Urban Texture Research Articles

Facilitating and Inhibiting Factors regarding Quality of Life in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis: A Qualitative Study

Introduction: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic progressive disease related to the central nervous system, which affects the patients' quality of life. Several factors play the roles of facilitators and inhibitors concerning the life quality of these patients. This study aims to explain the facilitating and inhibiting factors with regard to the life quality of MS patients.
 
 Methods: The present study was conducted through a conventional content analysis approach. Through purposive sampling and semi-structured interviews, 18 MS patients referring to the Isfahan MS Association were selected. Data collection continued until data saturation was reached. For data management, MAXQDA-10 software was used.
 Results: Through content analysis of the interviews, 4 main categories and 15 sub-categories were identified. The main categories included personal facilitators (leisure time and coping strategies), interpersonal facilitators (exercise therapy, social support and social organizations), interpersonal inhibitors (physical problems, psychological disorders, uncertain future, functional limitations, losing job and poverty) ,and environmental inhibitors (disease and treatment process, caregivers' fatigue, insufficient information about MS, family tensions, and fun and entertainment).
 Conclusion: According to the results of the current research, by taking measures such as providing educational and psychological services for patients and their caregivers, appropriate insurance coverage, easy access to drugs, especially foreign ones with reasonable tariffs, social and financial support, raising the society's awareness regarding this disease and developing an appropriate urban texture can help to improve the quality of life in MS patients.

Predicting the distribution of COVID-19 through CGAN-Taking Macau as an example.

Machine learning (ML) is an innovative method that is widely used in data prediction. Predicting the COVID-19 distribution using ML is essential for urban security risk assessment and governance. This study uses conditional generative adversarial network (CGAN) to construct a method to predict the COVID-19 hotspot distribution through urban texture and business formats and establishes a relationship between urban elements and COVID-19 so that machines can automatically predict the epidemic hotspots in cities. Taking Macau as an example, this method is used to determine the correlation between the urban texture and business hotspots of Macau and the new epidemic hotspot clusters. Different types of samples afforded different epidemic prediction accuracies. The results show the following: (1) CGAN can accurately predict the distribution area of COVID-19, and the accuracy can exceed 70%. (2) The results of predicting the COVID-19 distribution through urban texture and POI data of hospitals and stations are the best, with an accuracy of more than 60% in experiments in different regions of Macau. (3) The proposed method can also predict other areas in the city that may be at risk of COVID-19 and help urban epidemic prevention and control.

YOĞUN YAPILAŞMIŞ KENT DOKUSUNDA “CEP PARKLARIN” ÖNEMİ

In the world that is in motion and transformation, almost everything changes every day. This change brings with it many differences, both positive and negative. Even problems such as "global warming and climate change", which are among today's global problems, are a chain of problems brought about by this change. Design-oriented professional disciplines and many other professional disciplines are doing a lot of work to solve the factors that cause this problem. The importance of city parks has become even more evident in this changing movement. Especially during the pandemic period between 2019 and 2021, which affected the whole world, everyone looked for a place to get away from the dense urban texture and breathe. In cities, the closest places where this can be achieved are city parks. However, the increase in dense urban tissue has increased the importance of "pocket parks" rather than city parks. Within the scope of this study, "Koşuyolu Life Park" located in Istanbul, the Mega city with the most dense population in Turkey, was selected. Within the scope of the study area; It is aimed to "reveal what the benefits of pocket parks are, to examine the factors related to the higher number of users visiting or using pocket parks, and to reveal the relationship between dense urban tissue and pocket parks and to make suggestions." In line with this aim of the study, these aims were questioned with a group of participants who had previously been to "Koşuyolu Life Park" or lived there. The findings were examined in line with the objectives and suggestions were made for future studies.

