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Background: Global evidence on psychosis is dominated by studies conducted in Western, high-income countries. The objectives of the Study of Context Of Psychoses to improve outcomes in Ethiopia (SCOPE) are (1) to generate rigorous evidence of psychosis experience, epidemiology and impacts in Ethiopia that will illuminate aetiological understanding and (2) inform development and testing of interventions for earlier identification and improved first contact care that are scalable, inclusive of difficult-to-reach populations and optimise recovery. Methods: The setting is sub-cities of Addis Ababa and rural districts in south-central Ethiopia covering 1.1 million people and including rural, urban and homeless populations. SCOPE comprises (1) formative work to understand care pathways and community resources (resource mapping); examine family context and communication (ethnography); develop valid measures of family communication and personal recovery; and establish platforms for community engagement and involvement of people with lived experience; (2a) a population-based incidence study, (2b) a case-control study and (2c) a cohort study with 12 months follow-up involving 440 people with psychosis (390 rural/Addis Ababa; 50 who are homeless), 390 relatives and 390 controls. We will test hypotheses about incidence rates in rural vs. urban populations and men vs. women; potential aetiological role of khat (a commonly chewed plant with amphetamine-like properties) and traumatic exposures in psychosis; determine profiles of needs at first contact and predictors of outcome; (3) participatory workshops to develop programme theory and inform co-development of interventions, and (4) evaluation of the impact of early identification strategies on engagement with care (interrupted time series study). Findings will inform development of (5) a protocol for (5a) a feasibility cluster randomised controlled trial of interventions for people with recent-onset psychosis in rural settings and (5b) two uncontrolled pilot studies to test acceptability, feasibility of co-developed interventions in urban and homeless populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"Settler Colonial City: Racism and Inequity in Postwar Minneapolis" by David Hugill examines the history of racism, inequity, and settler-colonial structures in Minneapolis, particularly focusing on the post-World War II era. The book explores the impact of urban change, racialized policing, and American imperialism on marginalized communities, with a particular emphasis on Indigenous peoples. Hugill highlights the structural barriers faced by marginalized groups and the need to dismantle white supremacist and settler-colonial structures. While the book primarily focuses on the violent aspects of settler-colonial urban policy, it also touches on the need to examine more subtle elements such as access to education, healthcare, and legal services. Overall, the book provides a critical perspective on the history of Minneapolis and challenges the perception of the city as progressive and inclusive. [Extracted from the article]

In recent years, the research community has increasingly embraced topics related to smart cities, recognizing their potential to enhance residents' quality of life and create sustainable, efficient urban environments through the integration of diverse systems and services. Concurrently, recommender systems have demonstrated continued improvement in accuracy, delivering more precise recommendations for items or content and aiding users in decision-making processes. This paper explores the utilization of recommender systems in the context of smart cities by analyzing a dataset comprised of papers indexed in the ISI Web of Science database. Through bibliometric analysis, key themes, trends, prominent authors and institutions, preferred journals, and collaboration networks among authors were extracted. The findings revealed an average annual scientific production growth of 25.85%. Additionally, an n-gram analysis across keywords, abstracts, titles, and keywords plus, along with a review of selected papers, enriched the analysis. The insights gained from these efforts offer valuable perspectives, contribute to identifying pertinent issues, and provide guidance on trends in this evolving field. The importance of recommender systems in the context of smart cities lies in their ability to enhance urban living by providing personalized and efficient recommendations, optimizing resource utilization, improving decision-making processes, and ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and intelligent urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to explore the relationship between the Air Quality Index (AQI), COVID-19 incidence rates, and population density within Malaysia's ten most populous cities from January 2018 to December 2021. Data were sourced from the Department of Statistics Malaysia, the World Air Quality Index Project, and Our World in Statistics. The methodology integrated population-based city classification and AQI assessment, cluster analysis through SPSS, and Generalized Additive Mixed Model (GAMM) analysis using R Studio despite encountering a data gap in AQI for five months in 2019. Cities were organized into three clusters based on their AQI: Cluster One included Ipoh, Penang, Kuala Lumpur, and Melaka, Cluster Two comprised Kuantan, Seremban, Johor Bahru, and Kota Bharu, Cluster Three featured Kota Kinabalu and Kuching. GAMM analysis revealed prediction accuracies for AQI variations of 58%, 60%, and 41% for the respective clusters, indicating a notable impact of population density on air quality. AQI variations remained unaffected by COVID-19, with a forecasted improvement in air quality across all clusters. The paper presents novel insights into the negligible impact of COVID-19 on AQI variations and underscores the predictive power of population dynamics on urban air quality, offering valuable perspectives for environmental and urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Understanding the intricate relationship between energy and wellbeing in informal urban settlements is essential for developing effective interventions that address the diverse needs of residents. This paper explores this nexus through a multi-dimensional lens, examining the complexities and dynamics involved in off-grid renewable energy interventions, focusing on solar microgrids in an informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa. Methods: The paper is based on empirical research analysed through a theoretical framework articulating the pathways through which energy insecurity influences various dimensions of wellbeing, encompassing economic, physical, social, and environmental aspects. By applying this framework to our empirical research, the paper reveals the intricate interplay between neighbourhood factors, housing conditions, social processes, and economic insecurities, shedding light on both the challenges and opportunities associated with off-grid energy interventions. Results: The understanding of wellbeing presented in the paper is based on what we term the energy-wellbeing-informality nexus. Understanding the nexus necessitates: (a) moving past universalist and technocratic understandings of wellbeing, and towards a relational and networked basis for wellbeing analysis; (b) moving beyond conventional narratives of off-grid electrification as mere technical fixes, emphasizing the importance of recognizing informal settlements as sites of innovation and experimentation; (c) understanding the multi-sectoral nature of energy-related wellbeing impacts, extending beyond energy provision to encompass broader dimensions such as education, health, and social cohesion. Discussion: The paper not only advances theoretical understanding but also offers practical insights for policymakers and practitioners. It emphasizes the need for context-sensitive policymaking that acknowledges the complexities of informal settlements and fosters innovative approaches to energy service provision. By integrating energy interventions into broader development strategies and adopting a multi-sectoral perspective, stakeholders can work towards more equitable and resilient solutions that enhance the overall wellbeing of residents in informal urban contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the global urbanization process is further accelerating, the number of urban people is also steadily increasing. With the continuous growth of the urban population, the use of various functional facilities in the city is gradually becoming saturated, which seriously restricts the development of the city. Therefore, real-time perception and prediction of the operational status of various functional urban facilities, as well as environmental safety monitoring in the city, are of great significance for improving the functionality and livability of the city. In complex urban environments, multi-source data is interrelated, and the noise reduction of multi-source data and the integration of this correlation still face great challenges. At the same time, how to apply urban intelligent monitoring in the reconstruction of old cities is rarely mentioned. Based on the above problems, this paper proposes a data noise reduction model based on a wavelet algorithm and combines it with the Macroscopic Fundamental Diagram (MFD) multi-source data fusion structure proposed in this paper to provide a theoretical basis for the construction of an urban intelligent monitoring model. Then, the author constructed a data-driven urban safety environment monitoring model and a multi-source data-based urban congestion monitoring model, which have good experimental results and certain practical value. At the end of the paper, the author briefly discussed the application of the smart city monitoring model in the reconstruction of old cities, hoping to provide certain guidance for further integration in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting sustainable communities aims at creating both environmentally and socially