Environmental Quality Of Cities Research Articles

Neglected puzzle pieces of urban green infrastructure: richness, cover, and composition of insect-pollinated plants in traffic-related green spaces

ContextIn cities, insect-pollinated vascular plants enhance environmental quality, support pollinators, and provide essential ecosystem services for citizens. However, floral communities associated with traffic-related green spaces are rarely considered valuable elements of urban green infrastructure (UGI).ObjectivesThe main objective of this work was to assess if traffic-related green spaces in Finland possess species-rich floral communities and can assist urban ecological restoration—converting degraded areas into functionally diverse ecosystems. Thus, we evaluated richness, cover, and community composition of insect-pollinated plants (emphasizing flowering ones) on traffic islands, parking lots, and road verges.MethodsThe assessment was performed during the mean flowering phenophase of insect-pollinated plants in the European boreal zone (July and August) using a standard quadrat (1 m2) placement method. We studied plants in urban and suburban locations of three highly populated (> 170 000 inhabitants) Finnish cities—Helsinki, Tampere, and Turku. There were 90 sampling sites with 15 replicates per location type in each city and five measurement replicates per green space (habitat) type. The species richness, cover, and composition were assessed in relation to location, habitat type, city, the average daily traffic (ADT), and distance to the road.ResultsUrban locations had lower total plant species richness and fewer indicator species (characterized only by a single indicator species) compared to suburban locations (characterized by five indicator species). Species richness of plants flowering during the time of the survey did not differ among locations. Traffic islands were richer habitats for flowering plants than road verges but did not differ from parking lots. Total vegetation cover and cover of insect-pollinated flowering plants increased with an increasing distance from the road. Vegetation cover differed among habitats being higher on road verges than on traffic islands irrespective of ADT. In all habitat types, the two most common flowering species were yarrow Achillea millefolium and autumn hawkbit Leontodon autumnalis which occurred at 70.2% and 67.8% of the sampling sites, respectively. However, the mean cover of the ten most common flowering species (when present) was low and varied between 1.5 and 9.5% per m2.ConclusionsSimilar richness of flowering plants (but not total plant species) in urban and suburban locations might indicate equal importance of ecosystem services provided by flowering plants in cities irrespective of location. Because traffic islands and parking lots contain rich plant communities, they should be better integrated into UGI and valued by city planners. Management intensity in terms of grass cuts should be ecologically justified. An increase in the number of insect-pollinated plant species in urban traffic-related green spaces might help to improve environmental quality in cities in terms of increasing pollinator biodiversity and reducing pollution.

Assessing the urbanization-induced impact on environmental parameters of a city from a remote-sensing perspective

An unplanned urban sprawl is a significant challenge for cities in developing nations. Such growth damages the environmental fabric (quality) of the city. The environmental parameters that are mainly affected due to urbanization need to be monitored for sustainable urban development. Hence, it becomes essential to adopt a sustainable framework for a thorough critical examination of environmental parameters that are altered due to urbanization as its consequence. Thus, this paper analyses the spatial-temporal changes that occurred in three vital environmental parameters: Land Surface Temperature (LST), Vegetation Cover (VC), and Particulate Matter (PM2.5), due to unplanned urbanization in the Bhopal city of Madhya Pradesh state in India. The study evaluates the relationship among these parameters. Then, an Environmental Quality Index (EQI) is quantified from 2000 to 2020 to analyse the environmental quality of the city. Further, a trend analysis for these parameters and the EQI is done. Based on the results of EQI, the city's environmental quality is classified. The findings show that in various parts of the city, LST and PM2.5 were found to be increased by 1–2 °C and 23–25 μg/m3, respectively. The severity analysis of the EQI revealed that environmental quality was found to be good to moderate in 2005 whereas, it deteriorated to poor and very poor levels by the year 2020. Overall results show that severe environmental degradation was significant in some specific locations in dense urbanization, heavy traffic areas, industrial zones, and major highways. The research reveals the environmental consequences of unplanned urbanization, offering valuable insights for policymakers and urban designers to improve the quality of urbanization and advance sustainable development. It also suggests strategies and policy interventions for managing industrial and vehicular pollutants and advocates the vital role of urban greening, which can aid in raising the quality of the urban environment.

