Hasil untuk "Cities. Urban geography"

Andrew Newman

Paris is the capital city of France and center of the Île-de-France region, Europe’s second-largest urban agglomeration. Paris is a globally important hub for finance, education, culture, and the arts, and by some measures it is the world’s most visited international tourist destination. The city’s importance for the field of urban studies is due primarily to (a) its present significance as a global city, and, to a greater extent, (b) its historical importance as a place where a particular version of modernity emerged that, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, would heavily influence the design and cultural landscapes of cities around the world. For this reason, the urban history of Paris exerts a broad influence in the fields of planning, geography, and architectural history, as well as in public health, the history of science and technology, art history, and literature. Indeed, research on Paris stands out among other cities for the degree to which scholars in the humanities have sought to engage with urban issues. This is due to the fact that a large proportion of the artistic and cultural output associated with Paris ruminates about the nature of urban life itself. This bibliography has been written for a broad Anglophone readership; it therefore privileges scholarship in English. English translations of important French works have been supplied wherever possible. However, in an effort to balance accessibility with rigor, some French-language scholarship is included as well. In several cases, English-language publications by prominent French scholars have been supplied that may not be the best representation of these scholars’ work, but such citations will nevertheless serve to introduce these important figures to an Anglophone audience. Readers should be warned that the small number of French-language citations included here are far from comprehensive, and are primarily intended to round out the bibliography for those Anglophone scholars who read French. The bibliography is organized under the three broad headings: Historicizing Modernity, Linking Past and Present, and Contemporary Paris. The logic for this structure is based on that notion that distinguishing between urban history and contemporary urban studies will be convenient for many readers. However, some of the best work on Paris combines past and present, and a great deal of contemporary work is most engaging when placed in dialogue with the city’s history, and vice versa.

Michael Batty

Abstract Artificial Intelligence (AI) is entirely coincident with the emergence of the digital computer. It was assumed from the start, some 75 years ago, that the computer had more than the required power to simulate human intelligence. This led to the speculation that ultimately computers would take over many of our own tasks which we once considered could never be modelled using machines. Here, we sketch the history and evolution of AI, note the different phases in this history, define distinctions between strong and weak AI, and emphasise the difference between generative and discriminative processes. There are many possible applications in city planning with the most suggestive and possibly the most disruptive being those related to the development of new methods for generating sustainable plans and designs. We make a key distinction between inductive and deductive AI, demonstrating these differences with methods of machine learning (ML), showing how early network methods based on the perceptron, can be linked to deductive procedures that enable us to build new models for city design. Our key illustration links urban simulation models to land cover built around geospatial data infused with ML. The aim of this paper is to chart the progress in AI and its applicability to city science and city planning from its first applications and speculate on future developments.

Vincent van Vliet, Menno van den Hout, Eduward Tangdiongga et al.

Free-space optical communication links can enable high-capacity wireless connectivity in urban areas. We discuss the feasibility, challenges, and recent developments for high-capacity urban free-space optical links at kilometer scale.

Rui Liu, Steven Jige Quan, Zhong-Ren Peng et al.

As cities evolve over time, challenges such as traffic congestion and functional imbalance increasingly necessitate urban renewal through efficient modification of existing plans, rather than complete re-planning. In practice, even minor urban changes require substantial manual effort to redraw geospatial layouts, slowing the iterative planning and decision-making procedure. Motivated by recent advances in agentic systems and multimodal reasoning, we formulate urban renewal as a machine-executable task that iteratively modifies existing urban plans represented in structured geospatial formats. More specifically, we represent urban layouts using GeoJSON and decompose natural-language editing instructions into hierarchical geometric intents spanning polygon-, line-, and point-level operations. To coordinate interdependent edits across spatial elements and abstraction levels, we propose a hierarchical agentic framework that jointly performs multi-level planning and execution with explicit propagation of intermediate spatial constraints. We further introduce an iterative execution-validation mechanism that mitigates error accumulation and enforces global spatial consistency during multi-step editing. Extensive experiments across diverse urban editing scenarios demonstrate significant improvements in efficiency, robustness, correctness, and spatial validity over existing baselines.

Ayyoob Sharifi, Melika Amirzadeh, Amir Reza Khavarian-Garmsir

Abstract Amidst rapid advancements in artificial intelligence and smart city technologies, this paper argues that the Metaverse, as a virtual form of smart cities, offers the potential to advance Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly in education, innovation, and sustainable urban development. However, goals related to inequality reduction and climate action are underrepresented. We argue that the Metaverse holds transformative potential to advance the SDGs, but its trade-offs for equality and environmental sustainability must be carefully considered. This requires adopting ethical and inclusive governance frameworks that are based on systems thinking.

