Metropolitan Level Research Articles

Privatanleger als Beschleuniger urbaner Wohnkrisen. Bedeutung und Motive von Privatanlegern auf Wohnungsmärkten abseits der Metropolen am Beispiel Salzburg

So far, the increased emergence of financial investments on the housing markets has mainly been examined in metropolises or on a national level. Research focused primarily on institutional actors. The investigation of financial investments in housing space in cities below the metropolitan level and by individuals has so far been neglected. In the present study, I therefore focus on the manifestation of financial investments of private investors in housing markets outside the metropolises using a mixed-method approach of quantitative land register and data analysis as well as qualitative expert interviews. The paper shows that apart from the metropolises, the utilization of housing into an investment object is mainly carried out by private actors. They invest less out of speculation and in the expectation of an increase in value, but rather for private retirement or family provision and, above all, to secure value. This form of investment in housing also leads to serious consequences for other market players. The entire housing market is gradually focusing on this new type of investor. Real estate has therefore increasingly become a form of investment for many.

Infraestructura para la movilidad urbana en la Ciudad de México

In many countries it is increasingly common for people to live in urban environments, just three decades ago the world urban population exceeded the rural population in magnitude, in our country this situation was reached six decades ago. The population increase, together with the economic and productive changes that have encouraged the relocation of economic activities, has triggered a remarkable urban growth that constitutes a serious problem of land consumption and dispersion of human settlements that drive the metropolization process because of the city’s expansion over their neighboring territories and their functional integration. In Mexico, the formation of metropolitan areas began in the middle of the last century, which have played a central role in the country’s urbanization process. 60 years ago, there were 12 conurbation areas in 14 states of the country whose inhabitants represented the fourth of the national population, currently two out of every three inhabitants of the country live in one of the 75 metropolitan areas distributed in the 32 states. The metropolitan area of the Mexico Valley stands out, whose conurbation process currently covers the 16 mayor’s offices of Mexico City, 59 municipalities of the Mexico state and 1 municipality of the Hidalgo state with a combined population of almost 22 million inhabitants distributed in an urban area close to two thousand four hundred square kilometers. However, the territorial overflow of the functional and economic relations of the conurbation municipalities of the Mexico Valley has not been accompanied by public policies for the proper functioning and development of the metropolis, particularly about the planning and regulation of its physical growth, the provision of public services and the care of its environmental. In a timely manner, this paper analyzes the aspects related to the transport operation at the metropolitan level and the infrastructure provision by the Mexico City authorities and the Mexico State that are expected to improve the mobility of the population in the metropolitan area of the Mexico Valley.

An urban hierarchy-based approach integrating ecosystem services into multiscale sustainable land use planning: The case of China

Understanding how to manage ecosystem services (ESs) is crucial for sustainable regional development. The multiscale ES assessment can provide a new perspective for land use planning. We assessed the spatiotemporal patterns of multiple ESs in the three largest urban agglomerations of China at different levels: Beijing−Tianjin−Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Pearl River Delta from 1980 to 2018. The urban hierarchy extends from the city proper to metropolitan regions and then urban agglomeration levels. Associating with the trade-off relationships and influencing factors of ESs, a new methodological framework was proposed to enhance the ESs by developing improved land use scenarios at different urban hierarchical levels. The major results showed that: (1) the spatiotemporal patterns of ESs varied at different levels and not all ESs increased with increasing spatial scales; (2) the ES relationships at small scales did not apply to the broader scales and even led to diametrically opposing outcomes; (3) socioeconomic factors were the main drivers at the low level, whereas natural factors became the main drivers at the high level; and (4) more sustainable policy-combination scenarios were also place-based and scale-dependent, for example, strengthening intensive utilization of developed lands at the city proper level, implementing agroforestry intercropping at the metropolitan level, and facilitating forest conservation practices at the urban agglomeration level. It indicated that a multiscale approach should be considered when managing ESs. The scale-explicit land use strategies can help decision makers and planners to enhance the ESs and landscape sustainability more effectively and avoid misleading guidance.

