Erratum to “Integrated research on subsurface environments in Asian urban areas”

The RIHN project “Human impacts on urban subsurface environments” aims to suggest improved development plans of urban centers for human well-being. This will be done by examining reconstructed past changes in urban environments, and by developing integrated nature-social models. Subsurface environmental indicators are developed from the points of view of: (1) human activities; (2) climate change; and (3) character of urban development and social policies. Water, heat, and material environments and transport vectors are being evaluated by a number of different approaches. Some of these include investigating changes in groundwater resources using satellite observations, reconstructing effects of climate change and urbanization using subsurface thermal regimes, and evaluating past contamination patterns from preserved subsurface records. In this overview paper, we describe the current status of urbanization in Asia, subsurface water conditions, material and contaminant transport to surface waters by groundwater, and subsurface thermal anomalies due to the heat island effect. The rapid pace of urbanization in Asia requires that we develop a better understanding of how to deal with environmental impacts, both above and below ground.     

The potential role of urban green areas for controlling ground surface and subsurface warming

Subsurface warming in urban areas is higher in magnitude than increases in surface air temperatures. However, little evidence exists on the effects of urbanization on subsurface environments, and there are few quantitative estimates of the effectiveness of adaptation measures. We analyzed the relationship between ground surface warming and the extent of landscape change using subsurface temperature anomalies as an indicator of surface warming in five urban areas in Japan. To interpret these results for urban planning, we presented the percentages of green areas that would be needed to achieve certain reductions in ground surface temperatures for areas with different urbanization levels. Accordingly, a 0.5 °C reduction in average ground surface temperatures can be achieved by an increased Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) value of 0.035, which accounts for approximately a 17% increase in natural green areas in an area with 75% urbanization. This study provides quantitative estimates to cope with urban warming at the local scale in the face of climate change.     

城市非建设用地对雨洪管理的影响

针对城市的防洪排涝控制、雨水安全排放等问题,探讨了如何构建高效的雨洪控制管理体系,详细介绍了城市雨洪管理的三种模式及自然水体在城市雨洪管理中的地位,并分析了LUCC对城市水安全问题的影响因素,以从根本上减少城市水安全问题。     

城市商业区与历史街区的关系研究

对城市商业区与历史街区之间的空间与职能关系进行了初步研究,并进行分类分析,总结了在城市商业区中对历史街区进行有效保护以及合理开发的良性因素。     

GIS技术在城市环境噪声中的应用研究

噪声污染是城市环境四大公害之一,目前,已经成为制约城市人居环境质量提高的重要因素。掌握准确的环境噪声信息,科学评价噪声现状及其环境影响,是噪声决策规划和噪声管理的重要基础。     

谈楚雄市城区彝族建筑应用现状

以楚雄市城区为研究区域,把楚雄市城区的彝族建筑应用现状作为研究对象,根据彝族建筑的种类,分析了楚雄市城区彝族建筑的应用情况,并针对该建筑在应用中存在的问题提出相应的建议,为今后楚雄州彝族建筑在城市中的运用提供一定的参考。     

Impact of non-uniform urban surface temperature on pollution dispersion in urban areas

Airflow pattern through street canyons has been widely studied to understand the nature of pollution dispersion in order to develop guidelines for urban planners. One of the major contributing parameters in pollution dispersion is thermal-induced flow caused by surface and air temperature difference. However, most of the previous studies assumed isothermal condition for street canyons. Those addressed the thermal-induced flow, have assumed a uniform wall surface temperature distribution. The external building wall surface temperature distribution is not uniform, and is influenced by many factors including the wall surface characteristics, and shading. The non-uniform temperature distribution significantly impacts on 3-dimensional airflow within street canyons. Moreover, effect of intersection is barely considered in the literature where L/H<3 (L and H are respectively length and height of street canyon). This Paper reports the development of a 3-dimensional model to study the effect of non-uniform wall surface temperature distribution on the pollution dispersion and flow pattern within the short street canyons (L/H<3). For this purpose, a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model is developed to investigate these effects on pollution dispersion in various prevailing wind velocities and directions. Moreover, active and passive techniques to reduce the level of concentration are examined. The study clearly shows that thermal-induced flow dominates during fair-weather condition.     

