ObjectiveUrban areas are increasingly vulnerable to compound rainstorm and heatwave (CRH) disaster risks. Existing research primarily treats rainstorms and heatwaves as isolated risks, resulting in a limited understanding of CRH dynamics and insufficient mitigation strategies. While ecosystem-based disaster risk reduction (Eco-DRR) offers adaptive solutions for multiple disasters, its application to CRH remains underdeveloped. Key challenges include methodological gaps in CRH risk assessment and Eco-DRR application in the planning of disaster risk reduction.MethodsThis research develops a planning framework grounded in Eco-DRR theory to address CRH disaster risks. First, the research employs a risk assessment methodology driven by multi-source data to overcome the constraints of traditional single-disaster assessment approaches. The research utilizes daily precipitation and maximum temperature data from Shanghai meteorological stations (2011–2023) to identify CRH events using a maximum temporal interval criterion. Subsequently, disaster records of rainstorms and heatwaves within the event time window are extracted as target variables, while raster data of climatic, topographic, geomorphic, and hydrological influencing factors are derived using ENVI and ArcGIS tools as explanatory variables, forming CRH disaster datasets for training a random forest model. The datasets are partitioned into training and testing sets at a 7:3 ratio. The probability of disaster event occurrence is calculated on a grid-by-grid basis. Disaster risks are classified into high, medium, and low levels using the natural breaks classification method (Jenks), visualized for CRH risks on the ArcGIS platform, and ultimately integrated into a bivariate spatial distribution map through a compound risk matrix. Second, Eco-DRR principles are systematically integrated into territorial spatial planning systems to transition from reactive single-disaster mitigation to proactive resilience-driven strategies. The systematic integration of Eco-DRR theory into the aforesaid planning framework establishes an implementation logic of “risk assessment – planning objectives – support system – spatial configuration – management measures” across five core components. Based on the above, the research proposes the following specific pathways. 1) Resilience goal setting: Defining township/subdistrict-level risk zoning and Eco-DRR targets based on citywide compound risk assessment results. 2) Support system development: Constructing an Eco-DRR support system incorporating mitigation and adaptation strategies. 3) Spatial configuration optimization: Determining spatial allocation schemes for Eco-DRR support elements guided by risk assessment outcomes. 4) Hierarchical management implementation: Coordinating management needs for transition between routine and emergency states under the “risk types – spatial features – planning objectives – management hierarchy” framework. Third, horizontal coordination between ecological spaces and comprehensive disaster prevention systems mitigates fragmentation in existing planning frameworks, establishing a replicable model for multi-disaster, multi-system planning for disaster risk reduction. The Eco-DRR theoretical framework resolves conflicts between multiple planning systems by enabling horizontal coordination between ecological spaces and comprehensive disaster prevention planning. Specifically, Eco-DRR is deconstructed into “+ ecology” and “+ disaster prevention” strategies, with “+ ecology” integrated into comprehensive disaster prevention planning, while “+ disaster prevention” is embedded within ecological spatial planning. Eco-DRR’s mitigation and adaptation strategies are implemented, with coordinated ecological and disaster prevention plans serving as the basis for detailed planning.ResultsThe research adopts random forest models for analysis to identify CRH events and map their spatial distribution in Shanghai. Results show that CRH disasters predominantly occur between May and September, peaking during the plum rain season and summer months. Annual cumulative durations have increased, exceeding 70 days in the past three years. The high-risk zones for compound risks are concentrated in the central urban areas of Hongqiao, Minhang, and Chuansha districts in Shanghai, as well as surrounding new towns, exhibiting spatial characteristics of “central concentration, peripheral dispersion, and local aggregation”. The spatial distribution patterns of compound risks align with urban development trajectories, with pronounced “rain island” and “heat island” effects. Getis-Ord Gi* analysis reveals that risk hotspots (p<0.05) radiate outward from the urban core to surrounding suburban coldspots. Guided by Eco-DRR theory, dual planning interventions are operationalized: 1) “+ disaster prevention” ecological spatial planning optimization: Eco-DRR constraint indicators embodying the “+ disaster prevention” concept are integrated into Shanghai’s ecological spatial support system. High-risk compound CRH zones are identified as Eco-DRR nodes within the green network, restructuring the outer green belt and suburban green ring. Resilience-compatible zoning is applied based on risk levels. 