Thermal comfort and pedestrian behaviors in urban public spaces in cities with warm and dry climates

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hocine Boumaraf ◽  
Louisa Amireche
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Social Cohesion ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Microclimatic Conditions ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to move beyond the stage of analysis of exclusively physical microclimatic phenomena and extending ourselves to the study of the impact of the microclimate environment on the user behavior in public spaces. This paper will open up new opportunities for the development of urban open spaces and facilitate the decision-making for urban decision-makers, city managers and planners to make the right urban planning decision. Design/methodology/approach The methodology for identifying the links between microclimatic quality of urban routes and behaviors was developed on the basis of the results obtained from field surveys carried out in nine public urban areas of the city of Biskra, three urban space are located in a traditional urban fabric (the medina) and the other five in new urban areas, in the two climatic seasons (winter, summer) of 2019. For this exploratory research, two types of instruments were used to collect data from environmental and human monitoring. Findings Improving microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can allow people to spend more time outside, with the possibility of increasing their social cohesion. The overall objective of this research is to better understand the impact of microclimatic characteristics on pedestrian behavior of nine selected public urban spaces in the city of Biskra, Algeria. To characterize this impact, the authors developed an approach based on crossing data of field surveys, including structured interviews with a questionnaire and observations of human activities (video recordings), as well as microclimate monitoring, conducted during the two climatic seasons (winter, summer) 2019. The analysis of the results allowed to verify the impact of the two climatic seasons (winter, summer) on the variation in the density of occupancy of the different urban areas studied and the duration of the user stations. The authors also illustrated that the number of individuals higher in the traditional urban spaces of the city of Biskra or the conditions of climate comfort are more comfortable than the urban spaces in the new urban areas of the city of Biskra during the summer, which is the season most problematic. Originality/value In recent years, there has been a proliferation of scientific studies on the subject of control of microclimatic characteristics and, in particular, on the consideration of the thermal comfort of persons by qualitative analysis, prediction and representation of the perception of external environments. Improving microclimatic conditions in urban spaces can allow people to spend more time outside, with the possibility of increasing their social cohesion. This study highlights the importance of climate-conscious urban design and design flexibility. Urban environments can be modified in summer and winter to provide a better outdoor thermal environment for users. In addition, this study also shows the importance of harmony between microclimate and urban design. Such harmony can be achieved by including requirements for a climate-conscious urban design in the planning regulations for cities in arid zones.

scholarly journals »Reclaiming« the City: A Collective Endeavor

Dimensions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 183-202
Author(s):  
Sergiy Ilchenko
Keyword(s):  
Urban Space ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Collective Actions ◽  
Way Of Life ◽  
Urban Renaissance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City ◽  
Being Moved

Abstract This contribution elaborates upon the appropriation of urban space in spatiotemporal and procedural interventions in the example of the city of Kharkiv, as well as the impact of urban space on the process of how various groups rediscover and use various parts of the city. Being moved during collective actions - in the sense of feeling urged to move along - goes beyond routine practices by influencing the city and its perception. It seems that these general processions, celebrations, and festive activities of the residents are their contributions to the process of »urban renaissance« - the rebirth of interest in the urban way of life. Since public spaces reflect the historical inheritance of local communities, joint transformative actions such as, »appropriation «, »production«, and »governance« of urban spaces are considered. This article advocates for the practice of domestication of urban space by the local community, as well as the need for the existence of »urban lagoons« - free (unregulated) areas of the city used as resources for urban development and interaction of citizens.

scholarly journals Supporting Children’s Independent Activities in Smart and Playable Public Places

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (20) ◽  
pp. 8352
Author(s):  
Chiara Garau ◽  
Alfonso Annunziata
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Historic Center ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
Process Of Urbanization ◽  
The City

The global process of urbanization, and the modification of social interaction determined by the pandemic crisis, poses the issue of the place of vulnerable users and, in particular, children, within the contemporary city. This research aimed to elaborate a theoretical and methodological framework, based on the concepts of affordance and capability, for analyzing the potential of public spaces to enable and support children’s independent activities. This potential, or meaningful usefulness, is expressed by the Index of Meaningful Usefulness of public Urban Spaces (IUIS). The latter is calculated via the tool ‘Opportunities for Children in Urban Spaces’ (OCUS). This methodology is applied to the analysis of significant public spaces within the historic center of the city of Iglesias in Sardinia, Italy. The results reveal adequate usefulness of the selected spaces, while underlining criticalities related to intrinsic spatial and physical attributes. The application to the case study confirms the validity of the theoretical and methodological framework embodied in the OCUS tool for supporting urban design and planning by orienting place-shaping processes towards the acknowledgement of children’s needs.

