ObjectiveThe research on carbon neutrality, in an ecological – environmental perspective, is a major mission of the landscape architecture discipline. In the global pursuit of low-carbon urban development, communities play a pivotal role in advancing low-carbon initiatives at the meso – micro scale. Since 2015, China has initiated a series of pilot projects to establish low-carbon communities following the issuance of national guidelines. However, the current policy implementation paths in China are not yet mature, primarily relying on the organization of pilot programs in various regions, which poses certain challenges for the promotion and scaling-up of low-carbon community development. Relevant policies rely predominantly on operational indicators for evaluation, offering inadequate feedback to guide implementation and design. This research aims to explore effective implementation paths for low-carbon community policies to promote sustainable development and broader dissemination of low-carbon communities in China.MethodsThis research employs an analytical framework of “institution – strategy – tool” (IST) to dissect policies related to low-carbon community development. Institutions, strategies, and tools are the three pivotal elements of an implementation pathway mechanism; the collaborative mode that these three elements jointly shape and the operational process thereof constitute the implementation paths discussed in this research. The research begins with a comparative overview of widely-used low-carbon community policies at home and abroad, highlighting their institutional backgrounds, strategic focuses, and implementation tools. Subsequently, the research conducts an in-depth analysis of two representative policies: LEED 4.0 Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND), a market-driven, standardized evaluation system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and ÉcoQuartier, a government-led, adaptive governance initiative launched by the French Ministry of Ecology. Besides analyzing these two representative policies through the IST framework, the research compares these international models with China’s current practices, identifying gaps and opportunities for improvement in the Chinese context.ResultsThe results demonstrate that different institutional contexts give rise to distinct strategies, which in turn shape corresponding implementation tools and thereby generate divergent implementation paths. The positive synergy among their three core elements — institutions, strategies, and tools — is essential for the effective and efficient implementation of those policies. Strategies and tools are constructed under the foundational institutional conditions. The three elements then continuously influence and iteratively refine each other, progressively evolving into a well-integrated, mutually matched, and enduringly dynamic system for sustainable development. This sustained interaction fosters a long-term, effective process of stakeholder collaboration, enabling the transition of low-carbon community policies into its spatial interpretation. This can trigger a continuously accumulating positive spatial feedback loop.ConclusionBoth the indicator-based, highly quantified standardized evaluation pathways and the guidance-oriented, customized adaptive governance pathways have successfully engaged diverse social stakeholders, providing effective guidance or feedback mechanisms for low-carbon community development and forming a robust foundation for practical implementation and scaling-up. Therefore, to achieve the spatial grounding and positive accumulation of low-carbon development, the three elements — institutions, strategies, and tools — ought to be mutually aligned, forging a long-term, effective collaborative relationship among the stakeholders involved. Based on China’s current low-carbon community development, this research proposes three key optimization directions to enhance implementation effectiveness. This research argues that spatial – ecological landscape design tools that assist carbon reduction should be developed, thereby enhancing the spatial benefits and wider dissemination of China’s low-carbon community policies. First, to implement low-carbon community policies, market-based stakeholders should be incorporated to create a multi-stakeholder governance mechanism. Public funds should be strategically leveraged to attract social capitals, fostering a multi-stakeholder collaborative development mechanism. Unlike international practices, China’s current low-carbon community development relies heavily on direct government investment, resulting in significant financial burdens and limited scalability. To address this, mechanisms such as performance-based rewards and reputation marketing campaigns should be introduced to incentivize developers, businesses, and residents to actively participate in low-carbon projects. By ensuring all stakeholders perceive tangible benefits, broader support can be mobilized to collaboratively create sustainable communities. Second, technical exchanges and process-oriented coaching should be used to intensify design interactions. The fundamental purpose of developing a comprehensive indicator system is to achieve real carbon emission reductions in line with China’s “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals”. Technical exchanges and ongoing process support allow proven technical methods from pilot projects to be closely integrated with current project conditions, while progressively aligning low-carbon management practices and spatial design optimization requirements with each project’s renewal objectives. Only in this way can relatively abundant government funds be directed toward the specific and realistic needs of each project. Finally, policies should incorporate design strategies for spatial and ecological landscape optimization and tools tailored specifically to the community level, so as to ensure effective project implementation. International best practices demonstrate that spatial adjustments and optimizations can simultaneously enhance quality of life and reduce resource consumption, achieving low-carbon goals at a lower cost. Integrating spatial design elements into China’s low-carbon community policies, alongside existing technological carbon-reduction measures, can enable a more comprehensive and coordinated implementation of low-carbon strategies at the community level. This approach not only improves resource efficiency but also creates more livable and sustainable environments. This will align with global best practices while addressing the unique challenges and opportunities within China’s institutional and developmental context, ultimately contributing to the China’s broader climate goals.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
Spartaco Paris, Vincenzo Gattulli, Roberto Bianchi
et al.
