scholarly journals Forests as the key component of green belts surrounding urban areas

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Agnieszka Szczepańska ◽  
Adam Senetra

The development of Polish cities leads to the urbanization of the surrounding rural areas. This process induces changes in the land-use structure, which is manifested by the expansion of urbanized and developed areas at the expense of open areas. The National Urban Development Plan until 2030 has introduced the concept of obligatory green belts around metropolitan and regional hubs to prevent uncontrolled suburbanization and to promote rational urban development. Green belts are protective areas that serve numerous functions, increase the quality of life and promote the ecological cohesion of space. Green belts limit urban sprawl and maintain urban open spaces that are accessible to city residents for recreational purposes. They also contribute to the local climate and act as sanitary cordons. The main components of green belts are green spaces, river valleys and forests. Therefore, the size as well as the distribution of forests around urban centers are important considerations. This study analyzes the distribution and spatial continuity of forests and the spatial relationships (spatial autocorrelations) between the forests situated in the rural suburbia of Olsztyn in north-eastern Poland. Suburban municipalities were analyzed at the level of cadastral districts (villages). The aim of the analysis was to evaluate the spatial continuity of forests by grouping similar objects and identifying areas which could be included in green belts. The location quotient (LQ) and Gini’s coefficient were taken into account in the analysis of the spatial distribution of forests. Local Moran’s statistics were calculated and spatial clusters were identified to illustrate the diversity of the examined suburban space based on the similarity of the neighboring objects (cadastral districts) and to determine the statistical significance of these relationships. The results of the study reveal spatial irregularities and disproportions in the distribution of forests in the suburban zone of Olsztyn as well as the presence of local instabilities and discontinuities. The applied methods are a useful tool for evaluating, planning and optimizing the spatial distribution of forests around large urban centers. Spatial management solutions in the suburban zone should aim to eliminate spatial discontinuities and improve the quality of life of the local communities.

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 49-58
Author(s):  
Othman Mohammed ◽  
Hoshyar Rasul

This Study is an empiric- analytical research in city planning discipline was conducted in Sulaymaniyah city from Dec. 2015 until July 2017. Geographically Sulaymaniah situates north-east of Republic of Iraq. Like many other urban centers, Sulaymaniyah city as one of the congested urban areas in Kurdistan Region, is almost over populated and congested, resulting in accumulated problems in health-, economical-, services, technical-, social- and planning affairs, which leads to permanent degrading of the natural, and social environment and thus impact on the quality of life, Thus the main concern of this study is firstly finding out the reasons facts indeed responsible for the above described unsatisfied situations and then try to answer the questions whether planning methods (if any) manage to prepare answers to these urgent problems overwhelming the city? The study believes that the cardinal reasons for this situation are the effects of combinations of triple facts, namely: the exponential growth of human population in general- and accompanied problems-, the destroyed balance between rural and urban areas and the political vision of administrative machinery that focus on urban centers by neglecting countryside. The cumulative effect of these facts could be observed in form of many distinctive and at the same time interlocking elements leads to the problems that mentioned above. Among many elements involving, the study handles, analyzes and discusses only the elements indeed responsible for destroying the visual, physical and health conditions of the city inhabitants in Sulaymaniyah. Used criterion in determining these elements are the terms: active element, Passive Element, Critical element, and buffer element, which give the adequate answer to the arise questions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Dina Darwish ◽  
Mohsen Bayad ◽  
Mohamed Mahdy

The change in the pace of urbanization that Egypt is currently witnessing due to the massive population growth and the trend towards migration to some urban polarization centers has responded in a large and unbalanced urban transformation. The absence of a clear long-term strategy for urban development has affected the accumulation of investments in major cities. Alongside the challenge facing the development of new urban communities, is the result of interaction between the social situation, economic and urban and the environment that affects the human being to form a society characterized by the quality of life, which is the goal of development. If all these challenges did not achieve the results of quality of life, development has become deficient and unable to achieve its objectives and therefore the investments directed to this development is a waste of resources in a country that needs to deal with Resources efficiently and effectively, so as to achieve the maximum possible return of national income. Therefore The need to design an appropriate strategy aimed at Integration of parts of the State's urban space, as well as alleviating the regional disparities in the levels of urban development between different regions of the country, and achieving the greatest justice in the distribution of services and facilities and economic opportunities between citizens and regions, and Attracting residents from densely populated areas and territories to new urban centers with growing development and investment potential.


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Lisovskyi ◽  
◽  
Eu.O. Maruniak ◽  
I.V. Gukalova ◽  
A.A. Mozgovyi ◽  
...  

