Search results for: urban metabolism

Authors: Samira Ghasempourkazemi

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In terms of the COVID-19 pandemic, lots of mutations in the urban system, which have systemic impacts, have clearly appeared. COVID-19 not only had a direct impact on health but also caused significant losses to other departments, including the economy, education, tourism, environment and the construction industry. Therefore, the pandemic caused a disruption in the whole urban system. Particularly, today’s large urban areas are not designed in order to be compatible during a pandemic. Hence, cities are more vulnerable to infectious disease threats according to the population density, built environment and socioeconomic aspects. Considering the direct relationship between population and rate of infection, higher rates are given to those individuals located in areas with high-density populations. Population density can be a factor that seems to have a strong impact on the spread of infectious diseases. Thus, the preliminary hypothesis can be related to a densely populated areas which become hotspots for the rapid spread of the pandemic due to high levels of interaction. In addition, some other indicators can be effective in this condition, such as age range, education and socio-economy. To figure out the measure of infectious disease risk in densely populated areas in Istanbul is an objective of this study. Besides, this study intends to figure out Vulnerability Index in the case of COVID-19. In order to achieve the proper result, the considered method can be Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) by involving the mentioned variables. In the end, the study represents the COVID Vulnerability of densely populated areas in a metro city and the gaps that need to be identified and plugged for the pandemic-resilience city of tomorrow.

Keywords: infectious disease, COVID-19, urban system, densely populated area

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Authors: Guanglin Song

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(Objective) Situated within the context of China's tiered medical treatment system, this study aims to analyze spatial causes of urban healthcare access difficulties from the perspective of the configuration of healthcare facilities. (Methods) A social network analysis approach is employed to construct a healthcare demand and supply flow network between major residential clusters and various tiers of hospitals in the city.(Conclusion) The findings reveal that:1.there exists overall maldistribution and over-concentration of healthcare resources in Study Area, characterized by structural imbalance; 2.the low rate of primary care utilization in Study Area is a key factor contributing to congestion at higher-tier hospitals, as excessive reliance on these institutions by neighboring communities exacerbates the problem; 3.gradual optimization of the healthcare facility layout in Study Area, encompassing holistic, local, and individual institutional levels, can enhance systemic efficiency and resource balance.(Prospects) This research proposes a method for evaluating urban healthcare resource distribution structures based on service flows within hierarchical networks. It offers spatially targeted optimization suggestions for promoting the implementation of the tiered healthcare system and alleviating challenges related to accessibility and congestion in seeking medical care. Provide some new ideas for researchers and healthcare managers in countries, cities, and healthcare management around the world with similar challenges.

Keywords: flow of public services, urban networks, healthcare facilities, spatial planning, urban networks

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Authors: Nabamita Nath, Sanghamitra Sarkar

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Urban development in traditional neighbourhoods of cities is undergoing a sea change due to imposition of irregular development patterns on a predominantly inclusive urban fabric. In recent times, traditional neighbourhoods of Kolkata have experienced irregular urban development which has resulted in transformation of its immediate urban character. The goal is to study and analyse impact of new urban developments within traditional neighbourhoods of Kolkata and establish development guidelines to balance the old with the new. Various cities predominantly in third world countries are also experiencing similar development patterns in their traditional neighbourhoods. Existing literature surveys of development patterns in such neighbourhoods have established 9 major parameters viz. edge, movement, node, landmark, size-density, pattern-grain-texture, open spaces, urban spaces, urban form and views-vistas of the neighbourhood. To evaluate impact of urban development in traditional neighbourhoods of Kolkata, 3 different areas have been chronologically selected based on their settlement patterns. Parameters established through literature surveys have been applied to the selected areas to study and analyse the existing patterns of development. The main sources of this study included extensive on-site surveys, academic archive, census data, organisational records and informational websites. Applying the established parameters, 5 major conclusions were derived. Firstly, it was found that pedestrian friendly neighbourhoods of the city were becoming more car-centric. This has resulted in loss of interactive and social spaces which defined the cultural heritage of Kolkata. Secondly, the urban pattern which was composed of dense and compact fabric is gradually losing its character due to incorporation of new building typologies. Thirdly, the new building typologies include gated communities with private open spaces which is a stark departure from the existing built typology. However, these open spaces have not contributed in creation of inclusive public places for the community which are a significant part of such heritage neighbourhood precincts. Fourthly, commercial zones that primarily developed along major access routes have now infiltrated within these neighbourhoods. Gated communities do not favour formation of on-street commercial activities generating haphazard development patterns. Lastly, individual residential buildings that reflected Indo-saracenic and Neo-gothic architectural styles are converting into multi-storeyed residential apartments. As a result, the axis that created a definite visual identity for a neighbourhood is progressively following an irregular pattern. Thus, uniformity of the old skyline is gradually becoming inconsistent. The major issue currently is threat caused by irregular urban development to heritage zones and buildings of traditional neighbourhoods. Streets, lanes, courtyards, open spaces and buildings of old neighbourhoods imparted a unique cultural identity to the city that is disappearing with emerging urban development patterns. It has been concluded that specific guidelines for urban development should be regulated primarily based on existing urban form of traditional neighbourhoods. Such neighbourhood development strategies should be formulated for various cities of third world countries to control irregular developments thereby balancing heritage and development.

