Effects of urban density on carbon dioxide exchanges: Observations of dense urban, suburban and woodland areas of southern England.

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, H C; Kotthaus, S; Grimmond, C S B; Bjorkegren, A; Wilkinson, M; Morrison, W T J; Evans, J G; Morison, J I L; Iamarino, M

2015-03-01

Anthropogenic and biogenic controls on the surface-atmosphere exchange of CO2 are explored for three different environments. Similarities are seen between suburban and woodland sites during summer, when photosynthesis and respiration determine the diurnal pattern of the CO2 flux. In winter, emissions from human activities dominate urban and suburban fluxes; building emissions increase during cold weather, while traffic is a major component of CO2 emissions all year round. Observed CO2 fluxes reflect diurnal traffic patterns (busy throughout the day (urban); rush-hour peaks (suburban)) and vary between working days and non-working days, except at the woodland site. Suburban vegetation offsets some anthropogenic emissions, but 24-h CO2 fluxes are usually positive even during summer. Observations are compared to estimated emissions from simple models and inventories. Annual CO2 exchanges are significantly different between sites, demonstrating the impacts of increasing urban density (and decreasing vegetation fraction) on the CO2 flux to the atmosphere. Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

The prevalence of uncorrected refractive error in urban, suburban, exurban and rural primary school children in Indonesian population

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Indra Tri Mahayana

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Uncorrected refractive error (URE is a major health problem among school children. This study was aimed to determine the frequency and patterns of URE across 4 gradients of residential densities (urban, exurban, suburban and rural. This was a cross-sectional study of school children from 3 districts in Yogyakarta and 1 district near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The information regarding age, sex, school and school grader were recorded. The Snellen’s chart was used to measure the visual acuity and to perform the subjective refraction. The district was then divided into urban, suburban, exurban and rural area based on their location and population. In total, 410 school children were included in the analyses (urban=79, exurban=73, suburban=160 and rural=98 school children. Urban school children revealed the worst visual acuity (P<0.001 and it was significant when compared with exurban and rural. The proportion of URE among urban, suburban, exurban and rural area were 10.1%, 12.3%, 3.8%, and 1%, respectively, and it was significant when compared to the proportion of ametropia and corrected refractive error across residential densities (P=0.003. The risk of URE development in urban, suburban, exurban, and rural were 2.218 (95%CI: 0.914-5.385, 3.019 (95%CI: 1.266-7.197, 0.502 (95%CI: 0.195-1.293, and 0.130 (95%CI:0.017-0.972, respectively. Urban school children showed the worst visual acuity. The school children in urban and suburban residential area had 2 and 3 times higher risk of developing the URE.

Aromatic hydrocarbons at urban, sub-urban, rural (8°52'N; 67°19'W) and remote sites in Venezuela

Science.gov (United States)

Holzinger, R.; Kleiss, B.; Donoso, L.; Sanhueza, E.

Using the novel on-line proton transfer reaction mass spectrometry (PTR-MS) technique, atmospheric concentrations of benzene, toluene, xylenes, and C 9-benzenes were measured in Caracas (urban), Altos de Pipe (sub-urban), Calabozo (rural) and Parupa (remote), during various campaigns in 1999 and 2000. Average daytime mixing ratios measured in Caracas are 1.1, 3.2, 3.7, and 2.7 nmol/mol for benzene, toluene, xylenes, and C 9-benzenes. At the sub-urban site, located only few km from Caracas, relatively low levels (˜20% of the levels measured in Caracas) of these aromatic hydrocarbons were observed. At the rural site during the dry season, higher concentrations of benzene (0.15 nmol/mol) were recorded, whereas those of toluene (0.08 nmol/mol) were lower during that time. The aromatic hydrocarbon ratios in the wet season (benzene: 0.08 nmol/mol; toluene: 0.09 nmol/mol) are consistent with an aged urban plume, whereas biomass burning emissions dominate during the dry season. From rural and urban [benzene]/[toluene] ratios a mean HO concentration of 2.6×10 6 molecules/cm 3 was estimated during the wet season. This value must be considered an overestimate because it does not account for background concentrations which are likely for benzene and toluene. At the remote "La Gran Sabana" region (Parupa) very low mixing ratios (0.031 and 0.015 nmol/mol for benzene and toluene) are showing the pristine region to be unaffected by local sources. From the [benzene]/[toluene] ratio we deduced, that "urban" air arriving from the coastline (350 km) is likely mixed with air containing some background of benzene and toluene. Urban emissions (automobiles) should be the major source of aromatic compounds, however, during the dry season biomass burning seems to make an important contribution.

Residential preferences towards urban and suburban areas and their relationship with demographic characteristics

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Petrić Jasna

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Urban sprawl is, among all, also the result of voluntary or induced resettlement of population from the inner city to urban periphery, or by in-migration to peripheral parts of cities where the origin of migrants is in other settlements. The focus of this paper is on the influence that residential preferences have on suburbanization, with the emphasis on analysis of the residential choice and certain population groups' tendencies to prioritise living in suburbs or the inner-city living. Theoretical considerations which are set in this paper initiate with residential preference components and the hypothesis of change in dominant motives for residential choice throughout family and individual's lifecycle. Then, the demographic data have been analysed according to the latest Census results in the two pilot-areas of urban and suburban type in Belgrade. Additional research on residential preferences are founded on preparation of specific questionnaire which would enable application of more powerful statistical techniques, especially a wider use of measuring scales for the variables deriving from the questionnaire, and formulation of a model for prediction of different population groups' residential preferences in urban and suburban settings.

Quality of community basic medical service utilization in urban and suburban areas in Shanghai from 2009 to 2014

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Jun; Li, Shujun; Cai, Yuyang; Sun, Wei; Liu, Qiaohong

2018-01-01

Urban areas usually display better health care services than rural areas, but data about suburban areas in China are lacking. Hence, this cross-sectional study compared the utilization of community basic medical services in Shanghai urban and suburban areas between 2009 and 2014. These data were used to improve the efficiency of community health service utilization and to provide a reference for solving the main health problems of the residents in urban and suburban areas of Shanghai. Using a two-stage random sampling method, questionnaires were completed by 73 community health service centers that were randomly selected from six districts that were also randomly selected from 17 counties in Shanghai. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and forecast analysis were used to complete a gap analysis of basic health services utilization quality between urban and suburban areas. During the 6-year study period, there was an increasing trend toward greater efficiency of basic medical service provision, benefits of basic medical service provision, effectiveness of common chronic disease management, overall satisfaction of community residents, and two-way referral effects. In addition to the implementation effect of hypertension management and two-way referral, the remaining indicators showed a superior effect in urban areas compared with the suburbs (Pservice utilization. Comprehensive satisfaction clearly improved as well. Nevertheless, there was an imbalance in health service utilization between urban and suburban areas. There is a need for the health administrative department to address this imbalance between urban and suburban institutions and to provide the required support to underdeveloped areas to improve resident satisfaction. PMID:29791470

Quality of community basic medical service utilization in urban and suburban areas in Shanghai from 2009 to 2014.

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Lijun; Bao, Yong; Ma, Jun; Li, Shujun; Cai, Yuyang; Sun, Wei; Liu, Qiaohong

2018-01-01

Urban areas usually display better health care services than rural areas, but data about suburban areas in China are lacking. Hence, this cross-sectional study compared the utilization of community basic medical services in Shanghai urban and suburban areas between 2009 and 2014. These data were used to improve the efficiency of community health service utilization and to provide a reference for solving the main health problems of the residents in urban and suburban areas of Shanghai. Using a two-stage random sampling method, questionnaires were completed by 73 community health service centers that were randomly selected from six districts that were also randomly selected from 17 counties in Shanghai. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and forecast analysis were used to complete a gap analysis of basic health services utilization quality between urban and suburban areas. During the 6-year study period, there was an increasing trend toward greater efficiency of basic medical service provision, benefits of basic medical service provision, effectiveness of common chronic disease management, overall satisfaction of community residents, and two-way referral effects. In addition to the implementation effect of hypertension management and two-way referral, the remaining indicators showed a superior effect in urban areas compared with the suburbs (Pservice utilization. Comprehensive satisfaction clearly improved as well. Nevertheless, there was an imbalance in health service utilization between urban and suburban areas. There is a need for the health administrative department to address this imbalance between urban and suburban institutions and to provide the required support to underdeveloped areas to improve resident satisfaction.

Quality of community basic medical service utilization in urban and suburban areas in Shanghai from 2009 to 2014.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lijun Guo

Full Text Available Urban areas usually display better health care services than rural areas, but data about suburban areas in China are lacking. Hence, this cross-sectional study compared the utilization of community basic medical services in Shanghai urban and suburban areas between 2009 and 2014. These data were used to improve the efficiency of community health service utilization and to provide a reference for solving the main health problems of the residents in urban and suburban areas of Shanghai. Using a two-stage random sampling method, questionnaires were completed by 73 community health service centers that were randomly selected from six districts that were also randomly selected from 17 counties in Shanghai. Descriptive statistics, principal component analysis, and forecast analysis were used to complete a gap analysis of basic health services utilization quality between urban and suburban areas. During the 6-year study period, there was an increasing trend toward greater efficiency of basic medical service provision, benefits of basic medical service provision, effectiveness of common chronic disease management, overall satisfaction of community residents, and two-way referral effects. In addition to the implementation effect of hypertension management and two-way referral, the remaining indicators showed a superior effect in urban areas compared with the suburbs (P<0.001. In addition, among the seven principal components, four principal component scores were better in urban areas than in suburban areas (P = <0.001, 0.004, 0.036, and 0.022. The urban comprehensive score also exceeded that of the suburbs (P<0.001. In summary, over the 6-year period, there was a rapidly increasing trend in basic medical service utilization. Comprehensive satisfaction clearly improved as well. Nevertheless, there was an imbalance in health service utilization between urban and suburban areas. There is a need for the health administrative department to address this

School Segregation and Disparities in Urban, Suburban, and Rural Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, John R.; Burdick-Will, Julia

2018-01-01

Much of the literature on racial and ethnic educational inequality focuses on the contrast between Black and Hispanic students in urban areas and white suburban students. This study extends past research on school segregation and racial/ethnic disparities by highlighting the importance of rural areas and regional variation. Although schools in rural America are disproportionately white, they nevertheless are like urban schools, and disadvantaged relative to suburban schools, in terms of poverty and test performance. The group most affected by rural school disadvantage is Native Americans, who are a small share of students nationally but much more prominent and highly disadvantaged in rural areas, particularly in some parts of the country. These figures suggest a strong case for including rural schools in the continuing conversation about how to deal with unfairness in public education. PMID:29430018

Promoting and developing a trail network across suburban, rural, and urban communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Schasberger, Michele G; Hussa, Carol S; Polgar, Michael F; McMonagle, Julie A; Burke, Sharon J; Gegaris, Andrew J

2009-12-01

The Wyoming Valley Wellness Trails Partnership received an Active Living by Design grant late in 2003 for a project centered on a growing trail network linking urban, suburban, and rural communities in northeast Pennsylvania, a former coal region, in order to increase physical activity among residents. The partnership conducted research, collected information, created promotional documents, worked with partners on events and programs, and participated in trail planning. Local trail organizations continued planning and construction toward developing a trail network. Other partners spearheaded policy change in schools and worksites and worked toward downtown revitalization. The partnership assisted these efforts by providing a forum in which organizations could meet. The partnership became a central resource for information about local parks, trails, and outdoor recreational activities. The partnership increased awareness and use of recreational facilities. Trail partners constructed 22 miles of walking and biking trails. The partnership took advantage of an allied effort that created organizational capacity for wellness in schools and worksites. Messages promoting social and entertainment benefits of physical activity were more successful than those promoting health benefits. The existence of multiple small, independent trail organizations can help advance trail development through concurrent development efforts. Urban, suburban, and rural residents' conceptions of walkability may differ. Trails provide options for recreational and transportation-related physical activity across urban, suburban, and rural landscapes that are supported by all constituents. Trail builders can be strong allies in bringing active living to suburban and rural places.

Concussion Knowledge and Reporting Behavior Differences Between High School Athletes at Urban and Suburban High Schools.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallace, Jessica; Covassin, Tracey; Nogle, Sally; Gould, Daniel; Kovan, Jeffrey

2017-09-01

We determined differences in knowledge of concussion and reporting behaviors of high school athletes attending urban and suburban high schools, and whether a relationship exists between underreporting and access to an athletic trainer in urban schools. High school athletes (N = 715) from 14 high schools completed a validated knowledge of concussion survey consisting of 83 questions. The independent variable was school type (urban/suburban). We examined the proportion of athletes who correctly identified signs and symptoms of concussion, knowledge of concussion and reasons why high school athletes would not disclose a potential concussive injury across school classification. Data were analyzed using descriptive, non-parametric, and inferential statistics. Athletes attending urban schools have less concussion knowledge than athletes attending suburban schools (p urban schools without an athletic trainer have less knowledge than urban athletes at schools with an athletic trainer (p urban schools and 10 reasons for not reporting. Concussion education efforts cannot be homogeneous in all communities. Education interventions must reflect the needs of each community. © 2017, American School Health Association.

Indoor radon progeny aerosol size measurements in urban, suburban, and rural regions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tu, K.W.; Knutson, E.O.; George, A.C.

1991-01-01

By using direct and indirect methods, the authors conducted size distribution measurements of radon progeny particles in a variety of indoor environments in urban, suburban, and rural areas. The radon progeny particle size distribution owing to indoor activities has two definable source categories: (1) gas combustion from stoves and kerosene heaters - particles were found to be smaller than 0.1 μm in diameter, mostly in the range 0.02-0.08 μm; and (2) cigarette smoking and food frying - particles were found to be larger, in the size range 0.1-0.2 μm. The radon progeny particle size distribution, without significant indoor activities, such as cooking, was found to be larger in rural areas than in urban or suburban areas. The modal diameters of the size spectra in the rural areas were two to three times larger than those in urban or suburban areas, around 0.3-0.4 bs. 0.1-0.2 μm. Results obtained by applying the attachment theory to the measured number-weighted size spectra from an electrical aerosol size analyzer support this finding. These results, if confirmed by more extensive studies, will be useful for the assessment of the risk from the inhalation of radon progeny in various indoor environments

Effects of urban density on carbon dioxide exchanges: Observations of dense urban, suburban and woodland areas of southern England

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ward, H.C.; Kotthaus, S.; Grimmond, C.S.B.; Bjorkegren, A.; Wilkinson, M.; Morrison, W.T.J.; Evans, J.G.; Morison, J.I.L.; Iamarino, M.

2015-01-01

Anthropogenic and biogenic controls on the surface–atmosphere exchange of CO 2 are explored for three different environments. Similarities are seen between suburban and woodland sites during summer, when photosynthesis and respiration determine the diurnal pattern of the CO 2 flux. In winter, emissions from human activities dominate urban and suburban fluxes; building emissions increase during cold weather, while traffic is a major component of CO 2 emissions all year round. Observed CO 2 fluxes reflect diurnal traffic patterns (busy throughout the day (urban); rush-hour peaks (suburban)) and vary between working days and non-working days, except at the woodland site. Suburban vegetation offsets some anthropogenic emissions, but 24-h CO 2 fluxes are usually positive even during summer. Observations are compared to estimated emissions from simple models and inventories. Annual CO 2 exchanges are significantly different between sites, demonstrating the impacts of increasing urban density (and decreasing vegetation fraction) on the CO 2 flux to the atmosphere. - Highlights: • Multi-seasonal comparison of contemporaneous CO 2 fluxes over contrasting land cover. • Signatures of anthropogenic and biogenic processes explored at various timescales. • Observations reveal relative magnitude of anthropogenic emissions. • CO 2 fluxes related to surface controls, strongly dependent on land cover. - Direct measurements of CO 2 fluxes reveal the impact of urbanisation and human behavioural patterns on the atmosphere at sub-daily to inter-annual time scales

Urban and Suburban Geographies of Ageing : session 1 and 2

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lager, Debbie; Negrini, Chiara; van Hoven, Bettina; Schwanen, Tim

2014-01-01

We seek to organise two sessions to explore the relationships of older people and ageing with place, with a particular focus on urban and suburban environments. Up till now, research in the field of ageing and place has been dominated by social and environmental gerontologists. Recently, Schwanen et

An assessment of transit ridership: increased suburban to urban public transportation options in Houston, Texas.

Science.gov (United States)

2008-11-01

Suburban development is occurring near urban areas across America. Often these communities are : separated by large masses of land with no linkage to the urban core. Referred to as urban sprawl, this type : of development causes a challenge for trans...

OH Reactivity Observations during the MAPS-Seoul Campaign: Contrasts between Urban and Suburban Environments

Science.gov (United States)

Sanchez, D.; Jeong, D.; Blake, D. R.; Wang, M. D.; Kim, D. S.; Lee, G.; Lee, M.; Jung, J.; Ahn, J.; Cho, G.; Guenther, A. B.; Kim, S.

2015-12-01

Direct total OH reactivity was observed in the urban and suburban environments of Seoul, South Korea using a comparative reactivity method (CRM) during the MAPS-Seoul field campaign. In addition, CO, NOx, SO2, ozone, VOCs, aerosol, physical, and chemical parameters were also deployed. By comparing the observed total OH reactivity results with calculated OH reactivity from the trace gas observational datasets, we will evaluate our current status in constraining reactive gases in the urban and suburban environments in the East Asian megacity. Observed urban OH reactivity will be presented in the context of the ability to constrain anthropogenic reactive trace gas emissions. It will then be compared to the observed suburban results from Taehwa Research Forest (located ~ 50 km from the Seoul City Center). Our understanding of reactive trace gases in an environment of high BVOC emissions in a mildly aged anthropogenic influences will be evaluated. Using an observational constrained box model with detailed VOC oxidation schemes (e.g. MCM), we will discuss: 1) what is the amount of missing OH reactivity 2) what are the potential sources of the missing OH reactivity, and 3) what are the implications on regional air quality?

Temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas during rapid urbanization in Shanghai, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Junying; Da Liangjun; Song Kun; Li Bailian

2008-01-01

As the economic and financial center of China, Shanghai has experienced an extensive urban expansion since the early 1980s, with an attendant cost in environmental degradation. We use an integrated pollution index to study the temporal variations of surface water quality in urban, suburban and rural areas between 1982 and 2005. Data on monitored cross-sections were collected from the Shanghai Environmental Monitoring Center. The results indicated that the spatial pattern of surface water quality was determined by the level of urbanization. Surface water qualities in urban and suburban areas were improved by strengthening the environmental policies and management, but were worsening in rural areas. The relationship between economic growth and surface water quality in Shanghai showed an inversed-U-shaped curve, which reflected a similar pattern in most developed countries. This research suggests that decision makers and city officials should be more aware of the recent pollution increases in Shanghai. - An integrated pollution index documents the deterioration of water quality in greater Shanghai, recently most serious in rural sections

Effects of urban density on carbon dioxide exchanges: observations of dense urban, suburban and woodland areas of southern England

OpenAIRE

Ward, H.C.; Kotthaus, S.; Grimmond, C.S.B.; Bjorkegren, A.; Wilkinson, M.; Morrison, W.T.J.; Evans, J.G.; Morison, J.I.L.; Iamarino, M.

2015-01-01

Anthropogenic and biogenic controls on the surface-atmosphere exchange of CO2 are explored for three different environments. Similarities are seen between suburban and woodland sites during summer, when photosynthesis and respiration determine the diurnal pattern of the CO2 flux. In winter, emissions from human activities dominate urban and suburban fluxes; building emissions increase during cold weather, while traffic is a major component of CO2 emissions all year round. Observed CO2 fluxes ...

Eating Habits and Food Preferences of Elementary School Students in Urban and Suburban Areas of Daejeon

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Eun-Suk; Lee, Je-Hyuk

2015-01-01

This study investigated the dietary habits and food preferences of elementary school students. The survey was conducted by means of a questionnaire distributed to 4th and 5th grade elementary school students (400 boys and 400 girls) in urban and suburban areas of Daejeon. The results of this study were as follows: male students in urban areas ate breakfast, unbalanced diets, and dairy products more frequently than male students in suburban areas (p eating habits and food preferences of elementary school students according to the place of residence. PMID:26251838

Sources identification of the atmospheric aerosol at urban and suburban sites in Indonesia by positive matrix factorization

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Santoso, Muhayatun; Hopke, Philip K.; Hidayat, Achmad; Diah Dwiana L

2008-01-01

Samples of fine and coarse fractions of airborne particulate matter were collected in Indonesia (west central Java) at an urban site in Bandung and in suburban Lembang from January 2002 to December 2004. The samples were collected using a Gent stacked filter sampler in two size fractions of 2.5-10 mass at both sites comes from soil dust and road dust. The biomass burning factor contributes about 40% of the PM 2.5 mass in case of suburban Lembang and about 20% in urban Bandung

[The comparison of the indoor environmental factors associated with asthma and related allergies among school-child between urban and suburban areas in Beijing].

Science.gov (United States)

Lü, Hai-bo; Deng, Fu-rong; Sun, Ji-dong; Wu, Shao-wei; Sun, Xiu-ming; Wang, Xin; Zhao, Yan-hua; Guo, Xin-biao

2010-07-01

To study the indoor environmental factors associated with the prevalence of asthma and related allergies among school children. A cluster sampling method was used and the ISAAC questionnaire was conducted. A total of 4612 elementary students under Grade Five of 7 schools were enrolled in the survey for the impact of indoor environmental factors on the prevalence of asthma and related allergies in several urban and suburban schools of Beijing. A total of 4060 sample were finally analyzed including 1992 urban and 2068 suburban. The prevalence of wheeze, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis and atopic eczema in the past 12 months was 3.1% (61/1992), 5.3% (106/1992), 1.1% (22/1992) among urban children while 1.3% (27/2068), 3.1% (65/2068), 1.0% (22/2068) among suburban children respectively. The prevalence of wheeze and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis of the past 12 months in urban were both significantly higher than that in suburban (χ(2) = 14.77, 11.93, P children (5.3% (105/1992), 29.4% (586/1992)) were significantly (χ(2) = 39.03, 147.22, P interior decoration had different influence on the prevalence of asthma and related allergies among school children in the two areas. The significant impact of passive smoking on having asthma ever among suburban children was observed (OR = 2.70, 95%CI = 1.17 - 6.23) while no significant result in urban (OR = 1.06, 95%CI = 0.71 - 1.58); the percentage of interior decoration was 84.0% (1673/1992) among urban children and 80.0% (1655/2068) among suburban children, there was significant impact of interior decoration on the prevalence of having eczema ever among urban children (OR = 1.57, 95%CI = 1.17 - 2.10) but no significant results were found in suburban sample (OR = 1.06, 95%CI = 0.76 - 1.48). The prevalence of asthma and related allergies among school children is much higher in urban areas than that in suburban areas and the indoor environmental factors such as passive smoking and interior decoration may differently explain the

Comparison of Urban and Suburban Rail Transport in Germany and in the Czech Republic

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seidenglanz Daniel

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Rail transport is an environmentally friendly form of passenger transport which can be utilized effectively also in urban and suburban transport systems. The paper describes the urban and suburban rail transport system including comparison of selected Czech (Prague, Brno and Ostrava and German metropolitan regions (Munich, Nuremberg and Dresden. Its aim is to analyze the importance of various factors influencing the differences between the situation in Germany and in the Czech Republic. Therefore, the research question is whether these differences are primarily caused by a different liberalization stage, or whether they are a result of other factors such as available infrastructure, investment level, rail transport services budget, structure and activity of ordering bodies and coordinators or geographical context. The supply of city and suburban rail transport is quite good in Germany and in the Czech Republic, although trains in Munich, Nuremberg and Dresden run more frequently, faster and are better interconnected with car transport. German rail transport sector is at a higher stage of liberalization, and tendering procedures are the preferred selection method for contractor carriers. However, a degree of liberalization of the railway sector is not the key marker indicating a better standard of urban and suburban rail transport in Germany because it is the high standard which is achieved as the consequence of the professional activity of the ordering bodies and train service coordinators in combination with geographical conditions, available financial sources and effective transport infrastructure. On the other hand, the importance of liberalization cannot be totally overlooked as tenders are a tool for the ordering bodies to strongly affect the price and quality of transport services in their area. The supply of better quality and attractive transport to passengers could increase the usage of rail transport in metropolitan regions and could

Distribution and urban-suburban differences in ground-level ozone and its precursors over Shenyang, China

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Ningwei; Ren, Wanhui; Li, Xiaolan; Ma, Xiaogang; Zhang, Yunhai; Li, Bingkun

2018-03-01

Hourly mixing ratio data of ground-level ozone and its main precursors at ambient air quality monitoring sites in Shenyang during 2013-2015 were used to survey spatiotemporal variations in ozone. Then, the transport of ozone and its precursors among urban, suburban, and rural sites was examined. The correlations between ozone and some key meteorological factors were also investigated. Ozone and O x mixing ratios in Shenyang were higher during warm seasons and lower during cold ones, while ozone precursors followed the opposite cycle. Ozone mixing ratios reached maximum and minimum values in the afternoon and morning, respectively, reflecting the significant influence of photochemical production during daytime and depletion via titration during nighttime. Compared to those in downtown Shenyang, ozone mixing ratios were higher and the occurrence of peak values were later in suburban and rural areas downwind of the prevailing wind. The differences were most significant in summer, when the ozone mixing ratios at one suburban downwind site reached a maximum value of 35.6 ppb higher than those at the downtown site. This suggests that photochemical production processes were significant during the transport of ozone precursors, particularly in warm seasons with sufficient sunlight. Temperature, total radiation, and wind speed all displayed positive correlations with ozone concentration, reflecting their important role in accelerating ozone formation. Generally, the correlations between ozone and meteorological factors were slightly stronger at suburban sites than in urban areas, indicating that ozone levels in suburban areas were more sensitive to these meteorological factors.

Effects of Air Pollution on Hospital Emergency Room Visits for Respiratory Diseases: Urban-Suburban Differences in Eastern China

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peng Liu

2016-03-01

Full Text Available A study on the relationships between ambient air pollutants (PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 and hospital emergency room visits (ERVs for respiratory diseases from 2013 to 2014 was performed in both urban and suburban areas of Jinan, a heavily air-polluted city in Eastern China. This research was analyzed using generalized additive models (GAM with Poisson regression, which controls for long-time trends, the “day of the week” effect and meteorological parameters. An increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 corresponded to a 1.4% (95% confidence interval (CI: 0.7%, 2.1%, 1.2% (95% CI: 0.5%, 1.9%, and 2.5% (95%: 0.8%, 4.2% growth in ERVs for the urban population, respectively, and a 1.5% (95%: 0.4%, 2.6%, 0.8% (95%: −0.7%, 2.3%, and 3.1% (95%: 0.5%, 5.7% rise in ERVs for the suburban population, respectively. It was found that females were more susceptible than males to air pollution in the urban area when the analysis was stratified by gender, and the reverse result was seen in the suburban area. Our results suggest that the increase in ERVs for respiratory illnesses is linked to the levels of air pollutants in Jinan, and there may be some urban-suburban discrepancies in health outcomes from air pollutant exposure.

Examining community and consumer food environments for children: An urban-suburban-rural comparison in Southwestern Ontario.

Science.gov (United States)

DuBreck, Catherine M; Sadler, Richard C; Arku, Godwin; Gilliland, Jason A

2018-05-08

The aim of this study is to evaluate how retail food environments for children in the City of London and Middlesex County, Ontario, Canada, vary according to level of urbanicity and level of socioeconomic distress. Urbanicity in this study is defined as a neighbourhood's designation as urban, suburban, or rural. We assessed community food environments (e.g., the type, location, and accessibility of food outlets) using 800m and 1600m network buffers (school zones) around all public and private elementary schools, and we calculated and compared density of junk food opportunities (JFO) (e.g., fast food and full-service restaurants, grocery stores, and convenience stores) within each school zone in urban, suburban and rural settings. The study also assessed consumer food environments (e.g., the price, promotion, placement, and availability of healthy options and nutrition information) through restaurant children's menu audits using the Children's Menu Assessment tool. Results suggest JFO density is greater around elementary schools in areas with higher levels of socioeconomic distress and urbanicity, while urbanicity is also associated with greater use of branded marketing and inclusion of an unhealthy dessert on children's menus. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Intestinal helminths of feral cat populations from urban and suburban districts of Qatar.

Science.gov (United States)

Abu-Madi, Marawan A; Behnke, Jerzy M; Prabhaker, K S; Al-Ibrahim, Roda; Lewis, John W

2010-03-25

A survey of the helminths of 658 adult cats from feral urban and suburban populations in Qatar was conducted across all months in 2006 and 2007. Six species of helminths were identified, comprising two cestodes (Taenia taeniaeformis [73.6%] and Diplopylidium acanthotetra [47.1%]) and four nematodes (Ancylostoma tubaeforme [14.7%], Physaloptera praeputialis [5.2%], Toxocara cati [0.8%] and Toxascaris leonina [0.2%]), and 83% of cats were infected with at least one of these. The average number of species harboured was 1.4 and the average worm burden was 55.8 worms/cat. The vast majority of worms (97.6%) were cestodes, nematodes being relatively rare. Prevalence and abundance of infections were analyzed, taking into consideration four factors: year (2006 and 2007), site (urban and suburban), season (winter and summer) and sex of the host. Analyses revealed marked year effects, female host bias in some species and interactions involving combination of factors, but especially sex and season of the year. The results indicate that whilst the majority of adult feral cats in Qatar carry helminth infections, infections are variable between years and subject to annual changes that may reflect climatic and other environmental changes in the rapidly developing city of Doha and its suburban surroundings. Only two species have the potential to infect humans and both were rare among the sampled cats (A. tubaeforme and T. cati).

Characteristics of surface ozone and nitrogen oxides at urban, suburban and rural sites in Ningbo, China

Science.gov (United States)

Tong, Lei; Zhang, Huiling; Yu, Jie; He, Mengmeng; Xu, Nengbin; Zhang, Jingjing; Qian, Feizhong; Feng, Jiayong; Xiao, Hang

2017-05-01

Surface ozone (O3) is a harmful air pollutant that has attracted growing concern in China. In this study, the mixing ratios of O3 and nitrogen oxides (NOx) at three different sites (urban, suburban and rural) of Ningbo were continuously measured to investigate the spatiotemporal characteristics of O3 and its relationships with environmental variables. The diurnal O3 variations were characterized by afternoon maxima (38.7-53.1 ppb on annual average) and early morning minima (11.7-26.2 ppb) at all the three sites. Two seasonal peaks of O3 were observed in spring (April or May) and autumn (October) with minima being observed in winter (December). NOx levels showed generally opposite variations to that of O3 with diurnal and seasonal maxima occurring in morning/evening rush-hours and in winter, respectively. As to the inter-annual variations of air pollutants, generally decreasing and increasing trends were observed in NO and O3 levels, respectively, from 2012 to 2015 at both urban and suburban sites. O3 levels were positively correlated with temperature but negatively correlated with relative humidity and NOx levels. Significant differences in O3 levels were observed for different wind speeds and wind directions (p variation, higher levels of O3 were observed at the suburban and rural sites where less O3 was depleted by NO titration. In contrast, the urban site exhibited lower O3 but higher NOx levels due to the influence of traffic emissions. Larger amplitudes of diurnal and monthly O3 variations were observed at the suburban site than those at the urban and rural sites. In general, the O3 levels at the non-urban sites were more affected by the background transport, while both the local and regional contributions played roles in urban O3 variations. The annual average O3 mixing ratios (22.7-37.7 ppb) in Ningbo were generally similar to those of other regions around the world. However, the recommended air quality standards for O3 were often exceeded during warm

A comparative study of health risk of potentially toxic metals in urban and suburban road dust in the most populated city of China

Science.gov (United States)

Shi, Guitao; Chen, Zhenlou; Bi, Chunjuan; Wang, Li; Teng, Jiyan; Li, Yuansheng; Xu, Shiyuan

2011-01-01

Urban and suburban road dust samples were collected in the most populated city of China, Shanghai. Size fractions of dust particles were analyzed; metal levels of the dust were also measured. Human exposure to individual toxic metals through road dust was assessed for both children and adults. The results showed that dust particles from urban and suburban road were presented similar size distribution pattern, with most particles in the range of 100-400 μm. Urban road dust consisted of higher proportions of inhalable, thoracic and respirable particles with increased risk of adverse effects to human. In general, mean grain sizes of urban road dust were smaller than suburban dust. Total organic carbon contents and levels of Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr in urban dust were higher than those of suburban dust. But the concentrations of As and Hg from suburban dust were higher, indicting a different main source. The exposure pathway which resulted in the highest level of risk for human exposed to road dust was ingestion of this material, which was followed by dermal contact. Except for some locations, risk values of both cancer and non-cancer obtained in this study were in the receivable range on the whole. Children had greater health risks than adults. The overall risks of non-cancer in urban area were higher than those in suburban area, but the values of cancer in the two areas were comparable. As for the aggregate noncarcinogenic risk, Pb was of most concern regarding the potential occurrence of health impacts. Of the three carcinogenic metals As, Cr and Cd, the only mean risk higher than 10 -6 was Cr, accounting for a great percentage (95%) of the overall risk of cancer. Hence, potentially adverse health effects arising from Pb and Cr in road dust should arouse wide concern.

Differences in adolescents' physical activity from school-travel between urban and suburban neighbourhoods in Metro Vancouver, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Frazer, Amanda; Voss, Christine; Winters, Meghan; Naylor, Patti-Jean; Higgins, Joan Wharf; McKay, Heather

2015-01-01

To investigate differences in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) from school-travel between adolescents in urban and suburban neighbourhoods and to describe its relative contribution to MVPA on school days. We measured 243 adolescents (51% male, grades 8-10) from Vancouver's walkable downtown core and its largely car-dependent suburb Surrey (fall 2011, 2013). We estimated mean school-travel MVPA from accelerometry (hour before/after school on ≥ 2 days; n = 110, 39% male) and compared school-travel MVPA by neighbourhood type and school-travel mode. The influence of mean school-travel MVPA on mean school-day MVPA (≥ 600 min valid wear time on ≥ 2 days) was examined by linear regression. Over half of students used active modes (urban: 63%, suburban: 53%). Those using active travel and living in the urban neighbourhood obtained the most school-travel MVPA (22.3 ± 8.0 min). Urban passive travellers used public transit and obtained more school-travel MVPA than suburban students (16.9 ± 6.2 vs. 8.0 ± 5.3, p travel MVPA (R (2) = 0.38, p travel MVPA in adolescents. School-travel MVPA is an important contributor to adolescents' school-day MVPA. Where feasible, physically active options for school-travel should be promoted, including public transit.

Effects of Optometry School Recruitment Efforts on Urban and Suburban High School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Graham, Andrew D.; Shepard, Jodi; Orleans, Elizabeth; Chae, Eunmi; Ng-Sarver, Joy

1999-01-01

In two Oakland (California) high schools, one urban and one suburban, an audiovisual presentation designed to enhance student interest in optometry as a career was given. Results of the presentation, measured by a questionnaire, suggest that few high school students are considering pursuing an optometry doctoral degree, but an on-site presentation…

Metal contamination in urban, suburban, and country park soils of Hong Kong: A study based on GIS and multivariate statistics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, Celine Siu-lan; Li Xiangdong; Shi Wenzhong; Cheung, Sharon Ching-nga; Thornton, Iain

2006-01-01

The urban environment quality is of vital importance as the majority of people now live in cities. Due to the continuous urbanisation and industrialisation in many parts of the world, metals are continuously emitted into the terrestrial environment and pose a great threat on human health. An extensive survey was conducted in the highly urbanised and commercialised Hong Kong Island area (80.3 km 2 ) of Hong Kong using a systematic sampling strategy of five soil samples per km 2 in urban areas and two samples per km 2 in the suburban and country park sites (0-15 cm). The analytical results indicated that the surface soils in urban and suburban areas are enriched with metals, such as Cu, Pb, and Zn. The Pb concentration in the urban soils was found to exceed the Dutch target value. The statistical analyses using principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis (CA) showed distinctly different associations among trace metals and the major elements (Al, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn) in the urban, suburban, and country park soils. Soil pollution maps of trace metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the surface soils were produced based on geographical information system (GIS) technology. The hot-spot areas of metal contamination were mainly concentrated in the northern and western parts of Hong Kong Island, and closely related to high traffic conditions. The Pb isotopic composition of the urban, suburban, and country park soils showed that vehicular emissions were the major anthropogenic sources for Pb. The 206 Pb/ 207 Pb and 208 Pb/ 207 Pb ratios in soils decreased as Pb concentrations increased in a polynomial line (degree = 2)

Landscape, vegetation characteristics, and group identity in an urban and suburban watershed: why the 60s matter

Science.gov (United States)

Christopher G. Boone; Mary L. Cadenasso; J. Morgan Grove; Kirsten Schwarz; Geoffrey L. Buckley

2010-01-01

As highly managed ecosystems, urban areas should reflect the social characteristics of their managers, who are primarily residents. Since landscape features develop over time, we hypothesize that present-day vegetation should also reflect social characteristics of past residents. Using an urban-to-suburban watershed in the Baltimore Metropolitan Region, this paper...

[Survey on pinworm infection and egg contamination among urban, suburban and rural pupils in Shangqiu City].

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Jin-Huan; Wang, Chenl; Xu, Ying; Man, Na; Cui, Yue; Yang, Xia; Cui, Yan-Mei

2012-12-30

Seven hundred and ninety-eight preschool children and grade one pupils from three schools in the city of Shangqiu were sampled randomly in urban, suburban and rural areas. The transparent tape method was used to examine the infection of pinworm and the contamination of pinworm eggs on the environments. The average infection rate of pinworm was 9.9% (79/798). The prevalence of pinworm infection among the pupils of urban(4.6%) was statistically lower than those of suburban (11.2%) and rural (13.8%) (P pinworm eggs from armor, fingers, bedclothes, briefs,and stationery in infected pupils are 23.8% (5/21), 18.0% (9/50), 15.8% (3/19), 12.9% (4/31) and 5.0% (2/40), respectively, which showed no statistical significance (P > 0.05).

Variability in carbon dioxide fluxes for dense urban, suburban and woodland environments in southern England

Science.gov (United States)

Ward, Helen; Kotthaus, Simone; Grimmond, C. Sue; Bjorkegren, Alex; Wilkinson, Matt; Morrison, Will; Evans, Jon; Morison, James; Christen, Andreas

2014-05-01

The net exchange of carbon dioxide between the surface and atmosphere can be measured using the eddy covariance technique. Fluxes from a dense urban environment (central London), a suburban landscape (Swindon) and a woodland ecosystem (Alice Holt) are compared. All sites are located in southern England and experience similar climatic and meteorological conditions, yet have very different land cover. The signatures of anthropogenic and biogenic processes are explored at various (daily, seasonal and annual) timescales. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying the mixture of controls that determine the flux. In summer, there are clear similarities between the suburban and woodland sites, as the diurnal behaviour is dominated by photosynthetic uptake. In winter, however, vegetation is largely dormant and human activity determines the pattern of fluxes at the urban and suburban sites. Emissions from building heating augment the net release of carbon dioxide in cold months. Road use is a major contributor to the total emissions, and the diurnal cycle in the observed fluxes reflects this: in central London roads are busy throughout the day, whereas in Swindon a double-peaked rush-hour signal is evident. The net exchange of carbon dioxide is estimated for each site and set in context with other studies around the world. Central London has the smallest proportion of vegetation and largest emissions amongst study sites in the literature to date. Although Swindon's appreciable vegetation fraction helps to offset the anthropogenic emissions, even in summertime the 24h total flux is usually positive, indicating carbon release. Comparison of these three sites in a similar region demonstrates the effects of increasing urban density and changing land use on the atmosphere. Findings are relevant in terms of characterising the behaviour of urban surfaces and for quantifying the impact of anthropogenic activities.

Intergroup Relations in Integrated Schools: A Glimpse inside Interdistrict Magnet Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Bifulco, Robert; Buerger, Christian; Cobb, Casey

2012-01-01

The frequency and quality of intergroup contact within racially and ethnically diverse schools has potentially important implications for the achievement of desegregation goals. The analyses presented here use survey data to assess intergroup contact within a sample of ten interdistrict magnet schools in Connecticut. Findings indicate frequent…

Youth access to indoor tanning salons in urban versus rural/suburban communities.

Science.gov (United States)

Nahar, Vinayak K; Rosenthal, Meagen; Lemon, Stephenie C; Kane, Kevin; Cheng, Jie; Oleski, Jessica L; Li, Wenjun; Hillhouse, Joel J; Pagoto, Sherry L

2018-03-01

Research suggests that youth proximity to tanning salons may promote use; however, little is known about tanning salon proximity to schools. We assessed the proximity of tanning salons to schools in urban versus rural/suburban communities across Worcester County, Massachusetts (population > 800K). To put findings in context, we compared school proximity to tanning salons to school proximity to McDonald's restaurants, a large franchise that also caters to young people. Accessibility was measured by ArcGIS 10.2 Network Analyzer (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA) and the most current road network data layer from Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). A total of 145 schools were observed in the study area, of which about 39% of schools were within 1 mile from a tanning salon. Urban schools (53.41%) had a higher proportion within 1 mile of a tanning salon than rural/suburban schools (17.54%; P < .001). More schools (39.31%) were within 1 mile of a tanning salon than schools within 1 mile of a McDonald's (22.70%; P < .001). Schools may be particularly impactful for implementing skin cancer prevention programing. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Analysis and Comparison of 24 GHz cmWave Radio Propagation in Urban and Suburban Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rodriguez, Ignacio; Portela Lopes de Almeida, Erika; Abreu, Renato

2016-01-01

This paper presents a measurement-based comparison of cm-wave propagation in urban and suburban scenarios at 24 GHz with transmitter antennas located above rooftop level. Different sets of directional measurements, exploring the full azimuth and the range from -30 to +30 degrees in elevation, were...

A social choice-based methodology for treated wastewater reuse in urban and suburban areas.

Science.gov (United States)

Mahjouri, Najmeh; Pourmand, Ehsan

2017-07-01

Reusing treated wastewater for supplying water demands such as landscape and agricultural irrigation in urban and suburban areas has become a major water supply approach especially in regions struggling with water shortage. Due to limited available treated wastewater to satisfy all water demands, conflicts may arise in allocating treated wastewater to water users. Since there is usually more than one decision maker and more than one criterion to measure the impact of each water allocation scenario, effective tools are needed to combine individual preferences to reach a collective decision. In this paper, a new social choice (SC) method, which can consider some indifference thresholds for decision makers, is proposed for evaluating and ranking treated wastewater and urban runoff allocation scenarios to water users in urban and suburban areas. Some SC methods, namely plurality voting, Borda count, pairwise comparisons, Hare system, dictatorship, and approval voting, are applied for comparing and evaluating the results. Different scenarios are proposed for allocating treated wastewater and urban runoff to landscape irrigation, agricultural lands as well as artificial recharge of aquifer in the Tehran metropolitan Area, Iran. The main stakeholders rank the proposed scenarios based on their utilities using two different approaches. The proposed method suggests ranking of the scenarios based on the stakeholders' utilities and considering the scores they assigned to each scenario. Comparing the results of the proposed method with those of six different SC methods shows that the obtained ranks are mostly in compliance with the social welfare.

Diversities of phthalate esters in suburban agricultural soils and wasteland soil appeared with urbanization in China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kong Shaofei; Ji Yaqin; Liu Lingling; Chen Li; Zhao Xueyan; Wang Jiajun; Bai Zhipeng; Sun Zengrong

2012-01-01

The distribution of six priority phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in suburban farmland, vegetable, orchard and wasteland soils of Tianjin were obtained with gas chromatography-mass spectrometer analysis in 2009. Results showed that total PAEs varied from 0.05 to 10.4 μg g −1 , with the median value as 0.32 μg g −1 . Di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and di-n-butyl phthalate are most abundant species. PAEs concentrations for the four types of soils exhibited decreasing order as vegetable soil > wasteland soil > farmland soil > orchard soil. PAEs exhibited elevated levels in more developed regions when compared with other studies. The agricultural plastic film could elevate the PAEs contents in soils. Principal component analysis indicated the emission from cosmetics and personal care products and plasticizers were important sources for PAEs in suburban soils in Tianjin. The higher PAEs contents in wasteland soils from suburban area should be paid more attention owing to large amounts of solid wastes appeared with the ongoing urbanization. - Highlights: ► PAEs levels in four types of soils in suburban area of Tianjin were studied. ► Vegetable soil and wasteland soil exhibited higher PAEs concentrations. ► PAEs in wasteland soils from suburban area of cities in China should be paid attention. - (1) Vegetable soil and wasteland soil exhibited higher PAEs concentrations; (2) PAEs in wasteland soils from suburban area of cities in China should be paid attention.

A Comparison of Urban, Suburban, and Rural Principal Leadership Skills by Campus Student Achievement Level

Science.gov (United States)

Erwin, Susan; Winn, Pam; Erwin, John

2011-01-01

Because of the importance of developing highly skilled school leaders, statewide assessments of 784 Texas public school administrators were compared in a causal-comparison study to determine how leadership skills varied by type of campus (urban, suburban and rural) and by campus student achievement ratings. Data were collected from a 2006-2008…

Comparison of Race-Gender, Urban-Suburban Criminal Justice College Students Satisfaction of the Police Department

Science.gov (United States)

Verga, Christopher; Murillo, Leo; Toulon, Errol D.; Morote, Elsa-Sofia; Perry, S. Marshall

2016-01-01

This quantitative study explored criminal justice college students' satisfaction with the police. 176 college students in Suffolk County, Long Island and New York City participated in a survey. The study examined the extent to which satisfaction with the local police department differs by location (urban and suburban), gender (female and male),…

Standing Strong: Maloney Interdistrict Magnet School Japanese Language and Culture Program

Science.gov (United States)

Haxhi, Jessica; Yamashita-Iverson, Kazumi

2009-01-01

Maloney Interdistrict Magnet School (MIMS) is the only elementary school in Waterbury that has a world language program and is one of only two elementary Japanese programs in Connecticut. In the past 15 years, more than 1500 students have participated in its Japanese Language and Culture (JLC) Program in grades Prekindergarten through 5th. The JLC…

Indoor/outdoor relationships, sources and cancer risk assessment of NPAHs and OPAHs in PM2.5 at urban and suburban hotels in Jinan, China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yanyan; Yang, Lingxiao; Chen, Xiangfeng; Jiang, Pan; Gao, Ying; Zhang, Junmei; Yu, Hao; Wang, Wenxing

2018-06-01

Paired indoor and outdoor measurements of 16 NPAHs and 5 OPAHs in PM2.5 were conducted at urban and suburban sites during January 2016 in Jinan, China. The concentrations of both indoor and outdoor NPAHs and OPAHs were higher at the urban site compared with the suburban site. 9N-ANT (16-42%), 2+3N-FLA (15-51%), 2N-PYR (6-20%), and 1N-PYR (4-6%) were the dominant NPAHs at all sites, and 9-FO (61-81%) was the most abundant OPAHs. Solid fuel combustion, motor vehicle exhausts, and secondary generation were the main sources of the PAH derivatives in this study area. The I/O ratios of 90% of NPAHs and OPAHs at the first urban indoor site (abbreviated as URI1, Green Tree Inn) and the suburban indoor site (abbreviated as SUI, the Seven Star Hotel) were Hotel), the I/O ratios of 2- and 3-ring NPAHs and OPAHs were >1.00, which was likely due to cooking activities occurring near the measurement site. Measurements of outdoor 2+3N-FLA/1N-PYR revealed mainly primary emission at the urban site and secondary sources at the suburban site, the average ratios were 3.76 and 12.22, respectively. The average ratio of 2+3N-FLA/2N-PYR at all sites was 3.3, indicating that the OH-initiated reaction was the dominant secondary formation pathway. Nighttime ratios of 2+3N-FLA/1N-PYR were significantly higher than the daytime ratios at all sites. The difference was especially pronounced during heavily polluted conditions at the suburban site, which suggests that heavy pollution and nighttime conditions promote secondary production. Additionally, the cancer risk was highest in urban outdoor (abbreviated as URO) when the population expose to the level as the outdoor air in the urban. The risk suggested that adults may be at a higher cancer risk.

Description of Anomalous Noise Events for Reliable Dynamic Traffic Noise Mapping in Real-Life Urban and Suburban Soundscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Francesc Alías

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Traffic noise is one of the main pollutants in urban and suburban areas. European authorities have driven several initiatives to study, prevent and reduce the effects of exposure of population to traffic. Recent technological advances have allowed the dynamic computation of noise levels by means of Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASN such as that developed within the European LIFE DYNAMAP project. Those WASN should be capable of detecting and discarding non-desired sound sources from road traffic noise, denoted as anomalous noise events (ANE, in order to generate reliable noise level maps. Due to the local, occasional and diverse nature of ANE, some works have opted to artificially build ANE databases at the cost of misrepresentation. This work presents the production and analysis of a real-life environmental audio database in two urban and suburban areas specifically conceived for anomalous noise events’ collection. A total of 9 h 8 min of labelled audio data is obtained differentiating among road traffic noise, background city noise and ANE. After delimiting their boundaries manually, the acoustic salience of the ANE samples is automatically computed as a contextual signal-to-noise ratio (SNR. The analysis of the real-life environmental database shows high diversity of ANEs in terms of occurrences, durations and SNRs, as well as confirming both the expected differences between the urban and suburban soundscapes in terms of occurrences and SNRs, and the rare nature of ANE.

Landscape scale assessment of ecosystem goods and services and the extent, location, and magnitude of urban-suburban expansion

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Human development adjoining coastal cities is the prevalent force changing the Anthropocene landscape. The extent, location, and magnitude of urban-suburban expansion can drastically modify how important features of ecosystems are effected. These effects are best summarized usin...

COST Action TU1206 "SUB-URBAN - A European network to improve understanding and use of the ground beneath our cities"

Science.gov (United States)

Campbell, Diarmad; de Beer, Johannes; Lawrence, David; van der Meulen, Michiel; Mielby, Susie; Hay, David; Scanlon, Ray; Campenhout, Ignace; Taugs, Renate; Eriksson, Ingelov

2014-05-01

Sustainable urbanisation is the focus of SUB-URBAN, a European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action TU1206 - A European network to improve understanding and use of the ground beneath our cities. This aims to transform relationships between experts who develop urban subsurface geoscience knowledge - principally national Geological Survey Organisations (GSOs), and those who can most benefit from it - urban decision makers, planners, practitioners and the wider research community. Under COST's Transport and Urban Development Domain, SUB-URBAN has established a network of GSOs and other researchers in over 20 countries, to draw together and evaluate collective urban geoscience research in 3D/4D characterisation, prediction and visualisation. Knowledge exchange between researchers and City-partners within 'SUB-URBAN' is already facilitating new city-scale subsurface projects, and is developing a tool-box of good-practice guidance, decision-support tools, and cost-effective methodologies that are appropriate to local needs and circumstances. These are intended to act as catalysts in the transformation of relationships between geoscientists and urban decision-makers more generally. As a result, the importance of the urban sub-surface in the sustainable development of our cities will be better appreciated, and the conflicting demands currently placed on it will be acknowledged, and resolved appropriately. Existing city-scale 3D/4D model exemplars are being developed by partners in the UK (Glasgow, London), Germany (Hamburg) and France (Paris). These draw on extensive ground investigation (10s-100s of thousands of boreholes) and other data. Model linkage enables prediction of groundwater, heat, SuDS, and engineering properties. Combined subsurface and above-ground (CityGML, BIMs) models are in preparation. These models will provide valuable tools for more holistic urban planning; identifying subsurface opportunities and saving costs by reducing uncertainty in

Seasonal variation of Ganoderma spore concentrations in urban and suburban districts of the city of Szczecin, Poland.

Science.gov (United States)

Grinn-Gofroń, Agnieszka; Strzelczak, Agnieszka; Przestrzelska, Katarzyna

2015-01-01

According to recent studies, Ganoderma may be the third genus, after Alternaria and Cladosporium, the spores of which cause symptoms of allergy, and concentration is related to meteorological factors. The aerobiology of Ganoderma spores in Szczecin in urban and suburban districts was examined using Lanzoni Volumetric Spore Traps in 2008-2010. Ganoderma spores were present in the atmosphere on more than 90% of the days from June through September with peak concentrations in June, July and September. The number of days with spores was lower in the suburban district, while the total number of spores collected was higher there than in the urban district. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed weak relationships between Ganoderma and meteorological conditions, while testing the significance of differences between the districts showed that urban development did not have a clear impact on the values of meteorological parameters. A significantly higher abundance of spores in the suburbs of Szczecin seemed to be conditioned by the closeness of potential area sources. This study indicates that a single measuring site in the city centre insufficiently reflected the dynamics and level of Ganoderma spore concentration in peripheral districts.

Opportunities for making ends meet and upward mobility: differences in organizational deprivation across urban and suburban poor neighborhoods.

Science.gov (United States)

Murphy, Alexandra K; Wallace, Danielle

2010-01-01

Objectives. Given the recent rise of poverty in U.S. suburbs, this study asks: What poor neighborhoods are most disadvantageous, those in the city or those in the suburbs? Building on recent urban sociological work demonstrating the importance of neighborhood organizations for the poor, we are concerned with one aspect of disadvantage—the lack of availability of organizational resources oriented toward the poor. By breaking down organizations into those that promote mobility versus those that help individuals meet their daily subsistence needs, we seek to explore potential variations in the type of disadvantage that may exist.Methods. We test whether poor urban or suburban neighborhoods are more likely to be organizationally deprived by breaking down organizations into three types: hardship organizations, educational organizations, and employment organizations. We use data from the 2000 U.S. County Business Patterns and the 2000 U.S. Census and test neighborhood deprivation using logistic regression models.Results. We find that suburban poor neighborhoods are more likely to be organizationally deprived than are urban poor neighborhoods, especially with respect to organizations that promote upward mobility. Interesting racial and ethnic composition factors shape this more general finding.Conclusion. Our findings suggest that if a poor individual is to live in a poor neighborhood, with respect to access to organizational resources, he or she would be better off living in the central city. Suburban residence engenders isolation from organizations that will help meet one's daily needs and even more so from those offering opportunities for mobility.

The Unseen Digital Divide: Urban, Suburban, and Rural Teacher Use and Perceptions of Web-Based Classroom Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Kormos, Erik M.

2018-01-01

This quantitative study investigated the differences in perceptions and attitudes toward technology integration of K-12 public school teachers in rural, suburban, and urban environments. The purpose was to examine the relationship between frequency of use and perception of effectiveness of web-based learning tools based upon the type of school…

Effect of residential development on stream phosphorus dynamics in headwater suburbanizing watersheds of southern Ontario, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Duval, Tim P

2018-10-01

Suburban landscapes are known to have degraded water quality relative to natural settings, including increased total phosphorus (TP) levels; however, the effect of subdivision construction activities on stream TP dynamics are less understood. This study measured TP and its constituents particulate, dissolved organic, and dissolved inorganic phosphorus (PP, DOP, and DIP, respectively) in two headwater streams of contrasting urbanization activity to examine whether the land-use conversion process itself contributed to TP concentrations and export. The nested watershed undergoing significant active residential community construction contained large areas of cleared former agricultural field and associated sediment mounds with elevated soil TP (~1000 mg kg -1 ), and twice as many stormwater management (SWM) ponds than the watershed with completed suburban communities. Daily stream sampling for six months revealed limited differences in TP between urbanized and urbanizing watersheds regardless of season or stream flow condition; however, the forms of TP varied significantly. The proportion of TP as DOP was consistently higher in the urbanizing stream relative to the urban stream, which was in line with significant decreases in DOP concentration as proportion of cleared former agricultural land decreased and density of SWM ponds increased. The DOP, and to a lesser extent DIP and PP, dynamics resulted in a 2.5× greater areal export of TP from a small watershed actively being suburbanized during the study period compared to the larger watershed with greater land urbanized 3-5 years ago. The results of this study suggest stream TP concentrations are relatively unresponsive to active versus established suburban cover, but the forms of TP can be quite different, and the period of home construction can increase phosphorus (P) delivery to and export through nearby streams. This information can aid land managers and urban planners update best management practices to

Lead concentration distribution and source tracing of urban/suburban aquatic sediments in two typical famous tourist cities: Haikou and Sanya, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Dong, Zhicheng; Bao, Zhengyu; Wu, Guoai; Fu, Yangrong; Yang, Yi

2010-11-01

The content and spatial distribution of lead in the aquatic systems in two Chinese tropical cities in Hainan province (Haikou and Sanyan) show an unequal distribution of lead between the urban and the suburban areas. The lead content is significantly higher (72.3 mg/kg) in the urban area than the suburbs (15.0 mg/kg) in Haikou, but quite equal in Sanya (41.6 and 43.9 mg/kg). The frequency distribution histograms suggest that the lead in Haikou and in Sanya derives from different natural and/or anthropogenic sources. The isotopic compositions indicate that urban sediment lead in Haikou originates mainly from anthropogenic sources (automobile exhaust, atmospheric deposition, etc.) which contribute much more than the natural sources, while natural lead (basalt and sea sands) is still dominant in the suburban areas in Haikou. In Sanya, the primary source is natural (soils and sea sands).

Storms, channel changes, and a sediment budget for an urban-suburban stream, Difficult Run, Virginia, USA

Science.gov (United States)

Gellis, Allen C.; Myers, Michael; Noe, Gregory; Hupp, Cliff R.; Shenk, Edward; Myers, Luke

2017-01-01

Determining erosion and deposition rates in urban-suburban settings and how these processes are affected by large storms is important to understanding geomorphic processes in these landscapes. Sediment yields in the suburban and urban Upper Difficult Run are among the highest ever recorded in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, ranging from 161 to 376 Mg/km2/y. Erosion and deposition of streambanks, channel bed, and bars and deposition of floodplains were monitored between 1 March 2010 and 18 January 2013 in Upper Difficult Run, Virginia, USA. We documented the effects of two large storms, Tropical Storm Lee (September 2011), a 100-year event, and Super Storm Sandy (October 2012) a 5-year event, on channel erosion and deposition. Variability in erosion and deposition rates for all geomorphic features, temporally and spatially, are important conclusions of this study. Tropical Storm Lee was an erosive event, where erosion occurred on 82% of all streambanks and where 88% of streambanks that were aggrading before Tropical Storm Lee became erosional. Statistical analysis indicated that drainage area explains linear changes (cm/y) in eroding streambanks and that channel top width explains cross-sectional area changes (cm2/y) in eroding streambanks and floodplain deposition (mm/y). A quasi-sediment budget constructed for the study period using the streambanks, channel bed, channel bars, and floodplain measurements underestimated the measured suspended-sediment load by 61% (2130 Mg/y). Underestimation of the sediment load may be caused by measurement errors and to contributions from upland sediment sources, which were not measured but estimated at 36% of the gross input of sediment. Eroding streambanks contributed 42% of the gross input of sediment and accounted for 70% of the measured suspended-sediment load. Similar to other urban watersheds, the large percentage of impervious area in Difficult Run and direct runoff of precipitation leads to increased streamflow and

Why and How Do Parents Decide to Send Their Children to the Interdistrict School Choice Program at the Magnet Program for Math and Science

Science.gov (United States)

Doyle, Kevin S.

