Showing papers on "Urban climate published in 1991"

Cities in Space: Cities As Place

Abstract: The development of urban geography the emergence of the urban system the urban system the urban economy theories of the city the system of control - local government and the local state transport issues in the city urban services the residential mosaic the city as a social world urban problems urban trends and urban problems.

Urban Consolidation and Urban Sprawl: A question of density

Abstract: The political prominence of urban issues includes a major set of debates about consolidation, sprawl and the provision of infrastructure at the urban fringe. Whilst recognising the complexity of these issues the paper is limited to a focus on the extent to which increased residential densities can help consolidation and restrain sprawl. Analysis of the relationship between densities and total land demand shows that higher nett residential densities contribute very little to the restraint of sprawl. Attention is drawn to possible inadequacies in policy research and the rhetorical value of emphasising density debates.

The pattern of urbanization in Western Europe.

Abstract: This report "presents major trends and changes in the urban system in Europe over the last thirty years (1960-1990). It examines the present state of urbanization and considers the cycles and dynamics of urban development urban growth and urban decline and describes current and future issues of urban development in the twelve countries of the European Community including the united Germany and in Austria and Switzerland." (EXCERPT)

China's City Hierarchy, Urban Policy and Spatial Development in the 1980s:

Abstract: Cities play an important role in population distribution and economic development. Policies which alter city systems can create new patterns of spatial economic development. This paper, using the most recent data, examines changes in China's city hierarchy, urban policy and spatial development in the 1980s in international, national and local contexts. The time series data show that the process of urbanisation had been gradual between 1949 and the late 1970s but accelerated rapidly in the 1980s. The growth of cities and towns in various size categories reflects the influence of urban policy in reshaping China's urban hierarchy. Using multiple measures of urban primacy, the analysis suggests that China has distinctive city systems at the regional level varying along demographic, industrial and infrastructural dimensions. Moreover, there is a growing discrepancy in socioeconomic development between inland and coastal cities that is consistent with the recent policy of favouring the coastal economy. The stud...

Urban heat island and urban health: early american perspectives*

Abstract: The nature and sources of early American understanding of an important form of human-induced climatic change, the urban heat island effect, are considered. Recognition and explanation of the phenomenon occured both earlier and more widely than is usually supposed. Interest stemmed not only from concerns that remain significant today, but from others that have been discarded, notably anticontagionist theories of the causation of disease.

The bioclimate in temperate and northern cities.

Abstract: Climate is a basic component of the human environment. Developments in building design and indoor climate control have contributed greatly to improving human health and comfort. By contrast, the possibilities for improving urban climatic conditions by deliberate planning have been poorly exploited. The structure and processes of the urban atmosphere in extratropical regions are briefly described. The impact of certain selected urban climates on human health is summarized. The need for relevant bioclimatological “design tools” for applications in urban planning is stressed, followed by a brief review of some recent work on human thermal comfort. It is argued that the modification of present day comfort criteria to reflect human adaptation to climate may be important for further improvements of indoor climate, as well as for deducing the emissions of air pollutants and greenhouse gases.

Urban and rural fertility in Italy: regional and temporal changes.

Abstract: This research aims at comparative analysis of behavior towards procreation on the part of the urban and rural populations in Italy in the light not only of the great transformations which occurred in its urban and rural areas after the Second World War but also of the territorial differences which still characterize it.... An association between low fertility and urbanization is confirmed. (EXCERPT)

An introduction to settlement geography

Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. Rural settlement patterns and forms 3. The socio-economic geography of rural settlements 4. Rural settlement planning 5. Urban morphology 6. The social geography of urban areas 7. Urban housing and residential mobility 8. The economic geography of urban areas 9. Planning and the city

Urbanization in Canada.

Abstract: Urbanization has been a persistent feature of Canadas demographic history since Confederation it can be viewed as both a cause and an effect of socioeconomic change. Migration from rural to urban areas has occurred largely in response to perceived greater economic opportunities in cities....The changing distribution of population growth between rural and urban Canada is central to concerns about the viability of rural areas and the magnification of social problems associated with urban size. (EXCERPT)

1980's a Decade of Broad Rural Stress.

