ABSTRACT The impact of rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, lack of awareness and lifestyle changes has resulted in an increase in the prevalence of diabetes and its complications such as diabetic macular edema (DME). It is the most common cause of blindness, characterised by an abnormal rise in the level of fluid in the macula. It affects the keenest vision in severe cases. In this paper, we propose an automatic grading of DME to help ophthalmologists diagnose the condition timely and early. The proposed system consists of an ensemble deep neural network using a residual convolution block followed by global average pooling and a dense layer. The proposed ensemble model consists of two models, namely model 1 and model 2. The proposed model has been evaluated on the publicly available benchmark ISBI IDRiD dataset. Our proposed model outperforms its competitive models in the IDRiD competition with an accuracy of 0.94. Moreover, it achieves a ROC‐AUC of 0.98. Gradient‐weighted Class Activation Mapping is also constructed to ensure that our proposed model is accurate.

Rapid urbanization reshapes regional water resources by reconfiguring land systems and altering the balance between runoff and infiltration. Empirical evidence that jointly accounts for human and natural drivers while addressing spatial dependence remains limited. Using harmonized 1-km data for the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region during 2014–2023, including land use from CLCD, nighttime lights from VIIRS, and precipitation, this study combines Sen–Mann–Kendall trend detection with spatial models estimated by Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation. The results show that urbanization, measured by nighttime lights, has a consistently stronger association with water resource related land change than precipitation. The interaction between precipitation and nighttime lights is place specific and positive in Beijing and Shijiazhuang, with coefficients of 0.0622 and 0.1579, which indicates amplification of urbanization linked land conversion under wetter conditions. The integrated framework distinguishes human and climatic signals and reveals spatial heterogeneity that is relevant to water sensitive urban planning.

The Philippines' Environmental and Urban Planning education is continually grappling with the impact of rapid urbanization in the country and ever worsening environmental vulnerabilities. This study investigates the existing pathways and developmental processes available through the analysis of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) Graduate School's Diploma in Project Management which has a 27-unit curriculum that can be completed in a single semester. Documentary analysis has uncovered a glaring disparity between what is theorized in Environmental Planning and the actual practice in planning and implementing solutions to informal settlements, climate adaptive results, and sustainable infrastructure development. Substantial program syllabi and institutional documents indicate a lack of these competencies and a growing need to use novel smart city technologies or sustainable planning approaches within the context of the Philippines. The current findings support the argument made by other researchers regarding the need for further integration of digital technologies, community, and industry collaboration in environmental planning education for climate's sustainable development. This research provides insights that educational institutions and their legislative counterpart stakeholders need to construct more relevant Environmental Planning programs that work towards addressing the changing realities of Philippine cities and peoples.

Impact of rapid urbanization on groundwater storage variation amid climate change in the Yangtze River Basin

In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini spearheaded the Islamic Revolution, toppling the secular Shah regime, a move that resonated with millions of people. Fast-forward to 2025, there has been a notable rise in secularism in Iran, even among 1979’s religious clerics. Currently, 73% of Iranians support the idea of separating Islam from the state and advocating for a secular government. As a result, there have been widespread anti-Islamist regime and pro-democratic protests during different periods, such as 2009–2010, 2017–2018, 2019–2020, and 2022–2023. The most recent development in 2024 was the victory of reformist candidate Masoud Pezeshkian in the presidential elections, defeating conservative candidate Saeed Jalili. This study examines the factors driving the rise of secularism, namely globalization, the systemic issues within the Islamic regime, the significant influence of the Iranian diaspora, and the impact of rapid urbanization.

This study investigates the relationship between rapid urbanization and poverty levels in Somalia, employing annual data spanning from 1990 to 2022.The analysis focused on critical variables, including urbanization rates, CO2 emissions as a measure of climate change, and unemployment rates, with poverty quantified by real GDP per capita.A Johansen cointegration approach is utilized to ascertain long-term equilibrium relationships, while a Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) captures short-term dynamics.Results indicate that urbanization exerts a significant positive influence on poverty in the long term; specifically, a 1% increase in urbanization correlates with a 1.73% rise in poverty levels.Additionally, unemployment demonstrates a substantial and statistically significant positive effect, whereby a 1% increase in unemployment results in a 9.64% increase in poverty.In contrast, CO2 emissions were found to be statistically insignificant.The long-run equilibrium adjustment rate is approximately 12.66% per period, suggesting a moderate pace of return to equilibrium.In the short run, the unemployment rate negatively influences poverty, with a coefficient of -2.369508.Furthermore, CO2 emissions exhibit a delayed yet significant positive effect on poverty, indicated by a coefficient of 0.681835.Granger causality tests reveal strong causal relationships between past unemployment rates and future poverty levels, as well as between past urbanization trends and subsequent poverty levels.The findings underscore the necessity for integrated policies that address urbanization, enhance climate resilience, and promote employment, aiming to alleviate poverty in Somalia.

