Cities

Since the 1990s, governments have increasingly employed PPPs for the revitalization of subsidised housing stock and the creation of mixed-income neighbourhoods. These PPPs typically involve private-sector partners taking on the responsibility for replacing, maintaining, and operating subsidised housing for a number of decades before transferring the housing back to the public sector. Governments pay the private sector firm for the maintenance and operation of the housing units over the course of the agreement. While there is always the risk that the cost of replacing, maintaining, or operating the subsidised housing may exceed projections, there is little to no demand risk in such partnerships for either party. In Toronto, however, the success of its subsidised housing revitalization is dependent on market forces, as the sale of condos or land owned by the city's subsidised housing provider provide much of the capital needed for revitalization. This paper examines how well Toronto’s market-oriented subsidised housing PPPs address demand risk and protect the communities undergoing revitalization.

Infrastructural practices, made by the manipulations of pumps, pipes and hydraulic expertise, play a critical role in managing urban populations. Drawing on two years of ethnographic research in Mumbai, in this article I show how Muslim settlers in a northern suburb are being rendered abject residents of the city. Abjection isn’t not a lack of social and political entitlements, but a denial of them. As Muslim settlers are being pushed down to claim less desirable water through the deliberate inaction of city engineers and technocrats, this article shows the iterative process through which abjection is made through tenuous and contentious infrastructural connections between the government and the governed.

Kako nastaju gradovi? Koji su to elementi koji su presudni u izboru mesta za grad? Kakva je uloga lovca u formiranju grada? Koje zajednice pribegavaju formiranju naseobina? Kakva je uloga reke u formiranju grada? Kakva je uloga odbrane u formiranju grada? Kakva je uloga groblja u formiranju grada? Samo su neka od mnogobrojnih pitanja kada je u pitanju formativno grado-graditeljstvo. O savskom amfiteatru kroz vreme i ideje...

Deterministic photochemical air quality models are commonly used for regulatory management and planning of urban airsheds. These models are complex, computer intensive, and hence are prohibitively expensive for routine air quality predictions. Stochastic methods are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative, which relegate decision making to artificial intelligence based on Neural Networks that are made of artificial neurons or 'nodes' capable of 'learning through training' via historic data. A Neural Network was used to predict particulate matter concentration at a regulatory monitoring site in Phoenix, Arizona; its development, efficacy as a predictive tool and performance vis-à-vis a commonly used regulatory photochemical model are described in this paper. It is concluded that Neural Networks are much easier, quicker and economical to implement without compromising the accuracy of predictions. Neural Networks can be used to develop rapid air quality warning systems based on a network of automated monitoring stations.

In recent years, New Zealand has undergone fundamental economic, institutional and administrative restructuring. One outcome of this has been the implementation of the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA). Fundamental to the RMA is sustainable management of natural resources at a regional scale. However, there are no prescriptive definitions for sustainable management in the act; rather the act allows regional and local government flexibility in developing policy and plans for economic development and environmental preservation. Recognizing the importance of biculturalism in New Zealand society, a further requirement of the Act grants Maori a significant role in the management of natural resources. Within this institutional context, Waitakere City, located on the western margin of the Auckland region, has adopted the principles of Agenda 21. The City Council has designated itself as an eco-city with a "greenprint" for future development and growth. A significant component of Agenda 21 is the explicit recognition of indigenous rights. Within its development plans, Waitakere City has adopted Maori concepts for resource management specifically for environmental preservation, water quality and sustainable management. This paper discusses the cross-cultural dynamics of natural resource management in Waitakere City. The first section describes the role of Agenda 21 and RMA in creating the eco-city and its relationship to the greater Auckland region. The second part examines the influence of biculturalism in implementing the goals of the eco-city. The final part considers the arenas in which the principles for sustainability with regard to Maori will be tested in the future.

