Academia.eduAcademia.edu

Urban Networks - Network Urbanism

Profile image of Jeroen van SchaickJeroen van Schaick
visibility

…

description

296 pages

link

1 file

Abstract

Urban networks, network cities, networked cities and city networks are widely discussed, but there has hardly been debate on what constitutes an urbanism of networks. It is time to shift network urbanism from the realm of general debate to that of identifying the task-specific tools and techniques required for its implementation. This book does so. Urban Networks – Network Urbanism provides theoretical groundwork, historical perspective, detailed arguments and explanatory case descriptions for network-oriented thinking in developing urban and regional spatial strategies. The key argument is that the development of technical networks and urban development go hand in hand and need to be dealt with as such by urban planners. This book gives special attention to the territorial effects caused by the automobile system and to the geography of ICT. It provides pointers to deal with the huge challenges facing urban planning with regard to changes of scale, technological progress, the "two-track city", and network liberalisation. Urban Networks – Network Urbanism is a collection of key articles by Gabriel Dupuy on the relation between urban infrastructure networks and urban development. His work on ‘network urbanism’ has been a primary source in the French and Spanish speaking world for two decades and this book provides the first overview of his work in English. Dupuy’s work stands out for its concreteness and clarity. This makes his work readily applicable in the context of spatial planning. http://www.technepress.nl/publications.php?id=28

Figures (94)

