Vacant Areas Research Articles

Mapping a framework for social–ecological resilience in reimaging of abandoned spaces

Vacant spaces present affluent areas for the urban landscape. Considering these spaces from a resilience perspective is an effective strategy. This research seeks to assist decision-makers in assessing landscape resilience and drawing on landscape selection process requirements for changes. The current research investigates the review of previous studies and develops a contextual relationship-based model to analyze critical aspects through experts' opinions. The investigation approach was inspired by interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and MICMAC software. MICMAC analysis considered the direct and possible relationships of variables in the future, while the ISM technique discovered the hierarchy of these variables and their relationship with the main areas. Flexibility has the most effectiveness, while Activity has been affected by the most properties. Furthermore, even though it is significant, urban systems lose their flexibility and adaptability in the long run by focusing entirely on engineering measures.

Understanding land take in small and medium-sized cities through scenarios of shrinkage and growth using autoregressive models

Rapid transitions induced by migration flows and socio-economic developments brought about massive changes in urbanization processes and resulted in increasingly uncertain futures. The implications and complexities of the ensuing urbanization patterns are difficult to predict and project into the future. While most studies are focused on large cities and major urban centers, urbanization processes in small and medium-sized cities have garnered little scholarly and political attention. To understand future urbanization patterns, we used the TOPOI method, a novel approach for classifying territorial settlements, and spatial autoregressive models to examine contrasting futures of population growth and shrinkage in one small and one medium-sized city in Lower Saxony, Germany. Results revealed that despite planning frameworks, high population density and functional mix, respectively, were insufficient mechanisms to reduce land take. Contrary to current assumptions on the functional mix of small and medium-sized towns, our findings showed that more than half of the settlements across the study area accommodated three or more functions. Since the share of residential buildings and functional mix strongly influenced land take, further research is needed to understand their implications on sustainable urban planning. Shrinking towns in Lower Saxony continue to present multidimensional challenges and emphasize the need for transforming local planning cultures and institutional frameworks to sustainably manage and repurpose these potentially vacant areas.

Changing Governance Processes to Make Way for Civic Involvement: The Case of Gebrookerbos in Heerlen, Netherlands

The effects of shrinkage can be manifold. Vacant green areas are a typical manifestation of shrinkage in deindustrialized cities, such as Heerlen, Netherlands. Such challenges are usually managed by the municipality which, due to financial reasons, often has to turn to citizens to aid in accommodating those effects. The example of Gebrookerbos in Heerlen shows how an adaptation of governance processes can take place in order to facilitate the involvement of citizens in reusing vacant spaces. The introduction of the position of account manager as well as brooker are being regarded as essential for shortening the distance between municipality and citizens as well as contributing to replacing the mistrust towards the municipality, which is in line with existing research on depopulating areas. Further, making a plethora of funding options and projects available for civic initiatives ensures the longevity of civic involvement. Finally, the findings show how working on the “hardware”, the visible vacancy and deterioration of the land—by adapting the “software”, the institutional set up and focusing on civic empowerment—of a shrinking city can go hand in hand.

Disaster risk and migration in the west bank of the Malay Peninsula: Will the urban-rural divide improve or widen?

The west coast of the Malay Peninsula is known for its high risk for tsunami disasters. Massive disasters and their risks (e.g., tsunamis) may trigger population movement, which may have a significant impact on the long-term development of the country. It is useful for local and national governments to gain insight into the relationship between disaster risk and population movement. The purpose of this study was to analyze how personal attributes, disaster experiences, and the perceived resilience of an area to disaster risks are linked to disaster risk-related migration behavior. One thousand participants completed a web-based questionnaire survey, which was analyzed to identify how the presence or absence of a place to which people can evacuate and the characteristics of such an area affect migration behavior. The results show that most residents of the western coastal areas of the Malay Peninsula have the option to migrate to areas with characteristics that are similar to their current area of residence, and that their decision to move to one of these places is not related to their assessment of the resilience of the area. Therefore, it is necessary for local and national governments to take urgent measures, such as developing vacant rural areas into disaster prevention centers, to decrease the disparity between urban and rural areas.

