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Cities are important for biodiversity conservation and are a central focus in the United Nations Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Species reintroductions and population reinforcements (i.e. conservation translocations) are an important component of conservation, yet are rare in urban environments, possibly because of perceived risks in highly modified and complex social-ecological urban systems. Here we review the literature describing urban conservation translocations to provide guidance for their effective implementation. We find that urban translocations have been performed for a variety of aims including focal species conservation, improvements in ecosystem functions in the later stages of restoration projects (e.g. seed dispersal in revegetated sites) and for site remediation (e.g. organic pollution removal), and enhancing human-nature connections. Conservation translocations were found in a range of urban habitat types including formal and informal greenspaces, grey spaces, streams, ponds, and marine environments, ranging from near-historic conditions (e.g. remnant/restored sites) to highly modified novel/designed systems. Barriers and enablers varied between terrestrial and aquatic release sites, with predators, habitat suitability, and leaving release sites being more important in terrestrial sites and disturbance (flooding) regime and pollution being more important in aquatic sites. A range of techniques have been applied to mitigate these barriers. Success rates in urban translocations are high (>90 %) and comparable to conservation translocations in general, suggesting they can contribute to urban biodiversity conservation by assisting species to overcome dispersal barriers and occupy otherwise suitable urban habitats. However, evaluation methods vary widely between urban translocation studies. There is also a need for longer-term monitoring of translocation success that might be achieved simultaneously while enhancing human-nature connections through citizen science programs.

Executives who lead cities face considerable challenges. Cities are complex ecosystems comprising myriad interacting systems, including information systems, which are vital for their operation and prosperity. Recognizing the value that information systems can offer, significant investments have been made to acquire these systems and make cities smarter or more intelligent. However, many smart city projects have failed to deliver on their promises due to a lack of clarity regarding their overall goals. Smarter or more intelligent towards what end? This article provides a systems-inspired approach to urban planning based on the premise that a city is a self-organising, capital-creating ecosystem composed of a city's administration and the many organizations within its domain. As the city's keystone entity, the administration's role is to create capital that enhances the capital productivity of other ecosystem members and nourishes innovators to boost capital creativity. A capital improvement budgeting framework can specify the allocation of all forms of capital to promote symbiotic connections between the various entities within a city. A city stack is designed to guide a city's administration in cooperating with its self-organising ecosystem. A research agenda to foster capital creation by city leaders is also outlined.

Climate change impacts global weather patterns, leading to more frequent and intense extreme weather events. Floods and droughts are the primary hazards caused by climate change, for the number of events, people affected, and global economic impacts. While traditionally addressed separately, their interconnectedness is increasingly recognized in research, policies, and practices. However, research on their interactions is limited, especially in urban areas. Therefore, this paper aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the interaction between floods and droughts by analyzing their similarities and differences. This understanding will inform multi-hazard analysis and guide urban planning. A literature review was conducted to analyze the existing body of knowledge on floods, droughts, and their interactions, specifically focusing on cities in the context of climate change and risk. First, an analysis of the characteristics and differences between floods and droughts highlights the primary distinction lies in their temporal and spatial spread. Droughts are slow-onset events that impact large areas over extended periods, while floods are rapid-onset events with a more concentrated impact. Additionally, the review identifies commonalities between the two hazards, such as shared causes, cascading effects, mutually negative impacts, potential for joint management strategies, commonly affected sectors, geographical distribution patterns, frequently cited case studies, a growing focus on urban areas, and crucial knowledge gaps that require further investigation. Finally, the paper presents a novel framework for analyzing the interconnected risks of floods and droughts. This framework emphasizes the importance of comprehensive data collection, including risk factors, contextual information, drivers, impacts, responses, and historical event data. This holistic approach aims to improve understanding of these interconnected hazards’ combined causes and effects. The article argues for a paradigm shift in urban planning towards a multi-hazard, multi-sectoral, resilient, and adaptable approach that considers both floods and droughts in the context of climate change. The article concludes with suggestions for further research.

In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, comprising Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Oman, advanced urban planning and cutting-edge projects signify a dedication to modernity and prosperity. These nations, renowned for substantial energy reserves, are crucial players in the global energy landscape, contributing 45% of proven oil reserves, 25% of oil exports, and 18% of proven natural gas reserves. Significant investments in planned cities showcase the GCC region’s commitment to renewable energy with megaprojects serving as key promoters of a nationalist vision for modernization and sustainability. Criticism has been directed at ambitious designs and sustainability rhetoric, as seen in projects like Masdar City, originally envisioned as carbon-neutral but encountering challenges in realization.The implementation of Smart Cities in Oman is in its early stages, marked by a lack of comprehensive industry-level studies and an absence of an established frameworkbased approach. Limited industry-level studies address citizen-centric Smart governance thereby impacting Quality of Life. Current research emphasizes technology and innovation rather than the cultural sentiments of the local community resulting in gaps in people-centric approach. Moreover, there’s no empirical research to validate the influence of People on Public-Private Partnership enterprises in Smart City development, necessitating the development of a conceptual framework or model to highlight the influence of people on Smart Cities. This deficiency is resulting in a stagnation of innovation and an insufficient quality of life. The goal is to measure the effectiveness of the participatory governance model in improving the quality of life for residents within the smart city. By addressing the identified deficiencies through the application of participatory governance, the research aims to pave the way for a more effective and people-centric approach to smart city development, ultimately fostering innovation, enhancing the quality of life, and promoting sustainable and inclusive outcomes.

Urban heat island (UHI) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration in the air are two significant health hazards arising from urbanization. While much research has focused on the local urban context and micro-conditions for sources and exposures in particular case-studies, the effect of the overall level of urban agglomeration, as measured by population size, remains underreported. We compile the literature that explicitly discusses the relationship between UHI or NO2 and population size. We synthesize methods and findings qualitatively, then perform a quantified meta-analysis using comparable data from the corpus. We find that the corpus from which population size effects can be retrieved is very thin given the level of urbanization trends and the health impact. Despite a variety of functional specifications, data gathering processes, and metrics, the literature generally agrees on a significant effect of population size on both UHI and NO2. After pooling data we estimate that each 10-fold increase in population, increases the temperature gap between the city and countryside by almost 2 °C or a 40 % increase when cities get very large. We find that NO2 scales similarly, with a 40 % increase in concentration each time the city population is multiplied by 10. These numbers represent very important health threat given the current urbanization rate and the distribution of city population sizes. We also call for more studies to be conducted, across larger sets of cities, using observed data at higher resolution and comparable city definitions.

Due to its ever-evolving nature, urbanisation continues to escalate in complexity, further exacerbating the urban sustainability challenges. This necessitates the need for evidence-based policymaking enabled by modelling approaches, to facilitate informed decisions, and propel and gravitate towards urban sustainability. The major constraint is that of identifying the essential characteristics for consideration when modelling cities as complex systems, in a structured manner that integrates these characteristics, cognisant of their relative importance. The distinctive urban systems, corresponding system characteristics and interdependencies impacting the modelling of cities as complex systems, can be identified from peer-reviewed literature. The limiting constraint is, although there is widely available information on cities in research databases, the ability to use this literature for a quantitative model has not been proven, presenting a research gap. This approach results in significant complexities. In order to resolve these complexities, this study seeks a systems-based approach including a 2-tier structured protocol, leveraging qualitative-to-quantitative techniques to automatically extract the key systems which impact the development of city models. Through a systematic literature review, data on 13 key systems is qualitatively extracted from research databases such as Scopus and ScienceDirect, for the duration 2014 – 2024. Through word2vector analysis, machine learning techniques are utilised to perform the quantitative mapping of each urban system into corresponding system characteristics, and quantitatively illustrate them based on relative importance. The results illustrate that this proposed method is significant to characterize the essential systems that constitute a city as a complex system, based on machine learning and text analytics.

