Policing,Partnerships, and Profits: The Operations of Business Improvement Districts and Town Center Management Schemes in England

This study considers the emergence of Public Private Policing Partnerships (PPPPs) in England and focuses on two increasingly common partnership bodies in particular: Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) and Town Center Management (TCM) schemes. It argues that in order to fully understand the operations of these partnerships, research must pay attention to their introduction, evolution, and social relationships. Through comparative case studies of local TCM schemes and BIDs in Coventry, Plymouth, and Reading, it reflects on the ways in which policing services are speculatively used to improve the "experience"' of being downtown, and increase the likelihood of consumers and investors spending more in their district. It also sheds light on the evolving policing "portfolios" the partnerships have developed and the roles that socio-technologies (e.g., CCTV, circulars) play in shaping the performance and relations of the partnerships.     

Discrete emergence of neoliberal policies on public space: an informal Business Improvement District in Istanbul,Turkey

This article investigates the birth and evolution of a Business Improvement District (BID) in Talimhane, Istanbul, which is the first case of use of this instrument of neoliberal governance in the Turkish city. The distinctive nature of the Talimhane BID consists in the fact that it has been developed through a series of informal and piecemeal arrangements. The article first reviews the evolution, characteristics, and critical aspects of BIDs. It then focuses on the case study of this “informal BID” in Talimhane, analysing its origins, features, and outcomes. The informal nature of this BID is stressed as a key factor in understanding its features and outcomes, and it emerges as a fundamental component of urban neoliberalism in Turkey: it allows a centralized and authoritarian government to maintain complete control over public space and private actors and activities, while promoting a process of devolving powers in favour of the private sector.     

撤县(市)设区对城市空间扩展的影响机理——以杭州市为例

城镇化的持续推进对城市空间扩展产生了新的需求,撤县（市）设区是中国城市市辖区实现扩容提质的主要手段之一。以杭州为例,定量测度撤县（市）设区后杭州城区空间扩展的时空特征及其各方面的影响,并探讨了这一区划调整对城市空间扩展影响的作用机理。研究发现：通过撤县（市）设区,杭州城区的建设用地东扩趋势明显,萧山和余杭两区的建设用地新增面积和扩展速度均高于平均水平,且两地建设用地空间存在多中心集聚特征,成为新一轮的杭州建设用地扩展高密度区,城市功能不断凸显。总体来看,撤县（市）设区对城市空间的影响是间接的,具有一定的滞后性,通过引导城市空间扩展的主要方向,实现中心城市人口和产业向新设市辖区的转移和集聚,提供城市空间扩展的载体。撤县（市）设区后需要通过后续的城市规划修编、土地性质和权限调整、生产要素集聚与空间重组等路径,对城市空间扩张与空间演变产生直接影响。     

基于意愿调查评估法的东苕溪水质改善的社会效益评估

以流经浙江北部的重要河流东苕溪流域为研究区域,从社会效益的视角,遵循意愿调查评估法的思想和技术,估算东苕溪流域居民对水质改善的支付意愿金额,分析影响支付意愿的主要因素。结果发现：357份有支付意愿,占问卷的65.9%,支付意愿范围为104.01~128.54元,中位数的支付意愿为115.63元/（a·户）; 185份零支付愿意,占问卷的34.1%。其中影响流域居民支付意愿度的主要因素为：水质改善应为政府或企业的责任,流域居民不应是水质改善的承担者。同时,家庭人口数、文化程度、是否知道其饮用水源来自东苕溪与支付愿意度成正相关,对自家自来水状况的评价与支付意愿成负相关。基于此,研究提出适当增加水费用于水质改善;建立水环境信息制度,引导广大居民参与决策;严格执行环保标准,减少企业污染物排放等建议。