Urban Environmental Quality Research Articles

The multisensory environmental evaluations of sound and odour in urban public open spaces

Few studies have focused on the multisensory perception of audio–olfactory interaction with the purpose of improving the use of urban spaces. This study conducted multisensory environmental evaluations in three urban open spaces in China with the aim of verifying the existence of audio–olfactory interaction in the urban environments and providing different perspectives for the improvement of urban environmental quality. A sensewalk approach was adopted in the study, and the main research contents were: the odour’s effects on sound source and sound environment evaluations, and the sound’s effects on odour source and odour environment evaluations. The results indicated that food odour improved acoustic comfort and sound congruency and reduced subjective loudness. Pollution odour worsened the assessment of traffic and lowered subjective loudness. Sound decreased the subjective intensity of odour and exacerbated its evaluation. Additionally, food odour enhanced the sound environment assessment of pedestrian streets, while pollution odour worsened it. Sound had a weak impact on odour environment evaluations. The masking effect between sound and odour showed that the presence of the latter decreased subjective loudness while increased sound diminished the subjective intensity of odour. Furthermore, odour’s influence on sound evaluations was greater than the influence of sound on odour evaluations. These findings have implications for the planning and design of a livable and comfortable urban environment through the perspective of sensory interaction.

El rediseño del Palacio del Presidente en Kazajistán

Introduction: This paper deals with the renovation process of the President’s Palace in Kazakhstan. Diversity is one of our main features expressing the nationwide experience along with its successes and failures. The spatial quality of some public spaces provided them permanence and "sustainability". The aesthetic values of architectural and urban spaces are often determinant factors for urban environmental quality. In fact, our research strategy combines the study of spatial practice and usage with the analysis of design quality. The rejuvenation of urban spaces is a promising experience contributing socially, economically, and physically to regenerating the local urban environment and leisure activity. Sustainable urban development provides city designers with criteria of social and ecological rationality that are different from those available in the market. Consequently, the concept of sustainability becomes the keystone of the urban development process. Materials and Methods: This paper puts forward a question about the global features of a public park and continues the discussion on keeping a balance between local architecture and the global ‘public park making’ trend the method employed is qualitative interviews, observations, and walking tours with public space users. An amount of data is collected for environmental assessment. Results and Discussion: The renovated park shows the new way public space is oriented. In President's Palace, a new logic of urban publicity was assembled and built into the landscape. we analyzed the social and technical means. New public spaces of this sort promulgate a conception of the public that not only combine with discourses of democratization, citizenship, and self–development and is connected ever more firmly to consumption and commercial. Conclusions: We also do research on the global features of a public park and discuss keeping a balance between local architecture and the global public park-making trend, as well as public facilities and profit, and the role of nature as a universal remedy and tool in reshaping the image of cities.

Evaluating urban environment quality (UEQ) for Class-I Indian city: an integrated RS-GIS based exploratory spatial analysis

Urban environmental quality consisting of ecological, physical, and socio-economic components, often deteriorates due to rapid urbanization. Therefore, using Remote sensing and GIS environment, a composite measure is applied to quantify the spatial heterogeneity of urban environmental quality for the Class-1 Indian city (Siliguri). In this study, the Urban Environmental Quality Index was constructed using 15 indicators and three interconnected dimensions (eco-environment, landscape and built-up, and socio-economy). The three domains and Urban Environmental Quality Index were computed utilizing Principal Component Analysis with average aggregation techniques. Exploratory Spatial Data Analysis includes Moran’s I and Local indicator of spatial auto-correlation, were used to leverage the information of spatial clusters, spatial heterogeneity, and outliers based on the Urban Environmental Quality Index. The results show that Siliguri’s northern, north-western, and southern parts experience good environmental quality. The effectiveness of the employed model was checked using R2 (0.832), providing a good fit for the model. Moreover, the spatial pattern of urban environmental quality and the constructed domains (except socio-economy) revealed that the Low-Low values were predominantly clustered in the city centre, while High-High patterns are concentrated towards the periphery. Also, the value of Moran’s I indicated the existence of spatial autocorrelation and non-randomness pattern in Siliguri City. The results obtained from the analysis indicate spatial heterogeneity and spatial differentiation across the study area. The study’s outcome is relevant for urban planning, frequent monitoring of urban environmental quality, urban governance, and the well-being of urban inhabitants for a sustainable urban space.

