Search

Highlights: [•] Investigates benchmarked performance of global and emerging knowledge cities. [•] Introduces a knowledge-based urban development performance assessment model. [•] Applies the assessment model into an international comparative study. [•] Reveals insights on scrutinizing the development perspectives of knowledge cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the central cities in the Wuling Mountains, Huaihua is regarded as the main body and core economic development area in the process of Wuling's future new urbanization, exerting a pivotal influence on the five provincial border areas (Hunan, Hubei, Chongqing, Guizhou and Guangxi). But studies on urban expansion in this city are few, so this paper makes efforts to simulate its urban land expansion by constructing the Cellular Automata model (the Weight-CA model) taking into account differences in land types conversion. Firstly, the paper obtains the time-series Landsat spectral bands (Red, NIR) and NDVI images using the time–space fusion model; then the optimal combination of classification features is screened based on J Bh distance and the object-oriented random forest algorithm is applied for land cover classification; the paper finally constructs the Weight-CA model for the simulation and validation of urban land expansion in Huaihua. Study results in the paper have shown that the Landsat spectral bands obtained with the ESTARFM have a relatively high correlation with real Landsat images. The land cover classification based on the optimal classification feature combination and the object-oriented random forest algorithm is high in accuracy, the total of which exceeding 84 % over 4 years. Meanwhile, based on the Weight-CA model, the simulation accuracy of urban land expansion in Huaihua in 2010 and 2015 reached 89.98 % and 89.60 % compared with the real values. It is operationally ready and practical and of strong practical significance to extract land cover types by Landsat and MODIS data fusion, and simulate urban land expansion using the Weight-CA method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using Hong Kong's smart city development as the case study, this paper aims to discover the influence of public trust on citizens' perception of Hong Kong's smart city performance in an international dimension, comparing with the smart city ranking by research agencies. Our central investigation further focuses on the association of public trust and digital trust, using COVID19 contact tracing app as an example. This paper uses data from a Hong Kong-based territory-wide survey in 2021 to conduct the analysis. The result suggests a positive relationship between public trust, subjective perception and digital trust, and supports that public acceptability is a cornerstone of an effective public policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In many cities in developing countries, the design and implementation of flood adaptation measures face planning challenges, they are often underdeveloped in practice. This paper aims to investigate the potential for urban flood adaptation solutions and design in practice within the context of a climate-vulnerable Southeast Asian city. We specifically explore the "design workshop" -- an essential process providing valuable experience and conditions for effective climate adaptation in Bangkok. As part of our research, the workshop was organized to introduce and experiment the implication of adaptation pathway approach with designers, urban planners, and decision-makers. Findings reveal that the design workshop provided a collaborative environment, offers transformative space for formulating integrated and context-specific flood adaptation solutions - new possibilities for urban climate resilience in the making. The application of the adaptation pathways facilitates a concrete, quantifiable, and time-bound design process for identifying and sequencing potential flood adaptation measures in Bangkok. Consequently, this paper concludes that multidisciplinary and collaborative processes, along with the introduction of adaptation pathways, stimulating urban flood adaptation planning and implementation in a more collaborative and participative way. However, it is important to note that the feasibility assessment of the proposed solutions still requires essential conditions such as policy synchronization, technical skills, and local resources. To effectively realize these strategies in real-world urban planning practice, this research suggests that local governments should consider implementing a multidisciplinary design process in urban development and flood risk management. • There are opportunities for assessing co-benefits of adaptation measures at the local level. • The flood resilience planning should incorporate real-time data to identify long-term adaptation strategies. • The local government should invite a stimulating design approach along with experimentation of various adaptive measures. • Multidisciplinary approaches are essential for successful flood resilience planning in Bangkok. • The Adaptation Pathways helps to demonstrate the possibilities for long-term perspectives in Flood Risk Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper about the high-quality development level of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is of vital importance to promote high-quality development of China. An evaluation index system that can comprehensively describe the high-quality development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region is designed in this paper. There are 27 indexes selected to evaluate the high-quality development of the cities in Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei province from three dimensions: target level, standard level and index level. By applying the SOM (Self-Organizing Map) algorithm to cluster analysis of high-quality development levels. The results of the study showed that there are variations in high-quality development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster. Beijing has the highest quality development level, followed by Tianjin and Hebei, and a significant gap exists between Beijing and Hebei in terms of the level of quality development. In addition, the high-quality development level of cities in Hebei Province are not balanced. Therefore, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city cluster should break down administrative barriers, making overall plans and promoting coordinated development among regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores the expansion and directions of urban growth in Zagazig city, a large city in the Nile Delta of Egypt. The paper assessments the spatial expansion and directions of the urban area for the years 1952, 1984, 2000, 2019. Besides, urban growth shapes were determined using the coefficient of the shape equation. Moreover, the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) model was used to determine the impact of the spatial factors (roads network, waterways, and the no residential uses) on urban growth and its directions. Finally, a prediction of urban growth directions that could accommodate the population growth up to 2050 was identified using the rate of the growth equation. The year 2050 was chosen according to the urban development plan proposed by the government 2050 for the region. The urban growth expansion and directions revealed that the unsustainable trend of built-up expansion continued in this area. The built-up area increased 14,81 km2 during the period (1952–2019), resulting in a lack of original agricultural land, pare land. Otherwise, the western direction was also continued to occupy the urban distance directions in the entire period (1952–2019) with an increase of 32.3 percent in the city. The coefficient of the urban growth shape equation shows that the urban growth in the city took an unincorporated shape (stripe shape) in1952 recorded a 0,1 value. While the city was transformed to incorporate shape (circular and radiative shapes) during the years1984, 2000, and 2019 with recorded value 0,3. The OLS model results indicate that the most effective spatial factor on urban growth was the no-residential uses and roads network along the directions based on the Pearson coefficient recorded 0,8841, 0,8431 and the coefficient of determination R2 recorded 0,7816, 0,7108 respectively. The urban area directions of Zagazig city are expected to reach 34.8 percent, especially in the western direction by 2050. Furthermore, the urban distance directions are expected to rise 30.7 % also in the western direction. The study has confirmed that it is beneficial to identify current and future urban growth, urban growth shapes, and development that help regional planning authorities manage future urban growth and development following the area's carrying capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper explores the urban dynamicity and urban growth types of Raiganj, a small city in West Bengal. The paper evaluates the landuse landcover (LULC) changes and spatial expansion of the urban area for the year 1991, 2001, 2011, and 2019. The LULC Change revealed that the unsustainable trend of built-up expansion continued in this area. The built-up area increased 4.30 percent (1991) to 20.25 percent (2019), resulting in a loss in prime agricultural land, fallow land, and vegetation. The weights of evidence and Pearson's Chi-square test have revealed that Raiganj (UA) has a low degree of freedom. Shannon entropy results indicates that high growth of sprawl is taking place in Raiganj (UA). The analysis of urban growth types shows that the urban growth took place as edge expansion in the beginning (1991–2001), which has been increased in 2001–2011 and 2011–2019. The study has established that it is useful to identify recent and future urban growth, urban growth typology, and development that help local planning authorities manage growth and development following the area's environmental or ecological carrying capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rich volume of research has detected urban growth by quantifying the land use/land cover (LU/LC) changes based on remote sensing technologies. However, the research has limitations in identifying various formats of urban