Cities In Countries Research Articles

Transformation and Sustainable Development of Shopping Centers: Case of Czech and Slovak Cities

The aim of the paper is to critically evaluate the similarities and differences in the development of the temporal and spatial structure of shopping centers in the Czech and Slovak republics. We focused on the retail transformation and sustainable manifestations of the location and construction of shopping centers. We classified shopping centers according to their genesis, location in the city, and size of the gross leasable area. To analyze migration trends and geographic distribution characteristics of shopping centers in the capital cities of both countries (local level of analysis), we used spatial gravity and standard deviational ellipse. Generally, there is an analogous trend in the development of shopping centers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with a particular two- to four-year lag in Slovakia (west–east gradient). Despite this, we still perceive the demand for shopping centers in both countries as above average, and it is not declining. The construction of shopping centers, mainly in small towns, also indicates this trend. In Prague and Bratislava, the pattern of spatial expansion of shopping centers differs. Prague probably represents a more advanced phase of shopping center agglomeration. However, neither country has reached the state of clustering.

IMPACT OF TRANSPORTATION NETWORK COMPANY (TNC) SERVICES ON OTHER MODES: THE CASE OF DHAKA, BANGLADESH

Widespread popularity of TNC services has significantly changed the realm of urban transportation. This study presents an empirical investigation of the impact of TNC services on the other conventional modes in megacity Dhaka, the capital of the developing country Bangladesh. For this study, multinomial logit models have been developed using data collected from household travel survey. The no TNC scenario information has been collected by asking the respondents about their preferred mode for a similar kind of trip in a no TNC scenario when a trip made by TNC has been found. This study has found that TNC services are drawing passengers mostly from the CNGs. The finding is actually similar to several other researchers who concluded that TNCs are actually competing with taxi services in the cities of the first world countries. Considering the nature of these CNG vehicles, they can be compared to the taxi services of the first world countries. This study has also found comparatively higher impact of TNCs on public transit than many other studies.

Inside a Microapartment: Design Solutions to Support Future Sustainable Lifestyles

The purpose of this study wass to assess the interior design solutions of residential microflats built in large European cities in countries from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A sample consisting of thirty representative microflats with a floor area below 35 m2 was selected for the study. The flats were intended for either permanent or temporary occupancy and were built over the past fifteen years. The research field covered several large European cities, where demand for such units is high. Comparative analyses of different microflat interior design models were performed. The objective of the study was to determine which contemporary microflat interior design solutions (such as space layout, furniture layout, and design, color, and material design) are optimal and the most commonly used. Sets of design solutions applied in microflats were collected and documented. The study used a range of research methods, including a review of the literature, websites, field research, and comparative analysis. The set of presented interior design solutions and the conclusions drawn from the analyses can be useful to architects and interior designers who design microflats and residential units with greater floor areas, or flats where effective use of floor area is crucial (e.g., student housing). It is also worth mentioning that the existing literature on microflats focuses primarily on the United States and Australia and not Europe, and discusses the economics and ecology of inhabiting microflats.

An Analysis of the Impact of Dual Crises on Hong Kong’s Financial Development

According to the GFCI ranking from 2018-2020, Hong Kong fell from third to sixth, surpassing cities in other Asian countries and some inland cities in China. Hong Kong’s marginalization has intensified because of the impact of the new crown epidemic and anti-repair incidents. However, Hong Kong’s marginalization is indeed somewhat inappropriate. As far as the situation is concerned, Hong Kong still has a strong competitiveness, although it is lagging behind, but Hong Kong should think deeply about the strategy and system of “one country, two systems”, believe in the country’s strategic intention and adjust its state in time to re-exclude the public’s understanding of its marginalization.