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aneta Bac ◽  
Magdalena Wróbel ◽  
Katarzyna Ogrodzka-Ciechanowicz ◽  
Edyta Michalik ◽  
Anna Ścisłowska-Czarnecka

Abstract The assessment of the six-week influence of Kinesio Taping combined with a rehabilitation on selected ultrasonography measurements, the level of disability, and the quality of life in patients with rotator cuff lesions. 60 participants were randomly assigned into a taping group (KT combined with a six-week rehabilitating protocol) and a control group (only rehabilitation protocol). In all patients the following assessments were performed twice: USG, UEFI and NHP questionnaires. In the examination of the subacromial space and the subacromial bursa in the taping group, no statistical significance was observed. A statistically significant change in the thickness of the muscles was obtained only for the thickness of the infraspinatus in the taping group. A statistically significant change was obtained in the assessment of tendinopathy only for the supraspinatus muscle in both groups. Within both groups a statistically significant difference was observed in the average UEFI and NHP scores; however, the differences in the scores obtained between the groups were not statistically significant. The use of KT with a rehabilitation program did not yield statistically significantly better results in the improvement of selected shoulder region indicators, the function of the upper limb and the quality of life.


Author(s):  
Yu-Tzu Wu ◽  
◽  
Linda Clare ◽  
Ian Rees Jones ◽  
Sharon M. Nelis ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the associations between quality of life and both perceived and objective availability of local green and blue spaces in people with dementia, including potential variation across rural/urban settings and those with/without opportunities to go outdoors. Methods This study was based on 1540 community-dwelling people with dementia in the Improving the experience of Dementia and Enhancing Active Life (IDEAL) programme. Quality of life was measured by the Quality of Life in Alzheimer’s Disease (QoL-AD) scale. A list of 12 types of green and blue spaces was used to measure perceived availability while objective availability was estimated using geographic information system data. Regression modelling was employed to investigate the associations of quality of life with perceived and objective availability of green and blue spaces, adjusting for individual factors and deprivation level. Interaction terms with rural/urban areas or opportunities to go outdoors were fitted to test whether the associations differed across these subgroups. Results Higher QoL-AD scores were associated with higher perceived availability of local green and blue spaces (0.82; 95% CI 0.06, 1.58) but not objective availability. The positive association between perceived availability and quality of life was stronger for urban (1.50; 95% CI 0.52, 2.48) than rural residents but did not differ between participants with and without opportunities to go outdoors. Conclusions Only perceived availability was related to quality of life in people with dementia. Future research may investigate how people with dementia utilise green and blue spaces and improve dementia-friendliness of these spaces.


Smart Cities ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 1058-1086
Author(s):  
Franklin Oliveira ◽  
Daniel G. Costa ◽  
Luciana Lima ◽  
Ivanovitch Silva

The fast transformation of the urban centers, pushed by the impacts of climatic changes and the dramatic events of the COVID-19 Pandemic, will profoundly influence our daily mobility. This resulted scenario is expected to favor adopting cleaner and flexible modal solutions centered on bicycles and scooters, especially as last-mile options. However, as the use of bicycles has rapidly increased, cyclists have been subject to adverse conditions that may affect their health and safety when cycling in urban areas. Therefore, whereas cities should implement mechanisms to monitor and evaluate adverse conditions in cycling paths, cyclists should have some effective mechanism to visualize the indirect quality of cycling paths, eventually supporting choosing more appropriate routes. Therefore, this article proposes a comprehensive multi-parameter system based on multiple independent subsystems, covering all phases of data collecting, formatting, transmission, and processing related to the monitoring, evaluating, and visualizing the quality of cycling paths in the perspective of adverse conditions that affect cyclist. The formal interactions of all modules are carefully described, as well as implementation and deployment details. Additionally, a case study is considered for a large city in Brazil, demonstrating how the proposed system can be adopted in a real scenario.


Author(s):  
Leonice Fumiko Sato Kurebayashi ◽  
Ruth Natalia Teresa Turrini ◽  
Talita Pavarini Borges de Souza ◽  
Carolina Felicio Marques ◽  
Renata Tavares Franco Rodrigues ◽  
...  

