Seismic Microzonation: A Tool for Disaster Mitigation Planning

Seismic microzonation has generally been recognized as the most accepted tool in seismic hazard assessment and risk evaluation. In general, risk reduction can be done by reducing the hazard, the vulnerability or the value at risk. Since the earthquake hazard can not be reduced, one has to concentrate on vulnerability and value at risk. The vulnerability of an urban area / municipalities depends on the vulnerability of infrastructure and redundancies within the infrastructure. The earthquake risk is the damage to buildings along with number of people that are killed / hurt and the economic losses during the event due to an earthquake with a return period corresponding to this time period. The principal approaches one can follow to reduce these losses are to avoid, if possible, high hazard areas for the siting of buildings and infrastructure, and further ensure that the buildings and infrastructure are designed and constructed to resist expected earthquake loads. This can be done if one can assess the hazard at local scales. Seismic microzonation maps provide the basis for scientifically based decision-making to reduce earthquake risk for Govt./public agencies, private owners and the general public. Further, seismic microzonation carried out on an appropriate scale provides a valuable tool for disaster mitigation planning and emergency response planning for urban centers / municipalities. It provides the basis for the identification of the areas of the city / municipality which are most likely to experience serious damage in the event of an earthquake.

Onnellisten kylät : Vertaileva tapaustutkimus Kumpulan ja Sundsbergin asukkaiden subjektiivisesta hyvinvoinnista sekä onnellisuuden rakentumisesta

The aim of this masters thesis was to examine subjective wellbeing and personal happiness. Empirical study of happiness is part of broader wellbeing reseach and is based on an idea that the best experts of personal wellbeing are the individuals themselves. In addition to perceptions of personal happiness, the aim was also to acquire knowledge about personal values and components personal happiness is based on. In this study, moving into certain community and the charesteristics of neigbourhood contributing happiness, were defined to represent these values. The object was, through comparative casestudy, to obtain knowledge about subjective wellbeing of the inviduals in two different residental areas inside metropolitan area of Helsinki. In comparative case study the intention usually is that the examined units represent spesific "cases" from something broader and therefore the results can be somehow generalized. Consequently the chosen cases in this study were selected due to their image of "urban village" and thus the juxtapositioning was constructed between secluded post-suburban village and more heterogeneous urban village better attached to excisting urban structure. The researh questins were formed as follows: Are there any differencies between the areas regarding the components personal happines is based on? Are there any differencies between the areas regarding the level of residents subjective wellbeing? Based on the residents assesments, what are the most important charesteristics of neigbourhood contributing personal happiness? The data used in order to gain aswers to these questions was obtained from internet-based survey questionnaire. Based on the data residents of post-suburban village Sundsberg seem to share highly family oriented set of values and actualizing these values is ensured with high income, wealth and secure work situation. Insteadt in Kumpula the components of happiness seem place more towards learning and personal developement, interesting leisure and hobbies and specially having an influence regarding communal decisions. Conserning subjective wellbeing of residents there can be seen some differencies as well. Personal life is experienced a bit more happier in Sundsberg than in Kumpula. People are more satified with their personal health and job satisfaction in Sundsberg and additionally feelings of loneliness, inadequancy and frustration are bit more common in Kumpula. Regarding the charesteristics of neigbourhood contributing happiness data suggests that key charesteristics of area are peacefulness and safely, good location and connections and proximity of parks and recreational areas. These charesteristics were concidered highly significant in both areas but they were experienced to actualize better in Kumpula. In addition to these components the residents in Kumpula were overall more satisfied with various charecteristics contiburing happiness in their residental area. Besides these attributes mentioned above residents in Kumpula emphasize also some "softer" elements connecting into social, functional and communal side of area. From Sundsberg point of view residental area best contributing happiness is child friendly and safe community based on likeminded people who share the same sosioeconomical situation. The results of this study can be linked back into the society and metropolitan area, which they were chosen from as a cases to be studied. The results can thereby be seen as an example of differentation of conditions of personal happiness between certain population segments. It is possible to detect an spatial dimetion to this process as well and thereby the results suggests that regional segmentation affects between high-ranking residental areas as well. Thereby the results of this reseach contributes to the debate on innovative, diverse and dynamic urban area and as well cohesion of metropolitan area and the society in whole.