Abstract: With a decade's perspeclioe, the ]970's \"Rural Renaissance\" is looking more like an interlude than a harbinger of the future. The 1980's marked a return to the patterns of oulmigration typical of rural America in this century. Employment rose (albeit slightly), but so did unemployment and pouerty. Not all the rural indicators went up: real income and education declined. Enhanced rural linkages with national and global marketplaces may be the key to improving the rural situation.

Urban Internal Structure of China's Cities--A Case Study of Lanzhou City

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to clarify the urban internal structure of China's cities by a case study of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province. At first, the spatial structure of urban life in China's cities is clarified by consideration of the formation, the roles, the internal structure and the distributive characters of the DANWEI (or working unit). Then, the urban land use pattern is also analysed, and a model of the internal structure of Chinese cities is obtained. The results are summarized as follows:1) The life of urban inhabitants in China's cities is performed basically depending on the DANWEI, which is related to both the work and residences of the inhabitants, and has influence on the urban land use patterns. It is clarified that the spatial structure of urban life in China's cities is composed of three levels: the DANWEI, a principal territorial form of the urban life; the low level life space by the homogeneous DANWEI; and the high level life space by the Municipal District. Furthermore, the low level life space by the concentrated distribution of the homogeneous DANWEI is divided into 12 in the town area of Lanzhou, and that the low level life space formed from the industrial DANWEI can be distinguished. The institution of the low level life space has developed to far away from the city centre. Moreover, the high level life space which is formed as the Municipal District is divided into 4, and it appears that the spatial structure of urban life in China's cities is formed through the administrative control and the residential plan of the Municipal Bureau (Fig. 6).2) Regarding urban land use, it tends to change from commercial·administrative· old residential land use to industrial·new residential land use with the change from the urban core to the suburbs. Furthermore, the residential areas are distributed generally in the town areas and correspond to the old residential area in the older town areas, to the mixed residential area mainly composed of DANWEI in the newer town areas and the new residential areas on the urban fringe, with a change from the urban core to the surrounding of the core and the suburban areas. However, the school zones are distributed in special areas.3) When the characteristics of the urban land use in Lanzhou mentioned above are clear, the urban land use model (Fig. 8) and the development model of urban internal structure (Tab. 3) are presented. Furthermore, as a future agenda, a model of the internal structure of China's cities can be acquired, espatially of industrial Chinese cities (Fig. 9). The urban land use pattern is characterized by a four-concentric zone structure: urban core zone, mixed zone, industrial zone and outer zone. Furthermore, the residential areas are distributed continuously from the urban core to the suburbs and can be generally divided into three: the old residential areas, the mixed residential areas, and the new residential areas. However, the school zones and new industrial areas are distributed in special areas.

The Urban Climate and Air Pollution

Abstract: Most of the climatic changes brought about by urbanization have been well documented and repeatedly confirmed. Much less well known are their consequences. Even classic studies like Chandler’s (1965) The Climate of London contain only very general references to its effects on the economic and social life of the city. Direct or indirect mention of the urban climate influencing the ecology of built-up areas is equally scarce, and with the exception of work in West Germany usually anecdotal. By contrast a great deal of scientific information exists on the biological consequences of air pollution. This is discussed separately. Tables expressing average urban climatic differences as a percentage of rural conditions can be found in a number of books (Changnon, 1976; Landsberg, 1981; Spirn, 1984). They show reasonably close agreement; that of Horbert (1978) is reproduced as Table 3.1. While it is appreciated that the climate acts as a whole, the various factors and their ecological consequences will, as far as possible, be discussed separately.

Study on the control of thermal environment in cities (2)

Abstract: Urbanization induces the increase of energy consumption in cities. It also alters the land use and cover in urban areas. Combination of these changes results in the temperature increase in cities, and thereby cause the increasing demand of energy required for air conditioning especially in summer. Thus, it is imperative to reexamine the physical structure of the cities with a view to alleviating the heat-island phenomena caused by urbanization. For this purpose, this study aims to establish the relationship between the urban thermal structure and the parameters specifying the land use pattern of the area under consideration (albedo, roughness length, relative humidity, and heat capacity). The analysis is based on an energy budget model. For Fukuoka City area, surface temperature estimated by the model is compared with the infrared surface temperatures data obtained from satellites (NOAA). A relatively good correlation was found between them, but further analysis must be made to achieve a better agreement.