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The phenomenon known as urban heat islands (UHIs) is becoming more common and widespread, especially in large cities and metropolises around the world. The main cause of these temperature variations between the city center and the suburbs is the replacement of large tracts of natural land with artificial (built-up) surfaces that absorb solar heat and radiate it back at night. UHIs have been the subject of numerous studies, most of which were about defining the main characteristics, factors, indexes, etc., of UHIs using remote sensing technologies or about determining mitigating activities. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of the literature, as well as a bibliometric analysis, to discover research trends related to the application of decision support systems and multi-criteria decision-making for UHI management, with a special emphasis on fuzzy theory. Data collection is conducted using the Scopus bibliographic database. Throughout the literature review, it was found that there were not many studies on multi-criteria analysis and decision support system applications regarding UHIs. The fuzzy theory application was also reviewed, resulting in only a few references. However, this topic is current, with an increase in published papers, and authors see this as an opportunity for improvement and further research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper proposes a Model of priority ranking of cadastral parcels for planning the implementation of urban consolidation, which is a continuation of the published research on the assessment of fragmentation and assessment bonitet values of cadastral parcels. The research deals with one segment of the Spatial Decision Support System and is one process in the planning of urban consolidation. Comparison criteria were identified for the evaluation and priority ranking of cadastral parcels. The subject of the research is private cadastral parcels in the area of large public project construction. The goal of the research is to find the optimal way to compare conflicting and incomparable criteria for the evaluation of private cadastral parcels and, at the same time, a way of fitting the opinions of stakeholders in the implementation planning process of urban consolidation. Due to the complexity of the task and realizing certain spatial criteria, unique models were developed. Special attention was paid to the participatory approach to problem-solving, in which all groups of stakeholders were identified, and the way of expressing their views was defined. The Complex proportional assessment (COPRAS) method and the Analytic Hierarchy Process method (AHP) methods were used to solve the problem. The defined models were tested in the field of construction of a large public project Campus at the University of Split. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) based on multispectral satellite images (MSI) from the satellite's optical sensors is a recent technique for surveying shallow waters. Sentinel-2 satellite mission with an open access policy and high spatial, radiometric, and temporal resolution of MSI-s started a new era in the mapping of coastal bathymetry. More than 90 percent of the electromagnetic (EM) signal received by satellites is due to the atmospheric path of the EM signal. While Sentinel-2 MSI Level 1C provides top-of-atmosphere reflectance, Level 2A provides bottom-of-atmosphere reflectance. The European Space Agency applies the Sen2Cor algorithm for atmospheric correction (AC) to model the atmospheric path of the signal and reduce the MSI reflectance from L1C to L2A over the land area. This research evaluated the performance of different image-based AC processors, namely: Sen2Cor, Acolite, C2RCC, and iCOR for SDB modelling. The empirical log band ratio algorithm was applied to a time series of Sentinel-2 MSI in the middle Adriatic. All AC processors outperformed Sentinel-L2A MSI for SDB. Acolite and iCOR demonstrated accurate performance with a correlation coefficient higher than 90 percent and the RMSE under 2 m for depths up to 20 m. C2RCC produced more robust bathymetry models and was able to retrieve the depth information from more scenes than any other correction. Furthermore, a switch model combining different spectral bands improved mapping in shallow waters, demonstrating the potential of SDB technology for the effective mapping of shallow waters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explains the extent to which the importance of Marine Cadastre (MC) and Marine Spatial Data Infrastructure (MSDI) is recognized in the context of Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), Blue Economy (BE) and Blue Growth (BG), in the scientific community. A bibliometric assessment was performed using bibliometrics methodology. The research shows that MC and MSDI are underrepresented in the scientific literature. To the authors' knowledge, theoretical, educational and capacity-building foundations are not developed enough in this domain. There are many practical issues in the marine and maritime domain that needed to be solved by the technical and engineering professions. They can be solved based on theoretical, scientific research and practical experience in different countries. The analysis of scientific papers was performed, together with different countries' contributions, in the scientific database ISI Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC). Another issue analysed is countries' collaboration. The results show that there is almost no collaboration in the MC domain and some, but insufficient, in the MSDI domain. Based on analysing the recognition of the MC domain, as a basic layer of MSDI, the results are more satisfying than in other parts of the research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridge management includes all actions in the life cycle of the bridge, to ensure its safety, stability, and functionality. Numerous problems have been identified that are primarily related to the organization of planning and the role of decision-making in the reconstruction of the historic pedestrian bridges. The planning process for the reconstruction of these bridges is crucial due to increased traffic load, poor condition, or damage to bridges. Some of these bridges are part of the cultural heritage, while some are unfairly neglected. The motivation for this research arose from the need to establish the priority for the reconstruction of historic pedestrian bridges to achieve their safety, stability, functionality, and cultural preservation. For this reason, a new decision support model based on intuitionistic fuzzy group decision-making to the multi-criteria analysis is created. The model combines multi-criteria method Evaluation Based on Distance from Average Solution and grey relational degree (GRD) with intuitionistic fuzzy theory. Three relevant decision groups of experts are formed, with the knowledge and expertise in the area of research problematic, establishing criteria for the evaluation. A new approach to the consistency of criteria weights is proposed. The intuitionistic fuzzy