Objects detection theory for evaluating the city environmental quality

IntroductionThe primary focus of this paper is to assess urban ecological environments by employing object detection on spatial-temporal data images within a city, in conjunction with other relevant information through data mining.MethodsFirstly, an improved YOLOv7 algorithm is applied to conduct object detection, particularly counting vehicles and pedestrians within the urban spatial-temporal data. Subsequently, the k-means superpixel segmentation algorithm is utilized to calculate vegetation coverage within the urban spatial-temporal data, allowing for the quantification of vegetation area. This approach involves the segmentation of vegetation areas based on color characteristics, providing the vegetation area’s measurements. Lastly, an ecological assessment of the current urban environment is conducted based on the gathered data on human and vehicle density, along with vegetation coverage.ResultsThe enhanced YOLOv7 algorithm employed in this study yields a one-percent improvement in mean AP (average precision) compared to the original YOLOv7 algorithm. Furthermore, the AP values for key categories of interest, namely, individuals and vehicles, have also improved in this ecological assessment.DiscussionSpecifically, the AP values for the ‘person’ and ‘pedestrian’ categories have increased by 13.9% and 9.3%, respectively, while ‘car’ and ‘van’ categories have seen AP improvements of 6.7% and 4.9%. The enhanced YOLOv7 algorithm contributes to more accurate data collection regarding individuals and vehicles in subsequent research. In the conclusion of this paper, we further validate the reliability of the urban environmental assessment results by employing the Recall-Precision curve.

Overheating of Cities: Magnitude, Characteristics, Impact, Mitigation and Adaptation, and Future Challenges

Urban overheating is the most documented phenomenon of climate change impacting humans. This article presents the most recent developments on the magnitude and characteristics of urban overheating and the potential synergies with global climatic change. It analyses the latest qualitative and quantitative data on the impact of higher urban temperatures on buildings’ energy supply and demand, heat-related mortality, morbidity and wellbeing, human productivity, survivability of low-income populations, and environmental quality of cities. It describes the state of the art on the development of innovative mitigation materials, advanced urban greenery, heat dissipation, and evaporative techniques as the main mitigation and adaptation technologies to offset the impact of urban overheating. It also analyses the current knowledge on the impact of each mitigation technology on energy, health, environmental quality, urban economy, and survivability. Finally, this article presents the main future challenges related to urban overheating and proposes a specific research agenda to alleviate and counterbalance its impact on human life.

A study on the landscape evaluation of sculpture vignettes in residential areas based on SBE

Abstract Sculpture landscape in urban residential areas plays an important role in creating an urban landscape and is significant in highlighting the urban taste and strengthening urban temperament. This study is based on SBE and the gray clustering method to evaluate the sculptured landscape in residential areas and mainly selects the aesthetic consistency and aesthetic difference data of the surveyed groups for quantitative analysis. In this paper, the sculptures in the residential area of Chengdu city center were used as the main objects for the current situation research and beauty evaluation, and regression analysis was conducted. The study results show that the surveyed groups rated the randomly selected sculpture landscapes on a scale of -1 to 2. The ratings of the selected six dimensions were mainly positive, indicating that the ratings of the beauty of the sculpture landscapes in residential areas were high. The SBE values were all positive, between 0 and 0.5, indicating that the surveyed groups rated these samples more positively and the beauty ratings were better. However, there are still some shortcomings in the residential sculpture landscape, including insufficient post-management, insufficient culture, artistry, diversity, and science popularization, and insufficient cultural symbolism of residential sculpture. Based on the SBE evaluation results, it is of great significance to focus on the post-management of residential sculpture landscape and the construction of urban cultural symbols to construct spiritual civilization and improve environmental quality in cities.

