scholarly journals PARAMETERS OF INTEREST FOR THE DESIGN OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE

Author(s):  
Marija Šperac ◽  
Dino Obradović

The urbanization process significantly reduced the permeability of land surfaces, which affected the changes of runoff characteristics and the relations in the hydrological cycle. In urban environments, the relationships within the hydrological cycle have changed in quantity, in particular: precipitation, air temperature, evaporation, and infiltration. By applying the green infrastructure (GI) to urban environments is beneficial for the water resources and the social community. GI has an effect on the improvement of ecological, economic, and social conditions. Using GI into urban areas increases the permeability of land surfaces, whereby decreasing surface runoff, and thus the frequency of urban floods. It also has a significant influence on the regulation of air quality, water purification, climate change impact, and the changes in the appearance of the urban environment. When planning and designing the GI, it is necessary to identify the type of GI and determine the size and location of the selected GI. Since each urban environment has its own characteristics, it is necessary to analyze them before deciding on the GI. The paper analyzed meteorological parameters (precipitation, air temperature, insolation, air humidity) affecting the selection of GI types, using the specific example of an urban environment – the City of Osijek, Croatia. Significant parameters when designing GI are operation and maintenance These parameters directly affect the efficiency of GI. The proper selection of GI and its location results in maximum gains: the reduction of land surface drainage - drainage of the sewage system, purification and retention of precipitation at the place of production, the improvement of air quality, and the improvement of living conditions in urban environments

Author(s):  
A. Ngie

Abstract. Urban Heat Island (UHI) is among some of the challenges plaguing urban environments. There is increase human population within urban environments especially in the developing world, which is a need to understand the climates for their wellbeing. The use of multispectral satellite remote sensing to investigate the climatic conditions through radiation measurement is applied across the two major South African cities. The thermal remote sensing technique applied for this study is the direct determination of land surface temperatures (LST) using multispectral thermal imagery (ETM+). In addition, meteorological data which included air temperature and relative humidity for the same satellite image dates were used. The LST values obtained showed Johannesburg has many micro heat islands scattered across the metro than in Cape Town. These areas of heat islands corresponded to areas of human settlement and more so the unplanned as opposed to the planned ones. The estimated LST values and observed air temperature values with an R2 of 0.9. It could be concluded that expansion of urban areas in South Africa has led to increased thermal radiation of land surface in densely populated areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 19-24
Author(s):  
P. Evdokimov

the article describes the problems of assessing the anthropogenic impact of human activity on natural com-plexes surrounding urbanized territories. Among the main research tasks are development of methodological foundations for assessing the quanti-tative and qualitative composition at anthropogenic impact on natural complexes surrounding urban areas. The main method of this research include a dialectical approach that focuses on generally accepted logi-cal research methods (analysis, systematic approach, generalization) and their synthesis using relevant in-formation materials. The author considered various methods of assessing the impact of various factors on the environment, and also carried out the examination of urban decisions related to the appointment of a category (status) the natural resources included in the urban environment in Moscow. The Russian capital is a European metropolis, the largest city-millionaire in Europe and a typical object of research to identify the effects of various anthropogenic factors. The implementation at economic activity in the metropolis is accompanied by the emergence of problems, the solution of which has not been found yet. Analysis of methods for assessing the impact at the various factors on the environment was carried out taking into account the provisions in regulatory documents governing the appointment for protected areas urban environment. Provisions of regulatory documents and decisions of executive authorities designed to use natural (forest) resources in urban environments. The absence of approved methods for assessing certain types of land plots with a protected status was identified. The main factors affecting the quality of biogeocenosis were identified. The main features of the applica-tion methods for assessing the status and possibility in recreational development in territories of varying de-grees at development are considered.


2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 7665-7687 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. L. Pérez Díaz ◽  
T. Lakhankar ◽  
P. Romanov ◽  
J. Muñoz ◽  
R. Khanbilvardi ◽  
...  

Abstract. Land Surface Temperature (LST) is a key variable (commonly studied to understand the hydrological cycle) that helps drive the energy balance and water exchange between the Earth's surface and its atmosphere. One observable constituent of much importance in the land surface water balance model is snow. Snow cover plays a critical role in the regional to global scale hydrological cycle because rain-on-snow with warm air temperatures accelerates rapid snow-melt, which is responsible for the majority of the spring floods. Accurate information on near-surface air temperature (T-air) and snow skin temperature (T-skin) helps us comprehend the energy and water balances in the Earth's hydrological cycle. T-skin is critical in estimating latent and sensible heat fluxes over snow covered areas because incoming and outgoing radiation fluxes from the snow mass and the air temperature above make it different from the average snowpack temperature. This study investigates the correlation between MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LST data and observed T-air and T-skin data from NOAA-CREST-Snow Analysis and Field Experiment (CREST-SAFE) for the winters of 2013 and 2014. LST satellite validation is imperative because high-latitude regions are significantly affected by climate warming and there is a need to aid existing meteorological station networks with the spatially continuous measurements provided by satellites. Results indicate that near-surface air temperature correlates better than snow skin temperature with MODIS LST data. Additional findings show that there is a negative trend demonstrating that the air minus snow skin temperature difference is inversely proportional to cloud cover. To a lesser extent, it will be examined whether the surface properties at the site are representative for the LST properties within the instrument field of view.


