scholarly journals Nature-Based Units as Building Blocks for Resource Recovery Systems in Cities

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (22) ◽  
pp. 3153
Author(s):  
Eric D. van Hullebusch ◽  
Aida Bani ◽  
Miguel Carvalho ◽  
Zeynep Cetecioglu ◽  
Bart De Gusseme ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Resource Recovery ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Efficient Resource ◽  
Source Level ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Water Nutrients

Cities are producers of high quantities of secondary liquid and solid streams that are still poorly utilized within urban systems. In order to tackle this issue, there has been an ever-growing push for more efficient resource management and waste prevention in urban areas, following the concept of a circular economy. This review paper provides a characterization of urban solid and liquid resource flows (including water, nutrients, metals, potential energy, and organics), which pass through selected nature-based solutions (NBS) and supporting units (SU), expanding on that characterization through the study of existing cases. In particular, this paper presents the currently implemented NBS units for resource recovery, the applicable solid and liquid urban waste streams and the SU dedicated to increasing the quality and minimizing hazards of specific streams at the source level (e.g., concentrated fertilizers, disinfected recovered products). The recovery efficiency of systems, where NBS and SU are combined, operated at a micro- or meso-scale and applied at technology readiness levels higher than 5, is reviewed. The importance of collection and transport infrastructure, treatment and recovery technology, and (urban) agricultural or urban green reuse on the quantity and quality of input and output materials are discussed, also regarding the current main circularity and application challenges.

scholarly journals PLANNING OF SPATIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (164) ◽  
pp. 31-36
Author(s):  
O. Bezlyubchenko ◽  
T. Apatenko
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Urban Space ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Spatial Development ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The City

The work is devoted to the consideration of the concepts of the spatial development of the cities of Ukraine taking into account today's specifics of the formation of institutes of their management. The issues discussed in this article are relevant to almost any city in modern Ukraine at the stage of transition of the country from industrial to post-industrial type. Among the most pressing issues are the rational use of territorial resources and environmental security within urban systems. There is also a trend of uneven economic development in urban areas. The solution to this problem is the balanced development of urban space with a diversified economy and infrastructure, as well as high quality of life. The formation of multifunctional urban areas will ensure sustainable spatial development of the city and significantly affect the quality of life. Identifying areas within the city that are inefficiently used and have additional development potential will provide an important resource, which, unlike remote areas, is already provided with transport and engineering infrastructure. Efficient use of territorial resources will allow the formation of a rational compact planning structure of the city. The housing of high quality should be provided with the necessary social and transport infrastructure, be diverse, medium, and multi-story. Comfortable stay of citizens in public spaces involves the integration of public spaces into the cultural life of the city based on the expansion of existing and introduction of new functional content, including the implementation of commercial initiatives and their use in organizing important socio-cultural projects. A comfortable stay in the city largely depends on the architectural appearance of its historic and modern buildings. Existing buildings create the front line of streets, form the environment of public spaces, define the line of the city silhouette. Filling the existing recreational areas included in the system of public spaces with new meanings to citizens.

Pollination of cycads in an urban environment

Botany ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 333-339
Author(s):  
Lilí Martínez-Domínguez ◽  
Fernando Nicolalde-Morejón ◽  
Francisco Vergara-Silva ◽  
Dennis Wm. Stevenson
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Life Cycles ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Insect Communities ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Dioon Edule ◽  
The City

Research on urban systems has documented the contributions of cities as sites where insect pollinators undergo their life cycles, contributing to the reproduction of many groups of plants. However, reports of plants whose reproduction is assisted by specialist pollinators under conditions prevalent in cities are scarce. Cycads and insect pollinators are threatened mainly by loss and modification of their habitats. Here, we describe two cases in which cycad species from two genera distributed in Mexico (Ceratozamia tenuis (Dyer) D.W. Stev. & Vovides and Dioon edule Lindl.) reproduce and germinate successfully in urban areas, aided by insects, near their natural distribution areas. The plants examined were artificially planted in different gardens within the city of Xalapa-Enríquez. We found that specimens two genera of insect pollinators, Pharaxonotha sp. (Erotylidae: Pharaxonothinae) on C. tenuis, and Parallocorynus sp., (Belidae: Oxycoryninae) on D. edule, can survive in cycad pollen strobili, maintaining ecological interactions as they would occur in wild, conserved environments. In addition, we found beetles in ovulate strobili during the pollen receptivity phase, which suggests that they effectively reach ovulate strobili with pollen from pollen strobili. Characterization of this gymnosperm–beetle pollination system, which is unexpected in urban areas due the effects of human disturbance on insect communities, could promote new conservation biology research on flagship species in environments and landscapes shaped by anthropogenic impacts.

