Oil extraction,environmental degradation and poverty in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: a viewpoint

In Nigeria, environmental problems are severe, particularly in the Niger Delta region of the country. In that region, crude petroleum activities damage the fertility of the soil, and destroy wildlife and the breeding ground for marine fishes because of the toxicity of oil and gas. Consequently, the indigenous people are impoverished, with attendant increase in environmental abuse occasioned by their struggle for survival. The various government programmes aimed at ameliorating their plight have failed due to inefficiency and corruption. The federal government is also thwarting efforts by Niger Deltans at resource control that would help to distribute equitably the oil resources of the region. This opposition to a derivation‐based redress to the development problems of Niger Delta is partly responsible for the anarchy that the region is experiencing. Unless the underlying problems are addressed, the Niger Delta will remain a source of instability for the Nigerian federation. Therefore, the oil of the Niger Delta needs exploitation in ways that advance the cause of development in Nigeria without compromising the environmental values of that region and the welfare of its people.     

Integration of geophysical techniques to detect geotechnical hazards: a case study in Mokattam,Cairo, Egypt

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - Geotechnical hazards are the main factors that control decisions about construction in structurally complex zones. In the Mokattam area, Cairo,...     

Assessing the environmental performance of buildings: trends,lessons and tensions

ABSTRACT

Since the 1970s, intense discussions have occurred within the research and practitioner communities on how to assess and influence the environmental performance of buildings. Many different methods, criteria and tools were developed to raise awareness, enable goal formulation, support design and decision-making processes, and evaluate a building’s environmental performance. This development can be retraced through the example of the works of Raymond J. Cole, who made an important contribution to this scientific debate. The integration of environmental performance into a sustainability assessment, the ongoing development of life cycle assessment (LCA) methods, and clients’, financiers’ and assessors’ different demands for environmental performance assessment, raise additional questions and highlight the conflicting goals. Six topics are examined in relation to current developments: the further development of the classic ‘three pillars’ sustainability model; the suitability of assessment criteria and indicators; the handling of technological progress; the discounting of environmental impacts; the environmental assessment of existing buildings; and the further development of legal requirements. ‘Time’ is a key factor relating to LCA, weighing current versus future emissions, ecological value and recycling potential of existing buildings or ‘options’ for different ways to use the building in future. Recommended actions are provided for key stakeholders.     

城市规划与城市环境保护

在分析我国部分城市环境污染现状的基础上,提出了环境保护规划的主要内容,指出了城市大气、水体、固体废物和城市声环境发展的远景目标,阐明了城市规划中环境保护规划的重要作用。     

Scale and scope of environmental planning transformations: The Israeli case

This paper explores the scale and scope of transformations in the environmental planning field, and the factors that may advance or impede their widespread adoption. A conceptual model is offered which examines scope (defined as type, breadth and structure of the transformation), and the scale of its impact (categorized as stakeholder, organizational, institutional or societal) and applies it to the analysis of several cases in Israel where environmental transformations, affecting the way in which planning is conducted, have been adopted. Conclusions include identification of conditions for facilitating and advancing transformations, including knowledge of innovative alternatives, initiative, willingness to adopt new practices, and identification of policy windows that emerge during conflict, reform, or crisis. The fostering of relations between environmental non-government organizations and planning systems and leadership roles are also significant in catalyzing environmental transformation.     

Developing an integrated water management strategy to overcome conflicts between urban growth, water infrastructure and environmental quality: a case study from Ashford, Kent

Ashford, in East Kent, is a government‐designated growth area. Between 2001 and 2031, the town is set to grow by 31 000 homes and 28 000 jobs, almost doubling in size. This raises numerous concerns about the ability of the local water infrastructure and Kentish Stour catchment to accept this pressure in the short and long term. The Ashford integrated water management study (AIWMS) set out to address all the issues around water quality, water resources, biodiversity and flood risk to allow Ashford's growth to occur without unacceptable environmental damage. The study reviewed current problems with the water environment, established the key constraints to growth that might arise from the proposed development and identified water management strategies to accommodate Ashford's expansion. The paper reviews the integration methodology that was developed and discusses the lessons learned from the experience.     

