Shortage Of Space Research Articles

Raw material design, sintering temperature optimization and development mechanism investigation of self-foaming porous bricks with high solid waste addition

In recent years, the contradiction between the huge production of municipal sludge and industrial residue and the shortage of landfill space has driven the exploration of novel effective methods to valorize these solid wastes. In this research, blast furnace slag (BFS), municipal sewage sludge (MSS) and kaolin are combined innovatively as precursor materials to manufacture self-foaming porous bricks, and the sintering behavior of bricks under different BFS doses and sintering temperatures is deeply studied to reveal the development mechanism. The results indicate that the formation of Fe2O3-hematite during sintering leads to a reddish-brown appearance of the bricks, while the generation of CaAl2Si2O8-anorthite with lower melting points helps to enhance the vitrification process. Besides, the increase in BFS dose or sintering temperature has significant impacts on the evolution of the brick physicochemical properties. This occurs because changing the dose of BFS or sintering temperature can obviously regulate the internal morphological characteristics of bricks, such as particle consolidation, pore size and structural compactness. Among them, large-sized pores are considered as the weak areas of mechanical strength, which is also the responsibility for the worst compressive strength of bricks sintered at 1300 °C. Finally, under the optimal sintering conditions of 15 % BFS dose and 1250 °C sintering temperature, the compressive strength, water absorption, apparent porosity, bulk density and linear shrinkage of the resulting brick are 65 MPa, 0.45 %, 2.50 %, 2.34 g/cm3 and 19.56 %, respectively. Overall results demonstrate that using recycled sludge and waste slag in brick manufacturing can produce products with desired performance, providing preferable solutions for solid waste valorization and sustainable brick production.

Post occupancy evaluation of private open spaces in dwelling units in single family investment housing projects in Erbil city

Due to urbanization, it has been found that in many cases public open spaces in the city are not maintained, as new investments are trying to make use of the land to construct more buildings The shortage of public open spaces can be treated by providing a sufficient amount of private open spaces in housing estates. Furthermore, the designers need to consider the dwelling layout to provide the best environment for the residents; this will maintain a high level of household satisfaction. One main element of household satisfaction is open spaces. In this research paper, private open space assessments in 4 investment projects with 98 samples in Erbil were considered. To investigate and examine how the exterior environment of the dwellings affects the residents’ satisfaction, based on plot size and number of bedrooms, surveys were performed on selected projects through documentation surveys and questionnaires. Then the evaluation was performed through two stages, firstly the technical assessment stage according to Iraqi standards, and secondly the residents’ response stage regarding satisfaction levels. The research objectives were obtained using SPSS software, through the use of descriptive statistics, correlation, and regression analysis. The results of the research discovered that all the projects except Minara B were slightly above the minimum level, thus in the range of Iraqi standards. Moreover, the level of overall satisfaction with these projects ranged from neutral to slightly satisfied, with the residents’ responses stating that they needed more private open spaces.

Exploring non-linear urban vibrancy dynamics in emerging new towns: A case study of the Wuhan metropolitan area

New towns have been extensively developed in many worldwide metropolises to overcome a series of urban crisis caused by over-intensive population and economic activity, such as environmental deterioration, traffic congestion and space shortage. The successful development of new towns has been regarded as a common, international urban challenge aimed at creating vital and lively urban life. Quantifying the complex relationship between new town vibrancy and the built environment provides a theoretical basis for formulating adequate planning regulations and policies to solve the development predicaments of new towns. Taking the Wuhan metropolitan area as the case study, this study employs the gradient boosting decision tree (GBDT) machine learning method to delve into the intricate non-linear relationship between urban vibrancy and built environment indicators both in both peripheric new towns (NT) and central mother cities (MC), shedding light on the differences in the characteristics and complexities of vibrancy between NT and MC. The findings reveal stark disparities in vibrancy levels between NT and MC, emphasizing the critical need for tailored revitalization strategies. It is found that the indicators with the highest contribution to the impact of vibrancy in NT and MC are respectively the point of interest (POI) density and Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) development intensity. Model comparison between NT and MC concludes that enhancing POI density to meet the basic needs of citizens is a prerequisite for fostering urban vibrancy. To successfully create similarly vital and lively urban life as that in the MC, NT should focus on the impacts of TOD development and policy factors such as government relocation on vibrancy. Finally, deriving from these findings, we propose some policy insights and practical strategies for urban practitioners and policymakers to enhance the vibrancy and sustainability of the new towns.