Challenges of Urban Artificial Landscape Water Bodies: Treatment Techniques and Restoration Strategies towards Ecosystem Services Enhancement

With the rapid adoption of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions for a low-impact development, much consideration is given to ecosystem services and the ecological enhancement in modern planning of urban spaces. Artificial landscape water bodies have, in recent years, been utilized to enhance the ecological quality of urban environments. As an environmentally friendly measure, the water source of these waters has predominantly been adopting reclaimed water (treated wastewater). As a result, landscape water bodies are often eutrophic, exhibiting poor hydrodynamics, with lengthy water change cycles, creating the ideal environment for algal blooms that negatively impact the aesthetic appeal of these landscape waters. Based on the existing literature, this paper summarizes the treatment techniques and strategies employed in enhancing the quality of urban artificial landscape water bodies and providing integrated design solutions in the urban environment.

Assessing the vertical synergies between outdoor thermal comfort and air quality in an urban street canyon based on field measurements

Outdoor thermal comfort and air quality are two key aspects of urban environmental quality. Understanding the synergies between outdoor thermal comfort and air quality in urban street canyons is of great importance to human health and well-being. Therefore, outdoor thermal factors, PM2.5, SO2, CO, NO2, O3 concentrations were recorded, and the correlation between them was analyzed at pedestrian, middle, and roof levels in an urban street canyon. Physiological equivalent temperature (PET) at middle level was 1.3 °C higher than that at roof level, and higher than that at pedestrian level. O3 concentration showed a stronger synergistic relationship between PET than all other air pollutants. It increased as PET increase in an exponential equation at three height levels. SO2 and CO concentrations increased with thermal perception at pedestrian and roof levels, whereas they decreased and then increased with thermal perception at middle level. Moreover, NO2 increased with PET in a linear equation at pedestrian level, but decreased with PET at roof level. PM2.5 concentrations fit PET at pedestrian level better than that at either middle or roof level. Overall, this study provides an in-depth understanding of the synergistic relationship between air pollutants and thermal comfort, and contributes to strategies for improvement of outdoor air quality and thermal comfort.

Response of Fluorescence and Chlorophyll Physiological Characteristics of Typical Urban Trees to Ozone Stress

In this study, four typical urban landscaping tree species were selected, three open top air chambers with different ozone concentrations were set, and the responses of chlorophyll fluorescence, chlorophyll content and relative conductivity of the trees to ozone stress were studied. The results showed that with the increase in ozone concentration, the maximum photochemical efficiency, electron transfer quantum yield, electron transfer rate (ETR) and chlorophyll content of the different tree species decreased significantly, while the relative conductivity of the different tree species increased significantly. Compared with the ozone concentration of NF, under an ozone concentration of nf40 and nf80, the decline in the rate of Fv/Fm of Koelreuteria paniculata and Ginkgo biloba was 2.47 and 2.28 times that of Pinus bungeana and Platycladus orientalis, respectively, and the increase in the rate of relative conductivity of K. paniculata and G. biloba was 2.11 and 1.28 times that of P. bungeana and P. orientalis, respectively. Under different ozone concentrations, the photochemical efficiency, electron transfer rate, chlorophyll content and relative conductivity of P. bungeana and P. orientalis were higher than those of Ginkgo biloba and K. paniculata, indicating that K. paniculata and G. biloba were more sensitive to ozone. This study is of great significance for improving urban environmental quality and ozone control and also provides a basis for selecting tree species with strong ozone tolerance.

