scholarly journals The Evaluation of Green Investments in Urban Areas: A Proposal of an eco-social-green Model of the City

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 4541 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Sturiale ◽  
Alessandro Scuderi
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Evaluation Model ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Scientific Debate ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Green Model ◽  
Green Investments

The new and more conscious sensibility towards the environmental sphere supports the idea of “green city”, promotes initiatives of structural integration of the green with the built environment and involves a considerable number of disciplines in a cultural and social debate. The literature reports different experiences of collaborative governance, between administrations and citizens, which tend to enhance the interaction between the different social actors involved in the investments of Green Infrastructures, to share objectives and management methods and to assess the extent of ecosystem services. The objective of this article is to propose a methodological approach to assessing green investments in the urban area, which is able to internalize the social perception of citizens regarding this important component for the urban landscape, with a view to guiding the city’s government towards a new urban eco-social-green planning and evaluation model. It presents a concise framework of the scientific debate on climate change and on the effects of urban planning issues; some relevant experiences of Green Infrastructures; and the proposed methodology, applied to the reality of the “urban green system” of Catania, based on an integrated approach between participatory planning and the method NAIADE (Novel Approach to Imprecise Assessment and Decision Environments).

scholarly journals Urban Waste as Resource for Sustainable Environment

2013 ◽  
Vol 394 ◽  
pp. 304-308
Author(s):  
Angelo Milone ◽  
Daniele Milone ◽  
Francesco Claudio Campione ◽  
Salvatore Pitruzzella
Keyword(s):  
Solid Waste ◽  
Waste Disposal ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Thermal Recovery ◽  
Waste To Energy ◽  
Economic Point

The emerging model of waste disposal, develops an integrated approach based on waste reduction, selection, recycling, energy recovery and residual use of landfill. Here we discuss the fundamentals of a proper planning of waste disposal system, specially the thermal recovery, the integration and the methodological approach, either from the environmental and economic point of view. The growing demand for energy, the resulting environmental problems due to satisfy the demand for energy and the complex-economic system, necessitate the study of new technologies such as energy from municipal solid waste (MSW) obtaining as a result of decrease huge mass of solid waste to sanitary landifill and emissions of landifill gas as (CH4 and CO2 ). Therefore, we propose to validate a technical, economical and environmental analysis of waste-treatment systems with enphasis on generation of energy. The recovery of heat from a waste-to-energy plant, can make a useful contribution to the city energy needs. Whilst we have been slow to exploit fully this resource in Sicily, economically in urban areas.

scholarly journals Innovations in Best Practices: Approaches to Managing Urban Areas and Reducing Flood Risk in Reggio Calabria (Italy)

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 3463
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Barbaro ◽  
Marcelo Miguez ◽  
Matheus de Sousa ◽  
Anna Ribeiro da Cruz Franco ◽  
Paula de Magalhães ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Low Impact Development ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Water Dynamics ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Flood Risks ◽  
Long Run ◽  
Structural Measures

Urbanization increases imperviousness and reduces infiltration, retention, and evapotranspiration, frequently aggravating urban flooding due to greater runoff and higher and faster discharge peaks. Effective strategies to mitigate flood risks require a better understanding of the watershed dynamics and space to reverse the negative impacts. However, often cities do not have proper data sets to feed mathematical models that would be helpful in mapping water dynamics. Attempts to reduce flood risks have been made for decades by means of structural interventions but were frequently designed within the logic of a local scale, using limited available spaces and often merely shifting flooding downstream. Therefore, assessing urban floods requires a modeling approach capable of reflecting the watershed scale, considering interactions between hydraulic structures and urban landscape, where best practices and non-structural measures aim to improve community flood resilience through the reduction of social and financial costs in the long run. This paper proposes an integrated approach to analyze low impact development (LID) practices complemented by non-structural measures in a case study in southern Italy, supported by mathematical modeling in a strategy to overcome a context of almost no available data and limited urban open spaces.

scholarly journals The Role of Green Infrastructures in Urban Planning for Climate Change Adaptation

Climate ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 119 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sturiale ◽  
Scuderi
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Mitigation And Adaptation ◽  
Multi Criteria Evaluation ◽  
The One ◽  
Green System

The population that lives in cities has surpassed the one that lives in the countryside. Cities are recognized as apriority source of pollution. The degradation of air quality and the phenomenon of Urban Heat Island (UHI) are some of the most well-known consequences of urban development. The adaptation of the cities is emerging as one of the greatest challenges that urban planners will face in this century. Urban Green Infrastructures (GIs) could help cities adapt to climate change, and the strategy of expansion of greening in urban planning could play an important role in enhancing the sustainability and resilience of cities and communities. Many studies have shown the benefits of GIs to climate change mitigation and adaptation in urban areas and their role as an important urban planning tool to satisfy environmental, social, and economic needs of urban areas. The objective of this article is to propose a methodological approach to evaluate the social perception of citizens regarding urban green areas. The proposed methodology, applied to the reality of the “urban green system” of Catania, is based on an integrated approach between participatory planning and the methods social multi criteria evaluation to guiding the city’s government to realize a new urban resilient development.