Keywords: heritage, Kolkata, traditional neighbourhood, urban development

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Authors: Mihai Rebenciuc, Simona Mihaela Bibic

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Branch of modern mathematics, graphs represent instruments for optimization and solving practical applications in various fields such as economic networks, engineering, network optimization, the geometry of social action, generally, complex systems including contemporary urban problems (path or transport efficiencies, biourbanism, & c.). In this paper is studied the interconnection of some urban network, which can lead to a simulation problem of a digraph through another digraph. The simulation is made univoc or more general multivoc. The concepts of fragment and atom are very useful in the study of connectivity in the digraph that is simulation - including an alternative evaluation of k- connectivity. Rough set approach in (bi)digraph which is proposed in premier in this paper contribute to improved significantly the evaluation of k-connectivity. This rough set approach is based on generalized rough sets - basic facts are presented in this paper.

Keywords: (bi)digraphs, rough set theory, systems of interacting agents, complex systems

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Authors: Jitka Molnarova

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Based on De Soto’s idea that a formal land title can provide a secure home and access to credit to poor urban families, a large number of developing countries accepted the formalization of informal settlements as the ultimate solution for their housing crises and struggles with poverty. After two decades of implementation, very little is known about the effects this policy has on the quality of the neighborhoods it produces and on the development of cities in general. Using the capital of Peru -where the solution originated- as a case study, this paper illustrates the negative outcomes this policy has on urban development arguing that land titling encourages 1) expansion of the city often to areas of high physical risk, 2) production of precarious housing on unserviced land, and 3) practices of illegal land trafficking. The evidence is based on interviews with community leaders and officials working at the Cooperation for Formalization of Informal Property (COFOPRI), comparison of satellite images documenting the expansion of Lima in the past twenty years, and a technical evaluation of dozens of houses that have been or are in the process of being granted a land title.

Keywords: COFOPRI, De Soto, housing policies, land titling, land trafficking, Lima, Peru, precarious housing, urban expansion

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Authors: Xi Chen, King-Yip Cheng

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Hypercholesterolemia, characterized by high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), raises cardiovascular events in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Although several drugs, such as statin and PCSK9 inhibitors, are available for the treatment of hypercholesterolemia, they exert detrimental effects on glucose metabolism and hence increase the risk of T2D. On the other hand, the drugs used to treat T2D have minimal effect on improving the lipid profile. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop treatments that can simultaneously improve glucose and lipid homeostasis. Adaptor protein phosphotyrosine interacting with PH domain and leucine zipper 2 (APPL2) causes insulin resistance in the liver and skeletal muscle via inhibiting insulin and adiponectin actions in animal models. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the APPL2 gene were associated with LDL-C, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and coronary artery disease in humans. The aim of this project is to investigate whether APPL2 antisense oligonucleotide (ASO) can alleviate dietary-induced T2D and hypercholesterolemia. High-fat diet (HFD) was used to induce obesity and insulin resistance in mice. GalNAc-conjugated APPL2 ASO (GalNAc-APPL2-ASO) was used to silence hepatic APPL2 expression in C57/BL6J mice selectively. Glucose, lipid, and energy metabolism were monitored. Immunoblotting and quantitative PCR analysis showed that GalNAc-APPL2-ASO treatment selectively reduced APPL2 expression in the liver instead of other tissues, like adipose tissues, kidneys, muscle, and heart. The glucose tolerance test and insulin sensitivity test revealed that GalNAc-APPL2-ASO improved glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity progressively. Blood chemistry analysis revealed that the mice treated with GalNAc-APPL2-ASO had significantly lower circulating levels of total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol. However, there was no difference in circulating levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglyceride, and free fatty acid between the mice treated with GalNac-APPL2-ASO and GalNAc-Control-ASO. No obvious effect on food intake, body weight, and liver injury markers after GalNAc-APPL2-ASO treatment was found, supporting its tolerability and safety. We showed that selectively silencing hepatic APPL2 alleviated insulin resistance and hypercholesterolemia and improved energy metabolism in the dietary-induced obese mouse model, indicating APPL2 as a therapeutic target for metabolic diseases.

Keywords: APPL2, antisense oligonucleotide, hypercholesterolemia, type 2 diabetes

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Authors: Mehrdad Arabi, Ehsan Beheshtitabar, Bahador Ghadirifaraz, Behrooz Forjanizadeh

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Interaction between human, location and activity defines space. In the framework of these relations, space is a container for current specifications in relations of the 3 mentioned elements. The change of land utility considered with average performance range, urban regulations, society requirements etc. will provide welfare and comfort for citizens. From an engineering view it is fundamental that choosing a proper location for a specific civil activity requires evaluation of locations from different perspectives. The debate of desirable establishment of municipal service elements in urban regions is one of the most important issues related to urban planning. In this paper, the research type is applicable based on goal, and is descriptive and analytical based on nature. Initially existing terminals in Esfahan are surveyed and then new locations are presented based on evaluated criteria. In order to evaluate terminals based on the considered factors, an AHP model is used at first to estimate weight of different factors and then existing and suggested locations are evaluated using Arc GIS software and AHP model results. The results show that existing bus terminals are located in fairly proper locations. Further results of this study suggest new locations to establish terminals based on urban criteria.