GIS-Assisted Multi-Criteria Evaluation of Residential Site Suitability: Case Study of Homagama Divisional Secretariat, Sri Lanka

Rapid urbanization is a common phenomenon and it is hardly seen that effective measures were taken provocatively to establish planned cities in Sri Lanka. This has resulted the deterioration of living condition of the cities including loss of agricultural lands and recreation areas, improper planning of infrastructure facilities for residences, commercial and industries which eventually leading to many social and environmental challenges. This unprecedented growth in city population set tremendous pressure on both government and the people. Sri Lanka is no exception of the challenges coming ahead in the way forward for sustainable development with unhindered environment. Government has taken initiatives to develop Homagama as the model technological city incorporated with necessary educational intuitions, commercial ventures and amenities. Although different lands have been allocated for mixed development projects in the area, allotting and keep vacant areas for residential development are also essential. Detail research is needed to identify the socio-economic factors, available utilities, ground factors and environment factors in order to find the best locations for residential development. Hence this study attempts to conduct a land suitability analysis for residential suitability coupled with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and tools associated with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The sample includes 19 experts and 125 potential residents of Homanagam who selected randomly for AHP analysis. The best suitable sites determined and mapped using the weighted overlay tool in the ArcGIS. The final suitability plots of GIS analysis showed that potential residents and experts preferred to developed peripheral areas of Godagama and Kahathuduwa town centers are highly suitable for residential development. Having aim to determine residential suitability areas in Homagama Divisional Secretariat (DS), this study identified residential locational suitability criteria, residential suitability GIS framework and developed guidelines for residential development for Homagama DS area.

Culture-led urban regeneration and local expectations of urban void renewal in eastern Lisbon

This article will analyze the ongoing culture-led regeneration processes of abandoned, informal and vacant areas, often considered by residents, local associations, and public officials to be urban voids. Our territorial framework is in Marvila, a semi-peripheral riverside area in Lisbon, strongly affected by informal activities, high levels of youth unemployment, an elderly population, and the existence of urban spaces with non-planned uses, seen as undesirable by the local ecosystem of stakeholders and particularly by residents. Our analysis will be centered around a social and spatial understanding of Lisbon’s municipal urban policy (funded by the 3.5.6. program of the European Union on Cultural Heritage), which has supported the reoccupation of some these so-called urban voids. We will focus on the use of a Pilot Project methodology, its exploratory and prototype nature, the local bureaucratic planning system, and the soft Planning techniques implemented as new ways of addressing long-term decayed and informal urban spaces. We will examine the regeneration results of two EU-H2020 funded pilot projects, under the ROCK project, which supports this research. The first pilot project “Loja Com Vida” (“store with life” or “store invites”), supports the municipal objective of creating a new urban centrality in Marvila, encouraging a diversification of its users, operationalizing the reuse of municipal ground floor spaces. The second project, “Jardim para Todos” (‘Garden for all’), corroborates a municipal urban policy on environmental sustainability goals, promoting, with the help of local agents, a learning and sharing process centered around green knowledge and the creation of a future agriculture hub and leisure area. The acknowledgment of these pilot project results will constitute an interesting case study for other urban areas with similar conditions, incorporating a better understanding of participative urban regeneration processes, outside the traditional and formal planning perspectives and achievements.

Towards formulating a methodology for the integrated management of vacant areas to enable the development of Egyptian cities

Vacant areas are a vital resource for the provision of housing projects, services, and infrastructure in Egyptian cities, and can be used, according to their sizes, ownership, and shapes, to support sustainable development processes, and according to the databases of the cities under study from researchers, which represent 20 Egyptian cities, vacant areas represent a proportion ranging between 9-35% of the land use budget. In addition, during the period (2015-2020), the state allowed citizens to return the occupied lands, which contributed to the existence of large areas, but there are many challenges facing the vacant areas management system in terms of the lack of an integrated information system in terms of registration, updating maps, information available to investors and inventory of vacant areas in the state. Also, the institutional framework of vacant areas suffers from fragmentation and is a complex framework. The legislative framework also suffers from the conflict of legislation, so there is a need to review and evaluate the situation currently, and what are the successfully integrated management ideas in reforming the vacant areas system to maximize its role in sustainable development in Egyptian cities.

