Despite the recent growth and popularity of ride-hailing services throughout the world, there's still a lack of research on its determinants. This paper aims to examine the associations between ...ride-hailing and their spatial distribution in relation to key socioeconomic and built environment characteristics both at the trip origin and destination. To do so the study uses official data provided by Transportation Network Companies operating in the city of Chicago, with 32 million trips logged between November 1st, 2018 to June 28th, 2019. Among the built environment attributes we focus on the relationship between walkability levels and demand for ride-hailing. Study findings indicate an association between ride-hailing and income levels, car-availability and race-ethnicity. Results also suggest a positive association between walkability at either trip origin or trip destination and ride-hailing demand, together with a negative one between access to transit and ride-hail use. Findings suggest some worrisome conclusions, with ride-hailing being seldom used among the more deprived areas. Ride-hailing is predominantly being used to travel between highly accessible areas which should be accessed using more sustainable transport modes. Positive takeaways are the lack of race disparities in ride-hailing demand and the capacity of ride-hailing to interact and complement public transit provision.
•The spatial distribution of 32 million ride-hailing trips in Chicago is examined.•The association between trips and socioeconomic and environmental attributes is tested.•61% of ride-hailing trips are between highly walkable areas.•Low-income areas were associated with fewer ride-hailing trips both at origin/destination.•No race/ethnicity disparities were found.
The Construction Industry is responsible for over 30% of the extraction of natural resources, as well as 25% of solid waste generated in the world. This happens because the construction sector mostly ...adopts a linear economic model of “take, make, dispose”, using materials to the construction of buildings and disposing them at the end of life, since they are assembled for one time use and don’t retain potential for reuse. Over the last decades, a paradigm shift has been occurring in the industry at large, with the adoption of a Circular Economy model, that aims at keeping the materials in a closed loop to retain their maximum value, therefore with a greater potential of reducing the waste generation and resources extraction for the Construction Industry. This article aims at finding the recent developments of how Circular Economy can be used inside the construction industry. To achieve this goal, a systematic literature review was conducted, including 45 articles that were divided into six areas of research: development of Circular Economy, reuse of materials, material stocks, Circular Economy in the built environment, LCA analysis and material passport. An analysis of the content of these articles was made and the knowledge gaps in this area were identified, as well as table with known Circular Economy practices for the Construction Industry was created divided by life cycle stages. Finally, a discussion of each area of research and their findings is made.
•Six different areas of research were found.•There is a lack of knowledge of standard practices of Circular Economy concepts inside the construction industry.•A list of known circular economy practices for the built environment was created.•Bigger focus should be given to economy models for Construction companies.•There is a potential to create a Community of Practice in the subject.
The socio-spatial segregation experienced by migrants has attracted considerable attention and an increasing number of studies have examined segregation in migrants’ daily activity space recently. ...However, research on activity diversity and spatial contact between local residents and migrants has been limited. This paper fills this knowledge gap by investigating the differences in the extensity, intensity, diversity and exclusivity of activity spaces among local residents, urban migrants and rural migrants based on their routine activities in suburban Shanghai, China. It finds that rural migrants have low daily mobility and are physically constrained, and there is spatial sorting of activity locations among different social groups. Neighborhood environment significantly influences activity space-based segregation: People who live in neighborhoods with higher POI density and better access to commercial establishments and public spaces have small activity spaces, while those who live in neighborhoods with mixed land use, better access to public transit, and higher street connectivity have more diverse activity participation. Neighborhoods with better public spaces and a lower land use mix promote shared activity spaces. This study uncovers the segregation suffered by migrants by examining the usage of urban space and spatial interactions among social groups, enhancing our understanding of activity space-based segregation in developing countries.
•We analyze the activity space-based segregation emphasizing diverse locations visited in residents' daily lives.•There is significant activity space-based segregation among hukou groups.•Rural migrants have limited daily mobility and are physically constrained in activity space.•Local residents tend not to share activity spaces with migrants.•Residential neighborhood attributes significantly influence activity space-based segregation.
To explore the built environment (BE) and weight change relationship by age, sex, and racial/ethnic subgroups in adults.
Weight trajectories were estimated using electronic health records for 115,260 ...insured Kaiser Permanente Washington members age 18-64 years. Member home addresses were geocoded using ArcGIS. Population, residential, and road intersection densities and counts of area supermarkets and fast food restaurants were measured with SmartMaps (800 and 5000-meter buffers) and categorized into tertiles. Linear mixed-effect models tested whether associations between BE features and weight gain at 1, 3, and 5 years differed by age, sex, and race/ethnicity, adjusting for demographics, baseline weight, and residential property values.