Keywords: Arc GIS, Esfahan city, optimum locations, terminals

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Authors: Samaneh Arasteh

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Neighbourhood satisfaction and safety are the two main components of urban life and have a substantial impact on residents’ quality of life. The relationship between these two components, especially in areas surrounding our individual private dwellings, is highly influential on many social, economic, and wellbeing activities that may benefit neighbourhood residents. Neighbourhood and urban design – which are liable to be affected by the perceived quality of local public spaces – are likely to be significant factors influencing broader residents’ feelings of safety. With this in mind, this study reviews recent normative literature on how these design processes have influenced neighbourhood satisfaction including perceived safety with a focus on different aspects of public spaces including planning, management, and design in a mix-tenure neighbourhood. Following the study aim, Riverwood in Sydney’s southwest was chosen as a case study to gain a detailed understanding of the context by engaging with community members, residents, non-government organisations, and experts. Moreover, archival studies on neighbourhood satisfaction and safety, expert interviews, and resident questionnaires are presented to shed light on the relationship between neighbourhood satisfaction and perception of safety. The study argues that for the safer neighbourhood in urban areas, social-cultural factors need to be aligned toward strengthening physical factors and since making the environments safer, it is important to understand practical and achievable mechanisms which are required to improve existing estates. Findings show that increasing the clarity of community social and physical environmental involvements can promote residents’ feelings of safety and following neighbourhood satisfaction.

Keywords: neighbourhood satisfaction, public space, Riverwood, urban safety

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Authors: Alemayehu Agizew Woldeamanuel, Mekonnen Maschal Tarekegn, Raj Mohan Balakrishina

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Composting is one of the conventional techniques adopted for organic waste management, but the practice is very limited in emerging cities despite the most of the waste generated is organic. This paper aims to examine the viability of composting for organic waste management in the emerging city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, by addressing the composting practice, quality of compost, and application of compost in urban agriculture. The study collects data using compost laboratory testing and urban farm households’ survey and uses descriptive analysis on the state of compost production and application, physicochemical analysis of the compost samples, and regression analysis on the urban farmer’s willingness to pay for compost. The findings of the study indicated that there is composting practice at a small scale, most of the producers use unsorted feedstock materials, aerobic composting is dominantly used, and the maturation period ranged from four to ten weeks. The carbon content of the compost ranges from 30.8 to 277.1 due to the type of feedstock applied, and this surpasses the ideal proportions for C:N ratio. The total nitrogen, pH, organic matter, and moisture content are relatively optimal. The levels of heavy metals measured for Mn, Cu, Pb, Cd and Cr⁶⁺ in the compost samples are also insignificant. In the urban agriculture sector, chemical fertilizer is the dominant type of soil input in crop productions but vegetable producers use a combination of both fertilizer and other organic inputs, including compost. The willingness to pay for compost depends on income, household size, gender, type of soil inputs, monitoring soil fertility, the main product of the farm, farming method and farm ownership. Finally, this study recommends the need for collaboration among stakeholders’ along the value chain of waste, awareness creation on the benefits of composting and addressing challenges faced by both compost producers and users.

Keywords: composting, emerging city, organic waste management, urban agriculture

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Authors: Qi Kan, Xiaoyu Ying

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With a rapid urbanization in China, the high-density new urban-center districts have already changed the microclimate in the city. Because of the using characters of building the commercial pedestrian streets which have emerged massively making a large number of pedestrians appear in there, pedestrian comfort in the commercial streets of the new urban-center districts requires more attention. The different street spatial layout will change the wind environment in the street and then influence the pedestrian comfort. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models are used to study the correlation between the street aspect ratio and wind environment, under the simulation with relevant weather conditions. The results show that the wind speed in the city streets is inversely proportional to the street aspect ratio. The conclusion will provide an evaluation basis for urban planners and architects at the beginning stage of the design to effectively avoid the potential poor physical environment.

Keywords: street spatial layout, wind environment, street aspect ratio, pedestrian comfort

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Authors: Morteza Ahmadpur, Ilgin Gokasar, Saman Ghaffarian

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That Transportation system plays an important role in management of societies is an undeniable fact and it is one of the most challenging issues in human beings routine life. But by increasing the population in urban areas, the demand for transportation modes also increase. Accordingly, it is obvious that more flexible and dynamic transportation system is required to satisfy peoples’ requirements. Nowadays, there is significant increase in number of environmental issues all over the world which is because of human activities. New technological achievements bring new horizons for humans and so they changed the life style of humans in every aspect of their life and transportation is not an exception. By using new technology, societies can modernize their transportation system and increase the feasibility of their system. Real–time Taxi sharing systems is one of the novel and most modern systems all over the world. For establishing this kind of system in an urban area it is required to use the most advanced technologies in a transportation system. GPS navigation devices, computers and social networks are just some parts of this kind of system. Like carpooling, real-time taxi sharing is one of the best ways to better utilize the empty seats in most cars and taxis, thus decreasing energy consumption and transport costs. It can serve areas not covered by a public transit system and act as a transit feeder service. Taxi sharing is also capable of serving one-time trips, not only recurrent commute trips or scheduled trips. In this study, we describe the requirements and parameters that we need to establish a useful real-time ride sharing system for an urban area. The parameters and requirements of this study can be used in any urban area.

Keywords: transportation, intelligent transportation systems, ride-sharing, taxi sharing

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Authors: Shahna K. C., Belay Menon, Taniya Joshua

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As globalization in the era progresses, spatial inequality is turned to be one of the major concerns; the main intent of the Study is to focus on if there is any interdependencies of culture economy and resource availability on creating spatial inequality in cities. The paper tries to establish the relationship between spatial inequality – the quality of life – the DETERMINANT TRIAD (culture, economy, resource availability). Slum area of Dharavi is taken to evaluate the influence of these determinants on the quality of life as spatial inequality is evident there. Interdependencies of the determinants on creating spatial inequality is evaluated. For this, It is understood that these three parameters, i.e., culture, economy, resource availability, are determinants of urban design, each from the social, economic, environmental domains of sustainability, respectively. And there are studies individually on each of these aspects, how they determine the urban spaces, and how influential on the whole process of urbanization. Now extending the study towards the interdependencies of these three so as to find out how these trilogy shapes the urban form and space.

