Settlement Environment Research Articles

The county practice of rural human settlement environment improvement in the Central Plains Agricultural area—Take S County of Henan Province as an example

The county practice of rural human settlement environment improvement in the Central Plains Agricultural area—Take S County of Henan Province as an example

The action logic and realization path of the organic renewal of human settlement environment in traditional villages

The action logic and realization path of the organic renewal of human settlement environment in traditional villages

ЕТНІЧНИЙ СКЛАД НАСЕЛЕННЯ ОКРУЖНИХ ЦЕНТРІВ СХІДНОГО ПОДІЛЛЯ: МОГИЛЕВА ТА ТУЛЬЧИНА (ЗА МАТЕРІАЛАМИ ПЕРЕПИСУ НАСЕЛЕННЯ 1926 РОКУ)

One the base on the statistical materials of the 1926 census author prepaid tables containing information on the number, ethnic composition and territorial location of the population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn districts as a whole and district centers of Mohyliv and Tulchyn. It has been proven that the Ukrainians composed the absolute majority among the total population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn district and a relative majority among the entire population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn. It was established that the absolute majority of the entire population, Ukrainians and ethnic minorities lived in districts outside the district centers, and the level of urbanization of the population remained rather insignificant. Therefore, the ethnic composition of the population of both of these districts could be quite significant differ from the ethnic composition of the population of both district centers. It was determined that the average of the entire population of Mohyliv and Tulchyn, the level of the share of Jews who mostly lived in cities, and the level of the share of other ethnic minorities was insignificant. Among the rural population of both of these districts, the absolute majority was Ukrainians, and the level territorial representation of ethnic minorities was minimal. That is, they were observed there are noticeable differences in the ethnic composition of the population of the district centers and districts of the East Podillia: Mohylivska and Tulchynska districts. This makes it possible to emphasize the fact that ethnic composition and territorial location of the population in the districts of Eastern Podillia quite noticeably differed in the urban and agrarian settlement environment. After all, the absolute majority of Ukrainians in rural areas among the entire population in rural areas changed to a relative majority among the entire population of urban environment. Instead, the opposite trends were observed in relation to ethnic groups minorities. Their share among the entire population in the agrarian environment was insignificant, however, among the total population in the urban environment, ethnic minorities constituted a much larger share compared to rural areas, where only dispersed residents lived individual representatives of ethnic minorities.

Participatory Design Study in the KOTAKU Program Using Settlement Environmental Management Plan Document (RPLP) Review in increasing Community Capacity for Sustainable Development

This study aims to analyze the impact of implementing the Settlement Environmental Management Plan Document (RPLP) in strengthening community capacity in the KOTAKU Program for environmentally sustainable development. The KOTAKU program is a government initiative that aims to improve access and quality of urban settlements, with a focus on slum settlements. RPLP is a planning document that provides guidance in structuring an integrated, sustainable and participatory settlement environment. This research uses a qualitative method by conducting case studies at several locations that have implemented RPLP in the KOTAKU Program. Data was collected through in-depth interviews with various stakeholders, including local communities, local governments and other relevant institutions. The analysis is carried out by identifying changes that have occurred in community capacity after the implementation of the RPLP, including increased knowledge, skills, and participation in decision-making related to the settlement environment. The results of this study indicate that the implementation of the RPLP in the KOTAKU Program has a positive impact on strengthening community capacity. Community participation in planning and decision-making processes increases, resulting in a better and more sustainable living environment. Communities also acquire new knowledge and skills in managing the residential environment, such as waste management, energy saving and utilization of local resources. This research makes an important contribution in understanding the importance of implementing RPLP in environmental sustainable development. The recommendations resulting from this research can be used by local governments and other related institutions to increase the effectiveness of the KOTAKU Program and strengthen the community's role in environmentally sustainable development.