RESUMEN Objectives: to evaluate the effectiveness of the auricular protocol (APPA) in reducing pain and anxiety and improving the quality of life of the nursing staff of a hospital. Method: randomized clinical trial with an initial sample of 180 professionals divided into 4 groups Control (G1), Seed (G2), Needle (G3) and Tape (G4). The evaluation instruments were the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Pain Visual Analog Scale and Quality of Life instrument, applied at the start and after five and 10 sessions (five weeks). Descriptive statistics, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Cohen's d Index were used in the analysis. Results: there was a statistical difference (p < 0.05) for anxiety according to the repeated measures ANOVA, with better results for the G3 in the final assessment (Cohen's d index 1.08/17% reduction). There was a reduction of pain of 36% in G3 and 24% in G2 and a 13% increase in the mental aspect of quality of life for the G3, although without statistical significance. Conclusion: the APPA protocol reduced the anxiety levels of nursing staff after 10 sessions. Further studies are, however, suggested with new populations and in different contexts so that the results can be confirmed. RBR-5pc43m.


2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1645.1-1645
Author(s):  
J. J. Lerma ◽  
A. Gracia ◽  
A. Perez ◽  
A. Rueda ◽  
C. Molina ◽  
...  

Background:Objectives:Analyse the effect of secukinumab in terms of the patient´s own variables, specifically: fatigue, sleep, pain and quality of life in patients with psoriatic arthritis or spondyloarthritis.Methods:A multicentric longtitudinal observational prospective study was carried out at 6 months in patients who begin treatment with secukinumab. At the start and after 6 months the following data was collected on the outcome: pain through an visual analogue scale (VAS), fatigue using the FACIT-fatigue scale, sleeping problems using the insomnia severity index (ISI) and quality of life with the EuroQol-3L-5D and the PsAQoL.The sample can be described in terms of the distribution of the variables through measures of central tendency.It was analysed if the change after 6 months was statistically relevant using Student´s t-test for paired data in the case of FACIT, VAS, PsAQoL and ISI and chi-squared for the dimensions of the EQ-5D. The size of the effect of each of the measurements taken was calculated using Cohen’s D. the results are given grouped by disease and globally. The analysis was carried out using Stata v12 (College Station Tx, USA)Results:In table 1, the changes in the scales of normal distribution can be seen. Apart from general VAS, all the scales experience significant relevant changes. The PROs preferred by the patient with the best therapeutic response is the quality of sleep. The adjustment of the regression models does not produce changes in the results, apart from small adjustments to the condidence intervals (final column table 1). The subdomain in which the most significant change in the EQ-5D is produced is in that of pain and discomfort.Conclusion:After 6 months patients who begin treatment with secukinumab, present with improvements in all sizes of the effects of the treatment in the various studied scales. The improvement achieves global and generalised statistical significance after 6 months of study. The greatest effect is on sleep, quality of life and fatigue.The measurements of the outcomes reported by the patients are a clinical value added to our objective evaluations of the health and activity of the disease, and allow us, in a more integrated and comprehensive manner, to undertake a more exact and close evaluation of their state of health and wellbeing.Disclosure of Interests:JUAN JOSE LERMA: None declared, Antonio Gracia: None declared, Antonio Perez: None declared, Amalia Rueda: None declared, Clara Molina: None declared, M. Dolores Pastor: None declared, Isabel Balaguer Trull: None declared, Inmaculada Valiente: None declared, Cristina Campos Fernández: None declared, Javier Calvo: None declared, Loreto Carmona Grant/research support from: Novartis Farmaceutica, SA, Pfizer, S.L.U., Merck Sharp & Dohme España, S.A., Roche Farma, S.A, Sanofi Aventis, AbbVie Spain, S.L.U., and Laboratorios Gebro Pharma, SA (All trhough institution)


Author(s):  
Carlos Mena Canata ◽  
Rebeca Noemí Ruiz Vallejos

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of adenotonsillectomy on the quality of life of postoperative patients.The study is observational, cross-sectional, and retrospective. The files of all postoperative adenotonsillectomy patients in Otorhinolaryngology Service, Hospital de Clínicas, San Lorenzo Paraguay. The Obstructive sleep apnea – 18 questionnaire (OSA 18) was applied, asking patients about symptoms before and after surgery. An effective sample of 143 postoperative patients was obtained. The average age was 6.05 ± 2.08 years, 55.10% (81) were male and 44.89% (66) were female, 65.30% (96) were from urban areas and 34.69% (51) from the rural areas. The t test was performed for means of two paired samples, comparing the results of the Obstructive sleep apnea – 18 questionnaire surveys before and after surgery which presented a significant difference (p <0.05) with a tendency to improve the quality of life after surgery. It has been shown that there is a significant difference, a considerable improvement in the quality of life of patients after adenotonsillectomy.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document