Urban remote sensing applications: TIMS observations of the City of Scottsdale

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christensen, Philip R.; Melendrez, David E.; Anderson, Donald L.; Hamilton, Victoria E.; Wenrich, Melissa L.; Howard, Douglas

1995-01-01

A research program has been initiated between Arizona State University and the City of Scottsdale, Arizona to study the potential applications of TIMS (Thermal Infrared Multispectral Scanner) data for urban scene classification, desert environmental assessment, and change detection. This program is part of a long-term effort to integrate remote sensing observations into state and local planning activities to improve decision making and future planning. Specific test sites include a section of the downtown Scottsdale region that has been mapped in very high detail as part of a pilot program to develop an extensive GIS database. This area thus provides excellent time history of the evolution of the city infrastructure, such as the timing and composition of street repavement. A second area of study includes the McDowell intensive study by state and local agencies to assess potential sites for urban development as well as preservation. These activities are of particular relevance as the Phoenix metropolitan area undergoes major expansion into the surrounding desert areas. The objectives of this study in urban areas are aimed at determining potential applications of TIMS data for classifying and assessing land use and surface temperatures. Land use centers on surface impermeability studies for storm runoff assessment and pollution control. These studies focus on determining the areal abundance of urban vegetation and undeveloped soil. Highly experimental applications include assessment and monitoring of pavement condition. Temperature studies focus on determining swimming pool area and temperature for use in monitoring evaporating and urban water consumption. These activities are of particular relevance as the Phoenix metropolitan area undergoes major expansion into the surrounding desert area.

Bioavailability evaluation, uptake of heavy metals and potential health risks via dietary exposure in urban-industrial areas.

PubMed

Yousaf, Balal; Liu, Guijian; Wang, Ruwei; Imtiaz, Muhammad; Zia-Ur-Rehman, Muhammad; Munir, Mehr Ahmed Mujtaba; Niu, Zhiyuan

2016-11-01

A verity of human activities i.e. urbanization and industrialization have been resulted serious environmental contaminations by heavy metals in all over the world. The settlement of populations in urban and nearby industrial areas for economic development has significant share in their exposure to these metallic contaminants. Depending on the nature and type of the pollutants, targeted urban-industrial environments can have harmful and chronic health risk impacts on exposed local inhabitants and may require detoxification, healing and remedial therapy. Consequently, environmental monitoring as well as human health risk assessments of urban environments under industrial influence are key dominant features. We believe this work will provide new insights into the studies of metals exposure and associated health risks in emerging industrials cities of developing countries. Present study aimed to study the bioavailability of metals, quantify the changeability in soil and vegetable metal concentrations and estimation of human health risks via dietary exposure, focusing on urban-industrial environment. Soil and vegetable samples were collected in six random sites within the urban, periurban and industrial areas and analyzed for metal concentrations. In addition, risk assessment model proposed by US-EPA was employed to estimate the potential health risk of heavy metals via dietary intake. Results indicated that the heavy metal concentrations were noteworthy in periurban and urban-industrial areas. However, contamination levels varied with the type of vegetable, and the point source pollution such as traffic, urban wastes and industrial effluent. According to the estimated THQ and HI values for non-carcinogenic risk, little or no negative impact of heavy metals was observed on local inhabitants. However, the concentrations of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni were nearly closed to the permissible limits described by US-EPA in urban-industrial areas. Conclusively, some efficient remedial strategies should be focus to overcome the increasing levels of Cr, Cd, Pb and Ni in this study area to protect the health of local inhabitants.

Climate Change Resilience in the Urban Environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kershaw, Tristan

2017-12-01

Between 1930 and 2030, the world's population will have flipped from 70% rural to 70% urban. While much has been written about the impacts of climate change and mitigation of its effects on individual buildings or infrastructure, this book is one of the first to focus on the resilience of whole cities. It covers a broad range of area-wide disaster-level impacts, including drought, heatwaves, flooding, storms and air quality, which many of our cities are ill-adapted to cope with, and unless we can increase the resilience of our urban areas then much of our current building stock may become uninhabitable. Climate Resilience in Urban Environments provides a detailed overview of the risks for urban areas, including those risks to human health as well as to building integrity, the physical processes involved, and presents key information in which way the risks can be reduced and urban areas made more resilient.

Spatio-Temporal Analysis of Urban Heat Island and Urban Metabolism by Satellite Imagery over the Phoenix Metropolitan Area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Q.; Zhan, S.; Kuai, X.; Zhan, Q.

2015-12-01

The goal of this research is to combine DMSP-OLS nighttime light data with Landsat imagery and use spatio-temporal analysis methods to evaluate the relationships between urbanization processes and temperature variation in Phoenix metropolitan area. The urbanization process is a combination of both land use change within the existing urban environment as well as urban sprawl that enlarges the urban area through the transformation of rural areas to urban structures. These transformations modify the overall urban climate environment, resulting in higher nighttime temperatures in urban areas compared to the surrounding rural environment. This is a well-known and well-studied phenomenon referred to as the urban heat island effect (UHI). What is unknown is the direct relationship between the urbanization process and the mechanisms of the UHI. To better understand this interaction, this research focuses on using nighttime light satellite imagery to delineate and detect urban extent changes and utilizing existing land use/land cover map or newly classified imagery from Landsat to analyze the internal urban land use variations. These data are combined with summer and winter land surface temperature data extracted from Landsat. We developed a time series of these combined data for Phoenix, AZ from 1992 to 2013 to analyze the relationships among land use change, land surface temperature and urban growth.

Transit at the Table III : A Guide to Effective Participation in Statewide Decisionmaking for Transit Agencies in Non-Urbanized Areas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2011-09-30

This report draws upon eight State case studies to identify processes, experiences, and results of transit participation in statewide planning with a focus on non-urbanized or rural areas. Transit at the Table III is intended as a resource for organi...

Beyond "Hoping for the Best": Home Visits in Impoverished Urban Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corr, Catherine; Spence, Christine; Miller, Deserai; Marshall, Ashley Ann; Santos, Rosa Milagros

2018-01-01

The primary author hosted a series of focus groups with early intervention (EI) professionals in a large midwestern urban area. Participants were asked to share their experiences supporting families who live in poverty and also receive EI services. Although positive experiences and successes were discussed, many EI professionals noted that when…

Carbon Storage in Urban Areas in the USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Churkina, G.; Brown, D.; Keoleian, G.

2007-12-01

It is widely accepted that human settlements occupy a small proportion of the landmass and therefore play a relatively small role in the dynamics of the global carbon cycle. Most modeling studies focusing on the land carbon cycle use models of varying complexity to estimate carbon fluxes through forests, grasses, and croplands, but completely omit urban areas from their scope. Here, we estimate carbon storage in urban areas within the United States, defined to encompass a range of observed settlement densities, and its changes from 1950 to 2000. We show that this storage is not negligible and has been continuously increasing. We include natural- and human-related components of urban areas in our estimates. The natural component includes carbon storage in urban soil and vegetation. The human related component encompasses carbon stored long term in buildings, furniture, cars, and waste. The study suggests that urban areas should receive continued attention in efforts to accurately account for carbon uptake and storage in terrestrial systems.

New Energy Efficient Housing Has Reduced Carbon Footprints in Outer but Not in Inner Urban Areas.

PubMed

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.

"Urban" Schooling and "Urban" Families: The Role of Context and Place

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gadsden, Vivian L.; Dixon-Román, Ezekiel J.

2017-01-01

Conceptualizations of urban context and place in research, practice, and policy are relational, ranging from spatial dimensions to cultural practices of children, families, and communities in metropolitan areas. In this article, we focus on the inherent complexity of these conceptualizations and long-standing debates in education and social…

Education in Urban Areas. Cross-National Dimensions.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stromquist, Nelly P., Ed.

This book provides a collection of articles that covers urban education from both developed and developing countries. It presents five studies focused on the United States and other industrialized countries, two studies on Asia, two on Africa, and one on Latin American. Major sections discuss concepts and trends in urban education, the…

Beyond urban penalty and urban sprawl: back to living conditions as the focus of urban health.

PubMed

Freudenberg, Nicholas; Galea, Sandro; Vlahov, David

2005-02-01

Researchers have long studied urban health, both to describe the consequences of urban living and to design interventions to promote the health of people living in cities. Two approaches to understanding the impact of cities on health have been dominant, namely, urban health penalty and urban sprawl. The urban penalty approach posits that cities concentrate poor people and expose them to unhealthy physical and social environments. Urban sprawl focuses on the adverse health and environmental effects of urban growth into outlying areas. We propose a model that integrates these approaches and emphasizes urban living conditions as the primary determinant of health. The aim of the model is to move beyond describing the health-related characteristics of various urban populations towards identifying opportunities for intervention. Such a shift in framework enables meaningful comparisons that can inform public health activities at the appropriate level and evaluate their effectiveness in improving the health of urban populations. The model is illustrated with two examples from current urban public health practice.

What Factors Contribute to Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Urban, Conflict-Affected Settings? Qualitative Findings from Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.

PubMed

Cardoso, L F; Gupta, J; Shuman, S; Cole, H; Kpebo, D; Falb, K L

2016-04-01

Rapid urbanization is a key driver of the unique set of health risks facing urban populations. One of the most critical health hazards facing urban women is intimate partner violence (IPV). In post-conflict urban areas, women may face an even greater risk of IPV. Yet, few studies have examined the IPV experiences of urban-dwelling, conflict-affected women, including those who have been internally displaced. This study qualitatively examined the social and structural characteristics of the urban environment that contributed to the IPV experiences of women residing in post-conflict Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. Ten focus groups were conducted with men and women, both internally displaced (IDPs) and non-displaced. Lack of support networks, changing gender roles, and tensions between traditional gender norms and those of the "modern" city were reported as key contributors to IPV. Urban poverty and with it unemployment, food insecurity, and housing instability also played a role. Finally, IDPs faced heightened vulnerability to IPV as a result of displacement and discrimination. The relationship between economic strains and IPV are similar to other conflict-affected settings, but Abidjan's urban environment presented other unique characteristics contributing to IPV. Understanding these factors is crucial to designing appropriate services for women and for implementing IPV reduction interventions in urban areas. Strengthening formal and informal mechanisms for help-seeking, utilizing multi-modal interventions that address economic stress and challenge inequitable gender norms, as well as tailoring programs specifically for IDPs, are some considerations for IPV program planning focused on conflict-affected women in urban areas.

Exclusive breast-feeding is rarely practised in rural and urban Morogoro, Tanzania.

PubMed

Shirima, R; Greiner, T; Kylberg, E; Gebre-Medhin, M

2001-04-01

To investigate and compare feeding practices among infants of less than 7 months of age in a rural and an urban area in Tanzania. Cross-sectional, questionnaire-based interview of mothers and focus group discussions with extension workers and community leaders. Eleven villages in a rural district and 10 wards in an urban district in the Morogoro region, Tanzania, west of Dar es Salaam. Probability samples of mothers with infants of less than 7 months of age from each area). Exclusive breast-feeding was rarely practised in either the rural or urban areas investigated. However, the urban mothers initiated breast-feeding earlier, discarded colostrum less frequently, breast-fed exclusively for a longer period, gave breast milk as the first feed more often and delayed the introduction of solid foods for longer than their rural counterparts. The rural mothers, on the other hand, breast-fed their previous infants slightly longer than the urban mothers. The better performance of urban mothers could be partly due to sustained breast-feeding support in hospital settings and other campaigns which may not have reached the rural areas. In both the rural and urban areas more efforts are needed to encourage exclusive breast-feeding, to avoid premature complementation and, in the case of the urban areas, to protect extended breast-feeding.

Urban containment policies and the protection of natural areas: the case of Seoul's greenbelt

Treesearch

David N. Bengston; Yeo-Chang Youn

2006-01-01

Countries around the world have responded to the problems associated with rapid urban growth and increasingly land-consumptive development patterns by creating a wide range of policy instruments designed to manage urban growth. Of the array of growth management techniques, urban containment policies are considered by some to be a promising approach. This paper focuses...

Urban ecological systems: Scientific foundations and a decade of progress

Treesearch

S.T.A. Pickett; M.L. Cadenasso; J.M. Grove; C.G. Boone; P.M. Groffman; E. Irwin; S.S. Kaushal; V. Marshall; B.P. McGrath; C.H. Nilon; R.V. Pouyat; K. Szlavecz; A. Troy; P. Warren

2011-01-01

Urban ecological studies, including focus on cities, suburbs, and exurbs, while having deep roots in the early to mid 20th century, have burgeoned in the last several decades. We use the state factor approach to highlight the role of important aspects of climate, substrate, organisms, relief, and time in differentiating urban from non-urban areas, and for determining...

Beyond urban legends: an emerging framework of urban ecology, as illustrated by the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

Treesearch

Steward T.A. Pickett; Mary L. Cadenasso; J. Morgan Grove; Peter M. Groffman; Lawrence E. Band; Christopher G. Boone; William R., Jr. Burch; Susan B. Grimmond; John Hom; Jennifer C. Jenkins; Neely L. Law; Charles H. Nilon; Richard V. Pouyat; Katalin Szlavecz; Paige S. Warren; Matthew A. Wilson

2008-01-01

The emerging discipline of urban ecology is shifting focus from ecological processes embedded within cities to integrative studies of large urban areas as biophysical-social complexes. Yet this discipline lacks a theory. Results from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study, part of the Long Term Ecological Research Network, expose new assumptions and test existing assumptions...

Connecting Learning & Work: The Rural Experience. Proceedings of the School-to-Work in Rural Communities in the Northeast, Technical Assistance Conference (Saratoga Springs, New York, November 17-18, 1997).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sullivan Educational Associates, Delmar, NY.

Funded through the 1994 School-to-Work (STW) Opportunities Act, state STW systems must serve all students but have tended to have an urban focus because private sector resources are more available in urban areas. Although effective, urban models that rely on large employers have been difficult to replicate in rural areas. In November 1997, state…

Climate change as a migration driver from rural and urban Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nawrotzki, Raphael J.; Hunter, Lori M.; Runfola, Daniel M.; Riosmena, Fernando

2015-11-01

Studies investigating migration as a response to climate variability have largely focused on rural locations to the exclusion of urban areas. This lack of urban focus is unfortunate given the sheer numbers of urban residents and continuing high levels of urbanization. To begin filling this empirical gap, this study investigates climate change impacts on US-bound migration from rural and urban Mexico, 1986-1999. We employ geostatistical interpolation methods to construct two climate change indices, capturing warm and wet spell duration, based on daily temperature and precipitation readings for 214 weather stations across Mexico. In combination with detailed migration histories obtained from the Mexican Migration Project, we model the influence of climate change on household-level migration from 68 rural and 49 urban municipalities. Results from multilevel event-history models reveal that a temperature warming and excessive precipitation significantly increased international migration during the study period. However, climate change impacts on international migration is only observed for rural areas. Interactions reveal a causal pathway in which temperature (but not precipitation) influences migration patterns through employment in the agricultural sector. As such, climate-related international migration may decline with continued urbanization and the resulting reductions in direct dependence of households on rural agriculture.

Climate Change as Migration Driver from Rural and Urban Mexico.

PubMed

Nawrotzki, Raphael J; Hunter, Lori M; Runfola, Daniel M; Riosmena, Fernando

2015-11-01

Studies investigating migration as a response to climate variability have largely focused on rural locations to the exclusion of urban areas. This lack of urban focus is unfortunate given the sheer numbers of urban residents and continuing high levels of urbanization. To begin filling this empirical gap, this study investigates climate change impacts on U.S.-bound migration from rural and urban Mexico, 1986-1999. We employ geostatistical interpolation methods to construct two climate change indices, capturing warm and wet spell duration, based on daily temperature and precipitation readings for 214 weather stations across Mexico. In combination with detailed migration histories obtained from the Mexican Migration Project, we model the influence of climate change on household-level migration from 68 rural and 49 urban municipalities. Results from multilevel event-history models reveal that a temperature warming and excessive precipitation significantly increased international migration during the study period. However, climate change impacts on international migration is only observed for rural areas. Interactions reveal a causal pathway in which temperature (but not precipitation) influences migration patterns through employment in the agricultural sector. As such, climate-related international migration may decline with continued urbanization and the resulting reductions in direct dependence of households on rural agriculture.

A new framework for modeling urban land expansion in peri-urban area by combining multi-source datasets and data assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Z.; Xiao, R.; Li, X.

2015-12-01

Peri-urban area is a new type region under the impacts of both rural Industrialization and the radiation of metropolitan during rapid urbanization. Due to its complex natural and social characteristics and unique development patterns, many problems such as environmental pollution and land use waste emerged, which became an urgent issue to be addressed. Study area in this paper covers three typical peri-urban districts (Pudong, Fengxian and Jinshan), which around the Shanghai inner city. By coupling cellular automata and multi-agent system model as the basic tools, this research focus on modelling the urban land expansion and driving mechanism in peri-urban area. The big data is aslo combined with the Bayesian maximum entropy method (BME) for spatiotemporal prediction of multi-source data, which expand the dataset of urban expansion models. Data assimilation method is used to optimize the parameters of the coupling model and minimize the uncertainty of observations, improving the precision of future simulation in peri-urban area. By setting quantitative parameters, the coupling model can effectively improve the simulation of the process of urban land expansion under different policies and management schemes, in order to provide scientificimplications for new urbanization strategy. In this research, we precise the urban land expansion simulation and prediction for peri-urban area, expand the scopes and selections of data acquisition measurements and methods, develop the new applications of the data assimilation method in geographical science, provide a new idea for understanding the inherent rules of urban land expansion, and give theoretical and practical support for the peri-urban area in urban planning and decision making.

Are Conditional Cash Transfers Effective in Urban Areas? Evidence from Mexico

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Behrman, Jere R.; Gallardo-Garcia, Jorge; Parker, Susan W.; Todd, Petra E.; Velez-Grajales, Viviana

2012-01-01

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have spread worldwide as a new form of social assistance for the poor. Previous evaluations of CCT programs focus mainly on rural settings, and little is known about their effects in urban areas. This paper studies the short-term (1- and 2-year) effects of the Mexican "Oportunidades" CCT program…

Sibling Negotiations and the Construction of Literacy Events in an Urban Area of Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankenberg, Sofia Johnson; Holmqvist, Rolf; Rubenson, Birgitta; Rindstedt, Camilla

2012-01-01

This study presents findings from analyses of naturally occurring literacy events, where children jointly focus on reading and writing letters of the alphabet, illustrating social constructions of learning created through language and embodied action. Video recorded data from two different families living in an urban low-income area in Tanzania is…

Metropolitan Growth and Economic Opportunity for the Poor: If You're Poor Does Place Matter?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foster-Bey, John A.

This paper focuses on why metropolitan areas vary in their capacity to translate generally high employment rates into economic opportunity for the disadvantaged. Data come from the Urban Institute's Urban Underclass Database, which includes poverty and employment data for 1980 and 1990 for the 100 largest metropolitan areas down to the Census…

Urban Growth Scenarios of a Future MEGA City: Case Study Ahmedabad

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lehner, A.; Kraus, V.; Steinnocher, K.

2016-06-01

The study of urban areas and their development focuses on cities, their physical and demographic expansion and the tensions and impacts that go along with urban growth. Especially in developing countries and emerging national economies like India, consistent and up to date information or other planning relevant data all too often is not available. With its Smart Cities Mission, the Indian government places great importance on the future developments of Indian urban areas and pays tribute to the large-scale rural to urban migration. The potentials of urban remote sensing and its contribution to urban planning are discussed and related to the Indian Smart Cities Mission. A case study is presented showing urban remote sensing based information products for the city of Ahmedabad. Resulting urban growth scenarios are presented, hotspots identified and future action alternatives proposed.

Urban area delineation and detection of change along the urban-rural boundary as derived from LANDSAT digital data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Christenson, J. W.; Lachowski, H. M.

1977-01-01

LANDSAT digital multispectral scanner data, in conjunction with supporting ground truth, were investigated to determine their utility in delineation of urban-rural boundaries. The digital data for the metropolitan areas of Washington, D. C.; Austin, Texas; and Seattle, Washingtion; were processed using an interactive image processing system. Processing focused on identification of major land cover types typical of the zone of transition from urban to rural landscape, and definition of their spectral signatures. Census tract boundaries were input into the interactive image processing system along with the LANDSAT single and overlayed multiple date MSS data. Results of this investigation indicate that satellite collected information has a practical application to the problem of urban area delineation and to change detection.

Workshop Report On Sustainable Urban Development

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Langhoff, Stephanie; Martin, Gary; Barone, Larry; Wagener, Wolfgang

2010-01-01

The key workshop goal was to explore and document how NASA technologies, such as remote sensing, climate modeling, and high-end computing and visualization along with NASA assets such as Earth Observing Satellites (EOS) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) can contribute to creating and managing a sustainable urban environment. The focus was on the greater Bay Area, but many aspects of the workshop were applicable to urban management at the local, regional and global scales. A secondary goal was to help NASA better understand the problems facing urban managers and to make city leaders in the Bay Area more aware of NASA's capabilities. By bringing members of these two groups together we hope to see the beginnings of new collaborations between NASA and those faced with instituting sustainable urban management in Bay Area cities.

Urban Green Space and Its Impact on Human Health

Treesearch

Michelle Kondo; Jaime Fluehr; Thomas McKeon; Charles Branas

2018-01-01

Background: Over half of the world's population now lives in urban areas, and this proportion is expected to increase. While there have been numerous reviews of empirical studies on the link between nature and human health, very few have focused on the urban context, and most have examined almost exclusively cross-sectional research. This...

Green Infrastructure, Groundwater and the Sustainable City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Band, L. E.

2014-12-01

The management of water is among the most important attributes of urbanization. Provision of sufficient quantities and quality of freshwater, treatment and disposal of wastewater and flood protection are critical for urban sustainability. Over the last century, two major shifts in water management paradigms have occurred, the first to improve public health with the provision of infrastructure for centralized sanitary effluent collection and treatment, and the rapid drainage and routing of stormwater. A current shift in paradigm is now occurring in response to the unintended consequences of sanitary and stormwater management, which have degraded downstream water bodies and shifted flood hazard downstream. Current infrastructure is being designed and implemented to retain, rather than rapidly drain, stormwater, with a focus on infiltration based methods. In urban areas, this amounts to a shift in hydrologic behavior to depression focused recharge. While stormwater is defined as surface flow resulting from developed areas, an integrated hydrologic systems approach to urban water management requires treatment of the full critical zone. In urban areas this extends from the top of the vegetation and building canopy, to a subsurface depth including natural soils, fill, saprolite and bedrock. In addition to matric and network flow in fracture systems, an urban "karst" includes multiple generations of current and past infrastructure, which has developed extensive subsurface pipe networks for supply and drainage, enhancing surface/groundwater flows and exchange. In this presentation, Band will discuss the need to focus on the urban critical zone, and the development and adaptation of new modeling and analytical approaches to understand and plan green infrastructure based on surface/groundwater/ecosystem interactions, and implications for the restoration and new design of cities.

The surface urban heat island response to urban expansion: A panel analysis for the conterminous United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Xiaoma; Zhou, Yuyu; Asrar, Ghassem R.

Abstract: Urban heat island (UHI), a major concern worldwide, affects human health and energy use. With current and anticipated rapid urbanization, improved understanding of the response of UHI to urbanization is important for impact analysis and developing effective adaptation measures and mitigation strategies. Current studies mainly focus on a single or a few big cities and knowledge on the response of UHI to urbanization for large areas is very limited. Modelling UHI caused by urbanization for large areas that encompass multiple metropolitans remains a major scientific challenge/opportunity. As a major indicator of urbanization, urban area size lends itself well formore » representation in prognostic models to investigate the impacts of urbanization on UHI and the related socioeconomic and environmental effects. However, we have little knowledge on how UHI responds to the increase of urban area size, namely urban expansion, and its spatial and temporal variation over large areas. In this study, we investigated the relationship between surface UHI (SUHI) and urban area size in the climate and ecological context, and its spatial and temporal variations, based on a panel analysis of about 5000 urban areas of 10 km2 or larger, in the conterminous U.S. We found statistically significant positive relationship between SUHI and urban area size, and doubling the urban area size led to a SUHI increase of higher than 0.7 °C. The response of SUHI to the increase of urban area size shows spatial and temporal variations, with stronger SUHI increase in the Northern region of U.S., and during daytime and summer. Urban area size alone can explain as much as 87% of the variance of SUHI among cities studied, but with large spatial and temporal variations. Urban area size shows higher association with SUHI in regions where the thermal characteristics of land cover surrounding the urban are more homogeneous, such as in Eastern U.S., and in the summer months. This study provides a practical approach for large-scale assessment and modeling of the impact of urbanization on SUHI, both spatially and temporally, for developing mitigation/adaptation measures, especially in anticipated warmer climate conditions for the rest of this century.« less

Rural-Urban Differences in Consumer Governance at Community Health Centers

PubMed Central

Wright, David Bradley

2017-01-01

Context Community health centers (CHCs) are primary care clinics that serve mostly low-income patients in rural and urban areas. They are required to be governed by a consumer majority. What little is known about the structure and function of these boards in practice, suggests that CHC boards in rural areas may look and act differently than CHC boards in urban areas. Purpose To identify differences in the structure and function of consumer governance at CHCs in rural and urban areas. Methods Semi-structured telephone interviews were conducted with 30 CHC board members from 14 different states. Questions focused on board members’ perceptions of board composition and the role of consumers on the board. Findings CHCs in rural areas are more likely to have representative boards, are better able to convey confidence in the organization, and are better able to assess community needs than CHCs in urban areas. However, CHCs in rural areas often have problems achieving objective decision-making, and may have fewer means for objectively evaluating quality of care due to the lack of patient board member anonymity. Conclusions Consumer governance is implemented differently in rural and urban communities, and the advantages and disadvantages in each setting are unique. PMID:23551642

Learning from HIV: exploring migration and health in South Africa.

PubMed

Vearey, Joanna

2012-01-01

Southern Africa is associated with high HIV prevalence and diverse population movements, including temporary, circular movements between rural and urban areas within countries (internal migration), and movements across borders (international migration). Whilst most migration in southern Africa is associated with the search for improved livelihood opportunities in urban areas a small--but significant--number of people are forced to migrate to escape persecution or civil war. This paper utilises recent empirical studies conducted in South Africa to explore linkages between migration into urban areas and health, focusing on HIV. It is shown that the relationship between migration and HIV is complex; that both internal and international migrants move to urban areas for reasons other than healthcare seeking; and that most migratory movements into urban areas involve the positive selection of healthy individuals. Whilst healthy migration has economic benefits for rural sending households, the data uncovers an important process of return migration (internally or across borders) in times of sickness, with the burden of care placed on the rural, sending household. There is an urgent need for a comprehensive response that maintains the health of migrants in urban areas, and provides support to rural areas in times of sickness.

On the Nexus of the Spatial Dynamics of Global Urbanization and the Age of the City

PubMed Central

Scheuer, Sebastian; Haase, Dagmar; Volk, Martin

2016-01-01

A number of concepts exist regarding how urbanization can be described as a process. Understanding this process that affects billions of people and its future development in a spatial manner is imperative to address related issues such as human quality of life. In the focus of spatially explicit studies on urbanization is typically a city, a particular urban region, an agglomeration. However, gaps remain in spatially explicit global models. This paper addresses that issue by examining the spatial dynamics of urban areas over time, for a full coverage of the world. The presented model identifies past, present and potential future hotspots of urbanization as a function of an urban area's spatial variation and age, whose relation could be depicted both as a proxy and as a path of urban development. PMID:27490199

On the Nexus of the Spatial Dynamics of Global Urbanization and the Age of the City.

PubMed

Scheuer, Sebastian; Haase, Dagmar; Volk, Martin

2016-01-01

A number of concepts exist regarding how urbanization can be described as a process. Understanding this process that affects billions of people and its future development in a spatial manner is imperative to address related issues such as human quality of life. In the focus of spatially explicit studies on urbanization is typically a city, a particular urban region, an agglomeration. However, gaps remain in spatially explicit global models. This paper addresses that issue by examining the spatial dynamics of urban areas over time, for a full coverage of the world. The presented model identifies past, present and potential future hotspots of urbanization as a function of an urban area's spatial variation and age, whose relation could be depicted both as a proxy and as a path of urban development.

Disadvantaged Young Men in Urban Areas: A Summary of the First Year of the Forum on Public/Private Social Concern.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Sarah E.; Siegel, Margaret A.

This report contains the principal materials prepared for the first year of the "Forum on Public/Private Social Concern," which focused on issues of disadvantaged young men in urban areas. The forum is an information exchange for funders and policymakers in government, foundation, and business sectors. Included is a report summarizing…

The dynamics of social-ecological systems in urban landscapes: Stockholm and the National Urban Park, Sweden.

PubMed

Elmqvist, T; Colding, J; Barthel, S; Borgstrom, S; Duit, A; Lundberg, J; Andersson, E; Ahrné, K; Ernstson, H; Folke, C; Bengtsson, J

2004-06-01

This study addresses social-ecological dynamics in the greater metropolitan area of Stockholm County, Sweden, with special focus on the National Urban Park (NUP). It is part of the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MA) and has the following specific objectives: (1) to provide scientific information on biodiversity patterns, ecosystem dynamics, and ecosystem services generated; (2) to map interplay between actors and institutions involved in management of ecosystem services; and (3) to identify strategies for strengthening social-ecological resilience. The green areas in Stockholm County deliver numerous ecosystem services, for example, air filtration, regulation of microclimate, noise reduction, surface water drainage, recreational and cultural values, nutrient retention, and pollination and seed dispersal. Recreation is among the most important services and NUP, for example, has more than 15 million visitors per year. More than 65 organizations representing 175,000 members are involved in management of ecosystem services. However, because of population increase and urban growth during the last three decades, the region displays a quite dramatic loss of green areas and biodiversity. An important future focus is how management may reduce increasing isolation of urban green areas and enhance connectivity. Comanagement should be considered where locally managed green space may function as buffer zones and for management of weak links that connect larger green areas; for example, there are three such areas around NUP identified. Preliminary results indicate that areas of informal management represent centers on which to base adaptive comanagement, with the potential to strengthen biodiversity management and resilience in the landscape.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Urban Heat Island and Urban Mobility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kar, B.; Omitaomu, O.

2017-12-01

A 2016 report by the U.S. Census stated that while the rural areas cover 97% of the U.S. landmass, these areas house only 19.7% of the nation's population. Given that the U.S. coastal counties are home to more than 50% of the U.S. population, these urban areas are clustered along the coast that is susceptible to sea level rise induced impacts. In light of increasing climate variability and extreme events, it is pertinent to understand the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect that results from increasing population density and mobility in the urban areas, and that contributes to increased energy consumption and temperature as well as unmitigated flooding events. For example, in Illinois, warmer summers contribute to heavy precipitation that overwhelms the region's drainage capacity. This study focuses on understanding the spatio-temporal variability of the relationship between population density and mobility distribution, and creation of UHI due to temperature change in selected cities across the U.S. This knowledge will help us understand the role of UHI in energy-water nexus in urban areas, specifically, energy consumption.

Structural change in a system of urban places: the 20th-century evolution of Hungary's urban settlement network.

PubMed

Zovanyi, G

1986-02-01

A review of urban change in Hungary in the twentieth century is presented. Both the traditional approach to studying urban change, involving changes in the percentage of those residing in urban areas, and the newly developed approach, focusing on regional aspects of urbanization, are used in the analysis. "In sharp contrast to most European countries Hungary is shown to evidence continued centralization of urban development, but the recent experience of Budapest and other indicators are said to portend future decentralization." (summary in FRE, GER) excerpt

Healthcare seeking practices and barriers to accessing under-five child health services in urban slums in Malawi: a qualitative study.

PubMed

Lungu, Edgar Arnold; Biesma, Regien; Chirwa, Maureen; Darker, Catherine

2016-08-19

Access to child health services is an important determinant of child health. Whereas, child health indicators are generally better in urban than rural areas, some population groups in urban areas, such as children residing in urban slums do not enjoy this urban health advantage. In the context of increasing urbanisation and urban poverty manifesting with proliferation of urban slums, the health of under-five children in slum areas remains a public health imperative in Malawi. This paper explores healthcare-seeking practices for common childhood illnesses focusing on use of biomedical health services and perceived barriers to accessing under-five child health services in urban slums of Lilongwe, Malawi's capital city. Qualitative data from 8 focus group discussions with caregivers and 11 in-depth interviews with key informants conducted from September 2012 to April 2013 were analysed using conventional content analysis. Whereas, caregivers sought care from biomedical health providers, late care-seeking also emerged as a major theme and phenomenon. Home management was actively undertaken for childhood illnesses. Various health system barriers: lack of medicines and supplies; long waiting times; late facility opening times; negative attitude of health workers; suboptimal examination of the sick child; long distance to health facility; and cost of healthcare were cited in this qualitative inquiry as critical health system factors affecting healthcare-seeking for child health services. Interventions to strengthen the health system's responsiveness to expectations are essential to promote utilisation of child health services among urban slum populations, and ultimately improve child health and survival.

A Study on the Land Use Characteristics of Urban Medium and Small stream Depending on the Width of stream

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seok, Song Young; Ho, Song Yang; Ho, Lee Jung; Moo Jong, Park

2015-04-01

Due to the increase of impervious layers caused by increased rainfall and urbanization which were brought about by the climate change after the late 1990s, the flood damage in urban watersheds is rising. The recent flood damage is occurring in medium and small stream rather than in large stream. Particularly, in medium stream which pass the cities, sudden flood occurs due to the short concentration of rainfall and urban areas suffer large damage, even though the flood damage is small, since residential areas and social infrastructures are concentrated. In spite of the importance of medium and small stream to pass the cities, there is no certain standard for classification of natural or urban stream and existing studies are mostly focused on the impervious area among the land use characteristics of watersheds. Most of existing river studies are based on the watershed scale, but in most urban watersheds where stream pass, urban areas are concentrated in the confluence, so urban areas only occupy less than 10% of the whole watershed and there is a high uncertainty in the classification of urban areas, based the watershed of stream. This study aims to suggest a classification standard of medium and small stream between local stream and small stream where suffer flood damage. According to the classified medium and small stream, this study analyzed the stream area to the stream width and distance using Arcgis Buffer tool, based on the stream line, not the existing watershed scale. This study then chose urban watersheds by analyzing the river area at certain intervals from the center of the chosen medium and small stream, in different ways. Among the land use characteristics in urban areas, the impervious area was applied to the selection standard of urban watersheds and the characteristics of urban watersheds were presented by calculating the ratio of the stream area to the impervious area using the Buffer tool. Acknowledgement "This research was supported by a grant [NEMA-NH-2011-45] from the Natural Hazard Mitigation Research Group, National Emergency Management Agency of Korea." Keywords: land use, urban watershed, medium and smaill stream, impervious area

A combined remote sensing and modeling based approach to identify sustainable pathways for urban and peri-urban agriculture in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wattenbach, M.; Delgado, J. M.; Roessner, S.; Bochow, M.; Güntner, A.; Kropp, J.; Cantu Ros, A. G.; Hattermann, F.; Kolbe, T.; Sodoudi, S.; Cubasch, U. Ulrich; Zeitz, J.; Ross, L.; Böckel, K.; Fang, C.; Bo, L.; Pan, G.

2012-04-01

As the world's biggest economy, China is becoming the biggest consumer of resources globally. Given this trend, the over-proportional fast increase in urbanization presents China with fundamental problems. Among the most urgent ones is the increasing loss of agricultural land as urbanization takes place in the most productive regions along the coast. The latter is being responsible for a shift in agriculture production towards climatically less favorable areas. At the same time, the loss of green areas in and around growing cities is increasing the effect of the urban heat island. The perception of the potential risks related to this phenomenon, in the context of climate change, has led the Shanghai city administration to increase its urban-greening efforts, expanding the per capita area of green from 1m2 in 1990 to 12.5m2 in 2008. In this context, this paper aims at identifying the influence of urban and peri-urban agriculture (UPA) on the sustainability of the urban regions of Shanghai and Nanjing. In particular, it focuses on the effects of UPA on the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, soil nutrients and water balances, local climate and the structure and functions of the urbanized areas. We propose an interdisciplinary framework combining remote sensing, model simulations and GHG field observations and targeted at identifying "win-win" strategies for sustainable planning pathways showing high potentials for UPA. The framework is based on spatial scenario modeling, automatic classification of urban structure types and on a prototype of a high-quality spatial database consisting of a 3D city model. Dynamic boundary conditions for climate and urban development are provided by state of the art models. These approaches meet the needs of stakeholders and planners in China. A special emphasis is put on interdependencies between small holder farming in the urban and peri-urban zone and climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies focusing on improved management of local water and nutrient cycles. The whole database generated will be structured and made accessible for planners and stakeholders in the form of a 3D city visualization model.

The Causes of Rural to Urban Migration Among the Poor. Final Report, March 1970.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hamilton, William L.; And Others

Focusing on individual decisions, the study examined why the rural poor migrated to urban areas. Rural-to-urban migrants were those persons having lived in places of less than 25,000 population and currently residing in major cities. Southeastern blacks, Appalachian whites, and Southwestern Spanish Americans were interviewed in two…

Crowding and Neighborhood Mediation of Urban Density.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baum, Andrew; And Others

The study of density and crowding has expanded rapidly, due in part to concern about the impact of high density on the quality of life. In this paper results of a study which focused upon the intervening role of neighborhood variables in the experience of urban density are reported. Residents of moderately dense urban areas were surveyed and…

Climate Change as Migration Driver from Rural and Urban Mexico

PubMed Central

Hunter, Lori M.; Runfola, Daniel M.; Riosmena, Fernando

2015-01-01

Studies investigating migration as a response to climate variability have largely focused on rural locations to the exclusion of urban areas. This lack of urban focus is unfortunate given the sheer numbers of urban residents and continuing high levels of urbanization. To begin filling this empirical gap, this study investigates climate change impacts on U.S.-bound migration from rural and urban Mexico, 1986–1999. We employ geostatistical interpolation methods to construct two climate change indices, capturing warm and wet spell duration, based on daily temperature and precipitation readings for 214 weather stations across Mexico. In combination with detailed migration histories obtained from the Mexican Migration Project, we model the influence of climate change on household-level migration from 68 rural and 49 urban municipalities. Results from multilevel event-history models reveal that a temperature warming and excessive precipitation significantly increased international migration during the study period. However, climate change impacts on international migration is only observed for rural areas. Interactions reveal a causal pathway in which temperature (but not precipitation) influences migration patterns through employment in the agricultural sector. As such, climate-related international migration may decline with continued urbanization and the resulting reductions in direct dependence of households on rural agriculture. PMID:26692890

The Conundrum of Impacts of Climate Change on Urbanization and the Urban Heat Island Effect

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2011-01-01

The twenty-first century is the first urban century according to the United Nations Development Program. The focus on cities reflects awareness of the growing percentage of the world's population that lives in urban areas. In 2000, approximately 3 billion people representing about 40% of the global population resided in urban areas. The United Nations estimates that by 2025, 60% of the world s population will live in urban areas. As a consequence, the number of megacities (those cities with populations of 10 million inhabitants or more) will increase by 100 by 2025. Thus, there is a critical need to understand the spatial growth of urban areas and what the impacts are on the environment. Moreover, there is a critical need to assess how under global climate change, cities will affect the local, regional, and even global climate. As urban areas increase in size, it is anticipated there will be a concomitant growth of the Urban Heat Island effect (UHI), and the attributes that are related to its spatial and temporal dynamics. Therefore, how climate change, including the dynamics of the UHI, will affect the urban environment, must be explored to help mitigate potential impacts on the environment (e.g., air quality, heat stress, vectorborne disease) and on human health and well being, to develop adaptation schemes to cope with these impacts.

Avoiding Decline: Fostering Resilience and Sustainability in Midsize Cities

EPA Science Inventory

Eighty-five percent of United States citizens live in urban areas. However, research surrounding the resilience and sustainability of complex urban systems focuses largely on coastal megacities (>1 million people). Midsize cities differ from their larger counterparts due to tight...

Assessing the earthquake hazards in urban areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hays, W.W.; Gori, P.L.; Kockelman, W.J.

1988-01-01

Major urban areas in widely scattered geographic locations across the United States are a t varying degrees of risk from earthquakes. the locations of these urban areas include Charleston, South Carolina; Memphis Tennessee; St.Louis, Missouri; Salt Lake City, Utah; Seattle-Tacoma, Washington; Portland, Oregon; and Anchorage, Alaska; even Boston, Massachusetts, and Buffalo New York, have a history of large earthquakes. Cooperative research during the past decade has focused on assessing the nature and degree of the risk or seismic hazard i nthe broad geographic regions around each urban area. The strategy since the 1970's has been to bring together local, State, and Federal resources to solve the problem of assessing seismic risk. Successfl sooperative programs have been launched in the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles regions in California and the Wasatch Front region in Utah. 

A GIS approach to urban heat island research: The case of Huntsville, Alabama

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lo, Chor Pong

1994-01-01

The urban heat island represents a case of inadvertent human modification of climate in an urban environment. Urbanization changes the nature of the surface and atmospheric properties of a region. As a result, radiation balance in the urban areas is altered and sensible heat is added to the point that urban areas are warmer than surrounding rural areas. At the boundary between the rural and urban area, a sharp rise in temperature occurs, culminating to a peak temperature at the central business district of the city, hence the name 'urban heat island'. The extent and intensity of the urban heat island are a function of population size, land use, and topography. Because the urban heat island exhibits spatial variations of temperatures, the use of Geographic Information System (GIS) is appropriate. The research on the urban heat island focuses on the acquisition of 15 bands of visible and thermal infrared data (ranging from 0.45 to 12.2 microns) from an aerial platform using NASA's ATLAS (Airborne Thermal/Visible Land Application Sensor) over Huntsville, Alabama. The research reported in this paper is an analysis of the impact of population, land use, and topography on the shape of the urban heat island that could be developed in Huntsville using the GIS approach. The outcome of this analysis can then be verified using the acquired remotely sensed data.

Influence of urbanization pattern on stream flow of a peri-urban catchment under Mediterranean climate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira, Carla S. S.; Walsh, Rory P. D.; Ferreira, António J. D.; Steenhuis, Tammo S.; Coelho, Celeste A. O.

2015-04-01

The demand for better life quality and lower living costs created a great pressure on peri-urban areas, leading to significant land-use changes. The complexity of mixed land-use patterns, however, presents a challenge to understand the hydrological pathways and streamflow response involved in such changes. This study assesses the impact of a actively changing Portuguese peri-urban area on catchment hydrology. It focuses on quantifying streamflow delivery from contributing areas, of different land-use arrangement and the seasonal influence of the Mediterranean climate on stream discharge. The study focuses on Ribeira dos Covões a small (6 km2) peri-urban catchment on the outskirts of Coimbra, one of the main cities in central Portugal. Between 1958 and 2012 the urban area of the catchment expanded from 8% to 40%, mostly at the expense of agriculture (down from 48% to 4%), with woodland now accounting for the remaining 56% of the catchment area. The urban area comprises contrasting urban settings, associated with older discontinuous arrangement of buildings and urban structures and low population density (<25 inhabitants/km), and recent well-defined urban cores dominated by apartment blocks and high population density (9900 inhabitants/km). The hydrological response of the catchment has been monitored since 2007 by a flume installed at the outlet. In 2009, five rainfall gauges and eight additional water level recorders were installed upstream, to assess the hydrological response of different sub-catchments, characterized by distinct urban patterns and either limestone or sandstone lithologies. Annual runoff coefficients range between 14% and 22%. Changes in annual baseflow index (36-39% of annual rainfall) have been small with urbanization (from 34% to 40%) during the monitoring period itself. Annual runoff coefficients were lowest (14-7%) on catchments >80% woodland and highest (29% on sandstone; 18% on limestone) in the most urbanized (49-53% urban) sub-catchments. Percentage impermeable surface seems to control streamflow particularly during dry periods. Winter runoff was 2-4 times higher than total river flow in the summer dry season in highly urbanized areas, but was 21-fold higher in winter in the least urbanized sub-catchment, denoting greater flow connectivity enhanced by increased soil moisture. Although impermeable surfaces are prone to generate overland flow, the proximity to the stream network is an important parameter determining their hydrological impacts. During the monitoring period, the enlargement of 2% of the urban area at downslope locations in the Covões sub-catchment, led to a 6% increase in the runoff coefficient. In contrast, the urban area increase from 9 to 25% mainly in upslope parts of the Quinta sub-catchment did not increase the peak streamflow due to downslope infiltration and surface retention opportunities. Despite impermeable surfaces enhance overland flow, some urban features (e.g. walls and road embankments) promote surface water retention. The presence of artificial drainage systems, on the other hand, enhances flow connectivity, leading to increasing peak flow and quicker response times (~10 minutes versus 40-50 minutes) as in the Covões sub-catchment. Urbanization impact on streamflow responses may be minimized through planning the land-use mosaic so as to maximize infiltration opportunities. Knowledge of the influence of distinct urban mosaics on flow connectivity and stream discharge is therefore important to landscape managers and should guide urban planning in order to minimize flood hazards.

Town and country reptiles: A review of reptilian responses to urbanization.

PubMed

French, Susannah S; Webb, Alison C; Hudson, Spencer B; Virgin, Emily E

2018-06-04

The majority of the world population is now inhabiting urban areas, and with staggering population growth urbanization is also increasing. While work studying the effects of changing landscapes and specific urban pressures on wildlife is beginning to amass, the majority of this work focuses on avian or mammalian species. However, the effects of urbanization likely vary substantially across taxonomic groups due to differences in habitat requirements and life history. The current paper aims first to broaden the review of urban effects across reptilian species; second, to summarize the responses of reptilian fauna to specific urban features; and third, to assess the directionality of individual and population level responses to urbanization in reptile species. Based on our findings, urban research in reptilian taxa is lacking in the following areas: 1) investigating interactive or additive urban factors 2) measuring multiple morphological, behavioral and physiological endpoints within an animal, 3) linking individual to population-level responses, and 4) testing genetic/genomic differences across an urban environment as evidence for selective pressures.

Biotic and abiotic effects of human settlements in the wildland-urban interface

Treesearch

Avi Bar-Massada; Volker C. Radeloff; Susan I. Stewart

2014-01-01

The wildland-urban interface (WUI) is the area in which human settlements adjoin or intermix with ecosystems. Although research on the WUI has been focused on wildfire risk to settlements, we argue here that there is a need to quantify the extent of areas in which human settlements interact with adjoining ecosystems, regardless of their ability to support fire spread....

An Empirical Analysis of Rural-Urban Differences in Out-Of-Pocket Health Expenditures in a Low-Income Society of China.

PubMed

Wang, Lidan; Wang, Anjue; Zhou, Detong; FitzGerald, Gerry; Ye, Dongqing; Jiang, Qicheng

2016-01-01

The paper examines whether out-of-pocket health care expenditure also has regional discrepancies, comparing to the equity between urban and rural areas, and across households. Sampled data were derived from Urban Household Survey and Rural Household Survey data for 2011/2012 for Anhui Province, and 11049 households were included in this study. The study compared differences in out-of-pocket expenditure on health care between regions (urban vs. rural areas) and years (2011 vs. 2012) using two-sample t-test, and also investigated the degree of inequality using Lorenz and concentration curves. Approximately 5% and 8% of total household consumption expenditure was spent on health care for urban and rural populations, respectively. In 2012, the wealthiest 20% of urban and rural population contributed 49.7% and 55.8% of urban and rural total health expenditure respectively, while the poorest 20% took only 4.7% and 4.4%. The concentration curve for out-of-pocket expenditure in 2012 fell below the corresponding concentration curve for 2011 for both urban and rural areas, and the difference between curves for rural areas was greater than that for urban areas. A substantial and increasing gap in health care expenditures existed between urban and rural areas in Anhui. The health care financing inequality merits ample attention, with need for policymaking to focus on improving the accessibility to essential health care services, particularly for rural and poor residents. This study may provide useful information on low income areas of China.

An Empirical Analysis of Rural-Urban Differences in Out-Of-Pocket Health Expenditures in a Low-Income Society of China

PubMed Central

Wang, Lidan; Wang, Anjue; Zhou, Detong; FitzGerald, Gerry; Ye, Dongqing; Jiang, Qicheng

2016-01-01

Objective The paper examines whether out-of-pocket health care expenditure also has regional discrepancies, comparing to the equity between urban and rural areas, and across households. Method Sampled data were derived from Urban Household Survey and Rural Household Survey data for 2011/2012 for Anhui Province, and 11049 households were included in this study. The study compared differences in out-of-pocket expenditure on health care between regions (urban vs. rural areas) and years (2011 vs. 2012) using two-sample t-test, and also investigated the degree of inequality using Lorenz and concentration curves. Result Approximately 5% and 8% of total household consumption expenditure was spent on health care for urban and rural populations, respectively. In 2012, the wealthiest 20% of urban and rural population contributed 49.7% and 55.8% of urban and rural total health expenditure respectively, while the poorest 20% took only 4.7% and 4.4%. The concentration curve for out-of-pocket expenditure in 2012 fell below the corresponding concentration curve for 2011 for both urban and rural areas, and the difference between curves for rural areas was greater than that for urban areas. Conclusion A substantial and increasing gap in health care expenditures existed between urban and rural areas in Anhui. The health care financing inequality merits ample attention, with need for policymaking to focus on improving the accessibility to essential health care services, particularly for rural and poor residents. This study may provide useful information on low income areas of China. PMID:27223811

[Determinants of the rural exodus: the importance of place of origin factors, Chile, 1965-1970].

PubMed

Raczynski, D

1982-07-01

Trends in rural-urban migration in Chile during the period 1965-1970 are analyzed, with a focus on the impact of the combination of structural factors and socioeconomic processes in rural areas. Factors of population retention and expulsion are examined in terms of agrarian structure, the process of agrarian reform, urbanization of the countryside, and the availability of basic social services. Rural-urban migration rates in the central and southern areas of the country are compared, and migration rates of males and females are examined.

The Power of Micro Urban Structures, Theory of EEPGC - the Micro Urban Energy Distribution Model as a Planning Tool for Sustainable City Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tkáč, Štefan

2015-11-01

To achieve the smart growth and equitable development in the region, urban planners should consider also lateral energies represented by the energy urban models like further proposed EEPGC focused on energy distribution via connections among micro-urban structures, their onsite renewable resources and the perception of micro-urban structures as decentralized energy carriers based on pre industrialized era. These structures are still variously bound when part of greater patterns. After the industrial revolution the main traded goods became energy in its various forms. The EEPGC is focused on sustainable energy transportation distances between the villages and the city, described by the virtual "energy circles". This more human scale urbanization, boost the economy in micro-urban areas, rising along with clean energy available in situ that surely gives a different perspective to human quality of life in contrast to overcrowded multicultural mega-urban structures facing generations of problems and struggling to survive as a whole.

Rural/Urban Residence, Migration, HIV/AIDS, and Safe Sex Practices among Men in Zimbabwe

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sambisa, William; Stokes, C. Shannon

2006-01-01

The AIDS epidemic was initially thought to be primarily an urban phenomenon. However, migration between rural and urban areas has resulted in the spread of the virus to all segments of the population. Prevention efforts continue to focus on the ABCs of AIDS, namely, abstinence among young adults, being faithful within a monogamous relationship,…

Biopedagogies and Indigenous Knowledge: Examining Sport for Development and Peace for Urban Indigenous Young Women in Canada and Australia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hayhurst, Lyndsay M. C.; Giles, Audrey R.; Wright, Jan

2016-01-01

This paper uses transnational postcolonial feminist participatory action research (TPFPAR) to examine two sport for development and peace (SDP) initiatives that focus on Indigenous young women residing in urban areas, one in Vancouver, Canada, and one in Perth, Australia. We examine how SDP programs that target urban Indigenous young women and…

Urban streams across the USA: Lessons learned from studies in 9 metropolitan areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, L.R.; Cuffney, T.F.; Coles, J.F.; Fitzpatrick, F.; McMahon, G.; Steuer, J.; Bell, A.H.; May, J.T.

2009-01-01

Studies of the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems have usually focused on single metropolitan areas. Synthesis of the results of such studies have been useful in developing general conceptual models of the effects of urbanization, but the strength of such generalizations is enhanced by applying consistent study designs and methods to multiple metropolitan areas across large geographic scales. We summarized the results from studies of the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems in 9 metropolitan areas across the US (Boston, Massachusetts; Raleigh, North Carolina; Atlanta, Georgia; Birmingham, Alabama; Milwaukee-Green Bay, Wisconsin; Denver, Colorado; Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Portland, Oregon). These studies were conducted as part of the US Geological Survey's National Water-Quality Assessment Program and were based on a common study design and used standard sample-collection and processing methods to facilitate comparisons among study areas. All studies included evaluations of hydrology, physical habitat, water quality, and biota (algae, macroinvertebrates, fish). Four major conclusions emerged from the studies. First, responses of hydrologic, physical-habitat, water-quality, and biotic variables to urbanization varied among metropolitan areas, except that insecticide inputs consistently increased with urbanization. Second, prior land use, primarily forest and agriculture, appeared to be the most important determinant of the response of biota to urbanization in the areas we studied. Third, little evidence was found for resistance to the effects of urbanization by macroinvertebrate assemblages, even at low levels of urbanization. Fourth, benthic macroinvertebrates have important advantages for assessing the effects of urbanization on stream ecosystems relative to algae and fishes. Overall, our results demonstrate regional differences in the effects of urbanization on stream biota and suggest additional studies to elucidate the causes of these underlying differences. ?? North American Benthological Society.

Beyond imperviousness: A statistical approach to identifying functional differences between development morphologies on variable source area-type response in urbanized watersheds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, T. C.

2016-12-01

Empirical evidence has shown linkages between urbanization, hydrological regime change, and degradation of water quality and aquatic habitat. Percent imperviousness, has long been suggested as the dominant source of these negative changes. However, recent research identifying alternative pathways of runoff production at the watershed scale have called into question percent impervious surface area's primacy in urban runoff production compared to other aspects of urbanization including change in vegetative cover, imported water and water leakages, and the presence of drainage infrastructure. In this research I show how a robust statistical methodology can detect evidence of variable source area (VSA)-type hydrologic response associated with incremental hydraulic connectivity in watersheds. I then use logistic regression to explore how evidence of VSA-type response relates to the physical and meterological characteristics of the watershed. I find that impervious surface area is highly correlated with development, but does not add significant explanatory power beyond percent developed in predicting VSA-type response. Other aspects of development morphology, including percent developed open space and type of drainage infrastructure also do not add to the explanatory power of undeveloped land in predicting VSA-type response. Within only developed areas, the effect of developed open space was found to be more similar to that of total impervious area than to undeveloped land. These findings were consistent when tested across a national cross-section of urbanized watersheds, a higher resolution dataset of Baltimore Metropolitan Area watersheds, and a subsample of watersheds confirmed not to be served by combined sewer systems. These findings suggest that land development policies that focus on lot coverage should be revisited, and more focus should be placed on preserving native vegetation and soil conditions alongside development.

Friend or Foe? Urbanization and the Biosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, A.

2008-12-01

The environmental influence of urban areas is still often assumed to be negligible at global scales. Although local environmental conditions such as the urban heat island effect are well-documented, surprisingly little work has focused on cross-scale interactions, or the ways in which local urban processes cumulatively impact global changes. Given the rapid rates of rural-urban migration, economic development and urban spatial expansion, improved systems for measuring, monitoring and modeling the global environmental impacts of cities should receive far greater scientific attention. This presentation will summarize urban environmental issues and impacts at local, regional and global scales and introduce the fundamental concepts and tools needed to measure and respond to these problems. Newly available datasets for the distribution and intensity of urban land use will be introduced, demonstrating the importance of clearly defining 'urbanized' land for empirical studies at the global scale. The negative environmental impacts of urban development will be compared with the often over-looked "positives" of urban growth from a global environmental perspective. Progress in understanding and forecasting the global impacts of urban areas will require systematic global urban research designs that treat cities as urban systems, anthropogenic biomes and urban ecoregions. The challenges and opportunities of global environmental research on urban areas have important implications not only for current research but also for educating the next generation of earth system scientists.

Near surface geophysics techniques and geomorphological approach to reconstruct the hazard cave map in historical and urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzari, M.; Loperte, A.; Perrone, A.

2010-03-01

This work, carried out with an integrated methodological approach, focuses on the use of near surface geophysics techniques, such as ground penetrating radar and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), and geomorphological analysis, in order to reconstruct the cave distribution and geometry in a urban context and, in particular, in historical centres. The interaction during recent centuries between human activity (caves excavation, birth and growth of an urban area) and the characters of the natural environment were the reasons of a progressive increase in hazard and vulnerability levels of several sites. The reconstruction of a detailed cave map distribution is the first step to define the anthropic and geomorphological hazard in urban areas, fundamental basis for planning and assessing the risk.

Estimation of urban-enhanced infiltration and groundwater recharge, Sierra Vista subbasin, southeast Arizona USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, Anne M.

This dissertation reports on the methods and results of a three-phased investigation to estimate the annual volume of ephemeral-channel-focused groundwater recharge attributable to urbanization (urban-enhanced groundwater recharge) in the Sierra Vista subwatershed of southeastern Arizona, USA. Results were used to assess a prior estimate. The first research phase focused on establishment of a study area, installation of a distributed network of runoff gages, gaging for stage, and transforming 2008 stage data into time series of volumetric discharge, using the continuous slope-area method. Stage data were collected for water years 2008 - 2011. The second research phase used 2008 distributed runoff data with NWS DOPPLER RADAR data to optimize a rainfall-runoff computational model, with the aim of identifying optimal site-specific distributed hydraulic conductivity values and model-predicted infiltration. The third research phase used the period-of-record runoff stage data to identify study-area ephemeral flow characteristics and to estimate channel-bed infiltration of flow events. Design-storm modeling was used to identify study-area predevelopment ephemeral flow characteristics, given the same storm event. The difference between infiltration volumes calculated for the two cases was attributed to urbanization. Estimated evapotranspiration was abstracted and the final result was equated with study-area-scale urban-enhanced groundwater recharge. These results were scaled up to the Sierra Vista subwatershed: the urban-enhanced contribution to groundwater recharge is estimated to range between 3270 and 3635 cubic decameters (between 2650 and 2945 acre-feet) per year for the period of study. Evapotranspirational losses were developed from estimates made elsewhere in the subwatershed. This, and other sources of uncertainty in the estimates, are discussed and quantified if possible.

Using GIS and Teledetection data to assess mobility and land consumption in polynucleated landscapes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marmolejo Duarte, Carlos; Tornés Fernández, Moira

2014-03-01

Polycentrism has become the keystone in a major number of regional and urban policies, since it has been seen as a sustainable and equilibrated urban model. In this paper, the problem has been focused in case study the biggest metropolitan areas in Spain and pretends test whether polycentric urban growth does effectively reduce land consumption and travel-to-work journeys, protecting in this way agricultural and forest areas around cities and at the same time reducing energy and air emissions produced by cars. The methodology used has been departed from land-use, transport and census data, and using ArcGIS and TransCAD a group of spatial indicators is calculated and introduced in a family of regression models, where explained variables are per capita land consumption and excess commuting respectively. The results suggest that polynucleation has little effect both in the reduction of land consumption and excess commuting. On the contrary, other variables associated to urban form do highly influence land and mobility patterns, such as fragmentation of urban fabrics, job ratio balance, and the diversity of economic activities and housing offer. Such conclusions may shed light in the design of urban policies, and focus the attention on the definition of small-scale urban variables instead of structural ones at metropolitan scale.

OPTIMIZATION OF DECENTRALIZED BMP CONTROLS IN URBAN AREAS

EPA Science Inventory

This paper will present an overview of a recently completed project for the US EPA entitled, Optimization of Urban Wet-weather Flow Control Systems. The focus of this effort is on techniques that are suitable for evaluating decentralized BMP controls. The four major components ...

OPTIMIZATION OF DECENTRALIZED BMP CONTROLS IN URBAN AREAS

EPA Science Inventory

This paper will present an overview of a recently completed project for the US EPA entitled Optimization of Urban Wet-weather Flow Control Systems. The focus of this effort is on techniques that are suitable for evaluating decentralized BMP controls. The four major components o...

Strategies for coping with the costs of inpatient care: a mixed methods study of urban and rural poor in Vadodara District, Gujarat, India.

PubMed

Ranson, Michael Kent; Jayaswal, Rupal; Mills, Anne J

2012-07-01

In India, coping mechanisms for inpatient care costs have been explored in rural areas, but seldom among urbanites. This study aims to explore and compare mechanisms employed by the urban and rural poor for coping with inpatient expenditures, in order to help identify formal mechanisms and policies to provide improved social protection for health care. A three-step methodology was used: (1) six focus-group discussions; (2) 800 exit survey interviews with users of public and private facilities in both urban and rural areas; and (3) 18 in-depth interviews with poor (below 30th percentile of socio-economic status) hospital users, to explore coping mechanisms in greater depth. Users of public hospitals, in both urban and rural areas, were poor relative to users of private hospitals. Median expenditures per day were much higher at private than at public facilities. Most respondents using public facilities (in both urban and rural areas) were able to pay out of their savings or income; or by borrowing from friends, family or employer. Those using private facilities were more likely to report selling land or other assets as the primary source of coping (particularly in rural areas) and they were more likely to have to borrow money at interest (particularly in urban areas). Poor individuals who used private facilities cited as reasons their closer proximity and higher perceived quality of care. In India, national and state governments should invest in improving the quality and access of public first-referral hospitals. This should be done selectively-with a focus, for example, on rural areas and urban slum areas-in order to promote a more equitable distribution of resources. Policy makers should continue to explore and support efforts to provide financial protection through insurance mechanisms. Past experience suggests that these efforts must be carefully monitored to ensure that the poorer among the insured are able to access scheme benefits, and the quality and quantity of health care provided must be monitored and regulated.

The Care of Corporal Punishment: Conceptions of Early Childhood Discipline Strategies among Parents and Grandparents in a Poor and Urban Area in Tanzania

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frankenberg, Sofia Johnson; Holmqvist, Rolf; Rubenson, Birgitta

2010-01-01

This study investigates conceptions of early childhood discipline strategies discussed in focus groups with parents and grandparents in a poor urban area in Tanzania. A grounded theory analysis suggested a model that included four discipline strategies related to corporal punishment: to beat with care, to treat like an egg, as if beating a snake…

Evaluation of urban surface parameterizations in the WRF model using measurements during the Texas Air Quality Study 2006 field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, S.-H.; Kim, S.-W.; Angevine, W. M.; Bianco, L.; McKeen, S. A.; Senff, C. J.; Trainer, M.; Tucker, S. C.; Zamora, R. J.

2010-10-01

The impact of urban surface parameterizations in the WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting) model on the simulation of local meteorological fields is investigated. The Noah land surface model (LSM), a modified LSM, and a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM) have been compared, focusing on urban patches. The model simulations were performed for 6 days from 12 August to 17 August during the Texas Air Quality Study 2006 field campaign. Analysis was focused on the Houston-Galveston metropolitan area. The model simulated temperature, wind, and atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) height were compared with observations from surface meteorological stations (Continuous Ambient Monitoring Stations, CAMS), wind profilers, the NOAA Twin Otter aircraft, and the NOAA Research Vessel Ronald H. Brown. The UCM simulation showed better results in the comparison of ABL height and surface temperature than the LSM simulations, whereas the original LSM overestimated both the surface temperature and ABL height significantly in urban areas. The modified LSM, which activates hydrological processes associated with urban vegetation mainly through transpiration, slightly reduced warm and high biases in surface temperature and ABL height. A comparison of surface energy balance fluxes in an urban area indicated the UCM reproduces a realistic partitioning of sensible heat and latent heat fluxes, consequently improving the simulation of urban boundary layer. However, the LSMs have a higher Bowen ratio than the observation due to significant suppression of latent heat flux. The comparison results suggest that the subgrid heterogeneity by urban vegetation and urban morphological characteristics should be taken into account along with the associated physical parameterizations for accurate simulation of urban boundary layer if the region of interest has a large fraction of vegetation within the urban patch. Model showed significant discrepancies in the specific meteorological conditions when nocturnal low-level jets exist and a thermal internal boundary layer over water forms.

HIV/AIDS-related sexual risk behaviors among rural residents in China: potential role of rural-to-urban migration

PubMed Central

Li, Xiaoming; Zhang, Liying; Stanton, Bonita; Fang, Xiaoyi; Xiong, Qing; Lin, Danhua

2007-01-01

The relationship between rural-to-urban migration and the spread of HIV is well described, although most studies focus on sexual risk behaviors among rural-to-urban migrants at the urban destination areas. Few studies have examined the sexual risk behaviors of migrants who have returned from urban areas to their rural homes (“return migrants”) in comparison with those of local rural residents who have never migrated to cities (“non-migrants”). This study examines the potential association between rural-to-urban migration and sexual risk behaviors by comparing sexual risk behaviors between 553 return migrants and 441 non-migrants from same rural communities in China. Findings reveal that, after controlling for sociodemographic characteristics, return migrants in rural areas had higher levels of sexual risk, including unprotected sex, than non-migrants. Among return migrants, sexual risk behaviors were associated with age, gender, marital status, and number of different jobs they had previously held in the cities. These findings underscore the importance for HIV/AIDS education and prevention efforts targeting the migrant population in urban destinations as well as the return migrant population in rural areas. PMID:17967110

COLLABORATIVE HYDROLOGIC RESEARCH IN THE CLARKSBURG SPECIAL PROTECTION AREA

EPA Science Inventory

This research project is focused on the Clarksburg Special Protection Area (CSPA) in Montgomery County, Maryland. The CSPA subwatersheds are on the outer edge of the urban development shockwave expanding outward from the Washington DC metropolitan area. This is an area of rapid d...

Urban ecological systems: scientific foundations and a decade of progress.

PubMed

Pickett, S T A; Cadenasso, M L; Grove, J M; Boone, Christopher G; Groffman, Peter M; Irwin, Elena; Kaushal, Sujay S; Marshall, Victoria; McGrath, Brian P; Nilon, C H; Pouyat, R V; Szlavecz, Katalin; Troy, Austin; Warren, Paige

2011-03-01

Urban ecological studies, including focus on cities, suburbs, and exurbs, while having deep roots in the early to mid 20th century, have burgeoned in the last several decades. We use the state factor approach to highlight the role of important aspects of climate, substrate, organisms, relief, and time in differentiating urban from non-urban areas, and for determining heterogeneity within spatially extensive metropolitan areas. In addition to reviewing key findings relevant to each state factor, we note the emergence of tentative "urban syndromes" concerning soils, streams, wildlife and plants, and homogenization of certain ecosystem functions, such as soil organic carbon dynamics. We note the utility of the ecosystem approach, the human ecosystem framework, and watersheds as integrative tools to tie information about multiple state factors together. The organismal component of urban complexes includes the social organization of the human population, and we review key modes by which human populations within urban areas are differentiated, and how such differentiation affects environmentally relevant actions. Emerging syntheses in land change science and ecological urban design are also summarized. The multifaceted frameworks and the growing urban knowledge base do however identify some pressing research needs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

An evaluation of landscape features influecing rodent control by urban residents in California

EPA Science Inventory

As urban areas expand, humans can affect local ecological communities drastically. Perception of local wildlife as “pests” may result in residents purposefully eliminating native wildlife species (e.g., gopher). Animal control efforts also may focus on exotic species that are r...

The Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast: A NOAA RISA Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenzweig, C.

2011-12-01

The Consortium for Climate Risk in the Urban Northeast, or CCRUN, was funded in October 2010 under NOAA's Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (RISA) program to serve stakeholder needs in assessing and managing risks from climate variability and change. It is currently also the only RISA team with a principal focus on climate change adaptation in urban settings. While CCRUN's initial focus is on the major cities of the urban Northeast corridor (Philadelphia, New York and Boston), its work will ultimately expand to cover small and medium-sized cities in the relevant portions of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania as well, so that local needs for targeted climate-risk information can be served in a coordinated way. CCRUN is designed to address the complex challenges that are associated with densely populated, highly interconnected urban areas, including such as urban heat island effects; poor air quality; intense coastal development, and multifunctional settlement along inland waterways; complex overlapping institutional jurisdictions; integrated infrastructure systems; and highly diverse, and in some cases, fragile socio-economic communities. These challenges can best be addressed by the stakeholder-driven interdisciplinary approach taken by the CCRUN RISA team. As an important added benefit, the research accomplishments and lessons learned through stakeholder engagement will provide a foundation for managing climate risks in other urban areas in the United States. CCRUN's initial projects are focused in three broad sectors: Water, Coasts, and Health. Research in each of these sectors is linked through the cross-cutting themes of climate change and community vulnerability, the latter of which is especially important in considerations of environmental justice and equity. CCRUN's stakeholder-driven approach to research can therefore support investigations of the impacts of a changing climate, population growth, and urban and economic policies on the social, racial and ethnic dimensions of livelihoods and of communities in the urban Northeast corridor. Disadvantaged socio-economic groups have been particularly underserved in the area of climate change, and one of CCRUN's long-term goals is the building of adaptive capacity among such groups to current and future climate extremes.

View from the center: Supercities conference

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knox, J. B.

The Supercities Conference (26-30 October 1992) was the initial activity planned and executed by the Pacific Basin Study Center (PBSC), a research center founded by San Francisco State University and the University of California, Davis. The Conference focused on issues of environmental quality and the quest for sustainable development in the great urban centers—Supercities—of the Pacific. The Conference, with its working group process, highlighted the long-term commitment of the PBSC to education, training, and research in regard to environmental, energy, and resource utilization issues that challenge society now and the coming century. We define a "Supercity" as a large metropolitan area of about eight million population currently undergoing rapid growth in population and urbanization. Some of the cities considered at the conference are emerging "Supercities"—large urban complexes destined to soon be "Supercities". Supercities in both the developing and developed nations are at critical stages of development, with the size and number of Supercities appearing to be unstoppable. These urban centers and their surrounding areas are large users of resources and energy. In many cases, the national demand for energy and materials will be largely patterned by the strategies, management, and actions taken within the Supercities. It is for this reason that our focus is on these dynamic, urban entities of the Pacific. Appropriate technology transfer, sharing of common concerns and knowledge, and the seeking of workable conservation and remediation efforts within Supercities could improve living conditions within these centers, and address regional and global environmental issues in parallel. The Conference focused on urban air quality conditions in 14 metropolitan areas, common health impacts, and projected emissions; a working group process defined needed areas for research and development of key information. Through the medium of panels, the progress of several major cities in addressing urban air quality issues was reported, as well as the rationale for the documented successes of environmental improvement. The Conference played a key role in the definition of the early research directions of the PBSC, and in the establishment of a Pacific Basin network of researchers and planners committed to the pursuit of sustainable development.

Space-based monitoring of land-use/land-cover in the Upper Rio Grande Basin: An opportunity for understanding urbanization trends in a water-scarce transboundary river basin.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mubako, S. T.; Hargrove, W. L.; Heyman, J. M.; Reyes, C. S.

