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This study estimates the relationships between street network characteristics and transport-sector CO2 emissions across every urban area in the world and investigates whether they are the same across development levels and urban design paradigms. The prior literature has estimated relationships between street network design and transport emissions – including greenhouse gases implicated in climate change – primarily through case studies focusing on certain world regions or relatively small samples of cities, complicating generalizability and applicability for evidence-informed practice. Our worldwide study finds that straighter, more-connected, and less-overbuilt street networks are associated with lower transport emissions, all else equal. Importantly, these relationships vary across development levels and design paradigms – yet most prior literature reports findings from urban areas that are outliers by global standards. Planners need a better empirical base for evidence-informed practice in under-studied regions, particularly the rapidly urbanizing Global South.

Copyright of Journal of Engineering (17264073) is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Flooding is one of the biggest challenges affecting the economy and people's well-being. Various approaches have been employed in prior research to examine spatial data and enhance flood response effectiveness, such as the utilization of machine learning methodologies to aid in decision-making within the realm of urban planning. However, different machine learning models serve different purposes depending on their learning processes and computation techniques. The objective of this study is to create a machine learning algorithm that can evaluate areas prone to flooding. The study purpose is to offer valuable insights to city authorities and aid in urban planning, ultimately enhancing the safety and adaptability of the city's inhabitants METHODS: In order to evaluate flood risk areas and offer valuable insights for urban management and planning, a technique was devised. A total of eleven multiclass classification algorithms were employed to analyze eight urban factors, enabling the assessment of flood risk. The outcomes were then visualized on a map using geographic information systems. FINDINGS: The study discovered that the Bagging Decision Tree Algorithm model produced the best flood risk assessment model, with an accuracy of 88.58 percent compared to the government's flood simulation model results. Furthermore, precipitation, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio emerged as the top three crucial factors influencing the likelihood of flooding in the city. CONCLUSION: The Bagging Decision Tree Algorithm model provides a thorough evaluation of flood risk, presenting crucial information for urban governance and development. Integrating key variables such as rainfall, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio into flood risk management strategies is crucial for mitigating the impact of floods in economically significant urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban form is a key factor affecting carbon emissions. Accurately estimating the impact of urban form on the carbon emissions of residents (CER) is an important prerequisite for China to adopt effective low-carbon spatial planning strategies and respond to climate change. However, counties mainly account for China's energy consumption, and the relationship between their urban form and the CER remains unclear, limiting their low-carbon development. Therefore, in this study, the PLS-SEM model and data from 90 counties in the Yangtze River Delta are used to determine the extent and ways that urban form affects the CER. The model considers the impact of both geometric-aspect urban form factors (urban scale, compactness, spatial structure, and urban shape) and built environment-aspect urban form factors (public service facilities, urban greening, road traffic, public transportation, and urban energy infrastructure) on the CER. The results indicate that urban form factors related to the built environment (public service facilities, urban greening, road systems, and municipal infrastructure) have a direct impact on the CER. Geometric-aspect urban form factors (size, compactness, spatial structure, and shape) not only directly affect the CER but also indirectly affect the CER by altering built environment-aspect urban form factors. This study identifies the complex relationship between urban form and the CER, facilitating the coordinated integration of multiple elements and providing a basis for the formulation of low-carbon spatial planning strategies for counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban vitality is a core feature of sustainable cities and neighborhoods. Acknowledging the significant role of the spatial and physical attributes of built urban landscapes in influencing urban vitality, scholars and planners in the field of urban studies have meticulously examined the relationship between urban morphology and variations in urban vitality. While most previous studies have primarily focused on a narrow range of factors when analyzing urban form, often neglecting its multifaceted nature, this study utilizes urban morphometrics using Python's Momepy library to offer a comprehensive typology. It integrates diverse urban components from individual buildings and streets to entire neighborhoods into a unified, holistic framework, providing a more integrated understanding of urban form's influence on urban vitality. Our spatial econometric models identified higher building floor areas, taller and narrower streetside buildings, diversely aged buildings, and higher building coverings on lots as favorable urban form settings for urban vitality. Measuring urban morphology with advanced methods