Aspects of Land Take in the Metropolitan Area of Naples

Land take is a phenomenon of great concern nowadays because of the large number of its negative impacts regarding biological, economic and social balance. In Italy, the development of urban and other artificial land has been irreversibly transforming a nonrenewable resource such as soil, regardless the almost constant population rate, with different speed depending of the region considered. The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon in the metropolitan area of Naples, which is an area highly affected by territorial aggression of human matrix. The data used are both by the Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) Report 2015 on the usage of the land and by ISTAT relating to the resident population up to the 1st of January 2015 and the extension of land for agricultural use (Census 2010). The mathematical combination of this data creates a new indicator that can be referred to as “residual land”; this residual area is of great extension with many different characteristics and it could represent the area where the phenomenon of land take most occurs. The identification, measurement and analysis of “residual land” provide new insights on the evolution of land take and this new indicator can represent a critical element to work on to prevent future land transformation and protect natural and agricultural areas within the Italian context.

Examining the Association between Acculturation and Hypertension among Asian Americans in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan Area

Objective: To evaluate the association between Acculturation and hypertension among Asian Americans in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted of 600 Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese adults. Logistic regression was used to investigate the relationship between acculturation variables (years in the U.S., self-rated acculturation, self-rated English fluency) and hypertension, determined from a mean of 3 blood pressure readings taken on site. Results: Compared to those who resided in the U.S. for 0-5 years, individuals who resided for 6-10 years were about 60% less likely to have hypertension (aOR= 0.36; 95% CI: 0.12, 1.05; p-value=0.06). No significant association was observed between self-rated identity and hypertension. Compared to those with poor English fluency, those who speak “so-so” English have increased odds of hypertension (aOR=1.57; 95%CI: 0.93, 2.64; p-value= 0.09). Disaggregated analysis was conducted for Asian American subgroups, which showed differences in trends of acculturation and hypertension. Conclusion: Findings suggest an association between acculturation and hypertension, guiding future studies to investigate further into these observed effects. Some subgroup differences were observed among Asian American subgroups, potentially suggesting a subgroup-focused intervention.

Environmental quality of life index incorporationg MCA & GIS : case study Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal

The study of Quality of Life (Qol) has been conducted on various scales throughout the years with focus on assessing overall quality of living amongst citizens. The main focus in these studies have been on economic factors, with the purpose of creating a Quality of Life Index (QLI).When it comes down to narrowing the focus to the environment and factors like Urban Green Spaces (UGS) and air quality the topic gets more focused on pointing out how each alternative meets this certain criteria. With the benefits of UGS and a healthy environment in focus a new Environmental Quality of Life Index (EQLI) will be proposed by incorporating Multi Criteria Analysis (MCA) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS). Working with MCA on complex environmental problems and incorporating it with GIS is a challenging but rewarding task, and has proven to be an efficient approach among environmental scientists. Background information on three MCA methods will be shown: Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), Regime Analysis and PROMETHEE. A survey based on a previous study conducted on the status of UGS within European cities was sent to 18 municipalities in the study area. The survey consists of evaluating the current status of UGS as well as planning and management of UGS with in municipalities for the purpose of getting criteria material for the selected MCA method. The current situation of UGS is assessed with use of GIS software and change detection is done on a 10 year period using NDVI index for comparison purposes to one of the criteria in the MCA. To add to the criteria, interpolation of nitrogen dioxide levels was performed with ordinary kriging and the results transformed into indicator values. The final outcome is an EQLI map with indicators of environmentally attractive municipalities with ranking based on predefinedMCA criteria using PROMETHEE I pairwise comparison and PROMETHEE II complete ranking of alternatives. The proposed methodology is applied to Lisbon’s Metropolitan Area, Portugal.

Network optimization for enhanced resilience of urban heat island measurements

The urban heat island is a well-known phenomenon that impacts a wide variety of city operations. With greater availability of cheap meteorological sensors, it is possible to measure the spatial patterns of urban atmospheric characteristics with greater resolution. To develop robust and resilient networks, recognizing sensors may malfunction, it is important to know when measurement points are providing additional information and also the minimum number of sensors needed to provide spatial information for particular applications. Here we consider the example of temperature data, and the urban heat island, through analysis of a network of sensors in the Tokyo metropolitan area (Extended METROS). The effect of reducing observation points from an existing meteorological measurement network is considered, using random sampling and sampling with clustering. The results indicated the sampling with hierarchical clustering can yield similar temperature patterns with up to a 30% reduction in measurement sites in Tokyo. The methods presented have broader utility in evaluating the robustness and resilience of existing urban temperature networks and in how networks can be enhanced by new mobile and open data sources.

