A Cradle-to-Cradle Novel Approach for Wastewater Management in Sustainable Urban Communities

Water, a valuable resource to human lives, is being abused and driven to scarcity. This scarcity is leading some countries and areas to face difficulty in accessing drinking water. As the UN recently stated “by 2050 water shortages and harder access will be reached by around 2/3rd of the world total population” [1], thus, there is a high need to treat and reuse wastewater for domestic purposes, which will lead to less reliance on fresh water as an initial water source. Greywater—defined as the water produced in domestic houses including sinks and bathroom showers, and excluding any blackwater mix which is collected from toilets—is a type of wastewater. Greywater accounts for up to 75% of the daily water produced [2] while it has fewer contaminants when compared to blackwater. This makes greywater a focal point for treatment, and reusing to conserve fresh water and approach net zero water concept. Even though the definition of greywater is the same globally, its criteria can differ from one country to another, from one building to another, or even from the same person’s usage along the day. Accordingly, several treatment methods evolved over years aiming at treating the produced greywater for reuse mainly in irrigation and toilet flushing. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate a novel net zero wastewater approach applying cradle-to-cradle concept for urban communities;while also proposing a sustainable greywater treatment technique that is environmentally friendly, cost-effective and socially acceptable.

Study of Problems in the Development of Non-profit Organizations in Urban Communities

With the continuous advancement of construction of urban communities and the continuous development of the needs of community residents in China,non-profit organizations in various urban communities have developed rapidly and have increasingly played an important role in social and economic life. At present,the development of non-profit organizations in urban communities is still faced with many problems,such as difficulty in raising funds,lack of incentives that results in low enthusiasm for volunteering and low participation of community residents,etc. It is urgent and practical significance to study,analyze and solve the problems faced by non-profit organizations in urban communities. That article focuses on the analysis and discussion of the problems facing the development of non-profit organizations in urban communities,and proposes countermeasures to solve the problems.

Strategies for Dealing with Gang Activity in Urban Communities

As disturbing as youth and gun violence is, it is not hard to reduce the mortality rate because it is preventable. The information provided in this research will help to get policies waiting to be reviewed by legislators, and any new proposal that reaches the appropriate legislative chamber, reviewed without obstacles and will help to prevent youth violence. Upon completion of this research, the study shows that rates of youth violence have decreased based on programs implemented at the state government level with a stronger juvenile justice system holding offenders accountable to ensure public safety and reduce youth violence and victimization. The study shows that community and school involvement with law enforcement and government agencies are some of the strategies needed to help reduce gun violence and rebuild communities.

Understanding Everyday Homes of Urban Communities： The Case of Local Streets （Hawari） of Old Cairo

This paper aims at investigating architectural and urban heritage from the sociocultural point of view, which stands on the human asset of traditional sites such as the hawari of old Cairo. It analyzes the social practice of everyday life in one of the oldest Cairene hawari, Haret al Darb al Asfar. The focus is on architectural and spatial organization of outdoor and indoor spaces that coordinate the spatial practices of local community. A daily monitoring of people＇s activities and interviews was conducted in an investigation of how local people perceive their built environment between the house＇s interior and the outdoor shared space. It emerges that people construct their own field of private spheres according to complex patterns of daily activities that are not in line with the classical segregation between private and public in Islamic cities. This paper reports that the harah is basically a construct of social spheres that are organized spatially by the flexible development of individual buildings over time and in response to changes in individuals＇ needs and capabilities. In order to achieve sustainability in old urban quarters, the paper concludes, the focus should be directed towards the local organization of activities and a comprehensive upgrading of deteriorating buildings to match the changing needs of current population.

Research on the Path of Improving the Efficiency of Urban Community Governance from the Perspective of Collaborative Governance:A Case Study of Daqing City,China

Under the background of“co-construction,co-governance,and sharing,”the role of the grassroots level is becoming increasingly important.In the past,the governance body was single with blocked information,and the inefficient governance mode required gradual transformation.In order to achieve collaborative governance and break through the obstacles in grassroots governance,the key lies in how to play the role of the community,coordinate the relationship between citizens and the community,and allow the community to better play the role of grassroots governance.Under the guidance of the concept of collaborative governance and combined with relevant data,this paper discusses the problems and current situation of community governance in Daqing City,China,explores the path to improve the efficiency of urban community governance,and puts forward relevant constructive suggestions to better realize the role of community in grassroots governance.

ROLE OF MEDICINAL AND AROMATIC PLANTS IN MODERN URBAN COMMUNITIES OF BRUSSELS

Medicinal and aromatic plants(MAPs)have been used by humans for centuries.A big part of the knowledge and interest in MAPs was lost during periods of intensive industrialisation and urbanisation.According to the estimations of the United Nations,the world urban population is expected to increase by 84%by 2050.

