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Introducing vegetation into towns and cities, for example through establishing green corridors which ensure a continuous character of urban green areas is a way to counteract negative effects of urban climate. The aim of the study was to assess the role of a green corridor and the contribution of vegetation to regulating the level of hourly tropospheric ozone concentrations in Legnica. Hourly values of tropospheric ozone concentrations (O3, μg m-3) and wind directions (D, °) collected between 2011 and 2014 from an urban background station for air quality monitoring of the Provincial Inspectorate for Environmental Protection were used in the study. To prepare a land cover map, data from the Database of Topographic Objects provided by the Geodesy and Cartography Department of the Marshal's Office of the Lower Silesian Voivodship were used. The estimations of frequency of hourly O3 concentrations for given seasons of the year and the analysis of land cover within 2 km from the measuring point were made based on an 8-wind compass rose. In summer, the frequency of hourly O3 concentrations was assessed for every direction and for every hour of the day. A Pearson correlation matrix was generated to illustrate the relationship between land cover type and the frequency of pollution coming from each direction, Between 21:00 and 6:00, increased frequency of hourly O3 concentrations in the 0-40 μg m-3 range coming from the southwest was recorded, which accounted for 70-90% of all concentration ranges. Correlation analyses showed a statistically significant relationship between increased high vegetation coverage and decreased frequency of hourly O3 concentrations in the 41-80 μg m-3 range. It was demonstrated that between 2011 and 2014, during summers, hourly O3 concentrations

Rain gardens have gained importance in recent years as a green infrastructure strategy. These gardens, created to capture, filter, and absorb runoff from impervious surfaces, offer a sustainable method for addressing water-related challenges in urban areas. Incorporating rain gardens into urban areas not only addresses the challenges of heavy rainfall and flooding but also brings about ecological advantages by encouraging biodiversity, improving water quality, increasing resilience, and enhancing the aesthetic appeal of urban settings. Plant selection in rain gardens plays a crucial role in their effectiveness and sustainability. The research focused on exploring the importance of carefully choosing plants for rain gardens, aiming to help in selecting the most suitable flora and creating visually appealing, resilient, and ecologically important landscapes. For this purpose, Izmir Katip Celebi University was selected as a study area. The first step was to locate an appropriate space for a rain garden and evaluate its potential for a rain garden implementation. Next, plants suitable for a rain garden in a temperate climate were listed. Among these plants, those that can be found in Izmir were selected after contacting nurseries. Only fourteen of them were available. Utilizing the plants listed that align with the project requirements and the plant design criteria such as diverse color, high density, and proportion outlined in the literature review, a proposal for a rain garden design was recommended. Since the rain garden consists of three different zones (dry, wet, and moderate), the plants were arranged accordingly. This design was tailored to suit existing conditions, such as a temperate climate and proximity to the building. Factors like varying climate conditions or alternative rain garden placements were not accounted for in this design. Given the necessity for diverse plant selections in varying climates, research carried out across different regions holds significant value. This study, conducted in Izmir province, will enrich existing literature and provide municipalities with crucial guidance in plant selection in a rain garden project, offering valuable insights.

Abstract Background Linear transportation infrastructures (roads, railways, oil and gas pipelines, powerlines and waterways) are recognized as important contributors to the fragmentation of species habitats. On the other hand, verges of linear transportation infrastructures (road and railway embankments, strips of grass under power lines or above buried pipelines, or waterway banks) form vast networks of continuous habitats. While the loss of natural habitats still poses a significant threat to biodiversity, verges can provide habitats or corridors in anthropogenic areas, although this potential for conservation remains controversial. The current paper is the first synthesis of evidence addressing this topic for vascular plants (except strictly aquatic species) in temperate ecosystems. We asked the following question: can linear transportation infrastructure verges constitute habitats and/or corridors for vascular plants in temperate ecosystems? Methods We conducted a systematic literature survey using two online bibliographic databases, three search engines, specialist websites, and by sending a call for literature to subject experts. We also integrated studies from a previous systematic review with an overlapping scope. We successively screened the articles for relevance on titles, abstracts and full texts using criteria detailed in an a priori protocol. We then used six specific questions to categorize the selected studies and critically assess them. These questions encompassed the potential of verges as habitats and corridors for vascular plants, and the effects of landscape and management on these potentialities. We created a database of the studies with low and medium risk of bias. We synthesized results for specific questions in narrative syntheses. Finally, studies about the habitat role of verges that met the criteria for a meta-analysis were used for quantitative syntheses. Review findings Our systematic literature survey yielded 101,524 search results. After critical appraisal, we included in our systematic review 294 articles that reported 316 studies. Most studies were conducted along road verges or waterway banks, with only a handful of studies involving powerlines, railways or pipelines. We were not able to draw conclusions on the role of verges as corridors for vascular plants as too few relevant studies were obtained. Regarding the habitat function of verges however, meta-analyses were conducted based on 205 cases from 47 primary studies that compared abundance and/or species richness in verges vs habitats away from transportation infrastructure for exotic, native or all species together. For non-highway road verges, both the abundance and richness of exotic species were higher on non-highway road verges, but we found no significant differences among species in general, or for native species specifically, which implies that alien species would often add but not subtract species. A wide variety of management practices were also represented in the evidence base. Overall, systematic impacts on species richness or abundance rarely emerged, but human interventions were seldom neutral and usually altered, at least temporarily, the balance between the native and exotic flora or among various functional groups. Conclusions We identified a major knowledge gap regarding the potential of linear transportation infrastructure verges as corridors for vascular plants. Thus, we call for more research on this particular topic, especially as the evidence synthesis underlined the potential of verges as habitat for exotic and invasive flora.