MEDICAL STORE MANAGEMENT AT ABVGMC VIDISHA (MP): AN ANALYSIS AT TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Objective: The objective of this study was to perform a qualitative and quantitative comparison of the practice and infrastructure with applicable legislations governing hospital pharmacy while the secondary objective was to calculate the average dispensing time of a prescription in the hospital pharmacy. Methods: Our hospital was established in 2018. A prospective cross-sectional analytic study was carried out in the hospital pharmacy for 6 months (January 23–June 23). A blend of quality control parameters was drafted after referring various guidelines put forward by the statutory bodies. Qualitative data were collected by continuous observation, physical inspection, and after a thorough interview of hospital pharmacists. The collected data were summarized and compared with the standards. Quantitative data on the minimum requirement of hospital pharmacy infrastructure and dispensing time were collected using the designed data collection form and analysis was performed. Results: The hospital pharmacy met all the criteria that are necessary to satisfy legal requirements, availability of medicine, medicine, and general safety, and most of the quality parameters. However, few deviations were observed in the management of the drug store. The shortage in the floor space and waiting area was identified. In the study, we find that the average waiting time for the patient at the drug distribution center is 180 s and the average drug dispensing time was 130 s. On the basis of our good working in pharmacy, we got NABH approval in 2023 which includes pharmacy with other departments of this hospital. Conclusion: Majority of the quality parameters were noted to be compliant with the standards. Few deviations were identified and measures to improve them were suggested.

Исследование модернизации морского пассажирского порта на основе цифрового двойника и оценка инфраструктуры с помощью динамических данных от беспилотных авиационных систем

The current state of the maritime passenger transportation industry is considered, as well as the factors influencing the chosen industry are investigated (competition between ports in the sea region, new environmental requirements and a shortage of space for new ports and terminals in megacities). Models of the evolution of seaports and terminals in the regions of the seas are analyzed and the need to solve the problem of forecasting development, reasonable modernization is revealed infrastructure. The importance of integrating passenger ports into urban transport systems and ensuring effective interconnection of maritime transport with regional transport systems is noted. Special attention is paid to the growth and development potential of sea ferries and cruises in the Baltic Sea region, the historical importance of St. Petersburg for cruise tourism and the need for the gradual restoration of the port and the development of new route networks are noted. The necessity of developing new methods for modernizing the infrastructure of passenger seaports based on the creation of digital models and the use of dynamic data is substantiated. As a solution, it is proposed to create a new digital model of a marine passenger port using information obtained from unmanned aircraft systems. This model will accurately take into account the infrastructural features of passenger ports and terminals, as well as the established priority of berths for the service of cruise and ferry ships. For multi-scenario modeling, a new digital model of the marine passenger port of St. Petersburg “Marine Façade” is proposed. To analyze the simulation results, the developed software modules in the Python programming language are proposed to describe the behavior strategies of the decision maker (port manager). To describe the decision-making process in the conditions of uncertainty that arises when making a decision on the modernization of the port infrastructure, the choice of the Wald criterion was justified as a criterion. A series of experiments was performed, based on the data, digital 2D and 3D models of a marine passenger port were formed for subsequent use in the AnyLogic environment, and a digital twin was built. A distinctive feature of the model is the up-to-date information on the state of the transport infrastructure and integration with data on ship calls. The presented model, methods of working with the results of multi-dimensional modeling, the use of unmanned aircraft systems, and the development of a model based on decision-making under uncertainty can be applied to other passenger seaports and terminals, which emphasizes the universality of the proposed approach.

