Parenting,Culture, and Context: Reflections on Excavating Culture

Civic competence and obstacles to its development are explored in urban youth. Our review suggests that urban youth lag behind suburban adolescents in civic knowledge and civic participation. These lags may be attributable to low levels of political participation among urban adults, educational failures, and a lack of childhood opportunities to join clubs and teams. A comparison of a small city and a neighboring suburban town illustrates both the intertwined obstacles that confront urban youth on the path to civic development and the difficulty that most urban centers face in improving opportunities for civic development. We conclude that urban youth's genuine interest in acquiring civic competence is frustrated by demographic factors largely outside the control of those living in America's cities.     

Young Muslim Immigrants in Norway: An Epidemiological Study of Their Psychosocial Adaptation and Internalizing Problems

The first aim of the present study was to examine internalizing problems and their psychosocial correlates among young Muslim immigrants in Norway as compared to other immigrant youth and host peers. The second aim was to examine adaptation differences among Muslim youth based on national origin and gender. Questionnaire data were collected during school classes from 6306 10th grade students in junior high schools in Oslo. Of the 1666 immigrants in the sample, 1060 (63.3%) originated in countries with majority Muslim population. Internalizing problems were measured in terms of depression and anxiety symptoms. Psychosocial adaptation included measures of general and acculturation-specific risks and resources. In general, Muslims youth appeared well-adapted. However, there were between group differences based on national origin and gender. Also, self-efficacy was identified as an important moderator between acculturation-specific risks and resources and mental health among boys.     

Becoming American,Constructing Ethnicity: Immigrant Youth and Civic Engagement

After presenting demographic data to demonstrate why immigrant youth are and will be important, this article addresses the limited literature on immigrant youth civic engagement. It also examines the historical literature of immigrant youth in the United States, specifically that of the last great wave of immigration approximately 100 years ago, along with the literature on contemporary adult immigrant civic engagement. It concludes that today's immigrant youth are Americanizing. Nevertheless, when U.S. society and particularly the U.S. state treats immigrant youth as different, the immigrant youth respond with pride by defending their cultural integrity, their right to be different. Contemporary immigrant youth also have the opportunity to maintain transnational ties with their homeland. In response to these forces and opportunities, immigrant youth maintain multiple identities, sometimes identifying with their homeland culture at other times with the United States. The unanswered question is what difference these multiple ties may make for civic engagement.     

The second generation in Spain: some reflections on the results of ILSEG study

After a brief account of the findings of the project Longitudinal Study of the Second Generation in Spain (ILSEG), an eight-year-long project which constitutes the first representative study of the outcomes of children of immigrant during their adaptation process in Spain, some reflections concerning the results are shown. Firstly, implications for second generation of significant variations at the subnational level are discussed. Secondly, in spite of the partially optimistic results based on the project ILSEG, the paper considers whether certain groups of youth who become “racialized” or “ethnified” may find their pathways to economic mobility and assimilation blocked due to discrimination     

Environmental and socio‐economic factors related to urban bird communities

Urban fauna communities may be strongly influenced by environmental and socio‐economic factors, but the relative importance of these factors is poorly known. Most research on urban fauna has been conducted in large cities and it is unclear if the patterns found in these locations coincide with those from smaller human settlements. We examined the relative importance of environmental and socio‐economic factors in explaining variation in urban bird communities across 72 neighbourhoods in 18 regional towns in south‐eastern Australia. Native bird species richness varied from 6 to 32 across neighbourhoods and was higher in neighbourhoods with more nectar‐rich plants. Variation in bird species diversity across neighbourhoods was also strongly positively related to the density of nectar‐rich plants, but was higher also in neighbourhoods with higher socio‐economic status (reflecting higher levels of disposal income, education and home ownership). The density of native birds across neighbourhoods per season varied from 1 to 15 birds per hectare and was lower in neighbourhoods with a greater cover of impervious surfaces. The density of exotic birds (introduced to Australia) per season also varied across neighbourhoods (0–13 birds per hectare) and was lower in neighbourhoods with more nectar‐rich plants and higher in neighbourhoods with greater impervious surface cover. Our results demonstrated that the vegetation characteristics of household gardens, along streetscapes and in urban parklands had a strong influence on the richness and diversity of urban bird communities. The density of native and exotic birds varied primarily in response to changes in the built environment (measured through impervious surface cover). Socio‐economic factors had relatively little direct influence on urban birds, but neighbourhood socio‐economics may influence bird communities indirectly through the positive relationship between socio‐economic status and vegetation cover recorded in our study area.     

