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Objective: Built environment interventions provide structural solutions to complex urban challenges. Though community voices are part of municipal decision-making, planners and public health professionals need tools to better integrate their perspectives for desired changes (what) when implementing built environment interventions (how). We present two simultaneous concept mapping exercises conducted in Montréal, Canada, to facilitate the consideration of these dimensions., Methods: Community members were prompted about neighbourhood changes that could improve their quality of life; stakeholders were prompted about factors that contribute to successful implementation of interventions. Through each exercise, items were generated, grouped, and rated on importance and feasibility. Concept maps were produced using multidimensional scaling and hierarchical cluster analysis. The clusters identified by community members and stakeholders were combined into a Community × Stakeholder Matrix, which supported discussions on interventions with the research's Advisory Committee., Results: Thirty-two community members generated 41 responses, which resulted in 6 clusters: (1) strengthen public transportation, (2) reduce space dedicated to cars, (3) foster local social connections, (4) develop quality cycling infrastructure, (5) improve pedestrian accessibility, and (6) green the city. Thirty-seven stakeholders generated 40 items, which resulted in 5 clusters: (1) collaboration with stakeholders and citizens, (2) planning and evaluation, (3) common vision for the future, (4) regulatory framework and funding, and (5) context-informed approach., Conclusion: Capturing the collective vision of our urban environments and the processes underlying change through concept mapping can lead to more successful changes. We propose combining understandings of the what and how into a matrix to support evaluation and strategic planning of interventions and better integrate community voices into operational planning., (© 2024. The Author(s) under exclusive license to The Canadian Public Health Association.)

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted a major contradiction in contemporary urban planning. This is the relationship between the entrepreneurial modes of urban politics that shape contemporary planning practice and the interrelated dynamics of economic precarity and informalisation of low-income communities that exacerbate contagion, and therefore enable pandemic spread. Through a review of literature on the urban dimensions of COVID-19, and on the historical relationship between pandemics and urban planning, we develop a framework for analysing the debates that are emerging around planning approaches to addressing contemporary pandemic risk in low-income, informalised communities. We argue that post-pandemic debates about urban planning responses are likely to take shape around three discourses that have framed approaches to addressing informalised communities under entrepreneurial urbanism – a revanchist approach based on territorial stigmatisation of spaces of the poor, an incrementalist approach premised on addressing the most immediate drivers of contagion, and a reformist approach that seeks to address the structural conditions that have produced economic precarity and shelter informality. We further argue that any effort to assess the political outfall of the COVID-19 pandemic in a given context needs to take an inter-scalar approach, analysing how debates over informality take shape at the urban and national scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose of Review: Most people with dementia live in the community. As lifespan increases, one in three persons aged 85+ are expected to live with dementia. We conduct a systematic search to identify frameworks for dementia care and prevention in community settings. This is important to ensure quality of life for people living with cognitive decline (PLCD)., Recent Findings: 61 frameworks are synthesized into the dementia care and prevention in community (DCPC) framework. It highlights three levels of provision: built environment and policy supports, access and innovation, and inclusion across stages of decline. Domains of intervention include: basic needs; built environment health and accessibility; service access and use; community health infrastructure; community engagement; mental health and wellbeing; technology; end-of-life care; cultural considerations; policy, education, and resources. Personhood is not adequately represented in current built environment frameworks. This is supplemented with 14 articles on lived experiences at home and social practices that contribute to PLCD's social identity and psychological safety., Summary: Policy makers, health and built environment professionals must work together to promote "personhood in community" with PLCD. Clinicians and community staff may focus on inclusion, social identity and a sense of at-homeness as attainable outcomes despite diagnosis., (Copyright © 2023 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

At a time when the world is critical of the Brazilian government and the loss of Amazonian rainforest, Brian J. Godfrey casts his 40-year gaze on Rio de Janeiro. Geographer Godfrey deftly uses various scales of analysis - global, hemispheric, national, regional, metropolitan, and neighborhood - to point out how memory can be used to reinvent places both in Rio and elsewhere. Godfrey's real nugget is chapter 3's examination of Little Africa in Rio. [Extracted from the article]

