Spatial and temporal changes of outdoor thermal stress: influence of urban land cover types

Green infrastructure (GI) has emerged as a feasible strategy for promoting adaptive capacities of cities to climate change by alleviating urban heat island (UHI) and thus heat stress for humans. However, GI can also intensify the winter cold stress. To understand the extent of UHI within a city as well as the link between outdoor thermal stress both diurnally and seasonally, we carried out an empirical study in Würzburg, Germany from 2018 to 2020. At sub-urban sites, relative humidity and wind speed (WS) was considerably higher and air temperature (AT) lower compared to the inner city sites. Mean AT of inner city sites were higher by 1.3 °C during summer and 5 °C during winter compared to sub-urban sites. The magnitude followed the spatial land use patterns, in particular the amount of buildings. Consequently, out of 97 hot days (AT > 30 °C) in 3 years, 9 days above the extreme threshold of wet bulb globe temperature of 35 °C were recorded at a centre location compared to none at a sub-urban site. Extreme heat stress could be halved with 30–40% cover of greenspaces including grass lawns, green roofs, and green walls with little compromise in increasing winter cold stress.

Decision making at unsignalized inner city intersections using discrete events systems

Autonomous driving is a promising technology to, among many aspects, improve road safety. There are however several scenarios that are challenging for autonomous vehicles. One of these are unsignalized junctions. There exist scenarios in which there is no clear regulation as to is allowed to drive first. Instead, communication and cooperation are necessary to solve such scenarios. This is especially challenging when interacting with human drivers. In this work we focus on unsignalized T-intersections. For that scenario we propose a discrete event system (DES) that is able to solve the cooperation with human drivers at a T-intersection with limited visibility and no direct communication. The algorithm is validated in a simulation environment, and the parameters for the algorithm are based on an analysis of typical human behavior at intersections using real-world data.

If We Knew Then: A Postscript to the Kerner Report

The Kerner Report, which examined why 1967s rioting occurred, is one of America’s most important works on race and the inner city. Yet, for many, a belief exists that it has been ignored and represents a lost opportunity. Knowing now how the report was received, is there anything that could have been done to produce a more influential report? To answer this question, this article utilizes recent interviews with key Kerner Report participants. Such information not only expands our knowledge about the report, but given recent proposals to create new Kerner-type commissions to address today’s disparities, it possesses additional relevance.

Approbation of the methodology for determining the time of passenger movement on the inner-city and suburban route

Presents the results of testing the methodology for determining the passenger's travel time according to the "door-to-door" scheme on intra-city and suburban routes using hovercrafts. The introduction presents the results of the analysis of a number of research works of domestic and foreign scientists in the field of passenger transportation by hovercraft. The analysis showed that studies of passenger travel taking into account such factors as distance and time according to the "door-to-door" scheme on intra-city and suburban routes in riverine regions by buses and hovercraft do not occur, which means that the chosen research topic is relevant. The methods section summarizes the basics of calculations and initial data for testing the methodology for determining the time spent by passengers on a trip using a hovercraft. The results section provides graphical data as a result of testing the methodology. The opinion of the authors of the article on the use of alternative travel options by a passenger on intra-city and suburban routes by road and (or) river transport is put up for discussion. In the final part of the article, it is determined that this method of determining the travel time of a passenger on intra-city, and in comparison, may be of interest both for passengers and transport organizations.

What Family Circumstances, During COVID-19, Impact on Parental Mental Health in an Inner City Community in London?

The introduction of lockdown due to a public health emergency in March 2020 marked the beginning of substantial changes to daily life for all families with young children. Here we report the experience of families from London Borough of Tower Hamlets with high rates of poverty and ethnic and linguistic diversity. This inner city community, like communities worldwide, has experienced a reduction or closure in access to education, support services, and in some cases, a change in or loss of income, job, and food security. Using quantitative survey items (N = 992), we examined what differences in family circumstances, for mothers and fathers of young children aged 0–5 living in Tower Hamlets, during March 2020 to November 2020, were associated with their mental health status. We measure parental mental health using symptoms of depression (self-report: Patient Health Questionnaire depression scale: PHQ-8), symptoms of anxiety levels (self-report: General Anxiety Disorder: GAD-7), and perceptions of direct loneliness. We find parental mental health difficulties are associated with low material assets (financial security, food security, and children having access to outside space), familial assets (parents time for themselves and parent status: lone vs. cohabiting), and community assets (receiving support from friends and family outside the household). South Asian parents and fathers across ethnicities were significantly more likely to experience mental health difficulties, once all other predictors were accounted for. These contributing factors should be considered for future pandemics, where restrictions on people's lives are put in place, and speak to the importance of reducing financial insecurity and food insecurity as a means of improving the mental health of parents.

Surveillance of COVID-19 Using Geospatial Data: An Emergency Department Perspective

<b><i>Background:</i></b> The outbreak of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) which emerged in December 2019 spread rapidly and created a public health emergency. Geospatial records of case data are needed in real time to monitor and anticipate the spread of infection. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> This study aimed to identify the emerging hotspots of COVID-19 using a geographic information system (GIS)-based approach. Data of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 patients from March 15 to June 12, 2020, who visited the emergency department of a tertiary specialized academic hospital in Dubai were evaluated using ArcGIS Pro 2.5. Spatiotemporal analysis, including optimized hotspot analysis, was performed at the community level. <b><i>Results:</i></b> The cases were spatially concentrated mostly over the inner city of Dubai. Moreover, the optimized hotspot analysis showed statistically significant hotspots (<i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.01) in the north of Dubai. Waxing and waning hotspots were also observed in the southern and central regions of Dubai. Finally, there were nonsustaining hotspots in communities with a very low population density. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> This study identified hotspots of COVID-19 using geospatial analysis. It is simple and can be easily reproduced to identify disease outbreaks. In the future, more attention is needed in creating a wider geodatabase and identifying hotspots with more intense transmission intensity.