Sustainable City Planning Research Articles

Data Insights for Sustainable Cities: Associations between Google Street View-Derived Urban Greenspace and Google Air View-Derived Pollution Levels.

Unprecedented levels of urbanization have escalated urban environmental health issues, including increased air pollution in cities globally. Strategies for mitigating air pollution, including green urban planning, are essential for sustainable and healthy cities. State-of-the-art research investigating urban greenspace and pollution metrics has accelerated through the use of vast digital data sets and new analytical tools. In this study, we examined associations between Google Street View-derived urban greenspace levels and Google Air View-derived air quality, where both have been resolved in extremely high resolution, accuracy, and scale along the entire road network of Dublin City. Particulate matter of size fraction less than 2.5 μm (PM2.5), nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, carbon monoxide, and carbon dioxide were quantified using 5,030,143 Google Air View measurements, and greenspace was quantified using 403,409 Google Street View images. Significant (p < 0.001) negative associations between urban greenspace and pollution were observed. For example, an interquartile range increase in the Green View Index was associated with a 7.4% [95% confidence interval: -13.1%, -1.3%] decrease in NO2 at the point location spatial resolution. We provide insights into how large-scale digital data can be harnessed to elucidate urban environmental interactions that will have important planning and policy implications for sustainable future cities.

Sustainable City Planning and Development: Transport and Land Use

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a set of 17 global goals established by the United Nations’ Transforming our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in 2015 as a universal call to action to address various social, economic, and environmental challenges facing the world [...]

Supporting urban decision-making processes through supply-side technologies characterisation

The MAtchUP project (Maximizing the Upscaling and replication potential of high level urban transformation strategies) developed an urban transformation methodology for sustainable city planning, based on demand-side and supply-side characterisations. The supply-side characterisation is based on the Smart City Technology Packages (SCTP), which are groups of solutions from those demonstrated in the Lighthouse cities of the Project, selected based on their replication potential and with the aim to maximise the impact of MAtchUP actions. The SCTPs are organised in the three main pillars of energy, mobility and ICT (information and communication technologies), and its characterisation includes three main fields: a general description (including reasons for implementing the technologies, barriers and benefits), operational model (analysing business models’ archetype, cost structure and financial model), and impact assessment (in the fields of environment, economy and social). Such characterisation is done under common criteria, which allows comparisons among SCTPs. The supply-side methodology included also a PESTEL (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, legal) analysis done by each city in order to evaluate the viability of each SCTP under those circumstances of the city, to finally obtain the most suitable set of solutions to implement.

The concept of "Harmony between man and nature" in traditional chinese architectural space

The article is a first ever analysis of the concept of "unity between man and nature" and its three main meanings, which originated from ancient Chinese geography and natural conditions. We consider the embodiment and rules of application of the three levels of this concept in the ancient Chinese architectural space and how it could be applied in modern sustainable city planning and architectural design.

Effects of composition and structure variables of urban trees in the reduction of heat islands; case study, Temuco city, Chile

The Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect is a growing problem that has a critical impact on human thermal comfort and public health. Some strategies to reduce the UHI effect are increasing the amount of urban forest. This research aims at assessing the effect of the composition and structure of urban trees, as part of cities's Green Infrastructure (GI), on the UHI phenomenon in the south of Chile. Linear regression analysis and non-parametrical statistical tests were used to assess the relationship. Micro-level features analysis demonstrates that shape and quality of trees have significant effect on temperature oscillations (p-value = 0.003 and 0.072, respectively). Better quality and larger area of canopy favour the refrigeration process. Besides, there are differences between native and introduced tree species behaviour, but they do not result significant. Composition and structure variables of the GI are relevant for dealing with the UHI phenomenon. Then, a proper management of the urban GI would ensure better and more sustainable planning of cities.

