The report of my death is an exaggeration: central city retailing in Melbourne since 1900
In most North American cities, the Central Business District has declined as a retail centre, from a historical position of absolute dominance. In many US metropolitan areas, the CBD is no longer the largest single retail centre; in most others, it is merely primus inter pares. It is generally assumed that a similar process has been at work in Melbourne and other Australian cities, as suburban sprawl and the rise of the motor car have reduced the relative accessibility of the centre. This proposition is evaluated by analysing historical and statistical sources of information about the distribution of the retail trade in Melbourne. The evidence appears to be that Melbourne's CBD was relatively weak at the turn of the century, but steadily increased in importance, eclipsing suburban rivals, until World War II or shortly afterwards. Since that time, there has been a relative decline, but Melbourne's CBD retains a greater significance in the metropolitan retail trade than is the case in other Australian and N...
A phenotype intermediate between Desbuquois dysplasia and diastrophic dysplasia secondary to mutations in DTDST
We describe a child whose original clinical and radiologic manifestations led to a diagnosis of Desbuquois dysplasia. Subsequent development of features including cervical kyphosis and cystic ears caused us to reconsider the original diagnosis. The new complement of features in this patient fell in a range between Desbuquois dysplasia and diastrophic dysplasia. Molecular testing showed that she is a compound heterozygote for mutations in the diastrophic dysplasia sulfate transporter gene (DTDST). This finding confirms that there is locus heterogeneity in apparent Desbuquois dysplasia. It also expands the phenotypic spectrum of disorders caused by mutations in DTDST. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Urban Identities and Catastrophe: Izmir and Salonica at the End of the Ottoman Empire*
Two huge fires dramatically influenced the urban development of Salonica and Izmir, in 1917 and in 1922, respectively. These catastrophes occurred after the Ottoman Empire fell, and Salonica and Izmir had shifted into new national contexts. The fires mainly destroyed the districts that were transformed during the late‐Ottoman period. These districts became the cosmopolitan façades of modern Izmir and Salonica. The post‐fires' tabula rasa provided an opportunity for Greek and Turkish politicians and European planners to change the urban identity of both cities. Moreover, the Lausanne Treaty of 1923 transformed their multicultural societies also. Reconstruction plans had been thought to de‐Ottomanize and remove the previous idea of the towns and their multiplicity, interpreting new cultural and nationalist feeling. Here, I emphasize how modernity was interpreted before and after the fires, and point out contradictions between ideological aspects of planning and how the first urban districts were built during the 1920s.