This study examined the influence of the built environment surrounding rail stations on rail transit ridership and its spatiotemporal variations,aiming to enhance rail transit operational efficiency and inform station...This study examined the influence of the built environment surrounding rail stations on rail transit ridership and its spatiotemporal variations,aiming to enhance rail transit operational efficiency and inform station planning and development.Data from 159 metro stations in Nanjing,collected over a 14-d period,were analyzed to identify changes in weekday and weekend ridership patterns.The analysis included explanatory variables grouped into three categories:urban spatial variables,socioeconomic vari-ables,and transit service variables.A geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)model was developed,and its performance was compared with that of ordinary least squares(OLS)and geographically weighted regression(GWR)models.The results demonstrated that the GTWR model outperformed others in analyzing the relationship between rail transit ridership and the built environment.In addition,the coefficients of explanatory variables showed significant variation across spatiotemporal dimensions,revealing distinct patterns.Notably,the influence of commuter flows led to more pronounced temporal heterogeneity in the coefficients observed on weekdays.These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing urban public transportation systems and advancing integrated urban rail development.展开更多
A low-carbon lifestyle presents new opportunities for sustainable urban development.While previous studies have verified the impact of the built environment and socioeconomic status(SES)on low-carbon lifestyles,they h...A low-carbon lifestyle presents new opportunities for sustainable urban development.While previous studies have verified the impact of the built environment and socioeconomic status(SES)on low-carbon lifestyles,they have primarily focused on direct effects.At present,there is still a lack of analysis on the interaction effects on low-carbon lifestyles,and limited attention has been given to the peer effect in low-carbon lifestyles,especially in the context of residential differentiation.Therefore,we take Zhengzhou city as the case area and first calculate the low-carbon lifestyle of 1485 families from three dimensions:low-carbon action(A),low-carbon interest(I)and low-carbon opinion(O).We then analyze the direct and interactive impacts of the built environment and SES on low-carbon lifestyles and explore the peer effect.Our findings indicate that families with higher SES have higher levels of low-carbon interest and low-carbon opinion,but relatively low levels of low-carbon action.This suggests an interest-action bias in the low-carbon lifestyles of high-SES families.POI density,road network density and accessibility positively affect low-carbon lifestyles—that is,residents living in areas with well-developed infrastructure and convenient transportation tend to be green in their daily behavior.The peer effect influences low-carbon action,interest,and opinion by 54.6%,34.9%,and 16%,respectively,indicating that the peer effect is most evident in low-carbon action.That is,the peer effect is more obvious in low-carbon action.In addition,the built environment affects the low-carbon lifestyles of different SES groups.Land-use mix positively increases low-carbon action and low-carbon interest among high-SES groups but reduces low-carbon opinion.Road network density positively affects the low-carbon action of high-SES groups and the low-carbon interest and low-carbon opinion of low-SES groups.This study explores low-carbon lifestyles from a situational perspective,providing a practical basis for policies aimed at accelerating a transition to sustainable living.展开更多
As globalization accelerates,microbial contamination in the built environment poses a major public health challenge.Especially since Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19),microbial sterilization technology has become a ...As globalization accelerates,microbial contamination in the built environment poses a major public health challenge.Especially since Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19),microbial sterilization technology has become a crucial research area for indoor air pollution control in order to create a hygienic and safe built environment.Based on this,the study reviews sterilization technologies in the built environment,focusing on the principles,efficiency and applicability,revealing advantages and limitations,and summarizing current research advances.Despite the efficacy of single sterilization technologies in specific environments,the corresponding side effects still exist.Thus,this review highlights the efficiency of hybrid sterilization technologies,providing an in-depth understanding of the practical application in the built environment.Also,it presents an outlook on the future direction of sterilization technology,including the development of new methods that are more efficient,energy-saving,and targeted to better address microbial contamination in the complex and changing built environment.Overall,this study provides a clear guide for selecting technologies to handle microbial contamination in different building environments in the future,as well as a scientific basis for developing more effective air quality control strategies.展开更多
The effects of the built environment factors on urban vitality have attracted wide attention in the urban planning fields in recent years,but few studies have considered the variables’relative importance and their no...The effects of the built environment factors on urban vitality have attracted wide attention in the urban planning fields in recent years,but few studies have considered the variables’relative importance and their nonlinear effects on urban vitality.Taking a Chinese metropolis—Hangzhou as a case study,this study applied the gradient boosting decision tree(GBDT)model to explore the nonlinear effects of the 5D factors of the urban built environment on urban social vitality and economic vitality and the importance of variables.The results show that the GBDT model has better goodness of fit than the traditional ordinary least squares(OLS)regression in the urban vitality models.The urban built environment plays an important role in affecting urban vitality,while built environment designs witness the most important effect.Specifically,the density of shopping facilities,medical facilities,and road networks are the most important factors affecting urban social vitality,while road network density,destination accessibility,and population density play the most important roles in affecting urban economic vitality.Finally,the urban built environment factors have nonlinear threshold effects on both urban economic and social vitality in Hangzhou,with differing nonlinear response patterns observed between social and economic dimensions.展开更多
Urban vitality is one of the key indicators of sustainable urban development and an important factor for shrinking cities to achieve internal optimization.The relationship between the built environment and urban vital...Urban vitality is one of the key indicators of sustainable urban development and an important factor for shrinking cities to achieve internal optimization.The relationship between the built environment and urban vitality has been extensively discussed.However,the moderating effect of housing vacancy on the built environment’s effect on urban vitality in shrinking cities has not been explored in detail.This paper selected Yichun District in Yichun City of Heilongjiang Province,a typical shrinking city in Northeast China,as the study area,focusing on the effect of the built environment on urban vitality in shrinking cities based on residential and commercial electricity consumption data for 2013 and 2018.Moreover,this study also explored the moderating mechanisms of residential and commercial housing vacancies on the built environment’s effect on urban vitality.The results demonstrate that the spatial pattern of urban vitality in the Yichun District is‘high in the center and low in the periphery’.Population density,building age,road density,and catering facilities are recognized as the main built environment factors affecting the vitality of shrinking cities.Residential and commercial housing vacancies have a significant moderating effect on the built environment’s effect on urban vitality.Residential housing vacancies enhance the positive effect of road density and the negative effect of greening rate.In addition,commercial housing vacancies suppress the positive effect of building density and enhance the positive effect of accessibility to urban service facilities.The study indicates that built environment factors exhibit heterogeneous effects on vitality in the context of urban shrinkage,as moderated by housing vacancies.Targeted regulation of built environment factors is of practical significance in realizing the internal development and vitality enhancement of shrinking cities.展开更多