L’'Urbanisme des Réseaux was published in 1991. It is a rather long way from that book to the present publication. First, there was a nine year wait before an abridged adaptation of the Chapter on the historical background was translated into English and Dutch (included in this book as Chapter 1). But now we have this book, which, through the eminent example of Gabriel Dupuy’s work, proves that France, after all, is more than just a favorite destination for Dutch tourists. Battling the language barrier, the Netherlands, having become something of an Anglo-Saxon country, needs more boundary spanners — especially in the realm of spatial planning. Dupuy’s triple-layered framework as it was published originally.
L’'Urbanisme des Réseaux was published in 1991. It is a rather long way from that book to the present publication. First, there was a nine year wait before an abridged adaptation of the Chapter on the historical background was translated into English and Dutch (included in this book as Chapter 1). But now we have this book, which, through the eminent example of Gabriel Dupuy’s work, proves that France, after all, is more than just a favorite destination for Dutch tourists. Battling the language barrier, the Netherlands, having become something of an Anglo-Saxon country, needs more boundary spanners — especially in the realm of spatial planning. Dupuy’s triple-layered framework as it was published originally.
The typical network topology, so clearly different from the zoning approach of orthodox urbanism, is seen for the first time in the work of Cerda. From the end of the 19th century this concept is also found in the work of other authors. The network establishes a relationship, a maximum connection; if possible a direct and multiple connection between points in a space, independent of their location and across barriers and borders. In this way, the network makes urban space accessible and stimulates decentralization. It is an inherently discontinuous extension of urban space because the network only connects points. The network replaces linear discontinuities in this space based on historic, administrative or urban borders, with a built-in type of discontinuity. This erases, in a way, the geographical space except for the nodes and the links, thus creating a specific network space.
The typical network topology, so clearly different from the zoning approach of orthodox urbanism, is seen for the first time in the work of Cerda. From the end of the 19th century this concept is also found in the work of other authors. The network establishes a relationship, a maximum connection; if possible a direct and multiple connection between points in a space, independent of their location and across barriers and borders. In this way, the network makes urban space accessible and stimulates decentralization. It is an inherently discontinuous extension of urban space because the network only connects points. The network replaces linear discontinuities in this space based on historic, administrative or urban borders, with a built-in type of discontinuity. This erases, in a way, the geographical space except for the nodes and the links, thus creating a specific network space.
The connection of the Ciudad Lineal in Madrid (460 m wide and 5.2 kilometre long) tc the tramway network of Madrid. Source: Soria y Mata ((1913)1979: 37) Illustration 1.2 Arturo Soria y Mata, an urban planner and designer from Madrid, proposed the Linear City projectin 1886 (illustration 1.2). Although the very simple design of this city does not immediately evoke the topology of the modern network, the basic principle of the Ciudad Lineal is precisely maximum connection. The author tries above all to answer a question that he poses in this way: “In each agglomeration (...) the fundamental problem (...) is that of connecting buildings” (Soria y Mata, (1913) 1979). The linear design brings all connections together into one axis, enabling them to function in a much better way.”
The connection of the Ciudad Lineal in Madrid (460 m wide and 5.2 kilometre long) tc the tramway network of Madrid. Source: Soria y Mata ((1913)1979: 37) Illustration 1.2 Arturo Soria y Mata, an urban planner and designer from Madrid, proposed the Linear City projectin 1886 (illustration 1.2). Although the very simple design of this city does not immediately evoke the topology of the modern network, the basic principle of the Ciudad Lineal is precisely maximum connection. The author tries above all to answer a question that he poses in this way: “In each agglomeration (...) the fundamental problem (...) is that of connecting buildings” (Soria y Mata, (1913) 1979). The linear design brings all connections together into one axis, enabling them to function in a much better way.”
Illustration 1.3 Survey plan of Vienna from the study Die Grossstadt by Wagner (1910/1911). Source: Kristan (2002)
Illustration 1.3 Survey plan of Vienna from the study Die Grossstadt by Wagner (1910/1911). Source: Kristan (2002)
Diversity of demand for electric service in a block of apartment buildings, Chicago. Source: Hughes (1983: 218) Illustration 1.4
Diversity of demand for electric service in a block of apartment buildings, Chicago. Source: Hughes (1983: 218) Illustration 1.4
Profile and plan of the Ciudad Lineal in Madrid, with a central axis of 40 metres and transversal and backstreets of 20 metres wide. Source: Soria Y Mata ((1913) 1979: Illustration 1.6 The notion of aspecific network time, dissimilar from ‘ordinary’ time and measured differently, manifests itself wherever networks exist. As the railways and the telegraph systems developed this awareness gradually gets trough to urban planners and those responsible for urban facilities. As mentioned by Jean-Pierre Williot, the spreading of electric illumination contributed to this transformation. The act of lighting up became instantaneous. The fact that public lights when switched on start to work immediately and simultaneously everywhere unifies urban space (Williot, 1990). In the long term, the entire society, beginning with the urban society, changed its relationship with time due to the expansion of industrial activity. But the network will always be ahead in this regard. This is a new territory, defined from the beginning by a new temporality of flows, by the measurement of speed and especially by the importance of kinetics.
Profile and plan of the Ciudad Lineal in Madrid, with a central axis of 40 metres and transversal and backstreets of 20 metres wide. Source: Soria Y Mata ((1913) 1979: Illustration 1.6 The notion of aspecific network time, dissimilar from ‘ordinary’ time and measured differently, manifests itself wherever networks exist. As the railways and the telegraph systems developed this awareness gradually gets trough to urban planners and those responsible for urban facilities. As mentioned by Jean-Pierre Williot, the spreading of electric illumination contributed to this transformation. The act of lighting up became instantaneous. The fact that public lights when switched on start to work immediately and simultaneously everywhere unifies urban space (Williot, 1990). In the long term, the entire society, beginning with the urban society, changed its relationship with time due to the expansion of industrial activity. But the network will always be ahead in this regard. This is a new territory, defined from the beginning by a new temporality of flows, by the measurement of speed and especially by the importance of kinetics.
Plan fort the expansion of Barcelona by Antonio Rovira y Trias, 1859. Illustration 1.8
Plan fort the expansion of Barcelona by Antonio Rovira y Trias, 1859. Illustration 1.8
Illustration 1.9 Plan for the expansion of Barcelona by Ildefonso Cerda, 1858. Source: Cerda ((1867) 1979: 21)
Illustration 1.9 Plan for the expansion of Barcelona by Ildefonso Cerda, 1858. Source: Cerda ((1867) 1979: 21)
Illustration 1.10 Building mass and circulation space in the plan of Cerda Source: Cerda ((1867) 1979: 27) In 1854, a coup dtat in Spain brought a liberal progressive government to power. The city of Barcelona took advantage of the occasion to revive an ancient claim: the demolition of the city walls of Philip V. The wall formed a tight circle around the city, preventing its expansion and producing the densification of the habitat, very profitable for the property owning bourgeoisie, but unbearable for the working
Illustration 1.10 Building mass and circulation space in the plan of Cerda Source: Cerda ((1867) 1979: 27) In 1854, a coup dtat in Spain brought a liberal progressive government to power. The city of Barcelona took advantage of the occasion to revive an ancient claim: the demolition of the city walls of Philip V. The wall formed a tight circle around the city, preventing its expansion and producing the densification of the habitat, very profitable for the property owning bourgeoisie, but unbearable for the working
1.12 Some of Cerda’s studies for junctions. Source: Cerda ((1867) 1979: 155) Illustration 1.12 In laying out junctions, one must reconcile habitability and viability. This task obviously presented Cerda with problems. He devotes numerous pages to these problems in the Teoria. But he doesn’t quit the task of organizing a true circulation network, that much is he convinced that only this network could make his contemporaries enter the system of universal communication.
1.12 Some of Cerda’s studies for junctions. Source: Cerda ((1867) 1979: 155) Illustration 1.12 In laying out junctions, one must reconcile habitability and viability. This task obviously presented Cerda with problems. He devotes numerous pages to these problems in the Teoria. But he doesn’t quit the task of organizing a true circulation network, that much is he convinced that only this network could make his contemporaries enter the system of universal communication.
Bird’s eye view of Broadacre City, including road and telecommunication networks. Source: Wright (1958)
Bird’s eye view of Broadacre City, including road and telecommunication networks. Source: Wright (1958)
Illustration 1.14 Plan of Broadacre City. Source: Wright (1945)
Illustration 1.14 Plan of Broadacre City. Source: Wright (1945)
As for the economic rationale, the operator of a large public transport network may need to strip the PTN of desire lines between urban centres (see illustration 2.1) in order to secure its economic feasibility, as in the case of the nineteenth-century Canadian tramway system (Armstrong & Nelles, 1986). 30th of the above examples were chosen because the restrictions on the virtual network - and, hence, the PTN — are clearly not of a technical nature. The picture is not so straightforward in the many other cases in which technology creates a somewhat harder to decipher combination of differing constraints Claval, 1987; Dupuy, 1978). Most modern networks -— publictransport, water, power, telecommunications and so on - fall into this category. With the urban road systems developed in the 1960s, for example, the original PTN embraced all of the various desire lines representing the journeys of city residents. Then came a complex modelling and planning process that culminated in our, now familiar, modern ‘oad system (Dupuy, 1975; see also Chapter 6). The transition from the PTN to the actual infrastructure retwork can only be understood by pinpointing the many decisions both combined and obscured by the mathematical dimensioning and planning tools used. The resulting impenetrability has led to that transition being attributed to the technical side of the procedure. Which is probably why the French ave been so quick to call the infrastructure network a technical network - a term that passes muster! only so long as one bears in mind that the procedure is never purely technical, but subject also to the above-mentioned economic and political constraints. To avoid any confusion, we shall now refer to it as the real network.
As for the economic rationale, the operator of a large public transport network may need to strip the PTN of desire lines between urban centres (see illustration 2.1) in order to secure its economic feasibility, as in the case of the nineteenth-century Canadian tramway system (Armstrong & Nelles, 1986). 30th of the above examples were chosen because the restrictions on the virtual network - and, hence, the PTN — are clearly not of a technical nature. The picture is not so straightforward in the many other cases in which technology creates a somewhat harder to decipher combination of differing constraints Claval, 1987; Dupuy, 1978). Most modern networks -— publictransport, water, power, telecommunications and so on - fall into this category. With the urban road systems developed in the 1960s, for example, the original PTN embraced all of the various desire lines representing the journeys of city residents. Then came a complex modelling and planning process that culminated in our, now familiar, modern ‘oad system (Dupuy, 1975; see also Chapter 6). The transition from the PTN to the actual infrastructure retwork can only be understood by pinpointing the many decisions both combined and obscured by the mathematical dimensioning and planning tools used. The resulting impenetrability has led to that transition being attributed to the technical side of the procedure. Which is probably why the French ave been so quick to call the infrastructure network a technical network - a term that passes muster! only so long as one bears in mind that the procedure is never purely technical, but subject also to the above-mentioned economic and political constraints. To avoid any confusion, we shall now refer to it as the real network.
Illustration 2.4 Each urban household, using every means of communication provided by a /evel-one operator, must, according to Fishman (1990), “make the necessary connections among the three [/evel-two] networks on [its] own in such a way as to draw that complex pattern of multidirectional journeys that constitute each person's city” (see illustration 2.4). Furthermore, aside from having neither a centre nor outskirts, the new city has no fixed boundaries or any clear dividing lines between the areas where people work, live and shop. Yet it still boasts its own distinctive structure that staves off the chaos into which some are keen to see it descend. This can be described as a /evel-three network structure.
