Search Results (3,018)

Urban agriculture is increasingly recognized as a strategy for enhancing sustainability and well-being in urban areas, mainly through circular economy principles. This study investigates residents’ perspectives from three major cities in western Romania—Arad, Timișoara, and Oradea—on the implementation and benefits of urban agriculture. The main goal was to identify differences in opinions regarding urban agriculture’s potential to improve biodiversity conservation, enhance carbon dioxide retention, and reduce synthetic compound usage. The research also explored community development through circular economy practices and tools local authorities could use to promote urban agriculture. A survey of 573 respondents utilized variance analysis and the Tukey test to reveal significant opinion differences among residents. The findings showed notable variations in views on biodiversity conservation and community development benefits but no significant differences in opinions on carbon dioxide capture or synthetic chemical use. Residents of Timișoara and Oradea expressed more favorable views on urban agriculture than those in Arad. Participants emphasized the importance of free land allocation and sustainable practices for successful urban agriculture implementation. This study offers valuable insights for policymakers and contributes to the understanding of urban sustainability and the role of urban agriculture in supporting circular economy principles. Full article

Under the Positive Energy Districts framework, cities authorities must be informed of the energy demand of districts to design tailor-made policies and strategies to promote the deployment of energy efficiency, sharing and transition actions. However, the diverse data sources and long procedures to collect data because of privacy permissions may result in a slow-down of the development of these roadmaps. To overcome these challenges, this paper is the outcome of the methodology developed under the UP2030 Project designed to estimate the energy demand and energy profile consumptions within urban areas to contribute to the stakeholders involved in decision making processes to inform them about the savings potential related with the use of energy in geographically delimitated areas. The methodology was validated in CIRCE’s headquarters, where the yearly energy estimation consumption is about 98% of the real energy consumed. The main finding of this study is obtaining a model that can estimate the energy usage for occupants’ comfort with minimal data required from the citizens’ side, which will allow stakeholders to consider global energy estimations at the district level in a fast and reliable way to design strategies in a timely manner as required by the energy transition and efficiency standards proposed by the European Union. Full article

Medan City has excellent potential to develop small and medium industries. One of the industries that has potential is the bakery industry. Based on the data obtained, it is known that the small-scale bakery industry dominates by 86%. To create a competitive bakery industry, the products must be varied, innovative, good quality, follow market needs, and follow the eco-friendly production process. Based on this, the right strategy is needed so that the bakery industry can develop and increase its competitiveness towards sustainability. This research aims to create a strategy design that the bakery industry can implement to improve competitiveness and productivity toward sustainability. Based on the IFE and EFE matrix results, the bakery industry in Medan City is in quadrant IV, namely in the growth and built position. The right strategy, namely a market penetration strategy, and also a strategy for product development, is required. Based on the results of the QSPM matrix, the strategy with the highest score was obtained, namely, improvement in production processes in the bakery industry through the efficient and eco-friendly production process. Full article

The World Health Organization’s Healthy Cities movement recommends action on the determinants of health and health equity. While economic and ecological circumstances have been studied with respect to health outcomes, research shows that the relationship between these broad determinants and population health is not always clear. Municipal governments, whose relative proximity to individuals means that they are optimally situated to address local health concerns, can demonstrate political will for healthy communities by developing health community policies. Therefore, the aim of this study is to interrogate how the idea of a ‘healthy community’ has been conceptualized by municipal governments in order to inform the future uptake of the concept. This study uses a post-structural policy analysis to examine government discourse on healthy communities in a medium-sized census metropolitan area (CMA) in Ontario, Canada. The findings highlight economic growth and ecological sustainability as priorities for fostering a healthy community. With emphasis on long-standing issues linking health outcomes to broader societal conditions, this study calls on municipal governments to explicitly consider the health impacts of healthy community strategies and adoption of a Health-in-All-Policies (HiAP) approach. Full article

Smart cities leverage information and communication technologies to enhance urban life quality, essential in densely populated environments requiring comprehensive planning. A critical area in urban settings is food production and delivery, where effective management becomes vital. New technologies can assist, but require models that support innovative production and commercialization methods. This study proposes an integration model between family farming—producers of organic food—and urban areas—consumers of these products. The model focuses on the management of organic food production and delivery to meet urban demands, serving as a tool in the transformation of these areas into smart municipalities. Additionally, this study suggests an alternative certification method for organic food production within family farming. A systematic literature review was conducted using the Methodi Ordinatio methodology. Content analysis of the selected articles identified strategies cities can adopt to promote organic certification, emphasizing transparent governance, public food procurement policies, and participatory certification systems. The proposed model aims to reduce bureaucracy and improve family farmers’ income, aligning with several Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 15 (Life on Land), and SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals). Full article

