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The conservation of cultural heritage is a well-established fact recognized by public administrations, the scientific community, and society at large. Understanding this heritage strengthens the historical memory of communities. However, there is a type of heritage that, as it disappears or evolves over time, cannot be physically recovered: the urban fabric of historic cores. This article aims to implement a system for integrating historical urban data into a Geographic Information System (GIS) to enable the graphic recovery of urban evolution within a territory. This system facilitates the storage of alphanumeric and graphic data in a centralized database, providing a holistic view of the transformation process of a historic center's landscape. This case study focuses on an area in the historic center of Valencia, a territory influenced by multiple cultures since the city was founded by the Romans. Each culture has altered the spatial structures within the area. Georeferenced documents from historical archives, historical cartography, and the scientific literature were utilized for this study. The results have been integrated into the current cartography of Valencia in the GIS, producing plans of successive urban stages through the overlay of historical maps and current cartography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compactification of cities, i.e., the opposite of urban sprawl, has been increasingly presented in the literature as a possible solution to reduce the carbon footprint and promote the sustainability of current urban environments. Compact environments have higher concentrations of interaction opportunities, smaller distances to them, and the potential for increased active mode shares, leading to less transport-related energy consumption and associated emissions. This article presents a GIS-based quantitative methodology to estimate on how much can be gained in that respect if vacant spaces within a city were urbanized, according to the municipal master plan, using four indicators: accessibility, active modal share, transport energy consumption, and a 15-minute city analysis. The methodology is applied to a case study, in which the city of Coimbra, Portugal, and a compact version of itself are compared. Results show the compact layout improves all indicators, with averages per inhabitant improving by 20% to 92%, depending on the scenario assumed for cycling, and is more equitable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turbulence models are crucial for simulating urban pollutant dispersion by computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of steady-state and unsteady-state Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes simulation (SRANS/URANS) and large-eddy simulation (LES) in calculating air pollutant dispersion in street canyons with generic and real urban layouts. For each layout, wind tunnel experiments with measured wind speed and pollutant concentration were available as benchmarks. In addition, instantaneous concentration fields were analyzed to assess the transient models. The results showed that in both generic and real urban layouts, the RNG k − ε model and SST k − ω model provided similar results for time-averaged wind speed and concentration distributions in SRANS and URANS simulations. LES performed the best in calculating wind speed and pollutant dispersion. In a generic urban layout, URANS with the SST k − ω model captured large-scale fluctuations, while instantaneous results from URANS with the SST k − ω model did not change over time in a real urban layout. SRANS/URANS with the SST k − ω model can provide acceptable results for time-averaged pollutant concentration fields in a generic urban layout with simple building shapes and placements. However, for real urban layouts, the LES approach is the most accurate way to calculate air pollutant dispersion. • SRANS, URANS and LES simulations were conducted and evaluated. • A building array and a real urban layout were selected as the target urban layouts. • Large-scale fluctuations were only observed in the generic urban layout. • SRANS/URANS with the SST k − ω model provide acceptable results in the building array. • LES model performed best in real urban layouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The debate on the ideal urban layout, or form has long been an active topic of research. As cities expand and population demands rise, the quest for efficient and sustainable urban designs gains greater significance, necessitating objective and quantitative evaluation of their performance. This article adds to the debate by presenting a multicriteria analysis of city performance, based on quantitative indicators obtainable from geographic information systems calculations, which focus on sustainability and physical pleasantness issues. Indicator values were derived for a real city, its infill version, and five redrafts as classic city models existing in the literature. The city layouts were then compared using the TOPSIS multicriteria ranking method, results showing a preference for the more compact urban layouts due to the multiple advantages of having shorter distances between supply and demand points. The methodology provides quantitative insights on city performance and efficiency and can be used to compare options for city expansions or major urban regeneration projects. [Display omitted] • A multicriteria methodology for assessing city performance is presented. • Quantitative indicators related to sustainability and pleasantness are proposed. • A comparative study benchmarked a real city with classic urban models using TOPSIS. • Results favor compact urban layouts. • Provides policymakers with quantitative analysis tools for urban planning decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents the role of expropriation regulations and concession cases in remodeling the plot of precolonial Algiers. It also examines its consequences on domestic architecture. Urban development undertaken during the nineteenth century in the Casbah of Algiers resulted in the first settlement of the colonial city. The transformation of the old street network and the opening of streets through existing constructions were essentially based on declarations of public utility for expropriation. As a result of this regulation, there was an increase in requests for the concession of public land, allowing owners to rebuild according to the new