Local Quality Of Life Research Articles

지방정부 ESG 경영 도입 및 적용을 위한 기초 연구:ESG와 지속가능성, 만족도 인과성 분석

This paper attempted to present policy implications by reviewing the sustainability of local government ESG administration and evaluating resident satisfaction. To this end, the necessity of introducing ESG management and administration and the components of environment(E), society(S), and governance(G) were reviewed. In addition, we investigated how ESG administrative activities affect local governments' sustainability and residents' satisfaction. A survey method was used targeting local residents and public officials, and influential factors and implications for ESG administration were discovered through various analyses. First, among environmental, social, and governance issues in local government ESG activities, the environment(E) field is closely related to the daily lives of local residents, such as climate crisis, energy, and greenhouse gases (fine dust), so it receives more attention from residents than other issues. I was focused. Second, the social(S) field has a strong relationship with local quality of life(QOL) conditions. Issues that are causing difficulties include population issues, decline, regional extinction, and human relations. If each local government can solve population, birth, and extinction problems, satisfaction will increase accordingly. Third, governance(G) issues were analyzed more highly than social(S) issues, which is due to the increase in local governments' civil complaint response administration and resident participation projects. It was also found that local government heads spend a lot of time responding to and processing civil complaints. In order to strengthen local governments' ESG administrative activities, it is necessary to establish specific guidelines for governance establishment and operation and institutionalize continuous performance inspection.

Mapping urban well-being with Quality Of Life Index (QOLI) at the fine-scale of grid data

Accessibility of transport infrastructure, commercial amenities, recreational facilities, and green spaces is widely recognised as crucial to the well-being of urban residents. However, these features are often unevenly distributed across the geographical boundaries of a city, leading to disparities in the local quality of life. This study focuses on the city of Warsaw, Poland, and uses the aforementioned characteristics and the framework of the '15-min city' concept to construct a grid-level urban Quality of Life Index (QOLI) that facilitates comparisons between the city’s districts and local neighbourhoods. The results of our study reveal a “high-inside, low-outside” pattern of quality of life, characterised by higher standards of living in the central districts and lower standards at the city's periphery.

Wi-Fi and the Wisdom Exchange: The Role of Lived Experience in the Age of AI

The ubiquitousness of Artificial intelligence (AI) now grows faster than a weed in a garden patch. This momentum frequently raises questions about how to implement inclusivity and ethical research standards. It also suggests the need to integrate lived experience rather than taking only the shortcut to AI's information highway. We wonder, Does the nature of technology present geographic bias? As we speed up the process of "knowing," do we lose a bank of knowledge based on natural observations and shared intentions? This paper examines the nature of AI's Socratic conversations compared with the communications invoked by global grassroots research study, to evaluate how each can contribute unique pathways linking science to social science. Pivoting around AI's summary of four water-conservation practices, survey questions were sent to seven locations in Sub-Saharan Africa where direct onsite farm research projects emphasized relationships between nature's processes and local quality of life. The results shed new perspectives on the value of supplementing formal online data with communications derived from grassroots sources – and the resulting implications for global knowledge and the sustainability of human systems.

The humanistic and economic burden of atopic dermatitis among adults and adolescents in Saudi Arabia

Aims: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic skin disease that creates a significant burden to patients and society. There is scarcity in local data about the burden of AD in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We aimed to fill in this gap and quantify the humanistic and economic burden of AD among adults and adolescents in KSA. Materials and methods: A literature search and local expert interviews were conducted to assess the disease burden. Prevalence values were estimated through the literature. International data about health-related quality of life lost owing to AD was adjusted to age and prevalence in KSA. Direct and indirect costs were calculated using a bottom-up approach. Resource utilization data were collected from local dermatologists through online interviews, and indirect costs were based on absenteeism and presenteeism estimates. Validation meetings were conducted with local experts to adjust the final estimates. Results: The age-standardized health loss per patient due to AD is 0.187 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) annually, aggregating to 64 thousand lost QALYs in KSA. The annual average direct cost for a patient with AD was 2924 Saudi Riyal (SAR; 780 USD), totaling 373 million SAR in KSA (99.5 million USD). This value represents 0.2% of the annual health expenditure in KSA. The total productivity loss due to AD was 1.36 billion SAR (363.7 million USD). Overall, the economic burden of AD consumes up to 0.059% of the national gross domestic product. Limitations: Local quality of life and productivity lost data were not available for KSA, so global averages were used, assuming these numbers also apply to KSA. Conclusion: Indirect costs represent a large proportion of AD burden in KSA. The disease has a substantial effect on patient quality of life and social well-being. Alleviating the burden might result in significant savings in resources to society.