Study on Construction Strategy of Rainwater Landscape System in Urban Residential Community

On the basis of analyzing the function and restriction conditions of water features in residential community, the feasibility and specific strategies of using rain- water to construct the waterscape system in residential community were proposed, with the aim to deal with the problems of urban water shortage, urban waterlogging and initial rainwater non-point source pollution.

Investigations of the endowment patterns inside home in Chinese urban community

China is the only one country in the world with more than one hundred million people who aged over 60. With the dramatically increasing of population aging speed, the traditional endowment pattern with the element of family model has a weakening trend and does not satisfy the demand of urban elderly diversified and multi-level pension. Thus, pensions that occupy at home are becoming the best choice of the urban pension mode in China. The paper will describe the meaning, situation and prospects of the home endowment and demonstrate the significance of developing the home endowment project in China. Additionally, the paper will discuss the future endowment model from the aspects of the government organization, scientific planning and functional shifts.

Introduction to Urban and Community Forestry in the United States of America: History, Accomplishments, Issues and Trends

The urban and community forestry movement in the United States has matured over the last 20 years from managing street trees, to understanding the benefits of trees in urban ecosystems, and now to managing urban green infrastructure. This paper introduced the history, development, and major accomplishments of the urban and community forestry movement, highlighted the economic, ecological, environmental, and social values of forests and trees to communities, and discussed issues and trends of the urban and community forestry program in the United States.

Effects of Urbanization,Soil Property and Vegetation Configuration on Soil Infiltration of Urban Forest in Changchun,Northeast China

Urban forest soil infiltration, affected by various factors, is closely related with surface runoff. This paper studied the effect of urban forest types, vegetation configuration and soil properties on soil infiltration. In our study, 191 typical plots were sampled in Changchun City, China to investigate the soil infiltration characteristics of urban forest and its influencing factors. Our results showed that the steady infiltration rates of urban forest soil were highly variable. High variations in the final infiltration rates were observed for different vegetation patterns and compaction degrees. Trees with shrubs and grasses had the highest infiltration rate and trees with bare land had the lowest infiltration rate. In addition, our results showed that the soil infiltration rate decreased with an increase in the bulk density and with a reduction in the soil organic matter content and non-capillary porosity. The soil infiltration rate also had significantly positive relationships with the total porosity and saturated soil water content. Urban soil compaction contributed to low soil infiltration rates. To increase the infiltration rate and water storage volume of urban forest soil, proper techniques to minimize and mitigate soil compaction should be used. These findings can provide useful information for urban planners about how to maximize the water volume of urban forest soil and decrease urban instantaneous flooding.

Study on Risk Management of Epidemic Prevention in High Rise Residential Areas of Urban Community from the Perspective of COVlD-19: A Case Study of L Community in Handan City

Urban community is a basic community and a basic unit of society.Integration of community resources,consolidation of community strength and coordination of community contradictions play an important role in COVID-19 pandemic.Taking human health from the perspective of COVID-19 as the starting point,a community risk assessment standard was established using the Delphi evaluation method.The high-rise residential areas in the L community of Handan City were carried out risk assessment to find out the deficiencies of high-rise residential areas of urban community in the epidemic prevention process,and strategies were put forward to deal with the risk of community epidemic prevention,so as to provide the reference for the improvement of urban community health emergency planning and management in China.

Effectiveness of Urban Farming Program in Providing Multiple Benefits to the Urban Community in Malaysia

Residents have chosen to be living in urban regions in recent years largely due to the accessibility of job opportunities and public services.These led to a fast increase in the amount of people live in urban regions and cities.As a result,a large amount of the property used for agricultural activities was transformed into factories,housing units,and highways.This also resulted in a decrease in food production,growth in food prices and food import bills as the country now relies on food imports especially rice,fruits and vegetables,that can prevent the fostering of urban farming activities and then provide beneficial information essential to form it into a more consumer friendly program.Moreover,studies on urban farming are somewhat few in Malaysia and this study can become helpful for future research.The study focused on small-scale agriculture projects,such as community gardens,and community-level programs such as community supported agriculture and farmers markets.The study found that how urban agriculture enhances community resilience and wellbeing.This is the necessity for the Malaysian urban authorities to provide more proper identification and support to city residents and promote them to develop the practice of urban farming.

Experience and Enlightenment of Serve the Old in Abroad Urban Community

At present, the world＇s aging population is developing at an unprecedented rate, how to deal with the community service for the elderly has become a top priority. For it not only relates to the community＇s harmony but also to the whole social＇s stability. This paper summarized some experiences and practices from some typical foreign countries on their community endowment, such as the British community care model, the Japan＇s aged care at home, the PACE mode of United States, the Germany＇s long-term care services, the Australian＇s old-age community security. On the basis of a comparative analysis, this paper concluded some experience and enlightenment of serving the old in abroad urban community, this include： Give full play to the function and role of the community in the pension, take law as safeguard on the implementation of community endowment, professional services, government-led and multiple subject participation, provide comprehensive and diversified service, etc. Combined with China＇s national conditions, this paper puts forward some countermeasures and suggestions in the end to further perfect China＇s elderly community service.

