State-owned companies dominate list of largest non-U.S. producers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Beck, R.J.; Williamson, M.

1994-01-01

Because state-owned oil and gas companies dominate Oil and Gas Journal's list of largest non-US producers, data aren't fully comparable with those of the OGJ300. Many state companies report only production and reserves, with little or no financial data. Companies on the OGJ100, therefore, cannot be ranked by assets or revenues. Instead, they are listed by regions, based on location of corporate headquarters. There was no change in makeup of the top 20 holders of crude oil reserves. These companies' reserves totaled 872.3 billion bbl in 1993. The top 20 non-US companies now control 87.3 % of total world crude oil reserves, according to OGJ estimates. This is up marginally from 87.2 % of total world oil reserves in 1992. The top 20 had 87.7 % of total world reserves in 1991 and 85.5 % in 1990. The table lists company name, total assets, revenues, net income, capital and exploratory expenditures, worldwide oil production, gas production, oil and gas reserves worldwide

Smart City Analytics: state of the art and future perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlo Giovannella

2014-05-01

Full Text Available In accordance with a 'people centred' vision, this paper critically examines current approaches to smart cities benchmarking. In particular, by means of correlation analysis and Principal Component Analysis (PCA we put in evidence present limitations of city rankings and, as well, the emergence of different perspectives for data interpretations. To follow, a possible redesign of the 'Smart Cities Analytics' grounded on the traces left by individuals, is suggested. In particular, as an example, we focus on the potentiality offered by automatic text analysis to extract people perceptions and expectations that, in turns, demonstrate the need to integrate bottom-up and top-down approaches to city benchmarking. Finally a novel definition of smart city based on the territorial state of flow is proposed and, as a consequence, a novel path toward smart city benchmarking suggested.

Leadership: Subject to the State Personnel Act (SPA) Employee's Perceptions of Job Satisfaction at Elizabeth City State University

Science.gov (United States)

Leary, Mary

2010-01-01

This evaluation was conducted at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, located approximately 40 miles south of the Virginia state line. ECSU, a historically Black institution of higher learning, was founded in 1891 and is one of 17 constituent universities in The University of North Carolina system. The…

LCA of road infrastructure in Mexico City.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rosales Carreon, Jesus

2007-01-01

Vehicular traffic is a major problem in metropolitan areas and Mexico City is no exception. Located in a pollutant-trapping valley, Mexico City (one of the largest cities in the world) is famous for its size, its history, and the warmth of its people. Nev

Ownership, financing, and management strategies of the ten largest for-profit nursing home chains in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Harrington, Charlene; Hauser, Clarilee; Olney, Brian; Rosenau, Pauline Vaillancourt

2011-01-01

This study examined the ownership, financing, and management strategies of the 10 largest for-profit nursing home chains in the United States, including the four largest chains purchased by private equity corporations. Descriptive data were collected from Internet searches, company reports, and other sources for the decade 1998-2008. Since 1998, the largest chains have made many changes in their ownership and structure, and some have converted from publicly traded companies to private ownership. This study shows the increasing complexity of corporate nursing home ownership and the lack of public information about ownership and financial status. The chains have used strategies to maximize shareholder and investor value that include increasing Medicare revenues, occupancy rates, and company diversification, establishing multiple layers of corporate ownership, developing real estate investment trusts, and creating limited liability companies. These strategies enhance shareholder and investor profits, reduce corporate taxes, and reduce liability risk. There is a need for greater transparency in ownership and financial reporting and for more government oversight of the largest for-profit chains, including those owned by private equity companies.

Dubai: a City of Hope?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lina Abirafeh

2007-07-01

Full Text Available The City of Hope is an organisation offering refuge for abused women in Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates. Dubai has started to acknowledge the social problems accompanying its phenomenal economic growth but is it doing enough to tackle the scourge of human trafficking?

Definition of Smart Energy City and State of the art of 6 Transform cities using Key Performance Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Per Sieverts; Ben Amer, Sara; Halsnæs, Kirsten

2013-01-01

assets, ambitions, targets and main possibilities in terms of energy efficiency, flows and energy production. After this first step, the work focuses on the description of what a smart energy city is (this report), what the main Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are that should be met and how...... will draw largely on existing Strategic Energy Action Plans, Climate Action Plans and planning documents. This report establishes a definition of smart cities develops Key Elements, Key Performance Indicators and reports on the state of the art regarding the KPIs for the 6 Transform cities. As specified...

Definition of Smart Energy City and State of the art of 6 Transform cities using Key Performance Indicators. Deliverable 1.2

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sieverts Nielsen, P.; Amer, S.B.; Halsnaes, K.

2013-08-15

This report summarises the work undertaken under the EU-FP7 TRANSFORM project for Work Package 1 (part 1): Becoming a Smart Energy City, state of the Art and Ambition. Part 1 starts with a clear outline of each of the participating cities. The work describes the context in terms of climate, energy assets, ambitions, targets and main possibilities in terms of energy efficiency, flows and energy production. After this first step, the work focuses on the description of what a smart energy city is (this report), what the main Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are that should be met and how this relates to where the current cities and the living labs are. It describes at the same time the current status of city planning, energy planning tools, and existing energy data. The outline should also include information on energy production, energy flows and energy efficiency, where possible. The work will draw largely on existing Strategic Energy Action Plans, Climate Action Plans and planning documents. This report establishes a definition of smart cities, develops Key Elements, Key Performance Indicators and reports on the state of the art regarding the KPIs for the 6 Transform cities. As specified in the Transform proposal, the objective of the evaluation is to identify previous and existing initiatives as a sort of stocktaking on the way to establishing a smart city transformation pathway for each of the participating cities in the Transform project. The definition of a smart energy city and the key performance indicators will be used throughout Transform the guide the work. (Author)

Investigation of Science Faculty with Education Specialties within the Largest University System in the United States

OpenAIRE

Bush, Seth D; Pelaez, Nancy; Rudd, James A, II; Stevens, Michael T; Tanner, Kimberly D; Williams, Kathy, PhD

2011-01-01

Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university ...

United States Local Government Reform: The Emergence of the City Manager

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robert McEVOY

2002-06-01

Full Text Available City Managers came into being in the early 1900.s because of the corruption, waste, and lack of responsiveness of local governments in the United States. Business leaders in large cities had begun to recognise that major changes in their local governments were desperately needed for their businesses to grow and prosper. Andrew Carnegie, a founder of United States Steel, had indicated that business needed a stable society to prosper. Local government had to become responsive to the changing needs of the poor, abused and neglected children, the mentally ill and the elderly, to cite a few examples.

Comparative economic efficiency, operating costs and fuel consumption rates of freight transport modes between the largest industrial cities and seaports in South Africa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

W J (Wessel Pienaar

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The paper deals with aspects of efficiency within the five modes of freight transport, with special reference to the operating cost and fuel consumption rates between South Africa’s largest industrial cities and seaports. In particular, the paper deals with (a the opportunities that exist for the achievement of efficiency in freight transport; (b the subgroups of economies that can enhance efficiency attainment in the freight transport industry; (c prevailing cost structures, operating cost and fuel consumption rates within the five modes of freight transport; and (d the salient economic features of the freight transport market. The research approach and methodology combine (a a literature survey; (b empiric research, (c an analysis of the cost structures of freight transport operators from different modes of transport; and (d interviews conducted with specialists in the freight transport industry.

Certification of an optimal TSP tour through 85,900 cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Applegate, David L.; Bixby, Robert E.; Chvatal, Vasek

2009-01-01

We describe a computer code and data that together certify the optimality of a solution to the 85,900-city traveling salesman problem pla85900, the largest instance in the TSPLIB collection of challenge problems......We describe a computer code and data that together certify the optimality of a solution to the 85,900-city traveling salesman problem pla85900, the largest instance in the TSPLIB collection of challenge problems...

The State of City Leadership for Children and Families: Youth in Transition

Science.gov (United States)

National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families (NJ1), 2009

2009-01-01

The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) is a special entity within the National League of Cities (NLC). The YEF Institute helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children, youth, and families in their communities. The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families…

An Analysis of New Small High Schools' On-Time Graduation Rates in New York City

Science.gov (United States)

Dudley, Nathan

2017-01-01

Beginning in 2002, with the election of Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City's Department of Education undertook an unprecedented overhaul of the largest school district in the United States. Over the next 10 years the Department of Education closed more than 25 large, underperforming high schools, and created almost 200 new, small high schools,…

Solar energy potential of the largest buildings in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Wence, E. R.; Grodsky, S.; Hernandez, R. R.

2017-12-01

Sustainable pathways of land use for energy are necessary to mitigate climate change and limit conversion of finite land resources needed for conservation and food production. Large, commercial buildings (LCBs) are increasing in size and number throughout the United States (US) and may serve as suitable recipient environments for photovoltaic (PV) solar energy infrastructure that may support a low carbon, low land footprint energy transition. In this study, we identified, characterized, and evaluated the technical potential of the largest, commercial building rooftops (i.e., exceeding 110,000 m2) and their associated parking lots in the US for PV solar energy systems using Aurora, a cloud-based solar optimization platform. We also performed a case study of building-specific electricity generation: electricity consumption balance. Further, we quantified the environmental co-benefit of land sparing and associated avoided emissions (t-CO2-eq) conferred under the counterfactual scenario that solar development would otherwise proceed as a ground-mounted, utility-scale PV installation of equal nominal capacity. We identified and mapped 37 LCBs (by rooftop area) across 18 states in the US, spanning from as far north as the state of Minnesota to as far south as Florida. Rooftop footprints range from 427,297 to 113,689 m2 and have a cumulative surface area of 99.8 million ft2. We characterize the LCBs as either: distribution/warehouse, factory, shopping center, or administrative office/facility. Three of the 37 LCBs currently support rooftop PV and the numbers of associated, detached buildings number up to 38. This study elucidates the extent to which LCBs and their respective parking lots can serve as suitable sites for PV solar energy generation. Lastly, this study demonstrates research-based applications of the Aurora energy modeling platform and informs decision-making focused on redirecting energy development towards human-modified landscapes to prioritize land use for

A comparative study of the mobile population in Wuhan and other major cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Zeng, Y

1997-01-01

This study examined population mobility among residents of 5 cities in China: Wuhan, Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. Data were obtained from the 1995 Sample Survey of 1% of Wuhan Population and provincial Statistical Yearbooks. The total mobile population in China has increased from 20-80 million during 1982-95. Shanghai is the largest Chinese city. Beijing has a large proportion of international and internal migrants. Guangzhou is a capital city that was the first to adopt economic reforms. Migration fueled development in Shenzhen. A larger mobile population was related to larger population density. The mobile population was 20% in all cities, 30% of central city population, and 140.5% of the central city of Shenzhen. Beijing and Shanghai had the highest growth rates. Construction accounts for the largest percentage of business-related mobile population in Wuhan, Beijing, and Shanghai. Manufacturing accounts for the largest percentage in Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Most of the mobile population in capital cities such as Wuhan and Guangzhou, originates from within the provinces. The largest percentage of mobile population in Beijing and Shanghai come from adjacent provinces. Guangzhou receives many migrants from adjacent Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan. 47.8-78.8% of mobile population were farmers. More migrants are men. Educational levels are low. The mobile population contributes to industry and informational/cultural exchange. The migrants detract from urban areas in population pressure on housing and services, shortages of employment, illegal activities and crime, and unplanned births.

Role of the state in solving the environmental problems of the industrial monoprofile cities

Science.gov (United States)

Musina, L. M.; Neucheva, M. U.

2018-01-01

Nowadays the problem of sustainable socio-economic development of monotowns refers to one of the priority issues of the state policy. The author analyzes monotowns state policy support in Russia with main focus on programs aimed at ecological restoration of industrial monoprofile cities. The processes of program control in monotowns within the state economic policy are analyzed. In order to evaluate the results of programs (of city-forming enterprises and monotowns level) the principles of development of criteria development system have been substantiated. The environmental situation of monotowns depends on a complex system of interaction between the city (represented by its people and municipal authorities), private capital and the state. Long-term sustainable development of monotowns requires the interests of all three parties to be in balance. This is possible to achieve by increasing the social responsibility of businesses, increasing the development of local government and urban identity and active influence of local communities on the activities of the municipal authorities.

The IOC's Midas Touch: Summer Olympics and City Growth

OpenAIRE

Volker Nitsch; Nicolai Wendland

2013-01-01

Hosting a mega-event is a costly activity of short duration. Still, cities frequently compete to become host of all types of events. This paper examines the effect of staging the largest and most important sporting event in the world, the Summer Olympic Games, on the host city. Applying a difference-in-differences methodology, we analyze the rates of population growth of Olympic cities, candidate cities and other large cities in host and candidate countries over the period from 1860 to 2010. ...

Valuing Xi’an : A Chinese capital city for 13 dynasties

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ng, M.K.; Zhai, B.; Zhao, Y.; Li, J.

2016-01-01

Xi'an, the capital city of Chinese dynasties featured the first planned urban settlement in China and was one of the largest cities in the first millennium of world history. Xi?an was a historic and cultural city where over 3000 years of urban history continued to unfold. The expansion of the Qin

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.

Assessment of groundwater quality of Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The quality of groundwater of Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria was investigated between February and July 2008. Water samples were collected from functional bore holes from five locations (stations 1 – 5) and analyzed for physico-chemical parameters including heavy metals. Data obtained were compared with World ...

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.

Rethinking urban space in cities - A study of parks in Hyderabad, India

Science.gov (United States)

Shrinagesh, B.; Markandey, Kalpana

2016-06-01

Urban areas being economically diversified attract large streams of migrants making for a burgeoning population. This is more prevalent in the developing countries. The concomitants of this are high density, heavy traffic movement and increased pollution levels. To reduce the stressful life of city dwellers it is important to have open spaces, where one can pursue leisure time activities a few removes from clutter. A public space is a space that is generally open and accessible to people. Roads, public parks, libraries etc, are typically considered public space. The term ‘public space’ is also often misconstrued to mean other things such as ‘gathering place’, which is an element of the larger concept of social space. Hyderabad, the historical city is the capital of Telangana, India and extends from longitude 78o23’ to 78o33’E and latitude of 17o17’ to 17o31’N. It is the second largest city in terms of area and fifth largest in terms of population. It is one of the fastest growing cities in India. There is a huge influx of people from other states in search of better opportunities. The main objectives of the study are; to study the sprawl and changing demographic structure of the city of Hyderabad, to study the accessibility of parks, to study the need for the emergence of a local public sphere. The data base will be mainly on secondary data collected from various government sources. A primary survey will be conducted based on a structured questionnaire. GIS and other mapping techniques will be applied to analyse the data.

Cold Lake at a crossroads : financially unsustainable, the city at the centre of the second largest oilsands deposit faces dissolution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bentein, J.

2009-01-01

Despite the fact that it is located near some of Alberta's expanding heavy oil projects, the city of Cold Lake must dissolve the city unless drastic financial solutions are found. The city receives little or no tax revenues from the surrounding in situ oil sands projects operated by major oil and gas operators in the region. The city currently has the highest urban tax of any municipality in Alberta. Residential taxes have risen by 38 per cent in the last 2 years, despite the fact that the city has struggled to provide basic services to its residents. New arenas, fire halls, sewage facilities and other infrastructure improvements are needed. The city's council is in need of substantial funding from the provincial government. A dissolution study will be conducted to determine if the city should become part of the municipal district of Bonnyville or examine other alternatives. It was concluded that without a substantial industrial tax base, the city is not sustainable. 4 figs

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...

Cities' Role in Mitigating United States Food System Greenhouse Gas Emissions.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohareb, Eugene A; Heller, Martin C; Guthrie, Peter M

2018-05-15

Current trends of urbanization, population growth, and economic development have made cities a focal point for mitigating global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The substantial contribution of food consumption to climate change necessitates urban action to reduce the carbon intensity of the food system. While food system GHG mitigation strategies often focus on production, we argue that urban influence dominates this sector's emissions and that consumers in cities must be the primary drivers of mitigation. We quantify life cycle GHG emissions of the United States food system through data collected from literature and government sources producing an estimated total of 3800 kg CO 2 e/capita in 2010, with cities directly influencing approximately two-thirds of food sector GHG emissions. We then assess the potential for cities to reduce emissions through selected measures; examples include up-scaling urban agriculture and home delivery of grocery options, which each may achieve emissions reductions on the order of 0.4 and ∼1% of this total, respectively. Meanwhile, changes in waste management practices and reduction of postdistribution food waste by 50% reduce total food sector emissions by 5 and 11%, respectively. Consideration of the scale of benefits achievable through policy goals can enable cities to formulate strategies that will assist in achieving deep long-term GHG emissions targets.

State neglect, violence, and community resistance in a Muslim ...

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

17 nov. 2016 ... Ahmedabad, the largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat, is both diverse and divided. While it has benefited from recent economic growth, its population is riven by religious conflict and stark income disparities. Following communal violence in 2002, the informal settlement of Bombay Hotel emerged as one ...

The State of City Leadership for Children and Families: Innovations and Trends in Education

Science.gov (United States)

National League of Cities Institute for Youth, Education and Families (NJ1), 2009

2009-01-01

The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) is a special entity within the National League of Cities (NLC). The YEF Institute helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children, youth, and families in their communities. The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families…

Natural radioactivity in soils of the main cities of the State of Chihuahua

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colmenero S, L.; Montero C, M.E.; Villalba, L.

2003-01-01

The state of Chihuahua counts with at least 56 uranium zones or of minerals associated to this, being Pena Blanca the greatest and more important deposit of the country. Some of the main cities of the state are near to these deposits, as Aldama and Chihuahua. Its were took samples of soil of 11 cities of the state to determine the natural activity of radionuclides. It was determined the specific activity attributable to the parents of the series of 238 U, 232 Th, and of the 40 K isotopes, as well as effective dose rate H E in the soil samples. It was used the high resolution gamma spectrometry of a high purity Ge detector in the laboratory of Environmental Radiological Surveillance of the CIMAV. The measure of the activity of the uranium series carries out by means of the lines of 351 KeV of the 214 Pb and of 609 keV of the 214 Bi, while the thorium series it was deduced of the lines of 238 keV of the 212 Pb and of 912 keV of the 228 Ac. Its were carried out copies and replies for the quality control. Its were found high values of specific activity of some radionuclides, in the near cities to uranium deposits like Aldama and Chihuahua. For the cities that are not near to deposits, as Ciudad Juarez and Ojinaga, the found values were normal. Also the effective dose rate was high for the near cities to deposits like Aldama, Bocoyna, Chihuahua, Jimenez and Nuevo Casas Grandes, it is also necessary to determine, the radon in air levels and of radionuclides in consumption water to obtain the dose that the population of those populations receives. (Author)

Educated Cities and Regional Centralization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Jesper

centralization where the shares of students rose significantly more in urban municipalities than non-urban municipalities. The highest shares of students as well as fastest increases were seen in the municipalities of the four largest cities, Copenhagen, Århus, Odense, and Aalborg. At the national level...

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…

INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT AND GISMAPPING OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL STATE OF THE CITY OF VORONEZH (RUSSIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Semen A. Kurolap

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The authors have created a geoinformation-analytical system (GIS for integratedassessment and mapping of the ecological conditions of the territory according to the criteria of anthropogenic impact and quality of the urban environment, as well as the response of woody plants and the health of the child population (on the example of Voronezh – the largest industrial city of the Central Chernozem region.It has been identified that anthropogenic pollution is formed by the industrial-transportsector and varies with regard to the features of the functional planning infrastructure; near the industrial facilities of the petrochemical profile in the left-Bank sector of the city, conditions for the existence of woody plants significantly worsen, which is manifested in the inhibition of their development; child morbidity rate is significantly higher in industrially polluted neighborhoods with high load of pollutant emissions from industry and transport. The diseases primarily associated with pollution are congenital anomalies, neoplasms, endocrine pathology and diseases of the urogenital area.The industrial zone is the main contributor to the total pollution of air, but the transport zoneis the main contributor to the total pollution of soil and snow cover.

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huang, Jie [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, Mikkeli FI 50130 (Finland); Kang, Shichang, E-mail: shichang.kang@lzb.ac.cn [State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Tian, Lide [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Guo, Junming [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Graduate University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan [Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101 (China); Sillanpää, Mika [Laboratory of Green Chemistry, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Sammonkatu 12, Mikkeli FI 50130 (Finland); and others

2016-10-01

Monsoon circulation is an important process that affects long-range transboundary transport of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg). During the Indian monsoon season of 2013, a total of 92 and 26 atmospheric water vapor samples were collected at Lhasa, the largest city of the Tibet, for Hg and major ions analysis, respectively. The relatively low pH/high electronic conductivity values, together with the fact that NH{sub 4}{sup +} in atmospheric water vapor was even higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa, indicated the effects of anthropogenic perturbations through long-range transboundary atmospheric transport. Concentrations of Hg in atmospheric water vapor ranged from 2.5 to 73.7 ng L{sup −1}, with an average of 12.5 ng L{sup −1}. The elevated Hg and major ions concentrations, and electronic conductivity values were generally associated with weak acidic samples, and Hg mainly loaded with anthropogenic ions such as NH{sub 4}{sup +}. The results of principal component analysis and trajectory analysis suggested that anthropogenic emissions from the Indian subcontinent may have largely contributed to the determined Hg in atmospheric water vapor. Furthermore, our study reconfirmed that below-cloud scavenging contribution was significant for precipitation Hg in Lhasa, and evaluated that on average 74.1% of the Hg in precipitation could be accounted for by below-cloud scavenging. - Highlights: • The low pH/high electronic conductivity was found in atmospheric water vapor. • Anthropogenic NH{sub 4}{sup +} was higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa. • Elevated Hg and major ions levels were usually associated with weak acidic samples. • Hg in atmospheric water vapor was largely influenced by transboundary transport. • Below-cloud scavenging accounted for most Hg in precipitation.

Influence of long-range transboundary transport on atmospheric water vapor mercury collected at the largest city of Tibet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Huang, Jie; Kang, Shichang; Tian, Lide; Guo, Junming; Zhang, Qianggong; Cong, Zhiyuan; Sillanpää, Mika

2016-01-01

Monsoon circulation is an important process that affects long-range transboundary transport of anthropogenic contaminants such as mercury (Hg). During the Indian monsoon season of 2013, a total of 92 and 26 atmospheric water vapor samples were collected at Lhasa, the largest city of the Tibet, for Hg and major ions analysis, respectively. The relatively low pH/high electronic conductivity values, together with the fact that NH_4"+ in atmospheric water vapor was even higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa, indicated the effects of anthropogenic perturbations through long-range transboundary atmospheric transport. Concentrations of Hg in atmospheric water vapor ranged from 2.5 to 73.7 ng L"−"1, with an average of 12.5 ng L"−"1. The elevated Hg and major ions concentrations, and electronic conductivity values were generally associated with weak acidic samples, and Hg mainly loaded with anthropogenic ions such as NH_4"+. The results of principal component analysis and trajectory analysis suggested that anthropogenic emissions from the Indian subcontinent may have largely contributed to the determined Hg in atmospheric water vapor. Furthermore, our study reconfirmed that below-cloud scavenging contribution was significant for precipitation Hg in Lhasa, and evaluated that on average 74.1% of the Hg in precipitation could be accounted for by below-cloud scavenging. - Highlights: • The low pH/high electronic conductivity was found in atmospheric water vapor. • Anthropogenic NH_4"+ was higher than that determined in precipitation of Lhasa. • Elevated Hg and major ions levels were usually associated with weak acidic samples. • Hg in atmospheric water vapor was largely influenced by transboundary transport. • Below-cloud scavenging accounted for most Hg in precipitation.

Noise in large cities in Brazil

Science.gov (United States)

Gerges, Samir N. Y.

2004-05-01

Large cities' noise is considered by the World Health Organization to be the third most hazardous pollution, preceded by air and water pollution. In urban centers, in general, and especially in developing countries such as Brazil, large populations are affected by excessive noise due mainly to traffic flow. The Brazilian Federal Government specifies noise limits, but each state can enforce its own set of noise limits, providing they are lower. The rapid economic growth, together with large migration of northern Brazilians to the developing southern urban areas in search of more lucrative jobs in construction and industrial sectors, resulted in a fast increase in activities such as vehicle and bus traffic, home construction, and development of all necessary infrastructures to support this growth. Urban noise in Brazil has been receiving the attention of national authorities only since 1990, when the Federal Government approved the first ``Program of Community Silence,'' based on ISO R 1996-1971. This paper highlights the noise situation in the five largest and most populated cities in Brazil: Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre and Curitiba [Zannin et al., Appl. Acoust. 63, 351-358 (2002)].

NAFTA: The World's Largest Trading Zone Turns 20

Science.gov (United States)

Ferrarini, Tawni Hunt; Day, Stephen

2014-01-01

Everyone under the age of 20 who has grown up in North America has lived in the common market created by NAFTA--the North American Free Trade Agreement. In a zone linking the United States, Canada, and Mexico, most goods and investments flow freely across borders to users, consumers, and investors. In 1994, NAFTA created the largest relatively…

Metabolic heat production by human and animal populations in cities

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Iain D.; Kennedy, Chris A.

2017-07-01

Anthropogenic heating from building energy use, vehicle fuel consumption, and human metabolism is a key term in the urban energy budget equation. Heating from human metabolism, however, is often excluded from urban energy budgets because it is widely observed to be negligible. Few reports for low-latitude cities are available to support this observation, and no reports exist on the contribution of domestic animals to urban heat budgets. To provide a more comprehensive view of metabolic heating in cities, we quantified all terms of the anthropogenic heat budget at metropolitan scale for the world's 26 largest cities, using a top-down statistical approach. Results show that metabolic heat release from human populations in mid-latitude cities (e.g. London, Tokyo, New York) accounts for 4-8% of annual anthropogenic heating, compared to 10-45% in high-density tropical cities (e.g. Cairo, Dhaka, Kolkata). Heat release from animal populations amounts to <1% of anthropogenic heating in all cities. Heat flux density from human and animal metabolism combined is highest in Mumbai—the world's most densely populated megacity—at 6.5 W m-2, surpassing heat production by electricity use in buildings (5.8 W m-2) and fuel combustion in vehicles (3.9 W m-2). These findings, along with recent output from global climate models, suggest that in the world's largest and most crowded cities, heat emissions from human metabolism alone can force measurable change in mean annual temperature at regional scale.

Metabolic heat production by human and animal populations in cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Stewart, Iain D; Kennedy, Chris A

2017-07-01

Anthropogenic heating from building energy use, vehicle fuel consumption, and human metabolism is a key term in the urban energy budget equation. Heating from human metabolism, however, is often excluded from urban energy budgets because it is widely observed to be negligible. Few reports for low-latitude cities are available to support this observation, and no reports exist on the contribution of domestic animals to urban heat budgets. To provide a more comprehensive view of metabolic heating in cities, we quantified all terms of the anthropogenic heat budget at metropolitan scale for the world's 26 largest cities, using a top-down statistical approach. Results show that metabolic heat release from human populations in mid-latitude cities (e.g. London, Tokyo, New York) accounts for 4-8% of annual anthropogenic heating, compared to 10-45% in high-density tropical cities (e.g. Cairo, Dhaka, Kolkata). Heat release from animal populations amounts to heating in all cities. Heat flux density from human and animal metabolism combined is highest in Mumbai-the world's most densely populated megacity-at 6.5 W m -2 , surpassing heat production by electricity use in buildings (5.8 W m -2 ) and fuel combustion in vehicles (3.9 W m -2 ). These findings, along with recent output from global climate models, suggest that in the world's largest and most crowded cities, heat emissions from human metabolism alone can force measurable change in mean annual temperature at regional scale.

Projections of Temperature-Attributable Premature Deaths in 209 U.S. Cities Using a Cluster-Based Poisson Approach

Science.gov (United States)

Schwartz, Joel D.; Lee, Mihye; Kinney, Patrick L.; Yang, Suijia; Mills, David; Sarofim, Marcus C.; Jones, Russell; Streeter, Richard; St. Juliana, Alexis; Peers, Jennifer;

Demographic Trends of Adults in New York City Opioid Treatment Programs--An Aging Population.

Science.gov (United States)

Han, Benjamin; Polydorou, Soteri; Ferris, Rosie; Blaum, Caroline S; Ross, Stephen; McNeely, Jennifer

2015-01-01

The population of adults accessing opioid treatment is growing older, but exact estimates vary widely, and little is known about the characteristics of the aging treatment population. Further, there has been little research regarding the epidemiology, healt h status, and functional impairments in this population. To determine the utilization of opioid treatment services by older adults in New York City. This study used administrative data from New York State licensed drug treatment programs to examine overall age trends and characteristics of older adults in opioid treatment programs in New York City from 1996 to 2012. We found significant increases in utilization of opioid treatment programs by older adults in New York City. By 2012, those aged 50-59 made up the largest age group in opioid treatment programs. Among older adults there were notable shifts in demographic background including gender and ethnicity, and an increase in self-reported impairments. More research is needed to fully understand the specific characteristics and needs of older adults with opioid dependence.

Global patterns of city size distributions and their fundamental drivers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ethan H Decker

2007-09-01

Full Text Available Urban areas and their voracious appetites are increasingly dominating the flows of energy and materials around the globe. Understanding the size distribution and dynamics of urban areas is vital if we are to manage their growth and mitigate their negative impacts on global ecosystems. For over 50 years, city size distributions have been assumed to universally follow a power function, and many theories have been put forth to explain what has become known as Zipf's law (the instance where the exponent of the power function equals unity. Most previous studies, however, only include the largest cities that comprise the tail of the distribution. Here we show that national, regional and continental city size distributions, whether based on census data or inferred from cluster areas of remotely-sensed nighttime lights, are in fact lognormally distributed through the majority of cities and only approach power functions for the largest cities in the distribution tails. To explore generating processes, we use a simple model incorporating only two basic human dynamics, migration and reproduction, that nonetheless generates distributions very similar to those found empirically. Our results suggest that macroscopic patterns of human settlements may be far more constrained by fundamental ecological principles than more fine-scale socioeconomic factors.

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�

Simulation of Farmers’ Response to Irrigation Water Pricing and Rationing Policies (Case Study: Zabol City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

abouzar parhizkari

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Considering that agricultural sector is the largest consumer of water, presenting integrated management for water resources and formulating effective policies to increase water productivity in this sector is essential. Therefore, using economic modeling , this study simulated the farmers’ responses to irrigation water pricing and rationing policies in Zabol city. To achieve the study purpose, the State Wide Agricultural Production Model and Positive Mathematical Programming were applied. The required data for the years 2010-2011 was collected by completing questionnaires and collecting data sets from the relevant agencies of Zabol city in personal attendance. The results showed that imposing irrigation water pricing and rationing policies in Zabol city leads to a reduction in the total cultivated area by 9/54 and 5/14 percent and a reduction in the water consumption by 6/23 and 7/01 percent, compared to the base year. Ultimately, irrigation water rationing policy, considering frugality of 18/9 million m3 of water, as the appropriate solution for the sustainability of water resources of Zabol city was proposed.

Occurrence and removal of antibiotics, hormones and several other pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment plants of the largest industrial city of Korea.

Science.gov (United States)

Behera, Shishir Kumar; Kim, Hyeong Woo; Oh, Jeong-Eun; Park, Hung-Suck

2011-09-15

Occurrence and removal efficiencies of 20 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) including antibiotics, hormones, and several other miscellaneous pharmaceuticals (analgesics, antiepileptics, antilipidemics, antihypertensives, antiseptics, and stimulants) were investigated in five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of Ulsan, the largest industrial city of Korea. The compounds were extracted from wastewater samples by solid-phase extraction (SPE) and analyzed by High-performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS). The results showed that acetaminophen, atenolol and lincomycin were the main individual pollutants usually found in concentrations over 10 μg/L in the sewage influent. In the WWTPs, the concentrations of analgesic acetaminophen, stimulant caffeine, hormones estriol and estradiol decreased by over 99%. On the contrary, the antibiotic sulfamethazine, the antihypertensive metoprolol, and the antiepileptic carbamazepine exhibited removal efficiencies below 30%. Particularly, removal of antibiotics was observed to vary between -11.2 and 69%. In the primary treatment (physico-chemical processes), the removal of pharmaceuticals was insignificant (up to 28%) and removal of majority of the pharmaceuticals occurred during the secondary treatment (biological processes). The compounds lincomycin, carbamazepine, atenolol, metoprolol, and triclosan showed better removal in WWTPs employing modified activated sludge process with co-existence of anoxic-oxic condition. Further investigation into the design and operational aspects of the biological processes is warranted for the efficient removal of PPCPs, particularly antibiotics, to secure healthy water resource in the receiving downstream, thereby ensuring a sustainable water cycle management. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

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.

A 3D City Model as User Interface Connected to an Energy Model

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjems, Erik; Østergaard, Poul Alberg

2014-01-01

Back in 2007 the municipality of Frederikshavn in Northern Jutland in Denmark decided to use only 100% renewable energy for electricity, heat and transport by the year of 2015. Frederikshavn, the largest city in the municipality, was naturally chosen as case city. To be able to verify whether...

Focus Cities: Improving water, sanitation, and solid waste ...

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

In Kelurahan Penjaringan, Jakarta's largest slum, thousands live without running water or waste disposal. With support from IDRC's Focus Cities Research Initiative, the American charity Mercy Corps worked with residents, local government, researchers, NGOs, and the private sector to tackle these problems.

Fostering eGovernment as State Social Responsibility (SSR: Case Study of an Australian City Council

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sinara Rao Karna

2012-12-01

Full Text Available           Democracies around the world now face Citizen-apathy. This is a concern now more than ever faced by countries around the globe. eGovernment is undoubtedly a platform to deliberate and enable citizens regain confidence and faith in democratic  processes. Citizens now seek Verifiable, Open, Transparent, Empathetic, Responsive and Sensitive Electronic Democracy and Government (VOTERS EDG, Karna, 2012. Similar to corporate world, there are voices stressing on govenments for the need to understand the stakeholders, their involvement, relationships and responsibilities of a state in eGovernance. Citizens everywhere now demand Verifiable, Open, Transparent, Empathetic, Responsive and Sensitive Electronically Democratic Government as a State Social Responsibity (SSR. Peoples movements and outbursts against authorities with the help of Word of Mouse (Karna, 2012 have established that transparent and open governance is the need of the hour. This paper presents findings of the study conducted in an Australian City Council for preparing the city council for ‘City e-readiness’ to initiate e-Government activities. We propose the idea of ‘Centrality of Citizens’ in context of eGovernment. We further build upon the original concept of deeming eGovernment as ‘State Social Responsibility’ (SSR (Karna, 2010, by governments at all levels.  

HIGHER EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION AS A SUBJECT OF ADAPTATION OF RURAL STUDENTS TO THE TERMS OF THE CITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alyona Aleksandrovna Antipova

2014-11-01

Full Text Available The article is devoted to the difficulties of adaptation of rural students to the various spheres of life of the modern city. These difficulties are considered as a field of activity of higher educational institution, acting as the subject of adaptation of students coming to study from rural areas to the terms of the city. The authors ' point of view on this issue is substantiated by the analysis of data of several sociological surveys conducted in various regions of theRussian Federation. Also the experience of assistance in adaptation of the Mordovia state University named after N. P. Ogarev of the city ofSaransk, which is the largest in the Republic of Mordovia University and which accommodates a large number of rural youth. The relevance and scientific novelty of research consists in allocation of areas of adaptation support of students from rural areas by the higher educational institution.

Simulated Climate Impacts of Mexico City's Historical Urban Expansion

Science.gov (United States)

Benson-Lira, Valeria

Urbanization, a direct consequence of land use and land cover change, is responsible for significant modification of local to regional scale climates. It is projected that the greatest urban growth of this century will occur in urban areas in the developing world. In addition, there is a significant research gap in emerging nations concerning this topic. Thus, this research focuses on the assessment of climate impacts related to urbanization on the largest metropolitan area in Latin America: Mexico City. Numerical simulations using a state-of-the-science regional climate model are utilized to address a trio of scientifically relevant questions with wide global applicability. The importance of an accurate representation of land use and land cover is first demonstrated through comparison of numerical simulations against observations. Second, the simulated effect of anthropogenic heating is quantified. Lastly, numerical simulations are performed using pre-historic scenarios of land use and land cover to examine and quantify the impact of Mexico City's urban expansion and changes in surface water features on its regional climate.

Assessing the edible city: Environmental implications of urban agriculture in the Northeast United States

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Goldstein, Benjamin Paul

signicant action in research, design and practice. In the Northeast United States, where per capita diets are amongst the most environmentally intensive globally, there is a growing interest in local food production as a way to reduce the ecological burdens of food demand. Urban farms and pro-urban...... literature, leaving a number of lingering questions surrounding urban agriculture's environmental performance. In a Northern context, it remains to be seen whether the benets of reducing distance from farm to fork are outweighed by the energy demanded by yearround growing systems. Even if urban agriculture...... does provide leaner resource intensities at the farm scale, do these add up to meaningful shifts in a city's environmental footprint at the urban scale? The aim of this project was to begin removing these uncertainties using the Northeast United States as a case study, since cities within that region...

Market Feasibility of Burberry and Gucci in Zhang Jiagang City, P.R China : Case: Introduce a New Luxury Brand into Kelly Mall

OpenAIRE

Wang, Ning; Wu, Youran

2012-01-01

With the rapid development of Chinese economy, wealth has spread from largest coastal cities to smaller cities and luxury stores have started to follow. Kelly Mall is the largest high-end department store situated in Zhang Jiagang City, Jiangsu Province, P.R China. This research aims to figure out if Kelly Mall should introduce a new luxury brand, help-ing Kelly Mall’s board members make decision on taking either Burberry or Gucci or both of them into its luxury department. Theoretical framew...

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.

Investigation of science faculty with education specialties within the largest university system in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Bush, Seth D; Pelaez, Nancy J; Rudd, James A; Stevens, Michael T; Tanner, Kimberly D; Williams, Kathy S

2011-01-01

Efforts to improve science education include university science departments hiring Science Faculty with Education Specialties (SFES), scientists who take on specialized roles in science education within their discipline. Although these positions have existed for decades and may be growing more common, few reports have investigated the SFES approach to improving science education. We present comprehensive data on the SFES in the California State University (CSU) system, the largest university system in the United States. We found that CSU SFES were engaged in three key arenas including K-12 science education, undergraduate science education, and discipline-based science education research. As such, CSU SFES appeared to be well-positioned to have an impact on science education from within science departments. However, there appeared to be a lack of clarity and agreement about the purpose of these SFES positions. In addition, formal training in science education among CSU SFES was limited. Although over 75% of CSU SFES were fulfilled by their teaching, scholarship, and service, our results revealed that almost 40% of CSU SFES were seriously considering leaving their positions. Our data suggest that science departments would likely benefit from explicit discussions about the role of SFES and strategies for supporting their professional activities.

Staged Optimization Design for Updating Urban Drainage Systems in a City of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kui Xu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Flooding has been reported more often than in the past in most cities of China in recent years. In response, China’s State Council has urged the 36 largest cities to update the preparedness to handle the 50-year rainfall, which would be a massive project with large investments. We propose a staged optimization design for updating urban drainage that is not only a flexible option against environmental changes, but also an effective way to reduce the cost of the project. The staged cost optimization model involving the hydraulic model was developed in Fuzhou City, China. This model was established to minimize the total present costs, including intervention costs and flooding costs, with full consideration of the constraints of specific local conditions. The results show that considerable financial savings could be achieved by a staged design rather than the implement-once scheme. The model’s sensitivities to four data parameters were analyzed, including rainfall increase rate, flood unit cost, storage unit cost, and discount rate. The results confirm the applicability and robustness of the model for updating drainage systems to meet the requirements. The findings of this study may have important implications on urban flood management in the cities of developing countries with limited construction investments.

How Many Central City High Schools Have A Severe Dropout Problem, Where Are They Located, and Who Attends Them? Initial Estimates Using the Common Core of Data

OpenAIRE

Balfanz, Robert; Legters, Nettie

2001-01-01

The analysis presented in this paper strongly suggests that about half of the high schools in the nation’s 35 largest cities have severe dropout rates. It further shows that high schools with weak promoting power and by implication high dropout rates are found in almost all of the largest cities but they are particularly concentrated in Midwestern and Northern industrial cities and Texas.

The Automotive Situation in Poznań versus other Cities and National Indexes

Science.gov (United States)

Kozak, Karolina; Kozak, Miłosław; Merkisz, Jerzy; Nijak, Dawid; Wiśniewska, Bożena

2012-09-01

Following the dynamic development of the automotive industry and economic changes in the last 20 years Polish transport-related needs and citizen mobility have changed as well. An increased demand for traveling and easy access to individual means of transport in the form of passenger cars put Poznan in the top ten of the largest cities of Poland in terms of the motorization level. The paper analyses the current situation of the level of motorization of the city of Poznan based on statistical data from Central Vehicle and Driver Register, Department of Motor Vehicles in Poznan and published by Central Office of Statistics. A synthetic analysis has been presented of the situation in Poznan against other largest cities of Poland and the average situation in the country. The paper also presents the analysis of the preferences of the citizens of Poznan in terms of engine capacity, type of fuel, engine type as and the most popular vehicle makes.

Smart Aarhus: Participatory Digital City Development in Scandinavia

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brynskov, Martin

of approximately one million people. Aarhus has recently announced a digital agenda, the Smart Aarhus Initiative. It will be formulated and implemented alongside unprecedented urban developments over the coming decade, the largest, relatively speaking, in the region, encompassing new constructions in central urban...... areas, the waterfront, an entire hospital city, large housing areas, as well as suburban areas. Aarhus has a dual purpose for its digital agenda: First, ICT (Information & Communication Technologies) will be a cornerstone in the coming transformation of the city and the region, with a focus on serving...

