Message of the Day

via

I wish it were as simple as that....

Urban Centrality Index (self promotion)

Good news. My paper with Monasterio, Nadalin and Albuquerque on Urban Centrality has been accepted for publication in Geographical Analysis !

Quantifying urban centrality: a simple index proposal and international comparison.

Abstract: This study introduces a new measure of urban centrality. The proposed urban centrality index (UCI) constitutes an extension to the spatial separation index (Midelfart-Knarvik et al., 2000). Urban structure should be more accurately analyzed when considering a centrality scale (varying from extreme monocentricity to extreme polycentricity) rather than being considered as a binary variable (monocentric or polycentric). The proposed index controls for differences in size and shape of the geographic areas for which data are available, and can be calculated using different variables such as employment and population densities or trip generation rates. The properties of the index are illustrated with simulated artificial datasets and compared to other similar measures proposed in the previous literature. Then the index is applied to the urban structure of four different metropolitan areas: Pittsburgh and Los Angeles in the United States; São Paulo, Brazil; and, Paris, France. The index is compared to other traditional spatial agglomeration measures, such as global and local Moran’s I, and density gradient estimations.

The working paper version is available here or here in Portuguese.

One Hundred Years of Land Values

Gabriel Ahlfeldt (LSE) presents at the Lincoln Institute his project on digitizing data from the Olcott's land values blue book of Chicago. The Olcott's Blue Books (under public domain) bring a unique dataset of historical land values, land uses, building heights, and other information in Chicago and its suburbs, published annually between 1900 and 1990 (!)

You can  get green with envy and  watch the presentation here.

Densification vs. De-densification of Manhattan

This map (posted at Urbanization Project) compares census tract densities in Manhattan between 1910 and 2010 (via Aaron M. Renn from Urbanophile). And some people think Manhattan is too dense now.

Of course it was totally different times (i.e. smaller car fleet and less transportation infrastructure).

Assorted Links

1. Demographic data about African countries (via @demotrends)
   
2. Assistant Professor in Demography and Public Affairs Position at Princeton University
   
3. Fertility decline and income inequality (via John Weeks )
   
4. Incentives: Prizes ou Grants?
   
5. Global Warming and the Political Economy of Cities, by Saskia Sassen
   
6. Want a Job? Go to College, and Don’t Major in Architecture
   
7. A Master List of 500 Free Courses From Great Universities

P&E: special issue dedicated to the memory of Daniel Hogan

The latest issue of the Population and Environment journal is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Daniel Joseph Hogan, who passed away in 2010. I had the honor to have him as my advisor throughout my Masters and I was glad to read the Introduction to this latest issue. It gives us a more broad perspective on the wide contribution Daniel made to field and to Brazilian social science.

     "The relationship between population and environment goes to the heart of social dynamics. The field encompasses considerations of equality and equity in light of environmental risks and vulnerabilities. Studies of population–environment dynamics also illuminate how humanity can face new risks. Daniel believed that the study of population and environment relationships could help point the way from the largely negative realm of risks and vulnerabilities to new forms of social organization characterized by greater respect for both the natural world and humanity. It is with this spirit that we dedicate this collection to the memory of Professor Daniel Hogan."

godspeed!

Cities with the fastest growing populations

[Image Credit: The Economist]

Labour productivity vs Demographics

A very interesting article on Labour productivity vs demographics comparing Japan, USA and  Euro area ( via Bernardo L Queiroz).  It is based on a study by Nathan Sheets and Robert Sockin (I wish I had access to it!)

The NYT has also published a few words on this topic suggesting that "demographics are an important reason that the American economy has slowed but only one part of a much bigger story".

[Click on the image to enlarge it]

(Image Credit: FT Alphaville)

Opportunities

• Lecturer in Global Urbanism - Newcastle University
  
  
• Assistant Professor in Urban Sociology - University of Michigan
  
  
• Winter School in Fundamentals and Methods for Impact Evaluation in Population Studies (IEPS) - Università degli Studi di Padova
  
  
• Two fellowships for researchers to visit the Lemann Center - Stanford University

2012 World Population Data Sheet

Here is the Webinar Presentation on the Population Reference Bureau’s (PRB) 2012 World Population Data Sheet. This year, the report focuses on three main topics: (1) aging developed countries, (2) rapid population growth in less developed countries and (3) epidemiological transition - i.e. the increased global prevalence of non-communicable diseases.

