Case Studies Of Neighborhoods Research Articles

Embodied climate impacts in urban development: a neighbourhood case study

The urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the increasing share of embodied carbon in life-cycle impacts underscore the necessity of mitigating construction and demolition impacts to align with the Paris Agreement. Urban planning significantly influences material flows, with a substantial portion of construction occurring in planned urban development areas (UDAs), such as 76% in Copenhagen, Denmark. However, research on UDAs is limited, with most life-cycle assessments (LCAs) focusing on individual buildings. This study examines the embodied CO2e emissions from buildings and infrastructure in a newly developed UDA, using an archetype-based LCA approach that combines both on-site and average data, which can serve as a stepping stone for a more comprehensive analysis. The study shows that most emissions in the studied UDA occur upfront and are attributed to new building construction. The studied UDA featured several refurbished buildings, repurposed into housing and offices, but their reuse only made a small difference when considering embodied emissions for the entire UDA. Other UDAs may exhibit a different emission profile. Lastly, the study compares neighbourhood and city-scale impacts to absolute environmental boundaries, highlighting the significant climate impacts of urban planning, particularly in UDAs. Policy relevance Urban planning has a significant influence on climate impacts. The substantial amounts of embodied CO2e attributed to planned UDAs, particularly emissions occurring upfront and relative to absolute environmental boundaries, suggest the need to rethink current urban planning frameworks to better align with absolute environmental boundaries and the goals of the Paris Agreement. The results offer insights for developing contextual mitigation measures; the large share of CO2e emitted by new buildings underscores the potential of low-carbon technologies and materials and the broader impact of regulatory targets. Moreover, the limited relative impact of reuse in the studied UDA suggests the need for planning models that prioritise existing building inventories over new construction. Ultimately, the findings may also suggest the need to reconsider the overall scale of permissible building rights altogether.

Exploring the impact of built environment on traffic risk perception of school-aged children: A case study of old residential neighborhoods in Changsha City, Hunan Province, China.

The built environment of old residential neighborhoods poses heightened perceived traffic risks for school-aged children due to their limited cognitive ability to assess hazards, underdeveloped understanding of traffic patterns, and inadequate infrastructure in these areas. However, studies on the impacts of neighborhood environments on children's traffic risk perceptions remain limited. This study aims to reveal the influence of individual attributes, as well as macro- and micro-level environmental factors, on children's risk perception using a hierarchical ordered logit model with random effects. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 404 school-aged children across fifty old residential neighborhoods in Changsha, China. The results indicated that girls generally perceive higher levels of traffic risk than boys. At the macro-level, low population density and high activity facilities coverage were associated with reduced risk perceptions among children. At the micro-level, obstructed views of intersections, curbside parking, and road damage were found to increase risk perceptions among children. Additionally, random effects related to gender, intersection type, intersection visibility, curbside parking, and sidewalk availability suggested the influence of unobserved factors. The findings underscore the need for targeted interventions, such as improving intersection visibility, managing curbside parking, and repairing road damage, to mitigate traffic risks. Policymakers and urban designers should focus on these aspects to enhance safety and create child-friendly residential environments.

Integrating Virtual Walkthroughs for Subjective Urban Evaluations: A Case Study of Neighbourhoods in Sheffield, England

This study explores the correlation between residents’ subjective assessments of urban neighbourhoods, obtained through virtual walkthroughs, and objective measures of deprivation. Our study was set within a specific city in the United Kingdom, with neighbourhoods selected based on Indices of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). We invited residents in the UK through Prolific, a crowdsourcing platform. Employing complete case analysis, TF-IDF keyword extraction, the Kruskal–Wallis test, and Spearman’s rank-order correlation, our study examines the alignment between subjective assessments and existing deprivation measures (IMD). The results reveal a nuanced relationship, suggesting potential subjective biases influencing residents’ perceptions. Despite these complexities, the study highlights the value of virtual walkthroughs in offering a holistic overview of neighbourhoods. While acknowledging the limitations posed by subjective biases, we argue that virtual walkthroughs provide insights into residents’ experiences that potentially complement traditional objective measures of deprivation. By capturing the intricacies of residents’ perceptions, virtual walkthroughs contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of neighbourhood deprivation. This research informs future endeavours to integrate subjective assessments with objective measures for robust neighbourhood evaluations.