Impact of Limited-Access Green Spaces on the Qualitative and Quantitative Indices of a City

Urban green spaces (UGSs) are fragments of city vegetation capable of providing numerous benefits, which can be measured through indices. However, even though public green spaces (PGSs) are accounted for in such indices as areas that can generate positive impacts, private green spaces (PrGSs) are not considered. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate the impact and feasibility of the inclusion of limited-access green spaces (LAGSs—a type of PrGS—in green area index (GAI) and green space ratio (GSR) calculations, within the city of Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil, as a model. By employing geotechnologies, private squares and spaces were identified. On-site visits were employed to determine the functions (aesthetic, ecological, and/or leisure) of such spaces. For LAGSs, only those with an index higher than 50% permeability were included. The calculated indices for PGSs are as follows: PGS index (PGSI) = 0.53 m2/inhabitant, PGS ratio (PGSR) = 0.27%, and total green space (TGS) = 62,067 m2. Taking LAGSs into account, the indices are as follows: LAGS index (LAGSI) = 3.76 m2/inhabitant, LAGS ratio (LAGSR) = 1.92%, and TGS = 443,309.03 m2. The results of the analyses carried out in this study allow us to conclude that LAGSs contribute significantly to the increase in the GAI and GSR in Lavras and, therefore, to the city's environmental quality. Such spaces surpass, in extension, those of the public domain and should be included in UGS calculations when assessing the green infrastructure of cities.

Effect of green finance reform and innovation pilot zone on improving environmental pollution: an empirical evidence from Chinese cities.

Under the strategic deployment of dual carbon goals, China has entered the stage of high-quality development of low-carbon economic transformation. Green finance is an important tool to provide financing support for the development of green low-carbon projects and prevent environmental and climate financial risks. Whether and how it can help the implementation of the dual carbon goals is worth pondering and studying. Based on this background, this study considers the green finance reform and innovation pilot policy zone jointly issued by the Central People's Bank of China, National Development, and Reform Commission in 2017 as a natural experiment. Based on the panel data of 288 cities nationwide from 2010 to 2019, the effect of emission reduction is estimated using the PSM-DID method. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The green finance policy has effectively improved the city's environmental quality, and the pilot effect of green finance has a certain lag on SO2 emissions and industrial smoke (dust) emissions; (2) the mechanism inspection shows that the policy mechanism has promoted the technological innovation level, sewage treatment capacity, and garbage harmless treatment capacity of the pilot area to a certain extent; and (3) the impact of green finance policy on environmental quality has regional and industrial characteristics heterogeneity. The green finance pilot policy in eastern and central regions will inhibit SO2 emissions, but the emission reduction effect in western regions is not significant; The implementation of the pilot policy of the green financial reform and innovation pilot zone has significantly reduced the sulfur dioxide emissions of the old industrial base cities, but the effect of the policy on non-old industrial bases is not obvious. The research conclusion has important enlightenment significance for further improving the construction of financial system, promoting the green transformation of regional industry, and improving the quality of urban environment.

Environmental effects of smart city investment: evidence from China

Understanding how smart city investment influences the environment has valuable implications for increasing the environmental performance of smart cities. This study adopted spatial econometric models to explore the environmental impacts of smart city investments using data from 100 smart cities in China for the period 2014–2019. Smart city investment includes investment in information and communication technologies (ICT) and human capital. Environmental performance was measured in terms of air quality, green space and energy consumption. The results reveal that smart city investment can produce spatial spillover effects and that the environmental quality of cities is spatially correlated. ICT reduces air quality but increases green space and electricity consumption. In addition, human capital contributes to electricity conservation but does not influence air quality and green space. The impacts of smart city investments on the environment vary according to economic development level. Moreover, policy implications for the implementation of smart city investments that increase environmental performance are proposed.