Urban Morphometrics and the Intangible Uniqueness of Tangible Heritage. An Evidence-Based Generative Design Experiment in Historical Kochi (IN)

Asia is urbanising rapidly. Current urbanisation practices often compromise sustainability, prosperity, and local quality of life while context-sensitive alternatives show very limited impact. A third way is necessary to integrate mass-production, heritage, and human values. As part of UNICITI’s initiative, A Third Way of Building Asian Cities, we propose a scalable and replicable methodology which captures unique morphological traits of urban types (i.e., areas with homogenous urban form) to inform innovative large-scale and context-sensitive practices. We extract urban types from a large set of quantitative descriptors and provide a systematic way to generate figure-grounds aligned with such urban types. The application of the proposed methodology to Kochi (IN) reveals 24 distinct urban types with unique morphological features. Profiles, containing design-relevant values of morphometrics, are then produced for a selection of urban types located in the historical district of Fort Kochi/Mattancherry. Based on these, figure-ground design demonstrations are carried out in three sample sites. Outcomes seem aligned with the urban character of their respective types, while allowing distinct design expressions, suggesting that the proposed approach has potential to inform the design in historical/heritage areas and, more broadly, the search for a Third Way of Building Asian Cities.

Effects of green energy development on population growth and employment: Evidence from shale gas exploitation in Chongqing, China

With the maturity of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies, countries rich in shale gas have begun to promote the development of the shale gas industry. The impact of the booming shale gas industry on the regional economy has also become a main focus. Shale gas’ exploration and extraction may have positive spillover effects on other sectors, resulting in population growth and job creation. However, negative spillover effects can occur through rising local goods prices and its adverse effects on the local quality of life, which in turn could harm population growth and employment. By using the synthetic control method, we investigates the shale gas fields in Chongqing to reveal the relationship between population growth, employment and shale gas development in Fuling, Nanchuan and Wulong districts. Our results indicate that due to the development of the shale gas industry, the number of urban non-private sector employees in three districts and counties has decreased. From 2017 to 2018, this decline had gradually weakened and the population growth had been negatively affected.

Analysis and Evaluation of the Spatial Structure of Cittaslow Towns on the Example of Selected Regions in Central Italy and North-Eastern Poland

Cittaslow International promotes harmonious development of small towns based on sustainable relationships between economic growth, protection of local traditions, cultural heritage and the environment, and an improvement in the quality of local life. The aim of this study was to analyze and evaluate the differences and similarities in the spatial structure of Cittaslow towns in the Italian regions of Tuscany and Umbria and the Polish region of Warmia and Mazury. The study examined historical towns which are situated in different parts of Europe and have evolved in different cultural and natural environments. The presented research attempts to determine whether the spatial structure of historical towns established in different European regions promotes the dissemination of the Cittaslow philosophy and the adoption of sustainable development principles. The urban design, architectural features and the composition of urban and architectural factors which are largely responsible for perceptions of multi-dimensional space were evaluated. These goals were achieved with the use of a self-designed research method which supported a subjective evaluation of spatial structure defined by historical urban planning and architectural solutions. The study demonstrated that Medieval urban layouts can be successfully incorporated into the modern urban fabric to promote sustainable development and slow living.

