Urban Impacts Research Articles

Stress and Built Environments: Assessing Architectural and Urban Impacts

Considering the intricate relationship between the built environment and users’ mental well-being, the present study aims to evaluate how architectural and urban spaces significantly influence stress levels of residents. In this regard, the neighbourhood of Aydogdu in the city of Konya, where traditional and modern lifestyles are in conflict and certain urban problems are beginning to emerge, was chosen as a case study. Data were collected by using the questionnaire on environmental factors causing stress in the neighborhood and Dass’ Standard Questionnaire for measuring stress. Data analysis was performed through using the Pearson correlation coefficient and the results showed that there is a significant relationship between environmental factors and the occurrence of stress in the neighborhood. Accordingly, the factor of environmental qualities has the greatest impact, and the climatic factors have the least relationship with the stress of citizens. The results of regression analysis showed that environmental qualities, visual elements, and regulation of environmental conditions predicted 67% of citizens’ stress. The analysis of variance also indicated that young people aged 18 to 46 years are more influenced by the factors in which environmental stressors are found.

Boundary-dependent urban impacts on timing, pattern, and magnitude of heavy rainfall in Istanbul

An emphasis on whether the modeled response of rainfall to urban signature is consistent across different boundary forcings is lacking. Here, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model, we compare urban impacts in the boundary-dependent simulations of a record-breaking rainfall event in Istanbul, designing urban and nourban land cover scenarios. The data used for the boundaries are ECMWF Reanalysis v5 (ERA5) and NCEP Final Analysis (FNL), and we perform simulations with variable boundary and parameterization configurations and use their ensemble mean in our analysis. Our results highlight that some aspects of the urban impact on rainfall produced by different boundary conditions resemble each other. First, hourly rainfall intensifies over and upwind part of the urban domain independent of the employed boundary forcing. Especially within the urban borders, the boost in rainfall amounts during the investigation period totals 6% and 21% for the simulations forced with ERA5 and FNL, respectively. In addition, our simulations exhibit urban signals not only in the rainfall amounts but also in their timing and concentration. This signal in timing is evident by the urban rainfall system that moves slightly ahead of its nourban counterpart at each analyzed hour. We, in particular, observe a spatially less concentrated rainfall pattern as the system positions over the urban area and point out a potential urbanization-topography interaction. We further support these findings with cross-section and integrated water vapor transport analyses. By contrast, the main dissimilarities between the simulations forced with different boundary data include rainfall changes downwind of the city center. This behavior is commensurate with the increase in the temperature and sensible-heat flux values that are not similar in strength in the simulations forced with ERA5 and FNL. These findings suggest that different boundary data can promote similar urban impacts only to some extent, underlining the importance of considering their regional performance before using them in modeling studies.

Urbanization-induced changes in convective and frontal precipitation events in Ankara

Urbanization has been demonstrated to alter precipitation characteristics. However, there is a lack of modeling-based examination of the interaction between urbanization and precipitation in Turkey. Here, we analyze the urban impacts on two precipitation events with different synoptic backgrounds in Ankara using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. The rainfall occurrences were selected considering the urban heat island (UHI) intensity over the urbanized area. We conceptualize urban and nourban configurations using the CORINE land cover data and create ensemble simulations. Our findings underline the dissimilarity in the urban impacts on the precipitation pattern of the selected events. The urban scenario suppressed the rainfall over the downwind and upwind of the urban center by more than 10 mm for the summertime event, reshaping the rainfall pattern to be more spatially distributed and protracting the rainfall duration. By contrast, the urban impact on the springtime event is less discernible, with less than 1% change in the rainfall amounts over the urban center. Strong synoptic forcing and significantly less UHI magnitude for the springtime event are responsible for the masked urban impacts on precipitation. Regardless, the urban land use changed the surface energy balance, reducing the moisture content over the highly urbanized area.

Stormwater Quality Capture Volume for Mitigating Urban Runoff Impacts

AbstractPorous basins have been recommended for stormwater onsite infiltration and filtering purposes. The effectiveness of a porous basin is often evaluated by its long-term storm runoff capture r...

