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The disruptions associated with health and energy crisis have emphasized the need for hyperlocal cities. However, in Europe, a tool to measure the efficiency of land use and accessibility planning for localizing urban mobility is missing. In this paper, we construct a comparable 15-Minute-Walking City (15-MWC) index that assesses the walking performance of 121 European metropolitan areas and seven amenity types. The data are combined equally following the PROMETHEE II multicriteria approach to assign a final score and to present a ranking of 15-Minutes cities. The main visualization demonstrates European-level disparities and indicates that most of leading cities are in Germany, while most of the worst performers are in the UK. We also reveal a statistically significant difference in 15-MWC performance due to their GDP per capita disparities. The empirical results may serve as a referencing tool for cross-city comparisons and may support policymakers when designing transport and city-planning strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radon gas from the ground is the main source of indoor concentrations in buildings, regardless of construction characteristics. According to Council Directive 2013/59/EURATOM, EU Member States must establish national reference levels for indoor radon concentrations in workplaces and draw up a National Radon Plan. In Calabria (Southern Italy), maps of indoor measurements at regional scale are not available. A set of 1434 average annual measurements, taken between 2010 and 2021, has been analysed. For a limited sector, a geostatistical approach allowed to map the expected concentrations at ground floor, the spatial uncertainty of estimates, and the probability of exceedance of the 300 Bq m−3 Italian threshold for workplaces. Highest values characterize the eastern border of the Sila massif. Obtained maps might be used to optimize locations of additional dosimeters, based on geological constraints. Such studies may support urban planning policies and provide recommendations on building techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground motion modification over large areas is generally evaluated by focusing on source effects disregarding local lithostratigraphic site conditions. Hence, amplification maps of peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity are proposed to improve the forecast of ground motion on a national scale. Topological information about litho-type successions and soil mechanical behaviour were retrieved from the Italian database of seismic microzonation and more than 30 million of seismic site response analyses were performed to quantify the amplification factors (i.e. the ratio between expected ground motion at the site of interest and that at the outcropping engineering bedrock). The maximum value of the amplified peak ground acceleration on the Italian territory results in about twice as much as the value expected at the outcropping of the engineering bedrock. Finally, damage scenario maps based on the amplified ground motion could be produced as a supporting tool for urban planning and emergency system management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The provision of urban green spaces (UGS) within a reasonable walking distance/time for each resident has become a major challenge of urban planning. We provide a novel method to map the availability of UGS for different socio-economic groups in cities using a demand–supply composite index (DSCI). Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, has been chosen to test how the DSCI works. The results show significant differences in the availability of UGS for people living in different neighborhood types. Furthermore, findings reveal that regardless of which type of residential area is considered, young and middle-aged people with higher per capita income are more likely to access UGS. As the demographic and socio-economic structure of the population is continuously changing in the different neighborhood types and so is the demand for UGS, urban planners should carefully monitor societal changes and elaborate interventions to help improve the availability and accessibility of UGS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research presents a geomorphological map of the Entella River floodplain (scale 1:10,000), one of the largest and urbanized Ligurian Tyrrhenian flat area. The coastal floodplain suffered substantial modifications due to human activities since the latter half of the nineteenth century, which transformed the natural landscape into an anthropogenic environment. Fluvial, marine and anthropogenic geomorphological features have been investigated through a multi-temporal analysis and the reviewing, re-elaboration and summarization of previous geographical and geomorphological materials. An historical analysis has been performed to reconstruct morphological modifications and their correlation with anthropogenic interventions. The main geomorphological map includes a multi-temporal analysis of shoreline and major anthropogenic landforms. Small sketch maps on the geographical, geological and land use settings are also provided. The detailed geomorphological map can be used for urban and land planning, including the mitigation of the meteo- and geo-hydrological risk, which historically has dramatically influenced the Entella coastal floodplain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field survey and geomorphological mapping in urban areas