Keywords: spatial inequality, culture, economy, resource availability, quality of life

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Authors: Monika Yadav

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The incorporation of a healthy lifestyle significantly contributes to the advancement of economic development. Urbanization, industrialization, and economic growth have enhanced living conditions, promoting sedentary behaviours among individuals with elevated socio-economic statuses. The prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased globally, along with the rise in living standards, posing a growing health risk. Overweight and obesity are known to be precursors to a range of modifiable and metabolic risk factors, contributing to the increase in lifestyle diseases. Unhealthy dietary choices and lifestyle practices primarily drive these diseases. Lifestyle diseases refer to chronic and non-communicable illnesses, encompassing conditions such as hypertension, heart disease, kidney disorders, infertility, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOD), diabetes, respiratory diseases, and certain forms of cancer. This study examines the prevalence of lifestyle diseases among urban Indian women, explicitly differentiating between individuals with normal weight and those classified as obese. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between a higher body mass index (BMI) in women and an increased vulnerability to lifestyle diseases when compared to women with a normal BMI. This research provides insights into the intricate relationship between lifestyle, health, and economic development within urban areas.

Keywords: urbanization, economic development, BMI, NCDs, urban, women, lifestyle practices

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Authors: Homa Hedayat

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In the dynamic urban landscape of Toronto, the concept of belonging assumes paramount importance. As global challenges—such as the pandemic, financial instability, and geopolitical shifts—reshape our world, understanding how different generations of immigrants establish connections within this multicultural metropolis becomes increasingly vital. Our research delves into forming a sense of belonging in urban spaces, specifically focusing on the experiences of Iranian immigrants residing in Toronto. By examining their perceptions of public places, attachment to residential neighborhoods, and the impact of the urban environment, we contribute to a more holistic understanding of social sustainability and community well-being. We unravel the intricate interplay between individual characteristics, housing context, and neighborhood dynamics through qualitative interviews and a quantitative survey. This research presents a study of the perception of public places and sense of belonging in residential neighbourhoods by younger and older Iranian immigrants living in the Toronto metropolitan area. Few works in the existing literature have investigated the relationship immigrants develop with the shared spaces of the city and their residential environment and how that relationship can impact the development of a ‘sense of belonging’ in the city. Ultimately, our findings pave the way for inclusive and cohesive urban environments, fostering connections across generations and enhancing Toronto’s resilience and harmony. As Toronto continues to evolve, nurturing a sense of belonging becomes paramount. Our research emphasizes the importance of social cohesion and community well-being. By fostering connections across generations, we pave the way for a more resilient and harmonious city.

Keywords: sense of belonging, multigenerational, urban spaces, social sustainability

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Authors: Toleen Alaqqad, Kadi Alshabramiy, Suad Zaafarany, Basma Musallam

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CADmapper is a significant tool of software for transforming geographic data into realistic CAD drawings. It speeds up and simplifies the conversion process by automating it. This allows architects, urban planners, engineers, and geographic information system (GIS) experts to solely concentrate on the imaginative and scientific parts of their projects. While the future incorporation of AI has the potential for further improvements, CADmapper's current capabilities make it an indispensable asset in the business. It covers a combination of 2D and 3D city and urban area models. The user can select a specific square section of the map to view, and the fee is based on the dimensions of the area being viewed. The procedure is straightforward: you choose the area you want, then pick whether or not to include topography. 3D architectural data (if available), followed by selecting whatever design program or CAD style you want to publish the document which contains more than 200 free broad town plans in DXF format. If you desire to specify a bespoke area, it's free up to 1 km2.

Keywords: cadmaper, gdata, 2d and 3d data conversion, automated cad drawing, urban planning software

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Authors: Gideon Baffoe

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The concept of neighbourhood remains highly relevant in urban studies. However, until now, no attempt has been made to statistically chart the field. This study aims to provide a macroscopic overview using bibliometric analysis of the main characteristics of neighbourhood research in order to understand the academic landscape. The study analyses the emergence and evolution of the concept of neighbourhood in published research, conceptual and intellectual structures as well as scholarship collaboration. It is found that topics related to the local economy of neighbourhoods are sparse, suggesting a major gap in the literature.

Keywords: neighbourhood, global south, bibliometric analysis, scholarship

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Authors: Francesco Ruscio, Paolo Paoletti, Jens Thomas, Paul Myers, Sebastiano Fichera

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This paper presents the development of a low-cost monitoring system for a hydroponic urban vertical farm, enabling its automation and a quantitative assessment of the farm performance. Urban farming has seen increasing interest in the last decade thanks to the development of energy efficient and affordable LED lights; however, the optimal configuration of such systems (i.e. amount of nutrients, light-on time, ambient temperature etc.) is mostly based on the farmers’ experience and empirical guidelines. Moreover, even if simple, the maintenance of such systems is labor intensive as it requires water to be topped-up periodically, mixing of the nutrients etc. To unlock the full potential of urban farming, a quantitative understanding of the role that each variable plays in the growth of the plants is needed, together with a higher degree of automation. The low-cost monitoring system proposed in this paper is a step toward filling this knowledge and technological gap, as it enables collection of sensor data related to water and air temperature, water level, humidity, pressure, light intensity, pH and electric conductivity without requiring any human intervention. More sensors and actuators can also easily be added thanks to the modular design of the proposed platform. Data can be accessed remotely via a simple web interface. The proposed platform can be used both for quantitatively optimizing the setup of the farms and for automating some of the most labor-intensive maintenance activities. Moreover, such monitoring system can also potentially be used for high-level decision making, once enough data are collected.

