Quality Of Urban Space Research Articles

Quality assessment of open urban spaces based on the integral indicator of comfort in the urban environment.

The paper presents a method of point automated assessment of a person’s comfort in an urban environment. A distinctive feature of the developed method is that the peculiarities of the individual’s perception of the main factors that determine the comfort level at each of the given urban space points are taken into account when evaluating the indicators of the comfort of the urban environment. This approach makes it possible to increase the correspondence of the obtained estimates to the goals and objectives of urban environment development and the significance of their use in managing the development of territories. The use of open data within the proposed method ensures the promptness of calculating urban space quality indicators. The implementation of the developed method is based on open source software. In the framework of testing the proposed method, the integral indicator of comfort was calculated and visualized for the territory of Vasilievskiy Island in St. Petersburg.

Evaluation of Mashhad city parks from the conformity of child-friendly city standards

With the current trend of urbanization and the increasing attractiveness of cities, urban environments are becoming the main bedrock of a new generation of children. The presence of children in the city is directly related to the quality of urban space and construction. Proper urban space provides a great deal of security and presence of the child and inadequate urban space eliminates it and causes a variety of social damages and problems. Public spaces such as parks and playgrounds are an important factor in socializing children (Anguluri & Narayanan, 2017). Children as the most sensitive and vulnerable group of society, while being influenced by the environment, have significant abilities in shaping or changing the environment around them (Pamela, Sruthi & Roger, 2015). Therefore, checking and evaluation of Mashhad city parks, as the second largest metropolis of Iran from the Conformity of Child-Friendly City Standards is necessary. This is an applied research that has been done by descriptive-analytical method. The target population in this thesis is 6-12 years old children, their parents and the relevant authorities or a group of experts in Mashhad according to population and housing census of 2016, who with the help of Cochran sample size formula, 390 children and parents, and 30 experts were interviewed. The studied parks in this paper are neighborhood scaled parks of Mashhad which it is a total of 528 cases, out of which 53 parks have been studied in municipalities of Mashhad. Data were analyzed using one-way chi-square, Spearman correlation coefficient, and univariate t-test. The results showed that most districts and neighborhood parks in Mashhad do not comply with the criteria and principles of child-friendly cities and physical-functional and socio-cultural components play the most roles in the presence of children in neighboring and neighborhoods scale parks in the city of Mashhad.

Satisfaction with Selected Indicators of the Quality of Urban Space by Polonia in the Greater Toronto Area

The main objective of this article is to determine the quality of life of Polonia living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), with particular emphasis on urban quality, which influences their assessment of the standard of living in this city. The presented results of the research are based on a survey questionnaire conducted with the participation of 583 respondents. The respondents evaluated, among others: accessibility to recreational tourism in the city, public transport, possibilities of finding a job, accessibility to housing and quality of the natural environment. Assessment of the selected indicators was correlated with the application of the statistical coefficient of the chi-squared test with particular sociodemographic characteristics of the examined respondents (with age, place of residence of the respondents (Toronto, suburbs) and their duration of residence in the GTA). On the basis of the formulated research hypotheses and conducted studies, it can be concluded—among others—that the satisfaction level with regard to accessibility to housing increases with age, that people living in the GTA suburbs rate accessibility to transportation lower than people living in Toronto and that people living in the GTA for more than 20 years rate accessibility to tourism, leisure and relaxation lower than people living in the GTA for a period shorter than 20 years.

