Sites For Urban Development Research Articles

GIS BASED GEO HAZARD ASSESSMENT OF PAKISTAN FOR FUTURE URBAN DEVELOPMENT USING AHP

<p>Pakistan has been subject to frequent earthquakes, which are often severe (especially in the north and west), and severe flooding along the Indus River after heavy monsoon rains (July to August every year). Loss to life and property as a result of these natural disasters has been very high in the recent past. In order to mitigate these losses, an integrated decision support which could help planners make complex decisions accurately and quickly is required. This first ever study aims to provide a multi criteria decision analysis framework resulting in the regionalization of the territories of Pakistan according to the level of vulnerability to these natural disasters. Site suitability for urban development in Pakistan was assessed by the application of GIS and the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). GIS can effectively store, retrieve, manipulate, analyse and display the spatial in site selection problems. AHP can be used to calculate weights of criteria while the decision maker remains consistent in judging and allocating comparative preferences to criteria. Weighted scores were aggregated in two clusters namely environmental (elevation, slope, aspect, distance from rivers, land surface temperature and precipitation) and hazard (flood extents, earthquake density and intensity). The results of these two clusters were then synthesized using an innovative scheme to obtain a suitability index map. Indices in the map were classified into four categories representing extremely suitable, suitable, less suitable and worst regions for urban development. This study shows how an effective multi criteria decision support method can be developed to select suitable sites for urban development in order to reduce exposure to natural disasters. Urban development should be planned in extremely suitable areas. </p>

Rapid Removal of Atmospheric CO2 by Urban Soils.

The measured calcium carbonate content of soils to a depth of 100 mm at a large urban development site has increased over 18 months at a rate that corresponds to the sequestration of 85 t of CO2/ha (8.5 kg of CO2 m(-2)) annually. This is a consequence of rapid weathering of calcium silicate and hydroxide minerals derived from the demolition of concrete structures, which releases Ca that combines with CO2 ultimately derived from the atmosphere, precipitating as calcite. Stable isotope data confirm an atmospheric origin for carbonate carbon, and 14C dating indicates the predominance of modern carbon in the pedogenic calcite. Trial pits show that carbonation extends to depths of ≥1 m. Work at other sites shows that the occurrence of pedogenic carbonates is widespread in artificially created urban soils containing Ca and Mg silicate minerals. Appropriate management of fewer than 12000 ha of urban land to maximize calcite precipitation has the potential to remove 1 million t of CO2 from the atmosphere annually. The maximal global potential is estimated to be approximately 700-1200 Mt of CO2 per year (representing 2.0-3.7% of total emissions from fossil fuel combustion) based on current rates of production of industry-derived Ca- and Mg-bearing materials.

Application of geospatial techniques to land suitability analysis

Selecting a suitable site for urban development in a city is one of the critical issues in urban planning. This study illustrates the use of geographic information system (GIS) and multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) techniques for the selection of suitable sites for urban development in Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India. Toposheet and CARTOSAT 1 satellite data were used to generate various thematic layers using ArcGIS software. Using these tools, several suitability factors including slope, soil, geology, road proximity, land use/land cover, depth to water table, distance from built-up area, geomorphology, and water quality map were evaluated. An analytical hierarchical process was used to rank the various suitability factors and the resulting weights were used to construct the suitability map layers. In doing so, the derived weights were used. Finally, a synthesised land suitability map was generated by combining these maps. The results of our research have been submitted to the regional authorities and wi...

Comparison of Weighting Assessment Techniques and its Integration with GIS-Based Multicriteria Decision Making

This study compares the methods of weighting assessment techniques including the ranking, rating, pairwise comparison, and trade-off analysis and its integration with geographic information system (GIS) based multicriteria decision making (MCDM) to evaluate the suitable sites for urban development in Mussoorie municipal area, Dehradun district, Uttarakhand (India). For this purpose IKONOS satellite data and topographical sheet were used to generate various thematic layers using ArcGIS software. Six criteria including slope, road proximity, land use/cover, land values, geological formation and aspect were used for appropriate land evaluation. The generated thematic maps of these criteria were normalized using weighting assessment techniques. By using these techniques a weight for each criterion was generated by comparing them with each other according to their importance. With the help of these weights and criteria, final site suitability map for each weighting methods was prepared. In this paper the integrated approach of weighting assessment techniques and GIS based MCDM represents a major contribution towards the development of effective spatial decision support systems.