The circular economy (CE) brings many opportunities, but also many challenges for ports, cities, and their hinterland. The goal of this paper is twofold. First, we embrace the inherent uncertainty of the spatial impact of the CE on ports and cities. We employ scenario methodology to guide us in steering this uncertainty by developing four scenarios. To explore the complexity of these four scenarios, we focus on the Dutch province of South-Holland. This region hosts the port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe, and its direct hinterland consists of a dense urbanised region. As such, the four scenarios cannot only shed a light on the future of the port, but also how its relations with its direct urbanized hinterland can potentially change. In two scenarios deglobalisation occurs. The consequences are, on the one hand, that the port's focus changes more to its direct hinterland instead of a global oriented focus. On the other hand, the existing water bound industrial areas in, or nearby cities increase in importance, in contrast to the contemporary pressure to redevelop these into waterfront residential and commercial areas. In other words, port and city/region grow towards each other. The second goal of the paper is to dive into the specific consequences of these scenarios for day-to-day planning practices. By combining micro-economic and AIS shipping data, we discovered the most important terminals and industrial areas for the transition towards a CE in port, city, and hinterland.

The right to inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable suburbs is an aim of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 11, with a particular focus on addressing race, disability, class, gender and age inequality and injustice by the year 2030. Despite supranational interest in creating inclusive sustainable cities and communities, we still know little about what this means for disabled people11 The language of “disabled people” is used in this article in line with social and critical models of disability, however, we also acknowledge and respect that “person-first” language, which uses the phrasing “a person with – a condition or diagnosis,” is also preferred by some people in the disability community.. In this article, we address this gap ––through participatory qualitative research study – Planning Inclusive Communities, involving 97 people (9-92 years of age) of which over 50% identified as disabled people from two Australian regions - Tasmania and Queensland. The research revealed five core interrelated elements - “The Makings of Inclusive Communities” .These five elements reinforce the importance of interconnected social, economic, and built environment structures and systems in facilitating inclusion, and that inclusion happens in place and movement through everyday experiences. The empirical findings offer important new insights that help expand the inclusive cities and communities’ discourse through the voices of disabled and non-disabled people, around issues of equity, access, and inclusion. Furthermore, the research helps lay the foundations to guide future urban policy and research on planning inclusive cities and communities from the position of disability justice and human diversity.

Due to the world's population growth, poor air quality (PAQ) has become a major health and environmental issue. Cities, in particular, have had to face the challenge of PAQ as a result of traffic and, in the case of the developing world, the use of diesel generators for domestic and industrial energy supply. As with other societal issues, such as corruption, that have perceptual indices to aid with their assessment, an Air Quality Perception Index (AQPI) could be pivotal in the assessment of air quality (AQ). The use of reference or instrument-measured information has been at the forefront of environmental assessment, but a perception-based index could provide a valuable supplementary approach. This paper discusses the potential for an AQPI based on research that took place on perceptions of air quality by residents in two cities, Abuja and Enugu, in Nigeria. The research was based on a survey of respondents who were asked to score various perceptual indicators of AQ. Utilizing the three most frequently perceived indicators of AQ identified in the survey, dust, smoke and smell/odour, an AQPI is presented and illustrated. The proposed AQPI follows a similar logic to that set out for the Human Development Index, with values that range from 0 to 1, with higher values suggesting better AQ. The paper makes the case for the AQPI as a complement to instrument-measured outcomes especially when the latter are rarely available such as in many cities of the global south due to high cost and operational capacity requirements.

The exponential growth of food demand due to the increasing global population has the potential to seriously threaten the quality and quantity of food supplies due to climate change. This study explores the utilisation of green urban spaces for achieving food self-sufficiency by investigating the extent to which sustainable urban farms could be used to reduce the consumption of imported produce in the UK. It also examines urban farming stakeholders’ perspective on how food self-sufficiency can help realise the SDGs especially SDG 2 (Zero hunger) and SDG 13 (Climate action). The study adopts a mixed method approach through a survey with 115 respondents and semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 respondents from 4 different urban farming stakeholder groups. The findings of this study presented a strong correlation between stakeholders who had concerns about where their food came from and the carbon footprint of imported produce. The research shows that, urban farms will no doubt play a vital role in the future of food security in our cities/communities and that the SDGs could be realised through sustainable urban farms implemented within the relevant planning regulations/policies.

How do we quantify the levels of greenness within urban street networks? Numerous attempts to quantify this factor have been made through survey methodologies, remote sensing data, and street view imagery. The results are promising, but are often limited by scalability constraints, including limited data availability, high requirements of computational power, and validation challenges. This study introduces a comprehensive framework for urban greenness assessment, leveraging open-source data to overcome these limitations. Central to this framework is the development of the greenR R package and an accompanying Shiny app, designed to compute, visualize, and analyze a novel proximity-based green index for individual street segments. Beyond this, the framework innovatively extends its analytical capability by integrating accessibility analysis, Green View Index quantification as well as introducing the Green Space Similarity Index, a novel metric that evaluates and compares the characteristics of urban green spaces across different regions. This extension enriches the proposed framework, providing not just a measure of proximity to green spaces, but also insights into their spatial connectivity and distribution. The efficacy of greenR is demonstrated by studying urban greenness patterns across several cities, highlighting the potential impact of such an open-source framework for citizens, urban planners, and policy-makers. This study not only advances our methodological approach to quantifying urban greenness but also provides practical tools and metrics that can inform sustainable urban planning and policy decisions.

Urban Blue (like lakes, rivers and streams) and Green Areas (like parks or woods), UBGAs, provide natural areas within cities, potentially contributing to a better health and wellbeing (H&W) of citizens. However, if degraded these ecosystems pose a potential risk for human health. Understanding the role of UBGAs in citizens' health and wellbeing is crucial for developing sustainable cities under the One Health framework, particularly for vulnerable citizens like older adults, which hasn't been clearly demonstrated. To fill this gap and amplify existing evidence, we searched for studies published between 2011 and 2021 (WoS and PubMed). Our revision indicates that natural urban areas benefit older citizens H&W. The 174 studies selected were mostly from developed countries, addressing mainly urban green areas, like parks or forests (86%), while few were focused on urban blue areas (3%). Perceived health tends to increase in proportion and with the proximity to UBGAs. Larger UBGAs were positively associated with physical activity and negatively associated with depression. A higher Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was associated to lower mortality. Physical activity is often used a surrogate of physical health which may lead to several bias, as it doesn't distinguish the effect of degraded from health and biodiverse ecosystems on H&W. Most studies used indicators of quantity of UGBAs (e.g., size, number). Yet, it is crucial to also investigate the influence of quality aspects (i.e., ecological quality, biodiversity and conservation status), as the ecosystems health affects the supply of ecosystem services relevant for human health.

This is the first study of urban-rural happiness gradient using multi-item Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). A new finding is that urbanites fail especially on “If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing”–urban way of life tends to result in regrets. Effect sizes of urbanicity on subjective wellbeing (SWB) are substantial–about half of health–living in a metro depresses one's happiness as much as going half way from fair health to poor health, for instance.

