Urban Modernity Research Articles

Thrills of Twilight: Flappers in Edith Wharton’s Twilight Sleep (1927)

Abstract This article explores the tumultuous 1920s, a decade of vibrant urban culture that witnessed the birth of a new female figure, the flapper. The young flappers, who were products of fin-de-siècle urban modernity, were caught in-between conventional backgrounds and eccentric self-definitions, in the liminal twilight zone of their indeterminate desires. In Edith Wharton’s Twilight Sleep (1927) the flappers Nona Manford and Lita Cliffe Wyant are tied to the bodily gratifications of dancing, sports, alcohol, and sex, a cause for cultural anxiety, particularly when nonheteronormative. The homoerotic relationship between Nona and Lita becomes exposed through Nona’s gaze resting on Lita and her sensual body. Wharton’s flappers immerse themselves in sensory experiences that just like those of others are “permeated with social values,” according to David Howes. The way Nona and Lita engage their senses and explore sensations reflect their social status as their lives move on, extravagantly, with the fast beat of jazz, which in Nona’s case is later contrasted by immobility as she lies in her bed physically and emotionally wounded. In the end, Nona and Lita are pressured toward conventionality, but before then, they are most alive when engaged in the thrills of twilight that send tremors through their bodies.

What Is My Plaza for? Implementing a Machine Learning Strategy for Public Events Prediction in the Urban Square

Plazas are an essential pillar of public life in our cities. Historically, they have been seen as public fora, hosting public events that fostered trade, interaction, and debate. However, with the rise of modern urbanism, city planners considered them as part of a larger strategic development scheme overlooking their social importance. As a result, plazas have lost their function and value. In recent years, awareness has risen of the need to re-activate these public spaces to strive for social inclusion and urban resilience. Geometric and urban features of plazas and their surroundings often suggest what kinds of usage the public can make of them. In this project, we explore the application of machine learning to predict the suitability of events in public spaces, aiming to enhance urban plaza design. Learning from traditional urbanism indicators, we consider factors associated with the features of the public space, such as the number of people and the high degree of comfort, which are evolved from three subcategories: external factors, geometric shape, and design factors. We acknowledge that the predictive capability of our model is constrained by a relatively small dataset, comprising 15 real plazas in Madrid augmented digitally to 2025 fictional scenarios through self-organising maps. The article details the methods to quantify and enumerate quantitative urban features. With a categorical target variable, a classification model is trained to predict the type of event in the urban space. The model is then evaluated locally in Grasshopper by visualising a parametric verified geometry and deploying the model on other existing plazas worldwide regarding geographical proximity to Madrid, where to share or not the same cultural and environmental conditions. Despite these limitations, our findings offer valuable insights into the potential of machine learning in urban planning, suggesting pathways for future research to expand upon this foundational study.

The City, the Neighborhood, and the Street: Toward a Global Urban Labor History?

Abstract Labor scholars have increasingly recognized the need to look beyond the workplace and explore where and how workers lived, socialized, shopped, or protested. The six books reviewed in this essay contribute to understanding how modern cities shaped the process of working-class formation as well as workers’ identity, experiences, and economic and material conditions. From different standpoints, these urban and labor histories of Paris, Mexico City, Miami, Port Said, Montevideo, and Santiago, Chile, demonstrate the impact of urban modernization, industrial capitalism, and migration on working families. By bringing together books from different regions and historiographical traditions, this essay also reflects on the possibilities and challenges of writing a global labor urban history.

Comparison of Intelligent Community Design from the Perspective of Modernization--Shenzhen and Singapore as examples

With the continuous advancement of modernization, globalization, and urbanization, smart communities have received widespread attention as an important part of modern urban development. Taking two typical cases, Shenzhen and Singapore, as objects, this study compares and analyzes the design and practice experiences of the two smart communities from the modernization perspective. By comparing the design and practice of the two smart communities in Shenzhen and Singapore, it explores the common features and differences of smart community construction in different modernization contexts and provides reference and inspiration for smart community construction in future cities. Through literature research and case studies, a comparative analysis is conducted to study the design concepts, practice methods, and effects of two smart communities in Shenzhen and Singapore. The results of the study show that Shenzhen focuses on innovation and cutting-edge technology, which improves the efficiency of community governance and the quality of life of residents;Singapore focuses on community autonomy, and through intelligent management and residents' cooperation, it has improved the level of community facility management and residents' participation.This study provides useful experience and enlightenment for the construction of other urban smart communities, and provides a reference for promoting the smooth progress of urban modernization.