Площадь как визуальный паттерн городской среды

This article is devoted to the analysis of the square as one of the key visual elements (patterns) of the urban environment. To understand how a city works, it is necessary to find out what urban practices are associated with the square, what its role is in shaping the overall appearance of the city, and in what ways it relates to other visual patterns. The study of the city square in its aesthetic, semiotic, social, and cultural aspects is a necessary part of the discourse, which is focused on the theoretical understanding and practical formation of the overall image of the city. The article deals with questions about the human scale of the square, its cultural functions, artistic integrity, and forms of its participation in the scenography of urban space. A comparison of the closed and open squares is made by referring to some well-known examples. It is shown that a normal urban pattern is a square that combines the properties of ‘openness’ and ‘closedness’ and at the same time includes elements of geometry, architecture, sculpture, and local history in its ensemble. It is concluded that a stable visual pattern of the urban environment can only be such a square that combines several functions, is in obvious combination with patterns of other types, has a human scale, and is a noticeable architectural ensemble. The square can act as a visual dominant of the entire urban structure, determine the general perception of the city, its appearance and silhouette. At the same time, the city also influences the square, programming its form, style, and function. The degradation of squares, which leads to the degradation of the urban environment as a whole, is explained by their dehumanization, functional reduction (the transformation of squares into transport hubs) and, most importantly, the fragmentation of their visual perception. The city square is degrading precisely because the townspeople cease to understand and perceive it as a certain and very complex form of organization of the urban texture, on which both the compositional unity of the city and the continuity of its cultural identity rest.

Multicascaded Feature Fusion-Based Deep Learning Network for Local Climate Zone Classification Based on the So2Sat LCZ42 Benchmark Dataset

A detailed investigation of the microclimate is beneficial for optimizing the urban inner/spatial pattern to enhance thermal comfort or even reduce heatwave disasters, whereas accurately classifying local climate zones (LCZs) severely restricts analysis of thermal characterization. Generally, deep learning-based approaches are effective for adaptive LCZ mapping, yet they often have poor accuracy because inadequate cascade feature extraction patterns may not adapt to the fuzzy LCZ boundaries produced by intricate urban textures, especially when using large-scale datasets. To address these issues, we propose a novel CNN model in which we design a strategy that incorporates a triple feature fusion pattern to enhance LCZ recognition based on the So2sat LCZ 42 large-scale annotated dataset. The approach connects multilayer cascaded information to participate in category judgment, which avoids the loss of effective feature information via continuous cascade transformation as much as possible. The results show that the overall accuracy and kappa coefficient of the proposed model reach 0.70 and 0.68, respectively, manifesting an improvement of approximately 4.47% and 6.25% over advanced LCZ classification approaches. In particular, the accuracy of the proposed approach improves even further after the fusion structure or layer depth is partially removed or reduced, respectively. Finally, we discuss several items, including the effectiveness of different parameters and cascaded feature fusion patterns, the superiority of multilayer cascade feature fusion, the mapping impact of seasons and cloud cover, and even some other issues in LCZ mapping. This article will facilitate improvements in the research precision of urban thermal environments.

The forerunner of modern collective residence in Hankou: the study on Panoffs’ Mansion

ABSTRACT Collective residence is the choice of urban residents for residential buildings in the context of urban intensification and population densification in modern times. Starting from the modern collective residence in the former concession area of Hankou, this paper, with the focus on Panoffs’ Mansion in the former Russian Concession, through field investigation and literature, original spatial pattern was deduced according to the current situation. Through the diagram analysis of its spatial sequence and organization, and comparative analysis with other collective residence in Hankou, to discuss the similarities and differences between the mansion and other modern Hankou collective residence in form, layout, internal space pattern and living mode. The urban texture of concession completely different form Hankou Old Town, but regional elements are integrated. Panoffs’ Mansion has these common characteristics. Moreover, its volume occupies a single block, and it is the earliest unit residence in Hankou. Panoffs’ Mansion is the earliest practice of unit housing in Hankou, which plays a leading role in modern housing in Hankou. The study of its spatial organization and architectural form is of great significance to the study of modern housing in Hankou concession.

