Changes in human settlement environments and their drivers in valley cities located in arid and semi-arid regions:A case study of Lanzhou in Western China

Development of urban human settlement environments(HSEs)is an integral part of promoting high-quality and sustainable regional development and constructing a beautiful China.The city of Lanzhou,located at the geometric center of China,is the only provincial capital traversed by the Yellow River.Given the constraints posed by the valley topography and the need for economic development,the development of this HSE,which is located within an arid region,poses considerable challenges.Evidently,an understanding of the evolution of HSEs and drivers of changes in them contributes to high-quality,sustainable urban development in arid and semi-arid regions.An analytical model was developed using the parameters of relief degree of land surface,human comfort days,the land cover index,nighttime light index,and precipitation.This model was used in combination with population density and the gross domestic product to analyze the spatial distribution of Lanzhou's HSE and its drivers.The results showed that landscapes in Lanzhou underwent significant changes between 2000 and 2022,with an increase in building-up land(+0.946%),cultivated land(+0.134%),and forest land(+0.018%)and a decrease in grassland(-1.10%).There was significant outward expansion of the main urban zone of Lanzhou and of various county towns,with the increase in building-up land being most prominent.During this period,there were significant changes in the periphery of the core urban area and county towns in Lanzhou,with decreases moving from the urban center(the highest value)to the surrounding areas(Yongdeng County had the lowest value).The correlation between the HSE and population density grew stronger in Anning and Chengguan Districts but became weaker in Xigu and Qilihe Districts.Spatiotemporal variations in the HSE were primarily caused by climate change,followed by human activities,and were also influenced by the valley topography.Overall,the spatial distribution of population density and the HSE in Lanzhou demonstrated good consistency under the in-fluence of economic development and urbanization.

Reflections on the Improvement of Rural Human Settlement Environment from the Perspective of Beauty and Livability

The construction of beautiful and livable villages is one of the important tasks of ruralrevitalization in the new era, and the development of rural areas attaches more and more importanceto the improvement of human settlement environment. By investigating the construction status andexisting problems of Zhaoba Village in Nanjing, it tries to take “beauty” and “livability” as the planningrequirements. The village positioning is planned accurately, and the functional layout is carried outreasonably. According to the characteristic industries, landscape features and infrastructure of ZhaobaVillage, humanized construction strategies are put forward, thus improving the quality of human settlementenvironment in Zhaoba Village.

Difficulties and Countermeasures of Rural Human Settlement Environment Governance in Tianjin

The course of rural human settlement environment governance in Tianjin could be roughly divided into four stages:germination,initiation,promotion and deepening.After the development for nearly 20 years,rural human settlement environment governance of Tianjin is faced with many difficulties,such as imperfect village construction planning,poor use effect of sewage facilities,low participation of farmers,and insufficient financial investment.Therefore,some countermeasures and suggestions are put forward,such as scientific planning and overall consideration,innovating financing mechanism,encouraging diversified investment of funds,and strengthening the publicity of rural human settlement environment governance.

A Case Study on Optimization of Urban Design Base on Wind Environment Simulation

Wind environment simulation of a commercial district in Baise city of Guangxi Province, China, is carried out in the design phase. The results are analyzed and based on the evaluation standard for greening building of China. The simulation method is discussed in detail, and some suggestions for wind environment optimization are put forward, which might be helpful for similar research.

Protection and Management for Ancient Villages from the Perspective of Human Settlement Environment——A Case Study of Xichong Village,Sikou Town,Wuyuan County

As urbanization continues, traditional villages are confronted by the conflict between protection and development, especially for ancient villages in living envi- ronment. China landscape is so vast, dominated by rural areas. Human settlement environment of ancient villages is so important for studying domestic human settle- ment environment, including ancient structure analysis and eco-resource organization. The research explored Xichong Village, Sikou Town, Wuyuan County and detailed how to improve its environment, providing references for ancient village development in settlement environment.

Fringe View: Problems and Construction of Human Settlement Environment for "Village-in-City"

The construction of human settlement environment is one of the important contents in the domain of sustainable development. We try to annotate human settlement environment for "village- in-city" from the angle of fringe view. According to the macro-system thought of human settlement environment science, the evolvement, which can be generalized into four phases, connotation and problems (including social, economic, and environmental problems) of "village-in-city" are discussed primarily in this paper. Some domestic and international researches and practices are also summarized and assessed in the paper. Based on the analysis, some appropriate clues and suggestions for the construction of "village-in-city" have been put forward.