The New Jersey Interdistrict School Choice Program allows parents to send their students to schools outside of their local school district. Determining why parents send their students to choice schools is important to school leaders who are trying to attract new students, as well as those who are trying to retain their current students. This study examined the reasons why parents decided to send their students to the Magnet Program for Math and Science (MP4M&S), a school choice program in a suburban school district in northwest New Jersey, during the 2015- 2016 school year. A large volume of research has focused on school choice programs in urban and poor communities. This study addressed the gap in the research by focusing on an affluent suburban school district. This mixed methods study focused on three areas, why parents choose to send their students to the MP4M&S, what criteria they used to make their decision, and where they got their information. Research shows that these three areas of focus can be influenced by parental level of education, socioeconomic status, geographic location, academic rigor, school quality, and school environment. Parents from different groups, based upon their out-of-district status, were interviewed. The information from the interviews was used to focus a survey that was given to the families of all 137 students in the MP4M&S during the 2015-2016 school year. The results of this study show that parents found the academic focus, academic rigor, the school environment, the original research project, the activity offerings, and the economics involved in attending the program to be important attractors. The study also found that the Information Nights, the school website, and interactions with members of the MP4M&S community to be important sources of information. Finally, the study found that there were few differences between in and out-of-district parents when assigning importance to both the attractors and the sources in the study

School Climate and Academic Achievement in Suburban Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Sulak, Tracey N.

2016-01-01

School climate research has indicated a relationship between the climate of a school and academic achievement. The majority of explanatory models have been developed in urban schools with less attention given to suburban schools. Due to the process of formation of suburban schools, there is a likelihood these campuses differ from the traditional…

Examples of landscape indicators for assessing environmental conditions and problems in urban and suburban areas

Science.gov (United States)

Martin-Duque, J. F.; Godfrey, A.; Diez, A.; Cleaves, E.; Pedraza, J.; Sanz, M.A.; Carrasco, R.M.; Bodoque, J.; Brebbia, C.A.; Martin-Duque, J.F.; Wadhwa, L.C.

2002-01-01

Geo-indicators can help to assess environmental conditions in city urban and suburban areas. Those indicators should be meaningful for understanding environmental changes. From examples of Spanish and American cities, geo-indicators for assessing environmental conditions and changes in urban and suburban areas are proposed. The paper explore two types of geo-indicators. The first type presents general information that can be used to indicate the presence of a broad array of geologic conditions, either favouring or limiting various kinds of uses of the land. The second type of geo-indicator is the one most commonly used, and as a group most easily understood; these are site and problem specific and they are generally used after a problem is identified. Among them, watershed processes, seismicity and physiographic diversity are explained in more detail. A second dimension that is considered when discussing geo-indicators is the issue of scale. Broad scale investigations, covering extensive areas are only efficient at cataloguing general conditions common to much of the area or some outstanding feature within the area. This type of information is best used for policy type decisions. Detailed scale investigations can provide information about local conditions, but are not efficient at cataloguing vast areas. Information gathered at the detailed level is necessary for project design and construction.

Pseudo natural colour aerial imagery for urban and suburban mapping

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Knudsen, Thomas

2005-01-01

Due to their near-infrared data channel, digital airborne four-channel imagers provide a potentially good discrimination between vegetation and human-made materials, which is very useful in automated mapping. Due to their red, green and blue data channels, they also provide natural colour images......, which are very useful in traditional (manual) mapping. In this paper, an algorithm is described which provides an approximation to the spectral capabilities of the four-channel imagers by using a colour-infrared aerial photo as input. The algorithm is tailored to urban/suburban surroundings, where...... the quality of the generated (pseudo) natural colour images are fully acceptable for manual mapping. This brings the combined availability of near-infrared and (pseudo) natural colours within reach for mapping projects based on traditional photogrammetry, which is valuable since traditional analytical cameras...

Russian Specifics of Dacha Suburbanization Process: Case Study of the Moscow Region

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aleksandr Valer’evich Rusanov

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Topical issues related to the planning of urban agglomerations development include registration and analysis of changes in suburban areas in the process of socio-economic development. It is manifest, among other things, in urbanization, which in relation to larger cities is replaced by suburbanization. Suburbanization process has been developing to the greatest extent in North America and Western Europe. Scientific research confirms that the majority of large urban agglomerations are in the stage of suburbanization. The pace of suburbanization in the world is different – the authorities of individual countries, regions or cities often take measures to limit or simplify it: they reconstruct central cities, set limits to the construction in peripheral areas, etc. In Russia, the process of suburbanization started to develop rapidly only after the socio-economic transformation of the 1990s that led to the emergence of the free market of housing and land. The aim of the present work is to determine the specifics of suburbanization in Russia on the example of the Moscow Region. Suburbanization in Russia is mainly seasonal; therefore, the paper examines suburbanization specific for Russia and related to the distribution of population and its economic activities in the organized summer house settlements in suburban areas, i.e. in dachas. A kind of this activity popular in Russia is gardening and vegetable and fruit farming in the settlements located on specially designated lands. The paper examines the factors determining suburbanization in the Moscow Region, and demonstrates the influence of these factors taking two key areas as examples. Scientific novelty of the work consists in the fact that it clarifies the content of suburbanization factors as applied to the Moscow Region; in addition, it considers the development of dacha-related suburbanization, highlights its characteristics on the example of the Moscow Region, examines current distribution

Dental caries and the associated factors influencing it in tribal, suburban and urban school children of Tamil Nadu, India: a cross sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J. Baby John

2015-03-01

Full Text Available Background. The study was planned to assess the prevalence of dental caries among tribal, suburban and urban children of Tiruchengode and Erode of Tamil Nadu state, India. The objective of the study was to assess the association of dental caries with family background, dental service availability, transportation and knowledge on preventive dental measures among these three groups. Design and methods. Cross-sectional study. A total of 1028 school children in the age range of 9-12 years from various government schools located in Palamalai and Kolli Hills (tribal, Tiruchengode (suburban and Erode (urban, Tamil Nadu, were included in the study. Decayed, filled, and missing teeth (DMFT, decayed and filled teeth (dft and Significant Caries Index were recorded. A specially prepared questionnaire was used to record all the data regarding oral hygiene practices, socioeconomic background, dental treatment availability, parent’s education level were used for the study. ANOVA t-test and post hoc test were used for comparing quantitative variables between the 3 subgroups. Results. The tribal school children had 89.3% caries prevalence, where as it was 77% in suburban and 55% in urban school children. The mean DMFT score among tribal, suburban and urban school children were statistically significant different (P=0.001 between the three groups. There was a highly significant difference (P=0.001 in the mean DMFT score based on brushing frequency. There was a statistically significant difference (P=0.018 in the mean DMFT scores in the urban group based on the mothers education status. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean DMFT scores based on the presence or absence of television in their house and the parents’ income. Conclusions. Oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and access to dental care services played an important role in prevalence of dental caries. It was observed that the socioeconomic status, parents’ educational

Participation in Ohio's Interdistrict Open Enrollment Option: An Investigation of the Supply-Side of Choice.

Science.gov (United States)

Fowler, Frances C.

People inspired by rational-choice theory are advocating choice policies. Their recommendations are based on implicit assumptions about how school leaders would respond to a choice system. This survey research study investigated the demographic characteristics of open and closed districts during Ohio's first year of full interdistrict open…

Change Detection Analysis in Urban and Suburban Areas Using Landsat Thematic Mapper data: Case of Huntsville, Alabama

Science.gov (United States)

Kuan, Dana; Fahsi, A.; Steinfeld S.; Coleman, T.

1998-01-01

Two Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) images, from July 1984 and July 1992, were used to identify land use/cover changes in the urban and suburban fringe of the city of Huntsville, Alabama. Image difference was the technique used to quantify the change between the two dates. The eight-year period showed a 16% change, mainly from agricultural lands to urban areas generated by the settlement of industrial, commercial, and residential areas. Visual analysis of the change map (i.e., difference image) supported this phenomenon by showing that most changes were occurring in the vicinity of the major roads and highways across the city.

Social and economic behavior shift in the suburban society

Science.gov (United States)

Harianto, S.; Imron, A.; Setiawan, K. G.; Sadewo, F. X. S.

2018-01-01

One of the changes in the suburban area is marked by changes in land conversion, from agriculture pattern to non-farming pattern, which also affects changes in people’s livelihoods and occupation such as a craftsman and shoe trader. Using a qualitative approach, this study focuses to examine how changes in social and economic behavior of suburban communities as a result of urban development. This study founded that there was a change of livelihood in village people occupation from farmers to craftsmen and slippers traders. These changes have an impact on changing patterns of social relationships such as social interaction, social awareness, and social solidarity. In addition, the increase in income of village residents also impact on lifestyle changes such as diet and entertainment. Thus it can be concluded that urban development has an impact on suburban societies in social relations and income generation. The results of this study can be used as a reference for the city government and district governments in arranging the layout and build prosperity of the community suburban.

Seasonal variation of [i]Ganoderma[/i] spore concentrations in urban and suburban districts of the city of Szczecin, Poland

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Agnieszka Grinn-Gofroń

2015-02-01

Full Text Available According to recent studies,[i] Ganoderma[/i] may be the third genus, after [i]Alternaria[/i] and [i]Cladosporium[/i], the spores of which cause symptoms of allergy, and concentration is related to meteorological factors. The aerobiology of [i]Ganoderma[/i] spores in Szczecin in urban and suburban districts was examined using Lanzoni Volumetric Spore Traps in 2008–2010. [i]Ganoderma[/i] spores were present in the atmosphere on more than 90% of the days from June through September with peak concentrations in June, July and September. The number of days with spores was lower in the suburban district, while the total number of spores collected was higher there than in the urban district. Correlation and multiple regression analyses revealed weak relationships between [i]Ganoderma[/i] and meteorological conditions, while testing the significance of differences between the districts showed that urban development did not have a clear impact on the values of meteorological parameters. A significantly higher abundance of spores in the suburbs of Szczecin seemed to be conditioned by the closeness of potential area sources. This study indicates that a single measuring site in the city centre insufficiently reflected the dynamics and level of [i]Ganoderma[/i] spore concentration in peripheral districts.

The Effects of Maternal Employment on the Attitudes, Work Expectations, and Self-Esteem of Urban and Suburban Middle School Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Kinelski, Kristin; Markowitz, Jessie; Chambliss, Catherine

This study investigated the effects of maternal employment on beliefs and attitudes of suburban and urban middle school students in addition to their comparative levels of self-esteem. A 5-part survey, including demographic information, beliefs about consequences of maternal employment of children; information about the mother's work status;…

Stream Phosphorus Dynamics Along a Suburbanizing Gradient in Southern Ontario, Canada

Science.gov (United States)

Duval, T. P.

2017-12-01

While it is well known that urban streams are subject to impaired water quality relative to natural analogues, far less research has been directed at stream water quality during the process of (sub-) urbanization. This study determines the role of housing construction activities in Brampton, Canada on the concentration and flux of phosphorus (P) of a headwater stream. Prior to development the stream was engineered with a riffle-pool sequence, riparian plantings, and a floodplain corridor that was lined with sediment fencing. Stream sites were sampled daily over a period of six months at locations representing varying stages of subdivision completion (upper site -active construction; middle site -finished construction and natural vegetation; lower site -finished construction and active construction). A nearby urban stream site developed ten years prior to this study was selected as a reference site. There were no differences in total phosphorus (TP) levels or flux between the suburbanizing and urban streams; however, the forms of P differed between sites. The urban stream TP load was dominated by particulate phosphorus (PP) while suburbanizing stream P was mainly in the dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) form. The importance of DOP to TP flux increased with the onset of the growing season. TP levels in all stream segments frequently exceeded provincial water quality guidelines during storm events but were generally low during baseflow conditions. During storm events PP and total suspended solid levels in the suburbanizing stream reached levels of the urban stream due to sediment fence failure at several locations along the construction-hillslope interface. Along the suburbanizing gradient, the hydrological connection to a mid-reach zone of no-construction activity / fallow field and native forest resulted in significantly lower P levels than the upper suburbanizing stream site. This suggests that stream channel design features as well as timing of construction

Study of urban space / urban life in the suburb

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melgaard, Bente

This abstract outlines a section of the methods, which I use in my PhD study, to investigate urban space and urban life in suburban areas in Denmark. I will touch upon the overall methodological considerations in the project, and then go deeper into a specific section: the architectural analysis...... of a public suburban space. I use anthropological fieldwork to explore the space and place of everyday suburban life in a Danish suburb. I combine two disciplines – architecture and anthropology, to find layers that have commonality, and in this abstract, I focus on the projects architectural analysis......, in form of a pilot case study. The pilot case study involves to elements, an architectural analysis and an urban life registration of a suburban urban space in ‘Søndermarken’ in Vejle. The object is to study the physical frames and look at how these frames shape the use and patterns of movement...

Dental caries and the associated factors influencing it in tribal, suburban and urban school children of Tamil Nadu, India: a cross sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

John, J Baby; Asokan, Sharath; Aswanth, K P; Priya, P R Geetha; Shanmugaavel, A K

2015-02-20

The study was planned to assess the prevalence of dental caries among tribal, suburban and urban children of Tiruchengode and Erode of Tamil Nadu state, India. The objective of the study was to assess the association of dental caries with family background, dental service availability, transportation and knowledge on preventive dental measures among these three groups. Cross-sectional study. A total of 1028 school children in the age range of 9-12 years from various government schools located in Palamalai and Kolli Hills (tribal), Tiruchengode (suburban) and Erode (urban), Tamil Nadu, were included in the study. Decayed, filled, and missing teeth (DMFT), decayed and filled teeth (dft) and Significant Caries Index were recorded. A specially prepared questionnaire was used to record all the data regarding oral hygiene practices, socioeconomic background, dental treatment availability, parent's education level were used for the study. ANOVA t-test and post hoc test were used for comparing quantitative variables between the 3 subgroups. The tribal school children had 89.3% caries prevalence, where as it was 77% in suburban and 55% in urban school children. The mean DMFT score among tribal, suburban and urban school children were statistically significant different (P=0.001) between the three groups. There was a highly significant difference (P=0.001) in the mean DMFT score based on brushing frequency. There was a statistically significant difference (P=0.018) in the mean DMFT scores in the urban group based on the mothers education status. There were no statistically significant differences in the mean DMFT scores based on the presence or absence of television in their house and the parents' income. Oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and access to dental care services played an important role in prevalence of dental caries. It was observed that the socioeconomic status, parents' educational status and mass media influenced the oral health of these children but

The Housing Pattern and Entrepreneurship in Polish Suburban Landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Martyniuk-Peczek, Justyna; Peczek, Grzegorz; Martyniuk, Olga

2017-10-01

Housing stimulates the development of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) in the suburbs. The multidisciplinary research in fields of urban planning and economics, carried out by the Authors, confirms this trend. The purpose of this paper is to present the multidisciplinary results of the research on the determinants of SME localization in the suburban areas of Gdansk, Gdynia and Sopot (the Metropolitan Area Gdansk-Gdynia-Sopot - MAGGS). Many of researchers attach great significance to the term of urban sprawl. Most authors agree that this phenomenon is multidimensional. It also varies in the global perspective. The conducted research showed that urban sprawl in Poland had a positive impact on the development of entrepreneurship, leading to a situation when the SME location quotient (LQ) in some suburban areas is higher, in comparison to the core city itself. The communities characterized by an LQ significantly higher than in the core city have been identified by Authors as ‘entrepreneurship nests’. To identify the research problem, a two-pronged research in the fields of urban and architectural design as well as economics was adopted. The charter of suburban landscape was determined by site analysis and through a study of the architectural form. The results confirmed that more than 80% of the parcels, which encompass economic activity, also exhibit a residential function. Our study confirms that urban sprawl, with its characteristic housing patterns, stimulates business activity in the suburbs. According to our results, this phenomenon is not only determined by financial factors, but also results from social and spatial reasons.

A study of feral pigeon Columba livia var. in urban and suburban areas in the city of Jena, Germany

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferman, L. M.

2010-06-01

Full Text Available A population of feral pigeons, Columba livia var. was conducted in the city of Jena, Germany, from July to December 2007. Daily censuses were conducted by walking ten transects in a selected area of the city, five transects in built up areas and five in the suburbs. Pigeon population density was higher in urban areas than in suburbs but differences were not significant. Main behavioural activities recorded were resting, preening, flying, eating, sunning and roosting. Regular locations of activities were rooftops and roof edges in urban areas, and rooftops, eaves on balconies in suburban areas. The plumage phenotype most frequently recorded in both areas was Blue bar.

Landscape Architecture in Contemporary Danish Suburban Development

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Roden, Tina Maria

2013-01-01

to evaluate and re-think the both loved and criticised suburbia and its incompatibility in relation to the current environmental and climate prospects, these projects suggest that a landscape orientated approach to (sub)urban development can provide more adaptive and flexible frameworks to meet...

The effect of urban design parameters on the local microclimate

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kakoniti, Androula; Georgiou, Gregoria; Neophytou, Marina [Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Cyprus, 1678 Nicosia (Cyprus); Marakkos, Konstantinos [Department of Aerospace Engineering, University of Manchester, M60 1QD, Manchester (United Kingdom)

2015-01-22

Two-dimensional steady-state simulations have been performed using the standard k-e turbulence model coupled with the heat transfer models available in the CFD software FLUENT 6.1, in order to examine the impact of radiation on the Urban Heat Island phenomenon. Specifically, the impact of radiation in three typical urban areas of Cyprus during the summer period is examined. The first geometry considered represents a typical suburban area and is termed as the reference geometry. The second geometry represents an area at the centre of a town with higher buildings and relatively narrower roads. The third geometry, on the other hand, describes a suburban area with wider roads and larger houses than the reference model. Computed values for air temperature in the urban street canyon have indicated that the increase in temperature associated with radiative heat transfer can be reduced by optimising the canyon geometry and, ultimately, help to mitigate the human thermal discomfort. The present study has also revealed that the selection of construction materials can be optimised to offer further reductions in the air temperature of the urban environment. It can be concluded that the combined effect of these remedies can lead to reductions in the energy consumption for building air-conditioning over the summer period.

Water-soluble components in PM10 aerosols over an urban and a suburban site in the city of Sfax (Tunisia)

OpenAIRE

AZRI, C.; MABROUK, C.; ABIDA, H.; MEDHIOUB, K.

2010-01-01

This study examines the influence of source and meteorological factors on the physico-chemical characteristics of atmospheric aerosols collected at two sampling sites, urban and suburban, in the city of Sfax (Tunisia) during the year of 2004. Atmospheric aerosols were further analyzed for their chemical composition and spatio-temporal evolution was investigated. Based on particle content distribution, the species studied were classified into distinct groups with different content and temporal...

A microcomputer-based model for identifying urban and suburban roadways with critical large truck accident rates

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Brogan, J.D.; Cashwell, J.W.

1992-01-01

This paper presents an overview of techniques for merging highway accident record and roadway inventory files and employing the combined data set to identify spots or sections on highway facilities in urban and suburban areas with unusually high large truck accident rates. A statistical technique, the rate/quality control method, is used to calculate a critical rate for each location of interest. This critical rate may then be compared to the location's actual accident rate to identify locations for further study. Model enhancements and modifications are described to enable the technique to be employed in the evaluation of routing alternatives for the transport of radioactive material

Ecoreconstruction of city space of Volgograd basing on suburbanization principles of city territories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Potapov Aleksandr Dmitrievich

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The nature is subject to severe antropogenous impacts and dramatically changes its quality. Urban development is a process of environmental intervention, a process of its artificial change in such a speed, which doesn’t correspons to the speed of biospheric evolutions and natural selection. By improving our life quality, a human destroys the usual interrelation of living organisms with natural environment. The concepts of urban development and suburbanization of territories existing nowadays have their advantages and disadvantages from ecological point of view. The paper considers the reasons and major problems of ecological reconstruction of the urban space. Preconditions of the integrated ecological approach to the town evolution are shown in the work, as well as some generalizing conclusions concerning security assurance of the environment of the city of Volgograd. The priority trend for the urban areas suburbanization is presented.

The Use of Energy Storage Systems for Supporting the Voltage Needs of Urban and Suburban Railway Contact Lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Enrico Pagano

2013-03-01

Full Text Available The paper aims to contribute to the use of electric double layer capacitor (EDLC sets for boosting voltages of contact lines in urban and suburban railway traction systems. Different electrical configurations of contact lines are considered and investigated. For each of them, proper mathematical models are suggested to evaluate the electrical performances of the contact lines. They give rise, also, to sample design procedures for the sizing of the most appropriate energy storage systems, to be distributed along the lines, for boosting line voltages and avoiding undesired voltage drops. A numerical example based on the “Cumana” suburban Naples railway network is presented to give an idea of the weights and sizes of electric double layer capacitors needed to boost the voltage of a sample contact line. In particular, three different EDLC systems, for a overall installed energy of 9.6 kWh, have been placed nearby the stations presenting the highest voltage drops during the most representative situation of trains’ service. The new voltage drop is equal to 32% of that obtained in absence of EDLCs.

The Use of Energy Storage Systems for Supporting the Voltage Needs of Urban and Suburban Railway Contact Lines

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Iannuzzi, Diago [University of Federico II, Naples (Italy). Electrical Engineering Department; Pagano, Enrico [University of Federico II, Naples (Italy). Electrical Engineering Department; Tricoli, Pietro [University of Birmingham (United Kingdom). School of Electronic, Electrical and Computer Engineering

2013-04-15

The paper aims to contribute to the use of electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) sets for boosting voltages of contact lines in urban and suburban railway traction systems. Different electrical configurations of contact lines are considered and investigated. For each of them, proper mathematical models are suggested to evaluate the electrical performances of the contact lines. They give rise, also, to sample design procedures for the sizing of the most appropriate energy storage systems, to be distributed along the lines, for boosting line voltages and avoiding undesired voltage drops. A numerical example based on the “Cumana” suburban Naples railway network is presented to give an idea of the weights and sizes of electric double layer capacitors needed to boost the voltage of a sample contact line. In particular, three different EDLC systems, for a overall installed energy of 9.6 kWh, have been placed nearby the stations presenting the highest voltage drops during the most representative situation of trains’ service. The new voltage drop is equal to 32% of that obtained in absence of EDLCs.

Suburban Development - in Search of the Language of the Suburbs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melgaard, Bente

Several Danish suburbs are facing major challenges that endeavour to cope with (among other factors) counteracting the segregation of suburbs into socially sharply separated residential areas. Therefore, these years see the post-war era’s suburban areas being revitalized and urban life, urban qua...... up the discussion and the cultural mind- set related to the development of the Danish suburb....

Importance of latrine communication in European rabbits shifts along a rural-to-urban gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziege, Madlen; Bierbach, David; Bischoff, Svenja; Brandt, Anna-Lena; Brix, Mareike; Greshake, Bastian; Merker, Stefan; Wenninger, Sandra; Wronski, Torsten; Plath, Martin

2016-06-14

Information transfer in mammalian communication networks is often based on the deposition of excreta in latrines. Depending on the intended receiver(s), latrines are either formed at territorial boundaries (between-group communication) or in core areas of home ranges (within-group communication). The relative importance of both types of marking behavior should depend, amongst other factors, on population densities and social group sizes, which tend to differ between urban and rural wildlife populations. Our study is the first to assess (direct and indirect) anthropogenic influences on mammalian latrine-based communication networks along a rural-to-urban gradient in European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) living in urban, suburban and rural areas in and around Frankfurt am Main (Germany). The proportion of latrines located in close proximity to the burrow was higher at rural study sites compared to urban and suburban ones. At rural sites, we found the largest latrines and highest latrine densities close to the burrow, suggesting that core marking prevailed. By contrast, latrine dimensions and densities increased with increasing distance from the burrow in urban and suburban populations, suggesting a higher importance of peripheral marking. Increased population densities, but smaller social group sizes in urban rabbit populations may lead to an increased importance of between-group communication and thus, favor peripheral over core marking. Our study provides novel insights into the manifold ways by which man-made habitat alterations along a rural-to-urban gradient directly and indirectly affect wildlife populations, including latrine-based communication networks.

The agriburb: recalling the suburban side of Ontario, California's agricultural colonization.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandul, Paul J P

2010-01-01

This essay spotlights the development of Ontario, California, in the last decades of the nineteenth century. It demonstrates that many agricultural communities in California, particularly so-called agricultural colonies, represent a unique rural suburban type labeled here as "agriburbs." Agriburbs, such as Ontario, were communities consciously planned, developed, and promoted based on the drive for profit in emerging agricultural markets. Advertised as the perfect mix of rural and urban, they promised a superior middle-class lifestyle. On the one hand, agriburbs evoked the myths of agrarian security and virtue, a life on a farm in an environment that was good for both soil and soul. On the other hand, agriburbs were ideally urbane but not urban because of their many amenities that represented cultural symbols of modernity, refinement, and progress. An understanding of California's agriburbs deepens an appreciation for both the growth and development of California at the turn of the twentieth century and the diversity of suburban types across the American landscape.

A method for evaluating transport energy consumption in suburban areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marique, Anne-Françoise; Reiter, Sigrid

2012-01-01

Urban sprawl is a major issue for sustainable development. It represents a significant contribution to energy consumption of a territory especially due to transportation requirements. However, transport energy consumption is rarely taken into account when the sustainability of suburban structures is studied. In this context, the paper presents a method to estimate transport energy consumption in residential suburban areas. The study aimed, on this basis, at highlighting the most efficient strategies needed to promote awareness and to give practical hints on how to reduce transport energy consumption linked to urban sprawl in existing and future suburban neighborhoods. The method uses data collected by using empirical surveys and GIS. An application of this method is presented concerning the comparison of four suburban districts located in Belgium to demonstrate the advantages of the approach. The influence of several parameters, such as distance to work places and services, use of public transport and performance of the vehicles, are then discussed to allow a range of different development situations to be explored. The results of the case studies highlight that traveled distances, and thus a good mix between activities at the living area scale, are of primordial importance for the energy performance, whereas means of transport used is only of little impact. Improving the performance of the vehicles and favoring home-work give also significant energy savings. The method can be used when planning new areas or retrofitting existing ones, as well as promoting more sustainable lifestyles regarding transport habits. - Highlights: ► The method allows to assess transport energy consumption in suburban areas and highlight the best strategies to reduce it. ► Home-to-work travels represent the most important part of calculated transport energy consumption. ► Energy savings can be achieved by reducing distances to travel through a good mix between activities at the

PM 10-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons: Concentrations, source characterization and estimating their risk in urban, suburban and rural areas in Kandy, Sri Lanka

Science.gov (United States)

Wickramasinghe, A. P.; Karunaratne, D. G. G. P.; Sivakanesan, R.

2011-05-01

Kandy, a world heritage city, is a rapidly urbanized area in Sri Lanka, with a high population density of ˜6000 hab km -2. As it is centrally located in a small valley of 26 km 2 surrounded by high mountains, emissions from the daily flow of >100,000 vehicles, most are old and poorly maintained, get stagnant over the study area with an increased emphasis on the associated health impacts. Particulate matter (PM) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are considered to be major pollutants in vehicular emissions; while PAHs account for the majority of mutagenic potency of PM. The purpose of the current study is to determine the 8 h average concentrations of ambient PM 10 PAHs at twenty sites distributed in the urban, suburban and rural Kandy. Samples on glass micro fibre filters were collected with a high volume air sampler from July/2008 to March/2009, prepared through standard procedures and analyzed for PAHs by high performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet visible detection. Further, the type and strength of possible anthropogenic emission sources that cause major perturbations to the atmosphere were assessed by traffic volume (24 h) counts and firewood mass burnt/d at each sampling site, with the subsequent societal impact through quantitative cancer risk assessment. The results can serve as a base set to assess the PAH sources, pollution levels and human exposure. Mean total concentrations of 16 prioritized PAHs (∑PAHs) ranged from 57.43 to 1246.12 ng m -3 with 695.94 ng m -3 in urban heavy traffic locations (U/HT), 105.55 ng m -3 in urban light traffic locations, 337.45 ng m -3 in suburban heavy traffic stations, 154.36 ng m -3 in suburban light traffic stations, 192.48 ng m -3 in rural high firewood burning area and 100.31 ng m -3 in rural low firewood burning area. The mean PM 10 concentration was 129 μg m -3 (55-221 μg m -3); which is beyond the WHO air quality standards. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon signature and the spatial variation

Urban and rural land use in Puerto Rico

Science.gov (United States)

Sebastian Martinuzzi; William A. Gould; Olga M. Ramos Gonzalez; Maya Quinones; Michael E. Jimenez

2008-01-01

We have developed three land use regions for Puerto Rico: Urban, Suburban, and Rural (Gould et al. 2008; Martinuzzi et al. 2007). These three regions can also be considered urban, densely-populated rural, and sparsely-populated rural or as urban and wildland with a wildland-urban interface. The suburban use is the most dynamic in terms of population growth and land...

Parameter Estimation and Sensitivity Analysis of an Urban Surface Energy Balance Parameterization at a Tropical Suburban Site

Science.gov (United States)

Harshan, S.; Roth, M.; Velasco, E.

2014-12-01

Forecasting of the urban weather and climate is of great importance as our cities become more populated and considering the combined effects of global warming and local land use changes which make urban inhabitants more vulnerable to e.g. heat waves and flash floods. In meso/global scale models, urban parameterization schemes are used to represent the urban effects. However, these schemes require a large set of input parameters related to urban morphological and thermal properties. Obtaining all these parameters through direct measurements are usually not feasible. A number of studies have reported on parameter estimation and sensitivity analysis to adjust and determine the most influential parameters for land surface schemes in non-urban areas. Similar work for urban areas is scarce, in particular studies on urban parameterization schemes in tropical cities have so far not been reported. In order to address above issues, the town energy balance (TEB) urban parameterization scheme (part of the SURFEX land surface modeling system) was subjected to a sensitivity and optimization/parameter estimation experiment at a suburban site in, tropical Singapore. The sensitivity analysis was carried out as a screening test to identify the most sensitive or influential parameters. Thereafter, an optimization/parameter estimation experiment was performed to calibrate the input parameter. The sensitivity experiment was based on the "improved Sobol's global variance decomposition method" . The analysis showed that parameters related to road, roof and soil moisture have significant influence on the performance of the model. The optimization/parameter estimation experiment was performed using the AMALGM (a multi-algorithm genetically adaptive multi-objective method) evolutionary algorithm. The experiment showed a remarkable improvement compared to the simulations using the default parameter set. The calibrated parameters from this optimization experiment can be used for further model

Liberalizing rural-to-urban construction land transfers in China

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tan, Rong; Wang, Rongyu; Heerink, Nico

2018-01-01

China's land market is characterized by a dual urban-rural system, with the government in control of rural-urban land transfers. In recent years, different types of pilot projects have been implemented to experiment with liberalizing markets for rural-urban construction land transfers. The objective

Causes and consequences of ecosystem service regionalization in a coastal suburban watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Wollheim, Wilfred M.; Mark B. Green,; Pellerin, Brian A.; Morse, Nathaniel B.; Hopkinson, Charles S.

2015-01-01

The demand for ecosystem services and the ability of natural ecosystems to provide those services evolve over time as population, land use, and management practices change. Regionalization of ecosystem service activity, or the expansion of the area providing ecosystem services to a population, is a common response in densely populated coastal regions, with important consequences for watershed water and nitrogen (N) fluxes to the coastal zone. We link biophysical and historical information to explore the causes and consequences of change in ecosystem service activity—focusing on water provisioning and N regulation—from 1850 to 2010 in a coastal suburban watershed, the Ipswich River watershed in northeastern Massachusetts, USA. Net interbasin water transfers started in the late 1800s due to regionalization of water supply for use by larger populations living outside the Ipswich watershed boundaries, reaching a peak in the mid-1980s. Over much of the twentieth century, about 20 % of river runoff was diverted from reaching the estuary, with greater proportions during drought years. Ongoing regionalization of water supply has contributed to recent declines in diversions, influenced by socioecological feedbacks resulting from the river drying and fish kills. Similarly, the N budget has been greatly perturbed since the suburban era began in the 1950s due to food and lawn fertilizer imports and human waste release. However, natural ecosystems are able to remove most of this anthropogenic N, mitigating impacts on the coastal zone. We propose a conceptual model whereby the amount and type of ecosystem services provided by coastal watersheds in urban regions expand and contract over time as regional population expands and ecosystem services are regionalized. We hypothesize that suburban watersheds can be hotspots of ecosystem service sources because they retain sufficient ecosystem function to still produce services that meet increasing demand from the local population

Urbanization and Sub-urbanization Processes Over Time and Space

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obudho, R.A.

1999-01-01

Until recently, it was thought that Kenya would be an overwhelmingly rural country and that urbanization would not be a problem, because it was associated with modernization and industrialization. Both Government of Kenya (GoK) and international donor agencies fostered rural developmental and agricultural-based strategies without paying attention to rapid rates of urbanization. Today, the high rate of urbanization in Kenya has been added to the long list of potentially devastating development problems that must be addressed. The fundamental problem is that, the urban population is growing very fast while the economic growth and development transformations necessary to support it enhance the quality of urban life are not occurring as rapidly. The new planning strategy for Kenya is to move beyond isolated projects, that emphasize shelter and residential infrastructure towards integrated urban-wide effort that promote urban productivity and reduce constraints on efficiency

Is there a suburban sleeping sickness in Libreville? | Kohagne ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: The transmission of sleeping sickness occurs primarily in rural areas, and exposed populations are those living from rural activities such as agriculture, fishing, animal husbandry or hunting. However, urban and suburban foci are more and more reported in T. b. gambiense areas. In Libreville town, sleeping ...

Expansion Strategy of Agricultural Industrial Chain of Suburban Villages and Towns in the Process of Urbanization - A Case Study of Yongle Town in Nanming District of Guiyano City

OpenAIRE

Zhu, Li; Zhu, Jing

2011-01-01

On the basis of introducing the connotation of agricultural industrial chain, taking Yongle Town in Nanming District of Guiyang City as an example, this paper analyzes me advantages and constraint factors of the suburban villages and towns in the process of expanding agricultural industrial chain in the context of urbanization. Corresponding strategies of expanding the agricultural industrial chain of Yongle Town in the process of urbanization as follows, vigorously develop the leading enterp...

[Work-related stress and psychological distress assessment in urban and suburban public transportation companies].

Science.gov (United States)

Romeo, L; Lazzarini, G; Farisè, E; Quintarelli, E; Riolfi, A; Perbellini, L

2012-01-01

The risk of work-related stress has been determined in bus drivers and workers employed in the service department of two urban and suburban public transportation companies. The INAIL evaluation method (Check list and HSE indicator tool) was used. The GHQ-12 questionnaire, which is widely used to assess the level of psychological distress, was also employed. 81.9% of workers involved in the survey answered both the HSE indicator tool and the GHQ-12 questionnaire. The Check list evaluation showed an increase in quantifiable company stress indicators while close examination using the HSE indicator tool demonstrated critical situations for all the subscales, with the control subscales more problematic in bus drivers. The demand, manager's support, relationships and change subscales were most associated with psychological distress in bus drivers, while relationships, role, change and demand subscales were negatively related in workers of the service department.

Suburban poverty, public transit, economic opportunities, and social mobility : final report.

Science.gov (United States)

2015-12-30

Recent demographic trends suggest an increasing suburbanization of poor populations. Given that poor : households are often unable to afford increasing housing prices in many urban areas they are increasingly : moving to the suburbs. At the same time...

An Anomalous Noise Events Detector for Dynamic Road Traffic Noise Mapping in Real-Life Urban and Suburban Environments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Joan Claudi Socoró

2017-10-01

Full Text Available One of the main aspects affecting the quality of life of people living in urban and suburban areas is their continued exposure to high Road Traffic Noise (RTN levels. Until now, noise measurements in cities have been performed by professionals, recording data in certain locations to build a noise map afterwards. However, the deployment of Wireless Acoustic Sensor Networks (WASN has enabled automatic noise mapping in smart cities. In order to obtain a reliable picture of the RTN levels affecting citizens, Anomalous Noise Events (ANE unrelated to road traffic should be removed from the noise map computation. To this aim, this paper introduces an Anomalous Noise Event Detector (ANED designed to differentiate between RTN and ANE in real time within a predefined interval running on the distributed low-cost acoustic sensors of a WASN. The proposed ANED follows a two-class audio event detection and classification approach, instead of multi-class or one-class classification schemes, taking advantage of the collection of representative acoustic data in real-life environments. The experiments conducted within the DYNAMAP project, implemented on ARM-based acoustic sensors, show the feasibility of the proposal both in terms of computational cost and classification performance using standard Mel cepstral coefficients and Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM. The two-class GMM core classifier relatively improves the baseline universal GMM one-class classifier F1 measure by 18.7% and 31.8% for suburban and urban environments, respectively, within the 1-s integration interval. Nevertheless, according to the results, the classification performance of the current ANED implementation still has room for improvement.

Movement patterns of rural and suburban white-tailed deer in Massachusetts

Science.gov (United States)

Gaughan, C.R.; DeStefano, S.

2005-01-01

We used satellite land cover data and the program FRAGSTATS toquantify land cover types and calculate the amount of forest edge available in suburban and rural regions of northeastern and northwestern Massachusetts. Cover categories included forest cover, open canopy vegetation, and non-deer habitat. We calculated all edge segments where forest cover abutted open canopy cover. Our open canopy vegetation category was calculated both with and without low intensity suburban development. We then compared these findings to movement data from 53 (13 males, 40 females) adult radio-marked white-tailed deerOdocoileus virginianusmonitored biweekly and diurnally from January 2001 to January 2003. The range of movements of suburban deer in eastern Massachusetts showed no difference to that of suburban deer in western Massachusetts (P = 0.7). However, the ranges for suburban deer in both eastern and western Massachusetts were 10 times less than those of deer in rural western Massachusetts (P = 0.001).Our findings suggest that landscape configuration, as described by the amount and distribution of edge due to suburban development, which is related to the amount and distribution of resources such as food and cover, affects migratory behavior of white-tailed deer, allowsdeer to have smaller ranges, and contributes to high deer densities.Inclusion of suburban edge in habitat models will increase our understanding of deer-habitat relationships for management of deer in urbanizing environments. ?? 2005 Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Moving on Up: Urban to Suburban Translocation Experiences of High-Achieving Black American Students

Science.gov (United States)

Yu, Xiaoqi; Seeberg, Vilma; Malone, Larissa

2017-01-01

Minority suburbanization has been a fast growing demographic shift in the United States during the first decade of the 21st century. This article examines the tapestry of the suburbanization experience of a group of high-achieving Black American students and their families as told by them. Departing from the all too common, deficit orientation…

Optimization Model for Headway of a Suburban Bus Route

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaohong Jiang

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Due to relatively low passenger demand, headways of suburban bus route are usually longer than those of urban bus route. Actually it is also difficult to balance the benefits between passengers and operators, subject to the service standards from the government. Hence the headway of a suburban bus route is usually determined on the empirical experience of transport planners. To cope with this problem, this paper proposes an optimization model for designing the headways of suburban bus routes by minimizing the operating and user costs. The user costs take into account both the waiting time cost and the crowding cost. The feasibility and validity of the proposed model are shown by applying it to the Route 206 in Jiangning district, Nanjing city of China. Weightages of passengers’ cost and operating cost are further discussed, considering different passenger flows. It is found that the headway and objective function are affected by the weightages largely.

A method for evaluating transport energy consumption in suburban areas

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Marique, Anne-Francoise, E-mail: afmarique@ulg.ac.be; Reiter, Sigrid, E-mail: Sigrid.Reiter@ulg.ac.be

2012-02-15

Urban sprawl is a major issue for sustainable development. It represents a significant contribution to energy consumption of a territory especially due to transportation requirements. However, transport energy consumption is rarely taken into account when the sustainability of suburban structures is studied. In this context, the paper presents a method to estimate transport energy consumption in residential suburban areas. The study aimed, on this basis, at highlighting the most efficient strategies needed to promote awareness and to give practical hints on how to reduce transport energy consumption linked to urban sprawl in existing and future suburban neighborhoods. The method uses data collected by using empirical surveys and GIS. An application of this method is presented concerning the comparison of four suburban districts located in Belgium to demonstrate the advantages of the approach. The influence of several parameters, such as distance to work places and services, use of public transport and performance of the vehicles, are then discussed to allow a range of different development situations to be explored. The results of the case studies highlight that traveled distances, and thus a good mix between activities at the living area scale, are of primordial importance for the energy performance, whereas means of transport used is only of little impact. Improving the performance of the vehicles and favoring home-work give also significant energy savings. The method can be used when planning new areas or retrofitting existing ones, as well as promoting more sustainable lifestyles regarding transport habits. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The method allows to assess transport energy consumption in suburban areas and highlight the best strategies to reduce it. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Home-to-work travels represent the most important part of calculated transport energy consumption. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Energy savings can be achieved by

Mapping the Postcolonial across Urban and Suburban College Access Geographies

Science.gov (United States)

Dache-Gerbino, Amalia

2017-01-01

In US cities, a domino effect of concentrating poverty and suburbanizing wealth shapes discourses of local higher education access for residents of color. How the racialization of space mirrors colonial binaries of Good/Evil, Black/White and Civilized/Uncivilized is part and parcel to understanding city and county geographies surrounding college…

Suburban immigrants to wildlands disrupt honest signaling in ultra-violet plumage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Tringali

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Urbanization changes habitat in a multitude of ways, including altering food availability. Access to human-provided food can change the relationship between body condition and honest advertisements of fitness, which may result in changes to behavior, demography, and metapopulation dynamics. We compared plumage color, its relationship with body condition and feather growth, and use as signal of dominance between a suburban and a wildland population of Florida Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens. Although plumage color was not related to body condition at either site, suburban birds had plumage with a greater proportion of total reflectance in the ultra-violet (UV and peak reflectance at shorter wavelengths. Despite the use of plumage reflectance as a signal of dominance among individuals in the wildlands, we found no evidence of status signaling at the suburban site. However, birds emigrating from the suburban site to the wildland site tended to be more successful at acquiring breeder status but less successful at reproducing than were immigrants from an adjacent wildland site, suggesting that signaled and realized quality differ. These differences in signaling content among populations could have demographic effects at metapopulation scales and may represent an evolutionary trap whereby suburban immigrants are preferred as mates even though their reproductive success relative to effort is lower.

New cities in the Randstad, Netherlands. Urbanisation and suburbanity; Nieuwe steden in de Randstad. Verstedelijking en suburbaniteit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reijndorp, A.; Bijlsma, L.; Nio, I.; Van der Wouden, R.

2012-09-15

Forty years ago, policy for centres of growth was launched in the Netherlands. The Dutch spatial planning policy hence followed the example of the English New Towns and the French Villes Nouvelles, although the term 'new cities' was not adopted in policy. As of the late 1980s, the policy for centre of growth was gradually terminated. Since then, the attention for urbanity in the suburban regions has further decreased. The 'compact city' became the new central idea in spatial planning, and urbanity became a synonym of 'big city'. The former centres of growth had to set their course in a climate characterised by fading interest in them. However, the suburban regions are still an important component of the metropolitan regions. New types of urbanity arose, partly due to the choices made by local authorities, partly as a result of the composition of the population. This mostly yields insights on how you can make suburban regions more sustainable in the sense of resistant to changes. By enhancing the adjustability of urban development, restructuring operations may be avoided in the future. This report views the centres of growth in the perspective of spatial planning and the development of metropolitan regions. Not only does it give insight in one of the most productive periods in Dutch spatial planning; it also offers future perspectives of suburban Netherlands [Dutch] Veertig jaar geleden begon het groeikernenbeleid. De Nederlandse ruimtelijke ordening volgde daarmee het voorbeeld van de Engelse New Towns en de Franse Villes Nouvelles, al werd in het beleid niet het begrip 'nieuwe steden' overgenomen. Vanaf eind jaren tachtig van de vorige eeuw werd het groeikernenbeleid geleidelijk beëindigd. Sindsdien is de aandacht voor de stedelijkheid in de suburbane gebieden verder afgenomen. De 'compacte stad' werd het centrale begrip in de ruimtelijke ordening, en stedelijkheid werd synoniem met 'grote stad'. De voormalige groeikernen moesten hun koers bepalen in een klimaat

Nutrient fluxes from coastal California catchments with suburban development

Science.gov (United States)

Melack, J. M.; Leydecker, A.; Beighley, E.; Robinson, T.; Coombs, S.

2005-12-01

Numerous streams originate in the mountains fringing California's coast and transport nutrients into coastal waters. In central California, these streams traverse catchments with land covers including chaparral, grazed grasslands, orchards, industrial agriculture and suburban and urban development. Fluvial nutrient concentrations and fluxes vary as a function of these land covers and as a function of considerable fluctuations in rainfall. As part of a long-term investigation of mobilization and fluvial transport of nutrients in catchments bordering the Santa Barbara Channel we have intensively sampled nutrient concentrations and measured discharge during storm and base flows in multiple catchments and subcatchments. Volume-weighted mean concentrations of nitrate generally ranged from 5 to 25 micromolar in undeveloped areas, increased to about 100 micromolar for suburban and most agricultural catchments, and were in excess of 1000 micromolar in catchments with greenhouse-based agriculture. Phosphate concentrations ranged from 2 to 20 micromolar among the catchments. These data are used to examine the premise that the suburbanized portion of the catchments is the primary source of nutrients to the streams.

The Regulation and Improvement of Suburban Landless Peasants’ Community in the Charge of the Government

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinsong Zhang

2014-04-01

Full Text Available Suburban landless peasants’ communities are both the transfiguration in the passive urbanization and transformation in the leading of governments. The specificity of suburban landless peasants community-generated determines the specificity in governing. The deficiency of well governance mechanisms, the scarcity of citizen spirit, the low level of self-organization and the deficiency of social capital in suburban landless peasants’ community in the charge of the government bring about a serious of developing dilemma. The regulation and improvement of government should embark on reconstructive governance mechanisms, straighten out organizational system; Cultivating citizen spirit, promoting public participation; Remodeling social capital, tamping autonomy foundation.

Ag-to-urban water transfer in California: Win-win solutions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jacobi, L.A.; Carley, R.L.

1993-01-01

The current long-term drought in California has generated interest in water transfers. Water transfers from farms to the cities are widely viewed as the next major source of supply to urban California. Ag-to-Urban permanent water transfers may have negative consequences to the agricultural sector and to the environment. This paper presents agricultural water use statistics, discusses sources of water for transfer, and suggests sources of water for win-win transfers

Suburban fragmentation versus mobilities : is suburbanism opposed to urbanism ?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eric Charmes

2007-03-01

Full Text Available The suburban way of life is tending towards a rejection of tangible confrontation with otherness so that other people – should they be different – become politically invisible. This is at any rate what the critical literature surmises about the growing desire of suburbanites to live amongst their own and sometimes even behind the safe and reassuring walls of gated communities. However appealing this analysis might be, it seems nonetheless rather partial. Suburban populations are increasingly mobile and their everyday horizon is less and less reduced to the immediate perimeter of the neighbourhood. Indeed, how can one interpret the social specialization of residential areas as a sign of “enclavism” when all the statistics available indicate that mobility has become a constitutive factor of people’s way of life and the neighbourhood has all but lost its existential weight?Based on exploratory work, this paper aims to deconstruct the criticism articulated around the opposition of “suburbanism” and “urbanism” by emphasising the effects of the various forms of mobility and showing that they complement the proliferation of homogeneous neighbourhoods. In order to achieve this goal, the paper analyses the culture of people living at the periphery of two large French cities (Paris and Lyon. The arguments given are based both on the existing literature and on research the author carried out in France (Charmes, 2005.As a result of the analysis conducted, it becomes apparent that the increase in mobilities and the social homogenisation of neighbourhoods can be linked in other ways than the one suggested by the critical literature. On the one hand, contemporary residential areas are not as neutral and sterile as they appear to be. Relationships between neighbours and interactions with people from the surroundings constitute at least an embryonic experience of otherness. Residential areas can therefore be conceived as “transition spaces�

Ozone pollution and ozone biomonitoring in European cities. Part I: Ozone concentrations and cumulative exposure indices at urban and suburban sites

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Klumpp, A.; Ansel, W.; Klumpp, G.

2006-01-01

In the frame of a European research project on air quality in urban agglomerations, data on ozone concentrations from 23 automated urban and suburban monitoring stations in 11 cities from seven countries were analysed and evaluated. Daily and summer mean and maximum concentrations were computed...... based on hourly mean values, and cumulative ozone exposure indices (Accumulated exposure Over a Threshold of 40 ppb (AOT40), AOT20) were calculated. The diurnal profiles showed a characteristic pattern in most city centres, with minimum values in the early morning hours, a strong rise during the morning......, by contrast, maximum values were lower and diurnal variation was much smaller. Based on ozone concentrations as well as on cumulative exposure indices, a clear north-south gradient in ozone pollution, with increasing levels from northern and northwestern sites to central and southern European sites...

Particle characterization at rural, suburban and urban aerosol sampling sites in Hungary

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Borbely-Kiss, I.; Koltay, E.; Szabo, G.; Meszaros, E.; Molnar, A.; Bozo, L.

1994-01-01

The study of atmospheric aerosols originating from natural and anthropogenic processes is of basic importance for a detailed understanding of the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere. Particle Induced X-ray Emission (PIXE) technique has been used by the authors for studying regularly the elemental composition of rural, suburban, and urban aerosols collected at six sampling sites in Hungary. Observed data presented in terms of concentrations and regional signature values and evaluated wind sector partition and in transport modelling revealed the natural/anthropogenic contribution to the moderate air pollution here. Dry deposition velocities have been deduced for elements V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb. Model calculations based on annual emission data and observed elemental concentrations resulted in total dry and wet deposition masses of the above elements to the territory of the country. At the same time, deduced budget data for the emission and deposition of the constituents indicated whether the country represents a net source or a sink for the above mentioned elements in the regional aerosol transport between neighbouring countries. Evidences have been found for intrusion events of Saharan aerosol to the atmosphere of Hungary. Part of the data collected recently will be evaluated in the frame-work of an international co-ordinated research programme. (author)

Suburbanization and sustainability in metropolitan Moscow.

Science.gov (United States)

Mason, Robert J; Nigmatullina, Liliya

2011-01-01

Although Soviet-era urban-growth controls produced relatively sustainable metropolitan development patterns, low-density suburban sprawl has accelerated markedly in modern Russia. Distinctive features of Moscow's development history are its greenbelt, which dates from 1935 and is becoming increasingly fragmented, proliferation of satellite cities at the urban fringe, conversion of seasonal dachas into full-time residences, the very exclusive Rublevo Uspenskoe Highway development, and today's crippling traffic congestion. The recent economic crisis has slowed development and actually increased the supply of “economy-class” single-family homes, for which there is much pent-up desire but insufficient credit availability to meet the demand. A renewed commitment to sustainability's triple bottom line—environmental quality, equity, and economic prosperity—will require greater government transparency and fairness, stronger planning controls, and an expanded public transportation system.

New cities in the Randstad, Netherlands. Urbanisation and suburbanity; Nieuwe steden in de Randstad. Verstedelijking en suburbaniteit

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Reijndorp, A.; Bijlsma, L.; Nio, I.; Van der Wouden, R.

2012-09-15

Forty years ago, policy for centres of growth was launched in the Netherlands. The Dutch spatial planning policy hence followed the example of the English New Towns and the French Villes Nouvelles, although the term 'new cities' was not adopted in policy. As of the late 1980s, the policy for centre of growth was gradually terminated. Since then, the attention for urbanity in the suburban regions has further decreased. The 'compact city' became the new central idea in spatial planning, and urbanity became a synonym of 'big city'. The former centres of growth had to set their course in a climate characterised by fading interest in them. However, the suburban regions are still an important component of the metropolitan regions. New types of urbanity arose, partly due to the choices made by local authorities, partly as a result of the composition of the population. This mostly yields insights on how you can make suburban regions more sustainable in the sense of resistant to changes. By enhancing the adjustability of urban development, restructuring operations may be avoided in the future. This report views the centres of growth in the perspective of spatial planning and the development of metropolitan regions. Not only does it give insight in one of the most productive periods in Dutch spatial planning; it also offers future perspectives of suburban Netherlands [Dutch] Veertig jaar geleden begon het groeikernenbeleid. De Nederlandse ruimtelijke ordening volgde daarmee het voorbeeld van de Engelse New Towns en de Franse Villes Nouvelles, al werd in het beleid niet het begrip 'nieuwe steden' overgenomen. Vanaf eind jaren tachtig van de vorige eeuw werd het groeikernenbeleid geleidelijk beëindigd. Sindsdien is de aandacht voor de stedelijkheid in de suburbane gebieden verder afgenomen. De 'compacte stad' werd het centrale begrip in de ruimtelijke ordening, en stedelijkheid werd synoniem met 'grote stad'. De

Effects of urbanization on water quality variables along urban ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study focuses on water quality of permanent and temporary water bodies along the urban and suburban gradients of Chennai City, South India. Water samples were analyzed for their major elements and nutrients. The results indicated that the response of water quality variables was different when compared to urban ...

Measurement of volatile organic compounds in suburban Bangkok, Thailand: characteristics and influence from combustion related activities

Science.gov (United States)

Suthawaree, J.; Tajima, Y.; Kato, S.; Khunchornyakong, A.; Sharp, A.; Kajii, Y.

2009-12-01

Elucidation of air quality in the suburban area of Bangkok, Thailand is essential in order to achieve effective regulations and mitigation strategies. VOCs plays important role in formation of tropospheric urban ozone. Without overkill NO concentration, transport of O3 precursors into suburban area which add surplus to local O3 formation as well as direct transport of O3 itself results in relatively higher total O3 observed in suburban area rather than urban. Whole air canister sampling was carried out in the suburban Bangkok during 2008, July 2-7. 4 samples per day were collected at 30 min passes 6, 12, 17, 21 hours with sampling time of 1 min. Analysis was achieved by using GC-FID and GC-MS. High concentrations of VOCs detected during the peak periods in the morning and evening are most likely due to vehicular emission. Averaged VOCs concentrations, reveal distinct different between data measured for weekday and weekend which the latter were found with lower concentrations. No difference was found for CFCs which the levels are also comparable to global background level reported by World Meteorological Organization. The most abundance species have found to be propane and toluene with averaged concentration of 3100 and 2891 pptv, respectively. Ratios of benzene over toluene suggest additional concentration owing to industrial emission, of which particularly larger during the weekday. Comparison with C2Cl4 and CH3Cl concentrations obtained for suburban Tokyo reveal relatively higher influence of biomass burning at suburban Bangkok. In order to estimate the role of the different VOCs towards tropospheric ozone formation, ozone formation potential was calculated using maximum incremental reactivity. Toluene was found to contribute the most to O3 production followed by ethylene, m,p-xylene, and propylene.

Bee Fauna and Floral Abundance Within Lawn-Dominated Suburban Yards in Springfield, MA.

Science.gov (United States)

Lerman, S B; Milam, J

2016-09-01

Private yards comprise a significant component of urban lands, with managed lawns representing the dominant land cover. Lawns blanket > 163,000 km 2 of the United States, and 50% of urban and suburban areas. When not treated with herbicides, lawns have the capacity to support a diversity of spontaneous (e.g., not planted) flowers, with the potential to provide nectar and pollen resources for pollinators such as native bees. In order to determine the extent to which suburban lawns support these important species, we surveyed lawns in 17 suburban yards in Springfield, MA, between May and September 2013 and 2014. Householders participating in the study did not apply chemical pesticides or herbicides to lawns for the duration of the study. We collected 5,331 individual bees, representing 111 species, and 29% of bee species reported for the state. The majority of species were native to North America (94.6%), nested in soil (73%), and solitary (48.6%). Species richness was lower for oligolectic (specialists on a single plant; 9.9%) and parasitic species (12.6%). Abundance percentages for number of individuals were similar. We documented 63 plant species in the lawns, the majority of which were not intentionally planted. The most abundant lawn flowers were dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ) and clover ( Trifolium sp. ). Nearly 30% of the spontaneous plant species growing in the lawns were native to North America. Our study suggests that the spontaneous lawn flowers could be viewed as supplemental floral resources and support pollinators, thereby enhancing the value of urban green spaces.

Suburban watershed nitrogen retention: Estimating the effectiveness of stormwater management structures

Science.gov (United States)

Koch, Benjamin J.; Febria, Catherine M.; Cooke, Roger M.; Hosen, Jacob D.; Baker, Matthew E.; Colson, Abigail R.; Filoso, Solange; Hayhoe, Katharine; Loperfido, J. V.; Stoner, Anne M.K.; Palmer, Margaret A.

2015-01-01

Excess nitrogen (N) is a primary driver of freshwater and coastal eutrophication globally, and urban stormwater is a rapidly growing source of N pollution. Stormwater best management practices (BMPs) are used widely to remove excess N from runoff in urban and suburban areas, and are expected to perform under a wide variety of environmental conditions. Yet the capacity of BMPs to retain excess N varies; and both the variation and the drivers thereof are largely unknown, hindering the ability of water resource managers to meet water quality targets in a cost-effective way. Here, we use structured expert judgment (SEJ), a performance-weighted method of expert elicitation, to quantify the uncertainty in BMP performance under a range of site-specific environmental conditions and to estimate the extent to which key environmental factors influence variation in BMP performance. We hypothesized that rain event frequency and magnitude, BMP type and size, and physiographic province would significantly influence the experts’ estimates of N retention by BMPs common to suburban Piedmont and Coastal Plain watersheds of the Chesapeake Bay region.

Characteristics and diurnal variations of NMHCs at urban, suburban, and rural sites in the Pearl River Delta and a remote site in South China

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, J. H.; Chan, L. Y.; Chan, C. Y.; Li, Y. S.; Chang, C. C.; Liu, S. C.; Wu, D.; Li, Y. D.

The Pearl River Delta (PRD) is one of the most industrialized and urbanized regions in China. With rapid growth of the economy, it is suffering from deteriorating air quality. Non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were investigated at urban and suburban sites in Guangzhou (GZ), a rural site in PRD and a clean remote site in South China, in April 2005. Additional roadside samples in GZ and Qingxi (QX, a small industrial town in PRD), ambient air samples at the rooftop of a printing factory in QX and exhaust samples from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)—fueled taxis in GZ were collected to help identify the source signatures of NMHCs. A large fraction of propane (47%) was found in exhaust samples from LPG-fueled taxis in GZ and extremely high levels of toluene (2.0-3.1 ppmv) were found at the rooftop of the printing factory in QX. Vehicular and industrial emissions were the main sources of NMHCs. The effect of vehicular emission on the ambient air varied among the three PRD sites. The impact of industrial emissions was widespread and they contributed greatly to the high levels of aromatic hydrocarbons, especially toluene, at the three PRD sites investigated. Leakage from vehicles fueled by LPG contributed mainly to the high levels of propane and n-butane at the urban GZ site. Ethane and ethyne from long-range transport and isoprene from local biogenic emission were the main contributors to the total hydrocarbons at the remote site. Diurnal variations of NMHCs showed that the contribution from vehicular emissions varied with traffic conditions and were more influenced by fresh emissions at the urban site and by aged air at the suburban and rural sites. Isoprene from biogenic emission contributed largely to the ozone formation potential (OFP) at the remote site. Ethene, toluene and m/ p-xylene were the main contributors to the OFP at the three PRD sites.

