The Politics of Property in Planning: Hezbollah's Reconstruction of Haret Hreik (Beirut,Lebanon) as Case Study

This research looks at post‐2006‐war reconstruction of the southern suburbs of Beirut under the auspices of Hezbollah (the Islamic resistance movement in Lebanon). The project was widely acclaimed as an alternative to current neoliberal planning practices in the Middle East and beyond. Based on a critical reading of the conception of property issues in this planning project, the article argues that this reconstruction presents a new geometry or alternative to the mainstream configuration of neoliberal urbanism, rather than a departure from its precepts. The reason for this is that the adopted language of property corresponds closely with the conception of property advocated by neoliberal planning, one that enshrines private, individual ownership as sacred and desirable and that works to strengthen its model in the city. I further argue that the ‘neoliberal planning regime’ within which Hezbollah's urban intervention occurs is not accidental; rather, it is necessary for the party's control of this space's future and for consolidating its territory in the city. It is hence expected that Hezbollah's planning in the city will produce the same decried effects as neoliberal planning elsewhere in the city rather than usher an innovative, progressive model of planning.     

统筹城乡的建设用地空间重构机制与对策研究

统筹城乡发展要求重构建设用地空间。分析了我国土地政策促进城乡统筹的现实困境,表现为城乡用地供需错位、土地要素缺乏流动性、置换指标区际交易机制不健全、收益共享机制不完善等;以此为基础,从农村建设用地整理模式转换、置换指标跨县区流转、土地增值收益共享、规划引导4个方面构建了统筹城乡的建设用地空间重构机制;并提出要加强土地政策与相关政策的衔接,强化监管及保障体系建设,以充分发挥土地政策的宏观调控作用。     

Incorporating activity space and trip chaining into facility siting for accessibility maximization

Location models have been widely used to support locational decisions for various service provision. One common objective of location models has been to ensure maximal accessibility of sited facilities to demand populations. Accessibility evaluation in location models often assumes that trips originate from fixed locations (usually home) and are single purpose. These assumptions contradict the empirical evidence that suggests trips also commonly originate from non-home locations and may involve multiple stops. In this study, a new multi-objective location model is developed that extents the classic p-median problem (PMP) to account for a more realistic assessment of accessibility. Based on the individual accessibility assessment, notions of trip chaining and activity space are incorporated into the model development. In addition to fixed home locations, stops along chained trips are allowed for potential service site visits, and activity space is introduced as an additional dimension to evaluate accessibility of alternative opportunities. The effectiveness of the new model is demonstrated using an application in Tucson, AZ.     

The first space hotel employees: Human resources challenges in a post-terrestrial paradigm

ABSTRACT

This article discusses some of the issues regarding the first employees to work in a space hotel. As space hotels initially will be vastly different to existing hotels on Earth, it is important to question what human resource challenges this will raise for hospitality workers and providers. To assist reflection on this issue, the notions of space tourism and space tourist are explored, and a definition of a space hotel is included to create product and service boundaries. Plausible futures methodology is used to create five main human resource considerations and concludes by suggesting this sector is largely unexplored.     

CONVEX RISK MEASURES FOR GOOD DEAL BOUNDS

We study convex risk measures describing the upper and lower bounds of a good deal bound, which is a subinterval of a no‐arbitrage pricing bound. We call such a convex risk measure a good deal valuation and give a set of equivalent conditions for its existence in terms of market. A good deal valuation is characterized by several equivalent properties and in particular, we see that a convex risk measure is a good deal valuation only if it is given as a risk indifference price. An application to shortfall risk measure is given. In addition, we show that the no‐free‐lunch (NFL) condition is equivalent to the existence of a relevant convex risk measure, which is a good deal valuation. The relevance turns out to be a condition for a good deal valuation to be reasonable. Further, we investigate conditions under which any good deal valuation is relevant.     

Forecasting China's foreign exchange reserves using dynamic model averaging: The roles of macroeconomic fundamentals,financial stress and economic uncertainty

We develop models for examining possible predictors of growth of China's foreign exchange reserves that embrace Chinese and global trade, financial and risk (uncertainty) factors. Specifically, by comparing with other alternative models, we show that the dynamic model averaging (DMA) and dynamic model selection (DMS) models outperform not only linear models (such as random walk, recursive OLS-AR(1) models, recursive OLS with all predictive variables models) but also the Bayesian model averaging (BMA) model for examining possible predictors of growth of those reserves. The DMS is the best overall across all forecast horizons. While some predictors matter more than others over the forecast horizons, there are few that stand the test of time. The US–China interest rate differential has a superior predictive power among the 13 predictors considered, followed by the nominal effective exchange rate and the interest rate spread for most of the forecast horizons. The relative predictive prowess of the oil and copper prices alternates, depending on the commodity cycles. Policy implications are also provided.     