Illustration 2.4 Each urban household, using every means of communication provided by a /evel-one operator, must, according to Fishman (1990), “make the necessary connections among the three [/evel-two] networks on [its] own in such a way as to draw that complex pattern of multidirectional journeys that constitute each person's city” (see illustration 2.4). Furthermore, aside from having neither a centre nor outskirts, the new city has no fixed boundaries or any clear dividing lines between the areas where people work, live and shop. Yet it still boasts its own distinctive structure that staves off the chaos into which some are keen to see it descend. This can be described as a /evel-three network structure.
These examples from the economic sector of transport offer especially telling insight into how the fostering of spatio-temporal relations between several production and processing sites, for instance, can also help promote in-depth changes in traditional industrial sectors such as the car industry or manufactured goods (Besson, Savy, Valeyre & Veltz, 1989; Savy & Veltz, 1989), and among small-scale producers like the Singaporean company making dentures for a dentist in Frankfurt thanks to the use of ICT and air transport networks (Paché, 1989). The networks therefore offer economic actors much Family mobility in the new territoriality. “The husband drives the children to school, then goes to work; he meets his wife for lunch at a restaurant in the mall where she s doing her shopping; the children make their own way home in the evening; and the family is reunited at the end of the day.” This is still a quite simplistic EE. however, as it focuses solely on daily movements via the transport networks.. wae ee a 7 aaa ae Illustration 3.1
These examples from the economic sector of transport offer especially telling insight into how the fostering of spatio-temporal relations between several production and processing sites, for instance, can also help promote in-depth changes in traditional industrial sectors such as the car industry or manufactured goods (Besson, Savy, Valeyre & Veltz, 1989; Savy & Veltz, 1989), and among small-scale producers like the Singaporean company making dentures for a dentist in Frankfurt thanks to the use of ICT and air transport networks (Paché, 1989). The networks therefore offer economic actors much Family mobility in the new territoriality. “The husband drives the children to school, then goes to work; he meets his wife for lunch at a restaurant in the mall where she s doing her shopping; the children make their own way home in the evening; and the family is reunited at the end of the day.” This is still a quite simplistic EE. however, as it focuses solely on daily movements via the transport networks.. wae ee a 7 aaa ae Illustration 3.1
Samuel Insull’s representation of the Chicago electricity network, where the main aim was to show the full range of needs of the consumers connected to the network. Source: Hughes (1983) Illustration 4.1
Samuel Insull’s representation of the Chicago electricity network, where the main aim was to show the full range of needs of the consumers connected to the network. Source: Hughes (1983) Illustration 4.1
Illustration 4.2
Illustration 4.2
Network plan produced by a localized GIS showing the wealth of detailed graphi information supplied just to depict the networks’ morphology. Source: ARCINFO MAPS, ESPI Redlands, California (1988) Illustration 4.3
Network plan produced by a localized GIS showing the wealth of detailed graphi information supplied just to depict the networks’ morphology. Source: ARCINFO MAPS, ESPI Redlands, California (1988) Illustration 4.3
The Tokyo subway and suburban rail networks made ‘simple’ Illustration 4.4 The Tokyo subway and suburban rail networks made ‘simple’ Source: Supplement of Bulletin d’Informations Architecturales n° 133 (October 198
The Tokyo subway and suburban rail networks made ‘simple’ Illustration 4.4 The Tokyo subway and suburban rail networks made ‘simple’ Source: Supplement of Bulletin d’Informations Architecturales n° 133 (October 198
Illustration 4.5 Montreal subway network (circa 1990) Illustration 4.5
Illustration 4.5 Montreal subway network (circa 1990) Illustration 4.5
Stathopoulos (1990) describes a full-scale study carried out to test this concept on the Paris area bus network. The representation here is confined to around twenty points, or poles, selected in the light of their importance to the urban fabric of the suburbs, to the bus network itself, or to its links with other such networks as the RER suburban rail service. Connecting arcs, incorporated in order to form paths, are given a frequency attribute represented visually by the thickness of the line, and diversified by means of a file highlighting each line’s frequency during five periods of the day: morning peak, morning off-peak, afternoon off-peak, evening peak, and evening off-peak (illustration 4.6). Illustration 4.6 Representation of a public transport system based on the polar network concept. Source: Stathopoulos (1990)
Stathopoulos (1990) describes a full-scale study carried out to test this concept on the Paris area bus network. The representation here is confined to around twenty points, or poles, selected in the light of their importance to the urban fabric of the suburbs, to the bus network itself, or to its links with other such networks as the RER suburban rail service. Connecting arcs, incorporated in order to form paths, are given a frequency attribute represented visually by the thickness of the line, and diversified by means of a file highlighting each line’s frequency during five periods of the day: morning peak, morning off-peak, afternoon off-peak, evening peak, and evening off-peak (illustration 4.6). Illustration 4.6 Representation of a public transport system based on the polar network concept. Source: Stathopoulos (1990)
Polar network representation in the PRAO model. Source: Michon (1989) Illustration 4.7 B. PRAO - Strategy 1 — Utilization plan — Year 3 Chapter 4: Network visualization tools for urban planners
Polar network representation in the PRAO model. Source: Michon (1989) Illustration 4.7 B. PRAO - Strategy 1 — Utilization plan — Year 3 Chapter 4: Network visualization tools for urban planners
Meanwhile, the quality of water drawn from the Oise continued to deteriorate. By 1932 it had grown so poor that the treatment processes no longer had any effect, and Mallet offered to provide the town - and, yet again, many of its neighbours — with a new source: artesian wells drilled 500 metres deep into the ground. Expansion of the Mallet water, gas and electricity supply networks (1895-1932) Illustration 5.1
Meanwhile, the quality of water drawn from the Oise continued to deteriorate. By 1932 it had grown so poor that the treatment processes no longer had any effect, and Mallet offered to provide the town - and, yet again, many of its neighbours — with a new source: artesian wells drilled 500 metres deep into the ground. Expansion of the Mallet water, gas and electricity supply networks (1895-1932) Illustration 5.1
Illustration 6.2 Investments thus had to be increased and more efficiently distributed. Highways were needed to satisfy people’s love of speed, and as a result, the distances travelled by car also increased. Population migrations towards large cities underscored the necessity of developing urban road networks that, in their actual state, were ill adapted to car traffic. Urban growth and the implantation of new economic activities also entailed building new roads.
Illustration 6.2 Investments thus had to be increased and more efficiently distributed. Highways were needed to satisfy people’s love of speed, and as a result, the distances travelled by car also increased. Population migrations towards large cities underscored the necessity of developing urban road networks that, in their actual state, were ill adapted to car traffic. Urban growth and the implantation of new economic activities also entailed building new roads.
to render their ambiguous approach more acceptable: under the pretext of urban and transportation planning, the aim was to encourage driving. How else in the sixties could one defend such a massive and infinite increase in the volume of car traffic, a phenomenon which meant that urban space had to be entirely reorganized? The state could not openly announce to mayors and city-dwellers that their cities were going to be ‘Americanized’ without fail. Behind the mask of complex statistics, incomprehensible mechanisms and sophisticated algorithms, the car traffic models mysteriously played their part, away from the public eye.
to render their ambiguous approach more acceptable: under the pretext of urban and transportation planning, the aim was to encourage driving. How else in the sixties could one defend such a massive and infinite increase in the volume of car traffic, a phenomenon which meant that urban space had to be entirely reorganized? The state could not openly announce to mayors and city-dwellers that their cities were going to be ‘Americanized’ without fail. Behind the mask of complex statistics, incomprehensible mechanisms and sophisticated algorithms, the car traffic models mysteriously played their part, away from the public eye.
Imported technology played a key role in urban infrastructure networks development 3ut the situation in some developed countries was critical too, with the water, sanitation, public ransport and road systems suffering from a complex mix of factors including an ageing infrastructure, carce fiscal resources, and a lack of maintenance. Nowhere near enough funding could be raised to over the costs of renovation and rehabilitation, and to reverse the cumulative processes driving some vetworks to the brink of collapse. Hard-hitting reports were produced in the United States and Great sritain. While the situation in other countries may, on the face of it, have seemed less serious, the yrospects for the future of their urban networks were, in fact, no less alarming (Tarr, 1984; Gakenheimer, 1986; Triantafillou, 1987; Dupuy, 1988b). Aside from the technical and economic picture, the crisis could ye seen to reflect an erosion of the urban bonds that had, in the past, enabled the provision of basic Itilities for all city dwellers. The economic crisis was making matters worse. When money is scarce, the iaves are less inclined to pay for the have-nots and the centre stops subsidizing the outskirts, or vice versa. The upshot, for an urban culture where connections to the distribution and transport networks Jave become a social norm, is worrying to say the least.
Imported technology played a key role in urban infrastructure networks development 3ut the situation in some developed countries was critical too, with the water, sanitation, public ransport and road systems suffering from a complex mix of factors including an ageing infrastructure, carce fiscal resources, and a lack of maintenance. Nowhere near enough funding could be raised to over the costs of renovation and rehabilitation, and to reverse the cumulative processes driving some vetworks to the brink of collapse. Hard-hitting reports were produced in the United States and Great sritain. While the situation in other countries may, on the face of it, have seemed less serious, the yrospects for the future of their urban networks were, in fact, no less alarming (Tarr, 1984; Gakenheimer, 1986; Triantafillou, 1987; Dupuy, 1988b). Aside from the technical and economic picture, the crisis could ye seen to reflect an erosion of the urban bonds that had, in the past, enabled the provision of basic Itilities for all city dwellers. The economic crisis was making matters worse. When money is scarce, the iaves are less inclined to pay for the have-nots and the centre stops subsidizing the outskirts, or vice versa. The upshot, for an urban culture where connections to the distribution and transport networks Jave become a social norm, is worrying to say the least.
Illustration 7.2 Population density in the Greater Buenos Aires partidos in the early 1980s. Source: El Transporte de Personas en el Gran Buenos Aires, a CEAP-CTAPBA report on public transport in the Greater Buenos Aires area (September 1984)
Illustration 7.2 Population density in the Greater Buenos Aires partidos in the early 1980s. Source: El Transporte de Personas en el Gran Buenos Aires, a CEAP-CTAPBA report on public transport in the Greater Buenos Aires area (September 1984)
Illustration 7.3 Dependency of the Argentine economy and public service networks on European capital in the early 20th century This explanation, although relevant for the railway, tramway and rapid transit systems, was somewhat ess convincing in regard to water and sanitation. The Buenos Aires city authorities had been very juick to take control of operations in those sectors. But given the scarcity of public funds and the ligh cost of private capital, the problem had more to do with policy priorities. In the mid-1980s, the bras Sanitarias de la Nacion (OSN) public sanitation services were as reliant on state funding as any ther national urban network operators. Yet the provision of urban services in Buenos Aires was clearly 1ot considered a national priority. It was not that the authorities were doing nothing, just that their action was sporadic and limited in scope. They had moved swiftly to honour their election campaign yromises to complete an extension to the metro E line and to start work on a pre-metro light transit system, for example. But there was no overarching policy to restructure the metro and to link it up with he bus and railway networks; nor any solution to the urban level-crossing issue which was causing 0th bottlenecks — for road traffic and suburban trains alike — and frequent, serious accidents.