Air quality index variation before and after the onset of COVID-19 pandemic: a comprehensive study on 87 capital, industrial and polluted cities of the world

BackgroundCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic provided an opportunity for the environment to reduce ambient pollution despite the economic, social and health disruption to the world. The purpose of this study was to investigate the changes in the air quality indexes (AQI) in industrial, densely populated and capital cities in different countries of the world before and after 2020. In this ecological study, we used AQI obtained from the free available databases such as the World Air Quality Index (WAQI). Bivariate correlation analysis was used to explore the correlations between meteorological and AQI variables. Mean differences (standard deviation: SD) of AQI parameters of different years were tested using paired-sample t-test or Wilcoxon signed-rank test as appropriate. Multivariable linear regression analysis was conducted to recognize meteorological variables affecting the AQI parameters.ResultsAQI-PM2.5, AQI-PM10 and AQI-NO2 changes were significantly higher before and after 2020, simultaneously with COVID-19 restrictions in different cities of the world. The overall changes of AQI-PM2.5, AQI-PM10 and AQI-NO2 in 2020 were – 7.36%, – 17.52% and – 20.54% compared to 2019. On the other hand, these results became reversed in 2021 (+ 4.25%, + 9.08% and + 7.48%). In general, the temperature and relative humidity were inversely correlated with AQI-PM2.5, AQI-PM10 and AQI-NO2. Also, after adjusting for other meteorological factors, the relative humidity was inversely associated with AQI-PM2.5, AQI-PM10 and AQI-NO2 (β = − 1.55, β = − 0.88 and β = − 0.10, P < 0.01, respectively).ConclusionsThe results indicated that air quality generally improved for all pollutants except carbon monoxide and ozone in 2020; however, changes in 2021 have been reversed, which may be due to the reduction of some countries’ restrictions. Although this quality improvement was temporary, it is an important result for planning to control environmental pollutants.

A Proposed Method to Evaluate Warehouse Location for 3PL Cold Chain Suppliers in Gulf Countries Using Neutrosophic Fuzzy EDAS

Logistics processes have been analyzed as one of the most critical expense items for companies. Companies that failed to manage their logistics processes well could not reach the desired growth rates, and some even disappeared. Logistics management without process optimizations can be time and money consuming for the companies. Logistics processes significantly influence organizations' efficiency. Logistic professionals should keep the process flow quality at a certain level, and some decision problems should be analyzed and answered well. Location selection of a warehouse is one of the most crucial decision problems of supply chain and logistics management. Alternatives are evaluated in quantitative and qualitative criteria to decide the best location alternative using scientific MCDM techniques. Different scientific methods have been developed and used to solve this problem. As for this study, the aim is to investigate the warehouse location selection of third-party cold chain logistics suppliers. The importance of keeping perishable products under the right conditions increased, since it is realized that cold chain warehousing and transportation prevent the product spoiled. Organizations can save their funds and time by having effective cold chain management. This study's main scope is to give a new scientific perspective for warehouse selection in cold chain logistics. MCDM technique of Interval-Valued Neutrosophic Fuzzy (IVNF) EDAS method has been used to evaluate essential criteria and choose the best option. Critical cities of Gulf Region countries have been considered alternatives in a numerical illustration.

How to promote sustainable travel behavior in the post COVID-19 period: A perspective from customized bus services

The Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has influenced the daily life of urban residents worldwide. In the post COVID-19 period, the proportion of public transport commuting trips decreased, whereas that of car commuting trips increased. As a sustainable travel mode, customized bus services have been promoted to ensure the public health security during commuting in this period in many cities in China and other countries. This study focused on the promotion of sustainable travel behavior in the post COVID-19 period from the perspective of customized bus services. A total of 664 respondents from Shanghai, China participated in this study to provide revealed preference (RP) and stated preference (SP) data related to the customized bus services in the post COVID-19 period. The mode choice model was established based on the hypothetical scenarios to estimate the commuters’ intention to shift to the customized bus services, determine the mode preference of different groups, and suggest potential policies. The results showed that the preference for customized buses decreased with the increasing fare for one journey, the travel time, and the availability of a one-way ticket, and middle-class commuters had a higher preference for commuting by customized bus. The measures for the short and long term in the post COVID-19 period were proposed. The results of this study can help governments adopt policies to promote customized bus services not only in the post COVID-19 period but also during regular daily life.

