City Building Research Articles

Designing healthy edible cities: investigating the environmental and spatial factors affecting urban fruit safety

ABSTRACT This study aims to investigate the factors affecting lead and cadmium levels in urban fruits, a topic that has received little attention despite potential health risks. Tehran’s Tarasht neighborhood was chosen due to heavy traffic and the presence of numerous urban gardens with fruit trees. Specifically, this study explored how barriers (defined as artificial structures like walls), urban fruit tree height, distance from the sampling site to the street, and fruit type influence the content of lead and cadmium in these urban fruits. The results revealed that sites taller than 10 meters exhibited the highest cadmium levels, while sites without barriers or with 4-meter barriers demonstrated the highest lead content. Barrier width also had a significant influence, with unobstructed sites showing the highest lead content, and sites with 41-50-meter width barriers displaying the highest cadmium levels. Urban fruit tree height affected lead content, while cadmium levels remained unaffected. Additionally, heavy metal absorption was influenced by the distance to the street and the type of fruit. These findings can be used in the future for the development of guidelines for healthy and edible green infrastructure to reduce pollutants and promote safer urban horticultural practices.

Examining the Morphological Change of Aksaray City in the Historical Process According to Upper-Scale Investment Decisions

As a result of both local and universal values that societies have created over the centuries, cities have been open to development and change. It is seen that the physical, social, cultural, economic and political factors that play a role in the change of cities affect the city in different ways in different periods. The study aimed to analyze the changes in the urban morphology of Aksaray according to upper-scale investment decisions. The research determined three investments that caused recent morphological development and change for Aksaray as breaking points. These are the opening of the Mercedes Factory in 1986, the establishment of Aksaray University in 2006, and the relocation of Aksaray Hospital in 2018. According to these three investment decisions, the morphological change of the city was investigated on an urban scale and periodically from an observer's perspective. Development plans and aerial photographs were used to reveal the periodic differences between these three investments that affect the morphological structure of the city. The morphological change in the city form in three different periods, 1986-2006, 2006-2018 and 2018-2024, was examined through the city perimeter and building blocks. The examination determined that with the increasing population in Aksaray, industry, health, education and management functions moved out of the city. From the opening of the Mercedes Truck Factory in 1986 to 2006, urban growth generally took place in the north-south direction. Although the city's orientation was towards the southwest after establishing Aksaray University in 2006, there was no intense interaction between the university and the city until 2018. Since 2018, with the New Hospital’s opening and the New Municipality’s construction, the city's influence area has completely shifted to the west. The city’s development is anticipated to continue in 2024 and beyond, depending on the newly constructed municipality service building.

An EPR study of the marbles from quarries of the Denizli region (Turkey): A contribution to the provenance assessment of materials with close relationships

The analytical and spectroscopic discrimination of marbles coming from quarries used in historical times is a task object of a wide interest in archaeometric investigations. This task is even more difficult, when the goal of the provenance assessment is focused on marbles coming from historical quarries located in a close geographic area. In this paper, we present the results of a systematic Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy study aimed at assessing the discrimination criteria among 5 quarries located in the Denizli region (Anatolia, Turkey) that were benefited in Hellenistic and Roman period to provide materials for the buildings in the nearby city of Hierapolis of Phrygia (Turkey). The resulting EPR characterisation is used, in combination with the results of isotope geochemistry and petrological observation, to define criteria able to discriminate the provenance of marble samples from the considered quarries. The criteria arose from the analysis operated through robust compositional statistical techniques over the results of the experimental investigation. In this approach, the internal structure of the multimethodic dataset was unravelled. The results here presented provide evidence of a good discriminating ability of the proposed approach.

