Safety In Urban Environment Research Articles

Uninsured Motorists’ Risk Attitudes and Pedestrian Road Safety: Evidence from Metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria

With the increasing prevalence of uninsured vehicles in urban areas, motorists’ behaviours on pedestrian safety are crucial for developing effective road safety strategies. This study investigated the happenings around uninsured motorists’ risk attitudes and pedestrian road safety in metropolitan Lagos, Nigeria. Using the survey approach cum the two-way sampling techniques comprised of purposive and convenience, data were gathered to analyse the behavioural dispositions of uninsured motorists and their implications on pedestrian road safety. The study adopted a structured questionnaire as a research instrument for data collection from a sample population of 209. The data analytical employed was descriptive statistics comprised of simple frequency percentages presented in tabular form and bar chart description. Findings revealed, based on pedestrian opinions, that uninsured motorists display riskier driving behaviours, such speeding and reckless driving pattern; which was found prevalent among commercial uninsured motorists. In addition, insufficient implementation of insurance regulation and socio-economic factors contributed to the proliferation of uninsured vehicles. The study also showcased the descriptive analysis of uninsured motorists’ risk attitudes towards pedestrian road safety. Further finding presented a descriptive analysis of pedestrians’ road safety metrics on Lagos roads. Then, the study accentuates the urgent need for comprehensive policy intervention targeting uninsured motorists, including stricter application of insurance laws, public awareness campaigns, enhanced infrastructure to improve pedestrian safety in urban environment, like metropolitan, Lagos, Nigeria and in similar contexts in other African cities and beyond. Thus, insurance practitioners, especially motor insurance providers, should synergise their efforts to improve the accessibility and affordability of insurance for motorists, particularly, the low-income individuals; by creating flexible payment options, and subsidising insurance premiums. Lastly, local communities should engage with other stakeholders in the transport industry to ensure road safety culture, promoting responsible driving behaviour and encouraging compliance with insurance regulation

Relationship between urban traffic crashes and temporal/meteorological conditions: understanding and predicting the effects

Urban traffic accidents pose significant challenges to public safety and transportation management. Previous studies have revealed that temporal and meteorological factors are the key contributors to accident rate. Besides the inconsistent observations or lack of exploration in some aspects such as snowfall, fog, wind and daily temperatures, it has been shown that these factors are essentially entangled. Furthermore, existing methodologies of analysis or prediction have been limited to relative risk or traditional models. Hence, this study is centered on understanding the detailed correlations between temporal and meteorological factors and accident rate of two types of crashes – moving vehicle and fixed-object crashes using the traffic accident data from Dalian. Further, by incorporating a diverse set of the features, a prediction model leveraging the random forest algorithm is proposed and proved effective in anticipating accident occurrences on the district level. The feature importance analysis has shown that time period and factors such as holiday, temperature and season are most important factors. The rate is higher on working days and in spring, and collisions of both types peak at 6–7 am. When the highest daily temperature is 27 °C and the lowest is 20 °C or -8 °C, the incidence is relatively higher. On the basis, the recommendations are aimed at optimizing transportation systems, mitigating accident risks, and enhancing public safety in urban environments.

Exploring Urban Greenery: A Case Study of Roadside Trees in Pokhara Metropolitan City

Roadside trees play a crucial role as important components of urban greenery, significantly enhancing the overall quality of cities and ultimately contributing to the quality of life for residents and visitors alike. This study examines the condition, maintenance, and proximity of roadside trees to electric wire corridors in Pokhara Metropolitan City, Nepal. This study employs field surveys, categorization based on tree attributes, and mapping techniques to analyze the distribution and characteristics of roadside trees. Out of approximately 1500 trees initially collected, 1435 were processed for further analysis. Trees were classified by species, height, condition, and the presence of fencing or resting structures (Chautaro), with proximity to electric wire corridors also assessed. Findings reveal a significant presence of trees in good condition, predominantly Dhupi, Kapur and Ashoka species, with a notable percentage requiring maintenance. A substantial number of trees were found in close proximity to electric wires, posing potential hazards. Mapping techniques facilitated visualizing the spatial distribution of trees, aiding in urban planning and management strategies. The study underscores the importance of sustainable urban greening practices and the need for proactive measures to address challenges related to tree maintenance and safety in urban environments like Pokhara Metropolitan City. This study emphasizes the pivotal role of roadside trees in enhancing the aesthetic appeal and quality of city life, positioning them as decisive factors in shaping urban environments and fostering a welcoming atmosphere for residents and visitors.