Optimization Strategy of Human Settlement Environment in Historical Areas from the Perspective of "Micro-Renewal"—Taking the Historical Area of Yang Family Courtyard in Nanyang City as an Example

Optimization Strategy of Human Settlement Environment in Historical Areas from the Perspective of "Micro-Renewal"—Taking the Historical Area of Yang Family Courtyard in Nanyang City as an Example

Realization of Vitality Optimization in Traditional Village Human Settlement Environment Supported by Intelligent Sensor Technology

The vitality of traditional villages (VTV) is a reference indicator for measuring the hollowing out of traditional villages. Human settlements in the world are based on the access and availability to the chief vitality factors of the geographical region. The traditional villages of China are the potential candidates for improving vitality optimization, as their development is still in the stage of infancy. This work proposes a framework that integrates complex subsystems of the traditional village human settlements with the vitality factors. The issues in these traditional villages are analyzed under the umbrella of social life, domestic life and agriculture, which is the primary occupation of people in traditional villages. Further, the work identifies the contemporary computing technologies and communication technologies used in various applications of intelligent sensor technology. This work associates the various subsystems of the villages, namely strategic, social, economic, resource and environment subsystem, and information subsystem, with the factors influencing dimensions of development, namely resources, service chain, sustainability, technology and institution. This framework can be further extended to include more elements of vitality factors.

Research on the Current Situation of Thermal Environment in Guanzhong Farmhouses and Strategies for Improving Human Settlement Environment

Energy is one of the most important factors that constrain global economic development, and it is the fundamental guarantee for national economic development and the circular development of various industrial links. Building energy conservation is the key to achieving energy conservation and emission reduction. The Guanzhong region is a typical cold winter and hot summer area, and in the development process, Guanzhong residential buildings have also formed a set of construction strategies suitable for the regional climate characteristics. Combining local unique construction techniques and materials, the building exhibits significant local characteristics. This study analyzed the climate characteristics and passive technologies in the Guanzhong region, and constructed a 3D model of typical rural houses. Based on field research, a green development strategy was proposed by comparing and analyzing the differences between actual monitoring of ventilation and lighting and mathematical simulation. This study contributes to promoting the improvement of regional living environment and sustainable development.

The Spatial and Temporal Evolution Pattern and Influencing Factors of Urban Human Settlement Resilience in Three Provinces of Northeast China

It is widely recognized that urban resilience is one of the core goals of urban development. As an important part of a city, the resilience level of urban human settlements directly affects the development trend of urban resilience. However, at present, research results on the resilience of urban human settlements are very rare, are mainly concentrated in the central region of China, and rarely take into account the economically backward northeastern region. Therefore, in order to better improve the anti-risk ability of the urban human settlement environment system in three provinces of Northeast China, fully implement the strategic goal of “Comprehensive Revitalization of Northeast China”, and achieve high-quality urban development, this paper focuses on 34 prefecture-level cities in three provinces of Northeast China and proposes an urban human settlement resilience evaluation system with 36 indicators in five dimensions, namely, the natural system, human system, housing system, supporting system, and social system. Using the entropy weight method, the Dagum Gini coefficient, and a geographical probe model, the changes in the resilience level of each city from 2005 to 2020 were measured, and the urban living environment was assessed in terms of the adaptability and resilience of the development level in each subsystem based on the temporal and spatial evolution law and its influencing factors. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) The development level of urban human settlement resilience in the three provinces in Northeast China showed an N-shaped development trend from 2005 to 2020, but the regional differences were significant, and the overall spatial pattern was “high in the south and low in the north”. (2) In terms of the overall difference, the overall difference in urban human settlement resilience in the three northeastern provinces of China was small: the inter-regional difference was the main source of the difference, and the intra-regional difference was the secondary source. The regional differences were in the order of Heilongjiang Province > Liaoning Province > Jilin Province, indicating that Jilin Province had the smallest difference and that the resilience level of urban human settlements does not show a balanced development trend. In terms of the average Gini coefficient between regions, the order of difference was Liaoning Province–Heilongjiang Province > Jilin Province–Liaoning Province > Jilin Province–Heilongjiang Province, indicating that the difference between Liaoning Province and Heilongjiang Province was the most significant. (3) The “natural system”, “human system”, “living system”, “supporting system”, and “social system” had significant spatial and temporal heterogeneity and significantly affected the resilience level of urban human settlements in the three provinces in Northeast China. Among them, the “social system” has always been the main factor affecting the resilience level of urban human settlements.

