Abstract Problem, research strategy, and findings: Historical patterns of discrimination and disinvestment have shaped the current landscape of vulnerability to heat in U.S. cities but are not explicitly considered by heat mitigation planning efforts. Drawing upon the equity planning framework and developing a broader conceptualization of what equity means can enhance urban heat management. Here I ask whether areas in Baltimore (MD), Dallas (TX), and Kansas City (MO) targeted for disinvestment in the past through practices like redlining are now more exposed to heat. I compare estimates of land surface temperature (LST) derived from satellite imagery across the four-category rating system used to guide lending practices in cities around the United States, summarize the demographic characteristics of current residents within each of these historical designations using U.S. Census data, and discuss the connection between systematic disinvestment and exposure to heat. LST and air temperatures are not equivalent, which makes it difficult to reconcile existing research on the human health impacts of heat exposure that rely on a sparse network of air temperature monitoring stations with more granular LST data. Areas of these cities that were targeted for systematic disinvestment in the past have higher mean land surface temperatures than those that received more favorable ratings. Poor and minority residents are also overrepresented in formerly redlined areas in each of the three study cities. Takeaway for practice: By examining areas that have experienced sustained disinvestment, cities may be able to more quickly narrow the focus of heat mitigation planning efforts while furthering social equity. Efforts to mitigate the negative impacts of rising temperatures in U.S. cities must be tailored to the local climate, built environment, and sociodemographic history. Finally, geospatial data sets that document historical policies are useful for centering and redressing current inequalities when viewed through an equity planning lens.
Gina Ziervogel, M. New, Emma Archer van Garderen
et al.
In this paper we review current approaches and recent advances in research on climate impacts and adaptation in South Africa. South Africa has a well‐developed earth system science research program that underpins the climate change scenarios developed for the southern African region. Established research on the biophysical impacts of climate change on key sectors (water, agriculture, and biodiversity) integrates the climate change scenarios but further research is needed in a number of areas, such as the climate impacts on cities and the built environment. National government has developed a National Climate Change Response White Paper, but this has yet to translate into policy that mainstreams adaptation in everyday practice and longer‐term planning in all spheres and levels of government. A national process to scope long‐term adaptation scenarios is underway, focusing on cross‐sectoral linkages in adaptation responses at a national level. Adaptation responses are emerging in certain sectors. Some notable city‐scale and project‐based adaptation responses have been implemented, but institutional challenges persist. In addition, a number of knowledge gaps remain in relation to the biophysical and socio‐economic impacts of climate change. A particular need is to develop South Africa's capacity to undertake integrated assessments of climate change that can support climate‐resilient development planning. WIREs Clim Change 2014, 5:605–620. doi: 10.1002/wcc.295
Rubén Sánchez-Corcuera, Adrián Núñez-Marcos, Jesus Sesma-Solance
et al.
The introduction of the Information and Communication Technologies throughout the last decades has created a trend of providing daily objects with smartness, aiming to make human life more comfortable. The paradigm of Smart Cities arises as a response to the goal of creating the city of the future, where (1) the well-being and rights of their citizens are guaranteed, (2) industry and (3) urban planning is assessed from an environmental and sustainable viewpoint. Smart Cities still face some challenges in their implementation, but gradually more research projects of Smart Cities are funded and executed. Moreover, cities from all around the globe are implementing Smart City features to improve services or the quality of life of their citizens. Through this article, (1) we go through various definitions of Smart Cities in the literature, (2) we review the technologies and methodologies used nowadays, (3) we summarise the different domains of applications where these technologies and methodologies are applied (e.g. health and education), (4) we show the cities that have integrated the Smart City paradigm in their daily functioning and (5) we provide a review of the open research challenges. Finally, we discuss about the future opportunities for Smart Cities and the issues that must be tackled in order to move towards the cities of the future.
Two new species of the Nanorana yunnanensis complex are described from southeastern and northeastern Yunnan Province, China, respectively, based on morphological and molecular evidence. The two new species can be distinguished from the three known species of this complex and each other by the difference in the skin texture, the visibility of the tympanum, the ventral coloration, and the distribution of the spines on the ventral surface of the head in adult males. Phylogenetically, the two new species formed two distinct clades in the N. yunnanensis complex and differ from other species of the complex and each other by 2.4–5.0% in the 16S gene sequences and 9.8–11.3% in the ND2 gene sequences. This study brings the total number of recognized species of the genus Nanorana to 36, of which 27 occur in China and 13 in Yunnan.
