Different Types Of Residential Areas Research Articles

Evaluation of perception and analysis of energy saving potential of nighttime illumination in different types of residential areas: A case study of Dalian, China

The safety, comfort, and sustainability of the nighttime lighting environment in residential areas become increasingly the focus of social concern. This study integrates remote sensing observations, ground measurements, perception evaluations, and grading maps to compare the data of different residential areas, achieving perceptual performance assessment and energy-saving optimization of the lighting environment. The main researches include (1) Comparison of the Feeling of Safety (FoS) and Perceived Lighting Quality (PLQ) in the nighttime light environments of Dalian's residential areas by contrasting characteristics between high and low illuminated neighborhoods, new and old neighborhoods, open and enclosed neighborhoods, and internal and peripheral roads, (2)Establishment of a lighting environment perceptual evaluation model, proposing illuminance ranges for overall residential areas (6.67–17.97 lx), peripheral roads (8.79–24.50 lx), and internal roads (6.45–16.21 lx), (3) Construction a ground horizontal illuminance inversion model for Dalian and generate FoS and PLQ perception grading maps, (4) Within the scope of the study, the residential areas with insufficient, moderate, and excessive lighting account for 24 %, 56 %, and 20 %, respectively. This study provides effective strategies for reducing energy consumption, ensuring nighttime safety, and enhancing the comfort of living and helps to timely identify potential risk points that do not meet the perceptual standards.

Comparison of falls and risk factors among older adults in urban villages, urban and rural areas of Shantou, China

ObjectiveTo investigate and compare the differences between the incidence of falls, balance and living environment among older persons in urban villages and other types of residential areas. MethodsWe surveyed 580 older adults living in different types of residential areas in Shantou, China, surveying basic information, fall incidence, balance ability testing of older persons, home environment safety assessment. ResultsThe incidence of falls among older people in urban villages (19.54 %) was between urban areas(26.63 %) and rural areas(16.91 %). The influencing factors of falls in different residential types were different. Near-fall, abnormal bowel movement, and impaired balance ability were the risk factors of falls among older persons in urban villages. Divorce/single, fair and poor hearing loss and near-fall were the risk factors of falls in urban older adults. Frailty and impaired balance ability were the risk factors of falls in rural older people. ConclusionsRisk factors for falls in older people vary according to the characteristics of their living areas and relevant interventions should be targeted according to the characteristics of falls occurring in different residential areas.

The Influencing Mechanism of Urban Travel Carbon Emissions from the Perspective of Built Environment: The Case of Guangzhou, China

Urban travel is a major component of urban transport, and the total carbon emissions of urban transport can be effectively reduced if the carbon emissions of residents’ travel can be reasonably controlled. Based on the questionnaire data of many different types of residential areas in Guangzhou, the daily travel behaviour of residents was analysed and their travel carbon emissions were calculated. The differences in travel characteristics and travel carbon emissions of residents in different types of residential areas were compared. The influencing factors of residents’ travel carbon emissions were divided into three categories: individual socio-economic factors, built environment, and residents’ travel behaviour. On this basis, a structural equation model is established to study the impact mechanism of residents’ travel carbon emissions. The path relationship between endogenous variables and endogenous variables, as well as the path relationship between exogenous variables and endogenous variables were investigated. The interactions between various influencing factors of residents’ travel carbon emissions were examined. The results show that: (1) there are significant differences in residents’ travel carbon emissions in different types of municipalities. Residents’ travel carbon emissions in Guangzhou are closer to the 60/20 distribution; (2) compared with individual socio-economic factors, the impact of the built environment on travel carbon emissions is more obvious; (3) travel distance and travel mode are the factors that directly affect residents’ travel carbon emissions. Proposals have been made to reduce the carbon emissions of residents travelling.