Research on Improved Crowd Detection Based on YOLOv5

With the acceleration of the process of modern urbanization and the improvement of residents' material living standards, the flow of people in the public space is gradually becoming saturated. The monitoring equipment in public places records a huge amount of people flow information all the time, but due to the crowds tend to be dense and crowded. Traditional machine learning cannot make accurate and efficient identification of a large number of dense crowds, if the deep learning technology can be used to process the crowded crowd captured by the surveillance camera and accurately identify the number of people in public places, it provides an important guarantee for the flow of people in public areas and safety construction. However, for crowded targets with occlusions, the traditional target detection algorithm sometimes performs poorly. Based on the above background, this paper introduces an enhanced deep learning framework utilizing the YOLOv5 neural network for crowd detection research. aiming at the characteristics of dense and crowded crowds in public areas. By improving convolutional layer C3 in the backbone structure of YOLOv5 neural network and adding CBAM attention mechanism. Compared with the original YOLOv5, the improved model has increased the maximum F1 value of crowd recognition at near, middle and far distances. To sum up, the deep learning framework improved by YOLOv5 neural network proposed in this paper has significantly improved the recognition accuracy of crowded people in public areas.

Eccentric compression behavior of CFRP-confined reactive powder concrete-filled steel tube slender columns

Ultra high and large-span structural components are needed in urban modernization construction to meet the engineering requirements. Reactive powder concrete-filled steel tubes (RPCFSTs) provide a cost-effective and efficient solution for optimizing space utilization in super high-rise buildings and enhancing the crossing capacity of bridge, which accords with such development. However, these components have inherent drawbacks in terms of local buckling and corrosion resistance. The use of carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) confinement to suppress this innate deficiency has been proven to show great advantages in limited trial results. This article establishes a comprehensive test scheme to investigate the eccentric compression performance of CFRP-confined RPCFST columns. A total of 11 specimens were prepared and subjected to biased compression test by varying the component length (400, 800, 1200, and 1600 mm), number of CFRP layers (0–3), and load eccentricity (0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 mm). The results showed that the CFRP confinement could effectively enhance the bearing capacity and energy dissipation capability of RPCFST columns while delaying the local buckling of slender specimens with low slenderness ratios. The improvement of ultimate load due to CFRP confinement exceeded 42.5 %. However, in specimens with higher slenderness ratios and with increasing load eccentricity, the confinement effect of the steel tube on the core RPC tended to weaken. An N–M interaction model for slender CFRP-confined RPCFST columns was established, and this model was validated to be in good agreement with the experimental results. The conclusions drawn from this study might given a solid foundation for the future application of CFRP-confined RPCFST structures.

Историческое архитектурное наследие и современная застройка Владивостока как ресурс интеграции в АТР и формирования бренда территории в рамках политики «Разворота на Восток»: тренды и проблемы

The article examines the problems of forming a brand for the territory of Vladivostok as the largest agglomeration in the Russian Far East and a center of international cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The author analyzes the features of the building and territorial development of the city both in previous historical periods and in the conditions of the present moment. The period of analysis covers the entire history of the city’s development – from the second half of the 19th century to the present day, territorially – the entire urban development, taking into account port and industrial development. The article pays attention to such problems as the established fame of Vladivostok, the features of the urban environment, the specific structure of urban space, the relationship ofthese aspects with the development of international cooperation, business and economic activity, inbound tourism and the transformation of the capital of the Far Eastern Federal District into a well-known international location. The modern Russian policy of "Turn to the East" on the scale of the Far Eastern Federal District turns out to be largely connected with such locations as Vladivostok, and for this reason it is necessary to pay more and more attention to the development of such territories, harmoniously linking the historical "background" with the possibilities of modern urbanism.

