Vitality Of Cities Research Articles

The social implications of the vital city model: measuring the impact of urban vitality on neighbourhood sustainability

ABSTRACT Previous studies have identified vital urban spaces through the concentration of people, the diversity of land uses and buildings, accessibility, and the existence of a compact urban fabric. However, the relationship between urban vitality and social sustainability has not been studied in these terms. This paper seeks to analyse the social implications of the vital city model for residents in the context of a Latin American city: Santiago de Chile. To do so, we use the JANE index to measure the formal conditions of the built environment for urban vitality, and the Longitudinal Social Study of Chile to measure urban social sustainability. We first use a PCA technique to reveal six core components of urban social sustainability: Sense of belonging, Safety, Sociability, Well-being, Satisfaction with housing, and Conservation of the neighbourhood. We then test the associations between the strength of these six core components and the conditions for urban vitality by means of a multiple linear regression model. Significant associations between urban vitality conditions and urban social sustainability suggest that socially sustainable neighbourhoods are found in sectors with the presence of old buildings, accessibility to public transportation, and far from mega infrastructures.

도시의 산업구조 변화에 따른 도시디자인 전략 연구

A city that takes on collapse of regional core industry would reset vision of city, seek new growth engine industry, and establish urban planning to rebuild regional economy and recover city's vitality. In 90s Malmö city of Sweden encountered a financial catastrophe resulted by bankruptcy of shipbuilding industry which had supported Malmö's Economy. Malmö city set ups Eco City as future vision of city, and drives related projects and policy to achieve goals. As result, high tech industry companies flow in and population of city grows and Malmö is chosen as the best lively city in Europe. The Study aims to suggest strategy and methods of urban design for reference of Korea city where meet similar crises through analyzing success of Malmö. Even Malmö selects high-tech industry as new engine for city, urban design of Malmö focuses on life quality of citizen, and invests projects to visualize city vision. The city establishes detaild design guideline to realize ‘eco-city’, and develop urban design to practice and experience eco-life such as green area, bike path, and energy recycle. Malmö gives lessons including cooperative setting of city vision, urban design centered on residence, linkage with vision and design, and importance of landmark.

The hydrological regime of Taihu Lake under the influence of anthropogenic activities

Study regionThe Taihu Lake is located at the downstream of the Yangtze River, China, which serves various functions such as regional flood control, drought resistance, and drinking water for many vital cities in China such as Shanghai, Hangzhou and Suzhou. Since 1950 s, Taihu Lake has experienced three stages of anthropogenic management. Due to these managements, the natural hydrologic properties of Taihu Lake are gradually disappearing, and the Taihu Lake tends to become an artificially controlled lake. Study focusTo understand how anthropogenic activities have impacted the hydrological regime of Taihu Lake at different stages, this study has analyzed daily average water level of Taihu Lake for 70 years and daily average precipitation data of the Taihu Lake Basin for 60 years. And finally it reveals the natural and anthropogenic effects on trend, amplitude, period and extreme water level of Taihu Lake. New hydrological insights for the regionThe multi-year average water level of Taihu Lake witnesses an increment of 0.23 m, and the contribution from anthropogenic activities account for 34.78%. The maximum decrements of frequency of extreme high and low water level drops by 29.55% and 7.69% recently due to anthropogenic activities. The anthropogenic activities on the hydrological regime in Taihu Lake has become increasingly pronounced, and these hydrological changes are beneficial for basin flood control and water resources.

The Urban Brain: Mental Health in the Vital City

The Urban Brain: Mental Health in the Vital City

Monitoring the transformation in New Cairo's urban vitality and the accompanying social and economic phenomena

