Li, Guanghao; Cheng, Qingqing; Zhan, Changhong; Yocom, Ken P. (2022). Evaluation Strategies on the Thermal Environmental Effectiveness of Street Canyon Clusters: A Case Study of Harbin, China. Sustainability, 14(20).
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Abstract
Urban overheating significantly affects people's physical and mental health. The addition of street trees is an essential, economical, and effective means by which to mitigate urban heat and optimize the overall thermal environment. Focusing on typical street canyon clusters in Harbin, China, landscape morphology was quantified by streetscape interface measurements (sky view factor, tree view factor, and building view factor). Through ENVI-met simulations, the correlation mechanism between streetscape interface measurements and thermal environment was evaluated, and optimization methods for assessing the thermal environment of urban streets were proposed. The results revealed: (1) The thermal environment optimization efficiency of general street canyon types was greatest when street tree spacing was 12 m. At present, the smaller spacing has not been simulated and may yield better thermal environment results. The average decrease in temperature (Ta), relative humidity (RH) and mean radiant temperature (MRT) was 0.78%, 2.23%, and 30.20%, respectively. (2) Specific street canyon types should adopt precise control strategies of streetscape interface according to their types to achieve the optimal balance between thermal environment optimization and cost. (3) Streetscape interface measurements and thermal environment indexes show quadratic correlation characteristics, and are critical points for further investigation. The conclusions are more specific than previous research findings, which are of great significance for decreasing the urban heat island effect at the block scale, improving residents' physical and mental health, and improving the urban environment quality.
Keywords
Heat Mitigation Strategies; Urban Green Areas; Sky View Factor; Cold Region; Comfort; Tree; Landscape; Park; Simulation; Density; Street Canyon Clusters; Streetscape Interface Measurement; Envi-met Simulation; Thermal Optimization
Acolin, Arthur;hoek-smit, Marja;green, Richard K. (2022). Measuring the Housing Sector’s Contribution to GDP in Emerging Market Countries. International Journal Of Housing Markets And Analysis, 15(5), 977-994.
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Abstract
Purpose > This paper aims to document the economic importance of the housing sector, as measured by its contribution to gross domestic product (GDP), which is not fully recognized. In response to the joint economic and health crises caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an opportunity for emerging market countries to develop and implement inclusive housing strategies that stimulate the economy and improve community health outcomes. However, so far housing does not feature prominently in the recovery plans of many emerging market countries. Design/methodology/approach > This paper uses national account data and informal housing estimates for 11 emerging market economies to estimate the contribution of housing investments and housing services to the GDP of these countries. Findings > This paper finds that the combined contribution of housing investments and housing services represents between 6.9% and 18.5% of GDP, averaging 13.1% in the countries with information about both. This puts the housing sector roughly on par with other key sectors such as manufacturing. In addition, if the informal housing sector is undercounted in the official national account figures used in this analysis by 50% or 100%, for example, then the true averages of housing investments and housing services’ contribution to GDP would increase to 14.3% or 16.1% of GDP, respectively. Research limitations/implications > Further efforts to improve data collection about housing investments and consumption, particularly imputed rent for owner occupiers and informal activity require national government to conduct regular household and housing surveys. Researcher can help make these surveys more robust and leverage new data sources such as scraped housing price and rent data to complement traditional surveys. Better data are needed in order to capture housing contribution to the economy. Practical implications > The size of the housing sector and its impact in terms of employment and community resilience indicate the potential of inclusive housing investments to both serve short-term economic stimulus and increase long-term community resilience. Originality/value > The role of housing in the economy is often limited to housing investment, despite the importance of housing services and well-documented methodologies to include them. This analysis highlights the importance of housing to the economy of emerging market countries (in addition to all the non-GDP related impact of housing on welfare) and indicate data limitation that need to be addressed to further strengthen the case for focusing on housing as part of economic recovery plans.
Keywords
Pandemics; Economic Importance; Investments; Housing; Sanitation; Recovery; International Organizations; Covid-19; Economic Growth; Data Collection; Economic Indicators; Economics; Housing Conditions; Economic Policy; Economic Conditions; Market Economies; Resilience; Low Income Groups; Economic Activity; Consumption; Emerging Markets; Earthquakes; Surveys; Gross Domestic Product--gdp; Coronaviruses; Affordable Housing; Economic Development; Informal Economy; Households; Recovery Plans; Disease Transmission; Africa; South Africa; India
Giles-corti, Billie; Moudon, Anne Vernez; Lowe, Melanie; Cerin, Ester; Boeing, Geoff; Frumkin, Howard; Salvo, Deborah; Foster, Sarah; Kleeman, Alexandra; Bekessy, Sarah; De Sa, Thiago Herick; Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark; Higgs, Carl; Hinckson, Erica; Adlakha, Deepti; Arundel, Jonathan; Liu, Shiqin; Oyeyemi, Adewale L.; Nitvimol, Kornsupha; Sallis, James F. (2022). What Next? Expanding Our View of City Planning and Global Health, and Implementing and Monitoring Evidence-informed Policy. Lancet Global Health, 10(6), E919-E926.
