Spatial Perspectives on Coworking Spaces and Related Practices in Beijing

2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 40-54
Author(s):  
He Huang ◽  
Yangfanqi Liu ◽  
Yuebing Liang ◽  
David Vargas ◽  
Lu Zhang

Coworking space is a recent manifestation of the emerging sharing economy. This is largely due to two core driving forces: a new working style in the creative and knowledge economies, and the sharing economy, which promotes resource usage efficiency. This paper develops an analytical framework for the spatial perspectives on coworking spaces according to the core driving forces at both the urban and architectural levels, followed by empirical studies on practices related to coworking space in Beijing. The results indicate that at the city scale, coworking spaces tend to aggregate in clusters of large-scale creative and knowledge enterprises in mixed-use and high-density areas, and underutilized spaces become the key pillar. In the architectural dimension, coworking spaces tend to coexist with conventional office spaces or coliving apartments. Empirical studies in Beijing also show that coworking spaces have promoted the sustainable development of the city by renewing existing low-profit urban spaces and utilizing architectural spaces more efficiently. However, the unstable lease market of small-scale businesses, as well as marginal financial models, which pro fit from rental differences, challenge the survival of coworking spaces. In pursuit of capital, coworking spaces have tended to overexpand.

Urban Science ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giacomo Durante ◽  
Margherita Turvani

Sharing economy platforms enabled by information and communication technologies (ICTs) are facilitating the diffusion of collaborative workplaces. Coworking spaces are emerging as a distinctive phenomenon in this context, not only fostering knowledge transfer and facilitating innovation, but also affecting the urban and socio-economic fabric contributing to urban regeneration processes at both the local scale and the city scale. Although the positive impacts of coworking on the urban environment are documented, there is still little or no evidence of the economic viability of coworking businesses, and a “coworking bubble” has been evoked. Given the lack of data, a national survey was set up of Italian coworking businesses, aimed at assessing the relevance of internal organizational factors (size, occupancy, profitability, services provided) for the sustainability of coworking businesses. By presenting the results of the survey, we argue that the sustainability and viability of the coworking model is highly dependent on internal factors, strictly related to the entrepreneurial action of coworking managers.


2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (6) ◽  
pp. 486-505 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin Tukamuhabwa ◽  
Mark Stevenson ◽  
Jerry Busby

Purpose In few prior empirical studies on supply chain resilience (SCRES), the focus has been on the developed world. Yet, organisations in developing countries constitute a significant part of global supply chains and have also experienced the disastrous effects of supply chain failures. The purpose of this paper is therefore to empirically investigate SCRES in a developing country context and to show that this also provides theoretical insights into the nature of what is meant by resilience. Design/methodology/approach Using a case study approach, a supply network of 20 manufacturing firms in Uganda is analysed based on a total of 45 interviews. Findings The perceived threats to SCRES in this context are mainly small-scale, chronic disruptive events rather than discrete, large-scale catastrophic events typically emphasised in the literature. The data reveal how threats of disruption, resilience strategies and outcomes are inter-related in complex, coupled and non-linear ways. These interrelationships are explained by the political, cultural and territorial embeddedness of the supply network in a developing country. Further, this embeddedness contributes to the phenomenon of supply chain risk migration, whereby an attempt to mitigate one threat produces another threat and/or shifts the threat to another point in the supply network. Practical implications Managers should be aware, for example, of potential risk migration from one threat to another when crafting strategies to build SCRES. Equally, the potential for risk migration across the supply network means managers should look at the supply chain holistically because actors along the chain are so interconnected. Originality/value The paper goes beyond the extant literature by highlighting how SCRES is not only about responding to specific, isolated threats but about the continuous management of risk migration. It demonstrates that resilience requires both an understanding of the interconnectedness of threats, strategies and outcomes and an understanding of the embeddedness of the supply network. Finally, this study’s focus on the context of a developing country reveals that resilience should be equally concerned both with smaller in scale, chronic disruptions and with occasional, large-scale catastrophic events.


1990 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 713-737 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Jongmans ◽  
M. Campillo

On November 8, 1983, a moderate magnitude (Ml=4.9) earthquake struck Liege (Belgium). A damage study has shown that site effects at different scales have played an important role in amplifying ground motion. On a large scale, the damage distribution has been determined by the presence of a large Carboniferous syncline beneath the city as shown by 2D numerical modeling. On a small scale, the main damage concentrations can be correlated with local superficial deposits which have amplified ground motions in the frequency range of buildings. A geophysical survey was carried out to measure the shear wave velocity of the different formations. Site response computations were made at numerous sites in order to estimate the possible amplification and to compare the results with the damage. It was shown that the spectral amplifications computed in the dominant frequency range of the buildings are consistent with the damage data. In very affected areas, 1D amplifications of 4 to 6 were obtained and in some cases 2D effects may have occurred. The Liege earthquake, taking place in the intraplate region of Northwestern Europe, presents a significant interest to other similar areas as the eastern United States.


