Improving the Quality of Fragmented Urban Landscapes – a Global Challenge!

2021 ◽  
pp. 188-194
Author(s):  
Thomas Sieverts
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Global Challenge

scholarly journals URBAN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vicente Collado Capilla ◽  
Sonia Gómez-Pardo Gabaldón
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
Tall Buildings ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Landscape Assessment ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Cultural Issues ◽  
Strategic Element ◽  
The City

URBAN LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT Vicente Collado Capilla1 and Sonia Gómez-Pardo Gabaldón21Servicio de Infraestructura Verde y Paisaje. Generalitat Valenciana. Ciutat Administrativa 9 D'Octubre-Torre 1, C/ Castán Tobeñas 77, 46018 Valencia; 2Servicio Territorial de Urbanismo. Provincia de Valencia. Generalitat Valenciana. Prop I, C/ Gregorio Gea, nº 27, 46009 Valencia. E-mail: [email protected] [email protected]  Key words: urban_landscape, streetcape, landscape_value, andscape_assessment, landscape_preferences. The urban landscape assesment as an important element in the quality of life and the sustainable development of the city constitutes an incipient field of investigation from a new perspective that adds meanings and values. An analysis of the different methodological developments and national and international experiences in the assessment of these landscapes will highlight its importance as a strategic element to improve the quality of the city. It starts from the concept of assessment as a system where tangible and intangible values ​​are considered by the population and the experts. These include among other formal, economic, environmental, social, cultural issues (…) and the relationships between them. Consideration of the opinions of experts from different points of view such as urbanism and architecture but also environment, economy, geography, history, archeology, sociology, social assistance, etc. Together with the preferences expressed by the population regarding the spaces they inhabit on a daily basis and their aspirations, strengthen the sense of belonging and the identity of the place as key elements in the perception of the urban landscapes that allows to contribute new qualities, integration criteria and ​​contemporary values to any type of intervention. These are strategies and intervention procedures that start from the complexity of the city as a system and incorporate the perception that citizens have or will have of their immediate environment.  References: Czynska Klara and Pawel Rubinowicz (2015). ´Visual protection Surface method: Cityscape values in context of tall buildings´. SSS10 Proceedings of the 10 th International Space Syntax Symposium. Paquette Sylvain (2008). Guide de gestion des paysages au Québec. Université de Montréal Pallasmaa, Juhani (2005). The Eyes of the Skin. Architecture and the Senses. New York: John Wiley. Ministry of Environment and Energy The National Forest and Nature Agency (1997). International Survey of Architectural Values in the Environment. Denmark . The Landscape Institute and Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (2013). Guidelines for Landscape and Visual Impact Assessment. Third Edition, London: Routledge.

The Global Challenge of

2020 ◽  
pp. 153-172
Author(s):  
Kathryn C. Kaufman
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
International Collaboration ◽  
Development Fund ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Economic Progress ◽  
The Creation ◽  
Global Growth

This chapter addresses the lack of adequate global infrastructure and the limits imposed on global growth, prosperity, and quality of life. Inadequate infrastructure causes loss of lives, constrains economic progress, and exacerbates climate change. To address the infrastructure gap between what is being constructed and what is genuinely required, the author proposes the creation of a development fund, which will require international collaboration and cooperation, to make available a substantial amount of capital and dedicate it to projects that contribute to the betterment of society. This development fund will not only improve infrastructure but also enhance the quality of many lives.

scholarly journals Grounded Theory as an Approach for Exploring the Effect of Cultural Memory on Psychosocial Well-Being in Historic Urban Landscapes

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 219
Author(s):  
Fatmaelzahraa Hussein ◽  
John Stephens ◽  
Reena Tiwari
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Grounded Theory ◽  
Cultural Memory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Urban Planning And Design ◽  
Nuanced Understanding ◽  
The Impact

Although grounded theory (GT) has emerged as a popular research approach across multiple areas of social science, it has been less widely taken up by researchers working in the fields of urban planning and design. The application of GT enables uniquely innovative insights to be gained from qualitative data, but it has attracted criticism and brings its own challenges. This paper proposes a methodology that could be applied by other researchers in the field of urban research. Utilising constructivist GT as a qualitative approach, this research investigates how cultural memory impacts the psychosocial well-being and quality of life (QoL) of users of, and visitors to, historic urban landscapes (HULs). Based on the findings, it can be posited that the application of GT yields a rich and nuanced understanding of how users of HULs experience the settings in which they live, and the impact and significance on human psychosocial well-being of the cultural memories incarnated within such settings. The current paper also contends that GT enables researchers studying the built environment to construct inductively based theories. Lastly, the practical implications of developing GT for application to HUL management are discussed, both in regard to how users experience the contexts in which they live and the impact of such contexts on well-being and quality of life.

