Journal Article Archives - Page 7 of 67

Suitability of the height above nearest drainage (HAND) model for flood inundation mapping in data-scarce regions: a comparative analysis with hydrodynamic models

Thalakkottukara, N. T., Thomas, J., Watkins, M. K., Holland, B. C., Oommen, T., & Grover, H. (2024). Suitability of the height above nearest drainage (HAND) model for flood inundation mapping in data-scarce regions: a comparative analysis with hydrodynamic models. Earth Science Informatics. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12145-023-01218-x.

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Abstract

Unprecedented floods from extreme rainfall events worldwide emphasize the need for flood inundation mapping for floodplain management and risk reduction. Access to flood inundation maps and risk evaluation tools remains challenging in most parts of the world, particularly in rural regions, leading to decreased flood resilience. The use of hydraulic and hydrodynamic models in rural areas has been hindered by excessive data and computational requirements. In this study, we mapped the flood inundation in Huron Creek watershed, Michigan, USA for an extreme rainfall event (1000-year return period) that occurred in 2018 (Father's Day Flood) using the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) model and a synthetic rating curve developed from LIDAR DEM. We compared the flood inundation extent and depth modeled by the HAND with flood inundation characteristics predicted by two hydrodynamic models, viz., HEC-RAS 2D and SMS-SRH 2D. The flood discharge of the event was simulated using the HEC-HMS hydrologic model. Results suggest that, in different channel segments, the HAND model produces different degrees of concurrence in both flood inundation extent and depth when compared to the hydrodynamic models. The differences in flood inundation characteristics produced by the HAND model are primarily due to the uncertainties associated with optimal parameter estimation of the synthetic rating curve. Analyzing the differences between the HAND and hydrodynamic models also highlights the significance of terrain characteristics in model predictions. Based on the comparable predictive capability of the HAND model to map flood inundation areas during extreme rainfall events, we demonstrate the suitability of the HAND-based approach for mitigating flood risk in data-scarce, rural regions.

Keywords

Flood inundation mapping; Father's Day Flood; Data-scarce regions; HAND; HEC-RAS 2D; SMS-SRH 2D

Association between property investments and crime on commercial and residential streets: Implications for maximizing public safety benefits

Walter, R. J., Acolin, A., & Tillyer, M. S. (2024). Association between property investments and crime on commercial and residential streets: Implications for maximizing public safety benefits. SSM – Population Health, 25, 101537–101537. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101537.

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Abstract

Physical property investments enhance public safety in communities while alleviating the need for criminal justice system responses. Policy makers and local government officials must allocate scare resources for community and economic development activities. Understanding where physical property investments have the greatest crime reducing benefits can inform decision making to maximize economic, safety, and health outcomes. This study uses Spatial Durbin models with street segment and census tract by year fixed effects to examine the impact of physical property investments on changes in property and violent crime over an 11-year period (2008-2018) in six large U.S. cities. The units of analysis are commercial and residential street segments. Street segments are classified into low, medium, and high crime terciles defined by initial crime levels (2008-2010). Difference of coefficients tests identify significant differences in building permit effects across crime terciles. The findings reveal there is a significant negative relationship between physical property investments and changes in property and violent crime on commercial and residential street segments in all cities. Investments have the greatest public safety benefit where initial crime levels are the highest. The decrease in violent crime is larger on commercial street segments, while the decrease in property crime is larger on residential street segments. Targeting the highest crime street segments (i.e., 90th percentile) for property improvements will maximize public safety benefits.

Keywords

Violent and property crime; Public safety; Physical property investments

The dynamics of housing cost burden among renters in the United States

Colburn, G., Hess, C., Allen, R., & Crowder, K. (2024). The dynamics of housing cost burden among renters in the United States. Journal of Urban Affairs, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/07352166.2023.2288587.

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Abstract

Housing cost burden—defined as paying more than 30% of household income for housing—has become a central feature of the American stratification system with dire consequences for the health and well-being of adults and children living in burdened households. To date, existing research has largely focused on the overall prevalence and distribution of housing cost burden—that is, the percentage of households that are cost burdened at a given time and differences in exposure to housing cost burden based on race and income using cross-sectional sources of data. To more fully understand the dynamics of housing cost burden among renter households in the United States including the frequency and duration of spells, we use 50 years of longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The analysis reveals that, in contrast to the episodic nature of poverty, housing cost burden is deep, frequent, and persistent for a growing share of American households.

