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Planning struggles with the tension between professional expertise and public voice. The approaching 75th anniversary of Philip Selznick's classic, TVA and the Grass Roots, is an apt time to revisit that tension. In Selznick's analysis, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) was a modernist institution aligning with local agricultural elites at the expense of vulnerable Black and poor farmers. He coined the term 'informal co-optation' to characterize TVA's affiliation with the powerful. We bring renewed attention to informal co-optation and the institutional aspects of engagement by examining how Selznick's analysis was received contemporaneously, and then considering recent scholarship and the current implications of Selznick's work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research was conducted to determine the effect of empowerment, planning quality (KP) and apparatus performance (KA) simultaneously on regional development in the Banjarbaru City Government. This research approach uses a quantitative causal method. The data collection technique used a questionnaire. The population of this research is 103 people with random sampling technique and the research sample is 83 people. The data analysis technique used multiple linear regression analysis, F test and T test. The results obtained in the study indicate that the Empowerment of Apparatus (X1) on Regional Development (Y) sig 0.000 value. The sig value is smaller than the probability value of 0.05, or the value of 0.000 <0.05, then H1 is accepted and Ho is rejected. The variable X1 has a tcount of 4.296 with t table = 2.021. So tcount> ttable can be concluded that the variable X1 has a contribution to Y. Quality Planning (X2) on Regional Development (Y) sig 0.039. The sig value is smaller than the probability value 0.05, or the value 0.016 <0.05, then H2 is accepted and Ho is rejected. The variable X2 has a tcount of 2.590 with t table = 2.021. Apparatus Performance (X3) on Regional Development (Y) value of 0.002> 0.05, then H3 is accepted and Ho is rejected. The variable X3 has a tcount of 3,150 with ttable = 2,021. The results of the F test F count is 16,854 with a probability value (sig) = 0,000. Value of Fcount (16,854)> Ftable (3,10), and the value of sig. smaller than the probability value of 0.05 or the value of 0.000 <0.05; then H01 is accepted. Apparatus Empowerment (X1), Planning Quality (X2) and Apparatus Performance (X3), affect regional development (Y) with R Square of 0.393 = 39.3% on Regional Development, while 64.6%. The results of the dominant test of Apparatus Empowerment (X1) are more influential on regional development (Y) in the City Government of Banjarbaru with a value of 0.303 at the sig level of 0.000. So it can be explained that if the empowerment of the apparatus is good in the regions, the development of the Banjarbaru city will be even better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of regional development trend is important to regional planning and coordinated development in China. It provides a basis for decision-makings on the resource balance in multi-regional integration. However, due to the limitation of macro data and the influence of multi-regional correlation, the prediction accuracy of the existing forecasting methods in multi-regional macro-data forecasting is reduced. To overcome these problems, an improved grey model is proposed in this study. Firstly, a new spatial weight matrix is constructed based on the grey correlation analysis to define the spatial effect of multiple regions. Then, an actual-state rolling spatial-effect weighted grey model (ARSWGM) is developed considering the spatial interactions and the actual-state rolling mechanism. Finally, the proposed model is validated by the forecasting of manufacturing quality level of representative provinces in the process of regional coordinated development in China. The result shows that the proposed model demonstrates the best predicting performance compared with the classical grey forecasting models, indicating the advantages of this proposed model in multi-regional macro-data forecasting. Furthermore, this model can also be applied for a broader range of multi-regional limited macro-data forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development of a regional and local community involves setting a strategic balance among economic, social, and environmental criteria (factors) of development. Due to their large number, physical quantity variance, and incompleteness, these factors have a limited, sometimes even conflicting and ineffectual application in producing a unified effect on development. This issue becomes resolvable through a modification of factor analysis by means of combining it with multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA). The solutions thus obtained in the form of a ranking, with the top-ranked solution being the most favorable, constitute immense support for decision makers to use the proposed most favorable solution to formulate and implement their plan of development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the economic, social and political context in which a strategic collaborative project based on the Triple Helix model to boost regional development emerges. The creation of a collaborative effort between public research centers to develop supply chains for the automotive and auto parts industry is taken as an example. It is used the case of the process of creation of the Center of Innovation and Technological Transfer of Aguascalientes for the Automotive Sector (CITTAA), in Aguascalientes, Mexico. The descriptive analysis emphasizes the time it took to set up the proposal, the short duration of a six-year term for the goal of promoting regional of establishing and promoting articulated collaboration between the actors of a triple helix. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is exploratory: to illustrate the main trends in communication and amongst data users in the Nkonkobe Municipal Area, a municipal zone in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, now known as Chris Hani. Based on information collected in 2016 and 2017, the research project locates the use of both cellular phones and smartphones within a broader menu of communication devices and information retrieval in rural areas, including televisions, radios, newspapers and conventional interaction. It focuses particularly on the conditions and circumstances under which cellular phones and smartphones were used and the type of residents who were most likely to use them. Many analysts are of the opinion that cellular devices can increase communication in economically disadvantaged zones through the creation of a shared 'virtual social network' that 'levels' society, creating equal access to information. The results of this study reveal that although smartphones are widespread, these types of devices have not replaced communication via cellular phones or physical interaction. Realistically, smartphone usage is limited by cost and network coverage. For the majority of smartphone owners, connectivity is not always easy and compels movement towards regional urban centres, where data is cheaper and can be accessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the preparation and implementation of the District Medium Term Development Plans in four sub-district structures in the East Gonja District to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the planning process as established by laws and regulations. Using qualitative approaches of focus group discussions, interviews and documentary analysis the study reveals that the process of development planning was not participatory and was short-circuited. This therefore renders the District Medium Term Development Plans ineffective and less responsive to the needs of the people and/or the communities in the district. Also, the sub-district structures, though operational, were ineffective as a result of low revenue generated from the low-economic activities in the district coupled with the delay of the release of and the inadequacy of the District Assemblies Common Funds (DACF). No doubt, the challenge of resource constraint for effective planning is evident. There is therefore the need for a deliberate policy strategy towards establishing an insulated fund to support development planning at the district level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the influence of established local planning cultures and legacies on the trajectory of contemporary local development policies. Local and sub-regional planning cultures are interpreted as overall 'developmental frames' which set the context for local planning approaches both through more concrete territorial, developmental and policy forms and through cognitive structures, assumptions and values. These frames then exert significant influence on how planning policy is conceived and enacted, with potentially major implications for local development outcomes. Three illustrative case studies are presented from sub-regional growth areas in the South East of England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Educational management is mediated by educational policies, by their changes, challenges and demands and by their application in local, regional and national contexts. To achieve articulation with local development, education must be attended to in its formal, non-formal and informal spheres. Objective: Analyze the elements of non-formal and informal education that can be integrated with formal education, in an educational management that favors local development. Methods: Empirical method with the application of surveys and group meetings in Popular Councils of the provinces of Mayabeque and Havana, aimed at diagnosing the knowledge of educational management from the local perspective and the formal, non-formal and informal forms of education. Results: Educational management is seen only from school management and the role of school directors where 92% of respondents report some knowledge of formal education. 49.0% of respondents have notions of non-formal education and how they are managed from the local and only 17.8% know how educational management manifests itself in informal education. Conclusions: The integrated analysis of formal, non-formal and informal forms of education enables the continuous improvement of local educational management. The reconciliation between these, the educational needs and the local development plans, ensure the creation of multifunctional spaces of different areas of knowledge and facilitate community integration in all educational areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In South Africa, scholars and practitioners do not sufficiently appreciate the value of parks, libraries and sport and recreation facilities for uplifting lower-income areas, and are generally unaware of the subtle differences between providing these facilities in a northern country and providing them in a southern country. This paper addresses these concerns by demonstrating the importance of these facilities for developing social capital and empowering individuals and communities. It argues that the success of such facilities depends on sensitivity to the community's need for safe spaces. The paper is based on a case study of the Mahwelereng Sports Node & Library in Mokopane, Limpopo Province, using document analysis and interviews and discussions with the facility's developers, managers and users. It was found that the activities offered by the facility had boosted the local community's social capital and improved the users' health, learning and socialisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The socio‐economic dimensions of cohesion have long been considered an integral part of Europeanization. However, recently a third dimension has been added to the Europe 2020 cohesion policy debate: territorial cohesion. Consequently this term is as yet undeveloped, resulting in a lack of consensus on how to define and interpret it. Such ambiguity represents a theoretical and empirical challenge to regional actors needing to respond to European Union (EU) directives while operationalizing the concept within their national and/or regional agendas. This article uses Portugal as a case study to examine how the concept of territorial cohesion is being interpreted and transposed from EU‐based to territorial‐based instruments and policy documents. First, we conducted a qualitative content analysis (QCA) of a selection of European and regional publications to compare their intrinsic discourses. This was followed by around 60 structured qualitative interviews, conducted with leading actors who had been instrumental in writing or implementing regional policy documents. On the basis of this dual analysis we conclude that, as a whole, the writers of the Portuguese strategic documents successfully transposed this concept, although perceptible differences exist between regions, as local actors have selectively redefined