The Trends of Geotechnology to Support Urban Planning： New Paradigms and Challenges

This work aims at making one brief contextualization on the state of the art of the geoprocessing in urban planning to present the new paradigms and challenges of the geo technologies related to the management of the cities. The visualization of planning process allowing the comprehension of the possibilities contained in public landscape planning represents the main challenge faced by this research. Another important goal is to investigate how to overcome a paradigm related to a coded urban planning system communication that hinders community understanding and participation. This state of the art of the space production justifies the current studies in the geoprocessing for the development of tools, techniques and methodologies that meet the necessities to create interpretative pictures of the urban landscapes that facilitate the dialogue among the technician, the administrators and the community. The methodology was based on the cloud of points using Lidar techniques, 3D modeling, tools of visualization and parametric modeling of urban parameters. In this direction, this work will point out the new trends of representation of the data and the decoding of the cartographic language from the geo visualizers within the values of interoperability, involvement of the actors, feedback and proposals from geo design.

Conceptual Model for Collaborative Planning in Iran with Emphasis on the Role of Urban Planners： A Case Study of Anzali＇s Development Strategy

Nowadays, public participation is one of the most important factors to improve the feasibility, legitimacy and quality of urban plans. In Iran, due to lack of comprehensive understanding about the participation notion and its necessary socio-economic and political infrastructures, participatory decision-making has faced with some serious challenges in both processes of preparing and implementing. The present paper focuses on providing practical strategies for preparing collaborative urban plans in Iran＇s conditions. Also it seeks to answer this question： What is the role of planners to prepare a real collaborative plan？ It is assumed that a conceptual model for collaborative planning can be fitted with Iran＇s conditions by means of integrating the fundamental philosophic ideas of participatory planning such as theories of Paul Michel Foucault and Jürgen Habermas, given the fact that the present situation of collaborative planning in Iran needs a supportive theory which is compatible with power structures of Iranian urban planning system. In this regard, the Habermas＇ theory of “communicative action” and the Foucault＇s theory of “power structures” are reviewed by a comparative analysis methodology to present an integrated conceptual model for collaborative planning in Iran＇s condition. At the end, the CDS （City Development Strategy）---making process of Anzali City of Iran is analysed to examine this claim in the practice. The results yield that enabling urban planners to act as communication facilitators during planning can direct the collaborative planning in Iran from theory to a real practice by means of integrating the positive aspects of communication and power.

Regional Differences of China′s Urban Expansion from Late 20th to Early 21st Century Based on Remote Sensing Information

This study investigated the regional differences of China′s urban land expansion from the late 1980s to the year of 2008, based on the spatio-temporal analysis of CLCD (China′s land cover/land use database) datasets which were mainly produced from remote sensing imagery data. A newly defined urbanization level index (UI), based on urban land area, is proposed to describe Chinese urban expansion process at 1 kilometer, provincial, regional, and na-tional scales, together with the absolute urban expansion index (UEa) and the relative urbanization expansion index (UEr). The results indicate that the percentages of total land area occupied by urban in the late 1980s, 1995, 2000, 2005, and 2008 were approximately 0.25%, 0.32%, 0.33%, 0.43% and 0.52% of China′s total land area, respectively. Between the late 1980s and 2008, the total urban expansion in the mainland of China was 2.645 × 104 km2, resulting in an annual urban expansion area of about 1322.7 km2/yr, with the UEr of 111.9%. This study also finds that there has been an obvious spatial gradient of urbanization ratio running from the east coast to the west inland, and the urbanization gaps among different regions have persisted over the past two decades. The study also reveals obvious temporal varia-tions of the urbanization rates. There was very little urban growth during the period of 1995-2000 due to the governmental policy factors.

