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This study estimates the relationships between street network characteristics and transport-sector CO2 emissions across every urban area in the world and investigates whether they are the same across development levels and urban design paradigms. The prior literature has estimated relationships between street network design and transport emissions – including greenhouse gases implicated in climate change – primarily through case studies focusing on certain world regions or relatively small samples of cities, complicating generalizability and applicability for evidence-informed practice. Our worldwide study finds that straighter, more-connected, and less-overbuilt street networks are associated with lower transport emissions, all else equal. Importantly, these relationships vary across development levels and design paradigms – yet most prior literature reports findings from urban areas that are outliers by global standards. Planners need a better empirical base for evidence-informed practice in under-studied regions, particularly the rapidly urbanizing Global South.

Previous studies have identified vital urban spaces through the concentration of people, the diversity of land uses and buildings, accessibility, and the existence of a compact urban fabric. However, the relationship between urban vitality and social sustainability has not been studied in these terms. This paper seeks to analyse the social implications of the vital city model for residents in the context of a Latin American city: Santiago de Chile. To do so, we use the JANE index to measure the formal conditions of the built environment for urban vitality, and the Longitudinal Social Study of Chile to measure urban social sustainability. We first use a PCA technique to reveal six core components of urban social sustainability: Sense of belonging, Safety, Sociability, Well-being, Satisfaction with housing, and Conservation of the neighbourhood. We then test the associations between the strength of these six core components and the conditions for urban vitality by means of a multiple linear regression model. Significant associations between urban vitality conditions and urban social sustainability suggest that socially sustainable neighbourhoods are found in sectors with the presence of old buildings, accessibility to public transportation, and far from mega infrastructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyses informal built landscapes in nine fast-growing global cities across diverse geo-political regions using historical maps, aerial photographs, and field visits. This empirical study investigates the urban form of informal built landscapes, identifying 10 main patterns of urban form in settlements created in the 1970–2020 period. This period was characterized by rapid spatial expansion of informal settlements. These trends raise the question of whether there were common characteristics of informal land occupation, how public sector interventions have changed informal settlements, and whether certain built landscapes were more prominent globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The work focuses in architectural dimension of urban form, by confronting the plans of three neighborhoods in Prishtina that represent potentially three main urban paradigms of the last decades in city's urban transformation. The study aims to unfold the main elements, confront them, and expose to possible transformation. The work progressively decomposes each case into basic components and deductively to their minimal unit. The research, through interpretation and graphic illustrations, analyzes the three plans by layers: basic elements and their relational modalities, urban matrix, open space character and composing minimal units. The process will identify the main components, and their generic potentiality to be considered as future inputs in city's development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CO2 emissions from urban daily mobility play a major role in both environmental degradation, rising economic costs, and sustainability. Reducing these emissions not only advances environmental sustainability but also fosters economic development by enhancing public health, lowering energy consumption, and alleviating the financial strain caused by climate change. Understanding the dynamics of CO2 emissions from urban daily mobility provides valuable historical insights into environmental impacts and economic costs tied to urban development. This study takes a historical perspective, examining changes in CO2 emissions associated with daily mobility in the Lyon agglomeration across two decades, drawing on data from the 1995 and 2006 household travel surveys. Our findings reveal that individual factors such as gender, age, employment status, and income significantly influence CO2 emissions, with males and full-time workers exhibiting higher emissions. Furthermore, household characteristics, including size and vehicle ownership, are critical in shaping emission levels, while urban form variables such as population density and mixed land use demonstrate a negative correlation with emissions, highlighting the importance of urban planning in mitigating CO2 output. The analysis emphasizes that greater accessibility and proximity to essential services are vital in reducing individual emissions. Based on these insights, we discuss the implications for policy design, suggesting targeted strategies to enhance urban mobility, improve public transport accessibility, and promote sustainable urban development. Finally, we outline directions for future research to further explore the intricate relationship between urban characteristics and emissions, ultimately aiming to contribute to the development of effective climate policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of urban form on carbon emissions has become a crucial issue for sustainable socioeconomic development and the advancement of low-carbon cities. Transportation is a significant source of urban carbon emissions, highlighting the need for comprehensive research to aid China in achieving its carbon peak and neutrality goals. Currently, there is a lack of quantitative studies exploring the effects of urban form on transportation-related carbon emissions. This paper seeks to quantify the effect of urban form on the spatial and temporal patterns of transportation carbon emissions, utilizing panel data from 27 cities in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region of China, covering the years 2000 to 2020. First, CO2 emissions from transportation are estimated following IPCC guidelines, with Moran's I utilized to analyze spatial autocorrelation. Next, urban form indicators are quantified based on landscape ecology theory. Finally, econometric models are employed for regression analysis of the panel data. The findings reveal that urban complexity, compactness, and expansion influence transportation carbon emissions to varying degrees, with urban expansion and complexity associated with increased emissions, while compactness contributes to their reduction. This study offers theoretical support and a scientific basis for low-carbon urban spatial planning and development, underscoring the importance of urban form in emissions reduction strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the intention to use shared autonomous vehicles in Brussels before and after an experience in virtual reality, in which a scenario of a city with shared autonomous vehicles was visualized taking into account transformations that are not possible to implement in real life such as urban form changes. 