Living Environment Research Articles

Pembuatan Aplikasi Sebagai Penanda Mengenai Kampung Kreatif Tematik Pada Smart Branding Kota Bogor Berbasis Android

The City of Bogor began to develop programs related to Smart City so that city management could run more easily with the help of technology. Bogor City made 6 dimensions in Smart City namely Smart Governance, Smart Branding, Smart Economy, Smart Living, Smart Society, and Smart Environment. One of the Offices related to the construction of the Bogor City Smart City is the Office of Communication and Information, Bogor City Encoding or commonly called Diskominfo. One of the developments is to make a media marker about tourist attractions, namely thematic creative villages. But the media is not enough to make people more interested and want to find out more deeply. That way, this navigation application is needed to complement the information media to be more interactive and have more value. The advantage of this application is that it can bring up virtual panoramic objects and also a location map that makes it easy for tourists to know the location to be addressed. This application is designed for Android-based Smartphones with a minimum specification KitKat.

Caring behaviours perceived by elderly residents and their associated factors in nursing homes in Zhengzhou City of China: A qualitative study.

Caring is an evidence-supported behaviour or activity which can meet nursing home residents' needs. China has an ever-increasing number of care-dependent individuals in nursing homes. It is important to explore the caring behaviours and to understand the factors associated with the caring behaviours perceived by elderly residents in nursing homes. This will contribute to an evidence-based approach with which to assist healthcare services. This study aims to explore the perceived caring needs, associated behaviours, and their associated factors identified by elderly residents in nursing homes. Fourteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with elderly residents from five nursing homes in three districts across Zhengzhou City, China. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the Colaizzi phenomenological method. Five themes and fourteen sub-themes were identified. The availability of health services, a livable environment, and social communication were the main caring needs identified. Nursing assistant factors and resident factors were the main influencers. This study provides valuable information on the need to carry out standardised training of nursing assistants and how to adjust the goal of care in nursing home residents. The medical support, psychological counselling, livable environment, recreational and cultural services as well as caring literacy about nursing assistants in the nursing homes, however, need to be further enhanced to meet the residents' diversified caring needs.

The past at the edge of the future: Landscape painting and contemporary places

In this article, I offer an ethnographic account of Wutong Shan, and engage landscape painting as an interpretative device. Wutong Shan represents a unique phenomenon of urban transformation in that its residents cultivate a life harkening back to a rural past in an attempt to build a utopia unfettered by the deafening noise of modernity, which can easily be found down the road in Shenzhen, China’s newest city. Similar to what landscape painters throughout history have created through image, Wutong residents create a world of retreat, escape and natural beauty in a space at the edge of the urban. Both a landscape painting and this ethnographic place are built through a set of creative acts, a sense of self-cultivation, and a desire for escape. In Wutong Shan, the other side of the creative process is a livable environment rather than an art object. One of the ways I read landscape painting to understand Wutong Shan is by thinking with contemporary Chinese art works that, through illusion, revisit the landscape in light of industrial urbanization. I bring together three strains of thinking: (1) my contemporary ethnographic research on Wutong Art Village, (2) understandings of Chinese landscape paintings and their associated conceptions of nature and utopia and (3) contemporary art that renegotiates the landscape form, analysed through the emergent field of eco-art history.

Pollution Abatement Strategies in a Stretch of River Kahn at Indore, India

River pollution is one of the major concerns for sustaining a healthy and liveable environment as rivers are prime source of water for the majority of livelihoods. Self-purification of river is mistaken as treatment of wastewater and results into heavy discharge of waste water either into the tributaries or directly into the river by human beings. Continuous deterioration of river water by means of sewage changes the perception of river into open sewer drain popularly known as nallahs. The present study deals with the strategies required for a stretch of 4 km of one such nallah i.e. river Kahn to prevent the pollution and make the water flowing in the river of acceptable quality. The study indicates the current status of river Kahn which receives domestic waste water directly through various outfalls of residential colonies by measurement of water quality parameters. Feasibility for an in situ treatment based on constructed wetland has been analysed and proposed as one of the remedial measure that can be considered as initial step towards restoring river Kahn.

