A sustainability assessment framework for population density in central Indian cities

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanushri Kamble ◽  
Sarika Pankaj Bahadure

PurposeThe urban population in Indian cities is increasing at an alarming speed. Accommodating such a huge population while sustaining the environment is a challenge in urban areas. Compact urban forms with high-density planning is claimed to be a sustainable solution in such situations. Thus, this approach needs to be tested for Indian urban areas.Design/methodology/approachThis paper formulates a neighbourhood sustainability assessment (NSA) framework for monitoring, assessing and managing the population density of urban neighbourhoods. The paper identifies context-specific built density indicators at the neighbourhood scale. It assesses the indicators in neighbourhoods with varying population density by physical and perceived measures. This helps in verifying the feasibility of density by physical density assessment and verifies the acceptability of density by perceived density assessment.FindingsWhen tested in the Indian context, the framework shows that although high-density neighbourhoods are sustainable, certain indicators may endorse differing densities. The result displays that high-density planning is sustainable compared to low- and medium-density neighbourhoods in the selected cities.Practical implicationsThe study demonstrates the application of formulated assessment system in three central Indian cities with useful results. Similar studies can be conducted to identify the gaps for improving sustainability and achieve a livable density pattern.Originality/valueAlthough sustainable development goals are part of new planning policies, there exist very few assessment systems to determine the sustainability of neighbourhoods, especially for density. The methodology will assist in developing sustainability assessment frameworks and encourage the practice of sustainability assessment in developing countries like India.

Author(s):  
Leila Irajifar ◽  
Neil Sipe ◽  
Tooran Alizadeh

Purpose This paper examines the impact of urban form on disaster resiliency. The literature shows a complex relationship between urban form factors such as density and diversity and disaster recovery. The empirical analysis in this paper tests the impact of land use mix, population density, building type and diversity on the reconstruction progress in three, six and nine months after the 2010 flood in Brisbane and Ipswich as proxies of disaster resilience. Considerable debate exists on whether urban form factors are the causal incentive or are they mediating other non-urban form causal factors such as income level. In view of this, the effects of a series of established non-urban form factors such as income and tenure, already known as effective factors on disaster resilience, are controlled in the analysis. Design/methodology/approach The structure of this paper is based on a two-phase research approach. In the first phase, for identification of hypothetical relationships between urban form and disaster resiliency, information was gathered from different sources on the basis of theory and past research findings. Then in phase two, a database was developed to test these hypothetical relationships, employing statistical techniques (including multivariate regression and correlation analysis) in which disaster recovery was compared among 76 suburbs of Brisbane and Ipswich with differing levels of population density and land use mix. Findings The results indicate that population density is positively related to disaster resilience, even when controlling for contextual variables such as income level and home ownership. The association between population density and disaster reconstruction is non-linear. The progress of reconstruction to population density ratio increases from low, medium to high densities, while in very low and very high density areas the reconstruction progress does not show the same behavior, which suggests that medium-high density is the most resilient. Originality/value The originality of this paper is in extracting hypothetical relationships between urban form and resiliency and testing them with real world data. The results confirmed the contribution of density to recovery process in this case study. This illustrates the importance of attention to disaster resiliency measures from the early stages of design and planning in development of resilient urban communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 271-279
Author(s):  
Tine Buffel ◽  
Patty Doran ◽  
Mhorag Goff ◽  
Luciana Lang ◽  
Camilla Lewis ◽  
...  

Purpose This paper aims to explore the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on issues facing older people living in urban areas characterised by multiple deprivation. Design/methodology/approach The paper first reviews the role of place and neighbourhood in later life; second, it examines the relationship between neighbourhood deprivation and the impact of COVID-19; and, third, it outlines the basis for an “age-friendly” recovery strategy. Findings The paper argues that COVID-19 is having a disproportionate impact on low-income communities, which have already been affected by cuts to public services, the loss of social infrastructure and pressures on the voluntary sector. It highlights the need for community-based interventions to be developed as an essential part of future policies designed to tackle the effects of COVID-19. Originality/value The paper contributes to debates about developing COVID-19 recovery strategies in the context of growing inequalities affecting urban neighbourhoods.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 151-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew J. Holian ◽  
Kala Seetharam Sridhar