Liquid Natural Gas Cold Energy Recovery for Integration of Sustainable District Cooling Systems: A Thermal Performance Analysis

This paper investigates the heat transfer properties of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a corrugated plate heat exchanger and explores its application in cold energy recovery for enhanced energy efficiency. The study aims to integrate this technology into a 500 MW gas-fired power plant and a district cooling system to contribute to sustainable city development. Using computational fluid dynamics simulations and experimental validation, the heat transfer behaviour of LNG in the corrugated plate heat exchanger is examined, emphasising the significance of the gas film on the channel wall for efficient heat transfer between LNG and water/ethylene glycol. The study analyses heat exchange characteristics below and above the critical point of LNG. Below the critical point, the LNG behaves as an incompressible fluid, whereas above the critical point, the compressible supercritical state enables a substantial energy recovery and temperature rise at the outlet, highlighting the potential for cold energy recovery. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of cold energy recovery above the critical point, leading to significant energy savings and improved efficiency compared to conventional systems. Optimal operational parameters, such as the number of channels and flow rate ratios, are identified for successful cold energy recovery. This research provides valuable insights for sustainable city planning and the transition towards low-carbon energy systems, contributing to the overall goal of creating environmentally friendly and resilient urban environments.

FATORES PERTINENTES AO DESEMPENHO E SUSTENTABILIDADE DO MEIO URBANO: A PERCEPÇÃO DOS MORADORES BRASILEIROS

Due to the impact of human actions on the environment, sustainable development has been discussed over the years by several areas. When it comes to the urban environment, the sustainability characteristics are contextualized in the neighborhoods based on the satisfaction of residents with the surroundings. The present study aims to analyze the performance perceptions of the urban environment of Brazilian residents based on the attributes of the neighborhood, the neighborhood and the city. Through the application of anonline questionnaire, a sample of 279 individuals was collected. With the data, descriptive and multivariate analyzes (factorial and confirmatory factorial) were developed in order to identify the variables that most influenced performance and sustainability in the residents' perception. The results showed that the perception of sustainability is more related to aspects of appearance, security, garbage and recyclable collection, public transport and suitable neighborhood for people with disabilities. Thus,the research contributes by bringing reflections on the main aspects to be observed in the planning of sustainable neighborhoods and cities.

A transdisciplinary approach for assessing the potential feasibility of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems: case study, Bogotá, Colombia

ABSTRACT Rapid population growth and urban sprawl have expanded built-up areas, affecting flood patterns in cities. Sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) have gained significant attention by attempting to replicate natural pre-development drainage conditions. This paper presents a new transdisciplinary methodology for assessing the potential feasibility of 12 different SUDS typologies by considering physical restrictions and six types of contextual barriers. The approach integrates input from academic and non-academic actors, fuzzy logic, geographic information system tools, and multi-criteria decision analysis. A neighborhood in Bogotá, Colombia, was selected as the unit of analysis, framing a relevant case study for highly urbanized areas. The findings demonstrate the differential impact of local context constraints and emphasize the importance of comprehensive approaches to SUDS planning that consider criteria other than technical. The methodology is a tool to support architects, engineers, urban planners, and urban water decision-makers in the planning of sustainable and flood-resilient cities.

Traffic planning for the protection of vulnerable groups of persons exemplified by the City of Munich

Pedestrian and bicycle traffic make asignificant contribution to the traffic turnaround. Measures to improve the road safety of pedestrians and cyclists are insofar an important building block to asuccessful sustainable city and traffic planning. The mobility strategy 2035 of the City of Munich includes partial strategies for walking and cycling as well as for road safety, which was confirmed through former city council resolutions on Vision Zero. The most important measures for the comfort and safety of pedestrians are aspeed limit of 30 km/h, wide and free sidewalks (without obstacles) and crossing assistance with good visibility conditions. Depending on the local situation, sidewalk extensions, road islands, pedestrian crossings (zebra crossings) and traffic lights with attractive circuit conditions for pedestrians make crossing easier. The comfort and safety of cyclists can be improved with broad cycling paths along the main streets. They should allow the overtaking of cyclists in both directions. At least on side streets, acomprehensive speed limit of 30 km/h is an important issue. One-way streets should be open for oncoming cyclists against the one-way direction. At road crossings and road junctions the visibility of cyclists should be improved with road markings and widened bike lanes and there should be aconflict-free circuit of traffic lights, especially where there is ahigh percentage of commercial vehicles.

