Introduction: Stroke is a leading cause of mortality, and tobacco use is a significant modifiable risk factor. This study analyzed trends in tobacco-associated stroke mortality in the United States from 1999 through 2023 using CDC WONDER data. Methods: We included adults aged ≥ 25 years with cerebrovascular disease (ICD-10 I60–I69) as the underlying cause of death and tobacco-related disorders (ICD-10 F17.0–F17.9) as contributing causes. Age-adjusted mortality rates (AAMRs) per 100,000 population were calculated based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Rates were stratified by sex, race/ethnicity, urban-rural status, geographic region, state, and ten-year age groups. Joinpoint regression was used to estimate annual and average annual percent changes (APC and AAPC) in mortality trends over time. Results: A total of 157,916 tobacco-related stroke deaths occurred from 1999 to 2023. The AAMRs increased from 0.41 (95 % CI: 0.38–0.44) in 1999 to 3.80 (95 % CI: 3.73–3.87) in 2023 (average APC: 9.65 %, p < 0.0001). Males had higher AAMRs (3.52) than females (2.02), although females experienced a steeper increase from 1999 to 2005 (APC: 41.3 %, 95 % CI: 30.2–53.3). Non-Hispanic Blacks had the highest average AAMR (3.13), followed by Non-Hispanic Whites (2.83) and Hispanics (1.31). Rural areas (3.84) exceeded metropolitan regions (2.38). Regionally, the Midwest had the highest AAMR (3.57); state rates ranged from Oregon (8.0) to California (0.31). By age, the highest crude rates occurred in those aged 75 years and older, particularly in the 85+ group, which showed a sustained upward trend (APC: 4.29 %, 95 % CI: 3.47–5.11). Conclusion: Disparities in tobacco-associated stroke mortality are increasing across demographic and geographic subgroups, underscoring the need for targeted prevention strategies, equitable access to stroke care, and enhanced health literacy.
Abstract Ecological network resilience—the fundamental capacity of ecosystems to maintain functional stability under external disturbances—has emerged as a focal topic in regional ecological security research. This study focuses on the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, employing multi-temporal datasets spanning 2000–2020. First, we developed an ecological security pattern evaluation framework integrating water resources, soil and water conservation, and ecosystem quality to identify ecological source areas. Next, we established a three-dimensional evaluation index system encompassing natural environment, human activities, and physical barriers to generate resistance surfaces. The MCR model was applied to extract ecological corridors and construct the source–corridor pattern. The gravity model was employed to construct ecological networks and analyze their topological structures. Finally, ecological network resilience was assessed through simulated disturbance scenarios. The results indicate that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the number of ecological source areas was 55, 65, and 54, respectively, exhibiting a “rise–then–decline” trend. Spatially, these areas shifted from scattered to concentrated and contiguous. The network’s core nodes evolved from a decentralized to a highly centralized control structure, increasingly influencing overall network resilience. (2) Over the same period, the number of ecological corridors was 1,485, 2,580, and 1,431, respectively, with primary corridors numbering 41, 89, and 139. These corridors exhibited a spatial pattern of “dense in the south and sparse in the north, dense in the periphery and sparse in the center.” Despite the overall decrease, interaction strength increased, species circulation efficiency improved, and a stable ecological corridor ring gradually formed. (3) The ecological network evolved from incremental expansion to quality- and efficiency-oriented enhancement, ultimately forming an efficient and stable structure. Based on these findings, we identified 8 core nodes, 36 secondary nodes, 29 general nodes, and 86 key ecological corridors in the Wuhan Metropolitan Area, leading to the construction of a composite ecological security pattern characterized as “one screen, three cores, three axes, and multiple networks.” Targeted optimization strategies were proposed to inform the sustainable development of composite ecosystem regions and guide the construction of ecological security patterns.
