Showing papers on "Metropolitan area published in 2011"

Monitoring urban expansion and land use/land cover changes of Shanghai metropolitan area during the transitional economy (1979–2009) in China

Abstract: This study explored the spatio-temporal dynamics and evolution of land use/cover changes and urban expansion in Shanghai metropolitan area, China, during the transitional economy period (1979–2009) using multi-temporal satellite images and geographic information systems (GIS). A maximum likelihood supervised classification algorithm was employed to extract information from four landsat images, with the post-classification change detection technique and GIS-based spatial analysis methods used to detect land-use and land-cover (LULC) changes. The overall Kappa indices of land use/cover change maps ranged from 0.79 to 0.89. Results indicated that urbanization has accelerated at an unprecedented scale and rate during the study period, leading to a considerable reduction in the area of farmland and green land. Findings further revealed that water bodies and bare land increased, obviously due to large-scale coastal development after 2000. The direction of urban expansion was along a north-south axis from 1979 to 2000, but after 2000 this growth changed to spread from both the existing urban area and along transport routes in all directions. Urban expansion and subsequent LULC changes in Shanghai have largely been driven by policy reform, population growth, and economic development. Rapid urban expansion through clearing of vegetation has led to a wide range of eco-environmental degradation.

Gestão de resíduos sólidos em São Paulo: desafios da sustentabilidade

Abstract: This paper presents the scenario related to urban solid waste at the national level, metropolitan Sao Paulo and Sao Paulo pointing the main advances, backlashes and challenges. The emphasis is on the important role of the universalization of selective waste collection with the inclusion of waste pickers of recyclable materials within the city of Sao Paulo as a strategy to promote socioenvironmental urban sustainability.

Zipf's law for all the natural cities in the United States: a geospatial perspective

Abstract: This article provides a new geospatial perspective on whether or not Zipf's law holds for all cities or for the largest cities in the United States using a massive dataset and its computing. A major problem around this issue is how to define cities or city boundaries. Most of the investigations of Zipf's law rely on the demarcations of cities imposed by census data, for example, metropolitan areas and census-designated places. These demarcations or definitions (of cities) are criticized for being subjective or even arbitrary. Alternative solutions to defining cities are suggested, but they still rely on census data for their definitions. In this article we demarcate urban agglomerations by clustering street nodes (including intersections and ends), forming what we call natural cities. Based on the demarcation, we found that Zipf's law holds remarkably well for all the natural cities (over 2-4 million in total) across the United States. There is little sensitivity for the holding with respect to the clustering resolution used for demarcating the natural cities. This is a big contrast to urban areas, as defined in the census data, which do not hold stable for Zipf's law.

Public transport versus private car GIS-based estimation of accessibility applied to the Tel Aviv metropolitan area

Abstract: The increasing interest in sustainable development has underlined the importance of accessibility as a key indicator to assess transport investments, urban policy, and urban form. From both the environmental and the equity component of sustainability, a comparison of accessibility by car versus public transport is of utmost importance. However, most studies in this direction have used rather rough estimates of travel time, especially by public transport. In this paper, we present Urban.Access, an ArcGIS extension for estimating car-based and transit-based accessibility to employ- ment and other land uses. Urban.Access enables a detailed representation of travel times by transit and car and thus makes it possible to adequately compare accessibility levels by transport mode. The application of Urban.Access to the Tel Aviv metropol- itan area shows that the gaps between car-based and transit-based accessibility are larger than those found in other studies. We argue that this is not the result of a poorer transit system, but rather of a more detailed description of travel by transit in the Urban.Access application. The larger gaps point to a greater need for adequate policy responses, both for reducing car dependence as well as for creating a more equitable

