Characteristics Of Urban Space Research Articles

Unlocking Urban Accessibility: Proximity Analysis in Bangkok, Thailand’s Mega City

Accessibility serves as the fundamental link for mode shifts, enabling access to activity areas and facilitating connections to other forms of travel. However, navigating the transportation network in urban areas of Bangkok, Thailand, reveals persistent inconveniences, discomfort, and safety concerns, thereby failing to adequately meet the needs of users. This study aims to examine urban accessibility, focusing on multi-travel connections to amenities and public transport. It focuses on understanding how the level of engagement of road users in social activities contributes to well-being by addressing proximity access through a multidisciplinary approach aimed at enhancing accessibility and integrating the built environment. The comprehensive and inclusive Accessibility by Proximity Index (API) is proposed as a tool to evaluate the level of access to essential services and activities for residents. Additionally, this study acknowledges the impact of the physical and utilization characteristics of urban space and active trajectories by considering various travel needs and daily route patterns. Consequently, the API can inform the development of planning and urban design strategies aimed at enhancing walkability and cycling as non-motorization infrastructures, thereby improving accessibility through active modes of transportation. It was observed that areas with a higher concentration of urban amenities exhibit greater accessibility by walking, cycling, and public transport, particularly in inner-city areas. Thus, envisioning a more sustainable and inclusive city with adequate development of public transportation access is essential in urban areas, prompting policy-level initiatives to enhance the environment and elevate the overall commuting experience.

Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Explore the Structural Characteristics of Urban Spaces for Outdoor Heat Stress Assessment and Comparative Analysis of Heat Island Cooling Strategies

Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to Explore the Structural Characteristics of Urban Spaces for Outdoor Heat Stress Assessment and Comparative Analysis of Heat Island Cooling Strategies

URBAN SPACE AND CULTURAL ARCHETYPES

This paper analyses cultural and aesthetic phenomena and theirinherent meanings within the Japanese city. In the introduction, Ifirst briefly define the key concepts used in the analysis: culturalarchetype, collective memory, and cultural identity. I will approach
 the theme from a comparative point of view by examining Japaneseurban features and archetypal principles in contrast to the Europeancity.Early Japanese urbanisation centred around imperial palaces, withthe first cities founded by successive emperors from the 7th centuryonwards in the Nara region, near present-day Kyoto. The orthogonalplan for the imperial capital was copied from the contemporaneousChinese dynasties. Spatial organisation was hierarchical, imperialquarters were located at the northern end of the central south–northaxis of the city, and the most prestigious plots were around theEmperor’s palace. Kyoto, the historical Heian-Kyô, was founded asthe imperial capital in 794.Tokyo, the historical Edo, became a “castle city” in 1457 when amilitary castle was built, and subsequently the capital when theshôgun moved government from Kyoto to Edo in 1603. The shôgun’scastle, the centre of power, intertwined with the hierarchical urbanorder spiralling around it. Edo gradually became a modern capital,Tokyo, while Kyoto remained the traditional centre of high cultureand the seat of the powerless Emperor until 1868.The Japanese city is a cultural metaphor. Psychological uncertainty,due to the country’s location in a precarious earthquake and volcaniczone, and an awareness of the perishability of life based on Buddhistphilosophy, have all deeply influenced both Japanese culture andthe Japanese mind. Emptiness, the Taoist ideal linked to Buddhistthinking, is also reflected in the urban space. For instance, a Japanesecity has no designated urban centre whereas in the European citythis is a culturally and economically accentuated place.In this paper, I also analyse the Japanese spatial concepts ma andoku, along with their archetypal manifestations in urban tissue andstreet scape. While ma means experiencing space in time, oku refers tothe hidden dimension of the urban experience, or the psychologicalstate of processing a path whereby the urban core remains hiddenand only partially discovered.Regardless of Japan’s recent historical and economic development,the cultural characteristics of urban spaces have not changed a greatdeal. Tokyo is still a mosaic city of small village-type communitieswith an inherent feeling of togetherness. Hidenoby Jinnai has calledthis phenomenon an “ethnic continuity” whereby the new and theold are mixed in an ethnic order.

