T. Baycan

Diversity in Entrepreneurship: Ethnic and Female Roles in Urban Economic Life

The aim of this paper is to investigate the phenomenon of ethnic female entrepreneurship in urban economic life. The focus of the research is on the attitudes and behaviour of Turkish female entrepreneurs in Amsterdam. The main question we pose is: Are ethnic female entrepreneurs special ethnic entrepreneurs or special female entrepreneurs? This paper provides an answer to this question on the basis of field surveys. The results of the case study research on Turkish female entrepreneurs in Amsterdam show that the “ethnic female profile” is a “special female profile” and that Turkish female entrepreneurs are “special female entrepreneurs”, particularly in terms of their personal and business characteristics, and their driving forces and motivations. They appear to combine their ethnic opportunities with their personal characteristics (and other opportunities) in the urban market, and to perform successfully. This is also due to the fact that they have become service providers for not only their own ethnic groups, but also for other groups in the city.

Critical success factors in planning and management of urban green spaces in Europe

This paper offers a statistical analysis of the importance of urban green areas as critical constituents of sustainability policy of cities. Special attention is given to the background conditions and factors that are responsible for effective urban green space planning. Based on a systematic extensive database on relevant attributes of urban green in 23 European cities, our study aims to assess performance indicators for the effective provision and maintenance of green spaces in these cities. By using multivariate statistical analyses, we provide an operational framework for quantitative comparative study of such green spaces. Based on this comparative analysis, we derive transferable policy lessons on sustainable urban green spaces, in particular regarding the need for effective institutional support systems and the need for tailor-made flanking financial mechanisms for green space policy.

A socio-economic impact analysis of urban cultural diversity: pathways and horizons

During the last few decades the world has experienced an unprecedented level of cross-border migration. While this has generated significant socio-economic gains for host countries, as well as sometimes for the countries of origin, the costs and benefits involved are unevenly distributed. Consequently, growing global population mobility is a hotly debated topic, both in the political arena and by the general public. Amidst a plethora of facts, opinions and emotions, the assessment of migration impacts must be grounded in a solid scientific evidence base. This analytical book outlines and applies a range of the scientific methods that are currently available in migration impact assessment (MIA). The book provides various North American and European case studies that quantify socio-economic consequences of migration for host societies and for immigrants themselves.

Rethinking on Sustainable Rural Development

Abstract In many countries, rural areas have shown a new spatial-economic dynamics that have meant a contrast with the traditional urban-rural dichotomy. In particular, the need to use economic-ecological sustainability as a guiding principle for new rural development is a prominent feature. But how will rural areas, sometimes suffering from lack of economic development, peripheral positions and relatively low social well-being be able to face new challenges? Can they be attractive, innovative and developed (“hot spots”) while maintaining their sustainability and continuity? This question was the background in conducting our research. Hence, this study aims to answer this question in three steps, namely (i) offering a contemporary overview, (ii) identifying the critical factors for and (iii) developing a set of sustainable development scenarios. In order to reach our aims, we applied the so-called pentagon model and used multi-criteria analysis, namely regime analysis. The data and information deployed in this study were obtained from field surveys conducted in 60 European and 17 Turkish rural areas. The results show that future choices are different among rural users and between European and Turkish villages. European users seem more consistent about their future and their will while the will of Turkish villages are still more concentrated on economic development rather than sustainable development itself.

Creative capacity for sustainable development: a comparative analysis of the European and Turkish rural regions

Creative capacity in the field of regional sciences means the capability of any region to generate knowledge and thus to achieve innovation and the diffusion of the output of the innovative activity while obtaining the viability and sustainability of this process. Although creative capacity studies mainly focus on urban regions, the late rural studies and empirical evidences showed that rural region has a great potential capacity in terms of its five components viz. knowledge; innovation; entrepreneurship; creativity; and networks. But, these opportunities have shown by a rural specific approach rather than an urban approach. On this basis, by taking into consideration these discussions in the literature, we assume that the rural creative capacity can be evaluated by the recent changes in rural regions that show the capability of rural regions to exploit its knowledge as an output. On this purpose, in this study, we aim to evaluate which component is relatively important to identify the level of rural creative capacity. Therefore, the study focuses on 60 villages from Europe and 17 villages from Turkey by deploying the data obtained from the in-depth questionnaires. This study is a first attempt at settlement level with an optimistic approach to measure the opportunities lying at the heart of rural regions. The results of the study showed that creativity in terms of traditions is the most important component in both cases while European villages have more opportunities and do not have the latent rural problems while Turkish villages are still suffering from the well-known rural problems that their capacity exists but it is very limited.

Istanbul’s Vulnerability to Climate Change: An Urban Sectors’ Based Assessment

Istanbul is a center of national and international trade, culture and tourism. Istanbul with its high population, migration rate, being economic and cultural center plays an important role in adaptation and mitigation to climate change effects. Any climate based adverse impact to Istanbul would be destructive for both the city and Turkey. For the sustainability of vital economic, social activities, increasing the resilience of the city is essential. Although Istanbul has an advantage with its economic and social structure, it is highly vulnerable to any destructive external stresses. This study aims to investigate the vulnerability of 11 selected sectors on climate change including health, water resources, energy, transportation, agriculture, public safety, land use and development, materials, infrastructure, ecology and biodiversity and culture of Istanbul. These sectors are examined in 25 selected planning areas with regard to Istanbul’s sectorial development strategies. Those sectors and planning areas may be affected by climate change and critical to health of citizens and the economic viability of the city. Vulnerability assessment defined by ICLEI in the publication of “Preparing for Climate Change; A Guidebook for Local, Regional and State Governments” is deployed as a framework in order to measure the vulnerability of the selected sectors. Using the multi-dimensional methodology, the study aims to develop a vulnerability index and aims to rank the sectors according to their index values. The results of the study reveal the most vulnerable sectors of climate change in Istanbul that address the pathways for the future resilience studies.

Spatial Spillovers Revisited: Innovation, Human Capital and Local Dynamics

This symposium focuses on understanding key territorial-level innovation trends and processes by country, region and technology. It questions various widely accepted assumptions, offers fresh perspectives, both conceptually and methodologically, and challenges a paradigm shift in the field of innovation and spatial dynamics. It consists of three articles analysing at different scales (urban, regional and national) the territorial dynamics of innovation and their determinants. The innovation process, with local symbiosis and spatial spillovers at its core, is analysed within the conceptual framework of national and regional innovation systems and regional economic development. Based on a discussion of spatial spillovers and the way they shape the evolutionary and symbiotic relationships between local agents and actors, including university, industry and local development agencies, the symposium highlights the relevance of this framework for a better understanding of the transformation of local economic development processes. It investigates the differences in the geography of innovation regarding different institutional settings, different systems of innovation, and different national innovation strategies. While addressing mainly the EU, the US, and emerging countries such as China and India, the contributions also highlight the critical role of current innovation policies from a general perspective. In so doing, the symposium recognizes a contrarian perspective that argues that contemporary information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide a way to leapfrog the dominant role of proximity in innovation processes, creating a complimentary rather than a substitution effect for more remote and peripheral places. That said, this symposium focuses primarily on an urban network view of the innovation process and proximal effects in this context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]