responsible living environments. This paper explores the role of affordable housing in promoting the long-term sustainability of a community within healthy living conditions by closely examining the relationship between affordable housing, urban development policies, and sustainability, with the capital of Lebanon, Beirut, serving as a case study. The first part of the paper focuses on the current building laws issued in the official newspaper in 2004 using a content analysis methodology to demonstrate the impact of the changes in the laws on the new morphology and social fabric of the city through the creation of a favorable environment for big developers, wealthy property owners, and real estate agencies and, at the expense of old city residents and low-income families. The second part of the paper uses the qualitative analysis methodology to justify the presence of large unused stock of residential units in Beirut, referring to information from multiple data sources selected based on their applicability to sustainable development, affordable housing, and urban planning in areas related to the case study, Beirut. This part then investigates the potential presented by this stock of residential units in Beirut to increase the supply of affordable housing and foster a sustainable community. This paper argues that the promoted vertical expansion of the city weighs heavily on the environment and fails to provide a diverse mix of housing units, excluding a significant portion of the community from the city. Alternative development models aligning with principles of sustainable development and challenging the current building laws can promote social inclusivity, reduce urban sprawl, and minimize environmental impacts associated with new constructions, thus preserving the city's physical and social fabric. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores spatial systems of modularity on the shoreline of Ein el Mrayseh located in Beirut. The modular systems are studied from a contextual lens while observing different modular interventions as design strategies on this shoreline. The Ein el Mrayseh corniche is one of the few remaining public spaces of Beirut, and is considered one of the most important outlet for the city residents. It is used by different types of groups, from different classes and backgrounds. Based on a series of observations, the paper analyses modular interventions by different stakeholders on this stretch. Two terms were coined: rigid and soft modularity, as linguistic and analytical modes to understand the spatial practices of Ein el Mrayseh. The paper argues that the users of this public space have developed soft modular strategies - dynamic and in constant flux, as a mean to tame the rigid modular strategies enforced on the site and to appropriate the space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resident consumption is an important link to smooth the domestic circulation and promote the economy to achieve high-quality development. To stimulate the vitality of residents' consumption and achieve the expansion and quality of consumption, we should not only focus on the scale and willingness of residents to consume, but also consider the motivation of consumption. The paper analyzes the impact of intergenerational income mobility on residents' marginal propensity to consume and consumption altruism motive by expanding the Over Lapping Generation Models and combining the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. The results of the study show: Intergenerational Income Elasticity has a significant positive effect on residents' marginal propensity to consume. When Intergenerational Income Elasticity increases, the "altruistic motive" of residents' consumption will also increase significantly. Compared with rural residents, Intergenerational Income Elasticity has a stronger positive effect on urban residents' marginal propensity to consume and marginal propensity to consume education. With the effect of intergenerational factors, urban residents' consumption shows stronger altruistic motives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Different choices of living space for urban residents are concrete reflections of a social class divide. Emerging residential space differentiation is a critical issue in Chinese cities. This paper aims to explore the current situations and mechanisms of residential spatial differentiation, and reveal its social responses in Chinese cities. Taking Wuhan, the largest city in central China, as an example, this research divides the residential space based on social resource structures. It analyzes and compares spatial differentiation and influencing factors of different residential areas and houses with different prices in Wuhan by spatial differentiation indicators and geographic detector. The results show that residential areas are divergent due to differences in urban resource spatial structure, with few and concentrated high-quality residential areas. The spatial differentiation level of different residential areas also varies, with central location, landscape, educational resources, and other dominant scarce resources being the key to residential spatial differentiation in most of China's big cities. In addition, residential spatial differentiation can lead to issues including housing wealth inequality, resource deprivation, and class identity solidification. In the end, this paper puts forward policy implications on alleviating residential spatial differentiation and optimizing allocation of residential resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitization is becoming the key to achieving rural revitalization, and there is a complex inter-active relationship with farmer enrichment, and agriculture development, making it highly valued by governments around the world. Quantitatively evaluating the symbiotic relationship between rural digitization, farmer enrichment, and agricultural development, and reveal the driving mechanism behind them, which can provide evidence for the rural government, agricultural enterprises, and relevant stakeholders. This paper conducts an empirical study of 84 digital village national pilots in China based on coupling coordination model and geographically weighted regression, with focus on the spatial characteristics, symbiotic relationship and driving mechanisms of the pilots. The symbiotic relationship between rural digitization, farmer enrichment, and agriculture development has significant heterogeneity, with most of the pilots in coordination state. The driving mechanism of rural digitization, farmer enrichment, agriculture development, and symbiotic relationship were complicated, with significant heterogeneity and synergy in the driving forces of different factors, and special attention should be paid to spatial effects (the nature and intensity of regression coefficients in local regions) in the policy design and implementation. It is worth noting that population aging mainly plays a negative role, while industrialization, government support, resident capacity plays a positive role. The other factors play both positive and negative roles. Income gap between urban and rural residents, population aged 65 and above, financial self-sufficiency are the most critical factors. We suggest developing differentiated management policy, accurate management policy, and integrated management policy, which can provide a basis for digital village and smart village planning, construction and management in China. In view of the significant differences in rural digitalization and its driving mechanisms in different pilots as shown in the study, it is necessary to design differentiated spatial policies according to local conditions, to design accurate management policies based on the driving effects of key single factors, and to design integrated development policies by taking into account the interactive effects of multiple factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The province of Cabo Delgado, located in the north of Mozambique, has been inflicted by the conflict and terrorist actions since 2017. The threats they pose, and the unfolding fragility of the security situation have forced over 1.4 million people to flee their homes and communities. While thousands of displaced people are reluctant to risk their lives and return, over five hundred thousand displaced people made their spontaneous way back "home," and the country continues to struggle with such a reality. In the face of violent disruption and displacement, this paper offers an exploratory review of return from the perspective of encountering and giving meaning to places. Leaving culture (reflexivity again) a bit out, the paper closely looks at the (social and economic) experiences people have developed and carried with them through their displacement (and return) narratives as the main factors influencing the decision to or not to return. This article would then have a twofold purpose. On the one hand, it contributes to the existing debate on conflict, displacement, place and place-making. On the other hand, it would be beneficial to enrich the ongoing research further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrepancies between several South-Eastern European (SEE) countries and Nordic countries are investigated in this paper using an econometric analysis. Its aim is to examine the relationship between CO2 emissions, GDP per capita, urban population (URB) and electricity production from Renewable Energy Sources (RES) - EPREN, excluding hydroelectric for the two groups of EU countries located in the North and S-E of Europe. The data covers a period from 1990 to 2022, providing a comprehensive view over three decades. The relationship between the four variables is determined by various causality and cointegration tests. We check the unit root tests and conclude that the analyzed time series are stationary at first difference. Further, we estimate two models: Fully Modified and Dynamic Ordinary Least Squares and study causality and cointegration between variables. The results show that CO2 emissions are impacted by GDP, URB and