Heavy metal distribution in recent sediments along the Tiete River basin (Sao Pauro, Brazil)

The distribution of heavy metals in recent sediments deposited along the Tiete River, a highly polluted river in southeast region of Brazil was studied. Around the metropolitan area of Silo Paulo city (25 million people), the pollution is related to municipal wastes and industrial effluents with reinforced downstream by agricultural activities. The observed increase of heavy metal concentrations is particularly important for Zn in the upper basin and Cu, Co and Cr at mouth. Geo-accumulation index calculation, related to the regional background, showed that the sediments along the basin are seriously polluted by heavy metals of anthropogenic origin, mainly Cu, Co, Cr and Zn. Calculated index suggests medium to very strongly pollution.

Tokyo, Japan, 1732 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Plan de Jedo capitale du Japon et résidence du monarque seculier copie su l'original Japonnois de 4 1/2 pieds de long et d'autant de large qui est dan le cabinet du chevalier Hans Sloane = van vier en een halve Engelsche voet lang en zo veele breedt door J. G. Scheuchzer. It was published by Uytwerf in 1732. Scale [ca. 1:32,000]. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in French and Dutch. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo UTM Zone 54N coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, drainage, selected buildings, fortification, and more. Relief shown pictorially and by hachures. Includes illustrations. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from The Harvard Map Collection as part of the Imaging the Urban Environment project. Maps selected for this project represent major urban areas and cities of the world, at various time periods. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features at a large scale. The selection represents a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1893 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: New map of Tokio : divided into ninth ri sections for measuring distances. It was published by H. M. & Co. in 1893. Scale [ca. 1:18,000]. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in English and Japanese (including romanized Japanese). The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo UTM Zone 54N coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, selected buildings (post offices, police stations, churches), parks, and more. Relief is shown by hachures. Includes inset: Tsukiji Foreign Settlement. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from The Harvard Map Collection as part of the Imaging the Urban Environment project. Maps selected for this project represent major urban areas and cities of the world, at various time periods. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features at a large scale. The selection represents a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1907 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: The revised map of Tokyo, S. Nishinomiya. It was published by S. Nishinomiya in 1907. Scale [ca. 1:17,000]. Covers Tokyo, Japan. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo UTM Zone 54N coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroad and street railway lines and stations, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, city and county boundaries, parks, cemeteries, and more. Relief is shown by hachures. Includes insets: [Tokyo and environs] -- Tsukiji Foreign Settlement. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from The Harvard Map Collection as part of the Imaging the Urban Environment project. Maps selected for this project represent major urban areas and cities of the world, at various time periods. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features at a large scale. The selection represents a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1860 (Image 2 of 4) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Man'en kaisei O-Edo oezu, Takai Ranzan zu. It was published by Okadaya Kashichi in Man'en gannen in 1860. Scale [ca. 1:10,700]. This layer is image 2 of 4 total images of the four sheet source map, representing the southeast portion of the map. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in Japanese.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 54N projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, names of landowners, parks, and more. Shows main temples, shrines, and points of interest pictorially.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1860 (Image 1 of 4) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Man'en kaisei O-Edo oezu, Takai Ranzan zu. It was published by Okadaya Kashichi in Man'en gannen in 1860. Scale [ca. 1:10,700]. This layer is image 1 of 4 total images of the four sheet source map, representing the northwest portion of the map. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in Japanese.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 54N projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, names of landowners, parks, and more. Shows main temples, shrines, and points of interest pictorially.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1860 (Image 3 of 4) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Man'en kaisei O-Edo oezu, Takai Ranzan zu. It was published by Okadaya Kashichi in Man'en gannen in 1860. Scale [ca. 1:10,700]. This layer is image 3 of 4 total images of the four sheet source map, representing the northeast portion of the map. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in Japanese.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 54N projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, names of landowners, parks, and more. Shows main temples, shrines, and points of interest pictorially.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1860 (Image 4 of 4) (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Man'en kaisei O-Edo oezu, Takai Ranzan zu. It was published by Okadaya Kashichi in Man'en gannen in 1860. Scale [ca. 1:10,700]. This layer is image 4 of 4 total images of the four sheet source map, representing the southwest portion of the map. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in Japanese.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 54N projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, names of landowners, parks, and more. Shows main temples, shrines, and points of interest pictorially.This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

Tokyo, Japan, 1859 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: O-Edo ezu. It was published by Suharaya Mohe zohan in Ansei 6 [1859]. Scale [ca. 1:14,000]. Covers Tokyo, Japan. Map in Japanese.The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Tokyo Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 54N projected coordinate system. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This map shows features such as roads, railroads and stations, drainage, built-up areas and selected buildings, names of landowners, parks, and more. Shows main shrines and temples pictorially. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from the Harvard Map Collection. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features. The selection represents a range of originators, ground condition dates, scales, and map purposes.