2020 ◽  
Vol 744 ◽  
pp. 140960 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuqiang Zhang ◽  
Jesse O. Bash ◽  
Shawn J. Roselle ◽  
Angie Shatas ◽  
Andrea Repinsky ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (13) ◽  
pp. 5468
Author(s):  
Yeeun Shin ◽  
Suyeon Kim ◽  
Sang-Woo Lee ◽  
Kyungjin An

Urban environmental issues such as declining air quality and increasing urban heat island effects can be managed by the effective use of urban green spaces. Consequently, the importance of green infrastructure (GI) has rapidly increased over time. While the various functions of GI have been investigated in numerous studies, limited research has focused on prioritizing those factors which impact the planning and development of GI. This study used literature reviews, expert surveys, and an analytic hierarchy process methodology to identify and prioritize the critical factors influencing GI during the design and construction process to enhance the role of GI in urban areas. Experts were asked to prioritize four primary (ecological, landscape, usability, and economic factors) and 16 secondary aspects of GI design. Respondents strongly agreed on the importance of the ecological aspects of GI, while the government sector also highlighted the importance of economic concerns, such as ongoing maintenance. Results indicated that the priorities for creating GI require further analysis and mediation between stakeholders. Further empirical evidence should be accumulated regarding the functions of GI for policy implementation in design and construction.


Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helge Simon ◽  
Joachim Fallmann ◽  
Tim Kropp ◽  
Holger Tost ◽  
Michael Bruse

Climate sensitive urban planning involves the implementation of green infrastructure as one measure to mitigate excessive heat in urban areas. Depending on thermal conditions, certain trees tend to emit more biogenic volatile organic compounds, which act as precursors for ozone formation, thus hampering air quality. Combining a theoretical approach from a box model analysis and microscale modeling from the microclimate model ENVI-met, we analyze this relationship for a selected region in Germany and provide the link to air quality prediction and climate sensitive urban planning. A box model study was conducted, indicating higher ozone levels with higher isoprene concentration, especially in NO-saturated atmospheres. ENVI-met sensitivity studies showed that different urban layouts strongly determine local isoprene emissions of vegetation, with leaf temperature, rather than photosynthetic active radiation, being the dominant factor. The impact of isoprene emission on the ozone in complex urban environments was simulated for an urban area for a hot summer day with and without isoprene. A large isoprene-induced relative ozone increase was found over the whole model area. On selected hot spots we find a clear relationship between urban layout, proximity to NOx emitters, tree-species-dependent isoprene emission capacity, and increases in ozone concentration, rising up to 500% locally.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwon Choi ◽  
Donghyun Jin ◽  
Noh-hun Seong ◽  
Daeseong Jung ◽  
Kyung-soo Han

<p>Recently, there are many problems in urban area such as urban thermal island phenomenon, changes in urban green area, changes in urban weather and various urban types. And surface temperature data have been utilized in many areas to identify these phenomena. This means that surface temperatures is an important position in urban greenery and weather. High temporal and spatial resolution satellite data are needed to continuously observe the phenomenon in urban areas. In addition, the surface temperature varies from type of indicator, topography, and various factors, so there is a limit to the in-situ data for observing changes throughout the city. Therefore, various organizations around the world are currently conducting surface temperature measurements using satellites. However, the use of data in clear pixel is essential for accurate surface temperature calculations using satellites, but the accuracy of results will be reduced if the data from in the pixel which conclude clouds.</p><p>Therefore, we tried to solve these problems by analyzing the correlation between the air temperature data and the Landsat-8 LST data. The variables used in the correlation analysis are air temperature, Landsat-8 LST, NDVI and NDWI, and the study period is 2014 to 2016 and the study area is South Korea's five cities (Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, Daegu, Gwangju). For correlation analysis, the air temperature data points provided by the Korea Meteorological Administration and the Landsat-8 pixels were matched, and the correlation coefficient calculated by the correlation analysis was applied to the Landsat-8 satellite to calculate the LST. We validated by direct comparison the re-produced Landsat-8 LST with observed Landsat-8 LST. And the result of validation showed a high correlation of 0.9. It shows that compensation for the satellite's shortcomings from clouds by using the correlation between temperature and LST.</p>


