ABSTRACT The Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) Day/Night Band (DNB) collects global low-light imaging data that have significant improvements over comparable data collected for 40 years by the DMSP Operational Linescan System. One of the prominent features of DNB data is the detection of electric lighting present on the Earth’s surface. Most of these lights are from human settlements. VIIRS collects source data that could be used to generate monthly and annual science grade global radiance maps of human settlements with electric lighting. There are a substantial number of steps involved in producing a product that has been cleaned to exclude background noise, solar and lunar contamination, data degraded by cloud cover, and features unrelated to electric lighting (e.g. fires, flares, volcanoes). This article describes the algorithms developed for the production of high-quality global VIIRS night-time lights. There is a broad base of science users for VIIRS night-time lights products, ranging from land-use scientists, urban geographers, ecologists, carbon modellers, astronomers, demographers, economists, and social scientists.
Significance Increased extreme heat exposure from both climate change and the urban heat island effect threatens rapidly growing urban settlements worldwide. Yet, because we do not know where urban population growth and extreme heat intersect, we have limited capacity to reduce the impacts of urban extreme heat exposure. Here, we leverage fine-resolution temperature and population data to measure urban extreme heat exposure for 13,115 cities from 1983 to 2016. Globally, urban exposure increased nearly 200%, affecting 1.7 billion people. Total urban warming elevated exposure rates 52% above population growth alone. However, spatially heterogeneous exposure patterns highlight an urgent need for locally tailored adaptations and early warning systems to reduce harm from urban extreme heat exposure across the planet’s diverse urban settlements. Increased exposure to extreme heat from both climate change and the urban heat island effect—total urban warming—threatens the sustainability of rapidly growing urban settlements worldwide. Extreme heat exposure is highly unequal and severely impacts the urban poor. While previous studies have quantified global exposure to extreme heat, the lack of a globally accurate, fine-resolution temporal analysis of urban exposure crucially limits our ability to deploy adaptations. Here, we estimate daily urban population exposure to extreme heat for 13,115 urban settlements from 1983 to 2016. We harmonize global, fine-resolution (0.05°), daily temperature maxima and relative humidity estimates with geolocated and longitudinal global urban population data. We measure the average annual rate of increase in exposure (person-days/year−1) at the global, regional, national, and municipality levels, separating the contribution to exposure trajectories from urban population growth versus total urban warming. Using a daily maximum wet bulb globe temperature threshold of 30 °C, global exposure increased nearly 200% from 1983 to 2016. Total urban warming elevated the annual increase in exposure by 52% compared to urban population growth alone. Exposure trajectories increased for 46% of urban settlements, which together in 2016 comprised 23% of the planet’s population (1.7 billion people). However, how total urban warming and population growth drove exposure trajectories is spatially heterogeneous. This study reinforces the importance of employing multiple extreme heat exposure metrics to identify local patterns and compare exposure trends across geographies. Our results suggest that previous research underestimates extreme heat exposure, highlighting the urgency for targeted adaptations and early warning systems to reduce harm from urban extreme heat exposure.
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ix ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS xi Prologue 1 Chapter 1: Why Compare? 13 Chapter 2: Controlling Narratives 42 Chapter 3: A Question of Europe 68 Chapter 4: Unsettled Settlements 94 Chapter 5: Food for Thought 119 Chapter 6: Natural Mothers and Other Kinds 146 Chapter 7: Ethical Sense and Sensibility 171 Chapter 8: Making Something of Life 203 Chapter 9: The New Social Contract 225 Chapter 10: Civic Epistemology 247 Chapter 11: Republics of Science 272 APPENDIX: CHRONOLOGY 293 NOTES 295 REFERENCES 339 INDEX 361
K.B. Makhanov, A.A. Khitakhunov, Z. Zhanaltay
et al.
