Beyond the Structure; Footbridge as a Landscape Architectural Design Product

Footbridge, by its name, proclaims that it is a special urban access medium for pedestrians. Unfortunately, there are less works that through research highlight this fact. Generally, pedestrian bridges are taken into account not enough differently than the `classical` bridge1 itself. There are many scientific works focusing on the structural properties of footbridges rather than on its architectural and urban values. This study aims to scrutinize the architectural and urban added values of the footbridge to its context and human life. It will be taken into consideration in this study as an urban furniture, a public space, a pathway, a landmark as well as a landscape feature. The goal of this research hides behind concerning with the user density rather than load bearing capacity, the urban aesthetics rather than large spans, the accessibility rather than constructability. A selection of ten pedestrian bridges will be the raw input of this research. The selection criteria of these ten projects can be listed as follows; being built, being a recent project- due to the availability of one of the research tools of this study- [within 10 years], being of an urban context and over passing a waterway rather than a motorway. Geography has been intentionally kept wide so that to have cases from different cultures as well. Apart from general information about the cases, this study will try to highlight the architectural and urban added values of each project to its context by various methods. Some qualitative values of an architectural and urban character of the current state of each project will be evaluated by professionals through Likert scale method. These people will be provided enough written and visual material about each case so that a rational evaluation process can be achieved. Another special method is used to highlight the added values of each footbridge to its neighborhood. Google earth Timeline plugin will be a crucial application to assist us on that. By contrasting and comparing two satellite images of the zone representing its state before and after the construction of the project we may read those values more clearly

Testing NDVI, tree cover density and land cover type as fuel indicators in the wildfire spread capacity index (WSCI): case of Montenegro

This paper presents an updated version of our previous GIS-based method developed for indexing the forest surfaces by their wildfire ignition probability (WIPI) and wildfire spreading capacity (WSCI). The previous study relied on a multi-criteria approach including a variety of factors of social, hydro-meteorological, and geo-physical character of the context. However, this study is challenging the drawbacks of the previous work, by introducing three new criteria regarding the vegetation properties in the area. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Tree Cover Density (TCD), and land cover type are launched as indicators of fuel properties of the forest being indexed. The materials and software utilized here belongs to different open sources. CORINE Land Cover (CLC), Open Street Map (OSM), TCD via Copernicus high resolution data, and multispectral satellite images via Landsat 8 (Semi-Automatic Classification Plugin- SCP) are utilized as raw materials in a workflow in QGIS software. At this stage, the study area is the territory of Montenegro. Following the inventory stage, the indexing method relies on a normalizing procedure in QGIS and the assignment of weighted impact factor to each criterion via analytical hierarchy process (AHP). The WSCI value is derived as the sum of the products between the normalized class and the respective weighted impact factor of each criterion. Besides the methodological improvements the results of this work deliver tangible outputs in support of forest fire risk reduction in disaster risk management and fire safety agendas

Analiza prisustva teških metala u zemljištima brdsko-planinskog područja Balkanskog poluostrva sa procjenom njegovog potencijala za uzgoj voćarskih kultura: studija slučaja sliva rijeke Ljuboviđe, Polimlje, Crna Gora

The paper presents results of the analysis of the presence of heavy metals with an assessment of its potential for the further development of fruit growing in North Montenegro, and in this specific case at the territory of the River Basin Ljubovidja, which is the hilly-mountainous area of the Balkan Peninsula. Sampling and further analysis showed that the dominant type of soil in this area is District Cambisol. In the second phase, we conducted further research on the presence of heavy metals in the area of Pavino Polje, in the municipality of Bijelo Polje, Montenegro. The results of the analysis finally showed that there is no presence of heavy metals in the samples we collected during the field visit. The studied area is recommended for the establishment of organic production. It is particularly suitable for the production of fruit growing, vegetables and fodder is also recommended.U radu je prikazana analiza prisustva teških metala sa procjenom njegovog potencijala za uzgoj voćarskih kultura u zemljištima sjevera Crne Gore, sliva rijeke Ljuboviđe, koja se nalazi u brdsko-planinskom području Balkanskog poluostrva. Uzimanje uzoraka je pokazalo da je dominantni tip zemljišta ovog područja distrični kambisol, što se podudarilo sa prethodnim istraživanjima Fustića i Đuretića (prethodnog vijeka), Spalevića i Zejaka (ovoga vijeka). U drugoj fazi, sveli smo dalje istraživanja na prisustvo teških metala na područje Pavinog Polja, koje je po svojim fizičko-geografskim karakteristikama reprezent ovog područja iz opštine Bijelo Polje. Polazna hipoteza je bila da je ovo područje potencijalno pogodno za dalji razvoj voćarstva, a ova istražoivanja i predlozi su išli ka tome da se ovdje dalje ide ka uspostavljanju organske proizvodnje. Rezultati analiza su na kraju pokazali da u uzorcima otvorenih profila, a koji su prikuppljeni tokom rada na terenu, ne postoji prisustvo teških metala. Predmetni lokalitet je preporučljiv od strane struke i nauke za dalji rad na zasnivanju organske proizvodnje. Posebno je pogodan za proizvodnju voća, kao primarne grane, a preporučljivo je i gajenje povrća i krmnog bilja

Utilizing the Available Open-Source Remotely Sensed Data in Assessing the Wildfire Ignition and Spread Capacities of Vegetated Surfaces in Romania