Urban Construction Land Suitability Evaluation Based on Improved Multi-criteria Evaluation Based on GIS(MCE-GIS): Case of New Hefei City,China

Urban construction land suitability evaluation （UCLSE） is a complex system engineering and the basis for rational use of the limited urban land resources in China. It has an important practical value on urban construction land use planning and management from the angle of methodology. As a widely used technique, traditional multi-criteria evaluation based on GIS （MCE-GIS）, is not suitable for UCLSE. This study develops an improved MCE-GIS method which could be more suitable for UCLSE based on urban complex ecological system theory and the summary of the shortcomings of traditional MCE-GIS. The improvements include three aspects： a composite evaluation index system rather than natural indexes alone, an index weight calculated by using fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process （AHP） method rather than the common AHP method, and the integrated overlay rule, which includes selecting the minimum value, weighted linear combination （WLC） and simple summation. The main advantage of this improved technique is that it can make UCLSE more comprehensive, more operational and more reasonable. It can provide a scientific basis for decision making in the planning and management of urban construction land use. The improved MCE-GIS system has been adopted in the New Hefei City, Anhui Province, China. Based on the results of UCLSE in New Hefei, three functional areas including construction-appropriate areas, construction-restricted areas and construction-forbidden areas could be worked out, in which 36.90% of the total study area could be developed as urban construction land and the remaining 63.10% should be protected as reserves land or as ecological land. Furthermore, the results can orovide scientific decision suooort for spatial planning and eco-environment nrotection in New Hefei.

Elaborating Spatiotemporal Associations Between the Built Environment and Urban Vibrancy:A Case of Guangzhou City,China

This study applies multi-source datasets(i.e.,Baidu Heat Map data,points of interest(POIs)data,and floor area and land use data)and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)models to elaborate the spatiotemporal relationships between the built environment and urban vibrancy on both weekdays and weekends,using Guangzhou City as a case.First,we verified the spatially and temporally nonstationary nature of the built environment correlates,which have been largely ignored in previous studies based on local regression techniques.The spatially and temporally heterogeneous effects of the built environment on urban vibrancy are then presented and visualized,based on the GTWR results.We found that the elasticity of location(i.e.,distance),land use mix(i.e.,diversity),building intensity and numbers of POIs with various functions(i.e.,density)are different across time(2-h intervals within a day)and space(grids),due to people’s everyday lifestyle,time-space constraints,and geographical context(e.g.,spatial structure).The findings highlight the importance of a better understanding of the local geography on the spatiotemporal relationships for urban planners and local governments so as to put forward decision-making support for fostering and maintaining urban vibrancy.

The Role and Heterogeneity of Visual Pollution on the Quality of Urban Landscape Using GIS;Case Study: Historical Garden in City of Maraqeh

The urban landscape heterogeneity has been influenced by the visual, unpleasant and unacceptable face of which there is no charm in it. The present study is formed according to visual pollution and its impact on the appearance and vitality of a city. Preliminary studies and theoretical studies led to the hypothesis with the following themes: 1) There is relationship between the pollution, heterogeneity and visual disturbances urban landscape and urban vitality;2) Improving the quality, aesthetics and identity of public spaces will increase urban vitality. Therefore, the design process within the theoretical principles, concepts, television and urban landscape, urban art, visual pollution aspects (color, light, and visual symbol) and the quality of urban vitality and explain causal relationships, analytical framework developed and more samples case (garden historic town of Maraqeh1) and the area under study were selected using GIS. After designing the questionnaire to evaluate the objectives, assumptions and questions of research and its analysis, the results indicate that the relationship between visual pollution and urban vitalitys, as well as proving hypotheses and vitality after the final analysis, model was introduced based on the components of comfort visual editing and proposed at three levels: micro, middle and macro for objectives, strategies and policies to regulate visual pollution and improve the aesthetic quality of the environment and the promotion of vitality.

Images of the Future from the Past： The Metabolists and the Utopian Planning of the 1960s

During the 1960s, many changes reshaped the economy, the society and the arts. The Cold War, the Space Race, the construction of a new middle class in most western societies led by the postwar economic prosperity with unprecedented urban growth followed by severe environmental problems fostered the design of spectacular urban utopian cities and mega-architectures. In those years, Japan was the source of highly influential bold and visionary urban and architectural ideas which relied on advanced technology. These ideas were conceived on the thought that cities could be seen as gigantic but impermanent entities able to transform itself according to an organic process of adaptation of its elementary components. This paper briefly revisits and critically discusses the legacy of the iconic mega-strnctural projects of Japanese Metabolist Movement and other visionary architects and planners of the 1960s, such as Paolo Soleri, Buckminster Fuller, Archigram. It attempts to enlighten the continuity with contemporary innovative and experimental urban models and ideas for the society and the city of the future, such as the Smart Cities, Eco-Cities, Green Urbanism, whose design is led by concerns related to climate change, the necessity of energy efficiency, the improvement of urban landscape and the valorization of depleted natural resources.