Illustration 7.3 Dependency of the Argentine economy and public service networks on European capital in the early 20th century This explanation, although relevant for the railway, tramway and rapid transit systems, was somewhat ess convincing in regard to water and sanitation. The Buenos Aires city authorities had been very juick to take control of operations in those sectors. But given the scarcity of public funds and the ligh cost of private capital, the problem had more to do with policy priorities. In the mid-1980s, the bras Sanitarias de la Nacion (OSN) public sanitation services were as reliant on state funding as any ther national urban network operators. Yet the provision of urban services in Buenos Aires was clearly 1ot considered a national priority. It was not that the authorities were doing nothing, just that their action was sporadic and limited in scope. They had moved swiftly to honour their election campaign yromises to complete an extension to the metro E line and to start work on a pre-metro light transit system, for example. But there was no overarching policy to restructure the metro and to link it up with he bus and railway networks; nor any solution to the urban level-crossing issue which was causing 0th bottlenecks — for road traffic and suburban trains alike — and frequent, serious accidents.
Illustration 7.4
Illustration 7.4
In 1954, the EBU union of European broadcasting organizations - going beyond the rather corporatist goals of defending the interests of broadcasters, promoting and coordinating the study of all broadcasting-related issues and fostering exchanges of information on all matters of mutual interest - set up a vast radio and television broadcasting network spanning Western Europe and even extending into North Africa. Television viewers would subsequently become familiar with the Eurovision network thanks to the logo appearing on their TV screens when their national broadcasters were putting on programmes being shown across the network (see illustration 8.1). Eurovision set an example as a network striving to harness the most modern telecommunications and broadcasting technologies in an apparent endeavour to provide the most extensive, frequent and rapid transmissions possible, unfettered by national boundaries. Would it emerge as the epitome of the kind of transnational network that many had predicted would do away with those boundaries and break up traditional territorialities? Or was it, in spite of appearances, organized in such a way as to comply with - and remain subject to — the political map of national territories? We shall seek to answer these questions by comparing Eurovision with other types of networks of differing geographic scales.
In 1954, the EBU union of European broadcasting organizations - going beyond the rather corporatist goals of defending the interests of broadcasters, promoting and coordinating the study of all broadcasting-related issues and fostering exchanges of information on all matters of mutual interest - set up a vast radio and television broadcasting network spanning Western Europe and even extending into North Africa. Television viewers would subsequently become familiar with the Eurovision network thanks to the logo appearing on their TV screens when their national broadcasters were putting on programmes being shown across the network (see illustration 8.1). Eurovision set an example as a network striving to harness the most modern telecommunications and broadcasting technologies in an apparent endeavour to provide the most extensive, frequent and rapid transmissions possible, unfettered by national boundaries. Would it emerge as the epitome of the kind of transnational network that many had predicted would do away with those boundaries and break up traditional territorialities? Or was it, in spite of appearances, organized in such a way as to comply with - and remain subject to — the political map of national territories? We shall seek to answer these questions by comparing Eurovision with other types of networks of differing geographic scales.
stration 8.3 Permanent Eurovision network (pictures)
stration 8.3 Permanent Eurovision network (pictures)
Clearly, thougn, not all or the predictions — which, incidentally, merely ecnoed those made by nenry Ford and others in the 1920s with respect to prospective electricity networks (see Chapter 1) — did in fact come true. The development and expansion of networks did not culminate in widespread aterritoriality. Although they caused the crumbling of old territories, they then ended up creating new ones. In the nineteenth-century, the tram network in many countries created the extended urban territory whose layout was typical of the fruits of ribbon development. Later, other forms of reterritorialization emerged in France with the new urban perimeters devised to meet public transport management needs; the new territory for Paris-region suburbanites which gradually took shape as a result of the five-zone carte orange travel card scheme; and the seemingly new territory created by the provincial railways cutting through legally defined, yet not always highly consistent, regional administrative borders. At the same time, the water supply and sewerage systems opened up a new urban-rural divide between well equipped urban - albeit in many respects rural-looking - areas and a poorly equipped countryside. And the construction of cable networks has called for the defining of new territories amounting to an odd fusion of communes of disparate demographic, technical and political characteristics.
Clearly, thougn, not all or the predictions — which, incidentally, merely ecnoed those made by nenry Ford and others in the 1920s with respect to prospective electricity networks (see Chapter 1) — did in fact come true. The development and expansion of networks did not culminate in widespread aterritoriality. Although they caused the crumbling of old territories, they then ended up creating new ones. In the nineteenth-century, the tram network in many countries created the extended urban territory whose layout was typical of the fruits of ribbon development. Later, other forms of reterritorialization emerged in France with the new urban perimeters devised to meet public transport management needs; the new territory for Paris-region suburbanites which gradually took shape as a result of the five-zone carte orange travel card scheme; and the seemingly new territory created by the provincial railways cutting through legally defined, yet not always highly consistent, regional administrative borders. At the same time, the water supply and sewerage systems opened up a new urban-rural divide between well equipped urban - albeit in many respects rural-looking - areas and a poorly equipped countryside. And the construction of cable networks has called for the defining of new territories amounting to an odd fusion of communes of disparate demographic, technical and political characteristics.
The new network-generated territories have not, of course, been built on the same bases as their predecessors: their actors’ influence, their power structures and their spatial layout are all different.
The new network-generated territories have not, of course, been built on the same bases as their predecessors: their actors’ influence, their power structures and their spatial layout are all different.
New layout of the permanent network using satellite reception dishes Illustration 8.6
New layout of the permanent network using satellite reception dishes Illustration 8.6
As early as the beginning of the 1960s, the American Lewis Mumford had already warned Europeans that the automobile would engulf European cities the way it had American cities. Respect for Europe’s thousand-year-old history alone seemed to indicate that something had to be done. According to Mumford, there was still time to take action. Visiting the large European cities at the beginning of the 1960s, the well-known urban historian thought he saw the signs that Europeans were coming to their senses. Here, at least, they were in the process of reconciling the irreconcilable, by adapting the car to the city. He congratulated them for having invented minuscule vehicles like the Goggomobile or the Isetta, “that fit admirably into a tight urban pattern. The cars are sized to the human frame, not to the human ego” (Mumford, 1964). ‘Ghost Parking Lot’, catastrophist sculpture from the end of the 1970s. The automobile has not, however, disappeared .... (Hamden, Connecticut: the Hamden Plaza Shopping Center, 1978). Photo courtesy of Unipix Illustration 9.1
As early as the beginning of the 1960s, the American Lewis Mumford had already warned Europeans that the automobile would engulf European cities the way it had American cities. Respect for Europe’s thousand-year-old history alone seemed to indicate that something had to be done. According to Mumford, there was still time to take action. Visiting the large European cities at the beginning of the 1960s, the well-known urban historian thought he saw the signs that Europeans were coming to their senses. Here, at least, they were in the process of reconciling the irreconcilable, by adapting the car to the city. He congratulated them for having invented minuscule vehicles like the Goggomobile or the Isetta, “that fit admirably into a tight urban pattern. The cars are sized to the human frame, not to the human ego” (Mumford, 1964). ‘Ghost Parking Lot’, catastrophist sculpture from the end of the 1970s. The automobile has not, however, disappeared .... (Hamden, Connecticut: the Hamden Plaza Shopping Center, 1978). Photo courtesy of Unipix Illustration 9.1
The ‘Gol’ developed by Volkswagen for the Brazilian market. Twenty years ago the automobile expansion was still worldwide. Source: Georgano (1990: 208) Illustration 9.2 During the 1970s, the successive rises in oil prices resulted in more dire forecasts, both in Europe and in the United States. The automobile, dependent on petrol, would eventually fall victim to the implacable pressure of the OPEC, if not to the scarcity of oil as a planetary natural resource in the very long run. Problems caused by cars, along with accidents and pollution, were often cited during this period. It was thought that acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer would thus eventually bring about a drastic reduction in the numbers of cars (see illustration 9.1).
The ‘Gol’ developed by Volkswagen for the Brazilian market. Twenty years ago the automobile expansion was still worldwide. Source: Georgano (1990: 208) Illustration 9.2 During the 1970s, the successive rises in oil prices resulted in more dire forecasts, both in Europe and in the United States. The automobile, dependent on petrol, would eventually fall victim to the implacable pressure of the OPEC, if not to the scarcity of oil as a planetary natural resource in the very long run. Problems caused by cars, along with accidents and pollution, were often cited during this period. It was thought that acid rain and the hole in the ozone layer would thus eventually bring about a drastic reduction in the numbers of cars (see illustration 9.1).
‘Western Motel’. The motel as an integral part of the automobile system, seen by Edward Hopper, an American painter particularly sensitive to the new landscape: generated by the automobile. Courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery Illustration 9.3
‘Western Motel’. The motel as an integral part of the automobile system, seen by Edward Hopper, an American painter particularly sensitive to the new landscape: generated by the automobile. Courtesy of Yale University Art Gallery Illustration 9.3
Illustration 9.4 The localization of ‘First Class’ hotels as an integral part of the automobile system. A new kind of hotel service adapted to the automobile was developed in France at the nodes of the highway network. Source: Catalog for France of the ‘Premiere classe’ hotel chain (1994) Suburban territory is essentially populated by the affluent middle classes, and the habits and buying power of suburban inhabitants have a strong influence on the types of cars they buy, in the historic case of one-car families as well as in the present state of multi-car families. The suburban model reached its highest development in the United States. More than half of the American population lives
Illustration 9.4 The localization of ‘First Class’ hotels as an integral part of the automobile system. A new kind of hotel service adapted to the automobile was developed in France at the nodes of the highway network. Source: Catalog for France of the ‘Premiere classe’ hotel chain (1994) Suburban territory is essentially populated by the affluent middle classes, and the habits and buying power of suburban inhabitants have a strong influence on the types of cars they buy, in the historic case of one-car families as well as in the present state of multi-car families. The suburban model reached its highest development in the United States. More than half of the American population lives
The automobile: universal territorial adapter
The automobile: universal territorial adapter
Illustration 9.6
Illustration 9.6
The bold lines show the distances that can be travelled in one hour departing from Gannat on each of the possible itineraries Illustration 10.1
The bold lines show the distances that can be travelled in one hour departing from Gannat on each of the possible itineraries Illustration 10.1
Percentage of driver's license owners in the population
Percentage of driver's license owners in the population
The fleet effect. Density of automobile distribution services in the Auvergne region Illustration 10.3 well) in relation to the fleet is 1. An increase of 1 percent in the fleet of a given make will therefore correspond to an increase of 1 percent in the number of dealers and agents in France and thus the accessibility of services provided to the car owner. With a few adjustments, this result can be applied to other regions. Thus, as far as fleet effect is concerned, the Auvergne region would have an elasticity of fleet
The fleet effect. Density of automobile distribution services in the Auvergne region Illustration 10.3 well) in relation to the fleet is 1. An increase of 1 percent in the fleet of a given make will therefore correspond to an increase of 1 percent in the number of dealers and agents in France and thus the accessibility of services provided to the car owner. With a few adjustments, this result can be applied to other regions. Thus, as far as fleet effect is concerned, the Auvergne region would have an elasticity of fleet
