http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/urban Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Sat, 13 Jun 2026 03:39:29 -0400 Sat, 13 Jun 2026 03:39:29 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1779/the-everyday-as-empowering-violence-and-suburban-monotony-in-the-interwar-writing-of-george-orwell By Florence Ward - Rather than challenging these stereotypes, the few exceptions to this rule, Richards among them, have celebrated suburbia as a refuge from the world’s horrors. Richards’s version of suburbia, published while Britain was reeling from the destruction of the war, argues that suburbia is not just an architectural phenomenon but a way of life for the middle-men of England who wish to remain protected in its ‘oasis’ (36-9). In 1918, David Lloyd George promised “Homes fit for Heroes,” catering to the post-war appetite for security and stability. His promise instigated... Thu, 27 Feb 2020 08:41 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1779/the-everyday-as-empowering-violence-and-suburban-monotony-in-the-interwar-writing-of-george-orwell http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1425/a-community-approach-to-education-in-the-luang-prabang-region-of-laos By Jennifer C. Langill - Laos ranks quite poorly by most development indicators. Laos is one of 48 countries on the United Nations’ list of Least Developed Countries and ranked 141st out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index (United Nations 2016; United Nations Development Programme 2015). Economic growth has been unevenly distributed, leaving over 20 percent of the country below the international poverty line (CIA World Factbook 2014; Estudillo et al. 2013; Howe and Sims 2011; The World Bank 2016). This percentage has been declining, however improvements have been quite slow. While there are over 100... Thu, 23 Jun 2016 07:10 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1425/a-community-approach-to-education-in-the-luang-prabang-region-of-laos http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1381/mega-events-and-the-neoliberal-production-of-space-in-rio-de-janeiro By Sam Smith - Sporting mega-events in Rio de Janeiro, including the 2014 World Cup and the upcoming 2016 Olympics, employ particular tactics of spatio-temporal scale-making to produce a utopic atmosphere of global camaraderie, modern urban development, and sporting revelry. However, these spectacular representations simultaneously work to obscure the recognition of the violence of infrastructural development, as securitization and privatization facilitate the mass displacement of residents of Rio’s urban slums. This article traces the implications of both material and discursive processes associated with... Wed, 23 Mar 2016 08:18 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1381/mega-events-and-the-neoliberal-production-of-space-in-rio-de-janeiro http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/993/the-urban-president-assessing-obamas-community-redevelopment-policies By Sean P. Cuff - On February 27, 2014, while surrounded by nearly two dozen African-American young men in the East Room of the White House, President Barack Obama passionately introducing his My Brother’s Keeper initiative. After briefly joking with the young students about taking the day off from school to join him, President Obama shifted to a much more serious tone to address the press and televised audience. He delved into his own troubled youth and his shared experiences with the young men behind him. However, the President began to make an important distinction between his past and the struggles of... Sat, 07 Feb 2015 11:08 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/993/the-urban-president-assessing-obamas-community-redevelopment-policies http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/929/mits-stata-center-the-static-soul-of-a-dynamic-body By Parham Karimi - Princeton’s 19th century Gothic Revival and Stanford’s California Mission style (with local sandstone and red-tile roofs) were among the many standouts of this era.[1] But as architectural historian Mark Jarzombek asserts, the design of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) at that time was especially distinctive. Unlike other, more traditionally self-contained campuses, MIT became an integral part of the city it was located in. It was “not only resolutely urban, but also an important element in Boston’s emerging neoclassical silhouette.”[2] When MIT&rsquo... Sun, 26 Oct 2014 12:24 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/929/mits-stata-center-the-static-soul-of-a-dynamic-body http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1598/on-global-order-south-africa-as-a-case-study-for-the-validity-of-city-specific-research-in-international-development By Janetta Deppa - This study provides an overview of the international development field's attention to urbanization. Despite cities being proven the largest hubs of development for the industrializing world, patterns in urban areas often behave much differently than when assessing aggregate-level data. Assessment of cities as their own spheres of development is necessary. Currently, the development field fails to implement measures addressing the enormity of this phenomenon: while it acknowledges city-specific growth projects are important, very little raw data is available for analysis, and studies comparing... Tue, 31 Dec 2013 12:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1598/on-global-order-south-africa-as-a-case-study-for-the-validity-of-city-specific-research-in-international-development