The informal economy encompasses economic activities that operate outside formal institutional frameworks and are shaped by temporal, spatial, and activity-specific factors, particularly in urban contexts. This study investigates the spatiotemporal rhythms of informal economic actors in Zanjan (Iran) addressing the central research question: How is the temporal and spatial organization of the informal urban economy structured, and how does space consumption relate to activity type? Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach grounded in rhythmanalysis, data were collected through continuous observation and semi-structured interviews and analyzed through descriptive and interpretive methods. Findings indicate that informal activities are spatially clustered across central, intermediate, and peripheral urban zones according to pedestrian flows, market density, accessibility, and product type, while temporal rhythms vary daily, weekly, and seasonally under the influence of environmental conditions and regulatory enforcement. The activity content primarily involves the provision of subsistence-oriented goods of medium to low quality. The study highlights that rhythmanalysis provides a robust framework for understanding the dynamic spatial and temporal patterns of informal economies, offering practical insights for data-informed urban planning and policy-making.
The current study explores livelihood patterns constraints, opportunities and the scope for economic empowerment of rural households in the dryland areas of West Bengal. Our work focuses on analyzing the prevalent causes of low income and backwardness among the rural household participants. The present research identifies potential avenues for sustainable resource creation to enhance the economic resilience of the studied people. For quantitative analysis, a Kruskal-Wallis test, a robust generalized linear model, and pairwise Wilcoxon tests are used. The analysis section revealed the variables responsible for vulnerability. Further, this work sheds light on the role of SDG Goal 8 in employment generation communities. The findings section demonstrates that a poor human resource base, limited access to lucrative opportunities, and a weak man-land ratio significantly contributed to the prevalence of poverty by slowing economic growth. Moreover, marginalized people need assistance from government and non-governmental sources to secure their livelihoods.
Land prices and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) serve as crucial indicators in economics and natural science, respectively. This study aims to investigate the relationship between these two indices. Jointly examining land prices and NDVI is essential for policymakers who must weigh economic development against ecological preservation within a single framework. The vector format land price data and rasterformat NDVI values were combined using a point-sampling technique. K-means clustering was then applied to this integrated dataset, classifying 249 counties in South Korea into four clusters. An inverse relationship was identified between the two indices, suggesting that urban development may undermine environmental conservation. Notably, one cluster of eight counties exhibited both high land prices and high vegetation, making these areas attractive to both residents and investors. Conversely, another cluster, with low land prices and low vegetation, underscored the challenges faced by rural counties in South Korea. Prior studies have typically focused on land prices or NDVI values independently within their respective domains. The interdisciplinary approach of this study is expected to provide insights for policymakers and practitioners seeking to balance urbanization with rural conservation.
Despite the gains made towards alleviation of slums globally, the phenomenon is increasing in Sub-Saharan Africa. However, several studies have focused on various aspects while little focus is placed on livelihood empowerment in slum upgrading and redevelopment programs. This study focused on the livelihoods of slum dwellers and challenges emerging from upgrading and improving infrastructure. Therefore, a qualitative approach and case study strategy were adopted to gauge the potential reception in the Kibera slum area. Interviews with traders within the settlement and key informants from institutions engaged in the slum upgrading and infrastructure improvement were conducted. In addition, a review of official documents, particularly policies and laws affecting slum upgrading, was crucial in building the evidence-based component of the study. The study revealed that while there exist several interventions aiming at improving livelihood and economic situation of the residents, such interventions are generally perceived to be far-removed from the formal slum redevelopment program. Further, it was observed that there are limited coordination and synchronization of these efforts, resulting in disjointed support systems to small entrepreneurs and resource wastage. The research points out the potential of enterprise centres as an economic policy in slum alleviation. The concept, if well implemented, can help improve the retention of beneficiaries of slum redevelopment initiatives. Moreover, increased cost recovery from the new infrastructure can boost the replicability and sustainability of redevelopment interventions.
Modern democratic political systems are hardly conceivable without political representation. This also applies to the European Union, a unique international organisation with a directly elected and fully-fledged assembly representing citizens of the EU Member States. Because geographical factors are central to the operation of almost all electoral systems and the European Parliament is the first transnational assembly based on the Member States representation, the paper explores the geography of representation in European Parliamentary election. The Member States representation in the European Parliament may be degressively proportional, which implies malapportionment of the European Parliamentary seats across the Member States. The study aims to quantify malapportionment in European elections, examining both the European Parliament level (using the adaptation of Loosemore and Hanby's distortion index) and the Member States level (employing the advantage ratio and representation profile). It concludes that European political elites have deliberately created a system of EU Member States representation in which the geography of representation is a highly distorted reflection of the underlying geography of voting, with the aim of ensuring greater representation for less populous Member States and preventing excessive representation for Germany and other most populous Member States (i.e., deliberate degressive proportional representation). Specifically, malapportionment has been just below 15 % of the total seats, with the five most populous member states being underrepresented and the remaining twenty-two Member States enjoying an advantage in the European Parliamentary representation. At the same time, the study reveals that that the European Parliament's composition resulting from the elections did not fully meet the requirement for degressively proportional representation set out in the Lisbon Treaty.