Urban renewal design based on analysis of remote sensing images and texture characteristics

Cities are organic organisms, and urban regeneration is accompanied by urban development, which promotes the continuous regeneration and transformation of cities. In order to pursue rapid urban development, the original intention of urban development has been ignored, leading to various urban diseases in the city, and eventually, it will lead to urban road congestion. Remote sensing information can reflect the role and influence of the urban ecological change process. Based on remote sensing image technology, with various stages of urbanization as the background, the survey was conducted based on the comprehensive response characteristics of urban elements and urban thermal environment, the relationship characteristics of the impact, and the adaptability of spatial analysis. From the perspective of urban texture, analyze the reasons for the breakage of the texture, and put forward corresponding definition methods and stitching strategies. The results show that with the advancement of urbanization, there is a large gap in the surface energy levels between urban and natural elements, and a large gap in energy between physical space and open space. Therefore, it is necessary to explore measures to solve ecological problems in terms of urban element structure combination and space allocation, and to stitch together a vibrant city with delicate urban texture from the three levels of space, function and culture.

Vulnerability analysis of urban texture in earthquakes: A case study of District 2 of Tabriz city

Introduction: Natural disasters are known as one of the most important factors in the destruction of human settlements. One of the key concerns for urban planners is examining how natural disasters affect human settlements, particularly cities. Earthquake is one of these natural disasters that has always threatened human settlements and can cause a lot of damage and casualties in a short period. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the vulnerability of settlements in District 2 of Tabriz, Iran, against earthquakes. Methods: This applied research was conducted based on a descriptive-analytical approach. The primary data of existing documents and maps were collected from related organizations. The analytical hierarchy process model and geographic information system software were used for data analysis. Findings: To determine the vulnerability of the texture of District 2 of Tabriz, such indicators as the distance from the fault, slope percentage, groundwater levels, building age, building materials, building quality, building density, number of floors, plot area, and land use were employed. Conclusion: According to the results, 35% of the region was in the high-risk and 25% in the very high-risk areas. In general, it can be said that most of the region (i.e. 60%) was in the area with a high risk of earthquake, and the area with very high risk was mostly in the northern parts of the region, while the southeastern parts of the region were located in low-risk areas.

Revealing the Impact of Urban Form on COVID-19 Based on Machine Learning: Taking Macau as an Example

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a re-examination of the urban space, and the field of planning and architecture is no exception. In this study, a conditional generative adversarial network (CGAN) is used to construct a method for deriving the distribution of urban texture through the distribution hotspots of the COVID-19 epidemic. At the same time, the relationship between urban form and the COVID-19 epidemic is established, so that the machine can automatically deduce and calculate the appearance of urban forms that are prone to epidemics and may have high risks, which has application value and potential in the field of planning and design. In this study, taking Macau as an example, this method was used to conduct model training, image generation, and comparison of the derivation results of different assumed epidemic distribution degrees. The implications of this study for urban planning are as follows: (1) there is a correlation between different urban forms and the distribution of epidemics, and CGAN can be used to predict urban forms with high epidemic risk; (2) large-scale buildings and high-density buildings can promote the distribution of the COVID-19 epidemic; (3) green public open spaces and squares have an inhibitory effect on the distribution of the COVID-19 epidemic; and (4) reducing the volume and density of buildings and increasing the area of green public open spaces and squares can help reduce the distribution of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Static downscaling of mesoscale wind conditions into an urban canopy layer by a CFD microscale model

Wind flows inside complex urban environments are determined by the mutual effect of large-scale (i.e., wind above the urban boundary layer, UBL) and local-scale forcing (i.e. constraints into the urban canopy layer, UCL). Usually, when the wind field above the UBL is known (e.g. by on-site measurements, OsM), high-resolution microscale models (e.g. CFD) are used to predict the wind inside the UCL. However, standard procedures to map the wind field from an undisturbed position to the UCL are not available yet and several technical aspects need to be investigated. A downscaling method, so-called “static downscaling”, of the wind from mesoscale to microscale is innovatively adopted here to evaluate the performance of two CFD microscale models when predicting the flow in a UCL. The methodology is based on OsM transferred into the UCL by means of so-called “transfer coefficients” calculated by 3D steady RANS simulations for two different spatial extents of the explicitly modeled urban texture (Case A and B). It is discussed in detail the way the transfer coefficients work, how they can be used to understand the correlations between wind above and within the UCL as well as to identify the major limitations of the RANS approach. Results are discussed in qualitative terms and quantified using standard metrics. It is also shown that too high flow rates can occur at the entrance of the waterway of the area of interest and in the outer part of the explicitly modeled urban area, which can be mitigated by “buffer zones”.

