Comfortable Urban Environment Research Articles

Comfortable urban environment: experimental design projects of Nizhnevartovsk university students

Comfortable urban environment: experimental design projects of Nizhnevartovsk university students

Social strategies for urban management and urban-environment development in the works of T. M. Dridze and in contemporary Russia

In the pre- and early post-reform Russian urban sociology, the works of T.M. Dridze, a prominent Russian sociologist and psychologist, are of a great importance. Her concepts of urban development, social participation and urban environment reflect the democratic approach to urban development and urban social management. Under the dominant liberal, market-oriented urban regulation, this approach was considered almost marginal. However, after the adoption in 2016 of the federal project for developing a ‘comfortable urban environment’, the rhetoric of ‘environment’ and ‘participation’ started to prevail in both society and urban social sciences. The question is whether the ideas and theoretical models of the democratic urban planning started to determine the contemporary urban development. To answer this question, the author clarifies the content of the basic terms used by T.M. Dridze and her interpretation of the relationships between the environment, society and participatory technologies; reveals the methodological role of social participation and defines it as a scale of social practices - from the grassroot ‘activism’ to the ‘participation from above’ initiated by the authorities. The author conducts a conceptualterminological analysis to compare three strategies of urban development: urban construction, urban regulation and urban arrangement, and only the last one seems to be consistently democratic. The analysis of the texts and methods of the federal project allows the author to make conclusions about the certain qualities of this project. Thus, the project replaces the democratic socialenvironmental type of social participation in urban development - planning, implementation, assessment of results - by the improvement of urban areas as controlled by the authorities. This means that the works of T.M. Dridze are still relevant for the democratic urban studies and urban development.

Tourist potential of the territory and its role in improving the quality of life of the population

In the study there was set the tasks to assess the level of development of the tourist potential of Russian territories, to determine its role in ensuring the quality of life of the local population, and to analyze regional differentiation according to these indicators. To ensure the comprehensiveness of the study, the authors relied on the obtained empirical data and official statistics; the key research method was a questionnaire survey of heads of municipalities (N = 306). The article used the materials of the quality of life rating for a comparative analysis with the research data. The authors have confirmed the hypothesis that the level of development of the key tourist resources of the territory correlates with the assessments of the quality of life of the population. Still it is impossible to answer definitely the question: which of these indicators of territorial development is dominant. On the one hand, it may be assumed, that the tourist potential plays a significant role in ensuring the quality of life of the local population, allowing the development of the transport network, the cultural and historical complex of the territory, and a comfortable urban environment. At the same time, it is impossible to exclude the opposite influence, where the high quality of life in the region is a determinant of increasing its tourist potential. In any case, the study confirms the presence of interconnection and mutual influence of these indicators that draws attention to the prospect of focusing the authorities' attention on the tourist potential of the territory. Most of the heads of municipalities noted the availability of tourism resources that, if used rationally, would allow implementing strategies for development of domestic tourism and improving the quality of life of the local population.

Assessment of soils and green stands in the recreational areas with different land-use history in New Moscow

Abstract. Recreational areas contribute considerably to the establishment of sustainable and comfortable urban environment. Green stands and soils of recreational areas provide important environmental functions and ecosystem services, their utilization depends on natural and anthropogenic factors distinguished by land-use history. For the case of the recreational areas of New Moscow, a comparative analysis of trees (n=1909) and soils (n=39, 0-10 cm layer) of the parks, established on former forested and fallow lands, was performed. It was shown that the species diversity was higher although the tree condition score was lower in the forest-parks, compared to the parks established on former fallow lands, which were generally characterized by a higher level of maintenance. Soils of these parks had a neutral pHH20 (7.20.8) and high content of organic matter (8.52.5 %), whereas the forest-parks soils were similar to the natural Retisols of the forest area with pHH20 6.40.2 and 5.10.2, organic matter content 5.90.2 и 3.50.2 %, respectively. Soils of the parks, established on the former fallow lands, had also a higher pollution level by particular heavy metals as well as considering the integral pollution index. Thus, a higher level of maintenance of the parks established on former fallow lands coincided with a higher anthropogenic pressure and ecosystem alteration. However, reorganization of forests into forestparks allowed partial preservation of the natural ecosystems. That is necessary to consider for planning the new urbanized areas in Moscow.