The bold lines show the distances that can be travelled in one hour departing from Gannat on each of the possible itineraries
The bold lines show the distances that can be travelled in one hour departing from Gannat on each of the possible itineraries
Departing from Gannat, in one hour the driver can cover the distance shown in bold lines on each itinary and have access to the service points indicated on the maps. Combination of club, fleet and network effects
Departing from Gannat, in one hour the driver can cover the distance shown in bold lines on each itinary and have access to the service points indicated on the maps. Combination of club, fleet and network effects
Elasticity of automobile demand In [vehicles] x [km] in relation to
Elasticity of automobile demand In [vehicles] x [km] in relation to
The second policy, that of encouraging a certain number of those already in the automobile system to leave it, is a priori more difficult to put in place even if we count on important effects as a consequence of what we have shown earlier. Owing to the effects measured earlier, such a policy's success would reverse the movement of the magic circle. For those not yet in the system, the advantage of entering it would decrease with an elasticity of about 2 in relation to the flow of those leaving it.
The second policy, that of encouraging a certain number of those already in the automobile system to leave it, is a priori more difficult to put in place even if we count on important effects as a consequence of what we have shown earlier. Owing to the effects measured earlier, such a policy's success would reverse the movement of the magic circle. For those not yet in the system, the advantage of entering it would decrease with an elasticity of about 2 in relation to the flow of those leaving it.
The four central and outer area districts where surveys were carried out and their spatial context: Paris’ central area neighbourhood Salvador Allende estate in Saint-Denis and the outer area locality Chaumont-en-Vexin and London's central area neighbourhood De Beauvoir estate in Hackney and outer area locality Shelley estate in Chipping Ongar. Original visualisation by A.M. Barthelemy, Dpt. de an | Inivercité Paric ¥ Iustration 11.1
The four central and outer area districts where surveys were carried out and their spatial context: Paris’ central area neighbourhood Salvador Allende estate in Saint-Denis and the outer area locality Chaumont-en-Vexin and London's central area neighbourhood De Beauvoir estate in Hackney and outer area locality Shelley estate in Chipping Ongar. Original visualisation by A.M. Barthelemy, Dpt. de an | Inivercité Paric ¥ Iustration 11.1
Prospective studies on car dependence are fairly scarce. One of the first in France — where just ove a quarter of car owners do not think that anything is going to change (FIA Foundation, 2005) — usec econometric modelling to study the impact of selective pricing in persuading commuters in the Lyons region to leave their cars at home and travel to work by train (Schéou, 1997). The basic scenaric predicted that a doubling in price at the petrol pump and motorway toll-both, a 70 percent increase on parking meters and a €1.50 charge for entering the Lyons urban area — La Courly - would lead to less than a one percent decrease in car use by the year 2010. More recently, the interdepartmental Program of Research, Experimentation and Innovation in Land Transport (PREDIT) commissioned the Application de Techniques Nouvelles (ATN) consultancy to test a 20-year simulation of changes in urban mobility in the Greater Lyons area - selected because it offered comprehensive, fresh and reliable data on the key fields under consideration: transport, population, economic activities/employment, housing and the environment - using the latest MobiSim mobility simulation model (Casanova, 2003).
Prospective studies on car dependence are fairly scarce. One of the first in France — where just ove a quarter of car owners do not think that anything is going to change (FIA Foundation, 2005) — usec econometric modelling to study the impact of selective pricing in persuading commuters in the Lyons region to leave their cars at home and travel to work by train (Schéou, 1997). The basic scenaric predicted that a doubling in price at the petrol pump and motorway toll-both, a 70 percent increase on parking meters and a €1.50 charge for entering the Lyons urban area — La Courly - would lead to less than a one percent decrease in car use by the year 2010. More recently, the interdepartmental Program of Research, Experimentation and Innovation in Land Transport (PREDIT) commissioned the Application de Techniques Nouvelles (ATN) consultancy to test a 20-year simulation of changes in urban mobility in the Greater Lyons area - selected because it offered comprehensive, fresh and reliable data on the key fields under consideration: transport, population, economic activities/employment, housing and the environment - using the latest MobiSim mobility simulation model (Casanova, 2003).
System effects are not specific to the motor car. The fashion effect and ‘club effect’ which are rooted in the same basic principle, are found in many other areas. People are as reliant on the telephone, on electricity and on high-speed trains as they are on cars. Any form of transport can give rise to a vicious or virtuous circle. Take the virtuous circle of the bicycle, for instance: increasing numbers of cyclists leading to more bicycle-oriented planning, thus stimulating a further increase in the number of new cyclists, and so on and so forth. No fear of any danger to the environment there, some may say. Maybe not, but what about in the case of electricity or the telephone? Electricity production can generate nuclear waste and/or air pollution; and mobile phones emit waves that may be harmful to the health. Yet car dependence, despite being incurable to some, causes a far greater degree of concern than any such dependency on electricity or the telephone. This is probably due to the fears stoked up by images of the countryside no longer resembling the rural landscapes of yesteryear, for instance or of the city losing touch with its historical roots - something that nobody, in Europe at least, wants to see happening and which justifies the current crusade against car dependence. So it is an issue that goes well beyond the confines of the transport sector. In the future, researchers might be well advised to take an interest in the creation, reproduction and dissemination of such images.
System effects are not specific to the motor car. The fashion effect and ‘club effect’ which are rooted in the same basic principle, are found in many other areas. People are as reliant on the telephone, on electricity and on high-speed trains as they are on cars. Any form of transport can give rise to a vicious or virtuous circle. Take the virtuous circle of the bicycle, for instance: increasing numbers of cyclists leading to more bicycle-oriented planning, thus stimulating a further increase in the number of new cyclists, and so on and so forth. No fear of any danger to the environment there, some may say. Maybe not, but what about in the case of electricity or the telephone? Electricity production can generate nuclear waste and/or air pollution; and mobile phones emit waves that may be harmful to the health. Yet car dependence, despite being incurable to some, causes a far greater degree of concern than any such dependency on electricity or the telephone. This is probably due to the fears stoked up by images of the countryside no longer resembling the rural landscapes of yesteryear, for instance or of the city losing touch with its historical roots - something that nobody, in Europe at least, wants to see happening and which justifies the current crusade against car dependence. So it is an issue that goes well beyond the confines of the transport sector. In the future, researchers might be well advised to take an interest in the creation, reproduction and dissemination of such images.
Percentage of population connected
Percentage of population connected
Backbone of Islandssimi’s Greater Reykjavik Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) in October 2000. Source: Lina.Net (2003) Illustration 13.3
Backbone of Islandssimi’s Greater Reykjavik Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) in October 2000. Source: Lina.Net (2003) Illustration 13.3
Illustration 13.4
Illustration 13.4
When Supply Anticipates Demand: Growth of Capacity and International Internet Traffic in Iceland. Source: www..intis.is (accessed August 2003)
When Supply Anticipates Demand: Growth of Capacity and International Internet Traffic in Iceland. Source: www..intis.is (accessed August 2003)
Ancient relics attest to the presence of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples from across the water. Much later, the islands provided refuge to the Acadians driven out of Nova Scotia by the British during the Great Expulsion of 1755-1763. While 20 percent of today’s population consists of metropolitan French people, most of them sent to the territory to take up temporary civil service posts, the other 80 percent were actually born there as the latest in a long line of islanders stretching back to the early settlers from Brittany, Normandy and the Basque regions of France and - in a minority of cases — Spain. In addition to which, they also feature traces of Irish ancestry stemming from the large number of marriages that have taken place with Newfoundland women.
Ancient relics attest to the presence of the Beothuk and Mi’kmaq indigenous peoples from across the water. Much later, the islands provided refuge to the Acadians driven out of Nova Scotia by the British during the Great Expulsion of 1755-1763. While 20 percent of today’s population consists of metropolitan French people, most of them sent to the territory to take up temporary civil service posts, the other 80 percent were actually born there as the latest in a long line of islanders stretching back to the early settlers from Brittany, Normandy and the Basque regions of France and - in a minority of cases — Spain. In addition to which, they also feature traces of Irish ancestry stemming from the large number of marriages that have taken place with Newfoundland women.
You have reached the end of the internet. You will have to turn around. Use your brower’s backbutton to do so. This is the final directory entry of the easternmost web server located in the city of St John’s, Newfounland (circle). The Internet’s fiber optic junction nodes (drawn in black) of North America all have ingoing / outgoing limbs numbering more than one. Except for Newfoundland. You can find out all kinds of neat stuff about Newfoundland on the Internet. But not here, because you've reached the end.
You have reached the end of the internet. You will have to turn around. Use your brower’s backbutton to do so. This is the final directory entry of the easternmost web server located in the city of St John’s, Newfounland (circle). The Internet’s fiber optic junction nodes (drawn in black) of North America all have ingoing / outgoing limbs numbering more than one. Except for Newfoundland. You can find out all kinds of neat stuff about Newfoundland on the Internet. But not here, because you've reached the end.
Illustration 16.1 Comparison of population distribution and Internet services in Midi-Pyrénées. Source: Dupuy (2004); data sources: Cabinet JCA ON-X et Conseil Régional Midi-Pyrénées, 2003 (ADSL); ® INSEE 2003 ( population density) So far, neither mobile telephony nor the Internet has yet found the right business model. The Internet, for its part, has tried everything from direct and indirect advertising to the sale of hardware, software and value-added services and more. But users are loath to pay for something presented as free when their mere participation has market value. As long as this issue remains unresolved, the operators are going to continue holding back on the investment front - refraining from, among other things, the general introduction of costly yet, in some areas and on some routes, increasingly cost-effective ‘last- mile’ delivery. At some point, this state of affairs is bound to result in clear geographical differences, and the fact that less densely populated areas are the worst served definitely does seem to suggest that the digital divide is fundamentally a matter of geography.
Illustration 16.1 Comparison of population distribution and Internet services in Midi-Pyrénées. Source: Dupuy (2004); data sources: Cabinet JCA ON-X et Conseil Régional Midi-Pyrénées, 2003 (ADSL); ® INSEE 2003 ( population density) So far, neither mobile telephony nor the Internet has yet found the right business model. The Internet, for its part, has tried everything from direct and indirect advertising to the sale of hardware, software and value-added services and more. But users are loath to pay for something presented as free when their mere participation has market value. As long as this issue remains unresolved, the operators are going to continue holding back on the investment front - refraining from, among other things, the general introduction of costly yet, in some areas and on some routes, increasingly cost-effective ‘last- mile’ delivery. At some point, this state of affairs is bound to result in clear geographical differences, and the fact that less densely populated areas are the worst served definitely does seem to suggest that the digital divide is fundamentally a matter of geography.
lustration 16.2. Topological structure of backbone networks in Burkina Faso. Source: Bernard (2003)
lustration 16.2. Topological structure of backbone networks in Burkina Faso. Source: Bernard (2003)
Illustration 17.1 Telecommunications development: infrastructure and services in Europe. Source: CURDS (2004)
Illustration 17.1 Telecommunications development: infrastructure and services in Europe. Source: CURDS (2004)
Chapter 17: Around Ile-de-France: In the Grips of a Digital Divide or Merely Lagging?
Chapter 17: Around Ile-de-France: In the Grips of a Digital Divide or Merely Lagging?