growth, particularly small-scale urban growth, such as infill development or redevelopment in urban areas, prompted by smart growth and sustainable urban development. This paper aims to design a framework for the accurate detection of residential infill development in the City of Los Angeles by employing a deep-learning method that has been increasingly applied to analyze phenomena in cities. In order to do so, this paper develops six models that reflect the variations of image classification methods, deep-learning algorithms, and estimation types. The results from the models emphasize the potential of the deep-learning models for the detection of micro-urban growth at a city scale. However, there is room for the improvement of estimation accuracy in the cases that detect some new developments and replacements as not developed parcels. The findings suggest that the performance of the models depends primarily on the articulations of the training dataset rather than the types of deep-learning algorithms. Findings from the models provide the city with insights into land use and transportation planning decision-making based on a better understanding of the spatial distribution patterns of urban growth and development. • Remote sensing data and geospatial technologies are limited in identifying small-scale urban growth due to the low resolutions of satellite data. • Deep-learning methods can be used to detect infill development by automatically classifying and labeling longitudinal satellite images. • The model performance primarily depends on the articulations of the training dataset rather than the types of deep-learning algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, urban population growth and the diversity of vehicles have increased. Location prediction in VANETs is extremely necessary for consumer applications such as routing, network management, knowledge dissemination protocols, and road cognition, among others. This could increase the performance of VANETs. In this paper a Kalman filter is used to predict the vehicle's future location. We conducted experiments exploitation each vehicle quality traces and model-driven traces. We quantitatively compare the prediction performance of a Kalman filter and neural network-based methods. This paper proposes a location prediction algorithm for nonlinear vehicular movement using an Extended Kalman filter (EKF). Evaluation of the ESCL-VNET algorithm with EKF assess the given better results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the imbalance between their historic physical buildings and the requirements of its residents, heritage sites are subject to several urban pressures. However, the major potential for urban growth in such locations is in their historic assets. The purpose of this research is to provide an approach for conserving and enhancing urban history in a manner that is beneficial to the environment, society, culture, and economics. Heritage conservation is attempting to distinguish itself. This is due to the fact that conservation and sustainability objectives do not always coincide. The findings are based on research conducted in Mosul and a study of sustainable development's concepts and pillars. With the use of UNDP reports, the present condition in Mosul was determined. The results demonstrate the need of devising a strategy to safeguard historic cities while allowing residents to continue to reside there. This plan should include objectives, strategies, and instruments to ensure that the "historic living city" can adapt and evolve in accordance with the sustainable development principles and the sustainability cycles. The paper uses an inductive methodology to apply sustainable development to historic city centers worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key cities represent the strongest competitiveness level of each province and city. At present, the problem of unbalanced development level of key cities in China is more prominent. Improving urban competitiveness has become an urgent problem for urban governments. In order to study the competitiveness of 35 key cities in China, this paper formulates a total of 27 indicators from the five levels of economic development, social undertakings, public infrastructure, ecological environment and technological innovation, and uses measurement software to draw the advantages and disadvantages of relevant urban development. The results show that the top cities in the comprehensive competitiveness of 35 key cities in China include Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, and the differences among key cities are more prominent in all dimensions. The relative level of competitiveness development of key cities corresponds to the level of regional economic development and technological innovation to a certain extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper develops a scenario analysis and visualization tool for an Integrated Transport, Land-Use and Energy (iTLE) model to spatially analyze and predict changes in transport and land-use environment. The decision support tool operates by taking the iTLE model output data as input which includes residential location of households, individuals' characteristics, and vehicle fleet information. Use of the tool is showcased through a scenario analysis of a 'business as usual (BAU)' projection versus a 'COVID-19 pandemic scenario' for Halifax, Canada. Agent-based microsimulation explores the possible future changes in households' socio-demographic characteristics and travel behaviour in the post-pandemic time. Forecasting up to the year 2025 and comparing between BAU and pandemic scenario shows that, many of the lower median income areas in the BAU projection are estimated to have a much lower median income under the COVID-19 scenario. Furthermore, the COVID-19 scenario only slightly decreases the proportion of the overall population with a transit pass. Under the pandemic scenario, the percentage of households with three or more cars experiences significant growth in urban and suburban areas. Outcomes of this study will offer policymakers a greater understanding of the transformation pattern of urban and suburban neighborhoods in the post-pandemic period. The developed iTLE VIZ tool will allow planners to formulate complex transport and land-use scenarios and simulate them for examining urban systems transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A prediction model of grain strain variations due to a specific neighborhood is proposed based on FE simulation observations. • A Cellular Automaton (CA) model is developed using this model and the approximations proposed in Part 1. The methodology to identify the model parameters and the model algorithm are fully described. • Studied polycrystals are represented by a regular structure (Kelvin structure) where all grains are of identical shape and size. • Both CA and FE polycrystalline aggregate stress fields predictions show very close results, but with a really shorter amount of CPU time for the CA model. • Using the quickness of the CA model, orientations causing stress concentrations were easily identified and have shown in the worst scenario to generate in a grain a resolved shear stress concentration twice more significant than for any other grains of the aggregate, without showing any different macroscopic behavior nor crystallographic texture. This paper presents the development of a Cellular Automaton (CA) capable of describing polycrystalline structures heterogeneous behavior in the elastic domain. Based on Eshelby's inclusion problem, this model is the first step to a better consideration of heterogeneities in polycrystals by including the neighborhood effect in grain's behavior. Neighborhood effects have been defined, quantified, and approximated from observations made in the first of this two-part paper, using finite element method (FEM). Considering these approximations, and based on FEM simulations results, an analytical model of the neighborhood effect was proposed in the present paper on which the CA model was built. As a first step in the model development, a regular aggregate structure (Kelvin structure) is used where grains are considered spherical and having identical size. The stress field predictions obtained with the FEM for a polycrystalline aggregate submitted to an elastic loading were compared with the CA predictions, grain by grain, for two different crystal structures (Fe and Ti). Considering the FEM as a reference tool, CA model predictions show an excellent propensity at predicting the local stress fields in polycrystals by capturing the neighborhood effect induced by grain orientations for a low computation time cost. The CA model has also shown its facility to evaluate quickly a grain influence on another grain stress level, and therefore, the orientations generating high stress concentrations in a grain can be easily identified. Using this capacity, the neighborhood effect has been shown to be able to at least double a grain stress level without the material showing any particular texture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the four aspects of economic development, scientific and technological innovation, ecological environment protection and shared coordination, this paper constructs a regional high-quality evaluation index system on three dimensions, namely target layer, criterion layer and index layer. The entropy method, comprehensive evaluation method and Gini coefficient were adopted to evaluate regional high-quality development and they are used to explore the balance of high-quality development of cities regionally. As the object of research, the data from 2010 to 2019 of 11 cities in Hebei was collected and conducted or processed. The research results indicate that economic growth is a key factor to promote the high-quality development of Hebei; the evaluation results reveal that the high-quality development among the 11 cities in Hebei have different scores; the balance analysis demonstrates that the high-quality development differences of cities in Hebei present a decreasing trend. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the process of urban development, a large number of industrial heritages are in needs of being renovated as a result of the failure of meeting new needs. However, there has not yet formed an innovative and sustainable update design process. Based on the analysis of the problems existing in the renewal and reconstruction of industrial heritages, this paper, hereinafter, will establish an innovative design system by way of introducing extenics and BIM and combining the formalized and innovative advantages of extenics and the characteristics of BIM: information storage, processing and visual programming. In combination with the design of practical cases, this essay conducted the system, to verify its rationality and effectiveness; to discover limitations in its operation, and as the ultimate purpose, to propose directions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water Sensitive Design (WSD) is gaining attention as a Nature-based Solution (NbS) to urban water problems. It incorporates green infrastructure with engineered urban water systems through innovative design of the built environment and urban landscape. In Africa, Johannesburg and Cape Town are two cities engaging with WSD at a policy level. This paper uses the Strategic Niche Management (SNM) approach in a comparative analysis of ongoing engagement with WSD in Johannesburg and Cape Town. We explore the extent to which this engagement signals the launch of the transition towards water resilience. WSD represents a niche that is in synergy with the visions of sustainable urban (water and environmental) management in both cities. Results indicate a progressive engagement with WSD by different actors at regime and niche levels. However, the lack of coordination and capacity deficiencies due to limited social networks and higher order learning are challenges that constrain take-off and further consolidation of the WSD approach in the transition towards water resilient futures. Furthermore, we find urban governance practitioners struggle with reconciling the pursuit of visions of sustainability to be realised through nature-based urban development with the pressing infrastructure deficits that persist in most African cities. • Cape Town and Johannesburg are engaging with Water Sensitive Design as a Nature-based Solution to address urban pressures. • The approach holds promise, yet both cities face challenges that constrain the transition towards water resilient futures. • Challenges include the lack of coordination, capacity deficiencies, limited social networks and higher order learning among governance stakeholders. • Policy practitioners in African cities struggle to reconcile visions of sustainability with pressing infrastructure deficits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Projecting future urban CO 2 emissions is of paramount importance in comprehending and addressing climate change, as well as evaluating the impact of various policies on future greenhouse gas emissions. While previous studies on projecting CO 2 emissions have primarily focused on large administrative scales, fine-resolution mapping of CO 2 emissions is also vital for identifying CO 2 emission hotspots and delineating emission reduction responsibilities. In this paper, we projected the future CO 2 distribution at a fine-resolution (1 km) under the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) scenario framework, based on which we assessed the peak time, peak volume, spatial distribution, and CO 2 emission intensity (emissions per unit building volume) for cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. We first simulated the future three-dimensional (3D) spatial patterns of cities by using the FLUS-3D model, and then projected fine-resolution CO 2 emissions by combining the 3D information and socioeconomic factors. Results show that the total CO 2 emissions in the PRD region will reach 180–345 million tons (Mt) by 2030, and 67% of cities in the PRD region will peak CO 2 emissions before 2030 under all five SSP scenarios. Three cities (Jiangmen, Zhongshan and Foshan) will witness a continual rise in CO 2 emissions after 2030 under the SSP5 scenario. Additionally, we found that the time (2010) to reach maximum CO 2 emission intensity of different urban functional types precedes the peak time (2010−2030) of city-level CO 2 emissions. This suggests that the escalation in CO 2 emissions since 2010 will be primarily driven by urban expansion and population growth, rather than an increase in the CO 2 emission intensity of buildings. These findings provide extensive knowledge for future spatial distribution of CO 2 emissions and contribute to the construction of low-carbon cities. • Future gridded CO 2 emissions (1 km resolution) are projected under the shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs). • The future evolution of three-dimensional urban structures is considered in CO 2 emission projection. • Most cities in the PRD will peak CO 2 emissions before 2030 under all five SSPs. • The CO 2 emission intensity of urban lands declines since 2010 for most of cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evaluation simulation of urban green space landscape planning scheme based on PSO-BP neural network model is carried out in this paper. PSO-BP neural network can combine the principle of landscape ecology, integrate more evaluation indicators of ecology and urban development into the urban green space landscape planning scheme, and simply understand and predict human behavior, so as to make a more comprehensive evaluation and prediction of the urban green space landscape planning scheme. It not only has superior memory storage and learning ability, but also can simply understand and predict human behavior, so that more influencing factors that cannot be added in the past can be considered in the scheme evaluation and analysis, and the evaluation of urban green space landscape planning scheme is more comprehensive, scientific and reasonable. Experiments show that PSO-BP neural network has smaller error and better generalization ability than BP neural network. PSO-BP neural network rating model can analyze its more reasonable proportion according to the relationship between different types of green space and indicators, and give corresponding adjustment suggestions, which has guiding significance for the modification and adjustment of urban green space landscape planning scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the expansion of the city and the rapid development of public transport, the subway as a mass public transport means to bear a very large number of passengers, so that in the morning and evening rush hour, some subway stations are almost saturated. Once a disaster happens in a subway station, the saturated space environment makes it difficult for passengers to evacuate. In addition, the subway station is usually located underground, buried depth of about 10m-30m, the accident station passengers have to overcome their own gravity to the ground to escape, which increases the difficulty of passenger evacuation. Fire is one of the biggest security hidden dangers in subway operation. Once it happens, it will bring huge loss to the safety of social resources and people's life and property. On the basis of summarizing the present situation of fire evacuation in urban rail transit stations at home and abroad, this paper firstly analyzes and studies the factors that affect the fire evacuation ability of stations. Then through the station fire evaluation index to build the safety evacuation evaluation index system. Finally, through the VR technology, computer simulation, field investigation and other methods to quantify the index, the Fuzzy Network analysis of the station fire safety evacuation capacity comprehensive evaluation and put forward targeted countermeasures and suggestions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive review of literature on most widely used urban sustainability assessment tools. The aim of this paper is to understand the similarities and differences in existing urban sustainability assessment tools and identify the gaps so as to find out whether these are capable of and suitable for addressing multiple issues of urban sustainability in multiple contexts, including settlements in diverse geo-climatic and ecologically sensitive regions such as the Himalayan hill regions of India. Qualitative Content Analysis (QCA) is employed in this study to identify various themes/categories associated with various dimensions of sustainability. A total of 2594 articles were selected, of which 105 have been analysed in detail. The research reviews six most widely used urban sustainability assessment tools i.e., Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM)for Communities, Comprehensive Assessment System for Built Environment Efficiency (CASBEE) for Urban Development, Green Building Index (GBI)for Township, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Neighbourhood Development that are used in other countries, and Indian Green Building Council (IGBC)for Green Townships and Green Rating for Integrated Habitat Assessment (GRIHA) for Large Development which are used in India. Analysis of these assessment tools reveals that most of them view sustainability from different perspectives by laying more emphasis on some aspects like infrastructure and resource management while ignoring others like cultural, business and innovation. The findings of the analysis highlight that certain aspects are given more importance in all the urban sustainability assessment tools reviewed and certain other aspects are given much lower or no consideration in all tools reflecting an incomprehensive understanding of urban sustainability on one hand; most tools reviewed do not address all context-specific aspects on the other. Further, it is observed that these tools are unable to address the complex relationships among various criteria and categories and each criterion is assessed in isolation irrespective of the fact that it can influence or be influenced by other criteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic understanding of the influences of land use change/land cover change (LUCC) on ecosystem services (ES) is significant for maintaining sustainable development of ecosystems. Previous studies on the effects of LUCC on ES have been discussed at multiple dimensions and scales, but there is