International Comparative Analysis - Essay Example

International Comparative Analysis (Urban Regeneration) 03 December Introduction When policy planners are faced with an intractable problem and reach a dilemma as to what further steps to take, the best approach is make an international comparative analysis. It is highly recommended because doing it (cross-national comparative analysis) will provide a good opportunity for testing both theories and policies being implemented so far with little or no affect and so a new approach is necessary (Masser & Williams, 1986:147). A comparative analysis will allow for an honest evaluation of what went wrong with previous policies and a new insight derived from other countries’ experience can guide the way for the planners. Real value of using international comparative analysis will help generate new ideas that may work and at the same time learn from their experience (avoiding earlier but costly mistakes). In this regard, international comparative analysis is highly relevant in today’s growth-oriented societies in which problems can crop up when large concentrations of people are put within a relatively small area such as in highly-urbanized cities of the developing countries. In particular, urbanization continues to pose serious challenges to country planners who have to contend with limited and finite resources while populations continue to expand. The whole idea is to utilize the lessons learned from previous similar experiences and take out the best in them and apply these in future planning policies which deal with the same issues. Theories are the basis for planning policy instruments in one country and may work equally well in another country facing the same problems. This paper discusses some approaches applied to the urban renewal efforts of cities suffering urban decay. Data gathered from other countries can unite these cities (Niessen & Peschar, 1982:27). This paper discusses how such analysis can work. Discussion The United Nations estimates about a billion people already live in urban areas but in unsanitary and unhealthy conditions in city slums with another two billion living in urbanized cities. Almost anywhere in the world today, the pattern of migration is towards the big cities. It is rarely observed that internal migration goes in the reverse direction. Besides the attraction of viable jobs and other income-generating opportunities, urbanization patterns are influenced by other factors such as the geography of markets, location of travel routes and demographic growth rates between urban and rural populations (Bilsborrow, 1998:393). Internal migration and urbanization are two of the most important factors for socio-economic development but it also posed serious challenges for country planners. Almost all countries experience an internal transformation due to this phenomenon of mass movement of people. Economic development varies by country and by region. In this aspect, some countries had seen and experienced urbanization trend several decades ago and situations like these are quite prevalent in certain areas of Europe which had first undergone the Industrial Revolution. Massive amounts of capital to put up manufacturing facilities in the known big cities also led to the types of problems experienced today by other countries such as slums and populations bursting at the seams which require plenty of government resources to deal with. The theories from comparative analysis are useful when explaining new patterns of spatial development, like uneven or unequal development such as the new poly-centric patterns of urban growth. Previously, international comparative analysis earned a poor reputation among social and urban planners because it tended to lack any range and depth when it comes to important variables useful in scientific research studies (Smith, 2000:231). Being overly descriptive and lacking cross-sectional micro-data, this type of research methodology has lately acquired new reputation because country planners now realize it is useful for testing important policies that are in common with other countries and observe the effects and select those which are useful. When businesses grow, these organizations sometimes move to other areas which are more convenient for them in terms of location and comparative advantages. When planning to revitalize a decayed urban centre, it is crucial to realize there are similarities and differences between cities. In particular, several factors influence the potentials for success at attempts of revitalization including geographical location, economic circumstances, the causes of urban change and the reason for the decline. It is important to note that in some cities, there is a rare chance to sweep everything away and start anew. In some instances, it is better to keep an old heritage (Couch et al., 2003:166). The practical application of comparative analysis is to learn from the de-industrialisation taking place in cities like London and New York and apply them to waves of industrialisation taking place in China and the Asia-Pacific (Brenner & Keil 137). A good example at urban renewal is the city of Belfast