Patterns of geographic expansion of Aedes aegypti in the Peruvian Amazon.

Background and ObjectivesIn the Peruvian Amazon, the dengue vector Aedes aegypti is abundant in large urban centers such as Iquitos. In recent years, it has also been found in a number of neighboring rural communities with similar climatic and socioeconomic conditions. To better understand Ae. aegypti spread, we compared characteristics of communities, houses, and containers in infested and uninfested communities.MethodsWe conducted pupal-demographic surveys and deployed ovitraps in 34 communities surrounding the city of Iquitos. Communities surveyed were located along two transects: the Amazon River and a 95km highway. We calculated entomological indices, mapped Ae. aegypti presence, and developed univariable and multivariable logistic regression models to predict Ae. aegypti presence at the community, household, or container level.ResultsLarge communities closer to Iquitos were more likely to be infested with Ae. aegypti. Within infested communities, houses with Ae. aegypti had more passively-filled containers and were more often infested with other mosquito genera than houses without Ae. aegypti. For containers, large water tanks/drums and containers with solar exposure were more likely to be infested with Ae. aegypti. Maps of Ae. aegypti presence revealed a linear pattern of infestation along the highway, and a scattered pattern along the Amazon River. We also identified the geographical limit of Ae. aegypti expansion along the highway at 19.3 km south of Iquitos.ConclusionIn the Peruvian Amazon, Ae. aegypti geographic spread is driven by human transportation networks along rivers and highways. Our results suggest that urban development and oviposition site availability drive Ae. aegypti colonization along roads. Along rivers, boat traffic is likely to drive long-distance dispersal via unintentional transport of mosquitoes on boats.

Spatiotemporal simulation of urban growth patterns using agent-based modeling: The case of Tehran

Rapid urban growth is becoming a serious problem in most developing countries. Tehran, the capital of Iran, stands out as a vibrant metropolitan area, facing uncontrolled urban expansion. Public authorities and decision makers require planning criteria regarding possible spatial developments. To monitor past developmental trends and to simulate emerging spatiotemporal patterns of urban growth, this research applies a geosimulation approach that couples agent-based modeling with multicriteria analysis (MCA) for the period between 1986 and 2006. To model the major determinants controlling urban development, three agent groups are defined, namely developer agents, government agents, and resident agents. The behaviors of each agent group are identified by qualitative surveys and are considered separately using multi-criteria analysis. The interactions of the agents are then combined through overlay functions within a Geographic Information System (GIS). This analysis results in the creation of a propensity surface of growth that is able to identify the most probable sites for urban development. Subsequently, a Markov Chain Model (MCM) and a concise statistical extrapolation are used to determine the amount of probable future expansion in Tehran. For validation purposes, the model is estimated using 2011 data and then validated based on actual urban expansion. Given the accurate predictions of the Markov Chain Model, further predictions were carried out for 2016 and 2026. This simulation provides strong evidence that during the next decade planning authorities will have to cope with continuous as well as heterogeneously distributed urban growth. Both the monitoring of growth and simulation revealed significant developments in the northwestern part of Tehran, continuing toward the south along the interchange networks.

