High Level Of Urbanization Research Articles

Impact of Urbanization and Labor Vulnerability Over the COVID-19 Dynamic Across Countries: A Survival Analysis

This study analyzes the evolution of daily recorded cases of COVID-19 among all countries. In more detail, using survival models, we study the average duration of the increase of cases of COVID-19 before reaching its maximum and reduce the number of infected daily. Additionally, we incorporate dummies to control the levels of urbanization and labor vulnerability as the main control variables. Among the main results, we observed that countries with 50% of the population living in urban areas tend to have more extended periods of infection before reaching their maximum levels and entering a plateau. Besides, the vulnerability variable ends up not being significant by itself. Still, in interaction with the urbanization variable, we observe that countries with high urbanization levels and high levels of vulnerable employment reach the maximum infection level earlier than other countries.

Urbanization level and neighborhood deprivation, not COVID-19 case numbers by residence area, are associated with severe psychological distress and new-onset suicidal ideation during the COVID-19 pandemic

BackgroundRecent studies indicate an urgent need to take action against mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the association between larger-scale environmental factors such as living conditions and mental health problems during the pandemic is currently unknown. MethodsA nationwide, cross-sectional internet survey was conducted in Japan between August and September 2020 to examine the association between urbanization level and neighborhood deprivation as living conditions and COVID-19 case numbers by prefecture. Prevalence ratios (PRs) for severe psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and new-onset suicidal ideation during the pandemic were adjusted for potential confounders. ResultsAmong 24,819 responses analyzed, the prevalence of mental health problems was 9.2% for severe psychological distress and 3.6% for new-onset suicidal ideation. PRs for severe psychological distress were significantly associated with higher urbanization level (highest PR = 1.30, 95% CI = 1.08-1.56). PRs for new-onset suicidal ideation were significantly associated with higher urbanization level (highest PR = 1.83, 95% CI = 1.37-2.45) and greater neighborhood deprivation (highest PR = 1.35, 95% CI = 1.06-1.72). Severe psychological distress and new-onset suicidal ideation were significantly more prevalent when there was higher urbanization plus lower neighborhood deprivation (PR = 1.34 [1.15-1.56], and 1.57 [1.22-2.03], respectively). ConclusionThese findings suggest that it is not the number of COVID-19 cases by residence area but higher urbanization level and greater neighborhood deprivation (lower neighborhood-level socioeconomic status) that are associated with severe psychological distress and new-onset suicidal ideation during the pandemic. These findings differ in part from evidence obtained before the pandemic.

Urban sprawl into Natura 2000 network over Europe.

Urban growth is a major threat to biodiversity conservation at the global scale. Its impacts are expected to be especially detrimental when it sprawls into the landscape and reaches sites of high conservation value due to the species and ecosystems they host, such as protected areas. I analyzed the degree of urbanization (i.e., urban cover and growth rate) from 2006 to 2015 in protected sites in the Natura 2000 network, which, according to the Habitats and Birds Directives, harbor species and habitats of high conservation concern in Europe. I used data on the degree of land imperviousness from COPERNICUS to calculate and compare urban covers and growth rates inside and outside Natura 2000. I also analyzed the relationships of urban cover and growth rates with a set of characteristics of Natura sites. Urban cover inside Natura 2000 was 10 times lower than outside (0.4% vs. 4%) throughout the European Union. However, the rates of urban growth were slightly higher inside than outside Natura 2000 (4.8% vs. 3.9%), which indicates an incipient urban sprawl inside the network. In general, Natura sites affected most by urbanization were those surrounded by densely populated areas (i.e., urban clusters) that had a low number of species or habitats of conservation concern, albeit some member states had high urban cover or growth rate or both in protected sites with a large number of species or habitats of high conservation value. Small Natura sites had more urban cover than large sites, but urban growth rates were highest in large Natura sites. Natura 2000 is protected against urbanization to some extent, but there is room for improvement. Member states must enact stricter legal protection and control law enforcement to halt urban sprawl into protected areas under the greatest pressure from urban sprawl (i.e., close to urban clusters). Such actions are particularly needed in Natura sites with high urban cover and growth rates and areas where urbanization is affecting small Natura sites of high conservation value, which are especially vulnerable and concentrated in the Mediterranean region.

