City Streets Research Articles

Eyes on the street: To what end?

In contrast to the constantly increasing surveillance of the streets of cities, Jane Jacobs’ theory of the ‘eyes on the street’ offers a theory of a positive form of surveillance and these eyes can thus perhaps take on the role of a counterforce to problematic forms of surveillance. To examine under what conditions Jacobs could help formulate such a counterforce is the main aim in this article. But for this purpose, certain obstacles need to be addressed, for instance, the usage of Jacobs’ theory in the field of CPTED. What in Jacobs’ theory makes it vulnerable to this kind of usage? In order for Jacobs’ street-eyes to avoid becoming a prolonged arm for state surveillance, this article suggests a critical reading of Jacobs’ thinking in relation to Foucault’s surveillance-critique, ultimately with the aim to strengthen her eyes on the street.

An urban energy recycling system that recycles the waste heat from industry for deicing on urban road in winter-taking Harbin as an example.

Northern cities in China have frequently suffered from ice and snow disasters. On the other hand, Harbin mainly relies on coal-fired plants for heating during the winter time. However, coal-fired plants produce a significant amount of air pollution through the production of numerous hazardous gases. This thesis proposed an urban energy recycling system that uses waste gas from heating facilities to recycle waste heat and reduce air pollution in northern cities during the winter. This research made a hypothesis that wintertime ice and snow on city streets could be melted by using waste heat of waste gases from heating industries. The methodology of this research can be divided into three parts: Firstly, the principle of theenergy recycling system is designed based on investigation. Secondly, a simulation experiment is used to analyze the system's difficulties. According to the experiment, when anicy road is far away from the heating industry, ice melting efficiency is low. Finally, this research proposed a method for system improvement based on the findings of the experiment. The system's environmental and social benefits will likely lead to its future application in northern Chinese cities even if there are many application-related difficulties, such as the high cost of construction.

History of St. Petersburg’s Pavements

Within the article, the author examines the history of everyday life of St. Petersburg through analyzing documents that have recorded the history of the city’s pavement replacement with various materials over a period of more than three hundred years. The study was mainly carried out on the basis of archival materials from the funds of the Central State Historical Archive of St. Petersburg and the Russian State Historical Archive. It is evident that this work is the first comprehensive study of the history of the pavements of the Russian Empire capital as a theme, a topic which has not yet been adequately reflected in either domestic or foreign historiography. It has been established that it took the city authorities a considerable time to pave the capital's roads during the imperial period. The paving of the city roads developed from the use of raw stone to natural asphalt. In the end, it took almost a century to bring the streets of the main part of the city to the proper condition; they have been previously been covered with mainly stone. Whereas in the XVIII century the main task of the central and city authorities was to pave as many streets as possible, then in the XIX - early XX centuries the city government instead concentrated on a way find an inexpensive but durable material for this purpose.

Street tree diversity and urban heat

Higher diversity within a city's street trees may offer greater cooling benefits than less diverse urban forests. California’s urban forests are among the most diverse in the world and offer an opportunity to test the relationship between diversity and cooling at a large scale. For 136 urban ZIP codes, we connect the most comprehensive data to date on California’s urban forests to both local station and satellite weather data for the period 2010–2018. We test whether biodiversity, measured by the Shannon-Wiener index and the new Top Diversity 50 index, is correlated with extreme heat in summer. After controlling for local averages in weather and tree canopy cover, we find that urban forest biodiversity is associated with lower maximum and higher minimum temperatures for June to September. Our specification makes it unlikely that reverse causality drives our result. Instead, we suggest that greater tree species diversity may boost daytime cooling through several pathways, including mutualism and greater aboveground biomass, a mechanical relationship where greater biodiversity implies a greater likelihood of having species with excellent shade, and cooling benefits from structural diversity in urban settings.

COVID-19 VIRUS PANDEMIC – CRASH OF THE SERBIAN TOURISM OR THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROSPER?