and identifying their relationship to urban vitality provides insightful implications for urban planners and designers for creating vibrant cities and neighborhoods. Practical Applications: This study utilizes advanced methods to assess the design and layout of cities and neighborhoods and analyzes their effects on urban vitality. The Momepy Python package is used in this study to capture urban form in terms of size, density, layout, diversity, and connectedness. This study measures how diverse urban morphologies affect the variation of urban vitality captured by mobile phone data. This study introduces an integrated approach that identifies spatial relationships between buildings and street networks into a comprehensive framework. This holistic approach can suggest effective strategies for decision-making by urban planners and policymakers to create livable and sustainable cities and neighborhoods. Moreover, this study reveals how the effects of the urban morphology on urban vitality vary depending on the time of day and day of the week. The core findings suggest that urban planners and designers should consider spatial configurations of buildings and streets as well as residents' behavior over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of urban form and street infrastructure on pedestrian safety in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts. With a significant rise in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade, understanding how cities' built environments influence safety is critical. We conducted geospatial analyses and statistical tests, revealing unique patterns in each city. Atlanta's sprawling, motorist-oriented layout is associated with increased pedestrian accidents, particularly at crosswalks, due to limited land use diversity, arterial roads, and streets with high speed limits and multiple lanes. In contrast, Boston's compact, pedestrian-oriented design leads to improved safety, featuring safer pedestrian crossings, greater land use diversity, reduced arterial roads and lower speed limits on single-lane streets. This study also highlights the importance of diverse urban forms and pedestrian infrastructure in shaping pedestrian safety. While population density and land use diversity impact accident rates, the presence of crosswalks and street configurations play crucial roles. Our findings underscore the urgency for urban planners to prioritize pedestrian safety through targeted interventions, such as enhancing crosswalks, reducing speed limits and promoting mixed land use. Future research should explore additional variables, alternative modelling techniques and non-linear approaches to gain a more comprehensive understanding of these complex relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis is the property of Editorial Office of Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Flooding is one of the biggest challenges affecting the economy and people's well-being. Previous studies have used several methods to analyze spatial data and deliver a more efficient flood response, including machine learning techniques to support decision-making in the urban planning process. However, different machine learning models serve different purposes depending on their learning processes and computation techniques. This study aims to develop a machine learning model for assessing flood risk zones to provide helpful information for city administration and planning and to support the well-being and resilience of the city's residents.METHODS: To develop a method for assessing flood risk zones and provide helpful information for city administration and planning. Eight urban factors were input into eleven multiclass classification algorithms to assess flood risk, and the results were displayed on a geographic information systems map.FINDINGS: The study discovered that the bagging decision tree algorithm model produced the best flood risk assessment model, with an accuracy of 88.58 percent compared to the government's flood simulation model results. Furthermore, rainfall, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio were the three most important variables determining flood risk.CONCLUSION: The Bagging Decision Tree Algorithm model effectively assesses flood risk, offering valuable insights for city administration and planning. Integrating key variables such as rainfall, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio into flood risk management strategies is crucial for mitigating the impact of floods in economically significant urban areas.

Urban form contributes to crime prevention. However, most studies not only simplify the relationship between urban form and crime, they also fail to reflect the geographic structure of urban areas. This study first measured a comprehensive multidimensional urban form indicator for 1486 counties in the United States, which was used to characterize the size and geospatial structure of urban areas. Specifically, it described urban form as consisting of three components: 1) size and population distribution; 2) built environment; and 3) landscape environment. Then, generalized additive mixed models were then used to explore linear or nonlinear associations between urban form indicators and different crime types (violent and property crime). This study's main findings were that 1) the relationship between urban form and crime is not only linear but may also be nonlinear; 2) urban size, fragmentation, connectivity, forest mixing, and shrub mixing are associated with all crime types; 3) population distribution and agricultural mixing are associated with violent crime; and 4) urban patch complexity and water mixing are associated with property crime. Overall, the results of this study can provide guidance for long-term planning of urban geographic structures, contributing to the safe and sustainable development of urban areas.

