scholarly journals Prishtina: Urban Health Related to Air Quality

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 294-309
Author(s):  
Bujar Bajçinovci ◽  
Mejreme Bajçinovci

AbstractUrban health planning is a process with a primary role to protect communities and to use the environment sustainably. In relation to sustainability, the implementation of law reinforcement, urban planning and design can significantly improve the quality of life, particularly in relation to air pollution. Therefore, it is crucial to encourage every activity related to the functioning of a city, which would minimize air pollution. The empirical and conceptual findings from this research propose the necessity of careful driven urban health solutions, derived from power plants and heavy city traffic, regarding the gasoline-diesel powered automobiles which are not supportive to the urban, economic and health objectives. Prishtina, like other cities, must reconsider implementation of a strategy for healing urban health, helped by new developed technologies and environmental focused activities.

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-265
Author(s):  
Matas Cirtautas

Extensive urban growth is often considered an uncoordinated process creating chaotic and fragmented suburban landscape. Such negative attitude is widespread among urban researchers and planners. But it contradicts with the very nature of the phenomenon – suburban sprawl is partly encouraged by people, who keep settling there due to a better quality of housing. This one and some other contradictions motivate more detailed morphological studies of the suburban fabric. This paper describes a research model, which is based on the three fundamental components of urban morphological research (form, resolution and time), and discusses the possibilities of its practical application for morphological examination of suburban settlements in Lithuania. Suggested research model is versatile and suitable for dealing with various morphological research problems of modern urban fabric, such as distinguishing different suburban tissues, analyzing their formation patterns, identifying their specific characteristics. As shown in the article, morphological knowledge can be integrated into the urban planning and design processes and be useful in guiding sustainable development of suburban settlements. Santrauka Ekstensyvi miestų plėtra dažnai laikoma nekoordinuota, kuriančia chaotišką ir fragmentišką priemiestinį kraštovaizdį. Toks plačiai tarp miesto tyrėjų ir planuotojų įsivyravęs bei neigiamų reikšmių turintis priemiestinės plėtros traktavimas prieštarauja pačiai reiškinio prigimčiai – ekstensyvią miesto plėtrą iš dalies lemia dėl geresnės būsto kokybės noriai ten besikuriantys žmonės. Šis ir kiti prieštaravimai skatina detaliau analizuoti priemiestines urbanistines struktūras. Tam parankūs urbanistinės morfologijos metodai, kurie taikomi tiriant priemiestinių gyvenamųjų vietovių urbanistinės struktūros formavimosi dėsningumus, nustatant išskirtinius jų bruožus. Šiame straipsnyje, remiantis urbanistinės morfologijos tyrimų srities tradicijomis ir tendencijomis, pateikiamas pagrindiniais morfologinės analizės principais pagrįstas tyrimų modelis, kuris, kaip rodo nagrinėjami priemiestinių urbanizuotų struktūrų morfologinių studijų pavyzdžiai, būtų parankus tirti Lietuvos didmiesčių ekstensyvios plėtros formuojamus priemiestinius darinius morfologiniu aspektu. Tokio tyrimo rezultatai leistų daryti apibendrinimus dėl priemiestinių gyvenviečių vyraujančių raidos tendencijų, jų morfostruktūros transformacijos dėsningumų ir galimybių koordinuoti šių vietovių raidą ateityje, atsižvelgiant į darnios plėtros sampratoje keliamus uždavinius.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Silje Kristin Nygård ◽  

‘‘Urban health then and now, a reflection (Physiotherapist, 15.03.2150)’ takes its starting point in the development of human settlements and population throughout history. On this basis, it envisions a future in which a shift to greener urban cities has led to various improvements in people’s health and social conditions, both globally and locally. As more and more people are living in cities and the greening of cities is underway, this vision and its exploration all but a fantasy. With added collaboration from health professionals, urban planning and design could support the creation of even more green spaces and greener buildings, leading to cleaner air, more physical activity, natural insulation of homes, carbon sequestration, local food production, increased biodiversity and ultimately, a time with more social cohesion and healthier and happier people. By never loosing focus of people’s health, function and physical activity, it reminds us that it might not be wholesale change that is at stake, but that a broadening of our professional identity, roles and responsibilities could contribute more broadly than we have thought so far.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (4) ◽  
pp. 620-636
Author(s):  
Alexander Gösta ◽  
André Agi ◽  
Jacob Flårback ◽  
Jesper Karlsson ◽  
Ellen Simonsson

This article aims to map how different digital tools can be useful for architects and how they might affect their work processes. Researchers and professionals were interviewed to investigate what they found valuable to measure, which methods they used within their analyses, as well as the opportunities and risks they see for the future of the field with regards to digital tools. As part of the survey, a workshop was held with architects and project managers examining the possibilities of connecting existing methods and tools to the sustainability certification system, City Lab Action Guide, and through that, to achieve a more ambitious set of sustainability goals for the projects. Findings from the study indicate that there are risks associated with giving data an increasingly important role in the design work. A working model never provides the full truth but is inherently limited by its constraints. It is important to acknowledge that all angles and aspects of a problem can never be represented in a model. Another possible risk identified lies in the quality of, and access to, data. In a scenario where data plays an increasingly important role, it is not only the quality of the datasets that is of utmost importance, but it is equally important that the urban planners who request the analyses ask the questions first, and then collect the necessary data, instead of vice versa.