Within the framework of technology transfer opportunities promoted by the third mission of research, this paper presents the activities of a Sapienza start-up engaged in a funded project on territorial innovation ecosystems, TECNODIGIT, co-financed by the PNRR. The applied research explores the innovative use of Digital Twins in civil engineering and architecture through two case studies, namely the infrastructure of the Gran Sasso National Laboratories, and the Esedra in the Capitoline Museums, where the equestrian monument of Marcus Aurelius is exhibited. By integrating IoT sensors and BIM models, the project aims to develop advanced methodologies for automated monitoring, maintenance, and inspection of the built environment. Selected by Rome Technopole, the project combines automation, real-time analysis, and machine learning, contributing to the digitalisation of the construction sector.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
This contribution highlights the need to reflect on the environmental, cultural, and social value of biogenic construction materials and their role in the roadmap towards climate neutrality. Based on a mapping of European case studies, the essay investigates the diffusion of biogenic materials in architecture, questioning whether their use is limited to experimental cases or if it can be at the base of a decarbonisation strategy. The analysis conducted reveals the urgency of adopting technologies and practices that promote the diffusion and scalability of biogenic materials to respond to energy and environmental regulations, as well as to contribute effectively and sustainably to the demand for net-positive materials, as alternatives to conventional ones.
This contribution highlights the need to reflect on the environmental, cultural, and social value of biogenic construction materials and their role in the roadmap towards climate neutrality. Based on a mapping of European case studies, the essay investigates the diffusion of biogenic materials in architecture, questioning whether their use is limited to experimental cases or if it can be at the base of a decarbonization strategy. The analysis conducted reveals the urgency of adopting technologies and practices that promote the diffusion and scalability of biogenic materials to respond, on the one hand, to energy and environmental regulations and, on the other hand, to contribute effectively and economically sustainably to the demand for net-positive materials, as alternatives to conventional ones.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
Antonio Fernández Alba, arquitecto y académico de renombre, dejó un legado significativo en el campo de la arquitectura y la enseñanza antes de su fallecimiento en 2024. Nacido en 1927 y titulado en 1957, comenzó su carrera periodística en 1953, contribuyendo a diversas publicaciones que reflejaron su compromiso con la innovación arquitectónica y cultural. Su obra se destacó por una profunda atención a la realidad urbana y por su labor docente en la Escuela de Arquitectura de Madrid, donde promovió un enfoque pedagógico exigente y la formación de equipos. Reconocido con el Premio Nacional de Arquitectura por su Convento del Rollo, su trayectoria abarcó también proyectos de pueblos de colonización para el Instituto Nacional de Colonización, como Cerralba y El Priorato, donde su diseño integró la arquitectura con el entorno. En la década de 1960, se unió al grupo El Paso, contribuyendo a un nuevo regionalismo arquitectónico. A lo largo de su vida, Fernández Alba publicó numerosos textos críticos que exploraban la relación entre arquitectura y ciudad, así como reflexiones sobre la crisis urbana bajo el franquismo. Su obra se caracterizó por un enfoque humanista y por la búsqueda de un diálogo entre el espacio arquitectónico y su contexto cultural e histórico. A través de su escritura y proyectos, Alba se consolidó como una figura clave en la arquitectura contemporánea española, comprometido con la renovación cultural y la salvaguarda del patrimonio.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Anthropology
Daniel Felipe Duarte Hernández, Edward Camilo Garnica Bermúdez