Site Suitability Analysis for Urban Development Using GIS Based Multicriteria Evaluation Technique

Identification of suitable site for urban development in hilly areas is one of the critical issues of planning. Site suitability analysis has become inevitable for delineating appropriate site for various developmental initiatives, especially in the undulating terrain of the hills. The study illustrates the use of geographic information system (GIS) and multicriteria evaluation (MCE) technique for selection of suitable sites for urban development in Mussoorie municipal area, Dehradun district, Uttarakhand. For this purpose Toposheet and IKONOS satellite data were used to generate various thematic layers using ArcGIS software. Criteria using five parameters, i.e. slope, road proximity, land use/land cover, land values and geological formation were used for site suitability analysis following land evaluation. The generated thematic maps of these criteria were standardized using pairwise comparison matrix known as analytical hierarchy process (AHP). A weight for each criterion was generated by comparing them with each other according to their importance. With the help of these weights and criteria, final site suitability map was prepared.

A unifying approach to understanding transitional waters: Fundamental properties emerging from ecotone ecosystems

Estuaries, rias, fjords and lagoons (collectively called transitional waters, TW) are highly important ecosystems both for their high productivity but also as sites of urban and industrial development, supporting many major cities and ports. Increasingly they are accepted as transitional environments and in Europe this term has been given legal and management importance; indeed, in some cases this has led to decisions with high economic repercussions. We have thus revisited the fundamental properties and paradigms of these systems in the light of recent ecological theory. The analysis has produced a unifying approach to transitional waters, by adopting and expanding the concept of ecotone to whole ecosystems, rather than ecosystem boundaries. Furthermore we have addressed the paradoxes related to (1) the gradients concerning variability and stability in the system, (2) the biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, as well as (3) the response and resilience of the system to anthropogenic stressors. We conclude that the term Transitional Waters is not merely a legal convenience or that the TW are merely an interface, with positive and negative characteristics, but ecological systems in their own right.

What You Need to Know About Reverse Mortgages

On Joe Greene's 84th birthday, he had only US$22,000 remaining in his retirement savings. He was happy to still be living in his own home and taking care of himself, but he worried about how he would cover his ongoing expenses. His house needed a new roof and a paint job. His wife of many years had passed on 5 years before. He wanted to stay in his home as long as possible. A friend suggested he might benefit from a mortgage. He was able to arrange one. He contacted two lenders through the mortgage site www.nrmlaonline.org. This is the National Reverse Mortgage Lenders Association. Click on the Locate A Lender box on the top right. Joe met with a counselor to complete the required counseling. Counselors are found on the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) site, www.hud.gov. Put reverse mortgages into the search box on the site. The lender agreed to a mortgage of US$200,000. Joe spent US$40,000 on home repairs. The remaining $160,000 he leftuntouched to provide for his future needs. He thought he might live another 10 years as both his parents had lived into their 90s. The remaining money would allow him to draw US$16,000 a year to supplement his social security and small pension. The original mortgage that Joe and his wife had used to buy their home had been paid offlong ago. If it had not, proceeds of the mortgage would be used to pay offin full any existing mortgage and any outstanding home equity line. The mortgage must have the first claim on the house. During the life of the mortgage, Joe continues to own and hold title to his home. He pays the property taxes and makes home repairs. The terms of the mortgage require him to stay current on his property tax payments. There are no interest or principal payments on the mortgage. Interest accrues until the home owner moves, sells, or passes on. Joe would make payments to the federal insurance agency that guarantees that the bank will be repaid. There are up-front closing costs and fees. These might total 3% of the house value. These fees may make a mortgage unattractive, depending on how much one wants to borrow against a house. Borrowing a small amount relative to the house value may make the mortgage unattractive. In this case, a home equity line would be more attractive. Joe had no heirs. At his death, he planned to give his remaining estate to his local senior center and town library. At his death, his home would be sold. The bank would be repaid the principal and accrued interest on the loan. If the selling price of the house was less than what they owed the bank, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) would pay the bank the shortfall. The insurance premium that Joe had paid went to provide insurance to cover any shortfall. Joe cannot be forced to sell his home to pay offthe mortgage, even if the mortgage balance grows to exceed the value of the property. An FHA-insured mortgage need not be repaid until the borrower moves, sells, or dies. When the loan is due and payable, even if the loan exceeds the value of the property, the borrower (or the heirs) will owe no more than the value of the property gained from a sale. If the sale of the home produces more than the loan amount, the excess goes to Joe's estate. A SECOND CASE In another case, Stephanie and John Hanlon were able to use a mortgage to improve their quality of life. They had both been widowed in their 50s and married each other in their 60s. They wanted to start their marriage in a fresh home without any memories. They bought a home together using a 7% fixed rate, 15-year mortgage. All was good until their investment portfolio declined in the 2008 market correction. John had some margin debt on his portfolio. He was forced to sell some bond holdings to pay offthe margin debt, which came due when his stocks declined. …