2016-12-01

Urbanization is an area of growing interest in assessing the impact of human activities on water resources in arid regions. Remote sensing techniques provide an opportunity to analyze land cover change over time, and are useful in monitoring areas undergoing rapid urban growth. This case study for the water-scarce Upper Rio Grande River Basin uses a supervised classification algorithm to quantify the rate and evaluate the pattern of urban sprawl. A focus is made on the fast growing El-Paso-Juarez metropolitan area on the US-Mexico border and the City of Las Cruces in New Mexico, areas where environmental challenges and loss of agricultural and native land to urban development are major concerns. Preliminary results show that the land cover is dominantly native with some significant agriculture along the Rio Grande River valley. Urban development across the whole study area expanded from just under 3 percent in 1990, to more than 11 percent in 2015. The urban expansion is occurring mainly around the major urban areas of El Paso, Ciudad Juarez, and Las Cruces, although there is visible growth of smaller urban settlements scattered along the Rio Grande River valley during the same analysis period. The proportion of native land cover fluctuates slightly depending on how much land is under crops each analysis year, but there is a decreasing agricultural land cover trend suggesting that land from this sector is being lost to urban development. This analysis can be useful in planning to protect the environment, preparing for growth in infrastructure such as schools, increased traffic demands, and monitoring availability of resources such as groundwater as the urban population grows.

The business cycle and mortality: Urban versus rural counties.

PubMed

Sameem, Sediq; Sylwester, Kevin

2017-02-01

Many studies have found that mortality declines during recessions, but do such results remain consistent in both urban and rural settings? To help uncover explanations for such a pro-cyclical nature of mortality, the present study revisits this topic but allows for associations between unemployment and mortality to differ between urban and rural areas. Using a total of 66 863 observations across 3066 counties of the U.S. from 1990 to 2013, we allow the coefficient on unemployment to differ between urban and rural counties. With an exception of deaths due to external accidents being pro-cyclical in rural settings, we find that the negative association between unemployment and mortality more generally holds for urban areas, particularly for females and the elderly. Moreover, we find death due to circulatory disease or influenza/pneumonia to be especially more prevalent in urban areas. Given that the negative associations between unemployment and mortality are generally stronger in cities, views attempting to explain pro-cyclical mortality should focus on characteristics in urban settings. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Agricultural implications of providing soil-based constraints on urban expansion: Land use forecasts to 2050.

PubMed

Smidt, Samuel J; Tayyebi, Amin; Kendall, Anthony D; Pijanowski, Bryan C; Hyndman, David W

2018-07-01

Urbanization onto adjacent farmlands directly reduces the agricultural area available to meet the resource needs of a growing society. Soil conservation is a common objective in urban planning, but little focus has been placed on targeting soil value as a metric for conservation. This study assigns commodity and water storage values to the agricultural soils across all of the watersheds in Michigan's Lower Peninsula to evaluate how cities might respond to a soil conservation-based urbanization strategy. Land Transformation Model (LTM) simulations representing both traditional and soil conservation-based urbanization, are used to forecast urban area growth from 2010 to 2050 at five year intervals. The expansion of urban areas onto adjacent farmland is then evaluated to quantify the conservation effects of soil-based development. Results indicate that a soil-based protection strategy significantly conserves total farmland, especially more fertile soils within each soil type. In terms of revenue, ∼$88 million (in current dollars) would be conserved in 2050 using soil-based constraints, with the projected savings from 2011 to 2050 totaling more than $1.5 billion. Soil-based urbanization also increased urban density for each major metropolitan area. For example, there were 94,640 more acres directly adjacent to urban land by 2050 under traditional development compared to the soil-based urbanization strategy, indicating that urban sprawl was more tightly contained when including soil value as a metric to guide development. This study indicates that implementing a soil-based urbanization strategy would better satisfy future agricultural resource needs than traditional urban planning. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Mining the Urban Sprawl Pattern: A Case Study on Sunan, China.

PubMed

Ma, Ronghua; Gu, Chaolin; Pu, Yingxia; Ma, Xiaodong

2008-10-14

China's urbanization is going into a fast development stage. This paper focuses on the recent evolution of an urbanized area - Sunan, the southern part of Jiangsu province in the Yangtze River Delta in China - by means of complementary approaches, especially different fractal and autocorrelation measures. The research shows that Sunan's urban clusters are becoming more and more homogenous and compact and are growing up along the important transportation axes. The enriching discussion of the findings establishes the links between the morphology of urban sprawl and recent socio-economic changes in China.

Strategies for coping with the costs of inpatient care: a mixed methods study of urban and rural poor in Vadodara District, Gujarat, India

PubMed Central

Ranson, Michael Kent; Jayaswal, Rupal; Mills, Anne J

2012-01-01

Background In India, coping mechanisms for inpatient care costs have been explored in rural areas, but seldom among urbanites. This study aims to explore and compare mechanisms employed by the urban and rural poor for coping with inpatient expenditures, in order to help identify formal mechanisms and policies to provide improved social protection for health care. Methods A three-step methodology was used: (1) six focus-group discussions; (2) 800 exit survey interviews with users of public and private facilities in both urban and rural areas; and (3) 18 in-depth interviews with poor (below 30th percentile of socio-economic status) hospital users, to explore coping mechanisms in greater depth. Results Users of public hospitals, in both urban and rural areas, were poor relative to users of private hospitals. Median expenditures per day were much higher at private than at public facilities. Most respondents using public facilities (in both urban and rural areas) were able to pay out of their savings or income; or by borrowing from friends, family or employer. Those using private facilities were more likely to report selling land or other assets as the primary source of coping (particularly in rural areas) and they were more likely to have to borrow money at interest (particularly in urban areas). Poor individuals who used private facilities cited as reasons their closer proximity and higher perceived quality of care. Conclusions In India, national and state governments should invest in improving the quality and access of public first-referral hospitals. This should be done selectively—with a focus, for example, on rural areas and urban slum areas—in order to promote a more equitable distribution of resources. Policy makers should continue to explore and support efforts to provide financial protection through insurance mechanisms. Past experience suggests that these efforts must be carefully monitored to ensure that the poorer among the insured are able to access scheme benefits, and the quality and quantity of health care provided must be monitored and regulated. PMID:21653545

[Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in urban and rural communities in the Wilaya of Tlemcen (Algeria): A comparative study].

PubMed

Boukli Hacène, L; Khelil, M-A; Chabane Sari, D; Meguenni, K; Meziane Tani, A

2017-08-01

In Algeria, few studies have been conducted to determine the prevalence of genetic and environmental risk factors of cardiovascular diseases as a function of residence. The objective of this study was therefore to determine the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors according to sex and age in urban and rural communities in the Wilaya of Tlemcen (Algeria). A population survey was conducted on a representative sample of 864 individuals aged 20years and over, among inhabitants in urban and rural communes in the Wilaya of Tlemcen. Each subject answered the questionnaire on cardiovascular risk factors, underwent a physical examination and had a blood sample drawn. The prevalence of hypercholesterolemia was 6.6%, it was found to be higher in urban areas (8.4%) than in rural areas (4.6%). The prevalence of low HDL cholesterol levels was higher in urban (28.8%) than rural (23.9%) areas. The prevalence of family history of cardiovascular disease did not differ between the two sexes and between urban (15.7%) and rural (14.0%) areas. The prevalence of hypertension was higher in urban (28.0%) than in rural (16.8%) areas, and was highest among women aged 65 years or older in urban areas (67.3%) and in rural areas (66.6%). The prevalence of diabetes was higher among women living in urban areas (21.4%) compared with rural areas (15.4%). Obesity was much more frequent among women than among men in urban areas (24.7% in women and 9.5% in men) and in rural areas (28.3% in women and 8.3% in men). The prevalence of smoking was 45.8% for men and with no significant variations between urban areas and rural areas. The prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors according to sex and age in the two communes are high in two communes in the Wilaya of Tlemcen. However, the prevalence of hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and diabetes were higher in women in urban than in rural areas. This finding focuses attention on the need for measures to reduce the prevalence of these cardiovascular risk factors in these communities. Factors such as sex age and area of residence are indicators to consider when targeting interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Improved Gradation for Rain Garden of Low Impact Development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, Sandra; Chang, Fu-Ming

2016-04-01

With rapid urban and economic development, living standard improves in urban areas but urban ecological environments deteriorate rapidly. Urban waterlogging and flooding have become a serious problem for urban water security. As urbanization continues, sustainability is the key to balance between urban development and healthy environment. Rain garden is recommended to be one of the best ways to reduce urban pollutants. It not only diminishes runoff flooding but also purify water in the urban area. The studies on rain gardens are mainly about how to incorporate rain garden to purify water quality, but lack of researches on runoff control. This project focuses on rain garden under Low Impact Development using indoor laboratory to test and quantify the water holding capacities of two different Taiwan indigenous rain garden plants, Taiwan Cyclosorus and Sour Grass. The results show that the water holding capacity of Sour Grass (10%-37%) is better than that of Taiwan Cyclosorus (6.8%-17.3%). The results could be a helpful reference for Low Impact Development in urban flood prevention and urban planning. Keywords: Low Impact Development; rain garden; indoor laboratory experiments; water holding capacity; porosity

[Spatial tendency of urban land use in new Yinzhou Town of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province of East China].

PubMed

Jiang, Wen-Wei; Guo, Hui-Hui; Mei, Yan-Xia

2012-03-01

By adopting gradient analysis combining with the analysis of urban land use degree, this paper studied the spatial layout characteristics of residential and industrial lands in new Yinzhou Town, and explored the location characters of various urban land use by selecting public green land, public facilities, and road as the location advantage factors. Gradient analysis could effectively connect with the spatial layout of urban land use, and quantitatively depict the spatial character of urban land use. In the new town, there was a new urban spatial center mostly within the radius of 2 km, namely, the urban core area had obvious location advantage in the cross-shaft direction urban development. On the south of Yinzhou Avenue, the urban hinterland would be constructed soon. In the future land use of the new town, the focus would be the reasonable vicissitude of industrial land after the adjustment of industrial structure, the high-efficient intensive use of the commercial land restricted by the compulsive condition of urban core area, and the agricultural land protection in the southeastern urban-rural fringe.

The NSF-RCN Urban Heat Island Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Snyder, P. K.; Twine, T. E.; Hamilton, P.; Shepherd, M.; Stone, B., Jr.

2016-12-01

In much of the world cities are warming at twice the rate of outlying rural areas. The frequency of urban heat waves is projected to increase with climate change through the 21st century. Addressing the economic, environmental, and human costs of urban heat islands requires a better understanding of their behavior from many disciplinary perspectives. The goal of this four-year Urban Heat Island Network is to (1) bring together scientists studying the causes and impacts of urban warming, (2) advance multidisciplinary understanding of urban heat islands, (3) examine how they can be ameliorated through engineering and design practices, and (4) share these new insights with a wide array of stakeholders responsible for managing urban warming to reduce their health, economic, and environmental impacts. The NSF-RCN Urban Heat Island Network involves atmospheric scientists, engineers, architects, landscape designers, urban planners, public health experts, and education and outreach experts, who will share knowledge, evaluate research directions, and communicate knowledge and research recommendations to the larger research community as well as stakeholders engaged in developing strategies to adapt to and mitigate urban warming. The first Urban Climate Institute was held in Saint Paul, MN in July 2013 and focused on the characteristics of urban heat islands. Scientists engaged with local practitioners to improve communication pathways surrounding issues of understanding, adapting to, and mitigating urban warming. The second Urban Climate Institute was held in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2014 and focused on urban warming and public health. The third Urban Climate Institute was held in Athens, GA in July 2015 and focused on urban warming and the role of the built environment. Scientists and practitioners discussed strategies for mitigation and adaptation. The fourth Institute was held in Saint Paul, MN in July 2016 and focused on putting research to practice. Evaluation experts at the Science Museum of Minnesota have extensively evaluated the Institutes to inform other research coordination networks and to identify effective ways that researchers and practitioners can share knowledge and communicate more effectively.

Modeling climate change, urbanization, and fire effects on Pinus palustris ecosystems of the southeastern U.S.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Costanza, Jennifer; Terando, Adam J.; McKerrow, Alexa; Collazo, Jaime A.

2015-01-01

Managing ecosystems for resilience and sustainability requires understanding how they will respond to future anthropogenic drivers such as climate change and urbanization. In fire-dependent ecosystems, predicting this response requires a focus on how these drivers will impact fire regimes. Here, we use scenarios of climate change, urbanization and management to simulate the future dynamics of the critically endangered and fire-dependent longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystem. We investigated how climate change and urbanization will affect the ecosystem, and whether the two conservation goals of a 135% increase in total longleaf area and a doubling of fire-maintained open-canopy habitat can be achieved in the face of these drivers. Our results show that while climatic warming had little effect on the wildfire regime, and thus on longleaf pine dynamics, urban growth led to an 8% reduction in annual wildfire area. The management scenarios we tested increase the ecosystem's total extent by up to 62% and result in expansion of open-canopy longleaf by as much as 216%, meeting one of the two conservation goals for the ecosystem. We find that both conservation goals for this ecosystem, which is climate-resilient but vulnerable to urbanization, are only attainable if a greater focus is placed on restoration of non-longleaf areas as opposed to maintaining existing longleaf stands. Our approach demonstrates the importance of accounting for multiple relevant anthropogenic threats in an ecosystem-specific context in order to facilitate more effective management actions.

Urban agriculture: a global analysis of the space constraint to meet urban vegetable demand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Martellozzo, F.; Landry, J.-S.; Plouffe, D.; Seufert, V.; Rowhani, P.; Ramankutty, N.

2014-05-01

Urban agriculture (UA) has been drawing a lot of attention recently for several reasons: the majority of the world population has shifted from living in rural to urban areas; the environmental impact of agriculture is a matter of rising concern; and food insecurity, especially the accessibility of food, remains a major challenge. UA has often been proposed as a solution to some of these issues, for example by producing food in places where population density is highest, reducing transportation costs, connecting people directly to food systems and using urban areas efficiently. However, to date no study has examined how much food could actually be produced in urban areas at the global scale. Here we use a simple approach, based on different global-scale datasets, to assess to what extent UA is constrained by the existing amount of urban space. Our results suggest that UA would require roughly one third of the total global urban area to meet the global vegetable consumption of urban dwellers. This estimate does not consider how much urban area may actually be suitable and available for UA, which likely varies substantially around the world and according to the type of UA performed. Further, this global average value masks variations of more than two orders of magnitude among individual countries. The variations in the space required across countries derive mostly from variations in urban population density, and much less from variations in yields or per capita consumption. Overall, the space required is regrettably the highest where UA is most needed, i.e., in more food insecure countries. We also show that smaller urban clusters (i.e., <100 km2 each) together represent about two thirds of the global urban extent; thus UA discourse and policies should not focus on large cities exclusively, but should also target smaller urban areas that offer the greatest potential in terms of physical space.

Rural-urban migration in a developing country: Botswana, Africa.

PubMed

Tarver, J D; Miller, H M

1987-01-01

Trends in internal migration in Botswana are analyzed, with a focus on rural-urban migration. Data are from the 1981 census and from a survey carried out in 1979. The authors note that even though the predominance of subsistence agriculture acts as a deterrent to rural-urban migration, it is probable that the total and percentage of people living in urban areas will increase. However, the magnitude and pattern of future migration will fluctuate over time as social and economic conditions change.

Social problems and health in urbanization.

PubMed

Talib, R; Agus, M R

1992-01-01

One of the main characteristics of urbanization in Asia is the very rapid increase in population movement from rural to urban centers. This phenomenon has led to changing population structure, its composition and lifestyles in the cities and its fringes. As a consequent of population pressure on urban system and infrastructure, compounded by the nature of the composition of the in-migrant population, the urban concentrates are faced with several social and socio-economic problems. Although there has been a lot of interests among researchers to study the causes and effects or urbanization, there is a vacuum in the area of health implications. Planners and administrators usually give priority to the physical aspects of the urban and urbanities. Social problems and health implications thereof receives very little attention either at the level of administration or research. This paper therefore is a brave attempt to focus and draw some attention to this neglected area by looking at selected social problems and the health consequences.

Environmental Consequences of Rapid Urbanization in Zhejiang Province, East China

PubMed Central

Yang, Xuchao; Yue, Wenze; Xu, Honghui; Wu, Jingsheng; He, Yue

2014-01-01

Since reforms carried out in the late 1970s, China has experienced unprecedented rates of urban growth. Remote sensing data and surface observational data are used to investigate the urbanization process and related environmental consequences, focusing on extreme heat events and air pollution, in Zhejiang Province (ZJP, East China). Examination of satellite-measured nighttime light data indicates rapid urbanization in ZJP during the past decade, initially forming three urban clusters. With rapid urban sprawl, a significant Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect has emerged. During extreme heat events in summer, the UHI effect significantly exacerbates nocturnal heat stress in highly urbanized areas. Taking a long-term view, urbanization also causes additional hot days and hot degree days in urban areas. Urbanization also imposes a heavy burden on local and regional air quality in ZJP. Degraded visibility and an increase in haze days are observed at most meteorological stations, especially in the three urban clusters. The results show that urbanization has led to serious environmental problems in ZJP, not only on the city scale, but also on the regional scale. Maintaining a balance between the continuing process of urbanization and environmental sustainability is a major issue facing the local government. PMID:25019266

Environmental consequences of rapid urbanization in zhejiang province, East china.

PubMed

Yang, Xuchao; Yue, Wenze; Xu, Honghui; Wu, Jingsheng; He, Yue

2014-07-11

Since reforms carried out in the late 1970s, China has experienced unprecedented rates of urban growth. Remote sensing data and surface observational data are used to investigate the urbanization process and related environmental consequences, focusing on extreme heat events and air pollution, in Zhejiang Province (ZJP, East China). Examination of satellite-measured nighttime light data indicates rapid urbanization in ZJP during the past decade, initially forming three urban clusters. With rapid urban sprawl, a significant Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect has emerged. During extreme heat events in summer, the UHI effect significantly exacerbates nocturnal heat stress in highly urbanized areas. Taking a long-term view, urbanization also causes additional hot days and hot degree days in urban areas. Urbanization also imposes a heavy burden on local and regional air quality in ZJP. Degraded visibility and an increase in haze days are observed at most meteorological stations, especially in the three urban clusters. The results show that urbanization has led to serious environmental problems in ZJP, not only on the city scale, but also on the regional scale. Maintaining a balance between the continuing process of urbanization and environmental sustainability is a major issue facing the local government.

Dingoes at the Doorstep: Home Range Sizes and Activity Patterns of Dingoes and Other Wild Dogs around Urban Areas of North-Eastern Australia

PubMed Central

McNeill, Alice T.; Leung, Luke K. -P.; Goullet, Mark S.; Gentle, Matthew N.; Allen, Benjamin L.

2016-01-01

Simple summary Conflicts with dingoes and other wild dogs are becoming increasingly common in and around urban areas of Australia. A lack of basic information about wild dog movement ecology hampers efficient planning and allocation of resources to mitigate human–wild dog conflicts. We captured, collared and released 37 wild dogs in urban areas of north-eastern Australia to investigate their movement ecology. In general, wild dogs occupied small fragments of bushland within an urban matrix, were active at all times of the day, and lived within a few hundred meters of houses and humans at all times. We conclude that wild dog management strategies in urban areas should focus on the mitigation of impacts at the individual or group level, and not population-level reductions in numbers. Abstract Top-predators around the world are becoming increasingly intertwined with humans, sometimes causing conflict and increasing safety risks in urban areas. In Australia, dingoes and dingo × domestic dog hybrids are common in many urban areas, and pose a variety of human health and safety risks. However, data on urban dingo ecology is scant. We GPS-collared 37 dingoes in north-eastern Australia and continuously monitored them each 30 min for 11–394 days. Most dingoes were nocturnal, with an overall mean home range size of 17.47 km2. Overall mean daily distance travelled was 6.86 km/day. At all times dingoes were within 1000 m of houses and buildings. Home ranges appeared to be constrained to patches of suitable vegetation fragments within and around human habitation. These data can be used to reallocate dingo management effort towards mitigating actual conflicts between humans and dingoes in urban areas. PMID:27537916

Analysis of the role of urban vegetation in local climate of Budapest using satellite measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pongracz, Rita; Bartholy, Judit; Dezso, Zsuzsanna; Fricke, Cathy

2016-08-01

Urban areas significantly modify the natural environment due to the concentrated presence of humans and the associated anthropogenic activities. In order to assess this effect, it is essential to evaluate the relationship between urban and vegetated surface covers. In our study we focused on the Hungarian capital, Budapest, in which about 1.7 million inhabitants are living nowadays. The entire city is divided by the river Danube into the hilly, greener Buda side on the west, and the flat, more densely built-up Pest side on the east. Most of the extended urban vegetation, i.e., forests are located in the western Buda side. The effects of the past changing of these green areas are analyzed using surface temperature data calculated from satellite measurements in the infrared channels, and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) derived from visible and near-infrared satellite measurements. For this purpose, data available from sensor MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) of NASA satellites (i.e., Terra and Aqua) are used. First, the climatological effects of forests on the urban heat island intensity are evaluated. Then, we also aim to evaluate the relationship of surface temperature and NDVI in this urban environment with special focus on vegetation-related sections of the city where the vegetation cover either increased or decreased remarkably.

Satellite-Based Tropospheric NO2 Column Trends in the Last 10 Years Over Mexican Urban Areas Measured by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rivera, C. I.; Stremme, W.; Grutter, M.

2015-12-01

Population density and economic activities in urban agglomerations have drastically increased in many cities in Mexico during the last decade. Several factors are responsible for increased urbanization such as a shift of people from rural to urban areas while looking for better education, services and job opportunities as well as the natural growth of the urban areas themselves. Urbanization can create great social, economic and environmental pressures and changes which can easily be observed in most urban agglomerations in the world. In this study, we have focused on analyzing tropospheric NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) column trends over Mexican urban areas that have a population of at least one million inhabitants according to the latest 2010 population census. Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (DOAS) measurements of NO2 conducted by the space-borne Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) on board the Aura satellite between 2005 and 2014 have been used for this analysis. This dataset has allowed us to obtain a satellite-based 10-year tropospheric NO2 column trend over the most populated Mexican cities which include the dominating metropolitan area of Mexico City with more than twenty million inhabitants as well as ten other Mexican cities with a population ranging between one to five million inhabitants with a wide range of activities (commercial, agricultural or heavily industrialized) as well as two important border crossings. Distribution maps of tropospheric NO2 columns above the studied urban agglomerations were reconstructed from the analyzed OMI dataset, allowing to identify areas of interest due to clear NO2 enhancements inside these urban regions.

A research agenda for a people-centred approach to energy access in the urbanizing global south

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Broto, Vanesa Castán; Stevens, Lucy; Ackom, Emmanuel; Tomei, Julia; Parikh, Priti; Bisaga, Iwona; To, Long Seng; Kirshner, Joshua; Mulugetta, Yacob

2017-10-01

Energy access is typically viewed as a problem for rural areas, but people living in urban settings also face energy challenges that have not received sufficient attention. A revised agenda in research and practice that puts the user and local planning complexities centre stage is needed to change the way we look at energy access in urban areas, to understand the implications of the concentration of vulnerable people in slums and to identify opportunities for planned management and innovation that can deliver urban energy transitions while leaving no one behind. Here, we propose a research agenda focused on three key issues: understanding the needs of urban energy users; enabling the use of context-specific, disaggregated data; and engaging with effective modes of energy and urban governance. This agenda requires interdisciplinary scholarship across the social and physical sciences to support local action and deliver large-scale, inclusive transformations.

Urbanisation and health in China

PubMed Central

Gong, Peng; Liang, Song; Carlton, Elizabeth J; Jiang, Qingwu; Wu, Jianyong; Wang, Lei; Remais, Justin V

2013-01-01

China has seen the largest human migration in history, and the country's rapid urbanisation has important consequences for public health. A provincial analysis of its urbanisation trends shows shifting and accelerating rural-to-urban migration across the country and accompanying rapid increases in city size and population. The growing disease burden in urban areas attributable to nutrition and lifestyle choices is a major public health challenge, as are troubling disparities in health-care access, vaccination coverage, and accidents and injuries in China's rural-to-urban migrant population. Urban environmental quality, including air and water pollution, contributes to disease both in urban and in rural areas, and traffic-related accidents pose a major public health threat as the country becomes increasingly motorised. To address the health challenges and maximise the benefits that accompany this rapid urbanisation, innovative health policies focused on the needs of migrants and research that could close knowledge gaps on urban population exposures are needed. PMID:22386037

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

PubMed

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

2018-09-01

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

Mapping Global Urban Extent and Intensity for Environmental Monitoring and Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schneider, A.; Friedl, M. A.

2007-05-01

The human dimensions of global environmental change have received increased attention in policy, decision- making, research, and even the media. However, the influence of urban areas in global change processes is still often assumed to be negligible. Although local environmental conditions such as the urban heat island effect are well-documented, little or no work has focused on cross-scale interactions, or the ways in which local urban processes cumulatively impact global changes. Given the rapid rates of rural-urban migration, economic development and urban spatial expansion, it is becoming increasingly clear that the `ecological footprint' of cities may play a critical role in environmental changes at regional and global scales. Our understanding of the cumulative impacts of urban areas on natural systems has been limited foremost by a lack of reliable, accurate data on current urban form and extent at the global scale. The data sets that have emerged to fill this gap (LandScan, GRUMP, nighttime lights) suffer from a number of limitations that prevent widespread use. Building on our early efforts with MODIS data, our current work focuses on: (1) completing a new, validated map of global urban extent; and (2) developing methods to estimate the subpixel fraction of impervious surface, vegetation, and other land cover types within urbanized areas using coarse resolution satellite imagery. For the first task, a technique called boosting is used to improve classification accuracy and provides a means to integrate 500 m resolution MODIS data with ancillary data sources. For the second task, we present an approach for estimating percent cover that relies on continuous training data for a full range of city types. These exemplars are used as inputs to fuzzy neural network and regression tree algorithms to predict fractional amounts of land cover types with increased accuracy. Preliminary results for a global sample of 100 cities (which vary in population size, level of economic development, and spatial extent) show good agreement with the expected morphology in each region.

Increased atmospheric deposition of mercury in reference lakes near major urban areas

USGS Publications Warehouse

Van Metre, P.C.

2012-01-01

Atmospheric deposition of Hg is the predominant pathway for Hg to reach sensitive ecosystems, but the importance of emissions on near-field deposition remains unclear. To better understand spatial variability in Hg deposition, mercury concentrations were analyzed in sediment cores from 12 lakes with undeveloped watersheds near to (<50 km) and remote from (>150 km) several major urban areas in the United States. Background and focusing corrected Hg fluxes and flux ratios (modern to background) in the near-urban lakes (68 ?? 6.9 ??g m -2 yr -1 and 9.8 ?? 4.8, respectively) greatly exceed those in the remote lakes (14 ?? 9.3 ??g m -2 yr -1 and 3.5 ?? 1.0) and the fluxes are strongly related to distance from the nearest major urban area (r 2 = 0.87) and to population and Hg emissions within 50-100 km of the lakes. Comparison to monitored wet deposition suggests that dry deposition is a major contributor of Hg to lakes near major urban areas. ?? 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Photochemistry in the Atmospheres of Denver and Mexico City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cantrell, C. A.

2016-12-01

The composition of atmospheres in and downwind of urban centers has been the subject of study for decades. While early campaigns involved measurements exclusively from the ground, more recent studies have included airborne-based observations. Improved understanding has hinged critically on the development of instrumentation for better qualitifcation of pollutants, and measurement of previously unobserved species in the gas and particulate phases. Comprehensive, well-planned studies have, over time, led to more detailed understanding of chemical transformations and thus improved model representations and directions for further research. This presentation focuses on findings from two case studies of urban atmospheres, namely the MILAGRO study in the Mexico City metropolitan area and the FRAPPE study in the Denver metropolitan region. Both studies made use of extensive ground-based networks and multiple aircraft platforms. The data collected during these studies have been combined with numerical models to derive assessments of the evolution of atmospheric composition due to photochemistry, mixing, and surface processes. Here, analysis of MILAGRO data focuses on the evolution of outflow downwind of the urban region. In FRAPPE, the focus is the possible role of oil and gas exploration on urban air quality. These findings are used to assess the accuracy of current numerical models to reproduce observations, and to point toward areas possibly needing further study.

Inequalities in child immunization coverage in Ghana: evidence from a decomposition analysis.

PubMed

Asuman, Derek; Ackah, Charles Godfred; Enemark, Ulrika

2018-04-11

Childhood vaccination has been promoted as a global intervention aimed at improving child survival and health, through the reduction of vaccine preventable deaths. However, there exist significant inequalities in achieving universal coverage of child vaccination among and within countries. In this paper, we examine rural-urban inequalities in child immunizations in Ghana. Using data from the recent two waves of the Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, we examine the probability that a child between 12 and 59 months receives the required vaccinations and proceed to decompose the sources of inequalities in the probability of full immunization between rural and urban areas. We find significant child-specific, maternal and household characteristics on a child's immunization status. The results show that children in rural areas are more likely to complete the required vaccinations. The direction and sources of inequalities in child immunizations have changed between the two survey waves. We find a pro-urban advantage in 2008 arising from differences in observed characteristics whilst a pro-rural advantage emerges in 2014 dominated by the differences in coefficients. Health system development and campaign efforts have focused on rural areas. There is a need to also specifically target vulnerable children in urban areas, to maintain focus on women empowerment and pay attention to children from high socio-economic households in less favourable economic times.

Biodiversity in cities needs space: a meta-analysis of factors determining intra-urban biodiversity variation.

PubMed

Beninde, Joscha; Veith, Michael; Hochkirch, Axel

2015-06-01

Understanding varying levels of biodiversity within cities is pivotal to protect it in the face of global urbanisation. In the early stages of urban ecology studies on intra-urban biodiversity focused on the urban-rural gradient, representing a broad generalisation of features of the urban landscape. Increasingly, studies classify the urban landscape in more detail, quantifying separately the effects of individual urban features on biodiversity levels. However, while separate factors influencing biodiversity variation among cities worldwide have recently been analysed, a global analysis on the factors influencing biodiversity levels within cities is still lacking. We here present the first meta-analysis on intra-urban biodiversity variation across a large variety of taxonomic groups of 75 cities worldwide. Our results show that patch area and corridors have the strongest positive effects on biodiversity, complemented by vegetation structure. Local, biotic and management habitat variables were significantly more important than landscape, abiotic or design variables. Large sites greater than 50 ha are necessary to prevent a rapid loss of area-sensitive species. This indicates that, despite positive impacts of biodiversity-friendly management, increasing the area of habitat patches and creating a network of corridors is the most important strategy to maintain high levels of urban biodiversity. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

The impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions in China: an empirical study using 1980-2014 provincial data.

PubMed

Wang, Shijin; Li, Cunfang

2018-01-01

Towns and cities are not only the focus of attention for their consumption of energy and resources; they are also scrutinized closely for their emissions of greenhouse gases. China's urbanization level now exceeds 50%, but there is still much disparity compared with the level of urbanization in developed countries. This study selects China's urban population and carbon emissions data for the years 1980-2014 and discusses the timing and cause effect of urbanization and the corresponding carbon emissions using the Granger causality test and an error correction model (ECM) then uses STIRPAT models to extract six indicators to measure the quality of urbanization, namely, the level of urbanization, area of built-up regions, added value of tertiary industries, disposable income per capita, green areas per capita, and energy intensity. These six indicators represent population agglomeration, the expansion of urban areas, industrial agglomeration, quality of life improvements, ecological conservation, and technological improvements, respectively. The study divides 29 provinces in China into three groups based on the quality of urbanization and analyzes the impacts of the six indicators of urbanization quality on carbon emissions. The findings show that the impacts of different factors on carbon emissions vary substantially among the provinces. Finally, the study uses the findings to give suggestions on how to develop low-carbon urbanization.

The southern megalopolis: using the past to predict the future of urban sprawl in the Southeast U.S.

USGS Publications Warehouse

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.

The Southern Megalopolis: Using the Past to Predict the Future of Urban Sprawl in the Southeast U.S

PubMed Central

Terando, Adam J.; Costanza, Jennifer; Belyea, Curtis; Dunn, Robert R.; McKerrow, Alexa; Collazo, Jaime A.

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. PMID:25054329

On Models of Racial Prejudice and Urban Residential Structure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Courant, Paul N.; Yinger, John

Economists have studied the effects of racial prejudice on urban residential structure using a set of models that focus on conditions at the border between the black and white areas. This paper reviews the theoretical literature on these border models and investigates their generality. Section 1 considers the border model developed by Bailey in…

An Investigation of a Cross-Content Vocabulary Intervention in an Urban Middle School

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cianciosi-Rimbey, Michelle

2017-01-01

This case study was designed to investigate the implementation of a cross-content academic vocabulary intervention in an urban school. Two aspects of the intervention were the focus of interest: student learning and teacher sensemaking. Participants included four content-area teachers and their sixth-grade students. Each week, students received…

Documentation of archaeological sites in northern iraq using remote sensing methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Matoušková, E.; Pavelka, K.; Nováček, K.; Starková, L.

2015-08-01

The MULINEM (The Medieval Urban Landscape in Northeastern Mesopotamia) project is aiming to investigate a Late Sasanian and Islamic urban network in the land of Erbil, historic province of Hidyab (Adiabene) that is located in the northern Iraq. The research of the hierarchical urban network in a defined area belongs to approaches rarely used in the study of the Islamic urbanism. The project focuses on the cluster of urban sites of the 6th-17th centuries A.D. This paper focuses on remote sensing analysis of historical sites with special interest of FORMOSAT-2 data that have been gained through a research announcement: Free FORMOSAT-2 satellite Imagery. Documentation of two archaeological sites (Makhmúr al-Qadima and Kushaf) are introduced. FORMOSAT-2 data results have been compared to historic CORONA satellite data of mentioned historical sites purchased earlier by the University of West Bohemia. Remote sensing methods were completed using in-situ measurements.

[Reducing inequality by improving preventing measures].

PubMed

Valsecchi, M

2014-01-01

Terms of inequalities issue in health service are defined and the consolidated scientific acquisitions are recalled. Three prioritary areas of action are defined and described, that Prevention Departments are suggested to activate through focused programs in order to reduce specific inequalities. First area of action: includes three types of vital interventions: vaccinations, contrasting of tuberculosis infection and oncological screening that have to be granted to specific disadvantaged groups of population as Rom communities, immigrant women, prisoners e psychiatric patients. Second area of action: actions on focused urban planning aiming to improve conditions of social housing (with a special focus on thermal insulation, minimal distances to be kept towards streets of havy traffic), increase of increase of urban green spaces enjoyed by the population and contrasting degradation of housing (with particular attention to poisoning by carbon monoxide). Third area of action: actions contrasting cardiovascular diseases, that is the leading cause of death and inequalities in health for the working class population. A coordinated intervention directly in the workplace is proposed, where a particularly high percentage of individuals exposed to specific risk factors is present.

Mining the Urban Sprawl Pattern: A Case Study on Sunan, China

PubMed Central

Ma, Ronghua; Gu, Chaolin; Pu, Yingxia; Ma, Xiaodong

2008-01-01

China's urbanization is going into a fast development stage. This paper focuses on the recent evolution of an urbanized area – Sunan, the southern part of Jiangsu province in the Yangtze River Delta in China – by means of complementary approaches, especially different fractal and autocorrelation measures. The research shows that Sunan's urban clusters are becoming more and more homogenous and compact and are growing up along the important transportation axes. The enriching discussion of the findings establishes the links between the morphology of urban sprawl and recent socio-economic changes in China. PMID:27873875

Patterns of Bat Distribution and Foraging Activity in a Highly Urbanized Temperate Environment

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Understanding how to manage biodiversity in urban areas will become increasingly important as density of humans residing in urban centers increases and urban areas expand. While considerable research has documented the shifts in biodiversity along urbanization gradients, much less work has focused on how characteristics of dense urban centers, effectively novel environments, influence behavior and biodiversity. Urban bats in San Francisco provide an opportunity to document changes in behavior and biodiversity to very high-density development. We studied (1) the distribution and abundance of bat foraging activity in natural areas; and (2) characteristics of natural areas that influence the observed patterns of distribution and foraging activity. We conducted acoustic surveys of twenty-two parks during 2008–2009. We confirmed the presence of four species of bats (Tadarida brasiliensis, Myotis yumanensis, Lasiurus blossevillii, and M. lucifugus). T. brasiliensis were found in all parks, while M. yumanensis occurred in 36% of parks. Results indicate that proximity to water, park size, and amount of forest edge best explained overall foraging activity. Proximity to water best explained species richness. M. yumanensis activity was best explained by reduced proportion of native vegetation as well as proximity to water. Activity was year round but diminished in December. We show that although bats are present even in very densely populated urban centers, there is a large reduction in species richness compared to that of outlying areas, and that most habitat factors explaining their community composition and activity patterns are similar to those documented in less urbanized environments. PMID:28030640

Rural and urban married Asian immigrants in Taiwan: determinants of their physical and mental health.

PubMed

Chen, Walter; Shiao, Wen-Been; Lin, Blossom Yen-Ju; Lin, Cheng-Chieh

2013-12-01

Different geographical areas with unique social cultures or societies might influence immigrant health. This study examines whether health inequities and different social factors exist regarding the health of rural and urban married Asian immigrants. A survey was conducted on 419 rural and 582 urban married Asian immigrants in Taiwan in 2009. Whereas the descriptive results indicate a worse mental health status between rural and urban married Asian immigrants, rural married immigrants were as mentally healthy as urban ones when considering different social variables. An analysis of regional stratification found different social-determinant patterns on rural and urban married immigrants. Whereas social support is key for rural immigrant physical and mental health, acculturation (i.e., language proficiency), socioeconomics (i.e., working status), and family structure (the number of family members and children living in the family) are key to the mental health of urban married immigrants in addition to social support. This study verifies the key roles of social determinants on the subjective health of married Asian immigrants. Area-differential patterns on immigrant health might act as a reference for national authorities to (re)focus their attention toward more area-specific approaches for married Asian immigrants.

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

PubMed Central

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

KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES AND PRACTICES OF HEPATITIS B AND C AMONG BARBERS OF URBAN AND RURAL AREAS OF RAWALPINDI AND ISLAMABAD.

PubMed

Shah, Hassan Bin Usman; Dar, Mohsin Khalil; Jamil, Anique Ahmad; Atif, Iffat; Ali, Raja Jazib; Sindhu, Ali Shan; Usmani, Abdul Qadir

2015-01-01

Hepatitis B and Hepatitis C are serious global public health problems with a prevalence of 10-15% with majority of the cases seen in the developing countries including Pakistan. It is a blood borne infection transmitted by infected blood and blood products through transfusions, contaminated needles, vertical transmission, unsafe sex and reuse of razors by barbers. The literature search so far did not reveal any study comparing knowledge, attitude and practices of hepatitis B & C in barbers working in Urban and rural areas. A comparative cross sectional survey was carried out among barbers of urban and rural areas of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. A structured close ended questionnaire was filled from total of 202 barbers by non-probability convenience sampling technique. Comparative data analysis was done including variables like age, education, knowledge about hepatitis B & C, mode of transmission, role of the blades and media etc. Knowledge about hepatitis B & C was good in urban areas (92%) as compared to those working in the rural areas (68%). Using new blade for every customer was seen in urban (100%) and rural (93%) area. However barbers knowledge about symptoms of the disease (urban 81% & rural 93%) and vaccination trend of Hepatitis B was low. This study showed a marked difference in the knowledge, attitude and practices of the barbers working in the urban and the rural areas. Main focus should be on launching Health education programs and behaviour change communication campaigns for the barbers. Strict regulatory monitoring must be done against unlicensed street barbers.

Barriers to Effective Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Rapidly Urbanizing Area in Thailand.

PubMed

Yukalang, Nachalida; Clarke, Beverley; Ross, Kirstin

2017-09-04

This study focused on determining the barriers to effective municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in a rapidly urbanizing area in Thailand. The Tha Khon Yang Subdistrict Municipality is a representative example of many local governments in Thailand that have been facing MSWM issues. In-depth interviews with individuals and focus groups were conducted with key informants including the municipality staff, residents, and external organizations. The major influences affecting waste management were categorized into six areas: social-cultural, technical, financial, organizational, and legal-political barriers and population growth. SWOT analysis shows both internal and external factors are playing a role in MSWM: There is good policy and a reasonably sufficient budget. However, there is insufficient infrastructure, weak strategic planning, registration, staff capacity, information systems, engagement with programs; and unorganized waste management and fee collection systems. The location of flood prone areas has impacted on location and operation of landfill sites. There is also poor communication between the municipality and residents and a lack of participation in waste separation programs. However, external support from government and the nearby university could provide opportunities to improve the situation. These findings will help inform municipal decision makers, leading to better municipal solid waste management in newly urbanized areas.

Barriers to Effective Municipal Solid Waste Management in a Rapidly Urbanizing Area in Thailand

PubMed Central

Yukalang, Nachalida; Clarke, Beverley

2017-01-01

This study focused on determining the barriers to effective municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in a rapidly urbanizing area in Thailand. The Tha Khon Yang Subdistrict Municipality is a representative example of many local governments in Thailand that have been facing MSWM issues. In-depth interviews with individuals and focus groups were conducted with key informants including the municipality staff, residents, and external organizations. The major influences affecting waste management were categorized into six areas: social-cultural, technical, financial, organizational, and legal-political barriers and population growth. SWOT analysis shows both internal and external factors are playing a role in MSWM: There is good policy and a reasonably sufficient budget. However, there is insufficient infrastructure, weak strategic planning, registration, staff capacity, information systems, engagement with programs; and unorganized waste management and fee collection systems. The location of flood prone areas has impacted on location and operation of landfill sites. There is also poor communication between the municipality and residents and a lack of participation in waste separation programs. However, external support from government and the nearby university could provide opportunities to improve the situation. These findings will help inform municipal decision makers, leading to better municipal solid waste management in newly urbanized areas. PMID:28869572

The relative contribution of immigration or local increase for persistence of urban schistosomiasis in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

PubMed

Blanton, Ronald E; Barbosa, Lúcio M; Reis, Eliana A; Carmo, Theomira M; Dos Santos, Cláudio R A; Costa, Jackson M; Aminu, Peace T; Blank, Walter A; Reis, Renato Barbosa; Guimarães, Isabel C; Silva, Luciano K; Reis, Mitermayer G

2015-03-01

Urbanization is increasing across the globe, and diseases once considered rural can now be found in urban areas due to the migration of populations from rural endemic areas, local transmission within the city, or a combination of factors. We investigated the epidemiologic characteristics of urban immigrants and natives living in a neighborhood of Salvador, Brazil where there is a focus of transmission of Schistosoma mansoni. In a cross-sectional study, all inhabitants from 3 sections of the community were interviewed and examined. In order to determine the degree of parasite differentiation between immigrants and the native born, S. mansoni eggs from stools were genotyped for 15 microsatellite markers. The area received migrants from all over the state, but most infected children had never been outside of the city, and infected snails were present at water contact sites. Other epidemiologic features suggested immigration contributed little to the presence of infection. The intensity and prevalence of infection were the same for immigrants and natives when adjusted for age, and length of immigrant residence in the community was positively associated with prevalence of infection. The population structure of the parasites also supported that the contribution from immigration was small, since the host-to-host differentiation was no greater in the urban parasite population than a rural population with little distant immigration, and there had been little differentiation in the urban population over the past 7 years. Public health efforts should focus on eliminating local transmission, and once eliminated, reintroduction from distant migration is unlikely.

Impact of urban sprawl on United States residential energy use

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rong, Fang

Improving energy efficiency through technological advances has been the focus of U.S. energy policy for decades. However, there is evidence that technology alone will be neither sufficient nor timely enough to solve looming crises associated with fossil fuel dependence and resulting greenhouse gas accumulation. Hence attention is shifting to demand-side measures. While the impact of urban sprawl on transportation energy use has been studied to a degree, the impact of sprawl on non-transport residential energy use represents a new area of inquiry. This dissertation is the first study linking sprawl to residential energy use and provides empirical support for compact land-use developments, which, as a demand-side measure, might play an important role in achieving sustainable residential energy consumption. This dissertation develops an original conceptual framework linking urban sprawl to residential energy use through electricity transmission and distribution losses and two mediators, housing stock and formation of urban heat islands. These two mediators are the focuses of this dissertation. By tapping multiple databases and performing statistical and geographical spatial analyses, this dissertation finds that (1) big houses consume more energy than small ones and single-family detached housing consumes more energy than multifamily or single-family attached housing; (2) residents of sprawling metro areas are more likely to live in single-family detached rather than attached or multifamily housing and are also expected to live in big houses; (3) a compact metro area is expected to have stronger urban heat island effects; (4) nationwide, urban heat island phenomena bring about a small energy reward, due to less energy demand on space heating, while they impose an energy penalty in States with a hot climate like Texas, due to higher energy demand for cooling; and taken all these together, (5) residents of sprawling metro areas are expected to consume more energy at home than residents of compact metro areas. This dissertation concludes with the policy implications that emerged from this study and suggestions for future research as well.

The Effect of Tree Spacing and Size in Urban Areas: Strategies for Mitigating High Temperature in Urban Heat Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berry, R.; Shandas, V.; Makido, Y.

2017-12-01

Many cities are unintentionally designed to be heat sinks, which absorb the sun's short-wave radiation and reemit as long-wave radiation. Long time reorganization of this `urban heat island' (UHI) phenomena has led researchers and city planners into developing strategies for reducing ambient temperatures through urban design. Specifically, greening areas have proven to reduce the temperature in UHI's, including strategies such as green streets, green facades, and green roofs have been implemented. Among the scientific community there is promoted study of how myriad greening strategies can reduce temperature, relatively limited work has focused on the distribution, density, and quantity of tree campaigns. This paper examines how the spacing and size of trees reduce temperatures differently. A major focus of the paper is to understand how to lower the temperature through tree planting, and provide recommendations to cities that are attempting to solve their own urban heat island issues. Because different cities have different room for planting greenery, we examined which strategies are more efficient given an area constraint. Areas that have less available room might not be able to plant a high density of trees. We compared the different experimental groups varying in density and size of trees against the control to see the effect the trees had. Through calibration with local weather stations, we used a micrometeorology program (ENVI-Met) to model and simulate the different experimental models and how they affect the temperature. The results suggest that some urban designs can reduce ambient temperatures by over 7 0C, and the inclusion of large form trees have the greatest contribution, by reducing temperatures over 15 0C. The results suggest that using specific strategies that combine placement of specific tree configurations with alternative distribution of urban development patterns can help to solve the current challenges of UHI's, and thereby support management actions for addressing future impacts from climate change.

Urban amplification of the global warming in Moscow megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kislov, Alexander; Konstantinov, Pavel; Varentsov, Mikhail; Samsonov, Timofey; Gorlach, Irina; Trusilova, Kristina

2015-04-01

Climate changes in the large cities are very important and requires better understanding. The focus of this paper is climate change of the Moscow megacity. Its urban features strongly influence the atmospheric boundary layer above the Moscow agglomeration area and determine the microclimatic features of the local environment, such as urban heat island (UHI). Available meteorological observations within the Moscow urban area and surrounding territory allow us to assess the natural climate variations and human-induced climate warming separately. To obtain more precisely viewing on the UHI structure we have included into the analysis the satellite data (Meteosat-10), providing temperature and humidity profiles with high resolution. To investigate the mechanism of the urban amplification we realized the regional climate model COSMO-CLM+TEB. Apart from detailed climate research the model runs will be planned for climate projecting of Moscow agglomeration area. Climate change differences between urban and rural areas are determined by changes of the shape of the UHI and their relationships with changes of building height and density. Therefore, the urban module of COSMO-CLM+TEB model is fed by information from special GIS database contenting both geometric characteristics of the urban canyons and other characteristics of the urban surface. The sources of information were maps belonging to the OpenStreetMap, and digital elevation models SRTM90 and ASTER GDEM v.2 as well. The multiscale GIS database allows us to generate such kind of information with different spatial resolution (200, 500 and 1000 meters).

Studies in Environment--Volume V: Outdoor Recreation and the Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kimmelman, Benno; And Others

This study focuses on the problems and potentials between outdoor recreation and the environment. The areas studied include recreation on private land, along coastal areas, national parks and urban areas. All of the factors contributing to recreational demand--leisure time, education, disposable income, population growth and mobility--are…

Rising temperatures place cities at risk

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tickell, C.

1996-12-31

This article focuses on vulerability of urban areas as the global temperature rises and the climate changes. Basic resources - food, water, building materials, and fuel - must be brought in; the external resource base is being depleted as a result of deforestation; disposal of wastes both toxic and not is an added stress; and health effected by air and water pollution is vulnerable. This article discusses these aspects along with the sociology of urban areas in our current world. Historical prospectives are included.

Mechanism of Urban Water Dissipation: A Case Study in Xiamen Island

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, J.; Liu, J.; Wang, Z.

2017-12-01

Urbanization have resulted in increasing water supply and water dissipation from water uses in urban areas, but traditional hydrological models usually ignores the dissipation from social water cycle. In order to comprehensively calculate the water vapor flux of urban natural - social binary water cycle, this study advanced the concept of urban water dissipation (UWD) to describe all form water transfer from liquid to gas in urban area. UWD units were divided according to the water consumption characteristics of the underlying surface, and experimental methods of investigation, statistics, observation and measurement were used to study the water dissipation of different units, determine the corresponding calculation method, and establish the UWD calculation model. Taking Xiamen Island as an example, the city's water dissipation in 2016 was calculated to be 850 mm and verified by water balance. The results showed that the contributions of water dissipation from the green land, building, hardened ground and water surface. The results means that water dissipation inside buildings was one main component of the total UWD. The proportion of water vapor fluxes exceeds the natural water cycle in the urban area. Social water cycle is the main part of the city's water cycle, and also the hot and focus of urban hydrology research in the future.

Trends in Suicide by Level of Urbanization - United States, 1999-2015.

PubMed

Kegler, Scott R; Stone, Deborah M; Holland, Kristin M

2017-03-17

Suicide is a major and continuing public health concern in the United States. During 1999-2015, approximately 600,000 U.S. residents died by suicide, with the highest annual rate occurring in 2015 (1). Annual county-level mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) and annual county-level population data from the U.S. Census Bureau were used to analyze suicide rate trends during 1999-2015, with special emphasis on comparing more urban and less urban areas. U.S. counties were grouped by level of urbanization using a six-level classification scheme. To evaluate rate trends, joinpoint regression methodology was applied to the time-series data for each level of urbanization. Suicide rates significantly increased over the study period for all county groupings and accelerated significantly in 2007-2008 for the medium metro, small metro, and non-metro groupings. Understanding suicide trends by urbanization level can help identify geographic areas of highest risk and focus prevention efforts. Communities can benefit from implementing policies, programs, and practices based on the best available evidence regarding suicide prevention and key risk factors. Many approaches are applicable regardless of urbanization level, whereas certain strategies might be particularly relevant in less urban areas affected by difficult economic conditions, limited access to helping services, and social isolation.

The NSF-RCN Urban Heat Island Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twine, T. E.; Snyder, P. K.; Hamilton, P.; Shepherd, M.; Stone, B., Jr.

2015-12-01

In much of the world cities are warming at twice the rate of outlying rural areas. The frequency of urban heat waves is projected to increase with climate change through the 21st century. Addressing the economic, environmental, and human costs of urban heat islands requires a better understanding of their behavior from many disciplinary perspectives. The goal of this four-year Urban Heat Island Network is to (1) bring together scientists studying the causes and impacts of urban warming, (2) advance multidisciplinary understanding of urban heat islands, (3) examine how they can be ameliorated through engineering and design practices, and (4) share these new insights with a wide array of stakeholders responsible for managing urban warming to reduce their health, economic, and environmental impacts. The NSF-RCN Urban Heat Island Network involves atmospheric scientists, engineers, architects, landscape designers, urban planners, public health experts, and education and outreach experts, who will share knowledge, evaluate research directions, and communicate knowledge and research recommendations to the larger research community as well as stakeholders engaged in developing strategies to adapt to and mitigate urban warming. The first Urban Climate Institute was held in Saint Paul, MN in July 2013 and focused on the characteristics of urban heat islands. Scientists engaged with local practitioners to improve communication pathways surrounding issues of understanding, adapting to, and mitigating urban warming. The second Urban Climate Institute was held in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2014 and focused on urban warming and public health. The third Urban Climate Institute was held in Athens, GA in July 2015 and focused on urban warming and the role of the built environment. Scientists and practitioners discussed strategies for mitigation and adaptation. Evaluation experts at the Science Museum of Minnesota have extensively evaluated the Institutes to inform other research coordination networks and to identify effective ways that researchers and practitioners can share knowledge and communicate more effectively. A final Institute is planned for July of 2016 in Saint Paul, MN. This institute will focus on synthesizing findings from the first three workshops and discuss education and outreach efforts.

Consequences of Residential Density for Urban Life.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Marans, Robert W.; Zehner, Robert B.

Typical objectives of urban planners are reviewed and 3 are selected as relevant to this study which focuses on density as a measure of the number of dwellings per given land area, as distinguished from number of persons per room. Those selected: (1) consider the juxtaposition of housing and other land uses; (2) relate density to desired patterns…

Blaming and Framing the Family: Urban Schools and School Officials Talk of Neglecting Parents

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odenbring, Ylva; Johansson, Thomas; Lunneblad, Johannes

2016-01-01

This article explores Swedish secondary school's strategies for supporting students who lack parental care. The study was designed as a case study of six Swedish urban secondary schools located in different demographic areas in southern Sweden. The study draws from individual interviews with school officials, focus group interviews with schools…

Renewing Our Cities: A Case Study on School Choice's Role in Urban Renewal

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Danielsen, Bartley R.; Harrison, David M.; Zhao, Jing

2017-01-01

Urban economic development resources are often focused on bringing jobs and affordable housing to downtown areas. In contrast, there has been very little consideration given to how public charter schools and other school choice programs might act as economic development catalysts. This study examines relocation decisions made by families whose…

Children Researching Their Urban Environment: Developing a Methodology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hacking, Elisabeth Barratt; Barratt, Robert

2009-01-01

"Listening to children: environmental perspectives and the school curriculum" (L2C) was a UK research council project based in schools in a socially and economically deprived urban area in England. It focused on 10/12 year old children's experience of their local community and environment, and how they made sense of this in relation both…

Boys II Men: A Culturally-Responsive School Counseling Group for Urban High School Boys of Color

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Pérez-Gualdrón, Leyla; Yeh, Christine; Russell, LyRyan

2016-01-01

Using a participatory and collaborative approach, we developed, implemented, and evaluated a culturally responsive school counseling group, "Boys II Men," for 11 low-income diverse male students of color at an urban public school. The content of the group focused on five areas: social connections and support, exploring gender roles,…

A review on the generation, determination and mitigation of urban heat island.

PubMed

Memon, Rizwan Ahmed; Leung, Dennis Y C; Chunho, Liu

2008-01-01

Urban Heat Island (UHI) is considered as one of the major problems in the 21st century posed to human beings as a result of urbanization and industrialization of human civilization. The large amount of heat generated from urban structures, as they consume and re-radiate solar radiations, and from the anthropogenic heat sources are the main causes of UHI. The two heat sources increase the temperatures of an urban area as compared to its surroundings, which is known as Urban Heat Island Intensity (UHII). The problem is even worse in cities or metropolises with large population and extensive economic activities. The estimated three billion people living in the urban areas in the world are directly exposed to the problem, which will be increased significantly in the near future. Due to the severity of the problem, vast research effort has been dedicated and a wide range of literature is available for the subject. The literature available in this area includes the latest research approaches, concepts, methodologies, latest investigation tools and mitigation measures. This study was carried out to review and summarize this research area through an investigation of the most important feature of UHI. It was concluded that the heat re-radiated by the urban structures plays the most important role which should be investigated in details to study urban heating especially the UHI. It was also concluded that the future research should be focused on design and planning parameters for reducing the effects of urban heat island and ultimately living in a better environment.

Spring Meeting Preview: Joint Assembly Sessions Focus on Urbanization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zielinski, Sarah

2006-04-01

The urban environment has grown to encompass not just the downtown area of a city but also the suburbs and rapidly growing exurban areas. This growth can affect a wide range of geological, physical, and biological processes. Several sessions at the 23-26 May 2006 Joint Assembly in Baltimore, Md., will explore this topic. Two union sessions on the ``Impact of Urbanization on Environmental Systems'' (U31A and U32A) will take place on Wednesday morning, 24 May, at 8:30 A.M. and 10:45 A.M. The sessions are designed to be a wide-ranging exploration of the different, multiple roles that urbanization, and the changes in the environment that accompany urbanization, have on biological and geophysical processes, said session co-convener Larry Band. Brand is Voit Gilmore distinguished professor and chair of the department of geography at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Multi-Scale Enviro-HIRLAM Forecasting of Weather and Atmospheric Composition over China and its Megacities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahura, Alexander; Amstrup, Bjarne; Nuterman, Roman; Yang, Xiaohua; Baklanov, Alexander

2017-04-01

Air pollution is a serious problem in different regions of China and its continuously growing megacities. Information on air quality, and especially, in urbanized areas is important for decision making, emergency response and population. In particular, the metropolitan areas of Shanghai, Beijing, and Pearl River Delta are well known as main regions having serious air pollution problems. The on-line integrated meteorology-chemistry-aerosols Enviro-HIRLAM (Environment - HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model) model adapted for China and selected megacities is applied for forecasting of weather and atmospheric composition (with focus on aerosols). The model system is running in downscaling chain from regional to urban scales at subsequent horizontal resolutions of 15-5-2.5 km. The model setup includes also the urban Building Effects Parameterization module, describing different types of urban districts (industrial commercial, city center, high density and residential) with its own morphological and aerodynamical characteristics. The effects of urbanization are important for atmospheric transport, dispersion, deposition, and chemical transformations, in addition to better quality emission inventories for China and selected urban areas. The Enviro-HIRLAM system provides meteorology and air quality forecasts at regional-subregional-urban scales (China - East China - selected megacities). In particular, such forecasting is important for metropolitan areas, where formation and development of meteorological and chemical/aerosol patterns are especially complex. It also provides information for evaluation impact on selected megacities of China as well as for investigation relationship between air pollution and meteorology.

A systematic review of the literature reveals trends and gaps in integrated pest management studies conducted in the United States.

PubMed

Young, Stephen L

2017-08-01

Integrated pest management (IPM) is a broad-based approach for addressing pests that negatively affect human and environmental health and economic profitability. Weeds, insects and disease-causing pathogens (diseases) are the pests most often associated with IPM. A systematic review, widely used in other scientific disciplines, was employed to determine the most commonly studied IPM topics and summarize the reasons for these trends and the gaps. In a field synopsis of the literature, 1679 relevant published papers were identified and categorized into one of the following five broad areas: IPM and organic (organic), climate change and pests (climate), rural and urban IPM (rural and urban), next-generation education (education) and advanced production systems (technology). Papers were examined in greater detail for at least one of the three main pests in a systematic review. A majority (85%) of IPM papers have been in the area of rural and urban IPM, primarily addressing agriculture (78%). Professionals, landowners and the general public were the focus of a majority (95%) of IPM papers on education. Technology is an increasing area of focus in the literature. Over the past 40 years, IPM papers have primarily (75%) addressed insects and been limited mostly to rural and urban settings. Climate change, technology and education specific to pest management studies are increasingly being published and will help broaden the focus that could result in increased adoption and development of IPM. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Impacts of urbanization and landscape patterns on the earthworm communities in residential areas in Beijing.

PubMed

Xie, Tian; Wang, Meie; Chen, Weiping; Uwizeyimana, Herman

2018-06-01

Earthworms play an important role in soil processes and functions. However, few studies have focused on their community patterns in perturbed systems, especially in an urban environment with a high turnover rate of land cover. In this study, we collected and identified the earthworms in the residential areas in metropolitan Beijing. We further investigated the effects of urban soil properties, urbanization and landscape patterns on the earthworm communities. The results showed that both the abundance and biomass of earthworms in residential areas in metropolitan was relatively low. The abundance of earthworms was negatively correlated with soil organic carbon (SOC) in this study. Soil moisture and pH could be considered as the most important edaphic variables that affected earthworm communities. The construction age of residential areas significantly influenced the earthworm abundance. Moreover, the earthworm community composition responded differently to urban landscape features at different scales. The percentage of impervious and green space surface, the amount of landscape cover types, patch density and landscape fragment significantly affected the earthworm assemblages. Our result discovered that the edaphic properties, urbanization as well as landscape patterns might be the potential factors that influenced the earthworm community patterns. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban lymphatic filariasis.

PubMed

Simonsen, Paul E; Mwakitalu, Mbutolwe E

2013-01-01

Lymphatic filariasis (LF) is a disabling and disfiguring disease resulting from a mosquito-borne parasitic infection. It is a major public health problem in many countries with a warm climate. Research and control activities have mainly focused on LF in rural areas where it also has its major impact. However, with rapid and unplanned growth of cities in the developing world, there is a need also to consider LF transmission and control in urban settings. Here, we review currently available knowledge on urban LF and the environmental and socio-economic basis for its occurrence. Among the three parasite species causing LF in humans, only Wuchereria bancrofti has been documented to have a significant potential for urban transmission. This is primarily because one of its vectors, Culex quinquefasciatus, thrives and proliferates excessively in crowded city areas with poor sanitary, sewerage and drainage facilities. For this reason, urban LF also often shows a marked focality in distribution, with most cases clustered in areas inhabited by the less privileged city populations. More knowledge on urban LF is needed, in particular on its socio-economic and human behavioural context, on the potential for transmission in regions where other LF vector species predominate, and on rapid methods for identification and mapping of risk areas, to provide a strong evidence base for its control.

Strategies to Reduce Exclusion among Populations Living in Urban Slum Settlements in Bangladesh

PubMed Central

2009-01-01

The health and rights of populations living in informal or slum settlements are key development issues of the twenty-first century. As of 2007, the majority of the world's population lives in urban areas. More than one billion of these people, or one in three city-dwellers, live in inadequate housing with no or a few basic resources. In Bangladesh, urban slum settlements tend to be located in low-lying, flood-prone, poorly-drained areas, having limited formal garbage disposal and minimal access to safe water and sanitation. These areas are severely crowded, with 4–5 people living in houses of just over 100 sq feet. These conditions of high density of population and poor sanitation exacerbate the spread of diseases. People living in these areas experience social, economic and political exclusion, which bars them from society's basic resources. This paper overviews policies and actions that impact the level of exclusion of people living in urban slum settlements in Bangladesh, with a focus on improving the health and rights of the urban poor. Despite some strategies adopted to ensure better access to water and health, overall, the country does not have a comprehensive policy for urban slum residents, and the situation remains bleak. PMID:19761090

Strategies to reduce exclusion among populations living in urban slum settlements in Bangladesh.

PubMed

Rashid, Sabina Faiz

2009-08-01

The health and rights of populations living in informal or slum settlements are key development issues of the twenty-first century. As of 2007, the majority of the world's population lives in urban areas. More than one billion of these people, or one in three city-dwellers, live in inadequate housing with no or a few basic resources. In Bangladesh, urban slum settlements tend to be located in low-lying, flood-prone, poorly-drained areas, having limited formal garbage disposal and minimal access to safe water and sanitation. These areas are severely crowded, with 4-5 people living in houses of just over 100 sq feet. These conditions of high density of population and poor sanitation exacerbate the spread of diseases. People living in these areas experience social, economic and political exclusion, which bars them from society's basic resources. This paper overviews policies and actions that impact the level of exclusion of people living in urban slum settlements in Bangladesh, with a focus on improving the health and rights of the urban poor. Despite some strategies adopted to ensure better access to water and health, overall, the country does not have a comprehensive policy for urban slum residents, and the situation remains bleak.

Migration and rural women in China: a look at the gendered impact of large-scale migration.

PubMed

Davin, D

1996-01-01

This preliminary study explored the impact on women of economic migration from rural to urban areas in China. Data were obtained from the 1990 census. The study focused on economic migration, which accounted for 29% of the reasons for moving. In some provinces such as Guangdong, economic reasons account for almost 60% of in-migrants. Interprovincial migration is primarily economic, followed by marriage, which varies widely by province. Migrants tend to assume occupations that are assigned by gender. Male migrants tend to outnumber female migrants, and women are left to farm. Where migration is gender balanced, the sex ratio in the sending area may be stable, but gender division within individual households is upset. Children may be tended by grandparents in rural areas, when their parents find work in cities. Migrants in urban areas do not have the same rights as permanent urban household registrants and cannot send their children to school or use free or low cost health care. Migrants keep in close contact with home villages. Urban migrants without permanent household registration status face the loss of welfare benefits in urban areas as well as the high cost of purchase of a permanent residence permit, social discrimination, stigma from mass media portrayals, and poor housing. Most rural-urban migration is circular. Female return migrants bring back cash remittances and new family roles and status. Rural migrants are exposed to new urban experiences that are retold in rural areas and that may pose difficulties in readjustment to the hardships of rural life. Urban fertility is delayed and lower than that of rural fertility.

Urban Evolutionary Ecology and the Potential Benefits of Implementing Genomics.

PubMed

Schell, Christopher J

2018-02-14

Urban habitats are quickly becoming exceptional models to address adaptation under rapid environmental change, given the expansive temporal and spatial scales with which anthropogenic landscape conversion occurs. Urban ecologists in the last 10-15 years have done an extraordinary job of highlighting phenotypic patterns that correspond with urban living, as well as delineating urban population structure using traditional genetic markers. The underpinning genetic mechanisms that govern those phenotypic patterns, however, are less well established. Moreover, the power of traditional molecular studies is constrained by the number of markers being evaluated, which limits the potential to assess fine-scale population structure potentially common in urban areas. With the recent proliferation of low-cost, high-throughput sequencing methods, we can begin to address an emerging question in urban ecology: are species adapted to local optima within cities or are they expressing latent phenotypic plasticity? Here, I provide a comprehensive review of previous urban ecological studies, with special focus on the molecular ecology and phenotypic adjustments documented in urban terrestrial and amphibious fauna. I subsequently pinpoint areas in the literature that could benefit from a genomic investigation and briefly discuss the suitability of specific techniques in addressing eco-evolutionary questions within urban ecology. Though many challenges exist with implementing genomics into urban ecology, such studies provide an exceptional opportunity to advance our understanding of eco-evolutionary processes in metropolitan areas. © The American Genetic Association 2018. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Methods for Monitoring the Detection of Multi-Temporal Land Use Change Through the Classification of Urban Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alhaddad, B. I.; Burns, M. C.; Roca, J.

2011-08-01

Urban areas are complicated due to the mix of man-made features and natural features. A higher level of structural information plays an important role in land cover/use classification of urban areas. Additional spatial indicators have to be extracted based on structural analysis in order to understand and identify spatial patterns or the spatial organization of features, especially for man-made feature. It's very difficult to extract such spatial patterns by using only classification approaches. Clusters of urban patterns which are integral parts of other uses may be difficult to identify. A lot of public resources have been directed towards seeking to develop a standardized classification system and to provide as much compatibility as possible to ensure the widespread use of such categorized data obtained from remote sensor sources. In this paper different methods applied to understand the change in the land use areas by understanding and monitoring the change in urban areas and as its hard to apply those methods to classification results for high elements quantities, dusts and scratches (Roca and Alhaddad, 2005). This paper focuses on a methodology developed based relation between urban elements and how to join this elements in zones or clusters have commune behaviours such as form, pattern, size. The main objective is to convert urban class category in to various structure densities depend on conjunction of pixel and shortest distance between them, Delaunay triangulation has been widely used in spatial analysis and spatial modelling. To identify these different zones, a spatial density-based clustering technique was adopted. In highly urban zones, the spatial density of the pixels is high, while in sparsely areas the density of points is much lower. Once the groups of pixels are identified, the calculation of the boundaries of the areas containing each group of pixels defines the new regions indicate the different contains inside such as high or low urban areas. Multi-temporal datasets from 1986, 1995 and 2004 used to urban region centroid to be our reference in this study which allow us to follow the urban movement, increase and decrease by the time. Kernel Density function used to Calculates urban magnitude, Voronoi algorithm is proposed for deriving explicit boundaries between objects units. To test the approach, we selected a site in a suburban area in Barcelona Municipality, the Spain.

Sustainability for Shrinking Cities | Science Inventory | US EPA

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Shrinking cities are widespread throughout the world despite the rapidly increasing global urban population. These cities are attempting to transition to sustainable trajectories to improve the health and well-being of urban residents, to build their capacity to adapt to changing conditions and to cope with major events. The dynamics of shrinking cities are different than the dynamics of growing cities, and therefore intentional research and planning around creating sustainable cities is needed for shrinking cities. We propose research that can be applied to shrinking cities by identifying parallel challenges in growing cities and translating urban research and planning that is specific to each city’s dynamics. In addition, we offer applications of panarchy concepts to this problem. The contributions to this Special Issue take on this forward-looking planning task through drawing lessons for urban sustainability from shrinking cities, or translating general lessons from urban research to the context of shrinking cities. Humans are rapidly becoming an urban species, with greater populations in urban areas, increasing size of these urban areas, and increasing number of very large urban areas. As a consequence, much of what we know about cities is focused on how they grow and take shape, the strains that their growth puts on city infrastructure, the consequences for human and nonhuman inhabitants of these cities and their surroundings, and the policies which can

Simulated Climate Impacts of Mexico City's Historical Urban Expansion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benson-Lira, Valeria

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

Democracy on the edge: limits and possibilities in the implementation of an urban reform agenda in Brazil.

PubMed

Rolnik, Raquel

2011-01-01

The 1990s in Brazil were a time of institutional advances in the areas of housing and urban rights following the signing of the new constitution in 1988 that incorporated the principles of the social function of cities and property, recognition of the right to ownership of informal urban squatters and the direct participation of citizens in urban policy decision processes. These propositions are the pillars of the urban reform agenda which, since the creation of the Ministry of Cities by the Lula government, has come under the federal executive branch. This article evaluates the limitations and opportunities involved in implementing this agenda on the basis of two policies proposed by the ministry — the National Cities Council and the campaign for Participatory Master Plans — focusing the analysis on government organization in the area of urban development in its relationship with the political system and the characteristics of Brazilian democracy.

Urbanisation and health in China.

PubMed

Gong, Peng; Liang, Song; Carlton, Elizabeth J; Jiang, Qingwu; Wu, Jianyong; Wang, Lei; Remais, Justin V

2012-03-03

China has seen the largest human migration in history, and the country's rapid urbanisation has important consequences for public health. A provincial analysis of its urbanisation trends shows shifting and accelerating rural-to-urban migration across the country and accompanying rapid increases in city size and population. The growing disease burden in urban areas attributable to nutrition and lifestyle choices is a major public health challenge, as are troubling disparities in health-care access, vaccination coverage, and accidents and injuries in China's rural-to-urban migrant population. Urban environmental quality, including air and water pollution, contributes to disease both in urban and in rural areas, and traffic-related accidents pose a major public health threat as the country becomes increasingly motorised. To address the health challenges and maximise the benefits that accompany this rapid urbanisation, innovative health policies focused on the needs of migrants and research that could close knowledge gaps on urban population exposures are needed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adopting public values and climate change adaptation strategies in urban forest management: A review and analysis of the relevant literature.

