Central European Cities Research Articles

Impact of urbanization on fine particulate matter concentrations over central Europe

Abstract. Rural-to-urban transformation (RUT) is the process of turning a rural or natural land surface into an urban one, which brings about important modifications in the surface, causing well-known effects like the urban heat island (UHI), reduced wind speeds, and increased boundary layer heights. Moreover, with concentrated human activities, RUT introduces new emission sources which greatly perturb local and regional air pollution. Particulate matter (PM) is one of the key pollutants responsible for the deterioration of urban air quality and is still a major issue in European cities, with frequent exceedances of limit values. Here we introduce a regional chemistry–climate model (regional climate model RegCM coupled offline to chemistry transport model CAMx) study which quantifies how the process of RUT modified the PM concentrations over central Europe including the underlying controlling mechanisms that contribute to the final PM pollution. Apart from the two most studied ones, (i) urban emissions and (ii) urban canopy meteorological forcing (UCMF; i.e. the impact of modified meteorological conditions on air quality), we also analyse two less studied contributors to RUT's impact on air quality: (iii) the impact of modified dry-deposition velocities (DVs) due to urbanized land use and (iv) the impact of modified biogenic emissions due to urbanization-induced vegetation modifications and changes in meteorological conditions which affect these emissions. To calculate the magnitude of each of these RUT contributors, we perform a cascade of simulations, whereby each contributor is added one by one to the reference state, while focus is given on PM2.5 (particulate matter with diameter less then 2.5 µm). Its primary and secondary components, namely primary elemental carbon (PEC), sulfates (PSO4), nitrates (PNO3), ammonium (PNH4), and secondary organic aerosol (SOA), are analysed too. The validation using surface measurements showed a systematic negative bias for the total PM2.5, which is probably caused by underestimated organic aerosol and partly by the negative bias in sulfates and elemental carbon. For ammonium and nitrates, the underestimation is limited to the warm season, while for winter, the model tends to overestimate their concentrations. However, in each case, the annual cycle is reasonably captured. We evaluated the RUT impact on PM2.5 over a sample of 19 central European cities and found that the total impact of urbanization is about 2–3 and 1–1.5 µg m−3 in winter and summer, respectively. This is mainly driven by the impact of emissions alone causing a slightly higher impact (1.5–3.5 and 1.2–2 µg m−3 in winter and summer), while the effect of UCMF was a decrease at about 0.2–0.5 µg m−3 (in both seasons), which was mainly controlled by enhanced vertical eddy diffusion, while increases were modelled over rural areas. The transformation of rural land use into an urban one caused an increase in dry-deposition velocities by around 30 %–50 %, which alone resulted in a decrease in PM2.5 by 0.1–0.25 µg m−3 in both seasons. Finally, the impact of biogenic emission modifications due to modified land use and meteorological conditions caused a decrease in summer PM2.5 of about 0.1 µg m−3, while the winter effects were negligible. The total impact of urbanization on aerosol components is modelled to be (values indicate winter and summer averages) 0.4 and 0.3 µg m−3 for PEC, 0.05 and 0.02 µg m−3 for PSO4, 0.1 and 0.08 µg m−3 for PNO3, 0.04 and 0.03 µg m−3 for PNH4, and 0 and 0.05 µg m−3 for SOA. The main contributor of each of these components was the impact of emissions, which was usually larger than the total impact due to the fact that UCMF was counteracted with a decrease. For each aerosol component, the impact of modified DV was a clear decrease in concentration, and finally, the modifications of biogenic emissions impacted SOA predominantly, causing a summer decrease, while a very small secondary effect of secondary inorganic aerosol was modelled too (they increased). In summary, we showed that when analysing the impact of urbanization on PM pollution, apart from the impact of emissions and the urban canopy meteorological forcing, one also has to consider the effect of modified land use and its impact on dry deposition. These were shown to be important in both seasons. For the effect of modified biogenic emissions, our calculations showed that they act on PM2.5 predominantly through SOA modifications, which only turned out to be important during summer.

