An environmental accounting framework applied to green space ecosystem planning for small towns in China as a case study

2007 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 533-542 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingxian Zhang ◽  
Qing Liu ◽  
Nigel W. Hall ◽  
Zetian Fu
Keyword(s):  
Green Space ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Environmental Accounting ◽  
Ecosystem Planning

scholarly journals Green space trends in small towns of Kyiv region according to EOS Land Viewer – a case study.

2020 ◽  
Vol 66 (No. 6) ◽  
pp. 252-263
Author(s):  
Vasyl Yukhnovskyi ◽  
Olha Zibtseva
Keyword(s):  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
Anthropogenic Activity ◽  
Urban Greening ◽  
Ecological Balance ◽  
Current State ◽  
Vegetative Indices

The state of ecological balance of cities is determined by the analysis of the qualitative composition of green space. The lack of green space inventory in small towns in the Kyiv region has prompted the use of express analysis provided by the EOS Land Viewer platform, which allows obtaining an instantaneous distribution of the urban and suburban territories by a number of vegetative indices and in recent years – by scene classification. The purpose of the study is to determine the current state and dynamics of the ratio of vegetation and built-up cover of the territories of small towns in Kyiv region with establishing the rating of towns by eco-balance of territories. The distribution of the territory of small towns by the most common vegetation index NDVI, as well as by SAVI, which is more suitable for areas with vegetation coverage of less than 30%, has been monitored. We found that the share of dense vegetation in the territory of towns increased on average from 2.4 to 49.3% during 1990–2018. The share of the vegetation cover of moderate density decreased from 40.8 to 27.1%, and of sparse one from 37.5 to 14.9%. High variability of these indicators is noted. The share of open area for small towns decreased on average from 15.4 to 3.8%. The vegetation-free areas in 1990, 2005 and 2018 accounted for 3.8, 2.6 and 4.4%, respectively, which may indicate the intensive expansion of built-up areas over the last fifteen years. The development of urban greening systems was completely individual and depended not only on natural conditions but also on the manifestations of anthropogenic activity. The reduction of the ecological balance of the territories of small towns as of 2018 took place in the following sequence – Irpin, Tarashcha, Boiarka, Rzhyshchiv, Kaharlyk, Skvyra, Myronivka, Yahotyn, Uzyn.

Gardening as More than Urban Agriculture: Perspectives from Smaller Midwestern Cities on Urban Gardening Policies and Practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Christopher Strunk ◽  
Ursula Lang
Keyword(s):  
Urban Agriculture ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Community Gardens ◽  
Public Land ◽  
Vacant Lots ◽  
Urban Gardening ◽  
Privately Owned ◽  
Policies And Practices

For the most part, research and policymaking on urban gardening have focused on community gardens, whether in parks, vacant lots, or other public land. This emphasis, while important for many Midwestern cities, can obscure the significance of privately owned land such as front yard and back yard and their crucial connections with gardening on public land. In this case study, we examine how policies and practices related to gardening and the management of green space in two Midwestern cities exceed narrow visions of urban agriculture. The article explores the cultivation of vacant lot gardens and private yards as two modes of property in similar Midwestern contexts and argues that the management of green space is about more than urban agriculture. Instead, we show how urban gardening occurs across public/private property distinctions and involves a broader set of actors than those typically included in sustainability policies. Gardening also provides a key set of connections through which neighbors understand and practice sustainability in Midwestern cities.

scholarly journals Public Green Space Policy Implementation: A Case Study of Krakow, Poland

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 538
Author(s):  
Anita Kwartnik-Pruc ◽  
Anna Trembecka
Keyword(s):  
Legal Status ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Original Research ◽  
Space Policy ◽  
The Public ◽  
Central Statistical ◽  
Central Statistical Office ◽  
Public Green Space

Green space is essential for the implementation of the idea of sustainable urban development. This paper contains original research on the implementation of local government tasks in the development of public green space. The aim of this research was to analyse the actions taken by the municipal authorities regarding the development of public green space, including the acquisition of real properties, the regulation of their legal status, as well as the adoption of planning and programme documents. The Polish Central Statistical Office data on the public green space of the largest cities in Poland were analysed in order to determine the dynamics of changes. Then, the focus was placed on Krakow, where the authors analysed in detail the distribution and type of urban green space as well as the actions taken by the Municipality to both extend it and to protect it against building development. The criterion of green space accessibility to city residents was indicated as a necessary aspect to be considered in the overall assessment of the existing greenery. The conclusions include the assessment of the actions of the Krakow authorities and the observed trends in the development of public green space.

scholarly journals Architectural and Urban Attractiveness of Small Towns: A Case Study of Polish Coastal Cittaslow Towns on the Pomeranian Way of St. James

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 724
Author(s):  
Alicja K. Zawadzka
Keyword(s):  
Small Towns ◽  
Urban Life ◽  
Added Value ◽  
Development Policies ◽  
Quality Of Urban Life ◽  
Size Criterion ◽  
The Town ◽  
Modern Technologies