 They have also prepared this interactive map that you can take a look  play with  by clicking here.

Urban Picture

Sao Paulo, by Fernando Stankuns

Soundtrack: Criolo

Replay: The rise and fall of Urban Sociology (?)

Google has scanned 15 million books originally published from 1800 on. And they have also developed the Google Books Ngram Viewer. It's a tool that charts the usage of any word over time in literature and other books (Google books database). One could irresponsibly use it as a proxy for the popularity of words in literature. And I did!

This chart above shows how often "Urban Sociology" has appeared in the literature (Google database - english literature only) since 1800. It looks to me that the Chicago School have had played an important role in the rising 'popularity' of Urban Sociology*. And it looks that Urban Sociology is not as 'popular' as it used to be....

*obviously, it would be necessary to scrutinize other keywords to conclude this (such as the major researchers in the first Chicago School)

And here are some queries of other keywords of interest:

• Aging Population; Demographic Transition; Demography related words; urban mobility, housing bubble, 'Great Cities' as urban hierarchy (?), Space Syntax, GIS, urban, regional and environmental studies, urban and rural, etc.

And my favorites:

Traffic Jam:

Urban sprawl, compact city, smart city, smart growth, compact growth, New Urbanism.

Thanks Vinicius Netto for the tip!

(1972) Olympic Moment of the Day

via Uhull

I mean, that's just...

Assorted Links

1. Brazil facts (via MR)
   
2. The Geography of James Bond
   
3. 10 cities where homes cost less than a car (via The Drunkeynesian)
   
4. Seven Minutes of Terror, or how hard it was to land on Mars
   
5. book: Megacities: Urban Form, Governance, and Sustainability
   
6. The new Schwartnegger Institute on State and Global Policy. (via Lisa Schweitzer) Funny to know that he is 'concerned with the future'.
   
7. Child mortality in Africa

[Click on the image to enlarge it]

[Image Credit: The Economist]

China’s One-Child Policy

Gary Becker and Richard Posner discussing China’s One-Child Policy. 

This worths the read!

Global Labor Force

The McKinsey Global Institute has published a comprehensive report on global labor market and labor force supply. It includes a forecast of labor force supply and demand through 2030 and tackles several issues such as labor productivity,  population aging and educational attainment. (ht Fabiano Pompermayer)

No blue skies for Brazil.

[Click on the image to enlarge it]

[Source: McKinsey Global Institute]

Related Links:

• You may listen to a 8-minute summary of the report here.
  
• A brief paper we have published this year analysing labor force perspectives in Brazil [in Portuguese only]
  
• Interactive chart showing the distribution of different 'analytical talents' among industry groups in the US - Talent Gap by McKinsey 

Message of the Day

via 'Tudo ao mesmo tempo agora'

The world's shifting centre of gravity

Few weeks ago, The Economist magazine published a short piece on the world's shifting centre of gravity*. The map is based on this study by the McKinsey Global Institute.

According to the study, "the centre is rapidly shifting east—at a speed of 140 kilometres a year and thus faster than ever before in human history". As you have already guessed, the main reason for this is rapid urbanisation in developing countries, in particular China.

*The global center of gravity is calculated weighting the approximate centre of landmass of the world by countries' GDPs.

Related Post:

• The (US) National Mean Center of Population

Assorted Links

1. Future of Geospatial Technology According to Google
   
   
2. Satellite View of City Growth, in GIFs (HT Leo)
   
   
3. What Went Wrong in Bolivia’s Water Sector?
   
   
4. Moscow in the 1930s (via PD Smith)
   
   
5. The Slime Mold strikes again!  now in Tokyo
   
   
6. A tube map of life expectancy
   
   
7. How the West Was Lost By Native Americans (via Eddie)