scholarly journals Urban Crime Occurrences in Association with Built Environment Characteristics: An African Case with Implications for Urban Design

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrik Silva ◽  
Lin Li

Empirically, the physical spatial arrangement of places provides us with a clue about the likelihood for crime opportunities based on the principles of crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED). Although we know that the quality of the urban built environment influences people’s behavior, its measurement as a variable is not an easy task. In this study, we present and develop a set of urban built environment indicators (UBEIs) based on two datasets: building footprints and road networks at the neighborhood level in the city of Praia, Cape Verde. We selected the four most relevant UBEIs to create a single urban built environment indicator (CUBEI), and then, explored their relationships with five types of crime (i.e., burglary, robbery, mugging, residential robbery, and crimes involving weapons) using correlation and regression analysis. Our results showed a consistent and statistically significant relationship between different types of crimes with both the UBEIs and CUBEI, suggesting that a poor urban built environment is associated with an increase of all types of crimes investigated in this study. Thus, to minimize crime incidents, urban planners should rehabilitate or design neighborhoods from the earlier stage, considering the principles of CPTED and broken window theory (BWT).

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 23-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mateus Humberto ◽  
Rodrigo Laboissière ◽  
Mariana Giannotti ◽  
Cláudio Luiz Marte ◽  
Daniel Agostini Cruz ◽  
...  

Abstract After the emergence of the term “walkability” in the 1990’s, many metrics have been developed with the aim of evaluating the quality of the built environment for pedestrians. More recently, researchers have also sought an association of these metrics with pedestrian behavior: do better sidewalk conditions and their surroundings correspond with higher pedestrian activity? To study the association of the built environment with the share of pedestrian movements, two different indexes, one at the city level (macro) and one at the neighborhood level (micro), were proposed using georeferenced data from São Paulo (Brazil). Once the available built environment and transport-related data were incorporated in a linear regression model, the neighborhood-level index (micro) and the share of pedestrian movements presented a strong positive correlation (adjusted R2 = 0.797). In addition to the contributions to the relationship of walkability scores with data from developing countries, the discussions presented in this paper intend to provide insights into the territorial disparities in pedestrian mobility, mainly those related to socio-spatial segregation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  

Abstract Autism is a set of heterogeneous neurodevelopmental conditions, characterised by early-onset difficulties in social communication and restricted, repetitive behaviour and interests. The worldwide population prevalence is about 1% with an increasing incidence and prevalence rates. Autism affects more male than female individuals, and comorbidity is common (>70% have concurrent conditions). Determinants of these changes in incidence and prevalence rates may also be related to exposure to environmental factors and to modifications in diagnostic concepts and criteria. In spite of the uncertainty in determinants of incidence of autisms, there is evidence that environmental characteristics play a significant role both as autism risk factors and as potential obstacles that influence the capabilities of autonomously and fully “using” everyday spaces. The workshop aims to provide a framework on risk factors of autism and explore the relationship with the built environment, focusing on the quality of the everyday spaces and projecting the effects that it could have in the long term on achieving a desirable level of quality of life. The 11th Sustainable Development Goals of United Nations “Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable” underlines the necessity of designing policies and projects acting to enhance and promote healthy cities and communities by addressing the needs of the most vulnerable groups of inhabitants. Herewith we bring together the discipline of Public Health and Urban Design to promote an interdisciplinary debate on a little explored topic investigating how the approaches adopted during childhood to promote the wellbeing of people with ASD can be related or strengthen by focusing also on built environment design intervention to pursue and reach the same objectives even during adulthood. The workshop will consist of four presentations. The first focuses on giving an overview on current knowledge of intervention for people with autism, presenting also criteria for evidence-based interventions. The second explores the relationship between autism and built environment by providing an exhaustive framework of the available research literature in order to identify a first set of spatial requirements for autism friendly cities. The third examines the impact of built environment on ASD users with the aim of developing a specific evaluation tool for healthcare spaces and best practices formulation according to the specific sensorial hypo- or hyper-activation of people with autism. Finally, the fourth reports the results of a two years Research & Development project called “GAP REDUCE” finalized at developing an Assistive Technology tool to support people with ASD, adult and high-functioning, to plan urban itineraries towards daily destinations. Key messages World's incidence of autism is about 1% with an increasing incidence whose determining rates may also be related to environmental factors and to modifications in diagnostic concepts and criteria. Environmental characteristics play a significant role also as potential obstacles that influence the capabilities of people with autism of autonomously and fully “using” everyday spaces.


