Urban development and planning are increasingly centered on matters of sustainability, balancing economic development with ecosystem services and biotic structures within urban environments. In addition to these institutional and structural factors, the decision-making process within individual households must be understood to address rising concerns about water use. Therefore, individual characteristics and preferences that influence the use of water also warrant examination. In response to a survey of occupants of single-family residences in the Fresno Clovis Metropolitan Area of California, contextual interviews and focus group interviews with a homeowner sub-sample, we find evidence of an interplay of social-structural, institutional, and cultural factors involved in influencing individual water use behaviors and landscape decision making. The complexity of residential behaviors and decision-making poses some potential issues with regards to the interactions between individual households and institutional actors in matters of water usage and landscaping, as survey respondents indicate relatively little confidence in institutions and groups to make wise water policy decisions. We conclude that the promotion and implementation of sustainable water use practices will require not only environmental education for the citizenry, but also a tailoring of information for environmental educational initiatives that address the particularities of individual neighborhoods and communities.

This paper is focused on typical rural settlements in the Stara Planina Mountain area in Serbia. They are distinguished by their authenticity, identity and character, and they have still not been destroyed by inappropriate development as is the case in some other mountain areas in Serbia, where the effects of urbanization, globalization and homogenization are obvious. Consequently, there is a need to prevent these effects in mountain areas where there is a threat of disbalance between development and the inherited natural and cultural values. The paper starts from several important concepts that relate contemporary approaches to cultural heritage preservation, place morphology and planning future development. The concept definitions from recent documents from related fields are used. These concepts are then applied to the area of Stara Planina Mountain and its rural settlements. The necessity for an integrative approach to planning this area with significant natural and anthropogenic potential is pointed out, including its integration into international programs of sustainable development.

China is a traditional agricultural country, and the integration of rural industries has become an essential policy direction for the current strategy of agricultural modernization in China. In recent years, the agricultural industrial chains across various regions of China have consistently expanded and extended. The multifunctionality of agriculture is continuously unearthed, and the principal entities managing agriculture have become increasingly diversified and have grown significantly. New industries and forms in agriculture emerge incessantly. Accurately and profoundly understanding the inherent features of the integration of industries in rural China, establishing a scientific and rational measurement index system in line with the current status and development goals of rural China, and employing appropriate measurement methods to assess its development level and process, is instrumental in comprehending the level of integrated development in various regions. This aids in identifying challenges in the developmental process and proposing targeted developmental strategies. Hence, this paper, rooted in the integration of rural industries, cross-industry, industry extension, industry agglomeration, and industry penetration, sets up an measurement index system. Using provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020, the paper measures the level of integrated development in rural industries across China and its 31 provinces. Based on the measurement results, further techniques such as kernel density estimation and Gini coefficient decomposition have been used to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics and dynamic trends of the integrated development of rural industries in China. Research indicates that during the sample period, the overall level of integrated development in rural industries in various provinces in China has shown an upward trend. Development among the eastern, central, and western regions is highly uneven, but this disparity has been gradually narrowing in recent years. Furthermore, the levels of integrated development in different provinces exhibit significant spatial agglomeration effects. The development level of neighboring regions significantly impacts the province's development status. In the process of integrated development of rural industries in China, there's a trend where "it's easier to downgrade than to upgrade," with very few regions achieving leapfrog development.

With the intensification of population aging in rural areas, it becomes increasingly important to analyze the post-retirement migration intention of rural residents and the variables influencing these intentions. In this study, we focus on rural residents aged 45 to 60 and investigate the main variables that influence the post-retirement migration intention of rural residents, using survey data collected from 164 households in three different rural areas and the logistic regression model. From the result of this study, we found that gender, part-time employment, savings level, children's residence and occupation stability, and interest in urban living positively affect migration intention. In contrast, the number of rural companions, relationships with others in rural areas, and evaluation of rural living have a negative effect. In addition, we employ age and the proportion of mobile income as control variables to examine the variables that influence the post-retirement migration intention in different age groups and mobile income groups. The analysis reveals that, the variables influencing post-retirement migration intention varied across age groups and mobile income groups, and this variation can be attributed to the differences between groups' characteristics.

The COVID-19 pandemic is one of the past century's deadliest and most widespread viral outbreaks, with higher mortality rates in men than women. Disruptions in funeral rituals and customs, no social recognition of the loss, and limited social support intricate the grieving process and are linked with disenfranchised (not openly acknowledged, socially recognized, or publicly mourned) grief. Depression is also highly comorbid with complicated grief. Losing a spouse can be devastating, but more severe for women with limited or no resources, vulnerable to the patriarchal society. In the current COVID-19 era, increased uncertainty and disenfranchised grief can worsen the clinical scenario and intervention, as highlighted by the present case report of disenfranchised grief with depressive symptoms in a 30 years old woman from rural India who, after a year of her marriage, lost her husband due to COVID-19. This case study emphasizes the impact of multiple axes of disadvantages due to sociodemographic and cultural determinants that can complicate the grieving process in the current context. The bioecological model of grief recovery considered the individual features and the societal/environmental factors to postulate the appropriate intervention. Finding meaning and purpose in life, and restoration-oriented coping were successful for clinical management.

The study investigated determinants of open defecation among rural women in Ghana. The study extracted data from the female’s file of the 2003, 2008 and 2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey (GDHS). A total of 4,284 pooled sample size of rural women aged 15-49 with complete information about the variables analyzed in the study. The outcome variable was “open defecation” (i.e., defecating in an open space rather than a toilet facility) whilst fourteen (14) key explanatory variables were used. Two regression models were built, and output reported in odds ratio. Descriptively, 42 in every 100 women aged 15-49 practised open defecation (n=1811, 95’CI=49-52). Open defecation significantly correlated with educational attainment, wealth status, religion, access to mass media, partner's education, and zone of residence. The likelihood to practice open defecation reduced among those with formal education [aOR=0.69, CI=0.56-0.85], those whose partners had formal education [aOR=0.64, CI=0.52-0.80], women in the rich wealth quintile [aOR=0.12, CI=0.07-0.20], the traditionalist [aOR=0.33, CI=0.19-0.57], and those who had access to mass media [aOR=0.70, CI=0.57-0.85]. Residents in the Savannah zone were over 21-fold higher to defecate openly [aOR=21.06, CI=15.97-27.77]. The prevalence of open defecation is disproportionately pro-poor indicating that impoverished rural women are more likely to perform it.

Enhance®Fitness (EF) is an evidence-based exercise program recommended for management of osteoarthritis (OA). However, access to EF is limited in rural areas. Accordingly, we evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of remotely delivered EF in rural, community-dwelling older adults with symptomatic knee OA. A single arm pilot trial of remotely delivered EF classes was conducted. Videoconferencing was used to livestream the instructor-led, 1-hour EF classes 3 days/week for 12 weeks. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and immediately post-intervention. A total of 15 participants were enrolled with a median age of 70 years (interquartile range [IQR]: 67-75) and 14 (93%) were women. Median EF class attendance rate was 91% (IQR: 85-94%). Knee pain, as measured by the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS), improved significantly from baseline to 12-week endpoint (mean difference=-11.4 [95% CI:-20.9, -2.0); P=0.02). In addition, participants’ self-reported knee function improved significantly (mean difference in KOOS Function score=-11.8 [95% CI:-18.4, -5.2]; P<0.01) as well as their physical capacity (mean difference in Timed Up and Go test time=1.8 seconds [95% CI: 0.2, 3.4]; P=0.03). All participants (100%) were very satisfied with remotely delivered EF classes and there were no serious adverse events. Findings from this pilot trial indicate that remotely delivered EF is feasible and acceptable in rural older adults with knee OA.

After conducting a detailed survey among the villagers of Pallissery and Karukutty, it was observed that in most of the villages the native people have to travel long distances for their basic health needs. Also most of the villagers lack knowledge regarding live health updates. At times, these problems have even resulted in death of many people including pregnant women and children. The objective of our research is to propose an integrated and easy to use Medical Kiosk that can be installed at various locations in rural areas. The Kiosk will provide an integrated environment for all medical related activities and would perform numerous functions like sending notifications regarding medical camps, mobile medical help, important dates for vaccinations, child care, insurance policies and provide other live medical updates to the villagers. It would also support the basic facilities for measurement of body parameters like height, weight, BMI, blood pressure, and heartbeat and also facilitate live consultation facilities with specialized doctors through video and voice chats.

Urban air pollution is a significant threat to both the environment and public health. Primarily originating from traffic emissions, particulate matter is identified as the most prevalent and toxic pollutant in cities. In recent years, street vegetation has emerged as a nature-based solution to improve urban air quality. However, to achieve this goal, proper placement of vegetation is crucial. This study critically investigates how different street tree placement strategies affect the local air quality, based on a model calibrated using existing air quality measurements from one of the most polluted streets in Glasgow. We then test the local air quality effects of tree orientation, spacing, shape, porosity, size, species, and wind directions. The findings suggest that trees effectively enhance air quality, particularly when implemented on the leeward side of the street. To achieve optimal effectiveness, the spacing of trees require careful alignment with the aspect ratio, as haphazard planting could lead to unfavorable results. The insights on improving air quality in Glasgow's street canyons, complements the objectives of the ‘Glasgow Avenues Programme’ and can be included in its Low Emission Zones to co-benefit the environment and the wellbeing of the local community.

To mitigate the adverse impacts of urban stormwater on streams, watershed managers are increasingly using low impact development and green infrastructure (LID-GI) stormwater control measures such as rain gardens—vegetated depressional areas that collect and infiltrate runoff from rooftops and driveways. Their catchment-scale performance, however, can vary widely, and few studies have investigated the cumulative performance of residential rain gardens for event runoff control in intermediate-sized (i.e., 1-10 km2) suburban catchments. We modeled three years of continuous rainfall-runoff from a 3.1 km2 catchment in Columbia, MD, USA, using the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM). Various extents of rain garden implementation at residential houses were simulated (i.e., 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% coverage) to determine the effects on peak flow, runoff volume, and lag time. On average, treating 100% of residential rooftops in the catchment reduced peak flows by 14.3%, reduced runoff volumes by 11.4%, and increased lag times by 3.2% for the 223 rainfall events during the simulation period. Peak flow reductions were greater for smaller storm events (p<0.01). Our results show that residential rain gardens can significantly improve the runoff response of suburban catchments, and that they represent an effective and relatively low-cost option for urban watershed management and restoration.

This study was aim to assess the spatial-temporal trends of urban expansion with land use/land cover change dynamics over a period of 30 years in Addis Ababa. The source of data were Land sat satellite imagery freely available by the United States Geological Survey, Addis Ababa City plan map obtained from Addis Ababa city governance planning and development commission, and Ethiopia Space Science and Geospatial Agency. The data obtained were analysed by using QGIS, and ERDAS software. The finding showed that over the last thirty years Addis Ababa city was highly spreads with (Urban Expansion Intensity Index(UEII)=1.524%); building-up land increased faster (dynamic degree (K) = -6.22 and Annual Urban Expansion Rate(AUER) is 3.56. From the finding, Addis Ababa is spreading speedily.

Urban mobility and sustainable transportation are fundamental for the European Union's goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050. The EU encourages national governments to prioritize zero-emission urban transport systems that emphasize safety, accessibility, and inclusiveness. Promoting walking plays a fundamental role in sustainable urban mobility, offering advantages such as emission reduction, better air quality, and enhanced public health. Recent research underscores the importance of creating appealing and safe pedestrian environments to encourage walking. These efforts align with the United Nations' Agenda 2030 sustainability goals, particularly Objective 11, which aims to build inclusive, safe, and sustainable cities and communities. This paper explores the factors influencing pedestrians' willingness to walk and categorizes them into four main groups: Physical Characteristics, Comfort, Safety, and Attractiveness. Significantly, the study reveals that the importance of these factors varies based on demographics, mainly the age of the users. Understanding these factors and their relative significance for pedestrian satisfaction is crucial for shaping effective policies and urban planning strategies aimed at promoting sustainable mobility. By prioritizing pedestrian satisfaction and addressing the specific needs and preferences of diverse groups, cities can create more walkable and environmentally friendly urban environments. These findings offer valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners working toward EU climate-neutral objectives and enhancing the well-being of citizens.

Given the significant role of the Ningxia Urban Agglomeration along the Yellow River in reshaping the urban network and promoting coordinated development in the upper Yellow River region of China, this paper takes enterprise flow as the explicit manifestation of the regional urban network. Based on the data of registered enterprises from 2005 to 2021, combined with the interlocking network model, social network analysis method, and spatial panel econometric model, this paper interprets the evolution of the regional urban network structure and its influencing mechanisms through the different types of enterprise flow. The results indicate the following: (1) The external network is primarily focused on outflow investments towards North China, East China, and Northwest China. The overall inflow sources form a multi-origin structure dominated by North China and East China. The Jinfeng and Xingqing serve as core hubs for enterprise exports in the external network and destinations for incoming enterprises. However, in the Productive manufacturing connections, a spatial organizational pattern driven by multiple cities has formed. (2) In the internal network, a concentric connection structure centered around the Jinfeng and Xingqing has formed. The Productive service connections are relatively active, while the Productive manufacturing connections are relatively concentrated between the Jinfeng, Xingqing, Ningdong, and Lingwu. However, there is an imbalance in the spatial connections within the urban agglomeration network and an incomplete hierarchical system of network nodes. (3) In the external network, the main feature is the absorption of external elements to foster development momentum. In the internal network, the Jinfeng and Xingqing serve as contact and radiation sources, influencing various nodes. However, their driving capacity is weak. (4) The market demand and coordinated development both demonstrate significant promoting effects on the connections within the external and internal networks. The sluggish adjustment and transformation of regional industrial structure have resulted in a temporary negative inhibitory effect on the development of transformation. The negative impact of urban investment activities and the positive impact of government management are reflected within the internal network. (5) The improvement of urban management and service functions, as well as external borrowing, can promote the connection in different network. However, the borrowing economic activity can have a negative impact in different networks. (6) Industrial agglomeration can promote enterprises connections in different networks and generate significant spatial spillover effects.

