A Growing Anticline in Tainan City, Taiwan

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, C.; Lee, C.; Cheng, C.; Liao, C.; Wen, S.

2001-12-01

Tainan City has been known as an earthquake prone town since the early immigration of the ¡§Han¡" people from Mainland China about four hundred years ago. For the purpose of clarifying tectonic activity and paleo-earthquakes in the Tainan City area, we have finished the excavation of three trenches and the drilling of four holes at the so-called Houchiali Fault on the eastern margin of the Tainan tableland. We carefully observed the cores and exposures in the trenches, performed a detailed mapping, and took samples for C-14 dating and other types of analysis. The results show the trench sites are located at a flexure scarp without direct evidence of faulting. But, from the fact of tilting of Holocene sediments to about 50 degrees and the development of a fracture system in the sediments, one may realize that this is without doubt an active structure. We have tested many different models to interpret the observed geologic evidence in the trenches and outcrops, finally determined a growing fault-propagation fold model to be the best interpretation for the Tainan Anticline, while the Houchiali fault is a back-kink or a blind back-thrust type. A diapiric fold had been discussed as possible for a long time by many researchers, but a fault-propagation fold in origin does not contradict with a mud diapiric feature, which was formed during the folding. Field evidence shows that the main active phase of the Houchiali Fault and the Tainan Anticline would have been after the deposition of the Tainan Formation about two to three thousand years ago. During the active deformation phase, the Tawan Formation onlaped the Tainan Formation, as well as tilted during the folding, thus, beds on higher stratigraphic horizon show lower dip-angle. Estimated from a detailed geologic profile, the horizontal shortening of the anticline is estimated to be 30 meters. The vertical uplift of the Tainan Formation is also about 30 meters. This indicates that the deformation rate has been about 1

Rapidly growing mycobacteria in Singapore, 2006-2011.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, S S; Lye, D C; Jureen, R; Sng, L-H; Hsu, L Y

2015-03-01

Nontuberculous mycobacteria infection is a growing global concern, but data from Asia are limited. This study aimed to describe the distribution and antibiotic susceptibility profiles of rapidly growing mycobacterium (RGM) isolates in Singapore. Clinical RGM isolates with antibiotic susceptibility tests performed between 2006 and 2011 were identified using microbiology laboratory databases and minimum inhibitory concentrations of amikacin, cefoxitin, clarithromycin, ciprofloxacin, doxycycline, imipenem, linezolid, moxifloxacin, sulfamethoxazole or trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, tigecycline and tobramycin were recorded. Regression analysis was performed to detect changes in antibiotic susceptibility patterns over time. A total of 427 isolates were included. Of these, 277 (65%) were from respiratory specimens, 42 (10%) were related to skin and soft tissue infections and 36 (8%) were recovered from blood specimens. The two most common species identified were Mycobacterium abscessus (73%) and Mycobacterium fortuitum group (22%), with amikacin and clarithromycin being most active against the former, and quinolones and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole against the latter. Decreases in susceptibility of M. abscessus to linezolid by 8.8% per year (p 0.001), M. fortuitum group to imipenem by 9.5% per year (p 0.023) and clarithromycin by 4.7% per year (p 0.033) were observed. M. abscessus in respiratory specimens is the most common RGM identified in Singapore. Antibiotic options for treatment of RGM infections are increasingly limited. Copyright © 2014 European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Environmental impact assessment of bus rapid transit (BRT in the Metropolitan City of Tehran

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F. Salehi

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Bus rapid transit is an innovative, high capacity, lower cost public transit solution in metropolitan cities. Idea is to dedicate lanes for quick and efficient transport of passengers to their destinations. In the present investigation the environmental impact assessment of bus rapid transit  in Tehran metropolitan city is brought out. For this purpose bus rapid transit Lane No. 10 is investigated. The bus rapid transit Lane No.10 is about 10 km in distance that moves up and down between Azadi and Simon Bolivar Squares. About 77500 passengers using 50 buses are transited per day in lane No. 10. These 50 buses cover a distance of 9600 km/day. The results of present study showed that about 6.5 million liters of fuel is saved annually. It should be pointed out that environmental costs are also reduced for about US$ 1.7 million/yr. The overall score of environmental impact assessment stands at +10 that is indicative of Lane No. 10 compatibility with the environmental considerations.

The economic case for low carbon waste management in rapidly growing cities in the developing world: The case of Palembang, Indonesia.

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Papargyropoulou, Effie; Colenbrander, Sarah; Sudmant, Andrew Heshedahl; Gouldson, Andy; Tin, Lee Chew

2015-11-01

The provision of appropriate waste management is not only an indicator of development but also of broader sustainability. This is particularly relevant to expanding cities in developing countries faced with rising waste generation and associated environmental health problems. Despite these urgent issues, city authorities often lack the evidence required to make well-informed decisions. This study evaluates the carbon and economic performance of low-carbon measures in the waste sector at a city level, within the context of a developing country. Palembang in Indonesia is used as a case of a medium-sized city in a newly industrialized country, with relevance to other similar cities in the developing world. Evidence suggests that the waste sector can achieve substantial carbon emission reductions, and become a carbon sink, in a cost effective way. Hence there is an economic case for a low carbon development path for Palembang, and possibly for other cities in developing and developed countries facing similar challenges. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rapidly Growing Chondroid Syringoma of the External Auditory Canal: Report of a Rare Case

Science.gov (United States)

Vasileiadis, Ioannis; Kapetanakis, Stylianos; Petousis, Aristotelis; Karakostas, Euthimios; Simantirakis, Christos

2011-01-01

Introduction. Chondroid syrinoma of the external auditory canal is an extremely rare benign neoplasm representing the cutaneous counterpart of pleomorphic adenoma of salivary glands. Less than 35 cases have been reported in the international literature. Case Presentation. We report a case of a 34-year-old male in whom a rapidly growing, well-circumscribed tumor arising from the external auditory canal was presented. Otoscopy revealed a smooth, nontender lesion covered by normal skin that almost obstructs the external auditory meatus. MRI was performed to define the extension of the lesion. It confirmed the presence of a 1.5 × 0.8 cm T2 high-signal intensity lesion in the superior and posterior wall of EAC without signs of bone erosion. The patient underwent complete resection of the tumor. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathologic examination. Conclusion. Although chondroid syringoma is extremely rare, it should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of an aural polyp. Chondroid syringomas are usually asymptomatic, slow-growing, single benign tumors in subcutaneous or intradermal location. In our case, the new information is that this benign tumor could present also as a rapidly growing lesion, arising the suspicion for malignancy. PMID:21941560

Rapidly Growing Chondroid Syringoma of the External Auditory Canal: Report of a Rare Case

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Ioannis Vasileiadis

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction. Chondroid syrinoma of the external auditory canal is an extremely rare benign neoplasm representing the cutaneous counterpart of pleomorphic adenoma of salivary glands. Less than 35 cases have been reported in the international literature. Case Presentation. We report a case of a 34-year-old male in whom a rapidly growing, well-circumscribed tumor arising from the external auditory canal was presented. Otoscopy revealed a smooth, nontender lesion covered by normal skin that almost obstructs the external auditory meatus. MRI was performed to define the extension of the lesion. It confirmed the presence of a 1.5×0.8 cm T2 high-signal intensity lesion in the superior and posterior wall of EAC without signs of bone erosion. The patient underwent complete resection of the tumor. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathologic examination. Conclusion. Although chondroid syringoma is extremely rare, it should always be considered in the differential diagnosis of an aural polyp. Chondroid syringomas are usually asymptomatic, slow-growing, single benign tumors in subcutaneous or intradermal location. In our case, the new information is that this benign tumor could present also as a rapidly growing lesion, arising the suspicion for malignancy.

Surgical site infections due to rapidly growing mycobacteria in puducherry, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Kannaiyan, Kavitha; Ragunathan, Latha; Sakthivel, Sulochana; Sasidar, A R; Muralidaran; Venkatachalam, G K

2015-03-01

Rapidly growing Mycobacteria are increasingly recognized, nowadays as an important pathogen that can cause wide range of clinical syndromes in humans. We herein describe unrelated cases of surgical site infection caused by Rapidly growing Mycobacteria (RGM), seen during a period of 12 months. Nineteen patients underwent operations by different surgical teams located in diverse sections of Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry, Karnataka, India. All patients presented with painful, draining subcutaneous nodules at the infection sites. Purulent material specimens were sent to the microbiology laboratory. Gram stain and Ziehl-Neelsen staining methods were used for direct examination. Culture media included blood agar, chocolate agar, MacConkey agar, Sabourauds agar and Lowenstein-Jensen medium for Mycobacteria. Isolated microorganisms were identified and further tested for antimicrobial susceptibility by standard microbiologic procedures. Mycobacterium fortuitum and M.chelonae were isolated from the purulent drainage obtained from wounds by routine microbiological techniques from all the specimens. All isolates analyzed for antimicrobial susceptibility pattern were sensitive to clarithromycin, linezolid and amikacin but were variable to ciprofloxacin, rifampicin and tobramycin. Our case series highlights that a high level of clinical suspicion should be maintained for patients presenting with protracted soft tissue lesions with a history of trauma or surgery as these infections not only cause physical but also emotional distress that affects both the patients and the surgeon.

"Global Cities" and "Globalization" in East Asia: Empirical Realities and Conceptual Questions

OpenAIRE

Smith, David; Timberlake, Michael

2002-01-01

For most of the Twentieth Century, East Asia was among the least urbanized parts of the world; now it is a region where cities are growing the most rapidly and becoming increasingly important centers regionally and in terms of the global urban hierarchy. Tokyo is unquestionably a key "global city," with Hong Kong probably following not far behind, and Seoul and Taipei also moving up in the world city ranks as crucial national articulates of highly successful newly industrialized countries (N...

The Buffering Hypothesis: Growing Diversity and Declining Black-White Segregation in America’s Cities, Suburbs, and Small Towns?

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Domenico Parisi

2015-03-01

Full Text Available The conventional wisdom is that racial diversity promotes positive race relations and reduces racial residential segregation between blacks and whites. We use data from the 1990–2010 decennial censuses and 2007–2011 ACS to test this so-called “buffering hypothesis.” We identify cities, suburbs, and small towns that are virtually all white, all black, all Asian, all Hispanic, and everything in between. The results show that the most racially diverse places—those with all four racial groups (white, black, Hispanic, and Asian present—had the lowest black-white levels of segregation in 2010. Black-white segregation also declined most rapidly in the most racially diverse places and in places that experienced the largest recent increases in diversity. Support for the buffering hypothesis, however, is counterbalanced by continuing high segregation across cities and communities and by rapid white depopulation in the most rapidly diversifying communities. We argue for a new, spatially inclusive perspective on racial residential segregation.

City centres in the internet age : Exploring the implications of b2c e-commerce for retailing at city centres in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weltevreden, J.W.J.

2006-01-01

The rapid development of Internet use and b2c e-commerce led to many speculations about the impacts of ICT on society. In the Netherlands, there is a growing concern about the implications of b2c e-commerce for city centre retailing. Therefore, this dissertation has empirically investigated the

Rapidly growing ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinoma involving the vagina: a case report.

Science.gov (United States)

Na, Sunghun; Hwang, Jongyun; Lee, Hyangah; Lee, Jiyeon; Lee, Dongheon

2011-12-01

We present a rare case of a very rapidly growing stage IV ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinoma involving the uterine cervix and vagina without lymph node involvement. A 43-year-old woman visited the hospital with complaints of lower abdominal discomfort and vaginal bleeding over the previous 3 months. Serum levels of tumor marker CA 125 and SCC antigen (TA-4) were normal. On magnetic resonance imaging, a 7.9×9.7cm heterogeneous mass with intermediate signal intensity was observed in the posterior low body of the uterus. Two months ago, a computed tomography scan revealed an approximate 4.5×3.0cm heterogeneously enhanced subserosal mass with internal ill-defined hypodensities. A laparotomy, including a total abdominal hysterectomy with resection of the upper vagina, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, pelvic and para-aortic lymph node dissection, appendectomy, total omentectomy, and biopsy of rectal serosa was performed. A histological examination revealed poorly differentiated endometrioid ovarian adenocarcinoma with vaginal involvement. The patient had an uncomplicated post-operative course. After discharge, she completed six cycles of adjuvant chemotherapy with paclitaxel (175mg/m(2)) and carboplatin (300mg/m(2)) and has remained clinically disease-free until June 2010. Epithelial ovarian cancer may grow very rapidly. The frequent measurement of tumor size by ultrasonography may provide important information on detection in a subset of ovarian carcinomas that develop from preexisting, detectable lesions. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Urban transformations, migration and residential mobility patterns in African secondary cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andreasen, Manja Hoppe; Agergaard, Jytte; Robert, Kiunsi

2017-01-01

Urban growth is a significant trend in Africa. Scholarly attention and urban planning efforts have focused disproportionately on the challenges of big cities, while small and medium-sized urban settlements are growing most rapidly and house the majority of urban residents. Small towns have received...

Emerging Development Pathways of Urban Livestock Production in Rapidly Growing West Africa Cities

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Regina Roessler

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In this study, we try to capture the degree of specialization or integration, and of intensification or extensification, of (peri- urban livestock production, along with the factors that influence such decisions and their impact on natural resource uses. A total of 181 and 187 structured questionnaires were completed in livestock-keeping households in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso and Tamale (Ghana. Categorical principal component and two-step cluster analysis were used to identify homogenous groups of livestock-keeping households. Cross tabulation and logistic regression analysis revealed factors that influence livestock husbandry, showing their impacts on resource use by livestock keepers in the two cities. A diversity of livestock species was kept, mostly integrated with crop farming. Yet, some households specialized in either sheep, pig or commercial milk production, and partly intensified their production. The decision to specialize and/or intensify livestock production is site-specific and influenced by the education level of the household head and security of land ownership. Higher inputs in livestock systems do not necessarily lead to higher outputs, and specialization inevitably leads to higher manure wastages. Therefore, links of livestock producers to crop farmers and markets for livestock manure must be strengthened to enable recycling of resources and limit negative externalities of specialized livestock production. Strategies need to be identified to improve livestock productivity by enhancing outputs as input use increases.

The impact of entrepreneurial capital and rapidly growing firms: the Canadian example

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keen, Christian; Etemad, Hamid

2011-01-01

. It provides empirical evidence from small, young, high-growth enterprises that entrepreneurial capital contributes significantly to their growth through such augmentation. As emerging industries and regions face similar challenges as those of high and rapidly-growing smaller enterprises in increasingly more......World-class competitiveness is no longer an option for firms seeking growth and survival in the increasingly competitive, dynamic and interconnected world. This paper expands on the concept of entrepreneurial capital and formalizes it as a catalyst that augments other productive factors...

A STUDY ON THE INTRODUCTION OF BUS RAPID TRANSIT SYSTEM IN ASIAN DEVELOPING CITIES

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Thaned SATIENNAM

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Bus Rapid Transit (BRT has increasingly become an attractive urban transit alternative in many Asian developing cities due to its cost-effective and flexible implementation. However, it still seems to be difficult to introduce BRT to these cities because almost all of their city structures have been developed under solely a road transport development city plan and weakness of land use control gives rise to many problems, such as urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and air pollution. The purpose of this study was to introduce several strategies to support BRT implementation in Asian developing cities, such as a strategy to appropriately integrate the paratransit system into BRT system as being a feeder along a BRT corridor to supply demand. These proposed strategies were evaluated by applying demand forecasting and emission models to the BRT project plan of Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA in Thailand. It was demonstrated that the proposed strategies could effectively improve the BRT ridership, traffic conditions, and air pollution emission of the entire system in Bangkok. This study could be further extended to include strategy recommendation if a BRT system were to be introduced to other Asian developing cities.

Clinical and Taxonomic Status of Pathogenic Nonpigmented or Late-Pigmenting Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria

OpenAIRE

Brown-Elliott, Barbara A.; Wallace, Richard J.

2002-01-01

The history, taxonomy, geographic distribution, clinical disease, and therapy of the pathogenic nonpigmented or late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are reviewed. Community-acquired disease and health care-associated disease are highlighted for each species. The latter grouping includes health care-associated outbreaks and pseudo-outbreaks as well as sporadic disease cases. Treatment recommendations for each species and type of disease are also described. Special emphasis is on ...

City centres in the internet age : Exploring the implications of b2c e-commerce for retailing at city centres in the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Weltevreden, J.W.J.

2006-01-01

The rapid development of Internet use and b2c e-commerce led to many speculations about the impacts of ICT on society. In the Netherlands, there is a growing concern about the implications of b2c e-commerce for city centre retailing. Therefore, this dissertation has empirically investigated the

Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of rapidly growing mycobacteria by microdilution - Experience of a tertiary care centre

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Set R

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The objective of the study was to perform antimicrobial susceptibility testing of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM isolated from various clinically suspected cases of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, from January 2007 to April 2008, at a tertiary care centre in Mumbai. Materials and Methods: The specimens were processed for microscopy and culture using the standard procedures. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC were determined by broth microdilution, using Sensititre CA MHBT. Susceptibility testing was also carried out on Mueller Hinton agar by the Kirby Bauer disc diffusion method. Results: Of the 1062 specimens received for mycobacterial cultures, 104 (9.79% grew mycobacteria. Of the mycobacterial isolates, six (5.76% were rapid growers. M. abscessus and M. chelonae appeared to be resistant organisms, with M. chelonae showing intermediate resistance to amikacin and minocycline. However, all the six isolates showed sensitivity to vancomycin and gentamicin by the disc diffusion test. Also all three isolates of M. abscessus were sensitive to piperacillin and erythromycin. Further studies are required to test their sensitivity to these four antimicrobials by using the microbroth dilution test, before they can be prescribed to patients. Conclusions: We wish to emphasize that reporting of rapidly growing mycobacteria from clinical settings, along with their sensitivity patterns, is an absolute need of the hour.

In vitro activity of flomoxef against rapidly growing mycobacteria.

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Tsai, Moan-Shane; Tang, Ya-Fen; Eng, Hock-Liew

2008-06-01

The aim of this study was to determine the in vitro sensitivity of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) to flomoxef in respiratory secretions collected from 61 consecutive inpatients and outpatients at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital-Kaohsiung medical center between July and December, 2005. Minimal inhibitory concentrations (MIC) of flomoxef were determined by the broth dilution method for the 61 clinical isolates of RGMs. The MICs of flomoxef at which 90% of clinical isolates were inhibited was >128 microg/mL in 26 isolates of Mycobacterium abscessus and 4 microg/mL in 31 isolates of M. fortuitum. Three out of 4 clinical M. peregrinum isolates were inhibited by flomoxef at concentrations of 4 microg/mL or less. Although the numbers of the clinical isolates of RGMs were small, these preliminary in vitro results demonstrate the potential activity of flomoxef in the management of infections due to M. fortuitum, and probably M. peregrinum in humans.

Against the tide: climate change and high-risk cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dodman, David

2008-11-15

In the world's poorest and most vulnerable nations, most cities and towns face a distinct dual pressure: rapidly growing population and high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. Drought, storms, flooding and sea level rise are likely to hit hardest here. These in turn put water supplies, infrastructure, health and livelihoods at risk in the very cities already struggling to provide or safeguard such key needs. An effective response demands capable local and national government and support from strong international networks in building capacity to cope. Most of the Least Developed Countries lack both.

National uranium resource evaluation, Rapid City Quadrangle, South Dakota

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nanna, R.F.; Milton, E.J.

1982-04-01

The Rapid City (1 0 x 2 0 ) Quadrangle, South Dakota, was evaluated for environments favorble for uranium deposits to a depth of 1500 m. Criteria used were those of the National Uranium Resource Evaluation. Field reconnaissance involved the use of hand-held scintillometers to investigate uranium occurrences reported in the literature and anomalies in aerial radiometric surveys, and geochemical samples of stream sediments and well waters. Gamma-ray logs were used to define the favorable environments in the subsurface. Environments favorable for sandstone-type uranium deposits occur in the Inyan Kara Group, the Fox Hills Sandstone, and the Hell Creek Formation. Environments considered unfavorable for uranium deposits include all Precambrian, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Tertiary rocks other than those identified as favorable

Clinical management of rapidly growing mycobacterial cutaneous infections in patients after mesotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Regnier, Stéphanie; Cambau, Emmanuelle; Meningaud, Jean-Paul; Guihot, Amelie; Deforges, Lionel; Carbonne, Anne; Bricaire, François; Caumes, Eric

2009-11-01

Increasing numbers of patients are expressing an interest in mesotherapy as a method of reducing body fat. Cutaneous infections due to rapidly growing mycobacteria are a common complication of such procedures. We followed up patients who had developed cutaneous infections after undergoing mesotherapy during the period October 2006-January 2007. Sixteen patients were infected after mesotherapy injections performed by the same physician. All patients presented with painful, erythematous, draining subcutaneous nodules at the injection sites. All patients were treated with surgical drainage. Microbiological examination was performed on specimens that were obtained before and during the surgical procedure. Direct examination of skin smears demonstrated acid-fast bacilli in 25% of the specimens that were obtained before the procedure and 37% of the specimens obtained during the procedure; culture results were positive in 75% of the patients. Mycobacterium chelonae was identified in 11 patients, and Mycobacterium frederiksbergense was identified in 2 patients. Fourteen patients were treated with antibiotics, 6 received triple therapy as first-line treatment (tigecycline, tobramycin, and clarithromycin), and 8 received dual therapy (clarithromycin and ciprofloxacin). The mean duration of treatment was 14 weeks (range, 1-24 weeks). All of the patients except 1 were fully recovered 2 years after the onset of infection, with the mean time to healing estimated at 6.2 months (range, 1-15 months). This series of rapidly growing mycobacterial cutaneous infections highlights the difficulties in treating such infections and suggests that in vitro susceptibility to antibiotics does not accurately predict their clinical efficacy.

On the Morphology of a Growing City: A Heuristic Experiment Merging Static Economics with Dynamic Geography.

Science.gov (United States)

Delloye, Justin; Peeters, Dominique; Thomas, Isabelle

2015-01-01

In this paper, we aim at exploring how individual location decisions affect the shape of a growing city and, more precisely, how they may add up to a configuration that diverges from equilibrium configurations formulated ex-ante. To do so, we provide a two-sector city model merging a static equilibrium analysis with agent-based simulations. Results show that under strong agglomeration effects, urban development is monotonic and ends up with circular, monocentric long-term configurations. For low agglomeration effects however, elongated and multicentric urban configurations may emerge. The occurrence and underlying dynamics of these configurations are also discussed regarding commuting costs and the distance-decay of agglomeration economies between firms. To sum up, our paper warns urban planning policy makers against the difference that may stand between appropriate long-term perspectives, represented here by analytic equilibrium configurations, and short-term urban configurations, simulated here by a multi-agent system.

Spatial Pattern of Residential Carbon Dioxide Emissions in a Rapidly Urbanizing Chinese City and Its Mismatch Effect

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Heli Lu

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Cities undergoing rapid urbanization are characterized by quick successions of spatiotemporal patterns, meaning that traditional methods cannot adequately assess carbon emissions from urban residential areas, which prevents the study of spatial mismatch. Therefore, this study utilizes night-time lights to construct a spatial emissions model that enables the analysis of the evolution of emissions patterns in China. The results indicate that, compared to the traditional method, the spatial modeling based on night-time lights reflects the spatial emissions trajectories in a more timely and accurate manner in rapidly urbanizing cities. Additionally, we found a relatively low degree of spatial match between emissions and economic activities, with the former, which are greatly affected by urbanization, having a larger dynamism and instability than the latter. Such spatial mismatch effect illustrates that policy makers should focus on factors beyond economics in order to reduce residential carbon emissions during China’s rapid urbanization process.

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)

Growing ‘Smart’? Urbanization Processes in the Pune Urban Agglomeration

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Carsten Butsch

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The Indian city of Pune witnessed rapid growth and deep transformation processes in the last three decades. This paper assesses past developments and recent structures and processes against the concept of urban sustainability. Following an overview of the historical development, the dimensions of sustainability are discussed separately, based on empirical findings. Urban growth puts enormous pressure on Pune’s land and water resources, changing the ecology of the area. The increasing water demand of Pune’s growing population competes with growing energy and water demands. An assessment of future climate change impacts indicates that the storage capacity of the reservoirs is more frequently not met during the rainy season. In addition, extreme dry years can aggravate the effects of land use change on water resources in the future. The city’s growth and especially the large in-migration has also changed Pune’s social fabric significantly. Wealth is distributed unevenly in the city and social disparities can be observed along two fault lines, namely along classes and caste groups. The population development and the increasing socioeconomic polarization are linked to the economic development of the city. Pune’s formal economy has a robust base. However, as in many cities of the Global South, the informal economy is the most relevant source of income for large parts of the population. Pune’s development is challenged by informality, poor infrastructure and inadequate planning and governance. Recently new approaches towards urban renewal and smart city development were launched. These new approaches aim at overcoming blockades in the traditional planning. A special challenge for urban planning is the transformation of urban fringe areas of the city, as this process is currently taking place in an unsustainable manner. The paper concludes that urban development has to become holistic, integrative and participative and should abandon the

Rapidly Growing Thyroid Mass in an Immunocompromised Young Male Adult

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Mónica Santiago

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We describe a 20-year-old man diagnosed with a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS, admitted to our hospital due to pancytopenia and fever of undetermined origin after myelosuppression with chemotherapy. Disseminated aspergillosis (DIA was suspected when he developed skin and lung involvement. A rapidly growing mass was detected on the left neck area, during hospitalization. A thyroid ultrasound reported a 3.7×2.5×2.9 cm oval heterogeneous structure, suggestive of an abscess versus a hematoma. Fine needle aspiration of the thyroid revealed invasion of aspergillosis. Fungal thyroiditis is a rare occurrence. Thyroid fungal infection is difficult to diagnose; for this reason it is rarely diagnosed antemortem. To our knowledge, this is the 10th case reported in the literature in an adult where the diagnosis of fungal invasion to the thyroid was able to be corroborated antemortem by fine needle aspiration biopsy.

Rapidly- growing firms and their main characteristics: a longitudinal study from United States

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Keen, Christian; Etemad, Hamid

2011-01-01

concerning the theoretical relations between high-growth and location, size and temporal characteristics of the high-growth enterprises. Using non parametric tests, we analyze a 21-year longitudinal database of privately held rapidly growing enterprises from the USA. This analysis indicates that these firms...... are relatively smaller enterprises and their high growth rates are not restricted to a particular location, industrial region, size or time period. The findings of this analysis point to a population of high-growth enterprises with diverse locations, sizes and times with important implications for scholarly...

Water resources of the Park City area, Utah, with emphasis on ground water

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Walter F.; Thompson, Kendall R.; Enright, Michael

1986-01-01

The Park City area is a rapidly growing residential and recreational area about 30 miles east of Sal t Lake City (fig. 1). The area of study is about 140 square miles in which the principle industries are agriculture, skiing, and other recreational activities. The area once was a major lead- and silver-mining district, but no mines were active in 1984. A resumption in mining activity, however, could take place with an increase in the price of metals.The population of the Park City area is expected to increase rapidly in the near future; and the provision of an adequate water supply for the growing population, while avoiding harmful affects of development, is a major concern for local municipalities, developers, and the Utah Division of Water Rights. In addition, agricultural interests in and below the area are concerned about the effects of increased ground-water withdrawals on streamflow, which is fully appropriated by downstream users. The area also contains the proposed site for the Jordanelle dam, a part of the Bonneville unit of the central Utah Project. The damsite is near an historic mining area; and mining companies are concerned that if mining is resumed, the reservoir may create some additional dewatering problems in the mines.

Heterogeneity and scale of sustainable development in cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Brelsford, Christa; Lobo, José; Hand, Joe; Bettencourt, Luís M A

2017-08-22

Rapid worldwide urbanization is at once the main cause and, potentially, the main solution to global sustainable development challenges. The growth of cities is typically associated with increases in socioeconomic productivity, but it also creates strong inequalities. Despite a growing body of evidence characterizing these heterogeneities in developed urban areas, not much is known systematically about their most extreme forms in developing cities and their consequences for sustainability. Here, we characterize the general patterns of income and access to services in a large number of developing cities, with an emphasis on an extensive, high-resolution analysis of the urban areas of Brazil and South Africa. We use detailed census data to construct sustainable development indices in hundreds of thousands of neighborhoods and show that their statistics are scale-dependent and point to the critical role of large cities in creating higher average incomes and greater access to services within their national context. We then quantify the general statistical trajectory toward universal basic service provision at different scales to show that it is characterized by varying levels of inequality, with initial increases in access being typically accompanied by growing disparities over characteristic spatial scales. These results demonstrate how extensions of these methods to other goals and data can be used over time and space to produce a simple but general quantitative assessment of progress toward internationally agreed sustainable development goals.

Heterogeneity and scale of sustainable development in cities

Science.gov (United States)

Brelsford, Christa; Lobo, José; Hand, Joe

2017-01-01

Rapid worldwide urbanization is at once the main cause and, potentially, the main solution to global sustainable development challenges. The growth of cities is typically associated with increases in socioeconomic productivity, but it also creates strong inequalities. Despite a growing body of evidence characterizing these heterogeneities in developed urban areas, not much is known systematically about their most extreme forms in developing cities and their consequences for sustainability. Here, we characterize the general patterns of income and access to services in a large number of developing cities, with an emphasis on an extensive, high-resolution analysis of the urban areas of Brazil and South Africa. We use detailed census data to construct sustainable development indices in hundreds of thousands of neighborhoods and show that their statistics are scale-dependent and point to the critical role of large cities in creating higher average incomes and greater access to services within their national context. We then quantify the general statistical trajectory toward universal basic service provision at different scales to show that it is characterized by varying levels of inequality, with initial increases in access being typically accompanied by growing disparities over characteristic spatial scales. These results demonstrate how extensions of these methods to other goals and data can be used over time and space to produce a simple but general quantitative assessment of progress toward internationally agreed sustainable development goals. PMID:28461489

Trends in urbanization and patterns of land use in the Asian mega-cities Jakarta, Bangkok, and Metro Manila

OpenAIRE

Murakami, Akinobu; Zain, Alinda Medrial; Takeuchi, Kazuhiko; Tsunekawa, Atsushi; Yokota, Shigehiro

2005-01-01

Asian mega-cities have experienced rapid population growth and continue to grow. Urbanization in those areas is proceeding differently from the patterns of city growth experienced in Western countries. Understanding the characteristics of Asian urbanization will be indispensable for the establishment of a local landscape planning system. In this study, we used the Clark linear exponential model and the Newling quadratic exponential model to compare the spatial distribution of population densi...

Urban GHG emissions and resource flows: Methods for understanding the complex functioning of cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yetano Roche, María

2015-01-01

This paper sums up the recent developments in concepts and methods being used to measure the impacts of cities on environmental sustainability. It differentiates between a dominant trend in research literature that concentrates on the accounting and allocation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy use to cities, and a re-emergence of studies focusing on the direct and indirect urban material and resource flows. The availability of reliable data and standard protocols is greater in the GHG accounting field and continues to grow rapidly

Numerical groundwater-flow model of the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units in the Rapid City area, South Dakota

Science.gov (United States)

Putnam, Larry D.; Long, Andrew J.

2009-01-01

The city of Rapid City and other water users in the Rapid City area obtain water supplies from the Minnelusa and Madison aquifers, which are contained in the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units. A numerical groundwater-flow model of the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units in the Rapid City area was developed to synthesize estimates of water-budget components and hydraulic properties, and to provide a tool to analyze the effect of additional stress on water-level altitudes within the aquifers and on discharge to springs. This report, prepared in cooperation with the city of Rapid City, documents a numerical groundwater-flow model of the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units for the 1,000-square-mile study area that includes Rapid City and the surrounding area. Water-table conditions generally exist in outcrop areas of the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units, which form generally concentric rings that surround the Precambrian core of the uplifted Black Hills. Confined conditions exist east of the water-table areas in the study area. The Minnelusa hydrogeologic unit is 375 to 800 feet (ft) thick in the study area with the more permeable upper part containing predominantly sandstone and the less permeable lower part containing more shale and limestone than the upper part. Shale units in the lower part generally impede flow between the Minnelusa hydrogeologic unit and the underlying Madison hydrogeologic unit; however, fracturing and weathering may result in hydraulic connections in some areas. The Madison hydrogeologic unit is composed of limestone and dolomite that is about 250 to 610 ft thick in the study area, and the upper part contains substantial secondary permeability from solution openings and fractures. Recharge to the Minnelusa and Madison hydrogeologic units is from streamflow loss where streams cross the outcrop and from infiltration of precipitation on the outcrops (areal recharge). MODFLOW-2000, a finite-difference groundwater

Manila, mega city by the year 2000.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamson, W N

1990-01-01

Fueled by internal migration, Manila's rapid population has left the philippine capital unable to provide basic services to the city's population. With an annual growth rate of 2.3%, Manila's current population of 8 million is expected to increase to 10 million by the year 2000. The number of migrants to the city has steadily increased over the last 20 years; a recent study indicates that 1/2 of the population currently living in the Manila metropolitan area was born in the province. The growth that began in the 1970 has coincided with increases in the birth rate. As one expert noted, by the year 2000, 1/2 of the city's growth will be due to a high birth rate. The rapidly growing population has made it difficult for the government to provide adequate food, water systems, and other services. The increasing number of people living in squalor are at great risk on contracting communicable diseases, and suffer from poor maternal and child health, inadequate nutrition, and lack safe drinking water and waste disposal systems. Most of the migrants come to the city looking for employment and opportunity, but many are left economically trapped, working in low-paying and often gruelling jobs. Critics attribute the population imbalance to government policies that have favored the city and neglected the countryside. Realizing the dangers associated with the massive urban growth, the government has begun to address the problem. It has asked business to invest in the countryside, it has built roads and bridges there to spur economic growth, and has tried to convince people to return to the province.

Growing Informal Cities: Mobile Entrepreneurs and Inclusive Growth ...

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

Even though migrants to and from cities in this region play a critical role in the ... In a larger sense, the project aims to build research and networking capacity, ... to the Southern African Development Community (SADC), and have an impact on ...

Urban expansion and transportation : the impact of urban form on commuting patterns on the city fringe of Beijing

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zhao, Pengjun; Lue, Bin; de Roo, Gert

2010-01-01

A key issue in the development of China's growing megacities in the transport-related environmental costs due to rapid urban expansion. In light of this issue, the authors examine the impact of urban form on commuting patterns on the city fringe of Beijing. Based on household-survey data, the

Familial cerebral cavernous haemangioma diagnosed in an infant with a rapidly growing cerebral lesion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ng, B.H.K.; Pereira, J.K.; Ghedia, S.; Pinner, J.; Mowat, D.; Vonau, M.

2006-01-01

Cavernous haemangiomas of the central nervous system are vascular malformations best imaged by MRI. They may present at any age, but to our knowledge only 39 cases in the first year of life have previously been reported. A familial form has been described and some of the underlying genetic mutations have recently been discovered. We present the clinical features and serial MRI findings of an 8-week-old boy who presented with subacute intracranial haemorrhage followed by rapid growth of a surgically proven cavernous haemangioma, mimicking a tumour. He also developed new lesions. A strong family history of neurological disease was elucidated. A familial form of cavernous haemangioma was confirmed by identification of a KRIT 1 gene mutation and cavernous haemangiomas in the patient and other family members. We stress the importance of considering cavernous haemangiomas in the context of intracerebral haemorrhage and in the differential diagnosis of rapidly growing lesions in this age group. The family history is also important in screening for familial disease

[Rapidly-growing nodular pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia of the breast: case report].

Science.gov (United States)

Elıyatkin, Nuket; Karasu, Başak; Selek, Elif; Keçecı, Yavuz; Postaci, Hakan

2011-01-01

Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia is a benign proliferative lesion of the mammary stroma that rarely presents as a localized mass. Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia is characterized by a dense, collagenous proliferation of the mammary stroma, associated with capillary-like spaces. Pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia can be mistaken with fibroadenoma on radiological examination or with low-grade angiosarcoma on histological examination. Its main importance is its distinction from angiosarcoma. The presented case was a 40-year-old woman who was admitted with a rapidly growing breast tumor. Physical examination revealed an elastic-firm, well-defined, mobile and painless mass in her right breast. Mammograms revealed a 6.7 x 3.7 cm, lobulated, well-circumscribed mass in her right breast but no calcification. Sonographic examination showed a well-defined and homogenous mass, not including any cyst. Based on these findings, a provisional diagnosis of fibroadenoma was made. Considering the rapid growth history of the mass, tumor excision was performed. The excised tumor was well demarcated and had a smooth external surface. Histological examination revealed the tumor to be composed of markedly increased fibrous stroma and scattered epithelial components (cystic dilatation of the ducts, blunt duct adenosis). The fibrous stroma contained numerous anastomosing slit-like spaces. Isolated spindle cells appeared intermittently at the margins of the spaces resembled endothelial cells. Immunohistochemical staining showed that the spindle cells were positive for CD34 and negative for Factor VIII-related antigen. The lesion was diagnosed as nodular pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia.

Cultural Assemblage as Genius Loci: Character Analysis of Medan City Center District

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hajaruddin Siregar Hari

2018-01-01

Full Text Available The city of Medan was formed from a rapidly growing plantation industry in the 1800s. The area that was originally only a village called Medan Putri with a population of about 200 people slowly changed since the Dutch investors saw the prospect of tobacco plantations in this region (Sinar, 2006. The amount of manpower needed to manage the plantation resulted in the investors bringing labor from Java, China and also Tamil. Moving the central government of the Deli Sultanate to Medan in 1891 increasingly crowded Medan at that time. The Arabs, Mining, Mandailing, and Aceh began to arrive for trading purposes as Medan began to grow and become more crowded. The study focused on locating the genius loci of Medan City through tracing the historical meaning by adapting the method undertaken by Norberg Schultz in tracing the spirit of the place and genius loci. The result of the analysis shows the role of culture and economic background that plays a major role in the formation of the character of Medan City center. The city is formed from the history of the plantation industry as well as the diverse cultures that share the same attachment and goals in the economic field.

Algal and water-quality data for Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake near Rapid City, South Dakota, 2007

Science.gov (United States)

Hoogestraat, Galen K.; Putnam, Larry D.; Graham, Jennifer L.

2008-01-01

This report summarizes the results of algae and water-quality sampling on Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake during May and September 2007. The overall purpose of the study was to determine the algal community composition of Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake in relation to organisms that are known producers of unwanted tastes and odors in drinking-water supplies. Algal assemblage structure (phytoplankton and periphyton) was examined at 16 sites on Rapid Creek and Canyon Lake during May and September 2007, and actinomycetes bacteria were sampled at the Rapid City water treatment plant intake in May 2007, to determine if taste-and-odor producing organisms were present. During the May 2007 sampling, 3 Rapid Creek sites and 4 Canyon Lake sites were quantitatively sampled for phytoplankton in the water column, 7 Rapid Creek sites were quantitatively sampled for attached periphyton, and 4 lake and retention pond sites were qualitatively sampled for periphyton. Five Rapid Creek sites were sampled for geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol, two common taste-and-odor causing compounds known to affect water supplies. During the September 2007 sampling, 4 Rapid Creek sites were quantitatively sampled for attached periphyton, and 3 Canyon Lake sites were qualitatively sampled for periphyton. Water temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, and specific conductance were measured during each sampling event. Methods of collection and sample analysis are presented for the various types of biological and chemical constituent samples. Diatoms comprised 91-100 percent of the total algal biovolume in periphyton samples collected during May and September. Cyanobacteria (also called blue-green algae) were detected in 7 of the 11 quantitative periphyton samples and ranged from 0.01 to 2.0 percent of the total biovolume. Cyanobacteria were present in 3 of the 7 phytoplankton samples collected in May, but the relative biovolumes were small (0.01-0.2 percent). Six of seven qualitative samples collected from Canyon Lake

Transportation in megacities. Growing demand and emissions - a comparative analysis of sustainability in developed and developing economies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bose, R K [Tata Energy Research Inst. (India)

1996-12-01

The urban transport problem is fundamentally similar in all large cities. The basic causes are the same and so are many of the consequences, although there are some differences in degree between cities in developed and developing economies. Transport systems in large cities of the developing economies as compared to the developed economies are characterized by: (a) much lower level of motorization of transport and travel requirement, (b) more rapid rates of economic growth, population growth, and the growth in number of motor vehicles, (c) higher population densities, (d) much lower per capita energy consumption and emissions of carbon dioxide, (e) reduced access to capital and to advanced environmental technologies. Despite greater level of vehicle ownership, higher rate of trip generation and increased use of energy on a per capita basis in cities of developed countries, it is the large cities in the developing countries that, in general suffer most from growing traffic congestion, road accidents, energy use and emissions, overcrowding of public transport, and poor conditions for pedestrians and cyclists. (au) 20 refs.

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.

Cities spearhead climate action

Science.gov (United States)

Watts, Mark

2017-08-01

Following President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, cities worldwide have pledged support to combat climate change. Along with a growing coalition of businesses and institutions, cities represent a beacon of hope for carbon reduction in politically tumultuous times.

Growing food, feeding change : Towards a holistic and dynamic approach of eco-city planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vernay, A.B.H.; Salcedo Rahola, T.B.; Ravesteijn, W.

2010-01-01

In response to increasing environmental problems and consciousness in relation to urbanization, more and more cities are trying to become eco-cities. We can question, however, whether these cities can be considered as sustainable cities. The eco-city concept usually includes criteria regarding

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

Example from Ilorin City, Nigeria

African Journals Online (AJOL)

First Lady

2013-01-28

Jan 28, 2013 ... Abstract. Ilorin is one of the major cities in Nigeria today and its growing strength in ... any city growth and development. ... The study area ... road network resulting in the city enveloping many of the smaller settlements .... Emerging Communities: A case of a Local Government Area of ... Regional Planning.

Water Quality Assessment of Streams and Wetlands in a Fast Growing East African City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niels De Troyer

2016-03-01

Full Text Available The combination of rapid urbanization, industrialization, population growth, and low environmental awareness poses a major threat to worldwide valuable freshwater resources, which provide important ecosystem services to humans. There is an urgent need to monitor and assess these resources, as this information is indispensable for sustainable decision-making and management. In this context, we analyzed the chemical and ecological water quality of the riverine environment of a fast growing city in Southwest Ethiopia for which we proposed possible remediation options that were evaluated with an empirical model. The chemical and ecological water quality was assessed at 53 sampling locations using the oxygen Prati index and the ETHbios, which is a biotic index based on macroinvertebrates. In addition, a microbiological analysis was performed to estimate the degree of fecal contamination. Finally, we analyzed the relationship between the oxygen content and the organic pollution to simulate the effect of organics removal from waste streams on the chemical water quality. Our results showed that the average values for dissolved oxygen (4.2 mg DO·L−1 and nutrients (0.9 mg oPO43−·L−1 and 12.8 mg TAN·L−1 exceeded international standards. Moreover, high turbidity levels revealed that land erosion is a severe problem in the region. Along the rivers, a significant increase in oxygen consumption and in nutrient concentrations was observed, indicating organic pollution originating from different diffuse and point sources of pollution. The lack of proper sanitation also led to exceedingly high abundances of fecal coliforms in the surface water (>320 MPN·mL−1. However, fecal contamination was strongly reduced (>92% after the polluted river water passed Boye wetland, indicating the purification potential of natural wetlands and the importance of conserving and protecting those ecosystems. The simulation results of the model showed that water quality

Tiber Personal Rapid Transit

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Diego Carlo D'agostino

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The project “Tiber Personal Rapid Transit” have been presented by the author at the Rome City Vision Competition1 2010, an ideas competition, which challenges architects, engineers, designers, students and creatives individuals to develop visionary urban proposals with the intention of stimulating and supporting the contemporary city, in this case Rome. The Tiber PRT proposal tries to answer the competition questions with the definition of a provocative idea: a Personal Rapid transit System on the Tiber river banks. The project is located in the central section of the Tiber river and aims at the renewal of the river banks with the insertion of a Personal Rapid Transit infrastructure. The project area include the riverbank of Tiber from Rome Transtevere RFI station to Piazza del Popolo, an area where main touristic and leisure attractions are located. The intervention area is actually no used by the city users and residents and constitute itself a strong barrier in the heart of the historic city.

Responses of Vegetation Cover to Environmental Change in Large Cities of China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kai Jin

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Vegetation cover is crucial for the sustainability of urban ecosystems; however, this cover has been undergoing substantial changes in cities. Based on climate data, city statistical data, nighttime light data and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI dataset, we investigate the spatiotemporal variations of climate factors, urban lands and vegetation cover in 71 large cities of China during 1998–2012, and explore their correlations. A regression model between growing-season NDVI (G-NDVI and urban land proportion (PU is built to quantify the impact of urbanization on vegetation cover change. The results indicate that the spatiotemporal variations of temperature, precipitation, PU and G-NDVI are greatly different among the 71 cities which experienced rapid urbanization. The spatial difference of G-NDVI is closely related to diverse climate conditions, while the inter-annual variations of G-NDVI are less sensitive to climate changes. In addition, there is a negative correlation between G-NDVI trend and PU change, indicating vegetation cover in cities have been negatively impacted by urbanization. For most of the inland cities, the urbanization impacts on vegetation cover in urban areas are more severe than in suburban areas. But the opposite occurs in 17 cities mainly located in the coastal areas which have been undergoing the most rapid urbanization. Overall, the impacts of urbanization on G-NDVI change are estimated to be −0.026 per decade in urban areas and −0.015 per decade in suburban areas during 1998–2012. The long-term developments of cities would persist and continue to impact on the environmental change and sustainability. We use a 15-year window here as a case study, which implies the millennia of human effects on the natural biotas and warns us to manage landscapes and preserve ecological environments properly.