Spatial and temporal variations of microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort in informal settlements of warm humid Dar es Salaam, Tanzania

In developing countries, urbanization is dominated by the growth of informal settlements which represents 40–80% of major cities. The challenges brought up by the growth of informal settlements spans from social-economic to environmental. Previously, upgrading of the informal settlements focused on social-economic aspects such as provision of necessary services for the residents, whereas the quality of the outdoor thermal environment has not received much attention. This paper entails to investigate the potential of upgrading the outdoor thermal environment in informal settlements in the warm humid city of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania through examining the influence of addition of trees with different Leaf Area Index (LAI) and incremental increase of buildings heights. The study uses simulation as a method for analysis of the warm season and calculates the Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET) as a thermal index. Results show substantial improvement of both microclimate and outdoor thermal comfort. Incremental increase of buildings heights in a street canyon to 12, 18, and 24 m leads to the reduction of PET by 2.5, 2.8, and 3.8 °C respectively at 2:00 p.m. Similarly, applying LAI's of 2, 4, and 6 m2/m2 leads to reduction of the mean radiant temperature by 7.9, 10.1, and 12.2 °C; while PET was reduced by 3.9, 4.7, and 5.6 °C respectively at 2:00 p.m. Nonetheless, upgrading of informal settlements shows marginal influence on the reduction of air temperature. Despite the noted thermal improvement in the studied area, the thermal comfort limits of the warm season were difficult to reach. The findings suggest that addition of vegetation is the economically most effective way for upgrading thermal conditions in informal urban fabric areas.

The science of rural human settlements: a comprehensive overview

In the process of rapid urbanization in the world, many villages are facing a series of problems such as depopulation, population ageing, insufficient infrastructure, and public service facilities. In order for better rural development and full implementation of the 2030 sustainable development goals, we should hammer at improving the rural human settlements. Based on the science of human settlements proposed by Constantinos Doxiadis, bibliometric analysis was made on studies related to rural human settlements in the last 25 years. Through analysis, we believe that the number of related studies will gradually increase. Currently, the improvement of the rural ecological environment and the creation of a healthy rural human settlement environment are two hot topics. It is very likely that these topics will also be highly focused in the following decades. With the gradual development of rural areas and the improvement of the material lives of people, more and more scholars will pay attention to higher-level demands such as rural cultural environment and self-realization of villagers. By reviewing literature related to rural human settlements, we can comprehensively consider different aspects in rural human settlements. This is quite beneficial for the comprehensive development of rural human settlements. Scholars in different countries have similar focuses related to rural human settlements. However, because of different country conditions, the focuses of researchers have some obvious differences. Relevant literature contributes to the development of the science of human settlements.

Relationship between land tenure and land use in unplanned settlements in Lusaka, Zambia

How do land tenure and land use relate to informal settlements? Many studies have examined the effects of land regularisation on communities. Land regularisation is considered a highly effective solution for improving the residential environment in informal settlements and has been implemented in numerous developing countries. However, few studies have explored how land regularisation impacts land use in informal settlements. In this study, we investigated how residents secure land tenure and use their land in unplanned settlements in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia, focusing on people's practices in detail. We focussed on two unplanned settlements in Lusaka: Chaisa Ward, an improvement area where land regularisation has occurred, and Chazanga Ward, a customary area where land is not being regularised. As the investigation method, we conducted interviews with community management organisations and 31 dwelling owners and an observational survey about land use in selected target sites in Chaisa and Chazanga in 2009, 2011, and 2014. The study findings showed that in informal settlements, where land tenure is secured by authorities within the community, communal regulation supported by community-based social bonds is an important element of land use management. However, official recognition of land rights through land regularisation could undermine communal relationships and communal land use regulations, resulting in a disorganised and congested living environment. Therefore, we point out that official intervention in land tenure should be institutionalised in a manner that fully understands and takes advantage of the relationships between land tenure and land use, as well as between land and people, which are well-balanced within the local context. This study demonstrated that communal regulation plays a key role in managing land use in informal settlements but its positive impact could be easily undermined by land regularisation. Thus, an important learning from this study is that land in informal settlements should be regularised in a way that fully understands and takes advantage of communal regulation of land use to ensure a desirable living environment.

