Periphery Of City Research Articles

THE ECONOMICS OF LOCATION AND SPACE: URBANISATION IN SOUTH ASIA

This article analyses the effects of the economics of location and space, in particular urbanisation in South Asia. The potential of urbanisation is used as a comparative term to join the more prosperous, industrialised nations with better living standards. The aim is to demonstrate the impact of urbanisation, climate change and urban biodiversity on sustainability, as well as their consequences in the suburbs and peripheries of large cities. The objectives of sustainable urban development and the green economy are similar, which is why the rapid urbanisation taking place in South Asia has brought to light the importance of urban green infrastructure and the green economy in terms of promoting long-term sustainability and solving environmental, social and economic problems. The research makes use of bibliographical and documentary research, as well as some normative provisions. It concludes that it is essential to plan cities and build sustainable communities in order to minimise the impact of urbanisation on environmental, social, economic and financial sustainability and, in particular, on people’s quality of life.

Deep Learning for Urban Tree Canopy Coverage Analysis: A Comparison and Case Study

Urban tree canopy (UTC) coverage, or area, is an important metric for monitoring changes in UTC over large areas within a municipality. Several methods have been used to obtain these data, but remote sensing image classification is one of the fastest and most reliable over large areas. However, most studies have tested only one or two classification methods to accomplish this while using costly satellite imagery or LiDAR data. This study seeks to compare three urban tree canopy cover classifiers by testing a deep learning U-Net convolutional neural network (CNN), support vector machine learning classifier (SVM) and a random forests machine learning classifier (RF) on cost-free 2012 aerial imagery over a small southern USA city and midsize, growing southern USA city. The results of the experiment are then used to decide the best classifier and apply it to more recent aerial imagery to determine canopy changes over a 10-year period. The changes are subsequently compared visually and statistically with recent urban heat maps derived from thermal Landsat 9 satellite data to compare the means of temperatures within areas of UTC loss and no change. The U-Net CNN classifier proved to provide the best overall accuracy for both cities (89.8% and 91.4%), while also requiring the most training and classification time. When compared spatially with city heat maps, city periphery regions were most impacted by substantial changes in UTC area as cities grow and the outer regions get warmer. Furthermore, areas of UTC loss had higher temperatures than those areas with no canopy change. The broader impacts of this study reach the urban forestry managers at the local, state/province, and national levels as they seek to provide data-driven decisions for policy makers.

Effects of diverse vegetation assemblages on the thermal behavior of extensive vegetated roofs

Extensive vegetated roofs (EVRs) offer effective nature-based solutions to cities, mitigating thermal extremes induced by urbanization and climate change. A field experiment monitored EVR's thermal regulation in summer and winter. Two sites with contrasting microclimatic conditions in Córdoba city, Argentina, were compared: city center (Core of the urban heat island, UHI) and city periphery (Fringe of the UHI). Diverse plant assemblages constituted five treatments to evaluate plant and thermal performance. A Random Forest model analyzed the contributions of various factors to thermal benefits. All treatments showed > 60 % plant survival rates, and four treatments achieved > 90 % coverage. In winter, the assemblages, including succulents, herbs, and graminoids, offer effective thermal regulation. In summer, thermal performance differed between the two sites. At the Fringe, the native flora (herbaceous and graminoids) + herbaceous + succulents, and succulents + graminoids furnished outstanding thermal regulation. Conversely, at the Core, succulents outperformed. The coverage was the dominant variable for predicting thermal performance, followed by season and location. The findings provide the basis for designing EVRs to optimize thermal benefits.

Die „fünfte Suburbanisierung“ – Perspektiven suburbaner Raumentwicklung in den 2020er-Jahren

Germany is currently experiencing a renewed rise of suburbanisation and an associated increase in urban expansion in the peripheries of large cities. How this development—referred to below as the “fifth suburbanisation” in the history of this country—can be characterized in the light of earlier phases of intraregional deconcentration is the topic of this paper. The four historical reference phases are not to be understood as clearly distinguishable and successive developments. Their conceptualization is less temporal than structural-material, socio-spatial, institutional, cultural, economic and political-discursive. The focus is on characteristics of built environments typical of each phase, specific social and economic drivers, dominant housing and planning policies, socio-cultural meanings and values as well as social embedding and negotiation processes. Suburban development of the 2020s will take place in a socio-economically and institutionally changed process field, even though there is still little empirical evidence in this regard. Accordingly, this paper also aims to call for a discussion on new research desiderata and realistic policy designs for suburban spatial development in the 2020s. A historical contextualization of the current development and planning processes is considered essential.

