Mid-sized City Research Articles

Observational study of ground-level ozone and climatic factors in Craiova, Romania, based on one-year high-resolution data.

Air pollution is a multifaceted issue affecting people's health, environment, and biodiversity. Gaining comprehension of the interactions between natural and anthropocentric pollutant concentrations and local climate is challenging. This study aims to address the following two questions: (1) What is the influential mechanism of climatic and anthropogenic factors on the ground-level ozone (O3) concentrations in an urban environment during different seasons? (2) Can the ozone weekend effect be observed in a medium-sized city like Craiova, and under which conditions? In order to answer these questions, ozone interactions with meteorological parameters (temperature, pressure, relative humidity) and pollutant concentrations (particulate matter, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide) is evaluated based on a one-year dataset given by a low-cost sensor and one-year dataset provided by the National Environment Agency. Using two statistical analysis programs, Python and SPSS, a good understanding of the correlations between these variables and ozone concentration is obtained. The SPSS analysis underscores the significant impact of three meteorological factors and nine other pollutants on the ozone level. A positive correlation is noticed in the summer when sunlight is intense and photochemical reactions are elevated. The relationship between temperature and ozone concentration is strong and positive, as confirmed by Spearman's rho correlation coefficient (r = 0.880). A significant negative correlation is found between relative humidity and ozone (r = -0.590). Moreover, the analysis shows that particulate matter concentrations exhibit a significant negative correlation with ozone (r ≈ -0.542), indicating that higher particulate matter concentrations reduce ozone levels. Volatile organic compounds show a significant negative correlation with ozone (r = -0.156). A negative relationship between ozone and carbon dioxide (r = -0.343), indicates that elevated carbon dioxide levels might also suppress ozone concentrations. A significant positive correlation between nitrogen dioxide and ozone (r = 0.060), highlights the role of nitrogen dioxide in the production of ozone through photochemical reactions. However, nitric oxide shows a negative correlation with ozone (r = -0.055) due to its role in ozone formation. Carbon monoxide has no statistically significant effect on ozone concentration. To observe the differences between weekdays and weekends, T-Test was used. Even though significant differences were observed in temperature, humidity, carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide and carbon monoxide levels between weekdays and weekends, the T-Test did not highlight a significant weekend ozone effect in a mid-sized city as Craiova. Using Python, the daily values were calculated and compared with the limit values recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and European Environment Agency (EEA). The WHO O3 recommended levels were exceeded for 13 times in one year. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of ozone pollution in a mid-sized city as Craiova, serving as a valuable reference for local decision-makers. It provides critical insights into the seasonal dynamics of ozone levels, emphasizing the significant role of temperature in ozone formation and the complex interactions between various pollutants and meteorological factors.

Spatial suitability of urban land use models for poverty alleviation in the cities of Nigeria

Many models depicting the spatial dimensions of poverty are based on cities in developed countries, raising questions about their appropriateness for urban spaces in developing countries. This study evaluates the spatial suitability of these models in understanding poverty distribution and informing alleviation efforts related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). One in cities of developing nations. A grid sampling technique in ArcGIS 10.8 was used to select 1098 households across 56 wards in three mid-sized Nigerian cities. Household data were collected through structured questionnaires using GeoODK, and Maxar high-resolution imagery was used to assess urban building density. The Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) poverty indices and Pearson correlation were applied for analysis. Results showed that over 29 wards had a poverty incidence and gap index greater than 0.20, while poverty severity remained below 0.20 in most wards. High building density was more prevalent in the city’s interior. Significant correlations were found between the income poverty gap (p = 0.005, r = 0.367), poverty severity (p = 0.009, r = 0.346), and building density. The study concludes that these models are suitable for informing poverty alleviation policies in mid-sized cities of developing countries, especially Nigeria.