Mysterious faces of hybridisation: an anticipatory approach for crisis literacy

Our complex world is changing at such a pace that we are struggling to address many of the global challenges ahead of us. As one of its symptoms, hybridisation means that fields, functions, characteristics and roles are increasingly combined and fused. This paper is an opening to the study of hybridisation, as an overlooked topic in the field of futures studies and foresight. We explore how hybridisation could be integrated into foresight through identification and interpretation of emerging issues and weak signals. As our case study, we examined how hybridisation manifests in the urban texture. We performed an anticipatory analysis of three hybrid urban spaces of pioneering architecture. We assumed a view to hybridity that considered diverse futures, images of the future, and open futures to detect what is opening or closing. Coming to terms with hybridisation and its expressions may inform action on anticipatory governance by improving the detection of opportunities, risks and crises. Deeper understanding of budding developments that removes ambiguity may be a nudge towards novel solutions and promote futures resilience.

Household Solid Waste Management in Inaccessible Neighbourhoods

This research examines challenges in collecting household solid waste in highly populated inaccessible neighbourhoods. The main question of the study is: to what extent does the built environment affect waste management processes? To answer this question, two major aspects were analyzed: traditional planning theories, relating to environmental and sustainable planning models, and the behavioural studies and their role in waste management. Based on these two aspects, further analysis was conducted on the interrelated impacts, both of which being discussed from two points of view; the first is the impact of urban texture, and the second is the sociocultural impact. The area under study is one of the oldest and largest informal settlements in Amman, the capital of Jordan. Results revealed that both the community and the government agencies must share the service areas. In addition, the municipality has to provide access to underserved people. This study is important since it brings valuable contribution to the scarce literature on the relationship between solid waste management and informal inaccessible settlements in Jordan and within the region.

A Mapping Experiment of Belfast Films: The Mighty Celt and Belfast Girls

This study aims to show how the act of mapping could contribute to our existing knowledge about cities. Mapping has long been used as a tool for understanding physical space. Lately, scholars also used it as a method of examining the places on the screen. Belfast, a city in which a profound sectarian dispute exists, has become the setting of many conflict-themed films. This research claims that mapping film locations in Belfast could provide an archive to examine the transformation of urban texture and architecture. Analysis of the city image in two films, The Mighty Celt (2005) and Belfast Girls (2006), could help to reveal the physical change of the city from different perspectives. In the first one, Belfast is a hostile background experienced from the eyes of a young boy, while the second one documents the life of two girls from diverse backgrounds, a Protestant and a Catholic. Both films are set in Northern Ireland during the post-Trouble period, during which the division between the two groups persisted. These films make a contemporary portrait of Belfast as a divided city where armed conflicts have ended, but physical segregation remains. By analysing these two narratives, the study will try to interpret the complex urban conditions in Belfast at the beginning of the century.

Blurred Frontiers of the Ancient City: Quarters in Ottoman-Era Trabzon (17th-20th Centuries)

The city of Trabzon, which has been one of the most important settlements in Anatolia since the ancient eras, contains the traces of political, economic, and social mobility observed throughout its long history in its urban texture. The study focuses on the urban texture of Trabzon after the Ottoman conquest and focuses on the period between the 17th and 20th centuries, which is seen as an important deficiency in the literature. In this context, archival documents kept during the Ottoman period, especially through the records of the kadı court of Trabzon; the main backbone of the study is the determination of the mahalles (quarters) that are newly established, whose names have changed and merged, as well as examining where these mahalles are located on the city topography and discussing the dimensions of urban growth seen in 17-20. Century period.