Residents Lead: User-Controlled Housing Practices and Attitudes in Poor Communities in Cairo,Egypt

It is argued that low-income public housing in Cairo has witnessed shortcomings in responding to its inhabitants’ needs. The expert-based, top-down approach in housing processes, widely adopted in most developing countries, including Egypt, is argued to be the main reason for these shortcomings. On the other hand, the limited experimental institutionalized participatory experiences in Cairo, mainly in the form of self-help schemes, were also incapable of meeting many of their goals. As an alternative participatory approach, the research discussed the experiences and approaches of ‘user-controlled housing’ processes in which it was envisaged that people would build dwellings of types and qualities corresponding to their own social codes and cultural behaviour. A theoretical model for the main concepts of this proposed approach was developed. To test this model, field investigations about the practices and attitudes of the low-income residents in Cairo relevant to the user-controlled housing processes were conducted and thus a new amended theoretical model has been initiated and recommended in terms of proposed low-income housing policies in Cairo.     

A hydrogeophysical investigation of the Ain Mousa area, near Cairo, Egypt

The aim of this study was to determine the depth of the water-bearing strata in the Ain Mousa area and the source of the recharge. Five geophysical profiles were acquired and analyzed at four field stations. The interpretation of the geophysical data indicates that the study area consists of four geological units belonging to the Maadi Formation. The main water flows are through the intersection of two faults trending NW–SE and W–E. The hydrological studies included a hydrochemical analysis which indicated that the water is geologically recent and slightly saline.      

Tap water quality and performance of point-of-use treatment devices in Cairo, Egypt

Tap water quality was examined in six sampling events over a 2-year period in a residential community of Greater Cairo, Egypt. The sampling sites chosen had a granular activated carbon (GAC), reverse osmosis (RO) or distillation point-of-use (POU) treatment device so that the performance of these units for standard water quality parameters could be evaluated. Tap water satisfied Egyptian and international drinking water standards and guidelines for the majority of samples analysed. Exceptions were the violation of international limits for lead in 10 samples, and total trihalomethane (TTHM) levels that occasionally exceeded drinking water limits. Only the RO and distillation units achieved removal of total dissolved solids (TDS), alkalinity and hardness. However, GAC units are considerably less costly in the local market. All three POU units exhibited potential reduction of chemical contaminants such as trihalomethanes (THMs), improved taste via chlorine removal and improvement in clarity. Realization of these benefits, however, is conditioned upon proper operation and maintenance of the device.     

The role of advertisements in the marketing of gated communities as a new Western suburban lifestyle: a case study of the Greater Cairo Region, Egypt

This paper examines the advertising themes and rhetoric that have been assembled in the marketing of the Greater Cairo Region’s (GCR) newly built gated communities. We demonstrate how place-marketing strategies, in this case, selling the Egyptian dream home, draws upon specific landscape offerings and values. It shows how aspects of globalization interact with processes of urbanization in the GCR to create new landscapes of housing consumption. The globalization of mass media has influenced consumption preferences and brought new consumption choices to the GCR’s residents. This study concludes that the demand for gated communities in the GCR, in large part, has been created by developers who foster an image of these areas as symbols of ‘modernism’ and Western lifestyles. Underlying these sales efforts is the common assumption held by developers, potential buyers and segments of the larger society that the lifestyles of Western urbanization should naturally emerge as the result of economic development.     