Applying a Systemic Approach for Sustainable Urban Hillside Landscape Design and Planning: The Case Study City of Chongqing in China

Rapid urbanization has led some Chinese cities to extend to hillside sites with recurrent patterns of flattening sloping terrain to erect high rise buildings. This approach usually results in disturbing local ecosystems which protection is an important requirement towards achieving the UN 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. Studies examining the special patterns of urban extensions onto hills and the driving forces of behind the deterioration of environmental quality in cities are scarce. This paper aims to answer two questions; “What are the definitions and goals for sustainable landscape design for hillside urban extensions?” and “What are the real causes for the unsustainability of current urban hillside housing developments?” These questions will be approached, first through a literature review, and second through considering the case study of Chongqing Yue Lai eco-city and examining the limitation and remediation through the whole process of the land construction loop within the systemic approach. This article illustrates how sustainable urban hillside landscape design and planning can be achieved by balancing the priorities of four key stakeholders (government, developers, city dwellers, and local ecosystem). This calls for shifting from the central planning system dominated by local governments by including the equally important priorities of its citizens (human actors) and non-human actors (ecosystem).

Characteristics and Spatial-Temporal Differences of Urban "Production, Living and Ecological" Environmental Quality in China.

The article analyses the spatial and temporal differences in the environmental quality of production, living and ecology of 285 cities in China from 2010 to 2020 by using the entropy method, the Theil index and correlation analysis. The study concludes the following: (1) in terms of overall differences, the overall differences in the "production, living and ecological" environmental quality indices of 285 cities during the study period undergo a process of "narrowing-widening-narrowing". The differences within the four major zones of the country are higher than those between the four major zones, and the differences within the zones show an increasing trend year by year. (2) In terms of temporal differences, the combined scores of "production, living and ecological" environmental quality of the 285 cities in the study period show a decreasing trend, and the contribution of the PLE subsystem scores are, in descending order, production environmental quality > living environmental quality > ecological environmental quality. (3) In terms of overall ranking, the head effect of the combined production, living and ecological environmental quality (PLE) scores of cities in the study period is significant, and the top 10 cities in terms of combined scores are all small and medium-sized cities with significant regionalization characteristics. (4) In terms of spatial pattern, there is a significant spatial gradient in the east, central and western regions, with the overall PLE scores of the four major regions in descending order: eastern region > central region > western region > northeastern region. The regions with high scores in the "production, living and ecological" environmental quality of cities can be divided into three types: multi-core, dual-core and single-core. (5) In terms of influencing factors, there is a logarithmic curve relationship between the combined production, living and ecological environmental quality (PLE) score and the built-up area (BUA) of cities. The study proposes to optimize the layout of urban production, strengthen the industrial links of urban clusters, improve the level of public services, ensure the equalization of urban public services, strengthen the management of ecological environment and improve the quality of ecological environment in order to optimize the quality of urban "production, living and ecological" environment.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND LEISURE ASPECTS OF THE MUNICIPAL LAKE OF ESPÍRITO SANTO DO PINHAL-SP AND THE FAVORING OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE POPULATION

Nowadays, urban planning in Brazilian municipalities has sought innovative practices and reflections related to green areas located in urban centers, being an indicator of environmental quality in cities due to the numerous ecological, aesthetic and leisure functions that it can perform. Thus, the objective of this work was to carry out a survey of the environmental and leisure aspects of a green area located in the municipality of Espirito Santo do Pinhal-SP called Municipal Lake used by the population. To carry out this work, the area was covered, portraying the characteristics of the vegetation found in this place and its functions, the water reservoir, the buildings and the use of the place by the citizens regarding the practice of physical exercises. The results showed that the Municipal Lake is located in a privileged area of the municipality, with a considerable number of tree species from the Atlantic Forest biome, among them the araucaria, a symbol tree of this municipality. The space has a water reservoir with a water surface of approximately 28,580m², thus, the arboreal vegetation and this lake favor a local microclimate and the space has a walking track and cycle lane being the place used for sports, leisure together to children and social integration factors that stimulate a quality of life in urban centers.

