scholarly journals Strengthening heritage tunnels to enhance the resilience of Wellington’s transport network

2021 ◽  
Vol 54 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-116
Author(s):  
Eleni Gkeli ◽  
Pathmanathan Brabhaharan ◽  
Dejan Novakov ◽  
Siva Arumugam ◽  
Gunasekaran Mookaiya
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Case Histories ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Hilly Terrain ◽  
Road Tunnels ◽  
Earthquake Design ◽  
The City ◽  
High Seismicity

Wellington city is characterised by steep hilly terrain, and as such several tunnels have been constructed since the beginning of the last century to provide critical transport access in the city. These tunnels are still used today as part of the city’s transport routes, while also being an integral part of the city’s history and heritage. Wellington is among the most seismically active areas in New Zealand. Three major active faults located within the Wellington Region and the proximity to the subduction zone are the main contributors to the high seismicity. The aging tunnels were designed and constructed prior to the advent of earthquake design standards and are subject to deterioration. Hence, they require maintenance and strengthening to ensure operational integrity and resilience to earthquake and other hazard events. Authorities have been supported by the authors in managing the risk through identifying key vulnerabilities, and prioritisation and implementation of strengthening measures. Best practice investigation and strengthening techniques have been applied through the process to ensure resilience and cost effectiveness. The paper presents case histories that highlight the value of investigations and assessment in understanding the risks, and novel strengthening measures developed to enhance resilience while preserving the heritage of the tunnels. Case histories include the seismic strengthening of the Hataitai Bus Tunnel, the Northland and Seatoun road tunnels and the investigation and assessment of the iconic Wellington Cable Car tunnels.

scholarly journals Cost-effectiveness of new MDR-TB regimens: study protocol for the TB-PRACTECAL economic evaluation substudy

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e036599
Author(s):  
Sedona Sweeney ◽  
Gabriela Gomez ◽  
Nichola Kitson ◽  
Animesh Sinha ◽  
Natalia Yatskevich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Economic Evaluation ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Current Treatment ◽  
Outcome Data ◽  
London School ◽  
Main Trial ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Mdr Tb ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionCurrent treatment regimens for multidrug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) are long, poorly tolerated and have poor outcomes. Furthermore, the costs of treating MDR-TB are much greater than those for treating drug-susceptible TB, both for health service and patient-incurred costs. Urgent action is needed to identify short, effective, tolerable and cheaper treatments for people with both quinolone-susceptible and quinolone-resistant MDR-TB. We present the protocol for an economic evaluation (PRACTECAL-EE substudy) alongside an ongoing clinical trial (TB-PRACTECAL) aiming to assess the costs to patients and providers of new regimens, as well as their cost-effectiveness and impact on participant poverty levels. This substudy is based on data from the three countries participating in the main trial.Methods and analysisPrimary cost data will be collected from the provider and patient perspectives, following economic best practice. We will estimate the probability that new MDR-TB regimens containing bedaquiline, pretomanid and linezolid are cost-effective from a societal perspective as compared with the standard of care for MDR-TB patients in Uzbekistan, South Africa and Belarus. Analysis uses a Markov model populated with primary cost and outcome data collected at each study site. We will also estimate the impact of new regimens on prevalence of catastrophic patient costs due to TB.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been obtained from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Médecins Sans Frontières. Local ethical approval will be sought in each study site. The results of the economic evaluation will be shared with the country health authorities and published in a peer-reviewed journal.Trial registration numberClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT04207112); Pre-results.

scholarly journals Multi-level Governance in Refugee Housing and Integration Policy: a Model of Best Practice in Leverkusen

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eli Auslender
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Collaborative Governance ◽  
Governance Structure ◽  
Integration Policy ◽  
German Government ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Integration Management ◽  
Multi Level ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The City

AbstractThis paper will explore a model of best practice, the Leverkusen Model, as well as its impact on both the city and the refugees it serves by utilising key stakeholder interviews, civil servants, non-profits, and Syrian refugees living in Leverkusen. The core argument to be presented here is that the dynamic fluidity of the Leverkusen Model, where three bodies (government, Caritas, and the Refugee Council) collaborate to manage the governance responsibilities, allows for more expedited refugee integration into society. This paper utilises an analytical model of multi-level governance to demonstrate its functional processes and show why it can be considered a model of best practice. Started in 2002, the Leverkusen Model of refugee housing has not only saved the city thousands of euros per year in costs associated with refugee housing, but has aided in the cultivation of a very direct, fluid connection between government, civil society, and the refugees themselves. Leverkusen employs a different and novel governance structure of housing for refugees: with direct consultations with Caritas, the largest non-profit in Germany, as well as others, refugees who arrive in Leverkusen are allowed to search for private, decentralised housing from the moment they arrive, regardless of protection status granted by the German government. This paper fills a gap in the existing literature by addressing the adaptation of multi-level governance and collaborative governance in local refugee housing and integration management.

