Formation and assessment of ecological risks of urban landscapes in industrial cities of Belarus

The problems of the formation of hazardous natural and man-made processes in industrial cities, contributing to the emergence of environmental risks, are presented. To date, an extensive literary material has been accumulated on this problem, concerning the causes of its occurrence, analysis of the patterns of development, and the possibilities of managing risks, including the environmental ones. It has been established that the list of reasons for the formation of risks in cities lacks one of the most important factors that we have discovered – the structure of urban landscapes, which are quite large objects of urban development. To identify the role of these objects in the formation of environmental risks, the cities of Orsha and Pinsk were selected. These cities were laid down almost simultaneously at the beginning of the 11th century, but they have a different history of development. Maps of urban landscapes of cities were compiled, geochemical studies of their soil cover were carried out, geochemical and thermal anomalies of the surface were revealed, the volumes of ecosystem services (carbon absorption) by green spaces were calculated. It was found that urban landscapes perform various functions in the system of environmental risks: some of them contribute to the development of hazardous processes, others – to mitigate them. So, soil pollution with heavy metals (with an excess of the content of Pb, Cr and Cu over the MPC by 1.2–5.6 times in Pinsk), the strongest heating of the surface (8–16 °C higher than the air temperature in Pinsk and Orsha) and low carbon deposition (100–500 t per year) are typical for urban landscapes of the historical center, urban landscapes with a predominance of industrial buildings, urban landscapes for complex residential multi-storey, public and industrial buildings. Urban landscapes, in the structure of which there are elements of landscape and recreational areas of public use (parks, forest parks, squares), as well as agricultural lands and water bodies, are characterised by a low content of heavy metals in soils (below the MPC in Pinsk, below the background in Orsha), low surface temperature (2–3 °C higher than the air temperature), high volume of carbon deposition (2.6–2.8 thsd t per year). An assessment of the probability of risks associated with the described processes was carried out, which helped to find out that they correspond to the categories of «acceptable» and «neglected», options for risk management were proposed.

Making sense of sewage sludge as a renewable resource in the urban U.S.

Prior to industrialization, human excrement was commonly employed as a resource for agricultural fertilization. Following the advent of the hydraulic sanitation system, however, it became increasingly channeled into waterways rather than reincorporated into terrestrial agro-ecosystems. To counter this trend, more and more industrial cities are seeking to utilize treated sanitation waste, or “biosolids,” as a renewable resource that can be applied as a soil amendment in urban recreational settings, including parks, gardens, and golf courses. This article examines how the use of biosolids in the American city of Chicago comes to “make sense”—experientially, economically, and ecologically—to users and wastewater experts. Furthermore, it considers how sanitation infrastructures, social norms, and safety concerns both contour and constrain such usage. Ultimately, this article identifies how direct sensorial experiences (particularly of odors or their absence) as well as notions of economic and ecological “good sense” contribute to the social acceptability of biosolids usage. However, contaminants of emerging concern that are barely perceptible in sanitation waste raise more profound questions about the challenges of urban sustainability in this period known as late industrialism.

Corruption as a factor in urban environmental crime

The proposed article is devoted to studying issues related to the scientific and practical understanding of the impact of corruption on environmental crime in cities. Based on the analysis of empirical data, the authors conclude the existence of objective causes of environmental crime in cities and its high latency. Along with high urbanization, the Russian economy has been focusing on mining since Soviet times. Combustion of hydrocarbons, automobile fuel, gas, and large industrial enterprises seriously degrades the ecological situation, especially in industrial cities. At the same time, according to the authors, corruption acts as a bright background for committing environmental crimes. The article states the coincidence of the most common causes and conditions of corruption and environmental attitudes (low income of officials; low morale and ethical qualities of officials, shortcomings of the current legislation), which indicates a close correlation between corruption and environmental crime. In addition, it is proposed to strengthen the specialized environmental function of government bodies, including prosecutors, including the creation of such bodies in all environmentally disadvantaged cities, as well as the inclusion of civil society institutions and environmental activists in the state environmental monitoring system, subject to the appropriate conditions.

GDP Forecast of Jinan and Hefei based on LSTM and the Transformation Enlightenment of Old Industrial City Jinan

Jinan City, Shandong Province, is one of the important cities in modern industrial production and development in China. It plays an important role in the industrial history of modern China and has a very rich industrial cultural heritage. Hefei City, Anhui Province, from a small city, through reform and innovation, has become a rising star of Chinese cities, with per capita GDP approaching Jinan. In this paper, the single variable time series prediction model based on LSTM is used to fit the Area GDP of Jinan and Hefei in 31 years from 1990 to 2020, and the Area GDP data of the two cities in the next three years is predicted. Finally, combined with the development of foreign old industrial cities, this paper puts forward some suggestions for the future development of Jinan.

