Winter Cities Research Articles

Characteristics of daytime land surface temperature in wind corridor: A case study of a hot summer and warm winter city

With increasing urbanisation, the fraction of built-up areas and human activities increase, deteriorating the urban thermal environment and air quality. To improve the urban environment, wind corridors have attracted much research attention in recent years. In this study, a sky-view factor (SVF)-based method is proposed and verified for the potential wind corridor detection in a built-up urban area. The proposed method accurately identified wind corridors at a spatial resolution as high as 10 m. Characteristics of daytime land surface temperature (LST) were analysed based on Landsat-8 data. Results show that daytime LST in the wind corridor is higher than that in its adjacent non-corridor areas. To quantify the effect of SVF on LST over urban ground-level surfaces, the quantitative relationship between SVF and LST was analysed in the whole study area. Mean LST was found to increase linearly with SVF at a rate of about 0.2 °C per 0.1 SVF value. Moreover, effects of the underlying surface and urban morphology on LST were also discussed. Water bodies were found to effectively reduce LST, whereas in built-up areas, LST was also affected by building height (negative correlation) and building density (positive correlation). When using building height as a variable, the mean LST difference reached 3.5 °C in four seasons, while it was only 1.2 °C between areas with different building densities. These findings are useful to urban planning and provide insights to evaluate wind corridors’ effectiveness holistically.

Role of ammonia in secondary inorganic aerosols formation at an ammonia-rich city in winter in north China: A comparative study among industry, urban, and rural sites

Ammonia is essential for the generation of secondary inorganic aerosols (SIA) in particulate matter, which affects severely the air quality in north China. In this study, PM2.5 sampling was conducted as well as gaseous pollutant concentration and meteorological parameters were measured from November 2017 to January 2018. PM2.5 concentration was highest in the industrial site (94.8 ± 41.7 μg m−3), followed by urban (40.9 ± 24.1 μg m−3) and rural (35.6 ± 20.3 μg m−3) sites. The mass ratio of NO3−/SO42− exhibited clear site variations, with the highest average value of 1.2 was found at the urban site, likely due to the dense traffic volume resulting in higher emissions of NO2, and the lowest value of 0.9 at the industry site. The presence of Excess-NHx (E-NHx), raising the pH 24 by 1.4, 1.3, and 1.4 units in industry, urban, and rural sites, respectively, might be vital for raising the aerosol pH. Correlation coefficients of Nitrogen oxidation rate (NOR, NOR = [NO3−]/[NO3−] + [NO2]) vs. Photochemical oxidants (Ox, NO2 +O3 in our study) and NOR vs. aerosol water content (AWC) at three sites were implied that both homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions occurred for nitrate formation in industry site, while heterogeneous reactions were dominant in urban and rural sites. Oxidation rates were most sensitive to the variation of E-NHx concentration at rural site, followed by the urban and industry sites, which was shown by the fact that the increase in E-NHx concentration by 1.0 μg m−3 increased the SIA concentration by 1.21, 1.02, and 0.37 μg m−3 at rural, urban, and industry sites, respectively. With the increase in NHx emissions at present, the role of NHx in SIA formation at ammonia-rich atmosphere requires more attention, especially in the less-noticed rural areas.

