Utilisation of green urban space for food sufficiency and the realisation of the sustainable development goals-UK stakeholders perspective

The exponential growth of food demand due to the increasing global population has the potential to seriously threaten the quality and quantity of food supplies due to climate change.This study explores the utilisation of green urban spaces for achieving food self-sufficiency by investigating the extent to which sustainable urban farms could be used to reduce the consumption of imported produce in the UK.It also examines urban farming stakeholders'perspective on how food self-sufficiency can help realise the SDGs especially SDG 2(Zero hunger)and SDG 13(Climate action).The study adopts a mixed method approach through a survey with 115 respondents and semi-structured interviews conducted with 12 respondents from 4 different urban farming stakeholder groups.The findings of this study presented a strong correlation between stakeholders who had concerns about where their food came from and the carbon footprint of imported produce.The research shows that,urban farms will no doubt play a vital role in the future of food security in our cities/communities and that the SDGs could be realised through sustainable urban farms implemented within the relevant planning regulations/policies.

Butterfly taxonomic and functional diversity in the urban green spaces of Hefei city

Urbanization has profound impacts on ecological environments. Green spaces are a vital component of urban ecosystems and play a crucial role in maintaining ecological balance and enhancing sustainability. This study aimed to investigate the community composition characteristics of butterflies in urban green spaces within the context of rapid urbanization. Simultaneously, it explored the status and differences in butterfly taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and functional traits among different types of urban green spaces, regions, and urban gradients to provide relevant insights for further improving urban green space quality and promoting biodiversity conservation. We conducted a year-long survey of 80 green spaces across different urban regions and ring roads within Hefei City, Anhui Province, with monthly sampling intervals over 187 transects. A total of 4822 butterflies, belonging to 5 families, 17 subfamilies, 40 genera, and 55 species were identified. The species richness, Shannon, Simpson, functional richness, and Rao's quadratic entropy indices of butterflies in urban park green spaces were all significantly higher than those in residential and street green spaces(P < 0.05). Differences in butterfly diversity and functional traits among different urban regions and ring roads were relatively minor, and small-sized, multivoltine, and long flying duration butterflies dominated urban green spaces. Overall, these spaces offer more favorable habitats for butterflies. However, some residential green spaces and street green spaces demonstrate potential for butterfly conservation.

Bibliometric analysis of research challenges and trends in urban underground space

The utilization and development of urban underground space play a crucial role in optimizing the layout of civic architecture and enhancing the urban ecological environment,which contributes toward increasing the overall carrying capacity and promoting sustainable development in megacities.To delve into the research progress of urban underground space,knowledge maps were created using the information visualization software VOSviewer.The literature was systematically extracted from three prominent databases,namely,Web of Science,Scopus,and China National Knowledge Infrastructure.According to the bibliometric analysis of the co-citation and core words co-occurrence,the trends and challenges of research on urban underground space were identified.As highlighted by the results obtained,it still remains highly challenging to achieve interdisciplinary collaboration in urban underground space research;the research trends of urban underground space consist of collaborative planning and whole life cycle sustainable development,multisource geological data informatization and resource evaluation,infrastructure design optimization,and intelligent construction.The knowledge map,drawn using bibliometric methods,offers a quantitative analysis of literature retrieval across various levels.It is recognized as an essential tool for exploring and identifying challenges and trends in urban underground space.

Identity of Urban Spaces: Assessment and Evaluation

As a major symbol of civilization,the city was built by man for his security and comfort.It is not only a settlement,but also an urban development which has been identified with the spirit that has been breathed into the community.Urban identity which is also known as collective identity,has gained meaning through the content of objective manifestation and the creation of flashbacks,citizens’memories and mental associations.That is what makes urban dwellers become citizens.Although the identity of the city is a result of civic culture,it still has an influence on the process of citizenship and can also be a reason for developing criteria related to the participation and assessment of its inhabitants.According to the view that identity is a set of traits and characteristics that distinguishes the dignity of a person and a society from other individuals and communities,a city becomes characterized and independent by adhering to these criteria.Despite the importance of identity as one of the richest qualitative aspects of urban life that gives meaning and fulfilment to the human quiddity,this complicated and expanded concept has still not been seriously considered,especially in relation to urban spaces.In fact,identity in architecture and urban spaces has recently diminished,since the main focus lies on building spaces for optimized profit and not for high quality living areas.In this research paper,parameters affecting urban identity are evaluated,and strategies and guidelines to promote these parameters are finally presented.