EVALUATION OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT FACILITIES AT PORTS, AIRPORTS, STATIONS, AND TERMINALS

Indonesia is known as an archipelagic country because it has thousands of islands spread from Sabang to Merauke. To connect an area or island to another, Indonesia has various modes of public transportation. Facilities on public transportation modes must be adequate to accommodate prospective passengers who will travel to an area. Evaluation of public facilities is very necessary to increase passenger comfort. This research was carried out using direct observation methods and using literature reviews from sources on the internet. In this research, there are several modes of public transportation discussed, namely Ketapang Harbor, Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Bandung Station, and Guntur Melati Terminal. Ketapang Port has several shortcomings, namely improving the weather information system, improving the traffic operational system, improving services, and expanding the dock. Then, Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport has a shortage of VVIP parking spaces, so improvements are needed. According to the Regulation of the Minister of Communications No. 63 of 2019 on the Minimum Service Standards for Passenger Traffic by Rail, Bandung Station has not met the standards in terms of safety, security, comfort and convenience. Meanwhile, according to the regulation of PM No. 40 of 2015 on the Standards of Service for the Maintenance of Passenger Terminals of Road Transportation, the Guntur Melati Terminal also still has deficiencies in the safety and conveniency aspects.

A DEEP LEARNING POWERED SMART PARKING SYSTEM BASED ON FACIAL RECOGNITION AND LICENSE PLATE ANALYSIS

In today's urban landscapes, parking congestion has become a pervasive challenge, leading to wasted time, increased emissions, and driver frustration. The ever-growing urban population, coupled with the increasing number of vehicles, has led to a severe shortage of parking spaces in metropolitan areas. This scarcity has not only made finding a parking spot a time-consuming and frustrating experience but has also contributed to traffic congestion and environmental pollution. Traditional parking management systems, which often rely on manual ticketing or physical barriers, are becoming inadequate in addressing these challenges. To address this issue, innovative solutions that combine technology and automation are on the rise. Traditional parking management systems often rely on physical infrastructure and human intervention, resulting in inefficiencies and limited scalability. In contrast, the integration of deep learning techniques and advanced computer vision technology into parking management opens up new possibilities for a smarter, more efficient, and user-friendly experience. This system leverages two key components: facial recognition technology to identify vehicle occupants and automatic recognition of license plate numbers for vehicle identification. By seamlessly integrating these technologies, the system not only facilitates effortless parking but also enhances security and optimizes parking space utilization.we will explore the fundamental components, benefits, and potential impact of the Face and Number Plate-Based Smart Parking System. Experimental results shows that improved efficiency in smart parking system using face and number plate verification system.

Development of an Android Application for Smart Parking System

Now-a-days, vehicle parking has become a major problem in urban areas with the shortage of parking spaces. It is very difficult and frustrating to find a parking space in most metropolitan areas, especially during the rush hours to solve this problem. The project entitled smart parking system using android application, the major motivation of this project is to reduce the traffic congestion in roads, multi storied buildings and malls due to unavailability of parking spaces. The proposed application provides an easy way for reservation of parking slot. In this application user can view various parking areas and also view whether space is available or not. The project displays the nearest empty slot if present with respect to user location. This system gives a further feature of cancelling the bookings. Users may even make price online primarily based totally at the time taken for the reserved area the quantity might be calculated and the person can make charge. This project provides a good insight into the guidance, monitoring and reservations components of the smart parking and directions to the future development.

Analysis of Parking Needs at Sakura Mart Amurang

Sakura Mart is the largest shopping center in Amurang City, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. At Sakura Mart Amurang the parking facilities cannot accommodate parking needs. This analytical research aims to calculate the parking space requirements that must be provided for visitors when in the Sakura Mart Amurang parking area. The steps taken include calculating parking volume, parking accumulation, parking duration, parking capacity, parking availability, parking index, parking turnover rate, analysis of parking space requirements, and vehicle waiting time. The total shortage of parking space for two-wheeled vehicles is 92 spaces, while for four-wheeled vehicles 23 spaces must be provided with a total area of 516 m². For the time being, to reduce existing parking capacity, a maximum vehicle waiting time of 11 minutes 30.6 seconds for two-wheeled vehicles and 19 minutes 0.015 seconds for four-wheeled vehicles is used. Waiting time limits in parking areas must be emphasized so that they can accommodate all vehicles that come to park their vehicles, then by providing rates and multiples of rates after the specified waiting time has passed, it can encourage vehicle owners not to linger in the parking lot. area. parking area. parking area. The arrangement of the parking area must be considered with a good and correct parking management system for the convenience of parking users at Sakura Mart Amurang

Становление Новониколаевска/Новосибирска как столицы Сибири в начале 1920-х гг.

