scholarly journals What Does It Take to Make the Compact City Liveable for Wider Groups? Identifying Key Neighbourhood and Dwelling Features

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theresa Kotulla ◽  
Jon Martin Denstadli ◽  
Are Oust ◽  
Elisabeth Beusker
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
High Density ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
City Development ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Compact City

Compact cities promote sustainability through several mechanisms, and high-density city development has become a key strategy for policy decision makers to accommodate population growth and mitigate human impacts of the local and global environment. The aim of this study is to identify elements of the built environment and inner-city dwellings considered important for improving compact-city liveability for various groups throughout their life cycles. To attend to the depth and complexity of this issue, this study is based on a qualitative approach, where data are gathered through in-depth interviews with housing market specialists. The expert panel emphasises proximity to green spaces and easy access to local services/facilities and public transportation as key elements of the built environment to improve compact-city liveability. At the same time, some of the respondents strongly argue with facilitating neighbourhoods for private cars. With regard to dwelling characteristics, the experts emphasised the importance of adequate storage space and the availability of a balcony as vital to high-density liveability. Balconies can alleviate some of the negative effects by working as a personal ‘mini garden’. Moreover, a general opinion among experts is that compact living developments should facilitate shared facilities to level out the space disadvantages of small-space dwellings.

scholarly journals The Progressive Effects of Built Environments on Supporting Physical Activity Diversity in High-Density Areas: A Case Study in Shenzhen, China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuan Gao ◽  
Kun Liu ◽  
Peiling Zhou ◽  
Hongkun Xie
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
High Density ◽  
Mental Condition ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
City Development ◽  
Healthy City ◽  
Urban Forms ◽  
Planning And Design ◽  
Urban Planning And Design

Abstract Background: Physical activity diversity (PAD) is an essential indicator to present the vitality of health city, and how to improve PAD from the built environment perspective is a key issue for healthy urban planning and design, especially in high-density cities; Methods: This study selected Shenzhen, China as a representative case, combined the diversity of PA participants, types and occurrence times for the comprehensive understanding of PAD, fully used multiple source data for the measurement and statistical analysis of PAD and built environments, to discover the relationships between the built environment and PAD, and to explore the different effects in clustered and sprawled high-density urban forms; Results: PAD was unevenly distributed in Shenzhen, higher in the clustered areas and lower in the sprawled ares and the effects of the built environment on PAD were significantly different between two kinds of areas; Conclusions: the built environment supports PAD by progressive effects, in which accessibility is the necessary and funda-mental condition to activate individual PAs, inclusiveness is sufficiently supports the coaction of various kind of PAs to consolidate PAD, and landscape attractiveness furtherly aggregates more PAs to achieve higher PAD. To create accessible, inclusive, and attractive built environments are crucial ways to improve the vitality of healthy city development in high-density cities.

scholarly journals Car ownership and commuting mode of the “original” residents in a high-density city center: A case study in Shanghai

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 105-124
Author(s):  
Tao Chen ◽  
Haixiao Pan ◽  
Yanbo Ge
Keyword(s):  
Public Transportation ◽  
Central Area ◽  
High Density ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
City Center ◽  
Rapid Urbanization ◽  
Multinomial Logistic Model ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

As a result of rapid urbanization and motorization in China, numerous mega-cities have emerged, and large numbers of people live and work in the city centers. Consequently, developing a public transport-oriented urban structure and promoting sustainable development are major planning strategies for the country. To understand the impact of rail transit on motorization in a high-density city center, we conduct a household travel survey in three neighborhoods around metro stations in the central area of Shanghai. We examine the car buying and commuting behavior of those Shanghai “original” residents who lived there when the city began growing, engulfing them in the center. Studies have shown that 40 percent of commuters in the city center commute outward, following a virtually reversed commute pattern, and the factors significantly affecting their car purchasing choice include their attitude toward cars and transit, household incomes, ownership of the apartments they live in, and the distance between family members’ workplaces and nearest metro stations. Despite easy access to the metro from their home in the city center, those who purchase their apartment units also likely own a car, while those who rent their apartment units are less likely to own a car; however, these odds are still higher than for those who live in an apartment unit inherited from their relatives or provided by their company. In the city center, if a family owns a car, then that car would almost certainly be used for daily commuting. A multinomial logistic model is applied to examine the factors influencing the tendency for using cars. The results show that people’s choices of commuting by alternative modes rather than cars are also shaped by their attitude toward public transportation, but other factors can also subtly change people’s commuting behavior under certain conditions. The commuting distance discourages people from walking and taking buses (but not metro). As the egress distance to the workplace increases, the metro becomes less appealing than cars. Mixed land use encourages people to walk or take buses instead of driving. Older people prefer riding buses and walking to driving, and female respondents tend to prefer walking, cycling, and riding the metro to driving compared to male respondents. These findings contribute to understanding the behavior of people who are familiar with public transportation and how to encourage them to switch from driving cars to alternative transport modes.