are difficult tasks, particularly those related to the recognition of natural landforms within cities. In this case, it is necessary to apply an integrated scientific approach by combining geomorphology with historical-geography. This paper presents the result of a multi-year survey carried out in the natural morphological amphitheatre where the historic centre of Genoa developed. Our research methods included field surveys in urban areas, interpretation of natural and anthropic landforms from maps and photographs, and analyses of the available borehole logs. As a result, we updated knowledge on urban geomorphology of Genoa old city. An original geomorphological legend has been adopted, including new entries for anthropogenic landforms, targeted at a better visual representation on the changes in the geomorphological landscape during more than one thousand years of urban development of the city. The geomorphological map of Genoa old city is presented as a useful tool for urban planning, as well as for an integrated cultural and landscape enhancement of the territory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Khartoum is one of the largest cities in Africa, located immediately south of the junction of the Blue and White Nile rivers in central Sudan. The growth of the Greater Khartoum-Omdurman conurbation arose – without a proper urban plan – from the agricultural wealth created through the completion of three dams, and mostly in the last three decades. Urban expansion was enabled by and helped to enhance the major agricultural expansion of the Gezira clay plains located to the south between the lower Blue and White Nile rivers. The region has been a focus of human settlement for at least 8,000 years, initially by semi-sedentary groups with a fishing-hunting-gathering lifestyle and later by Neolithic groups as shown by hundreds of archaeological sites. Today, Khartoum is a desert city, still very vulnerable to floods triggered by intense convectional storms. Such extreme events may become more common in future, representing a major geomorphological hazard. Moreover, uncontrolled urban and agricultural development is threatening most of the cultural heritage of the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of field surveys, bibliographic research and multitemporal analysis of historical maps, aerial photographs and satellite images in a GIS environment, allowed the current and past geomorphological features of the old city of Alessandria and its surrounding areas, NW Italy, to be identified and mapped. Their analysis provided an overview of the geomorphological evolution of the city that is strictly related to the historical vicissitudes occurred since the Middle Ages. Nowadays, the most representative landforms and deposits characterizing the urban landscape result from human interventions and are associated with ancient military facilities and infrastructures, a historical man-made channel network no longer recognizable, the Tanaro riverbed channelization, and the urban sprawl occurred from the second half of the nineteenth century onwards. This study represents a useful tool for urban planning and management and for raising the citizens' awareness of the urban-landscape geomorphological features and evolution, and therefore the geo-hydrological risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Starting on 24th August 2016, Central Italy was struck by a six-month earthquake sequence that caused 303 victims and extensive major damages to urban areas and infrastructures, in some cases entire villages needed complete rebuilding. In this paper we present a map that portrays the overall susceptibility to multiple landslide types and the exposure to landslides of the rural-urban areas of the Castelsantangelo sul Nera Municipality, a typical village of the central Italian Apennine. The map is based on a procedure that ingests geomorphological data and models and groups the individual landslide susceptibility maps in a joint susceptibility and exposure map based on expert-defined criteria. The procedure has been applied to built-up and to undeveloped areas to highlight their exposure and was used as a tool for planning post-seismic reconstruction. We advise that such maps are used also as basic tool for ordinary urban planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increase and preservation of the socio-environmental functions of urban green spaces (UGS) through suitable management is part of the actions of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. UGS offer benefits to the population in function of their quantity, availability and accessibility. Therefore, we developed a methodology to measure and classify UGS within the urban center of the Queretaro Metropolitan Area in central Mexico. We established one UGS category: public green space and polygon digitization was conducted at 1:1000 scale through on-screen digitization using visual image interpretation. Spatial analysis was carried out in terms of (1) extent (urban green space area); (2) density of UGS (m2 of green area/city block; and (3) accessibility to UGS (access for the population at block level as a unit of analysis). Furthermore, cartographic accuracy assessment was conducted in order to validate the generated data. The results show not only the spatial distribution of UGS in the study area but also their spatial relations with the population, in terms of accessibility and density measured against conventional standards. These results may contribute to urban planning