Post-partum depression and infant growth in a South African peri-urban settlement

Aim: To examine the association between maternal post-natal depression and infant growth. Background: Infant growth has recently been shown, in two studies from South Asia, to be adversely affected by maternal depression in the early post-partum period. It is uncertain whether a similar association obtains in developing countries outside Asia. Method: A sample of 147 mother–infant dyads was recruited from a peri-urban settlement outside Cape Town and seen at 2 and 18 months post partum. Results: No clear effect of post-partum depression on infant growth was found. Although maternal depression at 2 months was found to be associated with lower infant weight at 18 months, when birthweight was considered this effect disappeared. Conclusions: Possible explanations for the non-replication of the South Asian findings are considered.

A simplified mathematical model for urban microclimate simulation

Techniques for modelling urban microclimates and urban block surfaces temperatures are desired by urban planners and architects for strategic urban designs at the early design stages. This paper introduces a simplified mathematical model for urban simulations (UMsim) including urban surfaces temperatures and microclimates. The nodal network model has been developed by integrating coupled thermal and airflow model. Direct solar radiation, diffuse radiation, reflected radiation, long-wave radiation, heat convection in air and heat transfer in the exterior walls and ground within the complex have been taken into account. The relevant equations have been solved using the finite difference method under the Matlab platform. Comparisons have been conducted between the data produced from the simulation and that from an urban experimental study carried out in a real architectural complex on the campus of Chongqing University, China in July 2005 and January 2006. The results show a satisfactory agreement between the two sets of data. The UMsim can be used to simulate the microclimates, in particular the surface temperatures of urban blocks, therefore it can be used to assess the impact of urban surfaces properties on urban microclimates. The UMsim will be able to produce robust data and images of urban environments for sustainable urban design.

Urban microclimate and renewable energy use in cities

This paper presents an experimental measurement campaign of urban microclimate for a building complex located in London, the United Kingdom. The experiment was carried out between 19 July and 16 August, 2010 at the Elephant & Castle site. The wind and solar energy distributions within the London urban experimental site were assessed in detail for their potential use in areas of high-rise urban building complexes. The climatic variables were measured at every five minutes for the air temperature, the wind speed and direction, the air humidity and the global solar radiation for a period of four weeks. The surface temperatures were also measured on the asphalt road, pavement and building walls at every hour for the first week of the campaign period. The effect of the building complex on the urban microclimate has been analyzed in terms of the solar radiation, the air temperature and velocity. The information and observation obtained from this campaign will be useful to the analysis of renewable energy implementations in dense urban situations.

Spatial concentration in institutional investment in the UK: some comparisons between the retail and office sectors

Geographic diversity is a fundamental tenet in portfolio management. Yet there is evidence from the US that institutional investors prefer to concentrate their real estate investments in favoured and specific areas as primary locations for the properties that occupy their portfolios. The little work done in the UK draws similar conclusions, but has so far focused only on the office sector; no work has examined this issue for the retail sector. This paper therefore examines the extent of real estate investment concentration in institutional Retail portfolios in the UK at two points in time; 1998 and 2003, and presents some comparisons with equivalent concentrations in the office sector. The findings indicate that retail investment correlates more closely with the UK urban hierarchy than that for offices when measured against employment, and is focused on urban areas with high populations and large population densities which have larger numbers of retail units in which to invest.

Particle image velocimetry measurements of turbulent flow within outdoor and indoor urban scale models and flushing motions in urban canopy layers

We investigate the spatial characteristics of urban-like canopy flow by applying particle image velocimetry (PIV) to atmospheric turbulence. The study site was a Comprehensive Outdoor Scale MOdel (COSMO) experiment for urban climate in Japan. The PIV system captured the two-dimensional flow field within the canopy layer continuously for an hour with a sampling frequency of 30 Hz, thereby providing reliable outdoor turbulence statistics. PIV measurements in a wind-tunnel facility using similar roughness geometry, but with a lower sampling frequency of 4 Hz, were also done for comparison. The turbulent momentum flux from COSMO, and the wind tunnel showed similar values and distributions when scaled using friction velocity. Some different characteristics between outdoor and indoor flow fields were mainly caused by the larger fluctuations in wind direction for the atmospheric turbulence. The focus of the analysis is on a variety of instantaneous turbulent flow structures. One remarkable flow structure is termed 'flushing', that is, a large-scale upward motion prevailing across the whole vertical cross-section of a building gap. This is observed intermittently, whereby tracer particles are flushed vertically out from the canopy layer. Flushing phenomena are also observed in the wind tunnel where there is neither thermal stratification nor outer-layer turbulence. It is suggested that flushing phenomena are correlated with the passing of large-scale low-momentum regions above the canopy.

