Community Preferences for Urban Systems Transformation in Australia

Civil society engagement is important for enabling urban systems transformations that meet community needs. The development of Future Earth Australia’s Sustainable Cities and Regions: A 10-Year Strategy for Urban Systems was underpinned by cross-sectoral workshops in 7 Australian urban areas and interviews with key stakeholders to create a shared vision of both current and desired future urban structure and policy. We then created an online survey to gauge broader community feedback on the vision which emerged from these workshops and interviews, to compare their outcomes with the views of community members who could be directly impacted by urban decision-making. The survey consisted of 35 questions, which were shaped by the issues emerging from the workshops and interviews. The sample was self-selected, and the 641 respondents represented a cross-section of individuals interested in sustainable cities. Our survey results supported and expanded on the major conclusions of FEA’s National workshop and interview processes, including the need to develop transparent and responsive decision-making processes, limit waste and pollution and develop effective housing and transport alternatives with mixed-use neighborhoods and adequate green space.

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Toward Agricultural Intersectionality? Farm Intergenerational Transfer at the Fringe. A Comparative Analysis of the Urban-Influenced Ontario's Greenbelt, Canada and Toulouse InterSCoT, France

Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems ◽

10.3389/fsufs.2021.759638 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

Author(s):

Mikaël Akimowicz ◽

Karen Landman ◽

Charilaos Képhaliacos ◽

Harry Cummings

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Comparative Analysis ◽

Structural Change ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Institutional Environment ◽

Investment Decision ◽

Shared Vision ◽

Intergenerational Transfer ◽

Positive Role ◽

Farm Model

Peri-urban agriculture can foster the resilience of metropolitan areas through the provision of local food and other multifunctional agricultural amenities and externalities. However, in peri-urban areas, farming is characterized by strong social uncertainties, which slow the intergenerational transfer of farm operations. In this article, we tackle the beliefs that underlie farmers' decision-making to identify planning opportunities that may support farm intergenerational transfers. The design of an institutionalist conceptual framework based on Keynesian uncertainty and Commonsian Futurity aims to analyze farmers' beliefs associated with farm intergenerational transfer dynamics. The dataset of this comparative analysis includes 41 interviews with farmers involved in animal, cash-crop, and horticulture farming in the urban-influenced Ontario's Greenbelt, Canada, and Toulouse InterSCoT, France, during which farmers designed a mental model of their investment decision-making. The results highlight the dominance of a capital-intensive farm model framed by a money-land-market nexus that slows farm structural change. The subsequent access inequalities, which are based on characteristics of farmers and their farm projects, support the idea of the existence of an agricultural intersectionality. The results also highlight the positive role of the institutional context; when farmers' beliefs are well-aligned with the beliefs that shape their institutional environment, the frictions that slow farm structural change in peri-urban areas are moderated by a shared vision of the future.

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Would you Make the Right Decision? – Decision Making Biases in Economy - Related Dilemmas

Valahian Journal of Economic Studies ◽

10.2478/vjes-2018-0006 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 59-66

Author(s):

Zsuzsanna Gödör ◽

Georgina Szabó

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Online Survey ◽

Framing Effect ◽

Economic Knowledge ◽

Bank Account ◽

Financial Decisions ◽

Hungarian Population ◽

The Moment ◽

The Right ◽

Decision Making Biases

Abstract As they say, money can’t buy happiness. However, the lack of it can make people’s lives much harder. From the moment we open our first bank account, we have to make lots of financial decisions in our life. Should I save some money or should I spend it? Is it a good idea to ask for a loan? How to invest my money? When we make such decisions, unfortunately we sometimes make mistakes, too. In this study, we selected seven common decision making biases - anchoring and adjustment, overconfidence, high optimism, the law of small numbers, framing effect, disposition effect and gambler’s fallacy – and tested them on the Hungarian population via an online survey. In the focus of our study was the question whether the presence of economic knowledge helps people make better decisions? The decision making biases found in literature mostly appeared in the sample as well. It proves that people do apply them when making decisions and in certain cases this could result in serious and costly errors. That’s why it would be absolutely important for people to learn about them, thus increasing their awareness and attention when making decisions. Furthermore, in our research we did find some connection between decisions and the knowledge of economics, people with some knowledge of economics opted for the better solution in bigger proportion

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Engineering in the time of cholera: overcoming institutional and political challenges to rebuild Zimbabwe's water and sanitation infrastructure in the aftermath of the 2008 cholera epidemic

Journal of Water Sanitation and Hygiene for Development ◽

10.2166/washdev.2013.143 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 3 (2) ◽

pp. 222-229 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Clarissa Brocklehurst ◽