Global CO_2-energy emissions in 2007. China becomes the largest emitter along with the United States - June 2008

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2008-01-01

China becomes the largest emitter along with the United States. Contents: 1990-2007 evolution (key figures of Yearly average evolutions); Global CO_2-energy emissions in 2007: 27,3 GtCO_2; Global CO_2-energy emissions have increased by 3,2% in 2007, largely driven by China. Since 1990, China has more than doubled its CO_2-energy emissions, to reach the same emission level as the USA in 2007. Two very contrasting tendencies appear since 1990: stabilization of emissions in Annex B countries, boom in China and India. Since 1990, more than half of CO_2-energy emissions growth is (logically) due to coal. (authors)

Qualitative evidence on abortion stigma from Mexico City and five states in Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Sorhaindo, Annik M; Juárez-Ramírez, Clara; Díaz Olavarrieta, Claudia; Aldaz, Evelyn; Mejía Piñeros, María Consuelo; Garcia, Sandra

2014-01-01

Social manifestations of abortion stigma depend upon cultural, legal, and religious context. Abortion stigma in Mexico is under-researched. This study explored the sources, experiences, and consequences of stigma from the perspectives of women who had had an abortion, male partners, and members of the general population in different regional and legal contexts. We explored abortion stigma in Mexico City where abortion is legal in the first trimester and five states-Chihuahua, Chiapas, Jalisco, Oaxaca, and Yucatán-where abortion remains restricted. In each state, we conducted three focus groups-men ages 24-40 years (n = 36), women 25-40 years (n = 37), and young women ages 18-24 years (n = 27)-and four in-depth face-to-face interviews in total; two with women (n = 12) and two with the male partners of women who had had an abortion (n = 12). For 4 of the 12 women, this was their second abortion. This exploratory study suggests that abortion stigma was influenced by norms that placed a high value on motherhood and a conservative Catholic discourse. Some participants in this study described abortion as an "indelible mark" on a woman's identity and "divine punishment" as a consequence. Perspectives encountered in Mexico City often differed from the conservative postures in the states.

Ergonyms of Educational and Cultural spheres in two of Baltic States cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Solvita Pošeiko

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Daugavpils (Latvia and Narva (Estonia are cities in the Baltic States and significant cultural and economic centres of their respective countries. These cities are characterized by a minority of nationals (19.8% of residents of Daugavpils are Latvian, 4% of residents of Narva are Estonian and a similar linguistic situation: there is a dominance of Russian in the press, television and radio, but the state language prevails in the urban language signs. The aim of the study is to analyse the linguistic and extralinguistic means used for the creation of ergonyms of educational and cultural spheres. The main criteria for the analysis are: language choice, grammatical structures, sources of precedent and semantic groups. The data for this study were collected in city websites. Some conclusions: 1 Mixed proper names (the direct name and symbolical name prevail: in Daugavpils there are more mixed names in the field of education, while in Narva there are more mixed names in the culture sphere. Onymization of nomenclature names can be observed. 2 Ergonyms are mostly created in the official language. In Narva, there is explicit use of Russian (directly as the first/second or third language and indirectly – in transliteration. 3 In symbolical names, there are more lexemes representing or characterizing wildlife, while in Narva also the potential of mythology, literature and cinema is used. Denotative precedent is more often found in the names of informal educational institutions and the cultural sphere, connotative precedent – in the names of kindergartens. 4 In general, it must be concluded that the specific things characteristic to the local environment are used more often in Narva, while respecting the unique experience of minorities.

Environmental impacts of thermal generation in the largest city of the Brazilian Amazon; Impactos ambientais da geracao termeletrica na maior cidade da Amazonia brasileira

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Coelho, Ilsa Maria Valois; Cartaxo, Elizabeth Ferreira [Universidade Federal do Amazonas (NIEMA/UFAM), Manaus, AM (Brazil). Nucleo Interdisciplinar de Energia Meio Ambiente e Agua

2010-07-01

The developing process of the Manaus city is questioned from the authors' concern about the built environment and 'destroyed' by the diversity of human actions. Reflecting on the impacts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere of the city of Manaus by thermoelectric plants, the main source of electricity in the state, the focus of this study is the urban atmosphere where physical and chemical phenomena accelerate the effects of pollution. It is based on two works: A) monitoring of emissions of gaseous pollutants emitted by Power Plant (UTE) Maua from the emission source. This is a project - 'Reducing Emissions of Gaseous Pollutants in Central Steam Power Plants' - conducted by the Interdisciplinary Center for Energy, Environment and Water of the Federal University of Amazonas (UFAM) approved by the Research and Development Program of the Concessionaire local power. B) the result of a Master thesis submitted to UFAM, 'Mapping the distribution of nitrogen dioxide in the city of Manaus' (MARINHO, 2007). This research has made an assessment of levels of distribution of NO{sup 2} in twenty points distributed in a strategic way, demonstrating that the minimum values were found in a region with little urban influence. The analysis of these two works subsidizes a preliminary research in analytical chemistry and attempts to demonstrate the need to advance the search for methods and techniques more consistent. This is an important step toward a policy of environmental management of atmospheric air that will complement future studies of air pollution in the capital of Amazonas. (author)

Retrofit for continuity! Sustainability and gentrification of tenement apartment blocks in Dutch Cities from inter and post war period

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oorschot, L.M.; Konstantinou, T.; Young, M.

2017-01-01

Increasing energy efficiency of the housing stock is one of the largest challenges in the built environment today. In line with the international Paris-Climate-Change-Conference 2015, Dutch cities have great ambitions to reduce CO2 and to transform their cities into smart and climate neutral cities.

Universities scale like cities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anthony F J van Raan

Full Text Available Recent studies of urban scaling show that important socioeconomic city characteristics such as wealth and innovation capacity exhibit a nonlinear, particularly a power law scaling with population size. These nonlinear effects are common to all cities, with similar power law exponents. These findings mean that the larger the city, the more disproportionally they are places of wealth and innovation. Local properties of cities cause a deviation from the expected behavior as predicted by the power law scaling. In this paper we demonstrate that universities show a similar behavior as cities in the distribution of the 'gross university income' in terms of total number of citations over 'size' in terms of total number of publications. Moreover, the power law exponents for university scaling are comparable to those for urban scaling. We find that deviations from the expected behavior can indeed be explained by specific local properties of universities, particularly the field-specific composition of a university, and its quality in terms of field-normalized citation impact. By studying both the set of the 500 largest universities worldwide and a specific subset of these 500 universities--the top-100 European universities--we are also able to distinguish between properties of universities with as well as without selection of one specific local property, the quality of a university in terms of its average field-normalized citation impact. It also reveals an interesting observation concerning the working of a crucial property in networked systems, preferential attachment.

Universities scale like cities.

Science.gov (United States)

van Raan, Anthony F J

2013-01-01

Recent studies of urban scaling show that important socioeconomic city characteristics such as wealth and innovation capacity exhibit a nonlinear, particularly a power law scaling with population size. These nonlinear effects are common to all cities, with similar power law exponents. These findings mean that the larger the city, the more disproportionally they are places of wealth and innovation. Local properties of cities cause a deviation from the expected behavior as predicted by the power law scaling. In this paper we demonstrate that universities show a similar behavior as cities in the distribution of the 'gross university income' in terms of total number of citations over 'size' in terms of total number of publications. Moreover, the power law exponents for university scaling are comparable to those for urban scaling. We find that deviations from the expected behavior can indeed be explained by specific local properties of universities, particularly the field-specific composition of a university, and its quality in terms of field-normalized citation impact. By studying both the set of the 500 largest universities worldwide and a specific subset of these 500 universities--the top-100 European universities--we are also able to distinguish between properties of universities with as well as without selection of one specific local property, the quality of a university in terms of its average field-normalized citation impact. It also reveals an interesting observation concerning the working of a crucial property in networked systems, preferential attachment.

Development of a national anthropogenic heating database with an extrapolation for international cities

Science.gov (United States)

Sailor, David J.; Georgescu, Matei; Milne, Jeffrey M.; Hart, Melissa A.

2015-10-01

Given increasing utility of numerical models to examine urban impacts on meteorology and climate, there exists an urgent need for accurate representation of seasonally and diurnally varying anthropogenic heating data, an important component of the urban energy budget for cities across the world. Incorporation of anthropogenic heating data as inputs to existing climate modeling systems has direct societal implications ranging from improved prediction of energy demand to health assessment, but such data are lacking for most cities. To address this deficiency we have applied a standardized procedure to develop a national database of seasonally and diurnally varying anthropogenic heating profiles for 61 of the largest cities in the United Stated (U.S.). Recognizing the importance of spatial scale, the anthropogenic heating database developed includes the city scale and the accompanying greater metropolitan area. Our analysis reveals that a single profile function can adequately represent anthropogenic heating during summer but two profile functions are required in winter, one for warm climate cities and another for cold climate cities. On average, although anthropogenic heating is 40% larger in winter than summer, the electricity sector contribution peaks during summer and is smallest in winter. Because such data are similarly required for international cities where urban climate assessments are also ongoing, we have made a simple adjustment accounting for different international energy consumption rates relative to the U.S. to generate seasonally and diurnally varying anthropogenic heating profiles for a range of global cities. The methodological approach presented here is flexible and straightforwardly applicable to cities not modeled because of presently unavailable data. Because of the anticipated increase in global urban populations for many decades to come, characterizing this fundamental aspect of the urban environment - anthropogenic heating - is an essential

78 FR 66333 - Aviation Trade Mission to Brazil From May 12-16, 2014

Science.gov (United States)

2013-11-05

... state and local government officials and industry leaders; and networking events. Participating in an... regional airports. Brazilian states and cities also have specific plans to develop infrastructure for...] dos Campos With almost 20 million people, S[atilde]o Paulo is the largest city in Brazil, the largest...

Incorporation of limestone residue from marble processing plant in the city of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Espirito Santo, Brazil, in the production of mortars

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Goncalves, G.P.; Alexandre, J.; Dias, D.P.; Dias Junior, N.S.; Anderson, R.B.

2010-01-01

Cachoeiro do Itapemirim city (ES), located 136 km from Vitoria, the state's capital, is the largest ornamental stones producer in Brazil, whose beneficiation produces a large amount of waste that, even today, is responsible for major damages done to the environment. This article aims the experimental study of hydrated lime use (product marketed to be used in mortar) by a residue from marble beneficiation from an industry located in that city. Two mixes were made with cement:sand:hydrated lime and cement:sand:residue. The mortars were evaluated by their properties comparisons in fresh and hardened states, namely: consistency index, mass density and incorporated air content, compressive strength, tensile and bending grip for traction. Chemical and mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction were also made. The obtained results met the requirements prescribed by ABNT NBR 13 281 (2005). (author)

Analysis Of Tourism Object Demand In The Pekanbaru City With Travel Cost Method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eriyati

2017-11-01

Full Text Available The tourism sector gets attention when world oil prices are decreasing. It can not be denied that during this time the largest contribution of Pekanbaru city revenue from profit-sharing funding comes from the oil and gas sector. Currently Pekanbaru revenue is small from the oil and gas sector as oil prices continue to decline. The existence of Pekanbaru City away from the coast and mountains causing focus on the development of artificial attractions such as Alam Mayang artificial lake Bandar Kayangan Lembah Sari Pekanbaru Mosque and the tomb of the founder of Pekanbaru city. Many people bring families visiting artificial tourist attractions on weekends and holidays.This study aims to determine the factors that affect the demand and economic value of tourist attractions in Kota Pekanbaru with Travel Cost Method. Sampling non probability as much as 100 respondents visitor attraction in Pekanbaru City of population 224896 people with sampling technique using slovin formula data analysis method used in this research is descriptive quantitative method. From the results of research states that the factors that influence the demand for tourist attraction in the city of Pekanbaru is income cost and distance. The economic value of tourism object of Pekanbaru city with cost of travel method is Rp42.679.638.400 per year. This means that the price given by a person to something at a certain place and time with the size of the price specified by time goods or money that will be sacrificed by someone to own or use goods and services in want.

Loy Yang A - Australia's largest privatisation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yenckin, C.

1997-01-01

The recent A$4,746 million privatisation of the 2000MW Loy Yang A power station and the Loy Yang coal mine by the Victorian Government is Australia's largest privatisation and one of 1997's largest project financing deals. (author)

Retrospective seroepidemiological analysis of patients with suspicion of paracoccidioidomycosis in São Paulo State, Brazil

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CM Kamikawa

2012-01-01

Full Text Available The geographic distribution of paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM in the Brazilian state of São Paulo was evaluated in a retrospective study using secondary data from serological analyses, carried out by double immunodiffusion assay of patients with PCM suspicion, from January 1999 to May 2010. Sixty percent of 10,176 patients, from 239 cities, were serologically reactive to P. brasiliensis. The cities that showed the most serological reactivity among patients were São João da Boa Vista (85%, Piracicaba (75%, Sorocaba (73%, Campinas (72% and São Paulo (62%. São Paulo state has an area of 248,209.4 km²; the climate is tropical and sub-tropical with annual temperatures between 18 and 24ºC, high rainfall (900 to 1800 mm/year, rainy summers and mild winters. It also features large areas composed of acidic soils, and is one of the greatest contributors to Brazilian agricultural production and, separately, the largest producer of orange juice and, the ninth greatest producer of soy and sugar cane and the fourth largest coffee producer. We suggest that the climatic characteristics associated with soil type and development of primary activities can contribute to the endemic potential of PCM in São Paulo state.

Distribution of dermatophytes from soils of urban and rural areas of cities of Paraiba State, Brazil.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontes, Zélia Braz Vieira da Silva; Oliveira, Aurylene Carlos de; Guerra, Felipe Queiroga Sarmento; Pontes, Luiz Renato de Araújo; Santos, Jozemar Pereira dos

2013-01-01

The dermatophytes, keratinophilic fungi, represent important microorganisms of the soil microbiota, where there are cosmopolitan species and others with restricted geographic distribution. The aim of this study was to broaden the knowledge about the presence of dermatophytes in soils of urban (empty lots, schools, slums, squares, beaches and homes) and rural areas and about the evolution of their prevalence in soils of varying pH in cities of the four mesoregions of Paraiba State, Brazil. Soil samples were collected from 31 cities of Paraiba State. Of 212 samples, 62% showed fungal growth, particularly those from the Mata Paraibana mesoregion (43.5%), which has a tropical climate, hot and humid. Soil pH varied from 4.65 to 9.06, with 71% of the growth of dermatophytes occurring at alkaline pH (7.02 - 9.06) (ρ = 0.000). Of 131 strains isolated, 57.3% were geophilic species, particularly Trichophyton terrestre (31.3%) and Mycrosporum gypseum (21.4%). M. nanum and T. ajelloi were isolated for the first time in Paraiba State. The zoophilic species identified were T. mentagrophytes var. mentagrophytes (31.3 %) and T. verrucosum (7.6 %), and T. tonsurans was isolated as an anthropophilic species. The soils of urban areas including empty lots, schools, slums and squares of cities in the mesoregions of Paraiba State were found to be the most suitable reservoirs for almost all dermatophytes; their growth may have been influenced by environmental factors, soils with residues of human and/or animal keratin and alkaline pH.

Transitioning couple's voluntary HIV counseling and testing (CVCT from stand-alone weekend services into routine antenatal and VCT services in government clinics in Zambia's two largest cities.

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Mubiana Inambao

Full Text Available Most HIV infections in Africa are acquired by married/cohabiting adults and WHO recommends couple's voluntary HIV counseling and testing (CVCT for prevention. The handover from NGO-sponsored weekend CVCT to government-sponsored services in routine weekday antenatal care (ANC and individual voluntary testing and counseling (VCT services in Zambia's two largest cities from 2009-2015 is described.Government clinic counselors were trained to provide CVCT, and along with community health workers they promoted CVCT services in their clinic and surrounding areas. When client volume exceeded the capacity of on-duty staff in ANC and VCT, non-governmental organization (NGO subsidies were offered for overtime pay.Implementation of routine CVCT services varied greatly by clinic and city. The 12 highest volume clinics were examined further, while 13 clinics had CVCT numbers that were too low to warrant further investigation. In Lusaka, the proportion of pregnant women whose partners were tested rose from 2.6% in 2009 to a peak of 26.2% in 2012 and 24.8% in 2015. Corresponding reports in Ndola were 2.0% in 2009, 17.0% in 2012 and 14.5% in 2015. Obstacles to CVCT included: limited space and staffing, competing priorities, record keeping not adapted for couples, and few resources for promotion and increasing male involvement. Conflicting training models for 'partner testing' with men and women separately vs. CVCT with joint post-test counseling led to confusion in reporting to district health authorities.A focused and sustained effort will be required to reach a meaningful number of couples with CVCT to prevent heterosexual and perinatal HIV transmission. Establishing targets and timelines, funding for dedicated and appropriately trained staff, adoption of standardized data recording instruments with couple-level indicators, and expansion of community and clinic-based promotions using proven models are recommended.

The application of smart cities concept for citizens of Lithuania and Sweden: comperative analysis

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Gitana Dudzevičiūtė

2017-12-01

This research attempts to assess and compare largest different cities of Lithuania and Sweden in the context of smart cities’ concept. Due to the shortage and mismatching statistical information, the paper is limited with only four following indicators: smart economy, smart mobility, smart environment, and smart governance. The analysis of indicators shows that Lithuanian major cities in all groups of criterion are below average while values of indicators in the case of Swedish major cities are much higher than average.

El Paso natural gas nearing completion of system's largest expansion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1992-01-01

El Paso Natural Gas Co.'s largest expansion program in its 64-year history will be completed along its northern system this spring or early summer. According to the company, the three-tiered, $241.5 million expansion program will increase El Paso's gas-transport capacity by 835 MMcfd to 2.5 bcfd of conventional and coal-seam gas from the San Juan basin in northwestern New Mexico. That's enough natural gas, says the company, to supply the needs of a city of more than 800,000 residents. This paper reports that the expansion involves the San Juan Triangle system, the company's northern main line, and the Permian-San Juan crossover line. The company also filed with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in October 1991 to construct a new $15.2 million compressor station, Rio Vista, south of Bloomfield, N.M. The station would be used to move additional gas to the main line

Olympia and the Classical Hellenic City-State Culture

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Thomas Heine

  The present study considers the sanctuary of Zeus at Olympia from the following two points of view: (1) How did interaction at the sanctuary contribute towards the drawing of an ethnic boundary between Hellenes and Barbarians and how was Hellenic athletic nudity construed in this context? (2) How...... did interaction at the sanctuary help the great multitude of Hellenic poleis to develop and maintain their identities as individual local communities? In this context particular emphasis is put on a consideration of the polis of Elis, the city-state which organised and staged the Olympic Games....... The study argues that in the Classical period the sanctuary at Olympia was in fact one of the most important arenas in which the two most characteristic levels of Hellenic identity - the overall and shared Hellenic identity and the indiviual local polis-identity of each community - was negotiated, developed...

Saneamento, dengue e demandas sociais na maior favela do Estado do Rio de Janeiro: a Rocinha / Sanitation, dengue and social demands in the largest slum of Rio de Janeiro State: Rocinha

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Rodrigo Machado Vilani

2014-08-01

illness and 42 deaths. The aim of this paper is to discuss the contradictions in the definition of public policies and their distance from the health situation of the largest slum in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Rocinha. From documental research and data analysis, it was adopted an approach based on the proposal to build a sustainable city, according to the Law 10,257/2001 – the City Statute. We conclude by stating that the health and environmental risks, to which the population remains exposed, should be treated in a priority way, enabling health surveillance efforts, sewage and awareness. It is therefore not just a request for groups of residents, but a right, the right to the sustainable city, official, inclusive, egalitarian and participatory

World's third-largest producer of nuclear power. Japan in need of energy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

2008-01-01

Japan is the third largest oil consumer in the world behind the United States and China, and the second largest net importer of oil. Japan boasts one of the largest economies in the world. The country continues to experience a moderate economic recovery that began in 2003, following a decade of economic stagnation. Japan's real gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 2.5% in 2005 and 2.3% in 2004. The modest upturn over the last few years reflects higher business confidence in Japan, a surge in export demand led by exports to China, and robust consumer spending. Unemployment in Japan fell to 4.4% in 2005, down from an early 2003 peak of 5.5%. Japan has virtually no domestic oil or natural gas reserves, and in 2005 was the second largest net importer of crude oil in the world. Despite the country's dearth of hydrocarbon resources, Japanese companies have actively pursued upstream oil and natural gas projects overseas. Japan remains one of the major exporters of energy-sector capital equipment, and Japanese companies provide engineering, construction, and project management services for energy projects. (orig.)

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

Chicago, Illinois: The Windy City

Science.gov (United States)

McIntosh, Phyllis

2008-01-01

Once famous mainly for stockyards and steel mills, Chicago now boasts more top-rated five-star restaurants than any other city in the United States and has been voted by various publications as one of the "Top 10 U.S. Destinations," one of the "Best Walking Cities" in the United States, and one of the "Ten Best Places to…

Urbanization and economic development: a bias toward large cities?

Science.gov (United States)

Moomaw, R L; Shatter, A M

1996-01-01

"We find that a nation's urban population percentage increases with GDP per capita; industrialization; export orientation; and possibly, foreign assistance. It decreases with the importance of agriculture. Industrialization and agricultural importance have the same implications for the concentration of urban population in cities with 100,000+ population as for the urban percentage. Greater export orientation reduces such concentration. Finally, GDP per capita, population, and export orientation reduce primacy. Political factors, such as whether a country's largest city is also its capital, affect primacy. Our results do not seem to imply that developing-country urbanization today differs fundamentally from urbanization in the past." excerpt

The University of San Carlos Herbarium, Cebu City, The Philippines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Seidenschwarz, F.

1990-01-01

The University of San Carlos, Cebu City, (‘USC’) holds a botanical collection which is the fourth largest in size within the Philippines. The three leading herbaria of the Philippines are situated in or close to Manila. The 36 year old USC Herbarium is the only major collection in the Philippines

First level seismic microzonation map of Chennai city – a GIS approach

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G. P. Ganapathy

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Chennai city is the fourth largest metropolis in India, is the focus of economic, social and cultural development and it is the capital of the State of Tamil Nadu. The city has a multi-dimensional growth in development of its infrastructures and population. The area of Chennai has experienced moderate earthquakes in the historical past. Also the Bureau of Indian Standard upgraded the seismic status of Chennai from Low Seismic Hazard (Zone II to Moderate Seismic Hazard (Zone III–(BIS: 1893 (2001. In this connection, a first level seismic microzonation map of Chennai city has been produced with a GIS platform using the themes, viz, Peak Ground Acceleration (PGA, Shear wave velocity at 3 m, Geology, Ground water fluctuation and bed rock depth. The near potential seismic sources were identified from the remote-sensing study and seismo-tectonic details from published literatures. The peak ground acceleration for these seismic sources were estimated based on the attenuation relationship and the maximum PGA for Chennai is 0.176 g. The groundwater fluctuation of the city varies from 0–4 m below ground level. The depth to bedrock configuration shows trough and ridges in the bedrock topography all over the city. The seismic microzonation analysis involved grid datasets (the discrete datasets from different themes were converted to grids to compute the final seismic hazard grid through integration and weightage analysis of the source themes. The Chennai city has been classified into three broad zones, viz, High, Moderate and Low Seismic Hazard. The High seismic Hazard concentrated in a few places in the western central part of the city. The moderate hazard areas are oriented in NW-SE direction in the Western part. The southern and eastern part will have low seismic hazard. The result of the study may be used as first-hand information in selecting the appropriate earthquake resistant features in designing the forthcoming new buildings against seismic

Sustainability study of domestic communal wastewater treatment plant in Surabaya City

Science.gov (United States)

Bahar, E.; Sudarno; Zaman, B.

2017-06-01

Sanitation is one of the critical infrastructure sectors in order to improve community health status. The Ministry of Public Works of the Republic of Indonesia to define that word sanitation include: domestic waste water management, solid waste management, rain water management (drainage management) as well as the provision of clean water. Surabaya city as the capital of East Java province and Indonesia’s second largest city with a population of 2,853,661 inhabitants in 2014 (the second largest after Jakarta), but the people who have been served by the sanitation infrastructure systems were expected at 176,105 families or about 26.95 % of the population of the city is already using sanitation facilities. In the White Book Sanitation of Surabaya City in 2010, Surabaya City sanitation development mission is to realize the wastewater management of settlements in a sustainable and affordable by the community. This study aims to assess the sustainability of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) domestic communal in the city of Surabaya. The method in this research is quantitative method through observation, structured interviews and laboratory testing of the variables analyzed. Analyses were performed using a technique Multidisciplinary rapid appraisal (Rap-fish) to determine the level of sustainability of the management of communal WWTP based on a number of attributes that easy scored. Attributes of each dimension includes the technical, environmental quality, institutional, economic, and social. The results of this study are sustainability index of environmental quality dimension at 84.32 with highly sustainable status, technical dimension at 62.61 with fairly sustainable status, social dimension at 57.98 with fairly sustainable status, economic dimension at 43.24 with less sustainable status, and institutional dimension at 39.67 with less sustainable status.

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.

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.

FORMATION OF EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES FOR RESIDANTIAL AREA RECONSTRUCTION OF BIG CITIES IN UKRAINE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

BOLSHAKOV V. I.

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Purpose. One of the most main state socio-economic tasks is providing of population accessible, economical and energy-efficient habitation which conforms to modern requirements. Methodology. Exposure, on the basis of analysis of labours of known scientists in area of reconstruction of dwelling building, determinatives the system use of which will be instrumental in the decision of problem of providing of population accessible habitation. Findings. Conceptual positions are formulated on perfection of housing policy, taking into account changes which take place in an external and internal environment. Originality. Principles of planning of reconstruction and building of accessible habitation are offered taking into account the town-planning value of territories of the largest cities. Practical value. Realization of the offered principles at development of projects of complex reconstruction and second city land development will allow to save an existent housing fund, promote the level of comfort of existent habitation, shorten running expenses on his maintenance, to provide the increase of dwelling-place without developing new territories.

A new town for 350.000 inhabitants. ECO City Tianjin, China; Eine neue Stadt fuer 350.000 Einwohner. ECO City Tianjin, China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schaller, Christian [Schaller/Theodor Architekten und Stadtplaner BDA, Koeln (Germany); Schmitz, Stefan [Stefan Schmitz, Buero fuer Architektur und Stadtplanung BDA, Koeln (Germany)

2010-07-01

Migration from the land makes the People's Republic of China to the largest building site of the world. It is assumed at least 60 per cent of humans will live in cities up to the year 2030. Already today, in the urban education centres 75 % of the energy are used and caused 80 % of the CO{sub 2} emissions. The sustainable development of cities and their efficient power supply are of central importance for the future of China. The urbanization forces to a completely new invention of urban centres under ecological aspects concerning town construction and structural aspects - with orders at architects and town planners acting world-wide.

Radon risk map of the city Brno

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jansky, J.

2000-01-01

Data of radon risk mapping of the city Brno area from 1992 to 1999 were collected from databases of six private companies measuring radon risk there. The data sets are completed now. The first results are presented in this paper. In the city Brno area only low (385 measured sites) and medium (300) radon risk categories were found. The largest number of measured areas were situated in places with loess and loess loam (total quantity 344 sites, with medium radon risk category 158 sites), recent fluvial sediments (64, 32) and anthropogenous deposits (61, 23). High values of radon volume activity in soil gas were found predominantly in Quaternary sediments and in granodiorite, type Veverska Bityska, low values in leucotonalite and metabasalt. (author)

The urban heat island dynamics during heat waves: a study of cities in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Leiqiu

2016-04-01

The urban heat island (UHI) is a common phenomenon describing that metropolitan areas are usually warmer than their rural surroundings. This effect is compounded by extreme heat events, which are a leading cause of weather-related human mortality in many countries worldwide. However, the spatial and diurnal variability of temperature and humidity in urban and adjacent rural areas during extreme heat events is not well measured and therefore not well understood. The recently developed dataset of near-surface air and dew temperature from MODIS atmospheric profiles and the new method for the UHI quantification--urban heat island curve are used to quantify the urban climatic changes during heat waves in cities of the United States. The enhanced and weakened UHIs are observed in various cities. The causes of UHI changes during heat waves are discussed, including climate region, vegetation type and amount, city geolocation, etc.

Urban physiology: city ants possess high heat tolerance.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael J Angilletta

Full Text Available Urbanization has caused regional increases in temperature that exceed those measured on a global scale, leading to urban heat islands as much as 12 degrees C hotter than their surroundings. Optimality models predict ectotherms in urban areas should tolerate heat better and cold worse than ectotherms in rural areas. We tested these predications by measuring heat and cold tolerances of leaf-cutter ants from South America's largest city (São Paulo, Brazil. Specifically, we compared thermal tolerances of ants from inside and outside of the city. Knock-down resistance and chill-coma recovery were used as indicators of heat and cold tolerances, respectively. Ants from within the city took 20% longer to lose mobility at 42 degrees C than ants from outside the city. Interestingly, greater heat tolerance came at no obvious expense of cold tolerance; hence, our observations only partially support current theory. Our results indicate that thermal tolerances of some organisms can respond to rapid changes in climate. Predictive models should account for acclimatory and evolutionary responses during climate change.

Number and distribution of gay bathhouses in the United States and Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Woods, William J; Tracy, Daniel; Binson, Diane

2003-01-01

Although gay bathhouses have been the subject of debate and some public health policy for decades, the relative number and geographic distribution of these establishments has not been described. As a result, it is easy to miss or ignore them in making public policy in response to discase prevention. No straightforward methodology for such a description is available, so we used a series of gay travel books, first published in 1965 by the Damron Company, to estimate this distribution in the United States and Canada. Each of the annual guides published from 1968 to 1999 were reviewed for listings of bathhouses and sex clubs. The results suggest that bathhouses and other similar establishments exist in most states and provinces and in most large and many moderate-sized cities. Furthermore, the largest numbers of listings for bathhouses were in the same six cities across the decades, three in the U.S. and three in Canada. The greatest change in the number of listings was seen in the three U.S. cities where a public policy of closure was attempted. Nevertheless, the numbers of venues in these three cities have been increasing again since the early 1990s, although nothing near the numbers of listings in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Dispersal syndromes in the largest protection area of the Atlantic Forest in the state of Paraiba, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camila Ângelo Jerônimo Domingues

2013-09-01

Full Text Available The diaspore dispersal process is crucial for plant reproduction, since the diaspores must reach a suitable site to germinate. This paper aimed to study morphological aspects of diaspores and determine the dispersal syndromes of species occurring in the largest protection area of the Atlantic Forest in the state of Paraiba, Brazil, the Guaribas Biological Reserve. One conducted a monthly collection of fruits/seeds within the period from September 2007 to February 2009. All diaspores of the fruiting species were collected. After analyzing characteristics such as fruit and seed consistency, odor, color, size, and weight, one determined the dispersal syndrome of each species. One collected 3,080 diaspores belonging to 136 different species distributed into 27 families. Zoochory was the most abundant dispersal syndrome (58%, with 79 fruits adapted to it, followed by autochory (29%, and anemochory (13%. Throughout the study period, one found fruiting species, with a predominance of zoochoric fruits, a predictable fact in the Atlantic Forest, which provides fleshy fruits all the year round.

Consumption profile of fish in Belo Horizonte’s city, MG

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Guilherme Campos Tavares

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of consumption of fish flesh and derivatives in Belo Horizonte's city, to determine the major sites of acquisition and consumption of the product. The hundred ninety six people were interviewed through a quiz containing eleven questions. Data were tabulated in editing software spreadsheet and graphics generated. Fish is the least meat consumed less in Belo Horizonte's city. The frequency of consumption was two or more times a month (25,3%. Homes were the principal place of consumption (80,3%, and supermarkets were determined as site of largest acquisition (71,5%.

Thermal Comfort at the Street Corridor Around Public Places, Case Study Alun-Alun Malang City

OpenAIRE

Winansih, Erna; Antariksa, Antariksa; Surjono, Surjono; Leksono, Amin Setyo

2015-01-01

Malang as the second largest city in East Java province become crowded recently. The congestion almost happens everyday. The scenery of the street corridor is full of iron stacks. It is said that Malang city is less comfortable and less walkable. The decrease of this environment encourages to conduct the study (Q.S. 16:90, Q.S. 96:1-5, Q.S. 30:41). The study aimed to analyze the thermal comfort at pedestrian ways around Malang city squares, the street corridor of Merdeka Alun-Alun (MAA) and t...

Performance of FHWA model for predicting traffic noise: a case study of metropolitan city, Lucknow (India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. B. Srivastava

2009-09-01

Full Text Available Industrial and transport activities are the two major sources of noise pollution in any metropolitan city. Lucknow city, the capital of the largest populated state Uttar Pradesh in India has an area of 310 sq. km and is rapidly growing as a commercial, industrial and trading centre of northern India. The population of Lucknow city as per census 2001 is 22.45 Lacs. It is expected that by the year 2021 it will make 45 Lacs. The total vehicle population in Lucknow city on 31 March 2008, was nearly 1 million with almost 80% two wheelers, 12% cars, 1.36% three wheelers, 0.45% buses etc. A study was carried out to assess the existing status of noise levels and its impacts on the environment with a possibility of further expansion of the city. Ambient noise levels were measured at different locations selected on the basis of land use such as silence, heavy traffic and residential and commercial zones. It was found that noise levels at all selected locations were much higher (75–90 dB than the prescribed limits. The observed traffic volume and data on road geometry were used to predict noise levels using Federal Highway Administration Agency (FHWA model and the calculated noise levels were compared with the observed levels for checking the suitability of this model for predicting the future levels. It was established that the results obtained by FHWA model were very close to the observed noise levels and that the model was suitable to be used for other similar metropolitan cities in India.

Global Climate Change and Solutions for Urban Sustainability of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dao Phan

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, the largest city in Vietnam, is steadily growing, certainly towards a mega city in the near future. Like other mega cities at the boom stage, it has to face with serious environmental matters insolvable for many years. The situation may be worse under the effects of global climate change, geological subsidence due to non-standard construction and sea level rise. The situation of HCMC can be damaged or even broken by resonant effects of unsolved environmental matters and latent impacts of climate change. This article shows the challenges to the urban sustainable development under the duo effect of urban environmental matters and climate change in Ho Chi Minh City. Opportunities and strategic directions to overcome the challenges are also analyzed and recommended.

Report card on school snack food policies among the United States' largest school districts in 2004–2005: Room for improvement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rivara Frederick P

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Federal nutritional guidelines apply to school foods provided through the national school lunch and breakfast programs, but few federal regulations apply to other foods and drinks sold in schools (labeled "competitive foods", which are often high in calories, fat and sugar. Competitive food policies among school districts are increasingly viewed as an important modifiable factor in the school nutrition environment, particularly to address rising rates of childhood overweight. Congress passed legislation in 2004 requiring all school districts to develop a Wellness Policy that includes nutrition guidelines for competitive foods starting in 2006–2007. In addition, the Institute of Medicine (IOM recently published recommendations for schools to address childhood obesity. Methods Representatives of school districts with the largest student enrollment in each state and D.C. (N = 51 were interviewed in October-November 2004 about each school district's nutrition policies on "competitive foods." District policies were examined and compared to the Institute of Medicine's recommendations for schools to address childhood obesity. Information about state competitive food policies was accessed via the Internet, and through state and district contacts. Results The 51 districts accounted for 5.9 million students, representing 11% of US students. Nineteen of the 51 districts (39% had competitive food policies beyond state or federal requirements. The majority of these district policies (79% were adopted since 2002. School district policies varied in scope and requirements. Ten districts (53% set different standards by grade level. Most district policies had criteria for food and beverage content (74% and prohibited the sale of soda in all schools (63%; fewer policies restricted portion size of foods (53% or beverages (47%. Restrictions more often applied to vending machines (95%, cafeteria à la carte (79%, and student stores (79% than

A Study of Urban 4-H Club Programs in Thirty Cities of the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Brownell, Joseph C.

This report covers a six-month sabbatical travel study of urban 4-H programs in 30 United States cities. The purpose of the study was to search for 4-H programs and methods which were being used successfully with urban boys and which might be adapted for use in other urban situations. Interviews with professional 4-H personnel, aides, and leaders…

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.

Transforming Karachi into a Livable and Competitive Megacity : A City Diagnostic and Transformation Strategy

OpenAIRE

World Bank

2018-01-01

With a population of 16 million, Karachi is the largest megacity in Pakistan. Despite being a large city that is home to many, it has seen a substantial decline in quality of life and economic competitiveness in recent decades. Basic service delivery is very poor, with very low indicators for water supply, sanitation, public transport and public spaces. Pollution levels are high, and the city is vulnerable to disasters and climate change. A highly complex political economy, institutional frag...

Urban structure analysis of mega city Mexico City using multisensoral remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Taubenböck, H.; Esch, T.; Wurm, M.; Thiel, M.; Ullmann, T.; Roth, A.; Schmidt, M.; Mehl, H.; Dech, S.

2008-10-01

Mega city Mexico City is ranked the third largest urban agglomeration to date around the globe. The large extension as well as dynamic urban transformation and sprawl processes lead to a lack of up-to-date and area-wide data and information to measure, monitor, and understand the urban situation. This paper focuses on the capabilities of multisensoral remotely sensed data to provide a broad range of products derived from one scientific field - remote sensing - to support urban managing and planning. Therefore optical data sets from the Landsat and Quickbird sensors as well as radar data from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) and the TerraSAR-X sensor are utilised. Using the multi-sensoral data sets the analysis are scale-dependent. On the one hand change detection on city level utilising the derived urban footprints enables to monitor and to assess spatiotemporal urban transformation, areal dimension of urban sprawl, its direction, and the built-up density distribution over time. On the other hand, structural characteristics of an urban landscape - the alignment and types of buildings, streets and open spaces - provide insight in the very detailed physical pattern of urban morphology on higher scale. The results show high accuracies of the derived multi-scale products. The multi-scale analysis allows quantifying urban processes and thus leading to an assessment and interpretation of urban trends.

Birds in an urban area of Ipatinga city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alan Loures-Ribeiro

2008-09-01

Full Text Available The development of urban areas results in changes of natural landscapes, including the creation of several artificial environments. Thus, many animals find new opportunities for survival in these areas. This study aimed to obtain information about the richness, composition, and frequency of occurrence of the trophic guilds of an urban avian community in Ipatinga city, Minas Gerais State, followed by a general description. Between August 2005 and July 2006, 81 days were spent in sampling. From the method of direct observation, 57 species were recorded. The richness estimate for the area was 74.86 species (Chao2. The number of species between rainy and dry periods did not differ (p>0.05. Trophic guilds remained with a ratio of relatively similar species throughout the year, with a predominance of the omnivores and insectivores. Species such as Pitangus sulphuratus, Furnarius rufus and Sicalis flaveola were favored in the open areas. Two exotic species, Columba livia and Passer domesticus, were abundant. These results emphasize the necessity of the existence of natural areas within the urban context, considering not only the protection of the wildlife, but also the improvement of the quality of life in the cities.

Socioeconomic Segregation in Large Cities in France and the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Quillian, Lincoln; Lagrange, Hugues

2016-08-01

Past cross-national comparisons of socioeconomic segregation have been undercut by lack of comparability in measures, data, and concepts. Using IRIS data from the French Census of 2008 and the French Ministry of Finance as well as tract data from the American Community Survey (2006-2010) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Picture of Subsidized Households, and constructing measures to be as similar as possible, we compare socioeconomic segregation in metropolitan areas with a population of more than 1 million in France and the United States. We find much higher socioeconomic segregation in large metropolitan areas in the United States than in France. We also find (1) a strong pattern of low-income neighborhoods in central cities and high-income neighborhoods in suburbs in the United States, but varying patterns across metropolitan areas in France; (2) that high-income persons are the most segregated group in both countries; (3) that the shares of neighborhood income differences that can be explained by neighborhood racial/ethnic composition are similar in France and the United States; and (4) that government-assisted housing is disproportionately located in the poorest neighborhoods in the United States but is spread across many neighborhood income levels in France. We conclude that differences in government provision of housing assistance and levels of income inequality are likely important contributing factors to the Franco-U.S. difference in socioeconomic segregation.

Assessing the state of environmental quality in cities – A multi-component urban performance (EMCUP) index

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stossel, Zeev; Kissinger, Meidad; Meir, Avinoam

2015-01-01

Urban environmental quality indices can provide policy makers and the public with valuable information. However, common assessment tools have several shortcomings: most indices do leave out some important components of the state of urban environmental quality; they use a relative assessment in which urban environmental performance is evaluated relative to other cities, not against established environmental benchmarks; and only a few assessment tools compare urban performance to environmental quality standards. This paper presents a new multi component urban performance (EMCUP) index aiming to tackle those shortcomings. It analyses the overall state of urban environmental quality by using a list of indicators to evaluate key urban environmental quality topics such as air, water, open space, sanitation and solid waste. It presents an absolute score calculated in relation to both the standard and desired optimum levels. The use of the index is demonstrated by three Israeli cities. - Highlights: • The index provides a new framework for analyzing the overall urban environmental quality. • The index scores are calculated based on environmental standards and desired optimum benchmark values. • The paper demonstrates the gap between the state of existing urban environmental quality and the desired goals. - Introducing a multi component urban performance (EMCUP) index, which measures urban environmental quality related to environmental benchmarks.

A Mulit-State Model for Catalyzing the Home Energy Efficiency Market

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Blackmon, Glenn

2014-03-25

The RePower Kitsap partnership sought to jump-start the market for energy efficiency upgrades in Kitsap County, an underserved market on Puget Sound in Washington State. The Washington State Department of Commerce partnered with Washington State University (WSU) Energy Program to supplement and extend existing utility incentives offered by Puget Sound Energy (PSE) and Cascade Natural Gas and to offer energy efficiency finance options through the Kitsap Credit Union and Puget Sound Cooperative Credit Union (PSCCU). RePower Kitsap established a coordinated approach with a second Better Buildings Neighborhood Program project serving the two largest cities in the county – Bainbridge Island and Bremerton. These two projects shared both the “RePower” brand and implementation team (Conservation Services Group (CSG) and Earth Advantage).

The Cebu State College of Science and Technology, College of Agriculture Herbarium, Lahug, Cebu City, The Philippines

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bout, I.E.

1992-01-01

Recognizing the vital role that a herbarium plays in instruction, research, and public service, the Cebu State College of Science and Technology College of Agriculture (CSCSTCA) in Lahug, Cebu City, the Philippines, founded a herbarium in June 1987. It is a very humble scientific project of the

Basis for an innovative partnership. City utilities and Swisscom sign an agreement on energy services

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Aeberli, O.

1999-01-01

The seven big Swiss city utilities (IGSS) prepare themselves jointly to the liberalised energy market. Recently, they signed with a delegation of 'Swisscom Immobilien AG' (the building management subsidiary of the largest telecommunication company in Switzerland) an agreement on energy services. This is a win-win opportunity in the long term. Swisscom interest is to find one single competent and efficient partner for the seven cities. Today the company has to make business with 600 different electric utilities for the power supply to its 2000 buildings in Switzerland. The city utilities are interested in offering new energy services [de

Opportunity Knocks: Closing the Gaps between Leaders and the Public on Math, Science, & Technology Education--A Qualitative Research Report on the Kansas City Region

Science.gov (United States)

Kadlec, Alison; Friedman, Will

2010-01-01

The Kansas City region is in many ways representative of the larger national economy. As with many cities of its size, the largest area of employment, other than in government, is in the healthcare sector. While biomedical research is a major growth area across the nation, Kansas City is also the national leader in the animal healthcare industry,…

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.