Climate change and green networks. Spatial planning provisions at the Greek metropolitan areas

Climate change has recently emerged in the scientific dialogue as an important environmental issue. Several policies from the global to the local level have been formulated to frame the actions and measures that will enhance the resilience of societies and space. The focus is on outlining goals, objectives, and strategies both for mitigating climate change impacts and for adapting to reduce its effects and ameliorate vulnerability. The Greek National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change (2016) includes certain adaptation measures that relate to the design, increase and integration of open / green spaces, and recognises spatial planning as a framework for the effective coordination of adaptation policies. This work focuses on the recording and evaluation of relevant policies that are formed at the metropolitan level in Greece, with emphasis on the organisation of green networks, as provided by strategic spatial planning. The study reveals that the effective contribution of spatial planning lies largely in the way it is utilised as a governance tool for policy coordination and management and the efficient integration of the planning system, from the national to the local level.

Annual satellite-based NDVI-derived land cover of Europe for 2001–2019

Land cover plays an important role in the Earth's climate as it affects multiple biochemical cycles and is critical for food security and biodiversity. As land cover is continuously evolving, influenced by anthropogenic and other factors, the availability of temporally varying land cover data sets of large spatial domains is integral to understanding, monitoring, and informing environmental management efforts. Here we use classification trees to generate annual land cover maps of the European continent for 2001 to 2019 on a ∼250 m resolution. The classification trees are trained using gap-filled and smoothed MODIS normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) satellite data, as well as CORINE reference land cover data. We apply the bagging ensemble technique on oversampled NDVI data, with an additional majority vote for overlapping segments over the continent-wide domain. We distinguish between 39 land cover classes, with a total classification accuracy of 75% and average precision of 76%. The accuracy varies between the classes, with common classes (e.g. agricultural and forest classes) performing better than rarer ones (e.g. artificial land cover). Over the entire continent, we find that artificial land cover, wetlands, and forests have increased on average by 0.76, 0.50 and 0.22%/year respectively, while the agricultural area has decreased by 0.21%/year. We also quantify these changes in land cover on a national and metropolitan level. Given the near-real-time availability of global NDVI data, we note the potential of the presented approach for generating ‘near-real-year’ annual land cover data sets of large geographic domains, for the continuous monitoring of land cover change and the effects of interventions.

Spirituality and Vicarious Trauma Among Trauma Clinicians: A Qualitative Study.

Background:There has been a lack of research so far on spirituality and trauma. There has been some indication that religion and spirituality are resources in protection against burnout.Objective:The aim of this study was to understand the phenomenon of spirituality in the context of vicarious trauma among trauma clinicians.Methods:This was a qualitative study based on hermeneutic phenomenological methodology. Individual interviews were conducted with 36 physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants on the relationship between their spirituality and trauma work.Results:Participants were recruited from a large Midwest metropolitan Level I trauma center and attendees at the 2018 Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma annual conference. Four patterns emerged from the interviews that transcended religious or spiritual affiliation and medical specialty. These included (1) the world of trauma; (2) religious or spiritual beliefs guiding their work; (3) the need for support systems; and (4) the importance of coping mechanisms.Conclusion:Religion or spirituality plays a role in underlying meaning making and, in the moment, coping for trauma professionals.

You Can’t Get There from Here: Mobility Networks and the Housing Choice Voucher Program

The Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program represents the largest subsidized housing program in the United States. While families with vouchers can, in theory, lease any housing of reasonable quality renting below a rent ceiling, the empirical evidence suggests that they rarely use their vouchers to move to lower poverty neighborhoods. This paper examines the question of how spatial boundaries impact the residential possibilities of HCV subsidized families, both the visible boundaries of Public Housing Authority (PHA) catchment areas and the invisible boundaries of racial and economic segregation. I use administrative data supplied by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which includes all moves by HCV families between 2005 and 2015 in the Baltimore, MD, Cleveland, OH, and Dallas, TX, metropolitan areas. Using a Louvain method of network cluster detection, I subdivide each metro into distinct mobility clusters—sets of census tracts within which voucher holders move but between which they rarely do. I find that the empirical mobility clusters at the metropolitan level are highly defined by PHA’s catchment areas. Even though families are technically allowed to “port” their voucher from one PHA catchment area to another, such behavior is rare. Within the PHA catchment areas, HCV mobility clusters are defined by patterns of race, income, and history. These findings suggest that patterns of racial and economic segregation seem to partially define the mobility clusters within PHA catchment areas, but not across them.

