scholarly journals Household accessibility to heat refuges: Residential air conditioning, public cooled space, and walkability

2016 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 1036-1055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew M Fraser ◽  
Mikhail V Chester ◽  
David Eisenman ◽  
David M Hondula ◽  
Stephanie S Pincetl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Public Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Household Level ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Residential Air Conditioning ◽  
Walking Speeds

Access to air conditioned space is critical for protecting urban populations from the adverse effects of heat exposure. Yet there remains fairly limited knowledge of the penetration of private (home air conditioning) and distribution of public (cooling centers and commercial space) cooled space across cities. Furthermore, the deployment of government-sponsored cooling centers is likely to be inadequately informed with respect to the location of existing cooling resources (residential air conditioning and air conditioned public space), raising questions of the equitability of access to heat refuges. We explore the distribution of private and public cooling resources and access inequities at the household level in two major US urban areas: Los Angeles County, California and Maricopa County, Arizona (whose county seat is Phoenix). We evaluate the presence of in-home air conditioning and develop a walking-based accessibility measure to air conditioned public space using a combined cumulative opportunities-gravity approach. We find significant variations in the distribution of residential air conditioning across both regions which are largely attributable to building age and inter/intra-regional climate differences. There are also regional disparities in walkable access to public cooled space. At average walking speeds, we find that official cooling centers are only accessible to a small fraction of households (3% in Los Angeles, 2% in Maricopa) while a significantly higher number of households (80% in Los Angeles, 39% in Maricopa) have access to at least one other type of public cooling resource such as a library or commercial establishment. Aggregated to a neighborhood level, we find that there are areas within each region where access to cooled space (either public or private) is limited which may increase heat-related health risks.

scholarly journals Assessing heat exposure to extreme temperatures in urban areas using the Local Climate Zone classification

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 375-391
Author(s):  
Joan Gilabert ◽  
Anna Deluca ◽  
Dirk Lauwaet ◽  
Joan Ballester ◽  
Jordi Corbera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Regional Climate Change ◽  
Climate Zone ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
The World ◽  
Local Climate Zone

Abstract. Trends of extreme-temperature episodes in cities are increasing (in frequency, magnitude and duration) due to regional climate change in interaction with urban effects. Urban morphologies and thermal properties of the materials used to build them are factors that influence spatial and temporal climate variability and are one of the main reasons for the climatic singularity of cities. This paper presents a methodology to evaluate the urban and peri-urban effect on extreme-temperature exposure in Barcelona (Spain), using the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) classification as a basis, which allows a comparison with other cities of the world characterised using this criterion. LCZs were introduced as input of the high-resolution UrbClim model (100 m spatial resolution) to create daily temperature (median and maximum) series for summer (JJA) during the period 1987 to 2016, pixel by pixel, in order to create a cartography of extremes. Using the relationship between mortality due to high temperatures and temperature distribution, the heat exposure of each LCZ was obtained. Methodological results of the paper show the improvement obtained when LCZs were mapped through a combination of two techniques (land cover–land use maps and the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools – WUDAPT – method), and the paper proposes a methodology to obtain the exposure to high temperatures of different LCZs in urban and peri-urban areas. In the case of Barcelona, the distribution of temperatures for the 90th percentile (about 3–4 ∘C above the average conditions) leads to an increase in the relative risk of mortality of 80 %.

scholarly journals Assessing heat exposure to extreme temperatures in urban areas using the Local Climate Zones classification

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan Gilabert ◽  
Anna Deluca ◽  
Dirk Lauwaet ◽  
Joan Ballester ◽  
Jordi Corbera ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
High Temperatures ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Extreme Temperature ◽  
Regional Climate Change ◽  
Extreme Temperatures ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Local Climate Zones ◽  
Materials Used