The crescent urbanization across the globe has widespread ecological consequences, affecting species distribution, demography and behaviour. In this study we aimed to identify, quantify, map and predict the occurrences of medium- to large-bodied (≥1 kg) mammal carnivorans across urban and peri-urban landscapes throughout Brazil. We use a news-based search to compose a dataset of occurrences across the Brazilian cities. Additionally, we gather various socio-environmental and geophysical variables from these urban areas to identify the drivers of carnivore presence across urban environments. Employing Kernel interpolation, we generate heatmaps to highlight and pinpoint regions in Brazil with the highest concentration of carnivorans species on urban areas. We also employed a Generalized Additive Models (GAM) approach to assess the predictive power of social-environmental and geophysical variables on the occurrence of carnivorans in urban landscapes of Brazil. Our findings pinpoint to an increase of potential human-wildlife conflicts likely given that the urban expansion over natural habitats had a rampant increase in the last decades. Finally, we highlight that our results can serve as a basis to improve urban planning and offer important insights into the intricate interplay of social and geophysical variables that influence the occurrences of carnivorans within urban environments in Brazil.

This study is a bibliometric analysis of urban studies publications from 2001 to 2021 that unravels the evolution and growing complexity of the field. Although developed regions still dominate and lead this area of inquiry, urban studies led by Asian scholars have increased dramatically over the last decade. There is also topic diffusion from developed regions to less-developed regions despite some unique emphases within each region caused by their local socio-economic-ecological contexts. Climate change adaptation and sustainable development, inequality, and urban governance are receiving growing attention globally. The findings suggest the rising importance of cross-continent knowledge transfer and multi-disciplinary collaboration, particularly among urban studies, sustainability policies and management, public administration, and development studies. Also, urban researchers need to pay more attention to issues faced by many growing cities in developing economies in Asia and Africa as more of the world's population will reside in those urban settings in the coming decades.

The diffusion of renewable energy technology, such as solar home systems (SHS), has great potential to reduce GHG emissions. However, households’ energy efficiency (EE) and curtailment behavior (CB) play a crucial role in this process. This study examines the rooftop solar PV potential, households’ willingness to adopt SHS, and their EE/CB implications for mitigating CO2 emissions through SHS adoption. A survey of 216 households was carried out alongside rooftop solar PV potential analysis in a high-income gated estate and a middle-class neighborhood using secondary data. First, we find that rooftop solar PV has the potential to offset all grid electricity and its associated CO2 emissions for at least 63.5% of households. Secondly, the willingness to adopt SHS is lower in the high-income neighborhood than the middle-class ones. This dynamic is explained by the occupancy status, where most of those in the high-income neighborhood tend to be renters – a group known to have a low willingness to adopt SHS. Thirdly, our results affirm that energy-saving behavior is more common in a middle-class neighborhood where the propensity to adopt SHS is also high. Our results suggest that households willing to adopt SHS are more likely to engage in EE/CB. However, this tendency is common among middle-class households, who, in practice, may not be able to afford the SHS. Our findings underscore the need for more targeted policy interventions for SHS, and EE and CB among homeowners, high-income neighborhoods, and real estate developers.

Summary: Chinese cities need independent but synergetic dual-carbon abatement roadmaps to mitigate climate change and achieve carbon neutrality. Using source-level data, we develop a time-series, full-scale emission inventory for all Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020, exploring associated heterogeneous and homogeneous patterns. We find that 31% of cities have had a significant carbon emission peak, with the main driver being carbon intensity reductions through efficiency gains and structural improvements. Despite discrepant emission levels and socioeconomic determinants, a uniform trajectory in emission changes exists across cities via four emission phases: growth of 8%–9% annually (95% confidence interval) before peaking; plateau and decline by 9%–13% for 5–7 years; and plain with slower declines. We project that if cities follow their early-peaked counterparts’ mitigation pathways, China will reach a carbon peak in 2026 at 13 Gt and carbon neutrality during 2051–2058, revealing the feasibility of Chinese climate goals and the importance of long-reaching, city-targeted planning. Science for society: China established its dual-carbon goals to achieve a carbon peak before 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. It is important for cities to identify their distinctive patterns and define individual dual-carbon roadmaps to achieve carbon neutrality in China. In this study, we conduct a carbon inventory for all Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020 to quantitatively define the emission phases in the process of carbon peak. We find that 31% of cities have had a significant carbon emission peak, with the main driver being carbon intensity reductions. A uniform trajectory in emission changes exists across cities, despite significant differences in emission levels and socioeconomic determinants. We project that if cities follow their early-peaked counterparts’ mitigation pathways, China could achieve its climate change goals ahead of the policy deadlines.

Background: Active transportation (AT) and free play (FP) are the primary ways in which children engage in unstructured physical activity in cities, with independent mobility (IM) gaining increased attention as a potential precursor of AT and FP. However, current trends show that children are engaging in less FP and AT, and have less IM, than previous generations and it is not well understood how these practices, and their interrelatedness, differ by neighbourhood-level socio-economic stats (SES) and municipal contexts Objectives: This study aims to address the gaps in knowledge by quantifying, comparing, and correlating IM, AT, and FP practices in high and low-SES neighbourhoods within and across the cities of Montreal and Kingston, Canada Methods: 584 questionnaires were distributed among children in grades 1 to 5, living in low- and high-SES neighbourhoods of these two citiesResultsEngagement in the three practices was low in every study neighbourhood, though all three practices were higher in high-SES compared to low-SES neighbourhoods in both cities. Levels of FP were higher in Kingston compared to Montreal, while AT was higher in Montreal than in Kingston Conclusion: This study revealed social inequalities in all three of these practices based on socioeconomic status and city. Since IM is likely a precursor to both independent FP and AT, more research is warranted into how our cities can become more conducive to IM in children, particularly in low SES neighbourhoods where children have less freedom of movement independently and otherwise.

Due to the contribution of cities to fight climate change, approaches and methodologies for GHG emissions inventories have multiplied; research is growing and numerous initiatives support local authorities in developing their local emissions inventories. The complexity of cities and the lack of data make necessary simplifications and assumptions in inventorying GHG emissions. Despite significant progresses in the compilation of inventories, there are still limitations and uncertainties on aggregation approaches. Therefore, it becomes crucial disclosing the methodologies underlying any emissions accounting frameworks, together with any simplifications and assumptions, with the aim to produce reliable support on local measures and data- driven decision-making in the form of a trustworthy emissions inventory. This study aims at identifying divergences and potential gaps in two approaches for GHG emission inventories at local level complementing the results of previous studies. It is intended as exemplificative of potential issues and limitations occurring in emissions accounting and aggregation. The two approaches are EDGAR (Emissions Database for Global Atmospheric Research), in place for the GHSL (Global Human Settlement Layer Urban Centre Database) (GHS-UCDB R2019A) and the BEI (Baseline Emission Inventory) approach developed within the Covenant of Mayors initiative. The main limitations uncovered here feature disagreements on spatial and time coverage, on the emissions sources and allocation and the types of emissions considered. Results show that despite the diverse approaches, data is comparable. Therefore, to identify and correct inconsistencies and to ensure the quality of emission inventories available to decision makers, analysis and consistent comparisons between results originating from different and independent methodologies are essential.