http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/844/south-koreas-sustainable-urban-planning-and-environmental-technology By Lorna Kang - In the process of rapid urbanization spurred on by an increasingly globalizing world, the inhabitants of mega-cities make an important tradeoff between improved quality of life and the systematic destruction of the natural organization of land and the environment. In the developing nations of East Asia, rapid urbanization and economic growth are visibly apparent, but so are urban environmental problems in overcrowded cities. The complexity of the issue is ever-growing because slowing economic growth is not a favorable solution, but sustainable urban development is still a viable possibility. In... Sat, 21 Dec 2013 02:00 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/844/south-koreas-sustainable-urban-planning-and-environmental-technology http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/769/rural-urban-migration-and-agricultural-transformation-in-india-observing-the-impact-on-childhood-migration-from-bihar-to-new-delhi By Daniel A. Rosenblum - This paper addresses the agricultural transformations occurring in India in relation to the migration of children from rural to urban centers. With a shifting system of landholding, climatic changes, increasing mechanization and industrialization of agriculture, and new development projects, the agrarian system in rural India is rapidly changing. Based on fieldwork conducted in India, interviews with local experts and urban/rural informants, this paper draws connections between the transformations occuring in the agricultural sector with the increase in the number of children running away to major... Mon, 07 Oct 2013 11:57 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/769/rural-urban-migration-and-agricultural-transformation-in-india-observing-the-impact-on-childhood-migration-from-bihar-to-new-delhi http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/959/sustainability-through-urban-gardening By Tami Ambury - Three visions of attaining sustainability through urban gardening – at the individual, community, and city level – are explored visually by MacEwan University Design Studies students–Molly Kassian, Nick Larson, and Sherece Burma–in their final project for Visual Communications Photography (VCPH) 340, Documentary Photography. This article emphasizes the process through which these students decided upon their project, located and interviewed their subjects, and created their visual composition. It also outlines the students’ increased awareness of, interest in, and... Mon, 30 Sep 2013 04:37 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/959/sustainability-through-urban-gardening http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/720/correlation-between-prevalence-of-diabetes-and-lack-of-physical-activity-in-alabama By Ajay P. Peddada - Alabama was cited among the states with greatest prevalence of diabetes for the past five years (Diabetes Surveillance, 2009). There is considerable variation between the counties of Alabama with regards to prevalence of diabetes (Diabetes Surveillance, 2009). Physical inactivity besides diet and obesity is cited as a factor for the cause and progression of diabetes [2]. This study attempts to determine a connection between these observations by comparing the association between physical inactivity and diabetes in urban and rural populations of AlabamaMethods: The center for Disease Control (CDC... Mon, 14 Jan 2013 08:05 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/720/correlation-between-prevalence-of-diabetes-and-lack-of-physical-activity-in-alabama http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/610/a-preservationists-perspective-on-levittown-communities-urban-planning-and-designs-awkward-dilemma By Michael Gray - Suburban housing is the backbone of an unsustainable living pattern. Long commutes to work and long drives for groceries, other supplies, and recreational activities increase America’s need for expensive fossil fuels. The isolated nature of subdivision style housing also decreases opportunity for interpersonal communication, which lessens the community experience and overall quality of life in a city. Modern smart growth principles, a dominant trend in planning theory and urban design, aim to concentrate housing as well as amenities closer to city centers. Smart growth advocates therefore... Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:54 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/610/a-preservationists-perspective-on-levittown-communities-urban-planning-and-designs-awkward-dilemma http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/124/confusing-the-wind-the-burj-khalifa-mother-nature-and-the-modern-skyscraper By Joshua C. Feblowitz - The Burj Khalifa is specially designed to conquer the wind, a goal that becomes more and more important as altitude increases. The building rises to the heavens in several separate stalks, which top out unevenly around the central spire. This somewhat odd-looking design deflects the wind around the structure and prevents it from forming organized whirlpools of air current, or vortices, that would rock the tower from side to side and could even damage the building. Even with this strategic design, the 206-story Burj Khalifa will still sway slowly back and forth by about 2 meters at the very top... Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:18 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/124/confusing-the-wind-the-burj-khalifa-mother-nature-and-the-modern-skyscraper