Neighborhood satisfaction in large housing estates of Central and East European cities: insights from Novi Sad, Serbia

Neighborhood satisfaction in large housing estates of Central and East European cities: insights from Novi Sad, Serbia

Intergenerational social housing for older adults: Findings from a Central European city

Creating modern social housing should address not only architectonic requirements but also social challenges associated with ageing society. In that regard it is especially important to avoid creating closed homogeneous communities, stressing this aspect in countries which are at the beginning of a way of introducing such solutions. Therefore, the aim of this research is to assess whether the pioneer intergenerational social housing building and its neighbourhood in Central European conditions properly answer the needs of older adults, improving their quality of life. The research was based on a survey conducted with two groups of residents: older adults (aged 65 and over) and other residents. Main findings show that moving to the analysed building reduced their architectural barriers which were problematic in previous living places. They assess the building itself more positively than its surroundings, and most of them have good social networks in this place. They are more interested in intergenerational housing projects rather than buildings designed only for older people. At the same time, younger residents benefit from some solutions designed for older people. Although most of them were neutral about having older people as neighbours while deciding about moving in, 20% of them highlight benefits of having them as neighbours at the moment. Satisfaction about living in the building is rather high in both groups and 87 % of older people and 80% of rest of residents would make the same decision about moving into this place. This study draws suggestions on future design of intergenerational housing and highlights the space for improvement based on the implemented case.

Industrial legacy towards modern urban environment: a comparative study of Wroclaw and Brno

The paper examines the spatial structure of industrial production in the urban environment of two Central European cities, Wroclaw and Brno, and their changes during the transformation from centrally controlled to capitalist economies. The study used mapping techniques to analyse the spatial distribution of industrial activities, focusing on the representation of industrial sectors and major industrial enterprises in both cities. The research aimed to evaluate the spatial impacts of deindustrialization on the urban environment and subsequently interpret the functional and structural changes in the cities. Standard methodological procedures in regional sciences, including descriptive statistics and ArcGIS visualization, were employed. The results revealed similarities and differences in the transformation of the two cities and indicated the substantial scale of their post-industrial transformation. Major structural changes have occurred since the 1990s. The last two decades have been directed towards creating modern post-industrial environments while retaining the significant and visible industrial heritage.

London Plane Bark Exfoliation and Tree-Ring Growth in Urban Environments

AbstractBackgroundBark exfoliation is a common feature of London planes (Platanus×acerifolia) that reportedly increases during periods of drought-induced stem shrinkage. Here, we explore the spatial patterns and potential drivers of plane bark exfoliation in Mainz, a central European city of 220,000 inhabitants, following the exceptional summer drought of 2018.MethodsWe estimate the degree of bark exfoliation of 349 urban plane trees across the city and use stem microcores to analyze their tree-ring widths from 2006 to 2019. Further to impervious cover, settlement structure and vegetation cover in the vicinity of each tree, we investigate the relationships between bark exfoliation and tree, site, and climate factors.ResultsResults indicate that plane bark exfoliation correlates significantly with tree size and inner bark width (bothp< 0.001) but is independent of impervious cover and local site conditions. Similarly, stem growth does not change within the city underlining the resilience of London planes to cope with highly diverse urban site conditions. Plane tree-ring widths were only weakly associated with exfoliation estimates (p< 0.05) but strongly controlled by cold season temperatures (p< 0.001).ConclusionAs tree growth was also not affected by summer drought, potential detrimental effects by limited infiltration, increased runoff and altered evaporation are of less concern for the plane trees in Mainz. Projected winter warming is likely to enhance urban plane growth in upcoming decades.

Genetic structure of Trifolium pratense populations in a cityscape.

