Towards eco-effective sustainable sanitation for the city of Almere

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Kerstens ◽  
R. De Ridder ◽  
A. Hof ◽  
J. Alberts ◽  
D. Mulhall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Design Criteria ◽  
The Future ◽  
Cradle To Cradle ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The City ◽  
A Current

The city of Almere (The Netherlands) has a current population of 190.000 residents. Because of its attractive location (close to Amsterdam and Utrecht) Almere was designated by the national government to expand its population with 160.000 residents (60.000 houses) between 2010 and 2030, becoming one of the fastest growing European urban areas. Almere has formulated the “Almere Principles” containing ambitious goals to achieve this future development, aspiring to become a landmark in sustainable urban development. The “Almere Principles” are based on the Cradle to Cradle® philosophy in which improvement of public health and environment is emphasized, rather than limiting negative impacts of the future expansion of Almere. Thus, a distinction is made between the conventional interpretation of sustainability, focusing on eco-efficiency and the Cradle to Cradle® approach, focusing on eco-effectiveness. These principles are used by relevant stakeholders to formulate a vision of the future sanitation system. Following, design criteria based on sustainability pillars People, Planet and Profit are formulated, thus translating the vision into tangible scenarios, which are then mutually compared. In this paper the methodology and preliminary outcomes of the development of the sustainable sanitation system for Almere are presented.

scholarly journals Electric Mobility in Cities: The Case of Vienna

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Amela Ajanovic ◽  
Marina Siebenhofer ◽  
Reinhard Haas
Keyword(s):  
Electric Vehicles ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Renewable Energy Sources ◽  
Road Transport ◽  
Electric Mobility ◽  
Policy Framework ◽  
The Future ◽  
Historical Developments

Environmental problems such as air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions are especially challenging in urban areas. Electric mobility in different forms may be a solution. While in recent years a major focus was put on private electric vehicles, e-mobility in public transport is already a very well-established and mature technology with a long history. The core objective of this paper is to analyze the economics of e-mobility in the Austrian capital of Vienna and the corresponding impact on the environment. In this paper, the historical developments, policy framework and scenarios for the future development of mobility in Vienna up to 2030 are presented. A major result shows that in an ambitious scenario for the deployment of battery electric vehicles, the total energy demand in road transport can be reduced by about 60% in 2030 compared to 2018. The major conclusion is that the policies, especially subsidies and emission-free zones will have the largest impact on the future development of private and public e-mobility in Vienna. Regarding the environmental performance, the most important is to ensure that a very high share of electricity used for electric mobility is generated from renewable energy sources.

Obstacles on the Path to Urban Greatness: Competing Plans for the Creation of Greater Lviv (“Wielki Lwów”)

2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 661-671
Author(s):  
Nadja Weck
Keyword(s):  
Urban Planning ◽  
Urban Development ◽  
Future Development ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Comprehensive Plan ◽  
The Future ◽  
Imperial Capital ◽  
New Generation ◽  
The City

Like in many other provinces, during the Habsburg period, the main point of orientation for Galicia was Vienna. This also applies to architecture and urban development. Galicia’s technical elite applied the theoretical and practical experience it gathered in Vienna to the towns and cities of this northeastern Crown land. Ignacy Drexler, born in 1878 in the Austro-Hungarian Lemberg, was a representative of a new generation of engineers and architects who did not necessarily have to spend time in the imperial capital to earn their spurs. Increasingly, besides the more or less obligatory stay in Vienna, other European countries became points of reference. Drexler did not live to see the realization of important aspects of his comprehensive plan for the city, but his ideas and the data he compiled were indispensable for the future development of his hometown. They shape urban planning in Lviv to this day.

scholarly journals Approach to develop a climate change resilience assessment framework

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 77-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Cardoso ◽  
R. S. Brito ◽  
M. C. Almeida
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Stakeholder Involvement ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Assessment Framework ◽  
Fields Of Study ◽  
The City ◽  
Climate Change Resilience ◽  
Resilience Assessment ◽  
Selection Of

Abstract Urban areas are complex, vulnerable and continuously evolving, with interacting strategic services, assets and stakeholders. Potential effects of climate dynamics on urban areas may include the aggravation of current conditions, with identification of new hazards or risk drivers. These challenges require an integrated and forward-looking approach to sustainable urban development. Several tools and frameworks for assessing resilience have already been developed in different fields of study. However, aiming to focus on climate change, urban services and infrastructure, some specific needs were identified. In this light, a resilience assessment framework was developed to direct and facilitate an objective-driven resilience diagnosis of urban cities and services; to support decisions on selection of resilience measures and development of strategies to enhance resilience to climate change; to outline a path to co-build resilience action plans; and to track the progress of resilience in the city or in the service over time. The paper presents an outline of the structure of the framework and details the approach used in its development, including engagement tools and actions undertaken to assure stakeholder involvement in its development, validation and testing.

scholarly journals Urban Humanities and the Creative Practitioner

2016 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dana Cuff ◽  
Jennifer Wolch
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Environmental Quality ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Innovative Methods ◽  
The Future ◽  
Object Of Study ◽  
The City ◽  
A Current ◽  
Creative Group

