Sustainable Urban Systems Research Articles

Transformative potential from the ground up: Sustainable innovation journeys, soft change and alignment of interests in urban food initiatives

This paper utilises the ‘sustainable innovation journeys’ concept to trace how people organise and design urban food initiatives and influence city-region food policy. We evaluate whether designs succeed or fail and monitor the exchange of ideas that takes place between stakeholders. Tracing these interactions reveals the transformative potential of innovative projects, particularly if the food system changes they bring to the fore are aligned with policy interests. Three case studies provide on-the-ground insights to assess how small and medium-sized enterprises at the micro-level induce sustainability shifts. The case studies are businesses in the city-regions of Rotterdam, The Netherlands (urban farm and circular food economy); Vigo, Spain (food, forest and multi-functional land use); and Zurich, Switzerland (organic food and short supply chains). Each initiative was studied in-depth over a two-year period, with follow-up analysis for a further four years to monitor change over time (2013–2018). The cases promote the adoption of micro-level innovation practices: locally designed transition pathways that bring the benefits of change to the city-region (i.e. from the micro-level initiative to meso-level policy). The analysis highlights the importance of ‘soft change’. This can be something as simple as visiting an inspiring urban food initiative and meeting with stakeholders to generate mutual understanding, from where interests align to influence food chain practices and policy. Soft changes act as ‘seeds of transition’ for a shift towards more sustainable urban food systems, but we observe too potentially negative impacts due to lack of alignment at the micro- (initiative) or meso- (city-region) levels.

Impacts of online shopping on travel demand: a systematic review

ABSTRACT The rise of e-commerce has led to substantial changes in personal travel and activities. We systematically reviewed empirical studies on the relationship between online shopping and personal travel behaviour. We synthesised and assessed the evidence for four types of effects on various travel outcomes, including trip frequency, travel distance, trip chaining, mode choice, and time use. In 42 articles reviewed, we found more evidence that online shopping substitutes for shopping travel. Most studies to date have focused on trip frequency but neglected other travel outcomes. Very few studies have considered the modification effect, which has significant implications for travel demand management. In sum, previous studies have not reached a consensus on the dominant effect of online shopping, in part due to the diversity in variable measurements, types of goods, study areas, and analytic methods. A limitation of previous studies is the reliance on cross-sectional surveys, which hinders the distinction between short- and long-term behaviours and between modification, complementarity, and substitution effects. Our study provides an agenda for future research on this topic and discusses policy implications related to land use, behavioural changes, data collection, and modelling for practitioners who wish to incorporate e-commerce in planning for sustainable urban systems.

From Schnitzel to Sustainability: Shifting Values at Vienna’s Urban Farmers Markets

This paper presents an empirically grounded investigation of the values and practices of farmers markets (FM) in Vienna, Austria and their linkages to wider alternative food practices of ecological, social and economic sustainability. If the FMs are to play a vibrant role in the Viennese alternative food system, enhancing urban–rural connections and urban resilience, they must re–align their values to this system. A values-based conceptual framework is used to examine the structures and functions of six Viennese FMs and the alignment of values and practices among FM managers, farmers/vendors and consumers. Data from qualitative interviews, participant observation and dot surveys were collected at each FM. Value alignment is discovered as necessary to support and perpetuate alternative values. Governance is found to be significant for aligning values related to FM sustainability. Current structures and functions of Viennese FMs cannot be easily aligned with participant values and practices. As one of the first examinations of Viennese FMs, this work illustrates concrete challenges, priorities and emphasizes the role that governance and social organizing plays in successful markets as contributors towards sustainable urban food systems. Lessons learned can be applied to municipal FMs and other food system actors that face similar challenges.

Land Suitability Mapping Using Geochemical and Spatial Analysis Methods

Assessing the suitability of urban and agricultural land is essential for planning sustainable urban and agricultural systems. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the suitability of land in Ioannina plain (western Greece) concerning the soil contents of two potentially toxic elements, cadmium (Cd) and cobalt (Co). Geochemical and spatial analysis methods were applied to assess the distribution of Cd and Co in the soil of the Ioannina plain and identify their origin. The primary anthropogenic sources of Cd and Co in the topsoil of the study area can be attributed to traffic emissions, aircraft operations, vehicle crushing and dismantling activities. Element content is compared to international guidelines and screening values. Cadmium and Co concentration in the soil of the study area is well above the European topsoil mean. Thus, the urban and agricultural lands cover the vast majority (92%) of the total area. Cadmium concentration in soil of the study area with a mean (mg kg−1) 1.7 and 2.0 was observed in agricultural and urban land use, respectively. Cobalt content in soil of the area studied with a mean (mg kg−1) 30.8 and 37.1 was recorded in agricultural and urban land use, respectively. Land evaluation suitability by adopting criteria provided from the international literature is discussed.

