Age Inequalities of Accessibility to Essential Urban Services. The Case Study of Primary Health Care in the City of Milan for Older People.

The population in urban areas is getting older because of a significant demographic change. In 2019, the OECD indicates that the share of people aged over 65 reached 17.8% and is expected to climb to 25.1% in 2050. Older people present age-associated limitations that influence mobility capacities with the occurrence of social isolation, loneliness, and depression. Moreover, aging is associated to an increased vulnerability and dependence on medical care services. Since everyone should have the opportunity to access to essential services equally, especially people who need them the most, to accomplish practices and maintain relationships that people take to be necessary for normal social participation. Hence, more age-friendly approaches are needed to shape ageing cities. In this study, a GIS-based procedure was developed in order to assess accessibility to primary healthcare services and to support decision-makers to better allocate resources, for local welfare policies restructuring. The accessibility measure considers the local healthcare provision, the land use structure and the characteristic of the multimodal transportation network. The methodology was applied to the city of Milan, con- sidering its Health Protection Agency (ATS) that provides healthcare assistance to the elderly dwelling in the city. The outputs show that entire neighbourhoods’ elderly population suffers from very poor accessibility to primary health services, especially in the city suburbs, and that the methodology could be effective in urban planning strategies to promote better quality of life for the elderly

Measuring spatial accessibility to urban services for older adults: an application to healthcare facilities in Milan

This study proposes a Geographic Information Systems-based methodology to measure accessibility to urban services from the elderly perspective to support urban planning processes. Specifically, it seeks to understand and clarify how the urban environment can influence the quality of life for older adults, mostly through pedestrian and public transport networks, locations of essential urban services, and the organisation of their resources. In light of a significant demographic change, policymakers will have to promote age-friendly urban planning approaches to guarantee equal access to services and activities. We propose a methodology to measure accessibility to healthcare provision services that considers land-use and mobility features and older adults' behavioural traits. The method belongs to the family of 2SFCA—2 steps floating catchment area—which evaluate accessibility as the combination of both supply and demand of urban services. Therefore, we have introduced innovative elements to shape actual mobility opportunities for the elderly and their travel choices. The methodology was applied to Milan's city to measure accessibility to the Health Protection Agency (ATS) services, which is responsible for healthcare assistance to the elderly dwelling in the city. The outputs show that a significant share of older people (almost 40%) suffer from poor accessibility to primary health services and that they mostly live in the city periphery. Moreover, the application to a case study has shown that the methodology could identify the critical aspects needed to aid urban planning to achieve a high quality of life for elderly people

Urban Planning for Transit-Oriented Development: An application in the Naples metropolitan area.

Transit-oriented development (TOD) is a planning strategy that aims to concentrate jobs, housing, and services around mass transit stations to make cities more sustainable, productive, and liveable. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, and TOD principles cannot be uniformly applied across an entire city or transit network. This paper provides an innovative methodology to assess areas around transit nodes and supports decision-makers in identifying critical assets for investment. The developed methodology utilises Bertolini’s node-place model (1996), classifying station nodes according to their transit characteristics (transit features) and the quality of the spaces (open areas) and the built environment (built development). The proposed methodology is applied to the Naples metropolitan area (Italy), which includes 92 municipalities and over 3 million inhabitants. The study identified significant transit corridors and urban hotspots within the study area, where integrated transport and urban strategies would effectively promote more sustainable development

I rischi naturali del cambiamento climatico nelle città del Mediterraneo

[Italiano]: Le città dell’intero pianeta sono seriamente minacciate dagli impatti del cambiamento climatico, e strategie efficaci ed efficienti a ridurne la loro esposizione e vulnerabilità per prevenire potenziali danni alla popolazione sono richieste. Le città in zone climatiche sensibili pagherebbero un conto molto salato, proprio come quelle che si affacciano sul Mediterraneo, che sono il focus del saggio. Questo lavoro si struttura in quattro parti. Nella prima, è presentato il frame culturale, politico e scientifico del tema del cambiamento climatico, attraverso un excursus dei negoziati, degli accordi e degli avanzamenti scientifici che hanno diviso l’opinione di ricercatori, cittadini e policy-makers. La seconda parte affronta il tema delle teorie del rischio e della loro applicazione al governo delle trasformazioni urbane e territoriali. Nella terza è presentato un focus al Mediterraneo e alla rete di città insediate lungo le sue coste. Nell’ultima parte si approfondiscono gli eventi climatici estremi che presentano le più alte probabilità di verificarsi per l’area oggetto di studio ./[English]: Cities across the planet are seriously threatened by the impacts of climate change. Hence,effective and efficient strategies are required to reduce their exposure and vulnerability in order to prevent potential harmful damage to the population. Cities in climate sensitive zones would pay a high price, just like those bordering the Mediterranean, which are the focus of this work. This volume is structured in four parts. In the first, the cultural, political and scientific frame of the theme of climate change is presented, through an excursus of the negotiations, agreements and scientific advances that have divided the opinion of researchers, citizens and policymakers. The second section deals with the theme of risk theories and their application to the governance of urban and territorial transformations. The third presents a focus on the Mediterranean and the network of cities located along its coasts. In the last part, the extreme climatic events that have the highest probability of occurring for the Mediterranean area are explored