2011 ◽  
Vol 219-220 ◽  
pp. 532-537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Hua Zhao ◽  
Xiao Feng Wang

Research into landscape change was one of two major fields of interdisciplinary research into the human dimensions of environmental change, the other being the approach of socio-economic metabolism; the causes of which were complicated and comprehensive. Based on the household level interview, analyzing the causes of change by the multifactor was a good method. We applied the household level interview data to analyze the causes of landscape cover change at the upper reach of Minjiang, China. The causes of landscape change at the upper reach of Minjiang included agriculture, wood, infrastructure, economy, technology, policy & institution, demography and culture variables, etc. The results showed that the primary causes of landscape change at the upper reach of Minjiang were the correlative country policies (such as the Great Leap Forward, the Deforestation, the Institutional Revolution, the Planned Parenthood, the Open-up, the Natural Forest Conservation Program) and triggered event (such as the three years’ natural disaster) at the large scale, however, at the small scale such as at the village level, the principal cause of which was different, and there were the interplay among different factors. So we thought that the landscape cover change was the result of multifactor interplay at the upper reach of Minjiang, China.


2013 ◽  
Vol 827 ◽  
pp. 451-456
Author(s):  
Mo Lin Huo ◽  
Bao Guo Shan

High cost impedes large-scale deployment of photovoltaics (PV), and the technical innovation is one of most important factors of cost reduction, so how to accelerate the market pull for innovation has practical significance and theoretical value. This paper aims to analyze PV demand pull mechanism based on empirical evidence. According to the features of PV industry and technical innovation theories, make hypotheses of PV market pull and the relationship between diffusion rates and the market pull. Then propose testing method of the market pull and the coefficients assessing diffusion rates, and use historical data of twenty countries to conduct empirical studies. The testing results show that 70% of PV market in the twenty countries pulled technical innovation; at the initial stage of PV diffusion, the market pull was insignificant when the market kept at small scale and the diffusion rate can be indicated by the innovation coefficient; in the acceleration period, the market pull was insignificant when the market grew steeply and the rate can be indicated by the imitating coefficient. So in order to encourage demand pull, policy making is suggested to lead the market growth stable and sustained.


2013 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 383-394
Author(s):  
Changduk Kong ◽  
Haseung Lee

AbstractSince the focus on the energy crisis and environmental issues due to excessive fossil fuel consumption, wind power has been considered as an important renewable energy source. Recently, several megawatt-class large-scale wind turbine systems have been developed in some countries. Even though the large-scale wind turbine can effectively produce electrical power, the small-scale wind turbine has been continuously developed due to some advantages; for instance, it can be easily built at a low cost without any limitation of location, i.e., even in the city. In case of small-scale wind turbines, the vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT) is used in the city despite having a lower efficiency than the horizontal axis wind turbine. Furthermore, most small-scale wind turbine systems have been designed at the rated wind speed of around 12 m/s. This aim of this work is to design a high-efficiency 500W class composite VAWT blade that is applicable to relatively low-speed regions. With regard to the aerodynamic design of the blade, parametric studies are carried out to decide an optimal aerodynamic configuration. The aerodynamic efficiency and performance of the designed VAWT is confirmed by computational fluid dynamics analysis. The structural design is performed by the load case study, initial sizing using the netting rule and the rule of mixture, structural analysis using finite element method (FEM), fatigue life estimation and structural test. The prototype blade is manufactured by hand lay-up and the matched die molding. The experimental structural test results are compared with the FEM analysis results. Finally, to evaluate the prototype VAWT including designed blades, the performance test is performed using a truck to simulate various ranges of wind speeds and some measuring equipment. According to the performance evaluation result, the estimated performance agrees well with the experimental test results in all operating ranges.


Author(s):  
М. Макарова ◽  
M. Makarova ◽  
Е. Ладик ◽  
Elena Ladik ◽  
С. Киселев ◽  
...  