PubMed

Ordóñez Barona, Camilo

2015-12-01

Urban trees are a dominant natural element in cities; they provide important ecosystem services to urban citizens and help urban areas adapt to climate change. Many rationales have been proposed to provide a purpose for urban forest management, some of which have been ineffective in addressing important ecological and social management themes. Among these rationales we find a values-based perspective, which sees management as a process where the desires of urban dwellers are met. Another perspective is climate change adaptation, which sees management as a process where urban forest vulnerability to climate change is reduced and resilience enhanced. Both these rationales have the advantage of complementing, enhancing, and broadening urban forest management objectives. A critical analysis of the literature on public values related to urban forests and climate change adaptation in the context of urban forests is undertaken to discuss what it means to adopt these two issues in urban forest management. The analysis suggests that by seeing urban forest management as a process by which public values are satisfied and urban-forest vulnerabilities to climate change are reduced, we can place issues such as naturalization, adaptive management, and engaging people in management at the centre of urban forest management. Focusing urban forest management on these issues may help ensure the success of programs focused on planting more trees and increasing citizen participation in urban forest management. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haapio, Appu, E-mail: appu.haapio@vtt.fi

Requirements for the assessment tools of buildings have increased, assessing of building components or separate buildings is not enough. Neighbourhoods, built environment, public transportations, and services, should be considered simultaneously. Number of population living in urban areas is high and increasing rapidly. Urbanisation is a major concern due to its detrimental effects on the environment. The aim of this study is to clarify the field of assessment tools for urban communities by analysing the current situation. The focus is on internationally well known assessment tools; BREEAM Communities, CASBEE for Urban Development and LEED for Neigborhood Development. The interest towards certificationmore » systems is increasing amongst the authorities, and especially amongst the global investors and property developers. Achieved certifications are expected to bring measureable publicity for the developers. The assessment of urban areas enables the comparison of municipalities and urban areas, and notably supports decision making processes. Authorities, city planners, and designers would benefit most from the use of the tools during the decision making process. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The urban assessment tools have strong linkage to the region. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer The tools promote complementary building and retrofitting existing sites. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Sharing knowledge and experiences is important in the development of the tools.« less

The NSF-RCN Urban Heat Island Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Twine, T. E.; Snyder, P. K.; Hamilton, P.; Shepherd, M.; Stone, B., Jr.

2014-12-01

In much of the world cities are warming at twice the rate of outlying rural areas. The frequency of urban heat waves is projected to increase with climate change through the 21stcentury. Addressing the economic, environmental, and human costs of urban heat islands requires a better understanding of their behavior from many disciplinary perspectives. The goal of this four-year Urban Heat Island Network is to (1) bring together scientists studying the causes and impacts of urban warming, (2) advance multidisciplinary understanding of urban heat islands, (3) examine how they can be ameliorated through engineering and design practices, and (4) share these new insights with a wide array of stakeholders responsible for managing urban warming to reduce their health, economic, and environmental impacts. The Urban Heat Island Network involves atmospheric scientists, engineers, architects, landscape designers, urban planners, public health experts, and education and outreach experts, who will share knowledge, evaluate research directions, and communicate knowledge and research recommendations to the larger research community as well as stakeholders engaged in developing strategies to adapt to and mitigate urban warming. The first Urban Climate Institute was held in Saint Paul, Minnesota in July 2013 and focused on the characteristics of urban heat islands. Scientists engaged with local practitioners to improve communication pathways surrounding issues of understanding, adapting to, and mitigating urban warming. The second Urban Climate Institute was held in Atlanta, Georgia in July 2014 and focused on urban warming and public health. Scientists discussed the state of the science on urban modeling, heat adaptation, air pollution, and infectious disease. Practitioners informed participants on emergency response methods and protocols related to heat and other extreme weather events. Evaluation experts at the Science Museum of Minnesota have extensively evaluated both Institutes to improve future Institutes and to inform other research coordination networks. Two more Institutes are planned for 2015 and 2016 focusing on urban warming and the built environment, and education and outreach.

Urban gray vs. urban green vs. soil protection — Development of a systemic solution to soil sealing management on the example of Germany

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Artmann, Martina, E-mail: m.artmann@ioer.de

Managing urban soil sealing is a difficult venture due to its spatial heterogeneity and embedding in a socio-ecological system. A systemic solution is needed to tackle its spatial, ecological and social sub-systems. This study develops a guideline for urban actors to find a systemic solution to soil sealing management based on two case studies in Germany: Munich and Leipzig. Legal-planning, informal-planning, economic-fiscal, co-operative and informational responses were evaluated by indicators to proof which strategy considers the spatial complexity of urban soil sealing (systemic spatial efficiency) and, while considering spatial complexity, to assess what the key management areas for action aremore » to reduce the ecological impacts by urban soil sealing (ecological impact efficiency) and to support an efficient implementation by urban actors (social implementation efficiency). Results suggest framing the systemic solution to soil sealing management through a cross-scale, legal-planning development strategy embedded in higher European policies. Within the socio-ecological system, the key management area for action should focus on the protection of green infrastructure being of high value for actors from the European to local scales. Further efforts are necessary to establish a systemic monitoring concept to optimize socio-ecological benefits and avoid trade-offs such as between urban infill development and urban green protection. This place-based study can be regarded as a stepping stone on how to develop systemic strategies by considering different spatial sub-targets and socio-ecological systems. - Highlights: • Urban soil sealing management is spatially complex. • The legal-planning strategy supports a systemic sealing management. • Urban green infrastructure protection should be in the management focus. • Soil protection requires policies from higher levels of government. • A systemic urban soil sealing monitoring concept is needed.« less

Urban Intensification and Expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa: Impacts on Urban Agriculture and Food Security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Uzokwe, V. N. E. N.; Muchelo, R. O.; Odeh, I. A.

2015-12-01

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), urban intensification and expansion are increasing at alarming rates due to rapid population growth and rural-to-urban migration. This has led to the premise that the proportion of SSA urban residents most vulnerable to food insecurity is the highest in the world. Using a focused survey and multi-temporal (decadal) land use/cover classification of Landsat images, we explored the effect of urban intensification and expansion on urban agriculture and food security, focusing on a megacity and a regional center in Uganda: Kampala and Mbarara, respectively. We found that food insecurity arose due to a number of reasons, among which are: i) expansion and intensification of of urban settlements into previously productive agricultural lands in urban and peri-urban areas; ii) loss of predominantly young (rural agricultural) adult labor force to urban centers, leading to decline in rural food production; iii) lack of proper urban planning incorporating green and agricultural development leading to low productive market garden systems. We discussed these outcomes in light of existing studies which estimated that urban agriculture alone supports over 800 million people globally and accounts for 15-20% of world food supply. In spite of this relatively low contribution by urban/peri-urban agriculture, it probably accounts for higher proportion of food supply to urban poor in SSA and thus are most vulnerable to the loss of urban and peri-urban agricultural land. Further recommendations require policy makers and urban planners to team up to design a suitable framework for sustainable urban planning and development.

Openness to Experience as a Moderator of the Relationship between Intelligence and Creative Thinking: A Study of Chinese Children in Urban and Rural Areas.

PubMed

Shi, Baoguo; Dai, David Y; Lu, Yongli

2016-01-01

Using testing and questionnaire methods, this study investigated the relationships among openness to experience, intelligence and creative thinking. This study focused on the moderating effects of openness to experience on the relationship between intelligence and creative thinking in a sample of 831 primary school students in China. The findings showed significant positive relationships among openness to experience, intelligence and creative thinking. In relation to the focus of this study, openness to experience moderated the relationship between intelligence and creative thinking. However, the correlation between openness to experience and creative thinking was stronger for urban children than for rural children, and the moderating effect existed only in urban settings.

Openness to Experience as a Moderator of the Relationship between Intelligence and Creative Thinking: A Study of Chinese Children in Urban and Rural Areas

PubMed Central

Shi, Baoguo; Dai, David Y.; Lu, Yongli

2016-01-01

Using testing and questionnaire methods, this study investigated the relationships among openness to experience, intelligence and creative thinking. This study focused on the moderating effects of openness to experience on the relationship between intelligence and creative thinking in a sample of 831 primary school students in China. The findings showed significant positive relationships among openness to experience, intelligence and creative thinking. In relation to the focus of this study, openness to experience moderated the relationship between intelligence and creative thinking. However, the correlation between openness to experience and creative thinking was stronger for urban children than for rural children, and the moderating effect existed only in urban settings. PMID:27199866

From High Potential to Gifted Performance: Encouraging Academically Talented Urban Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reis, Sally M.; Morales-Taylor, Miriam

2010-01-01

Academically talented students in many urban areas in the authors' Northeastern corner of the county have limited access to gifted and talented programs due to lack of funding and attention focused on students who are achieving well below grade level. In the city of Hartford, for example, no gifted program has been available for more than a…

Locating provisioning ecosystem services in urban forests: Forageable woody species in New York City, USA

Treesearch

Patrick T. Hurley; Marla R. Emery

2017-01-01

Scholarship on the ecosystem services provided by urban forests has focused on regulating and supporting services, with a growing body of research examining provisioning and cultural ecosystem services from farms and gardens in metropolitan areas. Using the case of New York, New York, USA, we propose a method to assess the supply of potential provisioning ecosystem...

Contested Urban Spaces: Exploring the Analytics of Young Persons' Experiences of Living in Glasgow's Deprived Zones

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holligan, Chris; Deuchar, Ross

2011-01-01

This paper reports findings from an exploratory study of mainly young people's verbally articulated perceptions of urban life in Glasgow, Scotland. The focus is upon areas of deprivation where territory and social capital is contested and whose meanings are possibly only partially grasped by our informants. Their personal knowledge of violence and…

Teacher Quality as a Predictor of Student Achievement in Urban Schools: A National Focus

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Salinas, Roselia A.; Kritsonis, William Allan; Herrington, David

2006-01-01

Research indicates that an increasing demand for teacher accountability and student achievement is at the forefront with the mandate of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001. These challenges will be crucial in urban and rural schools where the need for classroom teachers in critical teaching areas such as bilingual education, special…

Incidence and outcome of injury in Ghana: a community-based survey.

PubMed Central

Mock, C. N.; Abantanga, F.; Cummings, P.; Koepsell, T. D.

1999-01-01

Injury is an increasingly significant health problem in most low-income countries. However, strategies for preventing injury have not been well addressed. The present study was carried out to measure the incidence and outcome of various mechanisms of injury in Ghana in order to provide data for use in developing priorities for injury prevention efforts. For this purpose, using two-stage cluster sampling and household interviews, we surveyed 21,105 persons living in 431 urban and rural sites. During the preceding year, 1609 injuries resulting in one or more days of loss of normal activity were reported. Injury-related mortality was slightly higher in the urban (83 per 100,000) than in the rural area (53 per 100,000). However, the burden of disability from nonfatal injuries, as assessed by disability days, was higher in the rural (4697 disability days per 1000 person-years) than in the urban area (2671 days per 1000 person-years). Based on incidence rates and disability times, the major types of injury in the urban area were transport-related injury and falls. In the rural area, agricultural injuries predominated, followed by falls and transport-related injury. In rural and urban areas combined, 73% of motor vehicle-related injuries involved commercial vehicles. In this and other similar developing-country settings, injury prevention efforts should focus on falls and on transport safety in both urban and rural areas, with special attention being paid to commercial vehicles. In rural areas, agricultural injuries contributed the largest burden of morbidity, and should be a priority for prevention efforts. PMID:10680242

Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in Large Cities: A Global Baseline.

PubMed

Araos, Malcolm; Austin, Stephanie E; Berrang-Ford, Lea; Ford, James D

2016-01-01

Climate change will have significant impacts on human health, and urban populations are expected to be highly sensitive. The health risks from climate change in cities are compounded by rapid urbanization, high population density, and climate-sensitive built environments. Local governments are positioned to protect populations from climate health risks, but it is unclear whether municipalities are producing climate-adaptive policies. In this article, we develop and apply systematic methods to assess the state of public health adaptation in 401 urban areas globally with more than 1 million people, creating the first global baseline for urban public health adaptation. We find that only 10% of the sampled urban areas report any public health adaptation initiatives. The initiatives identified most frequently address risks posed by extreme weather events and involve direct changes in management or behavior rather than capacity building, research, or long-term investments in infrastructure. Based on our characterization of the current urban health adaptation landscape, we identify several gaps: limited evidence of reporting of institutional adaptation at the municipal level in urban areas in the Global South; lack of information-based adaptation initiatives; limited focus on initiatives addressing infectious disease risks; and absence of monitoring, reporting, and evaluation. © The Author(s) 2015.

Pollinator Interactions with Yellow Starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) across Urban, Agricultural, and Natural Landscapes

PubMed Central

Leong, Misha; Kremen, Claire; Roderick, George K.

2014-01-01

Pollinator-plant relationships are found to be particularly vulnerable to land use change. Yet despite extensive research in agricultural and natural systems, less attention has focused on these interactions in neighboring urban areas and its impact on pollination services. We investigated pollinator-plant interactions in a peri-urban landscape on the outskirts of the San Francisco Bay Area, California, where urban, agricultural, and natural land use types interface. We made standardized observations of floral visitation and measured seed set of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis), a common grassland invasive, to test the hypotheses that increasing urbanization decreases 1) rates of bee visitation, 2) viable seed set, and 3) the efficiency of pollination (relationship between bee visitation and seed set). We unexpectedly found that bee visitation was highest in urban and agricultural land use contexts, but in contrast, seed set rates in these human-altered landscapes were lower than in natural sites. An explanation for the discrepancy between floral visitation and seed set is that higher plant diversity in urban and agricultural areas, as a result of more introduced species, decreases pollinator efficiency. If these patterns are consistent across other plant species, the novel plant communities created in these managed landscapes and the generalist bee species that are favored by human-altered environments will reduce pollination services. PMID:24466050

Environmental Justice Aspects of Exposure to PM2.5 Emissions from Electric Vehicle Use in China.

PubMed

Ji, Shuguang; Cherry, Christopher R; Zhou, Wenjun; Sawhney, Rapinder; Wu, Ye; Cai, Siyi; Wang, Shuxiao; Marshall, Julian D

2015-12-15

Plug-in electric vehicles (EVs) in China aim to improve sustainability and reduce environmental health impacts of transport emissions. Urban use of EVs rather than conventional vehicles shifts transportation's air pollutant emissions from urban areas (tailpipes) to predominantly rural areas (power plants), changing the geographic distribution of health impacts. We model PM2.5-related health impacts attributable to urban EV use for 34 major cities. Our investigation focuses on environmental justice (EJ) by comparing pollutant inhalation versus income among impacted counties. We find that EVs could increase EJ challenge in China: most (~77%, range: 41-96%) emission inhalation attributable to urban EVs use is distributed to predominately rural communities whose incomes are on average lower than the cities where EVs are used. Results vary dramatically across cities depending on urban income and geography. Discriminant analysis reveals that counties with low income and high inhalation of urban EV emissions have comparatively higher agricultural employment rates, higher mortality rates, more children in the population, and lower education levels. We find that low-emission electricity sources such as renewable energy can help mitigate EJ issues raised here. Findings here are not unique to EVs, but instead are relevant for nearly all electricity-consuming technologies in urban areas.

Estimating the Limits of Infiltration in the Urban Appalachian Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lavin, S. M.; Bain, D.; Hopkins, K. G.; Pfeil-McCullough, E. K.; Copeland, E.

2014-12-01

Green infrastructure in urbanized areas commonly uses infiltration systems, such as rain gardens, swales and trenches, to convey surface runoff from impervious surfaces into surrounding soils. However, precipitation inputs can exceed soil infiltration rates, creating a limit to infiltration-based storm water management, particularly in urban areas covered by impervious surfaces. Given the limited availability and varied quality of soil infiltration rate data, we synthesized information from national databases, available field test data, and applicable literature to characterize soil infiltration rate distributions, focusing on Allegheny County, Pennsylvania as a case study. A range of impervious cover conditions was defined by sampling available GIS data (e.g., LiDAR and street edge lines) with analysis windows placed randomly across urbanization gradients. Changes in effective precipitation caused by impervious cover were calculated across these gradients and compared to infiltration rate distributions to identify thresholds in impervious coverage where these limits are exceeded. Many studies have demonstrated the effects of urbanization on infiltration, but the identification of these thresholds will clarify interactions between impervious cover and soil infiltration. These methods can help identify sections of urban areas that require augmentation of infiltration-based systems with additional infrastructural strategies, especially as green infrastructure moves beyond low impact development towards more frequent application during infilling of existing urban systems.

CEDRIC: a computerized chronic disease management system for urban, safety net clinics.

PubMed

Ogunyemi, Omolola; Mukherjee, Sukrit; Ani, Chizobam; Hindman, David; George, Sheba; Ilapakurthi, Ramarao; Verma, Mary; Dayrit, Melvin

2010-01-01

To meet the challenge of improving health care quality in urban, medically underserved areas of the US that have a predominance of chronic diseases such as diabetes, we have developed a new information system called CEDRIC for managing chronic diseases. CEDRIC was developed in collaboration with clinicians at an urban safety net clinic, using a community-participatory partnered research approach, with a view to addressing the particular needs of urban clinics with a high physician turnover and large uninsured/underinsured patient population. The pilot implementation focuses on diabetes management. In this paper, we describe the system's architecture and features.

Exchanges across land-water-scape boundaries in urban systems: strategies for reducing nitrate pollution.

PubMed

Cadenasso, M L; Pickett, S T A; Groffman, P M; Band, L E; Brush, G S; Galvin, M F; Grove, J M; Hagar, G; Marshall, V; McGrath, B P; O'Neil-Dunne, J P M; Stack, W P; Troy, A R

2008-01-01

Conservation in urban areas typically focuses on biodiversity and large green spaces. However, opportunities exist throughout urban areas to enhance ecological functions. An important function of urban landscapes is retaining nitrogen thereby reducing nitrate pollution to streams and coastal waters. Control of nonpoint nitrate pollution in urban areas was originally based on the documented importance of riparian zones in agricultural and forested ecosystems. The watershed and boundary frameworks have been used to guide stream research and a riparian conservation strategy to reduce nitrate pollution in urban streams. But is stream restoration and riparian-zone conservation enough? Data from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study and other urban stream research indicate that urban riparian zones do not necessarily prevent nitrate from entering, nor remove nitrate from, streams. Based on this insight, policy makers in Baltimore extended the conservation strategy throughout larger watersheds, attempting to restore functions that no longer took place in riparian boundaries. Two urban revitalization projects are presented as examples aimed at reducing nitrate pollution to stormwater, streams, and the Chesapeake Bay. An adaptive cycle of ecological urban design synthesizes the insights from the watershed and boundary frameworks, from new data, and from the conservation concerns of agencies and local communities. This urban example of conservation based on ameliorating nitrate water pollution extends the initial watershed-boundary approach along three dimensions: 1) from riparian to urban land-water-scapes; 2) from discrete engineering solutions to ecological design approaches; and 3) from structural solutions to inclusion of individual, household, and institutional behavior.

Inclusive city: Vallcarca – Space extension idea for social and urban housing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maharani, A.; Gaxioala, A.

2018-03-01

The neighborhood of Vallcarca, Barcelona - Spain, is located near the valley formed by the three hills called El Putxet, Creueta del Coll and Muntanya Pelada adjacent to the back area of Park Guell. Vallcarca first urbanized at the XIX century as a place to spend summer for the nearby inhabitants of the city of Barcelona. Since the end of XX century, the area has been under the pressure of different urban plannings and economic speculations that have just erase a big portion of its original physiognomy, without being able to organize a new area of town. The empty land that located at the former center and across Vallcarca becoming part of research to produce an outcome for compatible housing within the area. The data gives a focus on the social and urban rehabilitation of the neighborhood that introducing a program of social housing with communal facilities using an approach of connection and topography that existed on the site as a catalyst to change this fragmented part of the city into inclusive neighborhood.

Anthropogenic pressures on productive soils in Corlu and Cerkezkoy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tok, Ezgi

2016-08-01

Unplanned land use is mainly arising from previous regional (local) planning policies based on economic growth, which resulted in the misuse of the land. The fertile lands are converted to industrial/urban areas along with forest areas converted to agricultural zones which directly affect the flora and fauna in a negative way. This study aims to identify the land use transformations by using Remote Sensing and GIS due to prior socio-economic return focused politics resulting in environmental degradations. Additionally, this paper presents an analysis of the transformation of fertile lands into industrial/urban zones with respect to Land Capability Classes. The study area is one of the most urbanized and industrialized zones in Turkey. The reason behind this transformation lies solely in the fact that the aforementioned area is quite appealing to industrialization due to its easy access to infrastructure and its compliance with the spatial requirements. Up until now the development plans of the region have been prepared with a socioeconomic agenda promoting the economic growth while disregarding the ecological and environmental balance, which unfortunately boosted the large-scale degradation of the environment. Although the focus area is within a zone suitable for industrialization, this region also takes place within a wide river basin (Ergene River Basin) making it an ideal location for highly productive crop cultivation (LUC Classes 1 to 4), which is a rare commodity in long term.

Effects of Green Space and Land Use/Land Cover on Urban Heat Island in a Subtropical Mega-city in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, G. Y.; Li, X.; Li, H.; Guo, Q.

2014-12-01

With the quick expansion of urban in size and population, its urban heat island intensity (UHII, expressed as the temperature difference between urban and rural areas) increased rapidly. However, very few studies could quantitatively reveal the effects of green space and land use/land cover (LULC) on urban thermal environment because of lacking of the detailed measurement. This study focuses on quantifying the effects of green space and LULC on urban Heat Island (UHI) in Shenzhen, a mega subtropical city in China. Extensive measurements (air temperature and humidity) were made by mobile traverse method in a transect of 8 km in length, where a variety of LULC types were included. Measurements were carried out at 2 hours interval for 2 years (totally repeated for 7011 times). According to LULC types, we selected 5 different LULC types for studying, including water body, village in the city, shopping center (commercial area), urban green space (well-vegetated area) and suburb (forest). The main conclusions are obtained as follows: (1) The temperature difference between the 5 different urban landscapes is obvious, i.e. shopping center > village in the city > urban water body > urban green space > suburb; (2) Air temperature and UHII decreases linearly with the increase of green space in urban; (3) Green space and water body in urban have obvious effects to reduce the air temperature by evapotranspiration. Compared to the commercial areas, urban water body can relieve the IUHI by 0.9℃, while the urban green space can relieve the IUHI by 1.57℃. The cooling effect of the urban green space is better than that of the urban water body; (4) Periodic activity of human being has obvious effects on urban air temperature. The UHII on Saturday and Sunday are higher than that from Monday to Friday, respectively higher for 0.65, 0.57, 0.26 and 0.21℃. Thursday and Friday have the minimum air temperature and UHII. These results indicate that increase in urban evapotranspiration by increasing green space could be a useful way to improve urban thermal environment and mitigation of UHI.

Urban geomorphological heritage - A new field of research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reynard, Emmanuel; Pica, Alessia; Coratza, Paola

2017-04-01

Urbanization is one of the major challenges that the world faces. In 2015, 54% of the world population was living in urban areas and in some countries this percentage is close to 100% (Singapore 100%; Qatar 99%; Belgium 98%). In several parts of the world annual urbanization rates exceed 5% (e.g. Oman 8.54%; Rwanda 6.43%; Burkina Faso 5.87%), which means that urban sprawl is a widespread phenomenon. Urbanization and correlated infrastructure building highly impact and sometimes completely destroy natural landforms. Geomorphological heritage research has traditionally focused on rural or natural regions, in particular protected areas (nature parks, geoparks). We consider that urban areas, which have been poorly investigated until now, are particularly interesting in a geomorphological heritage point of view for almost three reasons: (i) The geomorphological context (site) of some cities is part of their "image" and their fame (e.g. the sugarloaf of Rio de Janeiro); (ii) Urban sprawl often interacts with landforms, which addresses the challenge of geoheritage protection in fast urbanizing areas; (iii) Cities are often tourist destinations, which creates a potential for a geotourist promotion of their geomorphological heritage. This study addresses the main challenges research on geomorphological heritage is facing in urban contexts: (i) the complex interrelationships between natural landforms and urban forms; (ii) the partial or total invisibility of landforms and sediments that are covered or destroyed by urban infrastructures; (iii) man-made landforms as part of urban geomorphological heritage; (iv) the suitability of some landforms (valleys, gullies, mounts) for specific urban uses; (v) the geomorphic constraints of landforms on urban development; and (vi) the importance of some landforms for the urban landscape and the image of the cities. To address these challenges a methodological framework is proposed, which combines: (i) the geomorphological analysis of the urban landscape through geomorphological mapping (with use of a specific legend for man-made landforms) and geohistorical analysis of landscape evolution (historical maps processing); (ii) the selection, characterization and assessment of urban geomorphosites; (iii) proposals for the conservation and promotion (geotourism) of the urban geomorphological heritage.

Urban water metabolism efficiency assessment: integrated analysis of available and virtual water.

PubMed

Huang, Chu-Long; Vause, Jonathan; Ma, Hwong-Wen; Yu, Chang-Ping

2013-05-01

Resolving the complex environmental problems of water pollution and shortage which occur during urbanization requires the systematic assessment of urban water metabolism efficiency (WME). While previous research has tended to focus on either available or virtual water metabolism, here we argue that the systematic problems arising during urbanization require an integrated assessment of available and virtual WME, using an indicator system based on material flow analysis (MFA) results. Future research should focus on the following areas: 1) analysis of available and virtual water flow patterns and processes through urban districts in different urbanization phases in years with varying amounts of rainfall, and their environmental effects; 2) based on the optimization of social, economic and environmental benefits, establishment of an indicator system for urban WME assessment using MFA results; 3) integrated assessment of available and virtual WME in districts with different urbanization levels, to facilitate study of the interactions between the natural and social water cycles; 4) analysis of mechanisms driving differences in WME between districts with different urbanization levels, and the selection of dominant social and economic driving indicators, especially those impacting water resource consumption. Combinations of these driving indicators could then be used to design efficient water resource metabolism solutions, and integrated management policies for reduced water consumption. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Promoting Ethical Research With American Indian and Alaska Native People Living in Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Bartgis, Jami; Demers, Deirdre

2014-01-01

Most health research with American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people has focused on tribal communities on reservation lands. Few studies have been conducted with AI/AN people living in urban settings despite their documented health disparities compared with other urban populations. There are unique considerations for working with this population. Engaging key stakeholders, including urban Indian health organization leaders, tribal leaders, research scientists and administrators, and policymakers, is critical to promoting ethical research and enhancing capacity of urban AI/AN communities. Recommendations for their involvement may facilitate an open dialogue and promote the development of implementation strategies. Future collaborations are also necessary for establishing research policies aimed at improving the health of the urban AI/AN population. PMID:25211730

Evaluation of sustainable walk-up flats in terms of urban housing renewal in coastal area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Septanti, D.; Kisnarini, R.; Setyawan, W.; Utami, ASPR

2018-03-01

Urban housing renewal aims to get added value while maintaining the sustainability of its environmental function and quality [4]. This research discusses the urban renewal which is done by rebuilding the affected area with walk-up flats. There are four aspects to be considered in achieving sustainability, namely: environmental, social, economic, and cultural [14]. This study is focused on cultural aspect. Sustainable walk-up flats, viewed from the micro context perspective, can later be used as one of the terms of reference in assessing the success of urban renewal projects in Indonesia. Especially in coastal areas, it becomes more challenging because coastal communities have different characteristics and the existing urban renewal flats are not necessarily appropriate for the coastal community. The methods used in this study are explorative, descriptive, ex- post, cross-sectional and synchronic evaluation. This research describes the characteristics of citizens, activities at home and the environment. Thus, the conclusions which are drawn by deductive reasoning are done using frequency, mean, etc. A mixed research method is applied combining with the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data collection and interpretation, including determining quantitative indicators and space design attributes, and qualitative user needs. This research is located in Surabaya as a sample of coastal cities with urban and environmental problems. The results of this study are the findings of indicators, directions, and concepts for Sustainable Housing Development in Coastal Areas which further can be made as scientific recommendation (to support the Housing Theory and Urban Renewal) and contribute to practical guidelines for sustainable low-cost walk-up flats in coastal areas.

Soil respiration contributes substantially to urban carbon fluxes in the greater Boston area.

PubMed

Decina, Stephen M; Hutyra, Lucy R; Gately, Conor K; Getson, Jackie M; Reinmann, Andrew B; Short Gianotti, Anne G; Templer, Pamela H

2016-05-01

Urban areas are the dominant source of U.S. fossil fuel carbon dioxide (FFCO2) emissions. In the absence of binding international treaties or decisive U.S. federal policy for greenhouse gas regulation, cities have also become leaders in greenhouse gas reduction efforts through climate action plans. These plans focus on anthropogenic carbon flows only, however, ignoring a potentially substantial contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations from biological respiration. Our aim was to measure the contribution of CO2 efflux from soil respiration to atmospheric CO2 fluxes using an automated CO2 efflux system and to use these measurements to model urban soil CO2 efflux across an urban area. We find that growing season soil respiration is dramatically enhanced in urban areas and represents levels of CO2 efflux of up to 72% of FFCO2 within greater Boston's residential areas, and that soils in urban forests, lawns, and landscaped cover types emit 2.62 ± 0.15, 4.49 ± 0.14, and 6.73 ± 0.26 μmolCO2 m(-2) s(-1), respectively, during the growing season. These rates represent up to 2.2 times greater soil respiration than rates found in nearby rural ecosystems in central Massachusetts (MA), a potential consequence of imported carbon amendments, such as mulch, within a general regime of landowner management. As the scientific community moves rapidly towards monitoring, reporting, and verification of CO2 emissions using ground based approaches and remotely-sensed observations to measure CO2 concentrations, our results show that measurement and modeling of biogenic urban CO2 fluxes will be a critical component for verification of urban climate action plans. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Recent trends in the prevalence of under- and overweight among adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries

PubMed Central

Jaacks, Lindsay M.; Slining, Meghan M.; Popkin, Barry M.

2014-01-01

Background Most studies of childhood malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) focus on children <5 years, with few focusing on adolescence, a critical stage in development. Objective To evaluate recent trends in the prevalence of under- and overweight among girls (15–18 years) in LMICs. Methods Data are from Demographic and Health Surveys (53 countries) and national surveys conducted in Indonesia, China, Vietnam, Brazil, and Mexico. The most recent surveys with sample sizes ≥50 when stratified by rural-urban status were included: 46.6% of countries had a survey conducted in the past 5 years, while the most recent survey for 10.3% of countries was over 10 years old. The overall rural sample size was 94,857 and urban sample size was 81,025. Under- and overweight were defined using the IOTF sex- and age-specific BMI cut-points. Results South Asia had the highest prevalence of underweight; nearly double that of East Asia & the Pacific and Sub-Saharan Africa, and increasing annually by 0.66% in rural areas. Latin America & the Caribbean had the highest regional prevalence of overweight in both rural and urban settings and this prevalence is increasing annually by about 0.50%. In urban areas, 38% of countries had both an under- and overweight prevalence ≥10%. Conclusions There is substantial variation across and within regions in the burden of under- and overweight, with increasing dual burdens in urban areas. Innovative public health interventions capable of addressing both ends of the malnutrition spectrum are urgently needed. PMID:25558987

Effectiveness of the area wide pest management program to control asian tiger mosquito in New Jersey: evidence from a household survey

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Households’ behaviors can both mitigate and measure the spread of urban mosquito species. Beginning in 2009, an area-wide pest management (AWPM) project to control Ae. Albopictus was implemented in 6 areas in Monmouth and Mercer counties, NJ. Including other activities, the project focused on increa...

Rural/urban mortality differences in England and Wales and the effect of deprivation adjustment.

PubMed

Gartner, Andrea; Farewell, Daniel; Roach, Paul; Dunstan, Frank

2011-05-01

Perceptions that rural populations are inevitably healthier and live longer than urban populations are increasingly being challenged. But very few publications have investigated the extent to which these putative differences can be explained by variation in area composition. Existing publications have tended to use conventional deprivation measures, often thought to mask rural deprivation by favourable averages. Further, they have typically been based on large and variably-sized geographical units, or confined to studies of a single region or cause of death. This study examines differences in mortality between rural and urban areas in the entire population of England and Wales for 2002-2004. It uses the most up-to-date small geographical units of similar size and homogeneity of population together with the recently-introduced Rural and Urban Area Classification, and adjusts for five different deprivation measures (including modern composite indices). The causes of death investigated were all-cause mortality, cancer, lung cancer, respiratory disease, circulatory disease, suicide and accidents. Particular points of focus for the study were the potential for interaction between deprivation and rurality, and the importance of choice of deprivation measure in quantifying the relationships between mortality, rurality and deprivation. Choice of deprivation measure was not found to alter the substantive conclusions of any analysis, and little evidence for differential effects of deprivation in rural and urban areas was uncovered. Differences between rural and urban areas in all-cause, circulatory disease and cancer mortality could largely be accounted for by adjusting for deprivation. For these causes of death, therefore, rural populations were not found to be inherently healthier than their urban counterparts. However, substantial residual differences between rural and urban areas were found in comparisons of mortality from lung cancer and respiratory disease, mortality being lower in rural areas. Stronger relationships between rurality and mortality were found in 'village and dispersed' settlements. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mapping urban porosity and roughness characteristics as a mean of defining urban ventilation corridors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wicht, Marzena; Wicht, Andreas; Osińska-Skotak, Katarzyna

2017-10-01

Cities can be characterized with the roughest aerodynamic boundaries, which results in the enhanced turbulent motion and increased drag effect. This leads to reduced wind speeds and directly increases negative effects of living within urban areas. Urban Heat Island, decreased air quality or densely built-up residential/industrial areas occur in many cities, both in temperate and tropical regions, and are included in these negative effects. This case study investigates Warsaw, the capital of Poland, representing a dense, urban environment, located in the temperate zone. It suffers from immense air pollution levels, as well as Urban Heat Island, and the local government is seeking ways to resolve these issues. Among many mitigation techniques, air restoration and exchange system were suggested as appropriate measures, as they address many of the aforementioned issues. The essential elements of such system are ventilation corridors. This paper describes mapping these corridors utilizing the morphometric methods of urban roughness aided by remote sensing data. We focus especially on the terrain topology and texture of single elements, including high vegetation canopy layer. This study considers DSM and different porosity of obstacles, deriving a new outlook at the morphometric methods as a way to improve them. The mapped areas of low roughness characteristics might be appointed as ventilation corridors and play a crucial role in air restoration and exchange system. They may also be included in further planning processes by the local government as preservation areas.

Land use/cover change detection and urban sprawl analysis in Bandar Abbas city, Iran.

PubMed

Dadras, Mohsen; Shafri, Helmi Zulhaidi Mohd; Ahmad, Noordin; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Safarpour, Sahabeh

2014-01-01

The process of land use change and urban sprawl has been considered as a prominent characteristic of urban development. This study aims to investigate urban growth process in Bandar Abbas city, Iran, focusing on urban sprawl and land use change during 1956-2012. To calculate urban sprawl and land use changes, aerial photos and satellite images are utilized in different time spans. The results demonstrate that urban region area has changed from 403.77 to 4959.59 hectares between 1956 and 2012. Moreover, the population has increased more than 30 times in last six decades. The major part of population growth is related to migration from other parts the country to Bandar Abbas city. Considering the speed of urban sprawl growth rate, the scale and the role of the city have changed from medium and regional to large scale and transregional. Due to natural and structural limitations, more than 80% of barren lands, stone cliffs, beach zone, and agricultural lands are occupied by built-up areas. Our results revealed that the irregular expansion of Bandar Abbas city must be controlled so that sustainable development could be achieved.

Land Use/Cover Change Detection and Urban Sprawl Analysis in Bandar Abbas City, Iran

PubMed Central

Mohd Shafri, Helmi Zulhaidi; Ahmad, Noordin; Pradhan, Biswajeet; Safarpour, Sahabeh

2014-01-01

The process of land use change and urban sprawl has been considered as a prominent characteristic of urban development. This study aims to investigate urban growth process in Bandar Abbas city, Iran, focusing on urban sprawl and land use change during 1956–2012. To calculate urban sprawl and land use changes, aerial photos and satellite images are utilized in different time spans. The results demonstrate that urban region area has changed from 403.77 to 4959.59 hectares between 1956 and 2012. Moreover, the population has increased more than 30 times in last six decades. The major part of population growth is related to migration from other parts the country to Bandar Abbas city. Considering the speed of urban sprawl growth rate, the scale and the role of the city have changed from medium and regional to large scale and transregional. Due to natural and structural limitations, more than 80% of barren lands, stone cliffs, beach zone, and agricultural lands are occupied by built-up areas. Our results revealed that the irregular expansion of Bandar Abbas city must be controlled so that sustainable development could be achieved. PMID:25276858

Resilient landscapes in Mediterranean urban areas: Understanding factors influencing forest trends.

PubMed

Tomao, Antonio; Quatrini, Valerio; Corona, Piermaria; Ferrara, Agostino; Lafortezza, Raffaele; Salvati, Luca

2017-07-01

Urban and peri-urban forests are recognized as basic elements for Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), as they preserve and may increase environmental quality in urbanized contexts. For this reason, the amount of forest land per inhabitant is a pivotal efficiency indicator to be considered in the sustainable governance, land management, planning and design of metropolitan areas. The present study illustrates a multivariate analysis of per-capita forest area (PFA) in mainland Attica, the urban region surrounding Athens, Greece. Attica is considered a typical case of Mediterranean urbanization where planning has not regulated urban expansion and successive waves of spontaneous growth have occurred over time. In such a context, an analysis of factors that can affect landscape changes in terms of PFA may inform effective strategies for the sustainable management of socio-ecological local systems in light of the NBS perspective. A total of 26 indicators were collected per decade at the municipal scale in the study area with the aim to identify the factors most closely associated to the amount of PFA. Indicators of urban morphology and functions have been considered together with environmental and topographical variables. In Attica, PFA showed a progressive decrease between 1960 and 2010. In particular, PFA progressively declined (1980, 1990) along fringe areas surrounding Athens and in peri-urban districts experiencing dispersed expansion of residential settlements. Distance from core cities and from the seacoast, typical urban functions (e.g., multiple use of buildings and per capita built-up area) and percentage of agricultural land-use in each municipality are the variables most associated with high PFA. In recent years, some municipalities have shown an expansion of forest cover, mainly due to land abandonment and forest recolonization. Findings from this case study have allowed us to identify priorities for NBS at metropolitan level aimed at promoting more sustainable urbanization. Distinctively, proposed NBS basically focus on (i) the effective protection of crop mosaics with relict woodlots; (ii) the improvement of functionality, quality and accessibility of new forests; and (iii) the establishment of new forests in rural municipalities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interdisciplinary Study of Urbanization and Impacts - the Poplex 2014 Field Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nghiem, S. V.; Masetti, M.; Stevenazzi, S.; Bonfanti, M.; Conforto, A.; Filippini, M.; Fabbri, P.; Pola, M.; Sorichetta, A.; Linard, C.; Pampaloni, P.; Paloscia, S.; Santi, E. S.; Catani, F.; Neumann, G.

2014-12-01

Haphazard urban development may have far reaching impacts not only around the urban vicinity but also across regional and perhaps global scales. To investigate urban change and impacts, the PO PLain EXperiment (POPLEX) was conducted in May 2014. The focus of POPLEX was to conduct the most effective study, by closely coordinating the field campaign with the science team in different zones of the Po Plain in northern Italy, and also with an extension to Florence in the Tuscany region. Northern Italy is one of the most populated areas in Europe and most of its cities registered an urban sprawl pattern in the 2000s. In this view, the POPLEX domain represents a pertinent "pilot area" to identify environmental impacts due to urban sprawl. This is to identify and understand the influence of urban characteristics and urban change on important environmental topics such as: (a) groundwater resource quality assessment and management, (b) air quality assessment, and (c) temperature assessment. POPLEX involved 25 participants from 15 institutions from 5 countries using data from 12 satellites and extensive field networks including approximately 220 meteorological stations, 170 air monitoring stations, hundreds of groundwater monitoring wells, and 20 river gauges together with demographic census data and detailed survey maps of land cover and land use. Innovative processing, with the Dense Sampling Method and Rosette Transform applied to satellite scatterometer data, has allowed a successful development of a spatially and temporally consistent dataset delineating urban extension and thus to monitor the annual rate of changes, in each pixel of a 1-km grid, throughout the decade of 2000s across the landscape without spatial gaps. Such dataset enables the introduction of the time dimension into dynamic analyses combining both anthropogenic and natural factors including atmospheric, geophysical, and hydrogeological characteristics of each study area. Initial results have been obtained and will be presented on: (i) accelerated urbanization gradient in Milan transition areas, (ii) air pollution over urban areas and its constrain in the Po Plain surrounded by mountains, (iii) water contaminations due to urbanization in Lombardy, and (iv) hot-spot urbanization pattern of new built-up pockets in the Florence-Prato plain.

Biological, social, and urban design factors affecting young street tree mortality in New York City

Treesearch

Jacqueline W.T. Lu; Erika S. Svendsen; Lindsay K. Campbell; Jennifer Greenfeld; Jessie Braden; Kristen King; Nancy Falxa-Raymond

2010-01-01

In dense metropolitan areas, there are many factors including traffic congestion, building development and social organizations that may impact the health of street trees. The focus of this study is to better understand how social, biological and urban design factors affect the mortality rates of newly planted street trees. Prior analyses of street trees planted by the...

Urban forest influences on exposure to UV radiation and potential consequences for human health

Treesearch

Gordon M. Heisler

2010-01-01

This chapter explores the literature on ultraviolet (UV) irradiance in urban ecosystems with respect to the likely effects on human health. The focus was the question of whether the health effects of UV radiation should be included in the planning of landscape elements such as trees and shading structures, especially for high use pedestrian areas and school play...

Synchronizing the city with human-based spaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyergyák, János

2018-03-01

The paper is about to summarize the most important development tools to make the urban spaces more human friendly in Denver, Colorado. There are more needs for having more livable and sustainable areas by reducing the use of automobiles and focusing on multimodal street design. The strategies are the basic elements to make our urban spaces better and happier from The United States to Hungary

Modeling of air pollutant removal by dry deposition to urban trees using a WRF/CMAQ/i-Tree Eco coupled system

Treesearch

Maria Theresa I. Cabaraban; Charles N. Kroll; Satoshi Hirabayashi; David J. Nowak

2013-01-01

A distributed adaptation of i-Tree Eco was used to simulate dry deposition in an urban area. This investigation focused on the effects of varying temperature, LAI, and NO2 concentration inputs on estimated NO2 dry deposition to trees in Baltimore, MD. A coupled modeling system is described, wherein WRF provided temperature...

Rising Wage Inequality: The 1980s Experience in Urban Labor Markets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hyclak, Thomas

The rising wage inequality in U.S. urban labor markets during the 1980s was examined in a study of 20 metropolitan area labor markets. The study's perspective differs from the prevailing perspective on the problem in three ways: (1) it focuses on changes in the wage structure in a sample of local labor markets; (2) it examines changes in the…

Seeking common ground: protecting homes from wildfires while making forests more resilient to fire

Treesearch

Noreen Parks; Alan Ager

2011-01-01

Federal policies direct public-land managers to reduce wildfire risks for urban areas close to wildlands, while broader agency goals call for landscape restoration to create fire-resilient forests. This study used wildfires simulation modeling to examine the tradeoffs between focusing fuel reduction efforts on a wildland-urban interface (WUI) in Oregon’s Blue Mountains...

Finding a "disappearing" nontimber forest resource: using grounded visualization to explore urbanization impacts on sweetgrass basketmaking in greater Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina

Treesearch

Patrick T. Hurley; Angela C. Halfacre; Norm S. Levine

2008-01-01

Despite growing interest in urbanization and its social and ecological impacts on formerly rural areas, empirical research remains limited. Extant studies largely focus either on issues of social exclusion and enclosure or ecological change. This article uses the case of sweetgrass basketmaking in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina, to explore the implications of...

Sharing the Literacy Load

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Orechovsky, Patricia

2010-01-01

The literacy team at Brentwood (NY) High School, a large urban high school, focused its efforts on building content-area teachers' literacy instruction skills. The team is made up of teachers from the various content areas, including physical education and art, as well as supportive administrators. The team developed a pacing guide, a monthly…

Evaluation of Green Infrastructure on Peak Flow Mitigation Focusing on the Connectivity of Impervious Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Seo, Y.; Hwang, J.; Kwon, Y.

2017-12-01

The existence of impervious areas is one of the most distinguishing characteristics of urban catchments. It decreases infiltration and increases direct runoff in urban catchments. The recent introduction of green infrastructure in urban catchments for the purpose of sustainable development contributes to the decrease of the directly connected impervious areas (DCIA) by isolating existing impervious areas and consequently, to the flood risk mitigation. This study coupled the width function-based instantaneous hydrograph (WFIUH), which is able to handle the spatial distribution of the impervious areas, with the concept of the DCIA to assess the impact of decreasing DCIA on the shape of direct runoff hydrographs. Using several scenarios for typical green infrastructure and corresponding changes of DCIA in a test catchment, this study evaluated the effect of green infrastructure on the shape of the resulting direct runoff hydrographs and peak flows. The results showed that the changes in the DCIA immediately affects the shape of the direct runoff hydrograph and decreases peak flows depending on spatial implementation scenarios. The quantitative assessment of the spatial distribution of impervious areas and also the changes to the DCIA suggests effective and well-planned green infrastructure can be introduced in urban environments for flood risk management.

Spatial and temporal variability of rainfall and their effects on hydrological response in urban areas - a review

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cristiano, Elena; ten Veldhuis, Marie-claire; van de Giesen, Nick

2017-07-01

In urban areas, hydrological processes are characterized by high variability in space and time, making them sensitive to small-scale temporal and spatial rainfall variability. In the last decades new instruments, techniques, and methods have been developed to capture rainfall and hydrological processes at high resolution. Weather radars have been introduced to estimate high spatial and temporal rainfall variability. At the same time, new models have been proposed to reproduce hydrological response, based on small-scale representation of urban catchment spatial variability. Despite these efforts, interactions between rainfall variability, catchment heterogeneity, and hydrological response remain poorly understood. This paper presents a review of our current understanding of hydrological processes in urban environments as reported in the literature, focusing on their spatial and temporal variability aspects. We review recent findings on the effects of rainfall variability on hydrological response and identify gaps where knowledge needs to be further developed to improve our understanding of and capability to predict urban hydrological response.

Impacts of Urbanization in the Coastal Tropical City of San Juan, Puerto Rico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comarazamy, Daniel E.; Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Rickman, Douglass

2007-01-01

Urban sprawl in tropical locations is rapidly accelerating and it is more evident in islands where a large percentage of the population resides along the coasts. This paper focuses on the analysis of the impacts of land use and land cover for urbanization in the tropical coastal city of San Juan, in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. A mesoscale numerical model, the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), is used to study the impacts of land use for urbanization in the environment including specific characteristics of the urban heat island in the San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA), one of the most noticeable urban cores of the Caribbean. The research also makes use of the observations obtained during the airborne San Juan Atlas Mission. Surface and raw insonde data from the mission are used to validate the atmospheric model yielding satisfactory results. Airborne high resolution remote sensing data are used to update the model's surface characteristics in order to obtain a more accurate and detailed configuration of the SJMA and perform a climate impact analysis based on land cover/land use (LCLU) changes. The impact analysis showed that the presence of the urban landscape of San Juan has an impact reflected in higher air temperatures over the area occupied by the city, with positive values of up to 2.5 degrees C, for the simulations that have specified urban LCLU indexes in the model's bottom boundary. One interesting result of the impact analysis was the finding of a precipitation disturbance shown as a difference in total accumulated rainfall between the present urban landscape and with a potential natural vegetation, apparently induced by the presence of the urban area. Results indicate that the urban-enhanced cloud formation and precipitation development occur mainly downwind of the city, including the accumulated precipitation. This spatial pattern can be explained by the presence of a larger urbanized area in the southwest sector of the city, and of the approaching northeasterly trade winds.

Rural ITS

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1999-04-01

Rural intelligent transportation systems (ITS) refers to that portion of the ITS program that focuses on travelers' and operators' needs in non-urbanized areas of the United States. As such, it involves interurban/interstate travel, small communities...

Spatial distribution of marine litter along italian coastal areas in the Pelagos sanctuary (Ligurian Sea - NW Mediterranean Sea): A focus on natural and urban beaches.

PubMed

Giovacchini, Alice; Merlino, Silvia; Locritani, Marina; Stroobant, Mascha

2018-05-01

Our paper will show data on quantity, typology, distribution of beach litter (Anthropogenic Marine Debris - AMD) within a coastal macroarea surrounding the Pelagos Sanctuary, an International Protected Area in the NW Mediterranean Sea. AMD Monitoring and characterisation have been performed by using SEACleaner Protocol: an adapted version of UNEP/IOC, OSPAR and EU guidelines. 11 beaches located in 5 different areas, have been monitored with a total amount of thirty three surveys, from January 2014 to December 2015, during different seasons. Three kinds of beaches have been considered: Natural (belonging to MPAs), Urbanized and Urban. A total of 34,027 items on a total area of 32,154 m 2 have been removed and classified. Spatial difference in abundance and composition of AMDs - as well as beach environmental quality - has been detected. Natural sites, and particularly protected areas close to river mouths show a major density compared to other areas. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estimating the relationship between urban 3D morphology and land surface temperature using airborne LiDAR and Landsat-8 Thermal Infrared Sensor data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J. H.

2015-12-01

Urban forests are known for mitigating the urban heat island effect and heat-related health issues by reducing air and surface temperature. Beyond the amount of the canopy area, however, little is known what kind of spatial patterns and structures of urban forests best contributes to reducing temperatures and mitigating the urban heat effects. Previous studies attempted to find the relationship between the land surface temperature and various indicators of vegetation abundance using remote sensed data but the majority of those studies relied on two dimensional area based metrics, such as tree canopy cover, impervious surface area, and Normalized Differential Vegetation Index, etc. This study investigates the relationship between the three-dimensional spatial structure of urban forests and urban surface temperature focusing on vertical variance. We use a Landsat-8 Thermal Infrared Sensor image (acquired on July 24, 2014) to estimate the land surface temperature of the City of Sacramento, CA. We extract the height and volume of urban features (both vegetation and non-vegetation) using airborne LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and high spatial resolution aerial imagery. Using regression analysis, we apply empirical approach to find the relationship between the land surface temperature and different sets of variables, which describe spatial patterns and structures of various urban features including trees. Our analysis demonstrates that incorporating vertical variance parameters improve the accuracy of the model. The results of the study suggest urban tree planting is an effective and viable solution to mitigate urban heat by increasing the variance of urban surface as well as evaporative cooling effect.

Global loss of avian evolutionary uniqueness in urban areas.

PubMed

Ibáñez-Álamo, Juan Diego; Rubio, Enrique; Benedetti, Yanina; Morelli, Federico

2017-08-01

Urbanization, one of the most important anthropogenic impacts on Earth, is rapidly expanding worldwide. This expansion of urban land-covered areas is known to significantly reduce different components of biodiversity. However, the global evidence for this effect is mainly focused on a single diversity measure (species richness) with a few local or regional studies also supporting reductions in functional diversity. We have used birds, an important ecological group that has been used as surrogate for other animals, to investigate the hypothesis that urbanization reduces the global taxonomical and/or evolutionary diversity. We have also explored whether there is evidence supporting that urban bird communities are evolutionarily homogenized worldwide in comparison with nonurban ones by means of using evolutionary distinctiveness (how unique are the species) of bird communities. To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to quantify the effect of urbanization in more than one single diversity measure as well as the first time to look for associations between urbanization and phylogenetic diversity at a large spatial scale. Our findings show a strong and globally consistent reduction in taxonomic diversity in urban areas, which is also synchronized with the evolutionary homogenization of urban bird communities. Despite our general patterns, we found some regional differences in the intensity of the effect of cities on bird species richness or evolutionary distinctiveness, suggesting that conservation efforts should be adapted locally. Our findings might be useful for conservationists and policymakers to minimize the impact of urban development on Earth's biodiversity and help design more realistic conservation strategies. © 2016 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Effects of urban form on the urban heat island effect based on spatial regression model.

PubMed

Yin, Chaohui; Yuan, Man; Lu, Youpeng; Huang, Yaping; Liu, Yanfang

2018-09-01

The urban heat island (UHI) effect is becoming more of a concern with the accelerated process of urbanization. However, few studies have examined the effect of urban form on land surface temperature (LST) especially from an urban planning perspective. This paper used spatial regression model to investigate the effects of both land use composition and urban form on LST in Wuhan City, China, based on the regulatory planning management unit. Landsat ETM+ image data was used to estimate LST. Land use composition was calculated by impervious surface area proportion, vegetated area proportion, and water proportion, while urban form indicators included sky view factor (SVF), building density, and floor area ratio (FAR). We first tested for spatial autocorrelation of urban LST, which confirmed that a traditional regression method would be invalid. A spatial error model (SEM) was chosen because its parameters were better than a spatial lag model (SLM). The results showed that urban form metrics should be the focus for mitigation efforts of UHI effects. In addition, analysis of the relationship between urban form and UHI effect based on the regulatory planning management unit was helpful for promoting corresponding UHI effect mitigation rules in practice. Finally, the spatial regression model was recommended to be an appropriate method for dealing with problems related to the urban thermal environment. Results suggested that the impact of urbanization on the UHI effect can be mitigated not only by balancing various land use types, but also by optimizing urban form, which is even more effective. This research expands the scientific understanding of effects of urban form on UHI by explicitly analyzing indicators closely related to urban detailed planning at the level of regulatory planning management unit. In addition, it may provide important insights and effective regulation measures for urban planners to mitigate future UHI effects. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Equity and Urban Service Distribution, Package XVIII. Module 1; Module 2: Handbook for Analyzing the Distribution of Solid Waste Collection Services; Module 3: Handbook for Analyzing the Distribution of Library Services; Module 4: Handbook for Analyzing the Distribution of Park Services; Module 5: Handbook for Analyzing the Distribution of Police Services.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lucy, William H.; Mladenka, Kenneth R.

This package contains the student materials for five modules which comprise a portion of the National Training and Development Service Urban Management Curriculum Development Project. These modules focus on the distribution of services in urban areas. Module One presents chapters on service distribution and equity, effectiveness, decision making,…

Deformation Estimation In Non-Urban Areas Exploiting High Resolution SAR Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goel, Kanika; Adam, Nico

2012-01-01

Advanced techniques such as the Small Baseline Subset Algorithm (SBAS) have been developed for terrain motion mapping in non-urban areas with a focus on extracting information from distributed scatterers (DSs). SBAS uses small baseline differential interferograms (to limit the effects of geometric decorrelation) and these are typically multilooked to reduce phase noise, resulting in loss of resolution. Various error sources e.g. phase unwrapping errors, topographic errors, temporal decorrelation and atmospheric effects also affect the interferometric phase. The aim of our work is an improved deformation monitoring in non-urban areas exploiting high resolution SAR data. The paper provides technical details and a processing example of a newly developed technique which incorporates an adaptive spatial phase filtering algorithm for an accurate high resolution differential interferometric stacking, followed by deformation retrieval via the SBAS approach where we perform the phase inversion using a more robust L1 norm minimization.

Cutting off beggars spread in Medan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thamrin, Husni; Utama Ritonga, Fajar

2018-03-01

Beggars as a problem in urban areas has never been really solved, both by the government and civil societies. Government and civil societies only focus on the downstream, not the upstream or the root of the problem. The government has been concentrating their efforts on lawmaking which restrict beggars and vagabonds in urban areas, crack them down by apprehending and rehabilitating these people. In the meantime, civil societies and non governmental organizations (NGOs) have been paying more attention on socioeconomic empowerment with institutional and non-institutional system. If the root of the problem is not touched upon, beggars influx will always be there: this group will keep coming to urban areas, especially near to religious holidays. Institutions which have never been touched upon by the government and NGOs, the ones who bring about beggars and vagabonds, in this research are called “the beggar home production”.

Benefits of Greenery in Contemporary City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Virtudes, Ana

2016-10-01

Greenery has always played an important role in the construction of cities. The need for green spaces has been present at city level since ancient times. However, the description of the evolutionary process of form and function of urban green spaces as it has developed from antiquity depends greatly upon the different roles played by these places throughout history. Nowadays, given that the main part of the world population is living in cities, it can be said that greenery has a strategic importance in the contemporary urban fabric. Therefore, urban design solutions should always consider both buildings and vegetation as being defining city's elements. However, the city is currently dominated by building structures which are detrimental to green spaces, causing problems of congestion and pollution. The most recent and compulsory Portuguese urban rehabilitation principles emphasize the improvement of sustainability. It is, therefore, critical to draw attention to this area and find innovative solutions in this domain, especially with regards the integration of vegetation in historical areas. In this sense, this research aims to present an approach about the importance of greenery in cities, referring some examples of green spaces as landmarks in the urban historiography. It is also focused on the benefits of green spaces in dense urban areas and their contribution for the sustainability of the cities.

Resilience and risk management in the urban project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Veyron, Jessica; Becue, Vincent; El Meouche, Rani; Barroca, Bruno

2017-04-01

Our study focus on the recourse of resilience concept in an urban environment coupled with risk management concerns. The urban resilience is subject to interpretation according to the expertise fields and the using context. It brings underlying concepts of time and space out. For its part, the urban environment is complex because of the elements multitude which makes up it on a dense area as much humanly, structurally, materially as functionally. The resilience polysemy rediscovers within the risk management and is confronted with the operational expectation that she arouses in this field. Between absorption, recovery, adaptability or else effectiveness, the level of requirement of the urban area could be abundant and varied to a system to another and in front of a risk to another. The capability of the urban systems to integrate the outstanding risk scope could be reinforce through the use of spatialisation tools. The access to these knowledge more and more widespread makes the changing of spatial and temporal scales thought easier in the urban project approach along with the sharing of citizen and territorial actions and innovations. Our work gets into position between resilience and urban planning. Based on bibliography and urban planning feedback in front of risks, we envisage to study the achievement of the urban planning in the field of vulnerable districts or buildings. Our aim tends torwards characterise urban resilience in risk field through spatialisation tool setting up.

A new service offered by rural environment to the city: stormwater reception.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chiaradia, Enrico Antonio; Weber, Enrico; Masseroni, Daniele; Battista Bischetti, Gian; Gandolfi, Claudio

2017-04-01

Stormwaters are the main cause of urban floods in many urbanized areas. Historically, stormwater management practices have been focused on building infrastructures that achieve runoff attenuation through the storage of water volumes in large detention basins. However, this approach has proven to be insufficient to resolve the problem as well as it is difficult to implement in areas with a dense urban fabric. Nowadays, around the world, water managers are increasingly embracing "soft path" approaches, that aim to manage the excess of urban runoff through Green Infrastructures, where detention capacities are provided by the retention proprieties of soil and vegetation elements. Along the line of these new sustainable stormwater management practices, the aim of this study is to promote a further paradigm-shift with respect to the traditional practices i.e. to investigate the possibility to use the already existing green infrastructures of the peri-urban rural areas as reception element of the surplus of urban runoff. Many territories in Northern Italy, for example. are characterized by a high density of irrigation canals and agricultural fields that, in some cases, are isolated or pent-up inside urbanized areas. Both these elements may represent storage volumes for accumulating stormwater from urban areas. In this work, we implemented a holistic framework, based on Self Organized Map technique (SOM), with the objective to produce a spatial map of the stormwater reception level that can be provided by the rural environment. We elaborated physiographic characteristics of irrigation canals and agricultural fields through the SOM algorithm obtaining as output a series of cluster groups with the same level of receptivity. This procedure was applied on an area of 1933 km2 around the city of Milan and a map of 250x250m resolution was obtained with three different levels of stormwater reception capacity. About 50% of rural environment has a good level of reception and only 30% and 20% of rural areas have respectively a moderate and scarce level of reception. By the results we can conclude that the rural environment could become a valuable structural alternative to the traditional stormwater control methods, ascribing the rural environment to a new role in urban flood protection from.

Strategies for Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in Urban Areas: The Erice 50 Charter.

PubMed

D'Alessandro, D; Arletti, S; Azara, A; Buffoli, M; Capasso, L; Cappuccitti, A; Casuccio, A; Cecchini, A; Costa, G; De Martino, A M; Dettori, M; Di Rosa, E; Fara, G M; Ferrante, M; Giammanco, G; Lauria, A; Melis, G; Moscato, U; Oberti, I; Patrizio, C; Petronio, M G; Rebecchi, A; Romano Spica, V; Settimo, G; Signorelli, C; Capolongo, S

2017-01-01

The Erice 50 Charter titled "Strategies for Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion in Urban Areas" was unanimously approved at the conclusion of the 50th Residential Course "Urban Health. Instruments for promoting health and for assessing hygienic and sanitary conditions in urban areas", held from 29th March to 2nd April 2017 in Erice, at the "Ettore Majorana" Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture and promoted by the International School of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine "G. D'Alessandro" and the Study Group "Building Hygiene" of the Italian Society of Hygiene, Preventive Medicine and Public Health (SItI). At the conclusion of the intense learning experience during the Course, with more than 20 lectures, workshops and long-lasting discussions between Professors and Students, the participants identified the major points connecting urban features and Public Health, claiming the pivotal role of urban planning strategies for the management of Diseases Prevention and Health Promotion activities. The Erice 50 Charter is configured as a Decalogue for Healthy Cities and as a Think Tank for designing effective strategic actions and best practices to develop urban regeneration interventions and improve the urban quality of contemporary cities. The Decalogue is structured into the following key strategic objectives: 1. Promoting urban planning interventions that address citizens towards healthy behaviours; 2. Improving living conditions in the urban context; 3. Building an accessible and inclusive city, with a special focus on the frail population; 4. Encouraging the foundation of resilient urban areas; 5. Supporting the development of new economies and employment through urban renewal interventions; 6. Tackling social inequalities; 7. Improving stakeholders' awareness of the factors affecting Public Health in the cities; 8. Ensuring a participated urban governance; 9. Introducing qualitative and quantitative performance tools, capable of measuring the city's attitude to promote healthy lifestyles and to monitor the population's health status; 10. Encouraging sharing of knowledge and accessibility to informations. Finally, all the participants underlined that a multidisciplinary team, composed of Physicians specialized in Hygiene, Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Technicians as Architects, Urban planners and Engineers, is needed to deepen the research topic of Urban Health.

Mapping Urban Tree Canopy Coverage and Structure using Data Fusion of High Resolution Satellite Imagery and Aerial Lidar

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elmes, A.; Rogan, J.; Williams, C. A.; Martin, D. G.; Ratick, S.; Nowak, D.

2015-12-01

Urban tree canopy (UTC) coverage is a critical component of sustainable urban areas. Trees provide a number of important ecosystem services, including air pollution mitigation, water runoff control, and aesthetic and cultural values. Critically, urban trees also act to mitigate the urban heat island (UHI) effect by shading impervious surfaces and via evaporative cooling. The cooling effect of urban trees can be seen locally, with individual trees reducing home HVAC costs, and at a citywide scale, reducing the extent and magnitude of an urban areas UHI. In order to accurately model the ecosystem services of a given urban forest, it is essential to map in detail the condition and composition of these trees at a fine scale, capturing individual tree crowns and their vertical structure. This paper presents methods for delineating UTC and measuring canopy structure at fine spatial resolution (<1m). These metrics are essential for modeling the HVAC benefits from UTC for individual homes, and for assessing the ecosystem services for entire urban areas. Such maps have previously been made using a variety of methods, typically relying on high resolution aerial or satellite imagery. This paper seeks to contribute to this growing body of methods, relying on a data fusion method to combine the information contained in high resolution WorldView-3 satellite imagery and aerial lidar data using an object-based image classification approach. The study area, Worcester, MA, has recently undergone a large-scale tree removal and reforestation program, following a pest eradication effort. Therefore, the urban canopy in this location provides a wide mix of tree age class and functional type, ideal for illustrating the effectiveness of the proposed methods. Early results show that the object-based classifier is indeed capable of identifying individual tree crowns, while continued research will focus on extracting crown structural characteristics using lidar-derived metrics. Ultimately, the resulting fine resolution UTC map will be compared with previously created UTC maps of the same area but for earlier dates, producing a canopy change map corresponding to the Worcester area tree removal and replanting effort.

Identification of fine scale and landscape scale drivers of urban aboveground carbon stocks using high-resolution modeling and mapping.

PubMed

Mitchell, Matthew G E; Johansen, Kasper; Maron, Martine; McAlpine, Clive A; Wu, Dan; Rhodes, Jonathan R

2018-05-01

Urban areas are sources of land use change and CO 2 emissions that contribute to global climate change. Despite this, assessments of urban vegetation carbon stocks often fail to identify important landscape-scale drivers of variation in urban carbon, especially the potential effects of landscape structure variables at different spatial scales. We combined field measurements with Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data to build high-resolution models of woody plant aboveground carbon across the urban portion of Brisbane, Australia, and then identified landscape scale drivers of these carbon stocks. First, we used LiDAR data to quantify the extent and vertical structure of vegetation across the city at high resolution (5×5m). Next, we paired this data with aboveground carbon measurements at 219 sites to create boosted regression tree models and map aboveground carbon across the city. We then used these maps to determine how spatial variation in land cover/land use and landscape structure affects these carbon stocks. Foliage densities above 5m height, tree canopy height, and the presence of ground openings had the strongest relationships with aboveground carbon. Using these fine-scale relationships, we estimate that 2.2±0.4 TgC are stored aboveground in the urban portion of Brisbane, with mean densities of 32.6±5.8MgCha -1 calculated across the entire urban land area, and 110.9±19.7MgCha -1 calculated within treed areas. Predicted carbon densities within treed areas showed strong positive relationships with the proportion of surrounding tree cover and how clumped that tree cover was at both 1km 2 and 1ha resolutions. Our models predict that even dense urban areas with low tree cover can have high carbon densities at fine scales. We conclude that actions and policies aimed at increasing urban carbon should focus on those areas where urban tree cover is most fragmented. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Biometeorology for cities.

PubMed

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

2017-09-01

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

Stories, shrines, and symbols: Recognizing psycho-social-spiritual benefits of urban parks and natural areas

Treesearch

Erika S. Svendsen; Lindsay K. Campbell; Heather L. McMillen

2016-01-01

Urban parklands are biological and social resources. While there is a growing recognition that park users interact with these resources to promote well-being, the diversity of these practices and benefits is not fully appreciated. Here we draw upon data from a social assessment of 40 New York City (NYC) parks spanning 11,200 acres and we focus on psycho-social-...

Rural-urban migration and socioeconomic development in Ghana: some discussions.

PubMed

Twumasi-ankrah, K

1995-01-01

This article presents a discussion of rural-urban migration as a source of social and behavioral change in Ghana. It explores the extent to which the urban social environment in Ghana generates conflicts for migrants with a different value orientation and the degree of influence of the urban social environment on migrants' behavior. The first part of the discussion focuses on the nature of Ghana's urbanization process, the motivation and characteristics of rural-urban migrants, and the nature of the social interaction between migrants and the social urban environment. Migrants contribute directly and indirectly to rural development in many ways. Some urban migrants achieve economic and material wealth and, through their attachment to voluntary tribal associations, assist local community development. Government can augment this process of migrant investment in rural life by identifying these actions as patriotic efforts and awarding citizenship medals or challenge grants. Governments need to review their citizenship laws carefully in light of the "brain drain" issues in the new world order and maximize the flow of resources, technical skills, and ideas from international migrants. A high-quality rural labor force can be enticed to live in rural areas by offering higher salaries and benefits, low income tax rates, better housing, and rural electrification and sanitation. Private firms should be offered incentives to locate in rural areas and increase employment opportunities for rural labor. Career advancement of development planners should be tied to program success or some form of public accountability for careful allocation of resources in rural areas. Fertility policies should be sensitive to urban subgroups. Urban and rural social differences are minor and do not impede urban assimilation, but unemployment and underemployment are problems for many.

Suggestions to ameliorate the inequity in urban/rural allocation of healthcare resources in China.

PubMed

Chen, Yiyi; Yin, Zhou; Xie, Qiong

2014-05-01

The imbalance in the allocation in healthcare resources between urban and rural areas has become a main focus of the recent medical reforms adopted in China. However, systematic analysis has identified wide differences in the allocation of healthcare resources between urban and rural areas, including healthcare expenditures and the number of healthcare facilities, available beds, and personnel. Therefore, the aim of this report was to identify ethical considerations in current governmental policies to rectify existing problems in the distribution of healthcare resources. Our findings indicate that the inequality in the distribution of healthcare resources does not adhere to ethical standards and the policies are flawed because they give rise to differences in the availability of medical care to urban and rural communities. To optimize the allocation of medical healthcare resources, countermeasures are proposed to formulate policies to urge the flow of public healthcare resources to rural areas, strengthen the responsibilities of both governmental and public financial investments, increase the construction of public healthcare facilities in rural areas, promote the quality of healthcare resources, adjust resource allocations to rural public healthcare facilities, and improve resource utilization efficiency by establishing two-way referral mechanisms.

Bayesian methods to estimate urban growth potential

USGS Publications Warehouse

Smith, Jordan W.; Smart, Lindsey S.; Dorning, Monica; Dupéy, Lauren Nicole; Méley, Andréanne; Meentemeyer, Ross K.

2017-01-01

Urban growth often influences the production of ecosystem services. The impacts of urbanization on landscapes can subsequently affect landowners’ perceptions, values and decisions regarding their land. Within land-use and land-change research, very few models of dynamic landscape-scale processes like urbanization incorporate empirically-grounded landowner decision-making processes. Very little attention has focused on the heterogeneous decision-making processes that aggregate to influence broader-scale patterns of urbanization. We examine the land-use tradeoffs faced by individual landowners in one of the United States’ most rapidly urbanizing regions − the urban area surrounding Charlotte, North Carolina. We focus on the land-use decisions of non-industrial private forest owners located across the region’s development gradient. A discrete choice experiment is used to determine the critical factors influencing individual forest owners’ intent to sell their undeveloped properties across a series of experimentally varied scenarios of urban growth. Data are analyzed using a hierarchical Bayesian approach. The estimates derived from the survey data are used to modify a spatially-explicit trend-based urban development potential model, derived from remotely-sensed imagery and observed changes in the region’s socioeconomic and infrastructural characteristics between 2000 and 2011. This modeling approach combines the theoretical underpinnings of behavioral economics with spatiotemporal data describing a region’s historical development patterns. By integrating empirical social preference data into spatially-explicit urban growth models, we begin to more realistically capture processes as well as patterns that drive the location, magnitude and rates of urban growth.

