Three Dimensional Visualization of Fire Spreading Over Forest Landscapes

Previous studies in fire visualization have required high end computer hardware and specialized technical skills. This study demonstrated fire visualization is possible using Visual Nature Studio and standard computer hardware. Elevation and vegetation data were used to create a representation of the New Jersey pine barren environment and a forest compartment within Hobcaw Barony. Photographic images were edited to use as image object models for forest vegetation. The FARSITE fire behavioral model was used to model a fire typical of that area. Output from FARSITE was used to visualize the fire with tree models edited to simulate burning and flame models. Both static and animated views of the fire spread and effects were visualized. The two visualization methods were compared for advantages and disadvantages. VNS visualizations were more realistic, including many effects such as ground textures, lighting, user made models, and atmospheric effects. However the program had higher hardware requirements and sometimes rendered images slowly. ArcScene had lower hardware requirements and produced visualizations with real time movement. The resulting images lacked many of the effects found in VNS and were more simplistic looking

Urban blue acupuncture:An experiment on preferences for design options using virtual models

Within the BlueHealth project, funded under the Horizon 2020 European Union research framework, a number of targeted experimental design interventions created in virtual reality (VR) were used to test the effect and impact of planning and design on encouraging people to use various blue spaces. A set of designs in three different coastal landscape types—a cliff/steep slope; a sandy beach and an area of reed beds—located in Tallinn, Estonia, were used as the sites for nine different intervention designs. The designs were based on a combination of the site features and inspirations from solutions found in different locations internationally. Using 3D modelling and a Virtual Reality system, a set of nine videos, one to depict each intervention, was created and shown to a quota sample of 252 Estonian residents. Respondents were asked a set of questions associated with each option. The results were analysed statistically and qualitatively. The results uncovered key preferences for designs and revealed differences among age groups and the levels of personal interconnection with nature. However, there were problems associated with the interpretation and understanding of some of the options by some of the people due to the degree of realism of the VR representations, which may have affected the results. The project shows that VR could be a useful tool for testing design ideas as part of public participation approaches but that care is needed in ensuring that viewers understand what they are assessing

Linking spatial characteristics of urban green space and mental well-being: green space biodiversity and landscape spatial patterns

Doctor of PhilosophyEnvironmental Design and Planning ProgramMajor Professor Not ListedDuring the past several decades, much progress has been made in the understanding of how urban green space promotes the mental well-being of urban residents. In particular, the last two decades have witnessed a growing interest in the association between the quantity of urban green space and the effect on residents’ well-being. However, little research has attempted to disentangle the linkage between the structure of urban green space and mental well-being beyond the quantity aspect. To address this question, this dissertation includes a literature review regarding restorative mechanisms influenced by the spatial characteristics of urban green space. Also, this dissertation includes experimental and observational studies: a biodiversity study and a landscape pattern study. In the biodiversity study, I examined how the biodiversity of campus green space can promote mental well-being of college students by assessing their visual and auditory perceptions of two green spaces having either low or high biodiversity. I employed a 2 by 2 study design, in which 319 students were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: (1) low biodiversity without sound, (2) high biodiversity without sound, (3) low biodiversity with sound, and (4) high biodiversity with sound. In a controlled setting, students viewed on a computer a 360-degree-view video of either a low- or high-diversity site, with or without the natural sounds at each site, that had been recorded on the Kansas State University campus (a grassy lawn area, and a native meadow garden). The restorative status and mood of students were evaluated both pre-intervention and post-intervention via a self-reported survey. The results of this study revealed that neither biodiversity level nor sound by themselves had any significant effect on the mood or restorative status of these college students. However, a significant interaction effect between the visual and auditory perceptions was found. Students who were exposed to a high-biodiversity environment with natural sound conditions were shown to have lower levels of negative mood states compared to those without natural sound conditions. In the landscape-pattern study, I explored how landscape patterns (i.e., composition and configuration) are associated with the mental health of residents in the city of Chicago. This study used mental health and socioeconomic data from a total of 6,405 residents from 61 Chicago communities in the Healthy Chicago Survey conducted by the Chicago Department of Public Health. High-Resolution Land Cover (HRLC) data were used to calculate urban green space (e.g., trees, grass, and water). Landscape metrics were quantified to measure landscape patterns, including percentage, size, distance, and aggregation of urban green space in 61 community areas across Chicago. The results of this study showed that residents who resided in urban landscapes with small water bodies and that had greater distances between forested areas (owing to the presence of several large urban parks and forests within the Chicago study area) reported less psychological distress. As for total urban green space, there was a lower level of psychological distress in landscapes with a disaggregated distribution of urban green spaces (i.e., multiple small green spaces) in comparison with a single (or a few) large green space(s). These two studies have implications for landscape design and planning to improve the mental well-being of urban residents. Using both experimental and observational studies, this dissertation is able to contribute to a better understanding of mental restoration mechanisms provided by green spaces within urban environments on both a micro (site-based) and macro (landscape) scale. Furthermore, the study can provide insights into how landscape patterns and biodiversity affect human well-being in order to find a balance between human use and the conservation of nature