A Media Architecture Approach for Designing the Next Generation of Urban Interfaces

The augmentation of the built and urban environment with digital media has evolved and matured over recent years. Cities are seeing a rapid rise of various technologies; a trend also accelerated by global crises. Consequently, new urban interfaces are emerging that integrate next-generation technologies, such as sustainable interface materials and urban robotic systems. However, their development is primarily driven by technological concerns, leaving behind social, aesthetic, and spatial considerations. By analyzing our own media architecture research projects and real-world applications from the past two decades, we offer a structural approach for developing these new urban interfaces. The individual cases provide early insights and challenges related to prototyping and augmenting contexts with novel input and output modalities. These results in common, preliminary observed patterns in the process of integrating next-generation technologies into urban environments and surroundings, in response to continuously evolving social needs.

Optimization of wastewater treatment strategies using life cycle assessment from a watershed perspective

Increasing the environmental sustainability of wastewater treatment contributes to the construction of sustainable urban water systems, especially for developing countries. Life cycle assessments (LCA) have quantified the environmental implications of overly-sophisticated discharge standards. However, studies on these topics provide limited practical guidance, as real policy concerns are rarely incorporated in the assessment process. One such concern is watershed management by satisfying the water quality limit (WQL) of the receiving environment. To manage sustainable wastewater treatment from a watershed perspective, this study integrates LCA with water quality models to facilitate the decision process. By parameterizing the WQL as a constraint condition, a hierarchical priority structure is established in the environmental index system, and alternatives that satisfy the WQL are screened, and compared in terms of life cycle burdens. This study investigates the effect of considering WQL on the evaluation of wastewater treatment strategies, using an urban sewage system case study in China. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), determining discharge levels based on the WQL of the receiving river, contributes to specific control of WWTPs with reduced life cycle burdens, compared with the “one size fits all” administrative strategy. Considering the influence of non-point source pollution (urban runoff), results demonstrate that only relying on wastewater treatment is unlikely to reliably satisfy the WQL. This study highlights the importance of utilizing an integrated policy to coordinate the treatment of wastewater and urban runoff for watershed management, by coupling enhanced wastewater treatment intensities with the green and gray storm water management infrastructures. This integrated policy quantitatively showed advantages in terms of stable control of water pollution, and less dependence on the self-purification capacity of the receiving river.

Mapping the Urban Atmospheric Carbon Stock by LiDAR and WorldView-3 Data

Currently, the worsening impacts of urbanizations have been impelled to the importance of monitoring and management of existing urban trees, securing sustainable use of the available green spaces. Urban tree species identification and evaluation of their roles in atmospheric Carbon Stock (CS) are still among the prime concerns for city planners regarding initiating a convenient and easily adaptive urban green planning and management system. A detailed methodology on the urban tree carbon stock calibration and mapping was conducted in the urban area of Brussels, Belgium. A comparative analysis of the mapping outcomes was assessed to define the convenience and efficiency of two different remote sensing data sources, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and WorldView-3 (WV-3), in a unique urban area. The mapping results were validated against field estimated carbon stocks. At the initial stage, dominant tree species were identified and classified using the high-resolution WorldView3 image, leading to the final carbon stock mapping based on the dominant species. An object-based image analysis approach was employed to attain an overall accuracy (OA) of 71% during the classification of the dominant species. The field estimations of carbon stock for each plot were done utilizing an allometric model based on the field tree dendrometric data. Later based on the correlation among the field data and the variables (i.e., Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI and Crown Height Model, CHM) extracted from the available remote sensing data, the carbon stock mapping and validation had been done in a GIS environment. The calibrated NDVI and CHM had been used to compute possible carbon stock in either case of the WV-3 image and LiDAR data, respectively. A comparative discussion has been introduced to bring out the issues, especially for the developing countries, where WV-3 data could be a better solution over the hardly available LiDAR data. This study could assist city planners in understanding and deciding the applicability of remote sensing data sources based on their availability and the level of expediency, ensuring a sustainable urban green management system.

