Complexity and biourbanism: thermodynamical architectural and urban models integrated in modern geographic mapping

The paper was presented on 5th April 2012 by Eleni Tracada in Theoretical Currents II conference in the University of Lincoln.Abstract Vital elements in urban fabric have been often suppressed for reasons of ‘style’. Recent theories, such as Biourbanism, suggest that cities risk becoming unstable and deprived of healthy social interactions. Our paper aims at exploring the reasons for which, fractal cities, which have being conceived as symmetries and patterns, can have scientifically proven and beneficial impact on human fitness of body and mind. During the last few decades, modern urban fabric lost some very important elements, only because urban design and planning turned out to be stylistic aerial views or new landscapes of iconic technological landmarks. Biourbanism attempts to re-establish lost values and balance, not only in urban fabric, but also in reinforcing human-oriented design principles in either micro or macro scale. Human life in cities and beyond emerges during ‘connectivity’ via geometrical continuity of grids and fractals, via path connectivity among highly active nodes, via exchange/movement of people and, finally via exchange of information (networks). All these elements form a hypercomplex system of several interconnected layers of a dynamic structure, all influencing each other in a non-linear manner. Sometimes networks of communication at all levels may suffer from sudden collapse of dynamic patterns, which have been proved to be vital for a long time either to landscapes and cityscapes. We are now talking about negotiating boundaries between human activities, changes in geographic mapping and, mainly about sustainable systems to support continuous growth of communities. We are not only talking about simple lives (‘Bios’) as Urban Syntax (bio and socio-geometrical synthesis), but also about affinities between developing topographies created by roadways and trajectories and the built environment. We shall also have the opportunity to show recent applications of these theories in our postgraduate students’ work, such as a 3D model as a new method of cartography of the Island of Mauritius, with intend to highlight developments in topography and architecture through a series of historical important events and mutating socio-political and economical geographies. This model may be able to predict failures in proposed and/or activated models of expansion, which do not follow strictly morphogenetic and physiological design processes. The same kind of modelling is capable to enable recognition of ‘optimal forms’ at different feedback scales, which, through morphogenetic processes, guarantee an optimal systemic efficiency, and therefore quality of life.ADT funds, university of Derby

Descriptive review of geographic mapping of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) on the Internet

From geographic mapping at different scales to location-based alerting services, geoinformatics plays an important role in the study and control of global outbreaks like severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). This paper reviews several geographic mapping efforts of SARS on the Internet that employ a variety of techniques like choropleth rendering, graduated circles, graduated pie charts, buffering, overlay analysis and animation. The aim of these mapping services is to educate the public (especially travellers to potentially at-risk areas) and assist public health authorities in analysing the spatial and temporal trends and patterns of SARS and in assessing/revising current control measures

Geologic Mapping of a Region in Extreme Northeastern Minnesota: An Initial Characterization

A report submitted by Eric Jerde to the Research and Creative Productions Committee in 2002 on geographic mapping in northern Minnesota

Mapping by computer graphics - Satellite antenna coverage

Computer graphics for satellite antenna geographic mapping

Waterborne Toxoplasmosis, Brazil, from Field to Gene

Water was the suspected vehicle of Toxoplasma gondii dissemination in a toxoplasmosis outbreak in Brazil. A case-control study and geographic mapping of cases were performed. T. gondii was isolated directly from the implicated water and genotyped as SAG 2 type I

Arts Programming & Partnerships in New York City Public Schools: Geographic Mapping Revealing Disparities

The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) is a New York State agency dedicated to supporting arts, culture, and heritage activities that serve the state’s citizens and visitors. Each year, through a competitive grant program, NYSCA awards grants to non-profit organizations.https://orb.binghamton.edu/mpa_capstone/1018/thumbnail.jp

Biophilic urban developments following dynamic flows of tree-shaped architectures

