SOUTH ASIA

For nearly a hundred years, to many foreigners “Peking” meant the foreign legation quarter and its colourful western inhabitants. The article gives details of the extraordinary life they led a stone's throw from the Emperor's palace in a city that remained virtually untouched by the modern world. After the Boxer Rising of 1900, the legation quarter became a Treaty Port with its own laws and administration. That status continued through the First World War and beyond. But just as the foreigners were at last beginning to value Peking's uniqueness, the end was in sight. Life changed a lot after the 1937 Japanese invasion of China and, for many, internment followed the attack on Pearl Harbour. But the end came when Treaty port status was abolished for good at the end of the War     

Do Shrinking Cities Allow Redevelopment Without Displacement? An Analysis of Affordability Based on Housing and Transportation Costs for Redeveloping,Declining, and Stable Neighborhoods

Abstract

Plans and policies to combat or mitigate gentrification typically pursue affordable housing production and preservation as the primary mechanism to avoid displacement. However, it is unclear whether affordable housing financing mechanisms function as designed in weak market cities. As such, we question whether the housing-only approach is a complete one and whether increased transportation investments in redeveloping neighborhoods in shrinking cities can be leveraged to improve the lives of the poor. Our results suggest that funding for subsidized housing does not produce units affordable to the poor in declining cities, limiting the efficacy of a housing-only approach. Furthermore, we find that transportation costs make up a larger proportion of household budgets among families living in declining neighborhoods. These results suggest that transportation improvements—particularly those aimed at bicycling and pedestrian accessibility—may be the most efficient approach to mitigating displacement and improving quality of life for low-income households in shrinking cities.     

Fueling the Populist Divide: Nativist and Cosmopolitan Preferences for Representation at the Elite and Mass Level

Political Behavior - Although populist leaders often employ an anti-elite discourse which presents the elite as unable or unwilling to represent ordinary citizens, we know very little about who...     

Rehabilitation and resettlement: a study of prolific offender case management in Birmingham, United Kingdom

In 2004, the U.K. Home Office launched the Prolific and other Priority Offenders strategy in England and Wales. This includes a rehabilitative programme with the most prolific offenders case managed throughout their involvement in the criminal justice system. The strategy is a coordinated response by local partnerships, with the aim to reduce reoffending and overall crime rates. This article is based on a review of work in Birmingham to integrate the requirements of the new strategy into existing structures and offender management programmes. Although many of the management structures and referral processes needed for the new strategy were already well developed, there were concerns over communication and clarity of roles. Consistent identification of prolific offenders across all police areas was required. Once targeted, offenders needed equality of access to services. A clear exit strategy was also needed with clear rehabilitation and resettlement criteria for offenders leaving the Prolific and other Priority Offenders strategy.