Dispossession and beyond: Politics of rural land conversion in China's tourism villages

Across the peripheries of global South cities, projects to convert rural land for development purposes have brought dramatic impact on rural communities and environments. Many of these initiatives involve aggregating land, mobilizing investments, and resettling populations, with direct implications for villagers’ land rights and livelihoods. In existing studies, rural land conversions have often been examined through frameworks of “land grabbing” and “dispossession”. This paper argues for the need to go beyond these frameworks in conceptualizing the varied pathways and outcomes of rural land takings. It presents a comparative case study of two villages in China, whose land has been redeployed for tourism development. In one village, state-led expropriation led to the loss of land rights and the resettlement of villagers in new housing complexes. In another, villagers held onto land ownership and their property but saw intra-community inequalities amplified as residents were differentially incorporated into the tourism economy. By demonstrating how the nuanced mechanisms of land conversion could facilitate variegated livelihood and distributive outcomes between and within communities, this paper problematizes universalist conceptualizations of dispossession and calls for theorizing both “with” and “beyond” dispossession to account for the multifaceted dynamics of land development in global South contexts.

Increase in Abandoned Farmland at the Outer Fringes of Local Cities: Decreased Expectations of Conversion, Delays in Land Consolidation, and Vanishing Part-time Farmers

Increase in Abandoned Farmland at the Outer Fringes of Local Cities: Decreased Expectations of Conversion, Delays in Land Consolidation, and Vanishing Part-time Farmers

Enhancing bird habitat networks in metropolitan areas: Resilience assessment and improvement strategies – A case study from Shanghai

Constructing bird habitat networks (BHNs) is crucial for maintaining the health and service equilibrium of urban ecosystems, especially in large metropolitan areas where the pressure of urbanization is intense. However, most existing BHNs fail to account for the dynamic changes and unique requirements of local species, leading to homogenized construction outcomes and ecological corridor objectives. This study employs a comprehensive approach to identify bird habitat patches using multiple high-quality sources, then utilize circuit theory and complex network theory to construct and assess the resilience of BHN. Our key findings showed: (1)93 bird habitat sources were identified, predominantly situated in the continuous green spaces of southern and southeastern Shanghai, whereas habitat sources in the city center and other densely built-up areas are more dispersed, highlighting them as prime targets for future ecological restoration efforts. (2) The distribution of bird habitat corridors exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity, with primary corridors predominantly spanning the southwestern and eastern parts of the study area, while secondary corridors are more abundant in the western and northern parts, forming a denser network, whereas the central area shows fewer and more isolated corridors. (3) The decline in structural and functional resilience was notably more rapid under targeted attacks than under random attacks, underscoring the need to prioritize crucial bird habitat sources on the city's periphery, especially near highly urbanized areas, in urban planning and biodiversity conservation efforts to sustain ecological balance and biodiversity. These insights provide a crucial scientific basis for urban planners, emphasizing the integration of biodiversity conservation into urban development strategies by optimizing ecological sources and corridors to balance development with ecological preservation.

Public safety considerations constraint the conservation of large old trees and their crucial ecological heritage in urban green spaces