The modern compact city is identified as a high-density and mixed-use pattern. Its features are believed to contribute to a form of functional urban design that supports sustainability and, restresses, the importance of ecosystem services. Urban green space (UGS) plays a vital role in the design and impact on how compact cities have developed and triggered a scientific discord on the amount of greenery individuals require and to what extent contemporary approaches address the question. Research points to at least 9 m2 of green space per individual with an ideal UGS value of 50 m2 per capita. An examination on the perception, use, quality, accessibility and health risks of urban green and blue spaces is explored, alongside the availability of novel UGS and greenery-related approaches that investigate compact city design and planning for health and wellbeing. The amount of ‘green’ and relating UGS availability in cities indicates vital knowledge modern compact cities must consider.
Samir Semahi, Mohammed Amin Benbouras, Noureddine Zemmouri
et al.
Accurate forecasting of energy consumption during the early design phases of buildings is crucial for optimizing energy performance, minimizing consumption, and reducing emissions. This study presents the development of an Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS) model for estimating the heating and cooling energy loads of typical Algerian multifamily residential buildings. Using dynamic simulations in EnergyPlus, calibrated with real climatic data from Biskra (2003-2017), a dataset of 1200 cases was generated based on six key building envelope variables identified via sensitivity analysis. Two separate ANFIS models were trained and validated using 80/20 data splits and Gaussian membership functions. Results demonstrate high accuracy with R² values of 0.9 for cooling and 0.88 for heating loads. The proposed ANFIS models enable fast, early-stage evaluation of design alternatives without the need for complex simulations. These findings support architects and decision-makers in creating more energy-efficient building designs under hot and dry climate conditions typical of Algeria.
Abstract In rapidly urbanizing cities, historical neighborhoods often experience drastic spatial transformation, leading to the erosion of urban form, memory, and identity. This study examines the morphological transformation of the Siwenli Lilong neighborhood in central Shanghai, tracing its evolution from 1948 to 2021. Drawing on a 70-year fine-scale GIS dataset at the lane-block level which is a rare longitudinal resolution in related urban research, the study integrates historical cartography, urban morphology, and heritage interpretation to identify three key phases: wartime densification, socialist consolidation, and market-driven redevelopment. Each phase reflects distinct governance rationales, cumulatively producing a shift from spatial continuity to fragmentation. The research introduces the concept of “interface rupture” to capture the disjunction between old and new typologies, particularly in façade logic and public–private transitions. Rather than treating transformation as incidental, it proposes a conceptual model linking governance regimes, development logics, and spatial consequences. While symbolic heritage elements are selectively retained, most morphological memory is weakened or erased. By integrating urban morphology with the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) framework, the study contributes to heritage-led urbanism by moving beyond site-specific diagnosis toward transferable explanatory mechanisms. It calls for adaptive conservation frameworks that recognize spatial memory as a planning asset, promoting continuity during inevitable change. The Siwenli case thus serves as both empirical evidence and a theoretical lens for understanding structural dynamics behind morphological rupture in East Asian cities.
In 2016, the World Health Organization declared that 'Health is one of the most effective markers of any city's successful sustainable development' (World Health Organisation, 2016). With estimates that around 6.7 billion people will live in cities by 2050, 21st century city planning decisions will play a critical role in achieving the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They will determine the city structure and access to health-enhancing (or health-damaging) urban environments, and ultimately lifestyle choices that impact both individual and planetary health. Benchmarking, monitoring and evaluating city planning policies and interventions is therefore critical to optimise urban outcomes. In 2017, the UN adopted a global SDG indicator framework, calling for complementary national and regional indicators to be collected by member countries. UN Habitat has also developed an indicator action framework specifically for cities. This paper examined the extent to which the UN indicators will help cities evaluate their efforts to deliver sustainability and health outcomes. It identified inconsistencies between the two UN indicator frameworks. Many of the SDG indicators assess outcomes, rather than the comprehensive and integrated 'upstream' policies and interventions required to deliver outcomes on-the-ground. Conversely, the UN Habitat framework incorporates intervention indicators, but excludes health outcome indicators. A more comprehensive approach to benchmarking, monitoring and evaluating policies designed to achieve healthy and sustainable cities and assessing spatial inequities is proposed.
Sophie A. Nitoslawski, Nadine J. Galle, C. V. D. Bosch
et al.