Research on the Application and Development of Digital Media Art in Urban Public Space Design

Digital media art is an emerging art form that combines digital technology and media art.It has huge potential to bring innovation to urban public spaces and provide them with vibrant artistic experiences.This article analyzes the design significance and value of digital media art in urban public space,its various forms of application in urban public space design,and the innovative ideas and paths that digital media art can take in urban public space to guide the future.The application and innovative methods of digital media art in urban public space design provide certain theoretical and practical references for urban planners and designers.

Development of urban underground space in coastal cities in China:A review

The development of urban underground space is a critical way to alleviate the lack of urban resources,and improve environmental conditions as well as residents'quality of life,which has important practical significance.As the most densely populated and economically developed areas,coastal cities face many challenges in underground space development owing to their unique environmental geological conditions.This study examined the current situation of underground space development,academic research,technology application,evaluation methods,planning,and legislation in coastal cities in China.On this basis,it analyzed the future development trends,and presented reasonable suggestions for the critical scientific and technical problems faced by the development of underground space in coastal cities.The key suggestions are as follows:it is necessary to define and clarify the critical geological issues,distributions,and hazards that affect underground space development and major engineering construction in coastal cities;the land-sea integrated detection technology for sea crossing bridges and submarine tunnels needs to be studied;in evaluating the suitability of underground space in coastal cities,the land and sea area evaluation factors should be integrated;and the evaluation system of landsea integration needs to be established.

GIS-Based Analysis to Identify the Distribution and Accessibility of Urban Green Space in Dhaka Metropolitan City, Bangladesh

Urban Green Space (UGS) plays an important role in minimizing the negative effects of urbanization on city dwellers, which is predominantly factored into the accessibility to UGS. This study elucidated the distribution and accessibility of UGS in Dhaka, Bangladesh considering the paucity of such important scientific studies in the given area. The methodological structure of this study employed a multispectral Landsat satellite image from 2020 for identifying the logically defined UGSs, as well as a minimum proxy distance being the parameter to estimate accessibility to the UGS through a primary survey scheme and literature review. Considering UGS as a public area, we adopted a hybrid (combination of supervised and unsupervised classification) method followed by post-classification for UGS distribution assessment. The unsupervised classification identified the overall distribution of green spaces, whereas the anomalies of generated classes were rectified during the post-classification. Following the study findings, UGS in Dhaka metropolitan city accounts for only 602 ha or 1.9% of the total geographical space, with Ramna thana ranked as the highest contributor of 111 ha. However, in terms of accessibility to the UGS by city residents, 19.9% of the buildings in Dhaka metropolitan city were computed to be within the determined proxy distance of 500 m around the UGS. Also, parallel to UGS distribution, green space in Ramna thana (111 ha) exhibited the highest accessibility rate (64%) to the UGS compared with other thanas in Dhaka metropolitan city. The baseline findings will contribute to the long-term sustainable urban planning and development of more accessible green spaces in the study area.

An experimental study on fire characteristics of urban complex underground space based on BIM

Compared with the space on the ground,if there is a fire in the urban complex underground space,the loss will be greatly harmful.In addition,the complex underground space is usually connected with other large space areas and densely populated.Once a fire occurs in the complex underground space,it will cause huge property losses and casualties.In order to reduce the risk of fire,it is necessary to deeply understand the development rules and characteristics of fire in the complex underground space of the city.This article has mainly carried on the following work:(I)A particularly complex model of the multi‐storey subway station was built.On this basis,three groups of comparative experiments were conducted to study the effects of fire power,fire location and smoke control system on fire development,and the conclusion that fire location is the most important factor for fire development was obtained;(II)In order to explore the entire space fire and the local space fire,CFD(Computational Fluid Dynamics)is used to build a large‐size fire model and a small‐size fire model respectively;(III)Multiple detector data as temperature slices were built,and it is expected to make full use of the simulation data to deduce the important index of fire location in the early stage of fire.All of the works in this paper will provide reference experimental data for the prevention and firefighting of a sudden fire in the complex underground space.

