Resilient Neighborhoods Research Articles

Assessing Urban Neighbourhood Resilience to Covid 19 Pandemic in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria

The sudden incidence of COVID-19 at Wuhan in China in December 2019 with its significant death globally and other negative socio-economic impacts has awakened the need to make human settlements resilient to unforeseen tragedy. Nigeria and Jos the capital of Plateau State have had negative experiences with the incidence of covid 19. Considering this, the study aims at assessing the resilience of urban neighbourhoods in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State to COVID-19 pandemic. The study objective is to examine the pattern and characteristics of some selected neighborhoods within Jos the study area. In addition to examining the characterisation of infrastructural facilities and to evaluate the environmental challenges that impede adherence to non-pharmaceutical protocols to COVID-19. Two neighbourhoods, Angwan Rukuba and Fudawa were selected to represent the entire Jos North Local Government Area. Relevant literature related to the study was reviewed. The study adopted a direct observation method of the physical characteristics of the neighborhoods and a simple sampling technique of survey where a structured questionnaire was administered to 138 respondents in the two neighborhoods. Descriptive analysis using percentages and tables in relation to the data obtained was used to draw inferences and conclusions. The results obtained shows that the sampled neighborhoods are densely congested informal settlements with unorganized settlement pattern, lacking in basic neighbourhoods’ infrastructure, and poor circulation, among others. These findings imply that the environmental setting of the study area makes compliance with non-pharmaceutical protocols during COVID-19. pandemic difficult. By implication, the neighborhoods lack the resilience capability to cope with the COVID-19. pandemic. The study recommends the need for planning and upgrading of the neighbourhoods’ facilities along with stakeholder public enlightenment on the need to comply to COVID-19. non-pharmaceutical protocols as a step toward building resilient neighbourhoods in Jos North Local Government Area and the metropolis at large.

Urban Farming Framework, Benefits for Neighbourhood Development And Urban Sustainability

The paper, "Urban Farming Framework, Benefits for Neighbourhood Development and Urban Sustainability," represents a comprehensive exploration into the imperative need for urban farming and its multifaceted advantages concerning neighbourhood development and urban sustainability. Central to its analysis are the elucidation of various forms and definitions of urban farming, underscoring its pivotal role in implementing circular economy strategies and fortifying urban food security measures. By integrating case studies, particularly within educational institutions like schools and Anganwadi centres, the report underscores the transformative potential of urban farming initiatives in promoting sustainability, community engagement, and equitable participation. Crucially, the study emphasizes the interconnectedness between urban farming and neighbourhood development, elucidating how their symbiotic relationship contributes to fostering an inclusive society and advancing sustainable urban design principles. By accentuating the intertwined nature of these elements, the report advocates for a paradigm shift towards holistic urban planning, where urban farming assumes a pivotal role in shaping vibrant, healthy, and resilient neighbourhoods. Ultimately, this comprehensive examination serves as a clarion call for embracing and integrating urban farming as a cornerstone of urban development, fostering not only ecological sustainability but also socio-economic empowerment and community cohesion within urban landscapes.

Revitalizing Colonial Architecture in Havana, Cuba: Balancing Preservation and Modernization

The revitalization of Havana’s colonial architecture embodies a delicate balance between preservation and modernization, reflecting the city’s rich cultural heritage and dynamic urban evolution. This paper explores the historical context, challenges, and initiatives surrounding the preservation and modernization of Havana’s colonial architecture. Through case studies and analysis, it examines successful revitalization projects, community engagement strategies, and the quest for a sustainable economic model. By embracing heritage conservation, fostering community involvement, and promoting sustainable development, Havana seeks to create vibrant, resilient neighborhoods that honor the past while embracing the opportunities of the future.