scholarly journals Scaling the Potential of Compact City Development: The Case of Lahore, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 5257
Author(s):  
Muhammad Nadeem ◽  
Amer Aziz ◽  
Muhammad Ahmad Al-Rashid ◽  
Giovanni Tesoriere ◽  
Muhammad Asim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Transportation Network ◽  
High Density ◽  
Geographical Information ◽  
City Development ◽  
Compact City ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Erdas Imagine ◽  
Asian Context ◽  
Urban Extent ◽  
Scaling Matrix

With increasing urban populations, high vehicle miles have made the concept of a compact city imperative. A compact city is characterized by high-density development and mixed land use with no urban sprawl. City managers are trying hard to make their cities compact and livable. The potential conformance to a compact city development requires scaling before any significant intervention. Several studies have been conducted on the different aspects of the compact city in the developed world, but there is limited understanding in the South Asian context. This study aimed to fill this research gap and proposes a theoretical matrix to gauge the potential compactness of Lahore, Pakistan. It comprises some key attributes, such as landscape ecology, measurement of density, density distribution, transportation network, accessibility, dispersion index, and mixed-use land consumption, which were analyzed in this research. The data were analyzed using Geographical Information System (GIS) and ERDAS IMAGINE software to make a scaling matrix. The research findings show that Lahore is a semi-compact city, with high potential to become a true compact city. The paper recommends that the urban extent should not be extended until targeted colonization is achieved, and the spatial growth of the city should be managed by encouraging infilled development, high-density living, and public transport provision. This research will help policymakers, urban planners, and transport planners devising policies for compact city development.

scholarly journals Identifying Human-Induced Spatial Differences of Soil Erosion Change in a Hilly Red Soil Region of Southern China

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 3103
Author(s):  
Dong Huang ◽  
Xiaohuan Yang ◽  
Hongyan Cai ◽  
Zuolin Xiao ◽  
Dongrui Han
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Human Impact ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Southern China ◽  
Red Soil ◽  
Jiangxi Province ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Gravity Center ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Spatial Differences

Soil erosion (SE) processes are closely related to natural conditions and human activities, posing a threat to environment and society. Identifying the human impact on regional SE changes is increasingly essential for pertinent SE management. Jiangxi province is studied here as a representative area of hilly-red-soil regions within southern China. The main objectives of this study were to investigate the changing trend of SE within Jiangxi and identify human impacts on regional SE change from the perspective of spatial differences, through a new approach based on a gravity-center model. Our results showed that SE status presented an overall amelioration from 1990 to 2015, while the average soil erosion modulus (SEM) declined from 864 to 281 Mg/(km2·a). Compared to the situation under human and natural impacts, human-induced spatial differences of SE change demonstrated that the western and northwest regions showed stronger negative effects; the southern region shifted towards negative effects; the northeast region presented a much weaker negative effect. Our results indicated that 4 cities with strong negative effects need more attention in further SE management suited to their local conditions and development, and also suggested that the approach based on a gravity-center has potential for identifying the human impact on regional SE change from the perspective of spatial patterns.

scholarly journals Citizen Engagement for Co-Creating Low Carbon Smart Cities: Practical Lessons from Nottingham City Council in the UK

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (24) ◽  
pp. 6615
Author(s):  
Sam Preston ◽  
Muhammad Usman Mazhar ◽  
Richard Bull
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Smart Cities ◽  
City Council ◽  
Citizen Engagement ◽  
Low Carbon ◽  
City Development ◽  
The Uk

