infamous for its high vacancy and The Hague has been praised as a vibrant Dutch urban core, both cities have in fact suffered significant loss of retail activity over the past century, allowing for the study of retail closure under different socio-economic and cultural circumstances. The study demonstrates a significant sensitivity of retailers to agglomeration in both cities. The study also indicates a specifically high sensitivity to agglomeration in the case of comparison shops. Without a critical mass of peers, these retailers will face a significantly higher than average chance of closure. The sensitivity to agglomeration is remarkably similar between both case studies, urban cores which at first sight have experienced rather different fates over the past century. This cross-cultural similarity may point to a generalisability of the underlying mechanism of sensitivity to agglomeration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

En este artículo se proponen pautas en relación a la influencia de lo audiovisual en nuestra percepción de la ciudad, seleccionando para este objetivo algunas películas de Alfred Hitchcock. La relación del cineasta con la ciudad es ambivalente, unas veces muestra la ciudad como fuente de referencias emblemáticas, mientras en otros casos no duda en estigmatizar la ciudad tradicional compacta (centros urbanos tradicionales) y apostar por modelos de urbanismo extensivo (periferias urbanas). Se describe también una nueva forma de turismo urbano, que explota los escenarios que aparecen en las películas como recurso turístico.Abstract. In this paper we propose guidelines regarding the influence of the audiovisual in our perception of the city, selecting for this purpose some of Alfred Hitchcock´s movies. The filmmaker's relationship with the city is ambivalent, sometimes shows the city as a source of symbolic references, while in other cases does not hesitate to stigmatize traditional compact city (downtowns) and go for extensive planning models (suburb). It also describes a new form of urban tourism that exploits the scenarios that appear in movies as a tourism resource.