Trends in socioeconomic disparities in urban heat exposure and adaptation options in mid-size U.S. cities

There is ample evidence that Environmental Justice communities experience high levels of extreme heat. However, it is unknown how disparities in urban heat exposure and adaptation options change over time. This study investigates socioeconomic disparities over time in urban heat exposure and adaptation options in eight mid-sized Northeastern cities. We ask: How were socioeconomic factors associated with heat exposure and adaptation options over time? We analyzed disparities at the census block group level and census block level, respectively. At the census block group level, we ran spatial regression models between socioeconomic variables, including race, income, gender, and age, and heat exposure and adaptation variables, including land surface temperature, normalized different vegetation index (NDVI), tree cover, and air conditioning ownership rate. We found that: Low median household income is always associated with high LST and low NDVI from 1990 to 2020; Low percentage of females is always associated with high LST and low NDVI from 1990 to 2020. High percentage of POC is associated with high LST in 2010 and 2020, but not in 1990 and 2000; Low median household income and low percentage of elderly are associated with lower tree cover; High percentage of POC, low percentage of elderly, and low median household income are associated with lower AC rates. In analysis at the census block level by city, we found that disparities in urban heat exposure between predominantly POC and predominantly white communities increased in most cities during 1990-2020. Predominantly POC communities consistently have lower vegetation cover over time in most cities. Disparities in vegetation cover per unit area increased in most cities, whereas disparities in vegetation cover per capita decreased in most cities. Our findings of the trends in disparities in heat exposure and adaptation are useful for forecasting disparities in the future. These findings also suggest that interventions should prioritize cities with increasing disparities in heat exposure and adaptation.

Understanding Consumer Beliefs and Choices Related to Food Safety: A Qualitative Study in Urban Ethiopia.

Provide an in-depth examination of consumers' food safety beliefs and practices to draw implications for interventions to improve nutrition and food safety in Ethiopia. Adapted Focused Ethnographic Study approach using in-person semi-structured interviews and free-listing exercises, in two iterative phases. A traditional food market in Hawassa, a mid-sized city. Forty-six market shoppers, selected randomly in line with quotas for age and gender. Consumers did not clearly differentiate between quality and safety, seeing them through connected concepts such as 'freshness'. While most respondents had some understanding of the causes of unsafe food, they did not generally worry about becoming ill themselves and felt food safety risks were easily mitigated through in-home behaviors. Thus, food safety practices were not a main motivator of market or vendor choice. There was no evidence that food safety concerns led consumers to prefer packaged, processed food or to avoid consuming fresh foods.Discussion: The study offers novel depth and detail on a topic of strong policy relevance. While building on an encouraging base of understanding of food safety, there remains considerable scope for increasing knowledge, particularly with regards to the need to procure safe food as opposed to expecting household-level practices to mitigate all safety risks. Motivating customers to give food safety factors more consideration when making food purchasing decisions, such as by leveraging emotion-based communication from trusted messengers to elevate the issue's salience in their minds, may contribute to improvements in food safety in low-income countries such as Ethiopia.

Scale-Dependent Effects of Urban Canopy Cover, Canopy Volume, and Impervious Surfaces on Near-Surface Air Temperature in a Mid-Sized City

Cities are significantly warmer than their surrounding rural environments. Known as the ‘urban heat island effect’, it can affect the health of urban residents and lead to increased energy use, public health impacts, and damage to infrastructure. Although this effect is extensively researched, less is known about how landscape characteristics within cities affect local temperature variation. This study examined how tree canopy cover, canopy volume, and impervious surface cover affect daytime near-surface air temperature, and how these effects vary between different scales of analysis (10, 30, 60, 90 m radii), ranging from approximate street corridor to city block size. Temperature data were obtained from a car-mounted sensor, with traverse data points recorded during morning, afternoon, and evening times, plotted throughout the city of Portland, OR. The variability in near-surface air temperature was over 10° F during each traverse period. The results indicate that near-surface air temperature increased linearly with impervious surface cover and decreased linearly with tree canopy cover, with canopy volume reducing the temperature by 1° F for every 500 cubic feet of canopy volume for evening temperatures. The magnitude of the effect of tree canopy increased with spatial scale, with 60 and 90 m scales having the greatest measurable effect. Canopy volume had a positive relationship on presumed nighttime and early-morning temperatures at 60 and 90 m scales, potentially due to the impacts of wind fluctuation and air roughness. Canopy cover still contributed the largest overall decrease in street-scale temperatures. Increasing tree canopy cover and volume effectively explained the lower daytime and evening temperatures, while reducing impervious surface cover remains critical for reducing morning and presumed nighttime urban heat. The results may inform strategies for urban foresters and planners in managing urban land cover and tree planting patterns to build increased resiliency towards moderating urban temperature under warming climate conditions.

