Urban Prosperity Research Articles

Modelling road traffic Noise under heterogeneous traffic conditions using the graph-theoretic approach.

A traffic noise system involves several subsystems like road traffic subsystem, human subsystem, environment subsystem, traffic network subsystem, and urban prosperity subsystem. The study’s main aim was to develop road traffic noise models using a graph theory approach involving the parameters related to road traffic subsystem. The road traffic subsystem variables selected for the modeling purposes included vehicular speed, traffic volume, carriageway width, number of heavy vehicles, and number of honking events. The interaction of the selected variables considered in the form of permanent noise function is given in the matrix form. Eigenvalues and corresponding eigenvectors are calculated for removing any human judgmental error. The permanent noise function matrix was then updated using the eigenvectors, which was ultimately utilized for obtaining the permanent noise index. Data regarding the selected variables were collected for three months, and the noise parameters included in the study were equivalent noise level (Leq,1h), maximum noise level (L10,1h), and background noise level (L90,1h). A logarithmic transformation was applied to the permanent noise index and linear regression models were developed for Leq,1h , L90,1h , and L10,1h respectively. The models were validated using the data collected from the same locations for nine months. The models were found to provide satisfactory results, although the results were somewhat overestimated. The method can prove beneficial for estimating future noise levels, given the expected changes in values for the independent variables considered in the study.

Spatial heterogeneity modeling of city prosperity using GWt-test: The case study of Tehran

City prosperity index (CPI) is an instrument for measuring sustainability in cities. This instrument has a conceptual model called wheel of urban prosperity, which includes productivity, infrastructure equity and social inclusion, quality of life and environmental sustainability. Current methods of calculating CPI use global methods for different CPI dimensions, and in this study, we have suggested a local model of geographically weighting - called GWt-test - for measuring the CPI that can model spatial heterogeneity. The GWt-test method is an expansion of the classical hypothesis t-test models. In this method, for each feature, the hypothesis test is calculated individually. Geographically weighted matrixes are used to select samples. At first, the randomness and normalization of the selected set are tested. If confirmed, a GWt-test is performed on samples. The GWt-test can be non-directional or directional based on the p-value hypothesis; accept and reject. The results on CPI in Tehran highlighted spatial heterogeneities int two parts including a) north and south, and b) northeast to southwest. The proposed model examines spatial heterogeneity at the local level based on context and relationships between locations and provides better comparisons of neighborhoods. From this point if view, it provides a better understanding of urban issues. As a result, better strategies and policies are produced in urban plans and programs that ensure a long-term vision of urban development.

Visible Homelessness in a “Liveable City”: Municipal Responses to Homelessness in Melbourne

AbstractDespite considerable national and urban prosperity, significant numbers of Australians are homeless. How local governments engage with homelessness has significant implications for the homeless population. In recent years, municipal strategies have inclined towards the maintenance of public order at the cost of the rights of homeless individuals. In this article, we investigate the approach to homelessness proposed by the City of Melbourne in 2017, which centered on the expansion of powers to remove individuals and the confiscation of possessions, testing the council’s claims as to the impact of visible homelessness upon local businesses and upon other users of public spaces.

Urban Renewal Decision - Making in China

To meet the growing rigid demand of urban housing, urban renewal has played a significant role, which significantly promotes the urban prosperity in China. However, at the same time, many problems occurred through large-scale urban renewal projects. To avoid unintended consequences that occurred in urban renewal, how these decisions were made can be one key focus. To better achieve the goal of sustainability, this research aims to deepen the understanding of urban renewal decision-making in China and contribute to recommend strategies to improve the system. Based on the participatory decision-making theory and the characteristics of urban renewal, a conceptual framework is built to achieve the aim of this research. According to the research framework, this research firstly conducted an empirical study of stakeholders’ expectations in urban renewal projects. Eighteen factors are identified and compared among the main stakeholder groups. Secondly, this research explores the stakeholders and their participation in the decision-making of urban renewal in China. Stakeholder Analysis and Social Network Analysis are complemented as the research methodology. In the third step, transaction costs theory is adopted to improve the understanding of urban renewal decision-making process in China. Based on the results of the above three steps, the last step of this research systematically determines a set of strategies for improving urban renewal decision-making in China by adopting the Analytic Network Process. The findings of this research add new knowledge on the exploration of the decision-making of public projects and can be directly adopted by the authority in practice.