The Land Surface Temperature Dynamics and Its Impact on Land Cover in District Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

The landcover has most essential impact on the climatic condition of any region. The rapid urbanization induces key changes into the climatic condition of any region. This changing pattern of urbanization has induced micro level climatic changes with demographic variation as the key factor. In this study we analyzed the effect of landcover classes on the LST in the Peshawar for 1990. 2000, 2010 and 2019. The results revealed that the builtup area has been increased from 14.20% to 20.22% during 1990 to 2019. The results also show that the LST values are between the ranges of 25°C to 36°C. The air temperature and LST have very compromising correlation. The hype and increase in the UHI zones are resultant to rapid urbanization and expansion of Old Municipal Corporation with initiation of developmental projects in the area. This study will help urban planners and decision makers in landuse planning and management to mitigate the increase in LST with the replacement of possible impervious surfaces with green built and road side plantation for comfortable urban environment.

Some issues of legislative regulation of local government in Science Cities through the prism of Russian constitutionalism

A science city is a territory with a high concentration of scientific, technical, and innovative potential. Its characteristic is the participation of organizations of the research and production complex of Science Cities in institutional interaction with local governments to develop the innovative infrastructure they use, create a comfortable urban environment, ensure the availability of social infrastructure for conservation staff resource and attracting highly qualified specialists.The article notes a some of lacks in the legal regulation of local government in Science Cities, such as the lack of legislative imperative norms on the creation of scientific and technical councils of a Science City; norms establishing the features of the organization of local government, the lack of legislative regulation of the conditions of stay and the implementation of labor activity on the territory of Science Cities by third parties. To solve these problems, it is necessary to introduce appropriate amendments to the Law on Science Cities or adopt a new federal law on local government in Science Cities in a single system of public authority.

LANDSCAPE-ECOLOGICAL BASES OF HUMANIZATION OF ARCHITECTURAL AND TOWN-PLANNING INFRASTRUCTURE OF URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Formulation of the problem. The territory of any city is characterized by two main indicators: the natural basis created in the process of urban planning, planning and construction. The combination of these factors shapes the urban environment. At all stages of development of civilization sought to create a comfortable urban environment for the livelihood of the population primarily taking into account human needs. Purpose of the article is to investigate in the process of urbanization the relief of the assimilated territory is processed in accordance with the needs of a particular stage of city development. Comparison of several sections of the relief of the same urban area allows to establish changes in the composition of the earth's surface that have already occurred: the disappearance of lakes, river flows, ravines, straightening the riverbed, the emergence of a new reservoir, changes in altitudes. An urgent complex urban planning problem today is to determine the prospects for further development and reconstruction of large industrial cities. Ergonomic factor allows, above all, to create a comfortable environment for production activities, as well as a recreational environment in which a person in the process of rest could feel comfortable psychologically and emotionally. Humanization − the humanization of the production environment − is based on ergonomics, taking into account, above all, new technologies and the impact on the city's ecosystem. Conclusions. The dynamic transformation of the city under the influence of various factors was accompanied by a change of approaches to correct the contradictions that arise from the interaction of natural and artificial components of the urban environment with architectural and urban infrastructure. The living environment at each stage of historical development has changed, primarily taking into account its architectural and urban infrastructure, and each stage of historical development has changed the nature of the relationship “city − environment – man”.

Current trends in the formation of art objects in urban environment ("Viaduk" community in Voronezh

The article discusses the main trends in the formation of art objects in the urban environment. Special attention is paid to the development of aestheticizing the urban environment. Art objects are studied in the urban context. The article analyzes the concepts of creating art objects in the urban space. Variants of art objects are proposed in accordance with the creation of a comfortable urban environment. The article substantiates the idea about art objects in the urban environment as elements of the urban space identification.

Tools and Technologies for Sustainable Territorial Development in the Context of a Quadruple Innovation Helix

The study of the problem of sustainable development of urban areas led to the understanding of the important role that population involvement plays in solving the issues related to forming a comfortable urban environment. It is normal practice to take into account the proposals and recommendations of citizens and organizations when making decisions in the field of territorial development. Nevertheless, the implementation of participatory governance mechanisms faces significant difficulties. This is primarily due to the lack of effective tools for analyzing the opinion of citizens and technologies for integrating urban communities into existing institutions of governance. This article discusses the ways of organizing expert polls based on the principles of “Socratic dialogue”. The idea of using social networks for testing and promoting urban development projects by analyzing social reactions to various urban initiatives is considered. The possibility of predicting public opinion about a specific solution for urban development using historical data from social networks has been investigated. An approach to the gamification of work with a social response to the urban environment state through virtual interactions with infrastructure objects is proposed. The prospects for gamification to motivate civic participation and improve the efficiency of feedback mechanisms between the city and its residents are discussed.