The incorporation of net-zero technology into preexisting energy networks is crucial for facilitating the shift toward an ecologically conscious and sustainable energy infrastructure. The primary objective of this integration is to effectively decrease carbon footprints and to provide a comprehensive understanding of the current approaches and trends related to the design and management frameworks of integrated energy networks. The initial section of this study establishes the foundation for a comprehensive examination of the particular challenges associated with decarbonization in the strategic and operational aspects of integrated energy networks. The subsequent analysis proceeds to elucidate the fundamental framework and technological architecture upon which these energy networks are constructed. This provides significant insights into the operational complexity and efficacy of the system. In addition, the paper provides a concise examination of prominent frameworks and alternative approaches that tackle the issue of low-carbon design and administration. The degree of accuracy facilitates individuals when selecting systems that align with the specific requirements of unique circumstances. Furthermore, this study provides explicit suggestions for future research based on an examination of the distinct attributes and framework of integrated energy networks. The anticipated outcome of implementing these recommendations is to enable the advancement of sustainable development and expedite the shift toward energy infrastructure with reduced carbon emissions. This will make a significant contribution to the collaborative endeavor of mitigating climate change and fostering a sustainable energy future. This study further elucidates the significant contribution of integrated energy networks in addressing climate change and enhancing energy efficiency. It achieves this by synthesizing a complete range of concepts sourced from many academic papers, industry reports, and case studies. This statement offers an examination of the multifaceted technological, legislative, and planning factors that contribute to the attainment of net-zero objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past few decades, the harmful effects of industrial activity and consumer society have resulted in global warming. Governments and international organizations are looking for ways to monitor activities of individuals and companies to assess their ecological impact. Unfortunately, such an approach would easily be seen as a mass surveillance tool. This is why we are proposing in this paper a novel privacy-aware global infrastructure for ecological footprint calculator based on the Internet of things and blockchain. Indeed, we take advantage of the data collection capacity of the Internet of things, the anonymization provided by public key identification and encryption, and the immutability of blockchain to implement this global system. A three-stage approach was used to validate our architecture: modeling in Petri nets to verify that the infrastructure fulfills all the required missions, implementing the three central authorities with python to record parameters such as durations, and finally modeling in queuing networks to demonstrate stability. The blockchain and Internet of things parts are used in a purely abstract manner relying on standard concepts; therefore, we have not implemented them. The experiments have produced very promising results. We have shown that for the simplest form of queue modeling, the involved servers have a utilization rate that is close to 50 % and that the overall waiting time remains below one minute. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of roads into wilderness areas and biodiversity hotspots in the Global South seems inevitable and is predicted to bring about significant biodiversity loss. Even so, existing widespread strategies aiming to mitigate the direct and indirect impacts of roads on the environment have been of limited effectiveness. These tactics, including construction of fencing, wildlife crossings on paved roads, and establishment of protected areas along the roads, are unlikely to be sufficient for protecting diverse species assemblages from roadkill, habitat fragmentation, and anthropogenic activity in tropics. This indicates the need for integration of more ambitious approaches into the conservation toolkit, such as the constructing tunnels, covered ways, and elevated roads. Although these tools could significantly support conservation efforts to save tropical biodiversity, to date, they are rarely considered. Here, we discuss factors which determine the need for application of these approaches in the Global South. We highlight the often-overlooked long-term benefits associated with the application of the proposed tools. We also discuss the potential challenges and risks, and the ways to minimise them. Hopefully this article will encourage practitioners to integrate these strategies into conservation toolkits and allow policy-makers and investors to make informed decisions on sustainable road infrastructure development in the Global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Driven by the goal of achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. Addressing environmental pollution and remediating land damage have become critical challenges in resource-based cities and regions with low land use efficiency. As a response, this study focuses on the 23 provinces where China's coal resource-based cities are situated. Utilizing data from 2014 to 2020, this research employs the SBM-Undesirable model, which considers undesirable outputs in efficiency calculations, and the Tobit regression test. It aims to explore the spatio-temporal variations in industrial transformation within resource-based cities and its impact on the efficiency of green space utilization. Furthermore, it analyzes the characteristics and the extent of the influence of factors such as industrial structure adjustments on urban land use efficiency, maximizing the output of land as a factor of production. The results show that: (1) Over the 7-year period studied, China consistently made nationwide adjustments to land area and land use structure to meet the needs of urban development (2) The regression test results show that the industrial transformation