Markus Hesse

Shipping news: the implications of electronic commerce for logistics and freight transport

The paper considers the significance of electronic commerce (e-commerce) for freight transport, logistics and physical distribution, regarding both business to business and business to consumer commerce. The possible implications of e-commerce are analysed in the broader context of structural change, going beyond narrow assessments that overstate the significance of e-commerce and its potential to make freight traffic more efficient. The main argument of the paper is threefold: first, most recent analyses of freight transport and logistics implications of e-commerce are overstating the current relevance of e-commerce applications on the one hand, and neglecting the influence of the underlying structural change in the entire logistics system on the other. Second, conventional analyses of certain efficiency benefits of e-commerce are probably too optimistic, whereas its negative effects are underestimated at the same time. E-commerce is likely to support longer transport distances and often higher delivery frequencies, increasing demand for land, due to the establishment of new transhipment points (distribution centres) and, to a certain extent, a shift towards truck and air freight transport modes. Third, e-commerce and IT are interrelated components of the structural change in distribution. They affect the environment in terms of vehicle miles, related emissions and energy consumption, by speeding up the time and increasing the geographic area of transport operations. Whether e-commerce contributes to a more efficient distribution system or not very much depends on particular regional circumstances, such as consumer habits, delivery modes and population density. Overall, there is some evidence that e-commerce is likely to reinforce longstanding trends of transport growth, rather than breaking them. Future research should investigate e-commerce more comprehensively, in relation to the entire distribution system and to its application in firms and households. This would also be more useful for dealing with a generic property of modern economy and society: increasing demand for flexibility, speed and mobility.

Logistics and freight transport policy in urban areas: a case study of Berlin‐Brandenburg/Germany

The Berlin‐Brandenburg Region has undergone profound transformations since 1990. Due to structural change, economic recovery and construction activity, urban and regional development was accompanied by a high volume of freight traffic. Hence strategic answers were developed by policy and planning. They comprise the establishment of suburban freight centres, local delivery improvements, and specified construction logistics. Despite a broad practical experience, concrete effects in terms of significant transport shifts or environmental benefits seem to be limited. In this context, the paper assesses the Berlin‐Brandenburg freight approach. It also discusses general limitations for regional logistics strategies, and possible consequences for policy and planning.

StadtLeben - Wohnen, Mobilität und Lebensstil : neue Perspektiven für Raum- und Verkehrsentwicklung / Klaus J. Beckmann ... (Hrsg.)

Dieses Buch handelt von den wechselseitigen Zusammenhaengen zwischen Wohnstandortwahl und Alltagsmobilitaet im Kontext des sozialen und stadtraeumlichen Wandels. Aufbauend auf einem theoriegeleiteten Erklaerungsansatz werden empirische Befunde zu zehn Gebieten aus der Region Koeln vorgestellt. Grundlegende These ist, dass Personengruppen unterschiedlicher Lebenslagen und Lebensstile und in verschiedenen Gebieten spezifische Mobilitaetsformen aufweisen. Vor diesem Hintergrund entsteht das Bild einer sozial, raeumlich und zeitlich differenzierten Stadtregion, aus dem zahlreiche Vorschlaege fuer die Planungspraxis abgeleitet werden.

Reurbanisierung?@@@Reurbanisation?: Urbane Diskurse, Deutungskonkurrenzen, konzeptuelle Konfusion@@@Urban discourses, conflicting interpretations, conceptual confusion