Analysis of Patient Comments on Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Orthopaedic Trauma

Background Patient-reported outcome measures (PROM) surveys are being increasingly utilized in orthopaedic trauma. However, the current validated outcome tools generally do not permit individualized patient narrative responses. With the implementation of a new electronic PROM program that allowed for additional comments, we sought to determine the comment rate on PROM surveys and to define the most common themes discussed by patients. Methods A prospectively collected orthopaedic trauma registry from a single metropolitan Level I trauma center from January 2018 to April 2020 was retrospectively reviewed for PROM data. Validated general and injury specific PROM surveys were sent to patients electronically at six weeks, three months, six months, one year and two years post-operatively. Patients were able to leave comments following the multiple-choice questions. These comments were categorized into groups based on their content. Results Out of 3068 completed PROM surveys, 1112 (36%) had additional comments. There was no statistically significant difference in age, gender, or PROMIS-10 scores between the group who left comments on completed PROMs and those who did not. A total of nine themes were identified including: positive communication, negative communication, empathy, pain management, positive functional outcome, negative functional outcome, appreciation for care, survey suggestions, and neutral comments. There were more positive comments (57%) than negative comments (35%). Eight percent of the comments had neither a positive nor negative theme. The most common themes were related to interactions with the surgical team and communication (68%). Only 14% of comments were related to functional outcome. Following the dissemination of these findings in our department, we observed a 2.5% increase in satisfaction rating in the proceeding three-month period. Conclusions More than one-third of the patients that completed PROM surveys provided additional comments regarding their care. Analysis of patient narrative responses provides valuable information to improve patient-centered, value-based care.

Insight into the metropolitan levels, spatial distribution and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in roadside soil of Ibadan, Nigeria

Insight into the metropolitan levels, spatial distribution and health risks of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in roadside soil of Ibadan, Nigeria

The partner next door? The effect of micro-geographical proximity on intra-cluster inter-organizational relationships

Substantial research has focused on how innovation is influenced by geography from a macro perspective (e.g., at the country, state, or metropolitan level). However, less attention has been paid to how innovation is configured within a cluster from a micro perspective (e.g., at the district or firm level within a city), i.e., the “micro-geographical proximity” within a cluster. With this paper, we aim to “zoom into” a technology cluster to study the role of the inter-organizational micro-geographical proximity for the establishment of knowledge transfer relationships. Specifically, we analyse whether and how the micro-geographical proximity is related to the formation of three different types of inter-organizational relationships: venture capital (VC) deals, intellectual property (IP) transfer agreements, and R&D strategic alliances. We take empirical evidence from the biopharma cluster in the Greater Boston Area. Our findings suggest the importance of micro-geographical proximity for the establishment of VC deals and IP transfer agreements, which emphasizes the importance of adopting a micro-geographical perspective to highlight this “neighbourhood effect”, which would not be possible when considering spatial proximity at the macro level.

