ABSTRACT
Global pandemics pose a threat to the sustainable development of urban health. As urban spaces are important places for people to interact, overcrowding in these spaces can increase the risk of disease transmission, which is detrimental to the sustainable development of urban health. Therefore, it is crucial to identify potential epidemic risk areas and assess their risk levels for future epidemic prevention and the sustainable development of urban health. This article takes the main urban area of Harbin as the research object and conducts a cluster spatial analysis from multiple perspectives, including building density, functional density, functional mix, proximity, intermediacy, and thermal intensity, proposing a comprehensive identification method. The study found that (1) functional density is the most significant influencing factor in the formation of epidemic risks. Among various urban functions, commercial and public service functions have the strongest impact on the generation and spread of epidemic risks, and their distribution also has the widest impact range. (2) The spaces with higher levels of epidemic risk in Harbin are mainly distributed in the core urban areas, while the peripheral areas have relatively lower levels of risk, showing a decreasing trend from the center to the periphery. At the same time, the hierarchical distribution of urban space also has an impact on the spatial distribution of the epidemic. (3) The method proposed in this study played an important role in identifying the spatial aggregation of epidemic risks in Harbin and successfully identified the risk levels of epidemic distribution in the city. In spatial terms, it is consistent with high-risk locations of epidemic outbreaks, which proves the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed method. These research findings are beneficial for measures to promote sustainable urban development, improve the city's epidemic prevention capabilities and public health levels, and make greater contributions to the sustainable development of global public health, promoting global health endeavors.
ABSTRACT
Cities shelter more than two thirds of the world's population, and health security in such environments became a challenge. The outbreak of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic revealed the urgency of assessing urban resilience towards major health crises. Major cities are acknowledged for decreasing the health status of their residents through complex drivers, and researchers from various domains have been addressing these issues for the past three decades. The aim of our study focused on highlighting the main methods and indicators used by scholars to assess the impact of urban landscapes on health, and to cluster urban landscapes based on their conclusions. We scoped the scientific literature published in the past 10 years, addressing the issue of health in relation with urban landscapes. We used statistical approaches, API algorithms, and social network analysis for generating and exposing our results. Most studies focused on perception analyses (mainly self-perceived health), literature reviews or environmental quality impacts on health. Green and blue features were considered therapeutic landscapes, while dense built-up spaces were described as harmful. Urban landscapes are acknowledged as enablers or disablers of health, thus planning strategies and regulations should consider the impacts generated by the design and structure of new urban fabrics. © 2023, Editura Universitatii din Bucuresti. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
A resilient city includes multiple energy carriers, high-efficiency infrastructure, lower resource demand to decarbonize and sustain the urban system in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the various recovery plans following the COVID-19 pandemic period. To achieve these goals, a key role is played by all urban sectors, which can reduce environmental impacts and accelerate the green transition at larger scale. Intervening on a district scale obviously requires the evaluation of different aspects, taking into account both economic and non-economic criteria, as well as different points of view, involving all stakeholders. This paper proposes a multi-step evaluation procedure that extends the European manual-based Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to include the extra-economic benefits and the stakeholders' opinion in the evaluation, according to the COmpoSIte Model for Assessment (COSIMA) method. This is the first application of COSIMA in the urban design sectors (i.e. buildings, water, public lighting, transportation and waste management) where different sustainable measures for a real case study located in Turin (Italy) were compared to define the most suitable transformation scenario according to multiple criteria. The results have shown how invasive scenarios allow achieving the greatest benefits, despite the huge initial costs of realization. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd
ABSTRACT
Environmental sustainability has been a key policy goal of the European Union (EU), particularly under recent EU Cohesion Policy strategic frameworks. This paper contributes to the analysis of the relevance of EU Cohesion Policy-related environmental sustainability investments, by assessing the impacts of the Operational Programme for Sustainability and Use of Resources (POSEUR 2014–2020), in the Portuguese North NUTS II. In detail, the impact scores of the following five analytical dimensions related to this programme were obtained: (i) low-emissions economy, (ii) adaptation to climate change, (iii) risk prevention and management, (iv) environmental protection and (v) resource efficiency. The analysis was supported by a territorial impact assessment methodology (TARGET_TIA) which was complemented by an online analytic geographic information system (GIS) policy evaluation platform (Impact-WEB_GIS). The results showed that the POSEUR's regional implementation efficiency fell short of the stakeholders' expectations. This can be explained by factors such as the obstacles posed by the prior underdeveloped infrastructural conditions, coupled with the panorama created by the Covid-19 outbreak. Nonetheless, the risk prevention and management dimension had a solid positive impact score that reflected the efficacy of POSEUR in tackling environmental threats, mostly in rural ecosystems. [ FROM AUTHOR]