51 participants took part in a quasi-experiment and their acceptance of autonomous vehicles was measured before and after, using surveys based on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). Using partial least squares structural equation modeling, we model user acceptance pre- and post-VR experience and compare the change in influencing factors. Results show that, under the conditions we defined, the intention to use autonomous shuttles was influenced by the virtual reality experience, as there was an increase in the behavioral intention and a change in the significant predictors. Overall, we found evidence that the virtual reality experience did influence the acceptance of autonomous vehicles, and can then be an effective test bed to visualize future impacts of autonomous vehicles that are impossible to project in real life. Our study constitutes then a first step into exploring potential usages of virtual reality to project long-term visions of future developments of cities with shared autonomous vehicles. • Pre-test post-test design to evaluate effect of virtual reality on acceptance. • We estimate SEM model before and after experience. • Intention to use autonomous shuttles increases after the VR experience. • Hedonic motivation is no longer significant after the VR experience. • Environmental perception is positively linked with acceptance after the experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban block form significantly impacts energy and environmental performance. Therefore, optimizing urban block design in the early stages contributes to enhancing urban energy efficiency and environmental sustainability. However, widely used multi-objective optimization methods based on performance simulation face the challenges of high computational loads and low efficiency. This study introduces a framework using machine learning, especially the XGBoost model, to accelerate multi-objective optimization of energy-efficient urban block forms. A residential block in Nanjing serves as the case study. The framework commences with a parametric block form model driven by design variables, focusing on minimizing building energy consumption (EUI), maximizing photovoltaic energy generation (PVE) and outdoor sunlight hours (SH). Data generated through Latin Hypercube Sampling and performance simulations inform the model training. Through training and hyperparameter tuning, XGBoost's predictive accuracy was validated against artificial neural network (ANN), support vector machine (SVM), and random forest (RF) models. Subsequently, XGBoost replaced traditional performance simulations, conducting multi-objective optimization via the NSGA-II algorithm. Results showcase the framework's significant acceleration of the optimization process, improving computational efficiency by over 420 times and producing 185 Pareto optimal solutions with improved performance metrics. SHAP analysis highlighted shape factor (SF), building density (BD), and building orientation (BO) as key morphological parameters influencing EUI, PVE, and SH. This study presents an efficient approach to energy-efficient urban block design, contributing valuable insights for sustainable urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Flooding is one of the biggest challenges affecting the economy and people's well-being. Various approaches have been employed in prior research to examine spatial data and enhance flood response effectiveness, such as the utilization of machine learning methodologies to aid in decision-making within the realm of urban planning. However, different machine learning models serve different purposes depending on their learning processes and computation techniques. The objective of this study is to create a machine learning algorithm that can evaluate areas prone to flooding. The study purpose is to offer valuable insights to city authorities and aid in urban planning, ultimately enhancing the safety and adaptability of the city's inhabitants METHODS: In order to evaluate flood risk areas and offer valuable insights for urban management and planning, a technique was devised. A total of eleven multiclass classification algorithms were employed to analyze eight urban factors, enabling the assessment of flood risk. The outcomes were then visualized on a map using geographic information systems. FINDINGS: The study discovered that the Bagging Decision Tree Algorithm model produced the best flood risk assessment model, with an accuracy of 88.58 percent compared to the government's flood simulation model results. Furthermore, precipitation, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio emerged as the top three crucial factors influencing the likelihood of flooding in the city. CONCLUSION: The Bagging Decision Tree Algorithm model provides a thorough evaluation of flood risk, presenting crucial information for urban governance and development. Integrating key variables such as rainfall, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio into flood risk management strategies is crucial for mitigating the impact of floods in economically significant urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Engineering (17264073) is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Greater Cairo (GC) is the seventh-largest metropolitan city globally. In recent decades, GC has witnessed massive urban expansion, which has yet to be empirically measured or characterized. This research seeks to explore the patterns of urban growth and changes in urban form in GC from 1973 to 2021 using remote sensing and geospatial metrics. Six Landsat images in 1973, 1984, 1992, 2003, 2013, and 2021 were used to explore urban growth in GC. Urban Land Density Function (ULDF), Landscape Expansion Index (LEI), and Fractal Dimension Index (FDI), were utilized to analyze various aspects of urban expansion. Additionally, the ratio of Land Consumption Rate (LCR) to Population Growth Rate (PGR) was calculated to assess the correlation between urban expansion and population changes. Our results reveal a substantial addition of 203 thousand hectares of urban areas over the last half-century. The ULDF highlights GC’s transformation from a condensed to a scattered urban landscape, particularly with the establishment of the New Administrative Capital in the vicinity. Edge expansion emerged as the principal type of urban growth throughout the research duration. The consistent increase in FDI from 1.44 in 1973 to 1.75 in 2021 signifies the fragmentation of the urban landscape. Moreover, the progressive rise in LCR from 0.023 in 1984 to 0.050 ​ha per person in 2021 suggests a steady expansion of low-density urban areas. Notably, the LCR-to-PGR ratio escalated from 0.878 in 1984 to 2.428 in 2021, indicating that urban expansion surpassed population growth. These results will help further understand the characteristics of GC’s urban expansion and may offer a scientific foundation for policymakers to reconsider the current horizontal expansion policy in GC.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Flooding is one of the biggest challenges affecting the economy and people's well-being. Previous studies have used several methods to analyze spatial data and deliver a more efficient flood response, including machine learning techniques to support decision-making in the urban planning process. However, different machine learning models serve different purposes depending on their learning processes and computation techniques. This study aims to develop a machine learning model for assessing flood risk zones to provide helpful information for city administration and planning and to support the well-being and resilience of the city's residents.METHODS: To develop a method for assessing flood risk zones and provide helpful information for city administration and planning. Eight urban factors were input into eleven multiclass classification algorithms to assess flood risk, and the results were displayed on a geographic information systems map.FINDINGS: The study discovered that the bagging decision tree algorithm model produced the best flood risk assessment model, with an accuracy of 88.58 percent compared to the government's flood simulation model results. Furthermore, rainfall, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio were the three most important variables determining flood risk.CONCLUSION: The Bagging Decision Tree Algorithm model effectively assesses flood risk, offering valuable insights for city administration and planning. Integrating key variables such as rainfall, building coverage ratio, and floor area ratio into flood risk management strategies is crucial for mitigating the impact of floods in economically significant urban areas.