Rapidly Growing Esophageal Carcinosarcoma Reduced by Neoadjuvant Radiotherapy Alone

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naotaka Ogasawara

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Esophageal carcinosarcoma is a rare malignant neoplasm consisting of both carcinomatous and sarcomatous components. It is generally treated by surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy according to the protocols used for other esophageal cancers. However, the treatment of esophageal carcinosarcoma by radiotherapy alone before surgery has not been previously described. We report a patient with a rapidly growing esophageal carcinosarcoma that was efficiently reduced by neoadjuvant radiotherapy alone. A previously healthy 69-year-old man was admitted with dysphagia. Initial esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD revealed a small nodular polypoid lesion of about 10 mm in the middle esophagus. A second EGD 1 month later showed that the tumor had expanded into a huge mass. A biopsy specimen revealed that the tumor comprised squamous cell carcinoma with spindle cell components, and the tumor was diagnosed as carcinosarcoma which was diagnosed as stage I (T1bN0M0. Due to renal dysfunction, the patient was treated with neoadjuvant radiotherapy (40 Gy without chemotherapy. A third EGD 1 month later revealed remarkable tumor reduction. He then underwent total esophagectomy with regional lymph node dissection (pStage 0, pT1aN0M0. After surgical operation, the patient was followed up without adjuvant therapy. Whole body computed tomography revealed lung metastasis 14 months after surgery, and the patient died 2 months later. The neoadjuvant radiotherapy for esophageal carcinosarcoma was considered to have contributed to the subsequent surgery and his prolonged survival time. Thus, radiotherapy alone might be a suitable neoadjuvant therapy for esophageal carcinosarcomas.

Growing Gardens in Shrinking Cities: A Solution to the Soil Lead Problem?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kirsten Schwarz

2016-02-01

Full Text Available As cities shrink, they often leave a patchwork of vacancy on the landscape. The maintenance of vacant lands and eventual transformation to sustainable land uses is a challenge all cities face, but one that is particularly pronounced in shrinking cities. Vacant lands can support sustainability initiatives, specifically the expansion of urban gardens and local food production. However, many shrinking cities are the same aging cities that have experienced the highest soil lead burdens from their industrial past as well as the historic use of lead-based paint and leaded gasoline. Elevated soil lead is often viewed as a barrier to urban agriculture and managing for multiple ecosystem services, including food production and reduced soil lead exposure, remains a challenge. In this paper, we argue that a shift in framing the soil lead and gardening issue from potential conflict to potential solution can advance both urban sustainability goals and support healthy gardening efforts. Urban gardening as a potential solution to the soil lead problem stems from investment in place and is realized through multiple activities, in particular (1 soil management, including soil testing and the addition of amendments, and (2 social network and community building that leverages resources and knowledge.

Aquaculture: a rapidly growing and significant source of sustainable food? Status, transitions and potential.

Science.gov (United States)

Little, D C; Newton, R W; Beveridge, M C M

2016-08-01

The status and potential of aquaculture is considered as part of a broader food landscape of wild aquatic and terrestrial food sources. The rationale and resource base required for the development of aquaculture are considered in the context of broader societal development, cultural preferences and human needs. Attention is drawn to the uneven development and current importance of aquaculture globally as well as its considerable heterogeneity of form and function compared with established terrestrial livestock production. The recent drivers of growth in demand and production are examined and the persistent linkages between exploitation of wild stocks, full life cycle culture and the various intermediate forms explored. An emergent trend for sourcing aquaculture feeds from alternatives to marine ingredients is described and the implications for the sector with rapidly growing feed needs discussed. The rise of non-conventional and innovative feed ingredients, often shared with terrestrial livestock, are considered, including aquaculture itself becoming a major source of marine ingredients. The implications for the continued expected growth of aquaculture are set in the context of sustainable intensification, with the challenges that conventional intensification and emergent integration within, and between, value chains explored. The review concludes with a consideration of the implications for dependent livelihoods and projections for various futures based on limited resources but growing demand.

Recurrence and emergence of infectious diseases in Djibouti city.

Science.gov (United States)

Rodier, G. R.; Parra, J. P.; Kamil, M.; Chakib, S. O.; Cope, S. E.

1995-01-01

Public health authorities are now increasingly concerned by changes in the epidemiology of infectious diseases which may have an adverse impact on their budget plans and control strategies. Rapid increases in population and urban migration, various ecological changes, increasing poverty, and a rise in international travel have contributed to the worldwide vulnerability of human populations to the emergence, recurrence or spread of infectious diseases. In the rapidly growing city of Djibouti in East Africa, public health priorities have been altered during the last 10 years by diseases which were unknown or under control until the early 1980s. These diseases, including malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, dengue fever and cholera, are consuming considerable resources. This article on Djibouti illustrates the epidemiological changes in the region. Besides the specific ecological and behavioural changes, which accompany rapid population growth, poverty seems to be a major cause for the emergence and recurrence of infectious diseases. PMID:8907768

ISOLATION AND ANTIBIOTIC SUSCEPTIBILITY TESTING OF RAPIDLY-GROWING MYCOBACTERIA FROM GRASSLAND SOILS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martina Kyselková

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM are common soil saprophytes, but certain strains cause infections in human and animals. The infections due to RGM have been increasing in past decades and are often difficult to treat. The susceptibility to antibiotics is regularly evaluated in clinical isolates of RGM, but the data on soil RGM are missing. The objectives of this study was to isolate RGM from four grassland soils with different impact of manuring, and assess their resistance to antibiotics and the ability to grow at 37°C and 42°C. Since isolation of RGM from soil is a challenge, a conventional decontamination method (NaOH/malachite green/cycloheximide and a recent method based on olive oil/SDS demulsification were compared. The olive oil/SDS method was less efficient, mainly because of the emulsion instability and plate overgrowing with other bacteria. Altogether, 44 isolates were obtained and 23 representatives of different RGM genotypes were screened. The number of isolates per soil decreased with increasing soil pH, consistently with previous findings that mycobacteria were more abundant in low pH soils. Most of the isolates belonged to the Mycobacterium fortuitum group. The majority of isolates was resistant to 2-4 antibiotics. Multiresistant strains occurred also in a control soil that has a long history without the exposure to antibiotic-containing manure. Seven isolates grew at 37°C, including the species M. septicum and M. fortuitum known for infections in humans. This study shows that multiresistant RGM close to known human pathogens occur in grassland soils regardless the soil history of manuring.

Towards zero-emission city logistics

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kok, R.; Quak, H.J.; Smokers, R.T.M.; Zyl, P.S. van; Spreen, J.S.

2017-01-01

Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century. Urban populations continue to grow and sustainable urbanization is key to successful development. Growing cities facilitate more attractive opportunities for employment, education, and cultural,

Nosocomial rapidly growing mycobacterial infections following laparoscopic surgery: CT imaging findings

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Volpato, Richard [Cassiano Antonio de Moraes University Hospital, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Vitoria, ES (Brazil); Campi de Castro, Claudio [University of Sao Paulo Medical School, Department of Radiology, Cerqueira Cesar, Sao Paulo (Brazil); Hadad, David Jamil [Cassiano Antonio de Moraes University Hospital, Nucleo de Doencas Infecciosas, Department of Internal Medicine, Vitoria, ES (Brazil); Silva Souza Ribeiro, Flavya da [Laboratorio de Patologia PAT, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Unit 1473, Vitoria, ES (Brazil); Filho, Ezequiel Leal [UNIMED Diagnostico, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Unit 1473, Vitoria, ES (Brazil); Marcal, Leonardo P. [The University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Unit 1473, Houston, TX (United States)

2015-09-15

To identify the distribution and frequency of computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with nosocomial rapidly growing mycobacterial (RGM) infection after laparoscopic surgery. A descriptive retrospective study in patients with RGM infection after laparoscopic surgery who underwent CT imaging prior to initiation of therapy. The images were analyzed by two radiologists in consensus, who evaluated the skin/subcutaneous tissues, the abdominal wall, and intraperitoneal region separately. The patterns of involvement were tabulated as: densification, collections, nodules (≥1.0 cm), small nodules (<1.0 cm), pseudocavitated nodules, and small pseudocavitated nodules. Twenty-six patients met the established criteria. The subcutaneous findings were: densification (88.5 %), small nodules (61.5 %), small pseudocavitated nodules (23.1 %), nodules (38.5 %), pseudocavitated nodules (15.4 %), and collections (26.9 %). The findings in the abdominal wall were: densification (61.5 %), pseudocavitated nodules (3.8 %), and collections (15.4 %). The intraperitoneal findings were: densification (46.1 %), small nodules (42.3 %), nodules (15.4 %), and collections (11.5 %). Subcutaneous CT findings in descending order of frequency were: densification, small nodules, nodules, small pseudocavitated nodules, pseudocavitated nodules, and collections. The musculo-fascial plane CT findings were: densification, collections, and pseudocavitated nodules. The intraperitoneal CT findings were: densification, small nodules, nodules, and collections. (orig.)

Nosocomial rapidly growing mycobacterial infections following laparoscopic surgery: CT imaging findings

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Volpato, Richard; Campi de Castro, Claudio; Hadad, David Jamil; Silva Souza Ribeiro, Flavya da; Filho, Ezequiel Leal; Marcal, Leonardo P.

2015-01-01

To identify the distribution and frequency of computed tomography (CT) findings in patients with nosocomial rapidly growing mycobacterial (RGM) infection after laparoscopic surgery. A descriptive retrospective study in patients with RGM infection after laparoscopic surgery who underwent CT imaging prior to initiation of therapy. The images were analyzed by two radiologists in consensus, who evaluated the skin/subcutaneous tissues, the abdominal wall, and intraperitoneal region separately. The patterns of involvement were tabulated as: densification, collections, nodules (≥1.0 cm), small nodules (<1.0 cm), pseudocavitated nodules, and small pseudocavitated nodules. Twenty-six patients met the established criteria. The subcutaneous findings were: densification (88.5 %), small nodules (61.5 %), small pseudocavitated nodules (23.1 %), nodules (38.5 %), pseudocavitated nodules (15.4 %), and collections (26.9 %). The findings in the abdominal wall were: densification (61.5 %), pseudocavitated nodules (3.8 %), and collections (15.4 %). The intraperitoneal findings were: densification (46.1 %), small nodules (42.3 %), nodules (15.4 %), and collections (11.5 %). Subcutaneous CT findings in descending order of frequency were: densification, small nodules, nodules, small pseudocavitated nodules, pseudocavitated nodules, and collections. The musculo-fascial plane CT findings were: densification, collections, and pseudocavitated nodules. The intraperitoneal CT findings were: densification, small nodules, nodules, and collections. (orig.)

Urban and global populism: An analysis of Jakarta as Resilient City

Science.gov (United States)

Sustikarini, A.; Kabinawa, L. N. R. W.

2018-03-01

One of the important elements of friendly city is its cordiality towards diversity. Cities will naturally attract people from different nationalities to live, study and work. The rapid development of cities has long been regarded as major drive of urbanization from other areas which contributed to the high level of ethnic and race diversities. However diversity is currently seen under threat due to the rise of global populism that is mainly fuelled by anxiety over economic condition. The growth of nationalist movement, anti-immigrant parties and xenophobia is gaining foothold across the planet. Against this backdrop, this paper aims at investigating the nexus between diversity and inequality in Jakarta. The current local election provides example of these two competing concepts. Jakarta as emerging global city with diverse communities had been marred by public protest and narration of identity issues. On the other hands, populism has deep root in severe economic inequality among the residents. A robust development in Jakarta has been marked by concentration of wealth in the hands of few. This paper presents case study on the root causes of growing populism and its relations with inequality in Jakarta.

Creativity and tourism in the city

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Richards, G.W.

2014-01-01

Creativity has become increasingly important for the development of tourism in cities in recent years. As competition between cities grows, they increasingly seek to distinguish themselves through creative strategies. In the field of tourism, however, such strategies may arguably be

Landscape Design Process of Lakewood Nava Park BSD City Based on Smart Growth Concept

Science.gov (United States)

Islami, M. Z.; Kaswanto, R. L.

2017-10-01

A comfortable and green housing area in a city is a must for the people live in a city. The rapid development in a city caused greater need for land. This problem happens simultaneously with environmental problem globally such as growing number of people, pollution, excessive exploitation of resource, and decreasing in ethic of land uses. The design of Lakewood Nava Park BSD City prioritizes on pedestrian and walkable environment to apprehend those problems. Lakewood Nava Park is a landscape design project conducted by landscape consultant company, Sheils Flynn Asia. The concept of Smart Growth used as a recommendation for Lakewood Nava Park design. Smart Growth is a city planning and transportation theory which expand a city into a walkable city. The method used on this research is a comparison between landscape design process and Booth theory, also analyze ten principle concept of Smart Growth at the project. Generally, the comparison between design process and Booth theory resulted a slight difference in term and separate phase. The analysis result from Smart Growth concept is around 70% has been applied, and the rest 30% applied after the design has been built. By using Smart Growth principle, the purpose of Lakewood Nava Park design can be applied well.

The spatial biology of transcription and translation in rapidly growing Escherichia coli

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Somenath eBakshi

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Single-molecule fluorescence provides high resolution spatial distributions of ribosomes and RNA polymerase (RNAP in live, rapidly growing E. coli. Ribosomes are more strongly segregated from the nucleoids (chromosomal DNA than previous widefield fluorescence studies suggested. While most transcription may be co-translational, the evidence indicates that most translation occurs on free mRNA copies that have diffused from the nucleoids to a ribosome-rich region. Analysis of time-resolved images of the nucleoid spatial distribution after treatment with the transcription-halting drug rifampicin and the translation-halting drug chloramphenicol shows that both drugs cause nucleoid contraction on the 0-3 min timescale. This is consistent with the transertion hypothesis. We suggest that the longer-term (20-30 min nucleoid expansion after Rif treatment arises from conversion of 70S-polysomes to 30S and 50S subunits, which readily penetrate the nucleoids. Monte Carlo simulations of a polymer bead model built to mimic the chromosomal DNA and ribosomes (either 70S-polysomes or 30S and 50S subunits explain spatial segregation or mixing of ribosomes and nucleoids in terms of excluded volume and entropic effects alone. A comprehensive model of the transcription-translation-transertion system incorporates this new information about the spatial organization of the E. coli cytoplasm. We propose that transertion, which radially expands the nucleoids, is essential for recycling of 30S and 50S subunits from ribosome-rich regions back into the nucleoids. There they initiate co-transcriptional translation, which is an important mechanism for maintaining RNAP forward progress and protecting the nascent mRNA chain. Segregation of 70S-polysomes from the nucleoid may facilitate rapid growth by shortening the search time for ribosomes to find free mRNA concentrated outside the nucleoid and the search time for RNAP concentrated within the nucleoid to find transcription

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.

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

Urban types in rapidly urbanising cities - a typological approach in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

While this situation can be related to global urbanization processes, the general poor knowledge on how these cities develop, densify, or acquire certain physical characteristics and how to characterize built environments has limited affective urban management and governance. Cities have sprawled to the extent that the ...

Infant Feeding Practices of Emirati Women in the Rapidly Developing City of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

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Hazel Gardner

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Rapid economic and cultural transition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE has been accompanied by new challenges to public health; most notably a rapid rise in chronic disease. Breastfeeding is known to improve health outcomes in adulthood, is associated with reduced risk of developing chronic disease, and is therefore an important public health issue for this rapidly increasing population. Factors associated with infant feeding practices were examined in a cohort of 125 Emirati women and their infants, with data collected at birth and 3, 6 and 15 months postpartum by questionnaires and interviews. Participants were recruited in the Corniche Hospital, the main maternity hospital in the city of Abu Dhabi. Factors affecting the duration of breastfeeding and the introduction of complementary foods were investigated using univariate and multivariate statistics. Recommended infant feeding practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and timely introduction of appropriate complementary foods, were poorly adhered to. Factors implicated in early cessation of breastfeeding included: time to first breastfeed, mother’s education level, employment status and early introduction of complementary foods.

Infant Feeding Practices of Emirati Women in the Rapidly Developing City of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Hazel; Green, Katherine; Gardner, Andrew

2015-09-02

Rapid economic and cultural transition in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has been accompanied by new challenges to public health; most notably a rapid rise in chronic disease. Breastfeeding is known to improve health outcomes in adulthood, is associated with reduced risk of developing chronic disease, and is therefore an important public health issue for this rapidly increasing population. Factors associated with infant feeding practices were examined in a cohort of 125 Emirati women and their infants, with data collected at birth and 3, 6 and 15 months postpartum by questionnaires and interviews. Participants were recruited in the Corniche Hospital, the main maternity hospital in the city of Abu Dhabi. Factors affecting the duration of breastfeeding and the introduction of complementary foods were investigated using univariate and multivariate statistics. Recommended infant feeding practices, such as exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and timely introduction of appropriate complementary foods, were poorly adhered to. Factors implicated in early cessation of breastfeeding included: time to first breastfeed, mother's education level, employment status and early introduction of complementary foods.

Rotterdam as a World Port City

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wouter Jacobs; Menno Huijs; Isabelle Vries

2015-01-01

Most studies and models on the port-city interface focus on the inevitable process in which ports and cities grow apart, both spatially and economically. What is often overlooked is the relationships that remain in the form of maritime business services (finance, insurance, legal). These maritime

[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.

Modelling and evaluating municipal solid waste management strategies in a mega-city: The case of Ho Chi Minh City

NARCIS (Netherlands)

ThiKimOanh, L.; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, J.M.; Buuren, van J.C.L.; Vorst, van der J.G.A.J.; Rulkens, W.H.

2015-01-01

Ho Chi Minh City is a large city that will become a mega-city in the near future. The city struggles with a rapidly increasing flow of municipal solid waste and a foreseeable scarcity of land to continue landfilling, the main treatment of municipal solid waste up to now. Therefore, additional

EMERGING CITIES ON THE ARABIAN PENINSULA: URBAN SPACE IN THE KNOWLEDGE ECONOMY CONTEXT

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Alain Thierstein

2008-07-01

Full Text Available Networks of the growing knowledge economy significantly influence spatial development on different scales. This paper proposes a framework for analyzing the impact of global knowledge economy networks on the rapidly developing urban space of emerging cities on the Arabian Peninsula, and vice versa. Two aspects of the described research are innovative: First, a global relational geography-perspective builds the basis for approaching the analysis of urban space development in emerging cities on the Arabian Peninsula. Second, the empirical methodology of the research project is a newly defined method triangulation, setting an example for systematic analysis of local urban development in a global context. The method triangulation combines three different research angles: A knowledge economy firm perspective, an on-site observation perspective and a planner perspective. The method triangulation defines the procedure for the research application in selected case study cities on the Arabian Peninsula. Initial results from applying the research methodology in the city of Dubai give a first indication, that emerging cities on the Arabian Peninsula play a significant role in the global and regional knowledge economy networks. Locally developed urban spaces reflect and influence the significance of cities in the global knowledge economy context. Especially the global visibility of urban spaces on a city district scale, which specifically address the needs of knowledge economy players, contributes significantly to the attractiveness of emerging cities on the Arabian Peninsula.

Harvesting urban resources towards more resilient cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Agudelo Vera, C.M.; Leduc, W.R.W.A.; Mels, A.R.; Rijnaarts, H.H.M.

2012-01-01

With accelerating global changes, cities have to cope with growing pressures, especially for resource supply. Cities may be considered as resources reservoirs and producers of secondary resources. This paper introduces the concept of urban harvesting as a management tool to change inefficient linear

Education Confronts Changing Demographics. The Challenge to Edge Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Tushnet, Naida C.

This monograph introduces a conference addressing the educational issues of the edge cities of the urban Pacific Southwest. Edge cities on the outside of urban cores (edge cities) are currently facing many of the problems formerly experienced only in urban areas. Of the 30 fastest-growing cities of over 100,000 residents in the country, 19 are…

Development of urban water consumption models for the City of Los Angeles

Science.gov (United States)

Mini, C.; Hogue, T. S.; Pincetl, S.

2011-12-01

Population growth and rapid urbanization coupled with uncertain climate change are causing new challenges for meeting urban water needs. In arid and semi-arid regions, increasing drought periods and decreasing precipitation have led to water supply shortages and cities are struggling with trade-offs between the water needs of growing urban populations and the well-being of urban ecosystems. The goal of the current research is to build models that can represent urban water use patterns in semi-arid cities by identifying the determinants that control both total and outdoor residential water use over the Los Angeles urban domain. The initial database contains monthly water use records aggregated to the zip code level collected from the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) from 2000 to 2010. Residential water use was normalized per capita and was correlated with socio-demographic, economic, climatic and vegetation characteristics across the City for the 2000-2010 period. Results show that ethnicity, per capita income, and the average number of persons per household are linearly related to total water use per capita. Inter-annual differences in precipitation and implementation of conservation measures affect water use levels across the City. The high variability in water use patterns across the City also appears strongly influenced by income and education levels. The temporal analysis of vegetation indices in the studied neighborhoods shows little correlation between precipitation patterns and vegetation greenness. Urban vegetation appears well-watered, presenting the same greenness activity over the study period despite an overall decrease in water use across the City. We hypothesize that over-watering is occurring and that outdoor water use represents a significant part of the residential water budget in various regions of the City. A multiple regression model has been developed that integrates these fundamental controlling factors to simulate residential

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

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Paul D. Mullins

2017-06-01

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

Connecting cities and their environments: Harnessing the water-energy-food nexus for sustainable urban development

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Chan Arthur

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Thousands of years of development have made the production and consumption of water, energy, and food for urban environments more complex. While the rise of cities has fostered social and economic progress, the accompanying environmental pressures threaten to undermine these benefits. The compounding effects of climate change, habitat loss, pollution, overexploitation (in addition to financial constraints make the individual management of these three vital resources incompatible with rapidly growing populations and resource-intensive lifestyles. Nexus thinking is a critical tool to capture opportunities for urban sustainability in both industrialised and developing cities. A nexus approach to water, energy, and food security recognises that conventional decisionmaking, strictly confined within distinct sectors, limits the sustainability of urban development. Important nexus considerations include the need to collaborate with a wide spectrum of stakeholders, and to “re-integrate” urban systems. This means recognising the opportunities coming from the interconnected nature of cities and metropolitan regions, including links with rural environments and wider biophysical dynamics.

Assessment of PM10 in Aurangabad City of Central India

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Geetanjali Kaushik

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Almost 670 million people comprising 54.5% of our population reside in regions that do not meet the Indian NAAQS for fine particulate matter. Numerous studies have revealed a consistent correlation for particulate matter concentration with health than any other air pollutant. Aurangabad city a rapidly growing city with population of 1.5 million is home to five major industrial areas, the city is also known for its historical monuments which might also be adversely affected from air pollution. Therefore, this research aims at estimating PM10 concentrations at several locations across Aurangabad. The concentration of PM10 was highest at the Railway Station followed by Waluj (an industrial zone and City chowk is the centre of the city which has high population, tall buildings, few open spaces which causes high congestion and does not allow the particulates to disperse. Other locations with high concentrations of PM are Mill corner, Harsul T-point, Kranti Chowk, Seven Hill, TV centre and Beed Bye pass. All these locations have narrow roads, high traffic density, poor road condition with pot holes and few crossing points which cause congestion and vehicle idling which are responsible for high pollution. Therefore, it is evident that air pollution is a serious issue in the city which may be further aggravated if it is not brought under control. Hence, strategies have to be adopted for combating the menace of air pollution.INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTVolume-5, Issue-2, March-May 2016, Page :61-74

India: When cities expand too rapidly | IDRC - International ...

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

2016-05-13

May 13, 2016 ... ... based in Bangalore, a city of four million people located in southern India. ... access to water, which is drawn from the Arkavathy River Basin. ... Protecting access to water from urban sprawl, climate change in South Asia.

Smart city solutions in regard to urbanization processes – Polish cases

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Brdulak Halina

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to show the spectrum of problems associated with the growing importance of cities in the context of rapidly occurring processes of urbanization. Therefore the following issues are included: the concept of smart cities, which are a combination of the intelligent use of information systems allowing for active management of the various areas of urban activity with the potential of institutions, companies and the active involvement and creative people; transport problems and the use of new technologies. Particular attention will be given to both, the issue of transport congestion as the strongest factor affecting the quality of life of residents and to the role of social capital in the creation of sustainable development. To exemplify the result of the cooperation between southern Polish communities there will be presented a case of the introducing process of the Silesian Card of Public Services with a wide range of its functionality.

Diversity, community composition, and dynamics of nonpigmented and late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria in an urban tap water production and distribution system.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubrou, S; Konjek, J; Macheras, E; Welté, B; Guidicelli, L; Chignon, E; Joyeux, M; Gaillard, J L; Heym, B; Tully, T; Sapriel, G

2013-09-01

Nonpigmented and late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) have been reported to commonly colonize water production and distribution systems. However, there is little information about the nature and distribution of RGM species within the different parts of such complex networks or about their clustering into specific RGM species communities. We conducted a large-scale survey between 2007 and 2009 in the Parisian urban tap water production and distribution system. We analyzed 1,418 water samples from 36 sites, covering all production units, water storage tanks, and distribution units; RGM isolates were identified by using rpoB gene sequencing. We detected 18 RGM species and putative new species, with most isolates being Mycobacterium chelonae and Mycobacterium llatzerense. Using hierarchical clustering and principal-component analysis, we found that RGM were organized into various communities correlating with water origin (groundwater or surface water) and location within the distribution network. Water treatment plants were more specifically associated with species of the Mycobacterium septicum group. On average, M. chelonae dominated network sites fed by surface water, and M. llatzerense dominated those fed by groundwater. Overall, the M. chelonae prevalence index increased along the distribution network and was associated with a correlative decrease in the prevalence index of M. llatzerense, suggesting competitive or niche exclusion between these two dominant species. Our data describe the great diversity and complexity of RGM species living in the interconnected environments that constitute the water production and distribution system of a large city and highlight the prevalence index of the potentially pathogenic species M. chelonae in the distribution network.

The Literature Review of a New Form of Competitiveness Called City Competitiveness

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Osman EROĞLU

2014-06-01

Full Text Available With globalization, the rapid development of information technologies and the rapid changes in the economic structure, the country’s borders at a time increasingly depreciate and the importance of city competitiveness reveals. Although it is an ongoing debate around the world whether cities compete with each other, city competitiveness is a new form of competitiveness. Cities compete with each other to increase their competitiveness. City competitiveness is defined as having better values compared to other cities. In this study, a new form of competitiveness called city competitiveness is examined.

Impacts of urbanization and climate on groundwater in a growing Africa city: the case of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso)

Science.gov (United States)

Mouhouddine, Alihoumadi; Yameogo, Suzanne; Genthon, Pierre; Travi, Yves

2016-04-01

African cities are presently facing the combined impacts of growing urbanization and climate change. In several instances; providing safe drinking water for all is still a challenge, especially for cities located on basement aquifers, were groundwater is scarce. Here we assess the effects of climate change and land use change on groundwater amount and quality in the main city of Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) taking advantage of the CIEH borehole, where a mostly continuous record lasts since 1978. This record spans most of the Great African Drought (1970-1990) and recovery from the Drought since the 2000s. A piezometric network of 14 wells and boreholes was setup around the CIEH borehole and monitored during the 2013-2014 hydrologic year. The piezometric network spans an old settlement, the Ouagadougou University, a vegetable gardening area and a natural forested area. Water balance estimates are provided by a 1D box model. The study area, although it lies partly on an old settlement in Ouagadougou and on the University area, presents a rather uniform runoff coefficient of 22% and ET amounting to 80-90 % of rainfall, which usually characterizes natural areas. It is suspected that the almost absence of asphalted surfaces, the presence of trees and flow of rainwater from roofs toward bare soils or sumps could be responsible of this budget. However, the two wells located in the forested Bangr Weogo recreational area are characterized by almost no runoff and a nearly 100 % ET. While drinking water can be pumped in several places in the city of Ouagadougou, chemical major analyses show that two mechanisms impact groundwater quality during the rainy season: (i) rise of the water table at pit latrine level, mainly in old settlements, and entrainment of harmful substances from soil to the aquifer in gardening area near some artisan activities. The CIEH borehole is not fully representative of its neighboring area since (i) it lies in a piezometric low, (ii) it presents the

The triumph of the smart city

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Ilaria Oberti

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Globally, one in two people living in cities, megacities are more than twenty, and both figures are expected to increase. In light of this scenario, the major challenge is the ability to grow the urban areas with efficiency and improving the quality of citizens’ life. In the city of the future, the environment, the people and the technology have to be devised in an integrated and sustainable way: this is what underlies the concept of the smart city.

Smart sustainable cities | IDRC - International Development ...

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

2016-06-06

Jun 6, 2016 ... Smart Cities for Sustainable Development ... Smart Cities have emerged as a response to the challenges and opportunities created by rapid urbanization. ... This report, produced by the United Nations University's Operating Unit on ... Teacher education program explores building professional learning ...

Growing toward the Sun: How the Good-Food Movement Catapulted a Small New York City Third-Sector Organization into Rapid Growth, Success, and Many Challenges

Science.gov (United States)

Hutchinson, Carole L.

2013-01-01

This dissertation is an ethnographic study of a New York City-based third-sector organization focused on what it calls "food justice." This study concentrates on how this organization, that I call Food Rights, has built a broad multi-sector network made up of a varied set of constituents and collaborators aiming to develop and promote an…

Mycobacterium grossiae sp. nov., a rapidly growing, scotochromogenic species isolated from human clinical respiratory and blood culture specimens.

Science.gov (United States)

Paniz-Mondolfi, Alberto Enrique; Greninger, Alexander L; Ladutko, Lynn; Brown-Elliott, Barbara A; Vasireddy, Ravikiran; Jakubiec, Wesley; Vasireddy, Sruthi; Wallace, Richard J; Simmon, Keith E; Dunn, Bruce E; Jackoway, Gary; Vora, Surabhi B; Quinn, Kevin K; Qin, Xuan; Campbell, Sheldon

2017-11-01

A previously undescribed, rapidly growing, scotochromogenic species of the genus Mycobacterium (represented by strains PB739 T and GK) was isolated from two clinical sources - the sputum of a 76-year-old patient with severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, history of tuberculosis exposure and Mycobacterium avium complex isolated years prior; and the blood of a 15-year-old male with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukaemia status post bone marrow transplant. The isolates grew as dark orange colonies at 25-37 °C after 5 days, sharing features in common with other closely related species. Analysis of the complete 16S rRNA gene sequence (1492 bp) of strain PB739 T demonstrated that the isolate shared 98.8 % relatedness with Mycobacterium wolinskyi. Partial 429 bp hsp65 and 744 bp rpoB region V sequence analyses revealed that the sequences of the novel isolate shared 94.8 and 92.1 % similarity with those of Mycobacterium neoaurum and Mycobacterium aurum, respectively. Biochemical profiling, antimicrobial susceptibility testing, HPLC/gas-liquid chromatography analyses and multilocus sequence typing support the taxonomic status of these isolates (PB739 T and GK) as representatives of a novel species. Both isolates were susceptible to the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute recommended antimicrobials for susceptibility testing of rapidly growing mycobacteria including amikacin, ciprofloxacin, moxifloxacin, doxycycline/minocycline, imipenem, linezolid, clarithromycin and trimethropin/sulfamethoxazole. Both isolates PB739 T and GK showed intermediate susceptibility to cefoxitin. We propose the name Mycobacterium grossiae sp. nov. for this novel species and have deposited the type strain in the DSMZ and CIP culture collections. The type strain is PB739 T (=DSM 104744 T =CIP 111318 T ).

Application of the Water Needs Index: Can Tho City, Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Moglia, Magnus; Neumann, Luis E.; Alexander, Kim S.; Nguyen, Minh N.; Sharma, Ashok K.; Cook, Stephen; Trung, Nguyen H.; Tuan, Dinh D. A.

2012-10-01

SummaryProvision of urban water supplies to rapidly growing cities of South East Asia is difficult because of increasing demand for limited water supplies, periodic droughts, and depletion and contamination of surface and groundwater. In such adverse environments, effective policy and planning processes are required to secure adequate water supplies. Developing a Water Needs Index reveals key elements of the complex urban water supply by means of a participatory approach for rapid and interdisciplinary assessment. The index uses deliberative interactions with stakeholders to create opportunities for mutual understanding, confirmation of constructs and capacity building of all involved. In Can Tho City, located at the heart of the Mekong delta in Vietnam, a Water Needs Index has been developed with local stakeholders. The functional attributes of the Water Needs Index at this urban scale have been critically appraised. Systemic water issues, supply problems, health issues and inadequate, poorly functioning infrastructure requiring attention from local authorities have been identified. Entrenched social and economic inequities in access to water and sanitation, as well as polluting environmental management practices has caused widespread problems for urban populations. The framework provides a common language based on systems thinking, increased cross-sectoral communication, as well as increased recognition of problem issues; this ought to lead to improved urban water management. Importantly, the case study shows that the approach can help to overcome biases of local planners based on their limited experience (information black spots), to allow them to address problems experienced in all areas of the city.

Growing and Educational Environment of College Students and Their Motivational and Self-regulated Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Cuixin

Students growing and being educated in different social background may perform differently in their learning process. These differences can be found in self-regulated behavior in fulfilling a certain task. This paper focuses on the differences of students' various growing and educational environment in motivation and self-regulated learning. Results reveal that there exist differences among students from big cities, middle and small town and countryside in motivational and self-regulated learning. It also indicates that students from big cities gain more knowledge of cognitive strategies in there learning process.

Using Smart City Technology to Make Healthcare Smarter.

Science.gov (United States)

Cook, Diane J; Duncan, Glen; Sprint, Gina; Fritz, Roschelle

2018-04-01

Smart cities use information and communication technologies (ICT) to scale services include utilities and transportation to a growing population. In this article we discuss how smart city ICT can also improve healthcare effectiveness and lower healthcare cost for smart city residents. We survey current literature and introduce original research to offer an overview of how smart city infrastructure supports strategic healthcare using both mobile and ambient sensors combined with machine learning. Finally, we consider challenges that will be faced as healthcare providers make use of these opportunities.

Mycobacterium oryzae sp. nov., a scotochromogenic, rapidly growing species is able to infect human macrophage cell line.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramaprasad, E V V; Rizvi, A; Banerjee, S; Sasikala, Ch; Ramana, Ch V

2016-11-01

Gram-stain-positive, acid-fast-positive, rapidly growing, rod-shaped bacteria (designated as strains JC290T, JC430 and JC431) were isolated from paddy cultivated soils on the Western Ghats of India. Phylogenetic analysis placed the three strains among the rapidly growing mycobacteria, being most closely related to Mycobacterium tokaiense 47503T (98.8 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity), Mycobacterium murale MA112/96T (98.8 %) and a few other Mycobacterium species. The level of DNA-DNA reassociation of the three strains with M. tokaiense DSM 44635T was 23.4±4 % (26.1±3 %, reciprocal analysis) and 21.4±2 % (22.1±4 %, reciprocal analysis). The three novel strains shared >99.9 % 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity and DNA-DNA reassociation values >85 %. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis based on concatenated sequences (3071 bp) of four housekeeping genes (16S rRNA, hsp65, rpoB and sodA) revealed that strain JC290T is clearly distinct from all other Mycobacteriumspecies. The three strains had diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylinositol, phosphatidylinositolmannosides, unidentified phospholipids, unidentified glycolipids and an unidentified lipid as polar lipids. The predominant isoprenoid quinone for all three strains was MK-9(H2). Fatty acids were C17 : 1ω7c, C16 : 0, C18 : 1ω9c, C16 : 1ω7c/C16 : 1ω6c and C19 : 1ω7c/C19 : 1ω6c for all the three strains. On the basis of phenotypic, chemotaxonomic and phylogenetic data, it was concluded that strains JC290T, JC430 and JC431 are members of a novel species within the genus Mycobacterium and for which the name Mycobacterium oryzae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is JC290T (=KCTC 39560T=LMG 28809T).

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.

Diversity, Community Composition, and Dynamics of Nonpigmented and Late-Pigmenting Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria in an Urban Tap Water Production and Distribution System

OpenAIRE

Dubrou, S.; Konjek, J.; Macheras, E.; Welté, B.; Guidicelli, L.; Chignon, E.; Joyeux, M.; Gaillard, J. L.; Heym, B.; Tully, T.; Sapriel, G.

2013-01-01

Nonpigmented and late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) have been reported to commonly colonize water production and distribution systems. However, there is little information about the nature and distribution of RGM species within the different parts of such complex networks or about their clustering into specific RGM species communities. We conducted a large-scale survey between 2007 and 2009 in the Parisian urban tap water production and distribution system. We analyzed 1,418 w...

Expanding cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Møller-Jensen, Lasse

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

Sustainable Cities and the Contribution of Historical Urban Green Spaces: A Case Study of Historical Persian Gardens

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raheleh Rostami

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Growing populations and rapid worldwide urbanization are recognized as constituting one of the most complex processes in the world and have raised concerns about the sustainability of cities. Sustainable development, a widely accepted strategic framework in city planning, singles out urban green spaces as a primary solution for addressing these issues. Growing empirical evidences indicate that the presence of natural areas contributes to a better quality of life in many ways. Urban green spaces serve as places of identity, memory, and belonging; enrich human life with meaning and emotions by providing important social and psychological benefits; and enhance the quality of life of citizens, which is a key component of sustainability. Despite our understanding of the benefits of urban green spaces, little is known about the benefits of historical urban green spaces. To highlight their importance with regard to environmental sustainability and citizens’ well-being, this study analyzes a number of historical Persian gardens that are still actively used by urban residents. The findings suggest that historical Persian gardens could accommodate many social functions and address many of the psychological issues relating to urban dwelling. It has been generally acknowledged that sense of community and place attachment is pivotal to creating sustainable urban environments. Historical gardens as physical components can cohesively weave together many parts of cities of any cities while providing places for public congregation as well as attracting a variety of local economic activities. All these attributes can make historical Persian gardens as a valuable municipal resource and a key ingredient for city’s living sustainability.

Shanghai : literary imaginings of a city in transformation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheen, Lena Maria

2012-01-01

Shanghai is a city in flux. In recent years, workers and machines have frantically destroyed large parts of the city to build a new one. But the mental maps and personal memories of its citizens are not as easily erased. Hence a skyscraper designed to meet the growing demand for office property may

Food in the City: Review of Psychological Impact of Growing Food in Urban Spaces

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Surabhika Maheshwari

2017-02-01

Full Text Available The activity of growing food is an integral part of human civilization and survival. The present paper attempts at exploring the psychological impact of growing edible greens in the context of urban environment. The review focuses on the impact of growing food, with primary focus on psychological impact and mental health. The findings indicate an encouraging trend in urban farming, though research activity and academic interest in the area of psychological impact of growing food seems limited. Additionally, the review throws light on the sparse research in developing countries on the said topic.

Fruit-Growing in Latvia – Industry and Science

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kaufmane Edīte

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In all times, fruit trees for family use have been grown at Latvian farms. Yet these fruits obtained market value only after the land ownership reform in 19th century. This facilitated rapid area increase of different fruit crops, allowing supply with fruits not only the local market, but also for export to the largest cities of Russia. Especially fast development of fruit-growing was observed during the first independent republic (1919–1940. The demand for planting material increased, and plants were imported from Western Europe. Choice of unsuitable cultivars and rootstocks was the main reason of the massive orchard area loss during the following severe winters. After the Second World War, the Soviet powers supported only the establishment of large orchards for processing needs, 200-300 ha, which were unsuitable for the Latvian climate and terrain. At the same time, numbers of allotment gardens rapidly increased and part of their produce was sold also on the market. After regaining of independence and private property, interest in fresh fruit and berry production for market, as well as processing, renewed. It was hindered by lack of continuity in experience and knowledge. Diversity of terrain, soils and climate all demand considerate choice of suitable orchard location and cultivars. Direct use of foreign experience often led to failure. At present, development of the fruit industry is most of all hindered by lack of qualified specialists of different levels, which does not allow to establish an appropriate consulting system. Cooperation of growers for easier marketing also is developing too slowly. Insufficient economic and market research does not allow to balance the demand with increase of plantation area, especially for large-scale processing and export, so strategic guidance of the fruit industry is not possible. Development of fruit-growing is hindered also by a lack of continuous long-term support to horticultural science. As a

Clinical and taxonomic status of pathogenic nonpigmented or late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Elliott, Barbara A; Wallace, Richard J

2002-10-01

The history, taxonomy, geographic distribution, clinical disease, and therapy of the pathogenic nonpigmented or late-pigmenting rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are reviewed. Community-acquired disease and health care-associated disease are highlighted for each species. The latter grouping includes health care-associated outbreaks and pseudo-outbreaks as well as sporadic disease cases. Treatment recommendations for each species and type of disease are also described. Special emphasis is on the Mycobacterium fortuitum group, including M. fortuitum, M. peregrinum, and the unnamed third biovariant complex with its recent taxonomic changes and newly recognized species (including M. septicum, M. mageritense, and proposed species M. houstonense and M. bonickei). The clinical and taxonomic status of M. chelonae, M. abscessus, and M. mucogenicum is also detailed, along with that of the closely related new species, M. immunogenum. Additionally, newly recognized species, M. wolinskyi and M. goodii, as well as M. smegmatis sensu stricto, are included in a discussion of the M. smegmatis group. Laboratory diagnosis of RGM using phenotypic methods such as biochemical testing and high-performance liquid chromatography and molecular methods of diagnosis are also discussed. The latter includes PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis, hybridization, ribotyping, and sequence analysis. Susceptibility testing and antibiotic susceptibility patterns of the RGM are also annotated, along with the current recommendations from the National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCCLS) for mycobacterial susceptibility testing.

Rapidly-growing mycobacterial infection: a recognized cause of early-onset prosthetic joint infection.

Science.gov (United States)

Jitmuang, Anupop; Yuenyongviwat, Varah; Charoencholvanich, Keerati; Chayakulkeeree, Methee

2017-12-28

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is a major complication of total hip and total knee arthroplasty (THA, TKA). Although mycobacteria are rarely the causative pathogens, it is important to recognize and treat them differently from non-mycobacterial infections. This study aimed to compare the clinical characteristics, associated factors and long-term outcomes of mycobacterial and non-mycobacterial PJI. We conducted a retrospective case-control study of patients aged ≥18 years who were diagnosed with PJI of the hip or knee at Siriraj Hospital from January 2000 to December 2012. Patient characteristics, clinical data, treatments and outcomes were evaluated. A total of 178 patients were included, among whom 162 had non-mycobacterial PJI and 16 had mycobacterial PJI. Rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) (11) and M. tuberculosis (MTB) (5) were the causative pathogens of mycobacterial PJI. PJI duration and time until onset were significantly different between mycobacterial and non-mycobacterial PJI. Infection within 90 days of arthroplasty was significantly associated with RGM infection (OR 21.86; 95% CI 4.25-112.30; p infection. RGM were the major pathogens of early onset PJI after THA and TKA. Both a high clinical index of suspicion and mycobacterial cultures are recommended when medically managing PJI with negative cultures or non-response to antibiotics. Removal of infected implants was associated with favorable outcomes.

E-cigarettes: a rapidly growing Internet phenomenon.

Science.gov (United States)

Yamin, Cyrus K; Bitton, Asaf; Bates, David W

2010-11-02

Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) aerosolize nicotine and produce a vapor that emulates that of cigarettes but purportedly has fewer traditional toxins than secondhand smoke. Although e-cigarettes are widely sold online and by retailers, new research suggests that they may contain unexpected toxins and may provide unreliable nicotine delivery. Many countries have already banned or strictly regulated e-cigarettes. Currently in the United States, e-cigarettes are exempt from regulation as drug-delivery devices. Meanwhile, the presence of e-cigarettes on the Internet, including in Web searches, virtual user communities, and online stores where people sell e-cigarettes on commission, is increasing rapidly. Physicians should be aware of the popularity, questionable efficacy claims, and safety concerns of e-cigarettes so that they may counsel patients against use and advocate for research to inform an evidence-based regulatory approach.

A universal model for languages and cities, and their lifetimes

OpenAIRE

Tuncay, Caglar

2007-01-01

Present human languages display slightly asymmetric log-normal (Gauss) distribution for size [1-3], whereas present cities follow power law (Pareto-Zipf law)[4]. Our model considers the competition between languages and that between cities in terms of growing (multiplicative noise process)[5] and fragmentation [6]; where, relevant parameters are (naturally) different for languages and cities. We consider lifetime distribution for old and living languages and that for old and living cities. We...

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

Digging the New York City Skyline: soil fungal communities in green roofs and city parks.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuire, Krista L; Payne, Sara G; Palmer, Matthew I; Gillikin, Caitlyn M; Keefe, Dominique; Kim, Su Jin; Gedallovich, Seren M; Discenza, Julia; Rangamannar, Ramya; Koshner, Jennifer A; Massmann, Audrey L; Orazi, Giulia; Essene, Adam; Leff, Jonathan W; Fierer, Noah

2013-01-01

In urban environments, green roofs provide a number of benefits, including decreased urban heat island effects and reduced energy costs for buildings. However, little research has been done on the non-plant biota associated with green roofs, which likely affect their functionality. For the current study, we evaluated whether or not green roofs planted with two native plant communities in New York City functioned as habitats for soil fungal communities, and compared fungal communities in green roof growing media to soil microbial composition in five city parks, including Central Park and the High Line. Ten replicate roofs were sampled one year after planting; three of these roofs were more intensively sampled and compared to nearby city parks. Using Illumina sequencing of the fungal ITS region we found that green roofs supported a diverse fungal community, with numerous taxa belonging to fungal groups capable of surviving in disturbed and polluted habitats. Across roofs, there was significant biogeographical clustering of fungal communities, indicating that community assembly of roof microbes across the greater New York City area is locally variable. Green roof fungal communities were compositionally distinct from city parks and only 54% of the green roof taxa were also found in the park soils. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis revealed that park soils had greater microbial biomass and higher bacterial to fungal ratios than green roof substrates. City park soils were also more enriched with heavy metals, had lower pH, and lower quantities of total bases (Ca, K, and Mg) compared to green roof substrates. While fungal communities were compositionally distinct across green roofs, they did not differentiate by plant community. Together, these results suggest that fungi living in the growing medium of green roofs may be an underestimated component of these biotic systems functioning to support some of the valued ecological services of green roofs.