Abstract: The rapid urbanization and encroachment in Chennai have significantly impacted five major lakes from 1972 to 2019. By overlaying historical lake boundaries from 1972 toposheets onto 2019 satellite images, substantial reductions in lake areas due to urban expansion are revealed. The lakes analyzed include Ambattur, Velachery, Korattur, Perungudi, and Rettai Eri. Velachery Lake is the most affected, retaining only 24.78% of its original area, with 75.22% encroached upon. Ambattur Lake has 60.27% of its area remaining, while 39.73% is encroached. Korattur Lake remains largely intact with 95.75% of its original area preserved and only 4.25% encroached. Perungudi Lake shows 74.41% remaining area and 25.59% encroachment. Rettai Eri Lake retains 60.99% of its original area with 39.01% encroached. These findings underscore the urgent need for effective urban planning and stringent regulatory measures to protect and restore these critical water bodies. The data-driven insights provided can inform policymakers and urban planners to devise strategies aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of encroachment, ensuring the sustainable management and ecological integrity of Chennai's lake ecosystems.

This study examines the critical challenges and current practices of urban solid waste management in Rohtak Municipal Corporation, Haryana, against the backdrop of rapid urbanization and population growth. The study analyzes the current waste management system, including waste generation, collection, transportation, and disposal practices. It also examines the infrastructural gaps and the impact of rapid urbanisation and population growth on waste management. Key findings reveal that inadequate infrastructure, poor waste segregation practices, and insufficient public awareness severely hinder effective SWM in Rohtak. The absence of a systematic approach to waste separation at the source complicates recycling efforts and contributes to environmental pollution, including air and water contamination. Through primary surveys conducted with 250 households, the study highlights a strong correlation between waste management issues and public health concerns, with over 90% of respondents acknowledging the detrimental impact of solid waste on their health. The study emphasizes the necessity for strategic interventions, including enhancing community engagement, promoting waste reduction and recycling, and improving the operational efficiency of waste collection and disposal systems. This research provides a comprehensive overview of the challenges faced by the Rohtak Municipal Corporation and serves as a foundational analysis for developing effective, sustainable solid waste management practices that can adapt to the needs of rapidly urbanizing Indian cities.

As the capital city of French Indochina, Hanoi was well planned by the French and immensely invested in the construction of public buildings as well as houses. In addition to public buildings and villas designed in French colonial stylesthatshaped the so-called distinctive architectural heritage in Hanoi throughout the colonial years, a large number of townhouses built during 1920 -1950 which formed the cityscape of Hanoi in the first half of the 20thcentury should be noted. After nearly 70 years since the French army withdrew from the city, the number of French townhouses has considerably decreased. The remaining houses have shown that this is a real “treasure” that needs to be conserved because of their important values, not only in terms of urban architecture but also in cultural and historical aspects. However, a fact requiringspecial attention is that French townhouses in Hanoi -unlike French public buildings and villas -have not yet been recognised as heritage so that they can be keptto avoid the risk of deterioration or demolition under the impact of rapid urbanisation in the market economy. One of the main reasons for this negative urban development is that there has been no concrete or comprehensive rating system to assess the values ofthose townhouses whichwill closely correspondto their characteristics and contexts. Therefore, the authors -based on site surveys and by applying some appropriate methods such as expert consultations and case studies -have developed a full set of criteria to help evaluate those remaining townhouses as accurately as possible. This system can be used as a basis for asystematic assessment and classification towards a more effective conservation and even promoting the values of those townhouses with regard tothe development of a modern societyand in consideration ofsustainable heritage conservation as a mainstream in the world.

Core city areas have a distinct character and are culturally vibrant. The impact of rapid urbanisation on the core area has resulted in its decay. It is easily visible in the quality of life of people residing in these areas. Henceforth, there is a need to overcome this imbalance generated over time. This study aims to identify and analyse the various urban intervention processes implemented in core areas. The paper is divided into three sections. The first section broadly discusses the theoretical understanding of various urban intervention processes and their major governing factors. The second section gives a brief view of urban intervention policies introduced in India, and the last section is an overview of various urban intervention projects studied as case examples for formulating the future parameters.

Washed recycled sand derived from construction and demolition wastes as engineering fill materials

Due to the rapid progress of urbanization in China, the percentage of residential energy consumption out of total energy consumption has increased. This paper uses statistical data from 30 Chinese provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) from 2000 to 2020 to analyze the impact of urbanization on residential energy consumption and construct an econometric model to test the mechanism. The empirical tests show that the consumption of direct energy (energy that exists in nature in its original form and has not been transformed) is positively U-shaped about the urbanization rate. Furthermore, the impact of economic development on direct and indirect energy consumption is significantly positive. In contrast, the effects of population agglomeration on immediate energy consumption are adverse, and the indirect energy consumption is positive.