Low-emission zones (LEZs) aim to improve urban air quality and reduce emissions but often face public opposition due to their regressive impacts on accessibility. However, the causes of these regressive impacts remain poorly understood. This study investigates the factors driving inequalities in the impacts of LEZs on job accessibility across occupational categories in eight French cities. Using ex-ante open-source data, it computes expected job accessibility losses due to LEZs per occupational category. Additionally, it provides a counterfactual decomposition of the disparities in LEZs' impacts between six drivers: ownership of polluting vehicles, workers' residences and workplaces within the LEZ, accessibility of workers' homes and workplaces via public transportation, and feasibility of active transportation modes for commuting between homes and workplaces. The findings reveal that LEZs are predominantly regressive in six out of the eight cities examined. Despite a higher concentration of high-income workers and jobs within LEZs, resulting in significant accessibility losses for this group, low-income workers bear a greater burden due to the limited availability of public transportation near their residences and workplaces, longer commutes to work, and higher shares of polluting vehicles. These findings help inform potential complementary policies to address the regressive effects of LEZs. • This paper analyzes Low Emission Zones' (LEZ) impacts on access to jobs in 8 French cities. • LEZs have regressive impacts in 6 out of the 8 cities studied. • It decomposes between 6 key drivers that may explain disparities in LEZ impacts. • Urban forms and polluting vehicle ownership play against unskilled workers. • Policy design plays in favor of unskilled workers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban form contributes to crime prevention. However, most studies not only simplify the relationship between urban form and crime, they also fail to reflect the geographic structure of urban areas. This study first measured a comprehensive multidimensional urban form indicator for 1486 counties in the United States, which was used to characterize the size and geospatial structure of urban areas. Specifically, it described urban form as consisting of three components: 1) size and population distribution; 2) built environment; and 3) landscape environment. Then, generalized additive mixed models were then used to explore linear or nonlinear associations between urban form indicators and different crime types (violent and property crime). This study's main findings were that 1) the relationship between urban form and crime is not only linear but may also be nonlinear; 2) urban size, fragmentation, connectivity, forest mixing, and shrub mixing are associated with all crime types; 3) population distribution and agricultural mixing are associated with violent crime; and 4) urban patch complexity and water mixing are associated with property crime. Overall, the results of this study can provide guidance for long-term planning of urban geographic structures, contributing to the safe and sustainable development of urban areas.

The urban area is a spatial system that significantly impacts residents’ health risks. Despite the fact that urban areas house only 55% of the global population, they account for 95% of COVID-19 cases, highlighting the urgent need to understand the role of the urban environment in disease spread. This research explores the critical impact of urban form characteristics on public health risks, focusing primarily on the dynamics of COVID-19 transmission. The aim of the study study is to elucidate the spatial association between urban form elements such as connectivity, density, and heterogeneity and the incidence of COVID-19 cases, with a specific focus on Yogyakarta. Using global (OLS) and local (GWR) spatial regression models, we analyzed the relationship between these elements and COVID-19 prevalence at the neighborhood level rigorously. Our findings reveal a pronounced spatial correlation, particularly highlighting the significance of connectivity and heterogeneity. These factors explain over 95% of the variance in case numbers, while density shows no substantial link. This study’s originality lies in its hypothesis-driven examination of urban form impact on COVID-19 transmission, providing new insights into the spatial determinants of health risks in urban settings. Practical implications of our research are profound, providing evidencebased guidance for urban planning and disaster preparedness strategies to mitigate future health crises better. The study contributes valuable insights into designing healthier and more sustainable urban environments by providing a nuanced understanding of how the urban form influences the spread of disease.

