plaNext–Next Generation Planning

Ethnic Economy in Milano: the Case of the Turkish Immigrants in the Kebab Sector

Şelale Balambar — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The concept of ethnic minority entrepreneurs in the economy represents the employment patterns in the particular country. Immigrants often experience discrimination and exclusion in the labor market and the outcome of this process is the high rate of unemployment. On the contrary, the ethnic economy could be regarded as a promising alternative to unemployment among immigrants. With this decision, immigrant entrepreneurs create their own business and support other immigrants if the business is successful. Currently, immigrant entrepreneurs are comprising big part of urban economies. Besides contributing to the economics of the countries, immigrant entrepreneurs also open the way for the integration of immigrants in the countries of settlement. By creating ethnic economy to overcome discrimination and exclusion, immigrants are making themselves attractive and integrated into the host society.

In Italy, migrants from Turkey often are self-employed in the kebab fast-food restaurant sector. The ethnic economy plays a significant role to overcome discrimination and create integration channels. Data were obtained from interviews with migrants from Turkey who arrived in Milano in the years between 1988-2010. In Italy, many migrants from Turkey are immigrating for the purpose of work, study, and so on. In general, the kebab sector entrepreneurs migrated to Milan as asylum-seekers. Like any other post-industrial/low-skilled market, the kebab sector is easily accessible and attractive for many aspiring immigrant entrepreneurs. Thanks to the low demand for human capital and no requirement for special skills, therefore, Turkish immigrants preferred this sector. Turkish immigrants as ethnic entrepreneurs are open to new opportunities. The result of the study highlights the question of how did the Turkish immigrants manage their own insertion and incorporation into the host society.

From private to public: redeveloping private space as the way to reframe publicness of everyday life.

Xuewei Chen — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

The publicness discourse has been extensively explored from the perspectives of numerous disciplinary interests, multiple actors, especially the government and expert professions, and its normative ideal. This study examines how individual engagement in shaping private and semi-public space could be viewed as a means of reframing the publicness of everyday life and thereby contributing to the shaping of cities. Through examining the rationale of build-by-people trials in Shanghai, categorising in stewarding practise, DIY tactic, and informal trial, this study anticipates shedding light on the particularities of publicness in the contemporary Chinese context. Drawing on empirical data from observation and interviews, the study discusses different facets of build-by-people trials, including the combination of desire and belief to push individuals to be a part of the public, contribution to forgotten spaces, impact on social relationships, as well as concerns on privatisation. The analysis demonstrates that the current ‘build-by-people’ trials have manifested their capacity to proactively engage concerned citizens, develop forgotten spaces, and advance a broader sense of publicness discourse. However, additional research is needed to investigate how to maximise the value of ‘build-by-people’ practises in a sustainable manner, and how to strategically advocate for more ‘public-isation’ processes while keeping the privatisation scenario from deteriorating.

Residents’ sense of belonging in (gated) communities in urban China

Meiling Jin — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Communities or neighborhoods are specific places in the research field of place identity that links between environment and psychology to address the sense of belonging as one of crucial human needs. This article explores the community identity in Chinese urban communities to investigate differences between sense of communities, and community satisfaction. Since 1980s, gated communities (Xiaoqu) are the dominant form of residential development in urban China and sometimes have the same boundary as the community (Shequ). Thus, this article sheds light on different understanding of gated communities in and outside of China. It is approached via deductive research to assess four specific hypotheses based on the concepts of communities, neighborhoods and gated communities. Four gated communities from Suzhou Industrial Park in China are used as study sites, where primary data was collected and then analyzed via multiple linear regression model and logistic regression model. Interestingly, the finding shows that having an active homeowners’ committee, which is considered as a socio-political force, is negatively associated with a sense of community. In addition, representation is positively associated with community identity in general. The findings imply that property management fees play an important role in residents’ community identity. In addition, the finding also supports that sense of community is a social rather than a physical construction.

Citizen’s motivation in Neighbourhood Planning in North West England

Xinxin Cao, John Sturzaker — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Although some researchers have addressed the question of what motivates citizens to become involved in lower tier planning in the UK, the phenomenon is not yet fully understood. A lack of hard data, combined with some mutually contradictory arguments in the field, makes for imperfect analysis, and this can potentially undermine the effectiveness of individual engagement in Neighbourhood Plans (NPs). This paper focuses on what motivates citizens to participate in the process of creating NPs in North West England, and explores past theories on individual motivation. This study achieved its research aims through extensive research of the relevant literature, combined with an empirical study of five neighbourhoods in North West England. The main conclusion drawn from the dissertation is that there are complex and multiple motivations of people participating in NPs, and these impetuses are affected by a range of political, environmental and socio-economic factors. This research offers opportunities to enhance the effectiveness of NPs for researchers and NP stakeholders alike.

Editorial

Ayşegül Sarı, Enes Aydın, Milan Husár — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Volume 13 titled ‘Exploring Human Well-Being and Community Dynamics’ of the peer-reviewed journal plaNext–Next Generation Planning is here. Partially derived from the 16th AESOP Young Academics Conference ‘In Search of Well-Being in Liminality: No Longer-Not Yet’ that took place in Istanbul between April 5-8, 2022, it includes one research paper previously published online. We are delighted to present this latest volume, which draws together a diverse collection of research papers delving into the complex dynamics of human interaction with the living environment, social participation and community development. While originating from different geographic and disciplinary backgrounds, the four papers featured in this volume share a common theme: the complex interplay between individuals, communities, and the places they inhabit.

The theme of ‘Exploring Human Well-Being and Community Dynamics’ encapsulates a rich tapestry of interdisciplinary research examining the diverse connections forged among inhabitants, societies, and their spaces. Grounded on a multidimensional understanding of well-being, this theme integrates insights from sociology, urban planning, economics and related disciplines to unravel the factors influencing human well-being within communal settings. Research in sociology has long emphasized the significance of social structures and community ties in shaping individual well-being. Contemporary scholars have expanded upon this perspective, incorporating concepts such as social capital (Woo et al, 2023; Sanchez-Garcia et al, 2023; Putnam, 2000) and community engagement (Bernstein and Isaac, 2023; Kawachi & Berkman, 2001) to explore the dynamics of collective well-being. The idea that communities play a vital role in shaping the health, prosperity and happiness of their members forms a foundational aspect of this research topic.