Urban Organization Research Articles

The rise of the Kaanuˀl kingdom and the city of Dzibanche

Abstract The Kaanuˀl dynasty ruled a hegemonic state with political influence over much of the Classic Maya Lowlands between a.d. 520 and 751. The present article introduces the subject for a special section of the journal, which refocuses attention on the archaeological zone of Dzibanche in southern Quintana Roo, Mexico, where new data are emerging about the origins of the Kaanuˀl dynasty, its urban organization, and its connections to neighboring centers. In this article, we present new data from a recent lidar survey as well as from previous work by Enrique Nalda's Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) project to reevaluate Dzibanche's characteristics vis-à-vis its rise as a kingdom with far-reaching political influence. We complement these archaeological data with epigraphic information from new monuments and reanalysis of existing ones based on 3D scanning to update the list of Dzibanche rulers. We then revisit the chronology of Dzibanche's royal burials proposing correlations with known Early Classic Kaanuˀl rulers. Overall, the contributions to this special section present new perspectives on the Kaanuˀl's rise to power and its relationship with distant vassals in the crucial period of expansion into northern Peten, leading to the defeat of Tikal and eventually to its transition to a new dynastic seat at Calakmul in the a.d. 630s.

Lubumbashi (DR Congo): Navigating the socio-ecological complexities of a vital mining hub

Lubumbashi, the economic hub of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, thrives on its mining sector but faces challenges from rapid, unregulated population growth and urban expansion. This has led to a dichotomous urban landscape, combining well-planned colonial districts with haphazardly developed areas lacking infrastructure. This study examines Lubumbashi's urban evolution and related challenges through a desktop survey, contributing to literature on urbanization, economic development, environmental sustainability, and resource extraction in sub-Saharan Africa. It also introduces theoretical frameworks such as “resource urbanism.”Key challenges include disorderly land governance, natural vegetation degradation, transport privatization, electrification issues, sanitation deficiencies, and pollution. Although provincial and city governments are working to improve urban organization, their efforts often lack comprehensive consultation and cohesive strategy, focusing primarily on the city center.The study highlights the complex interplay between historical legacies and contemporary issues, emphasizing the urgent need for integrated urban planning. Addressing socio-spatial disparities, environmental concerns, and community resilience requires collaboration among government entities, local communities, and stakeholders to ensure sustainable and equitable development for Lubumbashi.

Inclusive Cities for Visually Impaired People

Objective: The objective of this study is to to present a literature review and its evolution regarding how elements of city architecture can contribute to the inclusion of the visually impaired and the most appropriate way to reproduce it, specifically in the context of Brazil. Theoretical Framework: The urban organization of a city can either contribute to or hinder human interactions, social inclusion, and the autonomy of people with disabilities. However, for a long time, cities were not planned to accommodate diversity, becoming even a segregating space for some minorities, such as the visually impaired. Method: The methodology adopted for this research includes the review and discussion of books, articles, specialized virtual pages, and pertinent legislation. Results and Discussion: The results obtained revealed that urban orientation elements for the visually impaired lack standardization, making them a hindrance to their perception. Research Implications: Future work needs to invest in the research for the standardization of tactile maps and floors, also incorporating new technologies. Originality/Value: This study contributes to the literature by discussing city architecture from the perspective of the visually impaired, highlighting practical contributions for better territorial performance for this specific population.

Urban Development in the City of Hippo Regius in Algeria according to Ancient Iconography. Case Study of the Mosaic of the Seafront Villa

The study of ancient cities is of great importance in understanding today's cities. Information on the way of life ofancient populations and urban organization in this period can be obtained from various archaeological elementsunearthed, particularly in mosaics and iconography, which prove to be loaded with symbols and meanings. Thisstudy aims to highlight the role of archaeological sources in the representation of architectural and urban elements,and to interpret their symbolism and significant imprint. For this purpose, the research takes as its case study theHippo seafront mosaic dating from the 3rd century A.D., which represents Hippo Regius, currently the city of Annabain Algeria, founded in the 3rd century BC as a roman colony on the Mediterranean coast. Reading the mosaic hasenriched our knowledge of the city of Hippo, providing visual information on its landscape, architecture, socioeconomic activities, and importance as a seaport. Its credibility was demonstrated using a comparative approach that compares the depicted details with evidence from archaeological, historical, and iconographic discoveries.