Measuring socio-economic disparities in green space availability in post-socialist cities

Since the collapse of communism, countries in Central and Eastern Europe have experienced significant socio-economic changes that have affected the urban landscape and the spatial organization of cities. These processes have also generated significant changes in the availability of urban green spaces for local residents, resulting in new forms of inequalities. In the light of recent debate on socio-spatial segregation, the concept of environmental justice has gained increasing attention. Using three Hungarian post-socialist cities as case studies, this paper explores the relationship between different types of residential areas in terms of the age, education, and income level of people, and the availability of urban green spaces. To do this, we introduce a demand-supply composite index that contains featured indicators of urban green space availability. The results show that in terms of UGS availability, major disparities exist both among different socio-economic groups and different types of neighbourhoods in the investigated cities. Although legacies of the past are still important, the emerging disparities of green space availability can be linked to new forms of segregation including highly segregated neighbourhoods of urban poor and the new upmarket housing developments of the affluent. Our results also suggest that regardless of local governments’ recebt efforts to provide residents with equal access to urban green spaces, environmental justice remains a concern for urban planning in post-socialist cities.

Sunshine environment in different forms of communities in Guiyang, China.

In this study, six different types of residential areas in Guiyang were selected as the research objects, including high-rise high-density, high-rise low-density, middle-rise high-density, middle-rise low-density, low-rise high-density and low-rise low-density. The indices of sunshine compliance rate and the building's sunshine hour ratio were constructed to compare and analyze sunshine environment across those six different residential areas. The factors influencing sunshine environment in different residential areas were studied. The results showed that the average sunshine compliance rates of the six types of residential areas were 36.9%, 61.9%, 20.6%, 69.6%, 26.5% and 45.0%, respectively. The average sunshine compliance rate of low-density residential areas was 2.25 times higher than that of high-density residential areas within the same type, among which the sunshine environment of low-density residential areas was better. The sunshine environment of different types of low-density residential areas was different. The sunshine hours for high-rise low-density and middle-rise low-density forms were concentrated in 5-6 hours, while the building's sunshine hour ratio was 0.24 and 0.32, respectively. The sunshine hours for low-rise low-density forms were mainly 6-7 hours, with a building's sunshine hour ratio of 0.28. Compared with other types of residential areas, the low-rise low-density type of sunlight environment was the best. The plot ratio was significantly positively correlated with the building's sunlight ratio of 0-1 h sunlight hours in the residential area.

Street-Scale Analysis of Population Exposure to Light Pollution Based on Remote Sensing and Mobile Big Data-Shenzhen City as a Case.

Most studies on light pollution are based on light intensity retrieved from nighttime light (NTL) remote sensing with less consideration of the population factors. Furthermore, the coarse spatial resolution of traditional NTL remote sensing data limits the refined applications in current smart city studies. In order to analyze the influence of light pollution on populated areas, this study proposes an index named population exposure to light pollution (PELP) and conducts a street-scale analysis to illustrate spatial variation of PELP among residential areas in cites. By taking Shenzhen city as a case, multi-source data were combined including high resolution NTL remote sensing data from the Luojia 1-01 satellite sensor, high-precision mobile big data for visualizing human activities and population distribution as well as point of interest (POI) data. Results show that the main influenced areas of light pollution are concentrated in the downtown and core areas of newly expanded areas with obvious deviation corrected like traditional serious light polluted regions (e.g., ports). In comparison, commercial–residential mixed areas and village-in-city show a high level of PELP. The proposed method better presents the extent of population exposure to light pollution at a fine-grid scale and the regional difference between different types of residential areas in a city.

