scholarly journals Key problems of seismic zoning of urban areas adjacent to the Mongolia-Siberian region (by the example of Erdenet town)

Author(s):  
VI Dzhurik ◽  
T Dugarmaa ◽  
SP Serebrennikov ◽  
Ts Batsaikhan

The first approximation approach to seismic zoning of the areas adjacent to the Mongolia-Siberian region has been followed by the example of Erdenet town. The grounds have been given for problematic stages of working: study of some regular trends of seismic setting and current level of initial seismicity of the area; identification of seismic activity areas and assessment of their seismic potential; seismic modeling of sites with the most typical soil conditions; model theoretical calculating of basic parameters of seismic effects and model zoning of the investigated area. Technically, the stages of Erdenet town case study can serve as a basis for seismic zoning of the areas of interest that are adjacent to the Mongolia-Siberian region.The work has been done under financial support of RFBR project No. 07-05- 90111.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/pmas.v0i4.38Proceedings of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences 2007 No 4 pp.17-35

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 703
Author(s):  
Astrid Vannoppen ◽  
Jeroen Degerickx ◽  
Anne Gobin

Attractive landscapes are diverse and resilient landscapes that provide a multitude of essential ecosystem services. The development of landscape policy to protect and improve landscape attractiveness, thereby ensuring the provision of ecosystem services, is ideally adapted to region specific landscape characteristics. In addition, trends in landscape attractiveness may be linked to certain policies, or the absence of policies over time. A spatial and temporal evaluation of landscape attractiveness is thus desirable for landscape policy development. In this paper, landscape attractiveness was spatially evaluated for Flanders (Belgium) using landscape indicators derived from geospatial data as a case study. Large local differences in landscape quality in (i) rural versus urban areas and (ii) between the seven agricultural regions in Flanders were found. This observed spatial variability in landscape attractiveness demonstrated that a localized approach, considering the geophysical characteristics of each individual region, would be required in the development of landscape policy to improve landscape quality in Flanders. Some trends in landscape attractiveness were related to agriculture in Flanders, e.g., a slight decrease in total agricultural area, decrease in dominance of grassland, maize and cereals, a decrease in crop diversity, sharp increase in the adoption of agri-environmental agreements (AEA) and a decrease in bare soil conditions in winter. The observed trends and spatial variation in landscape attractiveness can be used as a tool to support policy analysis, assess the potential effects of future policy plans, identify policy gaps and evaluate past landscape policy.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (15) ◽  
pp. 8575
Author(s):  
Félix Escolano Sánchez ◽  
Francisco Parra Idreos ◽  
Manuel Bueno Aguado

Over the coming years, developments of large urban areas are expected, many of them on plots where soil conditions may not be the most suitable for building. This is the case of plots that previously have been used for dumping anthropic fill deposits. The term anthropic fill included a large variety of materials, all of them related with human activity; but this paper is mainly focused on natural materials extracted from nearby excavations or construction debris that form non-contaminated lands. In a review of literature related to risks, it is observed that in the last 10 years there have been abundant investigations to determine vulnerability in urban areas. However, the risks derived from the presence of anthropic landfills have generally been overlooked. For this reason, there is a real need to quantify construction vulnerability in areas settled on anthropic landfills. A methodology, up to now unknown, must be created to estimate and extrapolate it to any part of the world. The aim is to avoid the likelihood of pathologies appearing in urban areas. Hence, and to address this lack of knowledge, an Integrated Evaluation Model has been developed. Its purpose is to quantify, simply but effectively, the construction vulnerability index in already consolidated areas of historic landfills. The proposed model has been validated in a very popular district of the city of Madrid. Its surface, the number of buildings affected and population involved make it truly representative.


2012 ◽  
Vol 92 (1) ◽  
pp. 191-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa A. Iverson ◽  
Emma P. Holmes ◽  
A. A. Bomke

Iverson, M. A., Holmes, E. P. and Bomke, A. A. 2012. Development and use of rapid reconnaissance soil inventories for reclamation of urban brownfields: A Vancouver, British Columbia case study. Can. J. Soil Sci. 92: 191–201. As a result of suburban growth and abandonment and relocation of industrial facilities, vacant lots are becoming common in most urban centers in North America. These neglected, derelict, and often contaminated brownfields are receiving attention as a public liability since they are not productive and detract from the environmental quality of urban centres. Soils at these urban sites have been negatively impacted by anthropogenic activities. A prerequisite to effective reclamation is knowledge about the soil conditions on these sites. Most urban areas do not have soil survey or soil inventory information. Soil physical factors such as compaction are common problems at sites and are difficult and expensive to modify. A soil inventory provides the initial information for remediation and reclamation strategies that incorporate inherent soil properties. A soil inventory was conducted in Vancouver, British Columbia, by interpreting and extrapolating surficial geologic and regional soil survey information. The resulting soil inventory is presented as a series of topographical cross sections through the city, and displays information to stakeholders by reference to cultural features including street addresses. The soil inventory is compiled into soil management groups for general descriptions of the soil units and for initial recommendation for reclamation strategies.


