Urban Habitation Research Articles

Ecological Characteristics of Two Closely Related Rodent Species in Urban Environment—Permanent Inhabitant vs Newcomer

The aim of the study was to characterize natural and urban populations of two Apodemus species—the striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) and the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis)—seeking to verify whether the different durations of synurbization have led populations of the two species to exhibit differing characteristics. The study was conducted in central Poland (in Warsaw and its surrounds, in urban parks in the city center and in natural habitats outside the city) over two seasons, during which a total of 1751 striped field mice and 454 yellow-necked mice were live-trapped (using the catch-mark-release method). We found altered characteristics of urban populations of striped field mice, which we interpret as the result of the relatively lengthy synurbization of the species over the last hundred years and its adaptation to the highly modified urban environment. A significantly higher percentage of sexually-active males and a higher average body mass were observed for the urban population of striped field mice, suggesting that the species is in better condition in urban habitats. We found urban populations of yellow-necked mice, in turn, to be unstable (as reflected in a high turn-over rate and a low percentage of retrapped mice), their survival in urban habitats only being made possible by ongoing attempts at colonization. We conclude that, in urban habitats, the system of competition between the two species exhibits a certain shift in favor of striped field mice—typically a weaker species, but the first to colonize cities. Overall, we conclude that the conditions present in urban habitats act as a strong factor shaping populations with characteristics different from those found in natural habitats. This is further enhanced by the priority effect, resulting from differing durations of urban habitation and adaptation, leading to changes in the system of competition between species.

Density and Housing: Comparative Evaluation towards a Residential Quality Index. The Case of Collective Dwellings in Córdoba—Argentina

The crisis on infrastructure systems, mobility and the demands of service provision in increasingly remote areas with less values of urbanity that result from the dispersed city model, leads to reexamining the consolidated and dense tissues. While presenting a more compact land-use, there should be conditions of urban habitability of higher quality than those in the new undifferentiated and diffuse peripheries. In this context, the research analyzes comparatively different residential proposals of collective dwellings as a function of density. The objective of the work is to evaluate, from an architectural design dimension, significant cases of collective housing built in Cordoba city that offer higher levels of densification in relation to the building environment where they are located. It seeks to identify the advantages in terms of residential quality in the different housing proposals that integrate the cases of study and link it with the density adopted in its design. The methodological approach integrates an evaluation matrix that compares housing complexes with different density values. Analytical dimensions related to urban indicators are selected and others with indicators relating to the design of collective housing. Weighting criteria are used to construct a residential quality index (RQI), and to integrate in a simulation model of the concepts: Density and Residential quality. Finally, the results obtained in this first analytical approach of the problem of study are evaluated new interrogations proposed to advance in the analysis of the different levels of densification that are presented in the proposals and their adequacy.

Education and Poverty Relationship in Punjab

<div><p><em>As education is being increasingly promulgated as an effective tool to reduce poverty, it is pivotal to evaluate the impact of different levels of education on poverty. This chapter analyzes the relationship between education and poverty in Punjab, using data from the primary survey of 1520 households collected over 2008-2010 from rural and urban habitations. Analysis has been done at the household as well as the individual level. Apart from making simple comparisons between standard of living, income and education level, logistic regression has been employed to sort out the determinants of poverty.</em></p><p><em>Standard of living and PCI are positively associated with education level at the household as well as the individual level, implying improvement in educational attainments reduces the likelihood of being poor. The results of logistic regression are in line with the generally accepted theory that educational attainment is critical in declining the incidence of poverty and should be given due consideration in implementing poverty alleviation programs. As one would expect, experience is negatively related with poverty status. </em></p></div>

Prevalence and risk factors of periodontitis among adults with or without diabetes mellitus.