Valikoiva muuttoliike Uudellamaalla

This thesis explores selective migration in Greater Helsinki region from the perspective of counterurbanisation. The aim of the study is to research whether the migration is selective by migrants age, education, income level or the rate of employment and to study any regional patterns formed by the selectivity. In the Helsinki region recent migratory developments have been shifting the areas of net migration gain away from the city of Helsinki to municipalities farther off on the former countryside. There has been discussion about Helsinki s decaying tax revenue base and whether the city s housing policy has contributed to the exodus of wealthier households. The central question of the discussion is one of selective migration: which municipalities succeed in capturing the most favourable migrants and which will lose in the competition. Selective migration means that region s in-migrants and out-migrants significantly differ from each other demographically, socially and economically. Sometimes selectivity is also understood as some individuals greater propensity to migrate than others but the proper notion for this would be differential migration. In Finnish parlance these two concepts have tended to get mixed up. The data of the study covers the total migration of the 34 municipalities of Uusimaa provinces during the years 2001 to 2003. The data was produced by Statistics Finland. Two new methods of representing the selectivity of migration as a whole were constructed during the study. Both methods look at the proportions of favourably selected migrants in regions inward and outward migrant flow. A large share in the inward flow and a small share in the outward flow is good for region s economy and demography. The first method calculates the differences of the proportions of favourably selected four migrant groups and sums the differences up. The other ranks the same proportions between regions giving value 1 to the largest proportion in inward flow and 34 to the smallest, and respectively in outward flow the smallest proportion gets value 1 and the largest 34. The total sum of the ranks or differences in proportions represents region s selectivity of migration. The results show that migration is indeed selective in the Greater Helsinki region. There also seems to be a spatial pattern centred around the Helsinki metropolitan region. The municipalities surrounding the four central communes are generally better of than those farther away. Not only these eight municipalities of the so called capital region benefit from the selective migration, but the favourable structure of migration extends to some of the small municipalities farther away. Some municipalities situated along the main northbound railway line are not coming through as well as other municipalities of the capital region. The selectivity of migration in Greater Helsinki region shows signs of counter-urbanisation. People look for suburban or small-town lifestyle no longer from Espoo or Vantaa, the neighbouring municipalities to Helsinki, but from the municipalities surrounding these two or even farther off. This kind of pattern in selective migration leads to unbalanced development in population structure and tax revenue base in the region. Migration to outskirts of the urban area also leads to urban sprawl and fragmentation of the urban structure: these issues have ecological implications. Selective migration should be studied more. Also the concept itself needs clearer definition and so do the methods to study the selectivity of migration.

Vegetation Status in Uttara Kannada District

Uttara Kannada is the only district in Karnataka, which has a forested area of about 80% and falls in the region of the Western Ghats. It is considered to be a very resourceful in terms of abundant natural resources and constitutes an important district in Karnataka. The forest resources of the district are under pressure as a large portion of the forested area has been converted to non-forestry activities since independence owing to the increased demands from human and animal population resulting in degradation of the forest ecosystem. This has led to poor productivity and regenerative capacity which is evident in the form of barren hill tops, etc in Coastal taluks of Uttara Kannada, entailing regular monitoring of the forest resources very essential. The classification of forest is a prerequisite for managing forest resources. Geographical Information System (GIS), allows the spatial and temporal analysis of the features of interest, and helps in solving the problem of deforestation and associated environmental and ecological problems. Spatial and temporal tools such as GIS and remotely sensed data helps the planners and decision makers in evolving the sustainable strategies for management and conservation of natural resources. Uttara Kannada district was classified on the basis of the land-use using supervised hard classifiers. The land use categories identified were urban area, water bodies, agricultural land, forest cover, and waste land. Further classification was carried out on the basis of forest type. The types of forest categorised were semi-evergreen, evergreen, moist deciduous, dry deciduous, plantations and scrub, thorny and non-forested area. The identified classes were correlated with the ground data collected during field visits. The observed results were compared with the historic data and the changes in the forest cover were analysed. From the assessment made it was clear that there has been a considerable degree of forest loss in certain areas of the district. It was also observed that plantations and social forests have increased drastically over the last fifteen years, and natural forests have declined.

