Environment In Residential Areas Research Articles

Multi-dimensional distribution prediction of PM2.5 concentration in urban residential areas based on CNN

Air pollution has been one of the major environmental health issues in urban residential areas. Enhancing the air quality of the human environment has become a relevant research topic, but the study of the distribution characteristics of air pollutants under the influence of multi-dimensional indicators of residential building design is rarely considered. Herein, the PM2.5 spatial distribution of residential environment in Hefei, China, was simulated using ENVI-met. This research explored the influence mechanism of different design indexes on PM2.5 in the residential environment. A fast prediction method was proposed for PM2.5 based on the convolutional neural network (CNN). Furthermore, 4183 test points in the residential environment were selected to explore the influence of design indexes on PM2.5. The morphological features around the test points were transform to the images as input datasets for CNN model training. Results indicated that the PM2.5 mass concentration in the residential area decreases with the increase in height, and it is correlated with the sky viewfactor, the average height of the building and the density of the building. The accuracy of the CNN prediction model exceeds that of the ANN prediction model by 14.2 %, and the results can effectively predict the multi-dimensional distribution of the PM2.5 mass concentration in the residential environment, which could provide an effective reference and analytical tool for the creation of a healthy environment in residential areas.

Optimization Study of Outdoor Activity Space Wind Environment in Residential Areas Based on Spatial Syntax and Computational Fluid Dynamics Simulation

In the context of increasing global energy shortages and climate change, the human living environment, as a crucial component of residents’ daily lives, has garnered growing attention from the academic community. Research on residential environments is vital for promoting the sustainable development of urban construction and constitutes an important aspect of sustainable development studies. This study focuses on the optimization strategy for the outdoor activity space wind environment in the Xihuayuan residential area in Lanzhou city, utilizing spatial syntax analysis and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation technology. Firstly, the outdoor activity space is analyzed for visibility and spatial accessibility using DepthmapX0.6 software. Then, the outdoor wind environment in the residential area is simulated using PHOENICS 2018 software, and the analysis is conducted on outdoor spaces with a poor wind environment in terms of high accessibility. The results indicate that residents’ outdoor comfort in these spaces is poor, highlighting the urgent need for improvement in the wind environment. This research attempts to optimize the wind environment in high-accessibility spaces within the residential area by improving building layout, orientation, and height. The simulation results after optimization demonstrate an increase in the overall average wind speed to 1.44 m/s, with the proportion of spaces with a good wind environment in high-accessibility areas during summer rising from 33.4% to 59.2%. The optimization strategy effectively improves the wind environment in high-accessibility areas of the residential area.

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.

The Annual Effect of Landscapes on the Indoor Thermal Environment in Residential Areas—A Case Study in Southern Hunan

Landscape elements are crucial to the quality of the built environment. Thermal comfort is one of the important paths through which landscape elements affect the quality of the built environment. Most studies investigate the impacts of the landscape on the outdoor thermal environment, while ignoring the impacts on the indoor environment. A residential area in Chenzhou, a typical city having a hot summer and cold winter climate, was taken as an example to reveal the effect on the indoor thermal environment of landscapes. The annual distribution of the indoor thermal environment was analyzed with the “Envi-met+IDW” model, which was created to evaluate the annual thermal impact. Analytical results show that, from the perspective of the annual cycle, the camphor tree has the best performance in regulating the indoor thermal environment, followed by water and the palm. Manila grass has a very weak impact on indoor thermal comfort throughout the year. Camphor trees, water, and palm extend the “acceptable temperature” by 523 h, 416 h, and 388 h respectively. However, the camphor tree also has the strongest cooling effect on indoor environments during winter, increasing the “heating demand temperature” by 289 h.