In the last five years, European research and innovation programmes have prioritised the development of online catalogues and tools (handbooks, models, etc.) to facilitate the implementation and monitoring of Nature Based Solutions (NBS). However, only a few catalogues and toolkits within European programmes are directly related to mainstreaming of NBS for food production (i.e., edible NBS). Therefore, the main aim of this paper is to present existing NBS tools through the eyes of productive urban landscapes. We reviewed 32 projects related to NBS and 50 tools were identified and characterised. Then, the 6 tools already available, and providing indicators, were further analysed in terms of their format and knowledge domains. Our main conclusion demonstrates that there is a lack of tools capable of supporting users for planning and implementing edible NBS, calculating the food potential of the city and/or of individual edible NBS, including the needed resources for implementation and operation (water, nutrients, energy), and assessing their urban design value, environmental and socio-economic impacts. And when they do exist, there is a resistance to share the models and equations behind the tools to allow other projects to reuse or validate them, fact which is contrary to Open Science principles stood up by many research public agencies.

Current acceleration in digital innovations, the unexpected challenges in our social interactions, open access to virtualization, huge limitation in our physical spaces, and unpredictable changes in our old lifestyles - as originated from the COVID-19 global pandemic in 2020 - continue to provide us with a framework, rapidly updating under our eyes, of the modifications our world is undergoing by pursuing into the “new digital age”. Or, as many scholars say nowadays, into the new normal! These are shared and deep changes that, regardless of their permanence or temporariness in the time, concretely stress, ever more greatly, their “own” effects on how ideally a city should function. Forcing us to reflect on the real ability to achieve choices and visions for the future by taking vantage from the new digital platforms. In the pages of this article authors, through different eyes but sharing an early response to the matter of new Governance, explore the theme of a radical change of those already consolidated paradigms and, therefore, of the innovations that are transforming the way we understand our society and its technologic advancements, economics, and culture, as defined through dimensions of time and space. This article identifies a methodologic vision for acquiring a more democratic and participatory (inclusive) dimension in the newest configuration of contemporary cities, the new smart city, and in the possible innovations in reading the common sentiments and wishes through the new digitalized world. The analysis investigates how ICT is altering the meanings/ideas of “urban planning”, driving us toward a more effective “governance” through a citizen-centred digital approach. Indeed, city governance's success must be measured based on the “listening capacity” of the inhabitants and the facilities that we are capable to provide to citizens. “Sentiment Analysis” tool is tested as a useful tool to achieve these aims.

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) is one of the more serious consequences of urbanization resulting in impacts on thermal comfort levels, heat stress, and even mortality. For Municipal Beirut, implementation of “cool” surface materials and green spaces have been recommended to counterbalance the UHI. This paper builds on previous findings on the topic of non-constructible parcels within the district of Bachoura in Municipal Beirut and examines the possibility of implementing “cool” surface or paving materials and urban vegetation which can improve thermal conditions especially during the summer period and with the viewto project the positive findings of this case study to the entire Municipal Beirut area. A numerical analysis using ENVI-met 4.0 investigates the thermal performance of these non-constructibles further to implementation of high reflective surfaces and urban vegetation within a broad neighborhood scale in Bachoura. Results show reductions in ambient temperatures up to 1K on a summer day.. Within the framework of an integrated approach to planning, this form of urban acupuncture aims for substantial UHI reduction. Energy performance of buildings further to implementation of these mitigation measures is also recommended for future studies and to validate the findings in this paper.

Recent crises have highlighted the vulnerabilities of global supply chains and, consequently, a profound need for food system transformation. In this scenario, Local Food Policy and agroe-cology arise as two different but converging paradigms capable of fostering an inclusive and sustainable transition of the food systems, especially in the urban contexts. The purpose of this paper is to strengthen the relationship between these two paradigms by proposing agroecological assessment as a tool for formulating evidence-based Local Food Policies. Considering the city-region food system of Rome (Italy) as a reference context, the paper proposes an adaptation of the TAPE model on a sample of 20 farms to analyze urban agriculture and understand the extent to which it contributes to the transformation of the food system. Data processing shows that, in the city-region context of Rome, agroecological principles are not fully adopted by the majority of farms. In addition, farms with the highest agroecological level are those driven mainly by social factors and have a lower propensity for innovation. This could be read as a constraining aspect because it hinders and slows down the transformation process of food systems. However, these data turn out to be essential to the implementation of Local Food Policy and in identifying pathways toward sustainability.

Depression is considered a widespread mental health problem worldwide. Moreover, anxiety symptoms are very closely related to depression patients, and it is known that the coexistence rate of depression and anxiety diagnosed simultaneously is high. Treatment and preventive management of depression and anxiety are essential for public health. Forest healing is attracting attention as a form of low-cost preventive medicine that is safe and has no side effects. However, although the physiological and psychological effects have been scientifically proven, it is insufficient to reveal a direct relationship between forest healing and depression. This study investigated the benefits of an urban forest healing program on depression and anxiety symptoms of depressive disorders. We employed a randomized controlled trial design. Forty-seven depression patients were randomly divided into an urban forest healing program group and a control group. Measures included the Montgomery-Asberg depression rating scale (MADRS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) questionnaires. Our results revealed that the combination of general treatment and forest healing programs for patients with depression is more effective in improving depression and anxiety than routine treatment alone. We expect our work to serve as a starting point for more sophisticated research in discussing the availability of non-pharmacological treatments in forest healing.

The dependence of longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) ecosystems on fire is well-understood, and anthropogenic alteration of fire cycles within its natural range has contributed to its decline. This is increasingly exacerbated in areas of urban interfaces, wherein use of prescribed fire can be problematic. The purpose of this study—the University of West Florida Campus Ecosystem Study—was to examine effects of fire exclusion on longleaf pine in the unique urban interface of a university campus. This was conceived as an interconnected series of investigations on the main campus and three associated natural areas that comprise remnant longleaf stands following cessation of widespread longleaf pine harvesting ~120 years ago. This period of chronic fire exclusion has allowed for a distinct shift in stand structure and composition. The open, savanna-like structure of fire-maintained longleaf stands has transitioned into closed-canopy forests with the increased prevalence of southern evergreen oaks (especially live oak—Quercus virginiana) and Magnolia spp., resulting in complete absence of longleaf regeneration. Fire exclusion has also appeared to have decreased soil fertility. Significant variation in mean age of longleaf pine stems of the main campus and natural areas suggest that the natural areas were likely under separate ownership with contrasting land-use history prior to purchase by the State of Florida for campus construction in 1963.

In Italy, the number of buildings that have fallen into disuse is huge; also the normative and regulative framework promoting public portfolio’s re-use and revitalisation is still unclear and blurred. Nevertheless, in the last ten years, these buildings have become fertile ground for innovation and creative experiences by civic actors. The rise of this new category of civic actors plays an important role, both from the institutional side and the kind of initiatives and practices they process. They act in different manners but according to an in-depth analysis they share similar patterns of behaviour. What has emerged is that, although the different contexts, where they operate, the institutional performances might be successful if only certain kinds of conditions are taken into consideration. Based on some basic features, civic actors and their dynamics with public administrations are analysed to understand conditions that allow revitalisation processes to be successful in unused public buildings.

In this study we sought to investigate the impact of urbanization, presence of concrete river bottom, and nutrient pollution on microbial communities along the L.A. River. Six molecular markers were evaluated for identification of bacteria, plants, fungi, fish, and invertebrates in 90 samples. PCA (principal components analysis) was used with PAM (partitioning around medoids) clustering to reveal community structure and an NB (Negative binomial) model in DESeq2 was used for differential abundance analysis. PCA and factor analysis exposed the main axes of variation but were sensitive to outliers. Differential abundance of Proteobacteria was associated with soft bottom sites, and there was an apparent balance in the abundance of organisms responsible for nitrogen cycling. Nitrogen cycling was explained by differential abundance of ammonia oxidizing archaea, the complete ammonia oxidizers Nitrospira sp., nitrate reducing bacteria Marmoricola sp., and nitrogen fixing bacteria Devosia sp. which were differentially abundant at soft-bottom sites (p adj < 0.002). In contrast, differential abundance of several Cyanobacteria and other anoxygenic phototrophs was associated with the concrete bottom sites, which suggested the accumulation of excess nitrogen. The soft bottom sites tended to be represented by differential abundance of aerobes, whereas the concrete-associated species tended to be alkaliphilic, saliniphilic, calciphilic, sulfate dependent, and anaerobic. In Glendale Narrows, downstream from multiple water reclamation plants, there were differential abundance of cyanobacteria and algae, however indicator species for low nutrient environments and ammonia-abundance were also present. There was differential abundance of ascomycetes associated with Arroyo Seco and a differential abundance of Scenedesmaceae green algae and cyanobacteria in Maywood, in the analysis which compared suburban with urban river communities. The proportion of Ascomycota to Basidiomycota within the LA River differed from the expected proportion based on published worldwide freshwater and river 18S data; the shift in community structure was most likely associated with the extremes of urbanization. This study indicates that extreme urbanization can result in overrepresentation of cyanobacterial species that could cause reductions in water quality and safety.

The paper provides a critical synthesis of analysis and evaluation of some case studies in the Italian national context, which allowed, through an inductive method, to assess, in terms of integration and coherence, the process of transposition of climate change adaptation contents, possibly already contained within a regional urban framework (Regional Urban Laws) or specific Regional Adaptation Strategies or Local Adaptation Plans, within the territorial and urban planning tools of metropolitan or local scale.

Public participation in the decision-making process in Urban Interventions is the key to the success of the project for improving the quality of life of its citizens. The citizen has the democratic right to express his needs and aspiration; he is the final user who experiences the outcomes of the policy decisions. Non involvement of the citizens in the planning process can bring about the misinterpretation of the intention of political leadership and lead to opposition and protest. The inadequate understanding of citizens of the urban context makes public participation ineffective. In this context, the decision-makers are often faced with the challenges of the level of confidence of the citizens about their ideas and responses being incorporated in the project and the confidence of the citizens in the local urban authority in its ability to carry out the project. However, the decision-makers base their decision on the assumption that the citizens have a general understanding of the urban issues. This research work investigates the basis of this assumption. 1. Do the citizens have confidence that the local urban authority considers their choices and responses in the course of decision making 2. Do the citizens have the confidence that the local urban authority can undertake the Urban Regeneration project 3. Whether in the decision-making process of urban regeneration intervention, citizen's responses are backed by a general understanding of urban issues. The case study taken up is of Hassan city. Five areas of crucial importance have been selected based on the development plan report of the city. The integrated approach aims to find the most appropriate area for proposing the Urban Regeneration project. The framework adopted includes 1. Questionnaire survey: to collect citizens’ responses 2. Analysis of variance (ANNOVA) for analysis of the data collected.

Public Transport has been seen since ages as the most environmentally sustainable mode of transport. The users of public transport are diverse and have different socio-economic character. Hence the public transport which is not only supposed to be environmentally sustainable but also envisaged to ensure equity amongst various stakeholders of society like the females, elderly and other vulnerable groups through its service. Gender in binary terms of being differentiated based on men and women is a social construct. Public transport systems in developing countries like India witness socio-cultural factors that shape the experience of women in public spaces by social norms extant in society. Along with this, gender-based issues related to public transport are social and behavioural shortcomings as a consequence of a lack of gender sensitivity. On similar lines, elderly have a negative experience involving safety threats, physical and psychological discomfort while accessing public transport systems. The literature published regarding such issues on the gender and elderly question in public transport systems have been studied and has been brought forth under a stand- alone narrative literature review. A literature review is a prerequisite to conducting either stand-alone reviews or as a preliminary study to be supported with quantitative or qualitative analysis. Here, a stand-alone literature review concerning issues in the public transport system in India has been performed. A narrative type of review is conducted to provide an overview of pre- existing published literature. Narrative overviews are useful educational articles as they help present a broad perspective on a topic and often define the development of a problem and/or ways to manage it. The semi-systematic or narrative-review approach is designed for topics that have been theorized differently and studied within diverse disciplines making it unfavourable to study under a full systematic-review process which majorly caters to reviewing quantitative researches. As narrative-styled literature reviews prefer a semi- systematic data collection method, utmost care has been taken to include perspectives from diverse disciplines. The scope of this review is restricted to summarizing the Indian policies, schemes of public transport in light of socio-equity consideration while narrowing the inherent discrepancies within the socio-cultural ethos of the Indian society which influences socio-equity consideration in public spaces in general and the modes of public transport in particular. Research articles from electronic databases were selected based on relevance to understand the issues this viewpoint, their essential findings and possible recommendations are formulated to provide a comprehensive summary of previous researches.

