Green Coastal Zones: Nodes and Connectors as Strategy of Urban Regeneration

[EN] The landscape of Valencian Community is a resource with great cultural and heritage value. The system of Green Infrastructure ensures a continuous network of unbuilt areas with high environmental, cultural and visual value that also serves as ecological and functional connectors. The ERAM research project `Strategies for sustainable regeneration of tourist settlements on the Mediterranean coast¿ (2012¿14) identifies and analyzes the different types of coastal tourist towns of the Valencian region considering their needs for urban regeneration. It proposes strategies for prospective actions that can serve as a model for the regeneration of coastal tourist resorts. The determination of Green Coastal Zones (GCZ) aims to define their potential for urban regeneration in order to establish criteria for regional planning and urban design processes that will foster innovation in mature tourist destinations. The results show the potential of the 11 ERAM areas whose nodal connectivity and multifunctional landscape defines the framework for adaptive design strategies that may present alternative scenarios for touristic settlements.The ERAM research project ‘Strategies for sustainable regeneration of tourist settlements on the Mediterranean coast’ (2012–14) identifies and analyzes the different types of coastal tourist towns of the Valencian region considering their needs for urban regeneration.Tuset Davó, JJ. (2017). Green Coastal Zones: Nodes and Connectors as Strategy of Urban Regeneration. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. 12(3):488-497. https://doi.org/10.2495/SDP-V12-N3-488-497S48849712

The economic value of landscape aesthetics in Albufera natural park through the analytic multicriteria valuation method

[EN] The effective definition of public intervention goals and resource allocation for natural resource management requires decision makers to understand the monetary values of the full range of goods and services provided by landscapes, in other words, their Total Economic Value (TEV). Aesthetic enjoyment (AE) can be considered as part of such TEV of landscapes. For the estimation of the economic value of AE in Albufera Natural Park (Valencia, Spain), this paper applies the Analytic Multicriteria Valuation Method (AMUVAM). It is a combination of two established techniques: analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and discount cash flow (DCF). The economic value of non-market benefits under AMUVAM is obtained indirectly, by comparing the relative degrees of importance attached to the different components of TEV. In this way, not only does it estimate a monetary value of AE but also its importance relative to TEV. Results express that AE represents 7% of the TEV in Albufera Natural Park and 24% of the EV in Albufera Natural Park ( 176 million). Results reveal distinct patterns in the valuation of TEV and existence value (EV). In this way, together with the average, a range of values which show the different sensitivities of society is provided. The comparison of the TEV obtained for Albufera Natural Park with previous studies conducted on wetlands suggests its similarity in scale.Estruch-Guitart, V.; Vallés-Planells, M. (2017). The economic value of landscape aesthetics in Albufera natural park through the analytic multicriteria valuation method. International Journal of Design & Nature and Ecodynamics. 12(3):281-302. doi:10.2495/DNE-V12-N3-281-302S28130212

Uncertainty dynamics in a model of economic inequality

In this article, we consider a stylized dynamic model to describe the economics of a population, expressed by a Langevin-type kinetic equation. The dynamics is defined by a combination of terms, one of which represents monetary exchanges between individuals mutually engaged in trade, while the uncertainty in barter (trade exchange) is modelled through additive and multiplicative stochastic terms which necessarily abide dynamical constraints. The model is studied to estimate three meaningful quantities, the inequality Gini index, the social mobility and the total income of the population. In particular, we investigate the time evolving binary correlations between any two of these quantities

TYPOLOGY OF THE TRANSFORMATIONS OCCURRED IN THE PERI-URBAN SPACE OF HUERTA DE VALENCIA. EVIDENCE FROM NORTH ARCH OF VALENCIA (SPAIN)

[EN] This paper present the outputs obtained from the measurement and classification of the different types of changes happened in the last 70 years on the Northern area of expansion of the city of Valencia. The city has progressively been covering, with different rhythms and intensities, the space of La Huerta. We can identify between 1944 and 2014 a group of transformations that occur repetitively, building a change pattern identified as common on the city s expansion evolution. The methodology is based on the analysis and measurement of changes occurred on land structure, land use, buildings occupation and on the traditional structure of non-urban roads. The key sources to measure such changes have been the use of the Cadastre of 1929 1944; 1972; and 1989; the orthophoto collections from the Valencian Regional Library and the evolution of SIOSE mapping. The most outstanding results refer to the surprising resilience of some elements from the structure of La Huerta de Valencia and the discovery and identification of the main transformations patterns that could be generalized to the rest of La Huerta de Valencia.Temes Cordovez, RR.; Moya Fuero, A. (2016). TYPOLOGY OF THE TRANSFORMATIONS OCCURRED IN THE PERI-URBAN SPACE OF HUERTA DE VALENCIA. EVIDENCE FROM NORTH ARCH OF VALENCIA (SPAIN). International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. 11(6):996-1003. doi:10.2495/SDP-V11-N6-996-1003S996100311

A mobile environmental monitoring station for sustainable cities

The aim of this paper is to present a mobile environmental monitoring station to evaluate the urban environment. The different phases of the mobile unit development are presented from its construction and operation mode for handling and sharing the data obtained. This mobile unit measures the following urban environmental parameters: environmental noise (Leq, L10 and L90), air quality (PM10, PM2.5 and Total Suspended Particles) and meteorological parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction). This mobile unit is part of a project developed for the Portuguese city of Vila Real, called SMMART (in English "Municipal System for Monitoring Air, Noise and Traffic"). The municipality accepted the challenge of developing a platform whereby the population could be informed about the quality of the urban environment (air and noise) of the city where they live.(undefined

Prediction of hourly ozone concentrations with multiple regression and multilayer perceptron models

In this work ozone observations of an urban area of the east coast of the Iberian Peninsula, are analyzed. The data set contains measurements from five automatic air pollution monitoring stations (background suburban or traffic urban). The application of multiple linear regression and neural networks models is considered. These models forecast hourly ozone levels for short-term prediction intervals (1, 8, and 24 h in advance). The study period is 2010 2012. The input variables are meteorological observations, ozone and nitrogen oxides concentrations, and daily and weekly seasonal cycles. The performance criteria to evaluate the computations accuracy are the residual mean square error, the mean absolute error, and the correlation coefficient between observations and predictions. These criteria have better results for the 1-h and 24-h predictions in all the locations. The comparison of multiple linear regressions and multilayer perceptron networks indicates that the second approach allows to obtain more accurate forecast for the three prediction intervals.Capilla, C. (2016). Prediction of hourly ozone concentrations with multiple regression and multilayer perceptron models. International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning. 11(4):558-565. doi:10.2495/SDP-V11-N4-558-565S55856511

Mercury levels in fly ash and APC residue from municipal solid waste incineration before and after electrodialytic remediation

Fly ash (FA) and Air Pollution Control (APC) residues collected from three municipal solid waste incinerators (MSWI) in Denmark and Greenland were treated by electrodialytic remediation at pilot scale for 8 to 10 h. The original residues and the treated material were analysed for mercury (Hg) in order to assess the influence of the electrodialytic treatment on the concentrations of this element. Mercury levels varied with the MSWI residue, ranging from 0.41 mg kg1 in FA sample from electrostatic precipitator (ESP) to 8.38 mg kg1 in MSWI residues from a semi-dry system with lime and activated carbon. Two distinct behaviours were observed for mercury as a result of the electrodialytic treatment. This element became enriched in the MSWI residues from the semi-dry system with activated carbon, whereas it decreased in ESP's and cyclone's FA. This work presents for the first time information about the effect of electrodialytic treatment on mercury levels and discusses the valorisation options for these MSWI residues. © 2016 WIT Press