Devashish Khulbe, Stanislav Sobolevsky

Delineating areas within metropolitan regions stands as an important focus among urban researchers, shedding light on the urban perimeters shaped by evolving population dynamics. Applications to urban science are numerous, from facilitating comparisons between delineated districts and administrative divisions to informing policymakers of the shifting economic and labor landscapes. In this study, we propose using commute networks sourced from the census for the purpose of urban delineation, by modeling them with a Graph Neural Network (GNN) architecture. We derive low-dimensional representations of granular urban areas (nodes) using GNNs. Subsequently, nodes' embeddings are clustered to identify spatially cohesive communities in urban areas. Our experiments across the U.S. demonstrate the effectiveness of network embeddings in capturing significant socioeconomic disparities between communities in various cities, particularly in factors such as median household income. The role of census mobility data in regional delineation is also noted, and we establish the utility of GNNs in urban community detection, as a powerful alternative to existing methods in this domain. The results offer insights into the wider effects of commute networks and their use in building meaningful representations of urban regions.

Mirko Degli Esposti, Armando Bazzani, Chiara Dellacasa et al.

This paper introduces a scalable methodology for the objective analysis of quality metrics across six major Italian metropolitan areas: Rome, Bologna, Florence, Milan, Naples, and Palermo. Leveraging georeferenced Street View imagery and an advanced Urban Vision Intelligence system, we systematically classify the visual environment, focusing on key metrics such as the Pavement Condition Index (PCI) and the Façade Degradation Score (FDS). The findings quantify Structural Heterogeneity (Spatial Variance), revealing significant quality dispersion (e.g., Milan $σ^2_{\mathrm{PCI}}=1.52$), and confirm that the classical Urban Gradient -- quality variation as a function of distance from the core -- is consistently weak across all sampled cities ($R^2 < 0.03$), suggesting a complex, polycentric, and fragmented morphology. In addition, a Cross-Metric Correlation Analysis highlights stable but modest interdependencies among visual dimensions, most notably a consistent positive association between façade quality and greenery ($ρ\approx 0.35$), demonstrating that structural and contextual urban qualities co-vary in weak yet interpretable ways. Together, these results underscore the diagnostic potential of Vision Intelligence for capturing the integrated spatial and morphological structure of Italian cities and motivate a large national-scale analysis.

Filippo Marchesani, Francesca Masciarelli, Andrea Bikfalvi

The rise of smart cities represents a significant trend in urban development. However, only in recent years has attention shifted toward the international promotion of these cities. Despite ongoing academic discussions on the impact of smart city development on urban environments, the global recognition of smart cities remains uncertain due to their multidisciplinary nature. To address this, we conducted a systematic literature review of articles published in top-tier peer-reviewed journals from 2008 to December 2021, offering a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature.

Gianandrea Lanzara, Matteo Santacesaria

Are there multiple equilibria in the spatial economy? This paper develops a unified framework that integrates systems of cities and regional models to address this question within a general geographic space. A key feature is the endogenous formation of commuting areas linking a continuum of residential locations to a finite set of potential business districts. Using tools from computational geometry and shape optimization, we derive sufficient conditions for the existence and uniqueness of spatial equilibria. For plausible parameter values, urban location is indeterminate, but, conditional on an urban system, city sizes are uniquely determined. The framework reconciles seemingly conflicting empirical findings on the role of geography and scale economies in shaping the spatial economy.

Rashid Mushkani

This position paper argues that embedding the legal "reasonable person" standard in municipal AI systems is essential for democratic and sustainable urban governance. As cities increasingly deploy artificial intelligence (AI) systems, concerns around equity, accountability, and normative legitimacy are growing. This paper introduces the Urban Reasonableness Layer (URL), a conceptual framework that adapts the legal "reasonable person" standard for supervisory oversight in municipal AI systems, including potential future implementations of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). Drawing on historical analogies, scenario mapping, and participatory norm-setting, we explore how legal and community-derived standards can inform AI decision-making in urban contexts. Rather than prescribing a fixed solution, the URL is proposed as an exploratory architecture for negotiating contested values, aligning automation with democratic processes, and interrogating the limits of technical alignment. Our key contributions include: (1) articulating the conceptual and operational architecture of the URL; (2) specifying participatory mechanisms for dynamic normative threshold-setting; (3) presenting a comparative scenario analysis of governance trajectories; and (4) outlining evaluation metrics and limitations. This work contributes to ongoing debates on urban AI governance by foregrounding pluralism, contestability, and the inherently political nature of socio-technical systems.

Cheng Chen, Geng Tian, Shaoxiang Qin et al.