Staying in the Global City: Patterns of Luxury Hotel Localization in Santiago de Chile

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Hidalgo

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Chile, for a long time a backwater of international tourism, is about to turn itself into a top–end destination, with the capital Santiago taking a leading role. In recent decades, international chains have constructed numerous luxury hotels aimed at the requirements of international city and business tourists. The continuing bicentric orientation of the city (core city and ‘modern town’, which has withstood all fragmentation processes, has led to a polycentric distribution of luxury hotels, with the largest, most expensive and most luxurious hotels situated in the ‘modern town’. The airport, the innovation centers and business parks, as well as the city center, have also seen investment. When compared with models of hotel localization in cities, it is evident that Santiago has overcome the traditional model of city tourism under the influence of globalization trends. Today the needs of global travelers, both city and business tourists, transport links and the surroundings of the hotels play an important role. This is reflected in the pricing structure and the distribution of luxury hotels across the city.

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

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.

Improvement of urban water environment of Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, by ecotechnology.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Lei

2012-01-01

Kaohsiung City is the second largest city in Taiwan and suffers from serious floods during the wet season, but it also badly needs water during the dry season. As economic development advances and pollutants increase, water pollution and shortage of water resources become issues of concern for local people in Kaohsiung. A project has been proposed by the city government and executed by the authors to establish a system of sustainable water management in urban areas. In this system, the Caogong Canals, irrigation channels which were established 170 years ago during the Ching Dynasty of China and are still used today for irrigation, were renovated to bring stable and clean water to the urban areas. It is planned to pump clean water into the canal from a river near the city. In this project, 12 constructed wetland systems, functioning as wetland parks, stormwater storage tanks or eco-detention ponds, were built in the city, and the Caogong Canals are planned to connect all these urban constructed wetlands in the second stage of the project.

TABLE III. Deaths in 122 U.S. cities

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — TABLE III. Deaths in 122 U.S. cities - 2014. 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System — Each week, the vital statistics offices of 122 cities across the United States...

America's Best (and Worst) Cities for School Reform: Attracting Entrepreneurs and Change Agents

Science.gov (United States)

Hess, Frederick M.; Palmieri, Stafford; Scull, Janie

2010-01-01

This study evaluates how welcoming thirty American cities--the twenty-five largest and five smaller "hotspots"--are to "nontraditional" problem-solvers and solutions. It assumes that the balky bureaucracies meant to improve K-12 education and hold leaders accountable are so calcified by policies, programs, contracts, and…

Hospital Prices Increase in California, Especially Among Hospitals in the Largest Multi-hospital Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glenn A. Melnick PhD

2016-06-01

Full Text Available A surge in hospital consolidation is fueling formation of ever larger multi-hospital systems throughout the United States. This article examines hospital prices in California over time with a focus on hospitals in the largest multi-hospital systems. Our data show that hospital prices in California grew substantially (+76% per hospital admission across all hospitals and all services between 2004 and 2013 and that prices at hospitals that are members of the largest, multi-hospital systems grew substantially more (113% than prices paid to all other California hospitals (70%. Prices were similar in both groups at the start of the period (approximately $9200 per admission. By the end of the period, prices at hospitals in the largest systems exceeded prices at other California hospitals by almost $4000 per patient admission. Our study findings are potentially useful to policy makers across the country for several reasons. Our data measure actual prices for a large sample of hospitals over a long period of time in California. California experienced its wave of consolidation much earlier than the rest of the country and as such our findings may provide some insights into what may happen across the United States from hospital consolidation including growth of large, multi-hospital systems now forming in the rest of the rest of the country.

Largest College Endowments, 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Chronicle of Higher Education, 2012

2012-01-01

Of all endowments valued at more than $250-million, the UCLA Foundation had the highest rate of growth over the previous year, at 49 percent. This article presents a table of the largest college endowments in 2011. The table covers the "rank," "institution," "market value as of June 30, 2011," and "1-year change" of institutions participating in…

Cities In Western Europe and The United States: Do Policy Differences Matter?

OpenAIRE

Peter Gordon; Wendell Cox

2012-01-01

Amid concerns of how U.S. cities "sprawl", it is useful to look at the cities of other developed nations, in particular Western Europe which has attained U.S. - type prosperity, but which is reputed to have cities Americans should look to as a model. We examine recent data which suggest that there are substantial development and transportation similarities between the two groups and that the cities of Western Europe are becoming more like those of the U.S.

TABLE III. Deaths in 122 U.S. cities

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — TABLE III. Deaths in 122 U.S. cities – 2016. 122 Cities Mortality Reporting System — Each week, the vital statistics offices of 122 cities across the United States...

TABLE III. Deaths in 122 U.S. cities

Data.gov (United States)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services — TABLE III. Deaths in 122 U.S. cities - 2015122 Cities Mortality Reporting System ��� Each week, the vital statistics offices of 122 cities across the United States...

Performance evaluation sun city (stad van de zon) Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Keizer, A.C.; ter Horst, E.; van Sark, W.G.J.H.M.

2008-01-01

The “Stad van de Zon” (Sun City) residential area in Heerhugowaard, the Netherlands, , has been designed to be a net zero CO2 emissions area. This would be achieved by installing 3.75 MWp of photovoltaic systems, 100 hectares of forest and three wind turbines of 2.3 MW each. This will be the largest

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...

Solar cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roaf, S.; Fuentes, M.; Gupta, R.

2005-01-01

Over the last decade, climate change has moved from being the concern of few to a widely recognized threat to humanity itself and the natural environment. The 1990s were the warmest decade on record, and ever-increasing atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO/sub 2/), could, if left unchecked lead to serious consequences globally, including increased risks of droughts, floods and storms, disruption to agriculture, rising sea levels and the spread of disease. The contribution of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide has been recognized as the principal cause of the atmospheric changes that drive these climate trends. Globally, buildings are the largest source of indirect carbon emissions. In 2000, the UK Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution estimated that in order to stabilise carbon emissions at levels, which avoid catastrophic alterations in the climate, we would have to reduce emissions from the built environment by at least 60% by 2050 and 80% by 2100 relative to 1997 levels. Studies of the Oxford Ecohouse have demonstrated that it is not difficult to reduce carbon emissions from houses by 60% or more through energy efficiency measures, but it is only possible to reach the 90% level of reductions required by using renewable energy technologies. Solar energy technologies have been the most successfully applied of all renewable to date largely because they are the only systems that can be incorporated easily into the urban fabric. In addition, the short fossil fuel horizons that are predicted (c. 40 years left for oil and 65 years for gas) will drive the markets for solar technologies. For these reasons, the cities of the future will be powered by solar energy, to a greater or lesser extent, depending on the city form and location. In recognition of the need to move rapidly towards a renewable energy future, a group of international cities, including Oxford, have started the Solar City Network. In this paper we outline the

BALU: Largest autoclave research facility in the world

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hakan Ucan

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Among the large-scale facilities operated at the Center for Lightweight-Production-Technology of the German Aerospace Center in Stade BALU is the world's largest research autoclave. With a loading length of 20m and a loading diameter of 5.8 m the main objective of the facility is the optimization of the curing process operated by components made of carbon fiber on an industrial scale. For this reason, a novel dynamic autoclaving control has been developed that is characterized by peripheral devices to expend the performance of the facility for differential applications, by sensing systems to detect the component state throughout the curing process and by a feedback system, which is capable to intervene into the running autoclave process.

The role of city size and urban form in the surface urban heat island.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhou, Bin; Rybski, Diego; Kropp, Jürgen P

2017-07-06

Urban climate is determined by a variety of factors, whose knowledge can help to attenuate heat stress in the context of ongoing urbanization and climate change. We study the influence of city size and urban form on the Urban Heat Island (UHI) phenomenon in Europe and find a complex interplay between UHI intensity and city size, fractality, and anisometry. Due to correlations among these urban factors, interactions in the multi-linear regression need to be taken into account. We find that among the largest 5,000 cities, the UHI intensity increases with the logarithm of the city size and with the fractal dimension, but decreases with the logarithm of the anisometry. Typically, the size has the strongest influence, followed by the compactness, and the smallest is the influence of the degree to which the cities stretch. Accordingly, from the point of view of UHI alleviation, small, disperse, and stretched cities are preferable. However, such recommendations need to be balanced against e.g. positive agglomeration effects of large cities. Therefore, trade-offs must be made regarding local and global aims.

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.

Heuristic Optimization Approach to Selecting a Transport Connection in City Public Transport

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kul’ka Jozef

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The article presents a heuristic optimization approach to select a suitable transport connection in the framework of a city public transport. This methodology was applied on a part of the public transport in Košice, because it is the second largest city in the Slovak Republic and its network of the public transport creates a complex transport system, which consists of three different transport modes, namely from the bus transport, tram transport and trolley-bus transport. This solution focused on examining the individual transport services and their interconnection in relevant interchange points.

Largest particle detector nearing completion

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

"Construction of another part of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), the worl's largest particle accelerator at CERN in Switzerland, is nearing completion. The Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) is oner of the LHC project's four large particle detectors. (1/2 page)

World Cities of Scientific Knowledge: Systems, Networks and Potential Dynamics. An Analysis Based on Bibliometric Indicators

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Matthiessen, Christian Wichmann; Schwarz, Annette Winkel; Find, Søren

2010-01-01

This paper is based on identification of the pattern of the upper level of the world city network of knowledge as published in a series of papers.It is our aim to update the findings and relate to the general world city discussion. The structure of the world cities of knowledge network has changed...... over the last decade in favour of south east Asian and south European cities and in disfavour of the traditional centres of North America and north-western Europe. The analysis is based on bibliometric data on the world’s 100 largest cities measured in terms of research output. Then level of co......-authorships between researchers in different cities is an indicators of links and respect, and the number of citations to papers produced by researchers located in each city is an indicator of respect. Finally, one research discipline is selected for an experiment in forecasting future hot spots of research....

Dragon bridge - the world largest dragon-shaped (ARCH steel bridge as element of smart city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chinh Luong Minh

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Dragon Bridge - The world’s largest dragon-shaped steel bridge, with an installation cost of $85 million USD, features 6 lanes for two separate directions, 666 meters of undulating steel in the shape of a dragon in the Ly Dynasty, the symbol of prosperity in Vietnamese culture. This unique and beautifully lit bridge, which also breathes fire and sprays water. It’s the purposeful integration of the lighting hardware articulates the dragon’s form, and the fire-breathing dragon head. This project transcends the notion of monumental bridge with dynamic colour-changing lighting, creating an iconic sculpture in the skyline that is both reverent and whimsical. The signature feature of the bridge was the massive undulating support structure resembling a dragon flying over the river. The dragon is prominent in Vietnamese culture as a symbol of power and nobility. Dragon Bridge stands out as a model of innovation. It has received worldwide attention in the design community and from the global media for its unique arch support system. Dragon Bridge serves as an example of how aesthetic quality of a design can serve cultural, economic and functional purposes. The article presents design solutions of the object and the evaluation of the technical condition before putting the facility into service.

Developing the Rotterdam City Region Food System: acting and thinking at the same time

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Schans, van der J.W.

2015-01-01

The city region of Rotterdam is located in the western part of the Netherlands, bordering the North Sea. It contains the municipality of Rotterdam and several neighbouring municipalities, with about 1.2 million inhabitants. Rotterdam hosts Europe’s largest sea port as well as a large

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.

Going Tobacco-Free on 24 New York City University Campuses: A Public Health Agency's Partnership with a Large Urban Public University System

Science.gov (United States)

Bresnahan, Marie P.; Sacks, Rachel; Farley, Shannon M.; Mandel-Ricci, Jenna; Patterson, Ty; Lamberson, Patti

2016-01-01

The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene partnered with the nation's largest university system, the City University of New York (CUNY), to provide technical assistance and resources to support the development and implementation of a system-wide tobacco-free policy. This effort formed one component of "Healthy CUNY"--a…

The city of the merchant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barnow, Niels Finn

The City of the Merchant deals with cities, towns and villages in the European medieval period - i.e. in post-antique and pre-industrial Europe. In actual fact, the book mainly deals with Denmark and Northern Italy (the City States), with digressions to other "feudal" localities in France on Sici......, in the middle East, the Crusades, in Germany (the Hansatic League) and, finally, as far a field as the Danish West Indies. The book is part of a larger project that comprises other historical environments....

Green Eco-Driving Effects in Non-Congested Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Francisco Coloma

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite technological advances in engines and fuels, the transportation sector is still one of the largest emitters of greenhouse gas (GHG. Driving patterns, including eco-driving techniques, are a complementary measure for saving GHG emissions. Most eco-driving studies so far have been conducted in large cities suffering chronic congestion problems. The aim of this research is therefore to analyse the potential of driver behaviour for reducing emissions in a small non-congested city. Driver performance parameters such as travel speeds, number of stops, revolutions per minute, and maximum acceleration-deceleration are also studied. The methodology is designed to measure the effect of both eco-driving and eco-routing under real traffic conditions. A campaign was carried out in the city of Caceres (Spain to collect data on various types of roads under different traffic conditions. This research concludes that eco-driving leads to CO2 savings on all routes and road types of 17% in gasoline engines and 21% in diesel, although travel times are increased by 7.5% on average. The shortest route is also the most ecological, regardless of the traffic volume and characteristics, implying that consumption in non-congested cities depends mainly on distance travelled rather than driving patterns in terms of number of stops, speed and acceleration.

STATE OF WATER SUPPLY INFRASTRUCTURE IN THE SUBCARPATHIAN CITIES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katarzyna PIETRUCHA-URBANIK

Full Text Available The characteristics of equipping the Subcarpathian province cities with water supply infrastructure was made on the basis of data collected from the Provincial Office, Statistical Office, reports submitted by water companies regarding the functioning of water supply infrastructure and literature data. The indicators characterizing water supply infrastructure were determined for the years 1995-2014. In the paper the indicators of equipping cities with water supply systems were presented. Also water consumption and changes in the length of the water supply network in the cities of the Subcarpathian Province were examined. The analysis shows that the water consumption for the years 1995-2014 decreased by almost 6 m3∙year-1 per capita. The reason for such situation was the increasing price of water and the ecological awareness of the inhabitants of the Subcarpathian region. In the last year of the analysis the water supply system in urban areas of the Subcarpathian province was used by 95% of the population and, for comparison, in rural areas by 77% of the population. In the paper also changes in prices for water in the Subcarpathian region were shown, on the basis of data from the water tariffs in individual water companies. The important element of urban development is the technical infrastructure which reduces the investment costs. The determined indicators of equipping cities with water supply systems show an upward trend in the development of technical infrastructure. Based on the operational data from the water companies the failure rates in selected water supply networks were determined.

Barriers to Wellness: Voices and Views from Young People in Five Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Linda Sprague

2016-01-01

Youth of color represent the fastest growing segment of the U.S. child population and make up the majority of the youth population in about half of the 100 largest U.S. cities. Fear, along with inequitable access to social supports, opportunities, and experiences essential for healthy development, place this group at increased risk for poor health…

Smart Home and Smart City Solutions enabled by 5G, IoT, AAI and CoT Services

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skouby, Knud Erik; Lynggaard, Per

2014-01-01

Future 5G technologies are expected to connect the world from the largest megacities to the smallest internet of things in an always online fashion. Such a connected hierarchy must combine the smart cities, the smart homes, and the internet of things into one large coherent infrastructure...... such as interconnected internet of things, smart homes with artificial intelligence, and a platform for new combined smart home and smart city services based on big-data....

210Pb ingestion in Akita City, Japan

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hisamatsu, Shunichi; Takizawa, Yukio; Komura, Kazuhisa; Tada, Tetsuo.

1992-01-01

Ingestion of 210 Pb in Akita City, northern Japan was studied with food category samples and total diet samples by means of a low energy photon spectrometry. Results for food category samples revealed that the contribution of marine products to total 210 Pb ingestion was the largest. Mean 210 Pb ingestion of the two total diet samples was found to be 0.19 Bq d -1 , and approximately 1/3 of a previous reported value which was cited in an UNSCEAR report as an example of high 210 Pb ingestion by marine foods consumption. (author)

Toward a Multi-City Framework for Urban GHG Estimation in the United States: Methods, Uncertainties, and Future Goals

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, K. L.; Callahan, W.; Davis, K. J.; Dickerson, R. R.; Duren, R. M.; Gurney, K. R.; Karion, A.; Keeling, R. F.; Kim, J.; Lauvaux, T.; Miller, C. E.; Shepson, P. B.; Turnbull, J. C.; Weiss, R. F.; Whetstone, J. R.

2017-12-01

City and State governments are increasingly interested in mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to improve sustainability within their jurisdictions. Estimation of urban GHG emissions remains an active research area with many sources of uncertainty. To support the effort of improving measurement of trace gas emissions in city environments, several federal agencies along with academic, research, and private entities have been working within a handful of domestic metropolitan areas to improve both (1) the assessment of GHG emissions accuracy using a variety of measurement technologies, and (2) the tools that can better assess GHG inventory data at urban mitigation scales based upon these measurements. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) activities have focused on three areas, or testbeds: Indianapolis (INFLUX experiment), Los Angeles (the LA Megacities project), and the Northeastern Corridor areas encompassing Washington and Baltimore (the NEC/BW GHG Measurements project). These cities represent diverse meteorological, terrain, demographic, and emissions characteristics having a broad range of complexities. To date this research has involved multiple measurement systems and integrated observing approaches, all aimed at advancing development of a robust, science-base upon which higher accuracy quantification approaches can rest. Progress toward such scientifically robust, widely-accepted emissions quantification methods will rely upon continuous performance assessment. Such assessment is challenged by the complexities of cities themselves (e.g., population, urban form) along with the many variables impacting a city's technological ability to estimate its GHG emissions (e.g., meteorology, density of observations). We present the different NIST testbeds and a proposal to initiate conceptual development of a reference framework supporting the comparison of multi-city GHG emissions estimates. Such a reference framework has potential to provide

Geology and mineral resources of the Johnson City, Phenix City, and Rome 10 x 20 NTMS quadrangles

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Karfunkel, B.S.

1981-11-01

This document provides geologic and mineral resources data for the Savannah River Laboratory-National Uranium Resource Evaluation hydrogeochemical and stream-sediment reports for the Johnson City, Phenix City, and Rome 1 0 x 2 0 National Topographic Map Series quadrangles in the southeastern United States

Modelling Multi Hazard Mapping in Semarang City Using GIS-Fuzzy Method

Science.gov (United States)

Nugraha, A. L.; Awaluddin, M.; Sasmito, B.

2018-02-01

One important aspect of disaster mitigation planning is hazard mapping. Hazard mapping can provide spatial information on the distribution of locations that are threatened by disaster. Semarang City as the capital of Central Java Province is one of the cities with high natural disaster intensity. Frequent natural disasters Semarang city is tidal flood, floods, landslides, and droughts. Therefore, Semarang City needs spatial information by doing multi hazard mapping to support disaster mitigation planning in Semarang City. Multi Hazards map modelling can be derived from parameters such as slope maps, rainfall, land use, and soil types. This modelling is done by using GIS method with scoring and overlay technique. However, the accuracy of modelling would be better if the GIS method is combined with Fuzzy Logic techniques to provide a good classification in determining disaster threats. The Fuzzy-GIS method will build a multi hazards map of Semarang city can deliver results with good accuracy and with appropriate threat class spread so as to provide disaster information for disaster mitigation planning of Semarang city. from the multi-hazard modelling using GIS-Fuzzy can be known type of membership that has a good accuracy is the type of membership Gauss with RMSE of 0.404 the smallest of the other membership and VAF value of 72.909% of the largest of the other membership.

A century of shocks : The evolution of the German city size distribution 1925-1999

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bosker, Maarten; Brakman, Steven; Garretsen, Harry; Schramm, Marc

This paper uses empirical evidence on the evolution and structure of the West-German city size distribution to assess the relevance of three different theories of urban growth. The West-German case is of particular interest as Germany's urban system has been subject to some of history's largest

Perception and reality: Public knowledge of plug-in electric vehicles in 21 U.S. cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Krause, Rachel M.; Carley, Sanya R.; Lane, Bradley W.; Graham, John D.

2013-01-01

This paper examines the extent of consumer knowledge about plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) and the current policies in place to encourage their purchase and use. Data are collected via a survey administered to a sample of 2302 adult drivers in 21 of the largest cities in the United States. Almost two-thirds of the respondents provided incorrect answers to basic factual questions about PEVs and, of those, approximately 75% underestimated their private value or advantages. The vast majority (94.5%) of respondents were not aware of the current state and local incentives in place in their locale to encourage PEV purchase and use. Based on a review of consumer theory, multivariate models are developed and used to assess the factors associated with consumer interest in the two major types of PEV technologies, Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEV). Results show demographic and attitudinal characteristics having the largest influence on interest in either type of PEV. Misperceptions about purchase price and expected fuel and maintenance savings are likewise significant, although their impacts differ between BEVs and PHEVs. Better informing consumers about already available public incentives and advantageous aspects of existing PEV technologies offer promising steps toward their mass commercialization. - Highlights: • Survey analysis examines consumer knowledge of PEVs and current public policies. • Majority of respondents have incorrect perceptions about basic PEV characteristics. • Vast majority of respondents are not aware of current state and local PEV policies. • Misperception about fuel and maintenance savings significantly affects PEV interest

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. 

SSC RIAR is the largest centre of research reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kalygin, V.V.

1997-01-01

The State Scientific Centre (SSC) ''Research Institute of Atomic Reactors'' (RIAR) is situated 100 km to the south-east from Moscow, in Dimitrovgrad, the Volga Region of the Russian Federation. SSC RIAR is the largest centre of research reactors in Russia. At present there are 5 types of reactor facilities in operation, including two NPP. One of the main tasks the Centre is the investigations on safety increase for power reactors. Broad international connections are available at the Institute. On the basis of the SSC RIAR during 3 years work has been done on the development of the branch training centre (TC) for the training of operation personnel of research and pilot reactors in Russia. (author). 3 tabs

SSC RIAR is the largest centre of research reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kalygin, V V [State Scientific Centre, Research Inst. of Atomic Reactors (Russian Federation)

1997-10-01

The State Scientific Centre (SSC) ``Research Institute of Atomic Reactors`` (RIAR) is situated 100 km to the south-east from Moscow, in Dimitrovgrad, the Volga Region of the Russian Federation. SSC RIAR is the largest centre of research reactors in Russia. At present there are 5 types of reactor facilities in operation, including two NPP. One of the main tasks the Centre is the investigations on safety increase for power reactors. Broad international connections are available at the Institute. On the basis of the SSC RIAR during 3 years work has been done on the development of the branch training centre (TC) for the training of operation personnel of research and pilot reactors in Russia. (author). 3 tabs.

Prague: The City Is the Museum.

Science.gov (United States)

Meilach, Dona Z.

2001-01-01

States that Prague, the capital of the Czech-Republic, is a virtual art museum because of the number of architectural styles and other artworks throughout the city. Explores the various architectural styles that are present in the city from the Gothic monasteries and churches to examples of contemporary styles. (CMK)

Post-industrial Objects and Buildings in the Structure of the Contemporary City

Science.gov (United States)

Klopotowski, Maciej; Zagroba, Marek

2017-12-01

In the second half of the 19th century, provincial Bialystok became the largest industrial city in the eastern territories of the former Republic of Poland. The cause of this economic growth was the development of the railway network and changing customs policy in the Russian Empire. Over a dozen or so years, several dozens of textile factories and numerous craft workshops were established in the city. The industrial prosperity of the city development was interrupted by the First and Second World War. The second half of the twentieth century also brought political and economic changes. They resulted from the nationalization of industry and the introduction of a socialist economy. In the following decades, heavy and light industries developed in the city. Metallurgical plants and factories of houses, furniture, carpets, packaging, electronics, glassworks and food processing were established. On the outskirts of the city appeared industrial districts, which except the factories concentrated also storage facilities. Economic changes that took place in Poland after 1989 caused another change in the area of Białystok industry. Many state-owned factories went bankrupt and the remaining facilities and areas had to change their intended use. The conducted research compares the methods of dealing with the currently unnecessary structure. This has taken into account its location value in the city’s structure and its cultural characteristics. Analyses allowed to indicate new use of post-industrial facilities. There were selected post-industrial buildings that currently serve residential, office, educational and commercial purposes or house cultural institutions. There are also indicated facilities that have not found their new destination and have been demolished or are not currently in use. In conclusion, the research found that the city’s post-industrial legacy is equal to its heritage - it builds the identity of the place and it is also the difficult urban problem of

Scientific and Technical Cooperation Between National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Kyiv City State Administration: Cautious Optimism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahorodniy, A.G.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The experience of scientific and technical cooperation between National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and Kyiv City State Administration is summarized. Brief description of innovative projects approved for implementation in 2015 on the introduction of the elaborations of the institutions of NAS of Ukraine into the urban economy is presented.

The benchmarks of carbon emissions and policy implications for China's cities: Case of Nanjing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bi Jun; Zhang Rongrong; Wang Haikun; Liu Miaomiao; Wu Yi

2011-01-01

The development of urbanization is accelerating in China, and there are great pressures and opportunities in cities to reduce carbon emissions. An emissions inventory is a basic requirement for analyzing emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs), their potential reduction and to realize low-carbon development of cities. This study describes a method to establish a GHGs emissions inventory in Chinese cities for 6 emission sources including industrial energy consumption, transportation, household energy consumption, commercial energy consumption, industrial processes and waste. Nanjing city was selected as a representative case to analyze the characteristics of carbon emissions in Chinese cities. The results show that carbon emissions in Nanjing have increased nearly 50% during the last decade. The three largest GHGs contributors were industrial energy consumption, industrial processes and transportation, which contributed 37-44%, 35-40% and 6-10%, respectively, to the total GHGs emissions. Per GDP carbon emissions decreased by 55% from 2002 to 2009, and the per capita and per GDP carbon emissions were comparable or even lower than the world average levels. These results have important policy implications for Chinese cities to control their carbon emissions. - Highlights: → Carbon emissions inventory using bottom-up methodology was firstly reported for a Chinese city. → Emission characteristics of Nanjing city were compared with other international cities. → Low carbon policies for Chinese cities were recommended based on the results of this research.

Networks of European cities in worlds of global economic and environmental change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ben Derudder

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Geographers use a variety of economic, social, and demographic data to measure the importance of global cities and the linkages between cities. We analyze the importance and connectedness of European cities using hyperlinks, or the electronic information provided by the Google Search engine. Hyperlinks are Web sites representing information that is produced; they are especially useful in measuring the impact of contemporary crises. We use the phrases economic slowdown and global financial crisis to derive a Global Financial Score (GFS for 16 core, semiperiphery and peripheral European cities and global warming and climate change to derive a Global Environmental Score (GES. London and Paris are in the European core; Rome, Dublin, Madrid and Prague are in the semiperiphery; while Tallinn, Riga, and Belgrade are in the periphery. A strong positive relationship exists between the GES and GFS. We examine the linkages of the 16 cities to the 100 largest world cities and illustrate, with “clockgrams,” the linkages London, Brussels and Athens have with other world cities. We calculated the number of linkages each of the 16 cities had with other world cities to identify Europe’s urban cores, semiperipheries, peripheries, and deep peripheries. New York is in the core of both the economic and environmental maps. Some world cities are in the semiperiphery of one category and periphery of another. Milan, Istanbul, and Delhi are in the deep periphery for the GFS while Toronto and Athens are for the GES. Hyperlinks represent valuable databases to measure the impact of crises and regional and global urban linkages.

Asthma in inner city children: recent insights: United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Dutmer, Cullen M; Kim, Haejin; Searing, Daniel A; Zoratti, Edward M; Liu, Andrew H

2018-04-01

Children living in US inner cities experience disparate burdens of asthma, especially in severity, impairment, exacerbations, and morbidity. Investigations seeking to better understand the factors and mechanisms underlying asthma prevalence, severity, and exacerbation in children living in these communities can lead to interventions that can narrow asthma disparities and potentially benefit all children with asthma. This update will focus on recent (i.e. late 2016-2017) advances in the understanding of asthma in US inner city children. Studies published in the past year expand understanding of asthma prevalence, severity, exacerbation, and the outcomes of guidelines-based management of these at-risk children, including: asthma phenotypes in US inner city children that are severe and difficult-to-control; key environmental determinants and mechanisms underlying asthma severity and exacerbations (e.g. allergy-mediated exacerbation susceptibility to rhinovirus); the importance of schools as a place for provocative exposures (e.g. mouse allergen, nitrogen dioxide) as well as a place where asthma care and outcomes can be improved; and the development and validation of clinically useful indices for gauging asthma severity and predicting exacerbations. These recent studies provide a trove of actionable findings that can improve asthma care and outcomes for these at-risk children.

The return of the city-state: urban governance and the New York City H1N1 pandemic.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Lily M

2013-02-01

This article examines New York City's response to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic in the context of the post-9/11 US security regime. While the federal level 'all-hazards' approach made for greater depth of support, it also generated unrealistic assumptions at odds with an effective local response. The combination of structurally induced opportunity and actor specific strengths (size, expertise) made for effective local governance by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. By underlining the importance of locality as a first line of defence and linking defence function to policy initiative in regard to health governance, this study illustrates the continuing relevance of Weber's insight into the institutional structure of the city. © 2012 The Author. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2012 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

The Right to the City: From Henri Lefebvre to the Analysis about the Contemporary Capitalist City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Frank Molano Camargo

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The right to the city, defined by Henri Lefebvre in 1967 as the right of urban inhabitants to build, decide and create the city, and make of it a privileged space of anti-capitalist struggle, is again at the center of political debate. Social scientists, social movements, international aid agencies and States take it as a benchmark for policy analysis and to discuss the urban changes in contemporary capitalist cities. This article discusses the assumptions made by Lefebvre in 1967 and the transformation that the concept of right to the city has had from authors such as David Harvey, Edward Soja and Ana Fani Alessandri Carlos.

Rat sightings in New York City are associated with neighborhood sociodemographics, housing characteristics, and proximity to open public space

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michael G. Walsh

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Rats are ubiquitous in urban environments and, as established reservoirs for infectious pathogens, present a control priority for public health agencies. New York City (NYC harbors one of the largest rat populations in the United States, but surprising little study has been undertaken to define rat ecology across varied features of this urban landscape. More importantly, factors that may contribute to increased encounters between rats and humans have rarely been explored. Using city-wide records of rat sightings reported to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, this investigation sought to identify sociodemographic, housing, and physical landscape characteristics that are associated with increased rat sightings across NYC census tracts. A hierarchical Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson model was used to assess these associations while accounting for spatial heterogeneity in the variance. Closer proximity to both subway lines and recreational public spaces was associated with a higher concentration of rat sightings, as was a greater presence of older housing, vacant housing units, and low education among the population. Moreover, these aspects of the physical and social landscape accurately predicted rat sightings across the city. These findings have identified specific features of the NYC urban environment that may help to provide direct control targets for reducing human–rat encounters.

Rat sightings in New York City are associated with neighborhood sociodemographics, housing characteristics, and proximity to open public space.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Michael G

2014-01-01

Rats are ubiquitous in urban environments and, as established reservoirs for infectious pathogens, present a control priority for public health agencies. New York City (NYC) harbors one of the largest rat populations in the United States, but surprising little study has been undertaken to define rat ecology across varied features of this urban landscape. More importantly, factors that may contribute to increased encounters between rats and humans have rarely been explored. Using city-wide records of rat sightings reported to the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, this investigation sought to identify sociodemographic, housing, and physical landscape characteristics that are associated with increased rat sightings across NYC census tracts. A hierarchical Bayesian conditional autoregressive Poisson model was used to assess these associations while accounting for spatial heterogeneity in the variance. Closer proximity to both subway lines and recreational public spaces was associated with a higher concentration of rat sightings, as was a greater presence of older housing, vacant housing units, and low education among the population. Moreover, these aspects of the physical and social landscape accurately predicted rat sightings across the city. These findings have identified specific features of the NYC urban environment that may help to provide direct control targets for reducing human-rat encounters.

Comparison of electricity prices in major North American cities : rates effective May 1, 2001

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2002-01-01

This report presents the major findings of a comparative evaluation of electricity prices in major North American cities, by customer category, based on rates in effect on May 1, 2001. Besides Hydro-Quebec, the comparison includes 21 utilities, of which 11 serve the major cities across Canada and 10 utilities located in 10 American states. Hydro-Quebec is one of the largest electric utilities in North America with one of the most extensive systems. Of the 190 billion kilowatt-hours delivered annually, 37 billion are exported to neighbouring provinces in Canada and to the United States. 93 per cent of the generating facilities are hydroelectric. The report covers consumption levels, taxes, optional programs, location, time-of-use rates, exchange rates, and other factors that affect electricity prices such as fuel adjustment clauses for utilities that produce electricity in thermal power plants. It was noted that Hydro-Quebec has frozen its rates until April 2002, keeping them at the same level as those set on May 1, 1998. The report showed that Hydro-Quebec has maintained a competitive position at a level similar to or better than previous years. Three of the 11 Canadian utilities implemented rate increases between May 1, 2000 and May 1, 2001, and 2 utilities reduced their rates. Two utilities modified their rate structure following deregulation. During the same time period, 3 of the 10 utilities in the United States increased their rates, and one reduced them. The rates in the United States varied regardless of increases or freezes because many utilities had incorporated adjustment clauses. Quebec residential consumers enjoy the second lowest rates in North America. Only Winnipeg ranked higher. Hydro-Quebec has also remained competitive when it comes to small, medium and large power customers. It ranked fifth for small power customers, third for medium power customers, and third for large power customers. tabs., figs., appendices

Efficient Scavenging of Solar and Wind Energies in a Smart City.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Shuhua; Wang, Xue; Wang, Zhong Lin; Yang, Ya

2016-06-28

To realize the sustainable energy supply in a smart city, it is essential to maximize energy scavenging from the city environments for achieving the self-powered functions of some intelligent devices and sensors. Although the solar energy can be well harvested by using existing technologies, the large amounts of wasted wind energy in the city cannot be effectively utilized since conventional wind turbine generators can only be installed in remote areas due to their large volumes and safety issues. Here, we rationally design a hybridized nanogenerator, including a solar cell (SC) and a triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG), that can individually/simultaneously scavenge solar and wind energies, which can be extensively installed on the roofs of the city buildings. Under the same device area of about 120 mm × 22 mm, the SC can deliver a largest output power of about 8 mW, while the output power of the TENG can be up to 26 mW. Impedance matching between the SC and TENG has been achieved by using a transformer to decrease the impedance of the TENG. The hybridized nanogenerator has a larger output current and a better charging performance than that of the individual SC or TENG. This research presents a feasible approach to maximize solar and wind energies scavenging from the city environments with the aim to realize some self-powered functions in smart city.

AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING BASED ON LOCAL RESOURCES IN DEPOK CITY, INDONESIA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abdurahim A.

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The background of this study is that Dewa Starfruit as a local resource in Depok City is threatened with extinction. The absence of regulations that protect these local resources and high rate of land use conversion causes decreasing number of starfruit plants and production. Starfruit farmers tend to switch professions to non-agricultural occupations. In national level, the largest number of agricultural business households experienced the greatest decline in horticulture subsector by 37.4% (Agricultural Census 2013. The elected regional head has branded Depok City with the tagline "friendly city" replacing Dewa Starfruit. The government's orientation and support for Dewa starfruit is fading away. Therefore, Depok City Government, especially DKP3, need to develop local resource-based agriculture development plan in order to be able to maintain local resources while improving it for society welfare. This research uses qualitative approach. The research informants were DKP3 apparatus of Depok City, Bappeda (Regional Government apparatus of Depok City, field officer and farmer group. Data collection techniques used in-depth interviews and documentary studies. Data analysis utilized interactive model. Research results indicate that the development of local resource-based agricultural development plans has not gone well. Despite various supporting factors, there are existing inhibiting factors which are land use conversion had never been discussed; DKP3 Depok City efforts to safeguard agricultural issues in musrenbang has not been optimal; no field data update, either by couseling workers or farmers; DKP3 Depok City prioritized RPL activity; uneducated farmers; and absence of regional head support.

A Menu for Health: Changes to New York City School Food, 2001 to 2011

Science.gov (United States)

Perlman, Sharon E.; Nonas, Cathy; Lindstrom, Lauren L.; Choe-Castillo, Julia; McKie, Herman; Alberti, Philip M.

2012-01-01

Background: The high prevalence of obesity puts children at risk for chronic diseases, increases health care costs, and threatens to reduce life expectancy. As part of the response to this epidemic, the New York City (NYC) Department of Education (DOE)--the nation's largest school district--has worked to improve the appeal and nutritional quality…

Combining criteria for delineating lahar- and flash-flood-prone hazard and risk zones for the city of Arequipa, Peru

OpenAIRE

Thouret , Jean-Claude; Enjolras , G.; Martelli , K.; Santoni , O.; Luque , A.; Nagata , M.; Arguedas , A.; Macedo , L.

2013-01-01

Arequipa, the second largest city in Peru, is exposed to many natural hazards, most notably earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, landslides, lahars (volcanic debris flows), and flash floods. Of these, lahars and flash floods, triggered by occasional torrential rainfall, pose the most frequently occurring hazards that can affect the city and its environs, in particular the areas containing low-income neighbourhoods. This paper presents and discusses criteria for delineating areas prone to flash fl...

Water conservation and hydrological transitions in cities in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Hornberger, George M.; Hess, David J.; Gilligan, Jonathan

2015-06-01

Cities across the world have had to diversify and expand their water supply systems in response to demand growth, groundwater depletion and pollution, and instability and inadequacy of regional surface freshwater sources. In the U.S., these problems plague not only the arid Western cities but increasingly also cities in the Eastern portions of the country. Although cities continue to seek out new sources of water via Promethean projects of long-distance supply systems, desalinization plants, and the recharge of aquifers with surface water, they also pursue water conservation because of its low cost and other benefits. We examine water conservation as a complex sociotechnical system comprising interactions of political, sociodemographic, economic, and hydroclimatological factors. We provide quantitative data on the factors that affect more and less advanced transitions in water conservation regimes, and we show that water stress and other hydrological data can only partially predict the transition. We also provide qualitative case studies to identify institutional and political barriers to more advanced water conservation regimes. This interdisciplinary, mixed methods approach typifies the need for knowledge that informs hydrologists about how their research may or may not be adopted by decision-makers.

Expert System Development for Urban Fire Hazard Assessment. Study Case: Kendari City, Indonesia

Science.gov (United States)

Taridala, S.; Yudono, A.; Ramli, M. I.; Akil, A.

2017-08-01

Kendari City is a coastal urban region with the smallest area as well as the largest population in Southeast Sulawesi. Fires in Kendari City had rather frequently occurred and caused numerous material losses. This study aims to develop a model of urban fire risk and fire station site assessment. The model is developed using Expert Systems with the Geographic Information System (GIS). The high risk of fire area is the area which of high building density with combustible material, not crossed by arterial nor collector road. The fire station site should be appropriately close by high risk of fire area, located on arterial road and near with potential water resource.

Linking green city politics with green business

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mans, U.; Meerow, S.; Simpson, R.; Zimmermann, M.

2013-01-01

In the light of cumbersome national energy transitions, cities across the world are increasingly taking the lead in promoting renewable energy on the municipal level. Whereas cities in Europe and the United States are the most prominent pioneers of this trend, the need for renewable energy in

Mapping of electromagnetic fields of industrial frequencies in the city of Petrozavodsk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sturman Vladimir Itshakovich

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In a modern city there are numerous sources of electro-magnetic radiation. However, their interaction and overlap are studied extremely insufficiently. We investigated the spatial distribution of strength indicators of electric fields and flux density of magnetic fields in Petrozavodsk. It was established that the intensity of electric fields reaches significant values only near overhead high-voltage lines, but there is no revealed excess of exposure standard outside their security zones. The flux density does not exceed the permissible level, but within the city area it varies wildly. It was represented on the compiled map. The largest levels of the flux density were observed in modern building zones, mainly in the centre of the city. In separate points the abnormal values were noted. They were explained by the influence of underground power cables. The results are useful for working out the method of mapping electrio-magnetic fields.

Obesity Prevention in a City State: Lessons from New York City during the Bloomberg Administration.

Science.gov (United States)

Kelly, Paul M; Davies, Anna; Greig, Alexandra J M; Lee, Karen K

2016-01-01

To illuminate the key components of multi-sector reform to address the obesogenic environment in New York City during the administration of Mayor Michael Bloomberg from 2002 to 2013, we conducted a case study consisting of interviews with and a critical analysis of the experiences of leading decision makers and implementers. Key informant interviews (N = 41) conducted in 2014 were recorded, transcribed, coded, and thematically analyzed. Participants included officials from the Health Department and other New York City Government agencies, academics, civil society members, and private sector executives. Participants described Mayor Bloomberg as a data-driven politician who wanted to improve the lives of New Yorkers. He appointed talented Commissioners and encouraged them and their staff to be bold, innovative, and collaborative. Multiple programs spanning multiple sectors, with varied approaches and targets, were supported. This study found that much of the work relied on loose coalitions across City Government, with single agencies responsible for their own agendas, some with health co-benefits. Many policies were implemented through non-legislative mechanisms such as executive orders and the Health Code. Despite support from academic and some civil society groups, strong lobbying from industry and an unfavorable media led to some reforms being modified, legally challenged or blocked completely, particularly food environment modifiers. In contrast, reforms of the physical environment were described as highly consultative across and outside government and resulted in slower but more sustained reform. The Bloomberg administration was a "window of opportunity" with the imprimatur of the executive to progress a long-term, multi-faceted obesity prevention strategy, which has successfully reversed childhood trends. Through the involvement of external researchers and the extensive use of empirical data from a wide range of participants, this study offers a unique

Capital Cities in Late Bronze Age Greater Mesopotamia

OpenAIRE

Carlson, Evan

2017-01-01

This dissertation explores the relationships among founding capital cities, defining state territories, and creating and propagating national identities. In the modern period and deep into history, nascent nations struggling to define themselves and unify diverse states have founded capital cities to embody a national ethos, reveal a shared history, direct the relationship among subjects and government, and differentiate a society from its international peers. In the Late Bronze Age (LBA) (15...