ON THE RELATION BETWEEN THE EVOLUTION OF NATURAL ENVIRONMENT AND HUMAN FACTORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN SETTLEMENT——Take the Lanzhou Valley Basin as An Examples

Lanzhou Valley Basin is composed of two smaller diamond-shaped basins striking from NW to SE and including 6 river terraces. The lower terraces remaining even and smooth are main sites for city buildings. The main function of Lanzhou urban settlement is a ferry and transport centre. Lanzhou used to be an im-portant crossing site and post on the 'silk road',and then became a transport and trade centre in Northwest China. In the middle part of the 17th century, Lanzhou became the capital of Gansu,a new province. The development process of Lanzhou urban settlement indicates that urban settlement is a system consisting of natural environment and human society based on the former.

Natural environment suitability for human settlements in China based on GIS

With the degeneration of environment and acceleration of urbanization,human environment has attracted great attention worldwide.This paper sets up the Human Settlements Environment Index(HEI) model and evaluates the natural environment suitability for Human Settlements in China based on GIS technology.The results show that the HEI of China decreases from southeast to northwest in general,HEI is significantly correlated with population density at grid size and the correlation coefficient(r) between them reaches 0.93,which indicates that natural environment suitability for Human Settlements has a significant influence on population distribution.Most people in China mainly concentrate in areas with high natural environment suitability.The total suitable area is 430.47×104 km2,which accounts for nearly 45% of the total land area in China,while the proportion of people living in the area reaches 96.56%.With a population density of 18 people per square kilometer,the critical area is the transitional region for people to live in China.The critical area covers 225.11×104 km2 with a population of 41.12 million.The non-suitable area covers 304.42×104 km2 with a population of only 2.49 million.

A human－ecology approach to environmental design──An integrative human－ecology design derived from Chinese agricultural cultur eexperiences

Based on fundamental principles of ecology ,the ecological philosophy connotation of Feng-Shui(Wind and Water) concept from experiences of Chinese agricultural culture was first discussed , and then hu-man-ecological implications of Feng-Shui environment architecture is analyzed. As a theoretical integrationbetween human ecology and Feng-Shui theory ,“environment” and “environmental design” concepts were re-examined and given new definitions. With holistic principles of human ecological design in the context ofFeng-Shui , essential technical ways of integrative human ecological design were explored in the presentationof a case study of an urban environmental design in east China.

The Application of Landscape Plants in Humanized Interior Environmental Design

Landscape plants play a role of decorating and beautifying the indoor environment.From the perspective of humanization,the functions and application patterns of landscape plants in the interior environmental design are analyzed in this study,and finally the application rules of landscape plants in the humanized interior environmental design are summarized.

Uncertainty evaluation of the coordinated development of urban human settlement environment and economy in Changsha city

The coordinated development of human settlement environment and economy is of vital significance to urban sustainable development and urban ecosystem health. Urban human settlement and economic systems exist in urban ecosystems, which are a structural complexity. Therefore the research is being challenged by some uncertain factors between human settlements and economic systems. However most of the researches were focused on its determinate objective aspects and qualitative analyses while less concern on the quanti- tative evaluation of coordinated development of urban human settlement environment and economy, especially little on its uncertain aspect. At present, the urgent task is to study the coordinated development of urban settlement environment and economy in terms of the effect of uncertainty. This study analyzed the uncertain characteristics, which would be confronted at different stages, such as confirming the index categories, their bound values, and their construction rate, etc. According to the actual urban conditions, many construction principles based on uncertainties are put forward and an indicating system for human settlement and economic evaluation is established. Moreover, the application of fuzzy mathematics presents a new method and a calculation model for the comprehensive assessment of the coordinated development of urban human settlement environment and economy. The application of the method and model in Changsha city of China showed that the assessment results can reflect not only the overall coordination degree of the city, but also the mode of interactive mechanism between urban economic system and human settlement environment.

Multiscale urban design based on the optimization of the wind and thermal environments:A case study of the core area of Suzhou Science and Technology City

New methods are need to coordinate the conflicting spatial demands through urban design research and strategies from the perspective of multi-scale urban climate analysis.To integrate windethermal environment with urban design,we propose three scale levels,namely the district-superblock,superblock-block,and block-building levels,and divide the urban design elements into voids and solids.Thereafter,we establish a multiscale methodological framework in which the urban design contents are clarified by each scale,and the information transmitted between scales is obtained to ensure consistent value propositions and strategic approaches.The microclimate shaping of the urban open space is transformed into guiding strategies and quantitative indicators of the spatial form of the solid space.Information is transmitted between the scales through the windethermal indicators of windward side and the morphological indicators of solid space.Subsequently,the methodology was applied to the project in the core area of Suzhou Science and Technology City,and the findings preliminarily verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the methodology.This research influences urban climate studies and urban design practice in three ways:1)improving understanding of the correlation between scales;2)facilitating interaction between the two domains;and 3)providing tools for urban design practices.

