我国城市社区直接选举探究

社区居委会直接选举作为扩大基层民主的有效形式,已经成为全面推进城市基层民主的突破口,受到社会各界越来越多的关注。本文选取社区居委会直接选举中的两个环节进行分析,梳理了社区选举过程中的程序规范及存在问题,以期进一步推进城市社区居委会直接选举的程序化、公平化。     

城市社区自治的问题与对策

妥善解决政府与社区之间的关系,加强政府职能的转变,是社区自治建设的前提。在社区自治建设中,关注更多的利益相关者,运用现代治理理念,加强社区自治、治理组织体系与机制的构建,是实现城市社区自治的关键。社区工作者是社区自治建设中不可或缺的力量,该组织的健康发展,是社区自治建设的重要保障。     

Beyond Worst Case Needs: Measuring the Breadth and Severity of Housing Insecurity Among Urban Renters

ABSTRACT

Many indicators of renter household insecurity remain widespread or have shown signs of worsening in the past decade, including unaffordability, poor unit conditions, overcrowding, and evictions. Most research to date has examined each of these conditions as a standalone problem, without examining the extent and severity of simultaneously occurring housing problems. This study closes that gap by examining the suitability of measuring housing insecurity as an index of multiple variables within four identified dimensions: unaffordability, poor conditions, overcrowding, and forced moves. Results show that dimensions of housing insecurity are highly correlated and suitable for measurement as an index. The proposed index shows that housing insecurity is widespread among U.S. renters, but varies greatly in severity and type.     

Environmental Justice and Information Technologies: Overcoming the Information-Access Paradox in Urban Communities

Scientific studies and resident testimony suggest that urban residents in low-income and minority communities have been subject to an unequal burden of environmental pollution and inequitable environmental enforcement practices. A key component of the equitable development and implementation of environmental policies is the participation of citizens and community-based organizations in the policy process. Such participation rests upon equitable access to agency-generated environmental information and effective use of that information by citizens. This article focuses on the adoption of Internet technologies by environmental agencies as a mechanism for disseminating information and the implications for low-income and minority residents in urban communities. A framework is developed to guide a programmatic response to overcome these implications. The results from several community-based projects are described and analyzed for their capacity-building effectiveness. Analysis of the projects indicates improvement in community capacity for information access and use, which bolstered community participation in the environmental decision-making process.     

Epistemic Communities and the Diffusion of Ideas: Central Bank Reform in the United Kingdom

In May 1997 the incoming Labour government gave the Bank of England operational independence in the setting of interest rates. This reform is puzzling as it was introduced by a party whose roots lie with the trade union movement, and resisted by the Conservatives whose political support comes largely from business, the financial sector and homeowners who stand to benefit most from price stability. Economic ideas are central to explaining the outcome. The Labour Chancellor was convinced by an epistemic community of monetary experts that central bank independence would achieve New Labour's electoral goals. These political incentives were absent for the Conservatives, who preferred to set interest rates strategically to increase their popularity with voters.     

中央权威的宪政之道

中央权威是指中央权力在国家权力结构中所享有的独占性威望和最高强制力。中央权威的宪政之道是对国家法治战略之中央权力宪法安排的解读。社会主义法治意识形态是我国宪法精神的集中表达,是央地权力共同的价值基础和信仰支撑;从政策治国向依法治国转变是宪法之依法治国战略的基本要求,它为中央权威提供了更具连续性和公正性的合法性基础;落实全国人大及其常委会的最高监督权和加强中央司法权威的控制力,是宪法国家权力结构的内在需求,也是加强中央权威的根本宪政途径;宪法意义上的地方分权是地方权力对中央权威的一种回应性诉求,也是宪政权力纵向配置的一种内在机理。     

“隐蔽的公理”:城市社区地域空间的性质及其塑造

当前的城市社区研究,较少讨论社区地域空间的性质以及这一性质的塑造力量,更多地把这一地理空间当作是"无视"的实然存在。正因为如此,长期以来,社区研究的逻辑起点莫衷一是。通过历时地分析、探究中国城市社区地域空间在建国初期和改革时代两个不同时段的性质及其相应的权力意识形态和资本意识形态两个相异的主导性型构力量,可以看出两种不同力量对社区地域空间性质的影响,社区研究的逻辑起点在于对社区地域空间的了解和对社区性质的把握。     

城市社区公共品供给二元格局与政府社区建设方式改革

我国社会转型期间,城市社区公共品供给呈现出一种二元格局状态.其源于社会转型期社区发展的不平衡和政府社会管理体制改革的滞后,是在计划经济时代的政府向市场经济时代的政府、全能政府向有限政府、管控政府向服务政府转型中产生的问题.破解城市社区公共品供给二元格局,主要是要形成科学有序的社区公共品供给机制,转变行政化的社区管理模式,培育社区意识、自治能力和社会资本.通过改善社区的治理结构,形成公平、高效、有序的社区公共品供给方式.     

