Hasil untuk "Urbanization. City and country"

Xiaosan Luo, Shen Yu, Yong-guan Zhu et al.

The contamination of urban soils can affect the health of people living in urban areas, and the surrounding ecosystems. Urbanization in China has taken place at an unprecedented pace in the last three decades. This paper provides an overview of studies on the quality of urban soils in China with special reference to trace metal contamination. It summarizes the characteristics of accumulation, spatial and temporal distribution, and major sources of various toxic or potentially toxic trace metals in urban soils as reported in recent literature. Levels of pollution in urban soil and road dust were discussed using the concentrations, enrichment factors, pollution indexes, and chemical fractionation of trace metals in major cities of China, and compared with other countries. In future studies, more pollutants in urban environments need to be included in multi-compartmental environmental surveillance for potential risk assessments. In addition to routine urban soil surveys by a harmonized methodology, a comprehensive assessment of soil quality is needed for the control and management of many urban brownfield sites. Taking into consideration pathways of exposure and site characteristics, risk assessment frameworks for major pollutants in urban soils, which integrate land use type and environmental availability, may be developed in the future.

Shiva Rahmani, Pierri Vito, Luigi Zuccaro et al.

The growing reliance on renewable energy sources (RES) is a direct response to global challenges such as climate change and the limited availability of fossil fuels. Due to their low costs and scale suitability applications, wind turbines and solar panels are among the most widely adopted RES technologies for electricity generation. Their benefits are generally considered to outweigh the disadvantages. However, despite their image as green alternatives these technologies face opposition due to concerns about noise, visual impact, and possible negative effects on ecosystem services. Following the EU Green Deal and its goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050 the adoption of green energy technologies requiring immediate implementation beyond legislation. The Basilicata region in Italy is among the most affected areas having the highest percentage of wind farms and experiencing notable territorial fragmentation due to their installation. This study aims to assess not only the environmental impacts of wind turbines but also their social and aesthetic effects. Expert-based assessments and spatial analyses will be conducted followed by the Scenic Quality Model within InVEST to evaluate visual impacts. The findings provide valuable insights for policymakers, planners, and researchers involved in sustainable land management and renewable energy planning.

Sofia Manaresi, Angela Santangelo

Nowadays energy accessibility and affordability are global concerns. Energy poverty and its effects on households have been increasingly discussed in the public debate, as well as addressed by energy and social policies. Nevertheless, measures to tackle energy poverty at urban scale remain fragmented, and they are far to be fully embedded into urban planning tools. This paper explores a new methodological approach to investigate vulnerability related to energy poverty. It is based on the identification of three main thematic areas of vulnerability (i.e., socioeconomic, energy, climate). For each of these components, a synthetic vulnerability sub-index has been developed, which has allowed the identification of an overall energy poverty vulnerability index, able to detect different levels of energy poverty vulnerability at urban scale. This approach, combined with a thorough urban analysis, has been applied to the city of Bologna and it has allowed the identification of urban regeneration strategies for each investigated urban area, targeted to the energy poverty-related vulnerabilities detected. The results are intended to provide evidence on how to improve the urban planning tools, to support policy makers to better address energy poverty in cities.

Faezeh Abadi, Negar Hosseinian

Located in Khorasan Razavi province, Torghabeh city is a year-round tourist attraction in the north–east of Iran because of its natural and environmental beauty and semi-rural ecosystems. The aim of this article is to describe the challenges Torghabeh faces regarding rapid urbanisation with an environmental and biophilic approach. This article uses the qualitative–quantitative research method, and the results are analyzed in SPSS software and with the linear regression method to identify the most important factors. Based on the results, the most influential components in improving the urban environment of the city are as follows: the extent and severity of soil contamination; amount and severity of acoustic pollution; conservation, restoration and enhancement of biodiversity of the city; low-impact development; innovative and new urban green spaces and considerations and provision of water resources.