The circular economy potential of urban organic waste streams in low- and middle-income countries

There is growing recognition of the potential environmental and socio-economic benefits of applying a circular approach to urban organic waste management through resource recovery. Decisions around planning and implementing circular urban waste systems require estimates of the quantity of resources available in waste streams and their potential market value. However, studies assessing circular economy potential have so-far been conducted mostly in high-income countries, yet cities in low- and middle-income countries have different challenges when developing a circular economy. This paper addresses this gap by estimating the resource recovery potential of organic waste streams in the context of low- and middle-income countries, illustrated with the case of Kampala, Uganda. A simplified material flow analysis approach is used to track the transformation of waste streams, namely faecal sludge, sewage sludge and organic solid waste into the resource recovery products biogas, solid fuel, black soldier fly larvae and compost. Findings indicate that even at current rates of waste collection, the three waste streams combined could annually yield 135,000 tonnes of solid fuel or 39.6 million Nm3 of biogas or 15,000 tonnes of black soldier fly larvae or 108,000 tonnes of compost and revenues from the products could range from 5.1 million USD from compost to 47 million USD from biogas. The results demonstrate how complex information describing urban waste can be presented to facilitate decision making and planning by stakeholders. By highlighting different resource recovery opportunities, application of this approach could provide an incentive for more sustainable urban sanitation and waste management systems.

Modeling the Influence of Online Social Media Information on Post-Disaster Mobility Decisions

Disaster risk management, including response and recovery, are essential elements of sustainable development. With the recent increase in natural hazards, the importance of techniques to understand, model and predict the evacuation and returning behavior of affected individuals is rising. Studies have found that influence from real world social ties affects mobility decisions during disasters. Despite the rapid spread of social media platforms, little has been quantitatively understood about the influence of social ties on online social media on such decisions. Information provided by who at what timing influences users’ decision-making process by how much during disasters? In this study, we answer these research questions by proposing a data-driven framework that can predict post-disaster mobility decisions and simultaneously unravel the influence of various information on online social media. More specifically, our method quantifies the influence of information provided by different types of social media accounts on the peoples’ decisions to return or stay displaced after evacuation. We tested our approach using real world data collected from more than 13 million unique Twitter users during Hurricane Sandy. Experiments verified that we can improve the predictive accuracy of return and displacement behavior, and also quantify the influence of online information. In contrast to popular beliefs, it was found that information posted by the crowd influenced the decisions more than information disseminated by official accounts. Improving our understanding of influence dynamics on online social media could provide policy makers with insights on how to disseminate information on social media more effectively for better disaster response and recovery, which may contribute towards building sustainable urban systems.

Towards sustainable urban system through the development of small towns in India

AbstractRegional imbalances in India can be attributed to the lack of a sustainable urban system. This paper highlights large‐city‐centric urbanization in India, considering the fact that 70% of the urban population lived in class I (with 0.1 million population and more) cities in 2011. The reviews of past and present urban development policies suggest that these are more biased towards large cities than small towns. In this context, this paper proposes a new methodology based on population growth rate, selecting 125 small towns for future urban development in India. To assess the impact of infrastructure on the growth of small towns, we calculate the Infrastructure Index. Our research has revealed that infrastructure, economic, environmental, historical, and administrative factors have a strong positive impact on the population growth rate of small towns. The results also show that towns located within a radius of 52 km from a class I city have a higher population growth rate and are important for sustainable urbanization in India. Our findings suggest that the development of small towns is important for reducing regional inequalities, growth of surrounding rural areas of a town, reducing pressure on large cities, and encouraging non‐farming activities for sustainable urbanization and achieving higher economic development.

Learning to find a way out of non-sustainable systems

This article presents and illustrates an analytical framework designed to open-up the black-box of what and how people learn while trying to tackle sustainability problems and to investigate the potential of learning processes and outcomes to enable transitions. It consists of an analytical method: practical epistemology analysis, and two analytical models: transactional learning theory and the multi-level perspective on sustainability transitions. The framework is empirically illustrated with an analysis of what/how people learn through participating in workshops to develop scenarios for creating a more sustainable urban food system. The article presents three different learning situations, reveals how diverse learning processes have varied potential to enable sustainability transitions and discusses how such studies can provide guidance for improving learning in the context sustainability transitions.