Varying mobility adaptation to COVID-19 of residents in urban villages and commodity housing communities: A quasi-experimental analysis in Shenzhen, China

Although studies have explored the travel behavior of residents in informal housing communities in recent years, few have been conducted in the context of a time series before and after the outbreak of COVID-19. This paper tracks individual-level daily mobility response for three months, using an interrupted time series (ITS) quasi-experimental design to infer daily causal effects of COVID-19 and community close-off management on individuals' daily travel distances. This study compares the mobility response to COVID-19 between people living in urban villages and commodity housing communities in Shenzhen, China. The results reveal that urban village residents reduced their travel less, with slower response and recovery rates after the COVID-19 outbreak. The community close-off management was less effective for urban village residents, with a smaller abrupt reduction in mobility and their recovery rate increasing faster during the post-lockdown period. Therefore, urban village residents may have experienced greater limitations in adjusting travel with higher exposure risks during the pandemic, compared with commodity housing residents. The variations in mobility change are significantly affected by some inherent differences between these two groups, even after controlling for their socioeconomic and built environment features. These results provide important insights for designing mobility restriction policies for different housing groups and planning more resilient neighborhoods in the post-COVID era.

From Garden City to 15-Minute City: A Historical Perspective and Critical Assessment

The 15-minute city concept was introduced as a post-COVID strategy to support more sustainable recovery from the pandemic and develop complete, climate-sensitive, and resilient neighborhoods. This review examines key neighborhood planning movements to identify the origins of the 15-minute city concept. These include the garden city, neighborhood unit plan, modernist urbanism, post-modern urbanism, and eco-urbanism, which have emerged since the late 19th century. The results of the study show that the concept of the 15-minute city has ten basic characteristics: proximity, density, diversity, mixed-use, modularity, adaptability, flexibility, human-scale design, connectivity, and digitalization. The concept has been successful in advancing theoretical debates on sustainable urbanism. However, some criticisms of past planning movements also apply to the 15-minute city. Similar to the neighborhood unit and modernist urbanism, the concept follows a philosophy of physical determinism, setting goals without specifying how or by what means they will be achieved. At this point, one can only speculate about the future of the concept. A more detailed study of the real-world applications of the concept is needed before one can thoroughly discuss its strengths and weaknesses.

Spatiotemporal Heterogeneities in the Causal Effects of Mobility Intervention Policies during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Spatially Interrupted Time-Series (SITS) Analysis

Although there has been a growing interest in causal inference in geography studies, few studies have incorporated spatiotemporal heterogeneities with causalities. This study conceptualizes different patterns of spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the causal effects of policy interventions and develops a spatially interrupted time-series (SITS) quasi-experimental design to causally infer how the treatment effects of mobility control policies during the early stages of the COVID-19 outbreak vary across space and time, based on a five-month mobile phone big data set from Shenzhen, China. The modeling results reveal and distinguish significant temporal, spatial, and spatiotemporal heterogeneities in the policies’ causal effects. For example, we observed an abrupt decrease of 2.8 km in travel distance as a result of the first-level response to public health emergencies (i.e., FLR) and a decrease of 0.5 km as a result of the closed-off management of residential communities (i.e., COM), accounting for 44.6 percent and 7.2 percent of the baseline level before the pandemic, respectively. Such mobility reduction effects decayed at a rate of 0.033 km per day after the FLR and 0.076 km per day after the COM. For both policies, the abrupt effects were significantly larger in neighborhoods with a higher residential density and land-use mixture, lower average age, higher income, and higher marriage rate, whereas the gradual effect of the FLR decayed faster in similar compact neighborhoods. These findings demonstrate the importance of incorporating spatiotemporal variations with causality inference for fine-grained policy assessments, which can help policymakers determine when and where to implement which policies to mediate the mobility and the spread of the pandemic and plan for resilient neighborhoods in the postpandemic era.