Research on Architectural Planning and Landscape Design of Smart City Based on Computational Intelligence.

City brain is a complex system, including online center, server network, and system with given algorithm. The core of the city brain is the intelligent system. After putting the urban brain into the intelligent nerve center, on the basis of not changing its original data structure, combining its own characteristics for design and then integrating into application, it can intelligently change the urban management mode. Urban planning leads the development of smart cities on a certain meaning, and smart city planning must have scientific and rational urban planning. The intelligent model is used to make urban planning form a more modern, convenient, and reasonable urban architectural planning. Some influential books on classical architectural theory are the theoretical basis of intelligent urban planning and even the trend and implementation blueprint of how smart cities will develop in the future. In this paper, four algorithms, ant colony algorithm, particle swarm optimization algorithm, genetic algorithm, and improved ant colony algorithm, are proposed to optimize the characteristics of urban architectural planning and landscape design; especially the security research of architecture and landscape characteristics is very important. The improved ant colony algorithm has the shortcoming of insufficient optimization ability in the face of complex path selection. By improving the influencing factors, a new ant colony algorithm is created. The improved ant colony algorithm achieves the best in security features, so it is advocated to use this algorithm for planning and design. The urban form in smart city aims to create a beautiful and comfortable urban environment, improve the competitiveness of cities in the rapid urbanization process, improve the living standards of the public, and shape the image of this beautiful city.

Microclimate as the basis for creating a comfortable urban environment

The article deals with the question of the extent to which the urban microclimate determines the state of comfort of the urban environment. To determine the comfort of the urban environment, the criterion of the Dutch urbanist Jan Gel is used. The article discusses the spatial and temporal scales of microclimatic phenomena and notes that the main characteristics of the microclimate are spatial and temporal variability. Specific examples demonstrate how microclimatic phenomena can affect the comfort of the urban environment. The article discusses the possibilities contained in regulatory documents for regulating the microclimate in urban conditions.

Организация разработки градостроительных решений

Introduction. The integrated and sustainable development of urban areas within the framework of urban planning is based on the principle of effective use and is embodied in urban planning solutions. Characteristic aspects of appropriate urban planning solutions encompass various technical, technological, social, environmental, economic issues and development peculiarities of urban areas and buildings. Urban planning solutions, developed for areas and buildings in need of an effective management and evaluation system and a comfortable and safe urban environment, are the subject of this research. The purpose of the research is to develop an approach to organizing the development and selection of optimal urban planning solutions towards the development and transformation of areas and buildings. Materials and methods. Due to its complexity, urban planning goes beyond traditional design and construction and needs sound and effective organization and management methods. Within the framework of this approach, organizational models of development, implementation and optimization of urban planning solutions must have the following components: object and subject of control, parameters of regulatory influence, information and technical support. Towards this end, the list of applications of urban planning solutions, their composition and characteristics are presented. Research methods include structural and functional analysis. Results. The authors have discovered that the effective management of urban planning solutions requires an information model of built-up areas that will be updated and upgraded on an ongoing basis. The mathematical description of the process of selecting optimal urban planning solutions is presented. Conclusions. The list of provisions, formulated by the authors, establishes a scientific rationale for the development and implementation of investment programmes and projects focused on the reengineering of areas and buildings, their composition and structure, establishes an effective regime and configuration of flows of regulatory impacts within the framework of urban planning activities, as well as the preconditions (conditions) of organizing the development and selection of optimal urban planning solutions.

The Role of Public Space in Creating a Comfortable Urban Environment (on the Example of Irkutsk)

The article discusses the purpose, functions and features of public spaces as an integral component of a comfortable urban environment. The study analyzed the state and level of performance of public spaces’ functions in Irkutsk as a part of urban life structure. We focused on characteristics and role of open and closed spaces for the youth part of the city's population, since Irkutsk, like other Siberian cities is facing a problem of the outflow of young people, caused by lack of socio-economic conditions. We found high importance of public spaces for young citizens who view them as socially inclusive, recreational, and entertaining. The study concluded that there is a necessity to strengthen civil, organizational, creative functions and the function of storing «collective memory». We put forward some ideas how to improve public spaces of Irkutsk, braoden opportunities for recreation, leisure, creativity and social development of young people.

