Participatory visioning for building disruptive future scenarios for transport and land use planning

Participatory visioning in transport scenario building can be particularly useful to anticipate and examine unexpected outcomes over long-term future timelines, providing broad legitimacy to today's decision-making processes. However, the strategic value of participatory approaches is increasingly being contested due to the difficulty to operationalize non-linear thinking, resulting in long-term visions similar to business-as-usual projections. To address this challenge, we developed and implemented a novel participatory visioning approach based on using semi-structured interviews that incorporate two types of wild cards &- low probability and high impact processes &- as disruptive visioning triggers: imaginable and unimaginable processes. A group of experts evaluated the level of disruptive thinking in the generated future visions. The Henares Corridor in the Metropolitan Area of Madrid, Spain provided the empirical focus. The results present a total of seven 2050 visions: one desired common vision plus six wild card visions. Higher levels of disruptive thinking were mainly present in those future visions generated by unimaginable processes, as such processes initiate highly diverging participant future views. It was also noted that smaller and specific groups of participants can visualize 2050 futures more disruptively. Conclusions and reflections on the strengths and weakness of the presented approach are drawn

The Southwest Corridor in Jamaica Plain : a study in neighborhood revitalization.

Thesis. 1976. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning.Microfiche copy available in Archives and Rotch.M.C.P

The Red Sea, Coastal Landscapes, and Hominin Dispersals

This chapter provides a critical assessment of environment, landscape and resources in the Red Sea region over the past five million years in relation to archaeological evidence of hominin settlement, and of current hypotheses about the role of the region as a pathway or obstacle to population dispersals between Africa and Asia and the possible significance of coastal colonization. The discussion assesses the impact of factors such as topography and the distribution of resources on land and on the seacoast, taking account of geographical variation and changes in geology, sea levels and palaeoclimate. The merits of northern and southern routes of movement at either end of the Red Sea are compared. All the evidence indicates that there has been no land connection at the southern end since the beginning of the Pliocene period, but that short sea crossings would have been possible at lowest sea-level stands with little or no technical aids. More important than the possibilities of crossing the southern channel is the nature of the resources available in the adjacent coastal zones. There were many climatic episodes wetter than today, and during these periods water draining from the Arabian escarpment provided productive conditions for large mammals and human populations in coastal regions and eastwards into the desert. During drier episodes the coastal region would have provided important refugia both in upland areas and on the emerged shelves exposed by lowered sea level, especially in the southern sector and on both sides of the Red Sea. Marine resources may have offered an added advantage in coastal areas, but evidence for their exploitation is very limited, and their role has been over-exaggerated in hypotheses of coastal colonization

Minimax and Maximin Fitting of Geometric Objects to Sets of Points

This thesis addresses several problems in the facility location sub-area of computational geometry. Let S be a set of n points in the plane. We derive algorithms for approximating S by a step function curve of size k \u3c n, i.e., by an x-monotone orthogonal polyline ℜ with k \u3c n horizontal segments. We use the vertical distance to measure the quality of the approximation, i.e., the maximum distance from a point in S to the horizontal segment directly above or below it. We consider two types of problems: min-ε, where the goal is to minimize the error for a given number of horizontal segments k and min-#, where the goal is to minimize the number of segments for a given allowed error ε. After O(n) preprocessing time, we solve instances of the latter in O(min{k log n, n}) time per instance. We can then solve the former problem in O(min{n2, nk log n}) time. Both algorithms require O(n) space. The second contribution is a heuristic for the min-ε problem that computes a solution within a factor of 3 of the optimal error for k segments, or with at most the same error as the k-optimal but using 2k - 1 segments. Furthermore, experiments on real data show even better results than what is guaranteed by the theoretical bounds. Both approximations run in O(n log n) time and O(n) space. Then, we present an exact algorithm for the weighted version of this problem that runs in O(n2) time and generalize the heuristic to handle weights at the expense of an additional log n factor. At this point, a randomized algorithm that runs in O(n log2 n) expected time for the unweighted version is presented. It easily generalizes to the weighted case, though at the expense of an additional log n factor. Finally, we treat the maximin problem and present an O(n3 log n) solution to the problem of finding the furthest separating line through a set of weighted points. We conclude with solutions to the obnoxious wedge problem: an O(n2 log n) algorithm for the general case of a wedge with its apex on the boundary of the convex hull of S and an O(n2) algorithm for the case of the apex of a wedge coming from the input set S