Abstract 29: Urban versus Non-Urban Hospital Location Impacts on Stroke Outcomes

Introduction: Stroke care provision differs between urban and provincial hospitals predominantly due to economy of scale, which is correlated with resources available and degree of specialisation. We assessed the impact of urban versus non-urban hospital location on stroke outcomes. Methods: REGIONS Care is a New Zealand (NZ) nationwide prospective observational study that included consecutively admitted stroke patients involving all NZ stroke hospitals between 1 May and 31 October 2018. Patients were followed-up at 3, 6, and 12 months. The primary outcome was favourable modified Rankin Score of 0-2. Results were adjusted for age, stroke severity, pre-morbid level of independence and other potential confounders using multivariate logistic regression. Results: Of the 2,379 patients (mean age (SD), 75 (13.7)), 1,963 (82.6%) had ischaemic strokes and 291 (12.3%) haemorrhagic strokes. The odds of achieving a favourable outcome at 3 and 6 months was significantly lower for patients treated in non-urban compared to urban hospitals: aOR 0.72 (95%CI:0.56-0.93; p=0.012) and aOR 0.71 (95%CI:0.52-0.96; p=0.028), respectively. At 12-months this difference was less pronounced (aOR 0.77, 95%CI:0.57-1.04; p=0.089). Similarly, death was significantly more likely at 3 and 6 months, and borderline statistically significant at 12 months: aOR 1.64, 95%CI:1.30-2.29, p=0.001; 1.54, 95%CI:1.12-2.11, p=0.008; and 1.36, 95%CI:0.99-1.87, p=0.06, respectively. Stroke recurrence was similar between urban and non-urban settings at 3 and 6 months, but more likely in the non-urban setting at 12 months (aOR 1.94, 95%CI:1.14-3.29, p=0.014. In the non-urban setting, eligible patients were less likely to receive reperfusion therapy (aOR 0.5, 95%CI:0.28-0.91, p=0.023); acute stroke unit care was less consistently accessed (aOR 0.58, 95%CI:0.48-0.70, p<0.001); and appropriate secondary preventive therapy was less frequently prescribed (aOR 0.50, 95%CI:0.28-0.91, p=0.023). Conclusion: This first comprehensive prospective NZ nationwide stroke study showed significant differences in stroke outcomes and access to key acute stroke interventions between urban and non-urban hospitals. This inequity requires urgent intervention from health system funders and providers.

Measuring and Monitoring Urban Impacts on Climate Change from Space

As urban areas continue to expand and play a critical role as both contributors to climate change and hotspots of vulnerability to its effects, cities have become battlegrounds for climate change adaptation and mitigation. Large amounts of earth observations from space have been collected over the last five decades and while most of the measurements have not been designed specifically for monitoring urban areas, an increasing number of these observations is being used for understanding the growth rates of cities and their environmental impacts. Here we reviewed the existing tools available from satellite remote sensing to study urban contribution to climate change, which could be used for monitoring the progress of climate change mitigation strategies at the city level. We described earth observations that are suitable for measuring and monitoring urban population, extent, and structure; urban emissions of greenhouse gases and other air pollutants; urban energy consumption; and extent, intensity, and effects on surrounding regions, including nearby water bodies, of urban heat islands. We compared the observations available and obtainable from space with the measurements desirable for monitoring. Despite considerable progress in monitoring urban extent, structure, heat island intensity, and air pollution from space, many limitations and uncertainties still need to be resolved. We emphasize that some important variables, such as population density and urban energy consumption, cannot be suitably measured from space with available observations.

A Conceptual Approach to Modeling the Geospatial Impact of Typical Urban Threats on the Habitat Quality of River Corridors