Exploring Public's perception of safety and video surveillance technology: A survey approach

Addressing public safety effectively requires incorporating diverse stakeholder perspectives, particularly those of the community, which are often underrepresented compared to other stakeholders. This study presents a comprehensive analysis of the community's general public safety concerns, their view of existing surveillance technologies, and their perception of AI-driven solutions for enhancing safety in urban environments, focusing on Charlotte, NC. Through a survey approach, including in-person surveys conducted in August and September 2023 with 410 participants, this research investigates demographic factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and educational level to gain insights into public perception and concerns toward public safety and possible solutions. Based on the type of dependent variables, we utilized different statistical and significance analyses, such as logit regression and ordinal logistic regression, to explore the effects of demographic factors on the various dependent variables. Our results reveal demographic differences in public safety concerns. Younger females tend to feel less secure yet trust existing video surveillance systems, whereas older, educated individuals are more concerned about violent crimes in malls. Additionally, attitudes towards AI-driven surveillance differ: older Black individuals demonstrate support for it despite having concerns about data privacy, while educated females show a tendency towards skepticism.

Literature Review: Human Behaviour and Evacuation Fire System

Human behavior during fire emergencies significantly influences evacuation processes and overall safety outcomes. This literature review synthesizes findings from various research journals to explore the complexities of human behavior and evacuation dynamics in fire incidents. Key factors such as decision-making, evacuation timelines, and the impact of environmental factors on evacuation efficiency are examined. The study underscores the critical role of understanding human behavior in formulating effective fire safety strategies, particularly in residential settings where behavioral responses differ from those in public, commercial, or industrial spaces. Insights from this review emphasize the need for further research into the interplay between spatial planning, demographic factors, and infrastructure in optimizing evacuation procedures for enhanced fire safety in urban environments.

Examining property and neighborhood effects on perceived safety in urban environments: Proximity to square and heights of buildings

Residents' perceived safety is key to improving livelihoods and reducing disparities between neighborhoods in Sweden. Neighborhood interventions may be more cost-effective than individual-level interventions in addressing major societal issues such as unequal levels of safety between neighborhoods. However, most studies investigating the impact of neighborhood characteristics on perceived safety suffer from either poor data quality, too few respondents per statistical unit, large units of analysis, or a lack of longitudinally collected data. This study aims to fill this gap by combining property-specific longitudinal sociodemographic data with customer satisfaction survey data (N = 147,965) collected between 2013–2014 and 2016–2021 in Gothenburg. Using two multilevel models, we examined the relationship between perceived safety and both property-level and area-level structural characteristics, testing three hypotheses. Consistent with prior research, we find that sociodemographic and urban environmental characteristics influenced perceptions of safety. The multilevel analyses reveal that proximity to the square is associated with lower levels of perceived safety, particularly among residents living within 0–100 m of the square in socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods. Moreover, the results show that living in taller buildings of 10–16 floors is associated with lower levels of safety.

Comprehensive investigation of crashes associated with citywide speed limit reduction in Seattle, Washington

Road traffic crashes are a leading cause of fatalities and injuries worldwide, prompting authorities to implement various strategies to enhance road safety. One common approach involves lowering speed limits in an effort to mitigate the severity of crashes and improve overall traffic safety. Seattle, Washington has been lowering its citywide default speed limits on municipal roads since 2016, among several cities in the US. This research paper presents a comprehensive investigation of the impact of these speed limit reductions on various safety indicators, such as the crash frequency, crash severity, crash characteristics, crash type, crash location, contributing factors, and overall traffic safety performance. The study employs a comprehensive dataset encompassing several years before and after the implementation of lower speed limits. Data analyses indicate varying changes in crash severity distribution between before and after periods in Seattle. Fatal and incapacitating crashes in Seattle decreased by 19% after the initial speed limit lowering in 2016 and further decreased by 3% after the second speed limit lowering in 2018. Pedestrian-involved crashes experienced a 26% significant decrease while speeding-related had a 16% decrease after the city implemented lowering speed limits. There was also a statistically significant 4% decrease in property damage only collisions and a 7% decrease in parked car crashes. Distracted driving / inattention-related crashes also decreased by 4%. The Mid-Block (but intersection related) crashes saw a significant decrease by 6%, and Driveway Junction related crashes decreased by 1%. The findings provide insights into the effectiveness of speed limit reductions in enhancing road safety in urban environments. The findings contribute to the existing body of knowledge on speed management strategies and their impact on traffic safety. The outcomes of this study can inform transportation policymakers and practitioners in Seattle and other urban areas as they make informed decisions regarding speed limit regulations and road safety measures.