ABSTRACT
The global population has rapidly urbanized over the past century, and the urbanization rate is projected to reach about 70% by 2050. In line with these trends and the increasing recognition of the significance of cities in addressing local and global challenges, a lot of research has been published on urban studies and planning since the middle of the twentieth century. While the number of publications has been rapidly increasing over the past decades, there is still a lack of studies analyzing the field's knowledge structure and its evolution. To fill this gap, this study analyzes data related to more than 100,000 articles indexed under the "Urban Studies” and "Regional & Urban Planning” subject categories of the Web of Science. We conduct various analyses such as term co-occurrence, co-citation, bibliographic coupling, and citation analysis to identify the key defining thematic areas of the field and examine how they have evolved. We also identify key authors, journals, references, and organizations that have contributed more to the field's development. The analysis is conducted over five periods: 1956–1975 (the genesis period), 1976–1995 (economic growth and environmentalism), 1996–2015 (sustainable development and technological innovation), 2016–2019 (climate change and SDGs), and 2020 onwards (post-COVID urbanism). Four major thematic areas are identified: 1) socio-economic issues and inequalities, 2) economic growth and innovation, 3) urban ecology and land use planning, and 4) urban policy and governance and sustainability. The first two are recurring themes over different periods, while the latter two have gained currency over the past 2–3 decades following global events and policy frameworks related to global challenges like sustainability and climate change. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, issues related to smart cities, big data analytics, urban resilience, and governance have received particular attention. We found disproportionate contributions to the field from the Global North. Some countries from the Global South with rapid urbanization rates are underrepresented, which may have implications for the future of urbanization. We conclude the study by highlighting thematic gaps and other critical issues that need to be addressed by urban scholars to accelerate the transition toward sustainable and resilient cities.
ABSTRACT
A resilient city includes multiple energy carriers, high-efficiency infrastructure, lower resource demand to decarbonize and sustain the urban system in accordance with the Paris Agreement, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and the various recovery plans following the COVID-19 pandemic period. To achieve these goals, a key role is played by all urban sectors, which can reduce environmental impacts and accelerate the green transition at larger scale. Intervening on a district scale obviously requires the evaluation of different aspects, taking into account both economic and non-economic criteria, as well as different points of view, involving all stakeholders. This paper proposes a multi-step evaluation procedure that extends the European manual-based Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to include the extra-economic benefits and the stakeholders’ opinion in the evaluation, according to the COmpoSIte Model for Assessment (COSIMA) method. This is the first application of COSIMA in the urban design sectors (i.e. buildings, water, public lighting, transportation and waste management) where different sustainable measures for a real case study located in Turin (Italy) were compared to define the most suitable transformation scenario according to multiple criteria. The results have shown how invasive scenarios allow achieving the greatest benefits, despite the huge initial costs of realization.
ABSTRACT
Nowadays, urban centers face the challenge to upgrade life quality by reducing traffic congestion, air pollution emissions and road casualties. Transport charging policies applied in cities at a quick pace are a key tool for sustainable mobility. However, public acceptability is an important precondition to be adopted for such policies. In this context, the scope of this paper is the investigation of the public acceptability of environmentally linked urban charging policies in Greek urban centers. Specifically, the paper’s objective is the investigation of Greek drivers’ acceptability of the implementation of a congestion charging policy and a parking charging policy with the charging being adjusted according to the Euro class and technology of the vehicle in favor of less polluting cars. A structural equation model (SEM) was developed using data from a questionnaire survey which provided a sample encompassing 733 respondent drivers from three main urban centers of Greece: Athens, Thessaloniki and Volos. Several statistical relationships were detected and quantified correlating the two examined urban environmental charging policies with five latent unobserved variables. Based on the results, public acceptability of environmental congestion charging policies and the public acceptability of environmental parking charging policies were found to be positively correlated with each other, meaning that a driver who supports one environmentally linked transport charging policy is more likely to support the other one as well. The environmental sensitivity and high commuting profiles of drivers are influential factors that positively affect the acceptability of the two examined transport charging policies’ implementation in Greek urban centers. Analysis has also shown that younger, higher-educated respondents and females are more likely to accept the environmental charging policies under consideration.