Author(s):  
Tue Nguyen Dang

This research examines the factors affecting the financial literacy of Vietnamese adults. Using a sample of 266 observations of adults in 2 big cities in Vietnam (Hanoi and Vinh in Nghe An Province), the author evaluates the literacy level of adults in these urban areas. The financial literacy of the interviewed people is low. The multiple regression results show that lower financial literacy levels associate with higher age and married status and higher financial literacy levels associate with higher education, more family members, the person making financial decisions and the person attending a useful financial course. This research also explores the association between financial literacy and financial behaviors of individuals employing logistic models. It is found that higher financial literacy associates with less probability of overspending and higher probability of saving money and careful spending. Higher financial literacy is also found to associate with higher probability of opening a savings account and making various investments. 


2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
E. v. Münch ◽  
G. Amy ◽  
J. F. Fesselet

This paper describes the potential of ecological sanitation (ecosan) to provide sustainable excreta disposal in emergency situations and in peri-urban areas or slums in developing countries. At the present time, pit latrines are the most common form of excreta disposal both for emergency situations and in low-income peri-urban areas or slums. Although not intended to be a long-term solution, pit latrines provided during emergencies are often used for a long time (more than six months to years). This practice is not sustainable if the area is prone to flooding or there are soil conditions that allow groundwater pollution in areas where groundwater is used for drinking water, to name but two of the main factors. We propose eight criteria for the applicability of ecosan based on analysis of three case studies representing different types of emergency situations. The two most important criteria are awareness and expertise in ecosan within the aid agencies, and availability of standardised, lightweight toilet units that are quick to assemble and easy to transport (e.g. container for faeces, and urine diversion squatting pan made of impact-resistant molded polypropylene). Such toilets could be moved to, or replicated in, other areas in need after the emergency (peri-urban areas or slums). This would provide benefits for Millennium Development Goals achievements (targets on hunger, child mortality, sanitation and slum dwellers) at lower cost than conventional sanitation systems. Costs for sanitation systems should be compared based on the entire system (toilet, transport, treatment, reuse in agriculture), using Net Present Value analysis for capital, and operating and maintenance costs.


Author(s):  
Ericka A. Albaugh

This chapter examines how civil war can influence the spread of language. Specifically, it takes Sierra Leone as a case study to demonstrate how Krio grew from being primarily a language of urban areas in the 1960s to one spoken by most of the population in the 2000s. While some of this was due to “normal” factors such as population movement and growing urbanization, the civil war from 1991 to 2002 certainly catalyzed the process of language spread in the 1990s. Using census documents and surveys, the chapter tests the hypothesis at the national, regional, and individual levels. The spread of a language has political consequences, as it allows for citizen participation in the political process. It is an example of political scientists’ approach to uncovering the mechanisms for and evidence of language movement in Africa.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 99-117 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alberto De Marco ◽  
Giulio Mangano ◽  
Fania Valeria Michelucci ◽  
Giovanni Zenezini

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to suggest the usage of the project finance (PF) scheme as a suitable mechanism to fund energy efficiency projects at the urban scale and present its advantages and adoption barriers. Design/methodology/approach – A case study is developed to renew the traffic lighting system of an Italian town via replacement of the old lamps with new light-emitting diode (LED) technology. Several partners are involved in the case project to construct a viable PF arrangement. Findings – The case study presents the viability of the proposed PF scheme that provides for acceptable financial returns and bankability. However, it also shows that the need for short concession periods may call for a public contribution to the initial funding to make the project more attractive to private investors. Practical implications – This case study is a useful guideline for governments and promoters to using the PF arrangement to fund energy efficiency investments in urban settings. It helps designing an appropriate PF scheme and understanding the advantages of PF to reduce risk and, consequently, increase the debt leverage and profitability of energy efficiency projects. Originality/value – This paper contributes to bridging the gap about the lack of works addressing the implementation of the PF mechanism in the energy efficiency sector in urban areas. The importance of this paper is also associated with the shortage of traditional public finance faced by many cities that forces to seek for alternate forms of financing.


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