Simulation of urban wind environments is crucial for urban planning, pollution control, and renewable energy utilization. However, the computational requirements of high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods make them impractical for real cities. To address these limitations, this study investigates the effectiveness of the Fourier Neural Operator (FNO) model in predicting flow fields under different wind directions and urban layouts. In this study, we investigate the effectiveness of the Fourier Neural Operator (FNO) model in predicting urban wind conditions under different wind directions and urban layouts. By training the model on velocity data from large eddy simulation data, we evaluate the performance of the model under different urban configurations and wind conditions. The results show that the FNO model can provide accurate predictions while significantly reducing the computational time by 99%. Our innovative approach of dividing the wind field into smaller spatial blocks for training improves the ability of the FNO model to capture wind frequency features effectively. The SDF data also provides important spatial building information, enhancing the model's ability to recognize physical boundaries and generate more realistic predictions. The proposed FNO approach enhances the AI model's generalizability for different wind directions and urban layouts.

Reyna Vergara González, Victor Hugo Torres-Preciado, Miguel Angel Díaz Carreño

La evaluación de la política monetaria sobre la actividad económica se ha enfocado al ámbito nacional sin considerar sus efectos a nivel regional. El objetivo de este documento es estimar los efectos que un incremento no previsto de la tasa de interés tendría sobre la producción regional en México para el periodo 2000-2019. Para ello, se emplea un modelo estructural de vectores autorregresivos (SVAR) en panel. Los resultados sugieren un efecto negativo y diferenciado sobre la producción regional. Este efecto se presenta a partir del segundo trimestre, después del aumento de la tasa de interés.

Abeer Mohammed Galal El_Deen

ظهرت أهمية استخدام تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات (ICT) في الخدمات التي تقدمها المدن لساكنيها خلال العقد الماضي خاصة في الدول المتقدمة، وقد ساهم ذلك في تطور مجتمعاتها ورفع مستوى كفاءة معيشتهم. امتد هذا الاتجاه وهو تحويل المدن وخدماتها إلى مدن "ذكية" إلى جميع الدول بما فيها الدول النامية. أظهرت الدراسات أن تكلفة البنية الأساسية الذكية المرتفعة قد تعيق استخدامها في الدول النامية والفقيرة أو أنه سيقتصر استخدامها على فئات محددة من المجتمع. وحيث أن هدف المدن الذكية هو تحسين جودة حياة المواطنين فكان هناك حاجة لدراسة أساليب أو حلول لتطبيق التكنولوجيا في الدول النامية بشكل يناسب ويحسن جودة حياة مجتمعاتها. تتبع الدولة المصرية حاليا سياسات تتوافق مع اتجاه المدن الذكية على المستوى العلمي والتطبيقي، فقد تم تجهيز بنية أساسية ذكية ببعض مدن الجيل الرابع، وكذلك وضعت خطط لتقديم بعض الخدمات باستخدام تكنولوجيا المعلومات والاتصالات بالمدن القائمة. وحيث أن مصر تصنف من الدول النامية، فكان من الواجب عمل دراسة لإمكانية استفادة جميع فئات المجتمع الحضري المصري من هذه الخدمات بل ورفع مستوى معيشته من خلالها. يقترح البحث بعض الحلول الاستراتيجية والإجرائية التي تمكّن حصول جميع فئات مجتمع المدينة المصرية على الخدمات الذكية وسبل حل مشاكله باستخدام التكنولوجيا، من خلال استنباط ايجابيات وسلبيات المدينة المصرية الذكية ومجتمعاتها، وكذلك دراسة بعض التجارب الدولية المشابهة للحالة المصرية في هذا الصدد، وباستشارة المتخصصين في المجالات ذات الصلة، يضع البحث أنسب الحلول لمجتمع المدينة المصرية وأكثرها قابلية للتطبيق. The importance of using (ICT) has emerged over the past decade, this has contributed in developing the societies and raise their quality of life, especially in developed countries. The transformation of cities and their services into "smart" has spread all over the world, including developing countries. Studies have shown that the high cost of smart infrastructure may either hinder its use in developing and poor countries or limit its use to specific levels of society. Therefore, there was a need to come up with solutions to apply new technologies in developing countries that suit and improve the quality of life of their societies. Egypt currently is setting policies in order to be executed in smart cities. Smart infrastructure has been equipped in some new cities, and some services were transformed to be smart in existing cities. Since Egypt is classified as a developing country, it was necessary to study the possibility of benefiting all levels of the Egyptian urban society from these services and raising their quality of life. The research suggests some strategic and procedural solutions that enable all levels of Egyptian cities communities to acquire the smart services and solve their problems using technology. By extracting the pros and cons of the Egyptian city and its communities, as well as studying some international experiences similar to the Egyptian case, that used technology to solve their citizens problems, in addition of consulting specialists in related fields, the research sets the most appropriate and applicable solutions for the Egyptian smart city that suit their communities.

Zeng Guanwen, Serok Nimrod, Lieberthal Efrat Blumenfeld et al.