This qualitative study uses Talanoa methodologies to explore the everyday experiences of Pacific elders travelling around Māngere Central, Aotearoa New Zealand. A suite of street infrastructure changes for walking and cycling took place in the area between 2015 and 2017. While the evidence linking attributes of urban street design to physical activity behaviour is strong, there is little research on the impact of the built environment on Pacific elders’ active mobility. The study seeks to address this knowledge gap by focusing on the impacts of streetscape changes on the active travel and social connectivity of this group of residents. Findings indicate that post-intervention, elders feel significantly safer while walking, with active travel increasing for some. All elders in the study feel that important amenities are now more accessible, with some of significant cultural and social importance. As such, opportunities for social connection appear to have increased. Furthermore, the enhanced look and feel of the local environment is important to the elders interviewed, enhancing feelings of community pride and well-being for some. Further desired changes to support active mobility are discussed, and a logic model highlighting factors theorised to be particularly important for achieving mode shift among Pacific elders is proposed.

Urban form is a key factor affecting carbon emissions. Accurately estimating the impact of urban form on the carbon emissions of residents (CER) is an important prerequisite for China to adopt effective low-carbon spatial planning strategies and respond to climate change. However, counties mainly account for China's energy consumption, and the relationship between their urban form and the CER remains unclear, limiting their low-carbon development. Therefore, in this study, the PLS-SEM model and data from 90 counties in the Yangtze River Delta are used to determine the extent and ways that urban form affects the CER. The model considers the impact of both geometric-aspect urban form factors (urban scale, compactness, spatial structure, and urban shape) and built environment-aspect urban form factors (public service facilities, urban greening, road traffic, public transportation, and urban energy infrastructure) on the CER. The results indicate that urban form factors related to the built environment (public service facilities, urban greening, road systems, and municipal infrastructure) have a direct impact on the CER. Geometric-aspect urban form factors (size, compactness, spatial structure, and shape) not only directly affect the CER but also indirectly affect the CER by altering built environment-aspect urban form factors. This study identifies the complex relationship between urban form and the CER, facilitating the coordinated integration of multiple elements and providing a basis for the formulation of low-carbon spatial planning strategies for counties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban vitality is a core feature of sustainable cities and neighborhoods. Acknowledging the significant role of the spatial and physical attributes of built urban landscapes in influencing urban vitality, scholars and planners in the field of urban studies have meticulously examined the relationship between urban morphology and variations in urban vitality. While most previous studies have primarily focused on a narrow range of factors when analyzing urban form, often neglecting its multifaceted nature, this study utilizes urban morphometrics using Python's Momepy library to offer a comprehensive typology. It integrates diverse urban components from individual buildings and streets to entire neighborhoods into a unified, holistic framework, providing a more integrated understanding of urban form's influence on urban vitality. Our spatial econometric models identified higher building floor areas, taller and narrower streetside buildings, diversely aged buildings, and higher building coverings on lots as favorable urban form settings for urban vitality. Measuring urban morphology with advanced methods and identifying their relationship to urban vitality provides insightful implications for urban planners and designers for creating vibrant cities and neighborhoods. Practical Applications: This study utilizes advanced methods to assess the design and layout of cities and neighborhoods and analyzes their effects on urban vitality. The Momepy Python package is used in this study to capture urban form in terms of size, density, layout, diversity, and connectedness. This study measures how diverse urban morphologies affect the variation of urban vitality captured by mobile phone data. This study introduces an integrated approach that identifies spatial relationships between buildings and street networks into a comprehensive framework. This holistic approach can suggest effective strategies for decision-making by urban planners and policymakers to create livable and sustainable cities and neighborhoods. Moreover, this study reveals how the effects of the urban morphology on urban vitality vary depending on the time of day and day of the week. The core findings suggest that urban planners and designers should consider spatial configurations of buildings and streets as well as residents' behavior over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the impact of urban form and street infrastructure on pedestrian safety in Atlanta, Georgia, and Boston, Massachusetts. With a significant rise in pedestrian fatalities over the past decade, understanding how cities' built environments influence safety is critical. We conducted geospatial analyses and statistical tests, revealing unique patterns in each city. Atlanta's sprawling, motorist-oriented layout is associated with increased pedestrian accidents, particularly at crosswalks, due to limited land use diversity, arterial roads, and streets with high speed limits and multiple lanes. In contrast, Boston's compact, pedestrian-oriented design leads to improved safety, featuring safer pedestrian crossings, greater land use diversity, reduced arterial roads and lower speed limits on single-lane streets. This study also highlights the importance of diverse urban forms and pedestrian infrastructure in shaping pedestrian safety. While population density and land use diversity impact accident rates, the presence of crosswalks and street configurations play crucial roles. Our findings underscore the urgency for urban planners to prioritize pedestrian safety through targeted interventions, such as enhancing crosswalks, reducing speed limits and promoting mixed land use. Future research should explore additional variables, alternative modelling techniques and non-linear approaches to gain a more comprehensive understanding of these complex relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis is the property of Editorial Office of Acta Scientiarum Naturalium Universitatis Pekinensis and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Planning Education & Research is the property of Sage Publications Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Unplanned urbanization continues to threaten the sustainability of cities in the global south. This study