Early-life exposure to neighborhood violence can negatively affect children's socioemotional development and long-term health outcomes. Community-level interventions that modify the built environment to facilitate social encounters can have a positive impact on health. An example of such interventions is the building of green spaces and playgrounds. This case study describes collaboration among residents, local organizations, and a university that aimed to increase the utilization of a vacant lot by converting it into a green space with a playground. Informal conversations at volunteer gatherings and neighborhood association meetings indicated a positive impact of this project in the community. We propose a model for future program implementation and research to improve health in disinvested and disordered communities. We conclude that more research is needed on community partnerships that modify the built environment to decrease community violence. Community-based participatory research may be successful in evaluating future projects with this goal., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)

The article is a call for papers in the Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada journal. It focuses on the topic of natural experiments on built environments, health behaviors, and chronic diseases. The built environment, which includes structures, recreation facilities, transportation systems, and community design, has been linked to the development of chronic diseases and health behaviors. Natural experiments, which are interventions that occur without a researcher's manipulation, offer an opportunity to evaluate the effects of changes to the built environment on health behaviors and chronic disease risk. The special issue aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness of built environment interventions in a Canadian context. The journal is seeking research articles that present new findings or synthesize existing evidence on natural experiments and their impact on health behaviors and chronic disease prevention. The submission deadline is November 30, 2024. [Extracted from the article]

This article discusses a special issue of the journal Facilities that focuses on future-proof facilities management (FM) practices with an emphasis on sustainability. The issue features ten papers that cover a range of topics, including the impact of the indoor environment on education, safety and security measures, green methods, reactive maintenance, occupant perspectives in office settings, maintenance strategies in high-rise buildings, design guidelines for hospitals during the COVID-19 outbreak, e-waste management practices in India, and factors crucial for urban space maintainability. The papers provide valuable insights and practical recommendations for future-proofing FM practices in various built environments. [Extracted from the article]

The built environment of an older person's home can reduce or promote the possibility of a fall or other injury. A user-friendly tool can help the residents to evaluate their home environment within the context of their specific functional and mobility challenges, so that needed modifications can be identified and completed before an event causing injury occurs. The increasing use of telehealth and other digital technologies has paved the way for technology-based person-initiated home assessments that may allow people to evaluate and improve their homes proactively. The purpose of this literature review was to systematically analyze existing published paper- and technology-based home assessment tools to understand the structure and key characteristics of existing tools and to understand the limitations in existing home assessment tools. This review identified and compared 24 studies based on structure, content, and implementation. While a vast variety of tools and methods currently exist for conducting in-home or remote home assessment for older adults, there is a lack of a comprehensive and user-friendly technology-based tool that older adults can use to conduct an environmental assessment of their home in relation to their functional abilities, such that modifications may be identified that can prevent falls and other injuries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses the articles in the issue on topics including urban regeneration, covering multifunctional city centers, Dutch new town maturation, land use intensity in Egypt, and core city revitalization.