FORMING THE STRUCTURE OF IMPROVEMENT KIDS YARD SITES

The yard area is a place of collective rest of the residents. The most important thing that a person needs in the yard is comfort, safety and beauty.The analysis of the practice of mass housing construction in the largest cities of Ukraine reflects, on the one hand, the growing tendency of humanizing the living environment in the last years to create commemorative residential buildings, which are characterized by increased levels of landscaping, and on the other hand, there are serious disadvantages in this area.The specifics of the functional and planning organization of different types of residential areas determine the different approach in the organization of the system of external improvement, maintenance and operation of its individual elements. However, there are a number of general provisions that form the basis for the formation, maintenance and operation of the system of improvement of residential complexes of the city.When arranging playgrounds, little attention is paid to the intellectual development of children.All this testifies to the relevance of this study, aimed at a comprehensive study of the issues of functioning and trends of the organization of adjoining spaces that meet the needs of different socio-demographic groups of the population, stereotypes of people's behavior in terms of improving the relationship of spatial structures of a living cell, apartment building, adjoining space.The specifics of the functional and planning organization of different types of residential areas determine the different approach in the organization of the system of external improvement, maintenance and operation of its individual elements.Along with traditional approaches to the formation of children's play spaces, a synergistic approach aimed at creating a reasoned environment, that is, an environment, has an additional influence on the external senses of the individual.The tendencies and prospects of change of the factors that determine the functioning and development of the adjoining spaces are analyzed.

Road Traffic Noise Levels at Different Types of Residential Areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang

Traffic vehicles on the road networks during their movement create noise that has greater impact on environment. The sources, the receivers and the place of transition, where the sound wave propagates, are the three vital parameters for the field of noise acoustics. For this research, the aim of this study is to assess traffic noise levels between different types of residential areas in Nibong Tebal, Penang. The study is carried out in order to achieve the following three main objectives, which are to assess the level of traffic noise at selected residential areas, to characterize the traffic flow composition nearby study areas, and to compare noise levels between low density and terraced house residential areas. The noise levels measurements were carried out periodically in the morning (from 0700 to 1100), evening (from 1600 to 1900), and at night (from 2200 to 2300) for 15 minutes using a sound level meter. The traffic characteristics were measured simultaneously during noise levels measurements. The highest equivalent continuous noise levelsfor the low density residential areas was at Kampung Batu 2 in the evening with 65.9 dB(A), while for the medium density residential areas, Taman Sri Acheh contributed 68.60 dB(A) during the morning. The lowest equivalent continuous noise levelswere obtained at Kampung Simpang Tiga in the morning that contributed 54.9 dB(A) for low density residential areas. However, the minimum equivalent continuous noise levelsobtained for the medium density residential areas was at Taman Ilmu Indah in the morning with 63.10 dB(A). The results obtained, clearly show that the equivalent continuous noise level for all study sites exceeded the maximum permissible sound level for medium density areas during daytime (from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm), which is 55 dB(A), while at night time (from 10.00 pm to 7.00 am) is 45 dB(A), and for low density residential areas during daytime (from 7.00 am to 10.00 pm) is 55 dB(A), while at night time (from 10.00 pm to 7.00 am) is 45 dB(A), respectively. These values are based on the guidelines for environmental noise limits and control by the Department of Environment, Malaysia.

Comparison of Road Traffic Noise near High, Medium and Low Density Residential Areas in Nibong Tebal and Juru, Penang

Nowadays, environmental noise pollution is ranked second among other environmental pollutions in terms of public health impacts due to rapid urbanization and growing traffic especially road traffic. The aim of this study is to assess traffic noise levels between different types of residential areas in Nibong Tebal and Juru, Penang. This study compares road traffic noise levels in high density (Juru) and medium density (Nibong Tebal) residential areas in Penang. The noise levels measurements were carried out periodically in the morning (from 0700 to 1100), evening (from 1600 to 1900), and at night (from 2200 to 2300) for 15 minutes using sound level meter. The traffic characteristics were measured simultaneously during noise levels measurements. One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to determine any significant differences between two or more noise levels measured at sites of the study. Independent samples t-test was used to compare independent groups (noise levels at two different study sites and areas). In the present study, p values of less than 5% (p<0.005) were considered as statistically significant The results show that all of the noise levels measured in Juru and Nibong Tebal residential areas exceed the noise permissible limits stated in The Planning Guidelines For Environmental Noise Limits and Noise Control by low density residential areas with the permissible limits of 50dB(A) day time and 40dB(A) night time, suburban residential (medium density with the permissible limits of 55dB(A) day time and 45dB(A) night time) and urban residential (high density with the permissible limits of 60dB(A) day time and 55dB(A) night time). The equivalent continuous noise levels measured in Nibong Tebal residential areas are between 57.6 – 69dB(A) while in Juru residential areas, the noise levels measured are 66.65 to 70.7dB(A). All noise levels exceed the maximum permissible sound levels in both areas.

