scholarly journals Rural-Urban Migration and the Growth of Informal Settlements: A Socio-Ecological System Conceptualization with Insights Through a “Water Lens”

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 3487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Venla Niva ◽  
Maija Taka ◽  
Olli Varis

Informal settlements i.e., slums emerge from the interplay of multidimensional factors related to urbanization and sustainability. While the contribution of urban factors is well understood, the role of external drivers, such as uncontrolled migration to urban areas, is rarely addressed in research or policy-making. This study develops a novel conceptualization of slums by reviewing the pushing and pulling factors of migration and their contribution to informal settlements through 1) a socio-ecological system approach and 2) the concept of adaptive capacity. Further, it advances the discussion around synergistic and coherent policy-making in the urban context by reviewing three urban agendas and further using water as a case with the concept of cross-cutting domains. We show that the emergence of urban challenges can, and should be, linked to the root causes of flows into urban areas. Understanding these linkages through a socio-ecological system framework opens a window for knowledge-based policy development and addressing the question of how to avoid unsustainable urban development. Urbanization is one of the phenomena where the excessive complexity and dimensions of problems should not hamper action but instead, actions should be encouraged and enabled with synergistic and integrative pathways for sustainable urban development.

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 766
Author(s):  
Yuanmao Zheng ◽  
Qiang Zhou ◽  
Yuanrong He ◽  
Cuiping Wang ◽  
Xiaorong Wang ◽  
...  

Quantitative and accurate urban land information on regional and global scales is urgently required for studying socioeconomic and eco-environmental problems. The spatial distribution of urban land is a significant part of urban development planning, which is vital for optimizing land use patterns and promoting sustainable urban development. Composite nighttime light (NTL) data from the Defense Meteorological Program Operational Line-Scan System (DMSP-OLS) have been proven to be effective for extracting urban land. However, the saturation and blooming within the DMSP-OLS NTL hinder its capacity to provide accurate urban information. This paper proposes an optimized approach that combines NTL with multiple index data to overcome the limitations of extracting urban land based only on NTL data. We combined three sources of data, the DMSP-OLS, the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and the normalized difference water index (NDWI), to establish a novel approach called the vegetation–water-adjusted NTL urban index (VWANUI), which is used to rapidly extract urban land areas on regional and global scales. The results show that the proposed approach reduces the saturation of DMSP-OLS and essentially eliminates blooming effects. Next, we developed regression models based on the normalized DMSP-OLS, the human settlement index (HSI), the vegetation-adjusted NTL urban index (VANUI), and the VWANUI to analyze and estimate urban land areas. The results show that the VWANUI regression model provides the highest performance of all the models tested. To summarize, the VWANUI reduces saturation and blooming, and improves the accuracy with which urban areas are extracted, thereby providing valuable support and decision-making references for designing sustainable urban development.


2011 ◽  
pp. 171-185
Author(s):  
Suharto Teriman ◽  
Tan Yigitcanlar ◽  
Severine Mayere

Sustainable development has long been promoted as the best answer to the world’s environmental problems. This term has generated mass appeal as it implies that both the development of the built environment and its associated resource consumption can be achieved without jeopardising the natural environment. In the urban context, sustainability issues have been reflected in the promotion of sustainable urban development, which emphasises the sensible exploitation of scarce natural resources for urbanisation in a manner that allows future generations to repeat the process. This chapter highlights attempts to promote sustainable urban development through an integration of three important considerations: planning, development and the ecosystem. It highlights the fact that spatial planning processes were traditionally driven by economic and social objectives, and rarely involved promoting the sustainability agenda to achieve a sustainable urban future. As a result, rapid urbanisation has created a variety of pressures on the ecosystem upon which we rely. It is believed that the integration of the urban planning and development processes within the limitations of the ecosystem, monitored by a sustainability assessment mechanism, would offer a better approach to maintaining sustainable resource use without compromising urban development.


Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashraf Abdelkarim ◽  
Ahmed Gaber ◽  
Ahmed Youssef ◽  
Biswajeet Pradhan

This study deals with the use of remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GISs), hydrologic modeling (water modeling system, WMS), and hydraulic modeling (Hydrologic Engineering Center River Analysis System, HEC-RAS) to evaluate the impact of flash flood hazards on the sustainable urban development of Tabuk City, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Determining the impact of flood hazards on the urban area and developing alternatives for protection and prevention measures were the main aims of this work. Tabuk City is exposed to frequent flash flooding due to its location along the outlets of five major wadis. These wadis frequently carry flash floods, seriously impacting the urban areas of the city. WMS and HEC-HMS models and RS data were used to determine the paths and morphological characteristics of the wadis, the hydrographic flow of different drainage basins, flow rates and volumes, and the expansion of agricultural and urban areas from 1998 to 2018. Finally, hydraulic modeling of the HEC-RAS program was applied to delineate the urban areas that could be inundated with floodwater. Ultimately, the most suitable remedial measures are proposed to protect the future sustainable urban development of Tabuk City from flood hazards. This approach is rarely used in the KSA. We propose a novel method that could help decision-makers and planners in determining inundated flood zones before planning future urban and agricultural development in the KSA.


2021 ◽  
Vol 296 ◽  
pp. 03006
Author(s):  
Inna Baranova ◽  
Maria Vlasenko ◽  
Tamara Dzholdosheva ◽  
Eugenia Prikhodko

The reuse of industrial zones is becoming one of the determinants of sustainable urban development, which ensures the effective use of urban areas, taking into account the principle of their integrated development. However, the modern urbanized environment has serious environmental problems, which limits the active use of the redevelopment tool. The conducted research of the implemented redevelopment projects showed that their main share is accounted for the construction of apartments and housing, multinational complexes, creative spaces and offices. The results of the cluster analysis of the territories of Russia allowed the authors to identify the most promising regions for redevelopment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 121
Author(s):  
Jose Manuel Diaz-Sarachaga

Losses from commercial activities reflect the decline and deterioration of the downtown, the urban fabric and the social structure of the cities. The dependence on motorized vehicles has grown significantly among consumers who must move to meet their daily needs. Such a process marginalizes vulnerable populations by promoting urban lifestyles less sustainable. Proximity trade is therefore becoming increasingly important for those groups because it encourages dynamism among distinct urban areas and reduces the use of vehicles. This urban model addresses a relevant issue as universal accessibility that allows residents to enjoy an available city and move freely without encountering obstacles. The major role played by trade in the creation of wealth and urban fabric demands the integration of commercial areas provisions into urban policy guidelines. In this context, the study aims at developing a set of indicators that link proximity trade with the promotion of sustainable urban development and the model of compact city to be included in Spanish urban planning guidelines. Sixteen indicators were thus formulated around five areas of action: urban morphology, urban complexity, sustainable mobility, urban metabolism and social cohesion.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (9) ◽  
pp. 2351
Author(s):  
Paola Clerici Maestosi

This Special Issue of Energies “Smart Cities and Positive Energy Districts: Urban Perspectives in 2020” introduce contemporary research on Smart Cities and on Positive Energy Districts. The topic highlights the variety of research within this field: from the analysis of 61 Positive Energy Districts cases to papers illustrating the Positive Energy Districts dimension or Smart Energy Communities supporting low carbon energy transition as well as selected Smart Cities Experiences. The focus is thus given on how RD&I stakeholders and Municipalities are facing sustainable urban development challenges. An overview of Horizon Europe RD&I program on sustainable urban areas is provided.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 2716
Author(s):  
Wenjia Peng ◽  
Brian E. Robinson ◽  
Hua Zheng ◽  
Cong Li ◽  
Fengchun Wang ◽  
...  

Recently, increasingly sophisticated studies have investigated the relationship between agrarian livelihoods and the environment, as well as rural–urban interactions in developing countries. The policies developed to respond to these dynamics can constrain livelihood options or provide additional opportunities. In the present study, using a modified version of the telecoupled sustainable livelihood framework to generalize dynamic livelihood strategies in the context of rural–urban transformation and by focusing on recent research in China, we review important factors that shape rural livelihood strategies as well as the types of strategies that typically intersect with livelihood and environmental dynamics. We then examine telecoupled rural–urban linkages given that the dynamics of the livelihood strategies of farmers can cause flows of labor, capital, ecosystem services, and other processes between rural and urban areas, thereby placing livelihood strategies in a dynamic context, which has not been considered widely in previous research. We show that most previous studies focused on the reduction of environmental impacts via livelihood diversification and rural–urban migration. We propose several areas for future policy development and research.


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