While for most of a landscape, urbanization leads to a significant habitat loss, rivers in urban areas are usually maintained or developed for their drainage function. Rivers are often the most important biophysical and ecological connection of cities with their surrounding ecosystems, although usually heavily altered due to urban impacts. For the conservation of urban rivers as ecological corridors, it is important to assess the impact of typical urban threats on habitat quality. In this study, we used the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Trade-offs) habitat quality model to assess the individual and combined impacts of built-up areas, first- and second-order road and water pollution from urban drainage, and wastewater discharge on habitat quality within a 200 m wide river corridor. The Pochote River in León, Nicaragua, was used as a case study. Our results show the spatial distribution and magnitude of the individual threat impacts, as well as the respective contribution of each threat to the overall impact of urbanization on the habitat quality within the river corridor. While close to the city center, all threats almost equally contributed to severe habitat degradation, while further downstream, an individual threat influence became more distinct with only water pollution having a consistent negative impact. We concluded that the InVEST habitat quality model can be used to assess the impact of typical urban threats on habitat quality in river corridors at a high spatial resolution. The results can help to improve urban planning and development to improve habitat conservation along urban rivers.

Urban Impacts on Extreme Monsoon Rainfall and Flooding in Complex Terrain

AbstractHydrometeorological impacts due to urbanization for cities close to complex terrain are poorly understood due to the complexities of terrain‐related circulation and urban perturbations of atmospheric flow. In this study, we examine urban impacts on extreme monsoon rainfall and the resultant flooding over central Arizona based on high‐resolution atmospheric and hydrological model simulations. Strong positive rainfall anomalies at the urban‐rural interface downwind of the city are mainly related to dynamic effects (increased surface roughness) on convective outflow boundaries. Urban‐related thermodynamic disturbances slightly increase rain rates over the downtown core of Phoenix. Contrasting rainfall anomalies for two consecutive storm episodes highlight the importance of flow regime analysis in understanding urban impacts on extreme rainfall in complex terrain. Urban‐induced rainfall anomalies result in amplification of flood peak magnitudes by as much as a factor of 2 for Phoenix watersheds. Our results highlight the urban impacts on regional flood hydrology through land‐atmosphere interactions.

Influence of water quality and habitat conditions on amphibian community metrics in rivers affected by urban activity

Anuran amphibians are highly dependent on aquatic ecosystems. Many amphibian species are exhibiting population declines primarily due to habitat destruction and water quality degradation as a result of urban expansion. The objective of this study was to examine combined effects of habitat degradation and water quality on amphibian assemblages in rivers affected by urban impacts. Twelve sites along three rivers were characterized in regard to urbanization and habitat condition using the calculation of a Habitat Model Affinity (HMA) score. Fifteen water quality parameters were assessed at each site. A Simplified Index of Water Quality (SIWQ) and a general Water Quality Index (WQI) were applied. Species richness and relative abundance of amphibians were estimated from visual encounter and calling surveys during summer season between 2009 and 2013. Species richness and abundance were negatively correlated with phosphate, nitrate concentrations and total coliforms, and positively correlated with HMA, electrical conductivity and dissolved oxygen. Species richness was also affected negatively by turbidity. Principal component analysis showed that sites with higher amphibian community metrics were also the ones with lower nutrient levels and better habitat conditions. This study identified important water quality parameters affecting amphibians in rivers with increasing urban impact; and provides information that can be used in the design of strategies to minimize the impacts of urbanization on aquatic biodiversity.

Future urban rainfall projections considering the impacts of climate change and urbanization with statistical–dynamical integrated approach

Impacts of global warming and local scale urbanization on precipitation are evident from observations; hence both must be considered in future projections of urban precipitation. Dynamic regional models at a fine spatial resolution can capture the signature of urbanization on precipitation, however simulations for multiple decades are computationally expensive. In contrast, statistical regional models are computationally inexpensive but incapable of assessing the impacts of urbanization due to the stationary relationship between predictors and predictand. This paper aims to develop a unique modelling framework with a demonstration for Mumbai, India, where future urbanization is projected using a Markov Chain Cellular Automata approach, long term projections with climate change impacts are performed using statistical downscaling and urban impacts are simulated with a dynamic regional model for limited number of years covering different precipitation characteristics. The evaluation of the statistical downscaling methodology over historical time period reveals large underestimation of the extreme rainfall, which is improved effectively by applying another regression model, for extreme days. The limited runs of dynamic downscaling models with different stages of urbanization for Mumbai, India, reveal spatially non uniform changes in precipitation, occurring primarily at the higher quantiles. The statistical and dynamical outputs are further integrated using quantile transformation for precipitation projection in Mumbai during 2050s. The projections show dominant impacts of urbanization compared to those from large scale changing patterns. The uniqueness of this computationally efficient framework lies in an integration of global and local factors for precipitation projections through a conjugal statistical–dynamical approach.