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Abstract
This Series on urban design, transport, and health aimed to facilitate development of a global system of health-related policy and spatial indicators to assess achievements and deficiencies in urban and transport policies and features. This final paper in the Series summarises key findings, considers what to do next, and outlines urgent key actions. Our study of 25 cities in 19 countries found that, despite many well intentioned policies, few cities had measurable standards and policy targets to achieve healthy and sustainable cities. Available standards and targets were often insufficient to promote health and wellbeing, and health-supportive urban design and transport features were often inadequate or inequitably distributed. City planning decisions affect human and planetary health and amplify city vulnerabilities, as the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted. Hence, we offer an expanded framework of pathways through which city planning affects health, incorporating 11 integrated urban system policies and 11 integrated urban and transport interventions addressing current and emerging issues. Our call to action recommends widespread uptake and further development of our methods and open-source tools to create upstream policy and spatial indicators to benchmark and track progress; unmask spatial inequities; inform interventions and investments; and accelerate transitions to net zero, healthy, and sustainable cities.
Lee, Namhun; Schaufelberger, John E. (2014). Risk Management Strategies for Privatized Infrastructure Projects: Study of the Build-Operate-Transfer Approach in East Asia and the Pacific. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 30(3).
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Abstract
Private-public partnerships have been adopted for the development of public infrastructure to meet the growing demand for public services. Many Asian countries have used the build-operate-transfer (BOT) approach to develop public infrastructure projects. However, the potential benefits of undertaking a BOT project are accompanied by corresponding risks from the private sector's perspective. The objectives of this study are (1)to identify and discuss major risks inherent in the East Asia and Pacific regions, and (2)to propose risk management strategies for future BOT projects to be successful. This paper reports the results of five case study analyses undertaken to review their primary risks and mitigated methods. In addition, this paper proposes some strategies for future BOT projects. Two main categories of risks were analyzed: general risks and project-specific risks. Risk management strategies were suggested for each category of risk. The main finding of this study indicates that the private sector cannot be the only participant in risk management. The host government's active support is the most essential factor for the profitability and economic viability of a BOT project in the East Asia and Pacific regions.
Keywords
Organisational Aspects; Project Management; Public Administration; Public Utilities; Risk Management; Structural Engineering; Risk Management Strategies; Privatized Infrastructure Projects; Build-operate-transfer Approach; East Asia; Private-public Partnerships; Public Services; Asian Countries; Public Infrastructure Projects; Pacific Regions; Future Bot Projects; Project-specific Risks; General Risks; Build-operate-transfer; Privatized Infrastructure
Nazari, Ahad; Vandadian, Shaghayegh; Abdirad, Hamid. (2017). Fuzzy AHP Model for Prequalification of Engineering Consultants in the Iranian Public Procurement System. Journal Of Management In Engineering, 33(2).
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Abstract
Prequalification of engineering consultants in the Iranian public procurement system is suffering from arbitrary processes and criteria that cannot effectively shortlist the increasing number of potential bidders. This study aims to develop a prequalification model that can serve as the basis for revising the existing regulations and criteria. The authors conducted interviews among experts to localize a framework of prequalification criteria. Fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP), accompanied by a survey among industry participants, was used to determine the importance level of decision criteria. The results confirmed that the existing guidelines cannot meet the expectations of the industry due to the overemphasis on the past performance of consultants and disregarding their current capabilities. For the international audience, this study clarifies that (1)the working culture of industry participants impacts their judgments on the importance level of intangible and tangible criteria used for prequalification processes, (2)short-listing consultants for long-term and fragmented data collection in national registration or project prequalification should be avoided, and (3)researchers must test FAHP models with different fuzzy scales because the success of the widely used fuzzy extent analysis method is highly dependent on the scale of fuzzy functions and judgments of decision makers.
Keywords
Analytic Hierarchy Process; Fuzzy Set Theory; Organisational Aspects; Procurement; Project Management; Public Relations; Tendering; Fuzzy Ahp Model; Project Prequalification Criteria; Iranian Public Procurement System; Bidders; Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process; Industry Participants; International Audience; National Registration; Fuzzy Scales; Fuzzy Extent Analysis Method; Decision Makers; Engineering Consultants; Working Culture; Decision-making Model; Extent Analysis Method; Selection; Qualification; Contractors; Criteria; Consultants; Prequalification; Fuzzy; Analytical Hierarchy Process (ahp)
Acolin, Arthur. (2020). Owning vs. Renting: The Benefits of Residential Stability? Housing Studies, 37(4), 644-647.