СУЧАСНІ АРХІТЕКТУРНО-ПЛАНУВАЛЬНІ ПРИЙОМИ ПРОЄКТУВАННЯ БІЗНЕС-ЦЕНТРІВ В УМОВАХ ВЕЛИКОГО МІСТА

The article provides materials for the analysis of the development of business centers as a specific class of buildings in a modern big city. Examples of eternal and global experience in designing and building business centers of various functional purposes are given. Various trends and directions in the process of design and construction of business center buildings in Ukraine and foreign countries were studied. Тhe interrelationship of the quality of spatial planning and visual solutions of these objects with the demand for them on the market and their further development prospects is considered. . Considered various options for the formation of business center buildings in the existing urban planning conditions of settlements. The main architectural and planning schemes and compositional techniques in the design of such buildings are defined. As a practical experience, the project proposal of a business center building in the central part of the Sumy city was considered, and its functional and planning structure was analyzed. The scientific novelty and practical significance of this work lies in the fact that the main trends of the architectural and planning organization of modern business centers, as centers of business and economic activity in a large city, are determined, and the priority directions for the formation of the functional structure of such objects are outlined both in modern realities and for the future

Machine Learning-assisted Distance Based Residual Energy Aware Clustering Algorithm for Energy Efficient Information Dissemination in Urban VANETs

A Vehicular Ad-hoc Network (VANET) is an essential component of intelligent transportation systems in the building of smart cities. A VANET is a self-configure high mobile and dynamic potential wireless ad-hoc network that joins all vehicle nodes in a smart city to provide in-vehicle infotainment services to city administrators and residents. In the smart city, the On-board Unit (OBU) of each vehicle has multiple onboard sensors that are used for data collection from the surrounding environment. One of the main issues in VANET is energy efficiency and balance because the small onboard sensors can’t be quickly recharged once installed on On-board Units (OBUs). Moreover, conserving energy stands out as a crucial challenge in VANET which is primarily contingent on the selection of Cluster Heads (CH) and the adopted packet routing strategy. To address this issue, this paper proposes distance and energy-aware clustering algorithms named SOMNNDP, which use a Self-Organizing Map Neural Network (SOMNN) machine learning technique to perform faster multi-hop data dissemination. Individual Euclidean distances and residual node energy are considered as mobility parameters throughout the cluster routing process to improve and balance the energy consumption among the participating vehicle nodes. This maximizes the lifetime of VANET by ensuring that all intermediate vehicle nodes use energy at approximately the same rate. Simulation findings demonstrate that SOMNNDP improves Quality of Service (QoS) better and consumes 17% and 14% less energy during cluster routing than distance and energy-aware variation of K-Means (KM) and Fuzzy C-Means (FCM) called KMDP and FCMDP respectively.

A novel acceleration approach to shadow calculation based on sunlight channel for urban building energy modeling

Shadow effect among buildings has great impacts on the building energy consumption and the performance of building photovoltaic, and calculating shadows on building surfaces in urban building energy modeling (UBEM) faces challenges of inefficiency, especially for dense urban areas. In this study, a novel shadow calculation approach based on sunlight channel is proposed that can streamline the surrounding environment and accelerate the shadow calculation process. The sunlight-channel algorithm can further accelerate the shadow calculation process by dynamically predetermining the shading surfaces according to the actual solar position. In a real urban context, the proposed approach can accelerate the computation process by over 10 times over the baseline and over 34 times over the non-accelerated method, with a mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of 1.13% for the total solar radiation. The proposed approach copes well with both large-scale urban models and the complexity of building structures, particularly for urban models with complex changes in building heights. This approach can significantly enhance the computational efficiency in complex urban environments, facilitating an accurate and rapid analysis of the energy consumption and solar potential of buildings in dense cities.

Building pose detection for the characterization of reinforced concrete buildings

SummaryThe automated identification of building characteristics for seismic vulnerability remains a challenge for governments due to the high number of buildings in cities. The diverse architectural styles of these buildings complicate the automated identification of building information (e.g., number of stories, structural system, and material type). Deep learning techniques lose accuracy as they generalize information, while the visual contents of a building exhibit a considerable range and diversity. This study leverages the pose detection technique to tackle such issues by focusing on a common construction style: reinforced concrete buildings representing columns, beams, or floors on the façade. With an aim to enable the assessment of seismic vulnerability, the technique developed herein is conceived for buildings with up to six stories that are more likely to be moment‐frame buildings. The AI‐enabled proposed framework starts with collecting building images and categorizing those containing this specific building type. A bounding box detector is then used to isolate building facades, for the subsequent identification of the structural frame with the High‐Resolution Network (HR‐Net). For demonstration, we illustrate this technique by identifying the structural frame on concrete buildings with a sample dataset developed based on buildings found in Mexico City in a pre‐earthquake event state.

