Using biomimicry to inform urban infrastructure design that addresses 21st century needs

The design of society’s major infrastructure systems are generally based on anthropogenic learnings and seldom encapsulate learning from nature. This results from a pervading attitude of superiority of human-designed systems, particularly since the Industrial Revolution. Problems created by such behaviours have previously not been thought to present a serious threat to humanity. However, many built environment professionals are now reconsidering the impact of such systems on the environment and their vulnerability to issues such as climate change. This paper presents an approach to delivering sustainable urban infrastructure that addresses 21st Century needs by emulating natural form, function and process - biomimicry – in infrastructure design. The analysis reveals the context for infrastructure change and the need for sustainable solutions, detailing the current inquiry into biomimicry informed design and highlighting potential applications from literature that demonstrate precedence for nature to inspire the design of urban infrastructure, in particular water and energy systems.

Predicting freeway pavement construction cost using a back-propagation neural network : a case study in Henan, China

The objective of this research was to develop a model to estimate future freeway pavement construction costs in Henan Province, China. A comprehensive set of factors contributing to the cost of freeway pavement construction were included in the model formulation. These factors comprehensively reflect the characteristics of region and topography and altitude variation, the cost of labour, material, and equipment, and time-related variables such as index numbers of labour prices, material prices and equipment prices. An Artificial Neural Network model using the Back-Propagation learning algorithm was developed to estimate the cost of freeway pavement construction. A total of 88 valid freeway cases were obtained from freeway construction projects let by the Henan Transportation Department during the period 1994−2007. Data from a random selection of 81 freeway cases were used to train the Neural Network model and the remaining data were used to test the performance of the Neural Network model. The tested model was used to predict freeway pavement construction costs in 2010 based on predictions of input values. In addition, this paper provides a suggested correction for the prediction of the value for the future freeway pavement construction costs. Since the change in future freeway pavement construction cost is affected by many factors, the predictions obtained by the proposed method, and therefore the model, will need to be tested once actual data are obtained.

Beyond online preprints : formalization of open initiatives in China

A growing number of online journals and academic platforms are adopting light peer review or 'publish then filter' models of scholarly communication. These approaches have the advantage of enabling instant exchanges of knowledge between academics and are part of a wider search for alternatives to traditional peer review and certification processes in scholarly publishing. However, establishing credibility and identifying the correct balance between communication and scholarly rigour remains an important challenge for digital communication platforms targeting academic communities. This paper looks at a highly influential, government-backed, open publishing platform in China: Science Paper Online, which is using transparent post-publication peer-review processes to encourage innovation and address systemic problems in China's traditional academic publishing system. There can be little doubt that the Chinese academic publishing landscape differs in important ways from counterparts in the United States and Western Europe. However, this article suggests that developments in China also provide important lessons about the potential of digital technology and government policy to facilitate a large-scale shift towards more open and networked models of scholarly communication.

Managing creativity on the margins : a comparative study of Beijing’s Songzhuang Art District and Hangzhou’s White Horse Lake Creative Eco-City

In the past decade the ‘creative cluster’ has become a driver of urban renewal in China. Many cluster developments attract human capital and investment to post-industrial spaces. This paper looks at two developments which are more post-agricultural than post-industrial: the first is Songzhuang, a large scale contemporary art community situated on the eastern fringe of Beijing, the second is Hangzhou’s White Horse Lake Creative Eco-City, a ‘mixed variety’ cluster model which integrates elements of art, fashion, design and animation. The common factor in both cases is how they came into existence. In both districts urban creative workers moved into a rural environment. Drawing on interviews with planners, officials, and residents we investigate the challenges of sustaining such fringe clusters.

Turbulence in an inundated urban environment during a major flood : implications in terms of people evacuation and sediment deposition

Floods through inundated urban environments constitute a hazard to the population and infrastructure. A series of field measurements were performed in an inundated section of the City of Brisbane (Australia) during a major flood in January 2011. Using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV), detailed velocity and suspended sediment concentration measurements were conducted about the peak of the flood. The results are discussed with a focus on the safety of individuals in floodwaters and the sediment deposition during the flood recession. The force of the floodwaters in Gardens Point Road was deemed unsafe for individual evacuation. A comparison with past laboratory results suggested that previous recommendations could be inappropriate and unsafe in real flood flows.