Urban grasslands provide numerous ecosystem services, and their maintenance should be based on naturally regenerating plant populations. However, the urban environment is challenging for preserving viable populations, mostly because of their high fragmentation and small size, which can lead to genetic drift. We examined red clover (Trifolium pratense) in a medium-size city in Central Europe to test the cityscape effect on within- and among-population genetic diversity. We used eight inter-simple sequence repeat markers to examine the genetic structure of 16 populations, each represented by eight individuals. The isolation by resistance was analysed using a least cost patch approach, focusing on gene flow via pollinators. We found great variation among T. pratense populations, with no discernible geographic pattern in genetic diversity. We linked the diversity to the long history of the city and high stochasticity of land use changes that occurred with city development. In particular, we did not find that the Odra River (ca. 100 m wide) was a strong barrier to gene transfer. However, notable isolation was present due to resistance and distance, indicating that the populations are threatened by genetic drift. Therefore, gene movement between populations should be increased by appropriate management of urban green areas. We also found that small urban grassland (UG) patches with small populations can still hold rare alleles which significantly contribute to the overall genetic variation of T. pratense in the city.

Urban wild bees benefit from flower-rich anthropogenic land use depending on bee trait and scale

ContextWild bees are important pollinators for wild and cultivated plants. Besides other causes, their decline has been linked to land-use change such as urbanisation. In contrast, urban habitats are discussed as potential wild bee refuges.ObjectivesTo expand our understanding of cities as wild bee habitats, bee responses to urban land-use types with varying foraging and nesting resources were analysed.MethodsWild bees were sampled with pan traps at 49 study sites in a Central European city. Effects of land-use types on wild bees were examined at 12 scales ranging from 50 to 1500 m from sampling points. For analyses, bees were grouped according to their traits (e.g., size, nesting and pollen-collecting behaviour) to account for species-specific requirements.ResultsLand-use types significantly affected wild bees covering all investigated scales. Anthropogenically managed flower-rich habitats, i.e., long-term allotments and cemeteries, were beneficial for most wild bee groups within varying scales between 200 and 600 m. Impervious surface affected only some of the investigated wild bee groups, mostly in a unimodal manner within a 100 m scale.ConclusionsThis study shows that it is recommended for future investigations to take different scales and different bee traits into account when assessing urban habitat quality for bees. In particular, the non-linear response to impervious surface indicates positive edge effects between urban core and rural areas. Conservation measures and implementation management to support wild bees in urban areas should consider the results on scale and land use to meet species-specific demands effectively.

Changes in the Patterns of Population Distribution and Built-Up Areas of the Rural–Urban Fringe in Post-Socialist Context—A Central European Case Study

The rapid and significant expansion of urban areas is observed worldwide; however, considerable differences are detected within the characteristics of the process. The rural–urban fringe is changing most dynamically from the aspect of land use and this tends to be relevant in the case of post-socialist cities in Central Europe even with a stagnating or decreasing population. Debrecen (Hungary) and its hinterland adequately represent the migration trends of Hungarian cities and the great administrative area provided wide intra-urban suburbanization processes. The current study put the emphasis on the analysis of the spatial pattern of built-up areas and the distribution of residents. In order to discover the processes of the post-socialist transition period, detailed point layers were created to illustrate every built-up parcel in the rural–urban fringe of Debrecen (for the years 1980, 2000, and 2020). The most important characteristics were discovered with the help of GIS methods—Kernel-density, grid pattern analysis of the object density, and analysis of land cover/land use changes using Corine Land Cover Change (CLCC) databases. The dynamic and extended expansion of built-up areas was seen until 2000, in which the outskirts (including hobby gardens) densified spectacularly. The urban sprawl has been less intensive since the millennium and the increase in built-up areas has become more concentrated. As a consequence of the transition period, extended territories—primarily the least dense parts of the rural–urban fringe—are faced with the disappearance of buildings due to agricultural cultivation reasons.