北京市居住区林木健康评价

PDF HTML阅读 XML下载 导出引用 引用提醒 北京市居住区林木健康评价 DOI: 10.5846/stxb201811122447 作者: 作者单位: 作者简介: 通讯作者: 中图分类号: 基金项目: 国家科技支撑计划-环境友好型城镇景观林构建技术研究与示范（2015BAD07B06） Health Assessment of trees in residential areas of Beijing Author: Affiliation: Fund Project: the National Science-technology Support Plan Projects—Research and demonstration on the construction technology of environment-friendly urban landscape forest（2015BAD07B06） 摘要 | 图/表 | 访问统计 | 参考文献 | 相似文献 | 引证文献 | 资源附件 | 文章评论 摘要:为了揭示北京市居住区林木健康变化特征及影响因素，提供北京市居住区林木健康经营对策。对北京市85个居住区林木进行健康特征调查，在建立林木健康评价模型评价林木健康状况的基础上，采用方差分析法和多重比较法分析不同类型居住区林木健康差异。结果表明：不同类型居住区林木健康指标差异显著（P<0.05），各指标变化规律不完全一致；不同类型居住区地表覆盖情况、光污染程度、树干倾斜度、栽植截干、树势、冠形、干形等方面普遍较差。北京市居住区林木健康指数在0.60-0.80之间，健康等级呈现右偏正态分布特点，健康林木比例为3.65%，亚健康林木（56.07%）最多，其次是中等健康林木（36.68%），不健康林木有3.50%，濒死林木仅占0.10%。居住区林木健康指数在不同区域和不同来源间差异不显著（P>0.05），在不同时期间差异显著（P<0.05），健康指数大小分别为：三-四环=四-五环 > 五-六环 > 二环内=二-三环；福利房 > 商品房 > 保障房；2009-2013年 > 2003-2008年=1998-2002年=1991-1997年 > 1956-1990年。北京市居住区林木生长处于亚健康状态，潜在影响因子如地表覆盖情况、光污染程度、树干倾斜度等指标是限制北京市居住区林木生长的重要因子。适当减小夜间照明影响、增加有机地表覆盖、避免过度的修枝截干和加强林木养护管理是当前北京市居住区林木健康生长的保障。 Abstract:In this study, we aimed to identify the variations and factors determining tree health in residential areas of Beijing, and provide recommendations to tree health managements, by investigating 85 residential areas in Beijing. Tree health was evaluated using a tree health assessment model, and on the basis of this, differences in tree health among different types of residential areas were assessed using one-way ANOVA and the Duncan test. The results were as follows:tree health indicators were significantly different in different types of residential areas (P < 0.05), and the variation ranks of each indicator were not completely consistent. Some tree health indicators in some types of residential area were generally poor, and factors determining this were surface coverage, light pollution, trunk lean, cutting off crown and planting, tree vigor, crown profile and stem form. Trees health indices in all residential areas of Beijing tested were 0.60-0.80, and tree health was characteristic of a right normal distribution. Healthy trees accounted for 3.65%, sub-healthy trees accounted for 56.07%, medium-healthy trees accounted for 36.68%, unhealthy trees accounted for 3.50%, and dying trees accounted for 0.10%. Tree health indices were not significantly different (P > 0.05) between residential areas in different districts and origins, while differences between different assessment periods were significant (P < 0.05). Ranks of trees health indices in difference types of residential area are presented:3rd-4th ring road=4th-5th ring road > 5th-6th ring road > within 2nd ring road=2nd-3rd ring road; welfare housing > commodity apartment > social security housing; 2009-2013 > 2003-2008=1998-2002=1991-1997 > 1956-1990. The majority of trees in residential areas of Beijing are in a sub-healthy state, and potential factors such as surface coverage, light pollution, and trunk lean are important factors restricting tree growth. Reducing the influence of night lighting, increasing the coverage of organic ground surfaces, avoiding excessive pruning of branches, and improving maintenance and management of trees will ensure healthy growth of trees in the residential areas of Beijing. 参考文献 相似文献 引证文献

