Urban Studies and Planning Commons^™

Decision Science For Community Development And Social Change, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Ambient Air Concentrations Exceeded Health Based Standards For Fine Particulate Matter And Benzene During The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, Earthea Nance, Denae King, Beverly Wright, Robert D. Bullard

Earthea Nance, PhD (Stanford University, 2004)

Deadly Waiting Game: An Environmental Justice Framework For Examining Natural And Man-Made Disasters Beyond Hurricane Katrina [Abstract], Robert D. Bullard

Robert D Bullard

Presenter: Robert D. Bullard, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology, Clark Atlanta University 1 page.

The General Public’S Weather Information-Seeking And Decision-Making Behavior During Tornado Outbreaks In The Oklahoma City Metroplex In May 2013, Chen Ling, Michelle Madison, Jessica Adams, Kevin Warren, Michael Mudd, Kim Graves Wolfinbarger, Lans Rothfusz

Dr. Chen Ling

Severe weather impacts the lives of many people. Today's technology allows weather information to be distributed to the general public in many ways. However, it is not clear how people obtain information regarding severe weather, and how they make decisions based on the information. This study surveyed people in the Oklahoma City metroplex about their weather information–seeking and decision-making behaviors during the May 2013 tornado outbreaks. The preliminary results based on 124 survey responses show that people used and trusted television news most to obtain the severe weather information, followed by siren, weather radio, radio, looking at the sky, and …

Public Participation In Planning In Nsw: Resilient Evolution Or Relapse?, Lynne Armitage, John Sheehan

Lynne Armitage

The Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 and the Land and Environment Court Act 1979, comprise a legislative duo providing statutory control over the use of public and private property in the most populous state of Australia, New South Wales (NSW). Statutory planning in NSW arguably commenced in 1951 with the Cumberland Planning Scheme Ordinance which was in turn based upon pre-war English town and country planning, and is generally regarded as the foundation for much Australian planning. Since 1979 the NSW planning regime has matured into a complex exclusory zoning system, which has been further developed through case law …

Training Opportunities Available To Ohio Lake Erie Basin Local Decision-Makers Regarding The Economic And Fiscal Benefits Of Coastal And Watershed Stewardship, Wendy A. Kellogg, Erica Matheny

Erica Matheny

This paper presents new knowledge about the current status of training on the economic value of stewardship practices in the Ohio Lake Erie basin. Local decision-makers shape coastal and watershed conditions but often do not appreciate the economic, fiscal, and ecological benefits that could be gained from sound stewardship practices. This study investigated the information and training about economic benefits available in the Ohio Lake Erie basin. Training providers and technical assistance professionals helped identify key training needs and challenges to decision-maker awareness of benefits. We found relatively few organizations offering training that incorporate economic or fiscal benefits into their …

Linkages Between Water Challenges And Land Use Planning In Megacities, Enjie Li, Joanna Endter-Wada, Shujuan Li

Joanna Endter-Wada

No abstract provided.

Linkages Between Water Challenges And Land Use Planning In Megacities, Enjie Li, Joanna Endter-Wada, Shujuan Li

Enjie Li

No abstract provided.

A Framework For Understanding Property Regulation And Land Use Control From A Dynamic Perspective, Donald J. Kochan

Donald J. Kochan

Data, Analytics And Community-Based Organizations: Transforming Data To Decisions For Community Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

The past ten years have seen a revolution in two disciplines related to operations and strategy design. “Big Data” has transformed the theory and practice of producing and selling goods and services through methods associated with computer science and information technology. “Analytics” has popularized primarily quantitative models and methods by which organizations and systems can measure multiple aspects of performance. As these fields rely on information technology to collect, store, process and share data, we refer to the collection of knowledge and applications associated with Big Data and analytics as “data analytics and information technology.” The impacts of data analytics …

Transportation Safety And Access: A Case Study Of The St. Claude Bridge In New Orleans, Earthea Nance

Earthea Nance, PhD (Stanford University, 2004)

The community-university collaborative model, first developed in early-1990s public health research, expands opportunities for new research partnerships and joint problem-solving. This model is ideally suited to land-grant colleges and urban research universities whose mission involves community engagement. At the University of New Orleans, this model is employed in “practicum” graduate courses offered in the Department of Planning and Urban Studies. One such practicum partnered with the Lower 9th Ward community in spring 2012 to address serious safety problems with the St. Claude Bridge. The bridge, which linked the lower and upper halves of the community and served as an essential …

Green Cities, The Search For Sustainability, And Urban Environmental History, Christopher Wells

Christopher W. Wells

No abstract provided.