On the path towards understanding overtourism – cruise tourism and the transportation infrastructure

ABSTRACT Networked technical infrastructure systems are regarded as Critical Infrastructures due to the essential role they fulfil for the functioning of cities. Moreover, they are essential for the development of tourism. As a result of the yearly growth of the tourism sector, several cities are affected by the negatively perceived impacts of tourism, recently labelled as overtourism. The pressure on networked technical infrastructures caused by increasing tourist numbers turns out to be one of the effects of overtourism. Especially cruise tourism has to be addressed in this context due to its temporal and spatial concentration. This article points out that the temporal and spatial concentration of cruise tourism leads to congestions and overcrowding of the transportation infrastructure, which affects the quality of local life and the authenticity of the tourist experience. It will be argued that the criticality of the transportation infrastructure is essential for its ability to create spaces for authentic experiences. Thereby, this article is set to link infrastructure and tourism research and to contribute to a better understanding of the effects of overtourism.

“We Must Not Let These Stores That Trade on Human Misery Proliferate”: Black Activism, Spatial Justice, and Liquor Stores in South Central Los Angeles, 1984–94

Abstract This article offers a new way of exploring African American protest in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s. It moves beyond reductive explanations of an inevitable economic and cultural conflict between African Americans and Koreans to examine the role of urban space and understanding of “spatial justice” in fostering anger and resentment. Activists in Black Los Angeles had for a long time targeted liquor stores as a form of neighborhood blight in South Central. The article considers three organizational approaches to protesting liquor stores: 1) The South Central Organizing Committee, a coalition of local Black churches, whose morality politics understood liquor stores as representing neighborhood blight and enabling local crime; 2) The Brotherhood Crusade, an organization steeped in Black nationalist thinking, which emphasized economic independence and community ownership in conjunction with xenophobic leanings toward Korean shopkeepers; 3) The Community Coalition for Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment, which looked to deescalate racial tensions by refocusing the “problem” of liquor stores and their damaging effects on local quality of life as a public-health issue. Rethinking the controversy and tragedy caused by the death of Latasha Harlins as a conflict over contested spaces, rather than interracial hostility, helps us to understand the ways African Americans claimed space and connected social justice to physical spaces in the post-civil rights era despite differing tactics and objectives. Exploring these organizations leads to the conclusion that scholars need to take greater care to consider the role of space and the built environment when examining urban social movements.

Quality of Life of Rural and Urban Population in Poland: Evaluation and Comparison

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to compare the subjective quality of life of the inhabitants of rural and urban areas. Design/Methodology/Approach: The study is based on a set of data from the Social Diagnosis 2015. Conditions and quality of life of the Poles project, which is comprehensive and representative in nature, were used. The study was conducted on the example of Poland in the global dimension as a general satisfaction with life and in terms of area concerning various areas of life. The work assessed the quality of life, including the division into rural and urban residents. A significance test for many structure indices was used to achieve the goal. Findings: The results show that most often both the inhabitants of the rural and the urban have assessed their life as quite good or successful and quite happy. It was also found that the percentage of people living in the rural and urban assessing the quality of own life rather negatively is not significantly different. However, the percentage of inhabitants of rural and urban areas declaring satisfaction with global and local quality of life is not the same, i.e., the quality of life assessment in this case depends on the place of residence. Practical Implications: The paper highlights the importance of subjective assessment of the quality of life of rural and urban residents to fully demonstrate how people live and how they assess their lives. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by showing that subjective assessment of the quality of life globally and in individual areas of life varies significantly between rural and urban residents.