IMPROVEMENT OF URBAN ENVIRONMENT - NEW QUALITY OF LIFE

The article deals with the theoretical basis of the concept of "Healthy City" and the prospects of its application in the practical purposes of urban planning. The article explains the content of the basic concepts of "healthy city" and "urban environment improvement", as well as the data of a sociological study on the attitude of Moscow residents to health problems. Based on the results of the study, the relevance of the "Healthy City" concept for the residents of large cities is demonstrated, and the areas requiring study and development of practical recommendations are highlighted. The conclusion is made about the need for further research into the problems of urban environment safety, conditions for the formation of youth spaces in the city, as well as the impact of urban planning practices on the quality of relationships in families and the demographic situation.

LOCATION MODERATES THE EFFECT OF COGNITIVE TRAINING ON CRASH RISK OVER 20 YEARS: AN ANALYSIS OF THE ACTIVE STUDY

Abstract Driving is a critical everyday function that helps older adults remain independent. The Advanced Cognitive Training in Vital Elderly (ACTIVE) study has shown cognitive training improves driving safety outcomes for older adults. Few studies have examined the longitudinal effects of cognitive training on crash risk beyond 5 years. To address this empirical gap, we aimed to determine the effects of cognitive training on crash risk over 20 years, and how urbanicity moderates these relationships. Using participants from the no-contact control and intervention (speed of processing, memory, and reasoning training) groups in the ACTIVE study (n=2170) and state-recorded crash reports, cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the effect of three cognitive training interventions as predictors of time to first at-fault crash over 20 years. Participants (mean age 73, 73% White, 23% Male) reported driving 90.6 miles/week on average and 12.6% experienced an at-fault crash. Overall, speed of processing training was the only intervention related to lower crash risk, but this varied by urbanicity. Namely, speed of processing training was related to lower crash risk for individuals living in rural environments (HR=.16, 95% CI [.04-.73], p=.018) but not for individuals in urban environments (HR=.89, 95% CI [.54-1.50], p=.679). Findings highlight the safety benefits of speed of processing training for older drivers living in rural environments where more fatal crashes occur. However, interventions are still needed to improve safety in urban environments where more crashes occur generally. Consideration of location in future interventions may help improve safe driving for older adults.

Exploring the Urban Environment in the Educational Design of Design Objects for Public Spaces

The purpose of the study is to find ways of involving students of the “Environmental Design” speciality in solving real problems of open public spaces in cities by means of design during educational process. General scientific methods of theoretical research are applied: analysis and synthesis, generalization and comparison. The novelty of the research. In view of the relevance of creating high-quality public places in the urban environment and the presence of a significant number of problems associated with the placement of design elements in public space, it was considered necessary to include in the educational process of students majoring in Environmental Design the exploration of the real-existing urban environment to improve its quality at the artistic and design level. The task of developing the concept of a multifunctional design object with pronounced artistic and figurative characteristics in the public space has been proposed and substantiated. The article reveals the sequence of basic steps of pre-design research intended to guide students to learn how to analyse (from the point of view of design) the existing state of public spaces in which students can feel themselves as direct users and designers. The basis of this task is the methodology for performing pre-design research and forming conceptual ideas in the field of Environmental Design. The main teaching method is the project method as a set of research problematic methods of creative direction. Conclusions. Such pre-design research can be carried out as part of a course or diploma project; or as a separate task in the process of studying professional disciplines in the field of Environmental Design. Exposing students to the real problems of the urban environment and involving them in solving the issues in the educational process will help prevent unconscious neglect of the context in their future professional careers. As a result of the assignment, students learn to notice and distinguish elements of the urban environment, to be critical of design objects in public space, to approach their design only after a comprehensive pre-design analysis, to understand the importance of visual purity of space and to appreciate the integrity of the existing architectural composition. Presenting to their fellow students the rationale for adopted solutions helps them critically evaluate their ideas and prepare for active participation in public projects to improve the comfort, social attractiveness, and the urban environment safety.