De cobre, agua y glaciares en la metrópolis global. El nuevo papel de la mega minería en la gobernanza ambiental de Santiago de Chile

Through a case of large mining exploitation in the periphery of Santiago de Chile, this article aims to study the socio-territorial impacts of the new mining front advancing in the heart of the metropolitan region of Chile. Located some 60 km north of central Santiago, the Los Bronces mine is one of the largest open-pit mines in the world and is currently planning a new underground expansion project. Based on a qualitative research using primary and secondary sources, we questioned the scales of the project’s impact on water resources and glaciers in Chile’s most populated region, as well as the perception of these impacts by different actors. Our analysis of the company’s corporate strategies in response to these challenges leads us to the following hypothesis: an increase in environmental problems due to extractive pressure, added to the advance of urbanization, local hydro-climatic changes and a greater awareness of civil society, causes a rescaling of the mining company’s social and environmental responsibility policies. From an application to the peri-urban areas of northern Santiago, it is now moving to the whole region by integrating the mining company into various natural resource governance structures at the metropolitan level. The company’s institutional anchorage, based on these governance platforms, reflects a strategy of territorialization of its corporative responsibility policies through environmental issues.

Place Prosperity and the Intergenerational Transmission of Poverty

Much new work in urban and regional economics has emphasized the importance of place prosperity. This study focuses on the determinants of adult poverty and the contribution of place prosperity in damping the intergenerational transmission of poverty. Childhood poverty is a major predictor of adult poverty. We consider how such intergenerational transmission is affected by metropolitan and neighborhood (census tract) prosperity. To capture the temporal dynamics of this process, the model explored here is recursive in nature. We use longitudinal microdata from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Location variables at the census tract and metropolitan levels, family variables, and poverty status are observed for our subjects over multiple years both in childhood and adulthood. Neighborhood and metropolitan prosperity are measured in terms of average incomes adjusted for purchasing power parity differences. The standardized neighborhood prosperity direct effect on adult poverty is strongly significant and its total effect is twice as large. On the other hand, the standardized direct effect of metropolitan prosperity and its total effect are small and insignificant. But even neighborhood effects are modest compared to standardized effects of childhood poverty, race, mother’s education and own education. At least with respect to these data, the recent emphasis on place variables would seem to be overstated.

A Narrative Literature Review: What Is the Ideal Density for Environmentally Sustainable Urban Growth?

Urban growth in the form of sprawl became a global planning problem in the 20th century. High urbanization rates in combination with low-density zoning regulations put additional pressure on growing cities. Sprawl continues to generate negative social, environmental, and economic impacts. The results of 20 studies presented in this narrative review, which observe the change in urban form over time, indicate that the current urban growth form is sprawl. Compact urban form is considered a sustainable form of urban growth in the literature. The results of 10 studies on the correlation between the urban form and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions show that densification without provision of adequate access to public transportation will induce more traffic, congestion, and associated CO2 emissions. The ideal density is subject to adequate access to public transportation—that is, mass transit-supportive density. Environmentally sustainable densities cannot deliver detached housing as a housing mode in many countries. International agreements on CO2 emissions should be translated and implemented at the metropolitan and municipal levels of governance via tools that have statutory powers. Statutory instruments such as planning schemes, building codes, and planning and environmental acts incorporating precinct-sustainable assessment systems (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE, and Green Star) provide the opportunity to endorse sustainable density objectives.

Assessing Urban Accessibility in Monterrey, Mexico: A Transferable Approach to Evaluate Access to Main Destinations at the Metropolitan and Local Levels

Cities demand urgent transformations in order to become more affordable, livable, sustainable, walkable and comfortable spaces. Hence, important changes have to be made in the way cities are understood, diagnosed and planned. The current paper puts urban accessibility into the centre of the public policy and planning agenda, as a transferable approach to transform cities into better living environments. To do so, a practical example of the City of Monterrey, Mexico, is presented at two planning scales: the metropolitan and local level. Both scales of analysis measure accessibility to main destinations using walking and cycling as the main transport modes. The results demonstrate that the levels of accessibility at the metropolitan level are divergent, depending on the desired destination, as well as on the planning processes (both formal and informal) from different areas of the city. At the local level, the Distrito Tec Area is diagnosed in terms of accessibility to assess to what extent it can be considered a part of a 15 minutes city. The results show that Distrito Tec lacks the desired parameters of accessibility to all destinations for being a 15 minutes city. Nevertheless, there is a considerable increase in accessibility levels when cycling is used as the main travelling mode. The current research project serves as an initial approach to understand the accessibility challenges of the city at different planning levels, by proving useful and disaggregated data. Finally, it concludes providing general recommendations to be considered in planning processes aimed to improve accessibility and sustainability.