The Use of Webgis as an Implementation of Smart Sustainable Cities Concept in Parepare City, South Sulawesi

The New Urban Agenda will focus on Smart Cities and Sustainable Cities. The smart city is a smart city concept designed to support various community activities and provide easy access to information for the public. Under the smart city agenda, presently, many government agencies are attempting to engineer an urban transformation to tackle urban prosperity, live ability, and sustainability issues mostly through the means of technology solutions. This study aims to formulate a website on land use. The method used in this study begins with a study of the literature to find indicators for Smart City. After determining the indicators and benchmarks for the smart city of Parepare City, the survey of the required data is carried out, the processing of survey data and the analysis and evaluation of current conditions. After learning about the current state of the city of Parepare, the website-gis formulations were carried out as one of the instruments of the smart city. Smart City is one of the new city development and management strategies. This WEBGIS displays the distribution of land use. This model should be a tool used by the Municipality of Parepare to develop land use policies.

ПРОТЕСТ В ГОРОДАХ СИБИРИ: ОПЫТ ИЗМЕРЕНИЯ ФАКТОРОВ МОБИЛИЗАЦИОННОЙ АКТИВНОСТИ

The paper considers a set of conditions that stimulate mobilization activity. Based on the J. Goldstone’s fourth-generation revolution model, the author proposes such stimuli: the effectiveness of government, the dissatisfaction and the elites, and the protesters' notion of the power. The author reviews protesting regions’ capitals with these factors based on the assessment of mobilization. The preliminary results show that the higher the level of urban prosperity and of formal competition, the higher the mobilization activity and the ability of protest communities to establish control over resources and to achieve their goals. The main components influencing the protest identity (“anger”, “profit” and “enemy”) are proposed. Further development of mobilization takes various forms. In the most prosperous cities, it is likely for protest communities of liberal, socialist, and national-patriotic types to become an element of political competition and to complement electoral and symbolic struggle concentrated around certain leaders and topics: social justice, ecology, legal protection and values of liberalism. The other extreme (in dysfunctional cities) — short-term situational outbreaks of protest around national, state, religious or socialist ideals. The mobilization activity here is minimal, which does not exclude active street events resulting in possible personnel shifts with the relative stability of the power coalitions.

Hacia la construcción de indicadores habitacionales: principios y criterios desde el enfoque de derechos

La Nueva Agenda Urbana consensuada en Hábitat III destaca la necesidad de redefinir políticas públicas para las ciudades latinoamericanas. Uno de sus componentes centrales se vincula con la problemática del acceso al suelo. En este marco, el Índice de la Prosperidad Urbana cobra importancia al incorporar indicadores habitacionales tendientes a la sustentabilidad urbana. Sin embargo, prescinde del componente del suelo y de criterios cualitativos que, desde un enfoque de derechos, permitan complejizar el diagnóstico y la intervención urbana. Este artículo avanza sobre la propuesta de construcción de indicadores habitacionales definiendo principios y criterios útiles para monitorear el cumplimiento de políticas públicas.

The making of smart cities: Are Songdo, Masdar, Amsterdam, San Francisco and Brisbane the best we could build?

Transforming urban areas into prosperous, liveable, and sustainable settlements is a longstanding goal for local governments. Today, countless urban settlements across the globe have jumped into the so-called ‘smart city’ bandwagon to achieve this goal. Under the smart city agenda, presently, many government agencies are attempting to engineer an urban transformation to tackle urban prosperity, liveability, and sustainability issues mostly through the means of technology solutions. Nonetheless, the notion of smart cities is ambiguous, and there are limited conceptual frameworks to assist cities and their administrations in understanding the big picture view of this urban development paradigm. The aim of this paper is to generate a clear understanding on the making of successful smart city practices. This is done by elaborating the smart cities notion through a multidimensional conceptual framework, examining smart city best practices across the globe—i.e., Songdo, Masdar, Amsterdam, San Francisco, Brisbane—, and providing insights of smart city approaches from these cases. The findings of the study disclose the need for a comprehensive smart city conceptualisation to inform policymaking and consequently the practice. This will help in the formation of a much-needed smart urbanism model for the resilient settlements of the climate emergency era.