Spatial associations between socioeconomic groups and NO2 air pollution exposure within three large Canadian cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Pinault, Lauren; Crouse, Daniel; Jerrett, Michael; Brauer, Michael; Tjepkema, Michael

2016-05-01

Previous studies of environmental justice in Canadian cities have linked lower socioeconomic status to greater air pollution exposures at coarse geographic scales, (i.e., Census Tracts). However, studies that examine these associations at finer scales are less common, as are comparisons among cities. To assess differences in exposure to air pollution among socioeconomic groups, we assigned estimates of exposure to ambient nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a marker for traffic-related pollution, from city-wide land use regression models to respondents of the 2006 Canadian census long-form questionnaire in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Data were aggregated at a finer scale than in most previous studies (i.e., by Dissemination Area (DA), which includes approximately 400-700 persons). We developed simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models, which account for spatial autocorrelation, to identify associations between NO2 exposure and indicators of social and material deprivation. In Canada's three largest cities, DAs with greater proportions of tenants and residents who do not speak either English or French were characterised by greater exposures to ambient NO2. We also observed positive associations between NO2 concentrations and indicators of social deprivation, including the proportion of persons living alone (in Toronto), and the proportion of persons who were unmarried/not in a common-law relationship (in Vancouver). Other common measures of deprivation (e.g., lone-parent families, unemployment) were not associated with NO2 exposures. DAs characterised by selected indicators of deprivation were associated with higher concentrations of ambient NO2 air pollution in the three largest cities in Canada. Crown Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Alternative Fuels Data Center: America's Largest Home Runs on Biodiesel in

Science.gov (United States)

North Carolina America's Largest Home Runs on Biodiesel in North Carolina to someone by E-mail Share Alternative Fuels Data Center: America's Largest Home Runs on Biodiesel in North Carolina on Facebook Tweet about Alternative Fuels Data Center: America's Largest Home Runs on Biodiesel in North

Beyond Texas City: the state of process safety in the unionized U.S. oil refining industry.

Science.gov (United States)

McQuiston, Thomas H; Lippin, Tobi Mae; Bradley-Bull, Kristin; Anderson, Joseph; Beach, Josie; Beevers, Gary; Frederick, Randy J; Frederick, James; Greene, Tammy; Hoffman, Thomas; Lefton, James; Nibarger, Kim; Renner, Paul; Ricks, Brian; Seymour, Thomas; Taylor, Ren; Wright, Mike

2009-01-01

The March 2005 British Petroleum (BP) Texas City Refinery disaster provided a stimulus to examine the state of process safety in the U.S. refining industry. Participatory action researchers conducted a nation-wide mail-back survey of United Steelworkers local unions and collected data from 51 unionized refineries. The study examined the prevalence of highly hazardous conditions key to the Texas City disaster, refinery actions to address those conditions, emergency preparedness and response, process safety systems, and worker training. Findings indicate that the key highly hazardous conditions were pervasive and often resulted in incidents or near-misses. Respondents reported worker training was insufficient and less than a third characterized their refineries as very prepared to respond safely to a hazardous materials emergency. The authors conclude that the potential for future disasters plagues the refining industry. In response, they call for effective proactive OSHA regulation and outline ten urgent and critical actions to improve refinery process safety.

Tri-Cities Index of Innovation and Technology

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fowler, Richard A.; Scott, Michael J.; Butner, Ryan S.

2011-01-17

In 2001 and 2004, the Economic Development Office of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory published companion reports to the Washington Technology Center Index studies that provided additional information on the Tri-Cities (Kennewick-Richland-Pasco) area of the state, its technology businesses, and important advantages that the Tri-Cities have as places to live and do business. These reports also compared the Tri-Cities area to other technology-based metropolitan areas in the Pacific Northwest and nation along critical dimensions known to be important to technology firms. This report updates the material in these earlier reports, and highlights a growing Tri-Cities metropolitan area.

Burden and Risk Factors for Cold-Related Illness and Death in New York City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathryn Lane

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Exposure to cold weather can cause cold-related illness and death, which are preventable. To understand the current burden, risk factors, and circumstances of exposure for illness and death directly attributed to cold, we examined hospital discharge, death certificate, and medical examiner data during the cold season from 2005 to 2014 in New York City (NYC, the largest city in the United States. On average each year, there were 180 treat-and-release emergency department visits (average annual rate of 21.6 per million and 240 hospital admissions (29.6 per million for cold-related illness, and 15 cold-related deaths (1.8 per million. Seventy-five percent of decedents were exposed outdoors. About half of those exposed outdoors were homeless or suspected to be homeless. Of the 25% of decedents exposed indoors, none had home heat and nearly all were living in single-family or row homes. The majority of deaths and illnesses occurred outside of periods of extreme cold. Unsheltered homeless individuals, people who use substances and become incapacitated outdoors, and older adults with medical and psychiatric conditions without home heat are most at risk. This information can inform public health prevention strategies and interventions.

Identifying the node spreading influence with largest k-core values

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lin, Jian-Hong; Guo, Qiang; Dong, Wen-Zhao; Tang, Li-Ying; Liu, Jian-Guo

2014-01-01

Identifying the nodes with largest spreading influence of complex networks is one of the most promising domains. By taking into account the neighbors' k-core values, we present an improved neighbors' k-core (INK) method which is the sum of the neighbors' k-core values with a tunable parameter α to evaluate the node spreading influence with largest k-core values. Comparing with the Susceptible–Infected–Recovered (SIR) results for four real networks, the INK method could identify the node spreading influence with largest k-core values more accurately than the ones generated by the degree k, closeness C, betweenness B and coreness centrality method. - Highlights: • We present an improved neighbors' k-core (INK) method to evaluate the node spreading influence with largest k-core values. • The INK method could identify the node spreading influence with largest k-core values more accurately. • Kendall's tau τ of INK method with α=1 are highly identical to rank the node influence

Characteristics of Commercial Motorcyclists in Benin City ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the characteristics of commercial motorcyclists in Ugbowo, Benin-city. A cross-sectional and descriptive study was carried out among commercial motorcyclists in Ugbowo, Benin-city, Edo State. A total of 252 commercial motorcyclists were involved in the study. A cluster sampling method ...

The Aalborg case - GPS tracking of 169 young adults in a Danish central city area

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Harder, Henrik; Bro, Peter; Knudsen, Anne-Marie

Recent developments in the global positioning system (GPS) and the global system for mobile communications, or third generation technology (GSM/3G), have enabled an increasingly simple and cost-effective tracking of human activity in urban areas through the use of mobile telephony...... was based on a unique sample of movement data gleaned from 169 young adults aged 16 to 20 years. Each person was GPS-tracked over a period of seven days in 2008-2009 to record their movements in and uses of spaces in the central city area of Aalborg, which is Denmark’s fourth-largest city, with 122 461...

Multilevel governance and deployment of solar PV panels in U.S. cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li, Hui; Yi, Hongtao

2014-01-01

Solar photovoltaic (PV) installations have been growing rapidly in the United States over the last few years, incentivized by policies from federal, state and local governments. The complex relationships between solar policies at multiple levels of government and solar deployment are questions of importance to policy makers and scholars. Extant literature on solar policies pays less attention to the role of local governments and policies than to their federal and state counterparts. Local governments and policies play indispensable roles in the deployment of solar PVs. This paper studies the multilevel governance of solar development in the U.S. by evaluating the relative effectiveness of state and local policy tools in stimulating solar PV installations, with an emphasis on local solar policies. With a regression analysis on a national sample of 186 U.S. cities, we find that cities with local financial incentives deploy 69% more solar PV capacities than cities without such policies. We also find that cities subject to RPS requirements have 295% more solar PV capacity, compared with cities not regulated by state RPS. - Highlights: • This study evaluates state and local solar PV policies. • State RPS has positive impacts on local solar PV capacity. • Local financial incentives matter for solar PV deployment

What is Clean Cities? October 2011 (Brochure)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-10-01

Brochure describes the Clean Cities program and includes the contact information for its 85 coalitions. Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Vehicle Technologies Program (VTP), Clean Cities is a government-industry partnership that reduces petroleum consumption in the transportation sector. Clean Cities contributes to the energy, environmental, and economic security of the United States by supporting local decisions to reduce our dependence on imported petroleum. Established in 1993 in response to the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992, the partnership provides tools and resources for voluntary, community-centered programs to reduce consumption of petroleum-based fuels. In nearly 100 coalitions, government agencies and private companies voluntarily come together under the umbrella of Clean Cities. The partnership helps all parties identify mutual interests and meet the objectives of reducing the use of petroleum, developing regional economic opportunities, and improving air quality. Clean Cities deploys technologies and practices developed by VTP. These include idle-reduction equipment, electric-drive vehicles, fuel economy measures, and renewable and alternative fuels, such as natural gas, liquefied petroleum gas (propane), electricity, hydrogen, biofuels, and biogas. Idle-reduction equipment is targeted primarily to buses and heavy-duty trucks, which use more than 2 billion gallons of fuel every year in the United States while idling. Clean Cities fuel economy measures include public education on vehicle choice and fuel-efficient driving practices.

[State of the world population, 1986].

Science.gov (United States)

1987-01-01

The majority of the world population will soon reside in urban areas. At present, over 40% of the world's people are urban, and 50% will be urban soon after the year 2000. The proportion urban in developed countries has exceeded 50% since the mid-20th century, and in developing countries this level will be reached in the 1st quarter of the next century. Developing countries in Asia and Africa have less than 30% of their population urban. While over 70% of Latin America's population is urban. Within the next 50 years, the predominantly rural character of the developing countries will disappear forever. Currently the majority of the world's urban population lives in developing countries. In 1970, 695 million urban dwellers were in developed countries vs. 666 million in developing countries, but by 1985, there were only 849 million urban dwellers in developed countries vs. 1164 million in developing countries. By the year 2025, there will be nearly 4 times as many urban dwellers in developing countries. An increasing proportion of the urban population will reside in the largest cities. Around 2025, almost 30% of the urban population in developing countries will live in cities of over 4 million. Around 2000 there will be 5 cities of 15 million or more, 3 of them in developing countries. The proportion of the 20 largest cities in developing countries will increase from 9 in 1970 to 16 in 2000. The close relationship between city size and economic development that existed until the recent past is disappearing. It is possible that the very largest cities will no longer be at the center of international political and economic networks. Many developing countries will have to develop plans for cities of sizes never imagined in the developed countries of today. High rates of population increase in the developing countries are an inseparable aspect of their urbanization. Growth of the urban population in developing countries will continue to be rapid until well into the 21st

Cities and environment. Indicators of environmental performance in the medium cities in Norway; Byer og miljoe. Indikatorer for miljoeutviklingen i de mellomstore byene i Norge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haagensen, Trine

2012-07-15

This report contains selected indicators and statistics that describe the urban environmental status and development of 31 medium-sized urban settlements in Norway. The selected indicators are mainly taken from the report 'Framtidens byer' or 'Cities of the Future' (Haagensen T. 2011). This group of cities consists of the 9 largest city region, with 13 belonging municipalities in Norway. The program to the 'Cities of the Future' started in 2008, and is based on an agreement between these cities, the private sector and the state, led by the Ministry of the Environment. The 13 cities are Oslo, Baerum, Drammen, Sarpsborg, Fredrikstad, Porsgrunn, Skien, Kristiansand, Sandnes, Stavanger, Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsoe. The medium-sized urban settlements had around 636 000 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011), equivalent to about 13 per cent of the population of Norway. From 2009-2011, the population growth within these urban settlements was over 70 000. Some of the greatest challenges to reconciling urban development with environmental considerations are therefore found here. The white paper no. 26 (2006-2007) The governments environmental policy and the state of the environment in Norway has also added to the importance of the urban environment with a comprehensive description of the land use and transport policy. Good land use management contains indicators related to the density of land use and construction activities within urban settlements. The urban area per inhabitant decreased in both the medium-sized urban settlements and the 'Cities of the Future' in Norway from 2000 to 2011, which means that a larger share of new buildings were built in already established urban settlements in this period. During the same period, the density in the 'Cities of the Future' decreased. Too high density of built-up areas may be at the expense of access to playgrounds, recreational areas or touring grounds. Indicators of the population's access to these areas show that there is

Diagnosis of the operation state of photovoltaic water pumping systems installed in Pernambuco state, Brazil; Diagnostico do estado de funcionamento de sistemas de bombeamento de agua fotovoltaico (SBFV) instalados em Pernambuco

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Costa, Heitor Scalambrini [Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Recife, PE (Brazil). Nucleo de Apoio a Projetos de Energias Renovaveis], Email: hscosta@ufpe.br

2006-07-01

The major projects concerning the dissemination of the use of photovoltaic solar energy (PVSE) in Brazil are located in the Northeast region. Particularly, the state of Pernambuco has the largest number of installations and the largest installed power of autonomous systems. There exist approximately 700 residencies, 250 schools and 150 water pumping systems among other applications using PVSE, totaling 250 k Wp installed in more than 80 cities of that State. This work analyses a diagnosis report on the state of functioning of 64 one-year-old water-pumping installations in 30 m to 60 m depth wells, driven by 300 to 1,600 Wp photovoltaic generators, the flows varying from 200 l/h to 6,000 l/h. Technical and non-technical problems were identified, ranging from improper location choice, wrong system dimensioning, inadequate photovoltaic generator installations, lack of user instruction and training, lack of responsibility definitions regarding the technical assistance and the needed follow-up. In the final part of this report proposals are enumerated concerning the establishment of a local and municipal organizing structure aiming the management of the water-pumping installations and the assurance of a larger success probability in the use of that technology. (author)

CERN tests largest superconducting solenoid magnet

CERN Multimedia

2006-01-01

"CERN's Compacts Muon Solenoid (CMS) - the world's largest superconducting solenoid magnet - has reached full field in testing. The instrument is part of the proton-proton Large Hadron Collider (LHC) project, located in a giant subterranean chamber at Cessy on the Franco-Swiss border." (1 page)

AstroCom NYC: A City Partnership for the Next Generation of Astrophysicists

Science.gov (United States)

Paglione, Timothy; Ford, K. E. Saavik; Robbins, Dennis; Mac Low, Mordecai; Agüeros, Marcel; Anchordoqui, Luis; Acquaviva, Viviana; Bellovary, Jillian; Cruz, Kelle; Liu, Charles; Maller, Ari; McKernan, Barry; Minor, Quinn; O'Dowd, Matthew; Rice, Emily; Sheffield, Allyson

2018-01-01

AstroCom NYC is an undergraduate mentoring program designed to improve urban minority student access to opportunities in astrophysical research by greatly enhancing partnerships between research astronomers in New York City (City University of New York – an MSI, American Museum of Natural History, and Columbia). AstroCom NYC also partnered this past year with the Flatiron Institute Center for Computational Astrophysics to provide new and exciting midtown opportunities for students, and foster an expanding mentor network through the city. We provide centralized, personalized mentoring as well as financial and academic support, to CUNY undergraduates throughout their studies, plus the resources and opportunities to further CUNY faculty research with students. The goal is that students’ residency in the unique research environments at AMNH and the CCA helps them build a sense of belonging in the field, and readies and inspires them for graduate study. We welcomed our fifth and largest cohort last year, and had some of our first graduates accepted to grad school and bridge programs.

Quantum States Transfer by Analogous Bell States

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mei Di; Li Chong; Yang Guohui; Song Heshan

2008-01-01

Transmitting quantum states by channels of analogous Bell states is studied in this paper. We analyze the transmitting process, constructed the probabilitic unitary operator, and gain the largest successful transfer quantum state probability.

Industrial symbiosis as a countermeasure for resource dependent city: a case study of Guiyang, China

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Li, Hong; Dong, Liang; Ren, Jingzheng

2015-01-01

Solutions towards sustainable cities are of vital importance for China's stakeholders due to the rapid urbanizations, serious resources depletion and environmental contaminations in China. China as the second largest economy is suffering from the dilemma of rapid industrialization and urbanization......, and sustainable development. One of the most severe problems affecting China's sustainable urban development is the resource dependent city, in which resource mining and process industries dominate the local economy. With the depletion of natural resources and the degradation of environment, the concept...... of sustainability and economy transition solutions become more and more important. Under this condition, this study aims to conduct a comprehensive review on the major projects for a more sustainable future in China's national resource dependent cities and propose a countermeasure for the sustainability transition...

Characteristics of peri-urbanization of a secondary city: a challenge in recent urban development

Science.gov (United States)

Rahayu, P.; Mardiansjah, F. H.

2018-03-01

Urbanization process creates a tremendous spatial phenomenon since the last century. Especially for the country of the South, the phenomenon is still relevant to the situation today and the processes will still going until the foreseeable future. The metropolitan-based of urbanization process involves the development of peri-urban areas, which could be defined as transitional zones between city and rural areas characterized by integrated mixed-structures of agricultural and non-agricultural activities. This article reveals the characteristics of periurbanization process of an emerging secondary city in Java, which uses Surakarta, the second largest city in Central Java Province based on the population size, as the case. During the last ten years, there have been significant changes in peri-urban areas regarding urban population, land use, and urban activities that strengthening the contribution of the urban component into peri-urban system.

Water availability and vulnerability of 225 large cities in the United States

Science.gov (United States)

Padowski, Julie C.; Jawitz, James W.

2012-12-01

This study presents a quantitative national assessment of urban water availability and vulnerability for 225 U.S. cities with population greater than 100,000. Here, the urban assessments account for not only renewable water flows, but also the extracted, imported, and stored water that urban systems access through constructed infrastructure. These sources represent important hydraulic components of the urban water supply, yet are typically excluded from water scarcity assessments. Results from this hydraulic-based assessment were compared to those obtained using a more conventional method that estimates scarcity solely based on local renewable flows. The inclusion of hydraulic components increased the mean availability to cities, leading to a significantly lower portion of the total U.S. population considered "at risk" for water scarcity (17%) than that obtained from the runoff method (47%). Water vulnerability was determined based on low-flow conditions, and smaller differences were found for this metric between at-risk populations using the runoff (66%) and hydraulic-based (54%) methods. The large increase in the susceptible population between the scarcity measures evaluated using the hydraulic method may better reconcile the seeming contradiction in the United States between perceptions of natural water abundance and widespread water scarcity. Additionally, urban vulnerability measures developed here were validated using a media text analysis. Vulnerability assessments that included hydraulic components were found to correlate with the frequency of urban water scarcity reports in the popular press while runoff-based measures showed no significant correlation, suggesting that hydraulic-based assessments provide better context for understanding the nature and severity of urban water scarcity issues.

Cities and environment. Indicators of environmental performance in the 'Cities of the future'; Byer og miljoe : indikatorer for miljoeutviklingen i 'Framtidens byer'

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Haagensen, Trine

2012-07-15

This report contains selected indicators and statistics that describe the urban environmental status and development in 13 of the largest municipalities in Norway. These cities are part of the program 'Cities of the Future' agreed upon between 13 cities, the private sector and the state, led by the Ministry of the Environment. Cities of the Future had about 1.7 million inhabitants (as of 1 January 2010), equivalent to about 1/3 of the population in Norway. In 2009 the population growth in these municipalities was about 49 per cent of the total population growth. Some of the greatest challenges to combine urban development with environmental considerations are therefore found here. The white paper no. 26 (2006-2007) The government's environmental policy and the state of the environment in Norway, has also added to the importance of the urban environment with a comprehensive description of the land use and transport policy. Good land use management contains indicators related to the density of land use and construction activities within urban settlements. Within urban settlements, the area per inhabitant decreased both within the Cities of the Future and in all municipalities in Norway (2000-2009). The coalescing within the urban settlements decreased per inhabitant (2004-2009), which means that new buildings have been built outside already established urban settlements in this period. Too high density of built-up areas may be at the expense of access to playgrounds, recreational areas or touring grounds, indicators of the population's access to these areas show that there has been a reduction in access in the Cities of the Future as for the municipalities in Norway. Within transport, the focus is on the degree to which the inhabitants choose to use environmentally-friendly transportation instead of cars. Only Oslo has more than 50 per cent of daily travel by environmentally-friendly transportation. Among the Cities of the Future, the use of

A School Voucher Program for Baltimore City

Science.gov (United States)

Lips, Dan

2005-01-01

Baltimore City's public school system is in crisis. Academically, the school system fails on any number of measures. The city's graduation rate is barely above 50 percent and students continually lag well behind state averages on standardized tests. Adding to these problems is the school system's current fiscal crisis, created by years of fiscal…

Incorporation of limestone residue from marble processing plant in the city of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Espirito Santo, Brazil, in the production of mortars; Incorporacao de residuo proveniente de usina de beneficiamento de marmore do municipio de Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, ES, Brasil, na confeccao de argamassas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goncalves, G P; Alexandre, J; Dias, D P; Dias, Junior, N S; Anderson, R.B., E-mail: gabrielkgbs@gmail.co [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (LECIV/UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Ciencia e Tecnologia. Lab. de Engenharia Civil

2010-07-01

Cachoeiro do Itapemirim city (ES), located 136 km from Vitoria, the state's capital, is the largest ornamental stones producer in Brazil, whose beneficiation produces a large amount of waste that, even today, is responsible for major damages done to the environment. This article aims the experimental study of hydrated lime use (product marketed to be used in mortar) by a residue from marble beneficiation from an industry located in that city. Two mixes were made with cement:sand:hydrated lime and cement:sand:residue. The mortars were evaluated by their properties comparisons in fresh and hardened states, namely: consistency index, mass density and incorporated air content, compressive strength, tensile and bending grip for traction. Chemical and mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction were also made. The obtained results met the requirements prescribed by ABNT NBR 13 281 (2005). (author)

Incorporation of limestone residue from marble processing plant in the city of Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, Espirito Santo, Brazil, in the production of mortars; Incorporacao de residuo proveniente de usina de beneficiamento de marmore do municipio de Cachoeiro do Itapemirim, ES, Brasil, na confeccao de argamassas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Goncalves, G.P.; Alexandre, J.; Dias, D.P.; Dias Junior, N.S.; Anderson, R.B., E-mail: gabrielkgbs@gmail.co [Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense (LECIV/UENF), Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ (Brazil). Centro de Ciencia e Tecnologia. Lab. de Engenharia Civil

2010-07-01

Cachoeiro do Itapemirim city (ES), located 136 km from Vitoria, the state's capital, is the largest ornamental stones producer in Brazil, whose beneficiation produces a large amount of waste that, even today, is responsible for major damages done to the environment. This article aims the experimental study of hydrated lime use (product marketed to be used in mortar) by a residue from marble beneficiation from an industry located in that city. Two mixes were made with cement:sand:hydrated lime and cement:sand:residue. The mortars were evaluated by their properties comparisons in fresh and hardened states, namely: consistency index, mass density and incorporated air content, compressive strength, tensile and bending grip for traction. Chemical and mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction were also made. The obtained results met the requirements prescribed by ABNT NBR 13 281 (2005). (author)

Roundabout performance analysis in the city of Medan

Science.gov (United States)

Surbakti, M.; Iswahyudi, F.

2018-02-01

Medan city as one of the largest cities in Indonesia, currently has problems in the field of transport is quite worrying. Like the other cities in Indonesia, the growth of traffic volume can not be followed by improvement of existing infrastructure. It is characterized by frequent traffic jams, long queues and delays contained in the segment or intersection. One type of arrangement is a roundabout intersection. Roundabout intersection canalization is composed of a central circle surrounded by a one-way street. Roundabout can act as a controller, divider and guidance for the traffic system which rotates in the direction. This study aims to determine the performance of the roundabout on the road Ir. Haji Juanda, Medan. Analyses were performed to obtain the performance of these intersections. Analyses were performed by using a calculation method MKJI 1997 and the Australian Road Research Board (ARRB) manually. The performance measures analyzed in the form of the degree of saturation, delay and queue opportunities using the method MKJI 1997. whereas the ARRB method, the calculated performance of the roundabout is the degree of saturation and delay. Good infrastructure handling can create a reduction of delay, and congestion, so that it can reduce pollution and support a more green environment.

Mapping of Soil-Ecological Conditions of a Medium-Size Industrial City (Birobidzhan City, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, FarEast of Russia as an Example)

Science.gov (United States)

Kalmanova, V. B.; Matiushkina, L. A.

2018-01-01

The authors analyze soil relations with other elements of the city ecosystem (the position in the landscape, soil-forming rocks and lithology, vegetation and its state) to develop the legend and map of soils in the City of Birobidzhan (scale 1:25 000). The focus of study is the morphological structure of urban soils with different degree of disturbance of these relations under the impact of technical effects, economic and recreational activities of the city population. The soil cover structure is composed of four large ecological groups of soils: natural untransformed, natural with a disturbed surface, anthropogenic soils and technogenic surface formations. Using cartometry of the mapped soil contours the authors created the scheme of soil-ecological city zoning, which in a general way depicts the state of soil ecological functions in the city as well as identified zones of soils with preserved, partially and fully distured ecological functions and zones of local geochemical anomalies at the initial formation stage (environmental risk zones).

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.

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)

Architectural Symbols of a City - Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Poplatek, Jacek

2017-10-01

The identity of a city is understood as a collection of individual features, which give the city its individual character and distinguish it from other places; it undoubtedly constitutes a cultural value, which should be cherished. A city is made special thanks to its geographical location, landscape values, urban layout and - architecture. In the case of Sopot - a spa located on the Bay of Gdansk, the mosaic of the above-mentioned features has created a unique image of a seaside resort. Sopot architecture is distinguished by a complex of buildings dating back to the turn of the 20th century, which is the largest one in the country. The architecture of the city is dominated by eclectic influences, mainly Neo-gothic and Art-Nouveau, as well as early modernism; it is also possible to find examples of holiday architecture, with characteristic wooden verandas. The identity of a city and its image is not always permanent and unchanging in time. In the case of Sopot, only 5% of the existing buildings were damaged during the Second World War. However, the most important ones, characteristic for the city and located in its representative part, were destroyed. The war was followed by a period of economic stagnation and isolation from the free world, which lasted for almost 45 years. At that time there were no comprehensive revitalisation projects for this prestigious area of the city. The buildings constructed in the 1960s did not create an architecturally and spatially coherent urban tissue. The situation changed in 1989, when Poland regained its sovereignty. Since that time numerous investment projects have been carried out in Sopot, including the prestigious ones, located in the representative part of the city. This paper has been devoted to Sopot architecture - both historic and modern, the dominating architectural trends and the issues connected with the coexistence of “the old and the new”. The buildings characteristic for the city, historic and modern ones, which

[Third World cities: points of accumulation, centers of distribution].

Science.gov (United States)

Armstrong, W R; Mcgee, T G

1985-01-01

Attention was called over 3 decades ago to the very rapid growth of Third World cities and the significance of the differences between their patterns of urbanization and those of industrialized countries. Their demographic growth occurred much faster and depended much more heavily on high fertility, their economies were geared more to export of raw materials than to manufacturing and were unable to create massive numbers of jobs to absorb the growing labor force except in the unproductive tertiary sector, and it appeared unlikely that they would be able to produce entrepreneurial classes of their own. Several economic developments during the 1970s affected the world economy and the patterns of urbanization of the Third World: the decline of the principal capitalist economies and the multiple increases in the price of oil, the floating exchange rate, the considerable increase in consumer goods, and the increasing costs of labor in industrialized countries, among others, created new conditions. World economic interdependence, international control of investment and exchange, and volume and mobility of capital increased at a time of rapid economic growth in some Third World countries, especially those whose governments took an aggressive role in promoting growth and investment. Some Third World cities now seem to be developing according to a more western model, but the same cannot be said of all Third World countries, and international economic evolution appears to have led to increasing polarization between countries as well as within them. The 1 domain where a certain convergence has occurred is consumption, beginning with the privileged classes and filtering to the lower income groups. Consumption of collective and individual consumer goods, which is concentrated in the largest cities, increases dependence on imports, technology, knowledge, and usually debt. The modern productive sector and its distribution activities become implanted in the cities to such a degree

Analysis of Human Standing Balance by Largest Lyapunov Exponent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to analyse the relationship between nonlinear dynamic character and individuals’ standing balance by the largest Lyapunov exponent, which is regarded as a metric for assessing standing balance. According to previous study, the largest Lyapunov exponent from centre of pressure time series could not well quantify the human balance ability. In this research, two improvements were made. Firstly, an external stimulus was applied to feet in the form of continuous horizontal sinusoidal motion by a moving platform. Secondly, a multiaccelerometer subsystem was adopted. Twenty healthy volunteers participated in this experiment. A new metric, coordinated largest Lyapunov exponent was proposed, which reflected the relationship of body segments by integrating multidimensional largest Lyapunov exponent values. By using this metric in actual standing performance under sinusoidal stimulus, an obvious relationship between the new metric and the actual balance ability was found in the majority of the subjects. These results show that the sinusoidal stimulus can make human balance characteristics more obvious, which is beneficial to assess balance, and balance is determined by the ability of coordinating all body segments.

Natural radioactivity in soils of the main cities of the State of Chihuahua; Radiactividad natural en suelos de las principales ciudades del Estado de Chihuahua

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Colmenero S, L.; Montero C, M.E.; Villalba, L. [CIMAV, Av. Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra 120, 31109 Chihuahua (Mexico)]. e-mail: luis.colmenero@cimav.edu.mx

2003-07-01

The state of Chihuahua counts with at least 56 uranium zones or of minerals associated to this, being Pena Blanca the greatest and more important deposit of the country. Some of the main cities of the state are near to these deposits, as Aldama and Chihuahua. Its were took samples of soil of 11 cities of the state to determine the natural activity of radionuclides. It was determined the specific activity attributable to the parents of the series of {sup 238} U, {sup 232} Th, and of the {sup 40} K isotopes, as well as effective dose rate H{sub E} in the soil samples. It was used the high resolution gamma spectrometry of a high purity Ge detector in the laboratory of Environmental Radiological Surveillance of the CIMAV. The measure of the activity of the uranium series carries out by means of the lines of 351 KeV of the {sup 214} Pb and of 609 keV of the {sup 214} Bi, while the thorium series it was deduced of the lines of 238 keV of the {sup 212} Pb and of 912 keV of the {sup 228} Ac. Its were carried out copies and replies for the quality control. Its were found high values of specific activity of some radionuclides, in the near cities to uranium deposits like Aldama and Chihuahua. For the cities that are not near to deposits, as Ciudad Juarez and Ojinaga, the found values were normal. Also the effective dose rate was high for the near cities to deposits like Aldama, Bocoyna, Chihuahua, Jimenez and Nuevo Casas Grandes, it is also necessary to determine, the radon in air levels and of radionuclides in consumption water to obtain the dose that the population of those populations receives. (Author)

In Search Of the Ideal City. The Favela-Bairro Program Experience in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Silva, Victor

The socio-economic and environmental inequalities in Brazil are well publicized facts and one can state that spatial segregation has been a defining factor in its urbanization. Brazilian cities, such as Rio de Janeiro, are increasingly characterized by the presence of very wealthy neighborhoods...... by Rio de Janeiro Municipality in the 1990 decade, is one of the most successful urban upgrading and poor alleviation projects developed in Brazil. To date Favela-Bairro is the largest-scale squatter settlement upgrading programme implemented in Latin America. It aims to comprehensively upgrade squatter...... of Favela-Bairro in the current urban development process in Rio de Janeiro. The main question we are interested in is: in the contemporary scenario of social polarization, spatial segregation, environmental injustice and lack of good governance, what lessons can be learned from the Favela-Bairro experience?...

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

New energy vision in Kitakata City area; Kitakatashi chiiki shin energy vision

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-02-01

A new energy vision was established in Kitakata City in Fukushima Prefecture. The population of Kitakata City in 2000 was 37,490, not having experienced extreme increase or decrease. Population employed in the tertiary industry occupies the largest ratio at 36.9%, followed by the secondary industry. The energy demand of the entire city is about 3300 trillion Joule, and carbon dioxide emitted therefrom is estimated about 77,000 t-C annually. Calculation of new energy amount in existence reveals about 4190 trillion Joule annually, which corresponds to about 1.3 times the energy demand quantity of the city. The new energy introducing project includes introduction of photovoltaic power generation into the public hall and schools, utilization of solar heat for greenhouses, introduction of solar heat and wind power hybrid power generation into the Green Tourism experiencing facilities, parks, street lights, and evacuation places, introduction of small to medium hydropower generation plants into Kitanogo, Kuranoyu and Happo-Ike, utilization of cold heat of snow, introduction of clean energy fueled automobiles into the public organizations, utilization of bio-mass energy, wastes burning power generation and heat utilization. (NEDO)

Seismic Hazard Management in Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

Wintergerst, L.

2007-05-01

Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world. More than 8.5 million residents and 4.5 million floating population are in the city itself, but with the surrounding suburbs the number of people that could be affected by natural and man-made hazards rises to approximately 20 million. The main risk to the city as a whole is a large magnitude earthquake. Since there is reason to prepare for a credible seismic scenario of Mw = 8.2, which would exceed the damages caused during the 1985 earthquake (Mw = 8.1), we founded the Metropolitan Geologic Service (MGS) in 1998. The MGS has developed geologic and seismic hazard maps for the city (http:www.proteccioncivil.df.gob.mx). The maps include three separate risk maps for low height (3 stories), medium height (10 stories) and tall buildings (10 stories). The maps were prepared by using the maximum horizontal accelerations documented during the 1985 earthquake, and wave propagation modeling for buildings of different resonant periods (T = 0.0, 1.0 and 2.0 sec). In all cases, the risk zones were adjusted to include documented damage during the 1957, 1979 and 1985 earthquakes. All three maps show a high risk zone in the north-central portion of the city, elongated in a N-S direction, which corresponds with a narrow graben where the thickness of alluvial sediments is particularly large, and where wave amplification is accentuated. Preparation of these maps, and others used for planning, has been facilitated by the ongoing elaboration of a Dynamic Geographical Information System, which is based on geo-scientific information, includes all types of risks, and incorporates vulnerability models. From the risk management standpoint, we have elaborated the Permanent Contingency Plan for Mexico City, which in its Earthquakes chapter includes plans for coordination and for organizing attention to the population in the event of a seismic disaster. This Permanent Plan follows the philosophy of Descartes' Method, has 11 processes (6

Heavy Metal Contamination in Urban Soils II Comparison of Urban Park Soils Between Two Cities with Different City and Industrial Activities

OpenAIRE

KOMAI, Yutaka

1981-01-01

A comparative investigation on the state of heavy metal contamination in park soils of two cities with different city and industrial activities was carried out. Sakai and Kishiwada, both situated in southern Osaka Prefecture, were chosen as the investigated cities which had similar natural conditions but different human activities. Park soils were regarded as suitable sites for the investigation of heavy metal problem in urban environments. Samples were taken at 34 parks distributed widely in...

The basic and ultrabasic dikes from the coast region between the Sao Sebastiao and Ubatuba cities, Sao Paulo State, SP, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Garda, Gianna Maria

1995-01-01

The coastline between Sao Sebastiao and Ubatuba cities and the shores of Sao Sebastiao, Anchieta and Mar Virado islands (Sao Paulo State, Brazil) are crosscut by several small swarms and isolated dykes trending N55E. The main rock types range from basic to intermediate, but also a conspicuous variety of alkaline lamprophyres occur side by side with the main group. The thickness of the basic to intermediate dykes vary widely, from a few centimeters to several metres, while the lamprophyres are a few tens of centimeters thick. The objective of this thesis is the petrographic, mineralogic, petrochemical and isotopic characterization of the basic and ultrabasic dykes that occur between the Sao Sebastiao and Ubatuba cities (State of Sao Paulo), also including some occurrences from the Sao Sebastiao, Mar Virado and Anchieta islands and from the Bairro Alto region (Folha de Natividade da Serra). The petrogenetic model presented is based in the national and international bibliography. (author)

Urban Socio-economic Development and Intra-city travel in Ogun ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study is on influence of socio-economic development of urban centers on intra-city trip generation in Ogun state, Nigeria. The proportion of the aggregate socio-economic variables in each city was used to rank the cities in hierarchical order of development while the average household trip per week was used to rank ...

Smart city analytics

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Casper; Hansen, Christian; Alstrup, Stephen

2017-01-01

We present an ensemble learning method that predicts large increases in the hours of home care received by citizens. The method is supervised, and uses different ensembles of either linear (logistic regression) or non-linear (random forests) classifiers. Experiments with data available from 2013 ...... is very useful when full records are not accessible or available. Smart city analytics does not necessarily require full city records. To our knowledge this preliminary study is the first to predict large increases in home care for smart city analytics.......We present an ensemble learning method that predicts large increases in the hours of home care received by citizens. The method is supervised, and uses different ensembles of either linear (logistic regression) or non-linear (random forests) classifiers. Experiments with data available from 2013...... to 2017 for every citizen in Copenhagen receiving home care (27,775 citizens) show that prediction can achieve state of the art performance as reported in similar health related domains (AUC=0.715). We further find that competitive results can be obtained by using limited information for training, which...

Assessing the tree health impacts of salt water flooding in coastal cities: A case study in New York City

Science.gov (United States)

Richard Hallett; Michelle L. Johnson; Nancy F. Sonti

2018-01-01

Hurricane Sandy was the second costliest hurricane in United States (U.S.) history. The category 2 storm hit New York City (NYC) on the evening of October 29, 2012, causing major flooding, wind damage, and loss of life. The New York City Department of Parks & Recreation (NYC Parks) documented over 20,000 fallen street trees due to the physical impact of wind...

Solid waste recycling in Rajshahi city of Bangladesh.

Science.gov (United States)

Bari, Q Hamidul; Hassan, K Mahbub; Haque, M Ehsanul

2012-11-01

Efficient recycling of solid wastes is now a global concern for a sustainable and environmentally sound management. In this study, traditional recycling pattern of solid waste was investigated in Rajshahi municipality which is the fourth largest city of Bangladesh. A questionnaire survey had been carried out in various recycle shops during April 2010 to January 2011. There were 140 recycle shops and most of them were located in the vicinity of Stadium market in Rajshahi. About 1906 people were found to be involved in recycling activities of the city. The major fraction of recycled wastes were sent to capital city Dhaka for further manufacture of different new products. Only a small amount of wastes, specially plastics, were processed in local recycle factories to produce small washing pots and bottle caps. Everyday, an estimated 28.13 tons of recycled solid wastes were handled in Rajshahi city area. This recycled portion accounted for 8.25% of the daily total generated wastes (341 ton d(-1)), 54.6% of total recyclable wastes (51.49 ton d(-1)) and 68.29% of readily recyclable wastes (41.19 ton d(-1)). Major recycled materials were found to be iron, glass, plastic, and papers. Only five factories were involved in preliminary processing of recyclable wastes. Collecting and processing secondary materials, manufacturing recycled-content products, and then buying recycled products created a circle or loop that ensured the overall success of recycling and generated a host of financial, environmental, and social returns. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The deadly Morelos-Puebla, Mexico Intraslab Earthquake of 19 September 2017 (Mw7.1): Was the Earthquake Unexpected and Were the Ground Motions and Damage Pattern in Mexico City Abnormal?

Science.gov (United States)

Perez-Campos, X.; Singh, S. K.; Arroyo, D.; Cruz-Atienza, V. M.; Ordaz, M.; Hjorleifsdottir, V.; Iglesias, A.

2017-12-01

On 19 September 2017, thirty two years after the 1985 Michoacan interplate earthquake (Mw8.0), the city was once again devastated but this time by a Mw7.1 intraslab earthquake. The 2017 earthquake was located near the border of the states of Morelos and Puebla (18.410N, -98.710E; H=57 km), to SSE of Mexico City, at a hypocentral distance of about 127 km. It caused great panic in Mexico City, collapse of 44 buildings, and severely damaged many others. More than 200 persons were killed in the city. It was the second most destructive earthquake in the history of Mexico City, next only to the 1985 earthquake. A strong-motion station at CU located on basalt lava flows on main campus UNAM has been in continuous operation since 1964. PGA of 59 gal at CU during the 2017 earthquake is the largest ever, two times greater than that recorded during the 1985 earthquake (29 gal). The 2017 earthquake raised questions that are critical in fathoming the seismic vulnerability of the city and in its reconstruction. Was such an intraslab earthquake (Mw 7 at a hypocentral distance of 127 km) unexpected? Were the recorded ground motions in the city unusually high for such an earthquake? Why did the damage pattern during the earthquake differ from that observed during the 1985 earthquake? The earthquake was the closest M>5 intraslab earthquake to Mexico City ever recorded. However, Mw 5.9 events have occurred in recent years in the vicinity of the 2017 earthquake (R 145 km). Three Mw≥6.9 earthquakes have occurred since 1964 in the distance range 184-225 km. Thus, Mw and R of the earthquake was not surprising. However, a comparison of Fourier acceleration spectra at CU of 10 intraslab earthquakes with largest PGA, reduced to a common distance of R=127 km, shows that the amplitudes of the 2017 events were abnormally high in 1-2s range. Spectra of intraslab events at CU are enriched at higher frequencies relative to interplate ones because of closer distance, greater depth and higher

Underfunded Teacher Pension Plans: It's Worse than You Think. Civic Report No. 61

Science.gov (United States)

Barro, Josh; Buck, Stuart

2010-01-01

To all the other fiscal travails facing this country's states and largest cities, now add their pension obligations, which are far greater than they may realize or are willing to admit. This paper focuses on the crisis in funding teachers' pensions, because education is often the largest program area in state budgets, making it an obvious target…

The Largest and Oldest Living Organism

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

tions being the fleshy mushrooms often seen in lawns and pastures ... rapidly in their own way, so that they are capable of becoming .... polymerase chain reaction is carried out. ... the valves in a city water supply system, allowing cytoplasmic.

Containment of Solid Wastes in some Large Scandinavian Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Du-Thinh, Kien

1998-01-01

to the geological-geotechnical characteristics of the subsoil of the waste sites which determine to a large extent the risks of infiltration and transport of leachates. The role of the barrier, its design and construction or the consequences arising from the lack of abarrier are dealt with herein. The monitoring......Two kinds of containment of solid wastes - one in the vicinity of Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, another on the outskirts of Gothenburg, the second largest city of sweden - are reviewed in this article. They represent two different approaches to waste management. Special attention is given...