Measuring accessibility by proximity for an inclusive city

Accessibility is a relevant condition for social inclusion, depending on both context (transport system, land use patterns, temporal availability) and individual features. Based on this, it may be used for measuring people's ability to participate in social life and activities that contribute to their well-being. With the aim of dealing with the accessibility by proximity concept, this paper proposes an Inclusive Accessibility by Proximity Index (IAPI), conceived as a tool for assessing accessibility levels to services and activities deemed essential for local inhabitants, while recognizing the impact of the physical and perceptual characteristics of urban spaces and paths on active mobility. By considering the needs and habits of different mobility profiles in relation to the spaces and paths they live and cross daily, IAPI can help direct the construction of planning and urban design measures aimed at promoting walkability and cyclability and improving accessibility via active modes, thus envisioning a more sustainable and inclusive city. Taking a cue from the experience conducted in the testbed of Bologna (Italy), this paper describes the methodology for constructing and applying the index, presents the results obtained, and outlines the steps to make the tool scalable and sensitive to the different contexts.

КОМПЛЕКСНИЙ АНАЛІЗ ТА ОЦІНКА ТЕРИТОРІЙ МІСТА ЯК ПЕРШОЧЕРГОВЕ ВИЗНАЧЕННЯ ПОТРЕБ ДЛЯ ФОРМУВАННЯ КОМФОРТНОГО ТА БЕЗПЕЧНОГО МІСЬКОГО ПРОСТОРУ

The formation of urban space that is comfortable and safe for its users is the highest goal of modern urban planning science. After analysing existing planning practices, it was found that the primary prerequisite for the formation of urban space is to determine the needs of the area, which are established after comprehensive analyses and assessment of the territories. The needs determine the direction of their development. This paper reviews the existing methods of analysis and assessment of territories and identifies their characteristic features that require analysis and assessment to establish clearer actions to improve the space. This article investigates the issue of comprehensive analysis and assessment of urban areas and their impact on the formation, reform and reconstruction of urban space. The purpose of this study was to systematize knowledge on the analysis and assessment of urban areas. Based on the identified problems, the prerequisites for the formation of a comfortable urban space for all levels of needs of its residents and users are established. In a modern city, many processes take place simultaneously, which affect the functional division of territories in accordance with the dominant activities on them. Formulating clear urban planning tasks helps to: preserve the positive and change the negative characteristics of urban space, take into account the views of local residents and space users, analyse investment opportunities, primarily to understand the material prospects of the area. A comprehensive analysis and assessment of the city's territories allows identifying problems or conflict situations in the urban space that negatively affect its functioning, development and comfort. Usually, the definition of city comfort is defined as a separate assessment criterion, but in the author's opinion, it is the formation of a comfortable urban space that is the main task for urbanists, which includes many criteria that ensure the safety, environmental friendliness, identity and modernity of the space in accordance with the needs of the local community. As a result of the research, it was found that supplementing the existing practices and methods of analyzing and assessing urban space in accordance with the current needs of urban planning would allow for a better and more relevant formation of the urban space that is needed by the resident and its user.

Rassuzhdeniya o prostranstvennom razvitii gorodov v svete teorii samoorganizacii

The article introduces self-organization theory into the research level of historical urban development, outlines the development overview and theoretical connotation of self-organization theory, analyzes the self-organization typical characteristics of urban space, and then takes into account the cognitive model of urban space development, which is distilled into the following three points. Finally, it interprets the connotation and essence of urban space development and provides reference and references for related practice and theoretical research.

Дизайн городской инфраструктуры как значимое средство формирования здоровья населения.