A fuzzy-based methodological proposal for analysing green areas in urban neighborhoods

The reduction of the green areas due to the growth of the built-up areas has affected the environmental quality in cities. Nevertheless, some uncertainties remain about the adequate amount of such areas in the urban landscape. This study aims at introducing a methodology to support analysis of green areas in urban neighborhoods. The methodological proposal was based on a fuzzy expert system (FES), a soft computing approach capable of dealing with uncertainties in complex multiple-criteria decision-making. As empirical research, some case studies to introduce and validate the proposed methodology were performed. An agglomerative hierarchical clustering, followed by a Kruskal-Wallis test and multiple pairwise comparisons using the Conover-Iman procedure (significance 0.05), demonstrated that the FES was able to provide outcomes consistent with hypothetical situations, simulated as ideal and critical conditions of green areas. In conclusion, our findings indicate that the methodological proposal based on FES is a promising tool for complex case-by-case analysis in urban neighborhoods.

Compound environmental impact of urban mitigation strategies: Co-benefits, trade-offs, and unintended consequence

• We review the compound environmental impact of urban mitigation strategies. • Co-benefits, trade-offs, and unintended consequence are critically reviewed. • A mathematically framework is proposed for unified evaluation of compound impacts. Urban areas confront a number of environmental issues including excessive thermal stress and concentrated emissions of greenhouse gases and pollutants. In past decades, many mitigation strategies have been designed and implemented to counteract these issues and ameliorating the environmental quality in cities, which can be broadly classified as white, green or blue infrastructure. The functioning and efficacy of urban mitigation strategies involve complex interactions between landscape dynamics, anthropogenic activities, and atmospheric transport, which leads to compound, rather than singular, environmental impacts. In this study, we conducted a critical review of the compound environmental impact of urban mitigation strategies, and evaluated, besides the targeted cooling effect, the resultant co-benefits, trade-offs, or unintended consequence, in terms of building energy saving, air quality improvement, carbon emission offset, and impact to human health. Furthermore, we proposed a novel mathematical framework that is capable of assessing the compound environmental impact in a unified way, together with some preliminary results as the proof-of-concept. A number of knowledge gaps are identified which calls for future transdisciplinary synergy among urban engineers, atmosphere and climate scientists, and epidemiologists.

Preface

Kitakyushu has become well-known around the world as a green growth city. Today, Kitakyushu is turning its eyes towards the ultimate goal of achieving a “zero-carbon society,” which has been agreed upon at the international level to be indispensable in building a bright and happy future for Asia. To this goal, the University of Kitakyushu promotes collaboration research, human development, and business development of research outcomes in collaboration with many universities in different countries.One of the results of this effort was implementing the first ICRC (International Conference Research Collaboration) in March 2018, on Improvement of City Environmental Quality, in which 10 universities participated from 3 countries. The purpose of this conference was to build international networking between the University of Kitakyushu and the universities included Universitas Andalas, Universitas Lampung, Universitas Pasundan, Universitas Pendidikan Indonesia, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Universitas Negeri Malang, Universitas Padjadjaran, Universitas Langlangbuana, Universitas Sumatera Utara, Universitas Janabadra, and University of Malaya, Malaysia. These universities have similar research interests for the Improvement of Urban Environmental Quality. In this first conference in 2018, 54 articles of the consortium at the conference were disseminated and published through the ICRC scientific journal.For the second ICRC, the total of 132 participants have come from 30 universities which include UPI, University of Malaya, State University of Malang, University of North Sumatra, ITB, University of Lampung, University of Pakuan, University of Diponegoro, University of Airlangga, University of Trisakti, IPB, Ndejje University, and many more. The discussions cover the following topics:1. Solid Waste Management and Treatment2. Air Pollution Monitoring3. Water Treatment and Resource Management4. Low Carbon Initiative5. Environmental Education6. Environmental Culture7. Environmental Health8. Renewable EnergyList of Steering Committee of ICRC 2021, ICRC 2021 Committees, Scientific Committee, Organizing Committee, are available in this pdf.