Quality of urban space as a factor of Almaty’s sustainable economic development

In Kazakhstan, in recent years, there has been an intensification of urbanization processes due to the uncontrolled migration of rural population to cities. In this regard, there arise the number of problems related to ensuring the quality of life in cities.The purpose of this article is to assess the quality of urban space and its role in sustainable economic development on Almaty example. When assessing the quality of space in Almaty’s districts, there were calculated the groups of indicators that reflect the basic characteristics of a modern city: safety, comfort, ecology, diversity, modernity, business environment, quality of life, social development and human capital. Data from open sources were used: Department of statistics of Almaty, Committee on legal statistics and special accounts of the General prosecutor’s office of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Department of emergency situations of Almaty.The study concluded that the spatial development of Almaty is uneven. Four types of territories were identified in the city structure: the historic center, integrated with the adjoining business center; microdistricts of mass housing development (sleeping areas); old areas of low-rise buildings and private households; new annexed areas that are characterized by unregulated individual housing construction. As a result of the analysis, it was concluded that the quality of urban space is an important factor in the sustainable economic development of the city, in particular business.It was also concluded that it is necessary to develop a universal system of urban development indicators for use on an ongoing basis by representatives of business and the Akimat of Almaty in order to more fully identify the problems of urban space development, develop and implement strategic plans for the city’s development, as well as urban researchers.

GRA and CRITIC Method for Intuitionistic Fuzzy Multiattribute Group Decision Making and Application to Development Potentiality Evaluation of Cultural and Creative Garden

In recent years, cultural and creative industry park is becoming a kind of hot industry to promote industrial restructuring and to improve the quality of urban space. For this reason, cultural and creative industrial parks are planning to build across the country. Currently, cultural and creative industrial parks that develop better than others thank to the government’s overall planning, construction, marketing, and management. At the same time, the new cultural and creative industry parks face enormous challenges, such as how to have together the cultural and creative industries and related groups or how to have area cultural creativity. And it is frequently regarded as a multiattribute group decision-making (MAGDM) process. Thus, a novel MAGDM process is needed to tackle it. Depending on the conventional grey relational analysis (GRA) method and intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs), this paper designs a novel intuitive distance-based IF-GRA method for development potentiality evaluation of cultural and creative garden. First of all, some necessary theories related to IFSs are briefly reviewed. In addition, since subjective randomness frequently exists in determining criteria weights, the weights of criteria are decided objectively by utilizing the CRITIC method. Afterwards, relying on novel distance measures between IFSs, the GRA method is extended to the IFSs to calculate assessment score of each alternative. Eventually, an application about development potentiality evaluation of cultural and creative garden and some comparative analysis is given. The results think that the designed method is useful for development potentiality evaluation of cultural and creative garden.

Urban Design and Rivers: A Critical Review of Theories Devising Planning and Design Concepts to Define Riverside Urbanity

In a post-industrial world one of the foci of urbanism has been on the regeneration of former industrial sites along urban rivers. This is a contemporary urban design issue that needs further attention, especially in relation to urban forms and design interventions. This paper sets out to contribute to research in design by reviewing past theories and practices in order to inform the formation of conceptual ideas. These are of importance to inform practice and ensure responsive and responsible processes in planning and design. Such a review has hitherto been lacking, but with a renewed interest in urban densification, research in the design of cities is required. Thus, this paper provides a critical assessment of theories, which are identified and categorised in relation to urban riverside regeneration. For this study, urban design is considered as a craft requiring ‘savoir faire’ to ensure the functionality and quality of urban spaces. Transferable principles and ideas are identified in relation to the specific characteristics of riverside locations contributing to the definition of a ‘riverside urbanity’. It provides a theoretical framework identifying types of riverside landscapes, including the relationship between urban forms and river corridors.

The use decorative concretes with the addition of highly dispersed chalk for volumetric and spatial elements of urban space

In recent years, the attitude to the external appearance of the urban environment and its elements has changed dramatically. Interest in new constructive solutions, style of urban space design and modern materials which improve the quality of urban space has increased. Installed that the most effective material is decorative concrete, which is used to create a variety of volumetric and spatial elements of engineering improvement, architectural and urban design. The possibility of creating decorative concrete with the addition of highly dispersed chalk and the natural pigment that is distinguished by high operational, decorative, aesthetic properties and solves environmental and economic problems has been considered in the article. The results obtained indicate the possibility of combined use of highly dispersed chalk and yellow natural pigment (ocher) to create colored concrete with high corrosion resistance, frost resistance and decorative and aesthetic properties. The relationship between the durability and corrosion resistance of the test concrete on the size and nature of the pores has been established.