Building the evidence base for ecological impact assessment and mitigation

Building the evidence base for ecological impact assessment and mitigation

Beyond the Furnace:

The year 2009 was especially significant for Pittsburgh. The city had just celebrated its 250th anniversary with a year-long series of concerts, parades, and other public spectacles. Among these were renovations to the iconic Point State Park, the completion of the Great Allegheny Passage bicycle trail to Cumberland, Maryland, and a “Parade of Champions” at the Senator John Heinz History Center featuring the legends of Pittsburgh sports. City leaders saw in these festivities an opportunity for fostering “improved regional perceptions of Pittsburgh” and “defining a vision for our region’s future.” The marketing blitz paid quick and unexpected dividends when in May the Obama administration announced the community would host an upcoming G20 Summit. The president’s emphasis on “the green economy” meshed perfectly with the booster narrative of Pittsburgh as “a great poster child [for] economic transformation.” Combined with the Steelers’ Super Bowl victory and the Penguins winning the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup, by the end of the year residents of the ’Burgh had plenty to justify claims that they were back from the ruins of deindustrialization. Though marked by less fanfare, 2009 also witnessed the publication of two fascinating books by the University of Pittsburgh Press that drew heavily on these same themes of economic and environmental transformation. Designed explicitly for an audience beyond the confines of the academy, Franklin Toker’s Pittsburgh: A New Portrait and Edward K. Muller’s edited volume, An Uncommon Passage: Travelling through History on the Great Allegheny Passage Trail , are also of importance to scholars for their insight into the process of community and regional regeneration in the postindustrial era.

Civic Agriculture: Towards a Local Food Web for Sustainable Urban Development

The past decades have seen an accumulating body of studies assessing the benefits of smaller-scale enterprises on the level of civic and community welfare in the United States and elsewhere. In the context of producing subsistence, agriculture practice is now under a transition from large scale commodity enterprises to small scale self-sustaining civic activities. In practice, recent urban development projects emphasized the production of local food within the urban development site to promote a healthy, ecologically and economically sustainable lifestyle. This is of particular importance to the United States where more than 20 per cent of petroleum consumption goes to food processing and transportation due to the contemporary industrialized agriculture practice. This paper uses a housing development project in the United States to exemplify that civic agriculture can be integrated into urban development in the forms of community supported agriculture (CSA), kitchen gardens, farmer's market, and so on, to create a local food web, which will provide a working farm as a civic amenity on the site, allowing community members the opportunity to interact with each other and with nature, and become actively engaged with the new sustainable ways of living. The study suggests that neighborhoods that embrace a community-based environmental capitalism model of housing development can enhance the level of civic engagement among their residents, contribute to rising levels of civic welfare and socioeconomic well-being, maintain the landscape authenticity, enhance local and regional ecosystem services, reduce carbon footprint, and ultimately, promote long-term sustainability by reconnecting farm, food, and community.