Using Neuro-Architecture to Reinforce Participatory Planning and Design

Urban renewal and urban area development projects are by nature highly complex processes involving a multiplicity of professionals, stakeholders, and conflicting interests. Adding to this complexity are the formulated ambitions and societal challenges projects have to answer to. One of these ambitions emphasizes a more inclusive planning process, involving the inhabitants in all stages of the planning process. In terms of design, another challenge is to create environments on a human scale while building in high density such as with tall residential buildings. The metropolitan area of Amsterdam intends to have 100,000 new dwellings by 2025. Most of these dwellings have to be added within the existing urban fabric, planned on obsolete inner-city brownfield locations, at the waterfront, nearby highways whereas others are going to be built in deprived neighborhoods. The deprived neighborhoods are mainly located in the postwar areas of Amsterdam, on its northern, western, and south-eastern sides. The deprived neighborhood called the Bijlmermeer located on the south-eastern side of the city, for instance was the first high-rise development project in the Netherlands. It was designed as a single project with identical high-rise buildings in a hexagonal grid surrounded with large green spaces. These deprived, modernistic neighborhoods lack the classic housing block structures with a clear articulation of buildings and street spaces. They appear to be responsible for an ‘inhuman’ scale and demonstrate the lasting impact critical design flaws can have on the daily lives of inhabitants. Hence, the question is how to develop liveable environments where people feel fully supported by building architecture and streetscape configuration. To prevent new urban area developments that will again fail to incorporate human scale, scientific methods and user input are needed to inform the practice of planning and design, and their applied design solutions. Building on two research projects (one on participatory planning and the other on neuroarchitecture research), we explore how the newly emerging field of neuroarchitecture - and the eye-tracker in particular, might enhance urban area developments on a human scale.

Mercury content of sarotherodon melanotheron and chrysischthys nigrodigitatus of Lake Nokoue and Porto Novo lagoon in Benin

Ratification of Minamata Convention by Bénin requires identification of contaminated sites and preservation of health. In this context, the Ministry of Living Environment and Sustainable Development supported the study by making its mercury analyzer DMA80 available. The study aims to identify the level of mercury contamination in two highly valued fish species caught in one of the most productive water bodies where mercury is reported. So, three monthly sample collection campaigns were carried out from April to juin 2018 at nine (09) sites. The back flesh of sarotherodon melanotheron and chrysischthys nigrodigitatus of lake Nokoue and Porto Novo lagoon was analyzed by direct mercury analyzer (DMA 80). it Its operating principle is atomic absorption after thermal decomposition coupled with a gold sensor. The average mercury contents are 20.8 ± 15.5 μg / kg and 6.5 ± 3.8 wet μg / kg weight respectively for Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus and Sarotherodon melanotheron. The highest values obtained at the Porto-Novo bridge for both species remain well below the standard (0.5 mg / kg wet weight). With consumption habits of fish in Benin, the weekly exposure doses seem to be much lower than WHO recommendation. However, deepened studies are needed.Keywords: Fish, mercury, spatial distribution, NoKoué Lake, Porto-Novo Lagoon.

Research on Urban and Rural Planning and Smart City Construction in Big Data Era

Recent years have witnessed faster information development and the wide application of big data, Internet of Things (IoT) and other intelligent technologies, which has laid a solid foundation for the development of new technologies and new environment. [1] Countries and regions around the world are promoting the digital smart development strategy with the hope of building smart urban and rural areas. In big data era, the main task of smart city planning and construction is the integration of data resources and the open sharing of data information. Therefore, information technology is indispensable for the planning and construction. Proceeding from the big data era, the paper explores technical details related to smart city planning and construction, aiming to create a more comfortable and livable environment for people and promote the overall improvement of China’s urban construction. [2]