Previous studies have extensively explored the critical influence of the built environment on land values,but the non-linear relationship has yet to be fully revealed.This study aims to uncover the non-linear relation...Previous studies have extensively explored the critical influence of the built environment on land values,but the non-linear relationship has yet to be fully revealed.This study aims to uncover the non-linear relationship between land values and the five built environment dimensions using machine learning algorithms and Shapley Additive ex Planation(SHAP).The results highlight that the Gradient Boost Decision Tree (GBDT) outperforms e Xtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost),Ordinary Least Squares (OLS),and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) in land value estimation,exhibiting higher R^(2) and lower Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE).The results illustrate that density and destination accessibility are the dominant factors,contributing 32.48%and37.38%to land value variation,respectively.We observed that the top three factors affecting land values are the built-floor area ratio,the number of floors and the number of restaurants.Additionally,the results revealed the non-linear relationship between the built environment and land values,suggesting that maintaining built environment features at optimal thresholds may increase land values.Neglecting interaction effects may lead to bias in determining relationships between land values and the built environment.This study contributes to the literature by providing non-linear and threshold identification evidence in land value determinants,offering valuable insights for urban planners and real estate managers.展开更多
China is experiencing rapid population aging.The one contributing factor affecting senior citizens’lives is the disconnect between the built environment in urban and rural areas and the behavioral preferences of olde...China is experiencing rapid population aging.The one contributing factor affecting senior citizens’lives is the disconnect between the built environment in urban and rural areas and the behavioral preferences of older adults.However,research on the relation between the built environment and the behavior of older individuals has been limited.Thus,this paper uses the most recent health tracking data on factors influencing aging in China released in 2020(China Senior Health Survey Tracking Survey).Applying traditional regression,least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression,and two decision tree optimization models from machine learning,a comprehensive comparative study is carried out to investigate the correlation between the built environment and the physical activity,dietary habits,and social interactions of older age groups.The findings reveal that built environment variables most significantly impact physical activity,accounting for 52.525%,followed by social interaction behaviors at 50.202%and dietary intake at 47.991%.Furthermore,the authors identify population density and greenness rate as the built environment factors having considerable effects on the behavior of older adults.Thus,this study establishes a theoretical foundation for developing age-friendly community environments for older adults.展开更多
Road traffic crashes are becoming thorny issues being faced worldwide.Traffic crashes are spatiotemporal events and the research on the spatiotemporal patterns and variation trends of traffic crashes has been carried ...Road traffic crashes are becoming thorny issues being faced worldwide.Traffic crashes are spatiotemporal events and the research on the spatiotemporal patterns and variation trends of traffic crashes has been carried out.However,the impact of built environment on traffic crash spatiotemporal trends has not received much attention.Moreover,the spatial non-stationarity between the variation trends of traffic crashes and their influencing factors is usually neglected.To make up for the lack of analysis of built environment factors influencing spatiotemporal hotspot trends in traffic crashes,this paper proposed a method of“ST-GWLR”for analyzing the influence of built environment factors on spatiotemporal hotspot trends of traffic crashes by combining the spatiotemporal hotspot trend analysis and Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression(GWLR)modeling methods.Firstly,the traffic crash spatiotemporal hotspot trends were explored using the space-time cube model,hotspot analysis,and Mann-Kendall trend test.Then,the GWLR was introduced to capture the spatial non-stationarity neglected by the classic Global Logistic Regression(GLR)model,to improve the accuracy of the model estimation.GWLR model is used for the first time to analyze the significant local correlation between the traffic crash spatiotemporal hotspot trends and the built environment factors,to accurately and effectively identify the built environment factors that have significant influences on the hotspot trends of traffic crashes.The performance of the GWLR models and GLR models was examined and compared sufficiently.The results showed that the proposed ST-GWLR,which captured spatial non-stationarity,performed better than the classic GLR combined with spatiotemporal analysis,and improved the prediction accuracy of the models by 14.9%,13.9%,and 15.1%,respectively.There were significant local correlations between intensifying hotspots and persistent hotspots of traffic crashes and the built environment factors.The findings of this paper have positive implications for traffic safety management and urban built environment planning.展开更多
With the global economy increasingly dependent on innovation,urban discourse has shifted to consider what kinds of spatial designs may best nurture innovation.We examined the relationship between the built environment...With the global economy increasingly dependent on innovation,urban discourse has shifted to consider what kinds of spatial designs may best nurture innovation.We examined the relationship between the built environment and the spatial heterogeneity of regional innovation productivity(RIP)using the example of China's Pearl River Delta(PRD).Based on a spatial database of 522546 patent data from 2017,this study proposed an innovation-based built environment framework with the following five aspects:healthy en-vironment,daily interaction,mixed land use,commuting convenience,and technology atmosphere.Combining negative binomial regression and Geodetector to examine the impact of the built environment on RIP,the results show that the spatial distribution of innovation productivity in the PRD region is extremely uneven.The negative binomial regression results show that the built environment has a significant impact on the spatial differentiation of RIP,and,specifically,that healthy environment,mixed land use,commuting convenience,and technology atmosphere all demonstrate significant positive impacts.Meanwhile,the Geodetector results show that the built environment factor impacts the spatial heterogeneity of RIP to varying degrees,with technology atmosphere demonstrating the greatest impact intensity.We conclude that as regional development discourse shifts focus to the knowledge and innovation economy,the innovation-oriented design and updating of built environments will become extremely important to policymakers.展开更多
This study applies multi-source datasets(i.e.,Baidu Heat Map data,points of interest(POIs)data,and floor area and land use data)and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)models to elaborate the spatio...This study applies multi-source datasets(i.e.,Baidu Heat Map data,points of interest(POIs)data,and floor area and land use data)and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)models to elaborate the spatiotemporal relationships between the built environment and urban vibrancy on both weekdays and weekends,using Guangzhou City as a case.First,we verified the spatially and temporally nonstationary nature of the built environment correlates,which have been largely ignored in previous studies based on local regression techniques.The spatially and temporally heterogeneous effects of the built environment on urban vibrancy are then presented and visualized,based on the GTWR results.We found that the elasticity of location(i.e.,distance),land use mix(i.e.,diversity),building intensity and numbers of POIs with various functions(i.e.,density)are different across time(2-h intervals within a day)and space(grids),due to people’s everyday lifestyle,time-space constraints,and geographical context(e.g.,spatial structure).The findings highlight the importance of a better understanding of the local geography on the spatiotemporal relationships for urban planners and local governments so as to put forward decision-making support for fostering and maintaining urban vibrancy.展开更多