Quality of Life in Urban Landscapes

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Cocci Grifoni ◽  
Rosalba D'Onofrio ◽  
Massimo Sargolini
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Landscapes

Addressing the Challenge of Polypharmacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 661-681 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alpana Mair ◽  
Martin Wilson ◽  
Tobias Dreischulte
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
European Union ◽  
System Change ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Service Demand ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Increased Risk ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Detrimental Impact

Polypharmacy describes the concomitant use of multiple medicines and represents a growing global challenge attributable to aging populations with an increasing prevalence of multimorbidity. Polypharmacy can be appropriate but is problematic when the increased risk of harm from interactions between drugs or between drugs and diseases or the burden of administering and monitoring medicines outweighs plausible benefits. Polypharmacy has a substantial economic impact in service demand and hospitalization as well as a detrimental impact on patients’ quality of life. Apart from causing avoidable harm, polypharmacy can also lead to therapeutic failure, with up to 50% of patients who take four or more medications not taking them as prescribed. Guidance is needed to support patients and clinicians in defining and achieving realistic goals of drug treatment, and system change is necessary to aid implementation. This article outlines lessons from two programs that aim to address these challenges: the Scottish polypharmacy guidance on realistic prescribing and the European Union SIMPATHY project.

scholarly journals Viruses infecting main ornamental plants: an overview

2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 95-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irina Vjacheslavovna Mitrofanova ◽  
Alexsandr Vladimirovich Zakubanskiy ◽  
Olga Vladimirovna Mitrofanova
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Ornamental Plants ◽  
Plant Viruses ◽  
Economic Damage ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Significant Negative Impact ◽  
Plant Viruses And Viroids ◽  
Taxonomic Groups

Ornamental plants are cultivated for decorative and utility purposes in urban landscapes throughout the world. They are much valued for their aesthetic properties and constitute an important part of the global horticulture industry. Plant viruses and viroids of various taxonomic groups have a significant negative impact on ornamentals provoking a wide range of symptoms, reducing both decorative value and quality of propagated material and causing large economic damage. A significant growth of the ornamental plants market in recent years promotes the spread of viral diseases. Therefore, systematization of data on virus and viroid phytopathogens diversity in these cultures is an urgent research task. Among the most popular ornamentals are chrysanthemum, rose, clematis, canna, and lavender. More than fifty viruses and viroids from 17 different families (including two viroid families) have been identified in these crops to date. In the presented review, we described the variety of these pathogens and their effect on the above-mentioned ornamentals

scholarly journals Promoting Psychological Well-Being at Work by Reducing Stress and Improving Sleep: Mixed-Methods Analysis (Preprint)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denny Meyer ◽  
Madawa W Jayawardana ◽  
Samuel D Muir ◽  
David Yen-Teh Ho ◽  
Olivia Sackett
Keyword(s):  
Mixed Methods ◽  
Outcome Measures ◽  
Linear Models ◽  
Response Rates ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Psychological Well Being ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Related Stress