The work focuses in architectural dimension of urban form, by confronting the plans of three neighborhoods in Prishtina that represent potentially three main urban paradigms of the last decades in city's urban transformation. The study aims to unfold the main elements, confront them, and expose to possible transformation. The work progressively decomposes each case into basic components and deductively to their minimal unit. The research, through interpretation and graphic illustrations, analyzes the three plans by layers: basic elements and their relational modalities, urban matrix, open space character and composing minimal units. The process will identify the main components, and their generic potentiality to be considered as future inputs in city's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban area is a spatial system that significantly impacts residents’ health risks. Despite the fact that urban areas house only 55% of the global population, they account for 95% of COVID-19 cases, highlighting the urgent need to understand the role of the urban environment in disease spread. This research explores the critical impact of urban form characteristics on public health risks, focusing primarily on the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission. The aim of the study study is to elucidate the spatial association between urban form elements such as connectivity, density, and heterogeneity and the incidence of COVID-19 cases, with a specific focus on Yogyakarta. Using global (OLS) and local (GWR) spatial regression models, we analyzed the relationship between these elements and COVID-19 prevalence at the neighborhood level rigorously. Our findings reveal a pronounced spatial correlation, particularly highlighting the significance of connectivity and heterogeneity. These factors explain over 95% of the variance in case numbers, while density shows no substantial link. This study’s originality lies in its hypothesis-driven examination of urban form impact on COVID-19 transmission, providing new insights into the spatial determinants of health risks in urban settings. Practical implications of our research are profound, providing evidencebased guidance for urban planning and disaster preparedness strategies to mitigate future health crises better. The study contributes valuable insights into designing healthier and more sustainable urban environments by providing a nuanced understanding of how the urban form influences the spread of disease.

This qualitative study uses Talanoa methodologies to explore the everyday experiences of Pacific elders travelling around Māngere Central, Aotearoa New Zealand. A suite of street infrastructure changes for walking and cycling took place in the area between 2015 and 2017. While the evidence linking attributes of urban street design to physical activity behaviour is strong, there is little research on the impact of the built environment on Pacific elders’ active mobility. The study seeks to address this knowledge gap by focusing on the impacts of streetscape changes on the active travel and social connectivity of this group of residents. Findings indicate that post-intervention, elders feel significantly safer while walking, with active travel increasing for some. All elders in the study feel that important amenities are now more accessible, with some of significant cultural and social importance. As such, opportunities for social connection appear to have increased. Furthermore, the enhanced look and feel of the local environment is important to the elders interviewed, enhancing feelings of community pride and well-being for some. Further desired changes to support active mobility are discussed, and a logic model highlighting factors theorised to be particularly important for achieving mode shift among Pacific elders is proposed.

Street networks are ubiquitous components of cities, guiding their development and enabling movement from place to place; street networks are also the critical components of many urban analytical methods. However, their graph representation is often designed primarily for transportation purposes. This representation is less suitable for other use cases where transportation networks need to be simplified as a mandatory pre-processing step, e.g., in the case of morphological analysis, visual navigation, or drone flight routing. While the urgent demand for automated pre-processing methods comes from various fields, it is still an unsolved challenge. In this article, we tackle this challenge by proposing a cheap computational heuristic for the identification of ``face artifacts'', i.e., geometries that are enclosed by transportation edges but do not represent urban blocks. The heuristic is based on combining the frequency distributions of shape compactness metrics and area measurements of street network face polygons. We test our method on 131 globally sampled large cities and show that it successfully identifies face artifacts in 89\% of analyzed cities. Our heuristic of detecting artifacts caused by data being collected for another purpose is the first step towards an automated street network simplification workflow. Moreover, the proposed face artifact index uncovers differences in structural rules guiding the development of cities in different world regions.

Unplanned urbanization continues to threaten the sustainability of cities in the global south. This study seeks to assess the urban planning response to the effects of sprawl on the urban form and land use pattern of Kumasi. The study relied on geospatial techniques to determine changes in land use patterns, landforms, and sprawl. A qualitative research approach was used to examine urban planning response to the causes and effects of urban sprawl in Kumasi. The results of this study show that the higher the urbanization rate, the more the built-up area increases, causing a significant loss of natural assets such as farmlands. In terms of shape, the research showed that the Greater Kumasi Metropolis has shifted from the historically monocentric city structure to a polycentric city. The city currently has multiple centers or subcentres for commercial, cultural, and social activities. In spite of all the threats posed by urban sprawl on the metropolis, there no clear policy intervention put in place to address the adverse effects of sprawl in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. The researchers recommend that city authorities should adopt the compact city approach to control the high rate of sprawl to promote