Characterization of the compounds of nitrogen and total suspended particles in the municipality Regla, Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wallo Vazquez, Antonio; Cuesta Santos, Osvaldo

2006-01-01

The questions related with the atmospheric contamination in urban areas every day they charge bigger importance for the affectations that it can take place so much in the health of the human beings as in the materials, constructions, etc. In the city of Havana those made up of nitrogen and the particles suspended totals are of the pollutants whose concentrations are elevated in the atmosphere. Inside this context, the present work intends the analysis of the behavior of this concentrations, taken as experimental polygon the municipality Regla in city of Havana

Havana

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scarpaci, Joseph L.; Coyula, Mario; Segre, Roberto

, through the 1959 revolution, and into the post-Soviet era and today, the authors trace Havana's physical evolution and place it in the context of important political, economic, and cultural developments. This new edition--which has been completely revised, redesigned, and updated since the book's original...... five hundred years of development in the Cuban capital. They offer an insightful introduction to Havana's historic architecture and modern buildings, its social and economic fabric, its diverse people, and its contemporary challenges and opportunities.From the colonial and early republican periods...

Envision Downtown: Public Space Public Life Survey

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Pedestrian and Bicycle counts, Stationary Activity Counts, and Age and Gender counts for 16 locations in Downtown Pittsburgh. Data was collected over a weekday (7am...

Metrics of Urban Sustainability: A Case Study of Changing Downtowns in Thunder Bay, Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Todd Randall

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Thunder Bay, a medium-sized city in Northern Ontario, has a twin downtown core model, arising from the merging of two former cities in 1970. Its north core, designated as the City’s Entertainment District has received considerable investment, notably a major waterfront renewal project undertaken in 2009 as part of an overall strategy towards downtown revitalization. Greater diversity of commercial functions and increasing residential capacity in downtowns are considered positive steps towards sustainable urban development. It is hoped the leadership taken by the City in its downtown capital investments can stimulate others (corporations and individuals to re-invest in both living and working in more central locations to the benefit of environmental sustainability indicators like journey-to-work (distance and mode selected and residential density. This article tracks changes in business composition and residential capacity during a five year period via the development of an intensive database of business and institutional activities. Urban sustainability metrics developed include residential capacity and density, business vacancy rates and business composition and turnover, which complement an existing measure of land-use diversity developed in earlier research. While major capital investments in downtown revitalization (such as the waterfront project have fairly long-term impact horizons, data suggest some positive trends in the developed metrics in the downtown north core since 2009. In particular, there have been notable investments in waterfront condos and downtown lofts and some diversification in the food retailing and restaurant sectors. However, overall trends in downtown commerce are currently flat, indicative of a struggling local economy and a continued suburbanization of key commercial sectors.

Evaluation of the radius-226 doses incorporated with the consumption waters, which is receive by the City of Havana inhabitants

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tomas Zerquera, J.; Prendes Alonso, M.; Fernandez Gomez, I.M.; Martinez Ricardo, N.

2001-01-01

Because of the relatively good solubility of radium compounds contained in the crust of the earths, frequently is this possible to find in spring waters concentration of radium 226 which may be significant. Taking in account that person consumer important volumes of waters annually, it is necessary to assess the dose to population due to the intake of radium 226 by this pathway. Samples were taking in the principal water sources in Havana City and for each samples the radium 226 concentration was determined

Effective environmental factors on geographical distribution of traffic accidents on pedestrians, downtown of Tehran City.

Science.gov (United States)

Moradi, Ali; Rahmani, Khaled; Kavousi, Amir; Eshghabadi, Farshid; Nematollahi, Shahrzad; Zainni, Slahedyn; Soori, Hamid

2018-02-20

The aim of this study was to geographically analyse the traffic casualties in pedestrians in downtown of Tehran City. Study population consisted of pedestrians who had traffic injury accidents from April 2014 to March 2015 in Tehran City. Data were extracted from the offices of traffic police and municipality. For analysis of environmental factors and site of accidents, Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression models and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) were used. All pedestrian accidents including 514 accidents were assessed in this study in which the site of accidents included arterial streets in 370 (71.9%) cases, collector streets in 133 cases (25.2%) and highways in 11 cases (2.1%). Geographical units of traffic accidents in pedestrians had statistically significant relationship with the number of bus stations, number of crossroads and recreational areas. Neighbourhoods close to markets are considered as the most dangerous places for injury in traffic accidents.

Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) measured with the doubly labeled water technique in women from 60 to 70 years of age from Havana City, Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernandez-Triana, M.H.; Porrata, C.; Estrada, G.; Diaz, M.E.; Martin, I.; Bayley, H.; McCormack, B.A.; Jones, P.J.H.

2002-01-01

Aim: With the purpose to measure the Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) and to validate the Cuban Dietary Energy Allowance for elderly subjects, energy expenditure was assessed by the doubly labeled water technique in 11 women aged 65.9 ± 2.8 y with a mean BMI of 21.4 ± 4.2 kg/m2 during 14 days under free-living conditions in their own environment in Havana City. Materials and Methods: After taking a basal urine sample, the women received an oral dose of 2.5 g H218O (10%) and 0.12 g 2H2O (99.8%) body weight and samples of saliva and urine were collected 14 days after. Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) was estimated by the Schofield equations proposed by the 1985 FAO/WHO/UNU Expert Committee Report and energy intake was measured by trained dietitians using the 3-day weighed dietary record. A mean value of the food quotient of 0.85 was used for the calculations of the CO2 production by the isotopic method. Results: In spite of the expected variability, the differences between TEE measured by the isotopic method (7.57 MJ/d) and estimated according to FAO/WHO/UNU, 1985 (7.24 MJ/d) were not significant (0.625). The recommended dietary allowance for energy valid for Cuban elderly subjects (7.66 MJ/d) was only slight over the value of the measured TEE. The value of energy expenditure measured in free-living elderly women from Havana City was in the range of acceptable values (6-8 MJ/d) for this group of age. Conclusions: The total energy expenditure of elderly women from Havana City was lower than reported values for women living in developed countries but coincident with those of women of the developing world. The differences between dietary energy intake and TEE measured by the isotopic method were around 27% and coincident with previous reports in elderly people. The Cuban allowance for dietary energy for elderly women was enough for covering their energy requirements

Building an urban 'renaissance': fragmented services and the production of inequality in Greater Downtown Detroit.

Science.gov (United States)

Doucet, Brian; Smit, Edske

2016-01-01

Downtown Detroit has been undergoing a renaissance in recent years which is in stark contrast to the economic and social situation in much of the rest of the city. This renaissance has been taking place despite the city's ability to provide good municipal services such as streetlights, security, public space and transport. This article focuses on how four areas which constitute part of Greater Downtown Detroit have relied on different combinations of actors to create and provide the services and amenities deemed necessary for capital investment and middle-class consumption. Each area has its own initiatives and actors who implement them, further fragmenting the city between its core and periphery. Renewed public spaces, private police forces and resident initiatives in middle-class neighborhoods have been created to serve specific needs of the small areas they serve. Rather than being unique, Detroit is an extreme example of fragmented and polarized urbanism which is part and parcel of contemporary cities. We argue that rather than passively reflecting existing socio-spatial divides, these private initiatives in Greater Downtown Detroit actively contribute to the production of sociospatial inequalities across the city.

Exams for attribution of sevres porcelain by x-ray fluorescence in Havana museums

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendoza Cuevas, Ariadna; Nazco Torres, Julio

2010-01-01

Analysis with X-ray fluorescence on Sevres porcelain was performed in order to determine criteria from the scientific examination that may support the attribution of special pieces. Multielemental chemical analyses of decorations colours, marks and glazed porcelain body were related to specific historic information about used materials and procedure of Sevres french manufactory. The used portable XRF spectrometer allows non destructive and in situ studies of Havana's collections with adequate sensibility for this application. Collections of Havana City Museum, Decorative Art Museum and Napoleonic Museum and some pieces of different background were studied. Non typical pigments used in Sevres allows to identify non genuine Sevres decorations while cluster analysis on porcelain body differentiates Sevres and 'surdecor' porcelains from Sevres style non genuine porcelains. (author)

Exams for attribution of sevres porcelain by x-ray fluorescence in Havana museums

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mendoza Cuevas, Ariadna; Nazco Torres, Julio

2009-01-01

Analysis with X-ray fluorescence on Sevres porcelain was performed in order to determine criteria from the scientific examination that may support the attribution of special pieces. Multielemental chemical analyses of decorations colours, marks and glazed porcelain body were related to specific historic information about used materials and procedure of Sevres french manufactory. The used portable XRF spectrometer allows non destructive and in situ studies of Havana's collections with adequate sensibility for this application. Collections of Havana City Museum, Decorative Art Museum and Napoleonic Museum and some pieces of different background were studied. Non typical pigments used in Sevres allows to identify non genuine Sevres decorations while cluster analysis on porcelain body differentiates Sevres and 'surdecor' porcelains from Sevres style non genuine porcelains. (author)

On natural ventilation and thermal comfort in compact urban environments – the Old Havana case

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tablada, A.; De Troyer, F.; Blocken, B.J.E.; Carmeliet, J.E.; Verschure, H.

2009-01-01

The Historical Centre of Old Havana in Cuba is currently undergoing a comprehensive preservation and urban recovering program. Housing units are built in existing vacant plots of the old city. The design of the new buildings should be integrated in the compact urban structure that has developed

The Concept of “Icon Streets” on the Basis of Lisbon Downtown

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Moreira Pinto

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The main objective of the article is to enrich the current discussion on “place icons” through a case study of the Lisbon street “Rua da Madalena” and its architecture illustrating the integrated design and marketing concept adopted by the whole city. The paper presents the interdisciplinary approach using significant contribution from the fields of tourism, business, history and memory of the past. The article argues that modern cities need the “icon streets” that are basing on the social innovation policy, branding concepts, architectural theory and practice. Moreover, the paper presents how an integrated design strategy is practically applied in Lisbon downtown, and how it can contribute to the successful promotion of the city. Throughout this research, there is used the direct reference into both tangible and intangible cultural heritage, in terms of renewing the old city street on the basis of the unique brand strategy, the historical perspective that should characterized the street and up-to-date marketing concepts. The case study of Lisbon downtown provides the example of such the integrated strategy that can be easily adopted by other cities to improve their images and increase both economic and social potential by attracting tourists and media interest.

Pigments identification in Havana Colonial wall painting by portable XRF System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nazca, J.; Mendoza, A.; Rodriguez, A.; Rodriguez, T.

2001-01-01

The Havana City historical center is being recuperated in the las years. Numerous are the colonial houses with values typical wall painting as internal decoration that need to be investigated and restored. The pigment identification is essential to have knowledge about pictorial technique and to help and monitor the restoration process. The identification of inorganic pigments in the Havana colonial wall painting has been not almost studied. The opportunity to have a new Portable XRF system in the Archaeometry laboratory of the Conservation and Restoration Gabinet of Havana Historitian Office allows to investigate the wall painting, samples that because of its more of this nature it would be impossible to move to the laboratory for non destructive analysis. The most of the pigment are made of inorganic elements and they can be identified property by XRF technique. All complete archaeometric investigation has to use several technique and to work in a multidisciplinary research team to give a fundamental answer about the past, The suitable techniques selection to employ depends of the art Historitian and archaeologist's questions. The pictorial technique are traditionally investigated using stratigraphical information obtained by Optical Microscopy and organic compound determination by Gas Chromatography. The global analysis of the results from the different employed techniques and the discussion from the restaurateur point of view is presented

Graham Greene and Cuba: Our man in Havana?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Hulme

2008-12-01

Full Text Available [First paragraph] Graham Greene’s novel Our Man in Havana was published on October 6, 1958. Seven days later Greene arrived in Havana with Carol Reed to arrange for the filming of the script of the novel, on which they had both been working. Meanwhile, after his defeat of the summer offensive mounted by the Cuban dictator, Fulgencio Batista, in the mountains of eastern Cuba, just south of Bayamo, Fidel Castro had recently taken the military initiative: the day after Greene and Reed’s arrival on the island, Che Guevara reached Las Villas, moving westwards towards Havana. Six weeks later, on January 1, 1959, after Batista had fled the island, Castro and his Cuban Revolution took power. In April 1959 Greene and Reed were back in Havana with a film crew to film Our Man in Havana. The film was released in January 1960. A note at the beginning of the film says that it is “set before the recent revolution.” In terms of timing, Our Man in Havana could therefore hardly be more closely associated with the triumph of the Cuban Revolution. But is that association merely accidental, or does it involve any deeper implications? On the fiftieth anniversary of novel, film, and Revolution, that seems a question worth investigating, not with a view to turning Our Man in Havana into a serious political novel, but rather to exploring the complexities of the genre of comedy thriller and to bringing back into view some of the local contexts which might be less visible now than they were when the novel was published and the film released.

Gamma Activation Analysis in the Havana Bay superficial sediments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez, N.; Gelen, A.; Diaz Riso, O.; Manso, M.V.; Simon, M.J.; Maslov, A.G.; Gustova, M.V.; Beltran, J.; Soto, J.

2003-01-01

A preliminary study of 26 elements of Havana Bay superficial sediments were made using Gamma Activation Analysis. Samples from five zones of Havana Bay were analyzed. The results show a close interrelation between the concentration levels of the studied elements and the contaminant sources

Dense downtown living more carbon intense due to higher consumption: a case study of Helsinki

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Heinonen, Jukka; Kyroe, Riikka; Junnila, Seppo, E-mail: jukka.heinonen@aalto.fi, E-mail: riikka.kyro@aalto.fi, E-mail: seppo.junnila@aalto.fi [School of Engineering, Department of Surveying, Aalto University, PO Box 11200, 00076 Aalto (Finland)

2011-07-15

Hindering urban sprawl is one of the main goals for contemporary urban planning. Urban density is considered crucial in climate change mitigation since it reduces automobile dependence and decreases unit sizes, for example. This letter analyzes the effect of density in a city context. In the study the Finnish capital Helsinki is divided into two areas of different urban densities: the high density downtown area and the more scarcely populated suburbs. The study is a continuation of a recently published study on the implications of urban structure on carbon emissions, and analyzes further the main finding of the first study-that higher urban density might have negligible or even reverse effect on the per capita carbon emissions. Similarly to the previous study, a consumption based tiered hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is employed in order to produce a comprehensive assessment, free of territorial boundaries and system cutoffs typical of traditional LCAs. Based on the findings of the previous study, it is hypothesized that when assessing city level carbon dioxide emissions from a wider, consumer oriented LCA perspective, increased urban density may not necessarily reduce carbon emissions. Surprisingly, the study finds that carbon dioxide equivalent (CO{sub 2}e) emissions are substantially higher in the dense downtown area than in the surrounding suburbs, which is suggested to imply that the increased consumption due to the higher standard of living increases emissions more than the higher density is able to reduce them. The results demonstrate that, while increasing urban density can be justified from a number of ecological, social and economic viewpoints, density is not necessarily a key parameter in the particular case of climate change. In cities like Helsinki, where wealth is concentrated in the downtown area, climate policies should give higher priority to the energy consumption of buildings, to alternative energy production and distribution modes

Dense downtown living more carbon intense due to higher consumption: a case study of Helsinki

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinonen, Jukka; Kyroe, Riikka; Junnila, Seppo

2011-01-01

Hindering urban sprawl is one of the main goals for contemporary urban planning. Urban density is considered crucial in climate change mitigation since it reduces automobile dependence and decreases unit sizes, for example. This letter analyzes the effect of density in a city context. In the study the Finnish capital Helsinki is divided into two areas of different urban densities: the high density downtown area and the more scarcely populated suburbs. The study is a continuation of a recently published study on the implications of urban structure on carbon emissions, and analyzes further the main finding of the first study-that higher urban density might have negligible or even reverse effect on the per capita carbon emissions. Similarly to the previous study, a consumption based tiered hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) approach is employed in order to produce a comprehensive assessment, free of territorial boundaries and system cutoffs typical of traditional LCAs. Based on the findings of the previous study, it is hypothesized that when assessing city level carbon dioxide emissions from a wider, consumer oriented LCA perspective, increased urban density may not necessarily reduce carbon emissions. Surprisingly, the study finds that carbon dioxide equivalent (CO 2 e) emissions are substantially higher in the dense downtown area than in the surrounding suburbs, which is suggested to imply that the increased consumption due to the higher standard of living increases emissions more than the higher density is able to reduce them. The results demonstrate that, while increasing urban density can be justified from a number of ecological, social and economic viewpoints, density is not necessarily a key parameter in the particular case of climate change. In cities like Helsinki, where wealth is concentrated in the downtown area, climate policies should give higher priority to the energy consumption of buildings, to alternative energy production and distribution modes, as

Application of PIXE analysis to study urban atmospheric aerosols from downtown Havana City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez Zayas, Grizel; Pinnera Hernandez, Ibrahin; Ramos Aruca, Maridelin; Guibert Gala, Rolando; Molina Esquivel, Enrique; Martinez Varona, Miriam; Fernandez Arocha, Ariadna; Aldape Ugalde, Francisca; Flores Maldonado, Javier

2010-01-01

The present work reports, the results of a first study of elemental composition in airborne particulate matter (in fine and coarse particle size fractions) collected at the Atmospheric Monitoring Station in the Municipality of Centro Habana, using the Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique. At present, there is not information available about elements contents in airborne particulate matter from this region. For this study, we carried out a sampling campaign during five months (November 14, 2006 to April 19, 2007). The samples were collected every second day during 24 h under an air flux of 20 l/min. The air sampler used was a Gent Sampler equipped with a Stacked Filter Unit (SFU) system which allows the aerosol collection in both size fractions simultaneously. A total of 144 aerosol samples were collected (72 correspond to the fine mass particle and 72 to the coarse mass particle). For PIXE analysis, the samples were irradiated by 2.5 MeV energy protons from the 2MV Van de Graff Tandetron Accelerator from the Laboratory of PIXE analysis at ININ, Mexico. A total of 14 elements (S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br and Pb) were consistently detected in both particle size fractions with minimum detection limits in the range of 1-10 ng/m3. The quantitative results obtained from PIXE elemental analysis for mass of particles in both fractions have revealed important information that has been used in a first attempt to understand and to characterize the atmospheric pollution of this area. A general discussion about these results is presented in this paper. (author)

Application of PIXE analysis to study urban atmospheric aerosols from downtown Havana City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez Zayas, Grizel; Pinnera Hernandez, Ibrahin; Ramos Aruca, Maridelin; Guibert Gala, Rolando; Molina Esquivel, Enrique; Martinez Varona, Miriam; Fernandez Arocha, Ariadna; Aldape Ugalde, Francisca; Flores Maldonado, Javier

2009-01-01

The present work reports, the results of a first study of elemental composition in airborne particulate matter (in fine and coarse particle size fractions) collected at the Atmospheric Monitoring Station in the Municipality of Centro Habana, using the Particle-Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique. At present, there is not information available about elements contents in airborne particulate matter from this region. For this study, we carried out a sampling campaign during five months (November 14, 2006 to April 19, 2007). The samples were collected every second day during 24 h under an air flux of 20 l/min. The air sampler used was a Gent Sampler equipped with a Stacked Filter Unit (SFU) system which allows the aerosol collection in both size fractions simultaneously. A total of 144 aerosol samples were collected (72 correspond to the fine mass particle and 72 to the coarse mass particle). For PIXE analysis, the samples were irradiated by 2.5 MeV energy protons from the 2MV Van de Graff Tandetron Accelerator from the Laboratory of PIXE analysis at ININ, Mexico. A total of 14 elements (S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br and Pb) were consistently detected in both particle size fractions with minimum detection limits in the range of 1-10 ng/m3. The quantitative results obtained from PIXE elemental analysis for mass of particles in both fractions have revealed important information that has been used in a first attempt to understand and to characterize the atmospheric pollution of this area. A general discussion about these results is presented in this paper. (author)

Analytic Approach to Resolving Parking Problems in Downtown Zagreb

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adolf Malić

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Parking issue is one of the major problems in Zagreb, andin relation to that Zagreb does not differ from other similar orbigger European cities. The problem the city is facing is beingpresented in the paper. It is complex and can be solved gradually,using operative and planning measures, by applying influentialparameters assessments based on which the appropriateparking-garage spaces assessment would be selected. Besides,all the knowledge learned from experiences of similar Europeancities should be used in resolving stationary traffic problem.Introduction of fast public urban transport would providepassengers with improved services (particularly in relation tothe travelling time introducing modern traffic system thatwould reduce the travelling time to below 30 minutes for the farthestrelations. Further improvement in reducing parking problemsin downtown as well as Zagreb broader area would not bepossible without t,nplementing th.s approach.

VT Designated Downtown Boundary

Data.gov (United States)

Vermont Center for Geographic Information — Downtown designation provides communities with financial incentives, training and technical assistance to support local efforts to restore historic buildings,...

The Learning Exchange: A Shared Space for the University of British Columbia and Vancouver's Downtown Eastside Communities

Science.gov (United States)

Towle, Angela; Leahy, Kathleen

2016-01-01

The Learning Exchange was established by the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1999 in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES). The challenge has been to create a shared space for learning exchanges between two very different communities: a research-intensive university and an inner city area most commonly depicted as a place of hopelessness.…

Tourist shopping behavior in a historic downtown area

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kemperman, A.D.A.M.; Borgers, A.W.J.; Timmermans, H.J.P.

2009-01-01

Shopping is one of the most important activities for tourists. The purpose of this study is to describe and predict tourist shopping route choice behavior in a downtown historic center. Reported routes of tourists in the downtown shopping area of Maastricht, located in the Southern part of the

TEC variability over Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazo, B.; Alazo, K.; Rodriguez, M.; Calzadilla, A.

2003-01-01

The variability of total electron content (TEC) measured over Havana using ATS-6, SMS-1 and GOES-3 geosynchronous satellite signals has been investigated for low, middle and high solar activity periods from 1974 to 1982. The obtained results show that standard deviation is smooth during nighttime hours and maximum at noon or postnoon hours. Strong solar activity dependence of standard deviation with a maximum values during HSA has been found. (author)

Environmental noise in downtown Medellin 2002

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bedoya, Julian; Correa E, Alexander

2003-01-01

A total of 6400 noise measurements were taken in downtown Medellin, a 2km x 2km area to characterize noise levels. The area was divided into a grid of 160 blocks with a length 154 m each; 40 measurements were taken in each block Sampling was conducted for 10 days, with simultaneous measurements in four sampling zones selected randomly and with coverage of four sampling periods 7:00-9:00 AM, 9:30-11:30 AM, 12:00 AM-2:00 PM, y 5:00-7:00 PM). The zone between 44 and 49 streets and between 40 and 49 avenues has the maximum average noise level with 74 dBA (decibels in scale A). Four of the noisiest sites were measured during 48 hours continuously by usage of a dosimeter Auto correlation results allowed use of Geo statistics to built isophones for the tour time periods. Isophones plots over imposed on physical layout of the city shows a good correlation between high noise levels and heavy traffic through main avenues (Avenida Oriental, Calle San Juan, Avenida del Ferrocarril, Bazar de los Puentes, Glorieta de la Minorista). Medellin is a noisy city that does not meet existing national regulations. The proposed methodology based on Geo statistics and experimental design is a feasible and comprehensive approach to manage urban noise

Levels of cadmium, lead, cooper and zinc in vegetables cultivated in a highly urbanized area of La Havana city, Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivares R, S.; Garcia C, D.; Lima C, L.; Saborit S, I.; Llizo C, A.; Perez A, P.

2013-01-01

In this paper we report levels of Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn in soils and vegetables grown in a highly urbanized area of La Havana city. We studied 17 farms dedicated to urban agriculture in an area of two kilometers around the landfill -Calle 100- during 2006 and 2007. For the study, samples of the soil and all the vegetables ready to harvest were taken from the farms. The heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The levels of heavy metals in agricultural soils varied in the following ranges: Cd(0.24-2.1 mg/kg), Cu(38.4-81.3 mg/kg), Pb(18.1-138.5 mg/kg) and Zn(44.1-294.7 mg/kg). For Zn and Pb, some farm soils (35 and 52% respectively) exceeded the ranges in which these metals are found in Cuban agricultural soils. For Pb, 23% of the soils exceeded levels considered phyto toxic and limits in some international standards. The 12.5% of the samples of vegetables collected exceeded the maximum permissible levels of this pollutant in food for human consumption set by Cuban and international standards. The results indicate the need for strict crop monitoring in the area. (Author)

HIV/AIDS among women in Havana, Cuba: 1986-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Oliva, Dinorah C; Viñas, Arturo L; Saavedra, Clarivel; Oliva, Maritza; González, Ciro; de la Torre, Caridad

2013-10-01

Women are being diagnosed with HIV infection in increasing numbers, and now account for 50% of cases worldwide. In Cuba, HIV is more frequent in men, but in recent years, a growing number of women have been diagnosed. Describe patterns of HIV among women in Havana, Cuba, 1986-2011. Descriptive study of women with HIV aged >14 years, residents of Havana, Cuba, who were diagnosed with HIV from 1 January 1986 through 31 December 2011. Information was obtained from the limited-access HIV/AIDS database of Cuba's Ministry of Public Health. Data were studied from all reported cases, a total of 1274 women. Variables selected were age at diagnosis, education, municipality of residence, screening group, year of HIV diagnosis, late presentation, AIDS-defining condition, year of diagnosis as AIDS case, vital status at the end of 2011, and year of death (if applicable). Incidence of HIV and AIDS, cumulative incidence by municipality of residence, and case fatality rates were calculated. Those aged 20-29 years were most affected by HIV. Almost half (46.7%) the women had completed middle school, and a further 35.4% had completed high school or middle-level technical studies. HIV incidence began to increase more steeply starting in 1998, as did AIDS incidence by year of diagnosis, though to a lesser extent. Central Havana and Old Havana municipalities had the highest cumulative incidence. Late presentation was seen in 7.4% of cases; mean age of those diagnosed late was 38.9 years. Wasting syndrome and Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia were the most frequent AIDS-defining conditions. Case fatality rates started to decline in 1998. HIV infection in women is occurring in a predominantly young, relatively well-educated population. Increasing rates of HIV and AIDS in the past decade are a warning sign of the possible expansion of HIV infection in women, even though mortality is declining.

An Aerial Radiological Survey of the City of North Las Vegas (Downtown) and the Motor Speedway

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Piotr Wasiolek

2007-01-01

As part of the proficiency training for the Radiological Mapping mission of the Aerial Measuring System (AMS), a survey team from the Remote Sensing Laboratory-Nellis (RSL-Nellis) conducted an aerial radiological survey on December 11-12, 2007, with the purpose of mapping natural radiation background and locating any man-made radioactive sources. The survey covered 19.4 square miles (9.2 square miles over the downtown area of the City of North Las Vegas and 10.2 square miles over the Las Vegas Motor Speedway [LVMS]). The flight lines over the surveyed areas are presented in Figures 1 and 2. A total of four 2.5-hour-long flights were performed at an altitude of 150 ft above ground level (AGL) with 300 ft of flight line spacing. Water line and test line flights were conducted over the Lake Mead and Government Wash areas to ensure quality control of the data. The data were collected by the AMS data acquisition system-REDAR V using an array of twelve 2-inch x 4-inch x 16-inch sodium iodide (NaI) detectors flown on-board a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter. Data in the form of gamma energy spectra were collected continually (every second) over the course of the survey and were geo-referenced using a differential Global Positioning System. Collection of spectral data allows the system to distinguish between ordinary fluctuations in natural background radiation levels and the signature produced by man-made radioisotopes sources. Spectral data can also be used to identify specific radioactive isotopes. As a courtesy service with the approval of the U.S. Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, Nevada Site Office, RSL-Nellis is providing this summary to the office of the Mayor of City of North Las Vegas and LVMS security along with the gross counts-based exposure rate and man-made counts maps

Application of XRF methods for multielemental analysis of lichen samples collected in Havana City. Comparison with ICP-AES, ICP-MS and FAAS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Herrero Fernandez, Zahily; Estevez Alvarez, Juan R.; Montero Alvarez, Alfredo; Pupo Gonzalez, Ivan; Ortueta Milan, Marvic; Mesa Perez, Guillermo; Leyva Bombuse, Dennys; Rodriguez Gonzalez, Maydel; Hernandez Torres, Debora; Padilla Alvarez, Roman; Quejido Cabezas, Alberto J.; Rucandio Saez, Maria I.; Fernandez Diaz, Marta

2011-01-01

This paper presents the results of the analysis of Ca, Fe, Zn, Br, Rb, Sr and Pb in samples of lichens used as biomonitors of air pollution collecting in Havana City during 2009-2010. Two different X-Ray Fluorescence methods were used. First, a combination of Si (Li) detector with an annular 109Cd as primary excitation source was employed. The second system consisted in a Mo X-ray tube with a secondary target of Molybdenum and a X-PIPS detector. In both configurations, the correction of matrix effects was achieved by using the Compton scattering peak. The quantification was performed using calibration curves obtained from different biological Certified Reference Materials. The determination of elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry, Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry and Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry was carried out in order to evaluate the reliability of XRF methods. No significant differences were found between the obtained results by the different techniques. The levels of concentration of the analyzed elements in the lichens in 2009 and 2010 respectively were similar. The elemental distribution patters obtained for each metal were associated with different sources of contamination. (Author)

Urban Sustainability Versus Green-Washing—Fallacy and Reality of Urban Regeneration in Downtown Seoul

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thorsten Schuetze

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the planning paradigm shift related to the contested “urban renaissance” mega-project in Downtown Seoul (Korea. Similar to other global cities, over the last few decades, different mega-projects have been successfully implemented in Seoul. These projects have been considered engines for urban renewals and transformation. This paper builds on the analysis of the failure and re-framing planning strategy for the Green Corridor (GC mega-project, part of the “Urban Renaissance Master Plan for Downtown Seoul”. The GC case reveals various critical insights for urban sustainability: (i the current mega-projects’ sustainability fallacy, related to top-down, technocratic densification, and greening practices; and (ii the untapped potential of Asian traditional and irregular small scale urban patterns, and their related socio-cultural value in addressing the renaissance of the long term urban sustainability. In particular, the discussed research findings point out that urban renaissance enabling sustainability principles requires integrated, small scale, incremental, and adaptive (stepwise urban planning and design processes that go well beyond general strategies following the so-called “green growth” paradigm.

CITY GROUND DESIGN AND THE IMAGE OF THE CITY: THE PORTUGUESE CALÇADA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antoni Remesar

2014-10-01

The pavement-form - including the "calçada-form"-is at the root of some of the flagship operations creating the image of the city (Havana, 1928; Alicante, 1957; the Ramblas in Barcelona, 1969; reform of the Avenida Atlantica in Rio by Burle Marx, 1970. However, these same operations show that the "form-calçada" does not meet many of the requirements of economy, security or universal accessibility required by the contemporary city. In the paper was to analyze the causes and reasons that hover over the announced death of calçada á Portugueza.

[Tuberculin reactivity among ninth-grade schoolchildren in the city of Havana, Cuba].

Science.gov (United States)

Borroto Gutiérrez, Susana M; González Ochoa, Edilberto; Armas Pérez, Luisa; Urbino López-Chávez, Amelia; Martínez, Ana Maribel; Llanes, María Josefa; Sevy Court, José; Carreras Corzo, Libertad

2003-09-01

To determine the proportion of 14-year-old schoolchildren in the city of Havana, Cuba, with a positive tuberculin skin test, as an indicator of the prevalence of tuberculosis infection among them. Using single-stage cluster sampling, 1 936 Mantoux (tuberculin) tests were carried out with ninth-grade students (cohort born in 1985) during the 1999- 2000 school year in 20 basic high schools randomly selected in Havana. The tests were performed according to the standard technique recommended by the World Health Organization, and they were read after 72 hours. The percentage of skin tests that were positive and the average diameter of the indurations were calculated for the cohort overall and for the two genders. The means and the percentages were compared using the chi-square test, with 95% confidence intervals. The computer software used was Epi Info version 6.0. Of the tests read, 96% of them were negative (0-4 mm), 2.5% were doubtful (5-9 mm), and 1.5% were positive (>/=10 mm). The percentage of reactivity was 0.1% when a cutoff value of 15 mm was used. The mean diameter of the indurations was 0.41 mm. No statistically significant difference was found between the genders. In this study the proportion of schoolchildren with tuberculin reactivity, using an induration-diameter cutoff point of 10 mm, was very low (1.5%), and it was much lower (0.1%) when a cutoff point of 15 mm was used. The skin reactions with an induration diameter of >/=10 mm could be the expression of a natural infection if one takes into account the low frequency of bacillary tuberculosis in Cuba and that there is an inverse relationship between the time elapsed from the BCG vaccination and the intensity of the response to tuberculin. Therefore, that would mean that in this case (l)the point (.)prevalence of tuberculosis infection in this group of schoolchildren wou d be 1.5% ResumenObjetivos. Determinar la proporción de personas que reaccionan a la tuberculina como indicador de la prevalencia de

hmF2 variability over Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazo, B.; Alazo, K.; Rodriguez, M.; Calzadilla, A.

2003-01-01

The hmF2 variability over Havana station (Geo. Latitude 23 deg. N, Geo Longitude 278 deg. E; Dip 54.6 deg. N; Modip: 44.8 deg. N) is presented. In this study different solar and seasonal conditions are considered. The results show that, in general, standard deviation of hmF2 is quite irregular and reaches its values at nighttimes hours. Lower and upper quartiles variability has a similar behaviour to IQ variability, showing its higher values at nighttimes too. (author)

Environmental Analysis of the Groningen City Center

OpenAIRE

GÓMEZ BUGEDA, RICARDO SANTIAGO

2017-01-01

This final thesis project is part of the research that is carrying out by the Gemeente Groningen in order to make the city center more sustainable and livable. The municipality of Groningen has recently published a conceptual development plan for improving the inner-city of Groningen, this report is called Bestemming Binnenstad 01/2016 . The main focus of this report is convert the city center to an environmental friendly downtown, reducing pollution, reroute public and private transpo...

Representation of Marxism in Vampires in Havana

OpenAIRE

Abdul Aziz Turhan Kariko

2011-01-01

Article presents an animated film related to ideological development in Cuba. This effort brings an understanding of ideology and cultural policy of Cuba as a communist state. Presentation begins with summary of the story, history and background, ideological concepts, and the movie Vampires in Havana itself. It is concluded that the film represents ideological disputes between capitalism and Marxism in Cuba, as well as giving an ideal perspective on how the world should work.  

A Case Study: Analyzing City Vitality with Four Pillars of Activity-Live, Work, Shop, and Play.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffin, Matt; Nordstrom, Blake W; Scholes, Jon; Joncas, Kate; Gordon, Patrick; Krivenko, Elliott; Haynes, Winston; Higdon, Roger; Stewart, Elizabeth; Kolker, Natali; Montague, Elizabeth; Kolker, Eugene

2016-03-01

This case study evaluates and tracks vitality of a city (Seattle), based on a data-driven approach, using strategic, robust, and sustainable metrics. This case study was collaboratively conducted by the Downtown Seattle Association (DSA) and CDO Analytics teams. The DSA is a nonprofit organization focused on making the city of Seattle and its Downtown a healthy and vibrant place to Live, Work, Shop, and Play. DSA primarily operates through public policy advocacy, community and business development, and marketing. In 2010, the organization turned to CDO Analytics ( cdoanalytics.org ) to develop a process that can guide and strategically focus DSA efforts and resources for maximal benefit to the city of Seattle and its Downtown. CDO Analytics was asked to develop clear, easily understood, and robust metrics for a baseline evaluation of the health of the city, as well as for ongoing monitoring and comparisons of the vitality, sustainability, and growth. The DSA and CDO Analytics teams strategized on how to effectively assess and track the vitality of Seattle and its Downtown. The two teams filtered a variety of data sources, and evaluated the veracity of multiple diverse metrics. This iterative process resulted in the development of a small number of strategic, simple, reliable, and sustainable metrics across four pillars of activity: Live, Work, Shop, and Play. Data during the 5 years before 2010 were used for the development of the metrics and model and its training, and data during the 5 years from 2010 and on were used for testing and validation. This work enabled DSA to routinely track these strategic metrics, use them to monitor the vitality of Downtown Seattle, prioritize improvements, and identify new value-added programs. As a result, the four-pillar approach became an integral part of the data-driven decision-making and execution of the Seattle community's improvement activities. The approach described in this case study is actionable, robust, inexpensive

Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) and their contribution to ozone formation potential in a petrochemical industrialized city, Northwest China

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Chenhui; Mao, Xiaoxuan; Huang, Tao; Liang, Xiaoxue; Wang, Yanan; Shen, Yanjie; Jiang, Wanyanhan; Wang, Huiqin; Bai, Zhilin; Ma, Minquan; Yu, Zhousuo; Ma, Jianmin; Gao, Hong

2016-03-01

Hourly air concentrations of fifty-three non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were measured at downtown and suburb of Lanzhou, a petrochemical industrialized city, Northwest China in 2013. The measured data were used to investigate the seasonal characteristics of NMHCs air pollution and their contributions to the ozone formation in Lanzhou. Annually averaged NMHCs concentration was 38.29 ppbv in downtown Lanzhou. Among 53 NMHCs, alkanes, alkenes, and aromatics accounted for 57%, 23% and 20% of the total NMHCs air concentration, respectively. The atmospheric levels of toluene and propane with mean values of 4.62 and 4.56 ppbv were higher than other NMHCs, respectively. The ambient levels of NMHCs in downtown Lanzhou were compared with measured NMHCs data collected at a suburban site of Lanzhou, located near a large-scale petrochemical industry. Results show that the levels of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatics in downtown Lanzhou were lower by factors of 3-11 than that in west suburb of the city. O3-isopleth plots show that ozone was formed in VOCs control area in downtown Lanzhou and NOx control area at the west suburban site during the summertime. Propylene-equivalent (Prop-Equiv) concentration and the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) in downtown Lanzhou indicate that cis-2-butene, propylene, and m/p-xylene were the first three compounds contributing to ozone formation potentials whereas in the petrochemical industrialized west suburb, ethane, propene, and trans-2-Butene played more important role in the summertime ozone formation. Principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR) were further applied to identify the dominant emission sources and examine their fractions in total NMHCs. Results suggest that vehicle emission, solvent usage, and industrial activities were major sources of NMHCs in the city, accounting for 58.34%, 22.19%, and 19.47% of the total monitored NMHCs in downtown Lanzhou, respectively. In the west suburb of the city

Representation of Marxism in Vampires in Havana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdul Aziz Turhan Kariko

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Article presents an animated film related to ideological development in Cuba. This effort brings an understanding of ideology and cultural policy of Cuba as a communist state. Presentation begins with summary of the story, history and background, ideological concepts, and the movie Vampires in Havana itself. It is concluded that the film represents ideological disputes between capitalism and Marxism in Cuba, as well as giving an ideal perspective on how the world should work.  

Climate Resilient Analysis of the Groningen City Center

OpenAIRE

MORALES LLAMAS, MÓNICA

2017-01-01

This final thesis project is part of the research that is carrying out by the Gemeente Groningen in order to make the city center more sustainable and livable. The municipality of Groningen has recently published a conceptual development plan for improving the inner-city of Groningen, this report is called Bestemming Binnenstad 01/2016 . The main focus of this report is convert the city center to an environmental friendly downtown, reducing pollution, reroute public and private transpo...

Determinants of Downtown Image and Retail Patronage: A Case of Fargo, North Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jaeha; Park, Kwangsoo

2017-01-01

We sought to identify determinants of downtown image and retail patronage, which contribute to tourism development in small and mid-sized communities. The purpose of our research was twofold: (a) to understand how visitors perceive the business mix, safety, and atmosphere of the Fargo, North Dakota, downtown and (b) to identify what factors…

Economic within the City network. Nexans; Wirtschaftlich im City-Netz. Nexans

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Anon.

2015-07-01

Within the project ''AmpaCity'' prove the partners Nexans Germany and RWE that superconducting cables are technically mature and have to offer economic advantages: By changing the distribution networks in metropolitan areas of high voltage copper cables to medium voltage superconductors could not not only be multiplied the ampacity and power losses minimized, but it could also make disappear substations in downtown and make valuable city land freely. [German] Im Rahmen des Projekts ''AmpaCity'' beweisen die Partner Nexans Deutschland und RWE, dass Supraleiterkabel technisch ausgereift sind und wirtschaftliche Vorteile zu bieten haben: Durch Umstellen der Verteilnetze in Ballungszentren von Hochspannungskupferkabeln auf Mittelspannungssupraleiter liessen sich nicht nur die Stromtragfaehigkeit (Englisch: ampacity) vervielfachen und Leistungsverluste minimieren, sondern es koennten auch Umspannstationen in der Innenstadt wegfallen und wertvolle City-Grundstuecke frei machen.

Rodolfo's Casa Caribe in Cuba: Business, Law, and Ethics of Investing in a Start-Up in Havana

Science.gov (United States)

Sulkowski, Adam J.

2017-01-01

This case study presents the true story of Rodolfo--a former tailor and attorney from the provinces of Cuba--who moved to Havana to start a hospitality business. In 2016, the author (referred to as Adam throughout the case study), a business law professor from the United States, visited Havana to interview Rodolfo and learn about the factors for…

A preliminary study of waste to energy potential of municipal solid waste in Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Llanes, Junior Lorenzo; Kalogirou, Efstratios

2017-01-01

One of the challenges that must be face by a growing society is its waste management. This is crucial in the particular case of developing countries like Cuba. Waste to energy is a well-established technology for municipal solid waste (MSW) treatment. The aim of this work was to estimate the energetic potential of MSW in the city of Havana. An average low heating value (LHV) of 7.35 MJ/kg was estimated by applying different models. From the mass and energy balances, the emissions and the energy recovered for electricity generation were determined. Two steam turbine configurations (back – pressure and condensing) were designed by a rigorous method and later simulated in Aspen Plus simulator. The results showed that for a feeding rate of 49.5 tonh-1 of MSW it was possible to generate 257 GWh per year with an overall plant efficiency of 25.4% in a four-stage turbine. (author)

Do we go shopping downtown or in the ‘burbs’? Why not both?

OpenAIRE

USHCHEV, Philip; SLOEV, Igor; THISSE, Jacques-François; ,

2013-01-01

We combine spatial and monopolistic competition to study market interactions between downtown retailers and an outlying shopping mall. Consumers shop at either marketplace or at both, and buy each variety in volume. The market solution stems from the interplay between the market expansion effect generated by consumers seeking more opportunities, and the competition effect. Firms’ profits increase (decrease) with the entry of local competitors when the former (latter) dominates. Downtown retai...

Downtown People Mover (DPM) Winterization Test Demonstration : Otis Elevator

Science.gov (United States)

1982-01-01

The Otis Elevator Company Transportation Technology Division (OTIS-TTD) Downtown People Mover (DPM) Winterization Test Demonstration Final Report covers the 1978-79 and 1979-80 winter periods. Tests were performed at the Otis test track in Denver, Co...

Exploring the Notion of the Family Friendly City

Science.gov (United States)

Provi Drianda, Riela

2018-05-01

There is a common perception that downtown areas will never attract families and big cities are not the best place to raise children. Particularly the downtown areas of cities been depicted as the place where criminals, prostitutes, drug-sellers, and other dangerous strangers live. People with children are more likely to look for the suburbs to find bigger housing with more affordable prices, cleaner air, richer nature, a slower lifestyle, and safer environment. However, living in the modern suburb is not always easy and cheap, especially for those who need to commute to the central city. Dealing with the long commutes can be stressful and it affects the health, happiness, and well-being of family members. As the number of modern families with both parents in the workforce is rising, the demand to live closer to the workplace is getting stronger and growing. In some parts of the world, more families increasingly want to live in the cities. This trend can be seen in the United States, Japan, Korea, and Canada. Being family-friendly has become increasingly important for modern cities as more millennial generation show the tendency to raise their families in the urban area. Moreover, it is predicted that two-thirds of world’s population will live in cities by 2030. To accommodate the growing population, in particular, those with children, modern cities should be developed to suit urban families. But what criteria and qualities make one city more family-friendly than another? What would a family-friendly city look like? To date, the number studies exploring the notion of the family-friendly city has been very limited. Most studies have been focusing on the notion of family-friendly dwellings, family-friendly workplaces, or child-friendly cities. This paper brings together and examines the dominant and recurring ideas about the family-friendly city represented in the relevant literature and current urban practices. This paper also questions whether the concept of the

Cognitive Functioning and the Probability of Falls among Seniors in Havana, Cuba

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo, Antonio J.; Hyder, Adnan A.; Steinhardt, Laura C.

2011-01-01

This article explores the connection between cognitive functioning and falls among seniors (greater than or equal to 60 years of age) in Havana, Cuba, after controlling for observable characteristics. Using the SABE (Salud, Bienestar, and Envejecimiento) cross-sectional database, we used an econometric strategy that takes advantage of available…

Fighting Downtown: A Training Necessity for the Heavy Brigade

Science.gov (United States)

2001-02-01

Concept Technology Demonstration, and the Army Transformation Urban Franchise exploration of future operations.”57 CAMTF has identified three...fighting in a downtown area with tall buildings and underground sewers and or subways , but it must also apply to the outlying urban sprawl that is now

Downtown Detroit Energy Efficient Street Lighting

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goodwin, Malik [Detroit Economic Growth Corp, Detroit, MI (United States)

2013-11-29

Reliable public lighting remains a critically important and valuable public service in Detroit, Michigan. The Downtown Detroit Energy Efficiency Lighting Program (the, “Program”) was designed and implemented to bring the latest advancements in lighting technology, energy efficiency, public safety and reliability to Detroit’s Central Business District, and the Program accomplished those goals successfully. Downtown’s nighttime atmosphere has been upgraded as a result of the installation of over 1000 new LED roadway lighting fixtures that were installed as part of the Program. The reliability of the lighting system has also improved.

Contamination by Helicobacter pylori measured by the 13C-Urea-Breath-Test and nutritional status of children with chronic diarrhoea syndrome in Havana City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hernandez-Triana, M.H.; Cabrera, A.; Sanchez, M. A.; Herrera, X.; Pawong, M.; Moreno, R.; Reyes, D.; Serrano, G.; Diaz, M.E.

2002-01-01

Diarrhoea morbidity shows a slow increasing tendency during the last 10 years in Cuba. In young children the compromise of the gastric acid barrier after a chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori (Hp) is discussed in pathogenic relation to gastritis, duodenal ulcer, chronic diarrhoea, short stature, malabsorption of the B-complex vitamins and malnutrition. The Hp contamination level of the population of the developing world is estimated to be considerably high. Endoscopic studies carried out in Cuban subjects with upper gastrointestinal symptoms show contamination values of 60 to 100%. The current treatment of chronic diarrhoea does not include the elimination of Hp. Cuban children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms show contamination values of more than 60%. There are not available data on the contamination level in apparently healthy Cuban children or those with chronic diarrhoea. In March-April 2000 the prevalence of Hp infection measured in serum by chromatographic immunoassay for detection of Hp IgG antibodies was found to be 94 % in 20 infants and young children with persistent chronic diarrhoea and 100% in 11 apparently healthy children in Havana City. Children with diarrhoea showed a more evident affection of their nutritional status and a higher percentage of positive personal or familiar history of parasitism, giardiasis, gastritis, ulcer, stomatitis and glositis. The validity of the immunological tests in infants is discussed from the point of view of the antibody transference with breast milk. In a sample of 16 different children studied by the 13C-Urea-Breath-Test the contamination level was 50% of the children not affected by diarrhoea and only one of the 6 children with diarrhoea showed positive values

Transmission of tuberculosis in Havana, Cuba: a molecular epidemiological study by IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism typing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diaz R

2001-01-01

Full Text Available The combination of molecular and conventional epidemiological methods has improved the knowledge about the transmission of tuberculosis in urban populations. To examine transmission of tuberculosis in Havana, Cuba, with DNA fingerprinting, we studied 51 out of 92 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from tuberculosis patients who resided in Havana and whose infection was culture-confirmed in the period from September 1997 to March 1998. Isolates from 28 patients (55% had unique IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP patterns, while isolates from 23 others (45% had identical patterns and belonged to 7 clusters. Three clusters consisting of six, five and two cases were each related to small outbreaks that occurred in a closed setting. Three other clustered cases were linked to a large outbreak that occurred in another institution. Younger patients were more correlated to clustering than older ones. The finding that 45% of the isolates had clustered RFLP patterns suggests that recent transmission is a key factor in the tuberculosis cases in Havana. The IS6110 RFLP typing made it possible to define the occurrence of outbreaks in two closed institutions.

Heavy metal determination by X-rays spectrometry in superficial sediments at Havana Bay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelen, Alina; Izquierdo, Walter; Lopez, Neivy; Corrales, Yasser; Casanova, Amaya O.; Diaz, Oscar; Manso, Maria V.; D'Alessandro, Katia; Reyes, Enma; Toledo, Carlos; Beltran, Jesus; Perez, Marlen; Ramirez, Marta; Soto, Jesus

2007-01-01

Havana Bay is a typical bag-type located in the Western-North Coast of the Republic of Cuba. Since 1980 it has been the object of a study for sea bottom rehabilitation and improvement of quality of the waters, where the final objective will be the recovery of the coastal and marine ecosystem. Thirteen surface samples of the Havana Bay (Cuba) were collected and analysed by X-Rays spectrometry. Some majority elements (Si, Ca, K, Na, S, Cl, Al, Fe, Mg, C and O) were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with microanalysis to perform geomorphologic analysis. Nine elements (Ca, Fe, Ti, Mn, Cu, Zn, Sr, Zr and Pb) have been measured using an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) with a Si(Li) detector. Multivariate statistical was used for the analysis. The concentration levels showed this bay as the most polluted in Cuba. The highest contents of Cu, Zn and Pb were obtained in Atares and Marimelena Cove; these elements are indicators of urban as well as industrial pollution. (author)

Heavy metal determination by X-rays spectrometry in superficial sediments at Havana Bay

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gelen, Alina; Izquierdo, Walter; Lopez, Neivy; Corrales, Yasser; Casanova, Amaya O.; Diaz, Oscar; Manso, Maria V.; D' Alessandro, Katia [Institute for Applied Sciences and Technology, Havana (Cuba)], E-mail: alina@instec.cu; Reyes, Enma; Toledo, Carlos [Central Laboratory Criminology, Havana (Cuba); Beltran, Jesus; Perez, Marlen; Ramirez, Marta [Engineering Centre for Environmental Management of Bays and Coasts, Havana (Cuba)], E-mail: beltran@cimab.transnet.cu; Soto, Jesus [Universidad de Cantabria, Santander (Spain)], E-mail: sotoj@unican.es

2007-07-01

Havana Bay is a typical bag-type located in the Western-North Coast of the Republic of Cuba. Since 1980 it has been the object of a study for sea bottom rehabilitation and improvement of quality of the waters, where the final objective will be the recovery of the coastal and marine ecosystem. Thirteen surface samples of the Havana Bay (Cuba) were collected and analysed by X-Rays spectrometry. Some majority elements (Si, Ca, K, Na, S, Cl, Al, Fe, Mg, C and O) were measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with microanalysis to perform geomorphologic analysis. Nine elements (Ca, Fe, Ti, Mn, Cu, Zn, Sr, Zr and Pb) have been measured using an Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) with a Si(Li) detector. Multivariate statistical was used for the analysis. The concentration levels showed this bay as the most polluted in Cuba. The highest contents of Cu, Zn and Pb were obtained in Atares and Marimelena Cove; these elements are indicators of urban as well as industrial pollution. (author)

Applicability assessment of concrete with recycled coarse aggregates in Havana, Cuba

OpenAIRE

Pavón, E.; Etxeberria, M.; Díaz, N. E.

2012-01-01

The recent viability studies carried out in Havana, Cuba, according to natural or recycled aggregates, exhibited high volume production of construction and demolition waste (CDW). The last well-known data of concrete waste generation reached to 1800 m3/month. This situation, together with the depletion of the quarry aggregates closed to the capital, requires the use of such debris as aggregate for concrete production. In this work, four origin recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) were produced ...

Sustainable Block Design Process for High-Rise and High-Density Districts with Snow and Wind Simulations for Winter Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Norihiro Watanabe

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Urban designs that consider regional climatic conditions are one of the most important approaches for developing sustainable cities. In cities that suffer from heavy snow and cold winds in winter, an urban design approach different than that used for warm cities should be used. This study presents a scientific design process (the sustainable design approach that incorporates environmental and energy assessments that use snow and wind simulations to establish guidelines for the design of urban blocks in high-rise and high-density districts so that the impact of snow and wind can be minimized in these cities. A city block in downtown Sapporo, Japan, was used as a case study, and we evaluated four conceptual models. The four models were evaluated for how they impacted the snow and wind conditions in the block as well as the snow removal energy. Based on the results, we were able to identify the design guidelines in downtown Sapporo: an urban block design with higher building height ratio without the mid-rise part can reduce the snowdrifts and lower the snow removal energy. The proposed sustainable urban design approach would be effective in improving the quality of public spaces and reducing snow removal energy in winter cities.

Fecal indicator bacteria at Havana Bay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Perez, Lisse; Gomez D'Angelo, Yamiris; Beltran Gonzalez, Jesus; Alvarez Valiente, Reinaldo

2013-01-01

Aims: Fecal indicator bacteria concentrations were evaluated in Havana Bay. Methods: Concentrations of traditional fecal indicator bacteria were calculated between April 2010 and February 2011, by MPN methods. Concentrations of thermo tolerant coliform (CTT), Escherichia coli, fecal streptococci (EF), intestinal enterococci (ENT) in seawater, and Clostridium perfringens in sediment surface, were determined. Results: CTT and E. coli levels were far above Cuban water quality standard for indirect contact with water, showing the negative influence of sewage and rivers on the bay. The EF and ENT were measured during sewage spills at the discharge site and they were suitable indicators of fecal contamination, but these indicators didn't show the same behavior in other selected sites. This result comes from its well-known inactivation by solar light in tropical zones and the presumable presence of humid acids in the waters of the bay. Conclusion: Fecal indicator bacteria and its statistical relationships reflect recent and chronic fecal contamination at the bay and near shores.

Multielemental analysis of surface sediments in Havana bay (Cuba) using X-ray fluorescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gelen, A.; Corrales, Y.; Lopez, N.; Manso Guevara, M. V.; Casanova, A. O.; Alessandro, K. D'; Diaz, O.; Espen, P. Van; Beltran, J.; Soto, J.