The adequacy of residential parking requirements: a comparison of demand and required supply in European cities

Minimum residential parking requirements exist in most European cities to regulate the number of off-street parking spaces built for new or converted residential buildings. As minimum parking requirements can have various negative impacts, they are controversially discussed and increasingly complemented or replaced by maximum requirements in several cities around the world. This paper evaluates the adequacy of residential minimum and maximum parking requirements in 12 mid-sized cities in Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. By calculating the number of required parking spaces and by comparing this required supply to the estimated parking demand, we evaluate the impacts and possible steering effects of parking standards. We base our estimations on a hypothetical scenario, in which all existing residential buildings comply with the requirements and use the number of registered cars as a proxy for residential parking demand.Our results reveal great differences between the cities’ parking standards. Some cities have minimum requirements, which would lead to a parking supply exceeding the current parking demand in large, mainly densely-populated and centrally located areas. These requirements would result in an oversupply of off-street parking at the place of residence of more than 50% of all residents, which in some areas would even exceed the parking demand by a factor of 2. In contrast to that, other cities have quite stringent requirements, which fall well below the current parking demand at the place of residence of 64 to 81% of all residents. Some of these restrictive cities complement their minimum parking requirements with additional measures by enforcing maximum requirements, limiting access to parking permits or reducing the overall parking capacity. Based on these findings, we discuss the adequacy of the parking requirements, their likely underlying objectives and their possible impacts on future urban development.

Access Pass: Validating The Scale of Barriers to Participation in Recreational Spaces

The importance of parks and recreational spaces in terms of public health has become even more evident after the pandemic period. The increased utilization of these areas by larger populations has imposed different responsibilities on the park and recreational spaces managers. To increase people's participation in parks and recreational spaces, it is important to first identify the barriers that hinder their participation. This study aims to adapt The Scale of Barriers to Participation in Recreational Spaces, developed by Gümüş and Alay, to the United States. In this context the study was conducted in a mid-sized city located in the Midwest in the U.S.A., involving a sample of 412 individuals ranging in age from 18 to 76. The data collection took place over four months, from December 2022 to March 2023. The factor structure obtained in the original scale development study was tested through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) as part of the validity study. During this analysis, it was necessary to remove one item from the security factor as it increased the Chi-square value in the CFA procedure. According to the analysis, it is evident that the goodness-of-fit indices yielded favorable results. Specifically, the Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) obtained a value of 0.04, while the Incremental Fit Index (IFI) and Comparative Fit Index (CFI) reached values of 0.94 and 0.98, respectively, signifying excellent goodness of fit. Additionally, the Normed Fit Index (NFI) and Goodness-of-Fit Index (GFI) attained values of 0.94, which fall within acceptable limits. Moreover, the chi-square value of χ2(94)=153.693 and a ratio of χ2/sd=1.63<2 indicated a perfect fit for the model. Correlation analyses between dimensions were conducted as part of the validity study. In the reliability study of the scale, Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient was estimated. According to the findings, the factor structure of the scale was confirmed to be parallel to the original scale development study. Furthermore, Cronbach's alpha values ranged between 0.83 and 0.90. With these conducted studies, the scale has provided the necessary validity and reliability evidence for its use in the USA culture and has been introduced to the field to be utilized in various studies. It is expected that this scale can benefit both park and recreational spaces managers and users by identifying barriers to participation in these spaces and increasing engagement. Concurrently with the research outcomes, recommendations were formulated for park and recreation administrators.