City Branding Evaluation as a Tool for Sustainable Urban Growth: A Framework and Lessons from the Yangtze River Delta Region

With the rising tide of globalization, urban branding campaigns have become the focal points of decision makers and planners aiming to establish city reputations and to achieve long-term urban prosperity. This paper, therefore, aims to develop a sustainability-oriented city branding framework that incorporates (1) comprehensive perceptions from various stakeholders through questionnaires and (2) empirical applications that evaluate the city-level potentials for a global mega-region in support of its sustainable growth. Seven major aspects, i.e., economic development, environment, potential, pulse, people, infrastructure, and governance, have been identified and assessed in the context of 26 prefecture cities in the Yangtze River Delta region. Moreover, a cluster analysis differentiated these cities into four groups with distinct characteristics and development paths. Through the framework and evaluation outputs, local planners, researchers, and decision-makers would be better placed to design and implement sustainable policy packages and incentives, with a quantitative insight into current strengths and weaknesses.

Source of Urban Vitality: Systematic Effects of Migrant Population on the Development of Urban Economy

Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, the Chinese economy has rapidly developed along with large-scale movement of population. For cities, migrant population means not only the changes in population and manpower, but also the influence on the whole economic system. On the basis of national censuses and 1% national population sample surveys, and in combination with the monitoring data of nationwide migrant population and urban economic and social statistics, the author explored the influences that migrant population has brought to urban economic development. The research suggests that migrant population will produce continuous and positive effects on the future development of urban labor market, transformation of economic structure, and improvement of economic efficiency in the medium-to-long term. Migrant population will not only supply cities for manpower and contribute to economic growth, but also drive economic efficiency improvement and the transformation of economic development mode. The future urban prosperity largely depends on how people understand and treat migrant population at present.