UbiOpticon : participatory sousveillance with urban screens and mobile phone cameras

In many cities around the world, surveillance by a pervasive net of CCTV cameras is a common phenomenon in an attempt to uphold safety and security across the urban environment. Video footage is being recorded and stored, sometimes live feeds are being watched in control rooms hidden from public access and view. In this study, we were inspired by Steve Mann’s original work on sousveillance (surveillance from below) to examine how a network of camera equipped urban screens could allow the residents of Oulu in Finland to collaborate on the safekeeping of their city. An agile, rapid prototyping process led to the design, implementation and ‘in the wild’ deployment of the UbiOpticon screen application. Live video streams captured by web cams integrated at the top of 12 distributed urban screens were broadcast and displayed in a matrix arrangement on all screens. The matrix also included live video streams of two roaming mobile phone cameras. In our field study we explored the reactions of passers-by and users of this screen application that seeks to inverse Bentham’s original panopticon by allowing the watched to be watchers at the same time. In addition to the original goal of participatory sousveillance, the system’s live video feature sparked fun and novel user-led apprlopriations.

Vote with your feet : local community polling on urban screens

Falling prices have led to an ongoing spread of public displays in urban areas. Still, they mostly show passive content such as commercials and digital signage. At the same time, technological advances have enabled the creation of interactive displays potentially increasing their attractiveness for the audience, e.g. through providing a platform for civic discourse. This poses considerable challenges, since displays need to communicate the opportunity to engage, motivate the audience to do so, and be easy to use. In this paper we present Vote With Your Feet, a hyperlocal public polling tool for urban screens allowing users to express their opinions. Similar to vox populi interviews on TV or polls on news websites, the tool is meant to reflect the mindset of the community on topics such as current affairs, cultural identity and local matters. It is novel in that it focuses on a situated civic discourse and provides a tangible user interface, tackling the mentioned challenges. It shows one Yes/No question at a time and enables users to vote by stepping on one of two tangible buttons on the ground. This user interface was introduced to attract people’s attention and to lower participation barriers. Our field study showed that Vote With Your Feet is perceived as inviting and that it can spark discussions among co-located people.

Elemental composition and potential toxicity of airborne particles at some urban schools

Although both the size and chemical composition of ambient particles are important parameters in determining their toxicities, their relative contributions are unclear (Heal et al., 2012). Children are particularly at risk to the detrimental health effects that have been linked to long term exposure to airborne particles (See e.g. Ruckerl et al., 2011). However, there is currently limited understanding of the health effects in children due to long term exposure to airborne particles. Schools are locations within an urban environment where children experience significant exposure to vehicle emissions, and to date there is limited information assessing children’s exposure at school. This study is a part of a large project aimed at gaining a holistic picture of the exposure of children to traffic related pollutants. In the current paper, results from the investigation of the elemental composition of airborne particle at urban schools are presented.

Using communicative ecology theory to scope the emerging role of social media in the evolution of urban food systems

Urban agriculture plays an increasingly vital role in supplying food to urban populations. Changes in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) are already driving widespread change in diverse food-related industries such as retail, hospitality and marketing. It is reasonable to suspect that the fields of ubiquitous technology, urban informatics and social media equally have a lot to offer the evolution of core urban food systems. We use communicative ecology theory to describe emerging innovations in urban food systems according to their technical, discursive and social components. We conclude that social media in particular accentuate fundamental social interconnections normally effaced by conventional industrialised approaches to food production and consumption.

Exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis among outdoor workers in Guangzhou, China

Objectives: To assess the impact of exposure to ambient heat on urolithiasis among outdoor workers in a subtropical city of China. Methods: The 2003–2010 health check data of a shipbuilding company in Guangzhou, China were acquired. 190 cases and 760 matched controls were involved in this study. We assessed the relationship between exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis for different occupations using conditional logistic regression. Results: Spray painters were most likely to develop urolithiasis (OR = 4.4; 95% CI: 1.7, 11.4), followed by smelter workers (OR = 4.0; 95% CI: 1.8, 9.2), welders (OR = 3.7; 95% CI: 1.9, 7.2), production security and quality inspectors (OR = 2.7; 95% CI: 1.4, 3.0), and assemblers (OR = 2.2; 95% CI: 1.1, 4.3). Overall, outdoor workers were more likely to present with urolithiasis compared with indoor employees (p b 0.05). In addition, workers with longer cumulative exposure time (OR = 1.5; 95% CI: 1.2, 1.8) and abnormal blood pressure (OR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.0, 2.5) had higher risk for urolithiasis. Conclusions: Our findings demonstrate a significant association between exposure to ambient heat and urolithiasis among outdoor working populations. Public health intervention strategies should be developed to specifically target outdoor occupations.