Assessment of the Potential Contribution of the Urban Green System to the Carbon Balance of Cities

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a crucial challenge in urban areas characterized by high energy consumption and reduced exposure to nature. In this context, the urban green system could play a pivotal role. In the literature, scholars have analyzed both the ability of species-specific and layout-specific green infrastructure to increase carbon sequestration and the best location sites for new green infrastructure to increase the provision of overall ecosystem services. There is a lack of studies helping green urban planners and designers choose where and which green infrastructure to implement based on vegetation species-specific performance and the local carbon emissions of city components. This paper uses tree inventory data from a medium-sized city in central Italy (Perugia) to develop a spatial analysis of urban park performance in carbon sequestration. Then, the method evaluates the carbon emission of a public city building to generate a spatialized balance between building demand and tree supply to support local decisions about the best locations for new green infrastructure and the choice between species. The paper contributes to GIS-based tools that vary the recommended location sites and species for new green infrastructure based on the demanded ecosystem service.

Challenges to energy retrofitting of existing office buildings in high-rise high-density cities: The case of Hong Kong

Achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 has become a global goal, sparking concerns regarding energy consumption and carbon emissions in building operations. Office buildings in high-rise high-density cities serve as central business districts, contributing significantly to the city’s economic activity and consuming a lot of energy. The process of retrofitting existing office buildings for energy efficiency in high-rise high-density cities tends to be challenging. However, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of the challenges involved in office buildings’ energy retrofitting, as they have not been thoroughly explored. This study aims to investigate the challenges to the existing office building energy retrofitting (EOBER) in high-rise high-density cities with real cases in Hong Kong. Initially, a systematic literature review was undertaken to identify 49 potential EOBER challenges and categorized into seven groups: technical, financial, institutional, social, environmental, regulatory, and other categories. Afterward, 23 EOBER challenges were identified through 24 semi-structured interviews with 36 real office building energy retrofitting cases in Hong Kong. Moreover, these challenges were quantified by the Z-numbers-based Delphi survey and analysis. Results show that regulatory challenges are the primary challenges, followed by financial challenges. The lack of government incentives, policies, legislation and regulations significantly hinders practitioners’ ability to engage in energy retrofitting initiatives. The long payback period of building energy retrofitting poses a critical financial concern for practitioners embracing such initiatives. In the end, this research proposed integrated strategies to tackle these challenges and increase building energy efficiency, including launching financial and regulatory incentives, shortening the interval for mandatory energy audits, disseminating knowledge, and diversifying finance channels of building energy retrofitting. The findings contribute to the body of knowledge by employing systems thinking to identify and evaluate EOBER challenges in high-rise high-density cities through empirical methodologies. Moreover, this study provides valuable references for practitioners in navigating these challenges and minimizing risks associated with the retrofitting process.

Operating characteristics of photovoltaic/thermal–ground source heat pump system in cold regions

To investigate the operating performance of photovoltaic thermal integrated heat pumps in terms of the effects of the control strategy and the component parameters, this paper considers an office building in Zhengzhou city as the research object. A photovoltaic/thermal integrated ground source heat pump system model is established using TRNSYS software. Using this model, a system is developed with four operating modes based on temperature differences and seasonal control. The soil temperature, the unit energy consumption, and the solar energy guarantee rate are used as indicators to study the soil’s thermal balance and the energy consumption characteristics of the model system in the four operating modes. The effects of the control strategy design and the photovoltaic/thermal collector area on the system performance are analyzed, and the annual cost method is used to evaluate the system’s economy. The research results indicate that the tank heating mode’s closing temperature increased from 47 °C to 49 °C, the system energy consumption and power generation were reduced by 1.86 % and 1.24 %, respectively, and the instances of unsatisfied demand for domestic hot water were reduced by 19.05 %. The soil temperature increased gradually with increasing photovoltaic/thermal collector area, but the rate of this increase slowed down at larger areas; when the area increased from 50 m2 to 100 m2, the soil temperature increased by 16.6 %, but when the area increased from 200 m2 to 250 m2, the temperature then only increased by 10.6 %. In addition, there is a specific photovoltaic/thermal collector area that can maintain the soil temperature in equilibrium. When compared with a solar-assisted ground source heat pump heating system, the photovoltaic/thermal integrated ground source heat pump heating system can save 63.2 % in terms of operating costs and can reduce the annual cost by 60.9 % over a 10-year period. The research results show that the law of the photovoltaic/collector area affects the soil heat balance, and also provide data support for promotion of photovoltaic/thermal integrated ground source heat pump systems from both performance and economic perspectives.