seeks to assess the urban planning response to the effects of sprawl on the urban form and land use pattern of Kumasi. The study relied on geospatial techniques to determine changes in land use patterns, landforms, and sprawl. A qualitative research approach was used to examine urban planning response to the causes and effects of urban sprawl in Kumasi. The results of this study show that the higher the urbanization rate, the more the built-up area increases, causing a significant loss of natural assets such as farmlands. In terms of shape, the research showed that the Greater Kumasi Metropolis has shifted from the historically monocentric city structure to a polycentric city. The city currently has multiple centers or subcentres for commercial, cultural, and social activities. In spite of all the threats posed by urban sprawl on the metropolis, there no clear policy intervention put in place to address the adverse effects of sprawl in the Greater Kumasi Metropolis. The researchers recommend that city authorities should adopt the compact city approach to control the high rate of sprawl to promote densification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the relationship between urban form and urban shrinkage is crucial for developing sustainable urban policies, particularly in medium-sized cities facing demographic and economic challenges. This study investigates the complex relationship between urban form and urban shrinkage in medium-sized Polish cities (population of 20,000 to 100,000), highlighting the implications for sustainability. Utilising a comprehensive multi-factor approach, it analyses the shrinkage and growth trends over 15 years (2006–2021) by establishing a shrinkage/growth score based on social, demographic, and economic factors for each city. It examines spatial aspects, particularly urban form compactness and population density, using Corine Land Cover (CLC) spatial data, making the methodology applicable to urban areas across Europe. The findings reveal no significant overall correlation between urban compactness and shrinkage/growth score across all cities. However, a positive correlation exists within "urban municipalities", indicating that less compact urban areas tend to experience more shrinkage. Additionally, a temporary negative correlation between population density and shrinkage/growth score was observed from 2006 to 2016, which shifted to a positive trend in "urban municipalities" from 2016 to 2021. These results highlight urban shrinkage's complex and dynamic nature and its potential ties to urban form. The study concludes with recommendations for urban policymakers and planners regarding compact and dense urban strategies to mitigate the adverse effects of shrinkage and enhance urban resilience and sustainability. While the trends change, the study highlights the need for further analysis of these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review aims to illustrate the state of the art of walkability indices and future research directions. A comprehensive search in the general Google database and Google Scholar identified a total of 45 records published between 2005 and 2023. Using a selection process based on the PRISMA model, 32 records were identified as meeting the inclusion criteria. These are organized incrementally, highlighting their novelty relative to preceding studies, and divided into sectors of prevalent application. The 5Ds theory provides a first contribution by identifying walkability metrics based on proximity to amenities, land use diversity, and density. Recent advancements, leveraging GIS systems and open data, have expanded such metrics to include green spaces, footpath design, and noise pollution. However, these developments remain largely tied to the catchment area logic and offer coarse descriptions of the built environment's morphological structure, often lacking justification for metric selection and weighting. To address these shortcomings, future research should use more detailed descriptions of urban form, balance metric comprehensiveness with data availability, employ robust methods for metric selection, and explore alternative weighting techniques based on cognitive and emotional responses to urban settings. These efforts are crucial for advancing the understanding and measurement of walkability in the context of the compact city and place-making paradigms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban Form has become necessary for city planning management to see the sustainability of a city. A better understanding of different urban forms is imperative to facilitate the evolution of cities towards a more sustainable urban development trajectory in the future. The study aims to analyze the dynamics of urban form and the changes in land cover within the peri-urban area of Surakarta City, which is directly influenced by the development of Surakarta City. The analysis was conducted from a landscape ecology perspective, employing a spatial metrics approach at the landscape level to assess the dynamics of urban form using quantitative descriptive, including a spatial approach. A similar approach was adopted at the class level in order to examine the dynamics of land cover changes. The results of the image analysis were validated using the Kappa index, yielding an image accuracy level of 0.86 (86%). The results of this study show that the urban form in the peri-urban area of Surakarta City tends to move towards a compact urban form. Meanwhile, each land cover, vegetation, and water body become increasingly fragmented, with areas becoming narrower as time passes. Builtup and agricultural land are becoming more compact and concentrated along with development. In conclusion, the dynamics of urban form in the periurban area of Surakarta City tends to lead to compact urban form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New methods are need to coordinate the conflicting spatial demands through urban design research and strategies from the perspective of multi-scale urban climate analysis. To integrate wind–thermal environment with urban design, we propose three scale levels, namely the district-superblock, superblock-block, and block-building levels, and divide the urban design elements into voids and solids. Thereafter, we establish a multiscale methodological framework in which the urban design contents are clarified by each scale, and the information transmitted between scales is obtained to ensure consistent value propositions and strategic approaches. The microclimate shaping of the urban open space is transformed into guiding strategies and quantitative indicators of the spatial form of the solid space. Information is transmitted between the scales through the wind–thermal indicators of windward side and the morphological indicators of solid space. Subsequently, the methodology was applied to the project in the core area of Suzhou Science and Technology City, and the findings preliminarily verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the methodology. This research influences urban climate studies and urban design practice in three ways: 1) improving understanding of the correlation between scales; 2) facilitating