Many cities in Egypt have been built recently with spatial characteristics that differ structurally from the spatial configuration of the ancient Arab city. There is a growing interest in understanding how social and economic phenomena related to the community are transformed in new cities, particularly those that extend from the old city, as is the case with the city of New Cairo. We have developed an analytical framework to study the effects of spatial configuration on the pace of growth of the new city and identify its characteristics in terms of phenomena related to movement and the distribution of economic activities, as well as urban vitality. A framework for combining quantitative and qualitative analysis helps in understanding phenomena related to the morphology of the development of the new city. Using syntactic analysis, place syntax and field observation, the spatial characteristics of the city of New Cairo were investigated, then compared with Old Cairo to determine which features were enriched in terms of the city's vitality or what has been lost during the expansion phases, based on the planning concepts that were applied. The study concluded that changes in the characteristics of the spatial configurations of the new Egyptian cities by increasing the flow of vehicular traffic via wide arterial roads do not reflect the requirements of the local community, but instead impede local movement within the city and reduce the integration of its neighbourhoods, turning them into isolated islands. The greatest impact of this is the way in which the characteristics of society in these cities have been limited, resulting in isolation and a lack of connection with the identity of the place and the customs and traditions of the community. This paper presents an analytical framework for evaluating similar cities in terms of the characteristics of this planning configuration, identifying the extent to which the old has been preserved or changed and emphasising the validity of the methodology by evaluating the characteristics of other new cities.

Jane Jacobs’s Criteria for Urban Vitality: A Geospatial Analysis of Morphological Conditions in Quito, Ecuador

Urban vitality, understood as a key factor in the achievement of cities’ sustainability, shows a strong relationship with urban morphology. The city theorist Jane Jacobs suggested morphological aspects to promote vital cities in the 1960s, which remain valid in the present. However, few studies in the Andean region quantitatively exemplify this. This paper aims to test the measurement of urban vitality in a neighborhood of Quito, Ecuador, called La Mariscal, integrating Jacobs’ approach. In particular, three urban vitality indexes are evaluated with the application of GIS software using cadastral data obtained from the Metropolitan District of Quito and field data collection. Results show that context-based previous knowledge and scale of analysis are essential factors in the configuration of dimensions, indicators, and spatial representation of any urban vitality index. In the study area, land use mixture, contact opportunity, and accessibility dimensions are fundamental. Regarding indicators, the incorporation of informal small-scale commerce, the quality of sidewalks, and well-conditioned street furniture is recommended. Finally, a hybrid representation (raster and vectorial) is suggested to precisely measure urban vitality at a block scale. Altogether, by providing a comparative approach, we intend to provide a useful framework for researchers and planners to study urban vitality in Andean cities.

Are neighbourhoods age-friendly? Experiences of older Surinamese adults in the Netherlands during the COVID-19 pandemic

Older Surinamese adults in the Netherlands have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19. The ability to provide support in response to older adults’ needs contributes to the age-friendliness of neighbourhoods and may be especially important during public health emergencies such as a pandemic. In this study, older Surinamese adults’ experience of neighbourhood age-friendliness, as indicator of a vital city, in general and during the COVID-19 pandemic was explored. Based on the eight age-friendly domains identified by the WHO, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 Surinamese adults (≥70 years) living in Rotterdam and the Hague. Views on the age-friendliness of the neighbourhoods in general and during the pandemic were asked. Despite differences in resilience within and across neighbourhoods, this study showed that certain age-friendly features can support older Surinamese adults in the Netherlands during a pandemic. These findings have implications for policymakers and health service providers seeking to develop age-friendly neighbourhoods, as an indicator of a vital city, in general and during a pandemic.

Unleashing or domesticating the vitality of citizens' initiatives? The paradoxical relationship between governments and citizens' initiatives in the energy transition

In their quest to create vital cities, West European city governments stimulate citizens to self-organize in citizens' initiatives. This trend it accompanied by conflicting scientific and governmental discourses: on the one hand, citizens' initiatives are praised for giving ‘power to the people’, on the other hand, citizens' initiatives are understood as mere ‘tools’ to roll-out government policies. By adopting a critical-constructive perspective, this study sets out to better understand the paradoxical attitudes of local governments toward the potential of CIs for stimulating urban vitality. We do so by uncovering patterns that explain the opening and closing of spaces for citizens to develop their initiatives. To this end, we conducted an in-depth case study into the relation between the local government and citizens initiatives in the energy transition in Rotterdam (the Netherlands). Our findings reveal that a configuration of different explanatory mechanisms leads to the ‘domestication’ of initiatives, which jeopardizes their unique transformative potential that can contribute to the vitality of cities.