Carbon emission allowances and green development efficiency

This study delves into the nexus between the efficiency of carbon emission allocation and the efficiency of green development within the context of innovative city construction. Leveraging data from 283 prefecture-level cities and corresponding provincial-level panel data spanning the period from 2005 to 2019 in mainland China, the research employs the zero-sum gain DEA model to compute provincial carbon emission allocation efficiency and allocate allowances. Furthermore, it utilizes the all-factor non-radial directional distance function and the SBM-DEA model to gauge the green development efficiency of prefecture-level cities. The double-difference method is applied to evaluate the impact of innovative city construction on regional green development efficiency. The results indicate that an imbalance between carbon emission allocation efficiency and emission quotas detrimentally affects urban green development. However, technological progress, factor accumulation, and the institutional environment associated with innovative city building mitigate this negative impact. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a differentiated effect of innovative city building on regional green development efficiency. This paper not only explores the concept of achieving an equitable distribution of carbon emission allowances but also examines how innovative city building influences regional green development. By establishing connections between urban policies, the equitable distribution of carbon emission allowances, and regional green development, it introduces a new perspective for promoting high-quality development at the regional level.

Drivers and spatial patterns of carbon emissions from residential buildings: An empirical analysis of Fuzhou city (China)

Global economic development will continue to harm the natural environment. China is the largest contributor to global carbon emissions, with cities and the construction sector playing a major role. Understanding carbon emissions from buildings in cities can inform mitigation measures. This study conducted a comprehensive accounting of carbon emissions from lighting and appliance electricity consumption in residential buildings. The investigation covered Fuzhou city in Fujian Province of China in 2011–2021. ArcGIS generated and analyzed the spatial patterns of carbon emissions by districts. The STIRPAT model identified the leading carbon-emission drivers. The findings indicate: (1) fine-grained spatial distribution of carbon emissions demonstrates a marked concentration in the city center and contiguous districts, low emissions in surrounding districts, and a gradually increasing trajectory; and (2) GDP per capita, urbanization rate, and resident population are the principal drivers of carbon emissions, with every 1 % increase in GDP per capita raising carbon emissions by 0.66 %. Relevant practical energy-saving and emission-reduction measures are distilled from the results. The findings provide a scientific basis for decision-makers to formulate emission-reduction targets and strategies for Fuzhou's residential buildings, a theoretical basis for promoting regional low-carbon development, and a reference for other regions with a similar developing economy.

A novel method for post-earthquake functional evaluation of city building portfolios

Enhancing the seismic resilience of city building portfolios is crucial to mitigating the impact of seismic disasters. A novel method is proposed to evaluate the post-earthquake functionality of city building portfolios, which can serve as the foundation for assessing the seismic resilience of cities. This method incorporates multiple dimensions of functional evaluation, ranging from structural and nonstructural components to city building portfolios, elucidating the mechanism of functional assemblies from lower to higher dimensions. The calculation of the physical functionality of individual buildings relies on the functionalities of their structural and nonstructural components, which are determined using the functional mapping method. The impacts of infrastructure failures on the functionality of individual buildings are explored using the hierarchical belief rule base inference method based on the evidential reasoning algorithm (BRBI-ER). A technique that combines Point of Interest analysis and visual interpretation is utilized to classify building portfolios into three types: single-function building portfolios, multi-function building portfolios, and integrated-function building portfolios. A cumulative functional correlation model and an integrated functional correlation model using BRBI-ER are established to evaluate the functionality of these types of building portfolios. The results can contribute to predicting the risk of functional losses before earthquakes, guiding the recovery process after earthquakes, and taking proactive measures to improve the seismic resilience of cities.

Guidelines of inclusive architecture design for autism spectrum disorder: What is new?