The article discusses the importance of urban infrastructure design in ensuring public health. Relevance. The growing level of urbanization of territories, the growth of cities and the formation of the urban environment currently provide relevance in the search for means to strengthen and maintain the health of the population at the proper level. One of the ways to achieve this goal is to form an eco-friendly, health-saving space that will have all the necessary resources to achieve comfort in the lives of urban residents. The purpose of the study is to analysis of the directions and methods of creating urban infrastructure design that have an impact on environmental and health-oriented characteristics of the external environment. The subject of the study is a health-oriented urban space. Research methods. The analysis of scientific information on this topic, the synthesis of opinions, statistical analysis, the method of graphical data transmission is carried out. Results. Thus, the conducted research has shown the importance of ensuring a safe urban space, eco-friendly and practical infrastructure design in ensuring public health. Conclusions. The health-oriented characteristics of urban space are the key to the successful development of sustainable urban indicators and the full socio-economic development of our country. The scope of the results. The results of the conducted research will be reflected in the development of such topics in the scientific healthcare system.

Comparison of an unmaned aerial vehicle based physical environment with thermal properties from in-situ measurements: Campus of Changwon National University, South Korea

The rapid development of urban areas has adversely affected the thermal environment. Analysis of the various characteristics of the physical environment in urban spaces that affect the thermal environment and appropriate measures for urban and environmental planning are required to address these problems sustainably. Therefore, the application of unmaned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for the precise analysis of the physical environment in urban spaces was studied. The present study compared the thermal properties measured in the field and the physical environment derived using a UAV in the Changwon National University campus in Changwon-si, South Korea. The physical environment was analyzed using UAV-based parameters such as normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and sky view factor (SVF). The thermal property was collected using radiant energy and land surface temperature that were measured using mobile equipment. UAV NDVI and UAV SVF were strongly correlated with the upward and downward long-wave radiation, respectively. The physical environment measured by the UAV was strongly correlated with the thermal properties. Therefore, UAVs could be useful for monitoring the thermal characteristics of urban spaces.

Where are the people? Counting people in millions of street-level images to explore associations between people’s urban density and urban characteristics

A thorough understanding of how urban space characteristics, such as urban equipment or network topology, affect people’s density in urban spaces is essential to well-informed urban policy making. Hitherto, studies have primarily examined how the characteristics of the urban space impacts the number of people visiting different parts of the urban area (e.g., the city center). However, these studies almost without exception have used relatively small data sets, targeting specific neighborhoods or places. As a result, their findings are confined to specific areas and it is unclear to what extent their findings generalize to other urban areas. This study addresses this gap. We propose a new computer vision-based method to study how the urban space is associated with people’s urban density in outdoor urban spaces. Specifically, our method uses a pre-trained object detection model to identify and count people as well as urban-related objects, such as presence of cars, and benches in millions street-level images collected throughout the Netherlands. Importantly, each street-level image is geo-located. Therefore, for each detected person and object its location is known. In turn, we regress urban space characteristics and urban-related objects on the number of people identified as a proxy for density in urban spaces. Our results show that higher numbers of people tend to be observed in places with smaller blocks, suggesting that compact urban development may be an effective way to increase people’s density. Moreover, we find that the presence of food places and bicycles is associated with more people, indicating that urban planners could study the location of these amenities to attract more visitors to urban spaces and exploring the causality effects in this relationship. Our methodology offers a complementary way to monitor how the urban space is used over the time and to assess the effectiveness of urban interventions and policies.

Study on the Temporal and Spatial Evolution of Urban Spatial Morphological Features

Based on the Landsat remote sensing images of the fourth phase of Xi'an, the land use data of ENVI interpretation and classification are used to extract the boundaries of Xi'an's built-up areas, and the urban spatial analysis method based on GIS is used to comprehensively analyze the evolution characteristics of urban space in Xi'an in the past 30 years. The research results show that the built-up area in Xi'an has been expanding rapidly since 2000, mainly in the form of extension, the shape of the built-up area tends to expand in all directions, and the overall compactness is low, and the efficiency of urban land use is significantly reduced. The overall development presents spread trend.

