•Analyzes two years of geotagged tweets from Louisville, Kentucky.•Explores popular spatial imaginaries of the ‘9th Street Divide’.•Argues for greater linkages between socio-spatial theory and big ...data research.•Develops a novel conceptual and methodological frame for using social media data.
Big data is increasingly seen as a way of providing a more ‘scientific’ approach to the understanding and management of cities. But most geographic analyses of geotagged social media data have failed to mobilize a sufficiently complex understanding of socio-spatial relations. By combining the conceptual approach of relational socio-spatial theory with the methods of critical GIScience, this paper explores the spatial imaginaries and processes of segregation and mobility at play in the notion of the ‘9th Street Divide’ in Louisville, Kentucky. Through a more context-sensitive analysis of this data, this paper argues against this popular spatial imaginary and the notion that the Louisville's West End is somehow separate and apart from the rest of the city. By analyzing the everyday activity spaces of different groups of Louisvillians through geotagged Twitter data, we instead argue for an understanding of these neighborhoods as fluid, porous and actively produced, rather than as rigid, static or fixed. Ultimately, this paper is meant to provide a conceptual and methodological framework for the analysis of social media data that is more attentive to the multiplicity of socio-spatial relations embodied in such data.
Since the signing of the Paris Agreement in 2015, the global energy structure has undergone unprecedented adjustment, and renewable energy has ushered in a new period of development opportunities. ...From the perspective of energy stability and sustainable development, this paper uses the generalized autoregression-conditional heteroscedasticity mixed data sampling model (GARCH-MIDAS) to explore the predictive power of climate policy uncertainty (CPU) on the index volatility of renewable energy. At the same time, eight uncertainty indices, including the economic policy uncertainty index and geopolitical risk index variable, are introduced to discuss the impact on the volatility of renewable energy. Furthermore, the out-of-sample prediction accuracy of each model is tested by the out-of-sample ROS2, Model Confidence Set (MCS), direction-of-change (DoC) and other evaluation methods. Climate policy exhibits a superior ability to predict renewable energy volatility, offers a new perspective for the accurate prediction of renewable energy volatility, and provides a reliable guarantee for the sustainable development of the energy market and financial market.
•Climate policy uncertainty (CPU) has a significant negative impact on long-term volatility of Renewable Energy.•CPU has an excellent out of sample prediction effect on Renewable Energy volatility.•The prediction performance of CPU was better than that of the other eight exogenous variables.•The predictability of the CPU is robust by a set of robustness tests
•Over 90% of cities have four or fewer intra-city centers.•Higher degree of polycentricity is found in mountainous cities.•Polycentricity is positively associated with GDP per capita in Eastern ...China.•Identified patterns of centers in a number of cities are largely consistent with corresponding master plans.
Despite much insightful work on polycentric urban development in China, there is a lack of systematic comparison at the intra-city level. Therefore, this paper explores polycentric urban development in 318 cities of China using detailed gridded population data. Our analysis examines the spatial structure of urbanized area within individual cities and identifies population centers within cities that are at the prefectural level and above. Our empirical results suggest that over 90% of Chinese cities have four or fewer ‘centers’, and approximately 40% only have one ‘dominating’ center. Regression models reveal that higher degrees of polycentricity are associated with cities in fragmented landscapes. Conditioning on topographic characteristics and total land area, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita is associated positively with high polycentricity in Eastern China. Furthermore, our analysis suggests that the development of multiple (sub)centers in a number of cities (e.g., Shanghai and Tianjin) is relatively consistent with their master plans.
•We examine the impact of three urban design interventions on people’s perception of safety in the public space.•Photo simulation is used in a randomised control trial setting.•Safety-enhancing ...design interventions have a significant impact on enhancing perceived safety.•Removing solid walls leads to significant improvements of perceptions of safety for women.•Eliminating graffiti from streetscapes has a weak significant impact on perceived safety only for women.
Concern around personal safety is a significant factor in constraining women’s access to and use of public space. One strategy presented to address this involves altering the design of built environments. However, tension and controversy surround these arguments in the literature on safety perception in public space. This study seeks to explore whether the presence of three design interventions commonly cited in the literature act to enhance or reduce perceptions of safety in public space, focusing on women’s experiences in particular. Three design interventions are examined: public toilets, solid walls, and graffiti removal. To test these interventions, an image-based randomised control trial with 104 participants was conducted in 2018 in London (UK). A series of control and treatment images simulating each design intervention was viewed and ranked by participants according to perceived safety. The findings of this study suggest that: the presence of public toilets does not affect perceived safety; eliminating graffiti has a weak significant impact on perceived safety; and removing solid walls leads to significant improvements of perceptions of safety, with the effect being stronger for women. These results suggest that to maximise investment effectiveness, urban design and planning policies that aim to increase perceptions of safety should be evidence-based, and need to integrate a gendered perspective. The presented technique could support urban design processes by examining the safety-enhancement impact of proposed public space interventions prior to their being rolled out.
•Investigation of blue space availability and older adult mental health using national antidepressant prescribing data.•High neighbourhood freshwater coverage associated with lower antidepressant ...prevalence.•Lower antidepressant prevalence observed in communities close to coasts and large lakes.•Blue space merits further consideration in public health and urban planning policies.