Cities constitute three quarters of global energy consumption and the built environment is responsible for significant use of final energy (62%) and greenhouse gas emissions (55%). Energy has now become a strategic issue for local authorities (LAs) and can offer savings when budget cuts have threatened the provision of core services. Progressive LAs are exploring energy savings and carbon reduction opportunities as part of the sustainable and smart city agenda. This paper explores the role of citizens in smart city development as “buildings don’t use energy: people do”. Citizens have the potential to shape transitions towards smart and sustainable futures. This paper contributes to the growing evidence base of citizen engagement in low carbon smart cities by presenting novel insights and practical lessons on how citizen engagement can help in smart city development through co-creation with a focus on energy in the built environment. A case study of Nottingham in the UK, a leading smart city, is analysed using Arnstein’s Ladder of Citizen Participation. Nottingham City Council (NCC) has pledged to keep “citizens at the heart” of its plans. This paper discusses learnings from two EU funded Horizon 2020 projects, REMOURBAN (REgeneration MOdel for accelerating the smart URBAN transformation) and eTEACHER, both of which aimed to empower citizens to reduce energy consumption and co-create smart solutions. Although these two projects are diverse in approaches and contexts, what unites them is a focus on citizen engagement, both face to face and digital. REMOURBAN has seen a “whole house” approach to retrofit in vulnerable communities to improve liveability through energy efficiency. User interaction and co-creation in eTEACHER has provided specifications for technical design of an energy saving App for buildings. eTEACHER findings reflect users’ energy needs, understanding of control interfaces, motivations for change and own creative ideas. Citizens were made co-creators in eTEACHER from the beginning through regular communication. In REMOURBAN, citizens had a role in the procurement and bidding process to influence retrofit project proposals. Findings can help LAs to engage demographically diverse citizens across a variety of buildings and communities for low carbon smart city development.

scholarly journals Reintroduced wolves and hunting limit the abundance of a subordinate apex predator in a multi-use landscape

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20202202
Author(s):  
L. Mark Elbroch ◽  
Jake M. Ferguson ◽  
Howard Quigley ◽  
Derek Craighead ◽  
Daniel J. Thompson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Population Model ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Apex Predator ◽  
Vital Rates ◽  
Grey Wolf ◽  
Apex Predators ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Species Abundances

Top-down effects of apex predators are modulated by human impacts on community composition and species abundances. Consequently, research supporting top-down effects of apex predators occurs almost entirely within protected areas rather than the multi-use landscapes dominating modern ecosystems. Here, we developed an integrated population model to disentangle the concurrent contributions of a reintroduced apex predator, the grey wolf, human hunting and prey abundances on vital rates and abundance of a subordinate apex predator, the puma. Increasing wolf numbers had strong negative effects on puma fecundity, and subadult and adult survival. Puma survival was also influenced by density dependence. Overall, puma dynamics in our multi-use landscape were more strongly influenced by top-down forces exhibited by a reintroduced apex predator, than by human hunting or bottom-up forces (prey abundance) subsidized by humans. Quantitatively, the average annual impact of human hunting on equilibrium puma abundance was equivalent to the effects of 20 wolves. Historically, wolves may have limited pumas across North America and dictated puma scarcity in systems lacking sufficient refugia to mitigate the effects of competition.

scholarly journals Public Transportation Environment and Medical Choice for Chronic Disease: A Case Study of Gaoyou, China

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (9) ◽  
pp. 1612
Author(s):  
Yang Cao ◽  
Feng Zhen ◽  
Hao Wu
Keyword(s):  
Built Environment ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Patient Preferences ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Socioeconomic Background ◽  
Medical Facilities ◽  
Patient Questionnaires ◽  
Medical Choice ◽  
The Impact

Current research on the built environment and medical choice focuses mainly on the construction and optimization of medical service systems from the perspective of supply. There is a lack of in-depth research on medical choice from the perspective of patient demand. Based on the medical choice behaviour of patients with chronic diseases, this article identifies the spatial distribution and heterogeneity characteristics of medical choice and evaluates the balance between medical supply and demand in each block. On this basis, we explored the mechanism of patient preferences for different levels of medical facilities by considering the patient’s socioeconomic background, medical resource evaluation, and other built environment features of the neighbourhood by referring to patient questionnaires. In addition to socioeconomic characteristics, the results show that public transportation convenience, medical accessibility, and medical institution conditions also have significant influences on patient preferences, and the impact on low-income patients is more remarkable. The conclusions of the study provide a reference for the promotion and optimization of the functions of urban medical resources and the guidance of relevant public health policies.

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