Spatial Orders in Informal Settlements

Spontaneous settlements are a feature of urban areas across the world, and the global south in particular. Over the years, studies of these settlements have been framed around upgrading. Premised on the idea that spontaneous settlements were (and are) an undesirable part of the urban fabric. Often described by what they lack (land tenure, space, water, sanitation and adequate shelter), spontaneous settlements appear as a problem to be fixed. Upgrading schemes were thus geared towards ‘regularising’ them, so as to ensure they could fit into the formal desired characteristics of urban spaces. Upgrading largely concentrates on the built fabric, often neglecting the complex social structures that exist and even less about the intricate public/private linkages within these settlements. Interfaces are a physical manifestation of the parochial social order which forms a transitional zone between the public and private territories.To unpack the spatial negotiations, present in spontaneous settlements, this paper studies the relationship between the built and social environment of the Kasokoso neighbourhood in Uganda. From a study of five dwellings, the study seeks to answer what defines private or parochial (semi-private) spatial orders, and what is deemed as spaces within the public realm? Are these permanent divisions, or are they temporal, varying between day and night? The paper highlights the important aspects of the physical environment including dwelling location, private to public space thresholds, and arrangement of shared open spaces that are interwoven with the social environment of the settlement.To generate these findings, the study combined observation, interviews, on-site sketching, and field notes to arrive at a comprehensive spatial and social analysis of activities in a spontaneous settlement. Drawing on this data, spatial domains around the five representative dwelling units were mapped and categorised under the social order structure (private, parochial, and public) with supplementary information recorded from narratives by actors within the study area describing their everyday activities.

Enriching geospatial data with computer vision to identify urban environment determinants of social interactions

Abstract. Characteristics of urban space (co-)determine human behaviour, including their social interaction patterns. However, despite numerous studies that have examined how the urban space impacts social interactions, their relationships are still poorly understood. Recent developments in computer vision and machine learning fields offer promising new ways to analyse and collect data on social interactions. This study proposes a new computer vision-based approach to study how the urban space impacts social interactions. The proposed method uses pre-trained object detection models to detect social interactions (including their geo-locations) from street-view imagery. After that, it regresses urban space characteristics – which are also detected using object detection models – on social interactions. For this study, 294,852 street-level images from three Dutch cities are analysed. Results from linear regression analysis show that for these three Dutch cities people tend to meet in places with a strong presence of recreational attractions and bicycles. Also, the results of data collection and image processing can be used to identify the areas most likely to produce social interactions in urban space to conduct urban studies.

A New Urban Space Analysis Method Based on Space Syntax and Geographic Information System Using Multisource Data

With large-scale urban demolition, the spatial pattern of the urban area in many cities has been destroyed, leading to the loss of urban regional identity; therefore, these urban spaces need to be urgently studied and protected. Previous studies on the spatial pattern of urban areas focused on spatial morphology or urban texture. However, due to difficulties in obtaining field survey data, such studies cannot comprehensively analyze the space; thus, the proposed conservation strategies are also more one-sided. In order to study the urban space more scientifically and systematically, and to propose a more operable spatial conservation strategy, this paper conducts a new urban space analysis method based on space syntax and the geographic information system using multisource data. With the help of software such as Depthmap and ArcGIS, as well as theories and methods such as space syntax and regression analysis, this article conducted a visual and quantitative analysis of the spatial information data such as integration of urban road networks, building height, architectural style, points of interest, number of lanes, and maximum road speed. Taking the old city of Wuxi as an example, the method’s feasibility was verified. The regression model analysis revealed that, when the integration of the area was higher, the buildings distributed around were multilane, fast lane, modern buildings, taller buildings, commercial buildings, and vice versa, which gives a scientific basis for the proposed strategy of creating regional characteristics of urban space. This new analysis method of urban space is of great significance for the study of urban problems, the exploration of urban characteristics, and the proposal of urban strategies.