Suburban development in Denmark

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bech-Danielsen, Claus

2013-01-01

In this paper I focus on current projects and activities aiming at renewal and revitalisation of Danish suburban areas. In the last five years several activities have been initiated in order to discuss possibilities and strategies for the future development of the suburban areas in Denmark. A Thi...... original developed. On this background the paper raise the question, if ‘dynamic change’ is in fact the primary goal.......In this paper I focus on current projects and activities aiming at renewal and revitalisation of Danish suburban areas. In the last five years several activities have been initiated in order to discuss possibilities and strategies for the future development of the suburban areas in Denmark. A Think...... Tank has published a report, books and political statements have pointing to the suburban areas as important focal points for future developments, and a number of architectural competitions have been launched. The paper is based on review of these acitivities. It is pointed out, that ‘cultural heritage...

Dynamic Analysis on Population Suburbanization and New Town Development in Shanghai

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang Chunlan; Yang Shangguang; Li Min

2016-01-01

This paper studies the suburbanization process of Shanghai from 2000 to 2010 and the population aggregation of its five suburban new towns including Jiading,Songjiang,Qingpu,Nanqiao,and Lingang.It finds that Shanghai's population distribution pattern is featured by both continuity and variety.In detail,although Shanghai is still dominated by a single-centered expansion pattern,a multi-centered spatial pattern is gradually formed with a narrowing gap in population density between the central city and the suburbs.As the suburbanization of the migrant population is faster than that of the registered population and migrants re-gather in the central city as a result of its service industry development,there is a relatively smaller migrant population in the area between the Inner Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road.Consequently,the population in the new towns that the city planning strategy has focused on is not increasing at the expected speed,thus more attention should be paid to a reasonable central citycentered,multi-leveled,towns-grouped,and compact urban spatial structure.

Dynamic Analysis on Population Suburbanization and New Town Development in Shanghai

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Wang; Chunlan; Yang; Shangguang

2016-01-01

This paper studies the suburbanization process of Shanghai from 2000 to 2010 and the population aggregation of its five suburban new towns including Jiading,Songjiang,Qingpu,Nanqiao,and Lingang.It finds that Shanghai’s population distribution pattern is featured by both continuity and variety.In detail,although Shanghai is still dominated by a single-centered expansion pattern,a multi-centered spatial pattern is gradually formed with a narrowing gap in population density between the central city and the suburbs.As the suburbanization of the migrant population is faster than that of the registered population and migrants re-gather in the central city as a result of its service industry development,there is a relatively smaller migrant population in the area between the Inner Ring Road and the Outer Ring Road.Consequently,the population in the new towns that the city planning strategy has focused on is not increasing at the expected speed,thus more attention should be paid to a reasonable central citycentered,multi-leveled,towns-grouped,and compact urban spatial structure.

Suburban socialities

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oldrup, Helene Hjorth

2009-01-01

Suburban and residential areas have often been associated with everyday, routine and family relations, and this article explores how everyday life and sociality are changing in suburban areas in the context of what is variously called the post-industrial and borderless city. The article suggests...... that such areas can be seen as under-appreciated in our evaluation of what constitutes the quality of city life. The article develops a social practice perspective drawing on Goffman, and is based on empirical work carried out in two newly-built suburban areas in greater Copenhagen. Approximately twenty residents...... from young families were interviewed and asked to take photos. These residents all had middleclass, but different educational backgrounds. The analysis shows that residents want to maintain a sense of the city, seeking different ways of doing so, and hence continuing to being cosmopolitan. At the same...

Effect of urbanization activities towards the formation of urban heat island in Cameron Highlands, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Ibrahim, M. H.; Latiff, N. A. A.; Ismail, K.; Isa, N. K. M.

2018-04-01

This study carried out to study the effect of urbanization activities towards the formation of Urban Heat Islands (UHI) in Cameron Highlands (CH).The aim of this study is to identify the formation of UHI in CH following the urbanization activities. This study also involved two main data that are primary through field survey and secondary data from collection data. In addition, this study was used qualitative and quantitative method. The data was taken two times a day, at a day and night between the hours of 12:00 to 14:00 and 19:00 to 21:00. Data in this study analyzed by using correlation analysis and analysis of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) which known as interpolation. Result found the formation of UHI in CH was concentrated at city centre namely in Pekan Tanah Rata. From the whole average value, city centre was recorded the highest reading of temperatures which is 30.5°C, while reading of temperature for subtown and suburban was recorded 28.6°C and 23.8°C. Average of humidity in CH during the day was recorded as highest reading in the suburban area namely Tringkap Bee Farm (station 11) which is 58.4%. Then, average of humidity in CH at night was recorded highest reading in the suburban area namely Habu Mini Market 91 (station 9) which the value is 83.2%. The reading of wind speed in CH during the day recorded the highest reading day at the suburban namely Tringkap Bee Farm (station 11) which the value is 2.3 m/s. While, following the reading of wind speed in CH at night, suburban namely Habu Mini Market 91(station 9) was recorded the highest reading which is 0.8 m/s. The Intensity of Urban Heat Island in CH during the day was recorded 2.8°C, while at night intensity of UHI was recorded 1.4°C. Overall, the urbanization activities in CH had caused the formation of UHI. Therefore, measures of legislation such as protect forest from development by control the urbanization activities need to be implemented so that the formation of UHI can be reduced and

The carbon commute: Effects of urbanization on dissolved organic carbon quality on a suburban New England river network

Science.gov (United States)

Balch, E.; Robison, A.; Wollheim, W. M.

2017-12-01

Understanding anthropogenic influence on the sources and fluxes of carbon is necessary for interpreting the carbon cycle and contaminant transport throughout a river system. As urbanization increases worldwide, it is critical to understand how urbanization affects the carbon cycle so that we may be able to predict future changes. Rivers act as both transporters of terrestrial dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to coastal regions, and active transformers of DOC. The character (lability) of the carbon found within a river network is influenced by its sources and fluxes, as determined by the ecological processes, land use, and discharge, which vary throughout the network. We have characterized DOC quantity and quality throughout a suburban New England river network (Ipswich River, MA) in an attempt to provide a detailed picture of how DOC quality varies within a network, and how urbanization influences these changes. We conducted a synoptic survey of 45 sites over two hydrologically similar days in the Ipswich River network in northeast Massachusetts, USA. We collected discrete grab samples for DOC quantity and quality analyses. We also collected dissolved oxygen, conductivity, and nutrients (major anions and cations) as an extension of the synoptic survey. We plan to determine the source of the DOC by using excitation-emission matrices (EEMs), and specific UV absorption (SUVA) at 254 nm. These analyses will provide us with a detailed picture of how DOC quality varies within a network, and how urbanization influences these changes. Using land use data of the Ipswich River watershed, we are able to model the changes in DOC quality throughout the network. In highly urbanized headwaters, through the progressively more forested and wetland dominated main stem reaches, we expect to see the imprint of urbanization throughout the network due to its decreased lability. Studying the imprint of urbanization on DOC throughout a river network helps us complete our understanding of

A citizen science based survey method for estimating the density of urban carnivores

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Rowenna; Charman, Naomi; Karlsson, Heidi; Yarnell, Richard W.; Mill, Aileen C.; Smith, Graham C.; Tolhurst, Bryony A.

2018-01-01

Globally there are many examples of synanthropic carnivores exploiting growth in urbanisation. As carnivores can come into conflict with humans and are potential vectors of zoonotic disease, assessing densities in suburban areas and identifying factors that influence them are necessary to aid management and mitigation. However, fragmented, privately owned land restricts the use of conventional carnivore surveying techniques in these areas, requiring development of novel methods. We present a method that combines questionnaire distribution to residents with field surveys and GIS, to determine relative density of two urban carnivores in England, Great Britain. We determined the density of: red fox (Vulpes vulpes) social groups in 14, approximately 1km2 suburban areas in 8 different towns and cities; and Eurasian badger (Meles meles) social groups in three suburban areas of one city. Average relative fox group density (FGD) was 3.72 km-2, which was double the estimates for cities with resident foxes in the 1980’s. Density was comparable to an alternative estimate derived from trapping and GPS-tracking, indicating the validity of the method. However, FGD did not correlate with a national dataset based on fox sightings, indicating unreliability of the national data to determine actual densities or to extrapolate a national population estimate. Using species-specific clustering units that reflect social organisation, the method was additionally applied to suburban badgers to derive relative badger group density (BGD) for one city (Brighton, 2.41 km-2). We demonstrate that citizen science approaches can effectively obtain data to assess suburban carnivore density, however publicly derived national data sets need to be locally validated before extrapolations can be undertaken. The method we present for assessing densities of foxes and badgers in British towns and cities is also adaptable to other urban carnivores elsewhere. However this transferability is contingent on

Effects of soil pollutants, biogeochemistry and microbiology on the distribution and composition of enchytraeid communities in urban and suburban holm oak stands

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Rota, Emilia; Caruso, Tancredi; Monaci, Fabrizio; Baldantoni, Daniela; De Nicola, Flavia; Iovieno, Paola; Bargagli, Roberto

2013-01-01

Holm oaks form typical urban woodlands in the Mediterranean region. We aimed at characterizing the enchytraeid communities in these environments and searching for possible correlations with soil parameters, including the traffic contamination. Samples of litter and topsoil were collected at different spatial scales and seasons in Naples and Siena cities and in two suburban stands. Only the co-variation between pollution and other soil chemico-physical factors showed significant effects, whereas no direct effect of soil microbiology was detected. Some thermophilous Fridericia and Achaeta tolerate high concentrations of heavy metals and PAHs and their abundance was mainly determined by Ca bioavailability. Central-European mesophilous species increased significantly under more temperate environmental conditions. Different combinations of soil cohesiveness, grain size composition and moisture regime seem to select species of certain body sizes. -- Highlights: •We examined the enchytraeid assemblages of urban holm oak stands in relation to pollution gradients. •Only the co-variation between pollution and other soil chemico-physical factors showed significant effects. •Thermophilous species in Fridericia and Achaeta are mainly affected by Ca bioavailability. -- The co-variation between pollution and other soil chemico-physical factors affects significantly the enchytraeid communities in Mediterranean urban holm oak stands

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.

Suburban areas and urban life

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Melgaard, Bente

the cultural and urban life took place in squares, shops, cafes, etc. However, changed conditions as new forms of everyday life, the current climate and sustainability agenda, increasing social segregation, etc. give us a need to see the suburb in a new perspective. This industrial PhD project examines...

Spatial assessment of landscape ecological connectivity in different urban gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sohyun

2015-07-01

Urbanization has resulted in remnant natural patches within cities that often have no connectivity among themselves and to natural reserves outside the urban area. Protecting ecological connectivity in fragmented urban areas is becoming crucial in maintaining urban biodiversity and securing critical habitat levels and configurations under continual development pressures. Nevertheless, few studies have been undertaken for urban landscapes. This study aims to assess ecological connectivity for a group of species that represent the urban desert landscape in the Phoenix metropolitan area and to compare the connectivity values along the different urban gradient. A GIS-based landscape connectivity model which relies upon ecological connectivity index (ECI) was developed and applied to this region. A GIS-based concentric buffering technique was employed to delineate conceptual boundaries for urban, suburban, and rural zones. The research findings demonstrated that urban habitats and potential habitat patches would be significantly influenced by future urban development. Particularly, the largest loss of higher connectivity would likely to be anticipated in the "in-between areas" where urban, suburban, and rural zones overlap one another. The connectivity maps would be useful to provide spatial identification regarding connectivity patterns and vulnerability for urban and suburban activities in this area. This study provides planners and landscape architects with a spatial guidance to minimize ecological fragmentation, which ultimately leads to urban landscape sustainability. This study suggests that conventional planning practices which disregard the ecological processes in urban landscapes need to integrate landscape ecology into planning and design strategies.

Seasonal variation, spatial distribution and source apportionment for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at nineteen communities in Xi'an, China: The effects of suburban scattered emissions in winter.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Jingzhi; Cao, Junji; Dong, Zhibao; Guinot, Benjamin; Gao, Meiling; Huang, Rujin; Han, Yongming; Huang, Yu; Ho, Steven Sai Hang; Shen, Zhenxing

2017-12-01

Seasonal variation and spatial distribution of PM 2.5 bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated at urban residential, commercial area, university, suburban region, and industry in Xi'an, during summer and winter time at 2013. Much higher levels of total PAHs were obtained in winter. Spatial distributions by kriging interpolations principle showed that relative high PAHs were detected in western Xi'an in both summer and winter, with decreasing trends in winter from the old city wall to the 2 nd -3rd ring road except for the suburban region and industry. Coefficients of diversity and statistics by SPSS method demonstrated that PAHs in suburban have significant differences (t winter and summer in urban, which different with the suburban. The coal combustion was the main source for PAHs in suburban region, which accounted for 46.6% in winter and sharp decreased to 19.2% in summer. Scattered emissions from uncontrolled coal combustion represent an important source of PAHs in suburban in winter and there were about 135 persons in Xi'an will suffer from lung cancer for lifetime exposure at winter levels. Further studies are needed to specify the effluence of the scattered emission in suburban to the city and to develop a strategy for controlling those emissions and lighten possible health effects. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

LAND USE CHANGE IN SUBURBAN AREA: A CASE OF MALANG CITY, EAST JAVA PROVINCE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Siti Nuurlaily Rukmana

2016-04-01

Full Text Available The development of suburban areas of Malang City has developed an expansion of built-up areas between urban and suburban areas. There has been a great phenomenon that mostly occurs along the suburban areas where industrial activities took place. This study aims to determine what factors have influenced the land use change in the suburban areas of Malang City by employing “GeoDa” application. It is one of the Geographical Information System applications that particularly deals with statistical analysis. To achieve this purpose, the objectives are: delineating the study area, analyzing the characteristics of land use change, assessing and analyzing the variable influencing the land use change. The results have shown that the characteristics of land use change, such as population, distance, migration, and occupation transformation are directly proportional to the land use change. It has also been identified that the high level of density is only located in the surrounding areas of industries. From the assessed variables through the statistical model, population (X1, density (X2 and migration (X3 are found as the influencing factors of land use change.

Seasonal variation, spatial distribution and source apportionment for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at nineteen communities in Xi'an, China: The effects of suburban scattered emissions in winter

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Jingzhi; Cao, Junji; Dong, Zhibao; Guinot, Benjamin; Gao, Meiling; Huang, Rujin; Han, Yongming; Huang, Yu

2017-01-01

Seasonal variation and spatial distribution of PM 2.5 bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated at urban residential, commercial area, university, suburban region, and industry in Xi'an, during summer and winter time at 2013. Much higher levels of total PAHs were obtained in winter. Spatial distributions by kriging interpolations principle showed that relative high PAHs were detected in western Xi'an in both summer and winter, with decreasing trends in winter from the old city wall to the 2 nd -3rd ring road except for the suburban region and industry. Coefficients of diversity and statistics by SPSS method demonstrated that PAHs in suburban have significant differences (t < 0.05) with those in urban residential in both seasons. The positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) modeling indicated that biomass burning (31.1%) and vehicle emissions (35.9%) were main sources for PAHs in winter and summer in urban, which different with the suburban. The coal combustion was the main source for PAHs in suburban region, which accounted for 46.6% in winter and sharp decreased to 19.2% in summer. Scattered emissions from uncontrolled coal combustion represent an important source of PAHs in suburban in winter and there were about 135 persons in Xi'an will suffer from lung cancer for lifetime exposure at winter levels. Further studies are needed to specify the effluence of the scattered emission in suburban to the city and to develop a strategy for controlling those emissions and lighten possible health effects. - Highlights: • PM 2.5 bound PAHs were investigated in nineteen communities of Xi'an at 2013. • High amount of uncontrolled coal combustion were happened in suburban at winter. • About 135 persons in Xi'an will suffer from lung cancer for exposure at winter. - The high contribution of coal combustion for PAHs in suburban region demonstrated the high amount of scattered emissions in winter.

Chemical characterization and source apportionment of size-resolved particles in Hong Kong sub-urban area

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Yuan; Lee, Shun-Cheng; Huang, Yu; Chow, Judith C.; Watson, John G.

2016-03-01

Size-resolved particulate matter (PM) samples were collected with a 10-stage Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) at a sub-urban site (Tung Chung) in Hong Kong for four non-consecutive months representing four seasons from 2011 to 2012. Major chemical components were water-soluble anions (i.e., Cl-, NO3-, and SO42 -), cations (i.e., NH4+, Na+, K+, and Ca2 +), organic and elemental carbon and elements. Both chemical mass closure and positive matrix factorization (PMF) were employed to understand the chemical composition, resolve particle size modes, and evaluate the PM sources. Tri-modal size distributions were found for PM mass and major chemical components (e.g., SO42 -, NH4+, and OC). Mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMADs) with similar standard deviations (1.32 burning. Secondary SO42 - is also the most dominant component in the droplet mode, accounting for 23% of PM mass, followed by an industrial source (19%). Engine exhaust, secondary NO3-, and sea salt each accounted for 13-15% of PM mass. Sea salt and soil are the dominated sources in the coarse mode, accounting for 80% of coarse mass.

Estuarine habitat quality reflects urbanization at large spatial scales in South Carolina's coastal zone.

Science.gov (United States)

Van Dolah, Robert F; Riekerk, George H M; Bergquist, Derk C; Felber, Jordan; Chestnut, David E; Holland, A Fredrick

2008-02-01

Land cover patterns were evaluated in 29 estuarine watersheds of South Carolina to determine relationships between urban/suburban development and estuarine habitat quality. Principal components analysis and Pearson product moment correlation analyses were used to examine the relationships between ten land cover categories and selected measures of nutrient or bacterial enrichment in the water column and contaminant enrichment in sediments. These analyses indicated strong relationships between land cover categories representing upland development and a composite measure of 24 inorganic and organic contaminants using the Effect Range Median-Quotient (ERM-Q). Similar relationships also were observed for the summed concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, and metals. Data obtained from tidal creeks generally showed stronger correlations between urban/suburban land use and pesticides and metals compared to data obtained from larger open water habitats. Correlations between PAH concentrations and the urban/suburban land cover categories were similar between creek and open water habitats. PCB concentrations generally showed very little relationship to any of the land cover categories. Measures of nutrient enrichment, which included total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), nitrate-nitrite, phosphorus, chlorophyll-a, and total organic carbon, were generally not significantly correlated with any land cover categories, whereas fecal coliform bacteria were significantly and positively correlated with the urban/suburban land cover categories and negatively correlated with the non-urban land cover categories. Fecal coliform correlations were stronger using data from the open water sites than from the tidal creek sites. Both ERM-Q and fecal coliform concentrations were much greater and more pervasive in watersheds with relatively high (>50%) urban/suburban cover compared to watersheds with low (urban/suburban cover. These

Hydromorphological adjustments and re-adjustments of low energy rivers in a sub-urban catchment following historical engineering and recent urbanization

Science.gov (United States)

Jugie, Marion; Gob, Frédéric; Slawson, Deborah; Le-Coeur, Charles

2014-05-01

The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD, October 2000) mandated that the Member States of the European Union achieve the general objective of protection of aquatic ecology by 2015. European rivers and streams have to attain "good ecological status" through the preservation and restoration of aquatic environments. Member will have to ensure environmental continuity through "the adequate distribution of fish species and transport of sediments". In France, more than 61,000 transverse structures - mill dams, weirs, diversion gates - have been identified on rivers as being obstacles to ecological and sedimentary continuity. Because of their historical occupation by societies, rivers flowing in the Paris area have long been anthropized and artificialized. River courses, channel shape, sediment transport and hydrological regime modifications have tremendously transformed the hydrosystems surrounding the city of Paris. The Merantaise's catchment is one of this low energy river watershed, near Paris, that have been modified by historical engineering, especially during medieval-modern times and by the building of the Versailles Castle (XVIIth century). The hydraulic infrastructures are still there and impact the hydromorphogical conditions of the river (incision, lateral erosion, …). In addition to these ancient pressures a rapid and massive urbanization of the suburban areas has applied a new type of constraint to the hydrosystems in recent decades. This undermines the balance that was established following ancient engineering and disturbs the current functioning of the valley. These new types of land occupation have significantly altered the ecological circumstances and transformed the hydrological responses of rivers. In this study, we therefore seek to understand these processes of successive adjustments (ancient and recent) of a small river from the urban margins of the Orge watershed (to the south of Paris). We use a multi-scalar spatial and temporal approach to

Heavy metals and Pb isotopic composition of aerosols in urban and suburban areas of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, South China—Evidence of the long-range transport of air contaminants

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Celine S. L.; Li, Xiang-Dong; Zhang, Gan; Li, Jun; Ding, Ai-Jun; Wang, Tao

Rapid urbanization and industrialization in South China has placed great strain on the environment and on human health. In the present study, the total suspended particulate matter (TSP) in the urban and suburban areas of Hong Kong and Guangzhou, the two largest urban centres in South China, was sampled from December 2003 to January 2005. The samples were analysed for the concentrations of major elements (Al, Fe, Mg and Mn) and trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, V and Zn), and for Pb isotopic composition. Elevated concentrations of metals, especially Cd, Pb, V and Zn, were observed in the urban and suburban areas of Guangzhou, showing significant atmospheric trace element pollution. Distinct seasonal patterns were observed in the heavy metal concentrations of aerosols in Hong Kong, with higher metal concentrations during the winter monsoon period, and lower concentrations during summertime. The seasonal variations in the metal concentrations of the aerosols in Guangzhou were less distinct, suggesting the dominance of local sources of pollution around the city. The Pb isotopic composition in the aerosols of Hong Kong had higher 206Pb/ 207Pb and 208Pb/ 207Pb ratios in winter, showing the influence of Pb from the northern inland areas of China and the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, and lower 206Pb/ 207Pb and 208Pb/ 207Pb ratios in summer, indicating the influence of Pb from the South Asian region and from marine sources. The back trajectory analysis showed that the enrichment of heavy metals in Hong Kong and Guangzhou was closely associated with the air mass from the north and northeast that originated from northern China, reflecting the long-range transport of heavy metal contaminants from the northern inland areas of China to the South China coast.

The middle classes and the remaking of the suburban family community: evidence from the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Karsten, L.; Lupi, T.; de Stigter-Speksnijder, M.

2013-01-01

This paper presents data on everyday life in three recently built Dutch suburban areas constructed under the Vinex national urban planning policy. Its focus is on family households and today’s division of work and care, social life and neighbourhood activism. The results show that suburbs are no

Suburban Black Lives Matter

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis-McCoy, R. L'Heureux

2018-01-01

This article explores the range of experiences and meanings of Black life in suburban space. Drawing from educational, historical, and sociological literatures, I argue that an underconsideration of suburban space has left many portraits of educational inequality incomplete. The article outlines the emergence of American suburbs and the formation…

Community violence exposure and severe posttraumatic stress in suburban American youth: risk and protective factors.

Science.gov (United States)

Löfving-Gupta, Sandra; Lindblad, Frank; Stickley, Andrew; Schwab-Stone, Mary; Ruchkin, Vladislav

2015-04-01

The psychological effects of community violence exposure among inner-city youth are severe, yet little is known about its prevalence and moderators among suburban middle-class youth. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of community violence exposure among suburban American youth, to examine associated posttraumatic stress and to evaluate factors related to severe vs. less severe posttraumatic stress, such as co-existing internalizing and externalizing problems, as well as the effects of teacher support, parental warmth and support, perceived neighborhood safety and conventional involvement in this context. Data were collected from 780 suburban, predominantly Caucasian middle-class high-school adolescents in the Northeastern US during the Social and Health Assessment (SAHA) study. A substantial number of suburban youth were exposed to community violence and 24% of those victimized by community violence developed severe posttraumatic stress. Depressive symptoms were strongly associated with higher levels and perceived teacher support with lower levels of posttraumatic stress. Similar to urban youth, youth living in suburban areas in North American settings may be affected by community violence. A substantial proportion of these youth reports severe posttraumatic stress and high levels of comorbid depressive symptoms. Teacher support may have a protective effect against severe posttraumatic stress and thus needs to be further assessed as a potential factor that can be used to mitigate the detrimental effects of violence exposure.

Minicities in suburbia – A model for urban sustainability?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Per Gunnar Røe

2011-12-01

Full Text Available In the 1970s it was argued that suburban centres in the US had developed into “minicities”, offering a wide range of possibilities for consumption, cultural events and a sense of the urban. In this article we explore to which extent this description of minicities may be valid in two cases in the suburban hinterland of Oslo. We further discuss whether the “urbanization” of these suburban centres may contribute to a more sustainable urban development, with respect to everyday travel. We conclude that the growth of these minicities may reduce car travel, either because of their excellent public transport connection to the (big city centre and other nodes in the increasingly decentralized urban region, or because they may serve as a substitute for the city centre. However, an empirical investigation of the role of minicities must be based on a deeper understanding of the social and cultural processes that guide the everyday life of today’s sub­urbanites.

Urban-Rural Humidity Contrasts in Mexico City

Science.gov (United States)

Jáuregui, E.; Tejeda, A.

1997-02-01

Data from one pair of urban-suburban (Tacubaya and Airport) andone pair of urban-rural (School of Mines and Plan Texcoco) temperature and humidity measuring stations were used to illustrate specific humidity(q) contrasts in Mexico City. Results show a marked seasonal variation of q from around 7.9 g kg-1 during the dry months to 10 g kg-1 in the wet season (May-October) on both urban and suburban sites. The mean monthly contrasts for this pair of stations, albeit small, show that the city air is somewhat drier during the first half of the year. Comparison of urban and rural q on an hourly basis shows that although urban air is more humid at night the reverse is true during the afternoon. Areal distribution of q shows two centres of maximum humidity over the city at night and a corresponding minimum during the afternoon. On average the urban-rural contrasts in q were found to be somewhat smaller than the estimated uncertainty. The above results are in agreement with mid-latitude experience.

Agricultural Abandonment, Suburban Growth, and Forest Expansion in Puerto Rico between 1991 and 2000

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isabel K. Parés-Ramos

2008-12-01

Full Text Available The response of local economies to the globalization process can have a large effect on population and land-use dynamics. In countries with a high population density and relatively high levels of education, the globalization process has resulted in a shift in the local economy from agriculture to manufacturing, technology, and service sectors. This shift in the economy has impacted land-use dynamics by decreasing agricultural lands, increasing urban growth, and in some cases, increasing forest cover. This process of economic and forest transition has been well documented in Puerto Rico for the period 1950 to 1990, but some authors predicted that poor planning and continued urban growth would eliminate the gains in forest cover. To investigate the impacts of recent economic changes, we evaluated demographic and land-use changes for 880 "barrios" (i.e., neighborhoods, the smallest administrative unit, in Puerto Rico using government census data from 1990 and 2000 and land-cover classifications from 1991 and 2000. During this period, the population increased by 284 127 people (8.2%. Most of the growth was in the suburban barrios, whereas urban barrios lost population. This shift was reflected by the construction of more than 100 000 housing units in suburban barrios. Although urban sprawl is perceived as the major land-cover change, urban cover only increased from 10% to 11% between 1990 and 2000, whereas the increase in forest cover was much greater (28% to 40%. Grasslands and shrublands were the major sources of new urban and forest areas in 2000. Although these results are encouraging in terms of increasing forest cover, most of the new development has been concentrated in the coastal plains, which are the location of most of the remaining agricultural areas, a few protected areas, and threatened ecosystems (e.g., mangroves.

Factors associated to serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels among older adult populations in urban and suburban communities in Shanghai, China

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Qun Cheng

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Vitamin D deficiency is widespread in China, particularly among older adults. Factors associated with suboptimal vitamin D levels are not well defined. The present study was a population-based study that included 10 urban and suburban communities in Shanghai, to evaluate vitamin D status and its correlates among older adults. Method This cross-sectional study was based on study data for 3924 healthy men and women aged 65−95 years. Anthropometric and socioeconomic data were collected in June−July 2014. Serum 25(OHD levels were detected using a chemiluminescence immunoassay. The following socioeconomic data were obtained through self-administered questionnaires: education level, lifestyle, residency, and dietary habits. A logistic regression model was used to assess associations between anthropometric factors, socioeconomic factors and serum 25(OHD levels. Results Median levels of serum 25(OHD in men and women were 22.73 and 19.99 ng/mL, respectively. Vitamin D deficiency was common in subjects, even though data collection was conducted during summer. The general prevalence of serum 25(OHD levels <20 ng/mL were 35.4% and 50.5% for men and women respectively. The general prevalence of serum 25(OHD levels <10 ng/mL were 2.73% and 5.9% for men and women respectively. A multivariable model indicated serum 25(OHD levels ≥20 ng/mL were significantly and positively correlated with male sex, calcium or vitamin D supplementation, and residency in suburban communities. The model also indicated that high level of physical activity was protective factors of vitamin D deficiency for men and milk consumption for women, respectively. By contrast, deficient serum 25(OHD levels were significantly correlated with education level (lower than primary school or obesity [body mass index (BMI ≥ 26.06 kg/m2] for men or women, respectively. Conclusion This cross-sectional study of older adults in communities in Shanghai demonstrates that

Centipede assemblages along an urbanization gradient in the city of Heraklion, Crete (Greece

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Gabriella Papastefanou

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Global urbanization is a major force that causes alteration and loss of natural habitats. Urban ecosystems are strongly affected by humans and there is a gradient of decreasing human influence from city centers to natural habitats. To study ecological changes along this continuum, researchers introduced the urban-rural gradient approach. The responses of centipedes to an urbanization gradient (urban-suburban-rural areas were studied using pitfall traps in and near the city of Heraklion, in the island of Crete, Greece, from November 2010 to November 2011. Our results do not support the intermediate disturbance hypothesis, in which suburban areas located in the transitional zone between urban and rural habitats failed to indicate significant increase in terms of species richness and diversity.

Green area loss in San Juan's inner-ring suburban neighborhoods: a multidisciplinary approach to analyzing green/gray area dynamics

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Luis E. Ramos-Santiago

2014-06-01

Full Text Available The loss of green areas and vegetation in suburban neighborhoods poses short- and long-term consequences associated with environmental changes and socioeconomic decline that can propel such developments to an unsustainable state. We summarize an interdisciplinary investigation aimed at identifying the drivers of green area loss, green cover loss, and quantifying the impact on three inner-ring suburban neighborhoods located along the Rio Piedras watershed in San Juan, Puerto Rico. An inductive approach to social-ecological research was undertaken because it provides a flexible platform for interdisciplinary collaboration on this complex and dynamic subject. The three developments selected for the study were constructed in the mid-20th century under paradigms of modernity that included providing conditions for a better and more dignified way of living, among which green areas played a central role. The green area change analysis was undertaken first, by way of using building footprint growth as a proxy, which represents a minimal estimate of change, and transferring the information from aerial photographs, original development plans, construction drawings, and GIS maps to AutoCAD to quantify building footprint change for each neighborhood. The period of analysis started from the time of the construction of each development to the year 2010. The second estimation was performed using orthorectified infrared aerial imagery to quantify green cover in year 2008 and contrast that information with the conditions at the time the developments were constructed. Green-gray area dynamics were thus analyzed together with longitudinal socioeconomic data to help in the assessment of effects. The investigation revealed long-term socioeconomic declining trends in two of the neighborhoods, weak governance of the built environment, substantial increase in automobile ownership, and distinct physical-spatial characteristics as drivers behind the changes observed. The

Concentrations of trace elements in tissues of red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and stone marten (Martes foina) from suburban and rural areas in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Bilandžić, Nina; Dežđek, Danko; Sedak, Marija; Dokić, Maja; Solomun, Božica; Varenina, Ivana; Knežević, Zorka; Slavica, Alen

2010-11-01

Trace elements concentrations (As, Cd, Cu, Pb and Hg) were determined in the liver, kidney and muscle of 28 red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and 16 stone marten (Martes foina) from suburban and rural habitats from Croatia. Rural and suburban habitats affected Cd and Hg levels in the muscle, liver and kidney of red fox. Significant differences in metal concentrations in the muscle, liver and kidney were detected among species. Suburban stone marten accumulated the highest levels of trace elements (mg/kg w.w.): in muscle 0.019 for Hg; in liver 0.161 for Cd, 36.1 for Cu and 0.349 for Pb; in kidney 1.34 for Cd and 0.318 for Pb. Values observed were higher than those found in suburban red fox and therefore, may represent an important bioindicator for the accumulation of toxic metals in urbanized habitats.

Urban base flow with low impact development

Science.gov (United States)

Bhaskar, Aditi; Hogan, Dianna M.; Archfield, Stacey A.

2016-01-01

A novel form of urbanization, low impact development (LID), aims to engineer systems that replicate natural hydrologic functioning, in part by infiltrating stormwater close to the impervious surfaces that generate it. We sought to statistically evaluate changes in a base flow regime because of urbanization with LID, specifically changes in base flow magnitude, seasonality, and rate of change. We used a case study watershed in Clarksburg, Maryland, in which streamflow was monitored during whole-watershed urbanization from forest and agricultural to suburban residential development using LID. The 1.11-km2 watershed contains 73 infiltration-focused stormwater facilities, including bioretention facilities, dry wells, and dry swales. We examined annual and monthly flow during and after urbanization (2004–2014) and compared alterations to nearby forested and urban control watersheds. We show that total streamflow and base flow increased in the LID watershed during urbanization as compared with control watersheds. The LID watershed had more gradual storm recessions after urbanization and attenuated seasonality in base flow. These flow regime changes may be because of a reduction in evapotranspiration because of the overall decrease in vegetative cover with urbanization and the increase in point sources of recharge. Precipitation that may once have infiltrated soil, been stored in soil moisture to be eventually transpired in a forested landscape, may now be recharged and become base flow. The transfer of evapotranspiration to base flow is an unintended consequence to the water balance of LID.

Suburban Soils: Are they the answer in determining factors controlling non-point-source DOC and DON in urban surface waters?

Science.gov (United States)

Aitkenhead-Peterson, J. A.

2016-12-01

Generally the quality of urban streams has been attributed to storm water runoff and sewage effluent discharge. Recent work in the upper Trinity Basin downstream from the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolis, TX concluded that sewage effluent only contributed between 1 and 35% of DOC dependent upon the population of the watershed. Change from native to urban land use increased DOC exports to between 938 - 1840 kg km-2 yr-1relative to the 517 kg km-2 yr-1 expected from native land use. Where this excess DOC might come from in an urban ecosystem was addressed in a separate study examining water extractable DOC (WEDOC) and DON (WEDON) in soils of single-family home lawns in Chicago, IL, Frederick, MD, Bryan/College Station, TX and Galveston, TX. These cities were exposed to different sources of sodium. Time of exposure to sodium was considered on the assumption that as new sub-divisions are built, new soil or turfgrass sod is introduced to the site. Exposure times were 0-5, 6-10, 11-20, 21-30 and > 30 yr. Length of exposure time of the soil to the urban environment was significant among the four cities examined for DOC (p < 0.001), DON (p < 0.001), sodium adsorption ratio (p < 0.006) but not for sodium (p = 0.08) or exchangeable sodium percent (ESP) (p = 0.09). In all cities WEDON increased with urban exposure time and in all cities except Galveston WEDOC increased with urban exposure time. Sodium, regardless of its source, explained 60% of the variance in WEDOC and 54% of the variance in WEDON across all cities (n = 136). To determine what other factors might be involved in increasing WEDOC and WEDON losses from suburban soils, backward stepwise regression models were used. Across the four cities, time of urban exposure, soil saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), NO3-N, NH4-N, S, PO4-P, Na, Cu, Ca, Fe and Zn produced a significant model for WEDOC (Adjusted r2 = 0.85; p < 0.001) and Ksat, pH, NH4-N, PO4-P, S, Alkalinity and Cu produced a significant model for WEDON

Modelling of light pollution in suburban areas using remotely sensed imagery and GIS.

Science.gov (United States)

Chalkias, C; Petrakis, M; Psiloglou, B; Lianou, M

2006-04-01

This paper describes a methodology for modelling light pollution using geographical information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) technology. The proposed approach attempts to address the issue of environmental assessment in sensitive suburban areas. The modern way of life in developing countries is conductive to environmental degradation in urban and suburban areas. One specific parameter for this degradation is light pollution due to intense artificial night lighting. This paper aims to assess this parameter for the Athens metropolitan area, using modern analytical and data capturing technologies. For this purpose, night-time satellite images and analogue maps have been used in order to create the spatial database of the GIS for the study area. Using GIS advanced analytical functionality, visibility analysis was implemented. The outputs for this analysis are a series of maps reflecting direct and indirect light pollution around the city of Athens. Direct light pollution corresponds to optical contact with artificial night light sources, while indirect light pollution corresponds to optical contact with the sky glow above the city. Additionally, the assessment of light pollution in different periods allows for dynamic evaluation of the phenomenon. The case study demonstrates high levels of light pollution in Athens suburban areas and its increase over the last decade.

Modelling Urban Sprawl Using Remotely Sensed Data: A Case Study of Chennai City, Tamilnadu

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Rajchandar Padmanaban

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Urban sprawl (US, propelled by rapid population growth leads to the shrinkage of productive agricultural lands and pristine forests in the suburban areas and, in turn, adversely affects the provision of ecosystem services. The quantification of US is thus crucial for effective urban planning and environmental management. Like many megacities in fast growing developing countries, Chennai, the capital of Tamilnadu and one of the business hubs in India, has experienced extensive US triggered by the doubling of total population over the past three decades. However, the extent and level of US has not yet been quantified and a prediction for future extent of US is lacking. We employed the Random Forest (RF classification on Landsat imageries from 1991, 2003, and 2016, and computed six landscape metrics to delineate the extent of urban areas within a 10 km suburban buffer of Chennai. The level of US was then quantified using Renyi’s entropy. A land change model was subsequently used to project land cover for 2027. A 70.35% expansion in urban areas was observed mainly towards the suburban periphery of Chennai between 1991 and 2016. The Renyi’s entropy value for year 2016 was 0.9, exhibiting a two-fold level of US when compared to 1991. The spatial metrics values indicate that the existing urban areas became denser and the suburban agricultural, forests and particularly barren lands were transformed into fragmented urban settlements. The forecasted land cover for 2027 indicates a conversion of 13,670.33 ha (16.57% of the total landscape of existing forests and agricultural lands into urban areas with an associated increase in the entropy value to 1.7, indicating a tremendous level of US. Our study provides useful metrics for urban planning authorities to address the social-ecological consequences of US and to protect ecosystem services.

Changing bee and hoverfly pollinator assemblages along an urban-rural gradient.

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Adam J Bates

Full Text Available The potential for reduced pollination ecosystem service due to global declines of bees and other pollinators is cause for considerable concern. Habitat degradation, destruction and fragmentation due to agricultural intensification have historically been the main causes of this pollinator decline. However, despite increasing and accelerating levels of global urbanization, very little research has investigated the effects of urbanization on pollinator assemblages. We assessed changes in the diversity, abundance and species composition of bee and hoverfly pollinator assemblages in urban, suburban, and rural sites across a UK city.Bees and hoverflies were trapped and netted at 24 sites of similar habitat character (churchyards and cemeteries that varied in position along a gradient of urbanization. Local habitat quality (altitude, shelter from wind, diversity and abundance of flowers, and the broader-scale degree of urbanization (e.g. percentage of built landscape and gardens within 100 m, 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 2.5 km of the site were assessed for each study site. The diversity and abundance of pollinators were both significantly negatively associated with higher levels of urbanization. Assemblage composition changed along the urbanization gradient with some species positively associated with urban and suburban land-use, but more species negatively so. Pollinator assemblages were positively affected by good site habitat quality, in particular the availability of flowering plants.Our results show that urban areas can support diverse pollinator assemblages, but that this capacity is strongly affected by local habitat quality. Nonetheless, in both urban and suburban areas of the city the assemblages had fewer individuals and lower diversity than similar rural habitats. The unique development histories of different urban areas, and the difficulty of assessing mobile pollinator assemblages in just part of their range, mean that complementary studies in

Data visualization of temporal ozone pollution between urban and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

... this study was conducted with the aim to assess and visualize the occurrence of potential Ozone pollution severity of two chosen locations in Selangor, Malaysia: Shah Alam (urban) and Banting (sub-urban). Data visualization analytics were employed using Ozone exceedances and Principal Component Analysis (PCA).

SUBURBAN VS. URBAN FRINGES ENTITIES’ WILLINGNESS TO PAY FOR AMENITIES: EMPIRICAL RESEARCH IN CRACOW CITY, POLAND

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Piotr LITYŃSKI

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to estimate the value of selected amenities of infrastructure, space and public services on both sides of the cities’ administrative borders and its territorial implications. The used method is the estimation of WTP. The method was addressed to households and companies located in the district adjoining areas which are administratively not part of the city, and that are judged to be strongly characterized by the processes of suburbanization. The conclusions of the study indicate that the administrative border of the city is polarized in terms of a household economic profile. Residents of both regions express their needs for amenities and suburban residents generally estimate their value higher. While firms from both areas are not interested in improvements, the administrative border of the city does not really differentiate businesses (size, employment, wages

Composition, diversity and foraging guilds of avifauna in a suburban area of southern West Bengal, India

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Mukhopadhyay Shiladitya

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Avian communities are very good indicators of any ecosystem. Despite the alarming consequences of rapid urbanization, studies of avian diversity in the human-dominated landscapes of India are very few. Therefore, we studied the avian assemblage of Bongaon in southern West Bengal, India, a suburban area whose avifauna has thus far remained undocumented. Bird surveys were carried out from June 2015 to May 2016, following the fixed-radius (25 m point count method together with opportunistic observations. We recorded 119 avian species belonging to 53 families. Ardeidae was the most diverse avian family in the study area (RDi value = 5.882. Among the recorded avifauna, 89 species were resident, 26 species were winter visitors, three species were summer visitors, and one species was a passage migrant. Species richness of the resident and passage migrant species did not vary seasonally, while the winter and summer visitors displayed significant seasonal variation. In this suburban area, the species richness of feeding guilds varied significantly. Most birds were insectivorous (41.2%, followed by carnivorous (24.4%, omnivorous (18.5%, granivorous (7.6%, frugivorous (3.4%, nectarivorous (3.4% and herbivorous species (1.7%. Maximum species richness was recorded in November and minimum species richness in July. Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus and Alexandrine Parakeet Psittacula eupatria are two near-threatened species found in this region. Interestingly, six species having a globally declining trend are still very common in the study area. Long-term studies are required to monitor any change in the avian communities of this suburban landscape resulting from urbanization.

Ethno-Political effects of suburbanization in the Vilnius urban region : An analysis of voting behavior

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ubareviciene, R.; Burneika, D.; Van Ham, M.

2015-01-01

We use electoral data to analyze the ethno-political consequences that may arise from the fact that the region surrounding the city of Vilnius is dominated by residents with a Polish identity, while those who move to the suburbs are mainly ethnic Lithuanians. In the suburban ring we found increasing

Different integrated geophysical approaches to investigate archaeological sites in urban and suburban area.

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Piro, Salvatore; Papale, Enrico; Zamuner, Daniela

2016-04-01

Geophysical methods are frequently used in archaeological prospection in order to provide detailed information about the presence of structures in the subsurface as well as their position and their geometrical reconstruction, by measuring variations of some physical properties. Often, due to the limited size and depth of an archaeological structure, it may be rather difficult to single out its position and extent because of the generally low signal-to-noise ratio. This problem can be overcome by improving data acquisition, processing techniques and by integrating different geophysical methods. In this work, two sites of archaeological interest, were investigated employing several methods (Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT), Fluxgate Differential Magnetic) to obtain precise and detailed maps of subsurface bodies. The first site, situated in a suburban area between Itri and Fondi, in the Aurunci Natural Regional Park (Central Italy), is characterized by the presence of remains of past human activity dating from the third century B.C. The second site, is instead situated in an urban area in the city of Rome (Basilica di Santa Balbina), where historical evidence is also present. The methods employed, allowed to determine the position and the geometry of some structures in the subsurface related to this past human activity. To have a better understanding of the subsurface, we then performed a qualitative and quantitative integration of this data, which consists in fusing the data from all the methods used, to have a complete visualization of the investigated area. Qualitative integration consists in graphically overlaying the maps obtained by the single methods; this method yields only images, not new data that may be subsequently analyzed. Quantitative integration is instead performed by mathematical and statistical solutions, which allows to have a more accurate reconstruction of the subsurface and generates new data with high

Heavy Metal Contamination in Urban Soils I Zinc Accumulation Phenomenon in Urban Environments as Clues of Study

OpenAIRE

KOMAI, Yutaka

1981-01-01

As an introduction of the continuing study on the heavy metal contamination in urban soils, zinc accumulation phenomenon observed in urban areas in south Osaka was reported. The survey of zinc concentration in soybean leaves taken in urban and suburban arable lands indicated its accumulation in a wide area. And a correlation between easy soluble zinc level in soils and leaf zinc content were shown. Zinc concentrations in suspended particles in air, falling dust and some water samples were che...

Exposure of bus and taxi drivers to urban air pollutants as measured by DNA and protein adducts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hemminki, K.; Zhang, L.F.; Krüger, J.

1994-01-01

Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene, lymphocyte DNA adducts, serum protein-bound PAH and hemoglobin-bound alkene adducts were analysed from 4 groups of non-smoking men: urban and suburban bus drivers, taxi drivers and suburban controls. The only differences between the groups were in DNA adducts between...... suburban bus drivers and controls, and in DNA adduct and plasma protein PAH-adducts between taxi drivers and controls....

Identifying forest lands in urban areas in the Central Hardwood Region

Science.gov (United States)

Thomas W. Birch; Rachel Riemann Hershey; Philip Kern

1997-01-01

Forests in urban areas are an important component of urban and suburban environments. They provide places for recreation and environmental education, wildlife habitat for species adapted to living near humans, contribute to general human physical and psychological health. Knowing how much and what type of forest exists in urban areas provides critical baseline data for...

Controlling Urban Sprawl with Integrated Approach of Space-Transport Development Strategies

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ambarwati, L.; Verhaeghe, R.; Pel, A.J.; Van Arem, B.

2014-01-01

Urban sprawl phenomenon has been a huge issue since 20th century characterized by a rapid and unbalanced settlement development with transportation network particularly in a suburban area. The improvement of public transport system is a major requirement to minimize urban sprawl. Academic

Assessing urban habitat quality based on specific leaf area and stomatal characteristics of Plantago lanceolata L

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kardel, F.; Wuyts, K.; Babanezhad, M.; Vitharana, U.W.A.; Wuytack, T.; Potters, G.; Samson, R.

2010-01-01

This study has evaluated urban habitat quality by studying specific leaf area (SLA) and stomatal characteristics of the common herb Plantago lanceolata L. SLA and stomatal density, pore surface and resistance were measured at 169 locations in the city of Gent (Belgium), distributed over four land use classes, i.e., sub-urban green, urban green, urban and industry. SLA and stomatal density significantly increased from sub-urban green towards more urbanised land use classes, while the reverse was observed for stomatal pore surface. Stomatal resistance increased in the urban and industrial land use class in comparison with the (sub-) urban green, but differences between land use classes were less pronounced. Spatial distribution maps for these leaf characteristics showed a high spatial variation, related to differences in habitat quality within the city. Hence, stomatal density and stomatal pore surface are assumed to be potentially good bio-indicators for urban habitat quality. - Stomatal characteristics of Plantago lanceolata can be used for biomonitoring of urban habitat quality.

Estimating leaf area and leaf biomass of open-grown deciduous urban trees

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David J. Nowak

1996-01-01

Logarithmic regression equations were developed to predict leaf area and leaf biomass for open-grown deciduous urban trees based on stem diameter and crown parameters. Equations based on crown parameters produced more reliable estimates. The equations can be used to help quantify forest structure and functions, particularly in urbanizing and urban/suburban areas.

Particle size distribution of nitrated and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs and OPAHs on traffic and suburban sites of a European megacity: Paris (France

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J. Ringuet

2012-09-01

Full Text Available The size distribution of particulate nitrated and oxygenated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (NPAHs and OPAHs was determined during two field campaigns at a traffic site in summer 2010 and at a suburban site during the MEGAPOLI (Megacities: Emissions, urban, regional and Global Atmospheric POLlution and climate effects, and Integrated tools for assessment and mitigation experiment in summer 2009. Both, OPAHs and NPAHs were strongly associated (>85% to fine particles (D_p< 2.5 μm increasing the interest of their study on a sanitary point of view. Results showed really different NPAH and OPAH particle size distributions between both sites. At traffic site, clearly bimodal (notably for NPAHs particle size distributions (D_p = 0.14 and 1.4 μm were observed, while the particle size distributions were more scattered at the suburban site, especially for OPAHs. Bimodal particle size distribution observed at traffic site for the NPAH could be assigned to the vehicle emissions and the particle resuspension. Broadest distribution observed at the suburban site could be attributed to the mass transfer of compounds by volatilization/sorption processes during the transport of particles in the atmosphere. Results also showed that the combination of the study of particle size distributions applied to marker compounds (primary: 1-nitropyrene; secondary: 2-nitrofluoranthene and to NPAH or OPAH chemical profiles bring some indications on their primary and/or secondary origin. Indeed, 1,4-anthraquinone seemed only primary emitted by vehicles while 7-nitrobenz[a]anthracene, benz[a]antracen7,12-dione and benzo[b]fluorenone seemed secondarily formed in the atmosphere.

Urban informality as a signifier: Performing urban reordering in suburban Rio de Janeiro.

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Frank I

2017-07-01

Urban informality is typically ascribed to the urban poor in cities of the Global South. Drawing on Judith Butler's concept of performativity and taking the case of Rio de Janeiro in the context of the 2016 Olympic Games, this article conceptualizes informality as a signifier and a procedural, relational category. Specifically, it shows how different class actors have employed the signifier informality (1) to legitimize the confinement of marginalized populations; (2) to justify the organized efforts of the upper middle class to protect their 'self-enclosed' gated communities; and (3) to warrant the formation of opposition and alliances between inhabitants, activists, and researchers on the edges of the urban order. This article offers new perspectives to better understand the relationship between informality and confinement by examining the active role that inhabitants of marginalized settlements assume in the Olympic City.

Urban informality as a signifier: Performing urban reordering in suburban Rio de Janeiro

Science.gov (United States)

Müller, Frank I

2017-01-01

Urban informality is typically ascribed to the urban poor in cities of the Global South. Drawing on Judith Butler’s concept of performativity and taking the case of Rio de Janeiro in the context of the 2016 Olympic Games, this article conceptualizes informality as a signifier and a procedural, relational category. Specifically, it shows how different class actors have employed the signifier informality (1) to legitimize the confinement of marginalized populations; (2) to justify the organized efforts of the upper middle class to protect their ‘self-enclosed’ gated communities; and (3) to warrant the formation of opposition and alliances between inhabitants, activists, and researchers on the edges of the urban order. This article offers new perspectives to better understand the relationship between informality and confinement by examining the active role that inhabitants of marginalized settlements assume in the Olympic City. PMID:28781405

Oviposition ecology and species composition of Aedes spp. and Aedes aegypti dynamics in variously urbanized settings in arbovirus foci in southeastern Côte d'Ivoire.

Science.gov (United States)

Zahouli, Julien B Z; Utzinger, Jürg; Adja, Maurice A; Müller, Pie; Malone, David; Tano, Yao; Koudou, Benjamin G

2016-09-29

Aedes mosquito-transmitted outbreaks of dengue and yellow fever have been reported from rural and urban parts of Côte d'Ivoire. The present study aimed at assessing Aedes spp. oviposition ecology in variously urbanized settings within arbovirus foci in southeastern Côte d'Ivoire. Aedes spp. eggs were sampled using a standard ovitrap method from January 2013 to April 2014 in different ecosystems of rural, suburban and urban areas. Emerged larvae were reared until the adult stage for species identification. Aedes spp. oviposition ecology significantly varied from rural-to-urban areas and according to the ecozones and the seasons. Species richness of Aedes spp. gradually decreased from rural (eight species) to suburban (three species) and urban (one species) areas. Conversely, emerged adult Aedes spp. mean numbers were higher in the urban (1.97 Aedes/ovitrap/week), followed by the suburban (1.44 Aedes/ovitrap/week) and rural (0.89 Aedes/ovitrap/week) areas. Aedes aegypti was the only species in the urban setting (100 %), and was also the predominant species in suburban (85.5 %) and rural (63.3 %) areas. The highest Ae. aegypti mean number was observed in the urban (1.97 Ae. aegypti/ovitrap/week), followed by the suburban (1.20 Ae. aegypti/ovitrap/week) and rural (0.57 Ae. aegypti/ovitrap/week) areas. Aedes africanus (9.4 %), Ae. dendrophilus (8.0 %), Ae. metallicus (1.3 %) in the rural, and Ae. vittatus (6.5 %) and Ae. metallicus (1.2 %) in the suburban areas each represented more than 1 % of the total Aedes fauna. In all areas, Aedes species richness and abundance were higher in the peridomestic zones and during the rainy season, with stronger variations in species richness in the rural and in abundance in the urban areas. Besides, the highest Culex quinquefasciatus abundance was found in the urban areas, while Eretmapodites chrysogaster was restricted to the rural areas. Urbanization correlates with a substantially higher abundance in Aedes mosquitoes and

Examining Behavioral, Relational, and Cognitive Engagement in Smaller Learning Communities: A Case Study of Reform in One Suburban District

Science.gov (United States)

Davis, Heather A.; Chang, Mei-Lin; Andrzejewski, Carey E.; Poirier, Ryan R.

2010-01-01

The purpose of this project was to examine the impact of Smaller Learning Community reform on students' behavioral, relational, and cognitive engagement in a suburban school district experiencing urbanization. We describe a project in which we evaluated the engagement of a cohort of 8th grade students as they transitioned to high school (n = 605).…

Genetic diversity and population structure in contemporary house sparrow populations along an urbanization gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Vangestel, C; Mergeay, J; Dawson, D A; Callens, T; Vandomme, V; Lens, L

2012-09-01

House sparrow (Passer domesticus) populations have suffered major declines in urban as well as rural areas, while remaining relatively stable in suburban ones. Yet, to date no exhaustive attempt has been made to examine how, and to what extent, spatial variation in population demography is reflected in genetic population structuring along contemporary urbanization gradients. Here we use putatively neutral microsatellite loci to study if and how genetic variation can be partitioned in a hierarchical way among different urbanization classes. Principal coordinate analyses did not support the hypothesis that urban/suburban and rural populations comprise two distinct genetic clusters. Comparison of FST values at different hierarchical scales revealed drift as an important force of population differentiation. Redundancy analyses revealed that genetic structure was strongly affected by both spatial variation and level of urbanization. The results shown here can be used as baseline information for future genetic monitoring programmes and provide additional insights into contemporary house sparrow dynamics along urbanization gradients.

Post-Colonial Urban Development and Planning in Cyprus: Shifting Visions and Realities of Early Suburbia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Byron Ioannou

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The paper studies the evolution of early suburban neighbourhoods in the context of the post-colonial urban development and planning. The Planning Report of the colonial Government of Cyprus in 1959 examines the foundations of urban development in Cyprus and at the same time implies a surprisingly sustainable vision for the future of planning. Despite this early intentions and guidance, the urban districts developed far from being sustainable under widely accepted criteria and indicators (participation, effectiveness of planning and development control, sprawl, character and identity, green. The basic hypothesis is that planning has proved insufficient in providing rational urban development. The paper outlines the roots of the planning shortcomings during the last fifty years. British perceptions on planning of the first half of the 20th century influenced the 1959 Report, which affected, in turns, the legislation which followed. It is explained why development constrains and land market restrictions prevented the implementation of rational key ideas, and sustainable visions throughout the years. The paper concludes in attempting to visualize these dynamic processes at the early suburban neighbourhoods and measure distortions on densities, green spaces and layouts by taking an early suburban district as a case study.

A Carbon Consumption Comparison of Rural and Urban Lifestyles

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Seppo Junnila

2011-08-01

Full Text Available Sustainable consumption has been addressed from different perspectives in numerous studies. Recently, urban structure-related lifestyle issues have gained more emphasis in the research as cities search for effective strategies to reduce their 80% share of the global carbon emissions. However, the prevailing belief often seen is that cities would be more sustainable in nature compared to surrounding suburban and rural areas. This paper will illustrate, by studying four different urban structure related lifestyles in Finland, that the situation might be reversed. Actually, substantially more carbon emissions seem to be caused on a per capita level in cities than in suburban and rural areas. This is mainly due to the higher income level in larger urban centers, but even housing-related emissions seem to favor less urbanized areas. The method of the study is a consumption-based life cycle assessment of carbon emissions. In more detail, a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA model, that is comprehensive in providing a full inventory and can accommodate process data, is utilized.

Area-wide management of Aedes albopictus. Part 2: gauging the efficacy of traditional integrated pest control measures against urban container mosquitoes.

Science.gov (United States)

Fonseca, Dina M; Unlu, Isik; Crepeau, Taryn; Farajollahi, Ary; Healy, Sean P; Bartlett-Healy, Kristen; Strickman, Daniel; Gaugler, Randy; Hamilton, George; Kline, Daniel; Clark, Gary G

2013-12-01

Aedes (Stegomyia) albopictus (Skuse) is an important disease vector and biting nuisance. During the 2009 active season, six ∼1000-parcel sites were studied, three in urban and three in suburban areas of New Jersey, United States, to examine the efficacy of standard integrated urban mosquito control strategies applied area wide. Active source reduction, larviciding, adulticiding and public education (source reduction through education) were implemented in one site in each county, an education-only approach was developed in a second site and a third site was used as an untreated experimental control. Populations were surveyed weekly with BG-Sentinel traps and ovitraps. A substantial reduction in Ae. albopictus populations was achieved in urban sites, but only modest reductions in suburban sites. Education alone achieved significant reductions in urban adult Ae. albopictus. Egg catches echoed adult catches only in suburban sites. There are significant socioeconomic and climatic differences between urban and suburban sites that impact upon Ae. albopictus populations and the efficacy of the control methods tested. An integrated pest management approach can affect abundances, but labor-intensive, costly source reduction was not enough to maintain Ae. albopictus counts below a nuisance threshold. Nighttime adult population suppression using truck-mounted adulticides can be effective. Area-wide cost-effective strategies are necessary. Published 2013. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

Urban and suburban malaria in Rondônia (Brazilian Western Amazon II: perennial transmissions with high anopheline densities are associated with human environmental changes

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Luiz Herman Soares Gil

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Longitudinal entomological surveys were performed in Vila Candelária and adjacent rural locality of Bate Estaca concomitantly with a clinical epidemiologic malaria survey. Vila Candelária is a riverside periurban neighborhood of Porto Velho, capital of the state of Rondônia in the Brazilian Amazon. High anopheline densities were found accompanying the peak of rainfall, as reported in rural areas of the region. Moreover, several minor peaks of anophelines were recorded between the end of the dry season and the beginning of the next rainy season. These secondary peaks were related to permanent anopheline breeding sites resulting from human activities. Malaria transmission is, therefore, observed all over the year. In Vila Candelária, the risk of malaria infection both indoors and outdoors was calculated as being 2 and 10/infecting bites per year per inhabitant respectively. Urban malaria in riverside areas was associated with two factors: (1 high prevalence of asymptomatic carriers in a stable human population and (2 high anopheline densities related to human environmental changes. This association is probably found in other Amazonian urban and suburban communities. The implementation of control measures should include environmental sanitation and better characterization of the role of asymptomatic carriers in malaria transmission.