Exploring quality of life among the elderly in Hai Duong province, Vietnam: a rural–urban dialogue

PubMed Central

Huong, Nguyen Thanh; Hai Ha, Le Thi; Quynh Chi, Nguyen Thai; Hill, Peter S.; Walton, Tara

2012-01-01

Background Quality of life (QoL) is an important health index for the elderly, necessary for assessing interventions, and prioritising medical and social care needs. As the ageing population in Vietnam continues to increase, understanding important dimensions of QoL for the elderly is essential. There is a paucity of research in this area, however, and the available literature focuses on functional capacities. The purpose of this article is to explore perceptions on the dimensions of QoL among the elderly in Vietnam, to use these perceptions to broaden the concept, and to explore similarities and differences between those living in urban compared to rural areas. Method Qualitative methods included in-depth interviews (IDI) with experts in ageing and elderly persons, as well as focus group discussions (FGDs) in three communes in Hai Duong province. IDIs and FGDs were recorded and transcribed. NVivo software was used to analyse the data. Results Thematic analysis identified physical, psychological, social, environmental, religious, and economic as important dimensions of QoL. For elderly participants in both urban and rural areas, physical health, social relations, finances and economics, the physical and social environment, and psychological health were reported as important. Rural participants also identified religious practice as an important dimension of QoL. In terms of relationships, the elderly in urban areas prioritised those with their children, while the elderly in rural areas focussed their concerns on community relationships and economic conditions. Conclusion Isolating individual factors that contribute to QoL among the elderly is difficult given the inter-relations and rich cross-linkages between themes. Elderly participants in urban and rural areas broadly shared perspectives on the themes identified, in particular social relationships, but their experiences diverged around issues surrounding finances and economics, their respective physical and social environments, and the contribution of religious practice. The study findings may help provide guidance for the development of a socially and culturally relevant instrument for measuring QoL among the elderly in Vietnam. The results will also be useful for developing policies and interventions that are responsive to the needs of the elderly, and reflect the themes perceived to be important. PMID:23273251

Exploring quality of life among the elderly in Hai Duong province, Vietnam: a rural-urban dialogue.

PubMed

Huong, Nguyen Thanh; Hai Ha, Le Thi; Quynh Chi, Nguyen Thai; Hill, Peter S; Walton, Tara

2012-12-22

Quality of life (QoL) is an important health index for the elderly, necessary for assessing interventions, and prioritising medical and social care needs. As the ageing population in Vietnam continues to increase, understanding important dimensions of QoL for the elderly is essential. There is a paucity of research in this area, however, and the available literature focuses on functional capacities. The purpose of this article is to explore perceptions on the dimensions of QoL among the elderly in Vietnam, to use these perceptions to broaden the concept, and to explore similarities and differences between those living in urban compared to rural areas. Qualitative methods included in-depth interviews (IDI) with experts in ageing and elderly persons, as well as focus group discussions (FGDs) in three communes in Hai Duong province. IDIs and FGDs were recorded and transcribed. NVivo software was used to analyse the data. Thematic analysis identified physical, psychological, social, environmental, religious, and economic as important dimensions of QoL. For elderly participants in both urban and rural areas, physical health, social relations, finances and economics, the physical and social environment, and psychological health were reported as important. Rural participants also identified religious practice as an important dimension of QoL. In terms of relationships, the elderly in urban areas prioritised those with their children, while the elderly in rural areas focussed their concerns on community relationships and economic conditions. Isolating individual factors that contribute to QoL among the elderly is difficult given the inter-relations and rich cross-linkages between themes. Elderly participants in urban and rural areas broadly shared perspectives on the themes identified, in particular social relationships, but their experiences diverged around issues surrounding finances and economics, their respective physical and social environments, and the contribution of religious practice. The study findings may help provide guidance for the development of a socially and culturally relevant instrument for measuring QoL among the elderly in Vietnam. The results will also be useful for developing policies and interventions that are responsive to the needs of the elderly, and reflect the themes perceived to be important.

Patterns of Oral Choice and Evaluation across Secondary Content Areas

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gleason, Jesse; Berg, Margaret; Huang, Jingzi

2018-01-01

Our study focuses on Choice and Evaluation, two of Mohan's knowledge structures to uncover how teachers and students across content areas developed disciplinary knowledge through classroom talk. Participants included in-service teachers and their students in rural and urban secondary schools in the Eastern and Western US. Through Choice and…

The Preference and Actual Use of Different Types of Rural Recreation Areas by Urban Dwellers—The Hamburg Case Study

PubMed Central

Boll, Thiemen; von Haaren, Christina; von Ruschkowski, Eick

2014-01-01

In the wake of urbanisation processes and the constitution of metropolitan regions, the role of the city's rural surroundings is receiving more attention from researchers and planners as rural areas offer various (cultural) ecosystem services for the urban population. Urban dwellers increasingly desire recreation and landscape experience. Although this need for recreation is generally recognized, few studies have focused on the question of people's preferences for certain types and characteristics of outdoor recreation areas in relation to the frequency of use. In order to acquire baseline data on this subject, the main objectives of this study were to explore recreation preferences of urban dwellers and the relation between actual use and perceived value of recreation areas in a case study in the Hamburg Metropolitan Region (Germany). In a social survey, Hamburg residents (n = 400) were asked about their preferences and use of four important regional recreation areas with different landscape characteristics in face-to-face interviews in different locations in the city. We found that both outdoor recreation within and outside of the city were fairly or very important for more than 70% of the questioned urban dwellers. Interestingly, the preference for a recreation area outside of the city did not depend on the frequency of use, which indicates that certain recreation areas had a symbolic value besides their use value. When people were questioned on the characteristics of recreation areas, perceived naturalness was found to be strongly related to preference. Respondents considered the diversity, uniqueness, and naturalness of the landscape to be far more important than the accessibility of the recreation areas and the provision of service facilities. PMID:25314002

Interdisciplinary Pathways for Urban Metabolism Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newell, J. P.

2011-12-01

With its rapid rise as a metaphor to express coupled natural-human systems in cities, the concept of urban metabolism is evolving into a series of relatively distinct research frameworks amongst various disciplines, with varying definitions, theories, models, and emphases. In industrial ecology, housed primarily within the disciplinary domain of engineering, urban metabolism research has focused on quantifying material and energy flows into, within, and out of cities, using methodologies such as material flow analysis and life cycle assessment. In the field of urban ecology, which is strongly influenced by ecology and urban planning, research focus has been placed on understanding and modeling the complex patterns and processes of human-ecological systems within urban areas. Finally, in political ecology, closely aligned with human geography and anthropology, scholars theorize about the interwoven knots of social and natural processes, material flows, and spatial structures that form the urban metabolism. This paper offers three potential interdisciplinary urban metabolism research tracks that might integrate elements of these three "ecologies," thereby bridging engineering and the social and physical sciences. First, it presents the idea of infrastructure ecology, which explores the complex, emergent interdependencies between gray (water and wastewater, transportation, etc) and green (e.g. parks, greenways) infrastructure systems, as nested within a broader socio-economic context. For cities to be sustainable and resilient over time-space, the theory follows, these is a need to understand and redesign these infrastructure linkages. Second, there is the concept of an urban-scale carbon metabolism model which integrates consumption-based material flow analysis (including goods, water, and materials), with the carbon sink and source dynamics of the built environment (e.g. buildings, etc) and urban ecosystems. Finally, there is the political ecology of the material urban metabolism, which adds spatial differentiation to materials flows and form, as well as a focus on equity, access, and governance dimensions of the urban metabolism.

Defining the urban area for cross national comparison of health indicators: the EURO-URHIS 2 boundary study.

PubMed

Higgerson, James; Birt, Christopher A; van Ameijden, Erik; Verma, Arpana

2017-05-01

Despite much research focusing on the impact of the city condition upon health, there still remains a lack of consensus over what constitutes an urban area (UA). This study was conducted to establish comparable boundaries for the UAs participating in EURO-URHIS 2, and to test whether the sample reflected the heterogeneity of urban living. Key UA contacts ( n = 28) completed a cross-sectional questionnaire, which included where available comparison between Urban Audit city and larger urban zone (LUZ) boundaries and public health administration areas (PHAAs). Additionally, broad health and demographic indicators were sought to test for heterogeneity of the EURO-URHIS 2 sample. Urban Audit city boundaries were found to be suitable for data collection in 100% ( n = 21) of UAs where Urban Audit data were available. The remainder ( n = 7) identified PHAA boundaries akin to the 'city' level. Heterogeneity was observed in the sample for population size and infant mortality rate. Heterogeneity could not be established for male and female life expectancy. This study was able to establish comparable boundaries for EURO-URHIS 2 data collection, with the 'city' area being selected for data collection. The homogeneity of life expectancy indicators was reflective of sub-regional similarities in life expectancy, whilst population estimates and rates of infant mortality indicated the presence of heterogeneity within the sample. Future work would trial these methods with a larger number of indicators and for a larger number of UAs. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Public Health Association. All rights reserved.

An exploratory discrete-time multilevel analysis of the effect of social support on the survival of elderly people in China

PubMed Central

Feng, Zhixin; Jones, Kelvyn; Wang, Wenfei Winnie

2015-01-01

This study undertakes a survival analysis of elderly persons in China using Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey 2002–2008. Employing discrete-time multilevel models, we explored the effect of social support on the survival of elderly people in China. This study focuses on objective (living arrangements and received support) and subjective activities (perceived support) of social support, finding that the effect of different activities of social support on the survival of elderly people varies according to the availability of different support resources. Specifically, living with a spouse, financial independence, perceiving care support from any resource is associated with higher survival rates for elderly people. Separate analysis focusing on urban elderly and rural elderly revealed broadly similar results. There is a larger difference between those perceiving care support from family or social service and not perceiving care support in urban areas comparing to those in rural areas. Those who cannot pay medical expenses are the least likely to survive. The higher level of economic development in province has no significant effect on the survival of elderly people for the whole sample model and the elderly people in urban areas; however, there is a negative influence on the survival of the rural elderly people. PMID:25703671

Determinants, Health Problems, and Food Insecurity in Urban Areas of the Largest City in Cape Verde.

PubMed

Craveiro, Isabel; Alves, Daniela; Amado, Miguel; Santos, Zélia; Fortes, Argentina Tomar; Delgado, António Pedro; Correia, Artur; Gonçalves, Luzia

2016-11-22

Urbanization processes are intertwined with nutritional transition because there is easier access to food of low nutritional quality at reduced prices, changing dietary patterns and leading to an increase of non-communicable chronic diseases. This study aims to understand the perceptions for high blood pressure, obesity, and alcoholism, describing some interactions of these dimensions in the problem of food security in the city of Praia. A qualitative study was carried out under the framework of the research project "UPHI-STAT: Urban Planning and Health Inequalities-moving from macro to micro statistics". Ten focus groups were conducted in three urban areas with distinct characteristics in the city of Praia, with a total of 48 participants. Participants reported frequent consumption of foods with poor nutritional quality, understanding the potential danger in terms of food security in the city of Praia. Easy access to and high levels of alcohol consumption, and poor quality of traditional drinks were mentioned by participants in the study areas. The impact of the economic situation on the possibility of access to safe and healthy options emerged as a differentiating factor.

Are Conditional Cash Transfers Effective in Urban Areas? Evidence from Mexico1

PubMed Central

Behrman, Jere R.; Gallardo-García, Jorge; Parker, Susan W.; Todd, Petra E.; Vélez-Grajales, Viviana

2014-01-01

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have spread worldwide as a new form of social assistance for the poor. Previous evaluations of CCT programs focus mainly on rural settings, and little is known about their effects in urban areas. This paper studies the short-term (one- and two-year) effects of the Mexican Oportunidades CCT program on urban children/youth. The program provides financial incentives for children/youth to attend school and for family members to visit health clinics. To participate, families had to sign up for the program and be deemed eligible. Difference-in-difference propensity score matching estimates indicate that the program is successful in increasing school enrollment, schooling attainment and time devoted to homework for girls and boys and in decreasing working rates of boys. PMID:25705094

Are Conditional Cash Transfers Effective in Urban Areas? Evidence from Mexico.

PubMed

Behrman, Jere R; Gallardo-García, Jorge; Parker, Susan W; Todd, Petra E; Vélez-Grajales, Viviana

2012-07-01

Conditional cash transfer (CCT) programs have spread worldwide as a new form of social assistance for the poor. Previous evaluations of CCT programs focus mainly on rural settings, and little is known about their effects in urban areas. This paper studies the short-term (one- and two-year) effects of the Mexican Oportunidades CCT program on urban children/youth. The program provides financial incentives for children/youth to attend school and for family members to visit health clinics. To participate, families had to sign up for the program and be deemed eligible. Difference-in-difference propensity score matching estimates indicate that the program is successful in increasing school enrollment, schooling attainment and time devoted to homework for girls and boys and in decreasing working rates of boys.

Preschool overweight and obesity in urban and rural Vietnam: differences in prevalence and associated factors

PubMed Central

Do, Loan Minh; Tran, Toan Khanh; Eriksson, Bo; Petzold, Max; Nguyen, Chuc T. K.; Ascher, Henry

2015-01-01

Background Childhood obesity may soon be an equally important health threat as undernutrition and infectious diseases. Accurate information about prevalence and risk factors of obesity in children is important for the design of prevention. Objective The aim of this study was to estimate prevalence of overweight and obesity for preschool children in two Vietnamese areas, one urban and one rural, and to identify risk factors. Design A cross-sectional study was conducted in urban Dong Da and rural Ba Vi districts, Hanoi, Vietnam. Totally, 2,677 children, 1,364 urban and 1,313 rural, were weighed and measured. Caregivers were interviewed. Background information about children and families was obtained from regular household surveys. Results The prevalence of overweight and obesity combined were 21.1% (95% CI 18.9–23.3) in the urban area and 7.6% (95% CI 6.2–9.2) in the rural. Multiple logistic regression revealed that at the individual level, in both sites, the risk increased with increased child age. The identified urban risk factors were being a boy, consuming large amounts of food, eating fast, and indoor activity less than 2 hours per day. The rural risk factors were frequent consumption of fatty food. At the family level, significant association was found in rural areas with frequent watching of food advertisements on television. Conclusions Overweight and obesity are emerging problems in Vietnam, particularly in the urban context. Prevention programs should focus on education about healthy eating habits at early preschool age and need to be tailored separately for urban and rural areas since the risk factors differ. Non-healthy food advertisement needs to be restricted. PMID:26452338

Restoration and the City: The Role of Public Urban Squares

PubMed Central

San Juan, César; Subiza-Pérez, Mikel; Vozmediano, Laura

2017-01-01

Over recent decades, the study of psychological restoration has attracted a considerable amount of interest within and without the boundaries of environmental psychology, with most of the work focused on analyzing restoration in natural contexts. However, little attention has been paid to the (possible) restorative potential of urban settings, as they have usually been expected not to be restorative and to present some elements that might imply negative health outcomes in the short and long term. In this field study, our aim was to evaluate restoration in urban squares. To this end, we measured participants' attentional and affective states both before and after spending half an hour in an urban square. A sample of 46 subjects contemplated and walked through one of the two selected squares that differed in restorative potential (PRS). Analyses revealed a statistically significant increase in cognitive performance and a decrease in negative affect in both squares. They also showed that participants reported greater stress recovery rates in one of the settings. These results support the idea that cities can be potentially restorative and justify the relevance of a research area focused on the urban designs, which may offer psychological benefits to urban citizens. PMID:29270139

AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO AIR QUALITY USING IN SITU, SATELLITE, AND MODELED DATA - FOCUSED ON THE FUTURE OF EARTH OBSERVATIONS SYSTEM (EOS)

EPA Science Inventory

EPA through statutory mandates has monitored air, water, land and human health for the past several decades. The design of the ambient air monitoring networks, for the most part, has been loosely tied single-pollutant networks focused on large urban areas. These networks supply t...

Children's Friendships in Diverse Primary Schools: Teachers and the Processes of Policy Enactment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vincent, Carol; Neal, Sarah; Iqbal, Humera

2016-01-01

Drawing on data from a project exploring children's and adults' friendships across social class and ethnic difference, this paper focuses on the enactment of national and institutional policy around children's friendships as realized in three primary schools in diverse urban areas in London. Through a focus on the way in which social and emotional…

Bringing sexual and reproductive health in the urban contexts to the forefront of the development agenda: the case for prioritizing the urban poor.

PubMed

Mberu, Blessing; Mumah, Joyce; Kabiru, Caroline; Brinton, Jessica

2014-09-01

Estimates suggest that over 90 % of population increase in the least developed countries over the next four decades will occur in urban areas. These increases will be driven both by natural population growth and rural-urban migration. Moreover, despite its status as the world's least urbanized region, the urban population in the sub-Saharan Africa region is projected to increase from under 40 % currently to over 60 % by 2050. Currently, approximately 70 % of all urban residents in the region live in slums or slum-like conditions. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risks for the urban poor are severe and include high rates of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and poor maternal and child health outcomes. However, the links between poverty, urbanization, and reproductive health priorities are still not a major focus in the broader development agenda. Building on theoretical and empirical data, we show that SRH in urban contexts is critical to the development of healthy productive urban populations and, ultimately, the improvement of quality of life. We posit that a strategic focus on the sexual and reproductive health of urban residents will enable developing country governments achieve international goals and national targets by reducing health risks among a large and rapidly growing segment of the population. To that end, we identify key research, policy and program recommendations and strategies required for bringing sexual and reproductive health in urban contexts to the forefront of the development agenda.

Are pit latrines in urban areas of Sub-Saharan Africa performing? A review of usage, filling, insects and odour nuisances.

PubMed

Nakagiri, Anne; Niwagaba, Charles B; Nyenje, Philip M; Kulabako, Robinah N; Tumuhairwe, John B; Kansiime, Frank

2016-02-04

A pit latrine is the most basic form of improved sanitation which is currently used by a number of people around the globe. In spite of the wide spread use, known successes and advantages associated with pit latrines, they have received little attention in form of research and development. This review focuses on the usage and performance (filling, smell and insect nuisance) of pit latrines in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and proposes approaches for their improvements and sustainability. Current pit latrine usage within urban SSA was calculated from Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) water and sanitation country-files. We conducted a literature search and review of documents on pit latrine usage, filling, smell and insect nuisances in urban areas of SSA. Findings of the review are presented and discussed in this paper. Pit latrines are in use by more than half the urban population in SSA and especially among low income earners. An additional 36 million people in urban areas of SSA have adopted the pit latrine since 2007. However, their performance is unsatisfactory. Available literature shows that contributions have been made to address shortfalls related to pit latrine use in terms of science and technological innovations. However, further research is still needed. Any technology and process management innovations to pit latrines should involve scientifically guided approaches. In addition, development, dissemination and enforcement of minimum pit latrine design standards are important while the importance of hygienic latrines should also be emphasized.

Modeling the Ecosystem Services Provided by Trees in Urban Ecosystems: Using Biome-BGC to Improve i-Tree Eco

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Brown, Molly E.; McGroddy, Megan; Spence, Caitlin; Flake, Leah; Sarfraz, Amna; Nowak, David J.; Milesi, Cristina

2012-01-01

As the world becomes increasingly urban, the need to quantify the effect of trees in urban environments on energy usage, air pollution, local climate and nutrient run-off has increased. By identifying, quantifying and valuing the ecological activity that provides services in urban areas, stronger policies and improved quality of life for urban residents can be obtained. Here we focus on two radically different models that can be used to characterize urban forests. The i-Tree Eco model (formerly UFORE model) quantifies ecosystem services (e.g., air pollution removal, carbon storage) and values derived from urban trees based on field measurements of trees and local ancillary data sets. Biome-BGC (Biome BioGeoChemistry) is used to simulate the fluxes and storage of carbon, water, and nitrogen in natural environments. This paper compares i-Tree Eco's methods to those of Biome-BGC, which estimates the fluxes and storage of energy, carbon, water and nitrogen for vegetation and soil components of the ecosystem. We describe the two models and their differences in the way they calculate similar properties, with a focus on carbon and nitrogen. Finally, we discuss the implications of further integration of these two communities for land managers such as those in Maryland.

The Role of Urban Green Areas in the Education for Sustainable Development: Focus on Krakow, Poland

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Aleksandra; Orlewicz-Musial, Malgorzata

2015-01-01

Four selected green areas in Krakow (Poland) were compared, including: (1) the historical centre of Krakow with the green belt of Planty; (2) Blonia--grassland situated near the city centre; (3) the Park of Aviators, situated between the old part of Krakow and the industrial district of Nowa Huta and (4) the Nowa Huta Meadows. All these areas have…

Effects of landscape composition and pattern on land surface temperature: An urban heat island study in the megacities of Southeast Asia.

PubMed

Estoque, Ronald C; Murayama, Yuji; Myint, Soe W

2017-01-15

Due to its adverse impacts on urban ecological environment and the overall livability of cities, the urban heat island (UHI) phenomenon has become a major research focus in various interrelated fields, including urban climatology, urban ecology, urban planning, and urban geography. This study sought to examine the relationship between land surface temperature (LST) and the abundance and spatial pattern of impervious surface and green space in the metropolitan areas of Bangkok (Thailand), Jakarta (Indonesia), and Manila (Philippines). Landsat-8 OLI/TIRS data and various geospatial approaches, including urban-rural gradient, multiresolution grid-based, and spatial metrics-based techniques, were used to facilitate the analysis. We found a significant strong correlation between mean LST and the density of impervious surface (positive) and green space (negative) along the urban-rural gradients of the three cities, depicting a typical UHI profile. The correlation of impervious surface density with mean LST tends to increase in larger grids, whereas the correlation of green space density with mean LST tends to increase in smaller grids, indicating a stronger influence of impervious surface and green space on the variability of LST in larger and smaller areas, respectively. The size, shape complexity, and aggregation of the patches of impervious surface and green space also had significant relationships with mean LST, though aggregation had the most consistent strong correlation. On average, the mean LST of impervious surface is about 3°C higher than that of green space, highlighting the important role of green spaces in mitigating UHI effects, an important urban ecosystem service. We recommend that the density and spatial pattern of urban impervious surfaces and green spaces be considered in landscape and urban planning so that urban areas and cities can have healthier and more comfortable living urban environments. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Nighttime Environmental Products from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite: Science Rationale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roman, M. O.; Wang, Z.; Kalb, V.; Cole, T.; Oda, T.; Stokes, E.; Molthan, A.

2016-12-01

A new generation of satellite instruments, represented by the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (Suomi-NPP) Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), offer global measurements of nocturnal visible and near-infrared light suitable for urban science research. While many promising urban-focused applications have been developed using nighttime satellite imagery in the past 25 years, most studies to-date have been limited by the quality of the captured imagery and the retrieval methods used in heritage (DMSP/OLS) products. Instead, science-quality products that are temporally consistent, global in extent, and local in resolution were needed to monitor human settlements worldwide —particularly for studies within dense urban areas. Since the first-light images from the VIIRS were received in January 2012, the NASA Land Science Investigator-led Processing System (Land SIPS) team has worked on maximizing the capabilities of these low-light measurements to generate a wealth of new information useful for understanding urbanization processes, urban functions, and the vulnerability of urban areas to climate hazards. In a recent case study, our team demonstrated that tracking daily dynamic VIIRS nighttime measurements can provide valuable information about the character of the human activities and behaviors that shape energy consumption and vulnerability (Roman and Stokes, 2015). Moving beyond mapping the physical qualities of urban areas (e.g. land cover and impervious area), VIIRS measurements provide insight into the social, economic, and cultural activities that shape energy and infrastructure use. Furthermore, as this time series expands and is merged with other sources of optical remote sensing data (e.g., Landsat-8 and Sentinel 2), VIIRS has the potential to increase our understanding of changes in urban form, structure, and infrastructure—factors that may also influence urban resilience—and how the increasing frequency and severity of climate-related hazards can ultimately affect development pathways and urban policies in the long term.

Sea-town interactions over Marseille: 3D urban boundary layer and thermodynamic fields near the surface

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lemonsu, A.; Pigeon, G.; Masson, V.; Moppert, C.

2006-02-01

3D numerical simulations with the Meso-NH atmospheric model including the Town Energy Balance urban parameterization, are conducted over the south-east of France and the one million inhabitants city of Marseille in the frameworks of the ESCOMPTE-UBL program. The geographic situation of the area is relatively complex, because of the proximity of the Mediterranean Sea and the presence of numerous massifs, inducing complex meteorological flows. The present work is focused on six days of the campaign, characterized by the development of strong summer sea-breeze circulations. A complete evaluation of the model is initially realized at both regional- and city-scales, by using the large available database. The regional evaluation shows a good behavior of the model, during the six days of simulation, either for the parameters near the surface or for the vertical profiles describing the structure of the atmosphere. The urban-scale evaluation indicates that the fine structure of the horizontal fields of air temperature above the city is correctly simulated by the model. A specific attention is then pointed to the 250-m horizontal resolution outputs, focused on the Marseille area, for two days of the campaign. From the study of the vertical structure of the Urban Boundary Layer and the thermodynamic fields near the surface, one underscores the important differences due to the regional and local flows, and the complex interactions that occur between the urban effects and the effects of sea breezes.

Secular trends in consultations for asthma in early childhood, the 16 administrative regions of Morocco, 2004-2012.

PubMed

Sadeq, Mina; Abouqal, Redouane; ElMarnissi, Abdelilah

2015-09-17

Little is known about asthma trend in Morocco, particularly in early childhood. Furthermore, when dealing with asthma related environmental risk factors in Morocco, decision-making focus is in one region R9, while 16 regions make up the country. This work aims at studying 9-year trends in consultations for asthma in under-5 children in the 16 individual regions with respect to area and age group. Direct method use, based on the only available national data from the open access files of the ministry of health, standardizing data for three age groups (0-11 ; 12-23 and 24-59 months). We compared age-adjusted rates, stratified by area (urban and rural areas) within each region (Wilcoxon's signed ranks test), and between all regions emphasizing on R9. Secular trends are examined (Kendall's rank correlation test). We also compared directly standardized rates as a rate ratio for two study populations (that of R9 and any region with highest rates). We finally compared rates by age group in selected regions. Secular increase in prevalence rates was shown in both urban and rural Morocco, particularly in urban areas of R10, R14, R16 and R5, and in rural areas of R14 and R16. In urban area of R10 (the highest age-adjusted prevalence rates area) the rates showed secular increase from 6.82 at 95 % CI = [6.44 to 7.19] per 1000 childhood population in 2004 to 20.91 at 95 % CI = [20.26 to 21.56] per 1000 childhood population in 2012 (P = 0.001). Rates were higher in urban than rural Morocco, particularly in R8, R9, R10, R14, R15 ; R6 was an exception. Rates in R10 were 1.63 higher than that in R9 in 2004 and rose to be 2.55 higher in 2012 ; rates in urban area of R14, about 3 times lower than that in R9 in 2004, increased to be similar in 2012. The highest-prevalence age group varied according to region and area. The regions that worth decision making attention are the urban areas of R10 (the highest prevalence rates Moroccan area, showing continuous increase), of R9, of R14 and the rural area of R6. The rates in the urban area of R9 (a current continuous decision making focus) remained high but stable within the study period and less important than those in R10. Environmental factors (biological particules, non-biological particules or gazes) are suspected.The potential unavailability of treatment at regular basis at the primary health care centers may reduce frequency of consultations for asthma in early childhood : outpatients may consult only if asthma causes problems in an attempt to get free medicines ; chances of outpatients' follow-up by the primary health care center's physicians are therefore reduced and optimal asthma control is not achieved. Social, health care policy and environmental factors, to which decision-making has to be responsive, are suspected to be affecting both frequency of and time secular trend in consultations for asthma in early childhood in Morocco.

Quantifying Impacts of Urban Growth Potential on Army Training Capabilities

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-09-12

Capacity” ERDC/CERL TR-17-34 ii Abstract Building on previous studies of urban growth and population effects on U.S. military installations and...combat team studies . CAA has developed an iterative process that builds on Military Value Anal- ysis (MVA) models that include a set of attributes that...Methods and tools were developed to support a nationwide analysis. This study focused on installations operating training areas that were high

Are neighbourhood food resources distributed inequitably by income and race in the USA? Epidemiological findings across the urban spectrum

PubMed Central

Richardson, Andrea S; Boone-Heinonen, Janne; Popkin, Barry M

2012-01-01

Objective Many recent policies focus on socioeconomic inequities in availability of healthy food stores and restaurants. Yet understanding of how socioeconomic inequities vary across neighbourhood racial composition and across the range from rural to urban settings is limited, largely due to lack of large, geographically and socio-demographically diverse study populations. Using a national sample, the authors examined differences in neighbourhood food resource availability according to neighbourhood-level poverty and racial/ethnic population in non-urban, low-density urban and high-density urban areas. Design Cross-sectional data from an observational cohort study representative of the US middle and high school-aged population in 1994 followed into young adulthood. Participants Using neighbourhood characteristics of participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Wave III, 2001–2002; n=13 995 young adults aged 18–28 years representing 7588 US block groups), the authors examined associations between neighbourhood poverty and race/ethnicity with neighbourhood food resource availability in urbanicity-stratified multivariable linear regression. Primary and secondary outcome measures Neighbourhood availability of grocery/supermarkets, convenience stores and fast-food restaurants (measured as number of outlets per 100 km roadway). Results Neighbourhood race and income disparities were most pronounced in low-density urban areas, where high-poverty/high-minority areas had lower availability of grocery/supermarkets (β coefficient (β)=–1.91, 95% CI –2.73 to –1.09) and convenience stores (β=–2.38, 95% CI –3.62 to –1.14) and greater availability of fast-food restaurants (β=4.87, 95% CI 2.26 to 7.48) than low-poverty/low-minority areas. However, in high-density urban areas, high-poverty/low-minority neighbourhoods had comparatively greater availability of grocery/supermarkets (β=8.05, 95% CI 2.52 to 13.57), convenience stores (β=2.89, 95% CI 0.64 to 5.14) and fast-food restaurants (β=4.03, 95% CI 1.97 to 6.09), relative to low-poverty/low-minority areas. Conclusions In addition to targeting disproportionate fast-food availability in disadvantaged dense urban areas, our findings suggest that policies should also target disparities in grocery/supermarket and fast-food restaurant availability in low-density areas. PMID:22505308

Analysis of Upper Air, Ground and Remote Sensing Data for the Atlas Field Campaign in San Juan, Puerto Rico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzalez-Cruz, Jorge E.

2005-01-01

The general climate of the island of Puerto Rico is dominated by the easterly trade winds from the Atlantic Ocean, and during synoptically calm days by the topographic and local land surface characteristics [1]. The urban canopy of the metropolitan area of San Juan, capital city of the Island, may introduce a new microclimate that changes the characteristics of the low atmosphere and interacts with the other microclimates already present in the island. The primitive land cover and land use (LCLU) of the metropolitan area of San Juan was composed by broadleaf trees, moist soils, and very dense vegetation in general. The urban LCLU changes the balance for the mass, momentum and energy between the bottom boundary and the lower atmosphere, creating different climate conditions over urban and rural regions. Some of these differences are low relative humidity and high temperatures observed in urban areas when compared to rural areas. These in turn produces a convective circulation over the urban areas, a phenomenon compared to the sea and land breezes, commonly known as heat islands (UHI). Factors that contribute to the formation of the UHI are anthropogenic heat sources, aerosols from pollutants, fast water canalization due to the presence of buildings and streets, among others. The comparison between urban and rural climates is the most common approach to analyze the UHI. These contrasts are larger in clear and calm conditions and tend to disappear in cloudy and windy weather. The UHI was recognized in the early 1950 s as closed isotherms that separates the city from the general temperature field [2]. The impact of the urban LCLU in San Juan, Puerto Rico, was quantified calculating the difference between historical data sets for the air temperature over an identified urban area and a rural area dT(U-R). The analysis of the climatological data revealed that a UHI exists in the metropolitan area of San Juan, Puerto Rico. The data reveals a permanent urban heat island effect present in the SJMA during the year, which is increasing at a rate of 0.41oC/decade. These findings encouraged the planning and execution of an intense field campaign in February 2004 referred as the ATLAS San Juan mission. The focus of the remaining of this report is the analysis of the data for this field campaign.

Planning for intelligent transportation systems in small urban areas.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1997-01-01

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) has been a primary program focus of the U.S. Department of Transportation since its origination in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991. The federal ITS program funded early deployment ...

Assessment of trace metal air pollution in Paris using slurry-TXRF analysis on cemetery mosses.

PubMed

Natali, Marco; Zanella, Augusto; Rankovic, Aleksandar; Banas, Damien; Cantaluppi, Chiara; Abbadie, Luc; Lata, Jean -Christophe

2016-12-01

Mosses are useful, ubiquitous accumulation biomonitors and as such can be used for biomonitoring surveys. However, the biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution can be compromised in urban contexts if the targeted biomonitors are regularly disturbed, irregularly distributed, or are difficult to access. Here, we test the hypothesis that cemeteries are appropriate moss sampling sites for the evaluation of air pollution in urban areas. We sampled mosses growing on gravestones in 21 urban and peri-urban cemeteries in the Paris metropolitan area. We focused on Grimmia pulvinata (Hedwig) Smith, a species abundantly found in all studied cemeteries and very common in Europe. The concentration of Al, As, Br, Ca, Ce, Cl, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mn, Ni, V, P, Pb, Rb, S, Sr, Ti, and Zn was determined by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence technique coupled with a slurry sampling method (slurry-TXRF). This method avoids a digestion step, reduces the risk of sample contamination, and works even at low sample quantities. Elemental markers of road traffic indicated that the highest polluted cemeteries were located near the highly frequented Parisian ring road and under the influence of prevailing winds. The sites with the lowest pollution were found not only in the peri-urban cemeteries, adjoining forest or farming landscapes, but also in the large and relatively wooded cemeteries located in the center of Paris. Our results suggest that (1) slurry-TXRF might be successfully used with moss material, (2) G. pulvinata might be a good biomonitor of trace metals air pollution in urban context, and (3) cemetery moss sampling could be a useful complement for monitoring urban areas. Graphical abstract We tested the hypothesis that cemeteries are appropriate moss sampling sites for the evaluation of air pollution in urban areas. We sampled 110 moss cushions (Grimmia pulvinata) growing on gravestones in 21 urban and peri-urban cemeteries in the Paris metropolitan area. The concentration of 20 elements in mosses was determined by a total reflection X-ray fluorescence technique coupled with a slurry sampling method. Statistical analysis revealed that: - Urbanized Parisian areas crossed by traffic roads have the highest polluted cemeteries with a strong influence of main wind direction on the distribution of air pollutants - As expected, small cemeteries with low tree density were heavily polluted - Less obvious, large green spaces such as large cemeteries (Père Lachaise, Montmartre, Montparnasse) in the center of a dense metropolis like Paris present the same level of atmospheric trace metal pollution as cemeteries in less urbanized areas or nearing a very large forest. This suggests that even in densely urbanized areas, there is more spatial variability in pollution distribution than usually assumed and that large urban areas with low traffic and green filters such as trees are likely to intercept air pollutants.

The Influence of Roof Material on Diurnal Urban Canyon Breathing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abuhegazy, Mohamed; Yaghoobian, Neda

2017-11-01

Improvements in building energy use, air quality in urban canyons and in general urban microclimates require understanding the complex interaction between urban morphology, materials, climate, and inflow conditions. Review of the literature indicates that despite a long history of valuable urban microclimate studies, more comprehensive approaches are needed to address energy, and heat and flow transport in urban areas. In this study, a more comprehensive simulation of the diurnally varying street canyon flow and associated heat transport is numerically investigated, using Large-eddy Simulation (LES). We use computational modeling to examine the impact of diurnal variation of the heat fluxes from urban surfaces on the air flow and temperature distribution in street canyons with a focus on the role of roof materials and their temperature footprints. A detailed building energy model with a three-dimensional raster-type geometry provides urban surface heat fluxes as thermal boundary conditions for the LES to determine the key aero-thermodynamic factors that affect urban street ventilation.

Concluding remarks: Faraday Discussion on chemistry in the urban atmosphere.

PubMed

Jimenez, Jose L

2016-07-18

This article summarises the Concluding remarks from the Faraday Discussion on Chemistry in the Urban Atmosphere. The following themes are addressed: (a) new results that inform our understanding of the evolving sources and composition of the urban atmosphere ("News"); (b) results that identify gaps in our understanding that necessitate further work ("Gaps"); (c) the emerging instrumentation revolution and some of the challenges that it brings; (d) the structural issues of insufficient support for the analysis of field campaigns; and (e) some important areas that were missing from this Faraday Discussion and that should receive an increasing focus in the future.

Water as a coolant of the city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Solcerova, Anna; van de Ven, Frans; van de Giesen, Nick

2014-05-01

Rapid urbanization during the last century showed the necessity for understanding urban climate. Since already half of the world population lives in cities - and this number is predicted to increase in coming years and decades - making big urban areas comfortable places gains interest of the general public and policy makers, as well as scientists. It is well known fact that urban climate differs significantly from the climate of rural areas. This is caused by several factors such as lack of evaporation, anthropogenic heat, specific geometry of street canyons, etc. Magnitude of the effect of each of these factors is a widely discussed topic throughout the literature. One of the most important factors is a lack of evaporation and consequent change in the energy balance compared to rural areas. This research aims to reveal the effect of water in the city on the temperature and comfort of inhabitants. We hypothesize that water works as a cooling liquid of cities and the lack of it is the main reason for formation of so called urban heat island. We focus on two major ways water can be stored in cities; in a form of open water areas, and in plants and green areas in general. Open water buffers the temperature extremes in its surroundings, but also has a warming effect at night due to its higher heat capacity compared to buildings and pavements. Trees are then providing shading and transpirate significant amount of water. On the other hand, shading effect alone, as provided by for example mash, can increase the temperature in the area simply because it prevents ventilation. Human comfort is however not determined only by temperature; for example higher air humidity is known to lower comfort of inhabitants and therefore mitigate the cooling effect of evaporation. Understanding properly the different effects of urban climate, and the particular aspects that can influence it, is important for optimal urban design that provides pleasant living environment.

Method meets application: on the use of earthquake scenarios in community-based disaster preparedness and response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sargeant, S.; Sorensen, M. B.

2011-12-01

More than 50% of the world's population now live in urban areas. In less developed countries, future urban population increase will be due to natural population growth and rural-to-urban migration. As urban growth continues, the vulnerability of those living in these areas is also increasing. This presents a wide variety of challenges for humanitarian organisations that often have more experience of disaster response in rural settings rather than planning for large urban disasters. The 2010 Haiti earthquake highlighted the vulnerability of these organisations and the communities that they seek to support. To meet this challenge, a key consideration is how scientific information can support the humanitarian sector and their working practices. Here we review the current state of earthquake scenario modelling practice, with special focus on scenarios to be used in disaster response and response planning, and present an evaluation of how the field looks set to evolve. We also review current good practice and lessons learned from previous earthquakes with respect to planning for and responding to earthquakes in urban settings in the humanitarian sector, identifying key sectoral priorities. We then investigate the interface between these two areas to investigate the use of earthquake scenarios in disaster response planning and identify potential challenges both with respect to development of scientific models and their application on the ground.

Assessing gaps and poverty-related inequalities in the public and private sector family planning supply environment of urban Nigeria.

PubMed

Levy, Jessica K; Curtis, Sian; Zimmer, Catherine; Speizer, Ilene S

2014-02-01

Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, and its population is expected to double in <25 years (Central Intelligence Agency 2012; Fotso et al. 2011). Over half of the population already lives in an urban area, and by 2050, that proportion will increase to three quarters (United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division 2012; Measurement Learning & Evaluation Project, Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative, National Population Commission 2012). Reducing unwanted and unplanned pregnancies through reliable access to high-quality modern contraceptives, especially among the urban poor, could make a major contribution to moderating population growth and improving the livelihood of urban residents. This study uses facility census data to create and assign aggregate-level family planning (FP) supply index scores to 19 local government areas (LGAs) across six selected cities of Nigeria. It then explores the relationships between public and private sector FP services and determines whether contraceptive access and availability in either sector is correlated with community-level wealth. Data show pronounced variability in contraceptive access and availability across LGAs in both sectors, with a positive correlation between public sector and private sector supply environments and only localized associations between the FP supply environments and poverty. These results will be useful for program planners and policy makers to improve equal access to contraception through the expansion or redistribution of services in focused urban areas.

Public participation GIS for improving wood burning emissions from residential heating and urban environmental management.

PubMed

López-Aparicio, Susana; Vogt, Matthias; Schneider, Philipp; Kahila-Tani, Maarit; Broberg, Anna

2017-04-15

A crowdsourcing study supported by a public participation GIS tool was designed and carried out in two Norwegian regions. The aim was to improve the knowledge about emissions from wood burning for residential heating in urban areas based on the collection of citizens' localized insights. We focus on three main issues: 1) type of dwelling and residential heating source; 2) wood consumption and type of wood appliances; and 3) citizens' perception of the urban environment. Our study shows the importance of wood burning for residential heating, and of the resulted particle emissions, in Norwegian urban areas. Citizens' localized insights on environmental perception highlight the areas in the city that require particular attention as part of clean air strategies. Information about environmental perception is combined with existing environmental data showing certain correlation. The results support the urban environmental management based on co-benefit approaches, achieving several outcomes from a single policy measure. Measures to reduce urban air pollution will have a positive impact on the citizens' environmental perception, and therefore on their quality of life, in addition to reducing the negative consequences of air pollution on human health. The characterization of residential heating by fuelwood is still a challenging activity. Our study shows the potential of a crowdsourcing method as means for bottom-up approaches designed to increase our knowledge on human activities at urban scale that result on emissions. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Youth Violence in Middle America.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Benson, Peter L.; Roehlkepartain, Eugene

1992-01-01

Although most of the national concern about violence has focused on major cities, no community is free from violence. Violent acts in suburbs, small towns, and rural areas may not be as severe as in urban areas, yet they exist. The Profiles of Student Life survey of 47,000 students in grades 6-12 included questions about violent behavior. The…

What Makes You Generous? The Influence of Rural and Urban Rearing on Social Discounting in China

PubMed Central

2015-01-01

An individual’s willingness to share resources declines as the social distance between the decision maker and the recipient increases, which is known as social discounting. This social-distance-dependent prosocial behavior is likely to be influenced by the region in which individuals were raised. Based on previous studies on social discounting, this research focuses on the differing social distance-dependent prosocial behaviors between rural- and urban-reared participants in China. Our data showed that both groups’ behaviors conform to the social discounting function and fit the hyperbolic model, as reported in previous studies about social discounting. Interestingly, individuals who were raised in rural areas yielded a smaller discount rate than those who were raised in urban areas, which indicated that a rural upbringing produced people who were more generous than those with an urban upbringing. Furthermore, this distinct type of generosity occurred notably among individuals with greater social distance, such as strangers or distant acquaintances. The reason may be due to the difference in dominant culture, production mode and lifestyle between rural and urban people. PMID:26172452

Global assessment of rural-urban interface in Portugal related to land cover changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tonini, Marj; Parente, Joana; Pereira, Mário G.

2018-06-01

The rural-urban interface (RUI), known as the area where structures and other human developments meet or intermingle with wildland and rural area, is at present a central focus of wildfire policy and its mapping is crucial for wildfire management. In the Mediterranean Basin, humans cause the vast majority of fires and fire risk is particularly high in the proximity of infrastructure and of rural/wildland areas. RUI's extension changes under the pressure of environmental and anthropogenic factors, such as urban growth, fragmentation of rural areas, deforestation and, more in general, land use/land cover change (LULCC). As with other Mediterranean countries, Portugal has experienced significant LULCC in the last decades in response to migration, rural abandonment, ageing of population and trends associated with the high socioeconomic development. In the present study, we analyzed the LULCC occurring in this country in the 1990-2012 period with the main objective of investigating how these changes affected RUI's evolution. Moreover, we performed a qualitative and quantitative characterization of burnt areas within the RUI in relation to the observed changes. Obtained results disclose important LULCC and reveal their spatial distribution, which is far from uniform within the territory. A significant increase in artificial surfaces was registered near the main metropolitan communities of the northwest, littoral-central and southern regions, whilst the abandonment of agricultural land near the inland urban areas led to an increase in uncultivated semi-natural and forest areas. Within agricultural areas, heterogeneous patches suffered the greatest changes and were the main contributors to the increase in urban areas; moreover, this land cover class, together with forests, was highly affected by wildfires in terms of burnt area. Finally, from this analysis and during the investigated period, it appears that RUI increased in Portugal by more than two-thirds, while the total burnt area decreased by one-third; nevertheless, burnt area within RUI doubled, which emphasizes the significance of RUI monitoring for land and fire managers.

Drinking Places: Young People and Cultures of Alcohol Consumption in Rural Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valentine, Gill; Holloway, Sarah; Knell, Charlotte; Jayne, Mark

2008-01-01

This paper focuses on the contemporary British moral panic about young people and the consumption of alcohol in public space. Most of this public debate has focused on binge drinking in urban areas as a social problem. Here, we consider instead the role of alcohol in rural communities, and in particular alcohol consumption in domestic and informal…

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity among Children and Adolescents in Shandong, China: Urban-Rural Disparity.

PubMed

Zhang, Ying-Xiu; Wang, Zhao-Xia; Zhao, Jin-Shan; Chu, Zun-Hua

2016-08-01

The pattern of urban-rural disparity in childhood obesity varies across countries. The present study examined the change trend of urban-rural disparity in childhood overweight and obesity from 1985 to 2014 in Shandong, China. Data for this study were obtained from four cross-sectional surveys of school children carried out in 1985, 1995, 2005 and 2014 in Shandong Province, China. In this study, 39 943 students aged 7-18 years were included (14 458 in 1985, 7198 in 1995, 8568 in 2005 and 9719 in 2014). Height and weight of all subjects were measured; body mass index (BMI) was calculated from their height and weight. The BMI cutoff points recommended by the International Obesity Task Force were used to define overweight and obesity. The prevalence of overweight and obesity was increasing continuously both in urban and rural areas over the past 29 years (1985-2014). The prevalence of combined overweight and obesity was significantly higher in urban than in rural children and adolescents in 1985, 1995 and 2005 (p < 0.01). However, a rapid increase in the prevalence of combined overweight and obesity was observed in rural areas after 2005; as a result, the urban-rural disparity was getting narrower, and no significant urban-rural disparity was observed in 2014 (p > 0.05). The change trend of urban-rural disparity should be concerned in the future; policies and interventions focused on childhood overweight and obesity should pay attention to rural areas. © The Author [2016]. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Bird Richness and Abundance in Response to Urban Form in a Latin American City: Valdivia, Chile as a Case Study.

PubMed

Silva, Carmen Paz; García, Cristóbal E; Estay, Sergio A; Barbosa, Olga

2015-01-01

There is mounting evidence that urban areas influence biodiversity. Generalizations however require that multiple urban areas on multiple continents be examined. Here we evaluated the role of urban areas on avian diversity for a South American city, allowing us to examine the effects of urban features common worldwide, using the city of Valdivia, Chile as case study. We assessed the number of birds and their relative abundance in 152 grid cells of equal size (250 m2) distributed across the city. We estimated nine independent variables: land cover diversity (DC), building density (BD), impervious surface (IS),municipal green space (MG),non-municipal green space (NG), domestic garden space (DG), distance to the periphery (DP), social welfare index (SW), and vegetation diversity (RV). Impervious surface represent 41.8% of the study area, while municipal green, non-municipal green and domestic garden represent 11.6%, 23.6% and 16% of the non- man made surface. Exotic vegetation species represent 74.6% of the total species identified across the city. We found 32 bird species, all native with the exception of House Sparrow and Rock Pigeon. The most common species were House Sparrow and Chilean Swallow. Total bird richness responds negatively to IS and MG, while native bird richness responds positively to NG and negatively to BD, IS DG and, RV. Total abundance increase in areas with higher values of DC and BD, and decrease in areas of higher values of IS, SW and VR. Native bird abundance responds positively to NG and negatively to BD, IS MG, DG and RV. Our results suggest that not all the general patterns described in previous studies, conducted mainly in the USA, Europe, and Australia, can be applied to Latin American cities, having important implications for urban planning. Conservation efforts should focus on non-municipal areas, which harbor higher bird diversity, while municipal green areas need to be improved to include elements that can enhance habitat quality for birds and other species. These findings are relevant for urban planning in where both types of green space need to be considered, especially non-municipal green areas, which includes wetlands, today critically threatened by urban development.

Bird Richness and Abundance in Response to Urban Form in a Latin American City: Valdivia, Chile as a Case Study

PubMed Central

García, Cristóbal E.; Estay, Sergio A.

2015-01-01

There is mounting evidence that urban areas influence biodiversity. Generalizations however require that multiple urban areas on multiple continents be examined. Here we evaluated the role of urban areas on avian diversity for a South American city, allowing us to examine the effects of urban features common worldwide, using the city of Valdivia, Chile as case study. We assessed the number of birds and their relative abundance in 152 grid cells of equal size (250 m2) distributed across the city. We estimated nine independent variables: land cover diversity (DC), building density (BD), impervious surface (IS),municipal green space (MG),non-municipal green space (NG), domestic garden space (DG), distance to the periphery (DP), social welfare index (SW), and vegetation diversity (RV). Impervious surface represent 41.8% of the study area, while municipal green, non-municipal green and domestic garden represent 11.6%, 23.6% and 16% of the non- man made surface. Exotic vegetation species represent 74.6% of the total species identified across the city. We found 32 bird species, all native with the exception of House Sparrow and Rock Pigeon. The most common species were House Sparrow and Chilean Swallow. Total bird richness responds negatively to IS and MG, while native bird richness responds positively to NG and negatively to BD, IS DG and, RV. Total abundance increase in areas with higher values of DC and BD, and decrease in areas of higher values of IS, SW and VR. Native bird abundance responds positively to NG and negatively to BD, IS MG, DG and RV. Our results suggest that not all the general patterns described in previous studies, conducted mainly in the USA, Europe, and Australia, can be applied to Latin American cities, having important implications for urban planning. Conservation efforts should focus on non-municipal areas, which harbor higher bird diversity, while municipal green areas need to be improved to include elements that can enhance habitat quality for birds and other species. These findings are relevant for urban planning in where both types of green space need to be considered, especially non-municipal green areas, which includes wetlands, today critically threatened by urban development. PMID:26422260

Impacts of Urbanization in the Coastal Tropical City of San Juan, Puerto Rico

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comarazamy, Daniel E.; Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Rickman, Douglas L.; Mulero, Pedro J.

2007-01-01

Urban sprawl in tropical locations is rapidly accelerating and it is more evident in islands where a large percentage of the population resides along the coasts. This paper focuses on the analysis of the impacts of land use and land cover for urbanization in the tropical coastal city of San Juan, in the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico. A mesoscale numerical model, the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), is used to study the impacts of land use for urbanization in the environment including specific characteristics of the urban heat island in the San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA), one of the most noticeable urban cores of the Caribbean. The research also makes use of the observations obtained during the airborne San Juan Atlas Mission. Surface and rawinsonde data from the mission are used to validate the atmospheric model yielding satisfactory results. Airborne high resolution remote sensing data are used to update the model's surface characteristics in order to obtain a more accurate and detailed configuration of the SJMA and perform a climate impact analysis based on land cover/land use (LCLU) changes. The impact analysis showed that the presence of the urban landscape of San Juan has an impact reflected in higher air temperatures over the area occupied by the city, with positive values of up to 2.5 C, for the simulations that have specified urban LCLU indexes in the model's bottom boundary. One interesting result of the impact analysis was the finding of a precipitation disturbance shown as a difference in total accumulated rainfall between the present urban landscape and with a potential natural vegetation, apparently induced by the presence of the urban area. Results indicate that the urban enhanced cloud formation and precipitation development occur mainly downwind of the city, including the accumulated precipitation. This spatial pattern can be explained by the presence of a larger urbanized area in the southwest sector of the city, and of the approaching northeasterly trade winds. No significant impacts were found in the sea breeze patterns of the city.

Summary of the Journal of Geoscience Education Urban Theme Issue (Published in November, 2004)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abolins, M. J.

2004-12-01

The urban geoscience education theme issue includes twelve manuscripts describing efforts to make geoscience more inclusive. These efforts reflect two central beliefs: (1) that urban geoscience education more effectively serves urban residents (slightly more than 80% of the American population) and (2) that urban education encourages minority participation in the geosciences. These convictions spawned educational programs serving many different kinds of learners. Educators developed unique curricula to meet the needs of each audience, but most curricula incorporate content associated with the built environment. The following paragraphs summarize audience characteristics and curricular content. Audience Urban geoscience education served many different kinds of learners. Although most programs targeted an audience with a specific level of educational experience (e.g., elementary school students) at a specific location (e.g., Syracuse, NY), audience characteristics varied greatly from one program to another: (1) Participants included elementary, middle, and high school students, undergraduates (both majors and non-majors), K-12 teachers (both pre-service and in-service), graduate students, realtors, and community members. (2) At least three programs served populations with substantial numbers of African American, Hispanic, and Asian American students. (3) Audiences were drawn from every corner of the nation except the Pacific Northwest and Florida and resided in cities varying greatly in population. These cities included the nation's largest combined metropolitan area (New York City, NY-NJ-CT-PA), other metropolitan areas containing populations of over one million, and communities as small as Ithaca, NY (population: 96,501). As illustrated by the preceding examples, urban geoscience education served learners with different levels of educational experience, some programs focused on minority learners, and program participants lived in cities both big and small. Content Most urban geoscience curricula include content associated with the built environment. Some content is organized around themes that are unique to the largest cities, but much content is explicitly suburban. Examples follow: (1) A good example of a theme unique to the largest cities is the impact of geology on the construction of early Twentieth Century skyscrapers. (2) Much explicitly suburban material addresses human-environment interactions in urbanizing areas. The above examples show that curricula described in the theme issue include content relevant to both big city and suburban learners. Summary Although urban geoscience education programs serve many different kinds of learners, most curricula include content focusing on the built environment. Taken together, urban geoscience education programs utilized content relevant to both big city and suburban learners and served audiences with different levels of educational experience and various ethnic backgrounds.

Children's Books in Review. Saving and Appreciating Our Planet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Winfield, Evelyn T.

1992-01-01

Reviews books for preschool through elementary school students, focusing on environmental issues in urban and rural areas. The literature examines such topics as saving the tropical rainforests, conserving energy and resources, decreasing pollution, and saving endangered species. (SM)

Population Size Estimates for Men who Have Sex with Men and Persons who Inject Drugs.

PubMed

Oster, Alexandra M; Sternberg, Maya; Lansky, Amy; Broz, Dita; Wejnert, Cyprian; Paz-Bailey, Gabriela

2015-08-01

Understanding geographic variation in the numbers of men who have sex with men (MSM) and persons who inject drugs (PWID) is critical to targeting and scaling up HIV prevention programs, but population size estimates are not available at generalizable sub-national levels. We analyzed 1999-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data on persons aged 18-59 years. We estimated weighted prevalence of recent (past 12 month) male-male sex and injection drug use by urbanicity (the degree to which a geographic area is urban) and US census region and calculated population sizes. Large metro areas (population ≥1,000,000) had higher prevalence of male-male sex (central areas, 4.4% of men; fringe areas, 2.5%) compared with medium/small metro areas (1.4%) and nonmetro areas (1.1%). Injection drug use did not vary by urbanicity and neither varied by census region. Three-quarters of MSM, but only half of PWID, resided in large metro areas. Two-thirds of MSM and two-thirds of PWID resided in the South and West. Efforts to reach MSM would benefit from being focused in large metro areas, while efforts to reach PWID should be delivered more broadly. These data allow for more effective allocation of funds for prevention programs.

Rural-urban differences in the prevalence of chronic disease in northeast China.

PubMed

Wang, Shibin; Kou, Changgui; Liu, Yawen; Li, Bo; Tao, Yuchun; D'Arcy, Carl; Shi, Jieping; Wu, Yanhua; Liu, Jianwei; Zhu, Yingli; Yu, Yaqin

2015-05-01

Rural-urban differences in the prevalence of chronic diseases in the adult population of northeast China are examined. The Jilin Provincial Chronic Disease Survey used personal interviews and physical measures to research the presence of a range of chronic diseases among a large sample of rural and urban provincial residents aged 18 to 79 years (N = 21 435). Logistic regression analyses were used. After adjusting for age and gender, rural residents had higher prevalence of hypertension, chronic ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic low back pain, arthritis, chronic gastroenteritis/peptic ulcer, chronic cholecystitis/gallstones, and chronic lower respiratory disease. Low education, low income, and smoking increased the risk of chronic diseases in rural areas. Reducing rural-urban differences in chronic disease presents a formidable public health challenge for China. The solution requires focusing attention on issues endemic to rural areas such as poverty, lack of chronic disease knowledge, and the inequality in access to primary care. © 2014 APJPH.

Modelling NOX concentrations through CFD-RANS in an urban hot-spot using high resolution traffic emissions and meteorology from a mesoscale model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanchez, Beatriz; Santiago, Jose Luis; Martilli, Alberto; Martin, Fernando; Borge, Rafael; Quaassdorff, Christina; de la Paz, David

2017-08-01

Air quality management requires more detailed studies about air pollution at urban and local scale over long periods of time. This work focuses on obtaining the spatial distribution of NOx concentration averaged over several days in a heavily trafficked urban area in Madrid (Spain) using a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model. A methodology based on weighted average of CFD simulations is applied computing the time evolution of NOx dispersion as a sequence of steady-state scenarios taking into account the actual atmospheric conditions. The inputs of emissions are estimated from the traffic emission model and the meteorological information used is derived from a mesoscale model. Finally, the computed concentration map correlates well with 72 passive samplers deployed in the research area. This work reveals the potential of using urban mesoscale simulations together with detailed traffic emissions so as to provide accurate maps of pollutant concentration at microscale using CFD simulations.

The relationship between new media exposure and fast food consumption among Chinese children and adolescents in school: a rural-urban comparison.

PubMed

Hansstein, Francesca Valeria; Hong, Yu; Di, Chen

2017-09-01

In recent decades, China has experienced an exponential growth in the number of internet users, especially among the youngest population, as well as a rapid proliferation of Western-type fast food restaurants. The health consequences of internet availability and fast food consumption among youth have been largely studied in Western countries, but few studies have focused on China. This paper has two goals. The first is to evaluate the differences in new media exposure and preferences for fast foods between rural and urban areas. The second goal is to test the association between new media exposure and fast food consumption. The targets of this analysis are Chinese children and adolescents aged 6-18 attending school at the time of the interview. Research hypotheses were tested using mean-groups comparisons for differences between rural urban sub-samples, and logistic regressions with odds ratios to estimate the relationship between media exposure and preferences towards fast foods. Cross-sectional data from the 2009 China Health and Nutrition Survey were employed. Watching online videos and playing computer games are behaviors associated with higher probabilities of eating at fast food restaurants in both rural and urban young residents, with higher odds in rural areas. Surfing the internet is associated with higher odds of being overweight in both rural and urban settings. Results also show that children living in rural areas spend significantly more time playing computer games, watching TV and videotapes, but less time doing homework than their urban peers. This paper suggests that monitoring the nutritional effects of new media exposure in China is of key importance in order to develop adequate health promotion policies, in both rural and urban areas.

Towards Rural Land Use: Challenges for Oversizing Urban Perimeters in Shrinking Towns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sá, João; Virtudes, Ana

2017-12-01

This article, based on the literature review, aims to study the challenges of the urban dispersion and oversizing of urban perimeters, in the cases where the towns are shrinking or spreading to the rural land-use. It is focused on the case of Portugal where during the last decades there was an escaping to the big cities alongside to the sea (Atlantic and Mediterranean) shore. In the Interior part of the country, which means near to the border with Spain, several towns are shrinking, despite their huge urban perimeters, proposed by the municipal master plans, since the middle of the nineties. Consequently, these urban perimeters are nowadays oversizing, with empty buildings and non-urbanized areas. At the same time, the social patterns of occupation of this territory have changed significantly, moving from a society with signs of rurality to an urban realm, understood not only in territorial terms but also regarding the current lifestyle. This deep changing has occurred not only in urbanistic terms but also in the economic, cultural and social organizations of the country, under a movement that corresponds to a decline of the small urban settlements in rural areas, far away from the cosmopolitan strip of land nearby the sea, in between the capital city, Lisbon and the second one Oporto. These transformations were not driven by any significant public policy for land-use actions. On the contrary, the production of urban areas, supporting the new model of economic and social development was largely left to the initiative of economic and social private agents and land owners. These agents were the leading responsible for the new urban developments and housing. In this sense, this research aims to present some strategies for the short time period regarding the devolution of urban areas to rural land use. In this sense, the next steps of spatial planning policies, under the role of local authorities (the 308 municipalities including Madeira and Azores islands, plus the continental part of the country), which are their main promoters, will be motivated by the need of advocating the swap of many urban areas towards the rural land use, shrinking many existent urban perimeters in depressed territories. How will the non-urbanized spaces, included in the urban perimeters, twenty years ago, by the pivotal instrument of spatial planning in Portugal, the Municipal Master Plans turn back to the rural land-use, losing their market value? This is the base of the challenges ahead, analysed in this article.

The application of a Web-geographic information system for improving urban water cycle modelling.

PubMed

Mair, M; Mikovits, C; Sengthaler, M; Schöpf, M; Kinzel, H; Urich, C; Kleidorfer, M; Sitzenfrei, R; Rauch, W

2014-01-01

Research in urban water management has experienced a transition from traditional model applications to modelling water cycles as an integrated part of urban areas. This includes the interlinking of models of many research areas (e.g. urban development, socio-economy, urban water management). The integration and simulation is realized in newly developed frameworks (e.g. DynaMind and OpenMI) and often assumes a high knowledge in programming. This work presents a Web based urban water management modelling platform which simplifies the setup and usage of complex integrated models. The platform is demonstrated with a small application example on a case study within the Alpine region. The used model is a DynaMind model benchmarking the impact of newly connected catchments on the flooding behaviour of an existing combined sewer system. As a result the workflow of the user within a Web browser is demonstrated and benchmark results are shown. The presented platform hides implementation specific aspects behind Web services based technologies such that the user can focus on his main aim, which is urban water management modelling and benchmarking. Moreover, this platform offers a centralized data management, automatic software updates and access to high performance computers accessible with desktop computers and mobile devices.

Outlier Detection in Urban Air Quality Sensor Networks.

PubMed

van Zoest, V M; Stein, A; Hoek, G

2018-01-01

Low-cost urban air quality sensor networks are increasingly used to study the spatio-temporal variability in air pollutant concentrations. Recently installed low-cost urban sensors, however, are more prone to result in erroneous data than conventional monitors, e.g., leading to outliers. Commonly applied outlier detection methods are unsuitable for air pollutant measurements that have large spatial and temporal variations as occur in urban areas. We present a novel outlier detection method based upon a spatio-temporal classification, focusing on hourly NO 2 concentrations. We divide a full year's observations into 16 spatio-temporal classes, reflecting urban background vs. urban traffic stations, weekdays vs. weekends, and four periods per day. For each spatio-temporal class, we detect outliers using the mean and standard deviation of the normal distribution underlying the truncated normal distribution of the NO 2 observations. Applying this method to a low-cost air quality sensor network in the city of Eindhoven, the Netherlands, we found 0.1-0.5% of outliers. Outliers could reflect measurement errors or unusual high air pollution events. Additional evaluation using expert knowledge is needed to decide on treatment of the identified outliers. We conclude that our method is able to detect outliers while maintaining the spatio-temporal variability of air pollutant concentrations in urban areas.

Indonesia's migration transition.

PubMed

Hugo, G

1995-01-01

This article describes population movements in Indonesia in the context of rapid and marked social and economic change. Foreign investment in Indonesia is increasing, and global mass media is available to many households. Agriculture is being commercialized, and structural shifts are occurring in the economy. Educational levels are increasing, and women's role and status are shifting. Population migration has increased over the decades, both short and long distance, permanent and temporary, legal and illegal, and migration to and between urban areas. This article focuses specifically on rural-to-urban migration and international migration. Population settlements are dense in the agriculturally rich inner areas of Java, Bali, and Madura. Although the rate of growth of the gross domestic product was 6.8% annually during 1969-94, the World Bank ranked Indonesia as a low-income economy in 1992 because of the large population size. Income per capita is US $670. Indonesia is becoming a large exporter of labor to the Middle East, particularly women. The predominance of women as overseas contract workers is changing women's role and status in the family and is controversial due to the cases of mistreatment. Malaysia's high economic growth rate of over 8% per year means an additional 1.3 million foreign workers and technicians are needed. During the 1980s urban growth increased at a very rapid rate. Urban growth tended to occur along corridors and major transportation routes around urban areas. It is posited that most of the urban growth is due to rural-to-urban migration. Data limitations prevent an exact determination of the extent of rural-to-urban migration. More women are estimated to be involved in movements to cities during the 1980s compared to the 1970s. Recruiters and middlemen have played an important role in rural-to-urban migration and international migration.

Perceived needs of health tutors in rural and urban health training institutions in Ghana: Implications for health sector staff internal migration control

PubMed Central

Beyere, Christopher B.; Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward; Mwini-Nyaledzigbor, Prudence P.

2017-01-01

Background The population of Ghana is increasingly becoming urbanized with about 70% of the estimated 27 million people living in urban and peri-urban areas. Nonetheless, eight out of the ten regions in Ghana remain predominantly rural where only 32% of the national health sector workforce works. Moreover, the rural-urban disparities in the density of health tutors (staff responsible for pre-service training of health professionals) are enormous. This paper explores perceived needs of health tutors in rural and urban health training institutions in Ghana. Methods This is a descriptive qualitative study conducted in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. The Study used the deductive thematic and sub-thematic analysis approaches. Five health training institutions were randomly sampled, and 72 tutors engaged in separate focus group discussions with an average size of 14 participants per group in each training institution. Results Perceived rural-urban disparities among health tutors were found in the payment of extra duty allowances; school infrastructure including libraries and internet connectivity; staff accommodation; and opportunities for scholarships and higher education. Health tutors in rural areas generally expressed more frustration with these work conditions than those in urban areas. Conclusions There is the need to initiate and sustain work incentives that promote motivation of rural health tutors to control ongoing rural-urban migration of qualified staff. It is recommended the following incentives be prioritized to promote retention of qualified health tutors in rural health training schools: payment of research, book and rural allowances; early promotion of rural staff; prioritizing rural tutors for scholarships, and introduction of national best health tutor awards. PMID:28982194

Perceived needs of health tutors in rural and urban health training institutions in Ghana: Implications for health sector staff internal migration control.

PubMed

Alhassan, Robert Kaba; Beyere, Christopher B; Nketiah-Amponsah, Edward; Mwini-Nyaledzigbor, Prudence P

2017-01-01

The population of Ghana is increasingly becoming urbanized with about 70% of the estimated 27 million people living in urban and peri-urban areas. Nonetheless, eight out of the ten regions in Ghana remain predominantly rural where only 32% of the national health sector workforce works. Moreover, the rural-urban disparities in the density of health tutors (staff responsible for pre-service training of health professionals) are enormous. This paper explores perceived needs of health tutors in rural and urban health training institutions in Ghana. This is a descriptive qualitative study conducted in the Greater Accra and Northern regions of Ghana. The Study used the deductive thematic and sub-thematic analysis approaches. Five health training institutions were randomly sampled, and 72 tutors engaged in separate focus group discussions with an average size of 14 participants per group in each training institution. Perceived rural-urban disparities among health tutors were found in the payment of extra duty allowances; school infrastructure including libraries and internet connectivity; staff accommodation; and opportunities for scholarships and higher education. Health tutors in rural areas generally expressed more frustration with these work conditions than those in urban areas. There is the need to initiate and sustain work incentives that promote motivation of rural health tutors to control ongoing rural-urban migration of qualified staff. It is recommended the following incentives be prioritized to promote retention of qualified health tutors in rural health training schools: payment of research, book and rural allowances; early promotion of rural staff; prioritizing rural tutors for scholarships, and introduction of national best health tutor awards.

A Numerical Study of the Urban Heat Island in the Coastal Tropical City of San Juan, Puerto Rico: Model Validation and Impacts of LCLU Changes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Comarazamy, Daniel E.; Gonzalez, Jorge E.; Luvall, Jeff; Rickman, Douglas L.

2007-01-01

Urban sprawls in tropical locations are rapidly accelerating and it is more evident in islands where a large percentage of the population resides along the coasts. This paper focuses on the analysis of the impacts of land use and land cover for urbanization in the tropical coastal city of San Juan, in the tropical island of Puerto Rico. A mesoscale numerical model, the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS), is used to study specific characteristics and patterns of the urban heat island in the San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA), the most noticeable urban core of the Caribbean. The research present in this paper makes use of the observations obtained during the airborne San Juan Atlas Mission in two ways. First, surface and rawinsonde data are used to validate the atmospheric model yielding satisfactory results. Second, airborne remote sensing information is used to update the model's surface characteristics to obtain a detailed configuration of the SJMA in order to perform the LCLU changes impact analysis. This analysis showed that the presence of San Juan has an impact reflected in higher air temperatures over the area occupied by the city, with positive values of up to 2.5 C, for the simulations that have specified urban LCLU indexes in the bottom boundary. One interesting result of the impact analysis was the finding of a precipitation disturbance shown as a difference in total accumulated rainfall between simulation with the city and with a potential natural vegetation induced by the presence of the urban area. Model results indicate that the urban-induced cloud formation and precipitation development occur mainly downwind of the city, including the accumulated precipitation. This spatial pattern can be explained by the presence of a-larger urbanized area in the southwest sector of the city, and of the approaching northeasterly trade winds.

The Urban Heat Island Impact in Consideration of Spatial Pattern of Urban Landscape and Structure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; Lee, D. K.; Jeong, W.; Sung, S.; Park, J.

2015-12-01

Preceding study has established a clear relationship between land surface temperature and area of land covers. However, only few studies have specifically examined the effects of spatial patterns of land covers and urban structure. To examine how much the local climate is affected by the spatial pattern in highly urbanized city, we investigated the correlation between land surface temperature and spatial patterns of land covers. In the analysis of correlation, we categorized urban structure to four different land uses: Apartment residential area, low rise residential area, industrial area and central business district. Through this study, we aims to examine the types of residential structure and land cover pattern for reducing urban heat island and sustainable development. Based on land surface temperature, we investigated the phenomenon of urban heat island through using the data of remote sensing. This study focused on Daegu in Korea. This city, one of the hottest city in Korea has basin form. We used high-resolution land cover data and land surface temperature by using Landsat8 satellite image to examine 100 randomly selected sample sites of 884.15km2 (1)In each land use, we quantified several landscape-levels and class-level landscape metrics for the sample study sites. (2)In addition, we measured the land surface temperature in 3 year hot summer seasons (July to September). Then, we investigated the pattern of land surface temperature for each land use through Ecognition package. (3)We deducted the Pearson correlation coefficients between land surface temperature and each landscape metrics. (4)We analyzed the variance among the four land uses. (5)Using linear regression, we determined land surface temperature model for each land use. (6)Through this analysis, we aims to examine the best pattern of land cover and artificial structure for reducing urban heat island effect in highly urbanized city. The results of linear regression showed that proportional land cover of grass, tree, water and impervious surfaces well explained the temperature in apartment residential areas. In contrast, the changes in the pattern of water, grass, tree and impervious surfaces were the best to determine the temperature in low rise residential area, central business district and industrial area.

Dengue transmission based on urban environmental gradients in different cities of Pakistan.

PubMed

Khalid, Bushra; Ghaffar, Abdul

2015-03-01

This study focuses on the dengue transmission in different regions of Pakistan. For this purpose, the data of dengue cases for 2009-2012 from four different cities (Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi) of the country is collected, evaluated, and compiled. To identify the reasons and regions of higher risk of Dengue transmission, land use classification, analysis of climate covariates and drainage patterns was done. Analysis involves processing of SPOT 5 10 m, Landsat TM 30 m data sets, and SRTM 90 m digital elevation models by using remote sensing and GIS techniques. The results are based on the change in urbanization and population density, analysis of temperature, rainfall, and wind speed; calculation of drainage patterns including stream features, flow accumulation, and drainage density of the study areas. Results suggest that the low elevation areas with calm winds and minimum temperatures higher than the normal, rapid increase in unplanned urbanization, low flow accumulation, and higher drainage density areas favor the dengue transmission.