Geoinformation assessment of digitalization in the urban space of Kaliningrad

ABSTRACT Cities around the globe that have residential areas spanning several eras of architecture face the challenge of developing a comfortable urban environment. New urban spaces must accommodate the needs of a modern urban dweller constantly engaged with information and communication technologies and the Internet of Things. A viable urban development strategy is the smart-city model based on a digital city ecosystem using urban informatics technologies. The study case is Kaliningrad, a city with an over 760-year history of development. We present a comparative analysis of its housing development dynamics, tourist zones and mobile internet coverage in the residential areas. Our findings identify digitally advanced and peripheral inner-city areas and, using geoinformation data, showcase the development of digital urban space.

European Urban Strategies for Attracting Highly Skilled Migrants

In the context of globalization and rapid technological changes, the preservation of human capital and its multiplication are becoming an increasingly important factor of economic growth. These challenges are particularly acute for the European Union and the UK, which have been gradually losing their competitive positions in the world economy over the past decades. In this context it is particularly important to analyze policies aimed at stimulating highly skilled migration carried out at different levels, including the municipal level. Despite their limited competences in the field of migration regulation, municipal administrations are able to influence its dynamics and structure by creating a comfortable urban environment and housing policy, increasing transport accessibility, facilitating employment of local university graduates, supporting return migration, and using other soft measures to attract highly qualified specialists and representatives of the creative class. This process, however, has both winners and losers. Many cities, primarily in the peripheral EU countries, are not able to cope with the competition and handle the ever increasing brain drain problem, which requires comprehensive solutions involving not only municipal administrations but also central authorities and supranational European institutions.

How Do Smart City Technologies Help to Cope with the Pandemic?

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought significant changes worldwide. A large body of research already exists to identify factors that influence the disease incidence and mortality, both at the scale of individual regions within countries and at the national scale. The consistently high number of cases of virus acquisition and the discovery of new strains show that the relevance of this research is not decreasing. International and domestic experience demonstrates the expansion of the use of digital technologies to combat the pandemic and its consequences. These include technologies that help identify infected individuals, trace contacts, predict the spread of the disease, conduct diagnostics and treatment, raise population awareness, maintain social distancing and self-isolation, and enable the transition to an online format. These technologies are more widespread in smart cities through the availability of the corresponding infrastructure; however, they can be implemented anywhere. This study is aimed at assessing the contribution of smart technology and comfortable urban environment to the fight against coronavirus infection. A hypothesis is proposed about the existence of an inverse dependence between smart urban environment and the number of deaths. The dependence is checked by statistical methods. The results we obtained show that the presence of a developed urban infrastructure in fact reduces excess mortality, which includes deaths not only from the infection itself but also from its consequences. A developed urban infrastructure also contributes to mitigating the issues associated with healthcare system overload and helps to reduce difficulties related to planned medical examinations and planned operations, etc. Nevertheless, the level of digitalization of urban environment has no significant impact on mortality.

Влияние на развитие пространства крупного советского города применения «горьковского» метода жилищного строительства во второй половине 1950-х годов (на примере Саратова)

The article analyzesthe implementation ofthe practice of housingconstruction bythe “Gorky”method in Saratov duringthe Khrushchev housing reform. It is concluded that housing construction using this method was a temporary measure to mitigate the housing crisis that existed then in the USSR and in Saratov in particular. The buildings were built according to standard designs and had a minimum of decor, but they were human-sized, formed a rather comfortable urban environment and, despite the ascetic appearance, in some cases even brought some variety to the city’s appearance.

Case study of noise pollution from vehicles and legal mechanisms for road noise control