Keywords

Housing cost burden; rental housing; housing affordability; rent burden

Allocating Safety Cost using in Construction Site

Kim, S., & Kim, Y. (2023). Allocating Safety Cost using in Construction Site. Tehnički Glasnik, 17(4), 594–597. https://doi.org/10.31803/tg-20230104151203

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Abstract

Environments, Health, and Safety (EHS) activities are strongly linked to the concept of sustainability in the current construction industry and consequently absorb more financial and managerial attention. One of major obstacles in EHS costing is that most EHS costs are buried in general overhead costs. Therefore, EHS costs lacks transparency, making it hard to allocate EHS costs to relevant construction projects. This paper present a recent study in which a method of activity-based costing (ABC) has been applied to safety costs at a contractor's home office. The list of safety activities, their cost drivers as well as their cost information on one of Korean general contractor is provided. The authors expect that the application of ABC will improve transparency in costing EHS costs as well as allocating EHS costs to projects.

Keywords

budget; safety accident; safety management; safety law

Examining commute mode choice of essential workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic – A case study of the University of Washington

Cai, M., Shen, Q., Wang, Y., Brown, M., Ban, X., & Ashour, L. A. (2024). Examining commute mode choice of essential workers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic – A case study of the University of Washington. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 15, 101129-. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2023.101129

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Abstract

During disruptive events and major crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, essential workers, defined in this study as employees who must continue to make frequent commute trips, play a critical role in maintaining the basic function of society. It is therefore vital for transportation planners and policymakers to ensure that adequate mobility services are provided to meet the travel needs of this group of workers. To better understand essential workers' mobility barriers and inform future transportation policy, this research examines their pre-and during-pandemic commutes, as well as prospects on future commuting, using data from the Transportation Needs Assessment Survey conducted by the University of Washington in Seattle. The results show that, first, over 60% of pre-pandemic public transit riders switched to other modes, especially driving alone. In contrast, almost all the essential workers who drove alone, biked, or walked before the pandemic continued to do so during the pandemic. Second, the shift to driving alone was most pronounced among essential workers with high incomes, whereas public transit remained as a primary mode choice of lower-income groups. As travel distance increased, the probability of driving alone over public transit also went up, although the relationship was not linear. We did not find consistently significant associations between mode choice and other sociodemographic variables. Finally, our analysis indicated that most essential workers anticipated to return to their pre-pandemic commute frequency and mode choice when the pandemic is under control. Transportation planners and policymakers can facilitate mobility for essential workers through planning and policy innovations, especially during disruptive events and major crises.

Keywords

Essential workers; Transportation equity; Mode choice; Commuting; COVID-19

Other Spaces of Quarantine

Lozanovska, M., Pieris, A., Haghighi, F., Taylor, W. M., Hou, J., Smitheram, J., & Chee, L. (2020). Other Spaces of Quarantine. Fabrications : The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Australia and New Zealand, 30(3), 416–429. https://doi.org/10.1080/10331867.2020.1857609

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Guerrilla Urbanism: Urban Design and the Practices of Resistance

Hou, J. (2020). Guerrilla urbanism: urban design and the practices of resistance. Urban Design International (London, England), 25(2), 117–125. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41289-020-00118-6

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Abstract

Unsanctioned, unscripted, and seemingly “undesirable” activities have long appropriated urban spaces in routine and sometimes unexpected ways, bringing new meanings and unforeseen functions to those places. In the last decade or so, such practices have inspired a growing movement under the banner of DIY and tactical urbanisms. The growing acceptance of these practices creates important openings in the formalized planning systems for greater fexibility and expedient change. Yet, the institutionalization of previously informal and even subversive acts has resulted in concerns regarding co-optation and de-politicization. This special issue seeks to pivot a refocus towards these unsanctioned and unscripted urban activities as a form of counter-hegemonic spatial practices, distinct from its professionalized and institutionalized counterpart. A range of cases is examined here sharing similar characteristics as challenges against the prevailing social and political paradigm. Key findings include the scalability of guerrilla actions, the fuid shift between overt and covert actions, and the linkage between everyday struggles and organized resistance. This special issue is intended to advance our understanding of urban design by situating it in a broader social, economic, and political praxis that encompasses both formal and informal practices performed by a wide variety of individual and collective actors.

Keywords

Guerrilla urbanism; Tactical urbanism; Insurgent planning; Spatial practices; Everyday resistance

Civic Resilience and the COVID-19 Crisis in Urban Asia

Hou, Jeffrey. 2021. Civic Resilience and the COVID-19 Crisis in Urban Asia. Journal of Geographical Science, 100: 121-136. DOI: 10.6161/jgs.202112_(100).0006

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Abstract

Civil society responses including self-help and mutual aid have played an important role in addressing the COVID-19 crisis around the world, including Asia. They represent a form of civic resilience, the ability of citizens and communities to cope with and adapt to social, economic, and environmental disturbances. But how exactly did communities and social groups in Asia self-organize to address challenges during the pandemic, particularly those facing the most vulnerable populations in society? What did these cases have in common? What can we learn from these civil society responses for future planning? What were the roles of researchers, spatial planning professionals, and institutions in strengthening community resilience? This article presents outcomes from a two-part webinar titled ＂Bottom-Up Resilience＂ that took place in July 2020 featuring activists, organizers, and researchers from Hong Kong, Manila, Shanghai, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. Preliminary findings include contrasting responses from institutions and civil society actors, how the civil society responses have built upon and expanded trust and empathy in a given place, how civil society responses scale up, and such scalability has depended heavily on solidarity and collaboration. The article further discusses how these efforts represent a form of civic resilience, the continued barriers, and implications for spatial planning practices.