Perceptions of the community food environment and related influences on food choice among midlife women residing in rural and urban areas: a qualitative analysis.

PubMed

Jilcott, Stephanie B; Laraia, Barbara A; Evenson, Kelly R; Ammerman, Alice S

2009-01-01

Qualitative research on food choice has rarely focused on individuals' perceptions of the community food environment. Women remain gatekeepers of the family diet and food purchasing. Therefore we assessed midlife, Southern women's perceptions of the food environment. Related influences on food choices at work and at home were also examined. We recruited 28 low- and moderate-income, midlife (37-67 years) women from rural and urban areas of southeastern North Carolina, using typical case and snowball sampling. They responded to questions about multilevel influences on food choice in semi-structured, in-depth interviews. Women perceived differences between urban and rural food environments, with rural areas having fewer supermarkets and fast food restaurants compared to urban areas, which had fewer produce stands. Workplace food choices were affected by the social environment (co-workers), personal health concerns, and the surrounding food environment. Food chosen at home was primarily influenced by family members, health concerns, and convenient food sources. While future studies should explore findings in more representative populations, potential intervention strategies can be inferred, including emphasizing healthful aspects of the food environment. Intervention and advocacy efforts are needed to improve aspects of the food environment that make healthy choices difficult.

Which downscaled rainfall data for climate change impact studies in urban areas? Review of current approaches and trends

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gooré Bi, Eustache; Gachon, Philippe; Vrac, Mathieu; Monette, Frédéric

2017-02-01

Changes in extreme precipitation should be one of the primary impacts of climate change (CC) in urban areas. To assess these impacts, rainfall data from climate models are commonly used. The main goal of this paper is to report on the state of knowledge and recent works on the study of CC impacts with a focus on urban areas, in order to produce an integrated review of various approaches to which future studies can then be compared or constructed. Model output statistics (MOS) methods are increasingly used in the literature to study the impacts of CC in urban settings. A review of previous works highlights the non-stationarity nature of future climate data, underscoring the need to revise urban drainage system design criteria. A comparison of these studies is made difficult, however, by the numerous sources of uncertainty arising from a plethora of assumptions, scenarios, and modeling options. All the methods used do, however, predict increased extreme precipitation in the future, suggesting potential risks of combined sewer overflow frequencies, flooding, and back-up in existing sewer systems in urban areas. Future studies must quantify more accurately the different sources of uncertainty by improving downscaling and correction methods. New research is necessary to improve the data validation process, an aspect that is seldom reported in the literature. Finally, the potential application of non-stationarity conditions into generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution should be assessed more closely, which will require close collaboration between engineers, hydrologists, statisticians, and climatologists, thus contributing to the ongoing reflection on this issue of social concern.

Human-Induced Climate Variations Linked to Urbanization: From Observations to Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. Marshall; Jin, Menglin

2004-01-01

The goal of this session is to bring together scientists from interdisciplinary backgrounds to discuss the data, scientific approaches and recent results focusing on the impact of urbanization on the climate. The discussion will highlight current observational and modeling capabilities being employed for investigating the urban environment and its linkage to the change in the Earth's climate system. The goal of the session is to identify our current stand and the future direction on the topic. Urbanization is one of the extreme cases of land use change. Most of population of the world has moved to urban areas. By 1995, more than 70% of population of North America and Europe were living in cities. By 2025, the United Nations estimates that 60% of the worlds population will live in cities. Although currently only 1.2% of the land is urban, better understanding of how the atmosphere-ocean-land-biosphere components interact as a coupled system and the influence of human activities on this system is critical. Our understanding of urbanization effect is incomplete, partly because human activities induce new changes on climate in addition to the original natural variations, and partly because previously few data available for study urban effect globally. Urban construction changes surface roughness, albedo, heat capacity and vegetation coverage. Traffic and industry increase atmospheric aerosol. It is suggested that urbanization may modify rainfall processes through aerosol-cloud interactions or dynamic feedbacks. Because urbanization effect on climate is determined by many factors including land cover, the city's microscale features, population density, and human lifestyle patterns, it is necessary to study urban areas over globe.

Urban Heat Island in the city of Bari (Italy) ant its relationship with morphological features

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ceppi, C.; Balena, P.; Loconte, P.; Mancini, F.

2012-04-01

The investigation of an Urban Heat Island (UHI) and its relationship with the wide range of factors able to explain its behavior is a very difficult task: the main trouble is represented by the spatial variability of the urban temperature due to the extreme heterogeneousness of the urban coverage and morphological features. In literature it is known that the local surface temperatures are influenced by the changing characteristics in urban surface and modification of land surface processes affecting the surface energy balance and the shape of boundary layer. The whole processes could lead to distinct urban climates. This work is mainly focused on the mechanisms which are actually connecting the urban morphology with the surface temperature as derived by satellite data provided from the ASTER sensor. Urban morphology could be described by several factors depending on the selected scale of analysis. At the macroscale the UHI is more related to the land-use, environmental context and boundary conditions. At the microscale the surface characteristics, urban density, ratio between green and built areas and, construction and built typology are more involved in addition to the composite indicators such as the Sky View factor and the elevation of the built texture. The case study of the city of Bari is faced. It is a medium sized city in the southern Italy, characterized by the presence of a pervasive waterfront and presence of "lame", a natural erosive furrows shallow that are typical of the Apulia country side. Such ephemeral streams convey the stormwater from the plateau of the hilly Murgia areas to the sea. Moreover, the urban complexity of the city exacerbates the spatial variability of the phenomenon. The first step aim at the investigating of the relationship between the thermal behavior and the above mentioned factors by the construction of a set of homogeneous morphological units. The classification is built both in the urban and rural zone. The second step focuses on the development of a spatial statistical analysis based on qualitative and quantitative indicators able to link the classes of urban morphology with the satellite-based surface temperature. The relationships highlighted by such a spatial analysis can be used to model the urban climate and, consequently, develop a new kind of planning more addressed towards the mitigation of the UHI phenomenon.

Megacities and Large Urban Complexes - WMO Role in Addressing Challenges and Opportunities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terblanche, Deon; Jalkanen, Liisa

2013-04-01

Megacities and Large Urban Complexes - WMO Role in Addressing Challenges and Opportunities Deon E. Terblanche and Liisa Jalkanen dterblanche@wmo.int ljalkanen@wmo.int World Meteorological Organization, Geneva, Switzerland The 21st Century could amongst others, become known as the century in which our species has evolved from Homo sapiens to Homo urbanus. By now the urban population has surpassed the rural population and the rate of urbanization will continue at such a pace that by 2050 urban dwellers could outnumber their rural counterpart by more than two to one. Most of this growth in urban population will occur in developing countries and along coastal areas. Urbanization is to a large extent the outcome of humans seeking a better life through improved opportunities presented by high-density communities. Megacities and large urban complexes provide more job opportunities and social structures, better transport and communication links and a relative abundance of physical goods and services when compared to most rural areas. Unfortunately these urban complexes also present numerous social and environmental challenges. Urban areas differ from their surroundings by morphology, population density, and with high concentration of industrial activities, energy consumption and transport. They also pose unique challenges to atmospheric modelling and monitoring and create a multi-disciplinary spectrum of potential threats, including air pollution, which need to be addressed in an integrated way. These areas are also vulnerable to the changing climate and its implications to sea-level and extreme events, air quality and related health impacts. Many urban activities are significantly impacted by weather events that would not be considered to be of high impact in less densely populated areas. For instance, moderate precipitation events can cause flooding and landslides as modified urban catchments generally have higher run-off to rainfall ratios than their more pristine rural counterparts. The urban environment also provides numerous opportunities. One example being the better use of weather and environmental predictions to proactively optimize the functioning of the urban environment in terms of the use of energy, goods and services. Another is the providing of air quality forecasting services to benefit the health of the population. To address the challenges and opportunities facing megacities and large urban complexes, WMO has established the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) Urban Research Meteorology and Environment (GURME). Air pollution questions in urban areas, in particular megacities, is the main focus, building observational and modelling capabilities in developing countries through pilot projects and transfer of scientific expertise. GURME contributes to improving capabilities to handle meteorological and related features of air pollution by addressing end-to-end aspects of air quality, linking observational capabilities with the needs of chemical weather prediction, with the goal of providing high quality air quality services. Using examples from around the world but with specific reference to Africa, the unique challenges and opportunities related to megacities and large urban complexes, as perceived by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are highlighted.

Classification of urban features using airborne hyperspectral data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ganesh Babu, Bharath

Accurate mapping and modeling of urban environments are critical for their efficient and successful management. Superior understanding of complex urban environments is made possible by using modern geospatial technologies. This research focuses on thematic classification of urban land use and land cover (LULC) using 248 bands of 2.0 meter resolution hyperspectral data acquired from an airborne imaging spectrometer (AISA+) on 24th July 2006 in and near Terre Haute, Indiana. Three distinct study areas including two commercial classes, two residential classes, and two urban parks/recreational classes were selected for classification and analysis. Four commonly used classification methods -- maximum likelihood (ML), extraction and classification of homogeneous objects (ECHO), spectral angle mapper (SAM), and iterative self organizing data analysis (ISODATA) - were applied to each data set. Accuracy assessment was conducted and overall accuracies were compared between the twenty four resulting thematic maps. With the exception of SAM and ISODATA in a complex commercial area, all methods employed classified the designated urban features with more than 80% accuracy. The thematic classification from ECHO showed the best agreement with ground reference samples. The residential area with relatively homogeneous composition was classified consistently with highest accuracy by all four of the classification methods used. The average accuracy amongst the classifiers was 93.60% for this area. When individually observed, the complex recreational area (Deming Park) was classified with the highest accuracy by ECHO, with an accuracy of 96.80% and 96.10% Kappa. The average accuracy amongst all the classifiers was 92.07%. The commercial area with relatively high complexity was classified with the least accuracy by all classifiers. The lowest accuracy was achieved by SAM at 63.90% with 59.20% Kappa. This was also the lowest accuracy in the entire analysis. This study demonstrates the potential for using the visible and near infrared (VNIR) bands from AISA+ hyperspectral data in urban LULC classification. Based on their performance, the need for further research using ECHO and SAM is underscored. The importance incorporating imaging spectrometer data in high resolution urban feature mapping is emphasized.

Assessing the potential of rural and urban private facilities in implementing child health interventions in Mukono district, central Uganda-a cross sectional study.

PubMed

Rutebemberwa, Elizeus; Buregyeya, Esther; Lal, Sham; Clarke, Sîan E; Hansen, Kristian S; Magnussen, Pascal; LaRussa, Philip; Mbonye, Anthony K

2016-07-15

Private facilities are the first place of care seeking for many sick children. Involving these facilities in child health interventions may provide opportunities to improve child welfare. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of rural and urban private facilities in diagnostic capabilities, operations and human resource in the management of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea. A survey was conducted in pharmacies, private clinics and drug shops in Mukono district in October 2014. An assessment was done on availability of diagnostic equipment for malaria, record keeping, essential drugs for the treatment of malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea; the sex, level of education, professional and in-service training of the persons found attending to patients in these facilities. A comparison was made between urban and rural facilities. Univariate and bivariate analysis was done. A total of 241 private facilities were assessed with only 47 (19.5 %) being in rural areas. Compared to urban areas, rural private facilities were more likely to be drug shops (OR 2.80; 95 % CI 1.23-7.11), less likely to be registered (OR 0.31; 95 % CI 0.16-0.60), not have trained clinicians, less likely to have people with tertiary education (OR 0.34; 95 % CI 0.17-0.66) and less likely to have zinc tablets (OR 0.38; 95 % CI 0.19-0.78). In both urban and rural areas, there was low usage of stock cards and patient registers. About half of the facilities in both rural and urban areas attended to at least one sick child in the week prior to the interview. There were big gaps between rural and urban private facilities with rural ones having less trained personnel and less zinc tablets' availability. In both rural and urban areas, record keeping was low. Child health interventions need to build capacity of private facilities with special focus on rural areas where child mortality is higher and capacity of facilities lower.

The public health response to 'do-it-yourself' urbanism.

PubMed

Sibbald, Shannon L; Graham, Ross; Gilliland, Jason

2017-09-01

Greater understanding of the important and complex relationship between the built environment and human health has made 'healthy places' a focus of public health and health promotion. While current literature concentrates on creating healthy places through traditional decision-making pathways (namely, municipal land use planning and urban design processes), this paper explores do-it-yourself (DIY) urbanism: a movement circumventing traditional pathways to, arguably, create healthy places and advance social justice. Despite being aligned with several health promotion goals, DIY urbanism interventions are typically illegal and have been categorized as a type of civil disobedience. This is challenging for public health officials who may value DIY urbanism outcomes, but do not necessarily support the means by which it is achieved. Based on the literature, we present a preliminary approach to health promotion decision-making in this area. Public health officials can voice support for DIY urbanism interventions in some instances, but should proceed cautiously.

Relation between Intensity of Biocide Practice and Residues of Anticoagulant Rodenticides in Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

PubMed Central

Geduhn, Anke; Jacob, Jens; Schenke, Detlef; Keller, Barbara; Kleinschmidt, Sven; Esther, Alexandra

2015-01-01

Anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) are commonly used to control rodent infestations for biocidal and plant protection purposes. This can lead to AR exposure of non-target small mammals and their predators, which is known from several regions of the world. However, drivers of exposure variation are usually not known. To identify environmental drivers of AR exposure in non-targets we analyzed 331 liver samples of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) for residues of eight ARs and used local parameters (percentage of urban area and livestock density) to test for associations to residue occurrence. 59.8% of samples collected across Germany contained at least one rodenticide, in 20.2% of cases at levels at which biological effects are suspected. Second generation anticoagulants (mainly brodifacoum and bromadiolone) occurred more often than first generation anticoagulants. Local livestock density and the percentage of urban area were good indicators for AR residue occurrence. There was a positive association between pooled ARs and brodifacoum occurrence with livestock density as well as of pooled ARs, brodifacoum and difenacoum occurrence with the percentage of urban area on administrative district level. Pig holding drove associations of livestock density to AR residue occurrence in foxes. Therefore, risk mitigation strategies should focus on areas of high pig density and on highly urbanized areas to minimize non-target risk. PMID:26418154

Cooperation between public administration and scientific research in raising awareness on the role of urban planning in responding to climate change in Portugal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alcoforado, M. J.; Campos, V.; Oliveira, S.; Andrade, H.; Festas, M. J.

2009-09-01

Following the IPCC predictions of climate change, even considering one of the "best” scenarios (B1), temperature will rise circa 2°C by 2100. In southern Europe, predictions also indicate a greater precipitation variability, that is the increase in drought frequency, together with an increment of flood risk, with detrimental impacts on water availability and quality, summer tourism and crop productivity, among others. Urban areas create their own local climate, resulting in higher temperatures (UHI), modified wind patterns and lower air quality, among several other consequences. Therefore, as a result of both global and urban induced changes, the climate of cities has suffered several modifications over time, particularly in sprawling urban areas. In November 2007, the ministers responsible for spatial planning and territorial cohesion of the European Union, gathered at the Azores Informal Ministerial on Territorial Cohesion during the Portuguese Presidency, considered climate change to be one of the most important territorial challenges Europe is facing and stated that "our cities and regions need to become more resilient in the context of climate change”. They also agreed that spatial and urban planning is a suitable tool to define cost-effective adaptation measures. Furthermore, the Ministers committed themselves to put mitigation and adaptation issues of climate change into the mainstream of spatial and urban development policy at national, regional and local level. These decisions have lead to different actions in the Member States. In Portugal, the new Policy for the Cities POLIS XXI has selected the relationship between climate change and urban development as one of the key issues to be addressed by projects initiated by local authorities and submitted for co-financing through the OP "Territorial Enhancement” of the NSRF. This paper presents one of the actions taken by the Portuguese Directorate General for Spatial Planning and Urban Development (DGOTDU), the national authority responsible for the technical implementation of the Policy for the Cities, in order to raise awareness on this issue and stimulate local authorities to carry out projects aimed at enabling urban communities to increase their resilience to climate change. A booklet on climate change in urban areas, prepared in collaboration with the University of Lisbon, will soon be edited by DGOTDU. This booklet, addressed to local decision makers, both politicians and technicians, starts by giving an overall view of the state of the art science-based knowledge on climate change, both on global and regional scale. It moves on to explain the challenges raised by climate change in Portugal, focusing on urban areas and urban development issues. The content makes use of the results of previous research, such as the results obtained from the SIAM project and other studies on urban climate, carried out by the University of Lisbon. These results were complemented with a focused approach on specific urban development issues, through collaboration with DGOTDU. The booklet ends by presenting selected examples of "good practices”, aimed at either tackling the negative impacts or enhancing the potential positive consequences of climate change. An extensive reference bibliography for further consultation is also included.

Commonness and ecology, but not bigger brains, predict urban living in birds.

PubMed

Dale, Svein; Lifjeld, Jan T; Rowe, Melissah

2015-04-11

Several life history and ecological variables have been reported to affect the likelihood of species becoming urbanized. Recently, studies have also focused on the role of brain size in explaining ability to adapt to urban environments. In contrast, however, little is known about the effect of colonization pressure from surrounding areas, which may confound conclusions about what makes a species urban. We recorded presence/absence data for birds in 93 urban sites in Oslo (Norway) and compared these with species lists generated from 137 forest and 51 farmland sites surrounding Oslo which may represent source populations for colonization. We found that the frequency (proportion of sites where present) of a species within the city was strongly and positively associated with its frequency in sites surrounding the city, as were both species breeding habitat and nest site location. In contrast, there were generally no significant effects of relative brain mass or migration on urban occupancy. Furthermore, analyses of previously published data showed that urban density of birds in six other European cities was also positively and significantly associated with density in areas outside cities, whereas relative brain mass showed no such relationship. These results suggest that urban bird communities are primarily determined by how frequently species occurred in the surrounding landscapes and by features of ecology (i.e. breeding habitat and nest site location), whereas species' relative brain mass had no significant effects.

Rural automated highway systems case study : greater Yellowstone rural ITS corridor : final report

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1998-01-01

In cooperation with the National Automated Highway System Consortium (NAHSC), case studies are being conducted on existing transportation corridors to determine the feasibility of AHS. Initial activities by the NAHSC have focused on urbanized areas. ...

Sorption of Radionuclides to Building Materials and its ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Journal article Urban contamination via a number of radiological release scenarios may require simple decontamination methods that can be deployed for wide-area decontamination. This paper investigates a number of factors of importance for developing such decontamination methods, focusing on cesium.

Integrating Motivational Interviewing and Traditional Practices to Address Alcohol and Drug Use Among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youth.

PubMed

Dickerson, Daniel L; Brown, Ryan A; Johnson, Carrie L; Schweigman, Kurt; D'Amico, Elizabeth J

2016-06-01

American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) exhibit high levels of alcohol and drug (AOD) use and problems. Although approximately 70% of AI/ANs reside in urban areas, few culturally relevant AOD use programs targeting urban AI/AN youth exist. Furthermore, federally-funded studies focused on the integration of evidence-based treatments with AI/AN traditional practices are limited. The current study addresses a critical gap in the delivery of culturally appropriate AOD use programs for urban AI/AN youth, and outlines the development of a culturally tailored AOD program for urban AI/AN youth called Motivational Interviewing and Culture for Urban Native American Youth (MICUNAY). We conducted focus groups among urban AI/AN youth, providers, parents, and elders in two urban communities in northern and southern California aimed at 1) identifying challenges confronting urban AI/AN youth and 2) obtaining feedback on MICUNAY program content. Qualitative data were analyzed using Dedoose, a team-based qualitative and mixed methods analysis software platform. Findings highlight various challenges, including community stressors (e.g., gangs, violence), shortage of resources, cultural identity issues, and a high prevalence of AOD use within these urban communities. Regarding MICUNAY, urban AI/AN youth liked the collaborative nature of the motivational interviewing (MI) approach, especially with regard to eliciting their opinions and expressing their thoughts. Based on feedback from the youth, three AI/AN traditional practices (beading, AI/AN cooking, and prayer/sage ceremony) were chosen for the workshops. To our knowledge, MICUNAY is the first AOD use prevention intervention program for urban AI/AN youth that integrates evidence-based treatment with traditional practices. This program addresses an important gap in services for this underserved population. Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Integrating motivational interviewing and traditional practices to address alcohol and drug use among urban American Indian/Alaska Native youth

PubMed Central

Dickerson, Daniel L.; Brown, Ryan A.; Johnson, Carrie L.; Schweigman, Kurt; D’Amico, Elizabeth J.

2015-01-01

American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/AN) exhibit high levels of alcohol and drug (AOD) use and problems. Although approximately 70% of AI/ANs reside in urban areas, few culturally relevant AOD use programs targeting urban AI/AN youth exist. Furthermore, federally-funded studies focused on the integration of evidence-based treatments with AI/AN traditional practices are limited. The current study addresses a critical gap in the delivery of culturally appropriate AOD use programs for urban AI/AN youth, and outlines the development of a culturally tailored AOD program for urban AI/AN youth called Motivational Interviewing and Culture for Urban Native American Youth (MICUNAY). We conducted focus groups among urban AI/AN youth, providers, parents, and elders in two urban communities in northern and southern California aimed at 1) identifying challenges confronting urban AI/AN youth and 2) obtaining feedback on MICUNAY program content. Qualitative data were analyzed using Dedoose, a team-based qualitative and mixed methods analysis software platform. Findings highlight various challenges, including community stressors (e.g., gangs, violence), shortage of resources, cultural identity issues, and a high prevalence of AOD use within these urban communities. Regarding MICUNAY, urban AI/AN youth liked the collaborative nature of the motivational interviewing (MI) approach, especially with regard to eliciting their opinions and expressing their thoughts. Based on feedback from the youth, three AI/AN traditional practices (beading, AI/AN cooking, and prayer/sage ceremony) were chosen for the workshops. MICUNAY is the first AOD use prevention intervention program for urban AI/AN youth that integrates evidence-based treatment with traditional practices. This program addresses an important gap in services for this underserved population. PMID:26306776

Interspecific comparison of traffic noise effects on dove coo transmission in urban environments.

PubMed

Shieh, Bao-Sen; Liang, Shih-Hsiung; Chiu, Yuh-Wen; Lin, Szu-Ying

2016-08-31

Most previous studies concerning avian adaptation to anthropogenic noise have focused on songbirds, but few have focused on non-songbirds commonly found in urban environments such as doves. We conducted field playback-recording experiments on the perch-coos of five dove species, including four native Taiwan species (the spotted dove, Spilopelia chinensis, the oriental turtle-dove, Streptopelia orientalis, the red collared-dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica, and the emerald dove, Chalcophaps indica) and one species not native to Taiwan (the zebra dove, Geopelia striata) to evaluate the detection and recognition of dove coos in habitats with differing levels of traffic noise. Our results suggest that traffic noise has selected dominant urban species such as the spotted dove to temporally and spatially adjust cooing to reduce the masking effects of traffic noise and rare urban species such as the emerald dove to avoid areas of high traffic noise. Additionally, although the zebra dove had the highest coo frequency among the study species, its coos showed the highest detection value but not the highest recognition value. We conclude that traffic noise is an important factor in shaping the distribution of rare and dominant dove species in urban environments through its significant effects on coo transmission.

The urban environment and sexual risk behavior among men who have sex with men.

PubMed

Frye, Victoria; Latka, Mary H; Koblin, Beryl; Halkitis, Perry N; Putnam, Sara; Galea, Sandro; Vlahov, David

2006-03-01

Increasingly, studies show that characteristics of the urban environment influence a wide variety of health behaviors and disease outcomes, yet few studies have focused on the sexual risk behaviors of men who have sex with men (MSM). This focus is important as many gay men reside in or move to urban areas, and sexual risk behaviors and associated outcomes have increased among some urban MSM in recent years. As interventions aimed at changing individual-level risk behaviors have shown mainly short-term effects, consideration of broader environmental influences is needed. Previous efforts to assess the influence of environmental characteristics on sexual behaviors and related health outcomes among the general population have generally applied three theories as explanatory models: physical disorder, social disorganization and social norms theories. In these models, the intervening mechanisms specified to link environmental characteristics to individual-level outcomes include stress, collective efficacy, and social influence processes, respectively. Whether these models can be empirically supported in generating inferences about the sexual behavior of urban MSM is underdeveloped. Conceptualizing sexual risk among MSM to include social and physical environmental characteristics provides a basis for generating novel and holistic disease prevention and health promotion interventions.

Interspecific comparison of traffic noise effects on dove coo transmission in urban environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shieh, Bao-Sen; Liang, Shih-Hsiung; Chiu, Yuh-Wen; Lin, Szu-Ying

2016-08-01

Most previous studies concerning avian adaptation to anthropogenic noise have focused on songbirds, but few have focused on non-songbirds commonly found in urban environments such as doves. We conducted field playback-recording experiments on the perch-coos of five dove species, including four native Taiwan species (the spotted dove, Spilopelia chinensis, the oriental turtle-dove, Streptopelia orientalis, the red collared-dove, Streptopelia tranquebarica, and the emerald dove, Chalcophaps indica) and one species not native to Taiwan (the zebra dove, Geopelia striata) to evaluate the detection and recognition of dove coos in habitats with differing levels of traffic noise. Our results suggest that traffic noise has selected dominant urban species such as the spotted dove to temporally and spatially adjust cooing to reduce the masking effects of traffic noise and rare urban species such as the emerald dove to avoid areas of high traffic noise. Additionally, although the zebra dove had the highest coo frequency among the study species, its coos showed the highest detection value but not the highest recognition value. We conclude that traffic noise is an important factor in shaping the distribution of rare and dominant dove species in urban environments through its significant effects on coo transmission.

Snowmelt Runoff: A New Focus of Urban Nonpoint Source Pollution

PubMed Central

Zhu, Hui; Xu, Yingying; Yan, Baixing; Guan, Jiunian

2012-01-01

Irregular precipitation associated with global climate change had been causing various problems in urban regions. Besides the runoff due to rainfall in summer, the snowmelt runoff in early spring could also play an important role in deteriorating the water quality of the receiving waters. Due to global climate change, the snowfall has increased gradually in individual regions, and snowstorms occur more frequently, which leads to an enhancement of snowmelt runoff flow during the melting seasons. What is more, rivers just awaking from freezing cosntitute a frail ecosystem, with poor self-purification capacity, however, the urban snowmelt runoff could carry diverse pollutants accumulated during the winter, such as coal and/or gas combustion products, snowmelting agents, automotive exhaust and so on, which seriously threaten the receiving water quality. Nevertheless, most of the research focused on the rainfall runoff in rainy seasons, and the study on snowmelt runoff is still a neglected field in many countries and regions. In conclusion, due to the considerable water quantity and the worrisome water quality, snowmelt runoff in urban regions with large impervious surface areas should be listed among the important targets in urban nonpoint source pollution management and control. PMID:23202881

Snowmelt runoff: a new focus of urban nonpoint source pollution.

PubMed

Zhu, Hui; Xu, Yingying; Yan, Baixing; Guan, Jiunian

2012-11-30

Irregular precipitation associated with global climate change had been causing various problems in urban regions. Besides the runoff due to rainfall in summer, the snowmelt runoff in early spring could also play an important role in deteriorating the water quality of the receiving waters. Due to global climate change, the snowfall has increased gradually in individual regions, and snowstorms occur more frequently, which leads to an enhancement of snowmelt runoff flow during the melting seasons. What is more, rivers just awaking from freezing constitute a frail ecosystem, with poor self-purification capacity, however, the urban snowmelt runoff could carry diverse pollutants accumulated during the winter, such as coal and/or gas combustion products, snowmelting agents, automotive exhaust and so on, which seriously threaten the receiving water quality. Nevertheless, most of the research focused on the rainfall runoff in rainy seasons, and the study on snowmelt runoff is still a neglected field in many countries and regions. In conclusion, due to the considerable water quantity and the worrisome water quality, snowmelt runoff in urban regions with large impervious surface areas should be listed among the important targets in urban nonpoint source pollution management and control.

The role, use and benefits of natural recreation areas within and near residential subdivisions

Treesearch

Christine A. Vogt; Robert W. Marans

2002-01-01

This paper presents results from a recent study about the role of natural resources in residential development. Data were collected using focus groups and a home owner questionnaire in selected subdivisions in two rapidly growing counties located at the urban/rural fringe of the Detroit Metropolitan area. Developers of the selected subdivisions planned for and created...

Air-quality bioindication in the greater central valley of California, with epiphytic macrolichen communities.

Treesearch

Sarah Jovan; Bruce McCune

2005-01-01

Air-quality monitoring in the United States is typically focused on urban areas even though the detrimental effects of pollution often extend into surrounding ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to construct a model, based upon epiphytic macrolichen community data, to indicate air-quality and climate in forested areas throughout the greater Central Valley of...

Structure Ignition Assessment can help reduce fire damages in the W-UI

Treesearch

Jack Cohen; Jim Saveland

1997-01-01

The wildland-urban interface (W-UI) refers to residential areas surrounded by or adjacent to wildland areas. In recent years, significant W-UI residential fire losses have occurred nationwide in the United States that have focused attention on the principal W-UI problem - losses of life and property to fire. To assess potential ignitions, SIAM uses an analytical...

Envisioning Urban Farming for Food Security during the Climate Change Era. Vertical Farm within Highly Urbanized Areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Januszkiewicz, Krystyna; Jarmusz, Małgorzata

2017-10-01

Global climate change constitutes a serious threat to global security including food production in the following decades. This paper is focused on a new possibility and advisability of creating a systemic solution to resolve the problem of food security in highly-urbanized areas. The first part of the paper deal with historical development vertical farms ideas and defines the main environmental and spatial constrains also it indicates that vertical farms are going to be part of the future horticultural production. The second part presents results of the research program undertaken at West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin by authors. The program goes on to attempt to solve the problem through architectural design. This study highlights an integrating large-scale horticultural production directly into the cities, where the most of the food consumption takes place. In conclusions emphasizes, that the design will force architects, engineers and urban planners to completely revise and redefine contemporary design process and understanding of the idea-fix of sustainable design. To successfully migrate food production from extensive rural areas to dense environment of city centres, a new holistic approach, integrating knowledge and advances of multiple fields of science, have to develop.

Determinants, Health Problems, and Food Insecurity in Urban Areas of the Largest City in Cape Verde

PubMed Central

Craveiro, Isabel; Alves, Daniela; Amado, Miguel; Santos, Zélia; Fortes, Argentina Tomar; Delgado, António Pedro; Correia, Artur; Gonçalves, Luzia

2016-01-01

Urbanization processes are intertwined with nutritional transition because there is easier access to food of low nutritional quality at reduced prices, changing dietary patterns and leading to an increase of non-communicable chronic diseases. This study aims to understand the perceptions for high blood pressure, obesity, and alcoholism, describing some interactions of these dimensions in the problem of food security in the city of Praia. A qualitative study was carried out under the framework of the research project “UPHI-STAT: Urban Planning and Health Inequalities—moving from macro to micro statistics”. Ten focus groups were conducted in three urban areas with distinct characteristics in the city of Praia, with a total of 48 participants. Participants reported frequent consumption of foods with poor nutritional quality, understanding the potential danger in terms of food security in the city of Praia. Easy access to and high levels of alcohol consumption, and poor quality of traditional drinks were mentioned by participants in the study areas. The impact of the economic situation on the possibility of access to safe and healthy options emerged as a differentiating factor. PMID:27879689

Rural-urban disparities in child nutrition in Bangladesh and Nepal

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background The persistence of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes in developing countries alongside rapid urbanisation and increasing incidence of child malnutrition in urban areas raises an important health policy question - whether fundamentally different nutrition policies and interventions are required in rural and urban areas. Addressing this question requires an enhanced understanding of the main drivers of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes especially for the vulnerable segments of the population. This study applies recently developed statistical methods to quantify the contribution of different socio-economic determinants to rural-urban differences in child nutrition outcomes in two South Asian countries – Bangladesh and Nepal. Methods Using DHS data sets for Bangladesh and Nepal, we apply quantile regression-based counterfactual decomposition methods to quantify the contribution of (1) the differences in levels of socio-economic determinants (covariate effects) and (2) the differences in the strength of association between socio-economic determinants and child nutrition outcomes (co-efficient effects) to the observed rural-urban disparities in child HAZ scores. The methodology employed in the study allows the covariate and coefficient effects to vary across entire distribution of child nutrition outcomes. This is particularly useful in providing specific insights into factors influencing rural-urban disparities at the lower tails of child HAZ score distributions. It also helps assess the importance of individual determinants and how they vary across the distribution of HAZ scores. Results There are no fundamental differences in the characteristics that determine child nutrition outcomes in urban and rural areas. Differences in the levels of a limited number of socio-economic characteristics – maternal education, spouse’s education and the wealth index (incorporating household asset ownership and access to drinking water and sanitation) contribute a major share of rural-urban disparities in the lowest quantiles of child nutrition outcomes. Differences in the strength of association between socio-economic characteristics and child nutrition outcomes account for less than a quarter of rural-urban disparities at the lower end of the HAZ score distribution. Conclusions Public health interventions aimed at overcoming rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes need to focus principally on bridging gaps in socio-economic endowments of rural and urban households and improving the quality of rural infrastructure. Improving child nutrition outcomes in developing countries does not call for fundamentally different approaches to public health interventions in rural and urban areas. PMID:23767425

Rural-urban disparities in child nutrition in Bangladesh and Nepal.

PubMed

Srinivasan, Chittur S; Zanello, Giacomo; Shankar, Bhavani

2013-06-14

The persistence of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes in developing countries alongside rapid urbanisation and increasing incidence of child malnutrition in urban areas raises an important health policy question - whether fundamentally different nutrition policies and interventions are required in rural and urban areas. Addressing this question requires an enhanced understanding of the main drivers of rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes especially for the vulnerable segments of the population. This study applies recently developed statistical methods to quantify the contribution of different socio-economic determinants to rural-urban differences in child nutrition outcomes in two South Asian countries - Bangladesh and Nepal. Using DHS data sets for Bangladesh and Nepal, we apply quantile regression-based counterfactual decomposition methods to quantify the contribution of (1) the differences in levels of socio-economic determinants (covariate effects) and (2) the differences in the strength of association between socio-economic determinants and child nutrition outcomes (co-efficient effects) to the observed rural-urban disparities in child HAZ scores. The methodology employed in the study allows the covariate and coefficient effects to vary across entire distribution of child nutrition outcomes. This is particularly useful in providing specific insights into factors influencing rural-urban disparities at the lower tails of child HAZ score distributions. It also helps assess the importance of individual determinants and how they vary across the distribution of HAZ scores. There are no fundamental differences in the characteristics that determine child nutrition outcomes in urban and rural areas. Differences in the levels of a limited number of socio-economic characteristics - maternal education, spouse's education and the wealth index (incorporating household asset ownership and access to drinking water and sanitation) contribute a major share of rural-urban disparities in the lowest quantiles of child nutrition outcomes. Differences in the strength of association between socio-economic characteristics and child nutrition outcomes account for less than a quarter of rural-urban disparities at the lower end of the HAZ score distribution. Public health interventions aimed at overcoming rural-urban disparities in child nutrition outcomes need to focus principally on bridging gaps in socio-economic endowments of rural and urban households and improving the quality of rural infrastructure. Improving child nutrition outcomes in developing countries does not call for fundamentally different approaches to public health interventions in rural and urban areas.

Development of Public Rail Track Transport in Nord-Western Area of Bratislava

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koštial, Matej; Schlosser, Tibor; Schlosser, Peter

2017-10-01

The article deals with the development plans and possibilities of the Bratislava north-west expansion direction. Its focus is on the sites in the Lamačská Brána area - Bory and CENTROP - which with their size of approximately 817 hectares are owned by two major developers. The article describes variants of possible rail transport system extension, as it is classified as the cordial system of public transport by the Bratislava urban planning documentation. The traffic service proposal deals with the new traffic infrastructure on given future and realised locations and generates input for the traffic planning itself, which will define the build intensity restriction using the traffic model. Particular variants of the rail transport in given area are proposed to be the primary tool for future area development possibility. Along with the urban tram with narrow gauge of 1000 mm defined in urban planning documentation, the area service is considered by the introduced standard gauge (1435 mm) tram-train track connected to the international railway link. This track is intended to be a part of the integrated suburban public transport system aiming to access the satellite town Stupava inside the Bratislava city agglomeration.

Analysis of the methods for assessing socio-economic development level of urban areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popova, Olga; Bogacheva, Elena

2017-01-01

The present paper provides a targeted analysis of current approaches (ratings) in the assessment of socio-economic development of urban areas. The survey focuses on identifying standardized methodologies to area assessment techniques formation that will result in developing the system of intelligent monitoring, dispatching, building management, scheduling and effective management of an administrative-territorial unit. This system is characterized by complex hierarchical structure, including tangible and intangible properties (parameters, attributes). Investigating the abovementioned methods should increase the administrative-territorial unit's attractiveness for investors and residence. The research aims at studying methods for evaluating socio-economic development level of the Russian Federation territories. Experimental and theoretical territory estimating methods were revealed. Complex analysis of the characteristics of the areas was carried out and evaluation parameters were determined. Integral indicators (resulting rating criteria values) as well as the overall rankings (parameters, characteristics) were analyzed. The inventory of the most widely used partial indicators (parameters, characteristics) of urban areas was revealed. The resulting criteria of rating values homogeneity were verified and confirmed by determining the root mean square deviation, i.e. divergence of indices. The principal shortcomings of assessment methodologies were revealed. The assessment methods with enhanced effectiveness and homogeneity were proposed.

Topsoil investigation on two different urban areas in West Hungary

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Horváth, Adrienn; Bidló, András

2015-04-01

Heavy metal contents of urban soils in two different urban areas have been investigated in Sopron town (169.01 km2) and in Szombathely town 97.50 km2) in Hungary. In a standard network 208 samples have been collected Sopron from 0 to 10 and from 10 to 20 cm depth. 164 samples have been taken on 88 points in the area of Szombathely. We analysed all of the soil samples with ICP equipment applying Lakanen-Erviö method (Ammonium Acetate - EDTA (pH 4.65)) and we focused on Co, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn during the evaluation. The soils of suburb are determined largely by the bedrock, but in the downtown the soil pH was alkaline in soils of Sopron. Therefore, the toxic elements are still accumulated in the topsoil. The lead content was very high (suggested pollution limit >25 mg Pb/kg) in both layers on the whole area of the town. Urban soils with high copper content (among 611 mg and 1221 mg Cu/kg) have been collected from garden and viticulture areas. According to our measurements we found the highest average values in the soils of parks. The pH of urban topsoils of Szombathely was mostly neutral and it was lower in soil of agricultural areas on the suburb, where the artificial fertiliser is still used. The Pb content was high (more than 25 mg Pb/kg) in case of 13 samples next to traffic roads of the town. The Co, Cu and Ni results were below the suggested Hungarian background limits. The Zn values were above the suggested Hungarian pollution (20 mg Zn/kg) and interventional limits (>40 mg Zn/kg) in most cases. According to the results we found the highest average values of heavy metals in the soil of traffic areas or next to the Gyöngyös creek, which could be originated from traffic contamination, binding in the soil of urban green spaces, thus possibly affects human health. The research is supported by the "Agroclimate-2" (VKSZ_12-1-2013-0034) joint EU-national research project. Keywords: anthropogenic effects, heavy metal content, lead pollution, polluted urban soils

Urban regeneration as population health intervention: a health impact assessment in the Bay of Pasaia (Spain).

PubMed

Serrano, Elena; Larrañaga, Isabel; Morteruel, Maite; Baixas de Ros, María Dolores; Basterrechea, Mikel; Martinez, Dolores; Aldasoro, Elena; Bacigalupe, Amaia

2016-09-15

An important health issue in urban areas is how changes arising from the regeneration of city-areas affect social determinants of health and equity. This paper examines the impacts attributable to a new fish market and to delays in the regeneration of a port area in a deteriorated region of the Bay of Pasaia (Spain). Potential differential impacts on local residents and socially vulnerable groups were evaluated to determine health inequalities. An in-depth, prospective and concurrent Health-Impact-Assessment (HIA) focused on equity was conducted by the regional Public Health Department, following the Merseyside guidelines. Data from different sources was triangulated and impacts were identified using qualitative and quantitative methods. The intervention area is characterised by poor social, environmental, and health indicators. The distinctness of the two projects generates contrasting health and inequality impacts: generally positive for the new fish market and negative for the port area. The former creates recreational spaces and improves urban quality and social cohesion. By contrast, inaction and stagnation of the project in the port area perpetuates deterioration, a lack of safety, and poor health, as well as increased social frustration. In addition to assessing the health impacts of both projects this HIA promoted intersectoral partnerships, boosted a holistic and positive view of health and incorporated health and equity into the political discourse. Community-level participatory action enabled public health institutions to respond to new urban planning challenges and responsibilities in a more democratic manner.

Monitoring urban growth by using segmentation-classification of multispectral Landsat images in Izmit, Turkey.

PubMed

Yildiz, Selin; Doker, Mehmet Fatih

2016-07-01

Assessing the spatial land use and land cover (LULC) information is essential for decision making and management of landscapes. In fact, LULC information has been changed dramatically in fast-growing cities. This results in wrong land use problems due to unplanned and uncontrolled urbanization. The planning and evaluating of limited natural resources under the pressure of a growing population can be possible when a precise land use management plan is established. Therefore, it is imperative to monitor continuous LULC changes for future planning. Remote sensing (RS) technique is used for determining changes in LULC in urban areas. In this study, we have focused on Izmit, which is one of a growing number of metropolitan cities where the impact of the spatial growing period on LULC has been assessed over the past 30 years by using RS data. We have utilized the segmentation process and supervised classification of Landsat satellite images for four different dates (1985, 1995, 2005, and 2015). The outcome of this research can be summarized by significant changes in the shares of urban areas and farmland LULC classes. The overall observed increase in urban area class is up to 2177 ha between 1985 and 2015 period and this dramatic change has resulted in the decline of 1211 ha of farmland. Another conclusion is that the new residential areas have been created to the north, south and east of Izmit during this period.

Comparing the urbanization and global warming impacts on extreme rainfall characteristics in Southern China Pearl River Delta megacity based on dynamical downscaling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fung, K. Y.; Tam, C. Y.; Wang, Z.

2017-12-01

It is well known that urban land use can significantly influence the local temperature, precipitation and meteorology through altering land-atmosphere exchange of momentum, moisture and heat in urban areas. In recent decades, there has been a substantial increase ( 5-10%) on the intensity of extreme rainfall over Southeast China; it is projected to increase further according to the latest IPCC reports. In this study, we assess how urbanization and global warming together might impact on heavy precipitation characteristics over the highly urbanized Pearl River Delta (PRD) megacity, located in southern China. This is done by dynamically downscaling GFDL-ESM2M simulations for the present and future (RCP8.5) climate scenarios, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM). Over the PRD area, the WRF model is integrated at a resolution of 2km x 2km. To focus on extreme events, episodes covering daily rainfall intensity above the 99th percentile in Southeast China in the GFDL-ESM2M daily precipitation datasets were first identified. These extreme episodes were then dynamically downscaled in two parallel experiments with the following model designs: one with anthropogenic heat flux (AH) = 0 Wm-2 and the other with peak AH = 300 Wm-2 in the AH diurnal cycle over the urban domain. Results show that, with AH in urban area, the urban 2m-temperature can rise by about 2oC. This in turn leads to an increase of the mean as well as the extreme rain rates by 10-15% in urban domain. The latter is comparable to the impact of global warming alone, according to downscaling experiments for the RCP8.5 scenario. Implications of our results on urban effects on extreme rainfall under a warming background climate will be discussed.

Study of the urban evolution of Brasilia with the use of LANDSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deoliveira, M. D. N. (Principal Investigator); Foresti, C.; Niero, M.; Parreiras, E. M. D. F.

1984-01-01

The urban growth of Brasilia within the last ten years is analyzed with special emphasis on the utilization of remote sensing orbital data and automatic image processing. The urban spatial structure and the monitoring of its temporal changes were focused in a whole and dynamic way by the utilization of MSS-LANDSAT images for June 1973, 1978 and 1983. In order to aid data interpretation, a registration algorithm implemented at the Interactive Multispectral Image Analysis System (IMAGE-100) was utilized aiming at the overlap of multitemporal images. The utilization of suitable digital filters, combined with the images overlap, allowed a rapid identification of areas of possible urban growth and oriented the field work. The results obtained permitted an evaluation of the urban growth of Brasilia, taking as reference the proposed stated for the construction of the city.

Trace metal concentrations in forest and lawn soils of Paris region (France) along a gradient of urban pressure

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ludovic, Foti

2017-04-01

Urban soils differ greatly from natural ones as they are located in areas of intense anthropogenic activity (e.g. pollution, physical disturbance, surface transformation). Urban soils are a crucial component of urban ecosystems, especially in public green spaces, and contribute to many ecosystem services from the mitigation of urban heat island to recreational services. In the last decade, the study of urban soils has emerged as an important frontier in environmental research, at least because of their impact on the quality of life of urban populations, because of the services they deliver and because they are more and more recognized as a valuable resource. One of the key issues is the pollution of urban soils because they receive a variety of deposits from local (vehicle emissions, industrial discharges, domestic heating, waste incineration and other anthropogenic activities) and from remote sources (through atmospheric transport). Typical contaminants include persistent toxic substances, such as trace metals (TMs) that have drawn wide attention due to their long persistence in the environment, their tendency to bioaccumulate in the food chain and their toxicity for humans and other organisms. Concentrations, spatial distributions, dynamics, impacts and sources of TMs (e.g. industry or fossil fuels combustion) have attracted a global interest in urban soils and are the subject of ongoing research (e.g. ecotoxicological urban ecology). Some studies have already documented soil pollution with TMs at both the town and regional scales. So far, several monitoring programs (e.g. National Network for the long term Monitoring of Forest Ecosystem, Regional Monitoring Quality of Soil in France) and studies have been carried out on a national scale to measure the ranges of TM concentrations and natural background values in French soils. These studies have focused on French agricultural and forest soils and have not tackled urban soils. No study has described TM concentrations and subsequent risks in soils of Paris and Paris region (Île-de-France). Our study aims at filling this knowledge gap, focusing on contamination and pollution by TMs in lawns and forests that constitute the main types of vegetation in urban areas of Paris region. Considering the rational described above, the aims of the present study were (i) to examine the concentration of eight selected TMs (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Zn) in soils of two land-uses (public lawns and woods) along an urban pressure gradient in Paris region, (ii) to distinguish origins and sources of contamination or pollution, (iii) to evaluate the individual and overall TM contamination degree as well as the individual and overall TM pollution degree, (iiii) to use soil characteristics to better understand soil origins and histories along the urban pressure gradient and the relationship between these characteristics and TM concentrations. Ultimately, this study provides a baseline TM assessment for the long-term monitoring of the evolution of TM soil contents in urban area of the Paris region.

From Global Sustainability to Inclusive Education: Understanding urban children's ideas about the food system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calabrese Barton, Angela; Koch, Pamela D.; Contento, Isobel R.; Hagiwara, Sumi

2005-08-01

The purpose of this paper is to report our findings from a qualitative study intended to develop our understandings of: what high-poverty urban children understand and believe about food and food systems; and how such children transform and use that knowledge in their everyday lives (i.e. how do they express their scientific literacies including content understandings, process understandings, habits of mind in these content areas). This qualitative study is part of a larger study focused on understanding and developing science and nutritional literacies among high-poverty urban fourth-grade through sixth-grade students and their teachers and caregivers.

The urban boundary-layer field campaign in marseille (ubl/clu-escompte): set-up and first results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mestayer, P.G.; Durand, P.; Augustin, P.; Bastin, S.; Bonnefond, J.-M.; Benech, B.; Campistron, B.; Coppalle, A.; Delbarre, H.; Dousset, B.; Drobinski, P.; Druilhet, A.; Frejafon, E.; Grimmond, C.S.B.; Groleau, D.; Irvine, M.; Kergomard, C.; Kermadi, S.; Lagouarde, J.-P.; Lemonsu, A.; Lohou, F.; Long, N.; Masson, V.; Moppert, C.; Noilhan, J.; Offerle, B.; Oke, T.R.; Pigeon, G.; Puygrenier, V.; Roberts, S.; Rosant, J.-M.; Sanid, F.; Salmond, J.; Talbaut, M.; Voogt, J.

The UBL/CLU (urban boundary layer/couche limite urbaine) observation and modelling campaign is a side-project of the regional photochemistry campaign ESCOMPTE. UBL/CLU focuses on the dynamics and thermodynamics of the urban boundary layer of Marseille, on the Mediterranean coast of France. The objective of UBL/CLU is to document the four-dimensional structure of the urban boundary layer and its relation to the heat and moisture exchanges between the urban canopy and the atmosphere during periods of low wind conditions, from June 4 to July 16, 2001. The project took advantage of the comprehensive observational set-up of the ESCOMPTE campaign over the Berre-Marseille area, especially the ground-based remote sensing, airborne measurements, and the intensive documentation of the regional meteorology. Additional instrumentation was installed as part of UBL/CLU. Analysis objectives focus on (i) validation of several energy balance computational schemes such as LUMPS, TEB and SM2-U, (ii) ground truth and urban canopy signatures suitable for the estimation of urban albedos and aerodynamic surface temperatures from satellite data, (iii) high resolution mapping of urban land cover, land-use and aerodynamic parameters used in UBL models, and (iv) testing the ability of high resolution atmospheric models to simulate the structure of the UBL during land and sea breezes, and the related transport and diffusion of pollutants over different districts of the city. This paper presents initial results from such analyses and details of the overall experimental set-up.

Community medicine in action: an integrated, fourth-year urban continuity preceptorship.

PubMed

Brill, John R; Jackson, Thomas C; Stearns, Marjorie A

2002-07-01

To provide an opportunity for fourth-year students at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison to immerse in urban community medicine during a 34-week program. This experience enhances the integrity of the fourth year as well as merges medicine and public health perspectives in medical education as called for by the Medicine and Public Health Initiative. A limited number of fourth-year Wisconsin medical students have the opportunity to select a one-year, continuity-based preceptorship at the Milwaukee clinical campus with a focus in one of three domains: family medicine, internal medicine, or women's health. Students participate in the following clinical activities: a one-year, integrated preceptorship (one to three half days per week in a primary preceptor's office), medicine subinternship, senior surgery clerkship, selectives (16-20 weeks of clerkships relevant to preceptorship focus area), and one month of out-of-city electives. Complementing this community-based clinical experience is the opportunity to develop an increased appreciation for urban community health issues and resources by participating in a required urban community medicine clerkship and a mentored student scholarly project focusing on an aspect of urban community medicine and population health. All students begin the year in July with a four-week urban community medicine clerkship, which is based on the St. Luke's family practice residency's community medicine rotation and arranged by residency faculty. They conduct a "windshield survey" of a Milwaukee neighborhood, observing health hazards and identifying assets, and then present these observations to others in the clerkship. During this first month, students are introduced to the work of a variety of social service agencies, the Milwaukee City Health Department, and the Aurora Health Care/UW community clinics, which serve the state's most diverse zip codes. They meet with providers and researchers who share their expertise in infectious disease, preventive medicine, perinatal epidemiology, domestic violence, sexual assault, and disease management. Students develop increased understanding of barriers to health and personal resilience by listening to focus groups conducted with homeless men and undocumented Latino women. They participate in a resident and faculty development retreat on enhancing community medicine knowledge and skills. By August, students select an advisor and outline a project designed to expand understanding in the areas of urban population health research, community health education, professional education, or health intervention planning and evaluation. Faculty members at the Center for Urban Population Health work closely with the students throughout the year, which includes two weeks in the spring that are dedicated to intensive work on the projects. This fourth-year, urban community-based preceptorship is designed to provide students with an alternative fourth year that integrates skill development in clinical and community medicine, offers a continuity primary care experience, and showcases innovative urban health resources and role models. It is hoped that these students will pursue graduate medical education in Milwaukee, incorporate a population perspective in their practice, and choose to work in neighborhoods that are currently underserved.

Spatial patterning in PM2.5 constituents under an inversion-focused sampling design across an urban area of complex terrain

PubMed Central

Tunno, Brett J; Dalton, Rebecca; Michanowicz, Drew R; Shmool, Jessie L C; Kinnee, Ellen; Tripathy, Sheila; Cambal, Leah; Clougherty, Jane E

2016-01-01

Health effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) vary by chemical composition, and composition can help to identify key PM2.5 sources across urban areas. Further, this intra-urban spatial variation in concentrations and composition may vary with meteorological conditions (e.g., mixing height). Accordingly, we hypothesized that spatial sampling during atmospheric inversions would help to better identify localized source effects, and reveal more distinct spatial patterns in key constituents. We designed a 2-year monitoring campaign to capture fine-scale intra-urban variability in PM2.5 composition across Pittsburgh, PA, and compared both spatial patterns and source effects during “frequent inversion” hours vs 24-h weeklong averages. Using spatially distributed programmable monitors, and a geographic information systems (GIS)-based design, we collected PM2.5 samples across 37 sampling locations per year to capture variation in local pollution sources (e.g., proximity to industry, traffic density) and terrain (e.g., elevation). We used inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to determine elemental composition, and unconstrained factor analysis to identify source suites by sampling scheme and season. We examined spatial patterning in source factors using land use regression (LUR), wherein GIS-based source indicators served to corroborate factor interpretations. Under both summer sampling regimes, and for winter inversion-focused sampling, we identified six source factors, characterized by tracers associated with brake and tire wear, steel-making, soil and road dust, coal, diesel exhaust, and vehicular emissions. For winter 24-h samples, four factors suggested traffic/fuel oil, traffic emissions, coal/industry, and steel-making sources. In LURs, as hypothesized, GIS-based source terms better explained spatial variability in inversion-focused samples, including a greater contribution from roadway, steel, and coal-related sources. Factor analysis produced source-related constituent suites under both sampling designs, though factors were more distinct under inversion-focused sampling. PMID:26507005

Urban planning and interactions with atmospheric pollution in Arve valley

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Langlois de Septenville, William; Cossart, Étienne

2017-04-01

Atmospheric pollution is a major concern of urbanised areas and territory managers have to conduct efficient policies to decrease population exposure and vulnerability. Even if pollution peaks are subject to an important mediatisation and to a large part of preventive actions, background pollution remains responsible of the largest sanitary effects. They depend on (1) the concentration and the duration of the exposure and (2) to the kind of pollutants considered. Many sources of pollutants can be identified in urban areas as heating, industry or traffic; and each of them generates specific particles. Currently, the major part of pollution risk studies focuses on modelling particle emissions and their dissemination in the environment. These kinds of studies highlight the hazard intensity and its spatiality, commonly named the hazard exposure. Another part of risk studies, less frequent, considers the vulnerability. Vulnerability is a complex concept that involves a wide range of scales and objects ranging from biophysical parameters to social characteristics. They notably concern accessibility to information, knowledge and perceptions about the risk. The Arve valley (south-east of France) is subject to heavy pollution concentrations. High levels recording in this area have imposed the implementation of an Atmosphere Protection Plan. This type of plan is triggered if a peak occurs and enforces provisional binding measures for polluters, such as highway speed limitation for traffic emissions. These measures are only focused on emissions and have no effect for reducing vulnerability and exposition, for a long- and short-term time scales. An opportunity to ensure this objective is to consider how local urban morphologies can combine exposition and vulnerability situations. Indeed, cities have been planned without taking into account atmospheric pollution and morphologies. This context may conduct to the increase in both of these two risk components and producing hotspots of air pollution risk situations. In this poster, we purpose to present a methodology for analysing the relationships between actual city morphologies and pollutants. To ensure this objective, we consider the spatial characteristics of vulnerabilities. We also consider urban morphology responsible for a large part of the population exposure, particularly because it influences people's mobility and the frequentation of specific areas. Last part of the analysis will integrate the local street morphologies and their ability to concentrate pollutants, mainly focusing on traffic emissions. For example, close and large buildings may create areas where the low ventilation increases concentration of pollutants.

Low Impact Development Master Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Loftin, Samuel R.

This project creates a Low Impact Development (LID) Master Plan to guide and prioritize future development of LID projects at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL or the Laboratory). The LID Master Plan applies to developed areas across the Laboratory and focuses on identifying opportunities for storm water quality and hydrological improvements in the heavily urbanized areas of Technical Areas 03, 35 and 53. The LID Master Plan is organized to allow the addition of LID projects for other technical areas as time and funds allow in the future.

Systems analysis of urban wastewater systems--two systematic approaches to analyse a complex system.

PubMed

Benedetti, L; Blumensaat, F; Bönisch, G; Dirckx, G; Jardin, N; Krebs, P; Vanrolleghem, P A

2005-01-01

This work was aimed at performing an analysis of the integrated urban wastewater system (catchment area, sewer, WWTP, receiving water). It focused on analysing the substance fluxes going through the system to identify critical pathways of pollution, as well as assessing the effectiveness of energy consumption and operational/capital costs. Two different approaches were adopted in the study to analyse urban wastewater systems of diverse characteristics. In the first approach a wide ranged analysis of a system at river basin scale is applied. The Nete river basin in Belgium, a tributary of the Schelde, was analysed through the 29 sewer catchments constituting the basin. In the second approach a more detailed methodology was developed to separately analyse two urban wastewater systems situated within the Ruhr basin (Germany) on a river stretch scale. The paper mainly focuses on the description of the method applied. Only the most important results are presented. The main outcomes of these studies are: the identification of stressors on the receiving water bodies, an extensive benchmarking of wastewater systems, and the evidence of the scale dependency of results in such studies.

Assessment of urban sustainability efficiency based on general data envelopment analysis: a case study of two cities in western and eastern China.

PubMed

Yan, Yan; Shan, Peng; Wang, Chenxing; Quan, Yuan; Wu, Di; Zhao, Chunli; Wu, Gang; Deng, Hongbing

2017-04-01

Sustainable urban development focuses on enhancing urban well-being, while also balancing the demands of urban social and economic development, natural resource consumption, and environmental pollution. This work used general data envelopment analysis to assess the urban sustainability efficiency (USE) and sustainability potential (SP) in Lanzhou and Xiamen, two cities that are characteristic of urban areas in western and eastern China. The assessment indicator system included important natural and urban welfare factors as input and output indices, respectively. The results showed that overall urban sustainability efficiency increased in Lanzhou and Xiamen from 1985 to 2010, but that the sustainability of natural resources clearly decreased. The urban sustainability efficiency of Xiamen was higher than that of Lanzhou, and the sustainability potential of Xiamen was lower than that of Lanzhou; this indicates that Xiamen performed better in terms of urban sustainable development. The urban sustainability efficiency in Xiamen has increased with increasing urban population, and the rate and scale of economic development have been higher than in Lanzhou. The assessment and analysis performed in this study show that cities with different natural resources and development characteristics have different forms, patterns, and trajectories of sustainable development.

Enviro-HIRLAM/ HARMONIE Studies in ECMWF HPC EnviroAerosols Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen Sass, Bent; Mahura, Alexander; Nuterman, Roman; Baklanov, Alexander; Palamarchuk, Julia; Ivanov, Serguei; Pagh Nielsen, Kristian; Penenko, Alexey; Edvardsson, Nellie; Stysiak, Aleksander Andrzej; Bostanbekov, Kairat; Amstrup, Bjarne; Yang, Xiaohua; Ruban, Igor; Bergen Jensen, Marina; Penenko, Vladimir; Nurseitov, Daniyar; Zakarin, Edige

2017-04-01

The EnviroAerosols on ECMWF HPC project (2015-2017) "Enviro-HIRLAM/ HARMONIE model research and development for online integrated meteorology-chemistry-aerosols feedbacks and interactions in weather and atmospheric composition forecasting" is aimed at analysis of importance of the meteorology-chemistry/aerosols interactions and to provide a way for development of efficient techniques for on-line coupling of numerical weather prediction and atmospheric chemical transport via process-oriented parameterizations and feedback algorithms, which will improve both the numerical weather prediction and atmospheric composition forecasts. Two main application areas of the on-line integrated modelling are considered: (i) improved numerical weather prediction with short-term feedbacks of aerosols and chemistry on formation and development of meteorological variables, and (ii) improved atmospheric composition forecasting with on-line integrated meteorological forecast and two-way feedbacks between aerosols/chemistry and meteorology. During 2015-2016 several research projects were realized. At first, the study on "On-line Meteorology-Chemistry/Aerosols Modelling and Integration for Risk Assessment: Case Studies" focused on assessment of scenarios with accidental and continuous emissions of sulphur dioxide for case studies for Atyrau (Kazakhstan) near the northern part of the Caspian Sea and metallurgical enterprises on the Kola Peninsula (Russia), with GIS integration of modelling results into the RANDOM (Risk Assessment of Nature Detriment due to Oil spill Migration) system. At second, the studies on "The sensitivity of precipitation simulations to the soot aerosol presence" & "The precipitation forecast sensitivity to data assimilation on a very high resolution domain" focused on sensitivity and changes in precipitation life-cycle under black carbon polluted conditions over Scandinavia. At third, studies on "Aerosol effects over China investigated with a high resolution convection permitting weather model" & "Meteorological and chemical urban scale modelling for Shanghai metropolitan area" with focus on aerosol effects and influence of urban areas in China at regional-subregional-urban scales. At fourth, study on "Direct variational data assimilation algorithm for atmospheric chemistry data with transport and transformation model" with focus on testing chemical data assimilation algorithm of in situ concentration measurements on real data scenario. At firth, study on "Aerosol influence on High Resolution NWP HARMONIE Operational Forecasts" with focus on impact of sea salt aerosols on numerical weather prediction during low precipitation events. And finally, study on "Impact of regional afforestation on climatic conditions in metropolitan areas: case study of Copenhagen" with focus on impact of forest and land-cover change on formation and development of temperature regimes in the Copenhagen metropolitan area of Denmark. Selected results and findings will be presented and discussed.

The rural nurse work environment and structural empowerment.

PubMed

Krebs, Julianne P; Madigan, Elizabeth A; Tullai-McGuinness, Susan

2008-02-01

Rural health care organizations struggle to attract and retain nurses, yet much of the research has focused on characteristics of the nurse work environment or empowerment in urban hospitals. The purpose of this study was to examine the nurse work environment in rural areas across settings by describing the relationship between structural empowerment and characteristics of the nurse work environment. Nurses ( N = 97) working in home care agencies and hospitals were surveyed. Significant differences were found between the groups, with home care nurses having significantly higher empowerment scores than medical/surgical nurses. A strong correlation was found between characteristics of the nurse work environment and empowerment. Policy makers are using evidence to guide development of policies, but much of the research has been conducted in urban hospital settings. This study begins to provide evidence that differences exist between urban and rural areas and between practice settings.

Synegies Between Visible/Near-Infrared Imaging Spectrometry and the Thermal Infrared in an Urban Environment: An Evaluation of the Hyperspectral Infrared Imager (HYSPIRI) Mission

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, Dar A.; Quattrochi, Dale A.; Hulley, Glynn C.; Hook, Simon J.; Green, Robert O.

2012-01-01

A majority of the human population lives in urban areas and as such, the quality of urban environments is becoming increasingly important to the human population. Furthermore, these areas are major sources of environmental contaminants and sinks of energy and materials. Remote sensing provides an improved understanding of urban areas and their impacts by mapping urban extent, urban composition (vegetation and impervious cover fractions), and urban radiation balance through measures of albedo, emissivity and land surface temperature (LST). Recently, the National Research Council (NRC) completed an assessment of remote sensing needs for the next decade (NRC, 2007), proposing several missions suitable for urban studies, including a visible, near-infrared and shortwave infrared (VSWIR) imaging spectrometer and a multispectral thermal infrared (TIR) instrument called the Hyperspectral Infrared Imagery (HyspIRI). In this talk, we introduce the HyspIRI mission, focusing on potential synergies between VSWIR and TIR data in an urban area. We evaluate potential synergies using an Airborne Visible/Infrared Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) and MODIS-ASTER (MASTER) image pair acquired over Santa Barbara, United States. AVIRIS data were analyzed at their native spatial resolutions (7.5m VSWIR and 15m TIR), and aggregated 60 m spatial resolution similar to HyspIRI. Surface reflectance was calculated using ACORN and a ground reflectance target to remove atmospheric and sensor artifacts. MASTER data were processed to generate estimates of spectral emissivity and LST using Modtran radiative transfer code and the ASTER Temperature Emissivity Separation algorithm. A spectral library of common urban materials, including urban vegetation, roofs and roads was assembled from combined AVIRIS and field-measured reflectance spectra. LST and emissivity were also retrieved from MASTER and reflectance/emissivity spectra for a subset of urban materials were retrieved from co-located MASTER and AVIRIS pixels. Fractions of Impervious, Soil, Green Vegetation (GV) and Non-photosynthetic Vegetation (NPV), were estimated using Multiple Endmember Spectral Mixture Analysis (MESMA) applied to AVIRIS data at 7.5, 15 and 60 m spatial scales. Surface energy parameters, including albedo, vegetation cover fraction, broadband emissivity and LST were also determined for urban and natural land-cover classes in the region. Fractions were validated using 1m digital photography.

Spatial Accessibility to Health Care Services: Identifying under-Serviced Neighbourhoods in Canadian Urban Areas.

PubMed

Shah, Tayyab Ikram; Bell, Scott; Wilson, Kathi

2016-01-01

Urban environments can influence many aspects of health and well-being and access to health care is one of them. Access to primary health care (PHC) in urban settings is a pressing research and policy issue in Canada. Most research on access to healthcare is focused on national and provincial levels in Canada; there is a need to advance current understanding to local scales such as neighbourhoods. This study examines spatial accessibility to family physicians using the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) method to identify neighbourhoods with poor geographical access to PHC services and their spatial patterning across 14 Canadian urban settings. An index of spatial access to PHC services, representing an accessibility score (physicians-per-1000 population), was calculated for neighborhoods using a 3km road network distance. Information about primary health care providers (this definition does not include mobile services such as health buses or nurse practitioners or less distributed services such as emergency rooms) used in this research was gathered from publicly available and routinely updated sources (i.e. provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons). An integrated geocoding approach was used to establish PHC locations. The results found that the three methods, Simple Ratio, Neighbourhood Simple Ratio, and 3SFCA that produce City level access scores are positively correlated with each other. Comparative analyses were performed both within and across urban settings to examine disparities in distributions of PHC services. It is found that neighbourhoods with poor accessibility scores in the main urban settings across Canada have further disadvantages in relation to population high health care needs. The results of this study show substantial variations in geographical accessibility to PHC services both within and among urban areas. This research enhances our understanding of spatial accessibility to health care services at the neighbourhood level. In particular, the results show that the low access neighbourhoods tend to be clustered in the neighbourhoods at the urban periphery and immediately surrounding the downtown area.

Climate forcing and infectious disease transmission in urban landscapes: integrating demographic and socioeconomic heterogeneity.

PubMed

Santos-Vega, Mauricio; Martinez, Pamela P; Pascual, Mercedes

2016-10-01

Urbanization and climate change are the two major environmental challenges of the 21st century. The dramatic expansion of cities around the world creates new conditions for the spread, surveillance, and control of infectious diseases. In particular, urban growth generates pronounced spatial heterogeneity within cities, which can modulate the effect of climate factors at local spatial scales in large urban environments. Importantly, the interaction between environmental forcing and socioeconomic heterogeneity at local scales remains an open area in infectious disease dynamics, especially for urban landscapes of the developing world. A quantitative and conceptual framework on urban health with a focus on infectious diseases would benefit from integrating aspects of climate forcing, population density, and level of wealth. In this paper, we review what is known about these drivers acting independently and jointly on urban infectious diseases; we then outline elements that are missing and would contribute to building such a framework. © 2016 New York Academy of Sciences.

Assessing the Sustainable Development of Coastal Reclamation: A Case of Makassar Using GIS Application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yurnita, A.; Trisutomo, S.; Ali, M.

2017-07-01

Reclamation has been made in many areas in Indonesia including Makassar, as a response to the present needs of land as the impact of human activity in urban area. This research aims to assess the sustainable development of coastal reclamation and focus on environmental dimension of sustainable urban development. Assessment will be done by reclamation sustainability index (RSI) and analysis by GIS as the tools. RSI was built from previous research that has simplified from many researches and analysis by Structure of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and expert choice. RSI uses 9 indices from three indicators of environment factor which are coastal resources, building and infrastructure.

Land use mapping and modelling for the Phoenix Quadrangle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Place, J. L. (Principal Investigator)

1974-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. The mapping of generalized land use (level 1) from ERTS 1 images was shown to be feasible with better than 95% accuracy in the Phoenix quadrangle. The accuracy of level 2 mapping in urban areas is still a problem. Updating existing maps also proved to be feasible, especially in water categories and agricultural uses; however, expanding urban growth has presented with accuracy. ERTS 1 film images indicated where areas of change were occurring, thus aiding focusing-in for more detailed investigation. ERTS color composite transparencies provided a cost effective source of information for land use mapping of very large regions at small map scales.

Race, urban context, and Russian roulette: findings from the National Violent Death Reporting System, 2003-2006.

PubMed

Wasserman, Ira; Stack, Steven

2011-02-01

Previous work on Russian roulette has focused on data from large cities. It is unclear if the epidemiological patterns based on large cities will replicate for the nation as a whole, and if the influence of minority status will be moderated by urban context. The present investigation fills these gaps by providing descriptive epidemiological data on Russian roulette for 17 states, and testing a hypothesis on urbanism as a moderator of the race-Russian roulette relationship. Data were taken from the National Violent Death Reporting System (2003-2006). They refer to 71 Russian roulette cases and a matched control group of 284 males who committed suicide by a gunshot wound to the head. Russian roulette suicides were more apt to be of minority status, younger, had a lower incidence of mental health problems, and were more likely to be utilizing alcohol than the controls. Differentiating the sample into larger and smaller urban areas, it was found that the risk of Russian roulette for African Americans was higher in larger urban areas. Epidemiological patterns in previous research on large city samples are largely replicated. The moderating influence of urban context is related to differential opportunity structures for risk-taking behavior. © 2011 The American Association of Suicidology.

Use of remotely sensed data to evaluate the relationship between living environment and blood pressure.

PubMed

Estes, Maurice G; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z; Crosson, William; Estes, Sue M; Quattrochi, Dale; Kent, Shia; McClure, Leslie Ain

2009-12-01

Urbanization has been correlated with hypertension (HTN) in developing countries undergoing rapid economic and environmental transitions. We examined the relationships among living environment (urban, suburban, and rural), day/night land surface temperatures (LST), and blood pressure in selected regions from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. Also, the linking of data on blood pressure from REGARDS with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) science data is relevant to NASA's strategic goals and missions, particularly as a primary focus of the agency's Applied Sciences Program. REGARDS is a national cohort of 30,228 people from the 48 contiguous United States with self-reported and measured blood pressure levels. Four metropolitan regions (Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis, MN; and Chicago, IL) with varying geographic and health characteristics were selected for study. Satellite remotely sensed data were used to characterize the LST and land cover/land use (LCLU) environment for each area. We developed a method for characterizing participants as living in urban, suburban, or rural living environments, using the LCLU data. These data were compiled on a 1-km grid for each region and linked with the REGARDS data via an algorithm using geocoding information. REGARDS participants in urban areas have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than do those in suburban or rural areas, and also a higher incidence of HTN. In univariate models, living environment is associated with HTN, but after adjustment for known HTN risk factors, the relationship was no longer present. Further study regarding the relationship between HTN and living environment should focus on additional environmental characteristics, such as air pollution. The living environment classification method using remotely sensed data has the potential to facilitate additional research linking environmental variables to public health concerns.