The Analysis of the Ecosystem Capacity of Semirom County in the direction of Return Migration Planning

Purpose- Return migration acts as a driving force of development and a key incentive of prosperity in rural areas by fulfilling their potentials. Rapid population displacement in developing countries including Iran, reveals the necessity of return migration planning. Semirom is a county in Isfahan province with the highest rate of emigration based on the 2011 Census enjoying sufficient potentials to change this trend. The overall purpose of this study is to analyze the ecosystem capacity of Semirom in order to develop a return migration planning. Design/methodology/approach- The research method is descriptive-analytical. As such, this study can be categorized as an applied research. The environmental, social, economic, and managerial aspects are hereby considered. The questionnaire of Semirom situation assessment was analyzed using inferential statistics (t-test) by SPSS. Content analysis was conducted by interviewing officials using Atlas.ti software. Internal and external factors evaluation matrix and SOAR model were used to offer strategies. In the end, adaptive strategic alternatives are prioritized using the QSPM planning approach and policies for the realization of the return migration. Statistical population consists of the residents and authorities of Semirom county. Findings- The findings indicate that the most important factors affecting return migration are reinforcement of gardening, related industries and tourism attractions, improving the quality of welfare services, fostering the sense of belonging, and the availability of fertile soil and sufficient irrigation water. Accordingly, the strategy of appropriate management of tourism and environmental spaces for proper utilization of natural should be given priority. It is also suggested that proper utilization of natural resources and tourism along with the potential of eco-tourism can offer a great opportunity for sustainable employment. This requires efficient management of new approaches and providing a secure environment for investment and entrepreneurship. In other words, considering the potentials of tourism will improve the quality of amenities, infrastructure services and employment, which in turn can boost their quality of local life, and their willingness to stay permanently in their rural residence, which ultimately encourages immigrants to return to their homeland.

Forecasting International Tourist Flows to a Small Island: The Case of Saipan

Sustainable tourism, unlike conventional tourism, explicitly strives to maintain economic, environmental, and social sustainability in tourist destinations. Saipan, the capital and the largest island of the chain of Pacific islands known as the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), is a tropical destination that heavily relies on the tourist industry as a source of income. When analyzing the trends of tourist arrivals from the top three countries that account for the majority of tourist arrivals in Saipan-China, Japan, and Korea-the necessity to implement sustainable tourism in Saipan becomes clear. This article forecasts tourism demand, which is one of the main factors in determining sustainable tourism on a small island. Analyzing both long-term and cyclical trends in tourist arrivals assists budget-constrained policymakers and related organizations in implementing sustainable tourism. Therefore, forecasting accuracy is essential in tourism policy and planning. The tourist arrival data obtained from Marianas Visitors Authority’s official Japanese website are made into a time series for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean visitor data from 2006 to 2016. Given the various time-series forecasting models, we employ simple but powerful forecasting techniques, such as ARIMA and ETS to control for the possible seasonality and trend in our tourism data. Using these forecast methods, the tourist arrival data is used to predict the future trends of tourist arrivals in Saipan for the next twelve months. The performance of our forecasting model in this study is evaluated based on the five measures of accuracy, as measured by comparison with actual tourism flows: mean error, mean absolute scaled error, mean percentage error, mean absolute error, and mean absolute percentage error. A comparison of the two popular forecast techniques in this study shows that the ETS model statistically outperforms the ARIMA model in terms of various measures of accuracy. A practical implication of this finding is that the ETS approach should be used when forecasting tourism demand for small islands. We predict the visitor arrivals from China, Japan, and Korea to Saipan by using the better model. The estimated 80% and 95% intervals for the number of tourist arrivals by the ETS model are presented in this study. The upper (lower) bound is the maximum (minimum) value of the estimated tourist arrivals. We find strong evidence that the tourist arrival trend for Korean visitors to Saipan will increase in the short run; although, the Chinese and Japanese tourist arrival trends seems to be stable, except for Japanese tourist arrivals in August. Nonetheless, with such an intense demand for Saipan’s natural resources, sustainable island tourism becomes necessary. Our estimated result is useful to practitioners in the sense that they are able to prepare for carrying capacities and the means of destination management on Saipan. Proper management for maintaining the island environmentally, economically, and socially requires the preservation of indigenous culture, local quality of life, natural resources, and economic stability while accommodating the demands of arriving tourists. It is crucial to preserve the assets of Saipan in order to maintain and improve its economy. Thus, our time series modeling for forecasting the number of visitors becomes necessary to develop overall economic, environmental, and social sustainability in the island. An interesting addition to implementing sustainable tourism in Saipan is the idea of maintaining a “cap” on the number of incoming tourists visiting the island. Perhaps, with more research on Saipan’s environment, specifically an estimate of how much of the island’s resources tourists exhaust and how much the island can withstand the aforementioned, this “cap” could be practical to prevent perpetual damage to Saipan’s biodiversity, resources, culture, and economy. Along with this idea, knowing the minimum number of tourists needed to sustain Saipan’s necessities is valuable.