Acquired Tastes: Urban Impacts on Jeju Shamanic Ritual

Acquired Tastes: Urban Impacts on Jeju Shamanic Ritual

Comparing the Urban Impacts of the FIFA World Cup and Olympic Games From 2010 to 2016

At a cost of often more than US$10 billion, mega-events such as the Olympic Games and the FIFA Men’s World Cup are the single most transformative urban project in many host cities for decades. This article develops an analytical matrix for comparing the impacts of these events on cities and proposes a case survey method to apply this matrix to six recent sports mega-events: the Olympic Games in Vancouver, London, Sochi, and Rio de Janeiro and the FIFA Men’s World Cups in South Africa and Brazil. We find that for the events in our sample, it is not so much the event itself, but the political and economic contexts that most influence impacts. Cities in democracies with more market-led economies experienced fewer adverse impacts and were better able to use the event for urban development than those in less democratic countries with more state-led economies. None of the cities, however, was able to avoid negative impacts.

SURF: Understanding and Predicting Urban Convection and Haze

AbstractUrbanization modifies atmospheric energy and moisture balances, forming distinct features [e.g., urban heat islands (UHIs) and enhanced or decreased precipitation]. These produce significant challenges to science and society, including rapid and intense flooding, heat waves strengthened by UHIs, and air pollutant haze. The Study of Urban Impacts on Rainfall and Fog/Haze (SURF) has brought together international expertise on observations and modeling, meteorology and atmospheric chemistry, and research and operational forecasting. The SURF overall science objective is a better understanding of urban, terrain, convection, and aerosol interactions for improved forecast accuracy. Specific objectives include a) promoting cooperative international research to improve understanding of urban summer convective precipitation and winter particulate episodes via extensive field studies, b) improving high-resolution urban weather and air quality forecast models, and c) enhancing urban weather forecasts for societal applications (e.g., health, energy, hydrologic, climate change, air quality, planning, and emergency response management). Preliminary SURF observational and modeling results are shown (i.e., turbulent PBL structure, bifurcating thunderstorms, haze events, urban canopy model development, and model forecast evaluation).

Urban Impacts on Oxidative Balance and Animal Signals

Though many animal ornaments and signals are sensitive to and encode information about the oxidative balance (OB) of individuals (e.g. antioxidant supplies/activity, reactive oxygen species, cellular oxidative damage/repair), often the environmental and/or physiological sources of such OB are unknown. Here we review the mechanistic underpinnings and functional consequences of how human urbanization drives antioxidant/oxidative status in animals and how this affects signal expression and use. Urban development is among the most recent, pervasive, and persistent human stressors on the planet and impacts many environmental and physiological parameters of animals. Here, we review literature on the potential effects of urbanization on OB and its linkage to signal expression and honesty in animals. Although we find that urbanization has strong negative effects on signal quality (e.g., visual, auditory, chemical) and OB across a range of taxa, few urban ecophysiological studies address signals and oxidative stress in unison, and even fewer in a fitness context. We also highlight particular signal types, taxa, life-histories, and anthropogenic environmental modifications on which future work integrating OB, signals, and urbanization could be centered. Last, we examine the conceptual and empirical framework behind the idea that urban conditions may disentangle signal expression from honesty and affect plasticity and adaptedness of sexually selected traits and preferences in the city.

Impact of future urbanization on a hot summer: a case study of Israel

Israel’s population is projected to increase significantly through the middle of the current century, requiring further expansion of the built environment to accommodate additional inhabitants and accompanying urban infrastructure. This study examines the climatic impacts of future urban expansion through simulated near-surface temperature and energy flux components associated with built environment growth. The Weather Research and Forecasting model was used to simulate present day extreme summertime conditions, at 1-km resolution, utilizing contemporary urban representation. To determine impacts associated with the physical growth of the urban environment, sensitivity simulations, also at 1-km resolution, incorporating projected changes in urban areas for Israel-based national development plans, were performed. Spatially and diurnally averaged at the national scale, projected urbanization is shown to increase summertime temperatures 0.4–0.8 °C, with greater temperature rise in northern compared to southern parts of the country. Across the diurnal cycle, urban impacts on near-surface warming are minimal during daytime hours, but exceed 3 °C across many urban locales during nighttime hours. The results presented here demonstrate the spatio-temporal impact of future urban expansion in Israel on temperature. The magnitude of these changes highlight the need for strategically designed regional and national planning to alleviate potentially deleterious climatic impacts associated with the physical growth of the built environment.