The development of Novonikolaevsk (Novosibirsk) and its transformation into a city of all-Siberian importance is connected with the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and the growth of the city’s economy due to its favorable geographical location. The decision about Novonikolayevsk as a residence of Siberia’s governing bodies was made in a hurry, with the resistance of various interested parties and was finally approved in the spring of 1921 in the conditions of acute crisis caused by the consequences of the civil war. In such an environment the mass transfer from Omsk and the organization of all-Siberian institutions in Novonikolaevsk began, with the simultaneous creation of provincial government bodies in the city as well. As a result, this led to enormous problems with the accommodation of numerous employees with their families and strenuous efforts to overcome the housing crisis. Radical measures were taken to solve the difficulties: emergency commissions were set up to search for and distribute premises, mass evictions outside the city of residents not connected with service in Soviet institutions were carried out. But these measures had only a minor effect — the housing crisis and the shortage of office space persisted for decades.

Achieving the unachievable: the development of a large-scale interprofessional education workshop for first-year health professional students. Developing a large-scale interprofessional education workshop

he need for interprofessional education within healthcare education is widely accepted, yet healthcare educators continue to grapple with the challenges associated with integrating authentic interprofessional learning activities within curricula. Timetabling conflicts, shortage of teaching spaces, geographical separation, the need for educator training, varying assessment needs, lack of organisational commitment, and suboptimal attitude by faculties towards Interprofessional Education, continue to be identified as barriers making it seemingly unachievable by many. We describe an introductory Interprofessional Education workshop that was successfully delivered to over 2600 first-year health students across 13 health disciplines at an Australian university, demonstrating how as a team of interprofessional educators we achieved the unachievable, successfully overcoming many of the obstacles to IPE. We outline the importance of authentic learning activities constructively aligned to learning outcomes and assessment, and the necessity of student, early facilitator, and faculty engagement, to overcome logistical and practical challenges. Finally, we discuss the changes to the workshop necessitated COVID-19, and future challenges and directions.

Does rural India need a new primary healthcare delivery model?

There has been a continuous downfall in equipping the Primary Health Centres (PHCs) with infrastructure, facilities, and workforce to provide basic minimum primary healthcare services to the underserved population in the Indian context. The main goal of this research is to look at the infrastructure and manpower in a sample of PHCs in the Kanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, India. The interview template exclusively for Product-Service System (PSS) by Singapore University of Technology and Design-Massachusetts Institute of Technology (SUTD-MIT) was used to study randomly selected samples of 51 PHCs. The data were examined using the Indian Public Health Standards (IPHS) of the Indian government. Some of the key findings included the lack of workforce and their commitment, shortage of space, electricity, and water supply. To find a solution for the found lacunae, this article also discusses about the functioning of Mobile Hospitals (MHs) depending upon the contexts and thus extracting lessons for a new intervention in the primary health care system delivery model. Finally, a new healthcare delivery model in the form of a mobile Primary Health Centre (mPHC) is proposed based on the field study and the synthesis of historical literature on MH.