Denser urban form and greater availability of supermarkets and fast food restaurants were associated with differential weight change across sex and race/ethnicity. At 5 years, the mean difference in weight change comparing the 3rd versus 1st tertile of residential density was significantly different between males (-0.49 kg, 95% CI: -0.68, -0.30) and females (-0.17 kg, 95% CI: -0.33, -0.01) (P-value for interaction = 0.011). Across race/ethnicity, the mean difference in weight change at 5 years for residential density was significantly different among non-Hispanic (NH) Whites (-0.47 kg, 95% CI: -0.61, -0.32), NH Blacks (-0.86 kg, 95% CI: -1.37, -0.36), Hispanics (0.10 kg, 95% CI: -0.46, 0.65), and NH Asians (0.44 kg, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.78) (P-value for interaction <0.001). These findings were consistent for other BE measures.
The relationship between the built environment and weight change differs across demographic groups. Careful consideration of demographic differences in associations of BE and weight trajectories is warranted for investigating etiological mechanisms and guiding intervention development.
•We develop thresholds for environmental features supporting physical activity (PA).•Travel behavior data are mapped with objectively measured environmental data.•Optimal values for key environmental ...features supporting PA are quantified.•Systematic heterogeneity must be accounted in developing thresholds.•The thresholds can serve as “guiding tool” for policymakers, planners/engineers.
A novel evidence-based methodology is presented for determining place-based thresholds of objectively measured built environment features’ relationships with active travel. Using an innovative machine-learning based Generalized Additive Modeling framework, systematic heterogeneity fundamental to the development of well-justified and objective environmental thresholds is accounted for. The methodology is employed to model an individual’s likelihood of transport walking as a function of environmental factors using California Household Travel Survey linked with comprehensive built environment data. The results reveal strong and complex non-linear dependencies of likelihood of transport walking on environmental features that cannot be quantified using standard threshold detection methods. Thresholds for key environmental features to enhance active travel vary significantly across different socioeconomic groups. Accounting for strong income-based differences in development of environmental benchmarks is emphasized. The thresholds can serve as a useful guiding tool for policymakers, planners, engineers, and public health officials to track existing environmental conditions and healthy behaviors.
One major limitation of prior studies regarding the associations between built environment (BE) and obesity has been the use of anthropometric indices (e.g., body mass index BMI) for assessing ...obesity status, and there has been limited evidence of associations between BE and body fat. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal association between BE and body fat in a cohort of elderly Hong Kong Chinese and examine whether the BE-body fat associations differed by BMI categories.
Between 2001 and 2003, 3944 participants aged 65-98 years were recruited and followed for a mean of 6.4 years. BE characteristics were assessed via Geographic Information System. Body fat (%) at whole body and regional areas (trunk, limbs, android, and gynoid) were assessed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and three follow-ups. Latent profile analysis was used to derive BE class, and linear mixed-effects models were used to investigate the associations of BE class with changes in body fat. Stratified analyses by BMI categories were also conducted.
Three BE classes were identified. Participants in Class 2 (characterized by greater open space and proportion of residential land use) had a slower increase in whole body fat (B = -0.403, 95% confidence interval CI: -0.780, -0.014) and limbs fat (-0.471, 95% CI: -0.870, -0.071) compared with participants in Class 1 (characterized by high proportion of commercial land use). There were significant interactions of BE class with BMI, and participants in Class 2 had a slower increase in whole body fat and regional fat compared with participants in Class 1 (B ranging from -0.987 limbs to -0.523 gynoid) among overweight and obese participants only.
We found that those who resided in the areas characterized by greater open space and proportion of residential land use had a slower body fat increase.
Biodiversity and Health in the Urban Environment Marselle, Melissa R.; Lindley, Sarah J.; Cook, Penny A. ...
Current environmental health reports,
06/2021, Letnik:
8, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Purpose of review
Biodiversity underpins urban ecosystem functions that are essential for human health and well-being. Understanding how biodiversity relates to human health is a developing frontier ...for science, policy and practice. This article describes the beneficial, as well as harmful, aspects of biodiversity to human health in urban environments.
Recent findings
Recent research shows that contact with biodiversity of natural environments within towns and cities can be both positive and negative to human physical, mental and social health and well-being. For example, while viruses or pollen can be seriously harmful to human health, biodiverse ecosystems can promote positive health and well-being. On balance, these influences are positive. As biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, research suggests that its loss could threaten the quality of life of all humans.
Summary
A key research gap is to understand—and evidence—the specific causal pathways through which biodiversity affects human health. A mechanistic understanding of pathways linking biodiversity to human health can facilitate the application of nature-based solutions in public health and influence policy. Research integration as well as cross-sector urban policy and planning development should harness opportunities to better identify linkages between biodiversity, climate and human health. Given its importance for human health, urban biodiversity conservation should be considered as public health investment.
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