Construction safety and digital design: a review

As digital technologies become widely used in designing buildings and infrastructure, questions arise about their impacts on construction safety. This review explores relationships between construction safety and digital design practices with the aim of fostering and directing further research. It surveys state-of-the-art research on databases, virtual reality, geographic information systems, 4D CAD, building information modeling and sensing technologies, finding various digital tools for addressing safety issues in the construction phase, but few tools to support design for construction safety. It also considers a literature on safety critical, digital and design practices that raises a general concern about ‘mindlessness’ in the use of technologies, and has implications for the emerging research agenda around construction safety and digital design. Bringing these strands of literature together suggests new kinds of interventions, such as the development of tools and processes for using digital models to promote mindfulness through multi-party collaboration on safet

Architectural and Urban Spatial Digital Simulations

This study concerns digital tools and simulation methods necessary for the description, conception, perception, and analysis of spatial architectural and urban design. The purpose of the study is to categorize, analyse, and describe the influence of digital simulation tools and methods in architectural and urban design. The study analyses techniques, applications, and research in the field of digital simulations of architectural/urban ensembles while also referring to the benefits of their use both at the level of scientific and spatial perception of architectural/urban design

Trends and concerns in digital cartography

CISRG discussion paper ;

Semi-automated modeling approaches to route selection in GIS

As an alternative to traditional graphical intuitive approaches (GIA), a semi-automated modeling approach (SMA) can more efficiently identify linear routes by using powerful iterative and automated methods. In this research, two case studies were investigated to examine critical issues relating to the accuracy and effectiveness of raster-defined algorithmic approaches to linear route location. The results illustrate that different shortest-path algorithms do not necessarily result in markedly different linear routes. However, differing results can occur when using different neighboring-cell links in the cell-based route network construction. Cell-based algorithmic approaches in both Arc/Info and IDRISI software generate very similar results which are comparable to linear modeling with greater than eight neighboring-cell links. Given a specific shortest-path algorithm and its route searching technique, the use of a finer spatial resolution only results in a narrower and smoother route corridor. Importantly, cost surface models can be generated to represent differing cumulative environmental \u27costs\u27 or impacts in which different perceptions of environmental cost can be simulated and evaluated.;Three different simulation techniques comprising Ordered Weighted Combination models (OWC), Dynamic Decision Space (DDS), and Gateway-based approaches, were used to address problems associated with concurrent and dynamic changes in multi-objective decision space. These approaches provide efficient and flexible simulation capability within a dynamic and changing decision space. When aggregation data models were used within a Gateway approach the match of resulting routes between GIA and SMA analyses is close. The effectiveness of SMA is greatly limited when confronted by extensive linear and impermeable barriers or where data is sparse. Overall, achieving consensus on environmental cost surface generation and criteria selection is a prerequisite for a successful SMA outcome. It is concluded that SMA has several positive advantages that certainly complement a GIA in linear route siting and spatial decision-making

STATBOX Concept for Simulation of Urban Phenomena

AbstractAn urban environment is a dynamic system which is constantly changing in terms of space and time. There are two dimensions in any urban environment – the physical dimension and the functional dimension. All of the structures of an urban environment interact and people are the intermediaries in this process. The spatial structure of cities has been studied from various perspectives by architects, urban planners, environmental scientists, economists, geographers etc. Constant monitoring that is based on remote sensing, spatial statistics, simulation etc., is needed to make on going note of transformation in the various types of land use that exist, movement of people and business environment. Many authors stressed that using the GIS technology, the spatial features of geographic data can be introduced in the simulation and GIS, spatial analysis plays an important role in the development of geosimulation models. The integration of the virtual reality technology with a dynamic data model will gives a realistic representation and visualization of the real world. Such complex accessibility for the user with an excellent interaction and manipulation capabilities of the virtual environment will be used in different kind of projects connected with simulating urban phenomena or pedestrian/crowd movements. The presented system consists of the STATBOX units, comprising of video data storage. Data collected by STATBOX units is sent to the Main server, where the video data is processed to generate classified information. Based on the collected statistical data, as well as information on the location of the STATBOX units and GIS models of territory, the geosimulation model is automatically prepared. The model is adequate to the real world - no deep knowledge on the simulation techniques is needed to use the proposed system. A prototype of Riga central park performance model is used as an example of STATBOX data collection and simulation process. GIS system with integrated ortofoto map, digital route map, digital plan of landuse, are used as the basis for the model development. The result is a geosimulation model adequate to the pedestrian movement and ready for further experiments. The created system can be used by different users, like businessmen/investors, researchers, state and municipal institutions. However, the main target group is the SMEs, as they are more flexible and ready to take decision to change location than large companies

Mapping Europe into local climate zones

Cities are major drivers of environmental change at all scales and are especially at risk from the ensuing effects, which include poor air quality, flooding and heat waves. Typically, these issues are studied on a city-by-city basis owing to the spatial complexity of built landscapes, local topography and emission patterns. However, to ensure knowledge sharing and to integrate local-scale processes with regional and global scale modelling initiatives, there is a pressing need for a world-wide database on cities that is suited for environmental studies. In this paper we present a European database that has a particular focus on characterising urbanised landscapes. It has been derived using tools and techniques developed as part of the World Urban Database and Access Portal Tools (WUDAPT) project, which has the goal of acquiring and disseminating climate-relevant information on cities worldwide. The European map is the first major step toward creating a global database on cities that can be integrated with existing topographic and natural land-cover databases to support modelling initiatives