2016 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-43
Author(s):  
Gintaras Stauskis ◽  
Vaiva Deveikienė

Abstract We may see modern urbanism as a collection of many successful developments as well as a series of endless mistakes and repeated failures. The paper focuses on the analysis of existing and former urban planning and design patterns in aspect of efficiency of applied methods to achieve higher quality referring to the philosophy and practice of Landscape Urbanism. The Missionaries Block in Vilnius City serves as a case study for assessing its development in three distinguishable periods by the set of quality criteria derived from Landscape Urbanism theories and practices. The assessment results disclose an evident drop in the overall quality of the selected site’s development in the recent period. The paper discusses if and how one may use the method employed hereby for programming and shaping the future regeneration and redevelopment of existing urban setting.


Author(s):  
Valerie Siroux ◽  
Anne Boudier ◽  
Iana Markevych ◽  
Bénédicte Jacquemin ◽  
Michael J Abramson ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Janette Yung ◽  
Sukhminder Osahan ◽  
Stephen M. Friedman ◽  
Jiehui Li ◽  
James E. Cone

Asthma control is suboptimal among World Trade Center Health Registry (WTCHR) enrollees. Air pollution/irritants have been reported as the most prevalent trigger among World Trade Center responders. We examined the relationship between air pollution/irritants and asthma control. We also evaluated the association of asthma control with health-related quality of life (HRQoL). We included 6202 enrollees age ≥18 with a history of asthma who completed the WTCHR asthma survey between 2015 and 2016. Based on modified National Asthma Education and Prevention Program criteria, asthma was categorized as controlled, poorly-controlled, or very poorly-controlled. HRQoL indicators include ≥14 unhealthy days, ≥14 activity limitation days, and self-rated general health. We used multinomial logistic regression for asthma control, and unconditional logistic regression for HRQoL, adjusting for covariates. Overall, 27.1% had poorly-controlled and 32.2% had very poorly-controlled asthma. Air pollution/irritants were associated with poorly-controlled (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 1.70; 95% CI = 1.45–1.99) and very poorly-controlled asthma (AOR = 2.15; 95% CI = 1.83–2.53). Poor asthma control in turn worsened the HRQoL of asthmatic patients. Very poorly-controlled asthma was significantly associated with ≥14 unhealthy days (AOR = 3.60; 95% CI = 3.02–4.30), ≥14 activity limitation days (AOR = 4.37; 95% CI = 3.48–5.50), and poor/fair general health status (AOR = 4.92; 95% CI = 4.11–5.89). Minimizing World Trade Center (WTC) asthmatic patients’ exposure to air pollution/irritants may improve their disease management and overall well-being.


2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
pp. e020002
Author(s):  
José G. Vargas-Hernández

This paper is aimed to analyze the implications between urban planning, policymaking and scenarios of land uses’ design. The analysis assume that urban planning and design contribute to the quality of a city’s land uses and landscapes that are related to factors that improve qualitatively urban areas and the upgrading neglected areas. It begins analyzing the urban design and planning and its relationships with the urban land uses, policymaking and strategies to resume in design scenarios. It is concluded that urban planning, policymaking and design of land uses are relevant activities to manage urban land resources to achieve sustainable urban development.   Keywords: Design, land uses, policy making, scenarios, urban planning.


Author(s):  
Edda Bild ◽  
Daniel Steele ◽  
Karin Pfeffer ◽  
Luca Bertolini ◽  
Catherine Guastavino

Sound is receiving increasing attention in urban planning and design due to its effects on human health and quality of life. Soundscape researchers have sought ecologically valid measures to describe and explain the complex relationship between people and their auditory environments, largely employing laboratory studies and neglecting the active role of activity. This chapter proposes a situated cognition approach to study the relationship between context, use of space, and the ways in which users describe and evaluate sounds and their auditory environments in an urban pocket park. It draws on empirical data gathered in Parc du Portugal in Montreal, Canada using a mixed-methods research design that integrates ethnographic observations, on-site questionnaires, and behavioral mapping using a geo-spatial app to offer a situated understanding of the human auditory experience in its full complexity, with an emphasis on the mediating role of activity on the user-auditory environment relationship.


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