Impact and Role of the Public Realm in Creating More Socially Cohesive Communities: A Case Study of Urban Pattern in Almaty, Kazakhstan

Over the last three decades, there has been a notable transformation in urban growth patterns in Kazakhstan’s large cities, particularly in Almaty. While this can be traced back to market-oriented planning agendas, the increasing fragmentation of the public realm in cities can be linked to the recent residential development projects. The rise of these projects in post-Soviet neighbourhoods is often criticised due to their typology, as developers create them as gated communities. These patterns’ socio and spatial fragmentation is associated with fewer opportunities for social interaction between Soviet neighbourhoods and the more recent exclusive communities. Therefore, this paper investigates the key issues present in the urban patterns of Almaty city that can hinder the creation of a more cohesive society. It presents a case study of other Soviet-developed neighbourhoods with similar development patterns. The study’s methodology includes morphological mapping, observation of the use of the public realm and a survey of residents to support the findings. The investigation focuses on one of the typical urban patterns of mixed-use Soviet neighbourhoods and recent urban residential blocks, where an opportunity lies for perspective communities. The research reveals a lack of social cohesion between local communities due to mono-functional land use, poor permeability and accessibility that fragmented the city into closed neighbourhoods. The research dives into the core issues of Soviet and post-Soviet urban morphology’s outcomes in the public realm and the impact on social life in these neighbourhoods.

The informal tripart relationship between the state, neighbourhood police and community groups: community safety perceptions and practices in a Midlands neighbourhood in the UK

PurposeThis paper aims to explore the tripart relationship between British police officers, Local Authority representatives and community members based on a Midlands neighbourhood case study. It focuses on experiences of the strengths and challenges with working towards a common purpose of community safety and resilience building.Design/methodology/approachData was collected in 2019 prior to enforced COVID lockdown restrictions following Staffordshire University ethical approval. An inductive qualitative methods approach of semi-structured individual and group interviews was used with community members (N = 30) and professionals (N = 15), using a purposive and snowball sample. A steering group with academic, police and Local Authority representation co-designed the study and identified the first tier of participants.FindingsCommunity members and professionals valued tripart working and perceived communication, visibility, longevity and trust as key to addressing localised community safety issues. Challenges were raised around communication modes and frequency, cultural barriers to accessing information and inadequate resources and responses to issues. Environmental crime was a high priority for community members, along with tackling drug-related crime and diverting youth disorder, which concurred with police concern. However, the anti-terrorism agenda was a pre-occupation for the Local Authority, and school concerns included modern slavery crime.Originality/valueWhen state involvement and investment in neighbourhoods decline, community member activism enthusiasm for neighbourhood improvement reduces, contrasting with government expectations. Community members are committed partnership workers who require the state to visibly and demonstrably engage. Faith in state actors can be restored when professionals are consistently present, communicate and follow up on actions.

Effects of the Built Environment on Travel-Related CO2 Emissions Considering Travel Purpose: A Case Study of Resettlement Neighborhoods in Nanjing

With rapid urbanization, an increasing number of resettlement housing neighborhoods have been developed in suburbs in China. Such neighborhoods often face problems of spatial mismatch (jobs–housing and daily life), excessive street scale, and inconvenient transportation, which directly and indirectly lead to long travel distances and higher travel carbon emissions for residents. Understanding how to improve the built environment of resettlement housing and thus influence travel CO2 emissions is essential to guide low-carbon travel and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Based on an electronic questionnaire and travel carbon emission measurements collected in 12 resettlement housing neighborhoods in Nanjing in 2022, this study used a three-group structure equation model (SEM) to measure the impact of resettlement housing’s built environment on travel CO2 emissions from commutes, housework trips, and recreational trips. It was found that the improvement of destination accessibility can significantly reduce the carbon emissions of residents’ trips. Second, the built environment of resettlement housing can affect travel carbon emissions through mediator variables and direct effects. In addition, these effects show different paths and sizes depending on the purpose of the travel trip. These results are significant for the planning and construction of resettlement houses and offer guidance for low-carbon travel.