To northern Europeans Malaga is probably more familiar as an airport name than as a city in its own right. It is, however, one of the fastest growing cities in Spain and one with a distinctive urban form. The pattern of population growth, economic change, and the main contributions to the present urban structure are reviewed. The implications of such changes for planning and development strategies are briefly discussed. While elements of change suggest that Malaga is losing aspects of its distinctiveness and converging towards similarity with more northern European cities, many features of continuity with the past remain. Furthermore, social and cultural factors produce residential patterns which are different from those found in most models of the Western city. It is concluded that, while the city is in a process of transition, it is unlikely to simply replicate the structural features of cities elsewhere in Europe or North America. Michael Barke is at the Department of Environment, Newcastle upon Tyne Polytechnic, Lipman Building, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8ST, UK. ~K. Baedeker, Spain and Portugal: Handbook for Travellers, 3rd edn, London, 1908; M. Fitton, Malaga: The Biography of a City, George Allen and Unwin, London,

The current status of solid waste management in Lahore, a metropolitan city of Pakistan, is reviewed in this article using an existing approach, the UN-Habitat city profile. This involves a systematic quantitative and qualitative assessment of physical components and governance features of the current waste management system. A material flow diagram (MFD) is developed, which allows visualisation of the current waste management system with all related inputs and outputs. This study shows that in the current system, waste collection and transportation is the main focus, however the collection coverage is only about 68%. There is no controlled or even semi-controlled waste disposal facility in Lahore. There is no official recycling system in the city. It is estimated that currently ~27% of waste by weight is being recycled through the informal sector. Making use of the organic content of the waste, a composting facility is operative in the city, producing 47,230 tonnes year(-1) of orga...

Climate change is a global problem that has reached the level of crisis today and has transboundary effects. These effects have important consequences especially in cities where population and economic activities are concentrated.Rising sea levels as a result of increasing global average temperatures, increases in the number, frequency and severity of extreme weather events and disasters such as floods, droughts and storms, and the prevalence of public health problems; are consequences of climate change in cities. The negative effects of these results on economic activities, environmental situation, basic services, infrastructures, housing, human well-being, social structure and health of all living things in cities are quite high. However, the relationship between cities and climate change is not unidirectional. Urbanization processes and activities carried out in cities are also a significant source of climate change with their greenhouse gas emissions and high use of natural resources. The aim of this study is to evaluate bidirectional cause-effect relationship between climate change and cities. In the study, it was concluded that greenhouse gas mitigation and adaptation actions in the fight against climate change also contributed significantly to the resilience of cities. Another result obtained in the study is that cities are the key to the solution in the fight against climate change.

This article examines the conception of the everyday city as presented in the work of architect Christopher Alexander and architectural theorist Bill Hillier: Both thinkers suggest that, in the past, lively urban places arose unself-consciousty through the routine daily behaviors of many individual users coming together in supportive space and place. In different ways. both thinkers ask whether, today, a similar manner of vital urban district can be made to happen self-conscioustv through explicit understanding transformed into design and policy principles. The aim for both Alexander and Hillier is place-based urban communities marked by lively streets, serendipitous public encounters, and informal sociability. The article begins by examining commonalities and differences in Alexander and Hillier's conceptions of environmental wholeness and urban place. Next. the article considers implications for urban design and, last, indicates the considerable value that the two thinkers' ideas offer environmental philosophy, particularly for understanding environmental wholes.

O artigo apresenta a ideia das cidades como novos atores da governança ambiental global (GAG). O objetivo é o estudo e análise do papel das cidades na abordagem das questões ambientais globais. O método de pesquisa foi o teórico-dedutivo, partindo do entendimento da GAG, analisando a organização destas, assim como soluções locais aos problemas ambientais de relevância global. Se revisaram instrumentos internacionais, bibliografia nacional e estrangeira e planos de ação ambientais de cidades. Como conclusão se confirma o papel destacado das cidades na temática ambiental e a existência de redes de política e paradiplomacia para abordar questões ambientais.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals are well known environmental pollutants. Even though numerous studies have been carried out to assess human exposures to these compounds, there is still a lack of data on humans from developing countries, especially in underprivileged children. The objective of this study was to assess the exposure to POPs and heavy metals in children from Dhaka, Bangladesh. One specific aim was to investigate whether children working at, or living close to, open waste disposal sites (WDSs) were more heavily exposed than other urban children. In 2008, blood and serum were collected from 73 children aged 7-16 from five neighbourhoods. Some of the children lived and worked at WDSs (N ¼ 31), others lived next to a WDS (N ¼ 17), whereas some children lived far from such sites (N ¼ 25). Blood levels of lead (B-Pb), cadmium (B-Cd), and selenium (B-Se) were determined by ICP-MS for all subjects. The metal levels were high, with B-Pb overall mean 120 mg L À1 (range 40-220), B-Cd 0.74 mg L À1 (0.22-4.1), and B-Se 120 mg L À1 (81-170). There were no marked differences between children from the different neighbourhoods, or between WDS workers and other children. PCB levels were low and with no contrast between neighbourhoods, for CB-153 the overall mean was 7.0 ng g À1 fat (2.8-51). In contrast, high levels of DDTs were observed in all children, for 4,4 0-DDE 1300 ng g À1 fat (420-4600), and for 4,4 0-DDT 326 ng g À1 fat (44-1400), indicating ongoing exposure. PBDE levels were low, and BDE-209 was quantitated mainly in children working at or living close to WDSs. In conclusion, the high levels of DDTs, lead and cadmium observed in children from Dhaka are of concern. Many children were exposed at levels where health effects have been observed, or at levels without safety margins.