Research on the impact of high-speed railway opening on regional economy and environment - evidence based on Henan Province

The opening of high-speed rail has a great role in promoting regional economy. Many scholars have used prefecture-level cities across the country as samples to prove that the opening of high-speed rail can stimulate economic growth and reduce environmental pollution. However, the heterogeneity between regions may make the result no longer significant in a particular region. Therefore, this article uses the data of 17 prefecture-level cities in Henan Province as an example to explore the economic and environmental effects of the opening of high-speed rail in Henan Province, and study one of the mechanisms by which high-speed rail acts on the environment. The results prove that the opening of high-speed rail has a significant positive effect on the economic and environmental quality of cities in Henan Province. In addition, high-speed rail can also improve the environment by adjusting the industrial structure, reducing pollutant emissions, and improving environmental quality.

Increasing Green Infrastructure in Cities: Impact on Ambient Temperature, Air Quality and Heat-Related Mortality and Morbidity

Urban vegetation provides undeniable benefits to urban climate, health, thermal comfort and environmental quality of cities and represents one of the most considered urban heat mitigation measures. Despite the plethora of available scientific information, very little is known about the holistic and global impact of a potential increase of urban green infrastructure (GI) on urban climate, environmental quality and health, and their synergies and trade-offs. There is a need to evaluate globally the extent to which additional GI provides benefits and quantify the problems arising from the deployment of additional greenery in cities which are usually overlooked or neglected. The present paper has reviewed and analysed 55 fully evaluated scenarios and case studies investigating the impact of additional GI on urban temperature, air pollution and health for 39 cities. Statistically significant correlations between the percentage increase of the urban GI and the peak daily and night ambient temperatures are obtained. The average maximum peak daily and night-time temperature drop may not exceed 1.8 and 2.3 °C respectively, even for a maximum GI fraction. In parallel, a statistically significant correlation between the peak daily temperature decrease caused by higher GI fractions and heat-related mortality is found. When the peak daily temperature drops by 0.1 °C, then the percentage of heat-related mortality decreases on average by 3.0% The impact of additional urban GI on the concentration of urban pollutants is analysed, and the main parameters contributing to decrease or increase of the pollutants’ concentration are presented.

Infraestrutura verde nos espaços públicos como elemento de resiliência socioambiental pós-pandemia

A vida urbana vem sofrendo profundas mudanças em decorrência das perdas causadas pela pandemia de Covid 19, que segundo a OMS (Organização Mundial da Saúde) é uma disseminação mundial do novo coronavírus, colocando-nos diante de uma reflexão sobre os desafios para nosso futuro comum: Que modelo de planejamento urbano devemos construir, e como  as pessoas poderão se apropriar dos espaços públicos e das áreas verde da cidade de forma segura, inclusiva e com qualidade de vida nesse período durante e após pandemia? A pandemia declarada em 11/03/2020 pela OMS colocou em questão e ressaltou a importância das áreas verdes e dos espaços públicos urbanos, em contrapartida ao isolamento social a que todos ficamos submetidos, como a única “vacina” disponível para evitarmos a contaminação. Ao mesmo tempo, esse futuro incerto, nos remete a perguntas e incertezas sobre a maneira como enfrentar a crise climática, e fortalecer a sustentabilidade urbana e a qualidade de vida das pessoas em todo o planeta. A retrospectiva das pandemias que o mundo vem enfrentando, enfatiza a importância das áreas verdes na qualidade ambiental urbana das cidades, tendo como um dos principais elementos de preocupação a saúde das pessoas. Nesse sentido, será necessário propor mudanças no espaço físico e na forma de uso dos espaços públicos e das áreas verdes como forma de ressignificação da vida urbana.

