URBAN HISTORY AND THE FUTURE OF AUSTRALIAN CITIES

Urban growth is a major theme in economic development and a policy imperative for developed countries that seek to create sustainable cities. We argue that the past weighs heavily on the ability of societies to sustainably manage urban environments. The policy implications of urban history are revealed in comparisons of cities across times and between places. The special issue presents some of the best recent work on the economic and social history of Australian cities. We aim to encourage historians to incorporate urban variables into studies of historical processes and to persuade policymakers to consider historical trends in their analysis.     

“Step into the Real Texas”: Associating and claiming state narrative in advertising and tourism brochures

Texas is one of the most popular states for tourists. Using quantitative and primarily qualitative methods, we analyzed how marketers of small cities and towns associate their place to four central components of the Texas state narrative – the flag, official and unofficial symbols, territory, and social–historical mythology – in advertising and tourism brochures in the years 2008–2010. We discovered that in parallel to the overuse of the “associating to well-known brand/narrative” strategy, marketers also invest efforts toward claiming the narrative. Thus our second goal was to discover which techniques were used in order to claim the state narrative. Using the state of Texas as an example may provide a test case for typology, associating and claiming state narratives in promotional materials.     

中小城市园林绿化的常见问题分析

随着我国社会主义现代化建设工作的逐步推进和深入,我国中小城市获取了更为广阔的发展空间,并且展现了强劲的发展实力。我国中小城市园林绿化在整体设计、施工工艺、工程质量等方面的监管水平都有了大幅度的提升,但是也不可避免的遇到了一系列急需解决的问题。本文仅就中小城市园林绿化的常见问题作以简要的分析。     

用好国外贷款推进节能减排的实践探讨

推进中小城市节能减排,资金是关键,也是瓶颈。利用国外贷款,是解决中小城市节能减排资金难题的重要途径。文章以山东海河流域污染治理利用亚行贷款项目为例,探讨了用好国外贷款推进中小城市节能减排的基本经验和主要问题,并提出了发挥国外贷款最大效益、深化国际金融合作、加快中小城市公用事业市场化改革的相关建议。     

港澳资企业对珠三角城市投资环境的评价——基于2010年问卷调查数据的实证分析

本文通过对港澳资企业问卷调查数据的实证分析,得出港澳资企业对珠三角7市投资环境的综合评价及影响评价的因素。分析显示,影响港澳资企业对投资环境评价的主导因素有4个:制度因素、物价水平、基础环境和交通状况。具体来说,港澳资企业认为珠海的投资环境最佳,深圳和广州最差。     

浅谈“智慧城市”与“智慧产业”发展——以南京为例

随着互联网技术的日渐成熟,人与物、物与物之间的信息交流将成为第三次信息技术革命的主要趋势。IBM智慧地球概念提出后,引起了广泛关注,国内多个城市相继提出了构建智慧城市的设想。文章分析了南京的教育、科技、人才、技术、经济优势,提出了以创新为先导,充分发挥南京自身优势,通过智慧城市建设带动相关产业发展的思路。     

Smart city networks' governance: The Spanish smart city network case study

The governance of smart city networks emerges as a new research area intersecting smart governance and public networks studies. This work aims to contribute to the literature on smart cities governance by studying councillor's governance in complex networks and on network performance. To carry out this analysis, the Spanish Network of Smart Cities (RECI), one of the first of its kind and an international reference for city networks, is reviewed as a case study, with the main objective of establishing a theory on its global innovation capacity and operations, together with the local level spurring influenced on its members. A PEST (Political, Economic, Social and Technological) analysis was carried out in order to assess the impact of the smart city network both at local, national and international level. This research was completed with a consultation carried out among some of RECI's municipalities. The analysis of the results shows how RECI can be considered an example of a well organised network with quantifiable savings for its members, capable of configuring future policies in local administration, necessarily related to efficiency, digitalization and citizen-centricity and with key topics to build the future. The study also suggests recommendations oriented to potential improvements that smart city networks could undertake.