The year 2020 proved to be challenging in many fields. The entire economy suffered huge losses and the tourism is no exception. The research offered in this paper was conducted in this regard, the aim of which was to examine the tourist habits of the Serbian residents before the pandemic, and then to compare them with the behaviour of passengers in this new situation. Surveys designed partly as open questions, and partly as questions with offered answers, and their analysis, revealed that the habits of the citizens of our country change forcibly and that the preferences of a typical Serbian tourist always gravitate to foreign destinations. Only the pandemic led tourists to travel around Serbia, which, as they admit, they do not know enough about. An important role in that context played the government’s tourist vouchers, which to some extent helped overcome the economic difficulties of travel. The conclusion is therefore that although tourism has suffered damage, the imposed global isolation may be just an opportunity to attract domestic tourists. As could easily be concluded, tourism in 2020 faced great challenges globally, because of the Covid-19 virus epidemic. World stock markets and the world economy are in crisis and the extent and consequences of this crisis are still unknown. Tourism as an economic branch does not include only travel but relates to other economic activities that are an integral part of sustainable development. Some tourist destinations in the world once facing too many tourists, now are facing flights cancelled during the pandemic, and the number of visits dropped in a short period of time. On the other hand, we are witnessing events that are a consequence of the declining number of tourists, and which are a kind of nature’s recovery from human presence (dolphins in Venice, animals on city streets, reduced air pollution, etc.). It seems that nature needed a break from man, and viewed from that side, one can see the positive effects of limited movement.

Development of Composite Pedestrian Level of Service Model in Urban Milieu at Midblock Sections

The pedestrian mode is gaining recognition as a basic building block in urban system design. Increasing attention is being given to developing vehicle-free zones to reduce urban pollution and return the inner city to its former role as a place for personal interaction. Attempts are being made to improve the walking experience, to make it more safe, convenient, and attractive especially in urban milieu to promote sustainable development. To provide the best pedestrian environment, it is necessary to understand pedestrian level of service. Conventional techniques of LOS determination consider the basic mobility characteristics of the pedestrian. The objective of this study is to develop a more accurate method of estimating level of service of pedestrians by developing composite indicators that integrate both qualitative and quantitative factors affecting both pedestrian and roadway conditions in the pedestrian movement. The relative importance of these multifaceted factors is assessed using Saaty scale and an Analytic Hierarchy Process is applied to determine the level of service. Field investigations include road network characterization and inventory studies, vehicular / pedestrian traffic characterization studies, pedestrian opinion surveys, expert opinion surveys. The approach has been applied to a major arterial road in Hyderabad city, Telangana, India in Mehdipatnam zone where pedestrian interactions are relatively high due to the commercial activity along the corridors. The stretches considered in the study exhibited Level of service "B" and "C" which implied necessary improvements to promote a good level of service.

Rules Versus Risk: Why Perceptions of Pedestrian Comfort and Safety Differ for Interactions with Self-Driving versus Human-Driven Vehicles

This study aims to inform the development of pedestrian-friendly self-driving vehicle (SDV) policies by investigating how perceptions of pedestrian comfort and safety are affected by SDV technology. We use structural topic modeling to investigate themes in open response survey comments from participants who viewed and rated short video clips of pedestrian interactions with motor vehicles. Although they were all human-driven vehicles (HDVs), participants were told that half of the interactions (randomly for each individual) involved SDVs. This deception-based survey design enabled isolation of the intrinsic effect of automated driving on comfort and safety perceptions across a broad sample of the population. Model results identified latent topics significantly more likely to be discussed for SDV versus HDV interactions, ceteris paribus. There is a greater focus on pedestrian responsibility to be cautious, aware, and predictable in interactions with SDVs than HDVs. Topics more associated with SDVs tend to focus on strict rule compliance (obligation fulfillment), whereas topics more associated with HDVs tend to focus on risk mitigation (with less focus on rules). Recommendations to mitigate potential negative impacts of introducing SDVs on the attractiveness of walking include requirements for conservative SDV operation in city streets, limiting potential interactions that require negotiated priority with SDVs (through physical separation and clear traffic controls), and enhancing external communication from SDVs.