Exploring perceptions of creativity and walkability in Omaha, NE

It has been suggested that vibrant, walkable urban spaces may contribute to enhanced creativity and innovation by facilitating social interaction and physical activity, and serving as a source of inspiration. Using a survey and participant mapping exercise, this paper examines the potential spatial association between walkability and creativity in Omaha, Nebraska. Randomly selected participants were mailed a survey and map, requesting that they identify either three walkable or three creative locations within the Omaha area. The spatial correlation between the two variables was assessed in part using a newly developed spatial point pattern test. In addition to using perceptions of walkability, an objective measure provided by Walk Score® was employed to further evaluate potential associations. The overall correlation between the two variables was strong; with few exceptions, hotspots of walkability and creativity frequently overlapped. Potential differences in resident perceptions by age, income, education, and residential location were also examined

Emerging Visions for Sustainable Urbanization

Harsh critiques of the utopian visions of modernist architects have led many of today's designers to seek to fit their constructed responses into the mainstream culture (Schneekloth, 1998). While undoubtedly the works of most designers are grounded in the intention of making the world a better and more beautiful place, the underlying desire to fit in with the mainstream leads implicitly to confirming the status quo of the built environment. We believe that if designers are to move toward envisioning and creating more sustainable urban futures they must eschew the desire to fit in and carefully and methodically reconsider what is possible. To that end, in this paper we explore the motivations, methods and outcomes of five students in their penultimate design studio of the Masters of Architecture program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Using three measures, motivations, methods, and outcomes, as evidence we seek to understand how future designers, as they complete their education and embark on careers in the design professions, comprehend and envision an urbanization process that results in a sustainable urban future

理論的には計算困難な問題の現実的解法に関する研究

金沢大学 / 北陸先端科学技術大学院大学本研究では,従来アルゴリズム理論で重視されてきた漸近的解析の枠内では計算困難と思われてきた問題に対して積極的に取り組んできた.具体的には最適な網点の形状を設計する問題とクラスタリングに関する問題に取り組んだ.前者に対しては,計算幾何学において精力的に研究されてきたディスクレパンシの理論が適用できることに気がつき,従来の手法とは全く異なる解法を提案することができた.さらに,これをグラフ理論におけるマッチングの概念と結合することにより,さらに解の性能を向上させることに成功した.実験的にも良い結果が得られており,今後論文として発表する予定である.クラスタリングについては,特に画像データベースからの画像検索の問題に取り組み,従来の結果を凌駕する実験結果を得ることが出来た.これについても近いうちに論文として投稿する予定である.In this study we have been engaged in several problems which were thought to be computationally Hard within the traditional framework of asymptotic analysis popular in the theory of algorithms. More concretely, we have studied the problem of designing optimal dot patterns for printing and that of clustering. For the former problem, we have noticed that the discrepancy theory can be applied to the problem. The discrepancy theory has been rigorously studied and is full of important theoretical results. Combining it with the notion of matching in the graph theory, we have succeeded in improving the performance of the solutions obtained. Since we also had satisfactory experimental results, we intend to submit the result to some journal. For the problem of clustering, we have applied an algorithmic approach to image query system On image database with good experimental results that exceed results by traditional Approaches. We are planning to summarize the results in a paper to be submitted to some International journal in near future.研究課題/領域番号:10205207, 研究期間(年度):1998 - 2000出典：「理論的には計算困難な問題の現実的解法に関する研究」研究成果報告書　課題番号10205207（KAKEN：科学研究費助成事業データベース（国立情報学研究所）） （https://kaken.nii.ac.jp/ja/report/KAKENHI-PROJECT-10205207/102052072001kenkyu_seika_hokoku_gaiyo/）を加工して作

Southeast Florida Shallow-Water Habitat Mapping & Coral Reef Community Characterization