Implications of Planting Southern Live Oak Trees in the Wrong Urban Space in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana United States

Afforestation has been observed as a green trend in urban areas. The incorporation of trees in urban infrastructure is highly recommended to act as a solution to outlined environmental problems such as global warming. However, it has been precipitously introduced in cities, towns, and metropolitans. The introduction of the green practice was so abrupt that it became devoid to meeting the essential needs for tree growth, thus, failing to bring out the desired effects. Inappropriately selecting and planting trees in urban spaces has resulted in stressed trees that are deficient at reaching up to the calculated goals and in the long run end up being problematic. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the implications of planting southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) trees in the wrong urban space so as to aid in recommending sustainable green solutions for the urban community. By studying southern live oaks planted in Howell Community Park and three randomly selected areas in Southern University Baton Rouge Campus, this study analyzes how the selection of these tree species in the urban spaces influenced their growth and general well-being. These urban spaces were randomly drafted based on accessibility and availability of several southern live oaks. Planting approaches in the four study areas were explored and the general health condition of the trees was determined using the tree appraisal method presented by the i-tree model: my tree. ArcGIS collector was used to collect the GPS coordinates of the trees and ArcMap was used to generate the maps of the study areas. ArcMap software geolocated the coordinates of the southern live oaks in all the four-study areas. The software was used to generate shapefiles of the four study areas and their location in East Baton Rouge. The analysis of the results proved that none of the southern live oaks had an excellent health condition and most of the trees experienced different issues due to planting them in the wrong urban spaces.

The Symbolic Expression in the Material Form in Public Spaces

The article explores the topic of symbolic expression in the physical elements that form urban public spaces.It is done by giving an overview and analysing spaces that hold a widely-recognised symbolic value.The author discusses the means of encoding and perceiving meanings in the spacial composition,physical form and materials of its elements,and other aspects that influence the sensory or psychological perception of the observer.At the same time,different theoretical approaches to the perception of space are discussed,addressing not only architectural theory but also the ideas proposed in the fields of philosophy,fenomenology and cultural studies.

Exploration of Child-friendly Urban Park Design Strategies Based on Child Behavioral Psychology

By studying the behavioral psychology and needs of children,this paper analyzes the essence of child-friendly parks from the perspective of children,and discusses the design principles and key points of child-friendly parks,so as to provide a practical basis for the construction of child-friendly cities.

Diversity and Application of Herbaceous Flowers in Urban Road Greening in Hefei City

In urban road greening,the planting of ground cover flowers is essential,and herbaceous flowers are an important part.Through the investigation on the diversity of herbaceous flowers in urban road green spaces of Hefei City,the types,colors,application frequency and planting of herbaceous flowers in urban road green spaces were statistically analyzed,and the application forms of herbaceous flowers in the road greening of Hefei City were studied.The characteristics and problems of herbaceous flowers in the road greening of Hefei City were found,and some development suggestions were put forward.

Analysis of problems in urban green space system planning in China

This paper discusses the major problems in urban green space system （UGSS） planning at both general and special planning levels in China. At general planning level, the problems of the UGSS are mainly from the ignorance in the characteristics of urban nature spaces and the limitation factors of the urban planning system. Great importance is attached to the green spaces in the built area of city, but the green spaces in surrounding areas of the city is unnoticed. Furthermore, because the area of UGSS planning is strictly limited by the administrative zoning, the green space system loses its integrity and rationality in spatial patterns. The schedules of urban development planning mismatched the paces and progresses of the ecological restoration cycles. At special plan level, the problem of the UGSS in China is that the green spaces quantity was over emphasized but the rationality of their layouts is neglected.. Meanwhile, the requirement of the spatial structures and the green spaces layouts to balance between the urban development and the natural ecological environments is often ignored. With regard to the layouts in the UGSS planning practices, the existing problems are the compromising to the existing land-uses, the ＇filling in＇ approach to plan green spaces and an over-emphasis on the layout patterns.

