MSW: from pollution/degradation source to resource

Municipal Solid Waste is one of the biggest challenges that cities are facing: MSW is considered of the main sources of energy consumption, urban degradation and pollution. This paper defines the major negative effects of MSW on cities and proposes new solutions to guide waste policies. Most contemporary waste management efforts are focused at regional government level and based on high tech waste disposal by methods such as landfill and incineration. However, these methods are becoming increasingly expensive, energy inefficient and pollutant: waste disposal is not sustainable and will have negative implications for future generations. In this paper are proposed all the principle solutions that could be undertaken. New policy instruments are presented updating and adapting policies and encouraging innovation for less wasteful systems. Waste management plans are fundamental to increase the ability of urban areas effectively to adapt to waste challenges. These plans have to give an outline of waste streams and treatment options and provide a scenario for the following years that significantly reduce landfills and incinerators in favor of prevention, reuse and recycling. The key aim of an urban waste management plan is to set out the work towards a zero waste economy as part of the transition to a sustainable economy. Other questions remain still opened: How to change people’s behavior? What is the role of environmental education and risk perception? It is sure that the involvement of the various stakeholders and the wider public in the planning process should aim at ensuring acceptance of the waste policy.

Transfer function-noise modeling and spatial interpolation to evaluate the risk of extreme (shallow) water-table levels in the Brazilian Cerrados

Water regimes in the Brazilian Cerrados are sensitive to climatological disturbances and human intervention. The risk that critical water-table levels are exceeded over long periods of time can be estimated by applying stochastic methods in modeling the dynamic relationship between water levels and driving forces such as precipitation and evapotranspiration. In this study, a transfer function-noise model, the so called PIRFICT-model, is applied to estimate the dynamic relationship between water-table depth and precipitation surplus/deficit in a watershed with a groundwater monitoring scheme in the Brazilian Cerrados. Critical limits were defined for a period in the Cerrados agricultural calendar, the end of the rainy season, when extremely shallow levels (< 0.5-m depth) can pose a risk to plant health and machinery before harvesting. By simulating time-series models, the risk of exceeding critical thresholds during a continuous period of time (e.g. 10 days) is described by probability levels. These simulated probabilities were interpolated spatially using universal kriging, incorporating information related to the drainage basin from a digital elevation model. The resulting map reduced model uncertainty. Three areas were defined as presenting potential risk at the end of the rainy season. These areas deserve attention with respect to water-management and land-use planning.

Trabalhe com o coração - Redução do Risco Cardiovascular nos funcionários da Câmara Municipal de Viana do Alentejo

Este trabalho visou a prevenção das doenças cardiovasculares através da promoção de estilos de vida saudáveis em adultos em idade ativa. Objetivos: Avaliar o Risco Cardiovascular; identificar os conhecimentos sobre fatores de risco modificáveis; promover a criação de um grupo dinamizador de atividades promotoras de estilos de vida saudáveis. Metodologia: Planeamento em Saúde. Resultados: Dos 71 indivíduos avaliados, 33,8 % apresentaram evidência de risco cardiovascular, sendo que 6 apresentaram um Risco Cardiovascular muito alto, 4 risco alto e 14 risco moderado. Existiram diferenças significativas ao nível dos conhecimentos sobre doenças cardiovasculares e estilos de vida referidos pelos 2 grupos de funcionários avaliados. Conclusões: A adesão a estilos de vida saudáveis contribui para a redução dos fatores de risco modificáveis, cuja avaliação só é possível a médio e longo prazo. O investimento na criação de um grupo dinamizador no local de trabalho e a formalização de parcerias contribuiu para garantir a sustentabilidade do projeto; ABSTRACT: This work aimed the prevention of cardiovascular disease by promoting healthy lifestyles in adults of working age. Aims: Evaluate cardiovascular risk; identify the knowledge of modifiable risk factors; promote the creation of a dynamic group of activities that promote healthy lifestyles. Methodology: Planning in Health. Results: 71 workers evaluated, 33,8% had evidence of Cardiovascular Risk, and 6 showed a very high cardiovascular risk, 4 high risk and 14 moderate risk. There were significant differences in the knowledge of cardiovascular diseases and lifestyles reported by the two groups of evaluated employees. Conclusions: Following healthy lifestyles contributes to the reduction of modifiable risk factors, whose assessment is possible only in the medium and long term. The investment in creating a dynamic group in the workplace and the formalization of partnerships contributed to ensure the sustainability of the project.