Orlando Villas Bôas Filho, Giovanna Nony Failache da Silva

Este ensaio propõe analisar de que maneira a pandemia da Covid-19 contribuiu para o incremento do número de pessoas em situação de vulnerabilidade e, consequentemente, para o aumento das desigualdades sociais e econômicas que, historicamente, ocorrem no Brasil. Para tal, parte de uma reconstrução analítica dos conceitos de necropolítica e de legitimidade democrática, propostos por Achille Mbembe e Pierre Rosanvallon, respectivamente. Assim, busca mostrar, preliminarmente, como as políticas públicas e a gestão governamental durante a crise contribuíram para o agravamento do cenário caótico pós-pandêmico, com a decorrente ratificação e, inclusive, recrudescimento da invisibilidade dos grupos vulneráveis, mediante a implementação de políticas cada vez mais indiferentes e, em alguns casos, refratárias aos anseios e necessidades desses grupos, o que será contemplado principalmente a partir da ótica da necropolítica de Achille Mbembe. Em seguida, no bojo dessa análise, serão focadas as formas de legitimidade (imparcialidade, proximidade e reflexividade) que, segundo Pierre Rosanvallon, caracterizam a experiência democrática contemporânea. Mediante o manejo dessconcepção sofisticada da experiência democrática, que a considera irredutível à sua dimensão eleitoral (democracia de delegação), procurar-se-á explicitar em que medida o agravamento da situação de vulnerabilidade de diversos grupos sociais no contexto da pandemia da Covid-19 pode ser considerado expressão de um incremento do déficit democrático no Brasil.

P. Baker, J. Lacy-Nichols, O. Williams et al.

Today’s food systems are contributing to multiple intersecting health and ecological crises. Many are now calling for transformative, or even radical, food systems change. Our starting assumption in this Special Issue is the broad claim that the transformative changes being called for in a global food system in crisis cannot – and ultimately will not – be achieved without intense scrutiny of and changes in the underlying political economies that drive today’s food systems. The aim is to draw from diverse disciplinary perspectives to critically evaluate the political economy of food systems, understand key challenges, and inform new thinking and action. We received 19 contributions covering a diversity of country contexts and perspectives, and revealing inter-connected challenges and opportunities for realising the transformation agenda. We find that a number of important changes in food governance and power relations have occurred in recent decades, with a displacement of power in four directions. First, upwards as globalization has given rise to more complex and globally integrated food systems governed increasingly by transnational food corporations (TFCs) and international financial actors. Second, downwards as urbanization and decentralization of authority in many countries gives cities and sub-national actors more prominence in food governance. Third, outwards with a greater role for corporate and civil society actors facilitated by an expansion of food industry power, and increasing preferences for market-orientated and multi-stakeholder forms of governance. Finally, power has also shifted inwards as markets have become increasingly concentrated through corporate strategies to gain market power within and across food supply chain segments. The transformation of food systems will ultimately require greater scrutiny of these challenges. Technical ‘problem-solving’ and overly-circumscribed policy approaches that depoliticise food systems challenges, are insufficient to generate the change we need, within the narrow time-frame we have. While there will be many paths to transformation, rights-based and commoning approaches hold great promise, based on principles of participation, accountability and non-discrimination, alongside coalition building and social mobilization, including social movements grounded in food sovereignty and agroecology.

Md. Yousuf Gazi, M. Rahman, M. Uddin et al.

Ze Liang, Shuyao Wu, Yueyao Wang et al.

There is an increasing demand for urban form optimization to mitigate urban heat island (UHI) effect under the background of global climate change and urbanization. However, there is still a lack of understanding about how the relationship between urban form and UHI intensity changes under diverse urbanization contexts. This study aims to show the change patterns of the relationship between urban form and UHI intensity along the urban development gradient based upon the investigation of a total of 150 urban areas in the Jing-Jin-Ji region in China in 2000, 2005, 2010 and 2015. We defined a comprehensive urban development index taking into account the size of urban area, population density and night light intensity to classify the different levels of urban development. A multi-model comparison was carried out to validate the results. We found that the increase in urban continuity, sprawling, scale and density all enhanced UHI effect at the regional scale. However, the relationship between urban form indicators and UHI intensity demonstrated two opposite patterns along the urban development gradient: population density, geometric complexity and continuity, and general vegetation index of a city were found to be increasingly influential, while night light intensity, geometric elongation and forest coverage presented declining influence. Finally, the study obtained an ascending contribution rate curve for urban geometry indicators, a convex curve for urban size indicators and a declining curve for urban vegetation. These changes along the urban development gradient may be closely related to the changes of the microclimate in cities due to land use, social and economic activities in different urban development stages. The findings can contribute to more appropriate and effective urban planning in countries and regions undergoing rapid urbanization as a valuable reference.