Background: HIV self-testing (HIVST) is one of the recommended approaches for HIV testing services, particularly for helping reach populations who would not normally access facility-based HIV testing. HIVST must be tailored to different populations to ensure uptake. Objective: The main objective of this study was to develop an acceptable HIVST delivery strategy to help improve urban men’s engagement with HIV services. Methods: We invited key stakeholders for urban men’s HIV services to participate in a co-creation workshop aimed at developing HIVST delivery approaches for urban men, using eThekwini municipality as a study setting. We conducted purposive sampling to include health care users and health care providers, representing a range of views across the public sector and voluntary sector. We employed the Nominal Group Technique (NGT) method for data collection. The NGT workshop was conducted in two consecutive phases: phase one was focused on determining barriers for men’s engagement with the current/facility-based HIV testing services; phase two was aimed at determining HIVST delivery strategies. We used the results of the NGT to design a tailored HIVST strategy for urban men in eThekwini District. Results: Participants identified the following psychological factors as the most important barriers to uptake of HIV testing services by urban men: stigma, ignorance about the importance of testing and testing process as well as fear of positive test results. Key stakeholders suggested internal motivation strategies as a potentially effective approach to support HIVST delivery strategy. Guided by the NGT results, we designed a HIVST delivery strategy that is supported by a risk communication approach Conclusion: We designed an evidence-based risk communication mobile health (mHealth) strategy coupled with SARS COV-2 self-testing tailored to improve men’s uptake of HIVST. A follow-up study to evaluate the feasibility of implementing these approaches is recommended.

(1) Background: The article gives us an insight into the key issues of the car-sharing and its impact on urban sustainability. (2) Methods: A selection of 314 articles published in peer-reviewed journals from the Scopus database were analysed using Leximancer 5.0 for Automated Content analysis. (3) Results: Seven themes were identified explaining the researched topic of the car-sharing situation in Europe, which are Sharing, Economy, Model, Systems, Electrical car-sharing, Policy and Travel. There are two ways of sharing owned cars in Europe, access to cars from the fleet of private organizations and P2P car-sharing. Sustainable environmental solutions in the context of the electrification of cars are used. Car-sharing usually takes place online and can be free or for a free as defined by The European Economic and Social Committee. (4) Conclusions: The article provides an overview of understanding the concept of urban car-sharing in Europe.

Flood Management remains a major problem in many urban environments. Commonly, catchment models are used to generate the data needed for estimation of flood risk; event-based and continuous-based models have been used for this purpose. Use of catchment models requires calibration and validation with a calibration metric used to assess the predicted catchment response against the recorded catchment response. In this study, a continuous model based on SWMM using the Powells Creek catchment as a case study is investigated. Calibration of the model was obtained using 25 selected events from the monitored data for the catchment. Assessment of the calibration used a normalised peak flow error. Using alternative sets of parameter values to obtain estimates of the peak flow for each of the selected events and different accuracy criteria, the best datasets for each of the accuracy criteria were identified. These datasets were used with SWMM in a continuous simulation mode to predict flow sequences for extraction of Annual Maxima Series for an At-Site Flood Frequency Analysis. From analysis of these At-Site Flood Frequency Analyses, it was concluded that the normalised peak flow error needed to be less than 10% if reliable design flood quantile estimates were to be obtained.

On 2013 the Villonaco wind farm (16.5 MW), the first wind farm in continental Ecuador near the city of Loja, began operations. The power generated is delivered to the National Interconnected System (SNI), which services the city. This research confronts two sets of real data, the electricity use of the urban area of Loja, and the power generated by the Villonaco Wind Farm. Electricity use follows clearly defined daily and weekly cycles, and wind power has a seasonal behaviour. The study shows that wind power integration cannot be a long-term stable power source regardless power or generation surplus. Another essential finding is that time series can be used as a statistical source to determine the need for short- (seconds) and long- (days, weeks) term energy storage. Strategies to further the energy autonomy of the urban area through the expansion of the wind farm by a factor of 2 are discussed.

Mixing layer height (MLH) is a crucial parameter for air quality modelling that is still not routinely measured. Common methods for MLH determination use atmospheric profiles recorded by radiosonde but they suffer from course temporal resolution since balloon launching is only twice a day. Recently cheap ceilometers are gaining popularity in the retrieval of MLH diurnal evolution based on aerosol profiles. This study presents a comparison of a proprietary (Jenoptik) and a free available (STRAT) algorithms to retrieve MLH diurnal cycle. The comparison is accomplished in summer season over urban area and radiosonde data is used to estimate MLHs according to parcel, lapse rate, and Richardson methods (the last algorithm is used as a reference in the study) in addition. It was found that STRAT and Jenoptik give lower MLH than radiosonde with an underestimation of about 150m and 650m respectively. Additionally, STRAT showed reasonable performance in tracking of MLH diurnal evolution. Daily MLH maximum of about 2000m was found in the late afternoon (18-19 LT). In contrast, Jenoptik algorithm showed more weaknesses, mainly attributed to its real-time operation and independent processing of a single profile. At night and during morning transition period, both lidar-based methods showed difficulties as MLH was often in the ceilometer’s incomplete overlapping zone so residual or advected aerosol layers aloft were misleadingly reported as mixing layer (ML).

The historical residential area of Kōm ad–Dikka in Alexandria has experienced subsequent morphological transformation since the ancient era until present. Each historical period had a physical impact on the city’s urban structure that in turn struggled to survive its successive one with its different urban conception. However, the sinuous streets of this area, which probably date back to the late Egyptian Medieval period, are characterized as the only surviving organic fabric intra–muros that was not altered during the Egyptian Modern period. This paper elaborately investigated the chronological history of the historical residential area since the ancient era until the mid—twentieth century. Based on in–depth investigation of historical maps and memoirs, it revealed the possible reasons behind its extant sinuous urban form and postulated reconstructions of its urban morphology through sequential phases.

The purpose of this article is to analyze urban form through the mapping of morphological indices, namely impervious surface fraction, building density, verticality, height/width ratio, roughness length, and porosity, to support urban planning in the city of João Pessoa, PB, in northeastern Brazil. The application of this study identifies and calculates such significant indices for the city's urban space from a Geographic Information System (GIS) model. The spatial indices play notable roles in climate at different scales, developing guidelines to maximize environmental quality, promote improvements to thermal comfort, minimize the urban heat island in the city of João Pessoa, and provide relevant data (considering microclimate aspects), guiding decisions related to the planning process.

Urban beggars are social problems that are related to the poverty of citizen. In Denpasar City Bali Province, particularly in West Denpasar District, the beggars have specificity in activities of begging. Studies in this article demonstrate their specificity begging activity which can be evaluated from the spatial movement of beggars based on the place, time and the distance. Through the method of grounded research with qualitative analysis showed that: (1) the beggars have permanent objects to visit, which consist of shops, settlement and places of worship of the Muslim community, (2) begging activities performed every Friday for 6 hours from 08.00 to at 14.00, and (3) beggars not only walking, but also using public transportation to visiting the object that is relatively far from beggars lane. The findings of this study reinforces that begging has become a profession that is conducted in a structured and well-organized.

As the world’s second largest economy, China ranks amount the world’s top nations when it comes to carbon emission, and therefore its attitude towards climate change is closely followed by all parties concerned. There have been few researches on the role of environmental governance in low-carbon city transformation process, especially the Chinese one. This paper analyses the role of government environmental regulation played in the low-carbon city transformation process by taking Shenzhen as the research object. One of the world's youngest super cities, it also happens to be the lowest carbon emission intensity city in China. Striving to explore green low-carbon development path for the whole country, Shenzhen provides practical experience for countries to cope with global climate change. However, its efforts to reduce the total carbon emissions failed, but it emphasized the carbon emission intensity, which is consistent with the international commitments made by the central government. China’s policy towards handling climate change relies on hierarchical governance arrangement. The strength of the NGOs in the country is weak and incomparable with the government’s, which has mastered most of the resources and is just a reality in China.

This article aims at investigating the complex relationship between the local population and its natural and urban environment. The study of area which, is previously dominated by cereal cultivation, facing profitability challenges due to climate change, water scarcity Rapid urban expansion and overexploitation of aquifers, influenced by changes in agricultural practices, are disrupting the local ecosystem. The study relies on three interconnected indicators: population growth, climate change effects on agriculture, and the NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) reveal the impact of these factors on agricultural practices. Google Earth Engine was employed to determine urbanization and greenness indices using scripts. Key findings include a shift towards intensive and protected agriculture, driven by individual and collective choices of official and unofficial actors, deviating from government directives. Additionally, the study highlights the unsustainability of this new agricultural direction, as the available water re-sources cannot meet the demands, potentially leading to recurrent agricultural shortages. The study underscores the importance of incorporating agricultural production into future urban planning and development programs to maintain a renewed balance between built environ-ments and agriculture on the outskirts of cities.

Abstract: Urban population growth and the expansion of the built environment, pollution, overexploitation of water, inequality in water distribution, and the impacts of climate change in future availability of water, are all elements that jeopardize urban water security. Due to the complexity of urban water systems and their relevance for urban life, a holistic and integrative perspective is therefore needed to address such challenges. In this paper, Urban Water Metabolism (UWM) has been used for comprehensively understanding water (in)security in the City of Puebla (Mexico) and its metropolitan area. Water inflows and outflows have been estimated using a Material Flow Analysis (MFA) method with data either obtained from official sources or simulated with the Monte Carlo method. Our findings show that the UWM configuration in the City of Puebla and its metropolitan area is effective for generating profits to service providers and water related business, yet ineffective to guarantee citizens’ Human Right to Water and Sanitation (HRWS), a right recognized in the Constitution of Mexico. We conclude that to advance towards an inclusive and sustainable provision of water, economic interests must be reconsidered and therefore adjusted so they can be in line with such aspirational socioecological goals. UWM accounting can therefore inform new water governance arrangements, those based on both the best available knowledge and a vibrant participation of all relevant stakeholders.

Environmental conditions, such as temperature, carbon dioxide, and nutrient availability, are altered by urban conditions at regional scales with potential for impact on tree leaf structure. Our goal was to compare leaf morphological characteristics driven by physiological acclimation in red maple (Acer rubrum L.) trees in deciduous forests embedded in a small (Newark, DE) and a large (Philadelphia, PA) city. The study was conducted in six urban forests on eighteen mature red maple trees in a long-term urban forest network. We hypothesized that red maples in Philadelphia forests compared to Newark forests will have a thicker upper epidermal layer, spongy palisade and mesophyll layer, longer and wider stomates, and lower stomate density. Additionally, we hypothesized that red maples in Philadelphia forests compared to Newark forests will have lower leaf water content and specific leaf area, and greater leaf thickness, fresh leaf weight, dry leaf weight, and leaf dry matter content. Our results for stomate length and stomate width supported our predictions; red maple leaves had longer and wider stomates in Philadelphia forests than in Newark forests. The increased stomate size in red maple trees suggests potential altered gas exchange behavior and mutual abiotic stress mitigation responses in red maple to greater urbanization impacts in Philadelphia forests. This supports previous findings of possible physiological and biochemical acclimation of red maple trees to urban conditions. Furthermore, the findings from this study suggest red maple trees may be a good biomonitor of regional scale impacts in urban environments.

Under the extreme shortage of water resources in the Yellow River Basin, it is of great signifi-cance to analyze the spatial distribution relationship between rural settlement and water re-sources for the coordinated development of human and water resources in the Yellow River Ba-sin. However, the water allocation scheme depended on statistical data in the previous work, not on rural settlements in space. Furthermore, previous researches seldom focus on the evaluation of surface water resources accessibility according to the spatial distribution characteristics of ru-ral settlements and water resources, especially, in the Yellow River Basin and using rural set-tlement as unit. Therefore, a quantitative evaluation model of surface water resources accessibil-ity is constructed by using the GIS network analysis method, taking rural settlement as the re-search unit, based on three dimensions of topography, distance, and surface water resources, at the Yellow River basin scale. The results show that: (1) The surface runoff of rural settlement in the Yellow River basin is mostly less than 0.05 km/m2, reaching 99.83%. In other words, the Yel-low River Basin is extremely short of water resources. The surface water resources accessibility is affected by distance, topography, and surface water resources. The evaluation results show that the range of surface water resources accessibility is 0.13~0.88, with an average value of 0.47 and a standard deviation of 0.05. The High surface water resources accessibility value in the Yel-low River Basin is in the east and west, and the low value is mainly distributed in the middle. (2) The range from low to high of surface water resources accessibility in 12 catchments is Sanmen-xia station, Lanzhou station, Shizuishan station, Longmen station, Tongguan station, Toudaoguai station, Xiaolangdi station, Huayuankou station, Lijin station, Gaocun station, Ai Shan station and Tangnaihai station. (3) The value of surface water resources accessibility at the city scale is higher in the east of 10 cities and in the west of 1 city. However, it is lower in the west of 9 cities. And the values of the other cities are at a medium level. The correlation coefficient with primary industry GDP and surface water resources accessibility is 0.271 (N=56, Sig=0.043, in 0.05 level, the correlation is significant), which verifies the rationality of surface water resources accessibility model to some extent.

Rapid population growth causes smallholders to practice unsustainable forms of land intensification to meet increasing food demand. Food insecurity is exacerbated by unreliable rainfall. We revisit family planning, smallholder irrigation, and agricultural cooperatives as potential sustainable solutions. We use descriptive statistics based on primary data from Kakamega Central and Navakholo in Kenya. Results from respondents indicate 83% had no family planning information, while 82% had no access to irrigation. The major reasons are poverty, illiteracy, misconceptions, gender inequality, constraints in accessing credit, lack of investment in water resources, and family planning. Lack of access to agricultural extension services limits the adoption of sustainable farming practices. Cooperatives’ principles and values make them suitable pathways to reach the poorest and facilitate members’ access to productive resources. Cooperatives can be used to train members in sustainable agricultural practices and educate members on family planning issues. Cooperatives have contributed to better yields, incomes, nutritional status, and reduced poverty. However are constrained by a lack of capital, credit, infrastructure, markets, training and technology, delayed payment, and low prices. Governments and development agencies should support the establishment and development of cooperatives with capacity building, market infrastructure, finance, and education in cooperative principles and values.

