scholarly journals A Planning Support Tool for Layout Integral Optimization of Urban Blue–Green Infrastructure

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Conghui Zhou ◽  
Yun Wu
Keyword(s):  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Layout Optimization ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Land Supply ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Service Demand ◽  
Planning Support ◽  
Service Patterns ◽  
Spatial Layouts

Urban blue infrastructure (UBI) and urban green infrastructure (UGI) can be seen as an integrated system in which services and spatial layouts complement each other. However, given its complexity, it is difficult to integrate and optimize the layout of urban blue and green infrastructure (UBGI) in the built environment. This study develops a planning support tool for the layout integral optimization (PSTLIO) of UBGI. Using Hekou City in China as a case study, service demands and the supply of suitable land for UBGI development are assessed and mapped on geographic information system (GIS). The potential areas for UBGI development are delineated after mapping assessments of service demand and land supply and suitability. Following discussions on the exact means for PSTLIO to support the layout optimization of UBGI, a PSTLIO-based solution is developed to structure the UBGI link network and hub system, define the functions and service patterns of single UBGI components, and provide guidance for determining the scale of UBGI components. The results show that PSTLIO is able to provide a quantifiable base for decision-making in UBGI layout optimization.

scholarly journals Evaluating a Planning Support System’s Use and Effects in Urban Adaptation: An Exploratory Case Study from Berlin, Germany

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 173
Author(s):  
Sadie McEvoy ◽  
Frans H. M. van de Ven ◽  
Reinder Brolsma ◽  
Jill H. Slinger
Keyword(s):  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
Practice Research ◽  
Longitudinal Case Study ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Planning Support ◽  
Sustainable Urban Water Management ◽  
Planning Processes ◽  
Urban Adaptation

Planning Support Systems (PSS) are increasingly used to support collaborative planning workshops in urban adaptation practice. Research has focused on developing such tools and evaluating their use in workshops but has not measured tools’ effects over time on real planning processes, on the participants involved, and on the final outcomes. The role that tools play in adaptation planning, therefore, remains unclear. A longitudinal case study was made to evaluate a PSS, the Adaptation Support Tool (AST), in a design workshop for sustainable urban water management, in Berlin, Germany. The case study also served to test the evaluation framework and generate insights regarding systematic evaluations of tools in planning processes. The case study was carried out over eighteen months, to capture both the details of the workshop and its longer-term effects on the project and participants. Our results show that the AST’s most evident effects were (1) contributory and less tangible in nature (e.g., supporting learning), than directly causal and concrete (e.g., affecting planning decisions), and (2) a function of the process and context in which the workshop took place. This study demonstrates that making systematic, longitudinal evaluations are valuable for studying the role of PSS in urban adaptation planning.

scholarly journals Information Integration in a Smart City System—A Case Study on Air Pollution Removal by Green Infrastructure through a Vehicle Smart Routing System

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (12) ◽  
pp. 5099
Author(s):  
Jules Muvuna ◽  
Tuleen Boutaleb ◽  
Slobodan B. Mickovski ◽  
Keith Baker ◽  
Ghoreyshi Seyed Mohammad ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Air Pollution ◽  
Information Integration ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
System Integration ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
City System ◽  
Travel Decisions ◽  
City Systems

Over the past few years, the ‘‘smart city’’ concept has emerged as a new trend to answer challenging issues related to urban development. Transformation of a city system into a smart system is meant to improve the quality of life for its people and their way of living, its environment, economy, transport, and governance. Due to benefits associated with the concept of the smart city and associated implementation challenges, traditional city systems have been undergoing transformation into smart city systems. However, observed approaches of transformation presented disconnected and fragmented city systems that usually hamper the interaction of city subsystems with the efficient and environmentally friendly urban environment. This work emphasizes the systematic view of a city system and proposes a novel method of smart city system integration. The results of our study show that in a smart city environment, where ecosystem services are valorised, air pollution emitted by vehicles can be removed by taking into consideration information related to air pollution reduction. A case study is presented to demonstrate that, with an integrated system, information outputs on travel decisions are different and more valuable. The case study explores the operability of the system, its limitations, and potential future improvements.

Development and application of a planning support tool in the municipal wastewater sector: The case study of Italy

2014 ◽  
Vol 41 ◽  
pp. 260-273 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabino De Gisi ◽  
Luigi Petta ◽  
Roberto Farina ◽  
Giovanni De Feo
Keyword(s):  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Planning Support

Exploring Subbordia – the impact of suburbanisation in cross-border metropolitan regions. The case study of Szczecin and its German hinterland

2018 ◽  
Vol 60 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Barthel ◽  
Ewelina Barthel
Keyword(s):  
Border Region ◽  
Metropolitan Region ◽  
Metropolitan Regions ◽  
Grass Roots ◽  
Planning Support ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Connected Area ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Local Narratives

Abstract This paper focuses on the largely unexamined phenomenon of the developing trans-national suburban area west of Szczecin. Sadly the local communities in this functionally connected area struggle with national planning policies that are unsuitable for the region. The paper examines the impact of those processes on the border region in general and on the localities in particular. The paper investigates the consequences for local narratives and the cohesive development of the Euroregion and what position Polish and German communities took to develop the region, even without the necessary planning support. The region has succeeded in establishing grass-roots planning mechanisms which have helped to create a metropolitan-region working from the bottom up.

scholarly journals Protection of Children in Difficulty in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 279
Author(s):  
Fang Zhao ◽  
Ning Zhu ◽  
Juha Hämäläinen
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Protection System ◽  
Political Awareness ◽  
Child Protection Services ◽  
The Media ◽  
Professional Systems ◽  
Depth Interviews