The association of empowerment measures with maternal, child and family planning outcomes in Plateau State Nigeria by urban-rural residence

BackgroundNigeria is experiencing a high level of urbanization and urban poverty. Within Nigeria maternal and child health and family planning outcomes may differ by residence (capital city, urban/non-capital city and rural) as well as by measures of women’s empowerment and wealth. This paper presents a detailed analysis of maternal and child health and family planning outcomes in Plateau State, Nigeria.MethodsData came from the 2017 Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative Sustainability Study. Multivariable logistic regression was used to study the associations between the key independent variables of residence, women’s empowerment and wealth with having a skilled birth attendant at childbirth and childhood preventative visits. The women’s empowerment variables included perceptions about household decision-making, financial decision-making, views on wife beating and having a prohibition, defined as a restriction on specific activities imposed by a woman’s husband. Multinomial regression was used to study the association of the same factors with the family planning outcome which had three categories – no use, traditional method use and modern method use. Regressions were also run separately for urban and rural populations.ResultsWomen in the capital city of Jos were significantly more likely to have a skilled birth attendant at childbirth, take a child to a preventative visit and use family planning than women in rural areas of Plateau State. Three of the four measures of empowerment (household decision-making, financial decision-making and having a prohibition) were significantly associated with the family planning outcome, while having a prohibition was negatively associated with having a skilled birth attendant at childbirth. In rural areas, women involved in financial decisions were significantly less likely to use a modern method compared to a traditional method. Wealth was a significant factor for all outcomes.DiscussionState-level analyses can provide valuable information to inform programs and policies at a local level. Efforts to improve use of maternal and child health and family planning services in Plateau state, Nigeria, should consider women’s empowerment, residence and poverty. Community education on the effectiveness of modern versus traditional methods and potential side effects of specific modern methods, may help women make informed decisions about contraception.

Rural-urban migration at high urbanization levels

This study assesses the empirical relevance of the Harris-Todaro model at high levels of urbanization – a feature that characterizes an increasing number of developing countries, which were largely rural when the model was created 50 years ago. Using data from Brazil, the paper compares observed and model-based predictions of the equilibrium urban employment rate of 449 cities and the rural regions that are the historic sources of their migrant populations. Little support is found in the data for the most basic version of the model. However, extensions that incorporate labor informality and housing markets have much better empirical traction. Harris-Todaro equilibrium relationships are relatively stronger among workers with primary but no high school education, and those relationships are more frequently found under certain conditions: when cities are relatively larger; and when the associated rural areas are closer to the magnet city and populated to a greater degree by young adults, who are most likely to migrate.

Le milieu urbain : un facteur de risque pour les troubles psychotiques ?

A growing body of evidence suggests that urbanicity contributes to the development of psychosis, with elevated risks being associated with growing up or living in environments with a higher level of urbanization. This article aims to provide a review of the scientific literature studying the link between urbanicity and psychosis in order to identify the concepts used so far to clarify this issue and the hypotheses that have emerged from them. Taken together, the findings reviewed in this paper confirm that urbanicity is associated with an increased risk of schizophrenia and other non-affective psychosis. However, the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. The impact of urbanicity may result from a wide range of factors from air pollution to stressful impact of social life leading to “urban stress”. Indeed, the main underlying putative causes explored that may underpin this association are the social environment and air pollution. The role of psychosocial stressors such as neighborhood fragmentation, low social cohesion and social capital, deprivation, social adversities have been singled out by several studies. These different factors could lead to several pathways, possibly unified by dopaminergic hyperactivity in mesocorticolimbic system. Urbanicity could also potentially be related, at least in part, to environmental pollution which has been largely neglected compared to some of the other non-genetic environmental risk factors. The findings from our review show that recent studies link environmental pollution and especially air pollution exposure, to an increased risk of schizophrenia. There are feasible biological mechanisms involving neuro-inflammation processes by which some of the specific pollutants could affect brain development in a way that could increase risk for schizophrenia. Further research – from the cellular to epidemiological levels – is clearly needed. To fully understand the causal role of the environmental risk factors, the integration of genomics with large-scale epidemiological studies is warranted. Moreover, new studies on urbanicity should therefore be more interdisciplinary, bridging knowledge from different disciplines (psychiatry, epidemiology, human geography, urbanism, etc.) in order to enrich research methods. The fact that more than 50% of the World population lives in cities, a proportion likely to increase in the future, makes the resolution of this question an urgent matter. If causation is proven, enhancements of policy intended to reduce human exposure to environmental stressors and pollution could reduce the burden of schizophrenia and possibly other mental illnesses.

