“BACK THE BID”: THE 2012 SUMMER OLYMPICS AND THE GOVERNANCE OF LONDON

ABSTRACT: The Olympic Park being developed in east London for the 2012 Games is one large urban renewal project among many in the city. The impact of the Games on urban development may be of less significance than the impact on city politics. Bidding for and delivering the Games has contributed to a reassessment of the recent experiment with mayoral government. The article examines these changing representations of the structures of London government that are now seen as a success. Much of the literature on Olympic cities is highly critical of the impact of the games, but the (current) substantial support for London 2012 also needs to be explained. We examine how London has created opportunities for support, and moments and spaces for celebration when political leaders and Londoners can come together around particular representations of themselves and the city.     

伦敦2012奥林匹克公园总体规划及赛后利用

21世纪初,下利亚山符曾经基础设施薄弱,破旧而不利于生活。2012年伦敦奥运会及残奥会场地建设是实现东伦敦地区大片废弃土地转型利用的第一步,并使这里有机会成为一个示范性的可持续发展环境。规划通过充分利用本地区的河流资源构建绿色廊道,修复破旧的城市肌理,同时还会在赛后留下可持续新社区,而奥运公园也将成为一个多世纪以来欧洲最大的公园之一。公园建设考虑到了环境、经济和社会的可持续发展,赛时及赛后规划紧密结合,同时进行,公园的遗产总规划框架是区域再生和进一步发展的基础。未来的奥林匹克区将转变成一个城市新区。     

Regeneration for All Generations: The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Kathryn Firth , Chief of Design at the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), and Manisha Patel , a director at PRP Architects, describe how the London 2012 bid's promise to promote wellbeing and social inclusion in the Stratford area of East London is now being borne out in urban design and housing that meet ‘the evolving needs and desires of people throughout their lifetimes’. A key scheme is PRP Architects' design for multi-generation houses at Chobham Manor, on the eastern side of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.     

Urban development and particulate air pollution in Coimbatore city,India

Haphazard urbanization and unprecedented vehicular growth that exacerbate air quality are prevalent features in India. Coimbatore, an important industrial city ranking 15th in terms of principal urban agglomerations of India, was classified as a moderately polluted area in National Ambient Air Quality Monitoring survey in 1997. The current study (March 1999–February 2001) was undertaken to assess suspended particulate matter (SPM) in urban and suburban Coimbatore. It was found that in the Coimbatore atmosphere SPM with a diameter of less than 10 µm (respirable fraction, RSPM or PM₁₀) and those with a diameter above 10 µm, the non‐respirable (NRSPM) fraction, ranged between 30–149 µg/m³ and 24.4–460 µg/m³ respectively. The study infers that urban areas, especially those with frequent vehicular traffic and traffic congestion, had comparatively high RSPM exceeding the Indian prescribed standards (60 µg/m³). Emission inventory estimated for current vehicle strength showed that about 840 000 kg of particulate matter was emitted during 2001. Wind speed negatively correlated with RSPM, while it was positively correlated with NRSPM. Temperature had a negative correlation with RSPM values.     

Citywide multi-grid urban flood modelling: the July 2012 flood in Beijing

Global flood management is a major issue for most cities which have to deal with worsening factors such as climate change and fast urban growth. Computer models have been used to model and understand urban flooding on a local scale in cities (25–50 km²). It has been practically impossible to model bigger cities in one go in sufficiently high resolution due to the heavy computations involved.

The present paper describes a new modelling approach for urban flooding which allows modelling on large city scale (1000 km²) while keeping sufficient resolution, e.g. 5 m or 10 m grid. The multicell approach is applied for the city of Beijing for July 21st, 2012 flood event. Model results are compared to testimonials from the 2012 event. Comparison to traditional 2D urban flood computations shows that the multicell approach is much faster than standard detailed models while keeping a suitable level of precision.     