Learning from terrorist mass casualty incidents: a global survey

BackgroundReports published directly after terrorist mass casualty incidents frequently fail to capture difficulties that may have been encountered. An anonymised consensus-based platform may enable discussion and collaboration on the challenges faced. Our aim was to identify where to focus improvement for future responses. MethodsWe conducted a mixed methods study by email of clinicians' experiences of leading during terrorist mass casualty incidents. An initial survey identified features that worked well, or failed to, during terrorist mass casualty incidents plus ongoing challenges and changes that were implemented as a result. A follow-up, quantitative survey measured agreement between responses within each of the themes using a Likert scale. ResultsThirty-three participants responded from 22 hospitals that had received casualties from a terrorist incident, representing 17 cities in low-middle, middle and high income countries. The first survey identified themes of sufficient (sometimes abundant) human resource, although coordination of staff was a challenge. Difficulties highlighted were communication, security, and management of blast injuries. The most frequently implemented changes were education on specific injuries, revising future plans and preparatory exercises. Persisting challenges were lack of time allocated to training and psychological well-being. The follow-up survey recorded highest agreement amongst correspondents on the need for re-triage at hospital (90% agreement), coordination roles (85% agreement), flexibility (100% agreement), and large-scale exercises (95% agreement). ConclusionThis survey collates international experience gained from clinicians managing terrorist mass casualty incidents. The organisation of human response, rather than consumption of physical supplies, emerged as the main finding.NHSH Clinical Effectiveness Unit project registration number: 2020/21–036.

Transience and Waiting in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West

ABSTRACT This article explores the central themes in Mohsin Hamid’s Exit West (2017) by focusing on the complexities of finding oneself placeless and seeking refuge in an unwelcoming global world with porous borders. It examines different aspects of the experience of time, such as transience and waiting, by drawing on postcolonial and refugee studies and theoretical approaches to vulnerability, time, and being. Set in an unnamed city in an unnamed country on the verge of war, Hamid portrays the shattering of everyday life in the city by following the lives of Saeed and Nadia, their growing love relationship, and the impact of their subsequent escape through “magic doors” to several places of refuge on their relationship and understanding of the world. Their story is interspersed with vignettes on several secondary characters who also become refugees by being transposed through magic doors to new locations. By using magic doors and by accelerating, compressing and conflating events and times—the effect of which universalizes the theme of transience and proximity of death—Exit West exposes us to the global history of suffering and invites us to bear witness to the suffering of others and to become aware of our own finitude and the obligations our common vulnerability places on us.

ALGORITMA GENERATE AND TEST UNTUK OPTIMALISASI MASALAH RUTE PERJALANAN

The common of urban city problem is a traffic jam, and it is heavily affect the public transportation service quality. Many cities in tropical countries suffer of heavy traffic jam due to the populaition of motorbike. According to Central Java Province Government, in 2014 the population of motorcycle is 439.418 units with the ownership ratio at 0.75 unit/person. Solo is one of typical middle size city in Central Java, Indonesia. Solo suffers from traffic jam in particular time of the day and it affect the quality of service of batik solo as the mass transportation service in Surakarta. This research would like to help the community get the optimal travel route with the fastest time, especially at the busiest times. The method used is Generate and Test algorithm. This method is a combination of Depth First Search and Backtracking. This research is conducted to get information about the influence of traffic volume, service road level and traffic jam level toward the time needed for Batik Solo Trans to find the optimal route. There is a route that been selected to be the most optimal route by considering the factors that influence it and the algorithm applied

COVID-19 detection using chest X-ray images based on a developed deep neural network.