Community Needs Assessment in Relation to Urban Heat Effects: A Study in Greater Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Urban areas usually experience higher temperatures compared with their rural surroundings; this is characterized as urban heat islands （UHIs）, which are the result of environmental overheating due to anthropic activities. Urban areas,which are characterised by massive construction that reduce local vegetation coverage, are subject to the absorption of a large amount of solar radiation,which is only partially released into the atmosphere by radiation in the thermal infrared.

Impacts of Environmental Factors on the Structure Characteristics of Avian Community in Shanghai Woodlots in Spring

From March to May, 2004, we selected 8 typical parks or green lands in Shanghai downtown as the study sites to conduct a ornithological research. During this study, total 55 species of birds were recorded, which included 31 resident and 24 migratory species. With statistics methodology, we analyzed the avian communities with 10 major environmental factors covering the park area, water percentage, vegetation species, canopy cover, shrub cover, grass cover, hill number, location condition, human quantity, path width, the study results indicated that: (1) the following 7 environmental factors were important to impact the structures of the avian community, they were park area, vegetation species, shrub coverage, grass coverage, hill number, location condition of the parks and path width; (2) the avian community of theses urban parks tended to deteriorate in the bird number and diversity; the man-made lake which was currently promoted in the park designing and planning process would not be good to attract the birds.

Advancing climate resilience through a geo-design framework: strengthening urban and community forestry for sustainable environmental design

Urban and community forestry is a specialized discipline focused on the meticulous management of trees and forests within urban,suburban,and town environments.This field often entails extensive civic involvement and collaborative partnerships with institutions.Its overarching objectives span a spectrum from preserving water quality,habitat,and biodiversity to mitigating the Urban Heat Island(UHI)effect.The UHI phenomenon,characterized by notably higher temperatures in urban areas compared to rural counterparts due to heat absorption by urban infrastructure and limited urban forest coverage,serves as a focal point in this study.The study focuses on developing a methodological framework that integrates Geographically Weighted Regression(GWR),Random Forest(RF),and Suitability Analysis to assess the Urban Heat Island(UHI)effect across different urban zones,aiming to identify areas with varying levels of UHI impact.The framework is designed to assist urban planners and designers in understanding the spatial distribution of UHI and identifying areas where urban forestry initiatives can be strategically implemented to mitigate its effect.Conducted in various London areas,the research provides a comprehensive analysis of the intricate relationship between urban and community forestry and UHI.By mapping the spatial variability of UHI,the framework offers a novel approach to enhancing urban environmental design and advancing urban forestry studies.The study’s findings are expected to provide valuable insights for urban planners and policymakers,aiding in creating healthier and more livable urban environments through informed decision-making in urban forestry management.

Study on Community Ecological Security

This paper argues that community ecological security(CES) includes personal security, public safety and humanistic ecological security. The personal security is to protect the resident's life and physical health, public safety means that the residents don't suffer from physical damages or property damages in daily life, and humanistic ecological security is interpreted as that ideas of harmony, fairness, balance implied in ecology are used to coordinate the social relations of settlements, alleviate the increasingly serious social problems of residential space differentiation. In light of serious community ecological safety issues in China, the corresponding measures are pointed out: road system of "separating people and vehicles"; consideration of disaster prevention and mitigation in residential space design; the community construction from culture, environment, management and service; response to the residential space differentiation.

IRENO-ARCHITECTURE:A Possible Adaptation of Architecture for Peace in Honduras

Young people living inside informal communities around the capital of Honduras are easily recruited by gangs.These neighborhoods demand better quality architecture that is able to play a role as promoter of peace.In order to provide solid bases for new architectural solutions,data from various resources were used to perform several analysis and studies,in order to develop and exemplify design criteria for architecture for peace.In this way,it is possible to find a target audience to whom social architecture,in the specific context of Honduras should be aimed,and provide a starting point for future investigations and management on the subject.

Central Government Issues Opinions to Strengthen and Improve Urban and Rural Community Governance

On Jun.12,2017,the Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Strengthening and Improving the Urban and Rural Community Governance were issued.They put forward an overall goal in which by 2020 a multi-participator and co-governance urban and rural community governance system should have been formed that

Ponder on the Public Service of Urban Community

The past several years witnessed an obvious development in the public service of urban community in China although some dissatisfaction still exists. This paper analyzes the reasons and presents thoughts and suggestions on improving the public service of urban community.