Events and placemaking: the case of the Festival Internacional Cervantino in Guanajuato, Mexico

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Barrera-Fernández ◽  
Marco Hernández-Escampa
Keyword(s):  
Service Failure ◽  
Field Work ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Perception ◽  
Intangible Heritage ◽  
New Policies ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the Festival Internacional Cervantino, which represents one of the major cultural events in Latin America. Based on theoretical propositions regarding tourism as an experience, perception of visitors was studied focussing on emotional factors. Urban perception was also addressed, especially where public service failure affected the experience and therefore, the placemaking. Design/methodology/approach A mixed methodology was applied. First, the event experience scale (EES) methodology for visitors’ perception was performed in order to collect data directly from tourists. The relationship between the festival and the visit to heritage resources and attractions was especially highlighted and analysed. Urban field work focussed on expressing the location of the most visited areas during festival days. Public services were also assessed where perception was affected negatively. Interviews were applied to public administration officials and public policy-related documents were collected in order to understand the expectation of visitors, previous to the experience itself. Local perception was also contrasted with the rest of the data. Findings Attracted by information about the historic and colonial nature of the city, tourists gather massively in Guanajuato during the festival. This event in particular yields in some aspects to a transient placemaking, mainly related to inner perception and the event as such is highly appreciated. It was also found that the foreign figure of Cervantes was incorporated into the intangible heritage discourse of the city and linked to the event itself. However, some urban spaces and services need improvement to consolidate a positive experience of visitors who complain about specific factors such as traffic, accessibility, waste disposal and environmental noise. Social implications The fact that the event has caused some problems in a number of urban aspects suggests that new policies might be proposed in order to fill these gaps, especially by the corresponding government agencies. Another issue relates to the concentration of the economic profits and its lack of distribution, which right now does not contribute to social sustainability, yet the event demands high actions and costs to the city and local people. Originality/value The research has been useful to give another point of view to existing surveys and conclusions of the impact of the festival. The application of EES has yielded some improvements that could be made in further applications of the same methodology. Application of EES to assess the impact of events in urban spaces and services can be applied to many other cities that host festivals in their city centres.

scholarly journals Supporting Children’s Independent Activities in Smart and Playable Public Places

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Garau ◽  
Alfonso Annunziata
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Methodological Framework ◽  
Public Places ◽  
Historic Center ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
Process Of Urbanization ◽  
The City

The global process of urbanization, and the modification of social interaction determined by the pandemic crisis poses the issue of the place of vulnerable users, and in particular children, within the contemporary city. This research aims to elaborate a theoretical and methodological framework, based on the concepts of affordance and capability, for analyzing the potential of public spaces to enable and support children’s independent activities. This potential, or meaningful usefulness, is expressed by the Index of Meaningful Usefulness of public Urban Spaces (IUIS). The latter is calculated via the tool ‘Opportunities for Children in Urban Spaces’ (OCUS). This methodology is applied to the analysis of significant public spaces within the historic center of the city of Iglesias in Sardinia, Italy. The results reveal adequate usefulness of the selected spaces, while underlining criticalities related to intrinsic spatial and physical attributes. The application to the case study confirms the validity of the theoretical and methodological framework embodied in the OCUS tool for supporting urban design and planning by orienting place-shaping processes towards the acknowledgement of children’s needs.

scholarly journals Analizy Space Syntax wobec zjawiska segregacji społecznej i izolacji przestrzennej obszarów mieszkaniowych

2020 ◽  
pp. 13-18
Author(s):  
Justyna Olesiak
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Space Syntax ◽  
Residential Areas ◽  
Syntax Analysis ◽  
The Face ◽  
Urban Analysis ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