The myth of social capital in community development

Abstract

This article argues that contemporary interest in social capital by community development theorists, funders, and practitioners is misguided and needs to be thoroughly rethought. It argues that social capital, as understood by Robert Putnam and people influenced by his work, is a fundamentally flawed concept because it fails to understand issues of power in the production of communities and because it is divorced from economic capital. Therefore, community development practice based on this understanding of social capital is, and will continue to be, similarly flawed.

The article further argues that instead of Putnam's understanding of social capital, community development practice would be better served by returning to the way the concept was used by Glenn Loury and Pierre Bourdieu and concludes with a discussion of how these alternative theories of social capital can be realized in community development practice.     

法国大革命前期的三权分立

权力分立并通过权力制衡达到政治自由是法国思想家孟德斯鸠明确提出的资产阶级国家制度的基本原则,但卢梭极度轻蔑赋予国家各组成部分独立权力以相互制约的均衡理论.这种观念上的冲突,在法国大革命时期的前两部宪法中表现得十分鲜明.从实际情况看,法国大革命时期的权力分立有自己的特色:议会至高无上并发展为相当程度的专制,行政权过于弱化而无法与立法权抗衡,司法权根本没有独立地位.因此可以说,法国人基本上没有按照孟德斯鸠的思路去制约权力.     

Community development intermediary systems in the United States: Origins,evolution, and functions

Abstract

Acting between the forceful capital market and the state, community development intermediaries are finding ways to assist resource‐poor community development organizations to increase production volume and to gain access to a wider capital and political market.

This article presents a brief historical review of how the intermediary system originated and how it has evolved into different large‐scale models since the 1960s. The philosophies and programs of three major intermediary organizations—the Local Initiatives Support Corporation, The Enterprise Foundation, and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation—are considered. The article concludes by recognizing the contributions of intermediaries while raising issues with their accountability and future direction.     

Government Selection and Executive Powers: Constitutional Design in Parliamentary Democracies

Provisions for a parliamentary investiture vote have become increasingly common in parliamentary democracies. This article shows that investiture provisions were largely introduced when new constitutions were written or old ones fundamentally redesigned. It also shows that the constitutions that endowed executives with strong legislative agenda powers also endowed parliaments with strong mechanisms to select the executive. It is argued that constitution makers’ decisions can be seen in principal–agent terms: strong investiture rules constitute an ex ante mechanism of parliamentary control – that is, a mechanism to minimise adverse selection and reduce the risk of agency loss by parliament. The findings have two broad implications: from a constitutional point of view, parliamentary systems do not rely exclusively on ex post control mechanisms such as the no confidence vote to minimise agency loss; parliamentarism, at least today and as much as presidentialism, is the product of conscious constitutional design and not evolutionary adaptation.     

Assets and neighborhoods: The role of individual assets in neighborhood revitalization

Abstract

Asset‐building strategies—including individual development accounts, homeownership programs, and microenterprise development—became increasingly popular in the 1990s. Although research has demonstrated how assets produce individual benefits, less is known about the extent to which these benefits induce positive place‐based effects. We develop a model of the relationship between individual asset‐building strategies and neighborhood revitalization in order to inform future empirical work and help ensure that asset accumulation and neighborhood revitalization are mutually reinforcing. Our model emphasizes the conditions and programmatic factors that may encourage and discourage the transfer of benefits from individuals to neighborhoods.

Examples from case studies of four community‐based organizations suggest that the likelihood of neighborhood spillovers may be increased if policies and practices aim to “manage” the returns from the individual asset, retain asset holders, provide reinvestment conduits, track local purchasing power, and create additional opportunities for collective action.     

古代行政中枢机构的嬗变及其走势

宰相在中国古代作为“百官之长”，所谓“一人之下，万人之上”，是辅佐君主处理国家大政的最高行政长官。宰相制度是君主制度的调节机制和必要补充。本介绍了与宰相制度相适应的行政中枢机构的萌发、形成、发展和转换过程，力图在动态描述中把握中央辅政体制的演变规律和发展态势，从中获得有益的启示。     

Gentrification in tourist cities: Evidence from New Orleans before and after Hurricane Katrina

Abstract

Tourism‐led redevelopment often provides city residents with increased opportunities for employment, leisure, and cultural enrichment, but it can also have dramatic and unpredictable effects on their lives. One of these effects involves the repercussions of redevelopment that transforms working‐class neighborhoods into middle‐ or upper‐class areas catering to tourists. We use the city of New Orleans as a case study to explore the connections between tourism and gentrification.