Yığma Tarzda İnşa Edilecek Yapılarda Sonlu Elemanlar Metodu İle Hacim ve Yük Analizleri Üzerine Bir İnceleme

If it is desired to create a building model that is suitable to be designed according to the situation of the land in the zoning plans, whether it is normal or in accordance with the historical urban texture, some feasibility studies are definitely needed. Especially in the restoration work of a historical building in accordance with the old texture or in the construction of a 2- or 3-storey building such as H = 6.50 meters in vineyard or garden areas, the ground and upper floor are stone, masonry construction projects, by making a modelling with the finite element method in the calculations of the structure. In the volumetric sense, load combinations such as dead load, live load, soil load, water load are calculated. Wall analysis are made on the stone foundation on the ground and upper floors of the masonry building. Finite element method was applied in the study. Finite elements are creating the modelling of a structure by creating connection and nodal points. With this method, especially the SAP program is used. In our study, the analysis results about the necessity of all load combinations and how the wall loads of the stone foundation on the ground will be minimum in a building to be built in a masonry style were examined.

Spatial Development Of Shopping Centers In Izmir As Large-Scale Urban Projects

Günümüzde kentsel projeler içinde alışveriş merkezleri sermaye birikim süreçlerinin en kârlı yatırım alanlarından biri olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Küreselleşme ile birlikte sermayenin dünya coğrafyaları üzerinde sınırsız bir biçimde dolaşımı, tüketim alışkanlıkları üzerinde de önemli dönüşümler yaratmıştır. Bugün gelinen noktada kentsel mekân, tüketimin bu hâkim rolüne uyum gösterecek bir biçimde yeniden organize edilmekte, bu organizasyonda dinlence ve eğlencenin tüketim odaklı düğüm noktaları ise büyük ölçekli alışveriş merkezleri olarak belirginlik kazanmaktadır. Alışveriş merkezleri, yer seçimleri, vaziyet planı organizasyonları ve mekânsal örüntüleri ile kendilerini kent merkezinden soyutlayarak, ona bir alternatif olarak tanımlamakta ve sunmaktadırlar. Böylece günümüz alışveriş merkezleri içinde sadece tüketmeye odaklı bir gerçeklik yaratılmaktadır. Türkiye’de ilk alışveriş merkezinin görüldüğü İstanbul’un ardından diğer büyük kentlerde de benzer bir gelişimin izlenmiş; İzmir kenti de özellikle 2000’li yıllarla ve giderek ivmelenen bir biçimde alışveriş merkezi üretimine sahne olmuştur. İzmir’deki alışveriş merkezleri literatürde farklı sosyo-mekânsal çalışmalara konu olmuş olsa da kentteki tüm alışveriş merkezlerinin tarihsel süreçteki mekânsal gelişimlerine bütünsel bir biçimde odaklanan bir çalışma bulunmamaktadır. Bu çalışma, İzmir’deki alışveriş merkezlerinin kentteki gelişim süreçlerini ortaya koymakta; metropol kent bütününde yer alan alışveriş merkezlerini, kentteki konumları, yer seçim kararları, plan şemaları ve mekânsal örgütlenmeleri bağlamında analiz ederek çıkarımlarda bulunmaktadır. Yapılan incelemelerde İzmir kentinde alışveriş merkezlerinin kentin tüm ana lokasyonlarına yayılım gösterdikleri, önemli ulaşım arterleri ile güçlü bir bağlantı içinde oldukları, yıllar içinde plan tipolojileri ve plan şemaları ile çeşitliliğe gitseler de kentsel dokuyla bütünleşemeyen bir yapısal eğilimde oldukları bulgulanmıştır.

