| 1. |
- Ahmed, Mobyen Uddin, Dr, 1976-, et al.
(author)
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Convolutional Neural Network for Driving Maneuver Identification Based on Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and Global Positioning System (GPS)
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 2
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Identification and translation of different driving manoeuvre are some of the key elements to analysis driving risky behavior. However, the major obstacles to manoeuvre identification are the wide variety of styles of driving manoeuvre which are performed during driving. The objective in this contribution through the paper is to automatic identification of driver manoeuvre e.g. driving in roundabouts, left and right turns, breaks, etc. based on Inertia Measurement Unit (IMU) and Global Positioning System (GPS). Here, several Machine Learning (ML) algorithms i.e. Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), K-nearest neighbor (k-NN), Hidden Markov Model (HMM), Random Forest (RF), and Support Vector Machine (SVM) have been applied for automatic feature extraction and classification on the IMU and GPS data sets collected through a Naturalistic Driving Studies (NDS) under an H2020 project called SimuSafe . The CNN is further compared with HMM, RF, ANN, k-NN and SVM to observe the ability to identify a car manoeuvre through roundabouts. According to the results, CNN outperforms (i.e. average F1-score of 0.88 both roundabout and not roundabout) among the other ML classifiers and RF presents better correlation than CNN, i.e. MCC = -.022.
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| 2. |
- Alsanius, Beatrix, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of lettuce growth, yield, and economic viability grown vertically on unutilized building wall in Dhaka City
- 2021
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 3
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Production of safe food in the densely populated areas of the developing countries is the most challenging issue due to the speedy urbanization, fragile food transportation facilities, and reduced farmlands. Given this background, a study was conducted to evaluate the agronomic properties and economic viability of lettuce grown vertically in the wall of building in Dhaka city, Bangladesh. Two lettuce cultivars (V1: Green wave and V2: New red fire) and three organic growing media (P1: 40% soil + 40% vermicompost + 20% coir; P2: 50% soil + 50% vermicompost; P3: 20% soil + 40% vermicompost + 40% spent mushroom compost) along with control (P0:100% soil) were used. The results revealed that plant height, leaf area, fresh weight, dry weight, and total yield of leaf lettuce were significantly increased when the green-leafed cultivar (VI) was grown in the P1 compared to all other treatments, but V2 got maximum sensory attribute scores when grown in the P1. Lettuce leaves grown in the formulated growing media (P1, P2, and P3) had higher microbial infestation whereas, a lower content occurred in the P0. The higher economic return was observed in V1P1. These results provided baseline information for further study on urban commercial vertical farming on the building walls. These demonstrate the agronomic and economic potential for vertical farming in densely populated areas but emphasize the need for optimized food safety strategies.
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| 3. |
- Berglund, Christer, et al.
(author)
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Recycling, Norms and Convenience: A Bivariate Probit Analysis of Household Data from a Swedish City
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The purpose of this article is to investigate the role of norms and convenience for households' packaging waste sorting activities. The theoretical point of departure is a simple economic model that integrates norm-motivated behavior into neoclassical utility theory by assuming that the individual has a preference for maintaining a self-image as a morally responsible (norm-compliant) person. The empirical analysis rests on survey responses from 398 households in the city of Eskilstuna, Sweden. Self-reported information on recycling contributions and personal norms is analyzed in a bivariate probit model, which estimates the probability of pursuing high-performing recycling efforts as an endogenously determined decisions to the activation of a personal norm for waste sorting. The results suggest that norm activation is an important driver for households' recycling contributions, as is convenience in the form of access to property-close collection schemes. Personal norms are in turn primarily activated by the presence of social, legal, and descriptive norms. One important implication is that policy needs to build on well-aligned policy instrument mixes that combine references to the moral significance of households' recycling contributions with various infrastructural measures that facilitate such contributions.
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| 4. |
- Bergman, Filip, 1992-, et al.
(author)
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A Critical Review of the Sustainability of Multi-Utility Tunnels for Colocation of Subsurface Infrastructure
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Multi-utility tunnel (MUT) have received increasing attention as an alternative method for installing subsurface infrastructure for the distribution of electricity, telecommunications, water, sewage and district heating. MUTs are described as a potentially more sustainable technology than conventional open-cut excavation (OCE), especially if the entire life cycle of these cable and pipe networks is taken into account. Based on an extensive review of the academic literature, this article aims to identify and critically examine claims made about the pros and cons of using MUT for the placement of subsurface infrastructure. Identified claims are mapped, and their validity and applicability assessed. These claims are then analyzed from a sustainability perspective, based on the three sustainability dimensions and a life cycle perspective. The results show that a variety of advantages and disadvantages of using MUTs for subsurface infrastructure are highlighted by the articles, but several of these are without any empirical support. When some form of empirical support is presented, it usually comes from case-specific analyses of MUTs, and the applicability in other MUT projects is seldom discussed. Economic performance is the sustainability dimension that has received the most attention, while environmental performance has not been analyzed in the reviewed literature, which is a major limitation of the current knowledge. In summary, the knowledge about the sustainability performance of using MUTs for subsurface infrastructure is still limited and incoherent. In order to increase the knowledge, this article points out the importance of new case studies, in which the sustainability consequences of using MUTs for subsurface infrastructure are mapped and evaluated by combining both quantitative and qualitative assessment methods.