The research presented in this paper examines a new proposed approach for identifying safety improvement sites on rural highways. Unlike conventional approaches, the proposed approach does not require crash history, but rather utilizes classified variables for traffic volume, geometric features, and roadside characteristics that do not require access to exact data or extensive technical expertise. The research validates the performance of the proposed approach using field data from a large sample of rural two-lane highway segments in the state of Oregon including traffic, roadway, and crash data. Using observed crash history as a reference, the performance of the proposed ap-proach was compared to two of the well-established methods in practice, namely: the Empirical Bayes (EB) and the Potential for Safety Improvement (PSI) methods. The study results suggest that, using crash density for highway segments, the performance of the proposed method was lower than that of the EB and PSI methods. This is despite the high R-square value of the predictive model used in the proposed method. However, when using crash frequencies for highway segments, the per-formance of the proposed method was found comparable to the well-established EB and PSI methods.

Although tourism seasonality significantly influences the livelihood activities of rural tourism households, limited research has explored how they adapt their livelihood strategies to achieve optimal outcomes. Employing an exploratory sequential mixed-methods design that combines thematic analysis and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), we investigated the relationship between the livelihood strategies and outcomes of rural tourism households under the influence of tourism seasonality at the Guilin Karst World Heritage Site. The results indicate that livelihood strategies adopted by rural tourism households include "Tourism Persistence,” "Seasonal Employment,” and “Seasonal Farming” during the off-season, and “Extending Working Hours,” “Increasing Staffing Input,” and “Increasing Capital Input” during the peak season. Furthermore, these strategies form flexible combinations to realize livelihood outcomes, with “Extending Working Hours” being a necessary condition. The findings also revealed that the four configurations of seasonal livelihood strategies in the two patterns significantly contributed to high livelihood outcomes. One is named “Peak-Season Driven Pattern,” where “Extending Working Hours” and “Increasing Staffing Input” are the core conditions; the other is named “Peak-Off Blend-Driven Pattern,” where “Extending Working Hours,” “Increasing Capital Input,” and the absence of “Tourism Persistence” are the core conditions. These findings provide theoretical and practical insights for sustainable livelihood research.

Rural tourism plays an increasing role in maintaining sustainable rural development. In-11 tegrating culture into rural tourism is multifaceted. Local communities have often been regarded as 12 homogeneous, and different voices within them are selectively presented or re-interpreted by pow-13 ers. A better understanding of how and why cultures are integrated into rural tourism is urgently 14 needed. This paper aims to investigate (1) the aims and motives of tourism managers to integrate 15 cultural concepts into rural tourism; (2) who has participated in the cultural integration process; and 16 (3) how cultures have been integrated into rural tourism. Based on a scoping literature review, we 17 found that cultures could add more attractions, such as historical heritage, artwork, cultural land-18 scape, customs, food, and language, to the natural landscape and bring more tourists to rural areas. 19 However, integrating cultures into rural tourism is not always successful. Conflicts of interest 20 among different stakeholders are also often found. Some of the worst cases of cultural integration 21 have even destroyed the original natural landscape and local cultures. While cultural integration is 22 complicated, injustice and perverse effects do not have to be a consequence of integrating cultures 23 into rural tourism. Multi-way communication among tourism providers, managers, and consumers 24 can mitigate disruptive outcomes and unlock positive social outcomes.

Based on data from the Yunnan Province farm household survey, we examine the effect of rural land rights policy on farmers’ income. The regression results show that right significantly raises the total income of farmers, with farm income serving as the primary source of total income. After performing numerous robustness tests, using instrumental variables to handle endogeneity and arriving at the same conclusion, the result is still valid. According to the heterogeneity analysis, in the sample of households with long-term migrant workers, the confirmation of rural land rights significantly increases total and nonfarm income while decreasing farm income. Furthermore, total income includes nonfarm income, which reflects the effect of different farmers' optimal labor allocation based on the external market environment. According to the impact mechanism anal-ysis, right can increase farmers' total income by promoting land transfer, and farmers in less developed areas are more willing to increase their income by land transfer out.

Using the 2011-2020 digital inclusive finance data released by Peking University and the index system constructed by the Blue Book of China Rural Revitalization and Development Index (2018), this paper analyzes the dynamic evolution of the digital inclusive finance and the rural revitaliza-tion from time and space dimensions with the help of kernel density estimation, Markov chain and Moran index. Using The Gini coefficient decomposition method to analyze the source of differ-ences in digital inclusive finance, and then using the spatial autoregressive (SAR) model and ge-ographically weighted regression (GWR) model to study the boosting effect of digital inclusive finance on rural revitalization from the perspective of spatial aggregation and spatial differentia-tion, respectively. The results show that: (1) The growth rate of China's digital inclusive finance slows down year by year, and the inter-provincial differences increase year by year and show gradient characteristics, indicating that there may be a trend of multipolar differentiation. The overall level of Rural Revitalization shows an increasing trend, and the gap between provinces is still apparent. (2) The evolution of digital inclusive finance and rural revitalization is a slow ad-justment process, and there has been no cross-level jump in the past ten years. In digital inclusive finance, the liquidity from the highest and lowest levels to the medium level is high. However, the liquidity in the states of rural revitalization development level is not high. (3) Rural revitalization has a positive spatial spillover effect. The level of rural revitalization in the western area is signif-icantly lower than in the eastern area. At the same time, there is no significant difference between the east and central areas. The depth of the use of digital inclusive finance has a significant positive impact on the revitalization and development of rural areas, indicating that the further promotion of digital inclusive finance business in rural areas can substantially boost the revitalization of rural areas. (4) The boosting effect of digital inclusive finance on rural revitalization shows prominent spatial differentiation characteristics. The depth of use and the degree of digitization generally show a positive impact. The central and eastern coastal cities have the highest impact, decreasing toward the southwest and northeast. The areas with the lowest usage depth impact are clustered in the northeast, and the areas with the lowest digitization impact are clustered in the southwest.

Rural electrification rate (RER) in Africa is still low to date. Several countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have tried to address this problem using conventional single-phase two-wire or three-phase three-wire systems, however at large costs due to the nature of dispersed rural load centers, low load demand, and low population density. Another solution of off-grid generation creates associated health problems. Therefore, this paper undertakes a review of a single wire earth return (SWER) network as a RER improvement solution. The paper undertakes intensive literature review to elucidate challenges and solutions to the implementation of SWER technology. Advantages of SWER technology discussed make it the choice for RER improvement in Sub-Saharan African countries. After that, a case study is selected in rural Tanzania, and a preliminary SWER network design is undertaken.

China is out of extreme poverty in 2020 on schedule and one decade in advance to fulfill the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and became the first developing country to alleviate poverty in half century. Therefore, a large numbers of effective approaches are emerging, and the intellectual’s technology-led poverty reduction, which locally known as the “Straw Hat University”initiated by “Farmer's professor”mode, is the most tried and tested approach motivated by the intellectual’s “Serve the people” tradition and supported by the all nation. This research conduct case analysis with three most remarkable organic intellectuals as Agronomist Yuan longping, Mycologist Lin Zhanxi and Plant pathologist Zhu Youyong with their bridging gaps in food security, regional imbalance and ethnic disparity respectively to sort out the sustainable modules and universal experiences. The conclusion indicates that“Farmer's Professor” Initiated “Straw Hat University” is an effective approach to solve human beings’ development problems and benefit the livelihoods, especially in the under development regions; and the authentic down to earth experiments into productivity as well as the Intellectual property transformation is the perfect path to deploy offline and online resources building the effective production and supply chain to integrate industries by intellectual’s critical innovation.

Introduction: Oral health knowledge, beliefs and attitudes of parents have a direct influence on their child’s oral health maintenance, dietary habits and encourage healthy behaviors. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge, and attitude of parents with regards to the oral health practice of their children and its associated factors. Methods: A self -administered structured questionnaire was administered to parents or guardians of learners aged 5 to 12 years at a low socio-economic rural primary school in the uGu district, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa to collect demographic variables, knowledge of dental health, use of toothbrush, use of toothpaste, dietary practices and dental visits; practice with respect to dental care and attitudes towards oral health. The questionnaire was translated from English to IsiZulu was used. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regressions were used to assess the association between parent’s sociodemographic factors with their oral health knowledge and practice scores. Results: One hundred and forty four completed survey instruments were received with an eighty percent (118) representation of mothers. Ninety five percent of the parents (136) had a positive attitude towards oral health with 86% (124) of the children brushed their tongue and 89% (128) of the children brushed their teeth happily. The mean knowledge score was 70% with a median of 72%. Children were significantly more likely to brush their tongues (AOR: 3.20 95% CI: 1.06-9.66) and were more likely to be happier when brushing their teeth (AOR: 4.65 95% CI: 1.41-15.38) when the caregivers were their mothers, and when parents had an above average knowledge score (AOR: 1.86 95% CI: 0.72-4.85) and had positive attitudes (AOR: 3.20 95%CI: 0.46-22.00). Conclusion: To reduce the gaps in knowledge, oral health promotion should be integrated into all point of care contact with parents at health facilities, increased community awareness and advertising campaigns as well as a more focused school health oral program that addresses primary prevention, screening and appropriate referrals to health facilities

This paper discusses a significant public-private partnership (PPP) formed by the government and Taiwanese Farmer Associations. Particularly, it will investigate a pattern of the PPP that has successfully promoted rural development and agricultural modernization in Taiwan since 1950s. Taiwanese Farmer Associations (hereafter TFAs), similar to agricultural cooperatives in South Korea and Japan, have played a policy agent in fostering rural development in this island state since 1950s. TFA’s performance inherently came from Japanese Cooperatives before World War II. The Performances of those farmer organizations are combinations of economic, social, and educational synergies. The rural development experiences in Taiwan demonstrate that success of rural modernization is carried out by a special public-private partnership (PPP). First, this paper discusses formation and development of farmer cooperative organizations in East Asian societies and compare the similarities and differences of practice of those organizations and their relations to the governments among Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan. Secondly, this paper examines collaborative mold and process in which both the government and Taiwan Farmer Associations have been extensively involved. A specific cooperative apparatus between the government and TFA functioning and operating as a perfect PPP has been formed under administrative guidance of the state. Thirdly, this paper looks at input and various supports in financial and policy perspective by the public sector. Fourthly, the paper discusses legal framework, administrative apparatus, and governance pattern for TFA. Fifthly, the paper discuses that a specific PPP successfully involving in rural modernization in Taiwan is significantly derived from the state’ guidance that properly regulates a collaboration between the government and TFA. So-call East Asian model of PPP in agricultural modernization and rural community development may become a valuable experience for most of developing countries.

This article investigates if public investments in rural basic infrastructure represent the best strategy for boosting the local economy of rural communities from Romania. The article focuses on one specific program implemented under the Cohesion policy in the framework of the National Plan for Rural Development called Measure 322. Geographically, the research included a sample of rural communes from the North-Western Region of Romania. Moreover, the study also looks at other determinants of local economic development (LED) than infrastructure investments, with a focus on certain feature characterizing Romanian rural communities such as population size, isolation from urban centers, connection with European and national roads networks, educational stock, etc. The research included three steps, namely the construction of the LED Index, a cvasi-experimental research, and a regression model. Our main findings seem to suggest that while investments in infrastructure help the development gap between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries remains relatively the same. In terms of determinants of LED, percentage of population with a university degree and connection to a European road are the most significant in the Romanian rural context.

An imperative challenge emerges from the demand to construct a scientific method to recent agricultural and rural policies throughout the world. The objective of the present study is to conduct an ex-post quantitative evaluation of the Comprehensive Rural Village Development Project, a representative rural development project operated by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, a central government agency in South Korea. The primary purpose of the project is to ensure sustainable rural society. This study found a moderate but significant positive impact of the policy in enhancing the standard of living in rural areas. The present study concludes with suggesting some policy implications and future directions of policy evaluation studies.

The need to address climate change and establish sustainable urban environments has driven increased efforts in Europe to develop climate-neutral cities. This study highlights the importance of integrating solar energy technologies and nature-based solutions as key strategies to achieve climate neutrality. By examining current practices, emerging trends, and case examples, it explores the benefits, challenges, and prospects associated with the integration of solar energy and nature-based solutions in urban contexts. The study presents a pioneering approach to assess the urban heat and climate change mitigation benefits of combining building-integrated photovoltaics and nature-based solutions specifically within the European context. The results emphasize the synergistic relationship between nature-based components and solar conversion technology, identifying effective combinations for different climatic zones. In warmer regions of Southern Europe, strategies like rooftop photovoltaics on cool roofs, photovoltaics shadings, green walls, and urban trees have demonstrated effectiveness. Conversely, mid- and high-latitude European cities have seen positive impacts through the integration of rooftop photovoltaics and photovoltaics facades with green roofs and green spaces. As solar cell conversion efficiency improves, the environmental impact of photovoltaics is expected to decrease, facilitating their integration into urban environments. The study emphasizes the importance of incorporating water bodies, cool pavements, spaces with high sky-view factors, and effective planning in urban design to maximize resilience benefits. It also highlights the significance of prioritizing mitigation actions in low-income regions and engaging citizens in the development of social photovoltaics positive energy houses, resilient neighbourhoods, and green spaces. By adopting these recommendations, European cities can lead the way in creating climate-neutral urban environments that prioritize clean energy, nature-based solutions, and the overall well-being of residents. The findings underscore the need for a multidisciplinary approach that combines technological innovation, urban planning strategies, and policy frameworks to effectively achieve climate neutrality in European cities.

