Development Of Metropolitan Cities Research Articles

Potential environmental pollution study by leachate generation and health risk assessment in the vicinity of bandhwari landfill disposal site, National Capital Region, India

Effects of fast urbanization and development in metropolitan cities is the production of massive amounts of waste from households and industries. Dumping of waste at an unengineered landfill site creates environmental issues. Generated leachate from such landfill is having potential to pollute the surrounding environment including groundwater. To understand the groundwater pollution by the effect of landfill leachate and health risk assessment for humans, four leachate samples and thirty-six groundwater samples were collected from different sources of groundwater from close proximity of Bandhwari Landfill site located in National Capital Region, Delhi. EC and SO42− values of Leachate samples i. e L-1 and L-2 are 42.5 mS/cm and 55.4 mS/cm; 1916.4 mg/l and 1931 mg/l respectively. Leachate pollution Index (LPI) values signifies that landfill leachate is having moderate potential for contamination. The dominance of average ionic species concentration of major cations in groundwater is given as Ca2+>Na+>Mg2+>K+ and major anion as HCO3− > Cl− > SO42− > NO3− > F−. As per Water Quality Index (WQI), 67% of samples lies in excellent category, 17% of samples falling in good category, whereas around 6% of groundwater samples lies in poor category, very poor category and unsuitable category. Landfill leachate and groundwater sample from North East direction are having high concentration of tritium i.e. 8.11 ± 0.40 TU and 3.03 ± 0.29 TU, respectively. Leachate samples from leachate pond-1 and leachate pond-2 are showing quite high Cl−/Br− ratio i. e 342 and 320. 86 respectively. But groundwater samples are exhibiting Cl−/Br− ratio in the range of 173.68 to 108.75. This represents leaching of salts from solid decomposed waste from landfill. Both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk (CRing) were calculated for children and adult. Hazard Index (HI) values are higher than reference value i. e > 1 in the children (in 23% samples) as compare to the adult. These are mainly associated with Co, Cd and Pb. CRing of groundwater sample due to the presence of As, Ni, Cr and Cd falling in the range of 10−6 and 10−4 showing high risk to cancer per 10, 00, 000 million people by ingestion. However there is no significant cancer risk by dermal exposure by all metals in all groundwater samples. Groundwater pollution appears to be limited to the close vicinity in South and North-East direction.

Life Cycle Assessment of alkali activated materials: preliminary investigation for pavement applications

The capital investment in the US for construction and maintenance of the infrastructure road network is $150 billion/year. Investments in OECD countries will likely stabilize, while other countries will face an exponential growth of investments for infrastructures driven by the development of metropolitan cities. Continued “business-as-usual” practice for portland and asphalt cement concrete pavement construction ignores the increasing warning calls for the identification of more sustainable and less energy intensive paving materials.
 Alkali activated materials concrete (AAM) have been studied with growing interest during the last three decades. AAM show promising results in terms of mechanical performance, while also having a global warming potential impact 30-80% less than that of portland cement concrete. The global warming potential of AAM is closely dependent on the: 1) activating solution used to activate the raw material and 2) origin of the raw material. Specifically, the impact of the transport for both of these components is ~ 10% of its global warming potential. Hence, to increase the adoption of AAM for pavements, it is fundamental to analyze the existing literature to clarify the link between environmental impact and mechanical performance, identifying opportunities for applications that are tailored to the local availability of raw material.

Long term exposure to fine particulate matter and development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the elderly

Background Studies evaluating the role of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development showed inconsistent results and were limited to Western countries. We aimed to determine the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and COPD development in metropolitan cities in Korea, which have higher PM2.5 levels than those in Western country studies. Methods We constructed a retrospective cohort (elderly aged over 65 years who resided in 7 metropolitan cities in 2008) using Korea health insurance data. A total of 687,940 elderlies who had not visited hospitals due to COPD for 3 years (from 2008 to 2010) were followed-up from 2011 to 2016. The first hospital visit due to COPD during the follow-up period was regarded as COPD development. Daily district-level PM2.5 concentrations were estimated by chemical transport model and 60-month moving average PM2.5 were assigned to each subject in time-varying Cox proportional hazard model. Results The mean concentration of modelled PM2.5 in 7 metropolitan cities during the study period (from 2006 to 2016) was 28.0 μg/m3 and 259,700 subjects newly visited the hospital due to COPD. COPD hospital visit hazard ratio for a 10 μg/m3 increase in 60-month moving average PM2.5 concentration was 1.09 (95% confidence interval: 1.07, 1.11). Risks remained unchanged following different PM2.5 exposure levels (48-month moving average, and average PM2.5 concentrations for 2008 and 2008-2010) and in subgroup analysis by subject characteristics (sex, age, and income groups). Discussion By following-up 687,940 elderly subjects who resided in metropolitan cities in Korea for 6 years, long-term PM2.5 exposure showed association with COPD development.