Drivers of urban sprawl in urban areas of Iran

During the recent decades, debates about urban sprawl have increased strongly in Iran. Literature review shows that there are few studies about causes of sprawl in urban areas of Iran. This paper analyses driving forces in creation or intensification of urban sprawl in Iranian cities. The methodology of the research is based on documentary and survey method. Results indicate that the most important drivers of urban sprawl are 22 factors in Iran. By using exploratory factor analysis, 22 factors are summarized in eight main factors. These factors include population growth, land value, political fragmentation, land speculation, transportation policies, exterior pressure, management system and land use. The eight main factors are able to explain an average of 76.9% of the urban sprawl phenomenon in Iran. The analysis of variance indicates that none of them can be effective in explaining urban sprawl alone in Iran that they were explained by each factor on urban sprawl. The population growth has the highest impact by 13% and land use has the lowest impact by about 7%. The margin of discrepancy between variance was explained by factors that suggest all of the eight extracted factors play a key role in the urban sprawl of Iran. Policies for controlling and reducing consequences of this phenomenon should be initiated by the government by considering the influential role of government in the urban sprawl of Iran. In particular, it can be helpful to establish integrated urban management, a compilation of comprehensive law about urban land and pay attention to worn-out textures and brownfield development.     

城区照明

Hess的投影反射系统具有光点影像分离功能。这个系统的照明光线不眩目．从根本上加强了街道和广场的气氛。新增的“Devio”墙体安装照明设备用于提供不对称光线。这种在墙上安装的型号可应用于三种多面系统：可用于街道照明、区域照明和辅助立面照明。为满足灯具数量不断增长的需要，Hess也设计了带有多个投影仪的设备模型。     

Sustainable urban growth in peripheral areas

The monograph addresses the factors affecting the degree of sustainability exhibited by population growth in peripheral urban settlements. Development differentials between core and peripheral regions in countries of different size and various level of economic development are discussed and specifically, the following issues are considered: 1, core versus periphery: inequalities and development needs; 2, development peculiarities of peripheral urban settlements; 3, criteria for sustainable urban growth; 4, factors influencing urban growth in peripheral areas; and 5, planning strategies for regional development. Two major theoretical considerations are posited for discussion. First, that ‘sustainable population growth' of an urban settlement is defined according to the settlement's ability to attract newcomers and retain current residents (migration attractiveness). Second, that the preconditions which are essential for sustainable population growth in peripheral areas are not identical to those in the core. A set of analytical models designed to explain development peculiarities of peripheral settlements are suggested and several planning strategies are also proposed, aimed at enhancing the socio-economic sustainability of existing settlements in peripheral areas. These include: 1, the formation of compact development clusters; 2, the concentration of state and local financial resources on selected development settlements; 3, the adoption of a system of progressive economic incentives to promote private investment in peripheral areas; and 4, stricter regulation of land use in core regions.     

Understanding chronic poverty in urban areas

The problem of chronic poverty in urban areas has been given little attention despite an increasing interest in poverty and some recognition of the growing significance of urban populations. This paper reviews the literature to bring together what we know about the nature and scale of chronic poverty in urban areas. It begins with a consideration of the definition of chronic urban poverty and related issues of poverty measurement. The section also reports on some recent assessments of the scale and scope of urban poverty. Following sections report on the different nature of such poverty in specific kinds of urban settlements (small towns, urban peripheries and the inner city) and social groups that appear to be particularly vulnerable. The paper concludes by drawing out some of the factors that appear to be of significance in understanding the causes of chronic poverty in urban areas.     

城市区域小气候对建筑设计的影响

建筑师在建筑设计的过程中对当地气候条件因素的考虑是必不可少的一环，但气象数据的更新远跟不上城市规模和城市气候环境的变化，尤其对于特大型都市来说，同一时间内城市不同区域已出现了气象数据上较大的差异，建筑师或规划师若依然采用旧有的建筑气象数据来进行设计，则建筑与环境之间必然存在不协调之处。这是设计人员应留意的地方。     

Cultural buildings and urban areas

Even a cursory review of contemporary urban architecture and architectural urbanism attests that the field is largely driven by two contrasting dispositions. On the one hand, there is abundant work promoting ‘place-making’, whilst, on the other, there is ample output advocating a profound revaluation of the field. Notwithstanding the numerous variations of these two dispositions, what they generally seem to be missing is a sophisticated understating of the intricate and reciprocal relationship between architecture and the city. This failure is part and parcel of a distortion in the field as to our expectations from and appraisal of cultural buildings. In other words, since cultural buildings are typically deployed as keystones in urban strategies, they seem well-placed—if not inescapably positioned—to take on a role as protagonist, and thus to anchor and spearhead transformation in their host urban areas. Through a series of both theoretical and design references, this article examines the notion of the urban area in respect to its constituent elements. This takes place within a broader conception of the city of parts which frames an investigation of the strategic tension cultural buildings introduce within their respective areas.