Small-Scale Urban Object Anomaly Detection Using Convolutional Neural Networks with Probability Estimation.

Anomaly detection in sequences is a complex problem in security and surveillance. With the exponential growth of surveillance cameras in urban roads, automating them to analyze the data and automatically identify anomalous events efficiently is essential. This paper presents a methodology to detect anomalous events in urban sequences using pre-trained convolutional neural networks (CNN) and super-resolution (SR) models. The proposal is composed of two parts. In the offline stage, the pre-trained CNN model evaluated a large dataset of urban sequences to detect and establish the common locations of the elements of interest. Analyzing the offline sequences, a density matrix is calculated to learn the spatial patterns and identify the most frequent locations of these elements. Based on probabilities previously calculated from the offline analysis, the pre-trained CNN, now in an online stage, assesses the probability of anomalies appearing in the real-time sequence using the density matrix. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the presented approach in detecting several anomalies, such as unusual pedestrian routes. This research contributes to urban surveillance by providing a practical and reliable method to improve public safety in urban environments. The proposed methodology can assist city management authorities in proactively detecting anomalies, thus enabling timely reaction and improving urban safety.

La revisión de los métodos de estudio del problema de la seguridad en el medio urbano

Introduction: Nowadays, the concept of “safe city” has become one of the topical issues of scientific research in many areas of human activity. Besides architects, designers, and builders, IT specialists are actively involved in creating a safe urban environment. A safe city very often involves the construction of a complex distribution system, which is capable of integrating heterogeneous elements of the urban environment, such as residential utilities, highways, strategic facilities, into a single managed structure. In the architectural and design activities, methods of designing the safe environment are well known, which facilitate the creation of open spaces, the creation of comfortable redevelopment of urban voids, etc. Thus, it can be argued that many existing problems of urban environmental safety are being successfully addressed. Nevertheless, the current trend of urbanization and the consequent increase in the population of agglomerations, the construction of high-rise buildings, the development of infrastructure, the formation of new areas and entire cities lead to other problems with urban safety or require the review of existing methods. In this regard, it is of great interest to identify categories of topical problems and methods of the study and the implementation of the principles of urban environmental safety. This study is aimed to identify the safety categories, methods of their realization, and the effectiveness of the methodological features of scientific research on a safe urban environment. Materials and Methods: The research method is based on the study of scientific articles in the post-pandemic period. Results and Discussion: The result of the study is the systematization of typological features of scientific research methods and obtained results in the organization of a safe urban environment. Conclusions: These results could form the basis for an action plan aimed at creating a safe urban environment for all categories of people. Such measures should be developed at the regional level to assess the territory’s security.

Application of Risk-Oriented Approach for Improvement of the Environmental Security of the Urban Area

Improved comfort of urban environment is inseparably related with consumption and transfer of various types of energy for illumination and heating of buildings, provision of radio and TV broadcasts, mobile communications and transport. Energy transfer is accompanied by generation of electric fields, which propagate in ambient environment and affect human and biota. In this regard, the safety of urban environment becomes more and more urgent issue, especially along highways. This work describes a risk-oriented approach to analysis and estimation of risks of electromagnetic safety of urban territories with consideration for combined action of electromagnetic fields of various frequency range on humans. The authors have analyzed electromagnetic pollution from three most common sources of exposure, and the territories of urban environment have been selected with the highest level of electromagnetic hazard for population. Application of risk-oriented approach to estimation of electromagnetic hazard demonstrates the necessity of improvement of valid normalization system with accounting for simultaneous impact of electromagnetic fields from several sources on human and environment, which would provide development of more efficient measures of city population protection against this negative factor.