The paper deals with the subject of urban and spatial development from the perspective of discourse analysis. It aims at reconstructing the manifold discoursive ways in which urban decline and regeneration are being interpreted. In so doing, it looks at the current issue of „urban renaissance”, which is considered by some observers as an indication of a substantial trend towards „reurbanization”. The particular statement of the paper is that related assessments are not supported by significant evidence yet. Rather, they appear as an outcome of urban discourses. Such discourses are considered a specific way of constructing the city. In this context, the paper pleas for a more theory led interpretation and cautious assessments of contemporary urban change.KurzfassungDer Beitrag widmet sich der Stadt- und Raumentwicklung aus einer diskursanalytischen Perspektive. Dabei geht es um den Nachvollzug der diskursiven Verarbeitung von städtischen Krisen und städtischer Erneuerung. Anlass hierfür ist die aktuell diskutierte „Renaissance der Stadt”, die von einigen Beobachtern bereits in Richtung einer „Reurbanisierung” interpretiert wird. Die These dieses Beitrags ist, dass solche Bewertungen weniger auf entsprechenden materiellen Entwicklungen der Städte beruhen, sondern Ausdruck urbaner Diskurse sind. Diese Diskurse werden als Sprachspiel, als spezifische Art der Konstruktion von Stadt aufgefasst und kritisch hinterfragt. Der Beitrag plädiert für eine theoriegeleitete Interpretation und eine vorsichtigere Bewertung des aktuellen städtischen Wandels.AbstractThe paper deals with the subject of urban and spatial development from the perspective of discourse analysis. It aims at reconstructing the manifold discoursive ways in which urban decline and regeneration are being interpreted. In so doing, it looks at the current issue of „urban renaissance”, which is considered by some observers as an indication of a substantial trend towards „reurbanization”. The particular statement of the paper is that related assessments are not supported by significant evidence yet. Rather, they appear as an outcome of urban discourses. Such discourses are considered a specific way of constructing the city. In this context, the paper pleas for a more theory led interpretation and cautious assessments of contemporary urban change.

Reurbanisierung oder Metropolisierung

Abstract This paper aims at theorizing and conceptualizing the current debate of re-urbanization in Germany. By taking the stage-model of urbanization by van den Berg et al. (1982) as a starting point, the paper seeks for identifying the rationale, justification and driving forces of re-urbanization discourses, in order to test the underlying arguments. It critically discusses the use of re-urbanization as an apparently generic pattern of interpretation for most recent urban developments in Germany. In contrast to such assumptions, the paper considers core urban areas being subject to processes of “metropolization”, that is, the spatially selective, highly fragmented localization of metropolitan functions in specific locales. As a result, large urban regions are increasingly characterized both by their inclusion in transnational networks and relationships and also by the emergence of polycentric spatial structures. Thus the paper may contribute to a more appropriate understanding of the meanings of “reurb...

On borrowed size, flawed urbanisation and emerging enclave spaces: The exceptional urbanism of Luxembourg, Luxembourg

This paper investigates the development trajectory and spatial governance practices in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a small but affluent, rapidly developing member state of the European Union. Against the background of globalisation and its urban impact (particularly concerning smaller or emerging metropolitan areas), the paper aims at reconstructing the Luxembourgian urban development trajectory, which is characterised by continuous population growth and successful attraction of global services and financial industries in a rather unique context of the niche sovereignty politics of the small state/small city. The paper also presents a carefully balanced critique of governance practices that seeks to implement integrative strategies in a rather fragmented setting of development, policy and regulation. In so doing, the paper situates this specific case of urbanisation in the context of current paths and narratives of development, particularly with respect to the emergence of global ‘enclave spaces’ and the way these are becoming nested into broader network constellations. The paper also discusses possible consequences for both governance practices and comparative urban studies.