Rapid urbanization and climate change effects may cause dramatic change of ecosystem functions in cities, thereby inevitably affecting the growth performance of ancient trees. Few studies have explored species diversity and spatial differentiation in Benin urban area. Here, we took Cotonou city to do that. The objective of the study conducted in the city of Cotonou, was to determine the predominant level of plant diversity in the city's land-use units. The urban green frame was subdivided into six land use units, namely establishments, residences, green spaces, commercial areas, administrative areas, and roads. The forest inventories were carried out in 149 plots with surfaces evaluated at 2500 m2 each. A total of 62 tree species in 55 genera and 27 families were recorded. The results show that the flora of the city of Cotonou is characterized by a strong preponderance of exotic species. The most abundant species with high ecological importance (IVI) in the different type of land use of the city are Terminalia catappa (IVI=121.47%), Terminalia mentally (IVI=90.50%), Mangifera indica (IVI=64.06%) and Khaya senegalensis (IVI=151.16%). This study shows that a directed development of this urban vegetation could improve the resilience of urban life to climate hazards through the provision of urban ecosystem services, potential ecological infrastructure foundations and urban nature-based solutions.

Flash floods repeatedly threaten Barcelona, damaging the city infrastructure and endangering the safety of the population. The city’s urban planning and socioeconomic distribution, associated with the topography and other geographic factors, means that these flood events do not affect the entire city in the same way. This is a key point for surveillance and emergency tasks, which need some patterns and models to improve response capacity. This work aims to gain a better understanding of such events, to add valuable information on how to predict and manage these situations. For this purpose, both radar and ground observational data have been combined to identify the most important precipitation episodes in Barcelona between 2013 and 2018. To make the analysis easier, a new algorithm has been developed to determine the thunderstorm hotspots. Episodes with a higher impact have been analysed in depth. The final objective is to improve the actions taken by the organisation responsible for managing urban floods, which have seen Barcelona recognised as a model city for flood resilience by the United Nations.

The transport sector in Germany causes one-quarter of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. One potential solution to reduce these emissions is the use of battery electric vehicles. Although a number of life cycle assessments have been conducted for these vehicles, the influence of a transport system wide transition has not been researched sufficiently. Therefore, we developed a method which combines life cycle assessment with an agent-based transport simulation and synthetic electric, diesel and gasoline powered vehicle models. We use the transport simulation to obtain the number of vehicles, their lifetime mileage and road-specific consumption. Subsequently we analyze the product systems’ vehicle production, use phase and End-of-Life. The results are scaled depending on the covered distance, the vehicle weight and the consumption for the whole life cycle. The results indicate that the sole transition of drive trains is insufficient to significantly lower the greenhouse gas emissions. However, sensitivity analyses demonstrate that there is a considerable potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions with higher shares of renewable energies, a different vehicle distribution and a higher lifetime mileage. The method facilitates the assessment of the ecological impacts of the complete car based transportation in urban agglomerations and is able to analyze different transport sectors.

Considering citizens' perceptions of their living environment is very helpful in making the right decisions for city planners who intend to build a sustainable society. Mental map analyses are widely used in understanding the level of perception of individuals regarding the surrounding environment. The present study introduces Aram Mental Map Analyzer (AMMA), an open-source program, which allows researchers to use special features and new analytical methods to receive outputs in numerical data and analytical maps with greater accuracy and speed. AMMA performance is contingent upon two principles of accuracy and complexity, the accuracy of the program is measured by Accuracy Placed Landmarks (APL) and General Orientation (GO), which respectively analyses the landmark placement accuracy and the main route mapping accuracy. Also, the complexity section is examined through two analyses Cell Percentage (CP) and General Structure (GS), which calculates the complexity of citizens’ perception of space based on the criteria derived from previous studies. AMMA examines all the dimensions and features of the graphic maps, and its outputs have a wide range of valid and differentiated information, which is tailored to the research and information subject matter that is required.

This paper describes the feasibility and probable benefits associated with greening the Tahliah Channel, a concrete drainage channel that was originally built to relieve urban flooding in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. It includes an estimation of irrigation needs for channel greening based on a standardized planting specification. The study also demonstrates alternative strategies for meeting the required irrigation demand, including water harvesting and graywater reuse on a residential scale. The study shows that greening Tahliah Channel is possible relying mainly on graywater reuse from the surrounding buildings. Also, the study shows that rainwater harvesting is not a reliable source for irrigation. Rather, it can cover only part of the irrigation needs (6%) and so can be used as a secondary supporting source. The positive results of this case study will be of interest to those in arid countries who are looking to upgrade and replace traditional, single function drainage infrastructure with more sustainable, green infrastructure systems. More specifically, the objectives of the study are consistent with the goals of the Saudi government’s ongoing initiative that advocates for more resilient and sustainable cities. (Vision 2030 year).

A comprehensive evaluation system of rural building energy consumption from a innovative composite perspective is established, which is suitable for southwest China. the brainstorming method and Delphi method were used to establish the indicator system, the ANP method was applied to calculate the weights of the comprehensive evaluation model, the scoring criteria of all evaluation indexes are constructed based on fuzzy evaluation theory, the applicability of the model is verified by an example of the countryside around Chengdu. The results showed that the score of some factors is low, whole or part area, just like the percentage of clean energy use(C24), the thermal performance of external walls(E21), the implementation of energy-saving measures(S22), were key factors affecting the target level, which has greater potential for improvement. The distribution of comprehensive indicators and evaluation factors have certain spatial distribution characteristics, the overall spatial distribution shows the characterwastic of "high in the southeast and low in the northwest". The key factors and spatial distribution characteristics found can be used as an important basis for the improvement of green energy-saving promotion measures, energy-saving retrofit programmes were proposed in terms of additional solar room, energy-saving of external walls and air-conditioning temperature setting guidance.

Improving the quality and access to healthcare services in rural areas is fundamental to develop sustainable healthcare systems. This research aims to explore the motivations of healthcare professionals to work and settle in rural island areas of Greece with limited access to secondary and tertiary care. The study suggests practical ways to encourage self-motivation and attract more health workers in rural areas. An exploratory qualitative research approach was employed, involving semi-structured interviews with 16 healthcare professionals working in primary care units that lack direct hospital or hospital-health center access. The research was conducted specifically in the rural islands of Cyclades. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify common themes and unique insights from the participants. The analysis revealed three thematic categories. Τhe «attraction» thematic was influenced by personal factors, random selection, origin, accommodation factors, professional factors and obligatoriness. The «recruitment» thematic was associated with understaffing, special care issues, unstable working environment, educational and organizational aspects, and insular lifestyle. The thematic of «retention» highlighted personal issues, accommodation difficulties, economic and work-related issues, and unique challenges posed by an insular lifestyle. This research provides valuable insights into the motivations that drive healthcare professionals to settle, work, and remain in remote island units, as well as the challenges they encounter in making this decision. The study proposes strategies to motivate and attract more healthcare professionals to rural areas. These findings should be considered when formulating or reviewing primary healthcare empowerment policies to ensure equitable healthcare access for all individuals.

The prevalence of Noncommunicable Diseases (NCDs) in South Africa is increasing annually, with the burden projected to escalate by 2030. Devastatingly, factors such as lifestyle changes, urbani- sation, and an aging population significantly contribute to a rising burden of Cardiovascular disease (CVDs), diabetes, and cancer which directly impact the mortality and morbidity rates seen in South Africa. Recognising this, the South African government has seen the need for emphasis on developing policies and interventions tar- geting physical inactivity to prevent and manage NCD, particularly cost-free and easy to administer training protocols. However, phys- ical inactivity remains a significant issue, leading to various health concerns in rural communities, including injuries and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). Despite effort to promote physical ac- tivity, the prevalence of NCDs continues to rise, necessitating target- ed interventions to ensure equitable healthcare among South African citizens. On the Contrast, preservation and promotion of traditional games is vital as they offer indigenous populations accessible and culturally relevant means to maintain health and wellness. In this regard, it is important to recognize the importance of preserving and promoting traditional games as they potentially serve as a method for indigenous people to maintain their health and wellness in a way that is accessible and culturally relevant to them. These games have gained popularity in South Africa, with initiatives underway to show- case them globally fostering cultural exchange. Further, revitalizing and conserving these games can cultivate a culture of health and wellbeing in South Africa.

In recent years, there has been a surge of proposals for innovative approaches to public planning. It has become apparent that the traditional emphasis on "economic development" as the predominant objective of public policy is no longer adequate to promote a thriving society. Common Agricultural Policy in Europe faces challenges to adopt and implement the dynamic of culture. However, culture as a pillar of sustainable development is not a new topic. This concept has been incorporated into economic studies with increasing tension. The present study aims to measure scientific interest through published scientific studies and papers related to the contribution of culture in the context of European development programs and strategies. A total of (n=902) published documents during the period 1990-2023 from the Scopus database were explored to identify (n=27) appropriate publications for research analysis based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach and flow diagram. Bibliometric analyses using Vos Viewer (Center for Science and Technology Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands) and constructed term co-occurrence network plots based on bibliometric evidence were performed. The results show that there was no scientific interest. The systematic review and bibliometric analysis of the present paper could provide a valuable and seminal reference for the researchers of rural development and the relevant policymakers.

Public funding of land consolidation projects is an instrument of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union (CAP). The execution of systematic land consolidation programmes focused on optimising the spatial structure of agricultural areas presents a possibility to improve agricultural production conditions and maximise the efficiency of agriculture on a local, regional, national and international level. However, due to limited access to financial resources, it is necessary to delimit the priority areas for land consolidation. A contemporary practice based on the assessment of the social support percentage of potential land consolidation projects in individual villages does not represent a real necessity for action. This problem leads to ineffective utilisation of financial resources and reduces the efficiency of the implemented programmes. We proposed a new algorithm for assessing real needs for land consolidation based on a detailed multi-faceted analysis of the spatial structure of agricultural areas. The research method involved factors describing the spatial structure defectiveness of farms as well as those determining land quality in correspondence to investment’s profitability. Another factor verifying the potential economic rationale of land consolidation was transaction prices mostly reflecting the agricultural value of the land. The analysis showed that land consolidation in areas with defective spatial structure and a relatively high market value should be a priority. This approach will contribute to maximising profits by increasing the productivity of areas featuring the highest agricultural suitability.

Wellness tourism is a growing segment that destinations can rely on to increase tourism flows and revive underdeveloped rural areas. This study elicits tourists' preferences for wellness tourism products and the redevelopment of a wellness destination in a depopulated rural area. The re-search included 595 participants in Central Greece using on-site, face-to-face surveys. The survey data was analyzed using a two-step process. First, conjoint analysis was applied to determine the combination of wellness tourism product attributes that maximize visitors’ utility. In the second step, we elicited visitors' willingness to pay (WTP) for improvements in tourism product attributes using the contingent valuation method. Findings indicate that the combination of attributes that maximizes the preference structure of respondents includes time of visit from September to Oc-tober, duration of visit from 1 to 7 days, wellness tourism as the primary purpose of the visit, and wellness activities that contain both physical activities and training as well as spiritual and emo-tional enhancement. Using binary logistic regression, the analysis indicates that respondents are willing to pay 47.33€ per visit on average further to develop wellness tourism products in the study area. Empirical results confirmed that sustainability issues, quality, and entrepreneurship factors positively impact visitors' WTP for revitalizing wellness products. In contrast, a longer duration of stay in the area and respondents' age negatively impact their WTP. These findings suggest that structuring a customer-driven tourism product will enhance the rural destination's efforts to attract high-yield visitors and advance the rural economy. Furthermore, practical im-plications reveal that Destination Management Organizations will benefit from research results to foster targeted management plans.

A The guinea pig value chain in Jauja, Peru, has been developed through the application of productive projects, institutional strengthening and implementation of the principles of responsible investment in agriculture and food systems (CFS-RAI). The actors in this chain have been showing economic improvements, representativeness and participation, characteristics that make them the key human capital for development. To improve the performance of the actors in the sustainable rural development of the territory of Jauja, Peru, the research carried out an evaluation of the competencies and capacities for project management in 46 actors linked to the business programme on the CFS-RAI Principles, representing 1,094 people in the guinea pig value chain in Jauja, using the Working With People (WWP) model and empirical instruments based on the Octagon method, International Project Management Association (IPMA) competencies, performance evaluation carried out by experts, attitudinal evaluation and the Business Model Canvas. The results have helped to structure the actors of the value chain, who show an intermediate mastery of project management competencies (2.73/5), institutional capacities in development (2.89/7) and a growing organizational management performance (26.2/100). In addition, trust and proactivity have been generated among the actors in the chain, with an interest in continuing with the implementation of the CFS-RAI Principles in order to achieve sustainability in their productive projects with commercial innovation. The results have allowed us to generate the design of an innovative programme for the development of competencies, which balances the three dimensions of IPMA competencies (perspective, person and practice) in connection with the CFS-RAI Principles. Both processes complement the strengthening of human capital in agrifood value chains through sustainable project management and contributing to sustainable development in the region.

This paper explores the challenges of providing services of general interest in rural areas of Germany and proposes co-created mobility software solutions to address the specific needs of these regions. The research is part of the Smarte.Land.Regionen project, which aims to improve digital public services at the district level. Focusing on rural mobility, the paper introduces the concept of ride-sharing benches as a potential solution. Through workshops, surveys and market research, the study identifies barriers to the adoption of ride-sharing benches and investigates factors contributing to their success. The proposed software solution emphasizes user-centered development, geographic location of benches and prioritized matching of passengers. Findings highlight safety concerns, lack of reliability, and the importance of getting people who are theoretically interested in solutions to actively participate in them. The paper emphasizes the importance of collaborative development with county stakeholders. Future research should focus on sustaining and scaling digital solutions, measuring their impact on rural mobility, and ensuring their transferability to other regions. The ultimate goal is to contribute to inclusive and sustainable rural development by improving access to digital public services and promoting the adoption of tailored mobility solutions.