Urbanization threatens global biodiversity, yet numerous species persist in cities, highlighting opportunities for habitat restoration and conservation. To facilitate conservation planning, species frequently are assigned to urban tolerance groups such as ‘avoiders’, ‘adapters’ and ‘exploiters’. To be useful, species in such groups must show consistent responses to major gradients of change in urban landscapes. We used a landscape-scale approach to investigate the relative influence of housing cover and canopy tree cover on individual bird species and compared the results for species independently classified as urban avoiders, adapters or exploiters. We surveyed birds in 30 landscapes, positioned along concurrent gradients of housing and canopy tree cover, in residential areas of Melbourne, Australia. We modelled relationships between reporting rate for 42 species and the landscape cover of housing and canopy trees, for each gradient independently and in combination. Responses typically were non-linear and varied between species but generally were consistent within groups. Many species (∼40%) responded to a combination of both housing and canopy tree cover. Responses to housing typically were negative, while responses to tree cover were positive for avoiders and adapters, but negative for exploiters. Relationships with tree cover were stronger in landscapes with higher housing density. Whilst species responses likely represent a continuum, the relative consistency within and differences between urban tolerance groups affirm such general classifications to be a useful framework for synthesizing responses of multiple species to urbanization. Importantly, however, the status of at least four species changed considerably over the last 20 years, highlighting that such classifications are dynamic and respond to both environmental change in urban environments and changing biotic relationships.

Urbanization is expected to alter animal communities, but few studies have generalized beyond patterns in individual cities. We used community-science data on reptiles and amphibians from 17 cities in North America to determine: 1) how species richness differs between cities and surrounding areas, 2) whether the degree of landcover change in cities vs. surroundings is related to the magnitude of change in species richness, 3) whether urban communities are more similar to each other or to their surrounding areas, and 4) what characteristics of reptile and amphibian species predict how sensitive they are to urbanization. We found that species richness tended to be somewhat lower (10–20%) in cities as compared to surrounding areas. For reptiles, the magnitude of decrease in richness appeared to be primarily related to the degree of change in impervious surface cover, whereas for amphibians these changes tracked differences in canopy cover. There was little evidence of urban homogenization– city communities tended to cluster with their surrounding areas rather than with other cities. For individual species, those that were less represented in observations from cities tended to be more dependent on canopy cover and on specialized breeding habitats such as streams or vernal pools. Our results suggest that cities are capable of supporting a relatively high richness of reptiles and amphibians. However, maintenance of this richness may require attention to habitat protection and restoration, particularly for less common aquatic habitats.

Nature-based solutions have significant interest as a response to environmental change in cites. There is a burgeoning field of research into how knowledge and expertise travels between cities to enable learning for and deployment of nature-based solutions and other climate and sustainability strategies. Yet, intergovernmental fora and institutions retain a key role in mediating these knowledge and policy flows. This paper evaluates how cities in countries distanced from state-level international platforms engage with global knowledge flows on nature-based solutions for climate adaptation, assessing Glasgow (Scotland) and New Taipei (Taiwan). Analysis of municipal adaptation plans and associated policies shows both Glasgow and New Taipei pro-actively adopt the language and metrics of international policies and strategies when justifying and assessing nature-based solutions, and use nature-based solutions as a means of furthering their aspirations for greater international recognition and engagement. Moreover, localisation of international best practices for nature-based solutions deployment offers an opportunity for cities such as Glasgow and New Taipei to attract global attention and position themselves as centres of expertise – regardless of the status of the country they are located in – in the global knowledge economy of urban nature-based climate adaptation.

In this study, two different air quality impact assessment methodologies were adopted and combined with a sensitivity analysis to estimate the unit costs. Air pollution health impact (mortality) assessment was carried out using one methodology based on log-linear concentration response functions (CRF) and another relying on the integrated exposure response curve (IER) from the Global Burden of Disease. Morbidity impacts were estimated with the CRF approach only. To assess the inequalities between low and high income countries, an area of low-medium income countries with a critical air pollution situation, was selected. The health impact and related external costs attributable to air pollution in 2019 were assessed in 30 urban areas of the Western Balkans region, one of Europe’s air pollution hot spots. The evaluation was based on PM2.5, O3 and NO2 concentrations in background sites from official monitoring networks. In 2019, the cost of mortality attributable to PM2.5 in 26 urban areas was 7.8 and 9.0 billion Euro according to IER and CRF methodologies, respectively. The cost of O3 associated with all-cause mortality estimated with the CRF methodology in 17 urban areas was 1.0 billion Euro while the one attributable to NO2 pollution in 28 urban areas was 1.5 billion Euro. The study results suggest that the economic burden of air pollution in the Western Balkans is higher in terms of GDP than the one observed in EU27 in the same time window. The study concludes that CRF and IER methodologies are coherent, because the discrepancy in the results are explained by the differences in the assessed health outcomes. The two approaches are complementary because the combination of them makes it possible to obtain a wider range of outcomes. In addition, despite the different causes of death considered, the comparison between them is useful for cross-validation.

Estimating the contribution of cities to regional and global methane (CH4) budgets is challenging due to the complex infrastructures of cities. Mobile measurement devices are well suited to detect CH4 sources via real-time ambient air measurements. Surveys involving mobile CH4 measurements were conducted from May 2020 to July 2021 at the street level in two medium-sized cities in Germany. With coverage levels of 30% and 65% of the road networks in Heidelberg and Schwetzingen, respectively, Leak Indications (LIs) for CH4 were observed with mole fractions of 100 to 9500 ppb above background. A minor portion of leaks (2 out of 70) was attributed to the sewer system, but most leaks originated from the gas distribution network with 0.48 LIs per km obtained in Heidelberg and 0.08 LIs per km determined in Schwetzingen. A method to assign an emission rate to all LIs developed by Weller et al. (2019) was assessed and adapted via controlled CH4 release experiments in Heidelberg. The method was modified for cities with smaller street widths and smaller distances from the leak to the measurement device. The annual total street-level CH4 emissions calculated for Heidelberg and Schwetzingen were 42 ± 17 and 1.5 ± 0.5 t CH4 yr−1 (1sigma), respectively, corresponding to 0.26 ± 0.11 and 0.03 ± 0.01 kg CH4 yr−1 per capita, respectively.

For cities, immigration is now considered a vital part of local economic and community development. Over the past half-century, many cities have experienced a series challenges caused by the impacts of late-stage demographic transition; the slow bleeding of skilled domestic workers to larger metropolitan areas; and the decline of traditional economic sectors. As a result, there has been a prioritization of attracting and retaining high-skilled and well-educated immigrants by local governments through locally-focused, place-based policies. Within this context, this paper examines the ways that cities in the Province of Ontario, Canada are constructing and implementing immigrant attraction, integration, and retention strategies. To achieve this goal, we identified and examined the local immigration policies of the 52 cities in Ontario, 36 of which have a formal immigration policy document. A comprehensive content analysis was conducted on these available to identify the ways that immigration is conceptualized, and the specific policies and approaches that local governments are implementing. Statistical analysis was used to determine if there was variation in policy across different types of cities. Based on this analysis, local governments are generally developing holistic, place-based policies – however, there is variation in approaches across cities of different sizes and geographies. These place-specific policies draw on local assets and advantages (i.e. existing migrant communities; local amenities and attractions; economic and education opportunities) while also work to enhance enhancing local capacity (i.e. building networks and immigration partnerships; training employers and city workers).