Though the solid waste management (SWM) system in Phnom Penh city in general has been upgraded since the waste collection service was franchised out to the private sector, the performance of the existing SWM system is still low. Unreliable and irregular collection service still exists. This means that there are shortcomings in the existing SWM system that need correction. This paper is an attempt to identify those shortcomings in order to find ways to improve the existing system. First, the present SWM system is reviewed. Then the system is evaluated to find constraints and shortfalls and finally some appropriate strategies are proposed that may help make SWM in the city more effective and efficient to meet environmentally sound objectives.

Developing countries are disproportionately affected by hypertension, with Black women being at greater risk, possibly due to differences in body fat distribution. The objectives of this study were: (1) To examine how different measures of body composition are associated with blood pressure (BP) and incident hypertension; (2) to determine the association between baseline or change in body composition, and hypertension; and (3) to determine which body composition measure best predicts hypertension in Black South African women. The sample comprised 478 non-hypertensive women, aged 29-53 years. Body fat and BP were assessed at baseline and 8.3 years later. Body composition was assessed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) (n = 273) and anthropometry. Hypertension was diagnosed based on a systolic/diastolic BP 140/90 mmHg, or medication use at follow-up. All body composition measures increased (p<0.0001) between baseline and followup. SBP and DBP increased by 20%, resulting in a 57.1% cumulative incidence of hypertension. Both DXA-and anthropometric-derived measures of body composition were significantly associated with BP, explaining 3-5% of the variance. Baseline BP was the most important predictor of hypertension (adjusted OR: 98-123%). Measures of central adiposity were associated with greater odds (50-65%) of hypertension than total adiposity (44-45%). Only change in anthropometric-derived central fat mass predicted hypertension (adjusted OR: 32-40%). This study highlights that body composition is not a major determinant of hypertension in the sample of black African women. DXA measures of body composition do not add to hypertension prediction beyond anthropometry, which is especially relevant for African populations globally, taking into account the severely resource limited setting found in these communities.

A newly developed and validated constitutive model that accounts for primary compression and timedependent mechanical creep and biodegradation is used for parametric study to investigate the effects of model parameters on the predicted settlement of municipal solid waste (MSW) with time. The model enables the prediction of stress strain response and yield surfaces for three components of settlement: primary compression, mechanical creep, and biodegradation. The MSW parameters investigated include compression index, coefficient of earth pressure at-rest, overconsolidation ratio, and biodegradation parameters of MSW. A comparison of the predicted settlements for typical MSW landfill conditions showed significant differences in time-settlement response depending on the selected model input parameters. The effect of lift thickness of MSW on predicted settlement is also investigated. Overall, the study shows that the variation in the model parameters can lead to significantly different results; therefore, the model parameter values should be carefully selected to predict landfill settlements accurately. It is shown that the proposed model captures the time settlement response which is in general agreement with the results obtained from the other two reported models having similar features.

I was one of the experts invited by the journal, Issues in Science and Technology, to reflect on life after the COVID-19 global pandemic.  The journal is published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine.  The wide-ranging contributions explore the postpandemic world as it relates to public health, research, universities, economics, disasters, robots, time, space, and much more.  My contribution on "Cities" is on pages 47-48.

Artists and art communities are essential to the cultural life of cities. In New York City, artists have created networks of artist-run galleries in unlikely spaces that are outside the corporate gallery system. Sociologist Mary Kosut explores how artists generate alternative urban art economies within the contemporary New York art world.