Objective To develop a preliminary subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative and to evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods The initial items of the sc...Objective To develop a preliminary subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative and to evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods The initial items of the scale were determined based on a review of policy documents and consultations with experts. The final items of the scale were confirmed through individual interviews with residents combined with the discretetrend method, critical ratio method, correlation coefficient method, and factor analysis method. Then, the dimensions of the scale were determined using exploratory factor analysis(EFA). The Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) were used to assess the reliability and validity of the scale.Results A scale containing five dimensions with 22 items was established, including urban lifestyle,governance, basic functions, environmental sanitation, and amenities. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.876, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.796. The CFA results indicate that each inspection level was within the standard limit.Conclusion The preliminarily subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative demonstrates a high level of reliability and validity. Additional empirical studies should be carried out to further verify the value of the scale in terms of practical application.展开更多
Background: Built environments that are designed to provide accessible, attractive, and convenient locales promote regular physical activity(PA).Norway has great variability in its geographic, natural, and built envir...Background: Built environments that are designed to provide accessible, attractive, and convenient locales promote regular physical activity(PA).Norway has great variability in its geographic, natural, and built environment features. Urban areas have well-developed built environment features, whereas the rural areas are less walkable and this may influence the mode of transport. In general, active transport is more common in urban centers. Further, public transportation is more developed in urban areas, whereas motorized transport may be more widespread in the rural areas. Despite this, in Sogn & Fjordane, a rural county in western Norway, high PA levels are frequently observed. Thus, the aims of this study were to(1) explore perceived built environment features and characterize their associations with objectively measured PA levels in Norwegian adults and(2) explore the differences in these correlates between Sogn & Fjordane and the rest of Norway.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants used questionnaires to rate perceptions of their built environments, and their PA was objectively measured for 7 consecutive days using the Acti Graph GT1 M accelerometer. There were 972 Norwegian adults who were included in the study. The average age was 46.9 ± 6.5 years and 43.8% of participants were men. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression.Results: Total PA and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity(MVPA) were both associated with perceived walkability, the community perception score, and active transport for commuting(all p ≤ 0.004). We also observed geographic-area-specific associations: the community perception score was negatively associated with total PA and MVPA in the rest of Norway(p ≤ 0.012) but not in Sogn & Fjordane. Public transport for commuting was positively associated with MVPA in Sogn & Fjordane(p = 0.03) but not in the rest of Norway.Conclusion: Total PA level and MVPA were associated with built environment factors, such as perceptions of community, perceived walkability,and engaging in active transport for commuting. Geographic differences in the PA correlates were observed, and thus, locally customized environmental population approaches aimed at increasing PA levels may be essential complements to individual behavior and lifestyle strategies.Further, objective measures of Norwegian built environments, such as geographic information system data, and validated walk-and bike-scores would advance the field.展开更多
Promoting active travel behavior and decreasing transport-related carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions have become a priority in many Chinese cities experiencing rapid urban sprawl and greater automobile dependence. Howev...Promoting active travel behavior and decreasing transport-related carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions have become a priority in many Chinese cities experiencing rapid urban sprawl and greater automobile dependence. However, there are few studies that holistically examine the physical and social factors associated with travel CO2 emissions. Using a survey of 1525 shoppers conducted in Shenyang, China, this study estimated shopping-related travel CO2 emissions and examined how the built environment and individual socioeconomic characteristics contribute to shopping travel behavior and associated C02 emissions. We found that, firstly, private car trips generate nearly eight times more carbon emissions than shopping trips using public transport, on average. Second, there was sig- nificant spatial autocorrelation with CO2 emissions per trip, and the highest carbon emissions were clustered in the inner suburbs and between the first and second circumferential roads. Third, shopping travel CO2 emissions per trip were negatively correlated with sev- eral built environment features including population density, the quantity of public transport stations, road density, and shop density. They were also found to be significantly related to the individual socio-eeonomic characteristics of car ownership, employment status, and education level using a multinomial logistic regression model. These empirical findings have important policy implications, assisting in the development of measures that contribute to the sustainability of urban transportation and meet carbon mitigation targets.展开更多
Objective To assess the subjective perception of residents on the built environment in hygienic cities and its relation to the self-rated health(SRH)status of residents,providing a basis for a better promotion on cons...Objective To assess the subjective perception of residents on the built environment in hygienic cities and its relation to the self-rated health(SRH)status of residents,providing a basis for a better promotion on construction of health-supportive environments.Methods The online survey was adopted with the respondents recruited from residents living in Chaoyang District of Beijing in January 2021.With SRH level as the dependent variable,two-category logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the impact of the built environment in hygienic cities on the SRH status of residents.Results A total of 1,357 respondents were enrolled in this study.After controlling confounding factors,four aspects in the built environment in hygienic cities were detected remarkable influences on the SRH level of residents,including enough green space in the living area[odds ratio(OR)=1.395,95%confidence interval(95%CI):1.055–1.845],clean and hygienic living environment(OR=1.472,95%CI:1.107–1.956),residents’confidence in drinking water safety in the living area(OR=1.856,95%CI:1.354–2.544)and residents’confidence in food safety in the living area(OR=1.405,95%CI:1.027–1.921).Conclusion Regarding city construction,the government should focus more on the subjective perception of residents on built environments to build a supportive environment benefiting the health of residents.展开更多