Vertical Farms: A Sustainable Solution to Urban Agriculture Challenges

Vertical farms are considered to be a powerful response to the shortage of future agricultural cultivation space, which can achieve higher agricultural output in cities and alleviate food shortage. This paper focuses on the characteristics of vertical farms, takes the Plant vertical farm in Chicago as an example, describes its design and performance, analyzes its advantages and design principles, and raises some problems that need to be solved. Vertical farms can expand the yield of crops and simulate the environment required for crop growth and development. The success of The Plant is mainly due to the following aspects of the design: saving raw materials and waste disposal costs through the use of waste, staggered electricity consumption and the use of insulated structures to maximize the savings in energy costs, and ultimately enabling the vertical farm to achieve the ability to compete with traditional agriculture. The vertical farm finally achieved the ability to compete with traditional agriculture. It is worth noting that although the small-scale pilot projects of vertical farms have achieved some success, there are still many constraints to be overcome in expanding the scale of vertical farms because of their high construction and operation costs and high technical level.

Towards a socially vibrant city: exploring urban typologies and morphologies of the emerging “CityWalks” in Dubai

Vertical urbanization to maximize land use in many cities has led to a shortage of urban spaces that could adequately meet people's needs. In response, CityWalk has emerged as a new urban form to solve this problem by attracting people to go from inside closed buildings to outside walks. Thus, it is promoting health, economy, and tourism. Locally in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), especially in Dubai, a limited number of CityWalks have been developed. Despite the increasing popularity of CityWalks, there has been a gap in research examining their distinct emerging urban typologies and their urban configuration. This study seeks to address this gap by first conceptualizing CityWalk as an emerging urban public space based on the exploration of global and local experiences. Second, the study categorized the morphological configuration of three selected case studies of CityWalks in Dubai using Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. These case studies represent three different developments of CityWalks in three different contexts in the UAE. First, CityWalks within the inner city's urban context are represented by ‘City Walk’ in Al Wasel. Second, CityWalks surrounded by the sea represented by 'The Walk’ in Marsa Dubai. Third, CityWalks developed next to traditional buildings represented by ‘Al Seef’ in Al Hamriya. The findings of the research investigations reveal that the emerging ‘CityWalks’ developments in each of the three different urban contexts in Dubai do not represent a single familiar urban space typology but rather a ‘harmonious’ blend of global and local urban design typologies. In addition, the urban morphological analysis of these three urban developments underscores the distinctive characteristics of each of them in terms of street network, urban form, urban compactness, land use, and shading. This contributes to better understanding of these emerging urban forms and hence pave the way for more research about their socio-economic robustness to ultimately contribute to more successful future designs of ‘CityWalks’ in Dubai and other cities in the region.

Diagnostics of inter-turn short circuits in phase stator windings of permanent magnet synchronous machines

BACKGROUND: Currently, electric buses are becoming more widespread in the segment of urban passenger transportation due to the absence of harmful emissions and low noise levels. Permanent magnet synchronous machines (PMSM) are widely used as a traction motor.
 One of the most promising methods of monitoring the technical condition of traction motors is diagnostics using monitoring tools installed on board of a vehicle. The advantages of such methods include the possibility of regular frequent condition checks (as opposed to much rarer diagnostics in stationary maintenance points) and a more rapid response to the development of identified malfunctions, which significantly reduces the cost of maintenance and repair of expensive equipment. The disadvantages include limitations associated with a shortage of layout space for the placement of diagnostic equipment, with the limited capabilities of on-board computer facilities for the transmission and storage of diagnostic information and with the complexity of computational procedures of built-in expert diagnostic systems.
 Concerning the types of operational failures of PMSMs, which are the most common and the most severe in terms of the cost of restoring operability, these are inter-turn short circuits in the stator windings, increased eccentricity of the air gap between the stator and the rotor, bearing damage, as well as damage of the mechanical gearbox coupled with the electric motor.
 AIM: Identification the diagnostic signs of inter-turn short circuits in the phase windings of a permanent magnet synchronous machine, helping to detect these malfunctions on board of route urban vehicles at an early stage.
 METHODS: A mathematical model of a permanent magnet synchronous machine with short-circuited turns of the phase winding, which makes it possible to study the behavior of the motor with a various number of short-circuited turns, has been developed.
 RESULTS: For the first time, the requirements for diagnostic features for the on-board diagnostic system of an urban electric bus, making it possible to detect inter-turn short circuits in the phase windings of traction electric motors at the early stages of the origin of a malfunction, are formulated.
 The main parameters of the process of digital registration of phase currents have been obtained, helping to do measurements and to transmit signals through the onboard information network of the electric bus.
 Using simulation modeling methods, it was found that the peak values of the linear spectrum of the total current vector are stable diagnostic signs that make it possible to detect inter-turn short circuits in the phase windings of traction motors at the early stages of the origin of the malfunction.
 CONCLUSION: The practical value of the study lies in the opportunity of using the proposed methods for diagnosing the technical condition of traction electric drive units in urban passenger electric transport.