still a lack of systematic studies on the influences of LUCC and its telecoupling effects on ES at different spatial scales and in different levels of urban agglomerations from a systemic perspective. Therefore, this paper endeavours to fill in the blanks. On the basis of quantifying the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of LUCC and ES in the middle reaches of Yangtze River urban agglomerations (MRYRUA) and its three major metropolitan areas (C-Z-T metropolitan; Wu-Han Metropolian; Poyang Lake Metropolian), a spatial self-lagging of X model (SLX) based on the gravitational spatial weight matrix is constructed to explore this problem. The results show that the overall land use intensity of the MRYRUA has increased by 0.07% from 1990 to 2020, with the largest increase in the C-Z-T metropolitan area. Carbon fixation, soil conservation, habitat quality and water purification service show different degrees of fluctuation within the three metropolitan areas, with the greatest fluctuation in C-Z-T metropolitan area. At different spatial scales, LUCC and its telecoupling effect have a significantly negative effect on ES, and with the expansion of the scale, the negative effect will be strengthened gradually, while the influences of LUCC and its telecoupling effects on ES differ significantly in different levels of urban agglomerations. This paper can provide a reference for the implementation of differentiated land use and ecological protection policies for different levels of urban agglomerations. • Construct theoretical framework of LUCC's impact on ES from telecoupling's angle. • Impact of LUCC and its telecoupling on ES increases with the increase of scale. • Impact of LUCC and its telecoupling on ES varies at different urban levels. • Urban agglomeration planning should consider LUCC's telecoupling effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An evaluation system has been developed to assess the carbon neutrality potential. • A rising curve and function model of carbon neutrality potential are established. • The upgrade law of urban agglomeration's carbon neutrality potential has been verified. • Carbon neutrality potential of Chinese urban agglomeration is wavy upward. The formation and development of urban agglomerations are frequently accompanied by the enhancement of regional carbon neutrality potential. The specific performance demonstrated that the carbon neutrality potential of urban agglomerations exhibited a wavy upward tendency over time due to the agglomeration of production elements, industrial transformation, and the evolution of a joint game among cities. To begin with, this paper analyzes and models the fundamental principles of the evolution law of carbon neutrality potential of urban agglomerations, as well as the geometric expression of their evolution. Afterward, an evaluation index system for urban agglomeration carbon neutrality potential is constructed in this paper, and the entropy weight method is employed to calculate the carbon neutrality potential of each city within the agglomeration as well as Chinese urban agglomerations as a whole. Following this, a global spatial analysis of the carbon neutrality potential of various urban agglomerations and cities within agglomerations is conducted using Arc GIS10.8, and a method for calculating the joint intensity and threshold value of the carbon neutrality potential of urban agglomerations is developed. As a last stage, the MATLAB simulation verification approach is utilized to verify the evolution law of carbon neutrality potential and to explore the sustainable development path of carbon neutrality for Chinese urban agglomerations. The conclusions of this research indicate: (1) The spatial and temporal pattern of carbon neutrality potential of Chinese urban agglomerations is unbalanced; (2) By constructing a joint strength model, this study calculates the joint intensity and joint threshold value of the carbon neutral potential of Chinese urban agglomerations;(3) The evolution curve of the carbon neutrality potential of Chinese urban agglomerations essentially exhibits a wavy upward pattern that varies with time and urban joint development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the course of the 21st century, a century in which the urbanization process of the previous one is ever on the rise, the novel smart city concept has rapidly evolved and now encompasses the broader aspect of sustainability. Concurrently, there has been a sea change in the domain of Earth observation (EO) where scientific and technological breakthroughs are accompanied by a paradigm shift in the provision of open and free data. While the urban and EO communities share the end goal of achieving sustainability, cities still lack an understanding of the value EO can bring in this direction, an next a consolidated framework for tapping the full potential of EO and integrating it in their operational modus operandi. The "SMart URBan Solutions for air quality, disasters and city growth" H2020 project (SMURBS/ERA-PLANET) sits at this scientific and policy crossroad, and, by creating bottom-up EO-driven solutions against an array of environmental urban pressures, and by expanding the network of engaged and exemplary smart cities that push the state-of-the-art in EO uptake, brings the international ongoing discussion of EO for sustainable cities closer to home and contributes in this discussion. This paper advocates for EO as an integral part of a smart and sustainable city and aspires to lead by example. To this end, it documents the project's impacts, ranging from the grander policy fields to an evolving portfolio of smart urban solutions and everyday city operations, as well as the cornerstones for successful EO integration. Drawing a parallel with the utilization of EO in supporting several aspects of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it aspires to be a point of reference for upcoming endeavors of city stakeholders and the EO community alike, to tread together, beyond traditional monitoring or urban planning, and to lay the foundations for urban sustainability. • Solid convergence between smart city and sustainable urban development scope. • Exploitation of Earth observation enhances the smartness and resilience of cities. • Six critical foundational aspects for Earth observation - smart city integration. • Earth observation supports timely and informed decision making in cities. • Earth observation is key to enhance monitoring of environmental urban pressures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The creation of Smart Cities is an emerging research and application field that has the objective to increase city resilience and improve the quality of life for citizens. In this paper an extensive and thorough gap analysis that was performed in the framework of the SMURBS 1 1 https://smurbs.eu/ project is presented. The gap analysis identified 117 gaps in the legal, methodological, and technological framework, in the thematic areas of air quality, disasters, urban growth and migration. The identified gaps can be used by policy makers in local, regional, national, or even at EU or UN level to form new policies that will bridge these gaps and lead to the creation of resilient and sustainable smart cities. • Earth observation and smart cities. • Gap analysis, gap prioritization. • Legal, technological, methodological frameworks. • Air quality, disasters, health, urban growth, social inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the urbanization in Beijing is developing fast, and its accompanying rapid accumulation pattern of urban infrastructure stock is undoubtedly of great significance to the realization of Beijing's infrastructure construction and urbanization coordinated development. This paper analyzes the time series of changes in 8 types of infrastructure stock and 10 types of infrastructure materials in Beijing through the stock accounting model. The decoupling relationship between the level of urbanization in Beijing and the infrastructure stock is analyzed through the decoupling model. Its purpose is to achieve social and economic development while achieving the optimal scale of infrastructure stock construction, thereby promoting the progress of Beijing's new urban development. The results show that: (1) Beijing's infrastructure stock was on an upward trend from 1949 to 2018. In 2018, the total infrastructure stock expanded to 1,384 times that of 1949, reaching 3,342.036 million tons. It has experienced a process of slow growth from 1949 to 1975, rapid growth from 1976 to 2008, and steady growth from 2009 to 2018. (2) From 1949 to 2018, in terms of building types, Beijing has the largest housing stocks, followed by the road stocks, the pipeline stocks and the track stocks. In terms of material types, gravel, cement, bricks, and steel account for about 99% of the infrastructure material stock in Beijing. (3) The state has reached weak decoupling between the level of urbanization in Beijing and the stock of roads and track, and is moving from "weak decoupling" to finally achieving "strong decoupling", while the state between the level of urbanization and housing stocks and pipeline stocks has not yet reached decoupling. The state between the level of urbanization and the stock of various infrastructure materials has not yet reached a state of decoupling, and most of them are extended decoupling, which puts great pressure on Beijing's resources and environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ratings are an increasingly popular part of urban sustainability governance and are widely understood as tools to guide policy and ensure transparency. This understanding is part of a more general shift in governance towards “New Public Management” that emphasizes public accountability and the accuracy of quantitative metrics and technical knowledge in policy evaluation. But critics have assessed ratings as broader mechanisms of governmentality, through which authorities shape, instrumentalize, and control conduct, and promote particular urban trajectories, in politicized ways. This paper examines STAR Communities, a recently developed urban sustainability rating system in the USA, to understand how such ratings behave at the interface of knowledge and