CONCEPT FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF A GREEN URBAN ECOSYSTEM: MAIN THEORETICAL APPROACHES

The article reveals the basic theoretical approaches to the formation of a green urban ecosystem in the conditions of modern urbanization. The importance of ecological planning in cities and the impact of green spaces on improving the urban environment are substantiated. The necessity of introducing new methods of managing urban ecosystems, taking into account modern environmental challenges, has been established. Based on the set goal, modern approaches to planning and management of green infrastructure are considered. It is argued that the integration of natural components into urban structures is a key prerequisite for the sustainable development of urban areas. The main principles of creation and maintenance of the urban ecosystem were studied, in particular in the context of adaptation to climate change. The main trends in the development of green spaces in cities have been determined. Further perspectives of research should be directed to the integration of innovative solutions to improve the ecological condition of urban areas. The article also discusses the concept of urban ecosystems and what functions they perform. The latest scientific studies on the growing interest in the problems of green infrastructure development in cities were analyzed. Fifteen principles of green urbanism are analyzed in detail and examples of how they are implemented in some countries of the European Union are given. It is proved that the implementation of the concept of "green" economy is possible only if state mechanisms are introduced to encourage investment in environmentally safe production. Attention is focused on the need to change the methods and forms of fiscal policy at the government level, adopt appropriate laws and regulations, radically reform the policy of subsidizing and supporting renewable energy sources, and further increase investment in the "green" sectors of the economy. It is shown that the development and implementation of the concept of "green" economy in Ukraine should be considered as the main reference point and the basis of state policy. To improve environmental safety in the capital, it is necessary to consistently implement a range of organizational, technical, innovative and other environmental measures with mandatory definition of the social optimum of environmental quality, which will be accompanied by increasing environmental costs and significantly increasing society's requirements for economical use.

Transformation of Modern Urban Park Based on User’s Spatial Perceived Preferences: A Case Study of Kowloon Walled City Park in Hong Kong

Urban parks enhance residents’ quality of life and health by fostering a harmonious relationship between people and nature, so effective park design needs to prioritize ecological protection, sustainable landscapes, and practical spatial structures to achieve these benefits. This study takes the typical case of urban park renovation and reconstruction—Kowloon Walled City Park—as an example to conduct research and divides the interior of the park into four types of areas: contemporary built-up area; historical relic area; natural–folk custom area; and ecological conservation area. Based on 405 valid questionnaire data for respondents, this study conducts empirical research using a combination of the Semantic Differential (SD) method, Importance Performance Analysis (IPA) model, and unordered multivariate logit choice model, comprehensively describes and analyzes individual spatial perception and preferences, and further discusses the potential factors affecting individual perception preferences. The results show that there are differences in many characteristics between different areas in Kowloon Walled City Park. At the same time, people generally prefer park areas that integrate modern and traditional elements, natural and cultural environments, and pay attention to the balance between naturalness and sociality in park design. These results provide useful information for planners, developers, and others, as well as data for designing urban park construction with higher practical value and natural benefits.

The Restorative Effects of Unique Green Space Design: Comparing the Restorative Quality of Classical Chinese Gardens and Modern Urban Parks

The Restorative Effects of Unique Green Space Design: Comparing the Restorative Quality of Classical Chinese Gardens and Modern Urban Parks

The Representation of Urban Modernization in Modern Chinese Paintings

China's "reform and opening up" has driven economic development and promoted urban modernization. At the same time, cultural transformation has brought about changes in the themes of Chinese visual art. This study aims to investigate, study, and explain how urban modernization is represented in modern Chinese paintings in the context of China's modernization development. The researcher used qualitative research methods, analyzed documents, and observed artistic works to try to interpret the symbolic meaning and value of urban modernization representation in modern Chinese paintings. The research results prove that urban modernization in the works reflects the current living conditions and various social problems of urbanites after the "reform and opening up". All these problems come from the social changes that have occurred in China during the process of urban modernization, and are expressed through the unique painting language of modern Chinese painting.

New urbanization construction and city economic resilience-based on multi-period DID tests for 278 cities

As a key measure to realize Chinese-style modernization, the construction of new urbanization injects new vitality into China ‘s urban economic growth by building a modern industrial system, and it is also of great significance to improve urban economic resilience. This study examines data from 278 Chinese cities spanning the period 2006–2022, utilizing a multi-period Difference-in-Differences model and a moderating effect model to investigate the impact of new urbanization on cities' economic resilience. The findings indicate that the adoption of modern urbanization significantly enhances cities' economic resilience. Notably, when examined from the perspectives of geographical location, urban scale, urban agglomeration, and urban economic development level, the impact of new urbanization is particularly pronounced in the eastern region, small cities, non-urban agglomeration cities, and cities with lower levels of economic development. The mechanism test demonstrates that new urbanization affects cities’ economic resilience by fostering technological innovation and upgrading the industrial structure. Essentially, technological innovation and industrial restructuring serve as intermediaries in fortifying economic resilience through the implementation of new urbanization. As a result, recommendations are formulated to bolster the resilience of urban economies.