Creative practices are needed to address the range of issues that confront contemporary cities—issues of social justice, economic development, and environmental quality. Urban humanities emphasize innovative methods and practices, which evolve along with shifting epistemologies in multidisciplinary confluence, standing in contrast to a current dominant narrative that contemporary cities depend upon attracting a creative group of citizens. Recent efforts the LA River, driven by a motley crew of people set out to reimagine new possibilities for the river, illustrating that the city as an object of study intrinsically carries implications about action and about the future. This manifesto offers a call to action for scholars to become engaged, creative urban practitioners.

scholarly journals Cities after pandemic: enabling social distancing as a new design standard to achieve urban immunity

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-360
Author(s):  
Nawras Motathud Mohammed Salih ◽  
Shaimaa Hameed Hussein
Keyword(s):  
Design Criterion ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
Sustainable Mobility ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Healthy Environment ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Right ◽  
Healthy Community ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The City

Motives: COVID-19 pandemic has caused worldwide implementation of unprecedented measures of physical distancing to decrease the potential of the COVID-19 infection. As cities respond to closure measures in order to flatten the infection curve, the challenges associated with the spread of the epidemic and the increasing numbers of infected and deaths that compel us to fundamentally rethink the formation of our cities, especially their streets, the research presents an urban review of the impact of the pandemic on cities and find solutions to recover, achieve a safe and sustainable healthy environment, and prepare better for any pandemic that may occur in the future, the research seeks to strengthen the theory of prevention, which the research proposes to call (urban immunity) by including social distancing as a design criterion in the city that has proven effective in flattening the curve. Aims: This paper focuses on the mechanisms related to sustainable mobility after COVID-19 in shaping urban mobility and initiating a green transformation in urban transportation rapidly by decarbonizing and promoting cycling and walking across all over the city. The research methodology depends on identifying the most important urban problems that Al-Dhubat Street suffers from and proposing solutions that reduce dependence on private transportation and move towards sustainable mobility as an important step in strengthening urban prevention against any epidemics that may occur in the future, and then testing indicators on the Al-Dhubat Street to identify effective indicators. Results: The research concluded that social distancing is the way back to active mobility by relying on walking and bicycles and works to restore the right of pedestrians in the streets and sidewalks instead of cars and thus achieve sustainable urban development, which enhances the urban immunity of the city against any other epidemics may occur in the future. With the proposed interventions on Al-Dhubat Street we can keep car use low and promote walking and cycling for a sustainable, equitable, habitable, and healthy community after the pandemic.

scholarly journals MODELLING URBAN GROWTH FOR BANGKOK AND ASSESSING LINKAGES WITH ROAD DENSITY AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC INDICATORS

2019 ◽  
Vol XLII-4/W19 ◽  
pp. 255-262
Author(s):  
S. A. Kamarajugedda ◽  
E. Y. M. Lo
Keyword(s):  
Urban Growth ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Turning Point ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Growth Patterns ◽  
Economic Indicators ◽  
Sustainable Urban Development ◽  
City Development ◽  
Road Density ◽  
The Future

Abstract. The fastest urbanization is occurring in the Global South which includes many developing nations in Asia. However, a rapid and unplanned urban growth could threaten the sustainability of the process. A key step towards a sustainable urban development is to better understand interdependencies amongst urban growth patterns, infrastructure and socio-economic indicators. Here we chose Bangkok, Thailand as a megacity case study to assess the spatio-temporal urban growth dynamics and specifically its dependency with road density at intra-city scales. The SLEUTH urban growth model is further applied for predicting future expansion over the next decade and to assess the future intra-city expansion. Urban expansion patterns for Bangkok were generated for 1987 and 2017 using Landsat derived urban land-cover maps. Open Street Map (OSM) is used to generate a 2017 road density map. The urban expansion (1987–2017) was observed to follow a radially outward expanding pattern inland, with the logarithmic urban expansion rate having an inverted concave trend with road density. The rising/falling limbs then indicated an increase/decrease of urban expansion for which a road density “turning point” is readily identified and further used to develop a road density-based zoning map that highlights the different intra-city urban expansion rates. The SLEUTH predicted urban growth till year 2027 which also showed expansion outward from existing urban areas. The future expansion trend is also consistent with the turning point trend. This study showed that such spatial-temporal analysis of urban expansion coupled with SLEUTH can be useful for investigating likely outcomes of city development plans.

scholarly journals Housing Demand in Urban Areas and Sanitary Requirements of Dwellings in Italy

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marco Dettori ◽  
Lucia Altea ◽  
Donatella Fracasso ◽  
Federica Trogu ◽  
Antonio Azara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Housing Demand ◽  
City Centre ◽  
Italian Population ◽  
Housing Conditions ◽  
Foreign Born ◽  
Urban Context ◽  
The City