Developing and testing a framework for the assessment of neighbourhood liveability in two contrasting countries: Iran and Estonia

A growing body of evidence indicates that the environmental quality of residential neighbourhoods has an impact on their liveability. It can be a contributory factor to the prosperity and development of cities because it reflects the real-life experiences of residents and can also affect the attractiveness of a city for well-qualified workers. A liveable neighbourhood can help to improve the quality of life of residents, which is one of the determining factors in creating a socially sustainable urban environment. This research aimed to develop a practical method for assessing the liveability of a residential neighbourhood, tested in two contrasting countries, Iran and Estonia. We developed and tested a set of criteria based on the principles and attributes of liveability obtained from the literature and we used a Delphi survey of Iranian and Estonian urban planning and design experts to identify which of the candidate criteria were most appropriate to each country together with their priority weighting. The results showed that while many of the same criteria applied to both countries, the importance of them varied, in part reflecting environmental differences such as climate and day length. The method has potential for use in the development of indicators of liveability as part of urban sustainability assessment.     

Multicultural Washington,DC: the changing social and economic landscape of a post-industrial metropolis

This article, based on a case-study of Washington, DC, presents an historical-structuralist perspective on the social, political and economic forces that underlie contemporary patterns of US metropolitan inequality. Section one explores the unique history of the DC black population- the largest US urban concentration of African Americans until World War I. Section two discusses the ascendance of Washington, DC, as the international capital of the post World War II era. This period features the rapid expansion of white suburbia together with the growth and increasing concentration of African Americans in the urban core. Section three examines Washington, DC, as an exemplar of the US post-industrial metropolis. These distinguishing characteristics include the emerging 'multicultural majority' of the central city, widening urban/suburban socioeconomic 'divide', and profound shift in immigrant settlement patterns (from city to suburbia). The findings suggest that Washington, DC, may offer instructive insights into the future of multicultural relations in post-industrial US society.     

The management of otherness beyond the state: integration policies and inclusive citizenship as a government paradigm in the Basque Country

The ethnic identity of second-generation immigrant youth has important implications for their association with, and integration in, receiving countries. This paper deals with the ethnic identity formation of second-generation Turkish immigrant youth in Germany, with particular attention paid to the notion of reactive ethnicity. While much of the literature discusses the ethnic retention of this specific group as unwillingness to integrate, this paper frames their ethnic identity formation as reactive ethnicity, which emerges in reaction to social exclusion. Utilizing a case study of Turkish students of disadvantaged schools, the article illustrates that reactive ethnicity is strongly linked to perceived discrimination and that it acquires characteristics of resistance when the dominant group denigrates and invalidates the immigrants' culture.     

Informal Mentors and Role Models in the Lives of Urban Mexican-Origin Adolescents

This article draws on a larger study investigating the social networks and help-seeking practices of Mexican-origin youth in San Diego, California. The authors present the subset of findings concerning adult, nonfamily informal mentors and role models. Using survey data, interviews, and a critical ethnographic perspective grounded in sociological theory, the article examines participating adolescents' critical understandings of these significant figures their lives, the rare and fortuitous nature of these relationships, and their empowering influence in the lives of urban, low-income, immigrant Latino youth. Linkages to social capital and developmental theories are offered.     