Murtaza Malik ◽

Kiwe Sebunya ◽

Peter Salama

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Large Scale ◽

Humanitarian Aid ◽

Urban Systems ◽

Political Crisis ◽

Rapid Improvement ◽

Cholera Epidemic ◽

Rapid Action ◽

Water And Sanitation Infrastructure ◽

Urban Rehabilitation

A devastating cholera epidemic swept Zimbabwe in 2008, causing over 90,000 cases, and leaving more than 4,000 dead. The epidemic raged predominantly in urban areas, and the cause could be traced to the slow deterioration of Zimbabwe's water and sewerage utilities during the economic and political crisis that had gripped the country since the late 1990s. Rapid improvement was needed if the country was to avoid another cholera outbreak. In this context, donors, development agencies and government departments joined forces to work in a unique partnership, and to implement a programme of swift improvements that went beyond emergency humanitarian aid but did not require the time or massive investment associated with full-scale urban rehabilitation. The interventions ranged from supply of water treatment chemicals and sewer rods to advocacy and policy advice. The authors analyse the factors that made the programme effective and the challenges that partners faced. The case of Zimbabwe offers valuable lessons for other countries transitioning from emergency to development, and particularly those that need to take rapid action to upgrade failing urban systems. It illustrates that there is a ‘middle path’ between short-term humanitarian aid delivered in urban areas and large-scale urban rehabilitation, which can provide timely and highly effective results.

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The Influence of Friends on Teen Vaping: A Mixed-Methods Approach

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18136784 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (13) ◽

pp. 6784

Author(s):

Allison L. Groom ◽

Thanh-Huyen T. Vu ◽

Robyn L. Landry ◽

Anshula Kesh ◽

Joy L. Hart ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Peer Influence ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Online Survey ◽

Strong Association ◽

Self Esteem ◽

Demographic Variables ◽

Common Source ◽

Sources Of Information

Vaping is popular among adolescents. Previous research has explored sources of information and influence on youth vaping, including marketing, ads, family, peers, social media, and the internet. This research endeavors to expand understanding of peer influence. Our hypothesis is that friends’ influence on teen vapers’ first electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) use varies by demographic variables and awareness of ENDS advertising. In August–October 2017, youth (n = 3174) aged 13–18 completed an online survey to quantify ENDS behaviors and attitudes and were invited to participate in follow-up online research in November-December 2017 to probe qualitative context around perceptions and motivations (n = 76). This analysis focused on the ENDS users, defined as having ever tried any ENDS product, from the survey (n = 1549) and the follow-up research (n = 39). Among survey respondents, friends were the most common source of vapers’ first ENDS product (60%). Most survey respondents tried their first ENDS product while “hanging out with friends” (54%). Among follow-up research participants, the theme of socializing was also prominent. ENDS advertising and marketing through social media had a strong association with friend networks; in fact, the odds of friends as source of the first vaping experience were 2 times higher for those who had seen ENDS ads on social media compared with other types of media. The influence of friends is particularly evident among non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanics/Latinos, those living in urban areas, those living in high-income households, those with higher self-esteem, and those who experiment with vaping. These findings support the premise that peer influence is a primary social influencer and reinforcer for vaping. Being included in a popular activity appears to be a strong driving force.

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THU0647-HPR SHARED DECISION MAKING AMONGST RHEUMATOLOGISTS IN TRAINING IN THE NETHERLANDS: WHERE DO WE STAND?

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases ◽

10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-eular.4142 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽

pp. 568.2-568

Author(s):