A. Hakim, N. Nachrowi, Dwini Handayani et al.

Indonesia is one of the developing countries with a distinct migration pattern because it is still concentrated in certain areas due to uneven development. The literature informs that not only economic factors influence migration but also amenities. The article examines the role of amenities and economic factors on Indonesia’s cities migration. The results reveal that cities in Java have higher amenities and are still the most popular migration destinations, while migrants can consider cities outside Java if they are included in the high amenities category and the provincial capital. Migrants are also interested in cities with abundant amenities, even if the economic compensation is not high. Our results found that amenities, minimum wages, gross regional domestic product, tertiary sector and growth contributed to migration. The study confirms that amenities other than economic factors influence Indonesian city’s migration. We suggest that the city government prioritize the provision of quality amenities and the creation of a better city economy.

Gianni Talamini, Qi Zhang, Paola Viganò

Urban agriculture (UA) encompasses different practices and dissimilar agendas, not all environmentally and socially savoury, ranging from food security to leisure and recreation. Although there is a wealth of literature on UA, little research has investigated its presence and role in a Chinese global city against the backdrop of unbridled urbanisation. This article focuses on Nanshan District in Shenzhen, a vast, rapidly urbanising region in China. We analyse the social and spatial characteristics of UA and its regulation. Employing a mixed-method approach that combines spatial analysis and in-depth semi-structured interviews, the results demonstrate the coexistence and interaction of diverse types of UA. What emerges is a socio-biologically rich heterogeneity of precarious practices, overlooked by the local authorities, but contributing to stewardship, social development and community engagement, while preserving a precious agricultural heritage. This article presents policy insights and advocates for government involvement in recognising the social significance of UA.

Huijuan Xiao, Zhiyuan Duan, Ya Zhou et al.

Abstract The implementation of CO2 emission mitigation policies in cities is the key to China achieving its national emission mitigation targets. China is experiencing rapid urbanization and facing huge inequality in regional development and then shrinking cities generate. This study, for the first time, discusses long-term CO2 emission patterns of shrinking cities with comparisons of growing cities. 55 cities in Northeast China and the Yangtze River Delta are selected as cases. We first categorize these cities into three groups of shrinking cities and three groups of growing cities with a population index. Each group’s emission patterns in terms of energy, employment and industry structures are then examined. We find that CO2 emissions in the rapidly shrinking group presented a continuously increasing trend, while the other five groups reached their emission peaks in 2011–2013. For slightly and moderately shrinking groups, CO2 emission mitigation was a positive sign but occurred with the decline of secondary industry, especially for resource-based or heavy manufacturing cities, such as Daqing and Anshan in Northeast China. In the case of three types of growing cities, cities were capable of mitigating CO2 emissions and maintaining economic growth. The slightly growing group was the optimal type among these six groups. Its CO2 emissions experienced a decline with an annual rate of −1.47% during 2013–2015, while the economy still soared (increased by 7.27% annually). New economic growth points should be fostered to mitigate further shrinkage and achieve sustainable development for shrinking cities. The cities’ categorization rules, research thinking, and results offered in this study could provide a reference for other cities or developing countries at similar industrialization/urbanization phases to abbreviate their path towards a low-carbon economy.

Bhagawat Rimal, S. Sloan, H. Keshtkar et al.