The concept of high-quality development (HQD) is characterized by its emphasis on efficiency, equity, and environmental sustainability. In the context of China’s new urbanization development, the metropolitan area plays a crucial role in facilitating and sustaining HQD. This study focuses on the Changchun Metropolitan Area (CCMA) as a case study to measure the efficiency of high-quality development (HQDE) at the county level using the super-efficiency SBM model and spatial autocorrelation model. Additionally, we examine the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics of HQDE in terms of economy, innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing (EICGOS). The main findings are as follows: (1) The HQDE of the CCMA ranges from 0.7 to 0.8 with an initial rapid increase followed by a gradual decline; however, there are notable variations among different counties. (2) Regarding spatial structure within the metropolitan area, highest efficiency is observed in the half-hour living circle followed by the 2-h accessibility circle while lowest efficiency is found in the 1-h commuting circle. Over time, there is a declining trend in efficiency within core leading areas. (3) In terms of dimensions, CCMA demonstrates the highest level of economic development efficiency (EDE), whereas green development efficiency (GDE) exhibits lower levels compared to other dimensions. Furthermore, development efficiencies across all dimensions show a decline over time. (4) Spatially distributed patterns reveal significant agglomeration areas for HQDE within the CCMA region. High-high agglomeration areas are predominantly concentrated in the central region of Changchun and southern region of Liaoyuan while low-low agglomeration areas primarily exist in northwest Songyuan and specific counties within Changchun. To attain HQD of the CCMA, it is advisable to bolster the economic scale of the central city, mitigate developmental disparities between counties and cities, and expedite green transformations in old industrial cities. These findings offer a valuable point of reference for optimizing resource allocation at the metropolitan level and devising strategies to foster regional HQD.
Eftychia Zargiannaki, Panagiotis G. Tzouras, Eleni Antoniou
et al.
The reduction of speed limits in urban roads through traffic calming schemes intends to ensure safer traffic conditions among road users by reducing the probability related to the occurrence of severe accident. Looking it from a different perspective, traffic calming measures can potentially resolve congestion problems at the same time by lowering the overall accessibility and attractiveness of private cars in urban areas. This study proposes a new methodological approach to explore and assess the direct impacts of traffic calming in the transport system efficiency of a metropolitan area. The multi-agent transport simulation (MATSim) and Open-Berlin scenario are utilized to perform this simulation experiment. By developing a new external tool, the free flow speed and road capacity of each network link is updated based on new speed limits and different compliance rates, which are defined per road hierarchy level. The test scenarios that are formulated present radical conditions, where the speed limit in most urban roads of Berlin drops to 30 km/h or even 15 km/h. The findings of this study show a considerably high increase in trips, passenger hours, and passenger kilometers using public transport modes, when traffic calming links are introduced, the reserve change is observed in private cars trips. Although the speed limits are decreased in inner urban roads in most of the scenarios, the decrease of average travel speed of private cars is not so high as it was expected. Surprisingly, private cars are used for longer distances in all test scenarios. Car drivers seem to use already existed motorways and private road to commute. In simulations, driver compliance to the new speed limits seems to be a determinant factor that is strongly influenced by the design interventions applied in a traffic calming area.
With urban areas facing rapid population growth, public transport plays a key role to provide efficient and economic accessibility to the residents. It reduces the use of personal vehicles leading to reduced traffic congestion on roads and reduced pollution. To assess the performance of these transport systems, prior studies have taken into consideration the blank spot areas, population density, and stop access density; however, very little research has been performed to compare the accessibility between cities using a GIS-based approach. This paper compares the access and performance of public transport across Melbourne and Sydney, two cities with a similar size, population, and economy. The methodology uses spatial PostGIS queries to focus on accessibility-based approach for each residential mesh block and aggregates the blank spots, and the number of services offered by time of day and the frequency of services at the local government area (LGA) level. The results of the study reveal an interesting trend: that with increase in distance of LGA from city centre, the blank spot percentage increases while the frequency of services and stops offering weekend/night services declines. The results conclude that while Sydney exhibits a lower percentage of blank spots and has better coverage, performance in terms of accessibility by service time and frequency is better for Melbourne’s LGAs, even as the distance increases from the city centre.