The Diffusion of Energy Efficiency in Building

Abstract: Awareness of global warming and the extent of greenhouse gas emissions has focused more attention upon energy efficiency in building. Moreover, the inventory of “green” office space in the U.S. has increased dramatically since the introduction of rating schemes that attest to the energy efficiency or sustainability of commercial buildings. In some metropolitan areas, the supply of certified office buildings has more than doubled in the last decade, and there are a few metropolitan areas where “green” office space now accounts for more than a quarter of the total office stock. In this paper, we analyze the diffusion of buildings certified for energy efficiency across US property markets. Using a panel of 48 metropolitan areas (MSAs) observed over the last 15 years, we trace the diffusion of green building practices across the country. We then model the geographic patterns and dynamics of building certification, relating industry composition, changes in economic conditions, characteristics of the local commercial property market, and the presence of human capital, to the crosssectional variation in energy-efficient building technologies and the diffusion of those technologies over time. Understanding the determinants and the rate at which energyefficient building practices diffuse over space and time is important for designing policies to affect resource consumption in the built environment.

Monitoring Urban Sprawl Using Remote Sensing and GIS Techniques of a Fast Growing Urban Centre, India

Abstract: India's urban population has grown tremendously in the last four decades from 79 million in 1961 to 285 million in 2001. This fast rate of increase in urban population is mainly due to large scale migration of people from rural and smaller towns to bigger cities in search of better employment opportunities and good life style. This rapid population pressure has resulted in unplanned growth in the urban areas to accommodate these migrant people which in turn leads to urban sprawl. It is a growing problematic aspect of metropolitan and bigger city's growth and development in recent years in India. Urban sprawl has resulted in loss of productive agricultural lands, open green spaces, loss of surface water bodies and depletion of ground water. Therefore, there is a need to study, understand and quantify the urban sprawl. In this paper an attempt has been made to use Shannon's entropy model to assess urban sprawl using IRS P-6 data and topographic sheet in GIS environment for one of the fastest growing city of South India and its surrounding area. The built-up area of the city has increased from 135 km2 in 1971 to 370 km2 in 2005. The study shows that there is a remarkable urban sprawl in and around the twin city between 1971 and 2005 because 215 km2 of agricultural land has lost to built-up land during this period. As a result the urban ecosystem has changed in the last four decades.

(Post)Suburban Development and State Entrepreneurialism in Beijing's Outer Suburbs

Abstract: Chinese cities are experiencing rapid urban expansion and rampant land conversions in periurban areas. Has China’s suburban growth gone beyond commonly noted ‘suburbanisation’? To what extent does fast metropolitan growth reflect state entrepreneurialism after economic reform? The authors seek to elaborate further and contextualise Chinese suburban and postsuburban development and examine the underlying dynamics of state entrepreneurialism in the process of metropolitan development. The empirical basis of this research is a case study of the historical development of Yizhuang, an outer suburban new town of Beijing. The city originates from the establishment of the Beijing Economic and Technological Development Zone in 1992, but has passed rapidly through several phases of growth. The pattern of growth reveals both the complexities of adequately defining and delimiting such a growth node within the metropolitan fabric and of the state’s intimate involvement in its development and evolution.

Neighbourhood density and social sustainability in cities of developing countries

Abstract: Within the concept of sustainable development, there is very little known about social impacts and levels of acceptability of compact urban form in the context of cities of developing countries. Social sustainability of these cities in developing countries might have a huge impact on the overall global sustainability, considering their large population size and high economic growth. This paper provides new empirical evidence from 11 case study neighbourhoods of different densities and built forms within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to evaluate the relationship between social sustainability and urban densities. In doing so, impacts of both physical and perceived density on selected aspects of social sustainability in the context of Mumbai were examined. The findings suggest that, on social aspects of sustainability, higher household density and population density have no negative impacts. However, importantly, most of the negative associations of density were related to the perceptions of density, and therefore the built form, layout, design and amount of mix of uses as well as socio-demographic variables such as family income and location were found to have an important role in achieving social sustainability. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

Overall Impacts of Off-Hour Delivery Programs in New York City Metropolitan Area

Abstract: This paper examines the chief findings of research conducted on policies to foster off-hour deliveries (OHDs) in the New York City metropolitan area. The goal was to estimate the overall impacts of eventual full implementation of an OHD program. As part of the research, a system of incentives was designed for the receivers of deliveries the system combined Global Positioning System (GPS) remote sensing monitoring with GPS-enabled smart phones to induce a shift of deliveries to the off-hours from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. The concept was pilot tested in Manhattan by 33 companies that switched delivery operations to the off-hours for a period of 1 month. At the in-depth interviews conducted after the test, the participants reported being very satisfied with the experience. As an alternative to road pricing schemes that target freight carriers, this was the first real-life trial of the use of financial incentives to delivery receivers. The analyses indicate that the economic benefits of a full implementation of...

