City Of Praia Research Articles

Determinants, Health Problems, and Food Insecurity in Urban Areas of the Largest City in Cape Verde.

Urbanization processes are intertwined with nutritional transition because there is easier access to food of low nutritional quality at reduced prices, changing dietary patterns and leading to an increase of non-communicable chronic diseases. This study aims to understand the perceptions for high blood pressure, obesity, and alcoholism, describing some interactions of these dimensions in the problem of food security in the city of Praia. A qualitative study was carried out under the framework of the research project “UPHI-STAT: Urban Planning and Health Inequalities—moving from macro to micro statistics”. Ten focus groups were conducted in three urban areas with distinct characteristics in the city of Praia, with a total of 48 participants. Participants reported frequent consumption of foods with poor nutritional quality, understanding the potential danger in terms of food security in the city of Praia. Easy access to and high levels of alcohol consumption, and poor quality of traditional drinks were mentioned by participants in the study areas. The impact of the economic situation on the possibility of access to safe and healthy options emerged as a differentiating factor.

“Cash or Body”: Lessons on Space and Language from Cape Verdean Rappers and Their Beefs

The Cape Verdean rap scene is a site of convergence, yet for most it is the antithesis of “world music” and its accompanying creative hybridity. While Cape Verdean musical genres such as morna, koladera, and funana fit well into cosmopolitan tastes of Euro-African creolization and postcolonial dance parties, Cape Verdean rap reveals a side of globalization where the contradictions of territory, identity, and migration are not easily resolved by a lilting voice, a studio recorded string section, or a call simply to “move that body.” By 2007 the term kaçubodi, the Kriolu pronunciation of “cash or body,” had become a catch-all phrase to describe the rise of urban violence and the emerging youth aesthetic strongly associated with rap music and a hip-hop clothing style. In this article I sketch out the contextual factors of crime, deportation, and neoliberalism in order to focus on the multiple rivalries of territory as they play out in the city of Praia and throughout the Cape Verdean diaspora. I argue that Cape Verdean rappers’ “beefs,” or heated rivalries with other rappers, actually place Cape Verdean rap in the world and provide general insight into how the spatiality of popular culture practices influences what languages such as Kriolu, Portuguese, and English really mean.

Construction and Demolition Waste Management Scenario in Republic of Cape Verde—The Case Study of City of Praia

Globally, the construction industry is one of the leading producers of solid waste. The city of Praia, the capital of the Republic of Cape Verde has been suffering from environmental degradation with the irregular disposal of waste caused by inadequate management of waste from construction and also the demolition. The research was developed based on local inspections in the context of environmental laws, in semi-structured interviews with people who deal with this activity and bibliographic references. The main conclusion is that the city does not have a CDW management plan consequently leading to environmental problems. On the other hand, waste of recycled construction can be used as inert reducing the consumption of raw materials that can be used as base and sub-base for paving, landfills, aggregate in mortars and raw materials to be manufactured blocks, bricks concrete tiles, etc.

Construction of a Sustainable Island City: The Case of Cape Verde

The continental urban clusters followed models based on rules and standards that influenced the environment, which were in turn the result of consolidated growth and available technology. The successful models tend to be replicated, with examples seen in urban island clusters which adapted these guidelines, giving rise to a unique morphology resulting from models that à priori were not suited to the region.The urban fabric of these clusters maintained regular and sustainable growth until the last quarter of the 20th century, when the increase in immigration made it difficult to control the urban space. This phenomenon was responsible for the impact on the constructed as well as the social environment, resulting in the degradation of the quality of life for the communities.In the island regions, works were implemented in urban areas, using imported models, in the expectation of attaining a better quality of life.The constant changes that emerged in the cities of continental and insular regions, with the results observed deemed as excellent, encouraged entities in charge to follow guidelines that would foster social inclusion, although this led to a weakening of the local identity.This research focuses on the identification of the parameters that should constitute the basis for the construction of the sustainable insular city. The parameters identified were applied to two case studies related to two neighbourhoods on the northern outskirts of the city of Praia with different terrains with distinctly different characteristics in terms of their genesis, terrain and infrastructure systems.The application of the parameters resulted in the conclusion that it is possible to apply them to the local reality and that they are simple enough to be widely implemented in the context of developing insular countries.