it to better suit their strategic priorities. These differences are debated with the aim of contributing to the design of effective public policies that facilitate inclusion, cohesion and Europeanization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article is to analyze the participation processes of the community in the development of tourism and the repercussions that this activity has had on the locality, according to the appreciation of the members of the Communal Councils of the Carirubana Municipality of the Paraguaná Peninsula, Falcón State, in Venezuela. To this end, a descriptive study was carried out, whose methodological route was based on the use of the quantitative research approach, from which some indicators associated with the economic, social and environmental dimensions were measured. The data collection strategy corresponds to the one used in the field designs, as it was applied in an empirical context conformed by twenty-nine (29) Communal Councils. The results obtained reveal the significant importance that people in the community attach to tourism as a socio-economic activity. However, in relation to the repercussions it is considered that it generates both positive and unfavorable results. It is concluded that the participation of the communities in the planning of the tourist activity's development requires the synergy between the different local actors, which must rely on social capital and the empowerment of the community to forge consensual decision making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importance of promoting local development and the particularities of management at that level is exposed. It is based on the experience of the University Network on Management of Knowledge and Innovation for Development (GUCID) of the Ministry of Higher Education. Some ideas are identified that should not be missing in the intellectual "backpack" of the leaders committed to the complex task of local development. The main functions that municipal university centers must fulfill in order to become the driving force of local development and key allies of municipal governments are proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The idea of regional green belts in the Ruhr region (Germany) dates back to 1912, but only 60 years ago, the term regional green belt appeared in official German spatial planning, and ever since, regional green belts as a theoretical concept and a planning category form an integral part of regional planning in the area. This paper tracks back the changing concepts, functions of the regional green belts, it analyzes their present state and proposed future. From the starting point of their formal existence in the Regional Development Plan as of 1966, the original regional green belts (RGBs) significantly lost open space and consequently areas providing ecosystem services diminished. Parts of RGBs were transformed into settlement and areas for traffic and technical infrastructure, whereby the loss is spatially unevenly distributed. New delineations of the regional green belts are currently under discussion for the forthcoming regional plan. The green belts would be substantially enlarged from formerly 281 km² (1966), over 696 km² (2004) to 1103 km² by extending them into the less densely populated outer zones. In the crucial central parts of the Ruhr region, where the original RGBs are located, an ‘adaptive' reduction will take place as a sacrifice to the already happened change to urban, non-open space land cover. Open spaces will be attached to the original RGBs and form green circles surrounding the cities of the Ruhr region's core area. We assess the potential ecosystem services provision of the 23 parts of the proposed new regional green belts based on the present land cover. We criticize the planning category regional green belt as indistinct and inappropriate to express the requirements of optimal protection of areas providing ecosystem services. Regional green belts need to be better backed-up by overarching legally binding planning of built-up areas and open space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agricultural sector is an important source of economic resources for the Slovak Republic. In 2014, the contribution of the value added generated, in the primary sector, to their domestic production was 4.4% and people who lived in rural areas as percentage of the total population was 46% that year. The objective was to make a characterization of the agriculture and rural development of the Slovak Republic (1993-2014). Methodology. The economic indicators used by the World Bank in the section on agriculture and rural development were used for the characterization. Results. In the analyzed period, the value added by Slovakian worker to farming, fertilizer use and yields in cereal production were increasing over time trend; lands for agriculture, irrigated areas, the use of tractors, agricultural production, animal production and food production were decreasing over time trend. The rural population of Slovakia increased over time. The total population employed in agricultural activities was 4% in 2014. Limitations. Topics such as participation of young people in agricultural activities, migration, educational level in rural areas and actions being taken to protect the environment were lacking. Conclusions. The contribution of added value generated by Slovak agriculture will continue declining, but the added value per Slovak worker to agricultural activity will increase. The rural population will continue having a marginal rising trend and the population engaged in agricultural activities will continue declining over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: a study is carried out on the type of consumption practiced in the Metropolitan Area of Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico. In order to know if this is done in such a way those individuals may be considering their impact on the environment. Methodology: to do so, a survey of 613 citizens was carried out and the results were analyzed using statistical methods. Results: it is found that although people point out know concepts related to sustainability, they give little importance to the harm that their demand for goods and services causes to the environment. Limitations: for budgetary reasons, it has realized a representative sampling but it was not random. Conclusions: although people in their majority point out to know concepts related to sustainability, we can warn that more than reasoned