Irapuan Peixoto Lima Filho, Giovanna Freitas Rebouças, Sol Carolina L. Salgado
Resumo Este artigo analisa os dados de pesquisa realizada em Fortaleza, com objetivo de refletir sobre o deslocamento casa-trabalho e suas características socioespaciais, bem como sobre a relação entre modais de transporte e tempo. Demonstra a concentração de postos de trabalho na zona central (norte-leste), enquanto há concentração populacional num cinturão periférico oeste-sul, com tendência à monofuncionalidade. Isto aponta para o spatial mismatch que acomete a população mais pobre, penalizada ainda com jornadas mais longas e demoradas no transporte público. A pesquisa demonstra como as classes altas são beneficiadas com jornadas mais curtas e rápidas, ao passo que o sistema público de transporte sofre de desorganização e ineficiência e os terminais rodoviários de integração adicionam muito mais tempo à jornada casa-trabalho.
Serena Rigamonti, Giuseppe Dattola, Paolo Frattini
et al.
Ground deformations in urban areas can be the result of a combination of multiple factors and pose several hazards to infrastructures and human lives. In order to monitor these phenomena, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) techniques are applied. The obtained signals record the overlapping of the phenomena, and their separation is a relevant issue. In this framework, we explored a new multi-method approach based on the combination of Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and Hierarchal Clustering (HC) on the standardized results to distinguish the main trends and seasonal signals embedded in the time series of ground displacements, to understand spatial-temporal patterns, to correlate ground deformation phenomena with geological and anthropogenic factors, and to recognize the specific footprints of different ground deformation phenomena. This method allows us to classify the ground deformations at the site scale in the metropolitan area of Naples, which is affected by uplift cycles, subsidence, cavity instabilities and sinkholes. At the local scale, the results allow a kinematic classification using the extracted components and considering the effect of the radius of influence generated by each cavity, as it is performed from a theoretical point of view when the draw angle is considered. According to the results, among the classified cavities, 2% were assigned to subsidence and 11% to uplift kinematics, while the remaining were found to be stable. Furthermore, our results show that the centering of the Spatial-PCA (S-PCA) is representative of the region’s main trend, whereas Temporal-PCA (T-PCA) gives information about the displacement rates identified by each component.
Nowadays, the development of a metropolitan area has become one of the milestones for regions to move towards a high level of urbanization and has been elevated to a national strategy. In this paper, the economic and social development level of the four major metropolitan areas in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2005 to 2020 was dynamically evaluated by constructing an evaluation index system, which is based on a new development concept of China, and applying the “vertical and horizontal” evaluation method and model. Meanwhile, in order to reflect the core development concept of “leading small cities with large ones and coordinating development”, this study incorporates the spatial and temporal economic connectivity between the central city and the surrounding small and medium sized member cities, as well as the industrial structure rationality and synergy into the index system, and applies the gravity model, the Thiel index and the industrial structure similarity coefficient to measure them, respectively. The study shows that the economic and social development of the four metropolitan areas is extremely uneven, with each area having certain shortcomings, and the development level of each area fluctuates significantly in terms of economic connectivity and industrial structure. Finally, relevant suggestions are put forward according to the shortcomings to provide reference for the future development direction of the metropolitan area, which is of great practical significance to promote the high-quality development of the regional economy.
Hossein Jafari Jeblai, Seyed Mehdi Mousakazemi, hassan Hekmatnia
et al.