We analyze the patterns of traffic jams in urban networks of five large cities and an urban agglomeration region in China using real data based on a recently developed jam tree model. This model focuses on the way traffic jams spread through a network of streets, where the first street that becomes congested represents the bottleneck of the jam. We extended the model by integrating additional realistic jam components into the model and find that, while the locations of traffic jams can vary significantly from day to day and hour to hour, the daily distribution of the costs associated with these jams follows a consistent pattern, i.e., a power law with similar exponents. This distribution pattern appears to hold not only for a given region on different days, but also for the same hours on different days. This daily pattern of exponent values for traffic jams can be used as a fingerprint for urban traffic, i.e., jam-prints. Our findings are useful for quantifying the reliability of urban traffic system, and for improving traffic management and control.

Jai G Singla

GNSS observations are carried out in static mode/ Differential global navigation satellite system (DGNSS) and dynamic mode / Real time Kinematics (RTK) mainly. RTK mode of observation is useful in case of navigation whereas in order to determine very precise positioning, static / DGNSS/ DGPS mode is recommended. In this study, we have examined the quality of DGNSS survey of an urban city in India over ~300 Ground Control Points. Survey is carried out in DGNSS mode with dual frequency mode. All the observations were recorded using GPS, GLONASS , Galileo and Beidu with GDOP values in the range of 1.4 to 2.5. Beidu was used in broadcast ephemeris mode whereas for other constellations, precise orbit ephemeris were obtained from International GNSS service (IGS) site as per the observation day and month. Further, all the data was post processed in the SW suite and positional and vertical accuracies of millimeter to few centimeter level were obtained. This paper describes the approach of Ground Control Point (GCP) identification, surveying, methodology, use of CORS network and data post-processing in order to achieve such a precise accuracies in the urban city.

Sebastian Dembski

Book review

Raine Mäntysalo

The paper critically reviews communicative and agonistic planning theories from the viewpoint of a systemic turn in deliberative democracy theory. While the approach reveals complementarities between the theories, it also argues that each theory is vulnerable to criticism because of an ‘institutional gap’. The theories are found to complement each other in addressing planning conflicts at different dimensions. Communicative planning theory deals with conflicts between different stakeholders’ interests in planning processes. Agonistic planning theory, in turn, concentrates on conflicts from a more ontological dimension, related to the (implicit) conflict between hegemonic and marginalized discourses and related identity-forming processes of inclusion and exclusion in planning policies and governance. The institutional gap of communicative planning theory is argued to reside in its focus on situational deliberation that largely ignores the institutional dimension of rules and norms of democratic conduct. Agonistic pluralism, in turn, does engage with the dimension of democratic institutions, but in an overly critical manner, making it difficult for agonistic planning theory to address the dynamic interplay between institutional reconfiguration and policy stabilization in planning. This is argued to be the institutional gap of agonistic planning theory. The paper calls for further work in the field of planning theory to incorporate a systemic approach to deliberative democracy and thereby tap into the dialectics of institutional and situational dimensions of planning.

I. Altman, M. M. Chemers

Yating Zhang, Bilal M. Ayyub, Juan F. Fung

Climate change can accelerate infrastructure deterioration in coastal areas because increased temperature and humidity can promote steel corrosion. This study (1) projects corrosion rate changes for reinforced concrete and steel structures in 223 coastal counties, (2) assesses the impact of corrosion rate changes on the useful life of structures, and (3) evaluates direct economic losses due to shortened useful life of highway bridges over the period 2000-2100. The results show that the useful life of concrete structures may decrease by 1.7-2.7% under the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 and decrease by 0.7-1.1% under RCP 4.5 by the end of the 21st century. The useful life of steel structures may decrease by 7.9-15.9% under RCP 8.5 and 3.3-6.7% under RCP 4.5. Concrete bridges may suffer an average loss of $6.5-11.7/m2 under RCP 8.5 and $3.3-16.5/m2 under RCP 4.5 due to shortened useful life. Steel bridges may suffer an average loss of $73.4-111.3/m2 under RCP 8.5 and $46.9-81.2/m2 under RCP 4.5. In both climate scenarios, 10% of counties may have negative losses and 10% of counties may have losses greater than $20 million due to corrosion rate changes for concrete and steel bridges. The results reveal the spatial difference of climate change impacts on infrastructural deterioration and suggest the importance of developing regional specific adaptation strategies.

Tsvetka STOENCHEVA

The present article aims at presenting the types of regional policy and through their comprehensive implementation to contribute to improving the living standard of the people. Regional policy in Bulgaria has its own peculiarities. They are the result of changes in the country's economic system in 1989. The institutions, economic and financial instruments for conducting an effective and efficient regional policy are indicated. The implementation of all types of regional policy are a prerequisite for the development of settlements and of cities in modern European in particular. Big cities are a driving force in the development of the European Union.