Smart streetlamps as part of a smart city approach in Macau

Smart cities are the mainstream trend of modern city development. With the promotion of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area policies, Macau, as one of the four central cities in the Greater Bay Area, has pioneered the development of smart cities. The development goal of the smart city is to use modern electronic information technology to manage, coordinate, share efficiently, and interoperate the city's transportation, logistics, energy resources, and communication services. Comprehensive perception and information collection are the basis for its smart urban management. As one of the important node devices at the perception level of the smart city, smart street lights in Macau are not only the lighting infrastructure, but also include environmental monitoring, video surveillance, communication networks, Internet of Things, information interaction, charging piles and other economic functions of the people's livelihood. Under the above premise, this article discusses the urban policies, applications and prospects of smart streetlamps in Macau. At the same time, it compares the social nature and related policies of the mainland, analyzes the particularity of building smart streetlamps in Macau, and based on the application of smart streetlamps in Macau, propose optimization and development suggestions to promote the construction and development of Macau's smart city.

Spatiotemporal Evolution and Spatial Network Analysis of the Urban Ecological Carrying Capacity in the Yellow River Basin

Based on the panel data of 82 cities in the Yellow River Basin (YRB) during 2008–2017, this paper calculated the urban ecological carrying capacity (UECC) index by means of the entropy method, drew a spatiotemporal evolution map using ArcGIS10.3 software, used a spatial cold–hot spot model to explore the spatial characteristics of the UECC index, and used the revised gravity model to construct the spatial network of the UECC. In addition, through social network analysis, we obtained the spatial network correlation characteristics of the UECC of 82 cities in the YRB. The study found the following: (1) The UECC index of the cities in the YRB increased steadily, and showed strong non-stationarity in space. The cold and hot spot patterns both changed greatly. Overall, the changes of the hot and cold spots were very significant. (2) The spatial correlation and linkage effects of the UECC in the YRB were not significant. The central cities with higher point centrality and closeness centrality showed the same spatial distribution, and most of them are located in the midstream and downstream of the YRB. The central cities in the midstream and downstream of the YRB had high betweenness centrality, and stood in the center of the association network. (3) The four plates in the spatial correlation network of the UECC in the YRB all showed their advantages and functions. The first plate was the net spillover plate, which was principally allocated in the upstream and midstream of the YRB. The second plate was the broker plate, which was principally located in the midstream and downstream of the YRB, and a few cities in the upper reaches. The third plate was the net inflow plate, which was distributed sporadically in the upstream and downstream of the YRB. The fourth plate was the broker plate, which was scattered in upstream, midstream, and downstream of the YRB. Therefore, it is necessary to shorten the gap of and promote the improvement of the UECC in the YRB.

Socialising Office Space: Flexibility through a layering of multiple programs in traditional office buildings.

<p>This design-research project explores extending the flexibility of a typical 1960s open-plan office building. Through the use of cross-programming, the building now works along a 24- hour timespan. Housing a co-working office, community space and a night shelter, the building models a more efficient use of office space within our central cities. A focus on the individual allows a meaningful connection to space and to others through parallel design interventions that operate as desks and as sleeping pods.</p>

Socialising Office Space: Flexibility through a layering of multiple programs in traditional office buildings.

<p>This design-research project explores extending the flexibility of a typical 1960s open-plan office building. Through the use of cross-programming, the building now works along a 24- hour timespan. Housing a co-working office, community space and a night shelter, the building models a more efficient use of office space within our central cities. A focus on the individual allows a meaningful connection to space and to others through parallel design interventions that operate as desks and as sleeping pods.</p>

The Suburbanisation of the Poor? Investigating the distribution and concentration of deprivation in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand 1991-2013

<p>Inequality has emerged as a key issue in contemporary global urban debates. Many developed cities across the world are characterised by growing social–spatial inequalities, housing liberalisation, and gentrification, which limit the housing options of poor households. When the poor have limited housing options, they must deploy coping mechanisms. There is recent international literature on the suburbanisation of poverty predominantly in European and American cities. The aim of my research is to identify whether – given rising house prices – there has been a shift of the urban poor away from the central cities in New Zealand, towards the middle suburbs and peripheries. Furthermore, my research seeks to observe whether poor populations are becoming more concentrated. Using the New Zealand deprivation score, I analyse the trend towards a marked suburbanisation of deprivation in the two biggest cities in New Zealand, Auckland and Wellington. I find a shift of deprivation away from the city centre and towards the middle and outer suburbs in both cities. I find that the spatial distribution of deprivation changes with the macroeconomic conditions of the time. I also find in cases of no ‘suburbanisation of the poor’ that instead the poor are crowding and consuming less housing. These findings can inform future urban development practices.</p>

The Suburbanisation of the Poor? Investigating the distribution and concentration of deprivation in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand 1991-2013