Globally, urbanization is increasing at an unprecedented rate at the cost of agricultural and forested lands in peri-urban areas fringing larger cities. Such land-cover change generally entails negative implications for societal and environmental sustainability, particularly in South Asia, where high demographic growth and poor land-use planning combine. Analyzing historical land-use change and predicting the future trends concerning urban expansion may support more effective land-use planning and sustainable outcomes. For Nepal’s Tarai region—a populous area experiencing land-use change due to urbanization and other factors—we draw on Landsat satellite imagery to analyze historical land-use change focusing on urban expansion during 1989–2016 and predict urban expansion by 2026 and 2036 using artificial neural network (ANN) and Markov chain (MC) spatial models based on historical trends. Urban cover quadrupled since 1989, expanding by 256 km2 (460%), largely as small scattered settlements. This expansion was almost entirely at the expense of agricultural conversion (249 km2). After 2016, urban expansion is predicted to increase linearly by a further 199 km2 by 2026 and by another 165 km2 by 2036, almost all at the expense of agricultural cover. Such unplanned loss of prime agricultural lands in Nepal’s fertile Tarai region is of serious concern for food-insecure countries like Nepal.

Yasmine Antonini, Rogerio Parentoni Martins

Abstract Insightful studies of habitat fragmentation and bees will consider fragmentation, alteration, and loss of nesting habitats, not just patches of forage plants, as well as the permeability of the surrounding matrix to interpatch movement. Most previous studies on bees defined habitat fragments as remnant patches of floral hosts or forests, overlooking the nesting needs of bees, with their conclusions being that habitat fragmentation is broadly deleterious, but there still remain contrasting results in the literature. We investigated the effects of fragmentation, caused by urbanization, and the permeability of the surrounding matrix on the occurrence of one species of large-sized stingless bee. Individuals of Melipona quadrifasciata were collected at flowering plants in 11 Atlantic Forest fragments (ranging 64–1,406 ha) in southeastern Brazil and analyzed the vegetation structure of the fragments and classified the urbanized matrix. We examined the effects of forest fragment size, fragment isolation and the urban landscape context on the occurrence of M. quadrifasciata. We found the species to be highly dependent on large and tall trees and was found in large fragments with high tree species richness and tree density. The urbanized landscape context was also found to be directly related to the presence of M. quadrifasciata, with the species’ absence from fragments in a highly urbanized landscape. We conclude that habitat quality within a fragment (vegetation structure), as well as matrix quality, are directly related to the occurrence of M. quadrifasciata, as shown by the direct relationship between environmental structural diversity and fragment age. The matrix holding recent fragments, probably due to the sprawl of the city, is more heterogeneous than the one with the oldest fragments. The most heterogeneous matrices possess a certain balance between trees, buildings and bare soil or herbaceous vegetation coverage, making them less impermeable to bees.

I. Abubakar, Y. Aina

Abstract The recent transition from the millennium development goals (MDGs) to the sustainable development goals (SDGs) raises concerns about the extent to which developing countries such as Nigeria have achieved the MDGs and their prospects and challenges of meeting the targets of the SDGs. This paper examines Nigeria’s prospects of achieving the SDG11 that aims to “make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.” Nigeria with a population of about 203 million people, about half of which live in cities and towns, is the largest nation in Africa and the seventh in the world, and by 2050 the population could reach about 400 million, thus becoming the third-largest nation after India and China. Based on desk study methodology where data were collected from secondary sources, including official reports, this article assesses the extent to which Nigeria has achieved MDG7 as the precursor to SDG11 and analyzes the country’s prospects and challenges of meeting SDG11, considering its current urbanization, socioeconomic and security challenges. The paper concludes with key policy recommendations for scaling up efforts toward achieving SDG11 targets.

Zhiyuan MA, Zijian ZHAO, Changyi LIU et al.