Personal media and wireless cities : towards an urban spatial analysis

For the past decade, at least, varieties of small, hand held networked instruments have appeared on the global scene, selling in record numbers, and being utilized by all manner of persons from the old to the young; children, women, men, the wealthy and the poor and in all countries. Their presences bespeak a radical shift in telecommunications infrastructure and the future of communications. They are particularly visible in urban areas where mobile transmission network infrastructure (3G, 4G, cellular and Wi-Fi) is more established and substantial, options more plentiful, and density of populations more dramatic. These end user products—I phones, cell phones, Blackberries, DSi, DS, IPads, Zooms, and others – of the mobile communications industry are the latest, hottest globalized commodities. At the same time, wirelessness, or the state of being wireless, and therefore capable of taking along one's networks, communicating from unlikely spaces, and navigating with GPS, is a complex social, political and economic communications phenomenon of early 21st century life. This thesis examines the specter of being wireless in cities. It lends the entire idea an experimentally envisioned, historical and planned context wherein personalization of media tools is seen both as a design development of corporate, artistic, and military imagination, as well as a profound social phenomenon enabling new forms of sharing, belonging, and urban community. In doing that it asserts the parameters of a new mobile space which, aside from clear benefits to humankind by way of mobility, has reinscribed numerous categories including gender. Moreover, it posits the recognition of other, more nuanced theoretical spaces for complex readings of gender and gendered use, including some instantiation of the notion of 'network' itself as a cyborgian and gendered social form. Additionally, cities are studied as places where technology is not only quickly popularized, but is connected to larger political interests, such as the reading of data, tracking of information, and the new security culture. In so doing the work has been undertaken as an urban spatial analysis and experimental ethnography, utilizing architectural, feminist, techno-utopian, industrial and theoretical literatures as discursive underpinnings from whence understandings and interpretations of mobile space, the mobile office, networked mobility, and personal media have come, linking the space of cities to specific, pioneering urban public art projects in which voice, texting and MMS have been utilized in expressions of ubiquitous networks and urban history. Through numerous examples of techno art, the thesis discusses the 'wireless city' as an emerging cultural, socially constructed economic and spatial entity, both conceived and formed through historic processes of urbanization.

Innovating urban policymaking and planning mechanisms to deliver knowledge-based agendas : a methodological approach

This paper aims to develop a comprehensive approach to innovate urban policymaking and planning to successfully deliver the knowledge-based agenda. The paper, first, examines the concept of knowledge-based urban development, which has become a popular urban development policy and strategy in recent years, through a comprehensive review of the literature. It, then, introduces and discusses a novel methodological approach for effective policymaking and planning mechanism to deliver the knowledge-based agenda of cities. The paper, with the proposed methodology, brings together urban policymaking and planning approaches, and introduces a novel way to assess knowledge-based urban development achievements and potentials of emerging and prosperous knowledge cities. The paper, thus, provides an invaluable instrument to inform local and regional decision and plan making mechanisms to deliver their knowledge-based agendas and help them in moving towards building their sustainable knowledge cities.

Geographic co-distribution of influenza virus subtypes H7N9 and H5N1 in humans, China

Human infection with a novel low pathogenicity influenza A(H7N9) virus in eastern China has recently raised global public health concerns (1). The geographic sources of infection have yet to be fully clarified, and confirmed human cases from 1 province have not been linked to those from other provinces. While some studies have identified epidemiologic characteristics of subtype H7N9 cases and clinical differences between these cases and cases of highly pathogenic influenza A(H5N1), another avian influenza affecting parts of China (2–4), the spatial epidemiology of human infection with influenza subtypes H7N9 and H5N1 in China has yet to be elucidated. To test the hypothesis of co-distribution of high-risk clusters of both types of infection, we used all available data on human cases in mainland China and investigated the geospatial epidemiologic features...