Background/Aims:This study examined prevalence and risk factors of periodontitis in representative samples of Korean adults, with and without diabetes mellitus (DM).Methods:Data from the 2012 Korean National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey were analyzed. A total of 4,477 adults (≥ 30 years old) were selected from 8,057 individuals who completed a nutrition survey, a self-reported general health behavior questionnaire, an oral examination, an oral hygiene behaviors survey, and laboratory tests. DM was defined as a fasting plasma glucose ≥ 126 mg/dL, or self-reported diagnosed diabetes, or current use of oral hypoglycemic agents and/or insulin. The community periodontal index was used to assess periodontitis status and comparisons between the periodontitis and the non-periodontitis group, were performed, according to the presence of DM. Risk factors for periodontitis in adults with DM and without DM were evaluated by multiple logistic regression analysis.Results:The prevalence of periodontitis was significantly higher in adults with DM (43.7%) than in those without DM (25%, p < 0.001). In adults without DM, risk factors for periodontitis were older age, male, urban habitation, waist circumference, smoking, oral pain, and less frequent tooth brushing. Significant risk factors for periodontitis in adults with DM were the smoking, oral pain, and not-using an oral hygiene product.Conclusions:Adults with DM have an increased risk of periodontitis than those without DM. Current smoking and oral pain increase this risk. Using an oral hygiene product can reduce risk of periodontal disease in adults with DM.

Creating Better Space by Virtual Modelling: Using Software Creatively and Intuitively for Exploration and Analysis of Urban Quarters and Estates

&lt;p&gt;Creating urban space is mainly done by shaping buildings, streets and places (squares and courtyards). Its products are results of the outcome of ongoing processes that involve many actors in various ways and different purposes. Some shaping space actors produce it for their own use, but most shaping actions are done for other parties or public usage.&lt;br /&gt;It is hoped that this new applications and even more applications to come will use this powerful and fast modular [indosity] framework. Using the same frame and IT-language (Java/3DJava, that makes it easy for programmers to integrate and standardize urban data). Together they will offer strong support for creating, evaluating and presenting various urban aspects and impacts towards better usage for developing urban quarters and spaces.&lt;br /&gt;Many more case studies within various context and purposes will be needed. Therefore spreading these applications to stakeholders and experts/scholars in the field of urban development will be crucial and partnerships with more institutions for achieving this task are welcomed. It is hoped that these case studies and researches will show, how these applications can be used even more effectively within urban settings and many projects in the future. May it be a great support for its users as they have to deal with complex and interrelated issues of developing urban space for better life for many urban habitants and&lt;br /&gt;communities in time to come.&lt;/p&gt;

Urban landscape of Okazaki in Kyoto

&lt;p&gt;Kyoto has been the capital of Japan from 794 until when the capital has moved in 1868 to Tokyo with the end of Tokugawa Shoguns and the beginning of the Meiji Restoration. The loss of the seat of government was a shock to citizens of Kyoto as the city had been the Imperial and Cultural center of the nation for over 1.000 years. The combination of the court and the great temples had enlivened and enriched the life of the city. At the beginning of the founding of the capital, in the Heian period (794-1185) to east of Kyoto, was built a noble and religious place. This area is Okazaki. Here the Emperor Kammu (736-805) had created the city of Heian-kyo (Kyoto) in 794. This area was full of Temples and Shrines. Only in the Edo period (1603-1867) Okazaki area assumed the role of suburban agricultural zone which provided the food production to the urban habitants. But after the Meiji Restoration (1868-1912), the role of Okazaki area changes completely. In 1885, Kyoto prefecture started the great public canalization project as the water supply between Kyoto and Otsu of Shiga prefecture. Kyoto prefecture also planed the industrial district construction in Okazaki area. From the late nineteenth century Okazaki area became a symbol of the modernization of Kyoto city. This contribution intends to analyze the urban landscape composed of the different styles of architecture especially constructed after the Meiji period (1868-1912). Tangible and intangible signs remained as modern gardens, significant museums and cultural institutions among the ancient temples provide opportunities to reflect on the important role of suburban area of the historic city. These studies are supported by archival documents and by current measures and policies for landscape conservation by Kyoto Municipality.&lt;/p&gt;