Domestic and international best practice in research and testing glass for load-bearing structures of buildings

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (4) ◽  
pp. 5-19
Author(s):  
I. I. Vedyakov ◽  
D. V. Konin ◽  
A. A. Egorova ◽  
I. V. Rtishcheva
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Glass Structure ◽  
Deformation Modulus ◽  
Distinct Pattern ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Load Bearing ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Scientific Technical ◽  
Testing Standards

The present work provides an overview and analysis of scientific, technical, regulatory, and methodical Russian and foreign literature regarding using glass as a material for load-bearing structures of buildings. In the absence of design standards, an experimental study of usually one or two samples is necessary each time glass structure is used; however, this is insufficient to determine the distinct pattern of material performance. Since jointing the glass structures has been rarely studied, the number of tests is minimal, thus preventing establishing the unambiguous material operation and its calculated physical and mechanical characteristics. The article considers and evaluates the test results of glass structures obtained by various methods. The particular values of ultimate stresses and deformation modulus lie in a wide range. The technology, manufacturing process, and starting materials have a significant influence on the characteristics of glass, including multilayer glass. This article stresses the need for developing regulatory technical and methodical documents, the design and testing standards for glass structures and their jointing. It is necessary to classify load-bearing glass structures by various criteria.

scholarly journals Investigating and boosting walkability in Sulaimani’s mixed-use streets: Jamal Irfan street as a case study

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariwan Jamal ◽  
Wanawsha Khasraw ◽  
Shaey Khabat ◽  
Rozhen K. Mohammed-Amin
Keyword(s):  
Urban Design ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Mixed Use ◽  
Transit Use ◽  
Mental Well Being ◽  
The City

Walkable cities, neighborhoods, and streets promote good health. A growing number of research show compelling evidence about the positive impacts of walkable neighborhoods and streets on everything from real-estate values to health, mental well-being, crime rate, safety feeling, creativity, and even making cities more democratic. Walkability has health, environmental, and economic benefits. For example, several studies found that people in walkable neighborhoods have a higher amount of physical activity and were substantially less likely to be overweight or obese than those living in low-walkable neighborhoods. Walkable neighborhoods and streets incorporate features that promote regular walking, cycling and public transit use. While the city of Sulaimani in general suffers from lack of walkable neighborhoods and streets, due to many factors including incomplete streets, some of the city’s neighborhoods and streets have potential for becoming effective walkable neighborhoods and streets. The recent mixed use developments and re-developments in some of the areas and streets in the city have attracted a large number of people and increased the necessity of making those areas and streets more pedestrian-friendly and walkable. This research aims at investigating walkability characters in Sulaimani city’s recently developed mixed-use streets through closely examining a representing case study, Jamal Irfan street. The research then proposes strategies, guidelines, and urban design interventions that make those streets more pedestrian friendly according to urban design standards.

Trendy urbanists, innovation laboratories and best practices: in pursuit of ‘progressive’ urban planning in Mexico City

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (0) ◽  
pp. 1-21
Author(s):  
Ryan A. Whitney
Keyword(s):  
Latin America ◽  
Urban Planning ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Mexico City ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Cutting Edge ◽  
Sustainable City ◽  
The City

This research explores the role of trendy urbanists in best practice uptake within an innovation laboratory in Latin America. Trendy urbanists are the privileged professionals who aspire to be on the cutting edge of urban planning, frequently referencing best practice policies and programmes that they see as supporting ‘livable’ and ‘sustainable’ city building. Taking the case of the Laboratory for the City in Mexico City, I illustrate that the preferred best practices of trendy urbanists are reflective of their own privilege. I conclude that, by relying on best practices and trendy urbanists, innovation laboratories are susceptible to fostering inequitable planning outcomes.

scholarly journals Industry Best Practice Risk based design for LPG Facility: Gap in Bangladesh practice

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-11
Author(s):  
Kamrul Islam ◽  
Sharmin Sultana
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Chemical Engineering ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Mitigation Measures ◽  
Risk Level ◽  
Ambient Conditions ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Safety Issues ◽  
Safety Distance ◽  
Safety Regulations