The Tactical Urbanism in Indonesian City Spaces during the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the world order in all aspects of life. City space that was considered successful if it can accommodate residents' crowded activities has become deserted because of the lockdown and health protocols implementation. The meaning of urbanism is challenged because new interaction is put in place. Urban space activity adapts to new patterns and creates modified spaces. Tactical urbanism is one of the flexible design responses in the urban area to support the long-term goal of improving urban space quality. Tactical urbanism is currently being applied in several cities around the world in response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Urban space in Indonesia also applies tactical urbanism with Indonesian characteristics. This study aims to examine the implementation of tactical urbanism in Indonesian urban spaces. The method used is reviewing data from online publications published between March 2020 - March 2021 regarding tactical urbanism in urban spaces in Indonesia. The city space chosen is located in the urban kampung, traditional market, and a downtown public space. The result shows two patterns of tactical urbanism in urban areas in Indonesia during the pandemic era, namely reactive and momentary response in urban kampong and traditional market, and unified response with city planning in bike lanes program.

Heterogeneity in outdoor comfort assessment in urban public spaces

The assessment of outdoor comfort can provide valuable insights into the quality of urban public spaces. Rational indices based on the heat-balance model have been extensively used for assessing thermal comfort in various outdoor environments for a long time. However, a growing body of literature is arguing the theoretical limitations of rational indices, including the lack of contextual considerations and the non-consideration of the active role of human being. Furthermore, the well-documented inconsistency in previous investigations suggests individuals' heterogeneous thermal expectations, preferences and adaptations typically depend on person-related and place-related contexts. Nevertheless, the study of heterogeneity in comfort assessment remains fragmentary. In an attempt to incorporate heterogeneity into a comprehensive conceptual framework of outdoor comfort, this study develops a latent class path model based on empirical data of 701 respondents from Eindhoven, the Netherlands. We identified two latent classes associated with different causal structures underlying the assessment of outdoor comfort. Meanwhile, the membership of latent classes is identified based on respondents' socio-demographic and behavioral covariates. The results show that, with respect to the influence on comfort assessment, the exogenous and endogenous variables are varying in effectiveness and strength between the two latent classes. Latent class 1 assesses the outdoor comfort mainly based on thermal sensation and expectations of thermal and wind conditions, whereas latent class 2 comprehensively considered both thermal and non-thermal influences, especially, the psychological acceptability and need satisfaction of outdoor activity. Our findings suggest that, in addition to the expanded framework of outdoor comfort study, understanding the heterogeneity in respondents' comfort perception is needed to comprehensively address the approaches to archive the comfortable urban public spaces in design, planning and management practices.

미세먼지가 거주자의 활동에 미치는 영향과 생활환경 개선 방안에 대한 인식 연구 - 행정중심복합도시를 중심으로 -

This study examines the impact of fine dust on daily life in administrative city in Sejong, and proposes urban space improvement measures considering fine dust. By Conducting survey and big-data analysis, this study investigate the impact of find dust on behavioral pattern of residents. The survey was designed to ask how residents were usually exposed to fine dust during essential or optional activities. As a result, high concentration of fine dust caused changes in residents’ activity and travel pattern and had negative effect on individual stress level. Floating population analysis revealed different spatial patterns reflecting air quality and characteristics of urban space. Residents agreed strongly on the necessity of urban space improvement projects to deal with air quality problem, and had a willingness to reduce the use of cars. This study suggests designation of intensive management areas considering behavioral patterns of residents vulnerable to fine dust.