these are intuitive and, overall, taught from the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. The objective was to analyze the game and strategies, established by social actors for the dispute of economic capital. This had been fundamental for the social reproduction of Unidades de Producción Familiar (UPF) (Family Production Units), and those who are part of the social field of broccoli in the localities of Los Reyes of Juarez and Palmarito Tochapa of the valley of Tepeaca, Puebla, Mexico. Methodology. The research technique of "Case Studies" was used, interviewing small producers, marketers, technicians and officials of public and private institutions. Results. Results indicate that the family production units decide to enter the game, by the struggle of economic capital, under their own risks, in which the price determined their temporary exit. About 73% of its investments are destined to the purchase of agrochemicals, causing with this high costs of production. Limitations. In the social field of broccoli the family production units are not, only limited in the sphere of export; its limitations are reflected from technical assistance, lack of economic resources for technical technological innovation and access to financial resources. Conclusion. In the social field of broccoli, the agents and the family production units operate within a territory and social space built in which establish social relations of production, coupled with the possession of a lasting network of institutional relations, which allows them to enter and leave Of the game as well as fight for economic capital. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. In order to analyze the importance of Absorption Capacity (CapAb) as a fundamental strategic variable on the competitiveness of companies belonging to the food production of the aquaculture subsector. Methodology. The CapAb, the relationships of its dimensions and the competitiveness of the shrimp aquaculture companies at northern region of Sinaloa were evaluated. For that we applied a questionnaire at 71 companies, designed to obtain information about: company profile, acquisition capacity, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of knowledge, and competitiveness. Results. Our findings indicate that there is a statistically significant positive relationship between the acquisition capacity, assimilation, transformation and exploitation of knowledge and the competitiveness of the companies studied. Limitations. The main limitation of this work was the limited size studied. Another problem related to this was the fact that research was carried out in a very specific geographical and sectorial context; it is not possible to assume any scope for the generalization of the results found here. Conclusions. We reported the empirical importance with a strong theoretical support that allows us to highlight the role played by the CapAb in relation to the performance of the studied organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this work was to analyze the main effects of migration and urban influence on the forms of acquisition and consumption of food products in two Mayan communities of Yucatan. The methodology was based on a survey by statistical sampling to heads of families following the procedure by clusters. In the results it was found that the percentage and motives of the migration were different. The type of food in the diet and its form of acquisition depend on the availability, physical access and economy of families. In addition, the milpa and backyard production systems influenced the composition of the usual diet. The main limitation is the lack of capacity of traditional agricultural systems to meet food needs, which is deepened by the gradual abandonment of primary production. It is concluded that migration, associated with urban influence, modified the family dynamics and the production of self-consumption, aspects that influenced the acquisition of food and diversity of the family diet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The status of some Short Food Supply Chains (SFSC) initiatives in Panama was studied. The aims are to identify some strengths and weaknesses and to contribute with practical lessons that will help to identify ways in which producers, consumers and the public sector can act (and interact) to promote these SFSC. The methodology consisted in the bibliographic review of cases of interest and conducted interviews. As a result, the strengths and weaknesses of the Panamanian cases studied are identified and recommendations are made. The limitations were the scarce scientific literature on this topic in Panama and the lack of records of the participants in the initiatives. In conclusion, community involvement is the main strength, while lack of adequate training is the main weakness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Till date, Nigeria can not boast of a specific, well-formulated, clear regional development policy framework despite several urban planning, development and governance initiatives including passage of regulations at both federal and state government levels that have been undertaken since independence by successive post-colonial governments. Most of the country's claims of regional development are products of other policies, and intentions, which do not have any bearing on, deliberate regional planning policies. Policy and decision-making on development planning often do not incorporate the implications of the ways in which we use land and the consequences for different places (economic planning). The neglect of place, in particular, the way that different policies combine to affect places in different ways (regional planning), has contributed to a range of negative economic, social and environmental outcomes. This paper relies mainly on the secondary data and literature exploration to demonstrate that the little role accorded to spatial planning, especially, regional planning, in the development efforts is largely responsible for the underdevelopment, imbalance, and inequalities in the country, as well as poverty of the citizens. The conclusion of the paper is that regional planning should be an integral part and complementary to economic planning in the national development planning of the country. For regional planning to aid in the development of the country and promote the well-being of the citizens, appropriate recommendations have been included in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societies are committing