Urban bioclimate and comfort assessment in the African city of Praia (Cape Verde)

The population of Praia (Ilha de Santiago/Cape Verde) has recently increasedfrom 90,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 132,300 in 2012. Located in the southern part of the SantiagoIsland, the city has an average temperature of 22oC and high values of humidity.The hot andrainy season occurs between July and October. According to the Cape Verde “National ClimateChange Adaptation” report, the temperatures increased about 1oC in the last 15 years andscenariosindicate an annual warming between 0.7oC and 2.5oC until 2060. This will lead to thedeterioration of bioclimatic comfort conditions, especially in urban areas. The main goals of thisresearch are: i) to make a first-hand assessment of bioclimatic conditions and human comfort inthe city of Praia; ii) to evaluate the main microclimatic and urban factors that increase thermalstress in a “planned” neighbourhood (Palmarejo). It was shown that “moderate and strong heatstress” (PET>29oC) occurs betweenAugust and October. The rest of the year hardly any heatstress occurs (18oC 40oC) happens especially in poorly ventilated streets, well exposed to the sun.

Prevalence of Hemoglobin S in Blood Donors in the Hospital Dr. Agostinho Neto, Praia City – Cape Verde

Hemoglobin S is a hereditary blood pathology, with higher prevalence worldwide. The homozygous patients have anemia in varying degrees of severity, while heterozygous carrier sickle cell trait may have hematocrit and hemoglobin which can be used in donation. The hemoglobin carrier erythrocyte characteristics does not allow you to be a good donor blood transfusion undesirable effects may be due to both the potential sickling as to changes in hemotherapeutic product as a result of processing and storage. In Cape Verde, no studies related to the prevalence of hemoglobin S and program for screening of hemoglobin S in the blood donors are reported. The main objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of hemoglobin S in blood donors attended in the Dr. Agostinho Neto Hospital, between August to October (2013). Sickling of red blood cell technique was performed. Between samples we found that four donors from 104 (3.9%) that were screened had positive results, gender, age and hemoglobin concentration, naturally, county of residence, blood groups and regular donors were associated with the presence of such a hemoglobin variant. The results underscore the importance of screening this abnormality in the blood donors and further studies must be performed. Also we recommend the implementation of information strategies, awareness, early detection and treatment of diseases associated with hemoglobin S.

Morabeza, cash or body: Prison, violence and the state in Praia, Cape Verde

In the past decade, Cape Verde has been facing severe and growing problems of youth delinquency and gang-related violence. The state has reacted to this challenge mainly with a securitization politics, expanding and modernizing its security forces. As a result, the Cape Verdean prison population has more than doubled over the same period. In the capital city of Praia, more and more youths from the disadvantaged periphery find themselves behind bars, serving long sentences for mostly drug- and gang-related crimes, in what seems to be a replication of the experience of many Cape Verdean immigrants in Portugal and elsewhere. In a personal fieldwork account, the article sketches out parallels between the experiences of immigrant youth in Portugal and marginalized youth in Cape Verde, and discusses the way the Cape Verdean state is presently dealing with the phenomenon of ‘youth delinquency’. Essentialist notions of the country’s supposed culture of ‘ morabeza’ (gentleness) are confronted with actual patterns of symbolic and physical violence, revealing a persistent unwillingness of Cape Verdean public discourse to face up to the country’s growing structural socioeconomic disequilibrium.

