Urban Ethnographies in the United States

Books reviewed in this article: Gamm, Gerald, Urban Exodus: why the Jews left Boston and the Catholics stayed Pattillo‐McCoy, Mary, Black picket fences: privilege and peril among the black middle class     

美国见闻录

今年6月29日至7月21日,在国家外国专家局的支持下,我随同参加过国内1000户重点企业领导人员工商管理培训的部分企业家继续赴美国培训.在美国培训考察21天,参观了旧金山、洛杉矶、纽约、费城、华盛顿等城市和一些高新技术企业及高等学校,对美国的社会、政治、经济、科技乃至历史有了比较直观的感受.可以说,百闻不如一见.现将所见所闻追记下来,并略加议论,以飨读者.     

美国城市土地管理及对北京的借鉴

认为美国的城市土地管理具有良好的法律基础.注重将土地资源利用与资源节约、提升城市生活水平与控制城市规模相结合;介绍了美国城市土地管理的三大手段:行政分区、市场机制与规划.     

Why Unions in the United States will Die: American Labor Organizations in the Age of Trump

This essay analyzes the effects of Donald Trump’s election as President on organized labor in the United States and, more specifically, on the demographic of workers responsible for his electoral college victory. The argument is that culture rather than economics explains Trump’s success in capturing key industrial states. His support depended on white middle-aged male voters without college degrees, the same cohort that makes up the backbone of unions in the United States. The likelihood is that Trump’s policies will further immiserate the American working class rather than reinvigorate it. In three key areas, Trump’s presidency will result in lower union membership density and higher inequality of wealth. The cultural orientation of Trump’s supporters outweighed politics, policy, and competence in selecting a national leader.     

Different Manifestations of the Concept of Empowerment: The Politics of Urban Renewal in the United States and the United Kingdom

Over the course of the 1990s the concept of empowerment became firmly established within the vocabulary of urban politics in several different national contexts. This article analyzes the spread of this concept by looking at the politics of urban renewal in the United States and the United Kingdom. It shows that even if (and possibly because) the definition of empowerment remained vague, the turn to empowerment came out of and contributed to a shift in the nature of urban politics and to a reconfiguration of governmental methods, the role of the state and, consequently, to changes in civil society, all of which were associated with a rise to prominence of a neoliberal perspective.     

在美国吃快餐

每天的午餐是美国人一日三餐中食品最简单、食量最少、最好对付的一餐,通常都是吃快餐.到了中午,美国的大街小巷上食客众多热闹异常.有一边看书报一边吃、一边听着音乐手舞足蹈一边吃的,有坐在车里吃、站在路边吃、蹲在树下吃的,甚至走在路上吃、连跑带吃的也随处可见.美国人追求效率效果,讲究省时省力,注重方便实惠,正是这一特点,使得作为美国餐饮文化特征的快餐渗透到美国社会的各个角落.     

规划支持系统(PSS)在城市规划与决策中的应用路径——美国的经验与启示

规划支持系统(Planning Support Systems,简称PSS)是由规划理论、信息、模型等构成的交互式的、辅助规划过程的信息系统框架。PSS应用领域在美国城市规划中已较为广泛及成熟,成为重要的辅助规划分析和规划决策的支持系统。鉴于我国的PSS应用尚处于探索、推广阶段,在系统介绍美国PSS应用背景与途径的基础上,选取最常用的代表性PSS技术软件进行功能介绍,并对美国常用PSS软件进行适用性评估,提出选取建议。最后提出总体建议,以期对我国城市规划的PSS应用与推广提供启示与借鉴。     

Manufacturing and Rural Economies in the United States: The Role of Nondurable Producers, Labor Costs and State Taxes

This paper investigates the preferences of manufacturers in deciding whether to locate in metropolitan or nonmetropolitan (rural) areas. Using 1997 state-level data and OLS regression estimation, it was determined that nondurable goods manufacturers prefer rural areas, while durable goods manufacturers are indifferent as to area. However, both sets of manufacturers prefer to locate in larger states. Wage rates are not significant in the regressions, while durable manufacturers appear sensitive to state taxes. Some policy conclusions for local economic developers are derived from these findings.     

Informal Housing in the United States

Research on informal housing tends to focus overwhelmingly on less developed countries, downplaying or ignoring entirely the presence of informality in United States housing markets. In actuality, a longstanding and widespread tradition of informal housing exists in the United States but is typically disregarded by scholars. In this article we draw on three definitions of informality—as non‐compliant, non‐enforced, or deregulated economic activity—to characterize examples of informality in US housing markets, focusing in particular on five institutions that govern housing market activity in this country: property rights law, property transfer law, land‐use and zoning, subdivision regulations, and building codes. The cases presented here challenge the notion that informality is absent from US housing markets and highlight the unique nature of informal housing, US style—namely, that informal housing in the US is geographically uneven, largely hidden and typically interwoven within formal markets. We conclude with a discussion of how research on informal housing in the US can inform research in the global South.     

论信息技术在城市规划中的应用

20世纪80年代中后期,信息技术开始全方位渗透我国的城市规划领域,信息技术在城市规划领域中的应用越来越受到城市规划者的广泛关注.文章介绍了城市规划和信息技术的科学内涵及其联系,以及目前信息技术在城市规划中的应用情况,探讨信息技术在城市规划中的影响,以期更好地了解和利用信息技术,为城市规划服务.     

论信息技术在城市规划中的应用

20世纪80年代中后期,信息技术开始全方位渗透我国的城市规划领域,信息技术在城市规划领域中的应用越来越受到城市规划者的广泛关注。文章介绍了城市规划和信息技术的科学内涵及其联系,以及目前信息技术在城市规划中的应用情况,探讨信息技术在城市规划中的影响,以期更好地了解和利用信息技术,为城市规划服务。