Source identification and spatial distribution of heavy metals in soil of central urban area of Chongqing, China

ABSTRACT To understand the characteristics of heavy metal pollution in soil and identify the source of heavy metals, 342 surface soil samples were collected in Chongqing, China. The contents of 11 heavy metals (i.e., arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg), antimony (Sb), manganese (Mn), and molybdenum (Mo)) were determined. The Principal Component analysis/absolute Principal component fraction (PCA/APCS) receptor model, the classified regression (CATREG) model, and the hot spot model were employed to analyze the data. The contents of As, Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, Hg, Sb, Mn, and Mo in soil were 5.80, 0.13, 76.56, 25.55, 23.99, 75.58, 30.50, 0.05, 0.64, 573.32, and 0.56 mg·kg−1, respectively. The results of principal component analysis showed that the main heavy metal elements under the first principal component load were Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn, Cr, Pb, and Cd. The second principal component is mainly loaded with Mo, As, Hg, and Sb. The results of classified regression analysis showed that population density mainly affected Cu (0.54), soil mainly affected Ni (0.41), Sb (0.49), Zn (0.47), and Mn (0.21), and water quality mainly affected As (0.45) and Mo (0.37). Air quality mainly affected Cd (0.33) and Cr (0.37), traffic activity mainly affected Hg (0.31), and slope mainly affected Pb (0.31). The research results can be used to trace the environmental sources of soil heavy metals, fundamentally prevent and repair soil heavy metal pollution, and protect urban soil environmental quality.

Supplemental Material for The Association of Urban Environment Quality and Perceived Safety: Evidence From Seven Nationally Representative Samples

Supplemental Material for The Association of Urban Environment Quality and Perceived Safety: Evidence From Seven Nationally Representative Samples

Implementation of initiative projects as a factor in increasing the capacity of the municipality’s territories

The article considers as an integral element of the municipality potential a social resource formed by the population of the municipality participating or involved in the processes of solving problems of local importance through the implementation of initiative projects. It is shown that improving of urban environment quality is based on the plots transformation (improvement, improvement) principles of land, buildings, the land and property complexes formation, the needs and development trends coordination founded on their forecasting and planning, and must consider priorities established by municipality at realisation of practice of initiative projects. The developed organisational and methodological scheme for the preparation and implementation of initiative projects and, within the framework of project management, the initiative project life cycle parameters are presented. An assessment of the contribution of the implemented initiative project to the potential of the municipality is proposed.

Evaluation of the impacts of micro-business operations on the quality of urban environment: A case study of Iwo, Southwestern Nigeria

Sustainable environmental quality is a prerequisite to a sustainable human livelihood. This work evaluated the impacts of micro-business enterprises (MBEs) on the quality of the urban environment, with Iwo, Nigeria, as a case study. A survey of the identified micro-businesses across the city brought about four categorizations which were based on the kinds of waste being generated. Fifty-nine business units were randomly selected from each category, thus, making a total of 236 for the survey to generate the required data. The data were subjected to both descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that 75.01 of the respondents have spent between 11 and 15 years in their respective enterprises while the volume of waste being generated by 76.69% of the MBEs fell in the “moderately high” category and 71.19% did not associate any illness to the waste generated by the MBEs. The results of Factor Analysis showed that nine factors explained 82.914% of how MBEs have impacted the quality of the urban environment. The results further showed that bad odors from the waste generated by the MBEs topped the variables with the highest predictive power (19.032%) while the waste characteristics offer the least explanation (3.279%). However, the 60.96 percent bulk of the 100% explanation was made by the top three variables namely bad odors from the waste generated by the MBEs, the government's monitoring role, and the hindrances posed by the wastes. The work, therefore, concludes that the MBEs could be more beneficial to human livelihood and the physical environment rather than being detrimental if both the entrepreneurs (the citizens) and the government adhere to their respective responsibilities. Relevant authorities in Nigeria should initiate policies that are capable of stimulating the growth of entrepreneurial activities with effective regulation to curtail urban degradation for improved livelihood. It is suggested that further studies on the compliance of MBE operators to the established governing rules be carried out.

