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.

Systematization of features and requirements for geological survey of railroad subgrades functioning in cold regions

The operation of a railway track in cold regions results in the premature deformation of subgrade soils caused by significant temperature fluctuations and ecological imbalance.Identification and calculation of the thawing degree of permafrost soils,frost heaving of clays,and groundwater flooding require careful engineering and geological surveying.The paper describes the unique,long-standing experience of the university scientists connected with maintaining the Russian EastSiberian and Trans-Baikal Railways'facilities.Specific features of and requirements for the surveying,depending on the geological and climatic conditions,are identified.

Humble Opinions on the Relationship between the Percentage of Urban Residents in an Urban Region and the Economic Status in This Region in China

It is a fact that in U.S. the immigration between rural areas and city areas is free, but in China this type of immigration is restricted by HUKOU system (Hukou, namely the household registration system, was designed to control rural-urban in China). All of those national policies in city areas are much better than those in rural areas, so those corresponding differences bring about great discrepancy of the economic status (mainly including GDP per person and income per resident) between rural and city areas in the same urban region, especially in different urban re- gions because the percentage of urban residents in those urban regions is in-equable. The present paper mainly researches the topic of relationship between the percentage of urban residents and the economic status in an urban region in China, including the relationship between the economic and the political functions of a settlement in China during the process of urbanization.

Dangerous deformations of subgrade and methods of their calculation

The main reasons for a breach of trouble-free operation of the subgrade are the different kinds of deformation, such as Wain load impact on subgrade surface, loss of stability to subgrade slope, weight of embankment on the base, and partial or complete failure of the railway track due to frost heaving. This paper gives a summary of deformation analysis methods being developed in Russia to estimate the operaling con- ditions of the railway subgrade.

A Comparative Analysis for Land Utilization: Steel and R/C Interlaced Structures

In architecture,interlace structural concept is considered as a new design approach for cosmopolitan cities with high density to minimize the land use and increase the interaction.With various architectural approach,land resources can be minimized by this interlace concept for residential complexes.Such buildings will eliminate the reduction of land resource problem and on the other side safety measures in structural design is incorporated by interlace concept of buildings.This new concept can be constructed steel or reinforced concrete.In this paper,an analytical approach has been presented for these buildings in architecture and structural design.In the research,design considerations were taken for interlaced structures with reinforced concrete and steel.Components of steel structure,isolated footing,and columns.This paper is presenting a step wise process for interlaced structures.They are identification of project area,layout and model preparation,analysis and design of concrete interlaced structure,analysis and design of steel interlaced structure,drafting of the plans and costing and estimation of the structures.Comparison of both reinforced concrete and steel structures were carried out.The main aim of the paper is to provide a comparison between steel and concrete interlaced structure.A cost estimation was carried out to determine optimum design and construction for interlaced structures.

ADOPTION OF GREEN BUILDING GUIDELINES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES BASED ON U.S.AND INDIA EXPERIENCES

In the wake of sustainable construction entering the mainstream,many developing countries are either currently pursuing green building guidelines or are planning to pursue them in the near future.This research attempts to formulate an implementation strategy for the rapid adoption of these guidelines for the developing nations.This implementation strategy is based on the detailed review of the major green building guidelines globally and contex-tual information of Indian society collected through a survey questionnaire.The proposed strategy shows that it is important for green building initiatives to identify:the organizations that accelerate the adoption of green building guidelines in a society,the incentives and barriers associated with the green building guidelines,and the necessary motivations for the adopter organizations.An informed approach in the form of this implementation strategy might potentially contribute to the acceleration of green building guidelines’adoption in developing countries.

PUBLIC POLICY AND IMPACTS ON ADOPTION OF SUSTAINABLE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS: LEARNING FROM THE CONSTUCTION INDUSTRY PLAYMAKERS

Sustainable practices in the built environment are becoming a more common phenomona as market penetration of green buildings grow. Despite the reported benefits of green buildings, barriers to sustainability still exist. To motivate wider adoption of sustainable built environments, this research studies public policy and its impacts. The study aims to understand the links between public policy, construction playmakers’ (e.g., organizations’, institutions’, business owners’, and developers’) motivation to build green, and growth of sustainable built environments in the United States. As a step forward in this direction, this paper focuses on the case of Michigan and explores construction playmakers’ motivations to build and/or occupy sustainable buildings and how effective current public policy in Michigan is at addressing these motivations.There is little research on the links among legislation, construction playmakers’ motivation to build green, and the growth of sustainable built environment in the United States. This article’s findings show that: 1) green building costs are still the most frequently-reported barrier to green building, 2) property developers are significantly less likely to utilize green building practices than other construction playmakers, 3) single-family residential buildings were the least likely building type to receive green certifications, and 4) construction playmakers report low levels of green policy awareness and use despite the presence of relevant public policies. These findings will provide direction for policy makers and advocates in creating policy that will effectively promote green building construction.

