When urban areas are developed or renewed, they are typically examined through systematic surveying strategies that focus on the interrelationships between physical structures. Technological apparatus, such as high-resolution aerial photography, light detection and ranging scanning and artificial intelligence-assisted virtual landscape modelling, now inform such processes, offering precise and expansive views of urban landscapes in exacting detail. In contrast, the late nineteenth-century topographic photographers viewed cities as cryptic topographies, best understood through fragmented, street-level perspectives. Similarly playful approaches to urban photographic exploration were developed in the 1960s by the townscape scholar Gordon Cullen, and more recently by the photographer of cities Michael Wolf. Drawing upon the work of these pioneering urban investigators, this research establishes a new approach for recognising, analysing and applying the personal and ethereal aspects of the built environment that are often overlooked in photographic surveys today. The study is synthesised through a photographic investigation of three contemporary redevelopment sites in Portugal. The resulting body of imagery exemplifies the ways in which strategic photographic walking methodologies can be used to gather, discuss and validate the characteristics of urban areas undergoing renewal.
Urban villages (UVs), informal settlements embedded within China's urban fabric, have undergone widespread demolition and redevelopment in recent decades. However, there remains a lack of systematic evaluation of whether the demolished land has been effectively reused, raising concerns about the efficacy and sustainability of current redevelopment practices. To address the gap, this study proposes a deep learning-based framework to monitor the spatiotemporal changes of UVs in China. Specifically, semantic segmentation of multi-temporal remote sensing imagery is first used to map evolving UV boundaries, and then post-demolition land use is classified into six categories based on the"remained-demolished-redeveloped"phase: incomplete demolition, vacant land, construction sites, buildings, green spaces, and others. Four representative cities from China's four economic regions were selected as the study areas, i.e., Guangzhou (East), Zhengzhou (Central), Xi'an (West), and Harbin (Northeast). The results indicate: 1) UV redevelopment processes were frequently prolonged; 2) redevelopment transitions primarily occurred in peripheral areas, whereas urban cores remained relatively stable; and 3) three spatiotemporal transformation pathways, i.e., synchronized redevelopment, delayed redevelopment, and gradual optimization, were revealed. This study highlights the fragmented, complex and nonlinear nature of UV redevelopment, underscoring the need for tiered and context-sensitive planning strategies. By linking spatial dynamics with the context of redevelopment policies, the findings offer valuable empirical insights that support more inclusive, efficient, and sustainable urban renewal, while also contributing to a broader global understanding of informal settlement transformations.
Industrial heritage is increasingly becoming an important resource for sustainable urban renewal. With the acceleration of deindustrialization and urban transformation, Adaptive Reuse (AR) is regarded as the core path connecting heritage protection and functional renewal. Balancing the diverse value dimensions of AR has also become a key research focus. However, existing research mostly focuses on financial returns and investment efficiency, ignoring the long-term impact of community space and cultural dimensions on economic feasibility; at the same time, culture is often simplified into a tool for asset appreciation and urban branding, lacking a systematic model that reveals the structural role of culture in economic feasibility. Therefore, this study constructs a multi-attribute decision-making framework that integrates economic performance, community space, and cultural value. Using Guangzhou Guanggang New City as a representative case, the Fuzzy Delphi Method (FDM), Analytic Network Process (ANP), and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) were employed to screen and rank the highest-priority reuse schemes. The results show that the economic dimension holds the highest overall weight, followed by the community and cultural dimensions. This suggests that economic feasibility remains a key prerequisite for industrial heritage renewal, while cultural and community factors play an important supporting role in achieving long-term sustainability. This study provides a quantifiable assessment path for the adaptive reuse of industrial heritage and offers a basis for decision making in other cities seeking a balance between economic rationality and cultural sustainability.
As urbanization accelerates globally, creating inclusive public spaces that accommodate women's rights and freedoms becomes increasingly vital. This study critically assesses the impact of urban environments on women in public spaces within the Indian context, focusing on Marine Drive in Kochi, Kerala. Employing field investigations, mapping, and both qualitative and quantitative analyses—including surveys of 100 women—the research explores elements affecting women's quality of life in urban settings. Key factors identified include safety concerns, inadequate accessibility, and insufficient infrastructure that hinder women's equitable participation in public spaces. Literature reviews and case studies highlighted parameters influencing women's experiences, such as land use, mobility, visibility, and safety. A theoretical framework addressing design, physical, environmental, cultural, and economic aspects was developed to create gender-sensitive urban spaces. Applying this framework to the design element of land led to specific guidelines enhancing accessibility, mobility, and permeability, which are crucial for women's comfort and security. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of women's interactions with urban environments and provide a foundation for urban planners and policymakers to develop women-friendly public spaces, thereby promoting inclusivity and enhancing the overall urban experience.
The De Tjolomadoe Museum was originally a sugar factory which later underwent a revitalization after being neglected for 20 years by carrying out the concept of adaptive reuse. After the revitalization was completed, the building was reopened as a museum along with various other supporting functions. The widespread use of social media such as Instagram among the public, the De Tjolomadoe Museum also uses Instagram as a medium to interact and attract the attention of the wider community to visit this museum. As a result, many people are interested in visiting and documenting it through photos which are then uploaded to social media and uploaded by tagging the official Instagram account @detjolomadoe_official. This study aims to find the effect of photo composition on the architecture of the De Tjolomadoe Museum by uploading the Instagram photo tag @detjolomadoe_official. This research focuses on the exterior of the museum through photos tagged on the Instagram account @detjolomadoe_official. Photos are taken via screenshots which are then processed by classifying them based on the composition used. The research is continued with analysis and discussion in accordance with related theories. The discussion starts with photo composition preferences, layers in photos, and building elements that appear in photos. The photos obtained were able to strengthen the character of the De Tjolomadoe Museum into a monumental building because of its compositional arrangement.