Large old trees in urban public green spaces deliver a diversity of values essential for human well-being, including biodiversity conservation. Yet, the conservation of large old trees bearing key wildlife microhabitats interferes with safety considerations. This intuitive notion, however, is backed by an insufficient and scattered body of evidence. Here, we empirically examined this process using data on 5974 trees across 510 sample plots, organized as quintuplets within 102 sample sites, including urban parks, cemeteries, recreational forests, and historic reserves in the urban agglomeration of Kraków, Poland. Our analyses demonstrate that trees situated in areas frequently visited by people, or those near walking paths, benches, or playgrounds, have elevated accident hazards and, therefore, necessitate intensive tree surgeries (pruning and logging) to remain harmless. Large old trees, which bear the most diverse microhabitats and pose greater risks when they collapse, are especially affected by these measures. Accordingly, we found that the co-occurrence of large trees with elevated accident hazards results in significant losses of dead and sloped trees, and trees with cavities, injuries, crown deadwood, fungal fruiting bodies, or epiphytes, particularly in parks and, to a lesser extent, in recreational forests. Apparently, some tree-related microhabitats, such as injuries, cavities, and microsoils, also emerge in risky spots after pruning. Our findings underscore that the conservation of large old trees and their ecological functions faces significant challenges due to safety considerations. To address conservation challenges and harmonize human coexistence with biodiversity, we recommend enhancing environmental awareness and reevaluating arboricultural and planning policies. This would involve establishing strategic and pocket reserves on city peripheries and interiors, allowing larger older trees to thrive and develop important microhabitats without compromising public safety. Otherwise, we risk losing many large old trees and/or their superior value for wildlife, which will regenerate over decades, if not centuries.

Research on spatiotemporal patterns and influencing factors of county-level urban shrinkage in urbanizing China

County-level cities, as small-scale urban units in China's urban system, have shrunk due to uneven urban development in urbanizing China. This research constructed a framework for understanding China's county-level urban shrinkage. It defined county-level cities and measured shrinkage using the city shrinkage model, explored the spatiotemporal patterns combined with shrinking degrees and trajectories, and analysed the shrinking types based on city and city periphery perspectives. Then, the influencing factors were identified via the OLS regression model. Taking 2846 county-level cities as research units, the results showed that 180 and 1050 county-level cities shrunk in 2000–2010 and 2010–2020, respectively. Slight and moderate shrinkage dominated, but the proportions of high and severe shrinkage noticeably increased. In terms of shrinking trajectory, recent shrinkage was the main shrinking type. The spatial extent of shrinking county-level cities increased dynamically; the northeast, north, central and northwest regions were core agglomerations, and the east region emerged as an added agglomeration during 2010–2020. Absolute shrinkage became the main shrinking type significantly driven by "city–city" and "off-site urbanization" migration. Urbanization level, economic development, ageing degree, etc., were factors causing shrinkage. This study contributes to advancing understanding among scholars and Chinese policymakers about county-level urban shrinkage in urbanizing China.

RESIDUALIZED PUBLIC HOUSING IN ROMANIA: Peripheralization of ‘the Social’ and the Racialization of ‘Unhouseables’

AbstractThis study analyzes public housing residualization as a multiscalar phenomenon, providing specific details about how it happened in a Central and East European context via the marketization of the housing system, the peripheralization of ‘the social’ and the racialization of ‘unhouseables’. It employs secondary statistical data, interviews, and document analyses to examine the endemic features of global capitalism within Romania's housing regime. The study shows that the dismantlement of the state‐socialist establishment has resulted in a lower social rental rate than in core capitalist countries. It observes that when the public housing stock has generally been depleted, newly established social housing is relocated to the peripheries of cities as a nonmarketable component of the dualist public housing sector. In Baia Mare, the municipality has created social housing enclaves for vulnerable groups associated with dangerous behavior by excluding them from other forms of public housing, whereas in Cluj‐Napoca, it has attempted to exclude marginalized people from public housing by turning it into a site of class warfare. In both cases, the housing stock under scrutiny is associated with the racialized Roma ethnicity. The approach adopted in the study enables the residualization of public housing to be addressed across the peripheralization–racialization nexus.

Rural Botanical Knowledge in Urbanity: Restructurings and Resignifications in the Peripheries of a Patagonian City in Argentina