We first discuss the growth of tourism in New Orleans, paying particular attention to its geographic scope. We then consider the ways in which gentrification and tourism are connected in New Orleans and what their relationship adds to theories of tourism development and urban revitalization. The analysis concludes with an in‐depth look at one of the nation's oldest black neighborhoods, Tremé, where both tourism and the nonblack population have been increasing in recent years.     

社会资本对城市社区生活垃圾分类绩效的影响——基于上海H街道的案例分析

在一些城市开始推行生活垃圾分类的背景下,不同社区的生活垃圾分类效果仍然存在较大的差异,如何解释这一差异需要进一步分析.社会资本作为认识社区公共产品提供和集体行动形成的重要视角,与城市社区生活垃圾分类之间的关系值得研究.基于上海市H街道三个不同类型社区的案例比较分析发现:以社会网络、信任和互惠规范为核心内容的社会资本,能够较好地解释存在差异性的社区居民生活垃圾分类行为和社区生活垃圾分类绩效.在实施垃圾分类的过程中,可以通过培育社会资本有力提升居民参与的意愿,推动居民的参与行为,不断提升垃圾分类绩效.     

社区居民委员会与业主委员会的权利结构及其在北京市政策执行中的演化

在城市社区中,居民委员会和业主委员会是两个非常重要的自治组织,这两个理论上看似相辅相成的自治组织在现实中却关系复杂,复杂关系的背后实际上是政府的政策在左右。本文通过对北京市社区中居民委员会和业主委员会相关政策的研究,特别是对政府政策取向以及相关组织的利益关系的剖析,发现政府厚此薄彼的政策取向以及控制寻租机会是问题的核心,解决问题的关键在于政策设计应以尊重权利为要义,在具体的制度安排上应以控制腐败、防止附加性政策为核心,在具体行政活动中应以依法行政为基本操守,唯其如此才能防止魔鬼隐藏在政策细节中作祟。     

乡村振兴进程中协商民主嵌入乡村治理的内在机理与路径选择

协商民主作为重要的民主制度设计和治理形式,对于优化乡村治理具有极为重要的意义与价值。将协商民主嵌入乡村治理,实现协商民主与乡村治理的有效融合,契合党和政府推动乡村振兴战略顺利实施的迫切需要。协商民主嵌入乡村治理体系和治理过程,不是单纯的制度吸纳和整合,而是包括制度嵌入、行动嵌入和认知嵌入在内的多维嵌入结构和过程。从全国各地的治理实践来看,民主协商机制尚未真正嵌入乡村治理的各个环节和各个领域,协商民主的制度优势和治理功能未得到充分发挥。为此,必须加快协商民主嵌入乡村治理的进程,将协商民主理念嵌入到广大农村基层干部和群众的认知之中,形成有事好商量的思维方式和行为习惯;不断健全与完善协商民主的各种体制机制,促进协商民主制度优势转化为乡村治理效能。     

The redevelopment of distressed public housing: Early results from HOPE VI projects in Atlanta,Chicago, and San Antonio

Abstract

The redevelopment of distressed public housing under the Urban Revitalization Demonstration Program, or HOPE VI, has laudable social, physical, community, and economic goals. Three public housing projects in Atlanta, Chicago, and San Antonio demonstrate the complexity and trade‐offs of trying to lessen the concentration of low‐income households, leverage private resources, limit project costs, help residents achieve economic self‐sufficiency, design projects that blend into the community, and ensure meaningful resident participation in project planning.

Although worthwhile and ambitious, HOPE VI cannot achieve all these goals. More of them can be achieved by developing strategies related to the strength of the local real estate market. To that end, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and public housing authorities must use the market‐based tools in the Quality Housing and Work Responsibility Act of 1998. Standards for improved physical design and resident participation and further research on critical supportive services for residents are also needed.     

Assessing Economic Change in HOPE VI Neighborhoods

Abstract

Neighborhoods surrounding large public housing developments have historically been economically distressed. The revitalization of many developments through the federal HOPE VI program, in conjunction with increased inner‐city lending and a strong economy for much of the 1990s, should theoretically lead to improvements in these neighborhoods. This study analyzes changes in selected HOPE VI neighborhoods since 1990 and compares them with changes in other high‐poverty communities, as well as with overall trends in their respective cities.

At the beginning of the decade, conditions in HOPE VI communities were almost universally worse than in other high‐poverty areas. By the end of the decade, the relationship was reversed. The changes resulted from a number of interrelated factors, including the redevelopments themselves, other private market activity, specific commitments of resources by city governments, and increased attention to the communities by lenders. These neighborhoods still qualify as economically distressed, but economic development now seems a realistic possibility.