Planning for sustainable urban food systems: an analysis of the up-scaling potential of vertical farming

Food production and consumption related environmental challenges have come to the forefront of policy discourse in the past decade. This links primarily to concerns in terms of agriculture fueling climate change, but also in terms of long-term food security and availability for growing populations. A proposed solution to these pressures at the urban scale is Vertical Farming (VF), in the understanding of this article, a high-yield form of controlled environment agriculture, staked on multiple layers, which promises to produce leafy greens and vegetables within cities, with potential to reduce the resource intensity of urban food production and consumption. The particular contextual conditions required for VF to be sustainable have not as of yet been holistically assessed. Accordingly, by analyzing these contextual conditions in the Global North, this research assesses how VF can be up-scaled for the sake of sustainability – particularly climate mitigation – by viewing urban food systems through the Multi-Level Perspective. The article presents three findings in relation to the up-scaling potential of VF. Firstly, singular VF interventions in cities should have further functions integrated at the scale of the farm for the sake of viability. Secondly, VF interventions carry the most potential for climate mitigation if they are viewed through urban-level systemic food planning, which sheds light on the contextual conditions needed for VF to contribute to sustainability. Finally, the globalized dynamics of the neoliberal political economy, and in turn the localized effects for food systems, have implications for VF that need to be taken into consideration in framing up-scaling policy.

The Role of Urban Land Management on the Informal Settlements

The research deals with the concept of the Informal settlements, as they are unauthorized subdivisions of lands in the urban environment that start with a sudden invasion on the lands of others without legal capacity, for a specific group of individuals, where they reside their houses, without official permission from the owner They are located in city centers or urban vacancies. So the paper aims to build a comprehensive theoretical framework for solving and addressing the problem of Informal settlements through the Programs and strategies of the urban land management system. The problems of the Informal settlements (security of tenure, ownership issues, increased demand for shelter, violation of the scheme of land use, basic services) are the main issues and tasks of urban land management. The research defines urban land management as the responsible authority in the urban sector that has the responsibility to solve and address obstacles that prevent achieving urban development aims, including these obstacles (informal settlements, housing, and infrastructure services). The research problem was represented by The lack of a clear perception of the role of urban land management programs and strategies in solving and addressing the problem of the Informal Settlements, while the research hypothesis was that Solving and addressing the problem of Informal Settlements is through the programs and strategies of the urban land management system, which is represented by the formal urban land management programs for informal settlements, a sustainable urban land management system and urban land management development in varying proportions. The paper built a theoretical framework for solving and addressing the problem of Informal settlements through the Programs and strategies of the urban land management system. The research concluded that The importance of programs and strategies for each of (formal urban land management approach, sustainable urban land management system, decentralized urban land management system and urban land management development), including (securing tenure for informal settlement dwellers, developing informal settlement areas and converting them into formal areas, providing basic infrastructure services, developing Participatory approaches between the public and private sectors, community participation, recognition of the right to decent housing), in solving and addressing the problem of informal settlements, albeit partially, which contributes to reducing or limiting the resort to informal settlements and thus their gradual disappearance.

Sustainable, resilient, and reliable urban water systems: making the case for a “one water” approach

An urban water system (UWS) has three main service components: (i) drinking-water; (ii) waste-water; and (iii) storm-water. Historically, each component in urban water development evolved over time with different objectives for “different” types of water. Even today, the trend continues, as different urban water services are managed in silos. This trend is less sustainable, resilient, and reliable, mainly because of significant pressures on freshwater supplies exerted by the increasing population, demand for high living standards, rapid urbanization, and climate change. To cope with these challenges, the conventional thinking needs to change. This paper identifies a number of significant research gaps related to inter-relationships among various UWS service components. An innovative paradigm, the “one water” approach (OWA), which considers “urban water” as a single entity, is investigated herein. Currently, Australia, the USA, and Singapore are leading the implementation of the OWA, whereas only a few Canadian municipalities have embraced OWA at a very basic level. Among the EU nations, the Netherlands have emphasized the need for integrated water resource management in an urban environment. This review highlights the challenges in adopting the OWA, and also proposes guiding principles in ongoing water management practices. Institutional complexities involving an intricate regulatory structure for different UWS service components, a wider fragmentation in decision making at government levels, and insufficient stakeholder engagement within and between water utilities and other institutions present serious challenges. Various strategies such as, data sharing between water utilities, use of novel technologies (e.g., artificial intelligence, sensor technologies), and visionary leadership at different government levels have been identified as key drivers for the adoption and implementation of the OWA. The authors believe that a paradigm shift from “conventional” approach to OWA is needed to increase resiliency and reliability of water services and assist decision-makers of UWSs.