IMPACT OF SPECIFIC URBAN PARAMETERS TO IMPROVE PUBLIC POLICIES FOR SUSTAINABLE AND SMART CITIES: CASE STUDY IN BRAZIL

Public administrators, responsible for urban planning, face great challenges to organize and understand the large volume of data generated by cities. These are essential information for public policies. In this context, the present work aimed to analyze georeferenced data and urban parameters, focusing on improving processes related to the planning of sustainable and smart cities. Therefore, a case study was developed in Belo Horizonte. The data were analyzed based on guidelines prescribed by ISO 37.122/2019 and ISO 37.123/2019. The methodology adopted consist of identifying gaps, prioritizing urban parameters, as well as consolidating georeferenced data in a Web GIS platform to study urban problems. The analyzes led to study problems and parameters related to flooding and geological hazards (erosion and silting, landslides, groundwater contamination, and resulting from excavations) as well as their environmental and social causing and aggravating factors. After consolidating the data, it was possible to identify that the parameters (i) population density, (ii) minimum soil permeability coefficients and (iii) boundary of preservation areas had a great impact when associated with environmental conditions (vegetation, use and occupation soil and topography). In this sense, this work contributes to improving methodologies for analyzing the urban environment with a focus on preventing and mitigating these problems.

Global future population exposure to heatwaves

The increasing exposure to extreme heatwaves in urban areas from both climate change and the urban heat island (UHI) effect poses multiple threats and challenges to human society. Despite a growing number of studies focusing on extreme exposure, research advances are still limited in some aspects such as oversimplification of human exposure to heatwaves and neglect of perceived temperature as well as actual body comfort, resulting in unreliable and unrealistic estimates of future results. In addition, little research has performed comprehensive and fine-resolution global analyses in future scenarios. In this study, we present the first global fine-resolution projection of future changing urban population exposure to heatwaves by 2100 under four shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) considering urban expansion at global, regional, and national scales. Overall, global urban population exposure to heatwaves is rising under the four SSPs. Temperate and tropical zones predictably have the greatest exposure among all climate zones. Coastal cities are projected to have the greatest exposure, followed closely by cities at low altitudes. Middle-income countries have the lowest exposure and the lowest inequality of exposure among countries. Individual climate effects contributed the most (approximately 46.4%) to future changes in exposure, followed by the interactive effect between climate and urbanization (approximately 18.5%). Our results indicate that more attention needs to be paid to policy improvements and sustainable development planning of global coastal cities and some low-altitude cities, especially in low- and high-income countries. Meanwhile, this study also highlights the impact of continued future urban expansion on population exposure to heatwaves.

Urban Digital Twin and urban planning for sustainable cities

Cities nowadays need to have long-term visions and perspectives to achieve the ambitious targets for which vast investments are being made. They need to act with competence and capability-based planning, and to come up with suitable solutions. Technology is unquestionably a factor of crucial importance when aiming for these targets. Digital innovation, based on data knowledge, analysis and projection, is crucial to tackle the most demanding challenges of our times. The methodological approach proposed here is an Urban Digital Twin applied to cities as a predictive model to obtain a projection of their development in terms of sustainability.

Comparative Analysis of Neighborhood Sustainability Assessment Systems from the USA (LEED–ND), Germany (DGNB–UD), and India (GRIHA–LD)

Neighborhood sustainability assessment systems support the planning of sustainable and resilient cities. This research analyses, compares, and evaluates three neighborhood sustainability assessment systems (NSA) of (i) the German Sustainable Building Council for Urban Districts (DGNB–UD), (ii) the USA Leadership in energy and environmental design for Neighborhood Development (LEED–ND), and (iii) the Indian Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment for Large Developments (GRIHA–LD). The theoretical background, certification types, process, and evaluation methods of the three NSAs are discussed. The qualitative and quantitative comparative analysis and evaluation methods of the NSAs included identifying and assessing ten weighted essential urban sustainability themes. Indicators under each theme were identified and compared in the NSAs. The comparison showed the importance of particular themes based on assigned weights. LEED–ND focuses on “transportation” and “site planning”, while DGNB–UD addresses all dimensions of sustainability in a balanced manner. GRIHA–LD has limitations concerning social, economic, and governance concerns. The research results define differences and similarities in international neighborhood sustainability assessment and illustrate the quality and quantity differences of sustainability and resilience aspects addressed by the three existing NSA systems as a starting basis for the future improvement of existing and development of new land sustainability and resilience assessment systems.