Optimization models and methods for real-time transportation planning in forestry

Lors du transport du bois de la forêt vers les usines, de nombreux événements imprévus peuvent se produire, événements qui perturbent les trajets prévus (par exemple, en raison des conditions météo, des feux de forêt, de la présence de nouveaux chargements, etc.). Lorsque de tels événements ne sont connus que durant un trajet, le camion qui accomplit ce trajet doit être détourné vers un chemin alternatif. En l’absence d’informations sur un tel chemin, le chauffeur du camion est susceptible de choisir un chemin alternatif inutilement long ou pire, qui est lui-même "fermé" suite à un événement imprévu. Il est donc essentiel de fournir aux chauffeurs des informations en temps réel, en particulier des suggestions de chemins alternatifs lorsqu’une route prévue s’avère impraticable. Les possibilités de recours en cas d’imprévus dépendent des caractéristiques de la chaîne logistique étudiée comme la présence de camions auto-chargeurs et la politique de gestion du transport. Nous présentons trois articles traitant de contextes d’application différents ainsi que des modèles et des méthodes de résolution adaptés à chacun des contextes. Dans le premier article, les chauffeurs de camion disposent de l’ensemble du plan hebdomadaire de la semaine en cours. Dans ce contexte, tous les efforts doivent être faits pour minimiser les changements apportés au plan initial. Bien que la flotte de camions soit homogène, il y a un ordre de priorité des chauffeurs. Les plus prioritaires obtiennent les volumes de travail les plus importants. Minimiser les changements dans leurs plans est également une priorité. Étant donné que les conséquences des événements imprévus sur le plan de transport sont essentiellement des annulations et/ou des retards de certains voyages, l’approche proposée traite d’abord l’annulation et le retard d’un seul voyage, puis elle est généralisée pour traiter des événements plus complexes. Dans cette ap- proche, nous essayons de re-planifier les voyages impactés durant la même semaine de telle sorte qu’une chargeuse soit libre au moment de l’arrivée du camion à la fois au site forestier et à l’usine. De cette façon, les voyages des autres camions ne seront pas mo- difiés. Cette approche fournit aux répartiteurs des plans alternatifs en quelques secondes. De meilleures solutions pourraient être obtenues si le répartiteur était autorisé à apporter plus de modifications au plan initial. Dans le second article, nous considérons un contexte où un seul voyage à la fois est communiqué aux chauffeurs. Le répartiteur attend jusqu’à ce que le chauffeur termine son voyage avant de lui révéler le prochain voyage. Ce contexte est plus souple et offre plus de possibilités de recours en cas d’imprévus. En plus, le problème hebdomadaire peut être divisé en des problèmes quotidiens, puisque la demande est quotidienne et les usines sont ouvertes pendant des périodes limitées durant la journée. Nous utilisons un modèle de programmation mathématique basé sur un réseau espace-temps pour réagir aux perturbations. Bien que ces dernières puissent avoir des effets différents sur le plan de transport initial, une caractéristique clé du modèle proposé est qu’il reste valable pour traiter tous les imprévus, quelle que soit leur nature. En effet, l’impact de ces événements est capturé dans le réseau espace-temps et dans les paramètres d’entrée plutôt que dans le modèle lui-même. Le modèle est résolu pour la journée en cours chaque fois qu’un événement imprévu est révélé. Dans le dernier article, la flotte de camions est hétérogène, comprenant des camions avec des chargeuses à bord. La configuration des routes de ces camions est différente de celle des camions réguliers, car ils ne doivent pas être synchronisés avec les chargeuses. Nous utilisons un modèle mathématique où les colonnes peuvent être facilement et naturellement interprétées comme des itinéraires de camions. Nous résolvons ce modèle en utilisant la génération de colonnes. Dans un premier temps, nous relaxons l’intégralité des variables de décision et nous considérons seulement un sous-ensemble des itinéraires réalisables. Les itinéraires avec un potentiel d’amélioration de la solution courante sont ajoutés au modèle de manière itérative. Un réseau espace-temps est utilisé à la fois pour représenter les impacts des événements imprévus et pour générer ces itinéraires. La solution obtenue est généralement fractionnaire et un algorithme de branch-and-price est utilisé pour trouver des solutions entières. Plusieurs scénarios de perturbation ont été développés pour tester l’approche proposée sur des études de cas provenant de l’industrie forestière canadienne et les résultats numériques sont présentés pour les trois contextes.