Vegetation Analysis in Uttara Kannada District Using GIS and Remote Sensing Techniques

Uttara Kannada is the only district in Karnataka, which has a forested area of about 80% and falls in the region of the Western Ghats. It is considered to be a very resourceful in terms of abundant natural resources and constitutes an important district in Karnataka. The forest resources of the district are under pressure as a large portion of the forested area has been converted to non-forestry activities since independence owing to the increased demands from human and animal population resulting in degradation of the forest ecosystem. This has led to poor productivity and regenerative capacity which is evident in the form of barren hill tops, etc in Coastal taluks of Uttara Kannada, entailing regular monitoring of the forest resources very essential. The classification of forest is a prerequisite for managing forest resources. Geographical Information System (GIS), allows the spatial and temporal analysis of the features of interest, and helps in solving the problem of deforestation and associated environmental and ecological problems. Spatial and temporal tools such as GIS and remotely sensed data helps the planners and decision makers in evolving the sustainable strategies for management and conservation of natural resources. Uttara Kannada district was classified on the basis of the land-use using supervised hard classifiers. The land use categories identified were urban area, water bodies, agricultural land, forest cover, and waste land. Further classification was carried out on the basis of forest type. The types of forest categorised were semi-evergreen, evergreen, moist deciduous, dry deciduous, plantations and scrub, thorny and non-forested area. The identified classes were correlated with the ground data collected during field visits. The observed results were compared with the historic data and the changes in the forest cover were analysed. From the assessment made it was clear that there has been a considerable degree of forest loss in certain areas of the district. It was also observed that plantations and social forests have increased drastically over the last fifteen years,and natural forests have declined.

Evaluation of the Quality of Drinking Water in Kerala State, India

The quality of tap water from water supplies from 14 districts of Kerala state, India was studied. Parameters like pH, water temperature, total dissolved solids, salinity, nitrates, chloride, hardness, magnesium, calcium, sodium, potassium, fluoride, sulphate, phosphates, and coliform bacteria were enumerated. The results showed that all water samples were contaminated by coliform bacteria. About 20% of the tap water samples from Alappuzha and 15% samples from Palakkad district are above desirable limits prescribed by Bureau of Indian Standards. The contamination of the source water (due to lack of community hygiene) and insufficient treatment are the major cause for the coliform contamination in the state. Water samples from Alappuzha and Palakkad have high ionic and fluoride content which could be attributed to the geology of the region. Water supplied for drinking in rural areas are relatively free of any contamination than the water supplied in urban area by municipalities, which may be attributed higher chances of contamination in urban area due to mismanagement of solid and liquid wastes. The study highlights the need for regular bacteriological enumeration along with water quality in addition to setting up decentralised region specific improved treatment system.

Monitoring urbanization and its implications in a mega city from space: Spatiotemporal patterns and its indicators

Rapid and invasive urbanization has been associated with depletion of natural resources (vegetation and water resources), which in turn deteriorates the landscape structure and conditions in the local environment. Rapid increase in population due to the migration from rural areas is one of the critical issues of the urban growth. Urbanisation in India is drastically changing the land cover and often resulting in the sprawl. The sprawl regions often lack basic amenities such as treated water supply, sanitation, etc. This necessitates regular monitoring and understanding of the rate of urban development in order to ensure the sustenance of natural resources. Urban sprawl is the extent of urbanization which leads to the development of urban forms with the destruction of ecology and natural landforms. The rate of change of land use and extent of urban sprawl can be efficiently visualized and modelled with the help of geo-informatics. The knowledge of urban area, especially the growth magnitude, shape geometry, and spatial pattern is essential to understand the growth and characteristics of urbanization process. Urban pattern, shape and growth can be quantified using spatial metrics. This communication quantifies the urbanisation and associated growth pattern in Delhi. Spatial data of four decades were analysed to understand land over and land use dynamics. Further the region was divided into 4 zones and into circles of 1 km incrementing radius to understand and quantify the local spatial changes. Results of the landscape metrics indicate that the urban center was highly aggregated and the outskirts and the buffer regions were in the verge of aggregating urban patches. Shannon's Entropy index clearly depicted the outgrowth of sprawl areas in different zones of Delhi. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Numerical Study for Turbulent Flow and Thermal Influence Over Inhomogenous Canopy of Roughness Elements