Researchers have been trying to identify the contributory factors behind pedestrian crash occurrences through studies at both microscopic and macroscopic levels.However,built environment-related factors have primarily...Researchers have been trying to identify the contributory factors behind pedestrian crash occurrences through studies at both microscopic and macroscopic levels.However,built environment-related factors have primarily been examined in developed countries,resulting in a limited understanding of the phenomenon in the context of developing countries.Methodologically,these studies mostly used global regression models,which failed to incorporate spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity.Additionally,some of these studies applied spatial regression models randomly without following a comprehensive logical framework behind their selections.Our study aimed to develop a comprehensive spatial regression modeling framework to examine the relationships between pedestrian crash occurrences and the built environment at the macroscopic level in a megacity,Dhaka,the capital of a developing country:Bangladesh.Using secondary pedestrian crash data,the study applied one global non-spatial model,two global spatial regression models,and two local spatial regression models following a comprehensive spatial regression modeling framework.The factors which significantly contributed to pedestrian crash occurrences in Dhaka were employed person density,mixed and recreational land use density,primary road density,major intersection density,and share of non-motorized modes.Except for the last factor,all the other ones were positively related to pedestrian crash density.Among the five models used in this study,the multiscale geographically weighted regression(MGWR)performed the best as it calibrated each local relationship with a distant spatial scale parameter.The findings and recommendations presented in this study would be useful for reducing pedestrian crashes and choosing the appropriate modeling technique for crash analysis.展开更多
For everybody, the house or the accommodation （and its environment） is a secure place, a haven space, which protects people from constraints of the everyday life. Unfortunately, and more or less everywhere in the th...For everybody, the house or the accommodation （and its environment） is a secure place, a haven space, which protects people from constraints of the everyday life. Unfortunately, and more or less everywhere in the third world, accommodation is for a great number of people a source of stress caused by daily obligations that people have to deal with. In Algeria, the majority of the high-rise collective housing estates through the country offers all the ingredients of a constrained urban environment for the inhabitants. For the most of the population, the accommodation appears as a vital need rather than a negotiable good. As a matter of fact, in the third world in general and particularly in Algeria, most of people live in communities where there is a shortage of accommodation and in which the social housing and its environment are often below the standards. Constructed on policies and a conception of housing which does not integrate at all the criteria of the sustainable development, millions of fiats have already been built. Millions are going to be built in the future, and will be of high-rise collective type. As underlined in this paper, it seems reasonable to think that such a degraded built environment will be unfavorable to the inhabitants and will have a negative impact on both their mental and physical health. The attempt is to demonstrate that there are evidences according to which the housing conditions, inside and outside the accommodation, contribute to create psychological distress and physiological diseases.展开更多
The improvement of students’abilities is of great significance to discover the relevant scientific problems in daily life,to analyze and solve practical problems,to trigger scientific inspiration,and to encourage inn...The improvement of students’abilities is of great significance to discover the relevant scientific problems in daily life,to analyze and solve practical problems,to trigger scientific inspiration,and to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.Taken the course entitled Built Environment(BE)as an example,this study introduces five lecture cases combining with engineering practices,and examines the evaluation of teaching and learning effect on student outcomes.The cases consider various problems to be solved urgently in an actual project,and evaluate the student outcomes by statistically analyzing the questionnaires.Most of the students actively participate in five cases and cheerfully share their achievements.More than 85%of students are satisfied with the engineering practice and the learning proposal,and convey a little or even significantly change in their understanding of the employment prospects.展开更多
In a short time, during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, we managed to shift rapidly to use digital technologies and replace some of our daily operations with virtual modes. This shift happened so i...In a short time, during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, we managed to shift rapidly to use digital technologies and replace some of our daily operations with virtual modes. This shift happened so instantly and widely that it enables us to argue that the COVID-19 became a valid reason to boost some of the gradual and ongoing transitions towards faster transformations. In this study, we use gray literature to delve into arguments around the boost for digitization, digitalization, and systems thinking in the development of the built environment. This is mostly discussed from the influence of COVID-19 on some of the existing practices or the business-as-usual of the built environment sector. From technological advancement to technology use, these arguments are put forward to discuss what is likely to be the major driver of technological adoption and the shifting paradigms that are yet to be revealed. The study concludes that the current push towards new directions and development pathways are likely to be widely accepted in a shorter time. The findings of this brief study feed into existing arguments on transformative pathways due to the COVID-19 pandemic.展开更多
With the continuous intensification of the global greenhouse effect,thermal comfort has become a highly concerned issue in the living environment.The study explores the influencing factors and improvement strategies o...With the continuous intensification of the global greenhouse effect,thermal comfort has become a highly concerned issue in the living environment.The study explores the influencing factors and improvement strategies of urban street thermal comfort.The urban heat island effect,environmental parameters,building layout,and green planting all have a significant impact on the thermal comfort of streets.Improvement strategies include optimizing cultivating pattern of plants,adjusting street layout,and improving paving materials of road.The multi-layer vegetation structure provides green shade,reduces local temperature,and humidifies the surrounding environment.It should adjust the street orientation and aspect ratio to provide sunlight and ventilation,and reduce ambient temperature.Paving materials with low reflectivity and light color and permeable underlying surface should be chosen to reduce heat absorption,increase shading and greenery,and improve thermal comfort.展开更多
Places of large potentials of sustainable energy production and places of large energy consumption are often very different and separated by large distances across the globe. This paper first discusses potentials of s...Places of large potentials of sustainable energy production and places of large energy consumption are often very different and separated by large distances across the globe. This paper first discusses potentials of solar technology in terms of global availability using PV （photovoltaic） technology and actual energy production. Solar energy is widely under-used and one way to reduce this is to improve production in low-energy places with high demand： large cities. According to this option, about 40% of the electricity consumption in the built environment could be produced by solar PV systems and energy storage systems. This paper discusses conditions in the built environment and functional and design qualities enabling an increased diffusion of the technologies In a comparative analysis of PV technologies, the criteria taken into account encompass efficiency of the type of solar cell and commercial availability. Special attention is paid to the design features of different PV systems, like flexibility, colour and transparency that might help in their utilization as integrated in building material and ornaments in modem architecture. The same procedure is followed for electricity storage devices. The preliminary conclusion is that at present the freedom of design is largest for a combination of crystalline silicon PV cells and Li-ion batteries.展开更多
基金The National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2022YFC3800201).