Transportation and spatial development : an overview and a future direction

Spatial Assessment of Indices for Characterizing the Erosive Force of Rainfall in El Salvador Republic

Soil erosion data in El Salvador Republic are scarce and there is no rainfall erosivity map for this region. Considering that rainfall erosivity is an important guide for planning soil erosion control practices, a spatial assessment of indices for characterizing the erosive force of rainfall in El Salvador Republic was carried out. Using pluviometric records from 25 weather stations, we applied two methods: erosivity index equation and the Fournier index. In all study area, the rainiest period is from May to November. Annual values of erosivity index ranged from 7,196 to 17,856 MJ mm ha(-1) h(-1) year(-1) and the Fournier index ranged from 52.9 to 110.0 mm. The erosivity map showed that the study area can be broadly divided into three major erosion risk zones, and the Fournier index map was divided into four zones. Both methods revealed that the erosive force is severe in all study area and presented significant spatial correlation with each other. The erosive force in the country is concentrated mainly from May to November.

Metodologia de avaliação de sistemas municipais de meio ambiente : aplicação a RIDE-DF e Entorno

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Tecnologia, Departamento de Engenharia Civil e Ambiental, Pós-Graduação em Tecnologia Ambiental e Recursos Hídricos, 2015.

THE INFLUENCE OF URBAN FORM AT DIFFERENT GEOGRAPHICAL SCALES ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOR; EVIDENCE FROM U.S. CITIES

Suburban lifestyle is popular among American families, although it has been criticized for encouraging automobile use through longer commutes, causing heavy traffic congestion, and destroying open spaces (Handy, 2005). It is a serious concern that people living in low-density suburban areas suffer from high automobile dependency and lower rates of daily physical activity, both of which result in social, environmental and health-related costs. In response to such concerns, researchers have investigated the inter-relationships between urban land-use pattern and travel behavior within the last few decades and suggested that land-use planning can play a significant role in changing travel behavior in the long-term. However, debates regarding the magnitude and efficiency of the effects of land-use on travel patterns have been contentious over the years. Changes in built-environment patterns is potentially considered a long-term panacea for automobile dependency and traffic congestion, despite some researchers arguing that the effects of land-use on travel behavior are minor, if any. It is still not clear why the estimated impact is different in urban areas and how effective a proposed land-use change/policy is in changing certain travel behavior. This knowledge gap has made it difficult for decision-makers to evaluate land-use plans and policies. In addition, little is known about the influence of the large-scale built environment. In the present dissertation, advanced spatial-statistical tools have been employed to better understand and analyze these impacts at different scales, along with analyzing transit-oriented development policy at both small and large scales. The objective of this research is to: (1) develop scalable and consistent measures of the overall physical form of metropolitan areas; (2) re-examine the effects of built-environment factors at different hierarchical scales on travel behavior, and, in particular, on vehicle miles traveled (VMT) and car ownership; and (3) investigate the effects of transit-oriented development on travel behavior. The findings show that changes in built-environment at both local and regional levels could be very influential in changing travel behavior. Specifically, the promotion of compact, mixed-use built environment with well-connected street networks reduces VMT and car ownership, resulting in less traffic congestion, air pollution, and energy consumption.

