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Militarisation, mobility and the residencies of power

John M. MacKenzie

in The British Empire through Buildings: Structure, Function, Meaning

The extension of empire involved the militarisation of landscapes everywhere. Fortresses of various types became the principal expression of the imperial presence on almost every continent, notably ... More

The extension of empire involved the militarisation of landscapes everywhere. Fortresses of various types became the principal expression of the imperial presence on almost every continent, notably in North America, India (already a country of indigenous forts) and elsewhere in Asia, Africa and the Caribbean islands. Forts came to represent the baleful horrors of the slave trade and also the struggle among European imperial powers for conquest and economic gain. But empire always illustrated the tension between stasis and mobility. Forts were replaced by major military barracks, while the supreme illustration of mobility lay in the extensive use of tents, by the military, administrators and in early settlements. Tents were also vital in ceremonial and diplomacy, particularly in India. Government houses eventually became the major expression of the dispersal of Crown authority since they were, in effect, royal residences (for the representatives of the monarch), created everywhere and performing a whole range of vital functions in diplomacy and the expression of power.Less

The Garden Road incident on May 22, 1967

Gary Ka-wai Cheung

in Hong Kong's Watershed: The 1967 Riots

On May 22, 1967, thousands of leftists marched up the Garden Road to the government house. These protesters offered insults and abuse, and then physical violence. The police stood their ground ... More

On May 22, 1967, thousands of leftists marched up the Garden Road to the government house. These protesters offered insults and abuse, and then physical violence. The police stood their ground without retaliation but were forced to use their batons and make arrests when one of them was brutally assaulted. This protest resulted in bloodshed. The Chinese government announced on the same day the closure of the office of the British diplomat in Shanghai and ordered British diplomat Peter Hewitt to leave Shanghai in 48 hours. The Chinese government still showed support for the leftists in the Hong Kong public. Stoppages were staged by the leftist camp on May 23. However, the effects of these small-scale stoppages on their respective services were negligible. The British government then decided to withdraw from Hong Kong since the Chinese People's Government intended to go for all-out confrontation.Less

Housing and disability: a 21st-century phenomenon

Andrew Beer, Debbie Faulkner, Chris Paris, and Terry Clower

in Housing transitions through the life course: Aspirations, needs and policy

This chapter examines the ways one should conceptualise the housing transitions of persons with a disability and their households. It considers the evidence present on both the housing of persons ... More

This chapter examines the ways one should conceptualise the housing transitions of persons with a disability and their households. It considers the evidence present on both the housing of persons with a disability and the housing of family members who provide care. The discussion shows that the housing transitions of those with a disability are not a niche issue, since almost one in five households is affected. It is also not a problem that is limited to one nation or one point in time; rather, it is a challenge which is imposed upon all developed economies. Based on available evidence, it is suggested that in the twenty-first century, the housing careers of households which are affected by disability are flatter and more focused on the social rental sector or government-subsidised housing, and are more challenged by health and disability concerns than for the general population.Less

Getting Work

Peter Robb

in Useful Friendship: Europeans and Indians in Early Calcutta

This chapter explores the role of friendship in the securing of contracts, mainly by Richard Blechynden, first involving a private concern (building a dock for Gillett & Edwards), and then in public ... More

This chapter explores the role of friendship in the securing of contracts, mainly by Richard Blechynden, first involving a private concern (building a dock for Gillett & Edwards), and then in public works, the major reconstruction of Calcutta’s circular road. For the latter, the focus is mainly on Blechynden’s relations with Charles Wyatt, commissioned at the same time to build a new Government House, against a background of financial stress and hopes for improvements under Richard Wellesley. Insight is gained into the partisan and dilatory decision-making of early Calcutta, and into the role of personal alliances in securing information, influence, and favour.Less

Introduction

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to argue that transformations are a valid activity in housing supply and should be supported as part of a country's housing ... More

This introductory chapter first sets out the book's purpose, which is to argue that transformations are a valid activity in housing supply and should be supported as part of a country's housing policy. It then describes the structure of the book; the presentation of the data; space syntax diagrams; sampling and sub-samples; and government-built housing in developing countries. The chapter also discusses government-built housing in Mirpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Medinet Nasr, Cairo and Workers' City, Helwan, Greater Cairo, Egypt; Asawasi and Suntreso, Kumasi, Ghana; and Mbare and Highfield, Harare, Zimbabwe.Less

The case for transformations

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

Transformation is extremely popular among residents, so much so that it may be reasonable to ask whether transformation is a universal phenomenon wherever it is allowed either actively or passively. ... More

Transformation is extremely popular among residents, so much so that it may be reasonable to ask whether transformation is a universal phenomenon wherever it is allowed either actively or passively. This chapter reviews a study in Malaysia by Azizah Salim, and one in New Delhi by Alok Dasgupta, and draws out some preliminary findings or observations. It also considers the Israeli experience of positive policy towards transformations.Less

More than just a dwelling

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

A house is more than just a dwelling. It is a source and reflection of identity and status, and may also be a location for the business that provides the basic necessities of life or for one which ... More

A house is more than just a dwelling. It is a source and reflection of identity and status, and may also be a location for the business that provides the basic necessities of life or for one which augments a main income. This chapter discusses how transformations assist in turning a simple dwelling into a structure that can fulfil some or all of these functions. It covers transformation as occupant participation; the importance of ownership; home ownership and extension in mature years; the needs of the next generation; accommodating extra households; characteristics of subsequent households; household shares of the houses; and home-based enterprises.Less