The joint contribution of grassroots artistic practices to the alternative and vital city. The case of Bologna and Venice (Italy)

The article explores grassroots artistic practices as stances of vital urbanism, intended as the urban dynamics activated from below and from outside established institutions that make a city lively thanks to the heterogenous, adaptive, and ultimately transformative initiatives of its citizens, especially when aggregated in the form of organised associations. Specifically, it focuses on how and why grassroots cultural organisation contribute to the vitality of their city. The research analyses the grassroots cultural milieux of two Italian cities, Bologna and Venice. Despite the local specificities, a thematic analysis has developed themes coherent across the two cases. They are: (1) political conflict; (2) imagining the alternative city; (3) making the alternative city; and finally (4) a discourse about the cultural economy. Ultimately, the findings illustrate how their visions and motivations shape a collective imagery of an alternative city and that their ideals and actions aim not just to keeping the city alive, but to let it evolve and develop.

Children and urban vitalism amidst transitions: Perspectives from slum-dwelling children in the Philippines

This work rethinks the notion of urban vitalism—viewing cities as a collection of interwoven relationships constantly in flux—from children's perspectives. This is accomplished by firstly empirically examining children's perceptions of the changes in their urban slum environments and secondly, by theoretically enriching our understanding of urban vitalism by linking urban transitions to the discourses that inform urban vitalism—smart, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable cities. The paper focuses on the perspectives of slum-dwelling children (9–12 years old) in San Jose del Monte City (Philippines), a city subject for conversion towards being “highly-urbanised”. Through remote semi-structured conversations, children shared insights about the transformations of their urban spaces. Two key discussion points emerged from this study: firstly, urban transitions do not necessarily translate to vitalism for children as spaces important to children become subjects of displacement in urban transition; secondly, that the potentials of urban vitalism can be hampered if transitions detach young members of society from planning. Insights from this work suggest that children create their own urban imaginaries of a vital city, which contribute to a kaleidoscope of sources of urban vitalism. The paper concludes by reflecting on the implications of child-oriented urban vitalism for urban studies.

Liveability and vitality: an exploration of small cities in Bangladesh

This paper presents a mixed method, participatory exploration of liveability as a stocktaking assessment with projections for urban vitality in cities, particularly in LMIC, small cities. The paper takes as its case study research conducted in 2019 and 2020 in Mongla and Noapara, south west Bangladesh. This paper illustrates firstly, the possibilities for the concept of liveability to produce nuanced, granular understandings of how small cities such as Mongla and Noapara function and are experienced by residents: how residents negotiate social processes, power relations, and access to resources that shape their everyday living. Secondly, the paper considers how liveability enables assessments of a city's vitality in the present and its potential vitality in the future: how cities might cope and develop in the face of rapid urbanization, chronic difficulties, and acute crises. This research combines work in under-researched LMIC small cities, practical research towards more nuanced and socially just deployment of the notion of ‘urban liveability’ and urban vitalist discourse to argue for a people centred urbanism for the future.

Study on the Evolution and Coupling Coordinated Development of Passenger and Freight Transport Network of New Western Land-Sea Corridor

Based on the associated network of passenger and freight transport in the New Western Land-Sea Corridor, the structure and characteristics of passenger and freight transport network in different years are analyzed using passenger volume and freight volume, and the resilience of the network is analyzed using the disturbance model. Finally, the coordinated development of passenger transport and logistics is discussed by applying a coupling coordination model. The results show that, from 2000 to 2018, the New Western Land-Sea Corridor has realized the evolution of the spatial pattern of passenger transport network from “two center and numerous branches” to “three centers and three auxiliaries”. Moreover, the evolution of the spatial pattern of the freight transport network changed from “two centers and one auxiliary” to “one center and multiple auxiliaries”. In terms of network tenacity, the disturbance strategy based on node degree value has the strongest damage to the performance of passenger and freight transport networks. The coupling coordination value is gradually rising from a low level and finally develops to an ordered trend. Therefore, it is proposed that passenger transport development could be supported from the “growth pole” and “zone” development modes, while the logistics development would adopt the “axis” development pattern and focus on the protection of the vital city nodes in the corresponding network. In this way, it can realize the effective connection of multiple paths, improve the tenacity of network and boost hub economy, consummate the regional coordination mechanism, and finally promote the advancement of the New Western Land-Sea Corridor.