This article re-examines the suburbanization of Indian cities by calculating population density gradients, for a large number of urban agglomerations, using recent data and Mills’ two-point method. In the next step, we estimate multiple regression models to explore the determinants of suburbanization. This study presents several methodological advances over previous research, by incorporating new measures of transport infrastructure, air pollution and city–suburb income ratios as determinants of suburbanization of Indian cities. Our results clearly show that suburbanization is higher in urban areas with higher population and lower central city–suburban literacy ratios. We find some evidence that suburbanization is higher in urban areas with more road transport infrastructure, consistent with our expectations, though results concerning air pollution run counter to expectations. However, these could relate to caveats regarding the data and methods.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 78-96 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matti Peltola ◽  
Heikki Hämmäinen

Purpose The purpose of the paper is to define the best deployment alternatives for a public protection and disaster relief (PPDR) mobile network service – the implementation alternatives being either a dedicated network, a commercial network or a hybrid of the two network types. The selection criteria are based on the social benefits that the PPDR mobile service is expected to bring to society. The critical parameters are population density and service availability, which both directly relate to the socioeconomic benefits achieved by providing broadband (BB) mobile services in various demographic areas. Design/methodology/approach A causal loop model has been developed to define the socioeconomic benefits of the PPDR network, the parameters being population density, service availability, socioeconomic value of the service and the costs of the network. The network solution alternatives are studied using the Finnish PPDR network as a reference – analysing various areas of the country with differing population densities from remote, rural and more densely populated suburban and urban areas. Findings Socioeconomic value is a common measure for assessing the value of governmental investments; population density has a strong impact on the optimum deployment alternatives as the socioeconomic value is directly proportional to this variable. The flat nationwide fee of the mobile users means that the users are subsidised in sparsely populated areas – and overcharged in densely populated areas. This is the main reason why the commercial network seems to be most feasible in rural areas, whereas the dedicated network works best in urban areas. Based on the case study, the commercial network is most preferable up to the point when the population density reaches 50-125 persons/km2. After that point, the dedicated network becomes more appropriate. Proposals are being made to improve the availability of the commercial networks enabling them to serve as a PPDR network: ensuring priority functionality and a protected power supply; allowing PPDR subscribers the exclusive use of one of the 700 MHz spectrum bands in restricted, critical areas; and extending use of the existing narrowband PPDR network in areas where communication availability is crucial. Originality/value On the one hand, the financing of BB PPDR mobile networks is an unresolved issue in many countries. On the other hand, the ability of commercial BB networks to provide better quality of service is improving, making viable the alternative to subscribe for radio service from a commercial operator. Therefore, the feasibility study on how to provide an optimum mobile BB service for PPDR organisations is of real value at this time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincent Onyango ◽  
Solomon Ayomikun Adewumi

Neighbourhood Sustainability Assessment Frameworks (NSAFs) are increasingly touted as crucial in planning and designing sustainable urban neighbourhoods. Ostensibly, NSAFs ensure that sustainability concerns are duly addressed following the recognition that neighbourhoods are key building blocks of urban areas. While the NSAF discourse has largely involved developed countries, the selection of appropriate indicators to use in an NSAF has remained a problem often because of little robust evidence to support the selected indicators. Also, as develoing countries are largely absent in this discourse, this paper presents an exemplar approach and workflow for selecting NSAF indicators for a Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) context. Positivist techniques (weighted average, co-efficiency of variation, and content validity in ratio) are used to rank the significance of the stakeholders’ indicated perceptions and preferences collected using questionnaire surveys from metropolitan Lagos. This paper’s significance lies in showcasing the robust methodological approach and sound evidence-base for selecting the indicators based on input form diaparate stakeholders: including data requirements and workflow that SSA countries can easily adopt.