To attack or not attack? The role of relative status, awareness, and motivation

Competitive dynamics research has often used the AMC framework—awareness, motivation, and capability—to explain how different factors influence the identification of specific other firms as competitors and the likelihood of future competitive interactions with them. However, this stream of research has largely overlooked the role of social evaluations in determining which firms are targeted. We study how a specific form of social evaluation—relative status—impacts the firm's awareness of specific competitors and the motivation to attack them. Whereas prior research has principally viewed the AMC framework as a Gestalt-like black box, our research setting enabled us to measure and explore the interrelationships that occur within the AMC framework. We pose our theory as competing logics: Awareness mediates the relationship between relative status and motivation versus relative status moderates the relationship between awareness and motivation. We tested these competing arguments using a unique dataset of food trucks in a mid-sized city in the U.S. We find that low-status firms exhibit a strong motivation to attack higher-status competitors primarily due to the greater attention the high-status firms garner. Further, we find no support for a moderation effect. Our study helps arrive at a better understand the interplay between awareness and motivation in the context of social evaluations.

Assessing ecosystem resilience: effects of different environments on native flora, lichens and bee pollen in a mid-sized Brazilian city

Abstract The alteration of the natural environment by human activities has increased in recent decades, with a significant impact on the organisms that inhabit it. One of the most apparent consequences of environmental alterations is the occurrence of climatic changes. The city of Joinville is situated in the southern region of Brazil. It has achieved a notable position at the national level, largely due to the significant presence of large-scale industrial operations in the metal-mechanical, plastic, and textile sectors. This study aimed to assess the effects of urban environments on Nectandra oppositifolia plants and lichen communities using a passive biomonitoring approach, and on Tetragonisca angustula stingless bees using an active biomonitoring approach. This study demonstrated a pronounced effect of anthropogenic activities on plant anatomy and morphology (higher leaf area, fresh mass, dry mass, and water content in the urban-industrial site), with higher metal concentrations in leaf particulate matter (3.14 ± 0.4 μg cm−2). The diversity of lichens was the lowest, whereas that of crustose lichens was the highest in industrial-urban and residential-rural sites (industrial-urban site = 13 species, residential-rural site = 29 species, control site = 33 species, p < 0.05). The distribution of species within the lichen communities was inversely correlated with the degree of anthropogenic influence. Some lichen species were found exclusively in the control areas, suggesting that they may indicate good environmental quality (Arthonia sp., Astrothelium sp., Phyllopsora pyxinoides, Phyllopsis sp., and others). Beehive pollen analysis revealed the presence of Zn, Cr, Ni, Cu, and Pb, and industrial-urban site exhibited higher metal concentrations (particularly, Ni, 12.59 ± 0.9, and Cr, 3.76 ± 1.00, mg kg−1). This approach highlights the environmental repercussions that affect the Plantae, Fungi, and Animalia kingdoms. The use of biomonitoring as a robust tool in good environmental quality assessment provides insight into policy decisions and underscores the importance of pollution studies.

Shifting Hearts and Minds: Practical Communications Strategies for Addressing Homelessness in Mid-Size Cities

The visibility of homelessness is increasing in mid-size cities, putting municipalities under mounting pressure to address this complex issue. Unfortunately, community sentiment and responses to homelessness are often informed by misinformation and divisive narratives. Communication strategies, therefore, play a key role in educating audiences, highlighting shared values across the political spectrum, and advancing human rights-based and sustainable solutions to homelessness. In this article, we offer strategies for educating, uniting, and mobilizing different stakeholders around human rights-based approaches to homelessness. We discuss how to segment, target, and reach different audiences with values-based and research-backed messaging, particularly through a layered approach. We share practical tools on how, when, and where to most effectively deploy content to maximize its reach. We also discuss best practices for communicating with any audience on the critical homelessness and human rights issues facing mid-sized communities today. These strategies and best practices will allow you to communicate with purpose, make the best use of resources, shift hearts and minds, and ultimately advance your goal of promoting human rights-based and sustainable solutions to homelessness in your community.