EPREN for both regions. Testing causality, for SEE and Nordic countries, the bidirectional and causalities do exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The notion of the smart city involves embedding Industry 4.0 technologies to improve the lives of inhabitants in urban environments. Within this context, smart city data layers (SCDLs) concern the integration of extra tiers of information for the purposes of improving communication potential. Under the Industry 4.0 technology grouping, advanced communication technologies, such as virtual reality (VR), further the opportunities to model, recreate, evaluate and communicate scenarios that potentially improve citizens lives at multiple SCDL scales in a smart cities context. The use of added contextual information in SCDLs is of special interest for emergency planning situations at the building scale. In this research, a literature review to understand the current approaches for the use, development and evaluation of VR applications in the context of emergency planning was conducted. The results indicated four main categories of relevant challenges for these types of applications, for which recommendations and a roadmap for VR development are presented. In total, the study identified 10 commonly occurring challenges (e.g., optimization and discomfort) and 19 solution directions (e.g., model construction and spatial directions) in related articles when considering the development of VR for spatial planning and emergency situations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of electric vehicles (EVs) in Chinese cities, accurately forecasting the number of EVs used by urban residents in the next five years and more long term is beneficial for the government to adjust industrial policies of EVs, guide the rational planning of urban charging facilities and supporting distribution network, and achieve the rational and orderly development of the EV industry. The paper considers the advantages of using the grey GM(1,1) prediction model to predict the short-term ownership of EVs by urban residents. Then, by forecasting the number of EV users in a certain city in the future and predicting the number of private vehicles in the future, the boundary conditions for long-term year ownership of EVs by residents are determined. Combined with historical data and short-term forecast data generated by the grey prediction model, the model parameters that include the innovation coefficient and imitation coefficient of the Bass model are trained using a genetic algorithm. Finally, the Bass model is used for medium- to long-term ownership forecasting from 2023 to 2040. The prediction error for the target year is provided. The simulation results indicate that the ownership of resident EVs in this city will experience rapid growth in the next five years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The African continent is confronted with interconnected challenges of water, energy, and food insecurity, particularly affecting marginalized urban residents. Decentralized Water-Energy-Food (WEF) systems have emerged as potential solutions to alleviate these issues exacerbated by climate change. Despite scholarly acknowledgment of constraints related to WEF, there is a growing global trend towards trials of innovative decentralized WEF systems. This paper contributes to the body of research aimed at demonstrating the applicability of decentralised WEF systems at local level, by showcasing the potential of such systems to enhance water, energy and food security in informal settlements. Focusing on Diepsloot slums in Johannesburg, South Africa, the paper applied space analysis, least-cost modeling of sack farming, and renewable energy technologies in providing WEF solutions that demonstrate feasibility, sustainability and decentralised solutions for informal settlements, compared to the popular broad-based solutions that often neglect these marginalised communities. Utilizing Geographic Information Systems (GIS), AquaCrop crop modeling, financial analysis, and linear optimization modelling urbs, the study provides a comprehensive analysis of past climate trends, water sources, spatial plant arrangements, and a proposed community centre. The proposed Phezulu 'Up' growers' model and the positive return on investment further demonstrate the feasibility of decentralized WEF systems. Policymakers are encouraged to promote these WEF systems to bolster urban livelihoods and achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), notably SDG 2, 6, and 7, in marginalized African urban areas. Recommendations and areas of further research include looking into issues of community engagement, partnerships, risk mitigation, strategies for equity and inclusivity and local knowledge integration during WEF implementation, and robust critique of WEF practical interventions and comparative analysis with other WEF models. Overall, the study provides a blueprint for inclusive and sustainable urban development, emphasizing the importance of localized WEF solutions and community empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prolonged presence of Syrian refugees in Jordan has highlighted the need for sustainable health service delivery models for refugees. In 2012, the Jordanian government adopted a policy that granted Syrian refugees access, free of charge, to the national health system. However since 2012, successive policy revisions have limited refugee access. This paper seeks to understand factors that initially put refugee integration into the health system on the policy agenda, as well as how these same factors later affected commitment to sustain the policy. Methods: This paper draws on data from a document review of 197 peer-reviewed and grey literature publications, a media analysis of newspaper articles retrieved from four officially recognized newspapers in Jordan, and 33 semi-structured key informant interviews. We used Kingdon's Multiple Streams Model – a well-established tool for analyzing policy adoption – to understand how political priority developed for integration of refugees into the health system. Results: We find that several factors helped bring attention to the issue, namely concerns over infectious disease transmission to host communities, high rates of chronic conditions among the refugee population and the increasingly urban and dispersed nature of refugees. At the outset of the conflict, the national mood was receptive to refugees. Politicians and government officials quickly recognized the crisis as an opportunity to secure material and technical support from the international humanitarian community. At the same time, global pressures for integrating refugees into national health systems helped move the integration agenda forward in Jordan and the region more broadly. Since 2012, there were several modifications to the policy that signal profound changes in national views around the continued presence of Syrian refugees in the country, as well as reduced external financial support which has undermined the sustainability of the policy. Conclusion: This case study underscores the dynamic nature of policymaking and the challenge of sustaining government commitment to the right to health among refugees. Our analysis has important implications for advocates seeking to advance and maintain momentum for the integration of refugees into national health systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Limited resident's participation in the stock market has become a key constraint to the capital market development. Utilizing the 2019 China Household Financial Survey (CHFS) data, our paper designs probit models to examine the peer effects of residents' stock market participation and explore the intermediary mechanisms with a multiple intermediary model. We find that: (1) Resident involvement in stock market decision-making exhibits significant peer effects. (2) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that males and rural residents display more pronounced peer effects than females and urban residents. Additionally, middle-aged residents demonstrate more potent peer effects than their younger and older counterparts, with the intensity of peer effects correlating with education levels. (3)We observe that the peer effects of market participation operate by altering economic expectations and enhancing residents' financial literacy. (4) Further investigation establishes that individuals engaging in stock market investments manifest peer effects when deciding whether to diversify their stock portfolio. This study holds reference value for analyzing the impact of social interaction on financial behaviors and regulating individuals' financial conduct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the main urban area of Yangzhou City and conducts a quantitative comparative analysis of traffic accessibility during normal weather and extreme precipitation conditions (typhoon) based on GPS trajectories of buses. From both temporal and spatial dimensions, it comprehensively examines the impact of extreme precipitation on bus travel speed, travel time, and the commuting range of residents in the main urban area of Yangzhou City. (1) Through the mining and analysis of multi-source heterogeneous big data (bus GPS trajectory data, bus network data, rainfall remote sensing data, and road network data), it is found that the rainstorm weather greatly affects the average speed and travel time of buses. In addition, when the intensity of heavy rainfall increases (decreases), the average bus speed and travel time exhibit varying degrees of spatio-temporal change. During the morning and evening rush hour commuting period of rainstorm weather, there are obvious differences in the accessibility change in each typical traffic community in the main urban area of Yangzhou city. In total, 90% of the overall accessibility change value is concentrated around −5 min~5 min, and the change range is concentrated around −25~10%. (2) To extract the four primary traffic districts (Lotus Pond, Slender West Lake, Jinghua City, and Wanda Plaza), we collected Points of Interest (POI) data