2006-01-01

Multielemental Analysis was performed in Superficial Sediments in Havana Bay. Twenty one samples were analysed by Dispersive Energy X- Ray Fluorescence using an spectrometer based on Si (Li) semiconductor detector an a 109 Cd source. The results showed a similar behaviour in the levels of contamination related with neutron activation analysis. The data suggest that an anthropogenic input into the bay from domestic sewage and industries occurred. (Full text)

Changing Lives: The Baltimore City Community College Life Sciences Partnership with the University of Maryland, Baltimore

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Vanessa G.; Harris-Bondima, Michelle; Norris, Kathleen Kennedy; Williams, Carolane

2010-01-01

Baltimore City Community College (BCCC) leveraged heightened student interest and enrollment in the sciences and allied health with Maryland's world-leading biotechnology industry to build a community college life sciences learning and research center right on the University of Maryland, Baltimore's downtown BioPark campus. The BCCC Life Sciences…

Guest Room Lighting at the Hilton Columbus Downtown

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

None

2014-06-30

At the Hilton Columbus Downtown hotel in Ohio, DOE's Better Buildings Alliance conducted a demonstration of Next Generation Luminaires-winning downlights installed in all guest rooms and suites prior to the hotel's 2012 opening. After a post-occupancy assessment, the LED downlights not only provided the aesthetic appearance and dimming functionality desired, but also provided 50% energy savings relative to a comparable CFL downlight and enabled the lighting power to be more than 20% below that allowed by code. This document is a summary case study of the report.

Reconstruction of metal pollution and recent sedimentation processes in Havana Bay (Cuba): A tool for coastal ecosystem management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Díaz-Asencio, M.; Alvarado, J.A. Corcho; Alonso-Hernández, C.; Quejido-Cabezas, A.; Ruiz-Fernández, A.C.; Sanchez-Sanchez, M.; Gómez-Mancebo, M.B.; Froidevaux, P.; Sanchez-Cabeza, J.A.

2011-01-01

Highlights: ► Past metal pollution in the heavy polluted coastal ecosystem of Havana Bay. ► Effectiveness of pollution-reduction strategies. ► Dated environmental archives to reconstruct sedimentation and pollution trends. ► Impact of severe climatic events on sedimentation. - Abstract: Since 1998 the highly polluted Havana Bay ecosystem has been the subject of a mitigation program. In order to determine whether pollution-reduction strategies were effective, we have evaluated the historical trends of pollution recorded in sediments of the Bay. A sediment core was dated radiometrically using natural and artificial fallout radionuclides. An irregularity in the 210 Pb record was caused by an episode of accelerated sedimentation. This episode was dated to occur in 1982, a year coincident with the heaviest rains reported in Havana over the XX century. Peaks of mass accumulation rates (MAR) were associated with hurricanes and intensive rains. In the past 60 years, these maxima are related to strong El Niño periods, which are known to increase rainfall in the north Caribbean region. We observed a steady increase of pollution (mainly Pb, Zn, Sn, and Hg) since the beginning of the century to the mid 90s, with enrichment factors as high as 6. MAR and pollution decreased rapidly after the mid 90s, although some trace metal levels remain high. This reduction was due to the integrated coastal zone management program introduced in the late 90s, which dismissed catchment erosion and pollution.

Clasificación del síndrome climatérico en mujeres de edad mediana, Ciudad de La Habana, 2003 (I Classification of the climaterium syndrome in women of middle-aged women. Havana City 2003 (I

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ariadna Corral Martín

2009-03-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCCIÓN: el síndrome climatérico se presenta con variada frecuencia e intensidad en distintas poblaciones. OBJETIVO: identificar su intensidad en mujeres de 40 a 59 años de edad en Ciudad de La Habana. MÉTODOS: estudio descriptivo transversal en el que se estudió una muestra de 625 mujeres de estas edades, seleccionadas por muestreo estratificado polietápico. Se estimó de forma puntual y por intervalo de confianza del 95 %, el porcentaje de mujeres en cada nivel del síndrome climatérico y por subescala según el instrumento aplicado. Se caracterizó cada grupo de mujeres de dicha clasificación, de forma general y con variables biológicas. RESULTADOS: el 40,3 % y el 30,2 % de las mujeres estudiadas clasificaron como asintomáticas y con síndrome climatérico leve respectivamente, según el puntaje total. El grupo de edad de 40 a 49 años tuvo el 11,6 % de mujeres con síndrome muy molesto, el 56,8 % se encontraba en la posmenopausia y el 9,3 % en la perimenopausia. CONCLUSIONES: en la Ciudad de La Habana, tanto en la clasificación total como en las subescalas predominaron las mujeres clasificadas en el nivel asintomático/muy leve y leve. El intervalo más cercano a la mediana de la edad de la menopausia, la perimenopausia y el sobrepeso constituyeron las situaciones más desfavorables para el síndrome climatérico.INTRODUCTION: climateric syndrome has a varying frequency and intensity in different populations. AIM: to identify its intensity in women aged 40-59 in Havana City. METHODS: cross-sectional descriptive study in which a cohort of 625 women of these ages was studied, selected by multi-stage stratified sampling. In a detailed way and by 95 % confidence interval (CI, the percentage of women in each level of climateric syndrome, and by subscale according to applied instrument. Authors characterized each group of women of such classification en a general way and with biological variables. RESULTS: the 40,3 % and the 30

Neurological Manifestations Among US Government Personnel Reporting Directional Audible and Sensory Phenomena in Havana, Cuba.

Science.gov (United States)

Swanson, Randel L; Hampton, Stephen; Green-McKenzie, Judith; Diaz-Arrastia, Ramon; Grady, M Sean; Verma, Ragini; Biester, Rosette; Duda, Diana; Wolf, Ronald L; Smith, Douglas H

2018-03-20

From late 2016 through August 2017, US government personnel serving on diplomatic assignment in Havana, Cuba, reported neurological symptoms associated with exposure to auditory and sensory phenomena. To describe the neurological manifestations that followed exposure to an unknown energy source associated with auditory and sensory phenomena. Preliminary results from a retrospective case series of US government personnel in Havana, Cuba. Following reported exposure to auditory and sensory phenomena in their homes or hotel rooms, the individuals reported a similar constellation of neurological symptoms resembling brain injury. These individuals were referred to an academic brain injury center for multidisciplinary evaluation and treatment. Report of experiencing audible and sensory phenomena emanating from a distinct direction (directional phenomena) associated with an undetermined source, while serving on US government assignments in Havana, Cuba, since 2016. Descriptions of the exposures and symptoms were obtained from medical record review of multidisciplinary clinical interviews and examinations. Additional objective assessments included clinical tests of vestibular (dynamic and static balance, vestibulo-ocular reflex testing, caloric testing), oculomotor (measurement of convergence, saccadic, and smooth pursuit eye movements), cognitive (comprehensive neuropsychological battery), and audiometric (pure tone and speech audiometry) functioning. Neuroimaging was also obtained. Of 24 individuals with suspected exposure identified by the US Department of State, 21 completed multidisciplinary evaluation an average of 203 days after exposure. Persistent symptoms (>3 months after exposure) were reported by these individuals including cognitive (n = 17, 81%), balance (n = 15, 71%), visual (n = 18, 86%), and auditory (n = 15, 68%) dysfunction, sleep impairment (n = 18, 86%), and headaches (n = 16, 76%). Objective findings included cognitive (n�

Assessment of Ni, Cu, Zn and Pb levels in beach and dune sands from Havana resorts, Cuba.

Science.gov (United States)

Díaz Rizo, Oscar; Buzón González, Fran; Arado López, Juana O

2015-11-15

Concentrations of nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn) and lead (Pb) in beach and dune sands from thirteen Havana (Cuba) resorts were estimated by X-ray fluorescence analysis. Determined mean metal contents (in mg·kg(-1)) in beach sand samples were 28±12 for Ni, 35±12 for Cu, 31±11 for Zn and 6.0±1.8 for Pb, while for dune sands were 30±15, 38±22, 37±15 and 6.8±2.9, respectively. Metal-to-iron normalization shows moderately severe and severe enrichment by Cu. The comparison with sediment quality guidelines shows that dune sands from various resorts must be considered as heavily polluted by Cu and Ni. Almost in every resort, the Ni and Cu contents exceed their corresponding TEL values and, in some resorts, the Ni PEL value. The comparison with a Havana topsoil study indicates the possible Ni and Cu natural origin. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Neutron activation analysis to the profile surface sediments from several sites on the Havana Bay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz Riso, O.; Gelen, A.; Lopez, N.; Gonzalez, H.; Manso, M.V.; Graciano, A.M.; Nogueira, C.A.; Beltran, J.; Soto, J.

2003-01-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique was employed to analyze the surface sediments from several sites on the Havana Bay, Cuba. Measurements of heavy and trace elements in the sediments are reported. The results show that the concentration of the elements is site dependent. The data suggest that an anthropogenic input into the bay from domestic sewage and industries occurred

Simulation of irrigation and nitrogen fertilization management of maize under edaphic conditions of south of Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez Seijas, Teresa; Cid, G.; Gonzalez, F.; Jorge, Y.; Chaterlan, Y.; Giralt, E.; Rodriguez, R.; Duennas, G.

1999-01-01

The main objective of this work is to validate the crop simulation model STICS for the soil and climate conditions of south of Havana, especially for the water and nitrogen balances on Maize crop on Ferralitic soil, For this purpose was used all the available information from field experiments carried out in the Experimental Stations of the Irrigation and Drainage and Soil Research Institutes, both on south of Havana, The comparison between the simulation and observed values showed a good fitness for the variables related to the crop water uptake, while for the soil water content when the root water uptake flux is minimum and the soil water redistribution flux is maximum wasn't good, The soil nitrogen balance was adjusted from the optimization of the parameters related to the mineralization velocity of soil organic nitrogen, Nevertheless is necessary to complete this study involving other climate conditions and water and nitrogen managements to define the optimum strategy for irrigation and fertilization of Maize crop on the studied conditions,

Development of Astronomy at the Planetarium of Havana. Project

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Oscar

2015-08-01

In December 2009 to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy was inaugurated in Havana with a great constructive effort the only Planetarium in regular public service, currently serving in Cuba.After 5 years of operation open to the public is time to propose a series of activities that raise its level of activity as a Cultural Center of Science and Technology.The establishment of a cathedra of Astronomy and Astrophysics attached to a center of Higher Education once the staff acquire sufficient capacity and experience to conduct research programs is proposed, and also, to provide scientific expertise to educators in supporting the national system of education and outreach of the Cultural Center.In addition to becoming a member of the International Association of Planetariums, its active members will participate to international and national events, will increase our national membership in the International Astronomical Union and its commissions, an also to the Red Pop UNESCO and other related groups of IberoamericaIn order to ensure the scientific life of its main technical staff, efforts will be made to establish agreements with Higher Education related centers such as the Faculty of Physics at the University of Havana, the Higher Institute of Applied Science and Technology and other schools allowing professional activities of staff in these institutions to the Cultural Centre as university extension. This includes the maintenance of university students of all specialties covering fixed shifts as guides / aids in attention to visitors.The Cultural Center is designed as a modern concept embedded in a Colonial architecture and traditional external environment. Exhibitions, shows the space and other facilities - will provide visitors a set of tools to bring back home, concepts and information about the universe before it was too remote and too complex for the average citizen. It is undoubtedly a unique educational opportunity in the country to demystify the

Characterization of aerosol particles from Buenos Aires City and its subway system: PIXE and SEM/EDX

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Murruni, L. G.; Debray, M. E.; Minsky, D.; Kreiner, A. J.; Burlon, A.; Davidson, M.; Davidson, J.; Ozafran, M.; Vazquez, M. E.; Rosenbusch, M.; Ulke, A. G.; Solanes, V.

2007-01-01

This study analyzes total suspended particle (TSP) samples collected at two sites of Buenos Aires City (34S, 58W). One site (San Martin) placed 17 km from city center, and the other one at an underground subway station (Diagonal Norte) in downtown Buenos Aires. In both cases, gravimetric analysis has been performed, while elemental analysis using PIXE has been only carried out in the first case. To the best our knowledge, this is the first airborne particle measurement perform at a Buenos Aires underground subway station

Next Generation Luminaire (NGL) Downlight Demonstration Project, Hilton Columbus Downtown

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, R. G. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Perrin, T. E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

2014-09-30

At the Hilton Columbus Downtown hotel in Ohio, DOE's Better Buildings Alliance conducted a demonstration of Next Generation Luminaires-winning downlights installed in all guest rooms and suites prior to the hotel's 2012 opening. After a post-occupancy assessment, the LED downlights not only provided the aesthetic appearance and dimming functionality desired, but also provided 50% energy savings relative to a comparable CFL downlight and enabled the lighting power to be more than 20% below that allowed by code.

New information on regional subsidence and soil fracturing in Mexico City Valley

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G. Auvinet

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In this paper, updated information about regional subsidence in Mexico City downtown area is presented. Data obtained by R. Gayol in 1891, are compared with information obtained recently from surveys using the reference points of Sistema de Aguas de la Ciudad de México (2008 and on the elevation of a cloud of points on the ground surface determined using Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR technology. In addition, this paper provides an overview of recent data obtained from systematic studies focused on understanding soil fracturing associated with regional land subsidence and mapping of areas susceptible to cracking in Mexico City Valley.

Spatial and temporal disaggregation of the on-road vehicle emission inventory in a medium-sized Andean city. Comparison of GIS-based top-down methodologies

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, C. D.; González, C. M.; Osses, M.; Aristizábal, B. H.

2018-04-01

Emission data is an essential tool for understanding environmental problems associated with sources and dynamics of air pollutants in urban environments, especially those emitted from vehicular sources. There is a lack of knowledge about the estimation of air pollutant emissions and particularly its spatial and temporal distribution in South America, mainly in medium-sized cities with population less than one million inhabitants. This work performed the spatial and temporal disaggregation of the on-road vehicle emission inventory (EI) in the medium-sized Andean city of Manizales, Colombia, with a spatial resolution of 1 km × 1 km and a temporal resolution of 1 h. A reported top-down methodology, based on the analysis of traffic flow levels and road network distribution, was applied. Results obtained allowed the identification of several hotspots of emission at the downtown zone and the residential and commercial area of Manizales. Downtown exhibited the highest percentage contribution of emissions normalized by its total area, with values equal to 6% and 5% of total CO and PM10 emissions per km2 respectively. These indexes were higher than those obtained in residential-commercial area with values of 2%/km2 for both pollutants. Temporal distribution showed strong relationship with driving patterns at rush hours, as well as an important influence of passenger cars and motorcycles in emissions of CO both at downtown and residential-commercial areas, and the impact of public transport in PM10 emissions in the residential-commercial zone. Considering that detailed information about traffic counts and road network distribution is not always available in medium-sized cities, this work compares other simplified top-down methods for spatially assessing the on-road vehicle EI. Results suggested that simplified methods could underestimate the spatial allocation of downtown emissions, a zone dominated by high traffic of vehicles. The comparison between simplified methods

Air pollution monitoring in downtown Rome, Italy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brocco, D; Petricca, M; Polesi, R [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Rome (Italy). Ist. sull' Inquinamento Atmosferico Assessorato Ambiente, Rome (Italy). Amministrazione Provinciale

1992-09-01

This paper tables air pollution data indicating concentrations of sulfur dioxide, nitrous oxides, carbon monoxide, ozone, non-methane hydrocarbons (NMTHC) and particulate matter measured in downtown Rome during the period, April 1990 - March 1991. These data are analyzed according to National Air Quality Standards. Correlations are developed for nitrous oxide, NMTHC and ozone concentration trends as a function of solar radiation intensity. Analysis of the data reveals that the concentrations of the primary pollutants, carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide, were very high in the winter months when building heating systems were operating under stable weather conditions. In many cases, the concentrations of carbon monoxide exceeded ambient air quality standards. The paper also discusses the need for the development of limits for NMTHC concentrations and including these limits in the Air Quality Standards.

Spatial distribution of topsoil magnetic susceptibility in Sawahlunto City, West Sumatera

Science.gov (United States)

Afdal; Wahyuni, E. S.

2018-03-01

A research to determine the spatial distribution of top soil magnetic suceptibility at Sawahlunto City, West Sumatra has been conducted. The top soil samples were taken at four locations ie the downtown area, the steam power plant area, the agricultural area, and coal mine area. At each location, the soil samples were taken at 10 points at a depth of 20 cm. Magnetic susceptibility were measured using Bartington MS2B Magnetic Susceptibility Meter. The topsoil samples from Sawahlunto city have relatively low average value of the magnetic susceptibility that is 67.0×10-8 m3/kg. The magnetic susceptibility of topsoil samples from downtown area have the average and the highest value of magnetic susceptibility (100.6×10-8 and 259.9×10-8 m3/kg), and followed by sample from the steam power plant area (98.4×10-8 and 258.0×10-8 m3/kg), the agricultural area (56.2×10-8 and 83.7×10-8 m3/kg), and coal mine area (12.9×10-8 and 26.8×10-8 m3/kg). Soil samples from the steam power plant area have the widest range of magnetic susceptibility value range from 0.3 × 10-8 to 258.0 × 10-8 m3/kg.

Contamination by Helicobacter pylori measured by the 13C-urea-breast-test and nutritional status of children with chronic diarrhoea syndrome in Havana city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cabrera, A.; Hernandez-Triana, M.; Sanchez, M.; Herrera, X.; Pawong, M.; Moreno, R.; Reyes, D.; Serrano, G.; Diaz, M.E.; Valencia, M.

2000-01-01

Diarrhoea morbidity shows a slow increasing tendency during the last 10 years in Cuba. In young children the compromise of the gastric acid barrier after a chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori is discussed in pathogenic relation to gastritis, duodenal ulcer chronic diarrhoea, short stature, malabsorption of the B-complex vitamins and malnutrition. The Hp contamination level of the population of the developing world is estimated to be considerably high. Endoscopic studies carried out in Cuban subjects with upper gastrointestinal symptoms show contamination values of 60 to 100%. The current treatment of chronic diarrhoea does not include the elimination of Hp. Cuban children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms show contamination values of more than 60%. There are not available data on the contamination level in apparently healthy Cuban children or those with chronic diarrhoea. In March-April 2000 the prevalence of Hp infection measured in serum by chromatographic immunoassay for detection of Hp IgG antibodies was found to be 94% in 20 infants and young children with persistent chronic diarrhoea and 100% in 11 apparently healthy children in Havana City. Children with diarrhoea showed a more evident affection of their nutritional status and a higher percentage of positive personal or familiar history of parasitism, giardiasis, gastritis, ulcer stomatitis and glositis. The validity of the immunological tests in infants is discussed from the point of view of the antibody transference with breast milk. In a sample of 16 different children studied by the 13 C-Urea-Breath-Test the contamination level was 50% of the children not affected by diarrhoea and only one of the 6 children with diarrhoea showed positive values. This research contract proposes the study of contamination with Hp in Cuban children older than 2 years of age affected by chronic diarrhoea using the 13 C-Urea Breath Test and serological tests for detection of anti-Hp IgG antibodies. Their nutritional

Limnological Monitoring on the Upper Mississippi River System, 1993-1996: Long Term Resource Monitoring Program Havana Field Station

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Soballe, David

2002-01-01

.... The flood in spring 1995 receded sooner than in 1993. However, the 137 m (450.66 feet) peak on May 31, 1995, was the third highest river elevation recorded at Havana, Illinois. Low dissolved oxygen levels in the main channel were also notable in 1993-1996 with concentrations at or below 5 mg/L observed each year.

Contamination by Helicobacter pylori measured by the {sup 13}C-urea-breast-test and nutritional status of children with chronic diarrhoea syndrome in Havana city

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cabrera, A; Hernandez-Triana, M; Sanchez, M; Herrera, X; Pawong, M; Moreno, R; Reyes, D; Serrano, G; Diaz, M E [Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Department of Biochemistry and Physiology, Havana (Cuba); Valencia, M [Centro de Investigacion en Alimentacion y Desarrollo, Department of Human Nutrition, Hermosillo, Sonora (Mexico)

2000-07-01

Diarrhoea morbidity shows a slow increasing tendency during the last 10 years in Cuba. In young children the compromise of the gastric acid barrier after a chronic infection with Helicobacter pylori is discussed in pathogenic relation to gastritis, duodenal ulcer chronic diarrhoea, short stature, malabsorption of the B-complex vitamins and malnutrition. The Hp contamination level of the population of the developing world is estimated to be considerably high. Endoscopic studies carried out in Cuban subjects with upper gastrointestinal symptoms show contamination values of 60 to 100%. The current treatment of chronic diarrhoea does not include the elimination of Hp. Cuban children with upper gastrointestinal symptoms show contamination values of more than 60%. There are not available data on the contamination level in apparently healthy Cuban children or those with chronic diarrhoea. In March-April 2000 the prevalence of Hp infection measured in serum by chromatographic immunoassay for detection of Hp IgG antibodies was found to be 94% in 20 infants and young children with persistent chronic diarrhoea and 100% in 11 apparently healthy children in Havana City. Children with diarrhoea showed a more evident affection of their nutritional status and a higher percentage of positive personal or familiar history of parasitism, giardiasis, gastritis, ulcer stomatitis and glositis. The validity of the immunological tests in infants is discussed from the point of view of the antibody transference with breast milk. In a sample of 16 different children studied by the {sup 13}C-Urea-Breath-Test the contamination level was 50% of the children not affected by diarrhoea and only one of the 6 children with diarrhoea showed positive values. This research contract proposes the study of contamination with Hp in Cuban children older than 2 years of age affected by chronic diarrhoea using the {sup 13}C-Urea Breath Test and serological tests for detection of anti-Hp IgG antibodies. Their

ENTRE O PÚBLICO E O PRIVADO: OS ANDARILHOS NAS CIDADES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henrique Roriz Aarestrup Alves

2009-03-01

Full Text Available RESUMO: Os romances A fúria do corpo, de João Gilberto Noll e O rei de Havana, de Pedro Juan Gutierrez, apresentam, em suas narrativas, intensas relações entre os corpos de seus personagens e os espaços de suas respectivas cidades, Rio de Janeiro e Havana. Nesses contatos, os corpos funcionam como referência identitária, intermediados por frequentes relações sexuais e diversos tipos de violência. Esse movimento parece encontrar ressonância no incessante perambular pelas cidades, indicando significativos deslocamentos e relativização de fronteiras. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: erotismo, corpo, andarilho, cidade. ABSTRACT: The novels A fúria do Corpo, by João Gilberto Noll, and O rei de Havana, by Pedro Juan Gutierrez, show an intense relation between the bodies of the characters and the spaces around their respective cities, Rio de Janeiro and Havana. In these contacts, the bodies work as an identity reference, intermediated by frequent sexual relationship and various kinds of violence. This movement seems to find resonance in the incessant wandering around the two cities, which indicates meaningful displacement and relativizes the bounderies. KEYWORDS: eroticism, body, wanderer, city.

[Pollution characteristics and health risk assessment of atmospheric VOCs in the downtown area of Guangzhou, China].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Lei; Li, Hong; Wang, Xue-Zhong; Zhang, Xin-Min; Wen, Chong

2013-12-01

The measurements of 31 kinds of VOCs in the ambient air of a site were carried out in the downtown of Guangzhou by online method from November 5, 2009 to November 9, 2009. The ambient level and composition characteristics, temporal variation characteristics, sources identification, and chemical reactivity of VOCs were studied, and the health risk of VOCs in the ambient air in the study area was assessed by using the international recognized health risk assessment method. Results showed that the mean and the range of the mass concentrations of 31 VOCs were 114.51 microg x m(-3) and 29.42-546.06 microg x m(-3), respectively. The mass concentrations of 31 VOCs, and those of alkanes, alkenes, and aromatics all showed a changing trend of higher in the morning and in the evening, and lower at noontime. Vehicular exhaust, gasoline and liquefied petroleum gas evaporates were the main sources of VOCs with the volatilization of paints and solvents being important emission sources. Toluene, trans-2-butene, m/p-xylene, i-butane, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene were the key reactive species among the 31 VOCs. Vehicular exhaust and gasoline evaporation were the main sources of VOCs leading to the formation of ozone. Health risk assessment showed that n-hexane, 1,3-butadiene, benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene and o-xylene had no appreciable risk of adverse non-cancer health effect on the exposed population, but 1, 3-butadiene and benzene had potential cancer risk. By comparing the corresponding data about health risk assessment of benzene compounds in some cities in China, it is concluded that benzene can impose relatively high cancer risk to the exposed populations in the ambient air of some cities in China. Therefore, strict countermeasures should be taken to further control the pollution of benzene in the ambient air of cities, and it is imperative to start the related studies and develop the atmospheric environmental health criteria and national ambient air quality

Prevalencia de ceguera y limitación visual severa, en personas mayores de 50 años de Ciudad de La Habana Prevalence of blindness and severe visual shortage in over 50 years-old adults in the City of Havana province

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abel Cabrera Martínez

2007-12-01

Full Text Available Se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, cuyo universo estuvo constituido por la población mayor de 50 años perteneciente a Ciudad de La Habana, en el período comprendido entre junio de 2004 a junio del 2005. Para la determinación del tamaño de la muestra se asumió como universo los 633 396 habitantes mayores de 50 años de Ciudad Habana, con una estimación de la prevalencia esperada de 4,0 %, un error aceptable del 3 % y un efecto de diseño de 70 %. Se efectuó un muestreo sistemático por conglomerados y se determinó como muestra 2 760 habitantes de Ciudad de La Habana, representada por 46 cluster de 60 individuos cada uno. Se definió como ceguera la agudeza visual con corrección, inferior a 20/400 y la deficiencia visual grave como la agudeza visual con corrección >20/400 y The universe of a cross-sectional descriptive study, which was carried out from June 2004 to June 2005, was made up of people aged over 50 years, who lived in the City of Havana. In order to determine the sample size, 633 396 over 50 years-old inhabitants were taken as the universe of study, with an expected prevalence estimation of 4.0 %, an allowable error of 3 % and a design effect of 70 %. On the basis of these data, systematic cluster sampling was made to determine a sample of 2 760 inhabitants from the City of Havana, represented by 46 clusters of 60 subjects each. Blindness was defined as corrected visual acuity lower than 20/400 and severe visual shortage as corrected visual acuity >20/400 and <20/200 in the best eye and with the best available correction. An inter-observer variation to reduce errors for this reason was also made. The study coverage was 98.4 % of the selected sample. The blindness prevalence by sex was 2.4 %. Prevalence of bilateral blind persons by age increases from 2.6 % at 50 years to 15,2 % at 80 years and over. The most important causes of bilateral blindness were cataract (50 %, glaucoma (26 % and diabetic

Strategic planning and marketing research for older, inner-city health care facilities: a case study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wood, V R; Robertson, K R

1992-01-01

Numerous health care facilities, located in downtown metropolitan areas, now find themselves surrounded by a decaying inner-city environment. Consumers may perceive these facilities as "old," and catering to an "urban poor" consumer. These same consumers may, therefore, prefer to patronize more modern facilities located in suburban areas. This paper presents a case study of such a health care facility and how strategic planning and marketing research were conducted in order to identify market opportunities and new strategic directions.

Application of the urban mixing-depth concept to air pollution problems

Science.gov (United States)

Peter W. Summers

1977-01-01

A simple urban mixing-depth model is used to develop an indicator of downtown pollution concentrations based on emission strength, rural temperature lapse rate, wind speed, city heat input, and city size. It is shown that the mean annual downtown suspended particulate levels in Canadian cities are proportional to the fifth root of the population. The implications of...

Multielemental analysis to the profile sediments from several sites on the Havana Bay, by the Neutron activation analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Diaz Riso, O.; Gelen, A.; Lopez, N.; Manso, M.V.; Graciano, A.M.; Nogueira, C.A.; Beltran, J.

2003-01-01

Instrumental neutron activation analysis (INAA) technique was employed to analyze the profile sediments from several sites on the Havana Bay, Cuba. Measurements of 24 heavy and trace elements in the sediments are reported. The results show the increment in the sediment pollution occurred in the 70-80 years of the last century. The data confirm that an anthropogenic input into the bay from domestic sewage and industries occurred

Promotional cultural poster: Major features of the sociocultural peak in Santiago de Cuba city, between 1970-1980

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoilo Rafael Fernández-Hernández

2016-09-01

Full Text Available During 70´s and 80´s of the last century, the promotional cultural poster in Santiago de Cuba gained a remarkable peak, due to historical and culturals conditions. Many important institutions were founded, that promote graphic design and sociocultural actions in the city, expressed in a lot of cultural events in that period. Nonetheless is impossible deny the education that acquired artists and designers, who with their creations increased the graphic arts movement in Santiago de Cuba, because they had a unique style. Because they had developed a unique style, apart of the Havana´s art movement.

Levels of cadmium, lead, cooper and zinc in vegetables cultivated in a highly urbanized area of La Havana city, Cuba; Niveles de cadmio, plomo, cobre y zinc en hortalizas cultivadas en una zona altamente urbanizada de la ciudad de la Habana, Cuba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Olivares R, S.; Garcia C, D.; Lima C, L.; Saborit S, I.; Llizo C, A.; Perez A, P., E-mail: susana@instec.cu [Instituto Superior de Tecnologias y Ciencias Aplicadas, Laboratorio de Analisis Ambiental, Av. Salvador Allende y Luaces, Plaza, Ciudad Habana (Cuba)

2013-07-01

In this paper we report levels of Cu, Pb, Cd and Zn in soils and vegetables grown in a highly urbanized area of La Havana city. We studied 17 farms dedicated to urban agriculture in an area of two kilometers around the landfill -Calle 100- during 2006 and 2007. For the study, samples of the soil and all the vegetables ready to harvest were taken from the farms. The heavy metals Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The levels of heavy metals in agricultural soils varied in the following ranges: Cd(0.24-2.1 mg/kg), Cu(38.4-81.3 mg/kg), Pb(18.1-138.5 mg/kg) and Zn(44.1-294.7 mg/kg). For Zn and Pb, some farm soils (35 and 52% respectively) exceeded the ranges in which these metals are found in Cuban agricultural soils. For Pb, 23% of the soils exceeded levels considered phyto toxic and limits in some international standards. The 12.5% of the samples of vegetables collected exceeded the maximum permissible levels of this pollutant in food for human consumption set by Cuban and international standards. The results indicate the need for strict crop monitoring in the area. (Author)

The Second Factory of Havana before the War of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies 1760-1779. A Reading from the Spanish Estanco

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Santiago de LUXÁN MELÉNDEZ

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Our main objective is to verify the Spanish problems of Spanish estanco relative to its main supplier, the Island of Cuba. The return to direct management by the Monarchy of the production, sale and export of Cuban tobacco as a leading provider of Metropolitan estanco, once passed the accident of taking of Havana by the English, was accompanied by the expansion of culture in the Island, but not the increase in longterm consumption of the product in the Metropolitan estanco. Two types of tobacco, the Virginian, and especially the Brazilian one, continued to maintain a privileged position in the Spanish market. On the other hand, the more opening of Havana to American market coincides with the creation of estancos in the rest of America. According to the known estimations, at least until the period of the War of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies, the solution to the problems of excess production did not take place in the Antillean Island

Environmental pollution: quantitative analysis of particulate matter (PM10) by SR-TXRF

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, Silvana; Melo Junior, Ariston da Silva; Zucchi, Orgheda Luiza Araujo Domingues; Vives, Ana Elisa Sirito de

2007-01-01

The atmospheric pollution is a concern in the great urban centers, due its association with man pathologies. The Campinas region is one of the most urbanized of the Sao Paulo State and an important industrial center. Thus, due to its location and importance were installed three samplers for particulate material (PM 10 ). One sampler was located in downtown of Campinas city, in an avenue with high vehicular flow. Another sampler was installed in the UNICAMP campus and the third one in Paulinia city, near to REPLAN. For downtown of Campinas city PM 10 concentrations higher than regular air quality established by CETESB (150 μg.m -3 ) was observed. The PM 10 values for Paulinia and downtown of Campinas were higher than Barao Geraldo location. Employing SR-TXRF was possible identify and quantify 19 elements in the particulate material samples. All the measurements were performed at Synchrotron Light Source Laboratory, Campinas, SP. After statistics analysis by principal components and cluster analysis was possible to assemble the elements according emission sources. The dusty soil for coarse fraction contributed with 62%, 51% and 46% for Barao Geraldo, Paulinia and downtown of Campinas, respectively. The vehicular emission was responsible for 16% at downtown Campinas city as expected due to high vehicular flow at sampling place. The vehicular and industrial emissions contributed with 20% and 25%, respectively at Paulinia sampling site. The industrial emissions observed for Barao Geraldo and downtown of Campinas city were 27% and 33%, respectively. (author)

Smart City Services over a Future Internet Platform Based on Internet of Things and Cloud: The Smart Parking Case

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Lanza

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Enhancing the effectiveness of city services and assisting on a more sustainable development of cities are two of the crucial drivers of the smart city concept. This paper portrays a field trial that leverages an internet of things (IoT platform intended for bringing value to existing and future smart city infrastructures. The paper highlights how IoT creates the basis permitting integration of current vertical city services into an all-encompassing system, which opens new horizons for the progress of the effectiveness and sustainability of our cities. Additionally, the paper describes a field trial on provisioning of real time data about available parking places both indoor and outdoor. The trial has been carried out at Santander’s (Spain downtown area. The trial takes advantage of both available open data sets as well as of a large-scale IoT infrastructure. The trial is a showcase on how added-value services can be created on top of the proposed architecture.

Large-Eddy Simulation of pollutant dispersion in downtown Montreal: Evaluation of the convective and turbulent mass fluxes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gousseau, P.; Blocken, B.J.E.; Stathopoulos, T.; Heijst, van G.J.F.; Seppelt, R.; Voinov, A.A.; Lange, S.; Bankamp, D.

2012-01-01

Abstract: Large-Eddy Simulation of pollutant dispersion from a stack on the roof of a low-rise building in downtown Montreal is performed. Two wind directions are considered, with different wind flow patterns and plume behaviours. The resulting mean concentration field is observed and analysed with

Environmental pollution: quantitative analysis of particulate matter (PM{sub 10}) by SR-TXRF

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreira, Silvana; Melo Junior, Ariston da Silva [Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo]. E-mails: silvana@fec.unicamp.br; juniorariston@gmail.com; Zucchi, Orgheda Luiza Araujo Domingues [Universidade de Sao Paulo (USP), Ribeirao Preto, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Ciencias Farmaceuticas]. E-mail: olzucchi@fcfrp.usp.br; Vives, Ana Elisa Sirito de [Universidade Metodista de Piracicaba (UNIMEP), Santa Barbara D' Oeste, SP (Brazil). Faculdade de Engenharia Civil, Arquitetura e Urbanismo]. E-mail: aesvives@unimep.br

2007-07-01

The atmospheric pollution is a concern in the great urban centers, due its association with man pathologies. The Campinas region is one of the most urbanized of the Sao Paulo State and an important industrial center. Thus, due to its location and importance were installed three samplers for particulate material (PM{sub 10}). One sampler was located in downtown of Campinas city, in an avenue with high vehicular flow. Another sampler was installed in the UNICAMP campus and the third one in Paulinia city, near to REPLAN. For downtown of Campinas city PM{sub 10} concentrations higher than regular air quality established by CETESB (150 {mu}g.m{sup -3}) was observed. The PM{sub 10} values for Paulinia and downtown of Campinas were higher than Barao Geraldo location. Employing SR-TXRF was possible identify and quantify 19 elements in the particulate material samples. All the measurements were performed at Synchrotron Light Source Laboratory, Campinas, SP. After statistics analysis by principal components and cluster analysis was possible to assemble the elements according emission sources. The dusty soil for coarse fraction contributed with 62%, 51% and 46% for Barao Geraldo, Paulinia and downtown of Campinas, respectively. The vehicular emission was responsible for 16% at downtown Campinas city as expected due to high vehicular flow at sampling place. The vehicular and industrial emissions contributed with 20% and 25%, respectively at Paulinia sampling site. The industrial emissions observed for Barao Geraldo and downtown of Campinas city were 27% and 33%, respectively. (author)

Extreme Rainfall In A City

Science.gov (United States)

Nkemdirim, Lawrence

Cities contain many structures and activities that are vulnerable to severe weather. Heavy precipitation cause floods which can damage structures, compromise transportation and water supply systems, and slow down economic and social activities. Rain induced flood patterns in cities must be well understood to enable effective placement of flood control and other regulatory measures. The planning goal is not to eliminate all floods but to reduce their frequency and resulting damage. Possible approaches to such planning include probability based extreme event analysis. Precipitation is normally the most variable hydrologic element over a given area. This variability results from the distribution of clouds and in cloud processes in the atmosphere, the storm path, and the distribution of topographical features on the ground along path. Some studies suggest that point rainfall patterns are also affected by urban industrial effects hence some agreement that cities are wetter than the country surrounding them. However, there are still questions regarding the intra- urban distribution of precipitation. The sealed surfaces, urban structures, and the urban heat anomaly increase convection in cities which may enhance the generation of clouds. Increased dust and gaseous aerosols loads are effective condensation and sublimation nuclei which may also enhance the generation of precipitation. Based on these associations, the greatest amount of convection type rainfall should occur at city center. A study of summer rainfall in Calgary showed that frequencies of trace amounts of rainfall and events under 0.2mm are highest downtown than elsewhere. For amounts greater than than 0.2 mm, downtown sites were not favored. The most compelling evidence for urban-industrial precipitation enhancement came from the Metromex project around St. Loius, Missouri where maximum increases of between 5 to 30 per cent in summer rainfall downwind of the city was linked to urbanization and

Hydrometer method: influence of the times of readings in the determination of the size distribution of particles in soil of Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garcia Coronado, Jorge; Medina Gonzalez, Hanoi; Nunnez Acosta, Daniel

2008-01-01

Full text: One of the most widespread is based on Stokes law, hydrometer method worldwide for textural analysis of soils. The objective of this study is to assess the influence of the hydrometer reading times, associated with various simplifications of the method in the determination of the distribution of the size of particles of soil belonging to the Havana province. It is based on 101 property measurements, starting from the I am at 51 points at two depths, 10-15 cm and 35-40 cm. The distribution of points It responds to a wider project aimed at evaluating different physical properties, chemical and water in the province of Havana, through the design of a non-aligned stratified sampling. It was determined the effect of the variation of time of registration of the readings of the hydrometer in the results obtained from evaluating different methodologies of calculation. It was found that the limitation of the measurement time to an hour, as it is done usually in several laboratories of agronomic studies of Cuba, you can change completely the textural classification of soils, with a marked over-estimation of the clay content. (author)

Spatial variation in diesel-related elemental and organic PM2.5 components during workweek hours across a downtown core.

Science.gov (United States)

Tunno, Brett J; Shmool, Jessie L C; Michanowicz, Drew R; Tripathy, Sheila; Chubb, Lauren G; Kinnee, Ellen; Cambal, Leah; Roper, Courtney; Clougherty, Jane E

2016-12-15

Capturing intra-urban variation in diesel-related pollution exposures remains a challenge, given its complex chemical mix, and relatively few well-characterized ambient-air tracers for the multiple diesel sources in densely-populated urban areas. To capture fine-scale spatial resolution (50×50m grid cells) in diesel-related pollution, we used geographic information systems (GIS) to systematically allocate 36 sampling sites across downtown Pittsburgh, PA, USA (2.8km 2 ), cross-stratifying to disentangle source impacts (i.e., truck density, bus route frequency, total traffic density). For buses, outbound and inbound trips per week were summed by route and a kernel density was calculated across sites. Programmable monitors collected fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) samples specific to workweek hours (Monday-Friday, 7 am-7 pm), summer and winter 2013. Integrated filters were analyzed for black carbon (BC), elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), elemental constituents, and diesel-related organic compounds [i.e., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), hopanes, steranes]. To our knowledge, no studies have collected this suite of pollutants with such high sampling density, with the ability to capture spatial patterns during specific hours of interest. We hypothesized that we would find substantial spatial variation for each pollutant and significant associations with key sources (e.g. diesel and gasoline vehicles), with higher concentrations near the center of this small downtown core. Using a forward stepwise approach, we developed seasonal land use regression (LUR) models for PM 2.5 , BC, total EC, OC, PAHs, hopanes, steranes, aluminum (Al), calcium (Ca), and iron (Fe). Within this small domain, greater concentration differences were observed in most pollutants across sites, on average, than between seasons. Higher PM 2.5 and BC concentrations were found in the downtown core compared to the boundaries. PAHs, hopanes, and steranes displayed different spatial

Disaster Preparedness activities in Havana: the study of the Community leaders´ Perception of risks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nuria Gaeta Carrillo

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Risk reduction and build resilience in order to prevent some disasters require not just well coordinated authorities, a sound legislation and strong institutions. It is also vital to involve the local communities in preventive measures. The design of community training and community based preparedness activities is not ofen planned properly and is done without enough information, leading to a breakdown in the intervention. Based on personal and group interviews and a survey, this study performs an exploration of community leaders´ perceptions about risks in Havana that strengthens or constrains preventive measures and enhance or not response capacities. information that helps to design capacity building activities at studied community.

Analysis of the division of the urban-rural ecotone in the city of Zhuhai

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Nan; Zhou, Sulong; Guo, Luo

2018-02-01

In this study, a high-resolution remote sensing image of downtown Zhuhai (2010) was used to analyze the division of the urban-rural ecotone. Based on the information entropy theory, the study analyzed the characteristics of the ecotone’s land use and entropy value distribution, the break entropy values of the inner and outer boundary, as determined by mutation detection, were 0.51 and 0.46, respectively, providing a range for the rough classification of the rural-urban ecotone. The results showed that the boundaries of the ecotone were dynamic and the landscape turbulence of the urban fringe in the section between rural and urban areas was greater than that of the core area and imagery area of Zhuhai city. We concluded that this study provided technical support for urban planning and administration in the city of Zhuhai.

Managing Traffic Flows for Cleaner Cities: The Role of Green Navigation Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fiamma Perez-Prada

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Cities worldwide suffer from serious air pollution problems and are main contributors to climate change. Green Navigation systems have a great potential to reduce fuel consumption and exhaust emissions from traffic. This research evaluates the impacts of different percentages of green drivers on traffic, CO2, and NOx over the entire Madrid Region. A macroscopic traffic model was combined with an enhanced macroscopic emissions model and a GIS (Geographic Information Systems to simulate emissions on the basis of average vehicle speeds and traffic intensity at the link level. NOx emissions are evaluated, taking into account not only the exhaust emissions produced by transport activity, but also the amount of the population exposed to these air pollutants. Results show up to 10.4% CO2 and 13.8% NOx reductions in congested traffic conditions for a 90% penetration of green drivers; however, the population’s exposure to NOx increases up to 20.2%. Moreover, while traffic volumes decrease by 13.5% for the entire region, they increase by up to 16.4% downtown. Travel times also increase by 28.7%. Since green drivers tend to choose shorter routes through downtown areas, eco-routing systems are an effective tool for fighting climate change, but are ineffective to reduce air pollution in dense urban areas.

Adaptind the US Main Street Philosophy and Program to the Romanian Urban Context. Could it Possibly Work?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bogdana NEAMTU

2006-10-01

Full Text Available The analysis herein explores the topic of downtown revitalization and focuses on a specific strategy, namely the Main Street approach, as a venue for addressing physical decay, business retention, and historic preservation within small cities/communities throughout the entire US. The paper also addresses how the main street philosophy could be used to deal with urban problems in a completely different setting – Romanian cities – and which would be the steps Romanian public authorities at both the central and local level need to undertake in order to implement a Main Street Program in Romania. The paper has a threefold structure. In the first section the focus is on the US urban context. A brief analysis of the causes that have generated the decline of downtowns and their commercial/business districts is provided. It is underscored that cities are not merely the passive recipients of change; rather decision-makers have the ability to make choices that maximize the assets the community has while minimizing the obstacles they face. The Main Street program implemented by the National Trust for Historic Preservation is described as one possible strategy aiming at the revitalization of downtowns and commercial/business districts. The focus is on assessing how such a strategy responds to the challenges downtowns face. The Main Street approach is then compared and contrasted against other possible downtown redevelopment strategies. In the second part of the paper the focus shifts from the US context to Romanian cities. A brief analysis of the problems Romanian municipalities face with regard to downtowns is provided. The authors argue that the main street approach is relevant and worth taking into consideration as a counterpoint to urban sprawl - (increase in the number of retailers and malls at the outskirts of the urban cores, decline of open space and opportunities for leisure in the downtown, increase in the number of suburban single family

The Marks of the Oriental Cities of Cuba at the End of the XIX Century: Between the Art and the Trade

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zoilo Rafael Fernández-Hernández

2016-02-01

Full Text Available At the end of the XIX century, in a city like Santiago de Cuba and others; then called as the Oriental Department of the country, there also existed trademarks not only linked to the tobacco, as those famous ones carried out in the lithography shops of Havana. Those recently located in the oriental files are also related with other products like the rum, vinegar, chocolate, liquors and wax matches, among others. This mark constituted for their coloring, the precision of their drawing and the appropriate artistic conception and design, valuable exponents of the history of the art and the Cuban publicity.

[Knowledge, perceptions and practice of dermatologists with respect to Giardia lamblia infection].

Science.gov (United States)

Iglesias Hernández, Tania; Almannoni, Saleh Ali; Rodríguez, Maria Elena; Sánchez Valdés, Lizet; Pupo, Deisy Martín; Manzur Katrib, Julián; Fonte Galindo, Luis

2010-01-01

to ascertain the level of knowledge, the perceptions and practice of dermatologists in the City of Havana with respect to Giardia lamblia infection. with prior informed consent given by the dermatologists from the City of Havana, 50 dermatologists- a number very close to the universe of these experts in the province- were administered a survey of their knowledge, perceptions and practice about this parasitosis. The survey was prepared in 4 phases; that is, interviews to physicians on diagnosis, treatment and control of giardiasis; drafting of a preliminary questionnaire based on the interview results; submission of this instruments to the experts, and finally its validation through its application to a small group of physicians. it was evinced that the dermatologists in the City of Havana had poor knowledge about giardiasis, particularly its cutaneous manifestations (out of 19 questions on cognitive aspects, the correct answer mean was 10,18), inadequate perceptions on this disease and practice was not good. with the aim of mitigating these difficulties, some academic intervention is needed to make emphasis on the formative aspects related to parasitic diseases in general and giardiasis in particular

Heat and Humidity in the City: Neighborhood Heat Index Variability in a Mid-Sized City in the Southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Hass, Alisa L; Ellis, Kelsey N; Reyes Mason, Lisa; Hathaway, Jon M; Howe, David A

2016-01-11

Daily weather conditions for an entire city are usually represented by a single weather station, often located at a nearby airport. This resolution of atmospheric data fails to recognize the microscale climatic variability associated with land use decisions across and within urban neighborhoods. This study uses heat index, a measure of the combined effects of temperature and humidity, to assess the variability of heat exposure from ten weather stations across four urban neighborhoods and two control locations (downtown and in a nearby nature center) in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Results suggest that trees may negate a portion of excess urban heat, but are also associated with greater humidity. As a result, the heat index of locations with more trees is significantly higher than downtown and areas with fewer trees. Trees may also reduce heat stress by shading individuals from incoming radiation, though this is not considered in this study. Greater amounts of impervious surfaces correspond with reduced evapotranspiration and greater runoff, in terms of overall mass balance, leading to a higher temperature, but lower relative humidity. Heat index and relative humidity were found to significantly vary between locations with different tree cover and neighborhood characteristics for the full study time period as well as for the top 10% of heat index days. This work demonstrates the need for high-resolution climate data and the use of additional measures beyond temperature to understand urban neighborhood exposure to extreme heat, and expresses the importance of considering vulnerability differences among residents when analyzing neighborhood-scale impacts.

Heat and Humidity in the City: Neighborhood Heat Index Variability in a Mid-Sized City in the Southeastern United States

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alisa L. Hass

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Daily weather conditions for an entire city are usually represented by a single weather station, often located at a nearby airport. This resolution of atmospheric data fails to recognize the microscale climatic variability associated with land use decisions across and within urban neighborhoods. This study uses heat index, a measure of the combined effects of temperature and humidity, to assess the variability of heat exposure from ten weather stations across four urban neighborhoods and two control locations (downtown and in a nearby nature center in Knoxville, Tennessee, USA. Results suggest that trees may negate a portion of excess urban heat, but are also associated with greater humidity. As a result, the heat index of locations with more trees is significantly higher than downtown and areas with fewer trees. Trees may also reduce heat stress by shading individuals from incoming radiation, though this is not considered in this study. Greater amounts of impervious surfaces correspond with reduced evapotranspiration and greater runoff, in terms of overall mass balance, leading to a higher temperature, but lower relative humidity. Heat index and relative humidity were found to significantly vary between locations with different tree cover and neighborhood characteristics for the full study time period as well as for the top 10% of heat index days. This work demonstrates the need for high-resolution climate data and the use of additional measures beyond temperature to understand urban neighborhood exposure to extreme heat, and expresses the importance of considering vulnerability differences among residents when analyzing neighborhood-scale impacts.

Downlight Demonstration Program: Hilton Columbus Downtown

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Davis, Robert G.; Perrin, Tess E.

2014-05-13

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) estimates that there were about 700 million downlight luminaires installed in residential and commercial buildings in the U.S. as of 2012, with light-emitting diode (LED) luminaires representing less than 1% of this installed base. Downlight luminaires using conventional incandescent, halogen, and compact fluorescent lamps have lower efficacies and shorter expected lifetimes than comparable LED systems, but the lower initial cost of the conventional technology and the uncertainties associated with the newer LED technology have restricted widespread adoption of LED downlight luminaires. About 278 tBtu of energy could be saved annually if LED luminaires were to saturate the downlight market, equating to an annual energy cost savings of $2.6 billion. This report summarizes an evaluation of LED recessed downlight luminaires in the guest rooms at the Hilton Columbus Downtown hotel in Columbus, OH. The facility opened in October of 2012, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) conducted a post-occupancy assessment of the facility in January–March of 2014. Each of the 484 guest rooms uses seven 15 W LED downlights: four downlights in the entry and bedroom and three downlights in the bathroom. The 48 suites use the seven 15 W LED downlights and additional fixtures depending on the space requirements, so that in total the facility has more than 3,700 LED downlights. The downlights are controlled through wall-mounted switches and dimmers. A ceiling-mounted vacancy sensor ensures that the bathroom luminaires are turned off when the room is not occupied.

Efectos adversos asociados al tratamiento con factor de transferencia: Ciudad de La Habana, 2004 Adverse drug effects associated to the treatment of patients with transfer factor: City of Havana , 2004

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María Aida Cruz Barrios

2006-04-01

Full Text Available El factor de transferencia (Hebertrans constituye un inmunoestimulante que se emplea en una amplia gama de enfermedades. Su seguridad ha sido evaluada en los ensayos clínicos pre-registro, pero no así en investigaciones poscomercialización, por tal motivo se realizó un estudio observacional y multicéntrico de vigilancia activa, en pacientes tratados con factor de transferencia en 11 hospitales de la Ciudad de La Habana , para identificar los eventos presentados durante el tratamiento, así como clasificarlos según su causalidad y gravedad. La información fue recogida por el médico inmunólogo de cada hospital y supervisada por el farmacoepidemiólogo hospitalario. Durante el tratamiento se obtuvo información de 387 pacientes y se reportaron 133 eventos en 86 casos (22,2 %. Los más frecuentes fueron fiebre, dolor y eritema en el sitio de la inyección, cefalea y diarrea; el 92,5 % de los eventos observados fueron leves. El 27,8 % se clasificó como definitivamente provocados por el fármaco, estos últimos relacionados con la vía de administración. El factor de transferencia resultó un medicamento seguro en los pacientes observadosTransfer factor called Hebertrans is an immunostimulant used in a wide range of diseases. The safety of this drug has been assessed in several clinical assays prior to registration, but not in aftermarket research studies. Therefore, a multicenter observational study of active surveillance was carried out in patients treated with transfer factor in 11 hospitals located in the City of Havana to detect adverse events in the course of treatment, and then to classify them by cause and severity. Data was collected by the immunologist in each hospital and supervised by the pharmacological epidemiologist. During the treatment, information was gathered from 387 patients where 133 events were reported in 86 cases (22,2%. The most frequent were fever, pain, erythema at the site of injection, headache and diarrhea; 92

The applied research program of the High Flux Neutron Generator at the National Nuclear Center, Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perez, G.; Martin, G.; Ceballos, C.; Padron, I.; Shtejer, K.; Perez, N.; Guibert, R.; Ledo, L.M.; Cruz Inclan, Carlos

2001-01-01

The Havana High Flux Neutron Generator facility is an intense neutron source based on a 20 mA duoplasmatron ion source and a 250 kV high voltage power supply. It has been installed in the Neutron Generator Laboratory at the Center of Applied Technologies and Nuclear Research in 1997. This paper deal outlined the future applied program to be carried out in this facility in the next years. The Applied Research Program consists on install two nuclear analytic techniques: the PELAN technique which uses the neutron generator in the pulse mode and the Low Energy PIXE technique which uses the same facility as a low energy proton accelerator for PIXE analysis. (author)

THE PROBLEM OF INTERCEPTING PARKING SYSTEMS DESIGN IN CITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Hetsovych

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Consistent determination of the main problems concerning the system of intercepting parking – lot design with the purpose of transport systems improvement downtown is grounded. The given approach allows to fully satisfy the demand for parking-lots of urban transport systems in combination with the system of downtown parkings and the capacity of the highway network.

[Bodies and pleasures in male homosocial circuits of downtown Rio de Janeiro].

Science.gov (United States)

Rios, Luis Felipe

2008-01-01

This paper presents the results of an ethnographic research investigating the cultural bases that guide the construction of corporeal events, especially those related to sex/eroticism, in the homosocial circuits of downtown Rio de Janeiro. Data were gathered by means of biographic narrative interviews, direct observations and research-interventions. The main argument presented in this paper is that the diverse corporeal events in the studied community are based on the same conceptual structure that focuses on transgression of the "body/flesh" in the sense of St. Paul's concept: an exaltation of forbidden 'tesão', erotic pleasure only admissible for the purpose of reproduction. 'Flesh' instead of sublimated being exalted, constantly inspired and attracted to more and more erotic pleasure.