Extended Abstract:IntroductionImam Ali Square (AS) as the most important open space in the northern part of Isfahan with high activity density needs to achieve the desired quantitative and qualitative dimensions. The reconstruction and revitalization of the square has been the major costly urban renovation project in this city. For examlem to rehabilitate the square, the passing cars in the four streets leading to this place were first driven out of the square through the underpasses and then, all the shops in the middle of the square wer bought and demolished through public participation by using participation papers. Next, the markets on the sides of the square were completed and restored with traditional designs. The local markets have now their activaties in this square on Mondays and Wednesdays, while the municipality has tried to organize or dismantle them. When paying attention to the actions taken, one can observe that they are comprehensive and holistic.However, only physical issues, such as paving and improvement of appearance, have been considered in the restoration plans of this complex. It seems that effective steps have not been taken to revitalize this square. Revitalization of an urban -- economic life and vitality --has a hidden dimension often overlooked. For example, this complex has not been successful in enabling the former merchants to buy new shops and got involved in such issues as lack of attending to former small businesses that have used to increase interactions, lack of welcoming citizens, and lack of maintaining meanings and memories. Due to its proximity to the old market and historical sites, this space has the potential to create an active tourist center that can provide strong roots of urban life. Therefore, paying more attention to the performance of this area could increase citizens' satisfaction and vitality and a sense of belonging for citizens and businesses. Undoubtedly, neglecting the mentioned factors and not conducting the necessary research in this regard would cause the lack of tangible identity, disorder and visual confusion, lack of psychological security and people’s confusion in the area, abandonment of cultural and historical elements, lack of positive people’s evaluation of urban spaces, reduced social interactions, and decreased sense of belonging. Therefore, the present made an attempt to study the effects of recreating Imam Ali Square on the socio-economic performance of the surrounding area. MethodologyThe present study was an applied research with a descriptive-analytical approach. In the first step, a list of the influential factors were identified as the research variables and compiled in the form of two questionnaires. In the first questionnaire, the importance of each factor based on Likert Spectrum was asked from 100 urban experts as the statistical population using the Snowball method. To assess the importance of economic and socio-cultural practices in Imam Ali Square, the information collected from the first questionnaire was analyzed through descriptive findings and Chi-square tests in the SPSS software environment. The average values of economic and socio-cultural indicators in the real society were assumed to be equal to 3. The importance of the studied indicators in all the items had to be higher than average. Applying the method of Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) in the LISREL software environment, the effective socio-economic factors in recreating the area of Imam Ali Square were identified. DiscussionThe results showed that the level of satisfaction with the neighborhood was below the social criterion and the economic criterion of land and housing market was one of the most important factors affecting the quality of life in the area. Changing false and unstable activities and jobs, organizing suitable jobs and activities, modifying the prices of residential commercial lands, increasing the qualities of commercial units, attracting domestic and foreign investors to the economic sector, increasing the presence of pedestrians and social groups and their understanding of the area, removing the disturbing jobs, strengthening the national and international images of this square, organizing beggars, using the square as an urban space, and reducing individual and social insecurities in the social sector were among the factors that received the highest points in the fields of recreating the economic and socio-cultural performance of the square, thus indicating that the project of recreating the revitalizing Imam Ali Square had been successful in these fields. ConclusionImam Ali Square was considered as the most active and prosperous commercial and economic areas in Isfahan before its reconstruction. People from the surrounding cities and villages in addition