Design Intervention Assessment of Urban Public Park for Physical Activity Promotion in Bangkok, Thailand

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-4
Author(s):  
Sigit Arifwidodo ◽  
Orana Chandrasiri
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Physical Activity Promotion ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Pilot Project ◽  
Public Park ◽  
Activity Promotion ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Design Intervention

Public Park is considered one of the essential settings for physical activity, especially in urban areas. Parks support physical activity through their accessibility, their provision to facilitate active pursuits; their capacity to provide opportunities to a wide range of users; and their semi-permanent nature. The paper explores the design intervention assessment of Benchakitti Park, which serves as the pilot project for active park and showcase during the past ISPAH 2016 conference. The objective of the paper is to understand the health and well-being benefits of an urban park in increasing PA levels of urban population and promoting a healthy and active lifestyle. Keywords: Public park; physical activity; urban landscape design; public health; SOPARC

Prioritizing strain insulators for raptor conservation

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
FRANCISCO GUIL ◽  
M. ÁNGELES SORIA ◽  
VÍCTOR ORTEGA ◽  
RUBÉN GARCÍA-SÁNCHEZ ◽  
SILVIA VILLAVERDE-MORCILLO
Keyword(s):  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Influential Factors ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Central Spain ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Conservation Actions ◽  
Complete Survey ◽  
Raptor Conservation ◽  
Management And Conservation

Summary Avian species often take advantage of human-made structures, such as perching on power poles, although this can lead to negative effects for both birds and infrastructure. It has been demonstrated that anchor-type pylons, with strain insulators, are amongst the most dangerous of these structures. Our goal was to develop a methodological approach to evaluate the ways in which raptors perch on the six most commonly used strain insulator configurations in Spain, and to build a risk index that can be used to prioritise them. To study the ways raptors perch, we worked with six wildlife rescue centres in central Spain for almost a year assessing these six strain insulator configurations in 83 perch trials with 176 raptors in ample flying pens. We analysed 475 complete survey days, with an approximate number of 258,960 analysed pictures, including 6,766 perchings on strain insulators. We assessed the influential factors for these 6,766 perchings and developed a novel approach to prioritise strain insulator configurations that can be used anywhere. Our results suggest that longer insulator strains (i.e. PECA-1000 and Caon-C3670) are the safest, according to our prioritization criteria, although these results require further assessment in the field. Managers and conservationists should take into account these results to improve management and conservation actions.

scholarly journals Spatial Dynamics Regarding Geographical Concentration of Economic Activities. Italian NUTS-3 Analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefano De Falco
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Investigation ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Geographical Area ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Agglomeration Economies ◽  
Economic Activities ◽  
Production Sector ◽  
Scientific Debate ◽  
Geographical Concentration ◽  
Italian Regions

AbstractFor several years, the themes concerning agglomeration economies have been approached from different perspectives in the scientific debate, as capable of triggering various positive features. The present research starts precisely where many others arrive, that is, given the value of these externalities, analyzing the spatial distribution of the geographical concentration of economic activities and the related influencing factors. To this end, in this contribution an explanatory investigation is carried out into the spatial dynamics deriving from main productive sectors’ concentration in some Italian regions. The proposed methodological approach is based respectively on the LISA spatial autocorrelation models and on the analysis of non-neighboring clusters to understand if the geographical area of reference and / or the particular production sector are influencing variables. The empirical investigation confirms the presence of a parametric interaction between factors related in some cases on the geographical context and in others on the productive sector.

scholarly journals Evaluating human–coyote encounters in an urban landscape using citizen science

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Drake ◽  
Shelli Dubay ◽  
Maximilian L Allen
Keyword(s):  
Citizen Science ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Time Of Day ◽  
Human Observer ◽  
Public Outreach ◽  
The Public ◽  
Paved Road ◽  
Almost All ◽  
Human Wildlife Conflict