of resource-based cities can promote the improvement of green space utilization efficiency. The positive influence coefficient is 0.064 and is significant at a 1% level. (3) Environmental regulation, government expenditure, international trade, and green cover play a positive role in promoting green land use. The study provides valuable insights for policymakers and urban planners seeking to foster sustainable development in resource-based cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 56% of the global population lives in cities, with this number expected to increase to 6.6 billion or >70% of the world's population by 2050. Given that cardiometabolic diseases are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality in people living in urban areas, transforming cities and urban provisioning systems (or urban systems) toward health, equity, and economic productivity can enable the dual attainment of climate and health goals. Seven urban provisioning systems that provide food, energy, mobility-connectivity, housing, green infrastructure, water management, and waste management lie at the core of human health, well-being, and sustainability. These provisioning systems transcend city boundaries (eg, demand for food, water, or energy is met by transboundary supply); thus, transforming the entire system is a larger construct than local urban environments. Poorly designed urban provisioning systems are starkly evident worldwide, resulting in unprecedented exposures to adverse cardiometabolic risk factors, including limited physical activity, lack of access to heart-healthy diets, and reduced access to greenery and beneficial social interactions. Transforming urban systems with a cardiometabolic health-first approach could be accomplished through integrated spatial planning, along with addressing current gaps in key urban provisioning systems. Such an approach will help mitigate undesirable environmental exposures and improve cardiovascular and metabolic health while improving planetary health. The purposes of this American Heart Association policy statement are to present a conceptual framework, summarize the evidence base, and outline policy principles for transforming key urban provisioning systems to heart-health and sustainability outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The exploitation of green hydrogen blending with natural gas (NG) is expected to contribute in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and fostering the share of renewable energy sources (RES). The NG infrastructure, in fact, can act as a storage facility for green hydrogen produced from excess RES, also providing flexibility to the electric system. However, the unbalance of the networks and the raise of protection issues for consumers may occur as a consequence of the potential decay of the metrological performance of gas meters operating with natural gas and hydrogen blends. In this paper, the authors present the results of an experimental campaign aimed at analysing the effect of hydrogen blending on the accuracy of smart domestic gas meters. Experimental tests were performed in the laboratory using air, natural gas and gas-hydrogen blends up to 23%vol. The results show no criticalities occur for diaphragm and ultrasonic gas meters, regardless of the hydrogen content. On the other hand, thermal mass gas meters show good reliability when hydrogen blends are within 2%vol, whereas for higher hydrogen contents, reliability is demonstrated only when they are equipped with a specific new design routine capable to address the gas quality changes. • Hydrogen blending with natural gas is becoming a spread practice for green energy storage and use. • Issues related to the readiness of the gas infrastructure to distribute hydrogen blends and appliances still have to be investigated. • Consumer protection and fairness of the billing is a crucial issue for domestic gas meters. • Accuracy tests of domestic gas meters of different measuring principles with hydrogen admixture up to 23% are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change seriously threatens human systems, properties and livelihoods. Global projections suggest a continuous increase in the frequency and severity of weather events, with severe outcomes. Although the trends and impacts are highly variable depending on location, most studies tend to concentrate on either the urban or rural areas, with little focus on peri-urban areas. Yet, in Sub-Saharan Africa, peri-urban areas display unique characteristics: inadequate infrastructure, unplanned development, weak governance, and environmental degradation, all of which exacerbate flood impact and thus need academic attention. This study contributes to filling this gap by assessing the flood vulnerability of roads in peri-urban Accra and its implications for mobility. Based on the fieldwork, the study delineated and analysed potential zones within the research locations. The researchers calculated roads' absolute and relative lengths, using a spatial overlay (intersection) of potentially flooded roads with the total road network within the grid cells of 500 m by 500 m. These measures were adopted and used as exposure measures. The findings revealed that over 80% of roads with lengths between 100 m and 500 m were exposed to floods. Some areas had higher exposure indices, with absolute road lengths ranging from 1.5 km to 3.2 km and relative road lengths between 0.8 and 1.0. There were significant variations in road exposure between and within neighbourhoods. Depending on the depth and duration of the floodwater, residents may be unable to access their homes or carry out their daily activities. In conclusion, this study highlights the differential vulnerability of peri-urban areas to road flooding and recommends targeted provision of flood-resilient infrastructure to promote sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The services provided by green infrastructures may lead to a decrease in climate-related ecological, social, and health risks, especially in the urban environment. Consequently, the best guarantee to make this environment as safe as possible is to increase the extent of green areas, taking into consideration the functional importance, and climatic–ecological peculiarities of the area. These are also issues for the Republic of Armenia's (RA) capital Yerevan. There the current conditions of the green areas of Yerevan city do not meet the expected requirements of the climatic–ecological development of urban areas. The green area per capita is 8 m2, which is unevenly distributed within 12 different administrative districts of Yerevan city. The aim of this research was to study the natural climatic and ecological conditions of Yerevan city and the status of the green areas of the city. The eco-biological indicators of the trees and shrubs growing in Yerevan green areas have been assessed, and the more resilient plant species have been singled out. All 12 administrative