Outdoor thermal comfort in urban neighbourhoods by coupling of building energy simulation and computational fluid dynamics

When evaluating the outdoor environment, it is essential to improve the accuracy of outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) modelling by investigating the simultaneous interactions of both convective and radiative fluxes. The majority of the existing models, however, employed to evaluate thermal comfort, do not consider these co-effects. This study aims to develop a novel and comprehensive framework for OTC modelling while using non-isothermal airflow and surface temperatures within street canyons. For this purpose, a dynamically coupled building energy simulation (BES) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model, previously developed by authors, is used to provide detailed analysis of convective fluxes. These values in addition to the simulated radiative heat fluxes are then utilized to calculate the OTC at a neighbourhood case study during a typical hot day. The results show substantial changes (6.5% higher) in the OTC results using the newly developed coupled model in comparison to traditional (standalone) approaches. For example, in the coupled approach, the OTC values experience a wider range which peaks to at noon . Moreover, physiological equivalent temperature (PET) values are higher which shows higher level of discomfort and heat stress range compared to the standalone models. • A novel CFD, BES and OTC framework for more accurate OTC evaluation is developed. • Co-effects of convective and radiative fluxes to improve OTC modelling are investigated. • Comparison is provided for the coupled method and standalone models. • Results of the proposed method tends more towards discomfort and heat stress range.

Syrian refugees as the victims of urban regeneration: A case study of Ankara, Önder and Ulubey neighborhoods

The Syrian Civil War compelled vast numbers of Syrians to leave their homeland, and taking advantage of Turkey’s Open Door Policy, millions of Syrians crossed the shared border between 2011 and 2015 in search of refuge. The temporary protection nature of Turkey’s Policy for Syrians prevented the formation of comprehensive socio-spatial policies related to the provision of human rights. Regarding to the right to housing, the lack of government accommodation for refugees meant that the Syrian refugees became a part of Turkey’s existing housing problems, such as squatting and failed urban regeneration projects. The present study reveals different dimensions of housing problems that Syrian refugees encountered such as poor housing conditions, socio-spatial isolation, unaffordability, and forced mobility through the Ankara case. It is argued that living in an area in the process of urban regeneration has exacerbated these multiple housing problems. The research is based on a mixed-method including the analysis of quantitative data, questionnaire with Syrian refugees, semi-structured in-depth interviews with both Syrian refugees and key actors, and participant observations. Field study of the Önder and Ulubey neighborhoods was conducted between 2017 and 2019. The paper concludes with an evaluation of the findings, and an explanation of their potential for use in the future in urban policymaking and planning processes.

A Comparative Semantic Study of Landmarks of Old and Contemporary Neighborhoods from Perspective of Islamic Notions and the Perspective of Citizens' Perception (A Case Study of Shotorban and Roshdiyeh Neighborhoods of Tabriz)

A Comparative Semantic Study of Landmarks of Old and Contemporary Neighborhoods from Perspective of Islamic Notions and the Perspective of Citizens' Perception (A Case Study of Shotorban and Roshdiyeh Neighborhoods of Tabriz)

Digital Simulation for Buildings’ Outdoor Thermal Comfort in Urban Neighborhoods

Buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort influences environment quality and human behavior in urban neighborhoods. The Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) has been broadly applied to the study of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort in urban areas. However, complex environmental conditions in climate-sensitive urban areas can make UTCI assessment complicated and ineffective. This paper introduces digital techniques into buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort analysis for the improvement of the urban habitant environment. A digital simulation system is generated to facilitate the analysis procedure for buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort assessment in urban neighborhoods. The analysis addresses the research question: “Can digital simulation techniques provide a modeling system to assess buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort continuously and effectively?” Methods include a case study of neighborhoods in Beijing, qualitative and quantitative analysis based on digital processes, and parametric modeling. The results indicate that digital simulation techniques and tools have the capability to support the analysis of buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort by providing three-dimensional models, algorithm-based analysis, and visual simulation. The findings include a critique of digital simulation as applied to architecture study and insights on potentially improving buildings’ outdoor thermal comfort through human–computer interactions.