policy, and how seeking transparency through ratings can produce unexpected outcomes that evade sustainability. This paper is not a critique of a specific rating system or set of indicators, but does yield a critique of the kinds of unexpected outcomes that are possible when we privilege quantitative measures of achievement. The study finds: 1) ratings are often used as labels rather than as policy inputs; 2) ratings can exacerbate existing inequalities and create new inequalities within and between municipalities because, while ratings can bring financial benefits, certification demands significant financial and political resources; and, 3) ratings can incentivize the realignment of governance priorities, as cities ‘grab’ points by pursuing quickly implemented, uncontroversial, and politically ‘safe’ policies and programs. The study also finds that sustainability managers continue to pursue quantitative sustainability measurement because of dominant assumptions that ‘counting is what counts’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-borne vibrations are increasing at a rapid rate due to the rise in urban expansion and industrial activities. The current solution to mitigate the unwanted vibrations is limited to the use of single trenches that require unrealistic depths. This paper presents the possibilities of using dual open and infilled trenches to mitigate the vibrations generated due to continuous harmonic motions. Full-scale field tests and comprehensive numerical studies were performed to systematically design dual trenches. The field vibration tests were performed under a wide range of frequencies using the Lazan-type mechanical oscillator. Similarly, numerical studies have been performed using finite element analysis software, PLAXIS 2D. Expanded polystyrene (EPS) geofoams of different densities, bentonite, ceramsite, concrete, and sand-rubber mixture were used as the infill materials. The normalized depths of 0.40 and 0.50 were observed as the optimal values to reach an average amplitude reduction ratio (average ARR) of 0.25 for the dual open and EPS15-infilled trenches, respectively. The isolation efficiency of EPS15-infilled trenches was observed to be 178 % higher compared to the EPS48-infilled trenches. The performance difference between EPS15 and ceramsite-filled dual trenches was observed to be only 4 % in terms of average ARR , the former being superior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we examine the evolution of urban spatial structure in U.S. metropolitan areas over nearly two decades. Using annual block-level data from the Longitudinal Employment Household Dynamics database, we introduce a technique for identifying regional employment centers that both adheres to urban economic theory and pays homage to classic contributions in local spatial statistics. Centers are defined as local spatial statistical outliers on the network-based job accessibility surface. We proceed by identifying the location and employment makeup of centers for each metropolitan region in the USA from 2002 to 2019 and discuss emergent trends across time and space. Critically, we not only explore empirical patterns, but we discuss the relationship between polycentricity, the evolution of urbanization and localization economies, and regional specialization. We confirm again the pattern of polycentricity in U.S. metros and show that the structure of metropolitan employment is largely stable over time. We also document a continuing trend away from urbanization economies into more specialized subcenters. • We develop a new technique for identifying employment subcenters combining spatial statistics, network analysis, and computational geometry. • the technique generates bespoke polygons that can be used for further analysis or designated as targets for urban development. • We apply our method to 20 years of annual census block -level employment from LEHD and discuss the trend toward increasing polycentric development in the U.S. • We document the increasing prominence of more specialized localization economies. • The methodology we contribute is generalizeable and can be applied anywhere in the world (we provide a Python software package for reproducing the results) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A water-type classification procedure integrating shape, landscape patterns, topography, and phenology was proposed. • The distribution and transition of various wetlands in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin were mapped. • Nearly half of the wetlands experienced a significant trend of decrease in water inundation frequency from 1990 to 2020. • Farmland reclamation was the primary anthropogenic factor in natural wetland loss and degradation. Wetlands are crucial to diverse societies and ecosystems but are threatened globally. Natural wetlands in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin (MLRYRB) have long been exploited to meet the increasing food and energy demands, especially in recent decades. However, how their landscapes and hydrological patterns changed over time was poorly qualified, which was crucial to conserving biodiversity and ecosystems. In this study, we proposed a new wetland classification procedure taking advantage of the shape, topography, landscape patterns, and phenology to map the distribution of six wetland types in the MLRYRB in 1990 and 2020 with Landsat images. The transitions among different wetland types and associated driving factors were examined. Artificial wetlands expanded by 3907.6 km2 while natural wetlands decreased by 423.2 km2, resulting in a net area increase of 3484.4 km2. Farmland reclamations, aquacultural activities, urban expansion, and dam constructions induced 70 % of the area's loss of natural wetlands. Meanwhile, spatiotemporal patterns in wetland inundation dynamics were determined with agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis. Widespread transitions from perennial water to seasonal wetlands were detected. Notably, 47.8 % of the natural wetlands experienced significant drying trends, and as a result, the mean yearly inundated periods for natural wetlands decreased from 303 days in 1990 to 272 days in 2020. Given the substantial structural alterations, wetland destruction was more severe than the area reflected. Our results suggested that category-based changes in wetland areas, inundation patterns, associated driving forces, and underlying ecological consequences should be comprehensively assessed to conduct scientific conservation and prevent "paper offsets." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

the construction of high-speed railway improves the accessibility of cities along the route and plays a certain role in promoting the economic development of cities. The construction of Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway improves the timeliness and accessibility of Chengdu to Chongqing, and plays a certain role in promoting the development of cities along the Neijiang River.This paper mainly analyzes the influence of Chengdu-Chongqing high-speed railway on the economic development of Neijiang city after its completion, and puts forward some targeted suggestions for the development of Neijiang. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coastal areas of the Canary Islands are particularly sensitive to changes, both from a natural perspective and for their potential socio-economic implications. In this paper, the state of conservation of an insular coast is approached from a geomorphological point of view, considering recent changes induced by urban and tourism development. The analysis is applied to the coast of Gran Canaria, a small Atlantic island of volcanic origin, subject to a high degree of human pressure on its coastal areas, especially in recent decades. Currently, much of the economic activity of Gran Canaria is linked to mass tourism, associated with climatic and geomorphological features of the coast. This work is addressed through detailed mapping of coastal landforms across the island (256 km perimeter), corresponding to the period before the urban and tourism development (late 19th century for the island's capital, mid-20th century for the rest of the island) and today. The comparison between the coastal geomorphology before and after the urban and tourism development was established through four categories of human impacts, related to their conservation state: unaltered, altered, semi-destroyed and extinct. The results indicate that 43% of coastal landforms have been affected by human impacts, while 57% remain unaltered. The most affected are sedimentary landforms, namely coastal dunes, palaeo-dunes, beaches and wetlands. Geodiversity loss was also evaluated by applying two diversity indices. The coastal geodiversity loss by total or partial destruction of landforms is estimated at − 15.2%, according to Shannon index (H′), while it increases to − 32.1% according to an index proposed in this paper. We conclude that the transformations of the coast of Gran Canaria induced by urban and tourism development have heavily affected the most singular coastal landforms (dunes, palaeo-dunes and wetlands), reducing significantly its geodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses how urban sustainability is modeled and the ways criteria-based systems deal with its measurability for an effective and reliable assessment. Twelve sustainability models are reviewed and a subset is briefly presented. More importantly, this research work investigates five national rating systems of sustainable urban development compared with the newly developed CAMSUD system. The comparison focuses on the systems' structure, categorization, technical content and measurability. The main findings about the selected national rating systems thoroughly discussed in the paper are: (i) They all have a tree-like structure, (ii) their conceptualization and categorization follow three or four sustainability pillars models, sustainability topics or spatial scale; (iii) they use either planning-oriented or performance-oriented weighting approaches; (iv) the criteria are defined as sustainability goals, action measures or assignments to be fulfilled; (v) the sustainability items can hardly be juxtaposed since they are differently