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The Lost Shantytowns of Barcelona
Shantytowns still existed in many of Southern Europe’s major cities in the second half of the 20th century, although many have now been demolished. The purpose of this article is to highlight the history and evolution of some of the main shantytowns that remained in Barcelona in the mid-1970s, track their subsequent demolition, and reflect on the fate of the shanty dwellers. This form of self-build housing, usually lacking in basic services, played a vital role in providing shelter for immigrant families and the urban poor. A strong neighbourhood identity existed in many of these shantytowns, and national and local policies that aimed at their demolition and the re-housing of residents, often in low-quality housing blocks, proved problematic. The shantytowns studied here are La Perona, the Tres Turons, Campo de la Bota, and Ramon Casellas, which together comprised over 2000 shanty dwellings in the 1970s. Drawing on photographs taken at the time and existing literature, and using recent images from Google Earth, the demise of these shantytowns is examined, and the policies and plans that determined their fate are discussed. This article finds that the shanty dwellers experienced mixed fortunes, some being forcibly removed and re-housed in tower blocks with associated social-economic problems, whilst others played an active part in the design of replacement housing, implemented in situ where the shanty dwellings once existed. This article contributes to existing studies on shantytowns in Barcelona, which received scant attention from academics at the time, and which only now are being recognised as an important aspect of Barcelona’s urban history.
  • 390
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
The Lockean Proviso and Orbital Sustainability
Over the last decades, human have witnessed the gradual commercialization of the Earth orbit. The exponential development of private space activities makes this distant natural field, with the overcoming of technological difficulties, more and more hospitable to free initiative and entrepreneurship. However, the orbital space is considered global commons. Through the imaginary case method, researchers intend to ponder on possible ways to legally regulate the exploitation of the orbital space, namely the application of Pigouvian taxes, on the sustainability of the orbital environment, through ethical considerations originating from the application of the Lockean proviso. 
  • 438
  • 06 Apr 2022
Topic Review
The Landscape of Microfinance Institutions
The provision of microfinance for the poor in developing countries has received much attention from politicians, economists, development workers and academics, especially since the 1990s, including a special issue recently published in this journal.
  • 320
  • 08 Mar 2024
Topic Review
The Land System and China’s Rural Industrialization
China’s rural industrialization, which flourished in the 1980s, has suddenly declined since the mid-1990s. Using the empirical tests of China’s provincial panel data from 1987 to 1997, it is found that from the 1980s to the mid-1990s, the government relaxed the regulation of collective construction land and allowed its transfer, which was the institutional basis for the rapid rise of China’s rural industrialization with township and village enterprises (TVEs) as the main form. Furthermore, the government’s policy of prohibiting the circulation of collective construction land from the mid-1990s as the breakthrough point was taken, and the “Land Administration Law of China” promulgated in 1998 as a quasi-natural experiment to examine the causal relationship between restricting the circulation of collective construction land and the decline of TVEs was used. It is found that the restrictions on the circulation of collective construction land caused by the implementation of the law significantly hindered the development of TVEs. After the implementation of the Land Administration Law, in areas affected more by the law, the development scale of their TVEs shrunk even more. 
  • 731
  • 11 Jul 2022
Topic Review
The Key Motive of Adaptive Social Innovation
The fundamental cause of adaptive social innovation can be found in the changes derived from the “digital economy.” Newly born platform capitalism and its industrial structure are expanding their dominant power in economic systems. This is causing extensive upheaval in the fundamentals that support the social and economic environment such as production, consumption, distribution, etc., by reorganizing the production and distribution systems. 
  • 430
  • 21 Mar 2022
Topic Review
The Just Digital Framework and an 18th SDG
In the two decades since the establishment of the 2030 Agenda, the world has faced significant challenges to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Before COVID-19, the SDGs were not on track to be achieved, and disruptions in implementation resulting from the pandemic have had significant effects, turning back years of progress. The pandemic has highlighted the essential nature of digital technologies in advancing the SDGs, continuing education, including higher education, social, and commercial activities, as well as enabling people to participate in society, democracy, and the economy during crises. As humanity enters this new period and begins to reset after the ‘great pause’, it is imperative to reconsider how the digital revolution has affected progress, especially in realizing the SDGs. Digital inclusion and connectivity inform and are essential to achieve all of the Goals. 
  • 554
  • 05 Mar 2022
Topic Review
The Internet of Things in Poland
One definition of the Internet of Things refers to devices that can be directly connected to the internet or other devices using wireless networks or, less frequently, cables. This definition of the IoT includes contemporary telephones, cameras, movement sensors, weather stations, even dishwashers, vehicles, industrial machinery, and daily outfits. Almost any object can get connected to the internet even if it was not manufactured as intended for the IOT, because in the majority of cases its functionality can be extended. The IOT has been growing dynamically, offering smart technological solutions. IoT-based applications are client-server operable which requires a specific communication protocol that can be used to determine a client-server communication model, allowing all clients to perform specific tasks thanks to communications via the internet. Poland’s rural areas that are diversified in terms of economic development are poorly equipped with basic infrastructure, which is a barrier to the functioning of people with limited mobility. 
  • 610
  • 03 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The Internationalisation of Higher Education
The number of international students enrolled in tertiary education outside their home countries has increased significantly. This enrollment increment is due to the global demand for higher education, the perceived value of studying at prestigious or highly ranked higher institutions abroad, and better employment opportunities in the home or host country after graduation. Host countries reap economic and workforce benefits from the presence of international students in their universities. Because of this, many countries are now attempting to attract international students through academic promotion, quality education, common culture, and by forming social and diplomatic relationships. Their higher education institutions adopt various strategies in response to globalisation and internationalisation, a signal that there have been profound structural and social initiatives as educational providers have invested in sustaining global relevance and survival. 
  • 158
  • 17 Nov 2023
Topic Review
The Interaction between Urban and Rural Areas
The relationships and interactions between rural and urban spaces have long been of interest to territorial sciences. However, approaches to these issues have evolved in line with the changing characteristics of the two types of territories, reflecting new relationships and structures. 
  • 915
  • 26 Aug 2022
Topic Review
The impacts of ridesourcing services
By applying an algorithm based on pickup and drop-off locations, transportation network companies (TNCs) match passengers who need a ride with self-employed drivers who tend to provide a trip in their privately owned cars. TNCs have expanded their footprint into more cities and are now among the most prosperous and valuable global start-ups. The proliferation of ridesourcing services has raised both hopes and concerns about their role in cities. The impacts of ridesourcing services are complex and multi-faceted. 
  • 642
  • 17 Aug 2021
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