Accounting for the solar radiation in thermal regime prediction for railway subgrade in cold regions

This paper presents a comparative analysis of simulation processes of seasonal freezing-thawing of railway subgrade and permafrost degradation, with and without accounting for solar radiation. Also, the effect of sun screens to reduce the degradation of subgrade permafrost under different climatic conditions is numerically substantiated. And finally, the temperature criterion of the origination of permafrost is illustrated.

Analysis on using UPREITs in real estate finance in United States

This paper gave an overview introduction about umbrella partnership real estate investment trust (UPREIT) to the readers who are not related to real estate and accounting major. To show how UPREIT defer capital gain taxes,makes good cash flow and maximize profit in real estate finance,the paper included the theory and structure of UPREIT(real estate investment trust),partnership issues,advantage and disadvantage,and created a proforma to demonstrate how UPREIT works.

Understanding innovation diffusion and adoption strategies in megaproject networks through a fuzzy system dynamic model

Innovation and knowledge diffusion in megaprojects is one of the most complicated issues in project management.Compared with conventional projects,megaprojects typically entail large-scale investments,long construction periods,and conflicting stakeholder interests,which result in a distinctive pattern of innovation diffusion.However,traditional investigation of innovation diffusion relies on subjective feedback from experts and frequently neglects inter-organizational knowledge creation,which frequently emerges in megaprojects.Therefore,this study adopted project network theory and modeled innovation diffusion in megaprojects as intra-and interorganizational learning processes.In addition,system dynamics and flizzy systems were combined to interpret experts9 subject options as quantitative coefficients of the project network model.This integrated model will assist in developing an insightful understanding of the mechanisms of innovation diffusion in megaprojects.Three typical network structures,namely,a traditional megaproject procurement organization(TMO),the environ megaproject organization(EMO),and an integrated megaproject organization(IMO),were examined under six management scenarios to verify the proposed analytic paradigm.Assessment of project network productivity suggested that the projectivity of the TMO was insensitive to technical and administrative innovations,the EMO could achieve substantial improvement from technical innovations,and the 1MO trended incompatibly with administrative innovations.Thus,industry practitioners and project managers can design and reform agile project coordination by using the proposed quantitative model to encourage innovation adoption and reduce productivity loss at the start of newly established collaborations.

RISK FRAMEWORK FOR ENERGY PERFORMANCE CONTRACTING BUILDING RETROFITS

Energy performance contracting(EPC)has emerged as a useful project financ-ing and delivery tool for building retrofits,particularly among building owner-ships which have experienced reduced funding for capital projects.Through EPC,a contractor(called the EPC contractor or the energy service company)guaran-tees minimum energy savings performance and enables the building owner to finance the project using utility savings over the length of the project(which is typically 12-15 years,or longer).Despite its growing use,there is a dearth of lit-erature regarding a contractor’s risks related to the delivery and execution of EPC building retrofits.This is particularly important as the performance guarantee effec-tively transfers project performance risk from the owner to the EPC contractor.This research proposes a project factors-based risk framework for EPC building retrofits,initially developed through a comprehensive review of relevant literature and project documents and refined through the elicited expertise of 19 highly expe-rienced EPC contracting professionals.A Delphi technique-based expertise elici-tation strategy was used to confirm the findings of the a priori(literature-based)framework and provide additional analysis related to risk causes and control mea-sures as well as relative risk importance.This information was used to construct a refined risk framework which provides insight into the lengthy project performance period during the earliest phases of the project’s life cycle.This has the advantage of providing rapid screening of the project factors that can potentially lead to the greatest project performance risks.

RESALE OF GREEN HOUSING COMPENSATES FOR ITS PREMIUM PRICING:AN EMPIRICAL STUDY OF CHINA

Green housing reduces resource consumption and protects the ecological environment.Sustainable buildings and construction have gained increasing attention in the last decade.Many empirical studies have confirmed that green housing imposes a price premium at the presale stage.The high price could be a concern that prevents homebuyers from purchasing green buildings.However,there is a lack of empirical evidence on whether the premium pricing could be compensated for by the resale price.To address this gap,this study establishes a hedonic regression model to estimate the price premium of green housing at the resale stage.The results show that green housing certified with the Chinese Green Building Label(CGBL)offers a 6%price premium compared with non-green housing at the resale stage.The results also show that green housing with a higher level of green certification,e.g.,the 3-star CGBL,provides a greater price premium at resale.The findings indicate that homebuyers can obtain financial compensation for the high cost when purchasing a green home.Our findings also indicate that the price premium for reselling a green home is not always enough to compensate for the purchase cost in different cities.Policy recommendations for government promotion of green housing are also discussed.