The Role of Demographic Data Bias in the Under-Provision of Retail: A Quasi-Experimental Case Study of Low Food Access Neighborhoods in Twenty-Five Southern Metros

Municipal policy attempting to remediate low food access neighborhoods tends to focus on improving demand conditions in these neighborhoods. We investigate the role of two fundamental measures of food demand (population and income) and the biases inherent in these data in creating low food access neighborhoods. Population and income data were collected for a 1-mile radius surrounding seventy-one grocery desert sites in Southern U.S. metro areas, those results were compared to thirty-eight low-income, non-desert sites in the same metros. No significant difference between the demand characteristics of desert and non-desert sites was found in our sample—suggesting that policy may need to be refocused on issues other than demand metrics. In addition, we detected significant demand underestimation bias from one source commonly used by grocery stores. Given these findings we believe that parcel level characteristics such as visibility, accessibility, and buildability may play a larger role in remediating low food access than addressing demand conditions.

Evaluating the economic benefits of moving from a single building to a community approach for sustainable urban redevelopment: Lisbon neighborhood case study

Previous studies demonstrated how urban sustainability assessment systems can support the decision-making process to enhance the sustainability performance of an existing urban area. Nevertheless, although these systems were conceived to evaluate environmental, social, and economic dimensions of sustainability, the economic dimension is still underrepresented, particularly in terms of alternative project solutions’ economic feasibility. Therefore, this paper used a neighborhood redevelopment project in Lisbon (Portugal) to propose the economic evaluation of alternative sustainable solutions from single buildings to fully integrated community strategies. For this purpose, it estimated and compared the net present value, the internal rate of return, and the payback time of three alternative renovation strategies: creation of green space areas for urban agriculture; installation of photovoltaic systems; and installation of water harvesting systems. The results showed that community strategies can maximize the economic benefits over time by taking advantage of scale economies and synergies between buildings. In addition, the paper highlighted the possible economic benefits of combining alternative renovation strategies. Finally, it discussed policy and regulatory considerations, providing recommendations for future versions of urban sustainability assessment systems.

Economical energy resource planning to promote sustainable urban design

Abstract This paper explores the economic aspects of distributed energy sources in a given neighborhood development. A novel methodology is proposed to achieve optimal synergy among renewable and alternative energy resources while accounting for economic and technical constraints. The methodology aims to achieve positive annual revenue to recover the capital cost investment in renewable energy, in minimum payback period. The methodology is demonstrated for a mixed-use neighborhood case study considering various scenarios of energy systems. The work proposes various tariff schemes combined with an optimal energy resource planning strategy to maximize the yearly revenue. Implementing the proposed methodology, a least payback period can be determined to address investment-related challenges faced by net-zero energy developments. The methodology allows to explore multiple near optimal combinations. Selection can be made employing suitable criteria based on specific conditions such as investment opportunities or expected minimum payback. For instance, in the demonstrated case study, a minimum payback period of 15.2 years can be achieved using non-electrical equipment (mixture of natural gas, waste-to-energy, thermal storage and grid) for space heating and domestic hot water. In this optimal case scenario, a logarithmic-based tariff scheme yields the best results.

Building community heat action plans story by story: A three neighborhood case study

Abstract Increasing urban temperatures pose a public health threat and, in many cities, there is a disparity among neighborhoods with respect to access to cooling benefits. Residents may be unable to afford to operate cooling systems, and underserved communities are less likely and/or able to advocate for heat-reducing solutions. There is also a significant gap between adaptation theory and practice. This gap could be diminished by better understanding the barriers and limits to adaptation processes. This paper presents the Nature's Cooling Systems project's community engagement methodology, which aims to empower underserved communities to shift those dynamics. Through this process, we sought to learn about key urban heat adaptation barriers at the neighborhood scale. The methodology was piloted in three neighborhoods in metropolitan Phoenix to provide better thermal comfort in the hottest and highest-need neighborhoods. Barriers to adaptation strategies that emerged from these workshops overlapped with those articulated in the literature, including detecting and defining the problem, increasing information use, and developing, assessing, and selecting options. This methodology can serve as a model for community-driven heat adaptation planning for other neighborhoods facing increasing heat. Attention to key barriers is critical for success of adaptation measures.