Fecal biomarkers in Italian anthropogenic soil horizons and deposits from Middle Ages and bronze age

Archaeological excavations in urban and rural contexts often uncover dark homogeneous anthropogenic deposits, soils and soil horizons, known as Dark Earths, Cultural Layers and Anthrosols. Major scientific questions arise about the processes that lead to the formation of these soils and deposits, as they are often related to a complex combination of environmental, climatic, and anthropogenic factors. Many studies focused on the morphological and physical-chemical investigation of the archaeological remains found as well as the inorganic constituent of the soil. The organic fraction has been only roughly investigated and studies carried out on a molecular level are very limited. However, a more refined investigation of the chemical constituents of these soils can potentially reveal pivotal insights on the archaeological context such as past domestic habits and/or urban organization. It has been demonstrated that, among organic matter constituents, fecal steroids are promising biomarkers to track fecal input in many environmental matrixes such as water, soils, and sediments. In this paper we determine the fecal sterols and stanols content in dark homogeneous anthropogenic deposits and soils found in seven archaeological sites in Italy (from Verona, Como, Florence, Mel and Conegliano) dated from the Late Bronze Age and the Medieval Period, aiming to assess the major contribution of the fecal input using diagnostic fecal indexes obtained from specific fecal sterol proportions. To this purpose, a baseline was established by identifying the fecal fingerprint of domestic herbivores (caprids, ovines, equines and bovines) and omnivores (pigs). Based on their fecal fingerprint, we classified the deposits of seven studied sites into four distinct categories: i) the medieval sites of Verona, presented a strong mixed fecal input from both herbivores and humans; ii) the medieval sites of Como and Florence which showed a similar pattern, with a predominance of human fecal input over livestock; iii) the late medieval soils of Mel and the late bronze age Cultural Layers of Castellar di Leppia (Verona) which exhibited a generally scarce fecal contamination while iv) the final bronze age site of Conegliano (Treviso), a strong fecal contamination from herbivores was detected. These results thus demonstrate that for the Medieval Dark Earth the socio-cultural processes leading to the formation of the Dark Earth differ in terms of sewage and waste management and/or in animal husbandry practices.

The role of Magdeburg law for the political, economic and cultural formation of Ostroh in the XVI-XVII centuries

The article examines the impact of the concept of Magdeburglawontheeconomic, political and cultural development of Ostrohin the 16th-17th centuries. The author establishes that today there are many issues which require through research and resolution, inparticular, the introduction of a clear division of administrative functions between state authorities and local self-government bodies, improvement of the system and structure of local self-government bodies, and creation of an appropriate legislative framework. It is believed that it is impossible to solve these problems without a clear and systematic analysis of the mainstages of formation of local self-government in the contex to historical data on Magdeburg law.
 The author establishes that Magdeburg law is a medieval type of law under which cities were partially exempted from the power of the central royal administration or the power of a feudal lord and, as a result, were able to self-governon a corporate basis. Thanks to the privileges of Magdeburg law, cities for the first time received self-government, their own mayor, mayor, councilors, shopkeepers, their own courts, and the right to create their own craftsmen’s shops.
 The article confirms the idea that Magdeburg law is perhaps the clearest evidence that Ukrainian cities form any centuries were in a single political, cultural and economic space on a par with the leading cities of Europe. This thesis is confirmed by the history of the Magdeburg in many centers of our country, including the largest educational center of sixteenth-century Volhynia, the legendary city of Ostroh. Despite the outstanding importance of Ostroh in the socio-political and cultural life of Ukraine at the turn of the Middle Agesand the Modernera, the formation of the Magdeburg in this city has long been misinterpreted due to the lack of historical sources. The adoption of the concept of Magdeburg law provided Ostroh with a unique opportunity to develop local trade and, most importantly, the educational sphere. A characteristic feature of Magdeburg law in Ukrainian cities at the end of the sixteenth century was the transformation of its norms due to the influence of current factors of socio-economic development, as well as ancient Russian traditions of urban organization and law. Thus, the Magdeburg law did not initiate a new process of establishing local government in Ukraine, but only modified to a certain extent the existing norms of life and management of local affairs.