Financing of public sports and leisure policies by Ceará municipalities

This descriptive and exploratory study has aimed to assess the participation of municipalities from Ceará in the financing of sport and leisure public policies through a unit analysis of expenditure in the Sport and Leisure Function (SLF). The period of analysis refers to the ten first years during which information has been made available on the Brazilian Public Sector Accounting and Fiscal Information System, from the National Treasure Department, from 2002 to 2011. Municipalities from Ceará don’t prefer inaction and present high adhesion to the sport and leisure agenda. Results of CP4 and TU3 indicate a strong expansion on expenditures in higher levels of urbanization and population class. Throughout the period, expenses in SLF have increased in a quite significant manner.

Examining the coupling relationship between urbanization and natural disasters: A case study of the Pearl River Delta, China

Natural disasters have presented many challenges and threats to rapid urbanization. A better understanding of the relationship between urbanization and natural disasters would support for the sustainable city development. However, the coupling relationship between urbanization and natural disasters is still unclear and it is insufficient in quantitative characterization. Taking the Pearl River Delta as a case study, we presented an index system for urbanization and natural disasters and established a coupling coordination model to explore the coupling relationship between them. The urbanization level was evaluated from four dimensions: population, space, society, and economy. The disaster-causing factor, disaster prevention and mitigation, and disaster loss were used to describe the disaster system. The coupling coordination model indicated that the development of urbanization to a certain level was beneficial for reducing disaster loss. The coupling degree between urbanization and the disaster system increased, which in the central cities was significantly higher than that in the eastern and western cities. Cities with high urbanization levels had higher coupling degrees, indicating that a high level of urbanization helped prevent natural disasters. Therefore, understanding the coupling relationship between them and its development can guide the promotion of the coordinated relationship between urbanization development and disaster prevention.

Economic Complexity and Inequality: Does Regional Productive Structure Affect Income Inequality in Brazilian States?

Recent research on the effects of the productive structure of an economy has turned to examining whether economic complexity is associated with lower income inequality. In contrast to the commonly adopted approach that estimates the impact of economic complexity in a cross-country setting, we use panel data for Brazilian states to identify the relationship between economic complexity and income inequality at the sub-national level. Our findings show that the relationship between economic complexity and income inequality has an inverted U-shape, indicating that growing levels of complexity first worsen and then improve the income distribution in Brazilian states. Our findings also show that this relationship is particularly prominent in those states that have relatively high levels of urbanization and overall development. Furthermore, we identify separate effects on income inequality from the degree to which regional productive structures are characterised by diversity in terms of industries and occupations. These effects are particularly pronounced in less developed states with a more rural character. In combination, these findings confirm the important role that the productive structure plays in processes that drive improvements in income distributions and suggest that more research on this impact is warranted at the regional level.