Practical Functioning of a Sustainable Urban Complex with a Park—The Case Study of Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center in Athens

Intensive urban development has created a shortage of urban green areas. The need to economically plan and use urban green spaces has fueled the redefinition of public spaces and parks so as to provide the residents with both recreation and relaxation facilities, as well as a forum for contact with culture. This paper discusses the case of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) in the Kallithea district on the outskirts of Athens, near the Mediterranean Sea. It fills a gap in the research on the aspects of the practical functioning of such facilities. The methodology used in the research included an analysis of the literature, the SNFCC’s reports, and an in situ survey. The cultural center hosts a number of events aimed at promoting Greece’s natural and cultural heritage. The paper includes a detailed analysis of the events organized by the SNFCC in the period 2017–2020 and their immense impact on residents. The aim of the study is to show that the creation of the SNFCC with the park areas has functioned as a factor contributing to the improvement of the quality of urban space and the quality of life of the city’s inhabitants. The paper’s conclusions indicate that the sustainable SNFCC project, which fulfils the urban ecology criteria, has been very well received by the visitors—citizens and tourists alike. A program-centered innovation introduced by the SN Park has added great value to their lives. The project contributes to economic and cultural growth, as well as the protection and promotion of heritage.

The Use of Public Space as Urban Regeneration Tool: A Case Study in Residential Block “1 Maji” in Tirana, Albania

As the urban regeneration process is mostly focused on upgrading the existing urban spaces by improving their physical qualities in order to be more attractive to people, and to generate more life or community life, the use of the concept of public space in this process is very adequate. At this extend, by noticing the difference between urban and public space, an important issue might be raised: whether public space concept can be used as an effective tool for urban regeneration process of existing residential areas? Elaborating briefly the urban regeneration as a process of improving of the qualities of life of urban space in order to meet the social objectives of the people, this paper focuses on a discussion on the role of public space concept as a tool in this process, arguing that are the public life qualities of urban spaces that matters. Based on this approach, this paper takes as case study the residential area in Tirana, built in the early ‘50s, experiencing, recently, some loss of urban space qualities because of new buildings and car invasion, keeping still its traditional urban identity. Analyzing the exiting urban spaces by using the criteria of public space it argues that converting urban spaces to public spaces by improving their public qualities, increasing their accessibility to pedestrians, releasing them from car use, introducing services that generate public interaction and cohesion, could be seen as a crucial tool of urban regeneration process, creating more sociable and enjoyable environment, leading to more sustainable or long term solution. The paper concludes that public space concept, in its core, should be seen as an important and effective designing tool for restructuring the urban space in the urban regeneration process.

Urban form and livability: socioeconomic and built environment indicators

Spatial relations among urban elements (buildings, streets, etc.) constantly affect the quality of urban spaces, creating more or less livable cities. The study of urban form has been a way of objectively quantifying such relations to understand their dynamics. Urban livability is the ability of urban spaces to fulfill the expectations of its inhabitants for wellbeing and quality of life. Measurable spatial patterns underlie the emergence of livable cities. Still, few researchers have considered if and how these patterns affect socioeconomic conditions across spatial scales. This paper explores the relationships between indicators of socioeconomic livability and cross-scale patterns of demographic and morphological densities within the Metro Vancouver (MV) region (Canada). Indicators of accessibility, social diversity, affordability, and economic vitality were quantified and compared among five population density clusters composed of 3450 census dissemination areas (DAs) in MV. Morphological indicators of intensity, centrality and diversity were aggregated at the DAs using spatial network analysis with five radii from 400 to 4800 m. Socioeconomic indices were regressed on urban form variables to assess the importance of the built environment on predicting livability-related qualities. Overall, indicators of the intensity of urban form were the most significant to predict the socioeconomic metrics. <strong><em>Policy relevance</em><br /></strong> Policies that aim to solve urban issues should consider nonlinear relations among variables. In the case of MV, indicators of accessibility, social diversity and economic vitality are directly correlated with each other and inversely correlated with affordability. Medium to high-density zones presented a fair equilibrium among the different livability qualities analyzed. Attributes aggregated with the 4800 m radius were highly important to predict the livability qualities within a 400 m radius, which potentially means that urban interventions may affect the livability of spaces not immediately close to them. A higher density of buildings with moderate height distributed among parcels with distinct sizes can potentially have a positive impact on economic vitality and housing affordability. The intensity and diversity of the tree canopy was important to predict active accessibility and social diversity. The inclusion of spatial diversity and network centrality measures on urban planning and design practices potentially foster more livable densification processes.