The botanical knowledge of Mapuche people settled on the peripheries of Esquel city (Argentine Patagonia) was compared with that of urban residents in order to know their particularities, and to understand how rural–urban (rurban) hybridization resignifies their practices and medicinal plants richness for better adaptation to city life. Interviews were conducted with a sample of 79 patients attending primary health care centers (33 rurban Mapuches, 46 urban), and data were qualitative–quantitatively analyzed. Rurban residents cite similar plant richness to that of urban ones (∼69 species), though they are different in composition. Local medicinal flora provides responses to diseases with a similar incidence in both groups, but each group addresses them based on the resources it recognizes as most effective and accessible. The rurban system is flexible facing the challenge that life in the city implies, evidencing the incorporation and replacement of native resources by exotic ones as an expression of restructuring processes and cultural diversification. These changes allow for recreation of memory about the importance of medicinal plants, and adjustment of therapeutic practices to a present time, having different needs from those of rurality. Urban residents incorporate plants from Mapuche pharmacopoeia, some of which are on visualization, evidencing bidirectional resource and ethnobotanical knowledge transference between groups. As a conclusion, this case study points out the importance of recognizing rurbanity as a starting point for the establishment of public policies that improve governance and access to health for Mapuche migrants in the city.

Mapping urban well-being with Quality Of Life Index (QOLI) at the fine-scale of grid data

Accessibility of transport infrastructure, commercial amenities, recreational facilities, and green spaces is widely recognised as crucial to the well-being of urban residents. However, these features are often unevenly distributed across the geographical boundaries of a city, leading to disparities in the local quality of life. This study focuses on the city of Warsaw, Poland, and uses the aforementioned characteristics and the framework of the '15-min city' concept to construct a grid-level urban Quality of Life Index (QOLI) that facilitates comparisons between the city’s districts and local neighbourhoods. The results of our study reveal a “high-inside, low-outside” pattern of quality of life, characterised by higher standards of living in the central districts and lower standards at the city's periphery.

Social mechanisms for the development of irregular human settlements in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico

The work presents partial results of a research carried out by the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico, oriented to the analysis of urban growth that develops on the periphery of cities through informal and illegal land occupation processes. The analysis aims to address the social practices and mechanisms that the population exercises to satisfy their land and housing needs, taking the city of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico as a case study. The results show that the State and real estate developers express their interest in developing the city in a formal way, in which they satisfy the needs of the population with high economic resources and leave aside the poorest population, who practice social actions for the development of irregular human settlements.

An emerging aeroallergen in Europe: Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima [Mill.] Swingle) inventory and pollen concentrations – Taking a metropolitan region in Germany as an example

Urban areas are often hotspots for the dissemination of non-native (invasive) plant species, some of which release (potentially) allergenic pollen. Given the high population density in cities, a considerable number of people can be regularly and potentially intensively exposed to the pollen from these plants. This study delves into the Tree-of-Heaven (Ailanthus altissima, [Mill.] Swingle), native to East Asia, which is known for its high invasiveness in temperate regions worldwide, particularly favoring urban colonization. This study explores the botanical and aerobiological dimensions of this species using the central European metropolitan region of Berlin, Germany, as a case study, and provides a comprehensive global overview of allergological insights.The number of Ailanthus trees decreased markedly from the center to the periphery of Berlin City, following a temperature gradient. The same spatial trend was mirrored by airborne Ailanthus pollen concentrations measured with volumetric spore traps (Hirst-type) at five sites using seven traps. Ailanthus pollen was most abundant around midday and in the afternoon, with concentrations tenfold higher at street level than at roof level. The Ailanthus flowering period in June and July coincided well with the pollen season. To the best of our knowledge this is the first study to investigate Ailanthus altissima pollen production. On average, 5539 pollen grains were found per anther. A literature review on the allergy relevance of Ailanthus altissima pollen indicates the high allergenic potential of pollen from this species.Considering the anticipated expansion of suitable habitats for Ailanthus owing to global warming and the allergological significance of its pollen, it is recommended to include Ailanthus pollen in routine pollen monitoring, particularly in areas colonized by this species. This comprehensive study provides new insights into a pollen taxon whose significance as an emerging aeroallergen should be factored into plant selection and greenspace management in all temperate regions.

Roaming Dogs, Intense Brown Dog Tick Infestation, and Emerging Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in Tijuana, México.