Prospective study of hypovitaminosis D in acute coronary syndrome

Background: Hypovitaminosis D has emerged as one of risk factors in coronary atherosclerosis either independently or in association with other factors though the causal relationship is not established. Aims: We aimed at finding out the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in patients with acute coronary syndrome and to study if any association exists between them. Methods: This was a prospective study carried out on 50 hospitalized patients from urban habitations with acute coronary syndrome at Dr. D Y Patil Medical College, hospital Pune (India) during Oct 2012 to Sept 2013. The vitamin D status and other risk factors were studied in these cases and compared with normal control group having 50 subjects without any co-morbidity. Results: 58 % males showed hypovitaminosis D. Vitamin D levels were significantly low (OR3. [8;0.97-15.21];95%CI) in cases with hypertension (65.79%) and 60.53% cases with diabetes mellitus (OR4.6[1.02-19.8] 95%CI). BMI more (Mean 26.9 ± SD 4.95) in cases with low vitamin D levels; but weakly significant (p=0.061). Postprandial hyperglycemia and hypercholesterolemia were inversely associated with vitamin D levels. Acute coronary syndrome had weakly significant association (p=0.091) with hypovitaminosis D in our patients. Conclusion: Vitamin D deficiency was weakly associated with acute coronary syndrome.

Taming Manhattan: Environmental Battles in the Antebellum City

With pigs roaming the streets and cows foraging in the Battery, antebellum Manhattan would have been unrecognizable to inhabitants of today s sprawling metropolis. Fruits and vegetables came from small market gardens in the city, and manure piled high on streets and docks was gold to nearby farmers. But as Catherine McNeur reveals in this environmental history of Gotham, a battle to control the boundaries between city and country was already being waged, and the winners would take dramatic steps to outlaw New York s wild side.Between 1815 and 1865, as city blocks encroached on farmland and undeveloped space to accommodate an exploding population, prosperous New Yorkers and their poorer neighbors developed very different ideas about what the city environment should contain. With Manhattan s image, health, and property values on their minds, the upper classes fought to eliminate urban agriculture and livestock, upgrade sanitation, build new neighborhoods, demolish shantytowns, create parks, and generally improve the sights and smells of city living. Poor New Yorkers, especially immigrants, resisted many of these changes, which threatened their way of life.By the time the Civil War erupted, bourgeois reform appeared to be succeeding. City government promised to regulate what seemed most ungovernable about urban habitation: the scourge of epidemics and fires, unending filth, and deepening poverty. Yet in privileging the priorities of well-heeled New Yorkers, Manhattan was tamed at the cost of amplifying environmental and economic disparities, as the Draft Riots of 1863 would soon demonstrate.

“Something Good Can Grow Here”: Chicago Urban Agriculture Food Projects

Food security is a challenge facing many African-American low-income communities nationally. Community and university partners have established urban agriculture programs to improve access to high quality affordable fruits and vegetables by growing, distributing, and selling food in urban neighborhoods. While the challenge of food security is within communities of color, few studies have described these urban agriculture programs and documented their impact on the crew members who work in the programs and live in the low-income communities. More information is needed on the program impact for crew and community health promotion. Using a survey and focus group discussion from the crew and staff we describe the program and activities of four Chicago Urban Agriculture programs. We summarized the impact these programs have on crew members’ perception of urban agriculture, health habits, community engagement, and community health promotion in low-income African-American neighborhoods.

