Assessing Energy Poverty in Urban Regions of Mexico: The Role of Thermal Comfort and Bioclimatic Context

The increase of energy access to households has been a global priority. By 2018, 89.59% of the world population had access to electricity, while 97.26% of the persons living in urban areas (The Mexican Government reports it at 99.99%) had access. We must now move beyond access to electricity and address energy poverty in urban spaces. A household is energy poor when their inhabitants are incapable of securing proper domestic energy services. Several different methodologies were developed to measure energy poverty. The Multidimensional Energy Poverty Index (MEPI) by Nussbaumer has been successfully used in Africa and in Latin-America. The MEPI considers five dimensions: cooking, lighting, household appliances, entertainment/education and communication. We developed a Multidimensional Energy Deprivation Index (MEDI), based on MEPI. Thermal comfort has been included as sixth dimension, by considering the temperature of the region where the household is located. We found important differences between MEPI and MEDI for Mexico at the national level (urban-MEPI at 0.028 vs. 0.071 urban-MEDI, which implies a higher degree of energy poverty). Also, differences between geopolitical and bioclimatic regions were found. Having better ways to assess energy poverty in the urban context is a key factor to develop effective public policies that might alleviate it.

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Deprivation Counts: An Assessment of Energy Poverty in Pakistan

THE LAHORE JOURNAL OF ECONOMICS ◽

10.35536/lje.2017.v22.i1.a6 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 22 (1) ◽

pp. 109-132 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Rafat Mahmood ◽

Anwar Shah

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

National Level ◽

Living Standards ◽

Poverty Index ◽

Energy Poverty ◽

Provincial Level

This paper examines the energy–poverty nexus in Pakistan at the national and provincial level, using the multidimensional energy poverty index. Based on data from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement Survey for 2010/11, we find that the average household in Pakistan is 26.4 percent energy-poor. The study shows that the incidence of energy poverty is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, with a similar trend at the provincial level. A comparison with findings based on data from 2008/09 shows a slight decrease in energy poverty at the national level.

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The Perception of Thermal Comfort in Malaysia Public Low-Cost Housing

Built Environment Journal ◽

10.24191/bej.v18i2.9709 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 47

Author(s):

Kelvin Yong ◽

Zunaibi Abdullah ◽

Nazli Che Din

Keyword(s):

Pilot Study ◽

Qualitative Study ◽

Thermal Comfort ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Low Cost ◽

Living Environment ◽

Adaptive Behaviour ◽

Urban Context ◽

High Rise ◽

Considerable Impact

In Malaysia, the thermal comfort of low-cost high-rise housing has not been widely given a significant emphasis in the qualitative study despite its increasing scale and significance in the urban areas. Occupant’s perception and adaptive behaviour are important to achieve the level of satisfaction in terms of a comfortable living environment. This paper assesses the occupants’ perception and behaviour in a low-cost high-rise housing development that has been argued with various problems which have a considerable impact on lifestyle. Understanding of comfort as social and cultural behaviour, rather than an engineering approach. This research shows the results of a pilot study that utilized a qualitative strategy for analysing thermal comfort, rather than using the standard thermal comfort research methodologies. The building of study, in the category of low-cost high rise residential located at the urban context of Kuala Lumpur housing area, which is mainly natural ventilated with a versatile adaptive possibility available for the occupants. The outcomes signify the adaptive behaviour that enhances or limit the thermal comfort-related varieties. The results from the pilot study direct for more extensive research and comparison with previous qualitative studies. Keywords: Thermal comfort, Qualitative study, Occupant perception, Adaptive behaviour, Housing

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URBAN FACADE GEOMETRY ON OUTDOOR COMFORT CONDITIONS: A REVIEW

INDONESIAN JOURNAL OF URBAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY ◽

10.25105/urbanenvirotech.v4i1.7151 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 4 (1) ◽

pp. 45

Author(s):