Spatial Distribution Characteristics of Heavy Metals and Pollution Analysis Methods

With the rapid development of urban economy and the continuous increase of urban population, the discharge and improper disposal of a large number of industrial wastes, urban domestic garbage, sludge and other pollutants have led to the continuous accumulation of heavy metals in the soil, which has increased the pollution load of heavy metals in the soil, leading to the increasingly serious heavy metal pollution of urban topsoil in China. Heavy metal pollution of urban soil is one of the important indicators that can effectively reflect the status of urban environmental pollution. Therefore, the verification of urban soil environment anomalies and the application of verification data to urban environmental quality assessment, as well as the study of the evolution model of human activities affecting urban soil environment, have increasingly become the focus of attention. Based on the analysis of a large number of relevant documents and previous work, the sources, hazards and pollution status of soil heavy metal pollution in some regions of China are briefly summarized, and the characteristics of five commonly used assessment methods of soil heavy metal pollution (single pollution index method, comprehensive pollution index method, geo accumulation index method, potential ecological risk index method, principal component analysis method) are briefly analyzed and summarized, It is expected to provide some reference for the investigation and treatment of soil pollution.

Combining DGT with bioaccessibility methods as tool to estimate potential bioavailability and release of PTEs in the urban soil environment

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in urban soil environments pose a noticeable risk to both ecosystem and human health; however, only a fraction of the elemental content is available for biota. To better know the potential risk of PTEs in the urban soil environment, geochemical fractionation, bioaccessibility, and potential bioavailability of four PTEs (Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn) were investigated by the combined use of different methods. The results showed that a high non-residual chemical fraction is related to a high bioavailability of the selected elements. The ranges of labile concentration of Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in all sampling sites measured by diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) were 3.5–18.0, 14.2–26.5, 0.09–1.0, and 1.8–15.7 μg/L, respectively. The high non-residual contents pointed out a serious hazard to the urban environment. The bioaccessible concentrations in gastric and lung phases were closely positively correlated with DGT-measured content (r = 0.63–0.99, p < 0.05), suggesting the potential use of DGT for the prediction of PTEs risk to human health. Moreover, the correlation of DGT results with the soluble and reducible fractions of PTEs may allow DGT use for quick screenings of the PTEs fraction potentially mobilizable during flooding events in urban soil environments. Our study suggests that combing DGT, bioaccessibility and biogeochemical fractionation could provide a more accurate assessment of the urban environmental quality and be helpful for pollution control and urban planning.

Evaluation Strategies on the Thermal Environmental Effectiveness of Street Canyon Clusters: A Case Study of Harbin, China

Urban overheating significantly affects people’s physical and mental health. The addition of street trees is an essential, economical, and effective means by which to mitigate urban heat and optimize the overall thermal environment. Focusing on typical street canyon clusters in Harbin, China, landscape morphology was quantified by streetscape interface measurements (sky view factor, tree view factor, and building view factor). Through ENVI-met simulations, the correlation mechanism between streetscape interface measurements and thermal environment was evaluated, and optimization methods for assessing the thermal environment of urban streets were proposed. The results revealed: (1) The thermal environment optimization efficiency of general street canyon types was greatest when street tree spacing was 12 m. At present, the smaller spacing has not been simulated and may yield better thermal environment results. The average decrease in temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH) and mean radiant temperature (MRT) was 0.78%, 2.23%, and 30.20%, respectively. (2) Specific street canyon types should adopt precise control strategies of streetscape interface according to their types to achieve the optimal balance between thermal environment optimization and cost. (3) Streetscape interface measurements and thermal environment indexes show quadratic correlation characteristics, and are critical points for further investigation. The conclusions are more specific than previous research findings, which are of great significance for decreasing the urban heat island effect at the block scale, improving residents’ physical and mental health, and improving the urban environment quality.