Understanding Secrets Of Sustainability Through Triz Philosophy, Umakant Mishra

Umakant Mishra

After creating the weapons that can destroy the world, the next challenge of man is not to win an enemy but to survive the disasters. The modern man realizes that the worst challenges to face are the manmade disasters. While the nature has given us a well-disposed atmosphere to grow we are spoiling the natural resources through various anti-environmental activities. Our partial knowledge on development has taken us through a so-called development, which is neither eco-friendly nor sustainable. It is therefore important to control our own activities and behavior to minimize their negative effects on other adjacent systems and environment. …

Cities, Disaster Risk And Adaptation, Christine Wamsler

Christine Wamsler

Worldwide, disasters and climate change pose a serious risk to sustainable urban development, resulting in escalating human and economic costs. Consequently, city authorities and other urban actors face the challenge of integrating risk reduction and adaptation strategies into their work, although related knowledge and expertise are still scarce.

Cities, Disaster Risk and Adaptation explores ways in which resilient cities can be ‘built’ and sustainable urban transformations achieved. The book provides a comprehensive understanding of urban risk reduction and adaptation planning, exploring key theoretical concepts and analyzing the complex interrelation between cities, disasters and climate change. It further provides an overview …

Landfills – Territorial Issues Of Cities From North-East Region, Romania, Florin C. Mihai, Pavel Ichim

Florin C MIHAI

Landfilling prevails in waste management options in Romania like others new EU members, being contrary to the concept of waste hierarchy promoted in recent years by EC. Waste disposal is done usually in non-compliant landfills and Government established a program to close these sites. This paper aims to analyse the transition from traditional waste management systems to an integrated system at national, regional and local scale. Assessment of landfills location based on buffer analysis (using GIS techniques) is made according to the proximity of five critical factors (CF) such as: residential area, industry & commercial units, agricultural lands, rivers & …

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Jonathan G. Cooper

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Based on review of climate projections for the …

Research Report: Water User Dimensions Of Meter Implementation On Secondary Pressurized Irrigation Systems, Joanna Endter-Wada, Diana Glenn, Clayton Lewis, Roger Kjelgren, Christopher Neale

Joanna Endter-Wada

Weber Basin Water Conservancy District (District) secured Bureau of Reclamation funding in spring 2011 to install individual secondary water meters at residential connections in order to implement water efficiency and accountability measures included in the District’s Water Conservation Plan (Weber Basin Water Conservancy District, 2010). Initially, the District will not use the meters for billing water use but, instead, will use them to help the District determine if end users are exceeding their contracted allotment of water and to promote water use accountability.The purpose of the study titled “Water User Dimensions of Meter Implementation on Secondary Pressurized Irrigation Systems” conducted …

Climate Change Adaptation Chapter: Marshfield, Massachusetts, Joshua H. Chase, Jonathan G. Cooper, Rory Elizabeth Fitzgerald, Filipe Antunes Lima, Sally R. Miller, Toni Marie Pignatelli

Sally Miller

Climate change, understood as a statistically significant variation in the mean state of the climate or its variability, is the greatest environmental challenge of this generation (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001). Marshfield is already being affected by changes in the climate that will have a profound effect on the town’s economy, public health, coastal resources, natural features, water systems, and public and private infrastructure. Adaptation strategies have been widely recognized as playing an important role in improving a community’s ability to respond to climate stressors by resisting damage and recovering quickly. Based on review of climate projections for the …