Education for Rural Transformation in Thailand: Perspectives on Policies and Practices

To engage meaningfully on the subject of "Education for Rural Transformation," it is essential first to understand the concept of the "Rural Condition" as well as of "Education" -- which is influenced by social, economic, political, technological and cultural factors. There are two additional complexities in that the "Rural Condition" itself is not something stable and absolute but is indeed in perpetual flux across Time and Place; and that the rural condition is inconceivable without at the same time understanding the "Urban Condition."&lt;br /&gt; Concomitantly, "Education" itself will have to undergo transformation to serve as the lever of rural and urban transformations. Rural and urban transformations today have come to acquire one globally-focused mission, dealing with three objectives: &lt;em&gt;mitigation of global warming&lt;/em&gt;, pursuing &lt;em&gt;sustainable development&lt;/em&gt; and committing to &lt;em&gt;poverty alleviation&lt;/em&gt;, in both rural and urban habitations.&lt;br /&gt; For "Planned Action" informed by the general conceptual framework constructed here, the general must be &lt;em&gt;contextualized&lt;/em&gt; in each particular setting of time, space and locality – responding to a specific "Political Economy"; to policy processes such as formulation, planning, mobilization, implementation and evaluation; and configurations of agents and adopters of planned actions. Finally, the "Logic of Action" must come from the dialectics between the &lt;em&gt;structural&lt;/em&gt; and the &lt;em&gt;instructional&lt;/em&gt;.

INTEGRAL INDEX OF THE RISK OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS DEVELOPMENT IN A COHORT OF URBAN AND RURAL HABITANTS

On materials screening asymptomatic type 2 diabetes and its risk factors by using scale FINDRISK, population Zolochivsky rural (n = 1052) and the Dzerzhinsky urban (n = 535) districts of Kharkiv region at the age of 45 and more years found that the number of people with a combined high and very high risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years the urban contingent is much higher than the rural (36.1 vs. 7.7 %). Averaged index of risk of diabetes in urban habitants (12.9 points), in accordance with the scale FINDRISK corresponds to moderate risk, and the rural habitants (7.4 points) is slightly increased.

Síndrome metabólico en individuos de una comunidad rural

Objetivo: caracterizar el síndrome metabólico (SM) en un medio rural venezolano.&#x0D; Contexto y tipo de estudio: la frecuencia de SM es elevada en el mundo y es elemento de riesgo en el desarrollo de diabetes mellitus y enfermedad cardiovascular, pero existe limitada información sobre SM en las zonas rurales de la mayoría de los países. Se realizo un estudio descriptivo y transversal en un sector rural del estado Cojedes, Venezuela.&#x0D; Material y método: fueron 39 los sujetos con edades entre 20-59 años, 51.3% mujeres y 56.4% tenían antecedentes familiares de riesgo cardiometabólico. Se definió según el Tercer Reporte del Panel de Expertos del Programa Nacional de Educación (NCEP/ATPIII), como SM a la presencia de por lo menos tres de los cinco factores siguientes: obesidad abdominal (&gt; 88 cm en mujeres y de 102 cm en hombres) hiperglicemia en ayunas (&gt; 110 mg/dL), hipertensión arterial (&gt; 130/85 mmHg), lipoproteína de alta densidad (HDL-c) (&lt; 50 mg/dL) y triglicéridos elevados (&gt; 150 mg/dL).&#x0D; Resultados: la prevalencia de SM fue 20.5%, 12.8% hombres y 7.7% mujeres, el criterio diagnóstico predominante fue la hipertrigliceridemia (53.8%) y las mujeres con SM eran más hipertensas, hiperglicémicas, con menos HDL-c, mayor concentración de triglicéridos y obesas que los hombres.&#x0D; Conclusión: el SM afecta por igual al medio rural y urbano, pero en Venezuela la prevalencia es mayor en la región urbana llanera. El género masculino es también el más afectado y la diabetes mellitus e HTA son los antecedentes familiares más frecuentes. La obesidad abdominal e hipertrigliceridemia los factores de riesgo SM más señalados. Se infiere adopción rural de hábitos alimentarios urbanos. (Acta Med Colomb 2012; 37: 177-182)

Citizens Interactive Behavior in the Performance of the Urban Space of Cohabitation: Interactive Atlas of Urban Habitability