Riding towards a sustainable future:an evaluation of bike sharing’s environmental benefits in Xiamen Island,China

In the pursuit of sustainable urbanization,Bike-Sharing Services(BSS)emerge as a pivotal instrument for promoting green,low-carbon transit.While BSS is often commended for its environmental benefits,we offer a more nuanced analysis that elucidates previously neglected aspects.Through the Dominant Travel Distance Model(DTDM),we evaluate the potential of BSS to replace other transportation modes for specific journey based on travel distance.Utilizing multiscale geographically weighted regression(MGWR),we illuminate the relationship between BSS’s environmental benefits and built-environment attributes.The life cycle analysis(LCA)quantifies greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions from production to operation,providing a deeper understanding of BSS’s environmental benefits.Notably,our study focuses on Xiamen Island,a Chinese“Type Ⅱ large-sized city”(1–3 million population),contrasting with the predominantly studied“super large-sized cities”(over 10 million population).Our findings highlight:(1)A single BSS trip in Xiamen Island reduces GHG emissions by an average of 19.97 g CO_(2)-eq,accumulating monthly savings of 144.477 t CO_(2)-eq.(2)Areas in the southwest,northeast,and southeast of Xiamen Island,characterized by high population densities,register significant BSS environmental benefits.(3)At a global level,the stepwise regression model identifies five key built environment factors influencing BSS’s GHG mitigation.(4)Regionally,MGWR enhances model precision,indicating that these five factors function at diverse spatial scales,affecting BSS’s environmental benefits variably.

Effects of Seasonal and Temperature Variations on the Association between Nitrogen Dioxide Exposure and First-Aid Incidence for Neurological Diseases in Shenzhen,China

Neurological disorders,including headaches(tension-type headaches,medication-overuse headaches,and migraines)and dementias that include Alzheimer’s disease,are among the most prevalent and debilitating global conditions.In 2016,these disorders affected 276 million people worldwide and were the second leading cause of death that year[1].This highlights the urgent need for effective prevention,treatment,and support strategies.The etiology of neurological disorders is multifaceted and involves genetic,environmental,physiological,and social factors[2].

A Theoretical Framework and Methodology for Urban Activity Spatial Structure in E-society: Empirical Evidence for Nanjing City, China

The existing researches on the influence of information and communication technology （ICT） are mainly focused on human activity, whilst with few efforts on urban space. In the e-society, the widespread adoption of 1CT devices not only affects almost every aspect of people＇s daily life and thereby reshapes the spatial development of regions and cities, but also generates a large amount of real-time activity data with location information. These georeferenced data, however, have relatively recently attracted attention from geographers. Adapted from Lynch＇s framework based on people＇s perceptions, this paper proposes a framework of urban spatial struc- ture based on people＇s actual activity, including five elements, namely activity path, activity node, central activity zone （CAZ）, activity district, and activity edge. In the empirical study, by using one week＇s check-in tweets （from February 25 to March 3 in 2013） collected in Nanjing City, the five elements are recognized and analyzed. Through the comparison between our results and urban spatial structure based on population （and land use）, we argue that ICT uses： 1） lead to polarize, rather than to smooth, the urban structural hierarchy, due to the dual role of distance; 2） enable a partial decoupling of activity and activity space node, which challenges our conventional under- standing of the role of home and the utility of travel; 3） blur the boundaries of activity districts and hence may play a positive role in enriching districts＇ functions, which should not be overlooked in the current urban transformation in China.