Along with the aggravation of climate change, various weather and climate extreme events (abbreviated as climate extremes) are becoming more frequent. During the transition to the use of clean energy, the power system will show increasingly prominent features such as high ratio of clean energy, high ratio of electrification, and a high proportion of electric and electronic equipment, coupled with summer and winter load peaks. Against this backdrop, this paper studies the impacts of climate extremes on the power system using the Texas power outage as an example, and proposes general adaptation measures to cope with climate extremes. For a start, this paper reviews the power outage in Texas caused by an extreme cold wave across the North America in 2021, and conducts an in-depth analysis of its causes. Then, based on the theoretical framework of disaster risk management, this paper analyzes the weather and climate disaster risks, extreme events, exposure, and vulnerability faced by the power system in the context of climate change and extreme events. Finally, in order to build a new power system, this paper establishes an overall framework for the power system to mitigate and adapt to climate change, and summarizes the key techniques involved in power generation, transmission, distribution, and consumption, as well as key technologies in the fields of power supply, power grid, power load, and energy storage, and the strategies and measures for addressing climate change.

Siyuan Ren, Carles Feixa

This research aims to explore the function of intercultural communication of Chinese Rap music and the construction of hybrid identity, through discourse analysis methods: Narrative Semiotics, visual semiology, and sociolinguistics of globalization. The general context of the research is the development of global youth culture and Rap music as an intercultural formulation of local identities. Songs of two Chinese Rap groups are analyzed: Higher Brothers and Bohan Phoenix. In short, it attempts to scrutinize their use of Rap lyrics in order to promote the intercultural communication and construction of hybrid identity.

Sergio Baeriswyl, Oscar Bragos, Silvina Pontoni

Convocamos al arquitecto y urbanista Sergio Baeriswyl por su trayectoria en materia de planificación urbana y gestión pública y por su condición de referente en Chile a la hora de repensar nuestras ciudades y territorios, especialmente, en este contexto de crisis sanitaria global. La invitación a esta conversación tuvo por objeto conocer sus apreciaciones respecto de la situación en que se encuentran las ciudades chilenas de distinta escala en la coyuntura actual, fuertemente castigadas por la emergencia del covid-19, pero también por problemas preexistentes vinculados con riesgos ambientales y con vulnerabilidades sociales comunes a las del resto de Latinoamérica. Profundizar en el conocimiento de las propuestas concretas y de las formas de gestión participativa que condujeron a su definición, resulta un aporte invalorable con miras a aumentar la resiliencia de nuestras ciudades y a contribuir en la solución de los graves problemas que nos afectan. En esta ocasión, interesa especialmente su labor en la región del Biobío, así como la que desempeña en el marco del Consejo Nacional de Desarrollo Urbano que preside actualmente, un órgano consultivo y asesor del Gobierno de Chile, integrado por representantes del sector público, del mundo privado, social, académico y gremial.

Ying CAO, Xiaomei Li, Haoben YAN et al.

According to the statement of President Xi Jinping at the general debate of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, China aims to have CO2 emissions peak before 2030. Regions are the major units undertaking carbon emissions control. The achievement of the national emission peaking target requires the participation of all regions. However, regions still need to rationally judge their peaking targets and paths and enhance their basic capabilities while promoting carbon emissions peak. Besides, China should step up its macro-guidance for regions to peak carbon emissions in terms of top-level design, mechanisms improvement, and overall coordination.

Hauke von Seht

Im Zuge des anstehenden weiteren Umbaus des Energiesystems in Deutschland wird es erforderlich werden, sukzessive weitere Flächen für die Windenergienutzung an Land bereitzustellen. Der derzeitige regulative Rahmen weist jedoch Defizite aus, welche die entsprechenden Planungen erheblich erschweren und verzögern. Daher werden in diesem Beitrag zur Problemlösung gesetzliche Änderungen vorgeschlagen. Der resultierende neue dynamische Steuerungsansatz setzt auf stufenförmige, optimierte Ausbauwerte im Erneuerbare-Energien-Gesetz, auf denen Grundsatzvorgaben im Raumordnungsgesetz aufbauen. Letztere beinhalten Mindestvorgaben für regionalplanerische Vorranggebiete – auf der Basis einzuführender regelmäßiger Analysen des Bundesamtes für Bauwesen und Raumordnung. Bei Einhaltung dieser Werte würde eine angeregte Teilentprivilegierung im Baugesetzbuch greifen, mittels welcher in entsprechenden Regionen auf eine aufwendige und fehleranfällige Konzentrationszonenplanung verzichtet werden kann. Flankierend wird zur Beschleunigung eine Änderung vorgeschlagen, auf deren Grundlage in Vorranggebieten eine Genehmigung von Windenergieanlagen rechtssicher auch bei gegenläufigen, noch nicht angepassten kommunalen Konzentrationszonenplanungen erfolgen kann.