Towards formulating a methodology for the integrated management of vacant Areas to enable the development of Egyptian Cities

Vacant areas are a vital resource for the provision of housing projects, services, and infrastructure in Egyptian cities, and can be used, according to their sizes, ownership, and shapes, to support sustainable development processes, and according to the databases of the cities under study from researchers, which represent 20 Egyptian cities, vacant areas represent a proportion ranging between 9-35% of the land use budget. In addition, during the period (2015-2020), the state allowed citizens to return the occupied lands, which contributed to the existence of large areas, but there are many challenges facing the vacant areas management system in terms of the lack of an integrated information system in terms of registration, updating maps, information available to investors and inventory of vacant areas in the state. Also, the institutional framework of vacant areas suffers from fragmentation and is a complex framework. The legislative framework also suffers from the conflict of legislation, so there is a need to review and evaluate the situation currently, and what are the successfully integrated management ideas in reforming the vacant areas system to maximize its role in sustainable development in Egyptian cities.

The Eurasian badger-generated seed rain drives the natural (re)colonization of vacant human-altered areas by a keystone pioneer palm

Seed dispersal is an essential ecological process for plant (re)colonization, especially in intensively human-altered habitats such as old-fields (i.e. abandoned farmlands) where seed arrival is often limited. Assessment of spatial patterns of mammal-generated seed rain and their matching with the spatial distribution of adult plants provides essential information on the patterns and pace of the (re)colonization processes. For instance, increased seedling survival far from adult plants could indicate density-dependent mortality (Janzen-Connell) effects whereas increased survival close to adult plants could suggest facilitative effects. Here, we characterized during two dispersal seasons the spatial distribution of feces from four frugivorous mammals and quantified its spatial association with the distribution of adult plants of the pioneer Mediterranean dwarf palm (Chamaerops humilis) in two old-fields in southwestern Spain. We also estimated the dispersal kernels of both emerged and surviving seedlings and assessed potential evidence for Janzen-Connell and/or facilitative effects. Using a spatially explicit approach, we revealed strong differences between study sites in the strength and scale of spatial associations between mammal feces with C. humilis seeds and adult dwarf palms, being strongly positive at small scales in one site and slightly positive at larger scales in the other one. Further, we found some evidence of both Janzen-Connell and facilitative effects depending on the study site. Altogether, our results emphasize the central role as seed disperser of the Eurasian badger (Meles meles) in the natural (re)colonization of Mediterranean old-fields and the spatial variations of the underlying mechanisms and demographic consequences for plant populations.

Gentrification through the ages

Gentrification is one of the most striking urban developments of our time, radically impacting residential, consumption and investment patterns, and urban culture more broadly. Commonly explained as the transformation of working-class or vacant areas of central cities into middle-class and/or commercial areas, it has become a key term in both academic and popular debates. Yet despite its contemporary significance, little is known about gentrification processes predating the repopulation of Western cities from the 1980s onwards. While geographers and urban sociologists are more inclined to focus on recent developments, historians seem wary of using the term when examining the social transformations of bygone eras. Although a limited number of historians have forayed into the field, so far historical approaches have been undeniably scarce. At the same time, the latest gentrification handbook counts up to 500 pages, but only mentions the history of the phenomenon as a backdrop against current events. This historical backdrop is, furthermore, distinctly Anglophone. This leaves us with a remarkable gap in the historical understanding of gentrification, which we believe is attributable to disciplinary boundaries and—from a historical perspective—the relative newness of the term.

Multifunctional Green Infrastructure in Shrinking Cities: How Does Urban Shrinkage Affect Green Space Planning?

