Goals 6, 13, 14, and 15 of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) share global concerns of making the earth cleaner for human habitation. In Nigeria, pollution thrives despite the ...government’s laws and policies. In the country, opinions on public issues are strong, and public relations (PR) professionals are perceived moulders of societal viewpoints. This study examines the connection between public awareness and PR actions on the sociological problems of environmental pollution, laws, and government policies in an industrial cum residential community in Southwest Nigeria. Based on the Environmental Communication Theory, which espouses nature-human environmental connectivity, this study adopts a quantitative, non-experimental, and descriptive methodology. Probability and non-probability sampling design and multi-stage techniques are applied to select 400 residents of Ota community. Scientific Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) is used to process 358 successful copies of the questionnaire. Results show that public awareness of environmental pollution is high; but low on its laws and policies. The contributions of public relations practitioners are acknowledged, but the government’s actions are unfamiliar. Meagre public concern for environmental laws and policies and weak motivation by PR practitioners and the government threaten the achievement of identified SDGs of the UN at the study’s location.
The hydraulic performance and future water demand of water distribution networks are major factors affecting the efficiency of water distribution systems throughout the world. Currently, Addis Kidam ...Town in Ethiopia is facing many water supply challenges. Their existing water distribution system is inadequate experiencing significant water loss, pressure, and flow velocity. All becoming worse with forecast population increases. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic performance of the water distribution network considering both the existing water demand, together with forecast future water demand. The study was undertaken in Addis Kidam Town in Ethiopia using static analysis and WaterGEMS V8i software. The data were collected using experiment tests, field observation, focus group discussions, and interviews. Sampling sizes of pipes and junctions of distribution networks were used to evaluate velocity and pressure changes of 12% and 15%, respectively, from high and low-pressure zones. The results of this study indicated that the existing distribution network was designed to supply a population of 8,906; however, the current population was 25,854. The existing system can accordingly not meet current demand. The current system was only supplying 19.5 l/c/d to each family and was only able to supply 45.2% of households. All compounded because water loss of the distribution network was 37.9%. Simulation of existing distribution network at junctions and pipes has both 26.6% and 4.3%, and 2.4% and 29.9% lower pressures and velocities during peak and minimum hourly demand, respectively. Model performance values of RMSE, MAE,
R
2
, and NSE of distribution networks were 0.65, 0.40, 0.96, and 0.82 and 0.56, 0.38, 0.98, and 0.78 during the calibration and validation of pressure, flow, and tank level, respectively. The research recommends a two-phase strategic water distribution system response beginning by upgrading and expanding the water distribution network, to first achieve a supply of 30 l/c/d by 2032, and then lifting this to the 30–80 l/c/d range before 2042. The proposed water management upgrading approach is expected to establish a good water supply for all residential communities of the town facing comparable challenges. In general, this study’s findings showed that the existing water supply system could not meet the present demand, let alone meet future growth demand. The existing modeling highlighted that significant increases in supply are possible by targeting system improvements, together with the need to find additional supply to meet both present and future water demand.
During the last two decades, the metropolitan residential expansion in Argentina became the domain of gated communities. Peripheralization of the middle and upper-middle class population followed ...that of the poor and working class, establishing a scenario of uneven competition between both ends of the social spectrum for the available land in the metropolitan periphery and giving rise to new forms of urban segregation. Drawing on contemporary debates on socio-spatial segregation in Latin America and based on the cases of Nordelta and Las Tunas (municipality of Tigre, Buenos Aires Metropolitan Region), the paper explores the multiple articulations underlying how relations between neighbouring areas in these contradictory spaces are managed.
•Assess the socio-spatial segregation between gated communities and working class neighbourhoods.•Analyse the institutional context, the social ties and environmental issues.•Physical proximity based on residential heterogeneity does not imply less segregation.•Institutional structures could perpetuate segregation.•The degree of segregation depends on the nature of the ties between the two phenomena.
Problem
The issues addressed in this article are two‐fold. Firstly, education about ageing is predominantly textbook‐based. Secondly, many rural older people face social isolation which impacts their ...health. In addressing the first issue, we discovered that our project, Older Persons Teaching and Empowering Aged Care Students (OPTEACH), has the potential to have a positive impact on the second issue.