Medicina veterinária de desastres e catástrofes : contributo para a extensão do Plano Municipal de Emergência de Proteção Civil de Lisboa aos animais de companhia

Dissertação de Mestrado Integrado em Medicina Veterinária

Modelo de um observatório municipal do desporto no concelho de Setúbal

A presente dissertação tem como objetivo geral apresentar uma proposta de um modelo de observatório municipal do desporto na administração local, nomeadamente no concelho de Setúbal. Podem ser verificados alguns estudos sobre a temática dos observatórios no sector do desporto (Leite, 2013; Gaspar 2014). Em plena sociedade de informação, as organizações têm de gerir grandes fluxos de dados. Têm de ter capacidade de adaptação à realidade, mas acima de tudo, uma atitude pró-ativa no sentido de anteciparem novos cenários. Segundo Albornoz e Herschmann (2006), os observatórios costumam recolher, registar, acompanhar, interpretar dados, produzir indicadores estatísticos, criar metodologias para codificar, classificar e categorizar informações, estabelecendo conexões entre pessoas que trabalham em áreas similares, bem como monitorizar e analisar tendências. É exigido à administração local, serviços de qualidade e de transparência na adoção das suas politicas desportivas e a existência de um instrumento de recolha de informação, estruturado com base num modelo de análise que permita conhecer, analisar e compreender o estado de um dado contexto desportivo em tempo real, irá permitir a criação de uma base de dados contendo informação atualizada e confiável. Neste contexto, os sistemas de informação, quando desenvolvidos e aplicados, vão permitir a recolha de informação fundamental sobre o comportamento interno da organização (Claudino, 2005). A presente pesquisa representa uma investigação descritiva, tratando-se de um estudo de caso a aplicar na Câmara Municipal de Setúbal. Em termos da recolha de dados, foram utilizadas fontes primárias, com base numa análise documental. Os resultados deste estudo, permitem apresentar uma primeira abordagem de estrutura e processos de funcionamento de um modelo de observatório municipal do desporto com aplicação prática, tendo sido estabelecidos sete categorias de análise fundamentais: i) Atividades Desportivas; ii) Instalações Desportivas, iii) Associativismo; iv) Recursos Humanos; v) Sector Privado; vi) Consumo Desportivo; vii) Divisão Desporto. As estratégias das políticas públicas desportivas adotadas, o planeamento desportivo ou o acesso ao apoio financeiro, exigem que estejam disponíveis um conjunto de informações rigorosas e fidedignas sobre o desempenho, a evolução e as tendências do sector a nível local pelo que a estrutura de um observatório do desporto, irá permitir de uma forma eficiente, eficaz e participativa que se desenvolvam e projetem as políticas desportivas locais que melhor se ajustem à sua realidade. Acreditamos que a existência de um observatório municipal do desporto acrescenta benefícios para os municípios. As mudanças e os desafios económicos colocados hoje, obrigam a novas dinâmicas competitivas.

Modeling Flood Stage-Duration-Frequency: A Risk Assessment of Critical Infrastructure in the Tidal Potomac

The service of a critical infrastructure, such as a municipal wastewater treatment plant (MWWTP), is taken for granted until a flood or another low frequency, high consequence crisis brings its fragility to attention. The unique aspects of the MWWTP call for a method to quantify the flood stage-duration-frequency relationship. By developing a bivariate joint distribution model of flood stage and duration, this study adds a second dimension, time, into flood risk studies. A new parameter, inter-event time, is developed to further illustrate the effect of event separation on the frequency assessment. The method is tested on riverine, estuary and tidal sites in the Mid-Atlantic region. Equipment damage functions are characterized by linear and step damage models. The Expected Annual Damage (EAD) of the underground equipment is further estimated by the parametric joint distribution model, which is a function of both flood stage and duration, demonstrating the application of the bivariate model in risk assessment. Flood likelihood may alter due to climate change. A sensitivity analysis method is developed to assess future flood risk by estimating flood frequency under conditions of higher sea level and stream flow response to increased precipitation intensity. Scenarios based on steady and unsteady flow analysis are generated for current climate, future climate within this century, and future climate beyond this century, consistent with the WWTP planning horizons. The spatial extent of flood risk is visualized by inundation mapping and GIS-Assisted Risk Register (GARR). This research will help the stakeholders of the critical infrastructure be aware of the flood risk, vulnerability, and the inherent uncertainty.

