•This study analyzed over 886,000 dockless e-scooter trips in two US cities.•It found that downtown and university campus areas were both high e-scooter usage clusters although the temporal patterns ...varied between the two cities.•It also found that besides common positive indicators for sustainable transportation, commercial land use and open space such as parks and green space only positively correlated with e-scooter usage in one of the cities.•This study raised the importance of the local uniqueness as well as intercity commonalities among different societies in terms of new micro-mobility modes like dockless e-scooters.
In recent years, the popularization of dockless shared electric scooters (e-scooters) across many American cities has provided a great opportunity to reduce short-distance automobile trips. However, there is not enough research that examines e-scooter usage patterns and their association with the urban environment. Moreover, the question of whether this association would vary across different cities also remains unanswered. To bridge these gaps, this study investigated e-scooter ridership in Austin and Minneapolis using GIS hotspot spatial analysis and negative binomial regression models. The spatial analysis results showed that the densest e-scooter usage happened in downtown areas and university campuses in both cities. However, the temporal characteristics of the two cities’ e-scooter usage patterns turned out to be different: in Austin, afternoons, and weekends experienced greater e-scooter traffic, whereas Minneapolis showed larger evening ridership and stable daily vehicle miles traveled throughout the week. Finally, regression results showed that proximity to the city center, better access to transit, and greater land-use diversity positively correlated with higher e-scooter ridership in both cities. Compared to single-family residential areas, office and institutional land use were more likely to relate to higher ridership in both cities. Curiously, the statistically positive relationship with commercial areas and parks only existed in Austin. This study contributes to transportation literature and practice by providing empirical evidence on e-scooter trips in the U.S. cities and by highlighting the importance of local uniqueness by comparing two cities.
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.
Understanding spatiotemporal patterns of COVID-19 transmissions and their relationships with the built environment is crucial for effective pandemic prevention. While existing research has primarily ...focused on the locations inhabited or visited by COVID-19 cases, limited attention has been given to the spatiotemporal pattern of transmission locations and their associations with architectural design forms. This study addresses this research gap by examining the spatiotemporal distribution patterns of COVID-19 transmission locations and their associations with residential building forms in high density context of Hong Kong during the fifth wave of the outbreak. Employing information on n = 319 residential buildings with a restriction-testing declaration, we report that attributes of building blocks, especially design forms, and housing type were associated with transmission rates. Our findings revealed that public housing were more vulnerable to COVID-19 pandemic relative to private housing block. Relative to the L-shaped building form, Y- and X-shaped building forms had the lowest COVID-19 prevalence, adjusting for other factors. The study results provide valuable insights for urban designers, health authorities and policymakers regarding keys attributes of building forms and types that influence the transmission dynamics of COVID-19, exemplifying the role architectural design has on pandemic prevention. Evidence generated from this study can be tested in other high density contexts as we prepare to risk-proof our cities from future pandemics.
•Investigating the association between the built environment of residential buildings and building-level Covid-19 prevalence.•Assessment of the susceptibility of architectural design features to the transmission of COVID-19.•Identifying socioeconomically vulnerable people that are more subjected to COVID-19 transmission.
•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.
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.
BackgroundPrevious evidence suggests that engagement with heritage such as visiting heritage sites provides benefits for people’s mental and social wellbeing, and helps to establish social capital. ...However, far less is known about whether living in areas of historic built environment also helps build social capital. Further, it remains unclear how the association between historic built environment and social capital may vary across heritage engagement frequency and areas of deprivation levels. This study was therefore designed to explore the cross-sectional relationship between historic built environment and social capital.MethodsAnalysis was based on three datasets: Understanding Society: The UK Household Longitudinal Study Waves 5 (2013/15) and 6 (2014/16), 2019 National Heritage List for England, and 2015 English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD). OLS regressions were applied to estimate the relationships between historic built environment (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, and registered parks and gardens) and social capital (personal relationships, social network support, civic engagement, and trust and cooperative norms). The models were adjusted for socio-demographic characteristics, cultural engagement frequency, and rurality.ResultsWe found that people living in places with greater historic built environment experienced higher levels of personal relationships, social network support and civic engagement. However, these associations were attenuated once rurality was adjusted. Individuals living in areas of greater levels of historic built environment displayed higher levels of trust and cooperative norms, even after adjusting for all relevant covariates. Heritage engagement frequency was found to moderate the association between historic built environment and personal relationships. Similarly, IMD was also found to moderate the association between historic built environment and trust and cooperative norms.ConclusionThese findings highlight the importance of neighbourhood environment in building social capital in communities. Particularly, areas with heritage assets may provide both socially inviting and aesthetically pleasing environments that could help strengthen community and restore pride in place. For individuals living in areas with low levels of historic built environment, it is crucial to ensure that they have equal access to historic assets (e.g. through local trips). Future research is required to further explore the quality of heritage sites and infrastructures, and more sophisticated geographical data analysis that takes into account of the distance between residential areas and heritage assets is needed.
