Socio-territorial fragmentation. A new operating logic for rural areas. The case of the Argentinian pampa. (2 tabl., 8 fig.)
The various theoretical models of spatial dynamics were created at a time when the movement of people and goods did not change whole territories. Now the massive development of transport and communications is changing the representations and the territorialities within the same local space. We are shifting from a territorial logic based on proximity to a logic that fosters networks. The rural areas of the Argentinian pampa have been so transformed by these changes, that a new model of territorial organisation is emerging-that of fragmented space.
keywords: ARGENTINA, FRAGMENTED SPACE, NETWORK, PAMPA, RURAL AREAS
A.J. CHRISTOPHER. Towards the post-apartheid city (6 tabl., 2 fig.)
Apartheid legislation was repealed in 1991 and South African cities entered a new era freed from the coercive legal constraints of the past. The structures of the apartheid city have proved to be remarkably resilient and changes in the ethnically based segregated residential patterns have been limited. Pockets of integration have been apparent, some pre-dating 1991, but significantly the central cities have been subject to transformation. The forces undermining the apartheid city are as yet weak and spatially limited, as most newly formed suburbs are essentially mono-African in character. The vast majority of South Africa's urban dwellers will continue to live within the framework established under apartheid for the foreseeable future.
keywords: APARTHEID, SOUTH AFRICA, URBAN SEGREGATION
Martin LANDRÉ. A new classification of the retail sector of Pretoria (8 tabl., 5 fig.)
A new classification of the retail sector of Pretoria.- Over the past thirty years the retail sector of Pretoria has grown considerably. It has also changed in character through the emergence of many shopping centres of different types and size. In order to be able to evaluate applications for the erection of new centres in terms of their proposed location, size and character, a new retail classification had to be created, which was not restricted to central place theory only as theoretical foundation. A large retail survey, held early in 1998, provided the data for the classification and analysis of the spatial distribution of formal retailing. For this MapInfo, a desktop mapping package, and Vertical Mapper, a spatial analysis tool, were utilised. In Pretoria retail hierarchies exist at various levels and a distinction could be made between nodes, axes and streets as well as size types of retail districts. Differences in social class and household density play an important role in the provision of shopping facilities. The most significant development is the emergence of a retail corridor in the higher income southeastern sector, which is dominated by three large reticulary collections of retail and office concentrations, whereas the CBD is increasingly oriented at lower income groups.
keywords: METHODOLOGY, RETAIL SECTOR, PRETORIA, SEGREGATION
Geograms, towards an ontology of geographical facts
Referring mainly to Leroi-Gourhan's anthropology, Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology of the body, to Plato's, Aristotle's and Heidegger's conception of place, and to Watsuji's conception of milieu, this article proposes an ontology of geographical facts. Human existence is both expressed and sustained by geograms, motifs that, at the same time, within the relationship of the ecumene, are its technical imprint and its symbolical matrix.
keywords: BEING, ECUMENE, GEOGRAM, MEANING, MILIEU
Didier MENDIBIL. An essay on geographical iconology (1 phot., 2 fig.)
To analyse geographical images, familiarity with the particularities of the iconographic system of geography is essential. Observing the levels of abstraction of perceptible reality and the effects of texts and contexts on the signification of figurative images could form the basis for a methodological approach to the iconographic strategies employed by geographers and their development over time.
keywords: GEOGRAPHY, IMAGE, METHODOLOGY, REPRESENTATIONS
Christophe BAYLE. Space versus design. Observations of the shift to negociated town planning
Thirty years after 1968, we are witnessing the end of a phase in which town planning was reduced to the values of production and repair. A new phase is now opening up with a shift to negotiated town planning and the emergence of new technologies of representation. This involves reflecting on a new theory of action, which should involve a critical approach to the definition of the town, extending back to the Renaissance conceptions of Alberti. This gives an idea of the difficulty of the change under way.
keywords: ALBERTI, DESIGN, MEDIANCE, CONCERTATION, TOWN PLANNING
Urban space and town planning in the novels of Raphaël Confiant (1 phot., 2 fig.)
The author analyses urban areas in Martinique through the works of novelist Raphaël Confiant, in whose writings the town is often the action site for the characters. This subjective description of the town allows us to know, in part, the relationship the writer himself has with the urban world, and above all, it allows us to have an almost historical and anthropological landmark for understanding the evolution of the town, based on a system of strong oppositions. These oppositions are to be found in the relationship existing between the population and the institutions of urban development, seen through the example of Morne Pichevin which was subject to a sudden urban renewal.
keywords: DISTRICT, SPACE STRUCTURE, SYSTEM OF OPPOSITIONS, URBAN DEVELOPMENT, URBAN RENEWAL, WEST INDIAN LITERATURE
Philippe CLERGEAU, Jean-Pierre MARCHAND. Change in landscape structure involve environmental problems: case of urban roosts of starlings in Brittany (3 tabl., 2 fig.)
The distribution of starling roosts have recently changed in several regions of West Europe. A research in Brittany shows a trend to increase of roost sites in the cities. An analysis conducted around Rennes, reveals potential roost sites (indeciduous hedges, waste lands) which play a role in urban colonization process by starling and may involve medical problems.
keywords: ANIMAL ECOLOGY, BIOLOGICAL RISK, LANDSCAPE, REGIONAL PLANNING, RURAL SPACE, URBAN SPACE
Sandrine GLATRON. A geographic assessment of the major technological risks. The case of storage and distribution of fuel in the Île-de-France region (4 tabl., 6 fig.)
Town planners have proposed to relocate dangerous industrial sites farther from densely built-up areas, because of the hazards these sites involve. A risk assessment, based on spatial analysis, aims to verify the validity of these proposals, by comparing the hazards of the current and proposed future locations. Regulatory town planning measures to limit construction around the hazardous sites are used to estimate damage to the potentially affected areas. A GIS proved valuable for extending the comparative method to the risks associated with flows of hazardous goods, since this aspect of the industry was shown to generate risks that could increase with greater transport distances.
keywords: GIS, HAZARDS, TOWN PLANNING POLICY, TRANSPORT, URBANISATION
Book reviews
L’espace géographique 3/99
L’espace géographique 1/00
For subscribe or buy this issue: BELIN
L’Espace géographique: contents
Last modified: December 19, 1999