Who really pays for urban infrastructure? : the impact of developer infrastructure charges on housing affordability in Brisbane, Australia

This thesis advances the understanding of the impact of developer infrastructure charges on housing affordability in Brisbane, Australia through the development of an econometric model and empirical analysis. The results indicate substantial on-passing of these government charges to purchasers of both new and existing homes, thus negatively impacting housing affordability across the whole community. The results of this thesis will inform policy makers and assist in the development of evidence based policy related to housing affordability and funding of urban infrastructure. Being generic, the econometric model is expected to be a tool that is suitable for estimating similar house price effects in other housing markets.

Identification of the sources of primary organic aerosols at urban schools : a molecular marker approach

Children are particularly susceptible to air pollution and schools are examples of urban microenvironments that can account for a large portion of children’s exposure to airborne particles. Thus this paper aimed to determine the sources of primary airborne particles that children are exposed to at school by analyzing selected organic molecular markers at 11 urban schools in Brisbane, Australia. Positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources at the schools: vehicle emissions, biomass burning, meat cooking and plant wax emissions accounting for 45%, 29%, 16% and 7%, of the organic carbon respectively. Biomass burning peaked in winter due to prescribed burning of bushland around Brisbane. Overall, the results indicated that both local (traffic) and regional (biomass burning) sources of primary organic aerosols influence the levels of ambient particles that children are exposed at the schools. These results have implications for potential control strategies for mitigating exposure at schools.

Role of rainfall and catchment characteristics on urban stormwater quality

Urbanisation significantly changes the characteristics of a catchment as natural areas are transformed to impervious surfaces such as roads, roofs and parking lots. The increased fraction of impervious surfaces leads to changes to the stormwater runoff characteristics, whilst a variety of anthropogenic activities common to urban areas generate a range of pollutants such as nutrients, solids and organic matter. These pollutants accumulate on catchment surfaces and are removed and trans- ported by stormwater runoff and thereby contribute pollutant loads to receiving waters. In summary, urbanisation influences the stormwater characteristics of a catchment, including hydrology and water quality. Due to the growing recognition that stormwater pollution is a significant environmental problem, the implementation of mitigation strategies to improve the quality of stormwater runoff is becoming increasingly common in urban areas. A scientifically robust stormwater quality treatment strategy is an essential requirement for effective urban stormwater management. The efficient design of treatment systems is closely dependent on the state of knowledge in relation to the primary factors influencing stormwater quality. In this regard, stormwater modelling outcomes provide designers with important guidance and datasets which significantly underpin the design of effective stormwater treatment systems. Therefore, the accuracy of modelling approaches and the reliability modelling outcomes are of particular concern. This book discusses the inherent complexity and key characteristics in the areas of urban hydrology and stormwater quality, based on the influence exerted by a range of rainfall and catchment characteristics. A comprehensive field sampling and testing programme in relation to pollutant build-up, an urban catchment monitoring programme in relation to stormwater quality and the outcomes from advanced statistical analyses provided the platform for the knowledge creation. Two case studies and two real-world applications are discussed to illustrate the translation of the knowledge created to practical use in relation to the role of rainfall and catchment characteristics on urban stormwater quality. An innovative rainfall classification based on stormwater quality was developed to support the effective and scientifically robust design of stormwater treatment systems. Underpinned by the rainfall classification methodology, a reliable approach for design rainfall selection is proposed in order to optimise stormwater treatment based on both, stormwater quality and quantity. This is a paradigm shift from the common approach where stormwater treatment systems are designed based solely on stormwater quantity data. Additionally, how pollutant build-up and stormwater runoff quality vary with a range of catchment characteristics was also investigated. Based on the study out- comes, it can be concluded that the use of only a limited number of catchment parameters such as land use and impervious surface percentage, as it is the case in current modelling approaches, could result in appreciable error in water quality estimation. Influential factors which should be incorporated into modelling in relation to catchment characteristics, should also include urban form and impervious surface area distribution. The knowledge created through the research investigations discussed in this monograph is expected to make a significant contribution to engineering practice such as hydrologic and stormwater quality modelling, stormwater treatment design and urban planning, as the study outcomes provide practical approaches and recommendations for urban stormwater quality enhancement. Furthermore, this monograph also demonstrates how fundamental knowledge of stormwater quality processes can be translated to provide guidance on engineering practice, the comprehensive application of multivariate data analyses techniques and a paradigm on integrative use of computer models and mathematical models to derive practical outcomes.