Achieving sustainability and resilience depends on the conciliation of environmental, social, and economic issues integrated into a long-term perspective to ensure communities flourish. Many nations are transitioning toward both objectives, while at the same time addressing structural concerns that have not allowed them to look after the environment in the past. Chile is one of these nations dealing with such challenges within a particular administrative context, an increasing environmental awareness, and a set of unique and complex geophysical boundaries that impose a plethora of hazards for cities, ecosystems, and human health. This paper presents recent accomplishments and gaps, mostly from an environmental perspective, on issues related to air pollution, the urban water cycle, and soil contamination, in the path being followed by Chile toward urban sustainability and resilience. The focus is on the bonds between cities and their geophysical context, as well as the relationships between environmental issues, the built environment, and public health. The description and diagnosis are illustrated using two cities as case studies, Temuco and Copiapó, whose socioeconomic, geographical, and environmental attributes differ considerably. Particulate matter pollution produced by the residential sector, drinking water availability, wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and soil contamination from the mining industry are discussed for these cities. Overall, the case studies highlight how tackling these issues requires coordinated actions in multiple areas, including regulatory, information, and financial incentive measures. Finally, the policy analysis discusses frameworks and opportunities for Chilean cities, which may be of interest when conceiving transitional paths toward sustainability and resilience for other cities elsewhere.

Many cities have pledged to achieve carbon neutrality. The urban water industry can also contribute its share to a carbon-neutral future. Using a multi-city time-series analysis approach, this study aims to assess the progress and lessons learned from the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions management of urban water systems in four global cities: Amsterdam, Melbourne, New York City, and Tokyo. These cities are advanced in setting GHG emissions reduction targets and reporting GHG emissions in their water industries. All four cities have reduced the GHG emissions in their water industries, compared with those from more than a decade ago (i.e., the latest three-year moving averages are 13%–32% lower), although the emissions have “rebounded” multiple times over the years. The emissions reductions were mainly due to various engineering opportunities such as solar and mini-hydro power generation, biogas valorization, sludge digestion and incineration optimization, and aeration system optimization. These cities have recognized the many challenges in reaching carbon-neutrality goals, which include fluctuating water demand and rainfall, more carbon-intensive flood-prevention and water-supply strategies, meeting new air and water quality standards, and revising GHG emissions accounting methods. This study has also shown that it is difficult for the water industry to achieve carbon neutrality on its own. A collaborative approach with other sectors is needed when aiming toward the city’s carbon-neutrality goal. Such an approach involves expanding the usual system boundary of the water industry to externally tap into both engineering and non-engineering opportunities.

Population growth has increased the number of informal settlements and unplanned structures within the urban areas. Most often, the urban poor suffer since they are found within urban slums with poor facilities. Even though government institutions are expected to develop assets within the urban areas, other institutions such as the Civil Society Organizations, Faith-Based Organizations, and traditional authorities can play certain roles to complement government efforts in this direction. However, studies into the roles of these institutions in enhancing the assets of the urban poor such as human, social, physical, financial, and natural have received less attention. To address this literature gap, this study employed the explanatory mixed-method approach to investigate the topic in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, and Sagnerigu Municipality in Ghana. The study reveals that the roles played by the government and other institutions are inadequate and target different assets whilst the urban poor are interested in other assets. The urban poor believe that they are vulnerable and need support from various institutions to enhance their assets. Traditional authorities’ roles are by mere consultation which can impede the development of assets for the urban poor. The study recommends that these institutions increase their commitment and collaborate with urban residents to enhance the assets adaptation to achieve the sustainable cities agenda. The study provides guidelines for policymakers, public and private institutions towards assets enhancement and adds to the limited literature on assets adaptation for the urban poor.

Early integration of solar energy considerations into urban planning/design is necessary to ensure that future cities do not only consume but also produce energy locally through solar. Yet, strategies for this integration remain a key challenge for urban planners and city administrators. Using a scientometric and systematic literature review approach, the objective of this review is to examine the state-of-the-art and current research gaps that constrain such integration. We find that while interests in the interrelationships between solar energy and urban planning have spanned several decades, the two remain largely unintegrated. Though a socio-technical process, the socio-political and socio-demographic aspects of solar urban planning have not received much scholarly attention. Consequently, whereas many software tools for analyzing solar insolation on existing surfaces have been developed, there is a lack of methods and decision support systems to integrate the results into urban planning practice. There is limited research on the subject in the global South despite significant opportunities for solar urban planning in this region. Also, a limited application of theoretical frameworks was found in existing studies. Future research exploring solar urban planning from the socio-technical transition theoretical perspective will significantly enhance the realization of this concept.

Urbanization alters the landscape through the replacement of natural vegetation by impervious surfaces, probably inducing changes in interspecific bird color diversity and composition. However, the seasonal changes of bird color diversity and composition along urban-rural gradients have not been analyzed yet. The objective of this study was to analyze the seasonal variation of bird color diversity and composition of bird assemblages along urban-rural gradients of three cities in central Argentina. Bird surveys were made in urban, suburban and rural areas during the breeding and non-breeding seasons. Color description was obtained from the literature. Color diversity and the seasonal color dissimilarity were calculated using the mean pairwise distance functional index. Null models that control for species richness were used to estimate standardized effect sizes (SES). Color diversity increased during the breeding season. However, the SES of color diversity did not change between seasons. Color diversity and the SES of color diversity were higher in rural areas than in urban habitats. The color seasonal dissimilarity was the lowest in urban habitats. City size was negatively related to the color seasonal dissimilarity in urban and suburban habitats. Species with brown, black and dimorphic plumages showed seasonal changes in their abundances in rural habitats, whereas plumage colors in urban habitats remained stable between seasons. The results showed that bird color diversity increase during the breeding season, but this increase is related to the arrival of more species during the breeding season to rural areas. Urban areas showed a seasonal homogenization of bird colors.

The urban resilience concept was introduced in 2016 as a key concept in the Habitat III New Urban Agenda for the next 20 years. We wonder how this urban resilience concept was elaborated and who influenced it the most? The preparatory events structured several stakeholders’ networks. The relations between stakeholders allowed the flow of ideas in the consultation and production process. Some influential stakeholders strongly oriented definition of urban resilience concepts by taking power in the networking process of the consecutive meetings. The paper analyzes the network of stakeholders/concepts, during the building process between 2012 and 2016 (5,539 discourses from 290 stakeholders, in 357 events). The application of textual mining and machine learning topic modelling algorithm exposed the structure of the principal topics for building the concept of urban resilience, and presented how relations of main stakeholders with funders was crucial for the investment in policy interventions. Therefore, we underlined for the first time in an empirical way, different kinds of actors’ power in the construction process that supported the Habitat III resilience concept. We demonstrated how far some official stakeholders, but also external and private ones, oriented the construction of ideologies to validate the knowledge that supported the related actions in laboratory cities.

This work presents a gridded dataset on real estate and transportation in 192 worldwide urban areas, obtained from the Google Maps API and the web scraping of real estate websites. For each city of the sample, these data have been associated with the corresponding population density and land cover data, extracted from the GHS POP and ESA CCI data respectively, and aggregated on a 1 km resolution grid, allowing for an integrated analysis. This dataset is the first to include spatialized real estate and transportation data in a large sample of cities covering 800 million people in both developed and developing countries. These data can be used as inputs for urban modeling purposes, transport modeling, or between-city comparisons in urban forms and transportation networks, and allow further analyses on e.g. urban sprawl, access to transportation, or equity in housing prices and access to transportation.

This paper empirically explores the extent to which European cities are on track to sustainable development by examining the environmental performance of a large sample of cities observed during the last two decades. The paper builds on the Environmental Kuznets Curve framework and leverages satellite data to build a set of environmental indicators as varied and as granular as possible. Evidence suggests that European cities are, on average, on track to sustainable development, meaning that the contribution of their economic growth to environmental degradation is already negative or close to becoming so. The paper also examines Transnational City Networks as accelerators of environmental transition. The results suggest that cities participating in such networks anticipate the transition with respect to their peers.