Identifying the influencing factors and constructing incentive pattern of residents' waste classification behavior using PCA-logistic regression.

With the acceleration of urbanization, domestic waste has become one of the most inevitable factors threatening the environment and human health. Waste classification is of great significance and value for improving urban environmental quality and promoting human well-being. Based on the theory of planned behavior, we added external and socio-economic factors to systematically examine how they affect residents’ waste classification behavior (WCB). We collected 661 valid data through a questionnaire survey conducted in Jinan, a pilot city for waste classification in China. Key driving factors were identified by combining binary logistic regression and the principal component analysis. The results showed that the elderly, women, and people with higher education are more likely to participate in waste classification. Attitude, collaborative governance, and institutional pressure positively affect WCB, while subjective norm and infrastructure have a negative effect. Knowledge mastery and degree of publicity are positively and significantly related to WCB, but other perceived behavioral control sub-variables negatively affect WCB. Based on the results and status of waste classification in Jinan, we propose the multi-agent linkage governance pattern from various dimensions to explore a powerful guiding incentive that can enhance WCB and provide a reference for waste management policymakers.

Urban environmental challenges associated with dynamics of slum settlement

The urban environmental quality is one of the major issues which need immediate attention as it has direct impact on the human life around the globe. The growing population in the urban areas has put a pressure on the housing sector, which leads to slum formation, and the decreased environmental quality due to it. The urban system cannot be imagined without the slums as these are inexorable part of urban areas, especially in the developing nations. There is a direct association between the complex spatial arrangement and the socio-economic fabric of the slum dwellers. In the present study, the statistical analysis has been performed to establish the interrelation between the determinants of social and economic status of the slum dwellers, and the air quality. Further, the space syntax analysis on the selected case has been performed to understand the spatial dynamics and its interrelation with the socio-behavioural pattern of the slum in the study area of Patna city. The present investigation advocated to improving the quality of slum settlements for improving the quality of the environment.

Towards Liveable Urban Densities Using a GIS-Based Assessment Methodology

Urban density and densi fication are hotly debated topics of sustainable urban development. On the one hand, international landmark agreements such as the Sustainable Development Goals and the New Urban Agenda highlight the importance of good quality urban environments with low pollution, easy access to green spaces, walkability, and active mobility. On the other hand, densi fication can increase pollution, decrease available green spaces, and degrade walkability by concentrating vehicles and their operations. The result can be a degradation of urban liveability, de fined as a city's capacity to promote the wellbeing of residents. Yet higher urban density can also result in more effi cient urban infrastructures and networks and provide more housing (including more aff ordable housing) in more appropriate mixed-use locations. The challenge, then, is to maintain the liveable quality of this denser urban fabric. The GIS-based approach presented in this paper uses a basic liveability assessment by calculating connectivity, greenery, and urban form complexity metrics to be employed in the context of densi fication, aiming to optimize sustainability and liveability aspects. Using our study area in Salzburg, Austria, we demonstrate how such a GIS-based liveability assessment, relying on spatial data, can aid urban planners in quantifying and achieving both urban density and liveability.

Prediction of Urban Thermal Environment Based on Multi-Dimensional Nature and Urban Form Factors

The urban thermal environment is affected by multiple urban form and natural environment factors; research on the accurate prediction of the urban thermal environment, considering the interaction among different urban environmental factors, is still lacking. The development of a machine learning model provides a good means of solving complex problems. This study aims to clarify the relationship between urban environmental variables and the urban thermal environment through high-precision machine learning models as well as provide scenarios of future urban thermal environment developments. We defined an urban thermal environment index (UTEI), considering twelve urban form and natural indicators sourced from the remote sensing data of 150 cities in the Jing-Jin-Ji region from 2000 to 2015. We achieved accurate predictions of UTEI through training a gradient-boosted regression trees model. By unpacking the model, we found that the contribution rate of elevation (ELEV) was the highest. Among all the urban form indicators, the elongation index (ELONG), urban population (POP), nighttime light intensity (NLI), urban area size (AREA), and urban shape index (SHAPE) also had high contributions. We set up five scenarios to simulate the possible impact of different urban form factors on the overall urban thermal environment quality in the region. Under extremely deteriorated patterns that do not control urban expansion and vegetation reduction, the average UTEI could be as high as 0.55–0.76 °C in summer and 0.24–0.29 °C in winter, yet in the extremely optimized situation, UTEI decreased by 0.69 °C in summer and 0.56 °C in winter. Results showed that better urban form improves the quality of urban environments and can provide important insights for urban planners to mitigate urban heat island problems.

