scholarly journals Transit for a better and more equitable urbanity

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-108
Author(s):  
Ilari Karppi ◽  
Iina Sankala

Nordic welfare states once sought to provide their citizens with affordable and healthy housing conditions by planning compact residential areas. For a variety of reasons, this model is now in a major rupture. Strong domestic and international migration to 4-6 urban regions transforms Finland’s spatial setup. The entire process entails major challenges for urban design. Expanding urban structures constitute a massive source of greenhouse gases and are often deemed dysfunctional for reaching goals such as social sustainability, better public health or even individually perceived quality of life. Transit-oriented development (TOD) is one of the attempts to tackle these challenges. It holds a major promise for better and more equitable urbanity, but this assumes that the entire dynamics of urban development and how transit and better accessibility are related to it will be re-thought. This paper is based on case-study data from Tampere city region and its on-going light rail transit (LRT) construction process as an example of the current TOD thinking. It also makes references to comparable or otherwise interesting international LRT processes as discussed in planning journals or based on the authors’ own observations and fieldwork.

2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-70
Author(s):  
Michał Dębek ◽  
Bożena Janda-Dębek

AbstractAlthough it has been assumed for many years that there is a relationship between the subjectively perceived quality of residential environment and quality of life, empirical evidence for the existence of such a link has been inconclusive. It is also assumed that the perception of residential environment in a certain way covariates with the behavior of people in this environment; Empirical support for this correlation is now all the more problematic. The objectives in the our research project were as follows: (1) enriching the current knowledge about those links between the perceived quality of various residential areas and their inhabitants’ experienced quality of life, and (2) examining the co-variables between the sense of satisfaction with the residence and declared pro-social and civic behavior. For the purpose of our study, we proposed an original theoretical framework integrating several available man-environment-behavior relationship concepts with the more general homeodynamic regulation concept for achieving psychological balance. Sixty-two people aged 18 to 85 took part in the research. Two groups were identified in the analysis: young adults and seniors. No significant correlation was found between the respondents’ perceived quality of life and their satisfaction with the quality of the environment they inhabited. It was almost exclusively seniors who undertook activities to benefit the residential area, and their life quality was correlated with this activity. Young adults turned out to be generally inactive. Correlations between pro-social and civic behavior and the residential area’s assessed quality proved to be weak and simple, but had different directions and dimensions in young adults and seniors.


Author(s):  
Yalcin Yildirim ◽  
Diane Jones Allen ◽  
Amy Albright

Experts in diverse fields have investigated sound in cities throughout the United States. This research aims to examine sound levels and determine its contributors at the transit-oriented development (TOD) station and neighborhood levels by studying selected Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) light rail stations. A multilevel analysis was performed to model the likelihood of TOD stations and neighborhoods affecting sound levels, controlling for station amenities, socio-demographics and built environment characteristics. Sound measurements were sampled in three time intervals with 15 min sampling over weekdays and weekends at TOD and non-TOD stations by a type II SPL meter that was mounted on a small camera tripod at a height of 1.5 m, at a distance of 1.5 m from rails and curbs. The research team found that amenities, built environmental characteristics, and neighborhood features have significant implications on sound levels at both the TOD station and the neighborhood level, which affects quality of life (QoL). TOD stations that include more amenities have a greater level of significance on sound levels. Additionally, neighborhoods with a pervasive street grid configuration, public facilities, and built environment densities are significantly associated with a likelihood of high sound levels. Conversely, higher population densities and intersection densities decrease the likelihood of a high sound level environment. These patterns provide an arena for transportation, urban, and environmental planning and policymaking to generate transformative solutions and policies.


2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 20-28
Author(s):  
Herman Fithra ◽  
Sisca Olivia ◽  
Deassy Siska

a slum will cause many problems for many cities. The urbanization factor is one of the causes of slums due to the limited urban housing area. In general, there are seven slum indicators that can determine the quality of residential areas, one of which is physical infrastructure. Infrastructure conditions are interrelated with residential development. This study analyzes seven indicators of slums in Jawa Lama Village, Lhokseumawe, Aceh-Indonesia. In this study, the research team used data surveys with field tracking and field documentation from city roads. Documented data includes field photos and regional mapping that shows the location of the study. Data that has been collected can be used to determine urban facilities and infrastructure that are very influential for slums in the study area.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 233339282110183
Author(s):  
Tariku Shimels ◽  
Abrham Getachew ◽  
Mekdim Tadesse ◽  
Alison Thompson

