Ecological State Assessment of Urban Green Spaces Based on Remote Sensing Data. The Case of Aktobe City, Kazakhstan

The rapid pace of urban development triggers complex problems mostly related to urban environment pollution, and shortcomings of city’s improvement. The modern city is characterized by the highest man-made pressure on the natural environment, the main problems being overcrowding, lack of open-access green areas, as well as the decrease of vegetation areas, fact that does not create comfortable living conditions for urban residents. At present, remote sensing methods are some of the priority tools used in vegetation state assessment, particularly, the calculation of vegetation index (NDVI). But often, obtaining the necessary information is limited only to the analysis of satellite data, without geobotanical field surveys, which considerably increase the reliability of the detected results. In addition, the definition of dependencies when using an integrated approach of different man-affected surfaces with a different type of overgrowth within the city remains insufficiently studied. The purpose of this study is to assess the ecological condition of the green area (parks and squares) in Aktobe city. A comprehensive processing of satellite images including the calculation of NDVI index, mapping of green areas and data statistical analysis, was carried out. We learned that the average value of NDVI for green spaces in Aktobe ranges from 0,11 µm to 0,47 µm, which allows for the categorization of planted areas by levels of photosynthetic activity, from “unsatisfactory” to “good”, yet, with 59% of them in an unsatisfactory condition. This means that the city is underdeveloped in terms of modern landscape and infrastructure. The obtained results make it possible to assess the current situation, determine the dynamics of urban green spaces and optimize spatial planning measures for green space management.

Spatial and Temporal Shifts in the Demographic Development of China at the End of the 20th and the Beginning of the 21st Centuries

The article provides an economic and geographical analysis of the demographic processes in China, considering a set of natural and geographic factors, selected to reflect the influence of the state policy of family planning, as well as the policy for the development of separate regions in the period under study. The methodology included the use of geoinformation technologies, classification method and geographical systematization. Based on the identified spatial differences at the level of provinces, radical and previously absent spatial shifts in the demographic processes in China were established for the first time. They consist in the formation of positive and negative dynamics zones, as well as natural increase and natural decline zones. The demographic balance, for the first time calculated for the provinces of China, for 2010 and 2019, made it possible to indicate the dominance of provinces of a progressive type (53.0%) and a zone of provinces of a regressive type (8.8%). The established trend proves not only a differentiation, but also a spatial polarization at the national level and acts as a phenomenon of modern demographic development in China, in the 21st century. The results of the geographical systematization of the demographic space has practical significance as it provides the opportunity to use this methodology at the microgeographic level in other territories and serves as a scientific justification for the development of the directions of China’s regional demographic policy.

Contemporary Urban Missions and Reflecting Reality in Deprivation of Civil Areas in Indian Cantonments – A Pragmatic View

The contemporary urban schemes were launched around five years ago by the National Government to create more inclusive cities and offer a decent quality of life to urban residents. But in reality, the civilian areas of Cantonments are grossly overlooked from the benefits of such welfare schemes. There are 52 notified civil areas in Indian Cantonments with a population of 2.08 million, according to the 2011 census. The Cantonment Act, 2006 (by repealing the Cantonment Act, 1924) empowered Cantonment Boards to act as ‘deemed to be a municipality ’to receive grants and implement government welfare schemes, including the provision of 24 types of infrastructure and services to its residents. The present research reviews the provisions and coverage of contemporary urban missions, including Smart Cities, and highlights civilian areas of the cantonments as deprived urban areas. Besides the non-implementation of contemporary urban welfare schemes, issues like the age-old colonial infrastructure, revenue crunch through taxes and non-taxes, absence of development plan, lack of inter-jurisdictional coordination etc., need to be addressed. The present research will act as an input for policymakers to understand the problems of civilian areas, nature, and extent of welfare scheme implementation, and also suggest the necessary changes required at the policy level.

GIS and RS-Based Analysis of Water Pollution Potential Caused by Acid Mine Drainage in Samarinda, Indonesia

Large-scale mining activity is the major environmental issue, including water pollution caused by Acid Mine Drainage (AMD). Samarinda, which is located in the province of East Kalimantan, Indonesia, has open pits and acid contributing land as a source of AMD pollutants. The potential AMD pollution can be assessed by utilizing Geographic Information System (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS), which are considered reliable tools for measuring, mapping, monitoring, and model making for an area. The variables used in this research are void distribution, land cover, soil type, rainfall, topography, water body, and groundwater. The integration of these variables is used to analyze the potential of AMD pollution to water bodies by acid contributing land. Meanwhile, the void distribution and groundwater integration data are used to analyze the potential of AMD pollution to groundwater by voids. The overlay method is employed to analyze the potential spatial patterns of AMD pollution in the study area. The results show the high potential of AMD pollution to water bodies, specifically in the districts of Samarinda Utara, Palaran, and Sungai Kunjang. The high potential of AMD pollution to groundwater is found in the south delineation area, namely Palaran, Loa Janan Hilir, and Samarinda Seberang districts, with low and medium groundwater depth categories (20 - 70 and 50 - 150 MBGL). The spatial pattern of AMD pollution was random with the geometric arrangement of AMD pollution in the form of clusters.