Quantifying environmental effects on cement-rendered facades: A comparison between different degradation indicators

The purpose of this research is to assess and quantify the environmental effects on cement-rendered facades in real-life service conditions. A holistic approach is proposed based on the assessment of the visual impact of the actual climatic environment that affects the aesthetic performance and durability of 19 cement-rendered facades located in Lisbon, Portugal. Different degradation indicators are presented and a deterioration path is identified, which points out to the possibility of modeling the overall degradation of facades in similar building and environmental conditions. Although the proposed method reflects the Portuguese building context, it can be easily adapted to other countries and expanded to include various cladding solutions, so that their remaining service life can be integrated in the existing commercial methodologies for service life prediction and asset management.     

Building environmental assessment methods: redefining intentions and roles

The initial intentions and current emphasis of building environmental performance assessment methods are compared and contrasted with their emerging roles. This analysis provides a starting point for anticipating future developments in environmental assessment methods for buildings, how they are likely to evolve and how they will be used. The current varying expectations of assessment methods are examined, including the extent to which they can address complex issues while remaining simple and practical, their role as 'market transformation tools', and their ability to enhance dialogue among a range of stakeholders broader than a design team. More importantly, the increasing framing of environmental issues within the wider context of 'sustainability' raises the question about whether existing methods are capable of being easily reconfigured to fulfil this new agenda.     

On the development of an urban passive thermal comfort system in Cairo,Egypt

This paper investigates how urban form can be designed to act as a passive thermal comfort system in Cairo. The system utilizes two main elements, the urban fabric form, with its green structure, and thermal comfort adaptation by introducing urban green scene stimulation with the time of exposure to the urban environment. The courtyard form on a large scale is used to study comfort levels, the effect of compactness on solar access and the local radiant heat island potential in a theoretical neighborhood design using a medium population housing concept as required by Egyptian urban planning laws. Urban canyons in a grid network, with three mid latitude orientations 15°, 45° and 75° from the E–W axis, were examined, with one canyon having virtually no shade. Other canyons had a green structure containing two types of native Egyptian trees. Numerical simulations using ENVI-met were performed for hot climate conditions. Although some very hot conditions were recorded, there were evident examples of more acceptable comfort levels and cooling potential for some orientations and degrees of urban compactness due to the clustered form with green cool islands and wind flow through the main canyons. Some design guidance on how to form urban passive cooling systems is presented.     

城市形态研究百年纵览

回顾了20世纪以来国内外学者在城市形态领域的研究,辨析了该研究一系列的进展及转向：从狭义物质形态讨论到融入社会经济学解析,从结合历史图像及文献的定性研究到基于遥感数据的定量分析从集中与分散的模式比较到引入空间指数的分形计算及景观梯度理论的可持续性探讨。最后在此基础上对未来我国城市形态研究的方向提出了几点建议。     

Never Mind The Content,Let'S Understand The Process: An Alternative Perspective On Recent Federal Urban Initiatives

The Federal Government's urban and regional initiatives have attracted considerable attention. Authors from diverse perspectives have commented on the increased prominence of urban issues within the Federal sphere (Bunker and Minnery 1993), the number and size of these programs (Orchard 1993), the ability of these initiatives to achieve their goals (Paris 1992; Badcock 1993a) and the plethora of reports on urban and related issues (Alexander 1994). Much of this research implicitly compares the policy initiatives of the 1990s with those of the Department of Urban and Regional Development (DURD) and all of it judges the Federal Government's initiatives against the author's perception of an appropriate outcome or outcomes. This paper argues that the objective or ‘rationalist’ approach to the Federal Government's activities in this policy milieu is in some respects mis-placed. While we must consider the consequences, it is folly to concentrate solely on outcomes and ignore the processes of policy formation and program development.     