La segregación digital territorial, una dimensión emergente de la segregación socioespacial, es un campo de estudio ampliamente abordado en la literatura internacional al respecto de los estudios sobre la difusión de las tecnologías de la información. Sin embargo, salvo algunas excepciones, poco se ha explorado su manifestación en la ciudad de Bogotá. El objetivo del presente artículo es presentar evidencias sobre las condiciones de segregación digital territorial en la capital colombiana y determinar que este es un fenómeno asociado a unas condiciones de segregación preexistentes. La base del estudio se desarrolla siguiendo la metodología de análisis cartográfico usada por Jeffer Chaparro (2010) acerca del mismo fenómeno. El estudio se centra en la dimensión de los estadios de segregación en la ciudad e identifica los elementos constitutivos de la infraestructura de las tecnologías de la información y las comunicaciones (TIC). En segundo plano, se abordan las actividades para las cuales los ciudadanos usan internet; considerando estas como un factor determinante en el uso real de esta tecnología. En este sentido, se observa que la concentración de esta infraestructura se presenta de forma inversa a los hogares con mayores privaciones socioeconómicas, distribuidos principalmente en las zonas de periferia de la ciudad, en las franjas del suroriente y suroccidente. Aunque no es el único factor explicativo, esta distribución desigual está directamente relacionada con la segregación socioespacial.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology
Urban inequality is a major challenge for cities in the 21st century. This inequality is reflected in the spatial income structure of cities which evolves in time through various processes. Gentrification is a well-known illustration of these dynamics in which the population of a low-income area changes as wealthier residents arrive and old-settled residents are expelled. Less understood but very important is the reverse process of gentrification through which areas of cities get impoverished. Gentrification has been widely studied among social sciences, especially in case studies, but there have been fewer quantitative analyses of this phenomenon, and more generally about the spatial dynamics of income in cities. Here, we first propose a quantitative analysis of these income dynamics in cities based on household incomes in 45 American and nine French Functional Urban Areas (FUA). We found that an important ingredient that determines the evolution of the income level of an area is the income level of its immediate neighboring areas. This empirical finding leads to the idea that these dynamics can be modeled by the voter model of statistical physics. We show that such a model constitutes an interesting tool for both describing and predicting evolution scenarios of urban areas with a very limited number of parameters (two for the United States and one for France). We illustrate our results by computing the probability that areas will change their income status in the case of Boston and Paris at the horizon of 2030.
The traditional ecological and environmentalist thinking that theorised the ‘return to nature’ by contrasting cities and nature seems to be unable to remedy the destructive relationship between city and biosphere. For this reason, it is necessary to rethink the relationship between anthropised and biotic systems, in order to respect the objectives of the Paris Agreement. This rethinking process involves imagining a ‘third space’ with a positive environmental value, much like an intermediate landscape in which buildings and urban realities can be designed - in a backcasting process - as tools capable of incorporating different types of ‘biospheric’ capabilities. The essay investigates urban forestation technologies by evaluating their potential and long-term limitations in extreme climatic scenarios.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
Mathew V. Vaughan, Jeremy Pittman, Sara Epp
et al.
Cannabis production standards are evolving with little understanding of their implications on land use planning. Health Canada currently administers a federally-regulated licensing system that does not address odour and light pollution land use impacts across the rural landscape. This literature review addresses the regulatory history of cannabis production in Canada, reviews current production standards, and compares possible cannabis production conflicts with documented land use conflicts from other odourous and light intensive operations to reveal flaws in the existing licensing system. Established cannabis production markets will be examined for further comparisons.
City planning, Political institutions and public administration (General)
The 1970s were an exceptionally fertile policy period with respect to housing and community planning in Canada. Two manifestations are the creation of the unique inner-city neighbourhood of False Creek South in Vancouver, B.C. and Granville Island, an arts and public market precinct that is surrounded by the neighbourhood. This article examines the factors that enabled these innovative planning projects to occur, why replicating them might be challenging, and what new innovations may be emerging.