Scholars Attributed to the Emirate of Hakkari

بسبب الظروف الذاتية والموضوعية المحيطة بكوردستان فهي لم تنعم بالراحة والاستقرار على مَرِّ العصور ولكن على الرغم من كل ذلك، ففي الفترات القصيرة نسبياً التي تنعمت بها كوردستان بالراحة والاطمئنان والاستقرار السياسي، والاقتصادي، نرى بروز حواضر فيها ازدهرت، وبَزَّ أهلها غيرهم في النواحي الحياتية كافة آنذاك، لذا ارتأينا بأنه من الأهمية بمكان الإشارة إلى إحدى الحواضر التي ظهرت وسبقت المحيطين بها، وعلى سبيل المثال لا الحصر اقتصرنا على بلاد هكاري، واتبعنا في ذلك الطريقة الاستقرائية في البحث والتقصي عمن نحن بصدد ذكرهم ضمن بحثا هذا. وعكفنا على جمع وسرد اسماء العلماء المنسوبين إلى بلاد هكاري قدر المستطاع، مع ذكر موجز عن تاريخ حياة ومؤلفات كل واحدٍ منهم إنْ وجدت. واكتفينا هنا بالجانب الثقافي فقط، لأنه هو الذي يدل في المحصلة النهائية على مدى التقدم والازدهار، الذي تم تحقيقه في الجوانب الأخرى. وإذا لم يكن هناك استقرار سياسي وعسكري، بالتأكيد لا يكون هناك ازدهار اقتصادي ولا ثقافي، ولا عمراني، إضافة إلى الجوانب الأخرى المكملة لمسيرة الحياة الحرة الكريمة. ففي هذه الفترات والتي وإنْ كانت قصيرة نسبياً، فقد ازدهر العلم، وظهر علماء يُشار إليهم بالبنان في تلك الحواضر. وخَلَّفوا آثاراً خالدةً دُبِّجَتْ وحُرِّرَتْ بأقلامهم، فكانوا علماء دين ظهروا وبرزوا في تلك الحواضر، وتفقهوا في الدين وألفوا في مجال اختصاصاتهم، فخلدوا اسماءهم ونتاجاتهم الفكرية، وسطَّروها على صفحات التاريخ بأحرفٍ من نور. ولا يفوتنا هنا الإشادة بدور المساجد والجوامع التي لم تكن هناك قرية كردية تخلو منها ولا يزال إلاّ ما قَلَّ وندر، ولم يكن أولئك العلماء خريجو الجامعات والمعاهد العالية، وإنما ظهروا وبرزوا من أروقة الجوامع والمساجد فكان لهم القدح المُعلى. وقد اقتصرت في بحثي هذا على سبيل المثال لا الحصر على العلماء المنسوبين إلى إمارة الهكارية، التي حكمت ما يقارب أربعة قرون من الزمان (334 ـ 737هـ /945ـ 1336م)، التي رفدت العالم بعلماء أعلام. ولم أتناول العلماء الذين ظهروا في حواضر ومدن هذه الإمارة، ولم يُنسبوا إليها. من أهم النتائج التي تمخض البحث عنها أُجَمِّلها فيما يلي: 1 ـ كردستان كانت ساحة تصفية الحسابات بين القوى المتصارعة، لكن بالرغم من ذلك ظهرت فيها حواضر تمتعت بنوع الاستقلال وإن كان شكليا، رفدت العالم بعلماء أعلام. 2 ـ تمكنت تلك الحواضر من احتضان العلماء الذين ذاع صيتهم وسارت بها الركبان. 3 ـ من بين تلك الحواضر اخترنا بلا هكارى على سبيل الاستشهاد لا الحصر، وركزنا على العلماء الذين انتسبوا الى هذه البلاد دون سواهم، ثم سردنا اسماءَ المنتسبين إليها، مع ذكر موجز عن تاريخ حياة ومؤلفات كل واحدٍ منهم إنْ وجدت. 4 ـ الإشادة بدور المساجد والجوامع التي لم تكن هناك قرية كردية تخلو منها ولا يزال إلاّ ما قَلَّ وندر، وخَرَّجت علماء أعلام تفقهوا في الدين وألفوا في مجال اختصاصاتهم، فخلدوا اسماءهم ونتاجاتهم الفكرية، وسطَّروها على صفحات التاريخ بأحرفٍ من نور. ولم يكن أولئك العلماء خريجو الجامعات والمعاهد العالية، وإنما ظهروا وبرزوا من أروقة الجوامع والمساجد فكان لهم القدح المُعلى وقصب السبق في ذلك.

Intellectual Centers during the Albuehi’s Era (334-447 AH / 945-1055 AD)

The present study displays the former intellectual centers through Albuehi Testament and related it can be concluded that the most important things is keen on Muslims in Albuehi era. It reflects the importance of mosques and spread through the teaching of Science and the Qur'an confirm the Koran on the flag, and remained mosques retain their importance religious and secular.The most important thing was characterized by mosques in Albuehi recipe from the doctrinal and religious era has been characterized by the representation of the Shafi'i school and other Hanafi. As well as schools, centers and institutions scientific mission after the mosque was a role the president and the basis for the seminars, schools have become in the city of Nishapur delegation ranged schools and become an example for. The ligaments and Gorges after negating the military necessity, which was performed by these institutions, where the council of scientists held a social male and deliver the lectures and give the holiday has had a role scientifically and culturally and educationally privileged in the construction of the Islamic character. As well as the boards of governors and ministers who ruled Iraq was their role and their palaces bill of scholars and writers where Almhellba Council described the Council Albrhech. It can be considered Almarstanat in Islamic history as he signs on the economic and urban prosperity and power level of interest in them. The main findings of this study show the libraries and cabinets Office of important scientific institutions that help students of science and scientists alike in the seas of science and knowledge, which contained a large number of books and folders in modern jurisprudence and theology.