•Living Lab Triangle implemented in the KTH Live-In Lab building innovation platform.•A SWOT analysis underpins current strengths and weaknesses of the KTH Live-In Lab.•Empirical data shows that ...smart building living labs can be financially sustainable.•Identification of critical conditions to enact smart building demonstrators.•Thorough analysis, measurable results and transparent evaluation of a Living Lab.
The adoption of innovation in the building sector is currently too slow for the ambitious sustainability goals that our societies have agreed upon. Living labs are open innovation ecosystems in real-life environments using iterative feedback processes throughout a lifecycle approach of an innovation to create sustainable impact. In the context of the built environment, such co-creative innovation and demonstration platforms are needed to facilitate the adoption of innovative technologies and concepts for more energy-efficient and sustainable buildings. However, their feasibility is not extensively proven. This paper illustrates the implementation and demonstrates the feasibility of the Living Labs Triangle Framework for buildings living labs. This conceptual framework has been used to conceive the KTH Live-In Lab, a living lab for buildings. The goal of the Live-In Lab was to create a co-creative open platform for research and education bridging the gap between industry and academia, featuring smart building demonstrators. The Living Lab Triangle Framework has been deployed to meet the goals of the Live-in Lab, and the resulting concept is described. This paper then analyses the methodological and operational results introducing performance metrics to measure the economic sustainability, the promotion of multidisciplinary research and development projects, dissemination and impact. The results are completed with a SWOT analysis identifying its current strengths and weaknesses. The results collected in this work fill a missing gap in the scientific literature on the performance of living labs and provide empirical evidence on the sustainability and impact of living labs.
Purpose of Review
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted daily-life activities around the world. Multiple countries and cities are implementing different mitigation strategies to reduce their ...transmission (e.g., physical distancing, stay-at-home orders, avoiding large gatherings). Such interventions have been related to positive and negative health externalities. Currently, the selection of mitigation strategies has not been systematically considering a long-term vision for urban health equity. This review presents evidence and a framework linking COVID-19 mitigation strategies, the built environment, and transport to health determinants and outcomes. In addition, the paper provides a set of urban interventions aimed at supporting COVID-19 mitigation strategies and promoting a long-term health equity vision.
Recent Findings
COVID-19 mitigation strategies, in addition to helping reduce disease transmission, have also decreased urban road transport, resulting in indirect benefits on air quality, traffic noise, and traffic incidents. On the other hand, the same mitigation strategies have had negative impacts on physical activity, mental health, home isolation, and access to transport options, among others. COVID-19 mitigation strategies are an opportunity to test and implement built environment and transport interventions aimed to maximize health equity and minimize health risks. National and local authorities should systematically integrate a long-term urban health equity vision when designing and implementing COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
Summary
COVID-19 offers an opportunity to rethink the built environment and transport infrastructure with the aim to support short-term mitigation strategies and reduce long-term urban health inequities.
Previous work on agglomeration economies ignores the built environment. This paper shows that the built environment matters, especially for commercial sectors that dominate city centers. Buildings ...are specialized beyond random assignment, in part because externality-generating anchor tenants skew a building's other tenants towards the anchor's industry. An anchor elsewhere on the blockface has a much weaker effect, and one that is weaker still if across the street, suggesting rapidly attenuating agglomeration economies. Attenuation is pronounced for retail and information-oriented office industries but is absent for manufacturing. Building managers have incentives and capacities to partly internalize local externalities, contributing to urban productivity.
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