Spatial and temporal variation of surface ozone, NO and NO₂ at urban, suburban, rural and industrial sites in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula.

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Domínguez-López, D; Adame, J A; Hernández-Ceballos, M A; Vaca, F; De la Morena, B A; Bolívar, J P

2014-09-01

Surface ozone is one of the most important photochemical pollutants in the low atmosphere, causing damage to human health, vegetation, materials and climate. The weather (high temperatures and high solar radiation), orography (presence of the Guadalquivir valley) and anthropogenic (the cities of Cádiz, Córdoba, Huelva and Seville and two important industrial complexes) characteristics of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula make this region ideal for the formation and accumulation of ozone. To increase the knowledge of ozone behaviour in this area, the monthly, daily and weekly variations of ozone and its precursors, nitrogen oxides (NO(x) = NO + NO2), were analysed over a 4-year period (2003 to 2006). Using the k-means cluster technique, 12 representative stations of five different areas with different ozone behaviour were selected from a total of 29 monitoring sites. This is the first time that the analysis of these atmospheric pollutants has been carried out for the whole area, allowing therefore a complete understanding of the dynamics and the relationships of these compounds in this region. The results showed an opposite behaviour among ozone and NO and NO2 concentrations in urban and suburban zones, marked by maximums of ozone (minimums NO(x)) in spring and summer and minimums (maximums) in autumn and winter. A seasonal behaviour, with lower amplitude, was also observed in rural and industrial areas for ozone concentrations, with the NO and NO2 concentrations remaining at low and similar values during the year in rural zones due to the absence of emission sources in their surroundings. The daily cycles of ozone in urban, suburban and industrial sites registered a maximum value in the early afternoon (14:00-17:00 UTC) while for NOx two peaks were observed, at 7:00-10:00 UTC and 20:00-22:00. In the case of rural stations, no hourly peak of ozone or NO(x) was registered. The weekend effect was studied by using a statistical contrast tests (Student's t

New Suburban Stories

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dines, M.; Vermeulen, T.J.V.

2013-01-01

Exploring fiction, film and art from across the USA, South America, Asia, Europe and Australia, New Suburban Stories brings together new research from leading international scholars to examine cultural representations of the suburbs, home to a rapidly increasing proportion of the world's population.

Simulation of trace metals and PAH atmospheric pollution over Greater Paris: Concentrations and deposition on urban surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Thouron, L.; Seigneur, C.; Kim, Y.; Legorgeu, C.; Roustan, Y.; Bruge, B.

2017-10-01

Urban areas can be subject not only to poor air quality, but also to contamination of other environmental media by air pollutants. Here, we address the potential transfer of selected air pollutants (two metals and three PAH) to urban surfaces. To that end, we simulate meteorology and air pollution from Europe to a Paris suburban neighborhood, using a four-level one-way nesting approach. The meteorological and air quality simulations use urban canopy sub-models in order to better represent the effect of the urban morphology on the air flow, atmospheric dispersion, and deposition of air pollutants to urban surfaces. This modeling approach allows us to distinguish air pollutant deposition among various urban surfaces (roofs, roads, and walls). Meteorological model performance is satisfactory, showing improved results compared to earlier simulations, although precipitation amounts are underestimated. Concentration simulation results are also satisfactory for both metals, with a fractional bias Paris region. The model simulation results suggest that both wet and dry deposition processes need to be considered when estimating the transfer of air pollutants to other environmental media. Dry deposition fluxes to various urban surfaces are mostly uniform for PAH, which are entirely present in fine particles. However, there is significantly less wall deposition compared to deposition to roofs and roads for trace metals, due to their coarse fraction. Meteorology, particle size distribution, and urban morphology are all important factors affecting air pollutant deposition. Future work should focus on the collection of data suitable to evaluate the performance of atmospheric models for both wet and dry deposition with fine spatial resolution.

Urbanization Reduces Transfer of Diverse Environmental Microbiota Indoors

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Anirudra Parajuli

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Expanding urbanization is a major factor behind rapidly declining biodiversity. It has been proposed that in urbanized societies, the rarity of contact with diverse environmental microbiota negatively impacts immune function and ultimately increases the risk for allergies and other immune-mediated disorders. Surprisingly, the basic assumption that urbanization reduces exposure to environmental microbiota and its transfer indoors has rarely been examined. We investigated if the land use type around Finnish homes affects the diversity, richness, and abundance of bacterial communities indoors. Debris deposited on standardized doormats was collected in 30 rural and 26 urban households in and near the city of Lahti, Finland, in August 2015. Debris was weighed, bacterial community composition determined by high throughput sequencing of bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA gene on the Illumina MiSeq platform, and the percentage of four different land use types (i.e., built area, forest, transitional, and open area within 200 m and 2000 m radiuses from each household was characterized. The quantity of doormat debris was inversely correlated with coverage of built area. The diversity of total bacterial, Proteobacterial, Actinobacterial, Bacteroidetes, and Firmicutes communities decreased as the percentage of built area increased. Their richness followed the same pattern except for Firmicutes for which no association was observed. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria and particularly Gammaproteobacteria increased, whereas that of Actinobacteria decreased with increasing built area. Neither Phylum Firmicutes nor Bacteroidetes varied with coverage of built area. Additionally, the relative abundance of potentially pathogenic bacterial families and genera increased as the percentage of built area increased. Interestingly, having domestic animals (including pets only altered the association between the richness of Gammaproteobacteria and diversity of

Volatile and intermediate volatility organic compounds in suburban Paris: variability, origin and importance for SOA formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ait-Helal, W.; Borbon, A.; Beekmann, M.; Doussin, J.F.; Durand-Jolibois, R.; Grand, N.; Michoud, V.; Miet, K.; Perrier, S.; Siour, G.; Zapf, P.; Sauvage, S.; Fronval, I.; Leonardis, T.; Locoge, N.; Gouw, J.A. de; Colomb, A.; Gros, V.; Lopez, M.

2014-01-01

Measurements of gaseous and particulate organic carbon were performed during the MEGAPOLI experiments, in July 2009 and January-February 2010, at the SIRTA observatory in suburban Paris. Measurements comprise primary and secondary volatile organic compounds (VOCs), of both anthropogenic and biogenic origins, including C12-C16 n-alkanes of intermediate volatility (IVOCs), suspected to be efficient precursors of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). The time series of gaseous carbon are generally consistent with times series of particulate organic carbon at regional scale, and are clearly affected by meteorology and air mass origin. Concentration levels of anthropogenic VOCs in urban and suburban Paris were surprisingly low (2-963 ppt) compared to other mega-cities worldwide and to rural continental sites. Urban enhancement ratios of anthropogenic VOC pairs agree well between the urban and suburban Paris sites, showing the regional extent of anthropogenic sources of similar composition. Contrary to other primary anthropogenic VOCs (aromatics and alkanes), IVOCs showed lower concentrations in winter (≤ 5 ppt) compared to summer (13-27 ppt), which cannot be explained by the gas-particle partitioning theory. Higher concentrations of most oxygenated VOCs in winter (18-5984 ppt) suggest their dominant primary anthropogenic origin. The respective role of primary anthropogenic gaseous compounds in regional SOA formation was investigated by estimating the SOA mass concentration expected from the anthropogenic VOCs and IVOCs (I/VOCs) measured at SIRTA. From an integrated approach based on emission ratios and SOA yields, 38% of the SOA measured at SIRTA is explained by the measured concentrations of I/VOCs, with a 2% contribution by C12-C16 n-alkane IVOCs. From the results of an alternative time-resolved approach, the average IVOC contribution to SOA formation is estimated to be 7 %, which is half of the average contribution of the traditional aromatic compounds (15 %). Both

Impact of urban sprawl on water quality in eastern Massachusetts, USA.

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Tu, Jun; Xia, Zong-Guo; Clarke, Keith C; Frei, Allan

2007-08-01

A study of water quality, land use, and population variations over the past three decades was conducted in eastern Massachusetts to examine the impact of urban sprawl on water quality using geographic information system and statistical analyses. Since 1970, eastern Massachusetts has experienced pronounced urban sprawl, which has a substantial impact on water quality. High spatial correlations are found between water quality indicators (especially specific conductance, dissolved ions, including Ca, Mg, Na, and Cl, and dissolved solid) and urban sprawl indicators. Urbanized watersheds with high population density, high percentage of developed land use, and low per capita developed land use tended to have high concentrations of water pollutants. The impact of urban sprawl also shows clear spatial difference between suburban areas and central cities: The central cities experienced lower increases over time in specific conductance concentration, compared to suburban and rural areas. The impact of urban sprawl on water quality is attributed to the combined effects of population and land-use change. Per capita developed land use is a very important indicator for studying the impact of urban sprawl and improving land use and watershed management, because inclusion of this indicator can better explain the temporal and spatial variations of more water quality parameters than using individual land use or/and population density.

Small Steps Make Meaningful Change in Transforming Urban Schools

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Miranda, Antoinette Halsell; Radliff, Kisha M.; Della Flora, Olympia A.

2018-01-01

Urban schools in the United States are generally viewed as having greater challenges than their suburban and rural counterparts. Most notably, they often have lower academic achievement and much of the educational reform movement has been aimed at urban schools in an attempt to close the achievement gap. Although much of the focus in recent years…

Citizen Science as a Tool for Augmenting Museum Collection Data from Urban Areas

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Dakota M. Spear

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Museum collections are critical to contemporary biological research, but museum acquisitions have declined in recent decades, hampering researchers' ability to use collections to assess species responses to habitat modification, urbanization, and global climate change. Citizen science may be a key method to bolster museum collections data, particularly from urban regions, where ongoing data collection is critical to our understanding of ecosystem dynamics in a highly modified and variable landscape. In this study, we compare data collected as part of the citizen-science project Reptiles and Amphibians of Southern California (RASCals, hosted on the platform iNaturalist (www.inaturalist.org, to data in the VertNet database (www.vertnet.org, which houses millions of museum collection records from over 250 natural-history collections, for four focal species, including a native lizard of conservation concern that has declined with urbanization, a native lizard that is widespread in urban areas, and two invasive aquatic species. We compared numbers of VertNet records over time to modern RASCals records, and the number of records collected from urban, suburban, and protected areas from both databases. For all species, citizen-science records were generated much more rapidly than museum records. For three of our four focal species, RASCals participants over 27 months documented from 70 to 750% more records than were added to the VertNet database after 1990. For the urban-tolerant southern alligator lizard, RASCals participants collected nearly 45 times more modern urban records than are contained in the VertNet database. For all other species, the majority of RASCals records were collected within suburban or other highly modified landscapes, demonstrating the value of citizen science for collecting data within urban and suburban ecosystems. As new museum acquisitions decline, citizen-science projects like RASCals may become critical to the maintenance

Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus as a Source of Ectoparasites in Urban-suburban Areas of Northwest of Iran

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Nasser Hajipour

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Background: Hedgehogs are small, nocturnal mammals which become popular in the world and have important role in transmission of zoonotic agents. Thus, the present study aimed to survey ectoparasite infestation from April 2010 to December 2011 in urban and suburban parts of Urmia and Tabriz Cities, Northwest of Iran.Methods: A total number of 84 hedgehogs (40 females and 44 males were examined. They have been carefully inspected for ectoparasites and collected arthropods were stored in 70% ethanol solution. The identification of arthropods was carried out using morphological diagnostic keys.Results: The occurrence of ticks on hedgehogs was 23 (67.7% with Rhipicephalus turanicus in Urmia and 11 (22% as well as 1(2% with Rh. turanicus and Hyalomma anatolicum anatolicum in Tabriz, respectively. One flea species, Archaeopsylla erinacei, was found with prevalence of 19 (55.9% and 27 (54% in Urmia and Tabriz Cities, respectively. Prevalence of infestation with Rh. turanicus and A. erinacei were not different (P> 0.05 between sexes of hedgehogs in two study areas. Highest prevalence of tick and flea infestation was in June in Urmia, whereas it was observed in August in Tabriz. Both tick and flea parasitizing hedgehogs showed seasonal difference in prevalence (P< 0.05 in Urmia, but it was not detected in Tabriz (P> 0.05.Conclusion: The result showed the high occurrence of ectoparasites in hedgehog population and according to the zoonotic potential of these animals as vector of some agents further studies are needed to investigate in different parts of Iran.

Long-term urban carbon dioxide observations reveal spatial and temporal dynamics related to urban characteristics and growth.

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Mitchell, Logan E; Lin, John C; Bowling, David R; Pataki, Diane E; Strong, Courtenay; Schauer, Andrew J; Bares, Ryan; Bush, Susan E; Stephens, Britton B; Mendoza, Daniel; Mallia, Derek; Holland, Lacey; Gurney, Kevin R; Ehleringer, James R

2018-03-20

Cities are concentrated areas of CO 2 emissions and have become the foci of policies for mitigation actions. However, atmospheric measurement networks suitable for evaluating urban emissions over time are scarce. Here we present a unique long-term (decadal) record of CO 2 mole fractions from five sites across Utah's metropolitan Salt Lake Valley. We examine "excess" CO 2 above background conditions resulting from local emissions and meteorological conditions. We ascribe CO 2 trends to changes in emissions, since we did not find long-term trends in atmospheric mixing proxies. Three contrasting CO 2 trends emerged across urban types: negative trends at a residential-industrial site, positive trends at a site surrounded by rapid suburban growth, and relatively constant CO 2 over time at multiple sites in the established, residential, and commercial urban core. Analysis of population within the atmospheric footprints of the different sites reveals approximately equal increases in population influencing the observed CO 2 , implying a nonlinear relationship with CO 2 emissions: Population growth in rural areas that experienced suburban development was associated with increasing emissions while population growth in the developed urban core was associated with stable emissions. Four state-of-the-art global-scale emission inventories also have a nonlinear relationship with population density across the city; however, in contrast to our observations, they all have nearly constant emissions over time. Our results indicate that decadal scale changes in urban CO 2 emissions are detectable through monitoring networks and constitute a valuable approach to evaluate emission inventories and studies of urban carbon cycles.

Long-term urban carbon dioxide observations reveal spatial and temporal dynamics related to urban characteristics and growth

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Logan E.; Lin, John C.; Bowling, David R.; Pataki, Diane E.; Strong, Courtenay; Schauer, Andrew J.; Bares, Ryan; Bush, Susan E.; Stephens, Britton B.; Mendoza, Daniel; Mallia, Derek; Holland, Lacey; Gurney, Kevin R.; Ehleringer, James R.

2018-03-01

Cities are concentrated areas of CO2 emissions and have become the foci of policies for mitigation actions. However, atmospheric measurement networks suitable for evaluating urban emissions over time are scarce. Here we present a unique long-term (decadal) record of CO2 mole fractions from five sites across Utah’s metropolitan Salt Lake Valley. We examine “excess” CO2 above background conditions resulting from local emissions and meteorological conditions. We ascribe CO2 trends to changes in emissions, since we did not find long-term trends in atmospheric mixing proxies. Three contrasting CO2 trends emerged across urban types: negative trends at a residential-industrial site, positive trends at a site surrounded by rapid suburban growth, and relatively constant CO2 over time at multiple sites in the established, residential, and commercial urban core. Analysis of population within the atmospheric footprints of the different sites reveals approximately equal increases in population influencing the observed CO2, implying a nonlinear relationship with CO2 emissions: Population growth in rural areas that experienced suburban development was associated with increasing emissions while population growth in the developed urban core was associated with stable emissions. Four state-of-the-art global-scale emission inventories also have a nonlinear relationship with population density across the city; however, in contrast to our observations, they all have nearly constant emissions over time. Our results indicate that decadal scale changes in urban CO2 emissions are detectable through monitoring networks and constitute a valuable approach to evaluate emission inventories and studies of urban carbon cycles.

Impact of vegetation growth on urban surface temperature distribution

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Buyadi, S N A; Mohd, W M N W; Misni, A

2014-01-01

Earlier studies have indicated that, the temperature distribution in the urban area is significantly warmer than its surrounding suburban areas. The process of urbanization has created urban heat island (UHI). As a city expands, trees are cut down to accommodate commercial development, industrial areas, roads, and suburban growth. Trees or green areas normally play a vital role in mitigating the UHI effects especially in regulating high temperature in saturated urban areas. This study attempts to assess the effects of vegetation growth on land surface temperature (LST) distribution in urban areas. An area within the City of Shah Alam, Selangor has been selected as the study area. Land use/land cover and LST maps of two different dates are generated from Landsat 5 TM images of the year 1991 and 2009. Only five major land cover classes are considered in this study. Mono-window algorithm is used to generate the LST maps. Landsat 5 TM images are also used to generate the NDVI maps. Results from this study have shown that there are significant land use changes within the study area. Although the conversion of green areas into residential and commercial areas significantly increase the LST, matured trees will help to mitigate the effects of UHI

Distribution of radionuclides in urban areas and their removal

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Roed, J.; Andersson, K.G.; Garger, E.; Sobotovitch, E.; Matveenko, I.I.

1996-01-01

The major contamination processes in the urban environment are wet and dry deposition with the former leading to much greater deposition per unit of time. Typical deposition patterns for radiocesium in urban areas have been identified for these processes and recent in situ measurements have been used to verify these relations and to investigate the urban weathering effect over long periods. The results of a recent series of field trials of decontamination methods in urban or suburban Russian areas are reported, and this experience has been incorporated in an example of formation of strategies for clean-up in an urban contamination scenario

Different Patterns of the Urban Heat Island Intensity from Cluster Analysis

Science.gov (United States)

Silva, F. B.; Longo, K.

2014-12-01

This study analyzes the different variability patterns of the Urban Heat Island intensity (UHII) in the Metropolitan Area of Rio de Janeiro (MARJ), one of the largest urban agglomerations in Brazil. The UHII is defined as the difference in the surface air temperature between the urban/suburban and rural/vegetated areas. To choose one or more stations that represent those areas we used the technique of cluster analysis on the air temperature observations from 14 surface weather stations in the MARJ. The cluster analysis aims to classify objects based on their characteristics, gathering similar groups. The results show homogeneity patterns between air temperature observations, with 6 homogeneous groups being defined. Among those groups, one might be a natural choice for the representative urban area (Central station); one corresponds to suburban area (Afonsos station); and another group referred as rural area is compound of three stations (Ecologia, Santa Cruz and Xerém) that are located in vegetated regions. The arithmetic mean of temperature from the three rural stations is taken to represent the rural station temperature. The UHII is determined from these homogeneous groups. The first UHII is estimated from urban and rural temperature areas (Case 1), whilst the second UHII is obtained from suburban and rural temperature areas (Case 2). In Case 1, the maximum UHII occurs in two periods, one in the early morning and the other at night, while the minimum UHII occurs in the afternoon. In Case 2, the maximum UHII is observed during afternoon/night and the minimum during dawn/early morning. This study demonstrates that the stations choice reflects different UHII patterns, evidencing that distinct behaviors of this phenomenon can be identified.

Districts on the Edge: The Impact of Urban Sprawl on a Rural Community.

Science.gov (United States)

Theobald, Paul

1988-01-01

Portrays the controversy surrounding schools and education in a rural community experiencing both an influx of urban and suburban newcomers and the effects of urban sprawl. Reports on surveys of student educational attitudes, household information, and outside activities, and on interviews with teachers, school administrators, and residents.…

Determiantion of elasticity coefficient of demand for suburban passenger transport

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Тетяна Михайлівна Григорова

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The regularity of changes in demand for suburban passenger road transport, depending on the value, is investigated. The results of the survey of passengers about changes of fare on the chosen route are given. It is built the curve of elasticity of demand for suburban bus transport use in labor and cultural and social movements. The equilibrium tariff for suburban road transport is defined

Environmental and biological controls of urban tree transpiration in the Upper Midwest

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, E. B.; McFadden, J.; Montgomery, R.

2009-12-01

Urban trees provide a variety of ecosystem services to urban and suburban areas, including carbon uptake, climate amelioration, energy reduction, and stormwater management. Tree transpiration, in particular, modifies urban water budgets by providing an alternative pathway for water after rain events. The relative importance of environmental and biological controls on transpiration are poorly understood in urban areas, yet these controls are important for quantifying and scaling up the ecosystem services that urban trees provide at landscape and regional scales and predicting how urban ecosystems will respond to climate changes. The objectives of our study were to quantify the annual cycle of tree transpiration in an urban ecosystem and to determine how different urban tree species and plant functional types respond to environmental drivers. We continuously measured whole-tree transpiration using thermal dissipation sap flow at four urban forest stands that were broadly representative of the species composition and tree sizes found in a suburban residential neighborhood of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota. A total of 40 trees, representing different species, plant functional types, successional stages, and xylem anatomy, were sampled throughout the 2007 and 2008 growing seasons (April-November). At each site we monitored soil moisture, air temperature, and relative humidity continuously, and we measured leaf area index weekly. Urban tree transpiration was strongly correlated with diurnal changes in vapor pressure deficit and photosynthetically active radiation and with seasonal changes in leaf area index. We found that plant functional type better explained species differences in transpiration per canopy area than either successional stage or xylem anatomy, largely due to differences in canopy structure between conifer and broad-leaf deciduous trees. We also observed inter-annual differences in transpiration rates due to a mid-season drought and longer growing

Urban Modality

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Jorge Gil

2016-02-01

integrated multimodal network model combines the various mobility infrastructure networks and the buildings’ land use to create a detailed description of the region, using open spatial data and open source Geographic Information Systems (GIS technologies. The network model’s spatial analysis covers local urban form indicators, such as street layout, network density and land use mix, as well as regional indicators of multimodal accessibility and network configuration (its structure, to give a holistic profile of urban areas across modes and scales of travel. The analysis results go through exploratory data mining and classification procedures to identify urban form typologies of urban areas. It is shown that there is a relation between this ‘urban modality’ of urban areas and the travel patterns of their residents, measured as a set of sustainable mobility indicators related to mode share and distance travelled. For this reason, ‘urban modality’ offers the possibility for ex-ante evaluation of sustainable mobility potential of planned urban areas. Furthermore, when combined with the socio-economic profile of the resident population, ‘urban modality’ defines a context for the ex-post evaluation of sustainable mobility performance of existing urban areas. The evaluation of suburban areas together with the more central historical urban areas gives invariably a high score in sustainable travel to the central areas, and rates the suburban areas negatively. On the other hand, the evaluation of sustainable mobility performance in the context of suburban areas of the same type allows the finer distinction of underperformers that have scope for improvement, and overachievers that provide examples of (relative success. This contextual evaluation can become a decision support instrument for “hard” and “soft” planning measures involving sustainable mobility targets. Applying this method to the set of VINEX neighbourhoods of the Randstad leads to the conclusion

Associations between injection risk and community disadvantage among suburban injection drug users in southwestern Connecticut, USA.

Science.gov (United States)

Heimer, Robert; Barbour, Russell; Palacios, Wilson R; Nichols, Lisa G; Grau, Lauretta E

2014-03-01

Increases in drug abuse, injection, and opioid overdoses in suburban communities led us to study injectors residing in suburban communities in southwestern Connecticut, US. We sought to understand the influence of residence on risk and injection-associated diseases. Injectors were recruited by respondent-driven sampling and interviewed about sociodemographics, somatic and mental health, injection risk, and interactions with healthcare, harm reduction, substance abuse treatment, and criminal justice systems. HIV, hepatitis B and C (HBV and HCV) serological testing was also conducted. Our sample was consistent in geographic distribution and age to the general population and to the patterns of heroin-associated overdose deaths in the suburban towns. High rates of interaction with drug abuse treatment and criminal justice systems contrasted with scant use of harm reduction services. The only factors associated with both dependent variables-residence in less disadvantaged census tracts and more injection risk-were younger age and injecting in one's own residence. This contrasts with the common association among urban injectors of injection-associated risk behaviors and residence in disadvantaged communities. Poor social support and moderate/severe depression were associated with risky injection practices (but not residence in specific classes of census tracts), suggesting that a region-wide dual diagnosis approach to the expansion of harm reduction services could be effective at reducing the negative consequences of injection drug use.

Carbonaceous aerosols in Norwegian urban areas

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K. E. Yttri

2009-03-01

Full Text Available Little is known regarding levels and source strength of carbonaceous aerosols in Scandinavia. In the present study, ambient aerosol (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 concentrations of elemental carbon (EC, organic carbon (OC, water-insoluble organic carbon (WINSOC, and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC are reported for a curbside site, an urban background site, and a suburban site in Norway in order to investigate their spatial and seasonal variations. Aerosol filter samples were collected using tandem filter sampling to correct for the positive sampling artefact introduced by volatile and semivolatile OC. Analyses were performed using the thermal optical transmission (TOT instrument from Sunset Lab Inc., which corrects for charring during analysis. Finally, we estimated the relative contribution of OC from wood burning based on the samples content of levoglucosan.

Levels of EC varied by more than one order of magnitude between sites, likely due to the higher impact of vehicular traffic at the curbside and the urban background sites. In winter, the level of particulate organic carbon (OC_p at the suburban site was equal to (for PM₁₀ or even higher (for PM_2.5 than the levels observed at the curbside and the urban background sites. This finding was attributed to the impact of residential wood burning at the suburban site in winter, which was confirmed by a high mean concentration of levoglucosan (407 ng m⁻³. This finding indicates that exposure to primary combustion derived OC_p could be equally high in residential areas as in a city center. It is demonstrated that OC_p from wood burning (OC_wood accounted for almost all OC_p at the suburban site in winter, allowing a new estimate of the ratio TC_p/levoglucosan for both PM₁₀ and PM_2.5. Particulate carbonaceous material (PCM

A Coordinated Approach to Food Safety and Land Use Law at the Urban Fringe.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Stephen R

2015-01-01

Much has been written about the rise of the local food movement in urban and suburban areas. This essay tackles an emerging outgrowth of that movement: the growing desire of urban and suburban dwellers to engage rural areas where food is produced not only to obtain food but also as a means of tourism and cultural activity. This represents a potentially much-needed means of economic development for rural areas and small farmers who are increasingly dependent on non-farm income for survival. The problem, however, is that food safety and land use laws struggle to keep up with these changes, waffling between over-regulation and de-regulation. This essay posits a legal path forward to steer clear of regulatory extremes and to help the local food movement grow and prosper at the urban fringe. We must cultivate our garden.

Variations of Soil Lead in Different Land Uses Along the Urbanization Gradient in the Beijing Metropolitan Area

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Qizheng Mao

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Understanding the spatial pattern of soil lead (Pb levels is essential to protecting human health. Most previous studies have examined soil Pb distributions by either urbanization gradient or land-use type. Few studies, however, have examined both factors together. It remains unclear whether the impacts of land use on soil Pb levels are consistent along the urbanization gradient. To fill this gap, we investigated variations in soil Pb level under different land-use types along the urbanization gradient in Beijing, China. We classified the degree of urbanization as the urban core, transitional zone, or suburban area and the land-use type as industrial area, roadside, residential area, institutional area, road greenbelt, park, or forest. Our results showed that the range of soil Pb levels in Beijing is <1 mg/kg–292 mg/kg, with a mean of 22 mg/kg. Along the urbanization gradient, the mean soil Pb level increased from the suburban area to the urban core. Land-use types have an impact on soil Pb levels, however, when the degree of urbanization is considered, the impact from land use on soil Pb level was only significant in the transitional zone. Parks and road greenbelts were found to have lower soil Pb, primarily due to soil restoration. Roadside and residential areas were found to have higher soil Pb because of traffic emissions, leaded paint, and previous industrial contamination. In the urban core and suburban area, the soil Pb level showed no significant differences among various land-use types. Given the results of soil Pb in various land-use types, we suggest that future studies consider the urbanization gradient in which different land-use samples are located.

Climate Variability and Industrial-Suburban Heat Environment in a Mediterranean Area

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Giuseppina A. Giorgio

2017-05-01

Full Text Available The Urban Heat Island (UHI phenomenon prevalently concerns industrialized countries. It consists of a significant increase in temperatures, especially in industrialized and urbanized areas, in particular, during extreme warm periods like summer. This paper explores the climate variability of temperatures in two stations located in Matera city (Southern Italy, evaluating the increase in temperatures from 1988 to 2015. Moreover, the Corine Land Covers (1990–2000–2006–2012 were used in order to investigate the effect of land use on temperatures. The results obtained confirm the prevalence of UHI phenomena for industrialized areas, highlighting the proposal that the spreading of settlements may further drive these effects on the microclimate. In particular, the presence of industrial structures, even in rural areas, shows a clear increase in summer maximum temperatures. This does not occur in the period before 2000, probably due to the absence of the industrial settlement. On the contrary, from 2000 to 2015, changes are not relevant, but the maximum temperatures have always been higher than in the suburban area (station localized in green zone during daylight hours.

Hydropower production from bridges in urban or suburban areas

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Tucciarelli, Tullio; Sammartano, Vincenzo; Sinagra, Marco; Morreale, Gabriele; Ferreira, Teresa

2015-04-01

A new technology for hydropower production from rivers crossing urban or suburban areas is proposed, based on the use of Cross-Flow turbines having its axis horizontal and normal to the flow direction. A large part of the river cross-section could be covered by the turbine cross-section and this would generate a small, but consistent jump between the water levels of the inlet and the outlet sections. The turbine should be anchored to a pre-existing bridge and the total length of its axis should be of the same order of the bridge length. Due to the large axis extension, it should be possible to easily attain a gross power similar to the power produced with a more traditional installation, based on weirs or barrages, if single jumps of few tens of centimeters were added over a large number of bridges. If the bridges were set in urbanized areas, the production of electricity would be located close to its consumption, according to the smart grid requirements, and the hydrological basin at the bridge section (along with the corresponding discharge) would be greater than the basin of traditional plants located in more upstream locations. The maximum water level to be attained in the upstream section of the bridge should be the minimum among the following ones: 1) the level corresponding to the maximum flood allowed by the surrounding infra-structures, 2) the level corresponding to the maximum force allowed by the bridge structures. The resulting upstream water level hydrographs should be compatible with the river suspended and bed load equilibrium and with the requirement of the aquatic living population. The system should include a mechanism able to raise the turbine completely out of the water level, if required, for maintenance or other purposes. The complete lifting of the turbine could be used to: a) reconstruct the natural river bed profile during floods, b) allow the navigation or fish movements during some periods of the year, or even some hours of the day. A

Through The Decades - Changes in Social, Economic, Legal and Planning Determinants of Residential Development across Decades - Evidence from Suburban Areas in Poland

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Źróbek-Różańska, Alina; Zysk, Elżbieta; Źróbek, Ryszard

2017-10-01

Poland has experienced many political, legal, social and economic transformations. For the last twelve decades, this country was under foreign partition, in the war, under the influence of socialist system with centrally planned economy and finally regained autonomy and rapidly introduced market economy. Each epoch had its own characteristic, that can be recognized also in the residential buildings development. Therefore, the authors focused on the social, economic, legal and planning conditionings that shaped the development of the residential buildings with the most characteristic periods: pre-II world war, 50-ties, 60-ties, 70-ties, 80-ties, 90-ties and XXI century. Some of them are visible in the still existing residential buildings, especially in the suburban villages. The most recent process that can be observed in the study area is urban sprawl. Since the beginning of the XXI century, urban population in Poland has been gradually declining, while suburban villages transform into ‘urban-like’ districts. The aim of the study was to arrange and present in the decade-by-decade manner, the social, economic, legal and planning conditionings that were valid in particular periods. It was realized by correlating information on the contemporary social trends, economic conditions, legal framework and planning regulations. Presentation was enriched by the examples of the buildings developed in the accordance with the contemporary restrictions.

Suburban creativity: The geography of creative industriesin Johannesburg

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Gregory James J.

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Creativity is an increasing scholarly focus for urban and economic geographers. The aim in this paper is to contribute to what is so far mainly a Northern literature around the locational characteristics of creative industries. The results are analysed from a comprehensive audit undertaken of creative industries in Johannesburg, South Africa’s leading economic hub. In common with certain other investigations of creative industries the largest component of enterprises in Johannesburg is creative services involving the production of goods or services for functional purposes. An aggregate picture emerges of the geography of creative industries in Johannesburg as strongly focused in suburban areas rather than the inner-city and its fringe areas. Nevertheless, certain differences are observed across the eight categories of creative industries. The evidence concerning the spatial distribution of creative industries in Johannesburg provides a further case for re-positioning the suburbs in post-Fordist debates around creative city economies and for re-examining neo-liberal cultural policies that preference inner-city areas.

Differences in the Fitness Levels of Urban and Rural Middle School Students in Croatia

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Novak, Dario; Bernstein, Eve R.; Podnar, Hrvoje; Vozzolo, Yolanda

2015-01-01

Background: It is known that suburban youth are more fit than urban youth in Croatia. Method: Differences (p < 0.05) in fitness levels and motor abilities of 9,164 (F = 4,671, M = 4,493) Croatian children (age range: 11-14 years) from urban (F = 1,380, M = 1,268), mixed rural-urban (F = 274, M = 289), and rural (F = 3017, M = 2936) areas were…

Urban Agriculture: Search for Agricultural Practice in Urbanized Rural Areas

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Celile Özçiçek Dölekoğlu

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Rapid urbanization in developing countries involves unplanned migration, unemployment and poverty. The steady shrinking of rural areas and the use of agricultural land for other purposes are progressively increasing the pressure on natural resources. This development on the one hand increases the risk to food security, and on the other triggers climate change. The rural population who migrate to the cities or who are absorbed into urban areas continue their agricultural activities in the urban in order to provide themselves with an income or to maintain their food security. In the big cities of the developed world, contact with nature is kept by means of hobby gardens, recreational areas and urban and suburban plant and animal farming, and creative ideas such as roof gardens can be found. This development, known as urban agriculture, is practiced by 800 million people in the world. Urban agriculture has many economic, social and environmental benefits, but it may also have risks and adverse effects. In this study, the developments in this area in Turkey and the world are presented, and all aspects of its effects and outcomes are discussed.

The quest for synergy when developing the urban fringe

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Jesper Rohr; Engberg, Lars A.

How can planning policies related to urban fringe development and disadvantaged neighbourhoods create synergy? This question is approached and answered by various research fields and explored on various urban-planning levels, displaying case-studies related to urban regeneration, post......-industrial and suburban development and urban fringe literature. The present paper adds to these discussions by analysing two case-studies in Denmark in which local government pursue traditional urban-growth strategies in urban-fringe development - a post-industrial harbour and a large suburb, located just outside...... analyses this synergy by first describing the legislative, interventionist and financial context for urban-growth strategies deployed in the cases. On this background, the paper explores synergy potential related to policy as well as private-sector actors (local businesses, social housing organizations...

12 CFR 210.26 - Definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

...) Article 4A means article 4A of the Uniform Commercial Code as set forth in appendix B of this subpart. (b... Reserve Bank, or that receives a payment order from a Federal Reserve Bank, in lieu of an interest charge... clearing house transfers. (f) Interdistrict transfer means a funds transfer involving entries to accounts...

PM2.5 and Associated Ionic Species in a Sub-urban Coastal Area of Kuala Terengganu, Southern South China Sea (Malaysia)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Norhayati Mohd Tahir; Meikee, Koh; Suhaimi Suratman

2013-01-01

PM 2.5 mass concentration and associated water-soluble ionic species in a sub-urban coastal area of Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia were investigated intermittently from year 2006 to 2009. A total of 78 weekly PM 2.5 samples were analyzed. The mass concentration of PM 2.5 exhibited annual, seasonal and diurnal variations. Temporal distributions of rainfall, sporadic haze episodes and local air flow (sea breeze circulation) were factors controlling PM 2.5 mass variations in the study area. Although the PM 2.5 concentrations were increased during haze episodes in 2006 (August and October) and 2007 (October), their concentrations however, were still within the international guidelines. The average concentration of individual ions was in decreasing trend; SO 4 2- > NH 4 + > K + > Na + > NO 3 - > Cl - > Ca 2+ . The concentrations of SO 42- and NH 4 + accounted for > 70 % of the water-soluble aerosol mass. More than 80 % of ionic species associated with PM 2.5 are from non-marine sources. Major processes affecting the ionic composition of PM 2.5 are biomass burning, crustal loading and sea spray. Air quality mitigation strategies should focus on anthropogenic activities emitting SO 2 , which promotes aerosol SO 4 2- formation. (author)

Managing Tree Diversity: A Comparison of Suburban Development in Two Canadian Cities

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Sophie A. Nitoslawski

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Is (suburban forest diversity shaped by previous land use? This study was designed to quantitatively assess the impacts of subdivision development on urban tree-species composition in two Canadian cities: Halifax, Nova Scotia, and London, Ontario. The main goal was to determine whether cities with contrasting pre-urbanized or pre-settlement landscapes—woodlands in Halifax and agricultural fields in London—also revealed differences in urban tree diversity losses and/or gains due to urbanization. In each city, four residential neighbourhoods representing two age categories, older and newer (40–50 years, <15 years, were examined and trees on three land types were sampled: public (street, private (residential, and remnant (woodland. All public street trees within the chosen neighbourhoods were inventoried and approximately 10% of the residential property lots were sampled randomly. Plots were examined in remnant forests in or near each city, representing the original forest habitats prior to agricultural and/or urban landscape transformations. Diameter at breast height, species richness and evenness, and proportions of native and non-native trees were measured. In both cities, streetscapes in newer neighbourhoods exhibit greater species richness and evenness, and are characterized by substantially more native trees. Despite this trend, developers and home owners continue to intensively plant non-native species on newer and smaller property lots. Older neighbourhoods in Halifax containing remnant forest stands hold the greatest number of native trees on private property, alluding to the importance of residual forest buffers and patches in promoting naturalness in the private urban forest. These results suggest that identifying and quantifying flows of species between green spaces during and after development is valuable in order to effectively promote native species establishment and enhance overall urban forest diversity.

Spatial Analysis to Determine Paddy Field Changes in Indonesia: A Case Study in Suburban Areas of Jakarta

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Putri Utami, Nadia; Ahamed, Tofael

2018-05-01

Karawang, a suburban area of Greater Jakarta, is known as the second largest rice-producing region in West Java, Indonesia. However, expansion of urban sprawl and industrial area from Greater Jakarta have created rapid agricultural land use/cover changes, especially paddy field, in Karawang. This study analyzed the land use/cover changes of paddy field from 2000 to 2016. Landsat 4-5 TM and Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS images were acquired from USGS Earth Explorer, UTM zone 48 south. Satellite image pre-processing, ground truth data collection, supervised maximum likelihood classifications, and Post-Classification Comparison (PCC) were performed in ArcGIS 10.3®. It was observed between 2000 and 2016, urban area increased 4.46% (8530 ha) from initial area of 10,004 ha. Meanwhile paddy field decreased 3.18% (6091 ha) from initial area of 115,720 ha. The spatial analysis showed that paddy field in the fringe of urban area are more susceptible for changes.

Mapping and Evaluating the Urbanization Process in Northeast China Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

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Kunpeng Yi

2014-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, an Urban Light Index (ULI is constructed to facilitate analysis and quantitative evaluation of the process of urbanization and expansion rate by using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data during the years from 1992 to 2010. A unit circle urbanization evaluation model is established to perform a comprehensive analysis of the urbanization process of 34 prefecture-level cities in Northeast China. Furthermore, the concept of urban light space is put forward. In this study, urban light space is divided into four types: the core urban area, the transition zone between urban and suburban areas, suburban area and fluorescent space. Proceeding from the temporal and spatial variation of the four types of light space, the pattern of morphologic change and space-time evolution of the four principal cities in Northeast China (Harbin, Changchun, Shenyang, Dalian is analyzed and given particular attention. Through a correlation analysis between ULI and the traditional urbanization indexes (urban population, proportion of the secondary and tertiary industries in the regional GDP and the built-up area, the advantages and disadvantages as well as the feasibility of using the ULI in the study of urbanization are evaluated. The research results show that ULI has a strong correlation with urban built-up area (R2 ＝ 0.8277. The morphologic change and history of the evolving urban light space can truly reflect the characteristics of urban sprawl. The results also indicate that DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data is applicable for extracting urban space information and has strong potential to urbanization research.

Identification of the spatial causes of urban sprawl with the use of land information systems and GIS tools

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Wolny Ada

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Urbanization is one of the processes that determine the development of a country or a region, but it has both advantages and side effects. Some of its aspects may lead to unsustainable growth and dispersion of built–up area. The main causes of this process are increases in costs of transportation, infrastructure and nature conservation. There is a threat of uncontrolled spread of development as a result of urbanization processes, particularly in suburban municipalities. It has been requested by many researches that authorities put more interest in avoiding dispersed suburbanization, but they still are looking for better solutions, tools and procedures to solve this problem.

Socio-spatial transformatioSocio-Spatial Transformations, Suburbanisation, and Voting Behaviour in the Vilnius Urban Regionns, suburbanisation, and voting behaviour in the Vilnius urban region (discussion paper)

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ubareviciene, R.; Burneika, D.; Van Ham, M.

2012-01-01

This paper analyses the interrelationship between the process of suburbanization and a changing political and ethnic landscape in the Vilnius urban region. The region surrounding Vilnius city is dominated by Polish identity residents while those who suburbanise into the region are mainly ethnic

Within-Colony Variation in the Immunocompetency of Managed and Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Different Urban Landscapes.

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Appler, R Holden; Frank, Steven D; Tarpy, David R

2015-10-29

Urbanization has the potential to dramatically affect insect populations worldwide, although its effects on pollinator populations are just beginning to be understood. We compared the immunocompetency of honey bees sampled from feral (wild-living) and managed (beekeeper-owned) honey bee colonies. We sampled foragers from feral and managed colonies in rural, suburban, and urban landscapes in and around Raleigh, NC, USA. We then analyzed adult workers using two standard bioassays for insect immune function (encapsulation response and phenoloxidase activity). We found that there was far more variation within colonies for encapsulation response or phenoloxidase activity than among rural to urban landscapes, and we did not observe any significant difference in immune response between feral and managed bees. These findings suggest that social pollinators, like honey bees, may be sufficiently robust or variable in their immune responses to obscure any subtle effects of urbanization. Additional studies of immune physiology and disease ecology of social and solitary bees in urban, suburban, and natural ecosystems will provide insights into the relative effects of changing urban environments on several important factors that influence pollinator productivity and health.

Changes in soil carbon sequestration in Pinus massoniana forests along an urban-to-rural gradient of southern China

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H. Chen

2013-10-01

Full Text Available Urbanization is accelerating globally, causing a variety of environmental changes such as increases in air temperature, precipitation, atmospheric CO2, and nitrogen (N deposition. However, the effects of these changes on forest soil carbon (C sequestration remain largely unclear. Here, we used urban-to-rural environmental gradients in Guangdong Province, southern China, to address the potential effects of these environmental changes on soil C sequestration in Pinus massoniana forests. In contrast to our expectations and earlier observations, soil C content in urban sites was significantly lower than that in suburban and rural sites. Lower soil C pools in urban sites were correlated with a significant decrease in fine root biomass and a potential increase in soil organic C decomposition. Variation of soil C pools was also a function of change in soil C fractions. Heavy fraction C content in urban sites was significantly lower than that in suburban and rural sites. By contrast, light fraction C content did not vary significantly along the urban-to-rural gradient. Our results suggest that urbanization-induced environmental changes may have a negative effect on forest soil C in the studied region.

Increasing of Urban Radiation due to Climate Change and Reduction Strategy using Vegetation

Science.gov (United States)

Park, C.; Lee, D.; Heo, H. K.; Ahn, S.

2017-12-01

Urban Heat Island (UHI) which means urban air temperature is higher than suburban area is one of the most important environmental issues in Urban. High density of buildings and high ratio of impervious surfaces increases the radiation fluxes in urban canopy. Furthermore, climate change is expected to make UHI even more seriously in the future. Increased irradiation and air temperature cause high amount of short wave and long wave radiation, respectively. This increases net radiation negatively affects heat condition of pedestrian. UHI threatens citizen's health by increasing violence and heat related diseases. For this reason, understanding how much urban radiation will increase in the future, and exploring radiation reduction strategies is important for reducing UHI. In this research, we aim to reveal how the radiation flux in the urban canyon will change as the climate change and determine how much of urban vegetation will be needed to cover this degradation. The study area is a commercial district in Seoul where highly populated area. Due to the high density of buildings and lack of urban vegetation, this area has a poor thermal condition in summer. In this research, we simulate the radiation flux on the ground using multi-layer urban canopy model. Unlike conventionally used urban canopy model to simulate radiation transfer using vertically single layer, the multi-layer model we used here, enables to consider the vertical heterogeneous of buildings and urban vegetation. As a result, net radiation of urban ground will be increase 2.1 W/m² in the 2050s and 2.7 W/m² in the 2100s. And to prevent the increase of radiation, it is revealed that the urban vegetation should by increased by 10%. This research will be valuable in establishing greening planning as a strategy to reduce UHI effect.

Rural-urban differentials of premature mortality burden in south-west China

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Chongsuvivatwong Virasakdi

2006-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Yunnan province is located in south western China and is one of the poorest provinces of the country. This study examines the premature mortality burden from common causes of deaths among an urban region, suburban region and rural region of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Methods Years of life lost (YLL rate per 1,000 and mortality rate per 100,000 were calculated from medical death certificates in 2003 and broken down by cause of death, age and gender among urban, suburban and rural regions. YLL was calculated without age-weighting and discounting rate. Rates were age-adjusted to the combined population of three regions. However, 3% discounting rate and a standard age-weighting function were included in the sensitivity analysis. Results Non-communicable diseases contributed the most YLL in all three regions. The rural region had about 50% higher premature mortality burden compared to the other two regions. YLL from infectious diseases and perinatal problems was still a major problem in the rural region. Among non-communicable diseases, YLL from stroke was the highest in the urban/suburban regions; COPD followed as the second and was the highest in the rural region. Mortality burden from injuries was however higher in the rural region than the other two regions, especially for men. Self-inflicted injuries were between 2–8 times more serious among women. The use of either mortality rate or YLL gives a similar conclusion regarding the order of priority. Reanalysis with age-weighting and 3% discounting rate gave similar results. Conclusion Urban south western China has already engaged in epidemiological pattern of developed countries. The rural region is additionally burdened by diseases of poverty and injury on top of the non-communicable diseases.

Rural-urban differentials of premature mortality burden in south-west China.

Science.gov (United States)

Cai, Le; Chongsuvivatwong, Virasakdi

2006-10-14

Yunnan province is located in south western China and is one of the poorest provinces of the country. This study examines the premature mortality burden from common causes of deaths among an urban region, suburban region and rural region of Kunming, the capital of Yunnan. Years of life lost (YLL) rate per 1,000 and mortality rate per 100,000 were calculated from medical death certificates in 2003 and broken down by cause of death, age and gender among urban, suburban and rural regions. YLL was calculated without age-weighting and discounting rate. Rates were age-adjusted to the combined population of three regions. However, 3% discounting rate and a standard age-weighting function were included in the sensitivity analysis. Non-communicable diseases contributed the most YLL in all three regions. The rural region had about 50% higher premature mortality burden compared to the other two regions. YLL from infectious diseases and perinatal problems was still a major problem in the rural region. Among non-communicable diseases, YLL from stroke was the highest in the urban/suburban regions; COPD followed as the second and was the highest in the rural region. Mortality burden from injuries was however higher in the rural region than the other two regions, especially for men. Self-inflicted injuries were between 2-8 times more serious among women. The use of either mortality rate or YLL gives a similar conclusion regarding the order of priority. Reanalysis with age-weighting and 3% discounting rate gave similar results. Urban south western China has already engaged in epidemiological pattern of developed countries. The rural region is additionally burdened by diseases of poverty and injury on top of the non-communicable diseases.

From patterns to emerging processes in mechanistic urban ecology.

Science.gov (United States)

Shochat, Eyal; Warren, Paige S; Faeth, Stanley H; McIntyre, Nancy E; Hope, Diane

2006-04-01

Rapid urbanization has become an area of crucial concern in conservation owing to the radical changes in habitat structure and loss of species engendered by urban and suburban development. Here, we draw on recent mechanistic ecological studies to argue that, in addition to altered habitat structure, three major processes contribute to the patterns of reduced species diversity and elevated abundance of many species in urban environments. These activities, in turn, lead to changes in animal behavior, morphology and genetics, as well as in selection pressures on animals and plants. Thus, the key to understanding urban patterns is to balance studying processes at the individual level with an integrated examination of environmental forces at the ecosystem scale.

Pig Farmers’ Homes Harbor More Diverse Airborne Bacterial Communities Than Pig Stables or Suburban Homes

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Ditte V. Vestergaard

2018-05-01

Full Text Available Airborne bacterial communities are subject to conditions ill-suited to microbial activity and growth. In spite of this, air is an important transfer medium for bacteria, with the bacteria in indoor air having potentially major consequences for the health of a building’s occupants. A major example is the decreased diversity and altered composition of indoor airborne microbial communities as a proposed explanation for the increasing prevalence of asthma and allergies worldwide. Previous research has shown that living on a farm confers protection against development of asthma and allergies, with airborne bacteria suggested as playing a role in this protective effect. However, the composition of this beneficial microbial community has still not been identified. We sampled settled airborne dust using a passive dust sampler from Danish pig stables, associated farmers’ homes, and from suburban homes (267 samples in total and carried out quantitative PCR measurements of bacterial abundance and MiSeq sequencing of the V3–V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA genes found in these samples. Airborne bacteria had a greater diversity and were significantly more abundant in pig stables and farmers’ homes than suburban homes (Wilcoxon rank sum test P < 0.05. Moreover, bacterial taxa previously suggested to contribute to a protective effect had significantly higher relative and absolute abundance in pig stables and farmers’ homes than in suburban homes (ALDEx2 with P < 0.05, including Firmicutes, Peptostreptococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Ruminiclostridium, and Lactobacillus. Pig stables had significantly lower airborne bacterial diversity than farmers’ homes, and there was no discernable direct transfer of airborne bacteria from stable to home. This study identifies differences in indoor airborne bacterial communities that may be an important component of this putative protective effect, while showing that pig stables

Pig Farmers’ Homes Harbor More Diverse Airborne Bacterial Communities Than Pig Stables or Suburban Homes

Science.gov (United States)

Vestergaard, Ditte V.; Holst, Gitte J.; Basinas, Ioannis; Elholm, Grethe; Schlünssen, Vivi; Linneberg, Allan; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Finster, Kai; Sigsgaard, Torben; Marshall, Ian P. G.

2018-01-01

Airborne bacterial communities are subject to conditions ill-suited to microbial activity and growth. In spite of this, air is an important transfer medium for bacteria, with the bacteria in indoor air having potentially major consequences for the health of a building’s occupants. A major example is the decreased diversity and altered composition of indoor airborne microbial communities as a proposed explanation for the increasing prevalence of asthma and allergies worldwide. Previous research has shown that living on a farm confers protection against development of asthma and allergies, with airborne bacteria suggested as playing a role in this protective effect. However, the composition of this beneficial microbial community has still not been identified. We sampled settled airborne dust using a passive dust sampler from Danish pig stables, associated farmers’ homes, and from suburban homes (267 samples in total) and carried out quantitative PCR measurements of bacterial abundance and MiSeq sequencing of the V3–V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA genes found in these samples. Airborne bacteria had a greater diversity and were significantly more abundant in pig stables and farmers’ homes than suburban homes (Wilcoxon rank sum test P < 0.05). Moreover, bacterial taxa previously suggested to contribute to a protective effect had significantly higher relative and absolute abundance in pig stables and farmers’ homes than in suburban homes (ALDEx2 with P < 0.05), including Firmicutes, Peptostreptococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Ruminiclostridium, and Lactobacillus. Pig stables had significantly lower airborne bacterial diversity than farmers’ homes, and there was no discernable direct transfer of airborne bacteria from stable to home. This study identifies differences in indoor airborne bacterial communities that may be an important component of this putative protective effect, while showing that pig stables themselves do not appear

Pig Farmers' Homes Harbor More Diverse Airborne Bacterial Communities Than Pig Stables or Suburban Homes.

Science.gov (United States)

Vestergaard, Ditte V; Holst, Gitte J; Basinas, Ioannis; Elholm, Grethe; Schlünssen, Vivi; Linneberg, Allan; Šantl-Temkiv, Tina; Finster, Kai; Sigsgaard, Torben; Marshall, Ian P G

2018-01-01

Airborne bacterial communities are subject to conditions ill-suited to microbial activity and growth. In spite of this, air is an important transfer medium for bacteria, with the bacteria in indoor air having potentially major consequences for the health of a building's occupants. A major example is the decreased diversity and altered composition of indoor airborne microbial communities as a proposed explanation for the increasing prevalence of asthma and allergies worldwide. Previous research has shown that living on a farm confers protection against development of asthma and allergies, with airborne bacteria suggested as playing a role in this protective effect. However, the composition of this beneficial microbial community has still not been identified. We sampled settled airborne dust using a passive dust sampler from Danish pig stables, associated farmers' homes, and from suburban homes (267 samples in total) and carried out quantitative PCR measurements of bacterial abundance and MiSeq sequencing of the V3-V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA genes found in these samples. Airborne bacteria had a greater diversity and were significantly more abundant in pig stables and farmers' homes than suburban homes (Wilcoxon rank sum test P < 0.05). Moreover, bacterial taxa previously suggested to contribute to a protective effect had significantly higher relative and absolute abundance in pig stables and farmers' homes than in suburban homes (ALDEx2 with P < 0.05), including Firmicutes, Peptostreptococcaceae, Prevotellaceae, Lachnospiraceae, Ruminococcaceae, Ruminiclostridium , and Lactobacillus . Pig stables had significantly lower airborne bacterial diversity than farmers' homes, and there was no discernable direct transfer of airborne bacteria from stable to home. This study identifies differences in indoor airborne bacterial communities that may be an important component of this putative protective effect, while showing that pig stables themselves do not appear to

Spatial Variations of Heavy Metals in the Soils of Vegetable-Growing Land along Urban-Rural Gradient of Nanjing, China

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Shi-Bo; Hu, Hao; Sun, Wan-Chun; Pan, Jian-Jun

2011-01-01

China has experienced rapid urbanization in recent years. The acceleration of urbanization has created wealth and opportunity as well as intensified ecological and environmental problems, especially soil pollution. Our study concentrated on the variation of heavy metal content due to urbanization in the vegetable-growing soil. Laws and other causes of the spatial-temporal variation in heavy metal content of vegetable-growing soils were analyzed for the period of urbanization in Nanjing (the capital of Jiangsu province in China). The levels of Cu, Zn, Pb, Cd and Hg in samples of vegetable-growing soil were detected. The transverse, vertical spatio-temporal variation of heavy metals in soil was analyzed on the base of field investigations and laboratory analysis. The results show that: (1) in soil used for vegetable production, the levels of heavy metals decreased gradually from urban to rural areas; the levels of the main heavy metals in urban areas are significantly higher than suburban and rural areas; (2) the means of the levels of heavy metals, calculated by subtracting the sublayer (15–30 cm) from the toplayer (0–15 cm), are all above zero and large in absolute value in urban areas, but in suburban and rural areas, the means are all above or below zero and small in absolute value. The causes of spatial and temporal variation were analyzed as follows: one cause was associated with mellowness of the soil and the length of time the soil had been used for vegetable production; the other cause was associated with population density and industrial intensity decreasing along the urban to rural gradient (i.e., urbanization levels can explain the distribution of heavy metals in soil to some extent). Land uses should be planned on the basis of heavy metal pollution in soil, especially in urban and suburban regions. Heavily polluted soils have to be expected from food production. Further investigation should be done to determine whether and what kind of agricultural

Life cycle assessment of forecasting scenarios for urban water management: A first implementation of the WaLA model on Paris suburban area.

Science.gov (United States)

Loubet, Philippe; Roux, Philippe; Guérin-Schneider, Laetitia; Bellon-Maurel, Véronique

2016-03-01

A framework and an associated modeling tool to perform life cycle assessment (LCA) of urban water system, namely the WaLA model, has been recently developed. In this paper, the WaLA model is applied to a real case study: the urban water system of the Paris suburban area, in France. It aims to verify the capacity of the model to provide environmental insights to stakeholder's issues related to future trends influencing the system (e.g., evolution of water demand, increasing water scarcity) or policy responses (e.g., choices of water resources and technologies). This is achieved by evaluating a baseline scenario for 2012 and several forecasting scenarios for 2022 and 2050. The scenarios are designed through the modeling tool WaLA, which is implemented in Simulink/Matlab: it combines components representing the different technologies, users and resources of the UWS. The life cycle inventories of the technologies and users components include water quantity and quality changes, specific operation (electricity, chemicals) and infrastructures data (construction materials). The methods selected for the LCIA are midpoint ILCD, midpoint water deprivation impacts at the sub-river basin scale, and endpoint Impact 2002+. The results of the baseline scenario show that wastewater treatment plants have the highest impacts compared to drinking water production and distribution, as traditionally encountered in LCA of UWS. The results of the forecasting scenarios show important changes in water deprivation impacts due to water management choices or effects of climate change. They also enable to identify tradeoffs with other impact categories and to compare several scenarios. It suggests the capacity of the model to deliver information for decision making about future policies. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Increasing Poverty: How Do Leaders in One Suburban District Respond?

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Jennifer Dawn

2014-01-01

This dissertation addresses the question of how suburban school district leaders in one large Midwestern school district respond to increasing student poverty. The purpose of this study was to determine how suburban school district leaders respond to increasing student poverty in their decision making and actions. Data for this study came from one…

Carbonaceous and inorganic aerosols over a sub-urban site in peninsular India: Temporal variability and source characteristics

Science.gov (United States)

Aswini, A. R.; Hegde, Prashant; Nair, Prabha R.

2018-01-01

PM10 aerosol samples collected from a sub-urban site in Coimbatore during pre-monsoon, monsoon, post-monsoon and winter from 2014 to 2016 showed a large variability from 7.6 to 89 μg m- 3 with an annual average of 41 ± 21 μg m- 3 (N = 69). High abundance of PM10 and other components were recorded during winter and lowest during monsoon period. Total carbonaceous aerosols and water soluble ionic species contributed to 31% and 45% of PM10 mass respectively. SO42 - was the most abundant species (average 9.8 ± 4.8 μg m- 3) and constituted for 24% of total mass. Organic Carbon (OC) was the next most abundant species ranging from 1 to 16 μg m- 3 with an average of 7 ± 3.6 μg m- 3 accounting for 17% of PM10 mass concentration. POC (primary organic carbon) and SOC (secondary organic carbon) accounted for 56% and 44% of OC respectively. A major portion of OC ( 60%) was found to be water soluble. The correlation between OC and EC (elemental carbon) was found to be higher for night-time compared to daytime suggesting their origin from common sources during night-time. K+ was found to be strongly correlated with OC during night-time. WSOC showed good correlation with POC and K+ which was high especially during night-time. WSON (water soluble organic nitrogen) accounted for 34% of water soluble total nitrogen (WSTN). HCO3- exhibited significant positive correlation with Ca2 + during daytime indicating their crustal origin. The observations suggest that the region is influenced by biomass burning sources, however during day-time, secondary production and terrestrial sources (due to high temperature and wind) significantly influence the atmospheric aerosols over this region.