from Amap and Baidu heat map, and a combination analysis of the employment–residence ratio model and proximity methods was employed. The result show that the rainstorm weather superimposed on the morning peak hour has different degrees of impact on the average speed of the above-mentioned traffic zones, with the most obvious impact on the Lotus Pond and the smallest impact on Wanda Plaza. Under the rainstorm weather, the traffic commute in the main urban area of Yangzhou in the morning and evening peak hour is basically normal. The results of this paper can help to quantify the impact of typhoon-rainstorm weather events on traffic commuting in order to provide a scientific basis for the traffic management department to effectively prevent traffic jams, ensure the reliability of the road network, and allow the traffic management department to more effectively manage urban traffic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The connotation and measurement standard of "fairness" in parkland planning is closely related to the level of urban development and residents' needs, with solid realism and dynamics, and it is still a complex problem to control accurately in planning. Therefore, to conduct a more comprehensive study, taking the main urban area of Harbin as an example, this paper combined urban development background and practical problems at different stages and, based on POI and AOI data, divided the connotation of "equity" in park green space planning into two levels: "spatial equity" and "social equity". Based on these two levels of fairness, the research framework of urban park green space layout is constructed. Kernel density estimation and GIS-based network analysis were used to study the spatial layout and accessibility of urban parkland. The ability to match supply and demand for parkland in the study area as a whole was analyzed using a gridded two-step moving search method, as well as the degree of equity in the enjoyment of urban parkland by vulnerable groups including the elderly and children using the Lorenz curve with the Gini coefficient, the share index, and the entropy of the locality. The results show that: (1) the parkland is concentrated in the seven main urban areas of the two–two junctions, and the cohesion distribution trend is outside the distribution. (2) Motorized vehicles have the best 15-min accessibility for travel, but it still does not cover all the parkland. (3) Supply and demand within the region are unsatisfactory, with the area with the strongest supply and demand capacity for parkland accounting for only 3.19% of the total area. (4) The Gini coefficient of parkland enjoyed by the residents of Harbin city center is 0.407, with a massive gap in the overall distribution. In addition, the share index of vulnerable groups of the elderly and children all have share indices below 1, and the results of the analysis of locational entropy indicate that the level of street park green space resources enjoyed by these two groups belongs to the low socio-spatial equity pattern, which is not balanced. This study investigates the spatial layout of urban parkland from two equity levels, which can provide new ideas for the equity study of urban green space planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent technological developments in aviation, such as vertical take-off and landing and electric engines, are bringing the development of integrated urban air transport systems closer and are generally helping to promote the concept of Urban Air Mobility (UAM). UAM makes it possible to provide integrated air transport services for people and goods in urban areas, reducing travel time initially and leading to cost reductions in the future. The development of UAM will allow urban airspace to be used for short and medium range operations, potentially connecting larger urban areas or neighbouring cities. However, the operation of UAM requires, on the one hand, the development of appropriate urban infrastructure to provide full and vertical support for aircraft, such as vertical landing and take-off areas, specially designed intermediate areas for embarkation and disembarkation of passengers and cargo, as well as areas with operational technical bases for loading, parking and maintenance of aircraft. All this is the concept of the VertiPorts/Voloports/Vertistops. However, the development of a VertiPorts/Voloports/ Vertistops in the dense and complex modern urban environment can be challenging, as on the one hand specific rules for aviation safety have to be followed, and on the other hand their integration into the urban environment requires compliance with the rules of urban planning, land use and protection of private property.This paper presents the challenges that researchers have to face in order to integrate Voloports into an already formed and dense urban environment, such as that of the city Athens, the metropolitan centre and capital of Greece, in respect to various constitutional, institutional and spatial restrictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Health literacy (HL) plays a key role in accessing, understanding, appraising, and using health-related information within the healthcare, disease prevention, and health promotion areas. Aim of the research: To determine the level of health literacy among primary health care (PHC) patients depending on their place of residence, and to evaluate the impact of individual sociodemographic, family, and health predictors on the level of health literacy within the study group. Material and methods: The cross-sectional study included 566 primary health care (PHC) patients, and it was conducted between January and December 2020. The data was collected using the paper and pencil interview (PAPI) method. The research tools applied were the European Health Competence Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16), the Family APGAR Questionnaire, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), and the authors' own questionnaire. Results: The mean age in the study group was 49.28 ±18.39 years. The respondents were mostly women (63.3%; n = 358) and came from rural areas (52.5%; n = 297). The mean HL score (HLS-EU-Q16) of urban residents was slightly higher (12.19 ±3.5) than that of the rural residents (11.91 ±4.1). Age, financial capabilities, family function (Family Apgar), and mental health condition (GHQ-28) were found to be significantly associated with HL levels in both urban and rural residents (p < 0.05). Conclusions: In a multivariate analysis, HL levels in urban residents were positively related to family function but negatively associated with financial capability and mental condition. Financial situation, source of income, and family function were positively associated with HL among rural residents, while gender and mental health condition were negatively associated with HL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With its unique audiovisual environment, bamboo forest spaces serve as natural sanctuaries for urban residents, offering significant restorative effects by reducing physical and mental stress and alleviating fatigue. This promotes the vigorous development of outdoor recreation activities. To further explore the restorative effects of bamboo forest space on people's audiovisual perceptual aspects. In this study, we conducted field research in the Southern Sichuan Bamboo Sea, collecting audiovisual materials from four types of bamboo forest spaces: pathway type, cultural type, ornamental type, and recreational. These spatial photographs were combined with three types of soundscapes (silent, background, and background + wind-blown bamboo sound). Eye tracking experiments were utilized to investigate the physical and mental restorative effects of these different audiovisual features on college students. The results showed that in the visual aspect, the visual restorative properties of recreational-type and ornamental-type bamboo spaces were better than those of pathway type and cultural-type spaces; in the auditory aspect, the sounds of wind-blown bamboo, flowing water, and chirping birds in the bamboo forest significantly enhanced the subjective restorative properties of the bamboo forest space, reducing the number of fixations and the average pupil diameter. In addition, this paper found that the soundscape guided people's visual attention, with the wind-blown bamboo sound increasing focus on natural elements, and the extensibility of the bamboo forest space was positively correlated with the number of fixations, while fascination was negatively correlated with the average saccade amplitude. These findings provide insights for the optimized design of audiovisual restorative environments in bamboo forest space in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents insights on conducting urban research amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing the adoption of digital ethnography as an innovative and flexible approach. Drawing from an expanding body of literature on fieldwork among 'hard-to-reach' populations during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, we share our experiences from a study on the socio-economic impacts of mandatory lockdowns on poor urban residents in Harare, Zimbabwe. Our research highlighted several methodological benefits of digital ethnography, including its non-intrusive and non-intimidating nature, cost and time efficiency, ability to increase participant diversity, assurance of respondent safety, research flexibility, and the generation of impactful data. Unlike traditional immersive ethnography, digital ethnography proved adept at navigating the complexities of the 'global', 'local', and 'trans-local' dimensions of contemporary urban research subjects. However, this approach also presents several ethical challenges. These challenges include obtaining informed consent, ensuring confidentiality and anonymity, participants' potential misunderstanding of the research context, the risk of exacerbating stress during crises, and respecting privacy in digital spaces. Urban researchers must carefully consider these ethical issues