The TOSCA Case

Considering the rapid pace of global urbanization especially in emerging economies of the global South, this article addresses governance approaches for the sustainable development of cities which seek to transform into smart cities. It focuses on leapfrogging as a governance concept for cities thriving towards sustainable development and describes the role of open source digital tools as accelerators for this transition. On such premises, the Toolkit for Open and Sustainable City Planning and Analysis (TOSCA) will be presented as a case study. The paper provides an overview of its conceptualization and implementation in two pilots regions. An overview of the gains and difficulties from the empirical process is discussed, concluding with learnings and challenges for further implementation in other regions, and for the sustainable incorporation of open-source digital tools in urban and regional governance.

Development of an integrated sustainability model for resilient cities featuring energy, environmental, social, governance and pandemic domains

This research introduces a novel integrated model with a comprehensive approach to develop and characterize smart cities. Strategic planning for sustainable and resilient cities has become an urgent necessity, given the global challenges around the environment and sustainable development. This paper answers the questions of what does a smart city look like and which parameters to prioritize in developing smart cities. This model incorporates important domains such as energy, environmental, social, governance and pandemic resilience domains in addition to other domains, carefully selected to ensure a wholistic approach. Each domain is assessed using four primary performance indicators, totaling 32 indicators, which are used to evaluate the smartness of a city. This conceptual framework is deployed and applied to 20 cities worldwide. Principal component analysis and further statistical assessments are used to determine the interrelationship and intrarelationships between the indicators of the various domains in order to determine a causal-effect matrix. The results show that the governance domain is strongly correlated with the energy and environment domains with the correlation coefficient (R) values of 0.86 and 0.87 respectively. There is a mild positive relationship between smart governance and smart society indexes. In fact, the R value of 0.7 highlights that smart governance does positively correlate and lead to smarter societies. The average smart energy index ratio is 0.26, which reflects immense opportunities for improvements in this sector. The half of the cities in the study are below average, while the other half exceed the average smart index ratio for the energy index. The smart governance index ratio is 0.44, and the cities vary on this front between 0.17 and 0.59. Montreal is the city with the highest smart governance index ratio, whereas Cairo has the lowest. This study provides the concept of smart city in a quantitative, empirical and comprehensive manner, highlighting that smart governance, smart society and pandemic resilience are critical aspects to the development of smart cities.

Walkability and Bikeability for Sustainable Spatial Planning in the City of Novi Sad (Serbia)

The global trend of increasing urbanization and motorization represents a major obstacle in the sustainable development and planning of cities. This trend did not bypass the city of Novi Sad (Serbia), which, despite good cultural and historical preconditions for the development of sustainable forms of transport, did not resist the sudden increase in the degree of motorization. The aim of this work is to present how favorable the existing structure of the city is for the development of sustainable types of traffic (mainly walking and cycling). Furthermore, this research aims to establish the link between bikeability and walkability and walking and cycling in the city through a survey questionnaire thus aiming to show how much the planned land use affects the increase or decrease in walkability and bikeability in the city of Novi Sad in order to establish whether the planning documents respect the principle of sustainability defined by law. The methodological procedure is adapted to European cities and the information base available in the researched area is based on the walkability and bikeability index. The results showed that the city of Novi Sad has the potential and morphology to support sustainable modes of transport, but the planning documents do not recognize the imperative of change towards sustainability.

Development of a composite regional vulnerability index and its relationship with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic

The interactions between vulnerability and human activities have largely been regarded in terms of the level of risk they pose, both internally and externally, for certain groups of disadvantaged individuals and regions/areas. However, to date, very few studies have attempted to develop a comprehensive composite regional vulnerability index, in relation to travel, housing, and social deprivation, which can be used to measure vulnerability at an aggregated level in the social sciences. Therefore, this research aims to develop a composite regional vulnerability index with which to examine the combined issues of travel, housing and socio-economic vulnerability (THASV index). It also explores the index’s relationship with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, reflecting both social and spatial inequality, using Greater London as a case study, with data analysed at the level of Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs). The findings show that most of the areas with high levels of composite vulnerability are distributed in Outer London, particularly in suburban areas. In addition, it is also found that there is a spatial correlation between the THASV index and the risk of COVID-19 deaths, which further exacerbates the potential implications of social deprivation and spatial inequality. Moreover, the results of the multiscale geographically weighted regression (MGWR) show that the travel and socio-economic indicators in a neighbouring district and the related vulnerability indices are strongly associated with the risk of dying from COVID-19. In terms of policy implications, the findings can be used to inform sustainable city planning and urban development strategies designed to resolve urban socio-spatial inequalities and the potential related impacts of COVID-19, as well as guiding future policy evaluation of urban structural patterns in relation to vulnerable areas.