Although remotely sensed images have been used to study urban growth patterns the world over, very few studies have employed these methods to examine the growth of Iranian cities. Shiraz is perhaps the most important city in the southern part of Iran and, thus, was selected for this study. We used satellite images of the study area from the period between 1976 and 2005, and population censuses of Shiraz. By applying classification methods to the satellite images four main types of land use were extracted: water, built-up, vegetation and bare land. Then, the area coverage for all the land use types at different points in time were measured and coupled with population data. The results demonstrate that, over the entire study period, development in Shiraz cannot be characterized as sprawl. Since 2000, however, one can see evidence of sprawl. These results are also supported by calculations using Shannon’s entropy. A further finding is that vegetation growth did not keep pace with that of population or the built-up area; more recently, vegetation has greatly declined. It is advisable that future plans for the city give serious consideration to the preservation of available vegetation and, when possible, the restoration of vegetation that was destroyed in the past.► Remote sensing and GIS, are two powerful tools for urban environment studies. ► Built-up per capita index is a simple, but effective indicator of sprawl measurements. ► Shanonn’s entropy calculation, is the most validated method for sprawl measurement. ► Shiraz city is in the early stages of sprawl development.

This study investigated the removal efficiency and mechanisms of water contaminants (mainly N-nitrosamines) during municipal wastewater reclamation by a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and nanofiltration (NF) hybrid system. The removal of bulk water contaminants was governed by the microbial activities in the MBR and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of the NF membranes. The removal of N-nitrosamines by the MBR was primarily attributed to biodegradation by aerobic bacteria, which can be determined by the reactivity of the amine functional groups with the catabolic enzymes (removal efficiency=45-84%). Adsorption and formation of membrane fouling can enhance the removal of N-nitrosamines by the NF membranes. However, size-exclusion is found to play a major role in the removal of N-nitrosamines by the NF membranes since the removal efficiencies of N-nitrosamines varied significantly depending on molecular weight of the N-nitrosamines and MWCO of the NF membranes (removal efficiency: NE90&gt;NE...

Indoor and outdoor endotoxin in PM 2.5 was measured for the very first time in Santiago, Chile, in spring 2012. Average endotoxin concentrations were 0.099 and 0.094 [EU/m 3 ] for indoor (N = 44) and outdoor (N = 41) samples, respectively; the indoor-outdoor correlation (log-transformed concentrations) was low: R = −0.06, 95% CI: (−0.35 to 0.24), likely owing to outdoor spatial variability. A linear regression model explained 68% of variability in outdoor endotoxins, using as predictors elemental carbon (a proxy of traffic emissions), chlorine (a tracer of marine air masses reaching the city) and relative humidity (a modulator of surface emissions of dust, vegetation and garbage debris). In this study, for the first time a potential source contribution function (PSCF) was applied to outdoor endotoxin measurements. Wind trajectory analysis identified upwind agricultural sources as contributors to the short-term, outdoor endotoxin variability. Our results confirm an association between combustion particles from traffic and outdoor endotoxin concentrations. For indoor endotoxins, a predictive model was developed but it only explained 44% of endotoxin variability; the significant predictors were tracers of indoor PM 2.5 dust (Si, Ca), number of external windows and number of hours with internal doors open. Results suggest that short-term indoor endotoxin variability may be driven by household dust/garbage production and handling. This would explain the modest predictive performance of published models that use answers to household surveys as predictors. One feasible alternative is to increase the sampling period so that household features would arise as significant predictors of long-term airborne endotoxin levels.

Vacant urban areas (VUAs) can consist of both vacant land and abandoned structures. In this article, the authors summarize a recent survey on VUA, examine current conditions and causes of VUA, and explore the possible interconnections among these conditions and causes. The research examines employment, fiscal position, elasticity, population alteration, and regional location as primary variables. We find that VUAs are not interchangeable indicators of urban decay. Vacant land is most often associated with cities that have expanded their political boundaries while structural abandonment is more related to a city's population loss. Improvement of the local economy may not necessarily help reduce vacant land while structural abandonment is more sensitive to a city's economic status. Regional planning for VUAs, the strategic location of new industries and jobs, and new population/density regulatory approaches could be the next phase in addressing VUA changes.