Urban green-blue spaces (UGBS) are increasingly recognized for their benefits to physical and mental well-being. However, research on real-time gender-specific emotional responses to UGBS remains limited. To address this gap, a dual-method approach combining facial expression recognition (FER) and self-reported measures to investigate gender differences in real-time emotional evaluations of UGBS was developed. Using static images from Google Street View as stimuli, a self-reporting experiment involving 108 participants provided insights into subjective emotional experiences. Subsequently, a FER experiment, utilizing 360-degree video stimuli, captured over two million data points, validating the feasibility and advantages of real-time emotion monitoring. The findings revealed distinct gender-specific emotional patterns: women experienced stronger pleasant emotions and preferred scenes evoking higher arousal, while men demonstrated sharper responses and rated scenes with peak valence emotions more favorably. Grass elicited relaxation and delight in women and arousal in men, whereas blue spaces induced calmness across genders, with men reporting greater relaxation as water content increased. The study underscores the potential of FER technology in assessing real-time emotional responses, providing actionable insights for inclusive urban planning. By integrating advanced tools and participatory design approaches, urban planners can develop strategies that enhance emotional well-being and create livable cities that support diverse user needs. Full article

Road hazardous material transportation plays a critical role in road traffic management. Due to the dangerous nature of the cargo, hazardous material transportation trucks (HMTTs) have different route selection and driving characteristics compared to traditional freight trucks. These differences lead to unique travel and emission patterns, which in turn affect traffic management strategies and emission control measures. However, existing research predominantly focuses on safety aspects related to individual vehicle behavior, with limited exploration of the broader travel and emission characteristics of HMTTs. To bridge this gap, this study develops a comprehensive framework for analyzing the travel patterns and emissions of HMTTs. The methodology begins by applying a Gaussian mixture distribution model to identify vehicle stop points, eliminating biases associated with subjective settings. Origin–destination (OD) pairs are then determined through stop time clustering, followed by the extraction of travel characteristics using non-negative matrix factorization. Emissions are subsequently calculated based on the identified trip data. The relationship between emissions and land use characteristics is further analyzed using geographically weighted regression (GWR). Crucially, this study leverages data from the BeiDou Satellite Navigation System, focusing on HMTTs operating within Shanghai. The processed data reveal three distinct travel modes of HMTTs, categorized by spatiotemporal patterns: Daytime—Surrounding cities, Early morning—In-city, and Midnight—Scattered. Moreover, unlike other road vehicles, HMTT emissions are heavily influenced by industrial and company-related points of interest (POIs). These findings highlight the significant role of BeiDou Satellite Navigation System data in optimizing HMTT management strategies to reduce emissions and improve overall safety. Full article

In the context of global carbon emissions and climate change, identifying context-specific low-carbon pathways for urban areas is critical for achieving socio-environmental sustainability. This study applies the technology–organization–environment (TOE) framework to examine the driving mechanisms and the diversity in carbon reduction pathways across 81 cities in China. Utilizing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and necessary condition analysis (NCA), this research assesses the roles of technological, organizational, and environmental drivers in urban carbon reduction. Fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) is employed to uncover distinct carbon reduction pathways and causal asymmetries between cities. The findings reveal that technological, organizational, and environmental factors significantly drive carbon reduction, with technological and organizational factors playing the central roles. Environmental factors exert primarily indirect effects, interacting with technological and organizational drivers. This study categorizes cities into three distinct carbon reduction models: cities with high carbon-neutral potential primarily leverage technological innovation and energy efficiency optimization; cities with moderate potential integrate technology and policy, emphasizing green landscape planning to achieve balanced development; and cities with lower carbon reduction potential are mainly policy-driven, constrained by technological and resource limitations. This study underscores the role of computational modeling in providing valuable insights for the development of context-tailored carbon reduction strategies. It highlights the synergetic interactions among technological, organizational, and environmental factors, offering essential guidance for advancing sustainable development planning and facilitating the low-carbon transition of cities and communities. Full article