Design and Optimization of Urban Spatial Environment Based on Digital Intelligent VR Technology

With the advent of the information age, new generation information technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain have had a profound impact on urban development. It not only improves the operational efficiency of various industries, changes the operational processes of various industries, but also has an important impact on the spatial environment composition of cities by influencing the production and living patterns of residents. "Smart city" is a form of urban organization based on information technology, characterized by digitization, intelligence, and networking. This article focuses on using virtual reality (VR) technology to deeply explore the design and optimization of urban spatial environment, and analyzes in detail the application of digital intelligence technology in urban planning. Through case studies, how these technologies optimize urban spatial layout is demonstrated. Furthermore, this article points out the optimization and improvement directions of existing urban spatial environment design technologies, and evaluates the effectiveness. The specific application of intelligent VR technology in urban spatial optimization is pointed out. In terms of design cost, the traditional method requires 5 million yuan, and the VR method requires 6 million yuan; in terms of change costs, the traditional method requires 800 thousand yuan, and the VR method requires 500 thousand yuan. This article is of significant value and provides new perspectives and practical tools for future urban spatial planning and design work.

GRADIENTE URBANO

As in many other countries, official measures of urbanization in Brazil have been unable to properly distinguish spatial patterns of rural and urban organization. The literature discusses various classification systems and recognizes the existence of a “rural-urban continuum”, as well as theoretical frameworks and alternative categorizations that aim to look beyond the urban-rural dichotomy. However, there are no practical solutions to properly formalize or operationalize them, especially at the micro-level such as census tracts. We propose a methodology that assumes a measurable rural-urban continuum. The “Urban Gradient Index” uses simple and comprehensive variables to quantify the degree to which a certain area is urban based on demographic and spatial features. We build it at the level of census tracts for both Brazil and the Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region to verify consistency at distinct aggregation levels. Results indicate that the index provides a much more nuanced picture of settlement patterns, unveiling a spatial gradient between rural and urban in distinct spatial extents. It offers an advantage over the traditional measure “degree of urbanization” by revealing “hidden ruralities” in predominantly urban areas that require specific territorial planning and public policy interventions. Keywords: Urban Gradient, Rural-Urban Continuum, Territorial Planning, Belo Horizonte Metropolitan Region, Brazil.

Digital encounters with microbial ecologies in a polluted urban river

Despite their ubiquity and ecological heterogeneity, non-pathogenic microorganisms are often lacking in accounts of more-than-human and other-than-human urbanisms. This article focuses on the use of digital technologies as practice for sensing and encountering unglamorous microbial ecologies emerging in a polluted urban river in East London. The River Lea has a dense industrial history, but today it is a site of post-industrial disuse, uneven development and burgeoning urban ecologies. In an easily bypassed segment of this urban river, microbial ecosystems bloom in and out of existence, reflecting a confluence of urban political ecological, hydrological and microbiological dynamics. These ecosystems are generally overlooked in accounts of urban ecological value, and are often framed as uncharismatic, accidental or even invasive. The aim of this work is to provide an alternative rendering of these slimy micro-ecologies. To this end, two digital approaches are explored: deployment of in situ micro-videography and attention to historical satellite imagery of the urban ecosystem. Microscopic approaches configure embodied, sensory, aesthetic and speculative encounters with microbial ecologies in urban space. In their temporal configuration, historical satellite approaches glimpse the machinations of urban political ecological dynamics as they contribute to the emergence of, and intersect with, recombinant urban ecosystems. These methods provide tools for cultural geographers studying how urban organisation affects ecological diversity, and for expanding geographic investigation into the more-than-human cultures of overlooked, unglamorous and uncharismatic urban lifeforms.