A large-eddy simulation with transitional structure function(TSF) subgrid model we previously proposed was performed to investigate the turbulent flow with thermal influence over an inhomogeneous canopy, which was represented as alternative large and small roughness elements. The aerodynamic and thermodynamic effects of the presence of a layer of large roughness elements were modelled by adding a drag term to the three-dimensional Navier-Stokes equations and a heat source/sink term to the scalar equation, respectively. The layer of small roughness elements was simply treated using the method as described in paper (Moeng 1984, J. Atmos Sci. 41, 2052-2062) for homogeneous rough surface. The horizontally averaged statistics such as mean vertical profiles of wind velocity, air temperature, et al., are in reasonable agreement with Gao et al.(1989, Boundary layer meteorol. 47, 349-377) field observation (homogeneous canopy). Not surprisingly, the calculated instantaneous velocity and temperature fields show that the roughness elements considerably changed the turbulent structure within the canopy. The adjustment of the mean vertical profiles of velocity and temperature was studied, which was found qualitatively comparable with Belcher et al. (2003, J Fluid Mech. 488, 369-398)'s theoretical results. The urban heat island(UHI) was investigated imposing heat source in the region of large roughness elements. An elevated inversion layer, a phenomenon often observed in the urban area (Sang et al., J Wind Eng. Ind. Aesodyn. 87, 243-258)'s was successfully simulated above the canopy. The cool island(CI) was also investigated imposing heat sink to simply model the evaporation of plant canopy. An inversion layer was found very stable and robust within the canopy.

Qualidade ambiental nos municípios com maior população urbana

Apresenta, por meio da Pesquisa Nacional de Saneamento Básico - PNSB, de 2008, elaborada pelo Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE), dados e resultados sobre os mais importantes instrumentos direcionados à gestão pública ambiental em mais de 1.090 municípios, tendo como amostra os acima de vinte mil habitantes, considerando apenas a área urbana. Apesar de amplo sentido, o desenvolvimento sustentável, assunto de extrema relevância para o contexto atual, pode e deve ter o município como lócus para a realização de ações que realmente o implementem. Neste sentido, verifica-se o grau de importância do meio ambiente para os gestores municipais através da existência ou não de instrumentos de gestão pública ambiental. Para refletir sobre a temática urbano ambiental, verificam-se, também, elementos de outras políticas setoriais, tendo como referência a própria Constituição Federal e leis como o Estatuto da Cidade, a Lei da Política Nacional do Meio Ambiente, a Lei do Sistema Nacional de Unidades de Conservação, a Lei de Saneamento Básico e a Lei da Política Nacional de Resíduos Sólidos, que acabam por ancorar, também, a gestão pública ambiental.

El polígono hortícola en el País Vasco como interpretación de las iniciativas territoriales industriales

[ES] La agricultura desarrollada en la proximidad de los espacios urbanos presenta a menudo unas peculiaridades propias. Entre las actividades observadas habitualmente son las distintas modalidades de producción hortícola las más características, que aportan a estos espacios un auténtico carácter de cinturón hortícola. La cercanía de la ciudad, sin embargo, dificulta el acceso al recurso suelo para unas actividades, las agrarias, que no pueden hacer frente a la especulación urbanística. Con el objeto de promocionar estas funciones se ha apostado en el País Vasco por la creación de polígonos rurales de titularidad pública, que surgen como imitación del industrial pero que, frente a éste, adolece de distintos problemas que ponen en entredicho incluso su continuidad.

Sustainable management of water bodies for small-scale fisheries resorces research and development

Abstract The rapid growth of both formal and informal high density urban settlements around major water resources has led to increased pollution of streams, rivers, lakes and estuaries, due to contaminated runoff from these developments. The paper identified major contaminants to be : organic waste (sewage), industrial effluent, pesticides and litter. Pollutant loads vary depending on the hydrology of the urban area, local topography and soil conditions. In some instances, severe pollution of neighbouring and downstream water courses has been observed. The management of catchment land uses, riparian zones, in stream habitat, as well as in stream water flow patterns and quality are necessary in order to sustain the integrity and "health" of water resources, for fisheries and other developments. As such, attempts to ensure a certain level of water quality without attention to other aspects will not automatically ensure a "healthy" ecosystem even as fish habitat. Proper management leads to better water quality and conducive environment for increased fish production

La cerámica de la Segunda Edad del Hierro en el País Vasco: Estudio tecnológico, funcional y social

670 p. Capítulos de introducción, metodología, discusión y conclusiones en castellano e inglés.