Experiencing local Turkish hospitality in Istanbul, Turkey

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate tourists’ experiences of local hospitality and offer a typology of Turkish hospitality based on perspectives of international tourists.Design/methodology/approachSemi-structured interviews were conducted with tourists visiting Istanbul, Turkey. Interview transcripts were content-analyzed and -coded under different themes that characterize local hospitality.FindingsThe research findings revealed 64 items describing local Turkish hospitality. These were grouped under four distinct themes: sociability, care, helpfulness and generosity.Research limitations/implicationsUsing the factors of local Turkish hospitality identified in this paper, future studies might measure the impacts of these antecedents of local hospitality on tourist satisfaction and positive behaviors such as loyalty and word of mouth in a quantitative study. Exploring local hospitality in different destinations with different characteristics might also reveal valuable insight into variance and intensity of local hospitality.Practical implicationsThe research findings have implications for both commercial hospitality and destination management. By leveraging the local hospitality elements in their operations and human resources management practices, the commercial hospitality firms might create strong emotional bonds with their guests and create loyalty through these relationships. Destination planning and management might also adopt the findings to facilitate interactions between the hosts and tourists for more positive experiences for both sides to emerge.Social implicationsDestinations exposed to heavy visitation may not have the same level of hospitableness toward visitors. Hence, impact of tourism activity on local quality of life should be monitored and managed.Originality/valueDespite hospitality having been researched in numerous previous studies, local hospitality has not yet been fully explored in tourism. This study presents and discusses empirical findings and offers a typology of local Turkish hospitality.

“Regionality”