文摘This study examined the influence of the built environment surrounding rail stations on rail transit ridership and its spatiotemporal variations,aiming to enhance rail transit operational efficiency and inform station planning and development.Data from 159 metro stations in Nanjing,collected over a 14-d period,were analyzed to identify changes in weekday and weekend ridership patterns.The analysis included explanatory variables grouped into three categories:urban spatial variables,socioeconomic vari-ables,and transit service variables.A geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)model was developed,and its performance was compared with that of ordinary least squares(OLS)and geographically weighted regression(GWR)models.The results demonstrated that the GTWR model outperformed others in analyzing the relationship between rail transit ridership and the built environment.In addition,the coefficients of explanatory variables showed significant variation across spatiotemporal dimensions,revealing distinct patterns.Notably,the influence of commuter flows led to more pronounced temporal heterogeneity in the coefficients observed on weekdays.These findings offer valuable insights for optimizing urban public transportation systems and advancing integrated urban rail development.
基金National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.42171295,No.42401380Outstanding Youth Science Fund of Henan Province,No.242300421144+1 种基金The Postgraduate Cultivating Innovation and Quality Improvement Action Plan of Henan University,No.SYLYC2022013Henan Science and Technology Innovation Talent Project,No.24HASTIT050。
文摘A low-carbon lifestyle presents new opportunities for sustainable urban development.While previous studies have verified the impact of the built environment and socioeconomic status(SES)on low-carbon lifestyles,they have primarily focused on direct effects.At present,there is still a lack of analysis on the interaction effects on low-carbon lifestyles,and limited attention has been given to the peer effect in low-carbon lifestyles,especially in the context of residential differentiation.Therefore,we take Zhengzhou city as the case area and first calculate the low-carbon lifestyle of 1485 families from three dimensions:low-carbon action(A),low-carbon interest(I)and low-carbon opinion(O).We then analyze the direct and interactive impacts of the built environment and SES on low-carbon lifestyles and explore the peer effect.Our findings indicate that families with higher SES have higher levels of low-carbon interest and low-carbon opinion,but relatively low levels of low-carbon action.This suggests an interest-action bias in the low-carbon lifestyles of high-SES families.POI density,road network density and accessibility positively affect low-carbon lifestyles—that is,residents living in areas with well-developed infrastructure and convenient transportation tend to be green in their daily behavior.The peer effect influences low-carbon action,interest,and opinion by 54.6%,34.9%,and 16%,respectively,indicating that the peer effect is most evident in low-carbon action.That is,the peer effect is more obvious in low-carbon action.In addition,the built environment affects the low-carbon lifestyles of different SES groups.Land-use mix positively increases low-carbon action and low-carbon interest among high-SES groups but reduces low-carbon opinion.Road network density positively affects the low-carbon action of high-SES groups and the low-carbon interest and low-carbon opinion of low-SES groups.This study explores low-carbon lifestyles from a situational perspective,providing a practical basis for policies aimed at accelerating a transition to sustainable living.
文摘As globalization accelerates,microbial contamination in the built environment poses a major public health challenge.Especially since Corona Virus Disease 2019(COVID-19),microbial sterilization technology has become a crucial research area for indoor air pollution control in order to create a hygienic and safe built environment.Based on this,the study reviews sterilization technologies in the built environment,focusing on the principles,efficiency and applicability,revealing advantages and limitations,and summarizing current research advances.Despite the efficacy of single sterilization technologies in specific environments,the corresponding side effects still exist.Thus,this review highlights the efficiency of hybrid sterilization technologies,providing an in-depth understanding of the practical application in the built environment.Also,it presents an outlook on the future direction of sterilization technology,including the development of new methods that are more efficient,energy-saving,and targeted to better address microbial contamination in the complex and changing built environment.Overall,this study provides a clear guide for selecting technologies to handle microbial contamination in different building environments in the future,as well as a scientific basis for developing more effective air quality control strategies.
基金National Social Science Foundation of China,No.20FJLB025National Natural Science Foundation of China,No.42471207,No.42471203Zhejiang Province Philosophy and Social Science Planning,Zhijiang Youth Special Project,24ZJQN118Y。
文摘The effects of the built environment factors on urban vitality have attracted wide attention in the urban planning fields in recent years,but few studies have considered the variables’relative importance and their nonlinear effects on urban vitality.Taking a Chinese metropolis—Hangzhou as a case study,this study applied the gradient boosting decision tree(GBDT)model to explore the nonlinear effects of the 5D factors of the urban built environment on urban social vitality and economic vitality and the importance of variables.The results show that the GBDT model has better goodness of fit than the traditional ordinary least squares(OLS)regression in the urban vitality models.The urban built environment plays an important role in affecting urban vitality,while built environment designs witness the most important effect.Specifically,the density of shopping facilities,medical facilities,and road networks are the most important factors affecting urban social vitality,while road network density,destination accessibility,and population density play the most important roles in affecting urban economic vitality.Finally,the urban built environment factors have nonlinear threshold effects on both urban economic and social vitality in Hangzhou,with differing nonlinear response patterns observed between social and economic dimensions.
基金Under the auspices of the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.42171191,41771172,42201211,42401249)Science and Technology Development Plan Project of Jilin Province,China(No.20220508025RC)Young Scientist Group Project of Northeast Institute of Geography and Agroecology,Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.2022QNXZ02)。
文摘Urban vitality is one of the key indicators of sustainable urban development and an important factor for shrinking cities to achieve internal optimization.The relationship between the built environment and urban vitality has been extensively discussed.However,the moderating effect of housing vacancy on the built environment’s effect on urban vitality in shrinking cities has not been explored in detail.This paper selected Yichun District in Yichun City of Heilongjiang Province,a typical shrinking city in Northeast China,as the study area,focusing on the effect of the built environment on urban vitality in shrinking cities based on residential and commercial electricity consumption data for 2013 and 2018.Moreover,this study also explored the moderating mechanisms of residential and commercial housing vacancies on the built environment’s effect on urban vitality.The results demonstrate that the spatial pattern of urban vitality in the Yichun District is‘high in the center and low in the periphery’.Population density,building age,road density,and catering facilities are recognized as the main built environment factors affecting the vitality of shrinking cities.Residential and commercial housing vacancies have a significant moderating effect on the built environment’s effect on urban vitality.Residential housing vacancies enhance the positive effect of road density and the negative effect of greening rate.In addition,commercial housing vacancies suppress the positive effect of building density and enhance the positive effect of accessibility to urban service facilities.The study indicates that built environment factors exhibit heterogeneous effects on vitality in the context of urban shrinkage,as moderated by housing vacancies.Targeted regulation of built environment factors is of practical significance in realizing the internal development and vitality enhancement of shrinking cities.
