Article
Urban Studies
Jinyao Lin, Xia Li, Youyue Wen, Peiting He
Summary: Cellular automaton (CA) is a useful tool for modeling land-use changes, and the patch-based CA model is superior to the cell-based CA model in considering local-scale spatial homogeneity of urban growth. However, traditional patch-based CA lacks the incorporation of landscape pattern information. To address this limitation, a novel landscape-driven patch-based CA model is proposed, which can consider both landscape similarity and cell-by-cell agreement.
Article
Urban Studies
Maoran Sun, Fan Zhang, Fabio Duarte, Carlo Ratti
Summary: This paper presents a deep learning-based framework for understanding architectural styles and age epochs by analyzing street-level imagery. The framework consists of two stages: Deep 'Learning' the architecture and Deep 'Interpreting' the architecture age epochs and styles. Through the use of a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) model and different components, it is able to automatically learn and interpret the age characteristics of building facades. Experimental results using datasets from Amsterdam and Stockholm demonstrate the successful tracing of architectural styles in the spatial-temporal domain using publicly available data and deep learning.
Article
Urban Studies
JungHoon Kim
Summary: Smart city services provide effective solutions to urban problems, leading many countries and companies to invest in their development. This study highlights the changing direction of smart city development, with a focus on services rather than infrastructure. It also shows the diverse approaches companies take in securing smart city services and the importance of collaboration in acquiring necessary technology.
Article
Ecology
Zbigniew J. Grabowski, Timon McPhearson, Steward T. A. Pickett
Summary: Cities in the United States have integrated green infrastructure (GI) into their official planning, but it remains uncertain whether these plans address systemic racism and urban inequality. A study of 122 formal plans from 20 cities found a lack of conceptualization and operationalization of equity, as well as a failure to utilize inclusive processes in planning and implementing GI. This may result in unequal distribution and vulnerability.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Jenny Veitch, Kylie Ball, Elise Rivera, Venurs Loh, Benedicte Deforche, Keren Best, Anna Timperio
Summary: Parks play a crucial role in supporting the health and well-being of older adults, but their use among this population is low. This study investigated the relative importance of different park features in encouraging park visitation, physical activity, and social interaction among older adults. The results revealed that shady trees and a peaceful and relaxed setting were the most important features for park visitation, while walking paths were crucial for physical activity and a peaceful and relaxed setting for social interaction. Park designers should prioritize these features to meet the needs of older adults and promote physical activity and social interaction during park visits.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Urban Studies
Malin Song, Kim Hua Tan, Jianlin Wang, Zhiyang Shen
Summary: This study investigates the promotion of efficiency in economic and ecological operations by China's smart city pilots and proposes a directional distance function model for super efficiency. The results show that smart city pilots have a positive effect on both economic and total ecological efficiency, although the environmental protection effect is not as strong as the resource-preserving effect.
Article
Architecture
Louis Rice
Summary: This article explores the relationship between urban design and health in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. It emphasizes the role of urban design in improving the health and well-being of urban populations, and suggests that urban design should be considered as a form of spatial medicine.
URBAN DESIGN INTERNATIONAL
(2023)
Article
Environmental Studies
Craig M. Gurney
Summary: This paper examines the associations between income inequality, housing inequality, and the social gradient in health through a lens of social harm, providing new insights for policy analysis. It also explores the specific harms associated with stay-at-home lockdowns, including intimate partner and domestic violence, poor mental health, and health harming behaviors. The findings highlight the importance of understanding various types of harm that occur within the home and suggest implications for policy analysis and further research in housing studies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HOUSING POLICY
(2023)
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Jin Xue
Summary: This paper discusses the reciprocity between urban planning and degrowth, highlighting the potential role of urban planning in facilitating the degrowth transformation. Degrowth values and principles inspire urban planning to rethink its role and function, while planners face dilemmas and advantages in taking transformative practices in a complex political and institutional landscape.
Article
Urban Studies
Bingxi Liu, Yu Tian, Meng Guo, Ducthien Tran, Abdulfattah Ahmed Qasem Alwah, Dawei Xu
Summary: This study developed a multidimensional spatial equity evaluation framework and found serious spatial inequity in the supply and demand of park green spaces in the main urban area of Harbin, with severe undersupply of mini-parks and overly concentrated distribution of comprehensive parks leading to polarized supply levels. Certain social groups, such as older people, rural dwellers, and low-income individuals, are disadvantaged in accessing park green spaces. The MSEE framework is recommended for future policy formulation and provides a flexible operating model applicable to other cities.