As global populations age rapidly, older adult mental health is becoming an increasingly important public health issue. The consequences of poor mental health in later life are severe and include reduced physical and cognitive functioning and greater risk of morbidity and mortality. Neighbourhood characteristics, such as the presence of aquatic environments - or ‘blue spaces’ - can positively impact mental health. However, evidence supporting the potential of neighbourhood blue space to promote mental health among older adults remains tentative. This study used negative binomial regression modelling to quantify the association between multiple metrics of neighbourhood blue space availability and antidepressant medication prevalence among older adults in Scotland. The study combined nationwide antidepressant prescription data for over two million older adults and geospatial data of blue space availability for over six thousand neighbourhoods and adjusted for a range of demographic and socioeconomic covariates. The availability of both freshwater and coastal blue space was associated with lower antidepressant medication prevalence among older adults in Scotland. Specifically, high neighbourhood freshwater coverage (>3%) (p < 0.001) and residing in close proximity (<1 km) to the coast (p < 0.001) and large freshwater lakes (p < 0.05) was associated with lower antidepressant medication prevalence. Our findings also suggest that neighbourhood blue space availability may have a greater impact on antidepressant medication prevalence among older adults than neighbourhood green space availability. Freshwater and coastal blue space, therefore, merit greater consideration in public health and urban planning policy and in the design of environments that aim to promote mental health and healthy aging.
Rising complexities and uncertainties have emphasized the need to employ scenario thinking in urban design and planning. While different scenario methods have been widely used across disciplines, a ...comprehensive review of scenario approaches in planning literature is limited. Thus, we provide an overview of scenarios and existing scenario approaches currently in practice. We also review a scenario building process to provide a guide for developing scenarios in the context of urban design and planning. The process highlights the different steps that contribute to adaptive planning and improve decision-making.
•The effects of building density on LST (K) were more significant in areas with dry climates compared to humid climates.•Precipitation was the dominant factor controlling spatial variation of K.•The ...K-values of northern cities were positively correlated with the areas of water bodies.•Climate-adapted urban planning should emphasize the spatial variance and different determinants of K.
The effects of building density on land surface temperature (LST) and its spatial patterns remain poorly understood over large areas. Using Landsat 8 satellite imagery, we quantified the effects of building density on land surface temperature (K) across 21 cities in China and analysed their spatial patterns, possible factors, and mechanisms. Results showed that the effects of building density on LST were more significant in areas with dry climates compared to humid climates. The spatial variability in the effects of building density on LST was closely related to climate conditions, soil type, and vegetation. The results from stepwise regression analysis showed that precipitation (climate) controlled the spatial variability, indicating that there is a complex mechanism underlying these potential factors. Furthermore, the results from climatic zoning statistics revealed that the K-values of northern Chinese cities were positively correlated with the areas of local water bodies. However, the K-values of southern Chinese cities were significantly and positively correlated with the mean annual temperature and aridity and were negatively correlated with population density. Stepwise regression results further indicated that the mean annual temperature may be the most influential factor for southern cities. These results highlight the spatial variance and different determinants of K and suggest that climate-adapted urban design and planning standards are needed in different climate zones.
•Satellite-based method for generating high-quality 3D urban morphological information.•Validation of satellite-derived urban morphological parameters.•Conduct urban climatic application using ...satellite-derived urban morphology information.•Implications of satellite-derived urban morphology for urban climate studies.
Urban morphology information is an important indicator in urban planning, information management, and urban climatic applications. However, the problem of urban morphological data harmonization, quality, and availability are well-known, especially in developing countries. In this study, a novel satellite-based approach was proposed to extract 3D urban morphology information, and then retrieve and validate typical urban morphological parameters for urban climatic applications. Some most widely used urban morphological parameters—building coverage ratio (BCR), building height (BH), building volume density (BVD), frontal area index (FAI), sky view factor (SVF), and roughness length (RL)—were calculated and validated. Experiments conducted throughout the entire urban environment of Kowloon Peninsula, the most complex and high-density urban area in Hong Kong, demonstrated that all of the retrieved parameters had a high prediction accuracy, compared with the actual data at spatial resolutions of hundreds of meters. In particular, the prediction accuracy of BCR, BH, BVD, and RL was 70–80% while the accuracy of SVF and FAI was 80–90%. This set of urban morphological data is employed to generate a Hong Kong Urban Climatic Map. As an extension of the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) method to provide 2D urban form data for cities worldwide, this newly developed method can quickly and efficiently produce highly accurate 3D urban morphology data for cities where actual urban morphology data are not accessible. This study also expands spatial understanding of urban climatic conditions in a fast and efficient way, enabling urban climatic application in urban planning for sustainable urban living.
•Mobilising co-innovation involves a complex interplay between contextual forces and facilitation processes.•This interplay shapes the core co-innovation processes of joint framing, testing of ...solutions and creating new knowledge.•This interplay between contextual and facilitation processes requires an adaptive approach to research design and management.•An interface space is conceptualised where key CSP roles and processes intersect in co-innovation enactment.•The implications for multi-actor research projects are discussed.
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