regarding UGS, for the improvement of their functions and contributions to the cities' populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of a geomorphological study carried out in the urban area of Palermo are summarized in a thematic map. Field survey, analysis of aerial photographs and topographic maps, consultation of historical documents and maps, stratigraphic and topographic reconstruction from numerous wells and subsoil data, and bibliographic search were performed, in order to display the geomorphological changes produced by man over time in a densely populated area and to define the Anthropocene of the study area. Palermo town rises along large marine terrace surfaces cut by small river valleys and bordered by wide degraded and abandoned coastal cliffs. Over the last 2700 years, this area was affected by remarkable man-made changes to topographic surface and underground, exposing large areas of the city to hydraulic, sinkhole, and landslide risks, and increasing the levels of seismic susceptibility. In light of these results, the produced map is useful for urban planning studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A comprehensive understanding of the assessment of an urban space by its residents is viewed as one of the most in demand approaches within the endogenous strategies of urban space planning. As a rule, this process only leads to the identification of topophilic or topophobic places. What is lacking is the identification and interpretation of places that may contain both topophobic and topophilic meanings. Thus, the main objective of this paper is to explore, analyse, and compare ambivalently perceived places within an urban environment. Methodologically, the paper stems from the perception of space. More specifically, the phenomenon of mental maps is elaborated on. The analysis proves the ambivalent perception of selected places in the town under study (Šternberk, the Czech Republic), which points, to the complexity of human perception that characterises each community. Two synthetic maps based on four follow-up methodical procedures are provided, accompanied by two analytical maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Majority of research on urban development perceive migration as internally homogeneous phenomenon that influences growth and spatial redistribution of population. This enables to identify certain general migration patterns, but understanding regularities and consequences requires looking at internal structure of migration. This paper aims to visualise the impact of selective migration to the population structures across multiple spatial scales and in a complex way taking Slovakia as the case study. By this means spatial patterns of migration are demonstrated in a more efficient way. The resulting maps show the impact of migration is selective at various spatial levels regarding age and educational attainment. In comparison with general migration, selective migration shows stronger spatial polarisation in Slovakia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community mapping and emotional cartography have close links to participatory planning in the urban environment. The case study presented in this paper describes the deployment of the Emotional Maps platform for the collection and visualisation of spatial data related to the participatory planning of public space. The results () presented are a combination of paper-based and web-map surveys. 2117 respondents from Olomouc (2% of the city's population) marked 25,760 points, lines and polygons, and made 4801 comments. Six spatial questions were asked in the survey and four of them are presented in the attached map. The questions were related to the general attractiveness of the city, safety, satisfaction with public transport and suggestions for the future development of some areas. The outcomes of the survey served as the groundwork for the Strategic Plan of Olomouc for 2017–2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper and accompanying maps focus on a land suitability assessment of the Olomouc region in the Czech Republic. All results were calculated in Urban Planner, a model designed by the authors of this paper. The method of calculation is based on a multi-criteria analysis (weighted overlay method), respects the principles of sustainable development, and allows for execution of several scenarios. The main result of this work is a set of maps. The first map sheet shows the land suitability for housing, recreation, public services, heavy industry, light industry, and transportation. The second map sheet consists of four maps showing different scenarios of land suitability for housing: one map showing the evaluation of existing proposals for housing from urban plans, and one map showing optimal areas for housing calculated by the Urban Planner model. The maps can be used as a significant source of information about the suitability of development in the Olomouc region in geographic or urban studies, both for experts and the general public. All thematic maps are on the scale of 1:125,000; supplementary maps are smaller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the expanding constellation of collaborative map-making initiatives, a growing number of small local projects coexist along with more ambitious and global ones. In developing countries, their existence is not only compatible and complementary, but also necessary, since they meet different needs and pursue diverse and essential objectives, in addition to collecting and sharing