Changing Connectivities of Chinese Cities in the World City Network,2010–2016

Against the backdrop of the sizable economic growth of China in recent years, this paper uses the most recent data gathering of the Globalization and World Cities(Ga WC) research network to update and supplement earlier research on the shifting global connectivity of Chinese cities. The update consists of an evaluation of the connectivity of Chinese cities in 2016, the supplement of an analysis of the changing position of Chinese cities in the world city network between 2010 and 2016. To this end, we build on a specification of the world city network as an ‘interlocking network' in which producer services firms play the crucial role in city network formation. Information about the presence of leading producer services firms in cities in 2010 and 2016 is used as the input to a bipartite network projection algorithm in order to measure cities' network connectivity. The first set of results discusses the geographies of urban connectivity in the world city network in 2016. The second set of results discusses standardized measures of change to reveal the major dimensions of the transformations between 2010 and 2016. We find that, with the exception of Hong Kong, Macao and Kaohsiung of Taiwan, all Chinese cities record connectivity gains. This wholesale rise in connectivity is nonetheless geographically uneven, with above all Beijing, Chengdu/Chongqing and Changsha/Wuhan becoming more connected. We conclude that the wholesale rise of Chinese cities in the world city network and their changing trajectories in the post-crisis era are embedded in shifting external and internal political economies.

Measuring Spatio-temporal Characteristics of City Expansion and Its Driving Forces in Shanghai from 1990 to 2015

Urbanization has both direct and indirect impacts on land use change, and analyzing spatio-temporal characteristics of land use change is essential for understanding these impacts. By comparing Landsat TM images, this paper examines the changes of land use structure and landscape patterns in Shanghai from 1990 to 2015. It finds that the city doubled in size, with the growth of isolated construction land being most significant among eight land use types. A land use change matrix was established and landscape indices were selected to evaluate the change of spatial structure in Shanghai. In order to identify the main driving forces of city expansion in Shanghai, this research ran partial least square regression models to assess the impact of 10 social-economic factors on land use change of Shanghai from 1990 to 2015. It then conducted bivariate correlation analysis to explore the drivers of change of various land use types: urban settlement, rural settlement and isolated construction land. Besides quantitative analysis, this paper analyzes the influence of policy-dimensional factors in land use change. It concludes with future potential research topics on land use change in a rapidly urbanizing context.

Changes of Residential Land Density and Spatial Pattern from 1989 to 2004 in Jinan City,China

Urban sprawl is driven by a myriad of factors, the predominant one of which is the development of residential land. Selecting part of Jinan City for a case study, we use the landscape metric of percent of landscape (PLAND) to capture residential land growth and density changes in 1989, 1996 and 2004 to illuminate the dynamic process of residential land development. The results indicate that the moving window method and the landscape metrics method are efficient ways to describe residential land density. The residential land showed the greatest change among the built-up land with 1995.68 ha from 1989 to 2004, which is mainly transformed from agriculture land and green space. The urban center area of study area is primarily covered with medium density residential land, and surrounded by high density residential land. The development pattern of residential land exhibited both fill-in (new growth occurs through infilling the free spaces within the developed area) and sprawl processes, influenced by a series of factors, such as urban development policy, conservation of springs, recreational and aesthetic amenities. The findings of the study will help to guide urban planning with a focus on the management and protection of the environment and resources.

Prediction of flyrock distance induced by mine blasting using a novel Harris Hawks optimization-based multi-layer perceptron neural network

In mining or construction projects,for exploitation of hard rock with high strength properties,blasting is frequently applied to breaking or moving them using high explosive energy.However,use of explosives may lead to the flyrock phenomenon.Flyrock can damage structures or nearby equipment in the surrounding areas and inflict harm to humans,especially workers in the working sites.Thus,prediction of flyrock is of high importance.In this investigation,examination and estimation/forecast of flyrock distance induced by blasting through the application of five artificial intelligent algorithms were carried out.One hundred and fifty-two blasting events in three open-pit granite mines in Johor,Malaysia,were monitored to collect field data.The collected data include blasting parameters and rock mass properties.Site-specific weathering index(WI),geological strength index(GSI) and rock quality designation(RQD)are rock mass properties.Multi-layer perceptron(MLP),random forest(RF),support vector machine(SVM),and hybrid models including Harris Hawks optimization-based MLP(known as HHO-MLP) and whale optimization algorithm-based MLP(known as WOA-MLP) were developed.The performance of various models was assessed through various performance indices,including a10-index,coefficient of determination(R^(2)),root mean squared error(RMSE),mean absolute percentage error(MAPE),variance accounted for(VAF),and root squared error(RSE).The a10-index values for MLP,RF,SVM,HHO-MLP and WOA-MLP are 0.953,0.933,0.937,0.991 and 0.972,respectively.R^(2) of HHO-MLP is 0.998,which achieved the best performance among all five machine learning(ML) models.