Upaya Kampung Beting untuk Mencapai Ketangguhan terhadap Bencana Alam dan Sosial Berbasis Sistem Kekerabatan dan Gender

Title: The Efforts of Kampung Beting to Achieve Resilience to Natural and Social Disaster Based on Kinship System and Gender
 Kampung Beting in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, is an informal settlement area formed spontaneously in a community. This village has existed since establishing the Kadriyah Palace of the Pontianak Sultanate in 1771. Over time, Kampung Beting has changed from being used as a trading center to an informal settlement inhabited by migrants. Various problems accompany this development, including environmental sanitation problems that trigger natural disasters such as floods and social problems, especially crime in the settlement environment. This research aims to find out the resilience strategy of the Kampung Beting community in realizing a resilient environment against natural and social disasters based on the kinship system and gender. The research uses a descriptive qualitative method with content analysis, which discusses data using relevant theories to the research objectives. Data were obtained through field observations and interviews with the Kadriyah Palace tourism manager and the Kapuas River tourism cafe manager. The respondents were selected based on their knowledge of Kampung Beting and the tourist café business. The results showed that the resilience of Kampung Beting in facing natural and social disasters was carried out through community adaptation to the environmental conditions of flood-prone homes due to poor sanitation and social inequality due to the increasing poverty rate.

Migrants’ mental health recovery in Italian reception facilities

BackgroundForced migration leaves deep marks on the psychological well-being of migrants, with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other psychological conditions being prevalent among them. While research has clarified the extent to which pre-migration trauma is a predictor of mental health outcomes, the role of post-migration stressors in the settlement environment are yet to be fully characterized.MethodsWe monitored mental health of a cohort of 100 asylum-seekers during their 14-day COVID-19-related quarantine in reception facilities in Rome, Italy, through the administration of six questionnaires (a demographic survey, the WHO-5 well-being index, the Primary Care PTSD Screen for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5 (DSM-5), the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire, the Trauma and Loss Spectrum—Self Report, and the LiMEs—Italian version). Through the combination of statistical analysis and supervised learning, we studied the impact of the first contact with the reception system on asylum-seekers’ mental health and sought for possible risk and shielding factors for PTSD.ResultsWe find that sheltering in refugee centers has a positive impact on migrants’ mental health; asylum-seekers with PTSD reported more traumatic events and personality characteristics related to loss and trauma; life events are predictors of PTSD in asylum-seekers.ConclusionsWe identify past traumatic experiences as predictors of PTSD, and establish the positive role the immediate post-migration environment can play on migrants’ psychological well-being. We recommend for host countries to implement reception models that provide effective protection and integration of asylum-seekers, similar to those in the Italian system.

The Suitability of Prehistoric Human Settlements from the Perspective of the Residents

The study of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements (SPHE) can help us reproduce the process and characteristics of prehistoric human settlements, and is an important entry point for exploring the relationship between prehistoric humans and land. In this study, we discuss the definition, compositional structure, evolutionary mechanism, and spatiotemporal representation of the suitability of prehistoric human settlements, and propose its main research lines and possible research contents. We believe that the suitability of prehistoric human settlement environments refers to the ability and process of natural and social environmental conditions to meet the needs of human survival within a certain spatial range centered on the settlement of prehistoric humans. Additionally, with the temporal and spatial evolution of humans, society, and nature, it shows local consistency and global gradual and continuous change characteristics, and the human settlement environment has a suitability hierarchy of natural original, livelihood, and living spaces nested step by step. We believe that we can adopt the main research line of prehistoric human settlement suitability system construction to conduct extensive experiments and demonstrations on the theoretical construction, the evolution of the environment and living process, the relationship and evaluation of prehistoric human needs, the transformation of the living environment, living adaptation theories and models, and value and limitation verification. Thus, a complete research system can be formed to explore the evolution of the prehistoric human–land relationship.