URBAN SHANTY TOWN RECOGNITION BASED ON HIGH-RESOLUTION REMOTE SENSING IMAGES AND NATIONAL GEOGRAPHICAL MONITORING FEATURES – A CASE STUDY OF NANNING CITY

Abstract. Urban shanty towns are communities that has contiguous old and dilapidated houses with more than 2000 square meters built-up area or more than 50 households. This study makes attempts to extract shanty towns in Nanning City using the product of Census and TripleSat satellite images. With 0.8-meter high-resolution remote sensing images, five texture characteristics (energy, contrast, maximum probability, and inverse difference moment) of shanty towns are trained and analyzed through GLCM. In this study, samples of shanty town are well classified with 98.2 % producer accuracy of unsupervised classification and 73.2 % supervised classification correctness. Low-rise and mid-rise residential blocks in Nanning City are classified into 4 different types by using k-means clustering and nearest neighbour classification respectively. This study initially establish texture feature descriptions of different types of residential areas, especially low-rise and mid-rise buildings, which would help city administrator evaluate residential blocks and reconstruction shanty towns.

Population structure and seasonal dynamics of mosquitoes in different types of residential areas

To investigate the effect of the type of neighborhoods on the population structure and dynamics of mosquitoes. The adult population dynamics and larvae breeding of mosquitoes in four different types of neighborhoods were investigated in Yangzhou City. The number of trapped mosquitoes was the largest in the urban villages, and more than 800 adult mosquitoes were trapped in each urban village, which was significantly higher than that of ordinary and high quality residences. Aedes albopictus and Culex pipiens pallens were dominant species (D > 10%) in the four types of residential areas, and Ae. albopictus was the most dominant species (D > 57%). The peak occurrence of Ae. albopictus in different areas occurred in early June, and it occurred again in the urban village in the middle of September. The occurrence quantity of Cx. pipiens pallens was stable in the ordinary residence and high quality residence, while in the urban village and resettlement residential area, the peak occurred in mid-October. The orders of positive rates, densities and the numbers of mosquitoes in the different types of residential areas were：the urban villages> the resettlement residence> the ordinary residence> the high quality residence. The water vat had the highest positive rate in all kinds of larval habitats, followed by tires and green belt with garbage water. The main mosquito species in the four different types of residential areas are all Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens pallens, but the positive rate, density and the number of mosquitoes in the different types significantly change, especially in the urban villages, the number and the occurrence peak are significant different from those in the other types of residential areas.