Platform-mediated territorial stigmatization and destigmatization: Unpacking Reddit discussions on moving to “the other” London

This paper interrogates the role of digital platforms in advancing territorial stigma. Drawing from research that has discerned the channels with which territorial stigma has been produced and mediated through — commonly referred to as ‘modes’ — I argue digital platforms are a mode in their own right. Digital platforms are on par with, and may have already surpassed, pre-platform media modes (e.g., newspapers, television) in terms of their use for forming preconceptions of cities in lieu of lived experience. Accordingly, this study investigates discussions on the social networking platform Reddit, about moving to the mid-sized city of London, Ontario in Canada. I use a hybrid thematic analysis to identify (de)stigmatizing content within a topic-based forum (a subreddit). The results show that the platform mediated its users’ reproduction of territorial stigmas stemming from pre-platform modes, rather than having generated entirely novel stigmas. Moreover, many users enacted or reworked established territorial destigmatization strategies to contest, counter, or cope with London’s territorial stigma. This paper contributes to territorial stigma research by examining a lesser-known mid-sized city, which in turn expands the current understanding of stigmatization in Canada hitherto limited to its materialization in large cities. By demonstrating Reddit’s modal potentiality, the paper provides the necessary empirical basis for future studies interested in examining other digital platforms through the theoretical framework of territorial stigma. Furthermore, it encourages future conceptualizations of the media mode of territorial stigma production to include digital platforms alongside traditional and mass media.

Compassionate revanchism, homelessness, and the divided local state: the case of Spokane, WA

ABSTRACT This study deepens our understanding of compassionate revanchism in the spatial management of homelessness in a relatively understudied, midsize city: Spokane, WA. Spokane has observed consistently increasing levels of homelessness in recent years and has been vastly understudied as a site of homelessness compared to larger American cities. This study investigates the internal workings of the City of Spokane in its efforts to solve its worsening homelessness crisis and presents a critical discourse analysis of compassionate revanchism in the process. Spokane’s homelessness practices mirror the contradictory trend of persistent revanchist approaches coupled with increased funding to systems of care experienced in other cities. But a deeper analysis reveals a sharp internal conflict within the local state in Spokane, especially between the Mayor’s Office, the City Council and other local state agencies. This conflict reflects a stark divide within the homelessness discourse regarding its primary causes and applicable solutions and demonstrates that local governments are not the singular actors that are frequently portrayed in the literature. In the process, compassionate revanchism is revealed to be indicative of a more complicated internal division within local government (between starkly opposing narratives regarding homelessness) as much as it is a singular ambivalent policy approach.

An Analysis of the Health Effects of Physical Activity due to Active Travel Policies in Rennes, France.

Rennes, a midsize city in France, features many opportunities for active travel. City officials seek to increase walking and cycling by 2030 to improve public health. Physical inactivity, a leading risk factor for premature mortality around the globe, has been shown to be associated with many chronic diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and cancer. Using the 2018 household travel survey of Rennes residents, we apply the Health-Oriented Transportation statistical model to assess health impacts associated with population-level rates of walking and cycling. We consider two proposed mobility and climate objectives which outline sustainable transportation goals by 2030. These include a shift in transportation mode share to increase walking and cycling trips, as well as a broad reduction in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) across the metropolitan area. Our regression analysis demonstrated that factors of household car access and inner-city residency were predictors of prevalence (observed one-day proportion engaging in walking or cycling), participation (weekly proportion), and intensity (mean individual physical activity achieved through walking/cycling) of active travel. Age and education were additionally associated with prevalence. The 2030 mobility objective (mode share: 9% cycle, 35% walk) was associated with a reduction of 1,051 DALYs (disability-adjusted life-years), translating to $73 million USD ($23-$177) in averted costs. The climate objective (10% reduction in VMT) was associated with a reduction of 369 DALYs when replaced entirely by walking and 714 DALYs with cycling, translating to $26 million ($8-$62) and $50 million ($15-$121) saved, respectively. Rennes residents experience high participation in active travel, particularly those in the inner city. If residents achieve the city's active travel goals for 2030, there is potential for a large reduction in health burden and subsequent costs. Reaching these goals may require significant investment in transportation programming and infrastructure to improve active travel opportunities.