Dynamic successive assessment of Rural Human Settlements Environment in China

The Rural human settlements environment (RHSE) is an important guarantee for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy and may be affected by many factors such as water quality, economy and environmental protection. This article focuses on the temporal and spatial variability of RHSE to explore a method of dynamic successive assessment. Firstly, a systematic and causal indicator system is developed from four aspects of agricultural origin environment, sanitary conditions, ecological protection, and economic development. Then, The Variable Fuzzy Pattern Evaluation (VFPE) model and an analytic hierarchy process-entropy (AHP-E) model are combined to successively and dynamically assess RHSE. The proposed method is applied to the dynamic successive assessment of RHSE in China, including inter-province comparisons.The results show that China's RHSE has improved significantly over time, which reflects that the government has achieved remarkable results in rural environmental governance for a long time. In spatial distribution characteristics, the RHSE of Beijing, Tianjin and the southeastern coastal regions maintained the highest, followed by the northeast, north and central regions, and the western region was the lowest. Finally, countermeasures are put forward for the development of RHSE in different regions considering the differences in economic development, geographical environment and infrastructure construction.

Comparative Hotspot Analysis of Urban Living Environments and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Strategies: A Case Study of Beijing and Xi’an

The quality of urban living environments has become a focal point for local governments and citizens. By conducting a thorough analysis of the human settlement environment, the study can not only gain an intuitive insight into the quality of life of residents but also propose forward-thinking and sustainable suggestions for areas of improvement. This study optimizes and analyzes open platform data closely related to residents and assesses the suitability of different areas for living from diverse perspectives and methodologies. This study has chosen Beijing and Xi’an as the primary case studies. The local living environment is categorized into residential, living, recreational environment, transportation convenience, and safety. Our evaluation combines subjective and objective analysis methods and considers hotspot and cold spot analyses. This study employs the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) as a subjective analysis method and the entropy method for objective analysis. By integrating both methods, it assesses the living environment conditions of Beijing and Xi’an. Furthermore, using GIS software, hotspot analysis is conducted for both cities, identifying areas of high and low quality. Detailed analysis is subsequently carried out for the low-quality clusters. Ultimately, this study, grounded in the theory of Transit-Oriented Development (TOD), presents recommendations for sustainable development aimed at representative rural towns and streets. City centers in Beijing and Xi’an have high-quality environments, while the outskirts show declining quality. Xi’an has uneven resource distribution, while Beijing is more balanced, with hotspot analyses indicating specific high- and low-quality cluster locations in both cities. These disparities and characteristics of the low-quality clusters offer insights for future urban development.

Nonlinear impact and spatial effect of tourism urbanization on human settlement environment: Evidence from the Yellow River Basin, China

The human settlement environment is the concrete embodiment of measuring the sustainable development of tourism urbanization. Previous studies have preliminarily verified that there is a coupling relationship between tourism urbanization and human settlement environment. However, whether tourism urbanization can effectively improve human settlement environment, especially in the most vulnerable watershed area in China, the Yellow River Basin, is still unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to explore the degree and direction of the impact of tourism urbanization on human settlement environment in 78 prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2005 to 2019 under the influence of nonlinear and spatial spillover effects. This paper uses the PSTR (panel smooth transition regression) model SDM (spatial Durbin) model to reveal the following results: First, tourism urbanization can significantly improve human settlement environment in the Yellow River Basin. After crossing the second threshold (0.434), the nonlinear effect of tourism urbanization on human settlement environment is the strongest, but only a very small number of cities cross the threshold. Secondly, the improvement of the level of tourism urbanization has effectively improved production environment and living environment of the region, but it has had a significant negative impact on ecological environment of the region. Finally, the combined effect of regional geographical proximity and economic interaction is conducive to the positive spatial spillover effect of tourism urbanization on production environment and living environment of surrounding areas of the Yellow River Basin. The current empirical results reveal the key role of tourism urbanization in improving human settlement environment in the Yellow River Basin, and clearly outline that the development of tourism urbanization should be consistent with the national strategy of ecological protection and high-quality development in the Yellow River Basin.