도시생태현황도의 활용효과 측정지표 개발 및 효과분석

This study aims at choosing indicators to measure the effect of utilizing biotop map, and analyzing its effect by an indicator from the perspective of performer. The Primary performance indicators are made through specialist survey using SMART. As a result, three indicators are chosen: Discussion of the period of an environmental effects evaluation(reduced Plan and execution of environment and ecology plan in an urban development Minimizing ecological damage in an urban development. The result in each indicator is as follows. The indicator of discussion of the period of an environmental effects evaluation(reduced effect), the average reduction rate in statistically meaningful level reduced 6.08% and 11.64% respectively in 2004-2005. In this period, environment information system was established and the reduction effect is shown in this period by reinforcing environment effect estimation using biotop map. As to the indicator of utilizing biotop map in an urban development site, the Seongnam P site case shows that biotop map was used when they set up an development plan. In case of minimizing ecological damage in an urban development, the Gwangjingu G-dong case shows that it was used to appoint preservation sit, and mediate development restrict area. Accordingly, the biotop map utilizing effect is confirmed through core performance indicators and verification of the indicators using SMART. The further research is encouraged to find evaluate indicators and verify the effect quantitatively to increase the use of biotop map.

Examination of compensatory model application in site selection

Nowadays, usage of compensatory models in land evaluation process and site selection is broadly observed. Meanwhile, methods such as analytical hierarchy process are used more than the others. Whether the usage of compensatory model methods in site selection studies is essentially correct or not is an issue that should be hesitated. In this model, inefficiency of a factor, to be offset by strength of others, means that in urban development site selection, if somewhere has unsuitable aspect but suitable slope, the aspect deficiency will be compensated by the slope. But quodlibet reflection is that in this model, sometimes, deficiency of proximity to fault can be compensated by other parameters strength. And finally, a place is diagnosed as a suitable area for urban development that is close to the fault. This research aims at examination of compensatory models application in urban development site selection of Taleghan Basin using analytical hierarchy process as one of the compensatory model methods. Among this the weaknesses and strengths of compensatory model were analyzed carefully. Results indicate that despite usefulness of this model in being fast, easy, and low expense, it has some weaknesses like very high sensitivity to decision maker's idea.

Predicting land cover change and avian community responses in rapidly urbanizing environments

We used an integrated modeling approach to simulate future land cover and predict the effects of future urban development and land cover on avian diversity in the Central Puget Sound region of Washington State, USA. We parameterized and applied a land cover change model (LCCM) that used output from a microsimulation model of urban development, UrbanSim, and biophysical site and landscape characteristics to simulate land cover 28 years into the future. We used 1991, 1995, and 1999 Landsat TM-derived land cover data and three different spatial partitions of our study area to develop six different estimations of the LCCM. We validated model simulations with 2002 land cover. We combined UrbanSim land use outputs and LCCM simulations to predict changes in avian species richness. Results indicate that landscape composition and configuration were important in explaining land cover change as well as avian species response to landscape change. Over the next 28 years, urban land cover was predicted to increase at the expense of agriculture and deciduous and mixed lowland forests. Land cover changes were predicted to reduce the total number of avian species, with losses primarily in native forest specialists and gains in common synanthropic species such as the American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). The integrated modeling framework we present has potential applications in urban and natural resource planning and management and in assessing of the effects of policies on land development, land cover, and avian biodiversity.

Translocation of black‐headed dwarf chameleons Bradypodion melanocephalum in Durban, KwaZulu‐Natal, South Africa

The coastal population of the black‐headed dwarf chameleon Bradypodion melanocephalum is threatened by rapid urban expansion in and around Durban which lies in the centre of the chameleon population's distribution. Translocations of threatened species from urban development sites is a mitigation method that is used in various parts of the world. The translocation of B. melanocephalum largely by volunteers from a proposed light industrial business park to two neighbouring areas with partially restored habitats was eventually successful in one recipient area and unsuccessful in the other. The results suggest that translocations of B. melanocephalum from development construction sites to recipient areas will only be successful if adequate time and resources are available for: a) finding and securing suitable areas for habitat restoration; b) sufficient restoration of the indigenous vegetation in the recipient areas before the capture and translocation of B. melanocephalum from the proposed development sites; c) searching for, and capture of, all B. melanocephalum on the development sites, and; d) long‐term management of the restored habitat in a manner that does not result in significantly elevated mortality or dispersal of B. melanocephalum. Monitoring of B. melanocephalum numbers in the recipient sites, by at least two people per transect, is important to gauge the success or otherwise of the translocation. Monitoring can give insights into the controllable factors that have an impact on the numbers of chameleons, and provide suggestions as how to improve the management of the habitat.