An Assessment Of The Effects Of Desertification In Yobe State, Nigeria, Jibril Musa Phd

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Desertification is one of the most serious environmental and socio-economic problems of our time. Desertification describes circumstances of land degradation in arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions resulting from the climatic variation and human activities. The fundamental goal of this thesis was to assess the effects of desertification in Yobe State, Nigeria. The present threat of desertification in the sahel has reached an alarming stage where crops cultivation and animal rearing/grazing are no more productive, soil has lost its nutrient/fertility, various infrastructure had given way because of windstorm from the neighbouring Niger Republic and sand dunes had taken over. The …

Using Remote Sensing Data To Improve Rice Production In Kutigi, Niger State, Nigeria, Jibril Musa Phd, M B. Yunusa

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This research work looked in the used of Remote Sensing to improve Agricultural production in Kutigi, Niger State. The aim of the study is to use remote sensing to improve rice farming activities in Kutigi, Niger State. It is very important to identify such methods to improve Agricultural production because experts are always interested in new researches and findings to better the standard of living in any environment. In view of this, Remotely-sensed data could be used or employed to elevate most of these agricultural problems in Kutigi through the following objectives: Using Landsat imagery to assess the present landuse …

An Estate Dilemma - Inaccessible Assets Hiding Behind Passwords And Encryption, Douglas J. Henderson

DOUGLAS J HENDERSON

Every person living in the modern world holds valuable assets, data, or information in digital mediums. Digital mediums include not only digital hardware storage mediums in personal possession (like external hard drives and internal hard drives within laptop and desktop computers, personal digital assistants, cell phones, and the like), but also those only accessible through a network. Because so much is held in digital mediums, when an individual dies or becomes incapacitated, another person must know how to access the incapacitated person’s digital assets and other important information (this person is known herein as the ‘Responsible Party’). There are potential …

Variations In Climatic Parameters And Food Crop Yields: Implications On Food Security In Benue State, Nigeria., Emmanuel Adamgbe, Fanan Ujoh

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Agricultural production in Nigeria like in other developing countries is highly vulnerable to variations in climatic parameters which may have inverse or direct effect on the performance of food crops. This paper examines the patterns and trends of the variations in the climatic parameters and the implications of such variations on efficient yield rates of some food crops in Benue State using data on climatic variables (rainfall, temperature, sunshine) and the yield of some crops per hectare for 25 years (1986-2010). Data on the climatic variables were collected from the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, AirForce Base, Makurdi while the data on …

Dynamics Of Land Use/Land Cover Changes And Its Implication On Food Security In Anyigba, North Central, Nigeria, Tokula E. Arome, Sunday P. Ejaro (Phd)

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This study assessed land use/land cover changes and its effect on Agricultural land in Anyigba. The objectives were to identify and delineate different land use / land cover categories, assess the rate of change that occurred and examine the impact of land use/land cover change on food security using satellite remote sensing data collected at three different years (1987 Land sat TM, 2001 Land Sat TM and 2011 Land Sat ETM). The study utilized GIS software such as Idrisi Andes academic and ArcGIS 9.3. The study area covers approximately 31.8km2, and four major land use/cover classes were utilized (built up, …

Socio-Economic Effects Of Demolishing Squatter Settlements And Illegal Structures In Abuja Metropolis, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Ishaku Iy Mallo Phd, Victor G. Obasanya

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Abuja the Federal Capital Territory and study area is located between latitudes 8o25’ and 9o25’ North of the Equator and longitudes 6o45’ and 7o45’ East of the Greenwich Meridian. The study was carried out in Abuja Phase 1, and it is aimed at highlighting various socioeconomic effects of demolition of illegal structures and informal or squatter settlements on the people within the study area. Data was collected through reconnaissance survey, personal interviews with respondents, and a well laid out questionnaire. The results indicate that the demolition exercise embarked upon by the authorities in the Federal Capital Territory was a response …

Rainfall Variability And Crop Zones Classification For The Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, Shaibu M. Hassan Phd