to Isfahan used to come to this place for shopping due to the great variety of products offered in this area. For example, the fruit and vegetable market in the north of Abdul Razzaq Street was very prosperous though being an irregular complex of fruit stalls. In the past, especially during the Qajar period, this center was used to buy and sell coal. However, after supplying oil and gas to the domestic and industrial markets, the coal sale activity gradually declined and was replaced by peddling activities. Towards the end of the square, a gathering place was formed for vendors to sell second-hand and cheap goods. Another market in this area was the bird market in Cucumber Caravanserai. In this market, animals, such as chickens, roosters, partridges, pigeons, etc., were sold. The mentioned center and the coal market had a very dirty atmosphere and an unfavorable appearance. They had nothing to do with the historical identity and cultural values of the area. In this place, peddling, smuggling, buying and selling drugs, and begging were done a lot.Nevertheless, among the actions taken, meanings and memorable messages, customer attraction, business satisfaction, and economic life were lacking in this area and this had caused it to be involved in a declined prosperity and hence not to have its former vitality. Keywords: urban space, recreation, historical context, Imam Ali Square, Isfahan References:- Aykaç, P., Rifaioğlu, M.N., Altınöz, A.G.B., Güçhan, N.Ş., (2009). Design Interventions as Regenerators in Historic Towns: Proposal for Ayvalık Historic Depots Region, In the International Conference on the Urban Projects, Architectural Intervention in Urban Areas, TU, Delft, The Netherlands.- Bailey, N., (2010). Understanding community empowerment in urban regeneration and planning in England: putting policy and practice in context, Planning Practice & Research, 25 (3), 317-332.- Bursiewicz, N., (2018). Regeneration of market squares in historic town centres: ideas, discussions, controversies, Urban development issues, 60 (1), 67-79.- Cho, G.H., Kim, J.H., Lee, G., (2020). Announcement effects of urban regeneration plans on residential property values: Evidence from Ulsan, Korea, Cities, 97, 102570.- Coscia, C., Rubino, I., (2020, May). Fostering New Value Chains and Social Impact-Oriented Strategies in Urban Regeneration Processes: What Challenges for the Evaluation Discipline? In INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM: New Metropolitan Perspectives, pp. 983-992, Springer, Cham.- Couch, C., Dennemann, A., (2000). Urban regeneration and sustainable development in Britain: The example of the Liverpool Ropewalks Partnership, Cities, 17 (2), 137-147.- Couch, C., Sykes, O., Börstinghaus, W., (2011). Thirty years of urban regeneration in Britain, Germany and France: The importance of context and path dependency, Progress in planning, 75 (1), 1-52.- Ellin, N., (2006). Integral Urbanism, London and New York: Routledge.- Hajjari, M., (2009). Improving urban life through urban public spaces: a comparison between Iranian and Australian cases, Universitas, 21.- https://rasekhoon.net/- https://www.yjc.news/- Korkmaz, C., Balaban, O., (2020). Sustainability of urban regeneration in Turkey: Assessing the performance of the North Ankara Urban Regeneration Project, Habitat International, 95, 102081.- Orueta, F.D., (2007). Madrid: Urban regeneration projects and social mobilization, Cities, 24 (3), 183-193.- Raco, M., (2003). Assessing the discourses and practices of urban regeneration in a growing region, Geoforum, 34 (1), 37-55.- Sairinen, R., Kumpulainen, S., (2006). Assessing social impacts in urban waterfront regeneration, Environmental impact assessment review, 26 (1), 120-135.- San Juan, C., Subiza-Pérez, M., Vozmediano, L., (2017). Restoration and the city: the role of public urban squares, Frontiers in psychology, 8, 2093.- Sasaki, M., (2010). Urban regeneration through cultural creativity and social inclusion: Rethinking creative city theory through a Japanese case study, Cities, 27, S3-S9.- Trancik, R., (1986). Finding lost space, theories of urban space, New york, 256.- Uysal, Ü.E., (2012). An urban social movement challenging urban regeneration: The case of Sulukule, Istanbul. Cities, 29 (1), 12-22.- Wang, Y., Yamaguchi, K., Kawasaki, M., (2018). Urban revitalization in highly localized squares: A case study of the Historic Centre of Macao, Urban Design International, 23 (1), 34-53.- Xuili, G., Maliene, V., (2021). A Review of Studies on Sustainable Urban Regeneration, EPiC Series in Built Environment, 2, 615-625.- Yu, J.H., Kwon, H.R., (2011). Critical success factors for urban regeneration projects in Korea, International Journal of Project Management, 29 (7), 889-899.
mahdi moharreri, mohammad naghizade, fereshte ahmadi
et al.