Resilience Action Planning for Epidemic and Disaster: Resilient Neighborhoods

21. yüzyıl kentlerinde salgın ve afetlerin getirdiği olumsuz etkilerin azaltılmasında kentsel yapının kısa-orta-uzun vadeli riskleri azaltmada ve kentlerin direncini artırmada oynayabileceği rolü anlamak ve dirençli kentsel yapılar elde etmek önemli görülmeye başlamıştır. Genellikle kentlerde dirençliliği sağlamak için makro düzeyde gösterilen çaba, hızlı ve sağlıklı çözümler getirememektedir. Problemin büyüklüğü karşısında daha spesifik ya da mikro çözümlemeleri bir araya getiren kentsel dirençlilik yaklaşımlarının geliştirilmesi, kentsel alandaki toplumsal, iktisadi ve mekânsal sorunların daha yerel ölçekten ele alınması gerektiği anlaşılmaktadır. Kentlerde, salgın ve afete karşı dirençliliğin sağlanabilmesi için ele alınabilecek en küçük yerel yapı ya da idari ve sosyal birimler mahallelerdir. Mahalleler toplumun yaşamsal ve ayrılmaz bir parçası, aynı zamanda yerleşim alanları ve insan faaliyetlerinin de uyum gösterdiği yerel ölçekteki çözüm arayışlarının en alt uygulama noktalarıdır. Bu sebeple Salgın ve Afete Yönelik bir Dirençlilik Eylem Planlaması kapsamında kentsel dirençliliğin sağlanabilmesi hem başlangıç adımı hem de zincirin en önemli halkalarından olan mahallelerin dirençli hale getirilmesiyle mümkündür. Bu çalışmanın amacı, Dirençlilik Eylem Planlaması kapsamında, salgın ve afet durumlarının getirdiği olumsuz etkilere karşı dirençlilik öznitelikleri, ilkeleri ve ölçütleri ile uyumlu bir “Dirençli Mahalle Yapısı”nın oluşturulmasıdır. Bu mahalle, kentsel mekânda yerel direnç tecrübeleri gösteren, insanların sosyal, kültürel, ekonomik ve temel yaşamsal gereksinimlerini karşılama konusundaki zorluklara cevap verebilen, esnek, işlevsel, bütünleşik ve akıllı kentsel mekân kurgusuna sahip, yerel yönetim düzeyi ve yönetişimini iyileştiren, topluluk direnci ve kentsel sağlığı temsil eden, uyumlanma merkezleri gibi çalışan yapıda olacaktır. Çalışma kentsel biçim ve dirençlilik arasındaki ilişkiye ilişkin daha kapsamlı bir bilgi tabanının geliştirilmesi için bir başlangıç noktası olarak kabul edilebilir.

Promoting a city-river balance within neighborhoods in transition along the Rhone

Relationships between cities and their waters have always been evolving. In a context of transition towards sustainability, finding a balance between the urban and river spaces may contribute to the development of new resilient neighborhoods. To that end, a tailor-made multi-criteria evaluation method appears necessary to gather information not only on sustainability performances of neighborhoods projects but also on specific features linked to a balanced relationships between rivers and cities.On these observations, we develop the concept of city-river balance by focusing on the Rhone territory. It serves as a basis to design an innovative decision-support tool for comparing forward-looking visions for rhodanian neighborhoods in transition. First, this paper presents the methodological research approach taken to develop the tool. Then, it explains the structure and functioning of the tool, followed by a test application to a case study, the Jonction sector in Geneva, Switzerland. Preliminary results show that specific city-river balance components and indicators can explicitly be thematized and measured. Moreover, such a tool could unveil hidden potentialities and help stakeholders to make informed-decision through a resilient vision for the regeneration of rhodanian neighborhoods. In that sense, it promotes not only a transition towards sustainability but also the emergence of a city-river balance.

Evidence-based guidelines for greener, healthier, more resilient neighbourhoods: Introducing the 3–30–300 rule

The important contributions of urban trees and green spaces to for example, climate moderation and public health have been recognized. This paper discusses guidelines and norms that promote the benefits of viewing green, living amongst green, and having easy access to green spaces for recreational use. Having trees and other vegetation in sight from one’s home, place of work, or school has important mental health and performance benefits. Local tree canopy cover is positively associated with cooling and other aspects of climate moderation. With public green spaces in proximity to one’s home stimulates regular use of these areas and results in positive impacts on mental, physical, and social health. After analyzing existing guidelines and rules for urban green space planning and provision, a new, comprehensive guideline is presented, known as the ‘3–30–300 rule’ for urban forestry. This guideline aims to provide equitable access to trees and green spaces and their benefits by setting the thresholds of having at least 3 well-established trees in view from every home, school, and place of work, no less than a 30% tree canopy in every neighbourhood; and no more than 300 m to the nearest public green space from every residence. Current implementation of this new guideline is discussed, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of using this evidence-based but also clear and simple rules.