alignments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Present-day West African towns allow us to study how urban space developed in this region. The urban street networks and layout of residential quarters to some extent preserve the possible movement patterns of pre-colonial urbanites. Long-distance trade, in what is ultimately a liminal and transitory locale, linked the urban nodes on the "coast" of the Sahara. This article takes a closer look on the distribution of streets and quarters as a unique kind of material heritage, as well as major trade routes, which linked into the towns. Analyses of the historic towns of Timbuktu and Djenne in Mali are used to demonstrate how the relationships between trade and urban residents were enacted in space. The structuring of the two towns put them in context with the tradition of dual settlements in West Africa, also finding parallels with the role of urban quarters in merchant towns of the East African coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy and environmental benefits due to the solar radiation availability in the urban contexts are very important for the microclimate and the environmental quality of cities, where spatial distribution and dimensions of buildings play a fundamental role. Understanding the effects produced by different building volumes is an important aspect and the solar access analysis represents the specific field of study. The study proposes a design methodology, developing a framework with criteria, aspects and example applications, with the aim to evaluate the energy effects related to the different volumetric configurations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the spatial relations between the principal public squares in Latin Famagusta and the architecture of the major Latin and Greek churches which dominated them. The study uses historical and archaeological records to reconstruct parts of fourteenth-century Famagusta's urban layout and uses a method called perspectival logic to demonstrate that the plan of the city's streets and piazzas was not a result of chaotic, ad hoc decisions. Rather, it was consciously designed to shape the lived experience of those present in the city. It enforced social hierarchies and created public spaces that addressed the commercial and religious needs of the city's diverse urban society. Pedestrians crossing Famagusta's piazzas were offered favorable views of religious monuments, which strengthened the public reception of the religious messages conveyed through their architecture. The shape of each piazza facilitated the fluency of pedestrian movement and manipulated its direction, so that areas located close to external galleries of Famagusta's churches were secluded from daily traffic. This made these spaces suitable for outdoor preaching, on occasions such as St. Bridget of Sweden's delivery of public sermons to the inhabitants of Famagusta in 1372. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Natural ventilation and the use of fans are recognized as sustainable design strategies to reduce energy use while reaching thermal comfort. A big challenge for designers is to predict ventilation rates of buildings in dense urban areas. One significant factor for calculating the ventilation rate is the wind pressure coefficient (Cp). Cp values can be obtained at a high cost, via real measurements, wind tunnel experiments, or high computational effort via computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulation. A fast surrogate model to predict Cp for a schematic urban environment is required for the integration in building performance simulations. There are well-known surrogate models for Cp. The average surface pressure coefficient model integrated in EnergyPlus considers only a box-shaped building, without surrounding buildings. CpCalc, a surrogate model for Cp, considers only one height of neighbouring buildings. The Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek (TNO) Cp Generator model was available via web interface, and could include several box-shaped buildings in the surrounding area. These models are complex for fast integration in a natural ventilation simulation. For optimization processes, with thousands of simulation runs, speed is even more essential. Our study proposes a new surrogate model for Cp estimation based on data obtained from the TNO CP Generator model. The new model considers the effect of different neighbouring buildings in a simplified urban configuration, with an orthogonal street pattern, box-shaped buildings, and repetitive dimensions. The developed surrogate model is fast, and can easily be integrated in a dynamic energy simulation tool like EnergyPlus for optimization of natural ventilation in the urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses a multi-objective facility location problem, concerning the location of noise-sensitive and noise-generating facilities in urban environments. To promote sustainable solutions, two main criteria are incorporated within the optimisation model: minimising total noise-threshold violation levels and the total system travel time on the underlying road network. A bi-level formulation is proposed, which is eventually re-formulated into a single-level model. The augmented ε -constraint method is implemented to yield non-dominated solutions. A Benders-Decomposition approach is proposed to handle large instances of the problem. Numerical tests highlight the effectiveness of the proposed solution method in designing the layout of urban regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Javanese cities, just like other Southeast Asian cities, are believed to be based on a cosmological layout. The basic of this layout is that there is a centre with the highest hierarchy, surrounded by circles with lower hierarchies, and axes. This layout can be seen as a practice of power in which it serves as a silent ideology (Bourdieu, 1977) that embodies social hierarchy. This article focuses on the ‘cosmological’ layout as a political space, in which a practice of power of the royal kingdoms or kratons is embodied. It focuses on the case studies of Javanese cities, namely Yogyakarta and Surakarta, which are recognised as the locus of Javanese culture at present. This paper seeks how different political power of the royal courts in both cities is reproduced in similar urban and architectural layouts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to save energy at the urban level leads to study how numerical simulations and