IntroductionAutism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a complex neuro-developmental condition. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), restricted interests and repetitive behaviors and difficulties with social communication and interaction characterize ASD. Different ways of learning, moving, or paying attention are related to the degree of impairments. By reducing environmental and social obstacles in school, work, and other areas of life, architecture could play a pivotal role in helping people on the spectrum become more independent and acquire more abilities.ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to outline the recommendations and guidelines of the inclusive architecture design for ASD.MethodsWe conducted a comprehensive review of the scientific literature using the following keywords: inclusive design, architecture, autism or ADS.ResultsOur research found that the Autism ASPECTSS design index reported in 2013 by Magda Mostafa from Canada, which was based on the sensory design theory, is the world’s first set of evidence-based design guidelines for managing built environments to serve ADS individuals interaction, particularly in schools and workspaces. ASPECTSS conceptual framework delineate seven design concepts: acoustics, spatial sequencing, escape space, compartmentalization, transition spaces, sensory zoning, and safety. In 2023, the same author published an autism friendly design guide for the world’s first autism-friendly university. This guide is characterized by a better understanding of human-centered design and advocates beyond the mere inclusion, aspiring to a state where the boundaries between ‘normal’ and ‘special’ are blurred in order to treat all users as human beings with equal rights, thus calling for equal opportunities beyond the ADS spectrum.ConclusionsWith such well-established conceptual framework, it is nowadays imperative to expand our buildings in cities, schools, workplaces, hospitals, and public areas using the guidelines of autism-friendly environments. These buildings will enhance our individual and social well-being.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

A clustering-based analysis method for simulating seismic damage of buildings in large cities

Earthquakes are major threats to cities. Refined simulations of urban earthquake damage are significant for disaster prevention planning, including post-earthquake emergency rescue operations. However, this approach is time-consuming and computationally demanding. This study presents a novel machine learning method for simulating seismic damage of large urban building groups, thus minimizing the computational time and resources associated with the simulation process. First, the proposed method clusters building structures based on their seismic damage index (DI) under specific ground motions. Subsequently, one structure is selected from each cluster for seismic analysis. This approach significantly reduces the number of analyzed structures. The efficiency and accuracy of this method are studied based on a parametric study that involved an improved K-means clustering algorithm and a grid-based clustering algorithm. A batch-clustering algorithm is also developed to further improve the speed of clustering and efficiency of regional seismic simulations. A large Chinese city is considered as research application example. The results indicated the following: (1) the method based on the improved K-means clustering algorithm was superior; (2) the batch-clustering algorithm significantly speeded up clustering analysis and enhanced efficiency of the seismic simulation; (3) the clustering-based simulation method demonstrated high efficiency and accuracy, with a significant decrease of 90.5% in the calculation time compared with direct nonlinear time history analysis. In addition, the average relative error of the DI was only 11.0%. Moreover, over 85.0% of the structures were estimated to be in the correct damage state.

Development of Municipal Energy Management as Trigger of Future Energy Savings

Directive 2018/844/EU on energy efficiency claims that almost 80% of the final energy consumption in the EU is used within the buildings. The subsequent Directive (EU) 2023/1791 introduced in 2023 expected 68% of the world population to live in urban areas. Both directives enhanced the role of energy management (EM) applied to the city buildings. This paper introduces the development of energy management in Czech municipalities between the years 2009 and 2023. The main goal of this article is to present selected results of the unique national survey focused on the energy management in Czech municipalities conducted in 2023 and compare it with results of national surveys implemented in 2009 and 2018. The main method is the comparing of two surveys conducted among the municipal representatives or energy managers in the past with the new survey conducted in 2023. The results show that EM became a notably more important issue for most Czech municipalities. The number of cities collecting data on energy consumption grew by 288% and the number of city energy managers increased by 57%. On the other hand, the used potential of energy savings triggered by establishing EM was insufficient and only 4% of the respondents claimed high and exactly measured savings because of EM. This article should be applied to the stress power of municipal EM in performing energy efficiency and RES projects and encouraging the government to support municipal energy managers in their complex role.

