A new betweenness centrality measure based on an algorithm for ranking the nodes of a network

We propose and discuss a new centrality index for urban street patterns represented as networks in geographical space. This centrality measure, that we call ranking-betweenness centrality, combines the idea behind the random-walk betweenness centrality measure and the idea of ranking the nodes of a network produced by an adapted PageRank algorithm. We initially use a PageRank algorithm in which we are able to transform some information of the network that we want to analyze into numerical values. Numerical values summarizing the information are associated to each of the nodes by means of a data matrix. After running the adapted PageRank algorithm, a ranking of the nodes is obtained, according to their importance in the network. This classification is the starting point for applying an algorithm based on the random-walk betweenness centrality. A detailed example of a real urban street network is discussed in order to understand the process to evaluate the ranking-betweenness centrality proposed, performing some comparisons with other classical centrality measures.

From movie screens to moving screens : mapping qualities of new urban interactions

Next generation screens of diverse dimensions such as the Pebble e-paper watch, Google’s Project Glass, Microsoft’s Kinect and IllumiRoom, and large-scale multi-touch screen surface areas, increasingly saturate and diversify the urban mediascape. This paper seeks to contribute to media architecture and interaction design theory by starting to critically examine how these different screen formats are creating a ubiquitous screen mediascape across the city. We introduce next generation personal, domestic, and public screens. The paper critically challenges conventional dichotomies such as local / global, online / offline, private / public, large / small, mobile / static, that have been created in the past to describe some of the qualities and characteristics of interfaces and their usage. More and more scholars recognise that the black and white nature of these dichotomies does not adequately represent the fluid and agile capabilities of many new screen interfaces. With this paper, we hope to illustrate the more nuanced ‘trans-scalar’ qualities of these new urban interactions, that is, ways in which they provide a range functionality, without being locked into either end of a scale.

Higher education, professionalism and skills in the built environment: the impact of the new urban agenda on teaching and learning

In the mid-to-late 1990s, the New Urban Agenda initiated a rethinking of urban development strategies placing a greater focus on regeneration of central urban spaces. The skills and competencies required by urban planners and built environment professionals to successfully implement regeneration schemes tend to differ from those required for greenfield development. The working paper summarises skills and competencies required by urban regeneration practitioners and how they are delivered through public and/or private sector providers at present. The role of the newly established regional Centres of Excellence and the professional bodies of the Built Environment professions in defining skills and educational requirements and providing training are explored. An analysis of supply and demand of skills training reveals that there is a mismatch rather than a lack of provision. The report draws on a conference where research findings were presented and discussed. It concludes with suggestions for improving the skills provision at the local government as well as community level. Skills audits were found useful tools in defining training needs. A set of sample workshop programmes outline flexible, tailor-made approaches guaranteed to address specific and identified needs.

The neoliberalization of street vending policy in Lima, Peru: the politics of citizenship. property and public space in the production of a new urban marginality

Neoliberalism is having a significant and global impact on political, social and economic life across spaces. This work illustrates how neoliberalism is attempting to change the ways in which the urban poor - particularly those that participate in street vending - use urban spaces in Lima, Peru. Using municipal policies, newspaper articles and local academic texts I argue that there is a changing marginality in Lima that is being experienced by street vendors, and currently in los canas of Lima. In particular, I discuss formalization, a neoliberal strategy in street vending policy, which is used with eradication and social assistance strategies in attempts to re-regulate street vendors.

Implementation of a new urban energy budget scheme into MetUM. Part II: Validation against observations and model intercomparison

In the first part of this article, we introduced a new urban surface scheme, the Met Office – Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme (MORUSES), into the Met Office Unified Model (MetUM) and compared its impact on the surface fluxes with respect to the current urban scheme. In this second part, we aim to analyze further the reasons behind the differences. This analysis is conducted by a comparison of the performance of the two schemes against observations and against a third model, the Single Column Reading Urban model (SCRUM). The key differences between the three models lie in how each model incorporates the heat stored in the urban fabric and how the surface-energy balance is coupled to the underlying substrate. The comparison of the models with observations from Mexico City reveals that the performance of MORUSES is improved if roof insulation is included by minimizing the roof thickness. A comparison of MORUSES and SCRUM reveals that, once insulation is included within MORUSES, these two models perform equally well against the observations overall, but that there are differences in the details of the simulations at the roof and canyon level. These differences are attributed to the different representations of the heat-storage term, specifically differences in the dominant frequencies captured by the urban canopy and substrate, between the models. These results strongly suggest a need for an urban model intercomparison exercise. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright

Implementation of a new urban energy budget scheme in the MetUM. Part I: Description and idealized simulations

This paper describes the formulation of a new urban scheme, MORUSES (Met Office–Reading Urban Surface Exchange Scheme) for use in the Met Office Unified Model. The implementation of the new scheme ensures that (1) the new scheme offers more flexibility in the parametrization of the building properties, and hence provides a more realistic representation of the fluxes; (2) the bulk outputs are in satisfactory agreement with previous observational studies; and (3) the impact of the new scheme on the energy balance fluxes is similar to the impact of the current urban scheme when set up to mimic it. As well as having a better physical basis, MORUSES also gains in flexibility in applications and adaptations to different urban materials as well as urban planning. The new scheme represents the urban area as a composition of two tiles, a canyon and a roof, using a simple 2D geometry. Sensitivity analysis to canyon geometry and thickness of the roof canopy emphasizes the gain in flexibility captured by the new scheme. Copyright © 2010 Royal Meteorological Society and Crown Copyright

A new urban planning code's impact on walking: The residential environments project

Objectives. We examined whether people moving into a housing development designed according to a state government livable neighborhoods subdivision code engage in more walking than do people who move to other types of developments.

Methods. In a natural experiment of 1813 people building homes in 73 new housing developments in Perth, Western Australia, we surveyed participants before and then 12 and 36 months after moving. We measured self-reported walking using the Neighborhood Physical Activity Questionnaire and collected perceptions of the environment and self-selection factors. We calculated objective measures of the built environment using a Geographic Information System.

Results. After relocation, participants in livable versus conventional developments had greater street connectivity, residential density, land use mix, and access to destinations and more positive perceptions of their neighborhood (all P < .05). However, there were no significant differences in walking over time by type of development (P > .05).

Conclusions. Implementation of the Livable Neighborhoods Guidelines produced more supportive environments; however, the level of intervention was insufficient to encourage more walking. Evaluations of new urban planning policies need to incorporate longer term follow-up to allow time for new neighborhoods to develop.

Temporary use 2.0, a tool for planning and developing the new urban context

Temporary urban spaces are gaining even more footing and acceptance on the political agenda as a result of their potential for creating eventful, cultural and creative urban environments. This political focus on temporary urban space is an indication of general urban regulations and development tendencies characterized by cultural planning, leisure, economy, collaborative planning and an increased focus on everyday life. Particularly economic parameters related to leisure such as creativity, culture, urban life and experiences are highly prioritized on the urban municipal agenda, with temporary uses as a concrete development tool. An interesting dichotomy has also arisen between the use of temporary space as a tool for social planning by urban designers as opposed to the use of temporary spaces by politicians as a vehicle for economic gain through leisure spaces. This paper focuses on the phenomenon of Temporary Use as a city-political focus area now and in the future as well as the use of the temporary as a planning tool. Several case studies are used to illustrate these topics.

The new urban poverty: global, regional and Argentine dynamics during the last two decades

Includes bibliography

New urban settlement in Patna (India)

New urban settlement in Patna