themselves to sustainable development by attempting to improve environmental quality, social equity, and economic welfare. As such, there continues a plea for holistic development assessment across scales; however there remains no ideal technique for achieving sustainability on neither regional nor local scale. This paper approaches this problem by constructing a multi-metric assessment system for evaluating development patterns across the Republic of Moldova. The objectives of this study were: (1) to produce a local multi-metric index that captures the three major dimensions of sustainable development for Moldova; (2) to quantitatively evaluate the interrelatedness of sub-metrics used for creating the local composite index of sustainable development; and (3) to visualize and interpret spatial patterns of sustainable development across Moldova. A local sustainable development index (LSDI) was produced using household and property composition indicators from a 2005 demographic and health survey for the Republic of Moldova. Total sample size and aggregated spatial reference was 11,066 households and 399 geographic locations, respectively. The LSDI used a 15 sub-metric optimum, equal weighting, 1–5 ordinal scale standardization, and additive construction. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient analysis was used to evaluate sub-metric quantitative relationships, and local Moran's I -test to interpret geographic patterns of sustainable development. Results revealed that a wealth sub-index had greatest collinearity with other sub-metrics. Geographically, Moldova's improved sustainability levels were found in large urban areas, suggesting needed prioritization of development resources to the hinterland. For regional sustainable development assessments, this approach provides the transferability to other locally referenced datasets throughout the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the participatory-engagement process carried out with a community of owners of land in San Cayetano, Mejía, Ecuador in the context of the construction of a new neighborhood. The process, whose unifying thread is sustainability, involves the coexistence of a private company that promotes the initiative, and the public policies that facilitate access to housing. The research demonstrates that there is an opportunity to incorporate private companies into the creation of local communities, beyond pure urban development. Likewise, the study reveals that the neighbors have difficulty transitioning from self-building and informality to formal procedures. Lastly, the potential for integrating selfbuilding into the company's business model is apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Britain is one of the few European Union member states that does not produce and maintain a strategic spatial plan at the national tier. This study concentrates on the concepts of national spatial strategic plan in England and discusses its the contents and frameworks. To make it more rational, this study also uses European comparators (the Netherlands and France) and English historical precedents to make initial suggestions for the design of a national spatial strategic plan for England. From the experience of the Netherlands and France, the paper discussed which model would be more suitable for England and each key character of these two countries' national development planning. This study then gives some discussions on the current regional development plan and local development plan system of England and the future of the national spatial strategic plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart specialisation features prominently in the European regional policy context. This paper discusses how the configuration of the regional institutional framework affects smart specialisation dynamics and policy. It elaborates why and how institutional diversity and integration promote entrepreneurial discovery processes, spillovers and agglomeration effects, and thereby structural change in regions. Policy challenges arising from the regional institutional framework are identified, discussed and related to well-researched system failures of regional innovation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A range of new spaces of English planning have emerged in recent years. One new space of clear import is the sub-region. In this paper we seek to gain a better understanding of why sub-regional spaces emerge, how they are used and how planning functions through them. Drawing upon an analysis of three English regions and interviews with actors the paper identifies four types of sub-regional planning that highlight the relationship between accountable, legally sanctioned territorial spaces on the one hand and more informal, open and strategic sub-regional spaces on the other. Sub-regional planning provides an important if not critical strategic parallel to regulatory planning though the relationship between the two is characterised by complexity, contestation, experimentation and impermanence. Among other issues raised by this contemporary reworking of planning is the emergence of an accountability gap through the uncoupling of formal democratic processes embedded within territories and the more diffuse practices of strategic plan making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the development and performance of an innovative approach to the management of transportation, land use, air quality, housing, and a variety of other regional development issues, called “blueprinting.” Blueprinting refers to a process that brings together planning experts, local political leaders, and ordinary citizens; arms them with current planning ideas about “smart growth” and data visualization tools, to develop long-range regional development plans. As such, blueprinting represents a recent manifestation of regionalist approaches to environmental policy and planning. Focusing on the Sacramento region, an early adopter of blueprint planning, we use archival data and media sources to reconstruct the development of blueprinting and then we turn to an analysis of the performance of the blueprinting approach in relation to three successive planning efforts. We find that despite the promise of blueprinting, very little progress has been made toward actually changing the regional transportation system and land use patterns. The net result of this long-term planning effort aimed at achieving sustainable transportation land use is that total CO2 emissions increase over time at historical