Chen, T.-H. K., Horsdal, H. T., Samuelsson, K., Closter, A. M., Davies, M., Barthel, S., Pedersen, C. B., Prishchepov, A. V., & Sabel, C. E. (2023). Higher depression risks in medium- than in high-density urban form across Denmark. Science Advances, 9(21), eadf3760–eadf3760. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf3760
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Abstract
Urban areas are associated with higher depression risks than rural areas. However, less is known about how different types of urban environments relate to depression risk. Here, we use satellite imagery and machine learning to quantify three-dimensional (3D) urban form (i.e., building density and height) over time. Combining satellite-derived urban form data and individual-level residential addresses, health, and socioeconomic registers, we conduct a case-control study (n = 75,650 cases and 756,500 controls) to examine the association between 3D urban form and depression in the Danish population. We find that living in dense inner-city areas did not carry the highest depression risks. Rather, after adjusting for socioeconomic factors, the highest risk was among sprawling suburbs, and the lowest was among multistory buildings with open space in the vicinity. The finding suggests that spatial land-use planning should prioritize securing access to open space in densely built areas to mitigate depression risks.
Walter, R. J., Tillyer, M. S., Ramiller, A., & Acolin, A. (2023). Scaling Down from the Neighborhood in Urban Planning Research and Practice: The Potential Benefits of a Micro-Scale Focus. Journal of Planning Education and Research. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X231175593
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Abstract
The neighborhood has been the dominant spatial unit in urban planning since the early 20th century. Criticisms of the neighborhood unit include disagreements about defining boundaries, methodological challenges in capturing neighborhood effects, and negative impacts on communities. With advancements in data management, and public data available at smaller units (street block or property), quantitative analyses are possible at the micro-scale. This commentary draws on crime research and prevention to illustrate the benefits of micro-scale approaches to quantitative analyses in the field of urban planning, arguing that the devolution to smaller scales may be a vehicle for efficient resource allocation.
The Population Health Initiative announced the award of nine Tier 1 pilot grants to interdisciplinary research teams representing 10 of the University of Washington’s schools and colleges. The total award value of these grants is nearly $210,000, which includes school, department and unit matching funds. Read more in the CBE Story here. “We were extremely pleased with the range of challenges these awards will work to address,” said Ali H. Mokdad, the UW’s chief strategy officer for population health and professor of…
Yan, L., Winterbottom, D., & Liu, J. (2023). Towards a “Positive Landscape”: An Integrated Theoretical Model of Landscape Preference Based on Cognitive Neuroscience. Sustainability (Basel, Switzerland), 15(7), 6141–. https://doi.org/10.3390/su15076141
Lovasi, G. S., Boise, S., Jogi, S., Hurvitz, P. M., Rundle, A. G., Diez, J., Hirsch, J. A., Fitzpatrick, A., Biggs, M. L., & Siscovick, D. S. (2023). Time-Varying Food Retail and Incident Disease in the Cardiovascular Health Study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 64(6), 877–887. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2023.02.001
Lee, Wonil; Lin, Ken-Yu; Johnson, Peter W.; Seto, Edmund Y.W. (2022). Selection of Wearable Sensor Measurements for Monitoring and Managing Entry-Level Construction Worker Fatigue: a Logistic Regression Approach. Engineering, Construction, and Architectural Management, 29(8), 2905–23.
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Abstract
The identification of fatigue status and early intervention to mitigate fatigue can reduce the risk of workplace injuries. Off-the-shelf wearable sensors capable of assessing multiple parameters are available. However, using numerous variables in the fatigue prediction model can elicit data issues. This study aimed at identifying the most relevant variables for measuring occupational fatigue among entry-level construction workers by using common wearable sensor technologies, such as electrocardiogram and actigraphy sensors.
Keywords
Technology, management, construction safety, information and communication technology (ICT) applications
Chen, Chen; Koll, Charles; Wang, Haizhong; Lindell, Michael K . 2023. “An Interdisciplinary Agent-Based Evacuation Model: Integrating the Natural Environment, Built Environment, and Social System for Community Preparedness and Resilience.” Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 23 (2).