Socially isolated? How parents and neighbourhood adults influence youth behaviour in disadvantaged communities

William Julius Wilson’s model of adult joblessness, community disorganization and their effects on youth problem behaviour de-emphasizes the range in children’s outcomes across socially disorganized communities, and says little about the factors that influence this variation. It also does not address the processes by which family structure and relationships affect the well-being of African-American and poor youth. My work is part of a larger research agenda that has begun to address these issues by focusing on the differential rates of sexual activity among youth living in disadvantaged environments, and developing models to explain this variation. This work suggests that units of socially cohesive, stable adults exist among the social networks of successful children and families in poor neighbourhoods. It also points to the existence and functioning of alternative two-parent family structures and offers hypotheses for how family environment interacts with neighbourhood context to influence youth behaviour.     

Roma communities,urban development and social bordering in the inner city of Budapest

ABSTRACT

The paper relates intersectionality to the construction of urban borders based on a case study of Roma neighbourhoods in Budapest. In doing this the authors focus on rationales behind appropriating and demarcating urban spaces according to political, ethno-territorial and economic agendas. We are concerned with bordering as reflected in representations of neighbourhood in Budapest’s VIII District and socio-ethnic issues that have been framed in conjunction with urban development. This includes the selective ways Roma-specific issues are made visible, or in fact masked, through ostensibly “colour-blind” policies. Furthermore, we relate these representations to concrete impacts of urban renewal with regard to challenges of multi-ethnicity but also to often exclusionary practices of border-making. Indeed, while not an officially proclaimed policy, social segregation is eagerly pursued in practice. However, this is only part of the story as we can clearly identify attempts to create a sense of Roma belonging and pride.     

城市土壤质量演变及其生态环境效应

城市化是人类活动影响下自然生态系统向人工生态系统的急剧变化形式,它引起一系列生态环境条件的改变。城市对土壤资源的数量和质量产生深刻的影响,包括土壤地表封闭引起的土壤生态功能彻底消失,土壤物理性质恶化,土壤形态学特征和演变过程深受人为作用的影响。短程变异增加而总体多样性降低,土壤污染加剧,土壤养分富集等多方面,城市过程中土地利用变化对土壤产生一系列生态环境效应,如养分径流输出增加,热缓冲能力下降,污染转移危险性上升等,有必要迅速开展城市化过程中土壤质量演变及其生态环境效应的系统研究,为我国城市可持续发展提供理论依据。     

“世博”背景下上海经济与环境的耦合演化

综合运用社会经济统计与环境监测数据,揭示了"世博"背景下,上海城市内部经济发展和环境保护关系的耦合演化特征。结果发现,2002-2010年各区县经济差异明显扩大。在总体差异中,主要表现为主城区内部和郊区内部差异,主城区和郊区间的差异较小;2006年后,主城区内部差异贡献进一步增加,郊区内部差异贡献开始下降,但各区环境质量有明显改善。2006年和2010年经济环境耦合关系都满足环境库兹涅兹曲线规律,但2010年拐点处的经济水平与环境质量都明显优于2006年,各区县分布格局差异较大。研究揭示了经济结构调整与全球化、多层次城市规划体系以及世博会影响是区域经济差异及环境库兹涅茨曲线演化的主要驱动因素。建议快速发展的城市应该加速产业转型升级、发挥产业布局与城市规划作用、抓住举办城市重大活动机遇,优化经济环境耦合关系,实现城市的可持续发展。     

Ethnic identity on display: West Indian youth and the creation of ethnic boundaries in high school

The black immigrant population in New York City has grown exponentially since 1990, such that West Indians now compose the majority of the black population in several neighbourhoods. This article examines how this ethnic density manifests among youth in high school, and how it has influenced ethnic identity formation among second-generation West Indians. My findings are based on twenty-four interviews and eight months of participant observation in two Brooklyn high schools from 2003 to 2004. The results show that in both schools, Caribbean island identities have become a ‘cool’ commodity within peer groups. Further, although it was important to express pride in one's island identity, these young people often blurred their national origin boundaries by drawing on Jamaican popular culture as way of projecting a unified ‘West Indian identity’. The research also uncovers evidence of a de-stigmatization of Haitianness as a way to incorporate them as cultural insiders into the larger Caribbean collective.     