“Regionality” Neil Campbell (bio) Regionalism often appears as a fixed and knowable set of beliefs or a centered totality (Painter), an “ism” to put alongside all the other “isms” we appear to know as finished acts or things completed; ways of seeing and being, thinking and operating that reassure us and provide a clear horizon and a stable boundary within which to function. In 1997 Lucy Lippard summarized this well: Today the term regionalism . . . continues to be used pejoratively, to mean corny backwater art flowing from tributaries that might eventually reach the mainstream but is currently stagnating out there in the boondocks. (36) With this in mind, Deleuze and Guattari might term “regionalism” an “order-word” functioning to “mark stoppages or organized, stratified compositions” while reassuringly reminding us that “There are pass-words beneath order-words. Words that pass, words that are components of passage” (Thousand 110). What I am arguing here is that since Lippard’s comment of 1997 there has been a shift toward what I have termed “expanded critical regionalism” defined by “components of passage” that saw region as decidedly mobile and diverse, rather than static and closed-in, and engaged with multiple disciplines beyond architecture (Campbell, Rhizomatic). Such reimagining began in 1980 with Anthony Alofsin’s early move toward a definition of critical regionalism as “an architecture that both follows local traditions and transforms them” (qtd. in Canizaro 370). Later Kenneth Frampton developed Paul Ricoeur’s idea stating that the central tension in critical regionalism was “how to become modern and to return to sources; how to revive an old, dormant civilization and take part in universal civilization” (Frampton 16). These simple-sounding but complex arguments formed the [End Page 69] dramatic elements through which regionalism might take on a new and different complexion within western studies. An expanded critical regionalism would, therefore, no longer be associated with nostalgia or defined as simply “local” and, therefore, as a “place of lesser achievement and the source of backwardness, provincialism, and chauvinism” (Canizaro 12), as suggested by Lippard above. Instead it would be about placing the “local quality of life” at the forefront, “not in spite of global concerns and possibilities, but in order to better take advantage of them . . . [and] to re-embed us in the reality and diversity of our local places—critically and comfortably” (12). More recently regionality has developed as a new “pass-word” brim-full of “components of passage” insisting upon “becoming” rather than fixity, moving, in every sense of that word, as it gathers up senses of people, place, and things as a complex assemblage of region (Campbell, Affective 15). Jane Bennett refers to “the quarantines of matter and life” that, for me, suggests the closed weight of regionalism needing to be challenged with what she calls turbulent and “vital materiality” (vii). Such vitality and becoming is, for example, expressed in Ellen Meloy’s struggle to articulate the wonders of the western desert, where she senses no single stable thing but rather the “uncountable thousands” of colors that make up “some exquisite combination of Place” (15). Regionality is, therefore, a form of “vital materiality” or “exquisite combination” that moves still further beyond Canizaro’s position above, placing the emphasis upon process and becoming rather than established ground and invariance (or “re-embedding”)—so that encircling unanimity is constantly and productively challenged by multiple, critical processes, little refrains of difference, vital local histories, and the interruptions of the “minor” (acting like a foreign language within the dominant language, as Deleuze and Guattari define it). Regionality is, therefore, less about “comfort” and reassurance of a settled place in the world and more about an active critical presence that turns the proximate and local outward in dialogic relations with the world. In this process, regionality unashamedly worlds. [End Page 70] Regionality, in Kathleen Stewart’s seminal essay of the same name, comes alive through her swirling, descriptive passages, forming and deforming what she calls “the tactile compositionality of things” (277), tracked in voices, actions, places, memories, and histories. Regionality is an “edgy composite” (281) of the material and immaterial, the human and nonhuman as an active and energetic presence: “it permeates the contours of the...

Methodological Strategy of Ecological Economic Zoning (EEZ) in the Municipal Scale: an Academic Exercise of Political Geography for the Management of the Territory

Methodological models of economic ecological zoning (EEZ) emerge in the last 20 years in Brazil as possibilities to strengthen the understanding of scholars for the potentiation of the decisions of the local political spheres in the Federal Brazilian model. Central institutional condition participants of applicability of zoning at the local scale, the municipalities have the ability to articulate regional management challenges that arise in relation to environmental, social and economic resources, as well as making them more productive and efficient in their own space and public management. In this context, this article shows the methodological paths taken by a group of researchers in the development of two zonings in two municipal units in different regions of Brazil. In them, several capital companies, and management of political actions are seeking to modernize (infrastructural, technologically.....) cultural practices, environmental profile and traditional economic activities. In regional areas in which they operate, they crisscross up different interests that can turn definitely the local quality of life. The EEZ political use can be an opportunity to promote the well-being of local and regional scales management, and understand the nature of this type of zoning and its possibilities as municipal political action tool becomes essential for space research and Geography students of contemporary politics.

Civic technology for education: Analysis and evaluation of selected initiatives

Civic Technology is defined (in general) as the use of information technology to engage local government and community residents in behaviors that improve the quality and accountability of public services, facilitate resident-driven improvements to local quality of life, and deepen participation in public decision-making and infrastructure maintenance. The drivers of Civic Technology in communities include technology-business entrepreneurs, civic hacking and local government efforts such as labs or think tanks. Authors present what civic tech actually is and confront theory with civic tech initiatives in education field. The main goal of the article is to explore the links between Civic tech and Education.