Consistent choice of landscape urbanization level across the annual cycle in a migratory waterbird species

Rapid urbanization has a great impact on avian distribution, ecology, habitat selection, and behavior. Recent avian studies indicated that individuals remain consistent in their behavioral responses to human disturbance across short periods of time. However, there is still little information about keeping consistent behaviors in distinct locations across different stages of the annual cycle. In this study, we aimed to test for long-term consistency in habitat selection with respect to urbanization in a migratory waterbird species, the Eurasian coot Fulica atra. For this purpose, we individually marked ca. 300 coots from four populations that varied in urbanization level and tracked their habitat preferences during the non-breeding season. We found that individuals from urban breeding populations selected habitats with a higher share of artificial areas during the non-breeding season, when compared to non-urban individuals. Also, a comparison of non-breeding sites selected by birds from our study populations with random sites showed that urban birds selected sites with higher urbanization level than resulting from random availability. Finally, we found a seasonal variation in habitat preferences in coots—individuals from all study populations selected more urbanized areas as the non-breeding season progressed. The results indicate that birds are able to remain consistent in habitat preferences not only at a large geographical scale, but also across different seasons. Marked between-population variation in habitat selection across the annual cycle may reflect personality differences of coots from urban and non-urban populations, and it stays in line with the personality-matching habitat choice hypothesis.

An urbanization monitoring dataset for world cultural heritage in the Belt and Road region

ABSTRACT World cultural heritage refers to properties recognized as having historical, social, and anthropological value. Global urbanization has changed the land cover, land use, transportation, landscape, and local environment in cities, and thus exposed World Heritage sites to risks induced by direct or indirect damaging factors. In this paper, an urbanization intensity index (UII) was developed to quantitatively measure urban dynamics in the vicinity of World Heritage sites. This index is based on three global Earth observation datasets, including a global human settlement layer, a global population grid product, and a global nighttime light imagery. Large UII values represent high urbanization levels and intensive human activities in the study area and vice versa. The assessment results show that the mean UII value at 79 world cultural heritage sites in the Belt and Road region increased from 0.26 in 2000 to 0.29 in 2015. The heritage sites were then classified into four types based on the change rates of UIIs. A total of seven heritage sites were identified as exposed to risks due to urban sprawl and infrastructure expansion. The UII dataset can be combined with UNESCO’s periodic reports and site-specific data to provide valuable information for international communities to develop heritage preservation policies. The dataset is available at http://www.dx.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.980.

СОЦИАЛЬНО-ЭКОНОМИЧЕСКИЕ ФАКТОРЫ СМЕРТНОСТИ ОТ ИНФЕКЦИОННЫХ ЗАБОЛЕВАНИЙ В РОССИЙСКИХ РЕГИОНАХ

Significance. Infectious diseases and mortality are correlated with numerous factors. These factors may be interrelated or act simultaneously, making it difficult to assess their impact. Purpose: based on the regression analysis, to identify socio-economic factors of mortality from infectious diseases in the Russian regions. Material and Methods. The authors used data from the Federal State Statistics Service on economic, demographic, ecological, and socio-cultural characteristics of 82 Russian regions (2014-2018). The authors have estimated the regression model of mortality from infectious diseases. Results. Mortality from infectious diseases, all other things being equal, is higher in the regions with high level of emissions; significant external migration; and a larger share of population living in big cities. Mortality from infectious diseases is lower in the regions with high average per capita income, better housing conditions, high level of fruit consumption, and large proportion of university students. Conclusions. High income, good housing conditions and nutrition, as well as high level of education in the region turned out to be significant predictors of low mortality from infectious diseases, while indicators of coverage with health care in the region are not related to the mortality indicators. Reduction in mortality from infectious diseases will be facilitated by both general economic measures aimed at increasing income and education of the population and targeted environmental policy measures and control of migration. Special attention should be paid to the infectious situation in poor regions, regions with high level of urbanization and significant share of external migrants in the population.