Public space design of knowledge and innovation spaces: Learnings from Kelvin Grove Urban Village, Brisbane

The era of knowledge-based urban development has led to an unprecedented increase in mobility of people and the subsequent growth in new typologies of agglomerated enclaves of knowledge such as knowledge and innovation spaces. Within this context, a new role has been assigned to contemporary public spaces to attract and retain the mobile knowledge workforce by creating a sense of place. This paper investigates place making in the globalized knowledge economy, which develops a sense of permanence spatio-temporally to knowledge workers displaying a set of particular characteristics and simultaneously is process-dependent getting developed by the internal and external flows and contributing substantially in the development of the broader context it stands in relation with. The paper reviews the literature and highlights observations from Kelvin Grove Urban Village, located in Australia’s new world city Brisbane, to understand the application of urban design as a vehicle to create and sustain place making in knowledge and innovation spaces. This research seeks to analyze the modified permeable typology of public spaces that makes knowledge and innovation spaces more viable and adaptive as per the changing needs of the contemporary globalized knowledge society.

A field investigation of solubility and food chain accumulation of biosolid-cadmium across diverse soil types

One of the pathways for transfer of cadmium (Cd) through the food chain is addition of urban wastewater solids (biosolids) to soil, and many countries have restrictions on biosolid use to minimize crop Cd contamination. The basis of these restrictions often lies in laboratory or glasshouse experimentation of soil-plant transfer of Cd, but these studies are confounded by artefacts from growing crops in controlled laboratory conditions. This study examined soil to plant (wheat grain) transfer of Cd under a wide range of field environments under typical agronomic conditions, and compared the solubility and bioavailability of Cd in biosolids to soluble Cd salts. Solubility of biosolid Cd (measured by examining Cd partitioning between soil and soil solution) was found to be equal to or greater than that of soluble Cd salts, possibly due to competing ions added with the biosolids. Conversely, bioavailability of Cd to wheat and transfer to grain was less than that of soluble Cd salts, possibly due to addition of Zn with the biosolids, causing reduced plant uptake or grain loading, or due to complexation of soluble Cd2+ by dissolved organic matter.

Collation, analysis and research of thermal benefits of green life in the urban landscapes

This project reviewed international research conducted on the possible role of plants in alleviating high temperatures in our living spaces. The literature review served to identify the work that has already been carried out in the area and to highlight the gaps to be filled by experimental research. A pilot study then investigated the thermal properties of six of the most common landscaping materials. This project clearly shows that plants can play a significant role in modifying the thermal conditions of urban environments. Tall trees can shade nearby buildings and allow for reductions in cooling costs. In addition to basic shading, the dispersal of heat via the plant’s natural transpiration stream has long been recognised as an important component of the urban energy balance. It has been shown that urban temperatures can be up to 7°C higher than nearby rural areas, illustrating the impact of plants on their environment. These benefits argue against the idea of removing plants from landscapes in order to save on water in times of drought. Similarly, the idea of switching to artificial turf is questionable, since artificial turf still requires watering and can reach temperatures that far exceed the safe range for players. While vegetation offers evaporative cooling, non-vegetative, impervious surfaces such as concrete do not, and can therefore cause greater surface and soil temperatures. In addition, the higher temperatures associated with these impervious surfaces can negatively affect the growth of plants in surrounding areas. Permeable surfaces, such as mulches, have better insulating properties and can prevent excessive heating of the soil. However, they can also lead to an increase in reflected longwave radiation, causing the leaves of plants to close their water-conducting pores and reducing the beneficial cooling effects of transpiration. The results show that the energy balance of our surroundings is complicated and that all components of a landscape will have an impact on thermal conditions.