Urbanization processes in the daily life of rural residents

The article presents a vision of urbanization processes in the daily life of rural residents at the regional level. The methods of studying the processes of urbanization in the daily life of rural residents were: analysis of approaches to solving the problems of urbanization on the example of the Strategy for Socio-economic Development of the Stavropol Territory until 2035, taking into account a review of publications of scientists in scientometric databases; analysis of statistical data characterizing the vital activity of the urban and rural population of the Stavropol Territory; analysis of the results of a questionnaire survey of the population. The study found that a scientific discussion of various aspects of urbanization of rural residents confirms the relevance of the topic and shows approaches to solving problems of improving the quality, comfort and query of residents on the characteristics of the living environment. There is a certain lag in the comfort of the environment for the daily life of citizens living in rural areas compared to urban areas. This position is articulated at the level of understanding and the desire of residents to the best forms and models of environmental comfort. In the Strategy for Socio-economic Development of the Stavropol Territory in the period up to 2035 and other program documents for the development of the region, it is given much attention to the topic of complex transformations of rural settlements, both at the level of target indicators and in the concretization of measures to achieve them. The positive dynamics of the processes of urbanization in the life of rural residents is monitored in terms of satisfaction with the comfort of living in settlements and target indicators of strategic documents of the territories and the region as a whole.

Analysing outdoor airflow and pollution as a parameter to assess the compatibility of mass-scale low-cost residential development

Land use compatibility has always remained an integrally crucial factor for city development. Traditional contentious theories integrating land use planning principles, demand-oriented market development and industry-induced air pollution regulations have debated the adjacency of residential and industrial land uses. However, in the event of inevitable and unprecedented urbanization, where land shortage has compelled cities to expand towards the industrial peripheries, low-income resettlement planning turns evident. However, this process turns detrimental when land use incompatibility affects newly settled population. Adjacent industrial pollution degrades health and liveability, ultimately forcing the population to vacate the housing and recur poverty recycling phenomenon. This study aims to assess micro-level land-use compatibility from health and liveability viewpoint using environment-based computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis as a surrogate measurement technique. It is assumed that if site-based ventilation potential and airflow assessment can be performed at early design for site-selection and post-construction stages for rational retrofitting, it would deliver a liveable environment to the low-income inhabitants. While industrial development is irresistible, this study focused on environment-sensitive built-environment planning, utilising aerodynamically potential morpho-metrics of urban form density, inter-building gaps and integrated open spaces. Simulated results demonstrated that while existing built-environment planning failed to deliver improved ventilation, the simulation-based approach of iterated built-environment designs created air channelling and pollutant transport paths, thus reducing the air pollution stagnancy quotient. This study, by applying a system-driven methodological approach aided in bridging the knowledge gaps of micro-level land use compatibility assessment from environmental perspective and health viewpoint.

User-friendly Streets for a Walkable, Liveable and Sustainable Environment: A Review

Streets are an important element of freely accessible public space and constitute the most significant manifestation of the public domain. They exist to cater for the social and leisure requirements of the public and have a positive association with economic development, public physical well-being and help establish an environment of communal bonding. It is therefore crucial that streets are friendly to all users, a public space which provides a liveable environment for pedestrians with a walkable environment that is inviting, safe, aesthetically pleasing, and equipped with sufficient pedestrian amenities. Thus, this paper aims to examine the physical design features and characteristics of user- friendly streets that contribute to a liveable environment. This review of the literature on liveability and user- friendly streets indicates that many factors influence the degree of liveliness and form and finds that the physical design and characteristics like Proportion and dimension, Sense of enclosure, Scale of street, Transparency, Unity and Quality of View. Also finds the qualities of a user-friendly street such as, Comfort and convenient, Safety and security, and Accessibility and linkages. All factors based on the purpose of physical forms and appearances, socio-economic and characteristics of both users and the residents. As such, a well-designed street environment is essential with the streets as ‘public space’ which can enhance their liveable environments in advance.