before undertaking their studies. In conclusion, virtual environments have become integral to modern life and represent essential avenues for urban researchers, particularly during periods of limited physical interaction and when studying populations that are difficult to reach in person but more accessible online. Further, the adoption of digital ethnography, extends beyond the necessity imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. It reflects an ongoing evolution in ethnographic practices, adapting to the realities of a digitally connected world. We suggest that urban researchers should think of digital ethnographic ethics from the point of view of reciprocal and mutual collaboration with participants. With this thinking, urban research subjects become co-participants and co-researchers rather than subjects of exploitation in the expanding and complex digital space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Green sustainable development is an important part of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and China's ecological civilization construction. Methods: This paper combines the characteristics of the development of lakeside cities, gives full play to the advantages of modern remote sensing technology to collect the indicators related to the green sustainable development of lakeside cities, adopts the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and the CRiteria Importance Through Inter-criteria Correlation (CRITIC) subjective and objective weighting methods and the difference coefficient method to determine the weights of the indicators, evaluates the green sustainable development of a typical lakeside city of Kunming for more than 30 years, and analyzes the influencing factors using the gray degree of correlation. Results: The results show the following: (1) From 1990 to 2021, the level of green sustainable development in the urban area around Dianchi Lake fluctuated in stages, with an overall upward trend, and the green development index increased from 0.25 in 1990 to 0.5 in 2021. (2) The coefficient of variance determined by the optimization model can be a better compromise between the objective and subjective weights of the indicators, and the massive occupation of wetlands and arable land around the lake in the urban expansion has become a major factor in the development of the city, with a combined weight of 10.30% and 8.79%, respectively. (3) The urban population and economic scale are currently the main drivers of the green and sustainable development of a lakeside city, with a correlation of 0.843 and 0.769, respectively. Discussion: The growth of urban population and economic scale plays a pivotal role in driving the green and sustainable development of lakeside cities, while the potential impact of tourism development should also be considered. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, I advocate for a radical expansion of computational urban science to encompass a multidisciplinary, human-centered approach, addressing the inadequacies of traditional methodologies in capturing the complexities of urban life. Building on insights from Jane M. Jacobs and others, I argue that integrating computational tools with disciplines like sociology, anthropology, and urban planning can significantly enhance our understanding and management of urban environments. This integration facilitates a deeper analysis of cultural phenomena, improves urban policy design, and promotes more sustainable, inclusive urban development. By embracing qualitative research methods—such as ethnography and participatory observations—alongside computational analysis, I highlight the importance of capturing the nuanced social fabrics and subjective experiences that define urban areas. I also stress the necessity of including community stakeholders in the research process to ensure that urban science not only analyzes but also improves the lived experiences of urban populations. Furthermore, I underscore the need for ethical governance and the mitigation of biases inherent in computational tools, proposing rigorous model auditing and the inclusion of diverse perspectives in model development. Overall, this work champions a holistic approach to urban science, aiming to make cities smarter, more equitable, and responsive to their residents' needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing food waste is important. Analyzing the effects of food waste attitudes on urban residents' waste production behaviors is necessary to reduce food waste. As Shanghai is a mega-city with a population of 24 million people, once food is adequately supplied, more attention is paid to the safety of food in terms of quantity, quality, and nutrition. COVID-19 gave a shock to the food supply in Shanghai, which in turn resulted in food waste behavior. The moderating effect of pandemic during the COVID-19 is one that has rarely been mentioned in previous studies. An investigation of urban residents was conducted in Shanghai. A total of 1030 valid questionnaires were collected in October 2020. This study examined the influence of food waste attitudes on food waste behavior under the moderating effects of pandemic expectations, quantity safety, quality safety, and price stability using a multivariate ordered probit model. The results show that food waste attitudes had a significant negative effect on food waste behavior at a p < 0.01 level of significance, which means that the more people feel shame about food waste, the less food waste they will have. The interaction coefficient between food waste attitudes and pandemic expectations was positive at a p < 0.1 level of significance. This paper concludes with strategies for dealing with food waste in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The management of post-mining reservoirs as part of urban blue infrastructure is linked to the implementation of pro-environmental policies at different levels (from local–municipal to European). Local communities, as beneficiaries of measures taken by city authorities, recognise the need for active participation in decision-making processes. They engage in making decisions on blue spaces in urban areas. These include public and natural watercourses and their surroundings, but also water-filled basins of various origins, including post-mining pits. This paper strives to answer how local communities are involved in activities for developing and managing post-mine areas filled with water within city limits. The methods used (including field observation, spatial analyses, and desk research) allowed us to classify post-mining pits according to their functions and the degree of social participation in their development process. The analysed post-mining pits were divided into three groups. The first group consisted of pit reservoirs transformed with the participation of local inhabitants into recreational grounds. The second comprised reservoirs transformed under local zoning plans (with residents consulted) expected to ultimately prop up the city's green infrastructure. In turn, the third group consists of quasi-natural reservoirs deemed natural enclaves by city residents. The environmental analysis showed that pits were naturalised. One of them was subject to legal protection on account of biodiversity. Post-mine areas in Bydgoszcz play an important environmental role, and some are integral recreational sites, e.g., the Balaton reservoir. They materially affect the inhabitants' daily contact with nature, which improves life quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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With the support of big data mining techniques, utilizing social media data containing location information and rich semantic text information can construct large-scale daily activity OD flows for urban populations, providing new data resources and research perspectives for studying urban spatiotemporal structures. This paper employs the ST-DBSCAN algorithm to identify the residential locations of Weibo users in four communities and then uses the BERT model for activity-type classification of Weibo texts. Combined with the TF-IDF method, the results are analyzed from three aspects: temporal features, spatial features, and semantic features. The research findings indicate: ① Spatially, residents' daily activities are mainly centered around their residential locations, but there are significant differences in the radius and direction of activity among residents of different communities; ② In the temporal dimension, the activity intensities of residents from different communities exhibit uniformity during different time periods on weekdays and weekends; ③ Based on semantic analysis, the differences in activities and venue choices among residents of different communities are deeply influenced by the comprehensive characteristics of the communities. This study explores methods for OD information mining based on social media data, which is of great significance for expanding the mining methods of residents' spatiotemporal behavior characteristics and enriching research on the configuration of public service facilities based on community residents' activity spaces and facility demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper constructs and elaborates a theoretical model of urban economic efficiency (UEE) from the perspective of urban scaling law. A framework of urban economic analysis is established with urban population agglomeration capacity (UPAC) as the explanatory factor. Taking the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration (YRDUA) as a case study, explore the influence of UPAC on UEE. The results show that the gap between the UEE in the YRDUA gradually decreases, the spatial agglomeration characteristic weakens, and the UEE among cities leads to a balanced tendency. However, the spatial agglomeration pattern of UPAC becomes more and more significant. (Mega/super) large cities are mostly advanced types, while small cities are lagging types. The influence of UPAC on UEE gradually decreases and diverges from significant positive influence to insignificant influence in