Multi-Objective Optimization of Morphology in High-Rise Residential Areas for Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Yulin City, Northwest China

Urban residential areas significantly influence outdoor thermal comfort through architectural morphology. This study concentrates on the multi-objective optimization of the thermal comfort environment in residential areas, with a focus on Yulin—a city in the cold, inland region of Northwestern China. Yulin is characterized by its distinctly defined seasons, particularly harsh and windy conditions in the spring, which significantly impact thermal comfort. Utilizing field surveys, characteristics of scale and layout from high-rise residential areas in Yulin were extracted to formulate design strategies adapted to local climates. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) served as the optimization criterion, and genetic algorithms, integrated with parametric modeling software, generated multiple layout schemes. These were refined through the Pareto evolutionary algorithm II to optimize thermal comfort across seasons. Furthermore, the Sobol’ sensitivity analysis method was employed to assess the impact of key parameters on outdoor thermal comfort, identifying crucial layout design elements. The optimization improved UTCI values for different seasons, ensuring year-round comfort. Specifically, summer UTCI improved to 25.51, while winter and spring values reached optimal values of −14.02 and −6.41, demonstrating enhanced thermal retention and reduced wind exposure. Sobol’ sensitivity analysis identified building length, orientation, and density as key parameters, highlighting their critical impact on thermal comfort. This study offers practical guidelines for urban residential area design in similar climatic zones, aligning architectural planning with environmental sustainability and enhancing thermal comfort effectively. This study provides practical guidelines for the design of residential areas in cold inland—seasonal windy—regions and other similar climatic zones, aligning building morphology design with environmental sustainability and enhancing thermal comfort effectively.

Kualitas Fisik Lingkungan Kawasan Permukiman di Sempadan Rel Kecamatan Labuhan Ratu, Bandar Lampung

Title: Physical Environmental Quality of Residential Areas on the Railway Boundary Labuhan Ratu Sub-district, Bandar Lampung The high demand for land and limited availability have caused built-up land to move to suburban areas of the city. The concentration of activities, such as establishing settlements and higher education centers, has also influenced the development of built-up land around them. Low-income people take advantage of the opportunities available by utilizing vacant land as a place to live. Land use that is carried out continuously and uncontrollably has an impact on the railway boundary. This study aims to identify the physical condition of the environment in residential areas in Labuhan Ratu Subdistrict, especially in the railroad border area. The method used is descriptive qualitative. The results found that the existence of settlements on the railroad border in Labuhan Ratu Subdistrict is included in the category of illegal settlements. Infrastructure conditions such as drainage, lighting, waste management, clean water, and others could be better; the topographic conditions of the area also support this. Increasingly dense illegal settlements and poor infrastructure conditions will affect environmental conditions, such as decreased land balance and environmental quality.

The influence of natural environment in residential areas on subjective well-being of the elderly.

The aim of this study is to explore the relationship between the natural environment of residential areas and the subjective wellbeing of the elderly and the role of elderly's evaluation of the government's environmental protection work in both. Based on the China Social Survey Database in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, Stata were used to process the data screened according to the restricted conditions. Ordered Probit Model and Sobel were used to test the effect relationship among the variables. The subjective wellbeing of the elderly is roughly increasing. The natural environment of the living area has a significant positive effect on the subjective wellbeing of the elderly. The evaluation of the elderly on the government's environmental protection work has a positive impact on the elderly's subjective wellbeing similarly and plays an increasingly important intermediary role in the impact of the natural environment in the residential area on the elderly's subjective wellbeing. To improve the subjective wellbeing of the elderly, the government should continue to play a leading role in coordinating environmental protection and pollution control, strengthen publicity of environmental protection work. Moreover, improve the residential environment governance and protection system oriented by the elderly's evaluation of the government's environmental protection work.

Spatial Identification, Prevention and Control of Epidemics in High-Rise Residential Areas Based on Wind Environments

The wind environment in residential areas can exert a direct or indirect influence on the spread of epidemics, with some scholars paying particular attention to the epidemic prevention and control of residential areas from the perspective of wind environments. As a result, it is urgent to re-examine the epidemic prevention response of residential spaces. Taking high-rise residential areas in Xi’an as an example, the article defines the air flow field area based on on-site wind environment measurements, crowd behavior annotation, and CFD simulation. Using the double-effect superposition of crowd behavior and risk space, the paper undertook a multiple identification strategy of epidemic prevention space. The identification methods and management and control strategies of epidemic prevention in high-rise residential areas are proposed. Additionally, the living environment of residential areas is optimized, and a healthy residential space is created. The transformation from concept and calls for action to space implementation is made to provide a reference for improving the space management and control capabilities in high-rise residential areas in China. The results of this study can be used as a guideline for future residential planning and design from the perspective of preventing airborne diseases.