scholarly journals Automatic Parametrization of Urban Areas Using ALS Data: The Case Study of Santiago de Compostela

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Soilán ◽  
Belén Riveiro ◽  
Patricia Liñares ◽  
Andrea Pérez-Rivas
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Maximum Efficiency ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Santiago De Compostela ◽  
Cloud Data ◽  
Laser Scanners ◽  
Using Data

Nowadays, gathering accurate and meaningful information about the urban environment with the maximum efficiency in terms of cost and time has become more relevant for city administrations, as this information is essential if the sustainability or the resilience of the urban structure has to be improved. This work presents a methodology for the automatic parametrization and characterization of different urban typologies, for the specific case study of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), using data from Aerial Laser Scanners (ALS). This methodology consists of a number of sequential processes of point cloud data, using exclusively their geometric coordinates. Three of the main elements of the urban structure are assessed in this work: intersections, building blocks, and streets. Different geometric and contextual metrics are automatically extracted for each of the elements, defining the urban typology of the studied area. The accuracy of the measurements is validated against a manual reference, obtaining average errors of less than 3%, proving that the input data is valid for this assessment.

Problems of Development of Small and Medium Russian Towns

2019 ◽  
pp. 24-29
Author(s):  
V V. Kafidov ◽  
V. N. Filippov ◽  
I. P. Filippova
Keyword(s):  
Urban Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Physical Space ◽  
Living Environment ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Conceptual Approach ◽  
Fundamental Factor ◽  
New Buildings

The presented study addresses the problems of development of small and medium towns in Russia. Aim. The study aims to examine a town as a socio-economic environment where its residents exist and as the fundamental factor for the development of society.Tasks. The authors identify key problems in the development of small and medium Russian towns, which interferes with the historical appearance and has a negative impact on the living environment.Methods. Problems in the development of small and medium towns in Russia are examined using theoretical methods: systematic approach, statistical analysis, social and philosophical analysis.Results. The study identifies the main negative effects of the existing model of development of small and medium Russian towns, such as destruction of their historical and cultural appearance, distortion of the overall architectural motif, increased load on communications, and congestion of the transport infrastructure.Conclusions. At the current stage, efficient development of small and medium towns in Russia is impossible within the framework of the existing infill development. This chaotic process cannot be stopped without a new conceptual approach and changes in the legislative and normative framework of urban development. The only factor that determines the boundaries of the existing approach to urban development is the lack of physical space for new buildings in urban areas. The authors formulate proposals that would help to solve the problems of development of small and medium towns in Russia. 

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

2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 222-229 ◽  
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.

scholarly journals Challenges and Opportunities in Early Stage Planning of Transport Infrastructure Projects: Environmental Aspects in the Strategic Choice of Measures Approach

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1295
Author(s):  
Sofia Eckersten ◽  
Berit Balfors ◽  
Ulrika Gunnarsson-Östling
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Road Traffic ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Strategic Choice ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Infrastructure Projects ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Transport Planning

The Strategic Choice of Measures (SCM) approach aims to integrate different perspectives and identify measures to adapt new infrastructure projects to their local context at an early stage of Swedish transport planning. SCM is a loosely structured framework for collaboration between actors from, e.g., municipalities and the Swedish Transport Administration, in order to facilitate the coordination of transport planning and land use planning. This paper aims to explore the consideration of environmental aspects in early-stage transport planning by analyzing the SCM approach. An explorative research approach is applied based on literature studies, semi-structured interviews, and a focus group interview. The result shows that in the SCM process, environmental aspects such as noise and air pollution generated by road traffic in urban areas, engage the actors, whereas aspects related to landscape and water were perceived as poorly addressed and received less attention. The consideration of environmental aspects in the SCM process is affected by the local and national authorities’ different interests and the competences involved. To consolidate environmental aspects in early transport planning, these aspects need to be explicitly addressed in the SCM guidelines and the link between the SCM and preceding and following planning stages needs to be strengthened.