advanced cities and significant positive influence in lagging cities. The framework of UEE research provides a more objective way to understand and compare the economic performance of cities of different scales. The empirical study findings provide a basis for decision-making on developing different types of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As major carriers of modern economy and population, cities and towns are vortex centers of pollution migration, and the environmental effects brought about by China's unprecedented urbanization can be imagined, although the specific scale is still a mystery. This paper focuses on the nonlinear response mechanism of urban PM2.5 concentration to the urbanization population scale, considering that China's urbanization development path is dominated by large- and medium-sized cities. The panel data of PM2.5 concentration of Chinese cities observed by satellite during 1998–2016 are used to capture the nonlinear characteristics of panel threshold model (PTM). The estimation results of the double-threshold PTM including the quadratic term of urbanization population show that the U-shaped relationship between urbanization population and PM2.5 concentration is nonlinear adjusted by urban GDP per capita with the two thresholds of 6777 Yuan and 10,296 Yuan at 2010 constant price. When the urban GDP per capita exceeds 10,296 Yuan, the urbanized population at the turning point of the U-shaped curve is 12.967 million people, which only appears in a few super-large cities such as Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing. The size matching of urban economy and population is an important follow-up of environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guwahati, the largest city in India's northeast, characterized by rapid increase in population and urban functions during the last few decades, is confronted with alarming challenges in water insecurity due to the widening gap between supply and demand and the slow development of associated infrastructures. An attempt is made in this paper to examine the changing status of the WS (water supply) system in Guwahati city and to explore the challenges faced by the city dwellers in ensuring water security based on both primary and secondary data. Despite having a massive water source in the form of Brahmaputra river near the city, more than 70 per cent of its population is still deprived of urban water supply. The water quality, which has been assessed through the water quality index, is found to vary among different schemes of WS systems in the city. On the other hand, the water accessibility index at the household level is indicative of a discouraging picture. Given the lack of adequate water security, city dwellers are compelled to adopt various strategies to overcome diverse challenges in accessing water, looking at quantity and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Definition: There is a growing interest in sustainable urban transport solutions in cities around the world. These changes, known as "smart urban mobility", aim to reduce the negative effects of transport on the natural environment and enhance the standard of living for urban dwellers. It should be noted that in addition to this transformation's technological aspects, modifying the city's structure and architecture also has a social dimension. The transformation of urban mobility has a significant impact on social relations. Introducing new modes of transport, such as city bikes and electric scooters, creates new ways of moving around the city and can impact social interactions. This can increase social integration and a community's sense of belonging. At the same time, it is necessary to consider the differences between social groups to ensure equal access to the benefits of these changes in addition to deeper social elements, such as changing the habits and expectations of residents and adapting solutions to the specific needs of each city. This paper aims to look at the social aspects of smart urban mobility, including the impact of these changes on the lives and relationships of city residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of new towns is one of the main measures to evacuate urban populations and promote regional coordination and urban–rural integration in China. Mining the spatio-temporal pattern of new town hot spots based on multivariate data and analyzing the influencing factors of new town construction hot spots can provide a strategic basis for new town construction, but few researchers have extracted and analyzed the influencing factors of new town internal hot spots and their classification. In order to define the key points of Wuhan's new town construction and promote the construction of new cities in an orderly and efficient manner, this paper first constructs a space-time cube based on the luminous remote sensing data from 2010 to 2019, extracts hot spots and emerging hot spots in Wuhan New City, selects 14 influencing factor indicators such as population density, and uses bivariate Moran's index to analyze the influencing factors of hot spots, indicating that the number of bus stops and vegetation coverage rate are the most significant. Secondly, the disorderly multivariate logistic regression model is used to analyze the influencing factors of emerging hot spots. The results show that population density, vegetation coverage, road density, distance to water bodies, and distance to train stations are the most significant factors. Finally, based on the analysis results, some relevant suggestions for the construction of Wuhan New City are proposed, providing theoretical support for the planning and policy guidance of new cities, and offering reference for the construction of new towns in other cities, promoting the construction of high-quality cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of the female labour force participation rate on urbanization, which is the question of reverse causality, was not investigated in the earlier literature despite the widespread belief that urbanization leads to modernization and social transformation. The paper used World Bank data from 217 countries from 1991 to 2022 to address this issue. The Random Effect (RE) Two-Stage least squares (2SLS) regression analysis suggests that urbanization has a detrimental effect on the ratio of female to male labour force participation. On the other hand, the proportion of women to men participating in the labour force positively influences urbanization. The GDP growth rate and the proportion of female employers favourably influence the participation rate of women in the labour force. However, the estimated results do not support the idea that long-term economic growth and the percentage of women in the labour force follow a U-shaped pattern. The results do not support a U-shaped association between the female labour force participation rate and urbanization. However, a causal and long-term stable association exists between female labour force participation rate and urbanization. Finally, we suggest several policies that will benefit women's labour force participation rate during the process of economic growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of Industry 4.0 and automated vehicles into the smart cities concept is a topical issue in the urbanization of cities and technological innovation within cities. As it is a relatively modern issue, many aspects of this field have not yet been explored; as a consequence, this paper is concerned with the search for synergies between Industry 4.0 and automated vehicles in smart city infrastructures. There is a lack of contributions in this field that summarize these synergies in a single article and address a wide range of aspects, including transport, energy, communication, and citizen participation. As the field lacks a complete and clear summary of what is already known, which would help multiple stakeholders, the authors decided to conduct this review. The article elucidates the above-stated aspects through a clear and in-depth literature review, which is complemented by specific examples from practice. Of course, the article also includes a description of the synergy potential and the impact on the inhabitants, the environment, and, last but not least, on the overall city life. The main hypothesis of this article is that the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies and automated vehicles within smart city infrastructure will result in significant improvements in transportation efficiency, resource utilization, and overall urban sustainability. The article discusses the positives and negatives of such integration, highlighting, on the one hand, the benefits in terms of reducing environmental impact and improving citizens' quality of life, but on the other hand, also highlighting the various ethical, legal, and social issues that such integrations may bring. Several methods have been used within the article, namely analysis, synthesis, comparison, and historical interpretation. The final discussion highlights the benefits, as well as the challenges, that such integration faces and must deal with if it is to be successful. It can be concluded that the synergistic potential of automated vehicles and Industry 4.0 in smart city infrastructure is enormous and that such integration offers promising solutions for enhancing transportation efficiency, energy management, and overall urban sustainability. It is also highlighted in the article that, in order to reap the benefits of such synergies, a wide-ranging collaboration of policymakers, industry stakeholders, and urban planners is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city can be understood as a space where capitalist and patriarchal logics are materialized, engendering symbolic barriers and socio-spatial segregation. Within this context, this paper addresses territoriality of the LGBTIQ+ population at the urban scale It is part of a broader reflection within an ongoing Master's dissertation. The research aims to identify these Territories through clipping of journalistic news and to gather them in