Examination of interactions between heavy metals and benzotriazoles in rainwater runoff and snowmelt in an urban catchment in Poland

Heavy metals (HMs) are toxic pollutants that can accumulate and harm human health and the environment. Monitoring their concentration in water is an essential tool for evaluating the quality and safety of this vital resource. The aims of this study were (i) to characterize HMs contamination in rainwater runoff and snowmelt, identify likely sources and compliance with regulations and guidelines, and (ii) to conduct a preliminary assessment regarding the potential link between the occurrence of HMs and benzotriazoles based on a previous experiment. This study investigates the concentration of six HMs (cadmium, lead, nickel, chromium, copper, and zinc) in rainwater runoff and snowmelt samples collected in twelve Białystok locations in northeastern Poland. The highest concentration of Cu (517.5 μg/L) was identified in snowmelt from the city's ring road, with heavy vehicle traffic, and near an industrial area. A 4-lane asphalt street near the city center exhibited the highest concentrations of Pb (91.1 μg/L) and Ni (64.6 μg/L) for snowmelt and also for Cd (1.37 μg/L) and Ni (27.3 μg/L) in rainwater runoff. A snowmelt sample from a pedestrian-only area in the city center presented the highest Zn concentration (3672.2 μg/L). Considerable contents of Cr (353.2 μg/L) were found in snowmelt near an industrial and warehousing area. Snowmelt presented higher HMs concentrations than rainwater runoff. Our results indicate that most benzotriazoles and heavy metals occur independently. The analysis of the winds and the tendency of HMs to travel with dust particles suggest that specific contaminants might have originated in Belarus, a neighboring territory of Białystok.

WORKING PRINCIPLE AND PERFORMANCE EVOLUTION OF CAMERA-BASED INTELLIGENT SIGNALIZED INTERSECTIONS: SAMSUN CITY, TÜRKIYE EXAMPLE

In the current literature, it is clearly seen that most of the traffic chaos is generally observed at intersections of the urban roads in cities. On the other hand, many current traffic studies and research prove that fixed-time signalized intersections cannot have a good ability to control and manage current traffic flow at signalized intersection legs. For this aim, intelligent intersections were developed and started to be used in many cities all over the world in the last decade. These new intelligent intersection systems suggest dynamic signal times for all intersection legs by using real-time measured traffic data. These systems generally use cameras or loop detectors, which are located in the proper places on a signalized intersection leg and record vehicle movements. Within the scope of this study, a performance comparison was made for before and after the camera-based intelligent intersection applications at three isolated pilot signalized intersections within the scope of the "Smart City Traffic Safety" project, which is one of the largest Intelligent Transportation System projects in Turkey. After the system was activated, it was observed that the drivers had impatient behaviors in the beginning and had difficulty getting used to these new systems. After the signal cycle was regulated with the learning of artificial intelligence, it was seen that the drivers had more patience and more observant behaviors. It was also obtained from the analysis results that these new intelligent systems resulted in an average 16% decrease in control delays and a 20% decrease in vehicle speeds.

Call the Police? City Streets and Police Governmentality in Lisbon, c.1870-1910

RESUMO Este trabalho analisa o delinear de racionalidades de atuação na principal força policial de Lisboa entre o final do século XIX e o início do século XX. Com base nas ordens de serviço diárias e nas estatísticas policiais, examinamos esta conceptualização como uma encruzilhada de lutas entre um ideal construído e as práticas concretas, descortinando uma instituição a pensar-se a si própria. Mais do que impor uma ordem, o trabalho conclui que a polícia engendrou uma governamentalidade assente em práticas racionalizadas e no desenvolvimento de uma expectativa social em torno da intervenção policial.