The phenomenon of urbanisation is becoming increasingly prevalent on a global level, and the health issues regarding the urban environment are of primary importance in public health. Accordingly, the present manuscript describes an analysis of the housing conditions of Italian urban areas, referring to the city of Sassari (Sardinia), Italy, focused on the dwelling structural and sanitary conditions issued by the Italian regulations. Data relating to the housing conditions of the population were acquired by the Local Hygiene and Public Health Service (SISP), in a period between 2012 and 2016. Qualitative variables were summarised with absolute and relative (percentages) frequencies, whereas quantitative variables with means and standard deviations depending on their parametric distribution. Statistical comparisons for qualitative and quantitative variables were performed with the χ2 test or Student’s t-test, respectively. A p value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Finally, the dwellings and the collected variables were georeferenced on a city map. During the 2012–2016 observation period, 363 certification requests were received from 193 (53.2%) foreign-born citizens and 170 (46.8%) Italians at the SISP offices. The main reasons relate to the request for a residency permit (46.6%) and to obtain a subsidy from the local government (32.8%). Overall, 15.4% of dwellings were found to be improper, while 35.3% and 22.0% were found to be unhygienic and uninhabitable, respectively. The foreigners’ homes were found to be suitable in 82.7% of cases; the housing of Italian citizens, on the contrary, was found to be suitable in 28% of the observations. The present study offers a cross section of the housing conditions of Italian urban areas, referring to the city of Sassari. To the authors’ best knowledge, this observation is the first one carried out in Sardinia and one of the first observations in Italy. It has emerged that “hygienically unsuitable” homes are those that, in most cases, are located in the city centre. Moreover, the Italian population is hit by a significant housing problem, due to overcrowding, uninhabitability, and unhygienic conditions. Overall, our findings suggest that it is necessary to develop a multidisciplinary approach to guarantee public health, with safe dwellings homes and the surrounding urban context alongside the development of social relations. Nevertheless, there is still little evidence available today on the population housing conditions, especially regarding the private indoor environment, and further research is needed to bridge this knowledge gap.

scholarly journals Digital analysis of the geometric variability of bamboo poles in bending

2019 ◽  
Vol 275 ◽  
pp. 01007
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Lorenzo ◽  
Leonel Mimendi ◽  
Haitao Li
Keyword(s):  
Future Development ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Building Industry ◽  
Natural Material ◽  
Mechanical Characterisation ◽  
The Future ◽  
Sustainable Materials ◽  
Combination Of Material

The importance of sustainable materials in the building industry has grown during the last decades due to the negative impact that industrialised materials have caused over the environment as a consequence of the rapid increase of urban areas, especially in developing countries. To alleviate this problem, research has focused on the utilisation of bamboo, a ready-to-use natural material with a high potential of playing an important role in the future development of the building industry, however, the limitations of the material have not been properly addressed and therefore, the current use of bamboo in the building industry is negligible. This paper presents a digital approach to analyse the structural effects that the inherent geometric variability causes in bamboo poles subjected to bending effects. In contrast with current methodologies that apply the use of conventional tools to determine average geometric properties of a bamboo pole, this work adopted a combination of material testing and 3D scanning of a series of bamboo elements, in order to define suitable parameters for structural analysis that accurately represents the geometric variability of the poles. The results confirmed that the geometric variability produces significant effects that had not been considered before in the mechanical characterisation of bamboo, and that could not have been possible to identify without the use of digital technology. This work encourages the future development of methodologies that implement the use of digital technology to increase the structural understanding of bamboo and therefore, offer a robust platform for the general implementation of bamboo culms in the building industry.

scholarly journals Socioeconomic Behaviour of the Micro Urban Areas: A Comprehensive Study of Sachal Goth, Sindh, Pakistan

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-49
Author(s):  
Yasira Naeem Pasha ◽  
Shahla Adnan ◽  
Reena Majid Memon ◽  
Tania Ali Soomro ◽  
Asim Mobeen
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Swot Analysis ◽  
Developmental Patterns ◽  
Commercial Activities ◽  
Organic Growth ◽  
The Future ◽  
Developmental Opportunities ◽  
Socioeconomic Profile ◽  
The City

The socioeconomic profile of the sub-urban areas in Pakistan is a matter of concern for the presumable developments in the future. The micro urban areas are the indicators of the prospective developments in the city. The role of the prevailing socioeconomic patterns in the city is important for the future developmental opportunities to be identified. These socioeconomic behaviours are depicted through several factors which indicate the behaviours of the inhabitants and the opportunities and discrepancies the particular area is facing. The objective of this research is to explore the socioeconomic behaviour of the inhabitants of the selected area in order to analyze the comprehensive socioeconomic profile of the area. It adopts the mixed methods approach to conduct the research surveys and necessary documentation. It also signifies the understanding of the socioeconomic profiles of the inhabitants in the area by analyzing their historic background, work profiles, expenditure distribution, educational aspects, commercial activities, transport facilities, and the provision of amenities. The findings are detailed out in a quantitative mode and further summarized in the SWOT analysis which also indicates the potential areas for the future developments. The current study takes into account the collective socioeconomic profiles and concludes the organic growth. Moreover, the findings are also helpful to establish that the socioeconomic profiles of the area which can be useful for suggesting the developmental patterns for the betterment of the area. 

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