Author(s):  
Minou Weijs-Perrée ◽  
Gamze Dane ◽  
Pauline van den Berg

Urbanization brings major challenges with regard to livability and the health and quality of life of citizens [...]


Urban Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 37 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anh Hoang ◽  
Philippe Apparicio ◽  
Thi-Thanh-Hien Pham

In Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC, Vietnam), there is now an urgent need for evaluating access to parks in an effort to ensure better planning within the context of rapid and increasingly privatized urbanization. In this article, we analyze the provision and accessibility to parks in HCMC. To achieve this, the information gathered was then integrated into the geographical information systems (GISs). Based on an Ascending Hierarchical Classification, we were able to identify five different types ranging in their intrinsic characteristics. The accessibility measurements calculated in the GISs show that communities are located an average of at least 879 meters away from parks, which is a relatively short distance. Children have a level of accessibility comparable to that of the overall population. Accessibility also seems to vary greatly throughout the City—populations residing in central districts (planned before 1996) enjoy better accessibility compared to those in peripheral neighborhoods (planned after 1996). Parks located in areas planned between 1996 and 2002 are the least accessible, followed by parks in areas planned after 2003. Our findings suggest possible approaches that could be used to help ensure the quality of parks and their spatial accessibility.


2018 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
pp. 00080
Author(s):  
Krystyna Paprzyca

The quality of the urban environment determines a lasting relationship between a man and his place of residence. Sustainable management of the urban spaces is crucial as it directly affects their quality. The article analyses the results of the sustainability regarding spatial, socio-economic, technical and environmental aspects, which are one of the many conditions that contribute to the proper functioning of urban life. They also influence the quality of life and residence in the urban environment. There are different ways of expressing the development of the cities defined by specific indicators. They focus mainly on development of the quality of life - social, economic and environmental development. The sustainable urban design is related to issues connected with the form and spatial management. This topic is presented on the example of the city of Oświęcim - the Old Town district with the surrounding area.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-205
Author(s):  
Ni Ketut Ayu Siwalatri

Denpasar has a variety of heritage assets that are still used by the people. Living Culture or intangible cultural heritage refers to the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, and skills owned by the local community. Globalization and information technology are factors that influence people to change and reinterpret their traditions that have been carried out for generations. This paper aims to explore the role and rights of the community in safeguarding their architecture and the built environment. From this study can be concluded that the changes made to the architecture and built environment are mostly carried out by following the current trends as a representation of the economic capacity of the owner and sometimes ignoring the rules and knowledge/tatwa and norm/susila that were previously used by the community for the spatial arrangement of their environment. In the past, knowledge was possessed by Brahmins in the power of the king, and the people only carry out traditions with little knowledge of the meaning contained in it. The knowledge stored in artifacts needs to be socialized or published so the changes made are still rooted in the local cultural character and can maintain the identity of the city of Denpasar.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 172-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dalit Shach-Pinsly ◽  
Stefan Bindreiter ◽  
Idan Porat ◽  
Shai Sussman ◽  
Julia Forster ◽  
...  