Cities are affected by the impact of rapid urbanization on changes to soil properties. The aim of this study was to assess the physical and chemical properties of the soil of urban and peri-urban forests and to define which soil property is more significant for these two types of forests. The research took place in urban and peri-urban forests in the metropolitan area of Brasov, Romania. Among the properties determined were: particle size distribution, reaction, soil organic matter content, and the base saturation degree. As supplementary data, for plots from urban forests, the heavy metal content was determined. The results revealed that soils from urban forests had an alkaline reaction and the ones from peri-urban forests had a moderately acid reaction. The soil from the peri-urban plots was sandier and the other ones were more clayey. Testing the differences between the forests led to significant differences in the case of seven properties of which we mentioned pH and sand and clay content. Using PCA, the most significant and important soil properties for urban forests were the sum of basic exchangeable cations, cation exchange capacity, soil organic matter, and silt and clay contents. This study is more relevant in light of the EU Soil Strategy, which sets out a framework and concrete measures to protect and restore soils.

The impact of rapid urbanization on the spatiotemporal pattern of short-term extreme precipitation in China remains unclear at the subnational scale. In this study, we present a general framework that measures urbanization-induced variation in hourly extreme wet season precipitation (April–October) from 1985 to 2012, with reference to a dynamic urban–rural station classification based on annual changes in urban extent. We found that urbanization in south China (<29° N) brings more extreme precipitation to urban areas than to suburbs, and reduces extreme precipitation continually over urban areas in parts of the north and northeast. Over 60% of provincial capital cities show significant changes in extreme precipitation due to urbanization, including smaller size cities separated from large urban clusters. Urbanization enhances extreme precipitation mainly in the local main part of the rainy season, which refers to May in the south (e.g. urban–rural differences of 0.70 mm h−1 in Guangzhou) and July–September in the central and north (1.16 mm h−1 in August of Beijing). Urbanization also increases hourly extreme precipitation at peak times in diurnal cycles. The results indicate that urbanization has caused overall more and more heterogeneous spatial patterns over China and concentrated distributions during the rainy season and peak time. These patterns warrant attention when assessing the risk of increased waterlogging and flash flooding in urban areas.

Urbanization is closely associated with land use land cover (LULC) changes that correspond to land surface temperature (LST) variation and urban heat island (UHI) intensity. Major districts of Bangladesh have a large population base and commonly lack the resources to manage fast urbanization effects, so any rise in urban temperature influences the population both directly and indirectly. However, little is known about the impact of rapid urbanization on UHI intensity variations during the winter dry period in the major districts of Bangladesh. To this end, we aim to quantify spatiotemporal associations of UHI intensity during the winter period between 2000 and 2019 using remote-sensing and geo-spatial tools. Landsat-8 and Landsat-5 imageries of these major districts during the dry winter period from 2000 to 2020 were used for this purpose, with overall precision varying from 81% to 93%. The results of LULC classification and LST estimation showed the existence of multiple UHIs in all major districts, which showed upward trends, except for the Rajshahi and Rangpur districts. A substantial increase in urban expansion was observed in Barisal &gt; 32%, Mymensingh &gt; 18%, Dhaka &gt; 17%, Chattogram &gt; 14%, and Rangpur &gt; 13%, while a significant decrease in built-up areas was noticed in Sylhet &lt; −1.45% and Rajshahi &lt; −3.72%. We found that large districts have greater UHIs than small districts. High UHI intensities were observed in Mymensingh &gt; 10 °C, Chattogram &gt; 9 °C, and Barisal &gt; 8 °C compared to other districts due to dense population and unplanned urbanization. We identified higher LST (hotspots) zones in all districts to be increased with the urban expansion and bare land. The suburbanized strategy should prioritize the restraint of the high intensity of UHIs. A heterogeneous increase in UHI intensity over all seven districts was found, which might have potential implications for regional climate change. Our study findings will enable policymakers to reduce UHI and the climate change effect in the concerned districts.

Traditional rural Chinese landscapes have fragmented from the impact of rapid urbanisation and modernisation. Aiming to address this tough issue, the Chinese central government proposed the Traditional Villages Project, which is top-down traditional village management and conservation policy. A traditional village landscape network (TVLN) can be used to integrate rural landscapes and ensure the unified protection of natural and cultural landscapes. This paper aimed to establish a method of building a TVLN through three main steps: the calculation of the connection strength of traditional villages, calculation of the tie strength between traditional villages, and establishment of a TVLN. The results demonstrated the rich layers and stable structure of the Yuan River Basin’s TVLN, but there was a hidden risk in its stability due to the existence of tangent and isolated points. This TVLN quantitatively examined the characteristics and relationships of traditional villages and provided data support for the approval of traditional villages and protection policy formulation. A TVLN can support the overall conservation of traditional village landscapes, enhance their comprehensive value, and promote the sustainable management and cross-regional protection of traditional village landscapes.