2) “+ ecology” comprehensive disaster prevention planning optimization: Eco-DRR principles guide “+ ecology” disaster mitigation strategies, including restructuring disaster spaces (shelters, evacuation routes, and zoning) and optimizing safety patterns through risk zoning, route upgrades, and facility improvements. CRH risk zoning informs differentiated construction guidelines, with dual-purpose zoning for normal & emergency states.ConclusionThis research aligns with territorial spatial planning mandates to address CRH risks through Eco-DRR mitigation and adaptation strategies, establishing an integrated territorial spatial planning framework for disaster risk reduction. A random forest-based CRH risk assessment model is developed; empirical analysis is conducted in Shanghai to explore planning pathways under the Eco-DRR theory. District-specific resilience objectives are formulated for subdistricts and structured into “+ ecology” and “+ disaster prevention” strategies. This approach fosters horizontal coordination between ecological spaces and disaster mitigation systems, advancing Eco-DRR integration into territorial spatial planning for disaster risk reduction. The planning methodology provides a replicable framework for CRH mitigation and adaptation in eastern coastal cities. Future research should expand applications to diverse compound climate extremes, incorporate advanced modeling techniques for prediction, and deepen investigations into CRH dynamics and blue – green infrastructure effects.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
El problema de la vivienda en América Latina se ha agudizado con el paso de los años, debido a los altos costos de su adquisición, lo cual ha obligado a diversas poblaciones a participar en dinámicas económicas desfavorables a mediano y largo plazo. Como resultado, los proyectos nacionales de Estado han debido otorgar subsidios para facilitar la adquisición de vivienda, asociándose con el capital inmobiliario para garantizar un nivel mínimo de bienestar a los residentes. Sin embargo, en la mayoría de los casos, este propósito no se ve reflejado. Por ello, esta investigación tiene como objetivo analizar las condiciones habitacionales de la vivienda a la que accede la población de América Latina a través de proyectos de vivienda social, tomando como casos de estudio Hogares Soacha (Colombia), Ecatepec (México) y Residencial Bela Vista (Brasil). Este estudio se enmarca en una investigación holística empírica que comprende: primero, la revisión documental de los espacios en cuestión; segundo, la observación de los cambios; y, finalmente, el análisis de las transformaciones percibidas. Se interpreta el fenómeno de la vivienda social como un proceso inacabado, que no ha realizado los máximos esfuerzos para cumplir con los estándares mínimos de calidad en la vivienda.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology
Flávia Guerra, Sneha Roy, Lionel Muñoz Rosas
et al.
Abstract Cities are at the forefront of the climate crisis, requiring innovative approaches to foster sustainability transformations. Urban Labs offer a promising avenue for engaging diverse stakeholders and driving transformative change, yet the role of mindset shifts of people involved in these processes remains underexplored. This article presents a longitudinal study of five Urban Labs in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, examining how engagement in these participatory spaces can influence climate-related beliefs, perceptions and attitudes. Building on a multi-tiered analytical framework that combines quantitative survey data and qualitative interviews, we track the evolving mindsets of three stakeholder archetypes (personas)—Skeptical Activists, Optimist Technocrats and Bystanders with Mixed Feelings—over three transformation phases: Coalition building, visioning and co-design, and experimentation. Findings reveal that coalition building and co-design activities were particularly effective in fostering positive mindset shifts among Skeptical Activists and Bystanders, whereas experimentation resonated more with Optimist Technocrats. However, we also highlight the challenges of sustaining these changes in dynamic real-world settings. This research provides valuable lessons for researchers and practitioners seeking to design inclusive processes that build collective responsibility and resilience in addressing climate and related development challenges.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Cities. Urban geography
We live in an urban planet. As the world continues to urbanize, urban development that support the health and wellbeing of city dwellers is far more important than ever before to achieve sustainable development targets. This study explores the complex relationship among urban planning, city growth, and health as critical drivers of sustainable development in the rapidly growing nodal city of Akure, Nigeria. The study provides a four-decade spatio-temporal model of urban Land Use Land Cover (LULC) changes in Akure between the years 1984 and 2023 from acquired Landsat satellite imageries. The result shows more than 20% net change increase in developed LULC classes between the study years. A strong positive correlation exists between the years covered in the analyses and urban development (r = 0.93, p = 0.002), and a strong negative relationship with the forest land use (r = −0.94, p = 0.002) with potential debilitating impacts on residents’ health, green infrastructures and the city’s sustainability in the future. Furthermore, results of key informant interviews (KIIs) of officials of the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development (MPPUD) in Akure, Ondo State, unveil various views on the “place of health” in urban planning practices in Akure. A lack of synergy between urban planners and public health practitioners in the city and limiting scope of functions of urban planning on the impact of health in Akure were observed. Thus, we recommend the integration of a sustainable urban planning approach as a guide to manage the city.