КОНФЛІКТИ В МІСЬКИХ ПРОСТОРАХ ТА ПОСТІНДУСТРІАЛЬНІ МІСЬКІ ТРАНСФОРМАЦІЇ

Kharkiv is a modern city in the transition to post-industrial development, with significant migratory attractiveness, high level of urbanization, binational and bilingual population, implementation of a number of socio-economic development projects. Today, the city is not only the localization of many opportunities for the development of society and man, but also an area of increased conflictogenity. The purpose of the study is to identify the main urban conflicts during the post-industrial transition, which arise as a reaction to urban transformations and the action of external national processes and the establishment of the main stakeholders of urban changes and conflicts. The study found that the manifestations and degree of conflictogenity in the city depends on its place in the global urban gradation, and therefore, Kharkiv has a high level of conflictogenity, which is confirmed by the frequency of urban conflicts. The study identified factors of high conflictogenity in Kharkiv, which are due to its historical, cultural and socio-economic development. The following conflicts arise in the city: migration, which are caused by pendulum migrations of the population from peripheral areas to the city, forced migrations from the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine; ethno-national, due to the competition of the Ukrainian-Russian population, conflicts with national minorities living in the city; urban and property conflicts, which arise mainly between representatives of local authorities, stakeholders and the local population. Urban conflicts affect urban processes, change the urban landscape and reduce the city’s attractiveness. We emphasize the need for further comprehensive socio-geographical studies of urban processes in cities, in particular the emergence of conflicts, identifying factors of conflict, the impact of urban conflicts on the socio-geographical landscape and developing models to find effective solutions to conflicts in the city.

УРБАНІЗАЦІЯ: СУТЬ ТА ВПЛИВ НА ЕКОНОМІЧНЕ УПРАВЛІННЯ ТЕРИТОРІЯМИ

The work is devoted to the essence of the concept of urbanization, the approaches of foreign and domestic scientists to the interpretation of the concept of urbanization taking into account the directions of research, the establishment of urbanization factors of economic growth. The article outlines theoretical approaches to determining the economic nature of this process. Some tendencies of development of urbanization processes in the context of the country and regions are given. Given the historical demographic processes, the territory of Ukraine outlines the formal or quantitative signs of urbanization, which are directly influenced by national and regional economic factors with appropriate economic management. The inconsistency of Ukrainian cities with world standards and norms has been determined, in this connection the main tasks of spatial development have been formulated. In addition, some factors of the urbanization process are outlined, reasonable decisions on their implementation will contribute to the growth of the economy of urban areas. It is noted that in the future the management of economic processes of the state should be aimed at reducing the existing imbalance of urban development of territories for which, among other areas should focus on the revival of small settlements (villages, towns, cities), development of small and medium businesses, diversification of the economy in the direction of less pronounced urban characteristics. At the same time, the author emphasizes that the degree of urbanization in Ukraine significantly exceeds the world figure, but is inferior to the European average of 73.4%. The article notes that industry with its corresponding economic management continues to play a significant role for the East and South of the country, in the Western regions there is a decrease in the share of agricultural production. In this regard, the highest level of urbanization in Ukraine is observed in the capital, as well as in urban areas with a high level of service development (trade, information, socio-cultural, transport, etc.) and in industrialized regions. As a result of the study it was concluded that urbanization processes have a direct impact on socio - economic development, as a consequence, management decisions aimed at economic development of the state and specific areas should be carried out taking into account existing urbanization factors and their trends.

Detecting the Dynamics of Urban Growth in Africa Using DMSP/OLS Nighttime Light Data

Africa has been experiencing a rapid urbanization process, which may lead to an increase in unsustainable land use and urban poverty. Assessing the spatiotemporal characteristics of urbanization dynamics is especially important and needed for the sustainable development of Africa. Satellite-based nighttime light (NTL) data are widely used to monitor the dynamics of urban growth from global to local scales. In this study, urban growth patterns across Africa were analyzed and discussed using stable nighttime light datasets obtained from DMSP/OLS (the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program’s Operational Line-scan System) spanning from 1992 to 2013. We partitioned the nighttime lighting areas into three types (low, medium, and high) using thresholds derived from the Brightness Gradient (BG) method. Our results indicated that built-up areas in Africa have increased rapidly, particularly those areas with low nighttime lighting types. Countries with higher urbanization levels in Africa, like South Africa, Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, and Libya, were leading the brightening trend. The distribution of nighttime lighting types was consistent with the characteristics of urban development, with high nighttime lighting types showed up at the urban center, whereas medium and low nighttime lighting types appeared in the urban-rural transition zone and rural areas respectively. The impacts of these findings on the future of African cities will be further proposed.