handled, (vi) overlapping criteria might occur, (vii) similar criteria can be categorized under different categories and this affects the emphasis put on these categories, (viii) all criteria are independently rated with no consideration of mutual interrelationships. In an attempt to solve some of these weaknesses, the newly developed CAMSUD system is introduced as alternative and relies on the following: (i) the system structure is considered as a network, (ii) the conceptualization and categorization is based on spatial scaling as well as on sustainability topics and pillars, (iii) many criteria are directly planning-relevant (23 of 40), (iv) the criteria are defined as sustainability goals rather than action measures and (v) the quantification of criteria is planned as to account for mutual interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The paper explores a new family of methods for heterogeneous MAGDM. • Diversified opinions are unified into random values to retain structural feature. • The SPM is developed to measure the superiority probability between alternatives. • Probabilistic rank is introduced to fit with heterogeneous decision environment. Heterogeneous multi-attribute group decision making (heterogeneous MAGDM) is a hot topic in complicated decision-making environment. This paper proposes a new approach for heterogeneous MAGDM problems, including three main research points. Firstly, different from the commonly used unified transformation process, the study provides a randomization method to transform heterogeneous opinions into random values, which can keep the structural features of the original data as much as possible. Secondly, the random values are integrated into superiority-probability-based pairwise comparison matrix (SPM) by combining stochastic simulation and multi-attribute decision making methods. Then, a maximization-similarity-based consensus approach is developed to obtain the collective SPM. The collective SPM can not only objectively present the superiority relationship between any two alternatives, but also balance the opinions of multiple experts. Thirdly, a new type of ranking, probabilistic rank order, is proposed, which is more consistent with the heterogeneous and uncertain characteristics of the decision-making opinions. At last, an example regarding missile weapon system selection is chosen from previous studies to illustrate the validity of the proposed methods. Another example about the predictive evaluation of city development potential is constructed to further illustrate the practical application prospects of the research methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of municipal solid waste (MSW) in developing countries like China is changing from mixed treatment to classified treatment, with the need of urban development. This variation calls for assessment of the MSW policies, in particular, whether the MSW policies formulated in the past can well guide the demand of the current MSW system. Quantitative evaluation of MSW policies from the perspective of policy consistency is conducive to systematically identifying common problems existing in policies and providing possible new ways for policy improvement. However, quantitative evaluation of MSW policies is under-represented in the existing literature. This paper employs the Policy Modeling Consistency Index (PMC-Index) approach and text mining technology to quantitatively evaluate the consistency level of China's 26 MSW policies, and comparatively analyze the common problems of 26 policies in the horizontal dimensions. The results indicate that sixteen policies belong to the good consistency level, ten pertain to the acceptable level. In other words, none is able to attain the perfect policy level. This demonstrates that while China's MSW policies are generally reasonable and consistent, there is some room for improvement. Further comparative analysis reveals that policy release agency, policy timeliness and policy instrument are main reasons for the results of policy imperfection. Thus, these three aspects may be the starting points to effectively improve China's MSW policies. • This paper quantitatively evaluates the consistency level of China's MSW policies. • The reasons for common policy gaps of China's MSW policies are analyzed. • This is the first study to employ the PMC-index method to evaluate MSW policies. • There is some room for improving China's 26 MSW policies. • Policy release agency, timeliness and instrument are the key to improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy efficiency enhancement and carbon reduction are essential means by which to promote carbon neutralization. However, is the constant pursuit of improving energy efficiency always conducive to urban development? The collaborative innovation development pattern has become the focus of regional competition. Thus, this paper establishes a new paradigm for analyzing the driving effect of energy efficiency change from the perspective of collaborative innovation development pattern. Using panel data from cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River urban agglomeration in China from 2009 to 2019, the DEA-Malmquist and projection pursuit models calculate the energy efficiency change and collaborative innovation city construction level. Then, we use the Tobit model to analyze the reverse forcing effect of energy efficiency change on collaborative innovation city construction level from the dual perspectives of energy efficiency changes at different levels and geographical locations. The results show that the driving effect of energy efficiency change is U-shaped. In addition, there are some city differences, and the U-shaped relationship only exists in high-efficiency cities, the Wuhan Metropolitan Area and the Poyang Urban Agglomeration. This paper also finds that industrial structure, government interaction, development level, and population density impact collaborative innovation development pattern. Finally, these findings provide policy-makers with new ideas to promote sustainable urban development. • Explore the driving effect of energy efficiency change. • Quantitatively measure the development pattern of collaborative innovation. • Find the reverse forcing effect of energy efficiency on urban development. • Find the heterogeneous effect of energy efficiency change on collaborative innovation city construction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing need for more and more complicated underground urban systems has resulted to the development of a challenging environment for the setting up of effective evacuation procedure. The special circumstances and complexity, which characterize the underground spaces, as well as the severity of the consequences if an accident occurs, stimulated the research for different evacuation approaches in urban environments, in order to improve the efficiency of emergency evacuation and prevent crowd casualties in potential accidents, especially in the case of fire. The paper presents the most well respected standards, guidelines and regulations enforced worldwide, aiming to preserve the safeguarding of life and property against fire, explosion, and related hazards associated with developed subterranean spaces. Moreover, the evolution of underground evacuation approaches, from prescriptive methods to contemporary performance methods is displayed, followed by the examination of the approaches in crowd evacuation practices. Finally, the paper presents and analyses the factors being taken into account for planning the evacuation process, as illustrated through cases where modeling is conducted with special software codes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 21st century will probably be the century of urban areas and especially megacities. Megacities are continuously growing in size and numbers, they are major economic and political hubs and every event or decision that affects these areas has significant repercussions for the rest of the planet. These large agglomerations have soaring problems that challenge their sustainability goals and their future in general. The development of the urban underground space can offer efficient, long-term and environmental friendly solutions to these problems and keep megacities in the sustainability path. The present paper describes the sustainability problems of modern cities and attempts to outline the new challenges in future underground utilization. The paper also focuses on the people who work in the underground space and analyzes the social and psychological results. Finally, since, contrary to common belief, the most visited places in the world are underground, several issues regarding design, aesthetics and human friendly underground spaces are discussed along with the pioneer role of ACUUS in underground development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In line with the objectives established by the “European capital of culture” initiative, the entire community is involved in embarking socio-economic and infrastructure projects supported by an information platform which ensures efficient data management for the municipality. This platform should provide a good visibility of the candidate city in the context of enhancing the contribution of culture to its long-term development in accordance with its priorities and strategies. In particular, an important role is played by the implementation of a spatial data geoportal at Local Administration level (Timişoara City Hall) to streamline the data workflow and provide easy access to it in order to increase the visibility of cultural and historical heritage of the municipality. The need of this geoportal arises from the fact that Timişoara has the widest architectural heritage area in the country, of important value to both Romania and Europe. The preservation of this cultural heritage is a duty for the authorities and also for the owners. The present paper brings forward proposals and trends in implementation of a dedicated geoportal for the management of heritage objects to complete the existing urban GIS primarily aiming to contribute to fostering the urban planning and the sustainability of the “European capital of culture” project. This geoportal should include the 3D models of the