scholarly journals Flexible Public Spaces through Spatial Urban Interventions, Towards Resilient Cities

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 152
Author(s):  
Ahmed Khaled Ahmed Elewa
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Urban Resilience ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Dominant Type ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
New Phenomena ◽  
Environmental Functions

Cities have become the dominant type of human settlements, currently, more than half of the planet population are living in cities. Thus, cities have to be developed not only in terms of sustainability. Cities face more challenges regarding the dealing with extraordinary events, whether they were for natural causes or terrorist attacks, socio-economic changes, in addition to the fact that climate change is responsible for new phenomena of natural disasters, such as tsunamis. The study argues that spatial urban interventions in public spaces under specific criteria can reshape them into flexible spaces that have the potentials to be adapted with extraordinary events. The study has a theoretical methodology that investigates the relations that link flexible public spaces and the achievement of urban resilience. As well as the study has a practical perspective through the analyzing of selected cases that showed how spatial urban interventions in public spaces can contribute efficiently in reshaping these spaces to be both flexible and vibrant. The findings clarified that flexible public spaces act as safety valves for our cities during extraordinary events, meanwhile, in peacetime they act as vibrant and sustainable spaces that deliver multi socio-economic and environmental functions.

scholarly journals Development of a Shipment Policy for Collection Centers

Mathematics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1385
Author(s):  
Irais Mora-Ochomogo ◽  
Marco Serrato ◽  
Jaime Mora-Vargas ◽  
Raha Akhavan-Tabatabaei
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Markov Decision Process ◽  
Decision Process ◽  
Necessary Conditions ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
Humanitarian Organizations ◽  
The World ◽  
Markov Decision ◽  
Unsatisfied Demand

Natural disasters represent a latent threat for every country in the world. Due to climate change and other factors, statistics show that they continue to be on the rise. This situation presents a challenge for the communities and the humanitarian organizations to be better prepared and react faster to natural disasters. In some countries, in-kind donations represent a high percentage of the supply for the operations, which presents additional challenges. This research proposes a Markov Decision Process (MDP) model to resemble operations in collection centers, where in-kind donations are received, sorted, packed, and sent to the affected areas. The decision addressed is when to send a shipment considering the uncertainty of the donations’ supply and the demand, as well as the logistics costs and the penalty of unsatisfied demand. As a result of the MDP a Monotone Optimal Non-Decreasing Policy (MONDP) is proposed, which provides valuable insights for decision-makers within this field. Moreover, the necessary conditions to prove the existence of such MONDP are presented.

scholarly journals Investigation of Nanogrids for Improved Navy Installation Energy Resilience

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4298
Author(s):  
Alissa Kain ◽  
Douglas L. Van Bossuyt ◽  
Anthony Pollman
Keyword(s):  
National Security ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Critical Loads ◽  
Electrical Energy ◽  
Terrorist Attacks ◽  
Military Bases ◽  
Specific Interest ◽  
The Military

Military bases perform important national security missions. In order to perform these missions, specific electrical energy loads must have continuous, uninterrupted power even during terrorist attacks, adversary action, natural disasters, and other threats of specific interest to the military. While many global military bases have established microgrids that can maintain base operations and power critical loads during grid disconnect events where outside power is unavailable, many potential threats can cause microgrids to fail and shed critical loads. Nanogrids are of specific interest because they have the potential to protect individual critical loads in the event of microgrid failure. We present a systems engineering methodology that analyzes potential nanogrid configurations to understand which configurations may improve energy resilience and by how much for critical loads from a national security perspective. This then allows targeted deployment of nanogrids within existing microgrid infrastructures. A case study of a small military base with an existing microgrid is presented to demonstrate the potential of the methodology to help base energy managers understand which options are preferable and justify implementing nanogrids to improve energy resilience.

scholarly journals Climate Change, Weather, Housing Precarity, and Homelessness: A Systematic Review of Reviews

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. 5812
Author(s):  
Mariya Bezgrebelna ◽  
Kwame McKenzie ◽  
Samantha Wells ◽  
Arun Ravindran ◽  
Michael Kral ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Temperature Extremes ◽  
Weather Extremes ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Review Of Reviews ◽  
The Impact

This systematic review of reviews was conducted to examine housing precarity and homelessness in relation to climate change and weather extremes internationally. In a thematic analysis of 15 reviews (5 systematic and 10 non-systematic), the following themes emerged: risk factors for homelessness/housing precarity, temperature extremes, health concerns, structural factors, natural disasters, and housing. First, an increased risk of homelessness has been found for people who are vulnerably housed and populations in lower socio-economic positions due to energy insecurity and climate change-induced natural hazards. Second, homeless/vulnerably-housed populations are disproportionately exposed to climatic events (temperature extremes and natural disasters). Third, the physical and mental health of homeless/vulnerably-housed populations is projected to be impacted by weather extremes and climate change. Fourth, while green infrastructure may have positive effects for homeless/vulnerably-housed populations, housing remains a major concern in urban environments. Finally, structural changes must be implemented. Recommendations for addressing the impact of climate change on homelessness and housing precarity were generated, including interventions focusing on homelessness/housing precarity and reducing the effects of weather extremes, improved housing and urban planning, and further research on homelessness/housing precarity and climate change. To further enhance the impact of these initiatives, we suggest employing the Human Rights-Based Approach (HRBA).