Futurescapes of urban regeneration: ten years of design for the unfolding urban legacy of London’s Olympic Games, 2008–2018

ABSTRACT

Much of the literature on the urban legacy of the 2012 Olympics Games emerging in recent years has emphasized the form that development has taken and the ways in which this aligns (or not) with specific promises made in terms of regeneration before the Games. Though plenty of discussion of planning procedure has occurred in this context, less emphasis has been placed on how the process, rather than the products, of urban change has been envisioned through legacy planning and urban design, and the significance of this for regeneration. Given that London’s much-heralded ‘regeneration legacy’ was, from the early days of the Olympic bid, portrayed as a long-term process aimed at addressing historical issues of socio-economic disparity in East London, and that planning and urban design would play key roles in anticipating it, this contribution to the literature is timely. The paper focuses on the period from 2008 to 2018, beginning with the launch of the what was called the Legacy Masterplan Framework. Drawing on empirical analysis of documents describing the main stages of legacy planning and design between these years, it then examines how regeneration as a ‘futurescape’ encompassing numerous aspects of timing and temporality has been anticipated, planned and evolved.     

Study of bio-aerosols in a prominent temple in Mumbai City,India

Numerous health complaints occur with respect to indoor air quality and scanty information is available on the air flora, particularly with respect to bio-aerosols in India. This paper reports a study which examined air quality in a prominent temple in the city of Mumbai. It was found that the indoor microbial load was significantly higher probably because appropriate ventilation systems were lacking. In the festive month of September, the highest bacterial counts (13.98 × 10⁴ CFU/m³) and fungal counts (9.22 × 10⁴ CFU/m³) were observed. Pseudomonas spp. and Aspergillus spp. were found to be predominant in the air microflora sampled. Correlation analysis with meteorological factors such as temperature, relative humidity and wind speed showed that these were non-significant. The study indicated that poor ventilation, number of occupants and their activities in a given area are largely responsible for the variation in microbial loads observed. The data generated underline the question of monitoring crowded areas including places of religious importance. Some remedial measures are suggested.     

Air entrainment and turbulent fluctuations in hydraulic jumps

A hydraulic jump is the sudden transition from a high-velocity impinging flow into a turbulent roller in an open channel. Substantial amounts of air are entrapped at the impingement point, and significant free-surface fluctuations take place above the roller. In the present study, some physical modelling was conducted in a relatively large sized facility. The flow conditions included a wide ranges of inflow Froude numbers and Reynolds numbers (3.8 < Fr₁ < 10.0, 2.1 × 10⁴ < Re < 1.6 × 10⁵). The fluctuating features of free-surface and roller position were investigated non-intrusively with a series of acoustic displacement meters. The characteristic frequencies of the fluctuating motions were documented, and some major roller surface deformation patterns were revealed. The air-water flow properties were investigated with an intrusive phase-detection probe. The void fraction and bubble count rate data were documented in the jump roller, together with the interfacial velocity distributions. The rate of air entrainment was estimated based upon the void fraction and interfacial velocity distribution data. Some simultaneous measurements of instantaneous void fraction and free-surface fluctuations as well as longitudinal jump front oscillations were conducted. The relationship between the rate of air entrainment and turbulent fluctuations is discussed. Both the turbulent fluctuation and aeration properties are basic design parameters in urban water systems in which a hydraulic jump may take place. The present work provides relevant information for water systems including covered channels and partially-filled pipes.     

Response to APA Comment (Drinan, 2015)

Problem, research strategy, and findings: Local governments often react to sprawl by adopting urban containment policies to limit fringe growth and encourage core development. An alternative is to design impact fee programs accounting for the higher costs of providing services to remote locations. Zone-based impact fee programs carry this potential, but there is no empirical work investigating their effect on residential development. We explored the effects of a zone-based impact fee program on residential permits issued across the Albuquerque, NM, metropolitan statistical area using 21 years of data, identifying countervailing influences on density. The program mitigated sprawl by reducing the share of construction occurring near the urban fringe and by increasing the share in more centrally located areas, but there is no evidence the program increased core development. During a brief period when Albuquerque had impact fees but an adjacent community did not, we observed spillover effects that exacerbated sprawl.