cultural heritage objects for better preservation over time or restauration purposes and offer virtual tourism tours if they are made available by means of webGIS. That is why, the authors propose a webGIS solution in order to make the geoportal available on the City Hall's webpage. The actuality of the paper is given by the fact that preserving cultural heritage and historical sites represents an important issue that must be taken into account when urban planning projects are required for developing the model of urban growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating a new capital city is a critical decision, yet it has happened across the globe and across the years. Due to various reasons, capital cities were created and transformed their countries and affected their overall worldwide presence. This paper derives a comparison between the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana and the new Egyptian Administrative Capital that is currently under construction. This review article showed that despite the differences, similarities can be pointed out in relation to political, social, and economic aspects. The results figured out that both capitals are major initiatives for nation-building as well as regional and economic development. The authors conclude from the similarities between the two capital cities' approaches that Egypt's new administrative capital can follow the well-off steps of Astana aside from the contextual differences and challenges that should not be underestimated. The authors also derive a set of elements that create a significant capital city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to track how cities develop and grow, multidimensional systems of urban development indicators taking into account the balance between economic, social, and environmental aspects are the best solution found so far. However, there is no unique measurement system that would be widely accepted and applied within various urban areas to verify whether a given city is developing in a sustainable way. The aim of this paper is to apply the TOPSIS algorithm on the basis of selected urban indicators, in order to evaluate the progress of a single city towards the concept of sustainable development observed over a longer period of time. A capital city of Poland, Warsaw, faces several challenges associated with development policy evaluation, thus confirming the need for this research. We meticulously selected 48 indicators from the economic, social and environmental areas as an input for TOPSIS algorithm, which allowed us to calculate a new proposed aggregated index for evaluating urban policy on the example of Warsaw. Research has shown usefulness of applied TOPSIS algorithm in assessing the long-run development of an urban area towards the concept of a sustainable city. The results of our analysis indicated that over a period of ten years, during 2008-2017, the urban policy decision-making has been balancing the socio-economic and environmental aspects and the city of Warsaw has been developed in a sustainable manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Geodiversity is an essential resource for sustainable tourism in urban areas. • Proposal of classification of the sites for the purposes of geotourism development. • The geotourist potential does not always depend on the degree of protection. Geodiversity is a basis for geotourism development. Geosites and geodiversity sites then represent particular issues of geotourist interest, however, in some cases, their potential and suitability for the geotourism is not recognized. The paper is focused on the geotourism potential assessment that forms a basis for sustainable use of geodiversity in an urban area. By using the set of criteria for assessing geosites and geomorphosites, the mutual relationships between particular values are examined and based on the assessment and statistical methods, the classification of the sites regarding their suitability for geotourism development is elaborated. The results show that the suitability of the sites for geotourism does not always depend on the degree of legal protection, but rather on the educational values or scientific values of geosites and geodiversity sites. Based on the classification, the conceptual development of geotourist activities can be proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Road networks in the past are imperative for understanding evolution of transportation infrastructure, urban sprawl, and route planning, etc. Various approaches have been developed for road extraction from historical maps, among which deep learning techniques stand out as the most effective ones. However, little attention has been paid to investigating road vectorization and classification from historical maps. Moreover, road classification via machine learning methods usually requires large amounts of dedicated training data. To address these issues, this paper proposes a novel and comprehensive framework for road vectorization and classification on the basis of road segmentation from historical maps. First, deep learning is used to get pixel-wise raster road segmentation results, which are further skeletonized using morphological operations. Then, considering that each road class is represented with a certain symbol, a painting function is defined for each class able to paint the corresponding symbol. These painting functions are then used to draw road segments along the skeletons. Since the start and end points in each painting function are used to vectorise the segment, this method achieves vectorization and classification at the same time. Our method is validated on four Siegfried map sheets in Switzerland, and evaluated via both visual and quantitative assessments. The results indicate that the method is capable of classifying roads accurately. In particular, two evaluation metrics completeness and correctness achieve 90.69% and 72.71% respectively for road class 2 which accounts for the highest portion in the map. Moreover, the results of this method avoid the saw-toothed issue of vectorised road lines. This research is beneficial for creating complete vector road network datasets with class information to support decision-making in urban planning and transportation. • A novel framework is proposed to vectorise and classify roads from historical maps. • Deep CNNs are utilized to systematically and accurately extract roads. • Road classification and vectorization are achieved simultaneously by symbol painting. • Visual and quantitative assessments validate the effectiveness and robustness of the framework. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spiraling growth of the world's population and unregulated urbanization have resulted in many environmental problems, including poor quality of air, which is associated with a wide range of health issues. Machine learning approaches have been extensively employed to predict air quality, attracting the attention of the scientific community worldwide. Bibliometric studies provide a useful means by which to visualize and analyze published works, helping researchers to make novel scientific contributions by filling existing knowledge gaps in the research. To acquire an in-depth understanding of the topic, this paper presents a bibliometric analysis of all published articles on the use of machine learning networks to predict air quality found in the Web of Science (WoS) search engine from 1992 to 2021. S-curve analysis and social network analysis were used to identify the temporal distribution of articles, productivity by countries/continents, research institutions, and scientific metrics of journal productivity. This study indicated that maximum expansion of the literature witnessed during 2017–2021 (second phase) which represents an expansion or growth stage of machine learning and air quality prediction research. The number of published works increased significantly with 1432 articles accounting for 68.51% of all publications. As a result of the increased interest in machine learning-based prediction tools, the number of articles grew 2.17-fold compared to the 1992–2016 (first phase). In terms of international collaboration impact, Italy emerged as the most successful country (43.44), followed by Greece (31.22) and Spain (23.29). Author keywords analysis was employed to explore and evaluate the emerging research trends on the subject of air quality using machine learning models. Keywords that appear most frequently in this study are 'air pollution', 'air quality', 'machine learning', and 'forecasting'. Citation burst analysis, research productivity analysis, highly influential and highly cited works were also employed to examine various research themes and questions. In this study we also discussed how conventional methods were transformed into machine learning approaches. It is expected that this paper will provide technical guidelines, research priorities, and future opportunities for the precise prediction of air quality and emergency management of air pollution globally. • Interest in air quality prediction through machine learning model is expanding. • China and US were found productive countries in terms of countries collaboration. • Big data, Internet of Things, and Smart city are emerging topic for future research. • Significant difference between citations, funded and non-funded research. • Ensemble modeling is popular in air quality prediction research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainability indicators (SIs) are not just traditional performance metrics but are value laden pathways to supporting urban development. This paper presents a functional classification for SIs. The following six classes are used to illustrate the various functions of SIs: (F1) Political and Operational ; (F2) Problem Recognition and Awareness ; (F3) Justificatory ; (F4) Monitoring Control and Reporting ; (F5) Normative Guidance ; (F6) Communication and Opinion Forming . The Houston Sustainability Indicators (HSI) program was used as a heuristic case study of how the functional classification could be applied. F1 was illustrated by carefully choosing geographic boundaries for the study. F2 was highlighted by careful review of the socio-economics of persons in the Food Desert. F3 was