Browsing by Subject "Cities"

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Open Access
“Islands in the stream”: toward a new history of the large islands of the Byzantine Mediterranean in the early Middle Ages ca.600-ca.800
(Routledge, 2018) Zavagno, Luca
Byzantine historiography has often regarded the large Mediterranean islands (Cyprus, Crete, Sardinia, Malta and the Balearics) as mere peripheral additions to the Byzantine heartland-defined as the coupling of two different geographical zones: the Anatolian plateau and the Aegean. As a result, Byzantinists seem not to have fully moved away from an interpretative framework which regards islands as either strategic military bulwarks along the Arab-Byzantine Mediterranean frontier, or as neglected marginal outposts soon to be lost forever. A partial exception to this historiographical periphericity of large islands is represented by Sicily, because of its relevance as a secure source for grain after the disruption of the Egyptian tax-spine in the 640s. In fact, by comparing material and archaeological evidence with literary and documentary sources, an alternative interpretation of the political, economic and cultural role played by large islands will be proposed, this by pairing two main themes: the first revolving around the economics of insular societies; and the second stressing the importance of islands as connective hubs with peculiar local political, social and cultural structures which remained within the Byzantine sphere of influence for longer than previously thought. This approach allows us to tip the unbalanced dialogue between margins and metropolis by pointing to a relatively higher welfare of the insular world as stemming from the uninterrupted, although diminished, “connective” role the abovementioned islands played within the Mediterranean shipping routes linking the eastern and western basin of the Mediterranean. In this light, the adaptive strategies of insular administrative structures as influenced by the political or military difficulties of the hour, as well as the urban socio-political and economic structures on some of the abovementioned Byzantine islands, will also be documented. This is because the construction of urban models, settlement strategies and infrastructures-although often based on diverse political and administrative policies-nevertheless point to the presence of common, cross-cultural insular developments such as: the role of members of urban-oriented aristocracies as cultural brokers; the creation of commercial and artisanal facilities; the construction or restoration of religious buildings as foci of settlement and regional as well as interregional pilgrimage; the resilience of local elites as catalysts of patronage; and the persistence of levels of demand often based upon regular if not frequent regional and sub-regional trans-maritime contacts.
Open Access
Striving for wellbeing digitally in the city amidst the pandemic: solidarity through Twitter in Ankara
(Elsevier Ltd, 2023-05-25) Sak, Segah; Yavuzyiğit, Bilge Begüm
This article elaborates on the utilization of social media for practices of interaction in the city during the COVID 19 pandemic and discusses its potential in providing for the wellbeing of urban communities. During the early periods of the pandemic when preventative measures were taken intensively to decrease contamination, com munities lacked physical relationships with and within cities. Interactions realized in physical spaces in normal conditions were compensated with practices in social media. While such shift can be perceived to have decreased the meaning of cities in the pursuit of daily life and interactions, efforts which were localized upon physical human settlements yet were realized in the digital realm seem to have opened alternative paths for connection among residents. Within this context, we explore Twitter data through three hashtags which were promoted by the local government of Ankara and used densely by the residents in the early periods of the pandemic. Considering that social connection is one of the fundamental enablers of wellbeing, we aim to provide insights into the strive for wellbeing in times of crises where ruptures in physical interaction prevail. The patterns we observe in the expressions that gather around the selected hashtags shed a light on the ways the cities, their people and local governments are positioned in the struggles pursued in digital realm. Our findings support our arguments that social media has significant potential in contributing to the wellbeing of people especially in times of crisis, local governments can increase the quality of life of their citizens with modest actions, and the cities hold significant meanings for people as loci of communities and thus of wellbeing. Through the discussions we pursue, we seek to contribute to the stimulation of research, policies, and community actions that aim at the enhancement of wellbeing of urban individuals and communities.
Open Access
Urbanization
(SAGE Publications, Inc., 2004) Winter, Thomas; Carroll, Bret E.
Urbanization has changed constructions of manliness in U.S. society since the 1830s, when the nation experienced its first surge of urban expansion. Urbanization (the growth of cities and the built environment) has affected codes of manliness in a variety of ways. Coinciding with processes of economic expansion, such as the market revolution, industrialization, and the emergence of a mass consumer society, as well as a relaxation of traditional communal mores, urbanization has expanded opportunities for articulating and enacting manliness and male sexuality. In addition, the replacement of open space with a built environment can be seen as an expression of male domination of nature. In short, urbanization and articulations of manliness have significantly influenced one another over the course of U.S. history.