THE ROLE OF URBAN FORM AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC VARIABLES FOR EXTIMATING THE BUILDING ENERGY SAVINGS POTENTIAL AT THE URBAN SCALE

In this work, we present results from the largest study of measured, whole-building energy performance for commercial LEED-certified buildings, using 2016 energy use data that were obtained for 4417 commercial office buildings (114 million m2) from municipal energy benchmarking disclosures for 10 major U.S. cities. The properties included 551 buildings (31 million m2) that we identified as LEED-certified. Annual energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission were compared between LEED and non-LEED offices on a city-by-city basis and in aggregate. In aggregate, LEED offices demonstrated 11% site energy savings but only 7% savings in source energy and GHG emission. LEED offices saved 26% in non-electric energy but demonstrated no significant savings in electric energy. LEED savings in GHG and source energy increased to 10% when compared with newer, non-LEED offices. We also compared the measured energy savings for individual buildings with their projected savings, as determined by LEED points awarded for energy optimization. This analysis uncovered minimal correlation, i.e., an R2 < 1% for New Construction (NC) and Core and Shell (CS), and 8% for Existing Euildings (EB). The total measured site energy savings for LEED-NC and LEED-CS was 11% lower than projected while the total measured source energy savings for LEED-EB was 81% lower than projected. Only LEED offices certified at the gold level demonstrated statistically significant savings in source energy and greenhouse gas emissions as compared with non-LEED offices.

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What is beyond the edges? Gated communities and their role in China’s desire for harmonious cities

City Territory and Architecture ◽

10.1186/s40410-020-00122-x ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Badiaa Hamama ◽

Jian Liu

Keyword(s):

Economic Growth ◽

Real Estate ◽

Urban Form ◽

Gated Communities ◽

Urban Fabric ◽

Chinese Cities ◽

The Matrix ◽

Process Of Urbanization ◽

New Urbanization

Abstract During the rapid process of urbanization in post-reform China, cities assumed the role of a catalyst for economic growth and quantitative construction. In this context, territorially bounded and well delimited urban cells, globally known as ‘gated communities’, xiaoqu, continued to define the very essence of Chinese cities becoming the most attractive urban form for city planners, real estate developers, and citizens alike. Considering the guidelines in China’s National New Urbanization Plan (2014–2020), focusing on the promotion of humanistic and harmonious cities, in addition to the directive of 2016 by China’s Central Urban Work Conference to open up the gates and ban the construction of new enclosed residential compounds, this paper raises the following questions: As the matrix of the Chinese urban fabric, what would be the role of the gated communities in China’s desire for a human-qualitative urbanism? And How to rethink the gated communities to meet the new urban challenges? Seeking alternative perspectives, this paper looks at the gated communities beyond the apparent limits they seem to represent, considering them not simply as the ‘cancer’ of Chinese cities, rather the container of the primary ingredients to reshape the urban fabric dominated by the gate.

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Mapping chronic disease prevalence based on medication use and socio-demographic variables: an application of LASSO on administrative data sources in healthcare in the Netherlands

BMC Public Health ◽

10.1186/s12889-021-10754-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 21 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Koen Füssenich ◽

Hendriek C. Boshuizen ◽

Markus M. J. Nielen ◽

Erik Buskens ◽

Talitha L. Feenstra

Keyword(s):

Chronic Disease ◽

Hospital Admission ◽

Medication Use ◽

Disease Prevalence ◽

Percentage Error ◽

Economic Variables ◽

Regional Patterns ◽

Prevalence Estimates ◽

Socio Economic Variables ◽

Chronic Disease Prevalence

Abstract Background Policymakers generally lack sufficiently detailed health information to develop localized health policy plans. Chronic disease prevalence mapping is difficult as accurate direct sources are often lacking. Improvement is possible by adding extra information such as medication use and demographic information to identify disease. The aim of the current study was to obtain small geographic area prevalence estimates for four common chronic diseases by modelling based on medication use and socio-economic variables and next to investigate regional patterns of disease. Methods Administrative hospital records and general practitioner registry data were linked to medication use and socio-economic characteristics. The training set (n = 707,021) contained GP diagnosis and/or hospital admission diagnosis as the standard for disease prevalence. For the entire Dutch population (n = 16,777,888), all information except GP diagnosis and hospital admission was available. LASSO regression models for binary outcomes were used to select variables strongly associated with disease. Dutch municipality (non-)standardized prevalence estimates for stroke, CHD, COPD and diabetes were then based on averages of predicted probabilities for each individual inhabitant. Results Adding medication use data as a predictor substantially improved model performance. Estimates at the municipality level performed best for diabetes with a weighted percentage error (WPE) of 6.8%, and worst for COPD (WPE 14.5%)Disease prevalence showed clear regional patterns, also after standardization for age. Conclusion Adding medication use as an indicator of disease prevalence next to socio-economic variables substantially improved estimates at the municipality level. The resulting individual disease probabilities could be aggregated into any desired regional level and provide a useful tool to identify regional patterns and inform local policy.

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