文摘Previous studies have extensively explored the critical influence of the built environment on land values,but the non-linear relationship has yet to be fully revealed.This study aims to uncover the non-linear relationship between land values and the five built environment dimensions using machine learning algorithms and Shapley Additive ex Planation(SHAP).The results highlight that the Gradient Boost Decision Tree (GBDT) outperforms e Xtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost),Ordinary Least Squares (OLS),and Multiscale Geographically Weighted Regression (MGWR) in land value estimation,exhibiting higher R^(2) and lower Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) and Mean Absolute Error (MAE).The results illustrate that density and destination accessibility are the dominant factors,contributing 32.48%and37.38%to land value variation,respectively.We observed that the top three factors affecting land values are the built-floor area ratio,the number of floors and the number of restaurants.Additionally,the results revealed the non-linear relationship between the built environment and land values,suggesting that maintaining built environment features at optimal thresholds may increase land values.Neglecting interaction effects may lead to bias in determining relationships between land values and the built environment.This study contributes to the literature by providing non-linear and threshold identification evidence in land value determinants,offering valuable insights for urban planners and real estate managers.
基金supported by the Special Funds for Cultivation of Guangdong College Students’Scientific and Technological Innovation(“Climbing Program”Special Funds)[Grant No.pdjh2024a053]National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Training Program for Undergraduate[Grant No.S202310559083].
文摘China is experiencing rapid population aging.The one contributing factor affecting senior citizens’lives is the disconnect between the built environment in urban and rural areas and the behavioral preferences of older adults.However,research on the relation between the built environment and the behavior of older individuals has been limited.Thus,this paper uses the most recent health tracking data on factors influencing aging in China released in 2020(China Senior Health Survey Tracking Survey).Applying traditional regression,least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression,and two decision tree optimization models from machine learning,a comprehensive comparative study is carried out to investigate the correlation between the built environment and the physical activity,dietary habits,and social interactions of older age groups.The findings reveal that built environment variables most significantly impact physical activity,accounting for 52.525%,followed by social interaction behaviors at 50.202%and dietary intake at 47.991%.Furthermore,the authors identify population density and greenness rate as the built environment factors having considerable effects on the behavior of older adults.Thus,this study establishes a theoretical foundation for developing age-friendly community environments for older adults.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China[grant numbers 42101449,42090012 and 61825103]the Natural Science Foundation of Hubei Province,China[grant numbers 2022CFB773 and 2020CFA001]+2 种基金the Key Research and Development Program of Hubei Province,China[grant number 2022BAA048]the Chutian Scholar Program of Hubei Provincethe Yellow Crane Talent Scheme.
文摘Road traffic crashes are becoming thorny issues being faced worldwide.Traffic crashes are spatiotemporal events and the research on the spatiotemporal patterns and variation trends of traffic crashes has been carried out.However,the impact of built environment on traffic crash spatiotemporal trends has not received much attention.Moreover,the spatial non-stationarity between the variation trends of traffic crashes and their influencing factors is usually neglected.To make up for the lack of analysis of built environment factors influencing spatiotemporal hotspot trends in traffic crashes,this paper proposed a method of“ST-GWLR”for analyzing the influence of built environment factors on spatiotemporal hotspot trends of traffic crashes by combining the spatiotemporal hotspot trend analysis and Geographically Weighted Logistic Regression(GWLR)modeling methods.Firstly,the traffic crash spatiotemporal hotspot trends were explored using the space-time cube model,hotspot analysis,and Mann-Kendall trend test.Then,the GWLR was introduced to capture the spatial non-stationarity neglected by the classic Global Logistic Regression(GLR)model,to improve the accuracy of the model estimation.GWLR model is used for the first time to analyze the significant local correlation between the traffic crash spatiotemporal hotspot trends and the built environment factors,to accurately and effectively identify the built environment factors that have significant influences on the hotspot trends of traffic crashes.The performance of the GWLR models and GLR models was examined and compared sufficiently.The results showed that the proposed ST-GWLR,which captured spatial non-stationarity,performed better than the classic GLR combined with spatiotemporal analysis,and improved the prediction accuracy of the models by 14.9%,13.9%,and 15.1%,respectively.There were significant local correlations between intensifying hotspots and persistent hotspots of traffic crashes and the built environment factors.The findings of this paper have positive implications for traffic safety management and urban built environment planning.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41871150)GDAS7 Project of Science and Technology Development(No.2021GDASYL-20210103004)+2 种基金National Key Research and Development Program(No.2019YFB2103-101)Special Construction Project of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Strategic Research Institute(No.2020GDA-SYL-20200201001)Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Guangzhou)(No.GML2019ZD0301)。
文摘With the global economy increasingly dependent on innovation,urban discourse has shifted to consider what kinds of spatial designs may best nurture innovation.We examined the relationship between the built environment and the spatial heterogeneity of regional innovation productivity(RIP)using the example of China's Pearl River Delta(PRD).Based on a spatial database of 522546 patent data from 2017,this study proposed an innovation-based built environment framework with the following five aspects:healthy en-vironment,daily interaction,mixed land use,commuting convenience,and technology atmosphere.Combining negative binomial regression and Geodetector to examine the impact of the built environment on RIP,the results show that the spatial distribution of innovation productivity in the PRD region is extremely uneven.The negative binomial regression results show that the built environment has a significant impact on the spatial differentiation of RIP,and,specifically,that healthy environment,mixed land use,commuting convenience,and technology atmosphere all demonstrate significant positive impacts.Meanwhile,the Geodetector results show that the built environment factor impacts the spatial heterogeneity of RIP to varying degrees,with technology atmosphere demonstrating the greatest impact intensity.We conclude that as regional development discourse shifts focus to the knowledge and innovation economy,the innovation-oriented design and updating of built environments will become extremely important to policymakers.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41901191,41930646)Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory(Zhuhai)(No.311020017)。
文摘This study applies multi-source datasets(i.e.,Baidu Heat Map data,points of interest(POIs)data,and floor area and land use data)and geographically and temporally weighted regression(GTWR)models to elaborate the spatiotemporal relationships between the built environment and urban vibrancy on both weekdays and weekends,using Guangzhou City as a case.First,we verified the spatially and temporally nonstationary nature of the built environment correlates,which have been largely ignored in previous studies based on local regression techniques.The spatially and temporally heterogeneous effects of the built environment on urban vibrancy are then presented and visualized,based on the GTWR results.We found that the elasticity of location(i.e.,distance),land use mix(i.e.,diversity),building intensity and numbers of POIs with various functions(i.e.,density)are different across time(2-h intervals within a day)and space(grids),due to people’s everyday lifestyle,time-space constraints,and geographical context(e.g.,spatial structure).The findings highlight the importance of a better understanding of the local geography on the spatiotemporal relationships for urban planners and local governments so as to put forward decision-making support for fostering and maintaining urban vibrancy.