Keywords: automation, hydroponics, internet of things, monitoring system, urban farming

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Authors: Sankhanil Das, Arunava Dasgupta, Keya Mitra

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This paper investigates the relationship between natural ecological systems and modern urban morphology. Over years, ecological conditions represented by natural resources such as natural landforms, systems of water, urban geography and land covers have been a significant driving factor of how settlements have formed, expanded and functioned. These have played a pivotal role in formation of the community character and the cultural identity of the urban spaces, and have steered cultural behavior within these settings. Such cultural behaviors have been instrumental in transforming mere spaces to places with meaning and symbolism. The natural process of city formation is principally founded upon the idea of balance and harmony, mostly in a subconscious manner. Reimaging such processes of natural evolution, this paper systematically builds a development model that generates a balance between environment and development, with specific focus on the Urban-Rural fringe areas in the Temple Town of Puri, in Eastern India. Puri represents a unique cross section of ecological landscape, cultural practices and religious symbolism with a very rich history and a vibrant heritage. While the city centre gets more and more crowded by tourists and pilgrims to accommodate related businesses, the original residents of Puri relocate to move towards the urban peripheral areas for better living conditions, gradually converting agricultural lands into non agricultural uses. This rapid spread into the rural hinterland is devoid of any connection with the rich cultural identity of Puri. These past four decades of ‘development’ has been at the cost of 810 Hectares of ecological Lake systems in the region. Invaluable ecological resources at urban rural edges are often viewed as hindrances to development and conceptualized as taking away from the image of the city. This paper attempts to understand the language of development over years on existing natural resources through topo-analysis and proposes a sustainable approach of development using different planning tools, with ecological resources as the pivotal factor of development.

Keywords: livability, sustainable development, urbanization, urban-rural edge

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Authors: Ruan Yi-Chen, Li Wang-Ming, Fang Yuan

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With the rapid growth of urbanization in China in recent years, public services are in short supply because of expanding population and limitation of financial support, which makes delicate configuration of public service facilities to become a trend in urban planning. Besides, the facility configuration standard implemented in China is equal to the whole the urban area without considering internal differences in it. Therefore, this article focuses on population Spatial disparities analysis in order to optimize facility configuration in communities of main city district. The used data, including population of 93 communities during 2010 to 2015, comes from GongShu district, Hangzhou city, PRC. Through the analysis of population data, especially the age structure of those communities, the communities finally divided into 3 types. Obviously, urban public service facilities allocation situation directly affect the quality of residents common lives, which turns out that deferent kinds of communities with deferent groups of citizens will have divergences in facility demanding. So in the end of the article, strategies of facility configuration will be proposed based on the population analysis in order to optimize the quantity and location of facilities with delicacy.

Keywords: delicacy, facility configuration, population spatial disparities, urban area

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Authors: Ashish Dhamaniya, Satish Chandra

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Speed and traffic volume data are collected on different sections of four lane and six lane roads in three metropolitan cities in India. Speed data are analyzed to fit the statistical distribution to individual vehicle speed data and all vehicles speed data. It is noted that speed data of individual vehicle generally follows a normal distribution but speed data of all vehicle combined at a section of urban road may or may not follow the normal distribution depending upon the composition of traffic stream. A new term Speed Spread Ratio (SSR) is introduced in this paper which is the ratio of difference in 85^th and 50^th percentile speed to the difference in 50^th and 15^th percentile speed. If SSR is unity then speed data are truly normally distributed. It is noted that on six lane urban roads, speed data follow a normal distribution only when SSR is in the range of 0.86 – 1.11. The range of SSR is validated on four lane roads also.

Keywords: normal distribution, percentile speed, speed spread ratio, traffic volume

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Authors: Sukhdev Singh, Baljinder Singh Bal, Amandeep Singh, Kanchan Thappa

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A nation's future almost certainly rests on the future of its children, and a nation's wellbeing can be greatly improved by providing for the right upbringing of its children. Participating in physical education and sports programmes is crucial for reaching one's full potential. As we are all aware, sports have recently become incredibly popular on a global scale. Sports are continually becoming more and more popular, and this positive trend is probably going to last for some time to come. Motor abilities will provide more accurate information on the developmental process of children. Motor fitness is a component of physical fitness that includes strength, speed, flexibility, and agility, and is related to enhanced performance and the development of motor skills. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the differences in child growth between urban and rural environments. Differences in student growth, body dimensions, body composition, and fitness levels due to urban and rural environmental disparities have come into focus in recent years. The main aim of this study is to know the differentials of motor fitness components among the school children of rural and urban areas of the Jammu region. Material and Methods: In total, sixty male subjects (mean ± SD; age, 16.475 ± 1.0124 yrs.; height, 172.8 ± 2.0153 cm; Weight, 59.75 ± 3.628 kg) from the Jammu region took part in the study. A minimum sample size of 40 subjects was obtained and was derived from Rural (N1=20) and Urban (N2=20) school-going children. Statistical Applications: The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 14.0 was used for all analyses. The differences in the mean of each group for the selected variable were tested for the significance of difference by an independent samples t-test. For testing the hypotheses, the level of significance was set at 0.05. Results: Results revealed that there were significant differences of leg explosive strength (p=0.0040*), dynamic balance (p=0.0056*), and Agility (p=0.0176*) among the School Children of the rural and urban areas of the Jammu region. However, Results further revealed that there were not significant differences of cardio respiratory endurance (p=0.8612), speed (p=0.2231), Low Back/Hamstring Flexibility (p=0.6478), and Two Hand Coordination. (p= 0.0953) among the School Children of the rural and urban areas of the Jammu region. Conclusion: The results of study showed that there is significance difference between Rural and Urban School children of the Jammu region with regards to a variable," leg explosive strength, dynamic balance, Agility” and the there is no significance difference between Rural and Urban School children of the Jammu region with regards variable “cardio-respiratory endurance, speed, Low Back/Hamstring Flexibility, Two Hand Coordination”.