Application of Environment Psychology in City Square Design

Concept of city square was introduced and believed as an important component of urban landscape and also a major space for urban residents' activities. Beauty of city square lies in the interaction between environment and social behaviors. By introducing the two-way interaction between city square and users, behavior psychology was proposed as the foundation of environment design of plaza. As more and more attention is given to humancentered design of outdoor spaces, environment psychology has gradually been more applied in the design of various urban landscape spaces. In view of problems in the present square design, relevant theories of environment psychology were introduced to analyze psychological needs and behavior characteristics of people in outdoor spaces, and techniques for human- centered designs of city square explored to build public spaces for city dwellers.

Study on the Design of Modern Living Environment in China

Three development stages of living environment design in China were summarized,characteristics in different stages introduced,and suggestions given in view of specific problems.It was proposed that design of modern living environment should be harmonious with the whole environment,innovative spirits and creative designs should be highlighted in the living environment,and regional characteristics,historic and cultural succession should be valued.

Changes in the growth of Scots pine(Pinus sylvestris L.)stands in an urban environment in European Russia since 1862

A century and a half ago,in the European part of Russia(Moscow),forest scientists established the first long-term observations of forests,many of which are under observation to the present day.In the twentieth century,climate changes and,due to industrial development,forest areas were under air pollution.Based on observations from 157 sites,this study shows that the growth and density of Scots pine(Pinus sylvestris L.)have decreased by the end of the twentieth century.The environment has changed,and the growth and development of plantations has slowed.Pine yields(-34%stand volume)and their life expectancy(on average 50 years)have decreased.These changes are critical for forestry and for the management of forests in urban centers.Due to the decline in growth,ecosystem functions by urban forests has decreased.In order to increase the sustainability of urban forests and the provision of ecosystem services,it is preferable to create multi-species stands with a complex structure.

Floss release, seed fall and germination of kapok seeds (<i>Ceiba pentandra</i>) in an urban environment

The tropical forest kapok tree occurs widely in urban environments, dispersing thousands of floss during the fruiting season. However, its seedlings are rarely seen around human settlements, raising questions on what factorsmight be limiting its recruitment. We examined the pattern of floss release, seed fall post-dispersal and influences of watering frequency on germination ofCeiba pentandraseeds. Evening,overall, was associated with a significantlyhigher rate and quantity of floss release (p= 0.0001) than were mid-day and morning, correlating well with the speed of wind across the day (rh = 0.666,p= 0.001). Mean dispersal quantity differed significantly between the individual sampled trees, in which the highest dispersal was recorded from trees located in relatively open areas and the lowest was recorded in closed stand trees. Seed fall was higher within100 mdistances than seed fall farther away from dispersing trees, depending on the microsites and weather conditions. Germination started on day 5 onwards and only 15.67% of sown seeds germinated. Watering frequency strongly influenced seed germination while local human activities determined fate of dispersed seeds. We conclude that recruitment ofC. pentandraspecies in the study area may have been limited by environmental and human factors operating at various local and spatial scales.

The Urban Environment and Society of Uzbekistan of XX Century

This article presents the history of urban development in Uzbekistan. In the XX century urban development in Uzbekistan is undergoing some significant changes. Depending on social changes there are changes of tenor of life of society that finds reflection in town planning and architecture. The local architecture gets a variety of artistic styles. The Soviet period in Uzbekistan has been a difficult and controversial. City 1920-1980 biennium was under pressure from the Soviet doctrine. During the reconstruction after the earthquake in Tashkent used progressive methods of planning and development. During the period of independence of Uzbekistan to the 1990s to the present day there is a reassessment of values in the spiritual culture of the Uzbek people, when the problems of national identity become dominant in all spheres, including in urban planning.

The Role of Decorative Sculpture in the Urban Environment and Its Connection with the Architecture of the Tashkent City

The article is dedicated to the aesthetic organization of the urban environment, interaction of architecture in line with the decorative sculpture and reflection of the above mentioned on the urban-scale. The given interaction is inclined to play significant role in terms of countering urgent issues and addressing contemporary concerns of society. The investigation is dealt with the study of decorative sculpture in the urban environment and its connections with the urban architecture

Exploration on Research Methods for Exploring Human Response to Luminous Environment with Chromogenic Windows Applied

Chromogenic windows enable both energy-saving and daylighting regulation.However,the human response to the luminous environment affected by them is difficult to test,since their features of dynamic change and tinting automatically.This study explores the research methods,including experimental design and statistical analysis,by literature review and an experiment demonstration.The results show that a proper size of the test room is significant to obtain desired data,and the advanced VR technologies have the potential to be applied for testing these dynamic variables.Bayesian approaches are recommended to be tried and get more accurate interference about the experimental results.