基金supported by Operation Project of Public Health Emergency Response Mechanism of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention [131031001000150001]FIDELIS-Hubei Program [No. 2004-fid-4-034]。
文摘Objective To develop a preliminary subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative and to evaluate its reliability and validity.Methods The initial items of the scale were determined based on a review of policy documents and consultations with experts. The final items of the scale were confirmed through individual interviews with residents combined with the discretetrend method, critical ratio method, correlation coefficient method, and factor analysis method. Then, the dimensions of the scale were determined using exploratory factor analysis(EFA). The Cronbach’s α coefficient, split-half reliability coefficient, and confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) were used to assess the reliability and validity of the scale.Results A scale containing five dimensions with 22 items was established, including urban lifestyle,governance, basic functions, environmental sanitation, and amenities. The Cronbach’s α coefficient of the scale was 0.876, and the split-half reliability coefficient was 0.796. The CFA results indicate that each inspection level was within the standard limit.Conclusion The preliminarily subjective evaluation scale for assessing the built environments of China’s Hygienic City Initiative demonstrates a high level of reliability and validity. Additional empirical studies should be carried out to further verify the value of the scale in terms of practical application.
基金supported by the Sogn & Fjordane County Council, Sparebanken Vest–Visjon Vest, the Norwegian Directorate of Health, Norwegian School of Sport Sciences, and Sogn & Fjordane University College
文摘Background: Built environments that are designed to provide accessible, attractive, and convenient locales promote regular physical activity(PA).Norway has great variability in its geographic, natural, and built environment features. Urban areas have well-developed built environment features, whereas the rural areas are less walkable and this may influence the mode of transport. In general, active transport is more common in urban centers. Further, public transportation is more developed in urban areas, whereas motorized transport may be more widespread in the rural areas. Despite this, in Sogn & Fjordane, a rural county in western Norway, high PA levels are frequently observed. Thus, the aims of this study were to(1) explore perceived built environment features and characterize their associations with objectively measured PA levels in Norwegian adults and(2) explore the differences in these correlates between Sogn & Fjordane and the rest of Norway.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, participants used questionnaires to rate perceptions of their built environments, and their PA was objectively measured for 7 consecutive days using the Acti Graph GT1 M accelerometer. There were 972 Norwegian adults who were included in the study. The average age was 46.9 ± 6.5 years and 43.8% of participants were men. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression.Results: Total PA and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity(MVPA) were both associated with perceived walkability, the community perception score, and active transport for commuting(all p ≤ 0.004). We also observed geographic-area-specific associations: the community perception score was negatively associated with total PA and MVPA in the rest of Norway(p ≤ 0.012) but not in Sogn & Fjordane. Public transport for commuting was positively associated with MVPA in Sogn & Fjordane(p = 0.03) but not in the rest of Norway.Conclusion: Total PA level and MVPA were associated with built environment factors, such as perceptions of community, perceived walkability,and engaging in active transport for commuting. Geographic differences in the PA correlates were observed, and thus, locally customized environmental population approaches aimed at increasing PA levels may be essential complements to individual behavior and lifestyle strategies.Further, objective measures of Norwegian built environments, such as geographic information system data, and validated walk-and bike-scores would advance the field.
基金Under the auspices of National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.41201159,41571152,41401478,41201160,41001076)the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(No.KSZD-EW-Z-021-03,KZZD-EW-06-03)
文摘Promoting active travel behavior and decreasing transport-related carbon dioxide （CO2） emissions have become a priority in many Chinese cities experiencing rapid urban sprawl and greater automobile dependence. However, there are few studies that holistically examine the physical and social factors associated with travel CO2 emissions. Using a survey of 1525 shoppers conducted in Shenyang, China, this study estimated shopping-related travel CO2 emissions and examined how the built environment and individual socioeconomic characteristics contribute to shopping travel behavior and associated C02 emissions. We found that, firstly, private car trips generate nearly eight times more carbon emissions than shopping trips using public transport, on average. Second, there was sig- nificant spatial autocorrelation with CO2 emissions per trip, and the highest carbon emissions were clustered in the inner suburbs and between the first and second circumferential roads. Third, shopping travel CO2 emissions per trip were negatively correlated with sev- eral built environment features including population density, the quantity of public transport stations, road density, and shop density. They were also found to be significantly related to the individual socio-eeonomic characteristics of car ownership, employment status, and education level using a multinomial logistic regression model. These empirical findings have important policy implications, assisting in the development of measures that contribute to the sustainability of urban transportation and meet carbon mitigation targets.
基金Operation Project of Public Health Emergency Response Mechanism of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention[131031001000150001]。
文摘Objective To assess the subjective perception of residents on the built environment in hygienic cities and its relation to the self-rated health(SRH)status of residents,providing a basis for a better promotion on construction of health-supportive environments.Methods The online survey was adopted with the respondents recruited from residents living in Chaoyang District of Beijing in January 2021.With SRH level as the dependent variable,two-category logistic regression analysis was conducted to analyze the impact of the built environment in hygienic cities on the SRH status of residents.Results A total of 1,357 respondents were enrolled in this study.After controlling confounding factors,four aspects in the built environment in hygienic cities were detected remarkable influences on the SRH level of residents,including enough green space in the living area[odds ratio(OR)=1.395,95%confidence interval(95%CI):1.055–1.845],clean and hygienic living environment(OR=1.472,95%CI:1.107–1.956),residents’confidence in drinking water safety in the living area(OR=1.856,95%CI:1.354–2.544)and residents’confidence in food safety in the living area(OR=1.405,95%CI:1.027–1.921).Conclusion Regarding city construction,the government should focus more on the subjective perception of residents on built environments to build a supportive environment benefiting the health of residents.