Takeaway for practice: Planners managing sprawl can use zone-based impact fee programs that account for the higher costs of fringe development to effectively increase the density of residential construction, but it may be necessary to use regional programs or coordinated efforts to prevent spillover to adjacent communities.     

Assessment of gaseous emissions and radiative forcing in Indian forest fires

This paper reports a study of the gaseous emissions from Indian forest fires from 2005 to 2016 and their potential impact on radiative forcing. Initially, forest burned area is quantified using MODIS-MCD45A1 data. Results showed that annual burned area of the study period ranges from 8439 km² to 25,442 km² and the maximum forest area is burned during February, March, and April in any year. Gaseous emissions are estimated using emission factors, the mass of fuel available for combustion, combustion factor, and burned area. CO₂, CO, and CH₄ are the major emissions during forest fires with an annual average of 105 × 10⁶ tonnes, 6 × 10⁶ tonnes, and 3.25 × 10⁵ tonnes, respectively. The average radiative forcing (RF) for CO₂, CH_4, and N₂O is estimated as 1.8 Wm^?2, 0.49 Wm^?2, and 0.177 Wm^?2, respectively. An important finding in the present study is the recurrence of forest fires during the pre-monsoon season.     

Dabaodao: the planning,development, and transformation of a Chinese (German) neighbourhood

Dabaodao is an old city district located in the heart of the historical centre of Qingdao (north-eastern China). It was created over 100 years ago as a segregated ‘Chinese town’ under German colonial rule. This article embarks upon a journey into the past, reviewing the continuity and change of Dabaodao and its courtyard-style houses known as Liyuan over last century of socio-political turmoil. It discusses how they have evolved and transformed under different city administrations, beginning from the early colonial years, to the Republican era, the Maoist years, all the way into the reform period. Specifically, the article illustrates how city-planning, laws, and regulations as well as a general urban development ideology during one time period conditioned and shaped those of following periods, eventually turning Dabaodao into what it is today: a dilapidated and poor inner-city neighbourhood with an uncertain future whose historical significance and preservation value remains highly contested and under debate. This article reviews colonial city planning and its impacts in Qingdao, an under-represented city in the English language literature on colonial China; moreover, the article links Dabaodao’s diverse history to current contestations over urban renewal, hereby engaging the complex issue of using the past in the present.     

Emission of pollutants from wood waste incineration at sawmills in Abeokuta metropolis,Nigeria

This paper reports an assessment of the effects of wood waste burning on air quality and the perceived human health in an urban setting. The concentrations of particulates and selected gases were monitored within the vicinity of sawmills in Abeokuta metropolis. The levels of CO, CO₂, SO₂, NO_x, NO₂, H₂S, CH₄ and particulates at distances from sawmill dumps were measured using portable samplers. Additionally, information on sawmill operations and health problems encountered by the exposed population were collected from a community survey. From the data analyses, between 60 and 100% of wood waste generated by sawmills were burned openly, leading to pollutants emission. The mean concentrations of PM_0.3–0.5 (32 523–40 284 μg/m³), NO₂ (1.0 ppm), SO₂ (3.3 ppm), CO (759 ppm) and CO₂ (4.9%) were higher than the permissible limits at 0–15 m from the dump sites. Almost all sampled parameters showed positive association (R = 0.90–0.98; p < 0.05) at sample sites. Moreover, distance of sites to the dumps explained 51–93% of the variation in parameters levels. Both respiratory and dermal diseases were frequently experienced by the exposed population. Strict land-use zoning, pollution abatement measures, environmental quality monitoring and waste-to-energy interventions are urgently required in the study area.     