L. Kranenburg ◽

M. Dankbaar ◽

N. Basoski ◽

W. Van den Broek ◽

J. Hazes

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

The Netherlands ◽

Shared Decision Making ◽

Online Survey ◽

Daily Practice ◽

Clear Understanding ◽

Shared Decision ◽

Professional Activities ◽

Self Evaluation ◽

The Subject

Background:The training curriculum for rheumatologists in training in the Netherlands describes competences and entrusted professional activities (EPA) to monitor the progress in learning. However, this training program does not discuss training of Shared Decision Making. As the basis for shared care and patient participation is made during these years, the question arises how rheumatologist in training think about Shared Decision Making and how they use this in daily practice.Objectives:Inventory of vision, experience and self-evaluation of skills related to Shared Decision Making amongst rheumatologists in training in the Netherlands in order to identify barriers in the implementation of Shared Decision Making in daily practice.Methods:Qualitative data was collected from on online survey amongst rheumatologists in training who were registered in January 2018 by the Dutch Society of Rheumatology.Results:Forty-two rheumatologists in training from various years of training responded (60%). Respondents think that Shared Decision Making is important. A third applies Shared Decision Making on a regular basis in daily practice. Self rating of skills for Shared Decision Making varies from sufficient to good. However, respondents are uncertain about their performance due to a lack of feedback and unclearness of the concept. They indicate that Shared Decision Making is not possible for all patients and find it difficult to assess whether the patient has a clear understanding of the options. Patient’s preferences are discussed only by 33% of the doctors on a regular basis when starting new treatment.Conclusion:Rheumatologists in training agree on the importance of Shared Decision Making, but are uncertain about their performance. Unclearness of the concept is described as a known barrier in literature1,2and is frequently mentioned by respondents. Rheumatologist in training indicate that not all patients are fit for Shared Decision Making. Regarding the limited training on the subject this could also be a misjudgment of patients preferences and lack of experience how to deal with different patient types. There is a clear plea for more training and feedback on the subject. Training should be integrated in the curriculum focusing on how to assess patients preferences and how to apply Shared Decision Making also for patients who indicate to leave decisions up to their doctor.References:[1]van Veenendaal, H.et al.Accelerating implementation of shared decision-making in the Netherlands: An exploratory investigation.Patient Educ Couns101, 2097-2104 (2018).[2]Legare, F., Ratte, S., Gravel, K. & Graham, I. D. Barriers and facilitators to implementing shared decision-making in clinical practice: update of a systematic review of health professionals’ perceptions.Patient Educ Couns73, 526-535 (2008).Disclosure of Interests:Laura Kranenburg Grant/research support from: Pfizer and UCB for the development of the Reuma App, a tool to support selfmanagement for patients. This is not used for the research related to the submitted abstract., Mary Dankbaar: None declared, Natalja Basoski: None declared, Walter Van den Broek: None declared, Johanna Hazes: None declared

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Public knowledge, preferences and experiences about medical substitute decision-making: a national cross-sectional survey

BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care ◽

10.1136/bmjspcare-2020-002619 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. bmjspcare-2020-002619

Author(s):

Marcus Sellars ◽

Julien Tran ◽

Linda Nolte ◽

Ben White ◽

Craig Sinclair ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Online Survey ◽

Public Knowledge ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Medical Decisions ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Minimal Support ◽

Substitute Decision Maker ◽

Final Sample ◽

Advance Care

ObjectiveTo describe the Australian adult public’s knowledge and experiences regarding substitute decision-making for medical decisions and their preferences for obtaining information about the substitute decision-maker (SDM) role.MethodsThis is a national cross-sectional online survey of the Australian adult public. The survey examined participants’ advance care planning (ACP) awareness and experience, SDM experiences and preferences for obtaining more information about SDM, and participant knowledge about SDM.ResultsOf 1586 people who opened the survey, 1120 (70.6%) were included in the final sample. 13% (n=142) of participants indicated they had acted as an SDM. A median score of two correct responses out of five showed low to moderate knowledge about the SDM role among all participants, with only 33% reporting awareness of SDM laws existing in Australia. While most (59%) participants ranked a health professional as their preferred source of obtaining information about supporting SDMs, few participants who had been an SDM (n=64, 45%) reported obtaining any support in making medical decisions. The median SDM knowledge scores for people who had discussed ACP (3.0 vs 2.0, U=1 45 222, z=6.910, p<0.001), documented their ACP preferences (3.0 vs 2.0, U=71 984, z=4.087, p<0.001) or acted in the SDM role (3.0 vs 2.0, U=56 353, z=−3.694, p<0.001) were significantly higher compared with those who had not.ConclusionsThe Australian public may have low to moderate knowledge about the SDM role and access only minimal support when making challenging medical decisions.

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A Study on Urban Inundation Using SWMM in Busan, Korea, Using Existing Dams and Artificial Underground Waterways

Water ◽

10.3390/w13121708 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 1708

Author(s):

