Doescher, Mark P.; Lee, Chanam; Berke, Ethan M.; Adachi-mejia, Anna M.; Lee, Chun-kuen; Stewart, Orion; Patterson, Davis G.; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Carlos, Heather A.; Duncan, Glen E.; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2014). The Built Environment and Utilitarian Walking in Small U.S. Towns. Preventive Medicine, 69, 80 – 86.
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Abstract
Objectives. The role of the built environment on walking in rural United States (U.S.) locations is not well characterized. We examined self-reported and measured built environment correlates of walking for utilitarian purposes among adult residents of small rural towns. Methods. In 2011-12, we collected telephone survey and geographic data from 2152 adults in 9 small towns from three U.S. regions. We performed mixed-effects logistic regression modeling to examine relationships between built environment measures and utilitarian walking (any versus none; high [>= 150 min per week] versus low [<150 min per week]) to retail, employment and public transit destinations. Results. Walking levels were lower than those reported for populations living in larger metropolitan areas. Environmental factors significantly (p < 0.05) associated with higher odds of utilitarian walking in both models included self-reported presence of crosswalks and pedestrian signals and availability of park/natural recreational areas in the neighborhood, and also objectively measured manufacturing land use. Conclusions. Environmental factors associated with utilitarian walking in cities and suburbs were important in small rural towns. Moreover, manufacturing land use was associated with utilitarian walking. Modifying the built environment of small towns could lead to increased walking in a sizeable segment of the U.S. population. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Keywords
Cities & Towns -- Environmental Conditions; Walking; Telephone Surveys; Logistic Regression Analysis; Public Transit; Cities & Towns; Rural Conditions; United States; Exercise/physical Activity; Health Promotion; Physical Environment; Prevention; Rural Health; Social Environment; Physical-activity; Postmenopausal Women; Adults; Health; Risk; Transportation; Associations; Neighborhood; Travel; Determinants
Manzo, Lynne C. (2014). On Uncertain Ground: Being at Home in the Context of Public Housing Redevelopment. International Journal Of Housing Policy, 14(4), 389 – 410.
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Abstract
The recent global financial crisis increased the volatility of housing markets and furthered the ongoing disinvestment in public sector housing. This disinvestment has been manifest in urban restructuring programmes involving both the privatisation and the wholesale demolition of public/social housing. For example, programmes like HOPE VI in the USA have radically altered the landscape of public housing through the demolition of tens of thousands of housing units nationwide. However, what of the people who occupied this housing, and what of the lives they had built there? In such a context, deliberating on the notion of being at home becomes a pressing task, necessitating serious consideration of the lived experience of place and place attachments among those who have been displaced by such programmes. While research has studied outcomes such as the quality of the new neighbourhood and household economic stability, it does not adequately address the lived experience of place and the disruptions that forced relocation can cause. This paper brings the literature on place attachment into the discussion of urban restructuring programmes and discusses the findings of several empirical studies on place attachment to provide a more complete picture of the impacts of such programmes on poor people. It demonstrates how place attachments in the context of public housing are complicated by poverty, power dynamics, ambivalence, and stigma, underscoring how attachments are formed through the interplay of policy and programme rhetoric, and the active processes of meaning making among residents. Policy implications of considering place attachments in public housing redevelopment efforts are also addressed.
Keywords
Public Housing; Housing Development; Housing Market; Housing Assistance Agencies; Urbanization; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009; Being At Home; Hope Vi; Place Attachment; Urban Restructuring Programmes; Relocation; Residents; Stability; Landscape; Neighborhoods; Stigma; Poverty; Radicalism; Ambivalence; Public Policy; Social Programs; Public Finance; Public Sector; Economic Stabilization; Housing Authorities; International Finance; Economic Crisis; Privatization; Demolition; Volatility; Redevelopment; Low Income Groups; Rhetoric
Berrigan, David; Hipp, J. Aaron; Hurvitz, Philip M.; James, Peter; Jankowska, Marta M.; Kerr, Jacqueline; Laden, Francine; Leonard, Tammy; Mckinnon, Robin A.; Powell-wiley, Tiffany M.; Tarlov, Elizabeth; Zenk, Shannon N.; The Trec Spatial And Contextual Measures And Modeling Work Group. (2015). Geospatial and Contextual Approaches to Energy Balance and Health. Annals Of Gis, 21(2), 157 – 168.