Sealed Bullae and Livestock Management at Irisaĝrig in the Early Old Babylonian Period

Abstract This article offers a detailed study of the organization of livestock management at Irisaĝrig in post-Ur III times. Three clusters of texts will be discussed, which focus on the activities of a small group of officials who oversaw the collection and disbursement of small cattle for religious and secular purposes. It is argued that the central urban organization on whose behalf these administrators operated was the local palace. The analysis of the archival records reveals a strong royal presence in the city and suggests that Irisaĝrig was an important center of the newly established kingdom of Malgûm Text abbreviations follow those of BDTNS = Database of Neo-Sumerian Texts (http://bdtns.filol.csic.es) and/or CDLI = Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (http://cdli.ucla.edu); other abbreviations after RlA. .

Issues of architectural and urban organization of university campuses of the Ural federal district

Campus of a higher educational institution is a multifunctional complex of buildings designed to accommodate university departments connected by a system of special public spaces that form a unified environment for higher education, scientific research, as well as a wide range of related functions in the "worklife-rest" system of all levels for participants in these processes. The purpose of the research work is to develop the existing campuses of higher educational institutions. The object of the study is university campuses. The subject of the study is the features of the architectural and urban planning organization of university campuses. According to the type of architectural and urban planning placement of university campuses in the settlement structure, three types are defined: compact (local), multipart (dissected) and dispersed (dispersed). Typology features are formulated on examples of universities of the Ural Federal District. It is determined that in the conditions of the region under consideration, the most rational organization of campuses is a compact (local) and multipart (dissected) type. It is revealed that the existing architectural environment does not fully meet the requirements for modern universities. In this regard, proposals for the development of existing university campuses are presented, taking into account aspects of the transformation of spaces, interaction with the settlement and integration of the functions of science, education and production.

From the city of heroes to the city of Ilhas: the Ilhíada by Alberto Pimenta

This paper reflects on the latest poem published by the Portuguese author Alberto Pimenta, Ilhíada. Even if it creates an explicit dialogue with the poem attributed to Homer, the Iliad, already from the title, it can be seen that Ilhíada is the polar opposite of the Homeric text. The story Alberto Pimenta introduces us to is a tale of the ilhas, an idiosyncratic urban organisation from the city of Porto (Portugal), usually linked to the poorest sectors of the population. As soon as the city became an important tourist destination and “the imaginal engineering” (Hiernaux, 2012) started to create a tourist hotspot narration, successive administrations began to find these ilhas a problem that had to be dealt with. In the poem, the lyrical voice remembers the everyday life that existed before their inhabitants began to be besieged by the building companies. We move, then, from the tales of Troy, an important urban centre of ancient times where heroes fight in a war, to the margins of Porto, where common people just try to live their everyday lives. In this essay, I will argue that the location in which Pimenta chooses to set this story – with the excluded ones, the “subalterns” (Spivak 1985) – challenges the categories of “city”, “hero”, “History” and even “poetry”. To that effect, I will use a comparative perspective that will allow me to uncover the main differences between the two texts.

A multidimensional criteria for designing refugee camps: the case of Al Baqa'a, Jordan

Humanistic needs of refugees are widely considered in early camp designs. Several of them evolve to more than just a temporary solution, having generations of refugees spending years in these settlements. During this time, refugees experience multiple humanistic needs, such as social and cultural adequacy, sustainability, community integration and improved access to essential services. Considering these conceptualisations, a multidimensional approach to refugee camp design is required in terms of urban planning development. The paper employs the case study of Al Baqa’a camp in Jordan to explore the use of integrated criteria specifications as a solution for capturing the multidimensional elements of refugees’ higher-level needs and their impact on urban planning development. The criteria were formulated from literature based on human needs theories, international refugee studies and reports from humanitarian organisations and developed through fieldwork and observation. Outputs demonstrate how shelter requirements and urban planning by non-governmental organisations, often based on time management and budgets, differs from standards and criteria that address people's humanistic needs. A multidimensional approach to meeting the requirements of refugees living in warm and dry climates is proposed to support the multi-transitional levels of shelter and socio-spatial urban organisation and evolution taking place in refugee camps.