Cycling is the most energy-efficient mode of transport and can bring extensive environmental, social and economic benefits. Research has highlighted negative perceptions of safety as a major barrier to the growth of cycling. Understanding these perceptions through the application of novel place-sensitive methodological tools such as mental mapping could inform measures to increase cyclist numbers and consequently improve cyclist safety. Key steps to achieving this include a) the design of infrastructure to reduce actual risks and b) targeted work on improving safety perceptions among current and future cyclists. This study combines mental mapping, a stated-preference survey and a transport infrastructure inventory to unpack perceptions of cycling risk and to reveal both overlaps and discrepancies between perceived and actual characteristics of the physical environment. Participants translate mentally mapped cycle routes onto hardcopy base-maps, colour-coding road sections according to risk, while a transport infrastructure inventory captures the objective cycling environment. These qualitative and quantitative data are matched using Geographic Information Systems and exported to statistical analysis software to model the individual and (infra)structural determinants of perceived cycling risk. This method was applied to cycling conditions in Galway City (Ireland). Participants' (n=104) mental maps delivered data-rich perceived safety observations (n=484) and initial comparison with locations of cycling collisions suggests some alignment between perception and reality, particularly relating to danger at roundabouts. Attributing individual and (infra)structural characteristics to each observation, a Generalized Linear Mixed Model statistical analysis identified segregated infrastructure, road width, the number of vehicles as well as gender and 2 cycling experience as significant, and interactions were found between individual and infrastructural variables. The paper concludes that mental mapping is a highly useful tool for assessing perceptions of cycling risk with a strong visual aspect and significant potential for public participation. This distinguishes it from more traditional cycling safety assessment tools that focus solely on the technical assessment of cycling infrastructure. Further development of online mapping tools is recommended as part of bicycle suitability measures to engage cyclists and the general public and to inform 'soft' and 'hard' cycling policy responses.

The present investigation is a case study of Lucknow, the main metropolis in Northern India, which succumbs to a major problem of municipal solid waste and its management. A qualitative investigation using strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats analysis (SWOT) has been successfully implemented through this community participation study. This qualitative investigation emphasizes the limited capabilities of the municipal corporationÕs resources to provide proper facilitation of the municipal solid waste management (MSWM) services without community participation in Lucknow city. The SWOT analysis was performed to formulate strategic action plans for MSWM in order to mobilize and utilize the community resources on the one hand and municipal corporationÕs resources on the other. It has allowed the introduction of a participatory approach for better collaboration between the community and municipal corporation in Lucknow (India). With this stakeholder-based SWOT analysis, efforts were made to explore the ways and means of converting the possible ÔthreatsÕ into ÔopportunitiesÕ and changing the ÔweaknessesÕ into ÔstrengthsÕ regarding a community-based MSWM programme. By this investigation, concrete strategic action plans were developed for both the community and municipal corporation to improve MSWM in Lucknow.

Today, over-consumption, pollution and resource depletion threaten sustainability. Waste management policies frequently fail to reduce consumption, prevent pollution, conserve resources and foster sustainable products. However, waste policies are changing to focus on lifecycle impacts of products from the cradle to the grave by extending the responsibilities of stakeholders to post-consumer management. Product stewardship and extended producer responsibility are two policies in use, with radically different results when compared for one consumer product, refrigerators. North America has enacted product stewardship policies that fail to require producers to take physical or financial responsibility for recycling or for environmentally sound disposal, so that releases of ozone depleting substances routinely occur, which contribute to the expanding the ozone hole. Conversely, Europe&#39;s Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive requires extended producer responsibili...

A good understanding of climate change damages is vital to design effective adaptation policies and measures. Using a dataset of probabilistic sea-level rise and other of flood damages and protection cost curves for the 600 largest European coastal cities we generate stochastic damage curves and their distributions with and without adaptation. We apply the Generalized Extreme Value distribution to characterize the distributions and calculate two risk measures: the Value at Risk and the Expected Shortfall, which contribute to understanding the magnitude and probability of high-end sea-level rise represented by the upper tail of the distribution. This allows the costs of sea-level rise to be estimated (that is, in addition to other costs related to coastal extreme events) and supports decision-makers in integrating the high uncertainty related to future projections. This knowledge is necessary for an adequate risk management that does not underestimate risk. Furthermore, it allows city planners to tailor their risk tolerance. A great number of cities in Europe are currently undertaking adaptation plans or have already done so. Making these findings available should therefore be of great priority value to inform these processes.