Bangladesh safety regulations and practice is at nascent stage. Safety distance regulation for LPG installation does not match with prescriptive standard API 2510 or other international standards. No detail technical basis is available publicly for such decision making by authority. The present study focuses on risk based design best practice in industries and gap in Bangladesh safety regulations. World LPG industry faces major accidents with fatalities and huge damages. Setting up bigger safety distance with conventional firefighting equipment is not the only mitigation measures to solve complex safety issues of LPG facilities. These two parameters do not ensure whether facility risk is tolerable and ALARP. Apart from this, safety distance and protection system design varies with facility layout, wind flows, systems reliability and site ambient conditions. For accident cases, hazards consequence modeling is carried out to calculate safety distances. Industry best practice is to apply risk based design that quantify complex risk level of a facility, propose mitigation measures and thereby risk acceptance criteria in the early phase of the project for authority approval. Many countries follow such detail regulation. Regulations of API, ISO, HSE UK and NORSOK, petroleum authority Norway have been utilized as basic standards in this paper. Gap in Bangladesh safety regulations are identified. This need to be further assessed based on industry best practice risk based design standards and practices. Without appropriate regulation, Bangladesh LPG industry and society remains in enormous intolerable personnel, environmental and economic risk.Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol. 30, No. 1, 2017: 8-11

scholarly journals Contrasting seismic risk for Santiago, Chile, from near-field and distant earthquake sources

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ekbal Hussain ◽  
John R. Elliott ◽  
Vitor Silva ◽  
Mabé Vilar-Vega ◽  
Deborah Kane
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Seismic Risk ◽  
Near Field ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Seismic Risk Analysis ◽  
Earthquake Sources ◽  
Maule Earthquake ◽  
The City ◽  
Distant Earthquake

Abstract. More than half of all the people in the world now live in dense urban centres. The rapid expansion of cities, particularly in low-income nations, has enabled the economic and social development of millions of people. However, many of these cities are located near active tectonic faults that have not produced an earthquake in recent memory, raising the risk of losing the hard-earned progress through a devastating earthquake. In this paper we explore the possible impact that earthquakes can pose to the city of Santiago in Chile from various potential near-field and distant earthquake sources. We use high resolution stereo satellite imagery and derived digital elevation models to accurately map the trace of the San Ramón Fault, a recently recognised active fault located along the eastern margins of the city. We use scenario based seismic risk analysis to compare and contrast the estimated damage and losses to the city from several potential earthquake sources and one past event, comprising (i) rupture of the San Ramón Fault, (ii) a hypothesised buried shallow fault beneath the centre of the city, (iii) a deep intra-slab fault, and (iv) the 2010 Mw 8.8 Maule earthquake. We find that there is a strong magnitude-distance trade-off in terms of damage and losses to the city, with smaller magnitude earthquakes on more local faults, in the magnitude range 6–7.5, producing 9 to 17 times more damage to the city and estimated fatalities compared to the great magnitude 8+ earthquakes located offshore on the subduction zone. Our calculations for this part of Chile show that unreinforced masonry structures are the most vulnerable to these types of earthquake shaking. We identify particularly vulnerable districts, such as Ñuñoa, Santiago and Macul, where targeted retrofitting campaigns would be most effective at reducing potential economic and human losses. Due to the potency of near-field earthquake sources demonstrated here, our work highlights the importance of also identifying and considering proximal minor active faults for cities in seismic zones globally, in addition to the more major distant large fault zones that are typically focused on in the assessment of hazard.

scholarly journals On the Road to Sustainable Urban and Transport Development in the Automobile Society? Traced Narratives of Car-Reduced Neighborhoods

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4375 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sina Selzer ◽  
Martin Lanzendorf
Keyword(s):  
Best Practice ◽  
Controversial Issues ◽  
Research Perspective ◽  
Housing Developments ◽  
Implementation Processes ◽  
The Road ◽  
Car Traffic ◽  
On The Road ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The City