Keywords: motor fitness, rural areas, school children, urban areas

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Authors: Sarah M. Asar, Nabeel M. Elhady

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Egypt’s current per capita water share indicates that the country suffers and has been suffering from water poverty. The abundant utilization of turfgrass in Egypt’s new urban settlements, the reliance on freshwater for irrigation, and the inadequate plant selection increase the water demand in such settlements. Decreasing the surface area of turfgrass by using alternative landscape features such as mulching, using ornamental low-maintenance plants, increasing pathways, etc., could significantly decrease the water demand of urban landscapes. The use of Ammochloa palaestina, Cenchrus crientalis (Oriental Fountain Grass), and Cistus parviflorus (with water demands of approximately 0.005m³/m²/day) as alternatives for Cynodon dactylon (0.01m³/m²/day), which is the most commonly used grass species in Egypt’s landscape, could decrease an area’s water demand by approximately 40-50%. Moreover, creating hydro-zones of similar water demanding plants would enable irrigation facilitation rather than the commonly used uniformed irrigation. Such a practice could further reduce water consumption by 15-20%. These results are based on a case-study analysis of one of Egypt’s relatively new urban settlements, Al-Rehab. Such results emphasize the importance of utilizing native, drought-tolerant vegetation in the urban landscapes of Egypt to reduce irrigation demands. Furthermore, proper implementation, monitoring, and maintenance of automated irrigation systems could be an important factor in a space’s efficient water use. As most new urban settlements in Egypt adopt sprinkler and drip irrigation systems, the lack of maintenance leads to the manual operation of such systems, and, thereby, excessive irrigation occurs.

Keywords: alternative landscape, native plants, efficient irrigation, low water demand

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Authors: Arsalan Jabbar, Wajiha Javed, Nelofer Mehboob, Zahid Memon

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Introduction: There are multiple social, individual and cultural factors that influence an individual’s decision to adopt family planning methods especially among non-users in patriarchal societies like Pakistan.Non-users, if targeted efficiently, can contribute significantly to country’s CPR. A research study showed that non-users if convinced to adopt lactational amenorrhea method can shift to long-term methods in future. Research shows that if non-users are targeted efficiently a 59% reduction in unintended pregnancies in Saharan Africa and South-Central and South-East Asia is anticipated. Methods: We did secondary data analysis on Pakistan Demographic Heath Survey (2012-13) dataset. Use of contraception (never-use/ever-use) was the outcome variable. At univariate level Chi-square/Fisher Exact test was used to assess relationship of baseline covariates with contraception use. Then variables to be incorporated in the model were checked for multi-collinearity, confounding, and interaction. Then binary logistic regression (with an urban-rural stratification) was done to find the relationship between contraception use and baseline demographic and social variables. Results: The multivariate analyses of the study showed that younger women (≤ 29 years) were more prone to be never users as compared to those who were > 30 years and this trend was seen in urban areas (AOR 1.92, CI 1.453-2.536) as well as rural areas (AOR 1.809, CI 1.421-2.303). While looking at regional variation, women from urban Sindh (AOR 1.548, CI 1.142-2.099) and urban Balochistan (AOR 2.403, CI 1.504-3.839) had more never users as compared to other urban regions. Women in the rich wealth quintile were more never users and this was seen both in urban and rural localities (urban (AOR 1.106 CI .753-1.624); rural areas (AOR 1.162, CI .887-1.524)) even though these were not statistically significant. Women idealizing more children(> 4) are more never users as compared to those idealizing less children in both urban (AOR 1.854, CI 1.275-2.697) and rural areas (AOR 2.101, CI 1.514-2.916). Women who never lost a pregnancy were more inclined to be non-users in rural areas (AOR 1.394, CI 1.127-1.723) .Women familiar with only traditional or no method had more never users in rural areas (AOR 1.717, CI 1.127-1.723) but in urban areas it wasn’t significant. Women unaware of Lady Health Worker’s presence in their area were more never users especially in rural areas (AOR 1.276, CI 1.014-1.607). Women who did not visit any care provider were more never users (urban (AOR 11.738, CI 9.112-15.121) rural areas (AOR 7.832, CI 6.243-9.826)). Discussion/Conclusion: This study concluded that government, policy makers and private sector family planning programs should focus on the untapped pool of never users (younger women from underserved provinces, in higher wealth quintiles, who desire more children.). We need to make sure to cover catchment areas where there are less LHWs and less providers as ignorance to modern methods and never been visited by an LHW are important determinants of never use. This all is in sync with previous literate from similar developing countries.