Application of Cognitive System Model and Gestalt Psychology in Residential Healthy Environment Design.

The influence of the environment on people is very large. According to the general rules of people's daily routines, people spend at least half of their time in residential areas. Therefore, the environment of residential areas has a great impact on people's emotions, behaviors, and even the development of living habits. Residential area refers to a residential area where residents live in clusters and form a certain scale, including buildings where people live, public buildings and facilities for rest, education, fitness, work, and even communication between people, green space, and traffic roads. Usually, the environmental design of urban residential areas usually meets the requirements of diverse functions, strong compatibility, and convenient travel, so as to facilitate residents' living. In an ideal state, the environmental design of a residential area should not only meet the basic living conditions but also improve the living comfort of the residents. Because there is a close relationship between people's psychology and behavior and the living environment of the community, environmental design that is in line with people's positive and optimistic psychology helps residents maintain a happy mood. Therefore, from the perspective of environment to residents' living comfort, this paper introduces a cognitive system model and Gestalt psychology to optimize the design of residential healthy environment. A more harmonious and comfortable living environment is established by using the principle of bottom, grouping, and simplification in Gestalt.

The Relationship Between Spatial Configuration of Residential Quarters and Children’s Outdoor Activity

Open spaces in neighborhoods are children’s main living spaces, closely related to their daily activities. There is an increasing awareness that the physical form of the neighborhood plays a critical role in children’s activity, by offering opportunities for exploration and interaction. The aim of this paper is to explore the impact of the spatial configuration of buildings on children’s activity on the example of a residential area in the city of Oum El Bouaghi (Algeria) as the research object. The hypothesis of this work indicates that spatial configuration and the location of the buildings, in particular, the way in which the site is embedded are important variables in children’s outdoor activity. Based on this hypothesis, both quantitative and qualitative methods are used together through Space Syntax and Snapshot Observations. Findings indicate that the extent and character of children’s outdoor activities are greatly influenced by the physical characteristics of the neighborhood environment in residential areas through the degree of space enclosure interpreted by visibility and accessibility. By uncovering the impact of spatial configuration, this research offers an approach to designers for rethinking and considering new insights into managing and designing current and future spaces in light of children’s preferences and behavior patterns.

Impact Assessment of Waste Odor Source Locations on Pedestrian-Level Exposure Risk

Poor wind environment in residential areas leads to the accumulation of odor from domestic waste, affecting pedestrian health. A reasonable arrangement of waste collection points can reduce pedestrian exposure risks. This study aims to investigate the hydrogen sulfide (H2S) dispersion and residents’ exposure risk at the pedestrian level for five different locations of waste collection points in a residential building array. Simulation results are consistent with the benchmark wind tunnel experiment, validating that the used turbulence model and numerical methods show good agreement with the predictions of the aforementioned problem. Results indicate that the dimensionless concentration of H2S and personal intake fraction in a residential area are lower when the collection point is at the corner of the building array periphery. When the collection point is located in the middle of the periphery of the building array or between two adjacent buildings in the center of the array, the local dimensionless concentration of H2S is 50 at the pedestrian level, and the personal intake fraction is three orders of magnitude higher than that at the corner of the building array periphery. The findings provide a reference for the layout of waste collection points in high-density residential areas and reduction in outdoor exposure risk.

Effect of audio-visual interaction on soundscape in the urban residential context: A virtual reality experiment

This research aims to study the independent and interaction effects of aural and visual indicators on soundscape descriptors in the residential area. A virtual reality (VR) experiment was conducted to reproduce audio-visual stimuli and to collect subjective data using the questionnaire. Typical visual elements and aural environment in residential areas were reproduced using Unity software. Ten audio-only stimuli and 42 audio-visual stimuli (combination of 14 visual stimuli and three aural stimuli) were evaluated for various soundscape descriptors by 32 normal-hearing participants. There are four research findings. Firstly, a visual distraction was found on the effect of crowd sound on pleasantness. Secondly, the independent effects of indicators were analyzed. The sound of heavy traffic negatively affects pleasantness, while no significant difference has been found between no traffic and light traffic conditions. The crowd sound and PgVI (Playground View Index) positively affect eventfulness, while roughness and GVI (Green View Index) have a negative effect on eventfulness. Thirdly, traffic sound was found as a moderator of other indicators’ effect on pleasantness and eventfulness. For instance, GVI (Green View Index) can positively affect pleasantness in no traffic and light traffic conditions, while GVI does not affect pleasantness in heavy traffic conditions. Lastly, the present study did not find calmness correlated with eventfulness in residential areas, contrary to the previous studies. A possible explanation for this result might be that the correlation between descriptors is context-dependent.