Design
We run university education sessions involving older people. Since such sessions present unique challenges, we obtained a grant to develop resources to assist educators and support rural older people to become “OPTEACHers.”
Setting
OPTEACH was undertaken in several rural communities in New South Wales and included staff and residents at residential aged care facilities and community‐dwelling rural older people.
Key measures for improvement
Our previous work had highlighted a need for educator resources that would facilitate “ageing” being taught in a way that both involved and respected older people. Our ethos centres on the “co‐creation” of knowledge, and having older peoples' unique contributions recognised and celebrated.
Strategies for change
Resources to assist with planning and being involved in OPTEACH education sessions are available at www.opteach.com.au. They will support a growing community of “OPTEACHers,” with beneficial flow‐on effects for rural older people.
Effects of change
We seek to provide practical support to both educators and older people to provide “real life” education on the experience of ageing.
Next steps
Further evaluation is needed, yet we anticipate a positive impact on self‐esteem, community “connectedness” and quality of life for older rural “OPTEACHers” as the approach gains momentum.
Residential quarters in Chinese cities are usually walled off from their surrounding roads for security purposes. Recently, the Chinese government has decided to thoroughly open gated residential ...communities in order to improve traffic capacity and coordinate major roads in the road network, which will inevitably pose challenges, such as environmental pollution, for community members. Unfortunately, before this decision, there were no comprehensive investigations into whether this measure works for road traffic or how much the adverse impact exerts upon residents. Here, we propose a comprehensive method combining microscopic traffic simulation with a vehicle exhaust emission and dispersion model and a noise emission and attenuation model, in addition to a consideration of social cost, to evaluate the possible influence of opening an enclosed residential community to surrounding roads. The validity of the hybrid model was assessed by an assumptive case of two rectangular gated communities under varying traffic flow and five community opening modes. Preliminary results indicate that the opened community outperforms the gated in the most of 49 percent reduction in comprehensive cost. A more detailed analysis reveals that the appropriate extent of openness should rely on the actual situation, and potentially serves as a foundation for the healthy development of communities and cities. Based on the case study results, this paper outlines some strategical suggestions for improving enclosed residential areas by striking a better balance between traffic capacity and environmental risks.
Power systems serve social communities that consist of residential, commercial, and industrial customers. As a result, the disaster resilience of a power system should account for social community ...resilience. The social behavior and psychological features of all stakeholders involved in a disaster influence the level of power system preparedness, mitigation, recovery, adaptability, and resilience. Hence, there is a need to consider the social community's effect on the power system and the dependence between them in determining a power system's resilient to human-made and natural hazards. The social community, such as a county, city, or state, consists of various stakeholders, e.g., social consumers, social prosumers, and utilities. In this paper, we develop a multi-dimensional output-oriented method to measure resilience. The three key ideas for measuring power system resilience are the multi-dimensionality, output-oriented, and degraded functionality aspects of the power system. To this end, we develop an artificial society based on neuroscience, social science, and psychological theories to model the behavior of consumers and prosumers and the interdependence between power system resilience, comsumer and prosumer well-being, and community capital. Both mental health and physical health are used as metrics of well-being, while the level of cooperation is used to measure community capital resilience.
As an old community, Luoliu community is representative in Shanghai. Traditional infrastructure is not combined with public space and green space layout, which makes the climate resilience of the old ...residential area urgently need to be improved. Through questionnaire survey, field measurement, combined with Envi-met to simulate microclimate changes and formulated green space resilience transformation strategies. Microclimate factors such as temperature, humidity, wind speed and wind direction change with the spatial distribution and vegetation structure. First, the walls of buildings are most vulnerable to the shadow of buildings. The microclimate of the building enclosed green space is stable, but its toughness is poor. Parallel green space can restrain the temperature rise to a certain extent, it has strong space toughness. Green enclosure space is also closed, usually covered with green plants. Although it can reduce the impact of solar radiation, overgrown and untrimmed trees will become an obstacle to air ducts. Ventilation should be the priority. Second, the canopy and vertical structure of green plants should be reasonable. Third, the combination layout of the dominant wind direction and the residential complex shall be considered comprehensively to plan the public facilities and sidewalks.