districts of Yerevan have been mapped and the green area per capita for each administrative district has been calculated. The received data have been combined with health indicators and suggestions have been made to add green areas in Yerevan according to the functional significance and sustainability of shrubby species and to their decorative and phyto-filtration properties. The city has unfavorable climatic conditions. It is located in the northern section of the subtropical climatic zone and has a distinct dry continental climate. Temperatures above +40 °C are typical, while winter is rather cold and sometimes temperatures may drop below −20 °C (in January 2008, it dropped to −27.6 °C). The amount of atmospheric precipitation has reduced by 9%. The city is counted as one of the driest urban areas of the South Caucasus. The other unfavorable ecological conditions are heavy traffic, the city's open landfill, the concentration of industrial enterprises, large-scale construction works, etc. The atmospheric concentrations of particulate matter (PM), gases and heavy metals have been detected to exceed the permitted limits. In terms of health care, the death cases due to various diseases (acute respiratory, vascular, and cancer) have increased, which requires complex activities to reduce environmental pollution and to improve the microclimate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional urban drainage infrastructure is gradually failing to attain sustainable development goals. Effective techniques for adapting to climate change at the city level include the use of urban green drainage infrastructure (UGDI). This study aims to assess the inherent barriers to UGDI in Ghana. Primary data was gathered from 62 built environment professionals. Analytical tools included a component factor analysis and mean score ranking. A factor analysis revealed four components explaining 67.967% of the total variance in the barriers to UGDI. Lack of knowledge, information and awareness of UGDI was ranked as the most critical implementation barrier. It is recommended that the adoption of UGDI evolves from being an alternative to a "necessity" given that its significance is evident in the current climatic change crises. This is a novel attempt to expose the inherent barriers of UGDI systems in Ghana through the innovation diffusion theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme precipitation‐related hazards like flash floods pose a widespread risk to humans and infrastructure around the world. In the current study, the Fisher information was applied to understand the nonstationarity of the extreme precipitation regimes, whereas copula was used to quantify the likelihood of joint occurrence of two extreme precipitation indices and associated risk assessment in the upper Midwestern United States (UMUS). The trend analysis revealed an increasing trend in 37% of the stations in heavy precipitation amount in the UMUS. The regime shift analysis showed the non‐stationary nature of extreme precipitation in about half of the total stations in UMUS. Further, the bivariate analysis using copula demonstrated the risk of the joint occurrence of extreme precipitation indices potentially causing flash floods. The risk index analysis indicated about 28.8% of stations under moderate, 10.6% of stations under high and 0.4% of stations under very high risk of flash flooding. The results from the study can provide important insights for the (re)design of resilient and sustainable water infrastructure in the changing climate condition and can also inform managers and planners for better response and preparedness toward extreme precipitation‐related hazards in this region. The results from this study can also help in a more accurate risk assessment, especially in the socio‐economically vulnerable community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One approach for measuring the potential biodiversity in new urban construction projects is through ecological models that predict how wildlife will respond. For the United Kingdom, such models have only been developed for birds, but to maximise the extent to which models represent overall biodiversity, species from different indicator groups must be considered.Here, we assess this possibility for butterflies by combining citizen science survey data with high‐resolution digital maps. We derive detailed characteristics of urban landscapes around survey sites using previously established methods and quantify their relationship to counts of adults of 18 butterfly species in urban and peri‐urban settings.Higher butterfly counts were found when traversing urban sites with larger areas of semi‐natural grassland, other managed greenspaces and adjacent arable land. Most of the butterfly community were found to have negative relationships with highly built‐up or fragmented landscapes.We found high species‐specificity for different details of urban form, particularly in habitat elements such as gardens, vegetation around railways and grass verges.Policy implications. Improving biodiversity is now part of legislation governing new construction projects from England and Wales. However, predicting quantitative changes from hypothetical land‐use modifications remains challenging. Our models provide the foundation through which butterfly abundance could be integrated into an urban biodiversity assessment tool, providing species‐ and community‐level statistics to non‐specialists from the urban planning and design sector. This would allow them to hone configurations for built surfaces, private gardens, greenspaces and wildlife areas and assess their capacity to provide residents with the intended access to nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biodiversity compensation policies have emerged around the world to address the ecological harms of infrastructure expansion, but historically compliance is weak. The Westminster government is introducing a requirement that new infrastructure developments in England demonstrate they achieve a biodiversity net gain (BNG). We sought to determine the magnitude of the effects of governance gaps and regulator capacity constraints on the policy's potential biodiversity impacts. We collated BNG information from all new major developments across six early‐adopter councils from 2020 to 2022. We quantified the proportion of the biodiversity outcomes promised under BNG at risk of noncompliance, explored the variation in strategies used to meet developers' biodiversity liabilities, and quantified the occurrence of simple errors in the biodiversity metric calculations. For large developments and energy infrastructure, biodiversity liabilities frequently met within the projects' development footprint. For small developments, the purchase of offsets was most common. We estimated that 27% of all biodiversity units fell into governance gaps that exposed them to a high risk of noncompliance because they were associated with better‐condition