A Portrait of Residential Soundscape in Several Indonesian Cities

The residential environment is expected to be a comfortable and safe place for the family. But often, the condition of the environment is not in line with these expectations, especially from the acoustic environment, which will affect the comfort of the occupants. The increasing comfort in residential will lead to more sustainability of the city. Thus, this paper aims to examine the existing acoustic environment in urban housing by using a soundscape approach. The soundscape is an approach to investigate the human perception of the acoustic environment in context. The research method by using a quantitative method through an online questionnaire to record the human perceptions of the sound environment in several cities in Indonesia. The result of this study is a portrait of the sound environment and the level of comfort in the city. This research can be used as input for urban designers, developers, and policymakers to improve the acoustic environment in residential areas to improve the quality of the acoustic environment.

Inconvenience of Living Place Affects Individual HbA1c Level in a Rural Area in Japan: Shimane CoHRE Study.

Background: It has been shown that the socio-geographical environment of residential areas, such as altitude, affects the health status and health-maintenance behavior of residents. Here, we examined a hypothesis that altitude of residence would influence glycemic control in a general elderly population living in a rural area. Methods: A thousand and sixteen participants living in a mountainous region in Japan were recruited at health examinations. Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) was measured in serum as a parameter of glycemic control. The altitude of residence, distance to grocery stores and to medical facilities were estimated using a geographic information system. Results: Linear regression analysis confirmed a significant effect of the altitude on log HbA1c even after adjustment of other demographic and biochemical factors. When the distance to grocery stores or medical facilities were used instead of the altitude in a linear regression analysis, distance to secondary medical facilities alone showed a significant effect on HbA1c. Conclusions: We found a positive correlation between HbA1c level and residential altitude in a rural area of Japan. The altitude seemed to be a parameter substituting the inconvenicence of residential areas. Socio-geographical factors of living place, such as inconvenience, may influence glycemic control of the residents.

Research on outdoor environment renewal for the aged in residential area——A case study of a residential area in Jinan

The model of home-based care in residential areas has gradually become an important way of providing for the aged in the age of aging in China, and more attention has been paid to the aging and renewal of existing residential areas.Taking the outdoor environment of residential areas as the research object, this paper analyses the environmental status quo of a residential area in Jinan through field investigation, and puts forward suggestions for aging renovation from the aspects of outdoor landscape system, road traffic system and supporting facilities of residential areas, so as to provide references for residential renovation.

Analysis of the hygienic assessment of the electromagnetic environment in residential areas near military airfields

In the purpose to ensure the sanitary and epidemiological well-being of the population living on the territory near the military aerodrome calculated assessment of the geometry and size of the sanitary protection zone (SPZ) was carried out based on aerodrome radiation sources electromagnetic fields (EMF) level and the requirements of current legislation in electromagnetic safety. The analysis showed that the calculated levels of total EMF exposure outside the technical (adjacent) territory are significantly lower than the established maximum permissible for the population. The results obtained allow us to prevent the possibility of developing an inadequate (hyperbolized) perception (radiophobia) of the danger of exposure to this factor, as well as rental behavior of people living in these territories.

How did the 'state of emergency' declaration in Japan due to the COVID-19 pandemic affect the acoustic environment in a rather quiet residential area?

The COVID-19 pandemic caused lockdowns in many countries worldwide. Acousticians have made surveys to monitor how cities became quieter under the lockdown, mainly in central areas in cities. However, there have been few studies on the changes in the acoustic environment due to the pandemic in the usually quieter residential areas. It may be expected to be different from the effect in 'originally noisy' areas. Also, the effect could be different in Japan, because the 'state of emergency' declaration there was different to lockdowns elsewhere. Considering these circumstances, this article reports the results of noise monitoring and makes some observations on the acoustic environment in residential areas far from city centres, to provide an example of how the acoustic environment was affected by the state of emergency declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan. The results showed that the reduction of noise levels was somewhat less than that reported in large cities. Also, comparing the results after the cancellation of the state of emergency, the noise level increased again. However, observations of noise sources imply that a possible change in human behaviour may have also affected the acoustic environment.