Predominantly rural areas make up half of Europe and account for about 20 per cent of the population. Yet most of them are among the least privileged regions in the European Union, with a GDP per capita significantly below the European average and with an average population age higher than in urban areas, although this gap will only slowly begin to narrow in the next decade. Together with a lack of connectivity, inadequate infrastructure, lack of diversified job opportunities and limited access to services, this makes rural areas a less attractive place to live and work. At the same time, however, rural areas actively participate in the EU's green and digital transition. Achieving the EU's digital goals for 2030 can offer more opportunities for the sustainable development of rural areas in areas other than agriculture, livestock and forestry, opening up new perspectives for the growth of manufacturing and, even more, service industries, and contributing to a better geographical distribution of services and industries. In this context, the objective of this work is the construction of a synthetic index of the welfare of European nations, through the Wroclaw taxonomic method and through the use of logit models, for the identification of best practices of local realities and the interpretation in a more im-mediated way of the fair and sustainable welfare of each European nation at a rural level

Providing patient-centered care to manage chronic pain and opioid use disorder (OUD) is associated with improved health outcomes. However, adopting a holistic approach to providing care is often challenging in rural communities. This study aims to identify and contrast challenges to providing patient-centered care from the perspective of patients and providers. A participatory design approach was adopted to elicit the perceptions of providers and patients with lived experiences of chronic pain and OUD in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Two focus groups were conducted with each stakeholder group to identify problems that participants face with respect to chronic pain management and OUD and possible solutions. Four interviews were conducted with providers experienced in chronic pain management. Analysis of focus group sessions and interviews show consensus among patients and providers that lack of behavioral health and recovery resources create barriers to effectively manage OUD and chronic pain. However, there was discordance among the two groups about other barriers such as patient and provider attitudes, tapering approach, and access to medications for OUD. This tension among patients and providers can influence patients’ retention in therapy. More efforts are needed to mitigate stigma among providers in rural communities and support psychosocial needs of patients.

While several studies have examined the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on smallholder rural farmers and possible efforts to scale up their livelihood and food security, the role of consumers’ buying orientation in addressing farmers’ vulnerability in the post-pandemic era has not been explored. The paper, therefore, aims to propose and conceptualize humane buying orientation, and further explore its role in attenuating smallholder rural farmers’ vulnerability in the new normal. The qualitative design approach has been employed in two different studies. Collected data were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 and following the interpretative phenomenological analysis. Findings validate humane buying as an altruistic orientation that will contribute to lessening the vulnerability of smallholder rural farmers in the post-pandemic era. It also shows that an enlarged-stakeholders’ (government, international agencies, corporate bodies, institutions, privileged individuals/consumers, religious organizations, etc.) effort that is rooted in morality and empathy, is required to successfully tackle the vulnerability of smallholder rural farmers, especially in developing countries such as Nigeria. The study is the first to propose, conceptualize and validate humane buying as a post-Covid-19 orientation that is capable of attenuating the vulnerability of smallholder rural farmers which has been worsened by the pandemic. The paper contributes to the understanding of emerging strategic actions required for the attainment of the United Nation’s sustainable development goals - ending poverty and hunger by 2030, and how consumers can play a key role.

This paper empirically analyzes the relationship between digital inclusive finance and rural income, and demonstrates that digital inclusive finance plays a significant role in promoting rural income, based on the 2012-2018 panel data of 17 cities in Henan Province of China. Further dimensional research unveils that all of its breadth of coverage, depth of use and degree of digitization present significant positive correlation with rural income, and a robustness test was conducted through the sub-sample method. In addition, according to regression analysis on the influencing factors of digital inclusive finance through the Tobit model, the level of economic development, the Internet popularity rate and the urbanization rate have a positive effect on the development of digital inclusive finance in Henan, while the income gap between urban and rural areas and the degree of opening up have a negative effect. Finally, predicated on the analysis of the restrictive factors of Henan’s digital inclusive finance in increasing rural income, the paper puts forward specific policy proposals based on the native state quo.

Followed by the aspect of respect for rights 20, the social and environmental issue has a score of 19.9, the dialogue issue is 19. In short, the proximity plan indicates that the policies used regarding the issue of generating employment and economic growth (Empresa Mantaro Perú SAC), continue to be the strategic variables in the first instance, but they are far from the social actors (rural communities of Aco, Vico, Cruz Pampa and others) and environmental (Junín environmental dialogue table) and Ombudsman's Office (rights) that are currently closer together. The actor from the Archbishop of Huancayo referred to communication is one of the driving variables of power. The proximity plan shows us that the policies used regarding the issue of generating employment and economic growth (Empresa Mantaro Perú SAC), continue to be the strategic variables in the first instance, but that they are far from the social actors (Rural Communities of Aco , Vico, Cruz Pampa and others) and environmental (Junín Environmental Dialogue Table) and Ombudsman's Office (rights) that are currently closer together. The actor from the Archbishop of Huancayo referred to communication is one of the driving variables of power. The proximity plan shows us that the policies used regarding the issue of generating employment and economic growth (Empresa Mantaro Perú SAC), continue to be the strategic variables in the first instance, but that they are far from the social actors (Rural Communities of Aco , Vico, Cruz Pampa and others) and environmental (Junín Environmental Dialogue Table) and Ombudsman's Office (rights) that are currently closer together. The actor from the Archbishop of Huancayo referred to communication is one of the driving variables of power. but they are far from the social actors (rural communities of Aco, Vico, Cruz Pampa and others) and environmental (Junín Environmental Dialogue Table) and the Ombudsman's Office (rights) that are closer together today. The actor from the Archbishopric of Huancayo referred to communication, is within the driving variables of power. but they are far from the social actors (rural communities of Aco, Vico, Cruz Pampa and others) and environmental (Junín Environmental Dialogue Table) and the Ombudsman's Office (rights) that are currently closer together. The actor of the Archbishopric of Huancayo referred to communication, is within the driving variables of power.

Social and spatial characteristics of a population often interact to influence health outcomes, suggesting a need to jointly analyze both to offer useful insights in community health. However, researchers have used either social or spatial analyses to examine community-based health issues and inform intervention programs. We propose a combined socio-spatial analytic approach to develop a social network with spatial weights and a spatial statistic with social weights, and apply them to an ongoing study of mental and physical well-being of rural Latino immigrants in North Florida, USA. We demonstrate how this approach can be used to calculate measures, such as social network centrality, support contact dyads, and spatial kernel density based on a health survey data. Findings reveal that the integrated approach accurately reflected interactions between social and spatial elements, and identified community members (who) and locations (where) that should be prioritized for community-based health interventions.

Residential segregation refers to the phenomenon where people of different socioeconomic backgrounds live in spatially separated areas. It is essential to ensure equitable access to urban amenities for all residents in pursuit of the normative values in urban planning. To achieve this planning goal, the disparity in accessibility to urban amenities needs to be appropriately diagnosed. Private apartments and public rental apartments are representative types of residences where residential segregation is likely to occur in the context of South Korea, since these two types show considerable differences in the education, income, and occupations. The objective of this study is to develop an analysis framework for diagnosing the difference in accessibility to urban amenities between the two residential types, and to empirically demonstrate their utility in the planning process. The empirical analysis conducted on Seoul revealed that not only were there significant local variations in accessibility between the two segregated residential areas, but the overall differences across the entire area were also pronounced. The proposed framework is useful in supporting decision-making processes for locating new public facilities or identifying regional priorities for guiding the placement of private amenities, with the aim of mitigating differences between segregated residential areas.

Many cities are increasingly adopting blue-green infrastructure (BGI) to bolster resilience against environmental challenges. Beyond its well-acknowledged environmental benefits, the role of BGI in enhancing social resilience is becoming an equally important area of focus. However, the integration of BGI to foster social resilience presents complexities, stemming from the evolving and occasionally ambiguous definition of social resilience. Considering the broad application of BGI across various disciplines makes the evaluation of social resilience within a BGI framework complex. Consequently, a structured approach to develop a clear framework tailored to understanding and measuring social resilience in a BGI setting is needed. This study consolidates various existing frameworks of social resilience, especially utilizing the detailed 5S framework proposed by Saja et al. [1]. It integrates findings from an extensive review of literature on social resilience to develop a novel conceptual framework, the BGI Social Resilience Framework. This new framework specifically aims to capture the distinct social aspects and advantages associated with BGI. The BGI Social Resilience Framework is organized into a three-tier model focusing on four critical aspects of social resilience—social values, social capital, social structure, and social equity—and explores how these aspects are interconnected. Characteristics and indicators are customized to accomodate the BGI context in a way that integrates the physical and human dimensions within a comprehensive approach to measurement that uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Specifically, this research formulates a theoretical framework for BGI with the aim of investigating BGI strategies and viewpoints that bolster social resilience. The BGI Social Resilience Framework takes into account the varied demographics and the physical characteristics of urban areas to explore ways to create BGI spaces that are more inclusive and contribute to the enhancement of social resilience.

Extensive green roofs provide for many ecosystem services in urban environments. The efficacy of these services is influenced by the substrate characteristics and vegetational composition. Despite their key role in plant performance and productivity, or their contribution to nitrogen fixation or carbon sequestration, green roof microbial communities have received little attention so far. Here, we investigated whether microbial communities in extensive green roof substrates contain a core community, as well as whether they are affected by green roof plant diversity. Eleven green roofs, planted either with a mixture of grasses, wildflowers and succulents (Sedum spp.), or solely species of Sedum, were seasonally sampled to investigate prokaryotic and fungal communities via metabarcoding. Although Sedum-herbs-grasses roofs contained more plant species, we observed no discriminant microbial communities between both roof types, likely due to sharing the same substrate textures and the vegetational layers that became more similar throughout time. Examining key microbial taxa revealed that most taxa are also dominant phylotypes in soils across different biomes. Many bacterial core taxa are capable of nitrogen fixation and most fungal key taxa are stress-tolerant saprotrophs, endophytes, or both. Microbial community composition further revealed high similarities with aerial samples taken in urban environments. Considering the extreme edaphic conditions that periodically arise in green roof substrates, further investigation is warranted to determine the extent to which the dynamic and intriguing microbial communities are influenced by the aeromicrobiome.

Contemporary cities are facing many challenges, from social and economic issues to the new risks related to the impacts of climate change. Focusing on energy consumptions, and the related GHG emissions, cities are considered not only the main global contributors but also the areas most exposed to risks, because of their density of population and economic activities. Implementing urban planning strategies with the purpose of increasing energy efficiency and resilience overall are, for all these reasons, considered a top priority. This paper investigates the innovative contents about energy-efficient and energy-resilient urban planning solutions that have started to be implemented in the cities of the Emilia-Romagna region. Two kinds of planning instruments are therefore analyzed: the voluntary Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plans (SECAPs) and the mandatory General Urban Plans (GUPs), recently approved in several cities of Emilia-Romagna. A comparative analysis of three cities in the Emilia-Romagna region, Bologna, Modena and Ravenna, is proposed on the strategies of their newly local city plans and SECAPs with focus on energy management and planning. The aim is to assess whether the new structure of local city plans and the influence of SECAPs could be useful in implementing such urban energy resiliency solutions.

Globally, the need for sustainable urban development has never been more urgent than now. This is because estimates indicate that more than half of the global population will be living in urban areas by 2050, with South Africa estimated at 80%. This paper focuses on socio-economic nuances that impede sustainable urban development, as well as the strategies that can accelerate sustainable urban development in South Africa. Through a literature review methodology, the analysis identified the following issues as impediments to sustainable urban development in South Africa, informal settlements and businesses, lack of consultations with urban citizens, unresolved apartheid legacies, violence, crime and insecurity, and migration and immigration intricacies in South Africa. The paper also established the strategies to accelerate sustainable urban development as working with informality and against it, promoting inclusivity and access to resources, formulating, and accelerating policy reforms, investing in rural areas and towns, and finally investing in superior technology and innovation. These findings imply that there is a need to seek alternative development models and approaches, to address social challenges such as poverty, unemployment, and poor housing, aspects that impact negatively on urban development planning and sustainable development. This is because the major challenges to sustainable urban development are human-related challenges, that need social and economic solutions. There is also a need to reduce rural-urban migration by developing rural towns to ease pressure in major towns which are already spilling over.

This article seeks to understand how the incorporation of new scientific articles in the field of urban studies on topics related to housing, manage to impact specialized media. In other words, it seeks to identify whether social science that publishes findings on housing has become less relevant over time, as occurs in other areas of knowledge. To do this, data is collected from the Web of Science of the urban studies categories, using as a filter that either in the title, keywords or abstract contain the word "housing". With this database, all the DOIs of the indexed articles are taken and it is reviewed whether those new DOIs incorporated into the knowledge database have impacted in relation to new citations that of said DOIs that are added in the future. More than looking for the impact of an article for the particular, it is sought to review added values. It is identified that the only disruptive moment occurred after the 2008 real estate crisis. This finding emphasizes the importance of looking for new paths for the production of knowledge on housing that is novel and original, that manages to break with an apparent trend of scarce innovation or lack of knowledge among peers of what is being published in the matter.

