New Housing Developments in the City Center of Guadalajara (Mexico): An Analysis from the Perspective of Collective and Sustainable Dwelling

New vertical housing developments in Guadalajara (Mexico) are reaching the city center as a response for redensification after many years of expansion of the urban area characterized by a suburban, low density and fragmented pattern. This horizontal growth, dominated by use of the automobile as prevailing mode of transport, has proven to be unsustainable not only from an environmental point of view, but also from a social perspective where the “human scale” of the city has been affected, same as the daily life of its inhabitants. On the other hand, vertical housing proposals are by their very nature associated with concepts of redensification, compact city and collective living; the aim of this article is to analyze some new housing developments in Guadalajara downtown in order to evaluate to what extent the new buildings embody a more sustainable, livable and collective dwelling, to discuss findings, successes and failures and thus be able to contribute some conclusions and open a broader reflection about contemporary housing, urban density and downtown redevelopment in Latin America cities through collective and sustainable dwelling.

Making Sense of “Local Food,” Urban Revitalization, and Gentrification in Oklahoma City

This chapter examines the linkages between urban revitalization in Oklahoma City and Oklahoma’s statewide local food movement, focusing on three phases: a period of emergence, led by the Oklahoma Food Cooperative; an innovative “hybrid cooperative”; a period of expansion, in which a number of local food-related firms and organizations proliferated, particularly in and around Oklahoma City, which was undergoing a period of intensive downtown redevelopment and gentrification; and a more static, defensive period characterized by business closures and the saturation of a niche market. This account demonstrates how the meanings associated with “local food” shifted as the movement aligned itself with actors associated with Oklahoma City’s revitalization efforts, drawing “local food” away from an early emphasis on balancing economic, ecological, and justice concerns in favor of capturing premium prices for more fetishized foods.

The Bicentennial and the Battle over DC’s Downtown Redevelopment during the 1970s

Few studies of post–World War II, Washington, DC, focus on the development decisions local black officials made following the passage of limited home rule measures during the 1960s–1970s. This article uses the 1976 Bicentennial as a lens to study the divisions that urban development sowed locally while the city’s government was in transition. It focuses on one of the most deeply divisive projects contested during the Bicentennial, the construction of a convention center in Downtown DC, and argues that a new coalition of stakeholders used the Bicentennial to implement a prodevelopment agenda at the expense of the city’s black residents.

The Economic Growth and Development Outcomes Related to Vibrancy: An Empirical Analysis of Major Employment Centers in Large U.S. Cities

Economic developers are well aware of the live-work-play dynamic affecting downtowns and many other major employment centers across the country. This study of 90 employment centers, including 48 central business districts, offers a rigorous analysis of this dynamic. The authors first present a definition of vibrancy and show its connections to the fields of urban economics, economic geography, and urban design. Second, the authors offer face-valid measures of vibrancy that practitioners can replicate in their jurisdictions. Most important, the authors show that vibrancy is an important factor influencing economic development. The vibrancy index measured with 2010 data is positively associated with subsequent employment growth, property inventory expansion (tax base), and income growth. Economic developers should consider becoming more involved in downtown redevelopment by finding effective ways to serve economic-base companies and emerging entrepreneurial firms. As a result, major employment centers could become more productive and innovative places.

Downtown management and homelessness: the versatile roles of business improvement districts

Purpose Homelessness in the public place presents a complex issue to downtown redevelopment and management efforts. Although business communities are commonly perceived to take hostile, often punitive, approaches to deal with homelessness, such perception does not reflect recent alternative approaches. This paper aims to examine versatile approaches that district management organizations take to address homelessness, focusing on the role of business improvement districts (BIDs) in the USA. Design/methodology/approach This paper used a mixed method of data collection and analysis that combines a nationwide survey of BIDs and in-depth interviews with people who work at or in collaboration with BIDs in Washington, DC. Findings The findings suggest that BIDs, as one of the major organizations that serve the interests of property and business owners in commercial areas, have the potential to balance their traditional roles as a district manager with their alternative roles as advocates, mediators and service providers to address homelessness. Research limitations/implications Owing to the small number of BIDs reflected in the survey and interviews, the research results may lack generalizability. Further research on the outcomes of the BID-homeless intervention efforts will benefit the future practice. Practical implications The paper suggests that BIDs can implement a more cooperative approach to addressing homelessness in partnership with the public and human service sectors. Originality/value This paper discusses the versatile roles of BIDs in dealing with homelessness.

Numbering Our Days in Los Angeles, USA

This chapter considers more resistant forms of national remembrance than those created for the bicentennial celebrations. As Hollywood docudrama incorporated minorities into a streamlined vision of the American social fabric, alternative films depicted a more contentious relationship between a historic present and past. This chapter argues for the persistence of filmmakers’ interest in documentary, even as they experimented with other media or blended fiction and nonfiction. Long-form films and photo-books by the collective Visual Communications (Wataridori: Birds of Passage [1974] and In Movement: A Pictorial History of Asian America [1977]), documentaries made from the collaboration between anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff and director Lynne Littman (Number Our Days [1976]), and the artisanal filmmaking of Charles Burnett (Killer of Sheep [1977]) presented more nuanced stories about the resilience of the city’s marginalized communities. Their work on Asian Americans in Little Tokyo, elderly Jews in Venice, and African Americans in Watts denounced national myths of bootstrap individualism and upward mobility, as well as industrial decentralization and uneven downtown redevelopment under the Bradley administration.