The housing squeeze

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

This chapter discusses the following: the scale and nature of the housing shortage; housing adjustment theory; housing stress, shocks, and triggers; the choice between moving and improving; household ... More

This chapter discusses the following: the scale and nature of the housing shortage; housing adjustment theory; housing stress, shocks, and triggers; the choice between moving and improving; household size and composition; increase in housing space; increase in house size through transformation; habitable space; proportion of space that is habitable; occupancy rates of main households; space and rooms occupied before and after transformation; and increase in space per person through transformation.Less

Friendly Profiteers

Peter Robb

in Useful Friendship: Europeans and Indians in Early Calcutta

This chapter focuses on the management of works on the Calcutta circular road and its northern extension at Saum Bazar (Shyambazar), and especially on underhand trade-offs between them and the ... More

This chapter focuses on the management of works on the Calcutta circular road and its northern extension at Saum Bazar (Shyambazar), and especially on underhand trade-offs between them and the parallel project at Government House, designed to conceal the latter’s excessive cost and protect the profits of its architect, Charles Wyatt. Issues include the recruitment and control of labour, the supply of materials, land acquisition, and the official scrutiny of progress and quality. Once again, a mode of ‘friendly cooperation’— here involving economical practice, professional reputation, favours, and social influence—was more important than forms and regulations, in combating malice, self-interest, and incompetence. A contrast is made between the ‘back-scratching’ and irregularities of public works, in everyday practice, and contemporary protestations about the ‘wise and auspicious’ administration of Wellesley and the ‘mild and just’ imperial rule by Britain.Less

The financial element: transformation as an investment

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

This chapter examines the issue of income, since housing investment hinges on the financial resources of the households. It discusses whether transformers' households are low income; the income of ... More

This chapter examines the issue of income, since housing investment hinges on the financial resources of the households. It discusses whether transformers' households are low income; the income of subsequent households; spending on transformations; house value; house cost; relationship between house value/cost and income; the impact of transformations on housing supply and demand; increases in house cost to income ratios; the concept of filtering; and filtering through transformation.Less

Sustainability Issues

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

This chapter discusses the impact of transformation on conserving housing that would otherwise be near the end of its economic life if left unrestored, and demonstrates the level of upgrading which ... More

This chapter discusses the impact of transformation on conserving housing that would otherwise be near the end of its economic life if left unrestored, and demonstrates the level of upgrading which has taken place in the study areas by examining the physical conditions and servicing levels that have been produced. The plan forms that result from transformation are examined and shown to contribute to the continuity of families by allowing the next generation to occupy them conveniently. The chapter also examines the tendency for transformations to supply accommodation that would otherwise be found in the periphery of cities, and, at the same time, considers the tendency to crowd too much accommodation onto the available plot space.Less

The transformation process

in Extending Themselves: User Initiated Transformations of Government-built Housing in Developing Countries

This chapter discusses the transformation of government-built housing. It covers the construction process; regulation by planning authorities; phases of transformation; scale; timing; cost; finance; ... More

This chapter discusses the transformation of government-built housing. It covers the construction process; regulation by planning authorities; phases of transformation; scale; timing; cost; finance; the housing adjustment process through transformation; why occupiers extend; and problems encountered.Less

Villaverde Revisited

Hugh Thomas

in Eduardo Barreiros and the Recovery of Spain

This chapter discusses Eduardo's life in Cuba and Villaverde. Eduardo went to live in Havana in 1982, at first in one of the agreeable government guest houses that he had come to know. After a while, ... More

This chapter discusses Eduardo's life in Cuba and Villaverde. Eduardo went to live in Havana in 1982, at first in one of the agreeable government guest houses that he had come to know. After a while, he was permitted by the Cuban government to buy a house in Vedado in Havana. In the meantime, Eduardo was allocated by SIME to a factory to the east of the city beyond the port and known recently as Amistad Cubano-Soviética, in which he recreated his splendid life in Villaverde, Madrid. He would begin his day with a walk around his new plant with a springy step, just as he had done in Spain in the old days, and showed the same care for his workers and their families that he had shown in Spain.Less

The Costs of Moralizing: How About a ‘Government House Climate Ethics’?

Christian Seidel

in Climate Justice in a Non-Ideal World

Given a non-ideal world in which decision-makers are insufficiently moved by moral demands, how ought we to reform institutions of global climate governance in order to increase prospects for an ... More

Given a non-ideal world in which decision-makers are insufficiently moved by moral demands, how ought we to reform institutions of global climate governance in order to increase prospects for an effective and just treaty on climate change? The Received View holds that moralizing—explicitly raising and discussing the moral dimensions of climate change within UNFCCC negotiations—is part of the answer. This chapter questions this Received View and suggests moralizing negotiations might actually harden the deadlock in international climate policy, because it introduces extremely elastic concepts and may trigger an antagonizing psychological mechanism (anticipated moral reproach). It explores what might be said in favour of a neglected alternative in institutional design (Government House Climate Ethics), in which discussion of the moral dimensions of climate change enter negotiations more covertly ‘through the back door’, and it examines how this alternative might be defended against the charges of democratic deficits and elitism.Less