Planning in the face of ‘deep divisions’: a view from Beirut, Lebanon

This article discusses planning in the global South-East while focusing on the specific context of social divides, political turmoil and conflict situations. The article proposes a five-way framework based on political science and planning to theory to analyse such contexts. The article explores the case of Beirut, Lebanon that has undergone several episodes of internal and external conflicts resulting in a society splintered along sectarianism. Three Two case studies of open urban spaces and their public activities are analysed using the five-way framework The discussion indicates how economic liberalism that is prevalent in countries of the South-East, along with place-based identities, interest-based identities, consensus orientated processes and institutionalism might facilitate a cultivation of deep values away from a narrowly constructed identity. The article argues that planners should understand the options for positive action that aim to bridge deep divisions and suggests that the five-way framework provides a reference for contextualising in different ways to suit particular contexts. Therefore, the framework is not necessarily restricted to the South-East but could be applicable to any context which manifests deep divisions.

Prevalence of untreated caries in deciduous teeth in urban and rural areas in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Objectives. To describe the prevalence of dental caries in children with deciduous teeth in urban and rural areas in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and to identify associated factors. Methods. The study included 24 744 children ( 5 - 7 years of age) examined as part of an epidemiological survey on oral health carried out in the state of Sao Paulo ( Levan-tamento Epidemiologico de Sa de Bucal do Estado de Sao Paulo). Multilevel analysis was used to investigate whether the prevalence of untreated caries was associated with the sociodemographic characteristics of the children examined or with the socioeconomic aspects of the participating cities. Results. Being black or brown ( adjusted odds ratio ( OR) = 1.27), attending school in rural areas ( adjusted OR = 1.88), and attending public school ( adjusted OR = 3.41) were identified as determinants for an increased probability of presenting deciduous teeth with untreated caries. Being a female ( adjusted OR = 0.83) was identified as a protective factor. The negative coefficients obtained for second- level independent variables indicate that the oral health profile of the cities included in the study were positively impacted by a higher municipal human development index ( beta = - 0.47) and fluoridated drinking water ( beta = - 0.32). Conclusions. The prevalence of untreated caries is influenced by individual and sociodemographic factors. The present study provides epidemiological information concerning the rural areas in the state of Sao Paulo. This information is useful for strategic planning and for establishing guidelines for oral health actions in local health systems, thereby contributing to oral health equity.

Multi-Agent Simulation of Urban Social Dynamics for Spatial Load Forecasting

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Diagnosis and environmental planning for Paranagud - PR - Brazil

The main goal of this study was to identify and analyse environmental problems related to human occupation at the south part of the city of Paranagua PR, Brazil, aiming the diagnosis and conceptual evaluation of landscape use. For landscape use assessments and degradation diagnosis purposes, the environment was classified considering mainly geological and geomorphologic characteristics, such as declivity and sediment origin. The identification of potential environmental impacts was made by aerial photographs, Landsat-TM images, photographic records, surface sediment samples, water-column samples, and mainly observation visits to each classified unit. Surface sediment samples were taken with a Petit-Ponar sampler, in 13 station located in Paranagua Bay. In order to characterize the contamination level on sediments, the concentration of the following elements were analysed: arsenic (As), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), lead (Ph) e zinc (Zn). For the extraction of these elements, samples were treated with HCl 0.1N for 12 hours. This method has the advantage of determining contaminants which are weakly bind to the sediment, thus more available to the system. Analysis were performed by atomic absorption spectroscopy. According to the adopted criteria, sectors were classified as hills, mangroves, continental sediments and beach ridges urban and port industrial. Water quality and concentrations of metallic elements were determined at three sectors one control and two with the influence of urban and port/industrial activities, respectively the major upland impacts found were: deforestation due to disordered occupation, and solid waste emission through domestic and industrial sewage. The diagnosis of the actual situation was used as a basis for a management plan, once it allows the identification of impacts, and consequent environmental irregularities. Based on this considerations, suggestions for land use and management were presented, which offers a better approach for recuperation and protection of the studied ecosystem.

Urban sprawl and energy use for transportation in the largest Brazilian cities

A study of the relationships between the amount of energy consumed for transportation purposes and a few selected variables related to urban form and socioeconomic characteristics of some of the largest Brazilian cities is conducted in this work. The studied cities include all 27 state capitals regardless of their size and population and 184 urban areas each with more than 20,000 inhabitants located in the state of São Paulo. Two different techniques were applied for data analyses: a more traditional regression analysis approach and artificial neural networks. In general, the results found in the analyses conducted here support the assumption that urban sprawl increases the energy use for transportation. In the case of the 27 state capitals, the analysis indicated that two spatial variables have a strong impact on the energy consumed for urban transportation: urban density and the ratio between the longest distances in the east-west and north-south directions. In the case of the 184 urbanized areas we also reached a similar conclusion. In that case, however, income and employment level apparently have a stronger influence on the amount of energy consumed. The results of the present study stress the importance of physical planning in developing country cities in order to reduce energy use for transportation. © 2007 International Energy Initiative, Inc.

Urban heat islands and electrical energy consumption

This study proposes the development of thermal and energy consumption maps to generate useful planning information. A residential neighbourhood in a medium-sized city was selected as the study area. In this area, 40 points were taken as urban reference points where air temperatures at the pedestrian level were collected. At the same time, rural temperatures made available by the city meteorological station were registered. Data of electrical energy consumption of the building units (houses and apartments) were collected through a household survey that was also designed to identify the users' income levels. Then, maps were developed so that the configuration of urban heat islands and electrical energy consumption could be visualised, compared and analysed. The results showed that the income level was the most important variable influencing electrical energy consumption. However, a strong relationship of the consumption with the thermal environment was also observed.

Considering Urban Dynamics in spatial electric load forecasting

When dealing with spatio-temporal simulations of load growth inside a service zone, one of the most important problems faced by a Distribution Utility is how to represent the different relationships among different areas. A new load in a certain part of the city could modify the load growth in other parts of the city, even outside of its radius of influence. These interactions are called Urban Dynamics. This work aims to discuss how to implement Urban Dynamics considerations into the spatial electric load forecasting simulations using multi-agent simulations. To explain the approach, three examples are introduced, including the effect of an attraction load, the effect of a repulsive load, and the effect of several attraction/repulsive loads at the same time when considering the natural load growth. © 2012 IEEE.

The urban elites in Latin America

Contribution of the Social Division of the Latin American Institute for Economic and Social Planning (ILPES) to the Sixth World Sociological Congress (Evian, 4 - 11 September, 1966)