This study investigated the resilience of the Chinese child protection system in responding to the special needs of children in difficulty under the specific circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study applied qualitative document analysis of child protection administrative documents, in-depth interviews with 13 child protection professionals, and an in-depth case study of 14 children living in difficulty, complemented by relevant information available in the media. The results indicate that there are good policies in China’s child protection services but the organizational and functional fragmentation complicates implementation, suggesting a need for the development of bottom-up practices. The essential conclusion supported by these results is that the child protection system should be regarded and developed as a systematic project combining the legal, policymaking, and professional systems of child welfare services as well as governmental and non-governmental forces. As the COVID-19 pandemic has raised awareness of the need to develop the field of child protection holistically as an integrated system in terms of social sustainability in China, an international literature-based comparison indicates that the pandemic has also raised similar political awareness in other countries.

scholarly journals The Importance of Environmental Factors in the Planning of Container Terminals: The Case Study of the Port of Augusta

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2153
Author(s):  
Nadia Giuffrida ◽  
Maja Stojaković ◽  
Elen Twrdy ◽  
Matteo Ignaccolo
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Impact ◽  
Container Terminal ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Container Terminals ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Clean Environment ◽  
Different Levels

Container terminals are the main hubs of the global supply chain but, conversely, they play an important role in energy consumption, environmental pollution and even climate change due to carbon emissions. Assessing the environmental impact of this type of port terminal and choosing appropriate mitigation measures is essential to pursue the goals related to a clean environment and ensuring a good quality of life of the inhabitants of port cities. In this paper the authors present a Terminal Decision Support Tool (TDST) for the development of a container terminal that considers both operation efficiency and environmental impacts. The TDST provides environmental impact mitigation measures based on different levels of evolution of the port’s container traffic. An application of the TDST is conducted on the Port of Augusta (Italy), a port that is planning infrastructural interventions in coming years in order to gain a new role as a reference point for container traffic in the Mediterranean.

scholarly journals Living Heritage in the Urban Landscape. Case Study of the Budapest World Heritage Site Andrássy Avenue

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4699
Author(s):  
Kinga Szilágyi ◽  
Chaima Lahmar ◽  
Camila Andressa Pereira Rosa ◽  
Krisztina Szabó
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Green Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Landscape ◽  
World Heritage ◽  
World Heritage Site ◽  
Urban Green ◽  
Heritage Site ◽  
Heritage Protection ◽  
Urban Green Infrastructure

Historic allées and urban avenues reflect a far-sighted and forward-thinking design attitude. These compositions are the living witnesses of olden times, suggesting permanence. However, the 20th century’s urban development severely damaged the environment, therefore hundred-year-old mature trees are relatively rare among city avenues’ stands. Due to the deteriorated habitat conditions, replantation may be necessary from time to time. However, there are a large number of replanted allées and urban avenues considered historical monuments, according to the relevant international literature in urban and living heritage’s preservation. The renewal often results in planting a different, urban tolerant taxon, as seen in several examples reviewed. Nevertheless, the allée remains an essential urban structural element, though often with a changed character. The Budapest Andrássy Avenue, a city and nature connection defined in the late 19th century’s urban landscape planning, aimed to offer a splendid link between city core and nature in Városliget Public Park. The 19–20th century’s history and urban development are well documented in Hungarian and several English publications, though current tree stock stand and linear urban green infrastructure as part of the urban landscape need a detailed survey. The site analyses ran in 2020–early 2021 created a basis for assessing the allées and the whole avenue as an urban ecosystem and a valuable case study of contemporary heritage protection problems. Andrassy Avenue, the unique urban fabric, architecture, and promenades have been a world heritage monument of cultural value since 2002. The allées became endangered despite reconstruction type maintenance efforts. The presented survey analyses the living heritage’s former renewal programs and underlines the necessity of new reconstruction concepts in urban heritage protection. We hypothesize that urban green infrastructure development, the main issue in the 21st century to improve the urban ecological system and human liveability, may support heritage protection. The Budapest World Heritage Site is worthwhile for a complex renewal where the urban green ecosystem supply and liveable, pedestrian-friendly urban open space system are at the forefront to recall the once glorious, socially and aesthetically attractive avenue.

scholarly journals Performance assessment of alternative SSS networks by combining KPIs and factor-cluster analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrizia Serra ◽  
Gianfranco Fancello
Keyword(s):  
Cluster Analysis ◽  
Performance Assessment ◽  
Decision Support Tool ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Quantitative Methodology ◽  
Support Tool ◽  
Performance Benchmarking ◽  
Relevant Variables ◽  
Quantitative Results

Abstract Performance assessment is a fundamental tool to successfully monitor and manage logistics and transport systems. In the field of Short Sea Shipping (SSS), the performance of the various maritime initiatives should be analyzed to assess the best way to achieve efficiency and guide related policies. This study proposes a quantitative methodology which can serve as a decision-support tool in the preliminary assessment and comparison of alternative SSS networks. The research is executed via a Mediterranean case study that compares a hypothetical Mediterranean ro-ro SSS network developed in the framework of a past Euro-Mediterranean cooperation project with the network of existing ro-ro liner services operating in the area. Performance benchmarking of the two networks is performed using a set of quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and applying a factor-cluster analysis to produce homogeneous clusters of services based on the relevant variables while accounting for sample heterogeneity. Quantitative results mostly confirm the overall better performance of the prospective network and demonstrate that using KPIs and factor-cluster analysis to investigate the performance of maritime networks can provide policymakers with a preliminary wealth of knowledge that can help in setting targeted policy for SSS-oriented initiatives.

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