Abstract Smart cities are increasingly part of urban sustainability discourses. There is a growing interest in understanding how citizen engagement, connected technology, and data analytics can support sustainable development. Evidence has also repeatedly shown that green infrastructure such as urban forests address diverse urban challenges and are critical components of urban sustainability and resilience. Nevertheless, it is unclear whether green space and urban forest management are gaining significant traction in smart city planning. It is thus timely to consider whether and to what extent urban forests and other green spaces can be effectively integrated into smart city planning, to maximize green benefits for all city dwellers. We address this gap by exploring current and emerging smart city trends and technologies, and highlight practical applications for urban forest and green space management. Current “smart urban forest” projects reveal a focus on novel monitoring techniques using sensors and Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, as well as open data and citizen engagement, particularly through the use of mobile devices, applications (“apps”), and open-source mapping platforms. We propose a definition and promising approach to “smart urban forest management”, emphasizing both the potential of digital infrastructure to enhance forest benefits and the facilitation of citizen stewardship and empowerment in green space planning. Cities are getting faster and smarter – can (and should) the trees, and their managers, do the same?
Food security is important to guarantee national security and people’s livelihoods, but the increasingly serious problem of non-grain production (NGP) on croplands has exacerbated the risk of food security and directly affected the sustainable development of the national economy and society. This study adopted 130 cities (states) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt as the research units and used ArcGIS10.8, GeoDA1.22, and Origin2022 software and spatial autocorrelation, standard deviational ellipse, and GeoDetector methods to conduct analyses. This study explored the spatial evolution patterns and factors influencing cropland NGP in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The results show, firstly, that the NGP rate of cropland in the Yangtze River Economic Belt increased from 35.85% in 2006 to 38.62% in 2022. The number of cities (states) with mild and moderate NGP decreased, while the number of cities (states) with severe NGP increased significantly. Secondly, the spatial distribution of the rate of cropland NGP in the Yangtze River Economic Belt had a strong positive correlation, with “high–high agglomeration” tending to be dispersed, “low–low agglomeration” tending to be concentrated, and the overall trajectory of the center of gravity migrating from the northeast to the southwest. Thirdly, the single-factor detection found that the per capita food possession, slope, elevation, and average annual precipitation had strong explanatory power regarding the spatial difference in cropland NGP in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and the interaction of any two influencing factors showed nonlinear enhancement. The results of this study can help to precisely identify the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of cropland NGP in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, which is of great significance for supporting the country in controlling the risk of NGP cultivation, promoting the sustainable development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, and guaranteeing food security.
Abstract In an urbanizing world there is an increasing priority for making cities nature-inclusive environments. Cities offer places for human-wildlife experiences, and thus for broad societal support of biodiversity conservation. Cities also depend on ecosystem services provided by biodiversity to remain healthy, liveable places. Although biodiversity is frequently addressed in urban green infrastructure plans, it often is not an integral topic in city planning, urban design and housing development. As a result, wildlife-rich urban green is often lacking in those parts of the cities where people live and work. Here, we introduce the concept of ‘wildlife-inclusive urban design’ for the built-up area of cities that integrates animal needs into the urban planning and design process. To identify key features that determine the success of wildlife-inclusive urban design, we evaluated lessons learnt from existing best practices. These were collected during an international workshop with architects, landscape practitioners, ecological consultants, conservationists and urban ecologists. We propose that features of successful wildlife-inclusive urban design projects are: 1) interdisciplinary design teams that involve ecologists early on, 2) consideration of the entire life-cycle of target species, 3) post-occupancy monitoring and evaluation with feedback to communicate best practices, and 4) stakeholder involvement and participatory approaches. We propose how wildlife-inclusive urban design could be included into the different steps of the urban planning cycle. We conclude that following these principles will facilitate incorporation of wildlife-inclusive urban design into urban planning and design and enable urban environments where humans and animals can thrive in the built-up areas.