Media Representations of Homelessness in Three Mid-Sized Canadian Cities: Integrative Review and Comparative Analysis

The media play a pivotal role in framing narratives about complex social issues like homelessness. This study conducts a comparative analysis to evaluate how homelessness is portrayed within print and social media in three Canadian mid-sized cities. We explore similarities and differences between news print media and Facebook conversations on the broad topic of homelessness with respect to temporal distributions of discussions about homelessness, conversations about encampments, the diversity of voices included in social and print media reports, and the use of stereotypical and stigmatizing discourse about homelessness. Our study reveals seasonal variations in discussions about homelessness within traditional media, while social media maintains a more consistent conversation throughout the year. In both media types, however, the discussions about encampments are frequently intertwined with themes of crime and addiction. Moreover, we observe greater inclusion of voices from individuals with lived experience in print media. We find that discussions within both platforms echo common myths associated with homelessness, perpetuating negative conceptions in the broader community. In light of our findings, we advocate for greater editorial oversight on how discussions about homelessness are framed in print media, technological advancements to control negative conversations on social media platforms and encourage the inclusion of voices from those with lived experience. Our research contributes to an underexplored area, as we illuminate the mechanisms of discourse that shape public perceptions and attitudes about homelessness in both print and social media.

Evaluation study of the urban governance of the COVID-19 crisis in the city of Antwerp

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has demanded crisis management at all governance levels. While most research has focused on responses of national governments, city-level governance had significant potential to develop tailored approaches. This study explored how the local COVID-19 response was organised and adapted to the specific city population and context in the City of Antwerp, Belgium.MethodsA case study using semi-structured interviews was set up with 20 key informants with a central role in the coordination and implementation of the city-level COVID-19 response in Antwerp. Thematic analysis of transcripts was guided by an adapted version of the OECD risk management cycle.ResultsRespondents’ accounts provide a granular understanding of pandemic preparedness, crisis management, and response and adaptation to the COVID-19 crisis in a mid-size European city. Its size was large enough to have a strong capacity within its government bodies, to utilise the expertise of strong partners in the area and to mobilise a critical mass for action, yet small enough to quickly establish connections and trust. In addition to a universal approach, they developed tailored responses to specific neighbourhoods and groups. Well-established community and organisational ties enhanced the effectiveness of grassroots initiatives. The perceived feeling of joint action contributed to a strong collective agency, but respondents noted the need for a system for monitoring and learning.ConclusionsLocal governments are important to develop tailored strategies and organise a locally relevant crisis response in cities. They need expertise and agency, with enough flexibility to experiment. To harness promising practices and avoid repeating errors in future crises, it is crucial to develop a system that better evaluates and monitors local responses, before, during and after crises.

Integrated Urban Transport and Land-Use Policies in Reducing CO2 Emissions and Energy Consumption: Case Study of a Medium-Sized City in Thailand

In developing cities, transport activities have become one of the primary sources of CO2 emissions and energy consumption owing to rapid economic growth, urbanization, and motorization. Khon Kaen City, Thailand, was chosen as a representative mid-sized city of a developing country to investigate the potential influences of transit-oriented development (TOD), light rail transit (LRT), and electric vehicle (EV) policy integration scenarios on CO2 emission and energy consumption reductions in 2016, 2026, and 2046. The TOD did not significantly reduce CO2 emissions or energy consumption because it was only applied in one area of the city. The LRT development also had a small effect because of the small proportion of modal shifts to LRT. However, EV utilization offered the greatest potential for reducing both CO2 emissions and energy consumption. In addition, the integrated scenario combining the three policies had a promising effect, diminishing both CO2 emissions and energy consumption, because it gathered the potential merits and benefits of each individual policy.

“Separated, but far from alone”

Our article examines how women built an expansive community during the 1970s and 1980s through the pages of Lesbian Connection, one of the era’s most widely circulated publications of the lesbian feminist movement. To reveal this community, we map thousands of locations that appeared in the periodical, revealing a geography that tilted toward rural areas and mid-sized cities instead of the major metropolitan centers that have received much of the attention within LGBTQ scholarship. Through the magazine’s reader-submitted content, advertisements for lesbian-owned businesses, and a directory of volunteers who served as local contacts for an area, Lesbian Connection bridged the spatial scales of long-distance media networks and in-person interactions to create a vibrant lesbian community that transcended region and locality.