Evaluation of methods of bio monitoring with lichens to study the state of air pollution by trace elements in Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Montero Alvarez, Alfredo

2015-01-01

In this paper the main results obtained in the use of lichens as bio monitors to estimate the levels of atmospheric deposition of Al, Br, Ca, Cd, Co Cr, Cu, Fe, Mg, Mn, Na is short, Ni, Pb , Sr, V and Zn in Havana during the period 2001-2010 are shown. For the determination of the elemental contents were used and evaluated the possibilities of X-ray fluorescence, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, Polarography (voltammetry stripping anode) Atomic Emission Spectrometry with Inductively coupled plasma and mass spectrometry Inductively Coupled Plasma. The simultaneous application of three methods in the case of some chemical elements also allowed to make comparisons of the results, which is important from the point of view of quality assurance. It is also significant that the analytical techniques used in this work are available in the country, so that this experience could be used by other institutions for this kind of studies. A comparative study of three species of lichens is reported and Physcia alba has being selected as the most suitable dawn. The spatial and temporal diagrams of the elements studied in the territory of the Capital and its relation to the main sources of pollution distribution are established. The study of isotopic ratios for lead allowed to confirm that the source of atmospheric Pb in Havana is a possible mixture of soil dust and anthropogenic activities such as the combustion of domestic heavy oil used for power generation and other industries. (Author)

Urban revitalization at downtown areas: discussions on the case of the city of São Paulo

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cíntia Nigro

2006-08-01

Full Text Available This article: refers to the recent interventions and present revitalisation projects taking place at São Paulo city centre. It deals with the importance that has been attributed to the urban central areas through the years and the way in which these particular spaces are constant targets of public interventions. The case of São Paulo is treated through the process of "urban revitalisation". The text focuses on the need to speak about the context of this process within a wider one, that of "urban reestructuraron" - which leads to "gentrification" and spatial segregation phenomenon

Welcoming Diversity? Symbolic Boundaries and the Politics of Normativity in Kansas City's LGBTQ Communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Vogler, Stefan

2016-01-01

Using document analysis and ethnographic field work, this article examines the debate within the LGBTQ community of Kansas City over the decision to hold its Pride festival in the Power and Light District (P&L), a renewed downtown area with a controversial dress code. Despite the developers' and city's goals of creating a cosmopolitan urban space that welcomed diverse populations, the P&L acquired a reputation as an anti-Black, anti-queer space due to its dress code and redevelopment history. I argue that the debate surrounding this controversy reveals limits to notions of diversity and diverging approaches to sexual politics within the LGBTQ community that are normally obscured by political actors within the movement but that work to create symbolic boundaries that exclude "non-respectable" members of the LGBTQ population. Recovering queer perspectives allows us to imagine a more capacious definition of diversity and inclusion, both within the LGBTQ movement and in urban space.

Geothermal District Heating System City of Klamath Falls

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lienau, Paul J; Rafferty, Kevin

1991-12-01

The city of Klamath Falls became interested in the possibility of a establishing geothermal district heating system for downtown government buildings in January 1977. Since that time, the project has undergone some controversial and interesting developments that may be of educational value to other communities contemplating such a project. The purpose and content of this article is to identify the historical development of the project; including the design of the system, well owner objections to the project, aquifer testing, piping failure, and future expansion and marketing incentives. The shallow geothermal reservoir in Klamath falls extends for at least 6.8 miles in a northwest-southeast direction, as shown on Figure 1, with a width of about 2 miles. More than 550 thermal wells ranging in depth from about 10 to 2,000 ft, and obtaining or contacting water from 70 to 230oF, have been drilled into the reservoir. The system is not geologically homogeneous. Great variations in horizontal permeability and many vertical discontinuities exist because of stratigraphy and structure of the area. Basalt flows, eruptive centers, fluvial and lacustrine deposits, diatomite and pyroclastic materials alternate in the rock column. Normal faults with large throw (estimated up to 1,700 ft) are spaced less than 3,300 ft apart and appear to be the main avenue of vertical movement of hot fluids. In order to more effectively utilize this resource, the city of Klamath Falls decided in 1978 to apply for a federal grant (Program Opportunity Notice to cost share field experiment projects) to construct a geothermal district heating system that would deliver geothermal fluids to areas not located on the resource. In 1977, several Geo-Heat Center staff members visited Reykjavik, Iceland, to study the design of their geothermal district heating systems. This was in part the basis for the conceptual design and feasibility study (Lund, 1979) of a downtown commercial district. The main difference

Retail Marijuana Purchases in Designer and Commercial Markets in New York City: Sales Units, Weights, and Prices per Gram

Science.gov (United States)

Sifaneck, Stephen J.; Ream, Geoffrey L.; Johnson, Bruce D.; Dunlap, Eloise

2007-01-01

This paper documents the bifurcation of the market for commercial marijuana from the market for designer marijuana in New York City. Commercial marijuana is usually grown outdoors, imported to NYC, and of average quality. By contrast, several strains of designer marijuana are usually grown indoors from specially-bred strains and carefully handled for maximum quality. The mechanisms for selling include street/park sellers, delivery services, private sales, and storefronts. Retail sales units vary from $5 to $50 and more, but the actual weights and price per gram of retail marijuana purchases lacks scientific precision. Ethnographic staff recruited marijuana purchasers who used digital scales to weigh a purposive sample of 99 marijuana purchases. Results indicate clear differences in price per gram between the purchases of commercial (avg. $8.20/gram) and designer (avg. $18.02/gram) marijuana. Designer purchases are more likely to be made by whites, downtown (Lower East Side/Union Square area), via delivery services, and in units of $10 bags, $50 cubes, and eighth and quarter ounces. Commercial marijuana purchases are more likely to be made by blacks, uptown (Harlem), via street dealers, and in units of $5 and $20 bags. Imported commercial types Arizona and Chocolate were only found uptown, while designer brand names describing actual strains like Sour Diesel and White Widow were only found downtown. Findings indicate clear divisions between commercial and designer marijuana markets in New York City. The extent that these differences may be based upon different THC potencies is a matter for future research. PMID:17055670

Evaluation of the Marine Intrusion in Havana Province Groundwater Using Hydrochemical and Isotopic Tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Alvarez, A. M.; Bombuse, D. L.; Estevez Alvarez, J. R. [Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnologicas y Desarrollo Nuclear (CEADEN), Havana (Cuba); others, and

2013-07-15

In the present paper the spatial distribution and temporal evolution of the saline intrusion in the most important aquifer of Havana province is presented. Results were obtained through the application of hydrochemical and isotopic tools. Studies were carried out within the framework of the IAEA Regional Project RLA/8/041. The survey was carried out in 2008 during the dry and rainy seasons. Sampling points were selected according to a monitoring network located along the north-south line following the main groundwater flow direction. Stable isotopes ({sup 2}H and {sup 18}O) were used to identify and characterize the groundwater origin and mixing processes. Changes in the chemical composition of groundwater were shown to be mainly controlled by the groundwater and seawater mixing process, followed by cation exchange reactions and a Ca-Mg precipitation process due to the strong influence of the costal wetland. A gradual decreasing of the spatial and temporal saline intrusion was observed. (author)

Determinants of single family residential water use across scales in four western US cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Heejun; Bonnette, Matthew Ryan; Stoker, Philip; Crow-Miller, Britt; Wentz, Elizabeth

2017-10-15

A growing body of literature examines urban water sustainability with increasing evidence that locally-based physical and social spatial interactions contribute to water use. These studies however are based on single-city analysis and often fail to consider whether these interactions occur more generally. We examine a multi-city comparison using a common set of spatially-explicit water, socioeconomic, and biophysical data. We investigate the relative importance of variables for explaining the variations of single family residential (SFR) water uses at Census Block Group (CBG) and Census Tract (CT) scales in four representative western US cities - Austin, Phoenix, Portland, and Salt Lake City, - which cover a wide range of climate and development density. We used both ordinary least squares regression and spatial error regression models to identify the influence of spatial dependence on water use patterns. Our results show that older downtown areas show lower water use than newer suburban areas in all four cities. Tax assessed value and building age are the main determinants of SFR water use across the four cities regardless of the scale. Impervious surface area becomes an important variable for summer water use in all cities, and it is important in all seasons for arid environments such as Phoenix. CT level analysis shows better model predictability than CBG analysis. In all cities, seasons, and spatial scales, spatial error regression models better explain the variations of SFR water use. Such a spatially-varying relationship of urban water consumption provides additional evidence for the need to integrate urban land use planning and municipal water planning. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Detection of Urban-Induced Rainfall Anomalies in a Major Coastal City

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, J. Marshall; Burian, Steven J.

2002-01-01

Urban heat islands (UHIs) are caused by the heat-retaining properties of surfaces usually found in urban cities like asphalt and concrete. The UHI can typically be observed on the evening TV weather map as warmer temperatures over the downtown of major cities and cooler temperatures in the suburbs and surrounding rural areas. The UHI has now become a widely acknowledged, observed, and researched phenomenon because of its broad environmental and societal implications. Interest in the UHI will intensify in the future as existing urban areas expand and rural areas urbanize. By the year 2025, more than 60% of the world s population will live in cities, with higher percentages expected in developed nations. The urban growth rate in the United States, for example, is estimated to be 12.5%, and the recent 2000 Census found that more than 80% of the population currently lives in urban areas. Furthermore, the U.S. population is not only growing but is tending to concentrate more in urban areas within the environmentally sensitive coastal zones. Urban growth creates unique and often contentious issues for policymakers related to land use zoning, transportation planning, agricultural production, housing and development, pollution, and natural resources protection. Urban expansion and its associated TJHIs also have measurable impacts on weather and climate processes. The UHI has been documented to affect local and regional temperature, wind patterns, and air quality

Building the food secure city

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

IDRC

In the downtown core, hawkers ply their trade in everything from ... In a project supported by the International Development .... governmental organization, Agriproject Foundation Department of ... Lulandala sees this as a missed opportunity.

Pollution effects on stone benches of the Eagle Warriors Precinct at the Major Temple, Mexico City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, J.; Gallardo, M.L.; Grimaldi, D.M.; Roman-Berrelleza, J.A.; Ruvalcaba-Sil, J.L.; Ontalba Salamanca, M.A.; Morales, J.G.

1999-01-01

During Major Temple archaeological site excavations in Downtown Mexico City, the precinct of one of the most important Mexica military caste, the Eagle Warriors, was discovered. The ceremonial enclosure is composed of three rooms surrounded by paintings on 11 stone benches placed against the walls. Nowadays, these paintings and the stones present the effects of different deterioration processes produced by the underground water level, high humidity, and the presence of soil, water, and air pollutants. Ion beam analysis of samples from the benches and wall paintings was performed using PIXE and RBS techniques. Using enrichment factors of elements relative to iron concentrations, possible contamination by sulfur and chlorine salts was found, as well as airborne zinc scavenged by rain

New City Logistics Paradigm: From the “Last Mile” to the “Last 50 Miles” Sustainable Distribution

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Maurizio Faccio

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The distribution of goods in urban areas, together with private traffic flows, are among the main sources of energy consumption, air pollution and noise. As a consequence, in the 2000s, several EU cities started to implement logistical solutions for the sustainable city. In this context, this study addresses the implementation of a new eco-logistic system, which serves multiple adjacent cities by using electric vehicles to deliver goods of any type within their urban areas. This paper describes the results of a project developed in the province of Vicenza (northern Italy and covering the main cities (Bassano del Grappa, Thiene, Schio and Valdagno in the foothills (the so-called Pedemontana Veneta zone. The eco-logistic system aims to cover the last 50 miles of distribution (typical area of an Italian province with a centralised platform that performs green deliveries with electric vehicles from/to the downtown areas. A preliminary and extensive “on field” analysis by means of door-to-door questionnaires was conducted to identify the performance required by the eco-logistic system. Therefore, the design of such a distribution system is performed to assess and define the conditions that make this solution profitable from both the economic and the environmental perspective.

"Weak-Center" Gentrification and the Contradictions of Containment: deconcentrating poverty in downtown Los Angeles.

Science.gov (United States)

Reese, Ellen; DeVerteuil, Geoffrey; Thach, Leanne

2010-01-01

This case study of recent efforts to deconcentrate poverty within the Skid Row area of Los Angeles examines processes of "weak-center" gentrification as it applies to a "service dependent ghetto," thus filling two key gaps in prior scholarship. We document the collaboration between the government, business and development interests, and certain non-profit agencies in this process and identify two key mechanisms of poverty deconcentration: housing/service displacement and the criminalization of low income residents. Following Harvey, we argue that these efforts are driven by pressures to find a "spatial fix" for capital accumulation through Downtown redevelopment. This process has been hotly contested, however, illustrating the strength of counter-pressures to gentrification/poverty deconcentration within "weak-center" urban areas.

Preliminary comparison of the system of AERMOD and ISCST3 models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Turtos Carbonell, Leonor; Curbelo Garea, Lariza; Diaz Rivero, Norberto

2006-01-01

On October 21st, 2005 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), establishes AERMOD as regulatory model to be used for the dispersion of pollutants at local scale, in substitution of the ISCST3 model used up to that moment. Whenever a new dispersion model appears, it is necessary for the scientific community to make a comparison in order to discover the differences between the results obtained with the new model and the previous one. Considering the above mentioned fact, this work makes a preliminary comparison between the maximum concentrations calculated by each model (ISCST3 and AERMOD) for a specific case study that consists of eleven batteries of generation sets distributed throughout Havana City which will operate in base load mode and will use a fuel oil with 4% of sulphur. The modelling domain is the 50 xs 37 km with 1 x 1 km cells for a total of 1 850 calculation points (receptors), located in all Havana City and the bordering municipalities of Havana province. In each one of these receptors the dispersion of SO 2 and NO x were modelled

[Upbringing and Sexuality in Children from Marginal Prostitute Women Downtown in Bogotá].

Science.gov (United States)

Amaya, Javier Guillermo Díaz; Acosta, Miguel Barrios; Rojas, Rafael Vásquez

2012-09-01

Child upbringing of women engaged in prostitution has been little explored. Child upbringing beliefs, attitudes and practices regarding sexuality in prostitutes' children and adolescents were explored downtown in Bogota. Analytical-interpretive research included in-depth interviews and a focus group. There were ten women between 28 and 56 years of age. Core issues were their subjectivity as mothers, sexual development challenges, upbringing social and cultural conditions. Structural, symbolic and economic violence are the main determinants of parenting. Sexual abuse and the possibility of pregnancy in their adolescent daughters are the most important concerns. In general, the participants share the same values and reproduce traditional ideals in gender and sexuality, which are transmitted and modeled from upbringing. Copyright © 2012 Asociación Colombiana de Psiquiatría. Publicado por Elsevier España. All rights reserved.

In situ monitoring of mutagenicity of air pollutants in São Paulo City using Tradescantia-SHM bioassay

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Ferreira Maria Izildinha

2003-01-01

Full Text Available The Tradescantia stamen hair mutation assay (Trad-SHM was employed for assessing the environmental mutagenesis in two areas of São Paulo City. The study sites were defined as follows: 1 Celso Garcia Avenue, an industrial area on the outskirts of the urban center (Belém neighborhood, with an average daily traffic volume of 8,750 vehicles; 2 Doutor Arnaldo Avenue, in downtown area (Pinheiros neighborhood, with a mostly residential and business offices occupation, with an average daily traffic volume of 46,125 vehicles. The negative control (background site is located in the city of Jaguariúna, 138 km from São Paulo, in an area of low atmospheric pollution. The mutation frequency observed for Belém was similar to the background for clone 4430, whereas plants exposed in Pinheiros showed significant increases in mutation rate. Positive correlation was observed between mutation frequency and the levels of particulate matter in the atmosphere. This indicated a relationship between mutation frequency and the amount of atmospheric pollution present at the exposure sites in São Paulo City, with special reference to vehicular emissions.

Analysis of the existent proposals for the environmental ordering of the Ciudad de la Habana, Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santos A, Camilo Ernesto

2005-01-01

Five existing proposals regarding the environmental ordering of the Ciudad de la Habana Cuban province were examined: the framework and the general plan for territorial ordering and urbanism developed by the institute of Physical Planning (IPF, for its Spanish acronym); the project carried out by the united nations; the strategic plan for the city's economic and social development created by the group for the integral development of the city; and the environmental sustainability proposal for Havana city of the CAESAR project (for its Spanish acronym), designed by a grouping of universities from Germany, Cuba, Spain and Mexico. The objective was to analyze, through a comparative methodology, the strategic, relevant and urgent aspects, which are part of the environmental ordering of the Ciudad de La Habana province, thus allowing for determining interactions with regard to the environmental situations that the province is faced with and that curtail the development process of the city. This work intends to establish that there are technical, scientific and academic proposals with regard to the environmental ordering of Havana city that need to be harmonized towards a better planning thereof

Violence in Advertisements in New York City Subway Stations: A Pilot Study

Science.gov (United States)

Basch, Corey H.; Fullwood, M. D.; LeBlanc, Michael

2017-01-01

Violence has become a public health concern in the United States. Violent visually stimulating content encompasses various techniques such as fear, humor, shock, or violence, to stimulate a response or appeal toward awareness of human emotion. Exposing impressionable youth to violent advertisements can be particularly problematic. This is especially true in places like New York City where violent crime is a prevalent problem. With annual ridership reaching over 1.7 billion in 2014, the New York City subway system is abundant with advertisements. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the frequency and type of violent advertising on the Lexington Avenue/East Side Line in New York City, running through the Bronx and Manhattan to represent the lower and higher median income earning boroughs. There were no statistically different findings in median household income at site of station by number of ads or source of violent. Destruction was the most common form of violence (n = 32, 42.7 %) followed by intent to strike (n = 18, 24 %), showing a weapon (n = 15, 20 %) and horror (n = 10, 13.3 %). Most ads (n = 46, 61.3 %) were found in stations heading uptown toward and through the Bronx, the borough where median household income is lowest, whereas 29 (38.7 %) were found in stations heading downtown. Future studies could focus on additional boroughs and subways lines, and could be collected at multiple points in time to determine of how prevalent violent advertising is throughout New York City and at different time frames. PMID:26518776

Violence in Advertisements in New York City Subway Stations: A Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Basch, Corey H; Fullwood, M D; LeBlanc, Michael

2016-04-01

Violence has become a public health concern in the United States. Violent visually stimulating content encompasses various techniques such as fear, humor, shock, or violence, to stimulate a response or appeal toward awareness of human emotion. Exposing impressionable youth to violent advertisements can be particularly problematic. This is especially true in places like New York City where violent crime is a prevalent problem. With annual ridership reaching over 1.7 billion in 2014, the New York City subway system is abundant with advertisements. The purpose of this pilot study was to determine the frequency and type of violent advertising on the Lexington Avenue/East Side Line in New York City, running through the Bronx and Manhattan to represent the lower and higher median income earning boroughs. There were no statistically different findings in median household income at site of station by number of ads or source of violent. Destruction was the most common form of violence (n = 32, 42.7 %) followed by intent to strike (n = 18, 24 %), showing a weapon (n = 15, 20 %) and horror (n = 10, 13.3 %). Most ads (n = 46, 61.3 %) were found in stations heading uptown toward and through the Bronx, the borough where median household income is lowest, whereas 29 (38.7 %) were found in stations heading downtown. Future studies could focus on additional boroughs and subways lines, and could be collected at multiple points in time to determine of how prevalent violent advertising is throughout New York City and at different time frames.

[Incidence of tuberculosis at the local level: Marianao Municipality, Havana City, Cuba (1990-2000)].

Science.gov (United States)

D'fana Valdés, Jorgelina; Cambell, Shirley; Armas Pérez, Luisa; Fraginal, Bárbaro; González Ochoa, Edilberto

2003-01-01

For the elimination of tuberculosis (TB) is necessary the surveillance of the incidence rate at the local level, as this is the first level of access to the health service. This study is aimed at providing a description of the spread and trend of the tuberculosis incidence rates in Marianao Municipality, Habana City by healthcare areas and age groups throughout the 1990-2000 period. The time series for the 1990-1994 and 1995-2000 incidence rates were analyzed employing a two parameter exponential smoothing method. The total percentage and annual average of variation was estimated. The healthcare areas were stratified. In 1990-1994, the rate rose from 11.1 to 25.8 per 105 inhabitants (33% of increase by year), having been most noticeable in Carlos J. Finlay and Portuondo health areas (respectively annual average 112.7% y 36.2% increases). Taking into account that the control program was strengthened in 1995, the rates dropped by 47.6% in this municipality during the 1995-2000 period. The Finlay and Portuondo areas respectively lowered their rates by 79.9% y 39.7% while the Gonzalez Coro area showed a 58.3% rise and 27 de Noviembre area had no major change. The age and above 60 group had the higher percentage of cases, recording 49.8% of the total and only one case among children under age 15 for the period. During this same period, only six cases of tuberculosis/human inmunodeficiency virus were diagnosed. The 27 de Noviembre area was the only one found to be at the unsatisfactory level according to the stratification. An initially upward trend, followed by a downward trend in tuberculosis was found to exist in the Marianao Municipality throughout the period studied. This disease was predominant among older adults.

Final Report. Montpelier District Energy Project

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baker, Jessie [City of Montpelier Vermont, Montpelier, VT (United States). Dept. of Public Works; Motyka, Kurt [City of Montpelier Vermont, Montpelier, VT (United States). Dept. of Public Works; Aja, Joe [State of Vermont, Montpelier, VT (United States). Dept. of Buildings and General Services; Garabedian, Harold T. [Energy & Environmental Analytics, Montpelier, VT (United States)

2015-03-30

The City of Montpelier, in collaboration with the State of Vermont, developed a central heat plant fueled with locally harvested wood-chips and a thermal energy distribution system. The project provides renewable energy to heat a complex of state buildings and a mix of commercial, private and municipal buildings in downtown Montpelier. The State of Vermont operates the central heat plant and the system to heat the connected state buildings. The City of Montpelier accepts energy from the central heat plant and operates a thermal utility to heat buildings in downtown Montpelier which elected to take heat from the system.

Holiday CO2: Inference from the Salt Lake City data

Science.gov (United States)

Ryoo, J.; Fung, I. Y.; Ehleringer, J. R.; Stephens, B. B.

2013-12-01

A network of high-frequency CO2 sensors has been established in Salt Lake City (SLC), Utah (http://co2.utah.edu/), and the annual/monthly pattern of CO2 variability is consistent with a priori estimates of CO2 fluxes (McKain et al., 2012). Here we ask if short-term changes in anthropogenic sources can be detected, and present a case study of Thanksgiving holiday, when traffic and energy use patterns are expected to be different from that during the rest of the month. CO2 mole fraction is much higher during the Thanksgiving holidays than the other days in November 2008 for all 5 sites in SLC, and a similar pattern is found in other years. Taking into account that the wind speed is relatively low in downtown SLC compared to the other SLC sites, the downtown site is further investigated to minimize the meteorological influence on CO2. In order to understand the relative contributions to the high level of CO2 during the Thanksgiving holidays, we carried out a multiple linear regression (MLR) analysis of the rate of CO2 change against various sources. Mobile CO2 sources are assumed to be proportional to local traffic data and residential CO2 sources are assumed to depend exponentially on temperature. Vulcan data were used to specify the other anthropogenic sources (commercial, industrial, nonroad, electricity, aircraft, and cement). The MLR analysis shows that during the Thanksgiving holidays CO2 contributions from residential and commercial CO2 are larger than that during the rest of November, and mobile sources represent only a relatively small contribution. The study demonstrates the feasibility of detecting changes in urban source contributions using high-frequency measurements in combination with daily PBL height and local traffic volume data.

Caracterization of the HIV-AIDS descentralization office in centro Havana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bárbara Elena Hernández Rodríguez

2009-03-01

Full Text Available It was carried out a descriptive, retrospective and longitudinal study of the medical records of 245 people who have been diagnosed as having HIV-aids and who have been treated at the municipal decentralization office of Centro Havana from January 2006 through June 2008. The study was aimed at making a characterization of the office. The statistical analysis consisted on the calculation of the absolute and relative frequencies of each of the variables under study, using the SPSS statistical package, version 11.5. The study revealed that the highest percentage of patients was between 20 to 39 years old, in both sexes, with a prevalence of people who have completed either secondary or pre-university education. 60 % are retired, 60. 4% live crammed and the majority of them live on houses in regular or bad conditions. 72,6% of the studied group has a homosexual orientation. Based on the HIV and aids classification, 149 were diagnosed as having HIV. The studied group of highest incidence was the one selected. 99% became infected via sexual transmission. The more frequent unhealthy habit was a sedentary lifestyle. The most frequently reported side effect of the three-therapy treatment was the hyperlipidemia. The most prevalent opportunist infectious disease was Pneumonia by Pneumocistis Carini. Depressive neurosis was the main diagnosis at the medical office, while the most prevalent non-transmissible chronic disease was hypertension. Fourteen patients have died; 1873 consultations and 674 home visits have been made. We recommend that a medical multidisciplinary team be put together at the HIV-AIDS office, and that a plan of action will be created to solve the detected problems.

Seasonal variations in antibiotic resistance gene transport in the Almendares River, Havana, Cuba

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Charles W Knapp

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Numerous studies have quantified antibiotic resistance genes (ARG in rivers and streams around the world, and significant relationships have been shown that relate different pollutant outputs and increased local ARG levels. However, most studies have not considered ambient flow conditions, which can vary dramatically especially in tropical countries. Here, ARG were quantified in water-column and sediment samples during the dry-and wet-seasons to assess how seasonal and other factors influence ARG transport down the Almendares River (Havana, Cuba. Eight locations were sampled and stream flow estimated during both seasons; qPCR was used to quantify four tetracycline, two erythromycin, and three beta-lactam resistance genes. ARG concentrations were higher in wet-season versus dry-season samples, which combined with higher flows, indicated greater ARG transport downstream during the wet season. Water-column ARG levels were more spatially variable in the dry-season than the wet-season, with the proximity of waste outfalls strongly influencing local ARG levels. Results confirm that dry-season sampling provides a useful picture of the impact of individual waste inputs on local stream ARG levels, whereas, the majority of ARGs in this tropical river were transported downstream during the wet season, possibly due to re-entrainment of ARG from sediments.

Estimating Housing Vacancy Rate in Qingdao City with Npp-Viirs Nighttime Light and Geographical National Conditions Monitoring Data

Science.gov (United States)

Niu, X.

2018-04-01

Accompanying China's rapid urbanization in recent decades, especially in the new millennium, the housing problem has become one of the most important issues. The estimation and analysis of housing vacancy rate (HVR) can assist decision-making in solving this puzzle. It is particularly significant to government departments. This paper proposed a practical model for estimating the HVR in Qingdao city using NPP-VIIRS nighttime light composed data, Geographic National Conditions Monitoring data (GNCMD) and resident population distribution data. The main steps are: Firstly, pre-process the data, and finally forming a series of data sets with 500*500 grid as the basic unit; Secondly, select 400 grids of different types within the city as sample grids for SVM training, and establish a reasonable HVR model; Thirdly, using the model to estimate HVR in Qingdao and employing spatial statistical analysis methods to reveal the spatial differentiation pattern of HVR in this city; Finally test the accuracy of the model with two different methods. The results conclude that HVR in the southeastern coastal area of Qingdao city is relatively low and the low-low clusters distributed in patches. Simultaneously, in other regions it shows the tendency of the low value accumulation in the downtown area and the increasing trend towards the outer suburbs. Meanwhile the suburban and scenery regions by the side of the sea and mountains are likely to be the most vacant part of the city.

Site Effect and Expected Seismic Performance of Buildings in Palestine- Case Study: Nablus City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Dabbeek, Jalal N.; El-Kelani, Radwan J.

2008-01-01

The effects of local geology on ground-motion amplification and building damage were studied in Palestine-West Bank. Nakamura's method of microtremor analysis was applied in this study. The measurements showed significantly higher amplification in the frequency range of building vulnerability in different parts of Nablus city. This finding is consistent with the distribution of the earthquake damage grades in the urban areas struck by the 11 February 2004 earthquake (ML = 5.2) with a focal depth of 17 km beneath the northeastern part of the Dead Sea Basin. Quite large differences in amplification between around 1 and 9 were computed between the eastern and western rims of the city. The downtown built in the central part of the city on soft clay, marl and valley deposits, whereas the northern and southern parts of urban areas in Nablus city lying on mountains consist of consolidated carbonates bedrock. In the central part of the city and at the rims, where the thickness of fluvial deposits and soft formations is about 15 m, amplifications between 6.74 and 8.67 for dominant natural period range of 0.8-1.1 sec were obtained. On the southern and northern mountains, which are located on limestone rocks covered with a thin layer of soil, the amplification in the same frequency range was low. Calculating the natural period of the existing common buildings (T b ) in the studied area (buildings with 10-12 stories), by using the dynamic analysis method. The values of T b obtained were much closed to the site dominant natural period (Ts). The findings of this study indicate that the expected differences in damage grades for urban areas in Nablus city could be attributed to variations in the thickness and physical properties of Tertiary-Quaternary sediments, which appear to be rather heterogeneous

Its System to Manage Parking Supply: Considerations on Application to the “Ring” in the City of Brescia

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Susanna Bulferetti

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Brescia’s downtown is outlined by link roads built up at the Venetian walls, known as “Ring. The “Ring” is characterized by high traffic flows, as well as by the presence of several paid parking lots located on and off street. Furthermore, several facilities are located on these link roads. Nowadays city of Brescia is equipped with an ITS system able to manage off street parking spaces, allowing the share of information about parking availability to potential users, through the use of variable message panels. The parking supply issue and its management are strongly felt by citizens, as well as many other cities communities, whether European or not. This contribution aims to encourage an integration of the existing ITS system for the off street parking management with additional devices, which allow to manage also the on street paid parking supply located on “Ring” roads. The minimization of so-called “shared traffic” component of traffic flows, as well as the increase of road safety, in the context of a medium-sized Italian city are the main objectives of the ITS system integration. ITS asset chosen for the Brescia case study springs from the analysis of some non-European experiences about on street parking management (for example, San Francisco and Boston and certainly can be considered suitable for the parking supply management of the whole city. It could become the main starting point in Italian cities for the application of performance based parking pricing, widely experienced in many U.S. cities.

URBAN DISPLACEMENT AND LOW-INCOME COMMUNITIES: THE CASE OF THE AMERICAN CITY FROM THE LATE TWENTIETH CENTURY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jason Knight

2016-07-01

Full Text Available How can urban redevelopment benefit existing low-income communities? The history of urban redevelopment is one of disruption of poor communities. Renewal historically offered benefits to the place while pushing out the people. In some cases, displacement is intentional, in others it is unintentional. Often, it is the byproduct of the quest for profits. Regardless of motives, traditional communities, defined by cultural connections, are often disrupted. Disadvantaged neighborhoods include vacant units, which diminish the community and hold back investment. In the postwar period, American cities entered into a program of urban renewal. While this program cleared blight, it also drove displacement among the cities’ poorest and was particularly hard on minority populations clustered in downtown slums. The consequences of these decisions continue to play out today. Concentration of poverty is increasing and American cities are becoming more segregated. As neighborhoods improve, poorer residents are uprooted and forced into even more distressed conditions, elsewhere. This paper examines the history of events impacting urban communities. It further reviews the successes and failures of efforts to benefit low-income communities.

MERCURY IN ATMOSPHERE OVER RURAL, URBAN AND INDUSTRIAL PARTS OF ZAGREB CITY

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Ladislav A. Palinkaš

1990-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years Zagreb city encounters severe pollution problems in aquatic, terrrestrial and atmospheric environment. A random or permanent monitoring of some inorganic gaseous pollutants in atmosphere has already been organized and published alsewhere. By means of a sophisticated mercury vapor analyser with a Zeeman effect background corrector, however, continuous registration along two traverses (monitoring routes over rural, urban and industrial parts of Zagreb has been elaborated for the first lime. Data show strong anthropogenic influence in the Žitnjak industrial area. The anomaly high 105 ngm Hg, on the 22 October moved slightly to downtown by change of wind direction on the 31 October. Intensity raised as much as 155 ngm Hg, 13 times augmented in comparison to a background value on the Medvednica mountain. Explanation should be sought in denser public traffic, change of wind direction and lowering of atmospheric pressure.

77 FR 3775 - Notice of Availability of the Environmental Assessment for Proposed Federal Building Kansas City, MO

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-25

... downtown East Village development and tax increment financing (TIF) district, on the East-side of downtown.... The EA will inform GSA in its decision-making process. Compliance with the National Historic... period. GSA will consider all comments on the EA before making a final decision. Purpose of Notice: The...

U, TH and lanthanides in street soils of Sao Paulo city, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ticianelli, R.B.; Ribeiro, A.P.; Figueiredo, A.M.G.; Zanh, G.S.

2013-01-01

The study of lanthanide distribution in urban environments has become of interest over the last years, due to the increased industrial use of these elements. Sao Paulo is the 6th largest metropolitan region of the world, with about 20 million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, more than 9 million motor vehicles and intense industrial activity. There is little information on U, Th, and lanthanide contents in urban soils, and there are as of yet no reference values for these elements in soils of Sao Paulo city. The present study aimed to determine U, Th and lanthanide concentrations in soils adjacent to avenues of highly dense traffic downtown in Sao Paulo city, to assess their possible sources and potential environmental impacts. The analytical technique employed was Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). Th and U levels ranged from 4.0 to 37.0 mg kg -1 and from 1.6 to 18.7 mg kg -1 , respectively. These values are higher than literature values for U and Th in Brazilian superficial soils. The results obtained for the lanthanides indicate enrichment in La and Ce. However, a possible anthropogenic source should be investigated since high background values of these elements may be associated to the natural geological composition of the soils. (author)

Control de la calidad del diagnóstico coproparasitológico en la provincia de Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba External quality assessment in coproparasitology in Havana City Province, Cuba

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Fidel Angel Núñez

1997-01-01

Full Text Available Se realizó un estudio sobre la calidad del diagnóstico coproparasitológico en 77 laboratorios de la red de salud pública de la provincia Ciudad de La Habana, Cuba. El procedimiento se basó en la entrega a cada jefe de laboratorio de un modelo de encuesta, y una bolsa de nylon conteniendo 10 viales plásticos con distintos especímenes parasitarios, preservados en formaldehído al 7%. Recogidos los resultados en las primeras 72 horas después de su entrega, se realizó la evaluación mediante una escala de puntuación establecida. La mayoría de los laboratorios aprobaron (70%; sin embargo aún existen centros, sobre todo policlínicas, con calificaciones deficientes. Los municipios con resultados más desfavorables fueron, Lisa, Marianao y Habana del Este, alcanzándose mejores resultados en los hospitales que en las policlínicas. En el análisis de Protozooarios, el mejor diagnosticado fué Giardia lamblia, con solo un centro que erró al identificarlo. Las mayores dificultades se presentaron en Blastocystis hominis con 61% de fallas, Endolimax nana, con 24,6%, y Entamoeba histolytica, con 22%. Entre los helmintos, la mayor aprobación fué en Trichuris trichiura y los errores diagnósticos predominaron con Fasciola hepatica y Taenia sp., ambos con 66,2% de fallas. Dados los resultados obtenidos, hemos organizado una intervención educativa en la red de laboratorios de la provincia.An external quality assessment in coproparasitology was carried out in 77 laboratories from Havana City. A questionnaire and ten plastic vials with different intestinal parasites in a small nylon bag, duly sealed, were sent to each laboratory. Answers were collected during the 72 hours after delivery. Results were analyzed by means of a computer program. The majority of the laboratories (70% passed the test; the municipalities with the worst scores in the province were Lisa, Marianao, and Habana del Este. Better results were obtained among technologists working

Prevención y diagnóstico tardío de SIDA en Ciudad de La Habana, 1986-2007 Late prevention and diagnosis of the AIDS present in Havana City, 1986-2007

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María Regla Bolaños Gutiérrez

2009-09-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: caracterizar la ocurrencia de los diagnósticos tardíos en personas con VIH y posibles fallas de la prevención en la atención primaria. MÉTODOS: se realizó un estudio descriptivo de corte transversal, de los 422 casos ocurridos en la Ciudad de La Habana, en el período comprendido entre 1986-2007. La información se obtuvo de la base de datos nacional de casos VIH/SIDA del Ministerio de Salud Pública. RESULTADOS: los casos de inicio clínico se incrementaron a partir de 1997, con un máximo en 2007, y los municipios con un mayor porcentaje de afectados son La Lisa, Plaza y Habana Vieja. Hubo un predominio del sexo masculino (91 % con orientación sexual de hombres que tienen sexo con hombres (85,3 %; el grupo de edad más afectado fue de 40-44 años (20,4 %, y el 53,3 % son diagnosticados por la pesquisa de ingresos. Las entidades más frecuentes son, el desgaste por VIH (34,4 %, adenopatías generalizadas con CD4 bajos (21,7 %, y neumonía por Pneomucystis jiroveci (16,0 %. En los últimos 10 años hubo un incremento de las defunciones y un 38,4 % fallecen el mismo año de su diagnóstico. CONCLUSIONES: existen dificultades en el trabajo de prevención del VIH/SIDA, en la Atención Primaria de Salud.OBJECTIVE: to characterize the occurrence of late diagnoses in HIV-persons, and the possible failures in primary care. METHODS: a cross-sectional and descriptive study was made of the 422 cases occurred in Havana City from 1986 to 2007. Information is from the national data-base of HIV/AIDS cases of Public Health Ministry. RESULTS: cases of clinical beginning were increased from 1997, with a peak in 2007, and the municipalities with greater percentage of diseased include La Lisa, Plaza, and Habana Vieja. There was a predominance of male sex (91 % with sexual intercourse from man to man (85,3 %; the more affected age group was that aged 40-44 (20,4 %, and the 53,3 % was that more diagnosed through admission inquiry. More frequent

Skin carcinoma and occupational risk factors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Linares Fernandez, Tomasa Maria; Correa Lozano, Zoila; Ibarra Fernandez de la Vega, Enrique Jose; Bonet Gorbea Mariano

2014-01-01

To identify the relative contribution of different occupational risk factors associated with the occurrence of skin cancer in the provinces of Havana City and Havana, Cuba , in 2006-2007. It was designed a case-control study of hospital base that included 112 cases of non-melanoma skin cancer and 448 witnesses, following the inclusion-exclusion criteria preset. We considered the totality of patients diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell histological study of skin biopsy or surgical excision. Risk factors with possible association with the disease were studied, such as sun exposure, ionizing and non-ionizing radiations and a wide range of chemical and biological substances potentially carcinogenic

Responsiveness summary for the engineering evaluation/cost analysis for decontamination at the St. Louis Downtown Site, St. Louis, Missouri

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Picel, M.H.; Peterson, J.M.; Williams, M.J.

1991-12-01

The US Department of Energy (DOE) is responsible for conducting remedial actions at the Mallinckrodt Chemical Plant, also referred to as the St. Louis Downtown Site (SLDS), located in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. Remedial activities at the SLDS are being carried out under DOE's Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) as part of the overall cleanup planned for three noncontiguous areas in St. Louis, which are collectively referred to as the St. Louis Site. Potential response action alternatives for managing the contaminated material generated at the SLDS have been evaluated in accordance with US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidance for conducting interim actions under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended. An engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA) report was prepared to document this process. On the basis of the analysis presented in the EE/CA, the preferred alternative for the management of contaminated wastes generated by DOE-supported plant activities is the provision of temporary storage capacity, which can be made available by modifying an existing building (i.e., Building 116) at SLDS. This alternative would enable DOE and Mallinckrodt to coordinate efforts to prevent the uncontrolled relocation of contamination and ensure that ultimate site cleanup objectives are not complicated by plant activities implemented by Mallinckrodt. The EE/CA, dated May 1991, was issued to the general public on June 7, 1991, and a public comment period was held from June 7 through July 10, 1991, in accordance with the public participation process identified in CERCLA. Comments on the proposed action were received in writing from the Missouri Department of Health, private citizen Kay Drey, and the EPA Region 7. This responsiveness summary has been prepared to respond to issues identified in these comment letters on the proposed action

[Simulation of air pollution characteristics and estimates of environmental capacity in Zibo City].

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Wen-Bo; Wang, Jin-Nan; Yang, Jin-Tian; Lei, Yu; Yan, Li; He, Jin-Yu; Han, Bao-Ping

2013-04-01

To develop a new pattern of air pollution control that is based on the integration of "concentration control, total amount control, and quality control", and in the context of developing national (2011-2015 air pollution control plan for key areas) and (Environmental protection plan of Zibo municipality for the "12th Five-Year Plan" period), a simulation of atmospheric dispersion of air pollutants in Zibo City and its peripheral areas is carried out by employing CALPUFF model, and the atmospheric environmental capacity of SO2, NO(x) and PM10 is estimated based on the results of model simulation and using multi-objective linear programming optimization. The results indicates that the air pollution in Zibo City is significantly related to the pollution sources outside of Zibo City, which contributes to the annual average concentration of SO2, NO2 and PM10 in Zibo City by 26.34%, 21.23%, and 14.58% respectively. There is a notable interaction between districts and counties of Zibo municipality, in which the contribution of SO2, NO(x) and PM10 emissions in surrounding counties and districts to the annual average concentrations of SO2, NO2 and PM10 in downtown area are 35.96%, 43.17%, and 17.69% respectively. There is a great variation in spatial sensitivity of air pollutant emission, and the environmental impact of unit pollutant emissions from Zhoucun, Huantai, Zhangdian and Zichuan is greater than that released from other districts/counties. To meet the requirement of (Ambient air quality standard) (GB 3095-2012), the environmental capacities of SO2, NO(x) and PM10 of Zibo City are only 8.03 x 10(4) t, 19.16 x 10(4) t and 3.21 x 10(4) t, respectively. Therefore, it is imperative to implement regional air pollution joint control in Shandong peninsula in order to ensure the achievement of air quality standard in Zibo City.

Urban Stage 2014: Navigating Relationships during a Collaboration between Local Businesses, Nonprofits, a Large University, and a Mid-Sized City

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David A. Driskill

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The Urban Stage was constructed as a temporary urbanism project to demonstrate environmental, cultural, economic and social sustainability in an urban environment. One block of Avenue J in downtown Lubbock, Texas was constructed and activated between October 30 and November 7, 2014. This paper will focus on the collaboration and decision making processes between the City of Lubbock, Texas Tech University, and community organizations that enabled this project to take place. The collaborative process between these diverse entities was inherently complex by virtue of the existing organizational structures and complicated further by bureaucratic inertia, the bureaucratic avoidance of responsibility. Leadership actions at various levels of organizational structure were required in order to overcome this bureaucratic inertia and install the Urban Stage.

Temporal distribution and insecticide resistance profile of two major arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamgang, Basile; Yougang, Aurelie P; Tchoupo, Micareme; Riveron, Jacob M; Wondji, Charles

2017-10-10

Aedes aegypti and Ae. albopictus are the major epidemic vectors of several arbovirus diseases such as yellow fever, dengue, Zika and chikungunya worldwide. Both Aedes vectors are presents in Cameroon; however, knowledge on the dynamic of the distribution of these species across cities and their resistance profile to insecticide are limited. Here, we assessed the current distribution of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in Yaoundé, the Capital City, established the resistance profile to insecticides and explored the resistance mechanisms involved. Immature stages of Aedes were sampled in several breeding sites in December 2015 (dry season) and June 2016 (rainy season) in three central neighborhoods and four peripheral neighborhoods and reared to adult stage. The G0 adults were used for molecular identification and genotyping of F1534C mutation in Ae. aegypti. Bioassays and piperonyl butoxide (PBO) assays were carried out according to WHO guidelines. Analysis revealed that both species Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus are present in all prospected sites in Yaounde. However, in the dry season Ae. aegypti is most abundant in neighborhoods located in downtown. In contrast, Ae. albopictus was found most prevalent in suburbs whatever the season and in downtown during the rainy season. Bioassay analysis showed that both Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus, are resistant to 0.05% deltamethrin, 0.1% bendiocarb and 4% dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). A decreased of susceptibility to 0.75% permethrin and a full susceptibility to malathion 5% was observed. The mortality rate was increased after pre-exposure to synergist PBO. None of Ae. aegypti assayed revealed the presence of F1534C mutation. These findings are useful to planning vector control programme against arbovirus vectors in Cameroon and can be used as baseline in Africa where data on Aedes resistance is very scarce to plan further works.

Use of the renewable wind and photovoltaic sources, for the recharge of a fleet of electric taxis in Havana, Cuba

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sánchez Torres, Yamir

2017-01-01

Electrification of the transportation sector seems to be one of the alternatives in terms of restriction of pollutant from that sector. However, it is necessary to study the GHG (Green House Gas) emissions from Generation Power Plants (EGPP) because could be more or less the same of that from the vehicles. Furthermore, Centralized GPP supply would result in distribution losses, bigger fuel consumption and more pollution. Thus, EVs development should be considered as a sustainable solution if powered by electricity systems with considerable share of Renewable Energy Sources (RES). In this paper, the study of the recharge of an EV taxi fleet during night, using photovoltaic and wind mills RES in Havana, Cuba, is analyzed. This work is aiming to find a feasible operational synergy between cited intermittent RES electricity generation and EVs taxi fleet recharge. (author)

Los diálogos de la habana y las perspectivas de una paz duradera en Colombia (Talks with havana and the perspectives of a lasting peace in Colombia

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Oto Higuita

2014-12-01

Full Text Available RESUMEN Este artículo de investigación, presenta rutas de análisis histórico en torno a los alcances y falencias que dejaron los diálogos de Paz en Colombia entre las Frac-Ep y el Gobierno Nacional durante el siglo XX, el papel que han jugado los medios de comunicación en dichos procesos y una descripción analítica de los discursos de Oslo y la Habana, que dan inicio al actual proceso de Negociación en la Habana; se resalta el profundo alcance que este proceso de negociaciones marca en la última década en Colombia, en lo que concierne a la posible terminación del conflicto armado y la construcción de una paz estable y duradera. ABSTRACT This research article presents routes of historical analysis over the scope and shortcomings left by the talks of peace in Colombia between FARC-EP and the National government during the twentieth century, as well as the role played by the mass media in those processes and an analytical description of the discourses in Oslo and Havana, initiating the current process of negotiations at Havana; the deep scope of this process of negotiations marks in the last decade in Colombia, is highlighted with regard to the possible termination of the armed conflict and the construction of a stable and lasting peace.

The changing face of inner-city Havana | IDRC - International ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

2011-07-14

Jul 14, 2011 ... The collapse of Cuba's Soviet trading partner and the continued U.S. ... Dubbed the "Cayo Hueso Intervention" it quickly became a model in Cuba for ... The work included analysis of interviews and surveys done in Cayo Hueso. ... Taking a fresh look at old problems yields greater benefits for communities.

Public health impact assessment of a proposed cogeneration plant in the Quebec city metropolitan area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lajoie, P.; Bolduc, D.; Gauvin, D.; Guerrier, P.; Gauthier, R. [Quebec Public Health Center, Ste-Foy (Canada); Laflamme, P. [Laval Univ. (Canada). Dept. of Preventive Medicine

1995-12-31

In 1994, public hearings were held in Quebec city concerning a 120 megawatt (MW) gas cogeneration project that was to be coupled with an already existing pulp and paper mill in the downtown area. Cogeneration plants are often described as highly beneficial from the point of view of local environment. It is well known that the burning of natural gas emits far less sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) and particulate matters (PM) than the combustion of oil or coal. The proposed plant would use high pressure vapour from a nearby incinerator plant and natural gas to produce low pressure vapor for the paper mill industry as well as electricity. The cogeneration plant would allow the paper mill to stop burning heavy oil. By using natural gas instead of heavy oil, the new cogeneration-paper mill complex (CPC) is expected to reinforce the recent trend and willingness towards improving downtown air quality. On the other hand, the CPC would emit more CO{sub 2}, due to the production of additional electricity. According to the Rio de Janeiro Agreement ratified in 1988, Canada is committed to stabilize its greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2000. Nevertheless, the cogeneration file is a new option considered by the Quebec Provincial Governement in its last energy triennal plan. However, it must be specified that the Province of Quebec contributes to less than 15 % of the total Canadian CO{sub 2} production although it represents more than 25 % of its population. Furthermore the maximum production of electricity by this file has been set to 250 MW. It is a very small fraction of the total production of electricity in Quebec, which is 200 TW

Public health impact assessment of a proposed cogeneration plant in the Quebec city metropolitan area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lajoie, P; Bolduc, D; Gauvin, D; Guerrier, P; Gauthier, R [Quebec Public Health Center, Ste-Foy (Canada); Laflamme, P [Laval Univ. (Canada). Dept. of Preventive Medicine

1996-12-31

In 1994, public hearings were held in Quebec city concerning a 120 megawatt (MW) gas cogeneration project that was to be coupled with an already existing pulp and paper mill in the downtown area. Cogeneration plants are often described as highly beneficial from the point of view of local environment. It is well known that the burning of natural gas emits far less sulfur dioxide (SO{sub 2}) and particulate matters (PM) than the combustion of oil or coal. The proposed plant would use high pressure vapour from a nearby incinerator plant and natural gas to produce low pressure vapor for the paper mill industry as well as electricity. The cogeneration plant would allow the paper mill to stop burning heavy oil. By using natural gas instead of heavy oil, the new cogeneration-paper mill complex (CPC) is expected to reinforce the recent trend and willingness towards improving downtown air quality. On the other hand, the CPC would emit more CO{sub 2}, due to the production of additional electricity. According to the Rio de Janeiro Agreement ratified in 1988, Canada is committed to stabilize its greenhouse gas emissions by the year 2000. Nevertheless, the cogeneration file is a new option considered by the Quebec Provincial Governement in its last energy triennal plan. However, it must be specified that the Province of Quebec contributes to less than 15 % of the total Canadian CO{sub 2} production although it represents more than 25 % of its population. Furthermore the maximum production of electricity by this file has been set to 250 MW. It is a very small fraction of the total production of electricity in Quebec, which is 200 TW

CAPITAL, SUBJECT, AND CITY. READINGS OF THE CITY AND THE HUMANISTIC CRISIS: THE MEDELLIN CASE. CAPITAL, SUJETO Y CIUDAD. LECTURAS DE LA CIUDAD Y LA CRISIS HUMANISTA. EL CASO MEDELLÍN.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfonso Insuasty Rodriguez

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This current text presents a result of analysis of the resulting information of the First Urban Counter-Hegemonic Forum, held in the city of Medellin, as a culmination of a series of city discussions carried out during the year 2013. It deals with an input that was thought in four sections, where downtown is the relationship among city, capitalism, war, and subjects in the city of Medellin. Likewise, it emphasizes the presence of the war more explicitly and it exposes how the capitalism that enters in a forceful way, undergoes transformations linked to the model of the city marketing, the city of the services, and the strong presence of a globalizing discourse, that also has effects on the urban screen and the social classes, subjects, and / or popular sectors. The text ends up trying to characterize the subjects, that in the previous dynamics, produce as being alienated, exploited, or oppressed, but also as resistance and/or emancipation in order to close with approaches - challenges, corresponding to the social research. RESUMEN: El presente texto presenta un resultado del análisis de la información resultante del I Foro Contra-Hegemónico Urbano, realizado en la ciudad de Medellín, culmen de una serie de conversatorios de ciudad realizados durante el año 2013, se trata de un insumo que se pensó en cuatro apartes donde el centro es la relación entre ciudad, capitalismo, guerra y sujetos en la ciudad de Medellín, así mismo, se enfatiza en la presencia de la guerra de manera más explícita y se expone cómo el capitalismo que ingresa de manera contundente, sufre trasformaciones ligadas al modelo de las city marketing, la ciudad de los servicios y la fuerte presencia de un discurso globalizador, que también tiene efectos en la retícula urbana y las clases sociales, sujetos y/o sectores populares. Finaliza el texto intentando una caracterización de los sujetos que las dinámicas anteriores producen como alienados, explotados u

Metals in soils adjacent to avenues of highly dense traffic of Sao Paulo city, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ticianelli, Regina B.; Ribeiro, Andreza P.; Figueiredo, Ana M.G.; Nammoura-Neto, Georges M.; Silva, Nathalia C.

2009-01-01

Sao Paulo is the largest city in Brazil with about 19 millions of inhabitants in the metropolitan area, more than 8 million motor vehicles and strong industrial activity at the metropolitan region, which are responsible for increasing pollution in the region. Nevertheless, there is little information on metal contents in the metropolitan region soils, which would be very useful as a fingerprint of the environmental pollution. The present study aimed to determine As, Ba, Co, Cr, Sb and Zn concentrations in soils adjacent to avenues of highly dense traffic downtown Sao Paulo city: Consolacao/Reboucas Avenues; 23 de Maio Avenue and Tiradentes Avenue, to assess their possible sources and potential environmental impact. The analytical technique employed was Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA). The results show metal concentration levels higher than the values reference values for soils of Sao Paulo, according to the Environmental Protection Agency of the State Sao Paulo (CETESB) guidelines. As, Ba and Zn showed concentration levels above the Intervention Values in some points, indicating direct or indirect potential risks to human health. The traffic related element Ba, Sb and Zn presented concentrations above the Prevention Values in points with high density traffic and may be associated to vehicular emissions. (author)

Air pollution and vulnerability of exposed individuals: the case of downtown Medellín

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel J. González

2012-02-01

Full Text Available The presence of respiratory problems in high level pollution areas is linked to factors such as exposure, susceptibility, and social coping. Objective: To present statistical evidence regarding the relationship between the probability of experiencing symptoms or contracting a respiratory disease and factors such as exposure to pollution, susceptibility, and social coping among people inhabiting areas with particulate matter pollution. Methodology: The study used unique information collected from a survey conducted on 1000 people in downtown Medellin who were exposed to this problem. This information was used to perform a descriptive statistic analysis and to build 27 probit models. The dependent variables were: the patient has a symptom or disease –emf-, the patient has a symptom –leve-, and the patient has a respiratory disease –grave-. Results: The results evidence that exposure is a key variable affecting the presence of respiratory symptoms or diseases (vulnerability; however, exposed individuals may also experience health problems not only due to air pollution per se, but also to implicit personal and social conditions.

On the transformation of socialist citeis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Scarpaci, Joseph L.

2000-01-01

he collapse of the Socialist bloc after 1989 has been a topic of inquiry in many of the social sciences. In urban geography, however, there has been little systematic review about the changing nature of socialist cities in an era of rapid globalization. This paper outlines some of the macroeconomic...... contours that have conditioned national and metropolitan economies since 1989. It then reviews some of the defining features of the socialist city as a backdrop to Warsaw, selected Chinese cities, Ho Chi Minh, and Havana, which are the case studies of this special issue....

Spatial and temporal variability of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Mexico City

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D. A. Thornhill

2008-06-01

Full Text Available As part of the Megacities Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO study in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area in March 2006, we measured particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs and other gaseous species and particulate properties, including light absorbing carbon or effective black carbon (BC, at six locations throughout the city. The measurements were intended to support the following objectives: to describe spatial and temporal patterns in PAH concentrations, to gain insight into sources and transformations of PAHs and BC, and to quantify the relationships between PAHs and other pollutants. Total particulate PAHs at the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo (T0 supersite located near downtown averaged 50 ng m⁻³, and aerosol active surface area averaged 80 mm² m⁻³. PAHs were also measured on board the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory, which visited six sites encompassing a mixture of different land uses and a range of ages of air parcels transported from the city core. A combination of analyses of time series, back trajectories, concentration fields, pollutant ratios, and correlation coefficients supports the concept of T0 as an urban source site, T1 as a receptor site with strong local sources, Pedregal and PEMEX as intermediate sites, Pico Tres Padres as a vertical receptor site, and Santa Ana as a downwind receptor site. Weak intersite correlations suggest that local sources are important and variable and that exposure to PAHs and BC cannot be represented by a single regional-scale value. The relationships between PAHs and other pollutants suggest that a variety of sources and ages of particles are present. Among carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NO_x, and carbon dioxide, particulate PAHs are most strongly correlated with NO_x. Mexico City's PAH/BC mass ratio of 0.01 is similar to that found on a freeway loop in the Los Angeles area and approximately 8–30

Spatial and temporal variability of particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

Thornhill, D. A.; de Foy, B.; Herndon, S. C.; Onasch, T. B.; Wood, E. C.; Zavala, M.; Molina, L. T.; Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.; Marr, L. C.