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Abstract
In housing research, owning, as compared to renting, is generally depicted as more desirable and associated with better outcomes. This paper explores differences in outcomes between owners and renters in 25 European countries and whether these differences are systematically smaller in countries in which owners and renters have more similar levels of residential stability (smaller tenure length gap). The results indicate that the direction of the relationship between tenure type and the selected outcomes is largely similar across countries. Owners generally exhibit more desirable outcomes (including life satisfaction, civic participation, educational outcomes for children, and physical and mental health). However, when looking at the relationship between outcomes and country level differences in tenure length gap, findings suggest that renters have outcomes that are more similar to owners in countries in which tenure length gaps are smaller. These results point to the potential benefits of policies that would increase residential stability, particularly for renters.
Keywords
European Union; Homeownership Benefits; Length Of Residence; Tenure; Home-ownership; Homeownership
Xiang, Wei-qi; Yang, Xiao-hua; Li, Yu-qi. (2021). A Set Pair Analysis Model for Suitability Evaluation of Human Settlement Environment. Thermal Science, 25(3B), 2109 – 2116.
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Abstract
The human settlement environment is a dynamic subsystem where people live and produce in the social system. This paper aims at evaluating comprehensively the suitability state of a given human settlement environment in a certain time and space and its evolutionary trend, the set pair analysis theory and its connection numbers are introduced into the suitability evaluation, and the set of human settlements is established. The set pair analysis model based on partial connection number is used to assess the suitability status and the development trend of human settlements in Guizhou Province from 2014 to 2017. The result shows that the set pair analysis model has the features of convenience, impersonality and good feasibility.
Keywords
Human Ecology; Human Settlements; Number Theory; Social Systems; Guizhou Sheng (china); Human Settlement Environment; Partial Connection Number; Set Pair Analysis; Suitability Evaluation
McLaren, Brian L. (2014). Architecture During Wartime: The Mostra d’Oltremare and Esposizione Universale di Roma. Architectural Theory Review, 19(3), 299 – 318.
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Abstract
This paper examines the architecture and planning of the Mostra d'Oltremare in Naplesa national display of colonial expansion that opened in May 1940and the Esposizione Universale di Romaan Olympics of Civilization that was proposed for 1942. These two major exhibitions will be studied in relation to Italy's violent and racially motivated Imperial politics. In the first case, it will closely examine the Villaggi indigeni (Indigenous village) of Italian East Africa, a scientific re-enactment of native constructions that became a space of violence and political confinement. In the second, it will study the Villaggio operaio (Workers' village), which, just like the larger exhibition grounds, was transformed into a site of military conflict during the war period.
Purcell, Mark; Born, Branden. (2017). Planning in the Spirit of Deleuze and Guattari? Considering Community-Based Food Projects in the United States and Mexico. Urban Geography, 38(4), 521 – 536.
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Abstract
In this article we argue that planning theory and practice should engage more with the normative political vision of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari. They reject the transcendent authority of the State and arguably by extension, planning. As planners we should be concerned: need we reconceptualize, or abandon the planning project? We outline their vision, highlighting key concepts including lines of flight, revolution, the new land, and immanent organization, and use two cases from the United States and Mexico, the Food Commons and Center for Integral Farmer Development in the Mixteca, to show that planning in accordance with Deleuze and Guattari may indeed be possible. We end with questions: is what we describe planning? And what is planning - or what should it be?
Keywords
Deleuze And Guattari; Planning Theory; Mexico; Food Systems
Anderson, Anne; Dossick, Carrie Sturts; Osburn, Laura. (2020). Curriculum To Prepare AEC Students for BIM-Enabled Globally Distributed Projects. International Journal Of Construction Education & Research, 16(4), 270 – 289.
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Abstract
Globalization and the increasing adoption of BIM and other technologies in the AEC industry have changed the way we prepare graduates for the digital workplace. This paper presents curriculum design where students from five universities worked together to develop design and construction proposals. This paper describes a collaborative project executed in two parts. Part I included the University of Washington in the USA and IIT-Madras in India. Part II included Washington State University in the USA, and National Taiwan University and National Cheng Kung University in Taiwan. Students from these global universities worked on a multi-disciplinary, interdependent project where teams created 3D models and 4D construction simulations. This curriculum addresses ACCE and ABET accreditation requirements regarding multi-disciplinary teams, ethical and professional responsibilities in global, economic, environmental, and societal contexts, and effective teamwork. In this paper, we describe the course design, evaluative criteria, and lessons learned. We found that it was important to emphasize BIM Execution Planning for distributed teams given that communication and coordination can be challenging across time zones and cultural differences. Working through technical challenges of exchanging BIM data, the students learned coordination skills in a globally distributed team environment that simulated real work experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of International Journal of Construction Education & Research is the property of Routledge 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
College Curriculum; Project Management; Digital Technology; Work Environment; Globalization; Bim; Building Information Modeling; Digital Literacy; Distributed Teams; Global Collaboration