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Abstract
In the past 15 years, a major research enterprise has emerged that is aimed at understanding associations between geographic and contextual features of the environment (especially the built environment) and elements of human energy balance, including diet, weight and physical activity. Here we highlight aspects of this research area with a particular focus on research and opportunities in the United States as an example. We address four main areas: (1) the importance of valid and comparable data concerning behaviour across geographies; (2) the ongoing need to identify and explore new environmental variables; (3) the challenge of identifying the causally relevant context; and (4) the pressing need for stronger study designs and analytical methods. Additionally, we discuss existing sources of geo-referenced health data which might be exploited by interdisciplinary research teams, personnel challenges and some aspects of funding for geospatial research by the US National Institutes of Health in the past decade, including funding for international collaboration and training opportunities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Annals of GIS is the property of Taylor & Francis Ltd 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.)
Keywords
Bioenergetics; Geospatial Data; Contextual Analysis; Physical Activity; Obesity; Contextual; Energy Balance; Geospatial; Spatial
Sprague, Tyler S. (2015). Products of Place the Era of Reinforced-Concrete Skyscrapers in Seattle, 1921-1931. Pacific Northwest Quarterly, 106(3), 107 – 119.
Drewnowski, Adam; Aggarwal, Anju; Tang, Wesley; Hurvitz, Philip M.; Scully, Jason; Stewart, Orion; Moudon, Anne Vernez. (2016). Obesity, Diet Quality, Physical Activity, and the Built Environment: The Need for Behavioral Pathways. BMC Public Health, 16.
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Abstract
Background: The built environment ( BE) is said to influence local obesity rates. Few studies have explored causal pathways between home-neighborhood BE variables and health outcomes such as obesity. Such pathways are likely to involve both physical activity and diet. Methods: The Seattle Obesity Study ( SOS II) was a longitudinal cohort of 440 adult residents of King Co, WA. Home addresses were geocoded. Home-neighborhood BE measures were framed as counts and densities of food sources and physical activity locations. Tax parcel property values were obtained from County tax assessor. Healthy Eating Index ( HEI 2010) scores were constructed using data from food frequency questionnaires. Physical activity ( PA) was obtained by self-report. Weights and heights were measured at baseline and following 12 months' exposure. Multivariable regressions examined the associations among BE measures at baseline, health behaviors ( HEI-2010 and physical activity) at baseline, and health outcome both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Results: None of the conventional neighborhood BE metrics were associated either with diet quality, or with meeting PA guidelines. Only higher property values did predict better diets and more physical activity. Better diets and more physical activity were associated with lower obesity prevalence at baseline and 12 mo, but did not predict weight change. Conclusion: Any links between the BE and health outcomes critically depend on establishing appropriate behavioral pathways. In this study, home-centric BE measures, were not related to physical activity or to diet. Further studies will need to consider a broader range of BE attributes that may be related to diets and health.
Keywords
Body-mass Index; Local Food Environment; Residential Property-values; Supermarket Accessibility; Park Proximity; Neighborhood Walkability; Vegetable Consumption; Atherosclerosis Risk; Restaurant Food; Associations; Built Environment; Physical Activity; Obesity; Diet Quality
Kim, Taehoon; Kim, Yong-woo; Cho, Hunhee. (2016). Customer Earned Value: Performance Indicator from Flow and Value Generation View. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 32(1).
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Abstract
The earned value method (EVM) is considered an advanced project control technique that provides a quantitative measure of work performance. However, the EVM is effective only under the assumption that every activity is independent. Literature shows that the EVM lacks the value generation view even working against the reliability of workflow. The goal of this research is to propose a project metric system to supplement the EVM in terms of the workflow and value generation. The researchers suggest a new metric of customer earned value (CEV), which is defined as the budgeted amount of work completed and is used by the successors on a network. Through a hypothetical case study, this research investigates how the work-in-process between trades and schedule performance in each trade behave under different uncertainties. The result suggests that the proposed metrics can provide project managers with more relevant managerial information on project progress as well as on the level of collaboration. The proposed system with the EVM would facilitate collaboration on project planning and control where variability and interdependency are involved. (C) 2015 American Society of Civil Engineers.
Keywords
Budgeting; Customer Services; Organisational Aspects; Planning; Project Management; Customer Earned Value; Project Planning; Project Managers; Trade-schedule Performance; Work-in-process; Budgeted Amount; Project Metric System; Advanced Project Control Technique; Earned Value Method; Performance Indicator; Value Generation View; Management; Project Control Metric; Collaboration
Shakouri, Mahmoud; Lee, Hyun Woo. (2016). Mean-Variance Portfolio Analysis Data For Optimizing Community-Based Photovoltaic Investment. Data In Brief, 6, 840 – 842.