Quantitative seasonal outdoor thermal sensitivity in Guangzhou, China

Recently, increasing attention is being given to the outdoor thermal environment. However, current results on thermal sensitivity are not uniform. Therefore, a field survey was conducted in a typical hot summer and warm winter city, Guangzhou, China. The qualitative sensitivity of microclimatic parameters was analyzed by standardized regression coefficient (SRC). Physiological Equivalent Temperature (PET), Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI), and Standard Effective Temperature (SET*) were modified and tested for sensitivity using linear regression. The results showed that people have different sensitivities to thermal parameters in different seasons, among which air temperature (Ta) is the most sensitive parameter, followed by mean radiation temperature (Tmrt) and wind speed (Va), whereas relative humidity (RH) had little effect. SET* had the best consistent thermal sensitivity of Guangzhou's people, compared with PET and UTCI. Generally, MTSV may change one grade with the ΔTa= 5.2 °C, ΔTmrt= 13.5 °C, or ΔVa= 1 m/s in spring; ΔTa= 3.9 °C, ΔTmrt= 11.9 °C, or ΔVa= 1 m/s in summer; ΔTa= 5.9 °C, ΔTmrt= 15.6 °C, or ΔVa= 1 m/s in autumn; ΔTa= 15.3 °C, ΔTmrt= 38 °C, or ΔVa= 2.3 m/s in winter. Therefore, the thermal sensitivity of microclimatic can support a reference for urban planning.

Exploring Equity in Healthcare Services: Spatial Accessibility Changes during Subway Expansion

The unequal allocation of healthcare resources raises many fundamental problems, one of which is how to address inequity in population health. This paper focuses on disparities in public transport healthcare accessibility, with a special focus on an expanding subway system. Based on a vulnerability index, including factors that are likely to limit healthcare opportunities, a two-step floating catchment area method was used to assess the distribution of supply and demand for healthcare. Quantity, quality, and walking distance accessibility were aggregated into hexagonal grids. The Theil index was used to measure inequity and understand the influence of subways on spatial disparities in healthcare accessibility. The ongoing construction of the subway has heterogeneous impacts on healthcare accessibility for different parts of the city and exacerbates spatial inequity in many areas. In an environment where people in peri-urban areas are excluded from healthcare access because of low subway coverage, the results suggest that the potential for subways to address inaccessibility is limited. The findings highlight the requirement of efficient public transport services and are relevant to researchers, planners, and policymakers aiming to improve accessibility to healthcare, especially for populations who dwell in winter cities.

Impacts of the temporary urban design on the people's behavior - The case study on the winter city Khabarovsk, Russia

In this case study of Lenin Square in the center of the city of Khabarovsk, field observations were made followed by behavior mapping to compare the spatial patterns of the users before and after a small-scale design intervention as a winter event. The impact of the event on people's activity was clarified, and the relation between temporary design and permanent design was highlighted, with considerations emerging for the design of public open spaces appropriate for event interventions. The results show that during the temporary design period, the number of activities involving people in the city square increased by 40% during the day and 60% in the evening. It was also shown that each user took an 20 to 30 m longer route. The results of this study highlight the importance of employing and including temporary design in future urban design and planning projects, especially in winter cities, to optimize the placerelated attendance and activity of the residents.

Mental health in winter cities: The effect of vegetation on streets

This study establishes the causal effect of winter streets’ design on people’s psychological health, specifically, restoration from stress and mental fatigue. A lab experiment was conducted to identify the effect of vegetation and brightness in winter scenarios on people’s mental restoration. Sixty-three participants were randomly assigned to three different treatments (vegetation, brightness, and control). Participants in the vegetation treatment recovered from mental fatigue quicker than those in the brightness and control groups. The findings resulting from this lab experiment inform planning principles and policies for restorative urban design by providing evidence showing how urban streets can improve people’s mental health in winter cities.

Возможности применения концепции «зимнего города» в российской Арктике (на примере города Надым)

On example of the city of Nadym, located in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Area, the authors consider the socio-ecological problems of the development of green, blue and white open urban spaces. The research approach presented in the article is based on the study of a multifaceted complex of urban social and natural systems in their integrated unity, not just as public places, but as biomes — highly integrated urban ecosystems. A posteriori the reserchers based on the materials of interviews conducted in 2020 with experts who in different years took part in the study or planned the development of the open urban spaces in Nadym, as well as on the analysis of available publications on this topic and publicly available data. The study found that factors such as the short summer, during which many residents leave the city, as well as the prevalence of freezing temperatures for almost eight months, in fact, transform the green and blue spaces of Nadym into white. This situation indicates the advisability of a more active appeal to the concept of a “winter city” in the development of the city urban environment. The application of the concept principles can be in demand in the process of creating more comfortable living conditions and spatial mobility of the Nadym residents, as well as for developing the recreational opportunities of the city open spaces and integrating them into the natural environment surrounding the city, which in general can be considered as one of the factors for the sustainable development of the city and the formation of post-industrial features in its socio-economic life.