Hanan Eissa

يواجه التعليم الجامعي في مجال العمارة والبناء تحدياً کبيراً منذ ظهور تقنية نمذجة معلومات البناءBuilding information modelling (BIM) التي غيرت من أساليب الممارسة الفعلية لصناعة البناء، وطورت أيضا طرق وأساليب قياس الکميات وتقدير التکلفة لأعمال البناء، مما يستوجب إعادة النظر في الإستراتيجيات والطرق التي يتم بها تعليم وتدريس الطلاب أعمال القياس في برامج التعليم الجامعي المتعلقة بالعمارة والبناء، التي مازالت يتم فيها الترکيز بشکل کبير على تعليم الطرق التقليدية بالتفصيل والقليل من إستخدام تطبيقات البرامج المتخصصة في ذلک، من منطلق هذه الإشکالية قام الباحث بتطوير منهجية مزدوجة لتدريس وتعليم القياس لأعمال البناء في مناهج التعليم المعماري، حيث تفترض الدراسة أن الجمع بين فهم أسس ومبادئ عمليات القياس التقليدية مع إستخدام إمکانيات وأدوات تقنية نمذجة معلومات البناء في التنفيذ سوف يسهل أساليب التعليم والتعلم ويحسن أداء الطلاب، وتهدف الدراسة إلى تطوير وتحسين تعليم مبادئ وأسس القياس ببرامج التعليم المعماري الجامعي، وتم إستخدام المنهج التجريبي لقياس مدى فاعلية المنهجية المقترحة في تدريس مقرر المواصفات وحساب الکميات الذي يقدم لطالبات برنامج التصميم الداخلي بجامعة طيبة بالمملکة العربية السعودية، حيث قام الباحث بصياغة المنهجية وعرض خطة لتطوير المقرر بما يتناسب معها، وشرح مراحل التطبيق وتقييم فاعليتها في تحسين أداء الطالبات من خلال نتائج الإختبارات النظرية والعملية وتقييم المشروع التطبيقي، ثم تقديم إستبيان لإستطلاع أراء الطالبات لتقييم جودة وفاعلية المنهجية والمهارات والتقنيات المستخدمة وتحليل إجابات الإستبيان بالطرق الإحصائية الوصفية، وإستخلاص النتائج التي کان من أهمها إمکانية تفعيل المنهجية في تدريس القياس ببرامج التعليم المعماري لزيادة کفاءة الأداء والإحترافية والدقة لمخرجات التعليم والتعلم ولتأهيل الطلاب لمواکبة المهارات المطلوبة بسوق العمل. Architecture undergraduate education has been facing a major challenge scince the emergence of building information modelling technology that has changed the practice methods of the construction industry, and also developed methods of measurement and cost estimation for construction works. Therefore, it is necessary to reconsider the methods of teaching measurement. In which there is still a great emphasis on traditional methods and little of using specialized BIM software applications. Based on this problem, the researcher developed a dual methodology for teaching building measurement. The study assumes that combining understanding principles of traditional measurement processes with using (BIM) capabilities, will facilitate teaching and learning and improve student performance. The study aims to develop and improve teaching the foundations of measurement. The experimental method was used to measure the effectiveness of the proposed methodology in teaching the interior design program students at Taibah University in Saudi Arabia. The researcher presented a plan to develop the course, explained the stages, and evaluated its effectiveness in improving the performance, then submitted a questionnaire to survey the students’ opinions and analyzed their responses by descriptive statistical methods. The most important result is the possibility of activating the methodology in teaching measurement in architectural education programs to increase performance efficiency and qualify students to keep up with the skills required in the labour market.