Despite global urbanization, not all cities have increasing populations. While not homogenous, shrinking cities arguably have different opportunities and challenges for green space than growing cities. This article reports a structured content analysis to investigate how urban green space planning evolved in two case study cities: Buffalo (New York, US) and Porto (Portugal). These cities both underwent shrinkage and suburbanization but with very different green space planning histories. The concept of green infrastructure is used as a lens to analyze green space planning change, specifically focused on multifunctionality. The aim of investigating how objectives and priorities for planning green spaces change during a period of urban shrinkage, and particularly what functions these cities have assigned to green space, showed that, over time, green spaces were expected to produce more ecological functions in both cities, and, particularly in Buffalo, contribute to the economic and demographic outcomes of the city. Overall trends in green space planning appear to have played a role but we find shrinking cities may leverage green space to meet unique needs. These findings contribute to the literature by addressing how shrinkage affects not only vacant areas but also overall green space planning, as well as suggesting that general green space planning studies should consider demographic change as a relevant context factor.

Assessing the Dynamics of Plant Species Invasion in Eastern-Mediterranean Coastal Dunes Using Cellular Automata Modeling and Satellite Time-Series Analyses

Biological invasion is a major contributor to local and global biodiversity loss, in particular in dune ecosystems. In this study we evaluated current and future cover expansion of the invasive plant species, Heterotheca subaxillaris, and Acacia saligna, in the Mediterranean coastal plain of Israel. This is the first effort to quantify current surface cover of the focal species in this area. We reconstructed plant cover for 1990–2020 using Landsat time series and modeled future potential expansion using cellular automata (CA) modeling. The overall accuracy of the results varied in the range 85–95% and the simulated plant growth using CA varied between 74% and 84%, for A. saligna and H. subaxillaris, respectively. The surface area covered by H. subaxillaris in 2020, 45 years since its introduction, was approximately 81 km2. Acacia saligna covered an area of 74.6 km2, while the vacant area available for potential spread of these two species was 630 km2. Heterotheca subaxillaris showed a mean expansion rate of 107% per decade from 2000 to 2020, while the mean expansion rate of A. saligna was lower, ranging between 48% and 54% within the same time period. Furthermore, based on the plant expansion model simulation we estimated that A. saligna and H. subaxillaris will continue to spread by 60% per decade, on average, from 2020 to 2070, with a maximum growth rate of 80% per decade during 2040–2050. According to future expansion projections, the species will cover all open vacant areas by 2070 (95% of the total vacant area) and most areas will be shared by both species.

Parking in inner versus outer city spaces: Spatiotemporal patterns of parking problems and their associations with built environment features in Brisbane, Australia

The prevalence of parking problems has increasingly challenged urban planners in transport planning and become a crucial consideration in achieving sustainable city goals. Current studies focus on parking in inner city areas, giving less attention to issues in outer city areas that have different neighbourhood features. This study examines the differences in parking problems between inner and outer city spaces and reveals the nexus between built environment features and the prevalence of parking problems. We utilised a large-scale administrative dataset of civil complaints from Brisbane City Council, Australia and retrieved 162,986 parking-related complaints in 2014–2017 to account for parking problems. We examined its spatiotemporal patterns across the inner, middle and outer city rings, and how these patterns vary by problem types and calendar events, and associate with the built environment features. Our results show that parking problems are more concentrated in the inner city ring, with only some sporadically distributed local clustering in the outer city areas. On holidays and weekends, parking problems are relatively more obvious in the outer city than the inner and middle city rings. Furthermore, more problems are reported in areas where land uses are less mixed, land parcels are smaller, and on vacant land or areas with larger green space coverage, especially in industrial areas or areas near transport hubs and junctions. Our findings provide evidence for the need to consider parking policies beyond inner city conditions and to implement more sustainability-oriented initiatives on transport, mobility and liveability across all urban spaces.