Sources and concentrations of volatile organic compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have a great influence on tropospheric chemistry; they affect ozone formation and they or their reaction products are able to take part in secondary organic aerosol formation; some of the VOCs are themselves toxic. Knowing the concentrations and sources of different reactive volatile organic compounds is essential for the development of ozone control strategies and for studies of secondary organic aerosol formation. The objective of this work was to study volatile organic compounds in urban air, develop and validate determination methods for them, characterize their concentrations and estimate the contributions of different VOC sources. Of the different compound groups detected in the urban air of Helsinki, alkanes were found to have the highest concentrations, but when the concentrations were scaled against the reactivity with hydroxyl radicals (OH), aromatic hydrocarbons and alkenes were found to have the greatest effect on local chemistry. Comparisons with rural sites showed that concentrations at Utö and Hyytiälä were generally lower than those in Helsinki, especially for the alkenes and aromatic hydrocarbons, but concentrations of halogenated hydrocarbons at Utö and carbonyls at Hyytiälä were at the same level as in Helsinki. Most halogenated hydrocarbons do not have any significant sources in Helsinki, and carbonyls are formed in the atmosphere in the reactions of other VOCs, and are therefore also produced in other than urban areas. At Hyytiälä carbonyls were found to have an important role in the local chemistry. The contribution of carbonyls as an OH sink was higher than that of the monoterpenes and aromatic hydrocarbons. Based on the emission profile and concentration measurements, the contributions of different sources were estimated at urban (Helsinki) and residential (Järvenpää) sites using a chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model. It was shown that it is possible to apply CMB in the case of a large number of different compounds with different properties. According to the CMB analysis, the major sources for these VOCs in Helsinki were traffic and distant sources. At the residential site in Järvenpää, the contribution due to traffic was minor, while distant sources, liquid gasoline and wood combustion made higher contributions. It was also shown that wood combustion can be an important source at some locations of VOCs usually considered as traffic-related compounds (e.g., benzene).

Diet of dingoes and other wild dogs in peri-urban areas of north-eastern Australia

Knowledge of the resource requirements of urban predators can improve our understanding of their ecology and assist town planners and wildlife management agencies in developing management approaches that alleviate human-wildlife conflicts. Here we examine food and dietary items identified in scats of dingoes in peri-urban areas of north-eastern Australia to better understand their resource requirements and the potential for dingoes to threaten locally fragmented populations of native fauna. Our primary aim was to determine what peri-urban dingoes eat, and whether or not this differs between regions. We identified over 40 different food items in dingo scats, almost all of which were mammals. Individual species commonly observed in dingo scats included agile wallabies, northern brown bandicoots and swamp wallabies. Birds were relatively common in some areas but not others, as were invertebrates. Dingoes were identified as a significant potential threat to fragmented populations of koalas. Dietary overlap was typically very high or near-identical between regions, indicating that peri-urban dingoes ate the same types or sizes of prey in different areas. Future studies should seek to quantify actual and perceived impacts of, and human attitudes towards, peri-urban dingoes, and to develop management strategies with a greater chance of reducing human-wildlife conflicts.

Use of ecological information in urban planning

Urbanization leads to irreversible land-use change, which has ecological consequences such as the loss and fragmentation of green areas, and structural and functional changes in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. These consequences diminish ecosystem services important for human populations living in urban areas. All this results in a conflict situation: how to simultaneously meet the needs of city growth and the principles of sustainable development, and especially conserve important green areas within and around built-up areas? Urban planners and decisionmakers have an important role in this, since they must use the ecological information mainly from species and biotope inventories and biodiversity impact assessments in determining the conservation values of green areas. The main aim of this thesis was to study the use of ecological information in the urban land-use planning and decisionmaking process in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland. At first, the literature on ecological-social systems linkages related to urban planning was reviewed. Based on the review, a theoretical and conceptual framework for the research on Finnish urban setting was adapted. Secondly, factors determining the importance and effectiveness of incorporation of ecological information into the urban planning process, and the challenges related to the use of ecological information were studied. Thirdly, the importance and use of Local Ecological Knowledge in urban planning were investigated. Then, factors determining the consideration of urban green areas and related ecological information in political land-use decisionmaking were studied. Finally, in a case study illustrating the above considerations, the importance of urban stream ecosystems in the land-use planning was investigated. This thesis demonstrated that although there are several challenges in using ecological information effectively, it is considered as an increasingly important part of the basic information used in urban planning and decisionmaking process. The basic determinants for this are the recent changes in environmental legislation, but also the increasing appreciation of green areas and their conservation values by all the stakeholders. In addition, Local Ecological Knowledge in its several forms can be a source of ecological information for planners if incorporated effectively into the process. This study also showed that rare or endangered species and biotopes, and related ecological information receive priority in the urban planning process and usually pass through the decisionmaking system. Furthermore, the stream Rekolanoja case indicates that planners and residents see the value of urban stream ecosystem as increasingly important for the local health and social values, such as recreation and stress relief.