Nocturnal propagating thunderstorms may favor urban “hot-spots”: A model-based study over Minneapolis

High-resolution WRF model sensitivity experiments arecarried out (with and without urban land cover) to study urban impacts on nocturnal propagating thunderstorms over the city of Minneapolis. It is found that the storm spatial characteristics, especially the position of the storm cell, are appreciably altered by the presence of urban land cover. The most robust urban instability during stormy conditions is the enhanced surface convergence due to increased frictional drag. No urban impact is visible on the rainfall intensity simulated by the model. The frictional convergence, aided by the nocturnal Urban Heat Island (UHI), appears to be responsible for attracting propagating storms towards the urban center. Advanced modeling experiments are needed to quantify the mechanical and thermal influence along with similar studies in other cities to further investigate the urban impact on the frequency and trajectory of nocturnal propagating storms.

Regional Assessment of Urban Impacts on Landcover and Open Space Finds a Smart Urban Growth Policy Performs Little Better than Business as Usual

Assessment of landscape change is critical for attainment of regional sustainability goals. Urban growth assessments are needed because over half the global population now lives in cities, which impact biodiversity, ecosystem structure and ecological processes. Open space protection is needed to preserve these attributes, and provide the resources humans need. The San Francisco Bay Area, California, is challenged to accommodate a population increase of 3.07 million while maintaining the region’s ecosystems and biodiversity. Our analysis of 9275 km2 in the Bay Area links historic trends for three measures: urban growth, protected open space, and landcover types over the last 70 years to future 2050 projections of urban growth and open space. Protected open space totaled 348 km2 (3.7% of the area) in 1940, and expanded to 2221 km2 (20.2%) currently. An additional 1038 km2 of protected open space is targeted (35.1%). Urban area historically increased from 396.5 km2 to 2239 km2 (24.1% of the area). Urban growth during this time mostly occurred at the expense of agricultural landscapes (62.9%) rather than natural vegetation. Smart Growth development has been advanced as a preferred alternative in many planning circles, but we found that it conserved only marginally more open space than Business-as-usual when using an urban growth model to portray policies for future urban growth. Scenarios to 2050 suggest urban development on non-urban lands of 1091, 956, or 179 km2, under Business-as-usual, Smart Growth and Infill policy growth scenarios, respectively. The Smart Growth policy converts 88% of natural lands and agriculture used by Business-as-usual, while Infill used only 40% of those lands. Given the historic rate of urban growth, 0.25%/year, and limited space available, the Infill scenario is recommended. While the data may differ, the use of an historic and future framework to track these three variables can be easily applied to other metropolitan areas.

Urban Impacts on Streams are Scale‐Dependent With Nonlinear Influences on Their Physical and Biotic Recovery in Vermont, United States1

Fitzgerald, Evan P., William B. Bowden, Samuel P. Parker, and Michael L. Kline, 2012. Urban Impacts on Streams Are Scale‐Dependent with Nonlinear Influences on Their Physical and Biotic Recovery in Vermont, United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(4): 679‐697. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00639.xAbstract: The physical and biological conditions of stream reaches in 16 watersheds within the Lake Champlain Basin of Vermont, United States, were assessed and analyzed for a response to total impervious area (TIA) at multiple spatial scales. Natural gradients (e.g., channel slope) and human impacts to channel boundary conditions (e.g., bank armoring) were considered to ensure a robust test of the Impervious Cover Model for upslope TIA. The response of geomorphic stability and sensitive macroinvertebrates to TIA was nonlinear and significant (p < 0.001), decreasing rapidly at 5% TIA. The effect of urbanization on stream condition was shown to interact significantly with drainage area and channel slope using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) (p < 0.05). Hydraulic geometry regressions for urban and rural watersheds and ANCOVA were used to describe a significant watershed scale‐dependent response of channel width to urbanization (p = 0.001). The analysis of macroinvertebrate data from reaches in different stages of channel evolution indicated that stable reaches supported greater richness of pollution intolerant species (p < 0.001) and overall taxa richness (p < 0.01) than unstable reaches, and that biotic integrity improves as channels regain stability during their evolution into a state of quasi‐equilibrium. We conclude that macroinvertebrate communities can respond positively to channel evolution processes leading to natural channel restabilization.