Digging the New York City Skyline: soil fungal communities in green roofs and city parks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Krista L McGuire

Full Text Available In urban environments, green roofs provide a number of benefits, including decreased urban heat island effects and reduced energy costs for buildings. However, little research has been done on the non-plant biota associated with green roofs, which likely affect their functionality. For the current study, we evaluated whether or not green roofs planted with two native plant communities in New York City functioned as habitats for soil fungal communities, and compared fungal communities in green roof growing media to soil microbial composition in five city parks, including Central Park and the High Line. Ten replicate roofs were sampled one year after planting; three of these roofs were more intensively sampled and compared to nearby city parks. Using Illumina sequencing of the fungal ITS region we found that green roofs supported a diverse fungal community, with numerous taxa belonging to fungal groups capable of surviving in disturbed and polluted habitats. Across roofs, there was significant biogeographical clustering of fungal communities, indicating that community assembly of roof microbes across the greater New York City area is locally variable. Green roof fungal communities were compositionally distinct from city parks and only 54% of the green roof taxa were also found in the park soils. Phospholipid fatty acid analysis revealed that park soils had greater microbial biomass and higher bacterial to fungal ratios than green roof substrates. City park soils were also more enriched with heavy metals, had lower pH, and lower quantities of total bases (Ca, K, and Mg compared to green roof substrates. While fungal communities were compositionally distinct across green roofs, they did not differentiate by plant community. Together, these results suggest that fungi living in the growing medium of green roofs may be an underestimated component of these biotic systems functioning to support some of the valued ecological services of green roofs.

New York City HIV superbug: fear or fear not?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Smith Stephen M

2005-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract On February 11, 2005, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene announced that a city resident had recently been infected with a multi-drug resistant form of HIV and rapidly progressed to AIDS. The Health Commissioner, Thomas R. Frieden, called for increased vigilance against this new strain. Is this situation an emerging crisis or simply an unusual case report of rapid HIV progression?

Active citizens and the historical identity of a city: The case of Bratislava-Podhradie

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Luther

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Social changes after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989 and the emergence of foreign companies, investors and development groups led to the rapid building development of the city, which offers an opportunity for an urban-ethnological analysis of the transformation of urban spaces. The author of this paper studied a case related to the transformation of a space considered by the city inhabitants as historically important. He discusses the issues of civic activism in the context of preservation of the historical identity of the city. He seeks answers to the following questions – What kind of processes are in conflict at the macro-level? What is the role of cultural aspects in these processes? What kind of collective identity do active members of a civic group share and demonstrate? The author seeks to grasp the issues of active citizenship through motivations and reasons, particular areas of interest, actual results, and effectiveness of civil activism. He concludes that interventions to preserve the historical identity of urban spaces have mobilised a part of the public and have become one of the incentives of growing civil engagement in the post-socialist period.

Africa: rapid population increase retards development.

Science.gov (United States)

1993-10-01

The Organization of African Unity (OAU), the African Development Bank (ADB) and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) have criticized African governments for not taking the problem of unchecked population growth seriously enough. "Until recently most African governments did not view rapid population growth as a matter for concern," said the OAU assistant secretary-general for political affairs, Machivenyika Mapuranga, at a seminar on 'population and development'. The OAU estimates that an annual average population increase of 3.1% far outstrips Africa's economic growth, which in 1992 was less than 1%. Mapuranga acknowledged that cutting the population increase is an uphill struggle, especially among rural communities. African agriculture is largely labor intensive, sustained by smallholders, which encourages farmers to have more children. Like other wage earners, African farmers look to support from their family when they grow old and, for that reason, the number of children also counts. But with agricultural production growing at an average annual rate of 2.5%, self-sufficiency in food remains an elusive goal. Cities in sub-Saharan Africa are growing much faster than the overall rate of population increase of 3.1% per year. Between 1980 and 1988 the region's urban population increased at the rate of 6.9% a year. Urban areas now account for nearly 30% of the sub-Saharan Africa population, currently put at 680 million. By 2025, approximately 700 million people are expected to live in urban areas. Despite migration to towns, the rural population is expected to rise more than 68%, reaching over 590 million. full text

Tetracycline resistance and presence of tetracycline resistance determinants .i.tet./i.(V) and .i.tap./i. in rapidly growing mycobacteria from agricultural soils and clinical isolates

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Kyselková, Martina; Chroňáková, Alica; Volná, Lucie; Němec, Jan; Ulmann, V.; Scharfen, J.; Elhottová, Dana

2012-01-01

Roč. 27, č. 4 (2012), s. 413-422 ISSN 1342-6311 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP504/10/2077; GA MŠk LC06066 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : efflux pump * rapidly growing Mycobacterium * tetracycline resistance * tap * tet (V) Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 2.444, year: 2012

DAMPAK PERKEMBANGAN CITY HOTEL TERHADAP USAHA HOTEL MELATI DI KOTA DENPASAR

OpenAIRE

Ketut Ngurah Trisni Sakawati

2015-01-01

The tourism sector of Bali has developed rapidly in the last tenyears, especially when it is seen from the trend of the numbers ofdomestic and foreign tourist arrivals. This trend is accompaniedwith the increasing number of accommodation facilities. Denpasaris a region which shows the rapid growth of accommodationfacilities, such as the presence of a number of hotels in the city areawhich is often referred to as a city hotel. This study examines thefactors that cause the growth of city hotels...

Drug Susceptibility Testing of 31 Antimicrobial Agents on Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria Isolates from China.

Science.gov (United States)

Pang, Hui; Li, Guilian; Zhao, Xiuqin; Liu, Haican; Wan, Kanglin; Yu, Ping

2015-01-01

Several species of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) are now recognized as human pathogens. However, limited data on effective drug treatments against these organisms exists. Here, we describe the species distribution and drug susceptibility profiles of RGM clinical isolates collected from four southern Chinese provinces from January 2005 to December 2012. Clinical isolates (73) were subjected to in vitro testing with 31 antimicrobial agents using the cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth microdilution method. The isolates included 55 M. abscessus, 11 M. fortuitum, 3 M. chelonae, 2 M. neoaurum, and 2 M. septicum isolates. M. abscessus (75.34%) and M. fortuitum (15.07%), the most common species, exhibited greater antibiotic resistance than the other three species. The isolates had low resistance to amikacin, linezolid, and tigecycline, and high resistance to first-line antituberculous agents, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, rifapentine, dapsone, thioacetazone, and pasiniazid. M. abscessus and M. fortuitum were highly resistant to ofloxacin and rifabutin, respectively. The isolates showed moderate resistance to the other antimicrobial agents. Our results suggest that tigecycline, linezolid, clofazimine, and cefmetazole are appropriate choices for M. abscessus infections. Capreomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tigecycline, clofazimine, and cefmetazole are potentially good choices for M. fortuitum infections. Our drug susceptibility data should be useful to clinicians.

Drug Susceptibility Testing of 31 Antimicrobial Agents on Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria Isolates from China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hui Pang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Objectives. Several species of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM are now recognized as human pathogens. However, limited data on effective drug treatments against these organisms exists. Here, we describe the species distribution and drug susceptibility profiles of RGM clinical isolates collected from four southern Chinese provinces from January 2005 to December 2012. Methods. Clinical isolates (73 were subjected to in vitro testing with 31 antimicrobial agents using the cation-adjusted Mueller-Hinton broth microdilution method. The isolates included 55 M. abscessus, 11 M. fortuitum, 3 M. chelonae, 2 M. neoaurum, and 2 M. septicum isolates. Results. M. abscessus (75.34% and M. fortuitum (15.07%, the most common species, exhibited greater antibiotic resistance than the other three species. The isolates had low resistance to amikacin, linezolid, and tigecycline, and high resistance to first-line antituberculous agents, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, rifapentine, dapsone, thioacetazone, and pasiniazid. M. abscessus and M. fortuitum were highly resistant to ofloxacin and rifabutin, respectively. The isolates showed moderate resistance to the other antimicrobial agents. Conclusions. Our results suggest that tigecycline, linezolid, clofazimine, and cefmetazole are appropriate choices for M. abscessus infections. Capreomycin, sulfamethoxazole, tigecycline, clofazimine, and cefmetazole are potentially good choices for M. fortuitum infections. Our drug susceptibility data should be useful to clinicians.

Relationship between Air Pollutants and Economic Development of the Provincial Capital Cities in China during the Past Decade

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunpeng; Chen, Huai; Zhu, Qiu'an; Peng, Changhui; Yang, Gang; Yang, Yanzheng; Zhang, Yao

2014-01-01

With the economic development of China, air pollutants are also growing rapidly in recent decades, especially in big cities of the country. To understand the relationship between economic condition and air pollutants in big cities, we analysed the socioeconomic indictorssuch as Gross Regional Product per capita (GRP per capita), the concentration of air pollutants (PM10, SO2, NO2) and the air pollution index (API) from 2003 to 2012 in 31 provincial capitals of mainland China. The three main industries had a quadratic correlation with NO2, but a negative relationship with PM10 and SO2. The concentration of air pollutants per ten thousand yuan decreased with the multiplying of GRP in the provinical cities. The concentration of air pollutants and API in the provincial capital cities showed a declining trend or inverted-U trend with the rise of GRP per capita, which provided a strong evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), that the environmental quality first declines, then improves, with the income growth. The results of this research improved our understanding of the alteration of atmospheric quality with the increase of social economy and demonstrated the feasibility of sustainable development for China. PMID:25083711

Relationship between air pollutants and economic development of the provincial capital cities in China during the past decade.

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Yunpeng; Chen, Huai; Zhu, Qiu'an; Peng, Changhui; Yang, Gang; Yang, Yanzheng; Zhang, Yao

2014-01-01

With the economic development of China, air pollutants are also growing rapidly in recent decades, especially in big cities of the country. To understand the relationship between economic condition and air pollutants in big cities, we analysed the socioeconomic indictors such as Gross Regional Product per capita (GRP per capita), the concentration of air pollutants (PM10, SO2, NO2) and the air pollution index (API) from 2003 to 2012 in 31 provincial capitals of mainland China. The three main industries had a quadratic correlation with NO2, but a negative relationship with PM10 and SO2. The concentration of air pollutants per ten thousand yuan decreased with the multiplying of GRP in the provincial cities. The concentration of air pollutants and API in the provincial capital cities showed a declining trend or inverted-U trend with the rise of GRP per capita, which provided a strong evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC), that the environmental quality first declines, then improves, with the income growth. The results of this research improved our understanding of the alteration of atmospheric quality with the increase of social economy and demonstrated the feasibility of sustainable development for China.

Socio-economic segregation in European capital cities: East meets West

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tammaru, T.; Marcińczak, S.; van Ham, M.; Musterd, S.

2016-01-01

Growing inequalities in Europe are a major challenge threatening the sustainability of urban communities and the competiveness of European cities. While the levels of socio-economic segregation in European cities are still modest compared to some parts of the world, the poor are increasingly

The Changing Face of the of Former Soviet Cities: Elucidated by Remote Sensing and Machine Learning Techniques

Science.gov (United States)

Poghosyan, Armen

2017-04-01

Despite remote sensing of urbanization emerged as a powerful tool to acquire critical knowledge about urban growth and its effects on global environmental change, human-environment interface as well as environmentally sustainable urban development, there is lack of studies utilizing remote sensing techniques to investigate urbanization trends in the Post-Soviet states. The unique challenges accompanying the urbanization in the Post-Soviet republics combined with the expected robust urban growth in developing countries over the next several decades highlight the critical need for a quantitative assessment of the urban dynamics in the former Soviet states as they navigate towards a free market democracy. This study uses total of 32 Level-1 precision terrain corrected (L1T) Landsat scenes with 30-m resolution as well as further auxiliary population and economic data for ten cities distributed in nine former Soviet republics to quantify the urbanization patterns in the Post-Soviet region. Land cover in each urban center of this study was classified by using Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning algorithm with overall accuracies ranging from 87 % to 97 % for 29 classification maps over three time steps during the past twenty-five years in order to estimate quantities, trends and drivers of urban growth in the study area. The results demonstrated several spatial and temporal urbanization patterns observed across the Post-Soviet states and based on urban expansion rates the cities can be divided into two groups, fast growing and slow growing urban centers. The relatively fast-growing urban centers have an average urban expansion rate of about 2.8 % per year, whereas the slow growing cities have an average urban expansion rate of about 1.0 % per year. The total area of new land converted to urban environment ranged from as low as 26 km2 to as high as 780 km2 for the ten cities over the 1990 - 2015 period, while the overall urban land increase ranged from 11.3 % to 96

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

Rapidly 3D Texture Reconstruction Based on Oblique Photography

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

ZHANG Chunsen

2015-07-01

Full Text Available This paper proposes a city texture fast reconstruction method based on aerial tilt image for reconstruction of three-dimensional city model. Based on the photogrammetry and computer vision theory and using the city building digital surface model obtained by prior treatment, through collinear equation calculation geometric projection of object and image space, to obtain the three-dimensional information and texture information of the structure and through certain the optimal algorithm selecting the optimal texture on the surface of the object, realize automatic extraction of the building side texture and occlusion handling of the dense building texture. The real image texture reconstruction results show that: the method to the 3D city model texture reconstruction has the characteristics of high degree of automation, vivid effect and low cost and provides a means of effective implementation for rapid and widespread real texture rapid reconstruction of city 3D model.

Rapid-Growing Mycobacteria Infections in Medical Tourists: Our Experience and Literature Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Mansher; Dugdale, Caitlin M; Solomon, Isaac H; Huang, Anne; Montgomery, Mary W; Pomahac, Bohdan; Yawetz, Sigal; Maguire, James H; Talbot, Simon G

2016-09-01

"Medical tourism" has gained popularity over the past few decades. This is particularly common with patients seeking elective cosmetic surgery in the developing world. However, the risk of severe and unusual infectious complications appears to be higher than for patients undergoing similar procedures in the United States. The authors describe their experience with atypical mycobacterial infections in cosmetic surgical patients returning to the United States postoperatively. A review of patient medical records presenting with infectious complications after cosmetic surgery between January 2010 and July 2015 was performed. Patients presenting with mycobacterial infections following cosmetic surgery were reviewed in detail. An extensive literature review was performed for rapid-growing mycobacteria (RGM) related to cosmetic procedures. Between January 2010 and July 2015, three patients presented to our institution with culture-proven Mycobacterium abscessus at the sites of recent cosmetic surgery. All had surgery performed in the developing world. The mean age of these patients was 36 years (range, 29-44 years). There was a delay of up to 16 weeks between the initial presentation and correct diagnosis. All patients were treated with surgical drainage and combination antibiotics with complete resolution. We present series of patients with mycobacterial infections after cosmetic surgery in the developing world. This may be related to the endemic nature of these bacteria and/or inadequate sterilization or sterile technique. Due to low domestic incidence of these infections, diagnosis may be difficult and/or delayed. Consulting physicians should have a low threshold to consider atypical etiologies in such scenarios. 5 Therapeutic. © 2016 The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, Inc. Reprints and permission: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Growing up in New York City: A Generational Memoir (1941–1960

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Howard R. Wolf

2010-05-01

Full Text Available If historians tend to proceed from external data to hidden motivation of key players, the personal essayist typically moves from the intimate level to the plane of sociology, politics, and history. He becomes, therefore, a generational memoirist. In this autobiographical essay, Howard R. Wolf seeks to become a generational memoirist of New York City.

Resilient Cities Initiative on Climate Change in Latin America and ...

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

Resilient Cities Initiative on Climate Change in Latin America and the Caribbean ... and Development Knowledge Network will help strengthen decision-making and ... represent a serious threat for fast-growing small- and medium-sized cities. ... guidance on how to integrate gender practices into climate resilient plans for ...

Rapidly growing non-tuberculous mycobacteria infection of prosthetic knee joints: A report of two cases.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Manyoung; Ha, Chul-Won; Jang, Jae Won; Park, Yong-Beom

2017-08-01

Non-tuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) cause prosthetic knee joint infections in rare cases. Infections with rapidly growing non-tuberculous mycobacteria (RGNTM) are difficult to treat due to their aggressive clinical behavior and resistance to antibiotics. Infections of a prosthetic knee joint by RGNTM have rarely been reported. A standard of treatment has not yet been established because of the rarity of the condition. In previous reports, diagnoses of RGNTM infections in prosthetic knee joints took a long time to reach because the condition was not suspected, due to its rarity. In addition, it is difficult to identify RGNTM in the lab because special identification tests are needed. In previous reports, after treatment for RGNTM prosthetic infections, knee prostheses could not be re-implanted in all cases but one, resulting in arthrodesis or resection arthroplasty; this was most likely due to the aggressiveness of these organisms. In the present report, two cases of prosthetic knee joint infection caused by RGNTM (Mycobacterium abscessus) are described that were successfully treated, and in which prosthetic joints were finally reimplanted in two-stage revision surgery. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Limits of Water Pricing in a Developing Country Metropolis: Empirical Lessons from an Industrial City of Pakistan

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Shabbir Ahmad

2017-07-01

Full Text Available This paper seeks to question the effectiveness of water pricing as a means of consumer behavioural change in urban centres of the Global South by analysing the domestic usage for water in a major industrial city of Pakistan. Using survey data of 1100 households from Faisalabad city, we estimate the price and income elasticities of water demand. Instrumental variable methods are applied to overcome the endogeneity issues of water pricing. The findings reflect that price and income elasticities vary across different groups. Price elasticities range from −0.43 to −0.71, and income elasticities vary between 0.01 and 0.12. These findings suggest that pricing policies may have limited scope to drive households’ water consumption patterns. However, these empirics may suggest that policy makers should design an appropriate tariff structure to increase revenues that can be invested to further improve the existing water infrastructure. The study findings also suggest that non-pricing instruments, such as water saving campaigns, may be helpful in driving an efficient use of water in rapidly growing cities in the developing world.

Beyond traffic : the smart city challenge.

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Beyond Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices : study indicates that many communities will experience rapid population increases and : rapidly growing demands on their transportation infrastructure in the next ...

DAMPAK PERKEMBANGAN CITY HOTEL TERHADAP USAHA HOTEL MELATI DI KOTA DENPASAR

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ketut Ngurah Trisni Sakawati

2015-09-01

Full Text Available The tourism sector of Bali has developed rapidly in the last tenyears, especially when it is seen from the trend of the numbers ofdomestic and foreign tourist arrivals. This trend is accompaniedwith the increasing number of accommodation facilities. Denpasaris a region which shows the rapid growth of accommodationfacilities, such as the presence of a number of hotels in the city areawhich is often referred to as a city hotel. This study examines thefactors that cause the growth of city hotels, the impacts of the cityhotel growths on the budget hotel businesses, the competition andbusiness strategies of inter-city hotels as well as their influences onbusiness strategies of budget hotels in Denpasar City. The theoriesapplied in the study were the theory of supply and demand, theimpact theory and the theory of tourism policy. Data were collectedthrough observation and interviews with relevant tourismstakeholders. The findings show the rapid developments of the cityhotels have given negatif and positive impacts on the businesses ofthe budget hotels in Denpasar. To prevent excessive developmentof the city hotel, it is recommended to Denpasar government todevelop a needs assessment of hotel rooms and some policies suchas standard setting policies of room rates or equitable policy of thehotel developments.

Sharing City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

This magazine offers an insight into the growing commercial innovation, civic movements, and political narratives surrounding sharing economy services, solutions and organisational types. It presents a cross-section of the manifold sharing economy services and solutions that can be found in Denmark....... Moreover, 15 thought leading experts - professionals and academic - have been invited to give their perspective on sharing economy for cities. This magazine touches upon aspects of the sharing economy as mobility, communities, sustainability, business development, mobility, and urban-rural relation....

Did Brisbane Grow Smartly? Drivers of City Growth 1991-2001 and Lessons for Current Policies

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Farjana Mostafiz Shatu

2014-10-01

Full Text Available Urban areas are growing unsustainably around the world; however, the growth patterns and their associated drivers vary between contexts. As a result, research has highlighted the need to adopt case study based approaches to stimulate the development of new theoretic understandings. Using land-cover data sets derived from Landsat images (30 m × 30 m, this research identifies both patterns and drivers of urban growth in a period (1991-2001 when a number of policy acts were enacted aimed at fostering smart growth in Brisbane, Australia. A linear multiple regression model was estimated using the proportion of lands that were converted from non-built-up (1991 to built-up usage (2001 within a suburb as a dependent variable to identify significant drivers of land-cover changes. In addition, the hot spot analysis was conducted to identify spatial biases of land-cover changes, if any. Results show that the built-up areas increased by 1.34% every year. About 19.56% of the non-built-up lands in 1991 were converted into built-up lands in 2001. This conversion pattern was significantly biased in the northernmost and southernmost suburbs in the city. This is due to the fact that, as evident from the regression analysis, these suburbs experienced a higher rate of population growth, and had the availability of habitable green field sites in relatively flat lands. The above findings suggest that the policy interventions undertaken between the periods were not as effective in promoting sustainable changes in the environment as they were aimed for.

[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

Fostering and sustaining innovation in a Fast Growing Agile Company

OpenAIRE

Moe, NilsBrede; Barney, Sebastian; Aurum, Aybüe; Khurum, Mahvish; Wohlin, Claes; Barney, Hamish; Gorschek, Tony; Winata, Martha

2012-01-01

Sustaining innovation in a fast growing software development company is difficult. As organisations grow, peoples' focus often changes from the big picture of the product being developed to the specific role they fill. This paper presents two complementary approaches that were successfully used to support continued developer-driven innovation in a rapidly growing Australian agile software development company. The method "FedEx TM Day" gives developers one day to showcase a proof of concept th...

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

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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.

Safety dose of three commercially used growth promoters: nuricell- aqua, hepaprotect-aqua and rapid-grow on growth and survival of Thai pangas (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus

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Md. Ariful Islam

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: To optimize the dose of 3 commonly used growth promoters, viz., Nuricell-Aqua (composition: glucomannan complex and mannose polymer, Hepaprotect-Aqua (composition: β-glucan, mannose polymer and essential oil and Rapid-Grow (composition: organic acid and their salt, β-glucan, mannose oligosaccharide and essential oil, using Thai pangas (Pangasiandon hypophthalmus as cultured species. Methods: Thai pangas fingerlings with an average length and weight of 11 cm and 10 g were reared under laboratory condition and growth promoters were fed after incorporating them with a test diet at a ratio of 10% of their body weight for a period of 28 d. Estimation of data on growth such as weight gain (g, specific growth rate, survivability (% test in each aquarium were conducted and data were analyzed using statistical software. Results: After 28 d of feeding with Nutricell-Aqua, 10 mg/(20 g feed·day, which was the dose recommended by the manufacturer, was found better. When Hepaprotect-Aqua and Rapid-Grow were employed, performance was found to be better with the dose of 60 mg/(20 g feed·day which was 1.5 times higher than the dose recommended by the corresponding manufacturer. Conclusions: These results suggest that chemicals and feed additives marketed in Bangladesh Fish Feed Market need further testing under Bangladesh climatic condition before being marketed.

Relationship between air pollutants and economic development of the provincial capital cities in China during the past decade.

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Yunpeng Luo

Full Text Available With the economic development of China, air pollutants are also growing rapidly in recent decades, especially in big cities of the country. To understand the relationship between economic condition and air pollutants in big cities, we analysed the socioeconomic indictors such as Gross Regional Product per capita (GRP per capita, the concentration of air pollutants (PM10, SO2, NO2 and the air pollution index (API from 2003 to 2012 in 31 provincial capitals of mainland China. The three main industries had a quadratic correlation with NO2, but a negative relationship with PM10 and SO2. The concentration of air pollutants per ten thousand yuan decreased with the multiplying of GRP in the provincial cities. The concentration of air pollutants and API in the provincial capital cities showed a declining trend or inverted-U trend with the rise of GRP per capita, which provided a strong evidence for the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC, that the environmental quality first declines, then improves, with the income growth. The results of this research improved our understanding of the alteration of atmospheric quality with the increase of social economy and demonstrated the feasibility of sustainable development for China.

Smart Cities and the Ageing Population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Skouby, Knud Erik; Kivimäki, Anri; Haukiputo, Lotta

Due to a growing number of elderly people, it is a necessity to create the cities that are aware of the special needs of all their citizens including the needs of aging populations. This paper shows that by combining smart homes with smart cities, we are able to provide an ICT infrastructure...... population to support independent elderly living. Using ICT in a smart city/home context can provide personalized health care, social services and intelligent community services. Homecare systems for elderly people are becoming important due to economic reasons as well as patients’ preferences. The expected...... and 3D virtual world design. In this paper we will discuss how the recent development in ICT, and its particular components, Internet of Things (IoT), Clouds of Things, the Advanced Artificial Intelligence, can become building blocks between elderly people, smart homes and smart cities. Also, we...

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

Measurements of traffic emissions over a medium-sized city using long-path measurements and comparison against bottom-up city estimates

Science.gov (United States)

Waxman, E.; Cossel, K.; Truong, G. W.; Giorgetta, F.; Swann, W.; Coddington, I.; Newbury, N.

2017-12-01

Understanding emissions from cities is increasingly important as a growing fraction of the world's population moves to cities. Here we use a novel technology, dual frequency comb spectroscopy, to measure city emissions using a long outdoor open path. We simultaneously measured CO2, CH4, and H2O over the city of Boulder, Colorado and over a clean-air reference path for two months in the fall of 2016. Because of the spatial coverage of our measurements, the layout of the city and power plant locations, and the predominant wind direction, our measurements primarily pick up vehicle emissions. We choose two days with consistent CO2 enhancements over the city relative to the reference path and use a simple 0-D box model to calculate city emissions for these days. We scale these up to annual emissions and compare our measurements with the City of Boulder bottom-up vehicle emissions inventory based on total vehicle miles traveled, fuel efficiency, and vehicle type distribution. We find good agreement (within about a factor of two) between our top-down measurements and the city's bottom-up inventory value.

City transformations in a 1.5 °C warmer world

Science.gov (United States)

Solecki, William; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Dhakal, Shobhakar; Roberts, Debra; Barau, Aliyu Salisu; Schultz, Seth; Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana

2018-03-01

Meeting the ambitions of the Paris Agreement will require rapid and massive decarbonization of cities, as well as adaptation. Capacity and requirement differs across cities, with challenges and opportunities for transformational action in both the Global North and South.

Shrinking Cities or Urban Transformation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Laursen, Lea Louise Holst

Shrinking Cities or Urban Transformation is a PhD-thesis conducted at the Department of Architecture and Design, Aalborg University in the period 2004-2008. The PhD concerns the spatial changes that emerge in contemporary urbanity. Contemporary urbanity can among others be characterized as both...... growing and declining. On the one hand, a concentration of the urban into a highly urbanized nodal point is happening and on the other a deconcentration of the urban fabric in declining territories is taking place. The starting point for the dissertation is the term shrinking cities, which has been...... investigation of the cases Baltimore and Denmark is conducted. This shall shed light upon whether the theoretical assumptions correspond to what is happening in the real world. The introduction of the term urban transformation is the result of these investigations and a response to shrinking cities. Urban...

[WHO Healthy City Initiative in Japan].

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshizawa, Kazuko

2013-01-01

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

Theorodokoi, Asylia, and the Cities of Macedonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ben Raynor

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Reception of theoroi and decrees of asylia, being harmless gestures, are not evidence of the cities’ independence of the king; these gestures proliferate with the growing involvement of the cities with the rest of the Greek world.

Rare Rapidly Growing Thumb Lesion in a 12-Year-Old Male

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alana J Arnold, MD, MBA

2018-04-01

��t amenable to surgery.4 Surgery is the mainstay of care. The first medical treatment, denosumab, was approved by the FDA for use in adults and skeletally mature adolescents with surgically unresectable lesions.5 It is critical to obtain definitive imaging and biopsy of any rapidly growing lesions in patients presenting with masses and no history of trauma or constitutional symptoms. The best imaging study is MRI, to assess for bony and tissue involvement and surgical approach. Computed tomography may be used; however, it doesn’t delineate the soft tissue and bony connections as well. Standard oncology labs should be drawn as well, including: CBC with differential, LDH, uric acid, CMP, ESR. The growth of the tumor is insidious and therefore imaging should be done based on clinical concern. In the ED setting, if close follow up can be ensured, imaging can be done as an out-patient. Annual surveillance is recommended for at least 5 years in most patients, even after total resection, according to some studies.3 Our patient underwent GCTB resection with plastics surgery of the distal phalanx of thumb. He was seen in follow-up in the oncology clinic. Pathology of the tumor had negative margins, and he was told to follow-up in six months with plastics. Per hematology, no further follow-up was needed. Topics: Pediatrics, giant cell tumor, thumb lesion

Reverse logistics system and recycling potential at a landfill: A case study from Kampala City.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinobe, J R; Gebresenbet, G; Niwagaba, C B; Vinnerås, B

2015-08-01

The rapid growing population and high urbanisation rates in Sub-Saharan Africa has caused enormous pressure on collection services of the generated waste in the urban areas. This has put a burden on landfilling, which is the major waste disposal method. Waste reduction, re-use and recycling opportunities exist but are not fully utilized. The common items that are re-used and re-cycled are plastics, paper, aluminum, glass, steel, cardboard, and yard waste. This paper develops an overview of reverse logistics at Kiteezi landfill, the only officially recognised waste disposal facility for Kampala City. The paper analyses, in details the collection, re-processing, re-distribution and final markets of these products into a reversed supply chain network. Only 14% of the products at Kiteezi landfill are channeled into the reverse chain while 63% could be included in the distribution chain but are left out and disposed of while the remaining 23% is buried. This is because of the low processing power available, lack of market value, lack of knowledge and limited value addition activities to the products. This paper proposes possible strategies of efficient and effective reverse logistics development, applicable to Kampala City and other similar cities. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ecology for the shrinking city (JA) | Science Inventory | US ...

Science.gov (United States)

This article brings together the concepts of shrinking cities—the hundreds of cities worldwide experiencing long-term population loss—and ecology for the city. Ecology for the city is the application of a social–ecological understanding to shaping urban form and function along sustainable trajectories. Ecology for the shrinking city therefore acknowledges that urban transformations to sustainable trajectories may be quite different in shrinking cities as compared with growing cities. Shrinking cities are well poised for transformations, because shrinking is perceived as a crisis and can mobilize the social capacity to change. Ecology is particularly well suited to contribute solutions because of the extent of vacant land in shrinking cities that can be leveraged for ecosystem-services provisioning. A crucial role of an ecology for the shrinking city is identifying innovative pathways that create locally desired amenities that provide ecosystem services and contribute to urban sustainability at multiple scales. This paper brings together the concepts of ecology for the city and shrinking cities – the hundreds of cities worldwide experiencing long-term population loss. Ecology for the city is the application of social-ecological understanding to shaping urban form and function along sustainable trajectories. Ecology for the shrinking city acknowledges that urban transformations to sustainable trajectories may be quite different in shrinking cities as compa

Experiencing the Tourist City. The European Capital of Culture in Re-Designing City Routes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Manuela Guerreiro

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Assuming that providing memorable experiences is the raison d’être of tourism industry, the city envisaged as a tourist destination should assume the tourist’s perspective when designing the settings and the most significant activities of a visit. Cities are facing new challenges, noticeably the globalisation of economies, the growing importance of the visual and the symbolic that define the current trends of consumption and the attractiveness of a place. Culture and events play a strategic role when designing innovative and appealing tourism experiences. The European Capital of Culture (ECoC is an international event which represents a unique opportunity for the cities to stand out in this globalised and competitive scenario. This paper focuses on the study of Pécs, European Capital of Culture 2010, and it aims to study the influence of this event on the design of city tourism routes. A survey by questionnaire was administered to tourists before and during ECoC in Pécs. Respondents indicated in open-ended questions the most outstanding points in their visit to the city, on which were designed the relevant circuits and routes during that tourist experience in Pécs. Data analysis was performed using the statistical software STAS.

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

Future city architecture for optimal living

CERN Document Server

Pardalos, Panos

2015-01-01

  This book offers a wealth of interdisciplinary approaches to urbanization strategies in architecture centered on growing concerns about the future of cities and their impacts on essential elements of architectural optimization, livability, energy consumption and sustainability. It portrays the urban condition in architectural terms, as well as the living condition in human terms, both of which can be optimized by mathematical modeling as well as mathematical calculation and assessment.   Special features include:   ·        new research on the construction of future cities and smart cities   ·        discussions of sustainability and new technologies designed to advance ideas to future city developments   Graduate students and researchers in architecture, engineering, mathematical modeling, and building physics will be engaged by the contributions written by eminent international experts from a variety of disciplines including architecture, engineering, modeling, optimization, and relat...

Inhibition of trihalomethane formation in city water by radiation-ozone treatment and rapid composting of radiation disinfected sewage sludge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Takehisa, M.; Arai, H.; Arai, M.

1985-01-01

Humic acid and Fulvic acid in natural water are precursors of carcinogenic THM which is formed during chlorine disinfection in city water processing. The radiation-oxidation process in the presence of ozone is effective to remove the precursors. The THM formation was reduced more than the decrease in TOC by the combination treatment. This is mainly due to a change in the chemical structure of the oxidation products. A composting of radiation disinfected sludge cake for agricultural reuse could be achieved within 3 days primary fermentation in a sewage plant. The rapid fermentation with use of radiation is effective to scale down of a fermentor of composting plant and the process reduces a health risk from the workers as well as final users. (author)

Inhibition of trihalomethane formation in city water by radiation-ozone treatment and rapid composting of radiation disinfected sewage sludge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Takehisa, M; Arai, H; Arai, M

1985-01-01

Humic acid and Fulvic acid in natural water are precursors of carcinogenic THM which is formed during chlorine disinfection in city water processing. The radiation-oxidation process in the presence of ozone is effective to remove the precursors. The THM formation was reduced more than the decrease in TOC by the combination treatment. This is mainly due to a change in the chemical structure of the oxidation products. A composting of radiation disinfected sludge cake for agricultural reuse could be achieved within 3 days primary fermentation in a sewage plant. The rapid fermentation with use of radiation is effective to scale down a fermentor of a composting plant and the process reduces health risk for the workers as well as final users.

Air-quality measurements in mega-cities: Focus on gaseous organic and particulate pollutants and comparison between two contrasted cities, Paris and Beijing

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gros, V.; Sciare, J.; Yu, T.

2007-01-01

The rapid and important development of large urban areas ('mega-cities'), especially in developing countries, causes and will cause serious air-quality problems. Pollutant measurements in these cities help to characterize the chemical nature and the quantity of these pollutants and to constrain air-quality models. This paper focuses on measurements of volatile organic compounds and aerosols that have an important impact on air quality. We present a brief review on existing measurements and experimental strategies in mega-cities and then we show results from recent measurement campaigns that took place in two contrasted mega-cities: Paris and Beijing. (authors)

Wild growing mushrooms for the Edible City? Cadmium and lead content in edible mushrooms harvested within the urban agglomeration of Berlin, Germany

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schlecht, Martin Thomas; Säumel, Ina

2015-01-01

Health effects by consuming urban garden products are discussed controversially due to high urban pollution loads. We sampled wild edible mushrooms of different habitats and commercial mushroom cultivars exposed to high traffic areas within Berlin, Germany. We determined the content of cadmium and lead in the fruiting bodies and analysed how the local setting shaped the concentration patterns. EU standards for cultivated mushrooms were exceeded by 86% of the wild mushroom samples for lead and by 54% for cadmium but not by mushroom cultures. We revealed significant differences in trace metal content depending on species, trophic status, habitat and local traffic burden. Higher overall traffic burden increased trace metal content in the biomass of wild mushrooms, whereas cultivated mushrooms exposed to inner city high traffic areas had significantly lower trace metal contents. Based on these we discuss the consequences for the consumption of mushrooms originating from urban areas. - Highlights: • Popular edible mushrooms display large variations in Cd and Pb content. • Low accumulating species are Sparassis crispa, Boletus luridus, or Boletus badius. • High accumulating species are Agaricus ssp., Russula vesca, or Calvatia gigantea. • Cd and Pb content in wild growing edible mushrooms were mostly above EU limits for cultivated mushrooms. • Cd and Pb content in commercial mushrooms cultures were regularly below EU limits for cultivated mushrooms. - Commercial mushroom cultures can be integrated into ‘Edible City’ approaches, but majority of wild growing mushroom samples highly accumulate trace metals

Sea-level rise risks to coastal cities

Science.gov (United States)

Nicholls, Robert J.

2017-04-01

Understanding the consequence of sea-level rise for coastal cities has long lead times and huge political implications. Civilisation has emerged and developed during a period of several thousand years during which in geological terms sea level has been unusually stable. We have now moved out of this period and the challenge will be to develop a long-term proactive assessment approach to manage this challenge. In 2005 there were 136 coastal cities with a population exceeding one million people and a collective population of 400 million people. All these coastal cities are threatened by flooding from the sea to varying degrees and these risks are increasing due to growing exposure (people and assets), rising sea levels due to climate change, and in some cities, significant coastal subsidence due to human agency (drainage and groundwater withdrawals from susceptible soils). In these cities we wish to avoid major flood events, with associated damage and potentially deaths and ultimately decline of the cities. Flood risks grow with sea-level rise as it raises extreme sea levels. As sea levels continue to rise, protection will have to be progressively upgraded. Even with this, the magnitude of losses when flood events do occur would increase as coastal cities expand, and water depths and hence unit damage increase with sea-level rise/subsidence. This makes it critical to also prepare for larger coastal flood disasters than we experience today and raises questions on the limits to adaptation. There is not an extensive literature or significant empirical information on the limits to adaptation in coastal cities. These limits are not predictable in a formal sense - while the rise in mean sea level raises the likelihood of a catastrophic flood, extreme events are what cause damage and trigger a response, be it abandonment, a defence upgrade or something else. There are several types of potential limits that could be categorised into three broad types: • Physical

Semantic web approach for dealing with administrative boundary revisions: a case study of Dhaka City

OpenAIRE

Pervin, Shiuli

2013-01-01

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies. Dhaka City is the capital of Bangladesh and boundary revisions of Dhaka city refers to the changes of Dhaka city administrative boundary or jurisdiction over time. Dhaka is growing very fast in terms of population and area. So, government is redefining city boundaries and also making big units into several parts for better city management. Now, the challenge is ...

Modelling and evaluating municipal solid waste management strategies in a mega-city: the case of Ho Chi Minh City.

Science.gov (United States)

ThiKimOanh, Le; Bloemhof-Ruwaard, Jacqueline M; van Buuren, Joost Cl; van der Vorst, Jack Gaj; Rulkens, Wim H

2015-04-01

Ho Chi Minh City is a large city that will become a mega-city in the near future. The city struggles with a rapidly increasing flow of municipal solid waste and a foreseeable scarcity of land to continue landfilling, the main treatment of municipal solid waste up to now. Therefore, additional municipal solid waste treatment technologies are needed. The objective of this article is to support decision-making towards more sustainable and cost-effective municipal solid waste strategies in developing countries, in particular Vietnam. A quantitative decision support model is developed to optimise the distribution of municipal solid waste from population areas to treatment plants, the treatment technologies and their capacities for the near future given available infrastructure and cost factors. © The Author(s) 2015.

Big data analytics for mitigating carbon emissions in smart cities : opportunities and challenges

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Giest, S.N.

2017-01-01

The paper addresses the growing scepticism around big data use in the context of smart cities. Big data is said to transform city governments into being more efficient, effective and evidence-based. However, critics point towards the limited capacity of government to overcome the siloed structure of

The challenges of water, waste and climate change in cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koop, Stef; van Leeuwen, C. J.

2017-01-01

Cities play a prominent role in our economic development as more than 80 % of the gross world product (GWP) comes from cities. Only 600 urban areas with just 20 % of the world population generate 60 % of the GWP. Rapid urbanization, climate change, inadequate maintenance of water and wastewater

[Imitative urbanisation and the outward growth of African cities].

Science.gov (United States)

Badibanga, A

1985-01-01

The city with its modern infrastructure and surrounding squatter settlements is exogenous to Africa because of its organization, location, and original functions. Cities were founded in the colonial era and still are not often situated in the center of national territories but rather near a port, a border, or a source of raw materials. A primary purpose of cities was the exogenous 1 of providing a link between land and sea, raw materials and distant markets. The city of the natives was haphazardly constructed at the periphery of the European city. The barrier it once provided between African and colonist now serves to separate mass and elite. Shanty towns, 1 of the worst urban plagues and the most perfect reflection of the absolute poverty of some parts of African cities, seem to surge spontaneously in the immediate outskirts of cities. Neither their size nor their rapid growth was foreseen by urban planners. Urban overpopulation due to rapid natural increase and immigration resulting from the excessive openness to the exterior is the major problem of African urbanization in the late 20th century. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the population of cities with 5000 or more inhabitants increased from 23 million in 1960 to 75 million in 1980. Urbanization is increasing in Africa at the rate of 10%/year. Among the many causes of this dizzying urban growth, the rural exodus is 1 of the most important and itself is caused by a multitude of economic, social, and political factors. The principal economic cause is the difficulty of earning cash in the countryside and the presumed availability of employment in cities. Natural and geographic factors such as alternating rainy and dry seasons and serious droughts also favor abandonment of the countryside, at least temporarily. Famine resulting from food deficits caused by the disturbed equilibrium between population and resources and the diversion of arable lands to cash crops also favors massive

Antigovernment Groups. A Growing Threat to US Security

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Swift, Alicia L. [Los Alamos National Laboratory

2016-04-25

Domestic terrorism is a growing threat in the United States, particularly from the 998 right-wing antigovernment (AG) groups in existence in 2015. In the years since the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York City, right-wing anti-government acts have oc- curred more often and killed more people in the United States than Muslim extremists. Such AG group members are often in uenced by racist, anti-Semitic, or anti-Islamic views, believe conspiracy theories about the government, and often refuse to pay taxes or participate in frivolous lawsuits in order to intentionally waste the government's time. There is, however, a violent element to these groups which participates in events ranging from the armed take-over of federal land in Oregon, to an armed stand-o with federal agents in Nevada, to the bombing of the Oklahoma City building which killed 168 people. Such acts may be conducted by a few individuals, as is the case of the Oklahoma City bombing, or an entire group. Such groups have a wide range of capabilities, with typical weapons including legal and illegal rearms, with a focus on purchasing fully automatic weapons; hand grenades, with some homemade; deadly tox- ins, like ricin (in multiple cases) and sodium cyanide (in one case); transportation, such as all-terrain vehicles (ATVs); arson, with the intent of destroying federal property; and explosives, often in large numbers and including pipe bombs, truck bombs, IEDs, and other homemade explosives. The growing acceptance of these violent methods by Republican congressmen and governors, however, only increases visibility of such groups and encourages their behavior. Coupled with the removal of the Department of Homeland Security's division responsible for monitoring such groups, the result could prove disastrous for the safety of United States citizens.

Recent rapid increases in the demand for city gas in manufacturing industries and future developments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kusano, Shigero

1992-01-01

City gas companies in Japan are experiencing an expansion in demand for gas in all manufacturing industries. The reason for this is, first and foremost, external, in that the first and second oil crises and the recent Gulf War have placed the oil market in a state of flux. That is to say, supply and demand in the oil products market is unstable while the stability of city gas, which is the main raw material for LNG, is being highly appraised. Another external reason is related to a subject much in the news recently the world over - the environment. City gas is highly regarded for its minimum environmental impact. Domestic reasons for the expansion include the fact that with the increase in use of city gas in manufacturing industries, the end user is beginning to recognize the various special qualities that city gas possesses. The expansion is also due in part to the unrelenting efforts in sales by the gas producers themselves. This report focuses on the expansion in demand in city gas over the past ten years from the point of view of Tokyo Gas as a producer that has been party to the increased sales of city gas in manufacturing industries for over 10 years giving views on the reasons for the increase. Graphic reports of the actual situation of the industry at meetings such as these are rare and therefore although this is slightly different from the main theme, I would like to proceed with the debate in the hope that this will be beneficial in the expansion of future gas demand in countries all over the world

Mortality from road traffic accidents in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city: A 20-year analysis in Shenzhen, 1994-2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Shao-Hua; Wu, Yong-Sheng; Liu, Xiao-Jian; Fu, Ying-Bin; Li, Shan-Shan; Ma, Han-Wu; Zou, Fei; Cheng, Jin-Quan

2016-01-01

This study aimed to describe the trends of motorization and mortality rates from road traffic accidents and examine their associations in a rapidly urbanizing city in China, Shenzhen. Using data from the Shenzhen Deaths Registry between 1994 and 2013, we calculated the annual mortality rates of road traffic accidents, in addition to the age- and sex-specific mortality rates and their annual percentage changes (APCs) for the period of 2000-2013. We also examined the associations between mortality rate of road traffic accidents and traffic growth with Spearman's rank correlation analysis and a log-linear model derived from Smeed's law. A total of 20,196 deaths due to road traffic accidents, including 14,391 (71.3%) male deaths and 5,805 (28.7%) female deaths, were recorded in Shenzhen from 1994 to 2013. The annual mortality rates in terms of deaths per population and deaths per vehicle changed in similar patterns, demonstrating an increase since 1994 and peaking in 1997, followed by a steady decrease thereafter. The decrease in mortality was faster in individuals aged 20 year or older compared to those younger than 20 years. The mortality rates in term of deaths per population were positively correlated with the total number of vehicles per kilometer of road but negatively correlated with the motorization rate in term of vehicles per population. The estimated model for deaths due to road traffic accidents in relation to the total population and the number of registered vehicles was ln (deaths/10,000 vehicles) = -1.902 × ln (vehicles/population) - 1.961. The coefficient was statistically significant (P traffic accidents in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city based observations in the 20-year period from 1994 to 2013. The decreased mortality rate may be explained by the expansion of road network construction, improved road safety regulations and management, as well as more accessible ambulance services in recent years. Nevertheless, road traffic accidents remain a

How do normal faults grow?