Enteric pathogens in flood-related waters in urban areas of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta: a case study of Ninh Kieu district,Can Tho city

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the contamination of floodwaters in the urban center of Can Tho city, Vietnam. We sampled water from sewers, surface water bodies, and flood, before, during, and after specific flooding events. Total nucleic acid was extracted from the samples and subjected to a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to detect specific enteric pathogens. The difference between pathogen concentrations in floodwater and sewer water was compared by using the Mann Whitney U test. Correlations between the different pathogens were determined using the non-parametric Spearman test. E. coli and Rotavirus-A were the most prevalent pathogens in floodwater. We observed a weak association between E. coli and Rotavirus in flood-related waters (r < 0.5). Floodwater quality showed no difference to sewer water quality in terms of the E. coli and Rotavirus A concentrations (p > 0.05). Our results indicate that floodwater poses a significant urban public health risk due to the presence of enteric pathogens.     

The influence of depression storage on runoff from impervious surface of urban catchment

This paper contains results of a depression storage investigation based on simulations of runoff using SWMM 5 software and measurements from a real urban catchment in Poznan, Poland. The catchment area is 6.7 km² and its average imperviousness has been evaluated as 29 %. Altogether, 46 rainfall events, registered by tipping-bucket raingauges in years 2006–2010 in three stations, have been analysed. The best agreement of the computed outflow hydrographs with the results of measurements has been obtained for a depression storage depth of 1.5 mm. The influence of spatial distribution of impervious surface depression on the shape of the computed hydrographs has been found to not be significant.     

Evaluating mangroves of Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary in relation to the general status of mangroves in Andhra Pradesh,India

The present study was carried out to check whether there is a decline in mangrove cover of Andhra Pradesh state, India, as cited by a few studies. The research analysed mangrove dynamics of Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary of Andhra Pradesh state, using temporal satellite data of six periods. Analysis of these data showed major changes in the mangrove areas of the sanctuary. In 1972, the mangrove cover was 82.76 km², which then decreased to 80.47 km² in 1981, and then further dropped to 69.52 km² in 1990. Comparatively an area of 13.22 km² was lost from 1972 to 1990. The area recorded in 2000 was 101.98 km² and the positive trend of increase in mangrove areas was observed in both 2009 (138.36 km²) and in 2014 (158.16 km²). Overall, an increase of 88.64 km² mangrove area was observed from 1990 to 2014. The study confirms the increase in mangrove cover in the state, disagreeing with the observations of decrease in mangrove cover made by other studies previously.     

Review essay: Change and innovation in European housing

Marjorie Bulos & Stephen Walker (eds.), The Legacy and Opportunity for High Rise Housing in Europe. The Management of Innovation. London: Polytechnic of the South Bank, 1987, 104 pp.

David Clapham & John English (eds.), Public Housing: Current Trends and Future Developments. London: Croom Helm, 1987, 174 pp.     

Roadside PM10 and associated metals in Constantine,Algeria

Samples of particulate matter less than or equal to 10 μm (PM10) were collected every other day using an Airmetrics MiniVol portable air sampler in Constantine, the third largest and most densely populated city of Algeria with a population of 600,000. The main objective of this study was to assess the concentrations of particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic diameter ≤10 μm (PM10), and dust-laden trace metals in a residential area with heavy traffic during two months, from 25 March 2010 to 24 May 2010. Furthermore, the present work examines the daily levels of metallic elements Fe, Zn and Cu. The PM10 concentrations ranged from 7.6 to 159.4 μg/m³ during the study period. WHO’s daily PM10 average guide value of 50 μg/m³ was exceeded 10 times over 31 samples. HYSPLIT back trajectories were used to identify the source locations of the pollutants. Rain scavenging of atmospheric particulate matter led to a substantial decrease in PM10 concentrations. During the study period, Zn was detected in one sample at a concentration of 0.78 μg/m³. It is believed that air masses originating from Iceland’s Eyjafjöll volcano may have transported clouds of ashes rich in Zn to the sampling site on that occasion. A maximum of 2.92 μg/m³ of Cu was observed when the volcanic cloud reached the sampling site four times during the corresponding 24-h sampling period.     