Urban sources of methane characterised by long-term eddy covariance observations in central Europe

Multiyear eddy covariance measurements of methane and carbon dioxide were performed in Innsbruck, Austria, a mid-sized European city in the Alps. Annual mean methane and carbon dioxide fluxes were on the order of 21.6 nmol/m2/s and 11.7 μmol/m2/s respectively. Methane fluxes increased significantly with decreasing temperature and showed a negligible weekend to weekday effect. Accompanying non-methane volatile organic compound (NMVOC) measurements provided additional constraints on urban methane sources during an intensive 6-week campaign in 2021. Positive matrix factorization analysis identified a unique and dominant methane source. Contributions from biomass burning and vehicle emissions were found to be small. No evidence was found for a large unknown biogenic source. A second intensive campaign in 2023 revealed that the measured ethane to methane enhancement in turbulent plumes showed a typical ratio of 5.2 ± 0.6%, close to the unburned ratio of natural gas (5%) in Austria. The analysis suggests that urban methane fluxes are likely to be dominated by end-user releases rather than natural gas leaks in the pipeline system. Long-term eddy flux observations also allowed identifying the existence of urban super-emitters, which brought area weighted methane fluxes up to 39 nmol/m2/s in 2022. On average, the 100 y global warming potential of methane emitted by natural gas combustion activities is 6% relative to the total urban CO2 flux, and ∼12% relative to CO2 emissions from the residential, commercial and public sectors in Innsbruck.

Constructing inclusion and exclusion in and through leaders’ communication discourses and practices

This study explores the discourses and communication practices of five leaders working in elderly care units in a mid-size city in Sweden and the construct of inclusion and exclusion by examining their daily communicative leadership practices with their work groups, consisting of Swedish-born and foreigner-born migrants. The results were drawn from an analysis of interviews with five leaders and the observation of eight meetings led by three of them. The findings indicate that leaders’ different strategies of inclusion are related to the engagement and participation of workers in discussions and decision-making. Some salient practices and discourses are pertinent to leaders’ cultural biases that can lead to ethnocentrism and essentialism, which might have a negative impact on inclusion. Leaders who practice inclusiveness through connecting, relating, and giving space for engagement and participation might better contribute to workplaces. The aspects and strategies of inclusion and exclusion are embedded in leaders’ practices and discourses and present them as bridge builders, empathetic and supportive, and culture enhancers. This study presents leaders' communication styles to include and exclude migrant workers and their strategies for engagement and participation in workplace issues. The leaders' communication styles emerged from the data and were defined as bridge builders, empathetic and supportive, and culture enhancers.

Persons Experiencing Homelessness during Extreme Temperatures: Lessons for Promoting Socially Inclusive Adaptive Capacity.

Climate change and increasing extreme temperatures present unique challenges to persons experiencing homelessness (PEH), including heightened physical and psychological harm. While green and urban infrastructure has emerged as one possible mitigation strategy, homeless populations are rarely included in municipal disaster planning or infrastructure research. This study used in-depth interviews with PEH (N = 42) during the summers of 2022 and 2023. Questions were designed around phenomenological methods to explore the individuals' firsthand descriptions of the lived experience of coping during extreme temperatures within a mid-size city in the Southeastern United States. Our findings highlight how social exclusion within the built environment reduces PEH's adaptive capacity and increases the physical and psychological risks of extreme temperatures, namely through limiting and policing scarce resources and restricting the mobility of PEH. In contrast, public transit provided relief from extreme temperatures. Implications from our findings include the need for attention on inclusive green urban infrastructure, including increased placement and access to shade, public water, mixed-use daytime sheltering models, and the installation of lockers to increase capacity to maintain supplies and gear necessary for enduring extreme temperatures. Findings also highlight the challenges of designing inclusive green infrastructure and the importance of de-stigmatizing homelessness and building more housing and income support to increase adaptive capacity for an entire community in the context of a rapidly warming climate.