Optimization Transmission Theory and Technical Pathways that Describe Multiscale Urban Agglomeration Spaces

Urban agglomerations are spatial entities that promote the development of ‘new urbanization' processes within China. In this context, the concept of ‘multiscale urban agglomeration spaces' encompasses three linked levels: macroscale urban agglomerations, mesoscale cities, and microscale urban centers. Applying a series of multidisciplinary integrated research methods drawn from geography, urban planning, and architecture, this paper reveals two intensive utilization laws that can be generalized to apply to multiscale urban agglomeration spaces, top-to-bottom ‘positive transmission' linkage and inside-to-outside ‘negative transmission' movement. This paper also proposes optimization transmission theory and policy decision technical pathways that can be applied to these three urban agglomeration spatial scales. Specific technical pathways of transmission include intensive expansion and simulated decision-making in macroscale urban agglomerations, ecology, production, and living space intensive layout and dynamic decision-making in mesoscale cities, and four cores(i.e., ‘single, ring, axis, and pole core') progressive linkage and intensive optimization decision-making in microscale urban centers. The theory and technical pathways proposed in this paper solve the technical problem of optimization and provide intensive methods that can be applied not only at the individual level but also at multiple scales in urban agglomeration spaces. This study also advances a series of comprehensive technical solutions that can be applied to both compact and smart growth cities as well as to urban agglomerations. Solid theoretical support is provided for the optimization of Chinese land development, urbanization, agricultural development, and ecological security.

Factors influencing the concentration of negative air ions during the year in forests and urban green spaces of the Dapeng Peninsula in Shenzhen, China

Negative air ions(NAIs)benefit the mental and physical health of humans,but rapid urbanization can decrease the abundance of NAIs.Quantifying the spatial and seasonal distribution of NAIs and determining the factors that infl uence the concentration during urbanization is thus essential.In the present study of a typical developing urban district in southern China,negative air ion concentrations(NAICs)in 60 forests sites and 30 urban green spaces were quantifi ed on seven consecutive days in each of the four seasons.Large seasonal variations in NAIC were revealed in forests and urban green spaces with trough values in summer.NAIC progressively decreased from forests to urban green spaces and was infl uenced by local land morphology,vegetation characteristics,and climatic factors.The vast,heavily vegetated northeastern region was the richest area for NAIs,whereas the narrow central region(urbanized area)was the poorest,implying dramatic impacts of urbanization on the spatial distribution of NAIs.The relationship between air temperature and NAIC was better fi tted with a quadratic equation than a linear equation.Moreover,the NAIC was more sensitive to local morphology in urban green spaces than in urban forests,indicating the vulnerability of NAIs in urbanized areas.Therefore,the appropriate design of local urban morphology is critical.

SPATIAL GRADIENT ANALYSIS OF URBAN GREEN SPACES COMBINED WITH LANDSCAPE METRICS IN JINAN CITY OF CHINA

Urban green spaces have been arisen growing concern responded to the social and environmental costs of urban sprawl. A wide range of planning and policies has been and/or will be designed to protect urban green spaces and optimize their spatial pattern. A better design or planning of urban green space can make a major contribution to quality of environment and urban life, and furthermore can decide whether we can have a sustainable development in the urban area. Information about the status quo of urban green spaces can help planners design more effectively. However, how to quantify and capture such information will be the essential question we face. In this paper, to quantify the urban green space, a new method comprising gradient analysis, landscape metrics and GIS was developed through a case of Jinan City. The results demonstrate: 1) the gradient analysis is a valid and reliable instrument to quantify the urban green space spatial pattern precisely; 2) using moving window, explicit landscape metrics were spatially realized. Compared with quantifying metrics in the entire landscape, it would be better to link pattern with process and establish an important basis for analyzing the ecological and socioeconomic functions of green spaces.