OpenAIRE

Blækkan, Ingvild; Bell, Rebecca; Rotevatn, Atle; Jackson, Christopher; Tvedt, Anette

2018-01-01

Faults grow via a sympathetic increase in their displacement and length (isolated fault model), or by rapid length establishment and subsequent displacement accrual (constant-length fault model). To test the significance and applicability of these two models, we use time-series displacement (D) and length (L) data extracted for faults from nature and experiments. We document a range of fault behaviours, from sympathetic D-L fault growth (isolated growth) to sub-vertical D-L growth trajectorie...

Studies on assessment of traffic noise level in Aurangabad city, India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

B J Bhosale

2010-01-01

Full Text Available With the rapid rate of urbanization of Aurangabad city due to the expanding industrialization, the problem of noise pollution has become a concern for urban dwellers and government authority too. Noise pollution due to vehicular traffic is one of the growing environmental problems of urban centers. The study deals with the assessment of traffic noise levels in Aurangabad city. With respect to the total number of vehicles passing the road in unit time, which was surveyed by direct count method, six different sites from Aurangabad city, viz., Nagar Naka, Kranti Chowk, CIDCO bus stand, Railway station area, Dhoot Hospital and Baba petrol pump were selected to study the vehicular noise level. Noise measurements were carried out at these six locations on both working day and holiday during the peak traffic hours, i.e. 8:00 a.m. - 11:a.m., 1:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m., in the morning, afternoon and evening sessions, respectively, after 5 minutes time interval. The noise level was monitored using noise level meter. The results obtained from this investigation showed that the Nagar Naka, Kranti chowk and CIDCO bus stand area have dense traffic zones when compared with the Railway station area, Dhoot Hospital and Baba petrol pump. The minimum and the maximum noise levels are 74 and 86 dB, respectively, on working day and 70 and 81 dB, respectively, on holiday. The measured noise level values exceed the prescribed noise level.

Green space development in shrinking cities – opportunities and constraints

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stefanie Rößler

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Green space development means both a strategy and a need to cope with the spatial transformation of cities as a consequence of socio-demographic change. This paper focuses on the opportunities and challenges of planning and implementing green spaces in shrinking cities. Based on a doctoral thesis, empirical results regarding the relevance of green spaces and strategies in the process of urban restructuring will be discussed. Concerned cities develop specific framework concepts to face spatial transformation. It is assumed that in shrinking cities the influence of green spaces and as well as their significance for urban form will change. Results of case studies in shrinking cities of Eastern Germany will be discussed with regard to their strategies and the instruments facing the challenges of green space development. The presented findings might be also relevant for urban development in (partially growing cities, enhancing green space development as a part of sustainable cities.

Rapid sampling of BTEX in air by SPME in the city of Nice and at the Nice-Cote d'Azur airport

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tumbiolo, S.; Gal, J.F.; Maria, P.Ch.; Laborde, P.; Teton, S.

2006-01-01

This article presents the results of a tentative application of Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) to the analysis of BTEX (benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylenes) at the μg/m 3 level in indoor and outdoor air. The salient features of the method validation are reported. Sampling by QUALITAIR using Radiello passive samplers, was carried out from 2001 to 2004 in the city of Nice and its airport. Urban traffic impact was proved, but a link between BTX concentrations and the variations of airport activities was not clearly established. During the same period, several samplings were performed using SPME. Taking into account the short (30 minutes) sampling time, rapid changes of BTEX concentrations were evidenced, as for example the start of airplane engines. As field studies have shown, SPME technique appears as a method of choice for fast qualitative analysis and quantitative determination of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC). The small dimensions of the SPME sampling system and the short sampling time let envisage its utilisation for the rapid diagnostic and the monitoring of indoor air quality. (author)

Application of the Improved City Blueprint Framework in 45 Municipalities and Regions

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Koop, Steven H A; van Leeuwen, Cornelis J.

2015-01-01

Rapid urbanization, water pollution, climate change and inadequate maintenance of water and wastewater infrastructures in cities may lead to flooding, water scarcity, adverse health effects, and rehabilitation costs that may overwhelm the resilience of cities. Furthermore, Integrated Water Resources

City-integrated renewable energy for urban sustainability.

Science.gov (United States)

Kammen, Daniel M; Sunter, Deborah A

2016-05-20

To prepare for an urban influx of 2.5 billion people by 2050, it is critical to create cities that are low-carbon, resilient, and livable. Cities not only contribute to global climate change by emitting the majority of anthropogenic greenhouse gases but also are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and extreme weather. We explore options for establishing sustainable energy systems by reducing energy consumption, particularly in the buildings and transportation sectors, and providing robust, decentralized, and renewable energy sources. Through technical advancements in power density, city-integrated renewable energy will be better suited to satisfy the high-energy demands of growing urban areas. Several economic, technical, behavioral, and political challenges need to be overcome for innovation to improve urban sustainability. Copyright © 2016, American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Scaling up climate finance for sustainable infrastructure in developing cities

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Jun

2010-09-15

This article investigates the role of carbon finance and seeks to establish a policy framework that allows reorientation of upfront investment in urban infrastructure for facilitating transition towards low-carbon development trajectory in developing cities. It draws on an in-depth exploration of different climate finance mechanisms and their applicability in the context of fast urbanization. We suggest an integrated approach should be adopted to aggregate city-based multiple individual GHG mitigation projects dealing with buildings and transport efficiency. The sectoral approach and NAMAs-based financing schemes be included in post-Kyoto regime for shifting the current trajectories in fast growing developing cities.

Learning as Social Exchange in City Year London

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Revsbech, Christine

Learning as Social Exchange in City Year London: Action towards an image of greatness contributes to the growing field of research on social entrepreneurship. The thesis is the result of an interesting, anthropological study of a social voluntary organisation, City Year London, a British affiliate...... of an American charity. Young volunteers were followed in their daily activities working as mentors for public primary school children, and the interaction between staff and volunteers in City Year London were observed. Also, interviews with both volunteers and staff were carried out. The thesis explores...... the empirical findings applying an understanding of learning as social exchange of value. The rich empirical data has led to analyses that draw on and contribute to economic anthropology, learning theories and social entrepreneurship....

The City through the Eyes of Expressionism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Demčišák Ján

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The process of industrialization and urban growth and the development of cities in the first three decades of the 20th century are inevitably related to rapid social changes. The new attitude to life, which corresponds to this process, affected the aesthetic perception and the work of artists as well. The study shows the sensitiveness of German expressionism to the dynamics, drive and chaos of the new city life. The expressionistic picture of the city is clearly ambivalent; it oscillates between fascination on the one hand and antipathy on the other. Expressionism also reflects the social alienation and the feeling of being lonely in a crowd as new phenomena of the 20th century.

Towards Third-Generation Living Lab Networks in Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seppo Leminen

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Many cities engage in diverse experimentation, innovation, and development activities with a broad variety of environments and stakeholders to the benefit of citizens, companies, municipalities, and other organizations. Hence, this article discusses such engagement in terms of next-generation living lab networks in the city context. In so doing, the study contributes to the discussion on living labs by introducing a framework of collaborative innovation networks in cities and suggesting a typology of third-generation living labs. Our framework is characterized by diverse platforms and participation approaches, resulting in four distinctive modes of collaborative innovation networks where the city is: i a provider, ii a neighbourhood participator, iii a catalyst, or iv a rapid experimenter. The typology is based on an analysis of 118 interviews with participants in six Finnish cities and reveals various ways to organize innovation activities in the city context. In particular, cities can benefit from innovation networks by simultaneously exploiting multiple platforms such as living labs for innovation. We conclude by discussing implications to theory and practice, and suggesting directions for future research.

GENERATION OF MULTI-LOD 3D CITY MODELS IN CITYGML WITH THE PROCEDURAL MODELLING ENGINE RANDOM3DCITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Biljecki

2016-09-01

Full Text Available The production and dissemination of semantic 3D city models is rapidly increasing benefiting a growing number of use cases. However, their availability in multiple LODs and in the CityGML format is still problematic in practice. This hinders applications and experiments where multi-LOD datasets are required as input, for instance, to determine the performance of different LODs in a spatial analysis. An alternative approach to obtain 3D city models is to generate them with procedural modelling, which is – as we discuss in this paper – well suited as a method to source multi-LOD datasets useful for a number of applications. However, procedural modelling has not yet been employed for this purpose. Therefore, we have developed RANDOM3DCITY, an experimental procedural modelling engine for generating synthetic datasets of buildings and other urban features. The engine is designed to produce models in CityGML and does so in multiple LODs. Besides the generation of multiple geometric LODs, we implement the realisation of multiple levels of spatiosemantic coherence, geometric reference variants, and indoor representations. As a result of their permutations, each building can be generated in 392 different CityGML representations, an unprecedented number of modelling variants of the same feature. The datasets produced by RANDOM3DCITY are suited for several applications, as we show in this paper with documented uses. The developed engine is available under an open-source licence at Github at http://github.com/tudelft3d/Random3Dcity.

Physician-led committee tackles youth-violence problem in one of Canada's fastest-growing cities.

OpenAIRE

O'Brien-Bell, J

1995-01-01

Dr. John O'Brien-Bell, a past president of the CMA, recently chaired the Advisory Committee on Youth Violence in Surrey, BC. It studied issues such as the incidence of violence, the evolution taking place in the city and society, and the erosion of traditional social values. In its final report, the committee recommended 78 possible steps for reducing violence among young Canadians.

Co-Creating the Cities of the Future.

Science.gov (United States)

Gutiérrez, Verónica; Theodoridis, Evangelos; Mylonas, Georgios; Shi, Fengrui; Adeel, Usman; Diez, Luis; Amaxilatis, Dimitrios; Choque, Johnny; Camprodom, Guillem; McCann, Julie; Muñoz, Luis

2016-11-23

In recent years, the evolution of urban environments, jointly with the progress of the Information and Communication sector, have enabled the rapid adoption of new solutions that contribute to the growth in popularity of Smart Cities. Currently, the majority of the world population lives in cities encouraging different stakeholders within these innovative ecosystems to seek new solutions guaranteeing the sustainability and efficiency of such complex environments. In this work, it is discussed how the experimentation with IoT technologies and other data sources form the cities can be utilized to co-create in the OrganiCity project, where key actors like citizens, researchers and other stakeholders shape smart city services and applications in a collaborative fashion. Furthermore, a novel architecture is proposed that enables this organic growth of the future cities, facilitating the experimentation that tailors the adoption of new technologies and services for a better quality of life, as well as agile and dynamic mechanisms for managing cities. In this work, the different components and enablers of the OrganiCity platform are presented and discussed in detail and include, among others, a portal to manage the experiment life cycle, an Urban Data Observatory to explore data assets, and an annotations component to indicate quality of data, with a particular focus on the city-scale opportunistic data collection service operating as an alternative to traditional communications.

Co-Creating the Cities of the Future

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Verónica Gutiérrez

2016-11-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the evolution of urban environments, jointly with the progress of the Information and Communication sector, have enabled the rapid adoption of new solutions that contribute to the growth in popularity of Smart Cities. Currently, the majority of the world population lives in cities encouraging different stakeholders within these innovative ecosystems to seek new solutions guaranteeing the sustainability and efficiency of such complex environments. In this work, it is discussed how the experimentation with IoT technologies and other data sources form the cities can be utilized to co-create in the OrganiCity project, where key actors like citizens, researchers and other stakeholders shape smart city services and applications in a collaborative fashion. Furthermore, a novel architecture is proposed that enables this organic growth of the future cities, facilitating the experimentation that tailors the adoption of new technologies and services for a better quality of life, as well as agile and dynamic mechanisms for managing cities. In this work, the different components and enablers of the OrganiCity platform are presented and discussed in detail and include, among others, a portal to manage the experiment life cycle, an Urban Data Observatory to explore data assets, and an annotations component to indicate quality of data, with a particular focus on the city-scale opportunistic data collection service operating as an alternative to traditional communications.

Microsensing networks for sustainable cities

CERN Document Server

Lambrechts, Johannes

2016-01-01

This book explores the microsensing technologies and systems now available to monitor the quality of air and water within the urban environment and examines their role in the creation of sustainable cities against the background of the challenges posed by rapid urbanization. The opening section addresses the theoretical and conceptual background of microsensing networks. The coverage includes detailed description of microsensors, supported by design-specific equations, and clear explanation of the ways in which devices that harvest energy from ambient sources can detect and quantify pollution. The practical application of such systems in addressing environmental impacts within cities and in sustainable urban planning is then discussed with the aid of case studies in developing countries. The book will be of interest to all who wish to understand the benefits of microsensing networks in promoting sustainable cities through better delivery of information on health hazards and improved provision of data to envir...

Growing skull hemangioma: first and unique description in a patient with Klippel-Trénaunay-Weber syndrome.

Science.gov (United States)

van der Loo, Lars E; Beckervordersandforth, Jan; Colon, Albert J; Schijns, Olaf E M G

2017-02-01

We present the first and unique case of a rapid-growing skull hemangioma in a patient with Klippel-Trénaunay-Weber syndrome. This case report provides evidence that not all rapid-growing, osteolytic skull lesions need to have a malignant character but certainly need a histopathological verification. This material offers insight into the list of rare pathological diagnoses in an infrequent syndrome.

Analyzing the causes of urban waterlogging and sponge city technology in China

Science.gov (United States)

Ning, Yun-Fang; Dong, Wen-Yi; Lin, Lu-Sheng; Zhang, Qian

2017-03-01

With the rapid development of social economy in China, increased urban population, and rapid urbanization cause serious problems, for example, a heavy rain in the city inevitably leads to waterlogging, which poses a great threat to the livelihood and property security. Disaster due to urban flood is a key problem that restricts the development of urban ecology in China. The reason is the sharp increase of impermeable surface ratio in urban areas, leading to a decrease in rainfall infiltration and increase in surface runoff. To effectively solve the urban waterlogging, China proposed the construction of sponge city. This paper analyzes and summarizes the reasons for the formation of urban waterlogging, and introduces the concept of the sponge city technology to prevent waterlogging.

SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL DIVERSIFICATION OF THE SPACE OF THE GLIWICE CITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara Kozielska

2005-01-01

Full Text Available City as a metaphor could be described as a living organism. It consists of many tissues with completely different functions. Cities are the sites of complex of social, cultural, politicaland economic spaces and forma. There are no cities with homogenous spatial structure. Distinct districts arise in the different parts of the city. Such process takes place in accordance with different spheres of life. Dwellings and users of the city perceive sectors indifferent ways giving them special meanings. Cities are the sites of complex global interconnections producing a multiplicity of social,cultural, political and economic spaces and forms. Over half of the world population now lives in cities and this proportion is predicted to grow significantly in coming years. We may call contemporary world as Globalopolis. The paper discusses distinct spaces and functions of different parts of the city of Gliwice. The author tries to point out multiplicity of spaces in the city. Gliwice is typical transforming city as many other in Poland during the period of economic and social transformation, which is also influented by processes of globalization. We may distinguish “good” and “bad” spaces in this transforming city.

Structural and robustness properties of smart-city transportation networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Zhen-Gang; Ding Zhuo; Fan Jing-Fang; Chen Xiao-Song; Meng Jun; Ye Fang-Fu; Ding Yi-Min

2015-01-01

The concept of smart city gives an excellent resolution to construct and develop modern cities, and also demands infrastructure construction. How to build a safe, stable, and highly efficient public transportation system becomes an important topic in the process of city construction. In this work, we study the structural and robustness properties of transportation networks and their sub-networks. We introduce a complementary network model to study the relevance and complementarity between bus network and subway network. Our numerical results show that the mutual supplement of networks can improve the network robustness. This conclusion provides a theoretical basis for the construction of public traffic networks, and it also supports reasonable operation of managing smart cities. (rapid communication)

Inverse modeling and animation of growing single-stemmed trees at interactive rates

Science.gov (United States)

S. Rudnick; L. Linsen; E.G. McPherson

2007-01-01

For city planning purposes, animations of growing trees of several species can be used to deduce which species may best fit a particular environment. The models used for the animation must conform to real measured data. We present an approach for inverse modeling to fit global growth parameters. The model comprises local production rules, which are iteratively and...

Tools for an integrated systems approach to sustainable port city planning

OpenAIRE

Morel,Gilles; Lima,Fernando Rodrigues; Martell-Flores,Hipolito; Hissel,Francois

2013-01-01

Large port cities like Shanghai, Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro are key cogwheels in international logistics and transport networks but also serve as showcases for the rest of the world; as such, they constitute strategic assets for the host country's economy and international infiluence. Historically, a city and its port often developed independently, through sometimes contradictory or even confrontational policies. Today, the growing number of usage disputes over increasingly coveted coastal ...

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...

Water management for a megacity: Mexico City Metropolitan Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Tortajada, Cecilia; Castelán, Enrique

2003-03-01

The paper presents an overview of the present situation of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA). The analysis indicates an urgent need to radically improve the current water supply and wastewater management practices, to become sustainable. The MCMA is one of the most rapidly growing urban centers of the world, with a population of about 21 million people, a very high rate of immigration and numerous illegal settlements. In order to meet the increasing water demand, successive governments have focused almost exclusively on supply management and engineering solutions, which have resulted in investments of hundreds of millions of USD and the construction of major infrastructure projects for interbasin water transfer. Environmental, economic and social policies associated with water management are mostly inadequate and insufficient, which is resulting in increasing deterioration in the environment, health and socioeconomic conditions of a population living in one of the largest urban agglomerations of the world. Surprisingly, however, no long-term strategies on demand-management, reuse, conservation, and improved water-management practices have been developed so far.

When the City Is Your Classroom

Science.gov (United States)

Riggio, Milla Cozart; Sapolis, Lisa G.; Chen, Xiangming

2011-01-01

Students who attend Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, have elected to spend their university years in one of America's most distinguished small cosmopolitan cities. Over the last two decades as the world has become rapidly urbanized, Hartford has become a critically contested site where economic poverty, environmental degradation,…

The Uses of Big Data in Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Bettencourt, Luís M A

2014-03-01

There is much enthusiasm currently about the possibilities created by new and more extensive sources of data to better understand and manage cities. Here, I explore how big data can be useful in urban planning by formalizing the planning process as a general computational problem. I show that, under general conditions, new sources of data coordinated with urban policy can be applied following fundamental principles of engineering to achieve new solutions to important age-old urban problems. I also show that comprehensive urban planning is computationally intractable (i.e., practically impossible) in large cities, regardless of the amounts of data available. This dilemma between the need for planning and coordination and its impossibility in detail is resolved by the recognition that cities are first and foremost self-organizing social networks embedded in space and enabled by urban infrastructure and services. As such, the primary role of big data in cities is to facilitate information flows and mechanisms of learning and coordination by heterogeneous individuals. However, processes of self-organization in cities, as well as of service improvement and expansion, must rely on general principles that enforce necessary conditions for cities to operate and evolve. Such ideas are the core of a developing scientific theory of cities, which is itself enabled by the growing availability of quantitative data on thousands of cities worldwide, across different geographies and levels of development. These three uses of data and information technologies in cities constitute then the necessary pillars for more successful urban policy and management that encourages, and does not stifle, the fundamental role of cities as engines of development and innovation in human societies.

A Development Framework for Smart Cities Assessment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Khudhair Al-Alwani

2018-02-01

Full Text Available A smart city is rising as an approach and strategy to reduce the troubles produced by rapid urbanization and the growth of urban population. Although, cities continue to develop and purify their social, economic and environmental goals along with the strategies to achieve them, this phenomenon has been discussed by little research yet. However, due to the requiring immediate action or attention for practical application of the principles of smart cities, city authorities, stakeholders and local communities need to know the current reality of their city and where development is being attained in their systems. Therefore, constructing a framework for smart cities assessment will help share or exchange the newcomer strong and weak points, and emphasize where actual development is taking place and update a plan for future developments. Moreover, this assessment is able to assist cities prioritizes actions. This paper developed a guiding assessment framework for smart cites that will help the creating, carefully choosing and priorities of crucial indicators. These indicators can then show the way to the smart cites performance assessment and monitoring. Drawing on the investigation of an extensive and wide collection of literature from a variety of disciplinary areas and based on the conceptual literature on smart cities, in addition to interviews this study identify a good tool to help recognizing of virtual achievement of smart city. Furthermore, it is significant to be taken into consideration in assessing smart city smartness level.

A Boom for Whom? Exploring the Impacts of a Rapid Increase in the Male Population Upon Women's Services in Darwin, Northern Territory.

Science.gov (United States)

Ennis, Gretchen; Tofa, Matalena; Finlayson, Mary; U'Ren, Julie

2016-05-03

A rapidly expanding natural-resource extraction industry and a growing military presence mean an increasingly male-skewed population for the city of Darwin, Australia. This has sparked concerns about the potential for increased violence against women. In this article, we present qualitative research detailing the views of 13 participants from 10 women's support services in the Darwin area. We argue that women's support services bear witness to and are tasked with responding to the impacts of population change on women, yet their work is undermined by uncertainties that stem from neoliberal funding rationales and limited demands on companies to address social issues. © The Author(s) 2016.

Cities and Socialization of Libraries in Medieval Europe

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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.

Vehicle Data Activity Quantification Using Spatio-Temporal GIS on Modelling Smart Cities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Michael; Gutierrez Lopez, Jose Manuel; Pedersen, Jens Myrup

2015-01-01

Smart Cities are often defined as systems of systems where a heterogeneity of digital services oriented to the wellfunctioning of metropolises converge. It is essential to understand where, when and how much digital data is generated since upstream traffic is progressively growing, in volume...... the contribution of these services into a common framework together with other Smart City oriented services. This integration would contribute to understand distributed digital data activity in cities in a holistic way. Consequently, we analyze how different ways of discretizing services to work with a large...

Compartmental analysis of roots in intact rapidly-growing Spergularia marina and Lactuca sativa: partial characterization of the symplasms functional in the radial transport of Na+ and K+

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lazof, D.B.

1987-01-01

Techniques of compartmental analysis were adapted to the study of intact roots of rapidly-growing Spergularia marine and Lactuca sativa. Using large numbers of plants short time-courses of uptake and chase, 42 K + and 22 Na + transport could be resolved, even during a chase following a brief 10 minute labeling period. The use of intact plant systems allowed distinction of that portion of the isotope flux into the root, associated with the ion-conducting symplasms. A small compartment, which rapidly (t/sub .5/ + , accounting for the observed obtention of linear translocation rates within minutes of transferring to labeled solution. The ion contents of this compartment varied in proportion to the external ion concentration. When K + was at a high external concentration, labeled K + exchanged into this same symplasm, but chasing a short pulse indicated that K + transport to the xylem was not through a rapidly-exchanging compartment. At physiological concentrations of K + the evidence indicated that transport of K + across the root proceeded through a compartment which was not exchanging rapidly with the external medium. The rise to a linear rate of isotope translocation was gradual and translocation during a chase, following a brief pulse,was prolonged, indicating that this compartment retained its specific activity for a considerable period

Smart Cities and the Idea of Smartness in Urban Development - A Critical Review

Science.gov (United States)

Husár, Milan; Ondrejička, Vladimír; Ceren Varış, Sıla

2017-10-01

The concept of smart cities is becoming another mantra for both developing and developed cities. For instance, Indian government in 2015 announced its objective to build one hundred smart cities all over the country. They clearly stated that they are choosing smart development as the underlying concept for their future growth as a way to foster economic development in smart way to avoid the paths of rapid industrialization and pollution of cities as it took place in Europe and United States. The first of these smart cities, Dholera, is already under construction and it attracts journalists and urban planners from all over the world. The aim of this paper is to critically discuss the theoretical backgrounds and the practices of smart cities and examine the ways the concept is implemented. The paper is based on thorough study of literature and examining the two case studies of Dholera (India) and Songdo (South Korea). Smart city is a contested concept without a unified definition. It stems from the idea of digital and information city promoted using information and communication technologies (ICT) to develop cities. By installation of ICT municipalities obtain large sets of data which are then transformed into effective urban policies. One of the pilot projects of this kind was Rio de Janeiro and building the Center of Operations by IBM Company. City made a great investment into the smart information system before two huge events took place - FIFA World Cup in 2014 and Olympic Games in 2016. The project raised many questions including whether and how it improved the life of its citizens and in what way it made the city smart. The other definition of smart city is the idea of smartness in city development in broader sense. It focuses on smart use of resources, smart and effective management and smart social inclusion. Within this view, the ICTs are one component of the concept, by no means its bread and butter. Technologies can be used in a variety of ways. Problem

Smart City for a Sustainable Future: Is Delhi Ready?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anindita Roy Saha

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Cities are the geographic nodes around which people gather for their livelihood activities. Various factors like resources, technology, education, medical innovations and environmental developments have shaped modern cities. However, with rapid urbanization and population growth, many cities are facing the problems of degradation, pollution, diseases and a poor quality of life. The major challenges before the urban growth centers have necessitated the formation of smart cities. Sustainable future of a city lies in the development of transport, infrastructure, environment, energy, ICT and people with a sustainability approach. The Government of India has launched a scheme to create hundred smart cities across the country, among which the National Capital of Delhi is a frontrunner. This paper attempts to study the existing infrastructure and facilities in Delhi in order to assess its readiness to be a smart city. It also attempts to analyze the citizens’ perception about Delhi as a smart city through a primary survey. Although there are limitations in the current scenario of economic and environmental performances and people’s perceptions, Delhi makes a strong case for becoming a smart city.

Synergies, Conflicts, and Trade-offs of C40 Cities Adaptation Strategies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Driscoll, Patrick Arthur; De Rosa, Michele; Lehmann, Martin

2013-01-01

There is a growing body of literature in the field of urban climate change adaptation planning that indicate a need to address climate change planning measures from a more holistic sustainable development perspective. This paper presents the findings from a recently completed study that indicates...... there remain significant unresolved tensions between the development pathways and the climate change adaptation strategies of the 58 cities within the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group....

Impact of growing income inequality on sustainable development in China: a provincial-level analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Heerink, N.B.M.; Ma, J.

2006-01-01

A growing body of literature has documented the rapidly increasing income disparities that accompanied China's economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s, and the driving factors behind this. Growing income inequality in its turn may have important implications for the accumulation of physical capital,

From global scaling to the dynamics of individual cities

Science.gov (United States)

Depersin, Jules; Barthelemy, Marc

2018-03-01

Scaling has been proposed as a powerful tool to analyze the properties of complex systems and in particular for cities where it describes how various properties change with population. The empirical study of scaling on a wide range of urban datasets displays apparent nonlinear behaviors whose statistical validity and meaning were recently the focus of many debates. We discuss here another aspect, which is the implication of such scaling forms on individual cities and how they can be used for predicting the behavior of a city when its population changes. We illustrate this discussion in the case of delay due to traffic congestion with a dataset of 101 US cities in the years 1982–2014. We show that the scaling form obtained by agglomerating all of the available data for different cities and for different years does display a nonlinear behavior, but which appears to be unrelated to the dynamics of individual cities when their population grows. In other words, the congestion-induced delay in a given city does not depend on its population only, but also on its previous history. This strong path dependency prohibits the existence of a simple scaling form valid for all cities and shows that we cannot always agglomerate the data for many different systems. More generally, these results also challenge the use of transversal data for understanding longitudinal series for cities.

Ecological science and transformation to the sustainable city

Science.gov (United States)

S.T.A. Pickett; Christopher G. Boone; Brian P. McGrath; M.L. Cadenasso; Daniel L. Childers; Laura A. Ogden; Melissa McHale; J. Morgan. Grove

2013-01-01

There is growing urgency to enhance the sustainability of existing and emerging cities. The science of ecology, especially as it interacts with disciplines in the social sciences and urban design, has contributions to make to the sustainable transformation of urban systems. Not all possible urban transformations may lead toward sustainability. Ecological science helps...

Monitoring of the Green Roofs Installation in Brno-City District, Czech Republic

Science.gov (United States)

Rebrova, Tatiana; Beckovsky, David; Selnik, Petr

2017-12-01

In spite of the rapidly growing interest to the green roofs, there is insufficient information about their local quantities and areas in Czech Republic as well as in Central Europe. There is a lack of technical information that leads to the further development, application and environmental contribution of green roofs under local climatic conditions. The purpose of the research is to follow the tendency of how the process of green roofs’ popularization is performed in the Czech Republic and to determine basic parameters of the installed green roofs. These parameters include total quantity, area and the most common roof vegetation type (extensive or intensive); how many green roofs were installed over the last years and as a result, how the proportion of the green roofs to the conventional ones is changing. For initial evaluation Brno-City District was chosen as the next stage of university environmental project EnviHUT following the genesis of green roofs under local weather conditions.

The Geography of School Choice in a City with Growing Inequality: The Case of Vancouver

Science.gov (United States)

Yoon, Ee-Seul; Lubienski, Christopher; Lee, Jin

2018-01-01

This analysis aims to measure the impact of school choice policy on secondary school students' enrolment patterns within the social geography of Vancouver, an increasingly polarized global city. The rationale for the study is to examine the impact of "education market" reforms on the socio-economic composition of schools in a Canadian…

City evacuations an interdisciplinary approach

CERN Document Server

Binner, Jane; Branicki, Layla; Galla, Tobias; Jones, Nick; King, James; Kolokitha, Magdalini; Smyrnakis, Michalis

2015-01-01

Evacuating a city is a complex problem that involves issues of governance, preparedness education, warning, information sharing, population dynamics, resilience and recovery. As natural and anthropogenic threats to cities grow, it is an increasingly pressing problem for policy makers and practitioners.   The book is the result of a unique interdisciplinary collaboration between researchers in the physical and social sciences to consider how an interdisciplinary approach can help plan for large scale evacuations.  It draws on perspectives from physics, mathematics, organisation theory, economics, sociology and education.  Importantly it goes beyond disciplinary boundaries and considers how interdisciplinary methods are necessary to approach a complex problem involving human actors and increasingly complex communications and transportation infrastructures.   Using real world case studies and modelling the book considers new approaches to evacuation dynamics.  It addresses questions of complexity, not only ...

Pastry Filled With Horseradish. discomfort city – how to create it

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Konstantin Lidin

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Huge urban agglomerations of the world become bigger and more numerous. In 2000 there were 16 giant cities with population more than 10 million people, and by 2015 their number will have grown up to 21. However the biggest share of the global urban population increase falls on relatively small places with population from 500,000 to 5 million people. Within 2000-2015 the tendencies will be similar.Global urbanization engrosses more and more countries and regions. Mankind keeps on growing irregularly – population increase is concentrated in cities.It is obvious why human masses gather in big cities: the life in such cities is more comfortable than in rural area. Of course, poverty and despondent imbecility of rural life looks less attractive than city apartment and rapid rhythm of life in a megapolis. Finally, it is desire for better comfort – accommodation, activity and reasonableness of living – that leads immigrants to the city. In some cases the number of immigrants is so big that city population increases several times within the life of one generation. In other words, there are more newcomers that the natives of the city. In this case the tendency towards «discomfortization » embraces the whole megapolis. In the urban development science such effect is called «degradation of urban environment ». Tokyo and London of the seventies-nineties of the last century can be examples of this. Vsevolod Ovchinnikov describes «the Oriental capital»: «Tokyo is a hypertrophied embodiment of the problems peculiar to megapolises in general and to an overpeopled insular country in particular. This paradoxical combination of tightness and chaos, density and dispersion… Tokyo citizens have a joke that even their dogs have to wag their tails not from side to side, but upward and downward». In addition to the problems of pure air and water, transport and noise there is a tremendous ugliness of urban development. Plenty of individual beautiful

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.

Reverse logistics system and recycling potential at a landfill: A case study from Kampala City

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kinobe, J.R.; Gebresenbet, G.; Niwagaba, C.B.; Vinnerås, B.

2015-01-01

Highlights: • Quantifies the different waste streams delivered at the landfill. • Evaluates the amount of potential waste products that enters into the reverse cycle. • Drawing out the reverse logistics activities from Kampala City to Kiteezi landfill. • Identify the storage, collection and transportation mechanisms of products to the various destinations; and finally. • The study suggests efficient measures to improve reverse logistics system. - Abstract: The rapid growing population and high urbanisation rates in Sub-Saharan Africa has caused enormous pressure on collection services of the generated waste in the urban areas. This has put a burden on landfilling, which is the major waste disposal method. Waste reduction, re-use and recycling opportunities exist but are not fully utilized. The common items that are re-used and re-cycled are plastics, paper, aluminum, glass, steel, cardboard, and yard waste. This paper develops an overview of reverse logistics at Kiteezi landfill, the only officially recognised waste disposal facility for Kampala City. The paper analyses, in details the collection, re-processing, re-distribution and final markets of these products into a reversed supply chain network. Only 14% of the products at Kiteezi landfill are channeled into the reverse chain while 63% could be included in the distribution chain but are left out and disposed of while the remaining 23% is buried. This is because of the low processing power available, lack of market value, lack of knowledge and limited value addition activities to the products. This paper proposes possible strategies of efficient and effective reverse logistics development, applicable to Kampala City and other similar cities

Reverse logistics system and recycling potential at a landfill: A case study from Kampala City

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kinobe, J.R., E-mail: joel.kinobe@slu.se [Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7032, SE-750 07 Uppsala (Sweden); Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), P.O. Box 7062, Kampala (Uganda); Gebresenbet, G. [Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7032, SE-750 07 Uppsala (Sweden); Niwagaba, C.B. [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Makerere University College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), P.O. Box 7062, Kampala (Uganda); Vinnerås, B. [Department of Energy and Technology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, P.O. Box 7032, SE-750 07 Uppsala (Sweden)

2015-08-15

Highlights: • Quantifies the different waste streams delivered at the landfill. • Evaluates the amount of potential waste products that enters into the reverse cycle. • Drawing out the reverse logistics activities from Kampala City to Kiteezi landfill. • Identify the storage, collection and transportation mechanisms of products to the various destinations; and finally. • The study suggests efficient measures to improve reverse logistics system. - Abstract: The rapid growing population and high urbanisation rates in Sub-Saharan Africa has caused enormous pressure on collection services of the generated waste in the urban areas. This has put a burden on landfilling, which is the major waste disposal method. Waste reduction, re-use and recycling opportunities exist but are not fully utilized. The common items that are re-used and re-cycled are plastics, paper, aluminum, glass, steel, cardboard, and yard waste. This paper develops an overview of reverse logistics at Kiteezi landfill, the only officially recognised waste disposal facility for Kampala City. The paper analyses, in details the collection, re-processing, re-distribution and final markets of these products into a reversed supply chain network. Only 14% of the products at Kiteezi landfill are channeled into the reverse chain while 63% could be included in the distribution chain but are left out and disposed of while the remaining 23% is buried. This is because of the low processing power available, lack of market value, lack of knowledge and limited value addition activities to the products. This paper proposes possible strategies of efficient and effective reverse logistics development, applicable to Kampala City and other similar cities.

An Applied Mereology of the City: Unifying Science and Philosophy for Urban Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Epting, Shane

2016-10-01

Based on their research showing that growing cities follow basic principles, two theoretical physicists, Luis Bettencourt and Geoffrey West, call for researchers and professionals to contribute to a grand theory of urban sustainability. In their research, they develop a 'science of the city' to help urban planners address problems that arise from population increases. Although they provide valuable insights for understanding urban sustainability issues, they do not give planners a manageable way to approach such problems. I argue that developing an applied mereology to understand the concept of 'city identity' gives planners a theoretical device for addressing urban affairs, including ethical concerns. In turn, I devise a model of city identity to show how a 'philosophy of the city' contributes to a grand theory of urban sustainability.

Seaside recreation in Oslo : bringing Bispevika closer to the city

OpenAIRE

Kloster-Jensen, Erlend Andre Borka

2017-01-01

Oslo is a growing city. Instead of letting the city expand beyond its borders, the municipality wants to use sites by the Oslo fjord for urban growth. The planning agency of Oslo is currently working on redefining the seaside, with the intent of making it more accessible to the public. One of the agency’s efforts in providing seaside recreation for Oslo’s citizens is called Havnepromenaden, which is to become a 9-kilometer long promenade along the Oslo fjord. This thesis treats the topi...

Successful, safe and sustainable cities: towards a New Urban Agenda

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Satterthwaite

2017-04-01

Full Text Available There is a growing interest among national governments and international agencies in the contribution of urban centres to sustainable development. The paper outlines the new global agendas to guide this: the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the New Urban Agenda. It then sets out the key challenges and opportunities facing urban governments across the Commonwealth in implementing these agendas and achieving inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities. This is hampered by significant infrastructure deficits (especially in provision for water and sanitation and a lack of funding. After outlining the commitments agreed by national governments in these global agendas, the paper discusses the vital role in meeting these of city leadership, financing and investment, urban planning and local economic development. Whilst it is good to see recognition of the importance of cities to national economies, economic success in any city does not automatically contribute to a healthier city, a more inclusive city or a sustainable city. This needs capable and accountable urban governments working closely with local civil society, and the redirection of public funds and development assistance to support them.

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 heat spells of Mexico City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ernesto Jáuregui

2010-06-01

Full Text Available The warning of urban air has been documented to increase in intensity and area as cities grow (Oke, 1982. As the cities grow the so called “heat island” tends to increase the risk of more frequent heat waves as well as their impacts (IPCC, 2001. Threshold values to define a heat wave vary geographically. For the case of Mexico City located in a high inland valley in the tropics, values above 30° C (daily maximum observed for three or more consecutive days and 25° C or more as mean temperature have been adopted to define the phenomenon. These events occur at the end of the dry season during March to May when afternoon relative humidity is quite low (∼20% and thus reducing the stress. Maximum temperatute data from the Observatory of the National Meteorological Service were used. Results show that during the second half of the XXth century the frequency of heat waves as defined above has doubled from 6 events/decade to 16/decade in the 1990s with a marked increase in the last third of the last century when population of the city grew from 8.5 to 18.5 million (CONAPO, 2000. During this time the average urban/rural contrast grew considerably from about 6° C to 10° C (Jáuregui, 1986. While these heat waves may be considered as “mild”they receive attention from the media and prompt actions by the population to relieve the heat stress. Application of heat indices based on the human energy balance (PET and PMV result in moderate to strong heat stress during these events. Because climate change is expected to raise nighttime minimum temperatures more than daytime highs (as suggested by the IPCC, 2001 urban heat islands and their related heat waves are likely to be a significant health concern in days to come in large urban centers especially in the developing countries.

Enhanced LOD Concepts for Virtual 3d City Models

Science.gov (United States)

Benner, J.; Geiger, A.; Gröger, G.; Häfele, K.-H.; Löwner, M.-O.

2013-09-01

Virtual 3D city models contain digital three dimensional representations of city objects like buildings, streets or technical infrastructure. Because size and complexity of these models continuously grow, a Level of Detail (LoD) concept effectively supporting the partitioning of a complete model into alternative models of different complexity and providing metadata, addressing informational content, complexity and quality of each alternative model is indispensable. After a short overview on various LoD concepts, this paper discusses the existing LoD concept of the CityGML standard for 3D city models and identifies a number of deficits. Based on this analysis, an alternative concept is developed and illustrated with several examples. It differentiates between first, a Geometric Level of Detail (GLoD) and a Semantic Level of Detail (SLoD), and second between the interior building and its exterior shell. Finally, a possible implementation of the new concept is demonstrated by means of an UML model.

VISION AND STRATEGIC THINKING IN THE ROMANIAN FAST GROWING FIRMS MANAGEMENT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicolae BIBU

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to present preliminary specific issues concerning the vision and the strategic thinking of the managers of Romanian fast growing firms in the years of rapid growth. This paper clarifies two research questions. (1 The first research question is what is the message of the manager's vision of the Romanian fast growing firms? Therefore, we must first verify if the managers of the Romanian fast growing firms have a concrete vision about the business they run and if so, what is the vision of the managers about the companies that they lead? (2 The second research question is what findings can be drawn about the role of strategic thinking of the managers in the management of the Romanian fast growing firms? The research that we have conducted is a qualitative research. The research method that we used is the interview. The interview is specific to qualitative research. Regarding the method of analysis that we used it is the content analysis. The research was conducted on a total of 17 Romanian fast growing firms that are located in Timiș County. The firms were identified based on a specific selection criteria set after a thorough review of the literature in the field. The 17 companies that we have analysed represent the foundation of 17 in-depth case studies, which we believe helped us to better understand what it means in the Romanian context to grow fast, through the entrepreneurs managers vision and strategic thinking. The results presented in this paper come to strengthen the results reached by other researchers in this field. The results present an image of the current Romanian context – about the role of strategic thinking of the entrepreneur manager in the management of Romanian fast growing firms. The paper presents a detailed analysis of managers' vision of the Romanian fast growing firms. The paper also presents findings about the role of strategic thinking in helping managers achieve rapid growth in the

City-gas development in China. An NG perspective

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, James W.K.

2010-01-01

Supply of piped gas in China has a long history but development was slow until the 21st century. The growing demand for cleaner fuel in the past ten years has encouraged domestic exploration and production of natural gas (NG) and the construction of long-haul pipelines linking upstream western regions of the country to downstream city-gas consumers in the eastern coastal areas. However, demand for NG in the cities is increasing so fast that recent winters have seen severe supply difficulties. This led to a government directive which set constraints on the domestic NG supplies and discouragement to gas power and petrochemical projects, and eventually to the Chinese government's willingness to accept the higher prices commanded by the international NG market. Nevertheless, the over demand situation has created a dominant market position for upstream NG producers and long-haul pipeline operators favouring their forward integration into downstream city-gas markets. Accordingly, pressures are building that may yet result in substantial pricing and regulatory reform in the city-gas industry. (author)

Academic Training Lecture Regular Programme: How Large-Scale Civil Engineering Projects Realise the Potential of a City

CERN Multimedia

2012-01-01

How Large-Scale Civil Engineering Projects Realise the Potential of a City (1/3), by Bill Hanway (Excecutive Director of Operations, AECOM Europe).   Wednesday, June 6, 2012 from 11:00 to 12:00 (Europe/Zurich) at CERN ( 80-1-001 - Globe 1st Floor ) In this series of three special lectures, leading experts from AECOM would explore the impact of a trio of major projects on a single city. In common with every metropolis, London has run-down districts and infrastructure in need of upgrading. The lectures propose to cover three of the biggest challenges: regenerating run-down areas; reducing congestion and transporting people more efficiently; and improving water and wastewater systems. Each project contributes to a collective public aim - to realise the potential of a growing city, and ensure its healthy, sustainable and competitive future. Lecture 1: Into the lecture series and The London 2012 Olympic Games Most cities share a group of common complex challenges – growing populations, agei...

The Interior City. Infinity and Concavity in the No-Stop City(1970-1971

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pablo Martínez Capdevila

2013-10-01

Full Text Available AbstractIn the late 60s it had become clear how the environment technification had allowed some typologies (supermarkets, car parks, factories to reach potentially unlimited built depths becoming, therefore, independent from the outside. The No-Stop City is born from a very simple idea: to extend this technification to the totality of built reality encompassing, not only almost all functions, but ultimately, the whole city. This operation has paradoxical effects: as architecture grows, it loses most of the features that have traditionally defined it. A dissolution by hypertrophy that gives rise to an homogeneous, concave and potentially infinite space.But beyond the pure technical feasibility, there are two key influences, seemingly contradictory, that explain this endeavor for an interior and endless city: Marxism and Pop Art. The project is, in many senses, a built manifesto reflecting the militancy of the group members within the Italian Marxism. But it is also the embodiment of the group's declared interest in Pop Art, popular culture and mass society. The cross-influence of communism and consumerism explains this "quantitative utopia" in which the society and the factory, the production and consumption, would match. A city based on the centrality of consumer products and the subsequent loss of prominence of architecture, in which the urban phenomenon, while spreading endlessly over territory, ignoring its rural exteriority, dissolves the home as a sphere of privacy, ignoring its domestic interiority.A project, also in the wake of Marshall McLuhan, that illustrates like few others the conversion of the urbane into a virtually omnipresent "condition" and that still interrogates us with questions that are, on the other hand, eternal: What is a building? What is a city?Key wordsBranzi, dissolution, pop, Marxism, neo-avant-garde

Energy efficiency public lighting management in the cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Radulovic, Dusko; Skok, Srdjan; Kirincic, Vedran

2011-01-01

Cities all around the world are faced with a rapid increase of urban population, and their crucial sustainable development issue becomes energy management. Moreover, the national energy management sector is slowly passing from government surveillance to the responsibility of local municipalities. The energy efficiency management in cities helps local governments to focus on important energy projects that have strong environmental aspects and financial feasibility. This paper analyzes the public lighting energy management in the Croatian city of Rijeka in order to determine the connection of the energy market liberalization and sustainable development in urban areas. Research results indicate a significant connection between investments in energy management of public lighting and its influence on lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ).