APPLICATION OF EQUIVALENT GYPSUM CONTENT TO ESTIMATE POTENTIAL SUBSIDENCE OF GYPSIFEROUS SOILS

The application of irrigation water on farmland throughout the arid and semiarid areas poses severe engineering challenges for gypsiferous soils. Subsidence and corrosion also pose severe engineering problems when gypsiferous soils are used for urban development or home sites. Subsidence is attributed to the dissolution and removal of gypsum by water, and it is usually used to estimate potential subsidence of soils. However, a number of other water-soluble minerals may occur in association with gypsum in these soils. Thus, subsidence should be attributed to the dissolution and removal of both gypsum and other water-soluble minerals in soils. The objectives were to (i) develop a laboratory method (equivalent gypsum content, or EGC) to estimate the content of both gypsum and other water-soluble minerals in gypsiferous soils and (ii) apply the EGC method to estimate potential subsidence of these soils. We used the relationship between dissolved minerals and electrical conductivity in soil/water solutions under equilibrium to estimate the EGC for soils. The EGC is defined as the quantity of both gypsum and other water-soluble minerals and expressed as gypsum percentage (by weight) in soils. We measured the EGC for 92 gypsum-rich soil samples collected from different arid and semiarid areas in the United States. A highly significant correlation (r = 0.97**) was found between the EGC and gypsum determined by the standard acetone method. The EGC was greater than gypsum content for almost all soils investigated. The average of EGC was 26.3% compared with 20.2% for gypsum. Using gypsum percentage would underestimate subsidence of these soils. We suggest the application of EGC rather than the gypsum content to estimate potential subsidence. Further, the EGC could be applied to provide a reasonable estimation of gypsum percentage for soils.

The price of EU accession

Accession of Bulgaria to the European Union is expected to result in increases in the prices of all types of real estate, these changes are expected to differ across the segments of the national real estate market. Real estate prices have been influenced primarily by local demand, government policies and the perception that EU accession is promoting investment. It is likely that prices of flats will further differentiate, the market for office space will stabilize, demand from retail sector will strengthen the market for urban development sites, provision of infrastructure will importantly influence prices in holiday resorts and industrial estates, and agricultural land prices will initially upsurge.

Estuaries as Repositories of Historical Contamination and their Impact on Shelf Seas

Estuaries are sites of port, industrial, urban and recreational development and also important to many forms of animal life. They often form sinks for sediment and thus for contaminants associated with the sediment which arise from anthropogenic activities in their hinterland and along their shores. These contaminants can adversely affect estuarine ecosystems and are the subject of international agreements on environmental protection. For both of these reasons, it is important to increase our knowledge of the distribution, concentration, controlling influences on, and impacts of, estuarine contamination. Evidence from around the world shows that although estuaries are sinks for contaminants from the terrestrial environment, there is significant transport of marine material up-estuary as bed load sediment whilst fine-grained terrestrial material may be transported seawards in suspension. Major movement of contaminants from estuaries onto the continental shelf probably occurs only during floods and storms and, in general, the impact on shelf seas is relatively minor and confined to the coastal zone. The chief exception to this rule is in the Far East where sediment from major Chinese rivers may be dispersed up to 300km across the shelf.

Sydney: city of surfaces

These three accounts of Australian maritime sites of urban development illustrate major problems of interpretation and action. Is there, as Sophie Watson and Peter Murphy argue, ‘no one representation that can make sense of the complex whole named Sydney'? Or does John Pilger demonstrate one particular representation, apolitical economic one, that makes sense not only of Sydney but also of contemporary developments in Britain and elsewhere? If Pilger's emphasis is on marketisation, are there nevertheless also markets that, as Anna Bowman's article on Darwin indicates, can provide a democratically managed public openminded space'?