Mobilität und Verkehr im suburbanen Kontext

Stadtforschung und Verkehrsplanung erklaren das Verkehrswachstum im Kontext der Suburbanisierung ganz wesentlich aus der siedlungsstrukturellen Entwicklung. Danach erzeugt Suburbanisierung mehr Verkehr infolge steigender Distanzen und disperser Strukturen. Sie wird insofern kritisch bewertet. In der Annahme einer sehr weitgehenden Ubereinstimmung von Siedlungsraum und Aktionsraum wird als Ausweg aus der Verkehrsspirale ein Stopp der Suburbanisierung und eine Orientierung an kernstadtischen Siedlungsstrukturen gefordert. Unbestritten ist, dass raumliche Mobilitat und Verkehr in enger Wechselbeziehung zum Siedlungsraum stehen. Deshalb werden sie hier auch im gemeinsamen Kontext analysiert. Der konzeptionelle Rekurs auf die kompakte Stadt wird jedoch in Frage gestellt, vor allem aufgrund veranderter siedlungsraumlicher und gesellschaftlicher Randbedingungen. Diese sind gepragt durch ausgedehnte individuelle Aktionsraume in Folge stark erweiterter Wahlmoglichkeiten, ein mehrdimensionales, nicht mehr nur siedlungsstrukturell geformtes Mobilitatshandeln sowie die Anreicherung und Ausreifung des suburbanen Raums im stadtregionalen Gefuge. Ein Konzept fur die suburbane Mobilitat erfordert insofern einen Perspektivwechsel, insbesondere eine an diesen Raumtyp angepasste, flexible Mobilitatsorganisation. Auserdem wird eine Ausreifung Suburbias auch als Option fur mehr raumzeitliche Autonomie und damit hohere Effizienz betrachtet. Ohne den Einsatz ubergeordneter Instrumente wird das suburbane Verkehrsproblem aber nicht losbar sein. Dazu bedarf es einer erganzenden okonomischen Steuerung.

Das «Kirchberg-Syndrom»: grosse Projekte im kleinen Land: Bauen und Planen in Luxemburg

The paper deals with planning strategies and building practices in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, particularly in its capital, Luxembourg City, which is a small but highly internationalized metropolis. The main goal of the paper is to reconstruct local planning trajectories, starting with the 1960s urban extension of the European quarter and banking district of the Kirchberg Plateau. Since then, spatial planning in city and country seem to favor relatively large-scale projects, considered as drivers of both economic growth and apparently sustainable patterns of spatial development. This particular style of planning and policy-making has been coined the Kirchberg Syndrome. However, the tendency to favor big projects (of which the new, €1 billion university campus/ science district in Esch-Belval is the most recent incarnation) faces serious problems, such as the dominance of office space, a lack of urban integration, and the high risks of financing and implementation. It also happens in a fragmented, intricate environment of urban policy, characterized by small towns and municipalities, limited public planning capabilities and a rather recent tradition – and thus limited acceptance – of planning, policy and regulation. This rather specific “exceptional urbanism” of Luxembourg does not fit in with contemporary planning theories. It can only be understood against the contradictory background of rapid development dynamics, unusually “thick” ways of decision-making and international policy mobilities. English Title: The Kirchberg Syndrome: LargeScale Projects in a Small Country – On building and planning policies in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg

Retheorizing urban geography: mutual relationships between English- and German-speaking communities

This paper takes a comparative look at urban geography in the German- and English-speaking academic communities, based on a critical reflection of publication activities, sub-disciplinary discourses and conceptual developments. It is argued that Anglophone discourses tend to embed urban research into a broad range of conceptual and theoretical frameworks, whereas many writings in German-speaking urban geography are committed to pursuing empirical studies and applied research, thereby producing planning studies and policy recommendations; only recently, studies inspired by the cultural turn have evolved that are also addressing urban topics. In both language communities, a certain body of geographical work can be detected that deals with core urban themes without evolving from a distinct ‘urban geography’ community. In this context, a mutual trans-national dialogue between cultural, social and urban geographies is considered helpful for better linking the two different language and academic communities. Accordingly, the paper provides suggestions on how to reconceptualize urban geography at the intersections of recent debates in both language contexts by highlighting specific theoretical approaches, policy linkages and methodologies.

Suburbanisation, Suburbia and “Zwischenstadt”: Perspectives of Research and Policy

Theoretic discourses and empirical findings related to the process of suburbanisation and the resulting spatial category of suburbia have long been dominated by critical assessments of metropolitan growth, the decline of inner cities and associated problems (with regard to land use, transport, tax distribution). More recently, following the rising significance of sub- and exurban development in North America as well as in Europe, research and planning attitudes towards suburbia have become more pluralistic. It is now more acknowledged that edge urban developments represent a legitimate component of the urban fabric.