Details in building design and construction. Including walls, roofs, Urban renewal. Urban redevelopment
Social sustainability to respond to the cities’ social problems and issues and as an efficient dimension in achieving sustainable urban development is a discourse that urban researchers have highly regarded in the last two decades, and researchers have looked at it with different dimensions of the urban built environment. The critical issue is the lack of comprehensive and systematic research in urban built environments, policies and plans. Therefore, the purpose of this study is a meta-synthesis review of selected sources to clarify the dimensions of social sustainability in these areas. Four categories of urban form, policies and plans, dimensions and features and the main areas of social sustainability have been identified by data coding using the MAXQDA software to achieve this goal. By understanding and explaining the stated categories, the results of the studies are presented in a framework of social sustainability, including conceptualization, policy-making and action in the urban built environment. Each dimension enters democracy-based, participation-based, and ideology-based discourses in a more remarkable synthesis. A deep understanding of the results provides a basis for future studies to conduct further studies in each proposed discourse and link them more effectively to social sustainability.
Seyyed Mohammadmahdi Hosseinikia, Negar Khiabanchian, Hadi Rezaei Rad
A successful urban space has a wide range of subjective and objective components, and paying attention to physical indicators plays a decisive role in creating a "successful" place. One of its strategies is the development of pedestrian zones in cities. This research has been carried out in search of the answer to what factors can contribute to the success of pedestrianization projects and place development. This article deals with the comparative analysis of the pedestrianization project of two streets leading to the central square of Hamedan City before and after implementation to investigate the qualitative and quantitative components of the place. The research method combines qualitative and quantitative methods, and observations, interviews, and questionnaires are used to collect information, along with library and documentary studies. The research findings indicate that in this case study, unlike sociability, the three indicators of accessibility, uses and activities, comfort and mental image creation have not improved much. In addition to that, there is a strong relationship between interconnectedness and sociability. Furthermore, improving the quality of the place cannot be done in a one-dimensional way and with a narrow view of specific components. It requires that pedestrianization projects are implemented considering all the components.
Unfortunately, the Republic of Serbia has no perspective of access to the new global capital market, because the painstaking, still unfinished transition process has destroyed any competitive market potential. Agricultural production is still one of the main economic branches. Agricultural land is one of the most important factors of agricultural production. It is often the subject of contention both locally and internationally across all uses as centers of power force the use of agricultural land for non-productive purposes.
Nepal has experienced extraordinary political and social changes in the last 25 years. Since the Constituent Assembly (CA) election in 2008, progress has been noted in increasing women’s access to literacy, education, and healthcare services. Despite significant gender reforms in policies and strategies, Nepali women continue to experience discrimination and violence mainly because of their gender. Drawing upon six different cases – constitutional and international framework, participation of women, women peace and security, sexual and reproductive health rights, gender-responsive budget and citizenship law – this paper highlights some of the achievements and gaps in the area of gender reform policies and practices. Methodologically, the study adopts document review and personal reflections of authors as the main source of information. The paper concludes with some key recommendations to address existing challenges and gaps of these selected policies/strategies.
The government of Nepal has made efforts to formulate and implement the agricultural sector policies since the 1960s. It has formulated dozens of policies and strategies in agriculture, forestry, agro-forestry, climate change, land use, poverty alleviation, irrigation, etc. Some of the policies seem to be targeted to specific groups and communities (poverty alleviation policy), to different sectors and commodities (forest, agriculture, poultry, coffee, etc.), and address international and national concerns and priorities (climate change policy, agrobiodiversity). This study aims to review the implementation of the policy provisions of major agricultural and natural resources policies, explore possible causes for it and suggest measures to effectively implement policy provisions in the future. We have reviewed seven agriculture policies for their provision and implementation and identified some common features and inadequacies. Our recommendations for policy reform include the practice of wider consideration, inter-policy coherence, sufficient institutional framework, periodic policy evaluation, improved accountability, and consideration for national Interest.
New revitalization and regeneration strategies are currently taking place as a scheme for reassessing urban spaces. This paper, as a result, navigates the theory of Urban Acupuncture (UA) as a quick and effective tool that can be adopted in large cities. Using Riyadh city as a case study, it discusses how this tool can be used to achieve maximum results with minimal effort in the most critical places. Riyadh city is the capital of Saudi Arabia and is considered one of the fastest-growing metropolitan cities in the Arab world. Through time, it has transformed into a city with leftover open spaces and an ever-increasing population. The study commences by exploring the term UA and its principles and similarly presents some of its successful international examples. It thereafter delves into the past and current situation in the city to show some of the challenges it faces. The study aims to develop a filtering framework for selecting a suitable sensitive spot that can be used to apply the concept of UA. A conclusion is made that as a small-scale space approach and a progressive concentrated urban renewal strategy.