Growing the urban forest: tree performance in response to biotic and abiotic land management

Science.gov (United States)

Emily E. Oldfield; Alexander J. Felson; D. S. Novem Auyeung; Thomas W. Crowther; Nancy F. Sonti; Yoshiki Harada; Daniel S. Maynard; Noah W. Sokol; Mark S. Ashton; Robert J. Warren; Richard A. Hallett; Mark A. Bradford

2015-01-01

Forests are vital components of the urban landscape because they provide ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, storm-water mitigation, and air-quality improvement. To enhance these services, cities are investing in programs to create urban forests. A major unknown, however, is whether planted trees will grow into the mature, closed-canopied forest on which...

How Large-Scale Civil Engineering Projects Realise the Potential of a City (1/3)

CERN Multimedia

CERN. Geneva

2012-01-01

In this series of three special lectures, leading experts from AECOM would explore the impact of a trio of major projects on a single city. In common with every metropolis, London has run-down districts and infrastructure in need of upgrading. The lectures propose to cover three of the biggest challenges: regenerating run-down areas; reducing congestion and transporting people more efficiently; and improving water and wastewater systems. Each project contributes to a collective public aim - to realise the potential of a growing city, and ensure its healthy, sustainable and competitive future. Lecture 1: Into the lecture series and The London 2012 Olympic Games Most cities share a group of common complex challenges – growing populations, ageing infrastructure, and mitigating the effects of climate change. These require similar responses to find the most appropriate solutions to make sure that all urban dwellers can have the basics of food, warmth, clean water and shelter. In addition, they must have the ...

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.

Risoe energy report 10. Energy for smart cities in an urbanised world

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Hans; Soenderberg Petersen, L. (eds.)

2011-11-15

This Risoe Energy Report is the tenth in a series which began in 2002. Volume 10 takes as its point of reference the rapid urbanisation of the world. UN population statistics show that global population is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050, and nearly 6.3 billion people will be living in urban areas. Urban regions will thus absorb most of the world's population increase in the next four decades while drawing in some of the rural population as well: by 2050 there will be 600 million fewer people in rural areas. The large cities and megacities created by this rapid urbanisation contribute to climate change, and in turn are affected by its consequences. For these and other reasons we need a new approach to what cities should do to become more liveable, economically successful, and environmentally responsible. Megacities of the future need to be smart cities: that is, energy-efficient, consumer-focused and technologydriven. This cannot be achieved simply by improving existing technologies. Instead we need a new smart approach based on smart solutions. With this background the report addresses energy related issues for smart cities, including energy infrastructure, onsite energy production, transport, economy, sustainability, housing, living and governance, including incentives and barriers influencing smart energy for smart cities. (LN)

Risoe energy report 10. Energy for smart cities in an urbanised world

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Larsen, Hans; Soenderberg Petersen, L [eds.

2011-11-15

This Risoe Energy Report is the tenth in a series which began in 2002. Volume 10 takes as its point of reference the rapid urbanisation of the world. UN population statistics show that global population is expected to surpass 9 billion by 2050, and nearly 6.3 billion people will be living in urban areas. Urban regions will thus absorb most of the world's population increase in the next four decades while drawing in some of the rural population as well: by 2050 there will be 600 million fewer people in rural areas. The large cities and megacities created by this rapid urbanisation contribute to climate change, and in turn are affected by its consequences. For these and other reasons we need a new approach to what cities should do to become more liveable, economically successful, and environmentally responsible. Megacities of the future need to be smart cities: that is, energy-efficient, consumer-focused and technologydriven. This cannot be achieved simply by improving existing technologies. Instead we need a new smart approach based on smart solutions. With this background the report addresses energy related issues for smart cities, including energy infrastructure, onsite energy production, transport, economy, sustainability, housing, living and governance, including incentives and barriers influencing smart energy for smart cities. (LN)

Planning a functional city centre in a physiographic constrained ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study therefore aims at planning a more viable and functional 'city centre' that befit the ever growing and physically distorted Lokoja town which existing central area is currently undermining the physical need of the inhabitants. Moreover, in the face of physical environmental challenge, there must be a good choice of ...

Urban tourism: the growing role of VFR and immigration

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Tom Griffin

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to offer some insights into the future of urban tourism with particular consideration given to immigration and visiting friends and relatives (VFR travel. The discussion highlights the fact that cities are increasingly home to immigrants and transitory residents who host visitors, blurring resident-visitor distinctions, with implications for cultural and economic development, and tourism practitioners. These trends are highlighted, and discussions relating to the future are offered. Design/methodology/approach – This discussion is based on a literature review and a conceptual approach. Findings – The number of immigrants to cities keeps growing. These immigrants are shaping their new communities and changing local culture. They contribute to increased tourism through generating VFR travel and creating new tourist attractions. Research limitations/implications – The implications of VFR and immigration on urban tourism are most visible in large urban centers that are major points of entry into a country and international magnets. They are not, however, limited to big cities. Practical implications – There are potential implications for municipal governments and destination marketers to consider how cultural development and the touristic promotion of the city overlap with areas and direction for possible partnerships with community groups. Social implications – This paper promotes the idea that for immigrants, to experience their communities through hosting VFR has positive social implications in terms of integration and cultural development. Originality/value – This paper discusses a topic rarely addressed the impact of VFR and immigration on shaping urban tourism.

Birth and death in cities in the developing world.

Science.gov (United States)

1995-06-01

City dwellers in Sub-Saharan Africa have increased roughly 600% in the last 35 years. Throughout the developing world, cities have expanded at a rate that has far outpaced rural population growth. Extensive data document lower fertility and mortality rates in cities than in rural regions. But slums, shantytowns, and squatters' settlements proliferate in many large cities. Martin Brockerhoff studies the reproductive and health consequences of urban growth, with an emphasis on maternal and child health. Brockerhoff reports that child mortality rates in large cities are highest among children born to mothers who recently migrated from rural areas or who live in low-quality housing. Children born in large cities have about a 30% higher risk of dying before they reach the age of 5 than those born in smaller cities. Despite this, children born to migrant mothers who have lived in a city for about a year have much better survival chances than children born in rural areas to nonmigrant mothers and children born to migrant mothers before or shortly after migration. Migration in developing countries as a whole has saved millions of children's lives. The apparent benefits experienced in the 1980s may not occur in the future, as cities continue to grow and municipal governments confront an overwhelming need for housing, jobs, and services. Another benefit is that fertility rates in African cities fell by about 1 birth per woman as a result of female migration from villages to towns in the 1980s and early 1990s. There will be an increasing need for donors and governments to concentrate family planning, reproductive health, child survival, and social services in cities, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, because there child mortality decline has been unexpectedly slow, overall fertility decline is not yet apparent in most countries, and levels of migration to cities are anticipated to remain high.

Network integration modelling of feeder and BRT(bus rapid transit) to reduce the usage of private vehicles in Palembang’s suburban area

Science.gov (United States)

Nur'afalia, D.; Afifa, F.; Rubianto, L.; Handayeni, K. D. M. E.

2018-01-01

The aim of this research is to determine the optimal feeder network route that integrates with BRT (Bus Rapid Transit). Palembang, a high growing population city with unresolved transportation demand sector. BRT as main public transportation could not fulfill people’s demand in transportation, especially in Alang-Alang Lebar sub-district. As an impact, the usage of private vehicles increases along the movement toward the city center. The concept of Network Integration that integrates feeder network with BRT is expected to be a solution to suppress the rate of private vehicles’ usage and to improve public transportation service, so that the use of BRT will be increased in the suburban area of Palembang. The method used to identifying the optimal route using Route Analysis method is route analysis using Tranetsim 0.4. The best route is obtained based on 156 movement samples. The result is 58,7% from 199 mobility’s potency of private vehicle usage’s can be reduced if there is a feeder network’s route in Alang-Alang Lebar’s sub-district. From the result, the existance of integration between feeder network and BRT is potential enough to reduce the usage of private vehicles and supports the sustainability of transportation mobility in Palembang City.

Towards Automatic Semantic Labelling of 3D City Models

Science.gov (United States)

Rook, M.; Biljecki, F.; Diakité, A. A.

2016-10-01

The lack of semantic information in many 3D city models is a considerable limiting factor in their use, as a lot of applications rely on semantics. Such information is not always available, since it is not collected at all times, it might be lost due to data transformation, or its lack may be caused by non-interoperability in data integration from other sources. This research is a first step in creating an automatic workflow that semantically labels plain 3D city model represented by a soup of polygons, with semantic and thematic information, as defined in the CityGML standard. The first step involves the reconstruction of the topology, which is used in a region growing algorithm that clusters upward facing adjacent triangles. Heuristic rules, embedded in a decision tree, are used to compute a likeliness score for these regions that either represent the ground (terrain) or a RoofSurface. Regions with a high likeliness score, to one of the two classes, are used to create a decision space, which is used in a support vector machine (SVM). Next, topological relations are utilised to select seeds that function as a start in a region growing algorithm, to create regions of triangles of other semantic classes. The topological relationships of the regions are used in the aggregation of the thematic building features. Finally, the level of detail is detected to generate the correct output in CityGML. The results show an accuracy between 85 % and 99 % in the automatic semantic labelling on four different test datasets. The paper is concluded by indicating problems and difficulties implying the next steps in the research.

FAST-GROWING COMPANIES FROM TIMIS COUNTRY: DOES THE AGE MATTER?

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ALB MARIA

2015-03-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the relation between the company’s age and its growth and analyses the influence of age on growth by studying a specific group of companies, namely fast-growing companies from the Timis County, Romania. We have studied the performance of the fast-growing companies in the period of 2010-2013 using the STATA IC 12 software application. A linear regression analysis model with two variables was used. The dependent variable used was the rapid growth of the company, measured by the growth rate of the turnover and the independent variable used was the age of the company, measured by the number of years. The model was tested using the number of employees as a control variable. This paper’s conclusion is in agreement with many other findings from the literature in this subject. The presented results show that the turnover growth rates in the Romanian fast-growing companies tend to drop from one year to another, as the companies grow older.

The Challenges and Opportunities of Entering the Social Media Sphere: A Case Study of Polish Cities

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Sędkowski Michał

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The social media sphere is growing in Poland as more and more people embrace the new ways of communication. Cities in Poland are also slowly catching up with the social media revolution as all 16 provincial cities are present on Facebook. Profiles are static in nature and have problems with engaging the audience in any kind of meaningful conversation. The purpose of this article is to indicate the key challenges that cities are facing while entering the social sphere. Official profiles of all provincial cities in Poland will be analysed to highlight possible ways of improving their digital image.

City leadership: At the heart of the global challenge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Oliver, P.A.

2008-09-30

The world's attention is now focused on cities, and for good reasons. From a global perspective cities have become the engines of economic prosperity. In 2007, the collective Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the top 10 cities exceeded the total GDP of 162 countries combined, with Tokyo alone generating a larger GDP than Canada. Cities have become the centers of population. In 1900, only 10% of the world's population lived in cities, but by 2007 the urban population had reached 50%, and the estimate for 2050 is that 75% of the world's population, over 7 billion people, will be living in cities. In parallel, cities have become the centers of consumption. In 2006, cities accounted for approximately 67% of global primary energy demand, a concentration that is expected to rise to 75% by 2030. The corollary to this concentration of population and consumption is the concentration of activities that lead to climate change. Cities now acount for over 70% of global carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) emissions. Asia's cities are at the forefront of the global challenges of urbanization. While they are the location of many challenges, cities also present opportunities, particularly in finding solutions to the crucial global challenges of our time -- climate change, energy demand and water. Many of the world's greatest challenges, from environmental degradation to widening income gaps, are increasingly coming to be defined as urban challenges, given the rapid growth of cities. The author, who leads the World Economic Forum's SlimCity initiative, take a look at the options being explored by the public and private sectors.

Cities Farming for the Future: Urban Agriculture for Green and ...

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

Urban agriculture is the growing of plants and the raising of animals for food and other uses, and related processing and marketing activities, within and around cities and towns. In the past few years, it has received increasing attention from development organizations and national and local authorities in developing ...

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.

Two novel species of rapidly growing mycobacteria: Mycobacterium lehmannii sp. nov. and Mycobacterium neumannii sp. nov.

Science.gov (United States)

Nouioui, Imen; Sangal, Vartul; Carro, Lorena; Teramoto, Kanae; Jando, Marlen; Montero-Calasanz, Maria Del Carmen; Igual, José Mariano; Sutcliffe, Iain; Goodfellow, Michael; Klenk, Hans-Peter

2017-12-01

Two rapidly growing mycobacteria with identical 16S rRNA gene sequences were the subject of a polyphasic taxonomic study. The strains formed a well-supported subclade in the mycobacterial 16S rRNA gene tree and were most closely associated with the type strain of Mycobacterium novocastrense. Single and multilocus sequence analyses based on hsp65, rpoB and 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that strains SN 1900 T and SN 1904 T are phylogenetically distinct but share several chemotaxonomic and phenotypic features that are are consistent with their classification in the genus Mycobacterium. The two strains were distinguished by their different fatty acid and mycolic acid profiles, and by a combination of phenotypic features. The digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) and average nucleotide identity (ANI) values for strains SN 1900 T and SN 1904 T were 61.0 % and 94.7 %, respectively; in turn, the corresponding dDDH and ANI values with M. novocastrense DSM 44203 T were 41.4 % and 42.8 % and 89.3 % and 89.5 %, respectively. These results show that strains SN1900 T and SN 1904 T form new centres of taxonomic variation within the genus Mycobacterium. Consequently, strains SN 1900 T (40 T =CECT 8763 T =DSM 43219 T ) and SN 1904 T (2409 T =CECT 8766 T =DSM 43532 T ) are considered to represent novel species, for which the names Mycobacteriumlehmannii sp. nov. and Mycobacteriumneumannii sp. nov. are proposed. A strain designated as 'Mycobacteriumacapulsensis' was shown to be a bona fide member of the putative novel species, M. lehmannii.

Food (In)Security in Rapidly Urbanising, Low-Income Contexts

OpenAIRE

Cecilia Tacoli

2017-01-01

Urbanisation in low and middle-income nations presents both opportunities and immense challenges. As urban centres grow rapidly, inadequate housing and the lack of basic infrastructure and services affect a large and growing proportion of their population. There is also a growing body of evidence on urban poverty and its links with environmental hazards. There is, however, limited knowledge of how these challenges affect the ways in which poor urban residents gain access to food and secure he...

The scaling of human interactions with city size.

Science.gov (United States)

Schläpfer, Markus; Bettencourt, Luís M A; Grauwin, Sébastian; Raschke, Mathias; Claxton, Rob; Smoreda, Zbigniew; West, Geoffrey B; Ratti, Carlo

2014-09-06

The size of cities is known to play a fundamental role in social and economic life. Yet, its relation to the structure of the underlying network of human interactions has not been investigated empirically in detail. In this paper, we map society-wide communication networks to the urban areas of two European countries. We show that both the total number of contacts and the total communication activity grow superlinearly with city population size, according to well-defined scaling relations and resulting from a multiplicative increase that affects most citizens. Perhaps surprisingly, however, the probability that an individual's contacts are also connected with each other remains largely unaffected. These empirical results predict a systematic and scale-invariant acceleration of interaction-based spreading phenomena as cities get bigger, which is numerically confirmed by applying epidemiological models to the studied networks. Our findings should provide a microscopic basis towards understanding the superlinear increase of different socioeconomic quantities with city size, that applies to almost all urban systems and includes, for instance, the creation of new inventions or the prevalence of certain contagious diseases. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Organisational Factors of Rapid Growth of Slovenian Dynamic Enterprises

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pšeničny Viljem

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The authors provide key findings on the internal and external environmental factors of growth that affect the rapid growth of dynamic enterprises in relation to individual key organisational factors or functions. The key organisational relationships in a growing enterprise are upgraded with previous research findings and identified key factors of rapid growth through qualitative and quantitative analysis based on the analysis of 4,511 dynamic Slovenian enterprises exhibiting growth potential. More than 250 descriptive attributes of a sample of firms from 2011 were also used for further qualitative analysis and verification of key growth factors. On the basis of the sample (the study was conducted with 131 Slovenian dynamic enterprises, the authors verify whether these factors are the same as the factors that were studied in previous researches. They also provide empirical findings on rapid growth factors in relation to individual organisational functions: administration - management - implementation (entrepreneur - manager - employees. Through factor analysis they look for the correlation strength between individual variables (attributes that best describe each factor of rapid growth and that relate to the aforementioned organisational functions in dynamic enterprises. The research findings on rapid growth factors offer companies the opportunity to consider these factors during the planning and implementation phases of their business, to choose appropriate instruments for the transition from a small fast growing firm to a professionally managed growing company, to stimulate growth and to choose an appropriate growth strategy and organisational factors in order to remain, or become, dynamic enterprises that can further contribute to the preservation, growth and development of the Slovenian economy

The quality of life in Latin American cities: markets and perception

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lora, E.; Powell, A.; van Praag, B.M.S.; Sanguinetti, P.

2010-01-01

A growing number of cities around the world have established systems for monitoring the quality of urban life. Many of those systems combine objective information with subjective opinions and cover a wide variety of topics. This book assesses a method that takes advantage of both types of

IoT Architecture for a Sustainable Tourism Application in a Smart City Environment

OpenAIRE

Nitti, Michele; Pilloni, Virginia; Giusto, Daniele; Popescu, Vlad

2017-01-01

In the past few years, the Smart Cities concept has become one of the main driving forces for the urban transition towards a low carbon environment, sustainable economy, and mobility. Tourism, as one of the fastest growing industries, is also an important generator of carbon emissions; therefore, the recently emerging sustainable tourism concept is envisioned as an important part of the Smart Cities paradigm. Within this context, the Internet-of-Things (IoT) concept is the key technological p...

Rapid prototyping framework for robot-assisted training of autistic children

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kim, Mingyu; Barakova, E.I.; Lourens, T.

2014-01-01

Research in uptake and actual use of robots in socially assistive tasks is rapidly growing. However, practical applications lack behind due to the enormous effort to create meaningful behaviours. This paper describes a rapid prototyping framework for robot-assisted training of children with Autism

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amos Setiadi

2014-11-01

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

Constructing Threats and a Need for Control: Textbook Descriptions of a Growing, Moving World Population

Science.gov (United States)

Mikander, Pia; Holm, Gunilla

2014-01-01

The population of the world is growing and moving. The overwhelming majority of people are on the move inside their own country and mostly towards cities while a minority moves from non-Western areas to the West. In Finnish geography, history and social science school textbooks, this mobility tends to be depicted differently depending on whether…

Establishing a Water Resources Resilience Baseline for Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

Behzadi, F.; Ray, P. A.

2017-12-01

There is a growing concern for the vulnerability of the Mexico City water system to shocks, and the capacity of the system to accommodate climate and demographic change. This study presents a coarse-resolution, lumped model of the water system of Mexico City as a whole, designed to identify system-wide imbalances, and opportunities for large-scale improvements in city-wide resilience through investments in water imports, exports, and storage. In order to investigate the impact of climate change in Mexico City, the annual and monthly trends of precipitation and temperature at 46 stations near or inside the Mexico City were analyzed. The statistical significance of the trends in rainfall and temperature, both over the entire period of record, and the more recent "climate-change-impacted period" (1970-2015), were determined using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test. Results show a statistically significant increasing trend in the annual mean precipitation, mean temperature, and annual maximum daily temperature. However, minimum daily temperature does not appear to be increasing, and might be decreasing. Water management in Mexico City faces particular challenges, where the winter dry season is warming more quickly than the wet summer season. A stress test of Mexico City water system is conducted to identify vulnerabilities to changes in exogenous factors (esp., climate, demographics, land use). Following on the stress test, the relative merits of adaptation options that might improve the system's resilience and sustainability will be assessed.

The mini climatic city a dedicated space for technological innovations devoted to Sustainable City

Science.gov (United States)

Derkx, François; Lebental, Bérengère; Merliot, Erick; Dumoulin, Jean; Bourquin, Frédéric

2015-04-01

Our cities, from megalopolis to rural commune, are systems of an extraordinary technological and human complexity. Their balance is threatened by the growing population and rarefaction of resources. Massive urbanization endanges the environment, while global climate change, through natural hazards generated (climatic, hydrological and geological), threats people and goods. Connect the city, that is to say, design and spread systems able to route, between multiple actors, a very large amount of heterogeneous information natures and analyzed for various purposes, is at the heart of the hopes to make our cities more sustainable: climate-resilient, energy efficient and actresses of the energy transition, attractive to individuals and companies, health and environment friendly. If multiple players are already aware of this need, progress is slow because, beyond the only connectivity, it is the urban intelligence that will create the sustainable city, through coordinated capabilities of Perception, Decision and Action: to measure phenomena; to analyze their impact on urban sustainability in order to define strategies for improvement; to effectively act on the cause of the phenomenon. In this very active context with a strong societal impact, the Sense-City project aims to accelerate research and innovation in the field of sustainable city, particularly in the field of micro and nanosensors. The project is centered around a "mini climatic City", a unique mobile environmental chamber in Europe of 400m² that can accommodate realistic models of city main components, namely buildings, infrastructures, distribution networks or basements. This R&D test place, available in draft form from January 2015 and in finalized version in 2016, will allow to validate, in realistic conditions, innovative technologies performances for the sustainable city, especially micro- and nano-sensors, at the end of their development laboratory and upstream of industrialization. R & D platform

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...

How Cities Make Their Own Weather

Science.gov (United States)

Shepherd, J. Marshall

2004-01-01

Urbanization is one of the extreme cases of land use change. Most of world's population has moved to urban areas. Although currently only 1.2% of the land is considered urban, the spatial coverage and density of cities are expected to rapidly increase in d e near future. It is estimated that by the year 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in cities. Human activity in urban environments also alters weather and climate processes. However, our understanding of urbanization on the total Earth-weather-climate system is incomplete. Recent literature continues to provide evidence that anomalies in precipitation exist over and downwind of major cities. Current and future research efforts are actively seeking to verify these literature findings and understand potential cause-effect relationships. The novelty of this study is that it utilizes rainfall data from multiple satellite data sources (e.g. TRMM precipitation radar, TRMM-geosynchronous-rain gauge merged product, and SSM/I) and ground-based measurements to identify spatial anomalies and temporal trends in precipitation for cities around the world. We will also present results from experiments using a regional atmospheric-land surface modeling system. Early results will be presented and placed within the context of weather prediction, climate assessment, and societal applications.

Cool City Design: Integrating Real-Time Urban Canyon Assessment into the Design Process for Chinese and Australian Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marcus White

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Many cities are undergoing rapid urbanisation and intensification with the unintended consequence of creating dense urban fabric with deep ‘urban canyons’. Urban densification can trap longwave radiation impacting on local atmospheric conditions, contributing to the phenomena known as the Urban Heat Island (UHI. As global temperatures are predicted to increase, there is a critical need to better understand urban form and heat retention in cities and integrate analysis tools into the design decision making process to design cooler cities. This paper describes the application and validation of a novel three-dimensional urban canyon modelling approach calculating Sky View Factor (SVF, one important indicator used in the prediction of UHI. Our modified daylighting system based approach within a design modelling environment allows iterative design decision making informed by SVF on an urban design scale. This approach is tested on urban fabric samples from cities in both Australia and China. The new approach extends the applicability in the design process of existing methods by providing ‘real-time’ SVF feedback for complex three-dimensional urban scenarios. The modelling approach enables city designers to mix intuitive compositional design modelling with dynamic canyon feedback. The approach allows a greater understanding of existing and proposed urban forms and identifying potential canyon problem areas, improved decision making and design advocacy, and can potentially have an impact on cities’ temperature.

Urban Heat Islands of the World's Major Cities Revealed at Multiple Scales Using Both Station Observations and Complementary Remotely Sensed Data Products

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, L. H.; Krehbiel, C.; Henebry, G. M.

2016-12-01

Urban heat islands (UHIs) have long been studied using both ground-based observations of air temperature and remotely sensed data. In the rapidly urbanizing world, cross-comparison between various datasets will allow us to characterize and model UHI effects more generally. Here we analyze UHIs of the world's major cities using station observations from the Global Historical Climate Network (GHCN), surface air temperatures derived from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometers (AMSRs), and land surface temperatures (LST) estimated from Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). We compute the two measurements of thermal time (accumulated diurnal degree-days or ADDD and nocturnal degree-days or ANDD) and the normalized difference accumulated thermal time index (NDATTI) to characterize urban and rural thermal differences and day-night dynamics over multiple growing seasons. Our preliminary results for 27 major cities and 83 urban-rural groupings in the USA and Canada indicate that daytime urban thermal accumulations from the passive microwave data (AMSRs) were generally lower than in adjacent rural areas, with only 18% of urban-rural groupings showing higher thermal accumulations in cities. In contrast, station observations and MODIS LST showed consistently higher ADDD in cities (82% and 93% for GHCN and MODIS data respectively). UHIs are more pronounced at night, with 55% (AMSR), 93% (GHCN) and 100% (MODIS) of urban-rural groupings showing higher ANDD in cities. Humidity appears to be a common factor driving the day-night thermal dynamics throughout all three datasets (Figure 1). Normalized day-night differences in thermal time metrics were consistently lower (>90% of urban-rural groupings) in urban than rural areas for both air temperature datasets (GHCN and AMSRs). With MODIS LST, only 70% of urban-rural groupings show lower NDATTI in cities. We will present results for the rest of the globe.

The Role of Small Cities in Shaping Youth Employment Outcomes in ...

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

Growing workforce, internal migration The future of sustainable growth in several emerging markets rests on the ability of its young populations to find gainful ... from Indonesia will provide a richer analysis of the role of small cities in shaping youth employment outcomes in the region's large, middle-income economies.

Surface urban heat island across 419 global big cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Shushi; Piao, Shilong; Ciais, Philippe; Friedlingstein, Pierre; Ottle, Catherine; Bréon, François-Marie; Nan, Huijuan; Zhou, Liming; Myneni, Ranga B

2012-01-17

Urban heat island is among the most evident aspects of human impacts on the earth system. Here we assess the diurnal and seasonal variation of surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII) defined as the surface temperature difference between urban area and suburban area measured from the MODIS. Differences in SUHII are analyzed across 419 global big cities, and we assess several potential biophysical and socio-economic driving factors. Across the big cities, we show that the average annual daytime SUHII (1.5 ± 1.2 °C) is higher than the annual nighttime SUHII (1.1 ± 0.5 °C) (P < 0.001). But no correlation is found between daytime and nighttime SUHII across big cities (P = 0.84), suggesting different driving mechanisms between day and night. The distribution of nighttime SUHII correlates positively with the difference in albedo and nighttime light between urban area and suburban area, while the distribution of daytime SUHII correlates negatively across cities with the difference of vegetation cover and activity between urban and suburban areas. Our results emphasize the key role of vegetation feedbacks in attenuating SUHII of big cities during the day, in particular during the growing season, further highlighting that increasing urban vegetation cover could be one effective way to mitigate the urban heat island effect.

Integrative assessment of climate change for fast-growing urban areas: Measurement and recommendations for future research

OpenAIRE

Scheuer, Sebastian; Haase, Dagmar; Volk, Martin

2017-01-01

Over the 20th century, urbanization has substantially shaped the surface of Earth. With population rapidly shifting from rural locations towards the cities, urban areas have dramatically expanded on a global scale and represent crystallization points of social, cultural and economic assets and activities. This trend is estimated to persist for the next decades, and particularly the developing countries are expected to face rapid urban growth. The management of this growth will require good go...

Evolving walkability of major cities in the People's Republic of China

OpenAIRE

Fan, Peilei; Wan, Guanghua; Xu, Lihua; Park, Hogeun; Xie, Yaowen; Liu, Yong; Yue, Wenze; Chen, Jiquan

2017-01-01

Context: Walkability is an important element for assessing urban sustainability. There are increased concerns that more cities in the People's Republic of China (PRC) have become less walkable. Objectives: We aim to develop a composite walkability index. We intend to use it to evaluate the spatio-temporal evolution of the walkability of PRC cities in the context of the rapid urbanization. Methods: We developed a comprehensive walkability index that integrates five aspects of the urban built e...

Rapidly expanding mobile apps for crowd-sourcing bike data to new cities : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2017-03-01

Cities such as San Francisco, Atlanta, and Portland are using novel methods of data collection to learn more about the use of their bicycle : infrastructure. These data can help transportation planners better design or upgrade bicycle facilities. San...

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.

Anhaia Mello's contributions to urbanism of the city of São Paulo: from Ebenezer Howard to the Chicago School

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rodrigo Alberto Toledo

2013-06-01

Full Text Available This article draws an analytical panel of the main contributions and interpretations of Anhaia Mello about the problem of growing cities from the perspective of urbanism in the city of São Paulo. Based on a broad review of the literature, this article describes how urban planning migrated to academia and simultaneously to city ordinances, which resulted in the regulatory framework of land use and occupancy that ultimately produced “The Regional São Paulo Plan.” Research in the FAU-USP library revealed family documents and collections that helped reconstruct the intellectual history and career of urban planner and professor Anhaia Mello. The author of this paper organized the data gathered from these collections and compared them to the literature to reconstruct Anhaia Mello’s thoughts on how the city of São Paulo should grow in the mid-20th century. The analyses produced by Anhaia Mello served as a guide to identify the crystallization of a planning proposal for the city, which believed in reversing the metropolitan cycle and containing urban growth by applying the garden-city concept defended by Le Corbusier and the Chicago school.

Smart City: utopia o realtà? Comprendere l’evoluzione per comprendere la trasformazione / Smart City: utopia or reality? Understanding the evolution to understand the trasformation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Saveria Olga Murlelle Boulanger

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Il termine Smart City nasce come risposta ad alcuni problemi concreti che la città del XXI secolo si trova ad affrontare: aumento della popolazione, dell’inurbamento, cambiamento climatico. La città del XX secolo si è sviluppata in maniera deregolata, senza considerare quanto il “bene Terra” fosse limitato e come il suo ecosistema fragile. E’ all’interno di questo clima che il concetto di città “intelligente” nasce e si sviluppa. Lo studio si pone l’obiettivo di studiare il fenomeno partendo dall’analisi delle sue origini e dall’evoluzione storica che lo ha prodotto. / The Smart City word borns as an answer to some important problems that the XXI century city is asked to answer: population growing, urbanisation, climatic changes. The development of the XX century city was carried on in a deregulated way, without considering that the “Earth good” was limited and its ecosystem breakable. It is into this crisis climate that the concept of intelligent city borns and develops. The paper aims to study this issue from the origins of the word and from the historic evolution that made the concept real.

Flora of the city of Podgorica, Montenegro: Taxonomic analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Stešević Danijela

2008-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we present the taxonomic segment of a floristic study undertaken in the city of Podgorica in the period of 2002-2007. The check-list of spontaneously growing vascular plants includes 1227 species and subspecies belonging to 545 genera and 118 families. The dominant families are Poaceae (11.7%, asteraceae (11.2% and Fabaceae (9.2%. The most abundant genera are Trifolium (2.1%, Euphorbia (1.5%, Carex (1.5%, Bromus (1.3% and Vicia (1.2%. Analysis of the flora of Podgorica in comparison with some other european cities showed that the flora of Podgorica is most similar to that of Rome (Q/S= 0,7.

The Rapid Urban Growth Triad: A New Conceptual Framework for Examining the Urban Transition in Developing Countries

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Kyle Farrell

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Although the urban transition is a universal event that unfolds in all countries, the determinants, patterns, and outcomes do not necessarily follow a uniform process. With the urban transition being basically completed in developed countries around the turn of the 21st century, the growth of cities today is almost entirely confined to developing countries. Still, much of our conceptual understanding of this process is derived from earlier accounts, with definitions rooted in a historical context. This has resulted in common misconceptions such as a tendency to view the growth of cities primarily as an outcome of rural to urban migration, neglecting the growing contributions of urban natural population increase and reclassification of rural areas. A tendency to treat the components of urban growth in isolation has created a rift within the urban studies discourse, preventing any real theorization of their combined impacts and the interplay among them. Applying a systems thinking approach, this paper introduces a multidisciplinary framework for conceptualizing rapid urban growth in developing countries. The framework offers explanatory power to previously neglected components of urban growth and serves as a diagnostic for examining the urban transition—ultimately revealing new policy levers for managing it in a sustainable way.

Analyzing the Effects of Spatial Interaction among City Clusters on Urban Growth—Case of Wuhan Urban Agglomeration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ronghui Tan

2016-08-01

Full Text Available For the past two decades, China’s urbanization has attracted increasing attention from scholars around the world. Numerous insightful studies have attempted to determine the socioeconomic causes of the rapid urban growth in Chinese cities. However, most of these studies regarded each city as a single entity, with few considering inter-city relationships. The present study uses a gravity-based model to measure the spatial interaction among city clusters in the Wuhan urban agglomeration (WUA, which is one of China’s most rapidly urbanizing regions. The effects of spatial interaction on urban growth area were also analyzed. Empirical results indicate that, similar to urban population or employment in secondary and tertiary industries in the WUA from 2000 to 2005, the spatial interaction among city clusters is one of the main drivers of urban growth. In fact, this study finds the effects of spatial interaction as the only socioeconomic factor that affected the spatial expansion from 2005 to 2010. This finding suggests that population migration and information and commodity flows showed greater influence than the socioeconomic drivers of each city did on promoting urbanization in the WUA during this period. We thus argue that spatial interaction among city clusters should be a consideration in future regional planning.

[Ecological risk assessment of human activity of rapid economic development regions in southern Jiangsu, China: a case study of Dantu District of Zhenjiang City].

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Guang-Ling; Xiang, Bao; Wang, Bao-Liang; Jin, Xia; Hu, Yu; Zhang, Li-Kun

2014-04-01

This article investigated the spatiotemporal variation of landscape ecological risk in Dantu District of Zhenjiang City with statistical method based on the ETM remote sensing data in 2000 and 2005, and the TM remote sensing data in 2010, and quantitative index of regional ecological risk assessment was established with the employment of landscape index, so as to enhance the ecosystem management, prevent and reduce the regional ecological risk in southern Jiangsu with rapid economic development. The results showed that the fragmentations, divergence, and ecological losses of natural landscape types, such as forestland, wetland, waters, etc., were deteriorated with the expansion of built-up lands from 2000 to 2010. The higher ecological risk zone took up 5.7%, 9.0%, and 10.2% of the whole region in 2000, 2005, and 2010, respectively, which mainly distributed in the plain hilly region. During the study period, the area aggravating to the higher ecological risk zone was approximately 296.2 km2, 48% of the whole region. The ecological risk rose up in most of the region. The interference of rapid economic development to landscape patterns was even more intensive, with obvious spatial differences in ecological risk distribution. The measures of exploiting resources near the port, utilizing natural wetlands, constructing industrial parks, and rapid urbanization, etc., intensified the ecological risk and accelerated the conversion rate. Prompt strategies should be established to manage the ecological risk of this region.

Why Does Zipf's Law Break Down in Rank-Size Distribution of Cities?

OpenAIRE

Kuninaka, Hiroto; Matsushita, Mitsugu

2008-01-01

We study rank-size distribution of cities in Japan on the basis of data analysis. From the census data after World War II, we find that the rank-size distribution of cities is composed of two parts, each of which has independent power exponent. In addition, the power exponent of the head part of the distribution changes in time and Zipf's law holds only in a restricted period. We show that Zipf's law broke down due to both of Showa and Heisei great mergers and recovered due to population grow...

US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy.

Science.gov (United States)

McManamay, Ryan A; Surendran Nair, Sujithkumar; DeRolph, Christopher R; Ruddell, Benjamin L; Morton, April M; Stewart, Robert N; Troia, Matthew J; Tran, Liem; Kim, Hyun; Bhaduri, Budhendra L

2017-09-05

Cities are concentrations of sociopolitical power and prime architects of land transformation, while also serving as consumption hubs of "hard" water and energy infrastructures. These infrastructures extend well outside metropolitan boundaries and impact distal river ecosystems. We used a comprehensive model to quantify the roles of anthropogenic stressors on hydrologic alteration and biodiversity in US streams and isolate the impacts stemming from hard infrastructure developments in cities. Across the contiguous United States, cities' hard infrastructures have significantly altered at least 7% of streams, which influence habitats for over 60% of North America's fish, mussel, and crayfish species. Additionally, city infrastructures have contributed to local extinctions in 260 species and currently influence 970 indigenous species, 27% of which are in jeopardy. We find that ecosystem impacts do not scale with city size but are instead proportionate to infrastructure decisions. For example, Atlanta's impacts by hard infrastructures extend across four major river basins, 12,500 stream km, and contribute to 100 local extinctions of aquatic species. In contrast, Las Vegas, a similar size city, impacts cities have local policy choices that can reduce future impacts to regional aquatic ecosystems as they grow. By coordinating policy and communication between hard infrastructure sectors, local city governments and utilities can directly improve environmental quality in a significant fraction of the nation's streams reaching far beyond their city boundaries.

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.

Expansion and growth in Chinese cities, 1978–2010

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Schneider, A; Mertes, C M

2014-01-01

It has long been recognized that compact versus more sprawling urban forms can have very different environmental impacts. As the Chinese population continues to rapidly urbanize, the size, shape, and configuration of cities in China will undoubtedly change to accommodate expansion of housing, industry, and commerce, causing direct and indirect environmental impacts at multiple scales. It is therefore imperative to understand how urban areas are evolving as socio-economic reforms in China are implemented across different regions. This paper compares trends in 142 Chinese cities (including 17 agglomerations) to understand urban expansion and population growth following reforms, 1978–2010. The results show that cities tripled in size, while doubling in population over the same period. In coastal areas targeted by early policies, urban land increased 4–5 times since 1978, for all city sizes. Large agglomerations are the primary consumers of land in coastal and western regions, each adding an average of 450 km 2 during the study period, while small-medium cities consumed an average 20 km 2 . Although populations in these agglomerations increased an average 1.3 million, 2000–2010, cities within 100 km of each agglomeration grew >1.8 million collectively. Proximity to large agglomerations contributed to the growth of small-medium cities, especially in western regions. (paper)

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

Lidar Monitoring of Mexico City's Atmosphere During High Air Pollution Episodes

Science.gov (United States)

Quick, C. R., Jr.; Archuleta, F. L.; Hof, D. E.; Karl, R. R., Jr.; Tiee, J. J., Jr.; Eichinger, W. E.; Holtkamp, D. B.; Tellier, L.

1992-01-01

Over the last two decades, Mexico City, like many large industrial and populous urban areas, has developed a serious air pollution problem, especially during the winter months when there are frequent temperature inversions and weak winds. The deteriorating air quality is the result of several factors. The basin within which Mexico City lies in Mexico's center of political, administrative and economic activity, generating 34 percent of the gross domestic product and 42 percent of the industrial revenue, and supporting a population which is rapidly approaching the 20 million mark. The basin is surrounded by mountains on three sides which end up preventing rapid dispersal of pollutants. Emissions from the transportation fleet (more than 3 million vehicles) are one of the primary pollution sources, and most are uncontrolled. Catalytic converters are just now working their way into the fleet. The Mexico City Air Quality Research Initiative in an international collaboration project between the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the Mexican Petroleum Institute are dedicated to the investigation of the air quality problem in Mexico City. The main objective of the project is to identify and assess the cost and benefits of major options being proposed to improve the air quality. The project is organized into three main activity areas: (1) modeling and simulation; (2) characterization and measurements; and (3) strategic evaluation.

Ethnic diversity and employment growth in English cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Neil

2011-01-01

There are many reasons why cities with diverse populations may grow faster. Ethnic diversity might attract human capital, tourists or firms, increase productivity through diverse approaches to problem-solving or ethnic minority entrepreneurship. Yet there are also reasons to believe that diversity could be harmful, by leading to sub-optimal provision of public goods or reducing trust or social capital. Or it may be irrelevant, being merely a proxy for class. A number of studies have shown both positive and negative relationships between diversity and growth, using a range of different measures for "diversity." This paper asks two questions: have more diverse English cities grown faster? And does measurement matter: is it important to have a multinational population or an ethnically diverse one? To answer these questions, in this paper a range of models are estimated for employment growth for 53 English cities between 1981 and 2001. The evidence suggests that cities with a high proportion of their populations born abroad in 1981 grew faster in the subsequent 10 years. Neither diversity by country of birth nor ethnic diversity is significant in the period 1991-2001. However, when variables accounting for both are included together, it appears that cities with a large number of migrants saw higher employment growth in the 1990s, but that ethnically diverse cities were less successful. The results presented here suggest that considerable attention needs to be paid to the variable used to indicate "diversity" in these studies and that the impact of diversity varies according to nature of the groups any indicator for "diversity" is representing.

Selected water-quality data from the Cedar River and Cedar Rapids well fields, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 2006-10

Science.gov (United States)

Littin, Gregory R.

2012-01-01

The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the primary source of municipal water in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area. Municipal wells are completed in the alluvial aquifer approximately 40 to 80 feet below land surface. The City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have been conducting a cooperative study of the groundwater-flow system and water quality of the aquifer since 1992. Cooperative reports between the City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have documented hydrologic and water-quality data, geochemistry, and groundwater models. Water-quality samples were collected for studies involving well field monitoring, trends, source-water protection, groundwater geochemistry, surface-water-groundwater interaction, and pesticides in groundwater and surface water. Water-quality analyses were conducted for major ions (boron, bromide, calcium, chloride, fluoride, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, silica, sodium, and sulfate), nutrients (ammonia as nitrogen, nitrite as nitrogen, nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen, and orthophosphate as phosphorus), dissolved organic carbon, and selected pesticides including two degradates of the herbicide atrazine. Physical characteristics (alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance and water temperature) were measured in the field and recorded for each water sample collected. This report presents the results of routine water-quality data-collection activities from January 2006 through December 2010. Methods of data collection, quality-assurance, and water-quality analyses are presented. Data include the results of water-quality analyses from quarterly sampling from monitoring wells, municipal wells, and the Cedar River.

DATA-DRIVEN RIGHTSIZING: INTEGRATING PRESERVATION INTO THE LEGACY CITIES LANDSCAPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

E. Evans

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Legacy cities, whose built environments are undergoing transformations due to population loss, are at a critical juncture in their urban history and the historic preservation field has an important role to play. Rapid mobile surveys provide an opportunity for data collection that expands beyond traditional historic criteria, and positions preservationists to be proactive decision-makers and to align with multi-disciplinary partners. Rapid mobile surveys are being utilized in conjunction with in-depth data analysis of comprehensive livability metrics at the parcel, neighborhood, and citywide levels to develop recommendations for reactivating vacant properties. Historic preservationists are spearheading these efforts through a tool called Relocal, which uses 70–85 distinct metrics and a community priority survey to generate parcel-level recommendations for every vacant lot and vacant building in the areas in which it is applied. Local volunteer-led rapid mobile surveys are key to gathering on-the-ground, real-time metrics that serve as Relocal’s foundation. These new survey techniques generate usable data sets for historic preservation practitioners, land banks, planners, and other entities to inform strategic rightsizing decisions across legacy cities.

Optimal design and operation of an integrated multi-energy system for smart cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Beuzekom, I.; Mazairac, L.A.J.; Gibescu, M.; Slootweg, J.G.

2016-01-01

Cities are at the center of the sustainable development challenge. Growing urbanization, intensity of resource-usage, and related emissions lead to high incentives for local governments to act. Large-scale integration of intermittent renewable energy is an important part of their strategy. However,

3D modeling based on CityEngine

Science.gov (United States)

Jia, Guangyin; Liao, Kaiju

2017-03-01

Currently, there are many 3D modeling softwares, like 3DMAX, AUTOCAD, and more populous BIM softwares represented by REVIT. CityEngine modeling software introduced in this paper can fully utilize the existing GIS data and combine other built models to make 3D modeling on internal and external part of buildings in a rapid and batch manner, so as to improve the 3D modeling efficiency.

The Tourist and Recreation Potential of Historical Cities in North-West Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hodachek V. M.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available In recent years, the development of historical cities has been high on research agenda. This is explained by the growing role of tourism and recreation in socioeconomic development and the persisting problem of the national economy’s spatial organisation amidst the absence of a clear-cut regional policy. The authors stress the discrepancy between the distribution of economic activities and the established system of settlement. This is particularly true for many historical cities, whose economic resources have been curtailed. This study provides a rationale for a more efficient use of the tourist and recreational potential to boost the socio-economic development of Russia’s historical cities. The article describes problems of the cities’ development using the country’s North-West as an example. The authors explore factors behind the formation of a new development strategy for historical cities and analyse conditions necessary for the efficient exploitation of the historical cities’ tourism and recreation potential. The findings obtained suggest that strategic areas of tourism and recreation development in Russia’s historical cities should be identified depending on city type, development conditions and other relevant factors.

Efficient management of municipal water: water scarcity in Taiz City, Yemen - issues and options

Science.gov (United States)

Noaman, A.; Al-Sharjabe, A. W.