The effects of habitat edges and trampling intensity on vegetation in urban forests

Although changes in urban forest vegetation have been documented in previous Finnish studies, the reasons for these changes have not been studied explicitly. Especially, the consequences of forest fragmentation, i.e. the fact that forest edges receive more solar radiation, wind and air-borne nutrients than interiors have been ignored. In order to limit the change in urban forest vegetation we need to know why it occurs. Therefore, the effects of edges and recreational use of urban forests on vegetation were investigated together in this thesis to reveal the relative strengths of these effects and to provide recommendations for forest management. Data were collected in the greater Helsinki area (in the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa and Espoo, and in the municipalities of Sipoo and Tuusula) and in the Lahti region (in the city of Lahti and in the municipality of Hollola) by means of systematic and randomized vegetation and soil sampling and tree measurements. Sample plots were placed from the forest edges to the interiors to investigate the effects of forest edges, and on paths of different levels of wear and off these paths to investigate the effects of trampling. The natural vegetation of mesic and sub-xeric forest site types studied was sensitive both to the effects of the edge and to trampling. The abundances of dwarf shrubs and bryophytes decreased, while light- and nitrogen-demanding herbs and grasses - and especially Sorbus aucuparia – were favoured at the edges and next to the paths. Results indicated that typical forest site types at the edges are changing toward more nitrophilic vegetation communities. Covers of the most abundant forest species decreased considerably – even tens of percentages – from interiors to the edges indicating strong edge effects. These effects penetrated at least up to 50 m from the forest edges into the interiors, especially at south to west facing open edges. The effects of trampling were pronounced on paths and even low levels of trampling decreased the abundances of certain species considerably. The effects of trampling extended up to 8 m from path edges. Results showed that the fragmentation of urban forest remnants into small and narrow patches should be avoided in order to maintain natural forest understorey vegetation in the urban setting. Thus, urban forest fragments left within urban development should be at least 3 ha in size, and as circular as possible. Where the preservation of representative original forest interior vegetation is a management aim, closed edges with conifers can act as an effective barrier against solar radiation, wind and urban load, thereby restricting the effects of the edge. Tree volume at the edge should be at least 225-250 m3 ha-1 and the proportion of conifers (especially spruce) 80% or more of the tree species composition. Closed, spruce-dominated edges may also prevent the excessive growth of S. aucuparia saplings at urban forest edges. In addition, closed edges may guide people’s movements to the maintained paths, thus preventing the spontaneous creation of dense path networks. In urban areas the effects of edges and trampling on biodiversity may be considerable, and are important to consider when the aim of management is to prevent the development of homogeneous herb-grass dominated vegetation communities, as was observed at the investigated edges.

Scopophobia/Scopophilia: electric light and the anxiety of the gaze in postwar American architecture

In the years of reconstruction and economic boom that followed the Second World War, the domestic sphere encountered new expectations regarding social behaviour, modes of living, and forms of dwelling. This book brings together an international group of scholars from architecture, design, urban planning, and interior design to reappraise mid-twentieth century modern life, offering a timely reassessment of culture and the economic and political effects on civilian life. This collection contains essays that examine the material of art, objects, and spaces in the context of practices of dwelling over the long span of the postwar period. It asks what role material objects, interior spaces, and architecture played in quelling or fanning the anxieties of modernism’s ordinary denizens, and how this role informs their legacy today. Table of Contents [Book] Introduction Robin Schuldenfrei Part 1: Psychological Constructions: Anxiety of Isolation and Exposure 1. Taking Comfort in the Age of Anxiety: Eero Saarinen’s Womb Chair Cammie McAtee 2. The Future is Possibly Past: The Anxious Spaces of Gaetano Pesce Jane Pavitt 3. Scopophobia/Scopophilia: Electric Light and the Anxiety of the Gaze in American Postwar Domestic Architecture Margaret Petty Part 2: Ideological Objects: Design and Representation 4. The Allegory of the Socialist Lifestyle: The Czechoslovak Pavilion at the Brussels Expo, its Gold Medal and the Politburo Ana Miljacki 5. Assimilating Unease: Moholy-Nagy and the Wartime-Postwar Bauhaus in Chicago Robin Schuldenfrei 6. The Anxieties of Autonomy: Peter Eisenman from Cambridge to House VI Sean Keller Part 3: Societies of Consumers: Materialist Ideologies and Postwar Goods 7. "But a home is not a laboratory": The Anxieties of Designing for the Socialist Home in the German Democratic Republic 1950—1965 Katharina Pfützner 8. Architect-designed Interiors for a Culturally Progressive Upper-Middle Class: The Implicit Political Presence of Knoll International in Belgium Fredie Floré 9. Domestic Environment: Italian Neo-Avant-Garde Design and the Politics of Post-Materialism Mary Louise Lobsinger Part 4: Class Concerns and Conflict: Dwelling and Politics 10. Dirt and Disorder: Taste and Anxiety in the Working Class Home Christine Atha 11. Upper West Side Stories: Race, Liberalism, and Narratives of Urban Renewal in Postwar New York Jennifer Hock 12. Pawns or Prophets? Postwar Architects and Utopian Designs for Southern Italy Anne Parmly Toxey. Coda: From Homelessness to Homelessness David Crowley