The Evaluation National Green Building Index Based on a Survey of Personnel Satisfaction: The Case of Hubei Province, China

With the rapid development of China’s urbanization process and the promotion of the ‘double carbon’ strategy, green buildings will become an inevitable trend in the future development of the construction industry. Among the various building evaluation criteria, it is important to discuss how to promote the development of green buildings more efficiently and adaptively according to the characteristics of personnel needs. This study constructed a questionnaire to assess building use satisfaction based on China’s national standards. Field research was conducted on 23 projects in six cities in Hubei Province, China, and a total of 2251 questionnaires were collected. The survey evaluated satisfaction with the current use of green buildings across different age groups and genders. A new satisfaction evaluation model is constructed through fuzzy comprehensive evaluation to provide guidance for the differentiated development of green buildings in different cities.

Vom Heiligen Land Tirol. Sakrales Bauen und die Berge

The extreme mountain landscape and its potential dangers were one of the reasons for the high number of sacred buildings in the Alpine region. Tyroleans have long called their region the Holy land of Tyrol, due to the many churches, chapels, monasteries, wayside shrines and crucifixes in the region, among other reasons. How was the unique religiosity of Alpine inhabitants expressed in their buildings? Is it expressed differently than in the famous church buildings of European cities? It seems that the motives for erecting sacred buildings and monuments in mountain regions are to be weighted differently and that, in addition to their primary religious function, these structures fulfilled different tasks for the population at different times. While contemplative spatial concepts were and still are at the forefront of architectural thought, earlier buildings were primarily vessels for relics, images and statues. The motive lay in conjuring up and invoking the help of God and the patron saints. Thus, while historical buildings were seen more as places of practiced rituals – to receive help from the difficulties of everyday life – the individualistic interest in contemplative places has gained momentum in modern times. The sheer number of these different typologies of structures in a wide variety of social locations is unique to Tyrol, making it easy to identify social and societal conditions in different historical periods.

Factors affecting the social acceptance of agricultural and solar energy systems: The case of new cities in Egypt

Can the building sector become productive and, in parallel, help create livable spaces? Agricultural and solar energy systems can contribute to the building sector’s transformation; however, research on these systems has mostly focused on technological development and achieved gains, while overlooking a key driver of success, which is social acceptance. Only recently has the discussion on social acceptance of the systems gained momentum revealing that their adoption, especially in residential sectors, is bound to end users. Therefore, using a quantitative, survey-based, case study approach, we investigated what influences the social acceptance of end users, i.e., the residents of residential buildings in Egyptian new cities. Based on UTAUT – a Technology Acceptance theory – seven underlying factors were tackled using a statistical contingency analysis (SPSS, n = 274) to test their association with (a) social acceptance of agricultural and solar energy systems and (b) the sociocultural background of the residents. Results revealed that social acceptance of the systems was associated with factors like the expected effort for implementation, concerns and anxieties about the systems, external supporting conditions, and social influences – while surprisingly, it was not associated with the expected performance of the systems, their perceived costs, and the need for financial support. Most studied factors showed associations with the sociocultural aspects, except for the expected effort and perceived cost of solar systems and financial facilitations of both systems, which proved to be completely independent of the sociocultural background of the residents. The conducted analysis and concluded insights about the underlying factors behind social acceptance have not been previously covered in detail for the two systems in comparison, especially for the case of new Egyptian residences. The study findings can support relevant stakeholders such as policymakers, suppliers, engineers, etc. in triggering the social acceptance of the systems in Egypt and contexts of similar settings.

Bicycle Parking Requirements in City Building Codes and Their Potential to Promote Sustainability

Bicycle parking requirements in building codes are an important tool for promoting cycling, as several studies have shown that the provision of secure parking increases cycling rates and contributes to sustainability. However, bicycle parking requirements are not comprehensive across the EU and vary widely within countries and between municipalities, which questions what aspects they should consider. This paper analyzes the literature and guidelines on parking requirements and compares their implementation in ten German and four international cities both qualitatively, examining specific requirements for parking facilities, and quantitatively, examining the number of spaces required. The results show that most guidelines set comparable standards in terms of quality and quantity. However, the quality standards defined in the actual building codes are heterogeneous. While most cities require features such as the ability to lock the bicycle frame, they do not adequately address different user groups and insufficiently consider e-bike charging infrastructure. Most cities meet the guidelines for the required number of bicycle parking spaces, but lack a clear rationale based on local conditions, which can lead to an unsustainable under- or oversupply. In summary, cities do not fully utilize the potential of parking requirements to promote cycling because of incomplete qualitative standards.