2015-04-01

The city of Taiz is the third largest city in Yemen, located about 250 km south of Sana'a and about 90 km inland from the Red Sea. Taiz is situated on the foothills and slopes of the Jabal Saber Mountain at elevations between 1100 and 1600 m a.s.l. Its population is rapidly increasing and is expected to grow from about 580 000 in 2012 to over 1 000 000 in 2020. Water supply is the most pressing problem in the city of Taiz today due to the significant shortages of supply (the average consumption is 23 L/d) caused by the depletion of existing water resources and the lack of a clear direction in dealing with the problem. This forces frequent service interruptions (30-40 days) and the service is rarely extended to new users (only 57% of the population are covered). Sanitation is another daunting problem. The (poorly maintained) sewerage network covers only 44% of the population. In several unsewered areas to the north, east and west of the city, raw sewage is disposed of directly into wadis, which causes a health hazard and threatens to contaminate groundwater resources. The proper computation of demand and supply is based on the various fields. It was performed under this study with a particular model: the Water Evaluation and Planning System (WEAP) developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). WEAP is supported by a geographical information system (GIS). The available and relevant data on poverty and social indicators, water use and sources, surface runoff, surface and groundwater availability, groundwater depletion and management, crop production areas, soil cover, maps, and meteorological information were gathered from a number of sources. There are only two ways to decrease the water deficit: by increasing water supply or decreasing the water demand. Any adaptation project aims at one of the two. Six projects are proposed, with three in each category (1, 2 and 3 to decrease demand, and 4, 5 and 6 to increase supply): - Project 1: Improvement of

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...

The Urban Environmental Monitoring/100 Cities Project: Legacy of the First Phase and Next Steps

Science.gov (United States)

Stefanov, William L.; Wentz, Elizabeth A.; Brazel, Anthony; Netzband, Maik; Moeller, Matthias

2009-01-01

The Urban Environmental Monitoring (UEM) project, now known as the 100 Cities Project, at Arizona State University (ASU) is a baseline effort to collect and analyze remotely sensed data for 100 urban centers worldwide. Our overarching goal is to use remote sensing technology to better understand the consequences of rapid urbanization through advanced biophysical measurements, classification methods, and modeling, which can then be used to inform public policy and planning. Urbanization represents one of the most significant alterations that humankind has made to the surface of the earth. In the early 20th century, there were less than 20 cities in the world with populations exceeding 1 million; today, there are more than 400. The consequences of urbanization include the transformation of land surfaces from undisturbed natural environments to land that supports different forms of human activity, including agriculture, residential, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure such as roads and other types of transportation. Each of these land transformations has impacted, to varying degrees, the local climatology, hydrology, geology, and biota that predate human settlement. It is essential that we document, to the best of our ability, the nature of land transformations and the consequences to the existing environment. The focus in the UEM project since its inception has been on rapid urbanization. Rapid urbanization is occurring in hundreds of cities worldwide as population increases and people migrate from rural communities to urban centers in search of employment and a better quality of life. The unintended consequences of rapid urbanization have the potential to cause serious harm to the environment, to human life, and to the resulting built environment because rapid development constrains and rushes decision making. Such rapid decision making can result in poor planning, ineffective policies, and decisions that harm the environment and the quality of human life

Watering the city of Tampere from the mid-1800s to the 21st century

OpenAIRE

Juuti, Petri; Katko, Tapio

2007-01-01

The history and development of Tampere, the biggest inland city in the Nordic countries, have been shaped extensively by issues related to water and water management over the years. The city was established along rapids that cut their way through the glacio-fl uvial esker between two large lakes some 7 500 years ago (Tikkanen 2006). Tampere is the city with the longest history of modern industrial enterprises in Finland, and it is currently known for its high-tech industries, including the re...

Meeting Social Challenges in Developing Sustainable Environmental Infrastructures in East African Cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oosterveer, P.J.M.; Spaargaren, G.

2010-01-01

The slum population in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to grow from 101 million in 1990 to 313 million in 2015. Modernizing sanitation therefore has to adapt to the context of cities with high densities of poor people under the conditions of absent or fragmented environmental infrastructures and

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...

Do teachers and students get the Ed-Tech products they need: The challenges of Ed-Tech procurement in a rapidly growing market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer Morrison

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Ed-tech courseware products to support teaching and learning are being developed and made available for acquisition by school districts at a rapid rate. In this growing market, developers and providers face challenges with making their products visible to customers, while school district stakeholders must grapple with “discovering” which products of the many available best address their instructional needs. The present study presents the experiences with and perceptions about the procurement process from 47 superintendents representing diverse school districts in the U. S. Results indicate that, while improvements are desired in many aspects of the procurement process, the superintendents, overall, believe that, once desired products are identified, they are generally able to acquire them. Difficulties lie in tighter budgets, discovering products that are potentially the best choices, and evaluating the effectiveness of the products selected as options. These findings are presented and interpreted in relation to five major “Action Points” in the procurement process, and also with regard to implications for evaluating how educational technology impacts K-12 instruction.

A classification of european cities On the basis of e-images

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

2007-01-01

Full Text Available Information and Communication Technology (ICT has become a major enabling technology that is nowadays very much 'en vogue'. It has also become an important tool to promote a variety of business goals and public policies. The growing importance of ICT in daily life, business activities and governance prompts the need to consider ICT more explicitly in local policies. The expected benefits from ICT encourage urban policy-makers to formulate proper strategies for public ICT policies. But, what are the urban policy-makers' expectations about ICT? And how do they assess the future implications of ICT for their city? This paper is focusing on the way urban decision-makers perceive the opportunities of modern ICT and its related ICT policy. By highlighting the importance of understanding the decision-maker's 'black box' on ICT, we will address three crucial issues in European cities, viz. perception of the city, attitude towards ICT, and assessment of the relevance of ICT policy. We will give an operational meaning to these three variables by using a survey comprising more than 200 European cities as the basis for a classification of these cities by means of their e-images.

Myofibroblastoma: An Unusual Rapidly Growing Benign Tumour in a Male Breast

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rafique, A.; Arshad, A.

2013-01-01

Myofibroblastoma is an unusual benign tumour of the breast predominantly seen in men in their sixth to seventh decade. The gross appearance is that of a well circumscribed nodule, characteristically small, seldom exceeding 3 cm. We present a case of an unusually large myofibroblastoma, which mimicked a malignant breast tumour. A 40 years old male, known case of tetralogy of Fallot, was operated in infancy in abroad, presented with a rapid enlargement of right breast over 5 - 6 weeks. Examination revealed a firm 10 cm hemispherical lump occupying the whole of the right breast with normal overlying skin. Since core biopsy was inconclusive, a subcutaneous mastectomy was performed to remove the tumour, which weighed 500 gms. Histopathology and immunocytochemistry revealed a mixed classical and collagenised type of myofibroblastoma. The patient is well with no evidence of recurrence. (author)

Czochralski method of growing single crystals. State-of-art

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bukowski, A.; Zabierowski, P.

1999-01-01

Modern Czochralski method of single crystal growing has been described. The example of Czochralski process is given. The advantages that caused the rapid progress of the method have been presented. The method limitations that motivated the further research and new solutions are also presented. As the example two different ways of the technique development has been described: silicon single crystals growth in the magnetic field; continuous liquid feed of silicon crystals growth. (author)

Evaluation Introduction Albizia julibrissin Durazz in Kherson City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boiko Tatiana

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The article raised questions diversification of ornamental plants for landscaping of Kherson city. We consider the effectiveness of widespread use in gardening Kherson city highly ornamental exotic species albutsiya lankaran. The rapid growth of plants, indiscriminateness to soil fertility, the ability to abundant seed and coppice restoration, resistance to the conditions of urban areas makes albutsiya promising for widespread use in gardening. In the course of the studies found that albutsiya lankaran rated as mild winter-hardy and moderately drought-resistant species, in desert climate conditions regularly damaged but recovered. Maximum decorative displays at the correct location: maximum light and moderate soil moisture. The plant shows high resistance to diseases and pests.

The Examination of Retaining Walls in Landscape Architecture: The Example of Trabzon City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Özge Volkan Aksu

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Number of problems about city order and its vision has been increasing rapidly. There is two main factors that causes visual pollution. The first factor is that cities are in an unplanned and dense urbanization process which has serious effects on appearance of a city. The second factor is retaining walls used densely in Trabzon city because of its open land structure. These walls which are set up for environmental construction security should be rebuilt with using some landscape plans so that the vision of dense concrete can be reduced. In this study, retaining walls are examined regarded landscape architecture. The continuous situation in Trabzon city is revealed with the help of an examination place, and also some suggestions for preventing the landscape problems which includes vegetal, structural and both vegetal-structural solutions are thrown out for consideration.

The city as a refuge for insect pollinators.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Damon M; Camilo, Gerardo R; Tonietto, Rebecca K; Ollerton, Jeff; Ahrné, Karin; Arduser, Mike; Ascher, John S; Baldock, Katherine C R; Fowler, Robert; Frankie, Gordon; Goulson, Dave; Gunnarsson, Bengt; Hanley, Mick E; Jackson, Janet I; Langellotto, Gail; Lowenstein, David; Minor, Emily S; Philpott, Stacy M; Potts, Simon G; Sirohi, Muzafar H; Spevak, Edward M; Stone, Graham N; Threlfall, Caragh G

2017-02-01

Research on urban insect pollinators is changing views on the biological value and ecological importance of cities. The abundance and diversity of native bee species in urban landscapes that are absent in nearby rural lands evidence the biological value and ecological importance of cities and have implications for biodiversity conservation. Lagging behind this revised image of the city are urban conservation programs that historically have invested in education and outreach rather than programs designed to achieve high-priority species conservation results. We synthesized research on urban bee species diversity and abundance to determine how urban conservation could be repositioned to better align with new views on the ecological importance of urban landscapes. Due to insect pollinators' relatively small functional requirements-habitat range, life cycle, and nesting behavior-relative to larger mammals, we argue that pollinators put high-priority and high-impact urban conservation within reach. In a rapidly urbanizing world, transforming how environmental managers view the city can improve citizen engagement and contribute to the development of more sustainable urbanization. © 2016 The Authors. Conservation Biology published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of Society for Conservation Biology.

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…

The role of households in solid waste management in East African capital cities

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Solomon, A.O.

2011-01-01

Solid Management is a concern in East African capital cities. The absence of managing solid waste is a serious problem. An ever bigger concern is the growing quantities of waste that are generatedat households level in informal settlements. In most cases proper safeguard measures are largely

The Slow-Growing Orange, A Demographer’s Look at Future Los Angeles,

Science.gov (United States)

1984-04-01

and even some downtown Los Angeles neighborhoods, through " gentrification "--will grow rapidly at the expense of others. A second dramatic aspect of...shores. Modern developments in commuaications and transportation, which have enabled us to expand trade with Asia and Latin America, have also

Globalization of Cities: Towards Conceptualizing a New Politics of Place-Making in a Transnational Era

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Şerife Geniş

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Within the past two decades, city has emerged as a critical site for analyzing dynamic and dialectic articulations of global and local processes. The proliferation of concepts such as “informational city, “entrepreneurial city”, “transnational city”, “world city,” and “global city’ reflect a growing concern in contemporary urban studies to understand and theorize the link between contemporary globalization and urbanization processes and the dynamic interplay between global and local forces in shaping cities. Among these frameworks, “world city/global city” approach played the leading role in providing a framework for recent research on the relationship between globalization and cities. “World city/global city” approach also became the main framework in shaping the urban policy agendas of many powerful public and private institutions and actors around the world. This article argues that the global prominence of this approach not only in academia but also in public debates attends to its significance and warrants a close inquiry of its claims and analyses. The article criticizes the world city/global city approach for its overly structuralist and top-down account of globalization of cities and for neglecting the interplay between the global and local actors. It attempts to develop an alternative approach that offers a historical, political, and actor-oriented perspective on globalization and global city-making in the major cities of the world

Effects of landscape change on fish assemblage structure in a rapidly growing metropolitan area in North Carolina, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Kennen, J.G.; Chang, M.; Tracy, B.H.

2005-01-01

We evaluated a comprehensive set of natural and land-use attributes that represent the major facets of urban development at fish monitoring sites in the rapidly growing Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina metropolitan area. We used principal component and correlation analysis to obtain a nonredundant subset of variables that extracted most variation in the complete set. With this subset of variables, we assessed the effect of urban growth on fish assemblage structure. We evaluated variation in fish assemblage structure with nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS). We used correlation analysis to identify the most important environmental and landscape variables associated with significant NMDS axes. The second NMDS axis is related to many indices of land-use/land-cover change and habitat. Significant correlations with proportion of largest forest patch to total patch size (r = -0.460, P < 0.01), diversity of patch types (r = 0.554, P < 0.001), and population density (r = 0.385, P < 0.05) helped identify NMDS axis 2 as a disturbance gradient. Positive and negative correlations between the abundance of redbreast sunfish Lepomis auritus and bluehead chub Nocomis leptocephalus, respectively, and NMDS axis 2 also were evident. The North Carolina index of biotic integrity and many of its component metrics were highly correlated with urbanization. These results indicate that aquatic ecosystem integrity would be optimized by a comprehensive integrated management strategy that includes the preservation of landscape function by maximizing the conservation of contiguous tracts of forested lands and vegetative cover in watersheds. ?? 2005 by the American Fisheries Society.

Spatial and Temporal Evolution of Urban Systems in China during Rapid Urbanization

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huan Li

2016-07-01

Full Text Available The structure of urban hierarchy and the role of cities of different sizes have drawn considerable scholarly interests and societal concerns. This paper analyzes the evolution and underlying mechanisms of urban hierarchy in China during the recent period of rapid urbanization. By comparing scale changes of seven types of cities (megacity, large city, Type I big city, Type II big city, medium-sized city, type I small city and type II small city, we find that allometry is the main characteristic of urban hierarchical evolution in China. We also test the validity of Zipf’s law and Gibrat’s law, which broaden the scope of existing studies by including county-level cities. We find that urban hierarchical distribution is lognormal, rather than Pareto. The result also shows that city size growth rates are constant across cities of different types. For better understanding of the mechanisms of urban hierarchical formation, we measure the optimal city size and resource allocation by the Pareto optimality criterion and non-parametric frontier method. The main findings are as follows: (1 scale efficiency is still at a relatively low level among the seven types of cities; (2 the economic efficiency of megacities and large cities is overestimated when compared to economic-environmental efficiency. Hence, this paper has two policy implications: (1 to correct factor market (land, labor and infrastructure investment distortions among different types of cities for the improvement of efficiency; (2 to strengthen rural property rights to improve social equity, as well as land use intensity.

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...

The utilization characteristics of social facilities in the border area of Semarang city

Science.gov (United States)

Setioko, Bambang; Olivia, Deasy; Pandelaki, Edward E.; Murtini, Titien Woro

2017-06-01

The rapid growth of settlement in border areas is often considered as a problem of big cities in Indonesia, where people from rural areas prefer to move out and settle in the border areas of big cities due to the provision of better social facilities. Border areas generally do not receive adequate attention and are often overlooked by the local government. It is a common phenomenon in Indonesian cities, including in Semarang City. Increased number of settlements in the border areas in Semarang City is in linear with spontaneous urbanization processes which indicate the heterogeneity emerging of settlement areas. In the early stages of Semarang City spatial planning, the need for social facilities in border areas is included based on the regular standard which is commonly applied to the urban core. In a very short period, the numbers and types of existing social facilities are insufficient to fulfill the needs of the community. Nowadays, in the context of rapid urbanization, the growth of social facilities in border areas is very high. The intense growth of settlements in border areas is very high due to the low price of land in Demak Regency in compared to those of other areas in Semarang City. However, only a few developers involved social facilities as a part of housing estate construction. Consequently, most of the occupants utilize a limited number of social facilities provided by the municipal government, which are actually intended to serve the citizens of Semarang City. This research was conducted at Sendang Mulyo Village which is located in the border of Semarang municipal administrative area and included in Demak Regency. This paper discusses the utilization characteristics of social facilities in the border area of Semarang City, with the aim to get the trigger factors. The method analysis consisted of a statistical test and descriptive analysis. The utilization characteristics were formulated based on the relationship between neighborhood and human

Forecasting municipal solid waste generation in a fast-growing urban region with system dynamics modeling

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dyson, Brian; Chang, N.-B.

2005-01-01

Both planning and design of municipal solid waste management systems require accurate prediction of solid waste generation. Yet achieving the anticipated prediction accuracy with regard to the generation trends facing many fast-growing regions is quite challenging. The lack of complete historical records of solid waste quantity and quality due to insufficient budget and unavailable management capacity has resulted in a situation that makes the long-term system planning and/or short-term expansion programs intangible. To effectively handle these problems based on limited data samples, a new analytical approach capable of addressing socioeconomic and environmental situations must be developed and applied for fulfilling the prediction analysis of solid waste generation with reasonable accuracy. This study presents a new approach - system dynamics modeling - for the prediction of solid waste generation in a fast-growing urban area based on a set of limited samples. To address the impact on sustainable development city wide, the practical implementation was assessed by a case study in the city of San Antonio, Texas (USA). This area is becoming one of the fastest-growing regions in North America due to the economic impact of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The analysis presents various trends of solid waste generation associated with five different solid waste generation models using a system dynamics simulation tool - Stella[reg]. Research findings clearly indicate that such a new forecasting approach may cover a variety of possible causative models and track inevitable uncertainties down when traditional statistical least-squares regression methods are unable to handle such issues

SPATIAL STRUCTURE OF WATERFRONT CITIES: COMPARISSON BETWEEN KENDARI AND MANADO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slamet Trisutomo

2016-01-01

Full Text Available As an archipelagic country, many cities in Indonesia exist and grow at the waterfronts. This research aims to explore comparatively the spatial structure of two waterfront cities: Kendari represents a bay-front with U-form coast line, and Manado as a sea-front with straight line coast line. The spatial structures are represented by spatial pattern, land use pattern, population density, road network, BCR and urban hierarchy. Data were collected through field survey, reading government documents and doing in-depth interview of some key informants. Descriptive and comparative analyses - both similarities and differences - on spatial structures were focused on the relationships between spatial structures with the existence of the waterfronts. The findings show that at the early period of growth, spatial structures of both cities were formed by the existence of the waterfront similarly. Influenced by physical development such as commercial facilities and housing settlements, the spatial structure recently spreads out to the mainland area created some new sub-centers. Understanding the character of spatial structures will be significant for directing and controlling the urban land use to create a sustainable waterfront city.

US cities can manage national hydrology and biodiversity using local infrastructure policy

Science.gov (United States)

Surendran Nair, Sujithkumar; DeRolph, Christopher R.; Ruddell, Benjamin L.; Morton, April M.; Stewart, Robert N.; Troia, Matthew J.; Tran, Liem; Kim, Hyun; Bhaduri, Budhendra L.

2017-01-01

Cities are concentrations of sociopolitical power and prime architects of land transformation, while also serving as consumption hubs of “hard” water and energy infrastructures. These infrastructures extend well outside metropolitan boundaries and impact distal river ecosystems. We used a comprehensive model to quantify the roles of anthropogenic stressors on hydrologic alteration and biodiversity in US streams and isolate the impacts stemming from hard infrastructure developments in cities. Across the contiguous United States, cities’ hard infrastructures have significantly altered at least 7% of streams, which influence habitats for over 60% of North America’s fish, mussel, and crayfish species. Additionally, city infrastructures have contributed to local extinctions in 260 species and currently influence 970 indigenous species, 27% of which are in jeopardy. We find that ecosystem impacts do not scale with city size but are instead proportionate to infrastructure decisions. For example, Atlanta’s impacts by hard infrastructures extend across four major river basins, 12,500 stream km, and contribute to 100 local extinctions of aquatic species. In contrast, Las Vegas, a similar size city, impacts impacts to regional aquatic ecosystems as they grow. By coordinating policy and communication between hard infrastructure sectors, local city governments and utilities can directly improve environmental quality in a significant fraction of the nation’s streams reaching far beyond their city boundaries. PMID:28827332

Far East LPG sales will grow faster than in West

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1996-01-01

LPG sales through 2010 in regions east of the Suez Canal (East of Suez) will grow at more than twice those in regions west of the canal. East-of-Suez sales will grow at more than 4.0%/year, compared to slightly less than 2.0%/year growth in sales West of Suez. East-of-Suez sales will reach 92 million tons/year (tpy) by 2010, accounting for 39% of the worldwide total. This share was 31% in1995 and only 27% in 1990. LPG sales worldwide will reach 192 million tons in 2000 and 243 million tpy by 2010. In 1995, they were 163 million tons. These are some of the major conclusions of a recent study by Frank R. Spadine, Christine Kozar, and Rudy Clark of New York City-based consultant Poten and Partners Inc. Details of the study are in the fall report ''World Trade in LPG 1990--2010''. This paper discusses demand segments, seaborne balance, Western sources, largest trading region, North American supplies, and other supplies

Adaptation to Sea Level Rise: A Multidisciplinary Analysis for Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Science.gov (United States)

Scussolini, Paolo; Tran, Thi Van Thu; Koks, Elco; Diaz-Loaiza, Andres; Ho, Phi Long; Lasage, Ralph

2017-12-01

One of the most critical impacts of sea level rise is that flooding suffered by ever larger settlements in tropical deltas will increase. Here we look at Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and quantify the threats that coastal floods pose to safety and to the economy. For this, we produce flood maps through hydrodynamic modeling and, by combining these with data sets of exposure and vulnerability, we estimate two indicators of risk: the damage to assets and the number of potential casualties. We simulate current and future (2050 and 2100) flood risk using IPCC scenarios of sea level rise and socioeconomic change. We find that annual damage may grow by more than 1 order of magnitude, and potential casualties may grow 5-20-fold until the end of the century, in the absence of adaptation. Impacts depend strongly on the climate and socioeconomic scenarios considered. Next, we simulate the implementation of adaptation measures and calculate their effectiveness in reducing impacts. We find that a ring dike would protect the inner city but increase risk in more rural districts, whereas elevating areas at risk and dryproofing buildings will reduce impacts to the city as a whole. Most measures perform well from an economic standpoint. Combinations of measures seem to be the optimal solution and may address potential equity conflicts. Based on our results, we design possible adaptation pathways for Ho Chi Minh City for the coming decades; these can inform policy-making and strategic thinking.

The Role of Cities in Reducing Smoking in China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pamela Redmon

2014-09-01

Full Text Available China is the epicenter of the global tobacco epidemic. China grows more tobacco, produces more cigarettes, makes more profits from tobacco and has more smokers than any other nation in the world. Approximately one million smokers in China die annually from diseases caused by smoking, and this estimate is expected to reach over two million by 2020. China cities have a unique opportunity and role to play in leading the tobacco control charge from the “bottom up”. The Emory Global Health Institute—China Tobacco Control Partnership supported 17 cities to establish tobacco control programs aimed at changing social norms for tobacco use. Program assessments showed the Tobacco Free Cities grantees’ progress in establishing tobacco control policies and raising public awareness through policies, programs and education activities have varied from modest to substantial. Lessons learned included the need for training and tailored technical support to build staff capacity and the importance of government and organizational support for tobacco control. Tobacco control, particularly in China, is complex, but the potential for significant public health impact is unparalleled. Cities have a critical role to play in changing social norms of tobacco use, and may be the driving force for social norm change related to tobacco use in China.

Profiling governance, planning, and urban violence in four Indian cities

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

17 nov. 2016 ... Economic growth is driving population growth in Indian cities, particularly in small and medium-sized centres. This rapid urbanization is fueling conflict over scarce resources, including land, water, and public investment. With a high proportion of the poor living and working in the informal sector and ...

Grow, Baby, Grow

Science.gov (United States)

Maybe you quit smoking during your pregnancy. Or maybe you struggled and weren’t able to stay quit. Now that your baby is here, trying to stay away from smoking is still important. That’s because the chemicals in smoke can make it harder for your baby to grow like he or she should.

Impacts of urban sprawl on the area of downtown lakes in a highly developing city on central China

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, W.; Zhang, Y.

2016-12-01

Wuhan city in central China is full of water resources and numerous lakes are located. Downtown lakes have significant ecological value and ornamental value for urban inhabitants in Wuhan. Under the rapid process of urban sprawl, downtown lakes are occupied by impervious areas. This research uses Landsat images to extract land uses from 1991 to 2013 in Wuhan city , and attempts to find out how urban sprawl affects the water body area decline in space. Two largest downtown lakes in Wuhan city, Donghu Lake located in central city and Tangxunhu Lake located in suburbs, are taken as case study area. A direction change index (DCI) is proposed to evaluate the changes of a specific land use in different directions. The results reveal that two downtown lakes are undergoing rapid water body area decline from 1991 to 2013, with decline rate are -0.022 in Donghu watershed and -0.011 in Tangxunhu watershed. 68.26% and 62.50% of the reduced water body is occupied by built-up land in Donghu watershed and Tangxunhu watershed, respectively. According to DCI, the water body reduce is highly correlated with built-up land increase in all direction. Moreover, it is found that in the Donghu watershed the north-west part suffered significant water body area decline, which is close to central city. While in Tangxunhu watershed, the area of water body declined in north-west, south-west and north-east part, and the area obstructed from central city by the lake was suffering less water body area decline. It is concluded that the water body area of downtown lakes are highly affected by the process of urban sprawl, and the lakes in central districts trends to suffer higher descend than that of the downtown lake located in suburbs. Meanwhile, even for the same downtown lake, the area orientating and close to the central city may suffer more rapid decline than the area that does not orientate to the central city.

Paxton Revisited: The Essence of the Lived Experiences of Urban Agricultural Education Students

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Nicholas R.; Roberts, Richie; Whiddon, Ashley S.; Goossen, Carmelita E.; Kacal, Amanda

2015-01-01

The rapidly growing world population and need for more food and agricultural knowledge has inspired city dwellers to explore urban cultivation practices such as vertical farming and community gardening. Ultra-modern approaches to growing crops and livestock in urban high-rise buildings has sparked the imagination of scientists, agriculturists, and…

[Comparition of ecological security stress effects of artificial landscapes on natural landscapes in different rapid urban sprawl areas].

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Mei Xia; Lin, Tao; Qiu, Quan Yi; Sun, Cai Ge; Deng, Fu Liang; Zhang, Guo Qin

2017-04-18

The expansion of built-up area will cause stress effect on the regional natural ecological security pattern during urbanization process. Taking rapid expanding regions of four inland and coastal cities as study areas, including Tongzhou in Beijing, Zhengding in Hebei, Tanggu in Tianjin and Xiamen in Fujian, we constructed regional landscape stress indexes according to the principle of landscape ecology and comparatively analyzed the landscape pattern characteristics of rapid expanding regions and the differences of stress effect of artificial landscapes on four natural landscapes ecological security pattern in the process of rapid urbanization. Results showed that landscape erosion indexes of Tongzhou, Zhengding, Tanggu and Xiamen in 2015 were 1.039, 0.996, 1.239 and 0.945, respectively, which indicated that the natural landscapes were eroded significantly. Natural landscape types of those four regions presented different threatened levels. Among all natural landscape types, unused land and waters were worst threatened in Tongzhou, Zhengding and Tanggu, while in Xiamen cultivated land and waters showed the highest threat levels. The waters threat indexes of those four areas were all more than 0.743. Landscape isolation indexes of waters and unused land of the inland cities were greater than those of coastal cities, which meant water distribution of inland cities in the space was less gathered than that of coastal cities. Besides, compared with the other natural landscape, unused land and waters suffered the largest stress from artificial landscapes.

Integrating UAV Flight outputs in Esri's CityEngine for semi-urban areas

Science.gov (United States)

Anca, Paula; Vasile, Alexandru; Sandric, Ionut

2016-04-01

One of the most pervasive technologies of recent years, which has crossed over into consumer products due to its lowering prince, is the UAV, commonly known as drones. Besides its ever-more accessible prices and growing functionality, what is truly impressive is the drastic reduction in processing time, from days to ours: from the initial flight preparation to the final output. This paper presents such a workflow and goes further by integrating the outputs into another growing technology: 3D. The software used for this purpose is Esri's CityEngine, which was developed for modeling 3D urban environments using existing 2D GIS data and computer generated architecture (CGA) rules, instead of modeling each feature individually. A semi-urban areas was selected for this study and captured using the E-Bee from Parrot. The output point cloud elevation from the E-Bee flight was transformed into a raster in order to be used as an elevation surface in CityEngine, and the mosaic raster dataset was draped over this surface. In order to model the buildings in this area CGA rules were written using the building footprints, as inputs, in the form of Feature Classes. The extrusion heights for the buildings were also extracted from the point cloud, and realistic textures were draped over the 3D building models. Finally the scene was shared as a 3D web-scene which can be accessed by anyone through a link, without any software besides an internet browser. This can serve as input for Smart City development through further analysis for urban ecology Keywords: 3D, drone, CityEngine, E-Bee, Esri, scene, web-scene

In Vitro Comparison of Ertapenem, Meropenem, and Imipenem against Isolates of Rapidly Growing Mycobacteria and Nocardia by Use of Broth Microdilution and Etest.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Elliott, Barbara A; Killingley, Jessica; Vasireddy, Sruthi; Bridge, Linda; Wallace, Richard J

2016-06-01

We compared the activities of the carbapenems ertapenem, meropenem, and imipenem against 180 isolates of rapidly growing mycobacteria (RGM) and 170 isolates of Nocardia using the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) guidelines. A subset of isolates was tested using the Etest. The rate of susceptibility to ertapenem and meropenem was limited and less than that to imipenem for the RGM. Analysis of major and minor discrepancies revealed that >90% of the isolates of Nocardia had higher MICs by the broth microdilution method than by Etest, in contrast to the lower broth microdilution MICs seen for >80% of the RGM. Imipenem remains the most active carbapenem against RGM, including Mycobacterium abscessus subsp. abscessus For Nocardia, imipenem was significantly more active only against Nocardia farcinica Although there may be utility in testing the activities of the newer carbapenems against Nocardia, their activities against the RGM should not be routinely tested. Testing by Etest is not recommended by the CLSI. Copyright © 2016, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Investigating traffic light violations by cyclists in Dublin City Centre.

Science.gov (United States)

Richardson, Matthew; Caulfield, Brian

2015-11-01

This research examines the behaviour of cyclists in Dublin City with specific regard to red light running. A number of specific research questions are raised by this study. These questions address the impact of different infrastructure types on red light running, as well as the behavioural patterns and demographics of offending cyclists. Two data collection methods were used to gather information on cyclists in Dublin City - an observational survey and an online questionnaire. The observational surveys examined cyclist compliance with different traffic signal systems and the impact of on-road and off-road cycle infrastructure. An online questionnaire was used to get direct feedback from cyclists in Dublin City on the reasons (if any) they decide to commit infringement at traffic lights. With the recent growth of cycling in Dublin City (as well as many other international cities) it is vital to accommodate and manage this growing demand by ensuring the safety and road discipline of cyclists. The next few years will be crucial for the continued development of cycling in Dublin, particularly due to the increasing investment by transport planners in cycle infrastructure. It is therefore important to identify now the main factors which influence cyclist's decisions to break red lights in order to guide local traffic authorities in their efforts to reduce such transgressions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

How Cloud Computing can help SMEs to grow faster?

OpenAIRE

Hasan, Ahmed Anwar

2010-01-01

In recent years, Cloud computing has successfully created hype and lots of people think that cloud computing might be the next big thing. The cloud platform is growing rapidly and lots of cloud service provider companies are coming up with huge number of innovative ideas where they are addressing specific needs of different organisations. The cloud computing is based on a service model architecture which is highly customisable and can fit into a specific or unique business process. Cloud comp...

Foreclosures and crime: a city-level analysis in Southern California of a dynamic process.

Science.gov (United States)

Hipp, John R; Chamberlain, Alyssa W

2015-05-01

Although a growing body of research has examined and found a positive relationship between neighborhood crime and home foreclosures, some research suggests this relationship may not hold in all cities. This study uses city-level data to assess the relationship between foreclosures and crime by estimating longitudinal models with lags for monthly foreclosure and crime data in 128 cities from 1996 to 2011 in Southern California. We test whether these effects are stronger in cities with a combination of high economic inequality and high economic segregation; and whether they are stronger in cities with high racial/ethnic heterogeneity and high racial segregation. One month, and cumulative three month, six month, and 12-month lags of foreclosures are found to increase city level crime for all crimes except motor vehicle theft. The effect of foreclosures on these crime types is stronger in cities with simultaneously high levels of inequality but low levels of economic segregation. The effect of foreclosures on aggravated assault, robbery, and burglary is stronger in cities with simultaneously high levels of racial heterogeneity and low levels of racial segregation. On the other hand, foreclosures had a stronger effect on larceny and motor vehicle theft when they occurred in a city with simultaneously high levels of racial heterogeneity and high levels of racial segregation. There is evidence that the foreclosure crisis had large scale impacts on cities, leading to higher crime rates in cities hit harder by foreclosures. Nonetheless, the economic and racial characteristics of the city altered this effect. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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

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

Ecosystem Health Assessment of Mining Cities Based on Landscape Pattern

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, W.; Liu, Y.; Lin, M.; Fang, F.; Xiao, R.

2017-09-01

Ecosystem health assessment (EHA) is one of the most important aspects in ecosystem management. Nowadays, ecological environment of mining cities is facing various problems. In this study, through ecosystem health theory and remote sensing images in 2005, 2009 and 2013, landscape pattern analysis and Vigor-Organization-Resilience (VOR) model were applied to set up an evaluation index system of ecosystem health of mining city to assess the healthy level of ecosystem in Panji District Huainan city. Results showed a temporal stable but high spatial heterogeneity landscape pattern during 2005-2013. According to the regional ecosystem health index, it experienced a rapid decline after a slight increase, and finally it maintained at an ordinary level. Among these areas, a significant distinction was presented in different towns. It indicates that the ecosystem health of Tianjijiedao town, the regional administrative centre, descended rapidly during the study period, and turned into the worst level in the study area. While the Hetuan Town, located in the northwestern suburb area of Panji District, stayed on a relatively better level than other towns. The impacts of coal mining collapse area, land reclamation on the landscape pattern and ecosystem health status of mining cities were also discussed. As a result of underground coal mining, land subsidence has become an inevitable problem in the study area. In addition, the coal mining subsidence area has brought about the destruction of the farmland, construction land and water bodies, which causing the change of the regional landscape pattern and making the evaluation of ecosystem health in mining area more difficult. Therefore, this study provided an ecosystem health approach for relevant departments to make scientific decisions.

Metabolomic response of Calotropis procera growing in the desert to changes in water availability.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramadan, Ahmed; Sabir, Jamal S M; Alakilli, Saleha Y M; Shokry, Ahmed M; Gadalla, Nour O; Edris, Sherif; Al-Kordy, Magdy A; Al-Zahrani, Hassan S; El-Domyati, Fotouh M; Bahieldin, Ahmed; Baker, Neil R; Willmitzer, Lothar; Irgang, Susann

2014-01-01

Water availability is a major limitation for agricultural productivity. Plants growing in severe arid climates such as deserts provide tools for studying plant growth and performance under extreme drought conditions. The perennial species Calotropis procera used in this study is a shrub growing in many arid areas which has an exceptional ability to adapt and be productive in severe arid conditions. We describe the results of studying the metabolomic response of wild C procera plants growing in the desert to a one time water supply. Leaves of C. procera plants were taken at three time points before and 1 hour, 6 hours and 12 hours after watering and subjected to a metabolomics and lipidomics analysis. Analysis of the data reveals that within one hour after watering C. procera has already responded on the metabolic level to the sudden water availability as evidenced by major changes such as increased levels of most amino acids, a decrease in sucrose, raffinose and maltitol, a decrease in storage lipids (triacylglycerols) and an increase in membrane lipids including photosynthetic membranes. These changes still prevail at the 6 hour time point after watering however 12 hours after watering the metabolomics data are essentially indistinguishable from the prewatering state thus demonstrating not only a rapid response to water availability but also a rapid response to loss of water. Taken together these data suggest that the ability of C. procera to survive under the very harsh drought conditions prevailing in the desert might be associated with its rapid adjustments to water availability and losses.

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…

The Role of Regional Strategies in Sustainable Development: The Approach of City Plan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Polat

2014-11-01

Full Text Available In the world economy and development, understanding changes are occurring, with the EU integration process of developments and understanding of planning priorities when considered as together, "city" scale development approach and an appropriate planning system, that is the basis of Turkey`s administrative division and the national management system, should be improved self-rises. To reduce disparities among regions to an acceptable level and development of relatively underdeveloped regions and cities, naturally, a development and planning system even starting from the city and province levels, is required. In today's sustainable understanding and evolution tools, burden important functions to local units, as "participation" in the foreground stands out in the stages of planning and execution of the development strategies. Regional and city development plans and strategies as the center of rapid and balanced development dynamics are sensitive to local needs and local initiatives are required in being a trigger level. The study is done with Goal Directed Project Management methodology, and in the study city level taken as an example of city scale development approach and an appropriate planning system.

The Role of Regional Strategies in Sustainable Development: The Approach of City Plan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mustafa Polat

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In the world economy and development, understanding changes are occurring, with the EU integration process of developments and understanding of planning priorities when considered as together, "city" scale development approach and an appropriate planning system, that is the basis of Turkey`s administrative division and the national management system, should be improved self-rises. To reduce disparities among regions to an acceptable level and development of relatively underdeveloped regions and cities, naturally, a development and planning system even starting from the city and province levels, is required. In today's sustainable understanding and evolution tools, burden important functions to local units, as "participation" in the foreground stands out in the stages of planning and execution of the development strategies. Regional and city development plans and strategies as the center of rapid and balanced development dynamics are sensitive to local needs and local initiatives are required in being a trigger level. The study is done with Goal Directed Project Management methodology, and in the study city level taken as an example of city scale development approach and an appropriate planning system.

Study of Earthquake Disaster Prediction System of Langfang city Based on GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Meng; Zhang, Dian; Li, Pan; Zhang, YunHui; Zhang, RuoFei

2017-07-01

In this paper, according to the status of China’s need to improve the ability of earthquake disaster prevention, this paper puts forward the implementation plan of earthquake disaster prediction system of Langfang city based on GIS. Based on the GIS spatial database, coordinate transformation technology, GIS spatial analysis technology and PHP development technology, the seismic damage factor algorithm is used to predict the damage of the city under different intensity earthquake disaster conditions. The earthquake disaster prediction system of Langfang city is based on the B / S system architecture. Degree and spatial distribution and two-dimensional visualization display, comprehensive query analysis and efficient auxiliary decision-making function to determine the weak earthquake in the city and rapid warning. The system has realized the transformation of the city’s earthquake disaster reduction work from static planning to dynamic management, and improved the city’s earthquake and disaster prevention capability.

Abating New York City transit noise: a matter of will, not way.

Science.gov (United States)

Bronzaft, Arline L

2010-01-01

From the latter part of the 19th century, when New York City trains began to operate, until the present time, New York City's Transit Authority has received train noise complaints from riders and residents living near its transit system. The growing body of literature demonstrating the adverse effects of noise on physical and mental health raises the question as to whether transit noise is hazardous to the health of New York City's transit riders and residents living near the transit system. Several studies have examined the impacts of the noise of New York's transit system on hearing, health and learning. Despite the Transit Authority's efforts to remedy transit noise in response to complaints, the noise problem has not yet been satisfactorily ameliorated. This paper will suggest how the Transit Authority could employ techniques that could lower the noise levels of its system and benefit the health and welfare of New Yorkers. The recommendations in this paper could also apply to other cities with major transit systems where noise abatement has not been treated seriously.

Trends in vehicular emissions in China's mega cities from 1995 to 2005

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Haikun; Fu Lixin; Zhou Yu; Du Xuan; Ge Weihua

2010-01-01

Multiyear inventories of vehicular emissions in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou from 1995 through 2005 have been developed in this paper to study the vehicle emissions trends in China's mega cities during the past decade. The results show that the vehicular emissions of CO, HC, NO x and PM 10 have begun to slow their growth rates and perhaps even to decline in recent years due to the implementation of measures to control vehicular emissions in these cities. However, vehicular CO 2 emissions have substantially increased and still continue to grow due to little fuel economy improvement. Passenger cars and large vehicles (including heavy duty trucks and buses) are the major sources of vehicular CO 2 and CO emissions while large vehicles were responsible for nearly 70% and 80% of the vehicular NO x and PM 10 emissions in these mega cities. Motorcycles are also important contributors to vehicular emissions in Guangzhou and Shanghai. - The vehicular emissions (except CO 2 ) in China's mega cities have begun to slow their rates of growth and even to decline during the past decade.

Using Qualitative Methods to Understand Physical Activity and Weight Management Among Bangladeshis in New York City, 2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Riley, Lindsey; Mili, Saima; Trinh-Shevrin, Chau; Islam, Nadia

2016-07-07

South Asians experience high rates of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, coupled with low rates of reported physical activity. We report findings from a qualitative sub-study that was conducted in 2013 among Bangladeshi immigrants in New York City to understand factors that affect physical activity practices and weight management in this community. Qualitative study participants were recruited from community-based settings. Sex-specific focus groups were conducted by trained community health workers. Proceedings were audio-recorded for translation and transcription and coded using a constant comparative approach. Data were coded using Atlas.ti software. Six focus groups were completed with a final sample of 67 participants (63% male, 37% female). Mean participant age was 42 years; mean years of residence in the United States was 12. Key themes that emerged were beliefs about modesty and sex-separated facilities that may prevent women from engaging in physical activity. Distinctions were made between men and women about what constitutes exercise versus physical activity; religious prayer was considered to be health-promoting because of the movement involved. Other important themes that emerged were cultural dietary practices and evolving conceptions of healthy weight. Tailored interventions that take into account the cultural context of this growing community are needed. Findings may also provide insight into barriers to health promotion experienced by other US Muslim communities, which are growing rapidly.

Out to eat: the emergence and evolution of the restaurant in nineteenth-century New York City.

Science.gov (United States)

Lobel, Cindy R

2010-01-01

Unheard of in the eighteenth century, restaurants became an integral part of New York City's public culture in the antebellum period. This article examines the emergence and development of New York's restaurant sector in the nineteenth century, focusing on three aspects in particular: the close ties between urbanization and the rise of New York's restaurants, the role restaurants played in enforcing the city's class structure and gender mores, and the role of restaurants in shaping the public culture of the growing metropolis.

Selected Water-Quality Data from the Cedar River and Cedar Rapids Well Fields, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 1999-2005

Science.gov (United States)

Littin, Gregory R.; Schnoebelen, Douglas J.

2010-01-01

The Cedar River alluvial aquifer is the primary source of municipal water in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area. Municipal wells are completed in the alluvial aquifer at approximately 40 to 80 feet deep. The City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have been conducting a cooperative study of the groundwater-flow system and water quality near the well fields since 1992. Previous cooperative studies between the City of Cedar Rapids and the U.S. Geological Survey have documented hydrologic and water-quality data, geochemistry, and groundwater models. Water-quality samples were collected for studies involving well field monitoring, trends, source-water protection, groundwater geochemistry, evaluation of surface and ground-water interaction, assessment of pesticides in groundwater and surface water, and to evaluate water quality near a wetland area in the Seminole well field. Typical water-quality analyses included major ions (boron, bromide, calcium, chloride, fluoride, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, silica, sodium, and sulfate), nutrients (ammonia as nitrogen, nitrite as nitrogen, nitrite plus nitrate as nitrogen, and orthophosphate as phosphorus), dissolved organic carbon, and selected pesticides including two degradates of the herbicide atrazine. In addition, two synoptic samplings included analyses of additional pesticide degradates in water samples. Physical field parameters (alkalinity, dissolved oxygen, pH, specific conductance and water temperature) were recorded with each water sample collected. This report presents the results of water quality data-collection activities from January 1999 through December 2005. Methods of data collection, quality-assurance samples, water-quality analyses, and statistical summaries are presented. Data include the results of water-quality analyses from quarterly and synoptic sampling from monitoring wells, municipal wells, and the Cedar River.

Analyses and simulation to spatial pattern of land utilization in Guangzhu City

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Xin-chang; Zhang, Wen-jiang; Ma, Kun

2006-10-01

Based on Landsat TM remote sensing images in 1990 and 2000, we analyses the temporal and spatial pattern Characters of land use in the 1990s in Guangzhou city. We also simulate the scenarios of land-use pattern in 2010 by integrating the Markov process into cellular automata model. The results show that the area of constructions was rapid increasing during the last ten years of the 20th century, at the same time the arable land, woodland and unused land areas were decreasing, the orchard and water areas were rarely changed; In the first ten years of 21st century, land use pattern keep the change trend in the 1990s, land of constructions continue rapid increasing; arable land and unused land areas continue rapid decreasing; woodland, orchard and water areas keep steadily. Research shows that the extent of urban area has increased exponentially in Guangzhou city, no evidences show that the arable land decreasing rate will slow down in the near future. So, it is necessary to enhance the control functions of land use planning and take actives measures to protect arable land.

Solar Photovoltaic Economic Development: Building and Growing a Local PV Industry, August 2011 (Book)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

2011-08-01

The U.S. photovoltaic (PV) industry is forecast to grow, and it represents an opportunity for economic development and job creation in communities throughout the United States. This report helps U.S. cities evaluate economic opportunities in the PV industry. It serves as a guide for local economic development offices in evaluating their community?s competitiveness in the solar PV industry, assessing the viability of solar PV development goals, and developing strategies for recruiting and retaining PV companies to their areas.

What People Buy From Fast-food Restaurants: Caloric Content and Menu Item Selection, New York City 2007

OpenAIRE

Dumanovsky, Tamara; Nonas, Cathy A.; Huang, Christina Y.; Silver, Lynn D.; Bassett, Mary T.

2009-01-01

Fast-food restaurants provide a growing share of daily food intake, but little information is available in the public health literature about customer purchases. In order to establish baseline data on mean calorie intake, this study was completed in the Spring of 2007, before calorie labeling regulations went into effect in New York City. Receipts were collected from lunchtime customers, at randomly selected New York City fast-food chains. A supplementary survey was also administered to clari...