The GIS study on the spatial structure and visual perception of historical districts in winter cities

The GIS study on the spatial structure and visual perception of historical districts in winter cities

Seasonal variation in the effects of urban environmental factors on land surface temperature in a winter city

Environmental factors such as urban landscape patterns, local climate, topography, and socioeconomic conditions have significant impacts on land surface temperature (LST), especially through the urban heat island effect. At present, in-depth studies on the mechanisms determining LST in different seasons in winter cities are lacking. In this study, we used structural equation modeling for 12 environmental factors to characterize how these factors affect the temporal and spatial heterogeneity of the LST in the winter city of Shenyang, China. We found that the most critical factors affecting LST varied with season. Specifically, the distances from the nearest water body and nearest green space had the largest impacts on the LST in spring and summer, with path coefficients of 0.51 and 0.19 for spring and 0.42 and 0.21 for summer, respectively. In winter, the main factors affecting LST were elevation, slope, and population density, with respective path coefficients of −0.5, −0.41, and 0.29. Our findings suggest that the urban thermal environment in this winter city can be improved by: optimizing the landscape pattern of green spaces and water bodies; and reducing the population density by establishing satellite cities. This study highlights how landscape pattern can be used to regulate the urban thermal environment and mitigate predicted climate change impacts on the quality, health, and safety of urban living.

Characteristics and Cause Analysis of Heavy Air Pollution in a Mountainous City During Winter

Taking the typical heavy air pollution process in Yangquan from December 26, 2018 to January 20, 2019 as an example, the characteristics and cause analysis of heavy air pollution in a mountainous city in winter were analyzed in this study. The results showed that fine particle mass (PM2.5) was the primary pollutant during the heavy pollution period. The water-soluble ions and carbonaceous components were the main components of PM2.5. The secondary ions of SO42-, NO3-, and NH4+ had the lager contribution to water-soluble ions (87.7%), and the secondary organic carbon (SOC) was the main component of the carbonaceous components (71.6%). The concentration of the secondary ions during the heavy pollution period increased by 5.3 times compared to levels before the heavy pollution period, and was an important component resulting in the fast increase of PM2.5. An analysis of meteorological conditions showed that PM2.5 and its main components had a significantly positive relationship with humidity and a significantly negative relationship with wind speed. And that pollution became stronger with an increase in humidity and a decrease in wind speed. The typical meteorological characteristics of mountainous cities are high relative humidity and large temperature variations, which can accelerate the formation of secondary pollutants and are the main reasons for the rapid aggravation of PM2.5. In addition, the lower average wind speed caused by the relatively closed terrain in mountainous cities makes the diffusion conditions of air pollutants relatively poor, which is one of the reasons for the accumulation of pollutants. The source apportionment results showed that the secondary sources (46.0%) were the most important source of PM2.5, followed by coal combustion (32.6%), vehicle exhaust (19.8%), and fugitive dust (1.6%). Therefore, mountainous cities should pay more attention to controlling secondary components, especially secondary ions.