Energy requirements of consumption: Urban form, climatic and socio-economic factors, rebounds and their policy implications

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wiedenhofer, Dominik; Lenzen, Manfred; Steinberger, Julia K.

2013-01-01

Household consumption requires energy to be used at all stages of the economic process, thereby directly and indirectly leading to environmental impacts across the entire production chain. The levels, structure and determinants of energy requirements of household consumption therefore constitute an important avenue of research. Incorporating the full upstream requirements into the analysis helps to avoid simplistic conclusions which would actually only imply shifts between consumption categories without taking the economy wide effects into account. This paper presents the investigation of the direct and indirect primary energy requirements of Australian households, contrasting urban, suburban and rural consumption patterns as well as inter- and intra-regional levels of inequality in energy requirements. Furthermore the spatial and socio-economic drivers of energy consumption for different categories of energy requirements are identified and quantified. Conclusions regarding the relationships between energy requirements, household characteristics, urban form and urbanization processes are drawn and the respective policy implications are explored. - Highlights: • We statistically analyze the energy requirements of consumption in Australia. • Contrasting urban/suburban/rural consumption patterns and spatial inequality. • Energy requirements are influenced by urban form, income and demographics. • Urban households require less direct energy, but their total consumption is higher. • Significant rebound effects can be expected when direct energy use is decreased

Atmospheric carbon exchange associated with vegetation and soils in urban and suburban land uses

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rowntree, R.A. [Northeastern Forest Experiment Station, Berkeley, CA (United States)

1993-12-31

In studies of the global C cycle prior to the 1980s, urban ecosystems were largely ignored, in part because them were inadequate measures of phytomass and soil carbon for the various land uses associated with cities. In the last decade, progress has been made in gathering urban vegetation data and recently, estimates of urban land use carbon storage and fluxes have been attempted. Demographic trends in many countries suggest that urban areas are growing. Thus it is important to discover the appropriate concepts and methods for understanding greenhouse gas fluxes from urban-related vegetation and soils.

Factors of urban sprawl in Bulgaria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Slaev Aleksandar D.

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Urban sprawl has become a topical urban issue first in North America and later in Western Europe. It turned into a major challenge to urban sustainability. However, sprawl in Western Europe has displayed many specific features different than that in North America and these features are related to the concrete circumstances in the two continents. The social, economic and urban situation in the new European democracies is also quite different and this inevitably has its impact on the forms of sprawl. One of the main characteristics of sprawl is that it is considered to be market-led. More precisely, a major factor is the lack of balance between market trends and planning policy that allows for the market players to determine the use of their plots in suburban locations with little reference to the public interests and issues of sustainability. As the countries in Eastern and South-eastern Europe have already made certain progress on their way to market society, the problems of sprawl were faced in these countries too. The goal of the paper is to apply widely accepted definitions of sprawl to the processes in the suburbs of Sofia and, thus, to assess whether these are processes of sprawl. It also aims to study the specific traditions and residential preferences of Sofia’s population in order to identify specific characteristics and aspects of the Bulgarian model. The findings of the paper confirm that Bulgaria’s capital Sofia is experiencing processes of urban sprawl, particularly in its southern suburban areas - in the foot of Vitosha Mountain. Next, these processes display strong regional characteristics. So far sprawl in Bulgaria is less intensive than that in Western Europe but also than that in the post-socialist countries in Central Europe and in Baltic states. Eventually, the urban forms of Bulgarian sprawl tend to be denser and with mix of single-family and multi-family residential types and mix of land uses.

Within-Colony Variation in the Immunocompetency of Managed and Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L. in Different Urban Landscapes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Holden Appler

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Urbanization has the potential to dramatically affect insect populations worldwide, although its effects on pollinator populations are just beginning to be understood. We compared the immunocompetency of honey bees sampled from feral (wild-living and managed (beekeeper-owned honey bee colonies. We sampled foragers from feral and managed colonies in rural, suburban, and urban landscapes in and around Raleigh, NC, USA. We then analyzed adult workers using two standard bioassays for insect immune function (encapsulation response and phenoloxidase activity. We found that there was far more variation within colonies for encapsulation response or phenoloxidase activity than among rural to urban landscapes, and we did not observe any significant difference in immune response between feral and managed bees. These findings suggest that social pollinators, like honey bees, may be sufficiently robust or variable in their immune responses to obscure any subtle effects of urbanization. Additional studies of immune physiology and disease ecology of social and solitary bees in urban, suburban, and natural ecosystems will provide insights into the relative effects of changing urban environments on several important factors that influence pollinator productivity and health.

Education of Non-European Ancestry Immigrant Students in Suburban High Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Shodavaram, Mary P.; Jones, Lisa A.; Weaver, Laurie R.; Marquez, Judith A.; Ensle, Anne L.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine suburban high school teachers' beliefs about non-European ancestry immigrant students; more specifically, suburban teachers' beliefs regarding the impact of students' cultural backgrounds on academic performance were examined. Non-European ancestry immigrant students are those students whose ancestral…

Family Income and Early Achievement across the Urban-Rural Continuum

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Portia; Votruba-Drzal, Elizabeth; Setodji, Claude Messan

2013-01-01

Rural and suburban children account for the majority of poor children in the United States. Yet, most research examining poverty's associations with child development is focused on urban samples. Using nationally representative data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (N ˜ 6,600), this study examines whether the form and…

The wildland-urban interface raster dataset of Catalonia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fermín J. Alcasena

2018-04-01

Full Text Available We provide the wildland urban interface (WUI map of the autonomous community of Catalonia (Northeastern Spain. The map encompasses an area of some 3.21 million ha and is presented as a 150-m resolution raster dataset. Individual housing location, structure density and vegetation cover data were used to spatially assess in detail the interface, intermix and dispersed rural WUI communities with a geographical information system. Most WUI areas concentrate in the coastal belt where suburban sprawl has occurred nearby or within unmanaged forests. This geospatial information data provides an approximation of residential housing potential for loss given a wildfire, and represents a valuable contribution to assist landscape and urban planning in the region. Keywords: Wildland-urban interface, Wildfire risk, Urban planning, Human communities, Catalonia

[A study on health information literacy among urban and suburban residents in six provinces in China].

Science.gov (United States)

Nie, Xueqiong; Li, Yinghua; Li, Li; Huang, Xianggang

2014-07-01

To understand the status and its influencing factors of health information literacy among urban and suburban residents in China, and to explore the method for improving the health information literacy. From March to May in 2013, residents aged 18-60 years in six provinces in China were investigated with Questionnaire of Health Literacy of Diabetes Mellitus of the Public in China about self-reported health information literacy. The results of the survey were standardized by the 6th national census data. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore influencing factors of health information literacy. A total of 4 416 residents were surveyed, and 4 282 (97.0%) valid questionnaires were collected. After weight adjustments, 30.1% of the residents aged 18-60 years had adequate health information literacy in China, and the 95%CI of the rate was 28.5% - 31.6%. Totally, 70.8% of the residents ever actively searched for health information, 43.7% of the residents could easily retrieve the health information, 49.1% of the residents could easily understand the health information, 41.8% of the residents could confidently differentiate the quality of the health information and 51.1% of the residents ever searched health information on the internet. The results of multi-logistic regression showed that the rural residents, the males, those with lower levels of education, those with poor health had a lower health information literacy. The most trusted health information source was from doctors, and the trust rate reached 97.0%, followed by family members, friends or colleagues. The residents trusted the interpersonal communication more than the mass media and the new media. The level of health information literacy of the residents was generally low in China. To improve the health information literacy, high-quality health information services should be delivered to the residents, and the health education on the internet provided by the medical professionals should also be explored.

Heavy metal contents of road-deposited sediment along the urban-rural gradient around Beijing and its potential contribution to runoff pollution.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Hongtao; Li, Xuyong; Wang, Xiaomei

2011-09-01

Understanding the contribution of road-deposited sediment (RDS) and its washoff process is essential for controlling urban runoff pollution. Ninety-seven RDS samples were collected along the urban-suburban-rural gradient from areas of five administrative units in the Beijing metropolitan region, including central urban (UCA), urban village (UVA), central suburban county (CSA), rural town (RTA), and rural village (RVA) areas. RDS washoff was evaluated with different particle sizes using a rainfall simulator. Heavy metal elements (i.e., Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were estimated in both RDS and runoff samples. The RDS mass per unit area increased in the order UCA (21 ± 24 g/m(2)) ≈ CSA (20 ± 16 g/m(2)) runoff pollution contributions per unit area. Our findings imply that controlling the first flush in the UCA and CSA, and improving existing street cleaning methods and road surface conditions in the TRA, UVA, and RVA will be appropriate strategies for controlling runoff pollution from RDS.

Generalized Linear Mixed Model Analysis of Urban-Rural Differences in Social and Behavioral Factors for Colorectal Cancer Screening

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ke-Sheng; Liu, Xuefeng; Ategbole, Muyiwa; Xie, Xin; Liu, Ying; Xu, Chun; Xie, Changchun; Sha, Zhanxin

2017-09-27

Objective: Screening for colorectal cancer (CRC) can reduce disease incidence, morbidity, and mortality. However, few studies have investigated the urban-rural differences in social and behavioral factors influencing CRC screening. The objective of the study was to investigate the potential factors across urban-rural groups on the usage of CRC screening. Methods: A total of 38,505 adults (aged ≥40 years) were selected from the 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data - the latest CHIS data on CRC screening. The weighted generalized linear mixed-model (WGLIMM) was used to deal with this hierarchical structure data. Weighted simple and multiple mixed logistic regression analyses in SAS ver. 9.4 were used to obtain the odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: The overall prevalence of CRC screening was 48.1% while the prevalence in four residence groups - urban, second city, suburban, and town/rural, were 45.8%, 46.9%, 53.7% and 50.1%, respectively. The results of WGLIMM analysis showed that there was residence effect (pregression analysis revealed that age, race, marital status, education level, employment stats, binge drinking, and smoking status were associated with CRC screening (p<0.05). Stratified by residence regions, age and poverty level showed associations with CRC screening in all four residence groups. Education level was positively associated with CRC screening in second city and suburban. Infrequent binge drinking was associated with CRC screening in urban and suburban; while current smoking was a protective factor in urban and town/rural groups. Conclusions: Mixed models are useful to deal with the clustered survey data. Social factors and behavioral factors (binge drinking and smoking) were associated with CRC screening and the associations were affected by living areas such as urban and rural regions. Creative Commons Attribution License

A Remote Sensing-based Characterization of the Urban Heat Island and its Implications for Modeled Estimates of Urban Biogenic Carbon Fluxes in Boston, MA.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, J.; Friedl, M. A.; Hutyra, L.; Hardiman, B. S.

2015-12-01

Urban land use occupies a small but critical proportion of global land area for the carbon cycle, and in the coming decades, urban land area is expected to nearly double. Conversion of natural land cover to urban land cover imposes myriad ecological effects, including increased land surface and air temperatures via the urban heat island effect. In this study, we characterize the seasonal and spatial characteristics of the urban heat island over Boston, MA and estimate its consequences on biogenic carbon fluxes with a remote sensing-based model. Using a 12-year time series of emissivity- and atmospherically-corrected land surface temperatures from Landsat TM and ETM+ imagery, we find a high degree of spatial heterogeneity and consistent seasonal patterns in the thermal properties of Boston, controlled mainly by variations in vegetative cover. Field measurements of surface air temperature across an urbanization gradient show season- and vegetation-dependent patterns consistent with those observed in the Landsat data. With a fused data set that combines surface air temperature, MODIS, and Landsat observations, we modify and run the Vegetation Photosynthesis and Respiration Model (VPRM) to explore 1) how elevated temperatures affect diurnal and seasonal patterns of hourly urban biogenic carbon fluxes in Massachusetts in 2013 and 2014 and 2) to what extent these fluxes follow spatial patterns found in the urban heat island. Model modifications simulate the ecological effects of urbanization, including empirical adjustments to reanalysis-driven air temperatures (up to 5 K) and ecosystem respiration reduced by impervious surface area. Model results reveal spatio-temporal patterns consistent with strong land use and vegetation cover controls on biogenic carbon fluxes, with non-trivial biogenic annual net ecosystem exchange occurring in urban and suburban areas (up to -2.5 MgC/ha/yr). We specifically consider the feedbacks between Boston's urban heat island and landscape

Does Urban Form Affect Urban NO2? Satellite-Based Evidence for More than 1200 Cities.

Science.gov (United States)

Bechle, Matthew J; Millet, Dylan B; Marshall, Julian D

2017-11-07

Modifying urban form may be a strategy to mitigate urban air pollution. For example, evidence suggests that urban form can affect motor vehicle usage, a major contributor to urban air pollution. We use satellite-based measurements of urban form and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) to explore relationships between urban form and air pollution for a global data  set of 1274 cities. Three of the urban form metrics studied (contiguity, circularity, and vegetation) have a statistically significant relationship with urban NO 2 ; their combined effect could be substantial. As illustration, if findings presented here are causal, that would suggest that if Christchurch, New Zealand (a city at the 75th percentile for all three urban-form metrics, and with a network of buses, trams, and bicycle facilities) was transformed to match the urban form of Indio - Cathedral City, California, United States (a city at the 25th percentile for those same metrics, and exhibiting sprawl-like suburban development), our models suggest that Christchurch's NO 2 concentrations would be ∼60% higher than its current level. We also find that the combined effect of urban form on NO 2 is larger for small cities (β × IQR = -0.46 for cities urban population and are where much of the future urban growth is expected to occur. This work highlights the need for future study of how changes in urban form and related land use and transportation policies impact urban air pollution, especially for small cities.

Alcohol Consumption among Urban, Suburban, and Rural Veterans Affairs Outpatients

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Emily C.; McFarland, Lynne V.; Nelson, Karin M.

2012-01-01

Purpose: United States rural residents tend toward poorer health than urban residents. Although alcohol use is associated with multiple medical conditions and can be reduced via brief primary care-based interventions, it is unknown whether alcohol consumption differs by rurality among primary care patients. We sought to describe alcohol…

A population based survey on knowledge and awareness of breast cancer in the suburban females of Sungai Petani, Kedah, Malaysia

OpenAIRE

Mirza Rafi Baig; Vikneswari Subramaniam; Annaliza Anusha Chandrasegar; Tahir Mehmood Khan

2011-01-01

Background: Globally breast cancer is one of the most common cancers and a major public health challenge to women health. Malaysia is also one of the Asian nations that is facing the dilemma breast cancer with an Age Standardised Rate (ASR) of female breast cancer among Malaysian women was 47.4 per 100,000 populations. Objectives: To evaluate the knowledge and awareness of Breast Cancer among the women of different age groups and various races in the sub-urban town of Sungai Petani, Malaysia...

The urban sprawl: an overview of USA, Mexico and Spain

OpenAIRE

Arellano Ramos, Blanca; Roca Cladera, Josep; Queraltó Ros, Pau

2010-01-01

It is a fact that the urban sprawl, known as the process of gradual spread out of urbanization has become a worldwide phenomenon. The growing consumption of land, as a result of the extension of highway networks, open up vast space of territory, which seems to have become an unstoppable cancer, and affects virtually all the contemporary metropolis. The expansion of the cities had its origin in the model of suburban life, which began with the generalized use of the automobile. A lifestyle base...

Association of neighbourhood residence and preferences with the built environment, work-related travel behaviours, and health implications for employed adults: findings from the URBAN study.

Science.gov (United States)

Badland, Hannah M; Oliver, Melody; Kearns, Robin A; Mavoa, Suzanne; Witten, Karen; Duncan, Mitch J; Batty, G David

2012-10-01

Although the neighbourhoods and health field is well established, the relationships between neighbourhood selection, neighbourhood preference, work-related travel behaviours, and transport infrastructure have not been fully explored. It is likely that understanding these complex relationships more fully will inform urban policy development, and planning for neighbourhoods that support health behaviours. Accordingly, the objective of this study was to identify associations between these variables in a sample of employed adults. Self-reported demographic, work-related transport behaviours, and neighbourhood preference data were collected from 1616 employed adults recruited from 48 neighbourhoods located across four New Zealand cities. Data were collected between April 2008 and September 2010. Neighbourhood built environment measures were generated using geographical information systems. Findings demonstrated that more people preferred to live in urban (more walkable), rather than suburban (less walkable) settings. Those living in more suburban neighbourhoods had significantly longer work commute distances and lower density of public transport stops available within the neighbourhood when compared with those who lived in more urban neighbourhoods. Those preferring a suburban style neighbourhood commuted approximately 1.5 km further to work when compared with participants preferring urban settings. Respondents who preferred a suburban style neighbourhood were less likely to take public or active transport to/from work when compared with those who preferred an urban style setting, regardless of the neighbourhood type in which they resided. Although it is unlikely that constructing more walkable environments will result in work-related travel behaviour change for all, providing additional highly walkable environments will help satisfy the demand for these settings, reinforce positive health behaviours, and support those amenable to change to engage in higher levels of

Slow Growth and Urban Sprawl: Support for a New Regional Agenda?

Science.gov (United States)

Gainsborough, Juliet F.

2002-01-01

Assessed the possibilities for coalition building around growth related concerns, exploring support for slowing growth in New York City and Los Angeles. Analyzed data from surveys of urban and suburban dwellers regarding support for growth control measures. Suburbanites were much more receptive to slow growth policies than were urbanites, though…

Urban effects on convective precipitation in Mexico city

Science.gov (United States)

Jauregui, Ernesto; Romales, Ernesto

This paper reports on urban-related convective precipitation anomalies in a tropical city. Wet season (May-October) rainfall for an urban site (Tacubaya) shows a significant trend for the period 1941-1985 suggesting an urban effect that has been increasing as the city grew. On the other hand, rainfall at a suburban (upwind) station apparently unaffected by urbanization, has remained unchanged. Analysis of historical records of hourly precipitation for an urban station shows that the frequency of intense (> 20 mm h -1) rain showers has increased in recent decades. Using a network of automatic rainfall stations, areal distribution of 24 h isoyets show a series of maxima within the urban perimeter which may be associated to the heat island phenomenon. Isochrones of the beginning of rain are used to estimate direction and speed of movement of the rain cloud cells. The daytime heat island seems to be associated with the intensification of rain showers.

Biological and environmental controls on tree transpiration in a suburban landscape

Science.gov (United States)

Peters, Emily B.; McFadden, Joseph P.; Montgomery, Rebecca A.

2010-12-01

Tree transpiration provides a variety of ecosystem services in urban areas, including amelioration of urban heat island effects and storm water management. Tree species vary in the magnitude and seasonality of transpiration owing to differences in physiology, response to climate, and biophysical characteristics, thereby complicating efforts to manage evapotranspiration at city scales. We report sap flux measurements during the 2007 and 2008 growing seasons for dominant tree species in a suburban neighborhood of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. Evergreen needleleaf trees had significantly higher growing season means and annual transpiration per unit canopy area (1.90 kg H2O m-2 d-1 and 307 kg H2O m-2 yr-1, respectively) than deciduous broadleaf trees (1.11 kg H2O m-2 d-1 and 153 kg H2O m-2 yr-1, respectively) because of a smaller projected canopy area (31.1 and 73.6 m2, respectively), a higher leaf area index (8.8 and 5.5 m2 m-2, respectively), and a longer growth season (8 and 4 months, respectively). Measurements also showed patterns consistent with the species' differences in xylem anatomy (conifer, ring porous, and diffuse porous). As the growing season progressed, conifer and diffuse porous genera had increased stomatal regulation to high vapor pressure deficit, while ring porous genera maintained greater and more constant stomatal regulation. These results suggest that evaporative responses to climate change in urban ecosystems will depend in part on species composition. Overall, plant functional type differences in canopy structure and growing season length were most important in explaining species' differences in midsummer and annual transpiration, offering an approach to predicting the evapotranspiration component of urban water budgets.

The Suburban Press; First Steps toward an Annotated Bibliography. Suburban Press Research Series No. 16 and 17.

Science.gov (United States)

Northern Illinois Univ., De Kalb. Suburban Press Research Center.

This bibliography lists journal articles concerning various aspects of the suburban press. Annotated selections, arranged alphabetically according to journal title, are gathered from the following periodicals: "Advertising Age,""Business Week,""Columbia Journalism Review,""Editor and Publisher,""Grassroots Editor,""Journalism…

Temporal characterization and regional contribution to O{sub 3} and NO{sub x} at an urban and a suburban site in Nanjing, China

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Xie, Min, E-mail: minxie@nju.edu.cn; Zhu, Kuanguang; Wang, Tijian, E-mail: tjwang@nju.edu.cn; Chen, Pulong; Han, Yong; Li, Shu; Zhuang, Bingliang; Shu, Lei

2016-05-01

To improve our understanding of the interplay among local and regional photochemical pollutants in the typical city of the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region, the concurrent observation of O{sub 3} and NO{sub x} concentrations at an urban and a suburban site in Nanjing during 2008 is presented. In general, the annual mean O{sub 3} concentration is 2.35 ppbv lower in the downtown than at suburban due to higher NO{sub x} pollution levels correlated with heavy traffic. At both sites, O{sub 3} shows a distinct seasonality with the spring maximum and the winter minimum, while the minimum concentration of NO{sub x} appears in summertime. Besides the chemical processes of O{sub 3} sensitivity in the daytime and the NO{sub x} titration at night, meteorological conditions also play an essential role in these monthly and diurnal variations. The ozone weekend effect that can be attributed to the weekly routine of human activities is observed in the urban atmosphere of Nanjing as well, with O{sub 3} concentrations 2.09 ppbv higher and NO{sub x} concentrations 6.20 ppbv lower on weekends than on weekdays. The chemical coupling of NO, NO{sub 2} and O{sub 3} is investigated to show that the OX-component (O{sub 3} and NO{sub 2}) partitioning point occurs at about 35 ppbv for NO{sub x}, with O{sub 3} being the dominant form at lower levels and NO{sub 2} dominating at higher levels. And it is also discovered that the level of OX is made up of two contributions, including the regional contribution affected by regional background O{sub 3} level and the local contribution correlated with the level of primary pollution. The diurnal peak of regional contribution appears 2–5 h after the peak of local contribution, implying that OX in Nanjing might prominently affected by the pollutants from a short distance. The highest regional contribution and the second highest local contribution lead to the spring peak of O{sub 3} observed in Nanjing, whereas the highest local contribution and the

Synthetic musk fragrances in urban and rural air of Iowa and the Great Lakes

Science.gov (United States)

Peck, Aaron M.; Hornbuckle, Keri C.

Synthetic musk fragrances are semivolatile organic compounds used to scent a variety of household and personal care products. In this study, six polycyclic musk fragrances (HHCB, AHTN, ATII, AHMI, ADBI, and DPMI) and two nitro musk fragrances (musk xylene and musk ketone) were evaluated in 181 air samples collected at urban, suburban, and rural sites in Iowa and the Great Lakes. This is the largest reported study of the compounds in ambient air and reveals the ubiquitous nature of these environmental contaminants. HHCB and AHTN were detected most frequently and at the highest concentrations at all sites. Synthetic musk fragrance concentrations were highest in urban locations, including Milwaukee, WI (previously reported) and an urban location in Cedar Rapids, IA. Urban concentrations of HHCB and AHTN are on the order of 1-5 ng m -3 and background terrestrial concentrations are about an order of magnitude less. In rural Iowa, the concentrations and frequency of detection of the synthetic musk fragrances are comparable to (and often greater than) gas-phase pesticide concentrations. The concentrations measured at the suburban location in Iowa City, IA and over the Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Michigan were generally intermediate of those measured at the rural and urban locations. Concentrations of HHCB and AHTN were correlated with temperature at the sampling sites in Iowa.

Impact of urban gardening in equatorial zone on soils and metal transfer to vegetables

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ondo Aubin Jean

2013-01-01

Full Text Available This study aimed at assessing the impact of urban agriculture on physicochemical soil properties and the metal uptake by some leafy vegetables cultivated in urban soils of Libreville, Gabon. Cultivated and uncultivated top-soil and vegetable samples were collected on two urban garden sites, and analyzed. The results showed that there was strong acidification and a decrease of nutrient and metal concentrations in soils due of agricultural practices. The metal transfer to plants was important, with the exception of iron. The non-essential metal cadmium and lead were not detectable in plant tissues. Amaranth accumulated more metals than other vegetables. Amaranth and Roselle were vegetables that preferentially concentrated metals in their leaves and can therefore be used for metal supplementation in food chain.

Seasonal and spatial variations of PPCP occurrence, removal and mass loading in three wastewater treatment plants located in different urbanization areas in Xiamen, China

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sun, Qian; Li, Mingyue; Ma, Cong; Chen, Xiangqiang; Xie, Xiaoqing; Yu, Chang-Ping

2016-01-01

The occurrence and fate of 48 pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in different urbanization areas in Xiamen, China was investigated over one year. Results showed that PPCPs were widely detected, but the major PPCPs in the influent, effluent, and sludge were different. Spatial and seasonal variations of PPCP levels in the influent and sludge were observed. The removal efficiencies for most PPCPs were similar among the three WWTPs, although they employed different biological treatment processes. Furthermore, the mass loadings per inhabitant of most pharmaceuticals had a positive correlation with the urbanization levels, indicating that most pharmaceutical usage was higher in the urban core compared to the suburban zones. The total mass loadings of all the 48 PPCPs in the effluent and waste sludge showed close proportions, which suggested the importance of proper waste sludge disposal to prevent a large quantity of PPCPs from entering the environment. - Highlights: • The major components in the influent, effluent, and sludge were different. • Removal rates were similar for most PPCPs under different treatment processes. • Pharmaceutical usage was higher in the urban core compared to suburban zones. • Effluent and sludge shared close proportions for PPCP releasing to the environment. - The total mass loadings of PPCPs per inhabitant in the influent, effluent and waste sludge of WWTPs were higher in the urban core compared to the suburban zones.

The Impact of Energy Consumption on the Surface Urban Heat Island in China’s 32 Major Cities

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Weilin Liao

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Supported by the rapid economic development in the last few decades, China has become the largest energy consumer in the world. Alongside this, the effect of the anthropogenic heat released from energy consumption is increasingly apparent. We quantified the daytime and nighttime surface urban heat island intensity (SUHII for the 32 major cities in mainland China, using MODIS land surface temperature data from 2008 to 2012, and estimated the energy consumption intensity (ECI based on the correlation between energy consumption and the sum of nighttime lights. On this basis, the impact of energy consumption on the surface urban heat island in China’s 32 major cities was analyzed, by directly examining the relationship between SUHII and the urban-suburban difference in ECI. The results show that energy consumption has a significantly positive correlation with the nighttime SUHII, but no correlation with the daytime SUHII. It indicates that the cities with a larger urban-suburban difference in ECI have a far greater impact on SUHII during the nighttime. Therefore, the statistical analysis of the historical observation data in this study provides evidence for a long-held hypothesis that the anthropogenic heat released from energy consumption is an important contributor to the urban thermal environment.

Genetic diversity and population structure in contemporary house sparrow populations along an urbanization gradient

OpenAIRE

Vangestel, C; Mergeay, Joachim; Dawson, D. A; Callens, T; Vandomme, V; Lens, L

2012-01-01

House sparrow (Passer domesticus) populations have suffered major declines in urban as well as rural areas, while remaining relatively stable in suburban ones. Yet, to date no exhaustive attempt has been made to examine how, and to what extent, spatial variation in population demography is reflected in genetic population structuring along contemporary urbanization gradients. Here we use putatively neutral microsatellite loci to study if and how genetic variation can be partitioned in a hierar...

Novel Deployment of Mobile Eddy Covariance Tower Observations Across Variations in the Built Environment in a Desert Urban Area

Science.gov (United States)

2015-11-03

buildings); (2) high-density urban site (asphalt-paved parking lot near a high-traffic intersection); and 3) suburban mesic landscape (turf grass with...University campuses: (1) xeric landscape (gravel cover and palo verde trees with drip-irrigation systems near tall buildings); (2) high-density urban site...classification of each source area. The xeric site and high-density urban site behave like a semiarid landscape , with high Bowen ratios (~3 and ~8 respectively

Assessment of the dynamics of urbanized areas by remote sensing

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Yeprintsev, S. A.; Klevtsova, M. A.; Lepeshkina, L. A.; Shekoyan, S. V.; Voronin, A. A.

2018-01-01

This research looks at the results of a study of spatial ecological zoning of urban territories using the NDVI-analysis of actual multi-channel satellite images from Landsat-7 and Landsat-8 in the Voronezh region for the period 2001 to 2016. The results obtained in the course of interpretation of space images and processing of statistical information compiled in the GIS environment “Ecology of cities Voronezh region” on the basis of which carried out a comprehensive ecological zoning of the studied urbanized areas. The obtained data on the spatial classification of urban and suburban areas, the peculiarities of the dynamics of weakly and strongly anthropogenically territories, hydrological features and vegetation.

The freedom to explore: examining the influence of independent mobility on weekday, weekend and after-school physical activity behaviour in children living in urban and inner-suburban neighbourhoods of varying socioeconomic status.

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Stone, Michelle R; Faulkner, Guy Ej; Mitra, Raktim; Buliung, Ron N

2014-01-22

Children's independent mobility (CIM) is critical to healthy development in childhood. The physical layout and social characteristics of neighbourhoods can impact opportunities for CIM. While global evidence is mounting on CIM, to the authors' knowledge, Canadian data on CIM and related health outcomes (i.e., physical activity (PA) behaviour) are missing. The purpose of this study was to examine if CIM is related to multiple characteristics of accelerometry-measured PA behaviour (total PA, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, time spent sedentary) and whether associations between CIM and PA behaviour systematically vary by place of residence, stratifying by gender and type of day/period (weekdays, after-school, weekend). Participants were recruited through Project BEAT (Built Environment and Active Transport; http://www.beat.utoronto.ca). Children (n = 856) were stratified into four neighbourhood classifications based on the period of neighbourhood development (urban built environment (BE) (old BE) versus inner-suburban BE (new BE)) and socioeconomic status (SES; low SES and high SES). Physical activity was measured via accelerometry (ActiGraph GT1M). CIM was assessed via parental report and two categories were created (low CIM, n = 332; high CIM, n = 524). A series of two-factor ANOVAs were used to determine gender-specific differences in PA for weekdays, weekend days and the after-school period, according to level of CIM, across four neighbourhood classifications. Children who were granted at least some independent mobility (high CIM) had more positive PA profiles across the school week, during the after-school period, and over the weekend; they were also less sedentary. The influence of CIM on PA behaviour was particularly salient during the after-school period. Associations of CIM with PA varied by gender, and also by neighbourhood classification. CIM seemed to matter more in urban neighbourhoods for boys and suburban neighbourhoods for girls. Our

Urbanization is a main driver for the larval ecology of Aedes mosquitoes in arbovirus-endemic settings in south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire.

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Zahouli, Julien B Z; Koudou, Benjamin G; Müller, Pie; Malone, David; Tano, Yao; Utzinger, Jürg

2017-07-01

Failure in detecting naturally occurring breeding sites of Aedes mosquitoes can bias the conclusions drawn from field studies, and hence, negatively affect intervention outcomes. We characterized the habitats of immature Aedes mosquitoes and explored species dynamics along a rural-to-urban gradient in a West Africa setting where yellow fever and dengue co-exist. Between January 2013 and October 2014, we collected immature Aedes mosquitoes in water containers in rural, suburban, and urban areas of south-eastern Côte d'Ivoire, using standardized sampling procedures. Immature mosquitoes were reared in the laboratory and adult specimens identified at species level. We collected 6,159, 14,347, and 22,974 Aedes mosquitoes belonging to 17, 8, and 3 different species in rural, suburban, and urban environments, respectively. Ae. aegypti was the predominant species throughout, with a particularly high abundance in urban areas (99.374%). Eleven Aedes larval species not previously sampled in similar settings of Côte d'Ivoire were identified: Ae. albopictus, Ae. angustus, Ae. apicoargenteus, Ae. argenteopunctatus, Ae. haworthi, Ae. lilii, Ae. longipalpis, Ae. opok, Ae. palpalis, Ae. stokesi, and Ae. unilineatus. Aedes breeding site positivity was associated with study area, container type, shade, detritus, water turbidity, geographic location, season, and the presence of predators. We found proportionally more positive breeding sites in urban (2,136/3,374, 63.3%), compared to suburban (1,428/3,069, 46.5%) and rural areas (738/2,423, 30.5%). In the urban setting, the predominant breeding sites were industrial containers (e.g., tires and discarded containers). In suburban areas, containers made of traditional materials (e.g., clay pots) were most frequently encountered. In rural areas, natural containers (e.g., tree holes and bamboos) were common and represented 22.1% (163/738) of all Aedes-positive containers, hosting 18.7% of the Aedes fauna. The predatory mosquito species

Girl Talk: A Qualitative Study of Girls Talking about the Meaning of Their Lives in an Urban Single-Sex Elementary School

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Ridenour, Carolyn S.; Hassell Hughes, Sheila

2016-01-01

The suburban-urban achievement gap (diminishing until the 1980s) has stopped its narrowing trend, and single-sex schools are proliferating as a reform model, especially in urban areas. In this study researchers interviewed eight elementary school girls (in an all-girls school) three times over 2 years, and the resulting 23 transcripts were…

The Impact of Collective Bargaining on Teacher Transfer Rates in Urban High-Poverty Schools

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Nelson, F. Howard

2006-01-01

Data in this report reveals that collectively bargaining agreements are not the source of the teacher quality problem in urban school districts. The data shows that collective bargaining agreements are associated with reduced teacher transfer activity, especially in high-poverty schools, and less reliance on first-year teachers to staff…

Obesity and the built environment at different urban scales: examining the literature.

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Garfinkel-Castro, Andrea; Kim, Keuntae; Hamidi, Shima; Ewing, Reid

2017-01-01

The majority of people now live in an urban (or suburban) environment. The built (material) environment, its vehicular and pedestrian infrastructure, buildings, and public realm places, are the places used for working, living, and recreating. The environment currently favors and facilitates motorized vehicles generally, and private automobiles especially. The prioritization given to vehicles reduces opportunities for other, more active modes of travel such as walking and bicycling. Though the built environment cannot be said to directly affect human obesity, the built environment clearly has a relationship to obesity as a consequence of physical activity. Most concerning is that rates of obesity have risen as cars have become increasingly privileged, leading to places that favor driving over walking or bicycling. This review examines current empirical literature on the environment and obesity at 3 key urban scales: macro, meso, and micro. Other key issues examined include longitudinal studies and self-selection bias. Evidence for a relationship between urban and suburban environments and obesity is found in the literature, but the lack of longitudinal research and research controlling for self-selection bias remains underrepresented. © The Author(s) 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Life Sciences Institute. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Young women's scientific identity formation in an urban context

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Brickhouse, Nancy W.; Potter, Jennifer T.

2001-10-01

In this article we examine the scientific identity formation of two young women of color who attend an urban vocational high school. One young woman lives in an urban setting, while the other lives in a suburban setting. We describe how these young women's identities influence and respond to experiences in school science. In particular, we describe how the experience of marginalization can make membership in a school science community impossible or undesirable. We also describe the advantages that accrue to students who fit well with the ideal identities of an urban school. Finally, we describe some of the difficulties students face who aspire to scientific or technological competence yet do not desire to take on aspects of the identities associated with membership in school science communities.

HOME RANGE AND HABITAT USE OF SUBURBAN RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO

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Suburban habitats may provide different resources and different challenges to raptors than do more traditional, rural habitats. Suburban red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) of the eastern subspecies have been little studied. We measured the home ranges and habitat use of 11 su...

Basic conditions of innovative development of Volgograd suburban zone

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Beljaev Mihail Konstantinovich

2015-03-01

The article identified and described the factors in the development of modern suburban zones at the macro level (international conditions, changing the types and sources of economic growth, changing the types of socio-economic systems; at the meso level (state socio-economic policy, regional socio-economic policy, the policy of local self-government; at the micro level (natural, production, research, educational, investment, infrastructure, administrative, labor, cultural-historical and information potentials. The main competitive advantages of Volgograd suburban zone are the natural and cultural-historical conditions, the main problems are organizational management, investment, research factors of development.

Homeowner Associations as a Vehicle for Promoting Native Urban Biodiversity

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Susannah B. Lerman

2012-12-01

Full Text Available The loss of habitat due to suburban and urban development represents one of the greatest threats to biodiversity. Conservation developments have emerged as a key player for reconciling new ex-urban residential development with ecosystem services. However, as more than half of the world population lives in urban and suburban developments, identifying conservation partners to facilitate retrofitting existing residential neighborhoods becomes paramount. Homeowner associations (HOA manage a significant proportion of residential developments in the United States, which includes the landscape design for yards and gardens. These areas have the potential to mitigate the loss of urban biodiversity when they provide habitat for native wildlife. Therefore, the conditions and restrictions imposed upon the homeowner by the HOA could have profound effects on the local wildlife habitat. We explored the potential of HOAs to promote conservation by synthesizing research from three monitoring programs from Phoenix, Arizona. We compared native bird diversity, arthropod diversity, and plant diversity between neighborhoods with and without a HOA. Neighborhoods belonging to HOAs had significantly greater bird and plant diversity, although insect diversity did not differ. The institutional framework structuring HOAs, including sanctions for enforcement coupled with a predictable maintenance regime that introduces regular disturbance, might explain why neighborhoods with a HOA had greater bird diversity. For neighborhoods with a HOA, we analyzed landscape form and management practices. We linked these features with ecological function and suggested how to modify management practices by adopting strategies from the Sustainable Sites Initiative, an international sustainable landscaping program, to help support biodiversity in current and future residential landscapes.

New Partner Recruitment to Rural Versus Urban Ob-Gyn Practices

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Michael F. Fialkow

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this pilot study was to investigate the recruitment efforts of practicing obstetrics and gynecology (ob-gyns from rural and urban practices. Method: The authors surveyed practicing ob-gyns from 5 states in the Pacific Northwest in 2016 about their background, practice setting, practice profile, partner recruitment, and retention. Results: Seventy-three patients completed the study (53.2% response rate. Thirty-seven percent of respondents work in an urban practice and 43% have a rural practice, with the remainder in a suburban setting. A majority of the respondents attempted to recruit a new partner in the past 5 years. Respondents were most interested in experience and diversity in new recruits. Urban respondents, however, were more interested in hiring those with specialized skills (χ 2 = 7.842, P = .02 than rural providers who were more interested in partners familiar with their community (χ 2 = 7.153, P = .03. Reasons most often cited to leave their practice were reimbursement, limited social/marital options, and workload, other than rural providers who more often also cited lack of access to specialty care (χ 2 = 13.256, P = .001. Rural providers were more likely to cite marital and family status as an advantage to recruitment, whereas urban and suburban providers were more often neutral. Conclusions: Reduced access to care has led to significant health disparities for women living in rural communities. Understanding which providers are most likely to be successful in these settings might help preserve access as our health-care systems evolves.

Human perceptions before and after a 50% reduction in an urban deer herd's density

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David W. Henderson; Robert J. Warren; David H. Newman; J. Michael Bowker; Jennifer S. Cromwell; Jeffrey J. Jackson

2000-01-01

Overabundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations in urban and suburban areas can be controversial because of potential damage to landscape vegetation, deer-vehicle collisions, and fear over transmission of tick-borne diseases. Herd reduction is often proposed to solve these problems; however, the ability of human residents to...

Patterns of Wastewater Infrastructure along a Gradient of Coastal Urbanization: A Study of the Puget Sound Region

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Daniele Spirandelli

2015-11-01

Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to explore patterns of wastewater infrastructures (sewers vs. septic tanks in urbanizing watersheds across a coastal metropolitan region. This research combines an urban-rural gradient with spatial metrics at the patch and watershed scale (proportion of parcels on a treatment system, septic density, lot size and percent imperviousness to analyze wastewater patterns in the Puget Sound, WA, USA. Results show that most urban residential parcels are hooked up to a sewer, although there remain urban residences on a septic tank with small lots. I find a complex arrangement of wastewater treatment in suburban watersheds representing a patchwork of parcels on sewers and septic tanks. Sewers dominate in total numbers, while the density of septic tanks is highest in this portion of the urban gradient. Lot size decreases from rural to urban; however, it varies depending on the type of wastewater treatment system. In urban watersheds, lots on septic tanks are significantly smaller than lots in suburban and rural watersheds and of a similar size compared to lots on sewers. I also find a significant difference in the amount of impervious surfaces in watersheds dominated by sewers vs. septic tanks. In the urban portion of the gradient, the amount of paved surfaces in parcels with septic tanks is also similar in level as parcels with sewers. I discuss how these patterns emerge from the interplay of biophysical, socio-economic and technological factors and how different regulatory regimes for septic tanks and sewers may further induce these patterns.

Impact of economic development on quality of life and human happiness: a study on urban socio economic classes of suburban Mumbai

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Debjani Banerjee

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper emphasizes that for a nation to revitalize in terms of development, not only does it need to evaluate in terms of GDP growth rate, but also has to consider the Quality of Life of its citizen and their human happiness. There is strong correlation between macro-economic development parameters like health, education, GDP growth rate and Quality of Life Index, expressed through HDI. It also has correlation with subjective quality of life based on the perception of urban socio economic classes, as measured in this study. The subjective quality of life is studied through five parameters like Quality of house, education, health care, transportation and recreation facilities. Human happiness is evaluated through the perception of respondents towards change in their financial conditions and consumption expenditure influencing their quality of life. This empirical research through spearman’s rank correlation tried to establish the relationship between macro-economic indicators with the quality of life parameters as perceived by people. The study was conducted in Mumbai, and its suburban areas .with a sample of 850 respondents taken through structured questionnaire, during 2012-13. It was observed from A. T. Kearney’s GRDI report that India was ranking between first five positions, consistently in terms of Modern Trade Retail Business since 2000. The managerial implication of the study highlights the association of quantitative economic development with larger aspect of human development, for the policy makers to understand the various areas which needs to be taken care to cater towards revitalizing the development of the nation

Temporal dynamic of malaria in a suburban area along the Niger River.

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Sissoko, Mahamadou Soumana; Sissoko, Kourane; Kamate, Bourama; Samake, Yacouba; Goita, Siaka; Dabo, Abdoulaye; Yena, Mama; Dessay, Nadine; Piarroux, Renaud; Doumbo, Ogobara K; Gaudart, Jean

2017-10-23

Even if rainfall and temperature are factors classically associated to malaria, little is known about other meteorological factors, their variability and combinations related to malaria, in association with river height variations. Furthermore, in suburban area, urbanization and growing population density should be assessed in relation to these environmental factors. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of combined environmental, meteorological and hydrological factors on malaria incidence through time in the context of urbanization. Population observational data were prospectively collected. Clinical malaria was defined as the presence of parasites in addition to clinical symptoms. Meteorological and hydrological factors were measured daily. For each factors variation indices were estimated. Urbanization was yearly estimated assessing satellite imaging and field investigations. Principal component analysis was used for dimension reduction and factors combination. Lags between malaria incidences and the main components were assessed by cross-correlation functions. Generalized additive model was used to assess relative impact of different environmental components, taking into account lags, and modelling non-linear relationships. Change-point analysis was used to determine transmission periods within years. Malaria incidences were dominated by annual periodicity and varied through time without modification of the dynamic, with no impact of the urbanization. The main meteorological factor associated with malaria was a combination of evaporation, humidity and rainfall, with a lag of 3 months. The relationship between combined temperature factors showed a linear impact until reaching high temperatures limiting malaria incidence, with a lag 3.25 months. Height and variation of the river were related to malaria incidence (respectively 6 week lag and no lag). The study emphasizes no decreasing trend of malaria incidence despite accurate access to care and

EVALUATION OF HUMAN SETTLEMENT INFLUENCE ON SUBURBAN TRAFFIC FLOW DENSITY

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P. Horbachov

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Study results of the human settlement influence on the traffic flow density in suburban service of international, national and regional roads of Ukraine are presented. The possibility of an adequate description of suburban traffic flows in the vicinity of large cities is established, depending on the city population and link remoteness from the city center. The possibility is determined on the basis of obtained models to define the prognosis value of the intensity and specific maintenance of freight and passenger transport flows.

Mobility and Active Ageing in Suburban Environments: Findings from In-Depth Interviews and Person-Based GPS Tracking

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Elisabeth Zeitler

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Background. Governments face a significant challenge to ensure that community environments meet the mobility needs of an ageing population. Therefore, it is critical to investigate the effect of suburban environments on the choice of transportation and its relation to participation and active ageing. Objective. This research explores if and how suburban environments impact older people's mobility and their use of different modes of transport. Methods. Data derived from GPS tracking, travel diaries, brief questionnaires, and semistructured interviews were gathered from thirteen people aged from 56 to 87 years, living in low-density suburban environments in Brisbane, Australia. Results. The suburban environment influenced the choice of transportation and out-of-home mobility. Both walkability and public transportation (access and usability impact older people's transportation choices. Impracticality of active and public transportation within suburban environments creates car dependency in older age. Conclusion. Suburban environments often create barriers to mobility, which impedes older people's engagement in their wider community and ability to actively age in place. Further research is needed to develop approaches towards age-friendly suburban environments which will encourage older people to remain active and engaged in older age.

Sprawl and your health : what is the suburban dream costing you

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fenniak, T.

2002-03-01

This paper described the link between environmental decline and suburban sprawl and cautioned that Edmontonians should pay particular attention to the definite health costs associated with this burdened lifestyle. This paper suggested that although the suburban dream seemed to be a solution to a high-pressure, technology-driven culture, suburban sprawl is actually contributing to both social and environmental problems. Sprawl has caused us to lose many of the benefits of city life such as places of employment, medical services, meeting places, shops and restaurants, which created cities in the first place. Sprawl contributes to increased dependency on the automobile. The impact that sprawl has on traffic patterns, toxic emissions, and traffic psychology was discussed, as well as the impact that a sedentary lifestyle has on the health of both adults and children. 30 refs., 1 tab., 6 figs., 1 append.

Urban Space as the Commons - New Modes for Urban Space Management

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Ondrejicka, Vladimir; Finka, Maros; Husar, Milan; Jamecny, Lubomir

2017-12-01

The significant growing of urban population, globalization of social-ecological systems, fuzzification of spatial structures, the diversity of actors in spatial development, their power and interest in using the resources including space, especially in high-density urban areas. Spatial development is connected with a high concentration of economic activities and population in urban systems. In many cases very rapid processes of urbanization and suburbanization approach natural spatial/territorial limits, such as carrying capacity of land, transport and infrastructural systems, absorption capacities of recipients and others [1]. Growing shortage of space and problems in their accessibility (physical, functional, etc.) leads to growing tension and conflicts among the actors/users of urban spaces and represent the initial phase of space deprivations processes. There is a parallel with “tragedy of commons” as defined by Hardin [2] and was reinterpreted by many other academics and researchers. Urban space can be clearly interpreted as the commons or commons good for their community of users and relevant actors, so innovative governance modes overlapping defined “tragedy of commons” representing a possible approach for a new concept of urban public spaces management. This paper presents a possible new approach to the management of urban spaces reflecting the current challenges in spatial development based on the theory of commons and innovative governance modes. The new approach is built on innovations in institutional regimes, the algorithm of decision-making and economic expression and interpretation of quality of the space. The theory of the commons as the base source for this approach has been broadly proved in practice and Elinor Ostrom as the author of this theory [3-5] was awarded by Nobel Prize in 2009.

Perceived Risk of Developing Cancer in a Suburban Community

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Pasi, Hafizah; Md Isa, Zaleha; Azhar Shah, Shamsul

2018-02-26

Objective: To determine the perceived risk of developing cancer in a suburban community in Malaysia. Methods: A cross sectional study using a simple random sampling was conducted among residents aged 18 years old and above (n=520) who had never been diagnosed with cancer, in selected households in a suburban area of Pahang state in Malaysia. The study instruments were a validated questionnaire on risk perception, an automatic blood pressure monitor, a weighing scale and a measuring tape. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 20.0 and the p value was taken at p history of cancer (adjusted OR of 4.80; 95% CI = 1.45-15.82) (p=0.010) among this population. Conclusion: The perceived risk of developing cancer in the selected suburban community of Pahang state in Malaysia is low as compared to that for other non-communicable diseases in this country, whilst the perceived severity was higher than for other diseases. Thus, considering the importance of correct perceptions for behavioral changes, more health education and promotion is needed to make the community better aware of the actual threat of cancer. Creative Commons Attribution License

Improving Urban Water Environment in Eastern China by Blending Traditional with Modern Landscape Planning

OpenAIRE

Cao, Jiajie; Yu, Junjun; Tian, Yuan; Zhao, Cai; Wang, Hao

2017-01-01

As a fundamental part of greenspace, urban water landscape contributes greatly to the ecological system and at the same time supplies a leisure area for residents. The paper did an analysis on the number of aquatic plant communities, the form of water spaces, and water quality condition by investigating 135 quadrats (90 at amphibious boundary and the land, 45 in the water) in 45 transects of 15 urban and suburban parks. We found that water spaces had monotonous forms with low biodiversity and...

Pollination success of Lotus corniculatus (L.) in an urban context

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Pellissier, Vincent; Muratet, Audrey; Verfaillie, Fabien; Machon, Nathalie

2012-02-01

Most anthropogenic activities are known to have deleterious effects on pollinator communities. However, little is known about the influence of urbanization on pollination ecosystem services. Here, we assessed the pollination service on Lotus corniculatus (L.), a self-sterile, strictly entogamous Fabaceae commonly observed in urban and suburban areas. We assessed the pollination success of artificial Lotus corniculatus populations at three levels: at large scale, along an urbanization gradient; at intermediate scale, based on landscape fragmentation within a 250 m radius and at local scale based on floral resource abundance and local habitat type. The main findings were that the pollination success, when assessed with the number of fruit produced per inflorescence, was lower in urban areas than in suburban ones, and was negatively affected by the number of impervious spaces in the neighborhood. The relationship between the number of fruits and the distance to the nearest impervious space was either positive or negative, depending on the gray/green ratio (low vs. high). Finally, on a local scale, floral resource abundance had a negative effect on pollination success when L. corniculatus populations were located in paved courtyards, and a positive one when they were located in parks. Pollination success seems to be explained by two intertwined gradients: landscape fragmentation estimated by the number of impervious spaces in a 250 m radius around L. corniculatus populations, and the behavior of bumblebees toward birdsfoot trefoil and floral displays, which appears to differ depending on whether a neighborhood is densely or sparsely urbanized. An abundance of attracting floral resources seems to enhance pollination success for L. corniculatus if it is not too isolated from other green spaces. These results have important implications for the sustainability of pollination success in towns by identifying local and landscape factors that influence reproductive success of

Unsustaineble pseudo-urban consequences of legal and urban terminology

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Ćerimović Velimir Lj.

2011-01-01

Full Text Available City planning is a complex task and through this work we face the space and natural resources that expose the exploitation (that are to be exploited and prone to unsustainable change. Often without environmental responsibility and the imperative of creating certain measures we make superstructure no matter how much the environment may be disrupted, and whether such relationships create a better society, better network of urban settlements and a better man. At that may also affect our knowledge which is often due to a variety of doctrines and legislative regulations that are applied in the planning and management space. From this it can be seen that modern architecture did not contribute to the creation of better cities. Also, urban planning is mainly restricted to the regulation and it neglected the creative action, regional-planning is lost in theoretical research, while the consideration of the whole problem is abandoned. In addition to this, in today’s transitional terms and the domineering (dominant urban crisis unsustainable combination and identification of the “2D” and the “3D” terminology is recognizable, which is only indicators that in the field of urban planning some transitional trends are prevailing. This unsustainable state of affairs in the transitional planning of urban areas can be applied in the most suitable way to pseudo-urbanization, sub-urbanization, unbalanced eco-reciprocity, non-standard construction of the urban tissue, discontinuity inherited and newly constructed urban substance. In this regard, consequently expressed negative environmental legacy of reproduction and the increased effect of the negative consequences of greenhouse gases from the threatening climate change, only shows that urban planners are not sinless and, they more or less (unconsciously complicit and participate in the contamination of urban and environment. In the end, it definitely guides us to the need to leave or transformation of the

Modeling Impact of Urbanization in US Cities Using Simple Biosphere Model SiB2

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Zhang, Ping; Bounoua, Lahouari; Thome, Kurtis; Wolfe, Robert

2016-01-01

We combine Landsat- and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS)-based products, as well as climate drivers from Phase 2 of the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS-2) in a Simple Biosphere land surface model (SiB2) to assess the impact of urbanization in continental USA (excluding Alaska and Hawaii). More than 300 cities and their surrounding suburban and rural areas are defined in this study to characterize the impact of urbanization on surface climate including surface energy, carbon budget, and water balance. These analyses reveal an uneven impact of urbanization across the continent that should inform upon policy options for improving urban growth including heat mitigation and energy use, carbon sequestration and flood prevention.

The Effectiveness of Planning Control on Urban Growth: Evidence from Hangzhou, China

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Yizhou Wu

2017-05-01

Full Text Available Urban sprawl presents a serious challenge for sustainable urban land use. Urban planning attempts to guarantee sustainable urban development and proper use of land resources. However, a large gap usually exists between planning and actual development. This paper aims to analyze the evolutionary characteristics of urban form and the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban planning from 1964 to 2013, using the case of Hangzhou, China. We proposed a framework that included remote sensing, landscape metrics, and control effectiveness indexes. The results indicated that urban planning failed to perform effectively in Hangzhou, reflected by the uncontrolled urban sprawl during all the planning periods. The low effectiveness of planning was resulted from multiple factors, including historical economic events that made expansion unexpected, functional orientation of planning which drove fragmented suburbanization, the ineffective methods for forecasting population and land use, and the influences by the market forces. The findings deepen the understanding of the impacts of urban planning, and provide references for making rational urban management decisions and sustainable urban land management.

The wildland-urban interface raster dataset of Catalonia.

Science.gov (United States)

Alcasena, Fermín J; Evers, Cody R; Vega-Garcia, Cristina

2018-04-01

We provide the wildland urban interface (WUI) map of the autonomous community of Catalonia (Northeastern Spain). The map encompasses an area of some 3.21 million ha and is presented as a 150-m resolution raster dataset. Individual housing location, structure density and vegetation cover data were used to spatially assess in detail the interface, intermix and dispersed rural WUI communities with a geographical information system. Most WUI areas concentrate in the coastal belt where suburban sprawl has occurred nearby or within unmanaged forests. This geospatial information data provides an approximation of residential housing potential for loss given a wildfire, and represents a valuable contribution to assist landscape and urban planning in the region.

Urban energy planning in Tartu

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Große, Juliane; Groth, Niels Boje; Fertner, Christian

The Estonian planning system allots the main responsibilities for planning activities to the local level, whereas the regional level (county) is rather weak. That implies a gap of cooperation on the regional level, leading to dispersed urban development in suburban municipalities and ongoing urban...... sprawl in the vicinity of Tartu. This development appears contrary to the concept of “low-density urbanised space” as formulated in the National Spatial Plan “Estonia 2030+” (NSP) as the central spatial development concept for Estonia and also to a compact and intensive city development as formulated...... in the Master Plan of Tartu. Since Tartu has no relevant big industries, the main employers are the municipality and the university, energy related challenges occur from transport and residential (district) heating. The modal split shows big differences between journeys within Tartu and journeys between Tartu...

Provider Perspectives on School-Based Mental Health for Urban Minority Youth: Access and Services

Science.gov (United States)

Gamble, Brandon E.; Lambros, Katina M.

2014-01-01

This article provides results from a qualitative study on the efforts of school-based mental health providers (SBMHPs) who serve students in urban, suburban, and ethnically diverse settings to help families access quality mental health services. School-based mental health plays a key role in the provision of direct and indirect intervention…

DO POST-SOCIALIST URBAN AREAS MAINTAIN THEIR SUSTAINABLE COMPACT FORM? ROMANIAN URBAN AREAS AS CASE STUDY

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Simona Raluca GRĂDINARU

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The compact city is regarded as an important concept in promoting sustainable development, especially within the European Union. The socialist urban planning system maintained a high compactness of the urban areas through almost exclusive predominance of the public sector in housing provision, and ideological nature of the planning strategies. After the 1990’s, the administrative decentralization allowed local authorities to adopt particular urban development strategies. However, development was directly influenced by the importance of the urban administrative centre. The aim of the paper is to determine if post-socialist urban areas maintained their compact urban form or they encountered different evolution trajectories. We determined the type of changes by calculating urban form indicators at two time moments: 1990 and 2006. Furthermore, the two-way repeated-measurement ANOVA was used to identify significant changes, and to assess the effect of the development level of the urban area on the variance of form indicators. The results show that Romanian post-socialist urban areas either shifted from the compact form, "inherited" after the collapse of socialism, to more dispersed patterns, either expanded in a compact manner. Moreover, as development level got higher, urban areas were more likely to be affected by suburbanization and periurbanization. In order to respond to these challenges, new instruments such as setting of metropolitan areas or spatial framework plans could be used. Furthermore, planning should be adapted to local circumstances and to the different development trajectories of big and mid-sized urban areas.

Flux-based Enrichment Ratios of Throughfall and Stemflow Found to Vary Significantly within Urban Fragments and Along an Urban-to-Rural Gradient

Science.gov (United States)

Dowtin, A. L.; Levia, D. F., Jr.

2017-12-01

Throughfall and stemflow are important inputs of water and solutes to forest soils in both rural and urban forests. In metropolitan wooded ecosystems, a number of factors can affect flux-based enrichment ratios, including combustion of fossil fuels and proximity to industry. Use of flux-based enrichment ratios provides a means by which this modification of net precipitation chemistry can be quantified for both throughfall and stemflow, and allows for a characterization of the relative contributions of stemflow and throughfall in the delivery of nutrients and pollutants to forest soils. This study utilizes five mixed deciduous forest stands along an urban-to-rural gradient (3 urban fragments, 1 suburban fragment, and a portion of 1 contiguous rural forest) within a medium-sized metropolitan region of the United States' Northeast megalopolis, to determine how the size, shape, structure, and geographic context of remnant forest fragments determine hydrologic and solute fluxes within them. In situ observations of throughfall and stemflow (the latter of which is limited to Quercus rubra and Quercus alba) within each study plot allow for an identification and characterization of the spatial variability in solute fluxes within and between the respective sites. Preliminary observations indicate significant intra-site variability in solute concentrations as observed in both throughfall and stemflow, with higher concentrations along the respective windward edges of the study plots than at greater depths into their interiors. Higher flux-based stemflow enrichment ratios, for both Q. rubra and Q. alba, were also evident for certain ions (i.e., S2-, NO3-) in the urban forest fragments, with significantly lower ratios observed at the suburban and rural sites. Findings from this research are intended to aid in quantifying the spatial variability of the hydrologic and hydrochemical ecosystem service provisions of remnant metropolitan forest fragments. This research is supported in

The urban sprawl: a planetary growth process?: an overview of USA, Mexico and Spain

OpenAIRE

Arellano Ramos, Blanca; Roca Cladera, Josep

2010-01-01

It is a fact that the urban sprawl, known as the process of gradual spread out of urbanization has become a worldwide phenomenon. The growing consumption of land, as a result of the extension of highway networks, open up vast space of territory, which seems to have become an unstoppable cancer, and affects virtually all the contemporary metropolis. The expansion of the cities had its origin in the model of suburban life, which began with the generalized use of the automobile. A lifestyle b...