Substance flow analysis as a tool for urban water management.

PubMed

Chèvre, N; Guignard, C; Rossi, L; Pfeifer, H-R; Bader, H-P; Scheidegger, R

2011-01-01

Human activity results in the production of a wide range of pollutants that can enter the water cycle through stormwater or wastewater. Among others, heavy metals are still detected in high concentrations around urban areas and their impact on aquatic organisms is of major concern. In this study, we propose to use a substance flow analysis as a tool for heavy metals management in urban areas. We illustrate the approach with the case of copper in Lausanne, Switzerland. The results show that around 1,500 kg of copper enter the aquatic compartment yearly. This amount contributes to sediment enrichment, which may pose a long-term risk for benthic organisms. The major sources of copper in receiving surface water are roofs and catenaries of trolleybuses. They represent 75% of the total input of copper into the urban water system. Actions to reduce copper pollution should therefore focus on these sources. Substance flow analysis also highlights that copper enters surface water mainly during rain events, i.e., without passing through any treatment procedure. A reduction in pollution could also be achieved by improving stormwater management. In conclusion, the study showed that substance flow analysis is a very effective tool for sustainable urban water management.

The correlation of urban heat island in tropical middle-class housing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wazir, Zuber Angkasa

2017-11-01

A very limited number of green and sustainable construction studies have explored factors related to Urban Heat Island (UHI) in tropical middle-class housing. This paper aimed to investigate the correlation of Urban Heat Island in tropical middle-class housing in three urban housing for middle-class residents of Palembang, which were Taman Sari Kenten, TOP Jakabaring, and Talang Kelapa. Samples consisted of 125 Taman Sari Kenten housing, 27 Talang Kelapa housing, and 12 TOP Jakabaring housing. Independent variables were the resident density, socioeconomic status, house location, roof type, green area ratio, weather, time, air conditioner, pro-environment institution, and NEP scale. The Analytic method included correlation and regression. We identified that all housing had different UHI profiles where Taman Sari Kenten had the highest UHI (4.17 K), followed by Talang Kelapa (2.66 K) and TOP Jakabaring (0.66 K) against temperature in measuring station nearby, owned by BMKG (National Meteorological Station). UHI correlated with the resident density, roof type, green area ratio, weather, time, and air conditioner. The results should add to the design of ideal housing in the tropical climate for middle-class residents, focusing on its ability to mitigate Urban Heat Island.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Güneralp, Burak; Zhou, Yuyu; Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana

Urban areas play a significant role in planetary sustainability. While the scale of impending urbanization is well acknowledged, we have a limited understanding on how urban forms will change and what their impact will be on building energy use. Using both top-down and bottom-up approaches and scenarios, we examine building energy use, specifically, for heating and cooling. We also assess associated cobenefits and trade-offs with human well-being. Globally, the energy use for heating and cooling by midcentury will reach anywhere from about 45 EJ/yr to 59 EJ/yr (respectively, increases of 5% to 40% over the 2010 estimate). Most of thismore » variability is due to the uncertainty in future urban forms of rapidly growing cities in Asia and, particularly, in China. Compact urban development overall leads to less energy use in urban environments. Delaying the retrofit of the existing built environment leads to more savings in building energy use. Potential for savings in the energy use is greatest in China when coupled with efficiency gains. Advanced efficiency makes the least difference compared to the business-as-usual scenario in energy use for heating and cooling in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa but significantly contribute to energy savings in North America and Europe. A systemic effort that focuses on both urban form and energy-efficient technologies, but also accounts for potential co-benefits and trade-offs, can contribute to both local and global sustainability. Particularly in mega-urban regions, such efforts can improve local environments for billions of urban residents and contribute to mitigating climate change by reducing energy use in urban areas and associated greenhouse gas emissions.« less

Ricinus communis L. (castor bean) as a potential candidate for revegetating industrial waste contaminated sites in peri-urban Greater Hyderabad: remarks on seed oil.

PubMed

Boda, Ravi Kiran; Majeti, Narasimha Vara Prasad; Suthari, Sateesh

2017-08-01

Ricinus communis L. (castor bean or castor oil plant) was found growing on metal-contaminated sites (4) of peri-urban Greater Hyderabad comprises of erstwhile industrial areas viz Bollaram, Patancheru, Bharatnagar, and Kattedan industrial areas. During 2013-2017, about 60 research papers have appeared focusing the role of castor bean in phytoremediation of co-contaminated soils, co-generation of biomaterials, and environmental cleanup, as bioenergy crop and sustainable development. The present study is focused on its use as a multipurpose phytoremediation crop for phytostabilization and revegetation of waste disposed peri-urban contaminated soils. To determine the plant tolerance level, metal accumulation, chlorophyll, protein, proline, lipid peroxidation, oil content, and soil properties were characterized. It was noticed that the castor plant and soils have high concentration of metals such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). The soils have high phosphorous (P), adequate nitrogen (N), and low concentration of potassium (K). Iron (Fe) concentrations ranged from1672±50.91 to 2166±155.78 mg kg -1 in the soil. The trend of metal accumulation Fe>Zn>Mn>Pb>Cd was found in different plant parts at polluted sites. The translocation of Cd and Pb showed values more than one in industrial areas viz Bollaram, Kattedan, and Bharatnagar indicating the plants resistance to metal toxicity. Chlorophyll and protein content reduced while proline and malondialdehyde increased due to its tolerance level under metal exposure. The content of ricinoleic acid was higher, and the fatty acids composition of polluted areas was almost similar to that of the control area. Thus, R. communis L. can be employed for reclamation of heavy metal contaminated soils.

Evaluating a Pregnancy and STI Prevention Programme in Rural, At-Risk, Middle School Girls in the USA

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hill, Julie C.; Lynne-Landsman, Sarah D.; Graber, Julia A.; Johnson, Kelly J.

2016-01-01

Objective: Young people in urban areas are often the focus of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention programmes because of their high risk of unwanted pregnancy and contracting an STI. Young people in rural areas are far less studied but also have a high risk of similar outcomes. This study evaluates Giving Our Girls…

Let's Plan the School Garden: A Participatory Project on Sustainability in a Nursery School in Padua

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rocca, Lorena; Donadelli, Giovanni; Ziliotto, Sonia

2012-01-01

The increasing complexity of urban regions and the lack of green areas in the neighborhoods have turned the cities less and less child-friendly. In order to locally face these situations, the project "Small steps of Agenda 21," which promoted a participatory planning experience for children focused on the green area of their school, was…

Brownfields vs greenfields -- Considerations for facility siting

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hale, D.W.; Kaiding, D.C.; DeMaria, M.J.

Since the promulgation of the ``Superfund`` component of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) in 1980, the sale and acquisition of industrial properties (brownfields) have been sluggish at best or non-existent where significant environmental contamination has been detected. As a result, many urban areas contain numerous brownfield sites that lie vacant due to the presence or the potential existence of contaminants. Wary of the potential remedial costs associated with brownfield sites, industry has focused its development on greenfield areas -- undeveloped areas where the potential for previous environmental contamination is remote. This paper evaluates the impact ofmore » the development of these brownfield areas from both an environmental and economic perspective. Critical to this evaluation is the impact of brownfield development as it relates to urban areas. Mature, heavily developed urban areas are usually unable to offer substantial greenfield areas, and as a result, have suffered a declining tax base, as employment opportunities are shifted beyond city limits. This paper also explores the advantages and disadvantages of developing brownfield versus greenfield areas, including issues such as: infrastructure, proximity to public transportation, public acceptance, and zoning and permitting. Furthermore, this paper provides an overview of current and pending legislation from both the federal government and various state agencies with regard to incentives being offered for the development of brownfield sites.« less

Revealing the unequal household health footprints in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, H.; Li, X.; Zhang, Q.

2017-12-01

Household consumption scale and patterns varies among rural and urban, rich and poor households across regions and nations, these bring uneven direct and indirect production related pollutant emissions and related health footprint. Here, by integrating four stat-of-the-art social-economical and physical models, we quantify PM2.5 related health burden from consumption of 12 income groups for rural and urban households in seven regions of China. We show that, despite earn and spend far less than urban residents, rural households show similar health footprints (3.4×10-4 deaths per capita) with that of urban (3.2×10-4 deaths per capita), primarily because 50% of its consumption related deaths were contributed by the less controlled direct biofuel consumption emissions. Income or expenditure is a main contributor of household health footprints, national averagely, the highest income brackets in rural and urban is 1.8 and 3.4 times of their lowest income groups, respectively. From regions perspective, the household in east coast regions show higher footprint than that of central and western regions, and part of their footprint were occurred in central and west regions through trade or atmospheric transportation. Our results indicate that urbanization will not solve the pollution effects, and efforts to reduce the household health impact should focus on the mitigation of the biofuel consumption emissions in rural area and encourage sustainable consumption in urban area.

High Spatial Resolution Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing Data for Analysis of the Atlanta, Georgia, Urban Heat Island Effect and Its Impacts on the Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.

2007-01-01

The twenty-first century is the first "urban century" according to the United Nations Development Program. The focus of cities reflects awareness of the growing percentage of the world's population that lives in urban areas. In environmental terms, cities are the original producers of many of the global problems related to waste disposal, air and water pollution, and associated environmental and ecological challenges. Expansion of cities, both in population and areal extent, is a relentless process. In 2000, approximately 3 billion people representing about 40% of the global population, resided in urban areas. Urban population will continue to rise substantially over the next several decades according to UN estimates, and most of this growth will Occur in developing countries. The UN estimates that by 2025, 60% of the world's population will live in urban areas. As a consequence, the number of"megacities" (those cities with populations of 10 million inhabitants or more) will increase by 100 by 2025. Thus, there is a critical need to understand urban areas and what their impacts are on environmental, ecological and hydrologic resources, as well as on the local, regional, and even global climate. One of the more egregious side effects of urbanization is the increase in surface and air temperatures that lead to deterioration in air quality. In the United States, under the more stringent air quality guidelines established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1997, nearly 300 counties in 34 states will not meet these new air quality standards for ground level ozone. Mitigation of the urban heat island (UHI) effect is actively being evaluated as a possible way to reduce ground ozone levels in cities and assist states in improving air quality. Foremost in the analysis of how the UHI affects air quality and other environmental factors is the use of remote sensing technology and data to characterize urban land covers in sufficient detail to quantifiably measure the impact of increased urban heating on air quality. The urban landscape impacts surface thermal energy exchanges that determine development of the UHI. This paper will illustrate how we are using high spatial remote sensing data collected over the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area in conjunction with other geographic information, to perform a detailed urban land cover classification and to determine the contribution of these land covers to the urban heat island effect. Also, the spatial arrangement of the land covers and the impact on urban heating from these selected patterns of development are evaluated. Additionally, this paper will show how these data are being used as inputs to improve air quality modeling for Atlanta, including potential benefits from UHI mitigation.

No Time to Fool around with the Wrong Education: Socialization Frames, Timing and High Stakes Educational Decision Making in Changing Rural Places

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Corbett, Michael

2009-01-01

There have been as yet few qualitative analyses of either the lives of rural youth or their schooling in North America. While urban or suburban sociologies of education have focused heavily on the social mobility of youth, rural sociologies of education have focused on the geographic mobility of youth, typically out of rural areas. Indeed there…

THE EFFECT OF THE GHETTO ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND LEVEL OF NONWHITE EMPLOYMENT IN URBAN AREAS.

DTIC Science & Technology

URBAN AREAS, HOUSING(DWELLINGS)), (*HOUSING(DWELLINGS), URBAN AREAS), (*MANPOWER, URBAN AREAS), (*SOCIOLOGY, URBAN AREAS), POPULATION, URBAN PLANNING, HOUSING PROJECTS, DISTRIBUTION, LABOR , ECONOMICS

THE EFFECT OF THE GHETTO ON THE DISTRIBUTION AND LEVEL OF NONWHITE EMPLOYMENT IN URBAN AREAS,

DTIC Science & Technology

URBAN AREAS, HOUSING(DWELLINGS)), (*HOUSING(DWELLINGS), URBAN AREAS), (*MANPOWER, URBAN AREAS), (*SOCIOLOGY, URBAN AREAS), POPULATION, URBAN PLANNING, HOUSING PROJECTS, DISTRIBUTION, LABOR , ECONOMICS

Changing patterns in electrical burn injuries in a developing country: should prevention programs focus on the rural population?

PubMed

Patil, Surendra B; Khare, Nishant Anil; Jaiswal, Sumeet; Jain, Arvind; Chitranshi, Anurag; Math, Mahantesh

2010-01-01

In the developing world, the incidence of electrical injuries has increased in the past few years. This study attempts to identify the causative and demographic risk factors that can help in formulating a targeted prevention program. The study was conducted prospectively and retrospectively from 2004 to 2009. Eighty-four consecutive patients with electrical burn injuries were analyzed for their demographic profile, age, sex, occupation, rural-urban distribution, mode of injury, and place of injury. The patients were asked to fill out a questionnaire regarding their awareness about electrical burn injuries, and the results were tabulated. The age of presentation ranged from 3 to 61 years. The most frequently affected age group was the second decade of life (33.3%). Of 84 patients studied, 71 were male and 13 female. Fifty-nine patients were from the urban area, while 25 were from the surrounding rural area. Students including children and adolescents were the most common affected single group (22.5%). Contact with live wire or contact with an object that was in contact with a live wire (secondary contact) accounted for 43 of 84 cases (51%). Home was the most common location where injury occurred (51.2%). Twenty-one of 59 cases (35.6%) reported from the urban area and 3 of 25 cases (12%) from the rural area had specific knowledge about prevention of electrical burn injury. Forty-one patients (69.4%) from the urban area and 22 (88%) from the rural area believed that adequate information regarding electrical burn injury was not available. Thirty-six patients (61%) from the urban area and 24 (96%) from the rural area believed that they would have behaved differently if the information had been available. The authors recommend that prevention programs should be modified to cater to the specific needs of the younger age groups and the rural population.

Investigating Constituent Values and School Policy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Ann; Glassman, Michael; Riegel, Lisa; Dawson, Heather

2013-01-01

Using a sociopolitical perspective to understand the alignment of community values and school policies, we conducted focus groups in three geographically close but economically varied neighborhood in one Midwest urban area. The article presents findings related to constituent values, social capital, and school policies, including charter school…

Accessibility and independent mobility in rural built environments : challenges and opportunities for young people.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2013-03-01

Much of the research on accessibility and the built environment performed to date have been : conducted in urban settings and most have focused on adults. Few studies addressing this topic : have concerned areas with low population density and fewer ...

Protect Your Home from Wildfire!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

PTA Today, 1994

1994-01-01

Homes in wooded areas or in the wildland/urban interface are at special risk for wildfire. The article provides a checklist of what to keep on hand to make homes safer from wildfire, focusing on vegetation around the home and maintenance of the yard and home. (SM)

Reduction on NOx emissions on urban areas by changing specific vehicle fleets: effects on NO2 and O3 concentration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Goncalves, M.; Jimenez, P.; Baldasano, J.

2007-12-01

The largest amount of NOx emissions in urban areas comes from on-road traffic, which is the largest contributor to urban air pollution (Colvile et al., 2001). Currently different strategies are being tested in order to reduce its effects; many of them oriented to the reduction of the unitary vehicles emissions, by alternative fuels use (such as biofuels, natural gas or hydrogen) or introduction of new technologies (such as hybrid electric vehicles or fuel cells). Atmospheric modelling permits to predict their consequences on tropospheric chemistry (Vautard et al., 2007). Hence, this work assesses the changes on NO2 and O3 concentrations when substituting a 10 per cent of the urban private cars fleets by petrol hybrid electric cars (HEC) or by natural gas cars (NGC) in Madrid and Barcelona urban areas (Spain). These two cities are selected in order to highlight the different patterns of pollutants transport (inland vs. coastal city) and the different responses to emissions reductions. The results focus on a typical summertime episode of air pollution, by means of the Eulerian air quality model ARW- WRF/HERMES/CMAQ, applied with high resolution (1-hr, 1km2) since of the complexity of both areas under study. The detailed emissions scenarios are implemented in the HERMES traffic emissions module, based on the Copert III-EEA/EMEP-CORINAIR (Nztiachristos and Samaras, 2000) methodology. The HEC introduction reduces NOx emissions from on-road traffic in a 10.8 per cent and 8.2 per cent; and the NGC introduction in a 10.3 per cent and 7.8 per cent, for Madrid and Barcelona areas, respectively. The scenarios also affect the NMVOCs reduction (ranging from -3.1 to -6.9 per cent), influencing the tropospheric photochemistry through the NOx/NMVOCs ratio. The abatement of the NO photooxidation but also to the reduction on primary NO2 involves a decrease on NO2 levels centred on urban areas. For example, the NO2 24-hr average concentration in downtown areas reduces up to 8 per cent (-6 μg m-3 on average). The urban areas are VOC-controlled, therefore the reduction on NOx emissions involves a minor increase on tropospheric O3 concentration (Jiménez and Baldasano, 2004), up to 1.5 per cent at some points. Nevertheless, the O3 precursors reduction has positive effects in the downwind areas affected by the urban plume, slightly reducing the O3 levels, but at the regional scale the reduction applied on urban traffic emissions has negligible effects. Both scenarios tested are very similar in terms of emissions reductions and air quality changes, which means that the NOx/NMVOCs ratio do not involve an O3-sensitivity regime variation among scenarios. The HEC scenario is more effective in reducing NO2 levels in urban areas than the NGC scenario (with maximum reductions affecting a larger area) and involves a larger increase in urban O3 concentration.

"I just start crying for no reason": the experience of stress and depression in pregnant, urban, African-American adolescents and their perception of yoga as a management strategy.

PubMed

Kinser, Patricia; Masho, Saba

2015-01-01

Perinatal health disparities are of particular concern with pregnant, urban, African-American (AA) adolescents, who have high rates of stress and depression during pregnancy, higher rates of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, and many barriers to effective treatment. The purpose of this study was to explore pregnant, urban, AA teenagers' experience of stress and depression and examine their perceptions of adjunctive nonpharmacologic management strategies, such as yoga. This community-based, qualitative study used nontherapeutic focus groups to allow for exploration of attitudes, concerns, beliefs, and values regarding stress and depression in pregnancy and nonpharmacologic management approaches, such as mind-body therapies and other prenatal activities. The sample consisted of pregnant, AA, low-income adolescents (n=17) who resided in a large urban area in the United States. The themes that arose in the focus group discussions were that 1) stress and depression symptoms are pervasive in daily life, 2) participants felt a generalized sense of isolation, 3) stress/depression management techniques should be group based, interactive, and focused on the specific needs of teenagers, and 4) yoga is an appealing stress management technique to this population. Findings from this study suggest that pregnant, urban, adolescents are highly stressed; they interpret depression-like symptoms to be signs of stress; they desire group-based, interactive activities; and they are interested in yoga classes for stress/depression management and relationship building. It is imperative that health care providers and researchers focus on these needs, particularly when designing prevention and intervention strategies. Copyright © 2015 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

“I just start crying for no reason”: The experience of stress and depression in pregnant urban African American adolescents and their perception of yoga as a management strategy

PubMed Central

Kinser, Patricia; Masho, Saba

2015-01-01

Purpose Perinatal health disparities are of particular concern with pregnant urban African American adolescents who have high rates of stress and depression during pregnancy, higher rates of adverse pregnancy and neonatal outcomes, and many barriers to effective treatment. The purpose of this study was to explore pregnant urban African American teenagers’ experience of stress and depression and examine their perceptions of adjunctive non-pharmacologic management strategies, such as yoga. Methods This community-based qualitative study utilized non-therapeutic focus groups to allow for exploration of attitudes, concerns, beliefs and values regarding stress and depression in pregnancy and non-pharmacologic management approaches, such as mind-body therapies and other prenatal activities. Findings The sample consisted of pregnant African-American low-income adolescents (n=17) who resided in a large urban area in the United States. The themes that arose in the focus group discussions were: (1) stress and depression symptoms are pervasive in daily life; (2) participants felt a generalized sense of isolation; (3) stress/depression-management techniques should be group-based, interactive, and focused on the specific needs of teenagers; (4) yoga is an appealing stress-management technique to this population. Conclusions The findings from this study suggest that pregnant urban adolescents are highly stressed, they interpret depression-like symptoms to be signs of stress, they desire group-based, interactive activities, and they are interested in yoga classes for stress/depression management and relationship-building. It is imperative that healthcare providers and researchers focus on these needs, particularly when designing prevention and intervention strategies. PMID:25648492

Mapping intra-urban malaria risk using high resolution satellite imagery: a case study of Dar es Salaam.

PubMed

Kabaria, Caroline W; Molteni, Fabrizio; Mandike, Renata; Chacky, Frank; Noor, Abdisalan M; Snow, Robert W; Linard, Catherine

2016-07-30

With more than half of Africa's population expected to live in urban settlements by 2030, the burden of malaria among urban populations in Africa continues to rise with an increasing number of people at risk of infection. However, malaria intervention across Africa remains focused on rural, highly endemic communities with far fewer strategic policy directions for the control of malaria in rapidly growing African urban settlements. The complex and heterogeneous nature of urban malaria requires a better understanding of the spatial and temporal patterns of urban malaria risk in order to design effective urban malaria control programs. In this study, we use remotely sensed variables and other environmental covariates to examine the predictability of intra-urban variations of malaria infection risk across the rapidly growing city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between 2006 and 2014. High resolution SPOT satellite imagery was used to identify urban environmental factors associated malaria prevalence in Dar es Salaam. Supervised classification with a random forest classifier was used to develop high resolution land cover classes that were combined with malaria parasite prevalence data to identify environmental factors that influence localized heterogeneity of malaria transmission and develop a high resolution predictive malaria risk map of Dar es Salaam. Results indicate that the risk of malaria infection varied across the city. The risk of infection increased away from the city centre with lower parasite prevalence predicted in administrative units in the city centre compared to administrative units in the peri-urban suburbs. The variation in malaria risk within Dar es Salaam was shown to be influenced by varying environmental factors. Higher malaria risks were associated with proximity to dense vegetation, inland water and wet/swampy areas while lower risk of infection was predicted in densely built-up areas. The predictive maps produced can serve as valuable resources for municipal councils aiming to shrink the extents of malaria across cities, target resources for vector control or intensify mosquito and disease surveillance. The semi-automated modelling process developed can be replicated in other urban areas to identify factors that influence heterogeneity in malaria risk patterns and detect vulnerable zones. There is a definite need to expand research into the unique epidemiology of malaria transmission in urban areas for focal elimination and sustained control agendas.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 behavior of the TCMA UHI with an emphasis on the contribution of different land use types on the UHI. We also present a comparison of thermal and radiative properties of two different roofing materials with data collected from the roof of the Science Museum of Minnesota in Saint Paul, MN. The impact of the TCMA UHI on thermal pollution into local water bodies is also investigated.

Modifiers of Neighbors' Bystander Intervention in Intimate Partner Violence: A Concept Mapping Study.

PubMed

Wee, Sara; Todd, Mary-Justine; Oshiro, Michael; Greene, Emily; Frye, Victoria

2016-03-01

Encouraging bystander intervention in intimate partner violence (IPV) against women is potentially an important method of reducing the prevalence of such violence in urban communities. Most existing research has been conducted on campuses and in relation to sexual violence among teens or young adults. Our understanding of which bystander behaviors are feasible is nascent, and our knowledge of which situational factors influence neighbors' self-reported willingness to intervene is underdeveloped. We conducted a concept mapping study to identify potential bystander intervention behaviors in IPV among neighbors in urban settings; we also assessed whether perceived feasibility and effectiveness of those behaviors varied by situational characteristics. Using data collected from 41 residents of a low-income New York City neighborhood in late 2011, concept mapping was used to create a conceptual map of the 74 behaviors identified by participants. We examined participant differences in mean feasibility (i.e., that the participants "could" or "would" enact a behavior), feasibility given two situational characteristics (if the couple was perceived to have a history of IPV, and if children were believed to be involved or present), and perceived effectiveness of bystander behaviors. Differences across select sociodemographic factors of participants were also analyzed. A 13-cluster solution emerged, with clusters of bystander behaviors grouped into four larger cluster areas: victim focused, parenting/education focused, perpetrator focused, and community involvement focused. Bivariate analyses revealed that participants rated the four cluster areas as more feasible when a child was believed to be involved. Male participants rated intervention as less feasible when the couple was believed to have a history of IPV. Participants who reported a history of IPV victimization rated all four cluster areas as less effective on average, as compared with participants without a history of IPV. This study explored bystander intervention into IPV outside of a college context and among urban adults living in high-poverty areas. Results suggest that the presence of children and perceived history of IPV may affect bystander intervention. Specific recommendations to build the research base on bystander intervention in adult IPV as well as what situational, sociodemographic, and other factors mitigate against intervention among potential responders are offered.

Detailed Geological Modelling in Urban Areas focused on Structures relevant to the Near Surface Groundwater Flow in the context of Climatic Changes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, T.; Pallesen, T. M.; Jensen, N. P.; Mielby, S.; Sandersen, P.; Kristensen, M.

2015-12-01

This case demonstrates a practical example from the city of Odense (DK) where new geological modeling techniques has been developed and used in the software GeoScene3D, to create a detailed voxel model of the anthropogenic layer. The voxel model has been combined with a regional hydrostratigraphic layer model. The case is part of a pilot project partly financed by VTU (Foundation for Development of Technology in the Danish Water Sector) and involves many different datatypes such as borehole information, geophysical data, human related elements (landfill, pipelines, basements, roadbeds etc). In the last few years, there has been increased focus on detailed geological modeling in urban areas. The models serve as important input to hydrological models. This focus is partly due to climate changes as high intensity rainfalls are seen more often than in the past, and water recharge is a topic too. In urban areas, this arises new challenges. There is a need of a high level of detailed geological knowledge for the uppermost zone of the soil, which typically are problematic due to practically limitations, especially when using geological layer models. Furthermore, to accommodate the need of a high detail, all relevant available data has to be used in the modeling process. Human activity has deeply changed the soil layers, e.g. by constructions as roadbeds, buildings with basements, pipelines, landfill etc. These elements can act as barriers or pathways regarding surface near groundwater flow and can attribute to local flooding or mobilization and transport of contaminants etc. A geological voxel model is built by small boxes (a voxel). Each box can contain several parameters, ex. lithology, transmissivity or contaminant concentration. Human related elements can be implemented using tools, which gives the modeler advanced options for making detailed small-scale models. This case demonstrates the workflow and the resulting geological model for the pilot area.

Evaluation of the TEOM method for measurement of ambient particulate mass in urban areas.

PubMed

Allen, G; Sioutas, C; Koutrakis, P; Reiss, R; Lurmann, F W; Roberts, P T

1997-06-01

Increased interest in the health effects of ambient particulate mass (PM) has focused attention on the evaluation of existing mass measurement methodologies and the definition of PM in ambient air. The Rupprecht and Patashnick Tapered Element Oscillating MicroBalance (TEOM) method for PM is compared with time-integrated gravimetric (manual) PM methods in large urban areas during different seasons. Comparisons are conducted for both PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations. In urban areas, a substantial fraction of ambient PM can be semi-volatile material. A larger fraction of this component of PM10 may be lost from the TEOM-heated filter than the Federal Reference Method (FRM). The observed relationship between TEOM and FRM methods varied widely among sites and seasons. In East Coast urban areas during the summer, the methods were highly correlated with good agreement. In the winter, correlation was somewhat lower, with TEOM PM concentrations generally lower than the FRM. Rubidoux, CA, and two Mexican sites (Tlalnepantla and Merced) had the highest levels of PM10 and the largest difference between TEOM and manual methods. PM2.5 data from collocation of 24-hour manual samples with the TEOM are also presented. As most of the semi-volatile PM is in the fine fraction, differences between these methods are larger for PM2.5 than for PM10.

Management and protection of peri-urban forests of three towns in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgi, J.; Zigkiris, S.; Ftika, Z.; Konstantinidou, E.

2016-08-01

The satisfaction of continuous leisure demand in suburban forest requires a proper management of space so as on the one hand to provide better services to visitors and on the other hand to protect against excessive and improper use by guests. In the present study we investigated and analyzed the current situation of the suburban forests of Drama, Limni and Elassona and proposed the appropriate future management. The views of residents are reflected in primary research using a questionnaire (personal interview). The results focus, regardless of the region, to the multiple roles played by suburban forests for urban and suburban areas. The integration of suburban forests and especially of all the urban green as key elements of spatial planning and urban reconstruction of large and small urban centers, are the means that will create favorable conditions for future upgrading of suburban forests in order to sufficiently accomplish a modern triple role; productive, ecological and social.

Increasing the Use of Urban Greenways in Developing Countries: A Case Study on Wutong Greenway in Shenzhen, China.

PubMed

Chen, Yiyong; Gu, Weiying; Liu, Tao; Yuan, Lei; Zeng, Mali

2017-05-23

Given the benefits of urban greenways on the health and well-being of urban populations, the increased use of urban greenways has garnered increasing attention. Studies on urban greenways, however, have been mostly conducted in Western countries, whereas there is limited knowledge on greenway use in urban areas in developing countries. To address this shortcoming, the present study selected Wutong Greenway in Shenzhen, China, as a case study and focused on the use pattern and factors that influence the frequency and duration of urban greenway use in developing countries. An intercept survey of greenway users was conducted, and 1257 valid questionnaires were obtained. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between potential predictors and greenway use. Results showed that visitors with a varied sociodemographic background use Wutong Greenway with high intensity. Various factors affect the use of urban greenways, including individual and environmental factors and greenway use patterns. Unlike previous studies, we found that accommodation type, length of stay at present residence and mode of transportation to the greenway are important factors that affect greenway use. In contrast with studies conducted in Western countries, less-educated and low-income respondents visit the Wutong greenway even more frequently than others. Thus, the greenway is an important public asset that promotes social equity and that all residents can freely use. To better serve citizens, we suggest that the greenway network should be extended to other areas and that its environmental quality should be improved.

Understanding Socio-Hydrology System in the Kissimmee River Basin

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, X.; Wang, D.; Tian, F.; Sivapalan, M.

2014-12-01

This study is to develop a conceptual socio-hydrology model for the Kissimmee River Basin. The Kissimmee River located in Florida was channelized in mid-20 century for flood protection. However, the environmental issues caused by channelization led Floridians to conduct a restoration project recently, focusing on wetland recovery. As a complex coupled human-water system, Kissimmee River Basin shows the typical socio-hydrology interactions. Hypothetically, the major reason to drive the system from channelization to restoration is that the community sensitivity towards the environment has changed from controlling to restoring. The model developed in this study includes 5 components: water balance, flood risk, wetland area, crop land area, and community sensitivity. Furthermore, urban population and rural population in the basin have different community sensitivities towards the hydrologic system. The urban population, who live further away from the river are more sensitive to wetland restoration; while the rural population, who live closer to the river are more sensitive to flood protection. The power dynamics between the two groups and its impact on management decision making is described in the model. The model is calibrated based on the observed watershed outflow, wetland area and crop land area. The results show that the overall focus of community sensitivity has changed from flood protection to wetland restoration in the past 60 years in Kissimmee River Basin, which confirms the study hypothesis. There are two main reasons for the community sensitivity change. Firstly, people's flood memory is fading because of the effective flood protection, while the continuously shrinking wetland and the decreasing bird and fish population draw more and more attention. Secondly, in the last 60 years, the urban population in Florida drastically increased compared with a much slower increase of rural population. As a result, the community sensitivity of urban population towards wetland restoration has more weight than the rural population's towards flood protection.

A Study on regeneration cases with industrial Heritage in mining areas of Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cho, Seungyeoun; Ji, Sangwoo; Yim, Giljae

2017-04-01

The mining areas have to face urban decline problem in population and aging after its closing. Many mines were shut down due to changes in industrial structure through 20 century. Central and local governments has been trying to solve urban decline of abandoned mine areas by enacting special acts or introducing support programs for decades. In the year of 1995, South Korean government also enacted "Special act on the assistance to the development of abandoned mine areas" to promote the economy of abandoned mine areas that is depressed following the decline of the coal industry and to help balanced regional development and to improve the living standard of the residents in such abandoned mine areas. Local authorities has been trying to revitalize the regional economy by attracting tourism industry under the financial support and deregulation by this special law. With this background, this study analysis 13 regeneration cases which are utilizing the industrial heritage of the abandoned area in S. Korea. Despite the importance of mining, negative images of abandon mine have been engraved due to environmental destruction. Most of abandoned mines were left without any action since its closing. Early stage of abandoned mine area regeneration, such as Sabuk, Munkyong, are focusing on adjacent land not on abandoned mine. Abandoned mines were restored its original state and theme park including hotels, casinos and other tourist facilities were developed on adjacent land. Eco-trails on some granite caves such as Jungsun were opened to the public as natural resources not industrial heritage. The industrial heritage was very restricted to making museums about history of mining industry. However, there has been a significant change in perception toward reusing industrial heritage for urban regeneration in recent years. From the viewpoint of urban regeneration, abandon mine areas and its facilities are receiving attention as important regional assets as industrial heritage to build vibrant cities. The recent urban regeneration projects in abandoned mine areas, such as Pocheon, Kwangmyong and Anyang, are utilizing mining facilities as industrial heritage more actively. They introduced eco-friendly restoration method and made environmental parks or experience centers on mining areas themselves. In conclusion, urban regenerations of abandoned mine areas has been changed from tourist development in neighbouring areas to eco-friendly regeneration in abandoned mine areas. However, there are still some constraints for eco-friendly regeneration. The mine operators have to restore abandoned mine areas to the original state after closing under the current law, "Mining damage prevention and restoration act". Thus lots of abandoned mine areas were left undeveloped or changed to forest. For promoting utilization of mine facilities as industrial heritage, the law have to allow reuse its infrastructure such as loads and subsidiary facilities for urban regeneration.

The Influence of Urbanism and Information Consumption on Political Dimensions of Social Capital: Exploratory Study of the Localities Adjacent to the Core City from Brașov Metropolitan Area, Romania.

PubMed

Rezeanu, Cătălina-Ionela; Briciu, Arabela; Briciu, Victor; Repanovici, Angela; Coman, Claudiu

2016-01-01

The last two decades have seen a growing trend towards the research of voting behavior in post-communist countries. Urban sociology theorists state that not only space structures influence political participation, but also space structures are changing under the influence of global, local, and individual factors. The growing role played by information in the globalised world has accelerated the paradigm shift in urban sociology: from central place model (based on urban-rural distinction and on monocentric metropolitan areas) to network society (based on space of flows and polycentric metropolitan areas). However, recent studies have mainly focused on countries with solid democracies, rather than on former communist countries. The present study aims to analyze the extent to which a new emerging spatial structure can be envisaged within a metropolitan area of Romania and its consequences for the political dimensions of social capital. The Transilvania University Ethics Commission approved this study (S1 Aprouval). The research is based upon individual and aggregate empirical data, collected from the areas adjacent to the core city in Brașov metropolitan area. Individual data has been collected during October 2012, using the oral survey technique (S1 Survey), based on a standardized questionnaire (stratified simple random sample, N = 600). The National Institute of Statistics and the Electoral Register provided the aggregate data per locality. Unvaried and multivariate analyses (hierarchical regression method) were conducted based on these data. Some dimensions of urbanism, identified as predictors of the political dimensions of social capital, suggest that the area under analysis has a predominantly monocentric character, where the rural-urban distinction continues to remain relevant. There are also arguments favoring the dissolution of the rural-urban distinction and the emergence of polycentric spatial structures. The presence of some influences related to the information consumption on all six indicators of the political dimensions of social capital under analysis suggests the occurrence of emerging forms of a space of flows. The identified effects of social problems associated with transport infrastructure and of migration experience on the political dimensions of social capital, also support the emergence of space of flows. We recommend that, in the urban studies in former communist countries, conceptualization of urbanism as predictor of the political dimensions of social capital should consider both the material dimensions of space, as well as the dimensions of information consumption and migration experience.

The Influence of Urbanism and Information Consumption on Political Dimensions of Social Capital: Exploratory Study of the Localities Adjacent to the Core City from Brașov Metropolitan Area, Romania

PubMed Central

Rezeanu, Cătălina-Ionela; Briciu, Arabela; Briciu, Victor; Repanovici, Angela; Coman, Claudiu

2016-01-01

Background The last two decades have seen a growing trend towards the research of voting behavior in post-communist countries. Urban sociology theorists state that not only space structures influence political participation, but also space structures are changing under the influence of global, local, and individual factors. The growing role played by information in the globalised world has accelerated the paradigm shift in urban sociology: from central place model (based on urban-rural distinction and on monocentric metropolitan areas) to network society (based on space of flows and polycentric metropolitan areas). However, recent studies have mainly focused on countries with solid democracies, rather than on former communist countries. The present study aims to analyze the extent to which a new emerging spatial structure can be envisaged within a metropolitan area of Romania and its consequences for the political dimensions of social capital. Methods The Transilvania University Ethics Commission approved this study (S1 Aprouval). The research is based upon individual and aggregate empirical data, collected from the areas adjacent to the core city in Brașov metropolitan area. Individual data has been collected during October 2012, using the oral survey technique (S1 Survey), based on a standardized questionnaire (stratified simple random sample, N = 600). The National Institute of Statistics and the Electoral Register provided the aggregate data per locality. Unvaried and multivariate analyses (hierarchical regression method) were conducted based on these data. Results Some dimensions of urbanism, identified as predictors of the political dimensions of social capital, suggest that the area under analysis has a predominantly monocentric character, where the rural-urban distinction continues to remain relevant. There are also arguments favoring the dissolution of the rural-urban distinction and the emergence of polycentric spatial structures. The presence of some influences related to the information consumption on all six indicators of the political dimensions of social capital under analysis suggests the occurrence of emerging forms of a space of flows. The identified effects of social problems associated with transport infrastructure and of migration experience on the political dimensions of social capital, also support the emergence of space of flows. Conclusions We recommend that, in the urban studies in former communist countries, conceptualization of urbanism as predictor of the political dimensions of social capital should consider both the material dimensions of space, as well as the dimensions of information consumption and migration experience. PMID:26807882

Identifying environmental health priorities in underserved populations: a study of rural versus urban communities

PubMed Central

Bernhard, M.C.; Evans, M.B.; Kent, S.T.; Johnson, E.; Threadgill, S.L.; Tyson, S.; Becker, S.M.; Gohlke, J.M.

2013-01-01

Objectives Understanding and effectively addressing persistent health disparities in minority communities requires a clear picture of members’ concerns and priorities. This study was intended to engage residents in urban and rural communities in order to identify environmental health priorities. Specific emphasis was placed on how the communities defined the term environment, their perceptions of environmental exposures as affecting their health, specific priorities in their communities, and differences in urban versus rural populations. Study design A community-engaged approach was used to develop and implement focus groups and compare environmental health priorities in urban versus rural communities. Methods A total of eight focus groups were conducted: four in rural and four in urban communities. Topics included defining the term environment, how the environment may affect health, and environmental priorities within their communities, using both open discussion and a predefined list. Data were analysed both qualitatively and quantitatively to identify patterns and trends. Results There were important areas of overlap in priorities between urban and rural communities; both emphasized the importance of the social environment and shared a concern over air pollution from industrial sources. In contrast, for urban focus groups, abandoned houses and their social and physical sequelae were a high priority while concerns about adequate sewer and water services and road maintenance were high priorities in rural communities. Conclusions This study was able to identify environmental health priorities in urban versus rural minority communities. In contrast to some previous risk perception research, the results of this study suggest prioritization of tangible, known risks in everyday life instead of rare, disaster-related events, even in communities that have recently experienced devastating damage from tornadoes. The findings can help inform future efforts to study, understand and effectively address environmental issues, and are particularly relevant to developing effective community-based strategies in vulnerable populations. PMID:24239281

Preferences for benefit packages for community-based health insurance: an exploratory study in Nigeria.

PubMed

Onwujekwe, Obinna; Onoka, Chima; Uguru, Nkoli; Nnenna, Tasie; Uzochukwu, Benjamin; Eze, Soludo; Kirigia, Joses; Petu, Amos

2010-06-12

It is important that community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes are designed in such a way as to ensure the relevance of the benefit packages to potential clients. Hence, this paper provides an understanding of the preferred benefit packages by different economic status groups as well as urban and rural dwellers for CBHI in Southeast Nigeria. The study took place in rural, urban and semi-urban communities of south-east Nigeria. A questionnaire was used to collect information from 3070 randomly picked household heads. Focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data. Data was examined for links between preferences for benefit packages with SES and geographic residence of the respondents. Respondents in the rural areas and in the lower SES preferred a comprehensive benefit package which includes all inpatient, outpatient and emergencies services, while those in urban areas as well as those in the higher SES group showed a preference for benefit packages which will cover only basic disease control interventions. Equity concerns in preferences for services to be offered by the CBHI scheme should be addressed for CBHI to succeed in different contexts.

Applying Support Vector Machine in classifying satellite images for the assessment of urban sprawl

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

murgante, Beniamino; Nolè, Gabriele; Lasaponara, Rosa; Lanorte, Antonio; Calamita, Giuseppe

2013-04-01

In last decades the spreading of new buildings, road infrastructures and a scattered proliferation of houses in zones outside urban areas, produced a countryside urbanization with no rules, consuming soils and impoverishing the landscape. Such a phenomenon generated a huge environmental impact, diseconomies and a decrease in life quality. This study analyzes processes concerning land use change, paying particular attention to urban sprawl phenomenon. The application is based on the integration of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing adopting open source technologies. The objective is to understand size distribution and dynamic expansion of urban areas in order to define a methodology useful to both identify and monitor the phenomenon. In order to classify "urban" pixels, over time monitoring of settlements spread, understanding trends of artificial territories, classifications of satellite images at different dates have been realized. In order to obtain these classifications, supervised classification algorithms have been adopted. More particularly, Support Vector Machine (SVM) learning algorithm has been applied to multispectral remote data. One of the more interesting features in SVM is the possibility to obtain good results also adopting few classification pixels of training areas. SVM has several interesting features, such as the capacity to obtain good results also adopting few classification pixels of training areas, a high possibility of configuration parameters and the ability to discriminate pixels with similar spectral responses. Multi-temporal ASTER satellite data at medium resolution have been adopted because are very suitable in evaluating such phenomena. The application is based on the integration of Geographic Information Systems and Remote Sensing technologies by means of open source software. Tools adopted in managing and processing data are GRASS GIS, Quantum GIS and R statistical project. The area of interest is located south of Bari, in south eastern Italy (Puglia region). Bari, one of the major cities of southern Italy, is characterized by a considerable urban sprawl. The analysis is focused on a rectangular shaped region covering the urban area of three different cities, namely Polignano a Mare and Monopoli (and Conversano minority part) which, in 2011, had a population density comprised in the range of 140-319 people per Km2(istat ). The area of interest has a surface of approximately 253 Km2 , is characterized by three urban areas (Polignano a Mare, Conversano and Monopoli) and has a coastline of almost 17 Km. References Lanorte, A., Danese M., Lasaponara R., Murgante B. (2011) "Multiscale mapping of burn area and severity using multisensor satellite data and spatial autocorrelation analysis" International Journal of Applied Earth Observation and Geoinformation, Elsevier, doi:10.1016/j.jag.2011.09.005 Murgante B. Danese M. (2011) "Urban versus Rural: the decrease of agricultural areas and the development of urban zones analyzed with spatial statistics" Special Issue on "Environmental and agricultural data processing for water and territory management" International Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Information Systems (IJAEIS) volume 2(2) pp. 16-28 IGI Global, ISSN 1947-3192, DOI: 10.4018/jaeis.2011070102. Murgante, B., Las Casas, G., Danese, M., (2012), "Analyzing Neighbourhoods Suitable for Urban Renewal Programs with Autocorrelation Techniques" In Burian J. (Eds.) "Advances in Spatial Planning" InTech - Open Access DOI: 10.5772/33747 ISBN:978-953-51-0377-6 Nolè G., Danese M., Murgante B., Lasaponara R., Lanorte, A., (2012) "Using Spatial Autocorrelation Techniques and Multi-temporal Satellite Data for Analyzing Urban Sprawl" Lecture Notes in Computer Science vol. 7335, pp. 512-527. Springer-Verlag, Berlin. ISSN: 0302-9743, doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-31137-6_39

Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building energy use through 2050

DOE PAGES

Guneralp, Burak; Zhou, Yuyu; Urge-Vorsatz, Diana; ...

2017-01-09

Here, urban areas play a significant role in planetary sustainability. While the scale of impending urbanization is well acknowledged, we have a limited understanding on how urban forms will change and what their impact will be on building energy use. Using both top-down and bottom-up approaches and scenarios, we examine building energy use, specifically, for heating and cooling. We also assess associated cobenefits and trade-offs with human well-being. Globally, the energy use for heating and cooling by midcentury will reach anywhere from about 45 EJ/yr to 59 EJ/yr (respectively, increases of 5% to 40% over the 2010 estimate). Most ofmore » this variability is due to the uncertainty in future urban forms of rapidly growing cities in Asia and, particularly, in China. Compact urban development overall leads to less energy use in urban environments. Delaying the retrofit of the existing built environment leads to more savings in building energy use. Potential for savings in the energy use is greatest in China when coupled with efficiency gains. Advanced efficiency makes the least difference compared to the business-as-usual scenario in energy use for heating and cooling in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa but significantly contribute to energy savings in North America and Europe. A systemic effort that focuses on both urban form and energy-efficient technologies, but also accounts for potential co-benefits and trade-offs, can contribute to both local and global sustainability. Particularly in mega-urban regions, such efforts can improve local environments for billions of urban residents and contribute to mitigating climate change by reducing energy use in urban areas and associated greenhouse gas emissions.« less

Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building energy use through 2050

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Güneralp, Burak; Zhou, Yuyu; Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana

2017-01-09

Urban areas play a significant role in planetary sustainability. While the scale of impending urbanization is well acknowledged, we have a limited understanding on how urban forms will change and what their impact will be on building energy use. Using both top-down and bottom-up approaches and scenarios, we examine building energy use, specifically, for heating and cooling. We also assess associated cobenefits and trade-offs with human well-being. Globally, the energy use for heating and cooling by midcentury will reach anywhere from about 45 EJ/yr to 59 EJ/yr (respectively, increases of 5% to 40% over the 2010 estimate). Most of thismore » variability is due to the uncertainty in future urban forms of rapidly growing cities in Asia and, particularly, in China. Compact urban development overall leads to less energy use in urban environments. Delaying the retrofit of the existing built environment leads to more savings in building energy use. Potential for savings in the energy use is greatest in China when coupled with efficiency gains. Advanced efficiency makes the least difference compared to the business-as-usual scenario in energy use for heating and cooling in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa but significantly contribute to energy savings in North America and Europe. A systemic effort that focuses on both urban form and energy-efficient technologies, but also accounts for potential co-benefits and trade-offs, can contribute to both local and global sustainability. Particularly in mega-urban regions, such efforts can improve local environments for billions of urban residents and contribute to mitigating climate change by reducing energy use in urban areas and associated greenhouse gas emissions.« less

Vast differences.

PubMed

Tabai, I

1994-06-01

There are many islands in the South Pacific, each with its own population, socioeconomic, and cultural concerns and interests. The Secretary-General of the South Pacific Forum and former president of Kiribati stresses the need to consider population growth and size as well as population distribution. In the island countries of the Pacific, some populations reside in remote, rural areas, while others inhabit densely-populated, urban settlements. Both situations present different problems for the provision of services and for bringing about social and economic development. Current political and economic relationships establish the direction of population movement in the South Pacific, while the level of social and economic development and the existence of established kinship networks provide the means of migration. Evidence points toward an increasing level of urbanization in the region. To a lesser extent, there is also movement between islands and between rural areas on the larger islands. While migrants to more developed areas may earn better standards of living and send remittances home, second generation migrants may not find steady employment unless there is growth in economic opportunity in urban areas. Remittances will also likely decline as decision-making responsibility shifts to younger generations. Governments need to focus greater attention on these issues.

Geosimulation of urban growth and demographic decline in the Ruhr: a case study for 2025 using the artificial intelligence of cells and agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rienow, Andreas; Stenger, Dirk

2014-07-01

The Ruhr is an "old acquaintance" in the discourse of urban decline in old industrialized cities. The agglomeration has to struggle with archetypical problems of former monofunctional manufacturing cities. Surprisingly, the image of a shrinking city has to be refuted if you shift the focus from socioeconomic wealth to its morphological extension. Thus, it is the objective of this study to meet the challenge of modeling urban sprawl and demographic decline by combining two artificial intelligent solutions: The popular urban cellular automaton SLEUTH simulates urban growth using four simple but effective growth rules. In order to improve its performance, SLEUTH has been modified among others by combining it with a robust probability map based on support vector machines. Additionally, a complex multi-agent system is developed to simulate residential mobility in a shrinking city agglomeration: residential mobility and the housing market of shrinking city systems focuses on the dynamic of interregional housing markets implying the development of potential dwelling areas. The multi-agent system comprises the simulation of population patterns, housing prices, and housing demand in shrinking city agglomerations. Both models are calibrated and validated regarding their localization and quantification performance. Subsequently, the urban landscape configuration and composition of the Ruhr 2025 are simulated. A simple spatial join is used to combine the results serving as valuable inputs for future regional planning in the context of multifarious demographic change and preceding urban growth.

Geospatial techniques to Identify the Location of Farmers Markets and Community Gardens within Food Deserts in Virginia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sriharan, S.; Meekins, D.; Comar, M.; Bradshaw, S.; Jackson, L.

2017-12-01

Specifically, a food desert is defined as an area where populations live more than one mile from a supermarket or large grocery store if in an urban area or more than 10 miles from a supermarket or large grocery store if in a rural area (Ver Ploeg et al. 2012). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a food desert is "an area in the United States with limited access to affordable and nutritious food, particularly such an area composed of predominately lower-income neighborhoods and communities" (110th Congress 2008). Three fourths of these food deserts are urban. In the Commonwealth of Virginia, Petersburg City is among the eight primary localities, where its population is living in a food desert. This project will compare those identified food deserts in Virginia (areas around Virginia State University) with focus to where farmers markets and community gardens are being established. The hypothesis of this study is that these minority groups do not get healthy food due to limited access to grocery stores and superstores. To address this problem, the community development activities should focus on partnering local Petersburg convenience stores with farmers and community gardeners to sell fresh produce. Existing data was collected on convenient stores and community gardens in Petersburg City and Chesterfield County. Rare data was generated for Emporia, Lynchburg and Hopewell. The data was compiled through field work and mapping with ArcGIS where markets and gardens are being established, and create a spatial analysis of their location We have localities that reflect both rural and urban areas. The project provides educational support for students who will find solution to community problems by developing activities to: (a) define and examine characteristics of food deserts, (b) identify causes and consequences of food deserts and determine if their community is a food desert, (c) research closest food desert to their school, and (d) design solutions to help residents who live in food deserts.

Health Effects of Coastal Storms and Flooding in Urban Areas: A Review and Vulnerability Assessment

PubMed Central

Charles-Guzman, Kizzy; Matte, Thomas

2013-01-01

Coastal storms can take a devastating toll on the public's health. Urban areas like New York City (NYC) may be particularly at risk, given their dense population, reliance on transportation, energy infrastructure that is vulnerable to flood damage, and high-rise residential housing, which may be hard-hit by power and utility outages. Climate change will exacerbate these risks in the coming decades. Sea levels are rising due to global warming, which will intensify storm surge. These projections make preparing for the health impacts of storms even more important. We conducted a broad review of the health impacts of US coastal storms to inform climate adaptation planning efforts, with a focus on outcomes relevant to NYC and urban coastal areas, and incorporated some lessons learned from recent experience with Superstorm Sandy. Based on the literature, indicators of health vulnerability were selected and mapped within NYC neighborhoods. Preparing for the broad range of anticipated effects of coastal storms and floods may help reduce the public health burden from these events. PMID:23818911

Health effects of coastal storms and flooding in urban areas: a review and vulnerability assessment.

PubMed

Lane, Kathryn; Charles-Guzman, Kizzy; Wheeler, Katherine; Abid, Zaynah; Graber, Nathan; Matte, Thomas

2013-01-01

Coastal storms can take a devastating toll on the public's health. Urban areas like New York City (NYC) may be particularly at risk, given their dense population, reliance on transportation, energy infrastructure that is vulnerable to flood damage, and high-rise residential housing, which may be hard-hit by power and utility outages. Climate change will exacerbate these risks in the coming decades. Sea levels are rising due to global warming, which will intensify storm surge. These projections make preparing for the health impacts of storms even more important. We conducted a broad review of the health impacts of US coastal storms to inform climate adaptation planning efforts, with a focus on outcomes relevant to NYC and urban coastal areas, and incorporated some lessons learned from recent experience with Superstorm Sandy. Based on the literature, indicators of health vulnerability were selected and mapped within NYC neighborhoods. Preparing for the broad range of anticipated effects of coastal storms and floods may help reduce the public health burden from these events.

Simulating the production and dispersion of environmental pollutants in aerosol phase in an urban area of great historical and cultural value.

PubMed

Librando, Vito; Tringali, Giuseppe; Calastrini, Francesca; Gualtieri, Giovanni

2009-11-01

Mathematical models were developed to simulate the production and dispersion of aerosol phase atmospheric pollutants which are the main cause of the deterioration of monuments of great historical and cultural value. This work focuses on Particulate Matter (PM) considered the primary cause of monument darkening. Road traffic is the greatest contributor to PM in urban areas. Specific emission and dispersion models were used to study typical urban configurations. The area selected for this study was the city of Florence, a suitable test bench considering the magnitude of architectural heritage together with the remarkable effect of the PM pollution from road traffic. The COPERT model, to calculate emissions, and the street canyon model coupled with the CALINE model, to simulate pollutant dispersion, were used. The PM concentrations estimated by the models were compared to actual PM concentration measurements, as well as related to the trend of some meteorological variables. The results obtained may be defined as very encouraging even the models correlated poorly: the estimated concentration trends as daily averages moderately reproduce the same trends of the measured values.

Potential development of an intercity passenger transit system in Texas : final project report.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2010-05-01

This report describes the findings of a research study of the potential for development of an intercity rail and : express bus system in the state of Texas. Rather than focus on regional commuter or light rail systems : radiating from urban areas, th...

Parenting "Gifted and Talented" Children in Urban Areas: Parents' Voices

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Koshy, Valsa; Smith, Carole Portman; Brown, Joanna

2017-01-01

International evidence demonstrates the importance of engaging parents in the education of their "high-potential" children, yet limited research has focused on the involvement of parents from differing economic strata/backgrounds. The current study explored the dilemmas of parenting academically high-ability children from economically…

Variations in fresh fruit and vegetable quality by store type, urban-rural setting and neighbourhood deprivation in Scotland.

PubMed

Cummins, Steven; Smith, Dianna M; Taylor, Mathew; Dawson, John; Marshall, David; Sparks, Leigh; Anderson, Annie S

2009-11-01

Neighbourhood differences in access to fresh fruit and vegetables may explain social inequalities in diet. Investigations have focused on variations in cost and availability as barriers to the purchase and consumption of fresh produce; investigations of quality have been neglected. Here we investigate whether produce quality systematically varies by food store type, rural-urban location and neighbourhood deprivation in a selection of communities across Scotland. Cross-sectional survey of twelve fresh fruit and vegetable items in 288 food stores in ten communities across Scotland. Communities were selected to reflect a range of urban-rural settings and a food retail census was conducted in each location. The quality of twelve fruit and vegetable items within each food store was evaluated. Data from the Scottish Executive were used to characterise each small area by deprivation and urban-rural classification. Scotland. Quality of fruit and vegetables within the surveyed stores was high. Medium-sized stores, stores in small town and rural areas, and stores in more affluent areas tended to have the highest-quality fresh fruit and vegetables. Stores where food is secondary, stores in urban settings and stores in more deprived areas tended have the lowest-quality fresh produce. Although differences in quality were not always statistically significant, patterns were consistent for the majority of fruit and vegetable items. The study provides evidence that variations in food quality may plausibly be a micro-environmental mediating variable in food purchase and consumption and help partially explain neighbourhood differences in food consumption patterns.

An overview of 2016 WISE Urban Summer Observation Campaign (WUSOC 2016) in the Seoul metropolitan area of South Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jung, Jae-Won; Kim, Sang-Woo; Shim, Jae-Kwan; Kwak, Kyung-Hwan

2017-04-01

The Weather Information Service Engine (WISE), launched project of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA), aims to operate the urban meteorological observation network from 2012 to 2019 and to test and operate the application weather service (e.g., flash flood, road weather, city ecology, city microclimate, dispersion of hazardous substance etc.) in 2019 through the development of Advanced Storm-scale Analysis Prediction System(ASAPS) for the production of storm-scale hazard weather monitoring and prediction system. The WISE institute has completed construction of 31 urban meteorological observation cities in Seoul metropolitan area and has built a real-time test operation and verification system by improving the ASAPS that produces 1 km and 6 hour forecast information based on the 5 km forecast information of KMA. Field measurements of 2016 WISE Urban Summer Observation Campaign (WUSOC 2016) was conducted in the Seoul metropolitan area of South Korea from August 22 to October 14, 2016. Involving over 70 researchers from more than 12 environmental and atmospheric science research groups in South Korea, WUSOC2016 focused on special observations, severe rain storm observations using mobile observation car and radiosonde, wind profile observations using Wind Doppler Lidar and radiosonde, etc., around the Seoul metropolitan area. WUSOC2016 purpose at data quality control, accuracy verification, usability check, and quality improvement of ASAPS at observation stations constructed in WISE. In addition, we intend to contribute to the activation of urban fusion weather research and risk weather research through joint observation and data sharing.

A small-area analysis of inequalities in chronic disease prevalence across urban and non-urban communities in the Province of Nova Scotia, Canada, 2007-2011.

PubMed

Terashima, Mikiko; Rainham, Daniel G C; Levy, Adrian R

2014-05-13

Small-area studies of health inequalities often have an urban focus, and may be limited in their translatability to non-urban settings. Using small-area units representing communities, this study assessed the influence of living in different settlement types (urban, town and rural) on the prevalence of four chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes and stroke) and compared the degrees of associations with individual-level and community-level factors among the settlement types. The associations between community-level and individual-level characteristics and prevalence of the chronic diseases were assessed using logistic regression (multilevel and non-multilevel) models. Individual-level data were extracted from the Canadian Community Health Survey (2007-2011). Indices of material deprivation and social isolation and the settlement type classification were created using the Canadian Census. Respondents living in towns were 21% more likely to report one of the diseases than respondents living in urban communities even after accounting for individual-level and community-level characteristics. Having dependent children appeared to have protective effects in towns, especially for males (OR: 0.49 (95% CI 0.27 to 0.90)). Unemployment had a strong association for all types of communities, but being unemployed appeared to be particularly damaging to health of males in urban communities (OR: 2.48 (95% CI 1.43 to 4.30)). The study showed that those living in non-urban settings, particularly towns, experience extra challenges in maintaining health above and beyond the socioeconomic condition and social isolation of the communities, and individual demographic, behavioural and socioeconomic attributes. Our findings also suggest that health inequality studies based on urban-only settings may underestimate the risks by some factors. Ways to devise meaningful small-area units comparable in all settlement types are necessary to help plan effective provision of chronic disease-related health services and programmes on a regional scale. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

Incorporating future change into current conservation planning: Evaluating tidal saline wetland migration along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast under alternative sea-level rise and urbanization scenarios

USGS Publications Warehouse

Enwright, Nicholas M.; Griffith, Kereen T.; Osland, Michael J.

2015-11-02

In this study, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, quantified the potential for landward migration of tidal saline wetlands along the U.S. Gulf of Mexico coast under alternative future sea-level rise and urbanization scenarios. Our analyses focused exclusively on tidal saline wetlands (that is, mangrove forests, salt marshes, and salt flats), and we combined these diverse tidal saline wetland ecosystems into a single grouping, “tidal saline wetland.” Collectively, our approach and findings can provide useful information for scientists and environmental planners working to develop future-focused adaptation strategies for conserving coastal landscapes and the ecosystem goods and services provided by tidal saline wetlands. The primary product of this work is a public dataset that identifies locations where landward migration of tidal saline wetlands is expected to occur under alternative future sea-level rise and urbanization scenarios. In addition to identifying areas where landward migration of tidal saline wetlands is possible because of the absence of barriers, these data also identify locations where landward migration of these wetlands could be prevented by barriers associated with current urbanization, future urbanization, and levees.

Microbial Community Patterns Associated with Automated Teller Machine Keypads in New York City.

PubMed

Bik, Holly M; Maritz, Julia M; Luong, Albert; Shin, Hakdong; Dominguez-Bello, Maria Gloria; Carlton, Jane M

2016-01-01

In densely populated urban environments, the distribution of microbes and the drivers of microbial community assemblages are not well understood. In sprawling metropolitan habitats, the "urban microbiome" may represent a mix of human-associated and environmental taxa. Here we carried out a baseline study of automated teller machine (ATM) keypads in New York City (NYC). Our goal was to describe the biodiversity and biogeography of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes in an urban setting while assessing the potential source of microbial assemblages on ATM keypads. Microbial swab samples were collected from three boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn) during June and July 2014, followed by generation of Illumina MiSeq datasets for bacterial (16S rRNA) and eukaryotic (18S rRNA) marker genes. Downstream analysis was carried out in the QIIME pipeline, in conjunction with neighborhood metadata (ethnicity, population, age groups) from the NYC Open Data portal. Neither the 16S nor 18S rRNA datasets showed any clustering patterns related to geography or neighborhood demographics. Bacterial assemblages on ATM keypads were dominated by taxonomic groups known to be associated with human skin communities ( Actinobacteria , Bacteroides , Firmicutes , and Proteobacteria ), although SourceTracker analysis was unable to identify the source habitat for the majority of taxa. Eukaryotic assemblages were dominated by fungal taxa as well as by a low-diversity protist community containing both free-living and potentially pathogenic taxa ( Toxoplasma , Trichomonas ). Our results suggest that ATM keypads amalgamate microbial assemblages from different sources, including the human microbiome, eukaryotic food species, and potentially novel extremophilic taxa adapted to air or surfaces in the built environment. DNA obtained from ATM keypads may thus provide a record of both human behavior and environmental sources of microbes. IMPORTANCE Automated teller machine (ATM) keypads represent a specific and unexplored microhabitat for microbial communities. Although the number of built environment and urban microbial ecology studies has expanded greatly in recent years, the majority of research to date has focused on mass transit systems, city soils, and plumbing and ventilation systems in buildings. ATM surfaces, potentially retaining microbial signatures of human inhabitants, including both commensal taxa and pathogens, are interesting from both a biodiversity perspective and a public health perspective. By focusing on ATM keypads in different geographic areas of New York City with distinct population demographics, we aimed to characterize the diversity and distribution of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, thus making a unique contribution to the growing body of work focused on the "urban microbiome." In New York City, the surface area of urban surfaces in Manhattan far exceeds the geographic area of the island itself. We have only just begun to describe the vast array of microbial taxa that are likely to be present across diverse types of urban habitats.

The Long, Hard Journey: Expanding the Use of NASA Data and Models for Sustainable Development Planning Around the World

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khan, Maudood; Limaye, Ashutosh; Crosson, William; Unal, Alper; Kete, nancy; Rickman, Douglas

2009-01-01

In 2007, the National Research Council's committee on Extending Observations and Research Results to Practical Applications recommended that NASA's Applied Science Program (ASP) directly engage with a broader community of users - not just federal agencies. Soon afterwards, scientists at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center began discussions on a collaborative research project with EMBARQ - the World Resource Institute's Center for Sustainable Transport. The discussions initially focused on how best to utilize satellite observations and atmospheric models for assessing the impact of a proposed transportation project on land use and air quality. Discussions exposed the participants to a broad spectrum of science and policy challenges that these diverse organizations face on a routine basis. It brought into clear focus the need for an observation-modeling system that will allow a proactive approach towards development planning, and the fact that satellite systems do not always provide the spatial and temporal resolution useful for urban-scale applications, underscoring the need for earth system models to bridge this gap. Realizing the significant risk that unplanned urbanization and climate change pose to the social and functional stability of large cities, both organizations decided to expand the scope of their preliminary discussion to include water resources and agriculture. A pilot project, funded by NASA ASP, EMBARQ and Istanbul Technical University focused on quantifying the magnitude and extent of urbanization in Istanbul, and analyzed the combined effect of urbanization and projected climate change on local climate, air quality, and its consequent effects on agricultural productivity. Preliminary results show that Istanbul has undergone a significant amount of Land Use/Land Cover change over the past two decades. While some forested areas have been lost to urban-landscapes, urbanization has mostly occurred over former croplands due to the fact that in contrast to forested areas, croplands have flat terrain, making them a more attractive target for conversion to urban land. The reduction in land area for agricultural and increase in temperature has reduced agricultural production in the vicinity of the city. The United Nations expects the world population to reach 9.2 billion by 2050. Most of this increase will be absorbed by countries that are least able to sustain it. Rapid economic growth is likely to continue and will require massive infrastructure investments. If not properly managed, the magnitude and extent of these initiatives will overwhelm sensitive ecosystems around the world. Successful relationships such as the one described here are critically important if we are to stabilize the threatened ecosystems on which human systems ultimately rely. The challenges, needs, culture, and operating environment of development planning organizations are fundamentally different from a research organization. An appreciation of these differences is a prerequisite for any successful collaboration.

Spatio-temporal variability of urban heat islands in local climate zones of Delhi-NCR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budhiraja, Bakul; Pathak, Prasad; Agrawal, Girish

2017-10-01

Land use change is at the nexus of human territory expansion and urbanization. Human intrusion disturbs the natural heat energy balance of the area, although a new equilibrium of energy flux is attained but with greater diurnal range and adversely affecting the geo/physical variables. Modification in the trend of these variables causes a phenomenon known as Urban Heat Island (UHI) i.e. a dome of heat is formed around the city which has 7-10 °C high temperature than the nearby rural area at night. The study focuses on Surface UHI conventionally studied using thermal band of the remotely sensed satellite images. Land Surface Temperature (LST) is determined for the year 2015 using Landsat 8 for Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). This region was chosen because it is the biggest urban agglomeration in India, many satellite cities are coming in periphery and it has temperate climate. Quantification of UHI is predictably done using UHI intensity that is the difference between representative Urban and rural temperature. Recently the definition of urban and rural has been questioned because of various kinds of configurations of urban spaces across the globe. Delhi NCR urban configurations vary spatially- thus one UHI intensity does not give a deep understanding of the micro-climate. Advancement was made recently to standardize UHI intensity by dividing city into Local Climate Zones (LCZ), comes with 17 broad categories. LCZ map of Delhi NCR has been acquired from World Urban Database. The seasonality in LST across LCZ has been determined along with identifying warmest and coolest LCZ.

A Remote Sensing Approach for Urban Environmental Decision-Making: An Atlanta, Georgia Case Study

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Luvall, Jeffrey C.; Rickman, Douglas L.; Laymon, Charles A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Howell, Burgess F.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Unquestionably, urbanization causes tremendous changes in land cover and land use, as well as impacting a host of environmental characteristics. For example, unlike natural surfaces, urban surfaces have very different thermal energy properties whereby they store solar energy throughout the day and continue to release it as heat well after sunset. This effect, known as the 'Urban Heat Island', serves as a catalyst for chemical reactions from vehicular exhaust and industrial activities leading to the deterioration in air quality, especially exacerbating the production of ground level ozone. 'Cool Community' strategies that utilize remote sensing data, are now being implemented as a way to reduce the impacts of the urban heat island and its subsequent environmental impacts. This presentation focuses on how remote sensing data have been used to provide descriptive and quantitative data for characterizing the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area - particularly for measuring surface energy fluxes, such as the thermal or "heat" energy that emanates from different land cover types across the Atlanta urban landscape. In turn, this information is useful for developing a better understanding of how the thermal characteristics of the city surface affect the urban heat island phenomena and, ultimately, air quality and other environmental parameters over the Atlanta metropolitan region. Additionally, this paper also provides insight on how remote sensing, with its synoptic approach, can be used to provide urban planners, local, state, and federal government officials, and other decision-makers, as well as the general public, with information to better manage urban areas as sustainable environments.

Cooling Effect of Evapotranspiration (ET) and ET Measurement by Thermal Remote Sensing in Urban

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qiu, G. Y.; Yang, B.; Li, X.; Guo, Q.; Tan, S.

2015-12-01

Affected by global warming and rapid urbanization, urban thermal environment and livability are getting worse over the world. Global terrestrial evapotranspiration (ET) can annually consume 1.483 × 1023 joules of solar energy, which is about 300 times of the annual human energy use on the earth (4.935×1020 joules). This huge amount of energy use by ET indicates that there is great potential to cool the urban by regulating ET. However, accurately measurement of urban ET is quiet difficult because of the great spatial heterogeneity in urban. This study focuses on to quantify the cooling effects ET by mobile traverse method and improve a methodology to measure the urban ET by thermal remote sensing. The verifying experiment was carried out in Shenzhen, a sub-tropical mega city in China. Results showed that ET of vegetation could obviously reduce the urban temperature in hot season. Daily transpiration rate of a small-sized Ficus tree (Ficus microcarpa, 5 m in height and 20 cm of trunk diameter, measured by sap-flow method) was 36-55 kg and its cooling effect was equivalent to a 1.6-2.4 kWh air conditioner working for 24 hours. A 10% increase in the vegetated area could decrease urban temperature by 0.60°C at hot night. Moreover, it was found that a region with a vegetated area ratio over 55% had obvious effect on temperature decreasing. In addition, a methodology by using "thermal remote sensing + three-temperature model" was improved to measure the urban ET. Results showed that the urban ET could be reasonably measured by the proposed method. The daily ET of an urban lawn was 0.01-2.86 mm and monthly ET was 21-60 mm. This result agreed well with the verification study (Bowen ratio method, r=0.953). These results are very useful for urban planning, urban lower impact development, and improving of urban thermal environment.

Sustainable Management of Urban Heat Islands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, K.; Rumohr, S.; Balke, K.-D.; Bayer, P.; Blum, P.