ABSTRACT
The emblematic French Way of Saint James (Camino de Santiago Francés) crosses towns, cities, and Spanish regions to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, Spain), However, where is The French Way of Saint James going with respect to the urban sustainability of its host cities? As each city is unique and urban sustainability favors the revitalization and transition of urban areas, to know where to go, it is first necessary to establish a diagnosis that makes the different urban situations visible. In this article, the behavior of urban sustainability is analyzed in the six host cities of The French Way of Saint James in the Autonomous Community of Castilla y León, a region characterized by its link with the rural environment and its current depopulation problems. The data and indicators used are officially provided by the Spanish Urban Agenda, which, through the normalization of its values, are able to territorialize the SDGs at the local level and reflect the realities of the cities of Burgos, Astorga, Cacabelos, León, Ponferrada, and Valverde de la Virgen. The results make it possible to diagnose and compare these host cities, identifying weaknesses, skills, and opportunities that favor the promotion of action plans, local or joint (favored by The French Way of Saint James), in the multiple aspects of sustainability. In addition, they show that Valverde de la Virgen is the city with the best performance in terms of urban sustainability.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study is to explore, after the epidemic, the intelligent traffic management system, which is the key to creating a green leisure tourism environment in the move towards sustainable urban development. First, quantitative research, snowballing, and convenience sampling methods are used to analyze 750 questionnaires with a basic statistical test, t-test, ANOVA test, and the Pearson product–moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC) method. Qualitative research and a semi-structured interview method are used to collect the opinions of six experts on the data results. Finally, the results are discussed with the multivariate inspection method. Although the current electric bicycle system is convenient, the study found that the service quality of the airport is sufficient;that the fare of the subway is low and popular with students if the system can ease the crowd during peak hours;and that the login and security check time can be shortened, which can help improve the operating convenience of the system interface and link the information of leisure and tourism activities. On the other hand, adjusting fares, increasing seats, planning for women-only ticketing measures and travel space, providing disinfection or cleaning facilities in public areas, and improving passenger’s public health literacy and epidemic prevention cooperation will further enhance the student travel experience, improve the smart city and green tourism network, and help achieve sustainable urban tourism.
ABSTRACT
One of the biggest world problems now is rural-urban migration, with about more than 50% of the total world's population living in urban centres. Looking at the world's virus pandemic of COVID-19 is spreading very fast;this is because of the congestion, unsanitary and high population in the urban centres. This paper highlights the problems of urbanisation in Kano State, and Nigeria as a whole. Relevant literatures were revised and conclusion and recommendation were deduced. Results show that migration problems resulted in the city over sprawl, deforestation, disturbance of wildlife, abandonment of cultural heritage, agricultural land, craftsmanship and loss of ancestral informal education and occupation. Therefore, it is recommended that rural areas of Kano State should be given special attention to reduce the rate of migration problem in urban centres around Kano State, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic emerged as a global public health threat. In this crisis period, urban parks provided multiple ecosystem services and direct/indirect benefits to mental and physical health. However, the use patterns, attitudes, and perceptions of urban park visitors remained unexplored in Saudi cities. This study aimed to find out the use patterns, attitudes, and perceptions of people regarding urban parks during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the findings were compared with non-pandemic periods. Two urban parks (Al Masarah Garden and Al Jamaa Garden) in Jeddah megacity (Saudi Arabia) were assessed, and 215 respondents were surveyed to fulfil the objectives of the study. The study applied a questionnaire survey and field observations to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use patterns, attitudes, and perceptions of urban park visitors. Non-parametric tests (Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests) were performed to find out the impact of sociodemographic factors (such as age, gender, and education). From the results, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic had a substantial impact on the use, attitudes, and perceptions of urban parks in comparison with non-pandemic periods. The number of park visitors decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic, but urban parks were crucial to people's mental and physical well-being. The findings of this study may help to understand the importance of urban parks as green spaces and to implement measures to enhance the quality and quantity of urban green spaces in Saudi cities.
ABSTRACT
Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always following a rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. This section of the Journal., Review Notes, is a continuous update about emerging topics concerning relationships among urban planning, mobility, and environment, thanks to a collection of short scientific papers written by young researchers. The Review Notes are made up of five parts. Each section examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage within the main interests of the TeMA Journal. In particular: the Town Planning International Rules and Legislation. Section aims at presenting the latest updates in the territorial and urban legislative sphere. The ecological transition is one of the most important missions within the recovery and resilience plans that aim towards an increasingly sustainable city model. The reference scientific literature highlights the importance of studying the relationships between energy policy and the physical-functional organization of urban systems. In this direction, the content of this review aims to define the framework of the interventions and resources in the resilience and recovery plans of two European states of Spain and Ireland. We review their ecological and green revolution/transition reforms in a comparative study with Italy and Germany. The aim is also to define the role and impacts of these reforms in future urban strategies.
