Exploring spatiotemporal dynamics of urban fires: A case of Nanjing, China

Urban fire occurs within the built environment, usually involving casualties and economic losses, and affects individuals and socioeconomic activities in the surrounding neighborhoods. A good understanding of the spatiotemporal dynamics of fire incidents can offer insights into potential determinants of various fire events, therefore enabling better fire risk estimation which can assist with future allocation of prevention resources and strategic planning of mitigation programs. Using a twelve-year (2002–2013) dataset containing the urban fire events in Nanjing, China, this research explores the spatiotemporal dynamics of urban fires using a range of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) approaches. Of particular interest here are the fire incidents involving residential properties and local facilities due to their relatively higher occurrence frequencies. The results indicate that the overall amount of urban fires has greatly increased in the last decade and the spatiotemporal distribution of fire events varies among different incident types. The identified spatiotemporal patterns of urban fires in Nanjing can be linked to the urban development strategies and how they have been reflected in reality in recent years

Urban Vibrancy: An Emerging Factor that Spatially Influences the Real Estate Market

Urban vibrancy is defined and measured differently in the literature. Originally, it was described as the number of people in and around streets or neighborhoods. Now, it is commonly associated with activity intensity, the diversity of land-use configurations, and the accessibility of a place. The aim of this paper is to study urban vibrancy, its relationship with neighborhood services, and the real estate market. Firstly, it is used a set of neighborhood service variables, and a Principal Component Analysis is performed in order to create a Neighborhood Services Index (NeSI) that is able to identify the most and least vibrant urban areas of a city. Secondly, the influence of urban vibrancy on the listing prices of existing housing is analyzed by performing spatial analyses. To achieve this, the presence of spatial autocorrelation is investigated and spatial clusters are identified. Therefore, spatial autoregressive models are applied to manage spatial effects and to identify the variables that significantly influence the process of housing price determination. The results confirm that housing prices are spatially autocorrelated and highlight that housing prices and NeSI are statistically associated with each other. The identification of the urban areas characterized by different levels of vibrancy and housing prices can effectively support the revision of the urban development plan and its regulatory act, as well as strategic urban policies and actions. Such data analyses support a deep knowledge of the current status quo, which is necessary to drive important changes to develop more effcient, sustainable, and competitive cities

中国と日本における都市発展及びその環境への影響の総合評価に関する研究

This study mainly focused on the spatial effect on city development. Spatial analysis was conducted to explore the characteristics and correlates of city development, and its impact on environment for cities in China and Japan. The issue of city development was investigated from multiple perspectives. The history of urban development process in China and Japan was summarized, and the correlates with urban development were compared. Meanwhile, the urban heat island of cities in China and Japan were compared北九州市立大

Space and poverty linkages: three empirical essays

Questa tesi si sviluppa secondo tre saggi empirici, indagando il rapporto tra spazio e povertà in un contesto urbano industrializzato, Milano. Il primo saggio, accogliendo lo schema concettuale unificante per l’analisi del suddetto rapporto illustrato in Chiappero-Martinetti, Moroni e Nuvolati (forthcoming), suggerisce un sistema di 27 indicatori riferito a 3 dimensioni chiave del benessere (infrastrutturale-ambientale, economica e socio-simbolica), ne testa la robustezza e fornisce l’indicazione di un profilo di povertà per ciascuna delle ex 20 zone di decentramento. Il secondo saggio considera esclusivamente la dimensione economica, estendendo il campo di indagine alle 180 aree funzionali. Da questa analisi si ottiene che, dal 2000 al 2006, il reddito medio procapite per componenti equivalenti risulta autocorrelato in modo significativo, secondo diversi regimi di concentrazione (cluster spaziali tipici e outlier spaziali atipici). Il terzo saggio considera le 3 dimensioni menzionate nel primo contributo, riferite alle 180 aree funzionali. All’approccio theory driven se ne contrappone uno data-driven, che consente di specificare la relazione che intercorre tra le variabili e le sottodimensioni del benessere, identificare sei distinti gruppi di cluster sulla base delle misure sintetiche ottenute e suggerire un profilo di policy che combini interventi a favore delle persone e dei contesti di vita.This thesis is developed under three empirical essays, investigating the linkage between space and poverty in the urban industrialized Milan. The first essay, accepting the unifying conceptual framework for the analysis of such linkage issued by Chiappero-Martinetti, Moroni and Nuvolati (forthcoming), suggests a system of 27 indicators related to 3 key dimensions of wellbeing (physical, economic and social ), tests its robustness and provides the indication of a poverty profile for each of the former 20 areas of decentralization. The second essay considers only the economic dimension, extending the investigation to the 180 “aree funzionali”. From this analysis we find that, from 2000 to 2006, the average per capita income per equivalent components is significantly autocorrelated, according to various concentration schemes (typical spatial clusters, atypical spatial outliers). The third essay considers the three dimensions mentioned in the first contribution but related to the 180 “aree funzionali”. In opposition to that theory-driven, this data-driven approach allows to specify the relationship between the variables and sub-dimensions of wellbeing, to identify six distinct cluster groups on the basis of the synthetic measures obtained and to suggest a policy profile combining people and area-based interventions

Spatial Patterns of Soil Organic Carbon Distribution in Canadian Forest Regions: An Eco-region Based Exploratory Analysis