Urban Sprawl: A planetary growth process? An overview of USA, México and Spain

OpenAIRE

Arellano Ramos, Blanca; Roca Cladera, Josep

2010-01-01

It is a fact that the urban sprawl, known as the process of gradual spread out of urbanization has become a worldwide phenomenon. The growing consumption of land, as a result of the extension of highway networks, open up vast space of territory, which seems to have become an unstoppable cancer, and affects virtually all the contemporary metropolis. The expansion of the cities had its origin in the model of suburban life, which began with the generalized use of the automobile. A lifestyle b...

Distribution and Source Apportionment of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Forest Soils from Urban to Rural Areas in the Pearl River Delta of Southern China

Science.gov (United States)

Xiao, Yihua; Tong, Fuchun; Kuang, Yuanwen; Chen, Bufeng

2014-01-01

The upper layer of forest soils (0–20 cm depth) were collected from urban, suburban, and rural areas in the Pearl River Delta of Southern China to estimate the distribution and the possible sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Total concentrations of PAHs in the forest soils decreased significantly along the urban–suburban–rural gradient, indicating the influence of anthropogenic emissions on the PAH distribution in forest soils. High and low molecular weight PAHs dominated in the urban and rural forest soils, respectively, implying the difference in emission sources between the areas. The values of PAH isomeric diagnostic ratios indicated that forest soil PAHs were mainly originated from traffic emissions, mixed sources and coal/wood combustion in the urban, suburban and rural areas, respectively. Principal component analysis revealed that traffic emissions, coal burning and residential biomass combustion were the three primary contributors to forest soil PAHs in the Pearl River Delta. Long range transportation of PAHs via atmosphere from urban area might also impact the PAHs distribution in the forest soils of rural area. PMID:24599040

Urban Uses and Social Impact of New Communication Technology: A Critical and Philosophical Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Burd, Gene

The impact of the new communication technology is analyzed in this paper in the context of cities and urbanization. The paper explores the concurrent decline of central cities and that of the mass media, as well as the rise of decentralization and "suburbanization" and the rise in media specialization. It suggests that the increase in…

Obesity, physical activity, and the urban environment: public health research needs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lopez Russell P

2006-09-01

Full Text Available Abstract Persistent trends in overweight and obesity have resulted in a rapid research effort focused on built environment, physical activity, and overweight. Much of the focus of this research has been on the design and form of suburbs. It suggests that several features of the suburban built environment such as low densities, poor street connectivity and the lack of sidewalks are associated with decreased physical activity and an increased risk of being overweight. But compared to suburban residents, inner city populations have higher rates of obesity and inactivity despite living in neighborhoods that are dense, have excellent street connectivity and who's streets are almost universally lined with sidewalks. We suggest that the reasons for this apparent paradox are rooted in the complex interaction of land use, infrastructure and social factors affecting inner city populations. Sometimes seemingly similar features are the result of very different processes, necessitating different policy responses to meet these challenges. For example, in suburbs, lower densities can result from government decision making that leads to restrictive zoning and land use issues. In the inner city, densities may be lowered because of abandonment and disinvestment. In the suburbs, changes in land use regulations could result in a healthier built environment. In inner cities, increasing densities will depend on reversing economic trends and investment decisions that have systematically resulted in distressed housing, abandoned buildings and vacant lots. These varying issues need to be further studied in the context of the totality of urban environments, incorporating what has been learned from other disciplines, such as economics and sociology, as well as highlighting some of the more successful inner city policy interventions, which may provide examples for communities working to improve their health. Certain disparities among urban and suburban populations in

Urban sprawl in Iranian cities and its differences with the western sprawl

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Ebrahimpour-Masoumi Houshmand

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Recently a number of studies have focused on urban sprawl in the Iranian cities and the negative impacts of such development pattern. Although in a general view the phrase “urban sprawl” is used for fast and sometimes uncontrolled urbanizations, but there are dissimilarities between the urban sprawl in the western societies with the so-called Iranian urban sprawl. This paper discusses these differences as part of five main aspects that are mentioned in the internationally recognized urban sprawl definitions. Suburban sprawl, single-use developments/zoning, disconnected street network, low accessibility of the new developments, and commercial strip development are the aspects that are descriptively discussed as the main differences between the two types of sprawl. The main point of the discussion is that due to the wide range of similarities, which are briefly introduced, the type of the fast outward urban growth that is observed in the periphery of the Iranian cities can be defined as a part of the universal urban sprawl trend. Finally a definition is suggested for explaining urban sprawl in Iran.

Effects of urban sprawl on snags and the abundance and productivity of cavity-nesting birds

Science.gov (United States)

Christina M. Blewett; John M. Marzluff

2005-01-01

We investigated the occurrence of, and relationships among, snags and cavity-nesting birds in the rapidly urbanizing region around Seattle, Washington in 2001 and 2002. We measured the density of snags in 49 sites (1-km2 "suburban landscapes" that included built and forested portions), and determined the diameter, height, decay status,...

The freedom to explore: examining the influence of independent mobility on weekday, weekend and after-school physical activity behaviour in children living in urban and inner-suburban neighbourhoods of varying socioeconomic status

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Children’s independent mobility (CIM) is critical to healthy development in childhood. The physical layout and social characteristics of neighbourhoods can impact opportunities for CIM. While global evidence is mounting on CIM, to the authors’ knowledge, Canadian data on CIM and related health outcomes (i.e., physical activity (PA) behaviour) are missing. The purpose of this study was to examine if CIM is related to multiple characteristics of accelerometry-measured PA behaviour (total PA, light PA, moderate-to-vigorous PA, time spent sedentary) and whether associations between CIM and PA behaviour systematically vary by place of residence, stratifying by gender and type of day/period (weekdays, after-school, weekend). Methods Participants were recruited through Project BEAT (Built Environment and Active Transport; http://www.beat.utoronto.ca). Children (n = 856) were stratified into four neighbourhood classifications based on the period of neighbourhood development (urban built environment (BE) (old BE) versus inner-suburban BE (new BE)) and socioeconomic status (SES; low SES and high SES). Physical activity was measured via accelerometry (ActiGraph GT1M). CIM was assessed via parental report and two categories were created (low CIM, n = 332; high CIM, n = 524). A series of two-factor ANOVAs were used to determine gender-specific differences in PA for weekdays, weekend days and the after-school period, according to level of CIM, across four neighbourhood classifications. Results Children who were granted at least some independent mobility (high CIM) had more positive PA profiles across the school week, during the after-school period, and over the weekend; they were also less sedentary. The influence of CIM on PA behaviour was particularly salient during the after-school period. Associations of CIM with PA varied by gender, and also by neighbourhood classification. CIM seemed to matter more in urban neighbourhoods for boys and suburban

Schools at the Rural-Urban Boundary - Blurring the Divide?

Science.gov (United States)

Burdick-Will, Julia; Logan, John R

2017-07-01

Schools mirror the communities in which they are located. Research on school inequality across the rural-urban spectrum tends to focus on the contrast between urban, suburban, and rural schools and glosses over the variation within these areas as well as the similarities between them. To address this gap and provide a richer description of the spatial distribution of educational inequality, we examine the school composition, achievement, and resources of all U.S. elementary schools in 2010-2011. We apply standard census definitions of what areas fall within central cities, the remainder of metropolitan regions, and in rural America. We then apply spatially explicit methods to reveal blurred boundaries and gradual gradients rather than sharp breaks at the edges of these zones. The results show high levels of variation within the suburbs and substantial commonality between rural and urban areas.

Assessing the Impact of Urbanization on Direct Runoff Using Improved Composite CN Method in a Large Urban Area

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunlin; Liu, Miao; Hu, Yuanman; Shi, Tuo; Zong, Min; Walter, M. Todd

2018-01-01

Urbanization is one of the most widespread anthropogenic activities, which brings a range of physical and biochemical changes to hydrological system and processes. Increasing direct runoff caused by land use change has become a major challenge for urban ecological security. Reliable prediction of the quantity and rate of surface runoff is an inherently difficult and time-consuming task for large ungauged urban areas. In this study, we combined Geographic Information System and remote sensing technology with an improved Soil Conservation Service curve number model to evaluate the effects of land use change on direct runoff volume of the four-ring area in Shenyang, China, and analyzed trends of direct runoff at different scales. Through analyzing trends of direct runoff from 1984 to 2015 at different scales, we explored how urbanization and other potential factors affect direct runoff changes. Total direct runoff volume increased over time, and trends varied from the inner urban area to suburban area. Zones 1 and 2 had a tendency toward decreasing direct runoff volume and risks, while Zones 3 and 4 showed gradual increases at both regional and pixel scales. The most important influence on direct runoff change was urban surface change caused by urbanization. This study presents a framework for identifying hotspots of runoff increase, which can provide important guidance to urban managers in future green infrastructure planning, in the hopes of improving the security of urban water ecological patterns. PMID:29673182

Assessing the Impact of Urbanization on Direct Runoff Using Improved Composite CN Method in a Large Urban Area.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Chunlin; Liu, Miao; Hu, Yuanman; Shi, Tuo; Zong, Min; Walter, M Todd

2018-04-17

Urbanization is one of the most widespread anthropogenic activities, which brings a range of physical and biochemical changes to hydrological system and processes. Increasing direct runoff caused by land use change has become a major challenge for urban ecological security. Reliable prediction of the quantity and rate of surface runoff is an inherently difficult and time-consuming task for large ungauged urban areas. In this study, we combined Geographic Information System and remote sensing technology with an improved Soil Conservation Service curve number model to evaluate the effects of land use change on direct runoff volume of the four-ring area in Shenyang, China, and analyzed trends of direct runoff at different scales. Through analyzing trends of direct runoff from 1984 to 2015 at different scales, we explored how urbanization and other potential factors affect direct runoff changes. Total direct runoff volume increased over time, and trends varied from the inner urban area to suburban area. Zones 1 and 2 had a tendency toward decreasing direct runoff volume and risks, while Zones 3 and 4 showed gradual increases at both regional and pixel scales. The most important influence on direct runoff change was urban surface change caused by urbanization. This study presents a framework for identifying hotspots of runoff increase, which can provide important guidance to urban managers in future green infrastructure planning, in the hopes of improving the security of urban water ecological patterns.

Urbanization: Concepts, Trends and Analysis in Three Latin American Cities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Piña William Alfonso

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Explanatory models on the urban expansion process have focussed mainly on the dynamic of cities in the developed countries that are characterized by a strong institutional framework, a culture of urban planning, and compliance with the rules. This paper analyses the phenomenon of urban expansion in three Latin American cities (Buenos Aires, Santiago de Chile and Mexico City, taking into account cities with a strong process of urbanization and where the local administration does not have enough control over the growth of cities due to the high rate of migration determining sub-urbanization, peri-urbanization, exo-urbanization, and counter-urbanization processes similar to developed countries. However, these processes may be related to hidden or displaced urbanization in rural areas of municipalities and metropolitan areas or intermediate cities due to the dynamics of urban consolidation. In every Latin American country, the participation and combination of these phenomena are different, although the results are similar: the advance of urban expansion with more segmented, disperse and distant patterns of large urban centres. This analysis determine the characteristics of the urbanization process taking into account physical and geographic aspects, urbanization trends and socioeconomic features in cities selected of Latin America and determines their impact determining the importance to formulate adequate policies that integrates environmental and socioeconomic aspects to achieve sustainable development in urban contexts.

Variation in photosynthesis and stomatal conductance among red maple (Acer rubrum) urban planted cultivars and wildtype trees in the southeastern United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Lahr, Eleanor C; Dunn, Robert R; Frank, Steven D

2018-01-01

Photosynthesis is a fundamental process that trees perform over fluctuating environmental conditions. This study of red maple (Acer rubrum L.) characterizes photosynthesis, stomatal conductance, and water use efficiency in planted cultivars relative to wildtype trees. Red maple is common in cities, yet there is little understanding of how physiological processes affect the long-term growth, condition, and ecosystem services provided by urban trees. In the first year of our study, we measured leaf-level gas exchange and performed short-term temperature curves on urban planted cultivars and on suburban and rural wildtype trees. In the second year, we compared urban planted cultivars and urban wildtype trees. In the first year, urban planted trees had higher maximum rates of photosynthesis and higher overall rates of photosynthesis and stomatal conductance throughout the summer, relative to suburban or rural wildtype trees. Urban planted trees again had higher maximum rates of photosynthesis in the second year. However, urban wildtype trees had higher water use efficiency as air temperatures increased and similar overall rates of photosynthesis, relative to cultivars, in mid and late summer. Our results show that physiological differences between cultivars and wildtype trees may relate to differences in their genetic background and their responses to local environmental conditions, contingent on the identity of the horticultural variety. Overall, our results suggest that wildtype trees should be considered for some urban locations, and our study is valuable in demonstrating how site type and tree type can inform tree planting strategies and improve long-term urban forest sustainability.

Policy Tools for Addressing Urban Sprawl: Urban Growth Boundaries

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Eric J. STRAUSS

2006-02-01

Full Text Available The analysis herein explores the topic of urban growth boundaries and how local governments in Romania could use this growth management tool in order to address unplanned, haphazard growth that is taking place at the fringe of cities and in the villages/ farming communities that surround them. The structure of the paper is threefold. The first section focuses on a brief socio-economic profile of Cluj-Napoca, Romania. The aim is to provide a better context and facilitate the reader’s understanding of the nature of urban growth and suburbanization in Romania. Cluj-Napoca is currently in the process of adopting a master plan for the city and specific policy recommendations on how to address urban sprawl may prove useful. The authors hope to stir a debate among scholars, practitioners, and residents with regard to how the city of Cluj will further develop and whether future development should occur in the same manner it occurred during the last 10 years. The second section of the paper is meant to introduce the concepts of growth management and urban growth boundaries. The former is described in terms of a planning philosophy while the latter is portrayed as a specific policy tool that growth management advocates suggest it could be used in order to fight sprawl. A case study on urban growth boundaries is presented in order to underscore specific advantages and disadvantages associated with establishing a growth boundary. The last section comprises several preliminary policy recommendations for the city of Cluj-Napoca. Because of the incomplete data the authors currently have on critical issues some of the recommendations are general in scope and need to be further detailed.

Vegetation role in controlling the ecoenvironmental conditions for sustainable urban environments: a comparison of Beijing and Islamabad

Science.gov (United States)

Naeem, Shahid; Cao, Chunxiang; Waqar, Mirza Muhammad; Wei, Chen; Acharya, Bipin Kumar

2018-01-01

The rapid increase in urbanization due to population growth leads to the degradation of vegetation in major cities. This study investigated the spatial patterns of the ecoenvironmental conditions of inhabitants of two distinct Asian capital cities, Beijing of China and Islamabad of Pakistan, by utilizing Earth observation data products. The significance of urban vegetation for the cooling effect was studied in local climate zones, i.e., urban, suburban, and rural areas within 1-km2 quantiles. Landsat-8 (OLI) and Gaofen-1 satellite imagery were used to assess vegetation cover and land surface temperature, while population datasets were used to evaluate environmental impact. Comparatively, a higher cooling effect of vegetation presence was observed in rural and suburban zones of Beijing as compared to Islamabad, while the urban zone of Islamabad was found comparatively cooler than Beijing's urban zone. The urban thermal field variance index calculated from satellite imagery was ranked into the ecological evaluation index. The worst ecoenvironmental conditions were found in urban zones of both cities where the fraction of vegetation is very low. Meanwhile, this condition is more serious in Beijing, as more than 90% of the total population is living under the worst ecoenvironment conditions, while only 7% of the population is enjoying comfortable conditions. Ecoenvironmental conditions of Islamabad are comparatively better than Beijing where ˜61% of the total population live under the worst ecoenvironmental conditions, and ˜24% are living under good conditions. Thus, Islamabad at this early growth stage can learn from Beijing's ecoenvironmental conditions to improve the quality of living by controlling the associated factors in the future.

Within-Colony Variation in the Immunocompetency of Managed and Feral Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Different Urban Landscapes

OpenAIRE

Appler, R.; Frank, Steven; Tarpy, David

2015-01-01

Urbanization has the potential to dramatically affect insect populations worldwide, although its effects on pollinator populations are just beginning to be understood. We compared the immunocompetency of honey bees sampled from feral (wild-living) and managed (beekeeper-owned) honey bee colonies. We sampled foragers from feral and managed colonies in rural, suburban, and urban landscapes in and around Raleigh, NC, USA. We then analyzed adult workers using two standard bioassays for insect imm...

The specifics of suburban architecture

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Piotr WINSKOWSKI

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The fundamental differences between the suburbs and the city centre that I would like to point out concern the pace of life and the intensity of urban development. Certainly, these differences are not absolute but are rather relative, as they are defined in relation to the surrounding neighbourhood that serves as a reference for self‑determination. A suburb has some small‑town traits, but its close location to the city prevents it from becoming a local centre. The same concerns the architecture whose intensity is, after all, a consequence of the increasing intensity in other aspects of life, the differentiation of sources of people’s income, the demand for services, trade contacts, etc. Its incompleteness, imperfection, slower pace and focus on an unattained and unattainable ideal can make one see in the suburb as a theoretically extremely promising area. Indeed, its promise lies in this aspect of failure, incompleteness and fragmentation — which is long lasting and relatively permanent. Many traits of suburban architecture are conservative; whereas others, such as its impermanence and improvisational qualities, are experimental and are characterised by an almost guerrilla‑like aspect. However, present‑day advanced postmodern thinking at times achieves an ability to take contradictory spatial, visual, artistic and functional characteristics and, through a theoretical analysis, make them into a complex ‘difficult whole’. Here, the combination itself is probably not so much harmonious but rather contains certain internal tensions, imbalances and longings of one opposite towards another. Anyway, this combination does take place and — in line with the direction of many diagnoses of contemporaneity — instead of creating abstract constructs, we must register the facts and try to conceptualise them.

Scale dependence of biotic homogenisation by urbanisation: a comparison of urban bird communities between central Argentina and northern Finland

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Leveau Lucas M.

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Recent studies showed contrasting results about the homogenising force of urbanisation on bird community composition at large and regional scales. We studied whether urbanisation promotes the homogenisation of wintering bird communities and if this varies when comparing towns located within a specific region and towns located in two different biomes of two countries. We used both similarity indices based on the presence/absence data and the abundance data in comparing communities. Processes governing bird community dissimilarity between urbanisation levels were examined with the partitioning of Sörensen index in species turnover and nestedness. We made bird surveys in town centres and suburban habitats of three cities located in the Pampean region of Argentina and in the boreal region of Finland using a single-visit study plot method. Rarefacted species richness did not differ amongst the town centres between the countries, but it was higher in the suburban areas of Argentina than in Finland. At the country-level comparison, we found a higher similarity amongst the town centres than amongst the suburban areas; whereas at the regional comparison, similarity between town centres was comparable to the similarity between suburban areas. The use of an abundance-based index produced a higher similarity between town centre communities of both countries than when using a presence-based index. The dissimilarity between habitats in Argentina was related to nestedness and to species turnover in Finland. Our results indicate that urban-based biotic homogenisation of bird communities is dependent on the scale used, being more evident when comparing cities of different biomes where the same and abundant bird species, such as sparrows and doves, dominate. At the regional scale, quite a high beta-diversity can still be found within urban habitats. Processes of community dissimilarity between urban habitats may differ according to the regional pool of species

Transport and Breakdown of Organic Matter in Urban and Forested Streams: The Effects of Altered Hydrology and Landscape Position

Science.gov (United States)

Belt, K. T.; Swan, C. M.; Pouyat, R. V.; Kaushal, S.; Groffman, P. M.; Stack, W. P.; Fisher, G. T.

2006-05-01

A better understanding of how urbanization and trees interact to alter organic matter transport and cycling is needed to assess retention in catchments and streams, as well as to estimate the magnitude of carbon fluxes to the atmosphere and to downstream aquatic ecosystems. The influx of particulate and dissolved organic matter (POM/DOC) to headwater streams normally originates within or near riparian areas, and is important to aquatic food webs in stream ecosystems. Urban catchments, however, have huge effective drainage densities (due to storm drainage infrastructure), which facilitate a POM/DOC "gutter subsidy" to streams that dwarfs riparian inputs and alters benthic litter quality (and represents a major short-circuit in the carbon vegetation-soil cycle.) We measured in-situ leaf litter breakdown rates, flows, DOC, BOD and nutrients in forested, suburban and urban streams of the BES LTER and Baltimore City DPW sampling networks, which encompassed a variety of urban and rural landscapes. Sycamore and Planetree leaf litter in-situ experiments revealed faster breakdown rates for suburban and urban landscape litter than for riparian litter, with rates being much faster than literature values for forested catchments. DOC, BOD and nutrient data (storm and dry weather) from BES/DPW stream sites showed much higher concentrations and loads in the more urbanized catchments and indicate the streams are likely heterotrophic and experience transient but high dissolved oxygen demands. High nutrient concentrations, faster litter breakdown rates, and substantially higher upland urban fluxes of organic matter (particulate and dissolved) in urban streams suggest that export rates are likely substantially higher than in forested systems and that carbon loads to both downstream aquatic systems and to the atmosphere (as CO2) are substantial.

Rural settlements transition (RST) in a suburban area of metropolis: Internal structure perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Ma, Wenqiu; Jiang, Guanghui; Wang, Deqi; Li, Wenqing; Guo, Hongquan; Zheng, Qiuyue

2018-02-15

Rural settlements transition (RST) is one of the most significant indices for understanding the phenomena of rural reconstruction and urban-rural transformation in China. However, a systematic overview of RST is missing, and there is a lack of evidence regarding its characteristics from the internal structure perspectives. In this paper, we systematically explore the RST regarding spatio-temporal change characteristics of internal structure, patterns and impacts on rural environment and development by using practical survey internal land-use data from 2005 to 2015. The results show that the temporal change characteristics of the internal structure of rural settlements demonstrate a tendency for housing land to decrease and other land-use types to increase. The spatial change characteristics reveal that the structure inclines to more complexity and diversity from an exurban area to an urban-rural fringe area. Based on this finding, we identify that rapid development of rural industrialization, more agglomerate and effective industrial land-use, and improved public infrastructure construction are the general RST patterns. Spatially, there exists a physical decay pattern in the exurban area, thereby resulting in the hollowing-out of rural industries and of the population. In addition, the extensive and disorderly pattern in the suburban area causes low efficiency output and serious environmental pollution. The RST pattern in the urban hinterland promoted the "men-environment" compatible development. The study concludes that regional differentiation in patterns and impacts are significant in the process of RST. Future adaptive strategies for rural settlements adjustment should be conducted according to regional characteristics, including socio-economic status, physical geography condition and economic location to improve the rural environmental sustainability. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Towards a Theory of Urban Fragmentation: A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Fear, Privatization, and the State

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Setha Low

2006-10-01

Full Text Available This paper employs a cross-cultural analysis to explore regional and national variations in residential gating and enclosure as a first step in developing an integrated theory of urban fragmentation. Utilizing data from the urban and suburban United States, Latin America and China, a series of dimensions are compared: 1 domestic architecture, 2 urban/suburban settlement pattern, 3 the role of the state, 4 governance, 5 citizenship, 6 cultural meaning, 7 identity, 8 provision of goods and services, 9 taxation, 10 degree of privatization, 11 cultural pattern of social sanction, and 12 fear of crime and others. This comparative analysis locates culturally meaningful and theoretically significant distinctions among the regions and provides data for the development of explanatory models in which each region varies along a dimensional continuum.  At the macro-level of analysis, the impact of globalization and flexible accumulation with increased local heterogeneity, increases in inequality and changes in perceived crime rate emerge as the major underlying factors in the fear of crime and others found in all three regions.  At a micro-level, differences in cultural meanings are explained by local social and political contexts, while provision of goods and services and governance depend on club realm economic explanations.  

Assessing the relationship between surface urban heat islands and landscape patterns across climatic zones in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Qiquan; Huang, Xin; Li, Jiayi

2017-08-24

The urban heat island (UHI) effect exerts a great influence on the Earth's environment and human health and has been the subject of considerable attention. Landscape patterns are among the most important factors relevant to surface UHIs (SUHIs); however, the relationship between SUHIs and landscape patterns is poorly understood over large areas. In this study, the surface UHI intensity (SUHII) is defined as the temperature difference between urban and suburban areas, and the landscape patterns are quantified by the urban-suburban differences in several typical landscape metrics (ΔLMs). Temperature and land-cover classification datasets based on satellite observations were applied to analyze the relationship between SUHII and ΔLMs in 332 cities/city agglomerations distributed in different climatic zones of China. The results indicate that SUHII and its correlations with ΔLMs are profoundly influenced by seasonal, diurnal, and climatic factors. The impacts of different land-cover types on SUHIs are different, and the landscape patterns of the built-up and vegetation (including forest, grassland, and cultivated land) classes have the most significant effects on SUHIs. The results of this study will help us to gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between the SUHI effect and landscape patterns.

Anthropological Critique and Framing of Suburban Enclaves: Case of Neighbourhood X

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Butko Matej

2016-06-01

Full Text Available The main point of this article is conceptualization of newcomers within specific suburb in perimeter of Bratislava. The analysis with fruitful and extensive base of evidence provides a connection between the western suburban community theories and local actual and discursive strategies in various topics. The content of this article consists of analysis of bonding, residential and motivational strategies of newcomers, and a wide conceptualization of them, including a class concept and a bounding character of socialization. Additional analytical and evidential asset of this article is the perceptiveness that provides us the ‘other-than-actual’ evaluative perspective. This perception is provided by other inhabitants outside of the researched Neighbourhood X. This evidence, which is connected to the theory of leisure class consumption, is therefore the perceptive side of the core definition of enclaves in residentially excluded neighbourhood. This article offers conclusions of a specific field experience and broadens not only the existing suburban community theories, but also the works that try to conceptualise significant traits of suburban enclaves.

Cultural Brokers and Student Teachers: A Partnership We Need for Teacher Education in Urban Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Lane, Paula J.

2017-01-01

Paula Lane, who has supervised student teachers at a university in the suburban wine country of northern California for the past 12 years, describes a field experience with a group of new student teachers in an urban school. Like the majority of teacher candidates in education programs, the pre-service teacher education students were White and…

Assessments of urban growth in the Tampa Bay watershed using remote sensing data

Science.gov (United States)

Xian, G.; Crane, M.

2005-01-01

Urban development has expanded rapidly in the Tampa Bay area of west-central Florida over the past century. A major effect associated with this population trend is transformation of the landscape from natural cover types to increasingly impervious urban land. This research utilizes an innovative approach for mapping urban extent and its changes through determining impervious surfaces from Landsat satellite remote sensing data. By 2002, areas with subpixel impervious surface greater than 10% accounted for approximately 1800 km2, or 27 percent of the total watershed area. The impervious surface area increases approximately three-fold from 1991 to 2002. The resulting imperviousness data are used with a defined suite of geospatial data sets to simulate historical urban development and predict future urban and suburban extent, density, and growth patterns using SLEUTH model. Also examined is the increasingly important influence that urbanization and its associated imperviousness extent have on the individual drainage basins of the Tampa Bay watershed.

Modifications of the urban heat island characteristics under exceptionally hot weather - A case study

Science.gov (United States)

Founda, Dimitra; Pierros, Fragiskos; Santamouris, Mathew

2016-04-01

Considerable recent research suggests that heat waves are becoming more frequent, more intense and longer in the future. Heat waves are characterised by the dominance of prolonged abnormally hot conditions related to synoptic scale anomalies, thus they affect extensive geographical areas. Heat waves (HW) have a profound impact on humans and they have been proven to increase mortality. Urban areas are known to be hotter than the surrounding rural areas due to the well documented urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon. Urban areas face increased risk under heat waves, due to the added heat from the urban heat island and increased population density. Given that urban populations keep increasing, citizens are exposed to significant heat related risk. Mitigation and adaptation strategies require a deep understanding of the response of the urban heat islands under extremely hot conditions. The response of the urban heat island under selected episodes of heat waves is examined in the city of Athens, from the comparison between stations of different characteristics (urban, suburban, coastal and rural). Two distinct episodes of heat waves occurring during summer 2000 were selected. Daily maximum air temperature at the urban station of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA) exceeded 40 0C for at least three consecutive days for both episodes. The intensity of UHI during heat waves was compared to the intensity under 'normal' conditions, represented from a period 'before' and 'after' the heat wave. Striking differences of UHI features between HW and no HW cases were observed, depending on the time of the day and the type of station. The comparison between the urban and the coastal station showed an increase of the order of 3 0C in the intensity of UHI during the HW days, as regards both daytime and nighttime conditions. The comparison between urban and a suburban (inland) station, revealed some different behaviour during HWs, with increases of the order of 3 0C in the nocturnal

Phytoavailability, human risk assessment and transfer characteristics of cadmium and zinc contamination from urban gardens in Kano, Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdu, Nafiu; Agbenin, John O; Buerkert, Andreas

2011-12-01

Quantitative data about phytoavailability and transfer into consumed plant parts for heavy metals in intensively managed urban vegetable production areas of sub-Saharan Africa are scarce. We therefore studied the transfer of zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) from soil to the root and subsequent translocation to edible portions of four vegetables in six urban gardens. While respective diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-available Zn and Cd concentrations ranged from 18 to 66 mg kg(-1) and from 0.19 to 0.35 mg kg(-1) , respectively, in soils, total Zn and Cd were 8.4-256 mg kg(-1) and 0.04-1.7 mg kg(-1) in shoot parts. Metal transfer factor (MTF) ratios were higher in Zn (0.2-0.9) than in Cd (0.1-0.6). Our data suggest that total Zn concentration in soil is a reliable indicator to assess its transfer from soil to crop in lettuce, carrot and parsley, while for Cd DTPA-extractable concentration may be used to estimate soil-crop transfer of Cd in amaranthus and carrot. Overall, Cd was more easily translocated to the aerial plant parts than Zn. Zinc and Cd accumulation by vegetables in our soils is mainly a metabolically controlled process. Such accumulation can contaminate the ecosystem but under our conditions intake and ingestion of these metals will likely have to occur over a prolonged period to experience health hazard. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

Schools at the Rural-Urban Boundary – Blurring the Divide?

Science.gov (United States)

Burdick-Will, Julia; Logan, John R.

2018-01-01

Schools mirror the communities in which they are located. Research on school inequality across the rural-urban spectrum tends to focus on the contrast between urban, suburban, and rural schools and glosses over the variation within these areas as well as the similarities between them. To address this gap and provide a richer description of the spatial distribution of educational inequality, we examine the school composition, achievement, and resources of all U.S. elementary schools in 2010–2011. We apply standard census definitions of what areas fall within central cities, the remainder of metropolitan regions, and in rural America. We then apply spatially explicit methods to reveal blurred boundaries and gradual gradients rather than sharp breaks at the edges of these zones. The results show high levels of variation within the suburbs and substantial commonality between rural and urban areas. PMID:29430017

Land cover mapping and change detection in urban watersheds using QuickBird high spatial resolution satellite imagery

Science.gov (United States)

Hester, David Barry

The objective of this research was to develop methods for urban land cover analysis using QuickBird high spatial resolution satellite imagery. Such imagery has emerged as a rich commercially available remote sensing data source and has enjoyed high-profile broadcast news media and Internet applications, but methods of quantitative analysis have not been thoroughly explored. The research described here consists of three studies focused on the use of pan-sharpened 61-cm spatial resolution QuickBird imagery, the spatial resolution of which is the highest of any commercial satellite. In the first study, a per-pixel land cover classification method is developed for use with this imagery. This method utilizes a per-pixel classification approach to generate an accurate six-category high spatial resolution land cover map of a developing suburban area. The primary objective of the second study was to develop an accurate land cover change detection method for use with QuickBird land cover products. This work presents an efficient fuzzy framework for transforming map uncertainty into accurate and meaningful high spatial resolution land cover change analysis. The third study described here is an urban planning application of the high spatial resolution QuickBird-based land cover product developed in the first study. This work both meaningfully connects this exciting new data source to urban watershed management and makes an important empirical contribution to the study of suburban watersheds. Its analysis of residential roads and driveways as well as retail parking lots sheds valuable light on the impact of transportation-related land use on the suburban landscape. Broadly, these studies provide new methods for using state-of-the-art remote sensing data to inform land cover analysis and urban planning. These methods are widely adaptable and produce land cover products that are both meaningful and accurate. As additional high spatial resolution satellites are launched and the

Reconciling State Aid and Property Tax Relief for Urban Schools: Birthing a New STAR in New York State

Science.gov (United States)

Eom, Tae Ho; Killeen, Kieran M.

2007-01-01

Similar to many property tax relief programs, New York State's School Tax Relief (STAR) program has been shown to exacerbate school resource inequities across urban, suburban, and rural schools. STAR's inherent conflict with the wealth equalization policies of New York State's school finance system are highlighted in a manner that effectively…

Urban Organization and Planning in the Post-Industrial City: An Editorial and Introduction to the Spring 2006 Issue of Sociation Today

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

George H. Conklin

2006-11-01

Full Text Available 2006 is the year that the world as a whole becomes over half urban, yet no longer is the city the home of the industrial factory in the Western world. What shape should the new city take in the information age? Are we following an obsolete model when we plan in the Western world for a "new urbanism?" Does suburbanization have to fade away to promote racial justice? Why has urbanization concentrated poverty in the rural areas? We must re-examine these areas as sociologists and question past assumptions.

The Urban Heat Island Behavior of a Large Northern Latitude Metropolitan Area

Science.gov (United States)

Twine, T. E.; Snyder, P. K.; Hertel, W.; Mykleby, P.

2012-12-01

Urban heat islands (UHIs) occur when urban and suburban areas experience elevated temperatures relative to their rural surroundings because of differences in vegetation cover, buildings and other development, and infrastructure. Most cities in the United States are warming at twice the rate of the outlying rural areas and the planet as a whole. Temperatures in the urban center can be 2-5°C warmer during the daytime and as much as 10°C at night. Urban warming is responsible for excessive energy consumption, heat-related health effects, an increase in urban pollution, degradation of urban ecosystems, changes in the local meteorology, and an increase in thermal pollution into urban water bodies. One mitigation strategy involves manipulating the surface energy budget to either reduce the amount of solar radiation absorbed at the surface or offset absorbed energy through latent cooling. Options include using building materials with different properties of reflectivity and emissivity, increasing the reflectivity of parking lots, covering roofs with vegetation, and increasing the amount of vegetation overall through tree planting or increasing green space. The goal of the Islands in the Sun project is to understand the formation and behavior of urban heat islands and to mitigate their effects through sensible city engineering and design practices. As part of this project, we have been characterizing the UHI of the Twin Cities Metropolitan Area (TCMA), a 16,000 square kilometer urban and suburban region located in east central Minnesota that includes the two cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, and evaluating mitigation strategies for reducing urban warming. Annually, the TCMA has a modest 2-3°C UHI that is especially apparent in winter when the urban core can be up to 5-6°C warmer than the surrounding countryside. We present an analysis of regional temperature variations from a dense network of sensors located throughout the TCMA. We focus on the diurnal and seasonal

The potential of, and threat to, the transfer of ecological knowledge in urban areas: the case of community-based woodland management in Tokyo, Japan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kazuaki Tsuchiya

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Urban dwellers often have little knowledge of local ecosystems, but community groups that actively manage local ecosystems can acquire a rich ecological knowledge. Understanding the knowledge transfer process within community groups contributes to the continuous improvement of urban ecosystem management. In this paper, we address three main questions: (1 How is ecological knowledge acquisition linked to boundary and intra-group interactions? (2 Does holding knowledge mean the involvement in actual management activities? (3 Does the aging of community group members threaten the continuity of activities? We selected satoyama woodlands (seminatural woodlands in peri-urban Tokyo, Japan as a study site. We used a mixed method approach that combined a qualitative interview with a quantitative questionnaire. We found that boundary interactions were particularly important at the start of an urban ecological management process, to obtain basic knowledge relating to management activities. Intra-group interaction contributed to knowledge transfer after the starting period. We found that participants possessing considerable ecological knowledge do not necessarily participate in management activities. Findings also indicated that the aging of group members in groups established for more than 10 years was an area of concern for the continuity of group activities. New members did not necessarily solve this aging issue. We conclude that further measures and actions are needed to ensure long-term knowledge transfer among the participants of community groups in urban ecosystem management.

Observational evidence of a long-term increase in precipitation due to urbanization effects and its implications for sustainable urban living.

Science.gov (United States)

Wai, K M; Wang, X M; Lin, T H; Wong, M S; Zeng, S K; He, N; Ng, E; Lau, K; Wang, D H

2017-12-01

Although projected precipitation increases in East Asia due to future climate change have aroused concern, less attention has been paid by the scientific community and public to the potential long-term increase in precipitation due to rapid urbanization. A ten-year precipitation dataset was analysed for both a rapidly urbanized megacity and nearby suburban/rural stations in southern China. Rapid urbanization in the megacity was evident from satellite observations. A statistically significant, long-term, increasing trend of precipitation existed only at the megacity station (45.6mm per decade) and not at the other stations. The increase was attributed to thermal and dynamical modifications of the tropospheric boundary layer related to urbanization, which was confirmed by the results of our WRF-SLUCM simulations. The results also suggested that a long-term regional increase in precipitation, caused by greenhouse gas-induced climate change, for instance, was not evident within the study period. The urbanization-induced increase was found to be higher than the precipitation increase (18.3mm per decade) expected from future climate change. The direct climate impacts due to rapid urbanization is highlighted with strong implications for urban sustainable development and the planning of effective adaptation strategies for issues such as coastal defenses, mosquito-borne disease spread and heat stress mortality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seasonal variability of microbial biomass phosphorus in urban soils.

Science.gov (United States)

Halecki, W; Gąsiorek, M

2015-01-01

Urban soils have been formed through human activities. Seasonal evaluation with time-control procedure are essential for plant, and activity of microorganisms. Therefore, these processes are crucial in the urban area due to geochemical changes in the past years. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes of content of microbial biomass phosphorus (P) in the top layer of soils throughout the season. In this research, the concentration of microbial biomass P ranged from 0.01 to 6.29 mg·kg(-1). We used single-factor repeated-measure analysis of variance to test the effect of season on microbial biomass P content of selected urban soils. We found no statistically significant differences between the concentration of microbial biomass P in the investigated urban and sub-urban soils during the growing season. This analysis explicitly recognised that environmental urban conditions are steady. Specifically, we have studied how vegetation seasonality and ability of microbial biomass P are useful for detecting quality deviations, which affect the equilibrium of urban soil. In conclusion, seasonal variability of the stringency of assurance across the different compounds of soil reveals, as expected, the stable condition of the urban soils. Seasonal responses in microbial biomass P under urban soil use should establish a framework as a reference to the activity of the microorganisms. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Video Streaming Transfer in a Smart Satellite Mobile Environment

OpenAIRE

Celandroni, Nedo; Davoli, Franco; Ferro, Erina; Gotta, Alberto

2009-01-01

In the near future, transportation media are likely to become "smart spaces", where sophisticated services are offered to the passengers. Among such services, we concentrate on video streaming provided on buses that move in urban, suburban, or highway environments. A contents' source utilizes a satellite DVB-S2 link for transmitting video streams to a bus, which, in its turn, relays it to its passengers' devices. A bus works in a smart mode taking advantage of the knowledge of the exact point...

Transfer of glyphosate and its degradate AMPA to surface waters through urban sewerage systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Botta, Fabrizio; Lavison, Gwenaëlle; Couturier, Guillaume; Alliot, Fabrice; Moreau-Guigon, Elodie; Fauchon, Nils; Guery, Bénédicte; Chevreuil, Marc; Blanchoud, Hélène

2009-09-01

A study of glyphosate and aminomethyl phosphonic acid (AMPA) transfer in the Orge watershed (France) was carried out during 2007 and 2008. Water samples were collected in surface water, wastewater sewer, storm sewer and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). These two molecules appeared to be the most frequently detected ones in the rivers and usually exceeded the European quality standard concentrations of 0.1microg L(-1) for drinking water. The annual glyphosate estimated load was 1.9 kg year(-1) upstream (agricultural zone) and 179.5 kg year(-1) at the catchment outlet (urban zone). This result suggests that the contamination of this basin by glyphosate is essentially from urban origin (road and railway applications). Glyphosate reached surface water prevalently through storm sewer during rainfall event. Maximum concentrations were detected in storm sewer just after a rainfall event (75-90 microg L(-1)). High concentrations of glyphosate in surface water during rainfall events reflected urban runoff impact. AMPA was always detected in the sewerage system. This molecule reached surface water mainly via WWTP effluent and also through storm sewer. Variations in concentrations of AMPA during hydrological episodes were minor compared to glyphosate variations. Our study highlights that AMPA and glyphosate origins in urban area are different. During dry period, detergent degradation seemed to be the major AMPA source in wastewater.

Spatial-temporal variation of ecosystem water use efficiency in Beijing’s suburban region

Science.gov (United States)

Mi, F.; Zhang, Q.; Zhang, X. C.; Yuan, S. B.; Lu, N.; Yan, N. Na

2017-08-01

Suburban ecosystem has multiple functions such as soil conservation and water regulation, which are critical for the welfare of human beings in the city. Water use efficiency (WUE) is an important indicator of ecosystem function that represents the amount of productivity per unit mass of evapotranspiration (ET). Improving WUE of suburban ecosystem is significant to climate regulation by carbon sequestration and water consumption, especially for cities with severe water shortage like Beijing, the capital of China. Based on remote sensing data, this paper examined the spatial and temporal variations in WUE in Beijing’s suburban region from 2002 to 2010. The results showed that the average annual WUE was 0.868 g C mm-1 m-2. It has large spatial variation with the minimum of 0.500 g C mm-1 m-2 in the Miyun District. During the study periods, the area with significant increasing trend of WUE was 63.2% of the total suburban region. In terms of ecosystem type, the value of WUE was following the sequence, deciduous coniferous forest (0.921g C mm-1 m-2) > mixed forest (0.887g C mm-1 m-2) > deciduous broadleaf forest (0.884 g C mm-1 m-2) > shrubland (0.860 g C mm-1 m-2) > evergreen coniferous forest (0.836 g C mm-1 m-2) > grassland (0.830 g C mm-1 m-2). As ET was similar among the ecosystems, the difference in WUE was mainly due to the discrepancy of NPP. We found that NPP significantly correlated with the diversity of ecosystem type (represented by Shannon-Wiener index). Our results suggest that ecological engineering construction, scientific ecosystem type selection, ecosystem diversity improvement and drought-resistant species cultivation are conductive to improve ecosystem WUE in Beijing’s suburban region.

Urban planning, public transit and related initiatives for more sustainable transportation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1995-11-01

The characteristics of ten Canadian cities and their transportation systems were summarized. The need to conserve resources and to maintain environmental quality has lead to initiatives aimed at achieving more sustainable urban transportation. The most promising initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and achieve other sustainability objectives were described. Ways to overcome the most significant barriers were suggested. Since suburban areas are generally automobile-dependant, the major challenge is how to retrofit these areas with high quality transit services. A corollary objective is to achieve more compact, mixed-use urban structure and pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, thereby reducing average trip distances and making it feasible for the transit, walking and cycling modes to be used more extensively. refs., tabs., figs

Management effect on bird and arthropod interaction in suburban woodlands

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background Experiments from a range of ecosystems have shown that insectivorous birds are important in controlling the populations of their invertebrate prey. Here, we report on a large field experiment testing the hypothesis that management for enhancing recreational values in suburban woodlands affects the intensity of bird predation on canopy-living arthropods. Bird exclosures were used in two types of management (understory clearance and dense understory) at two foraging heights in oak Quercus robur canopies and the experiment was replicated at two sites. Results The biomass and abundance of arthropods were high on net-enclosed branches but strongly reduced on control branches in both types of management. In woods with dense understory, the effect of bird predation on arthropod abundance was about twice as high as in woods with understory clearance. The effect of bird predation on arthropod biomass was not significantly affected by management. Conclusions Our data provide experimental evidence to support the idea that bird predation on arthropods can be affected by forest management. We suggest that the mechanism is twofold: reduction of bird abundance and shift of foraging behaviour. In urban woodlands, there may be a management trade-off between enhancing recreational values and promoting bird predation rates on arthropods. PMID:21362174

Urban Sound Ecologies

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groth, Sanne Krogh; Samson, Kristine

2013-01-01

. The article concludes that the ways in which recent sound installations work with urban ecologies vary. While two of the examples blend into the urban environment, the other transfers the concert format and its mode of listening to urban space. Last, and in accordance with recent soundscape research, we point...

Ecology of Malaria Vectors in a Rainforest Suburban Community of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

User

2011-04-19

Apr 19, 2011 ... Key words: Malaria, Mosquito, Vectors, Ecology, Suburban, Community. ... including host bloodmeal preferences, time and place of biting and resting .... Five species of mosquitoes namely Aedes albopictus, Culex tigripes,.

The Potential of New Urbanism in Vilnius

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Catherine Brown

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In the wake of post-Soviet privatization, Vilnius has embraced westernized models for growth and development. The city is changing rapidly in a backlash against Soviet planning practice and with an influx of funding from the European Union and private investment. City plans aim for sustainable growth and development while tackling the revitalization of Soviet-era residential districts and control of suburban sprawl. This paper examines how planning efforts in Vilnius can benefit from the principles of New Urbanism as the reach of these popular American planning fundamentals provide convenient remedies to challenges in the redeveloping city.Article in English

Influence of landscape structure and human modifications on insect biomass and bat foraging activity in an urban landscape.

Science.gov (United States)

Threlfall, Caragh G; Law, Bradley; Banks, Peter B

2012-01-01

Urban landscapes are often located in biologically diverse, productive regions. As such, urbanization may have dramatic consequences for this diversity, largely due to changes in the structure and function of urban communities. We examined the influence of landscape productivity (indexed by geology), housing density and vegetation clearing on the spatial distribution of nocturnal insect biomass and the foraging activity of insectivorous bats in the urban landscape of Sydney, Australia. Nocturnal insect biomass (g) and bat foraging activity were sampled from 113 sites representing backyard, open space, bushland and riparian landscape elements, across urban, suburban and vegetated landscapes within 60 km of Sydney's Central Business District. We found that insect biomass was at least an order of magnitude greater within suburban landscapes in bushland and backyard elements located on the most fertile shale influenced geologies (both plandscapes. Similarly, the feeding activity of bats was greatest in bushland, and riparian elements within suburbs on fertile geologies (p = 0.039). Regression tree analysis indicated that the same three variables explained the major proportion of the variation in insect biomass and bat foraging activity. These were ambient temperature (positive), housing density (negative) and the percent of fertile shale geologies (positive) in the landscape; however variation in insect biomass did not directly explain bat foraging activity. We suggest that prey may be unavailable to bats in highly urbanized areas if these areas are avoided by many species, suggesting that reduced feeding activity may reflect under-use of urban habitats by bats. Restoration activities to improve ecological function and maintain the activity of a diversity of bat species should focus on maintaining and restoring bushland and riparian habitat, particularly in areas with fertile geology as these were key bat foraging habitats.

Influence of landscape structure and human modifications on insect biomass and bat foraging activity in an urban landscape.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caragh G Threlfall

Full Text Available Urban landscapes are often located in biologically diverse, productive regions. As such, urbanization may have dramatic consequences for this diversity, largely due to changes in the structure and function of urban communities. We examined the influence of landscape productivity (indexed by geology, housing density and vegetation clearing on the spatial distribution of nocturnal insect biomass and the foraging activity of insectivorous bats in the urban landscape of Sydney, Australia. Nocturnal insect biomass (g and bat foraging activity were sampled from 113 sites representing backyard, open space, bushland and riparian landscape elements, across urban, suburban and vegetated landscapes within 60 km of Sydney's Central Business District. We found that insect biomass was at least an order of magnitude greater within suburban landscapes in bushland and backyard elements located on the most fertile shale influenced geologies (both p<0.001 compared to nutrient poor sandstone landscapes. Similarly, the feeding activity of bats was greatest in bushland, and riparian elements within suburbs on fertile geologies (p = 0.039. Regression tree analysis indicated that the same three variables explained the major proportion of the variation in insect biomass and bat foraging activity. These were ambient temperature (positive, housing density (negative and the percent of fertile shale geologies (positive in the landscape; however variation in insect biomass did not directly explain bat foraging activity. We suggest that prey may be unavailable to bats in highly urbanized areas if these areas are avoided by many species, suggesting that reduced feeding activity may reflect under-use of urban habitats by bats. Restoration activities to improve ecological function and maintain the activity of a diversity of bat species should focus on maintaining and restoring bushland and riparian habitat, particularly in areas with fertile geology as these were key bat

Urban small wind turbine applications for reducing GHC emissions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tullis, S.

2009-01-01

'Full text:' There are advantages to power generation at or near the points of consumption and this is still true for low carbon sustainable power sources, including wind. Consequently, there is interest in wind power generation in cities and suburbs. The potential now exists for realistic power small-scale generation in building mounted turbines. This presentation provides the benefits and obstacles to their use, as well as details of such turbines and the design and operations requirements for them. The main issues associated with locating turbines in cities and suburbs are: the highly turbulent, unsteady wind in the urban/suburban environment produces lower power outputs; vibration is a large concern on mounting turbines on buildings, and safety (turbine failure or even just ice shedding) with pedestrians below. Past and current thinking has just been straightforward in that it is not worth it, and the previous attempts at simply mounting small-scale turbines on rooftops has done more harm than good to the reputation of the small wind, and wind in general, industries. Recently there has been a reconsideration of urban small wind led by reputable companies such as Quiet Revolution (UK), Turby (NL) and Cleanfield (Canada) combined with academic research. A common feature of all of these companies is the use of vertical axis turbines (VAWTs) to help deal with the highly turbulent, unsteady urban winds. Large-scale VAWTs enjoyed a brief flurry of interest in the 1970s and 80s with large amounts of research done at Sandia and NRC in Canada. Vibration and fatigue in the large-scale turbines were among the issues that led to their decline. These, particularly vibration, remain issues for small-scale turbines, but there are some mitigating strategies available. These are now leading to the development of reputable, practical and reliable turbines that can become part of the urban/suburban environment. (author)

Urban Landslides Induced by the 2004 Niigata-Chuetsu Earthquake

Science.gov (United States)

Kamai, T.; Trandafir, A. C.; Sidle, R. C.

2005-05-01

Landslides triggered by the Chuetsu earthquake occurred in artificial slopes of some new developments in suburban Nagaoka, the largest city in the affected area. The landslides occurred in hilly terrain of the eastern part of Nagaoka between the alluvial plain and Tertiary folded mountains of Yamakoshi. Although the extent of landslides in urban Nagaoka was small compared with landslides on natural slopes (especially near Yamakoshi), they represent an important case study for urban landslide disasters. Slope instabilities in urban residential areas were classified as: A) landslides in steep embankments; B) landslides in gently sloping artificial valley fills; C) re-activation of old landslides; and D) liquefaction in deep artificial valley fills. All these failures occurred in relatively uniform suburban landscapes, which were significantly modified from the original landforms. Recent destructive earthquakes in Japan caused similar types of slope failures in urban regions, suggesting that lessons from past earthquakes were not implemented. The greatest damage due to type-A failures occurred in the 25-yr old Takamachi residential area, where about 70 of 522 homes were judged to be uninhabitable. Before development, this area was an isolated hill (90 m elevation) with an adjacent terrace (60 m elevation) consisting of gravel, sand, and silt of the lower to middle Pleistocene deposits. Development earthworks removed the hill crest and created a wide plateau (70 m elevation); excavated soil was placed on the perimeter as an embankment. During the earthquake, the embankment slope collapsed, including retaining walls, perimeter road, and homes. The most serious damage occurred in five places around the margin of the plateau corresponding to shallow valley fills (5 to 8 m thick). Earthquake response analyses using an equivalent linear model indicated the amplification of seismic waves at the surface of embankment slopes, and the peak earthquake acceleration exceeded 1 G

Spatial distribution of heavy metal concentrations in urban, suburban and agricultural soils in a Mediterranean city of Algeria

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maas, S.; Scheifler, R.; Benslama, M.; Crini, N.; Lucot, E.; Brahmia, Z.; Benyacoub, S.; Giraudoux, P.

2010-01-01

As part of a larger program aiming at assessing transfer and effects of metals in food webs, this work studied the spatial distribution of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn in 101 sub-surface soils, systematically sampled (1 x 1 km regular grid) over a large area around Annaba, the fourth most-populated city of Algeria. Cd and Cr exhibited only one abnormally high value, with all other concentrations being close to pedogeological background. Some places in the centre of the city were polluted by Pb (up to 823 mg kg -1 ), probably due to aerial deposition from gasoline exhausts. Zn never exceeded regulatory limits over the whole sampling area. Cu was the only element for which a spatial autocorrelation occurred. A spatial interpolation by cokriging allowed the identification of agricultural activities as the main Cu pollution source. Our approach revealed various anthropogenic pollution sources, more efficiently for large-scale patterns than for local abnormalities. - A large-scale study of heavy metal concentrations in the area of Annaba (Algeria) shows Cu and Pb contamination in agricultural and urban soils, respectively

Influence patterns of transportation parameters in suburban traffic on fatigue of passengers during bus waiting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Тетяна Михайлівна Григорова

2015-05-01

Full Text Available The change of transport fatigue of suburban traffic passengers during waiting transport waiting is investigated. The results of the processing site examinations allow defining the regularities of the influence of parameters of transportation process of passengers to change index activity of regulatory systems in passenger waiting at stopping points of suburban traffic. The discovered patterns were mathematically formalized

How does imperviousness develop and affect runoff generation in an urbanizing watershed?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gerald Krebs

2013-08-01

Full Text Available Imperviousness associated with urbanization remains one of the biggest challenges in sustainable urban design. The replacement of forests, marshlands, buffers, and wetlands with impervious surfaces, strongly influences hydrological processes in urbanizing areas. This study analyzed the contribution of four constructed surfaces types – roofs, yards, roads, and an international airport – to surface runoff within a 21 km2 watershed, and presents the development over five decades (1977−2030. The land-cover model, used to assess watershed imperviousness in 2030, utilized coefficients between impervious areas generating surface runoff and the floor area, developed during the study. The conducted imperviousness analysis allowed the evaluation of land-use development impacts on the stream network, and the identification of hydrologically active areas for urban planning and stormwater management. Research revealed the importance of yard imperviousness related to suburban residential housing for stormwater runoff generation, and the impacts of transport-related imperviousness on stormwater runoff.

[Urban malaria in Yaounde (Cameroon). 2. Entomologic study in 2 suburban districts].

Science.gov (United States)

Fondjo, E; Robert, V; Le Goff, G; Toto, J C; Carnevale, P

1992-01-01

A one year entomological survey was carried out to precise the malaria vectors and the malaria transmission in Yaounde, the Cameroon capital (800,000 inhabitants). The study was done in two districts not yet fully urbanized: Nkol Bikok and Nkol Bisson. The latter is located at the periphery and has a pool. Anopheles gambiae was the only human malaria vector. Its agressivity for man depended on the urbanization of the district. Annual man biting rate was 284 in Nkol Bikok and 1,813 in Nkol Bisson. The densities were maximum in May-June and in October-November, corresponding to the end of the short and long rainy seasons. The presence of A. gambiae was permanent except in August-September in Nkol Bikok. In Nkol Bisson the density was higher in the houses near the pool. The yearly inoculation rate (h) was 14 in Nkol Bikok and 30 in Nkol Bisson. The vectorial transmission was observed in may in Nkol Bikok and during four months (June, August, January, February) in Nkol Bisson. These entomological data showed clearly that malaria transmission actually occurred in Yaounde and that the probability to receive at least one infected anopheline bite per year was very near to 1 for inhabitants unprotected against mosquito bites.

Improving Urban Water Environment in Eastern China by Blending Traditional with Modern Landscape Planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Jiajie; Yu, Junjun; Tian, Yuan; Zhao, Cai; Wang, Hao

2017-01-01

As a fundamental part of greenspace, urban water landscape contributes greatly to the ecological system and at the same time supplies a leisure area for residents. The paper did an analysis on the number of aquatic plant communities, the form of water spaces, and water quality condition by investigating 135 quadrats (90 at amphibious boundary and the land, 45 in the water) in 45 transects of 15 urban and suburban parks. We found that water spaces had monotonous forms with low biodiversity and poor water quality. In addition, urban water landscapes hardly provided ecological functions given excessive construction. Accordingly, a proposition to connect tradition with modernism in the improvement and innovation of urban water landscape planning was put forward, and further, the way to achieve it was explored. By taking Qinhu Wetland Park as a case, the principles and specific planning methods on macro- and microperspectives were discussed to guide the development of urban landscape in eastern China.

Improving Urban Water Environment in Eastern China by Blending Traditional with Modern Landscape Planning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jiajie Cao

2017-01-01

Full Text Available As a fundamental part of greenspace, urban water landscape contributes greatly to the ecological system and at the same time supplies a leisure area for residents. The paper did an analysis on the number of aquatic plant communities, the form of water spaces, and water quality condition by investigating 135 quadrats (90 at amphibious boundary and the land, 45 in the water in 45 transects of 15 urban and suburban parks. We found that water spaces had monotonous forms with low biodiversity and poor water quality. In addition, urban water landscapes hardly provided ecological functions given excessive construction. Accordingly, a proposition to connect tradition with modernism in the improvement and innovation of urban water landscape planning was put forward, and further, the way to achieve it was explored. By taking Qinhu Wetland Park as a case, the principles and specific planning methods on macro- and microperspectives were discussed to guide the development of urban landscape in eastern China.

Degree of adaptive response in urban tolerant birds shows influence of habitat-of-origin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lawrence E. Conole

2014-03-01

Full Text Available Urban exploiters and adapters are often coalesced under a term of convenience as ‘urban tolerant’. This useful but simplistic characterisation masks a more nuanced interplay between and within assemblages of birds that are more or less well adapted to a range of urban habitats. I test the hypotheses that objectively-defined urban exploiter and suburban adapter assemblages within the broad urban tolerant grouping in Melbourne vary in their responses within the larger group to predictor variables, and that the most explanatory predictor variables vary between the two assemblages. A paired, partitioned analysis of exploiter and adapter preferences for points along the urban–rural gradient was undertaken to decompose the overall trend into diagnosable parts for each assemblage. In a similar way to that in which time since establishment has been found to be related to high urban densities of some bird species and biogeographic origin predictive of urban adaptation extent, habitat origins of members of bird assemblages influence the degree to which they become urban tolerant. Bird species that objectively classify as urban tolerant will further classify as either exploiters or adapters according to the degree of openness of their habitats-of-origin.