habitats delivered on‐site that were unlikely to be monitored or enforced. More robust governance mechanisms (e.g., practical mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement) would help ensure the delivery of this biodiversity on‐site. Alternatively, more biodiversity gains could be delivered through off‐site biodiversity offsetting. For the latter case, we estimated that the demand for offsets could rise by a factor of 4; this would substantially increase the financial contributions from developers for conservation activities on private land. Twenty‐one percent of development applications contained a simple recurring error in their BNG calculations. One‐half of these applications were approved by councils, which may indicate under‐resourcing in council development assessments. Our findings demonstrate that resourcing and governance shortfalls risk undermining the policy's effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban rehabilitation of brownfields advances cities' resilience and contributes to residents' wellbeing and nature preservation. This article explores the transformation of one such site-Hiriya, once the largest landfill in Israel-into a large metropolitan park. The rebirth of the area, taken to new levels by the design of German landscape architect Peter Latz, combines a regional solution to problems exacerbated by climate change, drainage, and transportation and brings social recovery to neglected neighbourhoods in the southern Tel Aviv metropolis. We argue that the success of Hiriya's transformation was a national-scale event, resulting not only from an evolved Israeli environmental discourse but from parallel processes including a maturing national planning system, a new approach to water and streams, and an overdue national plan for waste treatment problems resulting from threats to vital infrastructures. Using a range of textual and visual documents, the article examines the processes that led to the transformation of Hiriya and looks at how an excellent design turned Hiriya from a brownfield on the outskirts of the cities into a lively, green, functioning space in an urban setting, thereby providing a regional, even a global, model for creating sustainable spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioretention systems use plants and soil media to treat pollutants in stormwater. Biochar can be an effective amendment to bioretention soil media for removing pollutants due to its adsorption properties. This study evaluates biochar as an amendment to bioretention soil media for the removal of contaminants in stormwater. Columns with varying ratios of biochar to bioretention soil media (0%, 25%, and 50% biochar) were tested to evaluate the removal efficiencies of copper, zinc, phosphorus, nitrogen, and microplastics from stormwater. Five trials were conducted with stormwater collected from parking lot runoff. Results show that the addition of biochar in bioretention systems improves the removal efficiency of zinc (average of 79% in columns with 50% biochar compared to 54% in columns without biochar) and copper (average of 73% in columns with 50% biochar compared to 25% in columns without biochar). Stormwater effluent from the biochar-amended columns also had significantly lower turbidity (21 NTU) than that of the control columns (58 NTU). Consistent leaching of nitrogen and phosphorus species was evident in the control as well as the biochar-amended columns, with average removal efficiencies of −1,114% for total nitrogen and −703% for total phosphorus. Microplastics were effectively removed by all columns, regardless of biochar amendment, with an average removal of 86%. This study indicates that biochar has the potential to reduce metal concentrations in stormwater when used as an amendment to bioretention systems but has a limited impact on nutrients and microplastics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal erosion is a growing problem worldwide and seriously threatens coastal infrastructure ecosystems and communities, particularly in areas where urban development has encroached on natural shorelines. Salty urbanism, an approach to urban design that incorporates natural features and works in harmony with coastal environments, offers a promising solution to this problem. This review explores strategies for coastal erosion reduction, particularly emphasizing community participation within the context of salty urbanism. By investigating the advantages of incorporating salty urbanism and community engagement in coastal management through a literature study, this paper explores a case study-Paradeep, a coastal city in India. The aim is to comprehend how salty urbanism principles have been assimilated into coastal erosion initiatives in Paradeep and to identify potential opportunities for further integration to maximize benefits. The results emphasize the importance of integrating salty urbanism and community participation into coastal erosion management strategies, especially in coastal areas where these principles are either lacking or only minimally incorporated, often without a clear recognition of the term "salty urbanism" itself. Utilizing a mixed-methods research approach, the study integrates primary data from case studies and interviews, along with inferences from literature studies to gain valuable insights from coastal community residents and stakeholders. The findings will provide a significant contribution to advancing strategies and initiatives that advocate for sustainable coastal development and management by suggesting ways to incorporate a community participation-based salty urbanism approach in similar contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The transition to sustainable power infrastructure necessitates integrating various renewable energy sources efficiently. Our study introduces the deterministic balanced method (DBM) for optimizing hybrid energy systems, with a particular focus on using hydrogen for energy balance. The DBM translates the sizing optimization problem into a deterministic one, significantly reducing the number of iterations compared to state-of-the-art methods. Comparative analysis with HOMER Pro demonstrates a strong alignment of results, with deviations limited to a 5% margin, confirming the precision of our method in sizing determinations. Utilizing solar and wind data, our research includes a case study of Cairo International Airport, applying the DBM to actual energy demands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent climatic changes have profoundly impacted the urban microclimate, exposing city dwellers to harsh living conditions. One effective approach to mitigating these events involves incorporating more green infrastructure into the cityscape. The ecological services provided by urban vegetation play a crucial role in enhancing the sustainability and livability of cities. However, monitoring urban vegetation and accurately estimating its status pose challenges