Winter-time pollution in Central European cities shifts the 208Pb/207Pb isotope ratio of atmospheric PM2.5 to higher values: Implications for lead source apportionment

Atmospheric lead pollution has adverse health effects on humans. Identification of anthropogenic Pb sources is thus crucial for understanding of pollution-related risks and for formulation of efficient abatement strategies. We analyzed concentrations and isotope ratios of Pb in fine air-borne particulate matter (PM2.5) in three Central European cities. Aerosol sampling in 12-h intervals was performed during summer and winter in Hradec Králové, Olomouc and Brno, regional centers of highly industrialized Czech Republic, each with a population of more than 90 thousand. Lead analysis was complemented with concentration measurements of Zn, Cu, Cd, As, Sb, and S. Trace element and PM2.5 concentrations were higher in winter than in summer in all studied cities, on average by 47%. The overall mean concentration of PM2.5 in urban air was 21 μg m−3, similar to that in Bern (Switzerland) and Vienna (Austria). Across the sites, 206Pb/207Pb ratios ranged from 1.142 to 1.178 in summer and from 1.143 to 1.173 in winter. The mean 206Pb/207Pb ratios were statistically indistinguishable in all three studied cities (1.165 in Hradec Králové, 1.163 in Olomouc, and 1.160 in Brno). In the 206Pb/207Pb vs.208Pb/207Pb graph, Pb isotope composition of summer samples formed a straight line, whereas Pb isotope composition of winter samples was shifted toward higher 208Pb/207Pb ratios. A Pb isotope inventory of regional pollution sources indicated that winter-time Pb pollution was not caused solely by household heating and increased electricity production in coal-burning power plants. Recycling of industrial Pb originating from Variscan ores and waste incineration could have shifted the 208Pb/207Pb ratio of PM2.5 to higher values, however, such sources do not emit more Pb in winter than in summer. Remobilization of legacy alkyl-Pb from gasoline additives and Pb emissions from current unleaded gasoline and diesel could have shifted both Pb isotope ratios to lower values.

Measuring the relationships between various urban green spaces and local climate zones

Urban green spaces (UGS) improve living conditions in cities by mitigating the Urban Heat Island effect. While the cooling effect of UGS seems unequivocal, the relationship between the types of UGS and types of residential areas has not yet been well explored. In this study, we systematically analysed the cooling effect of 71 UGS in Prague, a central European city, on residential areas within 400 m of the UGS. The UGS are classified according to their spatial characteristics (size, shape, and tree density), and the residential areas according to three Local Climate Zones (LCZ 2, 5, 6) typical for European cities. The cooling effect is evaluated using a regression model of the Land Surface Temperature (LST) in residential zones according to the LCZ type and distance from the various UGS. The results show that compact UGS of 10–25 ha with dense trees have the most pronounced cooling effect. This type of UGS was associated with a mean decrease in LST within 400 m of 2.3 °C compared to the least effective UGS type (long with sparse trees) across LCZs. The results of the presented study can be applied in urban planning and urban design to improve microclimates in cities.

Housing Market in Central European City during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Many aspects of the global economy changed during the Covid-19 pandemic, including the real estate market. This study examines the primary residential property market in Opole during the Covid-19 pandemic. It uses property transaction data from 2018 to 2021 to conduct statistical analyses and independent group tests and also takes into account the real-estate price trend from 2014 to 2020. The study finds that both property prices and preferences relating to the structure and location of housing changed during the pandemic. In the case of Opole, the number of transactions involving residential units in the primary market increased in 2020 compared to previous years. After adjusting the unit price value of residential properties for the trend in the pre-pandemic period, the study finds that there was also an increase in property transaction prices. The study confirms three important facts relating to phenomena that are occurring globally in cities today. First, local communities are more diverse in terms of the economic heterogeneity of real estate buyers. Second, unlike big urban areas, small cities may be more resistant to the process of citizens migrating to suburban areas, thereby limiting the negative phenomenon of urban sprawl. Third, the housing real estate market in small cities is considered a reliable form of investment of assets, as real estate prices increased during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Social Media Use in Central and Eastern European Cities: Defining Local Government-Citizen Relationships through Phases