Citizens breaking out of filter bubbles: Urban screens as civic media

Social media platforms risk polarising public opinions by employing proprietary algorithms that produce filter bubbles and echo chambers. As a result, the ability of citizens and communities to engage in robust debate in the public sphere is diminished. In response, this paper highlights the capacity of urban interfaces, such as pervasive displays, to counteract this trend by exposing citizens to the socio-cultural diversity of the city. Engagement with different ideas, networks and communities is crucial to both innovation and the functioning of democracy. We discuss examples of urban interfaces designed to play a key role in fostering this engagement. Based on an analysis of works empirically-grounded in field observations and design research, we call for a theoretical framework that positions pervasive displays and other urban interfaces as civic media. We argue that when designed for more than wayfinding, advertisement or television broadcasts, urban screens as civic media can rectify some of the pitfalls of social media by allowing the polarised user to break out of their filter bubble and embrace the cultural diversity and richness of the city.

Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in urban stormwater

Toxic chemical pollutants such as heavy metals (HMs) are commonly present in urban stormwater. These pollutants can pose a significant risk to human health and hence a significant barrier for urban stormwater reuse. The primary aim of this study was to develop an approach for quantitatively assessing the risk to human health due to the presence of HMs in stormwater. This approach will lead to informed decision making in relation to risk management of urban stormwater reuse, enabling efficient implementation of appropriate treatment strategies. In this study, risks to human health from heavy metals were assessed as hazard index (HI) and quantified as a function of traffic and land use related parameters. Traffic and land use are the primary factors influencing heavy metal loads in the urban environment. The risks posed by heavy metals associated with total solids and fine solids (<150µm) were considered to represent the maximum and minimum risk levels, respectively. The study outcomes confirmed that Cr, Mn and Pb pose the highest risks, although these elements are generally present in low concentrations. The study also found that even though the presence of a single heavy metal does not pose a significant risk, the presence of multiple heavy metals could be detrimental to human health. These findings suggest that stormwater guidelines should consider the combined risk from multiple heavy metals rather than the threshold concentration of an individual species. Furthermore, it was found that risk to human health from heavy metals in stormwater is significantly influenced by traffic volume and the risk associated with stormwater from industrial areas is generally higher than that from commercial and residential areas.

Blurring the physical boundaries of the city: Media architecture and urban informatics for community engagement

Architecture focuses on designing built environments in response to society’s needs, reflecting culture through materials and forms. The physical boundaries of the city have become blurred through the integration of digital media, connecting the physical environment with the digital. In the recent past the future was imagined as highly technological; 1982 Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner is set in 2019 and introduces a world where supersized screens inject advertisements in the cluttered urban space. Now, in 2015 screens are central to everyday life, but in a completely different way in respect to what had been imagined. Through ubiquitous computing and social media, information is abundant. Digital technologies have changed the way people relate to cities supporting discussion on multiple levels, allowing citizens to be more vocal than ever before. We question how architects can use the affordances of urban informatics to obtain and navigate useful social information to inform design. This chapter investigates different approaches to engage communities in the debate on cities, in particular it aims to capture citizens’ opinions on the use and design of public places. Physical and digital discussions have been initiated to capture citizens’ opinions on the use and design of public places. In addition to traditional consultation methods, Web 2.0 platforms, urban screens, and mobile apps are used in the context of Brisbane, Australia to explore contemporary strategies of engagement (Gray 2014).