Yeon-Moon Choo ◽

Sang-Bo Sim ◽

Yeon-Woong Choe

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Flood Damage ◽

Virtual Model ◽

Sustainable Cities ◽

Annual Average ◽

New Methods ◽

Average Rainfall ◽

Reduction Methods ◽

Urbanized Areas

The annual average rainfall in Busan area is increasing, causing frequent flooding of Busan’s Suyeong and Oncheon rivers. Due to the increase in urbanized areas and climate change, it is difficult to reduce flood damage. Therefore, new methods are needed to reduce urban inundation. This study models the effects of three flood reduction methods involving Oncheon River, Suyeong River, and the Hoedong Dam, which is situated on the Suyeong. Using EPA-SWMM, a virtual model of the dam and the rivers was created, then modified with changes to the dam’s height, the installation of a floodgate on the dam, and the creation of an underground waterway to carry excess flow from the Oncheon to the Hoedong Dam. The results of this study show that increasing the height of the dam by 3 m, 4 m, or 6 m led to a 27%, 37%, and 48% reduction in flooding, respectively, on the Suyeong River. It was also found that installing a floodgate of 10 × 4 m, 15 × 4 m, or 20 × 4 min the dam would result in a flood reduction of 2.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Furthermore, the construction of the underground waterway could lead to an expected 25% flood reduction in the Oncheon River. Measures such as these offer the potential to protect the lives and property of citizens in densely populated urban areas and develop sustainable cities and communities. Therefore, the modifications to the dam and the underground waterway proposed in this study are considered to be useful.

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People’s Avoidance of Neighboring Agricultural Urban Green Infrastructure: Evidence from a Choice Experiment

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13126930 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (12) ◽

pp. 6930

Author(s):

Shinsuke Kyoi

Keyword(s):

Spatial Econometrics ◽

Green Infrastructure ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Choice Experiment ◽

Online Survey ◽

Agricultural Land ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Urban Green ◽

Ishikawa Prefecture ◽

Urban Green Infrastructure

This study evaluates people’s preferences regarding the proximity of their residence to agricultural urban green infrastructure (UGI), such as agricultural land and satoyama, and discusses the availability of these types of land as UGI. UGI is vital for reducing the negative environmental impacts of urban areas, as these impacts are too large to ignore. In this study, we conducted an online survey and a choice experiment to investigate people’s perceptions regarding the proximity of their residence to agricultural UGI (AUGI). The respondents of the choice experiment were 802 inhabitants of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, which has rich agricultural resources. To examine explicitly the spatial autocorrelation of people’s preferences, in this study, we used the spatial econometrics method. The main empirical findings are that people prefer agricultural land far away from their residence—more than 1000 m, not within 1000 m—which reflects the not-in-my-backyard phenomenon. Meanwhile, people’s preferences regarding proximity to satoyama are complicated and their preferences are positively spatially autocorrelated. The results indicate that policymakers and urban planners should manage and provide AUGI far away from residential areas; otherwise, they must address people’s avoidance of neighboring AUGI.

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Urban Structure in Troubled Times: The Evolution of Principal and Secondary Core/Periphery Gaps through the Prism of Residential Land Values

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13105722 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (10) ◽

pp. 5722

Author(s):

Erez Buda ◽

Dani Broitman ◽

Daniel Czamanski

Keyword(s):

Urban Areas ◽

Hedonic Model ◽

Land Values ◽

Test Case ◽

Urban Structure ◽

Residential Real Estate ◽

Residential Land ◽

Ideal Candidate ◽

Modern Cities ◽

Spatial Level

The structure of modern cities is characterized by the uneven spatial distribution of people and activities. Contrary to economic theory, it is neither evenly distributed nor entirely monocentric. The observed reality is the result of various feedbacks in the context of the interactions of attraction and repulsion. Heretofore, there is no agreement concerning the means to measuring the dimensions of these interactions, nor the framework for explaining them. We propose a simple model and an associated method for testing the interactions using residential land values. We claim that land values reflect the attractiveness of each location, including its observable and unobservable characteristics. We extract land values from prices of residences by applying a dedicated hedonic model to extensive residential real estate transaction data at a detailed spatial level. The resulting land values reflect the attractiveness of each urban location and are an ideal candidate to measure the degree of centrality or peripherality of each location. Moreover, assessment of land values over time indicates ongoing centralization and peripheralization processes. Using the urban structure of a small and highly urbanized country as a test case, this paper illustrates how the dynamics of the gap between central and peripheral urban areas can be assessed.

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Dynamic Decision Making System for Public Transport Routes

International Journal of System Dynamics Applications ◽

10.4018/ijsda.2016070103 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 47-70 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Maria Spichkova ◽

Margaret Hamilton

Keyword(s):

Decision Making ◽

Information System ◽

Public Transport ◽

User Satisfaction ◽

Spatial Planning ◽

Formal Model ◽

Dynamic Decision Making ◽

Sustainable Cities ◽

Decision Making System ◽

Green Software

This paper presents a formal model of a decision making system for public transport routes. The approach focuses on (1) environmental and societal sustainability aspects of green software engineering, (2) spatial planning and optimisation for smarter sustainable cities, and (3) user satisfaction with this information system for the various contexts of passenger, driver and overall system view.

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