This study presents an innovative integrated approach for smart cities, aimed at promoting environmentally sustainable economies through novel technological and socio-economic transitions. The proposed model determines the smart city index (SCI) by aggregating 32 distinct performance indicators that significantly transform the environment, economy, energy, social, governance, and transportation sectors. This model is inherently multidisciplinary and is methodologically processed using multi-criteria decision analysis, which is aggregated using four distinct weighting schemes. The model results reveal that based on the equal weighting scheme, Sydney emerges as the city with the highest SCI score of 0.72, whereas Lima is identified as the city with the lowest SCI score of 0.26. On the other hand, based on the sustainability triad scheme, Toronto tops the list with an SCI score of 0.77, whereas Abuja scores the lowest with an SCI score of 0.31. Interestingly, Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal continue to maintain their position among the top 5 cities across all three schemes: equal weighting, sustainability triad, and energy-focused schemes. Furthermore, the energy-focused scheme identifies Montreal as the top-performing city, scoring 0.7, followed by Oshawa at 0.67, and four Canadian cities top the SCI scores in this scheme. In contrast, Lima still remains at the bottom of the list with an SCI score of 0.27. Finally, based on a smart health-focused scheme, Sydney, Osaka, and Hämeenlinna rank highest in SCI scores. Overall, the proposed approach and model provide valuable insights and guidelines for policy-makers and urban planners to design and implement smart city initiatives that can significantly enhance sustainable development and improve quality of life in urban settings.

Inadequate waste management and poor sanitation practices in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) leads to waste accumulation in urban and peri-urban residential areas. This increases human exposure to hazardous waste, including plastics, which can harbour pathogenic bacteria. Although lab-based studies demonstrate how plastic pollution can increase the persistence and dissemination of dangerous pathogens, empirical data on pathogen association with plastic in real-world settings are limited. We conducted a year-long spatiotemporal sampling survey in a densely populated informal settlement in Malawi, quantifying enteric bacterial pathogens including ESBL-producing E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., and Vibrio cholerae. Culture-based screening and molecular approaches were used to quantify the presence of each pathogen, together with the distribution and frequency of resistance to antibiotics. Our data indicate that these pathogens commonly associate with urban waste materials. Elevated levels of these pathogens precede typical infection outbreaks, suggesting that urban waste piles may be an important source of community transmission. Notably, many pathogens displayed increased levels of AMR, including against several 'last resort' antibiotics. These findings highlight urban waste piles as potential hotspots for the dissemination of infectious diseases and AMR and underscores the need for urgent waste management interventions to mitigate public health risks., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Prolonged exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) is associated with harmful impacts on human health and population growth in urban areas has exacerbated this exposure. In this study, we compare the exposure between cities at a national level and between different regions within cities considering the population in situ. We estimate the impacts of pollution and population on exposure by spatial and time series analysis from 2000 to 2018 based on 1-km grid data. Our results show that the exposure significantly increases with an increase in city size but is not necessarily related to higher PM 2.5 concentrations. Notably, nonurban areas within most prefecture cities have a higher exposure than urban areas. The exposure follows an inverted U-shaped pattern over time across all cities, which are at varying stages within this trend. Nationally, it grows by 0.9 billion person-levels/year during the increasing stage and reduces by 1.0 billion person-levels/year during the decreasing stage. For urban areas, population growth is the dominant factor that determines the exposure during the increasing phase, while changes in air pollution dominate during the decreasing phase. In nonurban areas, however, the change in air pollution plays a more decisive role during both stages. Understanding the spatial distribution and the driving process of exposure provided directions for the country and each prefecture city to balance the benefits of air pollution control, mitigation costs, addressing disparities, and increasing national welfare., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

South Asia is a global hotspot of air pollution gaining attention due to its severe implications, in which atmospheric mercury (Hg) could cause detrimental health effects in metropolitan areas. In this study, first-time year-round (January - December 2019) mean total gaseous mercury (TGM) concentration at Kathmandu, Nepal - a sub-tropical city in South Asia was reported at 9.9 ± 10.0 ng m -3 . Seasonal TGM variation at Kathmandu showed highest concentration in winter (16.8 ± 16.9 ng m -3 ) and lowest in summer (2.9 ± 2.1 ng m -3 ). Generally higher daytime TGM concentration as opposed to night-time TGM indicated Hg build-up within atmospheric boundary layer due to low wind speed and high humidity. Events with high wind speed (> 30 m s -1 ) induced regional pollutant transport from nearby brick kilns and cement factories. Principal component analysis associated a major part of TGM with PM 2.5 and CO and indicated the remarkable influence of fuel combustion and vehicular emissions. Backward trajectory and potential source contribution factor analysis further indicate the impact of regional Hg emissions and transboundary emissions from India towards Nepal, which expands beyond the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau. Prominent low-grade coal burning and kilning activities in winter spiked up TGM concentrations, resulting in the highest health quotient (HQ = 0.24) value, which could significantly impact public health. Our study presented the most comprehensive set of continuous annual atmospheric Hg monitoring data from Nepal in the South Asian region. The results serve as a baseline for regional atmospheric Hg levels and offer a critical reference for assessing and addressing air pollution concerns in Nepal as well as throughout South Asia., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