A two decades-long epidemic of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in northern México reached the U.S. border city of Tijuana in 2021. Cases were near the city periphery in marginalized areas, some lacking infrastructure such as streets or utilities. We worked in the three census areas where human cases were reported and in 12 additional control Áreas Geoestadisticas Básicas. There were dogs, the primary tick host and Rickettsia rickettsii reservoir, in 76% of homes, with 2.2 owned dogs per home on average, approximately equal numbers of roaming dogs were seen, and 46.2% of owned dogs were allowed to roam in the street. Sixty-eight percent of people had heard of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), and 35% self-reported tick infestation, including 19% of homes without dogs. Ticks appeared to move among houses of adjacent neighbors. Of 191 examined dogs, 61.8% were tick-infested, with 6-fold increased odds if they were allowed to roam. Although no dogs were Rickettsia polymerase chain reaction-positive, we found one R. rickettsii- and 11 Rickettsia massiliae-infected ticks. The rickettsial IgG seroprevalence by immunofluorescence antibody assay was 76.4%, associated with unhealthy body condition, adults, dogs with >10 ticks, more dogs being seen in the area, and dogs being permitted in the street. Insufficient medical and canine management resources have contributed to a case fatality rate of RMSF that has exceeded 50% in areas. High canine seroprevalence suggests risks to people and dogs; unfortunately, herd immunity is impeded by high turnover in the canine population owing to the birth of puppies and high death rates. Binational One Health workers should monitor disease spread, enact canine population management and tick eradication, and provide prevention, diagnostic, and treatment support.

Sensitivity of insectivorous bat foraging guilds to urbanization and implications for sustainable development

Substantial urban expansion is expected in global biodiversity hotspots over the next decade, especially in Asia. One such hotspot is Sulawesi, Indonesia, which hosts a diverse array of wild mammals, including bats. While urbanization may threaten some bats, species are not uniformly sensitive to urbanization. Many bat species’ sensitivity to urbanization is associated with their foraging strategies (or foraging guild), but information from Asia, generally, is severely lacking. Here we address this knowledge gap regarding urban sensitivity among insectivorous, echolocating bats within the context of urban informal settlements around the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi. Globally and in Makassar, informal settlements often exist on the fringe of cities, forming an urban-undeveloped land interface. Consequently, they may present opportunities to support conservation for some bats, given a growing focus on nature-based sustainable development solutions to improve the lives of informal settlement residents. We examined how, among informal settlements across Makassar, relative activity of bat sonotypes (in lieu of taxonomic species) from different foraging guilds was related to environmental factors associated with urban expansion. We found bat activity was influenced by processes interacting across multiple spatial scales ranging from the landscape- (e.g., spatial location relative to dense development in the urban core) to local-level (e.g., particular environmental features within 500 m). Broadly, we found some foraging guilds had lower overall relative activity, as well lower activity within the urban core compared to the peri-urban zone, indicating differential sensitivity to urbanization among Makassar’s bats that matches findings elsewhere. However, intensity of both urban and peri-urban informal settlement habitat use by particular bats was driven by a combination of landscape- and local-scale features. At the local scale, tree cover and inland water area frequently influenced sonotype activity in settlements, including urban core habitat use by urban-sensitive bats. Our work demonstrates that, especially if coordinated across broader spatial scales, local nature-based upgrades in informal settlements incorporating diverse green and blue spaces have the potential to enhance suitability of urban zones for both bats and for people.

A spatial autocorrelation analysis of road traffic crash by severity using Moran’s I spatial statistics: A comparative study of Addis Ababa and Berlin cities

Methodological advancements in road safety research reveal an increasing inclination toward integrating spatial approaches in hot spot identification, spatial pattern analysis, and developing spatially lagged models. Previous studies on hot spot identification and spatial pattern analysis have overlooked crash severities and the spatial autocorrelation of crashes by severity, missing valuable insights into crash patterns and underlying factors. This study investigates the spatial autocorrelation of crash severity by taking two capital cities, Addis Ababa and Berlin, as a case study and compares patterns in low and high-income countries. The study used three-year crash data from each city. It employed the average nearest neighbor distance (ANND) method to determine the significance of spatial clustering of crash data by severity, Global Moran's I to examine the statistical significance of spatial autocorrelation, and Local Moran's I to identify significant cluster locations with High-High (HH) and Low-Low (LL) crash severity values. The ANND analysis reveals a significant clustering of crashes by severity in both cities, except in Berlin's fatal crashes. However, different Global Moran's I results were obtained for the two cities, with a strong and statistically significant value for Addis Ababa compared to Berlin. The Local Moran's I result indicates that the central business district and residential areas have LL values, while the city's outskirts exhibit HH values in Addis Ababa. With some persistent HH value locations, Berlin's HH and LL grid clusters are intermingled on the city's periphery. Socio-economic factors, road user behavior and roadway factors contribute to the difference in the result. Nevertheless, it is interesting to note the similarity of significant HH value locations on the outskirts of both cities. Finally, the results are consistent with previous studies and indicate the need for further investigation in other locations.