Self-Trained Deep Forest with Limited Samples for Urban Impervious Surface Area Extraction in Arid Area Using Multispectral and PolSAR Imageries.

Impervious surface area (ISA) has been recognized as a significant indicator for evaluating levels of urbanization and the quality of urban ecological environments. ISA extraction methods based on supervised classification usually rely on a large number of manually labeled samples, the production of which is a time-consuming and labor-intensive task. Furthermore, in arid areas, man-made objects are easily confused with bare land due to similar spectral responses. To tackle these issues, a self-trained deep-forest (STDF)-based ISA extraction method is proposed which exploits the complementary information contained in multispectral and polarimetric synthetic aperture radar (PolSAR) images using limited numbers of samples. In detail, this method consists of three major steps. First, multi-features, including spectral, spatial and polarimetric features, are extracted from Sentinel-2 multispectral and Chinese GaoFen-3 (GF-3) PolSAR images; secondly, a deep forest (DF) model is trained in a self-training manner using a limited number of samples for ISA extraction; finally, ISAs (in this case, in three major cities located in Central Asia) are extracted and comparatively evaluated. The experimental results from the study areas of Bishkek, Tashkent and Nursultan demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, with an overall accuracy (OA) above 95% and a Kappa coefficient above 0.90.

Assessment of Ecological Environment Quality for Urban Sustainable Development Based on AHP.

Cities are gradually developed on the basis of adapting and transforming the natural environment. In a certain urban area, human activities, natural environment, and other factors and their mutual influence constitute the urban ecological environment. Therefore, the evaluation of urban ecological environment quality is of great significance to the analysis of urban development. This paper takes a city in Western China as the evaluation object, uses AHP to determine the index weight, reasonably analyzes the current situation of the urban ecological environment, and further comprehensively evaluates the quality of the urban ecological environment. The study shows that from 2013 to 2018, the comprehensive capacity of the city's ecological environment quality showed a steady upward trend, except that the natural disasters of floods and mudslides in 2014 had a certain degree of fluctuation. The comprehensive index of ecological environment quality has increased from 0.337 in 2013 to 0.412 in 2018. The overall level is still low, but the development speed is relatively stable. The urban ecological environment has been gradually improved, and society, economy, and nature have maintained a certain degree of sustainable development.

Response Model for Urban Area Source Pollution and Water Environmental Quality in a River Network Region.

With the development of cities, urban area source pollution has become more severe and a significant source of water pollution. To study the relationship between urban area source pollution and water environmental quality in a river network, this study uses a city in the Yangtze River Delta, China, as an example. The Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) model and the MIKE11 model were combined into a unified modeling framework and used to simulate dynamic changes in the water quality of a river network under light rain, moderate rain, and heavy rain. In the study period, the annual urban area source input loads of potassium permanganate (CODMn), total phosphorus (TP), and ammonia nitrogen were 29.8, 0.9, and 4.8 t, respectively. The influence of light rain on the water quality of the river network was lagging and temporary, and rainfall area pollution was the primary contributor. Under the scenario of moderate rain, overflow from a pipeline network compounded rainfall runoff, resulting in a longer duration of impact on the water quality in the river. Additionally, the water quality in the river course was worse under moderate rain than under light or heavy rain. Under the scenario of heavy rain, rain mainly served a dilutive function. This research can provide support for urban area source pollution control and management.