2008-06-01

As part of the Megacities Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO) study in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area in March 2006, we measured particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and other gaseous species and particulate properties, including light absorbing carbon or effective black carbon (BC), at six locations throughout the city. The measurements were intended to support the following objectives: to describe spatial and temporal patterns in PAH concentrations, to gain insight into sources and transformations of PAHs and BC, and to quantify the relationships between PAHs and other pollutants. Total particulate PAHs at the Instituto Mexicano del Petróleo (T0 supersite) located near downtown averaged 50 ng m-3, and aerosol active surface area averaged 80 mm2 m-3. PAHs were also measured on board the Aerodyne Mobile Laboratory, which visited six sites encompassing a mixture of different land uses and a range of ages of air parcels transported from the city core. A combination of analyses of time series, back trajectories, concentration fields, pollutant ratios, and correlation coefficients supports the concept of T0 as an urban source site, T1 as a receptor site with strong local sources, Pedregal and PEMEX as intermediate sites, Pico Tres Padres as a vertical receptor site, and Santa Ana as a downwind receptor site. Weak intersite correlations suggest that local sources are important and variable and that exposure to PAHs and BC cannot be represented by a single regional-scale value. The relationships between PAHs and other pollutants suggest that a variety of sources and ages of particles are present. Among carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides (NOx), and carbon dioxide, particulate PAHs are most strongly correlated with NOx. Mexico City's PAH/BC mass ratio of 0.01 is similar to that found on a freeway loop in the Los Angeles area and approximately 8 30 times higher than that found in other cities. Evidence also suggests that primary

Books | Page 16 | IDRC - International Development Research Centre

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

During the last decade, there has been a shift in the governance and management of fisheries to a broader approach that recognizes the participation of fishers, local stewardship, and shared decisi. Publisher(s): CABI, IDRC. ISBN: 0851990886. Book cover Agriculture in the City: A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba.

AmpaCity. Superconducting cables and fault current limiters for the energy supply in conurbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Merschel, F.; Noe, M.; Stemmle, M.; Hobl, A.; Sauerbach, O.

2013-01-01

In 2013 RWE Germany is working jointly with cable manufacturer Nexans and with the scientific support of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) to install world's longest superconducting cable in the downtown area electricity grid of Essen. The AmpaCity project is partly funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and is playing an exemplary role in the further development of electricity grids in major cities worldwide. The project consortium presents AmpaCity as a convincing system solution especially with respect to economics and security of supply. Components of the system are a superconducting three-phase AC cable with two terminations and one connection joint in combination with a fault current limiter, which is also based on superconducting materials. The superconducting system is designed for 10 kV nominal voltage and 40 MW nominal power. It will replace a 110 kV cable system of equal capacity. At the same time, the project partners are paving the way for high failsafe performance, as the cable in conjunction with the fault current limiter cannot be overloaded by short circuit currents in the event of faults in the grid. Planning and follow up on the civil works in Essen posed a major challenge. Cable laying in the inner city, with various crossings of major highways, tramways, as well as already dense cable routes necessitated very thorough preparation and coordination. The civil works in Essen started in April 2013. At around the same time, after the cable had passed the type test, it went into production. Cable laying is scheduled for late summer. After commissioning, planned for the end of 2013, the field trial will run for at least two years under real grid conditions, to demonstrate this technology's suitability for wider deployment.

Pu Radioisotopes and 241Am as Alternative Chronostratigraphic Markers in Tropical Regions: An Application in Havana Bay (Cuba)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alvarado, J.A. Corcho; Froidevaux, P.; Bochud, F.; Diaz-Asencio, M.; Hernandez, C.M. Alonso; Sanchez-Cabeza, J.A.

2011-01-01

The low 137 Cs activity observed in marine sediments of tropical regions often precludes its use as chronostratigraphic marker. Here we present a study on the use of Pu and Am radioisotopes as alternative markers to constrain the 210 Pb ages in a sediment core of the Havana Bay (Cuba). Mean activity ratios of 238 Pu/ 239,240 Pu, 241 Am/ 239,240 Pu and 241 Pu/ 239 , 240 Pu indicated that the nuclear weapon tests (NWT) fallout is the main source of the anthropogenic radionuclides. While the inventory of 137 Cs in the sediments is lower than the expected fallout inventory, 239,240 Pu accumulates in the sediments with inventories higher than the expected fallout inventory. The high fluxes of 239,240 Pu are nevertheless corroborated here through use of 210 Pb, and confirm that focusing of solid particles is of great importance in the investigated site. 239,240 Pu showed to be a useful time tracer in marine sites where the 137 Cs signal is very low. (author)

Estimating Roof Solar Energy Potential in the Downtown Area Using a GPU-Accelerated Solar Radiation Model and Airborne LiDAR Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Huang

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Solar energy, as a clean and renewable resource is becoming increasingly important in the global context of climate change and energy crisis. Utilization of solar energy in urban areas is of great importance in urban energy planning, environmental conservation, and sustainable development. However, available spaces for solar panel installation in cities are quite limited except for building roofs. Furthermore, complex urban 3D morphology greatly affects sunlit patterns on building roofs, especially in downtown areas, which makes the determination of roof solar energy potential a challenging task. The object of this study is to estimate the solar radiation on building roofs in an urban area in Shanghai, China, and select suitable spaces for installing solar panels that can effectively utilize solar energy. A Graphic Processing Unit (GPU-based solar radiation model named SHORTWAVE-C simulating direct and non-direct solar radiation intensity was developed by adding the capability of considering cloud influence into the previous SHORTWAVE model. Airborne Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR data was used as the input of the SHORTWAVE-C model and to investigate the morphological characteristics of the study area. The results show that the SHORTWAVE-C model can accurately estimate the solar radiation intensity in a complex urban environment under cloudy conditions, and the GPU acceleration method can reduce the computation time by up to 46%. Two sites with different building densities and rooftop structures were selected to illustrate the influence of urban morphology on the solar radiation and solar illumination duration. Based on the findings, an object-based method was implemented to identify suitable places for rooftop solar panel installation that can fully utilize the solar energy potential. Our study provides useful strategic guidelines for the selection and assessment of roof solar energy potential for urban energy planning.

Exploring a Multi-organizational Leadership Team’s Problem-Solving Styles

OpenAIRE

Burcham, Erin

2018-01-01

As multiple Roanoke based companies began to move out of the region, a large number of community leader began to fear for long-term economic stability. Three of the largest organizations in the region came together to envision a healthcare, education, and life science district on the outskirts of downtown Roanoke. The leaders of the City of Roanoke, Carilion Clinic and Virginia Tech ideated about a mile-long district from Roanoke Memorial Hospital to downtown Roanoke. Their vision was to recr...

Congestion in a city with a central bottleneck

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fosgerau, Mogens; Palma, André de

2010-01-01

We consider dynamic congestion in an urban setting where trip origins are spatially distributed. All travelers must pass through a downtown bottleneck in order to reach their destination in the CBD. Each traveler chooses departure time to maximize general concave scheduling utility. At equilibriu...

Congestion in a city with a central bottleneck

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fosgerau, Mogens; Palma, André de

2012-01-01

We consider dynamic congestion in an urban setting where trip origins are spatially distributed. All travelers must pass through a downtown bottleneck in order to reach their destination in the CBD. Each traveler chooses departure time to maximize general concave scheduling utility. We find that,...

78 FR 61381 - National Register of Historic Places; Notification of Pending Nominations and Related Actions

Science.gov (United States)

2013-10-03

..., 13000856 MISSOURI Lincoln County Downtown Troy Historic District, Bounded by Annie Ave., 2nd, Marble & Court Sts., Troy, 13000857 St. Louis Independent city Dorris Row, 1105-9 Olive St., St. Louis...

[Pollution characteristics and ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments of Qingshan Reservoir in Lin' an City, Zhejiang Province of East China].

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Fen; Yang, Chang-Ming; Pan, Rui-Jie

2013-09-01

A total of 8 representative surface sediment sampling sites were collected from the Qingshan Reservoir in Lin'an City of Zhejiang Province to investigate the differences in the total concentrations of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Mn, Pb, and Zn among the sampling sites. The different forms of the heavy metals, i. e., acid soluble, easily reducible, easily oxidizable, and residual, were determined by BCR sequential extraction method, and the pollution degrees and potential ecological risk, of the heavy metals in the surface sediments at different sampling sites of the Reservoir were assessed by using geo-accumulation index (I(geo)) and Hakanson potential ecological risk index. There existed obvious spatial differences in the total concentrations of the heavy metals in the surface sediments of the Reservoir. The sampling sites nearby the estuaries of the tributaries flowing through downtowns and heavy industrial parks to the Reservoir had obviously higher heavy metals concentrations in surface sediments, as compared to the other sampling sites. In the sediments, Mn was mainly in acid extractable form, Cu and Pb were mainly in reducible form, and As was mainly in residual form. The surface sediments at the sampling sites nearby the estuaries of the tributaries flowing through downtowns to the Reservoir had higher proportions of acid extractable and reducibles forms of the heavy metals, which would have definite potential toxic risk to aquatic organisms. Among the 7 heavy metals in the surface sediments, As showed the highest pollution degree, followed by Cu, Ni, Mn, Pb, and Zn, which were at moderate pollution degree, while Cr was at non-pollution degree, with relatively low potential ecological risk. Through the comparison of the sampling sites, it was observed that the surface sediments at the sites nearby the estuaries of Jinxi River and Hengxi River flowing through downtowns and heavy industrial parks to the Reservoir showed obviously higher heavy metals pollution degree and

Prediction of Tsunami Inundation in the City of Lisbon (portugal)

Science.gov (United States)

Baptista, M.; Miranda, J.; Omira, R.; Catalao Fernandes, J.

2010-12-01

Lisbon city is located inside the estuary of Tagus river, 20 km away from the Atlantic ocean. The city suffered great damage from tsunamis and its downtown was flooded at least twice in 1531 and 1755. Since the installation of the tide-gage network, in the area, three tsunamis caused by submarine earthquakes, were recorded in November 1941, February 1969 and May 1975. The most destructive tsunamis listed along Tagus Estuary are the 26th January 1531, a local tsunami event restricted to the Tagus Estuary, and the well known 1st November 1755 transoceanic event, both following highly destructive earthquakes, which deeply affected Lisbon. The economic losses due to the impact of the 1755 tsunami in one of Europe’s 18t century main harbor and commercial fleets were enormous. Since then the Tagus estuary suffered strong morphologic changes manly due to dredging works, construction of commercial and industrial facilities and recreational docks, some of them already projected to preserve Lisbon. In this study we present preliminary inundation maps for the Tagus estuary area in the Lisbon County, for conditions similar to the 1755 tsunami event, but using present day bathymetric and topographic maps. Inundation modelling is made using non linear shallow water theory and the numerical code is based upon COMCOT code. Nested grids resolutions used in this study are 800 m, 200 m and 50 m, respectively. The inundation is discussed in terms of flow depth, run up height, maximum inundation area and current flow velocity. The effects of estuary modifications on tsunami propagation are also investigated.

Comparative study of automotive, aircraft and biogenic emissions of aldehydes and aromatic compounds.

Science.gov (United States)

Guimarães, C S; Custodio, D; de Oliveira, R C S; Varandas, L S; Arbilla, G

2010-02-01

Air samples were collected in three well characterized locations in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: downtown, the idle and taxi way areas of the national airport and an urban forest, where the main emissions are from vehicular, aircraft and biogenic sources, respectively. Aldehydes and BTEX concentrations show a characteristic profile which may be attributed to the emission sources. Formaldehyde/acetaldehyde ratios, in the early morning, were 1.39, 0.62 and 2.22 in downtown, airport and forest, respectively. Toluene/benzene ratios, for downtown, airport and forest areas, were 1.11, 1.82 and 1.06, respectively. The results show that the impact of the urban emissions on the forest is negligible as well as the impact of aircraft emissions over the urban area.

CA-Markov Analysis of Constrained Coastal Urban Growth Modeling: Hua Hin Seaside City, Thailand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajendra Shrestha

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Thailand, a developing country in Southeast Asia, is experiencing rapid development, particularly urban growth as a response to the expansion of the tourism industry. Hua Hin city provides an excellent example of an area where urbanization has flourished due to tourism. This study focuses on how the dynamic urban horizontal expansion of the seaside city of Hua Hin is constrained by the coast, thus making sustainability for this popular tourist destination—managing and planning for its local inhabitants, its visitors, and its sites—an issue. The study examines the association of land use type and land use change by integrating Geo-Information technology, a statistic model, and CA-Markov analysis for sustainable land use planning. The study identifies that the land use types and land use changes from the year 1999 to 2008 have changed as a result of increased mobility; this trend, in turn, has everything to do with urban horizontal expansion. The changing sequences of land use type have developed from forest area to agriculture, from agriculture to grassland, then to bare land and built-up areas. Coastal urban growth has, for a decade, been expanding horizontally from a downtown center along the beach to the western area around the golf course, the southern area along the beach, the southwest grassland area, and then the northern area near the airport.

Harmonious Development between Socio-Economy and River-Lake Water Systems in Xiangyang City, China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiting Zuo

2016-11-01

Full Text Available River-lake water systems (RLS are important carriers for matter transformation and energy transmission. Influenced by accelerated social and economic development, the structural, functional, and environmental states of RLS have been seriously damaged. It is an important problem for human beings to coordinate the contradiction between socio-economic development and the protection of RLS. In order to quantitatively study the harmonious relationship between socio-economic development and the state of RLS, the harmony theory method was used to analyze the degree of harmonious development between socio-economy and RLS in this study taking Xiangyang City as an example, and formulating corresponding harmonious optimization schemes. The results indicate that: (1 the state of RLS had a relatively small change during 2009–2014, and its spatial distribution shows a decreasing trend with the Han River as the central axis decreases on both of its sides; (2 before 2011, the driving force of socio-economic development in Xiang yang City mainly originated in the peripheral regions such as Laohekou City, Zaoyang City, and Gucheng County, but after 2011, it migrated rapidly towards Downtown, and reached the maximum in 2014; (3 when the influence of regional socio-economic development on RLS is small, socio-economic development is the main factor driving the change of the overall harmonious development degree of socio-economy and RLS. However when the influence is big, it is combined, driven by socio-economic development and the state of RLS; (4 the main factors affecting the overall harmonious degree of socio-economy and RLS in Xiangyang City include: river length, standard ratio of water quality, water consumption per capita, reservoir regulation capability, farmland irrigation water consumption per Mu (Mu is an area unit in China, 1 Mu approximately equals to 666.67 m2, and sewage treatment rate. This study can provide a reference for the future analysis of

Raza, género y espacio: las mujeres negras y mulatas negocian su lugar en la Habana durante la década de 1830

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luz M. Mena

2007-04-01

Full Text Available Black and mulatto women "negotiated" their place in Havana's society in the 1830s and 40s.Theynegotiated their insertion in every space of the city, from the most public ones, like the spaces of the law, to the most intimate ones, like those forged through their own sexuality. To a great extent, these negotiations were framed within their decisive role as mediating agents between blacks and whites: as wives, lovers, teachers, wet nurses, caretakers and servants, but also as property owners, entrepreneurs and pursuers of their own legal causes. They negotiated their social and economic inclusion by means of their daily activities, often atthe margins of urban regulations and social traditions. These practices engaged in a continuous and tense "dialog" with the discourses of the Creole and Peninsular modernizing elites. These reformers, who considered these women's growing participation in the daily life of the city one of the most worrisome and disorderly elements in the city, developed strong discourses of social order and urban reforms to discipline the growing city. Many of these discourses were oriented to establish clearer and more rationalized social and racial boundaries that would try to contain, if not the activities of these women, at least their influence on the population. It was within this dialog, never equal and often violent, that the modern geography of Havana was drawn.

TIPOLOGI DAN POLA PENANGANAN PERMUKIMAN KUMUH DI KOTA BONTANG (The Typology and Patterns of Slum Improvement Management in Bontang City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amos Setiadi

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Started as a fishing settlement area in Bontang Kuala Village, the City of Bontang has been growing very rapidly. However, despite this growth people's standard of living has been decreasing in terms of environmental quality, income as well as sheltering with the emergence of slum areas. These conditions greatly affect the physical, social, cultural and economic aspects of life. The management of slum areas in Bontang City becomes strategic because slums are integrated with the rest of the city including the downtown area and urban growth centers, as well as with the other areas in the vicinity, such as industrial, commercial, warehousing, and office areas. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the characteristics of the slum areas. The identification methods do not discriminate the distribution of slum areas. The criteria used include non-economic vitality, regional economic vitality, land ownership status, infrastructure and facility conditions, local government’s commitment, and handling priorities. Environmental assessment of the slums was done by assigning a weighting system to each of the above criteria. The determination of the weights of the criteria is relative and depends on the individual and group preferences in looking at the influence of each criterion. The improvement or treatment patterns appropriate to be applied in Bontang City should be in accordance with the site characteristics. Locations with high-scale slum category (HS requires the curative pattern while those with moderate category (MS should take reductive treatment, and slum areas with low-scale category (LS will require preventive treatment.

Applicability assessment of concrete with recycled coarse aggregates in Havana, Cuba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pavón, E.

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The recent viability studies carried out in Havana, Cuba, according to natural or recycled aggregates, exhibited high volume production of construction and demolition waste (CDW. The last well-known data of concrete waste generation reached to 1800 m3/month. This situation, together with the depletion of the quarry aggregates closed to the capital, requires the use of such debris as aggregate for concrete production. In this work, four origin recycled concrete aggregates (RCA were produced and characterized. Recycled aggregate concrete with 25%, 50% and 100% of RCA and 0.45, 0.50 and 0.55 of water-cement ratio were produced. Physical, mechanical and durabilidty properties of thoses concretes were determined and evaluated, and their applicability as structural material in different aggressive environments according to Cuban normative was defined.Los estudios de viabilidad realizados recientemente en La Habana, Cuba muestran elevadas cifras de producción de residuos de construcción y demolición (RCD. Los últimos datos conocidos de generación de escombros de hormigón alcanzan valores cercanos a los 1800m3/mensual. Esta situación unida al agotamiento de los áridos en las zonas cercanas a la capital hace necesaria la utilización de estos escombros como áridos en la fabricación de hormigones. En el trabajo realizado se trituraron escombros de hormigón de cuatro orígenes diferentes, después de su caracterización se fabricaron hormigones con 25%, 50% y 100% de árido reciclado y con relaciones agua-cemento de 0.45, 0.50 y 0.55. A partir de la evaluación de las propiedades físico-mecánicas y de durabilidad obtenidas por los hormigones reciclados, se define la aplicabilidad de los mismos como hormigón estructural para ser utilizados en los diferentes tipos de ambientes de agresividad que tiene definido la normativa cubana.

A study of the Oklahoma City urban heat island using ground measurements and remote sensing

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brown, M. J. (Michael J.); Ivey, A. (Austin); McPherson, T. N. (Timothy N.); Boswell, D. (David); Pardyjak, E. R. (Eric R.)

2004-01-01

Measurements of temperature and position were collected during the night from an instrumented van on routes through Oklahoma City and the rural outskirts. The measurements were taken as part of the Joint URBAN 2003 Tracer Field Experiment conducted in Oklahoma City from June 29, 2003 to July 30, 2003 (Allwine et al., 2004). The instrumented van was driven over four primary routes that included legs from the downtown core to four different 'rural' areas. Each route went through residential areas and most often went by a line of permanently fixed temperature probes (Allwine et al., 2004) for cross-checking purposes. Each route took from 20 to 40 minutes to complete. Based on seven nights of data, initial analyses indicate that there was a temperature difference of 0.5-6.5 C between the urban core and nearby 'rural' areas. Analyses also suggest that there were significant fine scale temperature differences over distances of tens of meters within the city and in the nearby rural areas. The temperature measurements that were collected are intended to supplement the meteorological measurements taken during the Joint URBAN 2003 Field Experiment, to assess the importance of the urban heat island phenomenon in Oklahoma City, and to test new urban canopy parameterizations that have been developed for regional scale meteorological codes (e.g., Chin et al., 2000; Holt and Shi, 2004). In addition to the ground measurements, skin temperature measurements were also analyzed from remotely sensed images taken from the Earth Observing System's Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER). A surface kinetic temperature thermal infrared image captured by the ASTER of the Oklahoma City area on July 21, 2001 was analyzed within ESRI's ArcGIS 8.3 to correlate variations in temperature with land use type. Analysis of this imagery suggests distinct variations in temperature across different land use categories. Through the use of

Lead isotope ratios in lichen samples evaluated by ICP-ToF-MS to assess possible atmospheric pollution sources in Havana, Cuba.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvarez, Alfredo Montero; Estévez Alvarez, Juan R; do Nascimento, Clístenes Williams Araújo; González, Iván Pupo; Rizo, Oscar Díaz; Carzola, Lázaro Lima; Torres, Roberto Ayllón; Pascual, Jorge Gómez

2017-01-01

Epiphytic lichens, collected from 119 sampling sites grown over "Roistonea Royal Palm" trees, were used to assess the spatial distribution pattern of lead (Pb) and identify possible pollution sources in Havana (Cuba). Lead concentrations in lichens and topsoils were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry and inductively coupled plasma (ICP) atomic emission spectrometry, respectively, while Pb in crude oils and gasoline samples were measured by ICP-time of flight mass spectrometry (ICP-ToF-MS). Lead isotopic ratios measurements for lichens, soils, and crude oils were obtained by ICP-ToF-MS. We found that enrichment factors (EF) reflected a moderate contamination for 71% of the samples (EF > 10). The 206 Pb/ 207 Pb ratio values for lichens ranged from 1.17 to 1.20 and were a mixture of natural radiogenic and industrial activities (e.g., crude oils and fire plants). The low concentration of Pb found in gasoline (leaded gasoline is no longer used in Cuba.

A Study of the Oklahoma City Urban Heat Island Effect Using a WRF/Single-Layer Urban Canopy Model, a Joint Urban 2003 Field Campaign, and MODIS Satellite Observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hengyue Zhang

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The urban heat island effect (UHI for inner land regions was investigated using satellite data, ground observations, and simulations with an Single-Layer Urban Canopy Parameterization (SLUCP coupled into the regional Weather Research Forecasting model (WRF, http://wrf-model.org/index.php. Specifically, using the satellite-observed surface skin temperatures (Tskin, the intensity of the UHI was first compared for two inland cities (Xi’an City, China, and Oklahoma City (OKC, which have different city populations and building densities. The larger population density and larger building density in Xi’an lead to a stronger skin-level UHI by 2 °C. However, the ground observed 2 m surface air temperature (Tair observations showed an urban cooling island effect (UCI over the downtown region in OKC during the daytime of 19 July 2003, from a DOE field campaign (Joint Urban 2003. To understand this contrast between satellite-based Tskin and ground-based Tair, a sensitivity study using WRF/SLUCP was analyzed. The model reproduced a UCI in OKC. Furthermore, WRF/Noah/SLUCM simulations were also compared with the Joint Urban 2003 ground observations, including wind speeds, wind directions, and energy fluxes. Although the WRF/SLUCM model failed to simulate these variables accurately, it reproduced the diurnal variations of surface temperatures, wind speeds, wind directions, and energy fluxes reasonably well.

Spatial and temporal variability of turbulent vertical fluxes in Helsinki, Finland

Science.gov (United States)

Järvi, L.; Nordbo, A.; Haapanala, S.; Moilanen, J.; Vesala, T.

2012-04-01

The eddy-covariance technique has been widely used above vegetated surfaces to measure the turbulent exchange of momentum, heat and gases between the surface and the atmosphere. Above an urban surface, however, observations are scarce and complex measurement surroundings bring challenges to the measurements and the representativeness of the fluxes in a city scale. The fluxes of sensible (QH) and latent heat (QE), and CO2 (Fc) have been measured at three sites in Helsinki, Finland. At the SMEAR III station the measurements have been ongoing since December 2005 and the site is located next to a busy road about 4 km from downtown Helsinki. Two of the sites, Erottaja Fire Station (EFS) and Hotel Torni (HT), are located in downtown within a distance of 400 meters from each other. In EFS, the measurements have been carried out in June 2010 - January 2011, while in HT, the measurements have been ongoing since September 2010. The present dataset allows the studying of the inter-site variability of the exchange processes. Simultaneous measurements from all three sites cover four months in autumn/winter time. The high-latitude location allows a detailed examination of the effect of seasonal variation to the exchange processes. QH tends to be higher in city centre than in SMEAR III and a difference of 50 W m-2 is observed in winter. During the simultaneous measurements, stable atmospheric stratification is observed half of the time at SMEAR III whereas the occurrence in the city centre is less than 5%. This is a result of the urban heat island effect which is stronger in downtown than in the outside region. On the other hand, higher QE is measured in SMEAR III than in downtown particularly during spring and summer months when a difference of 100 W m-2 is observed. In downtown the low fraction of green areas limits the evaporation. Despite the short distance there are also differences between the two downtown sites. Both the median QH and QE are 7 W m-2 smaller in EFS than in

Análisis de la mortalidad neonatal precoz en San Miguel del Padrón (La Habana Analysis of early neonatal mortality in San Miguel del Padrón municipality in Havana City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emilio Vidal Borrás

2009-12-01

Full Text Available INTRODUCCIÓN. Fueron objetivos de esta presentación caracterizar el comportamiento de la mortalidad neonatal precoz y su relación con la edad materna, gestacional, los factores de riesgo y las causas de muerte neonatal en el municipio San Miguel del Padrón, entre 1999 y 2008. MÉTODOS. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo y longitudinal del comportamiento de la mortalidad neonatal precoz en una muestra de 49 defunciones. Se analizaron variables maternas y del recién nacido, cuyos datos fueron obtenidos de la revisión de registros médicos de defunción e historias clínicas. RESULTADOS. Se encontró que la mortalidad neonatal precoz en el municipio fue de tendencia decreciente en el período estudiado. El año de mayor número de nacidos vivos (NV fue 1999, con 2146 nacimientos y una tasa de mortalidad infantil (TMI de 10,7 × 1 000 NV. La tasa de mortalidad neonatal precoz fue de 3,7 x 1000 NV, tanto en 1999 y como en 2002, con 7 defunciones en neonatos de menos de 7 días de vida. De las 129 defunciones, 49 correspondieron al componente neonatal precoz, en tanto que el parto pretérmino constituyó el 20,1 %. La principal causa de muerte fue la sepsis (48,9 %. CONCLUSIONES. Las principales causas de muerte fueron la sepsis, la asfixia y las malformaciones congénitas, mientras que los factores de riesgo más frecuentes relacionados con el embarazo fueron la moniliasis vaginal y las infecciones urinarias.INTRODUCTION. The objectives of this presentation were to characterize the behavior of early neonatal mortality and its relation to maternal and gestational age, risk factors, and the neonatal death causes in San Miguel del Padrón municipality in Havana City. METHODS: A descriptive, retrospective and longitudinal study was conducted on early neonatal mortality behavior in a sample of 49 deceases. Maternal and newborn variables were analyzed whose data were obtained from death medical records and clinical records. RESULTS: We

Essays in Urban and Labor Economics

OpenAIRE

Asquith, Brian James

2017-01-01

American cities, after decades of decline, are regaining affluent and highly educated residents. This dissertation examines these trends at the neighborhood level and documents that resurgence, in the form of gentrification, is prevalent in cities, specifically in downtown neighborhoods near employment centers. My results indicate a fundamental shift from city center decline to growth around 1990, which motivates my focus on exploring two novel causes of gentrification. In Chapter 1, I demons...

Parameterized equation for the estimation of the hydraulic conductivity function not saturated in ferralsols south of Havana

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

González Robaina, Felicita; López Seijas, Teresa

2008-01-01

The modeling of the processes involved in the movement of water in soil solutions generally requires the general equation of water flow for the condition of saturation, or Darcy - Buckinghan approach. In this approach the hydraulic - soil moisture (K(0)) conductivity function is a fundamental property of the soil to determine for each field condition. Several methods reported in the literature for determining the hydraulic conductivity are based on simplifications of assuming unit gradient method or a fixed ratio K(0). In recent years related to the search for simple, rapid and inexpensive methods to measure this relationship in the field using a lot of work aftershocks reported. One of these methods is the parameterized equation proposed by Reichardt, using the parameters of the equations describing the process of internal drainage and explain the exponential nature of the relationship K(0). The objective of this work is to estimate the K(0), with the method of the parameterized equation. To do the test results of internal drainage on a Ferralsol area south of Havana will be used. The results show that the parameterized equation provides an estimation of K(0) for those similar to the methods that assume unit gradient conditions

UDOT research peer exchange, October 12-13, 2016 : implementation, state DOT library, national committees, and state transportation innovation council.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-02-01

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) held a Research Peer Exchange on October 12-13, 2016, in downtown Salt Lake City. The focus topics or themes for the peer exchange included the following: : Supporting Implementation During and A...

Rulasõidu evolutsioon linnadžunglis / Ats Luik

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Luik, Ats

2011-01-01

2.- 4. veebr. kinos Artis toimuvast Simpel Session 11 rula- ja rattafilmide festivalist. 3. veebruaril saab näha Coan Nicholsi ja Rick Charnoski filmi "Deathbowl to Downtown - The Evolution of Skateboarding in New York City" (USA 2010)

Eco2 Cities : Ecological Cities as Economic Cities

OpenAIRE

Suzuki, Hiroaki; Dastur, Arish; Moffatt, Sebastian; Yabuki, Nanae; Maruyama, Hinako

2010-01-01

This book provides an overview of the World Bank's Eco2 cities : ecological cities as economic cities initiative. The objective of the Eco2 cities initiative is to help cities in developing countries achieve a greater degree of ecological and economic sustainability. The book is divided into three parts. Part one describes the Eco2 cities initiative framework. It describes the approach, be...

Technical and economic feasibility for the application of micronized coal as a replacement for No. 2 oil for start-up and low-load operation at Illinois Power Havana No. 6 Cycling Unit

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rosenberger, F.; Guilfoyle, C.J.; Parker, W.O. Jr.

1991-01-01

Uncertainty regarding oil availability and long-term price stability make it difficult for a utility to predict annual ignition costs for a cycling unit. Illinois Power Company, Sargent and Lundy Engineering and Micro-fuel Corporation have produced a detailed feasibility study on the application of micronized coal as a replacement fuel for start-up and low-load operation for Havana No. 6. This unit is a B and W opposed-fired boiler which is rated at 410 MWe (summer net). This paper presents technical and economic analysis, including the uncertainties of the application of this technology

Petroleum hydrocarbon assessment in the sediments of the northeastern Havana littoral, Cuba

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Companioni Dams, Eloy Yordad; Nunez Clemente, Ana Catalina; Cora Medina, Miriam Odette [Laboratorio de Quimica Ambiental, Centro de Investigaciones del Petroleo, Habana (Cuba)]. E-mail: elocompa@yahoo.com; Gonzalez Brovo, Luis [Centro de Aplicaciones Tecnologicas y Desarrollo Nuclear, Habana, (Cuba); Marbot Ramada, Rolando [Laboratorio de Quimica Analitica, Centro de Investigaciones del Petroleo, Habana (Cuba); Montes de Oca Porto, Rodny [Laboratorio Antidoping, Habana (Cuba); Rosabal Rodriguez, Maikel [Centro de Ingenieria y Manejo Ambiental de Bahias y Costas, Habana (Cuba); Diaz Diaz, Miguel angel [Laboratorio de Quimica Ambiental, Centro de Investigaciones del Petroleo, Habana (Cuba)

2009-02-15

As a part of a geochemical study, aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in surficial sediments, from a Cuban coastal zone located in the Northeastern Havana Littoral. Sediment samples were collected at 15 sites in this area, and then extracted and analyzed by gas chromatography with flame ionization and mass spectrometry detectors. Total concentration of both, aliphatic (AH) and aromatic (ArH) hydrocarbons, varied from 2.4 {+-} 0.2 to 105.1 {+-} 5.9 {mu}g/g (dry weight) and from 1.1 {+-} 0.2 to 38.4 {+-} 7.6 {mu}g/g (dry weight), respectively. The chromatography profile of AH was dominated by an unresolved complex mixture (UCM), and the presence of isoprenoid hydrocarbons, steranes and hopanes, indicated petroleum - related hydrocarbon inputs. The predominant concentration of phytoplanktonic molecular markers (pristane and nC17) in collected sediments, revealed the marine productivity in this sites. The anthropogenic contribution detected showed the impact of the petroleum exploration along this coastal area. [Spanish] Como parte de un estudio geoquimico se determinaron hidrocarburos alifaticos y aromaticos en sedimentos superficiales, de una zona costera situada en el Litoral Nordeste de La Habana. Las muestras de sedimento se colectaron en 15 estaciones de muestreo en esta area, y posteriormente se extrajeron y analizaron mediante cromatografia gaseosa con detectores de ionizacion a la llama y espectrometria de masas. Las concentraciones totales de hidrocarburos alifaticos (HA) e hidrocarburos aromaticos (HAr) variaron desde 2.4 {+-} 0.2 a 105.1 {+-} 5.9 {mu}g/g (peso eco) y desde 1.1 {+-} 0.2 a 38.4 {+-} 7.6 {mu}g/g (peso eco), respectivamente. El perfil cromatografico de los hidrocarburos alifaticos estuvo dominado por una mezcla compleja no resuelta (MCNR), y la presencia de hidrocarburos isoprenoides, esteranos y hopanos, indico el aporte de hidrocarburos derivados del petroleo. La concentracion predominante de marcadores moleculares

Integrating Informational, Social, and Behavioral Exchanges Between Humans, Urban Centers, and the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

behaviors were solely enacted within the physical bounds of an urban center- mall , outdoor shopping plaza, or downtown, to name a few. The Internet has...Homans, G. 1974. Social Behavior , revised ed. New York: Harcourt-Brace. Langford, Gary O. 2012. Engineering Systems Integration: Theory , Metrics, and...merging of city theory ( plans , goals, aggregate functions) with physical design (Levy 2013). City planning takes into consideration the needs, benefits

Mobile Handsets from the Bottom Up

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wallis, Cara; Linchuan Qiu, Jack; Ling, Richard

2013-01-01

The setting could be a hole-in-the-wall that serves as a shop in a narrow alley in Guangzhou, a cart on a dusty street on the outskirts of Accra, a bustling marketplace in Mexico City, or a tiny storefront near downtown Los Angeles’ garment district. At such locales, men and women hawk an array o......-income, largely immigrant communities in cities in the developed world....

Science, Passion & Compassion vs. Cancer: Tania Crombet MD PhD, Director of Clinical Research. Molecular Immunology Center, Havana.

Science.gov (United States)

Gory, Conner

2016-10-01

Soon after the Molecular Immunology Center (CIM) was established in 1994 (a founding institution of Havana's biotechnology and pharmaceutical campus known as the scientific pole), Dr Crombet completed her master's thesis there. She joined CIM's team in 1998 and in 2004 was designated Director of Clinical Research. She has participated in the research, development and clinical trials of some of Cuba's most innovative therapies and vaccines, including CIMAvax-EGF for non-small cell lung cancer patients. In 2015, this therapy completed Phase IV clinical trials in Cuba and is now used in primary health care services throughout the country's national health system. CIM and Roswell Park Cancer Institute (Buffalo, New York) received US Department of Treasury approval in 2015 to test CIMAvax-EGF and other CIM products in the United States, opening the way for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to consider joint ground-breaking Phase I and II clinical trials in the USA. Recent regulatory changes introduced by President Barack Obama may make applying for such licenses a thing of the past-at least that is what researchers hope. In any case, the work of Dr Crombet and the teams at CIM is making headway in cancer immunotherapy, within the broader goals of the institution's mandate…the subject of our interview.

Antibiotic Resistance Gene Abundances Associated with Waste Discharges to the Almendares River near Havana, Cuba

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

Considerable debate exists over the primary cause of increased antibiotic resistance (AR) worldwide. Evidence suggests increasing AR results from overuse of antibiotics in medicine and therapeutic and nontherapeutic applications in agriculture. However, pollution also can influence environmental AR, particularly associated with heavy metal, pharmaceutical, and other waste releases, although the relative scale of the “pollution” contribution is poorly defined, which restricts targeted mitigation efforts. The question is “where to study and quantify AR from pollution versus other causes to best understand the pollution effect”. One useful site is Cuba because industrial pollution broadly exists; antibiotics are used sparingly in medicine and agriculture; and multiresistant bacterial infections are increasing in clinical settings without explanation. Within this context, we quantified 13 antibiotic resistance genes (ARG; indicators of AR potential), 6 heavy metals, 3 antibiotics, and 17 other organic pollutants at 8 locations along the Almendares River in western Havana at sites bracketing known waste discharge points, including a large solid waste landfill and various pharmaceutical factories. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) were found between sediment ARG levels, especially for tetracyclines and β-lactams (e.g., tet(M), tet(O), tet(Q), tet(W), blaOXA), and sediment Cu and water column ampicillin levels in the river. Further, sediment ARG levels increased by up to 3 orders of magnitude downstream of the pharmaceutical factories and were highest where human population densities also were high. Although explicit links are not shown, results suggest that pollution has increased background AR levels in a setting where other causes of AR are less prevalent. PMID:21133405

Prevalencia de los trastornos temporomandibulares en la población de 15 años y más de la Ciudad de La Habana Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in the 15 years and over population from the City of Havana.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zuilen Jiménez Quintana

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Se realizó un estudio en 1 201 personas de 15 años y más de Ciudad de La Habana con el objetivo de determinar la prevalencia de los trastornos temporomandibulares y el índice de severidad sintomatológica de estos, así como el conocimiento que presentaba la población sobre las alteraciones de la articulación temporomandibular. Se utilizó el muestreo por conglomerados polietápicos con asignación proporcional equiprobabilístico. La información se recogió por la anamnesis y examen clínico mediante un formulario confeccionado según los criterios de los Indices Anamnésico y Clínicos de Disfunción de Helkimo. Presentaron disfunción el 31,89 % de los examinados según índice anamnésico y el 47,33 % según índice clínico, lo que evidenció que el porcentaje de encuestados con signos clínicos de disfunción fue mayor que los que refirieron algún síntoma, con predominio del sexo femenino y proporcional con la edad, con mayor frecuencia de la disfunción leve tanto en el índice clínico como anamnésico. La sintomatología principal fueron los ruidos articulares durante los movimientos de abertura y cierre mandibular. Con respecto al nivel de conocimiento se evidenció escasa información sobre el tema.A study of 1 201 persons aged 15 years and over from the City of Havana was carried out to determine the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and their symptom severity index as well as the knowledge of the population about the temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD. Multistage cluster sampling with equal probability proportional allocation was used. Data were collected through anamnesis and clinical examination on the basis of a form created according to Helkimo´s Anamnesic and Clinical Indexes of Dysfunction. Dysfunction affected 31.89% of the patients according to the anamnesic index whereas 47,33% according to the clinical index, which evidenced that the percentage of surveyed people with clinical signs of dysfunction was

Potensi Pengembangan Kawasan Bandara Internasional Soekarno Hatta dan Kota Tangerang Menjadi Aerotropolis

OpenAIRE

Adrian, Fakhri; Pradoto, Wisnu

2017-01-01

Nowadays ASEAN has single aviation market policy. That policy lead airport infrastructure should be improved to fulfill the air transportation demand notably in Indonesia. Single aviation market will increase business activity frequency centered in airport which will increase competitiveness of business site near airport that have integrated access modes towards airport and downtown. It makes the Soekarno Hatta International Airport become airport city and the city near the airport (Tangerang...

Surface albedo measurements in Mexico City metropolitan area

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Castro, T; Mar, B; Longoria, R; Ruiz Suarez, L. G [Centro de Ciencias de la Atmosfera, UNAM, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Morales, L [Instituto de Geografia, UNAM, Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

2001-04-01

Optical and thermal properties of soils are important input data for the meteorological and photochemical modules of air quality models. As development of these models increase on spatial resolution good albedo data become more important. In this paper measurements of surface albedo of UV (295-385 nm) and visible (450-550 nm) radiation are reported for different urban and rural surfaces in the vicinity of Mexico City. It was found for the downtown zone and average albedo value of 0.05 which is in very good agreement with reported values for urban surfaces. Our albedo values measured in UV region for grey cement and green grass are of 0.10 and 0.009, respectively, and quite similar to those found at the literature of 0.11 and 0.008 for those type of surfaces. [Spanish] Las propiedades opticas y termicas de suelos son datos importantes para los modulos meteorologicos y fotoquimicos de los modelos de calidad del aire. Conforme aumenta la resolucion espacial del modelo se vuelve mas importante contar con buenos datos de albedo. En este articulo se presentan mediciones de albedo superficial de radiacion Ultravioleta (295-385 nm) y visible (450-550 nm) para diferentes superficies urbanas. Los valores medidos de albedo en la region UV para cemento gris y pasto verde son de 0.10 y 0.009, respectivamente, y son muy similares a los reportados en la literatura, 0.11 y 0.008 para este tipo de superficies.

Geothermal energy systems plan for Boise City

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1979-01-01

This is a plan for development of a downtown Boise geothermal district space heating system incorporating legal, engineering, organizational, geological, and economic requirements. Topics covered include: resource characteristics, system design and feasibility, economic feasibility, legal overview, organizational alternatives, and conservation. Included in appendices are: property ownership patterns on the Boise Front, existing hot well data, legal briefs, environmental data, decision point communications, typical building heating system retrofit schematics, and background assumptions and data for cost summary. (MHR)

Exposure to Rats and Rat-Associated Leptospira and Bartonella Species Among People Who Use Drugs in an Impoverished, Inner-City Neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

McVea, David A; Himsworth, Chelsea G; Patrick, David M; Lindsay, L Robbin; Kosoy, Michael; Kerr, Thomas

2018-02-01

Rat infestations are common, particularly in impoverished, inner-city neighborhoods. However, there has been little research into the nature and consequences of rat exposure in these neighborhoods, particularly in Canada. In this study, we sought to characterize exposure to rats and rat-associated Leptospira interrogans and Bartonella tribocorum, as well as risk factors associated with exposure, in residents (n = 202) of the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighborhood of Vancouver, Canada. There was no evidence of exposure to rat-associated L. interrogans but 6/202 (3.0%) of participants were exposed to B. tribocorum, which is known to be circulating among DTES rats. We also found that frequent and close rat exposure was common among DTES residents, and that this exposure was particularly associated with injection drug use and outdoor income-generating activities (e.g., drug dealing). These risk factors may be good targets for interventions geared toward effectively reducing rat exposure.

Mexico and the Cocaine Epidemic: The New Colombia or a New Problem

Science.gov (United States)

2010-12-01

smuggling and being replaced by Latin cocaine smugglers from Callao, Peru to Havana, Cuba and into New York City.”69 Thus, from the mid-1940s until the... Cuba , Bolivia, Brazil, and Argentina started the illicit cocaine trade from 1945–1965 with small cocaine operations. Gootenberg argues, “illicit...blends Latin American Marxism , populism, and nationalism that emphasizes self- sufficiency, patriotism and redistribution of Venezuela’s oil revenues.290

Agriculture in the City : A Key to Sustainability in Havana, Cuba ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

... 1990, plusieurs économies nationales ont vu leurs marchés d'alimentation urbains ... Une position qui modifie considérablement le paysage, le mode de vie et les ... Le CRDI et plus de 800 délégués internationaux participent à la conférence ... Droits d'auteur · Éthique de la recherche · Politique de libre accès · Politique ...

Use of portable exposure meters for comparing mobile phone base station radiation in different types of areas in the cities of Basel and Amsterdam.

Science.gov (United States)

Urbinello, Damiano; Huss, Anke; Beekhuizen, Johan; Vermeulen, Roel; Röösli, Martin

2014-01-15

Radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) are highly variable and differ considerably within as well as between areas. Exposure assessment studies characterizing spatial and temporal variation are limited so far. Our objective was to evaluate sources of data variability and the repeatability of daily measurements using portable exposure meters (PEMs). Data were collected at 12 days between November 2010 and January 2011 with PEMs in four different types of urban areas in the cities of Basel (BSL) and Amsterdam (AMS). Exposure from mobile phone base stations ranged from 0.30 to 0.53 V/m in downtown and business areas and in residential areas from 0.09 to 0.41 V/m. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that measurements from various days were highly reproducible (measurement duration of approximately 30 min) with only 0.6% of the variance of all measurements from mobile phone base station radiation being explained by the measurement day and only 0.2% by the measurement time (morning, noon, afternoon), whereas type of area (30%) and city (50%) explained most of the data variability. We conclude that mobile monitoring of exposure from mobile phone base station radiation with PEMs is useful due to the high repeatability of mobile phone base station exposure levels, despite the high spatial variation. © 2013.

Light Rail Transit in Hamilton: Health, Environmental and Economic Impact Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Topalovic, P.; Carter, J.; Topalovic, M.; Krantzberg, G.

2012-01-01

Hamilton's historical roots as an electric, industrial and transportation-oriented city provide it with a high potential for rapid transit, especially when combined with its growing population, developing economy, redeveloping downtown core and its plans for sustainable growth. This paper explores the health, environmental, social and economic…

Apropiação do espaço público pelo comércio ambulante: Fortaleza-Ceará-Brasil em evidência (1975 a 1995)

OpenAIRE

Correia Dantas, Eustógio Wanderley

2007-01-01

Based on the comprehension of the relationship between city-urban and State-space, the present paper analysis the process of occupation of Fortaleza City (Capital of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil) down-town by  informal commerce between the years of 1975/1995. Working with this temporal-spatial scale, we discuss the action of the State in the organization and control of private appropriation of public space by informal workers, following political interventions of moderni...

Numerical modeling and monitoring analysis of Heroísmo station, Metro do Porto

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferreira, P.; Sousa, T.; Silva, P.

2007-01-01

Metro do Porto is a major light rail infrastructure built in the city of Porto and surrounding municipalities. In Porto's downtown, classified by UNESCO as World Heritage, the metro was built underground. From a technical point of view, one of the most challenging underground metro stations due t...

Detection of rotavirus and other enteropathogens in children hospitalized with acute gastroenteritis in Havana, Cuba.

Science.gov (United States)

Ribas, María de Los Angeles; Tejero, Yahisel; Cordero, Yanislet; de Los Angeles León, María; Rodriguez, Misladys; Perez-Lastre, Jorge; Triana, Thelma; Guerra, Mabel; Ayllón, Lucía; Escalante, Gladys; Hadad, Jorge

2015-08-01

The aim of the study was to diagnose infections with rotavirus and other enteric pathogens in children under five years old with acute gastroenteritis and to identify the most common epidemiological and clinical characteristics of these pathogens. The study was conducted using 110 stool samples from the same number of children under five years old who were inpatients at three paediatric hospitals in Havana, Cuba, between October and December 2011. The samples were tested for rotavirus and other enteric pathogens using traditional and molecular microbiological methods. Pathogens were detected in 85 (77.3 %) of the children. Rotavirus was the most commonly found, appearing in 54.5 % of the children, followed by bacteria (29 %) and parasites (10.9 %). Other viral pathogens detected included adenovirus (6.4 %) and astrovirus (3.6 %). In rotavirus-positives cases, at least one other pathogen was detected, usually a bacterium (26.6 %). More than three episodes of watery diarrhea in 24 hours were observed in 78.3 % of the cases. Dehydration was found in 30 (50 %) rotavirus-positive children, of whom seven (11.6 %) were transferred to an intensive care unit due to complications of metabolic acidosis. Rotavirus was most commonly observed among children under 12 months old (65 %). The highest incidence of infection occurred in children who were under the care of a relative at home (78.3 %), had not been breastfed (65 %), or had been breastfed for less than six months (28.3 %). The genotype combinations most frequently found were G9P8 (28.3 %) and G1P8 (10 %). This study demonstrates the presence of rotavirus and other enteric pathogens as causes of gastroenteritis in hospitalized infants and young children in Cuba.

Urban soil biomonitoring by beetle and earthworm populations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Janossy, L.; Bitto, A. [ELTE Univ., Budapest (Hungary)

1995-12-31

Two macro invertebrate groups were chosen for biomonitoring environmental changes. The beetle population was pitfall trapped (five month in 1994) at five downtown sites (parks) of Budapest and in a hilly original woodland as a control site 33km NW of Budapest. Earthworms were collected by using formol solution. Five heavy metals were measured (Pb, Co, Hg, Zn, Cu) in the upper soil layer at the same sampling sites. Pb, Hg, Zn and Cu was over the tolerable limit in a park near the railway, extreme high Pb (530 mg/kg dry soil) and Zn content was measured in one park. Roads are also salted in wintertime. The number of beetle species in the downtown parks varied 10 to 22 (226--462 specimen). Near to the edge of the city up to 45 beetle species were found in a park with 1,027 specimen. In the woodland area 52 beetle species with 1,061 specimen were found. Less dominance and higher specific diversity showed the direction from downtown to woodland. Only 2 or 3 cosmopolitan earthworm species existed in downtown parks with 30--35 specimen/m{sup 2}, in the control woodland area 7 mostly endemic earthworm species were found with 74 specimens/m{sup 2}. But earthworm biomass was higher in three well fertilized parks (43--157 g/m{sup 2}), than in the original woodland (25-g/m{sup 2}). The beetle populations seem to be good tools for biomonitoring. Earthworms are susceptible to environmental changes but they also strongly depend on the leaf litter and the organic matter of the soil. The change in the animal populations is the result of summarized environmental impacts in such a big city like Budapest.

Walkable Route Perceptions and Physical Features: Converging Evidence for En Route Walking Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Barbara B.; Werner, Carol M.; Amburgey, Jonathan W.; Szalay, Caitlin

2007-01-01

Guided walks near a light rail stop in downtown Salt Lake City, Utah, were examined using a 2 (gender) x 3 (route walkability: low-mixed-, or high-walkability features) design. Trained raters confirmed that more walkable segments had more traffic, environmental, and social safety; pleasing aesthetics; natural features; pedestrian amenities; and…

Visiting the Republic of Cuba: An Experience to Remember.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Geraldine

2015-01-01

A few years ago, I was privileged to visit the Republic of Cuba as a summer vacation. Officially, this Spanish island is the largest island in the Caribbean, with more than 12 million people. It is only second as being most populous after Hispaniola with its people, culture and customs. Havana is the capital and Cuba's largest city. The United States lies to the immediate north only about 95 miles away, and the Bahamas and Mexico to the west, the Cayman Islands and Jamaica are on the southern end, and Haiti and the Dominion Republic are in the southeastern area. The history of this island is truly amazing. I was able to vist a hospital, and ride public transportation (bus). The trip was made at the time when Cuba was not open to travelers coming direct from the United States. I traveled to Montreal, Canada to board Cabana Arlines to Havana, Cuba.

Sexual orientation and quality of life among university students from Cuba, Norway, India, and South Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Traeen, Bente; Martinussen, Monica; Vittersø, Joar; Saini, Sunil

2009-01-01

This article explores quality-of-life aspects among gay, lesbian, bisexual, and straight male and female students in Havana (Cuba), Tromsø (Norway), Hisar (India), and Cape Town (South Africa). In the period 2004-2005, a questionnaire survey on sexuality, happiness, and life satisfaction was undertaken among 339 students from the University of Havana, 144 students from the University of Tromsø, 200 students from Guru Jambheswar University, and 189 students from the University of the Western Cape. The majority of the participants were straight and, in Hisar and Cape Town, few of those who regarded themselves as gay/lesbian/bisexual had engaged in sex with a person of the same gender. In all cities, straight men and women scored higher than gay, lesbian, and bisexual persons on the quality-of-life measures. Quality of life among gay/bisexual men and lesbian/bisexual women was higher in cultures with accepting attitudes toward homosexuality than in cultures with restrictive attitudes.

Opportunities to learn and barriers to change: crack cocaine use in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Moffat Barbara

2008-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract In 2004, a team comprised of researchers and service providers launched the Safer Crack Use, Outreach, Research and Education (SCORE project in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The project was aimed at developing a better understanding of the harms associated with crack cocaine smoking and determining the feasibility of introducing specific harm reduction strategies. Specifically, in partnership with the community, we constructed and distributed kits that contained harm reduction materials. We were particularly interested in understanding what people thought of these kits and how the kits contents were used. To obtain this information, we conducted 27 interviews with women and men who used crack cocaine and received safer crack kits. Four broad themes were generated from the data: 1 the context of crack use practices; 2 learning/transmission of harm reducon education; 3 changing practice; 4 barriers to change. This project suggests that harm reduction education is most successful when it is informed by current practices with crack use. In addition it is most effectively delivered through informal interactions with people who use crack and includes repeated demonstrations of harm reduction equipment by peers and outreach workers. This paper also suggests that barriers to harm reduction are systemic: lack of safe housing and private space shape crack use practices.

Validation of Simplified Urban-Canopy Aerodynamic Parametrizations Using a Numerical Simulation of an Actual Downtown Area

Science.gov (United States)

Ramirez, N.; Afshari, Afshin; Norford, L.

2018-02-01

A steady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stoke computational fluid dynamics (CFD) investigation of boundary-layer flow over a major portion of downtown Abu Dhabi is conducted. The results are used to derive the shear stress and characterize the logarithmic region for eight sub-domains, where the sub-domains overlap and are overlaid in the streamwise direction. They are characterized by a high frontal area index initially, which decreases significantly beyond the fifth sub-domain. The plan area index is relatively stable throughout the domain. For each sub-domain, the estimated local roughness length and displacement height derived from CFD results are compared to prevalent empirical formulations. We further validate and tune a mixing-length model proposed by Coceal and Belcher (Q J R Meteorol Soc 130:1349-1372, 2004). Finally, the in-canopy wind-speed attenuation is analysed as a function of fetch. It is shown that, while there is some room for improvement in Macdonald's empirical formulations (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 97:25-45, 2000), Coceal and Belcher's mixing model in combination with the resolution method of Di Sabatino et al. (Boundary-Layer Meteorol 127:131-151, 2008) can provide a robust estimation of the average wind speed in the logarithmic region. Within the roughness sublayer, a properly parametrized Cionco exponential model is shown to be quite accurate.

Identification and characterization of scenarios of natural source, representation of the same ones by means of radiological maps

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dominguez Ley, Orlando; Capote Ferrera, Eduardo; Alonso Abad, Dolores; Gil Castillo, Reynaldo; Castillo Gomez, Rafael; Ramos Viltre, Enma O.