Nutritional features of school children in the Siberian federal district

Introduction. The study of schoolchildren’s nutrition features in different regions of the Russian Federation is one of the important tasks to health promotion of children by developing regional practices for optimization the nutrition of schoolchildren.Objective. To study schoolchildren’s nutrition features in industrial cities of the Siberian federal district (Siberian FD).Materials and methods. Specialized questionnaire was developed in order to study the nutrition organization of schoolchildren in various regions of the Russian Federation. 323 parents (legal representatives) of children aged 7-18 years living in the biggest industrial cities of south-eastern Siberia (the cities of Angarsk and Irkutsk) took part in the survey, based on the questionnaire. The obtained data was compared to the result of studies conducted in the Central federal district (Central FD), that included 162 observations. The frequency method was used to analyze the food consumption.Results. The study established that consumption of milk, meat, cereals, potatoes, nuts, vegetables and fruits by children in the Siberian federal district was, all in all, significantly higher than in the Central federal district and in the Russian Federation in general. The nutrition of schoolchildren in the SFD is defined by a higher consumption of confectionery products, including chocolate, and such products as mayonnaise and margarine. It is noted that 75% of children in Angarsk and about 60% of children in Irkutsk regularly include chips and crackers in their diet and about 60% of children regularly consume fast food. At the same time, children living in Angarsk consume more food products with a high content of carbohydrates (cereals, potatoes, as well as added sugar in cookies, chocolates, sweet carbonated drinks), salt (in salted and dried fish), mayonnaise, and significantly less fermented dairy products and fresh fish compared to children in Irkutsk. Frozen products are more commonly consumed in the city of Angarsk than in Irkutsk. Physical development of children and its correlation with the variety of their diet was also assessed in the study. The assessment showed that children living in Angarsk have a significantly higher prevalence of obesity, which is a reflection of the irrational food diversity in their diets.Conclusions. The obtained data reflect the need of the introduction of educational programs on healthy nutrition among schoolchildren and their parents, taking into account the regional specifics of nutrition.

Enhancing resilience in a post-industrial city through the urban regeneration of the downtown district. A case study of part of downtown Lodz called Nowa Dzielnica

Lodz is a post-industrial city in central Poland, the third largest in terms of population and with the largest area of downtown districts in the country. The regeneration of historical districts is one of the main challenges of the local urban policy here, as in many other post-industrial cities. Urban regeneration is understood as cohesive changes implemented in terms of social, economic and spatial conditions on degraded areas, according to mechanisms introduced by the Urban Renewal Act. Another consideration is climate change, which requires an in-depth approach to design objectives so that they include certain solutions increasing the city’s resilience to climatic events. In accordance with the European Union’s policy, in 2013, the Polish Council of Ministers adopted the Strategic Adaptation Plan for sectors and areas sensitive to climate changes until 2020, looking forward to 2030. The implementation of this plan was entrusted to the Ministry of the Environment, in partnership with 44 cities with a population of over 100,000 residents, including Lodz. The city’s adaptation plan to climate changes until 2030 indicates that the most vulnerable areas of the city are those of high-intensity residential development. These areas are particularly vulnerable to the phenomena of urban heat islands, urban flooding, storms, and smog. The article shows the planning assumptions for the part of the centre called Nowa Dzielnica (New District). It is an interesting example of implementing local spatial policy at district scale, but also on a much larger scale than usually adopted in local plans. The Nowa Dzielnica downtown section was described in a sequence of four local land use plans. This constitutes an example of spatial management at local government level, which may define the direction of changes for downtown districts in other post-industrial cities. It serves as a good example of implementing changes for centres where both urban regeneration and resilience urban planning constitute important elements of urban policy.

Solution of Social Problems in the Areas of New Industrial Development of Siberia in the Soviet Period

The industrial development of Siberia in the Soviet period is in the focus of the present article. The text considers evolution of the state attitudes towards solving social problems during implementation of comprehensive regional programs for areas of new industrial development. The article is based on various sources, including those from archival funds. It shows that the development of that Siberian region was controlled by the state in order to ensure a high degree of industrialization in the country. The article also analyzes the development stages of national and regional policy towards both infrastructural and urban construction related to establishing various territorial and industrial formations. As stated in the text, scientific and design works during the period under study proved the importance and socio-economic efficiency of solving social problems in the territories of industrial construction. Once the development of another industrial new building project started in Siberia, the main attention was paid to the provision of enterprises with personnel, but not to encouraging people to settle in new cities and workers' settlements. The article also examines the problems of developing and implementing strategies for social and cultural development of new industrial cities in Siberia. The text puts an emphasis on the Soviet programs of industrial modernization in the economy and society, which contributed to both the development of industrial production in the Siberian region and the formation of an industrial-urban society based on establishing new urban settlements. The article concludes that, the social problems in new cities and workers' settlements have been tackled with time in spite of all difficulties, as well as the strategies for the cultural development of new industrial cities in Siberia have been finally developed.