Impact of neighborhood spatial characteristics on the microclimate in a hot arid climate – A field based study

• Different neighborhood forms can create inter-neighborhood microclimate variability. • Local-specific characteristics affect microclimate differently across neighborhood area. • Influence of local-specific characteristics on microclimate vary across seasons. • Vegetation is more important in regulating microclimate in shallower than deeper canyon. Although neighborhood is the level where most local plans are realized, little research has been done to understand how neighborhood spatial characteristics can shape its microclimate. This study aims to understand the effect of neighborhood form on its microclimate in a hot arid city, in Egypt. Two neighborhoods with different layouts are selected- a low-density historic area and a modern high-density area. Each neighborhood form was analyzed according to seven spatial characteristics: aspect ratio, street orientation, street trees, green spaces, percentage of tree canopy and impervious surfaces at 20m radii, and sky view factor. Microclimate data was collected using mobile field measurements in summer and winter. In total air temperature, relative humidity and wind speed at 44 sites were measured. The statistical and spatial analysis reveal inter-neighborhood microclimate variation which is more observed in winter than in summer. Moreover, the local-specific spatial characteristics within each neighborhood have resulted in a variation in the microclimate across the neighborhoods. The study also found a seasonal effect on the overall microclimate and on the way local-specific characteristics influence the microclimate. Findings of this research can have implications for future (re)development and planning of climate resilient neighborhoods, in a hot arid context.

Multifunctional Landscapes for Resilient Neighbourhoods

The rise in population has affected the environmental quality and liveability of urban areas. This brings in new challenges to address the resilience capacity of the cities. The multifunctionality of urban areas are considered to be one of the strategies to build urban resilience. The paper explores the development of multifunctional landscapes from a neighbourhood planning perspective. For this, it considers open spaces within a neighbourhood as an element which can be conserved and transformed to productive spaces where waste generated within a neighbourhood is treated and used for developing green spaces. Besides, the system provides an opportunity to transform such land parcels within the city into productive spaces thereby integrating solid waste management and landscape development sustainably. The proposed concept discusses the social, economic and environmental benefits of implementing such spaces which are inevitable in the pursuit of wellbeing and quality of life of the people in a resilient city. At a broader level, the system proposed contributes in making green spaces in any neighbourhood and in the long run, this concept should find its place in urban planning policies of similar city contexts to ensure that our cities, its system of waste management and their landscapes remain sustainable.

Visiting nearby natural settings supported wellbeing during Sweden’s “soft-touch” pandemic restrictions

The coronavirus pandemic entailed varying restrictions on access, movement and social behavior in populations around the world. Knowledge about how people coped with “soft-touch” restrictions can inform urban spatial planning strategies that enhance resilience against future pandemics. We analyzed data from an online place-based survey on 2845 places across Sweden that respondents abstained from visiting, visited with similar frequency, or visited more frequently in spring 2020 as compared to before the pandemic. In spatial logistic regression models, we relate geographical and sociodemographic properties of places (fields, forests, water, residential population density and daytime population density) to self-perceived changes in wellbeing from visiting the given place less or more often, respectively. Abstaining from visiting places with natural features located in areas of high residential density was associated with a self-perceived negative influence on wellbeing. Yet, fields, forests and water were strongly associated with places people claimed wellbeing benefits from during pandemic restrictions. The further a visited place was from the respondent’s home, the more likely it was to have a positive wellbeing influence. As an illustrative case, we map our models onto the landscape of Stockholm, showing that some neighborhoods are likely more resilient than others when coping with pandemic restrictions. Both the most and least resilient neighborhoods span the socio-economic spectrum. Urban planning will do well to enable equitable, easy access to natural settings by foot or bike, to increase pandemic preparedness as well as support climate change mitigation and biodiversity protection.