Baseline mapping and quantitative assessment data are required prior to future permitted or un-permitted impacts in order to determine the pre-existing state of the benthic resources; therefore, it is imperative that these data be collected on the ecologically sensitive and economically valuable shallow-water coral reef habitats in southeast Florida. In southeast Florida, the nearshore reef habitats are most vulnerable to coastal construction activities and other anthropogenic impacts, therefore these habitats were the focus for this study. The study goals were to provide a spatially appropriate map of increased resolution and a regional quantitative characterization of nearshore benthic resources to evaluate differences in benthic communities between habitats and with latitude for the southeast Florida region of the Florida Reef Tract. This study is a snapshot habitat characterization providing the current status of shallow-water coral reef community composition. Additionally, these data can be used to reduce un-permitted impacts by informing marine zoning efforts and aid in the creation of new no-anchor zones. Detailed 1ft resolution overlapping aerial photographs were collected for the Nearshore Ridge Complex (NRC) and Inner Reef from Key Biscayne to Hillsboro Inlet, 68.5km of coastline by PhotoScience, Inc. on March 8, 2013. The imagery and recent bathymetry were visually interpreted into benthic habitat maps. Quantitative groundtruthing of 265 targeted and randomized sites was conducted between April and June 2014. Five 1km wide cross-shelf corridors were placed as evenly as possible across the mapped space while maintaining consistent habitat types and amounts between corridors and avoiding any major anthropogenic influences like shipping channels and proximity to inlets and outfalls. Survey site locations were stratified across three main habitats within each corridor: Colonized Pavement-Shallow, Ridge-Shallow, and Linear Reef-Inner. Percent cover data at each site was collected. Additionally, species, colony size (length, width, height), percent mortality, condition (pale or bleached), and presence of disease was recorded for stony corals. Gorgonians were categorized by morphology (rod, plume, fan) and counted in four size classes (4-10, 11-25, 26-50, and \u3e50cm). Xestospongia muta and Cliona spp. were also counted. Then an accuracy assessment was performed where drop camera video with GPS data were collected at 494 locations randomly stratified across all habitat types. The overall accuracy was 97.9% at the Major Habitat level. Of the 172.73km² seafloor mapped, the polygon totals indicated 41.34% was Sand, 47.07% was Coral Reef and Colonized Pavement, 9.35% was Seagrass, and 2.25% was Other Delineations. These totals are estimates due to some habitats having a large mix of sand within. Three habitat types dominated the mapped hardbottom area. The largest was Colonized Pavement (38.36km²), followed by Ridge-Shallow (25.52km²), and Linear Reef-Inner (14.99km²). These comprised 97% of the hardbottom habitats. Seagrass accounted for 9.35% of the map and was solely contained south of Government Cut. Sand comprised 41.34% of the map and Other Delineations accounted for 2.25%. The clear, high-resolution images enabled the delineation of thirty-five dense Acropora cervicornis patches. Some of these corresponded to known locations of dense patches. These are the largest dense patches in the continental United States. Using aerial photography delineations area estimates, the seven patches near the known existing locations totaled approximately 46,000m² whereas the 28 newly confirmed areas exceed 110,000m². Dense Acropora cervicornis comprised 1% of the mapped hardbottom habitats. Significant differences in percent benthic cover between habitats occurred in all corridors, however some comparisons were stronger than others. Corridor 1 exhibited clear differences between the colonized pavement and inner reef sites due to the high percentages of seagrass on the colonized pavement that did not occur on the Inner Reef sites (nor any other habitat in the region). Corridor 2 showed much weaker differences between habitat types, however the colonized pavement sites were significantly distinct from the inner reef and ridge sites due to the comparatively high percentage of sand on the colonized pavement versus the inner reef and ridge. Corridor 3 ridge was significantly distinct from the colonized pavement and inner reef sites mostly due to lower percentage of Palythoa spp. on the ridge. Corridor 4 inner reef sites were significantly different from the others driven by much higher percentage of macroalgae and higher Palythoa spp. Corridor 5 exhibited significant differences between all habitat types. Inner reef sites had higher percentages of Palythoa spp., gorgonians, and sponges than any other habitat. Colonized pavement sites had the lowest percentages of gorgonians and Palythoa spp. while having the highest percentages of sand. Comparisons of benthic cover percentages between all sites in a given habitat type were conducted to evaluate latitudinal community differences. Among colonized pavement sites, Corridor 1 was significantly different from all other corridors due to the presence of seagrass which only occurred in Corridor 1 colonized pavement. Corridor 5 was also significantly distinct from all other corridors due to a low percentage of gorgonians, stony corals, and Palythoa spp. with a high percentage of turf algae. The ridge sites comparisons showed distinct clustering of corridors 2, 3, and 5 in the MDS indicating that there are latitudinal differences in benthic cover in the ridge habitat. The main dissimilarity contributors in corridor 2 were lower percentages of palythoa spp. and macroalgae than corridors 3 and 5 and higher percentages of gorgonians and stony corals than corridor 5. Corridor 3 had higher percentages of macroalgae, stony corals, and gorgonians than corridor 5. The inner reef sites also exhibited latitudinal differences in benthic cover. Corridors 1 and 5 separated out from the other corridors and each other. The main cover classes driving the clustering of corridor 1 sites were high percentages of gorgonians and Palythoa spp, while the main contributor to the corridor 4 cluster was high macroalgae percentages in that corridor. A total of 