City planning, Political institutions and public administration (General)
This work addresses recent research in the area of pedestrian navigation aids that aims at finding alternatives to the widely used map-based turn-by-turn navigation systems in the context of Smart City environments. Four different approaches of pedestrian navigation systems were compared to each other in a user experiment that was conducted in a virtual environment: (1) map-based, (2) landmark-based, (3) augmented reality, and (4) public display navigation. The results of the experiment with 45 participants conducted in a virtual environment suggest that the augmented reality navigation performs best concerning efficiency and effectiveness and the landmark-based navigation performs worst in the context of Smart Cities.
The composite material concrete filled steel tubes, CFST) begin widely recommended in modern structural projects. This material is made of steel tubes filled with concrete. This CFST structure has better ductility than the conventional structure. The three-dimensional finite element modelby means of MSC Marc Mentat software is done by using non-linear material properties for both the steel and concrete. The non-linear geometry is also considered. The results of the finite element analysis method are then compared with experimental results of circular steel tubes filled with concrete. The results of this analysis for both load-deflection and collapse conditions are quite agree with the experimental results. However, the buckling phenomena cannot be modeled in the analysis of the finite element method. The effect of finite element model, which is half span and a quarter of half span, is investigated. The results of this analysis are similar to the results of full-scale analysis. There is plastic hinge in the middle of the beam span. The influence of the material properties of linear and non-linear geometric properties are also investigated. The the plastic hinge did not occur in the middle of beam span.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Building construction
The search is born from an Accord among Region Calabria, the Mediterranean university and the UNICAL, with the purpose to define design strategies and new politics of social housing on the paradigm of the sustainable development, considered actions that pursue the economic and social environmental sustainability of the interventions. The scientific Partenariato, in relationship to the mutual competences and inside experiences, has identified some themes to develop during the search and on which to plan the future interventions of housebuilding in Calabria. Among these the environmental quality indoor is set for principal purpose to check and to define that parameters physical connected to the demands of the consumers, relatively to the existential conditions and physical well-being, psychic and social comfort.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Architectural drawing and design
Jakarta has a rapid development which attracts newcomers to come and live in. Hereinafter, the newcomers look for the house which in accordance to their income and preferences. They chose inner city kampong for residing and their existence displacing the Betawi people as the local community. The newcomers presence led displacement and transformed the neighbourhood. Likewise, they had also influenced in the socio-economic transformation related with education, women worker, community relationship, and lifestyle.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying, Building construction
Además de otras razones conocidas y publicadas para explicar la “burbuja inmobiliaria” y su consecuente crisis posterior que se produce en España con el cambio de siglo, no se ha reparado suficientemente que el problema de la vivienda no es coyuntural sino que es el resultado de una estructura inmobiliaria, que si no tiene su origen estrictamente después de la Guerra Civil, sí es el momento de su sistematización y puesta en práctica, sin interrupción hasta nuestros días. En efecto, el proceso no sufre cambios sustanciales con la nueva democracia, y solo cabría destacar algún intento de nueva legislación sobre el alquiler, la fiscalidad y el control de las viviendas vacías, en el Gobierno de Rodriguez Zapatero de alrededor de 2005; lo cual, sin embargo, ha quedado en suspenso con el advenimiento de la crisis económica.
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying
The Municipal Development Plan (Piano Urbanistico Comunale - PUC) of Acerra has been drafted by a group of young professionals and researchers, led by Leonardo Benevolo, in accordance with the guidelines laid out by Regional Law no. 16 of 2004. Its complex drafting process was compressed into a brief, nine-month period in 2008 and 2009, at the end of which its initial adoption (or “predisposizione” – “preparation” or “predisposition” – in Italian legal terms) was ratified by the municipal council. This article reconstructs the key moments, illustrating the main elements of the plan and how the debate about it took shape both inside and outside the municipal administration.<br /><br />
Aesthetics of cities. City planning and beautifying