On the domestic standards for Smart Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dmitry Namiot

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The article discusses the development and use of standards for Smart Cities. This paper considers the current ecosystem of standards in this area, and analyzes the possible development of work in this direction. The article provides the analysis of the works of the British standards Institute, which are quite far advanced in this area. Also provides a critical assessment of the state of affairs in Russia with the standardization in the field of Smart Cities and Internet of Things. In conclusion, the authors offer their vision of development work on Smart City in Russia.

broken magnet highlights largest collider's engineering challenges

CERN Multimedia

Inman, Mason

2007-01-01

"Even at the world's soon-to-be largest particle accelerator - a device that promises to push the boundaries of physics - scientists need to be mindful of one of the most fundamental laws in the universe: Murphy's Law. (2 pages)

The Role of Urban Financial Centers within the Economy of Global Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oana Mionel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Nowadays, there is no doubt that state economy refers to city economy. In other words, the most part of a state‘s GDP is given by the urban environment, especially by capitals, which are often the economic engine of this environment. There are also cities having great economic importance abroad, beyond the state and even continental borders. These are the so-called global cities where the financial activities play an important role. There are a few cities (New York, London, Hong Kong etc. centering financial activities which are influential for large geographic areas. This research highlights the importance of the financial sector within urban economy and, subsequently, how it consolidates the status of global city. These cities are the engine of the international financial system as they host the headquarters of the most important and famous international stock exchange markets, financial supervision institutions, law firms and consulting companies.

Restaurant employment before and after the New York City Smoke-Free Air Act.

Science.gov (United States)

Hyland, A; Cummings, K M

1999-01-01

The purpose of this study was to observe trends in the number of restaurants and restaurant employees two years before and two years after the New York City Smoke-Free Air Act took effect in April, 1995. Between April 1993 and April 1997, New York City added 19,347 new restaurant jobs (18% increase) while the rest of the state outside the immediate metropolitan area added 7,423 new jobs (5% increase). The rate of growth in the number of restaurants was comparable among New York City, neighboring counties, and the rest of the state. The data suggest that the New York City Smoke-Free Air Act did not result in job losses for the city's restaurant industry.

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…

Accepted into Education City

Science.gov (United States)

Asquith, Christina

2006-01-01

Qatar's Education City, perhaps the world's most diverse campus, is almost entirely unknown in the United States, but represents the next step in the globalization of American higher education--international franchising. Aided by technology such as online libraries, distance learning and streaming video, U.S. universities offer--and charge tuition…

Effect of Ambient Air Pollution on Hospitalization for Heart Failure in 26 of China's Largest Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Hui; Tian, Yaohua; Song, Jing; Cao, Yaying; Xiang, Xiao; Huang, Chao; Li, Man; Hu, Yonghua

2018-03-01

There is growing interest in the association between ambient air pollution and congestive heart failure (CHF), but research data from developing countries are very limited. The primary aim of this study was to examine the association between short-term exposure to air pollution and hospital admission for CHF in China. A time-stratified case-crossover study was conducted between 2014 and 2015 in 26 large Chinese cities among 105,501 CHF hospitalizations. Conditional logistic regression models were applied to estimate the percentage changes in CHF admissions in relation to per interquartile range increases in air pollutant concentrations. Air pollution was positively associated with CHF hospitalizations. An interquartile range increase in fine particulate, particulate matter less than 10 µm in aerodynamic diameter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and ozone concentrations on the current day corresponded to 1.2% (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.5%, 1.8%), 1.3% (95% CI 0.5%, 2.0%), 1.0% (95% CI 0.2%, 1.7%), 1.6% (95% CI 0.6%, 2.5%), 1.2% (95% CI 0.5%, 1.9%), and 0.4% (95% CI -0.9%, 1.7%) increases in CHF admissions, respectively. In conclusion, our findings contribute to the limited scientific literature concerning the effects of air pollution on CHF risk for high-exposure settings typical in developing countries, which may have significant public health implications for prevention of CHF in China. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health impact assessment of cycling network expansions in European cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Mueller, Natalie; Rojas-Rueda, David; Salmon, Maëlle; Martinez, David; Ambros, Albert; Brand, Christian; de Nazelle, Audrey; Dons, Evi; Gaupp-Berghausen, Mailin; Gerike, Regine; Götschi, Thomas; Iacorossi, Francesco; Int Panis, Luc; Kahlmeier, Sonja; Raser, Elisabeth; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark

2018-04-01

We conducted a health impact assessment (HIA) of cycling network expansions in seven European cities. We modeled the association between cycling network length and cycling mode share and estimated health impacts of the expansion of cycling networks. First, we performed a non-linear least square regression to assess the relationship between cycling network length and cycling mode share for 167 European cities. Second, we conducted a quantitative HIA for the seven cities of different scenarios (S) assessing how an expansion of the cycling network [i.e. 10% (S1); 50% (S2); 100% (S3), and all-streets (S4)] would lead to an increase in cycling mode share and estimated mortality impacts thereof. We quantified mortality impacts for changes in physical activity, air pollution and traffic incidents. Third, we conducted a cost-benefit analysis. The cycling network length was associated with a cycling mode share of up to 24.7% in European cities. The all-streets scenario (S4) produced greatest benefits through increases in cycling for London with 1,210 premature deaths (95% CI: 447-1,972) avoidable annually, followed by Rome (433; 95% CI: 170-695), Barcelona (248; 95% CI: 86-410), Vienna (146; 95% CI: 40-252), Zurich (58; 95% CI: 16-100) and Antwerp (7; 95% CI: 3-11). The largest cost-benefit ratios were found for the 10% increase in cycling networks (S1). If all 167 European cities achieved a cycling mode share of 24.7% over 10,000 premature deaths could be avoided annually. In European cities, expansions of cycling networks were associated with increases in cycling and estimated to provide health and economic benefits. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Health risk assessment of heavy metals in atmospheric deposition in a congested city environment in a developing country: Kandy City, Sri Lanka.

Science.gov (United States)

Weerasundara, Lakshika; Magana-Arachchi, D N; Ziyath, Abdul M; Goonetilleke, Ashantha; Vithanage, Meththika

2018-08-15

This research study which was undertaken in a congested city environment in a developing country provides a robust approach for the assessment and management of human health risk associated with atmospheric heavy metals. The case study area was Kandy City, which is the second largest city in Sri Lanka and bears the characteristics of a typical city in the developing world such as the urban footprint, high population density and traffic congestion. Atmospheric deposition samples were collected on a weekly basis and analyzed for nine heavy metals common to urban environments, namely, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb. Health risk was assessed using hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI), while the cancer risk was evaluated based on life time daily cancer risk. Al and Fe were found to be in relatively high concentrations due to the influence of both, natural and anthropogenic sources. High Zn loads were attributed to vehicular emissions and the wide use of Zn coated building materials. Contamination factor and geo-accumulation index showed that currently, Al and Fe are at uncontaminated levels and other metals are in the range of uncontaminated to contaminated levels, but with the potential to exacerbate in the long-term. The health risk assessment showed that the influence of the three exposure pathways were in the order of ingestion > dermal contact > inhalation. The HQ and HI values for children for the nine heavy metals were higher than that for adults, indicating that children may be subjected to potentially higher health risk than adults. The study methodology and outcomes provide fundamental knowledge to regulatory authorities to determine appropriate mitigation measures in relation to HM pollution in city environments in the developing world, where to-date only very limited research has been undertaken. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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...

Geographic Prevalence and Mix of Regional Cuisines in Chinese Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jingwei Zhu

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Previous research on the geographies of food put a considerable focus on analyzing how different types of food or ingredients are consumed across different places. Little is known, however, about how food culture is manifested through various cooking traditions as well as people’s perceptions over different culinary styles. Using a data set captured from one of the largest online review sites in China (www.dianping.com, this study demonstrates how geo-referenced social review data can be leveraged to better understand the geographic prevalence and mix of regional cuisines in Chinese cities. Based on information of millions of restaurants obtained in selected cities (i.e., provincial capitals and municipalities under direct supervision of the Chinese central government, we first measure by each city the diversity of restaurants that serve regional Chinese cuisines using the Shannon entropy, and analyze how cities with different characteristics are geographically distributed. A hierarchical clustering algorithm is then used to further explore the similarities of consumers’ dining options among these cities. By associating each regional Chinese cuisine to its origin, we then develop a weighted distance measure to quantify the geographic prevalence of each cuisine type. Finally, a popularity index (POPU is introduced to quantify consumers’ preferences for different regional cuisines. We find that: (1 diversity of restaurants among the cities shows an “east–west” contrast that is in general agreement with the socioeconomic divide in China; (2 most of the cities have their own unique characteristics, which are mainly driven by a large market share of the corresponding local cuisine; (3 there exists great heterogeneity of the geographic prevalence of different Chinese cuisines. In particular, Chuan and Xiang, which are famous for their spicy taste, are widely distributed across the mainland China and (4 among the top-tier restaurants ranked

Ownership structure and economic and socio-environmental disclosure in the largest Brazilian companies

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Tatiana Aquino Almeida

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The disclosure of sustainable practices has become important in the search for competitive advantage, so as to meet the expectations of the various stakeholders. Thus, the study aims to investigate the relationship between the ownership structure and the economic and environmental voluntary disclosure in the largest Brazilian companies, analyzing ownership concentration and the identity of the controlling shareholder. For the analysis, we considered the economic, social and environmental perspectives, addressed both individually and jointly. The sample consists of 47 companies from the 100 largest public companies listed on BM&FBOVESPA, according to the magazine Exame Biggest and Best, edition 2013. The research is descriptive and quantitative, using Multiple Linear Regression for statistical analysis. The descriptive analysis of the prospects of (economic, social, environmental and sustainability disclosure showed lower average disclosure for the environmental aspect. The state control organizations stood out with the highest average in three of the four levels of disclosure: economic, social and sustainability. As regards the application of statistical analysis, the regression models were not statistically significant, indicating that, for the companies in the sample, the ownership structure does not influence the economic and socio-environmental disclosure.

Joint Asymptotic Distributions of Smallest and Largest Insurance Claims

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Hansjörg Albrecher

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Assume that claims in a portfolio of insurance contracts are described by independent and identically distributed random variables with regularly varying tails and occur according to a near mixed Poisson process. We provide a collection of results pertaining to the joint asymptotic Laplace transforms of the normalised sums of the smallest and largest claims, when the length of the considered time interval tends to infinity. The results crucially depend on the value of the tail index of the claim distribution, as well as on the number of largest claims under consideration.

Water for cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kajumulo Tibaijuka, A.

2003-01-01

Africa has entered the new Millennium with a sense of hope and renewed confidence. With widening and deepening of political reforms, economic liberalization and a strengthened civil society, an increasing number of African countries are striving towards economic recovery and sustainable development. But also Africa is a continent of paradox. Home to the world's longest river, the Nile, and the second largest freshwater lake, Lake Victoria. Africa has abundant water resources contributed by large rivers, vast stretches of wetlands and limited, but widely spread, groundwater. Yet only a limited number of countries are beneficiaries of this abundance. Fourteen African countries account for 80% of the total water available on the continent, while 12 of the countries together account for only 1% of water availability. Some 400 million people are estimated to be living in water-scarce condition today. Indeed my home country, Tanzania, claims over 40% of Africa's water resources from Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganaika and other major water bodies. Water in Africa is not only unfairly distributed by nature but, due to backward technology and underdevelopment, it remains also inadequately allocated by man. At the turn of the new Millennium, over 300 million people in Africa still do not have access to safe water. But perhaps nowhere is the challenge more complex and demanding than in the rapidly growing African cities. With an average growth rate of 5% per annum, Africa is the fastest urbanizing region in the world today. Between 1990 and 2020, in many of our life times, urban populations in Africa will rise fourfold from 138 to 500 million. The 'Water for African Cities Programme' is demonstrating, in seven African countries (Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Zambia), how to put in place an integrated urban water resource management strategy that could bring three key sectors -- urban, environment and water -- to work together. Tanzania is the

The city, its inhabitants and the urban living environment in the conditions of advancing motorisation (an example of Poznań

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Parysek Jerzy J.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available When observing the development and operation of modern cities, one can quickly come to the conclusion that in the recent years the chief factor of the spatial-structural transformation of cities in Poland (though not only there and the spatial behaviour of their residents has been motorisation, and more precisely, the car. This is so because the car, while facilitating and intensifying mobility, makes it possible to draw places of residence apart from those of goal implementation. The ever-growing number of cars moving around a city leads to disturbances in street traffic, makes the service of residents worse, causes many road accidents, and brings about unfavourable qualitative changes in the environment. That is why in many recent conceptions of urban development there appear measures intended to restrict the use of cars, which is one of the ways leading to the construction of ‘a city for people’. This paper presents the effect of motorisation on modern cities as documented by statistical data concerning Poznań, one of the largest and oldest Polish cities.

Scenario of solid waste reuse in Khulna city of Bangladesh

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bari, Quazi H., E-mail: qhbari@yahoo.com [Department of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203 (Bangladesh); Mahbub Hassan, K. [Department of Civil Engineering, Khulna University of Engineering and Technology, Khulna 9203 (Bangladesh); Haque, R. [Project Builders Ltd., Dhaka 1000 (Bangladesh)

2012-12-15

The reuse and recycling of waste materials are now sincerely considered to be an integral part of solid waste management in many parts of the world. In this context, a vast number of options ranging from small scale decentralized to larger scale centralized plants have been adopted. This study aimed at investigating the waste reuse schemes in Khulna city located in the southern part of Bangladesh and ranked third largest city in the country. The shops for reusable material (SRM) were mostly situated around railway, waterway, and truck station markets which provided easy transportation to further locations. For the reuses of waste materials and products, a chain system was found to collect reusable wastes under a total number of 310 identified SRM with 859 persons directly or indirectly involved in the scheme. This was a decentralized waste management system with self sufficient (autonomous) management. According to mass balance, about 38.52 tons d{sup -1} solid wastes were reused in Khulna city area, accounting for 7.65% of the total generated wastes. This study revealed that apparently a silent, systematic, smooth, and clean reuse chain has been established in Khulna city area under private initiatives, whose sustainability was confirmed over the years in the country without any official or formal funds. However, proper adjustment between the higher and lower chain in the materials flow path, as well as personal hygiene training for the workers, would further improve the achievements of the established reuse scheme.

Scenario of solid waste reuse in Khulna city of Bangladesh

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bari, Quazi H.; Mahbub Hassan, K.; Haque, R.

2012-01-01

The reuse and recycling of waste materials are now sincerely considered to be an integral part of solid waste management in many parts of the world. In this context, a vast number of options ranging from small scale decentralized to larger scale centralized plants have been adopted. This study aimed at investigating the waste reuse schemes in Khulna city located in the southern part of Bangladesh and ranked third largest city in the country. The shops for reusable material (SRM) were mostly situated around railway, waterway, and truck station markets which provided easy transportation to further locations. For the reuses of waste materials and products, a chain system was found to collect reusable wastes under a total number of 310 identified SRM with 859 persons directly or indirectly involved in the scheme. This was a decentralized waste management system with self sufficient (autonomous) management. According to mass balance, about 38.52 tons d −1 solid wastes were reused in Khulna city area, accounting for 7.65% of the total generated wastes. This study revealed that apparently a silent, systematic, smooth, and clean reuse chain has been established in Khulna city area under private initiatives, whose sustainability was confirmed over the years in the country without any official or formal funds. However, proper adjustment between the higher and lower chain in the materials flow path, as well as personal hygiene training for the workers, would further improve the achievements of the established reuse scheme.

Adult tobacco use levels after intensive tobacco control measures: New York City, 2002-2003.

Science.gov (United States)

Frieden, Thomas R; Mostashari, Farzad; Kerker, Bonnie D; Miller, Nancy; Hajat, Anjum; Frankel, Martin

2005-06-01

We sought to determine the impact of comprehensive tobacco control measures in New York City. In 2002, New York City implemented a tobacco control strategy of (1) increased cigarette excise taxes; (2) legal action that made virtually all work-places, including bars and restaurants, smoke free; (3) increased cessation services, including a large-scale free nicotine-patch program; (4) education; and (5) evaluation. The health department also began annual surveys on a broad array of health measures, including smoking. From 2002 to 2003, smoking prevalence among New York City adults decreased by 11% (from 21.6% to 19.2%, approximately 140000 fewer smokers). Smoking declined among all age groups, race/ethnicities, and education levels; in both genders; among both US-born and foreign-born persons; and in all 5 boroughs. Increased taxation appeared to account for the largest proportion of the decrease; however, between 2002 and 2003 the proportion of cigarettes purchased outside New York City doubled, reducing the effective price increase by a third. Concerted local action can sharply reduce smoking prevalence. However, further progress will require national action, particularly to increase cigarette taxes, reduce cigarette tax evasion, expand education and cessation services, and limit tobacco marketing.

Performance evaluation sun city (stad van de zon) Heerhugowaard, The Netherlands

OpenAIRE

de Keizer, A.C.; ter Horst, E.; van Sark, W.G.J.H.M.

2008-01-01

The “Stad van de Zon” (Sun City) residential area in Heerhugowaard, the Netherlands, , has been designed to be a net zero CO2 emissions area. This would be achieved by installing 3.75 MWp of photovoltaic systems, 100 hectares of forest and three wind turbines of 2.3 MW each. This will be the largest PV-related project in the world. Together with PV-projects in Alkmaar and Langedijk the project will have a total installed peak power of 5 MWp. The residential area has been built since 2002. 1.0...

Some economic effects of recent migration patterns on central cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Sternlieb, G; Hughes, J W

1981-01-01

The authors examine demographic changes in central cities of the United States between 1970 and 1977 and the economic effects of these changes. Patterns of selective migration from central cities, particularly the general out-migration of the middle class and the recent return of the middle class to selected areas, are discussed. Changes in household and family patterns, racial composition, income, and poverty status are examined, and the aggregate impact of migration on resident incomes and purchasing power within central cities is analyzed. The findings show a continued concentration of poverty in central cities.

Progress towards energy efficient cities in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fertner, Christian

and supporting local authorities in their actions. Still, a general benchmarking of states and efforts is still missing which could however increase the use of good practice and enforce discussions in lagging cities. Against this background, a model was developed in the ongoing EU-FP7 project PLEEC to measure......Energy is a key issue for sustainable urban development. Despite agendas set on national and international level, local authorities are the key actors in this transformation (Lewis et al. 2013). European initiatives as the Covenant of Mayors or Energy Cities are closely following this development...... the energy situation in cities, compiling 50 energy-related indicators. In this paper we discuss the progress towards more energy efficient cities in Denmark, by analysing selected key-indicators across all 98 municipalities and their development in the recent 10 years. This allows a unique perspective...

JERUSALEM: A TALE OF A CITY

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M. Alaa Mandour

2012-04-01

Full Text Available World class cities are few and far between, sometimes referred to as ‘global cities’ or simply ‘world cities’. There are no more than a dozen metropolitan areas in the world that can claim  this kind of global status. London,  New  York,  Paris,  and  Tokyo  sit  at  the  top  of  this  world  city  hierarchy. They  have  enormous concentrations of economic, political, and cultural clout – measured by such things as the number of corporate headquarters, the size of their stock exchanges, the presence of national and international political bodies, and their role in music, fashion, and other cultural activities. What would it take to make a city claimed by two nations and central to three religions “merely” a city, a place of difference and diversity in which contending ideas and citizenries can co-exist in benign yet creative ways? The intractable conflicts in the Middle East and the cycle of violence among Israelis and Palestinians are deeply embedded in historical struggles over national sovereignty and the right to territory. For this reason, questions about whose state will prevail in what physical location have defined the terms of conflict and negotiation. This also has meant that most proposed solutions to  “the  Middle  East  problem”  have  revolved  around  competing  claims  of  nation-states,  their  rights  to existence, and their physical and juridically-sanctioned relationships to each other. While true generally, this framing of the problem has been especially dominant in the case of Jerusalem, a city that is geographically and historically an overlay of spaces and artifacts that carry deep meaning for competing peoples and nations. The current struggles of Palestinians and Israelis to each claim this hallowed ground as their capital city has added yet another layer of complexity, conflict, and political division, all of which is reflected in the competing/dual nomenclature Al

Cycling as a Smart and Green Mode of Transport in Small Touristic Cities

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Paraskevi Karanikola

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Cycling as a mode of transport is a low-cost, health-improving way to travel and offers environmental benefits for the cities that promote it. It is only recently, though, with concerns over climate change, pollution, congestion, and obesity among others, that have cities throughout the world have begun to implement policies to promote cycling. In Greece, however, the use of the bicycle is limited. In Preveza, a small touristic city in Northwestern Greece where the use of the bicycle is prominent when compared to other Greek cities, there are efforts to promote cycling. Through the aid of a structured questionnaire, the residents evaluated the suitability of the city for cycling, the existing infrastructure, appropriate education, and behavior of cyclists and drivers. More than half of the residents use bicycles as their transportation and stated that bicycles are an inexpensive way of transport in the city and had the opinion that the state should encourage bicycle use by supporting subvention in bicycle acquisition. Two-thirds of the residents evaluated the cycling facilities of their city as adequate, but unsafe for young cyclists who do not follow the rules of transport. Adult cyclists, in contrast, were more loyal to the code, but stated that drivers did not respect their presence on the roads. This research provides important information on the perceived shortcomings of cycling as a transport mode in Preveza that may be of interest to towns/cities with similar characteristics.

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

Guaranteeing uptime at worl's largest particle physics lab

CERN Multimedia

Brodkin, Jon

2007-01-01

"As the European agency CERN was gearing up to build the world's largest particle accelerator, officials there knew they could not afford to have problems in their technical infrastructure cause any downtime." (1 page)

Heterogeneous Costs of Alcohol and Drug Problems Across Cities and Counties in California

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Ted R.; Nygaard, Peter; Gaidus, Andrew; Grube, Joel W.; Ponicki, William R.; Lawrence, Bruce A.; Gruenewald, Paul J.

2017-01-01

Background Estimates of economic and social costs related to alcohol and other drug (AOD) use and abuse are usually made at state and national levels. Ecological analyses demonstrate, however, that substantial variations exist in the incidence and prevalence of AOD use and problems including impaired driving, violence, and chronic disease between smaller geopolitical units like counties and cities. This study examines the ranges of these costs across counties and cities in California. Methods We used estimates of the incidence and prevalence of AOD use, abuse and related problems to calculate costs in 2010 dollars for all 58 counties and an ecological sample of 50 cities with populations between 50,000 and 500,000 persons in California. The estimates were built from archival and public-use survey data collected at state, county and city-levels over the years from 2009 to 2010. Results Costs related to alcohol use and related problems exceeded those related to illegal drugs across all counties and most cities in the study. Substantial heterogeneities in costs were observed between cities within counties. Conclusions AOD costs are heterogeneously distributed across counties and cities, reflecting the degree to which different populations are engaged in use and abuse across the state. These findings provide a strong argument for the distribution of treatment and prevention resources proportional to need. PMID:28208210

Between defense and social intervention: State, citizenship and poverty in the city of Concepción (Chile, 1890-1930

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Marco León León

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This research seeks to understand the Chilean state from three perspectives: regional, relational and constructive. Taking the specific case of the city of Concepción in the period between 1890 and 1930, we observe the particularities of a state model that has not yet been properly studied, namely Social Defense, which differs from its nineteenth-century predecessor, the ‘Guardian State’, and its natural successor, the ‘Welfare State’ . The features and the policy and institutional manifestations of this model can, we believe, be seen both in the area of mental health and the asylum, and in the complementary role of surveillance and protection adopted by the Administration, Police Security Service and Labor Office.

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

New York City's fight over calorie labeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Farley, Thomas A; Caffarelli, Anna; Bassett, Mary T; Silver, Lynn; Frieden, Thomas R

2009-01-01

In 2006, New York City's Health Department amended the city Health Code to require the posting of calorie counts by chain restaurants on menus, menu boards, and item tags. This was one element of the city's response to rising obesity rates. Drafting the rule involved many decisions that affected its impact and its legal viability. The restaurant industry argued against the rule and twice sued to prevent its implementation. An initial version of the rule was found to be preempted by federal law, but a revised version was implemented in January 2008. The experience shows that state and local health departments can use their existing authority over restaurants to combat obesity and, indirectly, chronic diseases.

Smart Cities in Taiwan: A Perspective on Big Data Applications

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Shiann Ming Wu

2018-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we discuss the concept of a smart city based on information and communication technology (ICT, analyze the objectives of smart city development in Taiwan, and explain the supporting technologies that make such development possible. Subsequently, we propose a hierarchical structure framework of smart city systems with levels of complexity ranging from low to high and interconnections and interactive relationships in five dimensions: the Internet of Things (IoT, cloud computing, Big Data, Mobile Network, and smart business. We integrate each key resource of the core operation systems of cities to promote the innovative operation of cities and further optimize city development. We then propose a Big Data platform data flow framework that uses information from ubiquitous sensor networks and information equipment to analyze the Big Data application process of smart cities and determine the resulting advantages and challenges. Additionally, we analyze the current state of development of smart cities in Taiwan. Finally, we discuss a new philosophy of smart city development and provide a practical blueprint for the formation, operation, and development of the smart cities with the aim of creating a bright future for the smart cities of Taiwan.

Impacts of 21st century sea-level rise on a Danish major city - an assessment based on fine-resolution digital topography and a new flooding algorithm

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Bøcher, Peter Klith; Svenning, J.-C.

2009-01-01

by future sea-level rise to Aarhus. Under the A2 and A1FI (IPCC) climate scenarios we show that relatively large residential areas in the northern part of the city as well as areas around the river running through the city are likely to become flooded in the event of extreme, but realistic weather events......This study examines the potential impact of 21st century sea-level rise on Aarhus, the second largest city in Denmark, emphasizing the economic risk to the city's real estate. Furthermore, it assesses which possible adaptation measures that can be taken to prevent flooding in areas particularly...... to those produced in this study will become an important tool for a climate-change-integrated planning of future city development as well as for the development of evacuation plans....

Sources and characteristics of carbonaceous aerosol in two largest cities in Pearl River Delta Region, China

Science.gov (United States)

Duan, Jingchun; Tan, Jihua; Cheng, Dingxi; Bi, Xinhui; Deng, Wenjing; Sheng, Guoying; Fu, Jiamo; Wong, M. H.

PM 2.5 samples were collected at five sites in Guangzhou and Hong Kong, Pearl River Delta Region (PRDR), China in both summer and winter during 2004-2005. Elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC) in these samples were measured. The OC and EC concentrations ranked in the order of urban Guangzhou > urban Hong Kong > background Hong Kong. Total carbonaceous aerosol (TCA) contributed less to PM 2.5 in urban Guangzhou (32-35%) than that in urban Hong Kong (43-57%). The reason may be that, as an major industrial city in South China, Guangzhou would receive large amount of inorganic aerosol from all kinds of industries, however, as a trade center and seaport, urban Hong Kong would mainly receive organic aerosol and EC from container vessels and heavy-duty diesel trucks. At Hong Kong background site Hok Tsui, relatively lower contribution of TCA to PM 2.5 may result from contributions of marine inorganic aerosol and inland China pollutant. Strong correlation ( R2=0.76-0.83) between OC and EC indicates minor fluctuation of emission and the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation in urban Guangzhou. Weak correlation between OC and EC in Hong Kong can be related to the impact of the long-range transported aerosol from inland China. Averagely, secondary OC (SOC) concentrations were 3.8-5.9 and 10.2-12.8 μg m -3, respectively, accounting for 21-32% and 36-42% of OC in summer and winter in Guangzhou. The average values of 4.2-6.8% for SOA/ PM 2.5 indicate that SOA was minor component in PM 2.5 in Guangzhou.

Long-term surveillance plan for the Falls City Disposal Site, Falls City, Texas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-06-01

This long-term surveillance plan (LTSP) for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Falls City disposal site, Falls City, Texas, describes the surveillance activities for the disposal site. DOE will carry out these activities to ensure that the disposal cell continues to function as designed. This LTSP was prepared as a requirement for acceptance under the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) general license for custody and long-term care of residual radioactive materials. This LTSP documents whether the land and interests are owned by the United States and details how long-term care of the disposal site will be carried out. It is based on the DOE's Guidance for Implementing the UMTRA Project Long-term Surveillance Program (DOE, 1992a)

The world's largest LNG producer's next market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fuller, R.; Isworo Suharno; Simandjuntak, W.M.P.

1996-01-01

The development of the domestic gas market in Indonesia, the world's largest liquefied natural gas producing country, is described as part of the overall impact of the country's oil and gas production. The first large scale use of natural gas in Indonesia was established in 1968 when a fertiliser plant using gas as the feedstock was built. Ultimately, through increased yields, this has enabled Indonesia to be self-sufficient in rice and an exporter of fertiliser. Problems which stand in the way of further developments include: capital, though Pertamina and PGN are perceived as attractive for foreign investment; the lack of a regulatory framework for gas; geographical constraints, among them the fact that the gas deposits are remote from the largest population concentrations; lack of infrastructure. There are nevertheless plans for expansion and the provision of an integrated gas pipeline system. Pertamina, which has responsibility for all oil and gas developments, and PGN, whose primary role has been as a manufacturer and distributor of gas, are now working together in the coordination of all gas activities. (10 figures). (UK)

Role of specific geographic landscapes in city break destinations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Štetić Snežana

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Urban tourist destinations or City Break destinations are representing one of main destination products on tourist market. City Break destinations are big cities, administrative, economic and political centers of states and regions. These cities are 'open' 24 hours per day, seven days in week. Inside these tourist destination we can find different range of products (culture, entertainment, recreation, leisure, history, modern infrastructure. In these destinations season is not present and it lasts trough out the year. Promotional campaigns in City Break destinations are truing to create distinguished images in tourists mind as also as on investors, consumers and future residents. They emphasize advantages that those cities are delivering to their consumers, but often we forget that all these cities are having specific geographic landscapes. In the era of limiting of mass tourism to preserve resources for future generations and emphasizing the importance of sustainable development for tourism perspectives, the importance of specific geographic landscapes inside urban destinations for their further development as tourist destinations an their overall development is slightly neglected.

Inner boundary reform in Košice: The most fragmented city in Slovakia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Csachová Stela

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the first part of the paper the aim is to provide the reader with a theoretical insight into models of government structure at the local level and provide evidence from European countries that underwent reforms during the second half of the 20th century. In the Slovak Republic (Slovakia the renewal of local self-government in 1990 brought changes to the administrative boundary map with more than 200 municipalities reestablished bringing the current number to 2,929 local administrative units. This has resulted in some discussion regarding a reduction in the number of local government units in this country. The second part of the paper is focused on Košice; the second largest city in Slovakia with 234,000 in­habitants. The city is organised at two administrative levels; one covering the whole city, the other covering 22 wards. When compared to cities of a similar size, Košice has been criticised for its high number of city wards and councillors, with the concomitant financial inefficiency it can bring. There has been an ongoing debate on reducing their number since 2010. The paper reports on the search for an admin­istrative structure that would best tailor to the citizens' needs and provide effective management in Košice. It uses traditional methods of qualitative research (historical method, content analysis and syn­thesis accompanied by statistical data organised in tables and figures.

Worlds Largest Wave Energy Project 2007 in Wales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christensen, Lars; Friis-Madsen, Erik; Kofoed, Jens Peter

2006-01-01

This paper introduces world largest wave energy project being developed in Wales and based on one of the leading wave energy technologies. The background for the development of wave energy, the total resource ands its distribution around the world is described. In contrast to wind energy turbines...... Dragon has to be scaled in accordance with the wave climate at the deployment site, which makes the Welch demonstrator device the worlds largest WEC so far with a total width of 300 meters. The project budget, the construction methods and the deployment site are also given....... a large number of fundamentally different technologies are utilised to harvest wave energy. The Wave Dragon belongs to the wave overtopping class of converters and the paper describes the fundamentals and the technical solutions used in this wave energy converter. An offshore floating WEC like the Wave...

City gates: commissioning and start-up; Comissionamento e pre-operacao de estacoes de entrega de gas natural

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tavares, Cipriano Homem; Roz, Fabio da; Batista Filho, Jaire Medeiro; Pinto, Jose Eduardo Christovao [TBG - Transportadora Brasileira Gasoduto Bolivia Brasil S.A., Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

2005-07-01

Owner and sole operator in Brasilian territory of the Bolivia-Brazil Gas Pipeline (GASBOL), the largest of its kind in South America, TBG started operations on July 1 st, 1999. Since then, it has ensured transportation of Bolivian natural gas into Brazil swiftly and safely. This paper relates the TBG experiences on Natural Gas City Gates commissioning and pre-operation. It describes the maintenance and operation vision from the phases of the implementation project since the documents analysis and going through the risks analysis, works permissions, area liberation to gasification, calibration, and equipment adjusts. The special conditions related to the beginning of operation is also described: Consumption bellow the City Gate specification and relationship with the distribution concessionaire. (author)

Visitors׳ perceptions on the important factors of atrium design in shopping centers: A study of Gandaria City Mall and Ciputra World in Indonesia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Astrid Kusumowidagdo

2016-03-01

The research was conducted with the sequential exploratory method, which involved a qualitative study, followed by a quantitative study. The objects of this research were two shopping centers located in the two largest cities in Indonesia, namely, Gandaria City Mall in Jakarta and Ciputra World in Surabaya. A total of 43 informants were a part of the qualitative data collection, and 350 respondents served as survey participants. The survey research shows that the design factors considered by visitors at the Gandaria City Mall are atrium legibility, atrium decoration, event decoration, social image and interaction, and event ambience, whereas the visitors at Ciputra World considered atrium legibility, social image and interaction, atrium ambience, and atrium decoration.

First Experience from the World Largest fully commercial Solar Heating Plant

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Heller, Alfred; Furbo, Simon

1997-01-01

The first experience from the largest solar heating plant in the world is given. The plant is situated in Marstal and is has a total area of 8000 square m.......The first experience from the largest solar heating plant in the world is given. The plant is situated in Marstal and is has a total area of 8000 square m....

Characterization of isolated communities: application in the city of Ubatuba, Sao Paulo state, Brazil; Caracterizacao de comunidades isoladas: aplicacao em comunicade de Ubatura/SP

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ferreira, Maria Julita Guerra [Secretaria de Estado de Energia, Recursos Hidricos e Saneamento (SERHS), Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], e-mail: mjulita@sp.gov.br; Pilla, Adelina Teixeira Fonseca de [Equilibrio, Desenvolvimento Ambiental Ltda., Sao Paulo, SP (Brazil)], e-mail: adelina.fonseca@uol.com.br

2004-07-01

This paper presents a methodology for characterization of isolated communities, developed on a consultant work for the Ministry of Mines and Energy - MME. It still presents the application of this methodology of analysis on a isolated community in the city of Ubatuba, Sao Paulo state. (author)

Spatial-temporal change of land surface temperature across 285 cities in China: An urban-rural contrast perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jian; Ma, Jing; Liu, Qianyuan; Liu, Yanxu; Hu, Yi'na; Li, Yingru; Yue, Yuemin

2018-09-01

As an important theme in global climate change and urban sustainable development, the changes of land surface temperature (LST) and surface urban heat island (SUHI) have been more and more focused by urban ecologists. This study used land-use data to identify the urban-rural areas in 285 cities in China and comparatively analyzed LST in urban-rural areas with the perspective of spatial-temporal dynamics heterogeneity. The results showed that, 98.9% of the cities exhibited SUHI effect in summer nighttime and the effect was stronger in northern cities than that in southern cities. In 2010, the mean SUHI intensity was the largest in summer daytime, with 4.6% of the cities having extreme SUHI of over 4°C. From 2001 to 2010, the nighttime LST of most cities increased more quickly in urban areas compared with rural areas, with an increasing tendency of the urban-rural LST difference. The difference in the urban- rural LST change rate was concentrated in the range of 0-0.1°C/year for 68.0% of cities in winter and 70.8% of cities in summer. For the higher LST increasing in urban areas compared with rural areas, there were more cities in summer than winter, indicating that the summer nighttime was the key temporal period for SUHI management. Based on the change slope of urban-rural LST, cities were clustered into four types and the vital and major zones for urban thermal environment management were identified in China. The vital zone included cities in Hunan, Hubei and other central rising provinces as well as the Beibu Gulf of Guangxi Province. The major zone included most of the cities in Central Plain Urban Agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. These results can provide scientific basis for SUHI adaptation in China. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Soil technological and other ecological aspects of state of trees in Moscow

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Makarova, O.V.

2003-01-01

Moscow is one of the world's largest cities. Its height levels are such that the urban vegetation generally cannot benefit from groundwater. The natural soil is strongly modified by anthropogenic influences. Examples are the construction activities for the underground railways (metro) which reached

Challenges with the largest commercial hydrogen station in the world

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Charbonneau, Thomas; Gauthier, Pierre [Air Liquide Canada (Canada)

2010-07-01

This abstract's objective is to share with the participants the story of the largest hydrogen fueling station made to this date and to kick-start the story, we will cover the challenges; first the technical ones; the operational ones; the distribution ones and; the financial ones. We will then move on to review the logistic (geographic) issues raised by the project and conclude our presentation by sharing the output values of the largest fueling station built so far in the world. (orig.)

Air Quality in Megacities: Lessons Learned from Mexico City Field Measurements

Science.gov (United States)

Molina, L. T.

2014-12-01

More than half of the world's population now lives in urban areas because of the opportunities for better jobs, access to city services, cultural and educational activities, and a desire for more stimulating human interaction. At the same time, many of these urban centers are expanding rapidly, giving rise to the phenomenon of megacities. In recent decades air pollution has become not only one of the most important environmental problems of megacities, but also presents serious consequences to human health and ecosystems and economic costs to society. Although the progress to date in combating air pollution problems in developed and some developing world megacities has been impressive, many challenges remain including the need to improve air quality while simultaneously mitigating climate change. This talk will present the results and the lessons learned from field measurements conducted in Mexico City Metropolitan Area - one of the world's largest megacities - over the past decade. While each city has its own unique circumstances, the need for an integrated assessment approach in addressing complex environmental problems is the same. There is no single strategy in solving air pollution problems in megacities; a mix of policy measures based on sound scientific findings will be necessary to improve air quality, protect public health, and mitigate climate change.

URBAN LANDSCAPE SPATIAL PATTERN ESTIMATION OF CITIES IN SHANDONG PROVINCE USING NIGHTTIME LUMINOSITY DATA

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Fan

2017-09-01

Full Text Available China’s cities have been undergoing rapid and intense urbanization processes in the past few decades. Shandong is a coastal province which is located in East China with big economy and population scales, and which also plays an important role in the rapid process of China’s modernization. The DMSP/OLS dataset has been widely used for the urban development assessments in long time-series and large spatial scales situations. In this paper, we used a time series of nighttime light data to estimate the landscape spatial pattern changes of cities in Shandong province from 1994 to 2012. Nine landscape metrics were calculated and analyzed to figure out the spatial patterns of urban area developments of the cities in Shandong province. The landscape metrics include the number of patches (NP, the landscape total area (TA, the aggregation index (AI, the largest patch index (LPI, the mean patch area (AREA_MN, the landscape shape index (LSI, the total edge length (TE, the edge density (ED, and the mean radius of gyration (GYRATE_MN. The experimental results reveal that, in 1994–2012, the total urban area of cities in Shandong province expanded for 1.17 times, the average urban area increased by about 93.00%, the average annual growth rate of the TE metric is 2.67 %, while the ED metric decreased about 1.44 % annually. Bigger cities in this area show relative slower urbanization development processes, such as Jinan and Qingdao. Coastal cities represented much more rapid expansion velocities than inland cities. In the middle area of Shandong province, the connectivity between developed urban areas was constantly increased.

Urban Landscape Spatial Pattern Estimation of Cities in Shandong Province Using Nighttime Luminosity Data

Science.gov (United States)

Fan, J.; He, H.; Hu, T.; Li, G.; Gao, H.; Zhao, X.

2017-09-01

China's cities have been undergoing rapid and intense urbanization processes in the past few decades. Shandong is a coastal province which is located in East China with big economy and population scales, and which also plays an important role in the rapid process of China's modernization. The DMSP/OLS dataset has been widely used for the urban development assessments in long time-series and large spatial scales situations. In this paper, we used a time series of nighttime light data to estimate the landscape spatial pattern changes of cities in Shandong province from 1994 to 2012. Nine landscape metrics were calculated and analyzed to figure out the spatial patterns of urban area developments of the cities in Shandong province. The landscape metrics include the number of patches (NP), the landscape total area (TA), the aggregation index (AI), the largest patch index (LPI), the mean patch area (AREA_MN), the landscape shape index (LSI), the total edge length (TE), the edge density (ED), and the mean radius of gyration (GYRATE_MN). The experimental results reveal that, in 1994-2012, the total urban area of cities in Shandong province expanded for 1.17 times, the average urban area increased by about 93.00%, the average annual growth rate of the TE metric is 2.67 %, while the ED metric decreased about 1.44 % annually. Bigger cities in this area show relative slower urbanization development processes, such as Jinan and Qingdao. Coastal cities represented much more rapid expansion velocities than inland cities. In the middle area of Shandong province, the connectivity between developed urban areas was constantly increased.

The image of the city Sao Paolo – identity and crisis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Rocco

2003-01-01

Full Text Available Although Brazil is renowned worldwide for its fascinating 20th century modernist architecture, the ongoing contemporary architecture is increasingly moving away from former avant-garde and cosmopolitan ideals as well as physical form. In São Paulo, the country’s largest city, high quality and typical architectural design has been crumbling before the onslaught of poorly articulated consumer demands and the property market for decades. The phenomenon of the neoclassical style is causing increasing revolt from representatives of the urban elite, the reasons being loss of aesthetic values, no knowledge of identity and hurt national pride.

Virtual Modeling for Cities of the Future. State-Of Art and Virtual Modeling for Cities of the Future. State-Of Art AN

Science.gov (United States)

Valencia, J.; Muñoz-Nieto, A.; Rodriguez-Gonzalvez, P.

2015-02-01

3D virtual modeling, visualization, dissemination and management of urban areas is one of the most exciting challenges that must face geomatics in the coming years. This paper aims to review, compare and analyze the new technologies, policies and software tools that are in progress to manage urban 3D information. It is assumed that the third dimension increases the quality of the model provided, allowing new approaches to urban planning, conservation and management of architectural and archaeological areas. Despite the fact that displaying 3D urban environments is an issue nowadays solved, there are some challenges to be faced by geomatics in the coming future. Displaying georeferenced linked information would be considered the first challenge. Another challenge to face is to improve the technical requirements if this georeferenced information must be shown in real time. Are there available software tools ready for this challenge? Are they useful to provide services required in smart cities? Throughout this paper, many practical examples that require 3D georeferenced information and linked data will be shown. Computer advances related to 3D spatial databases and software that are being developed to convert rendering virtual environment to a new enriched environment with linked information will be also analyzed. Finally, different standards that Open Geospatial Consortium has assumed and developed regarding the three-dimensional geographic information will be reviewed. Particular emphasis will be devoted on KML, LandXML, CityGML and the new IndoorGML.