I Ketut Sudiarta, I Gd Yudha Partama, I Ketut Arnawa
et al.
This study aims to analyse the ability of I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport to deal with catastrophic impacts brought by both earthquakes and tsunamis. It bases its analysis on twelve (12) indicators of earthquake and tsunami preparedness. It intends to develop strategies for dealing with these disasters to reduce the number of casualties. A questionnaire as its research instrument aided its data collection. The survey was carried out between a period of November – December 2022. The research is designed to combine qualitative and quantitative methods through a qualitative descriptive analysis approach, Likert analysis, SWOT and QSPM. The results show that I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport Disaster Management Strategies for earthquakes and tsunamis fall in an outstanding category. Furthermore, it is emphasised that as a priority, a strategy that needs to be implemented by I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport for earthquake and tsunami disaster mitigation is to strengthen disaster mitigation capabilities through twelve (12) earthquake and tsunami alert indicators by utilising advances in information technology. For future studies, it is hoped that new methods in disaster mitigation will be further explored.
Keywords: airport; mitigation; earthquake; tsunami; victim
Abstrak
Penelitian ini bertujuan menganalisis kemampuan Bandara I Gusti Ngurah Rai dalam menghadapi bencana gempa bumi dan tsunami berdasarkan 12 indikator siaga gempa dan tsunami serta menyusun strategi penanggulangan bencana tersebut agar tidak ada korban jiwa. Pengumpulan data menggunakan kuesioner sebagai instrumen penelitian dengan periode penelitian November – Desember 2022. Rancangan penelitian menggunakan kombinasi metode kualitatif dan kuantitatif, melalui pendekatan analisis deskriptif kualitatif, analisis Likert, SWOT dan QSPM. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kemampuan Bandara I Gusti Ngurah Rai dalam mitigasi bencana gempa bumi dan tsunami berada pada kategori sangat baik berdasarkan 12 indikator gempa bumi dan tsunami. Strategi prioritas yang dapat diimplementasikan Bandara I Gusti Ngurah Rai untuk mitigasi bencana gempa bumi dan tsunami adalah penguatan kemampuan mitigasi bencana gempa bumi dan tsunami melalui 12 indikator siaga gempa bumi dan tsunami dengan memanfaatkan kemajuan teknologi informasi. Untuk penelitian ke depan, diharapkan metode-metode baru akan dieksplorasi lebih lanjut.
Kata kunci: bandara; mitigasi; gempa bumi; tsunami; korban
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying
El urbanismo feminista es una disciplina crítica -denuncia las dinámicas urbanas patriarcales y capitalistas que desplazan a las mujeres de la ciudad- y productora -genera políticas, diseños y espacios que favorecen su participación y empoderamiento-, cuyos objetivos se han ampliado progresivamente mediante la incorporación de otras perspectivas, como la interseccionalidad, que atienden a la pluralidad de voces y experiencias excluidas de reivindicaciones previas. Para ello, las intervenciones con perspectiva feminista e interseccionalidad persiguen generar procesos participativos y espacios urbanos adecuados para colectivos segregados o invisibilizados, con especial atención a dimensión colectiva de los cuidados. Se han observado vínculos entre los objetivos y estrategias de Recetas Urbanas y los principios y la metodología del urbanismo feminista. La hipótesis de partida es si el proyecto y el proceso de construcción comunitaria del Centro Sociocomunitario, desarrollados en el asentamiento informal de la Cañada Real, convergen con los presupuestos y recursos del urbanismo feminista interseccional.