As for private-sector initiatives, illustration 17.6 shows how the proportion of CFB firms with their own websites in 2000 - an indicator that is highly indicative of ICT development - was, according to a conclusive survey based on the Yahoo! Directory, significantly smaller than that of firms not only in Ile-de-France but also in all 16 of the other regions of metropolitan France (Duféal, 2004b). The CFB economic fabric, perhaps on account of its constituent activities, seems to be struggling more than any other to gain a foothold on the World Wide Web. Given the lack of private-sector initiatives on the part of either the operators or local economic actors, one might reasonably expect local government to step into the breach.
As for private-sector initiatives, illustration 17.6 shows how the proportion of CFB firms with their own websites in 2000 - an indicator that is highly indicative of ICT development - was, according to a conclusive survey based on the Yahoo! Directory, significantly smaller than that of firms not only in Ile-de-France but also in all 16 of the other regions of metropolitan France (Duféal, 2004b). The CFB economic fabric, perhaps on account of its constituent activities, seems to be struggling more than any other to gain a foothold on the World Wide Web. Given the lack of private-sector initiatives on the part of either the operators or local economic actors, one might reasonably expect local government to step into the breach.
While a digital lag refers simply to a temporary disparity in ICT equipment and access, a digital divide is the end product of a cumulative vicious circle in which the ICTs play a key part. In a nutshell, when a particular area is having trouble accessing ICTs on account of a particular set of characteristic features, it will serve to strengthen those features and make the access even harder to gain, and so on. Low Illustration 17.7
While a digital lag refers simply to a temporary disparity in ICT equipment and access, a digital divide is the end product of a cumulative vicious circle in which the ICTs play a key part. In a nutshell, when a particular area is having trouble accessing ICTs on account of a particular set of characteristic features, it will serve to strengthen those features and make the access even harder to gain, and so on. Low Illustration 17.7
Let us apply this to the realm of university research. Standards in CFB regions as far as postgraduate studies are concerned are low. Given that this probably helps account for their low level of ICT development, the university research system is a very important issue. With the ICTs playing an ever- more prevalent role in that system, if CFB universities, technical schools and colleges succumb to ICT underdevelopment, more and more students are going to desert the regions for Ile-de-France and Paris, thus further undermining the CFB higher education system, leading to an increasing shortage of training opportunities, a decreasing likelihood of ICT uptake, and so on and so forth. It is worrying to note that the business, service, tourism and other sectors in the CFB are probably in the grips of similar such cumulative processes indicative of a digital divide. Fortunately, however, they have been held in check in the academic research system by the national telecommunications network for technology, education and research (RENATER) (see illustration 17.8). The French government set up RENATER in 1993 as a public interest group of bodies working in the fields not just of technology, education and research but also of culture - research institutes, universities and grandes écoles, together with the respective ministries in charge — the aim being to enable those bodies to communicate with each other and with counterpart organizations around the globe via the World Wide Web. Chapter 17: Around Ile-de-France: In the Grips of a Digital Divide or Merely Lagging?
Let us apply this to the realm of university research. Standards in CFB regions as far as postgraduate studies are concerned are low. Given that this probably helps account for their low level of ICT development, the university research system is a very important issue. With the ICTs playing an ever- more prevalent role in that system, if CFB universities, technical schools and colleges succumb to ICT underdevelopment, more and more students are going to desert the regions for Ile-de-France and Paris, thus further undermining the CFB higher education system, leading to an increasing shortage of training opportunities, a decreasing likelihood of ICT uptake, and so on and so forth. It is worrying to note that the business, service, tourism and other sectors in the CFB are probably in the grips of similar such cumulative processes indicative of a digital divide. Fortunately, however, they have been held in check in the academic research system by the national telecommunications network for technology, education and research (RENATER) (see illustration 17.8). The French government set up RENATER in 1993 as a public interest group of bodies working in the fields not just of technology, education and research but also of culture - research institutes, universities and grandes écoles, together with the respective ministries in charge — the aim being to enable those bodies to communicate with each other and with counterpart organizations around the globe via the World Wide Web. Chapter 17: Around Ile-de-France: In the Grips of a Digital Divide or Merely Lagging?
RENATER 3 network (2005). Source: www.renater.fr Illustration 17.9 For over a decade, RENATER has actively helped improve national and regional development, not least in the CFB regions, producing in the process a set of best practices that can be of enormous assistance to present-day policy-makers in the fields of physical planning and ICT development. RENATER has enabled the government to provide almost unlimited connection capacity and to build on its commitment to ensure service provision for every region in France. From the outset, the network’s architecture —- which broadly resembles that of any other French backbone, with Parisian hub and strong links between Paris and other large cities — took in four of the five CFB regions, and was extended to Burgundy in 2005 (see illustration 17.9 and 17.10).
RENATER 3 network (2005). Source: www.renater.fr Illustration 17.9 For over a decade, RENATER has actively helped improve national and regional development, not least in the CFB regions, producing in the process a set of best practices that can be of enormous assistance to present-day policy-makers in the fields of physical planning and ICT development. RENATER has enabled the government to provide almost unlimited connection capacity and to build on its commitment to ensure service provision for every region in France. From the outset, the network’s architecture —- which broadly resembles that of any other French backbone, with Parisian hub and strong links between Paris and other large cities — took in four of the five CFB regions, and was extended to Burgundy in 2005 (see illustration 17.9 and 17.10).
CFB regions incorporated into the RENATER network (2005). Source: www.renater.fr
CFB regions incorporated into the RENATER network (2005). Source: www.renater.fr
The core Internet infrastructure represented by the three characteristic features on its three axes: spatial coverage, reach and polarization. Source: Dupuy (2004) Illustration 19.2
The core Internet infrastructure represented by the three characteristic features on its three axes: spatial coverage, reach and polarization. Source: Dupuy (2004) Illustration 19.2
Second, the decreasing densities seen to emerge from urban sprawl, including in those countries claiming to have curbed it, definitely do seem to tally with the Broadacre City model, meaning that the trend observed by Fishman remains to be disproved. According to statistical findings, however, that model is still a long way from being realized. In France, for instance, spatial density in peri-urban areas is five times greater than foreseen by Wright in respect of Broadacre. Disentangling the factors responsible is not easy. The complex workings of the land market bear some of this responsibility: circumstances differ from one country to the next, but the safeguarding of natural landscapes and upkeep of productive farmland, together with efforts to curb house-building on greenfield sites — now something of a national cause —- have made peri-urban and not rurban property development commonplace in France. In any event, Wright’s utopian vision of a host of scattered, diversely landscaped sites remains, once again, a dream.
Second, the decreasing densities seen to emerge from urban sprawl, including in those countries claiming to have curbed it, definitely do seem to tally with the Broadacre City model, meaning that the trend observed by Fishman remains to be disproved. According to statistical findings, however, that model is still a long way from being realized. In France, for instance, spatial density in peri-urban areas is five times greater than foreseen by Wright in respect of Broadacre. Disentangling the factors responsible is not easy. The complex workings of the land market bear some of this responsibility: circumstances differ from one country to the next, but the safeguarding of natural landscapes and upkeep of productive farmland, together with efforts to curb house-building on greenfield sites — now something of a national cause —- have made peri-urban and not rurban property development commonplace in France. In any event, Wright’s utopian vision of a host of scattered, diversely landscaped sites remains, once again, a dream.
In spite of the depth of the changes, urban planners and developers gradually managed to come to terms with those techniques as seen in the example of Arturo Soria y Mata’s Linear City, a prototype networked city in Madrid which, although hardly revolutionary, allowed inhabitants to capitalize on advances in the fields of transport, public lighting, and so on (illustration 19.5) (see also Chapter 1).
In spite of the depth of the changes, urban planners and developers gradually managed to come to terms with those techniques as seen in the example of Arturo Soria y Mata’s Linear City, a prototype networked city in Madrid which, although hardly revolutionary, allowed inhabitants to capitalize on advances in the fields of transport, public lighting, and so on (illustration 19.5) (see also Chapter 1).
The perimeters of the concessions for electricity operators at the end of the 19th century. The City Government intended to equalize power distribution. Canrea:aftar Narinmac AA 2 | Davwan 1074: Atlac nliancha AZ Illustration 19.6 Nowadays, at a time marked by the emergence of new ICT networks, the older networks - their position transformed by privatization and the shift to competition in sectors formerly dominated by territorial and economic monopolies - are experiencing major changes in their modus operandi. Even the remaining ‘old-style’ networks have had to embrace automation, remote management and some of the other rapid technological developments introduced by ICTs in order to keep up with changing demand in a newly competitive environment: “the next generation of infrastructure systems needs to be in full convergence with information technologies” (Zimmerman & Horan, 2004). Networks are now interconnected at a continental and even a global scale, and such sweeping economic and political
The perimeters of the concessions for electricity operators at the end of the 19th century. The City Government intended to equalize power distribution. Canrea:aftar Narinmac AA 2 | Davwan 1074: Atlac nliancha AZ Illustration 19.6 Nowadays, at a time marked by the emergence of new ICT networks, the older networks - their position transformed by privatization and the shift to competition in sectors formerly dominated by territorial and economic monopolies - are experiencing major changes in their modus operandi. Even the remaining ‘old-style’ networks have had to embrace automation, remote management and some of the other rapid technological developments introduced by ICTs in order to keep up with changing demand in a newly competitive environment: “the next generation of infrastructure systems needs to be in full convergence with information technologies” (Zimmerman & Horan, 2004). Networks are now interconnected at a continental and even a global scale, and such sweeping economic and political
ustration 19.8a Dual adhesion: the rectangle represents a space located alongside a road that is accessible by car and forming part of both the road system (A) and a residential area (B)
ustration 19.8a Dual adhesion: the rectangle represents a space located alongside a road that is accessible by car and forming part of both the road system (A) and a residential area (B)
ion 19.8b Physical adhesion of the road network to the built environment as illustrated in this plan of a trunk road running through residential and commercial areas south of Paris In black: the road infrastructure. In grey: parking areas. Source: Brés (2005)
ion 19.8b Physical adhesion of the road network to the built environment as illustrated in this plan of a trunk road running through residential and commercial areas south of Paris In black: the road infrastructure. In grey: parking areas. Source: Brés (2005)
nn 19.11 Random networks follow a bell curve, while scale-free networks follow a power law degree distribution. Source: Barabasi (2002: 71) Barabasi (2002) has crystallized the concept in a theoretical premise distinguishing the scale-free networks with just a few nodes and a large number of links - e.g. airline networks, with their hubs and
nn 19.11 Random networks follow a bell curve, while scale-free networks follow a power law degree distribution. Source: Barabasi (2002: 71) Barabasi (2002) has crystallized the concept in a theoretical premise distinguishing the scale-free networks with just a few nodes and a large number of links - e.g. airline networks, with their hubs and
Illustration 19.12 Paris heating network. Source: after http://www.cpcu.fr (acc. May 2008,
Illustration 19.12 Paris heating network. Source: after http://www.cpcu.fr (acc. May 2008,