Urbanization, described as social development, benefits the human population if it is well planned. India contributes major distinctive facets of urbanization which is developing at remarkable rates. The regional distribution of population in India is irregular as only six large states are responsible for half of the urban populaces. India is also known for its different cultures, languages and food habits. Owing to the region-specific food habits, rice is cultivated widely and gives a better yield than the other grains. Pulses that are rich in protein are the next eminent source for people. One of the crucial underlying problems is people give more importance to the taste than nutritional value. As a consequence, immense counts of individuals who can manage to devour a healthy diet do not do so and instances of severe deficiency and malnutrition and certain other gut-associated diseases are seen. Colorectal cancer, which is the most prevailing cancer around the globe, is the major cause of cancer-associated mortality in developing countries. High-fat diet like animal fat that favors the growth of unwanted bacterial flora is the chief threat for colorectal cancer. It is well known that urbanization has fetched several modifications in the lifestyle and food habits which successively enhanced the threat of various diseases. Hence in this review, we focused mainly on the impact of rapid urbanization and other lifestyle and dietary habits on the development of colorectal cancer in India.

The most populous city of the world’s largest watershed (Manaus, Amazon Basin, Brazil) is experiencing an extensive urban expansion since the early 1970s, with an attendant cost in environmental degradation. The upland area of the Manaus municipality is characterized by several streams. In this work, we aim to gradually measure the anthropogenic effect on water quality: we monitored three streams flowing over three zones: a preserved (where the streams take source), a peri-urban (where rural and leisure activities occur), and an urban area. From June 2013 to May 2015, we characterized the water quality of these streams. Statistical analyses reveal peri-urban activity does not significantly impact the water quality. Indeed, when the disturbance remains space-, time- and intensity-limited, the streams have the capacity to assimilate the anthropogenic pollution. However, looking at a seasonal finer scale, peri-urban activity slightly affects the natural pattern of water quality, but these changes remain moderated when compared to the original pattern of water quality. Over urban area, the water quality presents significant higher alkalinity, mineralization, turbidity, suspended material, biochemical and chemical oxygen demands, and lower acidity and dissolved oxygen. These alterations originate with sewage deficiency, presence of landfill sites, enhanced leaching of upturned soil and domestic waste. The natural seasonal patterns of water quality are totally disturbed (inversion, intensification) in the urban area. During the wet season, enhanced rainfall in conjunction with human activity generates local seasonal processes of dilution (e.g. negative anomalies for most of the dissolved elements) and concentration (positive Mg and Fe anomalies). The latter can be linked with enhanced leaching during the rainy period (positive Mg and Fe anomalies) and nitrification activity in the urban area (positive NO3 and negative NH4 anomalies).

Traditional villages, as an important bearer of traditional culture, are the foundation for the survival and reproduction of traditional culture, but with the impact of rapid urbanization and the rapid development of information, the cultural protection and inheritance of traditional villages are facing a huge impact. This paper takes Dayu Bay as the research object, from the point of perspective of cultural genes, systematically sorts out the cultural elements of Dayu Bay, constructs a genealogy of Dayu Bay's cultural genes, classifies and analyzes its material and immaterial cultural genes, analyzes the problems exposed in its protection and inheritance by sorting out the cultural genes, builds a system of traditional village cultural genes protection and inheritance, and explores feasible protection and inheritance paths.

In cities throughout Asian countries, there is an increasingly ubiquitous presence of “urban villages” that reflects the transformation of traditional farming villages into urban places under the impact of rapid urbanization. Hanoi - one of the two biggest cities in Vietnam - has been witnessing the fast changes of rural settlements into urban built environments during the in-situ urbanization process since the 1990s. It is very important to have a comprehensive understanding of the urban village model in the urban development context of Hanoi city. Therefore, the major aims of this research are to examine the characters of the urban villages formed by the urban sprawl in peri-urban areas, to explore the interactions among urban villages and surrounding new urban areas in terms of socio-economic and spatial aspects, and to detect the gaps, if any, between the two models of development. Yen Xa urban village in Tan Trieu commune was chosen as a case study. Structured and semi-structured interviews with villagers and local authority’s representatives were conducted in the research. The first findings from research are expected to propose recommendations that will help bridge the gaps between the two urban settlement models in terms of legal, physical and psychological aspects towards sustainable development.&#x0D; Keywords:&#x0D; urban village; urbanization; socio-economic transformation; peri-urban; Hanoi city.