Data Dependent Modeling of New Contamination Cases from Urban Historic Groundwater Records

Groundwater is the water located beneath the earth＇s surface in the soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. As one of the most important natural resources, groundwater is associated with the environment, public health, welfare, and long-term economic growth, which affects the daily activities of human beings. In modern urban areas, the primary contaminants of groundwater are artificial products, such as gasoline and diesel. To protect this important water resource, a series of efforts have been exerted, including enforcement and remedial actions. Each year, the TGPC （Texas Groundwater Protection Committee） in US publishes a ＂Joint Groundwater Monitoring and Contamination Report＂ to describe historic and new contamination cases in each county, which is an important data source for the design of prevention strategies. In this paper, a DDM （data dependent modeling） approach is proposed to predict county-level NCC （new contamination cases）. A case study with contamination information from Harris County in Texas was conducted to illustrate the modeling and prediction process with promising results. The one-step prediction error is 1.5%, while the two-step error is 12.1%. The established model can be used at the county-level, state-level, and even at the country-level. Besides, the prediction results could be a reference during decision-making processes.

Urban and Architectural Design of the Piazza del Governo in Enna

The paper deals with the urban space of Piazza del Governo in Enna, a town located in the center of Sicily. This square was realized in 1935 by the architect Salvatore Caronia Roberti and is representative of the 1930s＇ fascist regime. The aim of this research is the knowledge of this urban space： the historical references, the compositive choices, the planimetric layout and its geometric rigor, and the monumentality and representativeness of the buildings overlooking the square. The research used the tools of Survey and Representation to better understand the dimensional ratios both at the urban and architectural scale. We have carried out an integrated survey （direct, photogrammetric, 3D laser scanning） in order to acquire a whole set of information essential to describe, document, and appreciate all the features of this urban space. Our investigation started by analyzing the historical documents preserved at the Historic Archive of the city of Enna （project drawings, letters, and historical images） to better understand why some decisions have been taken. The final result represents the historical memory up-to-date of the whole urban space, and it allows any academics to investigate more about the project： the initial decisions, the conservation state, and the possible and more coherent interventions of maintenance and preservation.

Site Rehabilitation Examples of the City Izmir as the Local Identity Searches

Architectural artefacts form the identity of the cities, especially when these artifacts dated to historical times, it becomes more valuable. The importance of preserving the architectural heritage is more meaningful when the building is preserved with its whole environment, with the other historical buildings around as a site protection. Preservation of historical monuments not only individually but also with their environments help the city regain its identity that it has lost. The Conservation Approach to Cultural Assets in Turkey has reached to its peek starting from 1985＇s through introducing the effects of the recent amendment on cultural heritage law and the impact of the EU integration process. The municipalities started to use this recent amendment on cultural heritage laws as a method of recovering their cities for the local identity searches. This paper will deal with the current challenges for conservation practice in Turkey, through introducing the effects of the recent amendment on cultural heritage law and the impact of the EU integration process, and examine some major promising conservation and renovation, rehabilitation projects continuing in Izmir the third biggest city of Turkey for which local solutions are being devised for problems of global context in the meaning of local identity searches for the city.

Towards a Methodology for Evaluating Architectural Heritage Preservation Methods

The treatment of historical buildings represents challenges for those who are concerned with conservation. The difficulty lies in how to apply the treatment without destroying the old components and the original design of the building. The treatment processes take place by the classification of the type and the value of the building, then the determination of the deterioration level decides the level of intervention. The aim of the research is to provide a method for assessing the ways of preserving the architectural and urban heritage, which includes all the factors that affect the preservation of the heritage so as to access that it contributes to access to the deficiencies in the ways of preserving the heritage and to build a plan for action to avoid them in the future. The research followed a causal comparative research approach that began with an analytical study to determine the factors affecting preservation and its considerations, by collecting and analyzing the data of the most important international and national charters and recommendations for the preservation. This study defined the preservation works into 4 levels of interventions passed on the intervention objectives, building＇s physical state, causes for the deterioration and maintenance works. By comparing the deterioration level with the intervention level for the conservation procedures, the result indicates the suitability of the work performed. This result could be number between 4 and -4.

Historical Building Renovation as a Construction Project

Approaches to building renovation require high professional levels, interdisciplinary elements, team work and time to study and do research on the buildings. The process of renovating historic buildings is made up of agreements and compromises between the interests of the government, common interests, and the motives and interests of individual owners and prospective investors. Research that deals with any portion of cultural heritages always carried out very precisely, but there is still no precise knowledge of how to define a system and draw up a model that accurately represents a cultural heritage. In the existing literature on this topic, the authors have written about the different views of how to explain the construction project as a system. While many authors focus on ＂sub-phases＂ directly connected to the building of an object, the process involved in the construction phase often neglects the phases required before beginning work, which culminates in a logical sequence in the process of preparing a project. Irregularities or deficiencies which occur during the preparation process of a project often directly impact the construction itself. What the scope of this impact depends on the approach of the contractual organization, the organization of construction companies and on co-operation between the customer （or architects） and the contractors. Unlike the projects for newly built objects, the conservation projects of cultural heritage are not only more demanding because of lack of knowledge of the building materials, construction, foundation and interaction of the mentioned individual parts into a unit called a building. The authors analyzed the structural aspects of building conservation which were suggested by Beckmaun and Bowles and another methodology, which was developed as part of the 5th framework program for the purpose of providing a comprehensive and interdisciplinary treatment of the revitalization of a historical city. The authors found that both methodologies do not include modern IT tools and methods. By analyzing and monitoring the restoration of historic buildings in Slovenia, specifically in the city of Maribor （including all documentation, interviews and direct views） the authors found that the project was regarded as a collection of individual projects rather than a unified whole （a system）. The authors have demonstrated the consequences of structuring a historic building restoration project in a non-systemic way. This type of project can be classified as a non-sustainable renovation. In this article, at first the authors will try to clarify what types of systems and subsystems are considered in renovating historic buildings. The authors show when and why a system becomes stochastic （a probability） and in the end what would be needed to successfully re-establish it back to a determined system. By analyzing the work and reconstruction of old buildings in Maribor, the authors found that it would be necessary to give a new framework with IT tools for the preparation of a historic building restoration project.

Mechanical-Mathematical Modeling and Monitoring for Landslide Processes

Landslides are one of the most widespread and dangerous phenomena in the urbanized territories. In Moscow they affect about 3% of the most valuable territory, including churches and historical buildings located at high banks of the Moskva River. Recently the landslide activation occurred. Normal functioning of city infrastructure and implementation of effective slope protection measures require special landslide monitoring. Mechanical-mathematical model of high viscous fluid was applied for the landslide-prone slopes modeling. Equation of continuityand an approximatedNavier-Stockes equation f or slow motions in a thin layer were used. The results of modelling give possibility to define the landslide section with upmost velocity that should be monitored in the first place. Some important parameters used for numerical modelling can be defined from monitoring data.

The establishment of Macao as a special port city and ensuing debates

Macao was one of the earliest port cities in China to be opened to foreigners; but how, under the institutions of Ming dynasty China, it should be opened to the Portuguese, and what its character and function should be, were subjects that triggered controversy both at court and among non-officials. It was only after a lengthy process of evolution that Macao finally developed into a commercial city. The special political environment, administrative patterns and social experiences of early Macao created a unique character and tradition of ＂harmony amidst difference, and difference amidst harmony＂ that was maintained for centuries with undiminished vitality.