Networked governance and the management of ecosystem services: The case of urban environmental stewardship in New York City

Science.gov (United States)

James J.T. Connolly; Erika S. Svendsen; Dana R. Fisher; Lindsay K. Campbell

2014-01-01

Urban environmental stewardship groups have become an essential component of the governance structure that regulates ecosystem services in cities. New York City is one example where these groups have grown rapidly in number, size, and visibility since the 1970s. In this article, we combine quantitative survey data with qualitative interview data to examine the...

Effect of Rapid Maxillary Expansion on Glenoid Fossa and Condyle-Fossa Relationship in Growing Patients (MEGP): Study Protocol for a Controlled Clinical Trial

Science.gov (United States)

Ghoussoub, Mona Sayegh; Rifai, Khaldoun; Garcia, Robert; Sleilaty, Ghassan

2018-01-01

Aims and Objectives: Rapid maxillary expansion (RME) is an orthodontic nonsurgical procedure aiming at increasing the width of the maxilla by opening mainly the intermaxillary suture in patients presenting a transverse maxillary skeletal deficiency. The objectives of the current prospective controlled clinical and radiographic study are to evaluate the hypothesis that RME in growing patients will result in radiographic changes at the level of interglenoid fossa distance, condyle-fossa relationship, and nasal cavity widths compared to the group who received no treatment initially and served as untreated control. Materials and Methods: In this prospective controlled clinical and radiographic study, forty healthy growing patients selected from a school-based population following a large screening campaign, ranging in age between 8 and 13 years, presenting a maxillary constriction with bilateral crossbite, and candidates for RME are being recruited. The first group will include participants willing to undergo treatment (n = 25) and the other group will include those inclined to postpone (n = 15). Results: The primary outcome is to compare radiologically the interglenoid fossa distance and the condyle-fossa relationship; nasal cavity width will be a secondary outcome. A multivariable analysis of Covariance model will be used, with the assessment of the time by group interaction, using age as covariate. The project protocol was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of the Lebanese University, National Institute in Lebanon (CUEMB process number 31/04/2015). The study is funded by the Lebanese University and Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, Lebanon (Number: 652 on 14/04/2016). Conclusion: This prospective controlled clinical trial will give information about the effect of RME on the glenoid fossa and condyle-fossa relationship and its impact on the nasal cavity width. Trial Registration: Retrospectively registered in BioMed Central (DOI10.1186/ISRCTN

Practices of Built Heritage Post-Disaster Reconstruction for Resilient Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tomasz Jeleński

2018-03-01

Full Text Available The concept of resilience has become increasingly important to our understanding of sustainable planning. Post-disaster urban and architectural reconstruction might be treated as a strategy for resilient cities, helping them to reinvent themselves after possible destruction. The purpose of this study is to analyse several cases of nearly total reconstruction of historical urban complexes. Specifically, it explores how urban heritage conservation and recreation could contribute to the resilience agenda, giving traumatised societies a sense of continuity and localness. It analyses the changes in the conservation doctrine, highlighting the growing acceptance of architectural reconstructions. Drawing on historical examples, mainly derived from the Polish School of Conservation practice, this paper argues that the methods and processes attempted to regain identity for the thoroughly rebuilt structures proved effective in recreating the identity of such cities as Kalisz, Warsaw, Gdańsk, and Wrocław. The article argues that while processes at the governmental level emphasised the strengthening of national identity, the experiences of the reconstructed townscapes eventually involved forms of more diverse municipal identities. The article highlights that the strategy of recreating traditional images of cities after their mutilation in disastrous events might be a key to becoming a more resilient city and the formation of the post-disaster citizenry.

Spatial patterns of development drive water use

Science.gov (United States)

G. M. Sanchez; J. W. Smith; A. Terando; G. Sun; R. K. Meentemeyer

2018-01-01

Water availability is becoming more uncertain as human populations grow, cities expand into rural regions and the climate changes. In this study, we examine the functional relationship between water use and the spatial patterns of developed land across the rapidly growing region of the southeastern United States. We quantified the spatial pattern of developed land...

Analysis of water supply and demand in high mountain cities of Bolivia under growing population and changing climate

Science.gov (United States)

Kinouchi, T.; Mendoza, J.; Asaoka, Y.; Fuchs, P.

2017-12-01

Water resources in La Paz and El Alto, high mountain capital cities of Bolivia, strongly depend on the surface and subsurface runoff from partially glacierized catchments located in the Cordillera Real, Andes. Due to growing population and changing climate, the balance between water supply from the source catchments and demand for drinking, agriculture, industry and hydropower has become precarious in recent years as evidenced by a serious drought during the 2015-2016 El Nino event. To predict the long-term availability of water resources under changing climate, we developed a semi-distributed glacio-hydrological model that considers various runoff pathways from partially glacierized high-altitude catchments. Two GCM projections (MRI-AGCM and INGV-ECHAM4) were used for the prediction with bias corrected by reanalysis data (ERA-INTERIM) and downscaled to target areas using data monitored at several weather stations. The model was applied to three catchments from which current water resources are supplied and eight additional catchments that will be potentially effective in compensating reduced runoff from the current water resource areas. For predicting the future water demand, a cohort-component method was used for the projection of size and composition of population change, considering natural and social change (birth, death and transfer). As a result, total population is expected to increase from 1.6 million in 2012 to 2.0 million in 2036. The water demand was predicted for given unit water consumption, non-revenue water rate (NWR), and sectorial percentage of water consumption for domestic, industrial and commercial purposes. The results of hydrological simulations and the analysis of water demand indicated that water supply and demand are barely balanced in recent years, while the total runoff from current water resource areas will continue to decrease and unprecedented water shortage is likely to occur since around 2020 toward the middle of 21st century even

Why Here and Why Now? Teacher Motivations for Unionizing in a New Orleans Charter School

Science.gov (United States)

Beabout, Brian R.; Gill, Ivan

2015-01-01

The rigidity of teachers unions has been given as a primary reason for their lack of representation among America's rapidly growing, although still relatively small, charter school sector. In the case of post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans, the city rapidly converted from a union-backed teacher workforce to a largely nonunionized charter school…

Image based 3D city modeling : Comparative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. P. Singh

2014-06-01

Full Text Available 3D city model is a digital representation of the Earth’s surface and it’s related objects such as building, tree, vegetation, and some manmade feature belonging to urban area. The demand of 3D city modeling is increasing rapidly for various engineering and non-engineering applications. Generally four main image based approaches were used for virtual 3D city models generation. In first approach, researchers were used Sketch based modeling, second method is Procedural grammar based modeling, third approach is Close range photogrammetry based modeling and fourth approach is mainly based on Computer Vision techniques. SketchUp, CityEngine, Photomodeler and Agisoft Photoscan are the main softwares to represent these approaches respectively. These softwares have different approaches & methods suitable for image based 3D city modeling. Literature study shows that till date, there is no complete such type of comparative study available to create complete 3D city model by using images. This paper gives a comparative assessment of these four image based 3D modeling approaches. This comparative study is mainly based on data acquisition methods, data processing techniques and output 3D model products. For this research work, study area is the campus of civil engineering department, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee (India. This 3D campus acts as a prototype for city. This study also explains various governing parameters, factors and work experiences. This research work also gives a brief introduction, strengths and weakness of these four image based techniques. Some personal comment is also given as what can do or what can’t do from these softwares. At the last, this study shows; it concluded that, each and every software has some advantages and limitations. Choice of software depends on user requirements of 3D project. For normal visualization project, SketchUp software is a good option. For 3D documentation record, Photomodeler gives good

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...

Review of China's Low-Carbon City Initiative and Developments in the Coal Industry

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fridley, David [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Khanna, Nina Zheng [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Hong, Lixuan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-09-01

As China continues its double-digit economic growth, coal remains the principal fuel for the country’s primary energy consumption and electricity generation. China’s dependence on coal in coming years makes its carbon emission intensity reduction targets more difficult to achieve, particularly given rising electricity demand from a growing number of Chinese cities. This paradox has led the government to pursue cleaner and more efficient development of the coal industry on the supply side and “low carbon” development of cities on the demand side. To understand and assess how China may be able to meet its energy and carbon intensity reduction targets, this report looks at the recent development of low carbon cities as well as new developments and trends in the coal industry. Specifically, we review low-carbon city and related eco-city development in China before delving into a comparison of eight pilot lowcarbon city plans to highlight their strengths and weaknesses in helping achieve national energy and carbon targets. We then provide insights into the future outlook for China’s coal industry by evaluating new and emerging trends in coal production, consumption, transport, trade and economic performance.

Analisis Retribusi Pelayanan Parkir di Kota Jambi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eka Warni

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This research have purpose, 1 to know development acceptance for service parking area retribution in Jambi city and the contribution for retribution in region, PAD and acceptance region in Jambi city, 2 to know effectiveness degree acceptance for service Parking area retribution ini Jambi City about acceptance resources for 2006 until 2011 period,3 to know factors which is influence acceptance for service parking area retribution in Jambi city. Research method which is used for this research that is Analysis from primary data is got through dissemination quetiosn list and live interview with Skilled worker parking area in Jambi city.  For secondary data is time series during calculation era. Result of research to show that: 1 on the average during 2006 until 2011 period, the total of acceptance region in Jambi City has growing about 11,88%.  In the same period, PAD in Jambi City has growing about 18.44%, during 2006 until 2011 period, rapid of region retribution acceptance growing in Jambi City is About 4,45% and rapid of parking area retribution growing in Jambi City has increased about 13,62%. On the Average during 2006 until 2011 period contribution of parking area retribution to the total of acceptance region is about 0,29%.  In the same period contribution of parking area retribution to PAD in Jambi city is about 3,48% and contribution of parking area retribution to region retribution is about 11,44%. 2  The efficiency coefficient of acceptance for parking area retribution in Jambi City can not be calculated because there is no cost of collecting for parking area retribution so the effeciency can not be calculated.  While the efficiency coefficient of acceptance for parking area retribution fo 2006 until 2011 period is very effective with value of mean contribution per year about 89,79%.  3 Among five factors which is influence acceptance for service parking area retribution, apparently, the most significant which is influence its

Analisis Retribusi Pelayanan Parkir di Kota Jambi

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eka Warni

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This research have purpose, 1 to know development acceptance for service parking area retribution in Jambi city and the contribution for retribution in region, PAD and acceptance region in Jambi city, 2 to know effectiveness degree acceptance for service Parking area retribution ini Jambi City about acceptance resources for 2006 until 2011 period,3 to know factors which is influence acceptance for service parking area retribution in Jambi city. Research method which is used for this research that is Analysis from primary data is got through dissemination quetiosn list and live interview with Skilled worker parking area in Jambi city. For secondary data is time series during calculation era. Result of research to show that: 1 on the average during 2006 until 2011 period, the total of acceptance region in Jambi City has growing about 11,88%. In the same period, PAD in Jambi City has growing about 18.44%, during 2006 until 2011 period, rapid of region retribution acceptance growing in Jambi City is About 4,45% and rapid of parking area retribution growing in Jambi City has increased about 13,62%. On the Average during 2006 until 2011 period contribution of parking area retribution to the total of acceptance region is about 0,29%. In the same period contribution of parking area retribution to PAD in Jambi city is about 3,48% and contribution of parking area retribution to region retribution is about 11,44%. 2 The efficiency coefficient of acceptance for parking area retribution in Jambi City can not be calculated because there is no cost of collecting for parking area retribution so the effeciency can not be calculated. While the efficiency coefficient of acceptance for parking area retribution fo 2006 until 2011 period is very effective with value of mean contribution per year about 89,79%. 3 Among five factors which is influence acceptance for service parking area retribution, apparently, the most significant which is influence its increasing is

Stormwater Runoff Pollutant Loading Distributions and Their Correlation with Rainfall and Catchment Characteristics in a Rapidly Industrialized City

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongya; Wan, Jinquan; Ma, Yongwen; Wang, Yan; Huang, Mingzhi; Chen, Yangmei

2015-01-01

Fast urbanization and industrialization in developing countries result in significant stormwater runoff pollution, due to drastic changes in land-use, from rural to urban. A three-year study on the stormwater runoff pollutant loading distributions of industrial, parking lot and mixed commercial and residential catchments was conducted in the Tongsha reservoir watershed of Dongguan city, a typical, rapidly industrialized urban area in China. This study presents the changes in concentration during rainfall events, event mean concentrations (EMCs) and event pollution loads per unit area (EPLs). The first flush criterion, namely the mass first flush ratio (MFFn), was used to identify the first flush effects. The impacts of rainfall and catchment characterization on EMCs and pollutant loads percentage transported by the first 40% of runoff volume (FF40) were evaluated. The results indicated that the pollutant wash-off process of runoff during the rainfall events has significant temporal and spatial variations. The mean rainfall intensity (I), the impervious rate (IMR) and max 5-min intensity (Imax5) are the critical parameters of EMCs, while Imax5, antecedent dry days (ADD) and rainfall depth (RD) are the critical parameters of FF40. Intercepting the first 40% of runoff volume can remove 55% of TSS load, 53% of COD load, 58% of TN load, and 61% of TP load, respectively, according to all the storm events. These results may be helpful in mitigating stormwater runoff pollution for many other urban areas in developing countries. PMID:25774922

Stormwater runoff pollutant loading distributions and their correlation with rainfall and catchment characteristics in a rapidly industrialized city.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Dongya; Wan, Jinquan; Ma, Yongwen; Wang, Yan; Huang, Mingzhi; Chen, Yangmei

2015-01-01

Fast urbanization and industrialization in developing countries result in significant stormwater runoff pollution, due to drastic changes in land-use, from rural to urban. A three-year study on the stormwater runoff pollutant loading distributions of industrial, parking lot and mixed commercial and residential catchments was conducted in the Tongsha reservoir watershed of Dongguan city, a typical, rapidly industrialized urban area in China. This study presents the changes in concentration during rainfall events, event mean concentrations (EMCs) and event pollution loads per unit area (EPLs). The first flush criterion, namely the mass first flush ratio (MFFn), was used to identify the first flush effects. The impacts of rainfall and catchment characterization on EMCs and pollutant loads percentage transported by the first 40% of runoff volume (FF40) were evaluated. The results indicated that the pollutant wash-off process of runoff during the rainfall events has significant temporal and spatial variations. The mean rainfall intensity (I), the impervious rate (IMR) and max 5-min intensity (Imax5) are the critical parameters of EMCs, while Imax5, antecedent dry days (ADD) and rainfall depth (RD) are the critical parameters of FF40. Intercepting the first 40% of runoff volume can remove 55% of TSS load, 53% of COD load, 58% of TN load, and 61% of TP load, respectively, according to all the storm events. These results may be helpful in mitigating stormwater runoff pollution for many other urban areas in developing countries.

Restoring the Lost Rivers of Washington: Can a city's hydrologic past inform its future?

OpenAIRE

Millay, Curtis A.

2005-01-01

Washington, D.C., like many older U.S. cities, suffers the woes of rapid urbanization and aging infrastructure. The cityâ s combined sewer and stormwater system dumps millions of gallons of raw sewage into the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers over 70 times annually during significant rain events. While many groups, both public and private, attempt to clean the river, billions of dollars are still necessary over several years to remedy the combined sewer overfl ow (CSO) problem alone. Current pla...

Mapping urban green open space in Bontang city using QGIS and cloud computing

Science.gov (United States)

Agus, F.; Ramadiani; Silalahi, W.; Armanda, A.; Kusnandar

2018-04-01

Digital mapping techniques are available freely and openly so that map-based application development is easier, faster and cheaper. A rapid development of Cloud Computing Geographic Information System makes this system can help the needs of the community for the provision of geospatial information online. The presence of urban Green Open Space (GOS) provide great benefits as an oxygen supplier, carbon-binding agent and can contribute to providing comfort and beauty of city life. This study aims to propose a platform application of GIS Cloud Computing (CC) of Bontang City GOS mapping. The GIS-CC platform uses the basic map available that’s free and open source. The research used survey method to collect GOS data obtained from Bontang City Government, while application developing works Quantum GIS-CC. The result section describes the existence of GOS Bontang City and the design of GOS mapping application.

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.

Proceedings of the Canadian Institute's 4. annual oil sands supply and infrastructure conference : maximizing opportunity and mitigating risks in a rapidly growing market

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2006-01-01

This conference addressed the challenges facing oil sands development, with particular reference to supply and infrastructure issues. Updates on oil sands markets and opportunities were presented along with strategies for mitigating risks in a rapidly growing market. The best practices for supplying a demanding market through supply shortages and high prices were identified along with policies that should be implemented to help overcome labour shortages. Some presentations expressed how commodities pricing and trends can impact business. Others showed how markets in China and the United States are prepared for oilsands products. The views of other international companies on oil sands was also discussed along with proposed plans to eliminate the infrastructure congestion and risks caused by expanding oil sands development. The challenges and benefits of investing in Alberta's oil sands were reviewed along with strategies to enhance upgrading and refining capacity in the province. Economic drivers and the creation of new markets were examined, and various export opportunities were reviewed along with industry management challenges concerning human resources, labour supply, training and education. The conference featured 10 presentations, of which 3 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. refs., tabs., figs

Food for Thought: Recommendations to Improve the Relationship between the City of Los Angeles and its Food Processing Sector

OpenAIRE

Marian Fowler; Rachel Freitas; Jessica Nierenberg; Diana Simpson

2004-01-01

Since the 1980s, the manufacturing sector has been steadily declining in Los Angeles, weakening the fabric of the community, diminishing the tax base, decreasing the amount of revenue available for social services, and reducing property values. To address these problems, the City is targeting industry clusters that are growing and for which the City provides a competitive advantage. The Food Processing industry, composed of manufacturers, producers, and packagers of food and beverages fo...

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

Managing urban water systems with significant adaptation deficits - a unified framework for secondary cities

Science.gov (United States)

Pathirana, A.; Radhakrishnan, M.; Zevenbergen, C.; Quan, N. H.

2016-12-01

The need to address the shortcomings of urban systems - adaptation deficit - and shortcomings in response to climate change - `adaptation gap' - are both major challenges in maintaining the livability and sustainability of cities. However, the adaptation actions defined in terms of type I (addressing adaptation deficits) and type II (addressing adaptation gaps), often compete and conflict each other in the secondary cities of the global south. Extending the concept of the environmental Kuznets curve, this paper argues that a unified framework that calls for synergistic action on type I and type II adaptation is essential in order for these cities to maintain their livability, sustainability and resilience facing extreme rates of urbanization and rapid onset of climate change. The proposed framework has been demonstrated in Can Tho, Vietnam, where there are significant adaptation deficits due to rapid urbanisation and adaptation gaps due to climate change and socio-economic changes. The analysis in Can Tho reveals the lack of integration between type I and type II measures that could be overcome by closer integration between various stakeholders in terms of planning, prioritising and implementing the adaptation measures.

Poverty Of Parents And Child Labour In Benin City: A Preliminary ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This work starts from the basic premise that poverty, a major problem of rapid urbanization in developing nations, is a major contributory factor in the growth and exacerbation of child labour. Child labour in Benin City reflect prevalent urban poverty which compel parents to send children of school age to work to boost family ...

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.

Place Branding: A Challenging Process for Bucharest the Capital City of Romania

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniela Dumbraveanu

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Marketing places though a relatively new activity has grown in importance as countries, regions and individual destinations such as cities compete with one another to attract investment and visitors. Almost every other region or important city will have at least one basic strategy to market itself for one or the other reason: investors or visitors. The dimension of marketing grows complex when a capital city needs being promoted. Recently for Romania, marketing its capital city using its identity and personality is a matter of crucial importance when considering competition. The identity of the capital city of an European country member could prove itself a challenging process given the fact that there are several common grounds, including uniformity, the group member would gave. As a result, individual, independent marketing becomes a necessity in order to differentiate and make the capital city visible and recognisable. Competition is the other aspect requiring clear, visible identity. In order to compete effectively, it is essential to identify the critical success factors and ensure these are incorporated into one’s strategic planning. Even from a tourist point of view place and destination marketing indicate that image and identity play an important role in differentiating between similar alternatives. This paper is focusing on action undertaken so far by Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, to market itself and to build a brand. It is also presenting experts opinion and comments on results, assessing the place branding process, discussing its stages and situation as they are at present.

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....

Study of noise pollution for three consecutive years during Deepawali festival in Meerut City, Uttar Pradesh (India).

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Digvijay; Joshi, B D

2012-07-01

The present paper deals with monitoring of noise pollution at different places of Meerut City (India) on the night of Deepawali festival. During the present study the noise levels were measured with the help of sound meter. The noise pollution is decreasing considerably for the last three years and it is recorded minimum in 2009 as compared to 2008 and 2007. The main reason of this decrement is the growing environmental awareness in the people of Meerut City. Needless to say, students of most of the school in Meerut City now prefer to celebrate Deepawali, festival of lights without sound and smoke. The campaign for eco-friendly Deepawali is expected to catch on with people in Meerut City which has already demonstrated its commitment towards environment conservation. Mainly fire crackers are used during Deepawali. The present paper is an attempt to create awareness among the people of Meerut City about the bitter truth of fire crackers.

Priority Scale of Drainage Rehabilitation of Cilacap City

Science.gov (United States)

Rudiono, Jatmiko

2018-03-01

Characteristics of physical condition of Cilacap City is relatively flat and low to sea level (approximately 6 m above sea level). In the event of a relatively heavy rainfall resulting in inundation at several locations. The problem of inundation is a serious problem if there is in a dense residential area or occurs in publicly-used infrastructure, such as roads and settlements. These problems require improved management of which include how to plan a sustainable urban drainage system and environmentally friendly. The development of Cilacap City is increasing rapidly, this causes drainage system based on the Drainage Masterplan Cilacap made in 2006 has not been able to accommodate rain water, so, it is necessary to evaluate the drainage masterplan for subsequent rehabilitation. Priority scale rehabilitation of the drainage sections as a guideline is an urgent need of rehabilitation in the next time period.

Microbial transmutation of 137Cs and LENR in growing biological systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vysotskii, V.I.; Kornilova, A.A.

2015-01-01

This article presents the results of long-term investigations of stable and radioactive isotopes transmutation in growing microbiological cultures. It is shown that transmutation during growth of microbiological associations is 20 times more effective than the same process in the form of 'clean' microbiological culture. In this work, the process of controlled decontamination of highly active reactor isotopes (reactor waste) through the process of growing microbiological associations has been studied. The most rapidly increasing decay rate of 137 Cs isotope, which occurred with the 'effective' half life τ* ≈ 310 days (involving an increase in rate and decrease in half life by a factor of 35) was observed in the presence of Ca salt in closed flask with active water containing 137 Cs solution and optimal microbiological association. (author)

Factors of the HIV Transmission in Men Who Have Sex with Men in Suizhou City from 2009 to 2013

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fan Yang, MD

2015-03-01

Conclusions: HIV continues to spread rapidly among MSM in Suizhou City. The high-risk behavior among MSM remains a hindrance to HIV prevention. Innovative intervention approaches are essential for HIV surveillance and prevention among MSM in Suizhou City. Yang F, Shi X, He W, Wu S, Wang J, Zhao K, Yuan H, Martin K, and Zhang H. Factors of the HIV transmission in men who have sex with men in Suizhou City from 2009 to 2013. Sex Med 2015;3:24–31.

A rapid appraisal of traffic policemen about auditory effects of traffic noise pollution from Ambala city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Abhishek Singh

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Traffic policemen are at an increased risk of suffering from hazards of noise pollution because they are engaged in controlling traffic noise, particularly at heavy traffic junctions. The effect is more in this subgroup because they are continuously exposed to it. Aim: The present study was aimed at assessing the knowledge, attitude and practices of traffic policemen regarding auditory effects of traffic noise pollution in Ambala city. Settings and Design: Cross-sectional workplace survey. Materials and Methods: The present descriptive study was carried out in different traffic zones of Ambala city during April-June 2013. The study population consisted of 100 traffic policemen working in different traffic intersections of Ambala city. Statistical Analysis Used: Structured interview schedule was used to collect the data. SPSS version 17.0 was used for analysis. Interpretation of data was performed using percentages and proportions. Results: Majority (75% of the study subjects were exposed to traffic noise pollution for more than 5 years. Of the total subjects, 5% of respondents reported below-average hearing on self-assessment of hearing ability. Seventeen percent of the study population accepted that while hearing over phone they do miss some conversation. Most (98% of the traffic police did not use any personal protective equipment (PPEs like earplugs/earmuffs, and the non-availability of these PPEs (90% is the common reason for the hearing loss. Conclusions: The study concludes that traffic policemen are not much aware regarding impending auditory effects of traffic noise pollution. Duty rotation, duty scheduling and other forms of preventive modalities for exposure limitation are suggested.

Tools for an integrated systems approach to sustainable port city planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gilles Morel

2013-12-01

Full Text Available Large port cities like Shanghai, Amsterdam and Rio de Janeiro are key cogwheels in international logistics and transport networks but also serve as showcases for the rest of the world; as such, they constitute strategic assets for the host country´s economy and international influence. Historically, a city and its port often developed independently, through sometimes contradictory or even confrontational policies. Today, the growing number of usage disputes over increasingly coveted coastal areas is prompting local managers to incorporate urban and port-related issues in overarching planning programs. In particular, planning of the sea front and the buffer zone between the port and the city must contribute decisively to the deployment of more effective, cleaner transport services for the port city as a whole. In general, one of the key global challenges for planners and decision-makers consists in integrating sustainable development goals (environmental and social components, as well as the stimulation of industrial competitiveness into urban planning. In this context the PHEBUS research group has initiated an international program of research to develop innovative methods and tools that can help territorial stakeholders to design, evaluate, compare and ultimately choose development scenarios for the future of their port cities. The main themes are addressed via a multidisciplinary systems approach on the scale of a coastal urban area with an industrial and port complex. In particular, the themes include sea front planning, the city-port interface, energy optimization (e.g. the introduction and sharing of renewable energies, risk resilience, climate change and multimodal, clean transport.

Mycobacterium stephanolepidis sp. nov., a rapidly growing species related to Mycobacterium chelonae, isolated from marine teleost fish, Stephanolepis cirrhifer.

Science.gov (United States)

Fukano, Hanako; Wada, Shinpei; Kurata, Osamu; Katayama, Kinya; Fujiwara, Nagatoshi; Hoshino, Yoshihiko

2017-08-01

A previously undescribed rapidly growing, non-pigmented mycobacterium was identified based on biochemical and nucleic acid analyses, as well as growth characteristics. Seven isolates were cultured from samples collected from five thread-sail filefish (Stephanolepis cirrhifer) and two farmed black scraper (Thamnaconus modestus). Bacterial growth occurred at 15-35 °C on Middlebrook 7H11 agar. The bacteria were positive for catalase activity at 68 °C and urease activity, intermediate for iron uptake, and negative for Tween 80 hydrolysis, nitrate reduction, semi-quantitative catalase activity and arylsulfatase activity at day 3. No growth was observed on Middlebrook 7H11 agar supplemented with picric acid, and very little growth was observed in the presence of 5 % NaCl. α- and α'-mycolates were identified in the cell walls, and a unique profile of the fatty acid methyl esters and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) profiles of the protein and cell-wall lipids were acquired. Sequence analysis revealed that the seven isolates shared identical sequences for the 16S rRNA, rpoB, hsp65, recA and sodA genes. Phylogenetic analysis of the five gene sequences confirmed that the isolates were unique, but closely related to Mycobacterium chelonae. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of clarithromycin against this novel species was Mycobacterium salmoniphilum. The hsp65 PCR restriction enzyme analysis pattern differed from those of M. chelonae and M. salmoniphilum. Based on these findings, the name Mycobacterium stephanolepidis sp. nov. is proposed for this novel species, with the type strain being NJB0901 T (=JCM 31611 T =KCTC 39843 T ).

Rapid reconnection of flux lines

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Samain, A.

1982-01-01

The rapid reconnection of flux lines in an incompressible fluid through a singular layer of the current density is discussed. It is shown that the liberated magnetic energy must partially appear in the form of plasma kinetic energy. A laminar structure of the flow is possible, but Alfven velocity must be achieved in eddies of growing size at the ends of the layer. The gross structure of the flow and the magnetic configuration may be obtained from variational principles. (author)

New directions in development of city energy systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Crnčević Branko N.

2012-01-01

Full Text Available At the world level, the 20th century saw an increase from 220 million urbanites in 1900 to 2.84 billion in year 2000. The present century will match this absolute increase in about four decades. Developing regions, as a whole, will account for 93% of this growth [1]. Until now humankind has lived and worked primarily in rural areas. But the world is about to leave its rural past behind. Today we are witness, for the first time, that more than half of the globe’s population is living in towns and cities. The number and proportion of urban dwellers will continue to rise quickly. Urban population will grow to 4.9 billion by 2030. At the global level, all of future population growth will be in towns and cities [1]. Two centuries ago there was only one city on the planet that could say it had a million inhabitants - that was London. Today more than 400 cities can boast that - 408 to be precise, according to the Earth Policy Institute. But today a population of 1 million people means nothing; we are moving into the era of megacities of 10 million (and more people. Today, there are 20 so-called megacities, whose population, and therefore energy needs, easily exceed some countries population, according to Earth Policy Institute. More people now live in Tokyo than Canada, for example [2]. Despite only occupying 2% of the world's surface area, they are responsible for 75% of the world's energy consumption.

Regional Advection Perturbations in an Irrigated Desert (RAPID) Experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Debruin, H.A.R.; Hartogensis, O.K.; Allen, R.G.; Kramer, J.W.J.L.

2005-01-01

The RAPID field experiment took place in August - September 1999 at a site 25km south of Twin Falls, Idaho, USA. The experiment concerned micrometeorological observations over extensive, well-irrigated fields covered with the fast-growing crop alfalfa. During daytime, on a number of days the

A big data management platform for rapidly changing environments

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zahedi, P.

2014-01-01

Big data is now a reality. Storing, managing, and analyzing very large amount of data is a common challenge in the world of technology where digital content is rapidly growing. In recent years, FEI advanced electron microscopes, with their unsurpassed magnification and resolving power brought an

Gender and Ethnic Variation in Arranged Marriages in a Chinese City

Science.gov (United States)

Zang, Xiaowei

2008-01-01

Using a data set (N = 1,600) collected in the city of Urumchi in 2005, this article examines ethnic differences in arranged marriages in urban China. Data analysis shows a rapid decline in parental arrangement for both Uyghur Muslims and Han Chinese in Urumchi. Han Chinese are less likely than Uyghur Muslims to report arranged marriages, with main…

Usage of Social Media in City Marketing: A Research on 30 Metropolitan Municipalities in Turkey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Niyazi Gümüş

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Rapid changes in information and communication technologies cause serious developments in marketing field similar to every sector. In parallel with these developments, the social media channels which appear as Web 2.0 applications have a number of advantages in comparison with traditional media channels. Social media gained a place in marketing activities because of its advantages. Social media is added on instruments in line with these developments that countries benefit in marketing activities for attracting more tourists, investment and becoming prominent against the other cities. Cities intensively benefit from social media because of social media’s properties like reaching the large masses, low marketing cost, interaction, receiving feedbacks rapidly, etc. Within this context, the purpose of this research is to determine the use statuses of social media by metropolitan municipalities as part of city marketing. In accordance with this purpose, official social media accounts of 30 metropolitan municipalities are investigated between the dates of 01/09/2016 and 30/09/2016, then their shares in social media channels are investigated in the context of city marketing.It is observed that two metropolitan municipalities do not have official Facebook accounts, four metropolitan municipalities do not have an official Twitter account as well. Again, it is found that 19 metropolitan municipalities do not have an official Instagram account and 17 metropolitan municipalities do not have official YouTube account. In consequence, it is observed that, our metropolitan municipalities do not benefit from social media effectively for city marketing activities.

Nanomaterial-enabled Rapid Detection of Water Contaminants.

Science.gov (United States)

Mao, Shun; Chang, Jingbo; Zhou, Guihua; Chen, Junhong

2015-10-28

Water contaminants, e.g., inorganic chemicals and microorganisms, are critical metrics for water quality monitoring and have significant impacts on human health and plants/organisms living in water. The scope and focus of this review is nanomaterial-based optical, electronic, and electrochemical sensors for rapid detection of water contaminants, e.g., heavy metals, anions, and bacteria. These contaminants are commonly found in different water systems. The importance of water quality monitoring and control demands significant advancement in the detection of contaminants in water because current sensing technologies for water contaminants have limitations. The advantages of nanomaterial-based sensing technologies are highlighted and recent progress on nanomaterial-based sensors for rapid water contaminant detection is discussed. An outlook for future research into this rapidly growing field is also provided. © 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Shenzhen International Low Carbon City in Development: Practice of Low Carbon Planning Technology Strategy Based on Dynamic Demands

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yu; Han; Li; Caige

2016-01-01

Targeted at the dynamic demands in the rapid urban construction, the planning technology strategy of the Shenzhen International Low Carbon City studies the fl exible index model based on carbon emission evaluation, and adopts rolling development and micro-circulation construction mode to achieve quick returns with small investment. Meanwhile, it also evaluates the application of low carbon technology and gives feedback in time, so as to constantly optimize and complete the low carbon city planning. In detail, it involves industrial planning, ecological restoration, transport planning, energy resource planning, architectural design, etc., for which appropriate approaches are selected according to the principle of rolling development of unit cells and based on different requirements of different stages. The quick-response and fl exible technology system can help the low carbon city to choose an appropriate technology strategy in line with its own characteristics in the start-up stage and rapid development, thus realizing the sustainable leap-forward development and providing reference for other similar regions.

Shenzhen International Low Carbon City in Development: Practice of Low Carbon Planning Technology Strategy Based on Dynamic Demands

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Yu Han; Li Caige

2016-01-01

Targeted at the dynamic demands in the rapid urban construction,the planning technology strategy of the Shenzhen International Low Carbon City studies the flexible index model based on carbon emission evaluation,and adopts rolling development and micro-circulation construction mode to achieve quick returns with small investment.Meanwhile,it also evaluates the application of low carbon technology and gives feedback in time,so as to constantly optimize and complete the low carbon city planning.In detail,it involves industrial planning,ecological restoration,transport planning,energy resource planning,architectural design,etc.,for which appropriate approaches are selected according to the principle of rolling development of unit cells and based on different requirements of different stages.The quick-response and flexible technology system can help the low carbon city to choose an appropriate technology strategy in line with its own characteristics in the start-up stage and rapid development,thus realizing the sustainable leap-forward development and providing reference for other similar regions.

Re-thinking skilled international labour migration: world cities and banking organisations.

Science.gov (United States)

Beaverstock, J V

1994-08-01

"Highly skilled professional and managerial labour migration has become an important facet of the contemporary world economy. The operations of transnational corporations have created more opportunities for skilled migrants to work abroad.... There is a growing interest amongst economic geographers to examine this form of migration through an appreciation of global economic restructuring, labour market change and world cities. Consequently, this paper introduces a new conceptual framework...[which] is based on the rationale that world cities, and the patterns of labour market demand that exist within them, are of paramount importance in influencing highly skilled professional and managerial labour migration within the world economy. The author uses an example of highly skilled labour migration within the transnational banking sector [in London] to illustrate this new conceptual framework." excerpt

Growing media [Chapter 5

Science.gov (United States)

Douglass F. Jacobs; Thomas D. Landis; Tara Luna

2009-01-01

Selecting the proper growing medium is one of the most important considerations in nursery plant production. A growing medium can be defined as a substance through which roots grow and extract water and nutrients. In native plant nurseries, a growing medium can consist of native soil but is more commonly an "artificial soil" composed of materials such as peat...

Bus Rapid Transit and Socioeconomic Condition of Bus Commuters in Lagos State

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Owolabi L. Kuye

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Road transport is one of the most common means of transportation across the world. Bus transportation in Nigeria had witnessed many problems for the past decades considering the growing population with the attendant loss of lives and properties in most cities like Lagos in Nigeria. This paper focuses on the adequacy of services provided by Bus Rapid Transit (BRT in Lagos State with respect to the extent to which it influences the socioeconomic conditions of bus commuters. It examines the effect of services rendered by BRT on cost reduction potential, income and safety. Multistage sampling technique was used to select 20 samples each from all respondents in all local government area in Lagos State to reach a total of three hundred and thirty (330 samples. The data collection instrument was the questionnaire which was validated. Data collected were analysed with the use of descriptive statistics such as means, percentages and standard deviation and inferential statistics such as regression and analysis of variance techniques. Findings showed that BRT services has reduced the cost of bus commuters and also increased safety and security thereby increasing the socioeconomic condition of Lagosians. The study recommends improvements in BRT services through the deployment of technology as it had been used in developed countries.

China's Development of Low-Carbon Eco-Cities and Associated Indicator Systems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Zhou, Nan [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); He, Gang [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Williams, Christopher [Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)

2012-07-01

China's urban population surpassed its rural population historically in 2011, when the number of Chinese living in towns and cities reached about 690 million1. In the years to come, cities in China will face major challenges as their rapidly increasing populations burden already crowded infrastructure systems and exacerbate environmental and climate change issues, threatening public health and quality of life. Low-carbon cities may be key to addressing those challenges, especially as regards mitigating and adapting to climate change. Government entities at both the central and local level have moved aggressively on building low-carbon eco-cities. According to statistics reported by the Chinese Society for Urban Studies, by February of 2011, China will have 230 cities at the prefecture-and-above level that have proposed to establish themselves as “eco-cities,” accounting for 80.1% of the 287 such cities nationally. Of those 230 cities, 133, or 46.3%, have established targets to develop specifically as “lowcarbon cities” (Chinese Society for Urban Studies 2011). Given the proposed scale of the effort, China’s potential success or failure in demonstrating and implementing low-carbon eco-cities could greatly affect how the world addresses both the climate change impacts of urbanization and the sustainable development of cities. Despite the multiple guidelines that have been developed, it remains unclear what defines a low-carbon eco-city. Additionally, although more than 100 indicators have been used or proposed for assessing such cities, few relate directly to energy use or carbon emissions. Nonetheless, policy makers and leaders continue to demand comprehensive toolboxes to facilitate development of low-carbon eco-cities. This paper presents the results of an extensive literature review of the development of low-carbon eco-cities in China. The paper also qualitatively and quantitatively analyzes 11 major indicator systems that researchers, planners

ANALYSIS OF THE FLORA OF RESIDENTIAL AND TECHNOGENIC AREAS OF GROZNY CITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Kh. Alikhadzhiev

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract. The process of territorial expansion of the city is accompanied by intensive construction of industrial and social facilities, road network is actively developed, that leads to the transformation of natural vegetation, the appearance of manmade habitats which are actively colonized by segetal-ruderal species.Aim of the work is inventory of flora of disturbed habitats and the study of its current state, identify the taxonomic composition of phytocenoses.Field works were carried with help of route-floristic method in different growing seasons 2010-2012., technogenic and residential area of the city were studied.According to research a list of vascular plants of disturbed habitats numbering 237 species was compiled. Biomorphological and geographic structure is showed, adventive and indigenous flora fraction is determined.

Preferensi Konsumen Terhadap Transportasi Publik (Studi Kasus Bus Rapid Transit (BRT Kota Semarang

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Ichwinsyah Azali

2018-01-01

Abstract Semarang as the capital city of Central Java Province has a population density of 4.269 per square kilometer in 2015. Due to high population density, communities’ mobility will also be increasing. Government arranged the policy related to traffic and public transportation in the Law Number 22 Year 2009 article 158 paragraph 1, the government of Semarang City has guaranteed the availability of road-based transportation in Urban Areas by providing public transportation namely Bus Rapid Transit (BRT Trans Semarang. This research aims to analyze communities’ preference in terms of price, convenience, reliability, accessibility, and safety toward the possibility of BRT and Non BRT transportation modes selection. This research uses 100 respondents by Purposive Sampling. Binary Logistic Regression model is applied to determine the effect of independent variable towards dependent variable of BRT and Non BRT transportation modes selection. The result of this research indicated that BRT and Non BRT transportation modes selection in Semarang City are dominated by 82 respondents of BRT users and 18 respondents of Non BRT users. BRT and Non BRT transportation modes selection are affected by the factor of price, convenience, reliability, accessibility, and safety. Keywords: Modes selection, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT Trans Semarang, Principal Component Analysis, Binary Logistic Regression.

Vertical cities - the new form of high-rise construction evolution

Science.gov (United States)

Akristiniy, Vera A.; Boriskina, Yulia I.

2018-03-01

The article considers the basic principles of the vertical cities formation for the creation of a comfortable urban environment in conditions of rapid population growth and limited territories. As urban growth increases, there is a need for new concepts and approaches to urban space planning through the massive introduction of high-rise construction. The authors analyzed and systematized the list of high-tech solutions for arrangement the space of vertical cities, which are an integral part of the creation of the methodology for forming a high-rise buildings. Their concept differs in scale, presence of the big areas of public spaces, tendencies to self-sufficiency and sustainability, opportunity to offer the new unique comfortable environment to the population living in them.

[The community-oriented experience of early intervention services in Taipei City].

Science.gov (United States)

Chu, Feng-Ying

2007-10-01

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize the importance of early intervention. The purpose of early intervention in Taipei City is to help child development, promote parenting skills, and reduce educational and social costs. In order to meet these goals, parenting groups and Taipei City Council have made great efforts to make early intervention work in Taipei City. In April 1995, Taipei City Government started planning and setting up the service network. To date, Taipei City has set up one reporting and referral center?, ?six community resources centers, 22 medical assessment and intervention clinics, 12 child development centers, one early intervention training center, three non-profit foundations and more than 300 inclusion schools, such as kindergartens and day care centers. With parent participation, professional devotion and Taipei City Government's commitment, the number of assisted children has increased from 98 to 2,523 /year. By the end of 2006, Taipei had already funded 25,277 children. We estimate Taipei City early intervention services to have affected at least 75,000 persons, including development-delayed and disabled children, their parents?, ?grandparents and siblings. We found that early intervention services help the children to build up self esteem, grow their potential, learn how to socialize, and receive an education, while the most important aim is to help them to reduce their level of disability or to prevent them from getting worse. At the same time, their families get support and a diverse range of services. An integrated early intervention program should include children, families, and multidisciplinary professionals. The system should therefore be more "family-centered" and "community-oriented" to provide appropriate services to children and families through a positive and aggressive attitude.

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.

Urban agriculture as one of the ecological applications of the regenerative city

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وفل جوزيف رزقو

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Recently, several concepts and expressions have emerged that have often preoccupied the world . around the concept of environment and sustainability. This is due to the negative and irresponsible impact of man and his innovations in various industrial and technological fieldsthat have damaged the natural environment. Architecture and cities at the broader level are some of the man made components that caused these negative impacts and in the same time affected by them. What distinguishes architectural and urban projects is the consumption of large . quantities of natural resources and production larger amounts of waste and pollution, along the life of these projects. At the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, the developed countries presented new concepts and methods that were not previously familiar with the design and implementation of architectural projects to reflect the growing interest in urban sectors issues to protect the environment and reduce consumption to reach the optimal utilization of natural resources. This leads to develop a new term called the Regenerative City. Here appeared the general research problem concerning the regenerative city and its objectives and the special research problem concerning urban agriculture and its relationship with the regenerative city, besides how urban agriculture will affect the city. The hypothesis of the research is that urban agriculture in its various forms (horizontal or vertical is an essential and integral part of the regenerative city, and it will affect the city planning, this will require including this usage in the city master plan as a new form of land use. The research aims to show the possibilities of using urban agriculture in its different forms within the urban fabric.

Box City Curriculum.

Science.gov (United States)

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

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

Branding Cities, Changing Societies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ooi, Can-Seng

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

City tourism and the sharing economy – potential effects of online peer-to-peer marketplaces on urban property markets

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Stefan Brauckmann

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the potential effects of the so-called sharing economy on growing city tourism as well as on urban property markets. Design/methodology/approach – Official statistical data and a geo-information system (GIS are used on a small scale in order to identify concentration processes among overnight visitors and the potential concomitant conflicts with other interest groups. Findings – Currently, the effects of the sharing economy on housing markets and city tourism are barely measurable and are limited to a few central locations. However, a growing demand can be discerned in housing-like accommodation concepts which can be operated via booking platforms. As there is likely to be strong future growth in this area, continuous market observation (monitoring is urgently advised. Research limitations/implications – Official statistics only allow an analysis of overnight guests staying with larger accommodation providers. Booking platforms for holiday homes and other temporary accommodation options have such little interest in data transparency that the overall phenomenon of city tourism can be addressed only in part. Practical implications – Associating various data within the GIS enables municipal administrators and urban planners to identify potential sources of conflict within the property markets in good time and effectively counteract these where possible. Social implications – Increases in property prices directly attributable to growing city tourism may lead to the displacement of less financially secure members of the established population as well as businesses. Originality/value – The sharing economy is a relatively new research topic which will become increasingly important in future. The identification of potential sources of conflict due to tourist accommodation has therefore not yet been comprehensively carried out on a small scale.

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...

THE ROLE OF CITIES IN PROTECTING ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marinela Krstinic Nizic

2013-12-01

Full Text Available In addition to being characterised by the rapid population growth, the cities have long represented the centres of knowledge and the sources of growth and innovation, with unique cultural and architectural features, offering exceptional capacity for economic development. The cities are linked to the perception of urban lifestyle and are conventional areas of economic activity and trade. The modern cities’ structures are affected by technical, technological and industrial changes, the improvements in the fields of service and transport, as well as the strong progress in the fields of all forms of communication. Parallel to this, more and more of the population is concentrated in the suburbs, forming concentrations of poverty, work zones or elite residential areas. Furthermore, the cities are increasingly faced with a variety of demographic problems, social inequality, social exclusion of certain population groups, the lack of adequate housing, and particularly the problems associated with the environment, i.e. the main goal of this paper. Each community needs to ensure the basic requirements such as peace, education, safe housing, stability of the ecosystem and social justice. In other words, since health is an important factor determining the quality of life, various economic, political, cultural, and social factors affect its actualisation both positively and negatively. Therefore, the basic aim of this paper is demonstrating that cities can resist pollution and improve environmental quality, and thus, using economic instruments, improve the health of their citizens.