Urban parks play a pivotal role in fostering the development of sustainable and smart cities, encompassing multifaceted dimensions of environmental, social, and economic significance. To effectively manage these urban parks, it is imperative to undertake an in-depth investigation of their environmental, social, and economic conditions, as well as their level of sustainability. However, there is currently a lack of readily applicable methodologies that comprehensively measure these benefits and provide a sustainability rating for urban parks. In this study, we propose a valuable tool that employs effective and affordable measures for the daily management of these green spaces. Our methodology is rooted in the three pillars of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. Within these pillars, we have defined 19 indicators and 50 criteria, enabling a comprehensive assessment of park sustainability. This methodology is developed through the characterization and systematic documentation of the park’s day-to-day operations. To validate our methodology, we present a case study of Cárcamos Park, situated in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico, utilizing accurate operational data collected from January to December 2020. Through this real-life scenario, we demonstrate the high applicability and effectiveness of our methodology. The sustainability assessment of Cárcamos Park reveals a sustainability level of 57%, placing it within the medium sustainability range. Importantly, our methodology can also be incorporated during the design phase of new urban green spaces, offering flexibility and ease of application tailored to the unique characteristics of each park. Park managers can use our procedure and apply it to any park, evaluate their sustainability status and detect areas of opportunity. Our approach provides a comprehensive and practical tool for measuring and improving the sustainability of urban parks. Its simplicity and applicability make it accessible to anyone interested in creating a greener and more sustainable urban environment.

Solid-state LiDAR offers multiple advantages over mechanism mechanical LiDAR, including higher durability, improved coverage ratio, and lower prices. However, solid-state LiDARs typically possess a narrow field of view, making them less suitable for odometry and mapping systems, especially for mobile autonomous systems. To address this issue, we propose a novel rotating solid-state LiDAR system that incorporates a servo motor to continuously rotate the solid-state LiDAR, expanding the horizontal field of view to 360∘. Additionally, we propose a multi-sensor fusion odometry and mapping algorithm for our developed sensory system that integrates an IMU, wheel encoder, motor encoder and the LiDAR into an iterated Kalman filter to obtain a robust odometry estimation. Through comprehensive experiments, we demonstrate the effectiveness of our proposed approach in both outdoor open environments and narrow indoor environments.

Urban scene point cloud pose significant challenges for registration due to its large data volume, similar scenarios and dynamic objects. In this paper, we propose PCRMLP, a model for urban scene point cloud registration that achieves comparable registration performance to prior learning-based methods. Compared to previous works which focus on extracting features and estimating correspondence, the model estimates the transformation implicitly from concrete instances. An instance-level urban scene representation method is introduced to extract instance descriptors via semantic segmentation and DBSCAN, which enable the model to obtain robust instance features, filter dynamic objects and estimate transformation in a more logical manner. Then a lightweight network consisting of MLPs is employed to obtain transformation in an encoder-decoder manner. We validate the approach on KITTI dataset. Experimental results demonstrate that PCRMLP can obtain a satisfactory coarse transformation from instance descriptors just in 0.0028s. With a subsequent ICP refinement module, the proposed method achieves higher registration accuracy and computational efficiency than prior learning-based works.

Urban water management rules have long been oriented towards the rapid disposal of rainwater and wastewater through combined or separate drainage networks. This type of urban water management has shown its limits in both developed and undeveloped countries, notably because of its inexorable degradation over time and the cost of its rehabilitation and adaptation to the increase in demand due to urban growth. Sanitation data from the Office Nationale de l’Assainissement du Sénégal. Rainfall data are processed and analyzed to describe the current situation and how variable and high rainfall affects the neighborhood. Approximately 70-92% of the Dakar region's inhabitants have on-site sanitation facilities and sufficient income makes it difficult to manage their wastewater without exposing the environment or the health of citizens. The volumes of domestic wastewater flowed into the environment, in addition to poorly evacuated rainwater, show that the current sanitation system in the Dakar region is largely outdated, and insufficient for an effective drainage of rainwater and wastewater. Increasingly, frequent flash floods of polluted storm water from large amounts of domestic sewage are occurring, resulting in damage to human health. Exceptionally high rainfall is in correlation with high daily rainfall, therefore in recent years daily rainfall higher than 100 mm have been recorded in connection with above-average annual rainfall. That increase in rainfall disrupts the drainage of wastewater in the region of Dakar. A pragmatic and voluntary policy based on the principles of ecohydrology to recreate natural areas will be the only way for Dakar to efficiently manage storm water and wastewater. It can bring Dakar in 2030 into the international group of sustainable green cities.

Although impending urbanization is a well-acknowledged problem, there is a rising concern about how the urban forms will change and what can be the impacts on the global energy demand. As hubs of economic, social and cultural activities, cities are major energy consumers and GHG emissions. Energy consumption is a technical or a spatial problem? From Newman and Kenworthy to today, several studies have tried to shed light on this nexus. In this work, the controversial paradigm of urban density is discussed as a key component of the fight against climate change impacts. Concerning energy consumption, an in-depth bibliometric analysis is developed to identify the interdependencies of the terms. As a key ‘promise’ of an efficient urban configuration, density has been the core of diverse studies but with still under exploration arguments. This work provides a way forward for planners seeking to design strategies related to dense urban tissues exploring controversial paradigms as a key solution for energy-efficient problems.

Housing is always crucial for the sustainable development of communities, specifically in urban areas, due to the population density of cities. The present study constructs its own structure on the basis of the recent papers investigating various sustainability factors for the urban housing sector. By doing a comprehensive systematic literature review, one of the most extensive lists of urban housing sustainability factors is gathered from 118 recent related papers. The factors are prioritized by their frequency of investigation and categorized by their scale(s) and sector(s) of influence. According to the results, the top three significant factors affecting urban housing sustainability are “natural resource or energy consumption/efficiency of the building/equipment (during the construction, operation, etc.)”, “materials performance (durability, cost, thermal capacity, permeability, ability to re-use, recycled, eco-friendly materials)”, and “access to public services/infrastructure: availability/quality of services and/or distance/time of travel time to the services (public transport, education/health/shopping/leisure facilities, parks, etc.)”. By analyzing the results with an integrative approach, it is understood that environmental factors are the most considered ones (more considered than the factors with influence on all sustainability sectors) where institutional factors received the least attention. Also, the most significant measures are the ones that have impacts on both ‘building’ and ‘neighborhood/community’ scales. It should be noticed that the neighborhood/community scale indicators are seen, almost, as important as the measures that affect the building itself. The results of this study can be helpful in establishing future housing-related policies, and also in having more efficient housing sustainability assessment tools.

Airborne microplastic (MP) is an emerging pollutant, still under-characterised and insufficiently understood. Detailed description of MP air pollution is crucial as it has been identified in human lungs and remote locations, highlighting atmosphere as medium of MP dispersion and transportation. The lack of standardization of methods for measuring and further monitoring of the MP pollution is an obstacle towards the assessment of health risks. Since the first recognition of MP presence in the atmosphere of Krakow in 2019, this research was conducted to further characterise and develop the methods for qualitative and quantitative analysis of airborne MP (ATR-FTIR, Pyr-GC-MS, SEM-EDS) and pre-treatment of samples.The data was gathered in seven cycles, from June 2019 to February 2020. Methods used in the study allowed the identification and analysis of the changing ratio of the different types of synthetic polymers identified in the atmospheric fallout (LDPE, Nyl-66, PE, PET, PP, PUR). Observations of interactions between MP particles and environment were made with analyses of surface changes due to the degradation. Mineral phases attached to the MPs’ surfaces, with some of the inorganic contaminants transported on these surfaces, determined to also be of anthropogenic origin.Methodology proposed in this study, allows further characterisation of MP from multiple locations to provide highly comparable data, leading to the identification of the sources of this phenomenon, as well as seasonal changes.

The once-held wisdom of the supreme efficiency of one-way streets has been gradually sup-planted by the perceived sustainability of two-way streets in the design of livable cities that prioritizes the safety of pedestrians and thriving of local businesses. However, it is rarely dis-cussed on whether one-way street conversions have truly improved the long-term traffic effi-ciencies on urban street networks, as conflating socioeconomic factors such as vehicular popula-tion growth and induced travel demand may render empirical analysis inconclusive. In this study, microscopic traffic simulations implemented on SUMO platform was performed to ana-lyze the effect of street conversion in Downtown Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur. This approach can control and standardize travel demand in both one-way and two-way street networks, and would therefore give a fairer evaluation by precluding all socioeconomic factors. It was found that one-way streets do not necessarily improve the traffic efficiency of the network, as it is very dependent on the traffic scenario evolution over time. One-way streets perform better at the on-set of traffic congestion due to its higher capacity, but on average, the 4-fold longer travel times that made it harder to clear traffic by getting vehicles to their destinations compared to two-way streets. As time progresses, congestion in one-way streets may become twice as worse compared to two-way streets. This study may contribute to a more holistic assessment of traffic circulation plan designed for smart and livable cities

Surface temperature influences human health directly and alters the biodiversity and productivity of the environment. While previous research has identified that the composition of urban landscapes influences the physical properties of the environment such as surface temperature, a generalizable and flexible framework is needed that can be used to compare cities across time and space. This study employs the Structure of Urban Landscapes (STURLA) classification combined with remote sensing of New York City’s (NYC) surface temperature. These are then linked using machine learning and statistical modeling to identify how greenspace and the built environment influence urban surface temperature. It was observed that areas with urban units composed of largely the built environment hosted the hottest temperatures while those with vegetation and water were coolest. Likewise, this is reinforced by borough-level spatial differences in both urban structure and heat. Comparison of these relationships over the period between2008 and 2017 identified changes in surface temperature that are likely due to the changes in prevalence in water, lowrise buildings, and pavement across the city. This research reinforces how human alteration of the environment changes ecosystem function and offers units of analysis that can be used for research and urban planning.

This article analyses three recent shifts in what [1] called the geography of ‘Big Things’ meaning the contemporary functions and adaptability of modern city centre architecture. We periodise the three styles conventionally into the fashionable ‘Starchitecture’ of the 1990s, the repurposed ‘Agritecture’ of the 2000s and the parodising ‘Parkitecture’ of the 2010s. Starchitecture was the form of new architecture coinciding with the rise of neo-liberalism in its brief era of global urban competitiveness prevalent in the 1990s. After the Great Financial Crash of 2007-8 the market for high-rise emblems of iconic, thrusting, skyscrapers and giant downtown and suburban shopping malls waned and online shopping and working from home destroyed the main rental values of the CBD. In some illustrious cases ‘Agritecture’ caused re-purposed office blocks and other CBD accompaniments to be re-purposed as settings for high-rise urban farming, especially aquaponics and hydroponic horticulture. Now, Covid-19 has further undermined traditional CBD property markets causing some administrations to decide to bulldoze their ‘deadmalls’ and replace them with urban prairie landscapes, inviting the designation ‘Parkitecture’ for the bucolic results. The paper presents an account of these transitions by reference to questions raised by urban cultural scholars like Jane M. Jacobs and Jean Gottmann to figure out answers in time and space to questions their work poses.

Samarinda’s flooding issue is threatening future city development. As the most populated city in Kalimantan, Samarinda (the municipality of East Borneo) plays a role-model in disaster management for a neighboring city. This paper introduces current flood disaster handling in this city. History of disaster management in Indonesia is started from the earlier of Indonesian independence. Year 2008, after hit by severe Tsunami in Aceh and its surrounding, Government of Republic of Indonesia form special agency to manage disaster specifically, namely National Board for Disaster Management (in Bahasa called: Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Nasional [BNPB]) and follows by the regional and local government to form similar agency in provincial and local scale (including Samarinda), called Regional Board for Disaster Management (in Bahasa: Badan Penanggulangan Bencana Daerah[BPBD]) which is formed in 2009 and 2011, respectively. The aim of this paper is to explain flood management in Samarinda where is flood hazard increase gradually and need to be a priority. Descriptive analysis is used in this study including secondary data and interviewed stakeholders. Finally, the finding of study obtains found five constraints related to Samarinda’s flood management including administrative and policy, social, economic, environment and technical and knowledge constraint. This study also promotes several schemes of non-structural approach to enlarge alternative perspective in flood management.

Low- and middle-income country cities face unprecedented urbanization and growth in slums. Gridded population data in small grid squares (e.g., 100x100m) derived from demographic and spatial data are a promising source of current population estimates, but face limitations in slums due to the dynamic nature of this population as well as modelling assumptions. The efficacy of using gridded population data in slum areas remains a question mark especially in the context of UN SDG indicator development. In this study, we use field-referenced boundaries and population counts from Slum Dwellers International (SDI) in Lagos (Nigeria), Port Harcourt (Nigeria), and Nairobi (Kenya) to assess the accuracy of nine gridded population datasets in slums. We also use a modelled map of all slums in Lagos to assess use of gridded population dataset for SDG11.1.1 (percent of population living in deprived areas). We found that all gridded population estimates vastly under-estimated population counts in populous slums, and the calculation of SDG11.1.1 in Lagos was impossibly low; gridded population datasets estimated that just 1-3% of the Lagos population lived in slums, compared to 56% using the UN-Habitat approach. We outline specific steps that might be taken to improve each gridded population dataset in deprived urban areas. While gridded population estimates are not yet sufficiently accurate to estimate SDG11.1.1, we are optimistic that some datasets could be following updates to their modelling approaches.