due to the heterogeneous nature of the urban environment. In response to this, the current study proposes utilizing a remote sensing-based classification framework to enhance data availability, thereby improving practices related to urban vegetation management. The aim of the current research is to explore the spatial pattern of vegetation and enhance the classification of tree species within diverse and complex urban environments. This study combines various remote sensing observations to enhance classification capabilities. High-resolution colored rectified aerial photographs, LiDAR-derived products, and hyperspectral data are merged and analyzed using advanced classifier methods, specifically partial least squares-discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) and object-based image analysis (OBIA). The OBIA method demonstrates an impressive overall accuracy of 95.30%, while the PLS-DA model excels with a remarkable overall accuracy of 100%. The findings validate the efficacy of incorporating OBIA, aerial photographs, LiDAR, and hyperspectral data in improving tree species classification and mapping within the context of PLS-DA. This classification framework holds significant potential for enhancing management practices and tools, thereby optimizing the ecological services provided by urban vegetation and fostering the development of sustainable cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The production of green hydrogen from wastewater presents a significant opportunity to address environmental challenges associated with wastewater treatment and fulfill the increasing demand for renewable and sustainable energy sources. This study aimed to determine the optimal operating parameters for maximizing hydrogen production through wastewater electrolysis. To design the experimental runs, a Box-Behnken design (BBD) with an L 17 array was implemented, while Response Surface Methodology (RSM) in conjunction with Genetic Algorithms (GA) and Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) was employed to develop predictive models and optimize the operating parameters. The operating parameters considered were the catalyst amount (g), electrode voltage (V), and electrolysis time (min), and the response variable was the oxyhydrogen (HHO) gas generation rate (L/min). The comparative analysis shows that the optimized parameters obtained through RSM surpassed those obtained through GA and PSO, with a catalyst amount of 99.42 g, an electrode voltage of 22.9 V, and an electrolysis time of 23.17 min. Consequently, the HHO generation rate reached a maximum value of 12.42 L/min. Furthermore, the experimental validation indicated a close agreement between the model's predicted results and the actual experimental outcomes. This study shows the effectiveness of combining RSM, GA, and PSO for accurate prediction and optimization of operating parameters in wastewater electrolysis for green hydrogen production. The identified optimal conditions contribute to enhanced efficiency and increased hydrogen yield, thereby promoting the advancement of sustainable energy systems. • HHO gas generation through a cost-effective device: a 34-plate HHO generator. • Application of RSM, GA, and PSO for prediction and optimization of parameters. • RSM demonstrated the most accurate predictions for key performance indicators. • Optimized conditions yield HHO gas generation of 12.42 L/min. • HHO gas from wastewater addresses treatment challenges and renewable energy demand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global development institutions herald private finance as a key mechanism for limiting climate change. Many have concentrated their efforts on bridging urban “infrastructure gaps,” thereby creating profitable fixes and establishing new markets through global climate finance initiatives (GCFIs). This paper examines the project preparation practices of GCFIs in cities of the global South to understand how global climate finance anchors itself within cities. Leaning on the concept of financial ecologies, we argue that these practices do significant relational work, linking emerging smaller financial ecologies with each other, thereby establishing a larger financial ecology of climate urbanism. Examining the actors, spatial strategies and relations of these initiatives, we conclude that the sum of these parts ultimately serves the reproduction of global climate finance itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the role that green gentrification plays in exacerbating racial tensions within historically marginalized urban communities benefiting from new environmental amenities such as parks, gardens, waterfront restoration and greenways. Building on extensive qualitative data from three cities in Europe (Amsterdam, Vienna, Lyon) and four cities in the United States (Washington, Austin, Atlanta, Cleveland), we use thematic analysis and grounded theory to examine the complex relationship between historical environmental and racial injustices and current racial green inequities produced by the green city agenda. Our analysis also offers insights into the main differences in how community members articulate concerns and demands over racial issues related to green gentrification in Europe versus North America. Results show that urban greening—and green gentrification specifically—can create 'compounded environmental racisms' by worsening racial environmental injustices and further perpetrating green racialized displacement, re‐segregation and exclusion. The latter is produced by the racial inequities embedded in green infrastructure projects and the related unequal access to environmental benefits, affordable housing, political rights and place‐making. Moreover, we find that settler colonial practices combined with persisting exposure to toxins and re‐segregation in the United States together with neocolonial spatial and social practices in Europe shape how racialized community members perceive and interact with new green amenities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visiting urban green and blue spaces improves the quality of life in cities as it helps to preserve human-nature bonds. In this context, the role of urban parks and forests has been well-recognised; however, much less is known about the landscapes of inland water bodies. To fill this gap, the study aimed to identify spatiotemporal patterns of recreational activities in the urban riverscape in relation to the visitors' residential proximity. Also, survey results were combined with spatial and remote sensing data to determine how the spatial characteristics of the riverscape affect its recreational use. The case of Warsaw, Poland, was used. The results indicated that the riverscape serves as a local park for the neighbouring communities, while it is rather a warm-weekend attraction for far-living ones. Visitors concentrate in the city centre, and spread out along the communication paths; however, spatial