AimCurrently, a new coronavirus called COVID-19 is the biggest challenge of the human at 21st century. Now, the spread of this virus is such that mortality has risen strongly in all cities of countries. Therefore, it is necessary to think of a solution to handle the disease by fast and timely diagnosis. This paper proposes a method that uses chest X-ray imagery to divide 2-4 classes into 7 different Scenarios, including Bacterial, Viral, Healthy, and COVID-19 classes. The aim of this study is to propose a method that uses chest X-ray imagery to divide 2-4 classes into 7 different Scenarios, including Bacterial, Viral, Healthy, and COVID-19 classes.Methods6 different databases from chest X-ray imagery that have been widely used in recent studies have been gathered for this aim. A Convolutional Neural Network-Long Short Time Memory model is designed and developed to extract features from raw data hierarchically. In order to make more realistic assumptions and use the Proposed Method in the practical field, white Gaussian noise is added to the raw chest X-ray imagery. Additionally, the proposed network is tested and investigated not only on 6 expressed databases but also on two additional databases.ResultsOn the test set, the proposed network achieved an accuracy of more than 90% for all Scenarios excluding Scenario V, i.e. Healthy against the COVID-19 against the Viral, and also achieved 99% accuracy for separating the COVID-19 from the Healthy group. The results showed that the proposed network is robust to noise up to 1 dB. It is worth noting that the proposed network for two additional databases, which were only used as test databases, also achieved more than 90% accuracy. In addition, in comparison to the state-of-the-art pneumonia detection approaches, the final results obtained from the proposed network is so promising.ConclusionsThe proposed network is effective in detecting COVID-19 and other lung infectious diseases using chest X-ray imagery and can thus assist radiologists in making rapid and accurate detections.

Feasibility of roof top rainwater harvesting potential - A case study of South Indian University

Shortage of water source has been a major problem for rapidly growing cities in country like India due to increase in consumption of water. Besides this the coastal cities like Mangaluru are currently challenged by temporary floods due to increased precipitation. Hence it demands a flawless planning for managing the water resource. Rooftop Rainwater Harvesting (RTRWH) has proven to be the most economical and environmental friendly method. The principal objective of this study is to design the RWH system for a South Indian University (SIU), to transform the present campus with green initiative by effective utilization of water resource. An integrated study on rooftop storm water runoff for quantitative and qualitative analysis was conducted. The SIU can resolve the water scarcity issue by accumulating about 1,13,678.9 m 3 of stormwater from rooftop in a year, and use it during the non-monsoon season. These findings can significantly influence the similar RTRWH initiatives in various government and private establishments for sustainable water management. • The study evaluates the potential of Roof-Top Rainwater Harvesting (RTRWH) at a South India University (SIU). • A detailed observation on rainfall statistics and influence toward RTRWH potential is discussed in this article. • In order to reuse the collected storm water a comprehensive quality analysis was performed and results are discussed. • An optimal site location for constructing a storm water storage tank was determined using Remote Sensing and GIS tool. • The study also includes a constructive design of storage tank with economical cost estimation.

Virtual carbon emissions in the big cities of middle-income countries

The Paris agreement nominates cities as a core element to set climate mitigation actions so humanity does not exceed the global climate budget fixed at 1170 (Gt) and eventually remains on track with the 2 °C guard rail. Current carbon footprint literature provides a deep analysis of cities belonging to high-income countries, but it is extremely limited when it comes to cities belonging to middle-income and low-income countries regardless of their global significance. This research bridges this gap through the computation of the carbon footprints of 252 cities located in middle-income countries. Results show that the average carbon footprint across all the urban areas of upper middle-income countries is estimated to 5.31 t CO2 and 3.41 t CO2 in the rural areas. Our research highlights that embodied carbon emissions are important in developing cities as in developed cities and that local authorities must take into account upstream emissions at city scale to move forward their second-generation environmental challenges within their climate-friendly portfolio.

Analyzing failures in adoption of smart technologies for medical waste management systems: a type-2 neutrosophic-based approach.