Urban tracer dispersion experiment in London (DAPPLE) 2003: field study and comparison with empirical prediction

The DAPPLE (Dispersion of Air Pollutants and their Penetration into the Local Environment) project seeks to characterise near-field urban atmospheric dispersion using a multidisciplinary approach. In this paper we report on the first tracer dispersion experiment carried out in May 2003. Results of concurrent meteorological measurements are presented. Variations of receptor tracer concentration with time are presented. Meteorological observations suggest that in-street channelling and flow-switching at intersections take place. A comparison between roof top and surface measurements suggest that rapid vertical mixing occurs, and a comparison between a simple dispersion model and maximum concentrations observed are presented

Ensuring the right to the city: pro-poor housing, urban development and tenure legalization in São Paulo, Brazil

São Paulo is one of Latin America’s most modern and developed cities, yet around one-third of its 10 million inhabitants live in poor-quality housing in sub-standard settlements. This paper describes the response of the São Paulo municipal government that took office in 2001. Through its Secretariat of Housing and Urban Development, it designed a new policy framework with a strong emphasis on improving the quantity and quality of housing for low-income groups. Supported by new legislation, financial instruments and partnerships with the private sector, the mainstays of the new policy are integrated housing and urban development, modernization of the administrative system, and public participation in all decision-making and implementation processes. The programmes centre on upgrading and legalizing land tenure in informal settlements, and regeneration of the city centre. The new focus on valuing the investments that low-income groups have already made in their housing and settlements has proved to be more cost-effective than previous interventions, leading to improvements on an impressive scale.

Interdisciplinarity in teaching: probing urban studies

This article arises from a research project funded by the Subject Centre for Sociology, Anthropology and Politics and a literature review on ‘interdisciplinarity’ commissioned by the Subject Centre for Languages, Linguistics and Area Studies (Chettiparamb, 2007). It attempts to unpack how disciplinarity and interdisciplinarity are created through pedagogy in higher education at the module level while teaching an interdisciplinary subject such as ‘urban studies’. In particular, comparisons are made between the teaching aims and methods in two disciplines: planning and sociology. Comparisons are also made between the approach of two types of universities – a pre-1992 university and a post-1992 university. The article argues that the differences between the universities are more profound than the differences between the disciplines. The research reveals two key findings. In the pre-1992 university case study, even though the ‘contributing’ subject domains of the disciplines are similar, the disciplinary identities are maintained and accomplished in subtle ways. In contrast, in the post-1992 university, disciplinary boundaries are not so purposefully maintained, resulting in the realisation of a different construction of interdisciplinarity.

A study on effect of built forms on urban wind environment by using CFD simulations

This paper presents a numerical study of urban air-flow for a group of five buildings that is located at the University of Reading in the United Kingdom. The airflow around these buildings has been simulated by using ANSYS CFD software package. In this study, the association between certain architectural forms: a street canyon, a semi-closure, and a courtyard-like space in a low-rise building complex, and the wind environment were investigated. The analysis of CFD results has provided detailed information on the wind patterns of these urban built forms. The numerical results have been compared with the experimental measurements within the building complex. The observed characteristics of urban wind pattern with respect to the built structures are presented as a guideline. This information is needed for the design and/or performance assessments of systems such as passive and low energy design approach, a natural or hybrid ventilation, and passive cooling. Also, the knowledge of urban wind patterns allows us to develop better design options for the application of renewable energy technologies within urban environment.

Field studies on the effect of built forms on urban wind environments

Airflow through urban environments is one of the most important factors affecting human health, outdoor and indoor thermal comfort, air quality and the energy performance of buildings. This paper presents a study on the effects of wind induced airflows through urban built form using statistical analysis. The data employed in the analysis are from the year-long simultaneous field measurements conducted at the University of Reading campus in the United Kingdom. In this study, the association between typical architectural forms and the wind environment are investigated; such forms include: a street canyon, a semi-closure, a courtyard form and a relatively open space in a low-rise building complex. Measured data captures wind speed and wind direction at six representative locations and statistical analysis identifies key factors describing the effects of built form on the resulting airflows. Factor analysis of the measured data identified meteorological and architectural layout factors as key factors. The derivation of these factors and their variation with the studied built forms are presented in detail.