ABSTRACT
Starting from the relationship between urban planning and mobility management, TeMA has gradually expanded the view of the covered topics, always following a rigorous scientific in-depth analysis. This section of the Journal, Review Notes, is the expression of a continuous updating of emerging topics concerning relationships among urban planning, mobility and environment, through a collection of short scientific papers. The Review Notes are made of four parts. Each section examines a specific aspect of the broader information storage within the main interests of TeMA Journal. In particular, the Economy, business and land use section aims at presenting recent advancements on relevant topics that underlie socio-economic relationships between firms and territories. The present note tries to clarify the concept of sustainable city from a practical perspective rather than from a theoretical one. It does that by describing some of the most widespread framework in defining urban sustainability.
ABSTRACT
The urban environment and the quality of the urban spaces are greatly affected by different forms of mobility, from the extremely impactful mass use of private vehicles to the 'soft' pedestrian walkways and cycle paths, and also through the several modes of public transport. In this paper we first explore the different urban impacts of these forms of mobility and the interaction between the urban system and the transportation system, and we then analyse the relationship of factors promoting urban quality in accordance with literature on urban design. Next, an analysis of the street's cross section is made, as the quality of this space is inextricably linked to its grade of sustainable mobility. The results of this study are contrasted with the experience within Granada's Metropolitan area, which has a high level of private vehicular use, for example its heavy congestion coupled with severe environmental pollution. A new light rail system (LRT) has been developed, with major urban renewal along its track. The LRT has the particularity of having varied cross sections, whereby the improvement in quality of urban space along them can be evaluated. The high-quality urban spaces are those with virtually no vehicular access whatsoever, providing a completely pedestrianized area, such as in the traditional urban road crossing axes in the outlying districts, which are now almost completely free from vehicles and are more greatly accessible to people. As a result of current social distancing required by the COVID-19 pandemic, urban space, which can be configured in a very adaptable way, is changing in many cities including Granada, giving more space in their streets to sustainable mobility modes and, therefore, indirectly increasing their quality and longevity. The changes carried out in Granada reveal a requirement for the promotion of improvement in urban spaces and sustainable mobility on a metropolitan scale, since the LRT is not enough if it is not accompanied by other urban development and mobility integrated measures. © 2021 WIT Press.
ABSTRACT
In the past two decades, Earth observation (EO) data have been utilized for studying the spatial patterns of urban deprivation. Given the scope of many existing studies, it is still unclear how very-high-resolution EO data can help to improve our understanding of the multidimensionality of deprivation within settlements on a city-wide scale. In this work, we assumed that multiple facets of deprivation are reflected by varying morphological structures within deprived urban areas and can be captured by EO information. We set out by staying on the scale of an entire city, while zooming into each of the deprived areas to investigate deprivation through land cover (LC) variations. To test the generalizability of our workflow, we assembled multiple WorldView-3 datasets (multispectral and shortwave infrared) with varying numbers of bands and image features, allowing us to explore computational efficiency, complexity, and scalability while keeping the model architecture consistent. Our workflow was implemented in the city of Nairobi, Kenya, where more than sixty percent of the city population lives in deprived areas. Our results indicate that detailed LC information that characterizes deprivation can be mapped with an accuracy of over seventy percent by only using RGB-based image features. Including the near-infrared (NIR) band appears to bring significant improvements in the accuracy of all classes. Equally important, we were able to categorize deprived areas into varying profiles manifested through LC variability using a gridded mapping approach. The types of deprivation profiles varied significantly both within and between deprived areas. The results could be informative for practical interventions such as land-use planning policies for urban upgrading programs.