Business Urban Sprawl. A Financial Evaluation of Enterprises in Poland

The aim of the article is to assess the costs and benefits of enterprises situated in urban sprawl areas in Poland. The main hypothesis is that urban sprawl is beneficial for the businesses located within the urban sprawl area. The synthetic control method used is based on the results of surveys and financial data provided by the Central Statistical Office in Poland for the enterprises located within the urban sprawl area. The object of the research is therefore the finances of those enterprises that are based around the largest Polish cities. The main hypothesis was positively verified. The results of the investigation indicate that lower wage costs are not more significant compared to those of the economic entities in the control group. The benefits for enterprises located in the urban sprawl zone were also diagnosed, including lower burdens resulted from real-estate taxes, energy, foreign services. The added value of the research is also the indication of the financial mechanism of benefits from the location of business entities in the urban sprawl zone. This mechanism is based on the reduction of spatial costs, more efficient use of fixed assets and more intensive use of production factors.

Business Urban Sprawl. A Financial Evaluation of Enterprises in Poland

The aim of the article is to assess the costs and benefits of enterprises situated in urban sprawl areas in Poland. The main hypothesis is that urban sprawl is beneficial for the businesses located within the urban sprawl area. The synthetic control method used is based on the results of surveys and financial data provided by the Central Statistical Office in Poland for the enterprises located within the urban sprawl area. The object of the research is therefore the finances of those enterprises that are based around the largest Polish cities. The main hypothesis was positively verified. The results of the investigation indicate that lower wage costs are not more significant compared to those of the economic entities in the control group. The benefits for enterprises located in the urban sprawl zone were also diagnosed, including lower burdens resulted from real-estate taxes, energy, foreign services. The added value of the research is also the indication of the financial mechanism of benefits from the location of business entities in the urban sprawl zone. This mechanism is based on the reduction of spatial costs, more efficient use of fixed assets and more intensive use of production factors.

Noise Pollution in Urban Residential Environments: Evidence from Students’ Hostels in Awka, Nigeria

Noise pollution and its concomitant effects on humans and environment has reached dangerous levels in many urban areas across the world. However, very little is known about the sources and effects of noise pollution within students’ hostels in a developing country like Nigeria. This study investigated urban noise pollution in residential neighbourhoods, using the Nnamdi Azikiwe University students’ off-campus accommodation in Awka, southeast Nigeria as the study area. Data were obtained through measurements of noise levels using sound level meter and by conducting a survey to gather feedback from 260 students in the study area. Descriptive statistics and Chi-Square tests were used to analyse the data; the results revealed mean noise levels of 89.8 dB(A) and 46.9 dB(A) during noisy and quiet periods, respectively. The main sources of noise were portable electricity generators, vehicular traffic and loudspeakers used by students and business operators; they were found to have deleterious effects such as low tolerance, headache, anger, lack of concentration and low productivity on the students. The study concludes by noting that to effectively minimize the effects of noise pollution within urban residential neighbourhoods in the study area and beyond, architects and urban planners should engage in proper land use zoning and the application of sound absorbing materials on walls and locating balconies of residential buildings away from noise sources. In addition, vegetation belts and sound barriers of earth mounds or wood, metal or concrete could also be constructed between the sources of noise and residential buildings, especially in the case of roadside communities.

COVID-19 Pandemic –Milestone in Rediscovering the Rural Life

This study investigates the positive aspects of the impact COVID-19 pandemic has had on rural development, providing several examples from the post-Soviet space. It is predicted that the intensification of dacha recreation phenomenon, which has been significantly influenced by the pandemic, will spatially extend beyond the periurban areas of the largest cities and will create the preconditions for the restoration of abandoned villages, development of rural tourism and preservation of “archaic” living techniques and traditional lifestyle. In an interdisciplinary context, we learn about the increased tendency of city dwellers to own second homes (dacha) in the countryside. Attention is drawn to the relationship between the COVID-19 pandemic and a decrease in solar activity, along with the decrease in the disinfection capacity of solar UV radiation. The curative proprieties of landscapes are investigated, methods of their valorisation are proposed, and landscape therapy is proposed to be considered during pandemics, some of the most effective activities being open-air walks, with inhalation of negative oxygen ions, phytoncides, terpenes. The growth of uncertainties due to unlimited and uncontrolled human society development is postulated. It is proved that development must consider the unpredicted effects of a catastrophe and use this knowledge to prevent other more devastating events and effects. In this context, the preservation of the primary, although outdated, living techniques is proposed, since they can act as important survival factors in critical mode. It is concluded that COVID-19 pandemic should be perceived as a milestone in the reorientation of geography and ecology towards understanding and advocating for nature preservation to be able to sustain human society in a continuous transformation.

Correlating Urban Population Density and Sustainability Using the Corona Index Method

A high population density is considered beneficial for sustainable urban planning. In crisis conditions, such as the present COVID-19 pandemic, the role of population density needs to be clearly understood in order to deal with the situation and also plan the future pandemic interventions. The paper presents a case study approach in a Nagpur, India to understand the relation between urban population density and the COVID-19 spread during the first wave. Spatial density maps and COVID-19 patient data for five consecutive critical months have been correlated using the corona index method. The corona index helps to determine the severity of the disease spread in neighbourhoods of varying population densities. The study reveals a high corona index in high-density areas and a low corona index in low- and medium-density areas. It shows that although high-density planning is sustainable, it proves hazardous for public health during pandemics. The study reveals that high-density areas are at a greater risk of disease spread during pandemics.

Guest Editorial Territorial Identities and Sustainable Development. Challenges and Solutions

Territorial belonging and territorial attractiveness are elements of strategic relevance for development at various levels. Therefore, territorial identity is relevant for building the social capital so useful during the processes of development and territorial planning. The concern about territorial identity and development is part of the same trend that occurred in the academic and political environment after the 1990s, when it became obvious that there was a strong connection between these and environmental, social and economic well-being. This special issue hosts the results of original empirical and theoretical scientific research on territorial identity and its relation to sustainable development.