Search

The M 6.5 earthquake that occurred in the Monte Cristo Range near Mina, Nevada on 15 May 2020 was exceptionally well-recorded with both seismic and geodetic instrumentation. The arid nature of the ...

Land-surface subsidence is a major contributor to land loss in many river deltas. New approaches yielding high-resolution data are needed to parse the relevant driving forces. In 2016, we established a novel “subsidence superstation” ∼2 km from the Mississippi River in coastal Louisiana (USA) to measure compaction in a global reference frame as a function of depth in Holocene sediments and deeper subsidence. The site features three borehole optical fiber strainmeters to obtain continuous records of displacement between ∼1.3 m below the surface and depths of ∼11, 25, and 38 m. These data are complemented by an adjacent station providing hydrologic data and near-surface compaction. We also installed three GPS antennas, one of which is mounted to a rod cemented into the Pleistocene basement. A core from one of the boreholes provides insight into the sediment properties of the entire Holocene succession. Five years of records reveal the compaction rate in the material between 1.3 and 38 m is likely less than 0.25 mm/yr. The GPS records yield a subsidence rate of 2.5 mm/yr regardless of the depth of the anchor, thus corroborating the low compaction rates observed by the strainmeters. The new instrumental records show that current subsidence at this location is governed mostly by deformation of the Pleistocene or underlying strata rather than compaction of Holocene material, with the exception of the uppermost meter. The methodology represents an important new approach to mapping subsidence rates at varying depths, providing insight into the mechanisms governing delta subsidence.

Conventional tide gauges are usually housed along the coast. Satellite altimetry works well in the open ocean but poorly near the coast due to issues such as signal contamination by land returns. T...

Seasonal variability in the Greenland Ice Sheet's (GrIS) sliding speed is regulated by the response of the subglacial drainage system to meltwater inputs. However, the importance of channelization ...

Geodetic methods comprise one class of geophysical data that are sensitive to changes in effective pressure within operating reservoirs, albeit indirectly through induced deformation. Geodetic observations, which have observation intervals that vary from seconds to days, weeks, or months, generally provide more frequent sampling compared to existing geophysical methodologies (such as seismic time-lapse monitoring), which typically invoke repeat times of months to years. These differences in sampling intervals are primarily due to the extensive effort, and hence cost, of conducting geophysical field operations, which often precludes executing a large number of surveys. Satellite-based interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is cost effective and used in many applications, including monitoring the injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) for both long-term storage and enhanced oil production. An application to the geologic sequestration of CO2 in Algeria revealed northwest migration along a fault/fracture zone intersected by the injection well. A study in a Texas field demonstrated that enhanced oil recovery utilizing CO2 leads to observable surface deformation that may be used to characterize the sequestered CO2 and to estimate the pressure changes within the reservoir induced by injection and production.

This chapter helps offer a practical guide on how city visions can be developed through participatory-based foresight methods, and how new projects and experiments can help to transform cities and lead to a sustainable (and smart) future. This is a fundamental part of what is termed ‘urban futures’ and recognises complexity and the need to manage a transition to a shared and desirable future. The chapter looks in more detail at what ‘city foresight’ really means in practice, what is meant by a ‘city vision’ and how such a vision can be developed with a range of techniques, including visioning and backcasting. To do this, the chapter draws on our own research, working on Reading 2050 and Newcastle 2065 city visioning projects, but also examines other examples of how foresight activities can help frame city visions in different contexts internationally.

Innovation and experimentation is also at the heart of how a managed transition to a sustainable future can be influenced and shaped with a series of planned and strategic projects which can, for example, also underpin a vision of the city as ‘smart and sustainable’. The role of a university in the city and its engagement in a ‘civic role’ has also been highlighted as fundamentally important not only in economic growth theory and innovation theory, but also in city visioning literature. In this chapter, the importance of cities as centres for urban innovation and urban experiments is examined, before looking at some of the most important spaces which have developed in cities for those activities, including innovation districts, living labs, urban rooms and science shops. The concept of place-based leadership and the role of the university in visioning, experimentation and innovation, are analysed before examining a detailed case study of urban innovation and civic engagement at Newcastle University.

This chapter introduces the content of the book and covers the aim and objectives of the book, setting it in the context of previous city visions and more generic visions. The theoretical conceptual framework of the book (using the concept of city foresight) is introduced. The book draws on case studies throughout and looks at how narratives of the city have changed over time, placing the book in the context of other work. the chapter focuses on the growing importance of cities and planning for their long-term futures. The key themes employed are analysed and the format of the book is described in more detail.

This chapter examines the more recent evolution of urban planning and its response to these contextual, state and neoliberal pressures, and explore how city visioning can still help develop a stronger focus for an activity that is referred to as futures-based urban planning in and for our cities and urban areas. The links between urban planning, city foresight and wider state theory are explored and the implications of city visioning and long-term strategic planning in cities are highlighted. The focus in the chapter is on exploring the changing role that planning and city foresight might play within the future governance of the city, and how place-based leadership and place management can reinvigorate urban planning approaches.

Crises provide opportunities as well as risks, and there is an argument for suggesting that the COVID-19 crisis, and the continuing impact of climate change, provide us with a chance to think longer-term beyond the present, and re-imagine the way in which cities should be like further into the future to 2030, 2050 and beyond. In the rest of this chapter, therefore, the focus is on three main themes which have emerged from the book: (i) city foresight, transitions theory and city visions; (ii) urban planning and governance; and (iii) the future for cities. In doing this, the chapter focuses on the practical and pragmatic steps city leaders and other groups need to take to develop city visions and new forms of flexible governance as part of ‘urban futures’ thinking.