Search

Adopting innovations in construction is challenging due to the fragmented and project-based nature of the industry. As construction innovation is a joint activity with a number of participants involved in the process, it is essential to consider the role of interorganizational factors in implementing successful innovations. The aim of this paper is to investigate the components of the innovation process by placing particular emphasis on the enablers of, as well as barriers to, innovation adoption. A case-study methodology was employed to gain insight on how innovation is achieved within a construction project setting. Modern methods of construction and lean construction were adopted in the examined case concerning an urban regeneration project. The findings of the case study suggest that resistance to change, inexperience, and unavailability of advanced products were the main barriers to innovation adoption. The project team benefited from several mechanisms to overcome these barriers, including integration of the project participants and effective leadership. The case study is expected to help participants of the construction industry reflect on their innovation processes and thereby enhance the rate of innovation adoption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problem: In the 30 years since its creation, has Portland, Oregon's, urban growth boundary (UGB) become something more than a regulation? Spirited debate about its impacts on land uses and values has inspired vivid descriptions by both supporters and critics and spurred the imagination of artists and creative writers. Purpose: The UGB has become a symbol, metaphor, and touchstone, as people read complex meanings into it that go beyond its simple legal function. This article looks at the UGB as a cultural icon. It explores the increasingly complex ways in which people have tried to describe, understand, and interpret the UGB as part of the regional landscape as well as the regulatory system. It examines metaphorical descriptions of the UGB as well as the growing body of depictions in nature writing, poetry, novels, photography, performance art, songs, and other exercises of the artistic imagination. Methods: We review how supporters and critics of the UGB have described it and how artists have depicted it in various media. Results and conclusions: Although many planning projects have become icons, few planning regulations have done so. Artistic interpretations have familiarized and humanized the UGB and embedded it in the consciousness of everyday life. Artists thus make the invisible more visible or legible. Acting as a viewfinder, the UGB offers an opportunity for conversation and interpretation from multiple perspectives. Takeaway for practice: In the world of 21st-century planning theory there is a strong assumption that many voices engaged in overlapping conversations can help shape more equitable and sustainable cities. Creative depictions of Portland's UGB show the role of cultural actors in shaping and enriching such conversations. Research support: None. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article comments on the article "The State of the Art in North American Urban History," by Clay McShane. In the author's view, McShane focused on a variety of data, which is set to draw a picture of urban history scholarship that is much more objective and complete in comparison to the author's own survey in the 1990's. Moreover, he pointed out that there is an abundant current scholarship that continues to probe the history of urban development and urban life. He also cited examples that include more articles by women than by men indicating that the newest generation of urban history scholars are well balanced in terms of gender.

Focuses on the history of urbanization in Portland, Oregon. Construction of the Forecourt Fountain in 1970; Architectural design of city parks; Participation of the public in the conservation of natural spaces in the city.