rates. We close with a discussion of what this means for regional planning and achieving goals set by California's landmark climate change legislation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper, which is positioned in the interface of economic geography and institutional economics, studies the spatial aspect of institutions and its relevance for regional economic development in the Greater Pearl River Delta ( GPRD). The GPRD consists of Hong Kong ( HK) on the one hand, providing an advanced institutional system, and the Pearl River Delta ( PRD) in China on the other hand, with its evolving institutional setting. Despite or even because of the 'one country, two systems' situation, firms in the GPRD have become established suppliers in the electronics value chain. The paper takes up the challenge of operationalizing and empirically studying the relations of HK firms and PRD producers adapted to regionally specific institutional pattern and demand for flexibility in production using a quantitative approach based in a survey of HK electronic firms and a logit model explaining the relations between HK firms and PRD producers. The analysis reveals that in the course of time, HK firms have used different entry modes as a response to the maturity the institutional setting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Endogenous growth policy and partnership collaboration have become increasingly prevalent in the search for value creation and innovation in regional development. Little attention is, however, paid to the dynamic role of project leadership in promoting such broad partnership-based collaboration. Drawing on experiences and data from a partnership-based Regional Development Coalition in Norway (2007–2010), this inquiry seeks to fill this gap. It explores, from a project leadership viewpoint, key challenges in orchestrating and facilitating bottom-up learning processes along the horizontal dimension, and the upholding of national mandates and political visions along the vertical dimension. Based on the empirical findings, a model is developed which sheds light on the complex role of project leadership in partnership-based collaborations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The region-building process in Western Australia is examined using Paasi's theoretical framework of ‘regional institutionalisation’. The paper examines the formalisation of the regions in Western Australia from the 1940s with the first attempts to regionalise the State, through to the recent political and policy shifts. A particular focus is given to the pivotal legislation passed in 1993 which created nine Regional Development Commissions, and the implications of the post-2008 Royalties for Regions program. The discussion examines the trajectory of the Western Australia regions through the lens of Paasi's model. The paper shows that the Regional Development Commissions have had a critical role in fulfilling the different stages of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the context for and particular relations between the state and third-sector organizations in the province of Québec. A typology inspired by Coston and developed by Proulx, Bourque, and Savard is used to describe interactions between these actors. The article documents how an agreement that the private Fondation Lucie et André Chagnon signed with the Government of Québec had an impact on community organizations that respond to the social needs of vulnerable groups. A major repercussion has been the relegation of third-sector organizations to a model between subcontracting and coproductive. This is notable, as the sector had managed to establish itself as a central actor during the previous twenty years, particularly in health and social services, participating in the co-construction of public policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The last three decades have seen social enterprises in the United Kingdom pushed to the forefront of welfare delivery, workfare and areabased regeneration. For critics, this is repositioning the sector around a neoliberal politics that privileges marketization, state roll-back and disciplining community groups to become more self-reliant. Successive governments have developed bespoke products, fiscal instruments and intermediaries to enable and extend the social finance market. Such assemblages are critical to roll-out tactics, but they are also necessary and useful for more reformist understandings of economic alterity. The issue is not social finance itself but how it is used, which inevitably entangles social enterprises in a form of legitimation crises between the need to satisfy financial returns and at the same time keep community interests on board. This paper argues that social finance, how it is used, politically domesticated and achieves re-distributional outcomes is a necessary component of counter-hegemonic strategies. Such assemblages are as important to radical community development as they are to neoliberalism and the analysis concludes by highlighting the need to develop a better understanding of finance, the ethics of its use and tactical compromises in scaling it as an alternative to public and private markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Central American Strategy for Rural Territorial Development is a regional policy regarding the rural territorial development of the Central American Integration System. A group of stakeholders was interviewed in order to analyze whether its different stages have characteristics that support the implementation and achievement of its desired goals. The results indicate that the design of this policy shows positive characteristics regarding the participatory process that involves the major stakeholders. However, the situation is worse regarding the implementation, primarily because of its weak ties to integrate system institutions, lack of funding, and the low involvement of national governments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Development of information and communication technology also led to development in data visualization methods. There are many tools for monitoring of moving objects in agrarian sector, and also many different approaches on how to access and utilize location data. The suitability of given solution depends mostly on user requirements. Every user group has different demands and rights when operating software tools. The main objective of this article is to analyze different user groups and suitability of various GIS (geographic