densification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have identified vital urban spaces through the concentration of people, the diversity of land uses and buildings, accessibility, and the existence of a compact urban fabric. However, the relationship between urban vitality and social sustainability has not been studied in these terms. This paper seeks to analyse the social implications of the vital city model for residents in the context of a Latin American city: Santiago de Chile. To do so, we use the JANE index to measure the formal conditions of the built environment for urban vitality, and the Longitudinal Social Study of Chile to measure urban social sustainability. We first use a PCA technique to reveal six core components of urban social sustainability: Sense of belonging, Safety, Sociability, Well-being, Satisfaction with housing, and Conservation of the neighbourhood. We then test the associations between the strength of these six core components and the conditions for urban vitality by means of a multiple linear regression model. Significant associations between urban vitality conditions and urban social sustainability suggest that socially sustainable neighbourhoods are found in sectors with the presence of old buildings, accessibility to public transportation, and far from mega infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between urban form and urban shrinkage is crucial for developing sustainable urban policies, particularly in medium-sized cities facing demographic and economic challenges. This study investigates the complex relationship between urban form and urban shrinkage in medium-sized Polish cities (population of 20,000 to 100,000), highlighting the implications for sustainability. Utilising a comprehensive multi-factor approach, it analyses the shrinkage and growth trends over 15 years (2006–2021) by establishing a shrinkage/growth score based on social, demographic, and economic factors for each city. It examines spatial aspects, particularly urban form compactness and population density, using Corine Land Cover (CLC) spatial data, making the methodology applicable to urban areas across Europe. The findings reveal no significant overall correlation between urban compactness and shrinkage/growth score across all cities. However, a positive correlation exists within "urban municipalities", indicating that less compact urban areas tend to experience more shrinkage. Additionally, a temporary negative correlation between population density and shrinkage/growth score was observed from 2006 to 2016, which shifted to a positive trend in "urban municipalities" from 2016 to 2021. These results highlight urban shrinkage's complex and dynamic nature and its potential ties to urban form. The study concludes with recommendations for urban policymakers and planners regarding compact and dense urban strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of shrinkage and enhance urban resilience and sustainability. While the trends change, the study highlights the need for further analysis of these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to illustrate the state of the art of walkability indices and future research directions. A comprehensive search in the general Google database and Google Scholar identified a total of 45 records published between 2005 and 2023. Using a selection process based on the PRISMA model, 32 records were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. These are organized incrementally, highlighting their novelty relative to preceding studies, and divided into sectors of prevalent application. The 5Ds theory provides a first contribution by identifying walkability metrics based on proximity to amenities, land use diversity, and density. Recent advancements, leveraging GIS systems and open data, have expanded such metrics to include green spaces, footpath design, and noise pollution. However, these developments remain largely tied to the catchment area logic and offer coarse descriptions of the built environment's morphological structure, often lacking justification for metric selection and weighting. To address these shortcomings, future research should use more detailed descriptions of urban form, balance metric comprehensiveness with data availability, employ robust methods for metric selection, and explore alternative weighting techniques based on cognitive and emotional responses to urban settings. These efforts are crucial for advancing the understanding and measurement of walkability in the context of the compact city and place-making paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New methods are need to coordinate the conflicting spatial demands through urban design research and strategies from the perspective of multi-scale urban climate analysis. To integrate wind–thermal environment with urban design, we propose three scale levels, namely the district-superblock, superblock-block, and block-building levels, and divide the urban design elements into voids and solids. Thereafter, we establish a multiscale methodological framework in which the urban design contents are clarified by each scale, and the information transmitted between scales is obtained to ensure consistent value propositions and strategic approaches. The microclimate shaping of the urban open space is transformed into guiding strategies and quantitative indicators of the spatial form of the solid space. Information is transmitted between the scales through the wind–thermal indicators of windward side and the morphological indicators of solid space. Subsequently, the methodology was applied to the project in the core area of Suzhou Science and Technology City, and the findings preliminarily verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the methodology. This research influences urban climate studies and urban design practice in three ways: 1) improving understanding of the correlation between scales; 2) facilitating interaction between the two domains; and 3) providing tools for urban design practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas with parks tend to have the best outdoor thermal comfort in regions with high urban heat island effects during summer. This study analyzed the synergistic cooling effects of 94 urban parks and the adjacent built-up areas in six districts of Xi'an City using four cooling indicators: park cooling intensity (PCI), park cooling area (PCA), park cooling effect (PCE), and park cooling gradient (PCG). The results showed that 84 out of 94 parks exhibited significant cooling effects, with