Keywords: contraception, demographic and health survey, family planning, never users

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Authors: Zhiqiang Yan, Chen Fan, Yafei Wang, Beicheng Xia

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Urban lakes play an invaluable role in urban water systems such as flood control, water supply, and public recreation. However, over 38% of the urban lakes have suffered from severe eutrophication in China. Chlorine that could remarkably inhibit the growth of phytoplankton in eutrophic, has been widely used in the agricultural, aquaculture and industry in the recent past. However, little information has been reported regarding the effects of chlorine on the lake ecosystem, especially on the main aquatic species.To investigate the ecological response of main aquatic species and system stability to chlorine interference in shallow urban lakes, a mini system dynamic model was developed based on the competition and predation of main aquatic species and total phosphorus circulation. The main species of submerged macrophyte, phytoplankton, zooplankton, benthos, spiroggra and total phosphorus in water and sediment were used as variables in the model,while the interference of chlorine on phytoplankton was represented by an exponential attenuation equation. Furthermore, the eco-exergy expressing the development degree of ecosystem was used to quantify the complexity of the shallow urban lake. The model was validated using the data collected in the Lotus Lake in Guangzhoufrom1 October 2015 to 31 January 2016.The correlation coefficient (R), root mean square error-observations standard deviation ratio (RSR) and index of agreement (IOA) were calculated to evaluate accuracy and reliability of the model.The simulated values showed good qualitative agreement with the measured values of all components. The model results showed that chlorine had a notable inhibitory effect on Microcystis aeruginos，Rachionus plicatilis, Diaphanosoma brachyurum Liévin and Mesocyclops leuckarti (Claus).The outbreak of Spiroggra.spp. inhibited the growth of Vallisneria natans (Lour.) Hara, leading to a gradual decrease of eco-exergy and the breakdown of ecosystem internal equilibria. This study gives important insight into using chlorine to achieve eutrophication control and understand mechanism process.

Keywords: system dynamic model, urban lake, chlorine, eco-exergy

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Authors: Ali Alahmari

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Saudi Arabia is facing increasing challenges in managing urban drainage, due to a combination of factors including climate change and urban expansion. Traditional drainage systems are unable to cope with demand, resulting in flooding and damage to property. Consequently, new ways of dealing with this issue need to be found and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) appear to be a possible solution. This paper suggests that knowledge is a central issue in the adoption of Sustainable Urban Drainage approaches, as revealed through qualitative research with representative officials and professionals from key government departments and organisations in Riyadh. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-six participants. The interviews explored the challenges of adopting sustainable drainage approaches, and grounded theory analysis was used to examine the role of knowledge. However, a number of barriers have been identified with regard to the adoption of sustainable drainage approaches, such as the marginal status of sustainability in drainage decisions; lack of technical standards for other unconventional drainage solutions, and lack of consideration by decision makers of contributions from environmental and geographical studies. Due to centralisation, decision-making processes are complex and time-consuming, resulting in the discouragement of the adoption of new knowledge and approaches. Stakeholders with knowledge of sustainable approaches are often excluded from the hierarchical system of urban planning and drainage management. In addition, the multiplicity of actors involved in the implementation of the drainage system, as well as the different technical standards involved, often causes problems around coordination and cooperation. Although those with procedural and explicit knowledge have revealed a range of opportunities, such as a significant increase in government support for rainwater drainage in urban areas, they also identified a number of obstacles. These are mainly related to the lack of specialists in sustainable approaches, and a reluctance to involve external experts. Therefore, recommendations for overcoming some of these challenges are presented, which include enhancing the decision-making process through applying decentralisation and promoting awareness of sustainability through establishing educational and outreach programmes. This may serve to increase knowledge and facilitate the adoption of sustainable drainage approaches to promote sustainable development in the context of Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: climate change, decision-making processes, new knowledge and approaches, resistance to change, Saudi Arabia, SUDS, urban expansion

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Authors: Thirayu Jumsai na Ayudhya

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Initial attempts to understand about what architecture means to people as they go about their everyday life through my previous research revealed that knowledge such as environmental psychology, environmental perception, environmental aesthetics, did not adequately address a perceived need for the contextualized and holistic theoretical framework. In my previous research, it is found that people’s making senses of their everyday architecture can be described in terms of four super‐ordinate themes; (1) building in urban (text), (2) building in (text), (3) building in human (text), (4) and building in time (text). For more comprehensively understanding of how people make sense of their everyday architectural experience, in this ongoing research Phuket Old town was selected as the focal urban context where the distinguish character of Chino-Portuguese is remarkable. It is expected that in a unique urban context like Phuket old town unprecedented super-ordinate themes will be unveiled through the reflection of people’s everyday experiences. The ongoing research of people’s architectural experience conducted in Phuket Island, Thailand, will be presented succinctly. The research will address the question of how do people make sense of their everyday architecture/buildings especially in a unique urban context, Phuket Old town, and identify ways in which people make sense of their everyday architecture. Participant-Produced-Photograph (PPP) and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) are adopted as main methodologies. PPP allows people to express experiences of their everyday urban context freely without any interference or forced-data generating by researchers. With IPA methodology a small pool of participants is considered desirable given the detailed level of analysis required and its potential to produce a meaningful outcome.