2008-01-01

The National Network of Environmental Radiological Surveillance of the Cuba Republic (NNERS) between their main functions of controlling permanently, from the radiological point of view, the environment in the whole national territory, monitoring, among other indicators, the environmental gamma dose rate. This monitoring is carried out in 18 radiological posts distributed by the whole country that gives us an idea of the atmospheric gamma background of a certain region. The influence of the natural sources scenarios in the measurement of the gamma dose rate, results in the variability of the measurement inside oneself region and even in distances so short as 500 meters the variation can be between the 30 or 40 nGy/h, for that, when we estimate the exhibition dose to which the population is subjected, we would introduce a great error when we take like base the gamma dose rate of the region in study. The study of the environmental gamma background was carried out in Havana City, using a mobile gamma dose rate system, with a high sensibility and a very low time of answer. The used system is able to register in real time the position and the gamma dose rate. The monitoring carries out from an automobile, using an interval of measurement of 10 seconds. The obtained results are classified by measurements ranges, and they were associated to different codes of colors and were showed in a map for a better interpretation and visualization of the same ones. Computer tools were developed for do that. The average value of dose rate in Havana City (taking into account the contribution of the cosmic radiation) is 55,6 nGy/h, similar to the national historical average reported by the NNERS that is of 55,3 nGy/h. The municipality of higher dose rate was Cerro with 61,3 nGy/h, and that of lower value was San Miguel del Padron with 51,9 nGy/h. If we discard the contribution of the cosmic radiation, the dose rate in air in Havana City is below 50 % of the world average. (author)

The Economic Consequences of Investing in Shipbuilding: Case Studies in the United States and Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

hotel and con- ference center complex (see Figure  3.7) in the northern part of the city for being driven by public funding while not requiring any...Th e hotel is located in the northern part of the city, approximately 13 kilometers from the downtown area near NNS. Figure 3.5 A Lack of Economic...expected to see up to 80 percent of the aerostructure manufactured in Brazil (Stevenson, 2014), including final assembly of 15 of the 36 aircraft ordered

Johor Parkview Mall

OpenAIRE

Irfansyah, Haffidz

2015-01-01

The Mall is a must-have every major city. The community of Johor during this shopping is still heading downtown giving rise to congestion in johor area itself. Johor parkview Mall exists to meet the needs of the community shopping Medan Johor so they don't have to depend on the city centre.Environmental issues are something very important today. Green architecture was chosen as the theme because it suits the character and function of the building itself. Johor parkview mall is ...

Manufacturing method of the bronze metallic filters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krivij, N.; Suwardjo, W.; Garcia, L.; Cores, A.; Formoso, A.

1997-01-01

Granulated (spherical) powders of bronze have been produced by spraying molten metal with gas at high pressure in the experimental industrial installation belonging to the Metallurgical Research Centre (CIME) in Havana City. A physical-chemical and technological characterisation of the spherical bronze powder has been carried out and the optimum parameters have been determined from these powders. The mechanical properties of these filters can satisfactorily rival in applications such as in motor transport goods, in industry and agriculture. (AUthor)

Smart City: Adding to the Complexity of Cities

OpenAIRE

Thompson, Emine Mine

2016-01-01

This paper seeks to further the state-of-the-art knowledge on what a smart city is by analysing the smart cities across the world. It also seeks to find out how different approaches to smart city creation influence the city. This work is based on the ongoing review on Smart Cities that was started in 2014 and is structured as follows: first, definitions of "smart city" are reviewed, then typologies of smart cities are generated by analysing the different types of smart cities across the world...

把车停在银行里

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

杜雅宏

2008-01-01

Before going to Europe on business, Mr Clark drove his Rolls-Royce to a downtown NY City Bank and went in to ask for an immediate loan（紧急贷款）of $ 5, 000. The loan officer was surprised and he told Mr Clark to give collateral（抵押品）to the bank.

Learning Cities as Healthy Green Cities: Building Sustainable Opportunity Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Kearns, Peter

2012-01-01

This paper discusses a new generation of learning cities we have called EcCoWell cities (Economy, Community, Well-being). The paper was prepared for the PASCAL International Exchanges (PIE) and is based on international experiences with PIE and developments in some cities. The paper argues for more holistic and integrated development so that…

Historical and commercial triangle of Athens. Patrimonalization through imaginary urban projects, rhetoric and rediscovery of tradition

OpenAIRE

Katerina Polychroniadi

2016-01-01

Athens has both famous and infamous identities. A city immersed in history surrounded by an"ugly"contemporary urban environment. A city which people love to ‘hate’ exactly due to this dense urban environment and fast pace, but which at the same time is celebrated for its lively everyday (and night) life and creativity. In this paper we focus on the so called "historical and commercial triangle", the city’s downtown in which the historic image of Athens juxtaposes to (coexists with) the most i...

The North Carolina Capitol: Pride of the State. Teaching with Historic Places.

Science.gov (United States)

Draper, Howard

North Carolina's state capitol rises majestically on Union Square in downtown Raleigh, a city created in 1792 to serve as North Carolina's permanent capital. Built between 1833-40, the granite building is one of the finest and best preserved examples of civic Greek Revival architecture in the United States. This lesson is based on the National…

Theme city or gated community - images of future cities

OpenAIRE

Helenius-Mäki, Leena

2002-01-01

The future of the cities has been under discussion since the first city. It has been typical in every civilisation and era to hope for a better city. Creek philosopher Platon created image of future city where all men were equal and the city was ruled by philosophers minds. Many philosopher or later social scientist have ended up to similar "hope to be city". The form and type of the better city has depended from creators of those future city images. The creators have had their future city im...

500 Cities: City Boundaries

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — This city boundary shapefile was extracted from Esri Data and Maps for ArcGIS 2014 - U.S. Populated Place Areas. This shapefile can be joined to 500 Cities...

Lowering infant mortality in Cuba: Fernando Domínguez MD PhD. Neonatologist, Ramón González Coro University Maternity Hospital, Havana.

Science.gov (United States)

Domínguez, Fernando; Gorry, Conner

2015-01-01

Neonatologist Dr Fernando Domínguez served two years in a remote municipality of Cuba's Guantánamo Province upon graduation from medical school in 1973. Continuing his commitment to vulnerable populations, he joined the Cuban team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serving as a family doctor attending neonates and children. After returning to Cuba, he completed his pediatric residency and later became head of the neurodevelopment department at Havana's Ramón González Coro University Maternity Hospital, where he has worked for over three decades. Dr Domínguez holds a doctorate in medical sciences, and since 1995 has served on the board of the Cuban Society of Pediatrics, where he was President from 2005-2011. He is also a member of the Ministry of Public Health's National Bioethics Commission; President of the Scientific Council of the Manuel Fajardo Medical School; on the Executive Board of the Latin American Association of Pediatrics; and a member of the Permanent Commission of the International Pediatric Association (IPA). Since 2010, he has served on IPA's Commission for Child Environmental Health and is the Editor-in-Chief of the pediatric section of Infomed, Cuba's national health portal.

Battery of Pedagogical Test to evaluate the preparation of the boxers (1st category of the Academy of Havana during the 2016 ATR structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jorge Liuban Alvarado Castillo

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The present work aims to expose the technical-methodological experiences in the application of a battery of Pedagogical Test to the provincial selection of boxing of the first category belonging to the Academy of Havana during the Macrocycle 2016. Theoretical, empirical and statistical methods were used., as were the logical historical method, inductive deductive, synthesis analysis, observation, interview, measurement, pre experiment and descriptive statistics. In addition, we worked with 100% of the population. The dates of the fundamental competitions, both national and international, in which the team was called to obtain positive results in the "Roberto Balado" International Cup, the National Boxing League and the National Tournament, were taken into consideration for said investigation. "Playa Girón", fundamental events of the season. The studied population was 28 boxers belonging to the Provincial Seniors Selection. Due to the application of the Pedagogical Test battery, it was possible to evaluate the level of preparation achieved by the sample investigated during the development of the ATR structure (Accumulation-Transformation-Realization. All of which allowed to have more control and precision during the planning of each of the training directions during the stage of the investigation.

CityGML - Interoperable semantic 3D city models

Science.gov (United States)

Gröger, Gerhard; Plümer, Lutz

2012-07-01

CityGML is the international standard of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) for the representation and exchange of 3D city models. It defines the three-dimensional geometry, topology, semantics and appearance of the most relevant topographic objects in urban or regional contexts. These definitions are provided in different, well-defined Levels-of-Detail (multiresolution model). The focus of CityGML is on the semantical aspects of 3D city models, its structures, taxonomies and aggregations, allowing users to employ virtual 3D city models for advanced analysis and visualization tasks in a variety of application domains such as urban planning, indoor/outdoor pedestrian navigation, environmental simulations, cultural heritage, or facility management. This is in contrast to purely geometrical/graphical models such as KML, VRML, or X3D, which do not provide sufficient semantics. CityGML is based on the Geography Markup Language (GML), which provides a standardized geometry model. Due to this model and its well-defined semantics and structures, CityGML facilitates interoperable data exchange in the context of geo web services and spatial data infrastructures. Since its standardization in 2008, CityGML has become used on a worldwide scale: tools from notable companies in the geospatial field provide CityGML interfaces. Many applications and projects use this standard. CityGML is also having a strong impact on science: numerous approaches use CityGML, particularly its semantics, for disaster management, emergency responses, or energy-related applications as well as for visualizations, or they contribute to CityGML, improving its consistency and validity, or use CityGML, particularly its different Levels-of-Detail, as a source or target for generalizations. This paper gives an overview of CityGML, its underlying concepts, its Levels-of-Detail, how to extend it, its applications, its likely future development, and the role it plays in scientific research. Furthermore, its

Water quality of Lake Austin and Town Lake, Austin, Texas

Science.gov (United States)

Andrews, Freeman L.; Wells, Frank C.; Shelby, Wanda J.; McPherson, Emma

1988-01-01

Lake Austin and Town Lake are located on the Colorado River in Travis County, central Texas, and serve as a source of water for municipal and industrial water supplies, electrical-power generation, and recreation for more than 500,000 people in the Austin metropolitan area. Lake Austin, located immediately downstream of Lake Travis, extends for more than 20 miles into the western edge of the city of Austin. Town Lake extends through the downtown area of the city of Austin for nearly 6 miles where the Colorado River is impounded by Longhorn Dam.

EVALUATION OF A POPULAR SHOPPING MALL BUILT TO ACCOMMODATE PREVIOUS STREET VENDORS IN DOWNTOWN PORTO ALEGRE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naiana Maura John

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to evaluate a popular shopping mall, named the CPC, focusing on its location, use, aesthetics and security. The global and local integration values of streets surrounding the CPC and the former Square XV Camelódromo are compared in order to evidence their level of accessibility. Concerning use, the following specific objectives are investigated: retailers’ and CPC users’ preference for a popular shopping mall type and CPC users’ knowledge and shopping routines in the former Square XV Camelódromo; retailers’ and CPC users’ levels of satisfaction with the CPC, evaluations of the CPC building and shops location regarding sales, assessments of the existence of a food court and a bus terminal in the CPC building. In relation to aesthetics, retailers’ and CPC users’ evaluations of the internal appearance of the CPC, and retailers’, CPC users’ and architects’ assessments of the external appearance of the CPC are revealed. Moreover, retailers’ and CPC users’ evaluations of security in the bus terminal in the CPC building and in downtown Porto Alegre are identified. Data gathering methods included archival surveys, physical measurements, behavioral observations, and questionnaires. Data were analyzed through non-parametric statistical tests and space syntax methods. Results corroborate findings of other studies regarding the need for movement of people and visibility of shops at ground level, in order to achieve a satisfactory sales performance. Moreover, the CPC external appearance tends to be differently evaluated among retailers, CPC users and architects.

A novel association between Rhodnius neglectus and the Livistona australis palm tree in an urban center foreshadowing the risk of Chagas disease transmission by vectorial invasions in Monte Alto City, São Paulo, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Carvalho, Danila B; Almeida, Carlos E; Rocha, Cláudia S; Gardim, Sueli; Mendonça, Vagner J; Ribeiro, Aline R; Alves, Zulimar C P V T; Ruellas, Kellem T; Vedoveli, Alan; da Rosa, João A

2014-02-01

After several public notifications of domiciliary invasions, palm trees were investigated in downtown Monte Alto City, São Paulo State, Brazil, in proximity to the city hall building, the main church, condominiums and marketing establishments. One hundred seventy four palm trees of 10 species were investigated, in which 72 specimens of Rhodnius neglectus, a potential Chagas disease vector, were captured via manual methods. All insects were collected from dead leaves, organic debris and bird nests in the only three Livistona australis palm trees in the central park square. This was the first record of R. neglectus colonizing this palm species. Although no Trypanosoma cruzi was found by abdominal compression followed by light microscopy, the poor nutritional status of the bugs hampered the examination of gut contents for parasite detection. Furthermore, the central crowns of the trees, which shelter bats (Chiroptera: Mammalia), could not be carefully searched for insects due to difficult access. This new finding highlights the sudden alteration in insect behavior, probably as a result of man's interference. This report aims to warn those involved in the health system about this new threat, justifying detailed research of the area to evaluate the magnitude of this emerging public health issue. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of Masonry Mortars Made with Mixed Recycled Aggregates by Different Processes

OpenAIRE

Iván Martínez Herrera; Miren Etxeberria Larrañaga; Elier Pavón de la Fé; Nelson Díaz Brito

2012-01-01

Havana produces over 1000 m3 of construction and demolition waste (CDW) per day. Most of these residues are of a mixed composition; they come either from collapsing buildings in disrepair or demolition that are not performed selectively. From the CDW, there are usually two ways to produce recycled aggregates; one is by sifting the debris through a 5mm sieve which is a practice widely used by residents in cities and the other from is by crushing the coarse fractions in recycled aggregate produ...

Application of sol-gel based sensors to environmental monitoring of Maumejean stained glass windows housed in two different buildings at downtown Madrid

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pena-Poza, J.; Conde, J. F.; Agua, F.; Garcia-Heras, M.; Villegas, M. A.

2013-07-01

Degradation of historical stained glass windows is mainly caused by acid attack enhanced by humidity and pollutants. Accordingly, their preventive conservation should include environmental evaluation. Maumejean's stained glass windows (c 1940) of two buildings located at downtown Madrid have been monitored by sol-gel sensors of acidity and temperature. The philosophy was the application of innovative glassy sol-gel sensors to assess the conservation conditions of stained glass windows, i.e. modern materials for preservation of historical materials. Conservation conditions (environmental acidity and temperature) of restored and non-restored stained glass windows have been recorded throughout 13 months. The main contributing parameter to outdoor acidity is proximity to road traffic, which produces acid species able to diminish two units of pH with respect to neutral conditions. This acid environment affects both sides of stained glass windows, even in those protected with a glazing system, which allows natural ventilation. Other contributing parameters to increase the air acidity were facade orientation, sensor position, distance to pollutants sources, human interaction and uncontrolled ventilation. (Author)

Exploring spatial patterns of sudden cardiac arrests in the city of Toronto using Poisson kriging and Hot Spot analyses.

Science.gov (United States)

Przybysz, Raymond; Bunch, Martin

2017-01-01

Our study looked at out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest events in the City of Toronto. These are relatively rare events, yet present a serious global clinical and public health problem. We report on the application of spatial methods and tools that, although relatively well known to geographers and natural resource scientists, need to become better known and used more frequently by health care researchers. Our data came from the population-based Rescu Epistry cardiac arrest database. We limited it to the residents of the City of Toronto who experienced sudden arrest in 2010. The data was aggregated at the Dissemination Area level, and population rates were calculated. Poisson kriging was carried out on one year of data using three different spatial weights. Kriging estimates were then compared in Hot Spot analyses. Spatial analysis revealed that Poisson kriging can yield reliable rates using limited data of high quality. We observed the highest rates of sudden arrests in the north and central parts of Etobicoke, western parts of North York as well as the central and southwestern parts of Scarborough while the lowest rates were found in north and eastern parts of Scarborough, downtown Toronto, and East York as well as east central parts of North York. Influence of spatial neighbours on the results did not extend past two rings of adjacent units. Poisson kriging has the potential to be applied to a wide range of healthcare research, particularly on rare events. This approach can be successfully combined with other spatial methods. More applied research, is needed to establish a wider acceptance for this method, especially among healthcare researchers and epidemiologists.

Cities within Cities: An Urbanization Approach in the Gulf Countries

OpenAIRE

Bamakhrama, Salim Salah

2015-01-01

Within Dubai, nineteen out of the original 112 mega-projects carried the word city in their names, a phenomenon that is common in Gulf cities such as Dubai, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi. To further explore this phenomenon, this thesis focuses on three aspects that affect the dynamic relationship between the primary city and the cities within cities (sub-cities) in the Gulf region with special emphasis on Dubai. First, the naming problem of the sub-city illustrates why the tension between competing id...

Safety assessment of spent-fuel transportation in extreme environments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sandoval, R.P.; Weber, J.P.; Newton, G.J.

1981-01-01

Preliminary estimates of the health effects and/or consequences resulting from a malevolent attack on a spent fuel truck shipment in downtown New York City have been made. This estimate is based upon a measured quantity (0.78 +- 0.05 g) of respirable radioactive material released from a 1/4 scale event. A linear extrapolation from the 1/4 scale event to the generic full scale event has been made and an aerosolized release fraction (0.0023 percent) of the total heavy metal inventory of a three-PWR assembly truck cask has been calculated. Although scaling of the source term parameters is tentative at this point in the program, a full scale experiment is planned in 1981 to verify the scaling methodology used in these calculations. A preliminary correlation between spent fuel and surrogate fuel source terms has been shown to be feasible and that radionuclide size partitioning can be determined experimentally. Finally, it has been shown, based on our preliminary experimental source term data, that a maximum of 25 total latent cancer fatalities could occur, assuming a release in downtown New York City. This is 20 times smaller than the latent cancer fatalities predicted in the Urban Study

Telling our stories: heroin-assisted treatment and SNAP activism in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Susan; Murray, Dave; MacPherson, Donald

2017-05-18

This article highlights the experiences of a peer-run group, SALOME/NAOMI Association of Patients (SNAP), that meets weekly in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. SNAP is a unique independent peer- run drug user group that formed in 2011 following Canada's first heroin-assisted treatment trial (HAT), North America Opiate Medication Initiative (NAOMI). SNAP's members are now made up of former research participants who participated in two heroin-assisted trials in Vancouver. This article highlights SNAP members' experiences as research subjects in Canada's second clinical trial conducted in Vancouver, Study to Assess Longer-term Opioid Medication Effectiveness (SALOME), that began recruitment of research participants in 2011. This paper draws on one brainstorming session, three focus groups, and field notes, with the SALOME/NAOMI Association of Patients (SNAP) in late 2013 about their experiences as research subjects in Canada's second clinical trial, SALOME in the DTES of Vancouver, and fieldwork from a 6-year period (March 2011 to February 2017) with SNAP members. SNAP's research draws on research principles developed by drug user groups and critical methodological frameworks on community-based research for social justice. The results illuminate how participating in the SALOME clinical trial impacted the lives of SNAP members. In addition, the findings reveal how SNAP member's advocacy for HAT impacts the group in positive ways. Seven major themes emerged from the analysis of the brainstorming and focus groups: life prior to SALOME, the clinic setting and routine, stability, 6-month transition, support, exiting the trial and ethics, and collective action, including their participation in a constitutional challenge in the Supreme Court of BC to continue receiving HAT once the SALOME trial ended. HAT benefits SNAP members. They argue that permanent HAT programs should be established in Canada because they are an effective harm reduction

Playable cities the city as a digital playground

CERN Document Server

2017-01-01

This book addresses the topic of playable cities, which use the ‘smartness’ of digital cities to offer their citizens playful events and activities. The contributions presented here examine various aspects of playable cities, including developments in pervasive and urban games, the use of urban data to design games and playful applications, architecture design and playability, and mischief and humor in playable cities. The smartness of digital cities can be found in the sensors and actuators that are embedded in their environment. This smartness allows them to monitor, anticipate and support our activities and increases the efficiency of the cities and our activities. These urban smart technologies can offer citizens playful interactions with streets, buildings, street furniture, traffic, public art and entertainment, large public displays and public events.

Influence of exposure differences on city-to-city heterogeneity ...

Science.gov (United States)

Multi-city population-based epidemiological studies have observed heterogeneity between city-specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-mortality effect estimates. These studies typically use ambient monitoring data as a surrogate for exposure leading to potential exposure misclassification. The level of exposure misclassification can differ by city affecting the observed health effect estimate. The objective of this analysis is to evaluate whether previously developed residential infiltration-based city clusters can explain city-to-city heterogeneity in PM2.5 mortality risk estimates. In a prior paper 94 cities were clustered based on residential infiltration factors (e.g. home age/size, prevalence of air conditioning (AC)), resulting in 5 clusters. For this analysis, the association between PM2.5 and all-cause mortality was first determined in 77 cities across the United States for 2001–2005. Next, a second stage analysis was conducted evaluating the influence of cluster assignment on heterogeneity in the risk estimates. Associations between a 2-day (lag 0–1 days) moving average of PM2.5 concentrations and non-accidental mortality were determined for each city. Estimated effects ranged from −3.2 to 5.1% with a pooled estimate of 0.33% (95% CI: 0.13, 0.53) increase in mortality per 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5. The second stage analysis determined that cluster assignment was marginally significant in explaining the city-to-city heterogeneity. The health effe

Smart city – future city? smart city 20 as a livable city and future market

CERN Document Server

Etezadzadeh, Chirine

2016-01-01

The concept of a livable smart city presented in this book highlights the relevance of the functionality and integrated resilience of viable cities of the future. It critically examines the progressive digitalization that is taking place and identifies the revolutionized energy sector as the basis of urban life. The concept is based on people and their natural environment, resulting in a broader definition of sustainability and an expanded product theory. Smart City 2.0 offers its residents many opportunities and is an attractive future market for innovative products and services. However, it presents numerous challenges for stakeholders and product developers.

Image city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2003-01-01

Image city exhibition explores a condition of mediation, through a focus on image and sound narratives with a point of departure on a number of Asian cities.......Image city exhibition explores a condition of mediation, through a focus on image and sound narratives with a point of departure on a number of Asian cities....

Radiogenic enteritis in children: study in a series of 63 patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alert Silva, J.; Longchong Ramos, M.; Castillo Otero, E.; Valdes Zamora, M.

1981-01-01

In children, the abdominal irradiation being part of multidisciplinary therapeutical treatment for various malignant neoplasias, inferred radiogenic enteritis onset. In a group of 63 patients treated at the Institute of Oncology and Radiobiology, in Havana City, who presented intraabdominal located no Hodgkin's linfomas, Wilms' tumors, neuroblastomas, intraabdominal sarcomas and ovarium malignant neoplasias, incidence for this complication was 63,5%; in 34 children showed up during radiant treatment (early enteritis) and in eleven children after it was finished (late enteritis). Extended surgical exeresis accounted to clinical picture onset. Hygienicdietetic treatment improves patient's clinical evolution. (author)

Turismo y desarrollo sostenible: el caso del centro histórico de la Habana – Cuba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Salinas Chávez, Eduardo

2005-01-01

Full Text Available Despite of tourism in Historical and Heritage Sites are a very old phenomenon and one of the first tourism activities realize by the society, however the role of this redeem in the social and economical transformation of urban spaces are scanty studied, and for these reason we need to develop a methodological and theoretical basis for the supporting the fast increase of tourism in Heritage Cities especially in Old Havana, Cuba, using also some indexes to understand the changes in the urban area under the pressure of new forms of tourism

City and School: the Visible Construction of the Fernando Gomes Elementary School in Porto Alegre/RS - Brazil (1913-1935

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tatiane De Freitas Ermel

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the context of studies about space and school architecture, this article analyses the visual construction of the Fernando Gomes Elementary School, which was located in downtown Porto Alegre/RS, Brazil between 1913 and 1935. Designed by the engineer Afonso Hébert, head of the Department of Public Works in the State of Rio Grande do Sul/RS, the building was completed in 1922. In addition to functional elements, i.e., a large number of classrooms that would serve to increase the access of children to primary school, its monumental proportions incorporated a series of symbolic elements aligned with the ideals of the First Brazilian Republic (1889–1930. The documentary analysis was performed on the archives of the Directorship of Public Education and the Directorship of Public Works of Rio Grande do Sul, as well as various iconographic sources, capital improvement plans and periodicals of the time. The construction of the school inaugurated a new conception of the space and architecture of public elementary schools in the State, as the visible improvement and sanitation of the cities were considered of great importance in the period. The construction of school buildings was also one of the greatest advertising tools of the new Republican political regime.

Architectural Ruins and Urban Imaginaries: Carlos Garaicoa’s Images of Havana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jodi Kovach

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Contemporary Cuban artist Carlos Garaicoa juxtaposes photographic images of Havana’s architectural ruins with timidly articulated drawings that trace the outlines of the dilapidated buildings in empty urbanscapes. Each of these fragile drawings, often composed of delicate threads adhered to a photograph of a site after demolition, serves as a vestige of the sagging structure that the artist photographed prior to destruction. The dialogue that emerges from these photograph/drawing diptychs implies the unmooring of the radical utopian underpinnings of revolutionary ideology that persisted in the policies of Cuba’s Período especial (Special Period of the 1990s, and suggests a more complicated narrative of Cuba’s modernity, in which the ambiguous drawings—which could indicate construction plans or function as mnemonic images—represent empty promises of economic growth that must negotiate the real socio-economic crises of the present. This article proposes that Garaicoa’s critique of the goals and outcomes of the Special Period through Havana’s ruins suggests a new articulation of the baroque expression— one that calls to mind the anti-authoritative strategies of twentieth-century Neo-Baroque literature and criticism. The artist historically grounds the legacy of the Cuban Revolution’s modernizing project in the country’s real economic decline in the post-Soviet era, but he also takes this approach to representing cities beyond Cuba’s borders, thereby posing broader questions about the architectural symbolism of the 21st-century city in the ideological construction of modern globalizing society.

Intersectoral coordination in Aedes aegypti control. A pilot project in Havana City, Cuba.

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, L; Perez, D; Pérez, T; Sosa, T; Cruz, G; Kouri, G; Boelaert, M; Van der Stuyft, P

2005-01-01

Background The 55th World Health Assembly declared dengue prevention and control a priority and urged Member States to develop sustainable intersectoral strategies to this end. To provide evidence for the reorientation of the dengue prevention policy in Cuba, we launched an intervention study to document the effectiveness of a local-level intersectoral approach. We used a quasi-experimental design. Social scientists introduced participatory methods to facilitate dialogue in the biweekly meetings of the intersectoral Health Council of the intervention area. This council subsequently developed an intersectoral plan for dengue prevention, of which the core objective was to design and implement activities for communication and social mobilization. In the control area, routine dengue control activities continued without additional input. Knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of dengue, and entomological indices were compared inside and between the areas before and after the 1-year intervention period. In the intervention area the Health Council elaborated an intersectoral plan for dengue prevention focused on source reduction. The Aedes aegypti control methods consisted in eliminating useless containers in the houses and surroundings, covering tanks, and cleaning public and inhabited areas. It was implemented through communication and social mobilization. The Health Council in the control area occasionally discussed dengue issues but did not develop a coordinated action plan. Good knowledge about breeding sites and disease symptoms increased significantly (by 49.7% and 17.1% respectively) in the intervention area as well as the proportion of respondents eliminating containers in and around their houses (by 44%). No changes were observed in the control area. The House Index in the intervention area was 3.72% at baseline and decreased to 0.61% after 1 year. In the control area it remained stable throughout the study period (1.31% and 1.65% respectively). The introduction of a participatory approach by social scientists promotes changes in intersectoral management. This facilitates social mobilization which, in its turn, leads to significant changes in knowledge, attitudes and dengue-related practices in the population and eventually to more effective control of Ae. aegypti.

SEISMIC SITE RESPONSE ESTIMATION IN THE NEAR SOURCE REGION OF THE 2009 L’AQUILA, ITALY, EARTHQUAKE

Science.gov (United States)

Bertrand, E.; Azzara, R.; Bergamashi, F.; Bordoni, P.; Cara, F.; Cogliano, R.; Cultrera, G.; di Giulio, G.; Duval, A.; Fodarella, A.; Milana, G.; Pucillo, S.; Régnier, J.; Riccio, G.; Salichon, J.

2009-12-01

The 6th of April 2009, at 3:32 local time, a Mw 6.3 earthquake hit the Abruzzo region (central Italy) causing more than 300 casualties. The epicenter of the earthquake was 95km NE of Rome and 10km from the center of the city of L’Aquila, the administrative capital of the Abruzzo region. This city has a population of about 70,000 and was severely damaged by the earthquake, the total cost of the buildings damage being estimated around 3 Bn €. Historical masonry buildings particularly suffered from the seismic shaking, but some reinforced concrete structures from more modern construction were also heavily damaged. To better estimate the seismic solicitation of these structures during the earthquake, we deployed temporary arrays in the near source region. Downtown L’Aquila, as well as a rural quarter composed of ancient dwelling-centers located western L’Aquila (Roio area), have been instrumented. The array set up downtown consisted of nearly 25 stations including velocimetric and accelerometric sensors. In the Roio area, 6 stations operated for almost one month. The data has been processed in order to study the spectral ratios of the horizontal component of ground motion at the soil site and at a reference site, as well as the spectral ratio of the horizontal and the vertical movement at a single recording site. Downtown L’Aquila is set on a Quaternary fluvial terrace (breccias with limestone boulders and clasts in a marly matrix), which forms the left bank of the Aterno River and slopes down in the southwest direction towards the Aterno River. The alluvial are lying on lacustrine sediments reaching their maximum thickness (about 250m) in the center of L’Aquila. After De Luca et al. (2005), these quaternary deposits seem to lead in an important amplification factor in the low frequency range (0.5-0.6 Hz). However, the level of amplification varies strongly from one point to the other in the center of the city. This new experimentation allows new and more

City personification as problem solving to strengthen the wholeness of the city: study case in Serui city, Papua

Science.gov (United States)

Hardine, Y. R. I.; Herlily

2018-03-01

Serui City in Papua Province has many unique characters and must be maintained for the sake of the continuity of its identity. However, this city still lacks the facility and depend on other areas. Accordingly, it becomes vulnerable. The wholeness of the city is not just by having strong character but also having strength regarding vitality. The loss of it can affect the character and even eliminate it. Cities and people have many similarities regarding character and vitality. Therefore, there is a chance to solve the problems in the city using the similar approach to treat the human. We called city personification methods as problem-solving to the city. It means that we treat the city as a human being so that the problem can be solved as the human’s treatment. The personification of this city is conducted because of the many treatments that have proven effective in humans and may also be powerful to manifest in city. The personification makes the design will only focus on the particular networks and not on the whole “body,” remain in the hope for strengthening (maintain and improve) the quality of wholeness (character and vitality) city which in this case is Serui.

Box City Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

Center for Understanding the Built Environment, Prairie Village, KS.

This curriculum packet contains two lesson plans about cities and architecture intended for use with students in upper elementary grades and middle schools. The first lesson plan, "City People, City Stories" (Jan Ham), states that understanding architecture and cities must begin with an understanding of the people of the city. The children create…

Branding Cities, Changing Societies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ooi, Can-Seng

Societal changes are seldom discussed in the literature on city branding. The time element is important because it highlights the fluctuating reality of society. The city brand message freezes the place but in fact, the city branding exercise is a continuous process. Society emerges too. City...... brands are supposed to accentuate the uniqueness of the city, be built from the bottom-up and reflect the city's identity. This paper highlights three paradoxes, pointing out that city branding processes can also make cities more alike, bring about societal changes and forge new city identities. A city...... branding campaign does not just present the city, it may change the city. The relationships between the branding exercise and the city are intertwined in the evolution of the place....

Rethinking GIS Towards The Vision Of Smart Cities Through CityGML

Science.gov (United States)

Guney, C.

2016-10-01

Smart cities present a substantial growth opportunity in the coming years. The role of GIS in the smart city ecosystem is to integrate different data acquired by sensors in real time and provide better decisions, more efficiency and improved collaboration. Semantically enriched vision of GIS will help evolve smart cities into tomorrow's much smarter cities since geospatial/location data and applications may be recognized as a key ingredient of smart city vision. However, it is need for the Geospatial Information communities to debate on "Is 3D Web and mobile GIS technology ready for smart cities?" This research places an emphasis on the challenges of virtual 3D city models on the road to smarter cities.

City marketing: online communication plan for the city of Lisbon

OpenAIRE

Altrichter, Benjamin

2011-01-01

Mestrado em Marketing City Marketing represents marketing efforts of cities in order to attract more visitors. Today, we are confronted everyday with marketing campaigns in all different communication media promoting countries, cities or events. Cities are competing for visitors on a global scale, forcing them to adapt successful marketing strategies for gaining and retaining costumers. Yet, City Marketing still remains an unknown chapter for a big part of the general public an...

Smart City project

KAUST Repository

Al Harbi, Ayman

2018-01-24

A \\'smart city\\' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis for providing essential services to residents. Yanbu Industrial City- Smart City Project - First large scale smart city in The kingdom.

Medan City: Informality and the Historical Global City

Science.gov (United States)

Sudarmadji, N.; Tyaghita, B.; Astuti, P. T.; Etleen, D.

2018-05-01

As projected by UN that two-thirds of Indonesia’s population will live in urban areas by 2050, rapid urbanization is happening in Indonesian cities. Initial research on eight Indonesian Cities (which includes Medan, Jatinegara, Bandung, Surakarta, Yogyakarta, Surabaya, Balikpapan, and Manado) by Tunas Nusa Foundation since 2012 shows that urbanization of each city has happened throughout history creating cultural, economic, and environmental networks that are distinct from one city to another. While the networks remain until today and continuously shapes the urban agglomeration pattern, not all parts of the city could undergo subsequent development that confirms the existing pattern, leading to the creation informality. Nor could it make future planning that comprehends the nature of its integrated urban dynamic beyond its current administrative authority. In this paper, we would like to share our study for Medan, North Sumatra as it shows a portrait of a city with a long relationship to a global network since the Maritime trade era. Medan has become home to many ethnic groups which have sailed and migrated as part of a global economic agenda creating a strong economic network between port cities along the Malacca Strait. The city has kept its role in the global economic network until today, to name a few, becoming the frontier for the Indonesia-Malaysia-Thailand Growth Triangle. While we celebrate Medan’s potential to become a global city with major infrastructure development as well as cultural assets as its advantage in the future, we argue that microscale cohesion supported by government policy in agreed planning documents are fundamental for the city to thrive amidst the challenges it is facing. Yet, these cultural assets, as well as micro scale cohesion in Medan City today, are still undermined. Thus, informality in Medan exists as result of ignorance and marginalization of certain socio-cultural groups, abandoning places and identity, as well as the

Shrinking Cities and the Need for a Reinvented Understanding of the City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Lea Louise holst

the contemporary city and maybe the understanding of the city needs to be updated in some areas, before we are able to do so. In this paper, the focus will be directed towards two themes which become present with the Shrinking Cities phenomenon and therefore seems important to discuss in order to understand...... the concept of Shrinking Cities. These two themes may affect the understanding of the existing city theory. The first theme is concerned with the physical understanding of the city where the traditional assumption about the city as a high density area, with buildings as the dominant structure, is questioned....... Here the concept of the city as an urban landscape will be introduced. The second theme points to the need for a discussion regarding the object of our planning when developing the cities. Previously, the purpose of city development has been growth and expansion, but with the Shrinking Cities...

City PLANTastic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

, any attempt to create a green city is motivated by certain ecological, political and esthetical perspectives. Therefore the role of plants in tomorrows cities is everything but straightforward. Rather, a broad range of possibilities unfolds. City PLANTastic is the title of the 8th World in Denmark...

The City on Screen: A Methodological Approach on Cinematic City Studies

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sertaç Timur Demir

2015-07-01

Full Text Available The city has a strong memory and it never forgets its own experiences. The past, the present and the future of the city can be read in its streets, buildings, sounds, myths, rhythms and stories. More importantly, if the city is portrayed through a camera, it becomes as fictional and designable as films. At this stage, there is no difference between watching a film and seeing a city. Also, cinema itself turns into a paradigm that belongs to the city. This parallelism between the city and film is like an inevitable destiny so much so that they constitute and develop each other. Accordingly, those who attempt to understand the notion of the city should consult the films made about them and vice versa; hence, this paper deals with the question of how the city is cinematized, but this question involves another question: how does the cinematic imagination fictionalize itself in the city?

75 FR 11580 - Florida Power Corporation, City of Alachua, City of Bushnell, City of Gainesville, City of...

Science.gov (United States)

2010-03-11

..., City of Ocala, Orlando Utilities Commission and City of Orlando, Seminole Electric Cooperative, Inc... building not only meet but exceed its original design basis as delineated in the FSAR. The PRB discussed the petitioner's request during internal meetings and made the initial PRB recommendation. The PRB's...

INSTANT CITY

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marling, Gitte; Kiib, Hans

2013-01-01

of an experimental and social en- gaged city environment? The analysis shows that the specific city life at the instant city, Roskilde Festival, can be characterized by being ‘open minded’, ‘playful’ and ‘inclusive’, but also by ‘a culture of laughter’ that penetrates the aesthetics and the urban scenography....

City Marketing : Case: Moscow

OpenAIRE

Kuzina, Irina

2017-01-01

Nowadays cities compete with each other for attracting investments and people, which make them implement new city marketing and city branding strategies. There are many factors that can influence city image and its perception in customers’ minds. The purpose of this thesis is to realize how a well-selected city marketing strategy benefits the city and gain a deeper understanding of city marketing possibilities. The final goal is to offer suggestions for the city of Moscow, which can help to i...

Hackable Cities : From Subversive City Making to Systemic Change

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Lange, M.L.; de Waal, Martijn; Foth, Marcus; Verhoeff, Nanna; Martin, Brynskov

2015-01-01

The DC9 workshop takes place on June 27, 2015 in Limerick, Ireland and is titled "Hackable Cities: From Subversive City Making to Systemic Change". The notion of "hacking" originates from the world of media technologies but is increasingly often being used for creative ideals and practices of city

Influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city

OpenAIRE

Manyiwa, Simon; Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios; Wang, Xuan Lorna

2018-01-01

Purpose - This study examines the influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. The study also compares the effects of perceived brand image of the city on the emotional attachment to the city across two groups: residents and visitors. \\ud \\ud Design/methodology - A total of 207 usable questionnaires were collected from 107 residents of the city of Bratislava, Slovakia, and 100 visitors to the city. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) me...

Influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city

OpenAIRE

Manyiwa, Simon; Priporas, Constantinos-Vasilios; Wang, Xuan Lorna

2018-01-01

Purpose - This study examines the influence of perceived city brand image on emotional attachment to the city. The study also compares the effects of perceived brand image of the city on the emotional attachment to the city across two groups: residents and visitors. Design/methodology - A total of 207 usable questionnaires were collected from 107 residents of the city of Bratislava, Slovakia, and 100 visitors to the city. Partial least square structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) met...

Land Use Planning and the Consequences of Smart Growth

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bob Jentsch

2006-11-01

Full Text Available Smart Growth is a current buzzword which implies that all growth is good if it is planned. But urban planning usually fails because it concentrates on each city as the center of its own universe, starting with a downtown and working out. This is unrealistic but common, really a misapplication of the concentric zone theory of the early industrial city to the modern world. The author began his career as a planner with the Pruitt-Igoe project in St. Lewis and uses that as one example of why planning failed then as it continues to do so today. (A video file is included.

Dynamic Network Model for Smart City Data-Loss Resilience Case Study: City-to-City Network for Crime Analytics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kotevska, Olivera; Kusne, A Gilad; Samarov, Daniel V; Lbath, Ahmed; Battou, Abdella

2017-01-01

Today's cities generate tremendous amounts of data, thanks to a boom in affordable smart devices and sensors. The resulting big data creates opportunities to develop diverse sets of context-aware services and systems, ensuring smart city services are optimized to the dynamic city environment. Critical resources in these smart cities will be more rapidly deployed to regions in need, and those regions predicted to have an imminent or prospective need. For example, crime data analytics may be used to optimize the distribution of police, medical, and emergency services. However, as smart city services become dependent on data, they also become susceptible to disruptions in data streams, such as data loss due to signal quality reduction or due to power loss during data collection. This paper presents a dynamic network model for improving service resilience to data loss. The network model identifies statistically significant shared temporal trends across multivariate spatiotemporal data streams and utilizes these trends to improve data prediction performance in the case of data loss. Dynamics also allow the system to respond to changes in the data streams such as the loss or addition of new information flows. The network model is demonstrated by city-based crime rates reported in Montgomery County, MD, USA. A resilient network is developed utilizing shared temporal trends between cities to provide improved crime rate prediction and robustness to data loss, compared with the use of single city-based auto-regression. A maximum improvement in performance of 7.8% for Silver Spring is found and an average improvement of 5.6% among cities with high crime rates. The model also correctly identifies all the optimal network connections, according to prediction error minimization. City-to-city distance is designated as a predictor of shared temporal trends in crime and weather is shown to be a strong predictor of crime in Montgomery County.

Dynamic Network Model for Smart City Data-Loss Resilience Case Study: City-to-City Network for Crime Analytics

Science.gov (United States)

Kotevska, Olivera; Kusne, A. Gilad; Samarov, Daniel V.; Lbath, Ahmed; Battou, Abdella

2017-01-01

Today’s cities generate tremendous amounts of data, thanks to a boom in affordable smart devices and sensors. The resulting big data creates opportunities to develop diverse sets of context-aware services and systems, ensuring smart city services are optimized to the dynamic city environment. Critical resources in these smart cities will be more rapidly deployed to regions in need, and those regions predicted to have an imminent or prospective need. For example, crime data analytics may be used to optimize the distribution of police, medical, and emergency services. However, as smart city services become dependent on data, they also become susceptible to disruptions in data streams, such as data loss due to signal quality reduction or due to power loss during data collection. This paper presents a dynamic network model for improving service resilience to data loss. The network model identifies statistically significant shared temporal trends across multivariate spatiotemporal data streams and utilizes these trends to improve data prediction performance in the case of data loss. Dynamics also allow the system to respond to changes in the data streams such as the loss or addition of new information flows. The network model is demonstrated by city-based crime rates reported in Montgomery County, MD, USA. A resilient network is developed utilizing shared temporal trends between cities to provide improved crime rate prediction and robustness to data loss, compared with the use of single city-based auto-regression. A maximum improvement in performance of 7.8% for Silver Spring is found and an average improvement of 5.6% among cities with high crime rates. The model also correctly identifies all the optimal network connections, according to prediction error minimization. City-to-city distance is designated as a predictor of shared temporal trends in crime and weather is shown to be a strong predictor of crime in Montgomery County. PMID:29250476

Different Creative Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lorenzen, Mark; Vaarst Andersen, Kristina

2012-01-01

and exhibits a tendency of congregating in major cities with diverse service and cultural offers and tolerance to non-mainstream lifestyles. However, we find that a range of smaller Danish cities also attract the creative class. Second, we undertake qualitative interviews that facilitate theory building. We...... suggest that many creatives are attracted by the smaller cities' cost advantages, specialized job offers, attractive work/life balances, and authenticity and sense of community. The article synthesizes its results into four stylized types of creative cities, and concludes by discussing the policy...... challenges associated with these different cities....

Experience of Sponge City Master Plan: A Case Study of Nanning City

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Zhang Wei; Wang Jiazhuo; Che Han; Wang Chen; Zhang Chunyang; Shi Lian; Fan Jin; Li Caige

2017-01-01

As a new urban development pattern, the construction of sponge cities has been deeply integrated into the new urbanization and water safety strategy. Nanning City, as one of the first batch of experimental sponge cities in China, has undertaken exploration and practice on sponge city planning, construction, and management. The sponge city master plan of Nanning City establishes an urban ecological spatial pattern in order to protect the security of the sponge base. The sponge city construction strategy has also proposed an overall construction strategy of a sponge city in line with urban development features. Through the systematic analysis and planning, a “23+10+202” pattern of sponge city construction has been formed. “23” represents 23 drainage basins, in which major sponge facilities such as storage facilities, waterfront buffer zones, wetland parks, ecological rainwater corridor and sponge parks are allocated. “10” represents 10 sponge functional zones, which provide important reference for the establishment of sponge city construction index system. “202” represents 202 management units, which decomposes the general objective and provides technical support not only for sponge city construction and management, but also for the implementation of general objectives in the regulatory plan as well.

Clean Cities Fact Sheet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2004-01-01

This fact sheet explains the Clean Cities Program and provides contact information for all coalitions and regional offices. It answers key questions such as: What is the Clean Cities Program? What are alternative fuels? How does the Clean Cities Program work? What sort of assistance does Clean Cities offer? What has Clean Cities accomplished? What is Clean Cities International? and Where can I find more information?

Collaborative Undergraduate HBCU Student Summer Training Program Award

Science.gov (United States)

2014-06-01

festival will be held on the Pentacrest on the campus of the University of Iowa. Thursday Night Concerts in Coralville – These musical concerts...Saturday Night Concert Series – Free musical concerts held each Friday and Saturday night from 6:30 to 9:30 pm on the downtown Pedestrian Mall...Iowa City Jazz Festival – A free, three-day jazz concert featuring local, regional, and national jazz groups during the July 4th celebration. The

Air quality monitoring in the environment; Controle de la qualite de l`air dans l`environnement

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Decherf, O. [Groupe Environnement SA (France)

1996-12-31

After a review of French regulations concerning industrial pollution levels (large combustion plants, municipal and hazardous waste incinerators, cement factories, glass, paper industry...), two gaseous pollutant measuring techniques have been developed: gas permeation drying, and infrared analysis correlated with gas filtering for multi-gas measurements. Conventional and remote detection system analyzers, such as the Sanoa spectrometric system, which are applied for environmental analysis (city downtown, airports, motorways, industrial sites), are also described

Within city limits: nature and children's books about nature in the city

Science.gov (United States)

Leonard S. Marcus

1977-01-01

Many children's books give the impression that we must leave the city to be "in nature.'' This is a review of children's books about nature found within city limits. The books include a natural history of New York City; a guide to city wildflowers and other weeds; a book about city trees; a delightful inquiry into the true nature of the roach;...

Focus Cities : Urban Waste Management in the City of Cochabamba ...

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

Focus Cities : Urban Waste Management in the City of Cochabamba (Bolivia). The city of ... Project status. Closed ... Studies. Inclusión social y económica de los recicladores en la gestión integrada de los residuos sólidos urbanos. 49088.

Tourism and City. Reflections about Tourist Dimension of Smart City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rosa Anna La Rocca

2013-06-01

Full Text Available The city of the future seems to be necessarily “intelligent” both in its physical and in functional features.This paper starts from the consideration that the diffusion of new communication technologies (ICTs is significantly changing the urban supply system of tourist services giving rise to new ways of enjoying the city.As tourism can be assumed as an urban activity, by a town planning point of view, the study of tourism is meaningful to identify development trajectories of the present cities targeted to sustainable and smarter models.As a matter of fact, almost all the projects to get a “smart city” are based on the idea of joining the potentialities of ICTs and the needs of urban management through people living or using the city.In such a vision, “tourist dimension” of the city becomes fundamental in promoting urban image as well as in improving efficiency of the city. This efficiency also depends on the capability of each city to share historical and cultural heritage as “common good”.As tourist demand has deeply changed also driven by technological development, this paper tries to investigate how the urban supply will change in order to meet the rising demand of quality and efficiency. The transition to smart tourist destination currently seems to be strongly connected with the number and the variety of apps to improve the “experiential component”. A lack of interest there seems to be in finding strategies and policies oriented to plan the urban supply of services tourist or not.This consideration, if shared, opens up new perspectives for research and experimentation in which city planning could have a key-role also in proposing an holistic approach to city development towards smart city.

City Car = The City Car / Andres Sevtshuk

Index Scriptorium Estoniae

Sevtshuk, Andres, 1981-

2008-01-01

Massachusettsi Tehnoloogiainstituudi (MIT) meedialaboratooriumi juures tegutseva Targa Linna Grupi (Smart City Group) ja General Motorsi koostööna sündinud kaheistmelisest linnasõbralikust elektriautost City Car. Nimetatud töögrupi liikmed (juht William J. Mitchell, töögruppi kuulus A. Sevtshuk Eestist)

Pittsburgh City Facilities

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Pittsburgh City FacilitiesIncludes: City Administrative Buildings, Police Stations, Fire Stations, EMS Stations, DPW Sites, Senior Centers, Recreation Centers, Pool...

Drone City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Ole B.

2016-01-01

for a new urban condition where cities are networked and connected (as well as disconnected) from the local block to global digital spheres. In the midst of many of the well-known data-creating devices (e.g. Bluetooth, radio-frequency identification (RFID), GPS, smartphone applications) there is a “new kid......This paper address the phenomenon of drones and their potential relationship with the city from the point of view of the so-called “mobilities turn”. This is done in such a way that turns attention to a recent redevelopment of the “turn” towards design; so the emerging perspective of “mobilities...... design” will be used as a background perspective to reflect upon the future of drones in cities. The other perspective used to frame the phenomenon is the emerging discourse of the “smart city”. A city of proliferating digital information and data communication may be termed a smart city as shorthand...

Women in Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hurst, Liz

1982-01-01

Suggesting that women are at a disadvantage in cities and towns, discusses experiences of women at home, working women, women traveling, shopping, and growing old in cities. Includes suggestions for studying women in cities. (JN)

The Synergy between City Human Resources and City Economy Development Based on the City Marketing: The Case of Chengdu

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bo Pu

2014-01-01

Full Text Available City human resources and the city economic development have a synergistic effect to attract high-quality talent and to encourage the sustainable development of the urban economy in the city marketing. Based on synergetics, we find out the evaluation indexes between the city human resources subsystem and urban economic development subsystem and constructed the evaluation system and model, and then used the yearbook data of Chengdu human resources and economic development from 2002 to 2012 and carried on empirical research. The results show that the level of coordinated development is weak between city human resources and city economic development at Chengdu, but it keeps rising slowly. The strong policy support shall be provided to Chengdu human resources and economic development by Chengdu government.

"A minimum of urbanism and a maximum of ruralism": the Cuban experience.

Science.gov (United States)

Gugler, J

1980-01-01

The case of Cuba provides social scientists with reasonably good information on urbanization policies and their implementation in 1 developing country committed to socialism. The demographic context is considered, and Cuban efforts to eliminate the rural-urban contradiction and to redefine the role of Havana are described. The impact of these policies is analyzed in terms of available data on urbanization patterns since January 1959 when the revolutionaries marched into Havana. Prerevolutionary urbanization trends are considered. Fertility in Cuba has declined simultaneously with mortality and even more rapidly. Projections assume a 1.85% annual growth rate, resulting in a population of nearly 15 million by the year 2000. Any estimate regarding the future trend in population growth must depend on prognosis of general living conditions and of specific government policies regarding contraception, abortion, female labor force participation, and child care facilities. If population growth in Cuba has been substantial, but less dramatic than that of many other developing countries, urban growth presents a similar picture. Cuba's highest rate of growth of the population living in urban centers with a population over 20,000, in any intercensal period during the 20th century, was 4.1%/year for 1943-1953. It dropped to 3.0% in the 1953-1970 period. Government policies achieved a measure of success in stemming the tide of rural-urban migration, but the aims of the revolutionary leadership went further. The objective was for urban dwellers to be involved in agriculture, and the living standards of the rural population were to be raised to approximate those of city dwellers. The goal of "urbanizing" the countryside found expression in a program designed to construct new small towns which could more easily be provided with services. A slowdown in the growth of Havana, and the concomitant weakening of its dominant position, was intended by the revolutionary leadership. Offical

[Healthy Cities projects].

Science.gov (United States)

Takano, Takehito

2002-05-01

This is a review article on "Healthy Cities". The Healthy Cities programme has been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to tackle urban health and environmental issues in a broad way. It is a kind of comprehensive policy package to carry out individual projects and activities effectively and efficiently. Its key aspects include healthy public policy, vision sharing, high political commitment, establishment of structural organization, strategic health planning, intersectoral collaboration, community participation, setting approach, development of supportive environment for health, formation of city health profile, national and international networking, participatory research, periodic monitoring and evaluation, and mechanisms for sustainability of projects. The present paper covered the Healthy Cities concept and approaches, rapid urbanization in the world, developments of WHO Healthy Cities, Healthy Cities developments in the Western Pacific Region, the health promotion viewpoint, and roles of research.

Jerusalem: City of Dreams, City of Sorrows

Science.gov (United States)

Ricks, Thomas

2011-01-01

Jerusalem is more than an intriguing global historical city; it is a classroom for liberal learning and international understanding. It had never been a city of one language, one religion and one culture. Looking at the origins of Jerusalem's name indicates its international and multicultural nature. While Israelis designate Jerusalem as their…

77 FR 29932 - Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City, MI

Science.gov (United States)

2012-05-21

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City, MI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION... City Festival will be celebrating Calcite's 100th Anniversary. As part of that celebration, an air show... posed by the Nautical City Festival air show near Rogers City, MI, the Captain of the Port Sault Sainte...

77 FR 40798 - Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City MI

Science.gov (United States)

2012-07-11

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City MI AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION...; Nautical City Festival Air Show, Rogers City MI; in the Federal Register (77 FR 29932). We received no... Nautical City Festival will be celebrating Calcite's 100th Anniversary. As part of that celebration, an air...

For a Safer City. A Friendlier City. And a More Beautiful City.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Busi

2010-04-01

Full Text Available The issue of the safety of mobility in the urban environment has been emerging as a primary social topic for some time now due to the number of casualties and, more generally, due to the impact on living conditions in the city. If correctly formulated, in fact, this subject has implications primarily and fundamentally with regard to the quality of urban life, as the citizen, and the vulnerable road user in particular, is severely restricted in their use of urban public paces. Consequently, an increasingly greater focus is being placed on acquiring methods, techniques and strategies for addressing the issue of planning, constructing and managing roads, squares and urban green spaces (and above all, applying the logic of reclaiming the historic and consolidated city in order that the city can be used to its full potential by the citizen. The subject itself therefore presents an opportunity to re-establish urban planning regulations (and, more generally, city regulations in accordance with the renewed interest in public spaces. The article discusses this matter and includes supporting elements and examples, also referring to the implications on the urban landscape.