We bring a practical and comprehensive GIS-based framework to utilize freely available remotely sensed datasets to assess wildfire ignition probability and spreading capacities of vegetated landscapes. The study area consists of the country-level scale of the Romanian territory, characterized by a diversity of vegetated landscapes threatened by climate change. We utilize the Wildfire Ignition Probability/Wildfire Spreading Capacity Index (WIPI/WSCI). WIPI/WSCI models rely on a multi-criteria data mining procedure assessing the study area’s social, environmental, geophysical, and fuel properties based on open access remotely sensed data. We utilized the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis to weigh each indexing criterion’s impact factor and assess the model’s overall sensitivity. Introducing ROC analysis at an earlier stage of the workflow elevated the final Area Under the Curve (AUC) of WIPI from 0.705 to 0.778 and WSCI from 0.586 to 0.802. The modeling results enable discussion on the vulnerability of protected areas and the exposure of man-made structures to wildfire risk. Our study shows that within the wildland–urban interface of Bucharest’s metropolitan area, there is a remarkable building stock of healthcare, residential and educational functions, which are significantly exposed and vulnerable to wildfire spreading risk

Geospatial data bout the wildfire ignition probability and wildfire spreading capacity of Romanian vegetated surfaces

This data consist of a geospatial points layer (shp file), which deliver both the multi-criteria inventory records and the calculated wildfire ignition probability and wildfire spreading capacity (WIPI/WSCI) of the Romanian vegetated surfaces. The distance between points is 1km. The file consists of 70410 points in total, that overlap with the vegetated surfaces as derived from CORINE Land Cover data of 2018

Land cover data as environmentally sensitive decision-making mediator in territorial and administrative reform

This paper presents a multi-criteria conceptual framework for decision-making processes during Territorial and Administrative Reform (TAR) relying on sustainable development principles. In general, TAR processes highly consider socio-cultural and economic factors, but they lack responsiveness to environmental dynamics of the context. While this practice achieves a fair allocation of the new administrative units’ centers, the border defining criteria are indistinct. Thus, we turn a spotlight on the environmental factors as fundamental criteria in TAR decision-making processes, especially the boundary definition stage. Topography, watershed, land cover, and natural conservation areas are among the proposed environmental measures. The research makes a real case of land cover data utilization as environmentally sensitive decision-making mediator. First, the CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data of 2012 serves as an evaluation criteria of the recent TAR (2014) in Albanian territory, based on the landscape fragmentation caused by the new spatial division. Second, the CLC data generates an alternative municipal boundary of the Albanian capital. The results show that a TAR process not taking into account the environmental criteria leads to functionally disconnected territories which in the long run may lead to physically fragmented natural landscapes. Furthermore, the new alignment for municipal borders of Tirana shows a successful result in minimizing natural landscape fragmentation caused by local administrative boundaries. The proposed multi-criteria conceptual framework and the application via CLC utilization presents a methodical approach which may assist decision-making processes of TAR in other developing countries, conform sustainable territorial management principles

A GIS-based method for revealing the transversal continuum of natural landscapes in the coastal zone

The method presented in this article is helpful for analyzing the landscape properties and unfolding the transversal continuity of natural landscapes in the coastal zone. The novel conceptual approach to analyze the landscape structure in the transversal direction with reference to coastline is different from others focusing on the longitudinal analysis of landscape properties in the coastal areas. The procedure is relying on the fundamental questioning of the spatial relation of each landscape patch with the coastline. The raw material is Land-Use/ Land-Cover (LULC) data. At this stage the method is tested successfully utilizing CORINE Land Cover (CLC) data. The method is structured in four sequential stages, and formalized via ModelBuilder/ ArcGIS software into a model applicable to any coastal zone. The output of each phase is used as the raw material of the following stage. The presented method is useful in identifying a set of endangered natural landscape patches located as a hinge in between two transversally connected natural landscape mosaics (TCNLM). A second set is highlighted as potential artificial surfaces located as barriers between the coastline and TCNLM. The presented method is useful in the analysis stages of Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) and Sustainable Coastal Tourism (SCT). • The presented procedure focuses on the transversal landscape structure in the coastal zone rather that the classical longitudinal analysis of coastal landscapes. • The procedure brings a new way of CORINE Land Cover data utilization beyond its basic monitoring objective, useful for a variety of decision making and management processes such as; Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM), Sustainable Coastal Tourism (SCT), Environmental protection, Landscape connectivity, etc. • The method builds a novel tool set customized via ModelBuilder in ArcGIS, being applicable to any coastal zone. Method name: ModelBuilder, Transversal Continuity Depth (TCD), Keywords: ModelBuilder, ArcGIS, CORINE Land Cover, ICZM, Sustainable Coastal Touris

Ecosystem services potential is declining across European capital metropolitan areas

Ecosystem services (ES) are essential to sustainable development at multiple spatial scales. Monitoring ES potential (ESP) at the metropolitan level is imperative to sustainable cities. We developed a procedure for long-term monitoring of metropolitan ESP dynamics, utilizing open-source land use land cover (LULC) data and the expert matrix method. We compared the ESP results of 38 European Capital Metropolitan Areas (ECMA) regarding biodiversity integrity, drinking water provision, flood protection, air quality, water purification, and recreation & tourism. Our results show significant declines in ESP across ECMA due to LULC alteration between 2006, 2012, and 2018. We found that ECMA in post-socialist European countries like Poland (Warszawa) have experienced high rates of land use transformation with a remarkable impact on ESP. Surprisingly, we found that Fennoscandinan ECMA, like Helsinki, Stockholm, and Oslo which lead the cumulative ESP ranking, faced the ESP reduction of the highest impact in recent years. The correlation analysis of ESP dynamics to urban expansion and population growth rates suggests that inattentive urbanization processes impact ESP more than population growth. We unveil the implications of our results to the EU and global level agendas like the European Nature Conservation Law and the Sustainable Development Goals