Facing New Realities
Urban Spatial Expansion and Accessibility of Park Green Space: A Case Study of Changchun
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Bb Aa
The paper evaluated the urban park accessibility by the method of Gaussian based two-step floating catchment area (2SFCA), which was combined with the sixth census and city planning data, and analyzed the dynamic mechanism which affects park accessibility. The results showed that the high accessibility area was always concentrated in the south, west, and east of the city, and had a small proportion; however, the surrounding area had a large proportion of accessibility. Over the past ten years, the population has undergone substantial growth with the city expanding to the east, southeast, and south of Changchun. However, the population density has not changed much and always shows a circle of characteristics of a high center area and low surrounding distribution. The dynamic mechanism of the evolution of urban park accessibility was analyzed looking at population distribution and the number, area, and space position of parks which were the main factors affecting accessibility. It also looks at new urban park land which was not enough to meet the needs of urban residents, resulting in poor accessibility in most areas. There was no match between population density distribution and the distribution of new parks in cities which was affected by the direction of urban expansion, resulting in small changes of accessibility values but large differences.
Mobility, Displaced Urbanisms, and the Remaking of Tshwane, South Africa
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ngaka Mosiane
This paper examines the role of mobility in the ways the ordinary people of the displaced areas of Tshwane attempt to forge a sense of belonging for themselves in this changing city. Although the production of Tshwane was historically characterised, in the north, by decentralised industrialisation and ethnicity, more than two hundred and twenty thousand people have come to commute daily for work southward, where more than two thirds of formal jobs are located. As a consequence of such commuting, mobility itself has come to be a force in the production of a space of development. An ongoing research project will be used to elaborate on this argument, speaking to new ideas currently animating African suburbanisms, and more broadly, southern urbanisms – mobility as a developmental value, transit-oriented development, fantasy mega-projects, and informality.
Periurban Dynamics in Ethiopia: Land Use Development
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Eshetayehu Kinfu Tesfaye
Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular are among the least urbanized but rapidly urbanizing parts of the globe. The rapid urbanization of Ethiopia is peculiar in such a way that it is happening in largely populated least urbanized, but alarmingly urbanizing nation, which is currently experiencing rapid economic growth, socio-political transformations, urbanization borne political instabilities and emergence of new forms of settlements. Massive investments in urban and trunk infrastructure and mushrooming private economies are driving the rapid growth of urban areas which in turn are causing expropriation of farm lands and rural hamlets. These cause massive rural upheavals against the urban growth and induced innovative responses from the rural parts. As a result, new forms settlements which are commonly called periurban are becoming the typical phenomenon of rapidly growing areas. The proliferations of periurban areas exhibit its own genesis, dynamics and development. In the periurban areas various dynamics are underway shaping their nature and form. These in turn determine the efficacy of planning endeavors. Understanding the nature of these dynamic has significant implications for devising effective land use planning. Thus, the paper intends to identify the dynamics of periurban Ethiopia and its implication to the planning policy system. This will have various theoretical and practical benefits. Theoretically, it helps to understand the peculiar nature and dynamics of periurbanization of developing countries. And it helps to produce some empirical evidences from the global South. Practically, it helps to devise appropriate planning policies and strategies at local level.
Analysis on Accessibility of Commercial Facilities
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session Ying Zhang
The paper evaluates the commercial facilities accessibility by the method of Gaussian-based two-step floating catchment area=8-99(2SFCA) in Changchun,which combined with the sixth census and city planning data. At the same time, questionnaires were used to investigate the behavioral characteristics such as travel distances, travel time, and parking patterns of urban residents’ daily purchases of goods, and the expected distance to reachability. With the contrast between the evaluation results of accessibility, we found that there was a large difference between reachability and actual expectation. Finally, technical support was provided for the optimization of urban commercial facilities layout.