Elahe Mirabi ◽

Nasrollahi Nazanin

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Natural Ventilation ◽

Flow Behavior ◽

Air Flow ◽

Urban Geometry ◽

Wide Range ◽

Low Energy Buildings ◽

Outdoor Comfort ◽

Solar Access

Designing urban facades is considered as a major factor influencing issues such as natural ventilation of buildings and urban areas, radiations in the urban canyon for designing low-energy buildings, cooling demand for buildings in urban area, and thermal comfort in urban streets. However, so far, most studies on urban topics have been focused on flat facades without details of urban layouts. Hence, the effect of urban facades with details such as the balcony and corbelling on thermal comfort conditions and air flow behavior are discussed in this literature review. Aim: This study was carried out to investigate the effective factors of urban facades, including the effects of building configuration, geometry and urban canyon’s orientation. Methodology and Results: According to the results, the air flow behavior is affected by a wide range of factors such as wind conditions, urban geometry and wind direction. Urban façade geometry can change outdoor air flow pattern, thermal comfort and solar access. Conclusion, significance and impact study: In particular, the geometry of the facade, such as indentation and protrusion, has a significant effect on the air flow and thermal behavior in urban facades and can enhance outdoor comfort conditions. Also, Alternation in façade geometry can affect pedestrians' comfort and buildings energy demands.

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Water for Life

10.1093/oso/9780190693152.003.0005 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Madeline Baer

Keyword(s):

Human Rights ◽

Citizen Participation ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Water Policy ◽

State Capacity ◽

National Level ◽

Human Right ◽

Political Will ◽

Water And Sanitation ◽

The Right

Chapter 5 provides a case study of the human rights-based approach to water policy through an analysis of the Bolivian government’s attempts to implement the human right to water and sanitation. It explores these efforts at the local and national level, through changes to investments, institutions, and policies. The analysis reveals that while Bolivia meets the minimum standard for the human right to water and sanitation in some urban areas, access to quality water is low in poor and marginalized communities. While the Bolivian government expresses a strong political will for a human rights approach and is increasing state capacity to fulfill rights, the broader criteria for the right to water and sanitation, including citizen participation and democratic decision-making, remain largely unfulfilled. This case suggests political will and state capacity might be necessary but are not sufficient to fulfill the human right to water and sanitation broadly defined.

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Green and Blue Space Availability and Self-Rated Health among Seniors in China: Evidence from a National Survey

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18020545 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (2) ◽

pp. 545

Author(s):

Chensong Lin ◽

Longfeng Wu

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Empirical Studies ◽

National Level ◽

The Elderly ◽

Coverage Ratio ◽

Self Rated Health ◽

Health Promoting ◽

Major River ◽

Urban And Rural Areas

Many empirical studies have shown evidence of multiple health benefits provided by green and blue spaces. Despite the importance of these spaces, investigations are scarce in details for blue spaces rather than green. Moreover, most research has focused on developed regions. A limited number of studies on blue spaces can be found in China with a focus on the city level. Outcomes have been mixed due to varying research scales, methodologies, and definitions. This study relies on a national-level social survey to explore how the self-rated health (SRH) of senior individuals is associated with local green and blue space availability in urban and rural areas. Results indicate that the coverage ratio of overall green spaces and waterbodies around a resident’s home have marginal effects on SRH status in both urban and rural areas. In urban areas, living close to a park can is marginally beneficial for older people’s health. Regarding different types of blue spaces, the presence of a major river (within 0.3–0.5 km) or coastline (within 1 km and 1–5 km) in the vicinity of home negatively affects SRH among the elderly in urban areas. Close proximity to lakes and other types of waterbodies with a water surface larger than 6.25 ha did not significantly influence SRH. These findings not only evaluate general health impacts of green/blue space development on senior populations across the county but inform decision makers concerning the health-promoting qualities and features of different green/blue spaces to better accommodate an aging population in the era of urbanization.

