PARTIAL SYSTEMS\u27 ANALYSIS OF TRAFFIC NOISE REDUCTION IN TARIK AL JADIDAH, BEIRUT

Traffic noise is considered one of the main pollutants in an urban space and has multiple side effects regarding the physical and mental health of the human being. Tarik Al Jadidah, one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Beirut City- Lebanon, is selected as urban area for a project-based initiative and the focal point of different studies in BAU Urban Lab. The area suffers from various urban problems, but prominently traffic noise that highly damages the urban residents\u27 quality of life due to its high levels of traffic noise that surpasses the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. BAU Urban Lab, an interdisciplinary platform for innovation and knowledge exchange that integrates education with research has led a workshop entitled “System Modelling for Urban Health and Well-Being” held at BAU, Faculty of Architecture - Design and Built Environment. The paper proposes that Vester Sensitivity Model can be considered as a supportive decision-making tool responsible for finding the most effective variables related to Traffic Noise Reduction. The main aim of this paper is to identify the key variables affecting traffic noise reduction system through detecting the variables’ reciprocal impacts using Vester Sensitivity Model. It also depicted that the most influencing variables are those related to social, institutional, infrastructure, and resource flows of the city rather than its fixed physical infrastructure

INVESTIGATING COMMERCIAL URBAN CORRIDORS - A PILOT STUDY IN BEIRUT LEBANON

Urban environments are multifaceted, varied, dynamic, complex, and evolving as are the underlying features for human health and wellbeing (Bai, Nath, Capon, Hasan & Jaron, 2020). Healthy and resilient cities can be entry points and platforms for change, adaptation and innovation to achieve optimal health for urban communities and the environment (Regional Framework for Urban Health in the Western Pacific 2016–2020: Healthy and Resilient Cities, 2016). Planners considered urban corridors, which are connection and access between urban districts, as major elements in shaping the city image and forming its identity and investigating them are vital for enhancing healthy and resilient cities. Narrowing the scope on commercial urban corridors, which are a concentration of retail stores that serve a common trade area and lie along a single street (Catherine Dyste, 2012). These corridors can be seen as a dynamic space, but at the same time, they are created to create a range of experiences (Shaban et al., 2018). Improving commercial urban corridors requires several indicators for reviving the companionable and sociable life of a street. Problems occur when space use is not driven. The society therefore uses the urban commercial corridor according to their own interests. This condition may generate conflict between users of the \u27Link\u27 and users of the \u27Space’, may make the corridor an uncomfortable location, and may decreases its livability. Rapid urbanization and unplanned rapid changes of commercial activities in corridors that have an impact on the surrounding streets and users’ activities imposes burdens on surrounding land use and mobility. However, this problem has contributed to various issues such as traffic congestion, pollution, decrease in green areas and degradation of the urban quality of living. That’s why investigating these corridors is imperative to know its utilization and functioning to identify the existing problems and chaos in the corridor since they are facing significant challenges, which is the lack of reliable knowledge on their characteristics and development; important for local authorities to provide wealth of knowledge and data collection. The paper aims to investigate commercial urban corridors to identify and analyze livability aspects and indicators for reviving its companionable and sociable life that can be implemented in a way of a considerable checklist which acts as a systematic structure for communicating the data required, diagnosing issues, and defining the strengths and limitations of the efficiency of a commercial urban corridor to promote a healthy and resilient urban context. To achieve the aim, the research investigates a commercial urban corridor focusing on one of the urban corridors in Beirut, Lebanon. By using Geoportal Interactive Tool, conducted by UN-Habitat and UNICEF to create cartography of the existing conditions of the pilot study, and then analyzes the aspects and indicators of livability based on cartography, walk through analysis and face-to-face interviews with inhabitants in area. After analyzing the commercial urban corridor and identifying the effective indicators, the research resulted in proposing some guidelines for enhancing livability in commercial urban corridors, which were mainly related to the physical aspect since it defines the most inadequate quality and performance

FOCUSED REVIEWS ON COMMUNITY LIVABILITY STRATEGIESFOR UPGRADING IMPOVERISHED AREAS

Impoverished areas represent the worst of urban poverty, inequality and intolerable difficulties concerning the quality of life of the wellbeing. A person is impoverished when there is deprivation of strength, vitality and liveliness. Poor societies are conscious of their deficiency of power and independence which subject them to mistreatment; they express about pain brought by their inevitable violation of social norms and inability to fully participate in community life. The concept of livability and its strong link with sense of community is essential; it is the sum of factors that add up the community’s quality of life including the built and natural environment, economic prosperity, and social stability. This p a p e r f o c u s e s o n the existing problems in impoverished areas that represent the most unbearable complications concerning quality of life of the inhabitants. Therefore, this paper aims to provide community livability strategies in local and international regions for upgrading quality of life in impoverished areas. The fourth largest city in Lebanon, Tyre and Colombia’s second largest city, Medellin, comprises impoverished areas that experience a deep social and economic exclusion and are mostly inhabited by refugees, homeless children, and fragmented families. This paper analyzes the case studies to add spatiality to understanding of vulnerabilities. Thus, the paper deducts checklists based on the livability factors to check the community livability in impoverished areas. Consequently, livability and sense of community are different for the poor since satisfaction with quality of life of the impoverished increases significantly by gentrifying the area

TRANSPORT ET MOBILITE URBAINE FACE AUX DEFIS GÉO HISTORIQUES ET GEOMORPHOLOGIQUES D’ALGER. CAS DE LA PREMIERE COURONNE D’ALGER

Algiers is a Mediterranean city with complex geo historical and geomorphological characteristics which have influenced the urban development of the city and therefore its transport network. The latter has long encountered challenges and constraints for its fair and balanced operation. This article addresses this question of constraints and challenges for transport and mobility in Algiers through a geo historical reading based on the theory of the three ages of the city, followed by a reading of its geomorphological landscape, and all the agents involved in the creation of the latter and which influence the organization of the transport and mobility network in Algiers.Alger est une ville méditerranéenne avec des caractéristiques géo historiques et géomorphologiques complexes qui ont influencé le développement urbain de la ville et par conséquent son réseau de transport. Ce dernier a depuis longtemps rencontré des défis et des contraintes pour son fonctionnement équitable et équilibré. Le présent article traite cette question de contraintes et défispour le transport et la mobilité à Alger à travers une lecture géo historique basée sur la théorie des trois âges de la ville. Cette dernière est suivie par une lecture de son paysage géomorphologique et tous les agents qui participent au processus de création de ce dernier ; et qui, par conséquent, influent sur l’organisation du réseau de transport et de la mobilité à Alger