Green hydrogen production potential for Turkey with solar energy

The current study develops a hydrogen map concept where renewable energy sources are considered for green hydrogen production and specifically investigates the solar energy-based hydrogen production potential in Turkey. For all cities in the country, the available onshore and offshore potentials for solar energy are considered for green hydrogen production. The vacant areas are calculated after deducting the occupied areas based on the available governmental data. Abundant solar energy as a key renewable energy source is exploited by photovoltaic cells. To obtain the hydrogen generation potential, monocrystalline and polycrystalline type solar cells are considered, and the generated renewable electricity is directed to electrolysers. For this purpose, alkaline, proton exchange membrane (PEM), and solid oxide electrolysers (SOEs) are considered to obtain the green hydrogen. The total hydrogen production potential for Turkey is estimated to be between 415.48 and 427.22 Million tons (Mt) depending on the type of electrolyser. The results show that Erzurum, Konya, Sivas, and Van are found to be the highest hydrogen production potentials. The main idea is to prepare hydrogen map in detail for each city in Turkey, based on the solar energy potential. This, in turn, can be considered in the context of the current policies of the local communities and policy-makers to supply the required energy of each country.

Suitability Analysis of Solar Tracking PV System in the Airport Based on Glare Assessment

Due to the concerns with harmful emissions, airports have a great interest in solar photovoltaic technology. On the one hand, the vacant land areas in the airport can house solar PV arrays. On the other hand, there is an aviation safety issue due to the reflections from the solar PV arrays. This paper aims to perform a glare analysis of a conceptual solar PV array for three different solar tracking techniques. This suitability analysis is carried out for fixed-tilt, single-axis and dual-axis tracking techniques using ForgeSolar software. It is observed that a single-axis tracking solar PV system is a suitable tracking technique for the selected site. This can be attributed to zero minutes of glare duration and the highest value of energy generation. In addition to compliance with the FAA’s solar glare policy, the single-axis tracking solar PV system will generate 40 % more electricity than a fixed-tilt solar PV system. Unlike previously reported studies, the results of this study strengthen the theoretical support for tracking solar PV systems in airport locations. The findings provided in this study will be beneficial to energy professionals and serve as reference material for tracking solar PV in airports.

Flexible water-resistant semi-transparent cotton gin trash/poly (vinyl alcohol) bio-plastic for packaging application: Effect of plasticisers on physicochemical properties

A new cost-effective approach for producing bio-plastic from the combination of poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and cotton gin trash (CGT) is reported in this study intended for probable replacement of non-biodegradable plastics in packaging. The effect of diethylene glycol, glycerol and urea as plasticisers and ethyl cellulose (EC) as coating agent were investigated. The plasticising effect was governed by the synergistic influence of the solubility parameter, molecular weight and the linearity of the plasticisers’ chemical structure. A better plasticising effect reduced the vacant areas at CGT/PVA interfaces, and decreased the crystallinity and tensile strength, while improved the moisture absorption, transmission and thermal stability. Urea, as the plasticiser, showed the best performance among others (modulus 257 MPa, slightly higher than that of commercial LDPE (213.5 MPa), followed by glycerol. With complete flexibility (folding endurance >200), the tensile strength of the composite films was higher than LDPE. The film coated with EC was able to resist water drop penetration at least for 10 min. The films were semi-transparent and have excellent UV resistance. The related cost of electricity and chemicals per gram film production was estimated around 0.02 and 0.18–0.19 AUD, respectively. Overall, this study showed a sensible method of producing water-resistant flexible bio-plastic that could be beneficial in encountering current plastic pollution.

