Showing papers on "Metropolitan area published in 2019"
TL;DR: In this article, the authors look at the urban innovation impact of smart city policies and find that cities engaging in Smart City policies above the EU average also tend to patent more intensively.
267 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors quantify the amount of spatial misallocation of labor across US cities and its aggregate costs and find that these constraints lowered aggregate US growth by more than 50% from 1964 to 2009, while high productivity cities like New York and the San Francisco Bay Area have adopted stringent restrictions to new housing supply, effectively limiting the number of workers who have access to such high productivity.
Abstract: We quantify the amount of spatial misallocation of labor across US cities and its aggregate costs. Misallocation arises because high productivity cities like New York and the San Francisco Bay Area have adopted stringent restrictions to new housing supply, effectively limiting the number of workers who have access to such high productivity. Using a spatial equilibrium model and data from 220 metropolitan areas we find that these constraints lowered aggregate US growth by more than 50% from 1964 to 2009.
206 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focused on the Athens metropolitan area, the capital of Greece, discussing the potential role of a typical rural Mediterranean landscape dominated by olive groves, in urban containment and peri-urban conservation of biodiversity and local traditions.
Abstract: Dispersed urbanization has expanded into rural land worldwide. The present work focused on the Athens’ metropolitan area, the capital of Greece, discussing the potential role of a typical rural Mediterranean landscape dominated by olive groves, in urban containment and peri-urban conservation of biodiversity and local traditions. Having a great cultural, culinary and aesthetic importance, olive groves characterize Mediterranean peri-urban landscapes in a distinctive way. This study identifies processes of urban dispersion and changes in the ‘olive landscape’ in the study area, proposing new ideas for a sustainable land management in metropolitan contexts that have recently undergone processes of territorial transformation toward urban sprawl, under the effect of socioeconomic disturbances, including economic crisis.
114 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors estimate racial/ethnic achievement gaps in several hundred metropolitan areas and several thousand school districts in the United States using the results of roughly 200 million standar...
Abstract: The authors estimate racial/ethnic achievement gaps in several hundred metropolitan areas and several thousand school districts in the United States using the results of roughly 200 million standar...
111 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compared China and the USA in terms of urban sprawl characteristics in infilling, edge expansion, and outlying expansion patches, and found that more than half of the outlying urban sprawls occur within a distance of 4 km from the current primary construction centre in the USA.
87 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the EU-OECD method is used to define functional urban areas (FUAs), which encompass the economic and functional extent of cities based on daily people's movements.
Abstract: This paper describes the EU-OECD method to define functional urban areas (FUAs). Being composed of a city and its commuting zone, FUAs encompass the economic and functional extent of cities based on daily people’s movements. The paper first presents briefly the methodological approach and subsequently provides a detailed description of the identification algorithm, together with the data needed to apply it. This definition has been applied to 33 OECD member countries and Colombia, as well as to all European Union member countries.
87 citations
TL;DR: A data platform and process that integrates health outcomes together with physical and social environment data to examine multilevel aspects of health across cities in 11 Latin American countries holds great promise to support researching with greater granularity the field of urban health in Latin America.
Abstract: Studies examining urban health and the environment must ensure comparability of measures across cities and countries. We describe a data platform and process that integrates health outcomes together with physical and social environment data to examine multilevel aspects of health across cities in 11 Latin American countries. We used two complementary sources to identify cities with ≥ 100,000 inhabitants as of 2010 in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru. We defined cities in three ways: administratively, quantitatively from satellite imagery, and based on country-defined metropolitan areas. In addition to “cities,” we identified sub-city units and smaller neighborhoods within them using census hierarchies. Selected physical environment (e.g., urban form, air pollution and transport) and social environment (e.g., income, education, safety) data were compiled for cities, sub-city units, and neighborhoods whenever possible using a range of sources. Harmonized mortality and health survey data were linked to city and sub-city units. Finer georeferencing is underway. We identified 371 cities and 1436 sub-city units in the 11 countries. The median city population was 234,553 inhabitants (IQR 141,942; 500,398). The systematic organization of cities, the initial task of this platform, was accomplished and further ongoing developments include the harmonization of mortality and survey measures using available sources for between country comparisons. A range of physical and social environment indicators can be created using available data. The flexible multilevel data structure accommodates heterogeneity in the data available and allows for varied multilevel research questions related to the associations of physical and social environment variables with variability in health outcomes within and across cities. The creation of such data platforms holds great promise to support researching with greater granularity the field of urban health in Latin America as well as serving as a resource for the evaluation of policies oriented to improve the health and environmental sustainability of cities.
85 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors quantified urban growth over the Rocuant-Andalien wetland, both executed and projected under the Metropolitan Urban Plan of Concepcion (MUPC), and quantified the observed effect and planned urban growth on the wetland protected area, geoforms and potential flooding based on the area affected by the last Tsunami.