an average PCI of 1.98 °C, PCA of 51.7 ha, PCE of 6.6, and PCG of 8.2 °C/km. Correlation analyses indicated that the intrinsic park attributes, external buffer zone building height, and building density were the main factors affecting the cooling effect. The park landscape configuration, building height, and density significantly influenced the PCI and PCG, while the park shape and size were crucial for the PCA (positive) and PCE (negative). The optimal park areas for improving the thermal environment were identified as 26 ha (cooling area focus, building density <13%) and 15 ha (cooling intensity focus, building height <21 m, density >32%). This study provides theoretical guidance for planning urban parks and the surrounding areas based on cooling effects, offering insights for future climate resilience planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much attention has been paid to improve the representation of the urban spatial complexity, most efforts have been limited to the inclusion of green cover data to describe the biological component of cities, leaving the measurement of crucial urban ecological properties out of the picture. To tackle this, the Urban Ecosystem Integrity Index (UEII) was recently proposed to spatially represent the interplay between the intensity of urbanization and the biological components of cities, including urban biodiversity. The UEII has shown to be effective in measuring the ecosystem integrity of a Neotropical city; however its generalized applicability remains to be tested. Thus, here we tested the suitability of the UEII when applied in a boreal city and also evaluated if it adds more valuable information than the NDVI (also contrasting it with a UEII previously published for a tropical city), which is often suggested as a proxy of urban greenness and therefore the ecology of cities. We calculated the UEII by considering land surface temperature, built-up cover, and native plants and bird species richness of the city of Lahti, Finland (Palearctic; boreal). The UEII showed to be robust, comparable, and effective in capturing the intra and inter-urban spatial heterogeneity of both cities. Moreover, although the UEII and NDVI values correlated, the variance in such correlation showed the detail that the UEII brings to the quantificaiton of the ecological integrity of the cities, representing a more integral indicator. Thus, our findings indicate that the UEII is a valuable tool to inform on areas requiring ecological enhancement, as well as identifying those that are thriving, in cities ranging from tropical and highly biodiverse to boreal and with considerable less biodiversity. Highlights: We tested the suitability of the UEII in a boreal city, contrasting it with that of a tropical one. The index effectively captures the spatial heterogeneity of the city. The UEII allows to identify the diverse ecosystem integrity scenarios of cities. It provides a broader ecological representation of cities than the NDVI. The UEII represents a quantitative and spatially explicit tool for spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector is essential for realizing the carbon neutrality goal in China. Despite substantial studies on the influence of urban form on transport CO2 emissions, most of them have treated the effects as a linear process, and few have studied their nonlinear relationships. This research focused on 274 Chinese cities in 2019 and applied the gradient-boosting decision tree (GBDT) model to investigate the nonlinear effects of four aspects of urban form, including compactness, complexity, scale, and fragmentation, on urban transport CO2 emissions. It was found that urban form contributed 20.48% to per capita transport CO2 emissions (PTCEs), which is less than the contribution of socioeconomic development but more than that of transport infrastructure. The contribution of urban form to total transport CO2 emissions (TCEs) was the lowest, at 14.3%. In particular, the effect of compactness on TCEs was negative within a threshold, while its effect on PTCEs showed an inverted U-shaped relationship. The effect of complexity on PTCEs was positive, and its effect on TCEs was nonlinear. The effect of scale on TCEs and PTCEs was positive within a threshold and negative beyond that threshold. The effect of fragmentation on TCEs was also nonlinear, while its effect on PTCEs was positively linear. These results show the complex effects of the urban form on transport CO2 emissions. Thus, strategies for optimizing urban form and reducing urban transport carbon emissions are recommended for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is expected to significantly reshape urban mobility and travel behavior patterns. AVs have the potential to offer higher levels of convenience, safety, and accessibility while enabling users to spend their trip time on more efficient and productive tasks such as working or even relaxing. This transformation in the short- to mid-term could result in changes in the public's sensitivity and perception toward enduring longer travel times and consequently, in mid- to long-term, it could influence the willingness to reconsider their residential locations. Therefore, the objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of the potential effects of AVs on travel behavior and land use through the examination of stated preference queries. To achieve this objective, various multinomial logit models toward AVs adoption and residential relocation were estimated by employing a dataset from Istanbul, Türkiye, as an example of megacity in a developing country. While the study findings revealed a set of potential adoption barriers for AVs, they also indicated a notable propensity for adopting these vehicles. Furthermore, concerning individuals' willingness to reconsider their residential locations due to the emergence of AVs, a considerable positive attitude was evident, albeit guarded. This attitude suggests that individuals' decisions are still evolving and can be guided toward the desired future through well-timed and well-suited policies. The outcomes of the study can serve as valuable input for policymakers as well as transportation and urban planners, offering insights into the potential impacts of AVs on urban mobility and form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Often urban compactness indexes ignore the variegated intensity of urban development in their focus on the configuration. In this article, I propose an extension to the index of moment of inertia (IMI) as a compactness