Measures for Sustainable Freight Transportation at Urban Scale: Expected Goals and Tested Results in Europe

Abstract: Around the world, interest in urban and metropolitan goods movements is increasing because they account for a substantial share of traffic in urban and metropolitan areas. In this context, many city administrators have implemented measures to mitigate the negative effects of freight transportation. Starting from an analysis of existing studies relative to freight policies implemented at the urban scale in Europe, this paper proposes a general classification of measures adopted at the urban scale and an analysis of expected goals and tested results. Each described measure is analyzed by considering the temporal reference scale (strategic, tactical, and operative) of the actors and decision makers involved. Each measure pursues and is linked to one or more expected goal, and the empirical results obtained in the European cities and demonstrated by specific indicators representing the goal are presented.

Emerging cities of the third wave

Abstract: I argue that three distinctive waves of urbanization can be recognized, each of them associated with a major historical phase of capitalist development. The leading edges of capitalism today can be typified in terms of a basic cognitive–cultural system of production that is transforming the economic foundations of many large metropolitan areas all over the world. This turn of events is evident in two further aspects of urbanization processes at the present time. First, a new division of labor is strongly under way with major implications for the restratification of urban labor markets and urban social life. Second, the economic and social transformations currently evident in large urban areas are provoking significant changes in the physical milieu and built form of the city, from gentrification to what I call aestheticized land use intensification. I attempt to synthesize important elements of the discussion by means of a disquisition on the city and the world, in which I point to some of the more outsta...

Melting Pot Cities and Suburbs: Racial and Ethnic Change in Metro America in the 2000s

Abstract: “The historically sharp racial and ethnic divisions between cities and suburbs in metropolitan America are more blurred than ever.”

Implications of urban structure on carbon consumption in metropolitan areas

Abstract: Urban structure influences directly or indirectly the majority of all green house gas (GHG) emissions in cities. The prevailing belief is that dense metropolitan areas produce less carbon emissions on a per capita basis than less dense surrounding rural areas. Consequently, density targets have a major role in low-carbon urban developments. However, based on the results of this study, the connection seems unclear or even nonexistent when comprehensive evaluation is made. In this letter, we propose a hybrid life cycle assessment (LCA) method for calculating the consumption-based carbon footprints in metropolitan areas, i.e. carbon consumption, with the emphasis on urban structures. The method is input–output-based hybrid LCA, which operates with the existing data from the region. The study is conducted by performing an analysis of the carbon consumption in two metropolitan areas in Finland, including 11 cities. Both areas consist of a dense city core and a less dense surrounding suburban area. The paper will illustrate that the influence of urban density on carbon emissions is insignificant in the selected metropolitan areas. In addition, the utilized consumption-based method links the climate effects of city-level development to the global production of emissions.

Missed Opportunity: Transit and Jobs in Metropolitan America

Abstract: This report describes how effectively and conveniently public transit in the United States connects people with their jobs It offers statistics regarding accessibility, travel time, rush hour service and geographic region of the country Trends regarding area of the country include the observation that 15 of the 20 areas of the country ranked lowest in transit coverage and job access are in the southern states In addition, jobs in high skill industries are more accessible via public transit that jobs in low skill industries It is also noted that almost 70% of the residents living in large metropolitan areas have access to public transit

An Application of the Node-Place Model to Explore the Spatial Development Dynamics of Station Areas in Tokyo

Abstract: ae high level of integration between railway and real estate development in Tokyo makes the city an interesting example for other metropolitan areas looking for ways to promote transit-oriented development. To successfully promote such a development pattern, an un- derstanding of development dynamics in station areas is crucial. In this paper, a node place model is used to determine which transport and land use factors are responsible for structuring station area redevelopments in Tokyo, and to what extent. ae interaction between speciđc transport and land use features—most importantly, proximity by train to the central business district and the number of train connections versus workforce concentration—is a powerful force structuring developments in Tokyo. However, other factors—most notably government policies—should also be taken into account.