小区开放对城市道路通行能力的影响效果评估

封闭式小区是影响城市路网状况的瓶颈之一。小区开放是优化路网结构、提高道路通行能力、改善城市交通状况的重要手段。小区开放对优化道路通行能力的数据评估具有迫切的现实需求。本文首先基于TPI数据将城市交通区域进行分类，进而依据不同类型区域内的小区结构、道路节点数、交通状况通达度以及路阻指数等指标对区域进行二次分类，最后基于路阻函数BPR值量化不同类型小区开放前后的道路通行能力。实例分析验证了Braess悖论的合理性以及本文提出的小区开放对道路通行能力的影响评估模型的有效性。 Enclosed residential district is one of the most important bottlenecks affecting the urban road network. Community opening is an important means to optimize the structure of the road net-work, improve the road capacity and the urban traffic conditions. It is urgent to evaluate the data of the road capacity. Firstly, the urban traffic area is classified based on the TPI index. Secondly, according to the community structure, the number of road nodes, traffic conditions, accessibility and road resistance index, the paper makes two classifications of the area. Finally, the road capacity of different types of residential areas is quantified based on the BPR value of road impedance function. The case analysis verifies the rationality of the Braess paradox and the effectiveness of the proposed model in evaluating the road capacity.

基于元胞自动机模型的小区开放对道路通行的影响

针对小区开放对道路通行能力的影响，选取5个评价指标和9个特性不同的小区进行分析。首先对评价指标建立秩和比模型进行综合评价。其次，以路口a小区为样本，建立最小费最大流模型，得出小区的开放缩短了通行距离且增加了该区域的交通流量。建立元胞自动机模型，得出小区开放能降低周边道路的车流密度，缓解交通堵塞。根据选定的指标对该小区进行最小二乘拟合，得出道路通行能力综合评价模型。再次，根据道路通行能力综合评价模型对3类样本小区进行定量分析比较，得出不同形态小区的开放对周边道路通行影响差别很大。最后，给出小区开放的合理化建议。 The research is about the influence of community opening on road capacity. Firstly, five evaluation indexes and nine plots with different characteristics were selected, and the RSR model was established to evaluate the evaluation index. Secondly, a minimum cost maximum flow model is established by taking the area a as the sample. It is concluded that the opening of the residential area shor- tens the traffic distance and increases the traffic volume of the area. The cellular automata model is established to show that the open area can reduce the traffic density of the surrounding roads and alleviate the traffic congestion. According to the selected index, the least square method is used to get the comprehensive evaluation model of road capacity. Thirdly, according to the comprehensive evaluation model of road capacity, the quantitative analysis and comparison of three kinds of sample plots shows that there are great differences in the influence of different types of residential areas on the surrounding road traffic. Finally, the rationalization proposal of the open area is given.

Effect of Residential Quarters Opening on Urban Traffic from the View of Mathematical Modeling

With the great prosperity of national economy, there has been a dramatic rise of vehicles on city road, which makes increasing pressure of road transportation. Currently, many countries are confronting the severe situation of traffic jam in different degrees. Nevertheless, there are many triggers contributing to this congestion, one of which is the blocking of residential quarters towards vital traffic line. Therefore, it is extremely necessary to study whether the opening of residential quarters can improve the road capacity of the entire city and remit the traffic pressure. Our paper is based on graph theory, density theory and random utility theory. First of all, we demonstrate a mathematical model of road traffic. Secondly, we explore the influence of residential quarters opening on urban traffic, taking three factors into account listed as road traffic capacity, road network density and network average running time. On the basis of above contents, the impact analysis of vehicle traffic caused by pedestrians is added afterwards. Finally, our paper takes three different types of residential areas into account as an example to empirically analyze the tangible impact of the opening, and finally come to the benefit of the traffic system after the opening.

Discussing the Parking Ways on Different Types of Residential Areas - Taking Jinzhou City as an Example

In recent years, the possession of private cars of urban residents in our country has increased quickly, making residential parking problems more serious. That has caused parking inconvenience and confusion environment in residential areas. These problems must be given enough attention when it comes to the building of supporting facilities in urban residential areas. According to the analysis of current standards of residential parking facilities and the characters of parking manners, we take a developing city, Jinzhou, as an example and research the motor vehicle parking status in residential areas, we propose the view that formulating the corresponding parking facilities indicator standards according to different types settlements, solving needs of residents in different types of residential areas in different ways, and the proposal that design of residential areas static transport facilities and parking spaces should reflect humane, intelligent and fair, and have flexible to adapt changes of need in future.