La metodología es un análisis crítico y cualitativo de la intervención en base a tres categorías de estudio -Objetivo de la Intervención, Metodología de intervención, Diseño de la intervención- desarrolladas para su evaluación con relación al urbanismo feminista. Los resultados revelan limitaciones en el proyecto -la planificación y el diseño del equipamiento- y el proceso constructivo -la implicación de la comunidad-. La conclusión extraída es que la intervención implementa, aunque con limitaciones, estrategias metodológicas y de diseño que se asemejan y convergen con los objetivos y métodos del urbanismo feminista con perspectiva interseccional.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Anthropology
Abstract South Africa’s major cities are periodically wracked by large-scale xenophobic violence directed at migrants and refugees from other countries. Informal sector businesses and their migrant owners and employees are particularly vulnerable targets during these attacks. Migrant-owned businesses are also targeted on a regular basis in smaller-scale looting and destruction of property. There is now a large literature on the characteristics and causes of xenophobic violence and attitudes in South Africa, most of it based on quantitative and qualitative research in the country’s major metropolitan areas. One of the consequences of big-city xenophobia has been a search for alternative markets and safer spaces by migrants, including relocating to the country’s many smaller urban centres. The question addressed in this paper is whether they are welcomed in these cities and towns or subject to the same kinds of victimization as in large cities. This paper is the first to systematically examine this question by focusing on a group of towns in Limpopo Province and the experiences of migrants in the informal sector there. Through survey evidence and in-depth interviews and focus groups with migrant and South African vendors, the paper demonstrates that xenophobia is also pervasive in these smaller centres, in ways that both echo and differ from that in the large cities. The findings in this paper have broader significance for other countries attempting to deal with the rise of xenophobia.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Cities. Urban geography
ResumenLa investigación tiene como propósito analizar si planeamiento tiene la capacidad de protección y preservación del suelo para disminuir el riesgo generado por los impulsores directos del cambio detectados por la Evaluación de Ecosistemas del Milenio y valorar adecuadamente los bienes-servicio facilitados por los ecosistemas para mejorar la resiliencia del territorio frente a la crisis ambiental actual. Dependemos de ecosistemas saludables y resilientes para continuar brindando servicios, como alimentos, agua o aire limpio esenciales para nuestro bienestar. Por ello, contar con una descripción general sobre la situación actual de los ecosistemas y las presiones humanas a las que están expuestos es muy importante. En este marco se hace imprescindible la adecuada valoración de los ecosistemas, sus aportes, riesgos y poder territorializar estas cuestiones. Por ello es fundamental la cartografía, no solo del planeamiento sino también de todos aquellos elementos que de algún modo pueden proporcionar información al planificador para razonar la protección y preservación del suelo de cara a aumentar la resiliencia de ese territorio. Se analiza la evolución de la caracterización del territorio en base a las diferentes coberturas que cinco proyectos cartográficos europeos como son Biotopos CORINE, CORINE Land Cover, EUNIS, MAES y SIOSE desde el punto de vista ecosistémico.AbstractThe research aims to analyse whether planning has the capacity for soil protection and preservation to reduce the risk generated by the direct drivers of change identified by the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and to value the ecosystem service goods provided by ecosystems to improve the resilience of the territory in the face of the current environmental crisis. We depend on healthy and resilient ecosystems to continue to provide services such as food, water or clean air that are essential for our well-being. Therefore, an overview of the current state of ecosystems and the human pressures to which they are exposed is especially important. Within this framework, it is essential to properly assess ecosystems, their contributions, risks and to be able to territorialise these issues. For this reason, mapping is fundamental, not only for planning but also for all those elements that in some way can provide information to the planner to reason the protection and preservation of the land with a view to increasing the resilience of that territory. The evolution of the characterisation of the territory is analysed based on the different coverages that five European mapping projects such as CORINE Biotopes, CORINE Land Cover, EUNIS, MAES and SIOSE from an ecosystemic point of view.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying
This paper examines the Management of Faecal Sludge and Septage in Urban Areas. Over 80% of all wastewater ends up going right away into ponds without treatment, which cannot be overlooked. In this context, FSSM alludes to a decentralised sludge and the septage management method that consists primarily of five components that comprise a faecal sludge value chain. In comparison to centralised sewerage systems, FSSM is the only affordable and sustainable technique that can be implemented quickly to make cities clean and healthy. Thus Ramdas, a fourth-class town, was chosen for study, and no systematic drainage facilities were built. Currently, the bulk of the town's houses rely on on-site sanitation systems such as septic tanks and pits to contain and partially treat generated black water. As a result, this town has been chosen to improve the existing sanitation conditions. It reveals that in the town 26 % of the household do not have septic tanks which are a main issue and 26% of the households are still practicing open defecation. Some houses have septic tanks, but are not well maintained and cleaned on time. Urgent attention is needed.