Souq Waqif Neighborhood as a Transit-Oriented Development

In a rapidly developing nation such as Qatar, the prime aspect of growth is directed toward delivering social, economic, and environmental coherence in its neighborhood development. Qatar's current fast economic growth and the physical transformation of its built environment compromises social and environmental aspects. However, if applied suitably, these transformations can enhance these compromised aspects while increasing economic prosperity. Such transformations include major urban public transit systems currently under construction for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and 2030 Qatar National Vision (QNV-2030), which aims to connect the center of Doha to several megaprojects and transit villages around major metro stations. The main goal of projects such as the Doha Metro System is to reduce the number of vehicles on the road networks while providing a “stress-free” transition experience. Therefore, the pursuit of transit-oriented developments (TODs), as part of an integrated transportation and land use strategy, will aid in the revitalization of urban neighborhoods in terms of both social and environmental aspects, while allowing for economic prosperity. The main challenge for urban planners is to design the metro stations and accompanying facilities to be well integrated into the urban context of their surroundings, thus reducing traffic through the design of mixed-use, compact transit villages. This study aims to explore the extent to which the new metro station can be interconnected with the spatial form of the built environment of the Souq Waqif neighborhood. This research study argues that efficient integration of land use with balanced transportation will contribute to creating a more livable environment with reduced automobile dependence while aiding the economic context. The research design includes qualitative data based on theoretical studies to assess the principles of TODs and the extent of further implementations that can be employed for the Souq neighborhood to become a TOD.

Which communities have better accessibility to green space? An investigation into environmental inequality using big data

Green space accessibility is widely acknowledged as a crucial aspect of a livable environment and human well-being. Whether green space accessibility is equitable among communities is increasingly considered as an issue of environmental justice. Therefore, this study focuses on the possible environmental inequality of green space accessibility that can be found among residential communities in the context of Chinese booming housing market. The case study of Shanghai, China was conducted with the use of big data. A real-time navigation route measurement based on Amap application programming interface (AAPI) was developed to calculate green space accessibility, and housing price was used to indicate dwellers’ socioeconomic status. Bivariate Moran’s I, multiple regression, and spatial lag regression were adopted to explore inequality of green space accessibility among residential communities. The results reveal a spatial inequality of green space accessibility between communities in central portion of the city and those in peri-urban areas. We further found a spatial mismatch between green space accessibility and housing price. Environmental inequality is evident within the inner and middle ring road wherein wealthier communities benefit more from green space accessibility than disadvantaged communities. We attribute these findings to spatial restructuring and green gentrification process in Shanghai. The findings can inform planners and policymakers to determine where and how to implement greening strategies and to gain awareness to prevent environmental inequality.

A Security Concept Based on Scaler Distribution of a Novel Intrusion Detection Device for Wireless Sensor Networks in a Smart Environment.

Following the significant improvement of technology in terms of data collection and treatment during the last decades, the notion of a smart environment has widely taken an important pedestal in the science industry. Built in order to better manage assets, smart environments provide a livable environment for users or citizens through the deployment of sensors responsible for data collection. Much research has been done to provide security to the involved data, which are extremely sensitive. However, due to the small size and the memory constraint of the sensors, many of these works are difficult to implement. In this paper, a different concept for wireless sensor security in smart environments is presented. The proposed security system, which is based on the scaler distribution of a novel electronic device, the intrusion detection system (IDS), reduces the computational functions of the sensors and therefore maximizes their efficiency. The IDS also introduces the concept of the feedback signal and “trust table” used to trigger the detection and isolation mechanism in case of attacks. Generally, it ensures the whole network security through cooperation with other IDSs and, therefore, eliminates the problem of security holes that may occur while adopting such a security technique.

Design and analysis of a growable artificial gravity space habitat

The goal of this study is to show the feasibility of designing a space habitat that advances the ability of humans to live in space for long periods. We first review the previous work on space explorations and summarized five unsolved fundamental problems: providing gravity, radiation protection, sustainable life support system, a large open space for human physiological and psychological comfort (survivable by professionals in trades other than highly trained astronauts), and a growth strategy to avoid the economic infeasibility of starting with the largest final version of the habitat. We present a detailed design of a rotating shielded habitat system and a growth strategy by repeated addition of new layers, without disturbing the inhabitants of the current habitat. The tensegrity paradigm is used to design the structure and to optimize the mass and cost of the habitat. Then, a detailed discussion of the structural dynamics and attitude control is given. Based on the human needs of temperature, cosmic radiation protection, atmosphere, clean water, food, physical fitness, and mental health, a life support system is demonstrated to show the livable environment under thermal and energy equilibrium. This habitat, space village one, allows a long-term human presence in space such as space tourism, interstellar travel, space mineral mining, Mars colonization, etc.