a cartography. Finally, this paper was produced as an effort to continue researches that give voice to a population that is often disrespected, forgotten, brutalized, killed, and erased by our society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Directive 2018/844/EU on energy efficiency claims that almost 80% of the final energy consumption in the EU is used within the buildings. The subsequent Directive (EU) 2023/1791 introduced in 2023 expected 68% of the world population to live in urban areas. Both directives enhanced the role of energy management (EM) applied to the city buildings. This paper introduces the development of energy management in Czech municipalities between the years 2009 and 2023. The main goal of this article is to present selected results of the unique national survey focused on the energy management in Czech municipalities conducted in 2023 and compare it with results of national surveys implemented in 2009 and 2018. The main method is the comparing of two surveys conducted among the municipal representatives or energy managers in the past with the new survey conducted in 2023. The results show that EM became a notably more important issue for most Czech municipalities. The number of cities collecting data on energy consumption grew by 288% and the number of city energy managers increased by 57%. On the other hand, the used potential of energy savings triggered by establishing EM was insufficient and only 4% of the respondents claimed high and exactly measured savings because of EM. This article should be applied to the stress power of municipal EM in performing energy efficiency and RES projects and encouraging the government to support municipal energy managers in their complex role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is actively heeding the call and striving for a low-carbon and environmentally friendly development route as part of the general trend toward a global low-carbon economy. The rapid economic development of our nation has brought to light the issue of carbon emissions resulting from the consumption habits of residents. This paper delves into the topic by conducting a thorough analysis of the carbon emission of residents' consumption using the input-output method. Based on the survey findings, the disparity in carbon emission between urban and rural communities in Shandong Province is evident not only in terms of total emissions but also in different categories and regions. Urban residents generate a total carbon emission of approximately 70.2921 million tons, which is three times higher than that of rural residents at 23.7846 million tons. The carbon emission of both urban and rural residents is primarily attributed to their embodied carbon emission. In examining the composition of the implied carbon emission of residents' consumption in Shandong Province, urban residents' carbon emission is concentrated in three areas, namely, food, culture, education, entertainment, transportation, and communication, accounting for 21.45%, 20.88%, and 15.10%, respectively. Conversely, rural residents' carbon emission is concentrated in four areas, including clothing, food, culture, education, entertainment, transportation, and communication, accounting for 29.01%, 17.45%, 15.43%, and 13.36%, respectively. Finally, according to the characteristics of the consumption carbon emission of urban and rural residents in Shandong Province, we give corresponding emission reduction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring the complex relationship between population change and surface urban heat island (SUHI) effect has important practical significance for the ecological transformation development of shrinking cities in the context of the prevalence of urban shrinkage and the global climate change. This paper compares the population change and SUHI effect between population shrinking region (Northeast Region, NR) and population growing region (Yangtze River Delta, YRD) in China, and explores their differences in driving mechanisms, using GIS spatial analysis and Geodetector model. Our results indicated that there are significant differences in population changes and SUHI intensity between these two regions. About 72.22% of the cities in the NR were shrinking, while their SUHI intensities increased by an average of 1.69°C. On the contrary, the urban population in the YRD shows a linear growth trend, while their SUHI intensities decreased by 0.11°C on average. The results of bivariate Moran's I index also indicated that the spatial correlation between the urban population changes and the SUHI intensity changes are not significant in the above regions. Furthermore, there are significant differences in the primary drivers of SUHI variations between these two regions. In the NR, underlying surface changes, including the changes of green coverage and built-up areas, are the most important driving factors. However, atmospheric environment changes, such as carbon dioxide emission and sulfur dioxide emission, are the key drivers in the YRD. Northam's theory of three-stage urbanization and environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis are powerful to explain these differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The natural hazards caused by climate change have a significant impact on the production and life of urban residents, enhancing urban resilience is an important way to cope with climate disasters and ensure the safety of urban systems. Based on the "urban resilience" research relevant literature, the paper applies bibliometric analysis software to reveal the research hotspots and evolution trends of urban resilience in the perspective of climate change. The results indicate that the main research contents can be summarized into four aspects: i) influencing factors of urban resilience; ii) evaluation index and method of urban resilience; iii) the impact of climate change on urban resilience; iv) Enhancing urban resilience in response to climate change. Finally, potential directions for future research on urban resilience were proposed, multi-dimensional research on urban resilience should be carried out from aspects of theoretical development, urban planning based on resilience mechanisms should be carried out from the perspective of planning practice, and innovation and reform should be carried out in policy implementation and urban management. Accurately understanding the conceptual connotation and construction mechanism of urban resilience is a crucial premise for climate mitigation and adaptation. Relevant research conclusions can provide useful reference for theoretical research and spatial planning of resilient cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is frequently misdiagnosed during pregnancy. There is an abundance of evidence, but little is known regarding the regional prevalence estimates of GDM in India. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to provide valuable insights into the national and regional prevalence of GDM among pregnant women in India. Methods: We conducted an initial article search on PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and ShodhGanga searches to identify quantitative research papers (database inception till 15th June,2022). This review included prevalence studies that estimated the occurrence of GDM across different states in India. Results: Two independent reviewers completed the screening of 2393 articles, resulting in the identification of 110 articles that met the inclusion criteria, which collectively provided 117 prevalence estimates. Using a pooled estimate calculation (with an Inverse square heterogeneity model), the pooled prevalence of GDM in pregnant women was estimated to be 13%, with a 95% confidence interval (CI) ranging from 9 to 16%.. In India, Diabetes in Pregnancy Study of India (DIPSI) was the most common diagnostic criteria used, followed by International Association of Diabetes and Pregnancy Study Groups (IADPSG) and World Health Organization (WHO) 1999. It was observed that the rural population has slightly less prevalence of GDM at 10.0% [6.0–13.0%, I2=96%] when compared to the urban population where the prevalence of GDM was 12.0% [9.0–16.0%, I2 = 99%]. Conclusions: This review emphasizes the lack of consensus in screening and diagnosing gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), leading to varied prevalence rates across Indian states. It thoroughly examines the controversies regarding GDM screening by analyzing population characteristics, geographic variations, diagnostic criteria agreement, screening timing, fasting vs. non-fasting approaches, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility, offering valuable recommendations for policy makers. By fostering the implementation of state-wise screening programs, it can contribute to improving maternal and neonatal outcomes and promoting healthier pregnancies across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smart cities, leveraging advanced data analytics, predictive models, and digital twin techniques, offer a transformative model for sustainable urban development. Predictive analytics is critical to proactive planning, enabling cities to adapt to evolving challenges. Concurrently, digital twin techniques provide a virtual replica of the urban environment, fostering real-time monitoring, simulation, and analysis of urban systems. This study underscores the significance of real-time monitoring, simulation, and analysis of urban systems to support test scenarios that identify bottlenecks and enhance smart city efficiency. This paper delves into the crucial roles of citizen report analytics, prediction, and digital twin technologies at the neighborhood level. The study integrates extract, transform, load (ETL) processes, artificial intelligence (AI) techniques, and a digital twin methodology to process and interpret urban data streams derived from citizen interactions with the city's coordinate-based problem mapping platform. Using an interactive GeoDataFrame within the digital twin methodology, dynamic entities facilitate simulations based on various scenarios, allowing