基金This research is funded by Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology(BUET).
文摘Researchers have been trying to identify the contributory factors behind pedestrian crash occurrences through studies at both microscopic and macroscopic levels.However,built environment-related factors have primarily been examined in developed countries,resulting in a limited understanding of the phenomenon in the context of developing countries.Methodologically,these studies mostly used global regression models,which failed to incorporate spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity.Additionally,some of these studies applied spatial regression models randomly without following a comprehensive logical framework behind their selections.Our study aimed to develop a comprehensive spatial regression modeling framework to examine the relationships between pedestrian crash occurrences and the built environment at the macroscopic level in a megacity,Dhaka,the capital of a developing country:Bangladesh.Using secondary pedestrian crash data,the study applied one global non-spatial model,two global spatial regression models,and two local spatial regression models following a comprehensive spatial regression modeling framework.The factors which significantly contributed to pedestrian crash occurrences in Dhaka were employed person density,mixed and recreational land use density,primary road density,major intersection density,and share of non-motorized modes.Except for the last factor,all the other ones were positively related to pedestrian crash density.Among the five models used in this study,the multiscale geographically weighted regression(MGWR)performed the best as it calibrated each local relationship with a distant spatial scale parameter.The findings and recommendations presented in this study would be useful for reducing pedestrian crashes and choosing the appropriate modeling technique for crash analysis.
文摘For everybody, the house or the accommodation （and its environment） is a secure place, a haven space, which protects people from constraints of the everyday life. Unfortunately, and more or less everywhere in the third world, accommodation is for a great number of people a source of stress caused by daily obligations that people have to deal with. In Algeria, the majority of the high-rise collective housing estates through the country offers all the ingredients of a constrained urban environment for the inhabitants. For the most of the population, the accommodation appears as a vital need rather than a negotiable good. As a matter of fact, in the third world in general and particularly in Algeria, most of people live in communities where there is a shortage of accommodation and in which the social housing and its environment are often below the standards. Constructed on policies and a conception of housing which does not integrate at all the criteria of the sustainable development, millions of fiats have already been built. Millions are going to be built in the future, and will be of high-rise collective type. As underlined in this paper, it seems reasonable to think that such a degraded built environment will be unfavorable to the inhabitants and will have a negative impact on both their mental and physical health. The attempt is to demonstrate that there are evidences according to which the housing conditions, inside and outside the accommodation, contribute to create psychological distress and physiological diseases.
基金2020 Donghua University’s educational reform project of integration of specialty and innovation,China(No.ZCRH2020002)Excellent reform pilot course of Donghua University Built Environment,China.
文摘The improvement of students’abilities is of great significance to discover the relevant scientific problems in daily life,to analyze and solve practical problems,to trigger scientific inspiration,and to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.Taken the course entitled Built Environment(BE)as an example,this study introduces five lecture cases combining with engineering practices,and examines the evaluation of teaching and learning effect on student outcomes.The cases consider various problems to be solved urgently in an actual project,and evaluate the student outcomes by statistically analyzing the questionnaires.Most of the students actively participate in five cases and cheerfully share their achievements.More than 85%of students are satisfied with the engineering practice and the learning proposal,and convey a little or even significantly change in their understanding of the employment prospects.
文摘In a short time, during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak, we managed to shift rapidly to use digital technologies and replace some of our daily operations with virtual modes. This shift happened so instantly and widely that it enables us to argue that the COVID-19 became a valid reason to boost some of the gradual and ongoing transitions towards faster transformations. In this study, we use gray literature to delve into arguments around the boost for digitization, digitalization, and systems thinking in the development of the built environment. This is mostly discussed from the influence of COVID-19 on some of the existing practices or the business-as-usual of the built environment sector. From technological advancement to technology use, these arguments are put forward to discuss what is likely to be the major driver of technological adoption and the shifting paradigms that are yet to be revealed. The study concludes that the current push towards new directions and development pathways are likely to be widely accepted in a shorter time. The findings of this brief study feed into existing arguments on transformative pathways due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
基金Sponsored by General Project of Natural Science Foundation of Beijing City(8202017)Youth Talent Support Program of 2018 Beijing Municipal University Academic Human Resources Development(PXM2018_014212_000043).
文摘With the continuous intensification of the global greenhouse effect,thermal comfort has become a highly concerned issue in the living environment.The study explores the influencing factors and improvement strategies of urban street thermal comfort.The urban heat island effect,environmental parameters,building layout,and green planting all have a significant impact on the thermal comfort of streets.Improvement strategies include optimizing cultivating pattern of plants,adjusting street layout,and improving paving materials of road.The multi-layer vegetation structure provides green shade,reduces local temperature,and humidifies the surrounding environment.It should adjust the street orientation and aspect ratio to provide sunlight and ventilation,and reduce ambient temperature.Paving materials with low reflectivity and light color and permeable underlying surface should be chosen to reduce heat absorption,increase shading and greenery,and improve thermal comfort.
文摘Places of large potentials of sustainable energy production and places of large energy consumption are often very different and separated by large distances across the globe. This paper first discusses potentials of solar technology in terms of global availability using PV （photovoltaic） technology and actual energy production. Solar energy is widely under-used and one way to reduce this is to improve production in low-energy places with high demand： large cities. According to this option, about 40% of the electricity consumption in the built environment could be produced by solar PV systems and energy storage systems. This paper discusses conditions in the built environment and functional and design qualities enabling an increased diffusion of the technologies In a comparative analysis of PV technologies, the criteria taken into account encompass efficiency of the type of solar cell and commercial availability. Special attention is paid to the design features of different PV systems, like flexibility, colour and transparency that might help in their utilization as integrated in building material and ornaments in modem architecture. The same procedure is followed for electricity storage devices. The preliminary conclusion is that at present the freedom of design is largest for a combination of crystalline silicon PV cells and Li-ion batteries.