Construções sustentáveis: aplicações para a cidade de Uberaba - MG

Objetivo do Estudo: Indicar possíveis adequações para construções sustentáveis na cidade de Uberaba/MG, auxiliando em escolhas de alternativas para uma melhor qualidade ambiental do meio urbano. Foram elencados a percolação, o retardo e infiltração de águas pluviais e telhados com cobertura verde.Metodologia/Abordagem: Tanto as metrópoles quanto as cidades do interior do nosso País estão enfrentando vários problemas ambientais, demonstrando a necessidade de se repensar sua configuração urbana, colocando como desafio ao conjunto do poder público e privado a necessidade de garantir uma cidade sustentável nos aspectos ambiental, social e econômico. Devido a esse desequilíbrio no tripé da sustentabilidade, as instituições públicas e privadas buscaram a criação de planos e ações voltadas ao macro e micro ambiente em que a sociedade está inserida, como, por exemplo, as Agendas Sustentáveis. Além disso, contam com o auxílio de sistemas e dispositivos sustentáveis na redução do consumo de recursos naturais e diminuição dos impactos ambientais.Originalidade/Relevância: Por meio de revisões de literaturas buscamos indicadores como sugestão para a sustentabilidade que possam se enquadrar para a malha urbana de Uberaba, obtendo como resultado algumas análises locais e contrastando com os estudos sobre sustentabilidade.Resultados: Foi observada a presença de ações que auxiliam na sustentabilidade e se mostram como alternativas sustentáveis tanto para o governo quanto para a própria comunidade, como, por exemplo, nas de vias e calçadas: o aumento das áreas permeáveis e da infiltração para diminuição da percolação em período de chuvas.Contribuições teórico-metodológicas: Os resultados deste estudo identificam como pequenas mudanças locais nas residências e na área coletiva urbana podem auxiliar para a minimização de danos causados por catástrofes urbanas, que surgem por meio de uma intervenção humana sem estudo adequado do meio, sugerindo contribuições para o aumento da qualidade ambiental da cidade.Conclusão: O uso do pavimento de blocos de concreto intertravados foi o indicador escolhido para sugestão de sustentabilidade. Apesar da análise econômica não ser totalmente viável, devido ao elevado custo do pavimento de concreto para o passeio, levando-se em conta o critério de desempenho para auxílio da percolação de água pluvial, sua escolha é a mais assertiva. No quesito sustentabilidade, são necessários vários critérios de escolha para cada ação específica.

Tangible and intangible assets of city environment: architecture, city lighting and art aspects

The article discusses tangible and intangible assets of city environment. Modern cities strive to create a comfortable and diverse urban (city) environment. City environment has different elements. The article is devoted to the study of a combination of tangible and intangible assets of city. The city architecture, the city lighting and the art has significant impact on quality of city environment and the image of the city. There is an underestimation of the role and potential of the city lighting in creating attractive image of the city. It is important to find a balance between technical and economic aspects, safety and health, nature and creation of attractive environment enriched by art. The functions performed by architectural objects, city lighting and art can be divided into two groups - utilitarian and aesthetic. Both of them are important for the creation of attractive and diverse city environment. The search for solutions within the framework of sustainable development of the city is directly related to the issue of city lighting in balance with architecture and art. The classification method was used to find out important factors for development of city environment. Also case-study method was applied. The article examines the experience of Kazan in organizing diversity and aesthetic filling of the city environment.

Heat mitigation technologies can improve sustainability in cities. An holistic experimental and numerical impact assessment of urban overheating and related heat mitigation strategies on energy consumption, indoor comfort, vulnerability and heat-related mortality and morbidity in cities

Urban overheating affects the energy, health, power, survivability and environmental quality of cities. We calculated the magnitude of overheating in Sydney, Australia, at close to 9 °C, which causes a cooling penalty of up to 16% and an increase in the indoor overheating levels of up to 56%. We developed and evaluated eight heat mitigation scenarios based on the use of reflective surfaces, additional greenery, an increase in the evapotranspiration rate and several combinations of these factors. We estimated that mitigation can decrease the peak ambient temperature by up to 2.9 °C, reduce the maximum annual cooling consumption by up to 1.5 TWh, decrease the CO2 emissions by as much as 1.21 MT CO2, reduce indoor overheating by up to 80%, decrease the heat-related morbidity by 1.07–1.49, and decrease the heat-related mortality anomaly by as much as 1.39 per 100,000 citizens. We estimated the associated water penalty range to be between 80 and 100 Gl/year or between 13 and 16.7% of the water consumption in Sydney.