Comparing the Landscape Fragmentation and Accessibility of Green Spaces in Territories-in-Between across Europe

To improve the positive effects provided by green spaces on human well-being in dispersed urban areas is a key challenge for sustainable spatial development in Europe. This article presents a methodology that allows for the comparison of the potential of green spaces in Territories-in-Between across Europe, in a way that crosses the fields of urban ecology and urbanism. The article adds to the existing knowledge and understanding of the relation between the spatial organisation of systems of green spaces and their accessibility to biodiversity and human well-being. Firstly, it adapts the fragmentation index in a way that it can be applied to the specific spatial characteristics of Territories-in-Between. Secondly, it combines the fragmentation index with an indicator for accessibility of green spaces, in order to integrate aspects of ecology, human well-being and the spatial heterogeneity of the relation between them. The methodology is applied to ten areas across western Europe in order to inform decision and policy makers including urban planners, designers and environmental agencies to be able to assess the potential of system of green spaces for biological diversity and human well-being in an integrated manner.Environmental Technology and Desig

Investigating functional mix in Europe's dispersed urban areas

A large proportion of European inhabitants live in dispersed urban settlements, much of which is labelled as sprawl, defined by monofunctional, low-density areas. However, there is increasing evidence that this may be an overly simplistic way of describing territories-in-between (TiB). This paper defines and maps functional mix in six dispersed urban areas across Europe, applying a method that goes beyond existing land-use-based mixed-use indicators but considers functional mixing on the parcel level. The paper uses data on the location of economic activities and the residential population. It concludes that, in eight cases from four European countries, mixed-use is widespread and that more than 65% of inhabited areas are mixed. Moreover, the paper relates functional mixing to specific settlement characteristics: permeability, grain size, centrality and accessibility, and connectivity. This demonstrates that functional mixing is not the result of local urban morphology or planning instruments, but of the multi-scalar qualities of a location. Therefore, there is a requirement to coordinate planning and design through different scales if mixed-use areas are to be seen as one strategy for achieving greater sustainability in the spatial development of dispersed areas.Environmental Technology and DesignUrban Desig

Challenges for circular urban development

A shift towards a more Circular Economy is, in many policies, seen as crucial to achieving a more sustainable andinclusive built environment that meets future demands.In the last decade, the European Commission’s researchfunding has supported numerous initiatives aiming to reducewaste generation through shifts towards Circular Economyapproaches. Many cities and regions followed and startedto develop circular economy strategies, action plans andcircularity monitors. The difficulties and challenges of implementing a seemingly simple concept are mainly to narrow,slow down and close materials streams and thereby reduceour dependency on raw material input. Europe’s geopoliticaldependency on resource-rich countries has become very apparent during the last years. In this article, we identify someof those challenges and propose potential ways forward.Real Estate ManagementEnvironmental Technology and Desig

Hotterdam: Mapping the social, morphological, and land-use dimensions of the Rotterdam urban heat island

Climate scientists forecast that heat waves will occur more often in the Netherlands in the coming decades. The Hotterdam study accordingly measured urban heat and modelled the surface energy balance in the Dutch city of Rotterdam. It identified in detail the city’s social, morphological, and land-use dimensions using a geographic information system (GIS), 3D models, and satellite images. It used hierarchical and multivariate regression analyses to determine the links between temperatures and the surface energy balance on the one hand, and social, morphological, and land-use aspects on the other. The Hotterdam study did establish a link between the urban heat island effect in Rotterdam and the health of its population. It also statistically explained the high rate of mortality among seniors seventy-five and over during the summer of 2006. The spatial concentration of senior citizens, the average age of the buildings they live in, and the sum of the sensible heat flux and storage heat flux play a large role. Imperviousness, the leaf area index, the building envelope, surface water, and shade are the dimensions that best explained the Rotterdam urban heat island. We mapped these aspects in two heat-maps that help in setting priorities for implementing climate adaptation measures.100% ResearchOLD Urban DesignEnvironmental Technology and Desig

Towards sustainable territories-in-between: a multidimensional typology of open spaces in Europe

To improve the ecosystem service provided by open spaces in dispersed urban areas is a key challenge for sustainable spatial development in Europe. The typology presented in this article illustrates the different potentials that open spaces in territories-in-between have across 10 cases in Europe. Unlike other typologies, neither function nor form is used for the classification, but the potential interaction of open spaces with social, technical and ecological networks. Therefore, the typology informs regional spatial planning and design about the potential ecosystem services in networked urban regions. Thereby the importance of territories-in-between, which are often neglected by mainstream spatial planning and design, for sustainable development is highlighted.Spatial Planning and StrategyEnvironmental Technology and Desig