Long-term trends of surface and canopy layer urban heat island intensity in 272 cities in the mainland of China

The canopy layer urban heat island (CLUHI) and surface urban heat island (SUHI) refer to higher canopy layer and land surface temperatures in urban areas than in rural areas, respectively. The long-term trends of CLUHIs are poorly understood at the regional scale. In this study, 1 km resolution air temperature (Ta) data for the 2001–2018 period in the mainland of China were mapped using satellite data and station-based Ta data. Subsequently, the temporal trends of the CLUHI and SUHI intensities (CLUHII and SUHII, respectively) were investigated in 272 cities in the mainland of China. The Ta was estimated with high accuracy, with a root mean square error ranging from 0.370 °C to 0.592 °C. The CLUHII and SUHII increased significantly in over half of the cities in spring and summer, over one-third of the cities in autumn, and over one-fifth of the cities in winter. The trends of the nighttime SUHII were strongly related to the CLUHII calculated using mean and minimum Ta (correlation coefficients ranging from 0.613 to 0.770), whereas the relationships between the trends of the daytime SUHII and CLUHII were relatively weak. Human activities were the major driving forces for the increase in the CLUHII and SUHII. The difference in impervious surfaces between urban and rural areas was significantly correlated with the CLUHII and SUHII in approximately half of the cities. Meteorological factors were significantly correlated with the CLUHII and SUHII in few cities. This study highlights the trends of the significant increase in the CLUHII and SUHII in the mainland of China, which may have negative effects on humans and the environment.

CITIES AND TOWNS OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC: APPROACHES TO SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

t. Theoretical approaches to the sustainable development of cities and towns in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are considered. As such approaches, the concept of a «green» smart city, the concept of thermal stress in an Arctic city, the concept of a «winter city», the concept of an Arctic base city, the concept of developing coastal Arctic settlements based on the principles of the blue economy (the economy of marine nature management and coastal zones), the concept of ensuring the vital activity of Arctic cities, etc. are analyzed. In addition, the contribution of Arctic cities to environmental pollution and climate change, socio-economic and demographic development of the Arctic zone is analyzed. The development of Arctic cities, especially single-industry towns and settlements is considered in the context of the Republic of Karelia, the Murmansk, Arkhangelsk Regions, the Komi Republic, the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Krasnoyarsk Territory. The main directions of sustainable development of Arctic cities and towns are substantiated from the point of view of achieving the target indicators of the “Strategy for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and ensuring national security for the period up to 2035”.

Winter city and the potential/space of Siberian identity

The article dwells upon making winter cities livable not by means of “survival” programs but by unlocking the positive living experience, identifying the unique winter potential of a location, and its suitability for living a fulfilling life. The relevance of this research stems from the industrial development of winter/northern cities being prioritized over the establishment of living culture, which has degraded the urban and cultural environment. Viewing a winter city as a self-sustaining territory, capitalizing on the unique features of the region in winter helps unleash the productive potential of “winter life.” The article dwells upon the relevant features of winter cities, tourism industry, and festive culture as the enablers of city development and prosperity. An important aspect of the paper lies in addressing the uniqueness of a location and the winter potential of the Siberian identity. The author’s research and project designs seek to give Irkutsk a positive winter city image; they cover winter festivals and the Baikal identity. This research shows the value of having a unique location and creating a positive winter city image, etc. in the context of making Irkutsk a comfortable and investment-attractive winter city. In general, the ideology of developing a winter city as a place that will attract investment and generate technological initiative in a blend with traditional values is what makes the winter environment livable not just as a survival system, but as a self-sustainable and unique city that has its positive vibes.

The reinvention of indoor walking for sustainable non-motorized active living in winter cities

ABSTRACT Winter cities suffer with severe inclement weather patterns. Walking outdoors during winter months is not comfortable, safe or pleasant. This condition accentuates sedentarism and car dependence, and tends to worsen health patterns. The purpose of this article was to analyze how the city of Albany, New York, enables walking conditions, with particular attention to two subterranean facilities: The underground concourse at the Empire State Plaza and the service tunnels at the University of Albany uptown campus. This article answers the research question of how winter cities can provide more indoor walking opportunities to their residents, workers and visitors. The argument is that all cities benefit from comfortable, safe and pleasant walking environments; however, winter cities tend to benefit the most from the existence of indoor, grade-separated walking facilities. Although large winter cities have extensive grade-separated pedestrian networks, medium size winter cities tend to have isolated and unconnected underground facilities. This type of city would benefit from extending, and especially connecting, their existing underground pedestrian facilities, where possible. The key finding is an up-to-date analysis of how two underground indoor walking facilities are performing their functions and a series of implications for other winter cities throughout the world.