geo-located data. In this context, this paper describes theLeón Emergenteinitiative, a collaborative living atlas for the city of León in Nicaragua. The results are presented through two main maps that illustrate, for the first time, the formal and informal economic activity of the city as well as the health facilities in relation to the distribution of population across the city. The paper also describes theLeon Emergenteonline platform and presents a number of online maps that not only represent, but also collect data on different urban aspects and dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a simple model to disaggregate age structured population census data to a 1-km grid for Hungary. A dasymetric approach was used to predict the spatial distribution of population in different age groups by distinguishing residential preferences (in relation to accessible social, economic and green amenities) for working age groups (15–29, 30–49 and 50–64) and population dependencies for children and the elderly (aged 0–14 and 65+). By using open-access land cover data and fine-level population census data as inputs, the model predicts the likely spatial distribution of population and age structure for Hungary in 2011. The resulting map and gridded data provide information to support spatial planning of residential development and urban infrastructure. The model is less data-demanding than most existing approaches, but provides greater power for describing population patterns. It can also be used to create scenarios of future demographic change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to show the current spatial organization that characterizes world urban system from a multifunctional and multiscalar perspective. Methodology, the assessment of the urban system was economic in nature traditionally, taking into consideration some of the most important events, such as transnational corporations, financial flows and advanced services, among others. However, it is now more common to see those approaches that interpret globalization from a more holistic perspective, where many evidences have a place: on the one hand, cultural services because of the development and consolidation of the ‘cultural economy’, ‘consumption society’ and leisure time; on the other hand, air transportation as statistic parameter of global air flows in the presence of the new mobilities paradigm. In addition to these functional approaches, the result of the analysis seeks to describe a world urban system from a scalar perspective. It means that the goal is not only to determine the major cities, but those other ones that undergo parallel processes of globalization with respect to the global cities, characterized by their more functional specialization. World urban system is mapped using a gridded cartogram which shows its unbalanced and hierarchical organization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The results of a long-lasting geomorphological survey carried out in Rome are summarized. A method aimed at integrating survey data, historical maps, aerial photographs and archaeological and geomorphological literature produced a geomorphological map of the present-day historical centre. The geomorphology of Rome is related to the paleogeographical conditions prior to the founding of the City; they allow us to recognize the stages of landscape evolution of the ancientCaput Mundi(Capital of the World). The study area has been affected by continuous man-made changes to the drainage network and to the topographic surface over the last 3000 years. It has forced the authors to develop innovative solutions to undertake effective analysis of the urban environment and the legend of the geomorphological map in this peculiar context. The resulting map is useful for urban planning and archaeological research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban planning in the Czech Republic is governed by the Act No. 183/2006 Coll., the Construction Act and the Ministry Decree No. 500/2006 Coll. These laws make it an obligation to create and maintain up to date Analytical Materials for Planning (Územně analytické podklady - UAP) containing four specific maps showing Territories Requiring Preservation, Territorial Challenges, Territorial Limits and Territorial Concepts. Currently, there is no uniform approach to the cartographic visualization of these maps. This article describes the process of designing the symbology and then the creating of four thematic maps that meet the requirements. The maps that have been produced through the current project are the result of collaboration between the Department of Geoinformatics, the Regional Authority of the Olomouc Region and the City of Olomouc. The joint project was focused on the creation of a comprehensive symbology for the UAP maps required by law. The new symbology respects basic cartographic rules and meets the needs of decision-making. Simultaneously the procedure for updating maps with new ones was designed. The output of the project represents the first attempt to standardize the creation of UAP maps in the Czech Republic. The Regional Authority of the Olomouc Region certified the new symbology as a recommended methodology for creating UAP maps. The symbology is currently in use in 9 of the 13 districts of Olomouc region: Olomouc, Jeseník, Lipník nad Bečvou, Šumperk, Přerov, Litovel, Hranice, Prostějov a Šternberk. All the maps are available on the public website of the Olomouc region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]