Urban historic heritage buffer zone delineation: the case of Shedian

Buffer zones help protect historical heritage sites’ integrity, authenticity, and sustainability, and thus are an essential measure for protecting such sites. Traditional buffer zone delineation considers mainly the urban texture, a rigid boundary, visual corridor construction, and other factors. A more direct approach is designating a rated outer periphery that includes historic properties as a buffer zone. However, boundaries determined by single-value orientation tend to omit protected objects. A buffer zone formed by boundary translation and enclosure will include many low-value areas in the protection scope, thereby wasting resources and affecting historic towns’ natural development, resulting in a severe contradiction between humanity and the earth. This paper proposes a new method for delimiting buffer zones. The method arises from the field that covers the value assessment of cultural heritage and from the principles of comprehensive protection, which combine cultural heritage’s tangible and intangible properties. We used 29 historical preservation plans as samples to obtain statistics on their protection content, selected natural and agriculture landscapes, architectural features, construction quality, number of stories in a building, building age, protection class, street pattern, historical elements, urban texture, cultural industry, and cultural elements according to the frequency of occurrence as the primary factors affecting a buffer zone’s boundary demarcation. These factors were weighed and evaluated by the multi-criteria decision-making method (MCDM) to create a comprehensive evaluation map for helping determine a buffer zone’s boundary. Using such method, we identified the value of historical heritage through employing the quantitative analysis method of MCDM. We also used the evaluation result to determine the buffer zone boundary objectively. This approach rectifies the problems found in previous studies, namely an incomplete accounting of all relevant factors and a lack of data; it also provides a definition of an historical heritage buffer zone.

A New Urban Space Analysis Method Based on Space Syntax and Geographic Information System Using Multisource Data

With large-scale urban demolition, the spatial pattern of the urban area in many cities has been destroyed, leading to the loss of urban regional identity; therefore, these urban spaces need to be urgently studied and protected. Previous studies on the spatial pattern of urban areas focused on spatial morphology or urban texture. However, due to difficulties in obtaining field survey data, such studies cannot comprehensively analyze the space; thus, the proposed conservation strategies are also more one-sided. In order to study the urban space more scientifically and systematically, and to propose a more operable spatial conservation strategy, this paper conducts a new urban space analysis method based on space syntax and the geographic information system using multisource data. With the help of software such as Depthmap and ArcGIS, as well as theories and methods such as space syntax and regression analysis, this article conducted a visual and quantitative analysis of the spatial information data such as integration of urban road networks, building height, architectural style, points of interest, number of lanes, and maximum road speed. Taking the old city of Wuxi as an example, the method’s feasibility was verified. The regression model analysis revealed that, when the integration of the area was higher, the buildings distributed around were multilane, fast lane, modern buildings, taller buildings, commercial buildings, and vice versa, which gives a scientific basis for the proposed strategy of creating regional characteristics of urban space. This new analysis method of urban space is of great significance for the study of urban problems, the exploration of urban characteristics, and the proposal of urban strategies.

Reading the Paintings—Watching the Poems: Toward the Post-Media Inquiry With Networked City Textualities

The article explores rhizomatic poetic practices of Medellín-based graffiti artist Señor Ok. His work is the city revealed as a relational, multidimensional texture. It transforms striated urban space to smooth by bringing other meanings from the periphery to the surface and decentralizing the dominant image of the city. I look at his work as poetry as an entanglement of his relationship and his daily life in the city, in the country, in the broader world. I argue that as an assemblage that forms assemblages within the urban textures, his art becomes methodology for critical non-representational affective inquiry of urban spaces.

Orman Yangını Riskinin CBS Kullanılarak Niğde Örneğinde Belirlenmesi

The main purpose of this study is to develop a statistical model to prepare forest fire risk map using GIS. In this study eight important factors were used to determining the forest fire risk such as land use/land cover type, slope, aspect, altitude, settlement, road, temperature and precipitation. The analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to evaluate the factors. Precipitation and temperature were the most important factors to determining the forest fire risk. The study area has approximately 10.72% low fire risk, 28.21% moderate fire risk, 43.50% high fire risk, 14.65% very high fire risk, and 2.92% extreme forest fire risk. 61.07% of the study area has a high, very high and extreme forest fire risk. In order to prevent forest fires, land cover/land use should be planned in a way that does not damage forests. Especially vehicle roads, expressways, etc. which are located near the forests, have a high fire risk. Therefore, these areas should be planned in a way that will not damage the forests. The climatic characteristics of the study area should be examined, the urban texture should not be in a way to prevent microclimatic factors such as wind and precipitation.