The article introduces Urban Food Policies (UFP) in the field of decentralized
cooperation as a relatively new field of work, exchange and action-oriented
research within and between cities, and local authorities in the global North
and South. Indeed, a plethora of cities have been implementing actions with
different implementation mechanisms indicating that UFP can generate
positive stimuli, new perspectives, and reciprocal benefits. The article
examines a number of ongoing international projects to then focus on the
relevant programs developed in Italy and on the African continent, looking
into aspects of governance, outlining essential features of decentralized
cooperation and of these ongoing development projects, and concluding
with potential prospects in this area.

U.S. local governments purchase $1.72 trillion of goods and services annually that contribute to global climate change and other environmental problems. Cities that successfully implement environmental purchasing policies can mitigate these environmental concerns while saving money and demonstrating their environmental leadership. However, cities confront numerous challenges when implementing an environmental purchasing policy. This chapter identifies the facilitators and barriers of implementing an environmental purchasing policy. It draws on the experiences within the City of Phoenix as an example and offers eight recommendations for how the City of Phoenix and similar cities can integrate environmental purchasing more fully into their existing purchasing processes.

During the past decades, the city of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia has witnessed dramatic changes in its urban area, population and transportation. To better understand the relationship between urban growth and transportation, this paper aims to quantify and analyze the spatial-temporal relationship between urban growth and transportation for Jeddah using Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) approaches. In this paper, eight urban growth and transportation indices were developed to analyze the relationship between spatial-temporal urban growth and transportation changes: (1) annual urban spatial expansion index, (2) land use change index, (3) population density index, (4) transportation infrastructure expansion index, (5) road density index, (6) road area density index, (7) urban trips density index, and (8) modal split change index. The results show that in the past four decades , Jeddah has experienced a rapid population growth, a large spatial expansion, rapidly changing land use and expanding transportation infrastructure. As transportation infrastructure expands with population growth, this expansion has not been able to accommodate increases in travel demand. This has led to an increase in urban congestion. The analysis further shows that transportation infrastructure expansion has stimulated Jeddah's urban spatial expansion and residential area growth. The enormous spatial expansion has also caused significant changes in the daily share of travel modes. The developed indicators in the paper bridge the knowledge gap between urban growth and transportation research, as the results of this study provide a rich understanding of the relationship between urban growth and transportation in rapidly growing cities.

Séminaire de géographie -La gouvernance métropolitaine transfrontalière 14/10/08 • A regeneration of cities as a territorial actor (Le Galès 2002, Brenner 2004) • The State: from a top-down regulatory authority to a partner and mediator • The EU and the construction of an economic system of regulation (Scharpf 1999) • A new room for manoeuvre to a large number of actors (Jessop 2004)

This study analyzes the organizational, technological and societal changes of Gdansk in the process to become a smart city. The Gdansk's planning to climate change to reconcile social, cultural and environmental pillars. Finally analyzes the challenges of the Polish government to build participatory governance with companies and citizens.

In this article we look at examples of three predominant kinds of Swedish retail places-the pedestrianised city centre, the neighbourhood centre and the regional shopping mall-all of which play important (winning or losing) roles in contemporary retail development. This investigation is based on an empirical study of the Malmö region (in southern Sweden) and the findings suggest that the different retail areas are developing independently following the logic of their own business. They have failed to relate their business to the retailscape of the urban region. We also develop spatial resilience as a concept that can be used to acknowledge the interdependence of different retail areas in discussions of urban and regional planning. We argue that more fluid or associative means of stabilisation seem to be overlooked in the present strategies for retail resilience, leaving more classical network stabilization as the only means of choice.