Modelling of urban traffic noise using a systems approach

An urban traffic noise model was developed using a systems approach. This paper presents the urban traffic noise system, which consists of various subsystems – such as road traffic, human, environment, traffic network and urban prosperity subsystems – along with their associated parameters. The traffic noise model is based on graph theory. A composite traffic noise index, called the permanent noise index (PNI), was derived. An illustrative example of traffic noise data in the city of Patiala, India, is presented. This explains the different steps of the methodology for evaluation of the ‘permanent function’ and its correlation with the noise level descriptor Leq. The highest and lowest PNI values were found to be 2·75 and 0·90, corresponding to Leq values of 80·1 dB(A) and 66·2 dB(A), respectively. The value of R2 was determined to be 0·83. The error between the measured and predicted values of Leq for the testing data set was 0·2–1·6 dB(A).

Contractor’s Performance Appraisal System in the Malaysian Construction Industry: Current Practice, Perception and Understanding

Performance appraisal system is a common practice in any organisation to appraise performance of workers. In the Malaysian construction industry, performance appraisal system is applied to appraise contractor’s performance in many angles including: quality performance; time performance; cost performance; environmental performance; health and safety performance; productivity performance; and human resources performance. This is where the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) established three guidelines in strengthening the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP) by appraising the contractor’s performance through identification of their weaknesses as well as drafting and offering suitable trainings in enhancing their performance. This paper is therefore undertaken with the objectives of: (1) determining the current practice of contractor’s performance appraisal system in the Malaysian construction industry; and (2) examining the construction players’ perception and understanding on the existing contractor’s performance appraisal system in the Malaysian construction industry. A set of questionnaires is designed and distributed to 157 contractors from G1 to G7 class. The paper finds that: (1) contractor’s performance appraisal system is benefiting the contractors yet should be improved for its efficiency; and (2) construction players have sufficient understanding on contractor’s performance appraisal system. It is expected that the improvement of contractor’s performance appraisal system via the findings of this paper would assist in achieving the three focuses of Transformasi Nasional 2050 (TN50), namely science and technology, urban prosperity as well as environment.

Characteristics of urban/architectural developments in Tirana and Prishtina, during the last decade

Rapid urbanization as a process of societal transformation and intensive architectural developments in urban areas in Tirana and Prishtina, as capital cities of Countries in transition in sense of achievements for community living there and their urban qualitative life. Considering the planning process and role of different partners towards urban prosperity, the urban developments during the last ten years in both capital cities, based on research done and presented in this paper, using comparison methodology on some contextual bases: Policy context Physical space context Site landscape context With analyses aiming to explain which are effects of three-dimensional mentioned above “contexts” related with: urban space and its integration within public realm (open space, streets, urban greenery, social features…) and architectural values related to sustainability, in line within general objective-urban community satisfaction!

Smart Cities: Contradictions Yet Opportunities for a Better Urban World

This article presents a critical analysis of the “smart city” concept. The argument focuses on contradictions in the symbols of urban prosperity, unraveling of the social agents involved and their interests, and an investigation of the processes resulting from investments in technology and innovation selectively performed in a territory. We propose three approaches for understanding the smart city project, in the light of analytical resources provided by the Brazilian geographer Milton Santos. Through these analyses we point to the strengths and weaknesses of the concept.

“城市繁荣指数”体系：指标、分析及政策的联结

Abstract This paper argues for a more robust and flexible framework to develop the ‘City Prosperity Index’ (CPI), one which is able to connect indicators and analytical intelligence with the policy needs of urban planners and government strategists. The adoption of a more progressive and balanced agenda of ‘people-centred’ urban prosperity in the UN-Habitat's newly developed CPI has already led to a more holistic approach to integrating productivity, infrastructure, quality of life, equity and social inclusion, and environmental sustainability into a coherent framework. Building on this international agenda, there is still scope to critically revise and improve the conceptual and methodological framework of the CPI, probably in an incremental manner, to make it a more tailored policy instrument that can truly address the different sets of challenges faced by cities in different regions under different socio-spatial contexts to achieve sustainable prosperity.