Interaction of Landscape and Settlement Structures in the Danube region

Abstract The importance of the identity and quality of urban spaces is currently one of the major professional problems - especially in relation to the rapidly developing urbanization of European settlements. The primary task of urban planners is to support and develop the potential of towns and cities and the quality of their urban structure. At the same time, the formation and transformation of urban structures requires an increasingly consistent approach in terms of sustainable development. A special area of research is the study of the cultural potential and uniqueness of the material and spatial structure of towns and cities and their surroundings. In this respect, it is important to monitor the optimization of the city’s macro and micro spaces through an extended analysis of the evaluation of urban and vegetation structures and their historical, cultural and environmental value. By monitoring these factors, we can optimize the processes taking place in the settlement structure, which affect the vitality and identity of urban spaces. A special area is also the monitoring of the projection and penetration of the landscape structure into the urban space. The harmonization of urban and landscape elements can also contribute to the sustainability of tourism. The evaluation of selected towns and cities in the Danube area and their surroundings in terms of the peculiarity of the image of the urban and landscape structure can help to better use the potential of individual settlements and their parts.

ANALYSIS OF URBAN SPACE IS THE FIRST STEP FOR FORMING A MODERN CITY

The analysis of the urban space is the first stage in the formation of a systemic understanding and creation of a more comfortable modern city. Historically, “city creation” occurs in accordance with the conditions and principles that exist at the time when the city was formed. Therefore, analyzing the existing structure of urban planning of territories, new parameters and characteristics are introduced, which should fully reflect the quality of urban space for its inhabitants in the current state. The analysis of urban space makes it possible to solve a specific problem or reorganize the urban structure to solve it. Therefore, the search for effective qualitative and quantitative models of analysis of the urban environment is an urgent task today. New methodologies and approaches to urban area analysis are emerging to fully explore this issue. A comprehensive analysis of the urban environment should take place in accordance with the morphology of the city, ie the study of the city through its perception by residents. In the beginning, it is necessary to consider the city as the interaction of its inhabitants with the physical space. The inhabitants of this city define the urban space and its function. This is the main indicator for further analysis and identification of the necessary characteristics in relation to space. The territory needs to be assessed, not only when significant changes are needed in the space for urban needs. A comprehensive analysis of the territory should be carried out with the accepted frequency, because the city is a dynamic system that changes the urban environment every day.&#x0D; Urban space is a system with multilevel connections that work together with each other, so the approach to a comprehensive assessment of urban space can not be simplified.

The role of urban defenseless spaces in women’s security: A case study of Jiroft, Kerman province, Iran

Growing trends in urban development combined with fundamental changes in the physical context of cities necessitate paying attention to the quality of urban spaces. The low quality of spaces, known as defenseless spaces, has a significant impact on the security of citizens, particularly vulnerable groups, including women. By emphasizing the role of defenseless spaces in Jiroft, the present study aims to evaluate their effect on women?s security. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using an independent t-test. Kendall correlation and regression were also applied in order to determine the quality of urban spaces and to evaluate their relationship with women?s safety. The results show that the physical spaces in Jiroft, more than 30% of which are worn out, are of low quality, and thus can be referred to as defenseless. The level of women?s satisfaction with the quality of the space is not high enough and this situation has increased women?s insecurity by 41%. Therefore, reconsidering urban design, especially in the peripheral and suburban areas is necessary, owing to women?s dissatisfaction with the quality of urban spaces and the positive correlation of these spaces with the level of security.

Waterfront Public Space Planning on Krueng Aceh River in Banda Aceh-Indonesia

Urban waterfront development had been a global trend in many cities around the world, not only in big cities but also in medium-sized cities, and even small towns. They have improved their waterfront area with good utilization in order to create attractive public spaces. Located on the most western tip of Sumatera Island in Indonesia, the riverbank area along Krueng Aceh River in Banda Aceh is undergoing to waterfront oriented and has enormous potential to be developed as waterfront public space. But in its implementation, there is still less waterfront utilization so which affects the lack of urban public space quality improvement along the riverbank. This paper presents the waterfront planning on Krueng Aceh River in Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and provides a strategic plan as a new waterfront concept in terms of urban public space quality improvement that can be applied immediately.