EL PROCESO DE URBANIZACION EN LA PERIFERIA DEL AREA METROPOLITANA: LOS CASOS DE TURRUCARES Y MONTE DE LA CRUZ

Este avance de investigación pretende ofrecer una visión preliminar de un fenómeno bastante reciente que se está dando en Costa Rica y particularmente en el Valle Central: la urbanización del espacio agrícola. Este proceso se está desarrollando más allá del espacio suburbano y presenta una especialidad diferente, ya que aquí la organización social campesina y las actividades agropecuarias siguen siendo predominantes. Sin embargo, esta extremadamente vinculado con el proceso de metropolizacion que surge en el país. Se está asistiendo, pues, a una reubicación de los espacios residenciales de las clases de mejores ingresos, las cuales influenciadas tal vez por un modelo ideológico importado, buscan poder disfrutar de las ventajas que ofrece el espacio rural pero con la posibilidad de seguir trabajando en la ciudad y seguir gozando de los servicios urbanos. La  rural-urbanización dentro de una estrategia global de estructuración del espacio puede ser considerada como un mecanismo de selección y una apropiación de los mejores lugares donde se dará la futura de expansión urbana. Desde esta perspectiva, resulta interesante llamar la atención de cómo ciertos sectores sociales están proyectando desde ahora la futura expansión del espacio metropolitano.   SUMMARY This preliminary investigative report presents a viewpoint about a very recent phenomenon that is occurring in Costa Rica and especially in the Central Valley: the urbanization of the agrarian space. This process is developing beyond the suburban areas and presents a different spacial structure because in these areas, the rural social structures and the livestock and agricultural activities are still predominant. Nevertheless, such activities are very much related to the urbanization process occurring in the country. As such, we are witnessing a reubication of the residential structure of the high-income classes, of which, influenced perhaps by an improved idiologic model, hope to enjoy the advantages offered by a rural area but also taking advantage of the convenience offered by the urban benefits; plus the opportunity to keep working in the city. The process of rural urbanization conceived in a global strategy of spatial structures, can be considered as a selection and appropriation mechanism of the best areas for the future urban expansion. From this perspective, it is interesting to call attention to the process by which certain social sectors are now projecting the future organization of the metropolitan area.  In reference to the real-estate capital invested in the study areas, and specifically to Costa Rica capital, this investment in the promotion of real-estate, acts as a shelter sector, by changing the course of direction of the capital accumulated in the other economic sectors, especially considering that the real-estate sector insures more secure profits in spite of the relatively insignificant recuperation rate of the capital investment comparison to the industrial sector, where more capital risks occur, above all during an economic crisis.  At present, the zones influenced by rural urbanization are affected by a modification in their productive structure, in other words, what were once agricultural zones, are now converted to residential zones. This produces spectacular changes in the composition of the work force by producing service-oriented employment that leads to the following abandonment of the agricultural activities.  From a social point of view, this rural urbanization pattern provokes a marked spatial segregation, in which an exclusive high income social group with a particularly consuming life style is noted at one level, and on the other, social groups that inhered patterns of rural life with more traditional lifestyles. In reference to the community level in the study areas, localized conflicts have emerged between local people and the new residents. These conflicts are highly conditioned by the insertion in the communities of these new residents.       RESUME   Ce document préliminaire décrit un phénomène assez récent au Costa Rica, qui affecte plus particulièrement la « Vallée Centrale ». il s’agit de l’urbanisation de l’espace agricole.  Ce sont des espaces franchement ruraux, bien au-delà des banlieues, qui sont affectés par ce processus qui, en conséquence, montre des caractères différents: comme se maintien de la organisation social liée aux activités agricoles; en face l’infiltration d’un autre mode de vie dû à sa transformation en espace résidentiel pour classes aux revenus élevés qui, peut-être, influencées par un modèle culturel importé, préfèrent une localisation qui puisée leus offrir à  la fois les avantages de vivre dans un espace rural avec ceux de la ville, lieu de travail suffisamment proche dont elles continuent à pouvoir utiliser ses services. Ce modèle culturel doit être considère en fonction du processus de métropolitain apparu dan le pays. L’urbanisation de l’espace rural, dans une stratégie globale de structuration de l’espace peut se considérer comme un mécanisme de sélection et d’appropriation des meilleurs sites de l’expansion urbaine future.  Dans cette perspective, il est intéressant de constater qu’il existe déjà, de la part certains secteurs sociaux, un projet d’organisation de l’espace métropolitain futur. Le foncier est considéré comme un secteur refuge pour les capitaux nationaux d’où l’intérêt de la spéculation pour ces zones. En effet, ce placement, plus sûr, malgré un plus faible taux de récupération du capital, est préfère à d’ autres- comme l’investissement industriel- plus rentables, mais plus risqués, surtout en temps de crise. L’urbanisation de l’espace rural s’accompagne d’une modification des structures productives : moins d’agriculture et évolution de l’emploi vers le tertiaire liée à la présence de nouveaux résidents. Du point de vue social, cette situation se traduit par une très nette ségrégation spatiale. D’un côte, un group socio-économique aux revenus élèves représentant  la société de consommation ; de l’autre, les ruraux au style de vie plus traditionnel. Il en résulte une certaine tension entre les deux groupes.