Using largest Lyapunov exponent to confirm the intrinsic stability of boiling water reactors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gavilian-Moreno, Carlos; Espinosa-Paredes, Gilberto

2016-01-01

The aim of this paper is the study of instability state of boiling water reactors with a method based in largest Lyapunov exponents (LLEs). Detecting the presence of chaos in a dynamical system is an important problem that is solved by measuring the LLE. Lyapunov exponents quantify the exponential divergence of initially close state-space trajectories and estimate the amount of chaos in a system. This method was applied to a set of signals from several nuclear power plant (NPP) reactors under commercial operating conditions that experienced instabilities events, apparently each of a different nature. Laguna Verde and Forsmark NPPs with in-phase instabilities, and Cofrentes NPP with out-of-phases instability. This study presents the results of intrinsic instability in the boiling water reactors of three NPPs. In the analyzed cases the limit cycle was not reached, which implies that the point of equilibrium exerts influence and attraction on system evolution

Using largest Lyapunov exponent to confirm the intrinsic stability of boiling water reactors

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Gavilian-Moreno, Carlos [Iberdrola Generacion, S.A., Cofrentes Nuclear Power Plant, Project Engineering Department, Paraje le Plano S/N, Valencia (Spain); Espinosa-Paredes, Gilberto [Area de ingeniera en Recursos Energeticos, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Mexico city (Mexico)

2016-04-15

The aim of this paper is the study of instability state of boiling water reactors with a method based in largest Lyapunov exponents (LLEs). Detecting the presence of chaos in a dynamical system is an important problem that is solved by measuring the LLE. Lyapunov exponents quantify the exponential divergence of initially close state-space trajectories and estimate the amount of chaos in a system. This method was applied to a set of signals from several nuclear power plant (NPP) reactors under commercial operating conditions that experienced instabilities events, apparently each of a different nature. Laguna Verde and Forsmark NPPs with in-phase instabilities, and Cofrentes NPP with out-of-phases instability. This study presents the results of intrinsic instability in the boiling water reactors of three NPPs. In the analyzed cases the limit cycle was not reached, which implies that the point of equilibrium exerts influence and attraction on system evolution.

Using Largest Lyapunov Exponent to Confirm the Intrinsic Stability of Boiling Water Reactors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlos J. Gavilán-Moreno

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is the study of instability state of boiling water reactors with a method based in largest Lyapunov exponents (LLEs. Detecting the presence of chaos in a dynamical system is an important problem that is solved by measuring the LLE. Lyapunov exponents quantify the exponential divergence of initially close state-space trajectories and estimate the amount of chaos in a system. This method was applied to a set of signals from several nuclear power plant (NPP reactors under commercial operating conditions that experienced instabilities events, apparently each of a different nature. Laguna Verde and Forsmark NPPs with in-phase instabilities, and Cofrentes NPP with out-of-phases instability. This study presents the results of intrinsic instability in the boiling water reactors of three NPPs. In the analyzed cases the limit cycle was not reached, which implies that the point of equilibrium exerts influence and attraction on system evolution.

Cities and Socialization of Libraries in Medieval Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dilek Bayır Toplu

2000-09-01

Full Text Available In this study, socialization of libraries in Medieval Europe has been examined by means of the growing of cities and movements of ideologies. Cities, as results of economic based changes, caused the apperance of merchantiles in produce and consumption flows. Cities, by selecting an area outside of feudal city walls, and by consisting new living habits which shows differances from village living habits took its place in Medieval Feudal Regime. While cities consist their conceits, conceits consists the specialisatians which identifies the city from the village. Technologic developments, innovations, the movements of different social classes, the changes in produce and consumption models, movements of ideologies; carried Medieval Europe to Enlighment Period after very long and difficult experiements. While the man in “Enlighment Period” ideologically based on rationalism and critical thinking; it realized knowledge as a product of rationalism. That realisation gave start to the socialisation of libraries and books and books which includes the “knowledge” stating with the innovation of press, the gobalization of books and the movements in cities gave speed to the interaction between cultures and effected the extansi-on of knowledge in a positive way. While knowledge was socialized by means of the opportunities of cities, libraries became space which knowledge can easily reachable by society. Cities arosed in Middle ageesand by effecting social structures, they became an indirect effect for reaching of libraries to society and moneyfree service.

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...

Sustainability and Interest Group Participation in City Politics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kent E. Portney

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Many cities across the United States have embraced programs aimed at achieving greater sustainability. This may seem surprising, particularly since adopting aggressive environmental protection programs is regarded by some as inimical to economic development. An alternative perspective is that in the modern city sustainability can be part of an economic development strategy. What is largely missing from the literature on sustainable cities’ policies and programs is systematic analysis of the political dynamics that seem to affect support for, and adoption and implementation of, local sustainability policies. To explore the actual behavior of cities with respect to sustainability and economic development policies, two original databases on 50 large U.S. cities are used. One source of data is composed of survey responses from city councilors, agency administrators, and leaders of local advocacy groups in each of these cities. The second database contains information as to what these 50 cities actually do in terms of sustainable programs and policies. In testing a series of hypotheses, findings suggest that: a high number of programs aimed at achieving sustainability is linked to the inclusion of environmental advocacy groups; that this relationship is not compromised by business advocacy; and that inclusion of environmental groups in policymaking seems to be supported, rather than impeded, by high rates of economic growth by the cities.

The role of advanced sensing in smart cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hancke, Gerhard P; Silva, Bruno de Carvalho E; Hancke, Gerhard P

2012-12-27

In a world where resources are scarce and urban areas consume the vast majority of these resources, it is vital to make cities greener and more sustainable. Advanced systems to improve and automate processes within a city will play a leading role in smart cities. From smart design of buildings, which capture rain water for later use, to intelligent control systems, which can monitor infrastructures autonomously, the possible improvements enabled by sensing technologies are immense. Ubiquitous sensing poses numerous challenges, which are of a technological or social nature. This paper presents an overview of the state of the art with regards to sensing in smart cities. Topics include sensing applications in smart cities, sensing platforms and technical challenges associated with these technologies. In an effort to provide a holistic view of how sensing technologies play a role in smart cities, a range of applications and technical challenges associated with these applications are discussed. As some of these applications and technologies belong to different disciplines, the material presented in this paper attempts to bridge these to provide a broad overview, which can be of help to researchers and developers in understanding how advanced sensing can play a role in smart cities.

Using research data to impact consumer protection legislation: lessons learned from CITY100 dissemination efforts.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoerster, Katherine D; Mayer, Joni A

2013-09-01

The Correlates of Indoor Tanning in Youth (CITY100) project evaluated individual, built-environmental, and policy correlates of indoor tanning by adolescents in the 100 most populous US cities. After CITY100's completion, the research team obtained supplemental dissemination funding to strategically share data with stakeholders. The primary CITY100 dissemination message was to encourage state-level banning of indoor tanning among youth. We created a user-friendly website to broadly share the most relevant CITY100 data. Journalists were a primary target audience, as were health organizations that would be well positioned to advocate for legislative change. CITY100 data were used to pass the first US state law to ban indoor tanning among those under 18 (CA, USA), as well as in other legislative advocacy activities. This paper concludes with lessons learned from CITY100 dissemination activities that we hope will encourage more health researchers to proactively address policy implications of their data and to design relevant, effective dissemination strategies.

Spatial structure changes inside post-communist capital city of Bucharest

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gabriel Simion

2012-05-01

Full Text Available The paper focusses on the analyses of the recent development concerning post-socialist urban transformation of Bucharest, the Romanian country capital. The paper describes the spatial typology of metropolitan landscapes, and underlines the changes occurred inside the residential, commercial, services and industrial areas. The most noticeable occurrence is the urban sprawl and multiplication of the buildings and implicitly the diminishing of the agricultural area., It has been confirmed, at least theoretically, that spatial development of the largest cities determined a continuous decreasing of agriculture in the metropolitan area, landowners preferring selling or seeking to sell their land. The paper is empirically trying to argue the fact that post-socialist development of the land market in Bucharest metropolitan area determined a decline of agriculture in the city’s proximity. It is also showing that at increasing distance from the Bucharest city agriculture still has its importance as subsistence activity – in the south-eastern part, or as market oriented – in the south-western part or in the northern border.

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.

The Copper Balance of Cities: Exploratory Insights into a European and an Asian City.

Science.gov (United States)

Kral, Ulrich; Lin, Chih-Yi; Kellner, Katharina; Ma, Hwong-Wen; Brunner, Paul H

2014-05-01

Material management faces a dual challenge: on the one hand satisfying large and increasing demands for goods and on the other hand accommodating wastes and emissions in sinks. Hence, the characterization of material flows and stocks is relevant for both improving resource efficiency and environmental protection. This article focuses on the urban scale, a dimension rarely investigated in past metal flow studies. We compare the copper (Cu) metabolism of two cities in different economic states, namely, Vienna (Europe) and Taipei (Asia). Substance flow analysis is used to calculate urban Cu balances in a comprehensive and transparent form. The main difference between Cu in the two cities appears to be the stock: Vienna seems close to saturation with 180 kilograms per capita (kg/cap) and a growth rate of 2% per year. In contrast, the Taipei stock of 30 kg/cap grows rapidly by 26% per year. Even though most Cu is recycled in both cities, bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration represents an unused Cu potential accounting for 1% to 5% of annual demand. Nonpoint emissions are predominant; up to 50% of the loadings into the sewer system are from nonpoint sources. The results of this research are instrumental for the design of the Cu metabolism in each city. The outcomes serve as a base for identification and recovery of recyclables as well as for directing nonrecyclables to appropriate sinks, avoiding sensitive environmental pathways. The methodology applied is well suited for city benchmarking if sufficient data are available.

Breach of Contact: An Intercultural Reading of China Miéville's 'The City and The City'

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Elizabeth Hanna

2014-08-01

Full Text Available China Miéville’s 2009 'Weird' detective novel The City and The City is a tale of two city states, culturally distinct, between which unpoliced contact is forbidden. While residents of each city can learn about the other’s history, geography, politics, see photographs and watch news footage of the other city, relations between the two are tightly monitored and any direct contact requires a series of protocols, some of which might seem reasonable, or at least familiar: entry permits, international mail, international dialing codes, intercultural training courses. What complicates these apparently banal measures is the relative positioning of the two cities, each one around, within, amongst the other. The two populations live side by side, under a regime which requires ostentatious and systematic disregard or 'unnoticing' of the other in any context but a tightly regulated set of encounters. For all that interculturality is endemic to everyday life in the 21st century, what is striking is that critical and popular uptake of this novel so frequently decries the undesirability, the immorality even, of the cultural separation between the two populations, framing it as an allegory of unjust division within a single culture, and thus by implication endorsing the erasure of intercultural difference. We propose an alternative reading which sees this novel as exploring the management of intercultural encounters, and staging the irreducibility of intercultural difference. We examine how the intercultural is established in the novel, and ask how it compares to its representations in prevalent theoretical models, specifically that of the Third Place.

Nation States, Cities, and People

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marco Caselli

2013-10-01

Full Text Available In the first decade of the 21st century, attempts to measure globalization have multiplied, and they have led to the devising of diverse instruments, most notably the A. T. Kearney/Foreign Policy Globalization Index, the CSGR Globalisation Index, the KOF Index of Globalization, and the Maastricht Globalisation Index. Besides important similarities as regards structure, the dimensions considered, and the indicators used, the main feature shared by these instruments is the fact that they all use the same unit of analysis: the nation-state. This is a somewhat paradoxical situation, if one considers that one of the most distinctive characteristics of globalization is precisely that its dynamics extend beyond the state and the country. Gives this premise, the aim of the article is, on the one hand, to justify in any case the use of instruments that seek to measure globalization on the basis of states, and, on the other, to propose alternative approaches to such measurement. The article’s underlying assumption is that different approaches to the measurement of globalization are not mutually exclusive. Rather, such a plurality of perspectives is opportune and desirable given the complexity and multidimensionality of the concept of globalization.

Urban Land-Cover Change and Its Impact on the Ecosystem Carbon Storage in a Dryland City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Yan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Lack of research into the complexity in urban land conversion, and paucity of observational data of soil organic carbon (SOC beneath impervious surface area (ISA limit our understanding of the urbanization effects on carbon (C pools in dryland cities. Employing Landsat TM images acquired in 1990 and 2010, a hybrid classification method consisting of Linear Spectral Mixture Analysis and decision tree classification was applied to retrieve the land cover (water, ISA, greenspace, cropland, and remnant desert of the largest dryland city in China—Urumqi. Based on vegetation carbon (VEGC and SOC density data determined through field observations and literature reviews, we developed Urumqi’s C pool maps in 1990 and 2010, and assessed the urbanization impacts on ecosystem C. Our results showed that ISA tripled from 1990 to 2010 displacing remnant desert and cropland. The urban landscape, especially the greenspaces, became obviously fragmented. In 2010, more than 95% of the urban ecosystem C was SOC, 48% of which under the ISA. The city lost 19% of C stock from 1990 to 2010. About 82% of the ecosystem C loss was caused by the conversion of remnant desert and cropland into ISA, mainly in the northern city.

Earthquake Disaster Risk Index for Cities: Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Varazanashvili, O.; Mammadli, T.; Nazaretyan, S.

2005-01-01

For comparative analysis of seismic risk in the capitals of the South Caucasian States - Baku, Yerevan and Tbilisi - the methodology of determination of earthquake disaster risk index (EDRI) has been used. Earthquake disaster risk indexes have been determined for considered cities. EDRI-analysis is performed, some peculiarities of main risk factors are revealed and risk portraits are made in each city of the given sample. (author)

Metropolitan City Finances in India: Options for A New Fiscal Architecture

OpenAIRE

Roy Bahl

2012-01-01

India will face great problems in finding a way to finance public services in its large cities in the next two decades. Backlogs in service levels and infrastructure are already great, and migration to urban areas will put even more pressure on state and local government budgets. Metropolitan cities have an economic base of significant size, but have not been empowered to tap this revenue potential. State governments have more ability to reach a buoyant tax base, and to borrow, but must also ...

City-Level Adult Stroke Prevalence in Relation to Remote Sensing Derived PM2.5 Adjusting for Unhealthy Behaviors and Medical Risk Factors

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Z.

2018-04-01

This research explores the use of PM2.5 gird derived from remote sensing for assessing the effect of long-term exposure to PM2.5 (ambient air pollution of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less) on stroke, adjusting for unhealthy behaviors and medical risk factors. Health data was obtained from the newly published CDC "500 Cities Project" which provides city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. PM2.5 data was acquired from the "The Global Annual PM2.5 Grids from MODIS, MISR and SeaWiFS Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), V1 (1998-2012)" datasets. Average PM2.5 were calculated for each city using a GIS zonal statistics function. Map data visualization and pattern comparison, univariate linear regression, and a multivariate linear regression model fitted using a generalized linear model via penalized maximum likelihood found that long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 may increase the risk of stroke. Increasing physical activity, reducing smoking and body weight, enough sleeping, controlling diseases such as blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol, may mitigate the effect. PM2.5 grids derived from moderate resolution satellite remote sensing imagery may offer a unique opportunity to fill the data gap due to limited ground monitoring at broader scales. The evidence of raised stroke prevalence risk in high PM2.5 areas would support targeting of policy interventions on such areas to reduce pollution levels and protect human health.

CITY-LEVEL ADULT STROKE PREVALENCE IN RELATION TO REMOTE SENSING DERIVED PM2.5 ADJUSTING FOR UNHEALTHY BEHAVIORS AND MEDICAL RISK FACTORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Z. Hu

2018-04-01

Full Text Available This research explores the use of PM2.5 gird derived from remote sensing for assessing the effect of long-term exposure to PM2.5 (ambient air pollution of particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 μm or less on stroke, adjusting for unhealthy behaviors and medical risk factors. Health data was obtained from the newly published CDC “500 Cities Project” which provides city- and census tract-level small area estimates for chronic disease risk factors, and clinical preventive service use for the largest 500 cities in the United States. PM2.5 data was acquired from the “The Global Annual PM2.5 Grids from MODIS, MISR and SeaWiFS Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD, V1 (1998–2012” datasets. Average PM2.5 were calculated for each city using a GIS zonal statistics function. Map data visualization and pattern comparison, univariate linear regression, and a multivariate linear regression model fitted using a generalized linear model via penalized maximum likelihood found that long-term exposure to ambient PM2.5 may increase the risk of stroke. Increasing physical activity, reducing smoking and body weight, enough sleeping, controlling diseases such as blood pressure, coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cholesterol, may mitigate the effect. PM2.5 grids derived from moderate resolution satellite remote sensing imagery may offer a unique opportunity to fill the data gap due to limited ground monitoring at broader scales. The evidence of raised stroke prevalence risk in high PM2.5 areas would support targeting of policy interventions on such areas to reduce pollution levels and protect human health.

Mauna Loa--history, hazards and risk of living with the world's largest volcano

Science.gov (United States)

Trusdell, Frank A.

2012-01-01

Mauna Loa on the Island Hawaiʻi is the world’s largest volcano. People residing on its flanks face many hazards that come with living on or near an active volcano, including lava flows, explosive eruptions, volcanic smog, damaging earthquakes, and local tsunami (giant seawaves). The County of Hawaiʻi (Island of Hawaiʻi) is the fastest growing County in the State of Hawaii. Its expanding population and increasing development mean that risk from volcano hazards will continue to grow. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists at the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory (HVO) closely monitor and study Mauna Loa Volcano to enable timely warning of hazardous activity and help protect lives and property.

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.

San Jose, California: Evaluating Local Solar Energy Generation Potential (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Office of Strategic Programs, Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team

2017-09-29

This fact sheet "San Jose, California: Evaluating Local Solar Energy Generation Potential" explains how the City of San Jose used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

New Haven, Connecticut: Targeting Low-Income Household Energy Savings (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team, Office of Strategic Programs

2017-11-01

This fact sheet "New Haven, Connecticut: Targeting Low-Income Household Energy Savings" explains how the City of New Haven used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

Denton, Texas: Using Transportation Data to Reduce Fuel Consumption (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Office of Strategic Programs, Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team

2017-09-29

This fact sheet "Denton, Texas: Using Transportation Data to Reduce Fuel Consumption" explains how the City of Denton used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

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....

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

Ciprofloxacin Resistance and Gonorrhea Incidence Rates in 17 Cities, United States, 1991–2006

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkcaldy, Robert D.; Gift, Thomas L.; Owusu-Edusei, Kwame; Weinstock, Hillard S.

2014-01-01

Antimicrobial drug resistance can hinder gonorrhea prevention and control efforts. In this study, we analyzed historical ciprofloxacin resistance data and gonorrhea incidence data to examine the possible effect of antimicrobial drug resistance on gonorrhea incidence at the population level. We analyzed data from the Gonococcal Isolate Surveillance Project and city-level gonorrhea incidence rates from surveillance data for 17 cities during 1991–2006. We found a strong positive association between ciprofloxacin resistance and gonorrhea incidence rates at the city level during this period. Their association was consistent with predictions of mathematical models in which resistance to treatment can increase gonorrhea incidence rates through factors such as increased duration of infection. These findings highlight the possibility of future increases in gonorrhea incidence caused by emerging cephalosporin resistance. PMID:24655615

Spatio-temporal Urban Change Analysis and the Ecological Threats Concerning The Third Bridge in Istanbul City

Science.gov (United States)

Akin, A.; Aliffi, S.; Sunar, F.

2014-09-01

Urban growth is a complex dynamical process associated with landscape change driving forces such as the environment, politics, geography and many others that affect the city at multiple spatial and temporal scales. Istanbul, one of the largest agglomerations in Europe and the fifth-largest city in the world in terms of population within city limits, has been growing very rapidly over the late 20th century at a rate of 3.45 %, causing to have many environmental issues. Recently, Istanbul's new third bridge and proposed new routes for across the Bosphorus are foreseen to not only threaten the ecology of the city, but also it will give a way to new areas for unplanned urbanization. The dimensions of this threat are affirmed by the urban sprawl especially after the construction of the second bridge and the connections such as Trans European Motorway (TEM). Since the spatial and temporal components of urbanization can be more simply identified through modeling, this study aims to analyze the urban change and assess the ecological threats in Istanbul city through the proper modeling for the year 2040. For this purpose, commonly used urban modeling approach, the Markov Chain within Cellular Automata (CA), was selected to simulate urban/non-urban growth process. CA is a simple and effective tool to capture and simulate the complexity of urban system dynamic. The key factor for a Markov is the transition probability matrix, which defines change trend from past to today and into the future for a certain class type, and land use suitability maps for urban. Multi Criteria Analysis was used to build these suitability maps. Distance from each pixel to the urban, road and water classes, plus the elevation, slope and land use maps (as excluded layer) were defined as factors. Calibration data were obtained from remotely sensed data recorded in 1972, 1986 and 2013. Validation was performed by overlaying the simulated and actual 2013 urban maps and Kappa Index of Agreement was

Nation, space, and identity in the City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hau, Mark Friis

2016-01-01

of Catalonia problematizes the role of ‘the city’ in the Catalan independence movement. Through the actors’ narrative inscriptions of certain spaces as Catalan and active markings of the cityscape, the city itself helps to orient understandings of national identity. Visual cues, both in architecture...... ideas of nation and state are encountered and contested in Barcelona through activists’ spatial engagements, exploring how the city, the nation, and the political are connected in Catalonia. The position of Barcelona in activists’ narratives as both ‘less Catalan’ and as the undeniable capital...

Building Earth's Largest Library: Driving into the Future.

Science.gov (United States)

Coffman, Steve

1999-01-01

Examines the Amazon.com online bookstore as a blueprint for designing the world's largest library. Topics include selection; accessibility and convenience; quality of Web sites and search tools; personalized service; library collection development, including interlibrary loan; library catalogs and catalog records; a circulation system; costs;…

Toward sustainable harvesting of Africa's largest medicinal plant ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Global demand for treating prostate disorders with Prunus africana bark extract has made P. africana Africa's largest medicinal plant export. Unsustainable harvesting practices can lead to local extirpations of this multipurpose tree. Survey research targeting P. africana harvesters in a Tanzania forest reserve revealed that ...

Avoiding decline: Fostering resilience and sustainability in midsize cities

Science.gov (United States)

Allen, Craig R.; Birge, Hannah E.; Bartelt-Hunt, Shannon; Bevans, Rebecca A.; Burnett, Jessica L.; Cosens, Barbara; Cai, Ximing; Garmestani, Ahjond S.; Linkov, Igor; Scott, Elizabeth A.; Solomon, Mark D.; Uden, Daniel R.

2016-01-01

Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people). Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight urban-rural feedbacks with their immediate natural environments that result from heavy reliance and close management of local ecosystem services. They also may be less path-dependent than larger cities due to shorter average connection length among system components, contributing to higher responsiveness among social, infrastructural, and ecological feedbacks. These distinct midsize city features call for a framework that organizes information and concepts concerning the sustainability of midsize cities specifically. We argue that an integrative approach is necessary to capture properties emergent from the complex interactions of the social, infrastructural, and ecological subsystems that comprise a city system. We suggest approaches to estimate the relative resilience of midsize cities, and include an example assessment to illustrate one such estimation approach. Resilience assessments of a midsize city can be used to examine why some cities end up on sustainable paths while others diverge to unsustainable paths, and which feedbacks may be partially responsible. They also provide insight into how city planners and decision makers can use information about the resilience of midsize cities undergoing growth or shrinkage relative to their larger and smaller counterparts, to transform them into long-term, sustainable social-ecological systems.

Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Craig R. Allen

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people. Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight urban-rural feedbacks with their immediate natural environments that result from heavy reliance and close management of local ecosystem services. They also may be less path-dependent than larger cities due to shorter average connection length among system components, contributing to higher responsiveness among social, infrastructural, and ecological feedbacks. These distinct midsize city features call for a framework that organizes information and concepts concerning the sustainability of midsize cities specifically. We argue that an integrative approach is necessary to capture properties emergent from the complex interactions of the social, infrastructural, and ecological subsystems that comprise a city system. We suggest approaches to estimate the relative resilience of midsize cities, and include an example assessment to illustrate one such estimation approach. Resilience assessments of a midsize city can be used to examine why some cities end up on sustainable paths while others diverge to unsustainable paths, and which feedbacks may be partially responsible. They also provide insight into how city planners and decision makers can use information about the resilience of midsize cities undergoing growth or shrinkage relative to their larger and smaller counterparts, to transform them into long-term, sustainable social-ecological systems.

The Kindness of Strangers Revisited: A Comparison of 24 US Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Levine, Robert V.; Reysen, Stephen; Ganz, Ellen

2008-01-01

Three field studies compared helping behavior across a sample of 24 small, medium and large cities across the United States. The relationship of helping to statistics reflecting the demographic, social, and economic characteristics of these communities was then examined. The strongest predictors of city differences in helping were population size,…

Radiological mapping of Bhubaneswar city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Patil, S.S.; Patra, R.P.; Murali, S.; Singh, Rajvir; Pradeepkumar, K.S.; Vidya Sagar, D; Patra, P.

2015-01-01

The radiological mapping of Bhubaneswar city was carried as a part of emergency preparedness program intended to generate the countrywide radiation field baseline data for various routes and major cities. The study was effected using various state of art monitoring systems both Online and Offline dose rate data monitoring instruments such as Compact Aerial Radiation Monitoring System (CARMS), Gamma Tracer (GT), μR survey meter, Identi-finder. The instruments/systems were installed with special care to minimize the radiation shielding effect due to vehicle surfaces in light motor vehicle. During survey the dose rate along with GPS data were recorded and spectra were taken whenever elevated radiation level was observed. The data on dose rate using survey meter were recorded manually. The data on dose rate at important places is tabulated and it was observed that the dose rate in Bhubaneswar city ranged between 90-130 nSvh -1 . Detailed survey was carried out around Lingraj pond and the spectra were recorded. The results on analysis confirmed the presence of 232 Th, 226 Ra and 40 K attributed to elevated radiation levels. (author)

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Clean Cities Project Awards

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2016-08-01

Each Clean Cities project award under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a diverse group of stakeholders who worked together to lay the foundation for their communities to adopt alternative fuels and petroleum reduction strategies. This document provides a snapshot of the impact of each project and highlights the partners and Clean Cities coalitions who helped transform local and regional transportation markets through 25 projects impacting 45 states.

The Copper Balance of Cities

Science.gov (United States)

Kral, Ulrich; Lin, Chih-Yi; Kellner, Katharina; Ma, Hwong-wen; Brunner, Paul H

2014-01-01

Material management faces a dual challenge: on the one hand satisfying large and increasing demands for goods and on the other hand accommodating wastes and emissions in sinks. Hence, the characterization of material flows and stocks is relevant for both improving resource efficiency and environmental protection. This article focuses on the urban scale, a dimension rarely investigated in past metal flow studies. We compare the copper (Cu) metabolism of two cities in different economic states, namely, Vienna (Europe) and Taipei (Asia). Substance flow analysis is used to calculate urban Cu balances in a comprehensive and transparent form. The main difference between Cu in the two cities appears to be the stock: Vienna seems close to saturation with 180 kilograms per capita (kg/cap) and a growth rate of 2% per year. In contrast, the Taipei stock of 30 kg/cap grows rapidly by 26% per year. Even though most Cu is recycled in both cities, bottom ash from municipal solid waste incineration represents an unused Cu potential accounting for 1% to 5% of annual demand. Nonpoint emissions are predominant; up to 50% of the loadings into the sewer system are from nonpoint sources. The results of this research are instrumental for the design of the Cu metabolism in each city. The outcomes serve as a base for identification and recovery of recyclables as well as for directing nonrecyclables to appropriate sinks, avoiding sensitive environmental pathways. The methodology applied is well suited for city benchmarking if sufficient data are available. PMID:25866460

Summary of selected health statistics for counties with nuclear facilities, New York State excluding New York City, 1960--1975

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burometto, E.; Therriault, G.; Logrillo, V.

1977-08-01

A previous report of the Office of Biostatistics of the New York State Department of Health, issued in 1971, summarized selected health statistics for the period 1960 through 1969, comparing counties in Upstate New York (New York State exclusive of New York City) in which nuclear facilities are located with counties without such facilities. This report will present comparisons extending the analysis of the previous study through 1975. At various times during the period from 1960 to 1975 nuclear facilities were operating in 12 of the 57 Upstate counties. Westchester, Wayne and Oswego counties are the sites for the three commercial power plants operating in Upstate New York. A nuclear fuel reprocessing plant is located in Cattaraugus County. Facilities with testing, training or research reactors are located in eight other Upstate counties

Kabob report. Pt. 3. Chevron plant largest in Canada

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

1971-01-18

Canada's largest fully integrated primary natural- gas processing and sulfur recovery plant is heading for physical completion by mid-summer of 1971. The Ralph M. Parsons Construction Co. of Canada Ltd., contractor for the S. Kaybob Beaverhill Lake Unit No. 3 gas-processing plant, to be operated by Chevron Standard Ltd., estimates completion by June 30. After that the $80 million complex will have tests and running in time. With any reasonable luck, it should be fully on stream by late summer. Preliminary construction on the 200-acre site started in Jan. 1969 with clearing and contouring of the main plant and sulfur storage sites. Initial rough grading started in the early summer, after spring breakup was over. Delivery of most of the big items was made by rail because the local secondary roads were inadequate for them. Concrete has been a large item. The contractor has its own batch plant on the site for the estimated 28,000 cu yd which will be needed for the whole job. Dominating the construction site from the start has been the high sulfur plant stack, first of the major items to be finished. It will serve to dispose of effluent from the largest sulfur recovery unit in Canada. It is 465 ft high, one of the largest in Alberta, and a significant contribution to pollution control and environmental protection.

Engaging with sustainability issues in metropolitan Chennai

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kennedy, L.; Varrel, A.; Denis, E.; Dupont, V.; Dhanalakshmi, R.; Roumeau, S.; Baud, I.; Pfeffer, K.; Sridharan, N.; Vijayabaskar, M.; Suresh Babu, M.; Seifelislam, A.; Rouanet, H.; Saharan, T.

2014-01-01

Chennai is the largest metropolitan city in South India (8.7 million in 2011) and the provincial capital of the large state of Tamil Nadu (population 72 million in 2011). Before that, under British rule, the city was the capital of the Madras Presidency, and was known as Madras until 1996, when the

"Drenched in the Past:" the Evolution of Market-Oriented Reforms in New Orleans

Science.gov (United States)

Jabbar, Huriya

2015-01-01

As the city with the largest charter-school market share in the United States, New Orleans, Louisiana exemplifies market-oriented models in education. For a city that is so "drenched in the past," the reform movement in New Orleans typically neglects historical context, often dismissing the education system pre-Katrina as simply corrupt…

Urban Consortium Energy Task Force - Year 21 Final Report

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2003-04-01

The Urban Consortium Energy Task Force (UCETF), comprised of representatives of large cities and counties in the United States, is a subgroup of the Urban Consortium, an organization of the nation's largest cities and counties joined together to identify, develop and deploy innovative approaches and technological solutions to pressing urban issues.

Multi-Temporal Satellite Imagery for Urban Expansion Assessment at Sharjah City /UAE

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Al-Ruzouq, R; Shanableh, A

2014-01-01

Change detection is the process of identifying differences in land cover over time. As human and natural forces continue to alter the landscape, it is important to develop monitoring methods to assess and quantify these changes. Recent advances in satellite imagery, in terms of improved spatial and temporal resolutions, are allowing for efficient identification of change patterns and the prediction of areas of growth. Sharjah is the third largest and most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is located along the northern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. After the discovery of oil and its export in the last four decades at UAE, it has experienced very rapid growth in industry, economy and population. The main purpose of this study is to detect urban development in Sharjah city by detecting and registering linear features in multi-temporal Landsat images. This paper used linear features for image registration that were chosen since they can be reliably extracted from imagery with significantly different geometric and radiometric properties. Derived edges from the registered images are used as the basis for change detection. Image registration and pixel-pixel subtraction has been implement using multi- temporal Landsat images for Sharjah City. Straight-line segments have been used for accurate co-registration as well as main element for a reliable change detection procedure. Results illustrate that highest range of growth that represented by linear features (building and roads) have been accrued during 1976 – 1987 and stand for 36.24% of the total urban features inside Sharjah city. Moreover, result shows that since 1976 to 2010, the cumulative urban expansion inside Sharjah city is 71.9%

Ozone and its potential control strategy for Chon Buri city, Thailand.

Science.gov (United States)

Prabamroong, Thayukorn; Manomaiphiboon, Kasemsan; Limpaseni, Wongpun; Sukhapan, Jariya; Bonnet, Sebastien

2012-12-01

This work studies O3 pollution for Chon Buri city in the eastern region of Thailand, where O3 has become an increased and serious concern in the last decade. It includes emission estimation and photochemical box modeling in support of investigating the underlying nature of O3 formation over the city and the roles of precursors emitted from sources. The year 2006 was considered and two single-day episodes (January 29 and February 14) were chosen for simulations. It was found that, in the city, the industrial sector is the largest emissions contributor for every O3 precursor (i.e., NO(x), non-methane volatile organic compounds or NMVOC, and CO), followed by on-road mobile group. Fugitive NMVOC is relatively large, emitted mainly from oil refineries and tank farms. Simulated results acceptably agree with observations for daily maximum O3 level in both episodes and evidently indicate the VOC-sensitive regime for O3 formation. This regime is also substantiated by morning NMVOC/NO(x) ratios observed in the city. The corresponding O3 isopleth diagrams suggest NMVOC control alone to lower elevated O3. In seeking a potential O3 control strategy for the city, a combination of brute-force sensitivity tests, an experimental design, statistical modeling, and cost optimization was employed. A number of emission subgroups were found to significantly contribute to O3 formation, based on the February 14 episode, for example, oil refinery (fugitive), tank farm (fugitive), passenger car (gasoline), and motorcycle (gasoline). But the cost-effective strategy suggests control only on the first two subgroups to meet the standard. The cost of implementing the strategy was estimated and found to be small (only 0.2%) compared to the gross provincial product generated by the entire province where the city is located within. These findings could be useful as a needed guideline to support O3 management for the city. Elevated O3 in the urban and industrial city of Chon Buri needs better

For a historical-sociological approach to the city of Haifa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roberto Cipriani

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The city of Haifa, in the northern part of Israel, has been the theatre of harsh clashes between Jews and Muslims for many years. Haifa was heavy involved in the Great Arab Revolt of 1936-1939 and during the 1948 the Palestinian population, about 80.000 people, was evacuated by the Jewish militias. After the establishment of the State of Israel, several terror attacks took place in the city. Today, several religious groups live in Haifa, with non easy relations. Nevertheless, each year the city celebrates the Holyday of Holydays, an interfaith festival. The city presents significant traits that may help us test Tönnies’s idea of a dichotomy between community (Gemeinschaft and society (Gesellschaft. In different moments of city life, we find features typical of community and, in certain others, characteristics typical of society.

Action of the city of Schweinfurt against Kernkraftwerk Grafenrheinfeld recognized

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1979-01-01

In the appeal proceedings, the Bavarian Administrative Court with its interim decision of April 9, 1979 - No. 167 VI 74 - has recognized the action of the city of Schweinfurt against the state of Bavaria to set aside the 1st part license for the construction of Kernkraftwerk Grafenrheinfeld, although the right for action was limited to the city's legal position concerning planning authority, drinking water supply, and a city-owned lake used for swimming. Appeal was allowed. The city has lodged an appeal. The decision of the Administrative Court of Wuerzburg of March 25, 1977, which was contested by the appeal, had also recognized the city's rights but dismissed the action as being unfounded. Guidelines and reasons for the decision of the Bavarian Administrative Court are given in full wording. (orig./HP) 891 HP/orig.- 892 HIS [de

The idea of the perfect city in the state of prince Lazar and despotes Stefan Lazarević

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radojčić Svetozar

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In the beginning, Serb settlers were hostile towards the Greek and Romanic towns they came into contact with. They did not become accustomed to city life until the end of the twelfth century. First of all, this process evolved through the monasteries that were erected as urban ensembles, which, in the Middle Ages were considered to be ideal towns. The Serbs became acquainted with the monastery-city through the monastic settlements on the Holy Mount, from which they also accepted the form and name of the lavra. With them they also accepted the old belief that the monastery was a city and the symbol of the Church and the Heavenly Jerusalem. In the Byzantine world these concepts were connected with Constantinople, which through the laudes Constantinopolitanae was initially hailed as the New Jerusalem, the New Zion and the Heavenly Jerusalem. Such a Constantinople as the image of the earthly and heavenly Jerusalem and the exemplary city of the Orthodox Christian rulers would be emulated by the Slav peoples of Russia, Bulgaria and Serbia. The old Serbian authors particularly extol Constantinople and Thessalonica, calling them imperial cities, safeguarded by God, and cities of God. The ancient ideas about the perfect city, conveyed from Byzantium in the eleventh and twelfth century to Russia, began their renewed life in the Serbian state from the second half of the fourteenth century. In keeping with sources of a literary and religious nature, the author links the course of those complex and ambitious ideas, whereby they wished to explain the ultimate meaning of the construction and existence of the city. The ideas of the similarity of the heavenly and earthly palace and of the similarity of the Heavenly Jerusalem and the earthly city acquired certain clarity in the mentality of the Serbian late feudal society. However, they did not arise from the dynastic concept of the Nemanjić family, which had more realistic economic, military and political

Does lower lifetime fluoridation exposure explain why people outside capital cities have poor clinical oral health?

Science.gov (United States)

Crocombe, L A; Brennan, D S; Slade, G D

2015-03-26

Australians outside state capital cities have greater caries experience than their counterparts in capital cities. We hypothesized that differing water fluoridation exposures was associated with this disparity. Data were the 2004-06 Australian National Survey of Adult Oral Health. Examiners measured participant decayed, missing and filled teeth and DMFT Index and lifetime fluoridation exposure was quantified. Multivariable linear regression models estimated differences in caries experience between capital city residents and others, with and without adjustment for fluoridation exposure. There was greater mean lifetime fluoridation exposure in state capital cities (59.1%, 95% confidence interval=56.9,61.4) than outside capital cities (42.3, confidence interval=36.9,47.6). People located outside capital city areas had differing socio-demographic characteristics and dental visiting patterns, and a higher mean DMFT (Capital cities=12.9, Non-capital cities=14.3, p=0.02), than people from capital cities. After adjustment for socio-demographic characteristics and dental visits, DMFT of people living in capital cities was less than non-capital city residents (Regression coefficient=0.8, p=0.01). The disparity was no longer statistically significant (Regression coefficient=0.6, p=0.09) after additional adjustment for fluoridation exposure. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Long-term Surveillance Plan for the Falls City Disposal Site, Falls City, Texas. Revision 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-08-01

This long-term surveillance plan (LTSP) for the Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action (UMTRA) Project Falls City disposal site, Falls City, Texas, describes the surveillance activities for the disposal site. The US Department of Energy (DOE) will carry out these activities to ensure that the disposal cell continues to function as designed. This LTSP was prepared as a requirement for acceptance under the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) general license for custody and long-term care of residual radioactive materials. This LTSP documents whether the land and interests are owned by the United States and details how long-term care of the disposal site will be carried out. It is based on the DOE's Guidance for Implementing the UMTRA Project Long-term Surveillance Program (DOE, 1992a)

Space-time design of the public city

CERN Document Server

Thomaier, Susanne; Könecke, Benjamin; Zedda, Roberto; Stabilini, Stefano

2013-01-01

Time has become an increasingly important topic in urban studies and urban planning. The spatial-temporal interplay is not only of relevance for the theory of urban development and urban politics, but also for urban planning and governance. The space-time approach focuses on the human being with its various habits and routines in the city. Understanding and taking those habits into account in urban planning and public policies offers a new way to improve the quality of life in our cities. Adapting the supply and accessibility of public spaces and services to the inhabitants’ space-time needs calls for an integrated approach to the physical design of urban space and to the organization of cities. In the last two decades the body of practical and theoretical work on urban space-time topics has grown substantially. The book offers a state of the art overview of the theoretical reasoning, the development of new analytical tools, and practical experience of the space-time design of public cities in major Europea...

Impact of health legislation on the sale of anorectics in a city in the Amazon region

OpenAIRE

Castro,Luana Valéria da Silva; Farias Junior,Gilvo; Teixeira,Francisco Martins; Vieira,José Ricardo dos Santos; Maia,Cristiane do Socorro Ferraz

2012-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The International Narcotics Control Board released its 2005 annual report, highlighting the Brazil population as one of the largest consumers of anorectics. In Brazil, the National Health Surveillance Agency issued the resolution RDC 58/2007 in order to control the prescription and sale of such drugs. In Belém, the biggest city in the Brazilian Amazon region, this resolution came into force in 2008, leading to inspections of drugstores and magistral pharmacies. The aim of this wor...

A Research of Construction Mechanism of Vassal State's City Group during Spring and Autumn Period Based on the Analyzation of Geographic Image - Take south region of Shandong as example

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, X.; Li, B.; Zhou, X.

2015-08-01

Spring and Autumn period, the vassal states began to carry out country defense construction actively, brought changes to building the ideological. At that time, the south region of Shandong, as an independent unit of geography, seldom affected by external factors, and had striking cultural characteristics. Vassal states there constructed their capital mainly to defense the neighboring countries and cope with small scale mergers war, not involving the nationwide military deployment. Therefore, the region reflect the construction thought changes during the Spring and Autumn Period, and consistent with the research purpose. Based on this judgment, the author analyzed each capital's location and terrain feature by topographic map. In brief, the Spring and Autumn Period, feudal states acted of one's own free will, the relationship between cities contained the one within and between vassal states. Within vassal state relationships included economic support, entrenching each other and protecting the country together. Meanwhile, strategic defensing, scrambling for resources and geographical location comprised of the competition between vassal states. In the agrarian age, the political centers and agricultural areas were interdependent, giving priority to the development of political cities. Transformation of capitals' space layout was actually the process of carving up farming plains, the powerful states occupy favorable geographical position, and the small countries would be encroached and annexed gradually.

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.

Asheville, North Carolina: Reducing Electricity Demand through Building Programs & Policies (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Office of Strategic Programs, Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team

2017-09-29

This fact sheet "Asheville, North Carolina: Reducing Electricity Demand through Building Programs & Policies" explains how the City of Asheville used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

Lafayette, Colorado: Using Energy Data for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Planning (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Office of Strategic Programs, Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team

2017-09-29

This fact sheet "Lafayette, Colorado: Using Energy Data for Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Planning" explains how the City of Lafayette used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

Upgrade and modernization of the six largest HPPs in Macedonia

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hadzievska, M.