Introduction: Transplantation is the optimal management for patients with end-stage renal disease. In Ethiopia, the first national kidney transplantation center was opened at St. Paul’s Hospital Millennium Medical College in September 2015. The aim of this study was to explore providers’ views and experiences of the past to present at this center. Methods: A qualitative study design was employed from 1st November to 15th December, 2019. To ensure that appropriate informants would provide rich study data, 8 health care providers and top management members were purposefully chosen for in-depth interviews. A maximum variation sampling method was considered to include a representative sample of informants. Interviews were digitally audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim. Transcribed data was coded and analyzed using Qualitative Data Analysis (QDA) Minor Lite software and Microsoft-Excel. Result: The participants (5 males and 3 females) approached were from different departments of the renal transplant center, and the main hospital. Eight main themes and 18 sub-themes were generated initially from all interviews totaling to 109 index codes. Further evaluation and recoding retained 5 main themes, and 14 sub-themes. The main themes are; challenges experienced during and after launching the center, commitment, sympathy and satisfaction, outcomes of renal transplant, actions to improve the quality of service, and how the transplant center should operate. Providers claim that they discharge their responsibilities through proper commitment and compassion, paying no attention to incentive packages. They also explained that renal transplantation would have all the outcomes related to economic, humanistic and clinical facets. Conclusion and Recommendation: A multitude of challenges were faced during and after the establishment of the first renal transplant center in Ethiopia. Providers discharge their responsibility through a proper compassion for patients. Concerned stakeholders should actively collaborate to improve the quality of renal transplant services in the center.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1476718X2096974
Author(s):  
Sara Cervantes ◽  
Anna Öqvist

Preschool teachers and caregivers have a close working relationship as part of a working team to benefit the children in Swedish preschools. In 2011, a new educational reform was introduced according to which preschools became a school form in their own right within the overall educational system in Sweden. The objective of the policy was to strengthen the profession of preschool teachers by affording them clearer responsibility over the quality of educational practices and curriculum work. It also entailed a division of labour between the preschool teachers and caregivers in the working team. The current study explored how Swedish preschool teachers and caregivers positioned themselves in response to these changes in responsibility. In this qualitative study, data were collected from 17 preschool teachers and caregivers via an open-ended questionnaire. Preschool teachers and caregivers viewed themselves as having equal responsibility in the working team. Specifically, preschool teachers upgraded the competence and position of caregivers while downgrading their own professional competence and position. Caregivers downgraded the profession and position of preschool teachers and upgraded their own competence and position to be equal to that of preschool teachers.


2021 ◽  
pp. 089443932110329
Author(s):  
Paul Dodemaide ◽  
Mark Merolli ◽  
Nicole Hill ◽  
Lynette Joubert

There is a growing body of literature exploring the general population’s use of social media for assistance in dealing with stigmatized health issues. This study presents novel research examining the relationship between social media use and young adults. It utilizes a therapeutic affordance (TA) framework. Quantitative results from this study are complemented by qualitative data. The relationships between distinct social media and their TA (a–b) are presented to highlight their potential to impact positively on social and emotional well-being outcomes. Evidence includes broad support for “connection,” “narration,” and “collaboration” TAs in this context and the relationship between the use of distinct social media and perceived quality of life (QOL) outcomes (a–c). TA provides an appropriate and valuable theoretical framework which is useful for the development of an evidence-base from the analysis of young adult’s social media usage. An analysis of the association between social media and their QOL outcomes is presented according to the TA relationship pathway (a–c–b). The adoption of a TA framework enables a nuanced analysis of significant associations between specific social media, TA, and improved QOL outcomes. This study demonstrates the significant association between social media and perceived QOL outcomes in young adults.


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moksha G. Ranasinghe ◽  
Jonas M. Sheehan

✓Metastatic brain tumors continue to increase in incidence as patients with cancer live longer. The options for management continue to evolve as well, with advances in radiation-based treatment, chemotherapy, and surgery. Although metastatic brain tumors are frequently treated without surgical intervention, there continues to be a significant role for surgery in caring for patients with these lesions. Study data have proven that surgery has a positive effect on survival and quality of life in properly selected patients. Those with a suitable age, functional status, systemic disease control, and several metastases may be suitable for surgical treatment. Advances in preoperative imaging and planning as well as intraoperative surgical adjuncts have lowered the morbidity associated with resection. With proper patient selection and operative and postoperative management, resection continues to play a significant and evolving role in the care of patients with metastatic brain tumor.


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