CITY PROSPERITY INITIATIVE INDEX: USING AHP METHOD TO RECALCULATE THE WEIGHTS OF DIMENSIONS AND SUB- DIMENSIONS IN REFERENCE TO TEHRAN METROPOLIS

City Prosperity Initiative (CPI) as a comprehensive multidimensional index agreed globally, is a broad and flexible conceptual framework for measuring and monitoring the urbanization and urbanism as a consequence of this process. This initiative is a fundamental approach for defining an integrative and incremental vision and subsequently multi-sectorial and spatial analysis based direction for its fulfilment towards the sustainability path and sustainable urban development in different hierarchical levels and scales of global, national, regional, and local. The CPI is accompanied by a conceptual matrix, the Wheel of Urban Prosperity, in terms of six key components or dimensions associated with the city and urban settlement, including Productivity, Infrastructure Development, Quality of Life, Equity and Social Inclusion, Environmental Sustainability, and Urban Governance and Legislation. Each of these aspects includes 3 to 5 sub- dimensions defined and measured by a group of variables or indicators. Thus, the City Prosperity Initiative Index is essential basis to found and promote a new pattern or model of urbanization in the global scale which is adaptive to the contextual conditions and dynamics. Therefore, one of the most key issues in relation to the CPI Index is the weights of the dimensions and sub-dimensions in terms of the conceptualizations of a prosperous city based on the local priorities. Accordingly, this paper has been focused on the City Prosperity Initiative Index and subsequently recalculating the weights of its dimensions and sub-dimensions using Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method according to the contextual situation of Tehran Metropolis in Iran. Keywords: City Prosperity Initiative (CPI) Index, Sustainability, Urban Prosperity, Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method, Tehran Metropolis

Coping with Migration-Induced Urban Growth: Addressing the Blind Spot of UN Habitat

The demography of cities in the 21st century will be shaped, to a large extent, by migration. This paper argues that the rights-based approach to urban policy advocated in the preparatory work of Habitat III, the UN Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development to be held in October 2016 in Quito, Ecuador, may not be conducive to this goal. The approach lacks a contextual and dynamic understanding of urbanization. It implicitly assumes that a growing and expansive urban economy would primarily benefit the rich and harm the poor. The resulting containment policies to stop “urban sprawl” and defend “the right to the city” can, however, be counterproductive if adopted in cities in less developed countries (LDCs) that grow fast due to internal migration. Attempts to limit urban growth may merely lead to more informal settlements, less affordable housing, and increasing costs of doing business. In other words, it may benefit the rich and harm the poor. LDCs should, therefore, refrain from adopting defensive urban policies mostly advocated by more developed countries (MDCs) and, instead, plan for sustainable urban expansion designed to improve access to essential urban services and to create a level playing field for newcomers in business. In this context, urban policies may build upon the basic insights of the late urbanist Jane Jacobs. She recognized that the vital function of cities is to provide affordable infrastructure and an institutional environment that enable migrants and other marginal urban communities to contribute to urban prosperity and problem-solving with their skills, networks, and entrepreneurial minds. The resulting social and economic empowerment increases access to essential human rights and ensures that cities become more inclusive, resilient, and sustainable.

Modelling and Analysis of Urban Traffic Noise System Using Algebraic Graph Theoretic Approach

An Urban Traffic Noise System can be considered to consist of various subsystems like Road Traffic Subsystem, Human Subsystem, Environment Subsystem, Traffic Network Subsystem and Urban Prosperity Subsystem. These subsystems would include all the relevant parameters which affect the noise in an urban traffic scenario. In the present work, only the Road Traffic System and some of its major parameters have been considered and an Algebraic Graph Theoretic model is presented which emulates the chosen input dataset with a satisfactory level of accuracy, after incorporating the interaction effects. The parameters like traffic volume, street width, height of measuring point above street level and estimated speed with the interactions between them have been identified and modelled as permanent noise function. The evaluation of the ‘permanent function’ as a noise index and its correlation with the experimental values of traffic noise level descriptors, $$L_\mathrm{eq}$$ , $$L_{90 }$$ and $$L_{10}$$ , is shown with the help of an illustrative example.