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Biomimicry-Based Strategies for Urban Heat Island Mitigation: A Numerical Case Study under Tropical Climate

Biomimetics ◽

10.3390/biomimetics6030048 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (3) ◽

pp. 48

Author(s):

Kevin Araque ◽

Paola Palacios ◽

Dafni Mora ◽

Miguel Chen Austin

Keyword(s):

Thermal Comfort ◽

Urban Heat Island ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Outdoor Thermal Comfort ◽

Base Case ◽

Heat Island ◽

Urban Heat ◽

Historical Heritage ◽

Pet Index ◽

Radiant Temperature

In recent years, demographic growth has caused cities to expand their urban areas, increasing the risk of overheating, creating insurmountable microclimatic conditions within the urban area, which is why studies have been carried out on the urban heat island effect (UHI) and its mitigation. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate the cooling potential in the application of strategies based on biomimicry for the microclimate in a historical heritage city of Panama. For this, three case studies (base case, case 1, and case 2) of outdoor thermal comfort were evaluated, in which the Envi-met software was used to emulate and evaluate the thermal performance of these strategies during March (highest temperature month) and October (rainier month). The strategies used were extracted from the contrast of zebra skin, human skin, evaporative cooling, and ant skin. The results showed a reduction of 2.8 °C in the air temperature at 11:00, the radiant temperature decreased by 2.2 °C, and the PET index managed to reduce the thermal comfort indicator among its categories. The importance of thinking based on biomimicry in sustainable strategies is concluded; although significant changes were obtained, high risks of discomfort persist due to the layout and proximity of the building.

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Urban Ecological Restoration

Nature and Culture ◽

10.3167/nc.2010.050301 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 5 (3) ◽

pp. 227-230 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Paul H. Gobster

Keyword(s):

Ecological Restoration ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Indigenous Species ◽

Reference Sites ◽

Urban Context ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Fixed Set ◽

Natural Diversity ◽

Urban Ecological Restoration

What does ecological restoration mean in an urban context? More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities, and in response to the dynamic patterns of urbanization, a growing number of ecologists, land managers, and volunteers are focusing their efforts in and around cities to restore remnants of natural diversity (Ingram 2008). Ecological restoration is still a quite youthful field, yet many scientists and practitioners hold a relatively fixed set of criteria for what defines a successful restoration project, irrespective of where sites are located. Among the criteria commonly stated, sites should be composed of indigenous species, have a structure and diversity characteristic of currently undisturbed or historically documented “reference” sites, and be maintained through ecological processes such as fire that ensure long-term sustainability with minimal human assistance (Ruiz-Jaén and Aide 2005; SER International 2004). Application of these criteria has led to many ecologically successful restorations, but some ecologists in the field have begun to question whether the same standards can be realistically applied to sites such as those within urban areas that have been radically altered by past human activity (e.g., Martínez and López-Barerra 2008) or are being influenced by novel conditions that result in unpredictable trajectories (Choi 2007). Perhaps more significantly, it is becoming increasingly recognized that the broader viability of restoration projects, especially those in urban areas, hinges on how socially successful they are in gaining public acceptance for restoration activities and practices, building constituencies to assist with implementation and maintenance, and addressing a broader set of sustainability goals that reach beyond the protection of native biodiversity (e.g., Choi et al. 2008; Hobbs 2007; Rosenzweig 2003).

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Influence of community satisfaction with individual happiness: comparative study in semi-urban and rural areas of Tikapur, Nepal

Global Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/1757975916672169 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 25 (3) ◽

pp. 22-32 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Myung-Bae Park ◽

Chun-Bae Kim ◽

Chhabi Ranabhat ◽

Chang-Soo Kim ◽

Sei-Jin Chang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rural Areas ◽

Physical Environment ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Positive Relationship ◽

National Level ◽

Medical Services ◽

Community Satisfaction ◽

Critical Factors ◽

Urban And Rural Areas

Happiness is a subjective indicator of overall living conditions and quality of life. Recently, community- and national-level investigations connecting happiness and community satisfaction were conducted. This study investigated the effects of community satisfaction on happiness in Nepal. A factor analysis was employed to examine 24 items that are used to measure community satisfaction, and a multiple regression analysis was conducted to investigate the effects of these factors on happiness. In semi-urban areas, sanitation showed a positive relationship with happiness. In rural areas, edu-medical services were negatively related to happiness, while agriculture was positively related. Gender and perceived health were closely associated with happiness in rural areas. Both happiness and satisfaction are subjective concepts, and are perceived differently depending on the socio-physical environment and personal needs. Sanitation, agriculture (food) and edu-medical services were critical factors that affected happiness; however, the results of this study cannot be generalized to high-income countries.