2002-01-01

In 1998, Electric Power Company of Macedonia and the International Bank for Development and Reconstruction, started the Power System Improvement Project a part of which is the Project for rehabilitation of the six largest Hydro Power Plants (HPPs) in the Republic of Macedonia. The six largest Hydro Power Plants (HPP Vrutok, HPP Raven, HPP Globocica, HPP Tikves and HPP Spilje and HPP Vrben) represent 91% of the country's hydropower capacity. The rehabilitation program is divided in five parts (contracts) and covers the refurbishment of: turbine runners, turbine and generator bearings, governors, inlet valves; butterfly valves, including accessories and control systems; generators, excitation system and voltage regulation; control system, protection and LV auxiliaries; switch gears and control gears in 220 kV, 110 kV and 35 kV substations. At the moment, only the implementation of switch gears has started, the first phase is already finished, and 50 % of the rehabilitation works for HPP Vrutok, the largest HPP, has been finished. With the realization of this project, greater hydropower production is expected. It also expected that HPPs will become a more vital part of the Macedonian power system

Energy Sprawl Is the Largest Driver of Land Use Change in United States.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne M Trainor

Full Text Available Energy production in the United States for domestic use and export is predicted to rise 27% by 2040. We quantify projected energy sprawl (new land required for energy production in the United States through 2040. Over 200,000 km2 of additional land area will be directly impacted by energy development. When spacing requirements are included, over 800,000 km2 of additional land area will be affected by energy development, an area greater than the size of Texas. This pace of development in the United States is more than double the historic rate of urban and residential development, which has been the greatest driver of conversion in the United States since 1970, and is higher than projections for future land use change from residential development or agriculture. New technology now places 1.3 million km2 that had not previously experienced oil and gas development at risk of development for unconventional oil and gas. Renewable energy production can be sustained indefinitely on the same land base, while extractive energy must continually drill and mine new areas to sustain production. We calculated the number of years required for fossil energy production to expand to cover the same area as renewables, if both were to produce the same amount of energy each year. The land required for coal production would grow to equal or exceed that of wind, solar and geothermal energy within 2-31 years. In contrast, it would take hundreds of years for oil production to have the same energy sprawl as biofuels. Meeting energy demands while conserving nature will require increased energy conservation, in addition to distributed renewable energy and appropriate siting and mitigation.

78 FR 28139 - Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Tuckahoe River, Between Corbin City and Upper Township, NJ

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-14

... Operation Regulation; Tuckahoe River, Between Corbin City and Upper Township, NJ AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS... River, mile 8.0, between Corbin City and Upper Township, NJ. The deviation is necessary to facilitate... operating schedule, the State Highway Bridge, mile 8.0, between Corbin City and Upper Township, NJ shall...

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....

Urban Big Data and the Development of City Intelligence

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yunhe Pan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available This study provides a definition for urban big data while exploring its features and applications of China's city intelligence. The differences between city intelligence in China and the “smart city” concept in other countries are compared to highlight and contrast the unique definition and model for China's city intelligence in this paper. Furthermore, this paper examines the role of urban big data in city intelligence by showing that it not only serves as the cornerstone of this trend as it also plays a core role in the diffusion of city intelligence technology and serves as an inexhaustible resource for the sustained development of city intelligence. This study also points out the challenges of shaping and developing of China's urban big data. Considering the supporting and core role that urban big data plays in city intelligence, the study then expounds on the key points of urban big data, including infrastructure support, urban governance, public services, and economic and industrial development. Finally, this study points out that the utility of city intelligence as an ideal policy tool for advancing the goals of China's urban development. In conclusion, it is imperative that China make full use of its unique advantages—including using the nation's current state of development and resources, geographical advantages, and good human relations—in subjective and objective conditions to promote the development of city intelligence through the proper application of urban big data.

Short run economic impact of State University of Londrina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

José Tarocco Filho

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The present study aimed to analyze the inter-regional economic impact of short-term, State University of Londrina and their local impacts and in 2006, in respect of employment and income. Through the analysis of input-output multipliers employment and earnings, employment generation and income indexes and link back and forth was calculated. Through the results found that the Public Education employs 6.19% of employed staff and is responsible for 12.27% of earnings generated in the county. The Public Education excelled in creating jobs in Londrina, which along with the sectors of Education Services and Commodities (13, was the fourth biggest indicator, trailing sectors: Public Administration, Commerce and Securities Industry and Miscellaneous. We found that the employment multiplier is 1.25 and their ability to generate earnings through direct effect in the city is the third largest R $ 368,153 million.

Designing, developing, and facilitating smart cities urban design to IoT solutions

CERN Document Server

Tragos, Elias; Pöhls, Henrich; Kapovits, Adam; Bassi, Alessandro

2017-01-01

This book discusses how smart cities strive to deploy and interconnect infrastructures and services to guarantee that authorities and citizens have access to reliable and global customized services. The book addresses the wide range of topics present in the design, development and running of smart cities, ranging from big data management, Internet of Things, and sustainable urban planning. The authors cover - from concept to practice – both the technical aspects of smart cities enabled primarily by the Internet of Things and the socio-economic motivations and impacts of smart city development. The reader will find smart city deployment motivations, technological enablers and solutions, as well as state of the art cases of smart city implementations and services. · Provides a single compendium of the technological, political, and social aspects of smart cities; · Discusses how the successful deployment of smart Cities requires a unified infrastructure to support the diverse set of applications that can be ...

The Role of Building Learning Cities in the Rejuvenation of Africa

Science.gov (United States)

Biao, Idowu; Esaete, Josephine; Oonyu, Joseph

2013-01-01

Although Africa has been home to famous ancient cities in the past, its modern conurbation areas are poor living spaces characterised by squalor, poor planning and human misery. The authors of this paper argue that the learning city concept, still almost unknown in Africa, holds enormous potential for redressing the dysfunctional state of things…

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...

Nutritional state and dietary practices of gym members in the city of Aracaju, Sergipe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adriana Silva Matos

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Currently there is growing media and society pressure on the cult of the perfect body. This often leads adolescents and young adults to adopt restrictive diets and dietary practices that are questionable from the health point of view. The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritional state and dietary practices adopted by 712 individuals who carry out physical activities in seven fitness centers in the city of Aracaju. We used a semi-structured interview asking the number of daily meals, diet adoption and type and source of orientation. Weight and height were self-reported. Body mass index (BMI data of the participants were inconsistent with their physical conditions, invalidating recall technique for these measurements and for the classification of the nutritional state of this population. Out of the total 22% of the members claimed to adopt some kind of dieting alongside the physical activity. Out of these, 90.38% were hypocaloric diets. Only 26.14% of the dieters had indication from a professional nutritionist, whereas 73.85% had indication from non-recommended sources. Ninety-five percent of the informants exercised at least 3 times a week and 56% had 4 to 5 meals a day. The data show preoccupation with eating patterns and dieting, suggesting the need for nutritional education programs and diet changes monitored by professionals.

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.

Contrasting natural regeneration and tree planting in fourteen North American cities

Science.gov (United States)

David J. Nowak

2012-01-01

Field data from randomly located plots in 12 cities in the United States and Canada were used to estimate the proportion of the existing tree population that was planted or occurred via natural regeneration. In addition, two cities (Baltimore and Syracuse) were recently re-sampled to estimate the proportion of newly established trees that were planted. Results for the...

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...

Using hybrid latent class model for city-HUBs´users behaviour analysis

OpenAIRE

Di Ciommo, Floridea; Monzón de Cáceres, Andrés; Oña, Rocío de; Oña López, Juan de; Hernández del Olmo, Sara

2014-01-01

Data from an attitudinal survey and stated preference ranking experiment conducted in two urban European interchanges (i.e. City-HUBs) in Madrid (Spain) and Thessaloniki (Greece) show that the importance that City-HUBs users attach to the intermodal infrastructure varies strongly as a function of their perceptions of time spent in the interchange (i.e.intermodal transfer and waiting time). A principal components analysis allocates respondents (i.e. city-HUB users) to two classes with substant...

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...

Gender-based discrimination as reflected in the laws of urinary segregation: Comparing facilities in South Africa’s major cities with those in East Coast cities in the United States of America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Renier Steyn

2014-01-01

Full Text Available International treaties, national legislation and local by-laws advocate the equal treatment of people of different genders, but there are still claims of gender-based discrimination. However, indicators of discrimination against women, including employment ratios and differences in income, show that great strides have been made in the recent past. These measures are, however, often biased. In this study a different, more exact and tangible method of detecting and describing discrimination is presented, based on the difference between the number of ablution facilities provided for each gender group in public spaces. Ablution facilities at airports, train stations and shopping centres in four major South African cities (N=128 were inspected. The same was done at six East Coast cities in the United States of America (USA; N=124. Medium to large differences in the respective number of facilities were found (eta2 .05 to .13 in South Africa, with women receiving fewer services than those for men. The same tendency was not found in the USA. These results suggest that, despite the progressive legislation and vigorous affirmative action applied in South Africa, South African women are still being discriminated against on a very concrete, tangible level.

Automatic generation and simulation of urban building energy models based on city datasets for city-scale building retrofit analysis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, Yixing; Hong, Tianzhen; Piette, Mary Ann

2017-01-01

Highlights: •Developed methods and used data models to integrate city’s public building records. •Shading from neighborhood buildings strongly influences urban building performance. •A case study demonstrated the workflow, simulation and analysis of building retrofits. •CityBES retrofit analysis feature provides actionable information for decision making. •Discussed significance and challenges of urban building energy modeling. -- Abstract: Buildings in cities consume 30–70% of total primary energy, and improving building energy efficiency is one of the key strategies towards sustainable urbanization. Urban building energy models (UBEM) can support city managers to evaluate and prioritize energy conservation measures (ECMs) for investment and the design of incentive and rebate programs. This paper presents the retrofit analysis feature of City Building Energy Saver (CityBES) to automatically generate and simulate UBEM using EnergyPlus based on cities’ building datasets and user-selected ECMs. CityBES is a new open web-based tool to support city-scale building energy efficiency strategic plans and programs. The technical details of using CityBES for UBEM generation and simulation are introduced, including the workflow, key assumptions, and major databases. Also presented is a case study that analyzes the potential retrofit energy use and energy cost savings of five individual ECMs and two measure packages for 940 office and retail buildings in six city districts in northeast San Francisco, United States. The results show that: (1) all five measures together can save 23–38% of site energy per building; (2) replacing lighting with light-emitting diode lamps and adding air economizers to existing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are most cost-effective with an average payback of 2.0 and 4.3 years, respectively; and (3) it is not economical to upgrade HVAC systems or replace windows in San Francisco due to the city’s mild

Seasonal characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomez, Guadalupe; Meneses, Montserrat; Ballinas, Lourdes; Castells, Francesc

2009-01-01

Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become a significant environmental problem, especially in fast-growing cities. The amount of waste generated increases each year and this makes it difficult to create solutions which due to the increase in waste generation year after year and having to identify a solution that will have minimum impact on the environment. To determine the most sustainable waste management strategy for Chihuahua, it is first necessary to identify the nature and composition of the city's urban waste. The MSW composition varied considerably depending on many factors, the time of year is one of them. Therefore, as part of our attempt to implement an integral waste management system in the city of Chihuahua, we conducted a study of the characteristics of MSW composition for the different seasons. This paper analyzes and compares the findings of the study of the characterization and the generation of solid waste from households at three different socio-economic levels in the city over three periods (April and August, 2006 and January, 2007). The average weight of waste generated in Chihuahua, taking into account all three seasons, was 0.592 kg capita -1 day -1 . Our results show that the lowest income groups generated the least amount of waste. We also found that less waste was generated during the winter season. The breakdown for the composition of the waste shows that organic waste accounts for the largest proportion (45%), followed by paper (17%) and others (16%).

Seasonal characterization of municipal solid waste (MSW) in the city of Chihuahua, Mexico.

Science.gov (United States)

Gómez, Guadalupe; Meneses, Montserrat; Ballinas, Lourdes; Castells, Francesc

2009-07-01

Management of municipal solid waste (MSW) has become a significant environmental problem, especially in fast-growing cities. The amount of waste generated increases each year and this makes it difficult to create solutions which due to the increase in waste generation year after year and having to identify a solution that will have minimum impact on the environment. To determine the most sustainable waste management strategy for Chihuahua, it is first necessary to identify the nature and composition of the city's urban waste. The MSW composition varied considerably depending on many factors, the time of year is one of them. Therefore, as part of our attempt to implement an integral waste management system in the city of Chihuahua, we conducted a study of the characteristics of MSW composition for the different seasons. This paper analyzes and compares the findings of the study of the characterization and the generation of solid waste from households at three different socio-economic levels in the city over three periods (April and August, 2006 and January, 2007). The average weight of waste generated in Chihuahua, taking into account all three seasons, was 0.592 kg capita(-1) day(-1). Our results show that the lowest income groups generated the least amount of waste. We also found that less waste was generated during the winter season. The breakdown for the composition of the waste shows that organic waste accounts for the largest proportion (45%), followed by paper (17%) and others (16%).

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?

The Continuing Growth of Hunger, Homelessness, and Poverty in America's Cities: 1987. A 26-City Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Reyes, Lilia M.; Waxman, Laura DeKoven

This survey assesses the status of hunger, homelessness, and poverty in cities in the United States during 1987. The findings include the following: (1) the number of the homeless and the poor had increased and was expected to continue to increase; (2) the demand for emergency food assistance and emergency shelter assistance had increased and was…

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...

Public bike sharing in New York City: helmet use behavior patterns at 25 Citi Bike™ stations.

Science.gov (United States)

Basch, Corey H; Ethan, Danna; Zybert, Patricia; Afzaal, Sarah; Spillane, Michael; Basch, Charles E

2015-06-01

Urban public bicycle sharing programs are on the rise in the United States. Launched in 2013, NYC's public bicycle share program, Citi Bike™ is the fastest growing program of its kind in the nation, with nearly 100,000 members and more than 330 docking stations across Manhattan and Brooklyn. The purpose of this study was to assess helmet use behavior among Citi Bike™ riders at 25 of the busiest docking stations. The 25 Citi Bike™ Stations varied greatly in terms of usage: total number of cyclists (N = 96-342), commute versus recreation (22.9-79.5% commute time riders), weekday versus weekend (6.0-49.0% weekend riders). Helmet use ranged between 2.9 and 29.2% across sites (median = 7.5 %). A total of 4,919 cyclists were observed, of whom 545 (11.1%) were wearing helmets. Incoming cyclists were more likely to wear helmets than outgoing cyclists (11.0 vs 5.9%, p = .000). NYC's bike share program endorses helmet use, but relies on education to encourage it. Our data confirm that, to date, this strategy has not been successful.

Effects of Harbor Modification on Crescent City, California's Tsunami Vulnerability

Science.gov (United States)

Dengler, Lori; Uslu, Burak

2011-06-01

More damaging tsunamis have impacted Crescent City, California in historic times than any other location on the West Coast of the USA. Crescent City's harbor has undergone significant modification since the early 20th century, including construction of several breakwaters, dredging, and a 200 × 300 m2 small boat basin. In 2006, a M w 8.3 earthquake in the Kuril Islands generated a moderate Pacific-wide tsunami. Crescent City recorded the highest amplitudes of any tide gauge in the Pacific and was the only location to experience structural damage. Strong currents damaged docks and boats within the small boat basin, causing more than US 20 million in damage and replacement costs. We examine how modifications to Crescent City's harbor may have affected its vulnerability to moderate tsunamis such as the 2006 event. A bathymetric grid of the basin was constructed based on US Army Corps of Engineers soundings in 1964 and 1965 before the construction of the small boat basin. The method of splitting tsunamis was used to estimate tsunami water heights and current velocities at several locations in the harbor using both the 1964-1965 grid and the 2006 bathymetric grid for the 2006 Kuril event and a similar-sized source along the Sanriku coast of Japan. Model velocity outputs are compared for the two different bathymetries at the tide gauge location and at six additional computational sites in the harbor. The largest difference between the two grids is at the small boat basin entrance, where the 2006 bathymetry produces currents over three times the strength of the currents produced by the 1965 bathymetry. Peak currents from a Sanriku event are comparable to those produced by the 2006 event, and within the boat basin may have been higher. The modifications of the harbor, and in particular the addition of the small boat basin, appear to have contributed to the high current velocities and resulting damage in 2006 and help to explain why the 1933 M w 8.4-8.7 Sanriku tsunami

Report on new energy vision establishment in Oga City area; Ogashi chiiki shin energy vision sakutei hokokusho

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2001-02-01

A new energy vision was established in Oga City in Akita Prefecture. The population of the city is continuing the decreasing trend since 1955 to 30,462 persons as of 2000. The number of employed people by industry is in the trend of decreasing in the primary industry, leveling off in the second industry, and increasing in the tertiary industry. The annual energy demand in this city is 838,000 MWh in electric power and 302 times 10{sup 13} J, accounted for by the consumer department at about 44.4%, the transportation department at about 28.3% and the industrial department at 27.3%. The carbon dioxide emission amount therefrom is estimated 68,100 t-C. The expected usable quantity of new energies in the city would be available in solar heat as the largest source, followed by solar beam and wind power, whose amount is estimated 136.41 times 10{sup 13}J annually in total. The new energy introducing project includes introduction of wind power generation into Namahage Line and its vicinity and the Ikari area, manufacture of fuel from refuses, introduction of clean energy fueled automobiles into the cars used by the city office, introduction of photovoltaic into the general gymnasium and primary and middle schools, and solar heat utilization at the general gymnasium. (NEDO)

Assessment of water supply as an ecosystem service in a rural-urban watershed in southwestern Mexico City.

Science.gov (United States)

Jujnovsky, Julieta; González-Martínez, Teresa Margarita; Cantoral-Uriza, Enrique Arturo; Almeida-Leñero, Lucia

2012-03-01

Studies from the ecosystem services perspective can provide a useful framework because they allow us to fully examine the benefits that humans obtain from socio-ecological systems. Mexico City, the second largest city in the world, has faced severe problems related to water shortages, which have worsened due to increasing population. Demand for space has forced changes in land cover, including covering areas that are essential for groundwater recharge. The city has 880 km(2) of forest areas that are crucial for the water supply. The Magdalena River Watershed was chosen as a model because it is a well-preserved zone within Mexico City and it provides water for the population. The general aim of this study was to assess the ecosystem service of the water supply in the Magdalena River Watershed by determining its water balance (SWAT model) and the number of beneficiaries of the ecosystem services. The results showed that the watershed provides 18.4 hm(3) of water per year. Baseflow was dominant, with a contribution of 85%, while surface runoff only accounted for 15%. The zone provides drinking water to 78,476 inhabitants and could supply 153,203 potential beneficiaries. This work provides an example for understanding how ecosystem processes determine the provision of ecosystem services and benefits to the population in a rural-urban watershed in Mexico City.

Use of partial order in environmental pollution studies demonstrated by urban BTEX air pollution in 20 major cities worldwide.

Science.gov (United States)

Carlsen, Lars; Bruggemann, Rainer; Kenessov, Bulat

2018-01-01

Urban air pollution with benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene and xylenes (BTEX) is a common phenomenon in major cities where the pollution mainly originates from traffic as well as from residential heating. An attempt to rank cities according to their BTEX air pollution is not necessarily straight forward as we are faced with several individual pollutants simultaneously. A typical procedure is based on aggregation of data for the single compounds, a process that not only hides important information but is also subject to compensation effects. The present study applies a series of partial ordering tools to circumvent the aggregation. Based on partial ordering, most important indicators are disclosed, and an average ranking of the cities included in the study is derived. Since air pollution measurements are often subject to significant uncertainties, special attention has been given to the possible effect of uncertainty and/or data noise. Finally, the effect of introducing weight regimes is studied. In a concluding section the gross national income per person (GNI) is brought into play, demonstrating a positive correlation between BTEX air pollution and GNI. The results are discussed in terms of the ability/willingness to combat air pollution in the cities studied. The present study focuses on Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan and compares the data from Almaty to another 19 major cities around the world. It is found that the benzene for Almaty appears peculiar high. Overall Almaty appears ranked as the 8th most BTEX polluted city among the 20 cities included in the study. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HIV risks and HIV prevention among female sex workers in two largest urban settings in Croatia, 2008-2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Štulhofer, Aleksandar; Landripet, Ivan; Božić, Jasmina; Božičević, Ivana

2015-01-01

Harm reduction-based HIV prevention has been in place among female sex workers (FSWs) in Croatia for more than a decade. However, little is known about how well the existing programs meet the needs of FSWs in an environment where sex work remains criminalized and highly stigmatized. This study aims to assess changes in FSWs' vulnerability to HIV infection in the 2008-2014 period. Using convenience samples of FSWs in Croatia's two largest urban settings, behavioral data were collected in 2007-2008 and 2014. Outreach workers interviewed 154 FSWs in the first wave of the survey and 158 in the second. The period under observation was characterized by a stable prevalence of most HIV-relevant risk behaviors and experiences. Significant changes in client-based victimization and HIV knowledge were observed only among FSWs in the capital city. Substantial and mostly sustained levels of sexual and nonsexual victimization call for more research into the limits of the current behavior-based harm reduction approach to HIV prevention in the country.

How can a successful multi-family residential recycling programme be initiated within Baltimore City, Maryland?

Science.gov (United States)

Schwebel, Michael B

2012-07-01

Baltimore City formally began recycling in 1989 with all neighbourhoods having residential collection by 1992. Although the city of 637 000 has recycled for approximately 20 years, almost all residents in multi-family residential (MFR) housing have been and are still barred from participating at their residences. Discussions with City officials and residents have verified this antiquated policy of exclusion within MFR housing. Yet, the policy is still observed by the Department of Public Works even though the updated single-stream Code states that the 'Director of Public Works must collect all. . .recyclable materials. . .from all dwellings, including multiple-family dwellings'. The purpose of this study's is to provide policies, regulations, and recommendations for implementing requisite MFR recycling within Baltimore City. The study's methodology follows a case study approach by examining three cities in the United States that currently mandate MFR recycling: Chicago, Illinois; Boston, Massachusetts; and Arlington, Virginia. Post-analysis suggests that while some cities' MFR programmes perform poorly, each city's strengths aid in creating specific proposals that can produce a successful MFR recycling program in Baltimore City. These tenets of a future MFR recycling program form the basis of a successful MFR recycling program that will allow all city residents to participate via initiatives in the categories of both programme, accessibility, and informing and self-review.

The Environmental Responsibility of the World’s Largest Banks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ryszawska Bożena

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Sustainability transition is changing the role and function of banks, specially their products and services also in relation to stakeholders. Banks are one of the main actors supporting the transition to sustainable economy. The purpose of this study is to emphasise the role of world’s largest banks in that process. Banks are slowly responding to the new demand of sustainability and responsibility, and they try to align with it. The paper is based on an overview of the world’s five largest banks that employ corporate social responsibility (CSR reporting standards, together with detailed enumeration of pro-environmental activities included in the reports. The first section of this paper presents the most popular approaches to the problem at hand, as reported in professional literature. Section two presents the characteristics of the CSR actions in banks. The third section discusses the environmental actions of the biggest banks in Global Reporting Initiative (GRI reporting the most popular standard for reporting non-financial information. And the last part of the paper presents the conclusions resulting from the article. The research was conducted using a variety of sources, such as scientific articles, statistical data, CSR reports of the world’s largest banks, as well reporting principles and standard disclosures. The basic method used in the process of writing was a critical analysis of literature and reports concerning the CSR reporting standards, environmental responsibilities of different kinds of entities, as well as own observations based on special reports of banks. In the article, also the analysis of financial market data, induction method and comparison method have been used. The main conclusions of the analysis of the CSR reports disclosed by the world’s largest banks confirm all three of the theses presented in the article. The findings suggest that the banks under study can be regarded as environmentally responsible

Practicing the Generic (City)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Lone Koefoed

2010-01-01

Flanagan proposes that most locative media artworks neglect the particularities of spaces, their historical and political layers. Koolhaas, on the other hand, states that all urban areas are alike, that we are facing a global Generic City. The paper analyses digital media artist Esther Polak......’s NomadicMILK project in light of the generic and particular properties of space as laid out by Flanagan and Koolhaas in order to discuss the possible reconfiguring practices of locative media....

Boise, Idaho: Improving Air Quality through Alternative Fuels & Reduced Vehicular Travel (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team, Office of Strategic Programs

2017-11-01

This fact sheet "Boise, Idaho: Improving Air Quality through Alternative Fuels & Reduced Vehicular Travel" explains how the City of Boise used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

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

Analysis of potential for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases in municipal solid waste in Brazil, in the state and city of Rio de Janeiro

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Loureiro, S.M.; Rovere, E.L.L.; Mahler, C.F.

2013-01-01

Highlights: ► We constructed future scenarios of emissions of greenhouse gases in waste. ► Was used the IPCC methodology for calculating emission inventories. ► We calculated the costs of abatement for emissions reduction in landfill waste. ► The results were compared to Brazil, state and city of Rio de Janeiro. ► The higher the environmental passive, the greater the possibility of use of biogas. - Abstract: This paper examines potential changes in solid waste policies for the reduction in GHG for the country of Brazil and one of its major states and cities, Rio de Janeiro, from 2005 to 2030. To examine these policy options, trends in solid waste quantities and associated GHG emissions are derived. Three alternative policy scenarios are evaluated in terms of effectiveness, technology, and economics and conclusions posited regarding optimal strategies for Brazil to implement. These scenarios are been building on the guidelines for national inventories of GHG emissions (IPCC, 2006) and adapted to Brazilian states and municipalities’ boundaries. Based on the results, it is possible to say that the potential revenue from products of solid waste management is more than sufficient to transform the current scenario in this country into one of financial and environmental gains, where the negative impacts of climate change have created a huge opportunity to expand infrastructure for waste management

Mapping Criminal Governance in African Cities | IDRC ...

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

Mapping Criminal Governance in African Cities. This grant will allow the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), through its Organized Crime and Money Laundering Programme (OCML), to explore the causal links between weak state authority and the emergence of criminal governance ... Profile of crime markets in Dakar.

Mapping Criminal Governance in African Cities | CRDI - Centre de ...

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

Researchers will consider areas of the two cities where organized criminal networks have usurped the role of the state or filled a gap resulting from the absence of state capacity; explore the question of legitimacy in areas where drug lords or community gangs have come to be considered more loyal to community interests ...

Thermal Comfort At The Street Corridor Around Public Places, Case Study Alun-Alun Malang City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Erna Winansih

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Malang as the second largest city in East Java province become crowded recently. The congestion almost happens everyday. The scenery of the street corridor is full of iron stacks. It is said that Malang city is less comfortable and less walkable. The decrease of this environment encourages to conduct the study (Q.S. 16:90, Q.S. 96:1-5, Q.S. 30:41. The study aimed to analyze the thermal comfort at pedestrian ways around Malang city squares, the street corridor of Merdeka Alun-Alun (MAA and the Tugu Alun-Alun (TAA. The temperature and relative humidity were measured by multinorm instrument. The THI (Temperature Humidity Index method was used to analyze the thermal comfort. The results showed that the THI average at TAA (27 were more comfortable than at MAA (27,5. The south side of the MAA corridor became the most comfortable with the THI value of 26,4, which the side covered by trees canopy (Q.S. 7:58. It needs to conduct next research (Q.S. 13:11, because of the change of the activities at these street corridors.

Regional disparity and cost-effective SO2 pollution control in China: A case study in 5 mega-cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kanada, Momoe; Dong, Liang; Fujita, Tsuyoshi; Fujii, Minoru; Inoue, Tsuyoshi; Hirano, Yujiro; Togawa, Takuya; Geng, Yong

2013-01-01

With rapid development, increasing sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) emission becomes a key environmental issue in China. To respond to this challenge, the Chinese government established a top-down scheme to reduce its SO 2 emissions. However, regional disparity and the associated cost differences brought uncertainties to the policy effectiveness and efficiency. Few studies focus on this field. Therefore, this study tries to fill such a gap by investigating the differences of SO 2 emissions, reduction potential, and cost-effectiveness through use of the GAINS-China model in five mega-cities in China, namely, Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chongqing, and Hong Kong. A scenario analysis approach is employed, focusing on two technologies named flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and limestone injection (LINJ). Results demonstrated that a large SO 2 reduction potential exists, as well as a great disparity, among the five mega-cities. Chongqing had the largest reduction potential with lowest unit cost, while Beijng and Hong Kong showed the lowest reduction potential with higher unit cost. In Beijing and Shanghai, FGD and LINJ in the power generation sector had the larger reduction potential with the highest cost-effectiveness. However, in Chongqing, the industry sectors also had large reduction potentials. Finally, appropriate SO 2 control strategies and policies are raised by considering the local realities. - Highlights: • The cost-effectiveness of SO 2 control policy was analyzed in five mega-cities in China. • Reduction potential and cost-effectiveness were closely linked to regional disparity. • Beijing and Hong Kong showed lower reduction potential and higher marginal reduction cost. • Chongqing showed the largest reduction potential and the lowest marginal reduction cost

Health Literacy among Youth in Guatemala City.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoffman, Steven; Marsiglia, Flavio F; Nevarez, Lucinda; Porta, Maria

2017-01-02

Health literacy (HL) is recognized as an important health construct that is correlated with various health-related outcomes, but outside of the United States there is limited HL research available, particularly among youth. This study looked at the HL and harmful health behavior (i.e., substance use) of 210 youth across 10 schools in Guatemala City. Based on results from the Newest Vital Sign (NVS) HL assessment, fewer than one third of youth sampled had adequate HL. Training/education to improve adolescent HL is needed in Guatemala City, and the unique skillset of social workers could be an idea method of reaching at-risk youth.

Cost estimates for flood resilience and protection strategies in New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Aerts, Jeroen C J H; Botzen, W J Wouter; de Moel, Hans; Bowman, Malcolm

2013-08-01

In the aftermaths of Hurricanes Irene, in 2011, and Sandy, in 2012, New York City has come to recognize the critical need to better prepare for future storm surges and to anticipate future trends, such as climate change and socio-economic developments. The research presented in this report assesses the costs of six different flood management strategies to anticipate long-term challenges the City will face. The proposed strategies vary from increasing resilience by upgrading building codes and introducing small scale protection measures, to creating green infrastructure as buffer zones and large protective engineering works such as storm surge barriers. The initial investment costs of alternative strategies vary between $11.6 and $23.8 bn, maximally. We show that a hybrid solution, combining protection of critical infrastructure and resilience measures that can be upgraded over time, is less expensive. However, with increasing risk in the future, storm surge barriers may become cost-effective, as they can provide protection to the largest areas in both New York and New Jersey. © 2013 New York Academy of Sciences.

Analytical report of the 2016 dengue outbreak in Córdoba city, Argentina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Camilo Rotela

2017-11-01

Full Text Available After elimination of the Aedes aegypti vector in South America in the 1960s, dengue outbreaks started to reoccur during the 1990s; strongly in Argentina since 1998. In 2016, Córdoba City had the largest dengue outbreak in its history. In this article we report this outbreak including spatio-temporal analysis of cases and vectors in the city. A total of 653 dengue cases were recorded by the laboratory-based dengue surveillance system and georeferenced by their residential addresses. Case maps were generated from the epidemiological week 1 (beginning of January to week 19 (mid-May. Dengue outbreak temporal evolution was analysed globally and three specific, high-incidence zones were detected using Knox analysis to characterising its spatio-temporal attributes. Field and remotely sensed data were collected and analysed in real time and a vector presence map based on the MaxEnt approach was generated to define hotspots, towards which the pesticide- based strategy was then targeted. The recorded pattern of cases evolution within the community suggests that dengue control measures should be improved.

Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Brian C.; de Gouw, Joost A.; Gilman, Jessica B.; Jathar, Shantanu H.; Akherati, Ali; Cappa, Christopher D.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Lee-Taylor, Julia; Hayes, Patrick L.; McKeen, Stuart A.; Cui, Yu Yan; Kim, Si-Wan; Gentner, Drew R.; Isaacman-VanWertz, Gabriel; Goldstein, Allen H.; Harley, Robert A.; Frost, Gregory J.; Roberts, James M.; Ryerson, Thomas B.; Trainer, Michael

2018-02-01

A gap in emission inventories of urban volatile organic compound (VOC) sources, which contribute to regional ozone and aerosol burdens, has increased as transportation emissions in the United States and Europe have declined rapidly. A detailed mass balance demonstrates that the use of volatile chemical products (VCPs)—including pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products—now constitutes half of fossil fuel VOC emissions in industrialized cities. The high fraction of VCP emissions is consistent with observed urban outdoor and indoor air measurements. We show that human exposure to carbonaceous aerosols of fossil origin is transitioning away from transportation-related sources and toward VCPs. Existing U.S. regulations on VCPs emphasize mitigating ozone and air toxics, but they currently exempt many chemicals that lead to secondary organic aerosols.

Statistics of the largest sunspot and facular areas per solar cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Willis, D.M.; Kabasakal Tulunay, Y.

1979-01-01

The statistics of extreme values is used to investigate the statistical properties of the largest areas sunspots and photospheric faculae per solar cycle. The largest values of the synodic-solar-rotation mean areas of umbrae, whole spots and faculae, which have been recorded for nine solar cycles, are each shown to comply with the general form of the extreme value probability function. Empirical expressions are derived for the three extreme value populations from which the characteristic statistical parameters, namely the mode, median, mean and standard deviation, can be calculated for each population. These three extreme value populations are also used to find the expected ranges of the extreme areas in a group of solar cycles as a function of the number of cycles in the group. The extreme areas of umbrae and whole spots have a dispersion comparable to that found by Siscoe for the extreme values of sunspot number, whereas the extreme areas of faculae have a smaller dispersion which is comparable to that found by Siscoe for the largest geomagnetic storm per solar cycle. The expected range of the largest sunspot area per solar cycle for a group of one hundred cycles appears to be inconsistent with the existence of the prolonged periods of sunspot minima that have been inferred from the historical information on solar variability. This inconsistency supports the contention that there are temporal changes of solar-cycle statistics during protracted periods of sunspot minima (or maxima). Indeed, without such temporal changes, photospheric faculae should have been continually observable throughout the lifetime of the Sun. (orig.)

Fishing down the largest coral reef fish species.

Science.gov (United States)

Fenner, Douglas

2014-07-15

Studies on remote, uninhabited, near-pristine reefs have revealed surprisingly large populations of large reef fish. Locations such as the northwestern Hawaiian Islands, northern Marianas Islands, Line Islands, U.S. remote Pacific Islands, Cocos-Keeling Atoll and Chagos archipelago have much higher reef fish biomass than islands and reefs near people. Much of the high biomass of most remote reef fish communities lies in the largest species, such as sharks, bumphead parrots, giant trevally, and humphead wrasse. Some, such as sharks and giant trevally, are apex predators, but others such as bumphead parrots and humphead wrasse, are not. At many locations, decreases in large reef fish species have been attributed to fishing. Fishing is well known to remove the largest fish first, and a quantitative measure of vulnerability to fishing indicates that large reef fish species are much more vulnerable to fishing than small fish. The removal of large reef fish by fishing parallels the extinction of terrestrial megafauna by early humans. However large reef fish have great value for various ecological roles and for reef tourism. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The 10 largest public and philanthropic funders of health research in the world: what they fund and how they distribute their funds.

Science.gov (United States)

Viergever, Roderik F; Hendriks, Thom C C

2016-02-18

Little is known about who the main public and philanthropic funders of health research are globally, what they fund and how they decide what gets funded. This study aims to identify the 10 largest public and philanthropic health research funding organizations in the world, to report on what they fund, and on how they distribute their funds. The world's key health research funding organizations were identified through a search strategy aimed at identifying different types of funding organizations. Organizations were ranked by their reported total annual health research expenditures. For the 10 largest funding organizations, data were collected on (1) funding amounts allocated towards 20 health areas, and (2) schemes employed for distributing funding (intramural/extramural, project/'people'/organizational and targeted/untargeted funding). Data collection consisted of a review of reports and websites and interviews with representatives of funding organizations. Data collection was challenging; data were often not reported or reported using different classification systems. Overall, 55 key health research funding organizations were identified. The 10 largest funding organizations together funded research for $37.1 billion, constituting 40% of all public and philanthropic health research spending globally. The largest funder was the United States National Institutes of Health ($26.1 billion), followed by the European Commission ($3.7 billion), and the United Kingdom Medical Research Council ($1.3 billion). The largest philanthropic funder was the Wellcome Trust ($909.1 million), the largest funder of health research through official development assistance was USAID ($186.4 million), and the largest multilateral funder was the World Health Organization ($135.0 million). Funding distribution mechanisms and funding patterns varied substantially between the 10 largest funders. There is a need for increased transparency about who the main funders of health research are

Global city aspirations, graduated citizenship and public housing: analysing the consumer citizenships of neoliberalism

OpenAIRE

Dallas Rogers; Michael Darcy

2014-01-01

Global city discourses rearticulate the relationships between the state, urban space and the global economy. At the local level, global city reconfigurations stamp the mark of a global economic order onto local citizenship practices. Public housing is a legacy of specific national (welfare) states where citizenship rights arose from territorially bound constitutional discourses, and is incompatible in its current form with the consumer-based rights and responsibilities of a global economic or...

The Multivariate Largest Lyapunov Exponent as an Age-Related Metric of Quiet Standing Balance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kun Liu

2015-01-01

Full Text Available The largest Lyapunov exponent has been researched as a metric of the balance ability during human quiet standing. However, the sensitivity and accuracy of this measurement method are not good enough for clinical use. The present research proposes a metric of the human body’s standing balance ability based on the multivariate largest Lyapunov exponent which can quantify the human standing balance. The dynamic multivariate time series of ankle, knee, and hip were measured by multiple electrical goniometers. Thirty-six normal people of different ages participated in the test. With acquired data, the multivariate largest Lyapunov exponent was calculated. Finally, the results of the proposed approach were analysed and compared with the traditional method, for which the largest Lyapunov exponent and power spectral density from the centre of pressure were also calculated. The following conclusions can be obtained. The multivariate largest Lyapunov exponent has a higher degree of differentiation in differentiating balance in eyes-closed conditions. The MLLE value reflects the overall coordination between multisegment movements. Individuals of different ages can be distinguished by their MLLE values. The standing stability of human is reduced with the increment of age.

Crash testing the largest experiment on Earth

OpenAIRE

Cauchi, Marija

2015-01-01

Under Europe lies a 27 km tunnel that is both the coldest and hottest place on Earth. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has already found out what gives mass to all the matter in the Universe. It is now trying to go even deeper into what makes up everything we see around us. Dr Marija Cauchi writes about her research that helped protect this atom smasher from itself. Photography by Jean Claude Vancell. http://www.um.edu.mt/think/crash-testing-the-largest-experiment-on-earth/

Importance and Challenges in Use and Uptake of Air Quality Modelling in Developing Countries: Use of CAMx for Air Quality Management in the City of Johannesburg.

Science.gov (United States)

Garland, R. M.; Naidoo, M.; Sibiya, B.; Naidoo, S.; Bird, T.; von Gruenewaldt, R.; Liebenberg-Enslin, H.; Nekhwalivhe, M.; Netshandama, J.; Mahlatji, M.

2017-12-01

Ambient air pollution levels are regulated in South Africa; however in many areas pollution concentrations exceed these levels. The South African Air Quality Act also stipulates that government across all levels must have Air Quality Management Plans (AQMP) in place that outline the current state of air quality and emissions, as well as the implementable plan to manage, and where necessary improve, air quality. Historically, dispersion models have been used to support air quality management decisions, including in AQMPs. However, with the focus of air quality management shifting from focusing on industrial point sources to a more integrated and holistic management of all sources, chemical transport models are needed. CAMx was used in the review and development of the City of Johannesburg's AQMP to simulate hot spots of air pollution, as well as to model intervention scenarios. As the pollutants of concern in Johannesburg are ozone and particulate matter, it is critical to use a model that can simulate chemistry. CAMx was run at 1 km with a locally derived emissions inventory for 2014. The sources of pollution in the City are diverse (including, industrial, vehicles, domestic burning, natural), and many sources have large uncertainties in estimating emissions due to lack of necessary data and local emission factors. These uncertainties, together with a lack of measurements to validate the model against, hinder the performance of the model to simulate air quality and thus inform air quality management. However, as air quality worsens in Africa, it is critical for decision makers to have a strong evidence base on the state of air quality and impact of interventions in order to improve air quality effectively. This presentation will highlight the findings from using a chemical transport model for air quality management in the largest city in South Africa, the use and limitations of these for decision-makers, and proposed way forward.

The Economic Security of the City in the Strategic Management System

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hubarieva Iryna O.

2017-03-01

Full Text Available The article investigates the problem of economic security of the city in the strategic management system. The article describes the process of ensuring the economic security of the city. The organizational approach was approved using the example of Kharkiv city. The list of threats to the economic security of the city and their urgency is justified by combining such methods as expert surveys, SWOT-analysis and the hierarchy analysis method. There proposed a methodical approach to assessing the economic security of the city based on a hierarchically built system of indices (integral, complex and partial, which allowed determining the level of economic security of the city and imbalances in the development of its functional components. It is proposed to work out scenarios for ensuring the economic security of the city by combining the cognitive modeling and the scenario approach, which makes it possible to determine directions of the implementation of the strategy for ensuring the economic security of the city and choose leverages of state regulation. There presented a mechanism for ensuring the economic security of the city, which includes the following elements: an action plan to implement the strategy for ensuring the economic security of the city; institutional and organizational support; programming and project planning; scientific and methodological support; financial support. The obtained results reveal, deepen and establish conceptual foundations for ensuring the economic security of the 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...

Carrboro, North Carolina: Achieving Building Efficiencies for Low-Income Households (City Energy: From Data to Decisions)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Office of Strategic Programs, Strategic Priorities and Impact Analysis Team

2017-09-29

This fact sheet "Carrboro, North Carolina: Achieving Building Efficiencies for Low-Income Households" explains how the Town of Carrboro used data from the U.S. Department of Energy's Cities Leading through Energy Analysis and Planning (Cities-LEAP) and the State and Local Energy Data (SLED) programs to inform its city energy planning. It is one of ten fact sheets in the "City Energy: From Data to Decisions" series.

Housing context and social transformation strategies in neighbourhood regeneration in Western European cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Gent, W.P.C.

2010-01-01

According to the Western European city thesis, European cities have a unique institutional mix which helps to explain how social patterns come about. The most important elements of this mix are the interventionist state and the housing system legacy of non-private housing. While these two are vital,

Deterioration of the volcanic kerb and pavement stones in a humid environment in the city centre of Izmir, Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Yavuz, A. B.