Adaptive recurrent NeuroFuzzy control for power system stability in smart cities

A smart city is a dynamic and sustainable urban system that provides a great quality of service to its residents by optimally managing its resources. In smart cities, low-frequency oscillations are a serious concern to the power system as they adversely affect system’s stability. Moreover, power system stabilizers are inefficient due to their fixed-parameter architecture. Flexible ac transmission system controller performs effective damping of low-frequency oscillations when provided with suitable supplementary damping control like a Static synchronous series compensator. In this context, the paper proposes an adaptive neuro-fuzzy recurrent wavelet control for smart cities that uses the recurrent Gaussian membership function and recurrent wavelet neural network in antecedent and consequent parts respectively. The paper applies the gradient descent optimization with a back-propagation algorithm to update the parameters of suggested adaptive neuro-fuzzy recurrent wavelet control. Simulations are performed on two test systems, both showing the effectiveness of the recommended control scheme as compared to traditional lead-lag control and artificial neuro-fuzzy Takagi Sugeno Kang control. Calculations of performance index for various fault scenarios lead to the conclusion that the control scheme can damp oscillations effectively and enhances the power system’s transient stability.

Circular economy for clean energy transitions: A new opportunity under the COVID-19 pandemic

This paper models the energy and emissions scenarios for a circular economy based clean energy transitions in a 140,000-population town in China, taking into account the new situation encountered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The modelled scenarios propose new clean energy transition roadmaps towards a sustainable urban system through the implementation of circular economy strategies. This is represented by the cascading use of industrial excess heat to form symbiosis between factories and to cover the growing building heat demand, as well as by the electrification of the transport sector and reusing the batteries for a second life as energy storage devices. The results show that for a circular economy scenario, during 2020–2040, an accumulated saving of 7.1 Mtoe final energy use (34%), a decline in 14.5 Mt CO2 emissions (40%) and 592 t PM2.5 emissions (43%) could be achieved compared with the business-as-usual scenario. The outcomes of the circular economy strategies are at least 7% better than the new policy scenario which simply has energy efficiency improvements. The outbreak of the COVID-19 tremendously impacts the socio-economic activities in the town. If taking the pandemic as an opportunity to enhance the circular economy, by 2040, compared with the scenario without introducing circular economy measures, the extra avoided final energy use, CO2 emissions and PM2.5 emissions could be 1.6 Mtoe (8%), 3.8 Mt (11%) and 229 t (17%) respectively.

Forecasting Agroforestry Ecosystem Services Provision in Urban Regeneration Projects: Experiences and Perspectives from Milan

The expansion of urban agglomerates is causing significant environmental changes, while the demand and need for sustainability keep on growing. In this context, urban and peri-urban agriculture can play a crucial role, mainly if associated with an agroecological approach. Indeed, the extensive use of living fences and tree rows can improve the environmental quality, assuring ecosystem services (ES), developing a sustainable urban food system and increasing local productions and the related socio-economic improvements. This study aims to assess the benefits of an agroecological requalification of a dismissed peri-urban area in the South Milan Agricultural Regional Park (Italy), by evaluating two possible scenarios, both involving planting trees and shrubs in that area. The software I-Tree Eco simulates the ecosystem services provision of planting new hedgerows, evaluating the benefits over 30 years. The study underlines the difference between the two scenarios and how the planted area becomes an essential supplier of regulating ecosystem services for the neighbourhoods, increasing carbon storage and air pollution removal. Results were then analysed with a treemap, to better investigate and understand the relationship between the different ecosystem services, showing a notable increase in carbon sequestration at the end of the simulation (at year 30). The study shows a replicable example of a methodology and techniques that can be used to assess the ES in urban and peri-urban environments.

Investigating users' travel behaviours and perceptions of single-corridor BRT: Lessons from Lahore

Despite the global popularity of bus rapid transit (BRT) in last couple of decades, there is limited empirical evidence in the rapidly urbanizing developing countries regarding corridor-wide users' typical travel characteristics and perceptions of the system attributes. The factors affecting BRT users' (dis)satisfaction are also often disregarded, given less priority than needed, or delayed till issues become more difficult and costlier to manage. Although on a rise, currently only ~10% of BRT systems worldwide are in lower-middle-income and low-income countries, which also supports the need to effectively address BRT passengers' mobility issues in such countries with cramped resources, contributing towards more sustainable urban mass transit systems. As major share of BRTs worldwide are single-corridors (~63%), this study investigates the above stated gaps using case of such BRT in the megacity of Lahore, Pakistan via on-site structured interview surveys using intercept method from BRT users along all stations of the corridor. Typical travel characteristics, correlations and cross-comparisons of sample demographics with mobility attributes, underlying (dis)similar themed factors ensuring internal consistency, and rankings of (dis)satisfactions regarding service attributes were evaluated using combination of statistical methods. Visual comparisons of factors in 2D and 3D rotated space were also explored. Results revealed differences in travel characteristics of BRT users for various demographics; convergence of eight factors from twenty-two service quality attributes; spectrum of highest, average and lowest ranked attributes; and inter-spatial relationship of service quality attributes based on the factors contributing relatively more variation. The overarching findings provide useful insights for transportation practitioners, policy makers and could also contribute towards updating BRT guidelines by incorporating the needs and requirements of BRT users in the developing countries.