The concentrations of nitrate (NO
3
−
), major ions, and dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and the stable carbon isotopes of DIC (δ
13
C
DIC
) in shallow groundwater below a 45 × 60 m residential ...property was investigated over a period of 38 months. Our aim was to identify the processes which control the spatial and temporal distribution of NO
3
−
in the shallow groundwater and assess water-rock interactions linked to denitrification. Groundwater sampled quarterly from eight locations showed an average NO
3
−
concentration of 36.8 mg/L and a range between 0.1 and 214.9 mg/L compared to the US EPA maximum contaminant level of 10 mg/L. Heterogeneity in nitrate distribution was from residential application of N-based fertilizers offsite and from onsite application on flower beds and for lawn care. The temporal behavior of nitrate at all eight groundwater locations was markedly different and independent of seasonal hydrologic variations. Nitrate attenuation was spatially controlled by heterogeneous denitrification and rain dilution near roof drains. Groundwater locations with active denitrification were characterized by higher DIC concentrations and lower δ
13
C
DIC
from organic carbon mineralization and by higher ionic concentrations from weathering of aquifer minerals. The variation in the relative standard deviations (RSD) of the measured parameters over space (RSD-s) and time (RSD-t) was highest for NO
3
−
associated with variable spatiotemporal input and lowest for pH, pCO
2
, and δ
13
C
DIC
indirectly controlled by denitrification. Denitrification induced mineral weathering products such as DIC, Ca
2+
, Mg
2+
, and HCO
3
−
showed medium to high RSD-s and RSD-t. The RSD-s and RSD-t were positively correlated (
R
2
= 0.85) with the RSD-s showing approximately twofold higher magnitude than RSD-t due to greater variability between monitoring wells locations than variability at each groundwater location over time. Nitrate contamination and denitrification represent important long-term driver of aquifer weathering and changes in groundwater geochemistry below residential communities.
Many scholars discuss post-suburbia in terms of the urbanization of edge cities, an evolving built-up periphery, or as a broader trend of decline among older suburbs alongside new outer-ring suburban ...growth. This article explores the post-suburban thesis in the context of the older, inner suburb of Upper Arlington, Ohio, located in the Columbus metropolitan area. This suburb is shifting from a traditional residential community to a more complex mix of domiciliary and economic functions, a process of redevelopment we characterize as a shift from an old suburb to a post-suburb. Based on qualitative interviews and analysis, we find that the politics of redevelopment in the older, landlocked suburb of Upper Arlington is contentious, and driven in large part by this suburb's need to overcome fiscal stress and maintain its competitive edge in the new metropolitan economy. We suggest that New Urbanist suburbanization for older, inner suburbs is influenced by their desire to remain competitive in a highly fragmented metropolis.
Objective
The purpose of this study was to examine independent and interactive effects of race, community income, and racial residential segregation on the likelihood of ED revisits by persons with ...end‐stage renal disease (ESRD).
Design
A retrospective analysis of de‐identified data ed from Health Care Utilization and Cost Project's (HCUP) 2014 New Jersey State Emergency Department (ED) Database and American Community Survey (ACS) was conducted.
Sample
The analytic sample was comprised of 2,859 ED encounters in 2014 by non‐Hispanic Black and White persons over 18 years of age with ESRD who were treated and released from the ED.
Measurements
The HCUP database was the data source for ED revisit, race, median community income, and covariate (age, gender, marital status, number of chronic conditions) variables in the study. The 2014 ACS was the source for racial segregation Dissimilarity Index scores across NJ counties.
Results
Living in communities with lower median income and high racial segregation was associated with a higher likelihood of ED revisits. Black race interacted with community income and racial segregation in its effect on ED revisits.
Conclusion
Efforts are needed to direct geo‐targeted interventions and resources to socially disadvantaged communities to lessen disparities in ED visits among dialysis patients.
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