The extensive expansion of impervious surfaces encroaches on green spaces and causes frequent urban waterlogging disasters. Previous studies have focused mainly on the influence of green space landscape pattern on waterlogging, with less attention given to green space morphological spatial pattern (MSPA). MSPA can be used to differentiate various types of land use morphologies from a microscopic perspective and reveal visualized spatial characteristics. Therefore, this study selected Shenzhen, a city with serious waterlogging problems, as the study area. The anthropogenic/natural environments and green space morphological spatial pattern were considered. Pearson correlation analysis and random forest regression were combined to investigate the influence of these drivers on the density of waterlogging hotspots and quantify the degree of importance for each driver. The results were supplemented with explanations using SHapley Additive exPlanations and Partial Dependence Plots. Pearson correlation analysis revealed that green space morphological spatial pattern, the proportion of green spaces, and the proportion of impervious surfaces were the dominant drivers. Additionally, the random forest regression showed that incorporating green space morphological spatial pattern and average tree height as potential drivers could strengthen the model's goodness-of-fit. While the proportion of impervious surfaces, the proportion of green spaces, and population density were important drivers, the green space morphological spatial pattern, specifically the "loop", "edge", and "core", was even more crucial and had an optimal design range. Therefore, green space morphological spatial pattern should be emphasized during the planning of "sponge cities" to maximize the ability of green spaces to mitigate waterlogging. In summary, our findings are expected to provide feasible suggestions for waterlogging control and green space planning., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rapid urbanization has significantly altered surface landscape configurations, leading to complex urban climates. While much attention has been focused on impervious surfaces' impact on extreme precipitation, a critical gap remains in understanding how various 2D urban landscape components influence extreme precipitation across different durations. Through an analysis of the non-stationarity and spatiotemporal variations in extreme precipitation across the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) from 1990 to 2020, we constructed the non-stationary Generalized Additive Models for Location Scale and Shape (GAMLSS) model by introducing six urban landscape structural metrics as explanatory variables for each of the 27 meteorological stations in the GBA. Additionally. we assessed the frequency of these metrics in the best-fitting models and predicted design values across different interannual periods. Our findings reveal that aggregation metrics (patch density: PD) and diversity metrics (Shannon's Diversity Index: SHDI) appeared more frequently in the best-fitting models than other metrics within all extreme precipitation indices. For short-duration extreme precipitation indices (≤ 3 h), the area matrix (Impervious Surface Percentage: ISP), PD, and SHDI were selected more often than other metrics, whereas for long-duration (> 3 h), PD and SHDI had a higher relative frequency as ISP's impact decreased. Design values peaked in the 2010s across all return periods (100, 50, and 20 years), highlighting the importance of integrating urban landscape features into non-stationary models of extreme precipitation. This research provides valuable insights for improving the management of urbanization-induced heavy precipitation and flood risks., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest We confirm that this work is original and has not been published elsewhere, nor is it currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. All authors have read and approved the manuscript being submitted, and agree to its submittal to this journal, and have no conflicts of interest to disclose. This study is financially supported by the Projects of Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (2023B1515040028), Guangdong Provincial Bureau of Hydrology (440001-2023‐10716), National Natural Science Foundation of China (42071055). National Natural Science Foundation of China (52209006)., (Copyright © 2025 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Biomagnetic monitoring has rapidly emerged as a valuable tool in urban atmospheric pollution (UAP) assessment due to its high spatial resolution, complementing traditional monitoring systems. This review systematically elucidates the principles of plant dust retention and the factors influencing it, while also reviewing the advancements in global research on UAP monitoring through the magnetic properties of various plant species. We provide a comprehensive analysis of the current applications of biomagnetic monitoring in UAP and identify critical challenges, including species-specific monitoring discrepancies, complex pollution sources, and non-standardized sample preparation methods. Additionally, we propose future research directions to address these challenges and enhance the efficacy of biomagnetic monitoring in UAP., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2025. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Anthropogenic activities have substantial impacts on river ecosystems, yet how phytoplankton taxa and functional groups respond to varying levels of anthropogenic activity in urban rivers remains poorly understood. Herein, we investigated the sensitivity of phytoplankton taxa and functional groups to anthropogenic disturbances in the Bahe River, which experiences increased anthropogenic activity intensity from upstream to downstream. We found that both phytoplankton composition and niche breadth exhibited distinct variations among the three reaches with different anthropogenic disturbances. Notably, we observed a marked increase in the abundance of potential bloom-forming species in the river section with the highest anthropogenic disturbance, suggesting that anthropogenic activities might promote the growth and proliferation of these species. Compared to geographical and physiochemical factors, anthropogenic activities were identified as the primary driver of changes in phytoplankton taxa and functional groups. Increasing levels of anthropogenic activities potentially led to higher concentrations of ammonium nitrogen and total phosphorus, further influencing niche differentiation among phytoplankton taxa and functional groups. Our study offers profound insights into the impacts of anthropogenic disturbances on phytoplankton, emphasizing the necessity of integrating watershed-scale human activity management into strategies for controlling phytoplankton in urban rivers., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

As the economic center of southern China, the Pearl River Delta region (PRDR) pays special attention to public health issues. During the pandemic, intensive disinfection was carried out in the city to prevent the spread of the virus, which resulted in disinfectant residuals elevating and produced large amounts of toxic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) in the urban water environment. For the purpose of surveying the concentration and distribution of urban water DBPs during the outbreak, 57 samples were collected from three urban water matrices in the PRDR, and were analyzed for the common seven types of DBPs, to elucidate their occurrence and ecological risk. Total 31 DBPs were detected, and the average concentrations of various DBPs in the three matrices were in the order of: surface water (1.9-27.5 μg/L) < effluent from wastewater treatment plant (30.5-114.8 μg/L) < hospital wastewater (5.5-168.9 μg/L). Both trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetic acids (HAAs) were the two most major DBPs in all three water categories. By comparing the concentration levels of DBPs in different areas, the concentration levels of DBPs in PRDR were not high. In some hospital wastewater, the TOC content may be able to be used as an associative indicator of DBPs content. The results of the risk quotient indicate that HAAs and haloacetonitriles (HANs) pose some ecological risk., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Effective methods for measuring sudden environmental changes are crucial for understanding how cities respond to shifts in human activity. This study examines atmospheric metal outputs during the COVID-19 restrictions using honey samples collected from three land use types in Brussels Capital Region (BCR), Belgium, and Metro Vancouver Regional District (MVRD), Canada to study changes as the result of restrictions. By comparing these cities with distinct sizes, ages, and structures, we assess how urban environments responded to pandemic-induced restrictions. We present honey samples, analyzed for metal concentration and Pb isotope ratios, to provide insights into the impacts of reduced human activity in different land use types. In BCR, significant increases of Al, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Ti, and V were observed in suburban sites, while in MVRD, significant decreases of Cr, Pb, Sb, Ti, and V were observed in suburban sites. The increase in metal concentrations in BCR suburban sites indicates a shift in metal emission patterns due to changes in human activity during the restrictions. Conversely, the decrease in metal concentrations in MVRD suburban areas aligns with expectations of reduced pollution during restrictions. Pb isotope ratios of BCR vary more widely and do not show any spatial trends by land use, suggesting that Pb concentrations in BCR may be more homogenized. In MVRD, significant differences in 208 Pb/ 206 Pb were observed during the restrictions, wherein honey sampled from rural sites had more radiogenic (lower 208 Pb/ 206 Pb) Pb isotope ratios. This difference suggests that honey may be more sensitive to Pb isotope ratio changes in environments with a less extensive history of metal use, such as rural British Columbia. This research demonstrates the potential of honey as a biomonitor for sudden environmental shifts. This study contributes to a global geochemical honey database, enabling tracking of environmental trends across diverse urban settings worldwide., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study assessed the prevalence and spatial distribution of viable ultrafine and fine antibiotic-resistant bacteria aerosols (ARB) in the Metropolitan Area of Barranquilla, Colombia, pre- and post-lockdown (September 2019 to December 2020). Samples were systematically collected from urban, suburban, and rural sites using a six-stage viable cascade impactor. We employed logistic regression and Bayesian Neural Network Classifiers to analyze meteorological variables' influence on antibiotic resistance persistence. The lockdown led to a significant decrease (76 %) in overall bacterial aerosol concentrations, likely due to reduced human activity. The most significant reduction (82 %) was observed at Peace Square. Bacillus cereus was the most prevalent species, showing high concentrations at all sampling sites. Other species, like Leifsonia aquatica and Staphylococcus lentus, were linked to wastewater effluents and agricultural activities. Despite the overall decrease in bacterial aerosols, antibiotic-resistant bacteria remained high, particularly in highly impacted urban areas like the Barranquilla Riverwalk. Bacillus cereus exhibited resistance to multiple antibiotics, including commonly used ones like Ampicillin and Penicillin G. Resistance to newer antibiotics like Vancomycin was rare. Peace Square, a high-traffic urban area, showed elevated resistance rates in the deeper respiratory regions compared to other locations. Our findings indicate that while overall concentration levels decreased, the threat of antibiotic resistance in bacterial bioaerosols persists, emphasizing the need for continuous monitoring and targeted public health interventions in urban areas., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