A zero-emission Europe by 2050, this is the objective declared by the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen during the plenary of the EU Parliament last January. The European “green deal” is based on a thousand billion investment plan for the next ten years in which Europe will have to play a leading role in achieving zero climate impact by investing in technological and innovative solutions, involving citizens and harmonizing interventions in key sectors, such as industrial policy and scientific research.
In Italy, issues relating to climate change and the related environmental implications are today at the center of a public and media debate like never before. Tackling the climate crisis and relaunching the country’s sustainable development based on the green economy jointly appears to be the only unavoidable way forward.
The future of our metropolitan areas therefore depends on the ability to encourage adaptation to the major changes taking place through a general rethinking of the city theme, in which interest is concentrated on the value of public space and on the resilience of urban contexts that present conditions of natural or anthropogenic vulnerability. The urban public space project therefore appears to be a strategic area of intervention as a device to protect the city from environmental emergencies, an ecological resource for improving the quality of urban life and fighting pollution and – indirectly – for promoting social cohesion and collective identity actions.
The programmatic and planning responses that try to face this emergency situation must necessarily and consciously recognize the ecological and environmental value of open spaces. «An evolutionary step that brings to the center of future design reflections – which interpret the city as a complex organism – the decisive contributions of environmental and landscape culture, of environmental functioning in terms of usability, comfort, safety, use of resources, integrability, environmental protection and welfare» (Clemente, 2017).
In this direction “CLEVER Cities” (Project financed with Horizon 2020 funds and with an experiment on the city of Milan) with the motto “Regenerating cities with nature” focuses attention on the decisive role that nature can play in improving environmental quality, biodiversity and the welfare of citizens in a process of urban regeneration through Nature-Based Solutions1.
Downstream of these preliminary considerations, this issue of the Rubric has identified Bonifico Group Srl as a qualified interlocutor, a historical reality operating in the landscape development sector with settled botanical knowledge and agronomic practices that expresses a high rate of innovation in naturalistic engineering interventions, design and construction of roof gardens, irrigation systems and water management, maintenance of urban and infrastructure greenery.
In the following pages, through a dialogue with Dr. Eduardo Bonifico, General Manager of the Bonifico Group, some arguments are developed on very topical issues and related to the company’s know-how through some exemplary projects carried out.
1. Recent urban redevelopment projects and interventions, related to the public space project and the vegetation system, have radically changed the face of some European cities, creating real “new landscapes”; I think of the “Madrid + Natural” program, developed through a collaboration between the Municipality of Madrid and Studio Arup Associates, consisting of guidelines to tackle the global problem of climate change through multiple local solutions that include green projects for buildings, green infrastructures and open spaces in the city of Madrid What skills and innovations does the Bonifico Group use for urban redevelopment projects?