A agricultura na construção da paisagem multifuncional. Contributos para a definição de uma estrutura ecológica municipal sustentável nas freguesias de Ferreiras e Paderne

Dissertação de Mestrado, Arquitetura Paisagista, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade do Algarve, 2016

A configuração urbana do território do Vale do Neiva, Viana do Castelo

A dissertação tem como foco a pesquisa sobre a configuração urbana do estudo de caso, a Unidade Territorial de Vale do Neiva em Viana do Castelo. É um território que contem potencial locativo capaz de promover internamente a fixação industrial, as actividades terciárias e a capacidade em fixar e atrair população. Por outro lado, apresenta dinâmicas e valências económicas em contexto concelhio e regional. A análise configuracional abordada na investigação, através do recurso a técnicas e métodos da Sintaxe Espacial, apura características morfológicas do território permitindo a melhor compreensão do funcionamento e da relação entre forma urbana e relações sociais que a envolvem. Foi abordada a dimensão económica-espacial, nomeadamente, no que diz respeito aos seus componentes e interdependências, visando compreender como se processa a apropriação espacial na malha urbana. A correlação desta abordagem com a metodologia da Sintaxe Espacial possibilitou aumentar conhecimento sobre níveis de acessibilidade das actividade presentes no território. Permitem, adicionalmente, a obtenção de análises mais estruturadas que poderão apoiar decisões tecnicamente mais robustas. Por fim, foi diagnosticado o impacto de algumas acções previstas no Plano Director Municipal de Viana do Castelo, designadamente, as que recaem sobre a rede viária da Unidade Territorial do Vale do Neiva. A análise assentou na simulação e previsão dos efeitos das transformações sobre a configuração urbana. Informa, fundamentadamente, sobre estratégias de planeamento e gestão urbana previstas.

Design of evacuation plans for densely urbanised city centres

The high population density and tightly packed nature of some city centres make emergency planning for these urban spaces especially important, given the potential for human loss in case of disaster. Historic and recent events have made emergency service planners particularly conscious of the need for preparing evacuation plans in advance. This paper discusses a methodological approach for assisting decision-makers in designing urban evacuation plans. The approach aims at quickly and safely moving the population away from the danger zone into shelters. The plans include determining the number and location of rescue facilities, as well as the paths that people should take from their building to their assigned shelter in case of an occurrence requiring evacuation. The approach is thus of the location–allocation–routing type, through the existing streets network, and takes into account the trade-offs among different aspects of evacuation actions that inevitably come up during the planning stage. All the steps of the procedure are discussed and systematised, along with computational and practical implementation issues, in the context of a case study – the design of evacuation plans for the historical centre of an old European city.

Towards modern municipal sports and recreation management in Costa Rica

Sports and recreation management is addressed here using a model that combines the policies and methodologies applied in the Costa Rican context as a result of a concern to identify the real needs in the sports, recreation, and health promotion fields through the different manifestations of human movement.  This approach has been developed during eight years of work in the Costa Rican Sports and Recreation Institute (Instituto Costarricense del Deporte y la Recreación-ICODER) together with different Costa Rican communities, both rural and urban, and local organizations, such as Comprehensive Development Community Associations, Sports and Recreation Community Boards (CCDR), Municipal Mayorships, and NGOs, among others.  This article particularly takes into consideration the experience of the CCDRs as entities that have been given the responsibility by the Costa Rican Government to promote and manage municipal sports and recreation services with a convenient offering that would meet the needs of users or customers.  In this way, this article is aimed at answering the question on how Boards should conduct an efficient management in a way that they also meet the needs of public users or customers in the municipalities of the country, by proposing a management model that serves as an additional instrument to improving the already existing services managed by the aforementioned entities.  This study presents a model of Costa Rican management structured with the theoretical elements that currently define the organization and planning of sports and recreation as a service.