scholarly journals An Eco-Friendly Multimodal Route Guidance System for Urban Areas Using Multi-Agent Technology

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 2057
Author(s):  
Abdallah Namoun ◽  
Ali Tufail ◽  
Nikolay Mehandjiev ◽  
Ahmed Alrehaili ◽  
Javad Akhlaghinia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Traffic Flow ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Transport Infrastructure ◽  
Guidance System ◽  
Planning System ◽  
Flow Density ◽  
Route Guidance ◽  
Agent Based

The use and coordination of multiple modes of travel efficiently, although beneficial, remains an overarching challenge for urban cities. This paper implements a distributed architecture of an eco-friendly transport guidance system by employing the agent-based paradigm. The paradigm uses software agents to model and represent the complex transport infrastructure of urban environments, including roads, buses, trolleybuses, metros, trams, bicycles, and walking. The system exploits live traffic data (e.g., traffic flow, density, and CO2 emissions) collected from multiple data sources (e.g., road sensors and SCOOT) to provide multimodal route recommendations for travelers through a dedicated application. Moreover, the proposed system empowers the transport management authorities to monitor the traffic flow and conditions of a city in real-time through a dedicated web visualization. We exhibit the advantages of using different types of agents to represent the versatile nature of transport networks and realize the concept of smart transportation. Commuters are supplied with multimodal routes that endeavor to reduce travel times and transport carbon footprint. A technical simulation was executed using various parameters to demonstrate the scalability of our multimodal traffic management architecture. Subsequently, two real user trials were carried out in Nottingham (United Kingdom) and Sofia (Bulgaria) to show the practicality and ease of use of our multimodal travel information system in providing eco-friendly route guidance. Our validation results demonstrate the effectiveness of personalized multimodal route guidance in inducing a positive travel behavior change and the ability of the agent-based route planning system to scale to satisfy the requirements of traffic infrastructure in diverse urban environments.

scholarly journals Characterization of Astaxanthin Nanoemulsions Produced by Intense Fluid Shear through a Self-Throttling Nanometer Range Annular Orifice Valve-Based High-Pressure Homogenizer

Molecules ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (10) ◽  
pp. 2856
Author(s):  
Gary B. Smejkal ◽  
Edmund Y. Ting ◽  
Karthik Nambi Arul Nambi ◽  
Richard T. Schumacher ◽  
Alexander V. Lazarev
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Hydrodynamic Diameter ◽  
Fluid Shear ◽  
Particle Size Reduction ◽  
Annular Gap ◽  
Oil In Water ◽  
High Pressure Homogenizer ◽  
Pass Through

Stable, oil-in-water nanoemulsions containing astaxanthin (AsX) were produced by intense fluid shear forces resulting from pumping a coarse reagent emulsion through a self-throttling annular gap valve at 300 MPa. Compared to crude emulsions prepared by conventional homogenization, a size reduction of over two orders of magnitude was observed for AsX-encapsulated oil droplets following just one pass through the annular valve. In krill oil formulations, the mean hydrodynamic diameter of lipid particles was reduced to 60 nm after only two passes through the valve and reached a minimal size of 24 nm after eight passes. Repeated processing of samples through the valve progressively decreased lipid particle size, with an inflection in the rate of particle size reduction generally observed after 2–4 passes. Krill- and argan oil-based nanoemulsions were produced using an Ultra Shear Technology™ (UST™) approach and characterized in terms of their small particle size, low polydispersity, and stability.

scholarly journals Community Preferences for Urban Systems Transformation in Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4749
Author(s):  
Milo Costanza-van den Belt ◽  
Tayanah O’Donnell ◽  
Robert Webb ◽  
Eleanor Robson ◽  
Robert Costanza ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Shared Vision ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Urban Structure ◽  
Sustainable Cities ◽  
Community Needs ◽  
National Workshop ◽  
Systems Transformation

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.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document