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| 5. |
- Buffam, Ishi, et al.
(author)
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Priorities and barriers for urban ecosystem service provision: A comparison of stakeholder perspectives from three cities
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Urban Green Infrastructure (UGI) can provide many needed ecosystem services (ES) to help address challenges like biodiversity loss and climate change while contributing to the health and wellbeing of urban inhabitants. In order to optimize UGI for a given city, a first step is to assess the local ES needs and the potential barriers to ES provision. However, it is not known how consistent these needs and barriers are among cities in different settings. To help address this knowledge gap, the aim of this study was to assess ES priorities and existing barriers to ES provision for three cities varying in socioeconomic, cultural and climatic setting: Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Cincinnati (USA) and Malmö (Sweden). In case studies of each of the three cities, we carried out workshops with key stakeholders and collected their assessments of both current provision of ES from UGI and future priorities. The workshops were followed by expert stakeholder interviews aimed at highlighting existing barriers to ES provision. In spite of the different urban contexts, expressed ES priorities were similar among the cities, with the highest cross-cutting priorities being climate change adaptation, stormwater runoff management and water quality, mental and physical health, biodiversity, and provision of local food. Stakeholder-expressed barriers to ES provision were also broadly similar among cities, falling into three main categories: structural pressures, gaps in governance, and lack of ecological awareness and vision. Our results suggest that certain key ES priorities and barriers may apply broadly to cities regardless of climatic or socio-cultural context. These generic needs can help direct the focus of future studies, and imply a clear benefit to international, even cross-continental study and knowledge-exchange among practitioners and researchers working with UGI.
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| 6. |
- Bwalya Umar, Bridget, et al.
(author)
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Legalizing illegalities? : Land titling and land tenure security in informal settlements
- 2023
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - 2624-9634. ; 5, s. 1-15
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This study investigated how land rights formalization had affected land tenure security among landowners in two informal settlements of Lusaka and Chongwe districts, Zambia. It explored how social norms on land inheritance, decision making over land, marital trust and land related conflicts had been affected by the changed nature of land rights. Data was collected through a questionnaire survey of all the 302 households that had obtained title deeds at the time of the survey, two 3-in-1 focus group discussions and four key informant interviews. Results suggest that land tenure security is now a reality for residents that hitherto lived under constant threat of eviction. Landowners have benefitted from the formalization initiative through land laws and local norms that allow equitable access to land. Land rights formalization has curtailed land rights for secondary claimants such as extended family members, in preference for man, spouse and biological children. A sense of ownership undisputedly increased for men and women in the two study sites. About 50% of the respondents in both study sites indicated that formalization of land rights had not resulted in family conflicts. At least one-third from both sites reported an increase in love and trust between spouses after land rights formalization. About half of the respondents reported that no change in decision-making authority had occurred for men while 42% reported an increase. Formalizing land rights in informal settlements has entailed legalizing illegalities as regulations on plot boundaries are set aside by the state to achieve its aspirations of providing land tenure security to poor urbanites who would not otherwise have recourse to legal or regularized land. We recommend that caution be taken in promoting what is unarguably a pro-poor initiative to ensure that such initiatives should not incentivize future land encroachments.
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| 7. |
- Cialani, Catia, 1970-, et al.
(author)
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The Cost of Urban Waste Management : An Empirical Analysis of Recycling Patterns in Italy
- 2020
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 2:8, s. 1-9
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Italy is facing high pressure to meet objectives to recycle waste and national waste management targets set by the European Union Waste Framework Directive (2008/98/EC; EC European Commission, 2008). However, waste collection and recycling waste costs pose major problems (addressed here) at municipal level for the Italian waste management system. The empirical literature on waste management has paid much more attention to demand-side aspects (reduction and discouragement of land disposal and promotion of recycling and recovery) than to supply-side issues such as analysis of waste management costs. This paper addresses the gap in this research field by estimating the cost function of providing waste collection and recycling services for Italian municipalities during the years 2011–2017. Specifically, we estimate cost elasticity and marginal costs to determine if there are economies of scale for recycling urban waste. Our findings suggest that increasing recycling rates would not substantially increase total costs for most of the municipalities, so recycling should be encouraged, especially for municipalities with low recycling rates. In particular, we observe that cost elasticity is higher in northern municipalities than in central and southern Italian municipalities. Our cost function exhibits economies of scale until a certain amount of recycled waste. The results provide insights into the cost structure of recycling that may lead to more efficient waste management.