Urban shrinkage as a performance of whiteness: neoliberal urban restructuring, education, and racial containment in the post-industrial, global niche city

Abstract: Although Detroit is not a centre of global finance, and plays a declining role in global production, it nevertheless participates in the present remediation of the relationship between cities and the globe. Manoeuvring to reposition the city as the global hub of mobility technology, metropolitan Detroit's neoliberal leadership advances particular development strategies in urban education, housing, infrastructure, and governance, all with implications for social exclusion. This paper analyzes Detroit's neoliberal policy complex, uncovering how rituals of place-making and suburbanite nostalgia for the city intersect with broader struggles over the region's resources and representation.

A tale of two scales: Evaluating the relationship among life satisfaction, social capital, income, and the natural environment at individual and neighborhood levels in metropolitan Baltimore

Abstract: With the rapid growth of cities worldwide, there is a need to better understand factors contributing to life satisfaction in urban environments. Using data from a long-term study of the Baltimore metropolitan region, we build on existing social scientific literature to examine a suite of theoretical factors that have been proposed to explain higher life satisfaction. We find support for many previous theoretical arguments in the literature. Importantly, however, our findings reveal that these results are strikingly scale dependent. For individuals, higher incomes contribute to higher levels of satisfaction, yet social capital does not. For neighborhoods, more social capital strongly increases satisfaction, but higher incomes do not; and access to a clean natural environment always contributes to higher satisfaction, regardless of the scale of analysis. Given these findings, we conclude with the observation that future research must carefully match the “scale” of life satisfaction measurements with the exp...

Population growth and change: implications for Australia's cities and regions

Abstract: Australia's distinctive pattern of settlement has long presented a suite of social, economic, infrastructural, and environmental challenges for the nation's cities and regions. These challenges will be intensified by the population growth and dynamics anticipated in the 2010 Intergenerational Report. Future growth will inevitably have differential impacts for metropolitan, regional, and rural settlements, and for inland and coastal regions. This paper analyses current trends and likely directions in population change and distribution and the major implications for the nation's metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas. For Australia's cities, core issues include: access to affordable housing, suitable employment, infrastructure, and services; managing growth within environmental constraints; and the political management of popular anxieties around urban diversity and consolidation. For rural regions, processes of depopulation, demographic decline, ageing, and threats to community socio-economic viability are intermingled with differential patterns of repopulation and consolidation, and issues of growth management. While the paper works through the distinctive character of the issues facing urban and regional contexts, it also highlights the interconnected nature of demographic change in Australia's settlement system and the questions that these pose for urban and regional governance.

The Study of Local Public Economies: Multi‐organizational, Multi‐level Institutional Analysis and Development

Abstract: One important extension of the IAD framework has been to the study of local public economies. These are multi-organizational, multi-level arrangements defined as the set of governmental jurisdictions, public and nonprofit agencies, and private firms that interact in various patterns to provide and produce public goods and services within a specific locality or region. Commonly, the localities or regions studied from this perspective have been U.S. metropolitan areas, often defined as a central city and its surrounding or adjoining county. Localities can be delineated, however, on various terms, and in the IAD framework, it is the geo-physical nature of a locality that, in substantial part, drives the analysis. One of the strengths of the approach is its capacity to explain local variations in public organization as a function of the geo-physical diversity of localities, while at the same time developing empirical generalizations and normative principles that apply across diverse regions. What, for example, might the organization and governance of a complex metropolitan area have in common with the organization and governance of a complex protected area, such as the greater Yellowstone eco-region or the Adirondack Park? Construing both sorts of regions as local public economies can enhance our overall understanding of public organization at the same time that it permits a more nuanced understanding of diverse localities. Such work contributes to the ongoing IAD project of “understanding institutional diversity.”