Planning and Design Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development

In order to create high impact low-carbon architecture it is necessary to address issues at the urban scale. This paper reviews methods adopted in the UK, Hong Kong and America and develops a series of themes that should be incorporated in modern city development strategies to produce green and sustainable outcomes. These are concerned with: planning policies and building regulations; neighborhood and site planning; and building design. Underlying themes which must be incorporated are connected to: building façade, systems design and operation; energy demand and supply; transportation systems; water supply and use; and wastes/pollution issues. To achieve success a number of support mechanisms are needed including strategic and infrastructure development, implementation of assessment frameworks, and the distribution of information and knowledge to stakeholders. The themes are compared to recent developments in the city of Kunming and proposals for future applications are explored

The Terrorist Attack in Kunming, China: Does It Indicate a Growing Threat Worldwide?

At 9:00 pm on March 1, 2014, six men and two women, dressed in black and wielding knives, arrived at the Kunming train station, one of the largest in southwest China, and began slashing people at random. Before authorities could stop them, the assailants had killed 29 people and wounded another 143. It was the second worst terrorist attack in the history of the People’s Republic of China, not including a series of bombings in Shijiazhuang in 1998, which killed 108 people. These, however, were carried out for personal, not political reasons. It was also China’s second most lethal transportation attacks

Vital and functional outcomes of the first-ever hemispheric stroke, epidemiological comparative study between Kunming (China) and Limoges (France)

AbstractBackgroundClinical outcomes and socioeconomic consequences after a stroke may differ between regions.MethodsOne cohort was established prospectively in Kunming (China) to compare with a cohort of 156 stroke patients included in Limoges (France). During 1 year, patients hospitalized within 48hours for a first-ever hemispheric stroke were included. Demographic data and neurocardiovascular risk factors were registered. Hemiplegia was evaluated. Functional outcome was assessed using the Barthel Index (BI) after 3 months.ResultsOne hundred and eighteen patients were included in Kunming. Patients of Kunming were younger (61.4±13.4 vs 72.3±14.6 years in Limoges, P<0.0001), more involved in professional activity (36.4% vs 12.8%, P<0.0001). Survival analysis indicated that mortality did not differ between cohorts, but independently predicted by coma at the 2nd day (HR=9.33, 95% CI [4.39, 19.78]) and age>70 years (HR=6.29, 95% CI [2.36, 16.59]). Despite a better baseline BI for patients of Kunming (50.0±34.9 vs 37.4±34.2, P=0.0031), after adjustment for confusing, patients in Limoges had a 2.11 OR 95% CI [1.03, 4.31]) to reach a BI>80 at 3 months.ConclusionsFunctional recovery for patients of Kunming was not as good as expected. The socioeconomic consequences of stroke in Kunming are significant as they involved younger subjects who were still in work