LAI based trees selection for mid latitude urban developments: A microclimatic study in Cairo, Egypt

To study the leaf area index, LAI, based thermal performance in distinguishing trees for Cairo's urban developments, ENVI-met plants database was used as platform for a foliage modeling parameter, the leaf area density, LAD. Two Egyptian trees; Ficus elastica, and Peltophorum pterocarpum were simulated in 2 urban sites with one having no trees, whilst the second is having Ficus nitida trees. Trees LAD values were calculated using flat leaves' trees LAI definition to produce maximum ground solid shadow at peak time. An empirical value of 1 for LAI is applied to numerically introduce LAD values for ENVI-met.Basically, different meteorological records showed improvements for pedestrian comfort and ambient microclimate of the building using F. elastica. About 40–50% interception of direct radiation, reductions in surfaces' fluxes around trees and in radiant temperature T_mrt in comparison to base cases gave preferability to F. elastica. The lack of soil water prevented evapotranspiration to take place effectively and the reduced wind speeds concluded negligible air temperature differences from both base cases except slightly appeared with the F. elastica. Results show that a flat leaves tree if does not validate LAI of 1, the ground shading would not fulfill about 50% direct radiation interception and this value can be used as a reference for urban trees selection.Further simulations were held to investigate LAI value of maximum direct radiation interception.Performing additional simulations, F. elastica of LAI of 3 intercepted almost 84% of direct radiation and revealed implications about urban trees in practice and its actual LAI.     

Factors affecting environmental sustainability of urban renewal projects

Urban renewal programmes offer an opportunity to improve the environmental sustainability of urban areas by creating well-designed and well-constructed built environments. In this study, the contributions of built environment design elements to environmental sustainability were evaluated through a questionnaire survey with the participation of 323 people who previously worked in urban renewal projects. Implementing factor analysis, interrelated elements have been gathered under five factors: ‘transportation and accessibility’, ‘conservation of natural resources’, ‘built environment quality’, ‘supporting social life’ and ‘high-density usage’. To identify the importance weights of these factors, analytic hierarchy process (AHP) analysis was carried out with 40 academics and practitioners. Based on the results, ‘conservation of natural resources’ was found as the most important factor affecting the environmental sustainability of urban renewal projects. It is expected that the results of this study shall guide a wide range of urban renewal stakeholders, extending from designers to citizens, along the path of creating environmentally sustainable cities.     

论环境岩土工程及其环境地学研究

环境岩土工程是一门跨学科的交叉科学。它主要覆盖了环境工程、岩土力学和工程地质学所涉及的环境问题。主要从地学角度对环境岩土工程的基本概念、特色、初步分类和内涵系统作了探讨。对作为环境岩土工程主体的城市环境岩土工程中的两类环境问题和两类悬河的概念、研究技术途径和方法 ,以及城市环境岩土工程在我国的发展趋势和前景作了研讨。     

特大城市低碳空间策略的经验借鉴——以伦敦、东京、纽约为例

城市已经成为气候变化应对的核心。近年来,全球范围内特大城市纷纷展开行动,在气候变化应对中发挥主导作用。论文选取伦敦、东京、纽约作为案例,从区域的视角审视它们通过空间规划减缓气候变化、建设低碳城市的经验。论文认为构建轨道交通为主体的公共交通网络、推动多层次的低碳空间策略、偏重能源、建筑和交通的减排领域、运用情景分析等新的规划编制研究方法、建立部门协调为核心的政策实施机制形成了三座案例城市低碳发展策略的主要特色,并从空间战略、近期实施、政府治理、规划体系等方面对我国特大城市低碳发展提出了建议。     

Assessing the environmental impact of the environmentally sensitive areas scheme: a case for using farmers' environmental knowledge?

This study analyses the environmental impact of the Cambrian Mountains ESA scheme (1A northern part) through a 100% census survey of farmers in the area. It is argued that farmers' knowledge of ecological change on their farms provides useful information about ecological change induced by agri-environmental schemes, and that this important source of information has been neglected by researchers in the past. The results suggest that while the ESA has been successful at halting the further decline of threatened habitats in the area at the landscape level (i.e. quantity of habitat), it has done little to improve the quality of these ecosystems. Further, the ESA scheme has done little to change farmers' commitment toward environmentally sensitive farming, and more environmental education of farmers (as stipulated in EU Regulation 2078/92/EEC, for example) is needed to make the ESA scheme environmentally sustainable in the long term.