Tokyo’s Black Markets as an Alternative Urban Space: Occupation, Violence, and Disaster Reconstruction

Black markets emerged at every corner in cities across Japan immediately after World War II. They spread rapidly due to the collapse in the distribution and rationing system. The government’s weakened control resulted in tolerance of the markets and occasionally covert government collaboration with black marketeers. In addition, existence of easily accessible open spaces in cities, such as areas that had been cleared of buildings by forced evacuation prior to air raids or that had been left in ruins by the raids, provided the space for black marketeers to build their street stalls. The black markets supported postwar reconstruction. They also had decisive influence on the emergence of new urban structures in postwar Japan. This essay examines the persistence of earlier characteristics of urban space along with the new elements in postwar Japan’s black markets. The new international character of the postwar black markets was evident in the prominence of repatriates from Japan’s former colonies, along with Chinese and Korean residents in Japan. The black market was thus a symbolic point of convergence between the prewar Empire of Japan and the new postwar Japan.

도시공간 특성에 따른 인구소멸 위험과 미분양이 지역 주택가격에 미치는 영향*

This study empirically analyzed the complex impacts of population extinction (in terms of demand), unsold housings (in terms of supply), and characteristics of urban space on regional housing markets based on the spatial hedonic price model. The main results are as follows. First, unsold housings occurring in the metropolitan area turned out to have a significantly negative effect on regional housing markets compared with the non-metropolitan area. Second, It was found that the higher population extinction is, the more the negative impact has on housing markets of the non-metropolitan area. Measures from different perspectives for raising the working-age population on the non-metropolitan area could help housing markets on the non-metropolitan area stable. Third, in particular, the extinction risk turned out to be likely to accelerate the downturn in housing markets in the non-metropolitan area compared with the metropolitan area. As a result, this study demonstrated that unsold housings in the metropolitan area in order not to increase anxiety over housing markets should be managed and integrated policies for population and housing on the non-metropolitan area should also be strengthened.

Appraisal of Place Identity through Tangible Elements of Cultural Features in Erbil City

The rapid growth of the cities with transformation of traditional urban spaces has caused a gap between cultural characteristics of urban identities. The identity of a specific place emerges from a series of cultural and social features of the relevant society embodied in the physical forms and shapes of the urban area. The paper aims to attain an overall understanding of keeping urban identity alive throughout the time, by analyzing the cultural characteristics of urban space. The study tries to develop a conceptual model focusing on the tangible relationship between the place identity and the cultural manifestations of the city of Erbil. The study adopted the quantitative way to test whether tangible elements affect place identity. The results indicate that a combination between place identity and cultural places can fortify our experience of place, and understanding of the influence of identity on urban development.

Production of Urban Space and the occurrence of malaria in the Brazilian Amazon: the Porto Velho case.

Due to intense ongoing urbanization in the Amazon, the urban pattern of malaria may be changing, both in its spatial distribution and epidemiological profile. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how the process of production of urban space in Porto Velho, the capital of the state of Rondonia, Brazil has contributed to the occurrence and maintenance of urban malaria. Using data collected from the Malaria Epidemiological Surveillance System (SIVEP-Malaria), we calculated malaria indices for the districts of Porto Velho from 2005 to 2018. We also developed two typologies for classifying urban space based on functional characteristics and features of the landscape. While the former considers characteristics of urban space in Porto Velho, the latter is based on suitability for malaria vectors. We found that the annual parasite index declined in Porto Velho during the study period. However, changes in the index were not uniform across the districts of the city. Periurban areas showed no decline in the index, which we attribute to these areas' high vegetation density and hydrological characteristics.

Total Demand, Use and Unmet Need for Modern Contraceptives Among Women Living in Informal Settlements in Kira Municipality, Wakiso District, Uganda. Implications for Urban Health.