Do carbon emissions impact the health of residents? Considering China's industrialization and urbanization

Industrialization and urbanization have aggravated the contradiction between environmental protection and economic growth, leading to health issues. While there are considerable interests in understanding the health effects of carbon emissions in the context of climate change, little is observed at regional scale and by econometric methods. Applying regression analysis on 2002–2017 Chinese provincial-level panel data, this study explores the intermediary mechanisms and regional differences of carbon emissions on residents' health. The results indicate that: (1) Carbon emissions have a long-term adverse impact on residents' health—a 1% rise in carbon emission adds 0.298% more outpatients and 0.162% more inpatients; (2) The rise in carbon emissions impairs residents' health mainly by raising the temperature; (3) In areas with high levels of industrialization and urbanization, increased carbon emissions bring greater health risks; and (4) In terms of China's unique “leading industrialization and lagging urbanization” situation, only by upgrading industrial structure, improving urbanization quality, and promoting coordinated industrialization and urbanization can the harm of carbon emissions to residents' health be reduced. Therefore, the “one-size-fits-all” policy model is not suitable for China's current situation. To address global “climate change” issues, China must act according to local conditions by applying mitigating (adaptive) measures in economically developed (less developed) regions. Simultaneously, the authorities must focus on the interaction and synergy between industrialization and urbanization.

Ankara İli Keçiören İlçesi'nde Açık Yeşil Alanlarının Değerlendirilmesi

Kentsel açık yeşil alanlar sürdürülebilir kentsel gelişimi hedefleyen stratejik bir planlama aracıdır. Kentleşmenin önemli bir yönü olan açık yeşil alanlar kent nüfusunun fiziksel, sosyal ve psikolojik refahlarını iyileştirerek yaşam kalitesini artırmaktadırlar. Kentlerde her geçen gün yeşil alanlara olan talebin de artmasıyla, özellikle gelişmekte olan pek çok ülkede kentlerdeki yüksek düzeyde kentleşme ve genişleyen eşitsizlikler nedeniyle yeşil alanların değerlendirilmesi gerekmektedir. Türkiye'nin ve Ankara'nın en kalabalık ilçelerinden biri olan Keçiören ilçesi çalışma alanı olarak belirlenmiştir. Keçiören İlçesi'nin metropol alanında bulunan 45 mahalle çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Türkiye'de kişi başına düşen açık yeşil alanların standardı 10 m²/kişidir. Ancak şehir parkı olmayan alanlarda kişi başına açık yeşil alan 6,5 m² olarak da ele alınmaktadır. Çalışma alanında kent parkı olmamasından dolayı her iki standarda göre değerlendirme yapılmıştır. Keçiören İlçesi kentsel alanında bulunan 45 adet mahallede mevcut durumda 4.737.740 m²'lik alana sahip 526 adet aktif açık yeşil alan olduğu ve kişi başına 5,2 m² açık yeşil alan düştüğü belirlenmiştir. 6,5 m²/kişi eşiğini 9 mahallenin aştığı, geri kalan 36 mahallenin ise bu oranı sağlayamadığı tespit edilmiştir. Ayrıca Keçiören Belediyesi tarafından yapılması planlanan açık yeşil alanların tamamlanması durumunda; 7.360.341 m²'lik açık yeşil alana sahip olacağı ve kişi başına düşen açık yeşil alanın 8 m² düzeyine yükseleceği belirlenmiştir. Genel olarak çevre yolunun kuzeyinde yer alan yakın zamanda kentsel dönüşüme girmiş yeni yapılaşan çevre mahallelerde açık yeşil alanların daha fazla olduğu, yoğun ve sıkışık yerleşmelerin hâkim olduğu merkez mahallelerde ise açık yeşil alanların yetersiz olduğu görülmüştür.