Effect of Urbanization on Land Surface Temperature: A Case Study of Kathmandu Valley

&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D; Growth in the population over time is bound to increase the expansion of densely populated areas which will change the dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) directly or indirectly. The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of urban growth on the land surface temperature (LST) in Kathmandu. We used the maximum likelihood classification method for LULC classification and change detection of pre-monsoon satellite data for the years 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015 and 2020. LST was then calculated using the thermal infrared band from the satellite imagery. Finally, the relationship between urban growth and LST was assessed by correlation and regression analysis. The result shows an increase in urban areas by 13.98% of the total area between 2000 and 2020. The analysis of thermal patterns shows that there is a gradual increase in temperature in the urban area. With an overall accuracy of 89.96% and a Kappa coefficient of 0.86, the study shows high agreement between classified data from images. This study shows that urbanization has a positive impact on surface temperature, yet the relationship is not significant. Sustainable city planning and strict adherence to the Land Use Act and regulations will assist to make the urbanization process more sustainable in the future.&#x0D; &#x0D; &#x0D;

Assessing spatiotemporal variations in land surface temperature and SUHI intensity with a cloud based computational system over five major cities of India

• The study showed that all cities have undergone a change in LULC pattern. • Concurrent data from space-based sensors for effective disaster response. • The impact of LST and SUHI over the vegetation cover with a cloud-based computing. • Biophysical parameters like NDVI, NDBI, and MNDWI are used for analysis and results derivations. The surface urban heat island (SUHI) is one of the most evident climate phenomena in low- and mid-latitude cities. Extensive growth and intense urbanization has brought a phenomenal change to the urban landscape. The rapid expansion of cities have the potential to generate distinctive local urban climates by increasing land surface temperature (LST) and the intensities of surface urban heat islands (SUHI). The study uses Landsat data in a cloud based computational system to investigate the spatiotemporal variation of land use land cover (LULC) for five major cities (Mumbai, New Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Ahmadabad) from 2007 to 2020. Selected biophysical parameters like Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Normalized Difference Built-up Index (NDBI), and Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI) are used. The interrelationship with the dynamics of LST to analyze the SUHI profiles reveals that the mean LST has a positive correlation for impermeable surfaces and a negative correlation for green surfaces, which are common for all Indian cities and results in degradation of environmental quality. The results obtained from this study showed that all cities have undergone a change in LULC pattern, which induced a rise in overall temperature and SUHI intensity. The expansion of the urban landscape along with the changing vegetation and cropping patterns due to the rise in anthropogenic activities has resulted in susceptible climatic conditions and necessitates further environmental investigations. The findings of the study can be recommended to monitor the impacts of SUHI intensity at different locations for future studies to adapt sustainable urban planning of cities.

Associations between Google Street View-derived urban greenspace metrics and air pollution measured using a distributed sensor network

With urbanisation occurring at an unprecedented rate worldwide, there is an urgent need to address air pollution-related health risks in urban areas. Although urban greenspace presents an opportunity to balance those risks, little research investigates the association between urban greenspace and air pollution. As such, in this first-of-a-kind study, we examined associations between street-level urban greenspace and air pollution metrics at multiple spatial scales using largescale Information Communications Technology (ICT) derived environmental datasets in an urban area. Urban greenspace was modelled using Google Street View images and computer vision methods in high spatial resolution and termed the Green View Index (GVI). Another greenspace metric, the Normalised Difference Vegetation Index, was quantified using Landsat satellite imagery and computational algorithms. Particulate matter (PM) air pollution of varying size fractions (PM2.5, PM10, PM1) was measured using a distributed network of air pollution sensors. Higher levels of urban greenspace were associated with decreases in PM air pollution. For example, an interquartile range (5.44) increase in GVI, within a buffer radius of 2000m around air pollution sensors, was significantly (p<0.01) associated with a 1.94μg/m3 [95% Confidence Interval: -3.03, -0.85] decrease in PM2.5. The findings will inform the planning and design of smart, sustainable and healthy future cities.