Urban impacts on tropical island streams: Some key aspects influencing ecosystem response

Improving our understanding of the impacts of urbanization on tropical island streams is critical as urbanization becomes a dominant feature in tropical areas. Although the “urban stream syndrome” has been successful in summarizing urban impacts on streams, the response of some island streams is different to that expected. Here we review available information on urban impacts to tropical island streams and describe unique responses to urbanization. We identified three key aspects that play particularly important or unique roles in determining tropical-island stream integrity: biotic response to water pollution, movement barriers along the stream network, and altered geomorphology that results in habitat loss. As expected, water pollution negatively impacts stream ecosystems in tropical islands and in some regions impacts can be severe, as untreated wastewaters are directly discharged into streams. While aquatic insects show the expected responses to pollution, other native fauna (e.g., shrimps and fishes) appear to be less impacted by moderate levels of pollution. Movement barriers along the stream network are especially important as much of the tropical island fauna have diadromous (either amphidromous or catadromous) life histories. Most native freshwater mollusks, shrimps, and fishes inhabiting tropical islands are diadromous and depend on unimpeded connections between freshwater and marine environments to complete their life cycles. The presence of these species in urban streams is best explained by longitudinal connectivity rather than by the degree of urban impact. Finally, in streams that remain connected to marine environments, the presence of native shrimps and fishes is strongly related to the physical habitat. Fish assemblages in channelized and severely altered stream reaches are almost completely devoid of native fauna and tend to be dominated by non-native species. In contrast, relatively diverse shrimp and fish assemblages can be found in reaches that retain their physical habitat complexity, even when they are impacted by urbanization. Our understanding of urban impacts on tropical island streams remains limited. However, the identification of key aspects can help us better understand urban impacts on streams in tropical islands, and best focus our management and research efforts to protect these unique ecosystems.

Impact of mineral components and selected trace metals on ambient PM10 concentrations

PM10 levels of the mineral components Si, Al, Fe, Ca, Mg and some trace metals were measured at three different sites in the urban area of Vienna (Austria). Observed trace metal concentrations varied between less than 0.1 ng m −3 (Cd) and approximately 200 ng m −3 (Zn), mineral components showed enhanced concentrations ranging from 0.01 μg m −3 (Ca) to 16.3 μg m −3 (Si). The contribution of the respective mineral oxides to PM10 mass concentrations accounted on average for 26.4 ± 16% (n = 1090) of the PM10 mass, with enhanced rates in spring and autumn (monthly averages of up to 40%) and decreased contributions in the cold season (monthly averages below 10%). The atmospheric occurrence of Al, Ti and Sr could be assigned to crustal sources, whereas for the elements Ba, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn and V an increased contribution of non-crustal origin was observed. PM10 levels of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sb, Sn and Zn were predominantly derived from man-made emissions. Intersite comparison indicated that urban PM10 mass concentrations and PM10 levels of As, Pb and Zn were predominantly influenced from the transport of aerosols from outside into the city, whereas for the elements Ba, Mg, Ca, Cu and Fe a distinctly increased impact of local emissions was observed. The contribution of these urban emissions to total PM10 concentrations was estimated by calculating the so-called “urban impact”, which was found to be 32.7 ± 18% (n = 392) in the case of PM10 mass concentrations. The investigated elements accounted on average for 31.3 ± 19% (n = 392) of the observed PM10 mass increase. The mean values for the “urban impacts” of individual elements varied between 25.5% (As) and 77.0% (Ba).