Among the many environmental problems of the modern world one of the important ones is noise pollution. Currently, noise pollution from vehicles requires special attention in densely populated and industrial cities, as there is a trend towards an increase in the areas of acoustic discomfort in built-up areas. The noise that occurs on the roadway of the highway extends not only to the territory near the highway, but also deep into the housing development. Study' objective was to assess noise pollution from vehicles in the most densely populated area of Poltava (Ukraine), as well as to establish the possibility of influencing the situation through legal mechanisms to have an understanding of further research directions and ways to achieve a comfortable urban environment in Ukraine. The noise levels from traffic flows were measured in accordance with GOST 20444-2014, using the Testo 815. To determine the equivalent noise level from the traffic flows movement, an empirical dependence was applied in accordance with the methodology of the State Agency for Highways of Ukraine. Determined that the daytime threshold values are exceeded by 20–28.9 dB(A), which is not acceptable. The reasons for the increase in noise are the road bumps, a significant number of cars and number of stops and streets junctions, the movement of vehicles at a non-constant speed, lack of roadside landscaping. About 62,550 people live in areas where the noise level exceeds the permissible value for the area near residential buildings. The calculation method used turned out to be more accurate than the measured results and showed a significant effect of traffic intensity on noise pollution. Apparently, the low measurement accuracy is justified by outdated road noise measurement standards, which, in turn, need to be seriously revised. Reducing noise levels by optimizing traffic flows is one of the priority areas in which it is necessary to bring the environmental legislation of Ukraine. Ukrainian legislation still needs to undergo many changes to reach a level where it can be used as a control lever to achieve a safe ecological environment.

Systematic assessment road network impact on atmosphere of urbanized area

Introduction. To study the urbanized territory as a system, an approach was used that allows assessing gaseous and dispersed atmospheric pollution using a unified scale of environmental hazard. The features of air pollution in urban areas were considered, where a significant number of stationary and mobile sources of negative environmental impact are concentrated in limited overpopulated areas.The purpose of the study. the use of theoretical foundations for a systematic assessment of the level of environmental hazard of an urbanized area under the influence of the road network due to a combination of gaseous and dispersed atmospheric pollution.Methods and materials. Based on the improved model of the Urbanized Territory system, the following hypothesis is proposed: 1) motor traffic flows are both independent sources of formation of dispersed particles and sources of uplifting and spreading of particles, which in the presence of gaseous pollutants increases the level of environmental hazard of atmospheric pollution in an urbanized area; 2) atmospheric pollution of an urbanized area is formed when gaseous pollutants and dispersed particles from the street and road network are superimposed on the polluting background of other elements of the Urbanized territory system.Results. The distribution maps of the calculated complex index of atmospheric pollution were obtained for the most problematic areas of the urbanized territory of Naberezhnye Chelny - Prospekt Mira and Kazansky Prospekt. The obtained results characterize the change in the level of environmental hazard of urbanized areas when gaseous pollutants and dispersed particles from the street and road network are superimposed on the polluting background of other elements of the Urbanized territory system.Discussion and conclusion. Based on the generalization and comparison of the results of previous and current studies of the authors, comparing them with the results of other researchers, the hypothesis was fully confirmed. Conclusion. With the confirmation of the hypothesis, the goal of the study was achieved, which has scientific novelty and practical significance for the arrangement of a favorable and comfortable urban environment.

Urban Agglomeration: Transforming the Economic Space Based on the Concept of Sustainable Development of the Territorial Land Resource System

Regional strategies for sustainable development of territories are a priority in the Russian Federation. In the context of these strategies, the modernization of the country's regions' economic space is inextricably linked to agglomeration tendencies. The article determines that to solve the important social and economic problem of providing affordable housing for the Russian population and the making of comfortable urban environment it is advisable to focus on the project approach with the use of environmental, technical and legal tools to improve the environmental, economic and cost efficiency of land resources of urban agglomeration systems. Urban agglomeration is a highly developed spatial form of integrated cities, via a shift from competition to cooperation. Agglomerations have certain attributes, described in detail in the article, that make urban agglomeration one of the most important agents of global economic development. The author systematizes technologies of agglomeration development spatial planning in terms of managerial concept of territorial land resource system as the basis for housing development. In addition to the existing structure-planning, functional, compositional factors of territorial development, through the formation of agglomeration the efficiency of using territorial land resources in suburban areas as a tool used by investment and construction companies in the implementation of territorial programs, with predominantly low-rise development, ensuring a high level of integrated development of territories and energy efficiency class is proved. In addition to existing structural-planning, functional, compositional factors of territorial development, the author proves, through the making of agglomerations, the efficiency of use of land resources of territories in the suburban areas as a tool used by investment and construction companies in the implementation of territorial programs, with mainly low-rise buildings, providing a high level of comprehensive development of territories and high energy efficiency class. As a result, this will allow the formation of an urban agglomeration as an «economic funnel», which will be the core for the social and economic resources of the region and will enable the transformation of the economic space.