A decision support tool for calculating effective shading in urban streets

In times of climate change a strong effort should be made to enhance thermal conditions within cities to create livable environments. Shading in urban open spaces has been recognized as an important parameter in modifying microclimatic conditions and enhancing thermal comfort particularly in hot regions. When designed appropriately, shading can mitigate the Urban Heat Island (UHI), enhance pedestrian thermal comfort and affect outdoor activities.A decision support tool (DST) was developed for evaluating the minimum shading coverage required, by trees or other shading devices, to improve thermal comfort in streets during the most critical hours of the day. The presented DST accounts for the density of tree-canopies or the albedo of various materials used for shading devices. To develop the index, a set of climatic simulations was run using the Green CTTC model and thermal comfort was determined by the PET index. Based on the simulations Open-space Shading Coefficients (OSC) were computed and used to develop an Open-space Shading Index (OSI). The city of Tel-Aviv, characterized by a hot-humid climate, was selected as a case study. Results demonstrate the viability of the index as a DST for assessing the extent of shading required to achieve thermal comfort in urban streets.

Environmental activities of a petrochemical company as a sustainable factor of the city and region

The paramount objective of modern society is to preserve a livable environment for generations to come. In addition to the need to restore the impaired qualities of the environment, measures also must be taken to preclude environmental disasters from happening both now and in the future. The formation of a balanced regional system of cities is hampered by the deterioration of the environmental situation and a decrease in environmental quality indicators. The concentration of industrial sites and vehicles represents one of the biggest adverse anthropogenic factors which stems from the human impact on the environment. Growing industrial clusters and the rising number of vehicles in large cities result in a critical environmental situation. Environmental monitoring measures, once introduced, will facilitate the sustainable development of urban areas and the economy of the region.

Do Environmental Factors Predict Changes To Physical Activity And Sedentary Behaviour Equally?

PURPOSE: To investigate environmental determinants of change to sedentary behaviour (SB), light-intensity physical activity (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA) in those at risk of diabetes. METHODS: Cohort of 808 adults recruited from family practice (age = 63 years, BMI = 32 kg/m2, women = 36%) followed up annually over 3 years. Participants were included based on being above the 90th percentile of the Leicester Diabetes Risk Score, indicating a high risk. SB, LPA and MVPA were measured by accelerometer (Actigraph GT3X) using the Freedson cut-points with at least 4 valid days of data. Geographical and air pollution mapping were used to link environmental data to participant’s home address. Data were analysed using a repeated measures design assessing determinants of change to SB, LPA and MVPA. Results are presented as mean (SD) or mean (95% CI). RESULTS: At baseline, accelerometers were worn for an average of 649 (83) minutes/day, during which an average of 27 (25) minutes/day, 288 (77) minutes/day and 543 (100) minutes/day were spent in MVPA, LPA and SB respectively. Across the study period, wear time did not change, whilst SB increased by 9 (7, 10) minutes /day per year, matched by a decrease in LPA and MVPA of 7 (5, 8) and 2 (1, 2) minutes/day per year respectively. Less green space, higher road connectivity (busier traffic), greater air pollution and a higher density of fast food restaurants were all determinants of increasing SB and decreasing LPA (See Table 1), but none were associated with change to MVPA. Environmental factors were stronger determinants of change to SB and LPA than an overall index of social deprivation. CONCLUSION: In this high risk population, a less healthy environment predicted greater annual increases in SB and decreases in LPA, but not MVPA. Policies and interventions aimed at improving the liveable environment may therefore act to slow the trajectory of increasing SB and decreasing LPA in populations at risk of diabetes.Table 1: Association between environmental factors and annual change to SB, LPA and MVPA.Data as mean (95% CI). Adjusted for age, sex and ethnicity. Bold indicates significance (p < 0.05).