Halo vest immobilization – an institutional review of safety in acute cervical spine injury from 2013 to 2017

Objective: Halo vest immobilization (HVI) remains an important treatment option for occipital-cervical injuries. It provides the surgeon with a safe and effective medical treatment options for challenging patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the safety of HVI in these patients. Methods: This retrospective study identified adult patients treated with Halo vests immobilization (HVI) for acute cervical spine injury at our metropolitan level 1 trauma center from 2013 to 2017. This heterogenous cohort included 67 consecutive patients with acute cervical spine injury secondary to trauma or iatrogenic injury following surgical intervention with a mean age of 52 and a mean injury severity score (ISS) of 18. Forty-six percent of patients were treated with HVI as an adjunct therapy to surgical fixation (both short- and long-term immobilization), 45% of patients were treated with HVI as a primary medical treatment, and 9% of patients were treated with HVI instead of failed conservative medical treatment, such as cervical braces. Results: Pneumonia during the initial hospital stay was the most common complication (25%), followed by the correction of loose pins (22%) and pin site infections (18%). Overall, 51% of patients experienced at least one of these complications. There were significant associations between low initial GCS scores and the development of pneumonia (p < 0.001), high ISS scores and the development of pneumonia (p < 0.01), and duration of HVI and the occurrence of loose pins (p < 0.05). Four patients initially treated with HVI as primary medical treatment was converted to surgical treatment due to an intolerance of HVI or non-healing injuries. Conclusions:The HVI is a safe and effective treatment modality in a subset of patients with complex cervical junction and subaxial cervical spine pathology.

Indexing the vegetated surfaces within WUI by their wildfire ignition and spreading capacity, a comparative case from developing metropolitan areas

The main objective of this study is to push forward a rapid and cost-free method for forest fire proneness assessment within the wildland urban interface (WUI) for developing metropolitan areas. It compares between the forest surfaces within two capital regions from the Western Balkans (WB), namely Sarajevo and Tirana. This study follows a multi-criteria approach and integrates a variety of wildfire ignition or spreading causes relying on anthropogenic, hydro-meteorological, geophysical, and fuel properties of the study area. The indexing method utilizes specific techniques of data clustering and criteria weighting. The relative degree of implication that each criterion has with wildfire ignition and spreading behaviour is weighted via a hierarchical pairwise comparison (AHP) among criteria. The workflow is automated via graphical modeller in QGIS, making the method easily reproducible to other metropolitan areas in the developing regions. Relying on the map of wildfire spreading capacity index (WSCI), the study demonstrates a vulnerability analysis focusing on the exposed buildings. According to the results, Sarajevo has four times more exposed buildings than Tirana. However, the exposed buildings in Tirana record higher risk values than in Sarajevo. The sensitivity of the proposed indexing model is tested via Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve method, utilizing historical data on wildfire occurrences relying on the EFFIS database. The results of ROC analysis suggest that the relative weighted factors per each criteria are context-dependent, and must be calculated referring to local occurrences of wildfire. This study suggests that the urbanization and transportation network planning have a direct impact on the wildfire risk for the vegetated wildland urban interface (WUI). This study recommends the identification of wildfire-prone areas of metropolitan forest surfaces to be considered by policy-making bodies which are responsible for the disaster risk reduction at metropolitan level.