Long-term exposure to fine particulate matter and development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the elderly

BackgroundStudies evaluating the role of long-term exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) development showed inconsistent results and were limited to Western countries. We aimed to determine the association between long-term exposure to PM2.5 and COPD development in metropolitan cities in Korea, which have higher PM2.5 levels than those in Western country studies. MethodsWe constructed a retrospective cohort (elderly aged over 65 years who resided in 7 metropolitan cities in 2008) using Korea health insurance data. A total of 687,940 elderlies who had not visited hospitals due to COPD for 3 years (from 2008 to 2010) were followed-up from 2011 to 2016. The first hospital visit due to COPD during the follow-up period was regarded as COPD development. Daily district-level PM2.5 concentrations were estimated by chemical transport model and 60-month moving average PM2.5 were assigned to each subject in time-varying Cox proportional hazard model. ResultsThe mean concentration of modelled PM2.5 in 7 metropolitan cities during the study period (from 2006 to 2016) was 28.0 μg/m3 and 259,700 subjects newly visited the hospital due to COPD. COPD hospital visit hazard ratio for a 10 μg/m3 increase in 60-month moving average PM2.5 concentration was 1.09 (95% confidence interval: 1.07, 1.11). Risks remained unchanged following different PM2.5 exposure levels (48-month moving average, and average PM2.5 concentrations for 2008 and 2008–2010) and in subgroup analysis by subject characteristics (sex, age, and income groups). DiscussionBy following-up 687,940 elderly subjects who resided in metropolitan cities in Korea for 6 years, long-term PM2.5 exposure showed association with COPD development.

The Role of Legal and Social Policies in Attaining Sustainable Urban Development in India

This paper intends to explicate the present framework of legal and social policies in India, which govern urban development. The research is directed towards contemplating the progress of sustainable urbanism in India in achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Overcrowding, rise in the number of informal settlers and unplanned development are the most prominent multi- faceted issues that India faces in the present day. A comprehensive analysis of urban development policies, environmental legislation, property laws and information laws have been discussed in order to exhibit the lacunae in the legal system which has slowed down the process of sustainable urban development in India. It is not only the policies, but also an array of problems that, have affected urban development in metropolitan cities, semi- urban regions and transitioning rural areas rendering them to be unsustainable. Therefore, this paper envisages and suggests solutions in tackling problems in legal and social policies that would make sustainable urbanism conducive and successful in India. An attempt has also been made to display how completely sustainable urban spaces would look in India. Analytical, Comparative and Doctrinal methods of research have been utilized to conduct the research.Keywords: Development, Local Self Government, Policies, Sustainable, India

The Outward Extension of an Ecological Footprint in City Expansion: The Case of Beijing

A biologically productive area was used in the ecological footprint method to measure the demand and impact of human activities on the natural capital, and further, to judge whether the impact is within the scope of the regional bio-capacity. In this presentation, an indicator “ecological footprint distance (Def)” is proposed. The results indicated that the proposed indicator Def could identify the outward extension of a city’s ecological footprint with the city’s rapid expansion. From 2008 to 2012, the proportion of imported bio-capacity increased approximately from 48% to 64%, which implied that the ecological impact of Beijing had expanded year by year. The Def of Beijing increased from 567 km in 2008 to 677 km in 2012, with an average annual increase of about 25 km. From the perspective of seasonal change, Beijing’s ecological footprint distance in winter and spring was much higher than in summer and fall. The main features of provincial-spatial distribution of Beijing’s Def were as follows: grain and oil and meat and eggs were mainly supplied by Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Hebei and Inner Mongolia; yet vegetable and fruit were mainly supplied by Hainan, Guangdong, Hebei and Shandong. Measures should be taken to decentralize the sources of imported bio-capacity, so as to ensure a sustainable development in Metropolitan cities.

The politics and changing paradigm of megaproject development in metropolitan cities

Although not a recent phenomenon, megaproject building is currently enjoying renewed popularity in large cities across the world. Policy-makers are undertaking major investments in the form of large-scale urban development projects to position their metropolitan cities on a global scale and to scale-up urban infrastructure to meet basic needs of housing and transportation. The aim of this special issue, of which this article is the introduction, is to examine this trend, with a focus on four cities: Cape Town, Durban, Delhi, and Lima. On the basis of empirical case material, the articles analyse the challenges that megaprojects throw up for urban sustainability and discuss the peculiar issues facing cities characterized by extreme social inequalities, limited mobilisation of community groups and growing pressure on governments to implement neoliberal urban development policies. They illustrate how institutional contexts and specific policy instruments in conjunction with territorially grounded social dynamics give rise to distinct patterns of megaproject development. The articles engage critically with recent literature that has postulated the emergence of a new paradigm of megaproject building. The research is an outcome of work conducted in the framework of the “Chance2Sustain” project, funded under the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme.

The effects of meteorological parameters in ambient noise modelling studies in Delhi

The acoustic environment in urban areas has gained prominence in recent times due to rapid industrial and commercial development in metropolitan cities. Various attempts have been made to predict and model the trends in urban ambient noise levels using different statistical and dynamic models. The present study makes an attempt to examine the role of meteorological parameters affecting the ambient noise levels in Delhi. The results show significant improvement in overall noise scenario of Delhi since the introduction of compressed natural gas vehicles in public transport of Delhi. The noise level is significantly reduced by high vegetation cover as well as by low relative humidity over Delhi. The regression models developed for the present study clearly show the significant contribution of meteorological parameters in governing the ambient noise levels in Delhi.