Pravoohranitel'nye organy Oshskoj oblasti Kirgizskoj SSR v period Velikoj Otechestvennoj vojny

During the Great Patriotic War, the law enforcement agencies of Soviet Kyrgyzstan performed a number of tasks related to maintaining public order in the country and the security of all citizens; special attention was paid to suppressing crimes to protect socialist legality and control the civilian population. Law enforcement agencies patrolled the streets of cities to carry out passport registration among visitors, fought against child homelessness and neglect. The article uses for the first time unpublished archival documents of party organs; minutes of the meeting of the bureau of the Osh regional party committee and reports of the heads of state and party authorities.

Cooling wisdom of ‘water towns’: How urban river networks can shape city climate?

‘Water town’, a city design idea featuring buildings sitting along rivers and their associated riparian vegetation, serves as natural refuges for citizens to escape the dual challenges of heatwaves and urban heat islands. We investigated the multi-scale cooling effect of river networks in Shanghai, a typical modern city widely known as an assemblage of water towns. At the neighborhood scale, we conducted a series of field experiments along various rivers with different characteristics during the 2022 heatwave periods in central Shanghai. At the city scale, we first quantified the cooling impact of urban river networks by integrating remotely sensed data and fine-resolution urban river network maps. We found that the width of rivers, coverage ratio, density, and morphology of river networks are the key factors affecting the cooling potential. The confluence or proximity of river tributaries can also bring an enhanced cooling effect than standalone ones. Rivers were found to be all-day cool spots compared to adjacent city streets, with greater daytime cooling intensity (1–3 °C) than at night (0–0.6 °C). Compared to vegetation which has more spatial coverage within the city, rivers are constrained by a linear shape along certain paths but possess the ability to flow, which is beneficial for cooling by carrying cool water from upstream parks and offering wind corridors. The atmospheric cooling capability of 20% of river coverage is equivalent to 30% of tree canopy coverage in a neighborhood. The city-scale cooling effect yields a 36.9% cooling area with a maximum cooling extent of 5.5 °C. The disparities in cooling effect between river networks and standalone rivers primarily manifest in confluence areas and the reinforced cooling within dense river networks. Each additional confluence in local river networks leads to a mean increase of 3% in cooling area and 0.01 °C cooling intensity. Our study implies that urban watercourses cannot be neglected in urban climatic studies and should be incorporated into a new conceptualization of water-included urban local climate zone classifications in the world urban database.

Sesame Street and the City: Revitalizing the City through Popular Culture

In the midst of the urban crisis, the creators of Sesame Street rejected the suburban and classroom set designs of other children’s programs and chose instead a city street. When asked why, producers explained that it would appeal to their target audience: impoverished children in urban communities. But producers chose an urban setting because they believed the city could be saved and their show could be its savior. On-screen, producers crafted a vision for cities: an amalgamation of urban idealism, colorblindness, and nostalgia. Off-screen, producers attempted to improve urban conditions by providing children with access to Sesame Street. Drawing on close readings of the set design, production documents, and viewer mail, this article reconstructs the discourse between set designers, the city street they built, and their audience, to show how Sesame Street revitalized the city, both on and off-screen.

Training and Applying Artificial Neural Networks in Traffic Light Control: Improving the Management and Safety of Road Traffic in Tyumen (Russia)

The article presents the initial experience (spring-summer 2023) of using artificial neural networks (ANN) to improve traffic management in the large Russian city of Tyumen. Using the example of one of the intersections of the city's road network, it is shown how much transport delays are reduced when the duration of the traffic light cycle phases is quickly adjusted to the actual traffic intensity when compared with the usual previously used traffic light predictive mode. For the specific intersection of Odesskaya and Kotovskogo streets in Tyumen, considered in this article, the traffic light control mode using an ANN can significantly (by 20.6 ... 22.4%) reduce the average delay time of vehicles. It is also important that the reduction in traffic delays, which is possible with the regulation of traffic using ANN, helps to reduce stress for road users and improve road safety. The article presents historical data illustrating the dynamics of changes in the field of traffic management and road safety in Tyumen. This information confirms the thesis about the dialectic of systemic development and the need for a gradual increase in the intellectual component of traffic management in large cities. The Applications (Appendix A and Appendix B) present the code of the auxiliary procedures and functions module and the code of the main data collection module used to optimize the traffic light control mode at the experimental intersection of the Tyumen road network. The main conclusion of the study is that the use of an ANN allows for taking into account a much larger number of factors and optimizing the control of the entire object, consisting of several intersections, which is not achievable using predictive modes and local adaptive control.