Organic characterisation of PM10 in Cape Verde under Saharan dust influxes

The current study presents, for the first time, a long-term organic speciation of aerosol at the Cape Verde archipelago. The Cape Verde location, in the Atlantic Ocean, provides a unique laboratory to study background aerosol, long-range transport, aerosol mixing with mineral dust, biomass burning and sea surface components. In order to contribute to a better understanding of this environment, a one-year long measurement campaign was performed in Praia City, Santiago Island. PM10 concentrations (20.5–370 μg/m3) and the organic composition of PM10 were influenced by the African dust influxes. The carbonaceous content of PM10 was very low, suggesting that most of the mass has mineral origin. The PM10 composition was essentially characterised by a large variety of organic compounds, which can be grouped into general compound classes, such as n-alkanes, n-alkanols, n-acids and sugars. The n-alkane total concentrations varied from 3.77 to 53.2 ng/m3. The n-alkanols distribution showed a significant biogenic contribution whether from microbial origin or from epicuticular plants during African dust outbreaks. The total concentrations of n-alkanoic acids varied from 0.011 to 4.51 ng/m3. The lower n-alkenoic acids content, obtained during the periods of long-range transport from Africa, indicated a more aged aerosol. The monosaccharide anhydrides were detected in all samples with a range of concentrations from 2.06 to 12.7 ng/m3.

Impact of Sahara Dust Transport on Cape Verde Atmospheric Element Particles

The objectives of this study were to (1) conduct an elemental characterization of airborne particles sampled in Cape Verde and (2) assess the influence of Sahara desert on local suspended particles. Particulate matter (PM10) was collected in Praia city (14°94’N; 23°49’W) with a low-volume sampler in order to characterize its chemical composition by k0-INAA. The filter samples were first weighed and subsequently irradiated at the Portuguese Research Reactor. Results showed that PM10 concentrations in Cape Verde markedly exceeded the health-based air quality standards defined by the European Union (EU), World Health Organization (WHO), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in part due to the influence of Sahara dust transport. The PM10 composition was characterized essentially by high concentrations of elements originating from the soil (K, Sm, Co, Fe, Sc, Rb, Cr, Ce, and Ba) and sea (Na), and low concentrations of anthropogenic elements (As, Zn, and Sb). In addition, the high concentrations of PM measured in Cape Verde suggest that health of the population may be less affected compared with other sites where PM10 concentrations are lower but more enriched with toxic elements.

Oral Receptivity ofAedes aegyptifrom Cape Verde for Yellow Fever, Dengue, and Chikungunya Viruses

At the end of 2009, 21,313 cases of dengue-3 virus (DENV-3) were reported in the islands of Cape Verde, an archipelago located in the Atlantic Ocean 570 km from the coast of western Africa. It was the first dengue outbreak ever reported in Cape Verde. Mosquitoes collected in July 2010 in the city of Praia, on the island of Santiago, were identified morphologically as Aedes aegypti formosus. Using experimental oral infections, we found that this vector showed a moderate ability to transmit the epidemic dengue-3 virus, but was highly susceptible to chikungunya and yellow fever viruses.

Optimisation of MSW collection routes for minimum fuel consumption using 3D GIS modelling

Collection of municipal solid waste (MSW) may account for more than 70% of the total waste management budget, most of which is for fuel costs. It is therefore crucial to optimise the routing network used for waste collection and transportation. This paper proposes the use of geographical information systems (GIS) 3D route modelling software for waste collection and transportation, which adds one more degree of freedom to the system and allows driving routes to be optimised for minimum fuel consumption. The model takes into account the effects of road inclination and vehicle weight. It is applied to two different cases: routing waste collection vehicles in the city of Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, and routing the transport of waste from different municipalities of Santiago Island to an incineration plant. For the Praia city region, the 3D model that minimised fuel consumption yielded cost savings of 8% as compared with an approach that simply calculated the shortest 3D route. Remarkably, this was true despite the fact that the GIS-recommended fuel reduction route was actually 1.8% longer than the shortest possible travel distance. For the Santiago Island case, the difference was even more significant: a 12% fuel reduction for a similar total travel distance. These figures indicate the importance of considering both the relief of the terrain and fuel consumption in selecting a suitable cost function to optimise vehicle routing.