Related papers

Introducing Urban Networks - Network Urbanism
Jeroen van Schaick
View PDFchevron_right
Networks Within Cities and Among Cities: A Paradigm for Urban Development and Governance
Tomaso Giuseppe Mario Pompili

2006

Networks and networking have become catch-words in regional science, and particular ly in regional and urban geography in the last decade: we speak about network firms, network society, network economy but also network cities, city -networks, reti urbane, r eseaux de villes. Mere catch-words for someone; a true new scientific paradigm according to others. In our view fact we are facing a new paradigm in spatial sciences, subject to some precise conditions: -that its exact meaning is thoroughly defined, -that its theoretical economic rationale is justified, -that the novelty of its empirical content is clearly pointed out, with respect to more traditional spatial facts and processes that can easily be interpreted through existing spatial paradigms. The theoretical building blocks the network concept or paradigm may be constructed upon are: -a new view of the economy as a system or web of links between individuals, firms and institutions, where links depend on experience and evolve through learning processes ; the existing endowment of knowledge and other production factors is put into value through a relational capability addressed towards the exchange and collection of information, building reputation and trust, creating synergies, cutting down uncertainty, boosting learning processes; -the acknowledgement of cooperation as a new organisational and behavioural form, intermediate between hierarchy (internal development and merging of external activities through direct control) and market resort; cooperation networks among firms co llaborating with each other on technological advances and innovation projects were the earlier phenomenon that was well explored in the past. In a spatial perspective, two issues are particularly worth exploring through the network concept: -networking as cooperation among individuals, firms and institutions taking place inside the cities concerning collective action, public/private partnerships on large urban projects and the supply of public goods, and giving rise to new forms of urban governance; -networking as inter-urban cooperation, assuming the cities as economic actors, competing but also cooperating in the global arena where locations of internationally mobile factors (professionals, corporations, institutions) are decided and negotiated. The paper is organised in the following way: -a major section is devoted to the interpretation of the micro-economic efficiency of local networking (local urban networks), in terms of the usual criteria of optimal allocation of resources and collective welfare, viewing the network as an organisational alternative between market failure and state failure; -a transition section deals with the interpretation of cities, a collective actor at best, as individual/unitary economic actors, given the case for collective action among interest groups, the possibility of defining in broad terms a function of collective preference referring to non-mobile local actors, the engagement of public and private actors in processes of strategic planning and definition of shared visions for the future of the city vis-a-vis mobile actors; -another main section interprets competition and cooperation among cities (inter-city-networks) underlining advantages, risks and conditions for maximising overall comprehensive well-being.