A Method for Mapping Future Urbanization in the United States

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Lahouari Bounoua

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Cities are poised to absorb additional people. Their sustainability, or ability to accommodate a population increase without depleting resources or compromising future growth, depends on whether they harness the efficiency gains from urban land management. Population is often projected as a bulk national number without details about spatial distribution. We use Landsat and population data in a methodology to project and map U.S. urbanization for the year 2020 and document its spatial pattern. This methodology is important to spatially disaggregate projected population and assist land managers to monitor land use, assess infrastructure and distribute resources. We found the U.S. west coast urban areas to have the fastest population growth with relatively small land consumption resulting in future decrease in per capita land use. Except for Miami (FL, most other U.S. large urban areas, especially in the Midwest, are growing spatially faster than their population and inadvertently consuming land needed for ecosystem services. In large cities, such as New York, Chicago, Houston and Miami, land development is expected more in suburban zones than urban cores. In contrast, in Los Angeles land development within the city core is greater than in its suburbs.

Planning urban megaprojects in the Gulf: The international consultancy firms in urban planning between global and contingent

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oula Aoun

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Driven by globalization and market openings, many architecture and engineering firms have become global. By focusing on the urban megaprojects in the Gulf, a particular cultural and political context, this paper argues that such firms have a major role in the rapid urban transformation of Gulf countries and act as transfer agents of an international knowledge in the urban planning domain. However, the transfer is adapted by several context-related characteristics, such as local governance, urban knowledge, and regulatory framework. This paper explores the procedural adaptation of these firms to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC in terms of internal structure, methodology, adopted tools, and interaction with the context. The level of learning that results from this transfer is also investigated.

Sustainable urban structures to challenge climate change

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emil CREANGA

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Public spaces within the city in all their form of different types - streets, boulevards, squares, plazas, market places, green areas - are the backbone of cities. Over the centuries buildings defined the shape and quality of public spaces, valorising them in various ways. The post-modern development of urban form generated a great number of “urban spaces”, where there is no longer correspondence between architectural forms and social and political messages: shopping malls and theme parks, inner public spaces, strip developments etc. Urban sprawl accompanied by loss of agricultural/rural land and its impact on the environment are serious concerns for most cities over Europe. To strike the right balance between inner city regeneration, under-use of urban land in the old abandoned sites and the ecological benefits that accompany the new private business initiatives in suburban areas, is one of the major challenges confronting cities in Europe. The paper will analyze the complex relations between architecture and public space, in an attempt to understand how traditional urban structures, public and green spaces, squares and streets, could provide orientation for quality-oriented regeneration. Case in point is Bucharest - capital city of Romania - where aggressive intervention in the urban structure during the 1980s disrupted the fabric of the city. The investigation is oriented towards fundamental questions such as: how to secure and preserve sites that serve as initial points in upgrading processes, how to balance private investment criteria and the quality interests of the urban communities. The major aim is to provide a support for decision making in restoring the fundamental role of public urban space in shaping urban form and supporting community life.

Temporal variation of pharmaceuticals in an urban and agriculturally influenced stream

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Veach, Allison M.; Bernot, Melody J.

2011-01-01

Pharmaceuticals have become ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. Previous studies consistently demonstrate the prevalence of pharmaceuticals in freshwater but we do not yet know how concentrations vary over time within a given system. Two sites in central Indiana with varying land use in the surrounding watershed (suburban and agricultural) were sampled monthly for pharmaceutical concentrations and stream physiochemical parameters. Sediment samples were also collected at each sampling event for measurement of δ 15 N natural abundance and sediment organic content. Across sites and sampling events, twelve pharmaceuticals were detected including acetaminophen, caffeine, carbamazepine, cotinine, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, triclosan, and trimethoprim. Sulfathiazole, lincomycin, and tylosin were not detected at either site at any time. The agriculturally-influenced site had comparable pharmaceutical concentrations to the urban-influenced site. In general, pharmaceutical concentrations increased during winter at both sites and decreased during spring and summer. Multiple regression analyses indicated that water column dissolved oxygen, the number of days since precipitation, and solar radiation influenced total pharmaceutical concentration in the urban-influenced site; whereas pH, chlorophyll a concentration, and total amount of rainfall in the previous 10 days influenced total pharmaceutical concentrations in the agriculturally-influenced site. Pharmaceutical concentrations were not correlated with sediment δ 15 N across or within sites. However, sediment in the urban-influenced site had higher mean δ 15 N signatures relative to sediment in the agriculturally-influenced site. These data indicate pharmaceuticals are persistent in aquatic ecosystems influenced by both agricultural and suburban activity. Pharmaceuticals are designed to have a physiological effect; therefore, it is

Bank-derived material dominates fluvial sediment in a suburban Chesapeake Bay watershed

Science.gov (United States)

Cashman, M. J.; Gellis, A.; Gorman-Sanisaca, L.; Noe, G. B.; Cogliandro, V.; Baker, A.

2017-12-01

Excess fine sediment is a leading cause of ecological degradation within the Chesapeake Bay watershed. The Piedmont physiographic province, which includes parts of the Washington, D.C. metro area, has the highest sediment yields in the Chesapeake Bay. In order to effectively employ sediment mitigation measures, it is necessary to identify and quantify the contributions of sediments sources within rapidly urbanizing areas in the Piedmont. This sediment fingerprinting study examines the inputs of various sediment sources to Upper Difficult Run (14.2 km2; 22.6% impervious surface), an urbanized watershed in Fairfax County, Virginia. A source sediment library was constructed from collections of stream bank material, forest soils, and road dust from across the watershed. Target fluvial sediments were collected from fine channel margin deposits and from suspended sediment using an autosampler during 16 storm events from 2008 - 2012. Apportionment of the target samples to the source sediments was performed using Sed_SAT, a publically available toolkit for sediment fingerprinting. Bed sediment was found to be dominated by stream bank sources (mean: 96%), with minor contributions from forest (4%) and no detectable contribution from roads (0%). Suspended fine sediments were also found to predominantly originate from stream bank sources (SSC-weighted mean: 91%), with minor contributions from roads (8%), and negligible contributions from forests (1%). Stream bank sources dominated at all discharges, with the greatest contributions from overland sources found only at low discharges. On the rising limb of the hydrograph and at peak flow, sediment concentrations increased due to increasing contributions of bank material rather than surface erosion caused by overland flow. Results demonstrate that stream bank erosion is responsible for the vast majority of fine sediment occurring in this suburban basin of the Chesapeake Bay watershed. This is likely a consequence of storm

Effect of land area on average annual suburban water demand ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

AADD) in South Africa are based on residential plot size. This paper presents a novel, robust method for estimating suburban water demand as a function of the suburb area. Seventy suburbs, identified as being predominantly residential, were ...

Prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its relationship with physical activity in suburban Beijing, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Wei-Hong; Xue, Peng; Yao, Meng-Ying; Chang, Hai-Min; Wu, Yan; Zhang, Lei

2013-01-01

The present study aimed to estimate the up-to-date prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its relationship with physical activity among suburban adults in Beijing, China. A cross-sectional survey in a representative sample of 19,003 suburban adults aged 18-76 years was carried out in 2007-2008. Data was collected via questionnaires and blood pressure, anthropometric, and laboratory measurements. Of the residents aged 18-76 years in suburban Beijing, 25.9% (27.3% in men and 25.1% in women), 21.3% (19.4% in men and 22.9% in women), and 25.3% (24.2% in men and 26.1% in women) had 1 component, 2 components, and 3 or more components of metabolic syndrome, respectively. The age-standardized prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components, including abdominal obesity, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, and elevated fasting plasma glucose, decreased across categories with increasing physical activity. After adjusting for age, sex, education level, smoking, and alcohol consumption, residents were more likely to have metabolic syndrome across categories with decreasing physical activity; a similar relationship also applied to components of metabolic syndrome. A high prevalence of metabolic syndrome and its components is commonly present in suburban Beijing. Increasing physical activity can reduce the relative risk of metabolic syndrome and it components.

Nesting and acoustic ecology, but not phylogeny, influence passerine urban tolerance.

Science.gov (United States)

Cardoso, Gonçalo C

2014-03-01

Urbanization is one of the most extensive and ecologically significant changes happening to terrestrial environments, as it strongly affects the distribution of biodiversity. It is well established that native species richness is reduced in urban and suburban areas, but the species traits that predict tolerance to urbanization are yet little understood. In birds, one of the most studied groups in this respect, evidence is appearing that acoustic traits influence urban living, but it remains unknown how this compares to the effects of more obvious ecological traits that facilitate urban living. Therefore, it remains unclear whether acoustic communication is an important predictor of urban tolerance among species. Here, with a comparative study across 140 European and North American passerines, I show that high song frequency, which is less masked by the low-frequency anthropogenic noise, is associated with urban tolerance, with an effect size over half that of the most important ecological trait studied: off-ground nesting. Other nesting and foraging traits accepted to facilitate urban living did not differ for species occurring in urban environments. Thus, the contribution of acoustic traits for passerine urban tolerance approximates that of more obvious ecological traits. Nonetheless, effect sizes of the biological predictors of urban tolerance were low and the phylogenetic signal for urban tolerance was null, both of which suggest that factors other than phenotypic traits have major effects on urban tolerance. A simple possibility is exposure to urbanization, as there was a higher proportion of urban-tolerant species in Europe, which is more urbanized than North America. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

[Spatial scale effect of urban land use landscape pattern in Shanghai City].

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Li-Hua; Yue, Wen Ze; Cao, Yu

2007-12-01

Based on geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) techniques, the landscape classes of urban land use in Shanghai City were extracted from SPOT images with 5 m spatial resolution in 2002, and then, the classified data were applied to quantitatively explore the change patterns of several basic landscape metrics at different scales. The results indicated that landscape metrics were sensitive to grain- and extent variance. Urban landscape pattern was spatially dependent. In other words, different landscape metrics showed different responses to scale. The resolution of 40 m was an intrinsic observing scale for urban landscape in Shanghai City since landscape metrics showed random characteristics while the grain was less than 40 m. The extent of 24 km was a symbol scale in a series of extents, which was consistent with the boundary between urban built-up area and suburban area in Shanghai City. As a result, the extent of 12 km away from urban center would be an intrinsic handle scale for urban landscape in Shanghai City. However, due to the complexity of urban structure and asymmetry of urban spatial expansion, the intrinsic handle scale was not regular extent, and the square with size of 24 km was just an approximate intrinsic extent for Shanghai City.

Urbanizing rural waters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hommes, Lena; Boelens, Rutgerd

2017-01-01

This article studies how urbanization processes and associated rural-urban water transfers in the Lima region (Peru) create water control hierarchies that align the municipal drinking water company, hydropower plants and rural communities on unequal positions. By scrutinizing the history of water

Curated routes: the project of developing experiential tracks in sub-urban landscape

OpenAIRE

Papathanasiou, Maximi; Uyttenhove, Pieter

2015-01-01

The Curated Routes project reflects on the visiting routes’ ability to make apparent the internal characteristics of urban environments. The project’s name allude to the intellectual function of curation and the materiality of routes. Curate deals with the practice of arranging material –tangible or intangible- in a way that a new understanding of an area is revealed. The word routes refers to the linear associations that link places and guide movement. The Curated Routes aim to reinforce the...

Lead contamination and transfer in urban environmental compartments analyzed by lead levels and isotopic compositions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hu, Xin; Sun, Yuanyuan; Ding, Zhuhong; Zhang, Yun; Wu, Jichun; Lian, Hongzhen; Wang, Tijian

2014-01-01

Lead levels and isotopic compositions in atmospheric particles (TSP and PM 2.5 ), street dust and surface soil collected from Nanjing, a mega city in China, were analyzed to investigate the contamination and the transfer of lead in urban environmental compartments. The lead contents in TSP and PM 2.5 are significantly higher than them in the surface soil and street dust (p  206 Pb/ 207 Pb vs. 208 Pb/ 206 Pb and 206 Pb/ 207 Pb vs. 1/Pb imply that the street dust and atmospheric particles (TSP and PM 2.5 ) have very similar lead sources. Coal emissions and smelting activities may be the important lead sources for street dust and atmospheric particles (TSP and PM 2.5 ), while the deposition of airborne lead is an important lead source for urban surface soil. - Highlights: • Lead levels and isotope ratios in atmospheric particles, street dust and surface soil. • Significant enrichment of lead in atmospheric particles was observed. • Street dust and atmospheric particles have similar lead sources. • Endmembers of soil lead differ from street dust and atmospheric particles. • Airborne lead poses the main risks to unban environmental quality. - Transfer of airborne particle bound lead into street dust and surface soil in unban environmental based on lead levels and isotopic compositions

Prevalence and correlates of childhood obesity in suburban area of Odisha: A cross sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanghamitra Pati

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Introduction: In India obesity and overweight is increasing among urban adolescents. Both under and over nutrition is grappling the country at faster rate. Present study was an attempt to explore obesity and overweight prevalence among school going children in suburban areas of Cuttack city, Odisha, India and their correlates.Methodology: A cross-sectional study was done among school children in suburban area of Cuttack city, Odisha. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire was used to interview the study participants to elicit information about their age, number of siblings, birth order of the child, working status of parents, television screen viewing time, mode of transport to school and dietary habit of the students. A total of 550 children studying in class five to ten participated in our study.Result: Out of 550 children screened, nearly (14 2.5% students were thin or severely thin, whereas (6712.1% students were overweight or obese. Univariate analysis revealed that girls were almost five times at higher risk of being overweight/obesity compared to boys (OR: 4.78 95%CI: 1.35-16.93. Children who used motorized vehicles for going to school had an unadjusted Odds ratio of 10.08 [95%CI: 2.08-48.77] of being overweight or obese compared to those who walked to school. Having more than one child at home (OR= 0.15, 95%CI: 0.039-0.6 and doing physical activity for more than 30min per day (0.105, 95%CI: 0.015-0.72 were found to be protective against overweight and obesity.Conclusion: Bearing in mind the burden of overweight and obesity among school children there is a need for periodic screening, awareness at school and parent counselling.

Urban landscape of Okazaki in Kyoto

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Olimpia Niglio

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Kyoto has been the capital of Japan from 794 until when the capital has moved in 1868 to Tokyo with the end of Tokugawa Shoguns and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The loss of the seat of government was a shock to citizens of Kyoto as the city had been the Imperial and Cultural center of the nation for over 1.000 years. The combination of the court and the great temples had enlivened and enriched the life of the city. At the beginning of the founding of the capital, in the Heian period (794-1185 to east of Kyoto, was built a noble and religious place. This area is Okazaki. Here the Emperor Kammu (736-805 had created the city of Heian-kyo (Kyoto in 794. This area was full of Temples and Shrines. Only in the Edo period (1603-1867 Okazaki area assumed the role of suburban agricultural zone which provided the food production to the urban habitants. But after the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912, the role of Okazaki area changes completely. In 1885, Kyoto prefecture started the great public canalization project as the water supply between Kyoto and Otsu of Shiga prefecture. Kyoto prefecture also planed the industrial district construction in Okazaki area. From the late nineteenth century Okazaki area became a symbol of the modernization of Kyoto city. This contribution intends to analyze the urban landscape composed of the different styles of architecture especially constructed after the Meiji period (1868-1912. Tangible and intangible signs remained as modern gardens, significant museums and cultural institutions among the ancient temples provide opportunities to reflect on the important role of suburban area of the historic city. These studies are supported by archival documents and by current measures and policies for landscape conservation by Kyoto Municipality.

Adaptation of an urban land surface model to a tropical suburban area: Offline evaluation, sensitivity analysis, and optimization of TEB/ISBA (SURFEX)

Science.gov (United States)

Harshan, Suraj

The main objective of the present thesis is the improvement of the TEB/ISBA (SURFEX) urban land surface model (ULSM) through comprehensive evaluation, sensitivity analysis, and optimization experiments using energy balance and radiative and air temperature data observed during 11 months at a tropical sub-urban site in Singapore. Overall the performance of the model is satisfactory, with a small underestimation of net radiation and an overestimation of sensible heat flux. Weaknesses in predicting the latent heat flux are apparent with smaller model values during daytime and the model also significantly underpredicts both the daytime peak and nighttime storage heat. Surface temperatures of all facets are generally overpredicted. Significant variation exists in the model behaviour between dry and wet seasons. The vegetation parametrization used in the model is inadequate to represent the moisture dynamics, producing unrealistically low latent heat fluxes during a particularly dry period. The comprehensive evaluation of the USLM shows the need for accurate estimation of input parameter values for present site. Since obtaining many of these parameters through empirical methods is not feasible, the present study employed a two step approach aimed at providing information about the most sensitive parameters and an optimized parameter set from model calibration. Two well established sensitivity analysis methods (global: Sobol and local: Morris) and a state-of-the-art multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (Borg) were employed for sensitivity analysis and parameter estimation. Experiments were carried out for three different weather periods. The analysis indicates that roof related parameters are the most important ones in controlling the behaviour of the sensible heat flux and net radiation flux, with roof and road albedo as the most influential parameters. Soil moisture initialization parameters are important in controlling the latent heat flux. The built (town) fraction

Suburban Families' Experience With Food Insecurity Screening in Primary Care Practices.

Science.gov (United States)

Palakshappa, Deepak; Doupnik, Stephanie; Vasan, Aditi; Khan, Saba; Seifu, Leah; Feudtner, Chris; Fiks, Alexander G

2017-07-01

Food insecurity (FI) remains a major public health problem. With the rise in suburban poverty, a greater understanding of parents' experiences of FI in suburban settings is needed to effectively screen and address FI in suburban practices. We conducted 23 semistructured interviews with parents of children practices and screened positive for FI. In the interviews, we elicited parents' perceptions of screening for FI, how FI impacted the family, and recommendations for how practices could more effectively address FI. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. We used a modified grounded theory approach to code the interviews inductively and identified emerging themes through an iterative process. Interviews continued until thematic saturation was achieved. Of the 23 parents interviewed, all were women, with 39% white and 39% African American. Three primary themes emerged: Parents expressed initial surprise at screening followed by comfort discussing their unmet food needs; parents experience shame, frustration, and helplessness regarding FI, but discussing FI with their clinician helped alleviate these feelings; parents suggested practices could help them more directly access food resources, which, depending on income, may not be available to them through government programs. Although most parents were comfortable discussing FI, they felt it was important for clinicians to acknowledge their frustrations with FI and facilitate access to a range of food resources. Copyright © 2017 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Contested Cowboys: Ethnic Mexican Charros and the Struggle for Suburban Public Space in 1970s Los Angeles

Science.gov (United States)

Barraclough, Laura R.

2012-01-01

While most studies of Mexican American suburbanization since the 1970s focus on the transformation of residential (private) space, it is in suburban public space that some of the most important struggles over belonging and rights have occurred. This article builds a theoretical framework to analyze the relationships between public space,…

Groundwater recharge in suburban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam: effect of decreasing surface-water bodies and land-use change

Science.gov (United States)

Kuroda, Keisuke; Hayashi, Takeshi; Do, An Thuan; Canh, Vu Duc; Nga, Tran Thi Viet; Funabiki, Ayako; Takizawa, Satoshi

2017-05-01

Over-exploited groundwater is expected to remain the predominant source of domestic water in suburban areas of Hanoi, Vietnam. In order to evaluate the effect on groundwater recharge, of decreasing surface-water bodies and land-use change caused by urbanization, the relevant groundwater systems and recharge pathways must be characterized in detail. To this end, water levels and water quality were monitored for 3 years regarding groundwater and adjacent surface-water bodies, at two typical suburban sites in Hanoi. Stable isotope (δ18O, δD of water) analysis and hydrochemical analysis showed that the water from both aquifers and aquitards, including the groundwater obtained from both the monitoring wells and the neighboring household tubewells, was largely derived from evaporation-affected surface-water bodies (e.g., ponds, irrigated farmlands) rather than from rivers. The water-level monitoring results suggested distinct local-scale flow systems for both a Holocene unconfined aquifer (HUA) and Pleistocene confined aquifer (PCA). That is, in the case of the HUA, lateral recharge through the aquifer from neighboring ponds and/or irrigated farmlands appeared to be dominant, rather than recharge by vertical rainwater infiltration. In the case of the PCA, recharge by the above-lying HUA, through areas where the aquitard separating the two aquifers was relatively thin or nonexistent, was suggested. As the decrease in the local surface-water bodies will likely reduce the groundwater recharge, maintaining and enhancing this recharge (through preservation of the surface-water bodies) is considered as essential for the sustainable use of groundwater in the area.

Determination of Habitat Requirements For Birds in Suburban Areas

Science.gov (United States)

Jack Ward Thomas; Richard M. DeGraaf; Joseph C. Mawson

1977-01-01

Songbird populations can be related to habitat components by a method that allows the simultaneous determination of habitat requirements for a variety of species . Through correlation and multiple-regression analyses, 10 bird species were studied in a suburban habitat, which was stratified according to human density. Variables used to account for bird distribution...

Sustainable School Improvement: Suburban Elementary Principals' Capacity Building

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Alison J.

2017-01-01

The increase of intense pressures to ensure long-term education reforms have created a challenge for school leaders as they direct and nurture the abilities of others. The purpose of this research was to understand and describe suburban elementary principals' practices and perceptions as change leaders related to capacity building through the…

Urban soil pollution and the playfields of small children

Science.gov (United States)

Jartun, M.; Ottesen, R. T.; Steinnes, E.

2003-05-01

The chemical composition of urban surface soil in Tromsø, northern Norway has been mapped to describe the environmental load of toxic elements in different parts of the city. Surface soil samples were collected from 275 locations throughout the city center and nearby suburban areas. Natural background concentrations were determined in samples of the local bedrock. Surface soil in younger, suburban parts of the city shows low concentrations of heavy metals, reflecting the local geochemistry. The inner and older parts of the city are generally polluted with lead (Pb), zinc (Zn) and tin (Sn). The most important sources of this urban soil pollution are probably city fires, industrial and domestic waste, traffic, and shipyards. In this paper two different approaches have been used. First, as a result of the general mapping, 852 soil and sand samples from kindergartens and playgrounds were analyzed. In this study concentrations of arsenic (As) up to 1800ppm were found, most likely due to the extensive use of CCA (copper, chromium, arsenic) impregnated wood in sandboxes and other playground equipment. This may represent a significant health risk especially to children having a high oral intake of contaminated sand and soil. Secondly a pattern of tin (Sn) concentrations was found in Tromsøcity with especially high values near shipyards. Further investigation indicated that this pattern most probably reflected the use of the highty toxic tributyltin (TBT). Thus détermination of total Sn in surface soils could be a cost-effective way to localize sources of TBT contamination in the environment.

Analysis of pellets from a suburban Common Kestrel Falco ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The diet of a Common Kestrel Falco tinnunculus in a suburban area of Algiers at El Harrach was determined by pellet analysis over two years. In both years, the hybrid sparrow (Passer domesticus x P. hispaniolensis) was the main prey item, based on relative frequency (22.3% and 58.7% in 1999 and 2000, respectively).

Combining biodiversity, climate adaptation and citizen engagement – the case of public participation in an urban park

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Zandersen, Marianne; Stage, Carsten

habitats for flora and fauna. Instead, nutrient rich soil and grass are placed on the adaptation, corresponding to a biological desert. In this paper we present the project Permeable Green City Aarhus, which seeks to investigate the potential role that citizens can play in conjunction with scientists...... in developing green infrastructures that equally integrate habitats for biodiversity and sustainable urban drainage (SUD) that help adapt to climate change. The project focuses on transforming one urban park in a suburban town north of Aarhus (Lystrup), and the paper deals with our conceptualisation and design......Managing climate induced excesses of rainwater in urban areas calls for nature-based solutions in urban parks, i.e. creating rainbeds, artificial lakes, building dikes and digging ditches. Traditionally, such blue-green climate adaptation measures do not integrate efforts to create more rich...

Identification of volatile organic compounds in suburban Bangkok, Thailand and their potential for ozone formation

Science.gov (United States)

Suthawaree, Jeeranut; Tajima, Yosuke; Khunchornyakong, Alisa; Kato, Shungo; Sharp, Alice; Kajii, Yoshizumi

2012-02-01

Measurement of Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) was carried out in suburban Bangkok during July 2-8, 2008. Analysis was performed using GC-FID and GC-MS. High mixing ratios of VOCs detected during the morning and evening are most likely due to vehicular emissions. Averaged VOC mixing ratios revealed distinct difference between mixing ratios of weekdays and weekend, which the latter were found to be lower. The most abundance species were propane and toluene. Ratios of benzene over toluene suggested that additional toluene mixing ratios was owing to industrial emission, which was particularly larger during weekdays. Comparison between C2Cl4 and CH3Cl mixing ratios obtained for suburban Tokyo reveal a relatively lower influence of biomass burning than suburban Bangkok. Elucidating by Ozone Formation Potential, toluene was found to contribute the most to O3 production followed by ethylene, m-,p-xylene, and propylene.

Suburbanization in small towns - case study Modřice near Brno

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Vaishar, Antonín; Zapletalová, Jana

2007-01-01

Roč. 10, - (2007), s. 112-116 ISSN 1224-4112 R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA3086301 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z30860518 Keywords : Suburbanization * small towns Subject RIV: AO - Sociology, Demography

20 CFR 667.130 - How are WIA title I formula funds allocated to local workforce investment areas?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-04-01

... section) relating to: (A) Excess poverty in urban, rural and suburban local areas; and (B) Excess... the factors described in paragraph (c)(1) of this section) relating to: (A) Excess youth poverty in urban, rural and suburban local areas; and (B) Excess unemployment above the State average in urban...

The Effect of Increasing Surface Albedo on Urban Climate and Air Quality: A Detailed Study for Sacramento, Houston, and Chicago

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zahra Jandaghian

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Increasing surface reflectivity in urban areas can decrease ambient temperature, resulting in reducing photochemical reaction rates, reducing cooling energy demands and thus improving air quality and human health. The weather research and forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem is coupled with the multi-layer of the urban canopy model (ML-UCM to investigate the effects of surface modification on urban climate in a two-way nested approach over North America focusing on Sacramento, Houston, and Chicago during the 2011 heat wave period. This approach decreases the uncertainties associated with scale separation and grid resolution and equip us with an integrated simulation setup to capture the full impacts of meteorological and photochemical reactions. WRF-ChemV3.6.1 simulated the diurnal variation of air temperature reasonably well, overpredicted wind speed and dew point temperature, underpredicted relative humidity, overpredicted ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentrations, and underpredicted fine particular matters (PM2.5. The performance of PM2.5 is a combination of overprediction of particulate sulfate and underprediction of particulate nitrate and organic carbon. Increasing the surface albedo of roofs, walls, and pavements from 0.2 to 0.65, 0.60, and 0.45, respectively, resulted in a decrease in air temperature by 2.3 °C in urban areas and 0.7 °C in suburban areas; a slight increase in wind speed; an increase in relative humidity (3% and dew point temperature (0.3 °C; a decrease of PM2.5 and O3 concentrations by 2.7 µg/m3 and 6.3 ppb in urban areas and 1.4 µg/m3 and 2.5 ppb in suburban areas, respectively; minimal changes in PM2.5 subspecies; and a decrease of nitrogen dioxide (1 ppb in urban areas.

Temporal variation of pharmaceuticals in an urban and agriculturally influenced stream

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Veach, Allison M., E-mail: amveach@k-state.edu; Bernot, Melody J., E-mail: mjbernot@bsu.edu

2011-10-01

Pharmaceuticals have become ubiquitous in the aquatic environment. Previous studies consistently demonstrate the prevalence of pharmaceuticals in freshwater but we do not yet know how concentrations vary over time within a given system. Two sites in central Indiana with varying land use in the surrounding watershed (suburban and agricultural) were sampled monthly for pharmaceutical concentrations and stream physiochemical parameters. Sediment samples were also collected at each sampling event for measurement of {delta}{sup 15}N natural abundance and sediment organic content. Across sites and sampling events, twelve pharmaceuticals were detected including acetaminophen, caffeine, carbamazepine, cotinine, N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide (DEET), gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, sulfadimethoxine, sulfamethazine, sulfamethoxazole, triclosan, and trimethoprim. Sulfathiazole, lincomycin, and tylosin were not detected at either site at any time. The agriculturally-influenced site had comparable pharmaceutical concentrations to the urban-influenced site. In general, pharmaceutical concentrations increased during winter at both sites and decreased during spring and summer. Multiple regression analyses indicated that water column dissolved oxygen, the number of days since precipitation, and solar radiation influenced total pharmaceutical concentration in the urban-influenced site; whereas pH, chlorophyll a concentration, and total amount of rainfall in the previous 10 days influenced total pharmaceutical concentrations in the agriculturally-influenced site. Pharmaceutical concentrations were not correlated with sediment {delta}{sup 15}N across or within sites. However, sediment in the urban-influenced site had higher mean {delta}{sup 15}N signatures relative to sediment in the agriculturally-influenced site. These data indicate pharmaceuticals are persistent in aquatic ecosystems influenced by both agricultural and suburban activity. Pharmaceuticals are designed to have a physiological

Racial Diversity in the Suburbs: How Race-Neutral Responses to Demographic Change Perpetuate Inequity in Suburban School Districts

Science.gov (United States)

Diem, Sarah; Welton, Anjalé D.; Frankenberg, Erica; Jellison Holme, Jennifer

2016-01-01

Suburbs across the US are experiencing dramatic demographic shifts, yet there is little research available on how suburban school districts are dealing with these changes. In this article, we examine the discourses surrounding race and demographic change in three suburban school districts that have been undergoing rapid demographic changes and…

Implications of urban structure on carbon consumption in metropolitan areas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinonen, Jukka; Junnila, Seppo

2011-01-01

Urban structure influences directly or indirectly the majority of all green house gas (GHG) emissions in cities. The prevailing belief is that dense metropolitan areas produce less carbon emissions on a per capita basis than less dense surrounding rural areas. Consequently, density targets have a major role in low-carbon urban developments. However, based on the results of this study, the connection seems unclear or even nonexistent when comprehensive evaluation is made. In this letter, we propose a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) method for calculating the consumption-based carbon footprints in metropolitan areas, i.e. carbon consumption, with the emphasis on urban structures. The method is input-output-based hybrid LCA, which operates with the existing data from the region. The study is conducted by performing an analysis of the carbon consumption in two metropolitan areas in Finland, including 11 cities. Both areas consist of a dense city core and a less dense surrounding suburban area. The paper will illustrate that the influence of urban density on carbon emissions is insignificant in the selected metropolitan areas. In addition, the utilized consumption-based method links the climate effects of city-level development to the global production of emissions.

[Landscape ecological security pattern during urban expansion of Nanchong City].

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Sui; Shi, Tie-mao; Fu, Shi-lei; Zhou, Le; Liu, Miao; Wang, Wei

2011-03-01

Based on the theory of landscape ecological security pattern and the RS and GIS techniques, this paper analyzed the distribution of ecological security grades in Nanchong City, taking six elements including terrain condition, flood hazard, soil erosion, vegetation cover, geological disaster, and biological protection as the ecological constraints (or determinants) of urban expansion. According to the minimum cumulative resistance model, the ecological corridors and ecological nodes were built to strengthen the space contact of ecological network, and, on the basis of the protection of ecological safety, the reasonable trend of urban expansion and the optimization of space layout were investigated. The results showed that the ecological security of Nanchong City was quite good, with the regions of low ecological security mainly distributed in the west suburban mountains and the downstream region of Jialing River in the south of the City. Ecological elements were the most important constraints for the future expansion of urban space. There were more spaces for the urban expansion in the southern and northern parts of Nanchong City. To develop satellite towns would be the best selection to guarantee the ecological security of the city.

Energy demand analysis via small scale hydroponic systems in suburban areas - An integrated energy-food nexus solution.

Science.gov (United States)

Xydis, George A; Liaros, Stelios; Botsis, Konstantinos

2017-09-01

The study is a qualitative approach and looks into new ways for the effective energy management of a wind farm (WF) operation in a suburban or near-urban environment in order the generated electricity to be utilised for hydroponic farming purposes as well. Since soilless hydroponic indoor systems gain more and more attention one basic goal, among others, is to take advantage of this not typical electricity demand and by managing it, offering to the grid a less fluctuating electricity generation signal. In this paper, a hybrid business model is presented where the Distributed Energy Resources (DER) producer is participating in the electricity markets under competitive processes (spot market, real-time markets etc.) and at the same time acts as a retailer offering - based on the demand - to the hydroponic units for their mass deployment in an area, putting forward an integrated energy-food nexus approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Lead contamination and transfer in urban environmental compartments analyzed by lead levels and isotopic compositions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Xin; Sun, Yuanyuan; Ding, Zhuhong; Zhang, Yun; Wu, Jichun; Lian, Hongzhen; Wang, Tijian

2014-04-01

Lead levels and isotopic compositions in atmospheric particles (TSP and PM2.5), street dust and surface soil collected from Nanjing, a mega city in China, were analyzed to investigate the contamination and the transfer of lead in urban environmental compartments. The lead contents in TSP and PM2.5 are significantly higher than them in the surface soil and street dust (p lead to the major crustal elements (Al, Sr, Ti and Fe) indicates significant lead enrichment in atmospheric particles. The plots of (206)Pb/(207)Pb vs.(208)Pb/(206)Pb and (206)Pb/(207)Pb vs. 1/Pb imply that the street dust and atmospheric particles (TSP and PM2.5) have very similar lead sources. Coal emissions and smelting activities may be the important lead sources for street dust and atmospheric particles (TSP and PM2.5), while the deposition of airborne lead is an important lead source for urban surface soil. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Price and quality of livestock feeds in suburban markets of West Africa’s Sahel: Case study from Bamako, Mali

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A. A. Ayantunde

2014-07-01

Full Text Available In West African Sahel cities, livestock husbandry such as smallholder dairy production and livestock (cattle, sheep and goat fattening has become popular among livestock owners to meet food needs for the household, and for income generation. The increasing importance of urban and suburban agriculture, particularly livestock husbandry in the region, has led to a rapid increase in livestock populations in most of the cities. As a result of this increase and the associated growth in the demand for feeds, feed markets have sprung up in many cities and towns of West Africa’s Sahel. A survey of livestock feed markets was conducted in five markets in Bamako, Mali. Prices of livestock feeds were monitored monthly from January to December 2010. In addition, feed samples were collected from the markets for laboratory analysis to determine their nutritional quality. Results showed that the prices of cowpea hay and groundnut haulm were consistently higher than those of other feeds throughout the year. The price of cowpea hay ranged from 367 FCFA/kg dry matter (DM (1 USD ≈ 500 FCFA in October, i.e. immediately after harvest, to 667 FCFA/kg DM in August, i.e. in the wet season. Results also showed that there was no relationship between price and quality for all feed types. However, prices and quality of feeds differed significantly across seasons suggesting that the season was a major determinant for the price of livestock feeds in suburban areas of West Africa’s Sahel.

Prevalence of peripheral blood parasitaemia, anaemia and low birthweight among pregnant women in a suburban area in coastal Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Stephens, Judith Koryo; Ofori, Michael F; Quakyi, Isabella Akyinbah; Wilson, Mark Lee; Akanmori, Bartholomew Dicky

2014-01-01

Malaria and anaemia have adverse effects in pregnant women and on the birth weight of infants in malaria endemic areas. P. falciparum malaria, the most virulent species continues to be a major health problem in sub-Saharan Africa. This study was carried out to establish the prevalence of pregnancy-associated malaria and its associated consequences including maternal anaemia and low birthweight (LBW) deliveries and placental malaria among pregnant women in a sub-urban area in coastal Ghana. A facility-based investigation was carried out among 320 pregnant women seeking antenatal care in a hospital in suburban coastal Ghana. Information on the use of Insecticide Treated Nets (ITNs) and Intermittent Preventive Treatment in pregnancy (IPTp) were collected using a structured questionnaire at enrollment. Venous blood was collected for microscopy and screening for Glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency. Haemoglobin concentration was obtained from an automatic blood analyzer. Placental smears and birth weight measurements were taken at delivery. The prevalence of Plasmodium falciparum parasitaemia was 5%. The mean haemoglobin (Hb) level at registration was 11.44 g/dL (95% CI 11.29 - 11.80). Placental blood parasitaemia and low birthweight were 2.5% and 3% respectively. ITN possession was 31.6% with 5.4% usage. The IPTp coverage was 55%. The prevalence of malaria and anaemia among the pregnant women were low at enrollment. Placental blood parasitaemia and LBW at delivery were also low. These are clear indications of the high coverage of the IPTp. Increase in ITN use will further improve birthweight outcomes and reduce placental malaria.

Suburban sprawl in the developing world: duplicating past mistakes? The case of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

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Loh, Lawrence C; Brieger, William B

Newly affluent developing world cities increasingly adopt the same unfortunate low-density suburban paradigm that shaped cities in the industrialized world. Identified by a World Bank report as a "mini-Los Angeles," Kuala Lumpur is a sentinel example of the results of unrestrained sprawl in the developing world. Factors driving sprawl included government policies favoring foreign investment, "mega-projects," and domestic automobile production; fragmented governance structures allowing federal and state government influence on local planning; increasing middle-class affluence; an oligopoly of local developers; and haphazard municipal zoning and transport planning. The city's present form contributes to Malaysia's dual burden of disease, with inner-city shantytown dwellers facing communicable disease and malnutrition while suburban citizens experience increasing chronic disease, injury, and mental health issues. Despite growing awareness in city plans targeted toward higher density development, Kuala Lumpur presents a warning to other emerging economies of the financial, societal, and population health costs imposed by quickly-built suburban sprawl.

The Impact of the Urban Heat Island during an Intense Heat Wave in Oklahoma City

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Jeffrey B. Basara

2010-01-01

Full Text Available During late July and early August 2008, an intense heat wave occurred in Oklahoma City. To quantify the impact of the urban heat island (UHI in Oklahoma City on observed and apparent temperature conditions during the heat wave event, this study used observations from 46 locations in and around Oklahoma City. The methodology utilized composite values of atmospheric conditions for three primary categories defined by population and general land use: rural, suburban, and urban. The results of the analyses demonstrated that a consistent UHI existed during the study period whereby the composite temperature values within the urban core were approximately 0.5∘C warmer during the day than the rural areas and over 2∘C warmer at night. Further, when the warmer temperatures were combined with ambient humidity conditions, the composite values consistently revealed even warmer heat-related variables within the urban environment as compared with the rural zone.

Perkembangan Urban Sprawl Kota Semarang pada Wilayah Kabupaten Demak Tahun 2001-2012

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Reni Mujiandari

2014-08-01

Full Text Available Limited land resulted city expansion towards the periphery by urbanization. Sub-urban area is still depends on the city core, which is known as urban sprawl (Soetomo, 2009. Urban sprawl in Greater Semarang passed the administrative boundaries, as example in Demak District. The purpose of study is to assess urban sprawl in Greater Semarang (a case in Demak District. In this study, urban sprawl defined in two dimensions, physical and non physical dimensions. Physical dimensions include land use, building density, building function and the level of accessibility. Non- physical dimensions include population density and population of agricultural livelihoods. Urban sprawl in study area during 2001-2012 has been increased 498.685 ha (32.23 % which consists of the change from urban sprawl into non-urban sprawl 488.278 ha and changes of non-urban sprawl into urban sprawl 986.963 ha. Development of sprawl has a combination of ribbon development and leapfrog development. Area with distance of 7.5-10 km from the center of Semarang City (ring 1 is the largest growth of urban sprawl. This shows that the distance to the city center to be one of the factors that influence sprawl. Direction of development of new residential is needed to integrated with other existing settlement. Another policy that needs to be considered is the provision of mass transportation facilities and infrastructure so that people living in urban sprawl areas do not need to use a personal vehicle to go to work or to the center of Semarang.

The urban heat island and its impact on heat waves and human health in Shanghai.

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Tan, Jianguo; Zheng, Youfei; Tang, Xu; Guo, Changyi; Li, Liping; Song, Guixiang; Zhen, Xinrong; Yuan, Dong; Kalkstein, Adam J; Li, Furong

2010-01-01

With global warming forecast to continue into the foreseeable future, heat waves are very likely to increase in both frequency and intensity. In urban regions, these future heat waves will be exacerbated by the urban heat island effect, and will have the potential to negatively influence the health and welfare of urban residents. In order to investigate the health effects of the urban heat island (UHI) in Shanghai, China, 30 years of meteorological records (1975-2004) were examined for 11 first- and second-order weather stations in and around Shanghai. Additionally, automatic weather observation data recorded in recent years as well as daily all-cause summer mortality counts in 11 urban, suburban, and exurban regions (1998-2004) in Shanghai have been used. The results show that different sites (city center or surroundings) have experienced different degrees of warming as a result of increasing urbanization. In turn, this has resulted in a more extensive urban heat island effect, causing additional hot days and heat waves in urban regions compared to rural locales. An examination of summer mortality rates in and around Shanghai yields heightened heat-related mortality in urban regions, and we conclude that the UHI is directly responsible, acting to worsen the adverse health effects from exposure to extreme thermal conditions.

Social Media Meets Big Urban Data: A Case Study of Urban Waterlogging Analysis

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Ningyu Zhang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available With the design and development of smart cities, opportunities as well as challenges arise at the moment. For this purpose, lots of data need to be obtained. Nevertheless, circumstances vary in different cities due to the variant infrastructures and populations, which leads to the data sparsity. In this paper, we propose a transfer learning method for urban waterlogging disaster analysis, which provides the basis for traffic management agencies to generate proactive traffic operation strategies in order to alleviate congestion. Existing work on urban waterlogging mostly relies on past and current conditions, as well as sensors and cameras, while there may not be a sufficient number of sensors to cover the relevant areas of a city. To this end, it would be helpful if we could transfer waterlogging. We examine whether it is possible to use the copious amounts of information from social media and satellite data to improve urban waterlogging analysis. Moreover, we analyze the correlation between severity, road networks, terrain, and precipitation. Moreover, we use a multiview discriminant transfer learning method to transfer knowledge to small cities. Experimental results involving cities in China and India show that our proposed framework is effective.

Social Media Meets Big Urban Data: A Case Study of Urban Waterlogging Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Ningyu; Chen, Huajun; Chen, Jiaoyan; Chen, Xi

2016-01-01

With the design and development of smart cities, opportunities as well as challenges arise at the moment. For this purpose, lots of data need to be obtained. Nevertheless, circumstances vary in different cities due to the variant infrastructures and populations, which leads to the data sparsity. In this paper, we propose a transfer learning method for urban waterlogging disaster analysis, which provides the basis for traffic management agencies to generate proactive traffic operation strategies in order to alleviate congestion. Existing work on urban waterlogging mostly relies on past and current conditions, as well as sensors and cameras, while there may not be a sufficient number of sensors to cover the relevant areas of a city. To this end, it would be helpful if we could transfer waterlogging. We examine whether it is possible to use the copious amounts of information from social media and satellite data to improve urban waterlogging analysis. Moreover, we analyze the correlation between severity, road networks, terrain, and precipitation. Moreover, we use a multiview discriminant transfer learning method to transfer knowledge to small cities. Experimental results involving cities in China and India show that our proposed framework is effective.

Impact of elementary school-located influenza vaccinations: A stepped wedge trial across a community.

Science.gov (United States)

Szilagyi, Peter G; Schaffer, Stanley; Rand, Cynthia M; Goldstein, Nicolas P N; Hightower, A Dirk; Younge, Mary; Eagan, Ashley; Blumkin, Aaron; Albertin, Christina S; DiBitetto, Kristine; Concannon, Cathleen; Vincelli, Phyllis; Yoo, Byung-Kwang; Humiston, Sharon G

2018-05-11

Influenza vaccination rates among children are low and novel strategies are needed to raise coverage. We measured the impact of school-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) on coverage, examined whether SLIV substitutes for practice-based influenza vaccination ("substitution"), and estimated whether a second year of experience with SLIV increases its impact. We implemented a stepped wedge study design with schools as clusters. In Year 1, we randomly allocated schools to SLIV or control. In Year 2, all schools performed SLIV. We used emails (suburban schools) or backpack fliers (both urban and suburban schools) to notify parents, and offered web-based (suburban) or paper-based vaccination (urban) consent forms. Local health department nurses administered SLIV vaccinations and billed insurers. We analyzed state immunization registry data to measure influenza vaccination rates. 42 schools (38,078 children) participated over 2 years. Overall vaccination rates were 5 and 7 percentage points higher among SLIV- school children versus control-school children in suburban (aOR 1.36, 95% CI 1.25-1.49 in Years 1-2 SLIV vs. Year 1 control schools) and urban schools (aOR 1.22, 95% CI 1.10-1.36), respectively, adjusting for prior year's vaccination and other covariates. While no substitution occurred among children attending suburban schools, some substitution occurred among children attending urban schools, although overall vaccination rates were still higher in urban schools due to SLIV. Compared to an initial year of SLIV, more children were vaccinated in a second year of SLIV at urban (8.3% vs. 6.8%, aOR 1.24, 95% CI 1.04-1.47) but not suburban schools (3.5% vs. 2.7%, aOR 1.24, 95% CI 0.98-1.57). In this stepped wedge trial, SLIV increased overall influenza vaccination rates in suburban and urban schools. Some substitution for primary care vaccination occurred in urban settings. A second year of SLIV expanded its reach slightly in urban schools. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier

Carbon dioxide fluxes from an urban area in Beijing

Science.gov (United States)

Song, Tao; Wang, Yuesi

2012-03-01

A better understanding of urban carbon dioxide (CO 2) emissions is important for quantifying urban contributions to the global carbon budget. From January to December 2008, CO 2 fluxes were measured, by eddy covariance at 47 m above ground on a meteorological tower in a high-density residential area in Beijing. The results showed that the urban surface was a net source of CO 2 in the atmosphere. Diurnal flux patterns were similar to those previously observed in other cities and were largely influenced by traffic volume. Carbon uptake by both urban vegetation during the growing season and the reduction of fuel consumption for domestic heating resulted in less-positive daily fluxes in the summer. The average daily flux measured in the summer was 0.48 mg m - 2 s - 1 , which was 82%, 35% and 36% lower than those in the winter, spring and autumn, respectively. The reduction of vehicles on the road during the 29th Olympic and Paralympic Games had a significant impact on CO 2 flux. The flux of 0.40 mg m - 2 s - 1 for September 2008 was approximately 0.17 mg m - 2 s - 1 lower than the flux for September 2007. Annual CO 2 emissions from the study site were estimated at 20.6 kg CO 2 m - 2 y - 1 , considerably higher than yearly emissions obtained from other urban and suburban landscapes.

The southern megalopolis: using the past to predict the future of urban sprawl in the Southeast U.S.

Science.gov (United States)

Terando, Adam; Costanza, Jennifer; Belyea, Curtis; Dunn, Robert R.; McKerrow, Alexa; Collazo, Jaime

2014-01-01

The future health of ecosystems is arguably as dependent on urban sprawl as it is on human-caused climatic warming. Urban sprawl strongly impacts the urban ecosystems it creates and the natural and agro-ecosystems that it displaces and fragments. Here, we project urban sprawl changes for the next 50 years for the fast-growing Southeast U.S. Previous studies have focused on modeling population density, but the urban extent is arguably as important as population density per se in terms of its ecological and conservation impacts. We develop simulations using the SLEUTH urban growth model that complement population-driven models but focus on spatial pattern and extent. To better capture the reach of low-density suburban development, we extend the capabilities of SLEUTH by incorporating street-network information. Our simulations point to a future in which the extent of urbanization in the Southeast is projected to increase by 101% to 192%. Our results highlight areas where ecosystem fragmentation is likely, and serve as a benchmark to explore the challenging tradeoffs between ecosystem health, economic growth and cultural desires.

Population mobility in Peninsular Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, G W; Sidh, M S

1979-12-01

1970 census materials were used to analyze migration patterns in Peninsular Malaysia. Inter-state migration patterns were analyzed by comparing birth place and current place of residence data, and inter-district and intra-district migration patterns were assessed using information on previous and current place of residence. The proportion of inter-state migrants in the total population increased from 4.7%-10.9% from 1947-1970. 53% of the inter-state migrants were Malays, 33% were Chinese, and 13% were Indian. The states of Selangor and Pahang had the highest net migration gains and Perak had the highest number of out-migrants. Selangor attracted migrants because it was a major industrial, administrative and educational center. Migrants were attracted to Pahang because of recent efforts by the government to promote agricultural development in the state. Areas which showed a net migration loss were experiencing slow economic growth. 48.4% of the inter-state migrants migrated to either rural or suburban areas, 26% moved to cities with populations of 75,000 or more, and 26% moved to towns with populations of 1000-10,000. 48.6% of the inter-state migrants were females. When all types of internal migration were taken into account it was estimated that approximately 30% of the population had moved at some point in their life time. During the early 1900s, Peninsular Malaysia received many immigrants from China, India, and other countries, and the Chinese became the dominant group in many urban areas and in many economic sectors. In 1950 the government, fearing that the Malays would become a minority group in their own country, halted international immigration. The recent increase in internal migration has contributed toward equalizing the influence and power of the Chinese and the Malays in urban areas and in various economic sectors.

Evaluating Water and Energy Fluxes across Three Land Cover Types in a Desert Urban Environment through a Mobile Eddy Covariance Platform

Science.gov (United States)

Pierini, N.; Vivoni, E. R.; Schreiner-McGraw, A.; Lopez-Castrillo, I.

2015-12-01

The urbanization process transforms a natural landscape into a built environment with many engineered surfaces, leading to significant impacts on surface energy and water fluxes across multiple spatial and temporal scales. Nevertheless, the effects of different urban land covers on energy and water fluxes has been rarely quantified across the large varieties of construction materials, landscaping and vegetation types, and industrial, commercial and residential areas in cities. In this study, we deployed a mobile eddy covariance tower at three different locations in the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area to capture a variety of urban land covers. The three locations each represent a common urban class in Phoenix: 1) a dense, xeric landscape (gravel cover and native plants with drip-irrigation systems near tall buildings); 2) a high-density urban site (asphalt-paved parking lot near a high-traffic intersection); and 3) a suburban mesic landscape (sprinkler-irrigated turf grass in a suburban neighborhood). At each site, we measured meteorological variables, including air temperature and relative humidity at three heights, precipitation and pressure, surface temperature, and soil moisture and temperature (where applicable), to complement the eddy covariance measurements of radiation, energy, carbon dioxide and water vapor fluxes. We evaluated the tower footprint at each site to characterize the contributing surface area to the flux measurements, including engineered and landscaping elements, as a function of time for each deployment. The different sites allowed us to compare how turbulent fluxes of water vapor and carbon dioxide vary for these representative urban land covers, in particular with respect to the role of precipitation events and irrigation. While the deployments covered different seasons, from winter to summer in 2015, the variety of daily conditions allowed quantification of the differential response to precipitation events during the winter, pre

The impact of mass transfer limitations on size distributions of particle associated SVOCs in outdoor and indoor environments

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Cong; Zhang, Yinping [Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Weschler, Charles J., E-mail: weschlch@rwjms.rutgers.edu [Department of Building Science, Tsinghua University, Beijing (China); Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ (United States); International Center for Indoor Environment and Energy, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby (Denmark)

2014-11-01

Semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs) partition between the gas phase and airborne particles. The size distribution of particle-associated SVOCs impacts their fate in outdoor and indoor environments, as well as human exposure to these compounds and subsequent health risks. Allen et al. (1996) previously proposed that the rate of mass transfer can impact polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) partitioning among different sized particles, especially for time scales relevant to urban aerosols. The present study quantitatively builds on this idea, presenting a model that incorporates dynamic SVOC/particle interaction and applying this model to typical outdoor and indoor scenarios. The model indicates that the impact of mass transfer limitations on the size distribution of a particle-associated SVOC can be evaluated by the ratio of the time to achieve gas–particle equilibrium relative to the residence time of particles. The higher this ratio, the greater the influence of mass transfer limitations on the size distribution of particle-associated SVOCs. The influence of such constraints is largest on the fraction of particle-associated SVOCs in the coarse mode (> 2 μm). Predictions from the model have been found to be in reasonable agreement with size distributions measured for PAHs at roadside and suburban locations in Japan. The model also quantitatively explains shifts in the size distributions of particle associated SVOCs compared to those for particle mass, and the manner in which these shifts vary with temperature and an SVOC's molecular weight. - Highlights: • Rate of mass transfer can impact SVOC partitioning among different sized particles. • Model was developed that incorporates dynamic SVOC/particle sorption. • Key parameters: mass-transfer coefficients, partition coefficient, residence time • Model explains observed SVOC size distribution shifts with temperature and MW. • Largest impact of mass transfer constraints: SVOC sorption to coarse

Queer worldings in the urban age. Die sub\\urban Journal Lecture beim Deutschen Kongress für Geographie im Oktober 2015 in Berlin

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie Oswin

2015-11-01

Full Text Available Der Beitrag stellt die Frage, in welchem Bezug die vieldiskutierte globale Urbanisierung, die sich in den vergangenen Jahrzehnten besonders im Globalen Süden weiter beschleunigt hat, mit einer ebenfalls zu beobachtenden verstärkten Thematisierung sexueller und geschlechtlicher Identitäten weltweit steht. Denn Kämpfe um Sichtbarkeit, Anerkennung und nicht-normative Lebensweisen artikulieren sich gerade in städtischen Kontexten mit besonderer Virulenz. Ein bislang weitgehend vernachlässigtes Potenzial wird dabei in Überschneidungen von Kritiken tradierter eurozentrischer Stadtkonzepte in den Urban Studies einerseits und der Infragestellung sexueller und geschlechtlicher – und ebenfalls oft an westlichen Standards orientierter – Normen in den Queer Studies andererseits gesehen. Sowohl Urban Studies als auch Queer Studies treiben ein worlding, eine Verweltlichung der untersuchten Probleme voran. Die Fragestellungen, die aus einer Zusammenführung von urban worlding und queer worlding entstehen, ermöglichen neue Blicke auf die Rolle, die gerade marginalisierte Subjekte in Prozessen von Urbanisierung und Globalisierung spielen.

How urban African American young adolescents spend their time: time budgets for locations, activities, and companionship.

Science.gov (United States)

Larson, R W; Richards, M H; Sims, B; Dworkin, J

2001-08-01

The time budgets of a population of youth provide important information about their daily experience and socialization. This study reports data on the time budgets of a sample of 253 urban African American poor to working- and middle-class 5th-8th graders in Chicago. These youth were found to spend less time in school than other postindustrial adolescent populations, but spent no less time doing homework than White suburban U.S. young adolescents. They spent large quantities of time at home and with their families--at rates comparable to rates for young adolescents in a society with collectivist values like India. Unlike with other populations, early adolescence was not associated with major age changes in time allocations. Amount of time in schoolwork did not differ by grade, and amount of time with family did not show the decline with age that has been found for European American suburban adolescents.

CADDIS Volume 2. Sources, Stressors and Responses: Urbanization - Hydrology

Science.gov (United States)

hydrologic (or flow) changes associated with urbanization, baseflow changes associated with urbanization, water withdrawals and interbasin transfers associated with urbanization, biotic responses to hydrologic (or flow) changes associated with urbanization

A Qualitative Exploration of Trajectories among Suburban Users of Methamphetamine

Science.gov (United States)

Boeri, Miriam Williams; Harbry, Liam; Gibson, David

2009-01-01

The goal of this exploratory study was to gain a better understanding of methamphetamine use among suburban users. We know very little about the mechanisms of initiation and trajectory patterns of methamphetamine use among this under-researched and hidden population. This study employed qualitative methods to examine the drug career of suburban…

Association between knowledge of caries preventive practices, preventive oral health habits of parents and children and caries experience in children resident in sub-urban Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Folayan, Morenike O; Kolawole, Kikelomo A; Oyedele, Titus; Chukwumah, Nneka M; Chukumah, Nneka M; Onyejaka, Nneka; Agbaje, Hakeem; Oziegbe, Elizabeth O; Oshomoji, Olusegun V; Osho, Olusegun V

2014-12-16

The objectives of this study were to assess the association between children and parents' knowledge of caries preventive practices, the parents' caries preventive oral health behaviours and children's caries preventive oral health behaviour and caries experience. Three hundred and twenty four participants aged 8-12 years, 308 fathers and 318 mothers were recruited through a household survey conducted in Suburban Nigeria. A questionnaire was administered to generate information on fathers, mothers and children's knowledge of caries prevention measures and their oral health behaviour. Clinical examination was conducted on the children to determine their dmft/DMFT. Analysis was conducted to determine the predictors of the children's good oral health behaviour. The mothers' oral health behaviours were significant predictors of the children's oral health behaviours. Children who had good knowledge of caries prevention measures had significant increased odds of brushing their teeth twice daily or more. The children's caries prevalence was 13.9%, the mean dmft was 0.2 and the mean DMFT was 0.09. None of the dependent variables could predict the presence of caries in children. The study highlights the effect of maternal oral health behaviour on the oral health behaviour of children aged 8 years to 12 years in suburban Nigeria. A pilot study is needed to evaluate how enhanced maternal preventive oral health practices can improve the oral health preventive practices of children.

Understanding the Importance of Urban Amenities: A Case Study from Auckland

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Natalie Allen

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Along with many Pacific Rim cities in Australia and North America, Auckland, New Zealand has enacted an urban growth management strategy premised on two concepts: “liveability” and a “quality compact city”. The effective implementation of this strategy will, in part, require higher density housing typologies to be developed within the existing suburban fabric. The urban amenities in a neighbourhood play an important role in providing a sense of liveability for residents. This paper examines these issues by evaluating and reporting on key outcomes from 57 face-to-face qualitative interviews with residents who currently live in medium density housing in four Auckland suburbs; Takapuna, Kingsland, Botany Downs, and Te Atatu Peninsula. Findings consider the trade-offs residents make when choosing to live in medium density housing typologies, how they value the urban amenities in their neighbourhood and the role they think these amenities play in their location satisfaction. Conclusions are drawn around how the resident-derived information may inform the market on the supply side of housing, and comment is made about how these preferences may, or may not, respond to the objectives of the underlying urban management strategies involved.

The Power of Urban Planning on Environmental Sustainability: A Focus Group Study in Finland

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Eeva-Sofia Säynäjoki

2014-09-01

Full Text Available Sustainable communities are promoted as a desirable policy goal and, in particular, local authorities are encouraged to contribute to climate change mitigation through urban planning. Furthermore, recent research takes a broad perspective on the environmental sustainability of urban areas and considers the environmental impact of all consumption. A focus group study was conducted in Finland for the purpose of examining how increased environmental awareness influences urban land use. The 32 participants of three focus groups were professionals of urban planning and environmental sustainability, at both a municipal and a state level. The main finding was that urban planning is viewed as being unable to support environmental sustainability in the broader sense. In general, the participants did not see a connection between urban structure and sustainable lifestyles and only the influence of planning on housing and daily journeys was recognised. Three main reasons for this were identified. Firstly, environmental sustainability in its broader definition is seen as too complex for urban planners to influence alone. Secondly, the dominance of short-term economic issues in decision-making and the lack of co-operation from other stakeholders to achieve environmental aims demotivate land use planners. Thirdly, the prioritisation of urban density may overrule alternative means of promoting environmental sustainability, such as the encouragement of sustainable suburban or non-urban lifestyles.