W wielu obszarach miejskich widoczna jest skrajna segregacja przestrzeni publicznej oraz fakt, że wiele dzielnic mieszkaniowych jest przestrzennie odizolowanych od miasta jako całości. Ponieważ tradycyjne metody analiz urbanistycznych dają słabe wytyczne w tym kontekście, podjęta zostanie próba ujęcia problemu i odmiennego podejścia do segregacji w projektowaniu urbanistycznym. Niniejszy artykuł bada, w jaki sposób teorie i metody analizy Space Syntax mogą przyczynić się do stworzenia bardziej dopracowanych opisów relacji przestrzennych w różnych dzielnicach i całym mieście. Przyjęto metodę badawczą: analizę literatury fachowej (krajowej i zagranicznej) oraz dostępnych publikacji. Analiza urbanistyczna oparta na teorii Space Syntax umożliwia wykazanie zasadniczych różnic strukturalnych między dzielnicami i określenie wpływu form urbanistycznych na zalety przestrzenne różnych obszarów miasta. Otwiera to nowe możliwości rozwiązania problemu segregacji w zakresie projektowania urbanistycznego oraz sformułowanie bardziej skutecznych interwencji antysegregacyjnych. Space Syntax analysis in the Face of the Phenomenon of Social Segregation and Spatial Isolation of Residential Areas In many urban areas there is an observable extreme segregation of public space, in addition to the fact that many housing districts are spatially isolated from the city as a whole. As traditional methods of urban analysis provide poor guidelines in this context, an attempt to investigate this problem and present a different approach to segregation in urban design was made. This paper presents an investigation about how Space Syntax theories and methods can contribute to creating more detailed descriptions of spatial relationships in different districts and in the entire city. The research method employed was an analysis of the literature (both domestic and trade). Space-Syntax-based urban analysis enables demonstrating significant structural differences between districts and to determine the impact of urban forms on the spatial advantages of different areas of the city. It provides new opportunities to address segregation in urban design and formulate more effective anti-segregation interventions.

scholarly journals Enabling Indigenous urban design : an examination of theory and precedents for application in Winnipeg

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Loewen
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Theory Theory ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
The City

This research paper explores strategies for including Indigenous identities in the design of urban spaces and provides recommendations for the City of Winnipeg. As Canada’s Indigenous population is now primarily situated in urban areas there is growing demand for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultural expression to influence the design of the spaces these populations inhabit in cities. A review of salient literature pertaining to Indigenous involvement in planning processes and the translation of culture into urban design provides a theoretical basis for further investigation. Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand’s Maori Design Principles are used as a relevant precedent study. The search for precedents uncovers that practice is lagging far behind theory. Theory and precedent study inform a series of recommended actions for the City of Winnipeg with the intent of enabling Indigenous urban design in both reserve and off-reserve settings.

scholarly journals Walking as an intervention

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (74) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas do Nascimento Souza ◽  
Evandro Fiorin ◽  
Laís da Silva Rodrigues
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Qualitative Studies ◽  
Research Practice ◽  
Modern City ◽  
Ongoing Process ◽  
Search For Information ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

How to analyze urban areas in the contemporary modern city upon the plurality of forms of appropriation of public spaces? This paper seeks to contribute to qualitative studies on urban perception through the method of cartography. Thus, this writing does not deal with the search for information or data collection, but with the immersion in the ongoing process present in the territory of the old railway bed in the city of Bauru-SP. The text highlights a research practice little explored in this spatial cutout, which tends to contribute to the impact on urban perception and future interventions in this area, as the decanted sociospatial layers are revolved and an urban imaginary little explored is accessed through the development as a research modality.

Assessment of residents’ perceptions and attitudes towards the appropriation of public spaces by tourists: the case of Aveiro

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Diogo Filipe Moleiro ◽  
Maria João Carneiro ◽  
Zélia Breda
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Cluster Sampling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Perceptions And Attitudes ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City ◽  
Residents Attitudes

Purpose This paper aims to provide an empirical analysis of residents’ perceptions and attitudes in the city of Aveiro, Portugal, regarding the appropriation of public spaces by tourists. An analysis of how the perceptions of this appropriation influence residents’ attitudes (RA) towards tourists, and even restructuring of space considering RA, is also presented. It is intended to do this based on a theoretical framework where tourism socio-cultural impacts on urban destinations are analysed with a focus on appropriation processes. Attitudes of residents are also examined. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire survey (N = 301) was carried out with residents of the city of Aveiro, using a cluster sampling approach. The aim of the empirical study is to use multiple linear regression analyses to assess the extent to which the residents’ perceptions of tourists’ appropriation of public spaces influence the attitudes of the former towards the latter. Findings The results show that, overall, the residents consider that tourism has more positive than negative impacts. However, it can be observed that residents already perceive some negative impacts of tourism regarding the appropriation of space. Concerning RA, these tend to be more positive than negative. It can also be observed that various perceptions of appropriation of space significantly influence these attitudes. The paper ends with some guidelines for designing policies and strategies for tourism development that promote better use of public spaces by tourists. Originality/value Considering the limited empirical research on perceptions of appropriation of tourism space, the study carried out in this paper analyses the impact of a comprehensive set of residents’ perceptions regarding the appropriation of public space by tourists on various types of attitudes of residents towards tourists.