ESTUDIO SOCIOECONÓMICO SOBRE LOS VENDEDORES ESTACIONARIOS DEL SECTOR UNO DEL CENTRO HISTÓRICO DE BARRANQUILLA - SOCIOECONOMICAL RESEARCH ABOUT THE PERMANENT SELLERS FROM SECTOR ONE IN BARRANQUILLA’S HISTORICAL DOWNTOWN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

YOLANDA ROSA MORALES CASTRO

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The document talks about the information related to the socioeconomical research about the permanent sellers from sector one in Barranquilla’s historical downtown. This research comes from a previous study “Knowledge Dialogue: a strengthtening strategy for the people interested in the recovering of the historical downtown”, applied from the family and human development group in Universidad Simon Bolivar. The study variable includes the demography, family, economy, housing, environmental and legal dimmensions, which allows to analyze and identify the socioeconomical profile of the permanent sellers from sector one in Barranquilla’s distrit. In this text is also introduced relevant topics, interesting so they can help to clearly understand the growing development of the informal economy in Colombia, because they mean a challenge and clamis attention from the leaders in charge on the country’s economic way

The City Intelligence Quotient (City IQ Evaluation System: Conception and Evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhiqiang Wu

2016-06-01

Full Text Available After a systematic review of 38 current intelligent city evaluation systems (ICESs from around the world, this research analyzes the secondary and tertiary indicators of these 38 ICESs from the perspectives of scale structuring, approaches and indicator selection, and determines their common base. From this base, the fundamentals of the City Intelligence Quotient (City IQ Evaluation System are developed and five dimensions are selected after a clustering analysis. The basic version, City IQ Evaluation System 1.0, involves 275 experts from 14 high-end research institutions, which include the Chinese Academy of Engineering, the National Academy of Science and Engineering (Germany, the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences, the Planning Management Center of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development of China, and the Development Research Center of the State Council of China. City IQ Evaluation System 2.0 is further developed, with improvements in its universality, openness, and dynamic adjustment capability. After employing deviation evaluation methods in the IQ assessment, City IQ Evaluation System 3.0 was conceived. The research team has conducted a repeated assessment of 41 intelligent cities around the world using City IQ Evaluation System 3.0. The results have proved that the City IQ Evaluation System, developed on the basis of intelligent life, features more rational indicators selected from data sources that can offer better universality, openness, and dynamics, and is more sensitive and precise.

A cost-benefit/cost-effectiveness analysis of an unsanctioned supervised smoking facility in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Jozaghi, Ehsan

2014-11-13

Smoking crack involves the risk of transmitting diseases such as HIV and hepatitis C (HCV). The current study determines whether the formerly unsanctioned supervised smoking facility (SSF)-operated by the grassroot organization, Vancouver Area Network of Drug Users (VANDU) for the last few years-costs less than the costs incurred for health-care services as a direct consequence of not having such a program in Vancouver, Canada. The data pertaining to the attendance at the SSF was gathered in 2012-2013 by VANDU. By relying on this data, a mathematical model was employed to estimate the number of HCV infections prevented by the former facility in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside (DTES). The DTES SSF's benefit-cost ratio was conservatively estimated at 12.1:1 due to its low operating cost. The study used 70% and 90% initial pipe-sharing rates for sensitivity analysis. At 80% sharing rate, the marginal HCV cases prevented were determined to be 55 cases. Moreover, at 80% sharing rate, the marginal cost-effectiveness ratio ranges from $1,705 to $97,203. The results from both the baseline and sensitivity analysis demonstrated that the establishment of the SSF by VANDU on average had annually saved CAD$1.8 million dollars in taxpayer's money. Funding SSFs in Vancouver is an efficient and effective use of financial resources in the public health domain; therefore, Vancouver Coastal Health should actively participate in their establishment in order to reduce HCV and other blood-borne infections such as HIV within the non-injecting drug users.

Mental images of architectural heritage. The representations and the radical envision towards the conflicts and proposals of the historical downtown of the city of Guanajuato [Gto.], Mexico

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edith Hernández López

2014-04-01

Full Text Available This paper searches to understand the imagery made by the inhabitants to their main conflicts and threats to built heritage, using the methodology of urban imaginaries trying to deal –with the imagination– of how the world functions and how it might work. The assumption is that perception and the proposals of these actors can shed light to the rearrangement of the Historic Center of the city and thus contribute to the conservation of the built heritage, and achieve from their imaginary ideal spaces. The Charter of Zacatecas recommends that land planning should be understood as a set of actions and integrated action programs to improve the quality of life of the population, promote orderly growth and ensure social cohesion; protect, preserve and rescue the property through public awareness and appreciation and active participation by developing surveys and identification of key individuals and opinion leaders to define policies and comprehensive strategies most convenient.

33 CFR 100.919 - International Bay City River Roar, Bay City, MI.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false International Bay City River Roar, Bay City, MI. 100.919 Section 100.919 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF... Bay City River Roar, Bay City, MI. (a) Regulated Area. A regulated area is established to include all...

Impact of biomass burning on urban air quality estimated by organic tracers: Guangzhou and Beijing as cases

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Qiaoqiao Wang; Min Shao; Ying Liu; Kuster, William; Goldan, Paul; Xiaohua Li; Yuan Liu; Sihua Lu

2007-01-01

The impacts of biomass burning have not been adequately studied in China. In this work, chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds and particulate organic matters were measured in August 2005 in Beijing and in October 2004 in Guangzhou city. The performance of several possible tracers for biomass burning is compared by using acetonitrile as a reference compound. The correlations between the possible tracers and acetonitrile show that the use of K + as a tracer could result in bias because of the existence of other K+ sources in urban areas, while chloromethane is not reliable due to its wide use as industrial chemical. The impact of biomass burning on air quality is estimated using acetonitrile and levoglucosan as tracers. The results show that the impact of biomass burning is ubiquitous in both suburban and urban Guangzhou, and the frequencies of air pollution episodes significantly influenced by biomass burning were 100% for Xinken and 58% for downtown Guangzhou city. Fortunately, the air quality in only 2 out of 22 days was partly impacted by biomass burning in August in Beijing, the month that 2008 Olympic games will take place. The quantitative contribution of biomass burning to ambient PM 2.5 concentrations in Guangzhou city was also estimated by the ratio of levoglocusan to PM 2.5 in both the ambient air and biomass burning plumes. The results show that biomass burning contributes 3.02013;16.8% and 4.02013;19.0% of PM 2.5 concentrations in Xinken and Guangzhou downtown, respectively. (Author)

Impact of biomass burning on urban air quality estimated by organic tracers: Guangzhou and Beijing as cases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiaoqiao Wang; Min Shao; Ying Liu [State Joint Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, (China); Kuster, William; Goldan, Paul [Earth System Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Commerce, Boulder, CO 80305, (United States); Xiaohua Li; Yuan Liu; Sihua Lu [State Joint Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, (China)

2007-12-15

The impacts of biomass burning have not been adequately studied in China. In this work, chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds and particulate organic matters were measured in August 2005 in Beijing and in October 2004 in Guangzhou city. The performance of several possible tracers for biomass burning is compared by using acetonitrile as a reference compound. The correlations between the possible tracers and acetonitrile show that the use of K{sup +} as a tracer could result in bias because of the existence of other K+ sources in urban areas, while chloromethane is not reliable due to its wide use as industrial chemical. The impact of biomass burning on air quality is estimated using acetonitrile and levoglucosan as tracers. The results show that the impact of biomass burning is ubiquitous in both suburban and urban Guangzhou, and the frequencies of air pollution episodes significantly influenced by biomass burning were 100% for Xinken and 58% for downtown Guangzhou city. Fortunately, the air quality in only 2 out of 22 days was partly impacted by biomass burning in August in Beijing, the month that 2008 Olympic games will take place. The quantitative contribution of biomass burning to ambient PM{sub 2.5} concentrations in Guangzhou city was also estimated by the ratio of levoglocusan to PM{sub 2.5} in both the ambient air and biomass burning plumes. The results show that biomass burning contributes 3.02013;16.8% and 4.02013;19.0% of PM{sub 2.5} concentrations in Xinken and Guangzhou downtown, respectively. (Author)

Impact of biomass burning on urban air quality estimated by organic tracers: Guangzhou and Beijing as cases

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Qiaoqiao Wang; Min Shao; Ying Liu [State Joint Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, (China); Kuster, William; Goldan, Paul [Earth System Research Laboratory, U.S. Department of Commerce, Boulder, CO 80305, (United States); Xiaohua Li; Yuan Liu; Sihua Lu [State Joint Key Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing 100871, (China)

2007-12-15

The impacts of biomass burning have not been adequately studied in China. In this work, chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds and particulate organic matters were measured in August 2005 in Beijing and in October 2004 in Guangzhou city. The performance of several possible tracers for biomass burning is compared by using acetonitrile as a reference compound. The correlations between the possible tracers and acetonitrile show that the use of K{sup +} as a tracer could result in bias because of the existence of other K+ sources in urban areas, while chloromethane is not reliable due to its wide use as industrial chemical. The impact of biomass burning on air quality is estimated using acetonitrile and levoglucosan as tracers. The results show that the impact of biomass burning is ubiquitous in both suburban and urban Guangzhou, and the frequencies of air pollution episodes significantly influenced by biomass burning were 100% for Xinken and 58% for downtown Guangzhou city. Fortunately, the air quality in only 2 out of 22 days was partly impacted by biomass burning in August in Beijing, the month that 2008 Olympic games will take place. The quantitative contribution of biomass burning to ambient PM{sub 2.5} concentrations in Guangzhou city was also estimated by the ratio of levoglocusan to PM{sub 2.5} in both the ambient air and biomass burning plumes. The results show that biomass burning contributes 3.02013;16.8% and 4.02013;19.0% of PM{sub 2.5} concentrations in Xinken and Guangzhou downtown, respectively. (Author).

@City: technologising Barcelona

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rojas, Jesús

2007-05-01

Full Text Available This article is about the concept of the contemporary city - the influence that technology has when one thinks about, plans and lives in a city. The conjunction of technology and city reformulates customs and social practices; it can even determine the way one constitutes one's own identity. One can see how close the relation is between technology (specifically, TICS and the structures of the city in a wide variety of situations: in social interactions on the street, in transport, and in ways of buying, of working and entertainment. "@City" is a concept that very well reflects the emergent properties of a current city, that is, the coexistence of a physical and a virtual urban space. The "22@Barcelona" project attempts to bring together different types of spaces. By combining the physical with the virtual, 22@Barcelona, as a neighborhood of @City, creates an uncertain and blurred border between both spaces.The article also examines the impact that these spaces have on the psycho-social processes involved in the daily life of a traditionally working-class neighborhood, now strongly limited by technological boundaries.

[Evaluation of ectoparasites and hemoparasites in dogs kept in apartments and houses with yards in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil].

Science.gov (United States)

Soares, Aline O; Souza, Aline D; Feliciano, Eveline A; Rodrigues, André F S F; D'Agosto, Marta; Daemon, Erik

2006-01-01

Fleas and ticks transmit various pathogens while feeding on the blood of dogs. This study sought to verify the occurrence of ectoparasitism and hemoparasitism in dogs from two urban areas in the city of Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Between February and August 2003, 101 dogs were studied: 50 came from apartments in the downtown region and 51 from houses with grassy yards. The ectoparasites were collected and conserved in etanol 70%. The occurrence of hemoparasites was verified by examining blood smears from sample taken from the dogs'ears. The blood smears were stained with Giemsa and 100 fields per slide were examined, studying the erythrocytes to determine parasitism. From among the dogs living in apartments, we found (with respective prevalence and mean intensity): Ctenocephalides felis (12%), (3.3+/-2.0); Rhipicephalus sanguineus (2%); and ixodid nymphs (2%). In this environment in the dogs were not found hemoparasites. From the houses with grassy yards, we observed the following prevalence levels and mean intensities: C. felis (14%), (2.28+/-1.9); R. sanguineus (35%), (7.8+/-9.8); ixodid nymph (18%), (1.4+/-0.7); and ixodid larvae (4%), (12+/-14.4). The hemoparasites found were: Ehrlichia canis (16%) and Babesia canis (2%).

Desigualdades sociais em saúde e na utilização dos serviços de saúde entre os idosos na América Latina Social inequality in health and the utilization of health services among the elderly in Latin America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenya Valéria Micaela de Souza Noronha

2005-06-01

íses que apresentam os piores indicadores sociais (elevada desigualdade de renda e baixo índice de desenvolvimento humano tenderam a apresentar as maiores desigualdades em saúde e na utilização dos serviços de saúde.OBJECTIVE: To learn if there is social inequality in health and in the utilization of health services among the elderly in six cities of Latin America: Buenos Aires, Argentina; São Paulo, Brazil; Santiago, Chile; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; and Montevideo, Uruguay. METHODS: This study used data from a project called Health, Well-being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (known as the "SABE project". To investigate the presence of social inequality in health an ordinal probit model was used, with health status indicated by the following dependent variables: activities of daily living, instrumental activities of daily living, physical mobility, and self-rated health. To measure social inequality in the utilization of health services two characteristics were assessed: one for outpatient medical services (whether or not individuals received outpatient care, and how many times, and one for hospital admissions (whether or not individuals were hospitalized. For outpatient services, we estimated a negative binomial hurdle model, and for hospital admissions, a logit model was constructed. RESULTS: Our main results suggest the presence of social inequality in health in all the cities, with better-off socioeconomic groups having better health. The difference in health was less marked in Havana, Buenos Aires, and Montevideo, and it was more pronounced in São Paulo and Mexico City. With respect to the utilization of health services we found inequalities in the use of outpatient services in Santiago, Mexico City, and São Paulo. In Santiago and Mexico City, more schooling was associated with a higher number of expected outpatient medical visits; however, the opposite was found in São Paulo. For hospital admissions, inequality was found only in S�

Creation / accumulation city

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Doevendans, C.H.; Schram, A.L.

2005-01-01

A distinction between basic archetypes of urban form was made by Bruno Fortier: the accumulation city as opposed to the creation city. These archetypes derive from archaeology - being based on the Roman and the Egyptian city - but are interpreted as morphological paradigms, as a set of assumptions

Shari’a Law, Cult Violence and System Change in Egypt: The Dilemma Facing President Mubarak.

Science.gov (United States)

1994-04-05

people out of the countryside (the baladi areas, i.e., the villages) and into Cairo and Alexandria, the two major cities where they are finding it...It appears that Mubarak may be keeping the baladi people out of downtown, turning it into a tourist area. How the country folk are induced to stay...Guloci bag, for example, was priced beyond the reach of most everyone). The issue was forced in the universities. The baladi students could not conform

Renewal strategies and neighborhood participation on urban blight

OpenAIRE

Ali Hosseini; Ahmad Pourahmad; Ali Taeeb; Milad Amini; Sara Behvandi

2017-01-01

Urban blight had its own rational and hierarchical function in the past. Nowadays it is featured with structural and functional shortage. Therefore, it has lost the capacity to meet the residents’ needs. Along with intensification of urban blight problems in cities, and downtowns in particular, which affects different aspects of urban life, many urban planners have shown special attention to such districts. Laleh-Zar neighborhood is an example of these neighborhoods, which on the one hand due...

El Green Belt en Inglaterra : de la contención edilicia al valor del paisaje

OpenAIRE

López Varela, Susana

2013-01-01

The change relates to territorial understanding in the 90s , has caused that suburban open spaces, where daily millions of people are living, begin to play an important role in urban policies of many cities and metropolitan areas. Although the development of experiences whit an important revaluation of these spaces , for example Oslo, Hamburg or Vitoria, the indifferent attitude of politicians and urban planers about the urban periphery, has meant thal those areas near downtowns, are not a...

City Carbon Footprint Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guangwu Chen

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Progressive cities worldwide have demonstrated political leadership by initiating meaningful strategies and actions to tackle climate change. However, the lack of knowledge concerning embodied greenhouse gas (GHG emissions of cities has hampered effective mitigation. We analyse trans-boundary GHG emission transfers between five Australian cities and their trading partners, with embodied emission flows broken down into major economic sectors. We examine intercity carbon footprint (CF networks and disclose a hierarchy of responsibility for emissions between cities and regions. Allocations of emissions to households, businesses and government and the carbon efficiency of expenditure have been analysed to inform mitigation policies. Our findings indicate that final demand in the five largest cities in Australia accounts for more than half of the nation’s CF. City households are responsible for about two thirds of the cities’ CFs; the rest can be attributed to government and business consumption and investment. The city network flows highlight that over half of emissions embodied in imports (EEI to the five cities occur overseas. However, a hierarchy of GHG emissions reveals that overseas regions also outsource emissions to Australian cities such as Perth. We finally discuss the implications of our findings on carbon neutrality, low-carbon city concepts and strategies and allocation of subnational GHG responsibility.

Tales of two cities: political capitals and economic centres in the world city network.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Taylor

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The majority of major cities in the world city network are capital cities. Between primacy and political specialization there are examples of countries where the capital city and a second city remain as major rival cities in contemporary globalization. In this paper we focus upon situations where the capital city is less important in global economic capacity: Rome and Milan, Berlin and Frankfurt, Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Delhi and Mumbai, Islamabad and Karachi. This is an exercise in double comparisons: between cities in each pairing and between the pairings. Despite the massive differences – economic, cultural and political – amongst our chosen pairs of cities we have found communalities relating to the specific circumstance we are investigating. First, there is some evidence that economic centres are more global and less local than their capital cities. Second, more particularly, we have shown that in terms of global economic connections there is a very consistent pattern: economic centres have a much more coherent and telling integration into the world city network.

Water changed the cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Elle, Morten; Jensen, Marina Bergen

An improvement in water infrastructure and cleaning up the waters changed many harbour cities in Denmark at the beginning of the 90s. The harbour cities changed from drity, run-down industrial harbours to clean and attractive harbour dwelling creating new city centres and vital city areas...

Integrating world cities into production networks : the case of port cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jacobs, W.; Ducruet, C.; Langen, de P.W.

2010-01-01

In this article we analyse the location patterns of firms that provide specialized advanced producer services (APS) to international commodity chains that move through seaports. Such activities can take place in world cities or in port cities. The analysis of APS location patterns in port cities

Cities as development drivers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Bjørn; Poulsen, Tjalfe; Hansen, Jens Aage

2011-01-01

There is a strong connection between economic growth and development of cities. Economic growth tends to stimulate city growth, and city economies have often shaped innovative environments that in turn support economic growth. Simultaneously, social and environmental problems related to city growth...... can be serious threats to the realization of the socio-economic contributions that cities can make. However, as a result of considerable diversity of competences combined with interactive learning and innovation, cities may also solve these problems. The ‘urban order’ may form a platform...... for innovative problem solving and potential spill-over effects, which may stimulate further economic growth and development. This paper discusses how waste problems of cities can be transformed to become part of new, more sustainable solutions. Two cases are explored: Aalborg in Denmark and Malmö in Sweden...

City 2020+

Science.gov (United States)

Schneider, C.; Buttstädt, M.; Merbitz, H.; Sachsen, T.; Ketzler, G.; Michael, S.; Klemme, M.; Dott, W.; Selle, K.; Hofmeister, H.

2010-09-01

This research initiative CITY 2020+ assesses the risks and opportunities for residents in urban built environments under projected demographic and climate change for the year 2020 and beyond, using the City of Aachen as a case study. CITY 2020+ develops scenarios, options and tools for planning and developing sustainable future city structures. We investigate how urban environment, political structure and residential behavior can best be adapted, with attention to the interactions among structural, political, and sociological configurations and with their consequences on human health. Demographers project that in the EU-25-States by 2050, approximately 30% of the population will be over age 65. Also by 2050, average tem¬peratures are projected to rise by 1 to 2 K. Combined, Europe can expect enhanced thermal stress and higher levels of particulate matter. CITY 2020+ amongst other sub-projects includes research project dealing with (1) a micro-scale assessment of blockages to low-level cold-air drainage flow into the city centre by vegetation and building structures, (2) a detailed analysis of the change of probability density functions related to the occurrence of heat waves during summer and the spatial and temporal structure of the urban heat island (UHI) (3) a meso-scale analysis of particulate matter (PM) concentrations depending on topography, local meteorological conditions and synoptic-scale weather patterns. First results will be presented specifically from sub-projects related to vegetation barriers within cold air drainage, the assessment of the UHI and the temporal and spatial pattern of PM loadings in the city centre. The analysis of the cold air drainage flow is investigated in two consecutive years with a clearing of vegetation stands in the beginning of the second year early in 2010. The spatial pattern of the UHI and its possible enhancement by climate change is addressed employing a unique setup using GPS devices and temperature probes fixed to

Lighting the city. First poetic representations of Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Claudia Kerik

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The first impressions that caused the changes made in Mexico City in its process of transformation into a modern city were captured by its poets drawing attention to different aspects of life in the capital. While from the popular poetry the record of the entrance of the electricity in the public road was left, from the official poetry was tried to witness the new cosmopolitan status of the Mexico City in the Porfirian era, through the fashion and the customs that were revealed in one of the main streets of the city. Comparing these poems allows us to know the initial strategies of poetic figuration of urban space that will continue to develop along different paths throughout the twentieth century until we reach our days.

On the Internet of Things, smart cities and the WHO Healthy Cities

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

This article gives a brief overview of the Internet of Things (IoT) for cities, offering examples of IoT-powered 21st century smart cities, including the experience of the Spanish city of Barcelona in implementing its own IoT-driven services to improve the quality of life of its people through measures that promote an eco-friendly, sustainable environment. The potential benefits as well as the challenges associated with IoT for cities are discussed. Much of the 'big data' that are continuously generated by IoT sensors, devices, systems and services are geo-tagged or geo-located. The importance of having robust, intelligent geospatial analytics systems in place to process and make sense of such data in real time cannot therefore be overestimated. The authors argue that IoT-powered smart cities stand better chances of becoming healthier cities. The World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Cities Network and associated national networks have hundreds of member cities around the world that could benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health and well-being of their local populations. PMID:24669838

On the Internet of Things, smart cities and the WHO Healthy Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamel Boulos, Maged N; Al-Shorbaji, Najeeb M

2014-03-27

This article gives a brief overview of the Internet of Things (IoT) for cities, offering examples of IoT-powered 21st century smart cities, including the experience of the Spanish city of Barcelona in implementing its own IoT-driven services to improve the quality of life of its people through measures that promote an eco-friendly, sustainable environment. The potential benefits as well as the challenges associated with IoT for cities are discussed. Much of the 'big data' that are continuously generated by IoT sensors, devices, systems and services are geo-tagged or geo-located. The importance of having robust, intelligent geospatial analytics systems in place to process and make sense of such data in real time cannot therefore be overestimated. The authors argue that IoT-powered smart cities stand better chances of becoming healthier cities. The World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Cities Network and associated national networks have hundreds of member cities around the world that could benefit from, and harness the power of, IoT to improve the health and well-being of their local populations.

City Hub : a cloud based IoT platform for Smart Cities

OpenAIRE

Lea, Rodger; Blackstock, Michael

2014-01-01

Cloud based Smart City hubs are an attractive approach to addressing some of the complex issues faced when deploying PaaS infrastructure for Smart Cities. In this paper we introduce the general notion of IoT hubs and then discusses our work to generalize our IoT hub as a Smart City PaaS. Two key issues are identified, support for hybrid public/private cloud and interoperability. We briefly describe our approach to these issues and discuss our experiences deploying two cloud-based Smart City h...

For the Smarter Good of Cities? On Cities, Complexity and Slippages in the Smart City Discourse’

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Steiner, Henriette; Veel, Kristin

2013-01-01

Summary: Cities for Smart Environmental and Energy Futures presents works written by eminent international experts from a variety of disciplines including architecture, engineering and related fields. Due to the ever-increasing focus on sustainable technologies, alternative energy sources......, and global social and urban issues, interest in the energy systems for cities of the future has grown in a wealth of disciplines. Some of the special features of this book include new findings on the city of the future from the macro to the micro level. These range from urban sustainability to indoor...... urbanism, and from strategies for cities and global climate change to material properties. The book is intended for graduate students and researchers active in architecture, engineering, the social and computational sciences, building physics and related fields....

Flying Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ciger, Jan

2006-01-01

The Flying Cities artistic installation brings to life imaginary cities made from the speech input of visitors. In this article we describe the original interactive process generating real time 3D graphics from spectators' vocal inputs. This example of cross-modal interaction has the nice property....... As the feedback we have received when presenting Flying Cities was very positive, our objective now is to cross the bridge between art and the potential applications to the rehabilitation of people with reduced mobility or for the treatment of language impairments....

Flying Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Herbelin, Bruno; Lasserre, Sebastien; Ciger, Jan

2008-01-01

Flying Cities is an artistic installation which generates imaginary cities from the speech of its visitors. Thanks to an original interactive process analyzing people's vocal input to create 3D graphics, a tangible correspondence between speech and visuals opens new possibilities of interaction....... This cross-modal interaction not only supports our artistic messages, but also aims at providing anyone with a pleasant and stimulating feedback from her/his speech activity. As the feedback we have received when presenting Flying Cities was very positive, our objective is now to cross the bridge between art...

From City-States to Global Cities: the role of Cities in Global Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Domingos Martins Vaz

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Global governance has altered institutional architecture and the systemic and institutional conditions under which power is exercised, as well as the characteristics of the political system, the form of government, and the system of intermediation of interests. However, although it has surpassed the State’s dimension of power, it created new interstate dimensions and new relations between powers, particularly at the level of cities. Cities have helped to solve common problems in a more efficient and effective way by facilitating the exchange of knowledge, sharing of solutions and resources, and building capacity to implement and monitor progress in order to achieve collectively agreed goals, in a bottom-up approach. Cities have the virtue of securing the most direct social and political contract between societies and the notion of authority. This study, therefore, aims to reflect on this emerging, less hierarchical and rigid governance and address complex global challenges such as climate and demographic change; increasing crime rates; disruptive technology; and pressures on resources, infrastructure and energy. As a global/local interface, cities can ensure effective solutions to current challenges and act together in areas where the global agenda has stalled.

Towards Credible City Branding Practices: How Do Iran’s Largest Cities Face Ecological Modernization?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Negar Noori

2018-04-01

Full Text Available City branding is not only increasingly practiced in cities in established economies, but also among municipal governments in countries, until quite recently, rather closed off from the outside world. One country with a strong drive to engage in urban (redevelopment in the post-oil era through enhancing its ‘ecological modernization’ is Iran. Megacities in Iran have all begun to venture into making profiles of what they think they are or would like to be. However, some of the adopted city branding strategies lack sophistication. In this article, the authors examine what indicators can be used for evaluating the credibility of city brands and apply these to Iran’s 15 megacities. After offering brief descriptions of the generic features of each of these cities, they map their use of city brand identities and popular city labels related to ecological modernization and analyze the credibility of their city branding practices. Based on their findings, the authors distinguish five types of cities and explain what makes some types more credible in their use of brands than others. Generally speaking, compared to cities in other nations, Iranian cities pay special attention to historical, natural, cultural, and religious aspects.

Smart City Planning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ekman, Ulrik

2018-01-01

This article reflects on the challenges for urban planning posed by the emergence of smart cities in network societies. In particular, it reflects on reductionist tendencies in existing smart city planning. Here the concern is with the implications of prior reductions of complexity which have been...... undertaken by placing primacy in planning on information technology, economical profit, and top-down political government. Rather than pointing urban planning towards a different ordering of these reductions, this article argues in favor of approaches to smart city planning via complexity theory....... Specifically, this article argues in favor of approaching smart city plans holistically as topologies of organized complexity. Here, smart city planning is seen as a theory and practice engaging with a complex adaptive urban system which continuously operates on its potential. The actualizations in the face...

Why Are Cities Becoming Alike When Each City Is Branded as Different?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ooi, Can-Seng

Cities are becoming alike. As a result, there is a rise of “copy-cat” cities. There are many reasons for this, and this paper looks from the perspective of city branding: how does place branding lead to the homogenization of cities? Using the case of Singapore, and with references to Chinese cities......, this paper highlights a number of accreditation tactics in place branding campaigns. Accreditation is necessary because the brand needs to seek credibility for the messages it sends. The types of accreditation used must also be globally understood, so as to reach out to diverse world audiences....

A liveable city:

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sommerlund, Julie

2014-01-01

is increas- ingly based in and on cities rather than nations, and cities compete for businesses, branding, tourists and talent. In the western world, urbanisation has happened simultane- ously to de-industrialisation, which has opened industrial neighbourhoods and harbours for new uses – often focus- ing......There are over 20 cities world-wide with a population of over 10 million people. We have entered ‘The Millennium of the City’. The growth of urban populations has been accompanied by profound changes of the cities’ economic and social profile and of the cities themselves. The world economy...

Governing the City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kornberger, Martin

2012-01-01

cities. This theoretical curiosity is reflected in the rising interest in urban strategy from practice. For instance, the World Bank regularly organizes an Urban Strategy Speaker Series, while the powerful network CEOs for Cities lobbies for a strategic approach to urban development. Critical scholars......Strategy frames the contemporary epistemological space of urbanism: major cities across the globe such as New York, London and Sydney invest time, energy and resources to craft urban strategies. Extensive empirical research projects have proposed a shift towards a strategic framework to manage...... such as Zukin diagnose not a shift in but a shift to strategic thinking in the contemporary city. This article poses the question: what makes strategy such an attractive ‘thought style’ in relation to imagining and managing cities? How can we understand the practice of urban strategy? And what are its intended...

Monitoring of organic micropollutants in Ghana by combination of pellet watch with sediment analysis: E-waste as a source of PCBs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hosoda, Junki; Ofosu-Anim, John; Sabi, Edward Benjamin; Akita, Lailah Gifty; Onwona-Agyeman, Siaw; Yamashita, Rei; Takada, Hideshige

2014-01-01

Highlights: • Pellet watch was conducted in Ghanaian coast, including capital city, Accra. • PCBs concentrations in pellets near Accra were higher than global background. • Sedimentary PCBs were higher at a location down e-waste scrapyard in Accra. • Triphenylbenzene, an indicator of plastic combustion, was abundant near the dump site. • The importance of e-waste as source of PCBs in Ghana was elucidated. - Abstract: Plastic resin pellets collected at 11 beaches covering the whole Ghanaian coastline were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCB concentrations (∑13 congeners) were higher in Accra, capital city, and Tema (39–69 ng/g-pellets) than those in rural coastal towns (1–15 ng/g-pellets) which are close to global background, indicating local inputs of PCBs. River sediments were also analyzed for PCBs together with molecular markers. Sedimentary PCBs concentrations were highest at a site (AR02) downstream of an electronic waste (e-waste) scrapyard. At the site (AR02), concentration of linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), a marker of municipal wastewater, was lower than another site (AR03) which is located at the downstream of downtown Accra. This result suggests that PCBs are introduced more to the river from the e-waste site than from activities in downtown Accra. PAHs concentrations were relatively higher in urban areas with strong petrogenic signature. Abundance of triphenylbenzenes suggested plastic combustion near e-waste scrapyard

Transnational city carbon footprint networks – Exploring carbon links between Australian and Chinese cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Guangwu; Wiedmann, Thomas; Wang, Yafei; Hadjikakou, Michalis

2016-01-01

Highlights: • A trans-national, multi-region input-output analysis for cities is presented. • We examine the carbon footprint network of ten cities. • The balance of emissions embodied in trade discloses a hierarchy of responsibility. • We model how emissions reductions spread through the city carbon networks. • Implications on the Chinese and Australian carbon trading schemes are discussed. - Abstract: Cities are leading actions against climate change through global networks. More than 360 global cities announced during the 2015 Paris Climate Conference that the collective impact of their commitments will deliver over half of the world’s urban greenhouse gas emissions reductions by 2020. Previous studies on multi-city carbon footprint networks using sub-national, multi-region input-output (MRIO) modelling have identified additional opportunities for addressing the negative impacts of climate change through joint actions between cities within a country. However, similar links between city carbon footprints have not yet been studied across countries. In this study we focus on inter-city and inter-country carbon flows between two trading partners in a first attempt to address this gap. We construct a multi-scale, global MRIO model to describe a transnational city carbon footprint network among five Chinese megacities and the five largest Australian capital cities. First, we quantify city carbon footprints by sectors and regions. Based on the carbon map concept we show how local emissions reductions influence other regions’ carbon footprints. We then present a city emissions ’outsourcing hierarchy’ based on the balance of emissions embodied in intercity and international trade. The differences between cities and their position in the hierarchy emphasize the need for a bespoke treatment of their responsibilities towards climate change mitigation. Finally, we evaluate and discuss the potentially significant benefits of harmonising and aligning China�

Evaluation of automatic densitometer with laser diode

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Larrea Cox, Pedro J.; Hernandez Tabares, Lorenzo; Suarez San Pedro, Cirilo E.; Vazquez Cano, Aradys; Reyes Rodriguez, Marlen de los

2009-01-01

The evaluation of a prototype of an automatic transmission scanning densitometer is presented. It contains a semiconductor diode laser as a light source, and is mainly oriented to the analysis of protein electrophoresis. It was developed on the Center for Technological Applications and Nuclear Development (CEADEN). Its technical specifications were established and certified by the National Institute of Researches on Metrology (INIMET), and also the equipment was submitted for assays to the Process Control Laboratory, that belongs to the 'Adalberto Pesant' Enterprise for Sera and Hemo derivatives Products, in Havana city, where it was employed to the partial quality control of products that are made there, achieving satisfactory results. (Author)

From smart city to smart destination. The case of three Canadian cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

François Bédard

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Several cities around the world are self-proclaimed "smart" by integrating, in varying degrees, new technologies in the different spheres of the city. Nevertheless, despite this effervescence around the smart city, the concept requires more conceptualization from the researchers. This is even more important when it comes time to distinguishing between smart city and smart destination. The relationship between these two concepts is blurred and the transition from the smart city to the smart destination is not automatic. This situation is explained by the fact that the intrinsic characteristics of their respective target populations, being the citizens and the tourists, are different. This article compares three Canadian cities in the province of Quebec with the aim of demonstrating that the realization of a smart destination project requires the adaptation of governance structure and the involvement of all the stakeholders and more particularly in tourism.

City Revenues and Expenses

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — City Revenues and Expenses from the Operating Budget from 2012 to Present, updated every night from the City's JD Edwards ledger.

Consequences of Urban Stability Conditions for Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulations of Urban Dispersion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lundquist, J K; Chan, S T

2005-11-30

production may be neglected entirely, and for one IOP, buoyancy production contributes approximately 25% of the total TKE at this location. For both nighttime releases, the contribution of buoyancy to the total TKE budget is always negligible though positive. Results from the simulations provide estimates of the average TKE values in the upwind, downtown, downtown shadow, and urban wake zones of the computational domain. These values suggest that building-induced turbulence can cause the average turbulence intensity in the urban area to increase by as much as much as seven times average 'upwind' values, explaining the minimal role of buoyant forcing in the downtown region. The downtown shadow exhibits an exponential decay in average TKE, while the distant downwind wake region approaches the average upwind values. For long-duration releases in downtown and downtown shadow areas, the assumption of neutral stability is valid because building-induced turbulence dominates the budget. However, further downwind in the urban wake region, which we find to be approximately 1500 m beyond the perimeter of downtown Oklahoma City, the levels of building-induced turbulence greatly subside, and therefore the assumption of neutral stability is less valid.

Quality of life declines in big and growing cities. Poverty in cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Harel, K

1997-01-01

The quality of life in developing countries during the first couple of decades after the Second World War was higher in cities than in small towns and villages. However, the relative advantage of city dwellers in developing countries has declined since the 1970s, with high-growth rate cities experiencing a more severe decline. Infant mortality levels in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa in the 1990s are as high in large cities as in the smallest towns and villages. In most developing regions, big city residents are increasingly disadvantaged, such that researchers and policymakers can no longer assume that the quality of life in urban areas is better than in rural areas. The urban transformation of the developing world is similar to the 19th century urbanization of now-developed countries, but today many more people are crowding into far bigger cities. Using survey information from 43 countries representing 63% of the developing world's urban population outside of China and India, Martin Brockerhoff of the Population Council and Ellen Brennan of the UN Population Division found that rapid population growth and big size have overwhelmed the capacity of cities to provide essential goods and services.

Discussion Club "Profitable Heritage"

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marina Tkacheva

2017-09-01

Full Text Available The authors and participants of the project and the expert community analyze the problems related to the realization of a big-scale concept of renovation of the historical center “Irkutsk Quarters”. They discuss preservation of wooden architecture of the city, changes in social functions of the territory, inclusion of the new facilities in the fabric of the area, as well as the problems of the territory’s tourist function and preservation of the identity of Irkutsk downtown.

Interoperability in Smart Cities - Urban IoT and designing new city services

OpenAIRE

Gabrielsen, Kristin Rovik

2017-01-01

Abstract: Within the scope of a Master Thesis I explored the communities and movements surrounding the concept of Smart City. By conducting multiple interviews and workshops I was able to highlight the lack of user-involvement in today s city planning. The research was based in Trondheim. I used this insight to create the concept for an emerging role, the Smart City Manager and created the fundament of a platform that helps bridging the gap between the citizens, and the smart city ini...

Heritage conservation for city marketing: The imaging of the historic city of Georgetown, Penang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sumarni Ismail ,

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The process of imaging for city marketing purposes has the implication on culture, conservation and heritage. City marketing, especially in the European context, has been examined in interdisciplinary literature with special focus on imaging for tourism. Little is reported about the imaging of those cities' ex-colonies in the East. The Historic City of Georgetown in Penang, dubbed 'the City of Living Culture', has been gearing her development towards living up to the image. This paper examines the imaging of the Historic City of Georgetown for heritage tourism and city marketing tool by the public agencies involved. A short introduction to city marketing, imaging and heritage tourism is offered due to sparse literature in the built environment literature and to serve as a foundation to the main discourse of this paper. The bulk of this paper discusses the conservation of heritage as image dimensions in the marketing of Georgetown. We submitted that Georgetown has successfully utilised and capitalised on its cultural diversity and tangible heritage based on its colonial legacy to promote the city as evidenced by its recent inscription into UNESCO's World Heritage Site list. Nonetheless, building and maintaining the synergy between the government, the private sector and the people is essential for the city's heritage tourism industry.

Papeleros urbanos vs aseo del centro de Santiago de Chile.Impacto de las variables formales de los papeleros urbanos existentes en los paseos peatonales Ahumada y Huérfanos. /Waste containers vs. cleaning in downtown Santiago, Chile.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muñoz Peralta, Osvaldo

2009-12-01

Full Text Available El diseño que presentan los papeleros urbanos de los paseos peatonales del centro de Santiago no facilita su uso adecuado, lo que contribuye a la suciedad de sus calles peatonales. Como elementos de mobiliario urbano en el espacio público, deberían tener un mejor diseño en orden a mejorar su función y facilitar su uso. /The urban trash cans design, on pedestrian walks in Santiago downtown, doesn't facilitate its appropriate use, what contributes to the dirt of its pedestrian streets. As part of urban furniture in public space, they should have a better design in order to improve their function and to facilitate their use.

Prevalence of Listeria Species in Ice Creams Sold in The Cities of Kahramanmaraş and Adana

OpenAIRE

AKMAN, Deniz; DURAN, Nizami; DIĞRAK, Metin

2004-01-01

In this study, the prevalence of Listeria spp. was investigated in the ice cream samples collected from the downtown stores of Kahramanmaras (28 samples) and Adana (30 samples). A total of 58 ice cream samples were analysed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) two-stage enrichment techniques. Growth of Listeria spp. was determined in 14 (24.1%) of the samples collected from Kahramanmaras and 10 (17.2%) samples from Adana. The results of the biochemical tests revealed that the bacterial g...

Eating Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg; Fisker, Anna Marie; Clausen, Katja Seerup

2016-01-01

This paper analyzed the development of a city based sustainable food strategy for the city of Aalborg. It’s based on 3 cases of food service: food for the elderly as operated by the Municipality, food the hospital patients as operated by the region and food for defense staff as operated...

EU Smart City Governance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmela Gargiulo

2013-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years European Commission has developed a set of documents for Members States tracing, directly or indirectly, recommendations for the transformation of the European city. The paper wants to outline which future EU draws for the city, through an integrated and contextual reading of addresses and strategies contained in the last documents, a future often suggested as Smart City. Although the three main documents (Cohesion Policy 2014-2020 of European Community, Digital Agenda for Europe and European Urban Agenda face the issue of the future development of European cities from different points of view, which are respectively cohesion social, ICT and urban dimension, each of them pays particular attention to urban and territorial dimension, identified by the name of Smart City. In other words, the paper aims at drawing the scenario of evolution of Smart Cities that can be delineated through the contextual reading of the three documents. To this end, the paper is divided into three parts: the first part briefly describes the general contents of the three European economic plan tools; the second part illustrates the scenarios for the future of the European city contained in each document; the third part seeks to trace the evolution of the Smart Cities issue developed by the set of the three instruments, in order to provide the framework of European Community for the near future of our cities. 

[Self-reported general health in older adults in Latin America and the Caribbean: usefulness of the indicator].

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Rebeca; Peláez, Martha; Palloni, Alberto

2005-01-01

To evaluate self-reported general health (SRGH) as a health indicator and to analyze its covariates in people 60 years old or older living in private homes in seven cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. This cross-sectional descriptive study was based on data from the Health, Well-Being, and Aging survey (Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento, or "SABE survey"), which was carried out in 1999 and 2000 in Bridgetown, Barbados; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; Montevideo, Uruguay; Santiago, Chile; and São Paulo, Brazil. The survey looked at the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of the participants, several health indicators (self-reported chronic diseases, depression, and cognitive features), the social and family support network, the use of health services, reported and observed functionality, the respondent's income, and the durable consumer goods in the household. In probit regression models, self-reported fair or poor health was used as the dependent variable. The marginal effect of each categorical explanatory variable was used to indicate the difference between the probability of reporting poor health by persons who did or did not have a given characteristic. In all the cities studied the self-reporting of "excellent" health was very low (6% or less). The results of the multivariate analysis of the relationships between SRGH and covariates showed: (1) the relative importance of several health indicators as covariates of SRGH, (2) the association between sociodemographic characteristics and SRGH, and (3) the differences or similarities found among the seven cities with respect to the relationships studied. The level of self-rated good health was highest in Buenos Aires and Montevideo (60%), followed by Bridgetown and São Paulo (around 50%) and Havana, Santiago, and Mexico City (between 30% and 40%). The respondents' evaluation of their memory was the factor that was most strongly related to SRGH, followed by satisfaction

LOCAL IDENTITY MEETING WITH CITY: CITTASLOW-SLOW CITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tugba Ustun Topal

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Cities are characterised by local identities, which have been shaped by natural and cultural values. Constituting elements of local identity are settlement pattern bearing the traces of past, local music, traditional taste, handicrafts and life story. Besides, there has been a fast pace of life owing to globalization, and globally standardized cities, where local identities are ignored, have been emerged in planning-design-implementation process. From this viewpoint, Cittaslow movement has become a major turning point for liveable and sustainable cities that emphasize the local character. In this context, in the study, it is aimed to raise awareness about Cittaslow which is an example of an urban model for sustainability. In line with this purpose, the importance of Cittaslow approach and the criteria that are needed to be met for being a member of the Association of Cittaslow have been revealed. In line with these criteria Cittaslow cities in Turkey were discussed comparatively in terms of their features were considered. Examples from our country have been evaluated together with the international Cittaslow examples. In addition, proposals have been made by developing strategies in planning- designing and implementation process for the Cittaslow approach.

City Placement: A New Element in the Strategy of Integrated Marketing Communication of Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Andrzej Szromnik

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Explanation of the essence and features of the “city placement” strategy, while observing the changes in “classic” forms of marketing communications used by cities and regions, including main pros and implementation procedures.Methodology: This paper is conceptual and relies on diagnosis and analysis of “city placement” strategy implementation in a chosen Polish city as well as on the author’s professional experiences. Analysis of scarce existing marketing literature, including the notion of “product placement,” allowed us to present model structures, variations, and rules that explain the role and pros of the “city placement” strategy in the promotion mix of places.Conclusions: This paper comprises not only a set of notions and models structuring the “city placement” phenomenon but also many operational concepts related to the implementation of this strategy, which makes this paper a valuable point in the discussion on innovative changes in the “promotion mix” of cities and regions.Originality: “city placement” is a novelty in promotion strategies of cities and regions. In the existing literaturę on place marketing, there are no in-depth conceptual works explaining the role, features, and forms of “city placement.” This paper is a new approach suggested by the author and is an attempt to explain the process.

Toxocara spp. eggs in public squares of Sorocaba, São Paulo State, Brazil Ovos de Toxocara spp. em praças públicas no município de Sorocaba, São Paulo, Brasil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Maria De Petrini da Silva COELHO

2001-08-01

Full Text Available The visceral larva migrans (VLM is a syndrome observed in human infection with helminth larval eggs such as the Toxocara spp. that usually infects dogs and cats. Among the risk factors involved in the occurrence of VLM, particularly important is the size of these animal populations. Sorocaba is a city with a dog population twice as large as that recommended by the World Health Organization. This fact has led to a survey of the presence of Toxocara spp. eggs in public square soils of this city. Thirty squares were selected, fifteen located in the outskirts of the city and fifteen downtown. Soil samples were collected from five distinct sites in the same area. The material was homogenized and drained and 100 g was mixed with a saturated solution of magnesium sulfate and 5% potassium iodine. The floating material was analyzed under the light microscope. Toxocara spp. eggs were found in 16 squares, nine of which were located in the outskirts of the city and seven downtown. It was concluded that Sorocaba squares present a high rate of contamination with Toxocara spp. eggs. The squares in the outskirts of the city presented a higher occurrence of these eggs in comparison with those downtown, although the difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05.A larva migrans visceral - LMV - é uma síndrome causada pela infecção humana por ovos larvados de helmintos como o Toxocara spp., que usualmente compromete o cão e o gato. Dentre os fatores de risco para a ocorrência da LMV, destaca-se o tamanho da população desses animais. Sorocaba é uma cidade com uma população canina duas vezes superior à recomendada pela Organização Mundial de Saúde. Este fato levou à pesquisa da presença de ovos de Toxocara spp. no solo de áreas públicas nessa cidade. Foram escolhidas 30 praças, sendo 15 de regiões periféricas e 15 centrais. Coletaram-se amostras de solo de 5 locais distintos da mesma área. O material foi homogeneizado, tamisado e, em

Impacts of Detailed Land-Use Types and Urban Heat in an Urban Canopy Model on Local Meteorology and Ozone Levels for Air Quality Modeling in a Coastal City, Korea

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoon-Hee Kang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available An urban canopy model (UCM, with detailed urban land-use and anthropogenic heat information, is required to reproduce and understand the urbanization process and its impact on regional climate and urban air quality. This study investigates the UCM impact on simulated meteorology and surface ozone in the coastal city of Busan using the WRF-SMOKE-CMAQ model coupled with (UCM case, and without the UCM (NOUCM case. The UCM and NOUCM case results suggest that UCM case generally produces warmer temperatures and deeper planetary boundary layer (PBL heights, especially in the early morning and night time, than the NOUCM case. Owing to urban heating and enhanced turbulent mixing incorporation in the center of the city, the sea breeze in the UCM case tends to penetrate faster and more strongly than in the NOUCM case. After sea breeze arrival at the urban center, the urban heat island effect prevents its penetration further inland. In the UCM case in the late afternoon, local meteorological changes induce remarkable increases in simulated O3 concentrations over the downwind (up to 17.1 ppb and downtown (up to 10.6 ppb areas. This is probably due to an increase in temperature in the urban areas and the wind convergence zone movement due to the sea breeze interaction and offshore flows. The increase in O3 concentration in the late afternoon results in the model bias reduction under previously underestimated O3 conditions due to high NOx emissions. The simulated O3 concentrations in the UCM case are more similar to the observed O3 concentrations compared to those of the NOUCM case.

Energy sustainable cities. From eco villages, eco districts towards zero carbon cities

Science.gov (United States)

Zaręba, Anna; Krzemińska, Alicja; Łach, Janusz

2017-11-01

Minimizing energy consumption is the effect of sustainable design technics as among many others: designing buildings with solar access and natural ventilation, using climate responsive design materials and effective insulation. Contemporary examples of zero-carbon cities: Masdar City, United Arab Emirates and Dongtan, China, confirm technical feasibility of renewable energy by implementation of solar PV and wind technologies. The ecological city - medium or high density urban settlement separated by greenspace causes the smallest possible ecological footprint on the surrounding countryside through efficient use of land and its resources, recycling used materials and converting waste to energy. This paper investigates the concept of energy sustainable cities, examines, how urban settlements might affect building energy design in eco-villages, eco-districts (e.g. Vauban, Freiburg in Germany, Bo01 Malmo in Sweden), and discuss the strategies for achieving Zero Emission Cities principles in densely populated areas. It is focused on low energy architectural design solutions which could be incorporated into urban settlements to create ecological villages, districts and cities, designed with consideration of environmental impact, required minimal inputs of energy, water, food, waste and pollution.

Big data, smart cities and city planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Batty, Michael

2013-11-01

I define big data with respect to its size but pay particular attention to the fact that the data I am referring to is urban data, that is, data for cities that are invariably tagged to space and time. I argue that this sort of data are largely being streamed from sensors, and this represents a sea change in the kinds of data that we have about what happens where and when in cities. I describe how the growth of big data is shifting the emphasis from longer term strategic planning to short-term thinking about how cities function and can be managed, although with the possibility that over much longer periods of time, this kind of big data will become a source for information about every time horizon. By way of conclusion, I illustrate the need for new theory and analysis with respect to 6 months of smart travel card data of individual trips on Greater London's public transport systems.

The Emergence of City Logistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelgaard, Britta

2015-01-01

is therefore to increase understanding of how city logistics emerge, and secondarily, to investigate whether such processes can be managed at all. Design/methodology/approach: – A paradigm shift in urban planning creates new ways of involving stakeholders in new sustainability measures such as city logistics...... dialectic forces were at play. City logistics schemes are still in an innovation phase. The biggest challenge in managing a process toward city logistics is to convince the many public and private stakeholders of their mutual interest and goals. Research limitations/implications: – Urban goods transport...... city logistics projects may fail. Thereby, cities become more environmentally and socially sustainable. Originality/value: – Insights into a city logistics project from a change management perspective has not previously been reported in literature....

Smart mobility in smart cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Baucells, Aleta N.

2016-07-01

Cities are currently undergoing a transformation into the Smart concept, like Smartphones or SmartTV. Many initiatives are being developed in the framework of the Smart Cities projects, however, there is a lack of consistent indicators and methodologies to assess, finance, prioritize and implement this kind of projects. Smart Cities projects are classified according to six axes: Government, Mobility, Environment, Economy, People and Living. (Giffinger, 2007). The main objective of this research is to develop an evaluation model in relation to the mobility concept as one of the six axes of the Smart City classification and apply it to the Spanish cities. The evaluation was carried out in the 62 cities that made up in September 2015 the Spanish Network of Smart Cities (RECI- Red Española de Ciudades Inteligentes). This research is part of a larger project about Smart Cities’ evaluation (+CITIES), the project evaluates RECI’s cities in all the axes. The analysis was carried out taking into account sociodemographic indicators such as the size of the city or the municipal budget per inhabitant. The mobility’s evaluation in those cities has been focused in: sustainability mobility urban plans and measures to reduce the number of vehicles. The 62 cities from the RECI have been evaluated according to their degree of progress in several Smart Cities’ initiatives related to smart mobility. The applied methodology has been specifically made for this project. The grading scale has different ranks depending on the deployment level of smart cities’ initiatives. (Author)

Securing water for the cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Satterthwaite, D

1993-01-01

Many cities in developing countries have grown so much that they can no longer provide adequate, sustainable water. Over pumping in Dakar and Mexico City has forced those cities to obtain water from ever more distant sources. In Dakar, the result has been saltwater intrusion. Overpumping has caused Mexico City to sink, in some areas by as much as 9 m, resulting in serious damage to buildings and sewage and drainage pipes. Other cities facing similar water problems are coastal cities in Peru (e.g., Lima), La Rioja and Catamarca in Argentina, cities in Northern Mexico, and cities in dry areas of Africa. For some cities, the problem is not so much ever more distant water supplies but insufficient funds to expand supplies. Bangkok and Jakarta both face saltwater intrusion into their overdrawn aquifers. Even through agriculture is the dominant user of water in most countries, demand concentrated in a small area exhausts local and regional sources and pollutes rivers, lakes, and coasts with untreated human and industrial waste. Most cities in Africa and Asia do not have a sewerage system. Further, most cities do not have the drains to deal with storm water and external floodwater, causing frequent, seasonal flooding. The resulting stagnant water provides breeding grounds for insect vectors of diseases (e.g., malaria). The problems in most cities are a result of poor management, not lack of water. Reducing leaks in existing piped distribution systems from the usual 60% loss of water to leaks to 12% would increase the available water 2-fold. Another way to address water shortages would be commercial, industrial, and recreational use of minimally treated waste water, such as is the case in Madras and Mexico City. Political solutions are needed to resolve inadequate water supply and waste management.

From city marketing to city branding : An interdisciplinary analysis with reference to Amsterdam, Budapest and Athens

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kavaratzis, M.

2008-01-01

This thesis deals with the theory and practice of city marketing. It describes the transition from city marketing to city branding by identifying the roots of city marketing in general marketing theory, by adapting the concept of corporate-level marketing for the needs of cities and by analysing in

City-Level Energy Decision Making. Data Use in Energy Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation in U.S. Cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aznar, Alexandra [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Day, Megan [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Doris, Elizabeth [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mathur, Shivani [National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Donohoo-Vallett, Paul [U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

2015-07-08

The Cities-LEAP technical report, City-Level Energy Decision Making: Data Use in Energy Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation in U.S. Cities, explores how a sample of cities incorporates data into making energy-related decisions. This report provides the foundation for forthcoming components of the Cities-LEAP project that will help cities improve energy decision making by mapping specific city energy or climate policies and actions to measurable impacts and results.

Smart cities of the future

Science.gov (United States)

Batty, M.; Axhausen, K. W.; Giannotti, F.; Pozdnoukhov, A.; Bazzani, A.; Wachowicz, M.; Ouzounis, G.; Portugali, Y.