AbstractResearch has shown the potential of social media to disseminate important information as well as transform citizen engagement with government. However, implementation proves difficult, especially in public sector organizations. The success, impact and performance of these new forms of networked interactions are yet to be fully explored, especially at the local level. Many municipalities are experimenting with social media use, but few actively measure their performance on these platforms and their interactions with users. Different frameworks have been proposed to describe government communication types and activity on social media. They are addressed here through three phases that refer to forms of government‐citizen communication on social media. The original assessment method developed here contributes to the existing literature and provides guidance to practitioners. Empirically, our research relies on a database of cities that have between 100,000 and 500,000 inhabitants in European Union member states located in Central and Eastern Europe. It provides social media metrics for these cities (N=82 and compares various indicators on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. This contributes to a better assessment ofhow social media platforms are used by local governments in the region.

Creating an Interactive Urban Traffic System for the Simulation of Different Traffic Scenarios

The social and political efforts to fight climate change have contributed to a re-thinking of traffic systems, especially in urban areas under constant transformation. To simulate and visualize planning scenarios of urban traffic systems in a realistic way, the possibilities of virtual 3D environments have regularly been used. The modern potentials of (immersive) virtual reality, however, still require exploration, evaluation, and further development. Using the game engine Unity, an immersive virtual environment was developed to visualize and experience dynamic traffic conditions of a highly dense urban area. The case study is based on the characteristic model of a Central European city (not a representation of a real city), which brings together the specific considerations of urban traffic, such as mirroring the complex interplay of pedestrians as well as individual and public transport. This contribution has an applied methodological focus and considers possibilities as well as difficulties in the design of a reliably running (open-end) traffic system. The applied tool for the creation of a modular and customizable traffic system in Unity resulted in a traffic system that is capable of reacting to the individual behavior of the user (including the individualized motion of the avatar), without leading to accidents or uncorrectable traffic jams. Therefore, the tool used could be a valuable option for any developer of immersive virtual environments in Unity to equip these immersive virtual environments with a traffic system, without the use of additional third-party software.

Spatiotemporal dissemination of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales in municipal sewer systems: a prospective, longitudinal study in the city of Basel, Switzerland.

The contribution of community and hospital sources to the transmission of extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing Enterobacterales (ESBL-PE) remains elusive. To investigate the extent of community dissemination and the contribution of hospitals to the spread of ESBL-PE by exploring their spatiotemporal distribution in municipal wastewater of the central European city of Basel. Wastewater samples were collected monthly for two consecutive years throughout Basel, Switzerland, including 21 sites across 10 postcode areas of the city collecting either community wastewater (urban sites, n = 17) or community and hospital wastewater (mixed sites, n = 4). Presumptive ESBL-PE were recovered by selective culture methods. Standard methodologies were applied for species identification, ESBL-confirmation, and quantification. Ninety-five percent (477/504) of samples were positive for ESBL-PE. Among these isolates, Escherichia coli (85%, 1,140/1,334) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (11%, 153/1,334) were most common. They were recovered throughout the sampling period from all postcodes, with E. coli consistently predominating. The proportion of K. pneumoniae isolates was higher in wastewater samples from mixed sites as compared to samples from urban sites, while the proportion of E. coli was higher in samples from urban sites (p = 0.003). Higher numbers of colony forming units (CFUs) were recovered from mixed as compared to urban sites (median 3.2 × 102 vs. 1.6 × 102 CFU/mL). E. coli-counts showed moderate correlation with population size (rho = 0.44), while this correlation was weak for other ESBL-PE (rho = 0.21). ESBL-PE are widely spread in municipal wastewater supporting that community sources are important reservoirs entertaining the spread of ESBL-PE. Hospital-influenced abundance of ESBL-PE appears to be species dependent.