The Bonifico Group provides, among others, planning and construction services for green spaces in urban areas for both public and private clients. To deal with the growing complexity of the projects and the requisites required, the company uses an interdisciplinary approach that intertwines different skills; from the architectural, landscape and engineering ones of the project to those related to the evaluation of economic, financial and environmental sustainability. The experiments that we carry out and constantly develop are divided into two main categories: application, with the development of the most effective and efficient design solutions in the specific urban contexts where the Bonifico Group carries out the redevelopment of public open spaces; methodology, with the construction of a system of appropriate technologies in relation to the variation of the combined data of the environmental context and the biophysical and microclimatic characteristics.
Our expertise aims to increase the accessibility and environmental quality of urban public space, thanks also to the ecological and intelligent management of the water and to the green enhancement in bioclimatic terms.
I refer, for example, to Dominique Perrault’s project for Piazza Garibaldi in Naples in which the role of the Bonifico Group was to reconstruct spaces of “nature” in the anthropized context. Twenty thousand square meters of greenery, the first urban “urban forest”, with 130 trees of various essences, equipped with basketball courts, five-a-side football, skateboard track, playground for children and a cavea for open-air cinema and shows. The surface arrangement is configured as an Urban Green Infrastracture (UGI) to underline the scalar dimension of investigation referred to the urban context. The presence of widespread vegetation in the square offers another great advantage: the reduction of the heat island effect, a persistent problem in urban centres; green and soil permeability are one of the possible solutions, because the heat absorbed by solar radiation does not accumulate.
2. This century has opened under the banner of awareness that the Earth is fragile and must be defended. The energy crisis and the protection of the environment are global emergencies, and the challenge is to create architectures with zero consumption and zero emissions, gentle machines to explore the relationship between building and nature in which, paraphrasing Renzo Piano «the roofing of buildings is metaphorically a roof that breathes to the rhythm of nature, or rather a portion of park that flies». Over the years, the Bonifico Group has dealt with important projects relating to green roof; what were the benefits brought to the structures and the surrounding environment?
In an industrialized society subjected to the pressures of continuous economic development, the territory undergoes rapid and profound transformations. Our goal is to help manage these processes by interpreting the community’s environmental demands. For this reason, thanks to the long evolutionary path in terms of acquiring new skills, we have been engaged for years in the promotion of the most advanced technologies for environmental sustainability, for the reduction of pollution and for the exploitation of renewable energies. In this field, projects relating to roof gardens and the benefits that these structures bring with reference to the mitigation of the microclimate, energy saving, the reduction of atmospheric and sound pollution, the reduction of the flow rate of the water, the growth of the biodiversity and the best performance of the photovoltaic panels on the roof. The spread of green roofs has increased in relation to the growing interest in sustainable architecture and green building. Their classifications (intensive or extensive) depend on several factors: the amount of land, maintenance work, weight and accessibility.
For example, for the project of the “Vulcano Buono” shopping centre, a work carried out by Renzo Piano in the province of Naples, a green roof system2 of approximately 80.000 square meters (one of the largest in Europe) was designed and targeted for the Mediterranean climate, able to confer various benefits to the building including:
- an improvement of the thermal performance of the roof both in winter and in summer;
- an energy saving favoured by the insulating and draining culture layer;
- the reduction of noise pollution and its improvement in terms of insulation;
- greater surface absorption capacity in rainfall and relative regulation of water runoff;
- an ability to originate natural ventilation by promoting the reduction of surface humidity values;
- the ability of the vegetation on the roof to retain harmful substances suspended in the air, which are thus absorbed through the photosynthesis process;
- a faunistic improvement with an increase in biodiversity;
- an improvement of the aesthetic and environmental impact also through specific tree species of Mediterranean area.
I think all these performances go in the direction of “a roof that breathes to the rhythm of nature” mentioned by Piano.
3. As is known, green facades act on the microclimate and influence the physical and technical behavior of a building, contributing on a large scale to stem climate change and atmospheric pollution. The Citicape House, a building designed by the architectural firm Sheppard Robson, will see the largest green wall in Europe consisting of about 400.000 plants with an extension of about 4.000 square meters capable of absorbing over eight tons of carbon every year, producing six of oxygen and lowering the local temperature from three to five degrees Celsius within a few years. What are the experiences of the Bank Transfer Group in this sense?