Research on the Development Path of Tourism in Hengqin Island

The construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area relies on the basis of the joint development of the three places. It also reflects the new trend of diversified and integrated development. The goal of constructing a world-class tourism destination also becomes the guiding board of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's construction. In this regard, Hengqin not only bears the responsibility of constructing a typical city that is suitable for living, working and sightseeing, but also owns a demonstrative significance for constructing a vital city cluster with international competitiveness and high-quality development. In the meantime, Hengqin is one of the first batch of free trade areas in China, as well as China's third international leisure tourism island and the national all-for-one tourism demonstrative area, undertaking the important mission of the interactive development of Macao's tourism industry. This paper will adopt the methods of investigation, literature research, quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis, and rely on two policies of "Hengqin-Guangdong-Macao Deep Cooperation Area" and "the Belt and Road" that jointly establish the tourism cooperation of the district and the country to study the development path of tourism in Hengqin.

Исследование физических пространств и их роль в улучшении качества городской жизни

Every city has interconnected aspects, one of which is physical spaces that are influenced by social and economic aspects and influence the city's socioeconomic aspects. A city with suitable physical and spatial properties can help facilitate the social and economic flows of the city and aid the city's vitality in general. On the other hand, physical spaces with an architecture that is incompatible with social, cultural, and environmental conditions can deepen urban problems. The living quality concept is a compound variable dependent on society's development level, and it can be defined and executed by devising suitable indices. Concern about modern life quality is among the aspects of contemporary societies which can be a function of the quality of the surrounding. Physical space characteristics have the highest contribution to increasing or decreasing the sense of safety. In fact, quality of life is a historical product of cultural, social, economic, and political structures, and it cannot be analyzed separately from these entities. Social security is among the important criteria for urban life, which is thought of as a fundamental need for citizens living in desirable cities.

CITY BRANDING AND ITS VARIABLES: THE EVIDENCE FROM INDONESIA

This study aims to analyze city branding in tourist areas, with the variables being studied city brand attractiveness, tourism experience, city brand attitude, and city brand equity in tourism areas in Indonesia. This research method uses a quantitative approach with online surveys design, namely by taking a sample from a population and using a questionnaire to collect data. The main thing is that there is a hypothesis that will be tested for truth in this study. The survey questionnaire used is the Ministry of Education and Culture survey form. The research sample was conducted on 181 visitors to Bandung Barat, Indonesia. Structural equation modelling in this study uses a partial least square (PLS) structure. The research findings show city brand attractiveness and tourism experience on city brand equity through city brand attitude. This study produces a new model, namely, city brand attitude as a moderating variable that plays an essential role in building city brand attractiveness and tourism experience, which have the tourists primary preference. The tourist of Bandung Barat to be used as an affirmation of the identity of a vital city branding compared to other cities.

Intelligent Transportation Strategy to Promote Sustainable Urban Transport Tools (Case Study of the City of Najaf - the Republic of Iraq)

Upgrading the level of transportation and its services is an urgent necessity, especially since the development of cities is measured by the most important indicators of development in the urban field, and among the most important of these indicators is what is known as smart transport, as it means smart transportation using modern technologies of communication and information technology to face many challenges in various areas of transportation, And the elimination of all obstacles that stand in the way towards achieving a smart urban environment in light of the lack of a clear urban policy to benefit from smart transportation applications and the absence of strong management of the concerned authorities, as the smart transportation strategy in the holy city of Najaf aims to improve many indicators of mobility and traffic movement in general by the year 2030, as it includes the introduction of smart transportation systems as one of the ideal solutions to traffic problems. Part of this strategy includes establishing an express metro network along the main roads of the city and down to the city centre, Also, following this strategy leads to raising the level of traffic safety, reducing carbon emissions, reducing the demand for parking, reducing the cost of transportation, as well as reducing the time of arrival to the city centre and the removal of traffic jams from the vital city centre.