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| 8. |
- Coulombe, Cynthia, et al.
(author)
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Local municipalities and the influence of national networks on city climate governance : Small places with big possibilities
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Reaching the 1.5°C target of the Paris Agreement not only requires ambitious goals from national governments, but also the active participation of local municipalities. It is in cities where climate actions need to be implemented to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reach international and national climate goals. While the importance of cities and their participation in networks has been well-researched, studies have systematically neglected the committed individual agents in small and medium-sized cities and overlooked the importance of national networks. To address these research gaps, this article looks at how local climate managers use their municipality's membership in national networks to increase action and implementation. This article is based on 12 semi-structured interviews with seven municipal representatives and five representatives of two national city networks, and four informal discussions. Through comparative content analysis, it was identified that the main functions derived from network participation are direct exchanges between the climate managers, mobilization of others in the municipality, accounting of greenhouse gas emissions, and project support. These functions helped overcome key limitations that the actors often faced within the municipality related to a lack of legal competences, administrative resources and internal support for climate work and financial resources. This has implications for city networks which have been focusing on larger cities and not including smaller cities who have less capacity and who can benefit the most from the functions provided by them.
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| 9. |
- Deak Sjöman, Johanna, et al.
(author)
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Expectations of i-Tree Eco as a tool for urban tree management in Nordic cities
- 2024
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - 2624-9634. ; 5
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While urban forests are recognized as imperative toward climate adaptation in cities and provide health and recreational benefits to citizens, municipal tree officers often struggle to find successful governance arrangements and budget support toward long-lasting investment and implementation in new planting schemes and protection of existing trees. Since its release in 2006, i-Tree Eco has helped urban tree officers worldwide to find tangible leverage in the means of quantitative mapping, numeric measures, and economic values of ecosystem services. This may in turn help ease gridlocks and potentially support constructive dialogues across sectors, with decision-makers and public engagement. With the release of i-Tree Eco v. 6 in Europe 2018, 13 Nordic cities were engaged in a larger research project with ambitions to use i-Tree Eco for the purpose of retrieving numeric and monetary data of the biophysical structures and ecosystem services of the urban forest. Based on questionnaires and semi-structured interviews, we present the results from the Nordic i-Tree project with a focus on expectations, opportunities, and potential barriers experienced in using i-Tree Eco in urban forest management. The most prominent expectation and foreseeing opportunities were recognized toward using numeric information on trees to change policies and support cross-sectoral collaboration while reaching politicians and the public. Identified barriers involved how limited resources are spent on public outreach and how information about the project to relevant stakeholders were not distributed from the beginning which may have implications on the dissemination of results. As some important ecosystem services, e.g., cultural services, are not captured by i-Tree Eco, presenting the partial value of urban trees may pose also potential risks to cross-sectoral collaboration. Other findings conclude that although numeric information on ecosystem services is seen as beneficial in terms of communicating with different stakeholders, a deeper understanding toward the criteria used in the valuation process and the potential risks of numeric approaches may provide more context-specific applications.
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| 10. |
- Diep, Loan, et al.
(author)
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Co-building trust in urban nature : Learning from participatory design and construction of Nature-Based Solutions in informal settlements in East Africa
- 2022
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In: Frontiers in Sustainable Cities. - : Frontiers Media SA. - 2624-9634. ; 4
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- While the amount of research on NBS is growing rapidly, there is a lack of evidence on community experiences of NBS design and implementation, particularly from low-income and informal settlements of African cities. This article adds new empirical evidence in this space through grounded analysis of NBS "niche" projects co-developed by intermediary organizations and communities in five sites across three settlements in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. Findings are organized around four established NBS knowledge gaps: (1) NBS-society relations; (2) Design; (3) Implementation; (4) Effectiveness. We find that across the five studied sites, residents' perceptions and valuation of urban nature has changed through processes of co-design and co-implementation, enabling community ownership of projects, and hence playing a crucial role in NBS effectiveness over time. The integration of gray components into green infrastructure to create hybrid systems has proven necessary to meet physical constraints and communities' urgent needs such as flood mitigation. However, maintenance responsibilities and cost burdens are persisting issues that highlight the complex reality of NBS development in informal settlements. The cases highlight key considerations for actors involved in NBS development to support the replication, scaling up and institutionalization of NBS. These include the need to: (i) develop forms of engagement that align with co-production values; (ii) capture communities' own valuation of and motivations with NBS development for integration into design; (iii) elaborate technical guidance for hybrid green-gray infrastructure systems that can be constructed with communities; and (iv) help define and establish structures for maintenance responsibilities (especially governmental vs. civil society) that will enhance the environmental stewardship of public spaces.
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