demonstrated by a look at issues of calculating population growth totals and also setting standards for access to parks. F4 was illustrated by a look at Employment figures. F5 was highlighted by a look at affordability in Houston. Lastly F6 was explained by a look at income inequality. This paper is intended to strengthen the importance of sustainability in development planning, through the illustration of key functions for SIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urban and rural landscape has been undergoing tremendous changes since the introduction of the Chinese version of Transferable Development Rights programme, known as the "Link Policy", which calls for rural resettlement and land consolidation for farmland preservation and urban development. Aiming to examine the influence of the Link Policy on urban growth, this paper used Ezhou located in central China as the case study and modelled urban growth scenarios before and after the policy implementation with the development of a Logistic-Markov-CA model. The established model shows sufficient accuracy in modelling the urban growth pattern under the Link Policy and justified that new expansion of urban areas appeared on the planned new towns and industrial parks after the policy implementation instead of the growth of original sites prior to the Link Policy. Additionally, with the analysis of modelling results and the understanding of Ezhou urban developments before and after the Link Policy implementation, policy implications are provided for future Ezhou development. • This paper introduced contemporary China's Transferable Development Right programme – the Link Policy in its rapid urbanisation process. • A Logistic-Markov-CA model was developed and modelled urban growth before and after the Link Policy implementation. • The established model shows sufficient accuracy in modelling the urban growth pattern and revealed the key features of urban growth in different scenarios. • Current urban growth issues under the Link Policy were revealed and policy suggestions were offered for future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the urban sustainability context, there is a growing concern about social, economic, and environmental costs of sprawling urban development patterns.Idle landis one indicator of that sprawl. This paper aims to investigate the relation of urban physical growth to the expansion of idle land and its effects to the urban environment sustainability. This paper also examines the land rejuvenation as the method to manage the growth of idle lands in urban areas. This paper takes Bandung Metropolitan Area (BMA), one of the metropolitan areas in Indonesia that has basin shape restricted to the urban physical expansion, as a case study. This paper uses system dynamic approach in simulating the behaviour of urban physical growth, the idle land expansions, and their effects to the urban carrying capacity. This research finds that the urban achieved more sustainable from the potential management of physically vacant lands, abandoned buildings, critical land management, increasing revenue, and reduced conflict. The simulation result also finds that BMA will not be sustainedwhen the population grows and continuously occupies the preservation and conservation lands (PCL) in outskirt as urban carrying capacity. It is especially in 2051 when PCLwill be reduced and continuously degrade under 30% of green area as spatial planning requirement, unless the rejuvenation of the idle lands is implemented as the interventions to manage this sprawl urban areas.By using idle land rejuvenation, urban will be more sustainable andpeople could live in high quality of urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper illustrates the detailed design and implementation strategy of a high-performance, parallel agent-based Schelling model. There are four key issues to implement a parallel agent-based Schelling model, i.e., the ability to handle (1) the complexity of real data processing; (2) spatial data decomposition; (3) the preference and tolerance rates for multiple ethnic groups; and (4) the communication between agents. A new parallel algorithm that addresses these issues while retaining the fundamental concepts of the original sequential Schelling model was built. The parallel Schelling model was applied to the County of San Diego’s one million household agents and one million housing unit agents using land use data and 2000 Decennial Census data. Experiments using varying numbers of CPU cores demonstrate that the computational performance of the parallel Schelling model positively correlates with increased numbers of CPU cores. This paper focuses on the implementation of a parallel agent-based Schelling model. The Schelling model is parallelized to illustrate how high-performance computing can elicit better understanding of real-world geospatial phenomena. By leveraging distributed computing resources in geospatial cyberinfrastructure, the parallel Schelling model has the potential to become a crucial component in spatial decision support systems and to help policy makers understand the key trends in urban population, urban growth, and residential segregation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fast urban growth and an ever-increasing frequency of extreme weather-related events demand a better understanding of land subsidence and the potential measures to control it. This paper presents an experimental investigation on the deformation behavior of sand undergoing cyclic withdrawal and recharging of groundwater. A sand-box model with dimensions 1000 mm × 600 mm × 892 mm was used to investigate soil deformation following lowering and rising of the water table. The sand used was Pingtan sand (Fujian, China) a quartzitic formation composed of elongated to slightly spherical grains. Three sand samples with different initial densities, i.e. loose, medium dense and dense, were tested on repeated cycles. The vertical deformation of the sand was measured and the corresponding strain and effective stress were calculated. The observations show that initially the sand behaves as an elastic material with the subsidence caused by water withdrawal being recovered as the soil rebounds during recharging. With further withdrawal–recharging cycles, subsidence becomes larger as plastic deformations as well as time-dependent deformation occur in the soil. The distinct patterns of deformation were identified to be dependent on both the initial density and the number of withdrawal–recharging cycle the sand has been subjected to. The different behavior of the medium dense sample compared to the loose and dense samples, in particular for the first two cycles, indicates that the soil response cannot be explained in respect of the initial void ratio alone and further microstructure considerations were discussed. It is suggested that the orientation of the grains resulting from the sample preparation technique and the consequent induced anisotropy can be used to explain the results herein presented. Finally this paper provides the rationale for a micromechanical interpretation of soil deformation when subjected to changes in stress due to rising or lowering of the water table, which will help in establishing measures to control land subsidence, in particular to assess the efficiency of water recharging following subsidence by withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Onsite generation system (OGS) with renewable sources for modern manufacturing plant is considered as a critical alternative energy source for the manufacturers. Prosumer community can be formed by aggregating such manufacturers to achieve a mutual goal of sustainable and resilient power system. As the sustainability of the network depends on the reliable operations of each component in the network, it is required to monitor the performance and lifetime of the components existed in the network. One of the critical as well as costly components used to enhance the reliability and performance of the network is the battery energy storage system (BESS). The paper proposes a lifetime estimation model for the BESS using an integrated approach of cellular automata and system dynamic (SD) to prevent any sudden power outage and build a reliable energy management framework for the community. The major factors such as energy demand of the manufacturing plant, intermittent generation from the OGS, energy sharing capability of the prosumers etc. are considered to simulate the model and determine the amount of battery degradation. Based on the estimated lifetime of the battery, the manufacturers further can control the energy management plan (charging/discharging scheme) to prolong the battery lifetime and ensure a reliable operation for the community. A numerical case study is simulated to illustrate the effectiveness of the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The identity of the city is shaped over a long period of time and is developed according to needs of growing population over years. The population and urban growth along with adoption of mechanisms of urbanization and western settlements can lead to city losing its own identity. This paper attempts to establish a methodology for exploring physical aspects of local identity, to determine actual uniqueness of physical environment of district to make cities stand out and continues across their own heritage. For achieving this aim, the current study proposes a method for investigating local identity using both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Both space syntax and personal observations are combined to analyze several physical aspects related to local identity of Souk Al-Khawajat district. Mansoura is known for its unique features in terms of origin, location, cultural and social interactions, where Souk Al-Khawajat is a representative of its oldest identity. The results reveal usefulness of space syntax and observation in comprehensively analyzing several aspects of local identity of district under study. It could be concluded that Souk Al-Khawajat represents an excellent model of how local identity changes over time due to possible shift in social, political, economic and cultural values and priorities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]