Desperately Seeking Sustainability: Urban Shrinkage, Land Consumption and Regional Planning in a Mediterranean Metropolitan Area

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Luca Salvati

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Land degradation has expanded in the Mediterranean region as a result of a variety of factors, including economic and population growth, land-use changes and climate variations. The level of land vulnerability to degradation and its growth over time are distributed heterogeneously over space, concentrating on landscapes exposed to high human pressure. The present study investigates the level of land vulnerability to degradation in a shrinking urban area (Rome, Italy at four points in time (1960, 1990, 2000 and 2010 and it identifies relevant factors negatively impacting the quality of land and the level of landscape fragmentation. A multi-domain assessment of land vulnerability incorporating indicators of climate quality, soil quality, vegetation quality and land management quality was carried out based on the Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA framework. The highest rate of growth in the level of land vulnerability was observed in low-density suburban areas. The peri-urban mosaic formed by coastal woodlands and traditional cropland preserved high-quality land with a stable degree of vulnerability over time. Evidence suggests that the agro-forest mosaic surrounding Mediterranean cities act as a “buffer zone” mitigating on-site and off-site land degradation. The conservation of relict natural landscapes is a crucial target for multi-scale policies combating land degradation in suburban dry regions.

Air pollution assessment based on elemental concentration of leaves tissue and foliage dust along an urbanization gradient in Vienna.

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Simon, Edina; Braun, Mihály; Vidic, Andreas; Bogyó, Dávid; Fábián, István; Tóthmérész, Béla

2011-05-01

Foliage dust contains heavy metal that may have harmful effects on human health. The elemental contents of tree leaves and foliage dust are especially useful to assess air environmental pollution. We studied the elemental concentrations in foliage dust and leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus along an urbanization gradient in Vienna, Austria. Samples were collected from urban, suburban and rural areas. We analysed 19 elements in both kind of samples: aluminium, barium, calcium, copper, iron, potassium, magnesium, sodium, phosphor, sulphur, strontium and zinc. We found that the elemental concentrations of foliage dust were significantly higher in the urban area than in the rural area for aluminium, barium, iron, lead, phosphor and selenium. Elemental concentrations of leaves were significantly higher in urban than in rural area for manganese and strontium. Urbanization changed significantly the elemental concentrations of foliage dust and leaves and the applied method can be useful for monitoring the environmental load. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Urban-Rural Disparity in Geographical and Temporal Availability of Pediatric Clinics: A Nationwide Survey in Taiwan.

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Leu, Hsin-I; Chang, Wei-Ting; Lin, Ming-Hwai; Chen, Tzeng-Ji; Hwang, Shinn-Jang; Chou, Li-Fang; Jeng, Mei-Jy

2017-08-01

The shortage and maldistribution of pediatricians affected after-hours pediatric services, especially in rural areas. Our study aimed to examine the urban-rural disparity in geographical and temporal availability of the pediatrician workforce in Taiwan by analyzing opening time schedules of all pediatric clinics throughout the country. The opening time schedules of nonhospital pediatric clinics were downloaded from the website of the National Health Insurance Administration in Taiwan for analysis. The geographical and temporal availability of pediatric clinics was calculated and stratified by urbanization level and opening time, which was divided into daytime and evening sessions over 1 week. Each of 368 towns in Taiwan was also regarded as a unit of measurement to estimate the local availability of at least one pediatric clinic open in after-hours sessions. Among 1483 nonhospital pediatric clinics in Taiwan, the overwhelming majority were situated in urban (65.8%) and suburban (30.6%) areas. On average, a pediatric clinic provided 16.3 (standard deviation=3.04) sessions of services per week. One-third (34.7%, n=50) of 144 suburban towns and over three-fourths (77.4%, n=120) of 155 rural towns had no pediatric clinic. Most pediatric clinics remained open on weekday evenings (91.1%) and during Saturday daytime (91.8%). The percentage of open clinics gradually decreased over the weekend: Saturday evening (58.1%), Sunday daytime (33.4%), and Sunday evening (19.4%). Rural pediatric clinics remained closed mostly on weekends. On Sunday evenings, pediatric clinics were open only in 5.2% of rural towns, with a decline of 77.1%, whereas they were open in 78.3% of urban towns, with a decline of 18.2%. Pediatric clinics in Taiwan were unevenly distributed between urban and rural areas. The disparity of pediatric services became more obvious at weekends. The consequences of undersupplied rural pediatric care deserve further investigation. Copyright © 2017. Published by

Suburban-Urban Educational Resources.

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Willis, Benjamin C.

This speech discusses ways of using school resources more efficiently, premised on the understanding that putting more money into a system does not necessarily make that system better. The author suggests the creation of a search-and-plan group of selected educational, community, and student personnel that would share ideas with other districts,…

Performance Analysis of Scheduling Schemes for Femto to Macro Interference Coordination in LTE-Femtocell Deployment Scenario

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Rafina Destiarti Ainul

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Deploying femtocells that have low power level in LTE with small coverage area is an alternative solution for mobile operators to improve indoors network coverage area as well as system capacity. However deploying femtocells (HeNB that were used co-channel frequency, can be brought about interference problem to the Macro BTS (eNB. Close Subscriber Group (CSG of HeNB allows only User equipment (UE to access HeNB. HeNB is the source of interference for UE who cannot access it. Therefore it is necessary for interference coordination methods among the HeNB and eNB. The methods are ICIC (Intercell Interference Coordination and eICIC (enhanced Intercell Interference Coordination.  This paper proposed performance analysis of scheduling schemes for Femto to macro interference coordination that allocated resource in the frequency and time domain using LTE-Femtocell suburban and urban deployment scenario. Simulation result using ICIC methods can improve SINR performance 15.77 % in urban and 28.66 % in suburban, throughput performance 10.11 % in urban and 21.05 % in suburban. eICIC methods can improve SINR performance 17.44 % in urban and 31.14 % in suburban, throughput performance 19.83% in urban and 44.39 % in suburban.The result prove using eICIC method in time domain resource have better performance than using ICIC method in frequency resource. However using eICIC method in suburban deployment scenariocan increase the performance of SINR and throughput more effective than using eICIC method in urban deployment scenario.

Supplementary feeding of wild birds indirectly affects ground beetle populations in suburban gardens.

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Orros, Melanie E; Thomas, Rebecca L; Holloway, Graham J; Fellowes, Mark D E

Supplementary feeding of wild birds by domestic garden-holders is a globally widespread and popular form of human-wildlife interaction, particularly in urban areas. Vast amounts of energy are thus being added to garden ecosystems. However, the potential indirect effects of this activity on non-avian species have been little studied to date, with the only two previous studies taking place under experimentally manipulated conditions. Here we present the first evidence of a localised depletive effect of wild bird feeding on ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in suburban gardens under the usual feeding patterns of the garden-holders. We trapped significantly fewer ground beetles directly under bird-feeding stations than in matched areas of habitat away from feeders. Video analysis also revealed significantly higher activity by ground-foraging birds under the feeding stations than in the control areas. Small mammal trapping revealed no evidence that these species differ in abundance between gardens with and without bird feeders. We therefore suggest that local increases in ground-foraging activity by bird species whose diets encompass arthropods as well as seed material are responsible for the reduction in ground beetle numbers. Our work therefore illustrates that providing food for wild birds can have indirect negative effects on palatable prey species under typical conditions.

Symptomatic Raccoon Dogs and Sarcoptic Mange Along an Urban Gradient.

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Saito, Masayuki U; Sonoda, Yoichi

2017-06-01

We quantitatively evaluated the effects of landscape factors on the distribution of symptomatic raccoon dogs with sarcoptic mange along an urban gradient. We used 246 camera traps (182 traps from April 2005 to December 2006; 64 traps from September 2009 to October 2010) to record the occurrence of asymptomatic and symptomatic raccoon dogs at 21 survey sites along an urban-rural gradient in the Tama Hills area of Tokyo. Each occurrence was explained in terms of the surrounding forest, agricultural, and grassland areas and additional factors (i.e., seasonal variations and survey methods) at various spatial scales using a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM). In our analysis, a 1000-m radius was identified as the important spatial scale for asymptomatic and symptomatic raccoon dog occurrence. The peak of the predicted occurrence probability of asymptomatic raccoon dogs appeared in the intermediate forest landscape as opposed to non-forest and forest landscapes. However, a high occurrence probability of symptomatic raccoon dogs was detected in non-forest and intermediate forest landscapes (i.e., urban and suburban) as opposed to a forest landscape, presumably because of animals occurring at much higher densities in more urbanized areas. Therefore, our results suggest that human-modified landscapes play an important role in the high occurrence of sarcoptic mange in raccoon dogs.

Urban land use decouples plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions at multiple spatial scales.

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Amanda E Nelson

Full Text Available Intense urban and agricultural development alters habitats, increases fragmentation, and may decouple trophic interactions if plants or animals cannot disperse to needed resources. Specialist insects represent a substantial proportion of global biodiversity and their fidelity to discrete microhabitats provides a powerful framework for investigating organismal responses to human land use. We sampled site occupancy and densities for two plant-herbivore-parasitoid systems from 250 sites across a 360 km2 urban/agricultural landscape to ask whether and how human development decouples interactions between trophic levels. We compared patterns of site occupancy, host plant density, herbivory and parasitism rates of insects at two trophic levels with respect to landcover at multiple spatial scales. Geospatial analyses were used to identify landcover characters predictive of insect distributions. We found that herbivorous insect densities were decoupled from host tree densities in urban landcover types at several spatial scales. This effect was amplified for the third trophic level in one of the two insect systems: despite being abundant regionally, a parasitoid species was absent from all urban/suburban landcover even where its herbivore host was common. Our results indicate that human land use patterns limit distributions of specialist insects. Dispersal constraints associated with urban built development are specifically implicated as a limiting factor.

[Research on the influence of urban land use structure and pattern on nitrogen, phosphorus of wetland water environment in Xianlin New Town of Nanjing].

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Cai, Chun-Xiao; Liu, Hong-Yu; Li, Yu-Feng; Wang, Cong; Hou, Ming-Hang

2014-08-01

The 10 typical wetlands in Xianlin New Townof Nanjing were classified into three categories, including rural wetland, suburban wetland, and urban wetland according to the influence of urbanization as well as the characteristics of wetland and LUCC of catchment regions. RDA was used to analyse the relationships between nitrogen and phosphorus in urban wetland and various types and patterns of land use. It was found that the water quality of the urban wetlands presented to be worse than that from rural wetlands, followed by sub urban wetlands. Secondly, according to all investigated wetlands, TP and TN turned out to be higher during the wet seasons than dry seasons. In addition, significant differences of TP were observed between wet and dry seasons for rural and suburban wetlands, and it was not so obvious for urban wetlands. However, the differences of TN was opposite to that of TP. Thirdly, factors affecting the water quality of wetlands were comprised of types and patterns of land use, and thus significant positive relationships were found between the concentrations of TN and TP and the impervious land, while negative correlations for meadows, woodlands and wetlands. What's more, higher remarkable differences were found in wetlands than those from meadows and woodlands. Regarding to patterns of land use, TP, TN concentrations were negatively correlated with the average patch shape in the dry and wet seasons, whereas positively relationships were observed for patch density and diversity index; furthermore, with refer to the impact of adjacent landscape, significant relationships were found between the content of TN and the patterns of land use and thus, a negative correlation in the wet season and a positive correlation in the dry season were observed, respectively.

Risk-based transfer responses to climate change, simulated through autocorrelated stochastic methods

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Kirsch, B.; Characklis, G. W.

2009-12-01

Maintaining municipal water supply reliability despite growing demands can be achieved through a variety of mechanisms, including supply strategies such as temporary transfers. However, much of the attention on transfers has been focused on market-based transfers in the western United States largely ignoring the potential for transfers in the eastern U.S. The different legal framework of the eastern and western U.S. leads to characteristic differences between their respective transfers. Western transfers tend to be agricultural-to-urban and involve raw, untreated water, with the transfer often involving a simple change in the location and/or timing of withdrawals. Eastern transfers tend to be contractually established urban-to-urban transfers of treated water, thereby requiring the infrastructure to transfer water between utilities. Utilities require the tools to be able to evaluate transfer decision rules and the resulting expected future transfer behavior. Given the long-term planning horizons of utilities, potential changes in hydrologic patterns due to climate change must be considered. In response, this research develops a method for generating a stochastic time series that reproduces the historic autocorrelation and can be adapted to accommodate future climate scenarios. While analogous in operation to an autoregressive model, this method reproduces the seasonal autocorrelation structure, as opposed to assuming the strict stationarity produced by an autoregressive model. Such urban-to-urban transfers are designed to be rare, transient events used primarily during times of severe drought, and incorporating Monte Carlo techniques allows for the development of probability distributions of likely outcomes. This research evaluates a system risk-based, urban-to-urban transfer agreement between three utilities in the Triangle region of North Carolina. Two utilities maintain their own surface water supplies in adjoining watersheds and look to obtain transfers via

The Role of Satisfaction and Emotional Response in the Choice Mechanisms of Suburban Natural-Areas Users

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Lopez-Mosquera, Natalia; Sanchez, Mercedes

2012-01-01

The unique observations and experiences of users of suburban natural areas lead them to perceive their surroundings in a manner associated with their personal values. It follows that every individual has a unique cognitive decision-making structure. This paper examines users' affective and cognitive evaluation of a particular suburban natural area by applying the means-end chain method to reveal the cognitive mechanism by which users link the attributes and benefits of an environmental public good with their own personal values. Analysis of a survey conducted of visitors to a Spanish suburban natural area (park) reveals the main attributes to be the opportunity to practice sports and proximity of the park and the main potential benefits to be the improvement of physical and psychological well-being. The desired personal values include fun, quality of life and self-fulfillment at the individual level and improved social relationships at the collective level. The paper also tests for cross-group, cognitive-structure differences in visitor groups, segmented by level of satisfaction and reported range of emotions, and finds that perceived physical and psychological health improvements and individual and social awareness increase with higher levels of satisfaction and emotional response. Therefore, the recommendations for natural area management suggested by these findings include enhancing the scenic beauty and peacefulness of suburban natural areas in order to improve the affective state of visitors because this could contribute to reducing social costs (including health care) within the area of influence of the natural area.

Media exposure and parental mediation on fast-food consumption among children in metropolitan and suburban Indonesian.

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Lwin, May O; Malik, Shelly; Ridwan, Hardinsyah; Au, Cyndy Sook Sum

2017-01-01

Fast-food companies have been reproached for rising obesity levels due to aggressive marketing tactics targeted at children. They have countered that parents should be held responsible considering their critical role as nutritional gatekeepers. This study examined the comparative effects of media exposure and parental mediation on Indonesian children's fast food consumption and how the effects compare in the metropolitan versus suburban areas. The sample consisted of 394 child-mother pairs comprising grade three and four children and their mothers from two schools each in Jakarta and Bogor representing 40.9% metropolitan sample and 59.1% suburban sample, respectively. The children completed a guided inclass survey, while the mothers completed a paper-and-pen survey at home. Measures comprised children's weekly media exposure to broadcast media, computer and mobile games, print media, and online and social media, active and restrictive parental mediation strategies, children's fast food consumption and nutrition knowledge. The relationship of media exposure and parental mediation with children's fast food consumption was analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling. Fast food consumption was positively influenced by exposure to broadcast media among metropolitan children, and by exposure to online and social media among suburban children. Active parental mediation was related to lower fast food consumption, but only for suburban children. Active parental mediation is critical in preventing fast food consumption. The media play a key role in influencing fast food consumption, and hence, literacy education is important to alleviate the adverse effects of exposure to junk food marketing.

Thermal Fluxes and Temperatures in Small Urban Headwater Streams of the BES LTER: Landscape Forest and Impervious Patches and the Importance of Spatial and Temporal Scales

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Kim, H.; Belt, K. T.; Welty, C.; Heisler, G.; Pouyat, R. V.; McGuire, M. P.; Stack, W. P.

2006-05-01

Water and material fluxes from urban landscape patches to small streams are modulated by extensive "engineered" drainage networks. Small urban headwater catchments are different in character and function from their larger receiving streams because of their extensive, direct connections to impervious surface cover (ISC) and their sometimes buried nature. They need to be studied as unique functional hydrologic units if impacts on biota are to be fully understood. As part of the Baltimore Ecosystem Study LTER project, continuous water temperature data are being collected at 2-minute intervals at over twenty small catchments representing various mixtures of forest and ISC. Suburban stream sites with greater ISC generally have higher summer water temperatures. Suburban catchments with most of their channel drainage contained within storm drain pipes show subdued diurnal variation and cool temperatures, but with very large spikes in summer runoff events. Conversely, high ISC urban piped streams have elevated "baseline" temperatures that stand well above all the other monitoring sites. There is a pronounced upstream-downstream effect; nested small headwater catchments experience more frequent, larger temperature spikes related to runoff events than downstream sites. Also, runoff-initiated temperature elevations at small stream sites unexpectedly last much longer than the storm runoff hydrographs. These observations suggest that for small headwater catchments, urban landscapes not only induce an ambient, "heat island" effect on stream temperatures, but also introduce thermal disturbance regimes and fluxes that are not trivial to aquatic biota.

New Energy Efficient Housing Has Reduced Carbon Footprints in Outer but Not in Inner Urban Areas.

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Ottelin, Juudit; Heinonen, Jukka; Junnila, Seppo

2015-08-18

Avoiding urban sprawl and increasing density are often considered as effective means to mitigate climate change through urban planning. However, there have been rapid technological changes in the fields of housing energy and private driving, and the development is continuing. In this study, we analyze the carbon footprints of the residents living in new housing in different urban forms in Finland. We compare the new housing to existing housing stock. In all areas, the emissions from housing energy were significantly lower in new buildings. However, in the inner urban areas the high level of consumption, mostly due to higher affluence, reverse the gains of energy efficient new housing. The smallest carbon footprints were found in newly built outer and peri-urban areas, also when income level differences were taken into account. Rather than strengthening the juxtaposition of urban and suburban areas, we suggest that it would be smarter to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of both modes of living and develop a more systemic strategy that would result in greater sustainability in both areas. Since such strategy does not exist yet, it should be researched and practically developed. It would be beneficial to focus on area specific mitigation measures.

Prevalence of tick-borne pathogens in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks in urban and suburban areas of Switzerland

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Corinne P. Oechslin

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Throughout Europe, Ixodes ricinus transmits numerous pathogens. Its widespread distribution is not limited to rural but also includes urbanized areas. To date, comprehensive data on pathogen carrier rates of I. ricinus ticks in urban areas of Switzerland is lacking. Results Ixodes ricinus ticks sampled at 18 (sub- urban collection sites throughout Switzerland showed carrier rates of 0% for tick-borne encephalitis virus, 18.0% for Borrelia burgdorferi (sensu lato, 2.5% for Borrelia miyamotoi, 13.5% for Rickettsia spp., 1.4% for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, 6.2% for "Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis", and 0.8% for Babesia venatorum (Babesia sp., EU1. Site-specific prevalence at collection sites with n > 45 ticks (n = 9 significantly differed for B. burgdorferi (s.l., Rickettsia spp., and "Ca. N. mikurensis", but were not related to the habitat type. Three hundred fifty eight out of 1078 I. ricinus ticks (33.2% tested positive for at least one pathogen. Thereof, about 20% (71/358 were carrying two or three different potentially disease-causing agents. Using next generation sequencing, we could detect true pathogens, tick symbionts and organisms of environmental or human origin in ten selected samples. Conclusions Our data document the presence of pathogens in the (sub- urban I. ricinus tick population in Switzerland, with carrier rates as high as those in rural regions. Carriage of multiple pathogens was repeatedly observed, demonstrating the risk of acquiring multiple infections as a consequence of a tick bite.

Between the city and the rural

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Oldrup, Helene Hjorth

2010-01-01

Usually, Danish suburban history is told as a journey towards light, airy, green spaces. However, suburban housing areas can be seen in the context of processes of urbanization, where the boundary between urban and rural is dissolving. What does this mean for residential identities? This article...

STILL AROUND? BARRIERS TO ENTRY IN SOLO MEDICAL PRACTICE IN SUBURBAN SETTINGS

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Roger Lee Mendoz

2017-03-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Unlike many other countries, only 19% of physicians remain independent or solo practitioners in the United States. This study seeks to determine if entry barriers to solo practice exist in physician services markets with a predominantly suburban patient base. Any entry barrier will play a critical role in a wide variety of competition and income-related issues in these markets. MATERIALS AND METHODS This study hypothesizes that substantial deterrence to entry is present in suburban settings where physician competition is typically much less than metropolitan areas. Information about their competitive position was obtained from solo primary care physicians (PCPs and specialists in southern New Jersey municipalities. Two-sample t - tests (α =0.05 ascertained whether the means differences of these two groups are statistically significant for the population from which they were sampled. Regression coefficients were computed for the magnitude of differences in barrier impact between samples. RESULTS Adapting the Orr model, E = ß0 e ß 1 (πp -π* e ß 2 Q . S ß 3 µ, to this study allowed us to estimate the overall height of entry barriers to suburban solo practice. The study finds that entry barriers tend to have moderate effects on PCPs, with the exception of legal and regulatory compliance which are just as burdensome to specialists. Risk and insurance, capital, advertising, research and development (R & D as well as market concentration are far more challenging to solo specialists mainly due to overuse of already costly tests, procedures, and medications by specialists for "defensive medicine," and heavy reliance on specialists by PCPs. Labor costs are associated with several barriers. CONCLUSION Despite their declining population, market entry (and presumably survival of solo physicians is not as straightforward of a phenomenon as conjectural and anecdotal evidence might suggest. Medical specialty offers an explanatory variable

Study on the expectation differences between the both sides of farmland transfer at the level of farmer

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Yang, Liyong; Liu, Dejiang; Qiu, Cheng; Wu, Xianhua

2017-12-01

The expected consistency between the both sides of farmland transfer is the key to the success or failure of transfer. We use the participatory rural appraisal method, carry out a questionnaire survey of farmers in Yunnan Province, and analysis empirically the expectation differences on the will, price, duration, objects and contract between the both sides of farmland transfer. The research shows that: farmers in the suburban village tend to be willing to transfer out rather than transfer in, while farmers in the outer suburbs village tend to prefer to transfer in rather than transfer out. They are relatively small in the expectation of will, duration, objects and contract between the both sides of farmland transfer, and the transfer price "gap" is the most important factor that impedes the farmland transfer. Measures should be taken to promote the farmland transfer from three aspects, such as the promotion of farmland protection regulations, the establishment and improvement of transfer institutions and the opening of transfer price.

Perception of the Transition Zones from Urban to Suburban Area Using Mobile Eye

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Paolo Magris

2014-12-01

Full Text Available Road users adjust their driving behavior based on the perception of the route and the surrounding environment. The eye-tracking technology allows interpreting the driver behavior, analyzing aspects otherwise not considered in the design stage. This technology has been used for transition zone analysis at town entrances along the SP 610 “Selice Montanara”, to verify the efficiency of gateway created to reduce the input speed in urban areas. Results show that the installation of traffic calming measures at transition zones leads to a change of the environment perception by drivers, and consequently safety increase.

Residential proximity to urban centres, local-area walkability and change in waist circumference among Australian adults.

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Sugiyama, Takemi; Niyonsenga, Theo; Howard, Natasha J; Coffee, Neil T; Paquet, Catherine; Taylor, Anne W; Daniel, Mark

2016-12-01

Consistent associations have been observed between macro-level urban sprawl and overweight/obesity, but whether residential proximity to urban centres predicts adiposity change over time has not been established. Further, studies of local-area walkability and overweight/obesity have generated mixed results. This study examined 4-year change in adults' waist circumference in relation to proximity to city centre, proximity to closest suburban centre, and local-area walkability. Data were from adult participants (n=2080) of a cohort study on chronic conditions and health risk factors in Adelaide, Australia. Baseline data were collected in 2000-03 with a follow-up in 2005-06. Multilevel regression models examined in 2015 the independent and joint associations of the three environmental measures with change in waist circumference, accounting for socio-demographic covariates. On average, waist circumference rose by 1.8cm over approximately 4years. Greater distance to city centre was associated with a greater increase in waist circumference. Participants living in distal areas (20km or further from city centre) had a greater increase in waist circumference (mean increase: 2.4cm) compared to those in proximal areas (9km or less, mean increase: 1.2cm). Counterintuitively, living in the vicinity of a suburban centre was associated with a greater increase in adiposity. Local-area walkability was not significantly associated with the outcome. Residential proximity to city centre appears to be protective against excessive increases in waist circumference. Controlled development and targeted interventions in the urban fringe may be needed to tackle obesity. Additional research needs to assess behaviours that mediate relationships between sprawl and obesity. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The prevalence and correlates of lifetime psychiatric disorders and trauma exposures in urban and rural settings: results from the national comorbidity survey replication (NCS-R.

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Jennifer S McCall-Hosenfeld

Full Text Available Distinctions between rural and urban environments produce different frequencies of traumatic exposures and psychiatric disorders. We examine the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and frequency of trauma exposures by position on the rural-urban continuum.The National Comorbidity Survey Replication (NCS-R was used to evaluate psychiatric disorders among a nationally-representative sample of the U.S. population. Rurality was designated using the Department of Agriculture's 2003 rural-urban continuum codes (RUCC, which differentiate counties into levels of rurality by population density and adjacency to metropolitan areas. Lifetime psychiatric disorders included post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD, anxiety disorders, major depressive disorder, mood disorders, impulse-control disorders, and substance abuse. Trauma exposures were classified as war-related, accident-related, disaster-related, interpersonal or other. Weighted logistic regression models examined the odds of psychiatric disorders and trauma exposures by position on the rural-urban continuum, adjusted for relevant covariates.75% of participants were metropolitan, 12.2% were suburban, and 12.8% were from rural counties. The most common disorder reported was any anxiety disorder (38.5%. Drug abuse was more common among metropolitan (8.7%, p = 0.018, compared to nonmetropolitan (5.1% suburban, 6.1% rural participants. A one-category increase in rurality was associated with decreased odds for war-related trauma (aOR = 0.86, 95%CI 0.78-0.95. Rurality was not associated with risk for any other lifetime psychiatric disorders or trauma exposure.Contrary to the expectation of some rural primary care providers, the frequencies of most psychiatric disorders and trauma exposures are similar across the rural-urban continuum, reinforcing calls to improve mental healthcare access in resource-poor rural communities.

Teacher Job Satisfaction and Retention in a Suburban Georgia School District

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Thompson, Denise G.

2008-01-01

An investigation of the relationship between job satisfaction and retention among elementary, middle, and high school teachers in a suburban school district in Georgia was addressed in this mixed-methods study. The focus of the study was to determine the level of job satisfaction among the nine subscales of the Teacher Job Satisfaction…

Phlebotomine sand flies (Diptera: Psychodidae) associated with the appearance of urban Leishmaniasis in the city of Sincelejo, Colombia.

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Bejarano, Eduar Elías; Uribe, Sandra; Rojas, Winston; Dario Velez, Iván

2002-07-01

Although once associated only with rural areas, the American leishmaniasis vectors now appear to be associated also with urban and suburban areas of the Neotropics. Following the appearance of the first autochthonous visceral and cutaneous leishmaniasis cases in the urban area of the city of Sincelejo, Colombia, a preliminary entomological survey of the sand fly species composition was performed using Shannon and CDC light traps. A total of 486 sand flies representing six Lutzomyia species were collected. L. evansi, L. panamensis and L. gomezi, known vectors of Leishmania spp. were the predominant sand fly species around dwellings. The finding of these species in relation to the appearance of the first cases of leishmaniasis in the city mentioned is discussed.

Inequitable walking conditions among older people: examining the interrelationship of neighbourhood socio-economic status and urban form using a comparative case study.

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Grant, Theresa L; Edwards, Nancy; Sveistrup, Heidi; Andrew, Caroline; Egan, Mary

2010-11-05

Supportive neighbourhood walking conditions are particularly important for older people as they age and who, as a group, prefer walking as a form of physical activity. Urban form and socio-economic status (SES) can influence neighbourhood walking behaviour. The objectives of this study were: a) to examine how urban form and neighbourhood SES inter-relate to affect the experiences of older people who walk in their neighbourhoods; b) to examine differences among neighbourhood stakeholder key informant perspectives on socio-political processes that shape the walkability of neighbourhood environments. An embedded comparative case study examined differences among four Ottawa neighbourhoods that were purposefully selected to provide contrasts on urban form (inner-urban versus suburban) and SES (higher versus lower). Qualitative data collected from 75 older walkers and 19 neighbourhood key informants, as well as quantitative indicators were compared on the two axes of urban form and SES among the four neighbourhoods. Examining the inter-relationship of neighbourhood SES and urban form characteristics on older people's walking experiences indicated that urban form differences were accentuated positively in higher SES neighbourhoods and negatively in lower SES neighbourhoods. Older people in lower SES neighbourhoods were more affected by traffic hazards and more reliant on public transit compared to their higher SES counterparts. In higher SES neighbourhoods the disadvantages of traffic in the inner-urban neighbourhood and lack of commercial destinations in the suburban neighbourhood were partially offset by other factors including neighbourhood aesthetics. Key informant descriptions of the socio-political process highlighted how lower SES neighbourhoods may face greater challenges in creating walkable places. These differences pertained to the size of neighbourhood associations, relationships with political representatives, accessing information and salient neighbourhood

Inventory of the Heteroptera (Insecta: Hemiptera) in Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo, a highly urbanized area in Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Saito, Masayuki U.; Kishimoto-Yamada, Keiko; Kato, Toshihide; Kurashima, Osamu; Ito, Motomi

2015-01-01

Abstract Background The Heteroptera, or true bugs, forms one of the major insect groups with respect to the very diverse habitat preferences, including both aquatic and terrestrial species, as well as a variety of feeding types. The first comprehensive inventory of the Heteroptera at Komaba Campus of the University of Tokyo, or an urban green space in the center of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan, was conducted. New information A total of 115 species in 29 families of the suborder Heteroptera were identified. The area had a high species richness compared with other urbanized and suburbanized localities in Tokyo. The campus is found to show a substantial difference in heteropteran species compositions, despite being close to the other localities surrounded by highly urbanized zones in central Tokyo. PMID:25941455

Absorption of Mercury from Polluted Soil by Rice Plant(Case Study: Farms of Amol Industrial Suburban Area

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Fatemeh Ahmadipour

2013-03-01

Full Text Available Mercury has recognized as one of the most toxic heavy metals, which many industries generate and dispose to the environment. Few studies are done about mercury accumulation in soil and bioconcentration and transfer factor of mercury in rice plant cultivated in industrial areas. In this study samples were taken randomly from 10 farms in vicinity of Amol industrial suburban area with three replications. Samples were measured by the LECO AMA 254 Advanced Mercury Analyzer according to ASTM D-6733method. Also the parameters related to the quality of the soil were measured. The mean of mercury concentration in soil, root, stem and grain were found 0.031 ±0.012 mg/kg, 0.074 ±0.0163 mg/kg, 0.058 ±0.008 mg/kg and 0.051 ±0.0083 mg/kg respectively. The calculated transfer factor of mercury to various organs and bioconcentration factor were < 1 and 2.46 respectively. Pearson correlation test showed a positive correlation between mercury concentration in soil with mercury concentration in grain and also a negative correlation between pH with mercury concentration in root and soil. It is concluded that rice plant have high potential for phytoremediation of mercury from soil.

Integrated Rolling Stock Planning for Suburban Passenger Trains

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thorlacius, Per

used, the result being the loss of optimality. The talk will present a new, integrated rolling stock planning model in which the many requirements are handled all at the same time. Preliminary results from DSB S-tog, the suburban train operator of the City of Copenhagen will also be presented.......A central issue for operators of passenger trains is providing sufficient number of seats while minimising operating costs. This process must be conducted taking a large number of practical, railway oriented requirements into account. Because of this complexity, a stepwise solution was previously...

Examining the Interaction of Taxi and Subway Ridership for Sustainable Urbanization

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Miaoyi Li

2017-02-01

Full Text Available A transit ridership study is an essential part of sustainability, and can provide a deep understanding of people’s travel patterns for efficient transportation development and urbanization. However, there is a lack of empirical studies comparing subway and taxi services, and their interactions within a city, that is to say, the interdependent transportation networks. Incorporating new data, this study aims to examine the spatial variation of urban taxi ridership due to the impacts of a new subway line operation opened in 2014 in Wuxi, China. We examine the spatial patterns and interactions of ridership in Wuxi by integrating taxi trajectory from GPS data and subway data from continuously collected fare transactions. The results indicated that the demand for taxi and subway usage is quite elastic with respect to both location and time, and the new subway’s opening had more influence on areas adjacent to subway stations and urban center-suburban travel. Furthermore, increases in travel time and distance would increase the demand for subway, while taxi trips largely represented movements for those locations that the subway could not reach. This paper betters the understanding of travel patterns through large volumes of transportation data for sustainable urbanization policy design.

URBAN POLITICS: KEY APPROACHES

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Ledyaeva Ol'ga Mikhaylovna

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Several approaches that underlie urban politics are discussed in the paper. They include neo-liberalism, political economy discourse, elitist/pluralist debates, and postmodernism. The neoliberal approach focuses on the limited role of the state and individual responsibility. The legal framework protects both the rights and responsibilities of individuals and regulates the operation of the market. It is the market that fosters individual choices and provides goods and services by virtue of the processes which are flexible, efficient and transparent. The political economy approaches (regulation theory, public choice theory, neo-Marxism explain urban politics via the analysis of national and international economic processes and changes in contemporary capitalism. Changes in national and international economies determine what solutions are possible. The discourse has been influenced by the debate on globalization of capital and labour markets. Modern elitism and neopluralism are represented by theories of "growth machines" and "urban regimes". The former focuses on bargaining alliances between political and business leaders in order to manage the urban system and to promote its growth. The latter develops neopluralist explanations of power within local communities with an emphasis on the fragmented nature of the government where local authorities lack comprehensive governing powers. Postmodernism views the city as the site of the crisis of late capitalism which leads to segregation of neighbourhoods onto prosperous areas and ghettoes. In contrast to the modern city, the postmodern city is not defined by its industrial base; rather, it is determined by its consumerist environment of malls and museums, characterized by revivalist architecture. At the same time, the suburban shopping mall and a motorway network make nonsense of the idea of the city as a unique and well-defined space. These and other approaches encompass a wide spectrum of possibilities

Channel Incision Driven by Suburbanization: Impacts to Riparian Groundwater Flow and Overbank Flow Frequency

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Bowles, C. J.; Lawrence, R. L.; Noll, C.; Hancock, G. S.

2005-12-01

Channel incision is a widely observed response to increased flow in urbanized watersheds, but the effects of channel lowering on riparian water tables is not well documented. In a rapidly incising suburban stream in the Virginia Coastal Plain, we hypothesize that stream incision has lowered floodplain water tables and decreased the overbank flow frequency. The monitored stream is a tributary to the James River draining 1.3 km2 of which 15% is impervious cover. Incision has occurred largely through upstream migration of a one meter high knickpoint at a rate of ~1.5 m/yr, primarily during high flow events. We installed 63 wells in six stream-perpendicular transects as well as a cluster of wells around the knickpoint to assess water table elevations beneath the floodplain adjacent to the incising stream. Two transects are located 30 and 50 m upstream of the knickpoint in the unincised floodplain, and the remainder are 5, 30, 70, and 100 m downstream in the incised floodplain. In one transect above and two below, pressure transducers attached to dataloggers provide a high-resolution record of water table changes. Erosion pins were installed and channel cross-sections surveyed to determine streambed stability. Significant differences are observed in bank morphology and groundwater flow above vs. below the knickpoint. Above the knickpoint, the banks are stable, ~3 m wide, and ~0.3 m deep, and widen and deepen slightly toward the knickpoint. The water table is relatively flat and is 0.2-0.4 m below the floodplain surface, and groundwater contours suggest flow is parallel to the stream direction. The water table responds immediately to precipitation events, and rises to the floodplain surface in significant rainfall events. Immediately downstream of the knickpoint, channel width increases by about a meter, and stream depth increases to ~1.5 meters. The water table immediately below the knickpoint possesses a steep gradient, and is up to one meter below the floodplain

Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART 5 for Modeling Airborne and Satellite Spectroradiometer and LIDAR Acquisitions of Natural and Urban Landscapes

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Jean-Philippe Gastellu-Etchegorry

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Satellite and airborne optical sensors are increasingly used by scientists, and policy makers, and managers for studying and managing forests, agriculture crops, and urban areas. Their data acquired with given instrumental specifications (spectral resolution, viewing direction, sensor field-of-view, etc. and for a specific experimental configuration (surface and atmosphere conditions, sun direction, etc. are commonly translated into qualitative and quantitative Earth surface parameters. However, atmosphere properties and Earth surface 3D architecture often confound their interpretation. Radiative transfer models capable of simulating the Earth and atmosphere complexity are, therefore, ideal tools for linking remotely sensed data to the surface parameters. Still, many existing models are oversimplifying the Earth-atmosphere system interactions and their parameterization of sensor specifications is often neglected or poorly considered. The Discrete Anisotropic Radiative Transfer (DART model is one of the most comprehensive physically based 3D models simulating the Earth-atmosphere radiation interaction from visible to thermal infrared wavelengths. It has been developed since 1992. It models optical signals at the entrance of imaging radiometers and laser scanners on board of satellites and airplanes, as well as the 3D radiative budget, of urban and natural landscapes for any experimental configuration and instrumental specification. It is freely distributed for research and teaching activities. This paper presents DART physical bases and its latest functionality for simulating imaging spectroscopy of natural and urban landscapes with atmosphere, including the perspective projection of airborne acquisitions and LIght Detection And Ranging (LIDAR waveform and photon counting signals.

Impacts from Land Use Pattern on Spatial Distribution of Cultivated Soil Heavy Metal Pollution in Typical Rural-Urban Fringe of Northeast China.

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Li, Wenbo; Wang, Dongyan; Wang, Qing; Liu, Shuhan; Zhu, Yuanli; Wu, Wenjun

2017-03-22

Under rapid urban sprawl in Northeast China, land conversions are not only encroaching on the quantity of cultivated lands, but also posing a great threat to black soil conservation and food security. This study's aim is to explore the spatial relationship between comprehensive cultivated soil heavy metal pollution and peri-urban land use patterns in the black soil region. We applied spatial lag regression to analyze the relationship between PLI (pollution load index) and influencing factors of land use by taking suburban cultivated land of Changchun Kuancheng District as an empirical case. The results indicate the following: (1) Similar spatial distribution characteristics are detected between Pb, Cu, and Zn, between Cr and Ni, and between Hg and Cd. The Yitong River catchment in the central region, and the residential community of Lanjia County in the west, are the main hotspots for eight heavy metals and PLI. Beihu Wetland Park, with a larger-area distribution of ecological land in the southeast, has low level for both heavy metal concentrations and PLI values. Spatial distribution characteristics of cultivated heavy metals are related to types of surrounding land use and industry; (2) Spatial lag regression has a better fit for PLI than the ordinary least squares regression. The regression results indicate the inverse relationship between heavy metal pollution degree and distance from long-standing residential land and surface water. Following rapid urban land expansion and a longer accumulation period, residential land sprawl is going to threaten cultivated land with heavy metal pollution in the suburban black soil region, and cultivated land irrigated with urban river water in the suburbs will have a higher tendency for heavy metal pollution.

Impacts from Land Use Pattern on Spatial Distribution of Cultivated Soil Heavy Metal Pollution in Typical Rural-Urban Fringe of Northeast China

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Wenbo; Wang, Dongyan; Wang, Qing; Liu, Shuhan; Zhu, Yuanli; Wu, Wenjun

2017-01-01

Under rapid urban sprawl in Northeast China, land conversions are not only encroaching on the quantity of cultivated lands, but also posing a great threat to black soil conservation and food security. This study’s aim is to explore the spatial relationship between comprehensive cultivated soil heavy metal pollution and peri-urban land use patterns in the black soil region. We applied spatial lag regression to analyze the relationship between PLI (pollution load index) and influencing factors of land use by taking suburban cultivated land of Changchun Kuancheng District as an empirical case. The results indicate the following: (1) Similar spatial distribution characteristics are detected between Pb, Cu, and Zn, between Cr and Ni, and between Hg and Cd. The Yitong River catchment in the central region, and the residential community of Lanjia County in the west, are the main hotspots for eight heavy metals and PLI. Beihu Wetland Park, with a larger-area distribution of ecological land in the southeast, has low level for both heavy metal concentrations and PLI values. Spatial distribution characteristics of cultivated heavy metals are related to types of surrounding land use and industry; (2) Spatial lag regression has a better fit for PLI than the ordinary least squares regression. The regression results indicate the inverse relationship between heavy metal pollution degree and distance from long-standing residential land and surface water. Following rapid urban land expansion and a longer accumulation period, residential land sprawl is going to threaten cultivated land with heavy metal pollution in the suburban black soil region, and cultivated land irrigated with urban river water in the suburbs will have a higher tendency for heavy metal pollution. PMID:28327541

What Kills Science in School?: Lessons from Pre-Service Teachers' Responses to Urban children's Science Inquiries.

Science.gov (United States)

Matusov, Eugene

2018-06-01

This opportunistic case-study highlights striking differences in 6 urban children's and 12 preservice suburban middle-class teachers' perception of science and discuss consequences of science education and beyond. I found that all of the interviewed urban children demonstrated scientific inquiries and interests outside of the school science education that can be characterized by diverse simultaneous discourses from diverse practices, i.e., "heterodiscoursia" (Matusov in Culture & Psychology, 17(1), 99-119, 2011b), despite their diverse, positive and negative, attitudes toward school science. In contrast to the urban children's mixed attitudes to science, the preservice teachers view science negatively. They could not see science inquiries in the videotaped interviews of the urban children. There seemed to be many reasons for that. One of the possible reasons for that was that the preservice teachers tried to purify the science practice. Another reason was that they did not see a necessity to be interested and engaged in the curriculum that they are going to teach in future. The pedagogical consequences and remedies are discussed.

Effects of Fireplace Use on Forest Vegetation and Amount of Woody Debris in Suburban Forests in Northwestern Switzerland

Science.gov (United States)

Hegetschweiler, K. Tessa; van Loon, Nicole; Ryser, Annette; Rusterholz, Hans-Peter; Baur, Bruno

2009-02-01

Urban forests are popular recreation areas in Europe. Several of these temperate broad-leaved forests also have a high conservation value due to sustainable management over many centuries. Recreational activities, particularly the use of fireplaces, can cause extensive damage to soil, ground vegetation, shrubs, and trees. Firewood collection depletes woody debris, leading to a loss of habitat for specialized organisms. We examined the effects of fireplace use on forest vegetation and the amount of woody debris by comparing disturbed and control plots in suburban forests in northwestern Switzerland. At frequently used fireplaces, we found reduced species densities in the ground vegetation and shrub layer and changes in plant species composition due to human trampling within an area of 150-200 m2. Picnicking and grilling also reduced the height and changed the age structure of shrubs and young trees. The amount of woody debris was lower in disturbed plots than in control plots. Pieces of wood with a diameter of 0.6-7.6 cm were preferentially collected by fireplace users. The reduction in woody debris volume extended up to a distance of 16 m from the fire ring, covering an area of 800 m2 at each picnic site. In order to preserve the ecological integrity of urban forests and to maintain their attractiveness as important recreation areas, we suggest depositing logging residues to be used as firewood and to restrict visitor movements near picnic sites.

Habitat and landscape characteristics underlying anuran community structure along an urban-rural gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Pillsbury, Finn C; Miller, James R

2008-07-01

Urbanization has been cited as an important factor in worldwide amphibian declines, and although recent work has illustrated the important influence of broad-scale ecological patterns and processes on amphibian populations, little is known about the factors structuring amphibian communities in urban landscapes. We therefore examined amphibian community responses to wetland habitat availability and landscape characteristics along an urban-rural gradient in central Iowa, USA, a region experiencing rapid suburban growth. We conducted call surveys at 61 wetlands to estimate anuran calling activity, and quantified wetland habitat structure and landscape context. We used canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) to examine patterns in anuran community structure and identify the most important variables associated with those patterns. Urban density at the landscape scale had a significant negative influence on overall anuran abundance and diversity. While every species exhibited a decrease in abundance with increasing urban density, this pattern was especially pronounced for species requiring post-breeding upland habitats. Anurans most affected by urbanization were those associated with short hydroperiods, early breeding activity, and substantial upland habitat use. We suggest that broad-scale landscape fragmentation is an important factor underlying anuran community structure in this region, possibly due to limitations on the accessibility of otherwise suitable habitat in fragmented urban landscapes. This study underscores the importance of a regional approach to amphibian conservation in urban and urbanizing areas; in fragmented landscapes, a network of interconnected wetland and upland habitats may be more likely to support a successful, diverse anuran community than will isolated sites.

Exploring the roles of temperature and NOx on ozone production in the Sacramento urban plume

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Lafranchi, B. W.; Cohen, R. C.

2009-12-01

We investigate the role of temperature and NOx (NOx = NO+NO2) on ozone (O3) production in the Sacramento urban plume over a stretch of seven years (2001-2007) using data collected at UC Blodgett Forest Research Station (a forested site in the Sierra Nevadas about 80 km downwind of Sacramento, CA) and at a series of California Air Resources Board (CARB) sites along the Sacramento-Blodgett transect. The consistent daytime wind patterns between the Central Valley of California and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains permits the assumption of plume transport from downtown Sacramento, over the CARB monitoring sites in the eastern suburbs, and past the Blodgett Forest research site. While NOx emissions are limited primarily to the urban and suburban regions of the transect, biogenic volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions are significant throughout the transect, thus there is a fast transition from VOC-limited to NOx-limited as the plume travels away from the urban center, and we have the opportunity to analyze the differences in ozone production across these two chemical regimes. For this analysis, the Sacramento-Blodgett transect is separated into three segments: urban, suburban, and rural, defined by the locations of selected monitoring sites. Ozone concentrations across each segment are controlled by chemical production (Pchem) and loss (Lchem), deposition to surfaces (Ldep), and mixing with background air (Lmix). At an assumed deposition rate, mixing rate, and background O3 concentration, the net chemical flux of ozone (Pchem - Lchem) can be inferred from differences in ozone concentrations between adjacent monitoring sites. We show that ozone production rates, in general, increase with temperature. We also show that decreases in NOx emissions over the period from 2001-2007 have been effective at reducing ozone production at all points along the transect, but only on days where temperatures are highest. At low temperatures, this decrease is less apparent

'Hyped up': assemblages of alcohol, excitement and violence for outer-suburban young adults in the inner-city at night.

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MacLean, Sarah; Moore, David

2014-05-01

Young adults from across greater Melbourne are drawn to the city centre night time economy (NTE). There is some evidence that young adults who live in outer-suburbs are involved in higher rates of weekend night time assaults than their inner-urban peers, both as perpetrators and as victims. Using the notion of 'assemblages', this article explores outer-suburban people's participation in the affectively charged spaces of inner-city entertainment precincts to show that trouble in the NTE cannot be attributed to alcohol and other drugs alone. We provide a narrative analysis of interviews conducted in 2012 with 60 young adult drinkers aged 18-24, half of whom lived in an inner-city area and half in outer-suburbs. More so for young adults from outer-suburbs than those who live closer to the city, going to the city is an event marked out as different from everyday life. Their sense of being 'hyped up' in the inner-city made different sets of practices possible, particularly in relation to drinking and being open to new engagements with friends and sexual partners. Participants also spoke, however, of discomfort, danger and fear. Violence was most likely to occur at points where people felt a dissonance between their heightened affective states and the spaces where they found themselves. In this analysis, outer-suburban young adults' positioning within the assemblages of the city centre NTE makes conflict and violence more likely for them. Efforts to improve NTE safety should maintain a focus on managing alcohol availability. Nonetheless additional strategies to decentralise the NTE, ensure better late night public transport to outer-suburbs or to support people to manage sudden affective shifts in NTE might also play a greater part in the overall effort. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Diurnal cycling of urban aerosols under different weather regimes

Science.gov (United States)

Gregorič, Asta; Drinovec, Luka; Močnik, Griša; Remškar, Maja; Vaupotič, Janja; Stanič, Samo

2016-04-01

A one month measurement campaign was performed in summer 2014 in Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia (population 280,000), aiming to study temporal and spatial distribution of urban aerosols and the mixing state of primary and secondary aerosols. Two background locations were chosen for this purpose, the first one in the city center (urban background - KIS) and the second one in the suburban background (Brezovica). Simultaneous measurements of black carbon (BC) and particle number size distribution of submicron aerosols (PM1) were conducted at both locations. In the summer season emission from traffic related sources is expected to be the main local contribution to BC concentration. Concentrations of aerosol species and gaseous pollutants within the planetary boundary layer are controlled by the balance between emission sources of primary aerosols and gases, production of secondary aerosols, chemical reactions of precursor gases under solar radiation and the rate of dilution by mixing within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) as well as with tropospheric air. Only local emission sources contribute to BC concentration during the stable PBL with low mixing layer height, whereas during the time of fully mixed PBL, regionally transported BC and other aerosols can contribute to the surface measurements. The study describes the diurnal behaviour of the submicron aerosol at the urban and suburban background location under different weather regimes. Particles in three size modes - nucleation (humidity, wind speed and direction), diurnal profile differs for sunny, cloudy and rainy days. Nucleation mode particles were found to be subjected to lower daily variation and only slightly influenced by weather, as opposed to Aitken and accumulation mode particles. The highest correlation between BC and particle number concentration is observed during stable atmospheric conditions in the night and morning hours and is attributed to different particle size modes, depending on the

Recent and historic sediment dynamics along Difficult Run, a suburban Virginia Piedmont stream

Science.gov (United States)

Hupp, Cliff R.; Noe, Gregory B.; Schenk, Edward R.; Bentham, Adam J.

2012-01-01

Suspended sediment is one of the major concerns regarding the quality of water entering the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the highest suspended-sediment concentrations occur on Piedmont streams, including Difficult Run, a tributary of the Potomac River draining urban and suburban parts of northern Virginia. Accurate information on catchment level sediment budgets is rare and difficult to determine. Further, the sediment trapping portion of sediment budget represents an important ecosystem service that profoundly affects downstream water quality. Our objectives, with special reference to human alterations to the landscape, include the documentation and estimation of floodplain sediment trapping (present and historic) and bank erosion along an urbanized Piedmont stream, the construction of a preliminary sediment balance, and the estimation of legacy sediment and recent development impacts. We used white feldspar markers to measure floodplain sedimentation rates and steel pins to measure erosion rates on floodplains and banks, respectively. Additional data were collected for/from legacy sediment thickness and characteristics, mill pond impacts, stream gaging station records, topographic surveying, and sediment density, texture, and organic content. Data were analyzed using GIS and various statistical programs. Results are interpreted relative to stream equilibrium affected by both post-colonial bottomland sedimentation (legacy) and modern watershed hardening associated with urbanization. Six floodplain/channel sites, from high to low in the watershed, were selected for intensive study. Bank erosion ranges from 0 to 470 kg/m/y and floodplain sedimentation ranges from 18 to 1369 kg/m/y (m refers to meters of stream reach). Upstream reaches are net erosional, while downstream reaches have a distinctly net depositional flux providing a watershed sediment balance of 2184 kg/m/y trapped within the system. The amounts of both deposition and erosion are large and suggest

Recent and historic sediment dynamics along Difficult Run, a suburban Virginia Piedmont stream

Science.gov (United States)

Hupp, Cliff R.; Noe, Gregory B.; Schenk, Edward R.; Benthem, Adam J.

2013-01-01

Suspended sediment is one of the major concerns regarding the quality of water entering the Chesapeake Bay. Some of the highest suspended-sediment concentrations occur on Piedmont streams, including Difficult Run, a tributary of the Potomac River draining urban and suburban parts of northern Virginia. Accurate information on catchment level sediment budgets is rare and difficult to determine. Further, the sediment trapping portion of sediment budget represents an important ecosystem service that profoundly affects downstream water quality. Our objectives, with special reference to human alterations to the landscape, include the documentation and estimation of floodplain sediment trapping (present and historic) and bank erosion along an urbanized Piedmont stream, the construction of a preliminary sediment balance, and the estimation of legacy sediment and recent development impacts. We used white feldspar markers to measure floodplain sedimentation rates and steel pins to measure erosion rates on floodplains and banks, respectively. Additional data were collected for/from legacy sediment thickness and characteristics, mill pond impacts, stream gaging station records, topographic surveying, and sediment density, texture, and organic content. Data were analyzed using GIS and various statistical programs. Results are interpreted relative to stream equilibrium affected by both post-colonial bottomland sedimentation (legacy) and modern watershed hardening associated with urbanization. Six floodplain/channel sites, from high to low in the watershed, were selected for intensive study. Bank erosion ranges from 0 to 470 kg/m/y and floodplain sedimentation ranges from 18 to 1369 kg/m/y (m refers to meters of stream reach). Upstream reaches are net erosional, while downstream reaches have a distinctly net depositional flux providing a watershed sediment balance of 2184 kg/m/y trapped within the system. The amounts of both deposition and erosion are large and suggest

Atmospheric mercury monitoring survey in Beijing, China.

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Shili; Nadim, Farhad; Perkins, Chris; Carley, Robert J; Hoag, George E; Lin, Yuhan; Chen, Letian

2002-07-01

With the aid of one industrial, two urban, two suburban, and two rural sampling locations, diurnal patterns of total gaseous mercury (TGM) were monitored in January, February and September of 1998 in Beijing, China. Monitoring was conducted in six (two urban, two suburban, one rural and the industrial sites) of the seven sampling sites during January and February (winter) and in four (two urban, one rural, and the industrial sites) of the sampling locations during September (summer) of 1998. In the three suburban sampling stations, mean TGM concentrations during the winter sampling period were 8.6, 10.7, and 6.2 ng/m3, respectively. In the two urban sampling locations mean TGM concentrations during winter and summer sampling periods were 24.7, 8.3, 10, and 12.7 ng/m3, respectively. In the suburban-industrial and the two rural sampling locations, mean mercury concentrations ranged from 3.1-5.3 ng/m3 in winter to 4.1-7.7 ng/m3 in summer sampling periods. In the Tiananmen Square (urban), and Shijingshan (suburban) sampling locations the mean TGM concentrations during the summer sampling period were higher than winter concentrations, which may have been caused by evaporation of soil-bound mercury in warm periods. Continuous meteorological data were available at one of the suburban sites, which allowed the observation of mercury concentration variations associated with some weather parameters. It was found that there was a moderate negative correlation between the wind speed and the TGM concentration at this suburban sampling location. It was also found that during the sampling period at the same site, the quantity of TGM transported to or from the sampling site was mainly influenced by the duration and frequency of wind occurrence from certain directions.

Influence of urban form on landscape pattern and connectivity in metropolitan regions: a comparative case study of Phoenix, AZ, USA, and Izmir, Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Sohyun; Hepcan, Çiğdem C; Hepcan, Şerif; Cook, Edward A

2014-10-01

Although ecological connectivity conservation in urban areas has recently been recognized as an important issue, less is known about its relationship to urban form and landscape pattern. This study investigates how urban morphology influences regional ecosystem pattern and landscape connectivity. Two metropolitan landscapes, Phoenix, AZ, USA, and Izmir, Turkey, were compared, both of which are fast-growing regions in their national context. A wide range of variables were considered for identifying natural and urban properties. The natural characteristics include typology of urban ecosystems, urban to natural cover ratio, dominant habitat type, urban biodiversity, landscape context, and connectivity conservation efforts. Urban parameters examine urban form, urban extent, urban cover proportion, growth rate, populations, urban gradient, major drivers of urbanization, urban density, and mode/approach of urban development. Twelve landscape metrics were measured and compared across the natural patches. Results show that there is little difference in landscape connectivity in the rural zones of Phoenix and Izmir, although Phoenix has slightly higher connectivity values. The connectivity variance in urbanized areas, however, is significantly dependent on the region. For example, Phoenix urban zones have substantially lower connectivity than either urban or suburban zones in Izmir. Findings demonstrate that small and compact urban settlements with more dense populations are more likely to conserve landscape connectivity compared to multiple-concentric but amalgamated urban form spreading all over the landscape (aka urban sprawl).

Do Physical Proximity and Availability of Adequate Infrastructure at Public Health Facility Increase Institutional Delivery? A Three Level Hierarchical Model Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Rachana; Ladusingh, Laishram

2015-01-01

This study aims to examine the inter-district and inter-village variation of utilization of health services for institutional births in EAG states in presence of rural health program and availability of infrastructures. District Level Household Survey-III (2007-08) data on delivery care and facility information was used for the purpose. Bivariate results examined the utilization pattern by states in presence of correlates of women related while a three-level hierarchical multilevel model illustrates the effect of accessibility, availability of health facility and community health program variables on the utilization of health services for institutional births. The study found a satisfactory improvement in state Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, importantly, in Bihar and Uttaranchal. The study showed that increasing distance from health facility discouraged institutional births and there was a rapid decline of more than 50% for institutional delivery as the distance to public health facility exceeded 10 km. Additionally, skilled female health worker (ANM) and observed improved public health facility led to significantly increase the probability of utilization as compared to non-skilled ANM and not-improved health centers. Adequacy of essential equipment/laboratory services required for maternal care significantly encouraged deliveries at public health facility. District/village variables neighborhood poverty was negatively related to institutional delivery while higher education levels in the village and women's residing in more urbanized districts increased the utilization. "Inter-district" variation was 14 percent whereas "between-villages" variation for the utilization was 11 percent variation once controlled for all the three-level variables in the model. This study suggests that the mere availability of health facilities is necessary but not sufficient condition to promote utilization until the quality of service is inadequate and inaccessible considering

Do Physical Proximity and Availability of Adequate Infrastructure at Public Health Facility Increase Institutional Delivery? A Three Level Hierarchical Model Approach.

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Rachana Patel

Full Text Available This study aims to examine the inter-district and inter-village variation of utilization of health services for institutional births in EAG states in presence of rural health program and availability of infrastructures. District Level Household Survey-III (2007-08 data on delivery care and facility information was used for the purpose. Bivariate results examined the utilization pattern by states in presence of correlates of women related while a three-level hierarchical multilevel model illustrates the effect of accessibility, availability of health facility and community health program variables on the utilization of health services for institutional births. The study found a satisfactory improvement in state Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, importantly, in Bihar and Uttaranchal. The study showed that increasing distance from health facility discouraged institutional births and there was a rapid decline of more than 50% for institutional delivery as the distance to public health facility exceeded 10 km. Additionally, skilled female health worker (ANM and observed improved public health facility led to significantly increase the probability of utilization as compared to non-skilled ANM and not-improved health centers. Adequacy of essential equipment/laboratory services required for maternal care significantly encouraged deliveries at public health facility. District/village variables neighborhood poverty was negatively related to institutional delivery while higher education levels in the village and women's residing in more urbanized districts increased the utilization. "Inter-district" variation was 14 percent whereas "between-villages" variation for the utilization was 11 percent variation once controlled for all the three-level variables in the model. This study suggests that the mere availability of health facilities is necessary but not sufficient condition to promote utilization until the quality of service is inadequate and

The 5th national survey on the physical growth and development of children in the nine cities of China: Anthropometric measurements of Chinese children under 7 years in 2015.

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Zhang, Ya-Qin; Li, Hui; Wu, Hua-Hong; Zong, Xin-Nan; Zhu, Zong-Han; Pan, Ying; Li, Jia; Zheng, Xing-Rong; Wei, Mei; Tong, Mei-Ling; Zhou, Ai-Fen; Hu, Yan; Chen, Wei; Zhu, Ke; Yu, Yang