The paper presents the results of a study on the attractiveness to tourists and natives of the cultural qualities of coastal towns on The Pomeranian Way of St. James that are members of the Cittaslow network. Attention to the quality of urban life is inscribed in the development policies of towns applying to join the Cittaslow movement. In order to join the network (apart from the size criterion), towns need to meet a minimum of 50% plus one of the 72 criteria grouped into seven categories. One of the category is Quality of Urban Life Policy, so the towns applying to join Cittaslow commit themselves to actions aimed at improving the quality of urban life. The study on the attractiveness of cultural qualities of towns to tourists and natives was conducted using the author’s BRB method, whose added value is its universality and the possibility to study small towns regardless of their membership in the Cittaslow network. BRB is an acronym that stands for BUILDINGS, RELATIONSHIPS, BALANCE, and comprises three scopes of activities: BUILDINGS (iconic building and important sites where the inhabitants and the tourists are present); RELATIONSHIPS (the visual effects of the relations between the inhabitants and the town) and BALANCE (solutions that implement modern technologies). This method enables identification of places that are important to the inhabitants, where urban life takes place and which are often created with the involvement of the inhabitants. These are often the same spaces as those that attract tourists and perhaps stimulate them the desire to visit the town again (BRB—be right back). The aim of the BRB method is shown the attractiveness of small towns. The study has shown that the characteristic feature of Polish Cittaslow towns is their diversity: the architectural attractiveness of three towns is high both to tourists and natives. On the other hand, the urban attractiveness of the examined towns is an insufficient.

scholarly journals Association between Green Space Structure and the Prevalence of Asthma: A Case Study of Toronto

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5852
Author(s):  
Yuping Dong ◽  
Helin Liu ◽  
Tianming Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Green Space ◽  
Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽  
Chronic Inflammatory Disease ◽  
Space Structure ◽  
Tree Diversity ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
Index Tree

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disease that can be caused by various factors, such as asthma-related genes, lifestyle, and air pollution, and it can result in adverse impacts on asthmatics’ mental health and quality of life. Hence, asthma issues have been widely studied, mainly from demographic, socioeconomic, and genetic perspectives. Although it is becoming increasingly clear that asthma is likely influenced by green spaces, the underlying mechanisms are still unclear and inconsistent. Moreover, green space influences the prevalence of asthma concurrently in multiple ways, but most existing studies have explored only one pathway or a partial pathway, rather than the multi-pathways. Compared to greenness (measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, tree density, etc.), green space structure—which has the potential to impact the concentration of air pollution and microbial diversity—is still less investigated in studies on the influence of green space on asthma. Given this research gap, this research took Toronto, Canada, as a case study to explore the two pathways between green space structure and the prevalence of asthma based on controlling the related covariates. Using regression analysis, it was found that green space structure can protect those aged 0–19 years from a high risk of developing asthma, and this direct protective effect can be enhanced by high tree diversity. For adults, green space structure does not influence the prevalence of asthma unless moderated by tree diversity (a measurement of the richness and diversity of trees). However, this impact was not found in adult females. Moreover, the hypothesis that green space structure influences the prevalence of asthma by reducing air pollution was not confirmed in this study, which can be attributed to a variety of causes.

Rural Aging during COVID-19: A Case Study of Older Voluntarism

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Amber Colibaba ◽  
Mark W. Skinner ◽  
Elizabeth Russell
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Population Aging ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Rural Regions ◽  
Older Volunteers ◽  
Rural Aging

Abstract During large-scale crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the precarity of older people and older volunteers can become exacerbated, especially in under-serviced rural regions and small towns. To understand how the pandemic has affected “older voluntarism”, this article presents a case study of three volunteer-based programs in rural Ontario, Canada. Interviews with 34 volunteers and administrators reveal both challenging and growth-oriented experiences of volunteers and the programs during the first wave of COVID-19. The findings demonstrate the vulnerability and resiliency of older volunteers and the adaptability and uncertainty of programs that rely on older voluntarism, as the community and its older residents navigate pandemic-related changes. The article advances a framework for understanding the pandemic’s impacts on older voluntarism in relation to personal, program, and community dimensions of sustainable rural aging. Further, it explores ways that older volunteers, organizations that depend on them, and communities experiencing population aging can persevere post-pandemic.

SERVICEABILITY OF NATURAL GAS DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS AFTER EARTHQUAKES

2013 ◽  
Vol 07 (02) ◽  
pp. 1350005 ◽  
Author(s):  
GIAN PAOLO CIMELLARO ◽  
ALESSANDRO DE STEFANO ◽  
OMAR VILLA
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Distribution Network ◽  
Distribution Networks ◽  
Small Towns ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
Gas Distribution ◽  
Gas Network ◽  
Resilience Index ◽  
Entire Network

The concept of disaster resilience has received considerable attention in recent years and it is increasingly used as an approach for understanding the dynamics of natural disaster systems. No models are available in literature to measure the performance of natural gas network, therefore, in this paper, a new performance index measuring functionality of gas distribution network have been proposed to evaluate the resilience index of the entire network. It can be used for any type of natural or manmade hazard which might lead to the disruption of the system. The gas distribution network of the municipalities of Introdacqua and Sulmona, two small towns in the center of Italy which were affected by 2009 earthquake have been used as case study. Together the pipeline network covers an area of 136 km2, with 3 M/R stations and 16 regulation groups. The software SynerGEE has been used to simulate different scenario events. The numerical results showed that, during emergency, to ensure an acceptable delivery service, it is crucial to guarantee the functionality of the medium pressure gas distribution network. Instead to improve resilience of the entire network the best retrofit strategy is to include emergency shutoff valves along the pipes.

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