in Ireland. Originally, it was a small town but its population grew rapidly as a result of 19th century industrialisation. Its rate of growth was very rapid due to the sudden influx of mostly Catholic rural workers and so the character of the town changed from being Protestant to being Catholic. Besides the political, religious and ethnic contexts, Belfast changed also due to other factors like the increased use of cars which allowed longer commutes, inner-city development and a rise of private housing. (ibid.:72). However, the most potent policy tool used by planners is a Regional Development Strategy aimed at maintaining the current population levels while encouraging out-migration. This is a stunning turnaround when considering Belfast was the site of the first-ever export processing zone in the world (at an old airport) although its industrial base today is weak. Other countries can learn from the experiences of English cities such as Liverpool and Glasgow which experienced “inner-city” problems which are observed to be areas which had suffered increased big concentrations of deprivation in terms of jobs, amenities and resources. The British adopted a policy of urban renewal based on several approaches which initially had seen urban decay as the result of racial tensions, then later viewed as law-and-order problem. The new paradigm views urban decay as the result of unmet social needs (McCarthy, 2007:27). Of greater significance to urban planners is private-sector and government-led joint efforts at collaboration by using a property-sector revival approach that utilizes improvements in the environment to attract new business locators as well as improve the housing sector. The emerging mega-cities of the world like Tokyo, Mexico City, Shanghai, New Delhi and Manila can learn a few lessons from the European experience and avoid their mistakes and pitfalls. A new concept in urban policy planning is the emphasis on keeping the environment as pristine as possible but with an eye towards sustainability for future generations (communities.gov.uk, 2010:1). Because of this, English cities are experiencing an economic renaissance or rebirth. Conclusion Theoretical and practical applications of international comparative analysis will guide city planners when drafting country policies for development. It will let them maximize all the resources and avoid the mistakes of the past because it is very hard to undo them. Successful attempts at urban renewal use the twin policies of stopping this flow of people migrating from the countryside and at the same encourage out-migration whenever possible and then hold the population at current levels where it is sustainable. Globalisation and outsourcing encouraged the growth of cities but this new growth is now information-based instead of the usual heavy industries (Booth, 2007:14) except in Red China’s export-led manufacturing sector. Big cities with large slum populations with high levels of poverty need to change their policies to eradicate poverty (Murtazashvili 548) by empowering the people. An interesting use of international comparative analysis will be determining which of the two largest nations in the world can pull off an economic miracle. India will soon overtake China in terms of population by the year 2030 (India will be 1.593 billion people with China at mere 1.392 billion) but it will be a study in contrasts. India pursues economic development with societal freedoms and creativity while China is politically authoritarian (Vittachi 1). References Bilsborrow, R. E. (1998) Migration, Urbanization and Development: New Directions and Issues. Norwell, MA, USA: Kluwer Academic Publishers Group. Brenner, Neil and Roger Keil. (2006) The Global Cities Reader. Oxon, UK: Routledge. Booth, P. (2007) Spatial Planning Systems of Britain and France: A Comparative Analysis. Oxon, UK: Taylor & Francis. Communities.gov.uk (2010) Planning, Building and the Environment. [on-line]. Available at: http://www.communities.gov.uk/planningandbuilding/planningenvironment/ [Accessed 30 Nov. 2010]. Couch, C., Fraser, C. & Percy, S. (2003) Urban Regeneration in Europe. Malden, MA, USA: Wiley-Blackwell. Masser, I. and Williams, R. H. (1986) Learning from Other Countries: The Cross- National Dimension in Urban Policy-making. Norwich, UK: Geo Books. McCarthy, J. (2007) Partnership, Collaborative Planning and Urban Regeneration. Hampshire, England, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited. Murtazashvili, J. B. (2010) Changing Poverty, Changing Policies. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 12(5), pp. 547-548. Niessen, M. & Peschar, J. L. (1982) International Comparative Research: Problems of Theory, Methodology and Organization in Eastern and Western Europe. Paris, France: European Coordination Centre for Research and Documentation in the Social Sciences. Smith, J. (2000) Cross-national Comparative Research Using Panel Surveys. Madison, WI, USA: University of Wisconsin Press. Vittachi, N. (2006) China vs. India: The Match of the Century. Global Envision. [on-line]. Available at: http://www.globalenvision.org/library/3/1104 [Accessed 02 Dec. 2010]. Read More