Abstract. Trends of extreme temperature episodes in cities are increasing (in frequency, magnitude and duration) due to regional climate change in interaction with the urban effects. Urban morphologies and thermal properties of the materials used to build them are factors that influence the spatial and temporal climate variability and becomes one of the main reasons for the climatic singularity of cities. This paper presents a proposal to evaluate the urban and peri-urban effect on extreme temperatures exposure in Barcelona (Spain), using the Local Climate Zone (LCZ) framework as a base statement, that allows the comparison with other cities of the world characterized using this criterion. LCZs were introduced as input of the high resolution UrbClim model (100 m spatial resolution) to create the daily temperatures (median and maximum) series for summer (JJA) during the period 1987 to 2016, pixel by pixel, in order to create a cartography of extremes. Using the relationship between mortality due to high temperatures and the temperature distribution, the heat exposure of each LCZ was obtained. Methodological results of the paper show the improvement obtained when LCZs were mapped through a combination of two techniques (from Land Cover/Land Use maps and from WUDAPT method), as well as proposes a methodology to obtain the exposure to high temperatures of different LCZs on urban and peri-urban areas. In the case of Barcelona, the distribution of temperatures for the 90th percentile (about 3–4 °C compared to average conditions) leads to an increase in the relative risk of mortality of 80 %.

The Doctor Faustus Dossier

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrian Daub
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Music And Literature ◽  
Twentieth Century Music ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Doctor Faustus ◽  
Public Lives ◽  
Nazi Era ◽  
The Impact

Arnold Schoenberg and Thomas Mann, two towering figures of twentieth-century music and literature, both found refuge in the German-exile community in Los Angeles during the Nazi era. This complete edition of their correspondence provides a glimpse inside their private and public lives and culminates in the famous dispute over Mann's novel Doctor Faustus. In the thick of the controversy was Theodor Adorno, then a budding philosopher, whose contribution to the Faustus affair would make him an enemy of both families. Gathered here for the first time in English, the letters are complemented by diary entries, related articles, and other primary source materials, as well as an introduction that contextualizes the impact that these two great artists had on twentieth-century thought and culture.

Urban Transport

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
José van
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Transport ◽  
Transport Sector ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Transport Services ◽  
Ride Sharing ◽  
The World ◽  
Private And Public ◽  
Selection Mechanisms

Platformization affects the entire urban transport sector, effectively blurring the division between private and public transport modalities; existing public–private arrangements have started to shift as a result. This chapter analyzes and discusses the emergence of a platform ecology for urban transport, focusing on two central public values: the quality of urban transport and the organization of labor and workers’ rights. Using the prism of platform mechanisms, it analyzes how the sector of urban transport is changing societal organization in various urban areas across the world. Datafication has allowed numerous new actors to offer their bike-, car-, or ride-sharing services online; selection mechanisms help match old and new complementors with passengers. Similarly, new connective platforms are emerging, most prominently transport network companies such as Uber and Lyft that offer public and private transport options, as well as new platforms offering integrated transport services, often referred to as “mobility as a service.”

Truth-Telling to Terminal Stage Cancer Patients in India: A Study of the General Denial to Disclosure

2021 ◽  
pp. 003022282110327
Author(s):  
Souvik Mondal
Keyword(s):  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Public Hospitals ◽  
Truth Telling ◽  
Full Disclosure ◽  
Terminal Stage ◽  
Rural And Urban Areas ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Private And Public

Telling the truth to the terminal-stage cancer patients differs socio-culturally based on the priorities assigned to patients’ autonomy and the principles of beneficence and non-maleficence. After conducting in-depth interviews with 108 terminal-stage adult cancer patients, 306 family members, and 25 physicians, in private and public hospitals in both rural and urban areas, in the state of West Bengal, India it has been found that even though 85.60% of the patients prefer full disclosure, only 22.03% are actually informed. Though demographic characteristics, like age, gender, education etc., have marginal influences over the pattern of truth-telling, the main factor behind non-disclosure is the family members’ preference for principles of beneficence and non-maleficence over patient autonomy. Hence, only 9.32% of those 118 patients’ family members have agreed to full disclosure. Physicians comply with this culture of non-disclosure as family, in India, is the centre of decision-making and acts as the primary unit of care.

scholarly journals High-Resolution Modelling of Thermal Exposure during a Hot Spell: A Case Study Using PALM-4U in Prague, Czech Republic

Atmosphere ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 175
Author(s):  
Jan Geletič ◽  
Michal Lehnert ◽  
Pavel Krč ◽  
Jaroslav Resler ◽  
Eric Scott Krayenhoff
Keyword(s):  
Czech Republic ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Heat Exposure ◽  
Thermal Exposure ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Cooling Effect ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Street Canyons ◽  
General Terms