Spatio-temporal Characteristics of Residential Land Growth in Hefei of Anhui Province, China

We used the maps of urban land-use in 1978, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2004, and softwares such as ArcGIS, Fragstats to analyze the spatio-temporal process of urban residential space quantitatively. Some methods, such as di- rection analysis and landscape pattern analysis, were employed. The results show that: 1) the residential land grew very rapidly in Hefei from 1978 to 2004, and the increased land was distributed mainly in the central city zone surrounded by a moat; however, after 1994, it was distributed mainly outside the 1th Ring Road; 2) the expansion speeds were very different in different directions: there exists a fastest expansion of residential land in the directions of NE-NNE, SW and SSE, and a slowest one in the directions of E and SEE; 3) the residential land growth went through four stages: slow circular expansion in 1978-1991, 'axes + fan wings' expansion in 1991-1994, more rapid circular expansion in 1994-2000 and 'fan-wings' expansion in 2000-2004; 4) the expansion intensity was also different in all directions in the period of 1978 to 1994, and the most was in SW and then NW; and 5) there were more and more residential land area, and the spatial agglomeration was improved increasingly.

An evolutionary adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system for estimating field penetration index of tunnel boring machine in rock mass

Field penetration index(FPI) is one of the representative key parameters to examine the tunnel boring machine(TBM) performance.Lack of accurate FPI prediction can be responsible for numerous disastrous incidents associated with rock mechanics and engineering.This study aims to predict TBM performance(i.e.FPI) by an efficient and improved adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system(ANFIS) model.This was done using an evolutionary algorithm,i.e.artificial bee colony(ABC) algorithm mixed with the ANFIS model.The role of ABC algorithm in this system is to find the optimum membership functions(MFs) of ANFIS model to achieve a higher degree of accuracy.The procedure and modeling were conducted on a tunnelling database comprising of more than 150 data samples where brittleness index(BI),fracture spacing,α angle between the plane of weakness and the TBM driven direction,and field single cutter load were assigned as model inputs to approximate FPI values.According to the results obtained by performance indices,the proposed ANFISABC model was able to receive the highest accuracy level in predicting FPI values compared with ANFIS model.In terms of coefficient of determination(R^(2)),the values of 0.951 and 0.901 were obtained for training and testing stages of the proposed ANFISABC model,respectively,which confirm its power and capability in solving TBM performance problem.The proposed model can be used in the other areas of rock mechanics and underground space technologies with similar conditions.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Soft Computing Techniques in Materials Science and Engineering

Soft computing(SC)refers to the ability of a digital computer or robot to perform functions that are normally associated with intelligent individuals,such as reasoning and problem-solving.An example of this would be a project aimed at creating systems capable of reasoning,discovering meaning,generalising,or learning from past experience.Science and engineering problems that are both non-linear and complex can be solved using these methodologies.It has been proven that these algorithms can be used to solve numerous real-world problems.The techniques outlined can be used to increase the accuracy of existing models/equations,or they can be used to propose a newmodel that can address the problem.