interaction between the two domains; and 3) providing tools for urban design practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban areas with parks tend to have the best outdoor thermal comfort in regions with high urban heat island effects during summer. This study analyzed the synergistic cooling effects of 94 urban parks and the adjacent built-up areas in six districts of Xi'an City using four cooling indicators: park cooling intensity (PCI), park cooling area (PCA), park cooling effect (PCE), and park cooling gradient (PCG). The results showed that 84 out of 94 parks exhibited significant cooling effects, with an average PCI of 1.98 °C, PCA of 51.7 ha, PCE of 6.6, and PCG of 8.2 °C/km. Correlation analyses indicated that the intrinsic park attributes, external buffer zone building height, and building density were the main factors affecting the cooling effect. The park landscape configuration, building height, and density significantly influenced the PCI and PCG, while the park shape and size were crucial for the PCA (positive) and PCE (negative). The optimal park areas for improving the thermal environment were identified as 26 ha (cooling area focus, building density <13%) and 15 ha (cooling intensity focus, building height <21 m, density >32%). This study provides theoretical guidance for planning urban parks and the surrounding areas based on cooling effects, offering insights for future climate resilience planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although much attention has been paid to improve the representation of the urban spatial complexity, most efforts have been limited to the inclusion of green cover data to describe the biological component of cities, leaving the measurement of crucial urban ecological properties out of the picture. To tackle this, the Urban Ecosystem Integrity Index (UEII) was recently proposed to spatially represent the interplay between the intensity of urbanization and the biological components of cities, including urban biodiversity. The UEII has shown to be effective in measuring the ecosystem integrity of a Neotropical city; however its generalized applicability remains to be tested. Thus, here we tested the suitability of the UEII when applied in a boreal city and also evaluated if it adds more valuable information than the NDVI (also contrasting it with a UEII previously published for a tropical city), which is often suggested as a proxy of urban greenness and therefore the ecology of cities. We calculated the UEII by considering land surface temperature, built-up cover, and native plants and bird species richness of the city of Lahti, Finland (Palearctic; boreal). The UEII showed to be robust, comparable, and effective in capturing the intra and inter-urban spatial heterogeneity of both cities. Moreover, although the UEII and NDVI values correlated, the variance in such correlation showed the detail that the UEII brings to the quantificaiton of the ecological integrity of the cities, representing a more integral indicator. Thus, our findings indicate that the UEII is a valuable tool to inform on areas requiring ecological enhancement, as well as identifying those that are thriving, in cities ranging from tropical and highly biodiverse to boreal and with considerable less biodiversity. Highlights: We tested the suitability of the UEII in a boreal city, contrasting it with that of a tropical one. The index effectively captures the spatial heterogeneity of the city. The UEII allows to identify the diverse ecosystem integrity scenarios of cities. It provides a broader ecological representation of cities than the NDVI. The UEII represents a quantitative and spatially explicit tool for spatial planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing carbon emissions from the transport sector is essential for realizing the carbon neutrality goal in China. Despite substantial studies on the influence of urban form on transport CO2 emissions, most of them have treated the effects as a linear process, and few have studied their nonlinear relationships. This research focused on 274 Chinese cities in 2019 and applied the gradient-boosting decision tree (GBDT) model to investigate the nonlinear effects of four aspects of urban form, including compactness, complexity, scale, and fragmentation, on urban transport CO2 emissions. It was found that urban form contributed 20.48% to per capita transport CO2 emissions (PTCEs), which is less than the contribution of socioeconomic development but more than that of transport infrastructure. The contribution of urban form to total transport CO2 emissions (TCEs) was the lowest, at 14.3%. In particular, the effect of compactness on TCEs was negative within a threshold, while its effect on PTCEs showed an inverted U-shaped relationship. The effect of complexity on PTCEs was positive, and its effect on TCEs was nonlinear. The effect of scale on TCEs and PTCEs was positive within a threshold and negative beyond that threshold. The effect of fragmentation on TCEs was also nonlinear, while its effect on PTCEs was positively linear. These results show the complex effects of the urban form on transport CO2 emissions. Thus, strategies for optimizing urban form and reducing urban transport carbon emissions are recommended for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban form and neighborhood design played a crucial role in shaping the physical landscape of cities and municipalities. This paper focusedonthe improvement of urban form and neighborhood design that enhanced the accessibility and sustainability of government services, ultimately contributed to the development of a modern and smarter city or municipality. The study centered on the municipality of Tuba in Benguet, characterized as a peri-urban area nestled within the mountainous topography of Cordillera. The community faces challenges in accessing government centers due to its periphery being intersected by three major road thoroughfares. With the objectives of identifying barriers among the community in accessing different government services and finding appropriate approach to enhance the said barriers. This study addressed these issues and provided a more intelligent and accessible government, a qualitative approach was employed. This involved group discussions and personal interviews that identified community problems. This research identified the Multi-Nodal Urban Form outlined in the Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) of Tuba and this urban form was integrated into a modernization program which incorporated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) concepts through 15-minutes city approach. The program focused on the development of a One-Stop-Shop service, strategically establish in the identified growth nodes of the municipality. The Four urban barangays--Población, Tadiangan, Camp 3, and Camp 4--were identified as Major Growth Centers in accordance with the CLUP and Philippine Statistics Authority data. These growth centers exhibited diverse economic modes capable of sustaining the identified nodes. A centralized ICT-equipped One-Stop-Shop Government Service Facility was established to servethese growth centers, fostering accessibility and efficiency in government services throughout the municipality sustaining 15-minutes city approach in its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the socio-spatial transformations of Djelfa, Algeria in the contexts of its urbanization from 1990 to 2024, focusing on the transition from extended to nuclear family structures and from monocentric to polycentric urban forms. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, including interviews, questionnaires, observations, and data analysis with 200 participants, the research outlines the adaptation of housing and urban space to meet the needs of Djelfa's growing population. Key findings highlight a dramatic demographic shift marked by a 75.6% increase in population, a reduction in average household size from 6.3 to 4.1, and a 150% surge in the number of households. This demographic expansion has spurred extensive urban expansion, effectively doubling the built-up area and necessitating the development of sub-centres of the city to mitigate pressure on the primary city center (CC). This evolution underscores Djelfa's progression towards a polycentric urban model, reflecting broader urban space decentralization and diversification trends to improve accessibility and reduce congestion. The study contributes to the understanding of complex effects that urbanization has on social and spatial structures in the Global South, highlighting the critical interplay between demographic shifts, urban planning, and social restructuring. Advocating for strategic, inclusive urban planning and policymaking, the research underscores the importance of addressing the diverse needs of rapidly urbanizing populations, offering invaluable insights into sustainable urban management practices applicable to similar urban scenarios worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of autonomous vehicles (AVs) is expected to significantly reshape urban mobility and travel behavior patterns. AVs have the potential to offer higher levels of convenience, safety, and accessibility while enabling users to spend their trip time on more efficient and productive tasks such as working or even relaxing. This transformation in the short- to mid-term could result in changes in the public's sensitivity and perception toward enduring longer travel times and consequently, in mid- to long-term, it could influence the willingness to reconsider their residential locations. Therefore, the objective of this study is to enhance the understanding of the potential effects of AVs on travel behavior and land use through the examination of stated preference queries. To achieve this objective, various multinomial logit models toward AVs adoption and residential relocation were estimated by employing a dataset from Istanbul, Türkiye, as an example of megacity in a developing country. While the study findings revealed a set of potential adoption barriers for AVs, they also indicated a notable propensity for adopting these vehicles. Furthermore, concerning individuals' willingness to reconsider their residential locations due to the emergence of AVs, a considerable positive attitude was evident, albeit guarded. This attitude suggests that individuals' decisions are still evolving and can be guided toward the desired future through well-timed and well-suited policies. The outcomes of the study can serve as valuable input for policymakers as well as transportation and urban planners, offering insights into the potential impacts of AVs on urban mobility and form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Often urban compactness indexes ignore the variegated intensity of urban development in their focus on the configuration. In this article, I propose an extension to the index of moment of inertia (IMI) as a compactness measure that can account for multiple ordinal classes representing development intensity. I demonstrate this index for developed areas for each county in the contiguous United States. These counties have a range of development configurations and intensity compositions. I show that for this data set, ignoring the multiple class composition and only focusing on the configuration overestimates the urban compactness in almost all instances. I demonstrate the impact of different analytical choices on the index for this data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kowloon Peninsula, an urban area of Hong Kong, might be one of the most studied cities in terms of urban climate in the world. Both annual mean urban air temperature and humidity have been on the rise following the continual increase in the building volume and continual reduction in the average wind speed in the urban canopy layer. The observed urban warming and humidifying phenomena are a direct result of the city form (i.e., the city shape and size), including the building height and density. We call for a system-of-systems approach to be adopted in urban climate studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Urban Heat Island phenomenon (UHI), characterized by elevated temperatures in urban areas compared to their rural surroundings, is highly exacerbated by urbanization and climate change. Understanding the complex relationship between UHI effect and urban form is crucial for effective urban planning and climate mitigation strategies. This paper examines the multifaceted connection between UHIs and urban forms, exploring various methods used to study this relationship. Through a review of the existing literature, we analyze the influence of various urban characteristics on the intensity and spatial distribution of UHIs. Furthermore, we discuss the key methods and technologies, such as remote sensing and modeling, used in advancing our understanding of UHI–urban form interactions. This study then delves into the literature on UHIs within the specific context of Morocco, identifying research gaps and emphasizing the need for more comprehensive research to address them. By translating study findings into actionable urban solutions, this paper suggests contextual mitigation strategies based on the research outcomes. Finally, by synthesizing current research findings and methodologies, this paper seeks to provide insights into the complexities of UHI dynamics and their implications for climate resilience, highlighting the potential of research for forging sustainable and climate-conscious planning strategies in Morocco and across the broader MENA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern economies are characterised by increasing globalisation, e-commerce, and a growing number of logistics facilities. Despite insightful research on the changing locational patterns of logistics facilities epitomised by logistics sprawl, there is a lack of literature analysing changes in the urban form of areas that accommodate warehousing clusters. The paper, therefore, aims to analyse changes in the urban form of zones that accommodate warehousing clusters in the City of Cape Town municipality. The study was based on three main types of secondary data: georeferenced 1:50 000 topographical maps from 1942 to 2010, current and historical spatial planning policy applicable to the City of Cape Town, and historical