Purpose: The UK Government has committed to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, being the first major nation to do so. While laudable, it raises the question, "are future built environment professionals (BEPs) equipped for this?" Although studies related to students' perspectives exist, they broadly focus on sustainability-related pedagogical aspects, with limited studies conducted in the built environment (BE). This study makes the case that it is timely to investigate this from an emerging perspective using the term "low-carbon future" (LCF), given that it is germane to achieving net-zero emissions and is at the forefront of academic and practice discourse. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the knowledge level of UK BE students' in higher education institutions (HEIs) specific to the term LCF. Design/methodology/approach: This is a systematic scoping study review of published papers related to sustainability in BE curricula in the UK HEI context. Findings: The findings reveal that LCF remains at a nascent stage, with no study specifically addressing it. It indicates a knowledge gap that could impact the grounding students require to address current and future sustainability challenges. Research limitations/implications: The review focused on a specific term, which, while relevant, is very niche. A review of other emerging terms, considering LCF as a theme, and/or empirical data from diverse stakeholders in UK HEIs could enrich the results. Practical implications: This study provides significant insight into the status of sustainability inclusion in the BE curriculum. It would serve as a reference for stakeholders involved in equipping future BEPs with the requisite knowledge and skills to deal with sustainability challenges that will be consequential beyond the UK context. It would also inform future research. Social implications: Sustainability-informed and equipped BEPs will be influential in shaping their immediate surroundings and how people engage with them, which will contribute to developing a more equitable and sustainable society. Originality/value: Beyond contributing to the discourse on sustainability literacy in UK HEI from an emerging concept perspective, this study would be useful as possibly the first of its kind. Therefore, it fills the theoretical gap and proffers recommendations that would be beneficial for curriculum development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topological interlocking assembly (TIA) and computational architecture treat form as an emergent property of a material system, where the final shape results from the interplay of geometries and geometric interdependencies influenced by contextual constraints (material, structure, and fabrication). This paper posits that TIA is an ideal pedagogical tool for introducing students to computational architecture, and its theoretical foundations and design principles. Specifically, defining TIA as a material system provides a robust educational approach for engaging students with computation; fostering design processes through bottom-up, hands-on investigations; expressing design intents as procedural logic; understanding generative geometric rules; and exploring the flexibility of parametric variations. The methodology is detailed and illustrated through a design workshop and study unit from the Bachelor's and Master's programs at the Faculty for the Built Environment, University of Malta. Four case studies of TIA—of tetrahedra, cones, octahedra, and osteomorphic blocks—demonstrate how these exercises introduce students to computational thinking, parametric design, and fabrication techniques. This paper discusses the advantages and limitations of this pedagogical methodology, concluding that integrating computational architecture in education shifts students' design processes to investigation and innovation-based approaches, enabling them to address contemporary design challenges through context-driven solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Living with a life threatening/limiting condition changes and challenges children's play. The environment is known to support participation in play, yet there is a lack of evidence highlighting its specific factors contributing to children's play. In this study, we investigated the perspectives of children living with life threatening/limiting conditions with regard to the environmental factors that are related to their engagement in play whilst receiving inpatient healthcare., Methods: Twenty-seven children took part in this study. Participants were aged between 5 and 11 years, diagnosed with life threatening/limiting conditions and were receiving care at either a children's hospital or hospice in either Kuwait or the United Kingdom. Children were asked to rank-order a Q set according to their perceived importance. The used Q set composed of social and physical environmental factors. The data were analysed using factor analysis and content analysis., Findings: Two shared viewpoints were identified, which represented children from both countries. For Factor 1, the children's need for social connectivity guided their answers regarding the environmental factors. For Factor 2, although children considered being surrounded by others important, their selections of the play conditions directed their play. For both factors, children had relatively little concern for outdoor and the type of play to engage in, with the exception of arts and crafts play activities, which were deemed important., Conclusions: Play settings are important to support rich, social play experiences and opportunities that match children's play preferences. Children living with life threatening/limiting conditions in Kuwait and the United Kingdom have relatively similar play needs., (© 2021 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Example topics include: Fate of recalcitrant chemicals, for example, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and microplastics Environmental convergence solutions for mitigating greenhouse gases; the nitrogen cycle; sustainable water purification OR resource recovery systems Modeling biofilm-material interfaces in natural and built environments Computer vision tools for pathogenic biofilm image analysis Artificial Intelligence approaches for analyzing biofilms, metagenomics of the microbiome community Predictive tools for analyzing biofilms in natural and built environments Bioinformatics tools for biofilm engineering Please submit abstracts for preliminary review by the editorial committee by August 31, 2022 via https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/C3YMGDC, to ensure that the intended work fits within the theme of the special issue. In the last few years, the environmental engineering and science community has lost several of our preeminent leaders and pioneers, and this special issue will honor them: Philip Singer (1942-2020) Edward Bouwer (1955-2019) James J. Morgan (1932-2020) Deborah Swackhamer (1954-2021) Michael Aitken (1956-2020) All five were accomplished researchers, as well as dedicated mentors, teachers, advisors, and colleagues. [Extracted from the article]