In this study, our goal was to research land-use change by combining spatio–temporal land use/land cover monitoring (LULC (1989–2019) and urban growth modeling (1999–2039) in Benslimane, Morocco, to determine the effect of urban growth on different groups based on cellular automata (CA) and geospatial methods. A further goal was to test the reliability of the AC algorithm for urban expansion modeling. To do this, four years of satellite data were used at the same time as population density, downtown distance, slope, and ground road distance. The LULC satellite reported a rise of 3.8 km2 (318% variation) during 1989–2019. Spatial transformation analysis reveals a good classification similarity ranging from 89% to 91% with the main component analysis (PCA) technique. The statistical accuracy between the satellite scale and the replicated built region of 2019 gave 97.23 %t of the confusion matrix overall accuracy, and the region under the receiver operational characteristics (ROC) curve to 0.94, suggesting the model's high accuracy. Although the constructed area remains low relative to the total area of the municipality's territory, the LULC project shows that the urban area will extend to 5,044 km2 in 2019, principally in the western and southwestern sections. In 2019–2039, urban development is expected to lead to a transformation of the other class (loss of 1,364 km2), followed by vegetation cover (loss of 0.345 km2). In spatial modeling and statistical calculations, the GDAL and NumPy Python 3.8 libraries were successful.

Failaka Island is located 20 kilometers east of the Kuwait mainland. The island includes archaeological sites dating back to the Bronze, Hellenistic, Christian, and Islamic ages. To develop the island as a tourist attraction the state is pursuing a new urban plan based on the island's environmental potential. This study is the basis of the urban plan depends on environmental criteria from the view of Geoarchaeology. The study analysis the land-use and land-cover changes of Failaka Island between 1958- 2018. It provides a topographic survey of the island's coastline and a classification of its geomorphological features and a state of the art identification of its archaeological sites by using a drone to make a terrain model. The study used a medium to high-resolution image analysis of the land-use and land-cover changes: WorldView2-50cm 2010 and 2018; Landsat 8; aerial photography; Drone images and a digital elevation model (DEM), to analysis the expected sea level changes by the end of this century. This study also created a geodatabase of the island that can be adapted for future studies. The results emphasize the importance of preserving the historical and ecological features of the island while developing its infrastructure.

Ninety percent of the people added to the planet over the next 30 years will live in African and Asian cities, and a large portion of these populations will reside in deprived neighborhoods defined by slum conditions, informal settlement, or inadequate housing. The four current approaches to neighborhood deprivation mapping are largely silo-ed, and each fall short of producing accurate, timely, comparable maps that reflect local contexts. The first approach, classifying “slum households” in census and survey data and aggregating to administrative areas, reflects household-level rather than neighborhood-level deprivation. The second approach, field-based mapping, can produce the most accurate and context-relevant maps for a given neighborhood, however it requires substantial resources, preventing up-scaling. The third and fourth approaches, human interpretation and machine classification of satellite, aerial, or drone imagery, both overemphasize informal settlements, and fail to represent key social characteristics of deprived areas such as lack of tenure, exposure to pollution, and lack of basic public services. The latter, machine classification of imagery, can be automated and extended to incorporate new and multiple sources of data. This diverse collection of authors represent experts from these four approaches to neighborhood deprivation mapping. We summarize common areas of understanding, and present a set of requirements to produce maps of deprived urban areas that can be used by local-to-international stakeholders for advocacy, planning, and decision-making.

Mapping settlement extents at the annual time step has a wide variety of applications in demography, public health, sustainable development, and many other fields. Recently, while more multitemporal urban feature or human settlement datasets have become available, issues still exist in remotely-sensed imagery due to coverage, adverse atmospheric conditions, and expenses involved in producing such feature sets. These challenges make it difficult to increase temporal coverage while maintaining high fidelity in the spatial resolution. Here we demonstrate an interpolative and flexible modeling framework for producing annual built-settlement extents. We use a combined technique of random forest and spatio-temporal dasymetric modeling with open source subnational data to produce annual 100m x 100m resolution binary settlement maps in four test countries of varying environmental and developmental contexts for test periods of five-year gaps. We find that in the majority of years, across all study areas, the model correctly identified between 85-99% of pixels that transition to built-settlement. Additionally, with few exceptions, the model substantially out performed a model that gave every pixel equal chance of transitioning to the category “built” in each year. This modelling framework shows strong promise for filling gaps in cross-sectional urban feature datasets derived from remotely-sensed imagery, provide a base upon which to create future built/settlement extent projections, and further explore the relationships between built area and population dynamics.

The concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely recognized in recent years for its role in reducing car traffic, improving public transportation, and enhancing traffic sustainability. This paper conducts empirical research on a developed rail transit network, using Shanghai as a case study. In addition to traditional TOD features, other factors based on urban rail transit are introduced, including multi-level modeling (MLM), which is used to analyze the possible factors influencing rail patronage. To avoid the bias of research results led by the correlation between independent variables, factors are divided into two levels. The first level includes three groups of variables: the built environment, station characteristics, and socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. The second level includes a set of variables which are regional characteristics. Results show that the most significant impact on train patronage is station location in the business district area. Other factors that have a positive effect on promoting rail transit travel include the number of service facilities around the station, degree of employment around the station, economic level, intensity of residential development, if the station is a transfer station, the operating period of the station, and the size of the large transportation hub around the station.

Lake Rawa Besar is an urban lake surrounded by dense settlements and market area. Currently Lake Rawa Besar is experiencing physical and ecology strain. This research’s objectives are to determine the levels of sediment and nutrient, the distribution, also the relation to land use and human activities producing pollutant. Field surveys with 30 sample points and observations was needed scattered within the lake. Measuring the value of each parameter is carried out in national standardized laboratory. The result shows that sediment load of TDS is still below the standard limit for clean water, while TSS levels in the middle of lake exceed the standard limit. Nutrient loads, spesifically nitrate and phospate levels is below the standard limit. While turbidity and BOD levels have a uniform distribution pattern in the lake, exceed the standard limit for clean water, and have a positive correlation. High levels of turbidity and BOD are caused by household waste and human activities producing organic waste such as tofu factory, fowl manure, and garbage dump. Small sewage goes into the lake mediates pollutants inflow. Attention is needed by nearby people, also for the government, to sustain the ecological condition of the lake.

The peri-urban and urban forests in Greece occupy a total area of 105.353 ha. In these vulnerable ecosystems, fire constitutes a natural disaster presenting particular challenges and specific difficulties. These include the high number of visitors as well as forests characteristics - such as the presence of particularly flammable tree species and high accumulation of combustible biomass – that make the on-start of fires more likely. The main purpose of the current research is to identify the optimum combination of silvicultural treatments to efficiently reduce potential forest fire severity and to facilitate their successful suppression by firefighting crews. In order to simulate the basic fire environment of urban forests, two main experimental plots were established and several tree and topographical characteristics were measured. Additionally, the NEXUS wildfire system was used to simulate forest fire potential behavior before and after the adoption of the silvicultural treatments that altered critical characteristics of the forest fire environment. The results clearly show that specific silvicultural prescriptions altered the type of forest fire spreading potential, revealing the overall efficiency of preventing actions during forest management.

A very high-resolution DSM covering an area of 400km² over the Athens Metropolitan Area has been produced using Pleiades 1B 0,5m panchromatic tri-stereo images. Applied Remote Sensing and Photogrammetry tools have been used resulted in a 1x1m DSM over the study area. DSM accuracy has been evaluated by comparison with measured elevations with D-GPS and a reference DSM provided by the National Cadaster & Mapping Agency S.A. In addition, different combinations of stereo images have been prepared for further exploitation of the quality of the produced DSM by stereo vs. tri-stereo images. Results show that the produced by the tri-stereo images DSM has an RMSE of 1.17m in elevation (z), which is among the best reported in the relevant literature. Stereo based DSMs from the same sensor have worst performance to this end. Satellite Remote Sensing (SRS) based DSMs over urban areas provide the best cost-effective approach in comparison to airborne-based datasets due to high spatial coverage, lower cost and high temporal coverage. Pleiades-based high-quality DSM products can serve the domains of urban planning/climate, hydrological modelling and natural hazards, as major input for simulation models and morphological analysis at local scale.

Rapid urbanization has changed the structure and function of natural ecosystems, especially the floodplain ecosystems in SE Asia. This paper describes the ecological structure of vegetation stands and the usefulness of satellite images to characterize a disturbed tropical urban forest located in the lower floodplain of the Chao Phraya River, Thailand. Nine representative plots were established in Bang Kachao peninsula in 4 tropical urban forest types: rehabilitation forest, home-garden agroforestry, mangrove and park. The correlation between NDVI and LAI obtained from satellite images and plant structure from field surveys were analyzed. The NDVI had the highest relationship with stand factors for the number of families, number of species, Shannon-Weiner’s diversity index and total basal area. The LAI had the highest correlation with total basal area, number of canopy layers, stand density and canopy density. Linear regression predicted the correlation between NDVI and LAI with stand factors as show above. The trend in NDVI and LAI reflected the urban forest type, being high in rehabilitation and mangrove forests, moderate in home-gardens and low in parks. Future urban planning of the Bang Kachao peninsula should focus on rehabilitation to increase the biodiversity and complexity of the urban forest.

Urban lakes, especially those of natural origin, provide ecosystem services, recreation being one of the most important and highly valued by the city dwellers. Fulfilling the needs of city residents to relax and have contact with nature has become a priority in urbanized areas and has been proved to positively affect people’s health and well-being. The recreational potential of water bodies was identified to be most important aspect of ecosystem services to the residents of the neighboring areas. An assessment of recreational ecosystem services (RES) provisioning to society based on the real time spent by the citizens and housing values in the rural-urban gradient revealed that the economic benefits of lakes differ in urbanized, suburban and rural landscapes. The growth of cities has led to an increased population density in the surroundings of ecologically valuable areas, resulting in higher pressure from visitors seeking recreational areas. Along with urbanization, the impoverishment of ecosystem functions takes place, limiting their capability to provide ecosystem services. In this work provisioning of recreational ecosystem services of 28 floodplain lakes located along the urban-rural gradient of the Warsaw agglomeration was assessed. The relationship between the ecological value of the water bodies, measured using naturalness indices, and the recreational ecosystem services they can provide was assessed. The results showed that the floodplain lakes located along the urban-rural gradient are of a great importance to the citizens due to their recreational potential. The provisioning of recreational ecosystem services is poorly connected with the ecological characteristics of the floodplain lakes. Only hemeroby, was significantly correlated with provisioning, and there was no relationship with factors such as naturalness of vegetation or water quality, demonstrating that public preference was not generally influenced by high ecological quality. These data should be available to potential buyers and be integrated in spatial planning management plans in order to shape future housing policy.

This study investigates the land surface temperature (LST) distribution from thermal infrared data for analyzing the characteristics of surface coverage using the Vegetation-Impervious-Soil (VIS) approach. A set of ten images, obtained from Landsat-5 Thematic Mapper, between 2001 and 2010, were used to study the urban environmental conditions of 47 neighborhoods of Porto Alegre city, Brazil. Porto Alegre has had the smallest population growth rate of all 27 state capitals in the last two decades in Brazil, with an increase of 11.55% in inhabitants from 1,263 million in 1991 to 1,409 million in 2010. We applied the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) theory in order to test the influence of the economically-related scenario on the spatial nature of social-environmental arrangement of the city at neighborhood scale. Our results suggest that the economically-related scenario exerts a non-negligible influence on the physically driven characteristics of the urban environmental conditions as predicted by EKC theory. The linear inverse correlation R2 between household income (HI) and LST is 0.36 and has shown to be comparable to all other studied variables. Future research may investigate the relation between other economically-related indicators to specific land surface characteristics.

Urban environments face escalating challenges, e.g. due to uncontrolled urbanization, rapid population growth or climate changes, prompting the exploration of sustainable solutions for enhancing urban green spaces (UGS). For this reason, poplars (Populus L.), due to their rapid growth, wide range adaptability to environmental conditions and versatility of use, would have emerged as very promising. This comprehensive review synthesizes current knowledge regarding poplar's application in urban landscapes, emphasizing its multifaceted contributions and benefits. However, challenges arise from the variable lifespans of different poplar cultivars, necessitating strategic management approaches. Selecting cultivars based on growth rates, root system characteristics, and adaptability to urban conditions is pivotal. Adaptive replanting strategies, incorporating species with varying lifespans, offer solutions to maintain continual greenery in urban landscapes. Collaborative efforts between researchers, urban planners, and policymakers are essential for devising comprehensive strategies that maximize benefits while addressing challenges associated with their variable lifespans. In conclusion, harnessing poplar's potential in urban greenery initiatives requires a balanced approach that capitalizes on their benefits while mitigating challenges. Further research and adaptive strategies are crucial for sustained and effective utilization in creating resilient and vibrant urban landscapes.

The sustainability of cities often changes as rapid urban developments and population growth affect the carrying capacity. Understanding the dynamics of carrying capacity then becomes crucial for tourist-oriented cities. This study focused on Baguio City, the "Summer Capital of the Philippines," attracting large crowds on holidays and actively promoting various events on non-holidays, thereby having temporal context variations classified as regular days, days with events, and holidays. Using the enhanced urban carrying capacity load number (EUCCLN) model, load number (LN) changes for different temporal contexts are calculated based on spatial indicators grouped into air, traffic, economy, and waste. The city experiences the worst pressures on air quality during holidays with $99.23\%$ districts under very high to critical levels followed by regular and days with events. However, the total LN is balanced by favorable economic conditions with only $9.23\%$ at critical. EUCCLN effectively pinpoints areas experiencing critical states at any time, advocating targeted government monitoring. We demonstrate that Night Time Light, for places with no economic data available, can be used as a proxy to highlight areas requiring improved urban vibrancy. This work suggests that EUCCLN monitoring urban pressures can easily be expanded to nowcasting with real-time data.