As the largest carbon reservoir in ecosystems, soil accounts for more than twice as much carbon storage as that of vegetation biomass or the atmosphere. The goal of this study is to examine spatial patterns of soil organic carbon (SOC) in Canadian forest area at an eco-region scale and to explore its relationship with different ecological variables. In this study, the first Canadian forest soil database published in 1997 by the Canada Forest Service was analyzed along with other long-term eco-climatic data (1961 to 1991) including precipitation, air temperature, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), slope, aspect, and elevation. Additionally, an eco-region framework established by the Environment Canada was adopted in this study for SOC distribution assessment. Exploratory spatial data analysis techniques, with an emphasis on spatial autocorrelation analysis, were employed to explore how forest SOC was spatially distributed in Canada. Correlation analysis and spatial regression analysis were applied to determine the most dominant ecological factors influencing SOC distribution in different eco-regions. At the national scale, a spatial error model was built up to adjust for spatial effects and to estimate SOC patterns based on ecological and ecosystem property factors. Using the significant variables derived in the spatial error model, a predictive SOC map in Canadian forest area was generated. Findings from this study suggest that high SOC clusters tend to occur in coastal areas, while low SOC clusters occur in western boreal eco-region. In Canadian forest area, SOC patterns are strongly related to precipitation regimes. Although overall SOC distribution is influenced by both climatic and topographic variables, distribution patterns are shown to differ significantly among eco-regions, thus verifying the eco-region classification framework for SOC zonation mapping in Canada

A Geographic Exploratory Analysis of Health and Crime in Toronto Neighbourhoods

Crime impacts may pose a health risk to victims and result in potential demands on healthcare services. However, the impacts from crime on health are complex and diverse. It is difficult to measure and quantify such impacts, since conventional police-recorded crime statistics do not collect data on people’s perception of the risk of crime and the impacts of victimization on health and wellbeing. This manuscript-style thesis consists of two parts. The first study assesses crime and wellbeing at the individual level, conducting a questionnaire survey in four selected neighbourhoods in Toronto. The purpose of this study is to explore how crime affects people’s health and quality of life. The impacts of crime on both physical and psychological health and wellbeing are explored. Findings from this study may potentially contribute to developing effective strategies for crime reduction and prevention. Results from the questionnaire survey suggest a significant impact of crime on mental health, both short-term and long-term, which may have a significant effect on an individual’s quality of life. Hence, availability and accessibility of mental health services for Victim Support is important to consider from a health policy and services perspective. The second study in this manuscript-style thesis evaluates the risk of poor mental health in Toronto and assesses spatial accessibility to mental healthcare services. Two accessibility measures were applied, namely, the gravity model and the two-step catchment area method. The spatial patterns of accessibility to mental healthcare by these two measures were compared, along with variation in accessibility ratios. A risk map of poor mental health was developed by applying a multi-criteria evaluation methodology, while considering crime rates and deprivation. Areas with high risk of poor mental health and low accessibility to mental healthcare were identified after comparing the risk and accessibility maps. This study contributes to identifying inequities in accessibility to mental healthcare in Toronto, as well as promoting services that can help improve public mental health. Overall, this thesis explores the health of victims of crime based on a conceptual social model that highlights the links between crime, deprivation and health. Findings indicate that residents’ mental health and psychological wellbeing are significantly affected by crime in selected Toronto neighbourhoods, but existing mental healthcare facilities are not sufficient to serve residents with varying mental healthcare needs, especially those living in Downtown areas

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThree decades of economic reforms and open door policies have made China the second largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). China's FDI attraction strategies merit a closer look. To fully understand the significance of FDI attraction strategies in China, distributional patterns and locational determinants need to be investigated to explain the nature, dynamics, and mechanisms of FDI. This dissertation models locational causes and regional effects of FDI in China. It examines the multiscalar spatial-temporal distribution of FDI, and analyzes locational determinants of FDI at interregional, intraregional, intercity, and intracity levels. The research also addresses dynamic processes of FDI, and assesses and evaluates the effectiveness of policy implementation strategies towards FDI locations. A case study of the Wuhan metropolitan area is conducted to explore the intrametropolitan pattern of FDI, highlighting locational factors and processes within an inland metropolitan area. Such econometrical, statistical, and GIS methods as Moran's I and Getis-Ord G, space-time permutation model, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and logistical regression are used to investigate and analyze the dynamic processes in a hierarchical structure. The results indicate that at the interregional level, the eastern/coastal region dominated FDI and FDI had spread from Guangdong to the Pan-Yangtze River Delta and the Bohai Rim Region. Institution is the most influential to Guangdong, transportation is the most influential to the Pan-YRD, and agglomeration influences the BRR the most. In addition, the results at the intercity level indicate that relative gaps among the eastern/coastal region and another two regions, the central and western regions, are narrowing, though absolute gaps among them are widening. FDI clusters had a trend of spreading from eastern/coastal cities to central and western cites. The significance of market size and transportation infrastructure, and the increasing importance of agglomeration effects were identified in the regression model. Last, the results of the case study indicate that FDI in Wuhan is centralized on the Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, a national development zone. FDI in Wuhan is a result of interaction among institution, urban structure, and accessibility. This study contributes to the literature on development theory, location theory, and globalization theory