This article examines the urban public and business subcenters as secondary elements of the city system, the closest in properties to its main center. The criteria defining the public business subcenters are highlighted. The current trends in the formation of social and business subcenters in large cities and megalopolises are considered. Analysis of world experience is produced. Foreign concepts of spatial development are analyzed on the example of several existing urban subcenters. Various available cartographic materials and literature sources have been studied. They cover the development of urban business centers and various aspects of urban development. The methods of spatial formation of the planning structure of urban public business subcenters are highlighted: the cluster and channel. The development stages of urban subcenters from the territory of concentration of small trade and residential establishments to large-scale multifunctional urban planning formations are presented. The prospects for the development of business subcenters in major cities of the Russian Federation are analyzed and trends are identified: social and business polycentrism, disposition of administrative and business centers on the outskirts of cities and the formation of self-organizing business subcenters, mainly based on shopping and entertainment centers in residential areas. Prospects for development of urban subcenter in a large city are considered on the example of the city of Belgorod. Conclusions are drawn on the need to develop new models of urban public business subcenters taking into consideration the modern planning specifics of large cities and megalopolises of the Russian Federation. Models of urban public business subcenters must meet the requirements of polyfunctionality, to have high architectural and town planning qualities, to take into account the needs of population in the design area and to ensure the sustainable development of the urban periphery.


Author(s):  
Sibel Alapala Demirhan ◽  
Murat Erdem

In the present study, it is aimed to determine the current state of the goat raising businesses operating in the city of Uşak and in its provinces, their problems and to come up with suggestions for solutions to these problems. In the current study, as the sampling of the study, 132 goat-raising businesses were selected by means of stratified random sampling method and they were administered a questionnaire consisted of 83 questions. The data obtained from the analysis of the questionnaires have revealed that high majority of the goat-raisers are elementary school graduates (86.4%) and they generally raise Hair goat (89.4%). Moreover, it has also been determined that for the mating of goats, male goats are brought into the herd in September and October and this mating process occurs in the form of free insemination, the age for female goats to be used as stock is 15-18 months old, additional feeding and synchronization are not generally practiced and weaning of baby goats occurs when they are 3-4 months old. Births are usually given in February-March and milking also starts in this period and lasts 6 months on average, the lactation milk yield is 60-80 liters, milking is performed once a day with hand and the produced milk is mostly used in cheese production. Moreover, in goat raising, transhumance is not a common practice and high majority of the breeders apply regular protective vaccines. As in many other regions, many problems such as high feed prices, the difficulty in finding a shepherd and price fluctuations force goat breeders to quit. For goat raising to be sustainable, technical and economic supports given to breeders should continue and improve. If the feed can be supplied with the internal resources of the businesses and if their products can be marketed directly without using intermediaries then some of the problems can be alleviated. Putting greater emphasis on this issue and developing incentive policies will make contributions to goat raising. As a result of the present study, it was concluded that developing goat raising businesses operating mostly as small-scale family businesses in the city of Uşak to large-scale businesses where intensive production is made by providing the necessary incentives and subsides is of great importance.


Author(s):  
Simbarashe Show Mazongonda ◽  
Innocent Chirisa

This chapter is based on a study that tests the realities of agglomeration economies of scale due to clustering of small-scale manufacturing firms of the informal type in Zimbabwe. Little has been studied on how the informal sector thrives on agglomeration economies of scale in developing countries. Despite this lack of research, this chapter acknowledges the existence of strong networks among small-scale manufacturers in urban Zimbabwe. These linkages, contrary to practices within large-scale manufacturers, are cemented by strong ties of entrepreneurialism. With big manufacturers, the ties are usually worker-based and less defined along entrepreneurial lines. Using spatial statistical approach, the test revealed that tool sharing, output-input relationship, employment creation, and sharing of knowledge economies of scale are also evident in developing countries.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Diederichs ◽  
Timo Friedel Mitze ◽  
Felix Schulz ◽  
Klaus Waelde

The city of Augustusburg allowed for opening of, inter alia, restaurants and hotels joint with large-scale testing. We evaluate this testing & opening (T&O) experiment by comparing the evolution of case rates in Augustusburg with the evolution in other communities of Saxony. We have access to small-scale SARS-CoV-2 infection data at the community level (Gemeinde) instead of the county level (Landkreis) usually used for disease surveillance. Despite data challenges, we conclude that T&O did not lead to any increase in case rates in Augustusburg compared to its control county. When we measure the effect of T&O on cumulative cases, we find a small increase in Augustusburg. This difference almost completely disappears when we control for the effect of higher case rates due to more testing. Generally speaking, T&O worked much better than in comparable projects elsewhere.


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