patterns of the magnitude of particular activities also show interbank differences. Spatial error models of drivers of riverscape recreation revealed (1) the multifaceted role of trees in densely visited areas and (2) the importance of physical availability for contact with the urban river. These findings expand knowledge on the recreational use of urban rivers by exploring its place-related motivations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving geo-information decision evaluation is an important part of geospatial decision support research, particularly when considering vulnerability, risk, resilience, and sustainability (V-R-R-S) of urban land–water systems (ULWSs). Previous research enumerated a collection of V-R-R-S conceptual component commonalties and differences resulting in a synthesis concept called VRRSability. As a single concept, VRRSability enhances our understanding of the relationships within and among V-R-R-S. This paper reports research that extends and deepens the VRRSability synthesis by elucidating relationships among the V-R-R-S concepts, and organizes them into a VRRSability conceptual framework meant to guide operationalization within decision support systems. The core relationship within the VRRSability framework is 'functional performance', which couples land and water concerns within complex ULWS. Using functional performance, we elucidate other significant conceptual relationships, e.g., scale, scenarios and social knowledge, among others. A narrative about the functional performance of green stormwater infrastructure as part of a ULWS offers a practical application of the conceptual framework. VRRSability decision evaluation trade-offs among land and water emerge through the narrative, particularly how land cover influences water flow, which in turn influences water quality. The discussion includes trade-offs along risk–resilience and vulnerability–sustainability dimensions as key aspects of functional performance. Conclusions include knowledge contributions about a VRRSability conceptual framework and the next steps for operationalization within decision support systems using artificial intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within peri-urban landscapes, this research investigated the complexity of the balance between urban development and green infrastructure preservation, with a specific focus on Harku municipality, Estonia. This study aimed to understand the interplay between cultural ecosystem services (CESs) and residents' well-being. Aligned with the EU Nature Restoration Law, this research explored long-term dynamics in peri-urban areas' CES conservation. The methodology included creating scenarios by combining new secondary data with the author's prior studies, which covered landscape belts, CES values, and residents' perceptions of satisfaction with the environment and recreation opportunities collected through a municipal survey. While residents expressed satisfaction in coastal and green spaces, a distinct decline was evident near villages with industrial and agricultural features, highlighting the landscape's impact on well-being. This study identified case-study-specific threats related to rapid urbanisation and put forward constructive policy recommendations. The goal was to develop effective and sustainable strategies for preserving nature through ecosystem service-based frameworks, enhance community well-being, and account for landscape dynamics through scenario planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban communities in environmentally sensitive areas face escalating challenges due to climate change and inadequate infrastructural support, particularly in underserved regions like southside Norfolk, Virginia. This area, characterized by its vulnerability to flooding and a predominantly low-income population, lacks equitable inclusion in broader urban flood protection plans. This research focuses on the development of community-centered resilience strategies through active engagement and collaboration with local residents. The methodology centered around building trust and understanding within the community through a series of interactions and events. This approach facilitated a two-way exchange of information, enabling the research team to gather crucial insights on community-valued assets, prevalent flooding issues, and preferred flood mitigation solutions. The engagement revealed a significant increase in community knowledge regarding climate change, sea level rise, and stormwater management. Residents expressed a strong preference for green infrastructure solutions, including rain gardens, permeable pavements, and living shorelines, alongside concerns about pollution and the need for infrastructure redesign. The outcomes of this community engagement have initiated plans to develop tailored, nature-based flooding solutions. These results are set to inform future urban planning and policy, offering insights to the City of Norfolk and the United States Army Corps of Engineers for potential redesigns of flood intervention strategies that are more inclusive and effective. A template for participatory research to inform coastal hazard management includes cross-sector collaboration, a long-term engagement commitment, and education and surveying opportunities to align solutions to lived, local experiences. This template allows for community trust building, which is especially important in environmental justice communities. The study highlights the importance of community involvement in urban resilience planning, demonstrating that local engagement is essential in shaping community-centric solutions and equitable environmental policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Post-COVID policymaking has accelerated investment and support for urban greening initiatives. Even prior to the pandemic, we witnessed across the globe an ever-increasing appetite for the idea of bringing nature into the city through parks, allotments, urban farms, and other green assets. Indeed, the latter in particular has seen perhaps the largest growth in support, with urban agriculture (UA) continuing to be mainstreamed on an international level. This article reflects on UA in the United Kingdom, with an explicit focus on the concept's relationship with green social prescribing (GSP). We reflect on geographers' work in this area, before highlighting practice on the ground and demonstrating the increased impact of UA schemes that adopt this practice. In doing so, we hope that this article influences key actors to be aware of these opportunities and challenges, alongside influencing more geographers to engage with the growing field of GSP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The integration of sustainability principles into the structural design and decision-making processes for transportation infrastructure, particularly concerning reinforced concrete precast modular frames (RCPMF), is recognized as crucial for