Wind comfort in a public urban space—Case study within Dublin Docklands

Open public spaces provide venues for cultural, recreational events and promote informal social contact between citizens. Successful outdoor spaces promote comfort and invite people to stay outdoors. Provision of thermal comfort outdoors present a challenge, as an extended range of environmental conditions must be dealt with. The present study examines whether climatic characteristics in Dublin facilitate exercising long-term outdoor activities during summer, and investigates the extent to which urban planning and the resulting urban morphology of the built environment influences microclimates created, from the viewpoint of wind environment. Microclimates at Grand Canal Square have been simulated by ENVI-met. Wind velocity has been expressed in relation to that of the ‘‘background’’ climate in order to verify if the site has a wind protecting character or to the contrary, it enhances airflow. The results show for the dominant wind directions (W, SW, S) that 60% higher wind velocity than at Dublin Airport can occur around buildingcornersandatrestrictedflowsections—preventing any kind of long-term outdoor activity during a ‘‘typical’’ day. S and SW winds cause 15%-20% acceleration at the W waterfront area. Windy urban environment can call forth a limited frequentation of urban space.     

A case study in early urban design: Toronto, 1966–1978

ABSTRACT

This is a study in the practice of postwar urban design in Toronto, Canada, based on archival documents and interviews with participants. The narrative begins with the hiring of one British-trained architect/urban designer, Raymond Spaxman, by the City of Toronto Planning Board in 1966. Spaxman then set up a new division of staff that he filled with five or six other architect/urban designers of various national and institutional origins. The study describes the work carried out by these urban designers, identifies the principle themes apparent in it, and relates this to published literature on the founding principles of postwar urban design. In most ways, the study's findings fit the current understanding of the early discipline – concern for pedestrians, sympathy for historical preservation – but in others not – it was different from but not antagonistic towards planning. The findings are then considered as an example of the international transfer of postwar planning ideas. The process of idea transfer in this case looks to have been more chaotic, and less definable, than existing paradigms suggest, but this might have been fairly common in second-rank, immigrant-receiving cities.     

Post-socialist context of culture-led urban regeneration – Case study of a street in Novi Sad,Serbia

In West European cities, culture has evolved to become a crucial ingredient of regeneration projects, in which stakeholders' cooperation is of utmost importance and economic and social benefits are often well balanced. In contrast, the majority of second-tier Central and East European cities, primarily non-holders of the European Capital of Culture title, still seem to struggle with clearly defining the relationship between culture and urban regeneration, precisely determining the responsibilities of the key actors and making the distinction between social and economic goals in regeneration projects. In this paper, the authors join the emerging discussion on the post-socialist context of culture-led regeneration through a case study of a street in the old core of Novi Sad, Serbia. In an effort to contribute to understanding various challenges that Serbian cities have been facing since the fall of communism, they seek to identify cultural effects of a very distinctive process of transition. They also investigate the interplay between the citizens' cultural preferences, visions of urbanity, private sector's interests and usage of urban space, and discuss the impacts of spontaneous utilization versus exploitation of space and culture. Furthermore, they analyse the outcomes of culture-led transformation conducted in the absence of cultural strategies and in-depth regeneration policies and marked by the laisser-faire attitude of the local authorities. Having completed the analysis, the authors propose the means for redefining the relationship between culture and regeneration in second-tier Serbian cities, yet also in other CEE cities of similar size, emphasizing the role of culture, responsibilities of the local authorities, significance of bottom-up approaches and relevance of place context.     

Does district heating affect residential property prices? Case study of an urban area in South Korea

This article investigates whether the residential heating method affects property prices in an urban area of South Korea. Sales data for 1760 apartments in Seocho District, Seoul, the country's capital, are employed. The property price equation is estimated, including the heating method as one attribute. The gap between the price of properties with a district heating system (DHS) and those with other heating methods, such as an individual heating system or central heating system, accounted for about 21.7% of apartment prices. Specifically, apartments with a DHS were more expensive than apartments with other heating methods.     

Assessment of groundwater depletion–induced land subsidence and characterisation of damaging cracks on houses: a case study in Mohali-Chandigarh area,India

Bulletin of Engineering Geology and the Environment - The present study identified groundwater depletion–induced land subsidence by spaceborne differential interferometric SAR (DInSAR)...     

The User Pre-Occupancy Evaluation Method in designer–client communication in early design stage: A case study

The interaction between designers and clients is continuous during the briefing and architectural design stage. The efficiency of the interaction process may be decreased due to the limited experience of clients, such as the limited capacity in understanding drawings or reviewing design solutions. A User Pre-Occupancy Evaluation Method (UPOEM) was developed to enhance the designer–client communication by applying building information modeling, user activity simulation, and requirement management techniques. A case study is used to apply the UPOEM to verify the practical implementation in a real project and from which a comparative experimental study and questionnaire survey were conducted. The findings indicate that the UPOEM can help generate more suggestions for improving design solution during designer–client communication compared with traditional approach. It can also enhance the clients' understanding of the future built environment as well as their willingness in collaborative working with designers at the early design stage.     