A Study on the Conception and Production of Architecture in the 18th Century Masonic Lodges as a Form of Urban Organization

18. yüzyıl Aydınlanma dönemi, insanın kendini ve kendisi dışındakileri anlama ve yeniden tarifleme girişimi olarak bütün alanlarda kendini gösterir. Bu fikirsel keşif kaçınılmaz olarak mimarlıkta da gerçekleşir. Mimarlığın tarihselliğinin farkına varılması ile mimarlığı bir disiplin rejimi içinde tanımlamayan aktörler bütünsel bir dil oluşturma gayreti içine girerler. Bu sebeple Antikiteden alınan birçok kavram yeniden tanımlanarak mimarlık epistemolojisinin inşasında kullanılır. Böylece klasik mimarlık, 18. yüzyıl mimarlık düşüncesinin inşa edilebilmesinin temel argümanlarından birini oluşturur. Geçmişe yapılan bu yolculuktaki her karşılaşma bir taraftan mimarlık disiplinini inşa etmeye yararken öte taraftan yıkıcı olabilecek karşılaşmaları da içerir. Bu karşılaşmalar ya akla uygun hale getirilerek rasyonel düzlemde ele alınır veyahut görmezden gelinerek sınırdışı edilir. Bu türden durumlar mimarlığın birçok farklı biçimlerde de kavranabileceğinin işaretleridir. Bir çevre oluşturmanın farklı formları olan yeme-içme birliktelikleri, kahvehaneler, salonlar ve benzeri oluşumlar, Aydınlanma döneminin önemli paradigmalarıdır. Sosyalleşme kültürü içinde, mimarlık söylemleri ile inşa edilen mason locaları, kendine özgü yapılanması ile kurumsal olmayan biçimlerde şekillenerek, 18. yüzyılda Avrupa’nın birçok yerine yayılmış önemli bir yere sahiptir. Bu sebeple çalışmada, masonluğun ilk kez nasıl ortaya çıktığına odaklanmak yerine, Aydınlanma döneminin dikkate değer oluşumlarından biri haline nasıl geldiği ve mimarlıktan beslenerek kentsel bir örgütlenme biçimine nasıl dönüştüğü irdelenecektir. Çalışma bu bağlamda mimarlığın totaliteryan inşasını da eleştirmektedir.

CADASTRAL AND URBAN MAPS ENRICHMENTS USING SMART SPATIAL DATA FUSION

Abstract. Cadastral and urban map enrichment/upgrading is an essential requirement for smart urban management. The high pace of development and change in megacities can cause different challenges for urban organizations to reproduce their maps based on their need. New urban management aims and plans need new cadastral and urban maps with different standards and elements which may have existed in the other urban organization. Producing an original map or checking the maps of different organizations visually in a megacity is very costly and time-consuming. These challenges require an advanced integration approach to overcome them. Therefore, enriching maps with concerned organizations' maps and intelligent and automatically identifying as well as applying the changes in urban and cadastral maps will save time and cost for informed urban decision-making. This paper has employed the data of the third zone of the District six of the Municipality of Tehran, the capital of Iran, and identifies changes in the parcel’s geometry of the cadastre maps in comparison with the recently produced maps of the municipality of Tehran. After pre-processing the data, some spatial and attribute information are added to each feature, and the land parcels are enriched. By matching the algorithm and comparing the parcels geometry and attributes, suspicious parcels are identified by the logistic regression algorithm. The Accuracy and F1-Score of this model were 0.845 and 0.780, respectively. Finally, the suspicious parcels are checked and the parcels are located, deleted, merged, splitted and geometrically modified in the base map and the base map is enriched. This paper has successfully proposed a new framework for cadastral and urban map enrichment intelligently.

ANALYSIS OF GREEN ZONES AND HEAT ISLANDS OF ALMATY CITY BASED ON SATELLITE IMAGES

The ubiquitous process of urbanization leads to the expected trend of population growth that will live on the territory of urban space. The image of urban organization of life leads to an increase in anthropogenic impact on the environment and a decrease in the level of interaction with natural resources. Population growth, or rather an increase in population density within an urban area that does not correspond to quantitative indicators, leads to a change in climatic indicators, which will subsequently affect the quality of life of citizens. The purpose of this scientific study was to identify green areas indicating the coverage of the urban area based on the definition of heat islands and classification by land cover based on satellite images. The scientific significance of the study was justified by the trend aimed at improving urban spaces and improving the quality of life of urban residents. The research methodology consisted in processing satellite images for further reclassification according to generally accepted standards, taking into account the individual indicators of the city of Almaty. The main result of the study was the identification of the zones most unsuitable for the quality of life, and the conclusion was recommendations for improving the environmental situation based on surface temperature indicators that allow identifying heat islands associated with a low quality indicator of the standard of living within the city of Almaty. The value of the research was aimed at developing theoretical theses for subsequent implementation in potential projects to improve the quality of life of residents of Almaty.