ensuring outcomes that are environmentally responsible, economically feasible, and socially beneficial. In this study, this challenge is addressed, with the significance of sustainable development in modern engineering practices being underscored. A novel approach, which is a combination of multi-objective optimization (MOO) with multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) techniques, is proposed, tailored specifically for the design and selection of RCPMF. The effectiveness of three repair operators—statistical-based, random, and proximity-based—in optimizing economic, environmental, and social objectives is evaluated. Precise evaluation of objective functions is facilitated by a customized Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA-II) algorithm, complemented by a detailed life cycle analysis (LCA). The utilization of simple additive weighting (SAW) and fair un choix adéquat (FUCA) methods for the scoring and ranking of the MOO solutions has revealed that notable excellence in meeting the RCPMF design requirements is exhibited by the statistical-based repair operator, which offers solutions with lower impacts across all dimensions and demonstrates minimal variability. MCDM techniques produced similar rankings, with slight score variations and a significant correlation of 0.9816, showcasing their consistent evaluation capacity despite distinct operational methodologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Iraq, cities are expanding without regard to green infrastructure. Green and agricultural spaces are not being retained but instead are being converted into residential and commercial areas. Along with the changing climate , these changes decrease the quality of life. This study aims to assess knowledge deficiencies and current water management practices in expanding Al-Kut city in Iraq. An integrated, comprehensive vision for the city was formulated based on the green infrastructure concept to take advantage of the rivers' banks and water corridors in order to mitigate climate change and urban heat island effects. It was concluded that there is mismanagement of water corridors within the city, which is squandering the opportunity to incorporate the abundance of water resources and green infrastructure into the cityscape to enhance the community's quality of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent rapid economic and infrastructure growth in India has led to degraded environmental conditions. Congested and densely populated urban areas have seen increased pollution, water pollution, and habitat and biodiversity loss. Urban green spaces (UGSs) are vital for improving such environmental qualities and coping with environmental challenges within cities. UGSs provide numerous tangible and intangible environmental, recreational/social, and economic benefits, also acknowledged as ecosystem services. This study assessed residents' perceptions of UGSs ecosystem services in Delhi, India. The main objectives were to (1) understand residents' visiting patterns of UGSs and corresponding socio-economic correlations (2) assess residents' knowledge and perceptions of ecosystem services and disservices, and (3) ranking of ecosystem services provided by UGSs based on significance to the residents. This study is based on a survey of 620 randomly selected respondents in UGSs throughout the city. Most respondents knew about ecosystem services in UGSs and believed the ecosystem services outweighed any ecosystem disservices. The results also showed the importance of improving urban microclimate and environmental quality was emphasized. Interestingly, ecosystem services like improve mental health and aesthetic beauty rated high. The improvement of wildlife habitat, fresh water, water flow regulation & runoff mitigation and the collection of fuelwood, fruits, honey and medicine were not seen as important by the respondents. Residents more readily recognized UGSs' direct benefits over the indirect benefits. Awareness of economic benefit was relatively high. Results from this research could help urban planners and developers to consider residents' perceptions and expectations when designing UGSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban agriculture remains a topical issue that needs to be better understood in striving for sustainable cities, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Through a literature review, this article examines urban agriculture studies in South Africa to identify trends, opportunities, and gaps in the literature. The article examines the discourses that have emerged based on a narrative literature review of 62 peer-reviewed articles from 1993 to 2022. The findings indicate that several gaps in the knowledge limit our understanding of the practice of urban agriculture toward sustainable cities, for instance, an under-representation of secondary cities and the general productivist focus of most studies in the country. The author argues that future research needs to focus on underrepresented cities using rich methodologies to gain further insights into urban agriculture and its place in the city. Moreover, other under-represented themes including environmental benefits such as green infrastructure and nature-based solutions need more exploration. A more holistic understanding of urban agriculture is required in order to buttress interventions that accommodate the practice within the urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding and predicting process–structure–property–performance relationships for concrete materials is key to designing resilient and sustainable infrastructure. While machine learning has emerged as a powerful tool to supplement empirical analysis and physical modeling, its capabilities are yet to be fully realized due to the massive data requirements and generalizability challenges. To address these limitations, we propose a knowledge‐informed machine learning framework for concrete property prediction that aggregates the wealth of domain knowledge condensed in empirical formulas and physics‐based models. By integrating the knowledge through data augmentation, feature enhancement, and model pre‐training, we demonstrate that this framework has the potential to (i) accelerate model convergence, (ii) improve model performance with limited training data, and (iii) increase generalizability to real‐world scenarios (including extrapolation capability to other datasets and robustness against data outliers). The overall improvement of machine learning models by knowledge integration is particularly critical when these models are scaled up to tackle the increasing complexity of modern concrete and deployed in practical applications. While demonstrated for predicting concrete strength, this versatile framework is applicable to a wide range of properties of concrete and other composite materials, paving the way for accelerated materials design and discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]