users to visualize, analyze, and predict the response of the urban system at the neighborhood level. This approach reveals antecedent and predictive patterns, trends, and correlations at the physical level of each city area, leading to improvements in urban functionality, resilience, and resident quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document explores the concept of "landsenses" in relation to green spaces. Landsenses ecology combines landscape ecology with human perception and social needs, with a focus on sustainable development in land-use planning, construction, and management. The document highlights a special issue in the journal Forests that examines the role of landsenses in green spaces, featuring 13 papers covering various topics such as multi-sensory interaction, cultural significance, and the design of green spaces. The research also explores the impact of soundscapes and multisensory integration on human well-being, as well as the relationship between landscape design and individual preferences. The document includes perspectives from researchers on the main focuses and challenges of landsenses research in public spaces, emphasizing the importance of understanding sensory experiences and their interaction with the environment to enhance human experience. Challenges in this field include integrating diverse data sources, bridging the gap between theory and practice, and effectively utilizing emerging technologies. The development of appropriate indicators to measure perceptual processes and increasing awareness and attention from the academic community and the public are also crucial. Overall, landsenses ecology theory has the potential to drive the development of green spaces and contribute to the creation of smart and resilient cities. [Extracted from the article]

The positive behaviors that urban forest parks encourage in urban residents (such as recommendations, repeat visits, etc.) are important considerations in the planning and construction of such forest parks. Recreators' environmental preferences and perceived satisfaction with urban forest parks are responses to individuals' perceptions and attitudes toward the external environment. Clarifying the interactive relationship between the two is of great significance to improving positive behavioral intentions in urban forest parks. In this paper, the concept of the urban forest park recreational environment is proposed, and in this concept, the three dimensions of the spatial physical environmental preference, regional cultural characteristics, and service experience that the urban forest park recreational environment has on tourists' perception are separated out. A model of the structural relationship between park environment perception, perceived satisfaction, and post-tour behavioral intention was tested using Tongzhou Grand Canal Forest Park as an example. The psychological path of tourists' behavioral intention after visiting the urban forest park can be divided into two categories: the direct influencing path is "urban forest park recreation environment → post-tour behavioral intention"; the indirect influencing path is "urban forest park recreation environment → perceived satisfaction → behavioral intention after the trip". This shows that tourists' preference for the urban forest park recreation environment will promote the generation of perceived satisfaction and then stimulate in-depth comprehensive experience evaluation after visiting. By enhancing tourists' experience of the urban forest park recreational environment through their environmental preference perception and improving tourists' perceived satisfaction with the urban forest park recreational environment, urban forest parks can improve tourists' positive behavioral intentions. Clarifying these complex psychological processes provides a new perspective for understanding people's cognition of urban forest parks, the physiological and psychological benefits produced, and the resulting behavioral tendencies. At the same time, it also provides a new perspective for the planning and design of similar types of urban forest parks. It provides a certain reference value for forest park management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change generates multiple negative impacts for cities, such as the urban heat island effect. Social stresses, including social disadvantage and housing unaffordability, compound the poor living conditions of urban residents and make our cities less resilient. This paper considers a climate event (urban heat) and social stresses (housing affordability and urban disadvantage) to explore urban resilience in Sydney. We draw on a framework for building urban climate resilience, incorporating facets of urban resilience, social stresses that amplify crises, and solutions that strengthen individuals and communities with coping abilities to withstand climate events. The study diverges from aggregate city-level analyses that hide small-area differences in climate impacts and vulnerability. The findings reveal the spatiality of these natural and social impacts, identifying 11 critical areas in Sydney impacted by the highest levels of urban heat and urban disadvantage, and two critical areas impacted by the highest levels of urban heat and housing unaffordability. We highlight the importance of context-based approaches and place-based policies to address climate risks and social vulnerabilities on the path toward creating more resilient cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on findings from a collaborative, communitybased project that worked to establish partnerships between re-searchers at Simon Fraser University and Indigenous community members and organizations in Surrey, British Columbia. In Metro Vancouver, Surrey saw the biggest increase in its Indigenous pop-ulation, which grew 77 per cent between 2006 and 2016 to 13,460. This was a timely project given that traditional health and social service models geared towards Indigenous populations tend to focus on on-reserve populations. The research aimed to look at the following: 1) to identify the health needs and priorities of Indigenous peoples in Surrey; 2) to determine what methodologies should be used when researching culture and health; 3) and to explore how existing data connected to Surrey's Indigenous population can be accessed to better align research priorities with the health status of Indigenous peoples in Surrey. Findings from the project included: the importance of culturally safe care and support in health and social service systems; the need for training and education among health and social service providers on the history and contemporary experiences of Indigenous peoples; and the importance of having access to Elder-led cultural teachings and land-based activities that support health and wellbeing of families and communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To the extent he is remembered today, Brigadier General Anthony Walton White is hailed as one of New Brunswick, New Jersey’s, most illustrious residents and a reminder of the city’s significance during the American Revolution. This account of White’s career reveals that he was far from successful in the military or in business. Born to wealth on an estate along the Raritan River, White relied on family ties and political connections to gain appointments in the military and government throughout his life. He forswore allegiance to Great Britain in 1775 and sought a position on Gen. George Washington’s staff. Washington interviewed White but was unimpressed and declined to appoint him to his staff. White became a cavalry officer and served throughout the Revolutionary War, but his military record was hardly unblemished, and he faced several inquiries into his conduct and courts-martial proceedings. In the 1790s he served in the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion and in 1798 was promoted to the rank of brigadier general during the quasiwar against France. George Washington reckoned him one of the least capable and most insufferable officers in the US Army. White fared no better in civilian life or business. After the revolution, he lost his sizeable inheritance in a series of bad investments. He also squandered the wealth inherited by his young bride, a girl he met during his service in South Carolina. White filed for bankruptcy in 1802 and died the following year. White was not a villain, but neither was he a hero. His life, like history generally, offers a complicated and cautionary tale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities worldwide are attempting to be claimed as smart, but truly classifying as such remains a great challenge. This paper aims to use artificial intelligence AI to classify the smart city's performance as well as the factors linked to it. This is based on the perceptions of residents on issues related to structures and technology applications available in their cities. To achieve this goal, the study included 200 cities worldwide. For 147 cities we captured the perceptions of 120 residents in each city, by answering a survey of 39 questions evolving around two main Pillars: 'Structures' that refers to the existing infrastructure of the city and the 'Technology' pillar that describes the technological provisions and services available to the inhabitants. And each one is evaluated under five key areas: health and safety, mobility, activities, opportunities, and governance. The final score of the other 53 cities, was measured by using the data openly available on the internet. And this by means of different algorithms of machine learning such as Random Forest RF, Artificial Neural Network ANN, Support Vector Machine (SVM), and Gradient Boost (XGB). These algorithms have been compared and evaluated in order to select the best one. The tests showed that Random Forest RF alongside with Artificial Neural Network ANN, with the highest level of accuracy, are the best trained model. This study will enable other researches to use machine learning in the identification process of smart cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]