Socioeconomic variations and disparity in space–time accessibility in suburban China: A case study of Guangzhou

The concept of conventional place-based accessibility, despite being well researched, tends to ignore people’s space–time constraints arising from mandatory activities (e.g. work and household duties), which confine people’s potential movement and delimit the accessible opportunities. As people with different socioeconomic statuses may have different space–time constraints even while living in similar locations, using the place-based measures could lead to an underestimation of accessibility inequality. This study applies a space–time measure to unravel the disparities in service accessibility in suburban China. Since the late 1970s, suburbanisation in Chinese cities has fostered income inequality and has elevated other dimensions (e.g. institutional status and gender) of disparity within each income class. Within this context, we conduct a case study of suburban neighbourhoods in Guangzhou, based on the activity diary data derived from a home-based questionnaire survey. Findings indicate that the use of a space–time measure effectively captures the disparities in service accessibility among residents in suburban Guangzhou. On the basis of structural equation modelling, we further identify that certain socioeconomic groups (e.g. high-income residents, public sector workers, local hukou holders, male household heads and welfare housing residents) tend to experience fewer space–time constraints from rigid activities, such as work, commuting and household duties, and are thus more advantaged in accessing service facilities. These findings imply that urban planning should address the space–time perspective to promote equal service access for the highly heterogeneous social groups in suburban China and to incorporate time-sensitive policies (e.g. flexitime policies).

Sustainable Cities: A Reflection on Potentialities and Limits based on Existing Eco-Districts in Europe

The need for more sustainable cities has become a primary objective of urban strategies. The urgency for a radical transition towards sustainability in a long term-vision has brought with it several new concepts, such as smart urbanism, and models, such as smart city, eco-city, sustainable neighborhood, eco-district, etc. While these terms are fascinating and visionary, they often lack a clear definition both in terms of theoretical insight and empirical evidence. In this light, this contribution aims at defining a conceptual framework through which to further substantiate the blurred concept of eco-district and sustainable neighborhood. It does so by reviewing the concepts of smart urbanism and sustainable neighborhood/eco-districts in the literature, including also references to other well-known sustainability-oriented models of urban development. It then explores whether several indicators, emerging from the analysis of exemplary case studies of sustainable neighborhoods in Europe, can be used to clearly identify the characteristics of a sustainable approach at the district scale. The analysis, built on a review of existing literature, allows for both the clarification of several issues related to these fields of inquiry, as well as for the identification of the potential bridges to link these issues.

Potential for sustainable use of trees in hot arid regions: A case study of Emirati neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi

This paper explores the future of landscapes in arid, coastal regions based on 4 water-energy regimes, using a case study of villa neighborhoods in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It examines the potential for the planting of 15 selected tree species for carbon storage under various water-energy regimes to create carbon neutral (or negative) villa neighborhoods. Recent improvements to solar photovoltaic and reverse-osmosis desalination technology have lowered the carbon emissions for water production by over 99% relative to current gas-powered multi-stage flash desalination (0.08 kg CO2/m3 vs.12.8 kg CO2/m3). This allows trees planted in hot, desert climates to utilize treated ocean water while net sequestering between 1.7 and 38.2 kg C/tree/yr depending on species. When planted in existing neighborhood open spaces, we find that net carbon storage rates from trees are significant (15–800%) relative to operational emissions rates for building energy (cooling, lighting, equipment) when households are supplied from 100% renewable energy sources. Thus, as technology advances, landscape design strategies in the region could evolve to maximize planting to sequester carbon while also creating more comfortable outdoor spaces that enhance the livability of neighborhoods. This study provides a first step in identifying the potential for landscape architectural design to employ a tree-based, neighborhood scale, carbon storage strategy in arid regions such as those in the Arabian Peninsula. As nations move towards a carbon-neutral future, it is imperative to develop innovative solutions that address urban sustainability, especially in resource-challenged and extreme climate regions where new urban development is planned.