Landscape fragmentation and urban sprawl in the urban region of Milan

Spatial expansion of cities appears to be unavoidable. Despite concern around landscape alterations caused by urban expansion, the understanding of the amounts and patterns of this phenomenon is sorely lacking. In this study, we quantified the current pattern of landscape fragmentation in the urban region (UR) of Milan and analysed the trend of urban sprawl over more than 50 years. The UR of Milan was spatially defined using a standardised and repeatable methodology that combines land-use and population density data. Fragmentation was assessed using the effective mesh size (m_eff). The trend of sprawl was monitored between 1954 and 2012 and over different areas to detect the magnitude (amount and direction) and patterns of changes. Results revealed a positive trend and a high degree of sprawl over the whole study area.     

LES and RANS comparison of flow and pollutant dispersion in urban environment

This study investigates air pollution dispersion in urban areas by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The commercial CFD software FLUENT was used to implement two different turbulence simulation methods (RANS and LES), in domains similar to complex urban environments. Particularly, different combinations of roof shapes were studied and simulation results of pollutant (ethane) concentrations were compared against experimental data. The building height (H) to the neighbour building distance (B) ratio was also taken into consideration. Previous studies showed that both RANS and LES models are accurate enough to predict pollutant concentrations fields in B/H = 1. In the present study the incapability of RANS models to predict accurately pollutant concentration in B/H = 0.5 for all roof shapes configurations is revealed.     

Aquatics Centre,London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games

The Aquatics Centre is a centrepiece of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Already now before the opening of the Games it is regarded as an iconic legacy building. The building comprises a 50 m competition pool and 25 m dive pool under the wave‐form roof of the main pool hall. A 50 m training pool is situated beneath the Olympic Park entrance plaza structure which is built integrally with the rest of the building. The engineering strategy has been developed around two basic configurations; the Games mode and Legacy Mode. In the Games mode the facility has a maximum gross spectator capacity of 17 500 for use for the London 2012 Games as well as housing facilities for the running of these events. In that mode temporary stands to the east and west of the competition and diving pools will seat approx. 15 000 spectators. In the legacy mode the building temporary seating will be dismantled and the building will be a permanent pool facility for the local community as well as national and international swimming events beyond the Games. Each pool tank is provided with a combination of floating floors and movable sub‐division boom bulkheads to allow multiple legacy and community use. Schwimm‐Arena der Olympischen und der Paralympischen Spiele London 2012 Die Schwimm‐Arena ist eines der Hauptgebäude der Olympischen wie auch der Paralympischen Spiele in London 2012. Schon vor Beginn der Spiele wurde es zu einer baulichen Ikone. Unter einem wellenförmigen Dach befinden sich ein 50‐m‐Schwimmbecken sowie ein 25‐m‐Becken mit Sprungtürmen. Das 50‐m‐Aufwärmbecken liegt unter einem der Eingänge zum Olympia Park, der so genannten Plaza. Die ingenieurtechnischen Planungen erfolgten gemäß den unterschiedlichen Anforderungen der “Games Mode” und der “Legacy Mode” nach den Spielen. Während der Spiele bestehen Tribünenplätze für 17 500 Zuschauer sowie alle damit verbundenen sonstigen räumlichen Anforderungen. Die westlich und östlich der Becken gelegenen temporären Tribünen nehmen 15 000 Zuschauer auf. Für die “Legacy Mode” werden diese wieder abgebaut und die Schwimmhalle wird dann von der breiten Öffentlichkeit und für nationale wie internationale Schwimmwettbewerben genutzt. Alle Schwimmbecken verfügen über höhenverstellbare Böden und Unterteilungen.