Studi Tentang Seleksi Karyawan CV Sumber Jaya Lestari Medan

The purpose of this research is to find out about the employee selection process applied in CV. Sumber Jaya Lestari, Medan. The theory states that the selection process is sorted into several stages, namely: Acceptance of Application Letters, Employee Selection Tests, Interviews, Reference Checks, Health Tests, Supervisor Interviews, Job Demos, Test Decisions. The method used in this research is descriptive qualitative method. The data collection technique used by the author is a structured interview technique. Findings from the manager's and supervisor's research stated that they felt that the selection process was good enough, however, the medical tests only looked at the physical appearance of prospective employees and were not assessed by skilled medical personnel. The results obtained from this research are (1) The company has screened applicants by filtering them according to the company's needs for vacant positions and areas of the company applied for by prospective employees, (2) The company provides tests to prospective employees as a form of selection, namely only only an academic test. (3) The company always conducts initial interviews quickly, because the application letter has been attached quite completely regarding the person of the job applicant. So there are not many things that need to be interviewed again (4) The company always evaluates the background of job applicants as a form of selection, evaluation of the background of job applicants is carried out through interviews when first called for an interview. (5) The company never conducts medical tests because usually the health of job applicants is assessed during interviews by looking at the physical employees (6) The company has never conducted in-depth interviews which are usually done by company managers because this is considered to only repeat activities that have been carried out which are considered a waste of time course. (7) The company has never carried out a Demo Job since the company started because it was too risky in terms of finances. (8) The company always provides information on whether or not prospective applicants who apply for work in the company are accepted.

Light-Mediated Directed Placement of Different DNA Sequences on Single Gold Nanoparticles.

This paper describes the light-directed functionalization of anisotropic gold nanoparticles with different thiolated-DNA oligomer (oligo) sequences. The starting nanoconstructs are gold nanostars (AuNS) uniformly grafted with one oligo sequence that are then exposed to fs-laser pulses at the plasmon resonance of the branches. The excitation selectively cleaves Au-S bonds at the tips of the branches to create vacant areas for functionalization with a different thiolated oligo sequence. Nanoconstructs synthesized by this approach present one oligo sequence on the AuNS body and branches and a different sequence at the tips. This process enables the formation of nanoparticle superstructures consisting of AuNS cores and small Au satellite nanoparticles at controlled locations after DNA hybridization. Our strategy enables selective oligo presentation at the single-particle level and opens prospects for sophisticated design of nanoscale assemblies that are important in a wide range of biological applications.

Waterways and Urban Morphology of Saigon HCMC Case Study of Xuyen Tam Canal Area in Ward 1 and 2, Binh Thanh District

Saigon- Hochiminh City (HCMC) has a long history of water-based development, defined by entire system of water transport routes, water-based living culture and productivities. Today, due to the declines of water transport and water-related social economic activities, water-based settlements have degraded the qualities of their living and working environments, negatively contributing to images of the city with pollutions, slums and garbage filled. In order to upgrade the conditions, improve water landscape, attract investments and accumulate economic growth, city government, with financial and technical supports from national and international levels, has carried many projects on water upgrading and redevelopment. The general objectives have been recorded as (1) (whole or partly) evictions of water-based communities/households, (2) constructions or widening of water-side roads, and (3) renovations and developments in vacant areas acquired from land pulling and readjustment. However, the effectiveness of evictions and resettlements of large number of households, the incomprehensive and passive plans for spatial renovations and upgrading after road constructions, and the demolitions of lots of valuable buildings have been questioned. If only are the values of water - based characteristics convincingly identified, the responsive and sensitive solutions for these areas are reasonably appropriate. This paper develops a framework to analyze values of these settlements from various aspects of spaces based upon morphological approach: the physical, the behavioral and emotional characters. Then, taking a section of Xuyen Tam canal as a case study, this paper applies the framework to analyze and discuss its future spatial transformation.

Temporary urbanism as a new policy strategy: a contemporary panacea or a trojan horse?

ABSTRACT Over the last two decades, temporary uses of space are spreading in Europe as a new policy tool to recover vacant areas. The theoretical debate is divided between the promoters of these new forms of tailor-made urbanism and the detractors, who argue that temporary urbanism is increasingly subject to profit logic as an urban policy strategy. Through two French case studies (The ‘Grands Voisins’ in Paris and the ‘Transfer Project’ in Nantes), the article discusses the characteristics of temporary urban planning and its intrinsic tension between a contemporary panacea and a trojan horse. Can the ‘temporary city’ be a partial response to the issues of social inclusion, housing, and equal accessibility to spaces and amenities, which the contemporary city seems to fail in? Or is temporary urbanism just an alibi for administrations and local leaders to continue perpetrating neoliberal policies?