Worldwide, academics and practitioners are developing ‘planning-oriented’ approaches to reduce the negative impacts of car traffic for more sustainable urban and transport development. One such example is the design of car-reduced neighborhoods, although these are controversial issues in the hegemonic ‘system’ of automobility. Despite the reduction of emissions and frequent recognition as ‘best practice examples’, ‘planning-critical’ research questions the underlying objectives and narratives of such sustainable developments. Our study contributes to this research perspective by improving the understanding of narratives that emerge along with car-reduced housing developments. For this purpose, we analyze two car-reduced neighborhoods in the City of Darmstadt (Germany) by conducting interviews with different actors involved in the planning and implementation processes. Our investigation reveals that the development of car-reduced neighborhoods (i) is consciously embedded in the context of sustainability, (ii) is characterized by power relations, (iii) follows normative indicators, and (iv) does not always correspond to lived realities. Altogether, the traced narratives of car-reduced neighborhoods are embedded in the overarching debate on sustainability, while at the same time revealing the dependence of society on the automobile. Thus, the hegemonic ‘system’ of automobility—although it is beginning to crack—continues to exist.

scholarly journals Estimation of the High-Frequency Attenuation Parameter Kappa for the Zagreb (Croatia) Seismic Stations

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (24) ◽  
pp. 8974
Author(s):  
Davor Stanko ◽  
Snježana Markušić ◽  
Tvrtko Korbar ◽  
Josip Ivančić
Keyword(s):  
High Frequency ◽  
Pannonian Basin ◽  
Epicentral Distance ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Seismic Zone ◽  
Seismic Stations ◽  
Regional Tectonic ◽  
Surrounding Areas ◽  
The City

The city of Zagreb (Croatian capital) is situated in the contact area of three major regional tectonic units: the SE Alps, NW Dinarides, and Tisza Unit in the southwestern margin of the Pannonian Basin. The Zagreb seismic zone encompasses the Medvednica Mountains and the city of Zagreb with its surrounding areas, which was struck by the strongest instrumentally recorded earthquake (M5.5) on 22 March 2020. The objective of this contribution is the estimation of the high-frequency attenuation spectral parameter kappa (κ) and its local site-specific component for the Zagreb (Croatia) seismic stations to which we were particularly encouraged after the scale of the damage after the Zagreb 2020 earthquake. We tested linear dependence of κ with epicentral distance using traditional linear least square regression, linear regression for data with errors, and constrained model at close distances to estimate near-site attenuation (κ0). Regression-estimated site kappa values at zero-distance are within the range of the uncertainty (±1 standard deviation) with constrained κ0 value as well within the range of existing global κ0 and VS30 (shear wave velocity in the top 30 m) values. Spatial distribution of κ within the Zagreb seismic zone shows that κ is not isotropic and high-frequency attenuation anisotropy is probably affected by local and regional geological variability, regional active faults and a complex tectonic structure in each direction.

Design norms and live load development by the example of saint petersburg depot of reinforced concrete automobile road bridges

2018 ◽  
pp. 344-357
Author(s):  
Andrei Belyi ◽  
Eduard Karapetov ◽  
Ekaterina Tsygankova
Keyword(s):  
Reinforced Concrete ◽  
Statistical Analysis ◽  
Highway Bridges ◽  
Concrete Bridge ◽  
Live Load ◽  
Design Standards ◽  
Saint Petersburg ◽  
Reinforced Concrete Bridge ◽  
Standard Design ◽  
The City

Objective: To analyze and cover the statistical data concerning the development and application of live load and relevant design standards by the example of Saint Petersburg bridge constructions. Methods: A comprehensive three-stage analysis of technical documentation on the operated reinforced concrete bridge constructions of the city was applied. Historical and technical review of norms and specifications of design, since the end of the 19th century was conducted. Systematization, statistical analysis and splitting into stages and groups were carried out. Results: The article presents the development of design standards and temporary loads of reinforced concrete highway bridges. The statistics is made on the basis of the depot of Saint Petersburg bridges. The latter is characterized by the increased esthetic, and difficult technical operation features. Classification of temporary loads on structures of Saint Petersburg since 1891 was carried out. The stages of occurrence and formation of circulating load norms were analyzed. A certain feature in regulation of requirements for urban bridges was singled out. Examples of the relevant objects were given. A number of conclusions concerning the evolution of design standards were made. Practical importance: Taking into account the specifi city of the large megalopolis, management of technical condition of bridge constructions in Saint Petersburg represents an extremely responsible and difficult task. Authentic, exact and relevant data on the history of design of facilities, circulating load (both design and current) is necessary for the solution of the task in question. Statistical analysis was carried out to apply operation of reinforced concrete bridge constructions in practice as the most mass transportation facilities of the city. From a practical point of view the data in question will make it possible to provide and support the set standard (design) levels of reliability, safety and durability of bridge constructions with a sufficient share of probability.

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