Abstract Coyotes are ubiquitous in habitats across North America, including in urban areas. Reviews of human–coyote encounters are limited in scope and analysis and predominantly document encounters that tend to be negative, such as human–wildlife conflict, rather than benign experiences. The objective of our study was to use citizen science reports of human–coyote interactions entered into iNaturalist to better understand the range of first person accounts of human–coyote encounters in Madison, WI. We report 398 citizen science accounts of human–coyote encounters in the Madison area between October 2015 and March 2018. Most human–coyote encounters occurred during coyote breeding season and half of all encounters occurred in moderate development land cover. Estimated level of coyote aggressiveness varied significantly, with 90% of citizen scientists scoring estimated coyote aggression as a 0 and 7% scoring estimated aggression as a 1 on a 0–5 scale (with 0 being calm and 5 being aggressive). Our best performing model explaining the estimated distance between the human observer and a coyote (our proxy for a human–coyote encounter) included the variables distance to nearest paved road, biological season of the year relative to coyote life history, and time of day/night. We demonstrate that human–coyote interactions are regularly more benign than negative, with almost all first-hand reported human–coyote encounters being benign. We encourage public outreach focusing on practices that can foster benign encounters when educating the public to facilitate human–coyote coexistence.

scholarly journals A Modified Bare Soil Index to Identify Bare Land Features during Agricultural Fallow-Period in Southeast Asia Using Landsat 8

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 231
Author(s):  
Can Trong Nguyen ◽  
Amnat Chidthaisong ◽  
Phan Kieu Diem ◽  
Lian-Zhi Huo
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Land Cover ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Bare Soil ◽  
Critical Element ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Climate Conditions ◽  
Fallow Period

Bare soil is a critical element in the urban landscape and plays an essential role in urban environments. Yet, the separation of bare soil and other land cover types using remote sensing techniques remains a significant challenge. There are several remote sensing-based spectral indices for barren detection, but their effectiveness varies depending on land cover patterns and climate conditions. Within this research, we introduced a modified bare soil index (MBI) using shortwave infrared (SWIR) and near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths derived from Landsat 8 (OLI—Operational Land Imager). The proposed bare soil index was tested in two different bare soil patterns in Thailand and Vietnam, where there are large areas of bare soil during the agricultural fallow period, obstructing the separation between bare soil and urban areas. Bare soil extracted from the MBI achieved higher overall accuracy of about 98% and a kappa coefficient over 0.96, compared to bare soil index (BSI), normalized different bare soil index (NDBaI), and dry bare soil index (DBSI). The results also revealed that MBI considerably contributes to the accuracy of land cover classification. We suggest using the MBI for bare soil detection in tropical climatic regions.

scholarly journals Realtime Motion Assessment For Rehabilitation Exercises: Integration Of Kinematic Modeling With Fuzzy Inference

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 267-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wenbing Zhao ◽  
Roanna Lun ◽  
Deborah D. Espy ◽  
M. Ann Reinthal
Keyword(s):  
Fuzzy Inference ◽  
Kinematic Model ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Kinematic Modeling ◽  
Motion Data ◽  
Fuzzy Interference System ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Motion Assessment ◽  
Rehabilitation Exercises ◽  
Rehabilitation Exercise

Abstract This article describes a novel approach to realtime motion assessment for rehabilitation exercises based on the integration of comprehensive kinematic modeling with fuzzy inference. To facilitate the assessment of all important aspects of a rehabilitation exercise, a kinematic model is developed to capture the essential requirements for static poses, dynamic movements, as well as the invariance that must be observed during an exercise. The kinematic model is expressed in terms of a set of kinematic rules. During the actual execution of a rehabilitation exercise, the similarity between the measured motion data and the model is computed in terms of their distances, which are then used as inputs to a fuzzy interference system to derive the overall quality of the execution. The integrated approach provides both a detailed categorical assessment of the overall execution of the exercise and the degree of adherence to individual kinematic rules.

scholarly journals An integrated approach for the selection of operation strategy using fuzzy TOPSIS, sensitivity analysis, and MOLP

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-16
Author(s):  
Tran Thi Tham ◽  
Linh Thi Truc Doan ◽  
Yousef Amer ◽  
Sang Heon Lee
Keyword(s):  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Integrated Approach ◽  
Fuzzy Topsis ◽  
Joint Stock Company ◽  
Operation Strategy ◽  
Stock Company ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Operational Strategies ◽  
Novel Approach ◽  
Conflicting Objectives

Operation strategy plays an important role in business improvement and calls for many research attention in recent years. This study aims to propose an integrated approach to determine the most appropriate operational strategies in their companies under multi-conflicting objectives with a limited budget. The novel approach is developed by using the combination of Fuzzy Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Situation (Fuzzy TOPSIS), Sensitivity Analysis (SA) and Multi-Objective Linear Programming (MOLP) model. The operation strategies are evaluated through five objectives such as Productivity, Quality, Cost, Time and Importance score. The importance scores of all strategies are firstly obtained from the Fuzzy TOPSIS method. The sets of the weight of criteria are then established by using SA while MOLP approach is used to select appropriate strategies under multi-conflicting objectives with limited resources. A case study with 110 possible scenarios of operational strategies from An Giang Fisheries Import Export Joint Stock Company in Vietnam is considered to illustrate the practicability of the proposed approach. The results found that the proposed approach is suitable to make a decision on operation strategy.

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