2009-04-01

In recent years, geothermal energy has become increasingly popular, because it offers a number of advantages over traditional energy sources based on fossil fuels. It is a renewable energy source, it is clean and safe for the surrounding environment, and it also contributes to reduction of CO2 emissions. Geothermal energy systems are recognized as one of the most efficient heating and cooling systems on the market. Therefore, there is great chance for future growth of geothermal energy use, particularly in densely populated urban regions. But there are also drawbacks: In many large cities, groundwater is heated up by several degrees (~ 5˚ C) compared to the surrounding areas. Causes might be microclimatic changes in the urban environment and the heating effect of sewage effluents. In fact, a major role plays overutilization of the ground as a cooling medium during the hot seasons for the air conditioning of large office buildings. The focus of this project is set on sustainable geothermal use in such large and densely populated areas, which are also called "urban heat islands". Previous studies focus on spatial temperature trends in the subsurface, and only a few have been able to reveal temporal trends, for which long-term measurement records are needed. This study is dedicated to two German locations: the city of Frankfurt/Main and the city of Cologne. The purpose of the study in Frankfurt is a comprehensive field investigation of the spatial temperature variations in the underlying aquifers, while in Cologne the attention is also on the temporal trends of urban groundwater temperatures. Of particular interest is not only to develop a sustainable management concept, but also a quantitative geophysical and hydrogeological assessment. For the city of Frankfurt/Main, the Hessian Agency for the Environment and Geology (HLUG) provides access to ongoing, highly spatially resolved field measurement locations. For Cologne, about 40 years old intensive temperature records will be utilized and compared to the status-quo. Furthermore, major geothermal projects in both cities will be reported and quantitatively analyzed in order to study the urban anthropogenic impacts. For this, heat transport models will be set up for at least one city. In site-specific integrative management strategies a balance between heat extraction and injection is elaborated. Finally, the findings of these case studies will be translated into a general guidance for those other urban areas with substantial heat anomalies that exist worldwide.

The menthol marketing mix: targeted promotions for focus communities in the United States.

PubMed

Cruz, Tess Boley; Wright, La Tanisha; Crawford, George

2010-12-01

This study analyzes tobacco industry menthol marketing strategies aimed at urban predominantly Black populations. Data are drawn from an interview with a former Brown & Williamson Tobacco Company trade marketing manager, tobacco industry documents on Kool promotions in urban areas, and public health literature on tobacco marketing. Tobacco companies recognize the growth potential for the menthol segment in these urban communities. They have higher levels of price discounts and signage, exert tight controls over the retail environment, and use hip-hop lifestyle to associate menthol products with urban nightlife, music, fame, and cultural edginess among younger smokers. Tobacco companies regard the urban Black menthol segment as one of the few markets in which they can grow sales despite declines elsewhere in the United States. Consequently, this population is surrounded by intense and integrated levels of marketing. We need strong monitoring, regulation, and enforcement efforts that will counter the industry's use of menthol at multiple levels in urban environments.

Urbanization and the Carbon Cycle: Synthesis of Ongoing Research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gurney, K. R.; Duren, R. M.; Hutyra, L.; Ehleringer, J. R.; Patarasuk, R.; Song, Y.; Huang, J.; Davis, K.; Kort, E. A.; Shepson, P. B.; Turnbull, J. C.; Lauvaux, T.; Rao, P.; Eldering, A.; Miller, C. E.; Wofsy, S.; McKain, K.; Mendoza, D. L.; Lin, J. C.; Sweeney, C.; Miles, N. L.; Richardson, S.; Cambaliza, M. O. L.

2015-12-01

Given the explosive growth in urbanization and its dominant role in current and future global greenhouse gas emissions, urban areas have received increasing research attention from the carbon cycle science community. The emerging focus is driven by the increasingly dense atmospheric observing capabilities - ground and space-based - in addition to the rising profile of cities within international climate change policymaking. Dominated by anthropogenic emissions, urban carbon cycle research requires a cross-disciplinary perspective with contributions from disciplines such as engineering, economics, social theory, and atmospheric science. We review the recent results from a sample of the active urban carbon research efforts including the INFLUX experiment (Indianapolis), the Megacity carbon project (Los Angeles), Salt Lake City, and Boston. Each of these efforts represent unique approaches in pursuit of different scientific and policy questions and assist in setting priorities for future research. From top-down atmospheric measurement systems to bottom-up estimation, these research efforts offer a view of the challenges and opportunities in urban carbon cycle research.

Geochemical study of urban soils in public areas of an industrialized town (Ajka, western Hungary)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zacháry, D.; Jordán, Gy.; Szabó, Cs.

2012-04-01

Soil is one of the most essential parts of urban ecosystem contributing to the biogeochemical cycles along the rock-soil-plant-animal and human pathway. Soil plays a fundamental role in plant nutrient uptake and groundwater filtration, too. Urban soils differ from non-urban soils in many aspects, including their origin, and they may also concentrate contaminants in large quantities due to intensive human activities. The pollution sources are industry, traffic, fertilizer, tailing and waste. In addition to the increasing rate of urban areas, urban soils are under growing interest and their pollution have received significant attention in the past few decades. This work focuses on the toxic element (As, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni) content of soils and their spatial distribution in order to find a link between contamination sources and the receiving urban soils at sensitive receptor locations such as children's playgrounds and parks. Ajka town is located in western Hungary. It has an old-established industrial history with multiple contamination sources of heavy alumina industry and coal-based power plants supplied by the nearby bauxite and coal mines. At 44 locations 46 soil samples have been collected at a depth of 0-10 cm along a 1x1 km grid. The whole grid covers an area of 48 km2. In each grid cell a sampling site was selected at public areas. Sample preparation included drying at 40 C°, thorough homogenization and sieving to 2 mm fine earth before chemical analysis. Grain size distribution and soil pH were also determined. Samples were analyzed with ICP-OES and SEM methods. The As, Hg, Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd and Ni concentrations range from 2.07 ppm to 9.48 ppm, 0.02 ppm to 2.84 ppm, 5.08 ppm to 35.74 ppm, 2.55 ppm to 47.78 ppm, 17.00 ppm to 91.00 ppm, 0.07 ppm to 0.61 ppm and 5.57 ppm to 32.09 ppm, respectively. The results revealed the contaminated areas associated with past industrial sites. This study also identified locations with considerable contamination at sensitive receptors in urban public areas, thus supporting contamination risk assessment for environmental decisions.

The urban impact on the regional climate of Dresden

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sändig, B.; Renner, E.

2010-09-01

The principal objective of this research is to clarify the impact of urban elements such as buildings and streets on the regional climate and air quality in the framework of the BMBF-project "Regionales Klimaanpassungsprogramm f¨ur die Modellregion Dresden" (REGKLAM). Drawing on the example of Dresden this work explores how the presence of cities influences the atmospheric flow and the characteristics of the boundary layer. Persuing this target, an urban surface exchange parameterisation module (Martilli et al., 2002) was implemented in a high resolution version of the COSMO model, the forecast model of the German Weather Service (DWD). Using a mesoscale model for this regional climate study implies the advantage of embedding the focused area in a realistic large scale situation via downscaling by means of one way nesting and allows to simulate the urban impact for different IPCC-szenarios. The urban module is based on the assumption that a city could be represented by a bunch of "urban classes". Each urban class is characterised by specific properties such as typical street directions or probability of finding a building in a special height. Based on urban structure data of Dresden (vector shape-files containing the outlines of all buildings and the respective heights) an automated method of extracting the relevant geometrical input parameters for the urban module was developed. By means of this model setup we performed case studies, in which we investigate the interactions between the city structure and the meteorological variables with regard to special synoptical situations such as the Bohemian wind, a typical flow pattern of cold air, sourced from the Bohemian Basin, in the Elbe Valley, which acts then like a wind channel. Another focal point is formed by the investigation of different types of artificial cities ranging from densely builtup areas to suburban areas in order to illuminating the impact of the city type on the dynamical and thermal properties of the atmosphere.

Remote Sensing Characterization of the Urban Landscape for Improvement of Air Quality Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Khan, Maudood

2005-01-01

The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models, particularly the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model that is used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, primarily for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of the CMAQ model to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well the model predicts ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to the meteorology component of the CMAQ model focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. These growth projections include "business as usual" and "smart growth" scenarios out to 2030. The growth projections illustrate the effects of employing urban heat island mitigation strategies, such as increasing tree canopy and albedo across the Atlanta metro area, in moderating ground-level ozone and air temperature, compared to "business as usual" simulations in which heat island mitigation strategies are not applied. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data has been found to better characterize low densityhburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for fiture scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission, the regional planning agency for the area. This allows the state Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect fbture air quality.

The homeowner view of thinning methods for fire hazard reduction: more positive than many think

Treesearch

Sarah McCaffrey

2008-01-01

With the focus of the National Fire Plan on decreasing fire risk in the wildland-urban interface, fire managers are increasingly tasked with reducing the fuel load in areas where mixed public and private ownership and a growing number of homes can make most fuel reduction methods problematic at best. In many of these intermix areas, use of prescribed burning will be...

Recurrent Die-Offs of Adult Coho Salmon Returning to Spawn in Puget Sound Lowland Urban Streams

PubMed Central

Scholz, Nathaniel L.; Myers, Mark S.; McCarthy, Sarah G.; Labenia, Jana S.; McIntyre, Jenifer K.; Ylitalo, Gina M.; Rhodes, Linda D.; Laetz, Cathy A.; Stehr, Carla M.; French, Barbara L.; McMillan, Bill; Wilson, Dean; Reed, Laura; Lynch, Katherine D.; Damm, Steve; Davis, Jay W.; Collier, Tracy K.

2011-01-01

Several Seattle-area streams in Puget Sound were the focus of habitat restoration projects in the 1990s. Post-project effectiveness monitoring surveys revealed anomalous behaviors among adult coho salmon returning to spawn in restored reaches. These included erratic surface swimming, gaping, fin splaying, and loss of orientation and equilibrium. Affected fish died within hours, and female carcasses generally showed high rates (>90%) of egg retention. Beginning in the fall of 2002, systematic spawner surveys were conducted to 1) assess the severity of the adult die-offs, 2) compare spawner mortality in urban vs. non-urban streams, and 3) identify water quality and spawner condition factors that might be associated with the recurrent fish kills. The forensic investigation focused on conventional water quality parameters (e.g., dissolved oxygen, temperature, ammonia), fish condition, pathogen exposure and disease status, and exposures to metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and current use pesticides. Daily surveys of a representative urban stream (Longfellow Creek) from 2002–2009 revealed premature spawner mortality rates that ranged from 60–100% of each fall run. The comparable rate in a non-urban stream was <1% (Fortson Creek, surveyed in 2002). Conventional water quality, pesticide exposure, disease, and spawner condition showed no relationship to the syndrome. Coho salmon did show evidence of exposure to metals and petroleum hydrocarbons, both of which commonly originate from motor vehicles in urban landscapes. The weight of evidence suggests that freshwater-transitional coho are particularly vulnerable to an as-yet unidentified toxic contaminant (or contaminant mixture) in urban runoff. Stormwater may therefore place important constraints on efforts to conserve and recover coho populations in urban and urbanizing watersheds throughout the western United States. PMID:22194802

A State Studies Approach to Teaching People About Their Environment.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bennett, Dean

1984-01-01

Highlights a workshop utilizing a four-volume sourcebook for K-12 science teachers and naturalists. The volumes contain 38 units focusing on land, water, atmosphere and weather, plants, animals, energy, natural ecosystems, urban areas, unusual and rare features, and problems and issues. A sample interdisciplinary activity on bullfrog development…

Improved understanding and testing for salinity tolerance in cool-season turfgrasses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Water is a critical issue for sustainability of golf courses in urban areas. Rapid population growth and climate change have increased the necesssity for golf courses to be efficient users of water, and sometimes users of low quality, high salinity water. Our research has focused on determining wh...

Writing Matters to Urban Middle Level Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yost, Deborah S.; Vogel, Robert

2012-01-01

This article provides an overview of the Writers Matter program, which allows adolescents to use their life stories as a vehicle for self-expression and writing skill development. Evaluations of the program have show increased writing skills among participating students in the areas of focus, content, organization, and grammar. Additional benefits…

Oaks and Environmental Education

Treesearch

Kay Antunez de Mayolo

1991-01-01

A number of educational projects which focus on youth awareness and involvement with California oaks have been developed during the last five years. Primarily used in urban areas where oak populations have declined, many of these programs promote seedling propagation, tree planting and help to develop student understanding of environmental issues involving oaks while...

A Research Note on American Indian Criminal Justice

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Braunstein, Rich; Anderson, Bill

2008-01-01

One confronts many difficulties when conducting policy-relevant criminal justice research that focuses on American Indian interests. Foremost among these difficulties is the great variation in relevant contexts that apply to this area of research. From the urban context of large American cities, where American Indians constitute a slim minority…

Understanding Your Neighborhood Environment Through Science.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Betros, Harry

The product of a Special Studies Institute, this teacher developed resource guide for emotionally handicapped (K-6) presents an investigative approach to science, capitalizing on the resources found in an urban neighborhood. Focus is on integrated curricula in preparation for life, wherein all subject areas function as tools for living in and…

Democracy and Education in Pakistan

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nazir, Muhammad

2010-01-01

This paper explores the potential for democratic change in educational practice in Pakistan. Using focus group discussions in urban and rural areas of Sindh and Balochistan, it builds up a picture of educational practices from policy-making to implementation level and identifies the barriers to democratic approaches in education. It suggests that…

Human Research and Engineering Directorate, Major Laboratory Programs: Current Thrust Areas and Recent Research

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

response equipment. After the hardware and software infrastructure is complete, the focus will shift to creating soundscapes over headphones and...Background sounds will emulate a range of conditions from quiet deserts to busy urban streets. Accurate portrayals of military soundscapes and listening

Parasitic diseases and urban development.

PubMed Central

Mott, K. E.; Desjeux, P.; Moncayo, A.; Ranque, P.; de Raadt, P.

1990-01-01

The distribution and epidemiology of parasitic diseases in both urban and periurban areas of endemic countries have been changing as development progresses. The following different scenarios involving Chagas disease, lymphatic filariasis, leishmaniasis and schistosomiasis are discussed: (1) infected persons entering nonendemic urban areas without vectors; (2) infected persons entering nonendemic urban areas with vectors; (3) infected persons entering endemic urban areas; (4) non-infected persons entering endemic urban areas; (5) urbanization or domestication of natural zoonotic foci; and (6) vectors entering nonendemic urban areas. Cultural and social habits from the rural areas, such as type of house construction and domestic water usage, are adopted by migrants to urban areas and increase the risk of disease transmission which adversely affects employment in urban populations. As the urban health services must deal with the rise in parasitic diseases, appropriate control strategies for the urban setting must be developed and implemented. PMID:2127380

Influences of different land use spatial control schemes on farmland conversion and urban development.

PubMed

Zhou, Min; Tan, Shukui; Zhang, Lu

2015-01-01

Land use planning is always officially implemented as an effective tool to control urban development and protect farmland. However, its impact on land use change remains untested in China. Using a case study of Hang-Jia-Hu region, the main objective of this paper was to investigate the influence of different land use spatial control schemes on farmland conversion and urban development. Comparisons of farmland conversion and urban development patterns between the urban planning area and the non-urban planning area were characterized by using remote sensing, geographical information systems, and landscape metrics. Results indicated that farmland conversion in the non-urban planning area was more intensive than that in the urban planning area, and that farmland patterns was more fragmented in the non-urban planning area. Built-up land patterns in the non-urban planning area showed a trend of aggregation, while those in the urban planning area had a dual trend of fragmentation and aggregation. Existing built-up areas had less influence on built-up land sprawl in the non-urban planning area than that in the urban planning area. Built-up land sprawl in the form of continuous development in the urban planning area led to farmland conversion; and in the non-urban planning area, built-up land sprawl in the form of leapfrogging development resulted in farmland areal declines and fragmentation. We argued that it is a basic requirement to integrate land use plans in urban and non-urban planning areas for land use planning and management.

Influences of Different Land Use Spatial Control Schemes on Farmland Conversion and Urban Development

PubMed Central

Zhou, Min; Tan, Shukui; Zhang, Lu

2015-01-01

Land use planning is always officially implemented as an effective tool to control urban development and protect farmland. However, its impact on land use change remains untested in China. Using a case study of Hang-Jia-Hu region, the main objective of this paper was to investigate the influence of different land use spatial control schemes on farmland conversion and urban development. Comparisons of farmland conversion and urban development patterns between the urban planning area and the non-urban planning area were characterized by using remote sensing, geographical information systems, and landscape metrics. Results indicated that farmland conversion in the non-urban planning area was more intensive than that in the urban planning area, and that farmland patterns was more fragmented in the non-urban planning area. Built-up land patterns in the non-urban planning area showed a trend of aggregation, while those in the urban planning area had a dual trend of fragmentation and aggregation. Existing built-up areas had less influence on built-up land sprawl in the non-urban planning area than that in the urban planning area. Built-up land sprawl in the form of continuous development in the urban planning area led to farmland conversion; and in the non-urban planning area, built-up land sprawl in the form of leapfrogging development resulted in farmland areal declines and fragmentation. We argued that it is a basic requirement to integrate land use plans in urban and non-urban planning areas for land use planning and management. PMID:25915897

Screening for Groundwater Contaminants Discharging to Urban Streams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, J. W.; Bickerton, G.; Voralek, J.

2009-05-01

Groundwater contaminated with urban pollutants can adversely affect freshwater aquatic ecosystems where it discharges to streams, lakes or wetlands. Generally such occurrences have been revealed following the discovery of contaminated groundwater plumes at a particular site or from wells in the area. Thus, this contaminant pathway tends to be dealt with on a site-specific and aquifer-focused basis. In contrast, surface water contaminant monitoring typically relies on bulk water concentrations from one or a small set of locations, thus ignoring the spatial variation in contaminant loading, potential losses to sediment or the atmosphere, and the full range of benthic components of the aquatic ecosystem. There are few studies outlining the extent of this contamination from the perspective of the surface water body's deeper benthic community, which might be expected to experience the greatest contaminant concentrations, on more than a local-scale. In this study, we report on an approach to stream-reach-screening for urban contaminants in discharging groundwater, with the focus on detection rather than accurate quantification. The methodology consists of a drive-point technique for sampling groundwater from below the stream bed (e.g. typically 50 cm) along a chosen reach at intervals of about 10 m. Groundwater samples were then analyzed for a wide range of common urban contaminants and general chemistry. This screening method was performed in three urban settings in Canada with known groundwater contamination, covering sections of about 140 to >500 m. The known contaminant plumes at each site were detected and roughly delineated. In addition, potential areas of previously-unknown groundwater contamination were also identified at each site. Contaminants included BTEX and other petroleum hydrocarbons, various chlorinated solvent compounds, nitrate, 1,4-dioxane, MTBE and elevated chloride (likely indicating road salt). These preliminary findings suggest that this approach may be useful for quickly assessing the cumulative threat to aquatic ecosystems of potentially multiple groundwater contaminant sources discharging to surface water bodies in urban settings.

Rural-to-Urban Migrants and the HIV Epidemic in China

PubMed Central

Hong, Yan; Stanton, Bonita; Li, Xiaoming; Yang, Hongmei; Lin, Danhua; Fang, Xiaoyi; Wang, Jing; Mao, Rong

2006-01-01

China is the next probable frontier for the global HIV epidemic. Central to this anticipated growth of the epidemic is the nation’s new and growing population of rural-to-urban migrants. Although there are an estimated 120 million migrants, little information is available about their social and cultural context of their lives in urban areas and their HIV-related perceptions and behaviors. On the basis of the in-depth individual interviews conducted among 90 rural-to-urban migrants in 2 major Chinese cities, Beijing and Nanjing, this qualitative study was designed to explore these issues with a particular focus on their relevance to sexual transmission of HIV. The findings suggest an urgent need for HIV/STI prevention programs that address the cultural, social, and economic constraints facing the migrant population in China. PMID:16421651

Urban Landscape Characterization Using Remote Sensing Data For Input into Air Quality Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Quattrochi, Dale A.; Estes, Maurice G., Jr.; Crosson, William; Khan, Maudood

2005-01-01

The urban landscape is inherently complex and this complexity is not adequately captured in air quality models that are used to assess whether urban areas are in attainment of EPA air quality standards, particularly for ground level ozone. This inadequacy of air quality models to sufficiently respond to the heterogeneous nature of the urban landscape can impact how well these models predict ozone pollutant levels over metropolitan areas and ultimately, whether cities exceed EPA ozone air quality standards. We are exploring the utility of high-resolution remote sensing data and urban growth projections as improved inputs to meteorological and air quality models focusing on the Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan area as a case study. The National Land Cover Dataset at 30m resolution is being used as the land use/land cover input and aggregated to the 4km scale for the MM5 mesoscale meteorological model and the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling schemes. Use of these data have been found to better characterize low density/suburban development as compared with USGS 1 km land use/land cover data that have traditionally been used in modeling. Air quality prediction for future scenarios to 2030 is being facilitated by land use projections using a spatial growth model. Land use projections were developed using the 2030 Regional Transportation Plan developed by the Atlanta Regional Commission. This allows the State Environmental Protection agency to evaluate how these transportation plans will affect future air quality.

Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Sustainable development efforts in urban areas often focus on understanding and managing factors that influence all aspects of health and wellbeing. Research has shown that public parks and green space provide a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits to urban residents, but few studies have examined the influence of parks on comprehensive measures of subjective wellbeing at the city level. Using 2014 data from 44 U.S. cities, we evaluated the relationship between urban park quantity, quality, and accessibility and aggregate self-reported scores on the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index (WBI), which considers five different domains of wellbeing (e.g., physical, community, social, financial, and purpose). In addition to park-related variables, our best-fitting OLS regression models selected using an information theory approach controlled for a variety of other typical geographic and socio-demographic correlates of wellbeing. Park quantity (measured as the percentage of city area covered by public parks) was among the strongest predictors of overall wellbeing, and the strength of this relationship appeared to be driven by parks’ contributions to physical and community wellbeing. Park quality (measured as per capita spending on parks) and accessibility (measured as the overall percentage of a city’s population within ½ mile of parks) were also positively associated with wellbeing, though these relationships were not significant. Results suggest that expansive park networks are linked to multiple aspects of health and wellbeing in cities and positively impact urban quality of life. PMID:27054887

Public Parks and Wellbeing in Urban Areas of the United States.

PubMed

Larson, Lincoln R; Jennings, Viniece; Cloutier, Scott A

2016-01-01

Sustainable development efforts in urban areas often focus on understanding and managing factors that influence all aspects of health and wellbeing. Research has shown that public parks and green space provide a variety of physical, psychological, and social benefits to urban residents, but few studies have examined the influence of parks on comprehensive measures of subjective wellbeing at the city level. Using 2014 data from 44 U.S. cities, we evaluated the relationship between urban park quantity, quality, and accessibility and aggregate self-reported scores on the Gallup-Healthways Wellbeing Index (WBI), which considers five different domains of wellbeing (e.g., physical, community, social, financial, and purpose). In addition to park-related variables, our best-fitting OLS regression models selected using an information theory approach controlled for a variety of other typical geographic and socio-demographic correlates of wellbeing. Park quantity (measured as the percentage of city area covered by public parks) was among the strongest predictors of overall wellbeing, and the strength of this relationship appeared to be driven by parks' contributions to physical and community wellbeing. Park quality (measured as per capita spending on parks) and accessibility (measured as the overall percentage of a city's population within ½ mile of parks) were also positively associated with wellbeing, though these relationships were not significant. Results suggest that expansive park networks are linked to multiple aspects of health and wellbeing in cities and positively impact urban quality of life.

Combination of Geophysical Methods to Support Urban Geological Mapping

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabàs, A.; Macau, A.; Benjumea, B.; Bellmunt, F.; Figueras, S.; Vilà, M.

2014-07-01

Urban geological mapping is a key to assist management of new developed areas, conversion of current urban areas or assessment of urban geological hazards. Geophysics can have a pivotal role to yield subsurface information in urban areas provided that geophysical methods are capable of dealing with challenges related to these scenarios (e.g., low signal-to-noise ratio or special logistical arrangements). With this principal aim, a specific methodology is developed to characterize lithological changes, to image fault zones and to delineate basin geometry in the urban areas. The process uses the combination of passive and active techniques as complementary data: controlled source audio-magnetotelluric method (CSAMT), magnetotelluric method (MT), microtremor H/V analysis and ambient noise array measurements to overcome the limitations of traditional geophysical methodology. This study is focused in Girona and Salt surrounding areas (NE of Spain) where some uncertainties in subsurface knowledge (maps of bedrock depth and the isopach maps of thickness of quaternary sediments) need to be resolved to carry out the 1:5000 urban geological mapping. These parameters can be estimated using this proposed methodology. (1) Acoustic impedance contrast between Neogene sediments and Paleogene or Paleozoic bedrock is detected with microtremor H/V analysis that provides the soil resonance frequency. The minimum value obtained is 0.4 Hz in Salt city, and the maximum value is the 9.5 Hz in Girona city. The result of this first method is a fast scanner of the geometry of basement. (2) Ambient noise array constrains the bedrock depth using the measurements of shear-wave velocity of soft soil. (3) Finally, the electrical resistivity models contribute with a good description of lithological changes and fault imaging. The conductive materials (1-100 Ωm) are associated with Neogene Basin composed by unconsolidated detrital sediments; medium resistive materials (100-400 Ωm) correspond to Paleogene, and resistive materials (600-1,000 Ωm) are related with complex basement, granite of Paleozoic. The Neogene basin-basement boundary is constrained between surface and 500 m depth, approximately. The new geophysical methodology presented is an optimized and fast tool to refine geological mapping by adding 2D information to traditional geological data and improving the knowledge of subsoil.

Retrieval of AOD and PM2.5 Concentrations over Urban Areas of Shenyang City using MODIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols play an important part in the Earth's radiation balance as well as global climate change, aerosols also have very important impact on environment as well as human and other organisms' health, PM2.5 and other small particle aerosols, can enter bronchi directly, thus causing bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, asthma and so on.Detection of AOD by satellite and remote sensing is currently one of the hotest issues , diffierent from the traditional monitoring method, this method has much more advantanges, for emample wide area coverage, fast and convenient etc. So it is possible for people to know the regional changes of AOD real time over large area. Now, detection aerosol by RS technology has reached a high level in marine and dense vegetation land areas, but result is not ideal for urban areas, the higher surface reflectance in urban areas is a bottleneck of AOD retrieval. Focus on the high surface reflectance and low accuracy of the AOD products of urban areas, this paper propose an algorithm coupled with surface reflectance to get red band surface reflectance, based on Dens Dark Vegetation algorithm and geometrical optics model theory, to distinguish urban reflectivity from other targets. Considering the appropriate aerosol model which adapt to season and other proper parameters, this paper uses 6S model to establish look-up table, thus retrieve AOD for urban as well as other high reflectance areas. This paper take Shenyang region as pilot area, then retrieve the AOD and PM2.5 concentration of Shenyang in 2015 based on MODIS data, thus get 1km resolution distribution map, and then analyzed the results in spatial, intensity and temporal. At last, real-time monitoring data from the ground monitor station is used to verify the outcome, the results have good accuracy and the the correlation reached 0.9004 when the weather is sunny. The research shows that this algorithm has relatively higher precision and certain universality. This method has better applicability to retrieve AOD and PM2.5 concentration by remote sensing in Shenyang and Liaoning Provience, and owes guiding and reference significance, and it has a high value in terms of atmospheric environment monitoring.

Evaluating the Environmental Performance of Urban Parks in Mediterranean Cities: An Example from the Barcelona Metropolitan Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parés-Franzi, Marc; Saurí-Pujol, David; Domene, Elena

2006-11-01

In a context of increasing urban sprawl and water scarcity common to other Mediterranean cities, this article focuses on the urban parks in the Region of Barcelona (Catalonia, Spain) to examine how these parks are distributed in this region and to assess whether their design and management follow criteria adapted to Mediterranean environmental conditions, especially in what concerns water use. In order to evaluate the environmental performance of these parks, we selected four factors possibly influencing the adoption of park management practices at the local scale: urban density, population size of the municipality, municipal income per capita, and political orientation of the city council. After determining the location and area of urban parks in the region, we correlated these four explanatory factors with several management tasks extracted from two different samples of parks (one of 315 parks and another of 125 parks) and a survey of 86 city councils. Results show that, in general, urban parks were more frequent in large, dense, and left/green municipalities but that environmentally sound practices were more common in small and low-density municipalities. We conclude that changes in certain practices (especially the substitution of high water demanding species) could improve significantly the environmental performance of public spaces in large urban areas with Mediterranean climates. Our observations may be pertinent for other cities interested in the provision of environmental public goods such as parks that necessitate water for irrigation.

Australian rural, remote and urban community nurses' health promotion role and function.

PubMed

Roden, Janet; Jarvis, Lynda; Campbell-Crofts, Sandra; Whitehead, Dean

2016-09-01

Community nurses have often been 'touted' as potential major contributors to health promotion. Critical literature, however, often states that this has not been the case. Furthermore, most studies examining nurses' role and function have occurred mainly in hospital settings. This is a sequential mixed-methods study of two groups of community nurses from a Sydney urban area (n = 100) and from rural and remote areas (n = 49) within New South Wales, Australia. A piloted questionnaire survey was developed based on the five action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Following this, 10 qualitative interviews were conducted for both groups, plus a focus group to support or refute survey results. Findings showed that rural and remote nurses had more positive attitudes towards health promotion and its clinical implementation. Survey and interview data confirmed that urban community nurses had a narrower focus on caring for individuals rather than groups, agreeing that time constraints impacted on their limited health promotion role. There was agreement about lack of resources (material and people) to update health promotion knowledge and skills. Rural and remote nurses were more likely to have limited educational opportunities. All nurses undertook more development of personal skills (DPS, health education) than any other action area. The findings highlight the need for more education and resources for community nurses to assist their understanding of health promotion concepts. It is hoped that community nurse leaders will collectively become more effective health promoters and contribute to healthy reform in primary health care sectors. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Urbanisation impacts on storm runoff along a rural-urban gradient

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, James David; Hess, Tim

2017-09-01

Urbanisation alters the hydrological response of catchments to storm events and spatial measures of urban extent and imperviousness are routinely used in hydrological modelling and attribution of runoff response to land use changes. This study evaluates whether a measure of catchment urban extent can account for differences in runoff generation from storm events along an rural-urban gradient. We employed a high-resolution monitoring network across 8 catchments in the south of the UK - ranging from predominantly rural to heavily urbanised - over a four year period, and from this selected 336 storm events. Hydrological response was compared using volume- and scaled time-based hydrograph metrics within a statistical framework that considered the effect of antecedent soil moisture. Clear differences were found between rural and urban catchments, however above a certain threshold of urban extent runoff volume was relatively unaffected by changes and runoff response times were highly variable between catchments due to additional hydraulic controls. Results indicate a spatial measure of urbanisation can generally explain differences in the hydrological response between rural and urban catchments but is insufficient to explain differences between urban catchments along an urban gradient. Antecedent soil moisture alters the volume and timing of runoff generated in catchments with large rural areas, but was not found to affect the runoff response where developed areas are much greater. The results of this study suggest some generalised relationships between urbanisation and storm runoff are not represented in observed storm events and point to limitations in using a simplified representations of the urban environment for attribution of storm runoff in small urban catchments. The study points to the need for enhanced hydrologically relevant catchment descriptors specific to small urban catchments and more focused research on the role of urban soils and soil moisture in storm runoff generation in mixed land-use catchments.

Cultural Identity Among Urban American Indian/Alaska Native Youth: Implications for Alcohol and Drug Use.

PubMed

Brown, Ryan A; Dickerson, Daniel L; D'Amico, Elizabeth J

2016-10-01

American Indian / Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth exhibit high rates of alcohol and other drug (AOD) use, which is often linked to the social and cultural upheaval experienced by AI/ANs during the colonization of North America. Urban AI/AN youth may face unique challenges, including increased acculturative stress due to lower concentrations of AI/AN populations in urban areas. Few existing studies have explored cultural identity among urban AI/AN youth and its association with AOD use. This study used systematic qualitative methods with AI/AN communities in two urban areas within California to shed light on how urban AI/AN youth construct cultural identity and how this relates to AOD use and risk behaviors. We conducted 10 focus groups with a total of 70 youth, parents, providers, and Community Advisory Board members and used team-based structured thematic analysis in the Dedoose software platform. We identified 12 themes: intergenerational stressors, cultural disconnection, AI/AN identity as protective, pan-tribal identity, mixed racial-ethnic identity, rural vs. urban environments, the importance of AI/AN institutions, stereotypes and harassment, cultural pride, developmental trajectories, risks of being AI/AN, and mainstream culture clash. Overall, youth voiced curiosity about their AI/AN roots and expressed interest in deepening their involvement in cultural activities. Adults described the myriad ways in which involvement in cultural activities provides therapeutic benefits for AI/AN youth. Interventions that provide urban AI/AN youth with an opportunity to engage in cultural activities and connect with positive and healthy constructs in AI/AN culture may provide added impact to existing interventions.

Increasing the Use of Urban Greenways in Developing Countries: A Case Study on Wutong Greenway in Shenzhen, China

PubMed Central

Chen, Yiyong; Gu, Weiying; Liu, Tao; Yuan, Lei; Zeng, Mali

2017-01-01

Given the benefits of urban greenways on the health and well-being of urban populations, the increased use of urban greenways has garnered increasing attention. Studies on urban greenways, however, have been mostly conducted in Western countries, whereas there is limited knowledge on greenway use in urban areas in developing countries. To address this shortcoming, the present study selected Wutong Greenway in Shenzhen, China, as a case study and focused on the use pattern and factors that influence the frequency and duration of urban greenway use in developing countries. An intercept survey of greenway users was conducted, and 1257 valid questionnaires were obtained. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between potential predictors and greenway use. Results showed that visitors with a varied sociodemographic background use Wutong Greenway with high intensity. Various factors affect the use of urban greenways, including individual and environmental factors and greenway use patterns. Unlike previous studies, we found that accommodation type, length of stay at present residence and mode of transportation to the greenway are important factors that affect greenway use. In contrast with studies conducted in Western countries, less-educated and low-income respondents visit the Wutong greenway even more frequently than others. Thus, the greenway is an important public asset that promotes social equity and that all residents can freely use. To better serve citizens, we suggest that the greenway network should be extended to other areas and that its environmental quality should be improved. PMID:28545246

Policy change and governance at the wildland-urban interface: the case of post-wildfire impacts in Boise, Idaho

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lindquist, Eric

2013-04-01

In the summer of 2012 over 1.7 million acres (approximately 6900 sq kilometers) were burned from wildfires in the state of Idaho in the Western United States. While most of the these fires were in rural and wilderness areas, several significant fires occurred at the wildland-urban interface (WUI), threatening houses, communities and the built environment as never before. As the population of the Mountain West in the United States grows, the WUI (the area where homes are being built adjacent to traditionally wild or rural areas and the built environment encroaches on wildlands) is rapidly becoming an at risk area for human habitation. Efforts to make these areas more resilient and sustainable in the face of increasing fire risk, due to increasing drought and climate change, are resulting in efforts to change or adapt disaster response and planning policy. An increase in stakeholders, however, with diverse objectives and resources presents an opportunity to assess the current governance situation for policy change in response to wildland fires in the dynamic and complex context of the WUI. The research presented here will focus on the case of Treasure Valley region of southwest Idaho and Boise, the capitol city of Idaho. This region is illustrative of the growing urban western United States and the pressures from a growing population pushing into the WUI. This research frames fire policy and decision making at the wildland-urban interface within public policy process theory using the example of the summer of 2012 forest fires in Idaho (USA) and focuses on subsequents impact these fires are having on fire planning and policy in the Boise metropolitan region. The focus is on the diverse stakeholders (federal, state and regional agencies, tourism, agriculture and private sector interests, homeowner organizations, and fire response and recovery agencies) and their roles and responsibilities, their interactions, decision and policy processes, the use of science in decision making, post and pre disaster assessments, and subsequent policy changes. The conclusions will reflect on the outlook for the future of the WUI in regard to wildfire risk and response and on the contribution of policy process theory to this policy domain. This paper/poster addresses significant theoretical and empirical issues raised in the Call for Papers for NH7.1 "Spatial and temporal patterns of wildfires: models, theory and reality," including: pre-fire planning and risk management; post-fire evaluation; relation between wildfires and social changes; and the influence of weather and climate change on wildfire activity.

Life-Stage and Mobility: An Exploratory GPS Study of Mobility in Multigenerational Families, Ahmedabad, India.

PubMed

Isaacson, Michal; D'Ambrosio, Lisa; Samanta, Tannistha; Coughlin, Joseph

2015-01-01

As the population of older adults in India grows, research is needed to plan a sustainable future for India's older adults. This article reports results from a Global Positioning System (GPS)-based pilot study that examined the mobility of middle-class, older adults living in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Using mobility as a lens through which to examine the lives of older adults, we map potential research and identify policy areas of interest considering older adults in urban India. The study explores the role of life stage in mobility as well as the effects of gender and urban environment on mobility. Using this distinctive perspective on day-to-day life, we propose themes through which, using policy and planning tools, the living environments of older adults in Indian cities can be improved. These policy measures include focusing on walkability and pedestrian safety in residential areas and building on existing mixed land use to create high accessibility to goods and services in urban environments.

Third International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics with a Special Theme on Urban Fluid Dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boyer, Don

2002-01-01

This is to report on the use of the funds provided by NASA to support the 'Third International Symposium on Environmental Hydraulics with a Special Theme on Urban Fluid Dynamics'. The Symposium was held on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe, Arizona, USA, from 5-8 December 2001. It proved to be a forum for the discussion of a wide range of applied and basic research being conducted in the general areas of water and air resources, with the latter focusing on air quality in urban areas associated with complex terrain. This aspect of the Symposium was highlighted by twelve invited papers given by distinguished international scientists and roughly three hundred contributed manuscripts. Owing primarily to the current international situation, roughly 20% of the authors canceled their plans to attend the Symposium; while this was unfortunate, the Symposium went ahead with the enthusiastic participation of more than 250 scientists from forty nations.

Influence of solid waste and topography on urban floods: The case of Mexico City.

PubMed

Zambrano, Luis; Pacheco-Muñoz, Rodrigo; Fernández, Tania

2018-02-24

Floods in cities are increasingly common as a consequence of multifactor watershed dynamics, including geomorphology, land-use changes and land subsidence. However, urban managers have focused on infrastructure to address floods by reducing blocked sewage infrastructure, without significant success. Using Mexico City as a case study, we generated a spatial flood risk model with geomorphology and anthropogenic variables. The results helped contrast the implications of different public policies in land use and waste disposal, and correlating them with flood hazards. Waste disposal was only related to small floods. 58% of the city has a high risk of experiencing small floods, and 24% of the city has a risk for large floods. Half of the population with the lowest income is located in the high-risk areas for large floods. These models are easy to build, generate fast results and are able to help to flood policies, by understanding flood interactions in urban areas within the watershed.

Urban Malaria: Understanding its Epidemiology, Ecology, and Transmission across Seven Diverse ICEMR Network Sites

PubMed Central

Wilson, Mark L.; Krogstad, Donald J.; Arinaitwe, Emmanuel; Arevalo-Herrera, Myriam; Chery, Laura; Ferreira, Marcelo U.; Ndiaye, Daouda; Mathanga, Don P.; Eapen, Alex

2015-01-01

A major public health question is whether urbanization will transform malaria from a rural to an urban disease. However, differences about definitions of urban settings, urban malaria, and whether malaria control should differ between rural and urban areas complicate both the analysis of available data and the development of intervention strategies. This report examines the approach of the International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) to urban malaria in Brazil, Colombia, India (Chennai and Goa), Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda. Its major theme is the need to determine whether cases diagnosed in urban areas were imported from surrounding rural areas or resulted from transmission within the urban area. If infections are being acquired within urban areas, malaria control measures must be targeted within those urban areas to be effective. Conversely, if malaria cases are being imported from rural areas, control measures must be directed at vectors, breeding sites, and infected humans in those rural areas. Similar interventions must be directed differently if infections were acquired within urban areas. The hypothesis underlying the ICEMR approach to urban malaria is that optimal control of urban malaria depends on accurate epidemiologic and entomologic information about transmission. PMID:26259941

Diversity of Babesia and Rickettsia species in questing Ixodes ricinus: a longitudinal study in urban, pasture, and natural habitats.

PubMed

Overzier, Evelyn; Pfister, Kurt; Thiel, Claudia; Herb, Ingrid; Mahling, Monia; Silaghi, Cornelia

2013-08-01

In a previous study, our group investigated the Babesia spp. prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from nine city parks in South Germany in the years 2009 and 2010. We showed predominant prevalence of B. venatorum (in previous literature also known as Babesia sp. EU1), especially in those parks in a more natural condition and with occurrence of large wild animals, such as roe deer. To obtain longitudinal data and to broaden the knowledge about this pathogen, further investigations were carried out in 2011 and 2012 in four of those city parks. Two additional habitat types were chosen for comparison of prevalence data and species analysis focusing on occurrence of potential reservoir hosts. A total of 10,303 questing I. ricinus were collected in four city parks, a pasture, and a natural area in Bavaria, and a representative number of samples were investigated for prevalence of DNA of Babesia spp. (n=4381) and Rickettsia spp. (n=2186) by PCR. In the natural and pasture area, a significantly higher Babesia spp. prevalence compared to the urban area was detected. The natural area revealed sequences of B. microti, B. venatorum, and B. capreoli. In the pasture and urban habitat, predominantly B. venatorum was found, whereas B. capreoli was less frequent and only one B. microti-infected tick was found. All B. microti sequences were 100% identical to the zoonotic Jena/Germany strain. For Rickettsia spp., the significantly highest prevalence was also detected in the natural and pasture areas, whereas lower prevalence was found in the urban area. Sequence analysis revealed R. helvetica (98%) and R. monacensis (2%). Prevalence rates and occurrence of Babesia spp. and Rickettsia spp. differed in urban, pasture and natural sites, most likely depending on the habitat structure (natural or cultivated) and therefore on the appearance and availability of reservoir hosts like roe deer or small mammals.

Diversity of Babesia and Rickettsia Species in Questing Ixodes ricinus: A Longitudinal Study in Urban, Pasture, and Natural Habitats

PubMed Central

Pfister, Kurt; Thiel, Claudia; Herb, Ingrid; Mahling, Monia; Silaghi, Cornelia

2013-01-01

Abstract In a previous study, our group investigated the Babesia spp. prevalence in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks from nine city parks in South Germany in the years 2009 and 2010. We showed predominant prevalence of B. venatorum (in previous literature also known as Babesia sp. EU1), especially in those parks in a more natural condition and with occurrence of large wild animals, such as roe deer. To obtain longitudinal data and to broaden the knowledge about this pathogen, further investigations were carried out in 2011 and 2012 in four of those city parks. Two additional habitat types were chosen for comparison of prevalence data and species analysis focusing on occurrence of potential reservoir hosts. A total of 10,303 questing I. ricinus were collected in four city parks, a pasture, and a natural area in Bavaria, and a representative number of samples were investigated for prevalence of DNA of Babesia spp. (n=4381) and Rickettsia spp. (n=2186) by PCR. In the natural and pasture area, a significantly higher Babesia spp. prevalence compared to the urban area was detected. The natural area revealed sequences of B. microti, B. venatorum, and B. capreoli. In the pasture and urban habitat, predominantly B. venatorum was found, whereas B. capreoli was less frequent and only one B. microti–infected tick was found. All B. microti sequences were 100% identical to the zoonotic Jena/Germany strain. For Rickettsia spp., the significantly highest prevalence was also detected in the natural and pasture areas, whereas lower prevalence was found in the urban area. Sequence analysis revealed R. helvetica (98%) and R. monacensis (2%). Prevalence rates and occurrence of Babesia spp. and Rickettsia spp. differed in urban, pasture and natural sites, most likely depending on the habitat structure (natural or cultivated) and therefore on the appearance and availability of reservoir hosts like roe deer or small mammals. PMID:23697771

Window Area and Development Drive Spatial Variation in Bird-Window Collisions in an Urban Landscape

PubMed Central

Hager, Stephen B.; Cosentino, Bradley J.; McKay, Kelly J.; Monson, Cathleen; Zuurdeeg, Walt; Blevins, Brian

2013-01-01

Collisions with windows are an important human-related threat to birds in urban landscapes. However, the proximate drivers of collisions are not well understood, and no study has examined spatial variation in mortality in an urban setting. We hypothesized that the number of fatalities at buildings varies with window area and habitat features that influence avian community structure. In 2010 we documented bird-window collisions (BWCs) and characterized avian community structure at 20 buildings in an urban landscape in northwestern Illinois, USA. For each building and season, we conducted 21 daily surveys for carcasses and nine point count surveys to estimate relative abundance, richness, and diversity. Our sampling design was informed by experimentally estimated carcass persistence times and detection probabilities. We used linear and generalized linear mixed models to evaluate how habitat features influenced community structure and how mortality was affected by window area and factors that correlated with community structure. The most-supported model was consistent for all community indices and included effects of season, development, and distance to vegetated lots. BWCs were related positively to window area and negatively to development. We documented mortalities for 16/72 (22%) species (34 total carcasses) recorded at buildings, and BWCs were greater for juveniles than adults. Based on the most-supported model of BWCs, the median number of annual predicted fatalities at study buildings was 3 (range = 0–52). These results suggest that patchily distributed environmental resources and levels of window area in buildings create spatial variation in BWCs within and among urban areas. Current mortality estimates place little emphasis on spatial variation, which precludes a fundamental understanding of the issue. To focus conservation efforts, we illustrate how knowledge of the structural and environmental factors that influence bird-window collisions can be used to predict fatalities in the broader landscape. PMID:23326420

Window area and development drive spatial variation in bird-window collisions in an urban landscape.

PubMed

Hager, Stephen B; Cosentino, Bradley J; McKay, Kelly J; Monson, Cathleen; Zuurdeeg, Walt; Blevins, Brian

2013-01-01

Collisions with windows are an important human-related threat to birds in urban landscapes. However, the proximate drivers of collisions are not well understood, and no study has examined spatial variation in mortality in an urban setting. We hypothesized that the number of fatalities at buildings varies with window area and habitat features that influence avian community structure. In 2010 we documented bird-window collisions (BWCs) and characterized avian community structure at 20 buildings in an urban landscape in northwestern Illinois, USA. For each building and season, we conducted 21 daily surveys for carcasses and nine point count surveys to estimate relative abundance, richness, and diversity. Our sampling design was informed by experimentally estimated carcass persistence times and detection probabilities. We used linear and generalized linear mixed models to evaluate how habitat features influenced community structure and how mortality was affected by window area and factors that correlated with community structure. The most-supported model was consistent for all community indices and included effects of season, development, and distance to vegetated lots. BWCs were related positively to window area and negatively to development. We documented mortalities for 16/72 (22%) species (34 total carcasses) recorded at buildings, and BWCs were greater for juveniles than adults. Based on the most-supported model of BWCs, the median number of annual predicted fatalities at study buildings was 3 (range = 0-52). These results suggest that patchily distributed environmental resources and levels of window area in buildings create spatial variation in BWCs within and among urban areas. Current mortality estimates place little emphasis on spatial variation, which precludes a fundamental understanding of the issue. To focus conservation efforts, we illustrate how knowledge of the structural and environmental factors that influence bird-window collisions can be used to predict fatalities in the broader landscape.

A model of professional development for urban teachers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Narasimhan, C.

Over the past five years, DePaul University has established a network of urban teachers who are focused on linking the learning of fundamental concepts of physics, chemistry, and biology to relevant and current discoveries in space science. One component of this effort has been a series of annual space science symposia for Chicago-area teachers. These symposia are mixtures of space science presentations by national and local scientists and discussions in areas such as curriculum and professional development, NASA resources, and communication. Since the first symposium, planning has been done in partnership with a small group of teachers who have moved into leadership positions in advancing space science in the Chicago area. This presentation will describe the evolution of the annual symposium as a professional development activity and give the results of a recent assessment project designed to measure the impact of these symposia on Chicago teachers and their classroom practices.

Nitrogen dynamics in a highly urbanized coastal area of western Japan: impact of sewage-derived loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saito, Mitsuyo; Onodera, Shin-ichi; Jin, Guangzhe; Shimizu, Yuta; Taniguchi, Masanobu

2018-12-01

In this study, we examined the nitrogen dynamics of a highly urbanized coastal area, focusing on the impacts of sewage-derived nitrogen. High levels of dissolved inorganic nitrogen were detected in seawater near treated sewage effluent (TSE) discharge points before decreasing in the offshore direction, suggesting that the impact zone of sewage effluent is about 1-2 km from the discharge point. The stable isotope ratios of nitrate and particulate organic nitrogen suggest nitrogen uptake by phytoplankton as well as dilution by offshore seawater, which contributed to a decrease in sewage-derived nitrogen levels. However, the extent of the impact zone was controlled by tidal variations and differences in temperature between the TSE and seawater. Our results also identify nitrogen transport processes, through exchange between seawater and sediment pore water, as an additional important source of nitrogen in the study area.

The evaluation of alternate methodologies for land cover classification in an urbanizing area

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smekofski, R. M.

1981-01-01

The usefulness of LANDSAT in classifying land cover and in identifying and classifying land use change was investigated using an urbanizing area as the study area. The question of what was the best technique for classification was the primary focus of the study. The many computer-assisted techniques available to analyze LANDSAT data were evaluated. Techniques of statistical training (polygons from CRT, unsupervised clustering, polygons from digitizer and binary masks) were tested with minimum distance to the mean, maximum likelihood and canonical analysis with minimum distance to the mean classifiers. The twelve output images were compared to photointerpreted samples, ground verified samples and a current land use data base. Results indicate that for a reconnaissance inventory, the unsupervised training with canonical analysis-minimum distance classifier is the most efficient. If more detailed ground truth and ground verification is available, the polygons from the digitizer training with the canonical analysis minimum distance is more accurate.

Post-Wildfire Hydrologic Hazards in the Wildland Urban Interface of Colorado and the Western United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stevens, M.R.; Bossong, C.R.; Rupert, M.G.; Ranalli, A.J.; Cassidy, E.W.; Druliner, A.D.

2008-01-01

Following a wildfire, such as the 2002 Missionary Ridge fire, a number of hydrologic hazards may develop that can have an important impact on water resources, businesses, homes, reservoirs, roads, and utilities in the wildland urban interface (areas where homes and commercial developments are interspersed with wildlands) in mountainous areas of the Western United States. This fact sheet describes these hazards and identifies approaches to quantify them, thus enabling land and resource managers to plan for and mitigate the effects of these hazards. The fact sheet has been produced in association with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Fire Science Thrust program and the Colorado Front Range Demonstration Project (CFRDP). The current (2007) focus of the CFRDP is on the Three Lakes watershed in Grand County, Colorado, which has applicability to many similar forested, mountain areas in the Western United States.

Urban-rural difference in satisfaction with primary healthcare services in Ghana.

PubMed

Yaya, Sanni; Bishwajit, Ghose; Ekholuenetale, Michael; Shah, Vaibhav; Kadio, Bernard; Udenigwe, Ogochukwu

2017-11-25

Understanding regional variation in patient satisfaction about healthcare systems (PHCs) on the quality of services provided is instrumental to improving quality and developing a patient-centered healthcare system by making it more responsive especially to the cultural aspects of health demands of a population. Reaching to the innovative National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) in Ghana, surpassing several reforms in healthcare financing has been a milestone. However, the focus of NHIS is on the demand side of healthcare delivery. Studies focusing on the supply side of healthcare delivery, particularly the quality of service as perceived by the consumers are required. A growing number of studies have focused on regional differences of patient satisfaction in developed countries, however little research has been conducted concerning patient satisfaction in resource-poor settings like in Ghana. This study was therefore dedicated to examining the variation in satisfaction across rural and urban women in Ghana. Data for the present study were obtained from the latest demographic and health survey in Ghana (GDHS 2014). Participants were 3576 women aged between 15 and 49 years living in non-institutional settings in Ghana. Summary statistics in percentages was used to present respondents' demographic, socioeconomic characteristics. Chi-square test was used to find association between urban-rural differentials with socio-economic variables. Multiple logistic regression was performed to measure the association of being satisfied with primary healthcare services with study variables. Model fitness was tested by pseudo R 2 . Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. The findings in this study revealed that about 57.1% were satisfied with primary health care services. The urban and rural areas reported 57.6 and 56.6% respectively which showed no statistically significant difference (z = 0.64; p = 0.523; 95%CI: -0.022, 0.043). Bivariate analysis showed that region, highest level of education, wealth index and type of facility were significantly associated with location of residence (urban-rural areas). After adjusting for confounding variables using logistic regression, geographical location became a key factor of satisfaction with primary healthcare services by location of residence. In urban areas, respondents from Greater Accra had 64% increase in the level of satisfaction when compared to those in Western region (OR = 1.64; 95CI: 1.09-2.47), Upper East had 75% increase in satisfaction compared to Western region (OR = 1.75; 95%CI: 1.08-2.84), Northern had an estimated 44% reduction in satisfaction when compared to Western region (OR = 0.56; 95%CI: 0.34-0.92). However, rural areas in Central, Volta, Eastern, Ashanti, Brong Aghafo, Northern and Upper West region had 51, 81, 69, 46, 62, 75 and 61% reduction respectively in the level of satisfaction when compared to Western region. Patient satisfaction is an important indicator of health outcomes. Quality of care and measuring level of patient satisfaction has been found to be the most useful tool to predict utilization and compliance. In fact, satisfied patients are more likely than unsatisfied ones to continue using health care services. Our results suggest that policymakers need to better understand the determinants of satisfaction with the health system and how different socio-demographic groups perceive satisfaction with healthcare services so as to address health inequalities between urban and rural areas within the same country.

Variation et heterogeneite de recits en francais de jeunes eleves tunisiens (Variation and Heterogeneity of the French Narrative Productions of Young Tunisian Students).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Anane, Chiraz

2001-01-01

This study analyzes narrative productions in the French of 10 Tunisian pupils selected from 2 schools (1 in an urban area, 1 in a rural area) in Tunisia (Tunis). The purpose of the study was to observe the development of the French language in native Tunisian Arabic speakers. Particular attention is focused on the narrative structure and time…

Using Google Earth to Assess Shade for Sun Protection in Urban Recreation Spaces: Methods and Results.

PubMed

Gage, R; Wilson, N; Signal, L; Barr, M; Mackay, C; Reeder, A; Thomson, G

2018-05-16

Shade in public spaces can lower the risk of and sun burning and skin cancer. However, existing methods of auditing shade require travel between sites, and sunny weather conditions. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of free computer software-Google Earth-for assessing shade in urban open spaces. A shade projection method was developed that uses Google Earth street view and aerial images to estimate shade at solar noon on the summer solstice, irrespective of the date of image capture. Three researchers used the method to separately estimate shade cover over pre-defined activity areas in a sample of 45 New Zealand urban open spaces, including 24 playgrounds, 12 beaches and 9 outdoor pools. Outcome measures included method accuracy (assessed by comparison with a subsample of field observations of 10 of the settings) and inter-rater reliability. Of the 164 activity areas identified in the 45 settings, most (83%) had no shade cover. The method identified most activity areas in playgrounds (85%) and beaches (93%) and was accurate for assessing shade over these areas (predictive values of 100%). Only 8% of activity areas at outdoor pools were identified, due to a lack of street view images. Reliability for shade cover estimates was excellent (intraclass correlation coefficient of 0.97, 95% CI 0.97-0.98). Google Earth appears to be a reasonably accurate and reliable and shade audit tool for playgrounds and beaches. The findings are relevant for programmes focused on supporting the development of healthy urban open spaces.

Rural land-use trends in the conterminous United States, 1950-2000

USGS Publications Warehouse

Brown, Daniel G.; Johnson, Kenneth M.; Loveland, Thomas R.; Theobald, David M.

2005-01-01

In order to understand the magnitude, direction, and geographic distribution of land-use changes, we evaluated land-use trends in U.S. counties during the latter half of the 20th century. Our paper synthesizes the dominant spatial and temporal trends in population, agriculture, and urbanized land uses, using a variety of data sources and an ecoregion classification as a frame of reference. A combination of increasing attractiveness of nonmetropolitan areas in the period 1970–2000, decreasing household size, and decreasing density of settlement has resulted in important trends in the patterns of developed land. By 2000, the area of low-density, exurban development beyond the urban fringe occupied nearly 15 times the area of higher density urbanized development. Efficiency gains, mechanization, and agglomeration of agricultural concerns has resulted in data that show cropland area to be stable throughout the Corn Belt and parts of the West between 1950 and 2000, but decreasing by about 22% east of the Mississippi River. We use a regional case study of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions to focus in more detail on the land-cover changes resulting from these dynamics. Dominating were land-cover changes associated with the timber practices in the forested plains ecoregions and urbanization in the piedmont ecoregions. Appalachian ecoregions show the slowest rates of land-cover change. The dominant trends of tremendous exurban growth, throughout the United States, and conversion and abandonment of agricultural lands, especially in the eastern United States, have important implications because they affect large areas of the country, the functioning of ecological systems, and the potential for restoration.

Spatial Accessibility to Health Care Services: Identifying under-Serviced Neighbourhoods in Canadian Urban Areas

PubMed Central

Shah, Tayyab Ikram; Bell, Scott; Wilson, Kathi

2016-01-01

Background Urban environments can influence many aspects of health and well-being and access to health care is one of them. Access to primary health care (PHC) in urban settings is a pressing research and policy issue in Canada. Most research on access to healthcare is focused on national and provincial levels in Canada; there is a need to advance current understanding to local scales such as neighbourhoods. Methods This study examines spatial accessibility to family physicians using the Three-Step Floating Catchment Area (3SFCA) method to identify neighbourhoods with poor geographical access to PHC services and their spatial patterning across 14 Canadian urban settings. An index of spatial access to PHC services, representing an accessibility score (physicians-per-1000 population), was calculated for neighborhoods using a 3km road network distance. Information about primary health care providers (this definition does not include mobile services such as health buses or nurse practitioners or less distributed services such as emergency rooms) used in this research was gathered from publicly available and routinely updated sources (i.e. provincial colleges of physicians and surgeons). An integrated geocoding approach was used to establish PHC locations. Results The results found that the three methods, Simple Ratio, Neighbourhood Simple Ratio, and 3SFCA that produce City level access scores are positively correlated with each other. Comparative analyses were performed both within and across urban settings to examine disparities in distributions of PHC services. It is found that neighbourhoods with poor accessibility scores in the main urban settings across Canada have further disadvantages in relation to population high health care needs. Conclusions The results of this study show substantial variations in geographical accessibility to PHC services both within and among urban areas. This research enhances our understanding of spatial accessibility to health care services at the neighbourhood level. In particular, the results show that the low access neighbourhoods tend to be clustered in the neighbourhoods at the urban periphery and immediately surrounding the downtown area. PMID:27997577

Cities as Water Supply Catchments to deliver microclimate benefits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beringer, J.; Tapper, N. J.; Coutts, A.; Loughnan, M.

2010-12-01

Urban development extensively modifies the natural hydrology, biodiversity, carbon balance, air quality and climate of the local and regional environment mainly due to increased impervious surface area (roads, pavements, roofs, etc.). Impervious surface are a legacy of urban infrastructure planning based on a ‘drained city’ to minimise flood risk. The result is a modification of the microclimate around buildings and on a city scale results in the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect where the urban areas are much hotter than the surrounding rural areas. Such heating comes on top of 20th century human induced climate change, namely decreased rainfall and higher temperatures. Drought conditions have triggered water restrictions in many Australian cities that have dramatically reduced ‘irrigation’ in urban areas. Ironically the drying influence from climate change has now been compounded by the drying influence of water restrictions and the efficient removal of stormwater resulting in desert like climates during summer. This will be further exacerbated by the projected increases in hot days, extreme hot days, heat waves, etc. In turn this excessive heating will compromise the health and liveability of urban dwellers. Stormwater is a potential critical resource that could be used to keep water in the landscape to irrigate urban areas to improve urban micro-climates, sustain vegetation and provide other multiple benefits to create more liveable and resilient urban environments. In Australia's major cities, stormwater harvesting has the potential to provide a low cost, low energy, fit-for-purpose source of water to help secure city supplies. Stormwater reuse not only provides a potential mitigation tool for the UHI and global climate change but has multiple benefits to provide resilience such as 1) Improved human thermal comfort to reduce heat related stress and mortality, 2) Healthy and productive vegetation and increased carbon sequestration, 3) Decreased stormwater runoff and reduced infrastructure cost, 4) Improved air quality through deposition, 5) Improved amenity of the landscape and improved water regimes for urban waterways. We present an overview of a major national research program called ‘Cities as Water Supply Catchments' that has been funded by industry stakeholders and all levels of Government across four major cities. The program is aimed at providing a strong evidence base for mainstreaming stormwater harvesting in Australia. This 5-year inter-disciplinary program involves 8 sub-projects including: the design of sustainable stormwater harvesting technologies; new governance, policy mechanisms and servicing models; and an assessment of the micro-climatic benefits of stormwater harvesting and management solutions. We then focus on the ‘green cities and micro-climates sub-project’ that will undertake a combination of observational and modelling approaches to measure, demonstrate, and project the effectiveness of stormwater harvesting and water sensitive urban design as an approach for improving urban micro-climates.

Phylogeography of recently emerged DENV-2 in southern Viet Nam.

PubMed

Rabaa, Maia A; Ty Hang, Vu Thi; Wills, Bridget; Farrar, Jeremy; Simmons, Cameron P; Holmes, Edward C

2010-07-27

Revealing the dispersal of dengue viruses (DENV) in time and space is central to understanding their epidemiology. However, the processes that shape DENV transmission patterns at the scale of local populations are not well understood, particularly the impact of such factors as human population movement and urbanization. Herein, we investigated trends in the spatial dynamics of DENV-2 transmission in the highly endemic setting of southern Viet Nam. Through a phylogeographic analysis of 168 full-length DENV-2 genome sequences obtained from hospitalized dengue cases from 10 provinces in southern Viet Nam, we reveal substantial genetic diversity in both urban and rural areas, with multiple lineages identified in individual provinces within a single season, and indicative of frequent viral migration among communities. Focusing on the recently introduced Asian I genotype, we observed particularly high rates of viral exchange between adjacent geographic areas, and between Ho Chi Minh City, the primary urban center of this region, and populations across southern Viet Nam. Within Ho Chi Minh City, patterns of DENV movement appear consistent with a gravity model of virus dispersal, with viruses traveling across a gradient of population density. Overall, our analysis suggests that Ho Chi Minh City may act as a source population for the dispersal of DENV across southern Viet Nam, and provides further evidence that urban areas of Southeast Asia play a primary role in DENV transmission. However, these data also indicate that more rural areas are also capable of maintaining virus populations and hence fueling DENV evolution over multiple seasons.

Alcohol and environmental justice: the density of liquor stores and bars in urban neighborhoods in the United States.

PubMed

Romley, John A; Cohen, Deborah; Ringel, Jeanne; Sturm, Roland

2007-01-01

This study had two purposes: (1) to characterize the density of liquor stores and bars that individuals face according to race, economic status, and age in the urban United States and (2) to assess alternative measures of retailer density based on the road network and population. We used census data on business counts and sociodemographic characteristics to compute the densities facing individuals in 9,361 urban zip codes. Blacks face higher densities of liquor stores than do whites. The density of liquor stores is greater among nonwhites in lower-income areas than among whites in lower- and higher-income areas and nonwhites in higher-income areas. Nonwhite youths face higher densities of liquor stores than white youths. The density of liquor stores and bars is lower in higher-income areas, especially for nonwhites. Mismatches between alcohol demand and the supply of liquor stores within urban neighborhoods constitute an environmental injustice for minorities and lower-income persons, with potential adverse consequences for drinking behavior and other social ills. Our results for bars are sensitive to the measure of outlet density as well as population density. Although neither measure is clearly superior, a measure that accounts for roadway miles may reflect proximity to alcohol retailers and thus serve as a useful refinement to the per-capita measure. If so, alcohol policy might also focus on density per roadway mile. Further research on the existence, causes, and consequences of environmental injustice in alcohol retailing is warranted.

Introduction to Global Urban Climatology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Varquez, A. C. G.; Kanda, M.; Kawano, N.; Darmanto, N. S.; Dong, Y.

2016-12-01

Urban heat island (UHI) is a widely investigated phenomenon in the field of urban climate characterized by the warming of urban areas relative to its surrounding rural environs. Being able to understand the mechanism behind the UHI formation of a city and distinguish its impact from that of global climate change is indispensable when identifying adaptation and mitigation strategies. However, the lack of UHI studies many cities especially for developing countries makes it difficult to generalize the mechanism for UHI formation. Thus, there is an impending demand for studies that focus on the simultaneous analyses of UHI and its trends throughout the world. Hence, we propose a subfield of urban climatology, called "global urban climatology" (GUC), which mainly focuses on the uniform understanding of urban climates across all cities, globally. By using globally applicable methodologies to quantify and compare urban heat islands of cities with diverse backgrounds, including their geography, climate, socio-demography, and other factors, a universal understanding of the mechanisms underlying the formation of the phenomenon can be established. The implementation of GUC involves the use of globally acquired historical observation networks, gridded meteorological parameters from climate models, global geographic information system datasets; the construction of a distributed urban parameter database; and the development of techniques necessary to model the urban climate. Research under GUC can be categorized into three approaches. The collaborative approach (1st) relies on the collection of data from micro-scale experiments conducted worldwide with the aid or development of professional social networking platforms; the analytical approach (2nd) relies on the use of global weather station datasets and their corresponding objectively analysed global outputs; and the numerical approach (3rd) relies on the global estimation of high-resolution urban-representative parameters as inputs to global weather modelling. The GUC concept, the pathways through which GUC assessments can be undertaken, and current implementations are introduced. Acknowledgment: This research was supported by the Environment Research and Technology Development Fund (S-14) of the Ministry of the Environment, Japan.

Understanding the health impacts of urbanization in China: A living laboratory for urban biogeochemistry research

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Y. G.

2015-12-01

China has the largest population in the world, and by 2011, more than 50% of its population are now living in cities. This ongoing societal change has profound impacts on environmental quality and population health. In addition to intensive discharges of waste, urbanization is not only changing the land use and land cover, but also inducing fundamental changes in biogeochemical processes. Unlike biogeochemistry in non-urban environment, the biological component of urban biogeochemistry is dominated by direct human activities, such as air pollution derived from transport, wastewater treatment, garbage disposal and increase in impervious surface etc. Managing urban biogeochemistry will include source control over waste discharge, eco-infrastructure (such as green space and eco-drainage), resource recovery from urban waste stream, and integration with peri-urban ecosystem, particularly with food production system. The overall goal of managing urban biogeochemistry is for human health and wellbeing, which is a global challenge. In this paper, the current status of urban biogeochemistry research in China will be briefly reviewed, and then it will focus on nutrient recycling and waste management, as these are the major driving forces of environmental quality changes in urban areas. This paper will take a holistic view on waste management, covering urban metabolism analysis, technological innovation and integration for resource recovery from urban waste stream, and risk management related to waste recycling and recovery.

Vegetation cover in relation to socioeconomic factors in a tropical city assessed from sub-meter resolution imagery.

PubMed

Martinuzzi, Sebastián; Ramos-González, Olga M; Muñoz-Erickson, Tischa A; Locke, Dexter H; Lugo, Ariel E; Radeloff, Volker C

2018-04-01

Fine-scale information about urban vegetation and social-ecological relationships is crucial to inform both urban planning and ecological research, and high spatial resolution imagery is a valuable tool for assessing urban areas. However, urban ecology and remote sensing have largely focused on cities in temperate zones. Our goal was to characterize urban vegetation cover with sub-meter (<1 m) resolution aerial imagery, and identify social-ecological relationships of urban vegetation patterns in a tropical city, the San Juan Metropolitan Area, Puerto Rico. Our specific objectives were to (1) map vegetation cover using sub-meter spatial resolution (0.3-m) imagery, (2) quantify the amount of residential and non-residential vegetation, and (3) investigate the relationship between patterns of urban vegetation vs. socioeconomic and environmental factors. We found that 61% of the San Juan Metropolitan Area was green and that our combination of high spatial resolution imagery and object-based classification was highly successful for extracting vegetation cover in a moist tropical city (97% accuracy). In addition, simple spatial pattern analysis allowed us to separate residential from non-residential vegetation with 76% accuracy, and patterns of residential and non-residential vegetation varied greatly across the city. Both socioeconomic (e.g., population density, building age, detached homes) and environmental variables (e.g., topography) were important in explaining variations in vegetation cover in our spatial regression models. However, important socioeconomic drivers found in cities in temperate zones, such as income and home value, were not important in San Juan. Climatic and cultural differences between tropical and temperate cities may result in different social-ecological relationships. Our study provides novel information for local land use planners, highlights the value of high spatial resolution remote sensing data to advance ecological research and urban planning in tropical cities, and emphasizes the need for more studies in tropical cities. © 2017 by the Ecological Society of America.

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

PubMed

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 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 foraging habitats.

Influence of Landscape Structure and Human Modifications on Insect Biomass and Bat Foraging Activity in an Urban Landscape

PubMed Central

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 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 foraging habitats. PMID:22685608

Urban growth and water access in sub-Saharan Africa: Progress, challenges, and emerging research directions.

PubMed

Dos Santos, S; Adams, E A; Neville, G; Wada, Y; de Sherbinin, A; Mullin Bernhardt, E; Adamo, S B

2017-12-31

For the next decade, the global water crisis remains the risk of highest concern, and ranks ahead of climate change, extreme weather events, food crises and social instability. Across the globe, nearly one in ten people is without access to an improved drinking water source. Least Developed Countries (LDCs) especially in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are the most affected, having disproportionately more of the global population without access to clean water than other major regions. Population growth, changing lifestyles, increasing pollution and accelerating urbanization will continue to widen the gap between the demand for water and available supply especially in urban areas, and disproportionately affect informal settlements, where the majority of SSA's urban population resides. Distribution and allocation of water will be affected by climate-induced water stresses, poor institutions, ineffective governance, and weak political will to address scarcity and mediate uncertainties in future supply. While attempts have been made by many scientists to examine different dimensions of water scarcity and urban population dynamics, there are few comprehensive reviews, especially focused on the particular situation in Sub-Saharan Africa. This paper contributes to interdisciplinary understanding of urban water supply by distilling and integrating relevant empirical knowledge on urban dynamics and water issues in SSA, focusing on progress made and associated challenges. It then points out future research directions including the need to understand how alternatives to centralized water policies may help deliver sustainable water supply to cities and informal settlements in the region. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Social support systems as determinants of self-management and quality of life of people with diabetes across Europe: study protocol for an observational study.

PubMed

Koetsenruijter, Jan; van Lieshout, Jan; Vassilev, Ivaylo; Portillo, Mari Carmen; Serrano, Manuel; Knutsen, Ingrid; Roukova, Poli; Lionis, Christos; Todorova, Elka; Foss, Christina; Rogers, Anne; Wensing, Michel

2014-03-04

Long-term conditions pose major challenges for healthcare systems. Optimizing self-management of people with long-term conditions is an important strategy to improve quality of life, health outcomes, patient experiences in healthcare, and the sustainability of healthcare systems. Much research on self-management focuses on individual competencies, while the social systems of support that facilitate self-management are underexplored. The presented study aims to explore the role of social systems of support for self-management and quality of life, focusing on the social networks of people with diabetes and community organisations that serve them. The protocol concerns a cross-sectional study in 18 geographic areas in six European countries, involving a total of 1800 individuals with diabetes and 900 representatives of community organisations. In each country, we include a deprived rural area, a deprived urban area, and an affluent urban area. Individuals are recruited through healthcare practices in the targeted areas. A patient questionnaire comprises measures for quality of life, self-management behaviours, social network and social support, as well as individual characteristics. A community organisations' survey maps out interconnections between community and voluntary organisations that support patients with chronic illness and documents the scope of work of the different types of organisations. We first explore the structure of social networks of individuals and of community organisations. Then linkages between these social networks, self-management and quality of life will be examined, taking deprivation and other factors into account. This study will provide insight into determinants of self-management and quality of life in individuals with diabetes, focusing on the role of social networks and community organisations.

