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• Determining the urban critical infrastructures in the event of an earthquake. • Designing Location-Routing-Inventory decisions in humanitarian relief chain. • Simulation of interaction of urban infrastructure in earthquake conditions. • Using a cooperative game to examine the manner of cooperation of disaster relief supply chain players. • Application of the model to a real-world disaster relief logistic case study. This paper describes a new simulation based mathematical model for locating distribution centres, vehicle routing, and inventory problems under earthquake conditions. In this paper, the proposed network includes affected areas, suppliers, distribution centres, and hospitals. Additionally, the basic infrastructures of the city, which are very fragile at the time of the earthquake, are identified. Then, the demand of each relief commodity is calculated depending on the different earthquake scenarios using simulation. The estimated demand is incorporated into the mathematical model as an uncertain parameter. The proposed methodology is designed as a two-stage model so that in the first stage the location and inventory of distribution centres are addressed. Thereafter, in the second stage the routing decisions are taken for the distribution of relief commodities from the distribution centres and suppliers to the affected areas. Due to the NP-hardness of the second stage model, this model is solved using multi-objective stochastic fractal search. This algorithm is one of the population-based and stochastic optimization techniques and inspired by the natural phenomenon of fractal growth. It should be noted that in the second stage, a cooperative game theory of coalition type is considered, which resulted in synergies that minimize the relief golden time. The kind of cooperation is the use of potential of co-operators' vehicle. In this stage, the possibility for the players to cooperate by sharing people and commodities transportation requests is considered. Also, to validate the model, a real case study is provided for a possible earthquake in Tehran. Finally, the comparison between the simulation results and the values obtained from the real system evaluates the performance of the implemented model. Considering normality and a 95% confidence interval, it can be concluded that the proposed model provides a precise representation of the real system's performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An energy-efficient design can be achieved mainly through accurate design of built –environment forms. This paper aims to investigate the effects of urban block forms on natural ventilation patterns in the Sanayee neighborhood in Tehran, thereby potentially having air pollution, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis. The wind pressure and speed indicators were measured by ANSYS Fluent software, using standard k-ɛ model. The results showed that two factors with the most effect on wind pressure difference were urban block height and widths of adjunct roads. As a result, natural ventilation and consequently energy consumption were affected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce the negative impact of the conventional vehicles, governments and authorities try to provide facilities in order to encourage people to use electric vehicles. For this purpose, determining the location and the number of charging stations is of paramount importance. It becomes more challenging when some charging stations cannot provide service due to the disruption or breakdown. In this paper, a bi-objective mixed-integer linear mathematical model for a charging station location problem is developed and solved by Lagrangian relaxation method. Two different chargers that could be installed in the charging stations and budget constraint is considered in the model. To evaluate the applicability of the proposed model on real-world problems, a case study on Tehran is conducted. Based on computational experiments and numerical results, sensitivity analysis on key parameters of the problem is carried out and some helpful suggestions are presented for decision-makers. • A bi-objective region-based model for optimizing CSLP is presented. • Disruption in charging stations is taken into account. • Two different types of chargers and tolerable distance for the users are considered. • The proposed model is implemented in a real-world case study to evaluate the applicability of the model. • Lagrangian relaxation algorithm is used to solve the model and some useful managerial insights are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper treats with K-shortest viable path problem in a transportation network including multiple modes. The considered modes are metro, rapid-bus, private and walking. In this network, a viable path is one that the number of mode changes is limited and the traverse time and also the walking, metro and private usage are restricted subjected to some constraints. The traverse time is defined dependent on congestion level. Because constrained shortest path is NP-hard, we extend two metaheuristic algorithms namely GASA and BACS for the given problem. GASA is a Greedy Algorithm Simulated Annealing and BACS is a bi-direction searching Ant Colony System made by two colonies of ants. We evaluate the validation of these algorithms applying several multimodal random networks. In addition, their results are compared with CPLEX 12.1. We find that GASA is appropriate for small networks and BACS has better performance in median and large-scale networks. Our results on Tehran network also demonstrate that BACS provides better objective values than BACS ones because Tehran public transportation is sparse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Urban growth boundaries (UGBs) are common tools employed by planners to constrain urban expansion in order to increase density of urban services and protect surrounding rural landscapes. Planners could use models that estimate future urban growth boundaries based on those factors that drive urban expansion. Unfortunately, few models have been developed that simulate the urban growth boundary. This paper presents an urban growth boundary model (UGBM) which utilizes artificial neural networks (ANN), geospatial information systems (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) to simulate the complex geometry of the urban boundary of Tehran, Iran. Raster-based predictive variables are used as inputs to the ANNs parameterized using vector routines. ANNs were used to train on seven predictor variables of urban boundary geometry for Tehran: roads, green spaces, slope, aspect, elevation, service stations, and built-area. We show that our UGBM can predict urban growth boundaries with urban area with 80–84% accuracy. The model predicts urban boundaries in all cardinal directions equally well. We use the model to predict urban growth to the year 2012. We summarize the use of UGBs in planning around the world and describe how this model can be used to assist planners in developing future urban growth boundaries given the need to understand those factors that contribute toward urban expansion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]