scholarly journals Enabling Indigenous urban design : an examination of theory and precedents for application in Winnipeg

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Loewen
Keyword(s):  
First Nations ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Theoretical Basis ◽  
Indigenous Population ◽  
Urban Spaces ◽  
Theory Theory ◽  
Cultural Expression ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
The City

This research paper explores strategies for including Indigenous identities in the design of urban spaces and provides recommendations for the City of Winnipeg. As Canada’s Indigenous population is now primarily situated in urban areas there is growing demand for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultural expression to influence the design of the spaces these populations inhabit in cities. A review of salient literature pertaining to Indigenous involvement in planning processes and the translation of culture into urban design provides a theoretical basis for further investigation. Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand’s Maori Design Principles are used as a relevant precedent study. The search for precedents uncovers that practice is lagging far behind theory. Theory and precedent study inform a series of recommended actions for the City of Winnipeg with the intent of enabling Indigenous urban design in both reserve and off-reserve settings.

Urbanization of fauna on the example of marsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 116-123
Author(s):  
A. P. Korzh ◽  
T. V. Zahovalko
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Cognitive Modeling ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Cellular Level ◽  
Anthropogenic Factors ◽  
Migration Routes ◽  
Corrective Effect ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Recently, the number of published works devoted to the processes of synanthropization of fauna, is growing like an avalanche, which indicates the extreme urgency of this theme. In our view, the process of forming devices to coexist with human and the results of his life reflects the general tandency of the modern nature evolution. Urbanization is characteristic for such a specific group of animals like amphibians, the evidence of which are numerous literature data. Many researchers use this group to assess the bioindicative quality of the environment. For this aim a variety of indicators are used: from the cellular level of life of organization up to the species composition of the group in different territories. At the same time, the interpretation of the results is not always comparable for different areas and often have significantly different interpretations by experts. Urban environment, primarily due to the contamination is extremely aggressive to amphibians. As a consequence, the urban populations of amphibians may be a change in the demographic structure, affecting the reproductive ability of the population, the disappearance of the most sensitive species or individuals, resizing animals, the appearance of abnormalities in the development, etc. At the same time play an important amphibians in the ecosystems of cities, and some species in these conditions even feel relatively comfortable. Therefore, it is interesting to understand the mechanisms of self-sustaining populations of amphibians in urban environments. To assess the impact of natural and anthropogenic factors on the development of amphibian populations were used cognitive modeling using the program Vensim PLE. Cognitive map of the model for urban and suburban habitat conditions were the same. The differences concerned the strength of connections between individual factors (migration, fertility, pollution) and their orientation. In general, factors like pollution, parasites, predators had negative impact on the population, reducing its number. The birth rate, food and migration contributed to raising number of individuals. Some of the factors affected on the strength to of each other as well: the majority of the factors affected the structure of the population, had an influence on the fertility. Thanks to it the model reflects the additive effect of complex of factors on the subsequent status of the population. Proposed and analyzed four scenarios differing strength and duration of exposure. In the first scenario, a one-time contamination occurs and not subsequently repeated. The second and third scenario assumes half board contamination, 1 year (2 scenario) and two years (scenario 3). In the fourth scenario, the pollution affected the population of amphibians constantly. In accordance with the results of simulation, much weaker than the natural populations respond to pollution - have them as an intensive population growth and its disappearance at constant pollution is slow. Changes to other parameters of the model showed that this pollution is the decisive factor -only the constant action leads to a lethal outcome for the populations. All other components of the model have a corrective effect on the population dynamics, without changing its underlying trand. In urban areas due to the heavy impact of pollution maintaining the population is only possible thanks to the migration process – the constant replenishment of diminishing micropopulations of natural reserves. This confirms the assumption that the form of existence metapopulations lake frog in the city. In order to maintain the number of amphibians in urban areas at a high level it is necessary to maintain existing migration routes and the creation of new ones. Insular nature of the placement of suitable habitats in urban areas causes the metapopulation structure of the types of urbanists. Therefore, the process of urbanization is much easier for those species whicht are capable of migration in conditions of city. In the initial stages of settling the city micropopulationis formed by selective mortality of the most susceptible individuals to adverse effects. In future, maintaining the categories of individuals is provided mainly due to migration processes metapopulisation form of the species of existence is supported). It should be noted that the changes in the previous levels are always saved in future. In the case of reorganizations of individuals we of morphology can assume the existence of extremely adverse environmental conditions that threaten the extinction of the micropopulations. 

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