scholarly journals Integrated natural disasters urban resilience evaluation: the case of China

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinli Liu ◽  
Sijia Li ◽  
Xian Xu ◽  
Jingshu Luo
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Urban Resilience

scholarly journals Strategic retreat for resilient and equitable climate adaptation: the roles for conservation organizations

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mali‘o Kodis ◽  
Marci Bortman ◽  
Sarah Newkirk
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Private Property ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Flood Damage ◽  
Policy Paper ◽  
The World ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Government ◽  
Conservation Organizations

AbstractAs climate change accelerates the frequency and intensity of natural disasters, damage to public and private property is also increasing, putting exorbitant strain on governments and communities. Societies across the world are working to adapt to climate change, but climate adaptation is currently inadequate to meet the needs of the people left increasingly vulnerable and the places that risk being irreversibly changed or destroyed. One tactic of climate adaptation is strategic retreat, sometimes referred to as managed retreat. Strategic retreat is the process by which the government or another entity purchases (buys out) developed properties that are at risk of destruction or have been destroyed by natural disasters. The structure is most often demolished, and the land is placed under a permanent easement to prevent future development. What happens next is dependent on the entities involved in the buyouts, and can range from derelict, vacant lots to full restoration of ecosystems and their abilities to mitigate flood damage. Sometimes recreational amenities, such as trails or park infrastructure, are prioritized and funded as well. Conservation organizations can leverage their expertise in conservation planning, land acquisition and restoration, policy advocacy, and partnership development to improve the implementation of strategic retreat so that nature and people can thrive in the long term. In this policy paper, we review ways that conservation organizations have and can continue to engage in buyout processes to ensure positive outcomes for communities and nature. Conservation organizations must also evolve their approaches to climate adaptation to integrate equity and redress historical injustices in land use, and contribute towards improving strategic retreat for a more just and resilient future across disaster-prone communities. This work focuses on the context of disasters and climate adaptation in the USA, though many of the principles presented are applicable around the world.

scholarly journals Assessing biophysical and socio-economic impacts of climate change on regional avian biodiversity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Kapitza ◽  
Pham Van Ha ◽  
Tom Kompas ◽  
Nick Golding ◽  
Natasha C. R. Cadenhead ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Impacts ◽  
Integrated Modelling ◽  
Land Use Patterns ◽  
Economic Changes ◽  
Use Patterns ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Avian Biodiversity ◽  
Biodiversity Change ◽  
Impacts Of Climate Change

AbstractClimate change threatens biodiversity directly by influencing biophysical variables that drive species’ geographic distributions and indirectly through socio-economic changes that influence land use patterns, driven by global consumption, production and climate. To date, no detailed analyses have been produced that assess the relative importance of, or interaction between, these direct and indirect climate change impacts on biodiversity at large scales. Here, we apply a new integrated modelling framework to quantify the relative influence of biophysical and socio-economically mediated impacts on avian species in Vietnam and Australia and we find that socio-economically mediated impacts on suitable ranges are largely outweighed by biophysical impacts. However, by translating economic futures and shocks into spatially explicit predictions of biodiversity change, we now have the power to analyse in a consistent way outcomes for nature and people of any change to policy, regulation, trading conditions or consumption trend at any scale from sub-national to global.

The rising tide: assessing the risks of climate change and human settlements in low elevation coastal zones

2007 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 17-37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon McGranahan ◽  
Deborah Balk ◽  
Bridget Anderson
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Coastal Zones ◽  
Human Settlements

Project rAn:  Games to promote awareness of natural disasters in young students

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jose Saraiva ◽  
Priscila Doran ◽  
Rosa Doran
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Natural Disaster ◽  
Serious Game ◽  
Early Age ◽  
Human Settlements ◽  
Complex Interactions ◽  
The Earth ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Young Students

<p>The Earth is an amazing planet. However, it is also an unpredictable and wild one – part of its many charms. Atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere are alive, and can unleash awesome forces on the whole planet, including the biosphere, of which we humans are part. It’s important to make young students aware of the fact that we all live in a planet that was not made specifically for humans, and that it is absolutely imperative that our species learns to respect it and its rhythms and cycles.</p><p>Human settlements are often located in pleasant areas, with little or no concern about their vulnerability to natural disasters. Authorities, local, regional and national, should make preparations to prevent and mitigate their occurrence, of course. But at least as important is the need to create awareness in the citizens, so they can face any disaster and react in a calm and orderly way. That task must begin at an early age. Other than learning to deal with natural disasters and avoiding panic, schoolkids can exert a powerful influence in the adult members of their families and alert them to the measures they should adopt to prepare for any future occurrence.</p><p>In project rAn, EU-funded, we aim to develop a serious game, adjusted to the age of the targets, that will teach them about four types of natural disaster (earthquakes, floods, fires and storms) and make them aware of how to prepare and react in case of one of them striking their city or village. The game will be easy to play, and given the small age of the players will not feature complex interactions. It will include contributions from teachers and groups of students from all Europe, that will be challenged to create small games on the subject, using the Scratch language.    </p>

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