A preliminary examination of the relationship between consumer attitude towards space travel and the development of innovative space tourism technology

With increasing global competition in service sectors, innovative technologies have radically changed the tourism industry, and to be successful innovative products/services must have clear, significant points of difference that are related to needs in the market place. Furthermore, changes in consumer perceptions that emanate from an innovation are central to its effective product and service design. Although for most of us space travel is still a faraway dream, it is in fact a future probability that will increasingly attract travellers who seek new vacation experiences, and as a result, sustain academic interest. Thus, in initiating space tourism for the purposes of recreation, leisure and knowledge enhancement, a preliminary estimation of potential global demand characteristics that are specific to consumer innovators for space travel needs to be undertaken prior to promotion of research and development. In this context, this paper investigates both consumer attitudes towards space travel by analysing the components of motivated consumer innovativeness and the interest that potential consumers have in developing space tourism technology innovations within Taiwan. Consumer innovativeness is complex and comprised four innovativeness types, namely, social, functional, hedonic and cognitive. As product/service innovation development has been relatively unexplored in the mature industry of tourism, many business managers would welcome an understanding of which vacation travellers are most likely to be the earliest buyers of such an exciting new product. With data collected from a sample of 354 Taiwanese, this research uses mediated regression to examine the influence of the four types of consumer innovativeness on consumer's attitudes and acceptance of a space tourism technology innovation, and the mediating role perceived novelty plays in the relationship. The findings indicate that only hedonic and social innovativeness are associated with improved consumer attitude and that novelty partially mediates the relationship for those two types of consumer innovativeness. The implications for theory and practice are discussed. Limitations and directions for future research are also addressed.     

国土空间多功能利用效益评价——以广东省汕头市为例

进行汕头市国土空间多功能利用效益评价,为汕头市科学利用土地,进行国土规划、提高国土利用效率奠定前提和基础。以可持续发展为目的,结合汕头市自然社会发展特点及国土空间利用现状,从社会、经济、资源与生态环境4个功能为切入点,建立4个功能层10个准则层27个指标的国土空间多功能利用效益评价指标体系,并采用熵值法对各功能进行评分。研究结果显示:汕头市国土空间经济功能评分最高,为汕头市国土空间主导功能,其次是经济、资源、环境功能,但社会、文化等功能较弱,各功能缺乏平衡。15年来,汕头市国土空间评价总体评分不断提高,表明国土利用效益在持续提高,但各功能发展不均衡以及人地矛盾依然突出,需要不断加强和完善国土空间规划。     

转型期中国土地利用的时序优化与空间释放

随着中国经济快速发展和人口集聚，建设用地需求快速增加，土地供需矛盾日益突出，资源保护和管理的压力逐渐加大。中国经济已步入新常态，经济结构转型倒逼土地供应结构优化调整。发达国家城镇化发展阶段起步较早，在土地节约集约利用与管理方面积累了宝贵经验。结合中国城市土地利用现状，借鉴美国、英国、德国等发达国家土地利用与管理经验，可从盘活存量土地、提高土地供给精准度、建立多元化供地机制三方面实现土地节约集约利用及有效管理，促进供给侧结构性改革。     

南京市休闲农业空间差异及其社会经济影响因素分析

[目的]休闲农业在促进产业融合、带动过农业、农村发展方面发挥着重要作用,分析其空间分布特征及其社会经济影响因素,为休闲农业的健康可持续发展提供一定参考。[方法]文章以南京市为例,通过文献查阅法了解南京市休闲农业的资料、相关研究成果,结合实地调查法确保南京市休闲农业景点的真实性,采用空间结构分析法分析休闲农业空间分布差异,相关分析法分析其影响因素。[结果]南京市6个区的最临近指数均小于1,空间分布呈凝聚型,其中浦口区的分布密度最大,为0.035个/千km~2。休闲农业分布与地区GDP、农业产值、旅游发展水平显著相关,与产业结构、城镇和农村居民消费水平相关,但不显著,说明目前南京市第一、二、三产业融合有待进一步加强,休闲农业产品仍有提升空间。[结论]南京市休闲农业发展受社会经济发展的影响,因此需要基于休闲农业资源,差异化发展,同时协调发展休闲农业服务供应链,促进产业融合,完善休闲农业相关政策,耦合侧供给改革共同发展。