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For methane emission reduction strategies in urban areas to be effective, large emitters must be identified. Recent studies in U.S. cities have highlighted the contribution of methane emissions from natural gas distribution networks and end use. We present a methane emission source identification and quantification method for the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), the largest metropolitan area in Canada, using mobile gas monitoring systems. From May 2018 to August 2019, we collected 77 surveys of methane mixing ratios, covering a distance of about 6400 km, and sampled emission plumes from sources such as closed landfills, natural gas compressor stations, and waterways. Our results indicate that inactive landfills emit less than inventory estimates. Despite this discrepancy, we confirm that the waste sector is the largest methane emitter in the GTA. We also report that the frequency of methane leaks from the local distribution system ranges between 4 and 22 leaks per 100 km of roadway in downtown Toronto, which is comparable to the range observed in U.S. cities, which have invested in modern natural gas distribution infrastructure. Last, we find that engineered waterways, whose emissions are currently not reported in inventories, may be a significant source of methane.

ABSTRACTSome map users still experience difficulties when attempting to route plan, navigate and/or wayfind. This paper provides information on the outcomes of a research project that aims to identify the nature of the difficulties/challenges these users experience. The paper draws on findings from studies of strategies used by novice and experienced map users, and users with poor spatial abilities, to identify the skills that those with poor spatial abilities or with little map reading experience lack. Data were collected using Tobii Pro Glasses 2hardware and associated software. Fourteen participants walked between two predetermined locations while wearing eye-tracking glasses and speaking their thoughts aloud. The data collected in this study were analysed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. Analysis of the results shows three key findings for this particular group: looking at the map incessantly led to missed environmental cues; street names were not labelled at decision-making points on the map; and some individuals having poor spatial abilities prefer small-scale landmarks, for example, buildings with numbers to locate themselves, as opposed to using road names or larger landmarks. We argue that by considering these findings, map designs could be adjusted to meet the needs of map users with poor spatial abilities.

This study explores city level design and its relationship to crime. We perform a comparative analysis between three tourist towns and three non-tourist control towns. The results found that tourist towns had a higher percentage of arterial roads to all roads (good prospect, quick escape) and that the percentage of streets with public space was four times as high (good prospect, good refuge, good escape). The implication for this is that tourist environments were designed for ready access of strangers and an increased tolerance of strangers in the community by hosts: both predictors of criminal behaviour. Future research should focus on designing out tourist crime victimisation by applying crime prevention through environmental design (CPTED).

The limits to water availability are set, not only by the quantity of water in storages or streams but, more fundamentally, by acceptable levels of environmental health. An interpretation of water quality as inclusive of biological quality infers that environmental health and water quality are interdependent. Consequently, to make effective judgements of water availability managers of water resources need information that presents environmental condition in its regional context. This paper presents the results of research that explores the use of stream turbidity as an indicator of environmental condition, identifies a regional statistical model, and constructs a method to display the distribution of model predictions over a large region of south-eastern Australia. The practical advantage of this approach is that it provides managers with the ability to identify sites that differ significantly from modelled water quality and flag them for further investigation. The major project outputs are a map of regional catchments showing standardised residuals and a raster representation of the state of Victoria in which cell values indicate predicted stream turbidity. Important to this project was the novel use of Geographic Information System technology to process national and regional scale digital data sets using tools developed for catchment scale hydrological models.

Abstract: This paper presents a novel method for modelling the spatio-temporal movements of tourists at the macro-level using Markov chains methodology. Markov chains are used extensively in modelling random phenomena which results in a sequence of events linked together under the assumption of first-order dependence. In this paper, we utilise Markov chains to analyse the outcome and trend of events associated with spatio-temporal movement patterns. A case study was conducted on Phillip Island, which is situated in the state of Victoria, Australia, to test whether a stationary discrete absorbing Markov chain could be effectively used to model the spatio-temporal movements of tourists. The results obtained showed that this methodology can indeed be effectively used to provide information on tourist movement patterns. One significant outcome of this research is that it will assist park managers in developing better packages for tourists, and will also assist in tracking tourists’ movements using simulation based on the model used. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]