Changing bee and hoverfly pollinator assemblages along an urban-rural gradient

Background

The potential for reduced pollination ecosystem service due to global declines of bees and other pollinators is cause for considerable concern. Habitat degradation, destruction and fragmentation due to agricultural intensification have historically been the main causes of this pollinator decline. However, despite increasing and accelerating levels of global urbanization, very little research has investigated the effects of urbanization on pollinator assemblages. We assessed changes in the diversity, abundance and species composition of bee and hoverfly pollinator assemblages in urban, suburban, and rural sites across a UK city.

Methodology/Principal Findings

Bees and hoverflies were trapped and netted at 24 sites of similar habitat character (churchyards and cemeteries) that varied in position along a gradient of urbanization. Local habitat quality (altitude, shelter from wind, diversity and abundance of flowers), and the broader-scale degree of urbanization (e.g. percentage of built landscape and gardens within 100 m, 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 2.5 km of the site) were assessed for each study site. The diversity and abundance of pollinators were both significantly negatively associated with higher levels of urbanization. Assemblage composition changed along the urbanization gradient with some species positively associated with urban and suburban land-use, but more species negatively so. Pollinator assemblages were positively affected by good site habitat quality, in particular the availability of flowering plants.

Conclusions/Significance

Our results show that urban areas can support diverse pollinator assemblages, but that this capacity is strongly affected by local habitat quality. Nonetheless, in both urban and suburban areas of the city the assemblages had fewer individuals and lower diversity than similar rural habitats. The unique development histories of different urban areas, and the difficulty of assessing mobile pollinator assemblages in just part of their range, mean that complementary studies in different cities and urban habitats are required to discover if these findings are more widely applicable.     

Effects of the Positive Action Program on Indicators of Positive Youth Development Among Urban Youth

This study evaluated effects of Positive Action, a school-based social-emotional and character development intervention, on indicators of positive youth development (PYD) among a sample of low-income, ethnic minority youth attending 14 urban schools. The study used a matched-pair, cluster-randomized controlled design at the school level. A multiple-measure self-report protocol assessed four key strengths and resources for PYD: self-concept, peer affiliations, ethics, and social skills. Students (n = 1170) were assessed from grades 3 to 8; the duration of the intervention, with drop-outs and late entrants was included in analyses. Growth curve analyses revealed evidence of favorable program effects on each of the four types of resources. The study contributes to PYD research by providing evidence for school-based interventions in low-income, urban contexts for ethnic minority youth.     

Stepping beyond Sí Se Puede: Dichos as a Cultural Resource in Mother—Daughter Interaction in a Latino Family

This mother—daughter case study focuses on a key feature of discourse within a Mexican immigrant family that links oral traditions to resilience and motivation. I combine observations from a previous ethnographic study with recent follow-up interviews of a Mexican immigrant student building on a funds of knowledge framework and an ecological perspective. Expanding on current mother—daughter pedagogic theory, I map "dichos" as they are emblematic of cultural funds of knowledge and how they assume a relationship to resistance and academic attainment for a young Mexican immigrant. The findings challenge the notion that working-class Latino families do not care about the educational fortunes of their youth and lack knowledge and resources to guide their children academically.     