This study analyzes changes in the spatial distribution of the rural population in post-Soviet Kazakhstan using census data from 1989 to 2024. While the total rural population has remained stable, over 27% of rural settlements have been eliminated during the sample period. Applying a proximity-based framework, the research shows that districts near major cities have experienced rural population growth and resilience, while remote areas face sharp decline and village abandonment. The findings reveal a selective spatial reorganization of the rural landscape, with populations concentrating in fewer, larger settlements located within accessible distance of major urban centers. These dynamics reflect not only rural decline, but also broader structural changes aligned with Kazakhstan’s ongoing urbanization. The observed patterns are closely tied to Kazakhstan’s broader urbanization process in a way that cities have become a key factor shaping rural viability, reinforcing demographic and spatial reorganization across the country. Overall, the findings align with broader research on rural transformation, providing a detailed case of how proximity to urban centers has shaped rural population patterns and settlement structures in post-Soviet Kazakhstan over time, reflecting enduring trends of spatial concentration and selective territorial development.
Keywords: rural population, population geography, urbanization, migration, post-Soviet Kazakhstan.
Phthalates (PAEs), as prevalent endocrine disruptors, are widely distributed in indoor environments and enter the human body through dermal contact, respiratory inhalation, and ingestion, subsequently participating in metabolic processes across various organs and tissues. Existing studies primarily focus on predicting regional exposure scenarios to assess internal or external exposures risks; however, limited studies have systematically examined the correlation and discrepancies between internal and external exposures. This study collected PAEs samples from three phases (gas, particle, and dust phases) across three representative indoor environments and conducted urinary biomonitoring of phthalate metabolites (mPAEs) among exposed populations. Results showed that PAEs concentrations in the gas phase (21.67 μg·m−3) and particle phase (2.38 μg·m−3) were significantly higher in laboratories than in dormitories and offices, whereas office desktops exhibited the highest dust phase concentration (312 μg·g−1). Urinary analysis revealed distinct metabolic profiles across populations: MBP was the dominant metabolite in office and dormitory groups (median: 19.3 ng·mL−1 and 10.4 ng·mL−1, respectively), while MMP prevailed in laboratory populations (median: 18.3 ng·mL−1). Seasonal variation analysis indicated that urinary mPAEs concentrations were 4.28 times higher in summer than in winter. Demographic analysis showed that mPAEs levels were higher in males, individuals with obesity, and those with frequent plastic use compared to females, individuals with normal BMI, and those with infrequent plastic use. Furthermore, external exposure estimated from ambient PAEs concentrations exceeded internal exposure derived from urinary mPAEs concentrations by 17.3 %. These findings provide critical insights into exposure pathway differentiation and risk assessment optimization for indoor PAEs contamination.
Archaeological evidence shows the transformation of Sens and Troyes during Late Antiquity. The urban area shrank in the second half of the 3rd century AD and both cities had a city wall by the middle of the 4th century AD. The fortifications do not seem to constitute a clear urban limit in the 4th century AD, the distribution of finds suggesting the coexistence of extra muros settlements developing along roads exiting the city wall.Small finds from Sens suggest a strong presence of the militia intra muros, which could explain the presence of extra muros districts in the 4th and early 5th centuries AD.