The Impact of Congestion Charging Technique on Traffic Flow and Atmospheric Pollution in Kuwait City

Traffic congestion is a major problem in high populated cities, due to the frequent increase on travel demand and exponential vehicles growth. Resulting in increased vehicle queuing and slows road speed which can led to increase delays, air pollution, and fuel consumption. Poor traffic management in the congested spot result in elongated traffic jam. Therefore, this study aims to reduce traffic congestion by applying congestion charging system which is an effective method to regulate demand without increasing supply. Kuwait City network was selected to perform the system. Kuwait City is a vital city that has a lot of governmental and commercial facilities which make the city crowded especially during the peak hours. The current condition was analyzed in SYNCHRO simulation software in order to compare it with the improved condition to confirm the applicability. The genetic algorithm will be used as a practical method to apply congestion pricing in order to provide optimized solutions that will be analyzed in SYNCHRO software to examine the performance of the network. The impacts of applying congestion pricing system were remarkable. From traffic point of view, the demand was regulated, also total delays and fuel consumption were improved. The reduction of total delay is ranged between 24.4% to 40.58%, and the reduction of fuel used is ranged between 36.76% to 60.89%. From an economical point of view, the user cost decreased in a range between 27.77% and 43.75%. In addition, from an environmental aspect the emissions of HC, CO and NOx improved significantly which improved air quality.

A Multifaceted Vigilare System for Intelligent Transportation Services in Smart Cities

The Internet of Things (IoT), information and communication technology, and data mining technologies are three prime pillars of any smart city project. The intelligent urban transportation system is an indispensable part of any smart city and acts as a major contributor to a city's vitality. An extensive amount of vehicular information is being amassed by the wireless sensor networks (WSNs), vehicular ad hoc networks, and radio frequency identification (RFID)-based Intelligent Transportation System (ITS), which can provide an insightful image of various ITS issues concerning safety, security, and management. Merely depending on WSN and RFID predicated technologies for the construction of ITS is not adequate to realize the smart city dream in developing countries due to technological and monetary barriers. Considering this, an intelligent vigilare system for ITS is proposed, which sanctions network implementation without disrupting the current vehicular infrastructure through multifaceted modeling.

Improving City Vitality through Urban Heat Reduction with Green Infrastructure and Design Solutions: A Systematic Literature Review

Cities are prone to excess heat, manifesting as urban heat islands (UHIs). UHIs impose a heat penalty upon urban inhabitants that jeopardizes human health and amplifies the escalating effects of background temperature rises and heatwaves, presenting barriers to participation in city life that diminish interaction and activity. This review paper investigates how green infrastructure, passive design and urban planning strategies—herein termed as green infrastructure and design solutions (GIDS)—can be used to cool the urban environment and improve city vitality. A systematic literature review has been undertaken connecting UHIs, city vitality and GIDS to find evidence of how qualities and conditions fundamental to the vitality of the city are diminished by heat, and ways in which these qualities and conditions may be improved through GIDS. This review reveals that comfortable thermal conditions underpin public health and foster activity—a prerequisite for a vital city—and that reducing environmental barriers to participation in urban life enhances physical and mental health as well as activity. This review finds that GIDS manage urban energy flows to reduce the development of excess urban heat and thus improve the environmental quality of urban spaces. Furthermore, it finds that the most equitable approach to urban cooling is one that reduces the intensity of the meso-scale UHI that affects all urban inhabitants. Subsequently, a cooler urban fabric based on GIDS is proposed. A cohesive approach to the widespread adoption of GIDS shows potential to produce a cooler urban fabric that is human-centered in its function and aesthetic to enhance participation in public life and stimulate life on the streets. Four spatial scales are presented in which a combination of GIDS may be collectively implemented to reduce the meso-scale UHI, including the urban, intra-urban, building and body scales. This approach considers the interacting nature of GIDS applied within contrasting urban landscapes, and aims to produce cooler urban conditions, better walking environments, and ecosystem co-benefits to stimulate participation in physical activity and public life to underpin public health, productivity and livelihoods, thereby inducing city vitality.

A vital city and revitalization processes

Polish urban centres have been going to great lengths to reactivate the vitality of space, community, economy, and the environment in recent years. The term ‘revitalization’ is used in a broad sense that is adapted to the roots of the problems considered most acute in a given territorial unit. At the same time, it could seem that, in many cases, the measures taken focus on rather superficial issues related to image or on remedying the noticeable symptoms of the problems. What becomes a central challenge is the redefinition of the operating mechanism of a city, i.e. the mechanism where various processes are in harmony with each other, the actions taken by local entities are characterized by synergy, competition for resources is rationalized, and the operation of the entire system is determined by original and creative development directions which integrate local entities and include the city into the network of ties with the surroundings. The detailed discussions described in this paper concern the vital city and urban space revitalization processes