83 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, urban sprawl did not start with the advent of market forces in 1989, but it was already present during state-socialism, however the tempo of sprawl was considerably increased by suburbanization, the dominant form of urban expansion, after 1990.
82 citations
TL;DR: The field of urban studies is yet to deeply engage in the debates on the new forms of cross national cross-national cross-city cross-lingual governance as mentioned in this paper, which is emerging as a major feature of metropolitan strategy and activity.
Abstract: Networked urban governance is emerging as a major feature of metropolitan strategy and activity. The field of urban studies is yet to deeply engage in the debates on the new forms of cross national...
77 citations
27 Feb 2019
TL;DR: In this article, a post classification change detection of multiple Landsat images was conducted to map and analyse the extent and rate of land use/land cover change in the region between 1991 and 2015, and the urban extent was forecasted for the year 2025 using the Markov Chain and the Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network, together with drivers representing proximity, biophysical, and socioeconomic variables.
Abstract: A rapid increase in the world’s population over the last century has triggered the transformation of the earth surface, especially in urban areas, where more than half of the global population live. Ghana is no exception and a high population growth rate, coupled with economic development over the last three decades, has transformed the Greater Accra region into a hotspot for massive urban growth. The urban extent of the region has expanded extensively, mainly at the expense of the vegetative cover in the region. Although urbanization presents several opportunities, the environmental and social problems cannot be underestimated. Therefore, the need to estimate the rate and extent of land use/land cover changes in the region and the main drivers of these changes is imperative. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing techniques provide effective tools in studying and monitoring land-use/land-cover change over space and time. A post classification change detection of multiple Landsat images was conducted to map and analyse the extent and rate of land use/land cover change in the region between 1991 and 2015. Subsequently, the urban extent of the region was forecasted for the year 2025 using the Markov Chain and the Multi-Layer Perceptron neural network, together with drivers representing proximity, biophysical, and socio-economic variables. The results from the research revealed that built-up areas increased by 277% over the 24-year study period. However, forest areas experienced massive reduction, diminishing from 34% in 1991 to 6.5% in 2015. The 2025 projected land use map revealed that the urban extent will massively increase to cover 70% of the study area, as compared to 44% in 2015. The urban extent is also anticipated to spill into the adjoining districts mainly on the western and eastern sides of the region. The success of this research in generating a future land-use map for 2025, together with the other significant findings, demonstrates the usefulness of spatial models as tools for sustainable city planning and environmental management, especially for urban planners in developing countries.
TL;DR: In this article, the SLEUTH model was used to analyze urban growth patterns and predict future growth in Tabriz metropolitan area (TMA) and the results showed that the edge growth pattern was dominant over the entire region while the dispersed growth pattern appears to be greater in some sub-regions.
31 Aug 2019
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors compare the air quality and the policies implemented in Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) and Singapore and offer insights into the complexity of managing air pollution to protect public health and the environment.
Abstract: More than half of the world’s population now lives in cities as a result of unprecedented urbanization during the second half of the 20th century. The urban population is projected to increase to 68% by 2050, with most of the increase occurring in Asia and Africa. Population growth and increased energy consumption in urban areas lead to high levels of atmospheric pollutants that harm human health, cause regional haze, damage crops, contribute to climate change, and ultimately threaten the society’s sustainability. This article reviews the air quality and compares the policies implemented in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) and Singapore and offers insights into the complexity of managing air pollution to protect public health and the environment. While the differences in the governance, economics, and culture of the two cities greatly influence the decision-making process, both have made much progress in reducing concentrations of harmful pollutants by implementing comprehensive integrated air quality management programs. The experience and the lessons learned from the MCMA and Singapore can be valuable for other urban centers, especially in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region confronting similar air pollution problems.
TL;DR: Policy makers should consider spatial environmental inequalities to better inform actions aiming to lower urban air pollution levels that will subsequently lead to improved quality of life, public health and health equity across the population.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the relative accessibility and spatial equity of five key urban land uses in Perth, Australia, and drew comparisons between the accessibility of different land uses, as well as between access by private car and public transport.
TL;DR: In this article, a study in the Oslo and Stavanger metropolitan areas in Norway combining quantitative and qualitative methods, sheds light on influences of built environment characteristics on auto ownership, showing that outward residential relocation tends to increase auto ownership and inward relocation to reduce it.
Abstract: Based on a study in the Oslo and Stavanger metropolitan areas in Norway combining quantitative and qualitative methods, this paper sheds light on influences of built environment characteristics on auto ownership. In both metropolitan areas, the distance from the dwelling to the main city center, a measure of regional destination accessibility, has an important effect on auto ownership. A quasi-longitudinal analysis shows that outward residential relocation tends to increase auto ownership and inward relocation to reduce it. Neighborhood density variables including population and employment also exert important influences. The analysis of qualitative interview material substantiates the causal mechanism about the effects of the built environment characteristics on auto ownership.