Medical waste management (MWM) systems are considered among the most important urban systems nowadays. Cities in different countries prefer to transform their infrastructure based on sustainability guidelines and practices. Meanwhile, smart technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain are being recently used in different urban systems of cities that aim to transform into smart cities. MWM systems are one of the main targets of integrating such smart technologies to maximize economic and social profits and minimize environmental issues. However, the transformation of traditional MWM systems into smart MWM systems and the adoption of such technologies can be a very resource-consuming task. One of the possible tasks in this process can be the identification of factors that cause failure in the adoption of smart technologies. Therefore, this study proposes a multi-criteria evaluation model based on type-2 neutrosophic numbers (T2NNs) to identify factors contributing to failure in the adoption of IoT and blockchain in smart MWM systems in Istanbul, Turkey. Results of the case study indicate that training for different stakeholders, market acceptance, transparency, and professional personnel are the main factors that lead to failure in the adoption of smart technologies. Training for different stakeholders, market acceptance, transparency, and professional personnel factors obtained distance values of 0.494, 0.381, 0.375, and 0.278, respectively, against the best factor which is security and privacy. In order to validate the results of the proposed approach, a sensitivity analysis test is performed. Results of this study can be useful for governmental and private MWM and green companies that are planning to adopt IoT and blockchain within their waste management (WM) system.

Demolition-Based Urban Regeneration from a Post-Socialist Perspective: Case Study of a Neighborhood in Novi Sad, Serbia

Although a growing body of literature examines the post-socialist European context of urban regeneration, studies on the demolition-based approaches are relatively scarce. Moreover, the regeneration policies of cities in non-EU Balkan countries with a distinctive transitional path remain largely unexplored. The paper contributes to filling these voids by investigating a specific demolition-based urban regeneration strategy named permanent reconstruction, which has been launched in Novi Sad, Serbia’s second largest city, and applied to low-density neighborhoods with a derelict housing stock, being seen as a tool for achieving sustainable urban development. The specific research aims are to explain the origin of this strategy; analyze the institutional and planning framework, mechanisms, and dynamics of the regeneration process through a case study; and assess its outcomes based on a mixed methodology. The main research objective is to identify the issues of a post-socialist entrepreneurial urban governance, primarily deriving from Serbia’s distorted transition, which hampered the development of a strategic, integrated, and locale-conscious approach. The findings suggest that Novi Sad and other Serbian cities necessitate socially responsible and context-perceptive regeneration that would produce sustainable regeneration projects. The authors propose the means for redefining them, emphasizing the responsibilities of the public sector and the significance of involving the local community in the planning and decision-making process.

Citizen Science and the Sustainable Development Goals in Low and Middle Income Country Cities

Progress towards the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is monitored using a set of targets and indicators. Gaps in official datasets have led to calls for the inclusion of data generated through citizen science (CS) and allied approaches. Co-benefits of CS mean these approaches could also contribute to localising, defining, and achieving the SDGs. However, mapping of current and potential contributions is needed, as well as an understanding of the challenges these approaches present. We undertake a semi-systematic review of past and current CS projects and assess them against dimensions of CS—spatial, temporal, thematic, process, and management—and their value for the SDGs set out by Fritz et al. in 2019, focusing on low and middle income country (LMIC) cities as key environments in the battle for sustainability. We conduct interviews with project leaders to further understand the challenges for CS in these contexts. We find opportunities for projects to monitor and achieve a wide range of goals, targets, and indicators. However, we find fewer projects in low income countries when compared with middle income countries. Challenges include balancing local needs with national monitoring requirements and a lack of long-term funding. Support is needed for LMICs to achieve the potential of CS.