Perception and preferred reuse of vegetated vacant lots along main streets in a shrinking city

Vacant land in cities is linked to generating insecurity and urban decline. However, vegetated vacant lots offer easy opportunities for reuse and have ecological, economic, and social potential. Four medium-sized vacant lots (0,7–1,5 ha) with spontaneous vegetation located along main streets in Ostrava (Czechia) have been purposefully selected for this study. Structured interviews (n = 383) were collected to assess the perception of passers-by and their reuse preferences for these lots. Structural equation models were then performed to test the effect of sociodemographic variables. This paper aims to evaluate whether vegetated vacant lots in a historic urban fabric are perceived as an asset or liability by visitors and to assess the prospects for a publicly-accepted reuse of such spaces in a shrinking Central European city. Results indicate that the selected lots are perceived ambivalently. Older visitors show a more positive perception of the vacant lots, while no significant gender differences were identified. Educated respondents visited the vegetated vacant lots less often and perceived them more negatively compared to their less educated counterparts. Policy implications are provided in the end.

Modelling climate analogue regions for a central European city

In this study, we describe a methodology to derive climate analogue cities for spatially highly resolved future climate scenarios. For the computation, a reduced and in hindsight bias-adjusted EURO-CORDEX EUR-11 dataset is used based on two climate scenarios (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). A total of 389 European cities are processed by the algorithm, which uses five statistical climate variables (2-m air temperature average and amplitude, precipitation sum and amplitude, correlation between 2-m air temperature average and precipitation sum). Additionally, extreme weather events (hot days, summer days, tropical nights, extreme precipitation events) are calculated for further comparison and validation. Finding an appropriate analogue permits a more accurate derivation and depiction of necessary climate adaptation efforts and therefore assist decision-making in city planning. As an example of our method, we searched for plausible climate twins for the mid-sized city of Aachen (Germany) at the end of the twenty-first century. Our results show that the French city of Dijon is highly likely to become Aachen’s climate twin by the end of the century for RCP4.5. As for the scenario RCP8.5, no clear European analogue city could be determined, indicating that the city might enter a novel climate. The nearest match suggests the cities of Florence and Prato in Tuscany. However, considering climate indices, the encompassing region of the French–Spanish city triangle Bordeaux–Toulouse–Bilbao is a better fit. The developed algorithm can be applied to any of the cities included in the dataset.

The importance of unsealed areas in the urban core and periphery for bird diversity in a large central european city

Although urbanization poses one of the largest threats for biodiversity, only few studies have so far examined its impact in large Central European cities. Our study aimed at investigating the effects of urbanization on bird diversity using two methods to describe the urban environment. The first measure used the degree of sealing, portion of traffic infrastructure, number of floors of the tallest building at a site scale (100-m radius), and the distance from the city center, while the second one relied on land-cover data at a local scale (1000-m radius). We conducted bird surveys at 761 sites across Hamburg. Bird diversity was assessed as species richness, abundance, and Shannon index. Additionally, evenness was calculated. Both urbanization measures represented a rural-to-urban gradient and were negatively correlated with bird diversity as well as evenness. At the site scale, the degree of sealing had the strongest negative effect on bird diversity followed by the portion of traffic infrastructure and the tallest building. At the local scale, artificial surfaces proved to have the strongest negative effect, while agricultural areas and forests were positively associated with bird diversity. In general, models using the site scale for measuring urbanization showed higher associations with diversity. The results emphasize the importance of unsealed areas in the urban environment and of natural habitats in the periphery for bird diversity in Central European cities with millions of human inhabitants. Considering this for future city planning can help to preserve biodiversity in the urban environment, increase bird diversity in development areas, and thus improve living conditions for people.

The influence of vegetation drought stress on formaldehyde and ozone distributions over a central European city