Field study of air environment perceptions and influencing factors in waiting spaces of general hospitals in winter cities

Subjective evaluation is an important topic in the study of hospital indoor air quality. This study investigates air environment perception and factors influencing that perception in different types of waiting spaces in large general hospitals. Field interviews and questionnaires were conducted in six typical large general hospitals in Harbin. First, we found that the rates of air environment dissatisfaction with halls spaces and corridor spaces were less than 20%. The air environment satisfaction with corridor spaces was significantly higher than it was with hall space, with an increase of 0.31; however, air environment acceptability was similar for both. Second, air stuffiness was the most important factor affecting air environment satisfaction. At the same time, crowd density and waiting time only affected satisfaction with hall spaces. The threshold for satisfaction with crowd density was approximately 1 person/m2. Participants reported the least amount of satisfaction with the quality of acoustic environments and air environments, but these rates of satisfaction were closely related. Finally, in hall spaces, the higher the air environment satisfaction, the lower the anxiety and the higher the pleasure. The air environment satisfaction experienced by younger participants was significantly higher than that of older participants, with an increase of 0.39. In corridor spaces, the air environment satisfaction of patients and females was higher than that of escorts and males, with an increase of 0.62 and 0.31 respectively. Based on these results, this study provides recommendations for optimizing the air environment in large general hospitals.

Planning for Supportive Green Spaces in the Winter City of China: Linking Exercise of Elderly Residents and Exercise Prescription for Cardiovascular Health.

The elderly population have a high incidence of cardiovascular disease and are the main users of green spaces, such as city parks. Creating supportive green spaces for exercise for the elderly is of great significance to promote their cardiovascular health. The winter cities have a severely cold climate and high incidence of cardiovascular disease, while the elderly, especially those with cardiovascular disease, face more challenges when participating in exercise in the green spaces. In the context of the winter cities, the kinds of exercise the elderly participate in are more conducive to their cardiovascular health, and determining the factors of the green spaces that are supportive for exercise for cardiovascular health in the winter are of particular interest. Taking Harbin, a typical winter city in China, as an example, this study aims to identify the exercise characteristics of elderly residents in the green spaces in winter, to link them with the principles and contents of exercise prescription for cardiovascular health, to identify the deficient factors of the green spaces in supporting exercise for cardiovascular health, and to put forward optimization design implications. Mixed qualitative methods including interviews, a questionnaire, and field observation were used to identify special behavioral characteristics and spatial factors involving winter exercise in the green spaces among the elderly. The results showed that: (1) about 42.4% of the participants had a gap with the principles of exercise prescription for cardiovascular health. Their exercise items were generally consistent with the principle of low-intensity exercise, but some of them had the problems regarding early exercise time and insufficient exercise duration and frequency. (2) Insufficient supportive factors of the green spaces mainly included facilities allocation, comfort, safety, accessibility, and air quality. Facilities allocation involved walking paths, rehabilitation facilities, auxiliary facilities, and guidance facilities; comfort involved sunlight conditions of the exercise areas; safety involved slippery roads and sites with ice and snow and medical accidents; accessibility involved the proximity, the safety of connecting roads, and the movement of the elderly; air quality involved the planting of evergreen trees. Accordingly, the design implications were given in order to bridge the supportive gap of the green spaces for exercise for cardiovascular health in the elderly population.