Women’s Perceptions of Overall Health and Unsafety in Urban Spaces: A Qualitative and Case Study-Based Analysis of Tehran’s Urban Areas

Women all over the world may, at some point, have had unpleasant experiences which might have caused them physical or mental harm. This study has investigated such experiences, particularly in the city of Tehran, and explored the relationship between unsafe urban spaces and the overall health and well-being of women. Urbanization, while being one of the leading global trends of the 21st century, seems to be having a significant impact on the overall health of people. Due to the changes and modernization in Iran, there is an increasing presence of urban spaces in cities. Tehran, the capital of Iran, is the biggest city in the country and the main destination of migrants because of its several modernistic urban attractions. This phenomenon has many adverse effects on different aspects of the city, such as the loss of green environments, agricultural lands, orchards, increasing air pollution, increasing socioeconomic inequality, and so on. [1] Women, according to the gender equity perspective, should have equal rights for presence in and use of urban public spaces. Various factors and obstacles decrease women’s participation in urban public spaces, for instance, they suffer from harassment and insecurity in a city on a regular basis and confront it in various situations. [2] [1] Ahmad Pourahmad et.al. “The Impact of Urban Sprawl up on Air Pollution”.252-257. [2] Mohammad Reza Bemaniyan te.al. “Assessment of Factors Affecting the Promotion of Women’s Safety in Urban Environments”.

Stochastic Path Optimization to Improve Navigation Safety in Urban Environment

Stochastic Path Optimization to Improve Navigation Safety in Urban Environment

Data‐driven protection levels for camera and 3D map‐based safe urban localization

<h3>Abstract</h3> Reliably assessing the error in an estimated vehicle position is integral for ensuring the vehicle’s safety in urban environments. Many existing approaches use GNSS measurements to characterize protection levels (PLs) as probabilistic upper bounds on position error. However, GNSS signals might be reflected or blocked in urban environments, and thus additional sensor modalities need to be considered to determine PLs. In this paper, we propose an approach for computing PLs by matching camera image measurements to a LiDAR-based 3D map of the environment. We specify a Gaussian mixture model probability distribution of position error using deep neural-network-based data-driven models and statistical outlier weighting techniques. From the probability distribution, we compute PL by evaluating the position error bound using numerical line-search methods. Through experimental validation with real-world data, we demonstrate that the PLs computed from our method are reliable bounds on the position error in urban environments.

ЦИФРОВЫЕ ТЕХНОЛОГИИ ПРИ АНАЛИЗЕ СОСТОЯНИЯ ДРЕВЕСНЫХ РАСТЕНИЙ

The state of woody plants determines the viability of forests and environmental safety in urban environments largely. Therefore, scientific studies of the tree response as a complex biosystem on environmental factors changes are especially relevant due to the growing threat of environmental disasters (environmental pollution, active felling, etc.). Many modern methods for assessing the state of such complex macromolecular systems are verbal in nature due to the lack of non-destructive testing methods with controlled accuracy. The shortage of experimental measurements retards the development of modeling the state of trees and, consequently, the development of methods for predicting their response on the influence of external factors. The development of digital technology can change the current state of affairs in this sphere. In the report, within the framework of a systematic approach, the possibility of using digital technologies at analyzing the response of the state of woody plants on environmental factors changes has analyzed. The results of studying the flow of salt solutions in the xylem of tree trunks are presented to solve the problem. Based on experimental data, models are proposed that can become the basis of calculation systems for analyzing the state parameters of woody plants and predicting the occurrence of environmental disasters.

Совершенствование системы управления безопасностью городской среды путем внедрения проекта «Умный город»

Совершенствование системы управления безопасностью городской среды путем внедрения проекта «Умный город»

Sensafety: Crowdsourcing the Urban Sense of Safety

Abstract. Today, community initiatives to improve the urban quality of life can be conducted in a more focused way because local authorities and urban planners are able to reveal urban hotspots through the investigation of location-annotated crime and accident data. However, urban areas, which according to well-recorded incident data are characterized by a high level of public safety, but which are generally perceived by citizens as unsafe, remain undiscovered and therefore untreated. This work presents Sensafety, a citizen-centric crowdsourcing approach that enables users by means of a mobile application to report their personal feeling of safety anytime and at any site. Sensafety’s goal is to reveal a comprehensive and complete picture of the perceived safety in urban environments in order to identify blind spots that have not been further investigated due to lack of data. To encourage citizens to participate and contribute, Sensafety’s mobile application offers different ways to explore and experience the collected data depending on the user’s location. This paper gives a detailed description of Sensafety’s integrated concept and outlines the major technical and non-technical findings.

Assessment of urban environment safety for public health

The article describes the results of scientific research in the sphere of urban techno-sphere pollution caused by industrial enterprises activity and vehicles gases. It is shown that transport influences greatly the air environment pollution in Russian cities. Methodological approaches to assessing the health risks for urban residents are described. The main statements of the methodology managing the health risks of the urban population are given.