There is no doubt that the design of a green facade introduces a series of aesthetic-formal and environmental advantages in the context in which it fits. In the first few days of 2020, we are in the process of formalizing some projects concerning the use of greenery for building envelopes.
From the data in our possession, through the use of greening systems with green walls, various benefits are obtained: a decrease in temperature of 4.5 degrees centigrade and energy savings for cooling by 43% and from 4 to 6.3% for heating.
Another benefit of the green wall concerns the lowering of the air temperature of the environment surrounding the building; some estimates calculate a reduction in air temperature between 0.5 and 4.1 degrees centigrade, measured at a distance of two meters from the wall.
More specifically, some studies have shown that broad-leaved species could provide better performance in capturing the fraction of fine particulate matter, PM1, which is particularly harmful to health, while those with leaves characterized by the presence of epicuticular wax and a particular surface morphology can trap all fractions of particulate matter.
In general, the positive effects of a Living wall on the PMx concentration depend on the specific characteristics of the plants: the shape of the epidermis, the roughness or the level of air pollution in the area.
Vegetation also affects its thermal regulation of the building system, with advantages in both winter and summer. During the cold season it helps to limit heat losses and increase the insulation of the building, also protecting the wall from the wind. Although it is almost impossible to calculate precisely the amount of energy savings guaranteed by a live system and therefore variable, it has been estimated that the layer of foliage is able to increase the thermal resistance of the wall by about 6%.
During the summer, the green layer through shading ensures the reduction of the surface temperature of the building wall. The solar load on the surface can be reduced by up to 30% and the surface temperature of the facade can also drop by 10°C.
Furthermore, in cases where the green wall is a few centimetres away from the building, an air gap is formed which offers the advantages of a ventilated wall, increasing the thermal resistance of the wall.
Finally, the performance also in terms of acoustic insulation is amplified since the layer of foliage reduces the transmission of noise inside the building, absorbing the sound waves coming from outside.
Certainly in the next few years’ part of the company’s business will be oriented towards the study of innovative solutions and products to achieve the European standards mentioned above.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
Diah Intan Kusumo Dewi, Wakhidah Kurniawati, Nurini Nurini
et al.
Abstract. The old kampongs along Gajahmada Road are one of the oldest sections in Semarang City. The existence of the old kampongs can be seen on the map in 1900. However, the old Kampongs changed their environmental conditions considerably due to their commercial activities, especially in 2007. The existence of high-rise commercial buildings dominates corridors along the Gajahmada road, and the presence of old kampongs located behind the buildings is also displaced. Whereas, the presence of these old kampongs keeps a history of the development of Semarang City and traditional houses. This article seeks to identify changes in the appearance of the old kampongs which are displaced due to the development of the commercial activity, based on a field survey, map analysis, building form and street analysis. There are significant changes and minor changes that occurred in the old kampongs along Gajahmada road. Physical changes that occur are changes in land use, ways and building functions.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Building construction
Nowadays, especially in a European environment, it is almost given that border cities cooperate, or should cooperate. Nevertheless, several obstacles are jeopardizing the cities cooperation prosperity. Therefore, the understanding of most of the factors and processes possible involved in the success or failure of Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) strategies and projects are pivotal to seek long-lasting territorial sustainability. Contextually, the study enables to identify three most influential factors and processes that should be considered to achieve territorial sustainability of CBC projects of City-to-City Cooperation (C2C) from a political-strategic perspective, being: Connectivity—movement between cities; political commitment; and the developing of common planning master plans.
We describe a simple spatial model of urban growth for systems of cities at the macroscopic scale, which combines direct interaction between cities and an indirect effect of physical network flows as population growth drivers. The model is parametrized on population data for the French system of cities between 1831 and 1999, in which strong non-stationarity in correlation patterns suggest to apply the model on local time windows. The corresponding calibration of the model using genetic algorithms provides the evolution of interaction processes and network effects in time. Furthermore, the fit improvement when adding network module appears effective when controlling for additional parameters, what confirms the ability of the model to unveil network effects in the system of cities.