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Prevalence of Underweight, Overweight and Obesity in School-Aged Children in the Urban Area of the Northwestern Part of Romania

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18105176 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (10) ◽

pp. 5176

Author(s):

Tudor Lucian Pop ◽

Dana Maniu ◽

Daniela Rajka ◽

Cecilia Lazea ◽

Gabriel Cismaru ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Urban Area ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Severe Obesity ◽

Task Force ◽

National Level ◽

Overweight And Obesity ◽

Excess Weight ◽

World Health ◽

Northwestern Part ◽

Obesity In Children

Introduction: During the last three decades, there has been an excess weight epidemic due to changes in nutrition and lifestyle. Few data on the prevalence of overweight and obesity in children in Romania were published, without a single study representative at the national level. There are reports on the higher level of overweight and obesity in urban areas compared to rural ones. This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of underweight, overweight, obesity and severe obesity in children enrolled in schools from the urban area. Material and methods: For this cross-sectional study, children from 177 schools from the urban area of five counties from the northwestern part of Romania were included after the parents signed written informed consent. Anthropometric data were recorded (weight, height) based on World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations and Body-Mass-Index (BMI), and the z-score for BMI were calculated. The nutritional status was estimated using three reference criteria: WHO, International Obesity Task Force (IOTC) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Results: We analyzed data of 21,650 children (48.19% boys) age between 7 and 18 years. The prevalence of overweight was 13.8%, 16.2% and 20.3%, of obesity was 10.7%, 10.0% and 5.7% and of severe obesity was 5.1%, 1.2% and 1.6% (using WHO, CDC and IOTF cut-offs). Underweight was present in 5.2% (WHO), 6% (CDC) and 2.6% (IOTF). The highest prevalence of overweight (including obesity) was found in children aged 10 years, and the lowest in adolescents at 18 years. Boys have a higher prevalence of excess weight than girls. Using IOTF cut-offs, the prevalence of obesity and severe obesity was lower than using WHO criteria. Conclusions: The prevalence of overweight (including obesity) in children from the urban area of Western Romania was recorded at alarming levels, higher in boys and at the pre-puberty ages. There are significant differences based on the reference system used. It is important to correctly choose the reference for the definition of overweight and obesity to have the correct estimation of the target for public health measures.

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Mapping Buildings’ Energy-Related Features at Urban Level toward Energy Planning

Buildings ◽

10.3390/buildings11080322 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (8) ◽

pp. 322

Author(s):

Simone Ferrari ◽

Federica Zagarella ◽

Paola Caputo ◽

Giuliano Dall’O’

Keyword(s):

Energy Demand ◽

National Level ◽

Energy Planning ◽

Urban Context ◽

Existing Building ◽

Urban Buildings ◽

Usage Patterns ◽

Urban Level ◽

The City ◽

Insight Into

To boost energy efficiency in the building sector at urban and district scales, the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) for data collection and energy spatial analysis is relevant. As highlighted in many studies on this topic reported in literature, the correlation among available databases is complex due to the different levels of information. As the first part of a wide research aimed at estimating the energy demand of urban buildings, we present in this article a focus on the details of the GIS-based procedure developed to assess the main energy-related features of existing building stocks. The procedure is based on the elaboration of data from the Italian Topographic Databases, under provision at the national level according to the INSPIRE European Directive and the national General Census of Population and Houses. It enables one to calculate and map the urban built volume characterized by mostly diffuse use categories in an urban context (residential and offices), to which different equipment and building usage patterns can be associated, and by construction periods, featuring different technological solutions. The method has been applied to the city of Milan (Italy). An insight into the outcomes from the overall method of the wider research is also reported.

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