A scholarly article by authors Angelique Trachana, Atxu Amann y Alcocer, and Javier Francisco Raposo Grau, Magdallini Grigoriadou, Josefina Flores published in Spaces and Flows: An International Journal of Urban and ExtraUrban Studies

“Interactive Atlas of Habitability”: Learning on the Reconfiguration of Places

The concept of ATLAS, based on the innovative methods from Aby Warburg's 'Atlas Mnemosyne', can be expressed as a heuristic-creative methodology demonstrating incessant labor to rebuild the world by finding meanings outside of habitual classifications. These results produce new types of knowledge and alternative models that call attention to unnoticed aspects of the world and approach the subconscious aspects of our perceptions. We are building an Innovative Education Project financed by the Universidad Politecnica de Madrid as a pilot project of the 'Interactive Atlas of Urban Habitability' investigative project involving the university community. Our goal is to investigate new methods within the process of designing architectural projects that are related to innovative configurations of living and sharing life in space and time. In our field of action we are considering the use of enhanced reality from the technology that sustains and generates a virtual space, makes it habitable, and creates a place that can be imagined, narrated, remembered and rewritten, thus broadening the students' perception of living space. We want to generate new meanings by incorporating the variables of action and narration of lived and shared spaces into the static method of a vision of objective and abstract space. We are aiming to develop diverse strategies that amplify the data used in the architectural project, that modify how it is both managed and interpreted, and that will further facilitate the interaction between citizens. This communication will be created by reconfiguring places with the use of technology and social networks. These developing strategies will also introduce new forms of exploring and experiencing the city as a positive encounter between physical and virtual spaces.

The Human Security Implications of Operation Restore Order on Urban Habitation in Zimbabwe

This paper examines how the 2005 Operation Restore Order, popularly known as Murambatsvina, impacted on the key facets of human security on urban habitation in Zimbabwe. Precisely, the paper examin...

TRANSITION IN THE HOUSING ENVIRONMENT IN INFERIOR HABITATION AREAS IN CHANGCHUN CITY, CHINA

This study aims to clarify the transition in the housing environment in inferior urban habitations in Changchun City from 1997 to 2007. The results are as follows:• While inferior houses have increased in size, the extent of the increase is less than that observed in general houses.• The inhabitants' proprietorship with regard to the land use right and the house has improved, and each type of habitation exhibits certain specific feature.• Coal is still used as the main energy source because it is the traditional fuel for floor heating.

Leishmania spp. in Didelphis albiventris and Micoureus paraguayanus (Didelphimorphia: Didelphidae) of Brazil

Leishmaniasis is kept in nature by the participation of several animal species. This study evaluated the presence of Leishmania spp. in skin samples of free-ranging marsupials Micoureus paraguayanus (n=95) and Didelphis albiventris (n=191), captured in Morro do Diabo State Park and in sections of its surrounding forest, in the region of Pontal do Paranapanema, São Paulo State, Brazil. The samples were tested for the presence of kDNA of Leishmania spp. by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by real time PCR (qPCR). All samples from D. albiventris tested by PCR were negative for the presence of kDNA of Leishmania spp. However, when tested by qPCR, the positivity was 1.6%. A positivity of 7.4% by PCR and 11.6% by qPCR was observed for M. paraguayanus. Sixty-four per cent (9/14) of positive animals were limited to the same forest fragment. Presence of Leishmania (Leishmania) amazonensis and Leishmania (Viannia) braziliensis was detected in M. paraguayanus samples. While D. albiventris is the most studied marsupial species due to its urban habits, other marsupial species such as M. paraguayanus can be potential reservoirs of Leishmania spp. and should also be studied.

Prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases in primary school children in Edirne, Turkey, two surveys 10 years apart

To assess change in prevalence and risk factors of asthma and allergic diseases among primary school children in rural and urban parts of Edirne, Turkey, a series of cross-sectional studies were conducted in 1994 and 2004. A questionnaire was administered to the parents of primary school children aged 7-12, in urban and rural parts of Edirne, Turkey (5412 in 1994 and 5735 in 2004). Response rates in 1994 and 2004 were 84% and 82.5%, respectively. There were significant differences between the age distribution, urban habitation (1994: 70.1%, 2004: 75.8%, p < 0.001), passive smoking (1994: 74.7%, 2004: 60.0%, p < 0.001), and family atopy (1994: 12.7%, 2004: 18.2%, p < 0.001) between the two surveys. Current prevalence of asthma and wheeze increased in the 2004 when compared to 1994 in both rural and urban regions (current asthma for rural and urban regions, 5.2% and 5.8% in 1994; 8.6% and 12.1% in 2004, respectively). Female-to-male ratio of current asthma increased from 0.7 in 1994 to 0.9 in 2004. Comparison of the risk factors in the two surveys suggested urban habitation and factors other than family atopy, passive smoking and no breast feeding as possible contributors for the increasing asthma and wheeze. Prevalence of asthma and allergic diseases increased among school children in Edirne, Turkey from 1994 to 2004. Life style changes and urbanization could be related to this increasing trend.

Education for all in India: A second look

In this paper, the author has attempted to analyze and assess the progress of education for all (EFA) in India from 1985/1986 to 2005/2006. A similar analysis by the same author on this subject, for the period 1950–1986, was published in this journal in 1990. During that period of 35 years the development of EFA was apparently impressive, but glaring disparities in schooling facilities based on rural–urban habitation, region, caste and gender were observed. About half of all the rural schools lacked physical facilities and suffered from shortage of teachers. While enrollment had apparently increased, three‐fourths of enrolled children left school without completing elementary education. The progress of literacy was also not satisfactory with the literacy rate having increased marginally from 16% in 1951 to an estimated 38% in 1986. The literacy rates also exhibited disparities based on gender, caste, region and rural–urban location. After launching of the National Policy on Education 1986, the Government of India has made concerted efforts to achieve the goal of EFA by launching several new schemes, including expansion of non‐formal education for out‐of‐school children, improvement of physical facilities in schools, implementation of a micro‐planning strategy, the launch of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and the passage of a Bill in Parliament to make elementary education a ‘fundamental right’ of every child. The problem of illiteracy was attacked by launching an ambitious new programme called the National Literacy Mission. However, recently published reports show that there are about 59 million out‐of‐school children; enrollment of girls is low; the dropout rate up to Class VIII is still high; school‐age children work for wages; rural children have no easy access to schools; many schools still lack physical facilities; and there is a shortage of teachers and headmasters. The author feels that India must revise its target date for achieving the goal of EFA at least once again and suggests that the Government should carefully monitor the implementation of policies, and at the same time, enhance expenditure on education from the present 3.5% to 6% of the GNP as early as possible, so as to deal with the situation more effectively.

Cognitive Dimensions of Way-Finding: The Implications of Habitus, Safety, and Gender Dissonance among Gay and Lesbian Populations

This paper critiques the proposition that way-finding strategies can be differentiated by sex. We argue that way-finding is better understood as a function of gender differences where gender is understood as a lived social relation, a product of the interaction between an embodied habitus and a particular social field. The use of survey versus landmark way-finding strategies is linked to an individual's gendered experiences of urban life. The study examines way-finding strategies from a sample of 127 gay men and lesbians from the Tallahassee, Florida metropolitan region to explore urban habitation patterns. We find that different way-finding strategies (most commonly a survey or landmark approach) are influenced by the habitus and gendered experiences of fear and anxiety in urban areas. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses suggest that individuals who perceive that their own gender presentation violates gender norms (gender dissonance) experience higher levels of social sanctions (harassment, hostility, and discrimination). In multivariate analysis, the study finds that gender-dissonant men tend to navigate using the landmark way-finding approach usually associated with women, whereas gender-dissonant women navigate using the survey way-finding approach usually associated with men.