likelihood function is developed for the aggregation of bridge evaluations. Furthermore, GRD values are calculated to determine the reconstruction priority ranking of bridge for each decision group. The final ranking is defined by integrating Integer Linear Programming (ILP) and Ant Colony Optimization (ACO), determining spatial-functional, time, and financial constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, many papers have been published on the topics of the blockchain (BC) and blockchain technology (BCT). Some papers put BCT in the context of land registries (LRs), land cadastres (LCs), land registration, land administration (LA) and land management (LM) and its implementation benefits. Some eight years later, from its beginnings in 2014, the question of the future of the proposed concept and whether it has one, has been raised. The Scopus database was analysed using bibliometric analysis methodology and Rstudio software with the Bibliometrix R-package and the Shiny package environment. Based on this research, significant interest and growth in the topic was found in both technical and land-governance directions. Different approaches to the topic have been established in the global north and global south. From today's perspective, the future of BCT in both worlds is guaranteed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A systematic methodology for condition assessment of the historic road bridges was needed because of the poor and inadequate condition of bridges which cannot satisfy everyday-day dynamic loads and deteriorations due to the aging process. Thus in this study, a new expert system based on the knowledge approach has been proposed to develop a systematic procedure for condition assessment of these bridges using fuzzy logic and sets of α -cuts. Each bridge is divided into three components: superstructure, substructure, and equipment, and each component is divided into relevant elements. These elements are evaluated by an expert and their ratings are fuzzified according to defined fuzzy sets, their membership functions, and linguistic values. Furthermore, fuzzy structural importance is given to ratings of each element. Combinations of these two values are calculated to obtain a fuzzy rating of the component using the Fuzzy Weighted Geometric Mean (FWGM). Finally, for the defuzzification of the component rating, the centroid method is proposed. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for comparison of the components. The bridge condition rating is achieved by summering all the components ratings multiplied by their relative importance, and it is presented as a value of the Historic Road Bridge Condition Assessment Index (HRBCAI). The validation is conducted on the bridges built until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the important segments of pedestrian infrastructure are pedestrian bridges. The importance is greater if these bridges are of historical and cultural significance to the city or region. To manage these bridges, it is important to develop an approach that can enable systematic and organized decision-making for experts and policy makers. Hereby, a recovery of bridges is analyzed for the priority ranking of historic pedestrian bridges. Maps of Europe from XIX. Century for the area of Split-Dalmatia County (SDC) are used to locate the bridges. A total of nine bridges are identified, and a set of relevant criteria are defined to evaluate these bridges. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) is used for the comparison of criteria, evidential reasoning for the assessment of bridges according to each criterion, and then the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) is conducted for priority ranking of bridges for the recovery planning. To achieve the final order of bridges it was crucial to take into account mechanical, dynamical, ecological, financial, and, also, social characteristics of these bridges, which was not an easy task. For this reason, the authors proposed a model of decision support to help policy and decision makers in the managing of recovery activities of historic road bridges. The model was conducted on the bridges in the area of SDC, built until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Problems in real life usually involve uncertain, inconsistent and incomplete information. An example of such problems is strategic decision making with respect to remediation planning of historic pedestrian bridges. The multiple decision makers and experts, as well as the various mutually conflicting criteria, unknown criteria weights, and vagueness and duality in final decisions, provide motivation to develop a methodology that is able to resist the challenges implicit in this problem. Therefore, the aim of this research was to propose an algorithm based on the theory of rough neutrosophic sets in order to solve the problem of strategic planning with respect to the remediation of historic pedestrian bridges. A new multicriteria decision-making model is developed that is a fusion of rough set and neutrosophic set theory. A new cross entropy is proposed under a rough neutrosophic environment that does not possess the shortcomings of asymmetrical character and unknown occurrences. Additionally, a weighted rough neutrosophic symmetric cross entropy is proposed. Furthermore, a rough neutrosophic VIKOR method is introduced, with which the values of the utility measure, regret measure and VIKOR index are obtained. These values, as well as the weighted rough neutrosophic symmetric cross entropy measure, are used to provide a ranking of historic pedestrian bridges favorable to remediation. Finally, an illustrative example of the strategic planning of remediation for historic pedestrian bridges is solved and compared to other research, demonstrating the robustness, feasibility and efficacy of the model when dealing with complex multicriteria decision-making processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to present a new decision support concept (DSC) related to the ever-growing problem of the maintenance of damaged asphalt pavements. In the process of defining a sustainable approach to resolving this problem, we found complexity in the different needs considering economic, social, and technical aspects. An additional contribution to the problem's complexity was the many road sections that need to be ranked based on their need for maintenance. The priority ranking was based on the multicriteria Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment of Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method and the Analytic Hierarchy Processing (AHP) method. The DSC implementation contained the inclusion of relevant stakeholders and the definition of goals through identification of several different criteria and their weights. This approach to criteria determination provided a final ranking list of spatial units for maintenance, satisfying the needs of all stakeholders. The DSC presented in this paper was tested in the city of Split for the most important roads needing maintenance of asphalt pavements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]