Implementation of a new urban energy budget scheme into MetUM. Part II: Validation against observations and model intercomparison

In the first part of this article, we introduced a new urban surface scheme, the Met Office – Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme (MORUSES), into the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) and compared its impact on the surface fluxes with respect to the current urban scheme. In this second part, we aim to analyze further the reasons behind the differences. This analysis is conducted by a comparison of the performance of the two schemes against observations and against a third model, the Single Column Reading Urban model (SCRUM). The key differences between the three models lie in how each model incorporates the heat stored in the urban fabric and how the surface-energy balance is coupled to the underlying substrate. The comparison of the models with observations from Mexico City reveals that the performance of MORUSES is improved if roof insulation is included by minimizing the roof thickness. A comparison of MORUSES and SCRUM reveals that, once insulation is included within MORUSES, these two models perform equally well against the observations overall, but that there are differences in the details of the simulations at the roof and canyon level. These differences are attributed to the different representations of the heat-storage term, specifically differences in the dominant frequencies captured by the urban canopy and substrate, between the models. These results strongly suggest a need for an urban model intercomparison exercise. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright

Urban conservation areas and sustainable development: exploring the relationship

With increasing emphasis being placed on concentrating development in urban areas and improving the quality of life in British cities and towns, the importance of accommodating necessary development without compromising the valued heritage and architectural quality of urban areas is now becoming central to sustainable urban development. Urban conservation policy and practice has the potential to contribute to this and other aspects of sustainability. This paper explores this contribution and develops an analytical framework which draws out the key linkages between conservation area policy and sustainable development. The framework is then used to research the potential and actual contribution of urban conservation policy and practice in England, using a selective survey and two case studies (i.e. Winchester and Basingstoke). The main conclusions from the research are that: Conservation area policy can make a significant contribution to the principles of sustainable development; Most local planning authorities in England have not fully woken-up to this potential and have not developed policies or practices to address it; and Urban conservation policy needs to develop a more proactive approach in which local planning authorities actively guide and encourage new development with regard to use, design, layout, methods of construction, materials and energy efficiency.

Community involvement in urban design: help or hindrance?

This paper examines the realities of community involvement in urban design in the context of a study of the West Itchen Neighbourhood of Southampton, a diverse inner city area accommodating some 7,000 households and 18,000 people. The findings are based on a literature review of community involvement in urban design and case study research into three government supported regeneration projects all located within the study area: a Neighbourhood Renewal Area - designated in 1994; an Estate Action Scheme - implemented between 1993 and 1996; and a Single Regeneration Budget programme - following a successful bid in 1995. The research was undertaken by Helen Gregory in 1997/8 as the basis of a dissertation, supervised by Alan Rowley, submitted for the award of an MPhil in Environmental Planning and Development from The University of Reading.

Expectation versus provision in the management and use of urban open space

This paper discusses the implications of the shifting cultural significance of public open space in urban areas. In particular, it focuses on the increasing dysfunction between people's expectations of that space and its actual provision and management. In doing so, the paper applies Lefebvre's ideas of spatiality to the evident paradigm shift from 'public' to 'private' culture, with its associated commodification of previously public space. While developing the construct of paradigm shift, the paper recognises that the former political notions inherent in the provision of public space remain in evidence. So whereas public parks were formerly seen as spaces of confrontation between the 'rationality' of public order as the 'irrationality' of individual leisure pursuits, they are now increasingly seen, particularly 'out of hours', as the domain of the dispossessed, to be defined and policed as 'dangerous'. Where once people were welcomed into public open spaces as a means of 'educating' them in good, acceptable, leisure practices, therefore, they are now increasingly excluded, but for the same ostensible reasons. Building on survey work undertaken in Reading, Berkshire, the paper illustrates how communities can become separated from 'their' space, leaving them with the overriding impression that they have been 'short-changed' in terms of both the provision and the management of urban open space. Rather than the intimacy of local space for local people, therefore, the paper argues that parks have become externalised places, increasingly responding to commercial definitions of culture and what is 'public'. Central urban open spaces are therefore increasingly becoming sites of stratification, signification of a consumer-constructed citizenship and valorisation of public life as a legitimate element of the market surface of town and city centres.

Urban microclimates and simulation

This chapter examines the workings of urban microclimates and looks at the associated causes and effects of the urban heat island (UHI). It also clarifies the relationship between urban form and the key climatic parameters (sun, daylight, wind, temperature). A particular section is devoted to the concepts of UHI intensity and sky view factor (SVF); these are useful indicators for researchers in this area. The challenge of how to model urban microclimates is covered, featuring the six archetypal urban forms familiar to analysts involved in using simulation software. The latter sections address the issue of urban thermal comfort, the importance of urban ventilation and finally what mitigating strategies can be implemented to curb negative UHI effects.