2012-11-01

Here we sketch the rudiments of what constitutes a smart city which we define as a city in which ICT is merged with traditional infrastructures, coordinated and integrated using new digital technologies. We first sketch our vision defining seven goals which concern: developing a new understanding of urban problems; effective and feasible ways to coordinate urban technologies; models and methods for using urban data across spatial and temporal scales; developing new technologies for communication and dissemination; developing new forms of urban governance and organisation; defining critical problems relating to cities, transport, and energy; and identifying risk, uncertainty, and hazards in the smart city. To this, we add six research challenges: to relate the infrastructure of smart cities to their operational functioning and planning through management, control and optimisation; to explore the notion of the city as a laboratory for innovation; to provide portfolios of urban simulation which inform future designs; to develop technologies that ensure equity, fairness and realise a better quality of city life; to develop technologies that ensure informed participation and create shared knowledge for democratic city governance; and to ensure greater and more effective mobility and access to opportunities for urban populations. We begin by defining the state of the art, explaining the science of smart cities. We define six scenarios based on new cities badging themselves as smart, older cities regenerating themselves as smart, the development of science parks, tech cities, and technopoles focused on high technologies, the development of urban services using contemporary ICT, the use of ICT to develop new urban intelligence functions, and the development of online and mobile forms of participation. Seven project areas are then proposed: Integrated Databases for the Smart City, Sensing, Networking and the Impact of New Social Media, Modelling Network Performance

Strategic Planning Approaches for Creating Resilient Cities: A Case Study on Hangzhou City

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Liu; Dan; Hua; Chen

2015-01-01

In the twenty-first century, the population in China will be increasingly urbanized – focusing the sustainability challenge on cities and raising new challenges to address the urban resilience capacity. During the past two decades, China’s urban policies are state institution-directed, growth-oriented, and land-based, imposing unprecedented challenges on sustainability. Strengthening the capacity of cities to manage resilience appears to be a key factor for cities to effectively pursue sustainable development. The aim of this paper is to explore strategic planning approaches for creating resilient cities in China through a study on Hangzhou City in an integrated framework. Firstly, the paper gives a systematic insight into the structure of Hangzhou City. Secondly, the development trajectory of the urban system is analyzed to understand how the past has shaped the present and to get a broader perspective on its evolution. Thirdly, scenario planning is conducted to explore the adaptive capacity of Hangzhou City under different future conditions. At last, having analyzed the past, present, and future of the urban system, the paper discusses the strategies for resilient planning, which helps to identify factors and trends that might enhance or inhabit the adaptability.

Influence of exposure differences on city-to-city heterogeneity in PM2.5-mortality associations in US cities

Science.gov (United States)

Multi-city population-based epidemiological studies have observed heterogeneity between city-specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-mortality effect estimates. These studies typically use ambient monitoring data as a surrogate for exposure leading to potential exposure misclass...

SmartCityWare

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mohamed, Nader; Al-Jaroodi, Jameela; Jawhar, Imad

2017-01-01

Smart cities are becoming a reality. Various aspects of modern cities are being automated and integrated with information and communication technologies to achieve higher functionality, optimized resources utilization, and management, and improved quality of life for the residents. Smart cities...... rely heavily on utilizing various software, hardware, and communication technologies to improve the operations in areas, such as healthcare, transportation, energy, education, logistics, and many others, while reducing costs and resources consumption. One of the promising technologies to support...... technology is Fog Computing, which extends the traditional Cloud Computing paradigm to the edge of the network to enable localized and real-time support for operating-enhanced smart city services. However, proper integration and efficient utilization of CoT and Fog Computing is not an easy task. This paper...

Cities of tomorrow: low energy cities with a high quality of life for all

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Magnin, Gerard

2010-11-01

Just as hard as describing the city of today, describing the city of tomorrow represents a real challenge. Energy Cities is active at both local and European levels, therefore we will only address the European-type cities in our reflection. Central to the vision of Energy Cities is of course the (sustainable and livable) energy issue. Therefore, our starting point is the consideration of energy issue as an essential component of urban and regional development as well as an excellent scanner of how the city and its periphery/region are organised. In 2050, cities will not look that much different than those of the beginning of the century. However, a lot of invisible radical changes will have occurred. These changes are already underway in an increasing number of cities, especially some which are committed with the Covenant of Mayors. These are 'weak signals' that pave the way for tomorrow. This paper aims at understanding these logics and at showing up paths of improvement in the domains of energy supply, urban form, buildings, mobility, public space, economy, consumption, governance, local authorities, multilevel governance and Territorial cohesion, quality of Life, peace and security

The Weather in Richmond

OpenAIRE

Harless, William Edwin

2014-01-01

ABSTRACT: The Weather in Richmond is a short documentary about the Oilers, the football team at Richmond High School in downtown Richmond, California, as they struggle in 2012 with the legacy of winning no games, with the exception of a forfeit, in two years. The video documents the city of Richmond’s poverty and violence, but it also is an account of the city’s cultural diversity, of the city’s industrial history and of the hopes of some of the people who grow up there. The...

Smart Sustainable Cities

International Development Research Centre (IDRC) Digital Library (Canada)

important part of city planning is also learning from other cities, e.g., through the bench-learning, defining ..... Integrated semantics service platform ...... order to provide the best services to customers, their different needs and preferences ...

Futures of cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bogen dokumenterer resultater fra den internationale kongres Futures of Cities arrangeret af IFHP International Federation of Housing and Planning, Realdania, Kunstakademiets Arkitektskole og City of Copenhagen. Kongressen blev afholdt i september 2007 i Øksnehallen og på Kunstakademiets...... Arkitektskole. Bogen  har 3 dele. Principles: Copenhagen Agenda for Sustainable Living, 10 principper udviklet af Ugebrevet Mandag Morgen illustreret af arkitektstuderende. Congress: Futures of Cities, Emerging Urbanisms- Emerging Practices, oplæg fra unge tegnestuer til temaet fremlagt på Student Congress...

Tuberculosis en la Ciudad de la Habana, 1995-1999 Tuberculosis in Havana City, 1995-1999

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José I Sevy Court

2003-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: La tuberculosis es un importante problema mundial de salud que recibe una atención priorizada del Sistema de Salud Cubano. Lo objetivo del trabajo es describir el comportamiento de los indicadores del Programa de Control de Tuberculosis cubano. MÉTODOS: A partir de una revisión de los documentos de la vigilancia de la tuberculosis en los registros del Centro Provincial de Higiene y Epidemiología se expone la infraestructura sanitaria, las estrategias del Programa de Control en la ciudad, se describen las tasas de incidencia, indicadores de localización, diagnóstico y manejo de casos. RESULTADOS: Se hallaron 8 sintomáticos respiratorios por cada mil consultantes de medicina general; la tasa de incidencia de tunerculosis en todas sus formas descendió de 16,4 (1995 a 12,0x105 habitantes (1999; la tuberculosis pulmonar descendió de 15,1 a 10,45 habitantes mientras la tuberculosis extrapulmonar ascendió de 1,3 a 1,6 x 105 habitantes, en igual período. Del total de los casos nuevos, el 40-50% fueron identificados en los policlínicos, el 67% fueron diagnosticados por baciloscopías, el 15,2% por cultivos, el 13.8% sólo por evidencias clínicas y radiológicas; el 0,9% y el 1,5%, respectivamente, fueron diagnosticados por biopsia o hallazgos de necropsia. Los grupos de 15-64 años incrementaron su incidencia en 1996-1997 y disminuyeron en 1998-1999; los casos >64 años de edad disminuyeron progresivamente de 1995 a 1999; en general, la tasa de incidencia de casos disminuyó. La demora promedio entre primeros síntomas y diagnóstico mejoró de 42 días en 1995 a 28,6 en 1999. CONCLUSIONES: La reversión de la tendencia de la notificación de casos nuevos parece haberse detenido en 1996. La situación de los indicadores de tuberculosis revelan cambios satisfactorios en el período analizado.OBJECTIVE: Tuberculosis is a worldwide health problem getting a prioritized attention by the Cuban National Health System. To describe the main indicators of the Cuban Tuberculosis Control Program. METHODS: Based on surveillance data from the Provincial Center of Hygiene and Epidemiology, the health care network and strategies of the tuberculosis control program were reviewed; incidence rates, case finding indicators, diagnosis and case management were described. RESULTS: Eight subjects with respiratory symptoms were found per 1,000 attending general medical care services. The incidence rates of all tuberculosis types declined from 16.4 in 1995 to 12.0 x 10(5 people in 1999. Pulmonary tuberculosis incidence rate was reduced from 15.1 in1995 to 10.4 x 10(5 in 1999, whereas extrapulmonary tuberculosis had an increment from 1.3 to 1.6 x 10(5 in the same period. Of all new cases, 40-50 % were diagnosed at multispecialty clinics, 67.6% were diagnosed by positive smears, 15.2 % by positive cultures, 13.8 % by clinical and X-rays evidences only; and 0.9 % and 1.5 % were respectively diagnosed by biopsy and necropsy. There was an increase in the incidence rate in the age group 15-64 years in 1996 and 1997 but it declined again in 1998 and 1999. The age group 64 years and over showed a rate reduction from 1995 to 1999. In general, incidence rates diminished in the overall period. The average delay between onset of symptoms and diagnosis improved from 42 days in 1995 to 28.6 days in 1999. CONCLUSIONS: There seems to be a halt in reporting trends of new cases in 1996. Tuberculosis indicators reveal satisfactory changes in the study period.

Smart City project

KAUST Repository

Al Harbi, Ayman

2018-01-01

A 'smart city' is an urban region that is highly advanced in terms of overall infrastructure, sustainable real estate, communications and market viability. It is a city where information technology is the principal infrastructure and the basis

The membranotropic activity of N-terminal peptides from the pore ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The membranotropic activity of N-terminal peptides from the pore-forming proteins sticholysin I and II is modulated by hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions ... Center for Protein Studies, Biology Faculty, University of Havana, Havana, Cuba; Department of Applied Physics, Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São ...

Lost Cities, Recovered Cities: Technology in the Service of the Past

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Antonio Fernández Ruiz

2013-11-01

Full Text Available Cities are living entities that change almost daily but its people are aware of it. They forget the state before the great changes and people become accustomed to the new urban image. In a hundred years a city can completely change its appearance and even its essence. This is the case of Granada, where its historic center was heavily modified during the nineteenth century. These changes have been studied by a project analyzing and virtually rebuilding the historic city. The work ranges from the Rey Chico, below the Alhambra palace, to Puerta Real, restoring the image of the city around 1831, based on the engravings and descriptions of romantic travelers, on the previous alignments and transformations in old pictures.

Urban traffic information system prototype: Use for Rome downtown area traffic control; 200 S.I.T.U. prototipo del sistema informativo per il traffico urbano: La sua applicazione allo studio della regolamentazione dell`accesso ai centri storici

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Lombardi, L; Mattucci, A; Frondaroli, A

1993-12-31

This paper describes the characteristics, in terms of type of information and systems approaches utilized, of a prototype urban traffic simulator developed by ENEA (the Italian Agency for New Technology, Energy and the Environment). With reference to the development of the functional and architectural elements of this simulator, a preliminary review is made of problematics relevant to transportation system design, urban planning, and traffic control. The data base incorporated by the simulator is described and a comparison is made of different traffic modelling codes and man-machine interface methods. The paper concludes with an assessment of the results obtained with the first experimental application of the simulator in the control of the flow of traffic in Rome`s heavily congested downtown area.

[WHO Healthy City Initiative in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizawa, Kazuko

2013-01-01

City environmental conditions are associated with health outcomes in people living there. World Health Organization (WHO) initiated Healthy City in 1986. To promote the networking, Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) was launched in 2003 with local offices including AFHC Japan. As of 2010, 26 cities are members of AFHC Japan. A questionnaire was sent to those member cities. It includes questions on why they became an AFHC member, which section is in charge of the initiatives, what factors are important for promotion, and others. Out of the 26 cities, 13 cities returned the completed questionnaire. As for factors important for promoting the initiatives, 10 (77%) out of the 13 cities answered "consciousness of residents", while five (38%) chose "budget". This result suggests that community participation is a more important factor than budget for promoting and succeeding in the initiatives. Aging is a problem in any of the member cities, and six cities out the 13 falls under the category of superaged society, which is defined as a society with the proportion of aged people cities (85%) agreed that bicycles are an alternative means of transportation to cars; however, infrastructure for ensuring safety needs further improvement. In the promotion of Healthy City, networking among the member cities in Japan and worldwide should be promoted. Community participation with empowerment from the planning stage should lead to sustainable initiatives. The function of AFHC in collaboration among the members should be strengthened to cope with the rapidly changing city environment.

Schizophrenia and city life.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, G; David, A; Andréasson, S; Allebeck, P

1992-07-18

Prevalence of schizophrenia and rates of first admission to hospital for this disorder are higher in most modern industrialised cities, and in urban compared with rural areas. The "geographical drift" hypothesis (ie, most schizophrenics tend to drift into city areas because of their illness or its prodrome) has remained largely unchallenged. We have investigated the association between place of upbringing and the incidence of schizophrenia with data from a cohort of 49,191 male Swedish conscripts linked to the Swedish National Register of Psychiatric Care. The incidence of schizophrenia was 1.65 times higher (95% confidence interval 1.19-2.28) among men brought up in cities than in those who had had a rural upbringing. The association persisted despite adjustment for other factors associated with city life such as cannabis use, parental divorce, and family history of psychiatric disorder. This finding cannot be explained by the widely held notion that people with schizophrenia drift into cities at the beginning of their illness. We conclude that undetermined environmental factors found in cities increase the risk of schizophrenia.

75 FR 18778 - Safety Zone; Ocean City Air Show 2010, Atlantic Ocean, Ocean City, MD

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-13

...-AA00 Safety Zone; Ocean City Air Show 2010, Atlantic Ocean, Ocean City, MD AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... zone on the Atlantic Ocean in the vicinity of Ocean City, Maryland to support the Ocean City Air Show. This action is intended to restrict vessel traffic movement on the Atlantic Ocean to protect mariners...

Monitoring of organic micropollutants in Ghana by combination of pellet watch with sediment analysis: e-waste as a source of PCBs.

Science.gov (United States)

Hosoda, Junki; Ofosu-Anim, John; Sabi, Edward Benjamin; Akita, Lailah Gifty; Onwona-Agyeman, Siaw; Yamashita, Rei; Takada, Hideshige

2014-09-15

Plastic resin pellets collected at 11 beaches covering the whole Ghanaian coastline were analyzed for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCB concentrations (∑13 congeners) were higher in Accra, capital city, and Tema (39-69 ng/g-pellets) than those in rural coastal towns (1-15 ng/g-pellets) which are close to global background, indicating local inputs of PCBs. River sediments were also analyzed for PCBs together with molecular markers. Sedimentary PCBs concentrations were highest at a site (AR02) downstream of an electronic waste (e-waste) scrapyard. At the site (AR02), concentration of linear alkylbenzenes (LABs), a marker of municipal wastewater, was lower than another site (AR03) which is located at the downstream of downtown Accra. This result suggests that PCBs are introduced more to the river from the e-waste site than from activities in downtown Accra. PAHs concentrations were relatively higher in urban areas with strong petrogenic signature. Abundance of triphenylbenzenes suggested plastic combustion near e-waste scrapyard. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Magical Landscapes and Designed Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Raahauge, Kirsten Marie

2008-01-01

with “something special,” a feel-good, (almost spiritual) healing power (just moments away from the bustling city). In Melanesia, such a spiritual force goes by the name of “mana”. Århus’ mana landscapes are only invested with this huge, floating quality because they are near the city. Furthermore, they are seen...... from the point of view of the city, where order, design, planning and commerce are important cityscape qualities. The article deals with the way in which these two parts of the city, landscape and brandscape are complementary parts of the city-web. Analytical points made by Mauss, Lévi......-Strauss and Greimas are discussed in connection with the empirical setting of the city of Århus...

From the Garden City to the Smart City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stephan Hügel

2017-08-01

Full Text Available It has been a century since the first Garden Cities at Welwyn and Letchworth were founded and, in the eyes of many, we have entered the age of the Smart City. This commentary briefly reflects upon the origins of Ebenezer Howard’s vision in the slums of overcrowded, filthy London and the fire-traps of early 20th century Chicago before outlining some of the main contributing factors to its ultimate failure as an approach: the lack of a robust theory underpinning his ideas, a finance model which was unacceptable to the banks—leading to a compromise which robbed the more idealistic participants of any real power over their schemes—and finally, a dilution of Howard’s vision by architects who were more focused on population density than on social reform. A parallel is then drawn between the weaknesses which afflicted the Garden City vision, and those which afflict current Smart City visions, a loose agglomeration of ahistorical techno-utopian imaginaries, whose aims almost invariably include optimising various measures of efficiency using large-scale deployments of networked sensors and cameras, linked to monolithic control rooms from which our shared urban existence is overseen. The evolution (or perhaps more accurately: alteration of these concepts in response to criticism is then detailed, before some of the less well-known ideas which are now emerging are briefly discussed.

Ma quanto è brutta questa "Smart City"! / But how bad this "Smart City"!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Umberto Cao

2015-07-01

Full Text Available La Smart City è una macchina, una sorta di città-computer nella quale l'hardware è costituito dagli edifici e dalle infrastrutture e il software dalla gestione digitale integrata delle comunicazioni immateriali. Insomma una città efficiente nel senso pieno della parola. Il problema si pone quando queste caratteristiche vengono considerate sufficienti a restituire qualità alla città. Una qualità urbana che discende meccanicamente dalla “efficienza” farebbe pensare più alla distopia della Metropolis di Fritz Lang che alla utopia della Città nuova di Sant'Elia. / The Smart City is a machine, a sort of city-computer, where the hardware is made by buildings and infrastructures and the software by integrated digital networks. So an efficient city in absolute sense. The problem is when these goals and these procedures are considered able to generate an architectural form, or when considered sufficient to return quality to the city. An urban quality that derives from "efficiency" makes think more about dystopia of Fritz Lang's Metropolis that utopia of the New City of Sant'Elia.

Factores asociados al uso de DIU en mujeres de 35 a 49 años en un policlínico de Ciudad de La Habana Factors associated with the use of IUD in women aged 35-49 in a polyclinic of Havana City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrique Jesús Perdomo Estrada

2004-08-01

among 375 women from "Moncada" Polyclinic, in Havana City. The analysis included non-conditioned logistical regression to determine the association among the sociodemographic, biological, reproductive and educative, or information variables and the use of IUDs. The measure of association used was the ratio of momios at a confidence interval of 95 %. As a result, it was observed that the IUD was used by 43.3 % of women using contraceptives; of them, 61.5 % had one or no child. The probability of use of the IUD was higher in women aged 35-39 (RM=286, CI: 95 % = 1.43 - 5.75 and 40-44 (RM = 2.42, CI: 95 % = 1.13 - 5.45 than in females aged 45-49. The use of the IUD was also greater in women having less than 2 children (RM = 3.33, CI: 95 % = 1.94 - 5.36, and it was even higher if they were informed (RM = 2.42, CI: 95 % = 2.27 - 12.03 or if they have received medical counselling (RM = 2.35, CI: 95 % = 1.16 -4.78. Other variables were associated with the use of IUDs, but only parity and the indication of the method by the physician maintained their significance in the multivariate analysis. It was concluded that the medical guidance is a variable that influences positively on the studied women aged 35-49 at the time of deciding whether to use the IUD, much more if parity is considered "satisfied" or "concluded".

Towards what kind of city?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mario Coletta

2013-02-01

Full Text Available The virtual city exists in “time” whereas the real city exists in “space”. The first one is an expression of our imagination, the second one of our ability to create. Time has articulated the images of cities as artisan philosophers, historians, artists, dreamers and even poets have given it to us. Space has generated cities which have been worked upon by geographers, geologists, surveyors, and finally urban planners. Space and time however live together in both cities, even if with alternating states of subordination. The culture of thinking, of decision making and of working is the unifying center of both the cities; it is the generating element both of the crises and the prosperity of the cities and it works towards an overcoming of the first and for the pursuit of the second (prosperity using the experience of the past for the making of a better future.

Compensatory lengthening in the Spanish of Havana, Cuba: Acoustic analyses of word-internal, post-nuclear /l/ and /r/

Science.gov (United States)

Carlson, Kristin M.

Given the geographic, demographic, and historical importance of Cuba vis-a-vis the dissemination of language and culture throughout the Hispanic Caribbean, one would naturally anticipate a larger corpus of scientifically-noteworthy linguistic publications on Cuban Spanish, which is far from the actual case. Moreover, the gemination of an onset positionally subsequent to the deletion of a syllable-final liquid (generally termed liquid gemination in the literature) has been repeatedly claimed yet remarkably unsubstantiated as a pervasive characteristic of Cuban Spanish, particularly of the western dialect region (cf. Alfaraz (2000, 2007, 2008), Casanellas and Alamo (1985), Choy Lopez (1985, 1988, 1989), Costa Sanchez (1987), Darias Concepcion (2001, 2005), Dohotaru (2002, 2007), Figueroa Esteva and Dohotaru (1994), Garcia Perez (2006), Garcia Riveron (1991), Haden and Matluck (1973, 1974, 1977), Isbǎsescu (1965, 1968), Lamb (1968), Levina (1970), Montero Bernal (1990, 2002, 2007a, b), Ringer Uber (1986), Ruiz Hernandez (1978), Sosa (1974), Terrell (1976), Trista and Valdes (1978), Valdes Acosta (1980), and Vera Riveron (2000)). As a result, in the interest of supplementing all antecedent work concerning the allophony of final liquids as well as affording a more descriptively-precise account of the allophony of word-internal, post-nuclear /l/ and /[Special character omitted]/ in Cuban Spanish in addition to expressly addressing the need for empirical data-collection and analysis processes, the present investigation was specifically designed and implemented to acoustically investigate the phenomenon of gemination as it is purported to occur in the Spanish of the region of Havana, Cuba: more specifically, (1) to acoustically examine the qualitative and quantitative patternings of post-nuclear /l/ and /[Special character omitted]/ within the word; and (2) to statistically evaluate the relationship between gemination and eight independent variables: gender, age group

Low-Carbon City Policy Databook: 72 Policy Recommendations for Chinese Cities from the Benchmarking and Energy Savings Tool for Low Carbon Cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, Lynn [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Zhou, Nan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Fridley, David [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Ohshita, Stephanie [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Khanna, Nina [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Lu, Hongyou [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Hong, Lixuan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; He, Gang [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Romankiewicz, John [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States). Energy Technologies Area. Energy Analysis and Environmental Impacts Division. China Energy Group; Min, Hu [Energy Foundation China, Beijing (China)

2016-07-01

This report is designed to help city authorities evaluate and prioritize more than 70 different policy strategies that can reduce their city’s energy use and carbon-based greenhouse gas emissions of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄). Local government officials, researchers, and planners can utilize the report to identify policies most relevant to local circumstances and to develop a low carbon city action plan that can be implemented in phases, over a multi-year timeframe. The policies cover nine city sectors: industry, public and commercial buildings, residential buildings, transportation, power and heat, street lighting, water & wastewater, solid waste, and urban green space. See Table 1 for a listing of the policies. Recognizing the prominence of urban industry in the energy and carbon inventories of Chinese cities, this report includes low carbon city policies for the industrial sector. The policies gathered here have proven effective in multiple locations around the world and have the potential to achieve future energy and carbon savings in Chinese cities.

Cuba's Urban Landscape Needs a Second Round of Innovation for Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Peña, Jorge

2015-07-01

Cuba's economy spiraled downward in the 1990s, reeling from the collapse of European socialism and a tightened US embargo. To mitigate the crash's drastic effects, measures were adopted that transformed our urban landscape, especially in large cities such as Havana, paradoxically linking the period to nascent health-promoting options. One of the most important was the introduction of bicycle lanes on city streets, paths daily ridden by people on the over one million bicycles imported to offset the nearly nonexistent public transport caused by fuel shortages. Second, urban gardens began to sprout up, involving urban dwellers in production of their own food, particularly vegetables. Without minimizing the impact of the crisis, these two seemingly disparate phenomena meant people were getting more exercise, consuming fewer fats and carbohydrates and more fresh vegetables. People were even breathing fresher air, with fewer CO2-belching trucks, old cars and buses on the streets and less diesel used to transport produce in from afar.

2nd Latin American Workshop on Magnetism, Magnetic Materials, and Their Applications

CERN Document Server

Sanchez, J

1994-01-01

During August 24-27, 1993, approximately 60 scientists from the Americas, Europe and Japan, gathered in the city of Guanajuato, in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, at the II Latin American Workshop on Magnetism, Magnetic Materials and their Applications. The group of scientists converging into the beautiful city of Guanajuato had come from Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, several places in Mexico, U. S. A. , Japan, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Denmark. The event attested to the success of the previous Workshop on Magnetism, Magnetic Materials and their Applications, held in Havana, Cuba, in 1991, as well as to the interest, level of activity and quality of the work being carried out in Latin America in the area of magnetism and magnetic materials. Equally important to everyone present was the fact that we had come to honor a friend, Professor L. M. Falicov, on his sixtieth birthday. The choice of a Latin American Workshop on magnetism as a Festschrift for Leo Falicov was,...

Ecological approach of macrolide-lincosamides-streptogramin producing actinomyces from Cuban soils.

Science.gov (United States)

González, I; Niebla, A; Lemus, M; González, L; Iznaga, I O; Pérez, M E; Vallin, C

1999-09-01

We report in this study the frequency of Streptomyces strains to produce macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin (MLS) antibiotics isolated from Cuban soils. The screening assay is based on the induction of MLS-resistance phenotype in a clinical isolated strain of Staphylococcus aureus S-18. Our results suggest that of 800 Streptomyces strains isolated from different soil samples, 6% were positives in the screening test used. The ferralitic red soil from Pinar del Río (north) provided the major percentage (3.6%) of MLS producing strains. The other soil samples tested belonging to Guira de Melena and Bauta in Havana, Matanzas City, Topes De Collantes (Villa Clara), and Soroa Mountains (Pinar del Rio) hill reached very low percentages.

Energy-Smart Cities-DK

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fertner, Christian; Groth, Niels Boje

In this report we present some overall results and the methodology behind the Energy-Smart Cities-DK model, a benchmark of the energy situation of Danish municipalities. The analysis was conducted by researchers at the University of Copenhagen, based on work by researchers at the Vienna University...... in exploring the operationalization of the smart city, a term which is widely used in current city development strategies. There are various definitions for that concept – we think the most important characteristic of a smart city is that it can activate and use the resources and capital available in a most...... efficient way – also in the long run, that means in a sustainable way.A key issue for smart city development is energy, mainly related to two future urban challenges: Climate change and resource scarcity (Droege, 2011; European Commission, 2010). At this background, the University of Copenhagen, Department...

Expanding cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller-Jensen, Lasse

A number of cities in Africa experience very rapid spatial growth without the benefit of a systematic process of planning and implementation of planning decisions. This process has challenged the road and transport system, created high levels of congestion, and hampered mobility and accessibility...... to both central and new peripheral areas. This paper reports on studies carried out in Accra and Dar es Salaam to address and link 1) mobility practices of residents, 2) local strategies for ‘post-settlement’ network extension, and 3) the city-wide performance of the transport system. The studies draw...... in advance. However, such solutions are often impeded by costly and cumbersome land-acquisition processes, and because of the reactive and often piecemeal approach to infrastructure extensions, the development will often be more costly. Moreover, the lack of compliance to a city-wide development plan...

Vatican City.

Science.gov (United States)

1984-11-01

Vatican City, the administrative and spiritual capital of the Roman catholic Church, has a population of 1000. Citizenship is generally accorded only to those who reside in Vatican City for reasons of office of employment. Supreme legislative, executive, and judicial power is currentily exercised by Pope John Paul II, the 1st non-italian pope in 5 centuries. The State of Vatican City is recognized by many nations as an independent sovereign state under the temporal jurisdiction of the Pope. By 1984, 108 countries had established diplomatic relations with the Holy See, most of which are not Roman Catholic. Third World countries comprise a large proportion of countries that have recently established relations with the Holy See. The US re-established relations with the Vatican in 1984 and there is frequent contact and consultation between the 2 states on key international issues.

Smart city planning and development shortcomings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Margarita Angelidou

2017-04-01

Full Text Available This paper explores smart city planning and development shortcomings. In particular, it investigates eleven cases of smart city strategies and the shortcomings that were observed during their planning and implementation stages. The cases include: Barcelona Smart City, PlanlT Valley, Stockholm Smart City, Cyberjaya, King Abdullah Economic City, Masdar City, Skolkovo, Songdo International Business District, Chicago Smart City, Rio de Janeiro Smart City, and Konza Technology City. The paper proceeds with the synthesis of the findings and their critical appraisal. Shortcomings are classified into economic and budget shortages, bureaucratic and organizational challenges, challenges in the development and layout of digital services, poor physical planning, struggle to attract investment and support the development of new businesses, low performance in attracting and engaging users, and stakeholder resistance. In turn, the shortcomings are clustered in two distinct groups and analyzed in terms of causes and effects. The paper closes with mitigation propositions, accounting for past experience and novel approaches to this end.

The Ubiquitous-Eco-City of Songdo: An Urban Systems Perspective on South Korea's Green City Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul D. Mullins

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Since the 1980s, within the broader context of studies on smart cities, there has been a growing body of academic research on networked cities and “computable cities” by authors including Manuel Castells (Castells, 1989; Castells & Cardoso, 2005, William Mitchell (1995, Michael Batty (2005, 2013, and Rob Kitchin (2011. Over the last decade, governments in Asia have displayed an appetite and commitment to construct large scale city developments from scratch—one of the most infamous being the smart entrepreneurial city of Songdo, South Korea. Using Songdo as a case study, this paper will examine, from an urban systems perspective, some of the challenges of using a green-city model led by networked technology. More specifically, this study intends to add to the growing body of smart city literature by using an external global event—the global financial crisis in 2008—to reveal what is missing from the smart city narrative in Songdo. The paper will use the definition of an urban system and internal subsystems by Bertuglia et al. (1987 and Bertuglia, Clarke and Wilson (1994 to reveal the sensitivity and resilience of a predetermined smart city narrative. For instance, what happens if the vision moves from the originally intended international-orientated population towards remarketing the city to attract a domestic middle-class population. The lens of the financial crisis in 2008 revealed that the inherent inflexibility of a closed-system approach in Songdo was not sufficiently resilient to external shocks. The shift towards a domestic middle-class population revealed the inequality in accessing the city services in a system designed with formalized and rigid inputs and outputs. By focusing predominantly on technology, the social dimensions of the city were not part of Songdo’s smart city vocabulary. Therefore, in adopting a technologically deterministic approach (Mullins & Shwayri, 2016 to achieving efficiency and combating environmental

Social Smart City: Introducing Digital and Social Strategies for Participatory Governance in Smart Cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Effing, Robin; Groot, Bert P.; Scholl, Hans Jochen; Glassey, Olivier; Janssen, Marijn; Klievink, Bram; Lindgren, Ida; Parycek, Peter; Tambouris, Efthimios; Wimmer, Maria A.; Janowski, Tomasz; Sa Soares, Delfina

2016-01-01

Cities increasingly face challenges regarding participatory governance in order to become a “smart city”. The world’s best cities to live in are not the ones with the most advanced technological layers but cities that create an atmosphere where citizens, companies and government together build a

2008 City of Baltimore Lidar

Data.gov (United States)

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — In the spring of 2008, the City of Baltimore expressed an interest to upgrade the City GIS Database with mapping quality airborne LiDAR data. The City of Baltimore...

Clumsy City by Design : A Theory for Jane Jacobs’ Imperfect Cities?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schmitt, Sarah-Maria; Hartmann, T.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/343441349

2016-01-01

How do different concepts of justice correspond with the principles of diversity in cities introduced by Jane Jacobs? This contribution connects Jane Jacobs’ ideas on the diverse city with Mary Douglas’ Cultural Theory and its concept of clumsy solutions. According to Douglas’ Cultural Theory, every

Green City Branding in Perspective d

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gulsrud, Natalie Marie

2014-01-01

their competitive advantage as an increasingly global economy has led to fierce competition between cities at a national and international level. Cities are actively competing for talent, innovation, and creativity to boost their economies. One way cities achieve a competitive image is through green place branding......From Sydney, Australia’s “Sustainable Sydney 2030” campaign, to Vancouver, Canada’s “Greenest City 2020” vision, green city brands have become a global tool for municipal leaders to promise a better quality of life, promote sustainable development, and increase their competitive advantage. In Asia......, various green city schemes and rankings exist. They include Siemen’s Asian Green City Index, assessed by The Economist Intelligence Unit, based on a city’s environmental performance in a wide range of categories (Economist Intelligence Unit 2011). These green city brands provide a vision of health...

3PL Services in City Logistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aastrup, Jesper; Gammelgaard, Britta; Prockl, Günter

2012-01-01

The purpose of this paper is 1) to develop an overview of activities and services that can add value for users and consignees in city logistics schemes based on Urban Consolidation Centre, and 2) to understand and analyze the perceived value for users and consignees from using such services....... The paper will be based on studies of the city logistics literature and existing city logistics schemes, as well as survey and interview findings from studies of potential users (retailers) in Copenhagen inner city and interviews with existing users (retailers) of existing city logistics services...... in the cities of Maastricht, Netherlands, and Hasselt, Belgium. The paper provides an overview and classification of possible third party logistics services in city logistics schemes. Also, findings about value perceived by current users as well as potential users are presented. Literature on city logistics has...

The Flickering Global City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Slater

2015-08-01

Full Text Available This article explores new dimensions of the global city in light of the correlation between hegemonic transition and the prominence of financial centers. It counterposes Braudel’s historical sequence of dominant cities to extant approaches in the literature, shifting the emphasis from a convergence of form and function to variations in history and structure. The marked increase of finance in the composition of London, New York and Tokyo has paralleled each city’s occupation of a distinct niche in world financial markets: London is the principal center of currency exchange, New York is the primary equities market, and Tokyo is the leader in international banking. This division expresses the progression of world-economies since the nineteenth century and unfolds in the context of the present hegemonic transition. By combining world-historical and city-centered approaches, the article seeks to reframe the global city and overcome the limits inherent in the paradigm of globalization.

Japan's Four Major Smart Cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2012-11-15

A brief overview is given of initiatives, developments, projects, investment, incentives and business opportunities for Dutch companies in Japan with regard to smart cities. The four major smart cities are Yokohama City, Toyota City, Keihanna City (Kyoto Prefecture's Kansai Science Park), and Kitakyushu City.

The strategic bombing of German cities during World War II and its impact on city growth

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Brakman, Steven; Garretsen, Harry; Schramm, Marc

2002-01-01

It is a stylized fact that city size distributions are rather stable over time. Explanations for city growth and the resulting city-size distributions fall into two broad groups. On the one hand there are theories that assume city growth to be a random process and this process can result in a stable

City sewer collectors biocorrosion

Science.gov (United States)

Ksiażek, Mariusz

2014-12-01

This paper presents the biocorrosion of city sewer collectors impregnated with special polymer sulphur binders, polymerized sulphur, which is applied as the industrial waste material. The city sewer collectors are settled with a colony of soil bacteria which have corrosive effects on its structure. Chemoautotrophic nitrifying bacteria utilize the residues of halites (carbamide) which migrate in the city sewer collectors, due to the damaged dampproofing of the roadway and produce nitrogen salts. Chemoorganotrophic bacteria utilize the traces of organic substrates and produce a number of organic acids (formic, acetic, propionic, citric, oxalic and other). The activity of microorganisms so enables the origination of primary and secondary salts which affect physical properties of concretes in city sewer collectors unfavourably.

Low-Energy City Policy Handbook. Part A: The city of the future, the future of the city; Part B: Lost in (energy) transition? Methods and tools

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2014-01-01

Energy Cities started the IMAGINE initiative in 2006 to bring together cities and various stakeholders involved in urban energy issues. IMAGINE focuses on long-term perspectives and visioning approaches to energy and territory. Although an increasing number of cities are committing to achieving the EU objectives, notably through the Covenant of Mayors, they are also facing several obstacles. One of them is the difficulty for cities, their citizens and stakeholders to imagine, evaluate and accept the changes that are needed. Helping cities overcome such obstacles is the objective of the IMAGINE initiative. It is a platform for foresight, collaboration and exchanges, leading to action and change. Between 2012 and 2014, IMAGINE benefited from the support of the INTERREG IV program through a project called 'IMAGINE... low energy cities'. This project gathered 10 partners: Energy Cities - coordinator, Hafen City University - academic partner, and 8 pilot cities: Bistrita (Romania), Dobrich (Bulgaria), Figueres (Spain), Lille (France), Milton Keynes (United Kingdom), Modena (Italy), Munich (Germany), Odense (Denmark). These local authorities have committed to involving local stakeholders in co-building their cities' Local Energy Road-maps 2050 thanks to participatory approaches. Final publication from the 'IMAGINE low energy cities' project, this handbook is aimed at decision makers in European local authorities searching for new ways to work towards achieving low energy cities. It is intended to give inspiration and practical advice to elected political leaders as well as civil servants to run their own energy transition process at the local level. There are two ways to read this handbook. In Part A, it explains the way local authorities organise themselves to start and run a political and organisational process to set sustainable energy policies. This part of the handbook presents the results of the development of Local Energy Road-maps 2050 in the eight IMAGINE pilot

CO2 emission inventories for Chinese cities in highly urbanized areas compared with European cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Wei; Pagani, Roberto; Huang Lei

2012-01-01

The international literature has paid significant attention to presenting China as the largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the world, despite having much lower per-capita emissions than the global average. In fact, the imbalance of economic development leads to diversity in GHG emissions profiles in different areas of China. This paper employs a common methodology, consistent with the Sustainable Energy Action Plan (SEAP) approved by the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), to estimate CO 2 emissions of four Chinese cities in highly urbanized areas from 2004 to 2010. The results show that the CO 2 emissions of all four cities are still rising and that secondary industries emit the most CO 2 in these cities. By comparing these data with the inventory results of two European cities, this paper further reveals that Chinese cities in highly urbanized areas contribute much higher per-capita emissions than their European competitors. Furthermore, the per-capita CO 2 emissions of the residential sector and private transport in these Chinese cities are growing rapidly, some of them approaching the levels of European cities. According to these findings, several policy suggestions considering regional disparities are provided that aim to reduce the CO 2 emissions of highly urbanized areas in China. - Highlights: ► An exemplary study of GHG emission inventory for Chinese cities. ► Estimate CO 2 emissions of Chinese city in highly urbanized areas from 2004 to 2010. ► The studied Chinese cities contribute higher per-capita emissions than European’s. ► Emissions of residential sector and private transport in China are growing rapidly. ► Several policy suggestions considering regional disparities are provided.

Cities and Refugees

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Katz, Bruce; Noring, Luise; Garrelts, Nantke

Centennial Scholar Initiative and the Foreign Policy program, with key research led by the Copenhagen Business School. It aims to show the extent to which cities are at the vanguard of this crisis and to deepen our understanding of the role and capacity of city governments and local networks in resettlement...

City of Phoenix - Energize Phoenix Program

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Laloudakis, Dimitrios J.

2014-09-29

Energize Phoenix (EPHX) was designed as an ambitious, large-scale, three-year pilot program to provide energy efficiency upgrades in buildings, along Phoenix’s new Light Rail Corridor – part of a federal effort to reduce energy consumption and stimulate job growth, while simultaneously reducing the country’s carbon footprint and promoting a shift towards a green economy. The program was created through a 2010 competitive grant awarded to the City of Phoenix who managed the program in partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), the state’s largest university, and Arizona Public Service (APS), the state’s largest electricity provider. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings Neighborhood Program (BBNP) and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 provided $25M in funding for the EPHX program. The Light Rail Corridor runs through the heart of downtown Phoenix, making most high-rise and smaller commercial buildings eligible to participate in the EPHX program, along with a diverse mix of single and multi-family residential buildings. To ensure maximum impact and deeper market penetration, Energize Phoenix was subdivided into three unique parts: i. commercial rebate program, ii. commercial financing program, and iii. residential program Each component was managed by the City of Phoenix in partnership with APS. Phoenix was fortunate to partner with APS, which already operated robust commercial and residential rebate programs within its service territory. Phoenix tapped into the existing utility contractor network, provided specific training to over 100 contracting firms, and leveraged the APS rebate program structure (energy efficiency funding) to launch the EPHX commercial and residential rebate programs. The commercial finance program was coordinated and managed through a contract with National Bank of Arizona, NBAZ, which also provided project capital leveraging EPHX finance funds. Working in unison, approved contractors

Implementing the Green City Policy in Municipal Spatial Planning: The Case of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abongile Dlani

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The term “eco-city,” and similar concepts such as “green” and “sustainable” cities, has evolved overtime concurrent to the development of the understanding of social change and mankind’s impact on environmental and economic health. With the advent of climate change impacts, modern economies developed the green city policy to create sustainable urban development, low emission, and environmentally friendly cities. In South Africa municipalities, including Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality (BCMM have been tasked to and implement the green city policy. However, BCMM is yet to develop the green city policy that clearly articulate how the municipality will combat climate change and reduce its Green House Gases (GHG emissions in its spatial planning designs. Against this background, this article reviews and analyses green policy landscape in Metropolitan Municipalities. It is envisaged that the research will provide the basis for the development of a comprehensive green policy strategies and programmes for the local transition to action in Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, in the Eastern Cape Province.

Exploring Brand Experience Dimensions for Cities and Investigating Their Effects on Loyalty to a City

OpenAIRE

Ipek Kazançoğlu; Taşkın Dirsehan

2014-01-01

The competitive environment in terms of tourists and investment attraction requires the strategic management of cities. The marketing literature in this topic relates to different dimensions, most importantly, the image, identity, and branding of a city, satisfaction, and the degree of loyalty that the city inspires. This study, as the major contribution to literature, aims to introduce a new competitive tool, ‘brand experience’ dimension to the city marketing literature based on Schmitt’s (1...

Cultural Heritage in Smart City Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Angelidou, M.; Karachaliou, E.; Angelidou, T.; Stylianidis, E.

2017-08-01

This paper investigates how the historical and cultural heritage of cities is and can be underpinned by means of smart city tools, solutions and applications. Smart cities stand for a conceptual technology-and-innovation driven urban development model. By becoming `smart', cities seek to achieve prosperity, effectiveness and competitiveness on multiple socio-economic levels. Although cultural heritage is one of the many issues addressed by existing smart city strategies, and despite the documented bilateral benefits, our research about the positioning of urban cultural heritage within three smart city strategies (Barcelona, Amsterdam, and London) reveals fragmented approaches. Our findings suggest that the objective of cultural heritage promotion is not substantially addressed in the investigated smart city strategies. Nevertheless, we observe that cultural heritage management can be incorporated in several different strategic areas of the smart city, reflecting different lines of thinking and serving an array of goals, depending on the case. We conclude that although potential applications and approaches abound, cultural heritage currently stands for a mostly unexploited asset, presenting multiple integration opportunities within smart city contexts. We prompt for further research into bridging the two disciplines and exploiting a variety of use cases with the purpose of enriching the current knowledge base at the intersection of cultural heritage and smart cities.

QUIC Transport and Dispersion Modeling of Vehicle Emissions in Cities for Better Public Health Assessments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J. Brown

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The Quick Urban and Industrial Complex (QUIC plume modeling system is used to explore how the transport and dispersion of vehicle emissions in cities are impacted by the presence of buildings. Using downtown Philadelphia as a test case, notional vehicle emissions of gases and particles are specified as line source releases on a subset of the east–west and north–south streets. Cases were run in flat terrain and with 3D buildings present in order to show the differences in the model-computed outdoor concentration fields with and without buildings present. The QUIC calculations show that buildings result in regions with much higher concentrations and other areas with much lower concentrations when compared to the flat-earth case. On the roads with vehicle emissions, street-level concentrations were up to a factor of 10 higher when buildings were on either side of the street as compared to the flat-earth case due to trapping of pollutants between buildings. However, on roads without vehicle emissions and in other open areas, the concentrations were up to a factor of 100 times smaller as compared to the flat earth case because of vertical mixing of the vehicle emissions to building height in the cavity circulation that develops on the downwind side of unsheltered buildings. QUIC was also used to calculate infiltration of the contaminant into the buildings. Indoor concentration levels were found to be much lower than outdoor concentrations because of deposition onto indoor surfaces and particulate capture for buildings with filtration systems. Large differences in indoor concentrations from building to building resulted from differences in leakiness, air handling unit volume exchange rates, and filter type and for naturally ventilated buildings, whether or not the building was sheltered from the prevailing wind by a building immediately upwind.

E-CITY KNOWWARE: KNOWLEDGE MIDDLEWARE FOR COORDINATED MANAGEMENT OF SUSTAINABLE CITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tamer E. El-Diraby

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The realization of e-city is a necessary component for achieving the green city. This paper outlines a vision for an e-city platform that is based on knowledge brokerage in the green city. The proposed platform will be a venue for creating dynamic virtual organizations to harness collective intelligence of knowledge hubs to analyze and manage sustainability knowledge in urban areas. Knowledge assets of participating organizations will be presented in three dimensions: process structures, human profile and software systems. These three facets of knowledge will be accessible and viewable through a self-describing mechanism. Cities can post their geospatial and real-time data on the net. Relevant environmental and energy-use data will be extracted using topic maps and data extraction services. Local decision makers can synchronize work processes (from participating hubs to create an integrated workflow for a new ad hoc virtual organization to collaboratively analyze the multifaceted nature of sustainable decision making. An e-city platform is envisioned in this paper that will be realized through intelligent, agent-like, domain-specific middleware (KnowWare. Through triangulation between people, software and processes, these KnowWare will discover, negotiate, integrate, reason and communicate knowledge (related to energy and environment from across organizations to the right person at the right time. KnowWare is fundamentally, a portal of social semantic services that resides on a cloud computing infrastructure. Knowware exploits thee main tools: 1 existing ontologies to represent knowledge in a semantic manner, 2 topic maps to profile sources of knowledge and match these to the complex needs of sustainability analysis, 3 domain-specific middleware for knowledge integration and reasoning.

The Emergence of City Logistics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gammelgaard, Britta; Aastrup, Jesper

2014-01-01

Purpose: Many city logistics projects in Europe have failed. The purpose of this article is to increase understanding of how city logistics emerge. A better understanding of the complex organizational processes with many actors and stakeholders in city logistics projects may prevent further failu...

Smart City trends and ambitions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Wijs, Lisanne; Witte, P.A.; de Klerk, Daniel; Geertman, S.C.M.

2017-01-01

Research into smart city projects and applications has been increasing in recent years (Meijer & Bolivar, 2015). The smart city concept is mostly considered from a technology-oriented perspective that stresses the usage of data technologies, big data and ICT to ‘smarten up’ cities. In contrast,

Funding Sustainable Cities in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhan, C.

2018-01-01

Currently, more and more people live in cities, and this leads to an enormous increase in global GHG emissions. Cities are blamed for the cause of environmental problems. Therefore, countries over the world aim to approach these problems by launching sustainable city programs. On April 22, 2016,

The Carbon City Index (CCI)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Boyd, Britta; Straatman, Bas; Mangalagiu, Diana

This paper presents a consumption-based Carbon City Index for CO2 emissions in a city. The index is derived from regional consumption and not from regional production. It includes imports and exports of emissions, factual emission developments, green investments as well as low carbon city...

Access to the city

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Manja Hoppe; Møller-Jensen, Lasse

2017-01-01

This paper is concerned with access to the city for urban residents living in the periphery of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The paper presents an analysis of the mobility practices of residents and investigates the mobility constraints they experience in relation to the limited accessibility provided...... mobility and access to the city for residents in the periphery. Regular mobility is an ingrained part of residents' livelihood strategies. The majority of households rely on one or more members regularly travelling to central parts of the city in relation to their livelihood activities. The analysis...... by road and traffic conditions and highlights how accessibility problems of peripheral settlements are not easily understood separately from the general dysfunctions of the overall mobility system of city....

Towards Intelligently - Sustainable Cities?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luca Salvati

2013-04-01

Full Text Available In the quest for achieving sustainable cities, Intelligent and Knowledge City Programmes (ICPs and KCPs represent cost-efficient strategies for improving the overall performance of urban systems. However, even though nobody argues on the desirability of making cities “smarter”, the fundamental questions of how and to what extent can ICPs and KCPs contribute to the achievement of urban sustainability lack a precise answer. In the attempt of providing a structured answer to these interrogatives, this paper presents a methodology developed for investigating the modalities through which ICPs and KCPs contribute to the achievement or urban sustainability. Results suggest that ICPs and KCPs efficacy lies in supporting cities achieve a sustainable urban metabolism through optimization, innovation and behavior changes.

City Marketing: Towards an Integrated Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

E. Braun (Erik)

2008-01-01

textabstractThis PhD thesis deals with city marketing: cities making use of marketing ideas, concepts and tools. Marketing has proved its value in the business environment, but what about applying marketing in the context of cities? How can cities make effective use of the potential of marketing?

City project and public space

CERN Document Server

2013-01-01

The book aims at nurturing theoretic reflection on the city and the territory and working out and applying methods and techniques for improving our physical and social landscapes. The main issue is developed around the projectual dimension, with the objective of visualising both the city and the territory from a particular viewpoint, which singles out the territorial dimension as the city’s space of communication and negotiation. Issues that characterise the dynamics of city development will be faced, such as the new, fresh relations between urban societies and physical space, the right to the city, urban equity, the project for the physical city as a means to reveal civitas, signs of new social cohesiveness, the sense of contemporary public space and the sustainability of urban development. Authors have been invited to explore topics that feature a pluralism of disciplinary contributions studying formal and informal practices on the project for the city and seeking conceptual and operative categories capab...

The City Blueprint Approach: Urban Water Management and Governance in Cities in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Feingold, Daniel; Koop, Stef; van Leeuwen, Kees

2018-01-01

In this paper, we assess the challenges of water, waste and climate change in six cities across the U.S.: New York City, Boston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Portland and Los Angeles. We apply the City Blueprint ® Approach which consists of three indicator assessments: (1) the Trends and Pressures Framework (TPF), (2) the City Blueprint Framework (CBF) and (3) the water Governance Capacity Framework (GCF). The TPF summarizes the main social, environmental and financial pressures that may impede water management. The CBF provides an integrated overview of the management performances within the urban watercycle. Finally, the GCF provides a framework to identify key barriers and opportunities to develop governance capacity. The GCF has only been applied in NYC. Results show that all cities face pressures from heat risk. The management performances regarding resource efficiency and resource recovery from wastewater and solid waste show considerable room for improvement. Moreover, stormwater separation, infrastructure maintenance and green space require improvement in order to achieve a resilient urban watercycle. Finally, in New York City, the GCF results show that learning through smart monitoring, evaluation and cross-stakeholder learning is a limiting condition that needs to be addressed. We conclude that the City Blueprint Approach has large potential to assist cities in their strategic planning and exchange of knowledge, experiences and lessons. Because the methodology is well-structured, easy to understand, and concise, it may bridge the gap between science, policy and practice. It could therefore enable other cities to address their challenges of water, waste and climate change.

The City Blueprint Approach: Urban Water Management and Governance in Cities in the U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Feingold, Daniel; Koop, Stef; van Leeuwen, Kees

2018-01-01

In this paper, we assess the challenges of water, waste and climate change in six cities across the U.S.: New York City, Boston, Milwaukee, Phoenix, Portland and Los Angeles. We apply the City Blueprint® Approach which consists of three indicator assessments: (1) the Trends and Pressures Framework (TPF), (2) the City Blueprint Framework (CBF) and (3) the water Governance Capacity Framework (GCF). The TPF summarizes the main social, environmental and financial pressures that may impede water management. The CBF provides an integrated overview of the management performances within the urban watercycle. Finally, the GCF provides a framework to identify key barriers and opportunities to develop governance capacity. The GCF has only been applied in NYC. Results show that all cities face pressures from heat risk. The management performances regarding resource efficiency and resource recovery from wastewater and solid waste show considerable room for improvement. Moreover, stormwater separation, infrastructure maintenance and green space require improvement in order to achieve a resilient urban watercycle. Finally, in New York City, the GCF results show that learning through smart monitoring, evaluation and cross-stakeholder learning is a limiting condition that needs to be addressed. We conclude that the City Blueprint Approach has large potential to assist cities in their strategic planning and exchange of knowledge, experiences and lessons. Because the methodology is well-structured, easy to understand, and concise, it may bridge the gap between science, policy and practice. It could therefore enable other cities to address their challenges of water, waste and climate change.

Architecture and Stages of the Experience City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This book presents more than 41 articles on ‘Architecture and Stages of the Experience City'. The aim of the book is to investigate current challenges related to architecture, art and city life in the ‘Experience City' and it is presenting cutting edge knowledge and experiences within the following...... themes: Experience City Making Digital Architecture Stages in the Experience City The City as a Learning Lab Experience City Architecture Performative Architecture Art and Performance Urban Catalyst and Temporary Use...

City model enrichment

Science.gov (United States)

Smart, Philip D.; Quinn, Jonathan A.; Jones, Christopher B.

The combination of mobile communication technology with location and orientation aware digital cameras has introduced increasing interest in the exploitation of 3D city models for applications such as augmented reality and automated image captioning. The effectiveness of such applications is, at present, severely limited by the often poor quality of semantic annotation of the 3D models. In this paper, we show how freely available sources of georeferenced Web 2.0 information can be used for automated enrichment of 3D city models. Point referenced names of prominent buildings and landmarks mined from Wikipedia articles and from the OpenStreetMaps digital map and Geonames gazetteer have been matched to the 2D ground plan geometry of a 3D city model. In order to address the ambiguities that arise in the associations between these sources and the city model, we present procedures to merge potentially related buildings and implement fuzzy matching between reference points and building polygons. An experimental evaluation demonstrates the effectiveness of the presented methods.

Landscape planning for a safe city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Ishikawa

2002-06-01

Full Text Available To create a safe city free from natural disasters has been one of the important criteria in city planning. Since large cities have suffered from large fires caused by earthquakes, the planning of open spaces to prevent the spread of fires is part of the basic structure of city planning in Japan. Even in the feudal city of Edo, the former name of Tokyo, there had been open spaces to prevent fire disasters along canals and rivers. This paper discusses the historical evolution of open space planning, that we call landscape planning, through the experiences in Tokyo, and clarifies the characteristics and problems for achieving a safe city.

The Promise and Perils of the Island City of George Town (Penang as a Creative City

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Suet Leng Khoo

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The peripheral and semi-peripheral roles of islands are being challenged and contested as contemporary island cities assume positions as engines of growth and become centres of progress for driving economic development. Notably, island cities around the globe have become instrumental in shaping and influencing the dynamics of urban development as cities now compete with each other to strategically position themselves in today’s competitive global economy that leverages creativity and innovation. Particularly in a creative economy, the availability, quantity, and quality of unique cultures; creative talents; and creative/cultural industries within a city are differentiating and determining factors that can boost a city’s position and subsequently spur economic growth and progress. Against this backdrop, this paper explores the position of the island city of George Town (Penang en route to becoming a Creative City. This paper highlights the island’s urban dynamics as well as discusses the promise and perils of transforming George Town into a Creative City in its own right.