One Ecosystem ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e24490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario V Balzan ◽  
Iain Debono

Recreation is an important cultural ecosystem service and is one way in which communities experience the direct and indirect benefits arising from the experiential use of their environment. The recent rise in popularity of Global Positioning System (GPS) game applications, which combine information technology with an activity that increases mobility and encourages outdoor enjoyment, provides ecosystem service practitioners with an opportunity to make use of this georeferenced data to assess recreational ecosystem services. Geocaching is one such worldwide outdoor game. It has fixed points of incursion where people can hide and look for caches. This study explores the possibility of using geocaching data as a proxy for recreational ecosystems services in the Maltese Islands. A quantitative analysis of the georeferenced caches was used together with their visit rates and number of favourite points. This was supplemented by two questionnaires that investigated the preferences and experiences of both geocache placers (n=39) and hunters (n=21). Results show that the highest number of caches were placed and searched for in urban areas and that geocaching is strongly associated with the presence and accessibility of urban green infrastructure. The number of geocachers who stated preference for experiences in nature did not translate into high visit rates to sites of high conservation value (protected areas) but landscape value was significantly associated with recreational ecosystem services flow. The results presented here provide evidence that geocaching spatial data can act as an indicator for assessing and mapping recreational ecosystem services in urban environments and in cultural landscapes.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alby Duarte Rocha ◽  
Stenka Vulova ◽  
Christiaan van der Tol ◽  
Michael Förster ◽  
Birgit Kleinschmit

Abstract. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a fundamental variable to assess water balance and urban heat island effect. ET is deeply dependent on the land cover as it derives mainly from the processes of soil evaporation and plant transpiration. The majority of well-known process-based models based on the Penman-Monteith equation focus on the atmospheric interfaces (e.g. radiation, temperature and humidity), lacking explicit input parameters to describe the land surface. The model Soil-Canopy-Observation of Photosynthesis and Energy fluxes (SCOPE) accounts for a broad range of surface-atmosphere interactions to predict ET. However, like most modelling approaches, SCOPE assumes a homogeneous vegetated landscape to estimate ET. Urban environments are highly fragmented, exhibiting a blend of pervious and impervious anthropogenic surfaces. Whereas, high-resolution remote sensing (RS) and detailed GIS information to characterise land surfaces is usually available for major cities. Data describing land surface properties were used in this study to develop a method to correct bias in ET predictions caused by the assumption of homogeneous vegetation by process-based models. Two urban sites equipped with eddy flux towers presenting different levels of vegetation fraction and imperviousness located in Berlin, Germany, were used as study cases. The correction factor for urban environments has increased model accuracy significantly, reducing the relative bias in ET predictions from 0.74 to −0.001 and 2.20 to −0.13 for the two sites, respectively, considering the SCOPE model using RS data. Model errors (i.e. RMSE) were also considerably reduced in both sites, from 0.061 to 0.026 and 0.100 to 0.021, while the coefficient of determination (R2) remained similar after the correction, 0.82 and 0.47, respectively. This study presents a novel method to predict hourly urban ET using freely available RS and meteorological data, independently from the flux tower measurements. The presented method can support actions to mitigate climate change in urban areas, where most the world population lives.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-62
Author(s):  
Milan Tomić ◽  
Sandra Rover ◽  
Bojan Pejović ◽  
Nina Uremović

Different types of interactions between rural and urban areas have the effect of improving economic, social, cultural and political dimensions in both areas, separating these two areas by their type of activity. Rural and urban types of regions have different resources and means that can be used in a complementary way. In rural-urban interaction there is a possibility of occurrence of conflict of interest of these two areas. This kind of conflict should be overcome when applying the partnership approach between rural and urban areas. The types of rural areas, depending on the proximity of the urban center and the functions of these areas, are divided into suburban, agricultural and remote type areas. By determining the functions of each type of area, the type and intensity of the interactions of rural areas with the urban center are presented. Rural entrepreneurs are able to bridge rural-urban differences, possessing certain market knowledge and descriptions of the characteristics of urban environments, while benefiting from their position. Rural entrepreneurs' interaction with the urban environment can contribute to sustainable economic relations between citizens in urban and rural areas. This paper presents the results of research related to determining the functions of certain areas, their strengths, unused and utilized resources, the frequency of interaction with the urban environment and the perspectives of suburban, agricultural and remote type areas in the context of interaction with the urban environment.


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