Feira de São Cristóvão: uma incursão sobre os estudos na área e a tentativa de aproximação à relação global-local

O presente trabalho se propõe fazer uma aproximação aos estudos sobre a tradicionalmente chamada Feira de São Cristóvão, levando em consideração a relação entre os agentes partícipes e a dinâmica no espaço. O objetivo é compreender melhor a força que move os atores no sentido da mudança da forma da feira para a forma do Centro Luiz Gonzaga de Tradições Nordestinas (CLGTN), e assim me aproximar da seguinte questão: Por que uma forma de comércio como a modelada na Feira de São Cristóvão, popularmente conhecida como feira dos paraíbas, sobrevive à força das mudanças operadas no ramo, dando lugar aos sofistificados shopping-centers? Para isso, faço uma aproximação ao estado de arte da pesquisa na área com base nas seguintes categorias de análise: a Feira como forma de produção do espaço e a relação Forma-Conteúdo, a relação espaço-identidade na feira e a relação entre agentes internos e externos no Espaço. Vendo a migração como movimento responsável pela constituição de um espaço social e territorialmente diferenciado do nordestino na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, é por ela que inicio a exposição. Esta se continua com a análise dos trabalhos escolhidos para estudo, via as categorias indicadas e, com um capítulo no qual procuro repensar a feira a partir da relação global-local que vem referenciando as reflexões acumuladas na área do urbano a partir da segunda metade do século XX. Por fim, concluo observando que a permanência da feira se deve a um duplo movimento de resistência-absorção que, se redefinindo no tempo e no espaço, não consegue, entretanto, apagar os traços da tradição que lhe deu origem.

Identificação de áreas sob maior risco para leishmaniose visceral na cidade de Teresina, Piauí, Brasil

O propósito desta Tese foi detectar e caracterizar áreas sob alto risco para leishmaniose visceral (LV) e descrever os padrões de ocorrência e difusão da doença, entre os anos de 1993 a 1996 e 2001 a 2006, em Teresina, Piauí, por meio de métodos estatísticos para análise de dados espaciais, sistemas de informações geográficas e imagens de sensoriamento remoto. Os resultados deste estudo são apresentados na forma de três manuscritos. O primeiro usou análise de dados espaciais para identificar as áreas com maior risco de LV na área urbana de Teresina entre 2001 e 2006. Os resultados utilizando razão de kernels demonstraram que as regiões periféricas da cidade foram mais fortemente afetadas ao longo do período analisado. A análise com indicadores locais de autocorrelação espacial mostrou que, no início do período de estudo, os agregados de alta incidência de LV localizavam-se principalmente na região sul e nordeste da cidade, mas nos anos seguintes os eles apareceram também na região norte da cidade, sugerindo que o padrão de ocorrência de LV não é estático e a doença pode se espalhar ocasionalmente para outras áreas do município. O segundo estudo teve como objetivo caracterizar e predizer territórios de alto risco para ocorrência da LV em Teresina, com base em indicadores socioeconômicos e dados ambientais, obtidos por sensoriamento remoto. Os resultados da classificação orientada a objeto apontam a expansão da área urbana para a periferia da cidade, onde antes havia maior cobertura de vegetação. O modelo desenvolvido foi capaz de discriminar 15 conjuntos de setores censitário (SC) com diferentes probabilidades de conterem SC com alto risco de ocorrência de LV. O subconjunto com maior probabilidade de conter SC com alto risco de LV (92%) englobou SC com percentual de chefes de família alfabetizados menor que a mediana (≤64,2%), com maior área coberta por vegetação densa, com percentual de até 3 moradores por domicílio acima do terceiro quartil (>31,6%). O modelo apresentou, respectivamente, na amostra de treinamento e validação, sensibilidade de 79% e 54%, especificidade de 74% e 71%, acurácia global de 75% e 67% e área sob a curva ROC de 83% e 66%. O terceiro manuscrito teve como objetivo avaliar a aplicabilidade da estratégia de classificação orientada a objeto na busca de possíveis indicadores de cobertura do solo relacionados com a ocorrência da LV em meio urbano. Os índices de acurácia foram altos em ambas as imagens (>90%). Na correlação da incidência da LV com os indicadores ambientais verificou-se correlações positivas com os indicadores Vegetação densa, Vegetação rasteira e Solo exposto e negativa com os indicadores Água, Urbana densa e Urbana verde, todos estatisticamente significantes. Os resultados desta tese revelam que a ocorrência da LV na periferia de Teresina está intensamente relacionada às condições socioeconômicas inadequadas e transformações ambientais decorrentes do processo de expansão urbana, favorecendo a ocorrência do vetor (Lutzomyia longipalpis) nestas regiões.