A study on the landscape and cultural space of Yulin City, China

Urban growth in China over the past 40 years has increased sharply. Following a modernist approach during this period, the historic urban cultural landscape was neglected. Recently, in response, scholars have been investigating alternative approaches whose conceptual roots spring from traditional Chinese urban planning. The theory of the ‘Science of Human Settlement Environment’ has emerged as a framework for exploring this direction. This research, drawing upon literary records, historic city maps, and field investigations, builds on this approach. Yulin City, initially developed as a high-ranking military city during the Ming Dynasty, drew upon the characteristics of the existing landscape and traditional Chinese planning strategies for its design. Noting the relationship of the city’s layout to its surrounding Shan-Shui (Mountain-Water), the development of its principal axis, the influence of the Tuo Mountain spiritual space, and the definition of the city wall, greater insight into traditional Chinese planning can be learned.

Study on suitability and spatial distribution of human settlement environment in arid areas based on GIS and analytic hierarchy process

IntroductionScientific evaluation of the suitability of human settlement in arid areas and a grasp of their spatial differentiation characteristics are of great significance for the implementation of regional human settlement environment (HSE) improvement according to local conditions.MethodsIn this study, we took Gansu Province (GS), a typical arid area in China, as the research object. First, based on field research, we used the analytic hierarchy process to determine the weights of 12 evaluation indicators and build an HSE evaluation model from the two dimensions of nature and humanities. Then, we conduct a comprehensive evaluation of each factor based on the GIS spatial analysis module. Finally, we used the GIS natural breakpoint method and zoning statistics to understand the suitability of the HSE and its spatial distribution characteristics in GS Province.ResultsThe study findings can be summarized as follows: (1) The spatial distribution of the suitability of the natural environment in GS Province shows that the east-central part of the province is significantly higher than the northwestern, and there is a big difference between localities. (2) The comprehensive suitability of human settlement in GS Province appears as a spatial distribution characteristic, gradually decreasing from the central urban area to the surrounding areas. The suitability index of the living environment is between 0.26 and 0.71. (3) The area sizes of the five types of suitability are ranked as the following: low suitable (138,502 km2) > moderately suitable (133,761 km2) > critical suitable (97,244 km2) > high suitable (47,459 km2) > unsuitable (38,980km2); in 14 cities, the average value of habitat suitability index is more than 0.5 accounting for 42.9%.DiscussionOur research not only fills a gap in the research of human settlement in arid zones but also provides policy support for government departments to improve human settlement.

경제자유구역 정주환경에 대한 외국인의 인식과 개선과제

This study was conducted to find out foreigners' perceptions and tasks of the settlement environment of free economic zones. The study selected Songdo International City in the Incheon Free Economic Zone as a spatial scope. Based on previous studies and development plans, a framework for analysis was created, and the contents were derived by analyzing based on the results of written interviews with 15 foreigners. Songdo International City in the Incheon Free Economic Zone was developed by encouraging foreign residents to use English as an official language, considering the residential environment of housing, cultural and sports facilities, medical, and education. In particular, problems with difficulty in communication appear in all issues, and it can be seen that conditions different from plans have been created, especially in areas where dependence on the private sector is high. As a result, public intervention in the housing sector, information systems, and environments in the official language, support systems for early resident settlement, and cultural exchanges were proposed to increase multicultural inclusion in the future. This study targets free economic zones developed by a special review of the foreign settlement environment, but this perception of foreign settlement needs to be considered in all regions at a time when foreign population growth is expected in the future.