Population mobility between cities significantly affects traffic congestion, disease spread, and societal well-being. As globalization and urbanization accelerate, understanding the dynamics of population mobility becomes increasingly important. Traditional population migration models reveal the factors influencing migration, while machine learning methods provide effective tools for creating data-driven models to handle the nonlinear relationships between origin and destination characteristics and migration. To deepen the understanding of population mobility issues, this study presents GraviGBM, an expandable population mobility simulation model that combines the gravity model with machine learning, significantly enhancing simulation accuracy. By employing SHAPs (SHapley Additive exPlanations), we interpret the modeling results and explore the relationship between urban characteristics and population migration. Additionally, this study includes a case analysis of COVID-19, extending the model’s application during public health emergencies and evaluating the contribution of model variables in this context. The results show that GraviGBM performs exceptionally well in simulating inter-city population migration, with an RMSE of 4.28, far lower than the RMSE of the gravity model (45.32). This research indicates that distance emerged as the primary factor affecting mobility before the pandemic, with economic factors and population also playing significant roles. During the pandemic, distance remained dominant, but the significance of short distances gained importance. Pandemic-related indicators became prominent, while economics, population density, and transportation substantially lost their influence. A city-to-city flow analysis shows that when population sizes are comparable, economic factors prevail, but when economic profiles match, living conditions dictate migration. During the pandemic, residents from hard-hit areas moved to more distant cities, seeking normalcy. This research offers a comprehensive perspective on population mobility, yielding valuable insights for future urban planning, pandemic response, and decision-making processes.
Sandra MacDougall, Michal Bíl, Richard Andrášik
et al.
Although roads are central to human society, they have many negative environmental impacts and create risk for traveling motorists. Our aim was to evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of ungulate–vehicle collision (UVC) hotspots in response to major road construction. We examined two different locations and scales in the province of Alberta, Canada: (1) a highway bypass adjacent to a large city with 4.5 km of wildlife mitigation measures (wildlife fencing and two underpasses) and (2) 55 km of rural highway that was converted from a two-lane to a four-lane divided highway. Using government police collision and carcass data (2000–2021), before-after and control-impact analyses were used to assess changes in UVC rates. Our approach is novel in that we tested the paired use of a clustering method known as kernel density estimation plus and a spatiotemporal stepwise modification of this method to monitor UVC hotspots. By monitoring UVCs over space and time, we could identify stable vs. ephemeral UVC hotspots, a fence-end effect, and a barrier effect due to traffic volume, and we could explore hotspot stability before and after construction. The wildlife mitigation measures along the highway bypass resulted in 86% fewer UVCs compared to an unmitigated highway. At a larger scale, however, net benefits were affected by road density. The construction of a four-lane divided highway with no wildlife mitigation measures and an increase in the posted speed limit resulted in a slight increase in UVCs and the reemergence of the majority of historical UVC hotspots. Our analysis highlighted the need to incorporate wildlife considerations at a variety of scales throughout the transportation planning and mitigation evaluation process.
Human interest in building design has become general, including the design of artificial lighting for building facades. Therefore, in the priorities of many owners and designers. Commercial buildings are always looking for different means that contribute to improving the process of displaying products and providing the right environment to attract customers. This paper investigates the role of artificial lighting in architectural aspects. So, the objectives of the research are to evaluate the properties of artificial lighting, and its role in the formation of the building facade elements during the night, in order to make the building successful in terms of form and function (reviving architecture at night). The research problem arises in the lack of interest in applying the role of artificial lighting properties such as (intensity, beam angle, and color) in studying the dynamic state of the commercial building facade elements (line, shape, and texture). A hypothesis should be formed: If the characteristics of artificial lighting are adjusted, it will have an effect on achieving the dynamic state of the elements of the commercial building facade. The results determined the role and effects of artificial lighting properties on the dynamic situation, such as the elements forming the facades of commercial buildings during the night period.
The differences in travel times of passenger cars, traffic stream, and trucks depend on the area type, temporal factors, reference speed, and traffic condition. These explanatory variables account for the effect of geometric conditions and variations in the traffic flow. The focus of this research is to examine the correlations and estimate truck travel time to passenger car or traffic stream travel time ratio of a road link (dependent variable) as a function of these explanatory variables. Travel time data for Mecklenburg County and Iredell County in North Carolina, USA were gathered for the year 2017 to examine correlations, develop generalized estimating equations (GEE) models, and identify explanatory variables influencing the ratios. Gamma log-link distribution-based models are the best-fitted models to estimate the average travel time (ATT) of trucks to the ATT of passenger cars or traffic stream ratios. Notable differences in the coefficients were observed when the ATT of trucks was compared with the ATT of passenger cars or traffic stream. The area type (urban or rural) was observed to influence the ratios differently. The influence of traffic condition, reference speed (or free-flow speed), day-of-the-week (DOW) and time-of-the-day (TOD) on the ratios also varied with the area type.
Continuous increases in the human population and human activities have resulted in remarkable changes in the composition of the atmosphere since the industrial revolution [...]