Um estudo da atenção primária à saúde mediante o indicador: Internações por condições sensíveis à atenção ambulatorial (CSAA)

A Atenção Primária à Saúde - APS é reconhecida como o nível fundamental e porta de entrada do sistema de atenção à saúde, sendo o lugar adequado onde pode ser atendida e resolvida a maior parte dos problemas de saúde. É considerada pela OMS como a principal proposta de modelo assistencial. Essa importância da APS leva a necessidade de pesquisas avaliativas dos seus resultados para adequação e melhoria de políticas e planos de ação delineados em relação à mesma. Pesquisas internacionais e nacionais são realizadas, nas quais indicadores relativos às atividades hospitalares estão sendo empregados com o objetivo de medir resultados como efetividade e acesso da APS. Um desses indicadores, desenvolvido por John Billings da Universidade de Nova York, na década de 90, consiste nas condições pelas quais as internações hospitalares por Condições Sensíveis à Atenção Ambulatorial (CSAA) deveriam ser evitadas caso os serviços da APS fossem efetivos e acessíveis. Utilizando-se o SIH-AIH/2008 e a lista brasileira de Internações por Condições Sensíveis a Atenção Primária, publicada em 2008, a proposta do presente trabalho é a de estudar os cuidados primários à saúde baseando-se nas ICSAA, na área urbana da cidade de Juiz de Fora-MG. Buscou-se responder sobre os efeitos que ocorrem nessas internações a partir das características individuais dos pacientes, das características das Unidades Básicas de Saúde-UBS (infraestrutura, produção e modelos assistenciais) e das condições sócio-econômicas/ambientais das áreas cobertas por UAPS e descobertas (sem UAPS), com a utilização de modelos multiníveis logísticos com intercepto aleatório. Buscou-se conhecer, também, a distribuição espacial das taxas padronizadas por idade das ICSAA nessas áreas e suas associações com as variáveis contextuais, utilizando-se ferramentas da análise espacial. Os resultados do presente trabalho mostraram que a porcentagem de internações por CSAA, foi de 4,1%. Os modelos assistenciais ESF e o Modelo Tradicional, base da organização da atenção primária no Brasil, não apresentaram no município, impacto significativo nas ICSAA, somente na forma de áreas descobertas tendo como referência as áreas cobertas. Também não foram significativas as variáveis de infraestrutura e produção das UAPS. Os efeitos individuais (idade e sexo) nas ICSAA foram significativos, apresentando probabilidades de significância menores que 1%, o mesmo acontecendo com o Índice de Desenvolvimento Social-IDS, que contempla as condições sociais, econômicas e ambientais das áreas analisadas. A distribuição espacial das taxas padronizadas por idade apresentou padrão aleatório e os testes dos Multiplicadores de Lagrange não foram significativos indicando o modelo de regressão clássico (MQO) como adequado para explicar as taxas em função das variáveis contextuais. Para a análise conjunta das áreas cobertas e descobertas foram fatores de risco: a variável econômica (% dos domicílios com renda até 2 SM), áreas descobertas tendo como referência as áreas cobertas e a região nordeste do município. Para as áreas cobertas as variáveis de produção das UAPS, econômica e a região nordeste apresentaram como fator de risco para as taxas de internação por CSAA.