Erode Ground Gecko Cyrtodactylus speciosus (Beddome, 1870) (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from peri-urban common-lands of Coimbatore, India, with comments on habitat associations

We report the Erode Ground Gecko Cyrtodactylus speciosus (Beddome, 1870), a rare, hill forest-dwelling species, from two sites in the northern periphery of Coimbatore city. These two sites, viz., Nallusamy checkdam (Site–1) and Sarkar Sama Kulam (Site–2) are lakes with remnant vegetation belts, surrounded by pastures, farmlands, and villages. From 100 hours of observations during a six-month period (April–September 2023) in these two sites, we report 14 sightings of C. speciosus including gravid females, juveniles, and subadults indicating a persistent breeding population. The encounter rate estimates ranged from 5 h (in Nallusamy checkdam; n = 10/50 h) to 12½ h (in Sarkar Sama Kulam; n = 4/50 h), averaging at about 7 h (pooled; n = 14/100 h) to get one sighting of C. speciosus. Our sightings of C. speciosus in peri-urban common lands abutting a city, calls for intensified biodiversity surveys and enhanced protections of such remnant vegetation belts, often presumed to have low or marginalised conservation values.

Land suitability analysis in monocentric post-socialist city: Case of Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia.

Urban expansion has been rapidly increasing and is projected to be tripled in 2030 in worldwide. The impact of urbanization has adverse effects on the environment and economic development. Residential lands consist of almost one-third of the urban area and heavily affect the city's inhabitants. The capital of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, has been significantly expanded, particularly in the urban periphery where poor living conditions and a lack of essential urban services were identified. The paper aims to conduct a suitability analysis of residential areas in Ulaanbaatar city based on three main categories (livability, affordability, and accessibility) of fifteen criteria using the fuzzy logic. Through the study, we have identified some potential suitable residential areas for further development, such as apartment residential area located in the southern part of the city and four low-rise ger areas were distributed along major transport corridors. Moreover, the results indicated that the spatial structure of the whole town might be in transition to a polycentric pattern. However, a concentric ring pattern in the 'city's periphery displayed a concerning uncontrolled ger area expansion, which may increase low living conditions in the area. This study recommends better urban sprawl control policies and more property market investment in the ger area to ensure sustainable development goals in Ulaanbaatar.

The Extent Of Land Use Changes In Nnewi Metropolitan Area, Anambra State And It’s Planning Consideration

One of the prime prerequisites for better use of land is information on the existing land use patterns and changes in land cover. The land use dynamics of the metropolitan areas present complex challenges and opportunities for sustainable urban development. One major factor that influences effective land use planning and sustainable development but has not been adequately addressed is the absence of a database on the rate of urban growth in most developing countries, Nigeria inclusive. This study focuses on the trend of land use change in Nnewi metropolitan area, which has accelerated the main driver of land use and land cover change with a concomitant effect on the environment. It relied on data generated from remote sensing and geographic information systems to create the map and examine the land cover change in the study area. The classification of land cover using LANDSAT data and land cover transitions for 30 years (1993–2023) were mapped, and the net land cover change was computed. The results showed an increase in the urban built-up area, ranging from 2.24% in 1993 to 20.34% in 2023. The dispersion pattern revealed a large concentration of the built-up spaces to be in the northern region, and the expansion continued from west to south and south-east. The study recommends the need for urban planners to decentralize urban planning and development control with adequate provision of affordable urban facilities at the peripheries of cities in Nigeria. Furthermore, massive integration of green infrastructure in built-up areas is required to mitigate the effects of vegetation loss in the area.