Research on ecological compensation of urban residual space to promote social integration

The continuous urbanization leads to a large number of land lost farmers pouring into the city, and the social integration of these people has become an important research topic of urban renewal. By means of field exploration and in-depth visit, this paper investigates and collates the data of some typical urban residual spaces where new industrial workers live, and finds that these spaces have common spatial characteristics, such as single spatial level, poor ecological environment and lack of landscape facilities. Then, by using statistical analysis and structural model, the comparative analysis of different types of space, and finds that the use of ecological compensation regulation can form a reasonable spatial layout, high-quality ecological effects and rich service facilities, so as to improve the spatial quality of urban residual space and provide highquality space environment for new industrial workers, Promote social integration, social integration of workers in new industries.

Human centered development of Russian megacities: Opportunities and limitations

Currently, the role of the big cities in the development of economy and society, the organization of high-quality urban space for people are widely discussed. However, there are still many unresolved urban issues with the crucial one being the need for the city-person interaction. Better interaction, diversity in satisfying the population’s needs, feedback from an active citizen who influences the development of the city are the attributes of modern metropolis that competes for any person. City’s advantages result in a greater population size and better quality of their life. Otherwise, the city shows the degradation signs and population decline. The purpose of the study is to justify the need for a multi-criteria assessment of living conditions in the Russian megalopolises under the citizens’ needs and the improvement of modern urban space. This assessment could guide the managerial decisions in defining the strategic priorities in city development. The following methodological tools were used: experts’ assessments of urban environment quality, demographic analysis of urban population movement; positioning of Russian megacities by criteria ‘urban environment quality’ and ‘population’s cost of living’, their grouping by the qualitative characteristics of urban environment; content analysis of the strategic documents for the development of the largest megacities. The novelty of the study is a new interpretation of the concept of ‘place’ in terms of the urban area. It is defined in a broader sense rather than a particular localization with the borders. It is an urban environment with a set of different opportunities to meet citizens’ growing needs. The study arrives at the approaches to a multi-criteria assessment of the living conditions in million cities under the citizens’ needs. To do this, the authors applied the methods of the Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities in the Russian Federation and analyzed the conditions and dynamics of the urban environment, studied the demographic processes, and evaluated the megalopolis attractiveness under the income and cost of living ratio. This revealed the challenges of the cities which could be theoretically solved in the strategic documents of megalopolis development, while the development of efficient mechanisms could help in the practical implementation of the solutions (municipal programs and projects). The article offers to analyze and constantly update the strategic documents of the million cities with regard to the public opinion and the needs of city dwellers in high-quality urban space. The authors worded the need to re-define the urban space which used to be interpreted as a place for living and the human role in its development. The results of the study could be of interest to public authorities and local governments that strategically manage the million cities. Further research is seen to be connected with the development of a comprehensive integral multi-criteria assessment for the current condition and dynamics in the urban space quality to define the megalopolis competitiveness in terms of their interest for the citizens.

The Concepts of Belonging and Sense of Place in The Context of Urban Space Quality Indicators: The Sample of Küçük Mustafa Paşa District

Various definitions and parameters have been determined by many researchers in the context of urban space quality. This study focuses on the necessity of the concepts of belonging and sense of place as indicators of urban space quality. The research aims to reveal how the sense of belonging developed by the connection of the user in the field with the place and place identity interaction affects the urban quality. In this context, Istanbul province Fatih district Küçük Mustafa Paşa district, which is one of the rare urban areas where the neighborhood culture and life still continue with its unique spatial characteristics, identity, and user profile, has been chosen as the study area. As a result of the study, it was determined that the users' sense of belonging and sense of place were developed and the importance of these concepts in the context of urban quality was emphasized.