literature on the spatial economic characteristics of the zones that accommodate warehousing clusters. The topographical maps were loaded onto ArcGIS 3.10, after which large buildings were traced to ascertain changes in the urban form of the warehousing cluster areas over the respective decades. The study found that changes in the urban form of the contemporary warehousing cluster areas were linked to the growth of industrial zones and the transport infrastructure. However, the spatial policy for the time under consideration, although cementing the growth of industrial zones in the municipality, did not explicitly consider the placement of warehousing facilities. In light of the findings, the City of Cape Town municipality is urged to anticipate and plan for the growth of warehousing relative to the industrial zones and transport infrastructure. To ensure efficient and sustainable land utilisation, derelict industrial buildings in accessible areas could be redeveloped to accommodate warehousing facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With an increasingly urbanized world, there is an urgent need to examine how cities may evolve and achieve sustainability. This paper systematically looks at the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the Poyang Lake Region (PLR) in China to examine the spatial processes for insights into cities and urbanization, balancing the environmental and socio‐economic dimensions. A total of 226 805 cells are analyzed to unveil the relationship between sustainability changes in 2015–2019 period and urban form indicators, considering sociodemographic variables, geographical features, and city size as control variables. Two tree‐based machine learning models (Random Forest and XGBoost) are developed. This study provides evidence that a monocentric urban form and a high share of small activity clusters are not good for sustainability. For each urban form indicator, there is a non‐linear relationship with sustainability. The results of the machine learning models reconfirm the sustainability benefits of having a strong second activity cluster comparable to the largest one. When planning cities, some forms of land use buffering are desirable. There is also support for developing relatively large activity nodes and promoting compactness in urban form. Beyond urban form characteristics, the levels of urbanization, economic development, and population are still highly relevant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Urban landscape analysis is crucial for understanding the dynamics of urban transformation, especially in historic city centers. This study delves into the morphological evolution of Baghdad, focusing on its transformation from a historic nucleus to a vast metropolitan area. The primary objective is to identify mechanisms of transformation that bring about changes in the structure of the town center. Utilizing a combination of geographical-morphological methods, historical maps, and modern satellite imagery, the research identifies six distinct urban growth patterns—concentric, irregular strip, scattered, multi-nuclei, sectoral, and instant growth. The research methodology includes a detailed collection of historical maps from Western geographical travelers of the 18th and 19th centuries and modern satellite images to compare historical and contemporary urban forms. Data digitization processes were employed to prepare these maps for analysis, followed by boundary determination to track Baghdad’s expansion over time. The study integrates these digital maps to conduct temporal analyses, characterizing the main morphological phases from the historical nucleus to modern urban growth. The study is able to set forth how a complex interplay of physical, social, economic, and political forces has defined the urban form of Baghdad. Findings will make it possible to understand these growth processes for modern urban planning and design. The management of sustainable growth in a way that tackles sprawl, connectivity, and human scale in design requires a fusion of historical contexts with modern practices. This study offers the necessary information and direction for sustainable urban development in Baghdad as well as any other historic town elsewhere.

The world is experiencing unprecedented urbanization, particularly through the continuous growth of megacities, leading to significant urban land expansion. The spatial layout and growth patterns of urban areas play a critical role in determining cities' sustainable development. However, the optimal path for cities undergoing rapid urbanization remains uncertain. This study examines four megacities—Tokyo, Seoul, Beijing, and Shanghai—and, from the perspective of urban land density, compares their patterns and processes of land expansion in 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020. Findings reveal that the urban land area of China's megacities has expanded nearly fourfold over the past three decades. Meanwhile, Tokyo and Seoul have adopted a polycentric urban structure, becoming increasingly compact. In contrast, Beijing and Shanghai are only beginning to show signs of polycentric development. The study concludes that cities experiencing rapid growth should not impose excessive limitations on urban expansion. Polycentric and compact development has become a critical strategy for megacities. These insights offer valuable guidance for urban planning and sustainable development in both established and emerging megacities across East Asia.

Morphological structures of urban streets in Baghdad have been deciphered by using practical methodologies inclusive of data collection, digitization, and identification processes. This paper uses street pattern morphological analysis in a typical Middle Eastern city, in this case, Baghdad, from organic configurations to modern metropolitan sprawl. It is based on historical maps and satellite images, supported by field surveys. Six distinct street patterns have been identified that have influenced the formation of Baghdad’s urban development and continuity, focusing attention on the ancient city configuration and current planning principles. Of great interest is the fact that there are calls for the retention of the urbanism historical fabric in the cities with new growth at the same time there are calls for methodologies that are responsive to the sociocultural energy characteristic of the cities in the Middle East. This study adds to the general body of literature on urban morphology and further provides detailed insight into the morphology of streets in Baghdad and other similar towns. The research, therefore, shows evidence of the need for recognizing street morphology roles in the form and function of urban landscapes and will advocate for environments reflective of historical context in line with the needs that modern urban life requires. Results will demonstrate how streets change based on influences from culture and socio-economic factors. They conclude that streets developed in the light of cumulative processes, directions, and scales of development. This research is taken up to comprehend urban morphology leading towards sustainable and culturally responsive designs.