Urban and municipalities management
M. Eshghizadeh
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Land use change can directly affect rainfall-runoff relationships. The change in land use is an essential factor in runoff production. This research evaluated the effect of urban development scenarios of land use change on runoff in Gonabad city of Iran. The innovation and ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Land use change can directly affect rainfall-runoff relationships. The change in land use is an essential factor in runoff production. This research evaluated the effect of urban development scenarios of land use change on runoff in Gonabad city of Iran. The innovation and importance of this work are to determine which land use changes have the greatest impact on the flood discharge in this urban area. Also, determine how much the minimum development of urban green space is to control and reduce peak flood discharge in this city that is located in a dry area.METHODS: The effect of urban development scenarios on runoff was evaluated by the WinTR-55 model in 5 sub-basins of Gonabad city. The main data required for inputting to the WinTR-55 model are sub-area and reach characteristics, curve number, and storm data. The storm data in TR-55 are 24-hour rainfall amounts in a return period of 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, and 100 years. The changes in the maximum flood discharge and flow hydrograph in each sub-area and return period were calculated by the WinTR-55 model under existing land use conditions and 9 scenarios of urban development.FINDINGS: The greatest increase in runoff production was related to the conversion of abandoned fallow and agricultural lands to residential. Also, the most effective increase or decrease of land cover change in peak flow discharge and total flow volume was at the 2-year return period. The decreased effect of the development of green spaces and urban gardens on peak flow discharge and total flow volume was seen only if their development was more than 50%. The average maximum decrease in peak discharge and total flow volume was 22.7% and 16.1%, respectively. While the average maximum increase in peak discharge and total flow volume was 84.4% and 53.9%, respectively.CONCLUSION: The effect of increasing green spaces and urban gardens on the reduction of peak discharge and volume of runoff was also evident in the study area. Land management and preventing the conversion of permeable land uses such as agricultural, gardening, fallow lands, and rangeland will be much simpler and less costly. Urban land use management to prevent urban floods requires the expansion of permeable surfaces, especially green spaces, and urban gardens. These are the important novelty of this research that can be beneficial for future urban developments of Gonabad city and its flood management activities.
Urban health, safety and environment (HSE)
M.T. Islam; M. Islam; A.A. Nayeem; A.K. Majumder
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Air pollution and its associated health impacts have become a major concern worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Anthropogenic activities were significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for the opportunity for source reduction of air pollutants. ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Air pollution and its associated health impacts have become a major concern worldwide, particularly in developing countries. Anthropogenic activities were significantly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing for the opportunity for source reduction of air pollutants. A number of studies have been conducted in Dhaka, but most of them are concentrated on a single ground-monitoring station, making it impossible to draw a comprehensive pollution scenario for the entire city. In contrast, this study evaluated the spatio-temporal changes of urban Particulate Matters (PM) in 70 locations from five different land use categories. Hence, this study investigated the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on PM1 (aerodynamic diameter ≤1 µm), PM2.5 (aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm) and PM10 (aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm) concentration during three specific time frames: November 2019 (Pre-lockdown), April 2020 (During lockdown), and November 2020 (Post-lockdown).METHODS: The data were collected through portable air quality meter (AEROQUAL 500) during lockdown (April 2020) and post-lockdown (November 2020) period. Data set of pre-lockdowns (November 2019) was collected from Center for Atmospheric Pollution Studies (CAPS). The Tukey’s Post Hoc Multiple Comparison Test was conducted using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSSv26) to address the significant changes in air quality between the periods. Additionally, the GIS (Geographical Information System) platform was used to see the spatial and temporal variations of PMs over the city.FINDINGS: The study found that average ground level PM1, PM2.5 and PM10 concentration reduced by 75.1, 75.4, 69.6% and 41.1, 32.6, 29.2% respectively during lockdown compared to pre-lockdown and post-lockdown periods. Moreover, the reduction during lockdown was significant at α=0.05 level. The highest reduction was seen in residential areas from the pre-lockdown to lockdown period, whereas in the lockdown to post-lockdown phase that was found in the industrial areas. Interestingly, the northern part of Dhaka city was less polluted than the southern part in all three studied periods. Besides, the Dhaka city dwellers enjoyed comparatively good quality air in lockdown.CONCLUSION: This study suggested that land use-based source apportionment is required to eliminate the particulate concentration from Dhaka city. Besides, 24 hours continuous data is also important to understand the interaction between particulate concentration and climatic forces. Promoting cleaner transportation options, such as electric vehicles and public transportation is recommended as a means of reducing vehicle emissions. Furthermore, governments could consider implementing emissions regulations, setting limits on emissions, or mandating the use of cleaner fuels and technologies to reduce industrial pollution.
Sustainable urban infrastructure
C.M. Torres Navas; J.C. Musa Wasil; K. Malave Llamas; C. Morales Agrinzoni
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The destruction of urban areas has caused environmental, social and economic problems. One of these areas was identified in the Municipality of Humacao, on the east coast of Puerto Rico. This land is vast and unused, Fulladosa farm, located in the urban area of the Municipality ...
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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: The destruction of urban areas has caused environmental, social and economic problems. One of these areas was identified in the Municipality of Humacao, on the east coast of Puerto Rico. This land is vast and unused, Fulladosa farm, located in the urban area of the Municipality of Humacao. It is suggested to create an eco-park in this place to restore this green space and help improve the environment. METHODS: The collection of information through public documents offered information related to the study area. Through a physical spatial analysis, the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the study area could be obtained. This technique made it possible to identify areas with development potential to create an eco-park. Management strategies were developed for the development of the eco-park. Sustainable aspects were analysed to assess the viability of establishing an eco-park on the Fulladosa farm. FINDINGS: The Fulladosa farm, located on Almodóvar Final Street in Barrio Cataño, has a high-density residential rating. According to the joint regulation, the use of parks in classified plots as high-density housing is not allowed. Therefore, a location query must be used to submit the project to the Licensing and Approval Office. Finally, it was found that the study area is prone to flooding. Flood insurance is also required, and the municipality must obtain the elevation certification required by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. CONCLUSION:The creation of this eco-park can provide environmental education, community interaction and recreational spaces. Completion of this project will generally provide environmental, social and economic benefits to the community.
Sustainable urban infrastructure
K.C. Upendra; S. Bharat
Abstract
Parthenium hysterophorus, an invasive alien weed, is spreading rapidly across various land uses in Nepal. To understand how Parthenium is spreading across land uses at local scale, occurrence of this weed was recorded and its’ coverage in percent estimated along trails and road network at every ...
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Parthenium hysterophorus, an invasive alien weed, is spreading rapidly across various land uses in Nepal. To understand how Parthenium is spreading across land uses at local scale, occurrence of this weed was recorded and its’ coverage in percent estimated along trails and road network at every 100 meter distance in Kirtipur Municipality of Kathmandu valley. In addition, vegetation sampling was done in waste land, road side, tree plantation, and abandoned agriculture land where Parthenium cover was greater than 25 percent. Peoples’ perception about the problem of Parthenium was studied by interviewing 60 respondents using purposive sampling method. Parthenium was present in 15 percent of the surveyed locations and it was more common in urban area than in peri-urban. Peri-urban areas are those areas which are immediately adjacent to a city or urban area. It was frequently found in the waste land, road side, tree plantation, abandoned agriculture land, shrub land, grass land, settlement areas and play ground. In active agriculture land its invasion was negligible. Most of the people were not aware about the negative impact of Parthenium but 8 percent of them reported skin allergies and dermatitis due to regular contact with Parthenium. Therefore, public education can help to prevent spread of Parthenium from urban to peri-urban areas.