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Abstract
Previous tsunami evacuation simulations have mostly been based on arbitrary assumptions or inputs adapted from non-emergency situations, but a few studies have used empirical behavior data. This study bridges this gap by integrating empirical decision data from surveys on local evacuation expectations and evacuation drills into an agent-based model of evacuation behavior for two Cascadia subduction zone (CSZ) communities that would be inundated within 20–40 min after a CSZ earthquake. The model also considers the impacts of liquefaction and landslides from the earthquake on tsunami evacuation. Furthermore, we integrate the slope-speed component from least-cost distance to build the simulation model that better represents the complex nature of evacuations. The simulation results indicate that milling time and the evacuation participation rate have significant nonlinear impacts on tsunami mortality estimates. When people walk faster than 1 m s -1 , evacuation by foot is more effective because it avoids traffic congestion when driving. We also find that evacuation results are more sensitive to walking speed, milling time, evacuation participation, and choosing the closest safe location than to other behavioral variables. Minimum tsunami mortality results from maximizing the evacuation participation rate, minimizing milling time, and choosing the closest safe destination outside of the inundation zone. This study's comparison of the agent-based model and the beat-the-wave (BtW) model finds consistency between the two models' results. By integrating the natural system, built environment, and social system, this interdisciplinary model incorporates substantial aspects of the real world into the multi-hazard agent-based platform. This model provides a unique opportunity for local authorities to prioritize their resources for hazard education, community disaster preparedness, and resilience plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Lindell, Michael K., Meen Chel Jung, Carla S. Prater, and Donald H. House. 2023. “US Pacific Coast Communities’ Past Preparedness and Preparedness Intentions for Cascadia Subduction Zone Tsunamis.” International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction 84.
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Abstract
This study examined tsunami awareness and preparedness by 225 respondents in three communities exposed to Cascadia Subduction Zone (CSZ) tsunamis. Some participants viewed a tsunami brochure, but all participants reported their degree of information sufficiency about tsunamis and protective actions to take when a tsunami threatens, expected warning sources for local and distant tsunamis, past preparedness actions and preparedness intentions, tsunami experience, past tsunami information, perceived tsunami zone, and demographic characteristics. In addition to the results showing that the brochure had a significant positive effect on tsunami information sufficiency and expected warning sources, the latter two variables affected intentions to engage in future preparedness actions. In addition, tsunami experience, past tsunami infor-mation, and past preparedness also affected these variables. Although psychological responses were significantly related to preparedness intentions, they were not related to hypothesized antecedent variables-tsunami experience, past preparedness, past information, and de-mographic characteristics. The data suggest that emergency managers can promote tsunami hazard education by distributing comprehensive tsunami brochures, but should also work with local news media to direct CSZ residents to agency web sites where they can access additional information about tsunami hazard, expected warning sources, appropriate preparedness, and response actions.
Keywords
Cascadia subduction zone tsunamis; Risk communication; Tsunami hazard awareness; Tsunami preparedness
Dermisi, S. (2023). Office Development. In R. Peiser & D. Hamilton (Eds.), Professional Real Estate Development: The ULI Guide to the Business. Urban Land Institute.
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Abstract
The office chapter, authored by Dr. Sofia Dermisi -Lyon and Wolff Endowed Professor in Real Estate and Professor of Urban Design & Planning, identifies ways the technological and structural sustainability boundaries are pushed and how the pandemic has shifted the office occupant expectations on health and well-being, while embracing alternative ways of working through flexibility and adaptability. Office case studies highlight creative ways of linking new with historic landmark structures, overcoming various development challenges, and integrating valuable features in a post-covid era. Additionally, the evolution and repositioning of retail due to the rise of e-commerce and its impact on brick-and-mortar stores provides insights on future trends. While consumer behavior trends, which accelerated during the pandemic, created the emergence of new types of industrial facilities.
Archer, Megan, Pedersen, Katherine, Kennedy, Mallory, & Errett, Nicole A. (2022). Integrating Health Considerations into Local Level Recovery Planning: An Exploration of Florida’s Recovery and Redevelopment Plans. Journal of Disaster Research, 17(7), 1150–1157.
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Abstract
Objective: Disasters result in impacts to the health and wellbeing of members of affected communities, as well as damage to healthcare infrastructure. These impacts are not experienced equally, and often disproportionately affect those facing higher health, social and economic risks even before a disaster strikes. Recovery planning provides an opportunity for pre-emptive consideration of how to address pre-existing health vulnerabilities and disparities, as well as insufficient and/or inequitable access to healthcare, with the resources and momentum that often come following a disaster. After the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, Florida began requiring coastal jurisdictions to plan for recovery. This study sought to identify if and how Florida jurisdictions have integrated health-sector restoration and revitalization strategies into local disaster recovery planning. Design: Plans were collected and coded using content analysis methods. Setting: Florida, USA. Participants: 16 county-level disaster recovery and post-disaster redevelopment plans. Results: While nearly three-quarters of plans described actions to address both short-term healthcare and behavioral health needs, the majority of recovery plans lacked long-term health-sector recovery activities and approaches to collect and analyze data to guide health-related recovery efforts. Moreover, plans did not explicitly call for evaluating health-sector recovery strategies. Conclusions: Additional resources are necessary to ensure local jurisdictions integrate short- and long-term health-sector strategies into disaster recovery planning.
Keywords
Disaster; Recovery; Planning; Health promotion