There is an urgent need to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and, although human activity is a primary driver of emissions, a knowledge gap remains in terms of the key individual and collective drivers of emissions, and on how to harmonise citizen-led climate action with top-down emissions mitigation policy. In response to this, an urban decarbonisation framework which was informed by systems thinking was developed to support multi-level climate action and decision making. Another aim was to demonstrate the integration of a data-driven and activity-based GHG emissions model for individuals into the framework to enable decarbonisation. This model was populated using individual activity and lifestyle data which were collected for 172 people using a smartphone application. The resulting emissions drivers were identified as well as their interaction with the overarching urban decarbonisation framework. The research will have important implications in terms of informing emissions mitigation efforts at individual, community and urban scales. By applying the framework, individual data and GHG emissions modelled at scale can inform citizen and population-level actions and high-level emissions mitigation policy for accelerating the sustainability transition that our societies and cities must urgently undergo., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Ecosystem health is an important approach to measuring urban and regional sustainability. In previous studies, the spatiotemporal changes of ecosystem health have been addressed using comprehensive assessment index system. However, the quantitative contribution of human activities and climate change to ecosystem health was less examined. In this study, Shuozhou City, a coal resource-based city, was chosen to explore the response of ecosystem health to human activities using the Geographically Weighted Artificial Neural Network (GWANN) model. The results showed a distinct improvement of ecosystem health in Shuozhou City from 1990 to 2020. The contribution of human activities increased during the study period, while the contribution of climate change decreased as a consequence of coal mining expanding. By 2020, human activities contributed 76% to ecosystem health compared with 24% of climate change. The direct impact of coal mining on ecosystem health occurred mainly in the surrounding areas within a radius of 6 km and 17 km under low and high mining intensity respectively. Ecosystem health will further decline by 2030 based on the scenario in which current coal mining is continued. However, only stopping mining activities in small coal mining areas for ecological restoration but keeping large coal mining areas in production, will realize 92.6% of restoration effects on ecosystem health as compared to ceasing all mining activities. This study examines the effects of coal mining on ecosystem health in resource-based cities, and underscores the importance of large coal mining sites in ecological restoration., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Urbanization is rapidly increasing worldwide, leading to rising levels of pollution, one of the major drivers of environmental change; yet little is known about the relationship between urbanization intensity and pollution levels in pollinator taxa. Toxic metals are among the most common contaminants in urban environments, but few data exist on their presence in the flora and fauna of cities in Latin America, one of the world's most urbanized and biologically diverse regions. In this study, we used an urban-rural gradient approach to analyze the relationship between the concentrations of eleven metals present in adult honeybees (Apis mellifera) and the degree of urbanization within twelve landscapes in the metropolitan area of Pachuca, Hidalgo, which forms part of the megalopolis of Mexico City. Metal concentrations were compared with previously reported values contrasting honeybees from urban and rural areas after standardizing urbanization levels among published reports. The concentrations of Ag, Cr, Cu, and Zn in honeybees increased significantly with the degree of urbanization. Urbanization was not found to influence the levels of Al, Ba, Cd, Mn, and Sr in honeybees. The maximum concentrations of six metals in our urban sites (Al, Ba, Cd, Cu, Mn, and Sr) were higher than the maximum values reported for bees in other urban areas. The concentrations of two metals measured in our study (Cr and Zn) were within the range of values previously published for urban areas. Compared to other studies, we did not detect Pb in the body of honeybees. We conclude that the concentrations of Ag, Cr, Cu, and Zn present in honeybees are a quantitative reflection of the degree of urbanization in central Mexico. Our results highlight the need to monitor metal emission sources in this and other areas and investigate their effects on bees and other pollinator taxa., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In the face of global rising temperatures and excessive urban heat, developing effective heat mitigation strategies has become increasingly urgent. Street shade, a typical cooling shelter for urban dwellers, has been primarily investigated for outdoor thermal comfort but not extensively under extreme heat conditions. This study explores the cooling efficacy of diverse street shade types in mitigating urban heat, thereby facilitating cities and their residents' adaptation to climatic shifts. We conducted in-situ measurements during an extremely hot afternoon, measuring thermal and visual environments across 20 pairs of parallel sites (sunlit vs. shaded) in a high-density district of tropical Singapore. Subsequently, we analyzed thermal comfort, represented by the Universal Thermal Comfort Index (UTCI), heat stress risks, and view factors of the sky, greenery, and buildings, and their interaction with heat stress relief. Our findings highlight three key points: Firstly, all street shade types improved outdoor thermal conditions, with average decreases of 0.8 °C in air temperature, 10.0 °C in mean radiant temperature, and 3.1 °C in UTCI. Secondly, street shade generally reduced heat stress severity by 20 % in the 'very strong heat stress' category and 12 % in the 'strong heat stress' category. Thirdly, the cooling efficacy of street shade was not solely dependent on changes in any single view factor. The results demonstrate the significant cooling benefits provided by street shade during extreme heat conditions. This study not only underscores the crucial role of street shade in mitigating heat stress but also offers valuable guidance to urban planners and designers in creating more liveable, sustainable, and climate-adaptive cities., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) stands as China's foremost region in air pollution control. Shenzhen, as a model city, was selected to quantify the health-economic gains brought about by pollution control efforts. The paper showcased the exemplary practices of GBA in safeguarding the blue sky, providing a template for other regions. We assessed the variation of health impacts and economic burdens in Shenzhen from 2014 to 2022 using the proportional hazards model based on Poisson regression, along with the value of a statistical life, the cost of illness, and the willingness-to-pay approach. The results showed that only the premature mortality and economic burdens attributable to PM 2.5 exhibited improvement prior to the COVID-19, with a total reduction of 9846.65 (95%Cl: 9846.65-9846.65) premature deaths and a cost saving of 63.93 (95%Cl: 63.93-63.93) million dollars. Short-term public health policies may affect the outcomes of air quality management, most types of health impacts and economic burdens showed a cliff decline during the pandemic. In addition, the study revealed that cardiovascular health economic burdens outweighed respiratory ones at the premature mortality level, while the opposite scenario was observed at the hospitalization level. This paper advocated for the strengthening of pollution control efforts, especially focusing on industrial emission reduction and intelligent transportation. The theoretical study of O 3 and the synergistic management of O 3 and PM 2.5 should be advanced. Additionally, health education should be emphasized, and residents should be encouraged to cultivate personal hygiene habits., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Evidence concerning the impact of sand-dust storms (SDS) on asthma is limited, and little is known about the associated public health burden, especially in regions with arid climate. Therefore, this study seeks to evaluate the effect of SDS on asthma hospitalization and quantify the associated hospital and economic burden in multiple cities with typical arid climate. We collected provincial asthma hospitalization, air pollutants and meteorological data of 14 cities in Gansu province. The space-time-stratified case-crossover design combined with a conditional quasi-Poisson regression was used to estimate the association between SDS and asthma hospitalization during 2018-2022. We further explored the interactive effect of SDS and low temperature, and explored potential effect modifications of gender, age, seasons and regions by stratified analyses. Finally, we calculated the hospital and economic burden of asthma attributed to SDS. A total of 54,134 hospitalization records for asthma and 791 SDS events were recorded during the study period. Northwestern area with arid climate displayed more frequent SDS events and asthma hospitalization compared with regions with subtropical or temperate monsoon climate. The relative risk (RR) of asthma hospitalization increased with SDS, with the greatest RR at lag1, which was 1.164 with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of 1.101-1.231. We further found that low temperature had an interactive effect with SDS to trigger asthma hospitalization. Stronger associations were observed in males, school-aged children, cold season and northwestern area. The total fraction of asthma hospitalization attributable to SDS was 1.64 % (95% CI: 1.06%-2.18%), and a conservative estimate of relative healthcare costs was 4.49 (95% CI: 2.92 to 5.99) million China Yuan. Our findings suggest the necessity of controlling SDS and implementing region-specific public health policies as well as personal protective measures against SDS., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)