The Impact of Smart City Construction on the Quality of Foreign Direct Investment in China

As a new model of urban development, it is important to scientifically analyze the impact of smart cities on the quality of foreign direct investment (FDI). This article constructs a difference in differences’ model to test the impact of foreign direct investment quality in smart city construction based on panel data of 226 prefecture-level cities from 2006–2017. Study shows the following. (1) The construction of smart cities has significantly improved the quality of FDI utilized in pilot cities. (2) Heterogeneity analysis shows that smart city construction significantly contributes to the quality of FDI in the western city subsample and a subsample of cities with low natural resource dependence. After a series of robustness tests and placebo tests, the above conclusions still hold. The results of the study suggest that China should further promote the construction of smart cities to optimize the quality of foreign direct investment and promote high-quality economic growth. The findings of the study also provide theoretical and practical references for the construction of smart cities in China and other countries around the world.

Policy innovation in low carbon pilot cities: lessons learned from China

The central government of China hopes to acquire policy tools and measures of low-carbon pilot city development through policy innovation. This study sorts out and offers an evaluation of the city-level policy innovation related to low carbon pilot city development, which is beneficial to explore policy tools suitable for local characteristics. Based on the original policy innovations introduced and adopted by the local government, this paper discovers the independent policy innovations and the applied policy innovations. Results show that there are about 4 original policy innovations in each city, only a third of the policy innovations are actually implemented, and nearly half of the cities have no applied policy innovations. The setting of mandatory carbon emission reduction targets at the national level will help local governments to formulate corresponding policies and achieve carbon emission reduction targets through policy innovation. The internal comparison of these policy innovations between different cities can promote low-carbon urban policy diffusion and learning. The findings help to understand policy formulation and implementation for low-carbon pilot cities in China, and also provide a useful support for low-carbon cities in other countries to develop their local characteristics.

Green city air monitoring and architectural digital art design based on IoT embedded system

Although air quality is the natural resource on which every modern person lives, the quality of air quality will directly affect the healthy and sustainable development of our human beings. However, my country’s current monitoring of air quality still has many shortcomings, such as backward monitoring technology, small monitoring coverage area, and insufficient matching between portable online monitoring and permanent online monitoring, which cannot fully meet the increasing monitoring needs of modern people. This research mainly explores the design technology of embedded monitoring system in the Internet of Things era. Comprehensive application in the field of environmental air quality control, monitoring and management of green building cities in my country and the comprehensive application of modern architectural indoor digital decorative art design. For the bottom-level gas detection hardware control system part of this article, the new STM32 is selected as the bottom-level control hardware core. For the bottom-level detection of non-inhalable particulate matter, a high positioning accuracy gas sensor detection module with scattering working principle is selected. For SO2 For the bottom detection of pollutants and gases such as CO, O3, NO2, etc., the sensor module of the constant potential electrolyte gas concentration detector with high positioning accuracy is used as the bottom detection hardware probe. A combination of multiple digital filtering algorithms, such as limiting filtering and inertial filtering, is used to complete the preliminary analysis and processing of the sampled data.

Green city and government ecological environment management based on ZigBee technology

With the progress of science and technology, the continuous development of economy, and the increasing environmental pressure, my country has gradually realized the importance of ecological civilization construction, which is not only related to human physical and mental health, but also related to the long-term development of our country. Ecological management plays a very important role in the construction of ecological civilization. It is of great significance to environmental protection and resource utilization. It is also a manifestation of government management efficiency. This paper proposes a plant physiological record detection system through ZigBee technology, which records the entire growth process of plant germination, growth, flowering, and fruit through various plant physiological sensors, and sends the information record to the computer to detect and detect plants. Information processing. This system has a clear structure, convenient portability, efficient information extraction, fast delivery and low cost, and it has a wide range of applications. Moreover, because ecological civilization is a long and complex process, this system can help record the process and give corresponding plans, providing a theoretical basis for the formulation of policies and laws. We need to formulate policies and laws to prevent companies from sacrificing the environment in pursuit of profits. Through the formulation of policies and laws, advanced science and technology as the supplement, the promotion of ecological civilization construction through taxation and other aspects, and the science of ecological civilization knowledge, cultivate new talents, and contribute to the construction of green cities in my country .