The Urban Characteristics of High Economic Resilient Neighborhoods during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Case of Suwon, South Korea

Infectious diseases and pandemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, have a huge economic impact on cities. However, few studies examine the economic resilience of small-scale regions within cities. Thus, this study derives neighborhoods with high economic resilience in a pandemic situation and reveals their urban characteristics. It evaluates economic resilience by analyzing changes in the amount of credit card payments in the neighborhood and classifying the types of neighborhoods therefrom. The study conducted the ANOVA, Kruskal–Wallis, and post hoc tests to analyze the difference in urban characteristics between neighborhood types. Accordingly, three neighborhood types emerged from the analysis: high-resilient neighborhood, low-resilient neighborhood, and neighborhood that benefited from the pandemic. The high-resilient neighborhood is a low-density residential area where many elderly people live. Neighborhoods that benefited are residential areas mainly located in high-density apartments where many families of parents and children live. The low-resilient neighborhood is an area with many young people and small households, many studio-type small houses, and a high degree of land-use mix.

Edible urban commons for resilient neighbourhoods in light of the pandemic

Edible urban commons can aid recovery from the pandemic-induced crises, and build urban resilience to future disruptions.

Building neighbourhood-level resilience to crime: the case of Khayelitsha, South Africa

ABSTRACT South Africa is crippled with high rates of crime. Examining factors that may build neighbourhood-level resilience to crime is central to reducing the poverty gap and lowering inequality particularly in impoverished communities. By drawing on theories from environmental criminology in this study we quantify and spatially locate resilient neighbourhoods in the township of Khayelitsha located on the urban periphery of Cape Town in South Africa. We then examine the extent to which access to various built environment factors in the township is stratified based on neighbourhood-level resiliency. Contrary to expectations we found that the most resilient neighbourhoods in Khayelitsha most often experience a decrease in access to a range of built environment factors. Explanations for these findings are provided in the context of a uniquely South African township setting.

Diversity in urban design and neighbourhood resilience in response to the Great Recession

ABSTRACT This research explores how the lack of diversity in newly constructed, mass produced, cookie-cutter type neighbourhoods affected trajectories in response to the Great Recession. Results suggest that design characteristics influenced home sales prices over time and post-Recession, but not when initially sold. Homes in more resilient neighbourhoods have greater façade variation, access to nearby amenities, and open spaces than the non-resilient, but much less proximity to transit. The building in, i.e. what developers are providing and what municipalities are approving, of diversity in design of homes and neighbourhoods through better zoning codes contributed to positive outcomes and increased neighbourhood resilience.

A framework for earthquake resilience at neighborhood level

PurposeDespite long decades of research studies in the field of urban neighborhood resilience, there are still some unknown dimensions. In this regard, the study aims to develop a new framework for assessment of physical and social resilience at neighborhood level against earthquake.Design/methodology/approachAccordingly, first all indicators affecting earthquake resilience at neighborhood level have been determined. Subsequently, they have been weighted and prioritized, using analytical hierarchy process technique. One of the neighborhoods of Tehran city in Iran was selected for the case study. Then, four criteria of “robustness,” “redundancy,” “rapidity” and “resourcefulness” were considered as the basis for assessing neighborhood resilience.FindingsIt is shown that besides four well-known criteria, four other criteria including “adaptability,” “regularity,” “density” and “efficiency” should also be considered to assess earthquake resilience at neighborhood level. Therefore, a new framework is developed and formulated at this level. Paying attention to all eight criteria, the appropriate interventions to improve resiliency can be addressed.Practical implicationsThis study proposes several practical approaches toward the more resilient neighborhoods against earthquakes. By considering the complexity and dynamic characteristics of earthquake resilience, it recommends the implementation of all resilience phases at every neighborhood to increase resilience.Originality/valueThis study proposes a framework in which in addition to physical and tangible indicators of resilience, non-physical and intangible ones are presented. Also, it is shown that besides well-known criteria, other criteria should also be considered using practical and community-based approaches.