Isotopic Signatures of Nitrogen in Selected Soils from Croatia

The mobility of nitrogen (N) in the environment is conditioned by its cycling between atmospheric, terrestrial, and marine ecosystems. It is a key element for global biogeochemistry, and although isotope analysis has been an integral part of many studies over the past eighty years, the complexity of the nitrogen cycle hinders a correct and detailed understanding of the mechanisms behind its processes. It could be argued that the interpretation of the isotopic signatures of nitrogen in soils is still in its infancy. In Croatia, such research has recently begun and is driven by a need for the comprehensive study of nitrogen isotopes in terrestrial ecosystems. The aim of this study was to compare the abundance of the 15N isotope in soils from continental and coastal parts of Croatia with different types of land use (arable land/crop production, meadows, forests, orchards, ski slopes, urban soil/city roads) and to authenticate the nitrogen origin in soils in relation to different soil management practices. This research was based on 27 soil samples collected at 11 locations in Croatia. The samples differed according to soil type, land use, applied mineral and organic nitrogen fertilization, and climatic condition at each specific location. The determination of δ15NT (T—total nitrogen) values in bulk samples was performed in duplicate with the IRMS (Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry) method using an IsoPrime100-Vario PYRO Cube (OH/CHN Pyrolyser/Elemental Analyzer). The results reveal that the mean δ15N abundance in soils according to different land use declines in the following order: crop production (+5.66 ± 1.06‰) > apple orchard (+5.60 ± 0.10‰) > city road (+4.33 ± 0.38‰) > meadow (+3.71 ± 0.85‰) > ski slope (+2.20 ± 0.10‰) > forest (+2.15 ± 1.86‰). The individual values were in the range from 0.00 ± 0.10‰ in the forest soil in continental Croatia to +7.19 ± 0.07‰ in the vegetable garden (crop production) soil in coastal Croatia. Among the investigated soil properties and weather conditions, PCA analysis identified close correlations between P2O5 content and δ115N abundance in arable soils, as well as between soil reaction (pH) and mean annual temperatures, while high C/N ratio values explained the isotopic distribution in non-arable soils (city roads and forests). Despite the long-term application of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, the results represent nitrogen of organic origin in the arable soils (crop production), which partly confirms the sustainable management of those agroecosystems.

Air Quality in Dhaka City is a Growing Concern

One of the precious and necessary natural resources for all life is air. The levels of pollution in Dhaka far exceed those recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is estimated that urban air pollution in South Asia results in more than 400,000 fatalities and billions of episodes of respiratory illness each year. According to WHO predictions for 2019, there are around 250,000 air pollution-related deaths per year in Bangladesh. Dhaka is one of the crowded cities on earth. City streets are jam-packed with push carts, rickshaw vans, three-wheeled auto-rickshaws with two-stroke engines, buses, trucks, and cars. As a result of the rapid industrialization and economic expansion, there will likely be an increase in the number of motor vehicles in the next days, which will make the issue worse. This essay tries to outline the current state of air pollution in Dhaka and offer some specific suggestions for lowering air pollution in order to improve the city's quality of life.