This study employs land use and energy consumption data from Gansu Province spanning the years 2005 to 2020 and utilizes models to estimate carbon emissions and the corresponding carbon compensation values. The research calculated the carbon emissions and compensation for various administrative regions over different time periods, revealing the following insights: (1) There is a notable increasing trend in net carbon emissions due to land-use changes in Gansu Province, characterized by an initial swift rise, followed by a more gradual growth pattern. Construction land is identified as the primary contributor to carbon emissions, increasing from 26 million tons in 2005 to 55.3 million tons in 2020, which is an increase of 1.80 times; meanwhile, forested areas, as significant carbon sinks, show a slight increase in carbon absorption from 2.33 million tons in 2005 to 2.35 million tons in 2020. (2) The municipalities with high net carbon emissions are predominantly Lanzhou, Qingyang City, and Jiuquan City, which are marked by high levels of carbon emissions and low compensation rates. In contrast, regions with lower net carbon emissions are mainly found in the Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, where emissions are minimal and compensation rates are relatively high. A similarity in the spatial distribution patterns of both net carbon emission intensity and total net carbon emissions is observed among these cities. Alterations in land use have a significant impact on regional carbon emissions. Investigating the spatiotemporal variations of land-use change and carbon compensation in Gansu Province is essential for comprehending the dynamics of regional carbon emissions, developing effective emission reduction strategies, and fostering low-carbon development. Full article

The Chinese government’s rural rejuvenation program depends on improving the national Rural Emergency Management Capability (REMC). To increase the resilience of Chinese rural areas against external dangers, REMC and its driving elements must be effectively categorized and evaluated. This study examines the variations in REMC levels and driving factors across different cities and regions, revealing the spatial distribution patterns and underlying mechanisms. To improve REMC in Chinese rural areas, this research employs the Projection Pursuit Method to assess REMC in 280 cities from 2006 to 2020. Additionally, we identify 22 driving factors and use the Random Forest algorithm from machine learning to analyze their impact on REMC. The analysis is conducted at both national and city levels to compare the influence of various driving factors in different regions. The findings show that China’s REMC levels have improved over time, driven by economic growth and the formation of urban clusters. Notably, some underdeveloped regions demonstrate higher REMC levels than more developed areas. The four most significant driving factors identified are rural road density, rural Internet penetration, per capita investment in fixed assets, and the density of township health centers. At the city level, rural Internet penetration and the e-commerce turnover of agricultural products have particularly strong driving effects. Moreover, the importance of driving factors varies across regions due to local conditions. This study offers valuable insights for the Chinese government to enhance REMC through region-specific strategies tailored to local circumstances. Full article

Urban underground space (UUS) is a significant natural resource to support many aspects of city development, but it is not sustainably developed and utilized during the urbanization process. This study considered 11 conditional and two sensitive factors and combined analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and variable weight theory (VWT) for the suitability evaluation of UUS development and utilization (SEUUSD&U) by taking the Jining city planning zone (JNPZ) as a case study. The results show that mining subsidence and groundwater-related factors are critical factors, which align with the real conditions. A significant increase in the weight of shallow groundwater can be observed after applying the VWT, rising from 0.1586 to 0.2544. This may result from significant extreme values, which WVT accurately identified and therefore increased the weights. From shallow to deep UUS, both the most suitable and least suitable areas increase, rising from 32.91% to 68.20% and from 0.57% to 3.01%, respectively. Based on two sensitive factors (key urban development and ecological protection), the study area was divided into four management zones. These sensitive factors often exhibit a “barrel effect”, showing the power to either definitively affirm or veto the outcomes. More importantly, this study proposes a generalized SEUUSD&U framework comprising six key steps, with particular emphasis on three aspects: “local conditions”, “barrel effect integration”, and “adaptive management strategies aligned with the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs)”. We strongly recommend that this framework be highly promoted in future research and strongly encourage future studies to place greater emphasis on the ultimate goal of achieving the SDGs by 2030 during updates to models, variable weight functions, factors, and frameworks. Full article