Contrasting nitrogen and phosphorus budgets in urban watersheds and implications for managing urban water pollution

PubMed Central

Janke, Benjamin D.; Nidzgorski, Daniel A.; Millet, Dylan B.; Baker, Lawrence A.

2017-01-01

Managing excess nutrients remains a major obstacle to improving ecosystem service benefits of urban waters. To inform more ecologically based landscape nutrient management, we compared watershed inputs, outputs, and retention for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in seven subwatersheds of the Mississippi River in St. Paul, Minnesota. Lawn fertilizer and pet waste dominated N and P inputs, respectively, underscoring the importance of household actions in influencing urban watershed nutrient budgets. Watersheds retained only 22% of net P inputs versus 80% of net N inputs (watershed area-weighted averages, where net inputs equal inputs minus biomass removal) despite relatively low P inputs. In contrast to many nonurban watersheds that exhibit high P retention, these urban watersheds have high street density that enhanced transport of P-rich materials from landscapes to stormwater. High P exports in storm drainage networks and yard waste resulted in net P losses in some watersheds. Comparisons of the N/P stoichiometry of net inputs versus storm drain exports implicated denitrification or leaching to groundwater as a likely fate for retained N. Thus, these urban watersheds exported high quantities of N and P, but via contrasting pathways: P was exported primarily via stormwater runoff, contributing to surface water degradation, whereas N losses additionally contribute to groundwater pollution. Consequently, N management and P management require different strategies, with N management focusing on reducing watershed inputs and P management also focusing on reducing P movement from vegetated landscapes to streets and storm drains. PMID:28373560

Social capital, outpatient care utilization and choice between different levels of health facilities in rural and urban areas of Bhutan.

PubMed

Herberholz, Chantal; Phuntsho, Sonam

2018-06-18

This study examines the factors that explain outpatient care utilization and the choice between different levels of health facilities in Bhutan, focusing on individual social capital, given Bhutan's geography of remote and sparsely populated areas. The more isolated the living, the more important individual social capital may become. Standard factors proposed by the Andersen model of healthcare utilization serve as control variables. Data for 2526 households from the 2012 Bhutan Living Standards Survey, which contains a social capital module covering structural, cognitive and output dimensions of social capital, are used. The results from the logistic regression analysis show that individual social capital is positively related with the probability of seeking treatment when ill or injured. Informal social contacts and perceived help and support are most important in rural areas, whereas specific trust matters in urban areas. The explanatory power of the model using a subset of the data for urban areas only, however, is very low as most predisposing and enabling factors are insignificant, which is not surprising though in view of better access to health facilities in urban areas and the fact that healthcare is provided free of charge in Bhutan. Multinomial regression results further show that structural and output dimensions of social capital influence the likelihood of seeking care at secondary or tertiary care facilities relative to primary care facilities. Moreover, economic status and place of residence are significantly associated with healthcare utilization and choice of health facility. The findings with respect to social capital suggest that strategizing and organizing social capital may help improve healthcare utilization in Bhutan. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The AVuPUR project (Assessing the Vulnerability of Peri-Urban Rivers) : experimental and modelling strategy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Braud, I.; Chancibault, K.; Debionne, S.; Lieme Kouyi, G.; Sarrazin, B.; Jacqueminet, C.

2009-04-01

Due to the development of urbanisation and the associated pollutions, peri-urban rivers face an increasing pressure on the receiving waters and an enhancement of floods. In order to limit the risks and define adapted management scenarios, it is important to identify the key factors over which action is possible. In particular, due to the Water Framework Directive, discharge of polluted water into rivers must be limited and actions must be undertaken in order to restore the ecological quality of water. In this context, integrated modelling tools, taking into account anthropogenic effects on the water cycle are interesting as they provide ways to test and evaluate the efficiency of different management scenarios. However improvements are still required to derive tools allowing a continuous and long term modelling of the hydrological cycle in peri-urban areas. The models must take into account the surface heterogeneity (mixture of rural and urbanised areas), and also the natural and artificial water pathways, which influence the water quality. These questions are the focus of the AVuPUR (Assessing the Vulnerability of Peri-Urban Rivers) project. Its aims are 1) to provide a better description of the heterogeneity of peri-urban catchments and of the associated water pathways using field survey, GIS and remote sensing analysis of high resolution images; 2) to provide long term detailed simulation models of the hydrological cycle in peri-urban catchments to increase our understanding of the processes involved; 3) to improve existing hydrological models with a better handling of the urbanised areas in order to derive tools usable by stakeholders; 4) to run long term simulations of the hydrological cycle using past and future land-use and climate scenarios and quantify the impact on the hydrological regime. The project focuses on two experimental catchments: the Yzeron catchment (147 km2), a peri-urban catchment located in the west of Lyon (south-east of France) and the Chézine catchment (34 km2) located close to the city of Nantes (west of France). Both catchments are part of hydrometeorological observatories which ensures a long-term monitoring of the catchments. Both catchments experience a rapid increase of urbanisation. They are located in two contrasted climates and physiographic contexts: Mediterranean type climate and marked topography for the Yzeron catchment and oceanic climate with rather flat areas for the Chézine catchment. This will allow testing the robustness and transferability of the developed approaches. The presentation will focus on the data which are currently acquired in the framework of the project: rainfall, streamflow, water levels in ephemeral reaches, lidar survey, geophysical surveys, infiltration tests. A diachronic analysis of land use since the 50th is also performed using satellite and aerial photographs. Some work is also planned to determine future land use scenarios of urbanisation and water management. Urban data bank provided by the Grand Lyon and Nantes-Métropole services are also analysed in order to document the change in water pathways due to urbanisation. The paper will present an overview of these data and first results of their analysis in terms of hydrological functioning and water pathways. The modelling strategy, which will rely on these data, will also be presented.

Neighbourhood Environmental Attributes Associated with Walking in South Australian Adults: Differences between Urban and Rural Areas

PubMed Central

Coffee, Neil T.; Nolan, Rebecca; Dollman, James; Sugiyama, Takemi

2017-01-01

Although the health benefits of walking are well established, participation is lower in rural areas compared to urban areas. Most studies on walkability and walking have been conducted in urban areas, thus little is known about the relevance of walkability to rural areas. A computer-assisted telephone survey of 2402 adults (aged ≥18 years) was conducted to determine walking behaviour and perceptions of neighbourhood walkability. Data were stratified by urban (n = 1738) and rural (n = 664). A greater proportion of respondents reported no walking in rural (25.8%) compared to urban areas (18.5%). Compared to urban areas, rural areas had lower walkability scores and urban residents reported higher frequency of walking. The association of perceived walkability with walking was significant only in urban areas. These results suggest that environmental factors associated with walking in urban areas may not be relevant in rural areas. Appropriate walkability measures specific to rural areas should be further researched. PMID:28846597

Reducing Community Vulnerability to Wildland Fires in Southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Keeley, J. E.

2010-12-01

In the US fires are not treated like other hazards such as earthquakes but rather as preventable through landscape fuel treatments and aggressive fire suppression. In southern California extreme fire weather has made it impossible to control all fires and thus loss of homes and lives is a constant threat to communities. There is growing evidence that indicate we are not likely to ever eliminate fires on these landscapes. Thus, it is time to reframe the fire problem and think of fires like we do with other natural hazards such as earthquakes. We do not attempt to stop earthquakes, rather the primary emphasis is on altering human infrastructure in ways that minimize community vulnerability. In other words we need to change our approach from risk elimination to risk management. This approach means we accept that we cannot eliminate fires but rather learn to live with fire by communities becoming more fire adapted. We potentially can make great strides in reducing community vulnerability by finding those factors with high impacts and are sensitive to changes in management. Presently, decision makers have relatively little guidance about which of these is likely to have the greatest impact. Future reductions in fire risk to communities requires we address both wildland and urban elements that contribute to destructive losses. Damage risk or D is determined by: D = f (I, S, E, G, H) where I = the probability of a fire starting in the landscape S = the probability of the fire reaching a size sufficient to reach the urban environment E = probability of it encroaching into the urban environment G = probability of fire propagating within the built environment H = probability of a fire, once within the built environment, resulting in the destruction of a building. In southern California, reducing I through more strategic fire prevention has potential for reducing fire risk. There are many ignition sources that could be reduced, such as replacing power line ignitions with underground lines, strategically employing arson patrols during Santa Ana wind events, enforcing regulations on power equipment use in wildland areas, k-rail barriers along roads to reduce fire spread into wildland areas etc. S, or the probability of fire reaching urban environments has historically been the primary focus of state and federal fire management activities. There is a need for greater focus on understanding the most strategic application of wildland fuel treatments. E, the probability of fire encroaching into the urban environment, has largely been addressed in the past by attention to wildland-urban interface (WUI) fuel treatments. The one factor that has perhaps the greatest potential for impacting E are patterns of urban growth, both in strategic placement and spatial patterning within communities, and this is an area where alternative future growth scenarios could have huge impacts on fire outcomes. G, the chance of fire propagating within the urban environment is a function of urban fuels, which include both home construction and landscaping. This area has the potential for effecting large changes in fire losses dependent upon future regulations on plantings in the urban environment.

Health inequalities among urban children in India: a comparative assessment of Empowered Action Group (EAG) and South Indian states.

PubMed

Arokiasamy, P; Jain, Kshipra; Goli, Srinivas; Pradhan, Jalandhar

2013-03-01

As India rapidly urbanizes, within urban areas socioeconomic disparities are rising and health inequality among urban children is an emerging challenge. This paper assesses the relative contribution of socioeconomic factors to child health inequalities between the less developed Empowered Action Group (EAG) states and more developed South Indian states in urban India using data from the 2005-06 National Family Health Survey. Focusing on urban health from varying regional and developmental contexts, socioeconomic inequalities in child health are examined first using Concentration Indices (CIs) and then the contributions of socioeconomic factors to the CIs of health variables are derived. The results reveal, in order of importance, pronounced contributions of household economic status, parent's illiteracy and caste to urban child health inequalities in the South Indian states. In contrast, parent's illiteracy, poor economic status, being Muslim and child birth order 3 or more are major contributors to health inequalities among urban children in the EAG states. The results suggest the need to adopt different health policy interventions in accordance with the pattern of varying contributions of socioeconomic factors to child health inequalities between the more developed South Indian states and less developed EAG states.

A Meta-Analysis of Urban Climate Change Adaptation ...

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

The concentration of people, infrastructure, and ecosystem services in urban areas make them prime sites for climate change adaptation. While advances have been made in developing frameworks for adaptation planning and identifying both real and potential barriers to action, empirical work evaluating urban adaptation planning processes has been relatively piecemeal. Existing assessments of current experience with urban adaptation provide necessarily broad generalizations based on the available peer-reviewed literature. This paper uses a meta-analysis of U.S. cities’ current experience with urban adaptation planning drawing from 54 sources that include peer-reviewed literature, government reports, white papers, and reports published by non-governmental organizations. The analysis specifically evaluates the institutional support structures being developed for urban climate change adaptation. The results demonstrate that adaptation planning is driven by a desire to reduce vulnerability and often catalyzes new collaborations and coordination mechanisms in urban governance. As a result, building capacity for urban climate change adaptation planning requires a focus not only on city governments themselves but also on the complex horizontal and vertical networks that have arisen around such efforts. Existing adaptation planning often lacks attention to equity issues, social vulnerability, and the influence of non-climatic factors on vulnerability. Engaging city govern

Motivations for conserving urban biodiversity.

PubMed

Dearborn, Donald C; Kark, Salit

2010-04-01

In a time of increasing urbanization, the fundamental value of conserving urban biodiversity remains controversial. How much of a fixed budget should be spent on conservation in urban versus nonurban landscapes? The answer should depend on the goals that drive our conservation actions, yet proponents of urban conservation often fail to specify the motivation for protecting urban biodiversity. This is an important shortcoming on several fronts, including a missed opportunity to make a stronger appeal to those who believe conservation biology should focus exclusively on more natural, wilder landscapes. We argue that urban areas do offer an important venue for conservation biology, but that we must become better at choosing and articulating our goals. We explored seven possible motivations for urban biodiversity conservation: preserving local biodiversity, creating stepping stones to nonurban habitat, understanding and facilitating responses to environmental change, conducting environmental education, providing ecosystem services, fulfilling ethical responsibilities, and improving human well-being. To attain all these goals, challenges must be faced that are common to the urban environment, such as localized pollution, disruption of ecosystem structure, and limited availability of land. There are, however, also challenges specific only to particular goals, meaning that different goals will require different approaches and actions. This highlights the importance of specifying the motivations behind urban biodiversity conservation. If the goals are unknown, progress cannot be assessed.

Impacts on groundwater recharge areas of megacity pumping: analysis of potential contamination of Kolkata, India, water supply

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sahu, Paulami; Michael, Holly A.; Voss, Clifford I.; Sikdar, Pradip K.

2013-01-01

Water supply to the world's megacities is a problem of quantity and quality that will be a priority in the coming decades. Heavy pumping of groundwater beneath these urban centres, particularly in regions with low natural topographic gradients, such as deltas and floodplains, can fundamentally alter the hydrological system. These changes affect recharge area locations, which may shift closer to the city centre than before development, thereby increasing the potential for contamination. Hydrogeological simulation analysis allows evaluation of the impact on past, present and future pumping for the region of Kolkata, India, on recharge area locations in an aquifer that supplies water to over 13 million people. Relocated recharge areas are compared with known surface contamination sources, with a focus on sustainable management of this urban groundwater resource. The study highlights the impacts of pumping on water sources for long-term development of stressed city aquifers and for future water supply in deltaic and floodplain regions of the world.

Respiratory illness healthcare-seeking behavior assessment in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Laos)

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Respiratory illness (RI) remains a public health problem in Laos, but little is known about the overall burden and people’s healthcare-seeking behavior for RI. Understanding the burden of RI and community patterns of healthcare-seeking behavior would provide better guidance for Lao public health program and policy planners to improve RI public health practice, surveillance systems, and prevention strategies. Methods A quantitative and qualitative survey was conducted in 14 randomly selected villages of two purposively selected peri-urban and two rural provinces in Laos. A pre-designed and pre-tested questionnaire was used to collect information on RI in household members (defined as new fever with cough and/or sore-throat in the absence of other diagnoses during the preceding 30 days) from all heads of household in each village. Sixteen focus group discussions were conducted to obtain more information to support the quantitative survey. Results Among 1,751 households (9,114 people) studied, 3.5% (317/9,114) had experienced RI (fever, cough, and/or sore-throat) in the 30 days before the survey [6.2% in rural and 2.4% in peri-urban areas (p<0.001)]. The percentage of RI among persons aged ≥15 years was 2.7%, 3.7% for those aged 5 – 14 years, and 8.2% for children < 5 years (p<0.001). Of all sick persons, 71% sought treatment [94% in peri-urban and 48% in rural areas (p<0.001)] and 31.5% of them self-medicated [55.5% in peri-urban and 29% in rural areas (p<0.001)]. Sick people in peri-urban areas preferred to chose private clinics and pharmacies as their first treatment option while in rural areas they frequently consulted with village health volunteers and visited health centres as their first choice. The qualitative study suggests that distance, costs of care, and service availability are the most important determinants of seeking healthcare. Conclusions The RI burden and healthcare-seeking behavior are different between rural and peri-urban areas of Laos and this is probably due to the differences in environmental and hygienic conditions, health service availability and socio-economic status between the two areas. Therefore strategies for healthcare service improvement may also need to differ between the two areas. PMID:23642240

The framework of urban exposome: Application of the exposome concept in urban health studies.

PubMed

Andrianou, Xanthi D; Makris, Konstantinos C

2018-05-02

Horizontal challenges, such as climate change or the growing populations, and their manifestations require the development of multidisciplinary research synergies in urban health that could benefit from concepts, such as the human exposome. Cities are composed of interconnected systems which are influenced, by global trends, national policies and local complexities. In this context, the exposome concept could be expanded having the city setting in its core, providing the conceptual framework for the new generation of urban studies. The objectives of this work were to define the urban exposome and outline its utility. The urban exposome can be defined as the continuous spatiotemporal surveillance/monitoring of quantitative and qualitative indicators associated with the urban external and internal domains that shape up the quality of life and the health of urban populations, using small city areas, i.e. neighborhoods, quarters, or smaller administrative districts, as the point of reference. Research should focus on the urban exposome's measurable units at different levels, i.e. the individuals, small, within-city areas and the populations. The urban exposome framework applied in the city of Limassol, Cyprus combines three elements: (i) a mixed-methods study on stakeholders' opinions about quality of life in the city; (ii) a systematic assessment of secondary data from the cancer and death registries, including city infrastructure data; and (iii) a population health and biomonitoring survey. Continuous assessment of environmental and health indicators that are routinely collected, and the incorporation of primary data from population studies, will allow for the timely identification of within-city health and environmental disparities to inform policy making and public health interventions. The urban exposome could facilitate evidence-based public health response, offering researchers, policy-makers, and citizens effective tools to address the societal needs of large urban centers. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Disposition of xenobiotic chemicals and metabolites in marine organisms.

PubMed Central

Varanasi, U; Stein, J E

1991-01-01

Studies with several bottom fish species from urban waterways show that of the identified xenobiotic chemicals in bottom sediments, polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are the most strongly associated with the prevalence of liver lesions, including neoplasms. Accordingly, there is concern about the transfer of contaminants, such as PAHs, from aquatic species to humans. Because PAHs exert their toxicity only after being biotransformed, increasing attention has been focused on the ability of aquatic organisms to metabolize these chemicals. Overall, the results of both laboratory and field studies show that generally low levels (nanograms per gram wet weight) of a few low molecular weight PAHs may be present in edible tissue of fish from contaminated areas and that high molecular weight PAHs, such as the carcinogen benzo(a)pyrene, will rarely be detected because of extensive metabolism. Additionally, the results from a few studies suggest that even though interactions between xenobiotics can affect both biochemical and physiological systems to alter the disposition of PAHs in fish, these interactions do not markedly change the relative proportions of metabolites to parent PAH in tissues. Thus, these studies clearly demonstrate that to obtain some insight into the questions of whether there is any risk to human health from consuming fish and crustaceans from urban areas, techniques must be developed that measure metabolites of carcinogens, such as PAHs, in edible tissue. Initial attempts may focus on semiquantitative methods that permit rapid assessment of the level of metabolites in edible tissues of fish and crustaceans from many urban areas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS) Images FIGURE 4. FIGURE 4. FIGURE 4. PMID:2050086

Spectral characteristics and feature selection of satellite remote sensing data for climate and anthropogenic changes assessment in Bucharest area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoran, Maria; Savastru, Roxana; Savastru, Dan; Tautan, Marina; Miclos, Sorin; Cristescu, Luminita; Carstea, Elfrida; Baschir, Laurentiu

2010-05-01

Urban systems play a vital role in social and economic development in all countries. Their environmental changes can be investigated on different spatial and temporal scales. Urban and peri-urban environment dynamics is of great interest for future planning and decision making as well as in frame of local and regional changes. Changes in urban land cover include changes in biotic diversity, actual and potential primary productivity, soil quality, runoff, and sedimentation rates, and cannot be well understood without the knowledge of land use change that drives them. The study focuses on the assessment of environmental features changes for Bucharest metropolitan area, Romania by satellite remote sensing and in-situ monitoring data. Rational feature selection from the varieties of spectral channels in the optical wavelengths of electromagnetic spectrum (VIS and NIR) is very important for effective analysis and information extraction of remote sensing data. Based on comprehensively analyses of the spectral characteristics of remote sensing data is possibly to derive environmental changes in urban areas. The information quantity contained in a band is an important parameter in evaluating the band. The deviation and entropy are often used to show information amount. Feature selection is one of the most important steps in recognition and classification of remote sensing images. Therefore, it is necessary to select features before classification. The optimal features are those that can be used to distinguish objects easily and correctly. Three factors—the information quantity of bands, the correlation between bands and the spectral characteristic (e.g. absorption specialty) of classified objects in test area Bucharest have been considered in our study. As, the spectral characteristic of an object is influenced by many factors, being difficult to define optimal feature parameters to distinguish all the objects in a whole area, a method of multi-level feature selection was suggested. On the basis of analyzing the information quantity of bands, correlation between different bands, spectral absorption characteristics of objects and object separability in bands, a fundamental method of optimum band selection and feature extraction from remote sensing data was discussed. Spectral signatures of different terrain features have been used to extract structural patterns aiming to separate surface units and to classify the general categories. The synergetic analysis and interpretation of the different satellite images (LANDSAT: TM, ETM; MODIS, IKONOS) acquired over a period of more than 20 years reveals significant aspects regarding impacts of climate and anthropogenic changes on urban/periurban environment. It was delimited residential zones of industrial zones which are very often a source of pollution. An important role has urban green cover assessment. Have been emphasized the particularities of the functional zones from different points of view: architectural, streets and urban surface traffic, some components of urban infrastructure as well as habitat quality. The growth of Bucharest urban area in Romania has been a result of a rapid process of industrialization, and also of the increase of urban population. Information on the spatial pattern and temporal dynamics of land cover and land use of urban areas is critical to address a wide range of practical problems relating to urban regeneration, urban sustainability and rational planning policy.

Human territoriality: an examination of a construct

Treesearch

Thomas D. Wickham; Harry C. Zinn

2001-01-01

Human territory research has generally been focused in a variety of settings including urban neighborhoods, libraries, mall parking lots, and areas around phones in public places. It refers to an intertwined system of emotions, beliefs, and behaviors that are place specific, socially and culturally influenced, and are linked to person-place transactions dealing with...

Mineral content of eggs from backyard chickens reared under differing conditions

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Among US consumers, there is a growing movement in which individuals focus on the development of a more sustainable lifestyle by eating food cultivated close to or at their home. This includes raising backyard chickens for eggs in both rural and urban area. Eggs are a valuable source of many nutrien...

Life History Methodologies: An Investigation into Work-Based Learning Experiences of Community Education Workers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Issler, Sally; Nixon, David

2007-01-01

This article focuses on an investigation into the learning journeys undertaken by managers of a community education project in an area of urban deprivation. A constructivist interpretation of life history narrative revealed the positive effects of community workers' heavy dependence on experiential work-based learning, which resulted in the…

Lonely Schools: The Relationship between Geographic Isolation and Academic Attainment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Odell, Evan

2017-01-01

Background: School improvement initiatives in England have focused on urban areas, which have traditionally been home to larger numbers of poor and underperforming pupils. Previous research has found that rural regions of the country have had higher overall educational attainment due to their greater affluence. However, that broad picture could be…

The New York State Mentoring Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cuomo, Matilda R.

This conference address discusses New York State programs for children and families, focusing on a mentoring program. New York State has 44 rural counties, which comprise 80% of the state's total area. Rural schools face limited financial resources and access to services. Rural school children are more likely to face failure than urban or suburban…

Stormwater Management for TMDLs in an Arid Climate: A Case Study Application of SUSTAIN in Albuquerque, New Mexico - report

EPA Science Inventory

This case study for the Albuquerque, New Mexico area was conducted under contract with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Research and Development using the System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Integration Analysis (SUSTAIN). The effort focuses on inve...

PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE AIR QUALITY MODELING AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

Since the inception of the Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1969, atmospheric models have been used to assess source-receptor relationships for sulfur dioxide and total suspended particulate matter (TSP) in the urban areas. The focus through the 1970's has been on the Gaussian dispersio...

Women in Migration: A Third World Focus. Summary.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Center for Research on Women, Washington, DC.

A study of women in migration in Third World countries since 1960 reveals that, contrary to assumptions, more women are migrating autonomously from rural to urban areas in an often unsuccessful effort to improve their economic status. The results of the study of migration patterns in Africa, Asia, Central America, South America, and the Middle…

Extracts from: Analysis of Selected Economic Factors Influencing Franco-Albertan Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liguori, George T.

1978-01-01

An examination of selected economic factors most likely to influence the income level of Francophones in Alberta. It focuses on occupation, education level, sex, geographical areas, income and source of income. Evidence indicates that educational level and slow rate of urbanization are major obstacles to more equitable distribution of wealth. (AMH)

Outdoor Recreation: Participation, Characteristics of Users, Distances Traveled, and Expenditures.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Owens, Gerald P.

Participation in outdoor recreation was the focus of this 1963 study involving 776 families representing a cross section of the urban and rural population of southern Ohio and nearby areas of West Virginia and Kentucky. The study was conducted to determine relationships between participation and characteristics in order to advise private…

Urban Malaria: Understanding its Epidemiology, Ecology, and Transmission Across Seven Diverse ICEMR Network Sites.

PubMed

Wilson, Mark L; Krogstad, Donald J; Arinaitwe, Emmanuel; Arevalo-Herrera, Myriam; Chery, Laura; Ferreira, Marcelo U; Ndiaye, Daouda; Mathanga, Don P; Eapen, Alex

2015-09-01

A major public health question is whether urbanization will transform malaria from a rural to an urban disease. However, differences about definitions of urban settings, urban malaria, and whether malaria control should differ between rural and urban areas complicate both the analysis of available data and the development of intervention strategies. This report examines the approach of the International Centers of Excellence for Malaria Research (ICEMR) to urban malaria in Brazil, Colombia, India (Chennai and Goa), Malawi, Senegal, and Uganda. Its major theme is the need to determine whether cases diagnosed in urban areas were imported from surrounding rural areas or resulted from transmission within the urban area. If infections are being acquired within urban areas, malaria control measures must be targeted within those urban areas to be effective. Conversely, if malaria cases are being imported from rural areas, control measures must be directed at vectors, breeding sites, and infected humans in those rural areas. Similar interventions must be directed differently if infections were acquired within urban areas. The hypothesis underlying the ICEMR approach to urban malaria is that optimal control of urban malaria depends on accurate epidemiologic and entomologic information about transmission. © The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.

Urbanization and Land Use Changes in Peri-Urban Area using Spatial Analysis Methods (Case Study: Ciawi Urban Areas, Bogor Regency)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cahya, D. L.; Martini, E.; Kasikoen, K. M.

2018-02-01

Urbanization is shown by the increasing percentage of the population in urban areas. In Indonesia, the percentage of urban population increased dramatically form 17.42% (1971) to 42.15% (2010). This resulted in increased demand for housing. Limited land in the city area push residents looking for an alternative location of his residence to the peri-urban areas. It is accompanied by a process of land conversion from green area into built-up area. Continuous land conversion in peri-urban area is becoming increasingly widespread. Bogor Regency as part of the Jakarta Metropolitan Area is experiencing rapid development. This regency has been experienced land-use change very rapidly from agricultural areas into urban built up areas. Aim of this research is to analyze the effect of urbanization on land use changes in peri-urban areas using spatial analysis methods. This research used case study of Ciawi Urban Area that experiencing rapid development. Method of this research is using descriptive quantitative approach. Data used in this research is primary data (field survey) and secondary data (maps). To analyze land use change is using Geographic Information System (GIS) as spatial analysis methods. The effect of urbanization on land use changes in Ciawi Urban Area from year 2013 to 2015 is significant. The reduction of farm land is around -4.00% and wetland is around - 2.51%. The increasing area for hotel/villa/resort is around 3.10%. Based on this research, local government (Bogor Regency) should be alert to the land use changes that does not comply with the land use plan and also consistently apply the spatial planning.

Mapping lightscapes: spatial patterning of artificial lighting in an urban landscape.

PubMed

Hale, James D; Davies, Gemma; Fairbrass, Alison J; Matthews, Thomas J; Rogers, Christopher D F; Sadler, Jon P

2013-01-01

Artificial lighting is strongly associated with urbanisation and is increasing in its extent, brightness and spectral range. Changes in urban lighting have both positive and negative effects on city performance, yet little is known about how its character and magnitude vary across the urban landscape. A major barrier to related research, planning and governance has been the lack of lighting data at the city extent, particularly at a fine spatial resolution. Our aims were therefore to capture such data using aerial night photography and to undertake a case study of urban lighting. We present the finest scale multi-spectral lighting dataset available for an entire city and explore how lighting metrics vary with built density and land-use. We found positive relationships between artificial lighting indicators and built density at coarse spatial scales, whilst at a local level lighting varied with land-use. Manufacturing and housing are the primary land-use zones responsible for the city's brightly lit areas, yet manufacturing sites are relatively rare within the city. Our data suggests that efforts to address light pollution should broaden their focus from residential street lighting to include security lighting within manufacturing areas.

Mapping Lightscapes: Spatial Patterning of Artificial Lighting in an Urban Landscape

PubMed Central

Hale, James D.; Davies, Gemma; Fairbrass, Alison J.; Matthews, Thomas J.; Rogers, Christopher D. F.; Sadler, Jon P.

2013-01-01

Artificial lighting is strongly associated with urbanisation and is increasing in its extent, brightness and spectral range. Changes in urban lighting have both positive and negative effects on city performance, yet little is known about how its character and magnitude vary across the urban landscape. A major barrier to related research, planning and governance has been the lack of lighting data at the city extent, particularly at a fine spatial resolution. Our aims were therefore to capture such data using aerial night photography and to undertake a case study of urban lighting. We present the finest scale multi-spectral lighting dataset available for an entire city and explore how lighting metrics vary with built density and land-use. We found positive relationships between artificial lighting indicators and built density at coarse spatial scales, whilst at a local level lighting varied with land-use. Manufacturing and housing are the primary land-use zones responsible for the city’s brightly lit areas, yet manufacturing sites are relatively rare within the city. Our data suggests that efforts to address light pollution should broaden their focus from residential street lighting to include security lighting within manufacturing areas. PMID:23671566

Preferences for benefit packages for community-based health insurance: an exploratory study in Nigeria

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background It is important that community-based health insurance (CBHI) schemes are designed in such a way as to ensure the relevance of the benefit packages to potential clients. Hence, this paper provides an understanding of the preferred benefit packages by different economic status groups as well as urban and rural dwellers for CBHI in Southeast Nigeria. Methods The study took place in rural, urban and semi-urban communities of south-east Nigeria. A questionnaire was used to collect information from 3070 randomly picked household heads. Focus group discussions were used to collect qualitative data. Data was examined for links between preferences for benefit packages with SES and geographic residence of the respondents. Results Respondents in the rural areas and in the lower SES preferred a comprehensive benefit package which includes all inpatient, outpatient and emergencies services, while those in urban areas as well as those in the higher SES group showed a preference for benefit packages which will cover only basic disease control interventions. Conclusion Equity concerns in preferences for services to be offered by the CBHI scheme should be addressed for CBHI to succeed in different contexts. PMID:20540787

Malaria and Colonialism in Korea, c.1876–c.1945

PubMed Central

Kim, Jeong-Ran

2016-01-01

Abstract This article considers the problem of malaria in the Korean peninsula from 1876 to 1945, focusing particularly on the impact of Japanese colonial rule. One aspect which receives special attention is malaria in urban contexts. The relationship between malaria and urbanisation is shown to be extremely complex, fluctuating regardless of specific interventions against the disease. In rural and urban areas, Japanese antimalarial measures concentrated on military garrisons, at the expense of both civilian settlers and Koreans. However, it was Koreans who bore the brunt of the malaria problem, which was exacerbated in many areas by agricultural and industrial development and, ultimately, by the war regime introduced from 1938. The worsening of the malaria burden in the final years of Japanese rule left a legacy which lasted long after independence. PMID:29731545

Families in Bollywood cinema: changes and context.

PubMed

Deakin, Nicholas; Bhugra, Dinesh

2012-04-01

With increasing and rapid urbanization and population changes in India, a growing number of people are migrating from rural areas to urban areas, which brings about major changes in support systems. As a result, the portrayal of families has also changed in Hindi cinema over the last 50 years. Recent family melodramas have focused on an idealized version of joint and extended families. In this paper we use some key Hindi films of the 1960s and of the last two decades to compare how films have changed and how, in view of changing audiences, they have created a version of the family which is far from real. Clinicians need to be aware of these changes while dealing with patients and their families (the latter may have unrealistic expectations of their own family members).

Urban-area extraction from polarimetric SAR image using combination of target decomposition and orientation angle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zou, Bin; Lu, Da; Wu, Zhilu; Qiao, Zhijun G.

2016-05-01

The results of model-based target decomposition are the main features used to discriminate urban and non-urban area in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) application. Traditional urban-area extraction methods based on modelbased target decomposition usually misclassified ground-trunk structure as urban-area or misclassified rotated urbanarea as forest. This paper introduces another feature named orientation angle to improve urban-area extraction scheme for the accurate mapping in urban by PolSAR image. The proposed method takes randomness of orientation angle into account for restriction of urban area first and, subsequently, implements rotation angle to improve results that oriented urban areas are recognized as double-bounce objects from volume scattering. ESAR L-band PolSAR data of the Oberpfaffenhofen Test Site Area was used to validate the proposed algorithm.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2008-10-01

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

Reconnaissance Assessment of the Potential for Roadside Dry Wells to Affect Water Quality on the Island of Hawai'i

USGS Publications Warehouse

Izuka, Scot K.; Senter, Craig A.; Johnson, Adam G.

2009-01-01

The County of Hawai'i Department of Public Works (DPW) uses dry wells to dispose of stormwater runoff from roads. Recently, concern has been raised that water entering the dry wells may transport contaminants to groundwater and affect the quality of receiving waters. The DPW operates 2,052 dry wells. Compiling an inventory of these dry wells and sorting it on the basis of presence or absence of urbanization in the drainage area, distance between the bottom of the dry well and the water table, and proximity to receiving waters helps identify the dry wells having greatest potential to affect the quality of receiving waters so that future studies or mitigation efforts can focus on a smaller number of dry wells. The drainage areas of some DPW dry wells encompass urbanized areas, which could be a source of contaminants. Some dry wells penetrate close to or through the water table, eliminating or substantially reducing opportunities for contaminant attenuation between the ground surface and water table. Dry wells that have drainage areas that encompass urbanization, penetrate to near the water table, and are near the coast have the highest potential to affect the quality of coastal waters (this study did not consider specific sections of coastline that may be of greater concern than others). Some DPW dry wells, including a few that have drainage areas that encompass urbanization, lie within the areas contributing recharge (ACR) to drinking-water wells. Numerical groundwater modeling studies by previous investigators indicate that water infiltrating those dry wells could eventually be pumped at drinking-water wells. Dry wells that have a high potential for affecting coastal receiving waters or drinking-water wells can be the focus of studies to further understand the effect of the dry wells on the quality of receiving waters. Possible study approaches include sampling for contaminants at the dry well and receiving water, injecting and monitoring the movement of tracers, and numerical modeling. To fully assess whether dry wells actually pose a significant contamination threat to receiving waters, results from modeling or monitoring must be compared to limits for contaminant concentration at receiving waters. These limits are usually established by the agencies tasked with protecting those waters.

Roundtable on Urban Living Environment Research (RULER).

PubMed

Vlahov, David; Agarwal, Siddharth Raj; Buckley, Robert M; Caiaffa, Waleska Teixeira; Corvalan, Carlos F; Ezeh, Alex Chika; Finkelstein, Ruth; Friel, Sharon; Harpham, Trudy; Hossain, Maharufa; de Faria Leao, Beatriz; Mboup, Gora; Montgomery, Mark R; Netherland, Julie C; Ompad, Danielle C; Prasad, Amit; Quinn, Andrew T; Rothman, Alexander; Satterthwaite, David E; Stansfield, Sally; Watson, Vanessa J

2011-10-01

For 18 months in 2009-2010, the Rockefeller Foundation provided support to establish the Roundtable on Urban Living Environment Research (RULER). Composed of leading experts in population health measurement from a variety of disciplines, sectors, and continents, RULER met for the purpose of reviewing existing methods of measurement for urban health in the context of recent reports from UN agencies on health inequities in urban settings. The audience for this report was identified as international, national, and local governing bodies; civil society; and donor agencies. The goal of the report was to identify gaps in measurement that must be filled in order to assess and evaluate population health in urban settings, especially in informal settlements (or slums) in low- and middle-income countries. Care must be taken to integrate recommendations with existing platforms (e.g., Health Metrics Network, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation) that could incorporate, mature, and sustain efforts to address these gaps and promote effective data for healthy urban management. RULER noted that these existing platforms focus primarily on health outcomes and systems, mainly at the national level. Although substantial reviews of health outcomes and health service measures had been conducted elsewhere, such reviews covered these in an aggregate and perhaps misleading way. For example, some spatial aspects of health inequities, such as those pointed to in the 2008 report from the WHO's Commission on the Social Determinants of Health, received limited attention. If RULER were to focus on health inequities in the urban environment, access to disaggregated data was a priority. RULER observed that some urban health metrics were already available, if not always appreciated and utilized in ongoing efforts (e.g., census data with granular data on households, water, and sanitation but with little attention paid to the spatial dimensions of these data). Other less obvious elements had not exploited the gains realized in spatial measurement technology and techniques (e.g., defining geographic and social urban informal settlement boundaries, classification of population-based amenities and hazards, and innovative spatial measurement of local governance for health). In summary, the RULER team identified three major areas for enhancing measurement to motivate action for urban health-namely, disaggregation of geographic areas for intra-urban risk assessment and action, measures for both social environment and governance, and measures for a better understanding of the implications of the physical (e.g., climate) and built environment for health. The challenge of addressing these elements in resource-poor settings was acknowledged, as was the intensely political nature of urban health metrics. The RULER team went further to identify existing global health metrics structures that could serve as platforms for more granular metrics specific for urban settings.

Conceptual study of superconducting urban area power systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Noe, Mathias; Bach, Robert; Prusseit, Werner; Willén, Dag; Gold-acker, Wilfried; Poelchau, Juri; Linke, Christian

2010-06-01

Efficient transmission, distribution and usage of electricity are fundamental requirements for providing citizens, societies and economies with essential energy resources. It will be a major future challenge to integrate more sustainable generation resources, to meet growing electricity demand and to renew electricity networks. Research and development on superconducting equipment and components have an important role to play in addressing these challenges. Up to now, most studies on superconducting applications in power systems have been concentrated on the application of specific devices like for example cables and current limiters. In contrast to this, the main focus of our study is to show the consequence of a large scale integration of superconducting power equipment in distribution level urban power systems. Specific objectives are to summarize the state-of-the-art of superconducting power equipment including cooling systems and to compare the superconducting power system with respect to energy and economic efficiency with conventional solutions. Several scenarios were considered starting from the replacement of an existing distribution level sub-grid up to a full superconducting urban area distribution level power system. One major result is that a full superconducting urban area distribution level power system could be cost competitive with existing solutions in the future. In addition to that, superconducting power systems offer higher energy efficiency as well as a number of technical advantages like lower voltage drops and improved stability.

[Blood donation in urban areas].

PubMed

Charpentier, F

2013-05-01

Medical and technical developments increase the difficulty to provide sufficient safe blood for all patients in developed countries and their sociodemographic and societal changes. Sufficient national blood supply remains a reached, however still actual, challenge. Tomorrow is prepared today: the management of blood donation programs both in line with these developments and with social marketing strategies is one of the keys to success. If the main components of this organization are well known (mobile blood drives in various appropriate environments, and permanent blood donation centers) their proportions in the whole process must evolve and their contents require adaptations, especially for whole blood donation in urban areas. We have to focus on the people's way of life changes related to increasing urbanization of the society and prominent position taken by very large cities. This requires targeting several goals: to draw the attention of the potential blood-giving candidate, to get into position to collect him when he will decide it, to give meaning and recognition to his "sacrifice" (give time rather than donate blood) and to give him desire and opportunity to come back and donate one more time. In this strategy, permanent blood centers in urban areas have significant potential for whole blood collection, highlighted by the decrease of apheresis technology requirements. This potential requires profound changes in their location, conception and organization. The concept of Maison Du Don (MDD) reflects these changes. Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier SAS.

Characteristics of extreme dust events observed over two urban areas in Iran

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bidokhti, Abbas-Ali A.; Gharaylou, Maryam; Pegahfar, Nafiseh; Sabetghadam, Samaneh; Rezazadeh, Maryam

2016-03-01

Determination of dust loading in the atmosphere is important not only from the public health point of view, but also for regional climate changes. The present study focuses on the characteristics of two major dust events for two urban areas in Iran, Kermanshah and Tehran, over the period of 4 years from 2006 to 2009. To detect extreme dust outbreaks, various datasets including synoptic data, dust concentration, reanalysis data and numerical results of WRF and HYSPLIT models were used. The weather maps demonstrate that for these events dusts are mainly generated when wind velocity is high and humidity is low in the lower troposphere and the region is under the influence of a thermal low. The event lasts until the atmospheric stability prevails and the surface wind speed weakens. The thermal low nature of the synoptic conditions of these major events is also responsible for deep boundary layer development with its thermals affecting the vertical dust flux over the region. Trajectory studies show that the dust events originated from deserts in Iraq and Syria and transported towards Iran. The main distinction between the two types of mobilizations seems to affect the dust concentrations in the Tehran urban area.

Evaluation of low impact development approach for mitigating flood inundation at a watershed scale in China.

PubMed

Hu, Maochuan; Sayama, Takahiro; Zhang, Xingqi; Tanaka, Kenji; Takara, Kaoru; Yang, Hong

2017-05-15

Low impact development (LID) has attracted growing attention as an important approach for urban flood mitigation. Most studies evaluating LID performance for mitigating floods focus on the changes of peak flow and runoff volume. This paper assessed the performance of LID practices for mitigating flood inundation hazards as retrofitting technologies in an urbanized watershed in Nanjing, China. The findings indicate that LID practices are effective for flood inundation mitigation at the watershed scale, and especially for reducing inundated areas with a high flood hazard risk. Various scenarios of LID implementation levels can reduce total inundated areas by 2%-17% and areas with a high flood hazard level by 6%-80%. Permeable pavement shows better performance than rainwater harvesting against mitigating urban waterlogging. The most efficient scenario is combined rainwater harvesting on rooftops with a cistern capacity of 78.5 mm and permeable pavement installed on 75% of non-busy roads and other impervious surfaces. Inundation modeling is an effective approach to obtaining the information necessary to guide decision-making for designing LID practices at watershed scales. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Does living in slums or non-slums influence women's nutritional status? Evidence from Indian mega-cities.

PubMed

Gaur, Kirti; Keshri, Kunal; Joe, William

2013-01-01

This article examines the intra-city distribution of women's nutritional status across eight Indian mega-cities with a specific focus on slum-non-slum divide. The analysis is based on the National Family Health Survey (2005-06) of India and highlights the dual burden of malnutrition among urban women. The results show that one in every two women in mega-cities is malnourished (either undernourished or overnourished), but a biased, analytical focus on citywide averages conceals the nature of the problem. Overnutrition among women is notably higher in non-slum areas whereas underweight persists as a key concern among slum dwellers. Cities located in the Central India (Nagpur and Indore) have the highest proportion of underweight women whereas the cities in South India (Chennai and Hyderabad) show a high prevalence of overweight women across both slum and non-slum areas. The intensity of income-related inequalities in underweight outcome is much greater for non-slum areas, whereas inequalities in overweight outcomes are higher among slums. Furthermore, regression analysis indicates that place of residence as such has no significant impact on women's nutritional status and that this elementary association is primarily a ramification mediated through other key socioeconomic correlates. Results suggest that, it would be rational to develop a comprehensive urban nutritional plan that focuses on dietary planning and behaviour change to address both type of malnutrition at the same time. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantifying Urban Texture in Nairobi, Kenya and its Implications for Understanding Natural Hazard Impact

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taylor, Faith E.; Malamud, Bruce D.; Millington, James D. A.

2016-04-01

The configuration of infrastructure networks such as roads, drainage and power lines can both affect and be affected by natural hazards such as earthquakes, intense rain, wildfires and extreme temperatures. In this paper, we present and compare two methods to quantify urban topology on approximate scales of 0.0005 km2 to 10 km2 and create classifications of different 'urban textures' that relate to risk of natural hazard impact in an area. The methods we use focus on applicability in urban developing country settings, where access to high resolution and high quality data may be difficult. We use the city of Nairobi, Kenya to trial these methods. Nairobi has a population >3 million, and is a mix of informal settlements, residential and commercial development. The city and its immediate surroundings are subject to a variety of natural hazards such as floods, landslides, fires, drought, hail, heavy wind and extreme temperatures; all of these hazards can occur singly, but also have the potential for one to trigger another, thus providing a 'cascade' of hazards, or for two of the hazards to occur spatially and temporally near each other and interact. We use two measures of urban texture: (i) Street block textures, (ii) Google Earth land cover textures. Street block textures builds on the methodology of Louf and Barthelemy (2014) and uses Open Street Map data to analyse the shape, size, complexity and pattern of individual blocks of land created by fully enclosed loops of the major and minor road network of Nairobi. We find >4000 of these blocks ranging in size from approximately 0.0005 km2 to 10 km2, with approximately 5 classifications of urban texture. Google Earth land cover texture is a visual classification of homogeneous parcels of land performed in Google Earth using high-resolution airborne imagery and a qualitative criteria for each land cover type. Using the Google Earth land cover texture method, we identify >40 'urban textures' based on visual characteristics such as colour, texture, shadow and setting and have created a clear criteria for classifying an area based on its visual characteristics. These two methods for classifying urban texture in Nairobi are compared in a GIS and in the field to investigate whether there is a link between the visual appearance of an area and its network topology. From these urban textures, we may start to identify areas where (a) urban texture types may indicate a relative propensity to certain hazards and their interactions and (b) urban texture types that may increase or decrease the impact of a hazard that occurs in that area.

Assessing the acceptability of NORPLANT implants in four countries: findings from focus group research.

PubMed

Zimmerman, M; Haffey, J; Crane, E; Szumowski, D; Alvarez, F; Bhiromrut, P; Brache, V; Lubis, F; Salah, M; Shaaban, M

1990-01-01

In 1986-87, a qualitative research project was conducted in the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Indonesia, and Thailand to expand understanding of the acceptability of NORPLANT contraceptive implants beyond inferences made on the basis of continuation rates. In each of the four study sites, focus group discussions or in-depth interviews were held with potential acceptors, current NORPLANT users, discontinuers, husbands of women in these three groups, and service providers. Nonclinical participants generally had little formal education and lived primarily in urban or semi-urban areas where NORPLANT has been available for at least five years. The study focused on attitudes, perceptions, and experiences of each group regarding NORPLANT implants. Results suggest that factors having an impact on the acceptability of NORPLANT implants fall into three general categories: medical/technical, cultural/religious, and informational/educational. This article discusses each of these categories, including programmatic implications of the findings, and puts forward recommendations for enhancing NORPLANT introduction efforts on the basis of these findings.

An analysis of eco-environmental impacts of the south-to-north water transfer project on the receiving areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lin; Gan, Hong; Xiao, Yuquan; You, Jinjun

2010-05-01

The receiving areas of the Phase I projects of the eastern and central routes of the South-to-North Water Transfer Project cover 41 administrative regions at and above the prefecture level in the provincial level administrative regions of Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong and Henan, and have a carrying capacity of water resources most unadaptive to the needs by the economic and social development. Those areas have densely distributed population, farmland and agricultural and industrial activities and are experiencing rapid urbanization, but suffer from high scarcity of water resources, with all the cities in the areas seeing water shortage to a varying extent. Most of the cities are relying on abstracting deep groundwater and occupying agricultural water for urban water supply. In December 2002, the State Council officially approved the General Plan on the South-to-North Water Transfer Project, which provides multiple measures to reduce groundwater over-abstraction and improve and gradually restore the eco-environment in the receiving areas by using transferred water to replace the agricultural water occupied by urban water supply and the eco-environmental water occupied by cities and agriculture. What changes have occurred to the eco-environment and urban water use in the receiving areas in recent years ? How much water can be returned from the cities to agriculture and ecology after the objectives of water supply are met? What can be achieved in the control of groundwater abstraction? What level of guarantee can the water transfer provide for agricultural water use in a dry year? All of those issues have been at the focus of public attention. In this paper, statistical analysis is made on the eco-environmental status and urban water use of 72 cities in the receiving areas of the Phase I projects since year 2000 and a conclusion is drawn that the renewal capacity of the eco-environment and groundwater in the receiving areas is deteriorating. Then the water balancing method is used to quantitatively analyze the roles of the Phase I projects in improving the eco-environment in the receiving areas from the angles of alleviation of drought severity, replacement of local source water supply, reduction of groundwater abstraction, replacement of agricultural water occupied by urban water supply, increase of agricultural and ecological water use by water transfer, etc. The results show that the Phase I projects have produced significant impacts on the improvement of urban water supply and agricultural eco-environment in the receiving areas, but cannot fundamentally solve the groundwater over-abstraction problem, and water saving, water transfer and pollution control need to be implemented simultaneously in order to fully tap the benefits of the Phase I projects.

Rural vs urban hospital performance in a 'competitive' public health service.

PubMed

Garcia-Lacalle, Javier; Martin, Emilio

2010-09-01

In some western countries, market-driven reforms to improve efficiency and quality have harmed the performance of some hospitals, occasionally leading to their closure, mostly in rural areas. This paper seeks to explore whether these reforms affect urban and rural hospitals differently in a European health service. Rural and urban hospital performance is compared taking into account their efficiency and perceived quality. The study is focused on the Andalusian Health Service (SAS) in Spain, which has implemented a freedom of hospital choice policy and a reimbursement system based on hospital performance. Data Envelopment Analysis, the Mann-Whitney U test and Multidimensional Scaling techniques are conducted for two years, 2003 and 2006. The results show that rural and urban hospitals perform similarly in the efficiency dimension, whereas rural hospitals perform significantly better than urban hospitals in the patient satisfaction dimension. When the two dimensions are considered jointly, some rural hospitals are found to be the best performers. As such, market-driven reforms do not necessary result in a difference in the performance of rural and urban hospitals. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Urbane Hydrogeologie - Herausforderungen für Forschung und Praxis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schirmer, M.; Strauch, G.; Reinstorf, F.; Schirmer, K.

2007-09-01

Urban areas are a focus of increasing conflict with regard to water use and water protection. Half of the world’s population and about 73 % of Europeans live in cities. Currently, about 82 % of the total population growth of the world occurs in the cities of the developing countries (UN 2004). As a direct and/or indirect consequence of human activity, urban water systems are frequently polluted with organic contaminants. Many of these contaminants are related to human behaviour and activity, such as pharmaceuticals, personal care products (collectively PPCPs) and endocrine-active substances, and are increasingly found in urban water systems. However, the behaviour and the effects of these contaminants in the environment have been widely unknown until now. Consequently, it is important to pay more attention to such substances and to explore new integrated methodologies (including flux calculations as well as chemical and biological investigations) for determining the impact of human activities on urban water systems and on processes within the urban watershed. The overall goal is to assess the risks to humans and the ecosystem, and to support the development of suitable management strategies.

Mapping urban geology of the city of Girona, Catalonia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vilà, Miquel; Torrades, Pau; Pi, Roser; Monleon, Ona

2016-04-01

A detailed and systematic geological characterization of the urban area of Girona has been conducted under the project '1:5000 scale Urban geological map of Catalonia' of the Catalan Geological Survey (Institut Cartogràfic i Geològic de Catalunya). The results of this characterization are organized into: i) a geological information system that includes all the information acquired; ii) a stratigraphic model focused on identification, characterization and correlation of the geological materials and structures present in the area and; iii) a detailed geological map that represents a synthesis of all the collected information. The mapping project integrates in a GIS environment pre-existing cartographic documentation (geological and topographical), core data from compiled boreholes, descriptions of geological outcrops within the urban network and neighbouring areas, physico-chemical characterisation of representative samples of geological materials, detailed geological mapping of Quaternary sediments, subsurface bedrock and artificial deposits and, 3D modelling of the main geological surfaces. The stratigraphic model is structured in a system of geological units that from a chronostratigrafic point of view are structured in Palaeozoic, Paleogene, Neogene, Quaternary and Anthropocene. The description of the geological units is guided by a systematic procedure. It includes the main lithological and structural features of the units that constitute the geological substratum and represents the conceptual base of the 1:5000 urban geological map of the Girona metropolitan area, which is organized into 6 map sheets. These map sheets are composed by a principal map, geological cross sections and, several complementary maps, charts and tables. Regardless of the geological map units, the principal map also represents the main artificial deposits, features related to geohistorical processes, contours of outcrop areas, information obtained in stations, borehole data, and contour lines of the top of the pre-Quaternary basement surface. The most representative complementary maps are the quaternary map, the subsurface bedrock map and the isopach map of thickness of superficial deposits (Quaternary and anthropogenic). The map sheets also include charts and tables of relevant physic-chemical parameters of the geological materials, harmonized downhole lithological columns from selected boreholes, stratigraphic columns, and, photographs and figures illustrating the geology of the mapped area and how urbanization has changed the natural environment. The development of systematic urban geological mapping projects, such as the example of Girona's case, which provides valuable resources to address targeted studies related to urban planning, geoengineering works, soil pollution and other important environmental issues that society should deal with in the future.

Microbial Community Patterns Associated with Automated Teller Machine Keypads in New York City

PubMed Central

Maritz, Julia M.; Luong, Albert

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT In densely populated urban environments, the distribution of microbes and the drivers of microbial community assemblages are not well understood. In sprawling metropolitan habitats, the “urban microbiome” may represent a mix of human-associated and environmental taxa. Here we carried out a baseline study of automated teller machine (ATM) keypads in New York City (NYC). Our goal was to describe the biodiversity and biogeography of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes in an urban setting while assessing the potential source of microbial assemblages on ATM keypads. Microbial swab samples were collected from three boroughs (Manhattan, Queens, and Brooklyn) during June and July 2014, followed by generation of Illumina MiSeq datasets for bacterial (16S rRNA) and eukaryotic (18S rRNA) marker genes. Downstream analysis was carried out in the QIIME pipeline, in conjunction with neighborhood metadata (ethnicity, population, age groups) from the NYC Open Data portal. Neither the 16S nor 18S rRNA datasets showed any clustering patterns related to geography or neighborhood demographics. Bacterial assemblages on ATM keypads were dominated by taxonomic groups known to be associated with human skin communities (Actinobacteria, Bacteroides, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria), although SourceTracker analysis was unable to identify the source habitat for the majority of taxa. Eukaryotic assemblages were dominated by fungal taxa as well as by a low-diversity protist community containing both free-living and potentially pathogenic taxa (Toxoplasma, Trichomonas). Our results suggest that ATM keypads amalgamate microbial assemblages from different sources, including the human microbiome, eukaryotic food species, and potentially novel extremophilic taxa adapted to air or surfaces in the built environment. DNA obtained from ATM keypads may thus provide a record of both human behavior and environmental sources of microbes. IMPORTANCE Automated teller machine (ATM) keypads represent a specific and unexplored microhabitat for microbial communities. Although the number of built environment and urban microbial ecology studies has expanded greatly in recent years, the majority of research to date has focused on mass transit systems, city soils, and plumbing and ventilation systems in buildings. ATM surfaces, potentially retaining microbial signatures of human inhabitants, including both commensal taxa and pathogens, are interesting from both a biodiversity perspective and a public health perspective. By focusing on ATM keypads in different geographic areas of New York City with distinct population demographics, we aimed to characterize the diversity and distribution of both prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes, thus making a unique contribution to the growing body of work focused on the “urban microbiome.” In New York City, the surface area of urban surfaces in Manhattan far exceeds the geographic area of the island itself. We have only just begun to describe the vast array of microbial taxa that are likely to be present across diverse types of urban habitats. PMID:27904880

Studying the nutritional beliefs and food practices of Malagasy school children parents. A contribution to the understanding of malnutrition in Madagascar.

PubMed

Ramaroson Rakotosamimanana, Vonimihaingo; Arvisenet, Gaëlle; Valentin, Dominique

2014-10-01

Madagascar is severely affected by the problem of children malnutrition. The present study aimed at exploring school children Malagasy parents' food practices and beliefs structures about the nutritional value of foods, to better understand the causes of this malnutrition. A combination of Focus Groups (72 participants), and questionnaires (1000 interviewees) was used to evaluate the food beliefs and the nutritional habits of low income parents of school age children in urban and rural areas of Antananarivo and Antsiranana. The respondents' beliefs were shown to focus not only on the nutrient and energetic composition of food, but also to involve more general relations between food and health and particularly the sanitary properties of food. Compared with such sanitary properties, nutrient content was not considered to be the priority in food choice and food preparation. The food category considered to be the most nutritive was cereals, ahead of protein foods, or vegetables and fruit. Nutritional beliefs were not the same in the Antananarivo and Antsiranana areas, nor between urban and rural areas of Antsiranana. Different socio-economic contexts, food availability and information may explain these differences. This study could guide actors involved in nutrition promotion to adapt to specific areas their nutrition programmes in the fight against malnutrition. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Use of Remotely Sensed Data to Evaluate the Relationship between Living Environment and Blood Pressure

PubMed Central

Estes, Maurice G.; Al-Hamdan, Mohammad Z.; Crosson, William; Estes, Sue M.; Quattrochi, Dale; Kent, Shia; McClure, Leslie Ain

2009-01-01

Background Urbanization has been correlated with hypertension (HTN) in developing countries undergoing rapid economic and environmental transitions. Objectives We examined the relationships among living environment (urban, suburban, and rural), day/night land surface temperatures (LST), and blood pressure in selected regions from the REasons for Geographic and Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort. Also, the linking of data on blood pressure from REGARDS with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) science data is relevant to NASA’s strategic goals and missions, particularly as a primary focus of the agency’s Applied Sciences Program. Methods REGARDS is a national cohort of 30,228 people from the 48 contiguous United States with self-reported and measured blood pressure levels. Four metropolitan regions (Philadelphia, PA; Atlanta, GA; Minneapolis, MN; and Chicago, IL) with varying geographic and health characteristics were selected for study. Satellite remotely sensed data were used to characterize the LST and land cover/land use (LCLU) environment for each area. We developed a method for characterizing participants as living in urban, suburban, or rural living environments, using the LCLU data. These data were compiled on a 1-km grid for each region and linked with the REGARDS data via an algorithm using geocoding information. Results REGARDS participants in urban areas have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure than do those in suburban or rural areas, and also a higher incidence of HTN. In univariate models, living environment is associated with HTN, but after adjustment for known HTN risk factors, the relationship was no longer present. Conclusion Further study regarding the relationship between HTN and living environment should focus on additional environmental characteristics, such as air pollution. The living environment classification method using remotely sensed data has the potential to facilitate additional research linking environmental variables to public health concerns. PMID:20049200

Coastal Floods: Urban Planning as a Resilience System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diez Gonzalez, J. J.; Esteban, M. D.; Monnot, J. V.; López Gutiérrez, J. S.; Negro Valdecantos, V.; Calderón, E. J.; Márquez Paniagua, P.; Silvestre, J. M.

2012-04-01

Despite some research efforts can be found across the literature, FRe system (Flood resilient system) is still a vaguely defined concept. Therefore, a comprehensive presentation of existing FRe systems would provide valuable contribution in order to illuminate objects laying behind this term. A systematical literature review scanning existing FRe objects will submerge us in a melting pot involving an extremely wide and heterogeneous range of elements like land planning, opening barriers, river channeling, rain forecasting… Carrying out an analyze of the resulting matter and focusing on the nature and spatial range of application of each element, a FRe objects comprehensive typology will be sorted out, leading into the end to a better understanding of the ways human societies can improve their resilience against floods. Coastal areas have been characterized by an urban expansion due mainly to the increase and displacement of the population, being this process highly increasing during the last century. On the other hand, climate has been changing leading to the increase of coastal floods, through both sea level rise and several meteorological phenomena accentuation. And also, other longer term local/regional coastal changes, most occasionally favoring floods, interfere leading to more frequent and intense flood risks and damages. As "living with floods" became an objective in many coastal cities, the previous clas-sification will be put into practice focusing on one particular FRe system scale: Urban Flood Resilience. This resilience can be achieved by means of planning procedures and building infrastructures, but in many cases these measures cannot be enough, having to be complemented with different technologies and systems. With suitable applications, Flood Resilience Systems substantially reduce damages, costs and health impacts associated with flood hazards. The importance of the urban planning as a Flood Resilience System in coastal areas will be analyzed in the research project FP7 - SMARTEST by means of different cases study: cold drop floods (Valencia 1776, 1957 and 1982; and Murcia, 1879 and 1997), hurricanes on Caribbean and western North-Atlantic areas, or to typhoons.

The foodscape: classification and field validation of secondary data sources across urban/rural and socio-economic classifications in England

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background In recent years, alongside the exponential increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity, there has been a change in the food environment (foodscape). This research focuses on methods used to measure and classify the foodscape. This paper describes the foodscape across urban/rural and socio-economic divides. It examines the validity of a database of food outlets obtained from Local Authority sources (secondary level & desk based), across urban/rural and socio-economic divides by conducting fieldwork (ground-truthing). Additionally this paper tests the efficacy of using a desk based classification system to describe food outlets, compared with ground-truthing. Methods Six geographically defined study areas were purposively selected within North East England consisting of two Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs; a small administrative geography) each. Lists of food outlets were obtained from relevant Local Authorities (secondary level & desk based) and fieldwork (ground-truthing) was conducted. Food outlets were classified using an existing tool. Positive predictive values (PPVs) and sensitivity analysis was conducted to explore validation of secondary data sources. Agreement between 'desk' and 'field' based classifications of food outlets were assessed. Results There were 438 food outlets within all study areas; the urban low socio-economic status (SES) area had the highest number of total outlets (n = 210) and the rural high SES area had the least (n = 19). Differences in the types of outlets across areas were observed. Comparing the Local Authority list to fieldwork across the geographical areas resulted in a range of PPV values obtained; with the highest in urban low SES areas (87%) and the lowest in Rural mixed SES (79%). While sensitivity ranged from 95% in the rural mixed SES area to 60% in the rural low SES area. There were no significant associations between field/desk percentage agreements across any of the divides. Conclusion Despite the relatively small number of areas, this work furthers our understanding of the validity of using secondary data sources to identify and classify the foodscape in a variety of geographical settings. While classification of the foodscape using secondary Local Authority food outlet data with information obtained from the internet, is not without its difficulties, desk based classification would be an acceptable alternative to fieldwork, although it should be used with caution. PMID:22472206

Health and health-related indicators in slum, rural, and urban communities: a comparative analysis.

PubMed

Mberu, Blessing U; Haregu, Tilahun Nigatu; Kyobutungi, Catherine; Ezeh, Alex C

2016-01-01

It is generally assumed that urban slum residents have worse health status when compared with other urban populations, but better health status than their rural counterparts. This belief/assumption is often because of their physical proximity and assumed better access to health care services in urban areas. However, a few recent studies have cast doubt on this belief. Whether slum dwellers are better off, similar to, or worse off as compared with rural and other urban populations remain poorly understood as indicators for slum dwellers are generally hidden in urban averages. The aim of this study was to compare health and health-related indicators among slum, rural, and other urban populations in four countries where specific efforts have been made to generate health indicators specific to slum populations. We conducted a comparative analysis of health indicators among slums, non-slums, and all urban and rural populations as well as national averages in Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, and India. We triangulated data from demographic and health surveys, urban health surveys, and special cross-sectional slum surveys in these countries to assess differences in health indicators across the residential domains. We focused the comparisons on child health, maternal health, reproductive health, access to health services, and HIV/AIDS indicators. Within each country, we compared indicators for slums with non-slum, city/urban averages, rural, and national indicators. Between-country differences were also highlighted. In all the countries, except India, slum children had much poorer health outcomes than children in all other residential domains, including those in rural areas. Childhood illnesses and malnutrition were higher among children living in slum communities compared to those living elsewhere. Although treatment seeking was better among slum children as compared with those in rural areas, this did not translate to better mortality outcomes. They bear a disproportionately much higher mortality burden than those living elsewhere. Slum communities had higher coverage of maternal health services than rural communities but it was not possible to compare maternal mortality rates across these residential domains. Compared to rural areas, slum communities had lower fertility and higher contraceptive use rates but these differences were reversed when slums were compared to other urban populations. Slum-rural differences in infant mortality were found to be larger in Bangladesh compared to Kenya. Mortality and morbidity indicators were worse in slums than elsewhere. However, indicators of access to care and health service coverage were found to be better in slums than in rural communities.

Health and health-related indicators in slum, rural, and urban communities: a comparative analysis

PubMed Central

Mberu, Blessing U.; Haregu, Tilahun Nigatu; Kyobutungi, Catherine; Ezeh, Alex C.

2016-01-01

Background It is generally assumed that urban slum residents have worse health status when compared with other urban populations, but better health status than their rural counterparts. This belief/assumption is often because of their physical proximity and assumed better access to health care services in urban areas. However, a few recent studies have cast doubt on this belief. Whether slum dwellers are better off, similar to, or worse off as compared with rural and other urban populations remain poorly understood as indicators for slum dwellers are generally hidden in urban averages. Objective The aim of this study was to compare health and health-related indicators among slum, rural, and other urban populations in four countries where specific efforts have been made to generate health indicators specific to slum populations. Design We conducted a comparative analysis of health indicators among slums, non-slums, and all urban and rural populations as well as national averages in Bangladesh, Kenya, Egypt, and India. We triangulated data from demographic and health surveys, urban health surveys, and special cross-sectional slum surveys in these countries to assess differences in health indicators across the residential domains. We focused the comparisons on child health, maternal health, reproductive health, access to health services, and HIV/AIDS indicators. Within each country, we compared indicators for slums with non-slum, city/urban averages, rural, and national indicators. Between-country differences were also highlighted. Results In all the countries, except India, slum children had much poorer health outcomes than children in all other residential domains, including those in rural areas. Childhood illnesses and malnutrition were higher among children living in slum communities compared to those living elsewhere. Although treatment seeking was better among slum children as compared with those in rural areas, this did not translate to better mortality outcomes. They bear a disproportionately much higher mortality burden than those living elsewhere. Slum communities had higher coverage of maternal health services than rural communities but it was not possible to compare maternal mortality rates across these residential domains. Compared to rural areas, slum communities had lower fertility and higher contraceptive use rates but these differences were reversed when slums were compared to other urban populations. Slum–rural differences in infant mortality were found to be larger in Bangladesh compared to Kenya. Conclusion Mortality and morbidity indicators were worse in slums than elsewhere. However, indicators of access to care and health service coverage were found to be better in slums than in rural communities. PMID:27924741

A spatially distributed model for assessment of the effects of changing land use and climate on urban stream quality: Development of a Spatially Distributed Urban Water Quality Model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sun, Ning; Yearsley, John; Baptiste, Marisa

While the effects of land use change in urban areas have been widely examined, the combined effects of climate and land use change on the quality of urban and urbanizing streams have received much less attention. We describe a modeling framework that is applicable to the evaluation of potential changes in urban water quality and associated hydrologic changes in response to ongoing climate and landscape alteration. The grid-based spatially distributed model, DHSVM-WQ, is an outgrowth of the Distributed Hydrology-Soil-Vegetation Model (DHSVM) that incorporates modules for assessing hydrology and water quality in urbanized watersheds at a high spatial and temporal resolution.more » DHSVM-WQ simulates surface runoff quality and in-stream processes that control the transport of nonpoint-source (NPS) pollutants into urban streams. We configure DHSVM-WQ for three partially urbanized catchments in the Puget Sound region to evaluate the water quality responses to current conditions and projected changes in climate and/or land use over the next century. Here we focus on total suspended solids (TSS) and total phosphorus (TP) from nonpoint sources (runoff), as well as stream temperature. The projection of future land use is characterized by a combination of densification in existing urban or partially urban areas, and expansion of the urban footprint. The climate change scenarios consist of individual and concurrent changes in temperature and precipitation. Future precipitation is projected to increase in winter and decrease in summer, while future temperature is projected to increase throughout the year. Our results show that urbanization has a much greater effect than climate change on both the magnitude and seasonal variability of streamflow, TSS and TP loads largely due to substantially increased streamflow, and particularly winter flow peaks. Water temperature is more sensitive to climate warming scenarios than to urbanization and precipitation changes. Future urbanization and climate change together are predicted to significantly increase annual mean streamflow (up to 55%), water temperature (up to 1.9 ºC), TSS load (up to 182%), and TP load (up to 74%).« less

Urbanisation, urbanicity, and health: a systematic review of the reliability and validity of urbanicity scales.

PubMed

Cyril, Sheila; Oldroyd, John C; Renzaho, Andre

2013-05-28

Despite a plethora of studies examining the effect of increased urbanisation on health, no single study has systematically examined the measurement properties of scales used to measure urbanicity. It is critical to distinguish findings from studies that use surrogate measures of urbanicity (e.g. population density) from those that use measures rigorously tested for reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to assess the measurement reliability and validity of the available urbanicity scales and identify areas where more research is needed to facilitate the development of a standardised measure of urbanicity. Databases searched were MEDLINE with Full Text, CINAHL with Full Text, and PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) as well as Embase (Ovid) covering the period from January 1970 to April 2012. Studies included in this systematic review were those that focused on the development of an urbanicity scale with clearly defined items or the adoption of an existing scale, included at least one outcome measure related to health, published in peer-reviewed journals, the full text was available in English and tested for validity and reliability. Eleven studies met our inclusion criteria which were conducted in Sri Lanka, Austria, China, Nigeria, India and Philippines. They ranged in size from 3327 to 33,404 participants. The number of scale items ranged from 7 to 12 items in 5 studies. One study measured urban area socioeconomic disadvantage instead of urbanicity. The emerging evidence is that increased urbanisation is associated with deleterious health outcomes. It is possible that increased urbanisation is also associated with access and utilisation of health services. However, urbanicity measures differed across studies, and the reliability and validity properties of the used scales were not well established. There is an urgent need for studies to standardise measures of urbanicity. Longitudinal cohort studies to confirm the relationship between increased urbanisation and health outcomes are urgently needed.

Urbanisation, urbanicity, and health: a systematic review of the reliability and validity of urbanicity scales

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Despite a plethora of studies examining the effect of increased urbanisation on health, no single study has systematically examined the measurement properties of scales used to measure urbanicity. It is critical to distinguish findings from studies that use surrogate measures of urbanicity (e.g. population density) from those that use measures rigorously tested for reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to assess the measurement reliability and validity of the available urbanicity scales and identify areas where more research is needed to facilitate the development of a standardised measure of urbanicity. Methods Databases searched were MEDLINE with Full Text, CINAHL with Full Text, and PsycINFO (EBSCOhost) as well as Embase (Ovid) covering the period from January 1970 to April 2012. Studies included in this systematic review were those that focused on the development of an urbanicity scale with clearly defined items or the adoption of an existing scale, included at least one outcome measure related to health, published in peer-reviewed journals, the full text was available in English and tested for validity and reliability. Results Eleven studies met our inclusion criteria which were conducted in Sri Lanka, Austria, China, Nigeria, India and Philippines. They ranged in size from 3327 to 33,404 participants. The number of scale items ranged from 7 to 12 items in 5 studies. One study measured urban area socioeconomic disadvantage instead of urbanicity. The emerging evidence is that increased urbanisation is associated with deleterious health outcomes. It is possible that increased urbanisation is also associated with access and utilisation of health services. However, urbanicity measures differed across studies, and the reliability and validity properties of the used scales were not well established. Conclusion There is an urgent need for studies to standardise measures of urbanicity. Longitudinal cohort studies to confirm the relationship between increased urbanisation and health outcomes are urgently needed. PMID:23714282