Keywords: architectural experience, the everyday architecture, Phuket, Thailand

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Authors: Francis C. Emejeamara, Alison S. Tomlin, James Gooding

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Due to the highly turbulent nature of urban air flows, and by virtue of the fact that turbines are likely to be located within the roughness sublayer of the urban boundary layer, proposed urban wind installations are faced with major challenges compared to rural installations. The challenge of operating within turbulent winds can however, be counteracted by the development of suitable gust tracking solutions. In order to assess the cost effectiveness of such controls, a detailed understanding of the urban wind resource, including its turbulent characteristics, is required. Estimating the ambient turbulence and total kinetic energy available at different control response times is essential in evaluating the potential performance of wind systems within the urban environment should effective control solutions be employed. However, high resolution wind measurements within the urban roughness sub-layer are uncommon, and detailed CFD modelling approaches are too computationally expensive to apply routinely on a city wide scale. This paper therefore presents an alternative semi-empirical methodology for estimating the excess energy content (EEC) present in the complex and gusty urban wind. An analytical methodology for predicting the total wind energy available at a potential turbine site is proposed by assessing the relationship between turbulence intensities and EEC, for different control response times. The semi-empirical model is then incorporated with an analytical methodology that was initially developed to predict mean wind speeds at various heights within the built environment based on detailed mapping of its aerodynamic characteristics. Based on the current methodology, additional estimates of turbulence intensities and EEC allow a more complete assessment of the available wind resource. The methodology is applied to 4 UK cities with results showing the potential of mapping turbulence intensities and the total wind energy available at different heights within each city. Considering the effect of ambient turbulence and choice of wind system, the wind resource over neighbourhood regions (of 250 m uniform resolution) and building rooftops within the 4 cities were assessed with results highlighting the promise of mapping potential turbine sites within each city.

Keywords: excess energy content, small-scale wind, turbulence intensity, urban wind energy, wind resource assessment

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Authors: Masoumeh Pirhadi

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Air pollution is becoming a major health problem affecting millions. In support of this observation, the world health organization estimates that many people feel unhealthy due to pollution. This is a coupled fact that one of the main global sources of air pollution in cities is greenhouse gas emissions due heavy traffic. Green walls are developed as a sustainable strategy to reduce pollution by increasing vegetation in developed areas without occupying space in the city. This concept an offer advantageous environmental benefits and they can also be proposed for aesthetic purposes, and today they are used to preserve the urban environment. Green walls can also create environments that can promote a healthy lifestyle. Findings of multiple studies also indicate that Green infrastructure in cities is a strategy for improving air quality and increasing the sustainability of cities. Since these green solutions (green walls) act as porous materials that affect the diffusion of air pollution they can also act as a removing air vents that clean the air. Therefore, implementation of this strategy can be considered as a prominent factor in achieving a cleaner environment.

Keywords: green vegetation, air pollution, green wall, urban area

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Authors: J. C. Hoyos, J. Zambrano Nájera

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Increasing urbanization has led to changes in the natural dynamics of watersheds, causing problems such as increases in volumes of runoff, peak flow rates, and flow rates so that the risk of storm flooding increases. Sewerage networks designed 30 – 40 years ago don’t account for these increases in flow volumes and velocities. Besides, Andean cities with high slopes worsen the problem because velocities are even higher not allowing sewerage network work and causing cities less resilient to landscape changes and climatic change. In Latin America, especially Colombia, this is a major problem because urban population at late XX century was more than 70% is in urban areas increasing approximately in 790% in 1940-1990 period. Thus, it becomes very important to study how changes in hydrological behavior affect hydraulic capacity of sewerage networks in Andean Urban Watersheds. This research aims to determine the impact of urbanization in high-sloped urban watersheds in its hydrology. To this end it will be used as study area experimental urban watershed named Palogrande-San Luis watershed, located in the city of Manizales, Colombia. Manizales is a city in central western Colombia, located in Colombian Central Mountain Range (part of Los Andes Mountains) with an abrupt topography (average altitude is 2.153 m). The climate in Manizales is quite uniform, but due to its high altitude it presents high precipitations (1.545 mm/year average) with high humidity (83% average). Behavior of the current sewerage network will be reviewed by the hydraulic model SWMM (Storm Water Management Model). Based on SWMM the hydrological response of urban watershed selected will be evaluated under the design storm with different frequencies in the region, such as drainage effect and water-logging, overland flow on roads, etc. Cartographic information was obtained from a Geographic Information System (GIS) thematic maps of the Institute of Environmental Studies of the Universidad Nacional de Colombia and the utility Aguas de Manizales S.A. Rainfall and streamflow data is obtained from 4 rain gages and 1 stream gages. This information will allow determining critical issues on drainage systems design in urban watershed with very high slopes, and which practices will be discarded o recommended.

Keywords: land cover changes, storm sewer system, urban hydrology, urban planning

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Authors: Mina Bakhshi

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Nowadays, issues such as various types of pollution, problems caused by energy consumption, population density, social activities, difficulties related to urban access and communication, transportation, etc., have challenged different communities and become the subject of their discussions. In response to this issue, theories and movements have emerged to achieve sustainable urban development, including the smart growth movement. This theory emphasizes that the physical growth and expansion of cities should serve the community and the environment, aiming to improve the quality of life and promote the use of renewable energy resources for sustainability. The smart city network system not only improves the economic situation of the society and benefits the environment but also enables the achievement of important issues such as sustainable development, continuity, and diversity of energy resources. In this article, we investigate the impact of using renewable energy sources on optimizing energy consumption and reducing pollution caused by fossil fuels with the help of smart city development. The aim of this article is to introduce renewable energy sources and their utilization as a solution to address the energy crisis and reduce environmental pollution. This research has attempted to introduce the smart city and the use of renewable energy sources as a method for solving many urban problems and achieving efficient urban control and management.

Keywords: smart city, renewable energy sources, sustainable development, sustainable city

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