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This study aims at analyzing agro-climatological parameters and establishing a link between some selected agro-climatological indices and sustainability of agricultural production in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Two sets of data, climatic and crop yield data were collected and subjected to various agro-climatological analyses. Agro-climatological analyses include the derivation of Onset, Cessation and Length of Rainy Season (LRS), Seasonality Index, Drought Index and Precipitation Periodicity Index. The statistical analyses include monthly and annual means, deviation from the mean, trend line. The result of moisture index in line with crops optimum moisture requirement was used to classify the Territory into agro-climatic …

Visual Preferences For Wind Turbines: Location, Numbers And Respondent Characteristics, Kristina Molnarova, Petr Sklenicka, Jiri Stiborek, Kamila Svobodova, Miroslav Salek, Elizabeth Brabec

Elizabeth Brabec

There is a dichotomy in the view of wind farms among members of the public: on one hand, there is a desire for renewable energy sources, and on the other hand, there is a major concern about the visual impact of wind turbines used for power production. This concern for visual impact is a major factor in the reaction of the public to the development of new wind farms. Our study aims to objectify this influence and to establish the factors that determine how people evaluate these structures. We tested the visual quality of landscapes in which these structures are …

Assessment Of Organic And Inorganic Phosphorus In Soils Derived From Cretaceous Sediments And Basement Complex Soils Of Guinea Savannah Of Kogi State, North Central Nigeria, Sunday I. Amhakhian, H H. Isitekhale, Charles I. Oyewole

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

A pot experiment was carried out using 20 surface soils (0-15cm depth) in 2008 to assess soil organic phosphorus and some fraction of inorganic phosphorus in other to know their availability in the soils of the studied area and also work have not been done in this areas in respect to organic and in-organic phosphorus. The experiment was conducted using 20 soils 10 from each geological formation (Cretaceous sediments and Basement complex soils), respectively. The mean organic phosphorus of 63.51 mgkg 1 soil was obtained for Cretaceous sediment soils and 158.54 mgkg 1 soil for the basement complex soils respectively. …

Development Of Functional Indices Of Facility Occurrence Towards The Distribution Of Social Services In Lagos Island Nigeria., Augustus O. Atubi

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Proper coordination of transport and public facilities provision is vital to any balanced regional development strategy. The central aim of this study, therefore, is to find out what the relationship is between access to the transport network and the provision of functional indices of facility occurrence towards the distribution of social services in Lagos Island, Nigeria. In particular it seeks to find out areas that have below or above average level of facility occurrences relative to the level of accessibility. However, a pair wise correlation matrix of the eleven (11) variables employed in the index construction was carried out. The …

Urban Climate And Challenges Of Tropical Cities, B E. Omogbai

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

This study examines the nature of urban climate, features and the challenges on the developing tropical cities in the 21st century. It argues that the use of principles of urban climate would help in providing comfortable living conditions and problem immune working environments for the inhabitants of tropical cities. The findings reveal that owing to poor environmental planning, inadequate geotechnical landscape surveys prior to the development of urban infrastructures, and non-adherence to the principles of urban climate, challenges of landscape degradation, excessive flooding of the built infrastructures, heat-island effects, and collapse of buildings have emerged. Suggested measures to avert these …

Detecting Changes In Landuse/Cover Of Umuahia, South-Eastern Nigeria Using Remote Sensing And Gis Techniques, Fanan Ujoh, Olarewaju Oluseyi Ifatimehin, Adams Ndalai Baba

Confluence Journal Environmental Studies (CJES), Kogi State University, Nigeria

Since 1991 when it became the capital city of Abia State, Umuahia has undergone tremendous transformation in its land use and land cover due to rapid urbanization. The main materials employed for this study are a land use map (1991) and Landsat ETM+satellite image (2007) of the study area. These, combined with field survey/checks, were brought into a GIS environment using ILWIS 3.2 Academic image classification software to map the land use/land cover and to estimate the rate of urban expansion and loss of rural land at the peri-urban fringes of Umuahia between 1991 and 2007. The study revealed significant …