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Abstract
The amount of electricity generated by Photovoltaic (PV) systems is affected by factors such as shading, building orientation and roof slope. To increase electricity generation and reduce volatility in generation of PV systems, a portfolio of PV systems can be made which takes advantages of the potential synergy among neighboring buildings. This paper contains data supporting the research article entitled: PACPIM: new decision-support model of optimized portfolio analysis for community-based photovoltaic investment [1]. We present a set of data relating to physical properties of 24 houses in Oregon, USA, along with simulated hourly electricity data for the installed PV systems. The developed Matlab code to construct optimized portfolios is also provided in Supplementary materials. The application of these files can be generalized to variety of communities interested in investing on PV systems. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.
Keywords
Community Solar; Photovoltaic System; Portfolio Theory; Energy Optimization; Electricity Volatility
Coslett, Daniel E. (2017). (Re)branding a (Post)colonial Streetscape: Tunis’s Avenue Habib Bourguiba and the Road Ahead. International Journal Of Islamic Architecture, 6(1), 59 – 96.
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Abstract
Arguably Tunis's premier public space, the iconic Avenue Bourguiba is today the product of over 150 years of manipulation, regulation and interpretation. Its development can be seen as an early example of thematic place branding, thereby complicating the notion that the widespread phenomenon is an exclusively postmodern and western one. In identifying three potential place-brand labels, this article considers the establishment of the 'Parisian Colonial' Avenue by French colonial authorities, its 'Tunisian Modern' modification at independence, and its more recent historicist 'Parisian Global' refurbishment within the contexts of colonialism, authoritarian governance and globalization. On the eve of the January 2011 revolution, the space reinforced the Ben Ali regime's maintenance of control and capitalized on the long-since entrenched image of a dual - eastern and western, traditional and modern - postcolonial city. In the revolution's wake the Avenue has become a reinvigorated public forum with a more complex character. Indeed, while the Avenue's existing form and function remain emblematic of Tunis's hybrid postcolonial identity, the thoroughfare now exemplifies the ongoing 'Arab Spring'. Its cultural brandscape and heritage content, though enhanced with new aspects of democratic empowerment, are likely to endure as the transitioning country continues to participate in the process of globalization.
Keywords
Africa; (post)colonialism; Architectural/urban History; Place Branding; Heritage; Arab Spring; Tunis
Neff, Gina; Tanweer, Anissa; Fiore-Gartland, Brittany; Osburn, Laura. (2017). Critique and Contribute: A Practice-Based Framework for Improving Critical Data Studies And Data Science. Big Data, 5(2), 85 – 97.
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Abstract
What would data science look like if its key critics were engaged to help improve it, and how might critiques of data science improve with an approach that considers the day-to-day practices of data science? This article argues for scholars to bridge the conversations that seek to critique data science and those that seek to advance data science practice to identify and create the social and organizational arrangements necessary for a more ethical data science. We summarize four critiques that are commonly made in critical data studies: data are inherently interpretive, data are inextricable from context, data are mediated through the sociomaterial arrangements that produce them, and data serve as a medium for the negotiation and communication of values. We present qualitative research with academic data scientists, data for good projects, and specialized cross-disciplinary engineering teams to show evidence of these critiques in the day-to-day experience of data scientists as they acknowledge and grapple with the complexities of their work. Using ethnographic vignettes from two large multiresearcher field sites, we develop a set of concepts for analyzing and advancing the practice of data science and improving critical data studies, including (1) communication is central to the data science endeavor; (2) making sense of data is a collective process; (3) data are starting, not end points, and (4) data are sets of stories. We conclude with two calls to action for researchers and practitioners in data science and critical data studies alike. First, creating opportunities for bringing social scientific and humanistic expertise into data science practice simultaneously will advance both data science and critical data studies. Second, practitioners should leverage the insights from critical data studies to build new kinds of organizational arrangements, which we argue will help advance a more ethical data science. Engaging the insights of critical data studies will improve data science. Careful attention to the practices of data science will improve scholarly critiques. Genuine collaborative conversations between these different communities will help push for more ethical, and better, ways of knowing in increasingly datum-saturated societies.
Keywords
Big; Communication; Politics; Critical Data Studies; Data For Good; Data Science; Ethics; Qualitative Methods; Theory
Dannenberg, Andrew L.; Burpee, Heather. (2018). Architecture for Health Is Not Just for Healthcare Architects. Health Environments Research & Design Journal (herd) (sage Publications, Ltd.), 11(2), 8 – 12.
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Keywords
Building Design & Construction; Public Health; Quality Of Life; Built Environment; Public Spaces