Impacts of climate change on urban drainage systems – a case study in Fredrikstad,Norway

Norway has frequently encountered flood damage in urban areas during recent years. In this paper the authors, taking Veumdalen catchment in Fredrikstad as an example, simulated the possible consequences in the sewer system, in the present, predicted and artificial climate scenarios. Indicators that describe (1) surface flooding, (2) surcharging sewers, (3) basement flooding and (4) combined sewer overflow (CSO) are defined to represent the adverse effects of climate change. It is concluded from the annual-based simulation that the total volume of water spilling from the flooding manholes will increase 2–4-times the increase in precipitation, and the total CSO will increase 1.5–3-times as much as the increase in precipitation. The simulation results also show that the number of flooding manholes and number of surcharging sewers may change dramatically and irregularly with a slight change of precipitation, and vary with events and durations.     

Impact of urban conditions on firm performance of migrant entrepreneurs: a comparative Dutch–US study

Recent studies on ethnic entrepreneurship have pointed at an increasing share of migrants in urban small- and medium-sized entrepreneurial businesses. These migrant activities are crucial to the urban economy in many countries, as they employ a significant part of the workforce. The main objective of our study is to identify success conditions of ethnic entrepreneurship by using concepts from social capital and human capital from the literature on empirical factors that are responsible for successful ethnic entrepreneurship. The empirical part of the paper is based on a survey questionnaire among migrant entrepreneurs in the city of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and in Fairfax, County in the state of Virginia in the US. We present an overview of cultural, ethno-psychological and motivational aspects that contribute to the understanding of similarities and differences between ethnic entrepreneurs in both locations. The analysis is structured around several dimensions of social and human capital including personal and business characteristics, and network participation for improving business performance. The findings of the two studies are compared to explore a possible correspondence in business performance patterns. The research tool used to assess performance is Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), a technique for comparative efficiency analysis in various types of corporate organizations. Finally, concluding remarks are presented and possible extensions of the analysis are suggested.     

Urban water management strategies based on a total urban water cycle model and energy aspects – Case study for Tel Aviv

Global change pressures such as climate change, water scarcity, population growth, full urbanisation of catchments and rising energy costs may increasingly affect the urban water system of Tel Aviv. These challenges formed the incentive for a multidisciplinary Learning Alliance of water sector institutions to embark on a process to identify ways to improve sustainability of the city's water system. Sustainability indicators were identified and a whole-of-system water balance model (AquaCycle) was used to score the indicators for future scenarios and strategies. Strategies included rainwater harvesting, stormwater use, permeable pavements, and wastewater reuse. The effect of the strategies on total water imported into the city was a reduction of 10% by rainwater harvesting and 32% by wastewater reuse at cluster scale. The latter strategy reduced energy consumption from 2.89 kWh per m³ of volume of water used (import + reuse) in the current situation to 2.45 kWh per m³.     

The “neighborhood unit” on trial: a case study in the impacts of urban morphology

The organization of modern city planning into “neighborhood units” – most commonly associated with the Clarence Perry proposal of 1929 – has been enormously influential in the evolution of modern city form, and at the same time has also been the subject of intense controversy and debate that continues to the present day. New issues under debate include social and economic diversity, maintenance of viable pedestrian and public transit modes, viability of internalized community service hubs, and efficient use of energy and natural resources, including greenhouse gas emissions. We trace the history of this controversy up to the present day, and we discuss new developments that may point the way to needed reforms of best practice.     

In situ-based assessment of soil liquefaction potential–Case study of an earth dam in Tunisia

The present paper examines the evaluation of liquefaction potential of an earth dam foundation in Tunisia. The assessment of soil liquefaction was made using deterministic and probabilistic simplified procedures developed from several case histories. The data collected from the field investigation performed before and after the vibrocompaction are analyzed and the results are reported. The obtained results show that after vibrocompaction, a significant improvement of the soil resistance reduces the liquefaction potential of the sandy foundation. Indeed, in the untreated layers, the factor of safety FS drops below 1 which means that the soil is susceptible for liquefaction. However, in the compacted horizons, the values of FS exceed the unit which justifies the absence of liquefaction hazard of the foundation.     

The port–city relationships in two European inland ports: A geographical perspective on urban governance

Urban development projects involve some complex relationships between institutional public agents, who govern local territories, and economic agents, who make urban economies. These relationships between the stakeholders of the economic sectors (transport, water, housing, energy, industry…) and the territories shaped by public action thus define the type of urban governance which results from interactions. In this paper, we develop the hypothesis that the relation between these stakeholders has a major impact on the mechanisms that produce the city. In this perspective, we apply an analytical framework (sector/territory dialogues) to two river cities in order to understand how the interplay between the stakeholders modifies urban geography. Analysing the relationship between the city, the river and the port in Venlo (The Netherlands) and Strasbourg (France) provides examples of project-based urban planning that is founded on negotiation between the river stakeholders (port authorities, inland waterway managers, transport and logistics firms) and the different levels of public policies (municipal, intermunicipal, regional, national levels). Eventually, this approach allows us to consider the forms taken by the above sector-territory dialogue within the urban space in terms of tools and scales. Finally, the paper ends with a discussion about the value of a contribution from geography to an understanding of these governance issues.     