Analysis of the Acoustic Environment of Typical Residential Areas along a Light Rail Line Based on GIS

The acoustic environment of urban residential areas is closely related to road traffic noise. More specifically, the effect of the light rail on the old residential area in Chongqing is potentially profound. Using geographic information system (GIS) to construct a map of the urban light rail’s influence on the acoustic environment of residential areas, the influence of noise can be determined. Very few studies exist on the impact of light rails on the acoustic environment of residential areas, and there is no literature on the impact of light rails on the acoustic environment of residential areas using GIS. In this study, the degree of influence of a light rail on nearby residential areas and the diffusion degree of light rail noise in these areas during various times of the day were analysed by measuring the objective indicators of acoustic landscape elements and evaluating subjective indicators. The layout mode of the residential areas and the light rail were superimposed, and other traffic noise influences were eliminated. This method provides a scientific basis for the planning, design, and reconstruction of residential areas.

Geomorfología y forma urbana. Comportamiento térmico de distintas tramas en áreas de piedemonte: el caso de Mendoza, Argentina

El crecimiento urbano sobre el piedemonte del área metropolitana de Mendoza, Argentina, ha modificado las condiciones del territorio y afectado el balance energético en él, dando como resultado un incremento de la temperatura. Esto produce un mayor consumo de energía para el acondicionamiento térmico de verano y empeora la habitabilidad térmica de los espacios públicos. Para detectar configuraciones urbanas que permitan mitigar este impacto, se analizó la interacción entre los parámetros microclimáticos y variables geomorfológicas que definen el comportamiento térmico de los espacios urbanos. Se seleccionaron, caracterizaron geomorfológica, morfológica y tecnológicamente, y monitorearon microclimáticamente, ocho canales viales urbanos representativos insertos en diferentes tipologías de tramas, presentes en el área de estudio. Los datos fueron evaluados estadísticamente mediante análisis multivariados. La investigación pone en relevancia el impacto de las decisiones de diseño al momento de priorizar estrategias para alcanzar la sustentabilidad del ambiente construido en áreas residenciales localizadas en el piedemonte.

TRADITIONAL LIVING ENVIRONMENT OF KUBAN SETTLEMENTS

The main objective of the presented scientific research is to identify the patterns of historical continuity of the development of the settlements of Kuban. The object of the study are urban and rural settlements. The subject of research is the functional and aesthetic principles of the formation of the living environment of residential areas of populated areas in the designated period. The choice of the object and subject is due to the current problematic situation for the preservation and development of the historical centers of the Kuban settlements, due to the high degree of urbanization of these centers, which sometimes leads to the absence of functional logical connectivity and accompanying environmental degradation. The main tasks are the systematization and study of historical materials on the architectural organization of settlements, namely the processes of their origin, formation and development in chronological order with reference to modern socio-economic conditions. The fundamental role is played by the study of historical and cultural values of objects of architecture and urban planning and the potential of their possible use in the formation of habitat. Especially important in this case is the definition of town planning, architectural planning and architectural-artistic features of the spatial organization of the living environment. This is a peculiar vector of further development and improvement of this environment, as an integral functional aesthetic system, contributing to the improvement of living standards, as well as economic, social and environmental safety of the population. The research method includes the study of archival documents, scientific literature on the history of the Kuban, the history of architecture and urban planning; field studies and fixation of monuments of historical and cultural heritage of these settlements. The study used a comparative historical method of cognition - a scientific method that reveals, by comparing the general and the particular in the development of settlements of the Kuban in a certain time period, and formal logical research methods - methods of classification, generalization and typology, inductive and deductive research methods, making it possible to identify differences and identify identical in the history of the development of architectural and urban culture of the settlements under consideration. The study made it possible to conclude that the tradition bears, above all, the character of historical continuity - the preservation, dissemination and development of the national culture, education of respect for the architectural and town planning heritage.