Haagse Hitte: Het Haagse warmte-eiland in kaart gebracht

De afgelopen jaren zijn verschillende studies verricht naar het warmte-eiland effect in Nederland. Een studie van TNO (TNO, 2012) heeft voor wat betreft Den Haag de toon gezet. Den Haag zou van alle Nederlandse steden het sterkste warmte-eiland effect kennen. Die beeldvorming heeft gezorgd voor een maatschappelijke en politieke bezorgdheid die het vertrekpunt vormt voor dit Haagse Hitte onderzoek van de TU Delft, mede mogelijk gemaakt door de gemeente Den Haag. Bij het onderzoek hebben we ons de volgende vragen gesteld:- Is het warmte-eiland effect in Den Haag inderdaad fors sterker dan in naburige steden?- Welke stadsdelen van de gemeente Den Haag zijn het sterkst getroffen door het zomerse hitte-eiland effect?- Wordt het warmte-eiland effect in Den Haag veroorzaakt door het ruimtegebruik? En zo ja, welk ruimtegebruik legt hier het meeste gewicht in de schaal?- In juli 2006 trad er als gevolg van de extreme hitte een verhoogde sterfte op in Den Haag. Is de ruimtelijke spreiding van de sterfte gedurende die maand mede te verklaren aan de hand van het warmte-eiland effect?- Is er voldoende aanleiding voor de stad Den Haag om actie te ondernemen ten aanzien van het stadsklimaat? En zo ja, moeten dan bepaalde delen van de stad eerder aangepakt worden dan andere? Welke adaptieve maatregelen moeten we daar nemen om het warmte-eiland effect verminderen?100% ResearchOLD Urban DesignEnvironmental Technology and Desig

Impact Modelling for Circular Economy: Geodesign Discussion Support Environment

Transitioning towards circular economy requires changes in the current system which yield a number of impacts on such fundamental values as human health, natural environment, exhaustible resources, social well-being and prosperity. Moreover, this process involves multiple actors and requires careful considerations of ample spatial information. While plenty of systems have already been developed to support the decision-making process, up to date no standardized framework exists for spatial modelling of impacts. The poster is based on the ongoing research and aims to suggest a standardized, yet flexible approach for impact modelling using the core concepts of GIS. The framework is expected to ensure consistency and comparability between outputs of automated simulations and elicitation of impacts defined by stakeholders and prepare impact modelling guidelines that aim to overcome the characteristics of a single project and be reused in other GDSEs.Environmental Technology and Desig

A literature review and categorisation of sustainability-aimed urban metabolism indicators: a context, indicator, mechanism, outcome analysis

Urban metabolism has been advanced as an approach to quantifying energy and resource use and supply in the modern urban system. It is a multidisciplinary approach focused on providing insight into the behaviour of cities for drafting effective proposals for a more humane and ecologically responsible future.Urban metabolism indicators could play an important role in promoting the science and practice of urban metabolism for sustainability. This paper presents a systematic review of literature centred on defining sustainabilityaimed urban metabolism indicators to improve the integration of urban metabolism and urban sustainability. Furthermore, this paper concentrates on two indicator sets (emergy synthesis and material flow analysis [MFA]), examining the relationship between these indicators and the three dimensions of sustainability (environment, economy, and society) in the literature. The paper thus buildsa bridge between urban metabolism and urban sustainability in the hope that urban metabolism indicators can be used to measure and assess urban sustainability.Environmental Technology and Desig

The responsibility of waste production: Comparison of European waste statistics regulation and Dutch National Waste Registry

The announcement of a new Circular Economy Action Plan as part of the European Green Deal policy has created an urgent need for the reliable information on resource flows to monitor and support the transition. An updated Monitoring Framework is set to rely as much as possible on European Statistics, however at this point there are no changes introduced in supranational statistics regulations. This raises a question whether regulations that have been created before the paradigm shift are still able to supply us with statistics necessary to inform policy makers about current successful practices, remaining barriers, positive and negative impacts of the transition and overall progress towards the set goals. This paper focuses on the Waste Statistics Regulation, specifically the relationship between the types of waste and economic activities which are considered to be the waste producers. Dutch National Waste Registry is used as a case study to compare the guidelines on pan-European waste data collection to the actual waste reports. The task of this publication is to explore to which extent the guidelines available in the Waste Statistics Regulation correspond to the operational reality. To do so it presents a computational method to link waste producers to their economic activities using a national Trade Registry. An extensive discussion of the results provides insights and recommendations for the future guidelines of waste statistics to support circular economy transition.Environmental Technology and Desig

A refined waste flow mapping method: Addressing the material and spatial dimensions of waste flows in the urban territory through big data: the case of the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area

Fundamental changes in the societal use of biophysical resources are required for a sustainable transformation. Current (urban) metabolism research traces flows of energy and materials and products to capture resource use along valuechains from resource extraction to production and consumption and the discharge of wastes and emissions. However, spatial relation, local carrying capacity and qualitative characteristics of the urban landscape are only featured in very few studies, even if they are becoming crucial elements towards future sustainable development. Simultaneously, spatial studies tend to neglect the dimension of processes of flows and the generated stocks that influence the construction and performance of space. Big data and GIS technologies have thepotential to leverage the integration between the two fields of knowledge. Therefore, the article explores the development of an innovative method - Activity-based Spatial Material Flow Analysis -that integrates qualitative and quantitative flow specifications in material content and geographical space, starting from the analysis of waste flows relative to the Amsterdam Metropolitan Area (NL). Lastly, the article reflects on the results of the application of the AS-MFA method, namely a series of flow maps. Each flow map is a significant data-based network representation of a part of the urban metabolism within the AMA in a specific period of time.Environmental Technology and DesignClimate Design and Sustainabilit