<p>Inequality has emerged as a key issue in contemporary global urban debates. Many developed cities across the world are characterised by growing social–spatial inequalities, housing liberalisation, and gentrification, which limit the housing options of poor households. When the poor have limited housing options, they must deploy coping mechanisms. There is recent international literature on the suburbanisation of poverty predominantly in European and American cities. The aim of my research is to identify whether – given rising house prices – there has been a shift of the urban poor away from the central cities in New Zealand, towards the middle suburbs and peripheries. Furthermore, my research seeks to observe whether poor populations are becoming more concentrated. Using the New Zealand deprivation score, I analyse the trend towards a marked suburbanisation of deprivation in the two biggest cities in New Zealand, Auckland and Wellington. I find a shift of deprivation away from the city centre and towards the middle and outer suburbs in both cities. I find that the spatial distribution of deprivation changes with the macroeconomic conditions of the time. I also find in cases of no ‘suburbanisation of the poor’ that instead the poor are crowding and consuming less housing. These findings can inform future urban development practices.</p>

The City is a Stage: Innovation beyond the Theatre Space

<p>"[The] product of architecture can at least partly be understood as an endless live performance" (Van Berkel & Bos, 2008 , p. 135). As central cities such as Wellington become more event orientated, there is a greater need for a network of innovative performance venues (temporary or permanent) to meet public demand. The existing theatre spaces within Wellington are currently limited in size and the spaces are difficult to adapt to meet the needs of different performances. The thesis investigates this problem. The thesis proposes to develop a network of multifunctional performance spaces outside traditional theatre spaces in areas which are generally used as high activity public spaces and thoroughfares. This will result in not only new opportunities for theatre design and new types of adaptive performance, but, as performance is removed from a traditionally controlled environment, it will create urban spaces that are multi-functional and a better fit for a variety of experiences and uses. Several precedents are analysed with regard to the creation of new boundaries and multiple functionalities in a more contemporary setting. Public realm typologies are also explored for their capacity to be blended in form and function to create hybrid, multi-functional spaces. The resulting design strategy is applied in a series of design experiments to the selected subject site on Wellington’s waterfront. The experiments are then evaluated to aid in the development of an appropriate outdoor theatre network that will enliven the city and encourage performers to create a new style of theatre. The proposed design is developed from and through the research, and will benefit Wellington for many reasons. Firstly, the design will produce greater adaptability and permeability of the performance space in Wellington. Secondly, because theatres in Wellington are currently disengaged from their surrounding context, the proposed building will have a strong indoor/outdoor connection that encourages the use of diverse performance in and around the building. Thirdly, by placing the building in or near circulation paths, it will provide an interactive and engaging space for audiences.</p>

The City is a Stage: Innovation beyond the Theatre Space

<p>"[The] product of architecture can at least partly be understood as an endless live performance" (Van Berkel & Bos, 2008 , p. 135). As central cities such as Wellington become more event orientated, there is a greater need for a network of innovative performance venues (temporary or permanent) to meet public demand. The existing theatre spaces within Wellington are currently limited in size and the spaces are difficult to adapt to meet the needs of different performances. The thesis investigates this problem. The thesis proposes to develop a network of multifunctional performance spaces outside traditional theatre spaces in areas which are generally used as high activity public spaces and thoroughfares. This will result in not only new opportunities for theatre design and new types of adaptive performance, but, as performance is removed from a traditionally controlled environment, it will create urban spaces that are multi-functional and a better fit for a variety of experiences and uses. Several precedents are analysed with regard to the creation of new boundaries and multiple functionalities in a more contemporary setting. Public realm typologies are also explored for their capacity to be blended in form and function to create hybrid, multi-functional spaces. The resulting design strategy is applied in a series of design experiments to the selected subject site on Wellington’s waterfront. The experiments are then evaluated to aid in the development of an appropriate outdoor theatre network that will enliven the city and encourage performers to create a new style of theatre. The proposed design is developed from and through the research, and will benefit Wellington for many reasons. Firstly, the design will produce greater adaptability and permeability of the performance space in Wellington. Secondly, because theatres in Wellington are currently disengaged from their surrounding context, the proposed building will have a strong indoor/outdoor connection that encourages the use of diverse performance in and around the building. Thirdly, by placing the building in or near circulation paths, it will provide an interactive and engaging space for audiences.</p>

Analysis and Prediction of Expansion of Central Cities Based on Nighttime Light Data in Hunan Province, China

Quantifying the characteristics of urban expansion as well as influencing factors is essential for the simulation and prediction of urban expansion. In this study, we extracted the built-up regions of 14 central cities in the Hunan province using the DMSP-OLS night light remote sensing datasets from 1992 to 2018, and evaluated the spatial and temporal characteristics of the built-up regions in terms of the area, expansion speed, and main expansion direction. The backpropagation (BP) neural network and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) model were used to predict the area of the built-up regions from 2019 to 2026. The model predictions were based on the GDP, ratio of the secondary industry output to the GDP, ratio of the tertiary industry output to the GDP, year-end urban population, and urban road area. The results demonstrated that the built-up area and expansion speed of the central cities in the eastern part of the Hunan province were significantly higher than those in the western part. The main expansion directions of the 14 central cities were east and south. The urban road area, year-end urban population, and GDP were the main driving factors of the expansion. The urban expansion model based on the BP neural network provided a high prediction accuracy (R = 0.966). It was estimated that the total area of urban built-up regions in the Hunan province will reach 2463.80 km2 by 2026. These findings provide a new perspective for predicting urban areas rapidly and simply, and it also provides a useful reference for studying the spatial expansion characteristics of central cities and formulating a sustainable urban development strategy during the 14th Five-Year Plan of China.