城市化鸟类群落变化及其与城市植被的关系

持续而快速的城市化进程正在助长全球生物多样性的丧失，其中鸟类是城市生态系统的重要环节和城市生物多样性保护的重点目标，同时也是研究的热点内容。从城市环境变化压力下，鸟类群落组成与结构、空间分布和繁殖营巢方式的改变分析，重点介绍了支持城市地区鸟类多样性的植物环境因素与影响机制的最新研究成果。结果表明：1）城市中的植被和绿色空间为城市鸟类提供生存空间和食物资源，是城市鸟类最主要的栖息地。2）保留原生乡土植物和大型树木的地区能支持更丰富的鸟类物种。3）植被的结构和盖度对鸟类群落有显著影响。林冠覆盖率增加，复杂的垂直空间和多样的植物种类的组合产生各种不同类型的植物空间和栖息地类型，吸引不同的鸟类物种，相应地也会导致更丰富的鸟类群落。总之，保持和加强城市中植物环境良好和稳定是保护城市生物多样性的有效手段。据此，提出城市环境与鸟类群落关系研究的未来发展方向，指出了其在鸟类多样性保护和城市可持续发展等领域的应用前景。;There are more than half of the world's human population living in cities. The vast amount of predicted rapid urbanization in the coming years consuming habitats and reducing the possibilities for wildlife to thrive in cities, and is contributing to the loss of global biodiversity. Among them, birds are the most important part of urban ecosystem and a key target for urban biodiversity protection. Besides, it is also a research hotspot. The last 20 years of urban bird ecology research have experienced exponential growth and now enables literature analyses and reviews. Here, we try to roundup these present findings on urban bird communities research from all over the world, overviewing patterns and variation processes on urban bird community, especially the changes in composition and structure, spatial distribution, living habits and the way of breeding and nesting under this continuous and rapid urbanization. To further assess the importance of and contributions provided by urban green space and vegetation to the urban bird community, exploring its affecting mechanisms that support bird diversity in urban areas, we reviewed the published literature for such studies. The results showed that: 1) Provision of greenery can ameliorate the hostility of the urban environment for wildlife, as well as provide suitable living space and food resources for urban birds. Green spaces provide the most important habitats for urban birds. 2) Not all forms of greening benefit bird communities to the same extent. Compared to those areas that do not pay much attention to native plant protection, areas that retain natural or semi-natural cover and large trees can support richer bird species. 3) Structure and coverage of vegetation have significant impacts on bird communities. The increasing canopy coverage, complex vertical structures and many kinds of plant species can produce various types of plant spaces and heterogenetic habitats. The increased plant spaces and habitats can cause changes in bird community composition, a correspondingly increase in species richness and diversity. In conclusion, maintaining and strengthening the healthy and stable of vegetation communities in cities is an effective strategy to conserve urban biodiversity. Collectively, protecting existing and planting new greenery has great potential to restraint urban biodiversity loss. Based on these, we propose the future research development direction of the relationship between the urban environment and bird communities. Further, the application prospects of this research in bird diversity protection to provide a more resilient, stable, and sustainable urban system are also pointed out.

A strategic framework for resilient and sustainable urban infrastructure systems - an overview, modelling, design and assessment

In this paper, basic concepts of resilience, ecology and sustainability are introduced first. Then, associated performance metrics and interdependency of critical infrastructure systems are presented and discussed. Moreover, the importance of big data (BD) and data mining (DM), as emerging themes in this field, is discussed. Other relevant issues such as how to foster decision making and accountability to plan for any expansion in resilience services, resources, and the associated performance metrics and interdependency of critical infrastructure systems are presented. It is the recommendation of this study that due to the difficulty and complexity of resilience, and its definitional ambiguity, the ability to assess such a concept helps to bridge the gap between theory and application, and between the academic and the policy circles. A framework for creating resilient, ecological and sustainable infrastructure systems is also proposed, as a recommendation, in a more holistic and comprehensive way.