A mega-event approach to glurbanization: Insights from Expo 2010, Shanghai

This paper contributes to an in-depth understanding of how the mega- event contributes glurbanization of entrepreneurial city through a case study of Expo 2010 in Shanghai. It argues that spatial-related transformation is central to mega-event approach to glurbanization yet the soft power building is uncertain. It implies that the domestic impacts of mega- events are likely to be more profound than their global influences. This corresponds to the capitalist transformation from Fordist-Keynesianism to neoliberalism, in which mega-events such as Olympic Games and World Exposition have increasingly been incorporated into urban development plan to boost urban agenda. Although the profile of world fairs is reduced and does not have the international impacts that they used to have, Shanghai Expo 2010, the first Expo ever held in a developing country, is pinned hope on as the “Turn to Save the World Expo” and is unusually ambitious to bring opportunities in urban transformation. With a well-developed framework of glurbanization entailed by entrepreneurial city, this research enriches glurbanization theory by a thorough examination of Shanghai Expo. It finds that Expo-led landscape reconfiguration, spatial restructuring, and new sources provision effectively transformed Shanghai, propelling glurbanization in diminutive spatial scale. Yet, it remains powerless to impress the world as the voice of domestic propaganda is limited in the Western mainstream media. In all, the Expo case well exemplifies the power of mega-event approach to advancing local agenda, especially in spatial transformation per se, as well as its constraints in (re)shaping a global discourse.

The Impact of Climate on Ecological Design of Semnan City in Iran

Ecological design is defined as any form expression that minimizes environmentally destructive impacts by integrating itself with living processes. Ecological design is an integrative ecologically responsible design discipline. Layout of climate is one of the basics for the ecological design of Semnan. In this regards, the ecological design and the architecture of the city of Semnan are the means through which the city reinvents its identity and its structure and renews its face. Creating of healthy and restful occupant environments for human becomes one of the main infrastructure challenges upon modern ecological design and architecture which provides human health. Undoubtedly, there are also reasons for being optimistic upon the level of physical and mental wellbeing of individuals, reducing the incidence of diseases, and/or might reduce their total fuel consumption with adverse health effects, and environmental pollution. In the climate-related topics, the architecture of the building is considered with the climatic conditions of each region, which will result in more human comfort and energy saving in order to control the environmental conditions. The purpose of this research is to identify and review the architectural style and ecological design of the city in accordance with the climate and the climate guidelines that can be used in the areas of stability, comfort, beauty, health, energy efficiency, and the use of important climatic parameters (temperature, relative humidity, ...) extracted from the data bank of the Semnan Synoptic Station (1965-2005) and the Terjung Environmental Indexes. The thermal comfort conditions of the private and public bodies of Mahani and Givoni were reviewed and analyzed for the establishment of the buildings and seasons of the year. The results show that the weather is very cool at night in the months of March and October which are acceptable on the day in comfort area, and June, July and August are acceptable at the level of comfort in the city in the months of November to March in the day and October to March and in the months of April and May. Also, in the area of energy consumption, buildings should be placed in the east-west axis;long openings in the north and south of the building should be reduced to the sun.

Pedestrian street and its effect on economic sustainability of a historical Middle Eastern city:The case of Chaharbagh Abbasi in Isfahan,Iran

Pedestrianization is an urban revitalization strategy to enhance sustainability and livability in car-oriented cities.Despite many studies in this research field,the effects of pedestrianization on the economy of cities in developing countries still need further investigation.Additionally,the impact of this strategy on the tenant mix of com-mercial and historical areas in Middle East countries is nebulous.To address these inadequacies,we considered Chaharbagh Abbasi street,located in the heart of Isfahan,Iran,and investigated the impact of a pedestrianization project with particular emphasis on how it affects the economic sustainability of existent commercial fabric.Pre-and post-project data along with field observations and quantifications used to assess structural replacements in trade,were analyzed with SPSS and ArcGIS software.The results revealed unexpected outcomes,such as the closure of some traditional businesses(27.5%),a stagnation in sales(69%)and a decrease in job offers(84%)leading the local economy to a fragile situation.Conversely,it was found that the footfall volume increased by 64% and 73% from the retailers’and pedestrians’viewpoints.This evolution along with a wide opening of food and beverage stores(approximately 60%)makes the post-pedestrianization results more promising than earlier predictions.In conclusion,these findings reinforce the importance of pedestrian streets in revitalizing economic activities in historical and commercial areas from the perspective of economic sustainability.Due to the lack of similar investigations in Middle East countries,these findings can support decision-makers and urban planners to take preventive measures in preserving the diversity of individual small shops for upcoming urban rehabilitation projects in terms of pedestrianization.