Latest theories and practices in Biophilic designs of the urban space regard the urban fabric as being composed of several interrelated layers of energetic structure influencing each other in a non-linear manner primarily. The interaction between two or more interfaces of the urban space layers evolves into new and non-predictable properties. Evolution and creation of new boundaries/interfaces follows laws related to fractal growth; most of the times this particular evolution is defined by laws of physics, such as Thermodynamics and Constructal Law. Designs that do not follow these laws may produce anti-natural and hostile environments, which do not fit into human beings’ evolution, and thus, fail to enhance life by all means. The author of this paper should like to illustrate how new developments of urbanism worldwide currently work upon conceptual and town planning models based not only upon cutting-edge technology, but also upon natural laws and patterns of life and human behaviours strictly related to flaws and movement dictated by natural phenomena. When abrupt interruption of the urban structure has occurred, a consequent design solution does not even guarantee flowing and freedom to morph. It is impossible to create harmonic designs which naturally “unite the animate with the inanimate”, as Adrian Bejan and Sylvie Lorente affirm, whenever urban sprawl fails to encompass Biophilic solutions related to tree-shaped architectures. The author argues that Constructal invasion into the urban space “as fundamental problems of access to flow: volume to point, area to point, line to point, and the respective reverse flow directions” can only guarantee high standard quality of life in either contemporary or future cities developments

The city of future: biourbanism and constructural law

Nowadays dynamic elements in urban fabric are often concealed by the insertion of stylish new architecture; real patterns of social life (‘bios’), have been replaced by rigid geometric grids and compact building blocks. New Urbanism and Biourbanism affirm that cities are now risking to be unstable and deprived of healthy social interactions. As an expansion of older historical urban fabric patterns, harmonious architecture can have a positive impact on the fitness of both human body and mind. Not only Biourbanism attempts to reinstate balance and lost values in the urban fabric, but also reinforces human-oriented design emergences in micro and macro scales. As a multifaceted discipline, it embraces laws of physics, such as Constructal Law and acknowledges its noticeable and unremitting influence to urban human behaviours. Urban life and behaviours are based upon systems of human communication formed by dynamic patterns; we are now talking about negotiating boundaries between human activities, changes in geographic mapping and mainly about sustainable systems to support uninterrupted growth of communities worldwide. Therefore, as a vital shift in architectural education, not only Biourbanism offers the opportunity to explore patterns and linguistics deeply imbedded into the built environment, but also enables scholars and communities to come together and participate actively into fast and innovative urban interventions. Projects developed during educational and professional training aim at reinstating memorable and preferential paths of communication, favouring everyday life rituals of the body and mind. Hence, by following everlasting laws of physics and formulas inherited from nature, architectural forms can be considered as the real innovation in urban design and planning of the City of the Future.Conference presentation funded by Department of Engineering

Care of burns in Scotland: 3-year data from the managed clinical network national registry

Introduction The Managed Clinical Network for Care of Burns in Scotland (COBIS) was launched in April 2007. Primary aims included establishing and maintaining a registry of complex burn injury in Scotland and setting mechanisms to regularly audit outcome of burn treatment against nationally agreed standards of care. On behalf of COBIS, we present 3-year incidence and mortality data of Scottish patients admitted with a complex burn injury in this abstract. Methods From January 2010 onwards, data were prospectively collected for all patients in Scotland with complex burn injury admitted to Scottish burns units. Data collection was initially on a paper pro forma, but subsequently evolved into a web-based audit data capture system to securely link hospital sites involved in the delivery of care of complex burns. Data collected included extent and mechanism of burn, presence of airway burn or smoke inhalational injury, comorbidities, complications, length of stay, interventions and mortality. Quality, completeness and consistency of data collection are audited with feedback to the individual units. Results In a population of approximately 5.3 million, the annual incidence of complex burn injury is 499 to 537 (9 to 10 per 100,000). The incidence of a major burn is 5% of burn admissions. The hospital mortality from a burn is 1 to 2.2%. See Table 1. Table 1. Numbers of complex burns in Scotland 2010 to 2012 Conclusion From these data, Scotland now has comprehensive national figures for complex burn injury. This allows for benchmarking against other international indices, few of which provide comprehensive data. COBIS data can now also be correlated with other mortality data sources. As data quality improves, detailed analysis of mortality data will allow COBIS to identify contributing issues affecting burns patients. Some issues identified already are that patients with burns often die soon after their discharge from hospital of other related and unrelated causes. Subsequent analysis of this will allow COBIS to identify and address issues that may be contributing to these statistics