Detecting the true urban polycentric pattern of Chinese cities in morphological dimensions: A multiscale analysis based on geospatial big data

With current decentralization trends and polycentric planning efforts, the urban spatial structures of Chinese cities have been changing tremendously. To detect the true urban polycentric pattern of Chinese cities, this article analyzed the urban polycentricity characteristics of 294 cities. The natural cities were delineated by points of interest (POIs), and road networks constituted street blocks. Based on check-in data and new spatial units, centers within both metropolitan areas and central cities were identified and examined. We discovered that all Chinese cities have at least one natural city in their metropolitan areas because of rapid urban sprawl. Although a monocentric structure is still the most common urban spatial structure, 110 Chinese cities displayed different degrees of polycentricity at the metropolitan level. Many natural cities beyond central cities contribute to polycentric development at the metropolitan level. Central cities have maintained their original vitality and importance, most Chinese cities have dispersed urban structures in central cities, and 45 central cities are polycentric. The spatial structures in metropolitan areas are more polycentric than those in central cities. The only 36 cities with polycentric urban structures at both the metropolitan and central city levels are all national or regional central cities in eastern China.

Cutaneous Complications Associated With Intraosseous Access Placement.

Intraosseous (IO) access provides a potentially lifesaving means of vascular access in settings of trauma and advanced cardiovascular life support in which patients often require prompt and large volumes of fluid resuscitation, blood products, and medications. An additional benefit of IO access is the rare incidence of complications, with many studies reporting rates of less than 1%. The most commonly cited complications include compartment syndrome, osteomyelitis, traumatic bone fracture, and epiphyseal plate damage. To evaluate the dermatologic sequelae, we performed a retrospective chart review spanning 18 consecutive months to identify patients who underwent IO line placement, either at or en route to a large metropolitan level I trauma center in the Midwestern United States. Our review identified a complication rate of 2.7%, with complications including compartment syndrome, needle breakage, and a previously unreported cutaneous complication of traumatic bullae.

Mapping Urban Green Spaces at the Metropolitan Level Using Very High Resolution Satellite Imagery and Deep Learning Techniques for Semantic Segmentation

Urban green spaces (UGSs) provide essential environmental services for the well-being of ecosystems and society. Due to the constant environmental, social, and economic transformations of cities, UGSs pose new challenges for management, particularly in fast-growing metropolitan areas. With technological advancement and the evolution of deep learning, it is possible to optimize the acquisition of UGS inventories through the detection of geometric patterns present in satellite imagery. This research evaluates two deep learning model techniques for semantic segmentation of UGS polygons with the use of different convolutional neural network encoders on the U-Net architecture and very high resolution (VHR) imagery to obtain updated information on UGS polygons at the metropolitan area level. The best model yielded a Dice coefficient of 0.57, IoU of 0.75, recall of 0.80, and kappa coefficient of 0.94 with an overall accuracy of 0.97, which reflects a reliable performance of the network in detecting patterns that make up the varied geometry of UGSs. A complete database of UGS polygons was quantified and categorized by types with location and delimited by municipality, allowing for the standardization of the information at the metropolitan level, which will be useful for comparative analysis with a homogenized and updated database. This is of particular interest to urban planners and UGS decision-makers.

Comparing Regional Sustainability and Transportation Sustainability at the Metropolitan Level in the U.S. using Artificial Neural Network Clustering Techniques

Regional sustainability and transportation sustainability have been intensely discussed and analyzed in recent decades. Though the use of indicators has been adopted in those models, debates continue on what indicators should be used and how to optimize the number of indicators. This results in the lack of a comprehensive and efficient method to assess and compare the sustainability of a sub-system, such as transportation system, and overall regional sustainability. A thorough literature review is conducted to identify indicators used to assess regional sustainability and transportation sustainability. Then, based on the available data, two sets of indicators for regional sustainability and transportation sustainability are identified and calculated respectively for the 382 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the U.S. A self-organizing map, which is a type of artificial neural network, is used to cluster the MSAs and compare their regional sustainability and transportation sustainability as well as to investigate the relationships among indicators. The results show that MSAs with a higher score on regional sustainability do not necessarily have a higher score on transportation sustainability. Some MSAs that are geographically close to each other have similar scores in regional sustainability and transportation sustainability. These findings provide insights to decision makers that the assessment of sustainability should consider both correlation and heterogeneity of different indicators within a region. Therefore, it is important to develop a comprehensive and efficient method to evaluate the role of sustainability in one urban sub-system, such as transportation, in the overall regional sustainability.