Background: Update and utilization of modern contraceptives has public health benefits including reduction of unintended pregnancies, unsafe abortions, and related maternal mortality. However, paucity of evidence on key indicators of family planning in the informal settlements abounds. Data are usually collapsed within the larger urban communities that tend to mask peculiarities of informal settlements. This study determined the proportion of women using modern contraceptives, the unmet need for modern contraceptives and the total demand in informal settlements of an urban municipality.Methods: A cross-sectional study conducted among 626 women in the reproductive age (15–49 years) in the informal settlements of Kira municipality (part of metropolitan Kampala). Multi-stage sampling was applied in the selection of the respondents. Descriptive and log-binomial regression analysis were conducted to determine percentage of women using modern contraceptives, unmet need, and total demand with their associated factors. All analyses were conducted using STATA version 15.0.Results: The total demand for modern contraceptives was 84.9%, modern contraceptive prevalence was 47.4% nearly meeting the national target of 50%, however the unmet need was 37.3%, which much higher than the national target of 10%. Lower total demand for contraceptives was associated with higher women's education status and preference to have another child, while higher total demand was associated with having at least one living child. Higher modern contraceptives use was associated with older age, having at least one living child and high decision-making power, while lower modern contraceptives use was associated with higher education and undetermined fertility preference. Lower unmet need for modern contraceptives was associated with older age (PR 0.68, 95% CI: 0.48–0.97) and high decision-making power (PR 0.64, 95% CI: 0.50–0.81), while higher unmet need was found among those who having at least one living child (PR 1.40, 95% CI: 1.01–1.93) and undetermined fertility preference (PR 1.70, 95% CI: 1.24–2.34).Conclusions: Total demand and contraceptive use were found to be higher in the informal settlements of Kira municipality, however, the unmet need was much higher among this population as compared to the national urban estimates. This indicates a much higher demand for contraceptives and the need to consider the diverse socio-demographic characteristics of urban spaces. Development of Interventions need to critically consider the diverse urban space, associated explanatory variables and a collaborative systems lens to achieve sustained improvements.

미세먼지가 거주자의 활동에 미치는 영향과 생활환경 개선 방안에 대한 인식 연구 - 행정중심복합도시를 중심으로 -

This study examines the impact of fine dust on daily life in administrative city in Sejong, and proposes urban space improvement measures considering fine dust. By Conducting survey and big-data analysis, this study investigate the impact of find dust on behavioral pattern of residents. The survey was designed to ask how residents were usually exposed to fine dust during essential or optional activities. As a result, high concentration of fine dust caused changes in residents’ activity and travel pattern and had negative effect on individual stress level. Floating population analysis revealed different spatial patterns reflecting air quality and characteristics of urban space. Residents agreed strongly on the necessity of urban space improvement projects to deal with air quality problem, and had a willingness to reduce the use of cars. This study suggests designation of intensive management areas considering behavioral patterns of residents vulnerable to fine dust.

Proposal for a Methodology for Sustainable Rehabilitation Strategies of the Existing Building Stock—The Ponte Gêa Neighborhood

Having in mind the objectives of the United Nations Development Agenda 2030, which refers to the sustainable principles of a circular economy, it is urgent to improve the performance of the built environment. The existing buildings must be preserved and improved in order to reduce their environmental impact, in line with the need to revert climate change and reduce the occurrence of natural disasters. This work had as its main goal to identify and define a methodology for promoting the rehabilitation of buildings in the Ponte Gêa neighborhood, in the city of Beira, Mozambique, with an emphasis on energy efficiency, water efficiency, and construction and demolition waste management. The proposed methodology aims to create a decision support method for creating strategic measures to be implemented by considering the three specific domains—energy, water, and waste. This model allows for analyzing the expected improvement according to the action to be performed, exploring both individual and community solutions. It encompasses systems of standard supply that can reveal greater efficiency and profitability. Thus, the in-depth knowledge of the characteristics of urban space and buildings allows for establishing guidelines for the renovation process of the neighborhood.