The neighborhood renewal process is an important opportunity to update the built environment; however, major changes to the built environment might decrease spatial performance and environmental quality. In these processes, there is a need to evaluate urban renewal alternatives, especially the quality of the environment, to understand the performance of the newly designed built environment. The quality of the built environment depends on a variety of aspects (such as walkability, energy level, security, open spaces, water permeability, etc.), several of which can be assessed using diverse measurements and evaluation models. Current new technological developments, based on GIS, enable the evaluation of diverse aspects of environmental quality and promote urban renewal decision-making processes. Urban renewal needs to harness these models in the decision-making approaches to improve assessment processes of urban renewal alternative estimations that consider future performance and quality of the built environment. In this article, we present a 3D-GIS multiparametric scenario analysis for neighborhood renewal alternatives estimation to evaluate the performance and quality of the built environment as part of the decision-making process. The multiparametric approach will include an evaluation analysis of several aspects of environmental quality, including walkability, accessibility, sense of security, energy, shade, water infiltration, visibility, and more. The analysis results will indicate the level of performance for each aspect as indices for environmental quality. The multiparametric scenario analysis for neighborhood renewal will be conducted on three renewal alternatives for one neighborhood in the city of Hatzor HaGlilit, Israel.<p>In this article, we present a 3D-GIS multiparametric scenario analysis for neighborhood renewal alternatives estimation to evaluate the performance and quality of the built environment as part of the decision-making process. The multiparametric approach will include evaluation analysis of several aspects of the environmental quality, including walkability, accessibility, sense of security, energy, shade, water infiltration, visibility, and more. The analysis results will indicate the level of performance for each aspect, as indices for environmental quality. The multiparametric scenario analysis for neighborhood renewal will be conducted on three renewal alternatives for one neighborhood in the city of Hatzor-HaGlilit, Israel.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6442
Author(s):  
David Aouad ◽  
Noushig Kaloustian

The 4 August 2020 Port of Beirut blast caused material damage to an estimated 77,000 apartments located across 10,000 buildings within a 3 km radius of the blast, impacting around 300,000, people predominantly in the municipality of Karantina, which is situated adjacent to the Port of Beirut. The blast shed light on the instability and unsustainable development approach of the city of Beirut since well before the French mandate circa 1921–1940. The impact of the blast provides an opportunity to reassess the relationship between many relevant aspects of the city planning including but not limited to: the relationship of the city to its suburbs, waterfront, and city center; the lack of local planning and cross sectorial master plans; the preservation of the heritage versus the complexity of its urban development; the city growth and increased haphazard urbanization; the infrastructure/service systems that have over the years become increasingly deficient; the lack of public spaces; impacts on urban climate; and the urban divide and inequality that have only grown deeper since the blast, all of which have a combined and adverse impact on the quality of city life. This paper analyzes the most suitable indicators that one must highlight within the context of Beirut city to propose a better and sustainable quality of life with a focus on areas that were significantly impacted by the recent POB blast, namely Karantina. Examples of indicators which were analyzed include sustainable urban design, open spaces, heritage, infrastructure, and urban fabric. The results indicated that the following four main urban design features help improve the quality of life in Karantina, including: (i) connecting areas of Karantina and Mar Mkhael through the reactivation of vacant lots; (ii) reactivation of Ibrahim Bacha and El-Khodr Streets; (iii) redefining the historical El Khodr Mosque boundary and reclaiming its role as an urban landmark; and (iv) integration of classified built heritage. These parameters are necessary to improve the quality of life. The benefits of community participation are also assessed in the improvement and sustainable planning of the city of Beirut.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 951-954
Author(s):  
Oleksandra Osypchuk

The article discusses the process of shaping the quality of freight transport implemented for the needs of construction projects in the context of supply strategies selected by enterprises. Enterprises that carry out construction investments face different types of problems. One of these problems is the functioning of the supply chain. Building supplies as part of this chain are a weak point due to both organizational and quality problems. The article presents an analysis of solutions used in the implementation of construction supplies in the city of Szczecin and an attempt was made to analyze the process of shaping the quality of these deliveries.


2013 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 893-897 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.M. Stamenkovic ◽  
Svetlana Ristic ◽  
Tatjana Djekic ◽  
Tatjana Mitrovic ◽  
Rada Baosic

Air quality investigations have not been undertaken in Blace until now. Identifying the presence of different types of epiphytic lichens was performed in the summer 2012 in Blace (southeastern Serbia), and selected rural settlements around Blace, in order to establish the air quality of the area. The analysis of samples from described localities indicated the presence of 25 lichen taxa from 19 genera. Using the Index of Atmospheric Purity (IAP), it was found that there are 2 different air pollution zones in Blace: ?lichen desert? and ?transitional? or ?struggle zone?, which includes the periphery of the city. In these zones the air is moderately polluted. In the urban area of Blace there is no ?normal? zone, but one was detected in the surrounding rural areas.


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