View PDFchevron_right
Introduction. Urban Networks and Network Theory: The City as the Connector of Multiple Networks
Celine Rozenblat

Urban Studies, 2010

View PDFchevron_right
Crossing the Times of Urban Space - Manipulating Temporal Characteristics of Relations In the Network City
Jeroen van Schaick
View PDFchevron_right
“The Spatial Analysis of Urban Network of Wroclaw”, Ahmed Saeid , Robert Masztalski , Chapter in Book, Europa XXI, “European Urban System: Metropolization and Networking”, Editor in chief: T. Komornicki, Institute of Geography and Spatial Organization, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, Vol. 19, p. 71-89, ISSN 1429-7132, (2009).
Ahmed A. H. Saeid
View PDFchevron_right
Edges & Nodes / Cities & Nets: The History and Theories of Networks and What They Tell Us about Urbanity in the Digital Age
Gundolf S Freyermuth

Stefan L. Brandt, Winfried Fluck and Frank Mehring (eds.), Transcultural Spaces: Challenges of Urbanity, Ecology, and the Environment in the New Millennium, REAL – Yearbook of Research in English and American Literature, 2010

A Short Cultural History of Networking - How networks of transportation and communication over time shaped urban everyday life as well as the arts flourishing in these cities. I will argue that today, in the early days of the digital age, we are experiencing the continuation of technological as well as cultural processes that started in the Renaissance with mechanization and later escalated in the Enlightenment with industrialization. The vanishing point of my historical investigation is therefore the radical change of urban life driven by the implementation of digital networking technologies: the emergence of a hybrid – partly material, partly virtual – everyday life in the city.

View PDFchevron_right
Constructing premium network spaces: reflections on infrastructure networks and contemporary urban development
Stephen Graham

2000

By considering the city as an enormous artefact, the size and distribution of its streets, sidewalks, buildings, squares, parks, sewers and so on can be interpreted as remarkable physical records of the socio-technical world in which the city was developed and conceived (Aibar and Bijker, 1997: 23).

View PDFchevron_right
Infrastructure –Transportation and Networks: Thoughts on the City of Tomorrow
Maria Maria Siti

European Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2016

Cities, both large and small, assemble increasingly large numbers of population and activities. Acting as dynamic places of economic growth and culture production, cities thrive and their potential robustness can determine the character of each urban society and the developed social bonds.Increased population concentrations promote a big opportunity in terms of economic and societal evolution. Indeed this opportunity has still been little implemented due to segregation among different ethnicities and intense homogenization of modern activities. The terms of cultural osmosis in contemporary multicultural societes remain yet major issues. Economic development and culture present highly interrelated contexts when the economy thrives in terms of equality and solidarity as well as guarantee the alleviation of conflicts, justice and democracy. This new globalized conurbations could be less tight and more accessible, while bringing closer different traditions and experiences.

View PDFchevron_right
The advent of network urbanism
Udo Garritzmann

2000

When Kevin Kelly gave his permission to publish parts of Out of Control in this issue, he added that he had not been aware that he was writing about city planning. I thought that cities had always been nodes in and overlaps of various networks, including infrastructure, communication, economic, cultural and social networks, · : among others. The recent interest in networks is nourished by developments which have led Manuel Castells to predict the emergence of a network society: 'While the networking form of social organisation has existed in other times and other spaces, the new information paradigm provides the material basis for its pervasive expansion throughout the entire social structure.'1 The 'material basis' refers to the parallel and interconnected development of computer and telecommunication technologies. Both are present in my pre­ war home. So, would a telephone line and a laptop suffice to turn a seventeenth­ century canalside residence or a Vinex terra...

View PDFchevron_right
Cities in a relational world: limits and future perspective for the plan-making through the network paradigm
Ignazio Vinci

Vinci I. (2009), “Cities in a relational world: limits and future perspective for planning through the network paradigm”, Proceeding of the Conference City Futures 09, Madrid, 4-6 June.

This paper aims to discuss the formation and reproduction of social and institutional networks via planning practices and to critically explore the limits and opportunities for the future. It will describe how the process of spatial reconfiguration provided by the 'network society' views several interconnected territorial dimensions: major cities acting as global players in the international market place and their relationships with their regional surroundings; the relationships among enterprises and institutions within local production systems; and the strategic cooperation between urban players from the perspective of the city as a 'collective actor'. The final section of the paper will provide some critical considerations on some ways in which the concept of 'network' has been experimented with and put into practice in the planning field.

View PDFchevron_right

Related papers

Cities, citizens and demodiversity: an overview of two generations of city networks
Giovanni Allegretti

2019

View PDFchevron_right
The Network City*
Paul Craven

Sociological Inquiry, 1973

View PDFchevron_right
Understanding urban networks: Comparing a node-, a density- and an accessibility-based view
Luca Bertolini

Cities, 2013

View PDFchevron_right
Connecting Cities: Networks
Shanti Abedin

2008

View PDFchevron_right
THE NETWORK SOCIETY Edited by A New Context for Planning?
Louis Albrechts
View PDFchevron_right
«City networks and sustainability»
Alessio D'Auria

International Journal of Sustain ability in Higher …, 2001

View PDFchevron_right
Understanding the planning of open-spaces in territories-in-between: Dupuy's network urbanism approach applied to areas in-between urban and rural
Alexander Wandl

2012

View PDFchevron_right
The levels and scales of urban networks
Celine Rozenblat

Handbook of Cities and Networks, 2021

View PDFchevron_right
Networking and Responsibility of Cities
Mejbahuddin Ahmed

2010

View PDFchevron_right
Understanding urban networks through accessibility
Luca Bertolini

Ersa Conference Papers, 2005

View PDFchevron_right
From the Guest Editors: Splintering Urbanism at 20 Mapping Trajectories of Research on Urban Infrastructures
Alan Wiig

Journal of Urban Technology, 2022

View PDFchevron_right
Networks and Cities: The Internet's Urban Form
Chris Hamby
View PDFchevron_right
Structures of interactions and data in urban networks: the case of PortoAlegre.cc
Pablo Florentino

Big Social Data and Urban Computing, 2019

View PDFchevron_right
Conceiving infrastructure as a mode of urbanism
Bruno De Meulder
View PDFchevron_right
Network Cities: A Complexity-Network Approach to Urban Dynamics and Development
Efrat Blumenfeld-Lieberthal
View PDFchevron_right
The Social Fabric of the Networked City
Luca Pattaroni

2008

View PDFchevron_right
The topology of urban road networks and its role to urban mobility
Dimitrios Tsiotas

Transportation Research Procedia, 2017

View PDFchevron_right
Networked infrastructures and the ‘local': Flows and connectivity in a postsocialist city
Gergő Pulay

City, 2015

View PDFchevron_right
Networks as Tools for Sustainable Urban Development
Jesper Jensen

2004

View PDFchevron_right
Complex Networks and Fundamental Urban Processes
Luis Bettencourt

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

View PDFchevron_right
Polycentric urban systems: a multidimensional approach of networks
Teresa Marques

2017

View PDFchevron_right
Dynamics of urban networks as basis for the re-development of layer approaches
Jeroen van Schaick
View PDFchevron_right
Complex City Systems
Nick de Leon

2011

View PDFchevron_right
Revamping the “Network Paradigm”
Bruno Monardo

disP - The Planning Review, 2017

View PDFchevron_right
Urban and Urbanization
Recep Efe
View PDFchevron_right