GIS-Based Spatial Analysis for the Integrated Transport-Land Use-Energy Planning: An Application to the Great London Area

This work focuses on examining the possible advantages for the urban sustainability, derived from the integration of transport, land use and energy systems. The main aim is to develop a GIS-based method that can help decision makers, either public or private, improving the economic, social and environmental sustainability of urban areas through an integrated transformation approach. As a result, it was possible to provide a spatial analysis technique based on seven synthetic variables and on the application of a cluster method able to identify the portions of urban areas where investments and urban integrated transformation processes can be more suitable, according to the dynamic relationships among transport, land use and energy systems. The methodology was applied to the Great London Area and lead to significant results: the cluster classes follow the transport railway network evolution within the study area boundary. The paper is organized as follow: in section 1 the integration of transport, land use and energy planning is investigated; following the introduction, in section 2, the GIS-based method is presented, followed by a description of the application to the Great London Area; in section 4, findings of the methodology are explained. In the last section, results and future developments are discussed

L’accessibilità urbana multimodale ai servizi sanitari primari per gli anziani.Una proposta di metodo

La popolazione anziana è oggi molto più in salute rispetto alle generazioni passate, a causa dei sostanziali miglioramenti nell’alimentazione, nei servizi sanitari e nelle cure mediche; allo stesso tempo, l’invecchiamento è associato a una maggiore vulnerabilità e dipendenza dai servizi di assistenza sanitaria

Multimodal accessibility to primary health services for the elderly : a case study of Naples, Italy

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Candida-associated denture stomatitis

Candida albicans is a dimorphic yeast strongly gram positive able to live as normal commensal organism in the oral cavity of healthy people. It is the yeast more frequently isolated in the oral cavity. Under local and systemic factors related to the host conditions, it becomes virulent and responsible of oral diseases known as oral candidiasis. It has been shown that the presence of denture is a predisposing factor to the onset of pathologies related to C. albicans. Clinical studies have shown that C. albicans is not only able to adhere to the mucous surfaces, but also to stick to the acrylic resins of the dental prostheses. Both the plaque accumulated on the denture and the poor oral hygiene contribute to the virulence of Candida, offering the clinical picture of Candida-associated denture stomatitis. The therapeutic strategies currently adopted in the clinical practice to overcome these fungal infections provide for the use of topical and/or systemic antifungal and topical antiseptics and disinfectants, the irradiation with microwaves and the accurate mechanical removal of the bacterial plaque from the denture surfaces and from the underlying mucosa. A correct oral hygiene is important for the control of the bacterial biofilm present on the denture and on the oral mucosa and it is the fundamental base for the prophylaxis and the therapy of the Candidaassociated denture stomatitis

Satisfacción laboral y compromiso organizacional en docentes de institutos superiores pedagógicos del departamento de San Martín

El presente estudio tuvo como propósito establecer la relación entre la satisfacción laboral y el compromiso organizacional. Por el cual se empleó rigurosamente un tipo de investigación de carácter empírico con un diseño correlacional. Se seleccionó una muestra de 100 docentes de institutos superiores pedagógicos del departamento de San Martín a quienes se les aplicó el cuestionario de Satisfacción laboral de Warr cook y wall, y el cuestionario de compromiso organizacional de Meyer y Allen. Los resultados demuestran que existe una correlación directa significativa entre la satisfacción laboral y el compromiso organizacional (rho=.592; p<.01). Asimismo, correlaciona de manera directa y significativa la satisfacción laboral con las dimensiones de compromiso afectivo (rho=.474; p<.01), continuidad (rho= .733; p<.01) y normativo (rho=.555; p<.01) Finalmente, el compromiso organizacional correlaciona directa y significativamente con la dimensión satisfacción extrínseca (rho=.207; p<.05) a excepción de la satisfacción intrínseca

Una singular articulación entre comunidad y saberes: las misiones de divulgación cultural en la Escuela Serena (Rosario, 1935-1950)

El trabajo se centra en un aspecto de la propuesta educativa desarrollada en la ciudad de Rosario por Olga y Leticia Cossettini durante el período 1935-1950: las Misiones de Divulgación Cultural