Law, the city and the poor: a roadmap

In this introduction to the themed Special Feature ‘Law at the margins of the city’, we present a roadmap of concepts and practices across the various fields that are explored in this collection of articles. We invite readers to visit a disciplinary and creative encounter by untangling different routes and layers connecting law, finance, raciality, urban poverty and radical insurgencies. The aim is to delineate and reinaugurate an existing but still not entirely explored area of knowledge, in which the contributing articles provoke insightful critiques about legal articulations on and from the margins of the city. Through a multi-sited perspective, reflected in the contexts from which the invited authors are writing, we suggest that the ‘problem of poverty’ is not only globalised, but also embedded in and facilitated by globally effective legal processes. By bringing together variegated urban experiences in the United Kingdom, Brazil, Italy, Mozambique, Colombia, Turkey and India, that could be read as isolated and localised, a clear global pattern reveals itself in the transformation of cities and their margins. Likewise, a global web of insurgent practices emerges through the local ways in which law is appropriated by resistance groups from the margins. As will be seen in the contributions to this Special Feature, by disputing law and by disputing space, these ongoing practices can work to destabilise an entire world-making system of property, raciality and urban organisation.

Стратегирование развития городских урбосистем на основе мультифрактальной динамики

This article introduces a new analysis algorithm that can be applied to territorial organization of urban systems. After directed zoning, the zones are divided into those of balance and those of disproportions. The obtained solutions of the territorial-communication model are compared with a fractal standard, which serves as an indicator of the most effective urban organization in terms of the basic life support infrastructures and their communications. The algorithm makes it possible to reveal territorial disproportions of the urban environment, i.e., risk areas that violate the stability of the urban system as a whole and require external management.

RIVER ECOSYSTEMS OF POLISYA: NATURE, CAUSES OF DEGRADATION, METHODS OF URBAN PLANNING AND LAND REGENERATION

In this article we have analyzed the current state of the ecosystems of Polesye rivers in Ukraine, the causes of their degradation. We have primarily made recommendations for urban planning and the reclamation of coastal areas of Polesye rivers in urban and suburban areas. Ukrainian rivers are classified into 3 categories: Polesye rivers, mountain rivers and rivers in river-cut valleys. In this article we analyzed the natural features of Polesye river ecosystems and the reasons and factors of their degradation. We have made some recommendations with respect to town-planning and the reclamation of coastal territories: in both urban and suburban zones.The river ecosystem is a naturally balanced formation - disturbance of the coastal area directly affects the state of the riverbed. Maintaining the natural (optimal) functioning of the river ecosystem and its catchment area helps to increase their self-cleaning capabilities and minimize the impact of extreme situations, including low-water years. Any measures for the preservation or reconstruction of the ecosystem of the river and river valley should be aimed at the reproduction of natural complexes, originally characteristic of the area and the landscape.In order to maintain, preserve, protect and restore the ecological balance, the urban organization of coastal areas of Polissya rivers in urban and suburban areas should take into account the presence of wetlands of coastal areas, the number of wetlands, small number of aquatic and air-water plants. features of Polissya river ecosystems. The dominance of the landscape direction of the urban organization of the coastal areas of Polissya will help maintain the natural balance, which is the key to maintaining the purity of Polissya rivers and the stability of coastal areas.

Application of normalizing least angle choice in the evolution of Zhanjiang

Abstract Based on the theory of space syntax, this research conducts a quantitative study on the four stages of Zhanjiang urban spatial organization system, and draws the urban evolution process. This study found that the development strategy of different periods has a huge impact on the urban development. It determines the structural basis of the original urban space and creates strong development inertia. According to these research results, it can provide an effective theoretical reference for the future spatial expansion of the city.