SUSTAINABILITY CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS AS GUIDELINES FOR EARLY-PHASE URBAN DESIGN PROCESSES

The German Sustainable Building Council(Deutsche Gesellschaft für Nachhaltiges Bauen or DGNB)has one of the most comprehensive sustainability certification systems for urban districts(UD).Their explicit aim is that the system should impact the very earliest design decisions.The Technical University of Denmark has tested the DGNB-UD system in two experimental design projects for similar locations to find out how it can be used in the early-phase design process.This paper describes these two independent design processes,compares them and discusses their general features.We found that DGNB-UD addresses a broad sustainable focus and can be used as a tool for setting sustainability goals from the very first design steps.The system tends to promote multifunctional compromise solutions that meet several criteria at the same time.Using the DGNB-UD certification system in the early design phases therefore does have some effect on the urban design in terms of a bias towards certain design traits.

Urban growth dynamics and expansion forms in 11 Tanzanian cities from 1990 to 2020

With rapid urban expansion across Tanzania,there is a need to institute steps to address factors and forms as well as impacts and challenges associated with the observed trend.This study’s aim is to use spatial urban landscape indices to analyze the spatial changes in urban forms,patterns,and rates across 11 urban centers in Tanzania over a 30-year study period(1990–2020).During the past three decades,urban lands of 11 cities and town in Tanzania have grown by a total of 480 km2.Leapfrog growth was found as the most dominant form of urban expansion in Tanzania while Dodoma,the capital city of Tanzania,had the highest rate of urban expansion when compared to all other individual cities.The most robust and significant interaction of the AWMLEI and MLEI was found in Kigoma,Arusha,Mtwara,Mafinga,and Tunduma cities.In contrast,Mbeya agricultural city,Arusha the tourist city,Tabora,and Geita Lake zone areas did show their own peculiarities revealing an interesting spatial temporal variation in rate and form of expansion.The outcome of this study reveals that the influence and management of economic and socio-cultural opportunities will be an effective tool for the determination of the rapidly expanding cities and towns of Tanzania.

Impact of the Syrian crisis on the socio-spatial transformation of Eastern Amman,Jordan

Amman,the capital of Jordan,has been subjected to incremental spatial transformation under the pressure of the emerging migration of various refugees since the beginning of the Syrian conflict(2011-present).Only 17%of the Syrian refugee influx to Jordan resides in camps.Amman hosts 28%of non-camp refugees(NCRs)who are living in urban areas and creating multiple forms of urban settlements.Diverse forms of NCR settlements are emerging extensively in Eastern Amman districts.These settlements are contributing to new morphological structures and leading to a gradual spatial change-socially and physically.This research intends to contribute to the increasing amount of available data by improving the understanding of the socio-spatial patterns of Syrian NCR settlements and providing insights,forecasts,and recommendations regarding this pressing issue on the basis of overall trends.Comprehensively contextualized areas in Amman were mapped,and after considering specific siteselection criteria,Jubilee Neighborhood was selected.Jubilee was built by the government in 1985 for low-income Jordanian families.This study aims to unravel one layer of the complex multilayered Amman City.It intends to explore and describe the urban forms of NCR settlements in Jubilee Neighborhood as a case study by interrelating spatial,social,and physical concepts.In addition,this study extensively uses rigorous qualitative and traditional methods.The outcome of this study is a comprehensive and descriptive spatial analysis that can provide socio-spatial interpretations and recommend urban response policies to cope with the future spatial transformation of urban forms.