2006-11-01

İzmir is the third largest city in Turkey and has being the centre of art, culture, tourism and trade activities throughout the 5,000 years of its history. Natural stones brought from different parts of the world have been widely used for construction of the prestigious buildings, monuments and roads etc., in the past in the city. Renovation of the street pavements and public gathering areas in the city centre has been undertaken by the Metropolitan Municipality in 2000 and continued through the year of 2001. These renovation activities have mainly been carried out in the streets running parallel to the sea shore. Volcanic rocks brought from the Central Anatolia Ankara-Gölbaşı (andesites) and Kayseri-İncesu (tuffs) have been used in the renovation works. These rocks have shown extensive deteriorations within 4 years of their usage between 2001 and 2005 under the influence of different environmental factors. In this study, the deteriorations developed in the recently placed volcanic rocks used as kerb and pavement stones in the city centre of İzmir in the light of their mineralogical, chemical, physical and mechanical properties, used locations and the environmental factors are presented.

Comparing Antonovsky's sense of coherence scale across three UK post-industrial cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, David; McCartney, Gerry; McCullough, Sarah; Buchanan, Duncan; Jones, Russell

2014-11-25

High levels of 'excess' mortality (ie, that seemingly not explained by deprivation) have been shown for Scotland compared to England and Wales and, especially, for its largest city, Glasgow, compared to the similarly deprived English cities of Liverpool and Manchester. It has been suggested that this excess may be related to differences in 'Sense of Coherence' (SoC) between the populations. The aim of this study was to ascertain whether levels of SoC differed between these cities and whether, therefore, this could be a plausible explanation for the 'excess'. Three post-industrial UK cities: Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. A representative sample of more than 3700 adults (over 1200 in each city). SoC was measured using Antonovsky's 13-item scale (SOC-13). Multivariate linear regression was used to compare SoC between the cities while controlling for characteristics (age, gender, SES etc) of the samples. Additional modelling explored whether differences in SoC moderated city differences in levels of self-assessed health (SAH). SoC was higher, not lower, among the Glasgow sample. Fully adjusted mean SoC scores for residents of Liverpool and Manchester were, respectively, 5.1 (-5.1 (95% CI -6.0 to -4.1)) and 8.1 (-8.1 (-9.1 to -7.2)) lower than those in Glasgow. The additional modelling confirmed the relationship between SoC and SAH: a 1 unit increase in SoC predicted approximately 3% lower likelihood of reporting bad/very bad health (OR=0.97 (95% CI 0.96 to 0.98)): given the slightly worse SAH in Glasgow, this resulted in slightly lower odds of reporting bad/very bad health for the Liverpool and Manchester samples compared to Glasgow. The reasons for the high levels of 'excess' mortality seen in Scotland and particularly Glasgow remain unclear. However, on the basis of these analyses, it appears unlikely that a low SoC provides any explanation. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go

Relationship between licensing, registration, and other gun sales laws and the source state of crime guns.

Science.gov (United States)

Webster, D W; Vernick, J S; Hepburn, L M

2001-09-01

To determine the association between licensing and registration of firearm sales and an indicator of gun availability to criminals. Tracing data on all crime guns recovered in 25 cities in the United States were used to estimate the relationship between state gun law categories and the proportion of crime guns first sold by in-state gun dealers. In cities located in states with both mandatory registration and licensing systems (five cities), a mean of 33.7% of crime guns were first sold by in-state gun dealers, compared with 72.7% in cities that had either registration or licensing but not both (seven cities), and 84.2% in cities without registration or licensing (13 cites). Little of the difference between cities with both licensing and registration and cities with neither licensing nor registration was explained by potential confounders. The share of the population near a city that resides in a neighboring state without licensing or registration laws was negatively associated with the outcome. States with registration and licensing systems appear to do a better job than other states of keeping guns initially sold within the state from being recovered in crimes. Proximity to states without these laws, however, may limit their impact.

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....

Occupational risks in professionals of health in barreiras city, state of Bahia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luciane Cristina Joia

2009-01-01

Full Text Available During work activities, the professional of health is exposed to occupational risks in their work place. This compromises directly or indirectly in health condition. The aims of the study were to report the main concern and vulnerability of occupational risks, and to describe the main conducts adopted by the professionals of health in Barreiras city/ BA. It was done a descriptive and exploratory field research with and hospital workers (public and privates that were exposure to work accidents. An interview was done to data collection, and a semi-structured script (adapted to Barreiras city/BA was used. It was observed that the most of interviewees had difficult to understand the safe equipments importance, however the most of them reported knowledge about procedures, use and conduct. It is necessary to highlight that everyday contact with risks in work place; it could be a decrease of perception in the necessity to adopt safety behavior

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.

MBA sudents' satisfaction and loyality: state vs. private universities in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nihat Kamil Anil

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to explore the construct of student satisfaction and analyze its relationship with student loyalty in the context of state and private universities. A 45-item Turkish questionnaire adapted from literature, to which the authors added several items, was administered to MBA students of state- and private, foundation-owned universities located in Istanbul, as the largest city of Turkey. In this study, a two-step confirmative modeling strategy was chosen to test the hypotheses of the theoretical model by using LISREL 8. As the first step of the mentioned approach, a congruent and congeneric measurement model was established for each type of universities; then, in the second stage, hypotheses were tested by analyzing structural models. Research findings show a positive correlation between satisfaction and loyalty. The most important factors of satisfaction for the students attending state-owned universities are academic quality, teaching quality, and appropriateness of career opportunities; however, at private universities teaching quality and supportive services and appropriateness of career opportunities are the most significant factors. Administrative and the quality of library services turned out to be unimportant factors for MBA students both at state and private universities in this study. The distinguishing point of this study, which enhances its originality, was examining the difference between state and private universities separately.

The history and impact of the New York City menu labeling law.

Science.gov (United States)

Bernell, Brent

2010-01-01

As a result of the recent federal health care legislation, all restaurants in the United States that are part of a chain with twenty or more locations serving substantially the same menu items will be required to post the calorie information of the food they serve directly on menus and menu boards. This development represents the culmination of a regulatory initiative to combat the growth of obesity that only began in 2006 with the decision by the New York City Board of Health to require calorie posting in New York City chain restaurants. That initiative, Regulation 81.50, was the first of its kind in the United States; and yet, less than four years later, the idea has become a national standard. This paper tracks the history of New York City's landmark regulation, detailing the drafting of the law, the initial legal victory for the restaurant association challenging it, and the ultimate triumph of the City in winning legal validation of its calorie posting mandate. In doing so, this paper will also use the New York City regulation as a launching point to discuss the rationale behind menu labeling, to examine the potential legal pitfalls of menu labeling laws, to track the development of the initiative from New York City to a national standard, and finally, to evaluate the preliminary data on whether or not menu labeling is actually effective in achieving its ultimate goal: changing consumer eating habits and reducing obesity.

[Exposure to fluorides from drinking water in the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico].

Science.gov (United States)

Trejo-Vázquez, R; Bonilla-Petriciolet, A

2001-08-01

Determine the fluoride content in all the wells that supply drinking water to the city of Aguascalientes, Mexico, in order to establish the population's degree of exposure. The fluoride content of the 126 wells that supply drinking water to the city of Aguascalientes was determined, using the SPADNS method, in accordance with two Mexican regulations, NMX-AA-77-1982 and NMX-014-SSAI-1993. Using that data, we created fluoride isopleth maps showing the distribution of fluoride concentrations in the water supplies for the city of Aguascalientes. We also estimated exposure doses for the city's inhabitants. The mean analysis uncertainty was 3.9%. Seventy-three wells had a fluoride concentration of" 1.5 mg/L, which was the maximum permissible value set by the Mexican standards then in effect. All the maximum exposure doses surpassed the minimum risk level set by Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States of America. In the children under 1 year of age, even the minimum does was slightly higher than the ATSDR risk level. From estimating the fluoride exposure doses caused by water consumption in the city of Aguascalientes and comparing those doses with ones from other states in Mexico, we concluded that the fluoride intake in Aguascalientes represents a potential risk for inhabitants' health. The fluoride content of the city's drinking water should be reduced to 0.69 mg/L.

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?

Composing the theme of city to be diverse and sustainable

Science.gov (United States)

Wiranegara, H. W.

2018-01-01

To give a path for developing a city needs a theme. City’s goal stated in a document of a spatial plan were too broad and insufficient detail in giving a direction. To make more detail and precise, every city has to compose a city theme. It is developed based on the potential, the uniqueness, the excellence, and the sustainability of its human resources, natural resources, and man-made resources. An integration among the three of resources which have the highest score become a theme of the city. The aim of this research was to formulate the conceptual framework to compose a city theme. The research design was the interview survey in Banda Aceh, Banjarmasin, and Kupang. Informants were the government officials, academics, figures, the private sector and public who considered related to the intended information being collected. Having set the conceptual framework, the interview directed to check the implementation in realities. The result was that the conceptual framework could accommodate the phenomenon of composing the theme of the city. Yet, it was a preliminary in nature and needed more research to get a complete result.

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.

Predicting Traffic Flow in Local Area Networks by the Largest Lyapunov Exponent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yan Liu

2016-01-01

Full Text Available The dynamics of network traffic are complex and nonlinear, and chaotic behaviors and their prediction, which play an important role in local area networks (LANs, are studied in detail, using the largest Lyapunov exponent. With the introduction of phase space reconstruction based on the time sequence, the high-dimensional traffic is projected onto the low dimension reconstructed phase space, and a reduced dynamic system is obtained from the dynamic system viewpoint. Then, a numerical method for computing the largest Lyapunov exponent of the low-dimensional dynamic system is presented. Further, the longest predictable time, which is related to chaotic behaviors in the system, is studied using the largest Lyapunov exponent, and the Wolf method is used to predict the evolution of the traffic in a local area network by both Dot and Interval predictions, and a reliable result is obtained by the presented method. As the conclusion, the results show that the largest Lyapunov exponent can be used to describe the sensitivity of the trajectory in the reconstructed phase space to the initial values. Moreover, Dot Prediction can effectively predict the flow burst. The numerical simulation also shows that the presented method is feasible and efficient for predicting the complex dynamic behaviors in LAN traffic, especially for congestion and attack in networks, which are the main two complex phenomena behaving as chaos in networks.

"The 400-Pound Gorilla": The Role of The Research University in City Development

Science.gov (United States)

Holley, Karri A.; Harris, Michael S.

2018-01-01

In cities across the United States higher education institutions exist in tandem with a range of other socio-cultural and economic organizations, such as businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies. The role of colleges and universities in city development is important, and empirical examination of universities' role in and relationship with…

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...

Future lighting and the appearance of cities at night: A case study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon Rankel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Future lighting solutions based on solid state lighting will transform the appearance of cities at night. They can be positioned and used in an urban environment in numerous ways. This article studies whether their future use in general outdoor lighting will positively affect people’s acceptance of urban space illuminated in this way. Two different lighting concepts were formed based on the innovative use of solid state lighting solutions. The first concept is based on plane lighting, and the second is based on a detailed depiction of architectural and urban elements. Lighting proposals were designed for five different city locations. They consider not only functional needs, but also urban planning and the architectural aspects of illumination. I present my study of the underlying core effects on the respondents through their assessment of the affective quality of graphic representations. My findings indicate that the respondents strongly agree with the assessment of the “pleasantness” and “arousal” variables of most proposals. However, the statistics show characteristic differences between the answers of both variables for both concepts. Direct comparison of the two concepts shows that the respondents’ attitudes towards a certain lighting concept also depend on their location in the city. This article emphasises the importance of the appearance of a city at night in developing future lighting strategies based on solid state light sources.

City leadership for health and well-being: back to the future.

Science.gov (United States)

Tsouros, Agis

2013-10-01

The new European Health Policy Framework and Strategy: Health 2020 of the World Health Organization, draws upon the experience and insights of five phases, spanning 25 years, of the WHO European Healthy Cities Network (WHO-EHCN). Applying the 2020 health lens to Healthy Cities, equity in health and human-centered sustainable development are core values and cities have a profound influence on the wider determinants of health in the European population. "Making it Happen" relies on four action elements applied and tested by municipalities and their formal and informal partners: political commitment, vision and strategy, institutional change, and networking. In turn, the renewed commitment by member states of the WHO Regional Committee to work with all spheres and tiers of government is a new dawn for city governance, encouraging cities to redouble their investment in health and health equity in all policies, even in a period of austerity. For phase VI, the WHO-EHCN is being positioned as a strategic vehicle for implementing Health 2020 at the local level. Healthy Cities' leadership is more relevant than ever.

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...

Are we achieving spatial transformation In South Africa? Can sub-city spatial indicators make a contribution?

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Maritz, Johan

2016-06-01

Full Text Available . These Indicators have been developed partly in collaboration with the South African Cities Network (SACN) to support the 2016 State of Cities Report’s (SACN, 2016) theme on spatial transformation....

Estuarine and offshore fishing yield statistics and fishery policies in the state of Pará

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivan Furtado Júnior

2006-08-01

Full Text Available The coast of Pará State extends for 562 km and it counts on 123 artisan-fishing communities, distributed along 17 coastal municipal districts. In this area of the State, it highlights the presence of growth of mangroves, streams, rivers and estuaries. All those factors that favor the fishing productivity hinder the systematic control of the landings a lot and with consequence in obtaining fishing production statistics. This work objective is to present the statistics of fishing production for species in landing volume, in the estuarine and marine areas of Pará Estate and to analyze the fishing police for the systems of industrial and artisan production in the period from 1997 to 2003. To esteem the fishing productions of the estuarine and marine areas in Pará State. There was monthly control on the boat in activity for type of fishing gear used and accomplished samples of the landings of each one of those combinations of boat fishing gear. In the studied area, the municipal districts that concentrate the largest landings are Belém, Bragança and Vigia. The tuna and billfish captures started having some importance from 2000 in Belém City and from 2002 in Belém city and municipal district of Curuçá. The species or groups of more important species in capture volume are yellow weakfish, Thomas sea catfish, Spanish mackerel, sharks, Caribbean red snapper, king weakfish, crab, marine catfish and shrimp and, in economic, value lobsters, shrimp and Caribbean red snapper.

The Study of the Historical Factors of the Foundation of Cities with the Approach to the Cities of Iran and Mesopotamia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hamiad Kavyani pooya

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In examining the time when communities began to dominate urbanization and civilization and the factors that led to this event, various historical and geographical schools have emphasized one of the major factors in the emergence and structure of ancient cities. In this context, the most common theories have stated the consequences of the "agricultural revolution" and "religiousism" and the religious contributions of the old people that have been the main source of the foundations of the cities. Therefore, following the verification of the veracity of these theories, by studying historical documents and archaeological findings with a library method and a descriptive approach, we found that, at least in the plateau of Iran and Mesopotamia, mankind created an agricultural revolution through a united geographical position. Then, following this revolution, the division of labor gradually took place, resulting in innovations, greater power and business relations and capital accumulation, and other factors such as religion, population, and political factors emerged in human culture and created cities. In fact, despite all these factors are not necessarily involved in the emergence and foundations of ancient cities, but considering the geographic area studied in this research geographical, economic, religious and political-military factors can be largely important and effective in the genesis and evolution of cities. And the ancient cities of Iran and Mesopotamia have had these characteristics. Of course, it should be in accordance with the above theories and emphasizing two factors of economic and religious.

(Un-shackling the University in the City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ulrike Kistner

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This article examines the relation between the University of Pretoria and the City of Tshwane, outlining seven different kinds of relation as they have taken shape historically. The first type relation between the University and the City presented here, establishes correspondences in public architecture at the height of apartheid modernity, between structures marking and shaping political convergences. The second type of relation is premised on the walling in and fencing off of the University from the City; the Metro musings exhibition inaugurating the ‘Capital Cities’ project looks across the divides thus cemented, from within the confines of the University. The third type of relation is that of ‘Community Engagement’ culminating in the annual Mandela Day activities, impelled by ideas on the Developmental State featuring in the National Development Plan. In the fourth type of relation, corporate models of municipal governance find common cause with the corporate management styles of the University, expressed in corporate partnerships combining a ‘University of Excellence’ with ‘the African City of Excellence’. The strategies envisaged for social intervention emerging from this ‘partnership’ form a sixth type of relation between the University and the City. In the process of pitting property and law against poverty and lawlessness, new civic challenges are emerging for transformative constitutionalism and for the University. In both arenas, this article concludes, what is at stake is a seventh type of relation between the University and the City – outside of the ‘legal’-‘illegal’ distinction. For the University, in particular, this would entail a productive idea of ‘dissensus’.

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 state president's unit in its capacity asceremonial guard

African Journals Online (AJOL)

State President from various cities, especially those cities in .... SP Wag op parade tydens die opening van die Parlement, Januarle 1985. State President' ... Argus Printing and Publishing Co,Who's Who of Southern Africa. Johannesburg. 7.

From Pushing Paper to Pushing Dirt - Canada's Largest LLRW Cleanup Gets Underway - 13111

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veen, Walter van; Lawrence, Dave

2013-01-01

The Port Hope Project is the larger of the two projects in the Port Hope Area Initiative (PHAI), Canada's largest low level radioactive waste (LLRW) cleanup. With a budget of approximately $1 billion, the Port Hope Project includes a broad and complex range of remedial elements from a state of the art water treatment plant, an engineered waste management facility, municipal solid waste removal, remediation of 18 major sites within the Municipality of Port Hope (MPH), sediment dredging and dewatering, an investigation of 4,800 properties (many of these homes) to identify LLRW and remediation of approximately 450 of these properties. This paper discusses the status of the Port Hope Project in terms of designs completed and regulatory approvals received, and sets out the scope and schedule for the remaining studies, engineering designs and remediation contracts. (authors)

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.

Women, mobility, and public space in Guwahati | IDRC ...

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

2016-11-17

Nov 17, 2016 ... While it is the largest city in India's northeastern state of Assam, Guwahati's ... and limited transportation options seriously constrain women's mobility. ... Explore the project, Poverty, inequality and violence in urban India: ...

The Changing Face of World Cities. Young Adult Children of Immigrants in Europe and the United States.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Crul, M.R.J.; Mollenkopf, J.

2012-01-01

A seismic population shift is taking place as many formerly racially homogeneous cities in the West attract a diverse influx of newcomers seeking economic and social advancement. In The Changing Face of World Cities, a distinguished group of immigration experts presents the first systematic,

Determinants of cord care practices among mothers in Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Abhulimhen-Iyoha, B I; Ibadin, M O

2012-01-01

Mothers care for their infants' umbilical cord stump in various ways. Different cord care practices have been documented; some are beneficial while others are harmful. Who and what influence the cord care practiced by mothers have, however, not been fully explored particularly in the study locale. The objective of this study was to determine the factors that influence cord care practices among mothers in Benin City. The study subjects included 497 mothers who brought their babies to Well Baby/Immunization Clinic at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Edo State, between July and August 2009. A structured questionnaire served as an instrument to extract information on their biodata and possible determinants of cord care practices. Significantly older women (P=0.023), educated mothers (P=0.029), and those who had male babies (P=0.013) practiced beneficial cord stump care practices. Beneficial cord care practice increased with increasing maternal educational status. The best predictors of beneficial cord care practices are maternal level of education (P=0.029) and infant's sex (P=0.013). The use of harmful cord care practices was more common among mothers who delivered outside the Teaching hospitals. Most (71.2%) of the mothers were aware of hygienic/beneficial cord care. The choices of cord care methods eventually practiced by mothers were influenced mainly by the disposition of nurses (51.3%), participants' mothers (32.0%), and their mothers-in-law (5.8%). There was no significant relationship between cord care practice on one hand and maternal parity, tribe, and socioeconomic classes on the other. The need for female education is again emphasized. The current findings strongly justify the need for public enlightenment programs, using the mass media and health talks in health facilities, targeting not only women of reproductive age but also secondary audience like their mothers, mothers-in-law, nurses, and attendants at health facilities

Resilience and the Fragile City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John de Boer

2015-04-01

Full Text Available Humanitarian, security, and development actors are witnessing two distinct but intertwined trends that will have a dramatic impact on their operations. The first relates to the fact that the locus of global poverty and vulnerability to disaster are increasingly concentrated in fragile and conflict affected states. The second trend is associated with the notion that the world has entered a period of unprecedented urbanization. For the first time in history, more people live inside urban centres than outside of them. As the world continues to urbanize, global emergencies will increasingly be concentrated in cities, particularly in lower income and fragile countries where the pace of urbanization is fastest. Yet, despite the growing risks facing urban populations living in fragile and conflict affected countries, there is very little understanding of what can be done to reduce the risks posed to these cities and their populations.

The Curse of the Gold: Discourses Surrounding the Project of the Largest Pit-mine in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Istvan Egresi

2011-11-01

Full Text Available In 1996, a Canadian company started geological explorations in the Rosia Montana area in the Romanian Carpathians. Two years later it formed a joint-venture with a Romanian state company to exploit what is believed to be Europe´s largest gold reserves. However, as of June 2011 extraction has not started yet and it may never start due to the opposition of numerous NGO´s that have pointed out the environmental, social and economic unsustainability of this mining project. This situation is highly unusual for a country that is hungry for foreign investment especially since up until very recently the state had supported any project promising to revitalize its mining sector. This paper will investigate the changes in the discourses surrounding this mining project taking into consideration the effects of globalization and the effects of Romania´s EU membership after 2007.

Evaluation of world's largest social welfare scheme: An assessment using non-parametric approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Sanjeet

2016-08-01

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is the world's largest social welfare scheme in India for the poverty alleviation through rural employment generation. This paper aims to evaluate and rank the performance of the states in India under MGNREGA scheme. A non-parametric approach, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) is used to calculate the overall technical, pure technical, and scale efficiencies of states in India. The sample data is drawn from the annual official reports published by the Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India. Based on three selected input parameters (expenditure indicators) and five output parameters (employment generation indicators), I apply both input and output oriented DEA models to estimate how well the states utilize their resources and generate outputs during the financial year 2013-14. The relative performance evaluation has been made under the assumption of constant returns and also under variable returns to scale to assess the impact of scale on performance. The results indicate that the main source of inefficiency is both technical and managerial practices adopted. 11 states are overall technically efficient and operate at the optimum scale whereas 18 states are pure technical or managerially efficient. It has been found that for some states it necessary to alter scheme size to perform at par with the best performing states. For inefficient states optimal input and output targets along with the resource savings and output gains are calculated. Analysis shows that if all inefficient states operate at optimal input and output levels, on an average 17.89% of total expenditure and a total amount of $780million could have been saved in a single year. Most of the inefficient states perform poorly when it comes to the participation of women and disadvantaged sections (SC&ST) in the scheme. In order to catch up with the performance of best performing states, inefficient states on an average need to enhance

[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…

An indoor radon survey of the X-ray rooms of Mexico City hospitals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Juarez, Faustino [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Instituto Literario No. 100. Estado de Mexico, 50000, Mexico. Instituto de Geofisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito (Mexico); Reyes, Pedro G. [Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Instituto Literario No. 100. Estado de Mexico, 50000 (Mexico); Espinosa, Guillermo [Instituto de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Circuito Exterior Ciudad Universitaria, Mexico D.F. Cp.04510 (Mexico)

2013-07-03

This paper presents the results of measurements of indoor radon concentrations in the X-ray rooms of a selection of hospitals in the metropolitan area of Mexico City. The metropolitan area of Mexico City is Mexico's largest metropolitan area by population; the number of patients requiring the use of X-rays is also the highest. An understanding of indoor radon concentrations in X-ray rooms is necessary for the estimation of the radiological risk to which patients, radiologists and medical technicians are exposed. The indoor radon concentrations were monitored for a period of six months using nuclear track detectors (NTD) consisting of a closed-end cup system with CR-39 (Lantrack Registered-Sign ) polycarbonate as detector material. The indoor radon concentrations were found to be between 75 and 170 Bq m{sup -3}, below the USEPA-recommended indoor radon action level for working places of 400 Bq m{sup -3}. It is hoped that the results of this study will contribute to the establishment of recommended action levels by the Mexican regulatory authorities responsible for nuclear safety.

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...

Characterization by Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry of filtered water into the cave under the Sun Pyramid in Teotihuacan City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martinez, T.; Zarazua, G.; Avila-Perez, P.; Juarez, F.; Cabrera, L.; Martinez, G.

2008-01-01

Teotihuacan (50 km north-east Mexico City) was the most important ancient city in Mesoamerica and it flourished 200-750 AC. It is situated in the central part of the Valley of Teotihuacan, in Central Mexico. This study was carried out in the 102 m-long cave under the largest single construction, the massive Sun Pyramid, being located on the east side of the 'Avenue of the Dead', in the northern half-part of the city. The study shows the results of Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry analysis and other techniques of a water sample obtained from the inside of the cave. The inside temperature ranged between 19 and 22 deg. C; relative humidity was between 98 and 99.3%; water-dropping velocity (water de-sorption capability) was 13.5 μL min -1 . Water samples from wells around the site were analyzed too. Metal concentration in all of the water samples matches the characteristics of the sampling site, well's depth, soil and minerals

Lagisza, world's largest CFB boiler, begins commercial operation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Nuortimo, K. [Foster Wheeler, Varkaus (Finland)

2010-04-15

Early operating experience with the Lagisza circulating fluidised bed (CFB) boiler in Poland - the world's largest such boiler to date, and also the first one with supercritical steam conditions - has been positive. 3 figs., 4 tabs.

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.

INAA and ICP-MSHS: Metal pollutants in fish tissues Nile tilapia (Oreochromic niloticus) in Pampulha Lake, Belo Horizonte city, Minas, Gerais State, Brazil

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veado, M.A.R.V.; Heeren, A.O.; Arantes, I.A.; Severo, M.I.; Grenier-Loustalot, M.F.; Cabaleiro, H.L.; Almeida, M.R.M.G.

2005-01-01

Intense mining activities in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. Iron Quadrangle, the central region of Minas Gerais State- Brazil, has important mineral reserves of Fe (the World's second largest iron ore producer), Mn, Cu, Sb, As, Au, Al, and U. The intense mining activities in Minas Gerais State throw out tons of waste in the open air, water, sediment and soil. The considerable accumulated concentrations of heavy metals and toxic elements penetrate the soil, underground waters, rivers, and lakes jeopardizing the environment quality. A great amount of heavy metals enter Pampulha Reservoir via it's main tributaries (Sarandi and Ressaca). Although no water quality classification has been carried out for these tributaries, the reservoir is expected to be in class 2 of the CONAMA-86 system. The Pampulha Lake is a depth of 8 m and an area of 43 km 2 , in a hot, humid climate with a summer rainy season, >18 degree C in the coldest months. A great number of persons use the water for fishing and swimming in the contaminated water. The figure l localizes the Pampulha Lake in Brazil. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis, INAA, and Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry-High Resolution, ICP-MSHR, were applied to determine Al, As, B, Ba, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, P, Pb, Rb, Zn and Ti. Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis - INAA is based in a simultaneous irradiation compareson between standard and studied samples in a nuclear reactor. The irradiation characteristics are chosen to determine the isotopes in the best conditions. In this work the INAA, was applied using the TRIGA MARK I IPR - Rl reactor at the Nuclear Technology Development Center from the National Committee of Nuclear Energy (CDTN/CNEN), in Belo Horizonte city, Minas Gerais State, Brazil. At 100 kW of potency the flux of neutrons is 6.6 1011 ri.cm -2 .s -l . After the necessary decay time for the interfering radioisotopes, the gamma spectrometry was applied in the high-purity germanium (HPGe

Temporal properties of seismicity and largest earthquakes in SE Carpathians

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Byrdina

2006-01-01

Full Text Available In order to estimate the hazard rate distribution of the largest seismic events in Vrancea, South-Eastern Carpathians, we study temporal properties of historical and instrumental catalogues of seismicity. First, on the basis of Generalized Extreme Value theory we estimate the average return period of the largest events. Then, following Bak et al. (2002 and Corral (2005a, we study scaling properties of recurrence times between earthquakes in appropriate spatial volumes. We come to the conclusion that the seismicity is temporally clustered, and that the distribution of recurrence times is significantly different from a Poisson process even for times largely exceeding corresponding periods of foreshock and aftershock activity. Modeling the recurrence times by a gamma distributed variable, we finally estimate hazard rates with respect to the time elapsed from the last large earthquake.

Socio-economic differences in outdoor food advertising in a city in Northern England.

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Jean; Ganiti, Ellie; White, Martin

2011-06-01

To explore differences in the prevalence of outdoor food advertising, and the type and nutritional content of advertised foods, according to an area-based marker of socio-economic position (SEP) in a city in Northern England. All outdoor advertisements in the city were identified during October-December 2009, their size (in m2) estimated and their location determined using a global positioning system device. Advertisements were classified as food or non-food. Food advertisements were classified into one of six food categories. Information on the nutritional content of advertised foods was obtained from packaging and manufacturer's websites. An area-based marker of SEP was assigned using the location of each advertisement, grouped into three affluence tertiles for analysis. A city in Northern England. None. In all, 1371 advertisements were identified; 211 (15 %) of these were for food. The advertisements covered 6765 m2, of which 1326 m2 (20 %) was for food. Total advertising and food advertising space was largest in the least affluent tertile. There was little evidence of socio-economic trends in the type or nutritional content of advertised foods. Despite an absence of socio-economic differences in the type and nutritional content of advertised foods, there were socio-economic differences in food advertising space. There may also be socio-economic differences in exposure to outdoor food advertising.

Evaluation of water and sediment of the Graminha and Aguas da Serra streams in the city of Limeira (Sp-Brazil) by Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Moreira, Silvana [University of Campinas, School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Design, P. O. Box 602, Zip Code 13083-852, Campinas, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: silvana@fec.unicamp.br; Fazza, Elizete Vieira [University of Campinas, School of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Design, P. O. Box 602, Zip Code 13083-852, Campinas, SP (Brazil)], E-mail: fazzaelizete@yahoo.com

2008-12-15

The city of Limeira is located in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil and has the second largest economy and demographic growth of the state. It comprises an expressive economy with industries in several productive sectors. The source of the Graminha and Aguas da Serra streams is located within the Limeira urban zone. The streams cross part of the rural zone and unite by draining into the Piracicaba River. It is possible that these basins suffer or have already suffered the impacts of environmental pollution caused by anthropogenic factors. Since the city has galvanization industries for the production of precious and semi-precious jewels as well as imitation jewelry, the concentration descriptions and interpretations of heavy metals in waters and sediments indicate anthropogenic influence and the dumping of these compounds into the Piracicaba River. The Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (SR-TXRF) was used for determining the metals. All measurements were performed using a white beam of synchrotron radiation for excitation and a Ge hyperpure detector. Detection limits for water samples were 0.04 {mu}g L{sup -1} and in sediment samples 0.03 {mu}g g{sup -1} for Cu and Zn elements. In the water samples, concentrations higher than permissible as established by the Brazilian legislation (CONAMA) for Al, Fe, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu and Pb, were observed. For sediment samples, values higher than quality reference values defined by the Brazilian legislation (CETESB) were verified for Cr, Zn, Cu, Ni and Pb.

Evaluation of water and sediment of the Graminha and Aguas da Serra streams in the city of Limeira (Sp-Brazil) by Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-ray Fluorescence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Moreira, Silvana; Fazza, Elizete Vieira

2008-01-01

The city of Limeira is located in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil and has the second largest economy and demographic growth of the state. It comprises an expressive economy with industries in several productive sectors. The source of the Graminha and Aguas da Serra streams is located within the Limeira urban zone. The streams cross part of the rural zone and unite by draining into the Piracicaba River. It is possible that these basins suffer or have already suffered the impacts of environmental pollution caused by anthropogenic factors. Since the city has galvanization industries for the production of precious and semi-precious jewels as well as imitation jewelry, the concentration descriptions and interpretations of heavy metals in waters and sediments indicate anthropogenic influence and the dumping of these compounds into the Piracicaba River. The Synchrotron Radiation Total Reflection X-Ray Fluorescence (SR-TXRF) was used for determining the metals. All measurements were performed using a white beam of synchrotron radiation for excitation and a Ge hyperpure detector. Detection limits for water samples were 0.04 μg L -1 and in sediment samples 0.03 μg g -1 for Cu and Zn elements. In the water samples, concentrations higher than permissible as established by the Brazilian legislation (CONAMA) for Al, Fe, Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu and Pb, were observed. For sediment samples, values higher than quality reference values defined by the Brazilian legislation (CETESB) were verified for Cr, Zn, Cu, Ni and Pb

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...

A century of sprawl in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Barrington-Leigh, Christopher; Millard-Ball, Adam

2015-07-07

The urban street network is one of the most permanent features of cities. Once laid down, the pattern of streets determines urban form and the level of sprawl for decades to come. We present a high-resolution time series of urban sprawl, as measured through street network connectivity, in the United States from 1920 to 2012. Sprawl started well before private car ownership was dominant and grew steadily until the mid-1990s. Over the last two decades, however, new streets have become significantly more connected and grid-like; the peak in street-network sprawl in the United States occurred in ∼ 1994. By one measure of connectivity, the mean nodal degree of intersections, sprawl fell by ∼ 9% between 1994 and 2012. We analyze spatial variation in these changes and demonstrate the persistence of sprawl. Places that were built with a low-connectivity street network tend to stay that way, even as the network expands. We also find suggestive evidence that local government policies impact sprawl, as the largest increases in connectivity have occurred in places with policies to promote gridded streets and similar New Urbanist design principles. We provide for public use a county-level version of our street-network sprawl dataset comprising a time series of nearly 100 y.

Investigating The Role Of Domestic Tourism On Local Economic Development (Case Study: Isfahan Lenjan City)

OpenAIRE

Olyaee, Ali; Mokhtari, Ali; Khademi, Narges

2016-01-01

Tourism industry development for Lenjan city which face with difficulties such as high unemployment rate, energy source constraints and also single-product economy, have high importance. with regards to the extent of domestic tourism functionality in city, can in addition to positive economic effects of tourism in city's growth and activeness, leading to provide cultural-social development, in spatialskeletal dimensions and political dimensions (security creating, state and privat...

PNNL supercomputer to become largest computing resource on the Grid

CERN Multimedia

2002-01-01

Hewlett Packard announced that the US DOE Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will connect a 9.3-teraflop HP supercomputer to the DOE Science Grid. This will be the largest supercomputer attached to a computer grid anywhere in the world (1 page).

Dose by 222 Rn in houses of the Chihuahua city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Colmenero S, L.H.; Talamantes F, C.; Villalba, M.L.; Dobson, P.F.; Ortalejo M, B.

2007-01-01

Full text: The dose equivalent that the population of the Chihuahua city receives due to the radon in air that joined to values of uranium, thorium and potassium due to the floor and radon in water was determined, they give values very above the international and national norms. The state of Chihuahua contains near 56 locations distributed by the whole state. The city of Chihuahua, capital of the state, is surrounded of rocks with great content of uranium, for what their floor also contains to the 226 Ra that generates to the 222 Rn. The construction of the housings of the city of Chihuahua is mainly of brick, block and adobe; the material to elaborate them is take from the rocks and floor of the surroundings, this makes that the radon is presented in a great quantity of houses of this city. As the floor and water they also contain those natural radionuclides, the total dose equivalent that the inhabitants receive is bigger to other cities of the country. Diverse international organizations dedicated to the radioactivity, indicate that the level of the 222 Rn should not surpass the 148 Bq/m 3 , since this gas produces lung cancer. The state of Chihuahua has an index of deaths on the average by lung cancer of double the national average, the capital of the state also has a high index. The radon concentration in a house depends on the construction material with which was made, as well as of the existent climatic conditions. During the day, this concentration depends mainly on the interior temperature, so during the night and dawn increases the radon concentration. The radon is the biggest source of radioactive dose received by the human being and it can generate a problem of public health if the concentration is high during enough time, for what the city of Chihuahua has the geologic and climatic characteristics to have it. This study was carried out in 50 house-room of the city of Chihuahua. Built houses with brick, block and adobe were selected. The quantification

Wildlife in U.S. Cities: Managing Unwanted Animals

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Hadidian

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Conflicts between people and wild animals in cities are undoubtedly as old as urban living itself. In the United States it is only of late, however, that many of the species now found in cities have come to live there. The increasing kind and number of human-wildlife conflicts in urbanizing environments makes it a priority that effective and humane means of conflict resolution be found. The urban public wants conflicts with wildlife resolved humanely, but needs to know what the alternative management approaches are, and what ethical standards should guide their use. This paper examines contemporary urban wildlife control in the United States with a focus on the moral concerns this raises. Much of the future for urban wildlife will depend on reform in governance, but much as well will depend on cultural changes that promote greater respect and understanding for wild animals and the biotic communities of which they and we are both a part.

Wildlife in U.S. Cities: Managing Unwanted Animals.

Science.gov (United States)

Hadidian, John

2015-11-11

Conflicts between people and wild animals in cities are undoubtedly as old as urban living itself. In the United States it is only of late, however, that many of the species now found in cities have come to live there. The increasing kind and number of human-wildlife conflicts in urbanizing environments makes it a priority that effective and humane means of conflict resolution be found. The urban public wants conflicts with wildlife resolved humanely, but needs to know what the alternative management approaches are, and what ethical standards should guide their use. This paper examines contemporary urban wildlife control in the United States with a focus on the moral concerns this raises. Much of the future for urban wildlife will depend on reform in governance, but much as well will depend on cultural changes that promote greater respect and understanding for wild animals and the biotic communities of which they and we are both a part.

The Vermont transportation energy report : Vermont Clean Cities Coalition.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-08-01

The mission of the Vermont Clean Cities Coalition (VCCC) is to reduce the states reliance on : fossil fuels for transportation. This annual report provides policy makers with relevant and : timely data on the status of fuel consumption, vehicle pu...

Pavement management system for City of Madison : research brief.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-11-01

Keeping city streets in good state of repair has been a significant challenge for small communities : where both road repair budgets and staff resources are lacking. To prevent pavement deterioration at : a large scale, local governments need to find...

Worlds largest particle physics laboratory selects Proxim Wireless Mesh

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

"Proxim Wireless has announced that the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the world's largest particle physics laboratory and the birthplace of the World Wide Web, is using it's ORiNOCO AP-4000 mesh access points to extend the range of the laboratory's Wi-Fi network and to provide continuous monitoring of the lab's calorimeters" (1/2 page)

New functions of old cities: The case of East Germany's small sized cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung Youkyoung

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Cultural tourism associates itself with complex issues of dealing with urban memory. As a connotative communication channel, tourism sites and monuments are a perspective through which a city speaks for itself. A number of tourist destinations in the former GDR state faced drastic changes in their tourism management after the national unification of Germany. Which voice does the cultural heritage contain in these cities along its dissonant history and how the local perceptions on the heritage have been altered in the last 25 years are the main subjects of this research. Based on the former studies on the topic of 'heritage and urban identity', this paper explores the relation between architectural heritage management and the dwellers' perceptions on the heritage since the removal of visa controls between GDR and BDR in 1989. Compared to the economic and political studies after the German reunification, socio-cultural issues on local identity and cultural re-adaption process have not been much discussed. Taking three exemplary cities in Thuringia (Eisenach, Gotha and Weimar, the document analysis of the conceptual changes in cultural tourism management and qualitative interviews on both authorities and residents will be done. By providing empirical data on the ongoing German governance, the author attempts to explore the role of cultural heritage in Germany's urban resilience. Furthermore, this research aims to contribute to the contemporary agenda on cultural tourism management in multi-identity societies over international borders.

Discovery of the largest orbweaving spider species: the evolution of gigantism in Nephila.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntner, Matjaz; Coddington, Jonathan A

2009-10-21

More than 41,000 spider species are known with about 400-500 added each year, but for some well-known groups, such as the giant golden orbweavers, Nephila, the last valid described species dates from the 19(th) century. Nephila are renowned for being the largest web-spinning spiders, making the largest orb webs, and are model organisms for the study of extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and sexual biology. Here, we report on the discovery of a new, giant Nephila species from Africa and Madagascar, and review size evolution and SSD in Nephilidae. We formally describe N. komaci sp. nov., the largest web spinning species known, and place the species in phylogenetic context to reconstruct the evolution of mean size (via squared change parsimony). We then test female and male mean size correlation using phylogenetically independent contrasts, and simulate nephilid body size evolution using Monte Carlo statistics. Nephila females increased in size almost monotonically to establish a mostly African clade of true giants. In contrast, Nephila male size is effectively decoupled and hovers around values roughly one fifth of female size. Although N. komaci females are the largest Nephila yet discovered, the males are also large and thus their SSD is not exceptional.

Discovery of the largest orbweaving spider species: the evolution of gigantism in Nephila.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Matjaz Kuntner

2009-10-01

Full Text Available More than 41,000 spider species are known with about 400-500 added each year, but for some well-known groups, such as the giant golden orbweavers, Nephila, the last valid described species dates from the 19(th century. Nephila are renowned for being the largest web-spinning spiders, making the largest orb webs, and are model organisms for the study of extreme sexual size dimorphism (SSD and sexual biology. Here, we report on the discovery of a new, giant Nephila species from Africa and Madagascar, and review size evolution and SSD in Nephilidae.We formally describe N. komaci sp. nov., the largest web spinning species known, and place the species in phylogenetic context to reconstruct the evolution of mean size (via squared change parsimony. We then test female and male mean size correlation using phylogenetically independent contrasts, and simulate nephilid body size evolution using Monte Carlo statistics.Nephila females increased in size almost monotonically to establish a mostly African clade of true giants. In contrast, Nephila male size is effectively decoupled and hovers around values roughly one fifth of female size. Although N. komaci females are the largest Nephila yet discovered, the males are also large and thus their SSD is not exceptional.

On the statistics of the largest geomagnetic storms per solar cycle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Siscoe, G.L.

1976-01-01

The theory of extreme value statistics is applied to the first, second, and third largest geomagnetic storms in nine solar cycles measured by the average half-daily aa indices compiled by Mayaud. Analytic expressions giving the probability of the extremes per solar cycle as a contour function of storm magnitude are obtained by least squares fitting of the observations to the appropriate theoretical extreme value probability functions. The results are used to obtain the statistical characteristics (mode, median, mean, and standard deviation) for the extreme values. The results are applied to find the expected range of extreme values in a set as a function of the number of solar cycles in the set. We find that the expected range of the largest storm is quite narrow and is larger for the second and third largest storms. The observed range of the extreme half-daily aa index for the nine solar cycles is 354--546 γ. In a set of 100 cycles the range is expanded esentially to 311--680γ, an increase of only 39% in the range. The result supports the argument for a change in solar cycle statistics in the latter part of the Seventeenth Century (the Maunder minimum)