ABSTRACT
This paper provides new evidence on the role of city planning, urban form, and built environment characteristics in health and well-being during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Based on survey and geographic information systems (GIS) data from Oslo and Viken in Norway, the paper investigates changes in health and well-being due to COVID-19 and how the compact city and its characteristics relate to these changes. Findings indicate that self-reported measures of health and well-being worsened due to COVID-19. The most substantial changes were reported for life satisfaction, anxiety, and satisfaction with leisure, personal relationships, and vacations. General health, happiness, and satisfaction with income also declined during COVID-19 in comparison with pre-COVID-19 times. Overall, residents of compact neighborhoods reported lower well-being during COVID-19 compared to residents of lower-density neighborhoods. Important compact city characteristics - higher neighborhood density, reliance on public transport, smaller dwellings, and less green space - were negatively associated with well-being and health outcomes during COVID-19. In contrast, another compact city attribute, the presence of numerous local facilities, was positively linked to well-being and health during COVID-19. Based on these findings, the paper presents possible implications for sustainable urban planning and compact cities.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , City Planning , Cities , Humans , Pandemics , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
The lack of detailed COVID-19 cases at a fine spatial resolution restricts the investigation of spatial disparities of its attack rate. Here, we collected nearly one thousand self-reported cases from a social media platform during the early stage of COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan, China. We used kernel density estimation (KDE) to explore spatial disparities of epidemic intensity and adopted geographically weighted regression (GWR) model to quantify influences of population dynamics, transportation, and social interactions on COVID-19 epidemic. Results show that self-reported COVID-19 cases concentrated in commercial centers and populous residential areas. Blocks with higher population density, higher aging rate, more metro stations, more main roads, and more commercial point-of-interests (POIs) have a higher density of COVID-19 cases. These five explanatory variables explain 76% variance of self-reported cases using an OLS model. Commercial POIs have the strongest influence, which increase COVID-19 cases by 28% with one standard deviation increase. The GWR model performs better than OLS model with the adjusted R 2 of 0.96. Spatial heterogeneities of coefficients in the GWR model show that influencing factors play different roles in diverse communities. We further discussed potential implications for the healthy city and urban planning for the sustainable development of cities.
ABSTRACT
Current debates identifying urban population density as a major catalyst for the spread of COVID-19, and the praise for de-densification and urban sprawl that they entail, may have dire environmental consequences. Juxtaposing competing theories about the urban antecedents of COVID-19, our key argument is that urban political attributes overshadow the effects of cities' spatial characteristics. This is true even when considering levels of compliance with movement restrictions and controlling for demographic and socio-economic conditions. Taking advantage of Israel as a living lab for studying COVID-19, we examine 271 localities during the first 3 months of the outbreak in Israel, a country where over 90% of the population is urban. Rather than density, we find social makeup and politics to have a critical effect. Cities with some types of political minority groups, but not others, exhibit higher infection rates. Compliance has a significant effect and density's influence on the spread of the disease is contingent on urban political attributes. We conclude with assessing how the relationship between the politics of cities and the spread of contagious diseases sheds new light on tensions between neo-Malthusian sentiments and concerns about urban sprawl and environmental degradation.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , COVID-19/epidemiology , Cities , Humans , Israel/epidemiology , Politics , Urban Population , UrbanizationABSTRACT
To enhance the effectiveness of epidemic prevention (EP) in urban sustainability transformation, joint prevention and control mechanism should be established to prevent and control the COVID-19 epidemic. The interurban multi-agent EP strategy, as a key component of this mechanism, includes the spontaneous EP model, the superior leading EP model, and the collaborative EP model. In this study, firstly, the theoretical mechanism of the interurban multi-agent EP strategy was analyzed. Then, we proposed a three-party differential game model including factors such as the risk coefficient for the virus infection and EP experience teaching. Finally, prevention strategies, prevention efficiency, and prevention losses were compared under the three models based on theoretical analysis and numerical analysis. The results of this study are as follows. COVID-19 EP should be guided by a model of central government (CG) leadership, interurban collaboration, and social participation. The CG and urban governments (UGs) should comprehensively carry out COVID-19 EP from various aspects, including EP experience teaching, mass EP comfort, the utilization rate of EP funds, and the ability to implement strategies. During the course of the COVID-19 EP, when the CG and UGs transition from spontaneous EP model to a higher-level EP model, the UG's EP efforts will be enhanced. Under the collaborative EP model, the CG and UGs undergo the highest levels of EP effort. Compared with spontaneous EP model, the superior leading EP model can promote a Pareto improvement for all parties. From the perspective of total loss, the collaborative EP model is superior to the other two EP models. This study not only provides practical guidance for coordinating interurban relationships and enabling multi-agents to fully form joint forces, but also provides theoretical support for the establishment of an interurban joint EP mechanism under unified leadership.
ABSTRACT
The article deals with Covid-19 as a social crisis and justice challenge for cities. It describes how Covid-19 shines a spotlight on the uneven distribution of goods and burdens, opportunities and resources that we find in most of the world's cities today; inequality and justice challenges arise from both the crisis itself and some of the policy reactions to it, such as the stay-at-home orders and economic lockdowns. It shows how exposure and vulnerability to Covid-19 emerges mainly at the intersection between different dimensions of disadvantage and marginalization. The example of housing and green space provision is used to discuss this general argument in more detail. The article concludes that to overcome the social crisis and justice challenge posed by Covid-19, we have to tackle the underlying structures/mechanisms leading to inequitable outcomes in today's cities, and to re-think the social and justice yardsticks of current urban sustainability and resilience debates and strategies.