Towards Circular Water Neighborhoods: Simulation-Based Decision Support for Integrated Decentralized Urban Water Systems

Centralized urban water management currently faces multiple challenges, both at the supply side and the demand side. These challenges underpin the need to progress to the decentralization of urban water, where multiple distributed technologies (water-aware appliances, rainwater harvesting, greywater recycling, sustainable urban drainage) are applied in an integrated fashion and as a supplement to centralized systems to design more resilient neighborhoods. However, the methods and tools to assess the performance of these distributed solutions and provide management support for integrated projects are still few and mostly untested in real, combined cases. This study presents a simulation-based framework for the quantitative performance assessment of decentralized systems at a neighborhood scale, where different technologies can be linked together to provide beneficial effects across multiple urban water cycle domains. This framework links an urban water cycle model, which provides a scenario-based simulation testbed for the response of the whole system, with key performance indicators that evaluate the performance of integrated decentralized solutions at a neighborhood scale. The demonstrated framework is applied to provide an ex ante evaluation of SUPERLOCAL, a newly developed area in Limburg, the Netherlands, designed as a circular, water-wise neighborhood where multiple decentralized technologies are combined.

Identification of Resilient and At-Risk Neighborhoods for Cardiovascular Disease Among Black Residents: the Morehouse-Emory Cardiovascular (MECA) Center for Health Equity Study.

IntroductionDespite the growing interest in place as a determinant of health, areas that promote rather than reduce cardiovascular disease (CVD) in blacks are understudied. We performed an ecologic analysis to identify areas with high levels of CVD resilience and risk among blacks from a large southern, US metropolitan area.MethodsWe obtained census tract–level rates of cardiovascular deaths, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalizations for black adults aged 35 to 64 from 2010 through 2014 for the Atlanta, Georgia, metropolitan area. Census tracts with substantially lower rates of cardiovascular events on the basis of neighborhood socioeconomic status were identified as resilient and those with higher rates were identified as at risk. Logistic regression was used to estimate the odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of being classified as an at-risk versus resilient tract for differences in census-derived measures.ResultsWe identified 106 resilient and 121 at-risk census tracts, which differed in the rates per 5,000 person years of cardiovascular outcomes (mortality, 8.13 vs 13.81; ED visits, 32.25 vs 146.3; hospitalizations, 26.69 vs 130.0), despite similarities in their median black income ($46,123 vs $45,306). Tracts with a higher percentage of residents aged 65 or older (odds ratio [OR], 2.29; 95% CI, 1.41–3.85 per 5% increment) and those with incomes less than 200% of the federal poverty level (OR, 1.19; 95% CI, 1.02–1.39 per 5% increment) and greater Gini index (OR, 1.56; 95% CI, 1.19– 2.07 per 0.05 increment) were more likely to be classified as at risk than resilient neighborhoods.DiscussionDespite matching on median income level, at-risk neighborhoods for CVD among black populations were associated with a higher prevalence of socioeconomic indicators of inequality than resilient neighborhoods.

The formation of social capital in newly constructed neighborhoods

ABSTRACTWhat factors encourage or discourage the formation of social capital and community resilience in neighborhoods geared toward affordable/workforce housing and vulnerable populations? Newly built starter-home neighborhoods—first introduced in the mass-produced Levittowns and commonly called “cookie-cutter”—present a unique opportunity to answer this question. Lessons learned from divergent neighborhood outcomes help us better understand how to build more resilient neighborhoods and avoid constructing neighborhoods “built to fail.” Including survey data in research introduces people’s experiences and viewpoints, and helps us learn things that can only come from the perspectives of those living in the neighborhoods—for example, why someone chooses to move to a particular neighborhood, what things are liked/disliked about the neighborhood, feelings of safety, and the social dimensions of a neighborhood. These factors are indicators of social capital and in this study, door-to-door surveys of starter-home residents were used to try and understand its formation in newly built neighborhoods and how social capital is associated with resilience. Results show the building in of resources, including providing open spaces, street trees, quality construction practices, and locating neighborhoods near amenities and away from harmful land uses, facilitates the formation of social capital and resilience in newly constructed neighborhoods.