Cities are engines of economic prosperity and social development. Rapid urbanization and the impacts of climate change have resulted in increased vulnerabilities in cities. On the other hand, the increasing proliferation of connected devices and distributed monitoring of the environment around us has opened up an opportunity to transform the way we create and manage cities. Contextual evidence of performance, outcome and efficiency can now be readily collected at a higher resolution to aid multidisciplinary and multi-objective decision-making, enabling optimal evolution of cities against the backdrop of constrained resources and intensified vulnerabilities. This paper first argues that distributed and ubiquitous monitoring is at the heart of smart cities. Insights can be inferred from the gathered data with potential for evidence-based decisions at the required spatial and temporal scales. The paper then discusses the development of a comprehensive but concise frameworks called DICES (data, insights, citizen, evidence and standards) for conceptualizing smart cities. The dimensions of DICES are then translated into a process oriented methodology called SMART (specify, monitor, analyze, resolve and transform) by formalizing key aspects of the smart city process. Generality and scalability of DICES and SMART are demonstrated through the development of REPRO, a risk-and evidence-based platform for resilient and optimal design of buildings and infrastructure in a smart city.
This paper attempts to widen our understanding of the relationship between social capital and the physical environment through an exploration of the intersection of theory, urban design practitioner guidance and empirical research on social capital that considers the\ud built environment as a variable. Theory suggests that social capital in a neighbourhood\ud can grow over time, and that stability of residency and opportunity for social interaction can help to establish the bonds, bridges and networks that build trust and participation.\ud The content analysis of a selection of literature on urban design guidance revealed\ud 12 recurrent attributes that help people to live, work and relax and thus encourage formal or informal interaction and longer-term residency in the area in which they live, and\ud hence the growth of social capital. As urban design guidance does not use such a term, these attributes were substantiated through reference to empirical research and social capital theory. This exercise gives a better understanding of then specificities of environmental variables, aiding our conceptualization of social capital. If we aspire to\ud assessment tools that incorporate knowledge of predictable relationships between the variables concerned, then it becomes clear there is a long way to go in developing our understanding of the interplay of urban development and social capital
Pedestrian-oriented and mixed-use neighbourhoods enable residents to interact with each other while walking and therefore enhance the frequency of contact. It is widely accepted that people living in walkable neighbourhoods are more likely to have a higher level of social capital and tend to live longer and healthier lives than those living in car-dependent neighbourhoods. However, there is an ongoing debate surrounding the underlying principles of walkable neighbourhoods that encourage and support walking by diverse user-groups. This article attempts to collate the evidence and investigate the association between walkable neighbourhoods and social capital. The findings suggest that the social and physical contexts of the walkable neighbourhood enhance casual interactions and social participations and are likely to contribute to the formation of social capital over a period of time.
Introducing the SUE-MoT (metrics, models and toolkits for whole-life sustainable urban development) series, this paper highlights some of the barriers that need to be addressed if the vision for holistic assessment is to be realised. The complexities of sustainability assessment raised in this paper will be further discussed in detail in the SUE-MoT series of papers that will be published in forthcoming issues of this journal. This paper highlights the priorities to address when assessment tools are presented to decision makers of urban development projects. This discussion is limited to the issues, values and solutions in the UK context.
The take-up of travel plans is increasing across the National Health Service (NHS) in the UK, yet their impact on reducing car use is relatively low. Previous studies have investigated the determinants of generic travel plans but lacked an appreciation of the unique context of healthcare settings. This study investigated NHS travel plan co-ordinators' views on hospital travel plans to identify the factors affecting the success of travel plans in changing travel mode choice behaviour. A nationwide survey was conducted among NHS travel plan coordinators in England, with a response rate of 51% (n = 47). Findings suggest that despite having the potential for promoting walking as a key travel option among the hospital staff, measures to promote walking were reported as the least effective. Spearman correlation tests show that the effectiveness of measures to promote walking and reduce car use was positively associated with each other-highlighting the significance of designing effective travel measures to promote walking to attain the overall success in changing travel mode choice behaviour. Shift working patterns, personal circumstances, high car use, and staff attitude towards car use were reported as the key barriers to change travel mode choice behaviour among the NHS hospital staff. The use of robust methods and evidence-base to develop and monitor travel plan measures were found to be the key determinants of the success of travel plans. The provision of off-site car parks around 10 to 15 minutes walking distance away from the hospital site will not only encourage the car users to walk, but also provide a realistic solution to the transport issues experienced by the hospitals. This study contributes to the knowledge gap by providing a valuable insight into the factors that may have affected the success of hospital travel plans, and form a basis for future research.
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