measure that can account for multiple ordinal classes representing development intensity. I demonstrate this index for developed areas for each county in the contiguous United States. These counties have a range of development configurations and intensity compositions. I show that for this data set, ignoring the multiple class composition and only focusing on the configuration overestimates the urban compactness in almost all instances. I demonstrate the impact of different analytical choices on the index for this data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kowloon Peninsula, an urban area of Hong Kong, might be one of the most studied cities in terms of urban climate in the world. Both annual mean urban air temperature and humidity have been on the rise following the continual increase in the building volume and continual reduction in the average wind speed in the urban canopy layer. The observed urban warming and humidifying phenomena are a direct result of the city form (i.e., the city shape and size), including the building height and density. We call for a system-of-systems approach to be adopted in urban climate studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Urban Heat Island phenomenon (UHI), characterized by elevated temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings, is highly exacerbated by urbanization and climate change. Understanding the complex relationship between UHI effect and urban form is crucial for effective urban planning and climate mitigation strategies. This paper examines the multifaceted connection between UHIs and urban forms, exploring various methods used to study this relationship. Through a review of the existing literature, we analyze the influence of various urban characteristics on the intensity and spatial distribution of UHIs. Furthermore, we discuss the key methods and technologies, such as remote sensing and modeling, used in advancing our understanding of UHI–urban form interactions. This study then delves into the literature on UHIs within the specific context of Morocco, identifying research gaps and emphasizing the need for more comprehensive research to address them. By translating study findings into actionable urban solutions, this paper suggests contextual mitigation strategies based on the research outcomes. Finally, by synthesizing current research findings and methodologies, this paper seeks to provide insights into the complexities of UHI dynamics and their implications for climate resilience, highlighting the potential of research for forging sustainable and climate-conscious planning strategies in Morocco and across the broader MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an increasingly urbanized world, there is an urgent need to examine how cities may evolve and achieve sustainability. This paper systematically looks at the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Poyang Lake Region (PLR) in China to examine the spatial processes for insights into cities and urbanization, balancing the environmental and socio‐economic dimensions. A total of 226 805 cells are analyzed to unveil the relationship between sustainability changes in 2015–2019 period and urban form indicators, considering sociodemographic variables, geographical features, and city size as control variables. Two tree‐based machine learning models (Random Forest and XGBoost) are developed. This study provides evidence that a monocentric urban form and a high share of small activity clusters are not good for sustainability. For each urban form indicator, there is a non‐linear relationship with sustainability. The results of the machine learning models reconfirm the sustainability benefits of having a strong second activity cluster comparable to the largest one. When planning cities, some forms of land use buffering are desirable. There is also support for developing relatively large activity nodes and promoting compactness in urban form. Beyond urban form characteristics, the levels of urbanization, economic development, and population are still highly relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista 180 is the property of Revista 180 and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Despite the increasing number of flood studies, the interrelationships between urban form indices (UFIs) and flood resilience (FR) have received little attention and hold miscellaneous perspectives. Consequentially, this study identifies how UFIs at various spatial scales affect FR by synthesizing article findings and proposing insights for future research. Scientometric analysis has been used to analyze the gathered peer-reviewed articles from nine research engines without time restrictions. One hundred and eighteen relevant articles were included and thoroughly investigated using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol. Our findings indicate that divergent and dialectical perspectives about the efficacy of UFIs are due to multiple disciplines, methodologies, and different case study contexts. The included studies were classified according to urban scale as macro (citywide), meso (districts), micro (block), and multi-scalar analysis by 80.5%, 6.8%, 10.2%, and 2.4%, respectively. Furthermore, the included studies were categorized based on analysis type into realistic case studies, literature reviews, modeling, and hybrid analysis, with 74.6%, 7.6%, 14.4%, and 3.4%, respectively. At the macroscale, city density and spatial distribution degree have the most significant effect on FR. At the same time, mixed uses, connectivity, coverage ratio, block arrangements, and street characteristics are on the meso and micro scales. Further studies on the trade-offs and commonality between UFIs, FR, and overall urban resilience are required to shape climate-adaptive, sustainable communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Analyzing urban form patterns and their differentiation from a multi-dimensional and large-scale perspective is the basis for studies of urban patterns, processes and effects, but the subject remains a great challenge. Methods: We construct a multi⁃dimensional characterization system of urban form by integrating urban physical space and social space perspectives, which include indices on land use, building distribution, transport network, population distribution and urban function distribution. We further propose a pattern identification method based on principal component analysis and clustering algorithm. Results: Taking 2 475 natural cities in China, the United States, and