The present situation and analysis of health-endangered behaviors among middle school students in the city of Chengde, Hebei%承德市中学生健康危险行为现状及分析

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

赵连志; 赵凌云; 王晶; 张凤英

2013-01-01

目的 了解和明确承德市中学生健康危险行为的现状和影响因素,为制定有效的干预措施提供科学依据.方法 采用整群分层抽样的方法抽取2 183名中学生为研究对象,其中男生1 065人,女生1 118人,采用“中国城市青少年健康相关行为调查问卷”进行调查.结果 不健康饮食的报告率为32.30％,吸烟、饮酒的报告率分别为13.19％和27.44％,打架、住宿、家庭情况也会对其产生较大影响.药物滥用的报告率为3.48％,每周体力活动少于3次的报告率为57.81％,长时间上网的报告率为9.34％.伤害行为中以骑自行车违规,步行违规,打架为主.结论 承德市中学生中主要健康危险行为均有发生,应该加强教育,保证其健康成长.%OBJECTIVE To study the present situation and the influencing factors of health-endangered behaviors of middle school students in the downtown of Chengde city, and then to provide informative foundation for the related departments when making injury prevention for the students. METHODS 2 183 middle school students were selected by using the method of Cluster stratified sampling as the research object, including 1 065 boys and 1 118 girls. Questionnaire of "health-related behaviors of Chinese urban youth questionnaire" was used. RESULTS The report rate of unhealthy diet was 32.30%, the report rate of smoking and drinking alcohol were 13.19% and 27.44%. Fight, accommodation, family will also had great influence on them. The report rate of drug abuse was 3.48%, the report rate of weekly physical activity less than three times was 57.81% and the report rate of long time online was 9.34%. Illegal ride, walk and fight were given priority to the act of damage. CONCLUSION Major health-endangered behaviors 1 have happened among the middle school students in the downtown of Chengde city, we should strengthen the education and ensure the healthy growth of them.

A escrita da cidade partida: identidade e alteridade em Capão Pecado

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciana Paiva Coronel

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This article discusses the representation of the city in the novel Capão Pecado, by Ferréz. It deviates from the strong tendency of considering all cities alike in the Brazilian fiction scenery by means of a narrative that takes place in a geographical area within the outskirts of São Paulo. This area is characterized by violence and extreme poverty and it works as the headquarters of a movement of self-assurance of the have-nots. The novel brings a broken and raw text, written with the cooperation of cultural leaders of the area. There is a mix of fictional aspects and a great deal of testimony. The author seeks to build a community feeling among the people who live in Capão Redondo and at the same time he opposes the downtown area of the city, where the people who benefit from the inequities of the status quo live.

Increase in Population Density and Aggravation of Social and Psychological Problems in Areas with High-Rise Construction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Romanova Elena

2018-01-01

Full Text Available High-rise apartment houses have technical and economic advantages in areas with dense population. Their placement in the central part of the city allows increasing the number of living space in the limited territory, to bring population to the place of employment and reduce pendular migration. But increase in population density leads to psychological problems: level of a stress, fatigue increases, the number of phobias grows, infectious diseases extend quicker. These problems can be solved at resettlement of inhabitants to the suburb. However such decision leads to aggravation of a transport problem and the pulsing increase in population density in the downtown and on its suburb. To solve a transport problem, it is necessary not to increase the square of the cities. Therefore in the suburbs is also used high-rise construction. But high-rise residential districts on the suburb of the city get own social problems which are capable to destroy all advantages of high-rise construction.

Increase in Population Density and Aggravation of Social and Psychological Problems in Areas with High-Rise Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Romanova, Elena

2018-03-01

High-rise apartment houses have technical and economic advantages in areas with dense population. Their placement in the central part of the city allows increasing the number of living space in the limited territory, to bring population to the place of employment and reduce pendular migration. But increase in population density leads to psychological problems: level of a stress, fatigue increases, the number of phobias grows, infectious diseases extend quicker. These problems can be solved at resettlement of inhabitants to the suburb. However such decision leads to aggravation of a transport problem and the pulsing increase in population density in the downtown and on its suburb. To solve a transport problem, it is necessary not to increase the square of the cities. Therefore in the suburbs is also used high-rise construction. But high-rise residential districts on the suburb of the city get own social problems which are capable to destroy all advantages of high-rise construction.

District heating and cooling systems for communities through power-plant retrofit and distribution network. Volume 2. Tasks 1-3. Final report. [Downtown Toledo steam system

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watt, J.R.; Sommerfield, G.A.

1979-08-01

Each of the tasks is described separately: Task 1 - Demonstration Team; Task 2 - Identify Thermal Energy Source(s) and Potential Service Area(s); and Task 3 - Energy Market Analysis. The purpose of the project is to establish and implement measures in the downtown Toledo steam system for conserving scarce fuel supplies through cogeneration, by retrofit of existing base- or intermediate-loaded electric-generating plants to provide for central heating and cooling systems, with the ultimate purpose of applying the results to other communities. For Task 1, Toledo Edison Company has organized a Demonstration Team (Battelle Columbus Laboratories; Stone and Webster; Ohio Dept. of Energy; Public Utilities Commission of Ohio; Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments; and Toledo Edison) that it hopes has the expertise to evaluate the technical, legal, economic, and marketing issues related to the utilization of by-product heat from power generation to supply district heating and cooling services. Task 2 gives a complete technical description of the candidate plant(s), its thermodynamic cycle, role in load dispatch, ownership, and location. It is concluded that the Toledo steam distribution system can be the starting point for developing a new district-heating system to serve an expanding market. Battelle is a member of the team employed as a subcontractor to complete the energy market analysis. The work is summarized in Task 3. (MCW)

City Marketing: Towards an Integrated Approach

OpenAIRE

Braun, Erik

2008-01-01

textabstractThis PhD thesis deals with city marketing: cities making use of marketing ideas, concepts and tools. Marketing has proved its value in the business environment, but what about applying marketing in the context of cities? How can cities make effective use of the potential of marketing? The first contribution of this study is the development of a clear concept of city marketing that is based on a customer-oriented perspective, acknowledges the important of perceptions of places in t...

Estimating diabetes and diabetes-free life expectancy in Mexico and seven major cities in Latin America and the Caribbean Estimación de la esperanza de vida con y sin diabetes en México y siete ciudades importantes de América Latina y el Caribe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Flavia Andrade

2009-07-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: To estimate diabetes and diabetes-free life expectancy in seven major cities in Latin America and the Caribbean, plus Mexico as a whole. METHODS: Data from the Survey on Health, Well-being, and Aging in Latin America and the Caribbean (n = 10 602 and the Mexican Health and Aging Study (n = 6 953 on individuals 60 or more years of age were used in this study. Estimates of diabetes and diabetes-free life expectancy were obtained by applying the Sullivan method. RESULTS: Diabetes life expectancy for men 60 years of age was highest in Mexico City (4.5 years and Bridgetown (3.4 years, and lowest in Havana (1.3 years. Diabetes-free life expectancy for men 60 years of age was highest in Santiago (17.6 years and lowest in Bridgetown (14.2 years and São Paulo (14.3 years. For women, diabetes life expectancy was highest in Bridgetown (5.4 years, followed by Mexico City and Havana; but these three cities also had the lowest diabetes-free life expectancy. Women 60 years of age in Buenos Aires had the lowest diabetes life expectancy (2.5 years, and in Santiago, the highest, with a diabetes-free life expectancy of 20.7 years. CONCLUSIONS: Older individuals in Latin America and the Caribbean can expect to live a large proportion of their remaining lives with diabetes. There were also important differences across settings; in particular, the pronounced diabetes burden in Barbados and Mexico and among women. Given the fast growth of the elderly population in these societies, it is crucial to promote healthy eating and exercise as a way of reducing the burden of diabetes.OBJETIVO: Estimar la esperanza de vida en personas con y sin diabetes en siete ciudades importantes de América Latina y el Caribe y en México. MÉTODOS: Para América Latina y el Caribe se tomaron los datos del estudio Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento (SABE (n = 10602 y para México se utilizaron los datos del Estudio Nacional de Salud y Envejecimiento (n = 6953 en personas de 60

Example from Ilorin City, Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

First Lady

2013-01-28

Jan 28, 2013 ... Abstract. Ilorin is one of the major cities in Nigeria today and its growing strength in ... any city growth and development. ... The study area ... road network resulting in the city enveloping many of the smaller settlements .... Emerging Communities: A case of a Local Government Area of ... Regional Planning.

Brazilian city planners, American city planning? New perspectives on urban planning in Rio de Janeiro, 1930-1945.

Science.gov (United States)

Rezende, Vera F

2010-01-01

This article analyses the connections between the ideas and principles of American city planning from 1920 with those articulated by Brazilian city planners in the 1930s and implemented by the administration of the City of Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of Brazil, notably during the period of the Estado Novo [The New State] from 1937 to 1945. In a period characterized by the centralization of political power and the concentration of decision-making in the hands of the president and the state, the City of Rio de Janeiro undertook a series of restructuring projects which utilized new forms of administration and organization. This article explores the links between urban planning in Brazil and the USA that were a notable feature of these projects. It examines particular requirements set down in city plans, city planning commissions and funding for urban activities, such as 'excess condemnation', by focusing upon articles and books written by four Brazilian engineers and proposals put forward by the American City Planning Institute, detailed in the proceedings of the National Conference on City Planning, in the periodical, City Planning and works by affiliated authors.

Gamification in the context of smart cities

Science.gov (United States)

Zica, M. R.; Ionica, A. C.; Leba, M.

2018-01-01

The recent emergence of smart cities is highly supported by the development of IT and IoT technologies. Nevertheless, a smart city needs to be built to meet the needs and requirements of its citizens. In order to build a smart city it is necessary to understand the benefits of such a city. A smart city is, beyond technology, populated by people. A smart city can be raised by its citizens’ contribution, and gamification is the means to motivate them. In this paper we included gamification techniques in the stage of capturing the citizens’ requirements for building a smart city. The system proposed in the paper is to create an application that allows the building of a virtual smart city customized by each user. From this virtual city, the most relevant features are extracted.

Nivel de satisfacción con los servicios informativos en la Facultad de Estomatología de la Habana Level of satisfaction with the information services in the Faculty of Stomatology of Havana

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Alfredo Ochoa González

2008-06-01

Full Text Available OBJETIVO: identificar el nivel de satisfacción con los servicios informativos en la biblioteca de la Facultad de Estomatología de la Habana. MÉTODOS: Se realizó un estudio a través de un cuestionario a una muestra representativa de los usuarios de estos servicios. RESULTADOS: Se determinaron las principales limitaciones en las variables promoción, accesibilidad, tangibilidad y exhaustividad lo cual provoca insatisfacción con los servicios brindados, básicamente en los alumnos de pre y postgrado. CONCLUSIONES: Los resultados evidenciaron insatisfacción en general con los servicios informativos, básicamente en los alumnos de pre y postgrado, no obstante, las ocho variables estudiadas tuvieron diferentes valoracionesOBJECTIVE: to determine the level of satisfaction with the information services of the library of the Faculty of Stomatology of Havana. METHODS: A study was carried out by using a questionnaire in a representative sample of the users of these services. RESULTS: there were determined the main limitations in the variables promotion, accessibility, tangibility and exhaustivity, which cause unsatisfaction with the services offered, basically among pre- and postgraduate students. CONCLUSIONS: the results evidenced the unsatisfaction in general with the information services, mainly among pre- and postgraduate students; however, the eight studied variables had different assessments

Are autonomous cities our urban future?

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Barbara

2018-05-29

Cities are rapidly expanding in size, wealth and power, with some now larger than nation states. Smart city solutions and strong global urban networks are developing to manage massive urban growth. However, cities exist within a wider system and it may take more than technological advances, innovation and city autonomy to develop a sustainable urban future.

Urban greenspace for resilient city in the future: Case study of Yogyakarta City

Science.gov (United States)

Ni'mah, N. M.; Lenonb, S.

2017-06-01

The capacity of adaptation is essential elements towards urban resilience. One adaptation that can be done is to consider the provision of open space and public space in the city. Yogyakarta City development which focused on the built area and negates the open space has blurred the characteristics of the city. Efforts in increasing the availability of public space is one of the seven priorities of the programs included in the environmental and the utilization of space in Yogyakarta City. An understanding of the provision of public green open spaces in Yogyakarta is important because the products and processes that take place in a development will determine the successful implementation of the development plan. The objectives of this study are as follows: (1) to identify the provision green space in Yogyakarta City from the aspects of product and procedure; and (2) to identify the role of green space to build resilient city. This study is used descriptive qualitative approach with in-depth interview, literature review, and triangulation as the method for data collection. Yogyakarta has had instruments for public green open spaces provision called Masterplan Ruang Terbuka Hijau (RTH) Up-Scaling Yogyakarta 2013-2032 which govern the typologies and criteria for green open space development in the city.Public green open spaces development mechanism can be grouped into the planning phase, the utilization phase, and the control phase of each consisting of legal and regulatory aspects, institutional aspects, financial aspects, and technical aspects. The mechanism of green open space provision should regard the need of advocacy for “urban green commons” (UGCs) development as a systematic approach of collective-participatory for urban land management.

City of Pittsburgh Trees

Data.gov (United States)

Allegheny County / City of Pittsburgh / Western PA Regional Data Center — Trees cared for and managed by the City of Pittsburgh Department of Public Works Forestry Division. Tree Benefits are calculated using the National Tree Benefit...

Sustainable Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Georg, Susse; Garza de Linde, Gabriela Lucía

Judging from the number of communities and cities striving or claiming to be sustainable and how often eco-development is invoked as the means for urban regeneration, it appears that sustainable and eco-development have become “the leading paradigm within urban development” (Whitehead 2003....../assessment tool. The context for our study is urban regeneration in one Danish city, which had been suffering from industrial decline and which is currently investing in establishing a “sustainable city”. Based on this case study we explore how the insights and inspiration evoked in working with the tool...

The 3D-city model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Holmgren, Steen; Rüdiger, Bjarne; Tournay, Bruno

2001-01-01

We have worked with the construction and use of 3D city models for about ten years. This work has given us valuable experience concerning model methodology. In addition to this collection of knowledge, our perception of the concept of city models has changed radically. In order to explain...... of 3D city models....

The Green City Car. A holistic approach for NVH abatement of city cars

OpenAIRE

Bein, Thilo; Mayer, Dirk; Elliott, Steve; Ferrali, Leonardo; Casella, Mauro; Saemann, Ernst-Ulrich; Kropp, Wolfgang; Nielsen, Finn Kryger; Meschke, Jens; Pisano, Emanuel

2014-01-01

Pursuing the different passive and active concepts in a holistic approach, the FP7 project Green City Car demonstrates the feasibility of applying active systems to NVH-related problems light city cars from a system point-of view. During the project, a city car equipped with a small engine has been considered equipped with the latest technology in terms of safety aspects related to pedestrian’s impact and car-to-car compatibility, which are of major importance in an urban environment. The noi...

Evaluation Model for Sentient Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mª Florencia Fergnani Brion

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this article we made a research about the Sentient Cities and produced an assessment model to analyse if a city is or could be potentially considered one. It can be used to evaluate the current situation of a city before introducing urban policies based on citizen participation in hybrid environments (physical and digital. To that effect, we've developed evaluation grids with the main elements that form a Sentient City and their measurement values. The Sentient City is a variation of the Smart City, also based on technology progress and innovation, but where the citizens are the principal agent. In this model, governments aim to have a participatory and sustainable system for achieving the Knowledge Society and Collective Intelligence development, as well as the city’s efficiency. Also, they increase communication channels between the Administration and citizens. In this new context, citizens are empowered because they have the opportunity to create a Local Identity and transform their surroundings through open and horizontal initiatives.

The city of the divine king

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barnow, Niels Finn

2001-01-01

The City of the Divine King deals with urban systems and urban architecture in the river kingdoms of the Near East and the agrarian societies of the Orient. The book is part of a larger work comprising studies of the antique Greek world and the Roman Empire and the later developments of cities...... and villages in medieval Europe. The City of the Divine King is followed by volume 2: The City of the Landowner, about the Greco-Roman World, and volume 3: The City of the Merchant, about the medieval urban development in Europe....

European and Italian experience of Smart Cities: A model for the smart planning of city built

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Starlight Vattano

2013-05-01

Full Text Available The construction of the city through smart measures is now a frontier reached from many cities in the world. The built environment requires smart planning able to relate urban realities that are relegated to a marginal change. But how does the smart cities can create a relationship between sustainable cities of the future and their heritage? The article highlights the way of smart urban transformation of reality European and Italian proposing critical comparisons from which to infer smart parameters most used and easy to apply for the sustainable construction of these smart cities focusing on the urban sources of intelligent retrieval for quality their historical and cultural heritage.

Urban Environmental Planning in Greek Cities - The response of medium sized Greek cities, the case of Volos

OpenAIRE

Antoniou, Eftychia

2005-01-01

The city is a vital sum of functions, of human actions, of resources and of a built and physical environment. The sustainability of cities is relatively a new area of interest, especially for the Greek cities. Only in the last decade was sustainability introduced to the Greek planning process. Unfortunately, the Greek cities do not follow the Local Agenda 21, an instrument that is trying to promote sustainability issues for the built environment. The city of Volos in Greece seems to be more s...

Personal exposure to particulate matter in commuters using different transport modes (bus, bicycle, car and subway) in an assigned route in downtown Santiago, Chile.

Science.gov (United States)

Suárez, Liliana; Mesías, Stephanie; Iglesias, Verónica; Silva, Claudio; Cáceres, Dante D; Ruiz-Rudolph, Pablo

2014-05-01

The objective of this study was to compare personal exposure to particulate matter (fine and ultrafine particles) in commuters using different transport modes (bicycle, bus, car and subway) in a busy, assigned route in downtown Santiago, Chile. Volunteers carrying personal samplers completed scheduled commutes during the morning rush hours, while central site measurements were conducted in parallel. A total of 137 valid commutes were assessed. The impact of central site, traffic and other variables was explored with regression models. PM2.5 personal concentrations were equal to or slightly above central site measurements, while UFP personal concentrations were above them. Regression models showed impacts of both background levels and traffic emissions on personal PM2.5 and UFP exposure. Traffic impacts varied with transport modes. Estimates of traffic impacts on personal PM2.5 exposure were 2.0, 13.0, 16.9 and 17.5 μg m(-3), for car, bicycle, subway and bus, respectively; while for UFP exposure were 8400, 16 200, 25 600 and 30 100 counts per cm(3), for subway, car, bicycle and bus, respectively. After controlling the central site and transport mode, higher temperatures increased PM2.5 exposure and decreased UFP ones, while the wind direction affected UFP personal exposure. In conclusion, we found significant impacts of both central site background measurements and traffic emissions on personal exposure of volunteer commuters in an assigned route in Santiago, with impacts varying with transport modes.

Hellenistic Cities in the Levant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Eva

2011-01-01

By far the most of our knowledge on the Hellenistic cities of the Levant comes from the written sources - often combined with numismatic evidence - whereas archaeological discoveries of the Hellenistic layers of the cities are scarce. However, in Beirut excavations have shown interesting results...... in the last decades, for which reason this city is examined further in the article....

Cities spearhead climate action

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Mark

2017-08-01

Following President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, cities worldwide have pledged support to combat climate change. Along with a growing coalition of businesses and institutions, cities represent a beacon of hope for carbon reduction in politically tumultuous times.

City-Level Energy Decision Making: Data Use in Energy Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation in U.S. Cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Aznar, Alexandra [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Day, Megan [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Doris, Elizabeth [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Mathur, Shivani [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States); Donohoo-Vallett, Paul [US Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC (United States)

2015-07-01

The report analyzes and presents information learned from a sample of 20 cities across the United States, from New York City to Park City, Utah, including a diverse sample of population size, utility type, region, annual greenhouse gas reduction targets, vehicle use, and median household income. The report compares climate, sustainability, and energy plans to better understand where cities are taking energy-related actions and how they are measuring impacts. Some common energy-related goals focus on reducing city-wide carbon emissions, improving energy efficiency across sectors, increasing renewable energy, and increasing biking and walking.

Do women in major cities experience better health? A comparison of chronic conditions and their risk factors between women living in major cities and other cities in Indonesia.

Science.gov (United States)

Christiani, Yodi; Byles, Julie E; Tavener, Meredith; Dugdale, Paul

2015-01-01

Inhabitants of rural areas can be tempted to migrate to urban areas for the type and range of facilities available. Although urban inhabitants may benefit from greater access to human and social services, living in a big city can also bring disadvantages to some residents due to changes in social and physical environments. We analysed data from 4,208 women aged >15 years old participating in the fourth wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Chronic condition risk factors - systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP), body mass index (BMI), and tobacco use - among women in four major cities in Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung) were compared against other cities. Fractional polynomial regression models were applied to examine the association between living in the major cities and SBP, DBP, BMI, and tobacco use. The models were also adjusted for age, education, employment status, migration status, ethnic groups, and religion. The patterns of SBP, DBP, and BMI were plotted and contrasted between groups of cities. Chronic condition prevalence was higher for women in major cities than in contrasting cities (p<0.005). Living in major cities increased the risk of having higher SBP, DBP, BMI and being a current smoker. Chronic disease risk factors in major cities were evident from younger ages. Women residing in Indonesia's major cities have a higher risk of developing chronic conditions, starting at younger ages. The findings highlight the challenges inherent in providing long-term healthcare with its associated cost within major Indonesian cities and the importance of chronic disease prevention programmes targeting women at an early age.

Do women in major cities experience better health? A comparison of chronic conditions and their risk factors between women living in major cities and other cities in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yodi Christiani

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Inhabitants of rural areas can be tempted to migrate to urban areas for the type and range of facilities available. Although urban inhabitants may benefit from greater access to human and social services, living in a big city can also bring disadvantages to some residents due to changes in social and physical environments. Design: We analysed data from 4,208 women aged >15 years old participating in the fourth wave of the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Chronic condition risk factors – systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP and DBP, body mass index (BMI, and tobacco use – among women in four major cities in Indonesia (Jakarta, Surabaya, Medan, and Bandung were compared against other cities. Fractional polynomial regression models were applied to examine the association between living in the major cities and SBP, DBP, BMI, and tobacco use. The models were also adjusted for age, education, employment status, migration status, ethnic groups, and religion. The patterns of SBP, DBP, and BMI were plotted and contrasted between groups of cities. Results: Chronic condition prevalence was higher for women in major cities than in contrasting cities (p<0.005. Living in major cities increased the risk of having higher SBP, DBP, BMI and being a current smoker. Chronic disease risk factors in major cities were evident from younger ages. Conclusions: Women residing in Indonesia's major cities have a higher risk of developing chronic conditions, starting at younger ages. The findings highlight the challenges inherent in providing long-term healthcare with its associated cost within major Indonesian cities and the importance of chronic disease prevention programmes targeting women at an early age.

A Status Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America's Cities, 2000: A 25-City Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Lowe, Eugene T.

To assess the status of hunger and homelessness in U.S. cities during the year 2000, the U.S. Conference of Mayors surveyed 25 major cities whose mayors were members of its Task Force on Hunger and Homelessness. The survey sought information and estimates from each city on emergency food supplies and services, the causes of hunger and…

From the sanitary city to the sustainable city: challenges to institutionalising biogenic (nature's services) infrastructure

Science.gov (United States)

Stephanie Pincetl

2010-01-01

Much has been made of the need for cities to become more sustainable, particularly since for the first time in human history over half of the world's population are urban dwellers. Cities concentrate human activities in an exceptionally powerful manner, and this includes resource use and the generation of pollution. Attention has turned towards cities for their...

78 FR 42999 - City of Pickens, S.C. and City of Easley, S.C.-Acquisition Exemption-Pickens Railway Company

Science.gov (United States)

2013-07-18

....C. and City of Easley, S.C.--Acquisition Exemption--Pickens Railway Company The City of Pickens, S.C., and the City of Easley, S.C. (collectively, the Cities or Petitioners), both noncarrier political..., 16 U.S.C. 1247(d), and 49 CFR 1152.29 to permit the Cities to negotiate with Pickens Railway to...

2015 Resident Survey (City and County)

Data.gov (United States)

City and County of Durham, North Carolina — The purpose of the annual City/County survey: To objectively assess citizen satisfaction with the delivery of City/County servicesTo set a baseline for future...

2016 Resident Survey (City and County)

Data.gov (United States)

City and County of Durham, North Carolina — The purpose of the annual City/County survey: To objectively assess citizen satisfaction with the delivery of City/County servicesTo set a baseline for future...

Design of high-rise dwelling houses for Ho Chi Minh City within the framework of the "smart city" concept

Science.gov (United States)

Loan, Nguyen Hong; Van Tin, Nguyen

2018-03-01

There are differences in the concepts of smart cities, which are reflected in many ideas and solutions. Globally one of the similarities of the goals for achieving smart cities is sustainable developmentwith the provision of best living conditions for people beingthe first priority. Ho Chi Minh City is not out of trend, taking the planning steps for the goal of becoming a smart city. It is necessary that design and construction of high-rise dwelling houses meet the criteria of "smart city" concept. This paper explores the design of high-rise dwelling houses forHo Chi Minh City with regards tothe framework of "smart city" concept. Methods used in the paper includedata collection, analytical - synthetical and modeling method.In order to proposedesign tasks and solutions of high-rise dwelling houses forHo Chi Minh Cityinthe concept "smart city"in the current period and near future, we present new approach, whichcan alsobe applied in practice for different cities in Vietnam.Moveover, it can also establishinformation resources, which areuseful in connecting and promotingfurther development for the success of a "smart city" program.

A longitudinal study of enterobiasis in three day care centers of Havana City Estudo longitudinal de enterobíase em três creches da cidade de Havana, Cuba

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fidel Angel Núñez

1996-04-01

Full Text Available Pinworm infection was prospectively studied during one year in 469 children attending three day care centers. Each child was examined at six months intervals using up to three perianal swabs with adhesive tape. Those found infected were treated with mebendazole. At the beginning of the study we found a prevalence of 28% that dropped to 13% and 12% in the following study periods. The reinfection rate was twice the incidence rate in both study periods. We also found a small percentage (10% of the children reinfected in most or all study periods. There was a high correlation between reinfection and perianal itching. Our results add further knowledge to the epidemiology of intestinal parasites in day care centers.Infecção por oxiuros foi estudada prospectivamente durante um ano em 469 crianças de três creches. Cada criança foi examinada com intervalos de 6 meses usando até 3 esfregaços perianais com fita adesiva. As que estavam infectadas foram tratadas com mebendazole. No início do estudo foi encontrada prevalência de 28% que caiu para 13% e 12% nos períodos de estudo posteriores. A freqüência de reinfecção foi 2 vezes a incidência em ambos os períodos de estudo. Foi encontrada, também, pequena porcentagem (10% de crianças reinfectadas na maioria ou em todos os períodos de estudo. Existiu elevada correlação entre reinfecção e coceira perianal. Nossos resultados adicionam outros conhecimentos à epidemiología dos parásitos intestinais em creches.

An Appraisal of Asia-Pacific Cities as Control and Command Centres Embedded in World City Network

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Li

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Since the globalization trend is proliferating at a staggering rate, world cities have emerged as the most dominant vanguard incorporated into global economy. Control and command function is one of the robust integral parts of world city formation, which is closely associated with the corporate headquarter status of some dominant multinational companies. Previous research works on this topic tend to concentrate on the Western Europe and North American arenas neglecting the Asia-Pacific region. Hence, the objective of this paper is to explore control and command functions of Asia-Pacific cities with reference to headquarters’ locations of multinational companies. The methodology will utilize the Forbes global 2000 dataset from the seminal study of GaWC research group, and apply the control and command center model and the interlocking city network model to discover the control and command index, as well as network connectivity of Asia-Pacific cities. Based upon the empirical study of this research, we could identify the hierarchical structure and spatial structure of Asia-Pacific world cities to emerge as some control and command centers embedded in world city network.

Cities and Climate - What Visions?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haentjens, Jean

2015-01-01

Given the difficulty of achieving a global agreement to cope with the challenges of climate change or even a national resilience programme, an increasing number of initiatives are coming up from the local level for preemptively implementing policies to adapt to climate change or combat it. There are several towns and cities across the world that have taken this line (Copenhagen, Totnes, Vaexjoe, Bristol, etc.) but, as Jean Haentjens shows here, an effective response to climate change requires the development of a genuine strategic vision capable of mobilizing all the actors concerned. For the moment, the towns and cities that have managed to come up with such a vision are few and far between. After a -largely historical- review of the importance of vision in changes of urban paradigm, Jean Haentjens stresses how much twenty-first century eco-urbanism broadens the range of possible solutions to the many issues facing our towns and cities today. But, though digital innovations in fact offer new opportunities at the local level, we should nonetheless be wary of 'technological solutionism': the new technologies are tools which towns and cities can use to their advantage, but to become really 'smart' they have to develop a vision. After presenting a series of established or emerging urban models (the frugal city, the creative city, the leisure city and the eco-metropolis), along with the values and imaginative conceptions that underpin them, this article shows - without being unaware of the potential obstacles - how a town or city can produce and renew its strategic vision to reinvent itself and meet the challenges of today

The mini climatic city a dedicated space for technological innovations devoted to Sustainable City

Science.gov (United States)

Derkx, François; Lebental, Bérengère; Merliot, Erick; Dumoulin, Jean; Bourquin, Frédéric

2015-04-01

Our cities, from megalopolis to rural commune, are systems of an extraordinary technological and human complexity. Their balance is threatened by the growing population and rarefaction of resources. Massive urbanization endanges the environment, while global climate change, through natural hazards generated (climatic, hydrological and geological), threats people and goods. Connect the city, that is to say, design and spread systems able to route, between multiple actors, a very large amount of heterogeneous information natures and analyzed for various purposes, is at the heart of the hopes to make our cities more sustainable: climate-resilient, energy efficient and actresses of the energy transition, attractive to individuals and companies, health and environment friendly. If multiple players are already aware of this need, progress is slow because, beyond the only connectivity, it is the urban intelligence that will create the sustainable city, through coordinated capabilities of Perception, Decision and Action: to measure phenomena; to analyze their impact on urban sustainability in order to define strategies for improvement; to effectively act on the cause of the phenomenon. In this very active context with a strong societal impact, the Sense-City project aims to accelerate research and innovation in the field of sustainable city, particularly in the field of micro and nanosensors. The project is centered around a "mini climatic City", a unique mobile environmental chamber in Europe of 400m² that can accommodate realistic models of city main components, namely buildings, infrastructures, distribution networks or basements. This R&D test place, available in draft form from January 2015 and in finalized version in 2016, will allow to validate, in realistic conditions, innovative technologies performances for the sustainable city, especially micro- and nano-sensors, at the end of their development laboratory and upstream of industrialization. R & D platform

Sustainability and Cities as Systems of Innovation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Johnson, Bjørn; Lehmann, Martin

Cities often constitute relevant environments for interactive learning and innovation potentially capable of tackling sustainability problems. In this paper we ask if the concept of systems of innovation can increase our understanding of city dynamics and help promoting the sustainable development...... of cities. Through a combination of the innovation system approach and the perspective of creative cities, we argue that a slightly modified concept – sustainable city systems of innovation – may be helpful in this context. To underline this, we discuss certain ‘city-traits’ of sustainability and conclude...

[Drunk driving in professional drivers in the Vía Blanca highway in Cuba].

Science.gov (United States)

Guanche Garcell, Humberto; Suárez Enríquez, Tomás; Gutiérrez García, Francisco; Martínez Quesada, Carlos; Mendoza Pérez, Ramón

2006-01-01

To determine the frequency of drunk driving in professional drivers (Via Blanca, Havana City), we carried out a descriptive study of 832 drivers selected by multistage stratified sampling. A structured interview with each driver was carried out to record the variables under study, and a breath alcohol test was subsequently performed. The frequency of drunk driving was 8.18% (95% CI, 5.94%-10.42%), with a predominance of drivers with alcohol levelsDrunk driving was more frequent in "high risk" hours, in drivers aged between 40 and 49 years old (10.3%), and in those with 15 to 24 years of experience (11.02%). The frequency of drunk driving found in this study highlights the need to design traffic accident prevention strategies.

Low-carbon infrastructure strategies for cities

Science.gov (United States)

Kennedy, C. A.; Ibrahim, N.; Hoornweg, D.

2014-05-01

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions to avert potentially disastrous global climate change requires substantial redevelopment of infrastructure systems. Cities are recognized as key actors for leading such climate change mitigation efforts. We have studied the greenhouse gas inventories and underlying characteristics of 22 global cities. These cities differ in terms of their climates, income, levels of industrial activity, urban form and existing carbon intensity of electricity supply. Here we show how these differences in city characteristics lead to wide variations in the type of strategies that can be used for reducing emissions. Cities experiencing greater than ~1,500 heating degree days (below an 18 °C base), for example, will review building construction and retrofitting for cold climates. Electrification of infrastructure technologies is effective for cities where the carbon intensity of the grid is lower than ~600 tCO2e GWh-1 whereas transportation strategies will differ between low urban density (~6,000 persons km-2) cities. As nation states negotiate targets and develop policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, attention to the specific characteristics of their cities will broaden and improve their suite of options. Beyond carbon pricing, markets and taxation, governments may develop policies and target spending towards low-carbon urban infrastructure.

Utility-driven evidence for healthy cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

de Leeuw, Evelyne; Skovgaard, Thomas

2005-01-01

The question whether the WHO Healthy Cities project 'works' has been asked ever since a number of novel ideas and actions related to community health, health promotion and healthy public policy in the mid 1980s came together in the Healthy Cities Movement initiated by the World Health Organization....... The question, however, has become more urgent since we have entered an era in which the drive for 'evidence' seems all-pervasive. The article explores the nature of evidence, review available evidence on Healthy Cities accomplishments, and discusses whether enough evidence has been accumulated on different...... performances within the realm of Healthy Cities. A main point of reference is the European Healthy Cities Project (E-HCP). Building on the information gathered through documentary research on the topic, it is concluded that there is fair evidence that Healthy Cities works. However, the future holds great...

Visions of the City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pinder, David

in informing understandings and imaginings of the modern city. The author critically examines influential traditions in western Europe associated with such figures as Ebenezer Howard and Le Corbusier, uncovering the political interests, desires and anxieties that lay behind their ideal cities, and drawing out...

Global Cities and Liability of Foreignness

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wernicke, Georg; Mehlsen, Kristian

2016-01-01

In this paper, we combine the concepts of location, liability of foreignness (LoF), and their relation to factors that drive multinational enterprises (MNEs) towards, or away from, global cities. We argue that three interrelated characteristics of global cities - cosmopolitanism, availability...... indicate that MNEs have a stronger propensity to locate in global cities than in metropolitan or peripheral areas, and that these locational choices are affected by institutional distance and industrial characteristics. The results provide empirical support for our argument that locating in a global city...... can reduce the liability of foreignness suffered by MNEs, and that global cities play a central role in the process of globalisation....

Hamilton : the electric city

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gilbert, R [Richard Gilbert Consultant, Toronto, ON (Canada)

2006-04-13

The City of Hamilton has launched an extensive energy planning exercise that examines the possibility of steep increases in oil and natural gas prices. This report examined and illustrated the issue of oil and gas price points. The report also examined and presented the city's role in an era of energy constraints, focusing on the city's transit system and its vehicle fleet. In addition, in response to City Council's direction, the report presented the aerotropolis proposal and discussed freight transport issues. Specific topics of discussion included oil and natural gas prospects; prospects for high oil and natural gas prices; impacts of fuel price increases; strategic planning objectives for energy constraints; reducing energy use by Hamilton's transport and in buildings; and land-use planning for energy constraints. Energy production opportunities involve the use of solar energy; wind energy; deep lake water cooling (DLWC); hydro-electric power; energy from waste; biogas production; district energy; and local food production. Economic and social development through preparing for energy constraints and matters raised by city council were also presented. The report also demonstrated how an energy-based strategy could be paid for and its components approved. The next steps for Hamilton were also identified. refs., tabs., figs.

Hamilton : the electric city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gilbert, R.

2006-01-01

The City of Hamilton has launched an extensive energy planning exercise that examines the possibility of steep increases in oil and natural gas prices. This report examined and illustrated the issue of oil and gas price points. The report also examined and presented the city's role in an era of energy constraints, focusing on the city's transit system and its vehicle fleet. In addition, in response to City Council's direction, the report presented the aerotropolis proposal and discussed freight transport issues. Specific topics of discussion included oil and natural gas prospects; prospects for high oil and natural gas prices; impacts of fuel price increases; strategic planning objectives for energy constraints; reducing energy use by Hamilton's transport and in buildings; and land-use planning for energy constraints. Energy production opportunities involve the use of solar energy; wind energy; deep lake water cooling (DLWC); hydro-electric power; energy from waste; biogas production; district energy; and local food production. Economic and social development through preparing for energy constraints and matters raised by city council were also presented. The report also demonstrated how an energy-based strategy could be paid for and its components approved. The next steps for Hamilton were also identified. refs., tabs., figs

Evaluation of partnership working in cities in phase IV of the WHO Healthy Cities Network.

Science.gov (United States)

Lipp, Alistair; Winters, Tim; de Leeuw, Evelyne

2013-10-01

An intersectoral partnership for health improvement is a requirement of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network of municipalities. A review was undertaken in 59 cities based on responses to a structured questionnaire covering phase IV of the network (2003-2008). Cities usually combined formal and informal working partnerships in a pattern seen in previous phases. However, these encompassed more sectors than previously and achieved greater degrees of collaborative planning and implementation. Additional WHO technical support and networking in phase IV significantly enhanced collaboration with the urban planning sector. Critical success factors were high-level political commitment and a well-organized Healthy City office. Partnerships remain a successful component of Healthy City working. The core principles, purpose and intellectual rationale for intersectoral partnerships remain valid and fit for purpose. This applied to long-established phase III cities as well as newcomers to phase IV. The network, and in particular the WHO brand, is well regarded and encourages political and organizational engagement and is a source of support and technical expertise. A key challenge is to apply a more rigorous analytical framework and theory-informed approach to reviewing partnership and collaboration parameters.

Tourism and City. Reflections about Tourist Dimension of Smart City

OpenAIRE

Rosa Anna La Rocca

2013-01-01

The city of the future seems to be necessarily “intelligent” both in its physical and in functional features.This paper starts from the consideration that the diffusion of new communication technologies (ICTs) is significantly changing the urban supply system of tourist services giving rise to new ways of enjoying the city.As tourism can be assumed as an urban activity, by a town planning point of view, the study of tourism is meaningful to identify development trajectories of the present cit...

The guide to greening cities

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Johnston, Sadhu Aufochs

2013-01-01

... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 CHAPTER 3. Leading in the Community: Using City Assets, Policy, Partnerships, and Persuasion . . Case in Point: Returning to Green City Roots and Loving El...

Preface (to Playable Cities)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Unknown, [Unknown; Nijholt, A.; Nijholt, Antinus

In this book, we address the issue of playfulness and playability in intelligent and smart cities. Playful technology can be introduced and authorized by city authorities. This can be compared and is similar to the introduction of smart technology in theme and recreational parks. However, smart

Marriage and the City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gautier, Pieter; Svarer, Michael; Teulings, Coen

Do people move to cities because of marriage market considerations? In cities singles can meet more potential partners than in rural areas. Singles are therefore prepared to pay a premium in terms of higher housing prices. Once married, the marriage market benefits disappear while the housing...

Cities at Play

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Magnussen, Rikke; Elming, Anna

2015-01-01

This paper presents a community-driven science gaming project where students in collaboration with urban planners and youth project workers in the City of Copenhagen used Minecreaft to redesign their neighbourhood to generate solutions to problems in their local area. The project involved 25...... administrated by the City of Copenhagen. Resources were allocated for one of these projects to recondition the subsidized housing for this area. A community-driven science gaming process was designed in which overall challenges for redesign, defined by urban planners, were given to the students to highlight...... for redesigning the neighbourhood in Minecraft and LEGO. These were presented to City of Copenhagen architects and urban planners as well as the head of the Department of Transport, Technology and Environment. Overall the study showed that tasks focused on solving local living problems through neighbourhood...

The Meat City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thelle, Mikkel

2017-01-01

This article investigates the emergence of the Copenhagen slaughterhouse, called the Meat City, during the late nineteenth century. This slaughterhouse was a product of a number of heterogeneous components: industrialization and new infrastructures were important, but hygiene and the significance...... of Danish bacon exports also played a key role. In the Meat City, this created a distinction between rising production and consumption on the one hand, and the isolation and closure of the slaughtering facility on the other. This friction mirrored an ambivalent attitude towards meat in the urban space: one...... where consumers demanded more meat than ever before, while animals were being removed from the public eye. These contradictions, it is argued, illustrate and underline the change of the city towards a ‘post-domestic’ culture. The article employs a variety of sources, but primarily the Copenhagen...

Health assessment for Peoples Natural Gas Company, Dubuque, Dubuque County, Iowa, Region 7. CERCLIS No. IAD980852578. Final report

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1991-01-01

The Peoples Natural Gas Company site is a National Priorities List (NPL) site situated at 11th Street and Cedar Street in Dubuque, Iowa. The site is located at the former coal gas manufacturing plant located about 1,500 feet east of downtown Dubuque in an industrial zone area. Two waste products of primary concern are coal tar sludge and spent iron oxide waste. The population at risk of exposure includes 75 municipal employees in the Dubuque Public Works Garage, remedial workers, highway construction workers, and the general public at the site. Three schools are in the downtown area. Five commercial wells used in a cooling process are within half a mile of the site. The city of Dubuque has nine municipal wells 1.5 miles upgradient of the site. Potential human exposure routes include accidental ingestion and dermal contact with contaminated soil, inhalation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and contaminated dust, ingestion and dermal contact with contaminated ground water, and inhalation of VOCs from secondary industrial use of ground water. This site is a public health hazard because of potential for exposure to contaminants at concentrations that may result in adverse health effects

Unravelling the Global City Debate: Economic Inequality and Ethnocentrism in Contemporary Dutch Cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

J. van der Waal (Jeroen)

2010-01-01

textabstractIt is hard to overestimate the scholarly impact of Saskia Sassen’s global city theoretical framework, which revolves around the impact of economic globalization on the social, economic, and political reality of cities in advanced economies. Yet, more than two decades of research

GPR applied to mapping utilities along the route of the Line 4 (yellow) subway tunnel construction in São Paulo City, Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Porsani, Jorge Luís; Ruy, Yang Boo; Ramos, Fernanda Pereira; Yamanouth, Gisele R. B.

2012-05-01

The rapid industrial development and disorganized population growth in huge cities bring about various urban problems due to intense use of physical space on and below the surface. Subsurface problems in metropolitan areas are caused by subway line construction, which often follows the routes of utility networks, such as electric and telephone cables, water and gas pipes, storm sewers, etc. Usually, the main problems are related to damage or destruction of preexisting utilities, often putting human lives at risk. With the purpose of minimizing risks, GPR-profiling with 200 MHz antennae was done at two sites, both located in downtown São Paulo, Brazil. The objectives of this work were to map utilities or existing infrastructure in the subsurface in order to orient the construction of the Line 4 (yellow) subway tunnel in São Paulo. GPR profiles can detect water pipes, utility networks in the subsurface, and concrete foundation columns or pilings in subsoil up to 2 m depth. In addition, the GPR profiles also provided details of the target shapes in the subsurface. GPR interpretations combined with lithological information from boreholes and trenches opened in the study areas were extremely important in mapping of the correct spatial distribution of buried utilities at these two sites in São Paulo. This information improves and updates maps of utility placement, serves as a basis for planning of the geotechnical excavation of the Line 4 (yellow) subway tunnel in São Paulo, helps minimize problems related to destruction of preexisting utilities in the subsoil, and avoids risk of dangerous accidents.

Smart Cities Will Need Chemistry

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alexandru WOINAROSCHY

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A smart city is a sustainable and efficient urban centre that provides a high quality of life to its inhabitants through optimal management of its resources. Chemical industry has a key role to play in the sustainable evolution of the smart cities. Additionally, chemistry is at the heart of all modern industries, including electronics, information technology, biotechnology and nano-technology. Chemistry can make the smart cities project more sustainable, more energy efficient and more cost effective. There are six broad critical elements of any smart city: water management systems; infrastructure; transportation; energy; waste management and raw materials consumption. In all these elements chemistry and chemical engineering are deeply involved.

A New City.

OpenAIRE

Clay, Allyson

1990-01-01

Allyson Clay’s "Traces of a City in the Spaces Between Some People" is a series of twenty diptychs contrasting fabricated faux finishing with expressionist painting and text. The fabricated paint applications evoke city surfaces like concrete and granite; they also evoke modernist painting.  Unlike modernist painting, however, the faux surfaces are decorative and mechanically painted. The choice to have the surfaces fabricated serves to disrupt the egoism of modern abstraction and the im...

Mischief Humor in Smart and Playable Cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nijholt, Anton; Nijholt, Anton

2017-01-01

In smart cities we can expect to witness human behavior that is not be different from human behavior in present-day cities. There will be demonstrations, flash mobs, and organized events to provoke the smart city establishment. Smart cities will have bugs that can be exploited by hackers. Smart

Politics for cities, cities for the political. About possibility (and necessity of radical urban politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wiktor Marzec

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Essay faces the problem of determinacy of global capitalism processes for the reality of urban political life. The city is naturally communitarian form of human life and seems to be the place where radical pro-community politics could be undertaken. Already existing and operating forms of power could fruitfully influence the city social relations. Values and norms of conduct are broadly delegated on the urban space and materiality, thus conscious shaping of city space has severe consequences for community life. If a crisis of the political partly has its roots in metamorphoses of the cities, then also remedies, rising from the urban materiality and reestablishing political subjects, could be thought. City, as most real place of political life could be either reduced to the aggregate of consumers or reestablished as a political community. Due to this is the place where undesired course of action could be stopped, hence precisely here the radical democratic politics can emerge.

Town Centre Redevelopment Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vagnby, Bo Hellisen

After many years of urban growth Danish downtowns are facing some important choices. Shall the stake one-sidedly be on the town centres as driving forces for growth and 'city marketing', or do they still have a role to play in a broader socio-economic context? In the paper we look back on eight...... as slum clearence and urban renewal. To a certain extent parallels are drawn to international experiences, especially where these are of such a nature that they can be assumed transferred to Danish connctions. Conclusively, the strategies are discussed in the light of the turn of Danish urban planning...

Toward a healthier city: nutrition standards for New York City government.

Science.gov (United States)

Lederer, Ashley; Curtis, Christine J; Silver, Lynn D; Angell, Sonia Y

2014-04-01

Poor diet is a leading cause of disability, death, and rising health care costs. Government agencies can have a large impact on population nutrition by adopting healthy food purchasing policies. In 2007, New York City (NYC) began developing a nutrition policy for all foods purchased, served, or contracted for by City agencies. A Food Procurement Workgroup was created with representatives from all City agencies that engaged in food purchasing or service, and the NYC Health Department served as technical advisor. The NYC Standards for Meals/Snacks Purchased and Served (Standards) became a citywide policy in 2008. The first of its kind, the Standards apply to more than 3,000 programs run by 12 City agencies. This paper describes the development process and initial implementation of the Standards. With more than 260 million meals and snacks per year covered, the Standards increase demand for healthier products, model healthy eating, and may also affect clients' food choices beyond the institutional environment. Our experience suggests that implementation of nutrition standards across a wide range of diverse agencies is feasible, especially when high-level support is established and technical assistance is available. Healthy procurement policies can ensure that food purchased by a jurisdiction supports its public health efforts. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Digital romance in the Indian city

NARCIS (Netherlands)

P.A. Arora (Payal); A. Rangaswamy (Arvind)

2015-01-01

markdownabstract__Abstract__ The Indian city is no Paris. Far from being a city of love, it spells of crowds, chaos and confusion. Within desperately strained urban infrastructures lie grey zones, grey markets, and grey practices. In Mumbai alone, the most populous city in India of 30 million,

New ways of inhabiting the city: Aerotropolis and Generic City. The case of Quito

OpenAIRE

Rosero Añazco, Verónica

2015-01-01

Is the contemporary city like the contemporary airport- “all the same”? This hypothesis in "The Generic City" (Koolhaas, 1997) is even more controversial with the following scenario: what happens when a territory is planned based on an airport, a "non-place", as qualified by Marc Augé? (Augé, 1993) The "aerotropolis" is an urban model that has been applied in various cities around the world in general terms, despite the obvious differences that may exist in cultural, geographical, economic, i...

Crowd-based city logistics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Sampaio Oliveira, A.H.; Savelsbergh, M.W.P.; Veelenturf, L.P.; van Woensel, T.

2017-01-01

Cities are drivers of economic development, providing infrastructure to support countless activities and services. Today, the world’s 750 biggest cities account for more than 57% of the global GDP and this number is expected to increase to 61% by 2030. More than half of the world’s population lives

MANAGING THE IMAGE OF CITIES IN THE “GLOBAL VILLAGE:” City Branding As An Opportunity Against Globalization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gözdem Çelikkanat Aysu

2013-07-01

Full Text Available In this article the strong effect of forming a corporate identity in city branding is  studied. It is emphasized that by strong identity and image acquisition cities distinguish by their unique branding elements rather than global city imposition  hat is carried out by globalization pressure. According to the opinions that perceive globalization as an absolute fact, cities like Istanbul have to articulate  to this new system. In this way of thinking, it is inevitable to suffer in McLuhan’s  “global village”. However creating strategies for powerful image and branding of a city can be a leading factor against global city imposition. Keeping up with the same method of creating a “corporate” identity, the image of the cities has to be managed by the symmetric communication with all the actors. By this way  globalization can be used as an opportunity instead of threat.

Indoor radon measurements in Mexico City

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Espinosa, G. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 20364, 01000 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)], E-mail: espinosa@fisica.unam.mx; Golzarri, J.I. [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Apartado Postal 20364, 01000 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Bogard, J. [Oak Ridge National Laboratory, PO Box 2008, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6480 (United States); Gaso, I. [Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Nucleares, Apartado Postal 18-1027, 11801 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Ponciano, G. [Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico); Mena, M.; Segovia, N. [Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 Mexico, D.F. (Mexico)

2008-08-15

Mexico City is one of the most populated cities in the world with almost 22 million inhabitants, located at an altitude of 2200 m. The old city was founded on an ancient lake and the zone is known by its high seismicity; indoor radon determination is an important public health issue. In this paper the data of indoor radon levels in Mexico City, measured independently by two research groups, both using Nuclear Track Detector systems but different methodologies, are correlated. The measurements were done during similar exposure periods of time, at family houses from the political administrative regions of the city. The results indicate a correlation coefficient between the two sets of data of R=0.886. Most of the differences between the two sets of data are inherent to houses having extreme (very high or very low indoor radon) included in the statistics of each group. The total average indoor radon found in Mexico City considering the two methods was 87Bqm{sup -3}.

Mobility Performance in Slow- and High-Speed LTE Real Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Gimenez, Lucas Chavarria; Cascino, Maria Carmela; Stefan, Maria

2016-01-01

Mobility performance and handover data interruption times in real scenarios are studied by means of field measurements in an operational LTE network. Both slow- and high-speed scenarios are analyzed by collecting results from two different areas: Aalborg downtown and the highway which encircles...... in the city center as cells on the same site often cover different non-crossing street canyons. Moreover, no handover failures are experienced in the measurements which confirms robust LTE mobility performance. The average interruption time, which is at least equal to the handover execution time, lays within...... the same city. Measurements reveal that the terminal is configured by the network with different handover parametrization depending on the serving cell, which indicates the use of mobility robustness optimization. Although the network is dominated by three sector sites, no intra-site handovers are observed...

Mapping energy poverty in Huntington, West Virginia

Science.gov (United States)

Callicoat, Elizabeth Anne

Energy poverty is a growing phenomenon culminating from the combination of low to mid household income, deteriorating housing structures and rising household energy costs. Energy prices are increasing for all households, but the burden is proportionally larger for those with low to mid income. These groups must sacrifice to afford energy, and are often unable or do not have the autonomy to make structural improvements, especially if they rent their home. Data on residential dwellings from the Cabell County Tax Assessor's Office was used within a geographic information system to map where energy poverty likely exists within the city limits of Huntington, WV. It was found that one fifth of Huntington households are at a high risk of energy poverty, primarily located across the northern section of the city and in the center, surrounding Marshall University, Downtown and Cabell Huntington Hospital.

Consumption-based emission accounting for Chinese cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

mi, zhifu; Zhang, Yunkun; Guan, Dabo

2016-01-01

Most of China’s CO2 emissions are related to energy consumption in its cities. Thus, cities are critical for implementing China’s carbon emissions mitigation policies. In this study, we employ an input-output model to calculate consumption-based CO2 emissions for thirteen Chinese cities and find......-based emissions exceed consumption-based emissions, whereas eight are consumption-based cities, with the opposite emissions pattern. Moreover, production-based cities tend to become consumption-based as they undergo socioeconomic development....

Towards a framework of smart city diplomacy

Science.gov (United States)

Mursitama, T. N.; Lee, L.

2018-03-01

This article addresses the impact of globalization on the contemporary society, particularly the role of the city that is becoming increasingly important. Three distinct yet intertwine aspects such as decentralization, technology, and para diplomacy become antecedent of competitiveness of the city. A city has more power and authority in creating wealth and prosperity of the society by utilizing technology. The smart city, in addition to the importance of technology as enabler, we argue that possessing the sophisticated technology and apply it towards the matter is not enough. The smart city needs to build smart diplomacy at the sub-national level. In this article, we extend the discussion about smart city by proposing a new framework of smart city diplomacy as one way to integrate information technology, public policy and international relations which will be the main contribution to literature and practice.

Sustainability for Shrinking Cities | Science Inventory | US EPA

Science.gov (United States)

Shrinking cities are widespread throughout the world despite the rapidly increasing global urban population. These cities are attempting to transition to sustainable trajectories to improve the health and well-being of urban residents, to build their capacity to adapt to changing conditions and to cope with major events. The dynamics of shrinking cities are different than the dynamics of growing cities, and therefore intentional research and planning around creating sustainable cities is needed for shrinking cities. We propose research that can be applied to shrinking cities by identifying parallel challenges in growing cities and translating urban research and planning that is specific to each city’s dynamics. In addition, we offer applications of panarchy concepts to this problem. The contributions to this Special Issue take on this forward-looking planning task through drawing lessons for urban sustainability from shrinking cities, or translating general lessons from urban research to the context of shrinking cities. Humans are rapidly becoming an urban species, with greater populations in urban areas, increasing size of these urban areas, and increasing number of very large urban areas. As a consequence, much of what we know about cities is focused on how they grow and take shape, the strains that their growth puts on city infrastructure, the consequences for human and nonhuman inhabitants of these cities and their surroundings, and the policies which can

Global cities and cultural experimentation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rojas Gaviria, Pilar; Emontspool, Julie

2015-01-01

Purpose: Studying the cultural dynamics of expatriate amateur theater in Brussels, this paper investigates multicultural marketplace development in contemporary global cities. Design/methodology/approach: The paper performs an interpretive analysis of the expatriate amateur scene in Brussels from...... an ethnographic perspective, combining observations of rehearsals and performances, in-depth interviews with actors, directors and audience, and secondary data. Findings: The fluidity of global cities allows their inhabitants to engage in collective creative processes of cultural experimentation, performing...... to the important role of global cities for cultural experimentation. Such cities are not only an interesting market for culturally diverse products, but also learning hubs. Managers willing to address multicultural marketplaces might target these markets with dynamic cultural offers that ensure a balance between...

City of Zagreb Spatial Data Infrastructure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)