4,568 stony coral colonies were identified, counted, and measured. Twenty-two species were found, but Porites astreoides (29.7%), Siderastrea siderea (17.5%), and Acropora cervicornis (10.3%) comprised 57.5% of the total number of stony corals measured in this study. The largest coral measured in the study was a Siderastrea siderea located in corridor 4 which measured 225 cm long, 200 cm wide, 140 cm tall and an estimated 4.1 m² of live tissue. Stony coral density pooled for the entire surveyed area of 4,200m² was 1.09 corals/m². Mean coral density was lowest in the colonized pavement sites and highest in the inner reef sites, however this also varied by corridor. The colonized pavement coral density in Corridors 1 and 5 was lowest and highest in Corridors 3 and 4. Coral density on ridge habitat had a similar pattern to colonized pavement with corridor 3 having the highest density. Conversely coral density on the inner reef was highest in corridor 1 and corridor 4. Acropora cervicornis was found in higher densities than S. siderea on the colonized pavement but it only occurred in corridors 3 and 4. It was also found in higher density on ridge habitat except for corridor 5. Of the 471 A. cervicornis colonies counted, only 5.3% occurred on the inner reef. Two hundred and thirty-five (49.9%) were found in the colonized pavement and 211 (44.8%) at the ridge sites. The mean number of coral species (richness) varied by corridor and habitat. Colonized pavement sites had the lowest richness and it was highest on inner reef. Mean richness also varied by corridor within habitats. Among the colonized pavement sites, corridor 3 and corridor 4 had the highest mean richness and corridor 5 the lowest. Similarly, among the ridge site, mean coral richness was highest in corridor 3 and lowest in corridor 5. Mean richness among inner reef sites were not very different however corridor 1 was significantly higher than corridor 3. A total of 30,076 gorgonians were counted, classified by morpho-type (Fan, Plume, Rod), and binned into size classes. Rods were the most abundant comprising almost 72% of the total number counted and plumes were second-most comprising 24% of the total. This varied by corridor and habitat. With all size classes combined, fans were lowest on the colonized pavement and highest on the ridge. Plumes were higher on the inner reef than the colonized pavement and ridge. Conversely rods were lower on the inner reef than the colonized pavement and ridge. Gorgonians also varied within habitat types by corridor. In colonized pavement, fans were highest in corridors 3 and 4 whereas plumes were more abundant in the southern corridors. Rods were dominantly abundant throughout the colonized pavement except for corridor 5 where they were conspicuously absent. In the ridge habitat, fans varied among corridors without a clear latitudinal pattern. Plumes were more abundant in the southern corridors, while rods were dominantly abundant throughout. The inner reef habitats generally had a higher abundance of plumes and a more even ratio of rod and plume abundance throughout all corridors. Plumes were the most abundant type in corridor 1, but were also high in corridors 3 and 5. Xestospongia muta colonies were predominantly found at the inner reef sites. Of the 262 total colonies counted, 87.7% were at inner reef sites. Densities were lower than gorgonians and stony corals throughout the study. Mean X. muta abundance varied between corridors. In colonized pavement and ridge habitats, X. muta predominantly occurred on corridor 4 however mean abundance was very low. At the inner reef sites, X. muta was much lower in corridor 1 than all other corridors, which did not significantly vary. This study elucidated new data on the extent of the Endangered Species Act threatened coral species, Acropora cervicornis. Only approximately 30% of the discovered dense patches were identified as previously known and the total regional area of A. cervicornisdense patches is now estimated at 156,000 m². The condition of the coral in these patches cannot be surmised from the images. Additionally, the polygons depicted in the habitat map are likely under-representative of the shape and sizes of these patches due to their fuzzy boundaries. A detailed study to map their boundaries and characterize their condition is needed to properly inventory these patches and their condition. Furthermore, the only way to fully understand if the net amount is increasing is to investigate it on a regional level. Previous imagery must be identified and used to determine the timing of when these patches came into existence. Unfortunately no consistent data sets have been identified that can be used for this purpose at this time. A compilation of local imagery has been helpful in some cases. It is recommended that a regional set of imagery be repeatedly collected in the future to elucidate the dynamics of dense patches of A. cervicornis and document the current extent of nearshore resources. This is especially important after large storm events. This study has expanded the present knowledge on the amount, location, and species type of ecologically important large coral colonies. Although smaller than the minimum mapping unit for this study (and thus not in this study’s scope and funded separately), 187 blips in the LIDAR associated with dark specs in the imagery were identified and a portion investigated. Of the 53 that were visited, 47 were stony corals estimated between 2 and 5 m in diameter. Twenty-three (43%) were alive in various conditions. These were predominantly Orbicella faveolata (20), but 2 were Siderastrea siderea and one was a Montastrea cavernosa. Corals of this size are likely to be hundreds of years old, meaning they have persisted through the multitude of anthropogenic impacts that have occurred in the region. Large coral colonies are more fecund, giving an exponentially increased amount of reproductive output making these colonies particularly important in the restoration of the reef system. It is recommended that a host of important studies be conducted to understand the full extent, size, condition of these large, resilient corals and to monitor them through time, investigate their reproduction and genetic diversity, and perhaps use them to help propagate naturally resilient corals in restoration efforts