Potential impacts on local quality of life due to sugarcane expansion: a case study based on panel data analysis

Agribusiness participation in Brazil generates investments in rural infrastructure and employment, with direct effects on local quality of life. In this sense, government policies to support the production of ethanol from sugarcane and to promote bioelectricity from bagasse production have made Brazil a country of world leadership in this field. This paper reports an assessment of socioeconomic impacts due to sugarcane production in three regions in Brazil (Piracicaba, Presidente Prudente and Southwest Goias). Local quality of life is defined as five dimensions: income and inequality, education, infrastructure, health and general development, analysed using panel data modelling, with variables that could explain differences in development due to local characteristics, including sugarcane activity. Presidente Prudente has the highest levels of progress in education, poverty, infrastructure and general development indicators. The models indicate that participation of sugarcane has positive impacts on the indicators of the microregion. In case of Piracicaba microregion, in two models (“L-Theil” and “Illiteracy rate”) indicators related with sugarcane sector are significant explanatory variables, contributing for better indicators. Finally, Southwest Goias—where sugarcane activity develops later—is the single microregion in which the adjusted models have no significant explanatory variables related to sugarcane sector.

Measuring visual pollution by outdoor advertisements in an urban street using intervisibilty analysis and public surveys

ABSTRACTDebates on the encroaching commercialization of public space by outdoor advertising highlight its possible negative impact on local quality of life and enjoyment of public spaces. These overstimulating outdoor advertisements are often considered a source of visual pollution, but cities have no standard way of measuring where it exists and its local impact, and thus cannot regulate it effectively. This study illustrates that visual pollution can be measured in a useful way by relating public opinion to the number of visible advertisements (intervisibility analysis). Using a 2.5D outdoor advertisement (OA) dataset (location and height) of a busy urban street in Lublin, Poland, this preliminary experiment translates visibility into visual pollution. It was found that streetscape views with more than seven visible OAs created visual pollution in this case study. The GIS-based methodology proposed could provide Lublin officials with a basic tool to assess and manage visual pollution, by informing permitting decisions on OAs.

Urban growth of Kampala, Uganda: Pattern analysis and scenario development

Kampala, the capital of Uganda, is one of the fastest growing African cities with annual growth rates of 5.6%. The rapid urban growth causes major socio-economic and environmental problems that lower the quality of life of the urban dwellers. A better insight in the controlling factors of the urban growth pattern is necessary to develop and implement a sustainable urban planning. The recent urban growth of Kampala was mapped using LANDSAT images of 1989, 1995, 2003 and 2010. A spatially-explicit logistic regression model was developed for Kampala. Significant predictors in this model included: the presence of roads, the accessibility of the city centre and the distance to existing built-up area. These variables are used as steering handles to create future urban scenarios. Three alternative scenarios for future urban growth were developed: a business as usual, restrictive and stimulative scenario. Our model of growth was applied to these three scenarios to predict patterns of urban growth to 2030. The scenarios show that the alternative policy options result in contrasting future urban sprawl patterns with a significant impact on the local quality of life.

Reserva de desenvolvimento sustentável: avanço na concepção de áreas protegidas?

O movimento ambiental, denominado socioambientalismo, foi pioneiro ao reconhecer a intrínseca ligação entre as questões sociais e ambientais e apresenta uma importante atuação na sociedade civil brasileira em defesa dos direitos dos povos tradicionais. A Reserva de Desenvolvimento Sustentável (RDS) é uma categoria essencialmente socioambiental, pois incorpora aos objetivos da conservação, ações de inclusão social, valorização do conhecimento local e práticas de manejo ambiental. O trabalho objetivou investigar a percepção ambiental e o nível de envolvimento da população com relação à RDS Ponta do Tubarão, localizada no estado do Rio Grande do Norte. Foram realizadas entrevistas abertas e semiestruturadas (n=262) e a análise de conteúdo evidenciou que a maioria dos entrevistados atribuiu importância à área protegida; todavia, constatou-se um alto nível de insatisfação com sua gestão e desconhecimento dos seus objetivos, detectaram-se inúmeros conflitos socioambientais, com destaque para proibição de construções e foram propostas alternativas para melhoria da qualidade de vida local. Esse trabalho conduz a uma reflexão da prática de gestão da área protegida estudada e espera-se que os dados obtidos possam subsidiar o plano de manejo local e minimizar os conflitos socioambientais existentes na área.