How Places Shape Identity: The Origins of Distinctive LBQ Identities in Four Small U.S. Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Brown-Saracino, Japonica

2015-07-01

Tools from the study of neighborhood effects, place distinction, and regional identity are employed in an ethnography of four small cities with growing populations of lesbian, bisexual, and queer-identified (LBQ) women to explain why orientations to sexual identity are relatively constant within each site, despite informants' within-city demographic heterogeneity, but vary substantially across the sites, despite common place-based attributes. The author introduces the concept of "sexual identity cultures"--and reveals the defining role of cities in shaping their contours. She finds that LBQ numbers and acceptance, place narratives, and newcomers' encounters with local social attributes serve as touchstones. The article looks beyond major categorical differences (e.g., urban/rural) to understand how and why identities evolve and vary and to reveal the fundamental interplay of demographic, cultural, and other city features previously thought isolatable. The findings challenge notions of identity as fixed and emphasize the degree to which self-understanding and group understanding remain collective accomplishments.

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.

Sustainable living in a Chinese city. Analysis and support for market-conscious urban planning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hu, H.

2014-01-01

In the transition from a state-led industrial to a market-driven post-industrial urban economy, China’s planners are facing challenges in building sustainable living environment for the rapidly increasing and wealthier urban population.Citizens are the end-users of the sustainable city. Their

The last will be first : Water transfers from agriculture to cities in the Pangani river basin, Tanzania

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Komakech, H.C.; Van der Zaag, P.; Koppen, B.

2012-01-01

Water transfers to growing cities in sub-Sahara Africa, as elsewhere, seem inevitable. But absolute water entitlements in basins with variable supply may seriously affect many water users in times of water scarcity. This paper is based on research conducted in the Pangani river basin, Tanzania.

City of Fresno peer exchange on bus rapid transit : a TPCB peer exchange

Science.gov (United States)

2013-09-11

This report highlights key recommendations and best practices identified at the peer exchange on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), held on May 21 and May 22, 2013, in Fresno, California. This event was sponsored by the Transportation Planning Capacity Buildin...

The end of surplus and a growing role in world markets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Eklof, W.D.

1991-01-01

Rapid economic growth in Asia in recent years has rekindled the region's appetite for energy. This surge in energy consumption since the oil price collapse in 1986 has brought into sharp focus critical challenges facing Asian governments and commercial organizations in the 1990's--challenges that must be met if the economic success of recent years is to continue. Yet supplying energy to fuel economic growth will be more difficult than in the past. Oil reserves in the region are inadequate to support the anticipated growth in demands, and new discoveries may be modest. Gas reserves are plentiful, but not well located to meet the energy needs of major markets. Added to difficulties associated with these resource-based limitations new challenges are emerging: growing consumer demands for transportation fuels and electricity, a growing concern for the environmental impact of energy production and consumption, and the need to rethink long-standing energy policies that were based on expectations of very high future oil prices. These new factors will complicate policy decisions and place new constraints on available energy options. This paper addresses the future development of Asian oil and gas markets in light of these challenges, and provides an assessment of the potential growth of gas markets, the need for growing oil imports into the region, and the need for new refining capacity to meet the growing demand for transportation fuels

Engaging Chicago residents in climate change action: Results from Rapid Ethnographic Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Lynne M. Westphal; Jennifer. Hirsch

2010-01-01

Addressing climate change requires action at all levels of society, from neighborhood to international levels. Using Rapid Ethnography rooted in Asset Based Community Development theory, we investigated climate-friendly attitudes and behaviors in two Chicago neighborhoods in order to assist the City with implementation of its Climate Action Plan. Our research suggests...

The feasibility of BRT corridor VI shelters in Semarang City

Science.gov (United States)

Purnomo, Andi; Setiawan, Moch Fathoni

2018-03-01

Like other big cities in Indonesia, Semarang City as the capital of Central Java Province also has various city problems, one of them is the transportation problem. Transportation problems arise due to increased mobility of society that is not in balanced with the public transportation facilities and infrastructure availability. In order to create a better transportation system, the local government of Semarang City held Trans Semarang bus rapid transit (BRT) which began operating in 2010. This study aims to analyze the feasibility of BRT Trans Semarang corridor VI shelters. This research uses descriptive critique technique. The results are expected to be considered in determining the right policy in creating a better transportation system. Based on observations made, the majority of BRT Trans Semarang corridor VI uses non-permanent shelters and is less feasible to be a BRT shelter. Thus, the local government is expected to improve the feasibility of BRT Trans Semarang shelter so that the sense of security and comfort can be obtained by users of BRT. In addition, the local government is also expected to maintain the quality of services provided. These services include ticket service, the condition of buses, speed and waiting time, as well as the placement and condition of shelters.

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...

Mycobacterium saopaulense sp. nov., a rapidly growing mycobacterium closely related to members of the Mycobacterium chelonae--Mycobacterium abscessus group.

Science.gov (United States)

Nogueira, Christiane Lourenço; Whipps, Christopher M; Matsumoto, Cristianne Kayoko; Chimara, Erica; Droz, Sara; Tortoli, Enrico; de Freitas, Denise; Cnockaert, Margo; Palomino, Juan Carlos; Martin, Anandi; Vandamme, Peter; Leão, Sylvia Cardoso

2015-12-01

Five isolates of non-pigmented, rapidly growing mycobacteria were isolated from three patients and,in an earlier study, from zebrafish. Phenotypic and molecular tests confirmed that these isolates belong to the Mycobacterium chelonae-Mycobacterium abscessus group, but they could not be confidently assigned to any known species of this group. Phenotypic analysis and biochemical tests were not helpful for distinguishing these isolates from other members of the M. chelonae–M.abscessus group. The isolates presented higher drug resistance in comparison with other members of the group, showing susceptibility only to clarithromycin. The five isolates showed a unique PCR restriction analysis pattern of the hsp65 gene, 100 % similarity in 16S rRNA gene and hsp65 sequences and 1-2 nt differences in rpoB and internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences.Phylogenetic analysis of a concatenated dataset including 16S rRNA gene, hsp65, and rpoB sequences from type strains of more closely related species placed the five isolates together, as a distinct lineage from previously described species, suggesting a sister relationship to a group consisting of M. chelonae, Mycobacterium salmoniphilum, Mycobacterium franklinii and Mycobacterium immunogenum. DNA–DNA hybridization values .70 % confirmed that the five isolates belong to the same species, while values ,70 % between one of the isolates and the type strains of M. chelonae and M. abscessus confirmed that the isolates belong to a distinct species. The polyphasic characterization of these isolates, supported by DNA–DNA hybridization results,demonstrated that they share characteristics with M. chelonae–M. abscessus members, butconstitute a different species, for which the name Mycobacterium saopaulense sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain is EPM10906T (5CCUG 66554T5LMG 28586T5INCQS 0733T).

Change in Environmental Benefits of Urban Land Use and Its Drivers in Chinese Cities, 2000-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiaoqing; Chang, Kang-Tsung; Yang, Liang; Scheffran, Jürgen

2016-05-26

Driven by rising income and urban population growth, China has experienced rapid urban expansion since the 1980s. Urbanization can have positive effects on the urban environment; however, improvement of urban environment quality, especially its divergence between relatively developed and undeveloped cities in China, is currently a rather rudimentary and subjective issue. This study analyzed urban environmental benefits among China's prefectural cities based on their structure of urban land use in 2000 and 2010. First, we divided 347 prefectural cities into two groups, 81 coastal and capital cities in the relatively developed group (RD) and 266 other prefectural cities in the undeveloped group (RP). Then, we defined three areas of urban environmental benefits, including green infrastructure, industrial upgrade, and environmental management, and developed an assessment index system. Results showed that all prefectural cities saw improvement in urban environmental quality in 2000-2010. Although the RD cities had higher income and more population growth, they had less improvement than the RP cities during the same period. We also found that demographic and urban land agglomeration among RD cities restrained green infrastructure expansion, making green infrastructure unsuitable as a permanent solution to environmental improvement. It is therefore urgent for China to promote balanced improvement among the three areas of urban environmental benefits and between the RD and RP cities through regional differentiation policies.

City PLANTastic

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

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

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sertaç Timur Demir

2015-07-01

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

Rapid thermal conditioning of sewage sludge

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Jianhong

Rapid thermal conditioning (RTC) is a developing technology recently applied to sewage sludge treatment. Sludge is heated rapidly to a reaction temperature (up to about 220sp°C) under sufficient pressure to maintain the liquid phase. Reaction is quenched after 10 to 30 seconds when the mixture of sludge and steam pass through a pressure let-down valve. This process reduces the amount of sludge requiring land disposal, eliminates the need for polymer coagulant, improves dewaterability, increases methane production, and further reduces the concentration of pathogens. The odor problem associated with traditional thermal conditioning processes is largely minimized. Ammonia removal is readily integrated with the process. For this research, a pilot unit was constructed capable of processing 90 liters of sludge per hour. Over 22 runs were made with this unit using sludge from New York City Water Pollution Control Plants (WPCP). Sludges processed in this equipment were tested to determine the effect of RTC operating conditions on sludge dewaterability, biodegradability, and other factors affecting the incorporation of RTC into wastewater treatment plants. Dewaterability of thermally conditioned sludge was assessed for cetrifugeability and filterability. Bench scale centrifugation was used for evaluating centrifugeability, pressure filtration and capillary suction time (CST) for filterability. A mathematical model developed for centrifuge dewatering was used to predict the effect of RTC on full scale centrifuge performance. Particle size distribution and solids density of raw and treated PDS were also analyzed. An observed increase in sludge solids density at least partially explains its improved centrifugeability. An investigation of thermally conditioned amino acids showed that the L-isomer is highly biodegradable while the D-isomers are generally less so. Glucose is highly biodegradable, but rapidly becomes refractory as thermal conditioning time is lengthened. This

Perspective on an urban transportation strategy with BRT for developing cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fumihiko Nakamura

2017-09-01

Full Text Available A Bus Rapid Transit (BRT system is one of the best strategies for urban transportation, especially in developing cities, mainly because of its cost-efficiency. Starting from Curitiba, Brazil in 1974, including Bogota, Colombia in 1999, many cities in Latin American Countries have implemented a BRT system. In almost all cases, BRT systems are working as a reliable high capacity service. In some cases, BRT systems are well coordinated with an urban transportation strategy framework and/or an urban planning strategy framework, integrating other transportation modes and land uses. Alternatively, there have been very few cases of BRT systems in Southeast Asian countries. Many cities considering implementation of BRT systems do not consider other urban transportation strategies such as Transit Oriented Development (TOD. The objective of the paper is to discuss the perspective of a BRT for developing cities. First, the paper reviews the history of BRT systems followed by a field survey of the results in Curitiba, mainly from an urban transportation and planning strategy point of view. Second, multimodal and inter-modal aspects are discussed, where the relationship with city buses, a balance between private car use and parking policies are emphasized. Third a framework of urban bus planning, management and operation is discussed considering the roles of public and private sectors based on the experiences of several developed cities. Finally, in terms of an urban planning strategy, reviewing the original and applied concepts of TOD, the authors discuss how a TOD strategy could work with BRT systems. The authors address the possibilities and limitations of BRT systems, especially in developing cities. More specific implications are presented in the case of medium sized cities of Southeast Asian countries.

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...

Social Network Clustering and the Spread of HIV/AIDS Among Persons Who Inject Drugs in 2 Cities in the Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Verdery, Ashton M; Siripong, Nalyn; Pence, Brian W

2017-09-01

The Philippines has seen rapid increases in HIV prevalence among people who inject drugs. We study 2 neighboring cities where a linked HIV epidemic differed in timing of onset and levels of prevalence. In Cebu, prevalence rose rapidly from below 1% to 54% between 2009 and 2011 and remained high through 2013. In nearby Mandaue, HIV remained below 4% through 2011 then rose rapidly to 38% by 2013. We hypothesize that infection prevalence differences in these cities may owe to aspects of social network structure, specifically levels of network clustering. Building on previous research, we hypothesize that higher levels of network clustering are associated with greater epidemic potential. Data were collected with respondent-driven sampling among men who inject drugs in Cebu and Mandaue in 2013. We first examine sample composition using estimators for population means. We then apply new estimators of network clustering in respondent-driven sampling data to examine associations with HIV prevalence. Samples in both cities were comparable in composition by age, education, and injection locations. Dyadic needle-sharing levels were also similar between the 2 cities, but network clustering in the needle-sharing network differed dramatically. We found higher clustering in Cebu than Mandaue, consistent with expectations that higher clustering is associated with faster epidemic spread. This article is the first to apply estimators of network clustering to empirical respondent-driven samples, and it offers suggestive evidence that researchers should pay greater attention to network structure's role in HIV transmission dynamics.

An integrated assessment framework for land subsidence in delta cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. H. M. Bucx

2015-11-01

Full Text Available In many delta cities land subsidence exceeds absolute sea level rise up to a factor of ten by excessive groundwater extraction related to rapid urbanization and population growth. Without change, parts of Jakarta, Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok and numerous other delta (and coastal cities will sink below sea level. Increased flooding and also other widespread impacts of land subsidence result already in damage of billions of dollars per year. In order to gain insight in the complex, multi-sectoral aspects of subsidence, to raise awareness and to support decision making on appropriate adaptation strategies and measures, an Integrated Assessment Framework (IAF for subsidence is introduced, illustrated by several (delta case studies. Based on that a list of 10 generic key issues and possible solutions is presented in order to further develop and support a (generic approach how to deal with subsidence in current and future subsidence-prone areas. For exchange of experiences and knowledge development.on subsidence in deltas the Delta Alliance, a knowledge network of deltas worldwide, can be supportive.

Characteristics of Motorcycle Ownership and Use of University Students in Malaysian and Indonesian Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Putranto L.S.

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Motorcycle ownership and use increased rapidly in Indonesian cities in recent years. People could not cope with severe congestion due to unsatisfactory public transport and uncontrolled land use delopment. This led to motorcycle use for almost any trip. However, in Malaysia motorcycles were mainly used for local short distance travel. In this paper the characteristics of motorcycle ownership and use of university students in Malaysian and Indonesian cities were discussed. A total of 398 university students in eight cities were asked to fill the questionnaires. They consist of general questions regarding their socio-economic back-ground and travel habit along with 25 perceptional questions regarding affordability/ attractiveness of owning motorcycle and practicability/safety of motorcycle use. A variance based structural equation modelling called partial least square-path modelling (PLS-PM was used for analysis. The results show that indicators explaining affordability and acceptability were exactly the same in Penang and combination of seven cities in Indonesia.

Revitalización de subcentros metropolitanos. Buenos Aires entre la ciudad dispersa y la ciudad compacta / Revitalization of metropolitan subcentres. Buenos Aires between the dispersed city and the compact city

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ciccolella, Pablo

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Las grandes ciudades latinoamericanas se debaten actualmente entre dos procesos de transformación socio-territorial convergentes: la densificación y verticalización de las áreas centrales, y la expansión cada vez más difusa y fragmentada de los suburbios. Esta dicotomía entre ciudad compacta y ciudad dispersa parece mostrar procesos singulares en el caso de la región metropolitana de Buenos Aires. A partir de los años dos mil, se han ralentizado los nuevos lanzamientos de urbanizaciones cerradas y, paralelamente, han comenzado a manifestarse algunos casos de revitalización de antiguas subcentralidades del sur de la metrópolis, que habían entrado en una fase de estancamiento y deterioro desde mediados de los años setenta, y actualmente experimentan una aceleración de la producción de vivienda multifamiliar de calidad. Este trabajo explora y muestra algunas experiencias concretas de esta tendencia, con la hipótesis que, al menos en Buenos Aires, los procesos de transformación y reestructuración metrolitana muestran complejidades y diversidades según los contextos temporales y territoriales que se analicen. The large Latin American cities are currently experiencing two convergent socio-territoria transformation processes: the densification and verticalization of central areas, and the increasingly diffuse and fragmented suburban expansion. This dichotomy between the compact city and the dispersed city seems to show unique features in the case of the metropolitan region of Buenos Aires. After the 2000s, the expansion of gated communities has slowed down and at the same time some old subcentralities in the South of the metropolis have begun to revitalize. Since the mid-1970s, they had entered a phase of stagnation and deterioration, and at present the production of quality multifamily housing is rapidly growing. This paper reflects on this trend and show some concrete experiences. Our hypothesis is that in Buenos Aires the process

A CityGML extension for traffic-sign objects that guides the automatic processing of data collected using Mobile Mapping technology

Science.gov (United States)

Varela-González, M.; Riveiro, B.; Arias-Sánchez, P.; González-Jorge, H.; Martínez-Sánchez, J.

2014-11-01

The rapid evolution of integral schemes, accounting for geometric and semantic data, has been importantly motivated by the advances in the last decade in mobile laser scanning technology; automation in data processing has also recently influenced the expansion of the new model concepts. This paper reviews some important issues involved in the new paradigms of city 3D modelling: an interoperable schema for city 3D modelling (cityGML) and mobile mapping technology to provide the features that composing the city model. This paper focuses in traffic signs, discussing their characterization using cityGML in order to ease the implementation of LiDAR technology in road management software, as well as analysing some limitations of the current technology in the labour of automatic detection and classification.

The rise of low-cost sensing for managing air pollution in cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Kumar, Prashant; Morawska, Lidia; Martani, Claudio; Biskos, George; Neophytou, Marina; Di Sabatino, Silvana; Bell, Margaret; Norford, Leslie; Britter, Rex

2015-02-01

Ever growing populations in cities are associated with a major increase in road vehicles and air pollution. The overall high levels of urban air pollution have been shown to be of a significant risk to city dwellers. However, the impacts of very high but temporally and spatially restricted pollution, and thus exposure, are still poorly understood. Conventional approaches to air quality monitoring are based on networks of static and sparse measurement stations. However, these are prohibitively expensive to capture tempo-spatial heterogeneity and identify pollution hotspots, which is required for the development of robust real-time strategies for exposure control. Current progress in developing low-cost micro-scale sensing technology is radically changing the conventional approach to allow real-time information in a capillary form. But the question remains whether there is value in the less accurate data they generate. This article illustrates the drivers behind current rises in the use of low-cost sensors for air pollution management in cities, while addressing the major challenges for their effective implementation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Urban agriculture in the transition to low carbon cities through urban greening

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mary Thornbush

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Urban agriculture presents an opportunity to extend food production to cities. This could enhance food security, particularly in developing countries, and allow for adaptation to growing urbanization. This review paper examines current trends in urban agriculture from a global perspective as a mitigation-adaptation approach to climate change adaptation in the midst of a growing world population. Employing vegetation as a carbon capture and storage system encapsulates a soft-engineering strategy that can be easily deployed by planners and environmental managers. In this review, urban agriculture is presented as a land-use solution to counteract the effects of urbanization, and as a means to establish a continuum between cities and the countryside. It espouses the usefulness of urban agriculture to enhance food security while sequestering carbon. As part of urban greening (including newer approaches, such as green roofs and gardens as well as more established forms of greening, such as forests and parks, urban agriculture offers traditionally rural services in cities, thereby contributing to food resources as well as working to alleviate pressing social issues like poverty. It also provides a way to reduce stress on farmland, and creates opportunities for employment and community-building. As part of greening, urban agriculture provides a buffer for pollution and improves environmental (and well as human health and well-being. This review begins by addressing the physical factors of adopting urban agriculture, such as climate change and development, land use and degradation, technology and management, and experimental findings as well as human factors investigated in the published literature. As such, it presents an integrated approach to urban agriculture that is part of a social-ecological perspective.

Heavy metals in eichhornia crassipes in the vicinity of a landfill in Havana city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Olivares Rieumnot, Susana; Lima Cazorla, Lazaro; Columbie, Isaida; De La Rosa Medero, Daniel; Sanchez, Maria J.

2006-01-01

In this work, the levels of Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Cr and Cd in roots of EC which grow in a river near an important landfill in Havana City are assessed. This landfill, known as street 100 receives daily 1,600 tons of solid wastes from the city, from them, approximately 45-50% are domestic wastes, 10-15% are industrial wastes and 25-30% are other type wastes. The leachate of the landfill is discharged without treatment into Almendares River. Some reports indicate that levels of metals in the leachate and in the river surface water are relatively low, contrary to the one should wait, due to the nature of the deposited waste- type

Publications | Page 318 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

Results 3171 - 3180 of 6374 ... Water management is especially more difficult in rapidly growing cities ... gaps: in Chile a greater proportion of the labor force works in large. ... the Capacity of the Economic Committee of the National Assembly of ...

Carbon-14 as an indicator of CO2 pollution in cities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vogel, J.C.; Uhlitzsch, I.

1975-01-01

The combustion of fossil fuels in cities, and especially in industrial areas, releases large quantities of carbon dioxide into the local atmosphere. This carbon dioxide does not contain carbon-14, with the result that the carbon-14 content of the atmospheric carbon dioxide is locally depleted. The degree of depletion provides a measure for the carbon dioxide pollution at the sampling site. Since growing plants represent a convenient average sample of the carbon dioxide in the air, the leaves of deciduous trees can be used for comparing the magnitude of local pollution in different localities during the summer growing period. A series of leaf samples collected in 1973 from Europe, North America and South Africa reveals the expected differences in the degree of pollution. Extreme instances occur in Scholven (Ruhrgebiet, Germany), where the average day-time carbon dioxide content during the summer months is found to be 8.7% above normal, and in Manhatten, New York City, where the corresponding figure is 6.4%. The technique can easily be extended to include the winter months by directly absorbing carbon dioxide in a hydroxide solution during different seasons. The proposed method is sensitive but much less time-consuming than the continuous measurement of the carbon dioxide concentration in the air. It thus lends itself to the monitoring of impact areas of pollution. (author)

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

Urban Risk Reduction Through Effective Disaster Management Plan-A Case Study Of Shimla City Himachal Pradesh India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bhavna Karki

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract By 2050 70 of the worlds population will live in urban areas. In India the urban population has increased from 217 million to 377 million in last two decades .With increasing population the associated risk and vulnerability has also increased. As cities continue to grow there is increased pressure on resources exposure of lives livelihoods and economic social and environmental assets to risk is set to increase exponentially. Recognised as one of the best cities for public services and one of the oldest Municipal Corporation in India Shimla city is situated at the traverse spur of the Central Himalayas at 31004 N to 31010 N latitude and 77005 E to 77015 E longitude at an altitude of 2397.59 m metres amsl. This paper aims at underlying the role of Shimla Municipal Corporation SMC as local government in managing disasters in the city along with effective planning and risk assessments.

[Driving forces of carbon emission from energy consumption in China old industrial cities: a case study of Shenyang City, Northeast China].

Science.gov (United States)

Ren, Wan-Xia; Geng, Yong; Xue, Bing

2012-10-01

To quantitatively analyze the effects of anthropogenic factors on regional environmental quality is a hot topic in the field of sustainable development research. Taking the typical old industrial city Shenyang in Northeast China as a case, and by using the IPCC method for calculating carbon emission from energy consumption, this paper estimated the carbon emission from energy consumption in the city in 1978-2009, and a time series analysis on the anthropogenic factors driving this carbon emission was made by the STIRPAT model based upon Kaya equation and ridge regression. In 1978-2009, the carbon emission in the city had a slow increase first, slow decrease then, and a rapid increase thereafter. The total carbon emission in 2009 was 4.6 times of that in 1978. Population growth was the main factor driving the growth of the emission, and there existed an equal-proportional variation between the population growth and the carbon emission growth. Urbanization was another main driving factor followed by population growth, and the per capita GDP was positively correlated with the carbon emission. Kuznets curve did not exist for the relationship between economic development and carbon emission in Shenyang. Energy source intensity reduction (representing technology improvement) was the main factor driving the reduction of the total carbon emission.

Hurricane Sandy and Adaptation Pathways in New York: Lessons from a First-Responder City

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Solecki, William

2014-01-01

Two central issues of climate change have become increasingly evident: Climate change will significantly affect cities; and rapid global urbanization will increase dramatically the number of individuals, amount of critical infrastructure, and means of economic production that are exposed and vulnerable to dynamic climate risks. Simultaneously, cities in many settings have begun to emerge as early adopters of climate change action strategies including greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation. The objective of this paper is to examine and analyze how officials of one city - the City of New York - have integrated a flexible adaptation pathways approach into the municipality's climate action strategy. This approach has been connected with the City's ongoing response to Hurricane Sandy, which struck in the October 2012 and resulted in damages worth more than US$19 billion. A case study narrative methodology utilizing the Wise et al. conceptual framework (see this volume) is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the flexible adaptation pathways approach in New York City. The paper finds that Hurricane Sandy serves as a ''tipping point'' leading to transformative adaptation due to the explicit inclusion of increasing climate change risks in the rebuilding effort. The potential for transferability of the approach to cities varying in size and development stage is discussed, with elements useful across cities including the overall concept of flexible adaptation pathways, the inclusion of the full metropolitan region in the planning process, and the co-generation of climate-risk information by stakeholders and scientists.

A travel clinic in your office: grow your practice and protect international travelers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirsch, Michael

2009-01-01

Medical practices today face economic challenges from declining reimbursements and rising overhead costs. Physicians need to develop new income sources to invigorate their practices and remain viable. Travel medicine-advising and immunizing international travelers-is a rapidly growing specialty in the United States that generates substantial cash reimbursements and professional satisfaction. Travel Clinics of America, a physician-operated company, specializes in helping physicians to incorporate travel medicine into their existing practices.

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

Science.gov (United States)

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

2017-10-15

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

Signs and symbols of the domestic façade in the city : Changes, confusion or decline?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jurgenhake, B.

2013-01-01

In a time in which 50% of the world inhabitants live in an urban context, a percentage that will definitely even grow, it is important to ask whether the residential building within daily public and anonymous city life still has the quality of privacy and identity of a ‘home’. The on-going PhD

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.

Is ‘Charter-City Status’ a Solution for Financing City Services in Canada — or Is That a Myth?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Harry Kitchen

2016-01-01

Toronto mayor Rob Ford’s 2010 election was partly based on voters’ annoyance over the city’s personal-vehicle-registration and land-transfer taxes, and his vow to change them. That the city then eliminated the vehicle tax, but not the land-transfer tax, may have to do with the latter being borne considerably by future residents of the city, who are not yet voters. Given cities’ growing funding responsibilities, it behooves them to find revenue-raising tools they are willing to use. Notwithstanding Toronto’s experience, vehicles are inefficiently priced, occupying roads and parking with little incentive for drivers to ration their usage. Fuel taxes and taxes on vehicle registration can be easily tacked onto provincial taxes and transferred back to cities, and so can be efficient, fair, accountable and transparent. The technology for toll roads, meanwhile, is readily available, even if the political will is not, and an advantage of tolls is that they collect revenue from commuters who use the city’s services, but live outside its boundaries. Similarly a municipal income tax, ideally charged on local businesses’ payrolls, would raise revenue from everyone working in the city, even if they lived elsewhere. Of course, as Toronto’s experience demonstrates, new taxes can be difficult to sell politically. The best remedy for this is to earmark taxes for specific spending priorities. This has the added benefit of facilitating long-term planning and preventing the abuse of funds. And raising funds locally, rather than relying on transfers, increases municipal accountability and efficiency, encouraging better fiscal discipline. The charter-city experiment has so far been discouraging, but it would certainly stand a better chance were provinces willing to grant more access to their tax base, and were municipal politicians more willing to defend their need to use it.

Remotely sensed thermal pollution and its relationship with energy consumption and industry in a rapidly urbanizing Chinese city

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao, Xiaofeng; Jiang, Hui; Wang, Huina; Zhao, Juanjuan; Qiu, Quanyi; Tapper, Nigel; Hua, Lizhong

2013-01-01

Taking the city of Xiamen, China, as an example, we used thermal infrared remote sensing to detect thermal pollution, and examined its relationship to energy consumption and the industrial economy. Monthly changes in 2002 and dynamics throughout the period of rapid urbanization (1987–2007) are analysed. It is found that seasonal variation led to distinct shapes and sizes of thermal pollution areas, and winter thermal pollution was highly indicative of industrial and energy transformation sources. Industrial enterprises were the dominant sources of winter thermal pollution in Xiamen. The number and ratio of industrial thermal pollution sources increased stably in the earlier years, and dramatically in the later period (2002–2007), attributable to the effects of China entering the World Trade Organization. Linear regression shows that the number of thermal pollution sources was strongly correlated with several factors of the industrial economy and energy consumption, including industrial outputs, industrial enterprise numbers, LPG and electricity. Related mitigation measures are also discussed. This research builds a link between remote sensing-detected thermal pollution information and statistical energy consumption data, as well as industrial economy statistics. It thereby enhances understanding of the relationship between urbanization, industrialization, energy consumption and related environmental effects. - Highlights: ► A method was provided for detecting thermal pollution through remote sensing. ► Seasonal dynamics and dynamics with the process of urbanization were examined. ► Winter thermal pollution is quite indicative of industrial energy consumption. ► Thermal pollution has high correlations with industrial economy and energy factors. ► It builds a link between remotely sensed thermal pollution and energy-economic data

Biometeorology for cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Hondula, David M; Balling, Robert C; Andrade, Riley; Scott Krayenhoff, E; Middel, Ariane; Urban, Aleš; Georgescu, Matei; Sailor, David J

2017-09-01

Improvements in global sustainability, health, and equity will largely be determined by the extent to which cities are able to become more efficient, hospitable, and productive places. The development and evolution of urban areas has a significant impact on local and regional weather and climate, which subsequently affect people and other organisms that live in and near cities. Biometeorologists, researchers who study the impact of weather and climate on living creatures, are well positioned to help evaluate and anticipate the consequences of urbanization on the biosphere. Motivated by the 60th anniversary of the International Society of Biometeorology, we reviewed articles published in the Society's International Journal of Biometeorology over the period 1974-2017 to understand if and how biometeorologists have directed attention to urban areas. We found that interest in urban areas has rapidly accelerated; urban-oriented articles accounted for more than 20% of all articles published in the journal in the most recent decade. Urban-focused articles in the journal span five themes: measuring urban climate, theoretical foundations and models, human thermal comfort, human morbidity and mortality, and ecosystem impacts. Within these themes, articles published in the journal represent a sizeable share of the total academic literature. More explicit attention from urban biometeorologists publishing in the journal to low- and middle-income countries, indoor environments, animals, and the impacts of climate change on human health would help ensure that the distinctive perspectives of biometeorology reach the places, people, and processes that are the foci of global sustainability, health, and equity goals.

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)].

Building the Bicycle City

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

2014-01-01

Tokyo - Upcoming City of Cyclists Japan is often hit by natural disasters such as earthquakes, typhoons, tsunamis and heavy rain- and snowfall. Earthquakes often causes break downs in electricity and communication lines and makes public transportation come to a halt. Stations are shut down...... will most likely be able to ride home. After the March 11th earthquake The Japan Cycling Association (JCA) has said that the number of cyclist in Tokyo might be five times as high today as it was before March 2011. But the worry is the safety of the new cyclists. Government statistics in 2010, showed...... during the ride. Finally it gives the cyclists of the future - children and youngsters - a good opportunity to know their local neighbourhood, learn how to manage in the traffic, a fresh start of the day, and hopefully make them continue to prefer the bike, when they grow up for the benefit of both...

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...

Three-Dimensional Evaluation of the Upper Airway Morphological Changes in Growing Patients with Skeletal Class III Malocclusion Treated by Protraction Headgear and Rapid Palatal Expansion: A Comparative Research.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xueling Chen

Full Text Available The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological changes of upper airway after protraction headgear and rapid maxillary expansion (PE treatment in growing patients with Class III malocclusion and maxillary skeletal deficiency compared with untreated Class III patients by cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT.Thirty growing patients who have completed PE therapy were included in PE group. The control group (n = 30 was selected from the growing untreated patients with the same diagnosis. The CBCT scans of the pre-treatment (T1 and post-treatment (T2 of PE group and the control group were collected. Reconstruction and registration of the 3D models of T1 and T2 were completed. By comparing the data obtained from T1, T2 and control group, the morphological changes of the upper airway during the PE treatment were evaluated.Comparing with the data from T1 group, the subspinale (A of maxilla and the upper incisor (UI of the T2 group were moved in the anterior direction. The gnathion (Gn of mandible was moved in the posterior-inferior direction. The displacement of the hyoid bone as well as the length and width of dental arch showed significant difference. The volume and mean cross-sectional area of nasopharynx, velopharynx and glossopharynx region showed significant difference. The largest anteroposterior/the largest lateral (AP/LR ratios of the velopharynx and glossopharynx were increased, but the AP/LR ratio of the hypopharynx was decreased. In addition, the length and width of the maxillary dental arch, the displacement of the hyoid bone, the volume of nasopharynx and velopharynx, and the AP/LR ratio of the hypopharynx and velopharynx showed significant difference between the data from control and T2 group.The PE treatment of Class III malocclusion with maxillary skeletal hypoplasia leads to a significant increase in the volume of nasopharynx and velopharynx.

The aspen mortality summit; December 18 and 19, 2006; Salt Lake City, UT

Science.gov (United States)

Dale L. Bartos; Wayne D. Shepperd

2010-01-01

The USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station sponsored an aspen summit meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, on December 18 and19, 2006, to discuss the rapidly increasing mortality of aspen (Populus tremuloides) throughout the western United States. Selected scientists, university faculty, and managers from Federal, State, and non-profit agencies with experience...

Change in Environmental Benefits of Urban Land Use and Its Drivers in Chinese Cities, 2000–2010

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Xiaoqing; Chang, Kang-tsung; Yang, Liang; Scheffran, Jürgen

2016-01-01

Driven by rising income and urban population growth, China has experienced rapid urban expansion since the 1980s. Urbanization can have positive effects on the urban environment; however, improvement of urban environment quality, especially its divergence between relatively developed and undeveloped cities in China, is currently a rather rudimentary and subjective issue. This study analyzed urban environmental benefits among China’s prefectural cities based on their structure of urban land use in 2000 and 2010. First, we divided 347 prefectural cities into two groups, 81 coastal and capital cities in the relatively developed group (RD) and 266 other prefectural cities in the undeveloped group (RP). Then, we defined three areas of urban environmental benefits, including green infrastructure, industrial upgrade, and environmental management, and developed an assessment index system. Results showed that all prefectural cities saw improvement in urban environmental quality in 2000–2010. Although the RD cities had higher income and more population growth, they had less improvement than the RP cities during the same period. We also found that demographic and urban land agglomeration among RD cities restrained green infrastructure expansion, making green infrastructure unsuitable as a permanent solution to environmental improvement. It is therefore urgent for China to promote balanced improvement among the three areas of urban environmental benefits and between the RD and RP cities through regional differentiation policies. PMID:27240386

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...

Identifying Tourist Places of Interest Based on Digital Imprints: Towards a Sustainable Smart City

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Encalada

2017-12-01

Full Text Available As cities become increasingly complex, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs bring smartness into organisations and communities, contributing to a more competitive tourism destination, i.e., smart tourism destinations. Enhanced information access coupled with a new kind of tourists avid for online content and predisposed to share information on social media, allows for a better understanding of tourist behaviour regarding their spatial distribution in urban destinations. Thus, smart tourism portrays individuals as information makers, refining the available alternatives for tracking their location. Big data analytics is a technology with the potential to develop Smart City services. From the analysis of the spatial distribution of tourists in the city of Lisbon based on data collected from the ‘Panoramio’ social network, we identify the most popular places in the city in a context of tourist visits. This new data largely contributes to understanding the consumption of space within urban tourist destinations and therefore enables us to differentiate the overcrowded places from the ones with potential to grow. This allows decision-makers to imagine new ways of planning and managing towards a sustainable ‘smart’ future.

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

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

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.

Search Results | Page 160 | IDRC - International Development ...

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

In the face of rapid urbanization and growing inequality, cities around the world struggle to improve security and living conditions for their people. Understanding the drivers of urban violence is crucial to finding solutions. Research in Action. LIVESTOCK Food security Immunization Gender ...

Urban sustainable energy development: A case study of the city of Philadelphia

Science.gov (United States)

Argyriou, Iraklis

This study explores the role of cities in sustainable energy development through a governance-informed analysis. Despite the leading position of municipalities in energy sustainability, cities have been mostly conceptualized as sites where energy development is shaped by external policy scales, i.e. the national level. A growing body of research, however, critiques this analytical perspective, and seeks to better understand the type of factors and dynamics that influence energy sustainability within a multi-level policy context for urban energy. Given that particular circumstances are applicable across cities, a context-specific analysis can provide insight regarding how sustainable energy development takes place in urban areas. In applying such an analytical perspective on urban energy sustainability, this study undertakes a qualitative case study analysis for the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by looking at four key local policy initiatives relevant to building energy efficiency and solar electricity development at the municipal government and city-wide level. The evaluation of the initiatives suggests that renewable electricity use has increased substantially in the city over the last years but the installed capacity of local renewable electricity systems, including solar photovoltaics, is low. On the other hand, although the city has made little progress in meeting its building energy efficiency targets, more comprehensive action is taken in this area. The study finds that the above outcomes have been shaped mainly by four factors. The first is the city government's incremental policy approach aiming to develop a facilitative context for local action. The second is the role that a diverse set of stakeholders have in local sustainable energy development. The third is the constraints that systemic policy barriers create for solar power development. The fourth is the ways through which the relevant multi-level policy environment structures the city

Reduced trace element concentrations in fast-growing juvenile Atlantic salmon in natural streams.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Darren M; Nislow, Keith H; Chen, Celia Y; Folt, Carol L

2010-05-01

To assess the effect of rapid individual growth on trace element concentrations in fish, we measured concentrations of seven trace elements (As, Cd, Cs, Hg, Pb, Se, Zn) in stream-dwelling Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) from 15 sites encompassing a 10-fold range in salmon growth. All salmon were hatched under uniform conditions, released into streams, and sampled approximately 120 days later for trace element analysis. For most elements, element concentrations in salmon tracked those in their prey. Fast-growing salmon had lower concentrations of all elements than slow growers, after accounting for prey concentrations. This pattern held for essential and nonessential elements, as well as elements that accumulate from food and those that can accumulate from water. At the sites with the fastest salmon growth, trace element concentrations in salmon were 37% (Cs) to 86% (Pb) lower than at sites where growth was suppressed. Given that concentrations were generally below levels harmful to salmon and that the pattern was consistent across all elements, we suggest that dilution of elements in larger biomass led to lower concentrations in fast-growing fish. Streams that foster rapid, efficient fish growth may produce fish with lower concentrations of elements potentially toxic for human and wildlife consumers.

Heavy metal concentrations in soils and vegetation in urban areas of Quezon City, Philippines.

Science.gov (United States)

Navarrete, Ian A; Gabiana, Christella C; Dumo, Joan Ruby E; Salmo, Severino G; Guzman, Maria Aileen Leah G; Valera, Nestor S; Espiritu, Emilyn Q

2017-04-01

Limited data have been published on the chemistry of urban soils and vegetation in the Philippines. The aim of this study is to quantify the concentrations of heavy metals (i.e., Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb) in soils and vegetation in the urban landscape of Quezon City, Philippines, and to elucidate the relationships between soil properties and the concentration of heavy metals pertaining to different land uses [i.e., protected forest (LM), park and wildlife area (PA), landfill (PL), urban poor residential and industrial areas (RA), and commercial areas (CA)]. Soil (0-15 cm) and senescent plant leaves were collected and were analyzed for soil properties and heavy metal concentrations. Results revealed that the concentrations of heavy metals (i.e., Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, and Pb) in urban soils were higher in areas where anthropogenic activities or disturbance (PL, RA, and CA) were dominant as compared to the less disturbed areas (LM and PA). Organic matter and available phosphorous were strongly correlated with heavy metal concentrations, suggesting that heavy metal concentrations were primarily controlled by these soil properties. The average foliar heavy metal concentrations varied, ranging from 0 to 0.4 mg/kg for Cd, 0-10 mg/kg for Cr, 2-22 mg/kg for Cu, 0-5 mg/kg for Pb, and 11-250 mg/kg for Zn. The concentrations of Cd and Cr exceeded the critical threshold concentrations in some plants. Leaves of plants growing in PL (i.e., landfill) showed the highest levels of heavy metal contamination. Our results revealed that anthropogenic activities and disturbance caused by the rapid urbanization of the city are major contributors to the heavy metal accumulation and persistence in the soils in these areas.

Thermal footprints in groundwater of central European cities

Science.gov (United States)

Bayer, P.; Menberg, K.; Blum, P.

2014-12-01

Atmospheric thermal pollution in densely populated areas is recognized as a severe problem with consequences for human health, and considerable efforts are being taken to mitigate heat stress in cities. However, anthropogenic activities also influence the thermal environment beneath the ground level, with commonly growing temperatures that affect groundwater ecology and geothermal use efficiency. In our work, we identify the controlling mechanisms for the long-term evolution of such urban heat islands. The shallow groundwater temperatures in several central European cities such as Cologne, Karlsruhe, Munich, Berlin and Zurich were mapped at high spatial and temporal resolution. Thermal anomalies were found to be highly heterogeneous with local hot spots showing temperatures of more than 20°C. Accordingly, these urban regions show a considerable groundwater warming in comparison to undisturbed temperatures of 8-11°C. Examination of potential heat sources by analytical modelling reveals that increased ground surface temperatures and basements of buildings act as dominant drivers for the anthropogenic heat input into the groundwater. The factors are revealed to be case-specific and they may have pronounced local or regional effects. Typical local factors are for example buried district heating networks. In selected cities we find that the average urban heat flux is around one order of magnitude higher than the elevated ground heat flux due to recent climate change. Additionally, such as observed in Zurich, naturally controlled temperature variations can be substantial and they are shown to wash out anthropogenic thermal footprints.

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....

Landscapes of thermal inequity: disproportionate exposure to urban heat in the three largest US cities

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Bruce C.; Chakraborty, Jayajit

2015-11-01

Heat waves are the most significant cause of mortality in the US compared to other natural hazards. Prior studies have found increased heat exposure for individuals of lower socioeconomic status in several US cities, but few comparative analyses of the social distribution of urban heat have been conducted. To address this gap, our paper examines and compares the environmental justice consequences of urban heat risk in the three largest US cities: New York City, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Risk to urban heat is estimated on the basis of three characteristics of the urban thermal landscape: land surface temperature, vegetation abundance, and structural density of the built urban environment. These variables are combined to develop an urban heat risk index, which is then statistically compared with social vulnerability indicators representing socioeconomic status, age, disability, race/ethnicity, and linguistic isolation. The results indicate a consistent and significant statistical association between lower socioeconomic and minority status and greater urban heat risk, in all three cities. Our findings support a growing body of environmental justice literature that indicates the presence of a landscape of thermal inequity in US cities and underscores the need to conduct comparative analyses of social inequities in exposure to urban heat.

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.

Trends of tropospheric NO2 over the Yangtze River Delta region and the possible linkage to rapid urbanization

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Mingliang; Zhang, Deying; Liu, Qiyang; Song, Yue; Zhou, Jiayuan; Shi, Runhe; Gao, Wei

2017-09-01

Over the past decade, China has experienced a rapid increase in urbanization. The urban built-up areas (population) of Shanghai increased by 16.1% (22.9%) from 2006 to 2015. This study aims to analyze the variations of tropospheric NO2 over Yangtze River Delta region and the impacts of rapid urbanization during 2006-2015. The results indicate that tropospheric NO2 vertical column density (VCD) of all cities in the study area showed an increasing trend during 2006-2011 whereas a decreasing trend during 2011-2015. Most cities showed a lower tropospheric NO2 VCD value in 2015 compared to that in 2006, except for Changzhou and Nantong. Shanghai and Ningbo are two hotspots where the tropospheric NO2 VCD decreased most significantly, at a rate of 22% and 19%, respectively. This effect could be ascribed to the implementation of harsh emission control policies therein. Similar seasonal variability was observed over all cities, with larger values observed in the summer and smaller values shown in the winter. Further investigations show that the observed increasing trend of tropospheric NO2 during 2006-2011 could be largely explained by rapid urbanization linked to car ownership, GDP, power consumption, population and total industrial output. Such effect was not prominent after 2011, mainly due to the implementation of emission control strategies.

Branding the city of Šibenik as a sustainable tourist destination using social networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dubravko Blaće

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Sustainable tourism, as a fast-growing cultural and economic activity, offers great opportunities for steady development of branded regions and cities. Branding is an integral part of marketing, aimed at raising awareness and creating loyalty among customers. Recent trends show the growing impact of social networks in brand creation. Croatia has one of the shortest tourist seasons in Europe, which affects the sustainability of tourism. Therefore, a pilot study of the Dalmatian town of Šibenik has been made in order to examine whether there is room for development of a sustainable tourism model through strengthening its brand with the help of modern technology, predominantly the social networks. The rich tourism potential of Šibenik has not been sufficiently exploited for sustainable tourism through a recognizable tourism brand, and the official development strategies neglected to examine the use of social networks in achieving both goals. Therefore, an online survey has been conducted in order to determine whether Šibenik is recognized as a tourist destination through social networks. The results should help in developing a systematic approach to the branding of Šibenik. It should simultaneously address the issue of its seasonal attractiveness to tourists, thus contributing to the extension of the season and increasing sustainability of tourism activities. In that way, the branding of the city will not turn into a traditional marketing strategy to promote its market, and may contribute to its sustainable development as well as serve as a model to similar cities.

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?

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;...