To estimate the effect of vegetation stress and changes in biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions on urban ozone (O3) levels we perform a systematic, observation-based analysis of the relationship between formaldehyde (HCHO) mixing ratios, meteorological parameters, measurement-based drought indicators and O3 over the central European city of Vienna, Austria. In addition, numerical models SURface EXternalisée (SURFEX), Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) Vers.2.1 and 3 and MOdèle de Chimie A Grande Echelle (MOCAGE) are combined to estimate the soil moisture, the spatial distribution and drought response of isoprene emissions, and the resulting distribution of HCHO in the atmosphere. To analyse the effect of drought during spring and summer we contrast observations during dry and reference years. Our results show that the observed HCHO can be explained using the simulated isoprene emissions as well as observed and simulated vegetation drought responses. HCHO mixing ratios differ strongly between dry and reference seasons. Spring-time precipitation deficits facilitate reduced HCHO mixing ratios due to delayed and weakened plant growth. In consequence also O3 burdens are lowered due to reduced BVOC precursor emissions. These reductions occur despite radiation levels being higher than during the reference year, illustrating the strong potential of spring-time BVOC emissions to modulate urban O3 burdens. Conversely, during summer elevated O3 levels occur during local drought conditions. These are driven by advected isoprene originating from nearby forest areas, which are not affected by drought. Our results regarding elevated summer-time O3 burdens under vegetation heat and drought stress are in good agreement with previous work.

Understanding social innovation in refugee integration: actors, practices, politics in Europe

The so-called ‘refugee crisis’ marked a crucial juncture in migration governance across Europe. Policy-makers and local communities face the challenge of receiving and integrating migrants (often in extremely vulnerable conditions) in a context of poor governance arrangements and rising skepticism, or even hostility. In the light of such a complex scenario, this special issue explores social innovation as a promising approach to refugee integration. Socially innovative practices are indeed based on the active engagement of policy-makers and assorted stakeholders—including target groups through co-creation. In the realm of asylum policies, social innovation can thus facilitate the meeting of refugees’ needs as well as the benevolence of receiving communities, ultimately strengthening social cohesion in regions of settlement. Families hosting migrants at home, community-based cooperatives, and self-managed social spaces are all instances of socially innovative practices that are often initiated by non-state actors but that might be upscaled and transformed into fully fledged public policies—especially by policy-makers at the local and regional levels. The special issue will focus on labor, housing, and social integration of refugees (especially in the stages after their first reception) in the context of Central European cities and regions. The purpose is to develop conceptual tools for evaluating and designing socially innovative practices that might ultimately improve the social innovation capacity of local and regional governments. As the ‘social innovation’ concept risks to be ambiguous, the special issue will also allow researchers to develop a set of empirically grounded indicators for measuring social innovation capacity—especially based on the analysis of best practices that can be upscaled and replicated through mutual learning.

Development of historic monthly land use regression models of SO2, NOx and suspended particulate matter for birth cohort ELSPAC

Vulnerable windows in child development in utero and after birth are critical time points for uncovering the links between environment and health. Particular attention is paid to the first 1000 days of life from conception to the second year of life.The ELSPAC (European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood) birth cohort, launched in the early 1990s, is a rich source of longitudinal data about health and life events, based mainly in Brno, Czechia. There are currently no air quality concentration maps that can be used to assess exposure to air pollutants for this period of the 1990s in Central Europe. Simply transferring current models to the 1990's is burdened with the error introduced by the temporal change in emission sources and land use of the area. Therefore, Czech air quality monitoring data were used to develop monthly land use regression (LUR) models, which combine collected spatial variables with monitoring data to predict the variation in exposures to pollutants. Monthly pollutant concentrations were regressed against the GIS-based potential predictor variables to develop LUR models, following a supervised forward linear regression, with several predefined constraints.We constructed 180 LUR monthly models for sulphur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) for 1990–1994, that completely cover the first 1000 days for all ELSPAC study participants. The final models showed, on average reasonably good performance (adjusted R2 = 0.59 with hold-out validation (HOV) R2 = 0.40 for SO2; adjusted R2 = 0.75 with HOV R2 = 0.35 for NOx; and adjusted R2 = 0.61 with HOV R2 = 0.31 for SPM; with a mean number of stations of 74, 38 and 41, respectively). For these models, roads and greenness were predominantly selected as the best predictors.The modelled exposures will serve in many subsequent ELSPAC epidemiological studies, but our models may be also used in other Czech and possibly other Central European cities in that period.