A PARKING PATH PLANNING METHOD BASED ON CIRCULAR ARCS AND LINES

In recent years, there has been a shortage of parking spaces in many areas as the number of vehicles. Moreover, the parking space for each car may be narrowed, due to increase the number of parking spaces. As a result, parking spaces become narrower and accidents in the parking lot caused by inexperienced drivers are increasing. Thus, driving assistance functions such as automatic parking systems that perform parking tasks on behalf of the driver have recently become widespread. Facilities such as shopping malls and coin-operated parking lots have small parking spaces and are difficult to park. It is expected that the number of accidents caused by inexperienced drivers will decrease. In this paper, we propose a new method to search for a path that allows parking in a narrow parking environment from the start position to the parking target location by generating a path based on map information, arcs and straight lines. We propose a path generation method that is closer to human decision-making by effectively using arcs and straight lines.

ANALISIS EVALUASI STRUKTUR GEDUNG SD UMMU AIMAN KECAMATAN LAWANG KABUPATEN MALANG MENGGUNAKAN METODE RANGKA MOMEN PEMIKUL KHUSUS

The increasing number of new students studying at SD Ummu Aiman has resulted in a shortage of space in the school building. Therefore, the addition of a new building is required to address this issue. However, the region of Indonesia, especially Java Island, is prone to earthquakes, making it necessary for all infrastructure development to consider earthquake resistance. SD Ummu Aiman's building is no exception, thus requiring special design and supervision to reduce the risk of losses due to earthquake loads that could affect the structure. This case study report will discuss the planning and design of a three-story building made of reinforced concrete for SD Ummu Aiman. In the preparation of this report, the emphasis will be on load analysis, SAP 2000 modeling, and reinforcement control analysis to understand the results of the preliminary structural design and analyze the reinforcement of beam structures using the special moment frame method. The results of the structural design include a 10 cm and 12 cm thick slab with main reinforcement of Æ8-100, the size of the main beams is 35/25 with main reinforcement of 2Æ16 2Æ14 and shear reinforcement of Æ8-150, 25/20 with main reinforcement of 2Æ16 2Æ14 and shear reinforcement of Æ8-120, and the size of secondary beams is 25/20 with main reinforcement of 3Æ25 2Æ25 and shear reinforcement of Æ8-200. The column size is 30/30 with main reinforcement of 4 D16 2 D12 and shear reinforcement of Æ8-150, and 25/25 with main reinforcement of 4 D12 and shear reinforcement of Æ8-150.