TL;DR: In this article, a more comprehensive understanding of the intimate nature and implications of urban transitions taking place in the last decades in Athens (Greece), a representative metropolitan region in southern Europe, was carried out using census data analyzed through a framework integrating descriptive statistics and mapping, multivariate exploratory data analysis, nonparametric inference and regression models.
Abstract: Mono-centric regions have experienced a progressive transformation towards polycentric structures. Transition to discontinuous and dispersed spatial configurations was particularly evident in formerly compact and dense European cities, as a result of increasingly complex commuting patterns. Under the hypothesis that central locations have a balanced rate of resident population to internal workers and attract workers from neighbouring places, a multivariate analysis of commuting patterns may reveal latent transformations of compact, mono-centric cities towards polycentrism and settlement scattering. A more comprehensive understanding of the intimate nature and implications of urban transitions taking place in the last decades in Athens (Greece), a representative metropolitan region in southern Europe, was carried out using census data analyzed through a framework integrating descriptive statistics and mapping, multivariate exploratory data analysis, non-parametric inference and regression models. The analytical framework was proposed with the aim to assess commuting patterns vis a vis urban hierarchy in a context of (more or less) de-centralized growth. Empirical results for the study area indicate the persistence of a bi-centric spatial structure gravitating on the central cities of Athens and Piraeus, with early formation of employment sub-centres and local-scale alterations of the mono-centric scheme as a result of discontinuous urban expansion. Exurban development was associated with the formation of self-contained sub-centres with an increasing proportion of workers in total resident population.
TL;DR: The socioeconomic variables most associated with high land-use efficiency were per-capita disposable income and income growth during 2000–2007 (in Eastern Europe), indicating that wealthier cities are characterized by higher land- use efficiency.
Abstract: The present study presents a multidimensional analysis of land-use efficiency in terms of per-capita built-up area over 417 metropolitan regions from 27 European countries. The study period encompasses two urban phases including economic expansion (2000-2007) and crisis (2008-2015). Multiple geographical gradients were identified as relevant predictors of land-use efficiency across Europe. The socioeconomic variables most associated with high land-use efficiency were per-capita disposable income (in Western, Atlantic and Central Europe) and income growth during 2000-2007 (in Eastern Europe), indicating that wealthier cities are characterized by higher land-use efficiency. Land-use efficiency increased in contexts with diversified urban landscapes.
TL;DR: In this paper, a series of spatial metrics that capture different aspects of the urban form of 919 Latin American and Caribbean cities were used to classify these cities into clusters according to these spatial metrics and perform a spatio-temporal analysis of urban growth.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used geospatial big data to measure urban relatedness and spatial interaction among city groups from a macro perspective, and a spatially explicit approach based on a data field model was adopted to quantify the micro urban spatial interaction inside each city.
TL;DR: Investigation of the characteristics of urban expansion and its impacts on land surface temperature in Colombo from 1988 to 2016 using a time-series of Landsat images provides a scientific reference for policy makers and urban planners working towards a healthy and sustainable Colombo Metropolitan Area.
Abstract: Urbanization has become one of the most important human activities modifying the Earth’s land surfaces; and its impacts on tropical and subtropical cities (e.g., in South/Southeast Asia) are not fully understood. Colombo; the capital of Sri Lanka; has been urbanized for about 2000 years; due to its strategic position on the east–west sea trade routes. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of urban expansion and its impacts on land surface temperature in Colombo from 1988 to 2016; using a time-series of Landsat images. Urban land cover changes (ULCC) were derived from time-series satellite images with the assistance of machine learning methods. Urban density was selected as a measure of urbanization; derived from both the multi-buffer ring method and a gravity model; which were comparatively adopted to evaluate the impacts of ULCC on the changes in land surface temperature (LST) over the study period. The experimental results indicate that: (1) the urban land cover classification during the study period was conducted with satisfactory accuracy; with more than 80% for the overall accuracy and over 0.73 for the Kappa coefficient; (2) the Colombo Metropolitan Area exhibits a diffusion pattern of urban growth; especially along the west coastal line; from both the multi-buffer ring approach and the gravity model; (3) urban density was identified as having a positive relationship with LST through time; (4) there was a noticeable increase in the mean LST; of 5.24 °C for water surfaces; 5.92 °C for vegetation; 8.62 °C for bare land; and 8.94 °C for urban areas. The results provide a scientific reference for policy makers and urban planners working towards a healthy and sustainable Colombo Metropolitan Area.
TL;DR: This study developed an accounting method by using material and energy flow analysis to quantify this urban FEW nexus and helps identify key processes for improving FEW resource efficiencies of the Detroit Metropolitan Area.