High Resolution Viewscape Modeling Evaluated Through Immersive Virtual Environments

Visual characteristics of urban environments influence human perception and behavior, including choices for living, recreation and modes of transportation. Although geospatial visualizations hold great potential to better inform urban planning and design, computational methods are lacking to realistically measure and model urban and parkland viewscapes at sufficiently fine-scale resolution. In this study, we develop and evaluate an integrative approach to measuring and modeling fine-scale viewscape characteristics of a mixed-use urban environment, a city park. Our viewscape approach improves the integration of geospatial and perception elicitation techniques by combining high-resolution lidar-based digital surface models, visual obstruction, and photorealistic immersive virtual environments (IVEs). We assessed the realism of our viewscape models by comparing metrics of viewscape composition and configuration to human subject evaluations of IVEs across multiple landscape settings. We found strongly significant correlations between viewscape metrics and participants’ perceptions of viewscape openness and naturalness, and moderately strong correlations with landscape complexity. These results suggest that lidar-enhanced viewscape models can adequately represent visual characteristics of fine-scale urban environments. Findings also indicate the existence of relationships between human perception and landscape pattern. Our approach allows urban planners and designers to model and virtually evaluate high-resolution viewscapes of urban parks and natural landscapes with fine-scale details never before demonstrated

2016 Town of Durham, New Hampshire annual report for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016.

This is an annual report containing vital statistics for a town/city in the state of New Hampshire

Place, recreation and local development

Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV9), Bordeaux, FRA, 29-/08/2018 - 31/08/2018It is our pleasure to welcome you to the 9th international Conference on Monitoring and Management of Visitors in Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV9) with a program including keynote speeches, organized and poster sessions, a half-day field trip, social events and post conference trips. This is the first time that France has hosted an MMV Conference. Our country is ranked as the world's top tourist destination, thanks largely to its culture, art, and gastronomy, as well as popular cities such as Paris and Bordeaux. On the other hand, France's potential as a destination for outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism is not hugely publicized, despite its many unique features in this respect: varied climate and natural assets (shoreline, mountains, lakes, and forests), large expanses of countryside, and a network of protected natural areas, to name but a few. France's protected areas are often free to access for the general public. However, in contrast with other countries, nature conservation in specific areas is much less widespread. Where it does take place, it is often centered on territories that are perceived to be "attractive", and where many conflicting activities are practiced. This may be one of the reasons why contractual tools and regional park systems are quite popular in France. The MMV Conference offers an excellent opportunity to discuss the situation in France in greater depth. The theme proposed for the conference was "recreation, place and local development". This reflects our assumption that recreational areas are not just physical assets designed to receive visitors for the purpose of leisure - which in itself would already be something of great importance - but that they reflect deeper social phenomena, as demonstrated through the range of organized sessions dedicated to discussing questions such as environmental education and economic development, but also emerging themes such as social integration, community resilience, environmental justice, and health. The traditional topics covered by MMV Conference reflect an evolving society: with innovations in monitoring techniques (both on people and nature), focus on new populations (Y generation, ethnic minority) and a larger concern for individual engagement and participative management. The 9th Edition of MMV is co-hosted by Irstea and BSA. This would not have been possible without significant contributions from a large number of additional partners and sponsors as well as our national scientific and organizing committee. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their help. After two years of planning, we are proud to announce that we have more than 160 presentations from 30 countries, meaning that the conference will host over 200 participants from across the globe. We are honored that the International Steering Committee has given us the opportunity to be part of this great MMV community, which organized its first meeting in 2002. We hope you will enjoy the conference as much as we enjoyed organizing it. If you can't be with us in person, we hope that you will enjoy reading our publications

Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle, 1971-2010

The Space Shuttle is an engineering marvel perhaps only exceeded by the station itself. The shuttle was based on the technology of the 1960s and early 1970s. It had to overcome significant challenges to make it reusable. Perhaps the greatest challenges were the main engines and the Thermal Protection System. The program has seen terrible tragedy in its 3 decades of operation, yet it has also seen marvelous success. One of the most notable successes is the Hubble Space Telescope, a program that would have been a failure without the shuttle's capability to rendezvous, capture, repair, as well as upgrade. Now Hubble is a shining example of success admired by people around the world. As the program comes to a close, it is important to capture the legacy of the shuttle for future generations. That is what "Wings In Orbit" does for space fans, students, engineers, and scientists. This book, written by the men and women who made the program possible, will serve as an excellent reference for building future space vehicles. We are proud to have played a small part in making it happen. Our journey to document the scientific and engineering accomplishments of this magnificent winged vehicle began with an audacious proposal: to capture the passion of those who devoted their energies to its success while answering the question "What are the most significant accomplishments?" of the longestoperating human spaceflight program in our nation s history. This is intended to be an honest, accurate, and easily understandable account of the research and innovation accomplished during the era