To ensure children’s safe independent mobility on the road, they need to learn basic traffic rules. In this case, traffic rule education in a realistic environment through a play-way method can be a significant learning strategy. This research focuses on the “Traffic Park (TP)”, which provides that opportunity. Specifically, this research examined how elementary school children’s knowledge of traffic rules and behavioral intentions are influenced by their experiences of using and playing in a TP before and after they start school. Children from four different elementary schools (grades 1~6) were surveyed in Toyohashi City, Japan using a web-based questionnaire survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze the effect of TP use experience on children’s awareness of traffic rules and behavioral intentions. Three distinct SEM models were tested to measure the effect pattern of children’s TP use experience on their traffic rule awareness and behavioral intentions. The results show that TP use experience before entering school has a statistically significant effect on children’s traffic rule awareness (β = 0.16, p < 0.004; model 1) and behavioral intention improvement (β = 0.09, p < 0.07; model 2). However, TP use experience after entering school was found to have no significant effect. Finally, children’s TP use experience indirectly improves their behavioral intentions (β = 0.74, p < 0.001; model 3) by improving their awareness of traffic rules. Overall, the findings of this study highlight the contribution of TPs in promoting children’s safe independent mobility and fostering the development of sustainable child-friendly cities worldwide. Full article

As global climate change becomes increasingly severe, low-carbon city construction has emerged as a critical strategy to address this challenge. This study explores the concept, current development status, and challenges of low-carbon cities, focusing on the progress and issues in China’s low-carbon city construction. The research covers defining low-carbon cities, their background, policy impacts, and analysis of practical cases. Specifically, the research focuses on identifying the challenges faced in the development of low-carbon cities in China and proposing strategies to effectively address these obstacles. Findings suggest that difficulties, such as regional disparities, inconsistencies in policy implementation, and technological barriers, hinder progress. By synthesizing insights from previous studies, this paper proposes actionable strategies, including strengthening policy frameworks for consistent application, leveraging smart technologies for efficient energy and resource management, and fostering public engagement through targeted education. These recommendations provide a guideline for future research and practical actions, contributing to sustainable urban development and offering insights for policymakers and urban planners. Full article

The surging global population and urbanization trends present new challenges to food production systems and energy, especially in resource-limited urban environments. Vertical farming on façades (VFOF) is an innovative strategy to address this challenge by growing crops on building skins, efficiently using urban space, increasing food self-sufficiency, and reducing the environmental impact of carbon emissions. This article is a comprehensive review of VFOF and closely related topics based on 166 journal articles. It covers the latest research advances in design, technology, social impact, and environmental benefits. In addition to enhancing the autonomy of urban food supply and improving residents’ quality of life, VFOF also has the potential to optimize the thermal performance of buildings and promote energy conservation by having some of the qualities of vertical greening systems (VGS). The planting system design and technical support factors for different façade locations are explained in detail. The symbiotic relationship between VFOF and architecture is examined to enhance sustainability. The popularity of VFOF is increasing in terms of social acceptance, and the government, together with the private sector and communities, play a vital role in promoting its development. In addition, this review also collates the cases of VFOF implementation in recent years. Research shows that the implementation of VFOF has many advantages, especially when considering future urban challenges under climate change scenarios and the need to provide solutions to achieve carbon neutral buildings and cities. Still, high initial investment, operating costs, technical complexity, security issue, policy and regulatory constraints, and public acceptance are all challenges to overcome. Further research should be carried out in the above fields. Full article

Street trees play a fundamental role in shaping pedestrian sidewalks, squares, and small rest areas, enriching the public space, together with paving, street furniture, and lighting. However, the project of street tree lines along urban sidewalks remains an underestimated issue in urban design and strategic planning, even if it could be a pivotal opportunity for a widespread redevelopment of living streets and public spaces. The present study focuses on landscape aspects of the ‘street tree project’ intrinsically linked with the identity, perception, and morphological issues of urban spaces, from a strategic vision of the city to the human scale of the urban landscape. In this perspective, we discussed the case of Rome, Italy, where the historical heritage has had an extraordinary value, and where street trees are considered a notable contribution to the landscape identity of the whole city. The administrative council of the Municipality of Rome has initiated a comprehensive census of street trees and is currently developing a Street Tree Masterplan. This plan will serve as a guiding framework, outlining strategies for the conservation of arboreal heritage and the revitalization of the urban tree population along city streets. Based on the empirical evidence stemming from this case study, the discussion highlights the relevance of poorly debated issues, in both the academic and practitioner’s literature, mainly concerning the choice of urban trees’ species. Choosing the ‘right tree species in the right place’ has implications that are not only ecological and environmental, but also perceptive and architectural, being intimately associated with the urban scene and the identity of places. Full article