Modeling and Forecasting Freight Delivery for Blocked and Unblocked Streets through Machine Learning Approaches and Analysed by Microsimulation Model

Deliveries of freight on signalized city roads often lead to lane obstructions, contributing to urban traffic congestion. This issue has garnered increasing attention as traffic engineers and city planners seek sustainable solutions to meet growing demand while working within the constraints of limited road capacity. The primary objective of this study is to assess a model designed to quantify the impact of freight deliveries on both the capacity and delay experienced on signalized city roads in Ahmedabad. The model is structured similarly to the approach outlined in the Highway Capacity Manual (HCM2010). The aim of this research is to provide insights into the utilization of these analytical tools in the context of urban freight delivery policies. This research explores the estimation of delay and vehicle capacity, accounting for various factors such as delivery locations, durations, and their distinct effects on different lanes. To predict vehicle capacity and estimate delays, this study employed machine learning techniques, specifically Support Vector Machines and Artificial Neural Networks. The results demonstrate a high level of agreement between our predictions and actual observations.

ЗАКОРДОННИЙ ДОСВІД ФОРМУВАННЯ ВЕЛОСИПЕДНОЇ МЕРЕЖІ ТА ЙОГО ВПЛИВ НА СТВОРЕННЯ ВЕЛОЦЕНТРІВ В УКРАЇНІ

In recent years, the number of residents of Ukraine choosing to travel by bicycle has been steadily growing, as has the number of activities held on bicycles, but a significant proportion of the population is still unsure of the possibility of safe bicycle use due to the lack of an appropriate bicycle network, safe conditions of movement and lack of parking in cities and the corresponding infrastructure. In this regard, there is a need to create an extensive bicycle infrastructure in the cities of Ukraine for safe urban mobility, reducing the number of motor vehicles and replacing them with bicycles. This will provide an opportunity to improve the ecology of cities and attract residents to an active and healthy lifestyle and include Ukraine in the global cycling community. Riding a bicycle helps to maintain good physical shape, prolongs life, promotes the production of the "hormone of happiness" and allows you to receive new emotions and an incredible charge of energy every day, gives the opportunity to freely move through city streets (which is especially relevant for residents of megacities). But this requires an appropriate infrastructure, which includes bike lanes, bike parking, bike services, relevant legislation and general municipal support. This study began before the full-scale invasion of Russia and analyzed the situation that developed in peacetime, as well as the development of cities in Ukraine designed for peacetime. The article analyzes the municipal policy of cities in which significant attention is paid to bicycle infrastructure, cycling and objects of this infrastructure are promoted. An attempt was made to formulate the factors that contribute to the emergence of bicycle networks in cities and the functional filling of the bicycle center as one of the important elements of these networks.

Building Information Modeling and Artificial Intelligence Based Smart Construction Management: Materials and Electrical

With the development of society and technological progress, the requirements of government regulatory departments for engineering construction efficiency, quality, and safety are constantly increasing. The traditional extensive construction process can no longer meet the requirements of modern construction industry development. Based on the shortcomings of traditional construction processes, the concept of intelligent construction has been introduced. The construction of new smart and digital twin (DT) cities is entering an explosive period. The application of building rapid modeling technology based on artificial intelligence (AI) and building information modeling (BIM) integration in smart cities has gradually begun new explorations and attempts, and its application value is becoming increasingly prominent. A brand-new auto-machine learning (auto-ML) integrated algorithm technology platform for 3D building modeling is being developed and improved over time by combining AI and BIM technology in a deep way. This allows for fast and accurate modeling as well as high-value scenarios in the smart city industry, including architecture, municipal engineering, roads, and bridges.

City street experiments and system change: Identifying barriers and enablers to the transformative process

City street experiments continue to be employed as a tool to improve urban mobility and liveability. Despite growing popularity, understanding of this transformative process, and more specifically, the barriers and enablers that exist for street experiments aiming to cause system change, remains an important knowledge gap. By way of a systematic search and review of 17 empirical studies, barriers and enablers to the transformative process are identified. Enablers include embedding experiments in long-term policies including stakeholders, active promotion and institutional support. Barriers include those within the experiment’s control (a lack of required resources, unconducive design, lack of clear vision and low frequency) as well as those out of the experiment’s control (opposition from stakeholders and institutional regulations and processes). The relationships between these enablers and barriers are recounted, revealing concrete recommendations for experiment organizers as well as two dilemmas for consideration.