State intervention in urban housing markets: A case study of public housing development and change in Melbourne, 1945–1980

Abstract

The paper analyses the three major public housing programmes which have been operating within Melbourne since 1945 within the framework of the theory of the state. The paper also reviews the functions and causes of state intervention and assesses the utility of the theory of the state.     

Evolution of the “Golden Royal City”: Analytical study on urban forms of ancient capital cities in Myanmar

The historical cities in Southeast Asia with distinct characteristics are an important part of Asia's cultural heritage system and the ancient capitals of Myanmar are as an example of these civilizational achievements. Their urban forms through history are essential spatial carriers reflecting the traditional local planning thinking. However, the overall understanding has yet to form due to a lack of systematic research. This study aims to complement it by studying the urban forms of almost all Myanmar's ancient capitals based on verifiable spatial elements, works of literature, archaeology documents and field survey. The location, boundary and layout elements are analyzed to classify and characterize these urban forms, and their evolution rules are then summarized. Furthermore, the urban planning characteristics are discussed, indicating that the regulated structure and distinctive image gradually formed, accompanied by increasingly mature planning thinking and methods. The study reveals that the urban form and the planning thinking of Myanmar's ancient capital cities had undergone an evolution with its own characteristics and that the “Golden Royal City” is of unique value in the genealogy of Asian capitals. The findings will contribute to the mutual learning between civilizations and provide a scientific foundation for the heritage conservation.     

Basic building life cycle calculations to decrease contribution to climate change – Case study on an office building in Sweden

This study examined whether simplified life cycle-based calculations of climate change contributions can provide better decision support for building design. Contributions to climate change from a newly built office building in Gävle, Sweden, were studied from a life cycle perspective as a basis for improvements. A basic climate and energy calculation tool for buildings developed in the European project ENSLIC was used. The study also examined the relative impacts from building material production and building operation, as well as the relative importance of the impact contributions from these two life cycle stages at various conditions.     

Brazilian city planners,American city planning? New perspectives on urban planning in Rio de Janeiro, 1930–1945

This article analyses the connections between the ideas and principles of American city planning from 1920 with those articulated by Brazilian city planners in the 1930s and implemented by the administration of the City of Rio de Janeiro, then the capital of Brazil, notably during the period of the Estado Novo [The New State] from 1937 to 1945. In a period characterized by the centralization of political power and the concentration of decision‐making in the hands of the president and the state, the City of Rio de Janeiro undertook a series of restructuring projects which utilized new forms of administration and organization. This article explores the links between urban planning in Brazil and the USA that were a notable feature of these projects. It examines particular requirements set down in city plans, city planning commissions and funding for urban activities, such as ‘excess condemnation’, by focusing upon articles and books written by four Brazilian engineers and proposals put forward by the American City Planning Institute, detailed in the proceedings of the National Conference on City Planning, in the periodical, City Planning and works by affiliated authors.     

Specific intentions–general realities: on the relation between urban forms and political aspirations in Berlin during the twentieth century

Berlin as a capital city seems to be a very specific case: no other capital city experienced political changes as extreme as Berlin in the twentieth century. All the different political systems tried to impose their political aspirations on the urban fabric, planning large government complexes with specific urban images and highly political overtones. Therefore, the planning history of Berlin is often considered as unique – each phase of planning belonging closely to the political body that installed it – and each phase of planning being part of a special Berlin planning history.

Within this article Berlin's planning history is interpreted in a different way. First, there are planning ideas, which are far more constant than the political systems and which cannot be attributed to only one system. Secondly, for each planning idea which had been developed for special political purposes in Berlin, some international examples can be found which root it in an international urban debate rather than in a regional tradition. The result is quite astonishing, since for nearly every plan international examples with often contradictory political ideas can be found. This means that one can no longer interpret Berlin's planning history as a special case, explainable mostly by local traditions and political intentions. In fact, urban design for government districts in Berlin is more closely connected to international trends and the discipline of urban design. Thus, in addition, the relationship between urban forms and political aspirations must be considered as being more arbitrary than conventionally seen.     

An integrated approach to public’s perception of urban water use and ownership of water companies during a period of economic crisis. Case study in Athens,Greece

ABSTRACT

This study applies an integrated approach to investigate public perception of residential water issues during a period of economic crisis. The study investigates the perceptions and practices of Athenians in water conservation, their satisfaction with the supplied water, their opinion on the privatization of Water Company and their willingness for additional payment for the improvement of water services. A survey was conducted using a structured questionnaire. Results indicate that the respondents have adopted water conservation practices, but there is still room for further saving. Most of the respondents declared to be satisfied with the supplied water and do not agree to the privatization of water companies. Women, older participants and those having lower income are less willing for additional payment. Research findings are useful tool for policymakers to design policies and make decisions regarding water management, ownership of water companies and changes in behavior of water use.