One of the issues facing today's cities in Iran is the issue of maintaining and upgrading existing streets. The way of managing theses streets and dealing with them has caused various problems in different aspects of cities. The purpose of this research is investigating the principles of maintenance and promotion of urban streets with a focus on Islamic teachings and Iranian culture. This research also explains some ways to improve the quality of urban streets using Islamic teachings and Iranian culture. Gathering information was done through observation, field study and documentary studies. Using content analysis methods, documenting and graphical analysis, information and data were analyzed. The quality of the cities depends on the quality of the streets and the quality of the streets is also based on the details of the streets. After designing and constructing urban streets, they need attention, maintenance and promotion in order to be always attractive and desirable for citizens. The results of this study indicate neglecting the indigenous material, art, culture, religion, needs and interests of citizens which has led to the construction of unqualified urban spaces in the metropolitan areas of today's Iranian cities. This research did not seek to provide a template for urban streets designing, but it is in direction of developing principles of planning and designing urban streets based on Islamic teachings and Iranian culture. In addition to having appearances according to Islamic teachings and Iranian culture, desirable street for Iranian citizens should also be Islamic and Iranian internally. With Just the correctness of appearances it can be said that only hypocrisy is obtained, but with internal reforming, honesty can be created in urban spaces.
Giovanna Calia, Antonio Ledda, Vittorio Serra
et al.
The decline of natural capital resulting from urbanization has triggered phenomena such as landscape fragmentation and loss of biodiversity. European institutions have published documents and strategies with the purpose of counteracting such phenomena. In this regard, in 2020 the European Commission released the European Biodiversity Strategy 2030, which defines biodiversity conservation objectives and promotes the implementation of green infrastructures (GIs) designed to supply ecosystem services, which can increase people’s well-being. The scientific literature has scarcely dealt with methods for drafting guidance documents (guidelines) to support public administrations in the implementation of GIs. In this study, we aim at designing and applying a method for drafting GI guidelines. We apply the method to the Metropolitan City of Cagliari, the main urbanized area—which partially includes the former Province of Cagliari—of Sardinia (Italy). According to the findings, a proposal of GI guidelines should be rooted in context analysis and consistency checks and should be tailored to specific geographical and institutional contexts. The preliminary guidelines described in this study are designed to provide public administrations with GI guidelines based on scientific, technical, and cultural considerations, and are aimed at supporting an effective implementation of GIs and a GI network.
With increasing realization that particles in the air are a major health risk in urban areas, strengthening particle deposition is discussed as a means to air-pollution mitigation. Particles are deposited physically on leaves and thus the process depends on leaf area and surface properties, which change throughout the year. Current state-of-the-art modeling accounts for these changes only by altering leaf longevity, which may be selected by vegetation type and geographic location. Particle removal also depends on weather conditions, which determine deposition and resuspension but generally do not consider properties that are specific to species or plant type. In this study, we modeled <2.5 μm-diameter particulate-matter (PM2.5) deposition, resuspension, and removal from urban trees along a latitudinal gradient (Berlin, Munich, Rome) while comparing coniferous with broadleaf (deciduous and evergreen) tree types. Accordingly, we re-implemented the removal functionality from the i-Tree Eco model, investigated the uncertainty connected with parameterizations, and evaluated the efficiency of pollution mitigation depending on city conditions. We found that distinguishing deposition velocities between conifers and broadleaves is important for model results, i.e., because the removal efficiency of conifers is larger. Because of the higher wind speed, modeled PM2.5 deposition from conifers is especially large in Berlin compared to Munich and Rome. Extended periods without significant precipitation decrease the amount of PM2.5 removal because particles that are not occasionally washed from the leaves or needles are increasingly resuspended into the air. The model predicted this effect particularly during the long summer periods in Rome with only very little precipitation and may be responsible for less-efficient net removal from urban trees under climate change. Our analysis shows that the range of uncertainty in particle removal is large and that parameters have to be adjusted at least for major tree types if not only the species level. Furthermore, evergreen trees (broadleaved as well as coniferous) are predicted to be more effective at particle removal in northern regions than in Mediterranean cities, which is unexpected given the higher number of evergreens in southern cities. We discuss to what degree the effect of current PM2.5 abundance can be mitigated by species selection and which model improvements are needed.