Built Environment and Public Health: More Than 20 Years of Progress

Rollings, K. A., Dannenberg, A. L., Frumkin, H., & Jackson, R. J. (2024). Built Environment and Public Health: More Than 20 Years of Progress. American Journal of Public Health (1971), 114(1), 27-.

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Abstract

Early BEH research addressed influences of toxic environmental exposures, zoning laws, building codes, and healthy housing and communities on asthma, injury, violence, healthy and unhealthy food consumption, mental health, social capital, and health inequities.1 Awareness increased regarding the benefits of denser, more walkable, and less automobile-dependent settings, as well as the accessibility, mobility, and livability needs of the growing aging population. Work on automobile dependence, traffic safety, walking and biking, commuting, and sedentary time was primarily driven by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Active Living Research initiative to promote active living via environment, policy, and practice improvements3,4 Research linked specific building and community features to health outcomes, enabling more effective interventions such as appealing stairways, ample sidewalks, and vibrant activity centers.5 The business case for health promoting, walkable places was documented.6 Unintended consequences, including gentrification and displacement, of interventions aimed at improving health among people from racial and ethnic minority groups and of lower incomes were increasingly recognized, resulting in more research focused on how to mitigate these risks.7 The history of structural racism, segregation, redlining, neighborhood disinvestment, health inequities, and disparities in walkability, housing, and green space access was only recently widely acknowledged.8 Numerous books (Table E, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org) and dozens of BEH measures (e.g., walkability [https://www.wal kscore. com], access to parks [https://www.tpl. org/ParkScore], livability [http://www. livabilitylndex.AARP.org], and brain health [https://cognability.isr.umich. edu]) were also published, reflecting the growth and maturation of the field. The effects of these evolving technologies on land use, housing, economic and community development, traffic patterns, transportation planning and infrastructure, air quality, and associated health outcomes require further research and evaluation (Table G, reference 3).10 PRACTICE Professional organizations across disciplines established BEH committees and working groups (Table F, available as a supplement to the online version of this article at http://www.ajph.org), promoting healthy building and community design through conferences, reports, training, and advocacy (e.g., https://www. Health impact assessments (HIAs) were used to consider potential health impacts of proposed projects and programs and identify disproportionately affected populations as well as how to mitigate adverse effects9,11,12 HIAs improved collaboration, amplified community member voices, increased awareness of health issues, and informed decision makers, but the time and resources required to complete HIAs limited their success.12 Cross-disciplinary public health, planning, policy, real estate, architecture, engineering, transportation, and public-private partnership efforts, along with Complete Streets approaches (https://highways.dot.gov/ complete-streets), improved pedestrian infrastructure and safety.

Public risk perception of covid-19 transmission and support for compact development

Grover, H. (2023). Public risk perception of covid-19 transmission and support for compact development. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 10(1), 894–899. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02431-1.

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Abstract

In the last few decades, there has been a definitive shift in public support for compact development – characterized by high densities, more multifamily residential use, and effective public transit. The allure of compact development is because, along with sustainability benefits, it offers multiple lifestyle benefits, such as more significant opportunities for socialization and easy access to amenities. Greater possibilities of frequent and longer interpersonal interactions attract residents to such communities. However, given the recent pandemic, it is logical to be concerned about how future public support for compact development may change. This study analyzes data from a national online survey (n = 1100) conducted in the United States toward the end of the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2022). This research aims to assess the relationship between perceived concern for COVID-19 transmission and public support for compact development. The results from SEM analysis suggest that people more concerned about COVID-19 transmission are less supportive of compact development policies. People from areas with higher density and more COVID-19 cases are likely to have greater concern for COVID-19 transmission, which may decrease support for compact development in these areas (mediated relationship). Individuals who rely on news, online media, friends or family for COVID-19 information and single-family residents are also less likely to support compact development. In contrast, while older adults are likely to have higher concern for COVID-19 transmission, they are likely to support compact development. Higher-income households are less likely to be concerned about COVID-19 transmission but are more supportive of compact development. These findings suggest that the perceived threat of disease transmission will likely result in decreased public support for compact development. To ensure continued public support, urban policymakers must allay public fear of virus transmission in compact built environments by incorporating public health measures for controlling virus transmission in compact urban environments.