Advancing the Modern Urban Manifestation of Harmonious Coexistence between Humans and Nature

Advancing the Modern Urban Manifestation of Harmonious Coexistence between Humans and Nature

Colonial Island Enclave and Discourses of Urban Modernization in Guangzhou, China

This article traces Guangzhou’s urban modernization in the late-Qing and early-Republican eras, with an emphasis on official and public discourses. Focus is placed on interactions between the colonial island enclave of Shamian, separated from the mainland by the Shaji Canal, and the Changdi waterfront that was built on the mainland as a Chinese reaction to the foreign island. Shamian and its Bund exhibited a Western urban modernity that prompted both admiration and anticolonial sentiment in the wider Chinese community. Guangzhou’s government reacted to developments on Shamian by constructing Changdi as a modern waterfront district on the north shore of the Pearl River, opposite Shamian. Discourses of urban modernization evolved and underwent cross-cultural exchange throughout. This article takes an island studies approach to analyze the spatial and discursive coproduction of the geographically restricted nearshore island as a colonial enclave and the vast Chinese mainland city striving for self-determination and urban modernization.

‘You never get a livelihood out of going to school’: the crisis of urban modernity and the education-employment nexus in Harare, Zimbabwe

The economic crisis and informalisation in Zimbabwe from the late 1990s had many consequences, including the unattainability of the early postcolonial modernist lifestyle and the collapse of the robust education-employment nexus and steady transition pathway from school to work for graduates in urban areas. Education in Zimbabwe played social mobility and social transformation and reproduction functions from colonial times and continued to have an inherent value to Zimbabweans in the postcolonial period. However, with the collapse of the education-employment nexus and structural changes in the opposition movement which offered a transition path from university into party politics until the late 2000s, many school and university graduates did not get to experience social mobility. Accompanied by the wider frustrating conditions, such as bad governance, corruption and economic decline, this resulted in young people reconsidering the social mobility function of education and challenging modernist premises about education. These premises had been reproduced at different levels from family to wider society, and young people started rethinking and challenging them through their narratives, considering curriculum changes to include entrepreneurship education, participation in the informal economy and protest movements, all of which challenge the postcolonial modernity framework.

Removal of Heavy Metals by Pseudomonas sp. - Model Fitting and Interpretation.

Industrial and urban modernization processes generate significant amounts of heavy metal wastewater, which brings great harm to human production and health. The biotechnology developed in recent years has gained increasing attention in the field of wastewater treatment due to its repeatable regeneration and lack of secondary pollutants. Pseudomonas, being among the several bacterial biosorbents, possesses notable benefits in the removal of heavy metals. These advantages encompass its extensive adsorption capacity, broad adaptability, capacity for biotransformation, potential for genetic engineering transformation, cost-effectiveness, and environmentally sustainable nature. The process of bacterial adsorption is a complex phenomenon involving several physical and chemical processes, including adsorption, ion exchange, and surface and contact phenomena. A comprehensive investigation of parameters is necessary in order to develop a mathematical model that effectively measures metal ion recovery and process performance. The aim of this study was to explore the latest advancements in high-tolerance Pseudomonas isolated from natural environments and evaluate its potential as a biological adsorbent. The study investigated the adsorption process of this bacterium, examining key factors such as strain type, contact time, initial metal concentration, and pH that influenced its effectiveness. By utilizing dynamic mathematical models, the research summarized the biosorption process, including adsorption kinetics, equilibrium, and thermodynamics. The findings indicated that Pseudomonas can effectively purify water contaminated with heavy metals and future research will aim to enhance its adsorption performance and expand its application scope for broader environmental purification purposes.