Assessment of Urban Physical Seismic Vulnerability Using the Combination of AHP and TOPSIS Models: A Case Study of Residential Neighborhoods of Mymensingh City, Bangladesh

Mymensingh, one of the oldest municipalities of Bangladesh, is at great risk against earthquakes because three major faults viz. Dauki fault, Madhupur fault, and Sylhet-Assam fault are located around it, and possesses liquefaction susceptible soil type. The city has great significance from the economic and administrative point of view and recently declared as the 8th administrative division of Bangladesh which directly stimulates the unplanned future expansion. Considering the potentiality of haphazard development and high seismic risk, it is crucial to assess the seismic vulnerability for taking the judicious decision regarding risk reduction measures for the city. The study combines Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution method (TOPSIS) and Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) models to assess the seismic vulnerability of residential neighborhoods of Mymensingh city as the probability of death and damage is remarkable in residential neighborhoods than other land use types. A combined quantitative methodology of AHP-TOPSIS is used in this study to quantify 13 important qualitative and quantitative factors of earthquake vulnerability, decided on expert opinions. The data of 13 vulnerability factors are collected from the Mymensingh Strategic Development Plan (MSDP, 2011-2031) database, done under Comprehensive Disaster Management Programme (CDMP)-II during 2012-2014. Geographic Information System is used in this study to analyze and mapping of seismic vulnerability. Results indicated that 37 residential neighborhoods are very highly vulnerable, 55 neighborhoods are highly vulnerable, 75 neighborhoods are moderately vulnerable and 74 neighborhoods are in the low vulnerable category.

Targeting and modelling urban energy retrofits using a city-scale energy mapping approach

City authorities, community groups and retrofit installers need to identify suitable local areas and dwellings for installing energy retrofit measures. This paper presents a localised Geographical Information System (GIS) based approach that utilizes publicly-available national and local datasets on housing and energy to provide targeted low carbon measures across UK cities. The study uses a rapid city-level energy assessment approach to spatially identify suitable neighbourhoods for particular retrofit measures, based on relative energy use and fuel poverty ratings. A GIS-based carbon mapping model (called DECoRuM) is then used to estimate energy use and potential for energy reduction on a house-by-house level. The improvement measures are aggregated to encourage bulk installations and drive down installation costs. To identify an appropriate neighbourhood case study area, publicly available datasets were assessed for the town of Bicester (Oxfordshire, UK), which included Ordnance Survey Mastermap, Energy Performance Certificate data (EPC) and sub-national energy statistics available at lower layer super output area (LSOA). When the EPC data for Bicester were compared with the sub-national statistics for Bicester, the average difference was found to be ∼800 kWh. This is interesting as EPCs represent dwelling specific but modelled data whereas sub-national datasets represent actual but aggregated data. Superimposing the above datasets, a neighbourhood in southwest Bicester was selected as having the highest percentage of dwellings with energy consumption >300 kWh/m2/yr (EPC), most dwellings in need of wall insulation (EPC), second highest mean total energy consumption (sub-national), and third highest percentage of fuel poor dwellings (sub-national). House-level energy assessment in the selected area using DECoRuM showed that a package based approach comprising fabric and heating system upgrade and solar PVs emerged as the most effective.

Triangulating Neighborhood Knowledge to Understand Neighborhood Change: Methods to Study Gentrification

Neighborhood change is a complex phenomenon that may result in a range of physical, demographic, and economic changes in a locality. Using four case studies of transit neighborhoods in Los Angeles, this study utilizes a mixed-methods approach to examine a particular aspect of neighborhood change—gentrification. The article also compares and contrasts the type of data gathered by different methods to help us understand each method’s potential and limitations in capturing gentrification trends in neighborhoods.