Exploring the level of urbanization based on Zipf’s scaling exponent

The rank–size distribution of cities follows Zipf’s law, and the Zipf scaling exponent often tends to a constant 1. This seems to be a general rule. However, a recent numerical experiment shows that there exists a contradiction between the Zipf exponent 1 and high urbanization level in a large population country. In this paper, mathematical modeling, computational analysis, and the method of proof by contradiction are employed to reveal the numerical relationships between urbanization level and Zipf scaling exponent. The main findings are as follows. (1) If Zipf scaling exponent equals 1, the urbanization rate of a large populous country can hardly exceed 50%. (2) If Zipf scaling exponent is less than 1, the urbanization level of large populous countries can exceeds 80%. A conclusion can be drawn that the Zipf exponent is the control parameter for the urbanization dynamics. In order to improve the urbanization level of large population countries, it is necessary to reduce the Zipf scaling exponent. Allometric growth law is employed to interpret the change of Zipf exponent, and scaling transform is employed to prove that different definitions of cities do no influence the above analytical conclusion essentially. This study provides a new way of looking at Zipf’s law of city-size distribution and urbanization dynamics.

Using multi-source data to assess livability in Hong Kong at the community-based level: A combined subjective-objective approach

With the emergence of new types of data (e.g. social media data) and cutting-edge computer technology (e.g. Natural Language Processing), the shortcomings of traditional methods (subjective and objective ways) for detecting urban livability can be overcome by an integrated approach. This study aims to develop a comprehensive approach to measure urban livability based on statistic data, geo-data (e.g. points of interest), questionnaires survey, and social media data (Instagram), from both objective and subjective angles. Hong Kong, as a city with a high level of urbanization and contrasting urban environments, is chosen as the study area in this research. Through this study, the question “which area of Hong Kong is more suitable for living” is answered by the visualization of GIS-based analysis. Also, the correlation between livability scores and individuals’ sentiment scores are explored. Specifically, the results show that central areas of Hong Kong with a higher level of urbanization are relatively more livable than suburban regions. However, through sentiment analysis, individuals who post Instagram in suburban areas of Hong Kong usually express more positive content and happier emotion than those who post Instagram in central urban areas. The study could offer useful information for the policy action of authorities as well as the residential location choices of citizens.

Rethinking the Improvement of Medieval Cities in the Eastern Europe Through “Bone Causeways”

Following the methodological scheme initiated in the Laboratory of Natural Sciences, the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, a comparative study of unique phenomenon of medieval urban improvement – animal bones-backed causeways in the central streets – is carried out. Such clusters of bones are the results of archaeological researches in two cities of the Russian north-west area, i.e. Pskov and Novgorod, and in the Golden Horde city of Azak, that is, in completely different natural conditions and cultural contexts. The study is aimed at identifying mutual and specific features of such clusters, their role in the urban improvement, as well as at obtaining the information about possible causes and conditions of their occurrence, additional data on the economy of these regions in the Middle Ages. The study demonstrates, that the conditions for the “causeways” formation and functioning in both cases are generally similar. These clusters are marked with high concentrations of the bone remains, their low fragmentation, ordinary taxonomic set, but with depleted quantitative indicators for all economic categories, except for domestic hooved animals. In the Russian cities, the causeways consist of non-meaty parts of chopped cattle heads, while the Golden Horde city of Azak is characterized with the heads and lower parts of the large and small cattle limbs. The anatomical set clarifies the clusters’ nature: in Russian cities they are the waste left from the meat trade, in the Golden Horde – from the leather production. In the studies cities, the bone fillings were used as a sealing material for the central trading areas and streets improvement. The condition for their occurrence is mass production of cattle products, well-established relations between the cities and agricultural district, and high level of urbanization. It is noted that in the Golden Horde these conditions developed in the 14th century, that is, much earlier than in the Russian cities