2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-439
Author(s):  
Faiz Ahmed Chundeli ◽  
Kusum Lata ◽  
Adinarayanane Ramamurthy ◽  
Minakshi Jain

In this article, a critical assessment of urban density and Covid-19 incidences in Indian cities is explored. The top hundred Covid-19 reported districts are analysed. The ArcGIS 10.1 statistical tool Getis-Ord Gi* is used in the identification of statistically significant Covid-19 clusters across India. Attempts are made to empirically establish the correlation between the urban density, the number of reported cases, and their possible impact on health infrastructure in general and planning in specific. Based on the results from 164 out of 693 district datasets, analyses have shown high positive spatial autocorrelation, which is more than 24% of the districts analysed. Further, the results show that southern districts are more affected than the Central and northern districts of India. Although a positive association between reported cases and the urban density was found, in high-density urban areas, the relationship with infection rate varied, which should be looked at together with other variables such as people’s activities and behaviours.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto De Marco ◽  
Giulio Mangano ◽  
Fania Valeria Michelucci ◽  
Giovanni Zenezini

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest the usage of the project finance (PF) scheme as a suitable mechanism to fund energy efficiency projects at the urban scale and present its advantages and adoption barriers. Design/methodology/approach – A case study is developed to renew the traffic lighting system of an Italian town via replacement of the old lamps with new light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Several partners are involved in the case project to construct a viable PF arrangement. Findings – The case study presents the viability of the proposed PF scheme that provides for acceptable financial returns and bankability. However, it also shows that the need for short concession periods may call for a public contribution to the initial funding to make the project more attractive to private investors. Practical implications – This case study is a useful guideline for governments and promoters to using the PF arrangement to fund energy efficiency investments in urban settings. It helps designing an appropriate PF scheme and understanding the advantages of PF to reduce risk and, consequently, increase the debt leverage and profitability of energy efficiency projects. Originality/value – This paper contributes to bridging the gap about the lack of works addressing the implementation of the PF mechanism in the energy efficiency sector in urban areas. The importance of this paper is also associated with the shortage of traditional public finance faced by many cities that forces to seek for alternate forms of financing.


2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Nickel ◽  
Winfried Schröder

Abstract Background The aim of the study was a statistical evaluation of the statistical relevance of potentially explanatory variables (atmospheric deposition, meteorology, geology, soil, topography, sampling, vegetation structure, land-use density, population density, potential emission sources) correlated with the content of 12 heavy metals and nitrogen in mosses collected from 400 sites across Germany in 2015. Beyond correlation analysis, regression analysis was performed using two methods: random forest regression and multiple linear regression in connection with commonality analysis. Results The strongest predictor for the content of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and N in mosses was the sampled species. In 2015, the atmospheric deposition showed a lower predictive power compared to earlier campaigns. The mean precipitation (2013–2015) is a significant factor influencing the content of Cd, Pb and Zn in moss samples. Altitude (Cu, Hg and Ni) and slope (Cd) are the strongest topographical predictors. With regard to 14 vegetation structure measures studied, the distance to adjacent tree stands is the strongest predictor (Cd, Cu, Hg, Zn, N), followed by the tree layer height (Cd, Hg, Pb, N), the leaf area index (Cd, N, Zn), and finally the coverage of the tree layer (Ni, Cd, Hg). For forests, the spatial density in radii 100–300 km predominates as significant predictors for Cu, Hg, Ni and N. For the urban areas, there are element-specific different radii between 25 and 300 km (Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, N) and for agricultural areas usually radii between 50 and 300 km, in which the respective land use is correlated with the element contents. The population density in the 50 and 100 km radius is a variable with high explanatory power for all elements except Hg and N. Conclusions For Europe-wide analyses, the population density and the proportion of different land-use classes up to 300 km around the moss sampling sites are recommended.


2020 ◽  
pp. 002073142098374
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Pandey ◽  
Nitin Kishore Saxena

The purpose of this study is to find the demographic factors associated with the spread of COVID-19 and to suggest a measure for identifying the effectiveness of government policies in controlling COVID-19. The study hypothesizes that the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 patients depends on the urban population, rural population, number of persons older than 50, population density, and poverty rate. A log-linear model is used to test the stated hypothesis, with the cumulative number of confirmed COVID-19 patients up to period [Formula: see text] as a dependent variable and demographic factors as an independent variable. The policy effectiveness indicator is calculated by taking the difference of the COVID rank of the [Formula: see text]th state based on the predicted model and the actual COVID rank of the [Formula: see text]th state[Formula: see text]Our study finds that the urban population significantly impacts the spread of COVID-19. On the other hand, demographic factors such as rural population, density, and age structure do not impact the spread of COVID-19 significantly. Thus, people residing in urban areas face a significant threat of COVID-19 as compared to people in rural areas.


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