The modelling of thermal exposure in outdoor urban environments is a highly topical challenge in modern climate research. This paper presents the results derived from a new micrometeorological model that employs an integrated biometeorology module to model Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI). This is PALM-4U, which includes an integrated human body-shape parameterization, deployed herein for a pilot domain in Prague, Czech Republic. The results highlight the key role of radiation in the spatiotemporal variability of thermal exposure in moderate-climate urban areas during summer days in terms of the way in which this directly affects thermal comfort through radiant temperature and indirectly through the complexity of turbulence in street canyons. The model simulations suggest that the highest thermal exposure may be expected within street canyons near the irradiated north sides of east–west streets and near streets oriented north–south. Heat exposure in streets increases in proximity to buildings with reflective paints. The lowest heat exposure during the day may be anticipated in tree-shaded courtyards. The cooling effect of trees may range from 4 °C to 9 °C in UTCI, and the cooling effect of grass in comparison with artificial paved surfaces in open public places may be from 2 °C to 5 °C UTCI. In general terms, this study illustrates that the PALM modelling system provides a new perspective on the spatiotemporal differentiation of thermal exposure at the pedestrian level; it may therefore contribute to more climate-sensitive urban planning.

scholarly journals Findings From the Understanding Patterns of Healthy Aging Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Project

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 823-824
Author(s):  
Mark Brennan-Ing ◽  
Michael Plankey ◽  
Deborah Gustafson
Keyword(s):  
Los Angeles ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Research Policy ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hiv Status ◽  
Gay Community ◽  
Regulatory Strategies ◽  
Sex With Men

Abstract In 1984, the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study (MACS) was started to identify factors in the HIV epidemic related to disease risk and treatment progression among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) in four urban areas in the US: Baltimore, MD/Washington, D.C.; Chicago, IL; Pittsburgh, PA, and Los Angeles, CA. MACS participants complete biannual study visits involving HIV testing, biometric screenings, and psychosocial data collection. In 2015 a MACS sub-study, the Understanding Patterns of Healthy Aging among MSM Project (HAMSM), was started to better understand resiliencies promoting well-being among MSM age 40 and older, including those with HIV. HAMSM has helped us to understand aging trajectories among MSM, and provides a unique combination of physiological and psychosocial data that can inform efforts to support MSM in healthy aging. This symposium will present emerging findings from the HAMSM study. Our first paper examines the relationships between psychological connection to the gay community (PSOC) and developmental regulatory strategies associated with health behaviors and more positive self-appraisals. The second paper examines how PSOC is related to HIV risk reduction behaviors, and if there are differences in such behaviors based on HIV status. Our third paper considers how self-perceptions of aging (age discrepancy, aging satisfaction) are related to frailty and frailty transitions, and if these relationships differ by HIV status. The final paper examines the relationship of social support to frailty among MSM by HIV status. Implications of these findings for research, policy, and programs targeting MSM will be discussed.

scholarly journals Planning the Urban Waterfront Transformation, from Infrastructures to Public Space Design in a Sea-Level Rise Scenario: The European Union Prize for Contemporary Architecture Case

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 218
Author(s):  
Francesca Dal Cin ◽  
Fransje Hooimeijer ◽  
Maria Matos Silva
Keyword(s):  
Public Space ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Morphological Characteristics ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Space Design ◽  
Urban Waterfront ◽  
Mies Van Der Rohe ◽  
The Impact

Future sea-level rises on the urban waterfront of coastal and riverbanks cities will not be uniform. The impact of floods is exacerbated by population density in nearshore urban areas, and combined with land conversion and urbanization, the vulnerability of coastal towns and public spaces in particular is significantly increased. The empirical analysis of a selected number of waterfront projects, namely the winners of the Mies Van Der Rohe Prize, highlighted the different morphological characteristics of public spaces, in relation to the approximation to the water body: near the shoreline, in and on water. The critical reading of selected architectures related to water is open to multiple insights, allowing to shift the design attention from the building to the public space on the waterfronts. The survey makes it possible to delineate contemporary features and lay the framework for urban development in coastal or riverside areas.

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