The use of OFMSW for biogas and compost production is considered as a sustainable strategy in saving valuable landfill space while producing valuable product for soil application. This study examines the effects of anaerobic and aerobic post-treatment of OFMSW on the stability of anaerobic digestate and compost and soil quality using seed germination tests. Anaerobic digestion of OFMSW was carried out for fifteen days after which the residual anaerobic digestate was subjected to aerobic post-treatment for seventy days. Seed germination tests showed that fresh feedstock and digestates collected during anaerobic digestion and during the early stages of aerobic post-treatment were phytotoxic. However, phytotoxic effects were not observed in soils amended with the fully stabilised anaerobic digestate compost, ADC. It was also found that seed germination increases with dilution and incubation time, suggesting that lower soil application rates and longer lag periods between soil application of ADC and planting can reduce the amount of biodegradable organics in the ADC, thus enhancing the benefits of ADC as soil amendment.

California's climate, typified by winter and spring precipitation and summer drought, is often called a Mediterranean climate, and creates a long period for pollutant build-up. The initial storms of the winter season usually have higher pollutant concentrations, which is called a seasonal first flush. To investigate the existence of a seasonal first flush, we analyzed four major data sets, collected over the 1999-2000 to 2002-2003 wet seasons. Trends in seasonal loads were quantified by plotting pollutant concentrations or cumulative pollutant load versus cumulative rainfall or cumulative runoff volume. Pollutant concentrations in the first part of the wet season were ranged from 1.2 to 20 times higher than concentrations near the end of the season, and mass emission rates were similarly higher at the beginning of the season. A seasonal first flush existed for most cases and was strongest for organics, minerals and heavy metals except lead. This result suggests that applying treatment Best Management Practices (BMPs) early in the season could remove several times more pollutant mass than randomly timed or uniformly applied BMPs.

Cycling is the most energy-efficient mode of transport and can bring extensive environmental, social and economic benefits. Research has highlighted negative perceptions of safety as a major barrier to the growth of cycling. Understanding these perceptions through the application of novel place-sensitive methodological tools such as mental mapping could inform measures to increase cyclist numbers and consequently improve cyclist safety. Key steps to achieving this include: (a) the design of infrastructure to reduce actual risks and (b) targeted work on improving safety perceptions among current and future cyclists. This study combines mental mapping, a stated-preference survey and a transport infrastructure inventory to unpack perceptions of cycling risk and to reveal both overlaps and discrepancies between perceived and actual characteristics of the physical environment. Participants translate mentally mapped cycle routes onto hard-copy base-maps, colour-coding road sections accord...

Dog parks represent a recent trend in western countries, enabling owners to spend quality time with their pets in a controlled environment. Despite their growing popularity, few studies have been performed to date on these parks to investigate dog intestinal parasitic infections and soil contamination. The present study examined 369 faecal and 18 soil samples collected from 3 dog parks in Greater Lisbon, Portugal. Additionally, 102 interviews were performed with dog owners to assess dog-walking behaviours and parasite risk. In total, 33% of the faecal dog samples were infected with at least one parasitic agent: hookworms (16.5%), Cryptosporidium spp. (11.9%), Giardia spp. (11.4%), Toxascaris leonina (1.1%), Cystoisospora spp. (1.1%), Toxocara spp. (0.5%), and Sarcocystis sp. (0.3%). The soil of all the parks was contaminated with hookworm eggs. This is the first study performed in a European urban area to assess canine faecal contamination and parasitic agents in dog parks. Our resu...

Background: Waste poses a threat to public health and the environment if it is not stored, collected, and disposed of properly. The perception of waste as an unwanted material with no intrinsic value has dominated attitudes towards disposal. This study investigates the domestic waste practices, waste disposal, and perceptions about waste and health in an urban community. Methods: The study utilised a mixed-method approach. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire and in-depth interview were used to collect data. A total of 364 household heads were interviewed in the survey and six key informants were interviewed with the in-depth interviews. Results: The results of the study revealed that 93.1% of households disposed of food debris as waste and 77.8% disposed of plastic materials as waste. The study also showed that 61.0% of the households disposed of their waste at community bins or had waste picked up at their homes by private contractors. The remaining 39.0% disposed of their waste in gutters, streets, holes and nearby bushes. Of those who paid for the services of private contractors, 62.9% were not satisfied with the services because of their cost and irregular collection. About 83% of the respondents were aware that improper waste management contributes to disease causation; most of the respondents thought that improper waste management could lead to malaria and diarrhoea. There was a general perception that children should be responsible for transporting waste from the households to dumping sites. Conclusion: Proper education of the public, the provision of more communal trash bins, and the collection of waste by private contractors could help prevent exposing the public in municipalities to diseases.