Europe as examples, we identify six major urban morphological patterns which include high-density (HD), high-aggregation with low-density (HALD), low-aggregation with low-density (LALD), multi-center with high-concentration (MCHC), multi-center with high-mixed (MCHM) and multi-center with low-mixed (MCLM). Chinese cities are mostly HD cities and MCHC cities, and the distribution of patterns has a significant difference between northwest and southeast areas. In the United States, there are mostly HALD cities, LALD cities and MCLM cities, while showing difference between east and west areas. The cities in Europe are mostly MCHM cities with a few other types of cities along the western and southern coastlines. Conclusions: Multi⁃dimensional characterization can classify cities into categories in a comprehensive, refined and reasonable way, and urban form patterns can provide support for cross-regional urban comparison studies, urban pattern and process effects, and urban simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is proven a powerful tool to reduce carbon emissions by regulating urban land use structure. To leverage this tool, land-use carbon emission intensity (LUCEI) is the critical indicator to bridge carbon emissions effects of natural and human activities to land use structure. Current studies try to established the carbon emission allocation framework of "carbon emission inventory - land use category" and use it to estimate the LUCEI. However, none of the frameworks work at multiple spatial scales: the total carbon emissions and the land use category at different territorial levels do not conform with each other, impeding the synergetic effects of the low-carbon planning at different territorial levels. This study establishes a new framework of carbon emission estimation and allocation for the three territorial levels of municipality, city proper, and district and conducts a case study on Hinggan Prefecture. With the new framework, the carbon emission intensity of the entire land use category is being systematically differentiated, enabling the clarification of the linkages between LUCEI and the characteristics of energy structure, industrial structure, and urban forms of cities. The comparison of LUCEI of residential and transportation land between cities identifies the characteristics of urban form that are apt to high carbon emissions. The biggest contribution of the framework established in this study provides a technical tool to introduce carbon emission quantification into the territorial and spatial planning system. It may help deepen the understanding about the spatial pattern of carbon emissions and support a more refined estimation and comparison of the carbon effects of land use planning schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the relationship between local housing prices and the urban form and distribution of urban functional zones in a single city is well-discussed, the conclusion is usually sensitive to a particular city context, and cross-city comparative study is limited. This study attempts to examine the influences of urban form and urban functional zone distribution on housing prices within and between cities after controlling the city-wide socio-economic and demographic differences. Based on multiple open-source big data, such as points-of-interest (POI) and historical housing transaction data, the hierarchical linear model is utilized to compare the housing market of 10 extra-large cities in China. Results indicate that the urban form and the urban functional zone distribution significantly influence housing prices after the socio-economic and demographic differences are controlled. For inter-city comparison, an urban form with high compactness, low centrality, low polycentricity, high density, and low dissimilarity in housing development is related to lower city-level housing prices. For intra-city, proximity to work centers, high-quality hospitals, and schools shows positive associations to housing prices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on the streets and spatial networks of the historic urban area in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, China, by mainly investigating the evolution of their geometric and topological characteristics. It draws on the theories and methods of urban morphology and space syntax, combines the digital historical maps at different times, and uses methods such as historical map spatial interpretation, geographic information system (GIS), sDNA tools, and urban morphological parameter analysis to explore and sort out the evolutionary process of the street and alley network in Changsha from the early modern period to the present. The paper constructs a parameter system for analyzing the street and alley network of historic urban areas from a geometric and topological perspective. It introduces the indicators of road density, road orientation, intersection density, and approaches such as closeness, betweenness, and intelligibility in space syntax into the parameter analysis framework of street and alley network morphology and spatial characteristics evolution. By comparing the changes in various parameters at different spatial scales, the process of the spatial order evolution of the street and alley network in the historic urban area is analyzed, and the evolutionary rules of the various periods' morphological characteristics are extracted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Considering resilience within the components of urban form can aid in the planning of disaster-prone cities and enable them to become more resilient. Although prior research has explored resilience and urban form, the aspects of urban form that can enhance natural disaster resilience remain relatively underexplored. Thus, this study aims to identify these aspects and explore research opportunities in the development of resilience concepts in urban form that have been previously studied by researchers. This study employs the systematic review method, which includes bibliometric analysis and a full-text review of the identified literature. The results show that plots, open spaces, buildings, and streets are the main variables in developing a resilient urban form. Additionally, the street network within the urban form is emphasized in emergency disaster planning. Most current research describes resilience in terms of the ability to withstand and adapt by restoring and operating systems as they were before the disaster occurred. Recommendations for future research include focusing