Successful Colonization of a Novel Urban Environment is Associated with an Urban Behavioural Syndrome in a Reed‐Nesting Waterbird

Urbanization is currently considered one of the most rapid types of global environmental change. More and more wildlife species are subject to increasing anthropogenic disturbance, but only some of them adapt to become successful urban exploiters. Although a number of fixed life history characteristics may enhance population persistence in an urbanized landscape, behavioural traits are thought to be critical for colonization of a novel urban environment. Within the class of birds, behavioural responses to urban environment have been assessed mostly for passerine species. Here, I examined behavioural alterations in a recently founded urban population of a reed‐nesting rallid species, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. I found that urban coots adapted to nest in anthropogenically transformed littoral zones with scarce or no emergent vegetation, which precluded efficient nest concealment. Despite this, urban individuals spent, on average, less time incubating due to more frequent bouts off the nest than suburban conspecifics. This pattern was likely possible due to the relaxation of predation pressure in the colonized urban environment. Urban birds were also more aggressive, approached a human intruder at the nest more closely and were more likely to actively defend their nests. Finally, they had a reduced level of physiological stress (as measured with heterophil/lymphocyte ratio) when compared with suburban individuals. In conclusion, the behaviour of coots from the recently founded urban population was consistent with behavioural syndromes found in typical urban exploiters. The results support the central role of behavioural adaptation in successful colonization of novel environments by wildlife.     

城市生态品质公众感知与现状的定量指标研究

随着国家对韧性城市和人居环境的重视,城市生态品质正在不断的提升和优化,如何对生态品质进行量化以及如何满足公众需求是当前迫切需要解决的重要问题。内蒙古自治区作为我国北方重要的生态安全屏障,各盟市的自然条件和社会经济差异巨大,城市生态品质公众感知与现状亟需系统研究。从生态资源的数量、质量和可获得性三个维度建立了评价体系,通过收集内蒙古自治区12个盟市612份满意度调查问卷、7项百度指数以及12项城市生态品质现状定量指标,系统分析了城市生态品质公众感知与现状间的差异。研究表明,问卷调查和现状结果均显示出可获得性>数量>质量,而百度指数则相反,表明当前内蒙古自治区各盟市在城市生态品质建设中更需要注重质量上的优化。研究提出了内蒙古自治区城市生态品质建设的发展方向,为公众获得感和幸福感的提升路径提供了参考。     

The impact of urbanization on taxonomic and functional similarity among bird communities

Aim To assess spatial relationships between avian community similarity and level of urbanization. We tested the following hypotheses for taxonomic similarity: Hypothesis A – the decline in taxonomic similarity with distance is stronger for the least urbanized locations compared to the most urbanized locations; Hypothesis B – the converse of Hypothesis A; and Hypothesis C – the decline in taxonomic similarity with distance is stronger for the most and least urbanized locations compared to locations with intermediate levels of urbanization. We also determined if increasing urbanization led to increased functional similarity within bird communities. Location South‐eastern Australia. Methods Bird species occurrence and density were sampled across 18 towns and 72 neighbourhoods occupying a spatial gradient of up to 882 km. We calculated pairwise values in taxonomic similarity among each town and neighbourhood using the Sørenson coefficient and a similarity measure that accounts for differences in species richness among locations. These values were plotted against pairwise distances among towns and neighbourhoods using linear regression to measure similarity–distance relationships. Neighbourhoods were categorized into four levels of urban development based on dwelling density, urban intensity, vegetation cover, or the density of native, nectar‐rich plants. Variation in bird species density across neighbourhoods and frequency of occurrence across broad habitat types (habitat specialization) was used to assess functional similarity of bird communities in each neighbourhood. Results Among the 18 towns, the decline in taxonomic similarity with distance was weak and significantly less than among regional bird communities that occurred within a 1° grid square around each town. Among the 72 neighbourhoods, similarity–distance relationships differed substantially depending on the level of urban development. Generally, the strongest decline in similarity with distance was for neighbourhoods with the highest and lowest dwelling density, urban intensity and vegetation cover, supporting Hypothesis C. The functional similarity of bird communities increased significantly with dwelling density, and decreased significantly with an increasing density of nectar plants. Main conclusions At the town level, urbanization appears to homogenize regional bird communities. Among neighbourhoods, similarity–distance relationships are substantially influenced by the level of urban development, and increasing urbanization leads to greater functional similarity within bird communities.