Eloy Solís-Trapero, Julio Plaza-Tabasco, Héctor Samuel Martínez Sánchez-Mateos
The logistic activity has been analysed by different approaches, but with a lack of attention to its impacts in the urban and spatial configuration. This work studies the logistic expansion in the Urban Region of Madrid, considering the geographical polarization and its preferential location in suburban and rural zones in the metropolitan area. The methodology considers three variables enlightening the spatial and temporal diffusion: workers and companies by municipality, logistic land use by province and different types of logistic land use. The results confirm the dissemination of logistics in metropolitan areas according to suburbanization and spread processes, at the same time appears new urban centralities as a consequence of the capitalist integration of the economy at different scales.
Manjula Ranagalage, Ronald C. Estoque, Yuji Murayama
One of the major impacts associated with unplanned rapid urban growth is the decrease of urban vegetation, which is often replaced with impervious surfaces such as buildings, parking lots, roads, and pavements. Consequently, as the percentage of impervious surfaces continues to increase at the expense of vegetation cover, surface urban heat island (SUHI) forms and becomes more intense. The Colombo Metropolitan Area (CMA), Sri Lanka, is one of the rapidly urbanizing metropolitan regions in South Asia. In this study, we examined the spatiotemporal variations of land surface temperature (LST) in the CMA in the context of the SUHI phenomenon using Landsat data. More specifically, we examined the relationship of LST with the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the normalized difference built-up index (NDBI) at three time points (1997, 2007 and 2017). In addition, we also identified environmentally critical areas based on LST and NDVI. We found significant correlations of LST with NDVI (negative) and NDBI (positive) (p < 0.001) across all three time points. Most of the environmentally critical areas are located in the central business district (CBD), near the harbor, across the coastal belt, and along the main transportation network. We recommend that those identified environmentally critical areas be considered in the future urban planning and landscape development of the city. Green spaces can help improve the environmental sustainability of the CMA.
The modern society development involves new and diverse issues considering urban environmental pollution. Traffic generated sound and vibration are two upto-date urban environmental pollution causes besides air and water pollution ones. Public transportation in metropolitan areas is a major and constant all levels environmental pollution cause. Electric engines as an alternative to internal combustion ones could reduce the air pollution caused by urban public transportation. The tram network is an important element of this approach even if a poor condition of tram network elements could be a major cause of sound and vibration environmental pollution. This research paper is a study of a particular case considering the vibration level transmitted to a building close to tram network in the town of Braila City.
The paper aims to present as an organic structure the outcomes from various pieces of research and consulting activities developed over the last few years (2011-2015). Shared topics are: urban-rural partnerships, food planning, metropolitan polices and the territorial resilience of periurban areas. In the first part (the core of the paper) the paper underlines critical questions and establishes needs so as to move towards a new approach to development processes in periurban areas. The paper uses some key concepts to present the main outcomes: 1. Understanding complexity (multiscales in space) and dynamics (multiscales in time); 2. Identifying all the resources and opportunities; 3. Crosscutting and multi-issues. In the second part (in the final part) the paper proposes the “Ecotone” metaphor to support innovation in the approach to periurban areas. It is a “zone of transition between adjacent ecological systems, having a set of characteristics uniquely defined by space and time scales and by the strength of the interactions between adjacent ecological systems” (Hansen et al, 1992). In these terms, periurban areas may be assumed to be ecotonal zones of transition between urban and rural or natural systems. Using the concept of “ecotonal buffer of transition” to approach the periurban systems it is possible to connect main needs and critical questions underlined to a homogeneous framework and to emphasise on the strategic role that the peri-urban systems play for the future development of metropolitan regions oriented to a improvement of resilience of socio-ecosystems. In the final part the paper focuses on the governace of urban rural partnerships and research perspectives.
Transportation engineering, Urbanization. City and country