An Evaluation of Urban Sprawl Process Post-earthquake: Example of Kocaeli/ Gölcük

İnsan yaşamının büyük bir kısmının geçtiği konutlar, barınma ihtiyacının ortaya çıkardığı mekânsal alanlardır. Kentsel doku üzerinde yoğun olarak bulunan konut alanları, kentlerin mücadele ettiği doğal afet, çarpık kentleşme, hızlı nüfus artışı, sosyo-ekonomik eşitsizlik gibi fiziksel, sosyal ve ekonomik sorunlarla karşılaşmaktadır. 1999 Marmara Depremi, merkez üssü Gölcük başta olmak üzere birçok kentte büyük hasarlara neden olmuştur. Gölcük’ün kent gelişimi sürecine bakıldığında; deprem öncesinde tersane ve diğer sanayi tesisleri nedeni ile kıyıda yerleşim daha yoğun iken, deprem sonrasında ise yeniden planlama sürecinde kıyı alanı zemin yapısının sağlam olmadığı tespit edilmiştir. Yeniden planlama sürecinde yeni konut alanları zemini sağlam doğal kaynakların bulunduğu güney kent çeperine kaydırılmıştır. Bu durum kentin güney çeperlerindeki tarım alanları ve ormanlık arazilerin tahribatına, tarihsel süreç içerisinde bu dağlık alanlarda kurulan tarihi ve kırsal dokunun zedelenmesine neden olmuştur. Kent çeperinde yaşanan bu yapılaşma sorunları çalışmanın önemli problemlerini oluşturmaktadır. Bu kapsamda Gölcük’ün mevcut kentleşme süreçleri ile konut planlama sisteminin uyumu, sürdürülebilirlik ve dirençlilik perspektifinden sorgulanacaktır. Alan çalışması için yerleşim ölçeğinde seçilen dokuların fiziksel, sosyal ve ekonomik sorunları; kentsel dirençlilik üzerinden bütüncül bir yaklaşımla ele alınmıştır. Kentsel dokuda ortaya çıkan sorunlara karşı dirençli ve sürdürülebilir kent planlaması, nitelikli konut ve yaşanabilir çevre üretimindeki farkındalığın sektördeki her alana yansıtılması için yol göstermesi hedeflenmektedir.

Spatial data science for sustainable mobility

The constant rise of urban mobility and transport has led to a dramatic increase in greenhouse gas emissions. In order to ensure livable environments for future generations and counteract climate change, it will be necessary to reduce our future CO2 footprint. Spatial data science contributes to this effort in major ways, also fuelled by recent progress regarding the availability of spatial big data, computational methods and geospatial technologies. This paper demonstrates important contributions from Spatial data science to mobility pattern analysis and prediction, context integration, and the employment of geospatial technologies for changing people's mobility behavior. Among the interdisciplinary research challenges that lie ahead of us are an enhanced public availability of mobility studies and their data sets, improved privacy protection strategies, spatially-aware machine learning methods, and evaluating the potential for people's long-term behavior change towards sustainable mobility.

The Evaluation of Spatial Distribution Equity of Public Service Facilities in Coastal Cities

Zhang, B. and Zhou, E., 2020. The evaluation of spatial distribution equity of public service facilities in coastal cities. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 1060–1064. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Urban public service facilities are public facilities that provide education, medical treatment, recreation and other public services for urban residents. They are the symbol of social civilization and progress. The fairness of their spatial distribution has a profound impact on the living environment and quality of life of urban residents. For this reason, this paper introduces Weibull Gravity Model, uses the ArcGIS software platform to try to build the equity analysis model of public service facilities based on the gravity accessibility index. Taking a coastal city as an example, this paper makes an empirical study in order to provide practical analytical methods and technical support for the planning of public service facilities. Finally, by empirical analysis, the spatial distribution level of the city's green space is obtained, which provides a reliable reference for the spatial distribution of urban public service facilities.