on long-term resilience in urban form by implementing new operational methods in cities to achieve transformative adaptation. Another opportunity is to conduct research in locations with unique characteristics in developing countries, especially areas that have previously experienced significant natural disasters. This study contributes to the understanding of how urban form can be enhanced for resilience through the planning of its components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lasem City, a charming trading town nestled on the north coast of Central Java, Indonesia, is currently experiencing a surge in tourist popularity. This surge is attributed to the city's rich historical legacy, which adds an intriguing layer to the allure of this vibrant destination. To comprehend the distinctive attributes of this city, it is essential to conduct a morphological overview, delving into the formation and evolution of the urban landscape throughout history. The physical identity of the city shaped by geographical location, historical events, and local culture, serves as a conceptual framework for deciphering its unique character. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the impact of tourism on the morphology of Lasem, from the Hindu Majapahit era to the post-independence period in Indonesia. Exploring both positive and negative influences, the study meticulously obtained spatial and historical data through a combination of field observations, analysis of historical maps, and insightful interviews. The discernible growth pattern of tourism in Lasem was adeptly shown through content analysis and triangulation. The results showed a surge of tourism in post-independence Lasem, particularly gaining momentum after the 2000sl. Furthermore, an indelible mark on the city was left by the influx of Chinese cultural influences brought by immigrants establishing elite settlements. Economic dynamics further catalyzed a shift in land function, transforming former spaces into thriving commercial hubs. The dynamics of Lasem as a historic city experienced a profound transformation directly influenced by tourism. This elucidates a compelling interrelationship between the morphology of historic cities in Indonesia, the burgeoning tourism sector, and the nuanced field of heritage management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The causal relationship between urban form, in particular density, and travel demand is subject to debate. Here, we investigate this relationship using a structured regression approach applied to a large-scale layered dataset of travel patterns and urban form. We find that residents of the densest urban areas use 80% less energy for transportation than residents of rural areas and explore the causal factors influencing this relationship. We find that the primary driver of the density–energy use relationship is the larger number of nearby destinations available to urban dwellers, followed by differences in road network properties and public transit infrastructure. The energy benefits of urban dwelling are weakened when there are more destinations available 10–100 km away due to urban sprawl. While these causal factors are correlated with density, urban form can substantially affect travel energy use even within a given density bracket. We also show that urban form predominantly influences how and where people travel, rather than how often and how long. These results outline pathways for cities and communities to reduce the environmental impact of travel while increasing access to relevant destinations.

The world is experiencing unprecedented urbanization, particularly through the continuous growth of megacities, leading to significant urban land expansion. The spatial layout and growth patterns of urban areas play a critical role in determining cities' sustainable development. However, the optimal path for cities undergoing rapid urbanization remains uncertain. This study examines four megacities—Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai—and, from the perspective of urban land density, compares their patterns and processes of land expansion in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. Findings reveal that the urban land area of China's megacities has expanded nearly fourfold over the past three decades. Meanwhile, Tokyo and Seoul have adopted a polycentric urban structure, becoming increasingly compact. In contrast, Beijing and Shanghai are only beginning to show signs of polycentric development. The study concludes that cities experiencing rapid growth should not impose excessive limitations on urban expansion. Polycentric and compact development has become a critical strategy for megacities. These insights offer valuable guidance for urban planning and sustainable development in both established and emerging megacities across East Asia.

Morphological structures of urban streets in Baghdad have been deciphered by using practical methodologies inclusive of data collection, digitization, and identification processes. This paper uses street pattern morphological analysis in a typical Middle Eastern city, in this case, Baghdad, from organic configurations to modern metropolitan sprawl. It is based on historical maps and satellite images, supported by field surveys. Six distinct street patterns have been identified that have influenced the formation of Baghdad’s urban development and continuity, focusing attention on the ancient city configuration and current planning principles. Of great interest is the fact that there are calls for the retention of the urbanism historical fabric in the cities with new growth at the same time there are calls for methodologies that are responsive to the sociocultural energy characteristic of the cities in the Middle East. This study adds to the general body of literature on urban morphology and further provides detailed insight into the morphology of streets in Baghdad and other similar towns. The research, therefore, shows evidence of the need for recognizing street morphology roles in the form and function of urban landscapes and will advocate for environments reflective of historical context in line with the needs that modern urban life requires. Results will demonstrate how streets change based on influences from culture and socio-economic factors. They conclude that streets developed in the light of cumulative processes, directions, and scales of development. This research is taken up to comprehend urban morphology leading towards sustainable and culturally responsive designs.