Temporary Design on Public Open Space for Improving the Pedestrian’s Perception Using Social Media Images in Winter Cities

Due to the severe climate, residents of winter cities tend not to utilize public open spaces inwinter. Temporary design interventions such as emblematic events are always proposed in wintercities to enhance pedestrian activity by celebrating the season and improving the perception ofwinter. In this study, we clarify the impact of the event on pedestrians’ perception to determinethe role of temporary design in improving the perception of public open spaces in winter cities.Using the example of event known as “Ice Town” on the Lenin Square in Khabarovsk, the contentof the Instagram images was analyzed to determine their perception during and after the event.The analysis includes classification of the images into clusters related to dierent urban elementsusing transfer learning with CNN (convolutional neural network). A total of 10,200 generated imageson the Lenin Square were considered, with 1700 images which relate the event itself. This accountsfor approximately 20% of all data, while those which related to the during the permanent use of LeninSquare accounted for just 6%. Temporary design of public open spaces has great potential to involvepedestrians in interacting with urban and natural environments in winter cities, even in severe coldclimate, by improving an impression of a place.

Winter city: staff training features

The education system is one of the most important social institutions, the qualitative state and the result of which determines the level of development of the economy, science and culture of the country as a whole. The problem of training and retraining of workers for the construction industry and housing and communal services is becoming increasingly important for the economy of the country. It is obvious that the necessary volume of housing can be introduced only with appropriate quantitative and qualitative provision of human resources to the construction industry, especially in regions with harsh climatic conditions. Construction organizations need highly qualified personnel. Investment in construction has always been profitable, as this sphere is growing rapidly. Meanwhile, the increase in construction does not automatically entail a tide of human resources into this sector of the economy. However, the analysis shows that the shortage of specialized personnel reduces the pace of construction, especially in regions with severe climates, because for such regions it is necessary to provide a different approach to training, which should provide the necessary set of competences for specialists.

Sky type classification in Harbin during winter

ABSTRACT Sky type classification is a significant element in daylight simulation. As a “winter city”, the daylight climate of Harbin is distinctive, and there is therefore a particular need to determine the most appropriate sky models to establish sky luminance distribution in the city and thereby improve the accuracy of daylight simulations. To determine the closest sky type to that of Harbin during winter, sky luminance data consisting of 145 sky elements were collected by a sky scanner at 10 min intervals from June 2018 to February 2019. The sky luminance data were compared with the 15 standard sky definitions, varying from overcast sky to clear sky, proposed by the Commission International de l’ Eclairage (CIE). The sky with the lowest root-mean-square-error was selected as the most appropriate sky type. The results show that clear skies prevail in Harbin during winter, with an occurrence of 70.56%. The dominant sky type is type 12, with an occurrence of 48.57%, followed by types 11, 10, and 8 with occurrences of 17.67%, 5.81%, and 5.36% respectively. The sum of the occurrences of these four sky types exceeds 77%, which means that they can be regarded as generally representative of Harbin’s skies during winter.

Urban Form and Urban Materials as Controller of Urban Climate in Valparaiso, Chile

The urban heat island (UHI) effect on the city and urban climate are related whit urban form and urban materials: it’s an evidence of human influence in climate change. Into the cities, the air temperature increases in downtown and go to outskirts decreases. Valparaíso, Chile, is located in a Mediterranean climate in the southern hemisphere (-33°03’). The urban area of the city is 400 km2 and its population reaches 300,000 inhabitants. The behaviour of air temperature in the city in winter and summer and on sunny days and cloudy days has been recorded. In all days heat island phenomenon is registered. A greater increase of UHI in summer and in sunny day has been recorded. The variation of the temperatures of the materials that make up the urban canyons has also been recorded, presenting different dispersions and variation according to whether it is a sunny day or a cloudy day. In sunny day all day a large dispersion is registered, at afternoon spatially. An important factor in the behaviour of the street climate is its morphology. This condition has been recorded with the visible sky factor (SVF) and with the geographic orientation of the studied canyons. Both the global urban form, the visibility of the sky, the street morphology and the materials of the city affect the urban air temperature variations. City normative planning and designers should consider these variables and its influences.