Article
Environmental Studies
Andy Pike
Summary: This paper examines the social, spatial, and political-economic inequalities resulting from deindustrialization in the global North and South. It highlights the fragmentation and limitations of urban and regional studies in understanding and addressing this issue. By using a geographical political economy approach, the paper suggests strategies for policy learning and future research directions.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geography
Karen Haandrikman, Rafael Costa, Bo Malmberg, Adrian Farner Rogne, Bart Sleutjes
Summary: This study compares socioeconomic segregation patterns and levels in Brussels, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Oslo, and Stockholm, and finds that the segregation of the rich is stronger than the segregation of the poor in all cities. Macro-scale poverty segregation is most prominent in Stockholm and Brussels, while macro-scale affluence segregation is most pronounced in Oslo. At micro-scales, Brussels and Stockholm stand out with very high local poverty concentrations, indicating high levels of polarization.
Article
Environmental Studies
Jenny Preece, Kim McKee, David Robinson, John Flint
Summary: This article examines the changes in daily life for individuals living in different types of small homes before and during the lockdown. The study finds that the lockdown intensified existing pressures of living in smaller homes, while constraining coping strategies. As a result, people had to spend more time in smaller homes that struggled to accommodate different functions, affecting home atmospheres.
Article
Ecology
Kaisheng Luo, Xuejun Zhang
Summary: Urbanization-induced land use/cover change has a significant impact on China's urban flood regulation service (UFRS), especially on urban pluvial floods. The study reveals that China's UFRS has declined over time and space, indicating that urbanization in China has increased the risk of urban pluvial floods.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Wenjie Wu, Wendy Y. Chen, Yanwen Yun, Fenglong Wang, Zhaoya Gong
Summary: China's rapid urbanisation has transformed its urban built environment, with both positive and negative impacts on citizens’ wellbeing. This study investigates the effect of urban greenness and mixed land-use on residents' life satisfaction in Beijing and finds that street view greenness enhances life satisfaction at residence but depresses it at the workplace, while mixed land-use positively contributes to life satisfaction at both settings. The findings highlight the importance of promoting both urban greening and mixed land-use to create liveable cities.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Environmental Studies
Sanne A. M. J. Bours, Iris Wanzenbock, Koen Frenken
Summary: The study of 17 regional initiatives in the Netherlands found that institutional barriers are the most difficult for small wins to overcome, bottom-up propelling mechanisms reinforce each other but are generally too weak, and systemic propelling mechanisms are largely absent for robust change processes across scales. It is crucial for regional policy to activate systemic mechanisms to help local solutions upscale and create coherent policies to scale up bottom-up solutions.
EUROPEAN PLANNING STUDIES
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Rose Macaulay, Kate Lee, Katherine Johnson, Kathryn Williams
Summary: Research suggests that heightened individual engagement in nature can improve psychological benefits. This article explores how engagement in nature supports psychological restoration and connection with nature through the framework of mindfulness, identifying perceptual sensitivity, decentering, and nonreactivity as key mechanisms.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Business, Finance
Zifeng Feng, Zhonghua Wu
Summary: This study examines the relationship between ESG disclosure, REIT debt financing, and firm value using data from REITs around the world. The findings suggest that higher levels of ESG disclosure are associated with lower cost of debt, higher credit ratings, and higher unsecured debt to total debt ratio for REITs. These results indicate that improving ESG disclosure can enhance REITs' access to capital markets and financial flexibility. Additionally, the study finds a positive association between firm value and ESG disclosure level, and that investors value active ESG disclosure by REITs. Furthermore, institutional ownership is found to be a driving factor for ESG disclosure efforts by REITs.
JOURNAL OF REAL ESTATE FINANCE AND ECONOMICS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Shixian Luo, Jiaying Shi, Tingyu Lu, Katsunori Furuya
Summary: Natural experiences in urban parks have a positive impact on the well-being and quality of life of people living in urban settings. This study used virtual reality (VR) to simulate people sitting in pavilions in Tokyo and found that VR viewing effectively promoted mental restoration. The enclosure of the pavilion did not significantly affect people's preferences and perceived mental restoration. Factors such as prospect and serene dimensions significantly influenced preferences, while richness in species and serene dimensions predicted restoration.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Yunyu Tian, Nandin-Erdene Tsendbazar, Eveline van Leeuwen, Rasmus Fensholt, Martin Herold
Summary: This study is the first global attempt to characterize the complexity of urbanization, showing significant variations across regions and times. It found that increased population density and built-up structure were dominant in Asia and Africa, while Europe and North America exhibited steady urbanization combined with greening.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2022)