information system) for them. Three different approaches were experimentally evaluated: desktop, server and developer. Possibilities of these GIS solutions were ascertained with the target user group and required functionality in mind. Software was tested using standard movement visualization tasks, such as point location, movement paths, occurrence boundaries, and occurrence heat maps. Data used for the evaluation was procured from a long-term cooperation between Department of Information Technology and Department of Game Management and Wildlife Biology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SDI4Apps is an EU project that is building a cloud-based Geospatial Linked Open Data platform for data integration, to bridge from the top-down managed world of Geospatial Information to the bottom-up user-driven mobile world of Linked Open Data voluntary initiatives and micro SMEs developing applications using the information. To ensure its success, SDI4Apps has ensured the active participation of user communities in its co-design and validation through the implementation of 6 varied pilots involved in environmental management across Europe. Successful implementation of the SDI4Apps user communities' participation and their social validation is described in this paper. The social validation methodology has included development of specific criteria for measuring the platform's success, methods for multi-stakeholder social participation, analysis for internal and external communities and a clear set of indicators, which are now being measured during the validation process based on structured pilot scenarios. This robust stakeholders' involvement methodology, which is central to SDI4Apps, is not only generating sustainable economic returns through the interface between the users, SMEs, policy makers and scientific communities, but guarantees a solid contribution to the knowledge-driven economy and environmental management across Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exist several possible approaches to the development of mobile applications. The paper treats the options of native applications for mobile devices. It analyzes economic aspects of two approaches - native applications development with the help of tools for individual platforms (Windows Phone, Android, iOS) and native applications developed by cross-platform tools represented by the tool Xamarin. In the paper basic variables and a formula for costs calculation are defined. The conclusions show that the utilization of the cross-platform tool Xamarin can lead to significant costs reduction. However, further research is needed mainly in the area of both the complexity development by cross-platform tools and meeting the requirements on UI and UX. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper describes the goals of the Open Transport Net project in the pilot regions for regional development and the motivation to use traffic volumes in order to reach the project objectives. In the introduction, a short overview of the Open Transport Net project is provided. It is followed by descriptions of the identified problems in the pilot regions and incentives to use traffic volumes for achieving good quality results. The basics of traffic volumes as well as their visualisation are further described and demonstrated including several examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The major aim of the paper is to summarize the main paths of regional development in the Czech Republic during the period of political, economical and societal transition using the statistical data and own survey at the country level. Following this summary, we aim at differentiation of regional developmental paths at individual hierarchical levels. Our analyses shows that structured assessment of quality of socio-economic environment at the regional respectively meso-regional level provides the necessary information needed for creation and implementation of effectively decentralized regional policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In present work the author conducts a research reading of a virtuous period of the economics history of the region. The purpose is to help becoming acquainted with such process and obtaining lessons to guide future development. The analysis is based on the works by Wagemann, Astorquiza, Amunategui, Hernández, among others. The revision is conducted through focus reading of the key factors driving the peak described. The period in question shows important spaces for urban expansion, port concentration and regional integration, as a result of an interesting mixture of external demand and internal development. There converged the market opportunities, the action of the State of Chile and the active response of local business man who had a comprehensive vision of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An integrated, community-based perspective of “rural planning” is slowly emerging, and other fields, such as rural development, are showing interest. This review of over 240 references presents a current view of rural planning at this opportune time to propel the field to new heights. After summarizing literature statistics, the review synthesizes the rural planning perspective, knowledge from “rural studies,” and the practices of rural planning and development, and makes recommendations for the planning profession. Key findings include the diversity and dynamics of rural areas, advantages, and challenges of rural planning, cutting-edge techniques and designs, and the relationship with institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to enunciate those different ways of looking and perspectives that try to explain the importance of the regional dimension development into a context of global transformations of the economy, in order to understand and analyze the particular cases and processes that occur around the global regional spaces and have influence in territorial organization. For this purpose I consider as startup the structural changes of the world economical processes from the last decades of the XXth century that forced the searching of new alternatives for local and regional development with new adjusted models according to world's economical patterns. I identify two fundamental aspects of the regional economic development from these theoretical points of view: on one side, exist the importance of the territorial dimension and, on the other hand, we have the endogenous process criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]