BACKGROUND Workplace programs designed to improve the health and psychological well-being of employees are becoming increasingly popular. However, there are mixed reports regarding the effectiveness of such programs and little analysis of what helps people to engage with such programs. OBJECTIVE This evaluation of a particularly broad, team-based, digital health and well-being program uses mixed methods to identify the elements of the program that reduce work stress and promote psychological well-being, sleep quality, and productivity of employees. METHODS Participation in the Virgin Pulse Global Challenge program during May to September 2016 was studied. Self-reported stress, sleep quality, productivity, and psychological well-being data were collected both pre- and postprogram. Participant experience data were collected through a third final survey. However, the response rates for the last 2 surveys were only 48% and 10%, respectively. A random forest was used to estimate the probability of the completion of the last 2 surveys based on the preprogram assessment data and the demographic data for the entire sample (N=178,350). The inverse of these estimated probabilities were used as weights in hierarchical linear models in an attempt to address any estimation bias caused by the low response rates. These linear models described changes in psychological well-being, stress, sleep, and productivity over the duration of the program in relation to gender and age, engagement with each of the modules, each of the program features, and participant descriptions of the Virgin Pulse Global Challenge. A 0.1% significance level was used due to the large sample size for the final survey (N=18,653). RESULTS The final analysis suggested that the program is more beneficial for older people, with 2.9% greater psychological well-being improvements observed on average in the case of women than men (P<.001). With one exception, all the program modules contributed significantly to the outcome measures with the following average improvements observed: psychological well-being, 4.1%-6.0%; quality of sleep, 3.2%-6.9%; work-related stress, 1.7%-6.8%; and productivity, 1.9%-4.2%. However, only 4 of the program features were found to have significant associations with the outcome measures with the following average improvements observed: psychological well-being, 3.7%-5.6%; quality of sleep, 3.4%-6.5%; work-related stress, 4.1%-6.4%; and productivity, 1.6%-3.2%. Finally, descriptions of the Virgin Pulse Global Challenge produced 5 text topics that were related to the outcome measures. Healthy lifestyle descriptions showed a positive association with outcomes, whereas physical activity and step count tracking descriptions showed a negative association with outcomes. CONCLUSIONS The complementary use of qualitative and quantitative survey data in a mixed-methods analysis provided rich information that will inform the development of this and other programs designed to improve employee health. However, the low response rates and the lack of a control group are limitations, despite the attempts to address these problems in the analysis.

Cultural and global perspectives

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsty Winkley ◽  
Ebaa Al-Ozairi ◽  
Boon-How Chew
Keyword(s):  
Economic Status ◽  
Clinical Care ◽  
Diabetes Distress ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
Global Perspectives ◽  
Global Challenge ◽  
Middle Income Countries ◽  
Prevalence Of Depression ◽  
Optimal Health

Depression and disease-related psychological problems in type 2 diabetes (T2DM), termed diabetes distress (DD), is a global problem and negatively impacts quality of life, self-management, and cardiovascular mortality. However, risk factors for and consequences of emotional distress vary and have different cultural meaning. In the East and low- to middle-income countries (LMIC), contextual factors, socio-demographics, low socio-economic status, and sub-optimal health/medical services predispose DD more than in the West and high-income countries (HIC). People from non-Western and LMIC may hold a more stigmatizing view of depression leading to mislabelling depression due to somatization, underdiagnosis, and a lack of clinical care. The prevalence of depression and DD is generally double in LMIC compared with HIC. There is a lack of direct and good-quality evidence of depression and DD’s effects on clinical outcomes, therefore improving access to effective treatment for depression and DD remains a global challenge.

Perception of the Visual Quality of High-Rise Buildings in the Urban Landscape by the Users: The Case of Istanbul

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Feran Asur ◽  
Kubra Yazici
Keyword(s):  
Urban Landscape ◽  
User Preferences ◽  
Urban Landscapes ◽  
Landscape Studies ◽  
High Rise ◽  
Assessment Techniques ◽  
Visual Landscape ◽  
The City ◽  
Regression Tests

The image of many cities in today's world has been influenced by the growing globalization along with rapidly developing demographic, technological, and economic movements. From the perspective of the last two decades, the increased high-rise development in the world is clearly visible. In recent years, modern high-rise buildings have impacted the city landscape and have become a major issue in terms of the landscape protection of a city like Istanbul with a historical peninsula silhouette. In this study, which discusses the aesthetics of the man-made environment, various factors have been evaluated by the users based on the formal aesthetic dimension in the 4th Levent area, where high-rise buildings are dense. In this context, this study aims to determine the factors that increase preferences in urban landscapes, user preferences, and the attitudes of different social groups towards the place. The main method of the study, which is based on visual landscape assessment techniques, is the visual survey technique which is administered with visuals and which is used for determining the user's perception of the place. 95 individuals participating in the survey were asked to evaluate formal aesthetic parameters for 15 selected high-rise buildings. One-way ANOVA, correlation and regression tests were employed to analyze the data collected through the survey. The findings and conclusions are thought to provide significant resources to city stakeholders in future urban landscape studies.

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