Trends in the accessibility of public space in the post-Soviet metropolis: Shrinkage or expansion?

One of the main driving forces of the postsocialist social transformation is the process of privatization. Over the past twenty years, it has been expressed in the megalopolis in changes in the accessibility of public space. Some types of new urban property owners are interested in providing the maximum access to the territory that they control, whereas others prefer isolation from outsiders. Our field measurements of the results of the struggle between these two forces in St. Petersburg show the unconditional victory of the latter. Our study has revealed significant differences in the rate of denial of access to different types of residential areas of the city and has determined the participants in this process and their motives. There is some evidence that the market appeal of accommodation types is directly correlated with the degree of publicly accessible space shrinkage.

Residential Areas Support Overwintering Possibilities of Most Bird Species

Spatial variation in wintering bird communities in different types of urban residential areas is poorly understood. The objective of tills study was to find out which bird species from the regional species pool are able to inhabit residential areas, whether bird communities in different types of residential area differ from one another, and what are the factors affecting birds. We conducted our study in five apartment-building areas, five family-house areas, and five villages in northern Finland by using the single-visit study plot method during five winters, i.e. 1998/1999–2003/2004. Oldgrowth-forest-specialist species, in particular, avoided residential areas, whereas the other species appeared to benefit from residential development. The species richness, the total number of individuals, and the abundance of most of the species were higher in the family-house areas and in villages than in apartment-building areas. The proportion of individuals belonging to resident species was higher in the apartment-building areas than in the other habitats, whereas the proportion of individuals belonging to feeding-table species was higher in the villages than in the other habitats. The species richness and the total number of individuals increased with the increasing number of feeding tables and decreased with increasingly larger proportions of apartment buildings within the study plot. Parus montanus, P. major, P. caeruleus, Passer domesticus, and Carduelis flammea benefitted from feeding tables. Our study demonstrated that carefully planned winter feeding programmes can enhance the wintering possibilities for birds, and thus promote the biodiversity in urban ecosystems at northern latitudes.

Self-reported health in urban–rural continuum: a grid-based analysis of Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966

To evaluate the association of self-reported health with residential area type defined by the population density in individual's local environment using a population-based cohort in Finland. Young adults of the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (4,201 women and 3,835 men), surveyed by a postal questionnaire in 1997, were linked to population density of their resident grid (1 km(2)) depicting different types of residential areas. Self-reported health was regressed on residential area type using ordinal logistic analysis, adjusting for psychosocial well-being, social relationships, health behaviour, education and residence time. Cumulative odds ratios (COR) for poor health were lowest in high-rise centres, highest in scattered settlement areas and second highest in transitional zones. Adjustments (especially for education and time of residence) reduced the CORs to insignificance except the persistently high COR for women in scattered settlement areas. Poor self-reported health is associated with individual's residential area type, with the lowest occurrence in high-rise centres and higher elsewhere. The difference is likely explained, at least partly, by a complex of psychosocial factors, possibly different for women and men.

Determination of exposure due to mobile phone base stations in an epidemiological study

To investigate a supposed relationship between exposure by mobile phone base stations and wellbeing, an epidemiological cross sectional study is carried out within the German Mobile Telecommunication Research Program. In a parallel project, a method for the classification of electromagnetic exposure due to mobile phone base stations has been developed. This is based on the results of measurements of high frequency immissions in the interior of more than 1100 rooms and at outdoor locations, the calculation of the emissions of mobile phone antennas under free space propagation conditions and empirically determined transmission factors for the propagation of electromagnetic waves in different types of residential areas for passage of walls and windows. Standard tests (correlation-test, kappa-test, Bland-Altman-Plot, analysis of sensitivity and specificity) show that the method for computational exposure assessment developed in this project is applicable for a first classification of exposures due to mobile phone base stations in epidemiological studies.