Abstract: The efficient provision of food, energy, and water (FEW) resources to cities is challenging around the world. Because of the complex interdependence of urban FEW systems, changing components of one system may lead to ripple effects on other systems. However, the inputs, intersectoral flows, stocks, and outputs of these FEW resources from the perspective of an integrated urban FEW system have not been synthetically characterized. Therefore, a standardized and specific accounting method to describe this system is needed to sustainably manage these FEW resources. Using the Detroit Metropolitan Area (DMA) as a case, this study developed such an accounting method by using material and energy flow analysis to quantify this urban FEW nexus. Our results help identify key processes for improving FEW resource efficiencies of the DMA. These include (1) optimizing the dietary habits of households to improve phosphorus use efficiency, (2) improving effluent-disposal standards for nitrogen removal to reduce nitrogen em...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors measured a) areas at environmental risk due to urban growth, b) differences in societal demand for ecosystem services between socio-demographic groups, c) perceptions of urban and agricultural impacts to ecosystem services, and d) public awareness of current ecosystem services trends, in the Boise, Idaho, metropolitan area, one of the fastest-growing areas in the United States.
TL;DR: In this article, a food-energy-water physical input-output model was constructed to quantify food, energy and water flows in the urban area of the Detroit metropolitan area. And structural path analysis was adopted to identify critical supply chain paths driven by the final demand of key sectors.
TL;DR: In this paper, an overview of pricing and non-pricing measures to reduce domestic water consumption at the household level in five urban areas in Spain is provided, based on questionnaires sent to water utilities that provide water services.
TL;DR: In this paper, Park et al. analyzed the relationship between housing prices and parks and found that smaller park types in residential settings were preferred throughout the processes of park planning, while all types were preferred once the processes were completed.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors estimate equity based on a spatially-explicit computation of door-to-door travel times, in the metropolitan area, by car and by public transit at a resolution of individual buildings as origin and destination pairs.
Abstract: Equity is a critical dimension of accessibility assessment related to changes in transportation investments. We estimate equity based on a spatially-explicit computation of door to door travel times, in the metropolitan area, by car and by public transit at a resolution of individual buildings as origin and destination pairs. The Gini index and two new developed indices – the absolute and normalized accessibility loss are applied to evaluate the equity effects related to changes in the transit service. The method is tested in a case study of a recent bus line reform in the Metropolitan area of Tel Aviv highlighting areas where job accessibility by transit improved or declined. The implications of equity assessments for transportation planning and the assessment of infrastructure investments are further discussed.
TL;DR: In this paper, the influence of Brazilian policies in the urban transport system focusing on environmental, economic and traffic variables is analyzed in the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo (MRSP) and the results point to the importance of the policy implementation to reduce negative externalities of urban transport systems.
TL;DR: The results show that spatial structure, building density, road density, and green space coverage have a significant impact on PM2.5 pollution exposure, and the implications for urban planning to improve public respiratory health are proposed.
TL;DR: Life expectancy in the United States ranked 30th in the world in 2010 and is much lower than in other high-income countries and between 2010 and 2016, US life expectancy fell further behind other developed countries, increasing by only 0.08 years, the smallest 5-year increase since 1970.
Abstract: THE FIRST DECADES of the twenty-first century have been a challenging period for American mortality. Life expectancy in the United States ranked 30th in the world in 2010 and is much lower than in other high-income countries (World Health Organization 2017). Between 2010 and 2016, US life expectancy fell further behind other developed countries, increasing by only 0.08 years, the smallest 5-year increase since 1970 (Ho and Hendi 2018). These relatively slow mortality declines occurred against a background in which US mortality in the 1990s and 2000s was already high by the standards of other OECD countries (Ho and Preston 2010; Crimmins et al. 2011; Ho 2013; Institute of Medicine and National Research Council 2013; Palloni and Yonker 2016). At the same time, there have been large and growing geographic and socioeconomic inequalities in health and mortality within the United States (Fenelon 2013;Wang et al. 2013; Hendi 2015, 2017; Chetty et al. 2016; Montez, Sasson, and Hayward 2016a). Several recent studies of the national-level mortality stagnation have documented adverse mortality trends among middle-aged non-Hispanic whites (Kochanek, Arias, and Bastian 2016a; Squires and Blumenthal 2016; Case and Deaton 2017), particularly among women (Astone, Martin, and Aron 2015; Gelman and Auerbach 2016; Kochanek et al. 2016b) and those with lower levels of education (Hendi 2017) and income (Chetty et al. 2016). Case and Deaton (2015, 2017) drew attention to the role that “deaths of despair”—consisting of accidental poisoning (linked to the epidemic of prescription opioids and heroin), suicide, and chronic liver disease—play