Quantifying Residents’ Perceptions of Smart Community Construction through a Hybrid EWM-PROMETHEE II Method: A Case Study of Shenzhen, China

Smart community construction (SCC) is pivotal for urban modernization, yet extant research often neglects the residents’ perceptions of these initiatives, focusing predominantly on technological advancements. A hybrid evaluation method integrating the Entropy Weight Method (EWM) and PROMETHEE II was developed to quantify residents’ perceptions of SCC. Through the literature review and expert interview, the evaluation indicators for residents’ perceptions of the SCC were identified, leading to the development of an evaluation indicator system consisting of 5 dimensions and 25 indicators. The hybrid evaluation method that combines EWM and PROMETHEE II was then applied to quantify the level of residents’ perceptions of SCC across five communities in Shenzhen city of China, using data from 410 valid questionnaires. The results indicated that the Baolong community had the highest level of the SCC, while the Nanyuan community exhibited the lowest ranking. Sensitivity analysis confirmed the robustness of these results, thereby validating the evaluation process. Moreover, recommendations were proposed to enhance residents’ perceptions of smart community initiatives. This research not only introduces a novel evaluation method that expands the body of knowledge on the SCC and residents’ perceptions but also helps the government develop sustainable SCC strategies.

Innovative Application of Intelligent Internet of Things in Smart Cities

The Internet of Things, as an important component of the new generation of information technology system, regards the Internet as the main carrier of information, enabling all ordinary physical objects that can be independently addressed to achieve interconnectivity. This is the key to promoting urban modernization and building smart cities. This paper analyzes and studies the application of Internet of Things technology in smart cities. Based on the understanding of relevant concepts, it aims to understand the relationship between IoT technologies and smart city construction, clarify the role of Internet of Things in smart city construction, and the challenges currently faced by IoT technologies in smart city application. Therefore, taking the smart community as the starting point, the application of the smart Internet of Things in the smart community is completed through eight steps: demand analysis, planning and design, sensor and device deployment, data collection, data storage, data analysis, control and scheduling, and user application development. The experiment results show that after establishing a smart community control platform based on smart IoT technologies, the failure rate of the comprehensive information sending end, receiving end, output system, and hardware system is low, the user experience satisfaction is high, and the platform performance is strong.

Research on the Application of Geographic Information Systems in the Construction of Smart Cities

With the continuous deepening of globalization and informatization, the construction of smart cities is gradually becoming a core strategy in the process of urban modernization. In this strategy, Geographic Information Systems (GIS) play a crucial technical support role. This article adopts a case study method, taking the construction of a smart city in Nanjing as the specific research object, and deeply explores the practical application of GIS in key fields such as urban planning, environmental protection, and traffic management. Through comprehensive analysis of these examples, this article systematically summarizes the significant achievements of GIS technology in improving urban management efficiency, optimizing decision support systems, enhancing public service levels, and promoting sustainable urban development. The research results indicate that GIS technology provides solid data support and decision-making support for the core areas of cities through precise integration and analysis of geographic information. GIS technology not only optimizes the layout of urban infrastructure, but also significantly enhances the city's response to emergency events through real-time monitoring and dynamic simulation, while promoting efficient allocation and utilization of urban resources. The research conclusion points out that, GIS technology is the cornerstone of smart city construction, greatly enhancing the scientific and forward-looking nature of urban management. The effective application of GIS has opened up new avenues for intelligent and refined urban management, significantly improving the quality of life of residents and providing solid technical support for the sustainable development of cities.

Problematika Angkringan Tradisional (AT) di Yogyakarta: Pembacaan Kondisi Empiris Angkringan Tradisional (AT) Menggunakan Konsep Modernitas dan Gentrifikasi

Angkringan has become a cultural symbol, urban feature and social space for the people of Yogyakarta and its surroundings. However, deculturalization and modernity have been considered to be the main challenges for the existence of traditional angkringan (TA) in the city of Yogyakarta. This research aims to explain the potential problems faced by traditional angkringan in the midst of the urban modernity process that is occurring and its relationship with institutional attitudes towards modernity. This research was conducted around the university area of Gadjah Mada University and Yogyakarta State University. Data collection methods were carried out through field observations, informal interviews, and literature review data. The results of this research show that development with the concept of modernity which is interpreted in a limited way, the shift from informal spaces to formal spaces, business competition, technological developments and social changes have more or less influenced the existence of traditional angkringan. Apart from that, modernity can be said to have shifted the role, function and physicality of traditional angkringan from public spaces