Urbanization,economic development,and environmental changes in transitional economies in the global south:a case of Yangon

Background:Transitional economies in Southeast Asia—a distinct group of developing countries—have experienced rapid urbanization in the past several decades due to the economic transition that fundamentally changed the function of their economies,societies and the environment.Myanmar,one of the least developed transitional economies in Southeast Asia,increased urbanization substantially from 25%in 1990 to 31%in 2019.However,major knowledge gaps exist in understanding the changes in urban land use and land cover and environment and their drivers in its cities.Methods:We studied Yangon,the largest city in Myanmar,for the urbanization,environmental changes,and the underlying driving forces in a radically transitioned economy in the developing world.Based on satellite imagery and historic land use maps,we quantified the expansion of urban built-up land and constructed the land conversion matrix from 1990 through 2020.We also used three air pollutants to illustrate the changes in environmental conditions.We analyzed the coupled dynamics among urbanization,economic development,and environmental changes.Through conducting a workshop with 20 local experts,we further analyzed the influence of human systems and natural systems on Yangon’s urbanization and sustainability.Results:The city of Yangon expanded urban built-up land rapidly from 1990 to 2000,slowed down from 2000 to 2010,but gained momentum again from 2010 to 2020,with most newly added urban built-up land appearing to be converted from farmland and green land in both 1990–2000 and 2010–2020.Furthermore,the air pollutant concen-tration of CO decreased,but that of NO_(2)and PM_(2.5)increased in recent years.A positive correlation exists between population and economic development and the concentration of PM_(2.5)is highly associated with population,the economy,and the number of vehicles.Finally,the expert panel also identified other potential drivers for urbanization,including the extreme climate event of Cyclone Nargis,capital relocation,and globalization.Conclusions:Our research highlights the dramatic expansion of urban land and degradation of urban environment measured by air pollutants and interdependent changes between urbanization,economic development,and environmental changes.

Metro train-induced vibrations on historic buildings in Chengdu,China

In this paper, the vibration influence on a monument caused by Chengdu Subway Line 2 is analyzed. Due to its elaborate and unique design, both structural and architectural damages should be avoided. First, the allowable root mean square （RMS） velocity at the foundation of the monument is derived and a site measurement is performed to obtain the background vibrations induced by road traffic. In addition, a train-track coupled model and 3D tunnel-soil-structure coupled finite element models are built to predict the dynamic response of the monument. Prediction models are checked by site measurement in Beijing Subway Line 5. Different kinds of fasteners and train speeds are compared and discussed as well. Results show that： （1） At a train speed of 72 km/h, all the traffic vibrations exceed the low limit no matter what kind of fastener is used, which is mainly due to the contribution of road traffic. Slowing down train speeds can cause effective vibration attenuation; （2） Vibrations drop dramatically with the train speed from 65 to 58 km/h. When the train speed is lower than 58 krn/h, vibrations are lower than allowable value even if the contribution of road traffic is considered.

Analysis on Public Transportation Influences on Real Estate Development in East Lansing

The purpose for this article is to research the relationship between public transportation and real estate based on the area of East Lansing.Two methods are mainly used to analyze the data:correlation analysis and means analysis with the help of Statistical Package for the Social Sciences(SPSS) data analyzing software.There are two analysis results:(1) the real estate,which is closer to public transportation,will have higher value than that is far from public transportation,and(2) the number of bus in one bus stop has no obvious relation with the value of real estate.Based on these results,real estate developers could build residential real estate close to public transportation or bring public transportation in their real estate community by contract with transportation corporations.In sum,they should reasonably use public transportation as attractive features to convince people to prefer to their houses.

Do green spaces affect the spatiotemporal changes of PM_(2.5) in Nanjing?

Introduction:Among the most dangerous pollutants is PM_(2.5),which can directly pass through human lungs and move into the blood system.The use of nature-based solutions,such as increased vegetation cover in an urban landscape,is one of the possible solutions for reducing PM_(2.5) concentration.Our study objective was to understand the importance of green spaces in pollution reduction.Methods:Daily PM_(2.5) concentrations were manually collected at nine monitoring stations in Nanjing over a 534-day period from the air quality report of the China National Environmental Monitoring Center(CNEMC)to quantify the spatiotemporal change of PM_(2.5) concentration and its empirical relationship with vegetation and landscape structure in Nanjing.Results:The daily average,minimum,and maximum PM_(2.5) concentrations from the nine stations were 74.0,14.2,and 332.0μg m^(−3),respectively.Out of the 534 days,the days recorded as“excellent”and“good”conditions were found mostly in the spring(30.7%),autumn(25.6%),and summer(24.5%),with only 19.2% of the days in the winter.High PM_(2.5) concentrations exceeding the safe standards of the CNEMC were recorded predominately during the winter(39.3-100.0%).Our hypothesis that green vegetation had the potential to reduce PM_(2.5) concentration was accepted at specific seasons and scales.The PM_(2.5) concentration appeared very highly correlated(R2>0.85)with green cover in spring at 1-2 km scales,highly correlated(R2>0.6)in autumn and winter at 4 km scale,and moderately correlated in summer(R2>0.4)at 2-,5-,and 6-km scales.However,a non-significant correlation between green cover and PM_(2.5) concentration was found when its level was>75μg m^(−3).Across the Nanjing urban landscape,the east and southwest parts had high pollution levels.Conclusions:Although the empirical models seemed significant for spring only,one should not devalue the importance of green vegetation in other seasons because the regulations are often complicated by vegetation,meteorological conditions,and human activities.