VÍTOR OLIVEIRAISUF, Urban Morphology and Human SettlementsSpringer, Cham (Suiza), 2024, 274 pp. Tapa blanda y tapa dura. 145 €Idioma: inglésHARDCOVER ISBN: 978-3-031-58135-9SOFTCOVER ISBN: 978-3-031-58138-0
The new tendency in Urban Green Spaces (UGS) design is to establish sustainable and health-promoting public parks – often described as the new (second) generation of public parks. The possibilities of wider implementation of the new generation of public parks are presented as an example of a recently constructed or revitalized park in the Pomerania region. This paper discusses three public parks in the Pomerania region – Public Municipal Parks in Rumia, Reda and Wejherowo. In this study, the main research question was whether the selected parks promote the well-being of inhabitants as well as sustainability. The parks were assessed using a standardized tool – the universal standard of health-promoting urban places. All three parks are places for physical, mental and social restoration of neighborhood communities, as well as ecological education. Thus, they can be regarded as health-affirming urban places
The study investigates the application of steel slag as an innovative material for compaction piles in the stabilization of soft soils, offering an eco-friendly alternative to conventional gravel compaction piles (GCPs). Through a comprehensive series of laboratory tests, field experiments, and numerical simulations, this study evaluated the performance, environmental impact, and long-term behavior of steel slag compaction piles (SSCPs). The key findings revealed that steel slag not only provides immediate soil improvement comparable to gravel but also exhibits significant time-dependent increases in strength and stiffness. Standard Penetration Test (SPT) N-ratios (N1/N0, where N1 = N value after improvement and N0 = N value before improvement) were similar for soils reinforced with SSCPs and GCPs after 0 months, but were about 30 % higher in SSCP-reinforced soils after 3 months. This increase was attributed to the cementation of steel slags, suggesting that the compaction pile with increased stiffness due to cementation acts as a compaction pile with an increased area replacement ratio (α). Environmental assessments confirmed that steel slag meets regulatory standards for soil contamination, positioning it as a sustainable option. Settlement analysis after embankment construction showed reduced and more uniform settlements with SSCPs, suggesting superior load distribution capabilities. Finite element analysis compared the behavior of SSCP-reinforced soils at varying α and stiffness of compaction piles, confirming that the cementation of steel slag produces an effect equivalent to increasing α in uncemented piles, thus enhancing the reinforcement effect.
Materials of engineering and construction. Mechanics of materials
PLANS FOR THE CREATION OF A NEW CHURCH SLAVIC ARMENIAN CATHOLIC UNION IN POLAND IN THE 1930S
In the second half of the 1930s, a group of Old Catholic and Orthodox priests and believers from Zamość Region and Volhynia tried to join the Catholic Church. Ignacy Jan Wysoczański (1901-1975) was the framer of this plan. A new church structure was to be under the jurisdiction of the Armenian archbishop of Lwów, Józef Teodorowicz (1864-1938), who accepted the idea with enthusiasm. Efforts undertaken to achieve the confirmation of the union in 1935 were negatively assessed by the Vatican Congregation for Eastern Churches, mainly due to formal questions, because – according to the canon law and the concordat signed with Poland – priests and believers expressing willingness to join the Catholic Church should be subordinate to the bishop of the place. It soon turned out that Ignacy Wysoczański was a controversial and unsteady person, which ultimately shattered the plan.
O artigo narra como se põe em marcha uma exposição, desde a seleção e solicitação em empréstimo das obras aos museus e aos colecionadores, atendendo aos requerimentos exigidos pelas instituições de empréstimo, até o transporte e suas condições e a instalação das obras na sala, o que requer uma montagem que deve atender a múltiplas, e algumas vezes contraditórias, necessidades.
The largest utilization of coastal areas in Brebes Regency is the shrimp farming ponds. Shrimp volume statistics until 2016 showed that shrimp production in Brebes tends to decrease. The decrease in shrimp production can be caused by disruption in the environmental quality from the surrounding activities. This study aims to analyze the causes of declining production based on the quality of the physical environment of shrimp ponds. The variables used are water quality values (Ph, Tds / Ec, and salino), vegetation values of ponds, and waste disposal values around ponds <1000m, 1000-2000m,> 2000m. The data used is a Quick Bird image as of 2015 to determine the area of shrimp ponds and results of field survey in February 2018 for water quality sampling and observation. The analytical method that is used is scoring and weighting. The grades of pond environment quality that are produced are Poor; Good; and Well. The results show that the subdistricts of Brebes and Wanasari have well environmental quality; Tanjung has good environmental quality; and environmental value of Bulakamba and Losari subdistricts have poor environmental quality. Environmental quality is strongly influenced by industrial activities, onion farming activities, and settlements. This environmental quality study can be utilized for the management of sustainable shrimp farming.