optimization methods can help the architects to design buildings and districts with the best possible energetic performances, regarding daylight, warming or cooling, and photovoltaic capabilities. This work presents a study of solar potential maximization over a district and its relation with urban shape. For this purpose, two geometrical models are proposed. The first one is derived from the literature and describes a grid of buildings in open area; the second one studies moderately dense urban configurations with a pre-existent urban-context. A clear sky model is considered to compute direct solar radiation and an evolutionary algorithm is used to optimize the shape and the distribution of buildings inside a fixed area. Results show some clues on the optimal distribution of buildings considering the total direct solar irradiation to be captured by an urban district for various densities and compare the solar potential at different latitudes between 40° and 60°N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditionally, research on late Iron Age societies of Central Europe has to some degree focused on large fortified settlements or oppida, presumably ranking at the top of the Celtic settlement hierarchy. The oppidum of Manching in Upper Bavaria has in the past been seen as a paradigmatic example of pre- Roman transalpine urbanization, in both chronological and functional terms. However, both its dating and its topographical position in a shallow flood plain of the Danube justify a distinction from contemporaneous or successive fortified 'towns'. Recent studies have identified another particular type of settlement -- large unfortified centres of crafts and trade -- as a major feature of prehistoric urbanization. Again, Manching and its pre-fortified stages of urban development reveal a characteristic scheme of eastern Celtic settlement evolution that eventually breaks with a standard development when a massive rampart is constructed. Based on recent research at Manching and its hinterland, and taking into account the dynamic character of urbanization, a flexible model of urban evolution is developed here. This model allows for a comparative and quantifiable notion of variable degrees of local and supraregional urban status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the help of recent archaeoastronomical research a special way of orienting architectural structures has been identified in Mesoamerica. Most major pyramids and palaces are oriented to the sunrise or sunset on dates that are determined through day counts defined by the configuration of the calendrical system. This has allowed some colonial cities in Mexico, founded on Prehispanic settlements, to retain such orientations in their urban layout. In this paper we illustrate several examples of this kind of city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Cities consume significant amounts of energy and improving their efficiency is an integral part of tackling global climate change. As existing urban layouts can be difficult to change, new developments offer significant opportunities for demonstrating low energy urban forms. However the limits of these improvements are not well known and so this paper presents an optimization tool for designing minimum energy urban layouts, considering both the transport and building sectors. Our work builds upon the excess commuting and sketch modelling literatures, with a greater focus on energy consumption as a specific objective and improved model performance. After validating the model with the case of a UK eco-town, Monte Carlo analysis is used to assess how the minimum energy benchmark varies in response to planning constraints on high-density housing and car ownership. The methodology presented here therefore offers a new tool for calculating absolute minimum urban energy benchmarks, which can be used early in the planning process to complement more behaviourally-realistic land-use transportation models. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Studies of rural settlements- that is, villages and small towns-have gained momentum in the last decade. They have appeared in several publications, mainly discussing economic and administrative relations between village and city based on literary evidence. Physical aspects of rural settlements have not been examined extensively, primarily because of the dearth of archeological evidence. The slopes of Rough Cilicia, between the Calycadnus and Lamos Rivers, represent an exception, offering a variety of relatively well preserved settlements. Kanytellis (Kanlıdivane) is the largest of these settlements thus far studied, and the state of its remains provides a wealth of information about the physical characteristics of a typical Late Antique village, including layout, architecture, and social and economic conditions. A 2006 survey revealed that Kanytellis's layout of narrow streets follows topographical lines and revolve around a main thoroughfare. The sloping terrain was utilized for terraces, leaving empty areas for small piazzas with public cisterns. Kanytellis's main public buildings consist of five churches-all of them three-aisled basilicas of large scale-a market structure with rows of shops on several floors, houses of considerable size and careful construction, and industrial structures, namely, presses for olive oil or wine. The remains point to a wealthy and well-organized community, mostly composed of free farmers and a small number of tradesmen and artisans with no distinct class differences. It is obvious that Kanytellis benefited greatly from the wine and olive oil trades and flourished during the 5th and 6th centuries, developing a self-sufficient economy based on agriculture and agricultural products. Being half a day's walk, or approximately 10 kilometers, from its administrative capital, Elaiussa Sebaste, Kanytellis would be expected to have close economic and social relations with the city. The primary issue is to what extent a settlement like Kanytellis-self-sufficient as well as serving the surrounding countryside- depended on a city beyond administrative functions. In the period between the 4th and 7th centuries, the village grew while the city declined, ultimately failing to provide the cultural and social services that make a settlement a city. Based on the information obtained from Kanytellis, it is safe to say that the concepts of city and village changed in the Late Antique period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]