RESEARCH ON IMAGO SPACE OF VALLEY CITY——A Case Study of Lanzhou City

Currently domestic researches on urban imago space concentrate in a few cities that lie in the advanced region, such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Wuhan, etc., but in so far as those cities that lie in the northwest inland region, the research of this aspect is still few. In order to supplement a special example to the urban imago space theory and to validate former theory, this article studied the Lanzhou urban imago space. During the course of researching, authors adopted some investigating methods, such as visiting on the spot, photograph identification method and sketch map identification method etc. Using investigated data, this paper made an elementary research on urban imago space of Lanzhou, which is a typical valley city in the western China. The result of study indicated that the urban imago space of Lanzhou takes Xiguan Cross as its center (Lanzhou involves four districts of Chengguan, Qilihe, Anning and Xigu). In the process of recognition of urban imago space, the Huanghe (Yellow) River and mountains beside the city are the dominant factors and the main nodes of cognition. So the urban imago space of Lanzhou is quite different from that of plain cities. Interviewee did well in the spatial structure map, which was made up of mountainous land, river and main trunk roads,the group structure took profound impression on people.

Spatial dynamics of aboveground carbon stock in urban green space:a case study of Xi'an,China

Greenhouse gas emission of carbon dioxide（CO2） is one of the major factors causing global climate change.Urban green space plays a key role in regulating the global carbon cycle and reducing atmospheric CO2.Quantifying the carbon stock,distribution and change of urban green space is vital to understanding the role of urban green space in the urban environment.Remote sensing is a valuable and effective tool for monitoring and estimating aboveground carbon（AGC） stock in large areas.In the present study,different remotely-sensed vegetation indices（VIs） were used to develop a regression equation between VI and AGC stock of urban green space,and the best fit model was then used to estimate the AGC stock of urban green space within the beltways of Xi＇an city for the years 2004 and 2010.A map of changes in the spatial distribution patterns of AGC stock was plotted and the possible causes of these changes were analyzed.Results showed that Normalized Difference Vegetation Index（NDVI） correlated moderately well with AGC stock in urban green space.The Difference Vegetation Index（DVI）,Ratio Vegetation Index（RVI）,Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index（SAVI）,Modified Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index（MSAVI） and Renormalized Difference Vegetative Index（RDVI） were lower correlation coefficients than NDVI.The AGC stock in the urban green space of Xi＇an in 2004 and 2010 was 73,843 and 126,621 t,respectively,with an average annual growth of 8,796 t and an average annual growth rate of 11.9%.The carbon densities in 2004 and 2010 were 1.62 and 2.77 t/hm2,respectively.Precipitation was not an important factor to influence the changes of AGC stock in the urban green space of Xi＇an.Policy orientation,major ecological greening projects such as ＂transplanting big trees into the city＂ and the World Horticultural Exposition were found to have an important impact on changes in the spatiotemporal patterns of AGC stock.

Evaluation method of the ecological benefits of urban green spaces and application conditions

The importance of ecological benefit analyses about green space systems has been widely discussed on the basis of a perceived bias towards the landscaping effect of green spaces to be built in urban areas as opposed to the perception of comprehensive ecological benefits of designed plant communities. Given the basic principle of ecological benefit analyses and evaluation methods widely applied today, the methodology to calculate ecological benefits and to model the expansion of urban green spaces by CITY- green 5.0 and its conditions for application were explored. We propose that aerial images can be substituted by AutoCAD graphics of a green space containing detailed information of plant dispositions by digitizing the key features during the working process in order to evaluate the ecological benefits quickly and to offer proper guidance to the establishment of small scale green spaces in urban areas. The theoretical foundation, potential application range and prospects for extension of the method are introduced by using the analysis of ecological benefits of the green spaces on the campus of Southwest Forestry College, Kunming, as an example.

Construction of Ecological Network for Urban Green Space System from the Perspective of Landscape Ecology:A Case Study of Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality

Green spaces in Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality were not closely linked and failed to form an integrated ecological network, this paper analyzed and assessed current situation of green spaces in the local area from the perspective of landscape ecology, and then established the landscape ecology-oriented ecological network construction, restructured green paces in Wanzhou District using the landscape composition of "patch–corridor–matrix", and connected the scattered green patches using green corridors, so as to form a reasonable ecological network of green spaces.