도시재생 지역 내 공동체 의식과 삶의 질의 관계에서 갈등대처의 조절효과

The purpose of this study was to explore the preferred parking solution model for residents of Yeonmu-dong, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, in order to address conflicts arising from parking problems and to develop parking relief systems tailored to local characteristics. Yeonmu-dong is situated in an urban regeneration area within the old city center, characterized by low-rise residential density, a high percentage of elderly residents, and a significant number of long-term residents who have lived there for more than a decade. Our primary objective was to investigate whether conflict resolution strategies have a moderating impact on the relationship between residents' sense of community and their quality of life.
 To achieve our research objectives, we gathered academic literature related to urban regeneration, analyzed statistical data from public institutions, and conducted a survey of local residents. We then conducted statistical analysis, including descriptive statistics, group difference analysis, and hierarchical regression analysis, to analyze the survey data using SPSS 27 statistical techniques.
 The analysis revealed several key findings. Firstly, residents expressed a preference for parking solutions falling under the categories of 'citizen participation type' and 'existing facility utilization type' to alleviate parking space shortages. Some of the suggested alternatives included 'developing parking lots by purchasing old houses,' 'having parking facilities at home,' 'utilizing public facilities such as school playgrounds,' and 'making use of vacant land.' Secondly, although local residents exhibited a relatively high sense of community and employed positive conflict resolution methods, their overall quality of life was somewhat low. Lastly, the relationship between a positive sense of community and a negative quality of life was found to be influenced by the type of conflict resolution strategies employed.
 In conclusion, while the presence of a significant elderly population in the region can be advantageous, it is important to address the declining number of young residents, which can hinder regional development. Therefore, policies aimed at attracting younger individuals should be considered, along with initiatives to promote privately-led community councils. Furthermore, it was observed that a higher sense of community among local residents positively affects their quality of life. To enhance this effect, policy efforts should include providing conflict management education for local residents.

“Here, your only relative is money…” why slum social networks do not facilitate neighborhood community development: insights through a sanitation lens

IntroductionThough social networks which are deemed vehicles of community development exist in slum areas, underdevelopment still persists in these areas. We explored the nature and role of social networks in facilitating community development in the slums of Kampala through a sanitation lens.MethodsQualitative Social Network Analysis (SNA) was done to understand the nature of slum social networks primarily through the analysis of sanitation behavior. Data were collected through six Focus Group Discussions (FGD), six In-depth Interviews (IDIs), and 18 Key Informant Interviews (KII) with Government, civil society and private stakeholders. We used both inductive and deductive thematic analysis.ResultsFour themes emerged in our analysis; i); Unsupportive environments, uncooperative neighbours and uncertainty of tenure: participants reported slums as unsupportive of community development due to a shortage of space, poverty and unplanned services. Tenants perceived landlords as exploitative and predatory and wished the tables are turned. This notion of cyclic exploitation did not encourage collective action for community good. Short-term economic survival trumped long-term community interests ii) Patronage and poor service delivery: varying degrees of patronage led to multiple forms of illegalities and violations such as tax evasion. Due to vested interests and corruption among public officials, the slum population was lethargic. iii) Intersecting realities of poverty and unemployment: slum dwellers lived on the margins daily. Hence, poor living conditions were a secondary concern. iv) Social relations for personal development: Slum social networks were driven by individual interests rather than community good. Slum dwellers prioritized connections with people of common socio-economic interests. As such social networks were instrumental only if they ‘added value’.ConclusionSocial networks in slums are only concerned about survival needs. Slums require responses that address the complexity of slum formation and broader livelihood challenges, as well as re-assessing the meaning of community. We posit that more needs to be done in understanding the meaning and workings of a sociology beyond physical societies. Poverty is a modifier of social systems and processes and should be a concern for all stakeholders involved in slum development.

Post-occupancy evaluation of user satisfaction: Case studies of 10 urban underground complexes in China

The urban underground complex (UUC) is an effective approach to solve urban problems, such as space shortage and traffic congestion. In China, there is a large-scale UUC construction and an increasing number of people working or generating urban activities in UUCs. Accordingly, the utilization status of UUCs and whether they meet users’ needs should be evaluated. However, there is still a lack of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) for UUCs from users’ perspective to feed forward to the planning and design. Therefore, 10 typical UUCs in China were selected in this study for POE of users’ satisfaction (N = 1055), using field questionnaire surveys to collect data. Factor analysis was performed to identify five main components of user satisfaction for UUC. Binary logistic regression was used to determine the influencing factors of users’ satisfaction from the personal and environment aspects. Results revealed that users were satisfied with UUCs in China. However, they were relatively dissatisfied with the internal physical environment. In terms of personal characteristics and behavioral factors, with a longer duration of stay, the probability of users’ satisfaction increases within a certain time range. In terms of environmental factors, identity of the signage system, safety sign and broadcast effectiveness, and spatial proportions and morphology, among others, had a significant positive impact on users’ satisfaction. The results have reference value for promoting the design and utilization of UUCs.