Explore the vast range of titles available.

High urbanization rates in cities lead to rapid changes in land uses, particularly in southern cities where population growth is fast. Urban and peri-urban agricultural land is often seen as available space for the city to expand, but at the same time, agricultural land provides many benefits to cities pertaining to food, employment, and eco-services. In this context, there is an urgent need to provide spatial information to support planning in complex urban systems. The challenge is to integrate analysis of agriculture and urban land-cover classes, and of their spatial and functional patterns. This paper takes up this challenge in Antananarivo (Madagascar), where agricultural plots and homes are interlocked and very small. It innovates by using a methodology already tested in rural settings, but never applied to urban environments. The key step of the analysis is to produce landscape zoning based on multisource satellite data to identify agri-urban functional areas within the city, and to explore their relationships. Our results demonstrate that the proposed classification method is well suited for mapping agriculture and urban land cover (overall accuracy = 76.56% for the 20 classes of level 3) in such a complex setting. The systemic analysis of urban agriculture patterns and functions can help policymakers and urban planners to design and build resilient cities.

Form-based design codes have emerged as a planning tool aimed at shaping the physical form of neighborhoods to reinforce local character and enhance sense of place (SoP). However, their effectiveness in delivering these outcomes remains underexplored. This study investigates the extent to which Buffalo’s Green Code—a form-based zoning ordinance—enhances SoP in residential environments, using Elmwood Village as a case study. A multi-scalar analytical framework assesses SoP at the building, street, and neighborhood levels. Empirical data were gathered through an online survey, while the neighborhood was systematically mapped into street segment blocks categorized by Green Code zoning. The study consolidates six Green Code classifications into three overarching categories: mixed-use, residential, and single-family. SoP satisfaction is analyzed through a two-step process: first, comparative assessments are conducted across the three zoning groups; second, k-means clustering is applied to spatially map satisfaction levels and evaluate SoP at different scales. Findings indicate that mixed-use areas are most closely associated with place identity, while residential and single-family zones (as defined by the Buffalo Green Code) yield higher satisfaction overall—though satisfaction varies significantly across spatial scales. These results suggest that while form-based codes can strengthen SoP, their impact is uneven, and more scale-sensitive zoning strategies may be needed to optimize their effectiveness in diverse urban contexts. This research overall offers an empirically grounded, multi-scalar assessment of zoning impacts on lived experience—addressing a notable gap in the planning literature regarding how form-based codes perform in established, rather than newly developed, neighborhoods.

Singaraja City in North Bali faces growing ecological pressures due to uncontrolled land-use conversion and urban zoning transformation. This study aims to identify the dynamics of zoning changes and assess their environmental impacts between 1984 and 2020. A descriptive-quantitative approach was employed using medium-scale satellite imagery from Google Earth, visually interpreted and processed with QGIS. This method was selected for its ability to capture long-term spatio-temporal dynamics of land-use transformation. The results show significant changes: the number of central business districts (CBDs) increased from two to eight, while rural fringe zones disappeared entirely by 2020. Sub-districts were classified into three categories of impact: highly significant (Banyuasri, Banyuning, Kendran), significant (Astina, Banjar Bali, Beratan, etc.), and minimal (Kampung Anyar, Kampung Bugis, etc.). These transformations have contributed to ecological degradation, including the loss of green open space, conversion of agricultural land, increased pressure on water resources, and heightened risks of flooding and seawater intrusion. The findings highlight that urban densification in Singaraja generates considerable ecological risks. Adaptive, ecology-based spatial planning policies are therefore urgently required to mitigate environmental impacts and support sustainable urban development in coastal North Bali.

The built environment is under pressure. Climate change, migration and social inequalities challenge previous urban planning concepts and will change our cities. The task is to transform the sustainable city of the future into a climate-friendly and socially just living space. Solving these challenges requires an integrated quality discourse with all actors based on tangible structural-spatial situations. In the BBSR research project “Qualities of Urban Zones”, contributions for an early in-depth quality discourse were developed based on the new building zone category “urban zones”. Urban zones are regarded as a future-oriented concept for sustainable densified districts and a diverse, ever-changing mix of uses. This paper presents the specific context and main findings as “theses of urban quality” as well as potential applications for MU. The authors propose guidelines to improve process quality and illustrate exemplary tangible structural-spatial as well as process-related “design elements”. A toolbox with instructions and templates to design and implement scenario-based workshops supports an integrated quality discourse in urban development.

The relevance of the research work is primarily determined by the necessity to avoid the consequences that were clearly exposed by the urban planning policy of the past years, associated with the solution of current problems without taking into account the acceptance of interest from the population. Currently, the Russian Federation adheres to a strategic social document, which is a territorial scheme, covered by all the necessary conditions for life, which include not only passive prediction of the future, but also active assistance in its formation in a positive and optimistic manner, as well as for real goals and in reachable direction. The creation of an effective tool for managing the development of the territory, in accordance with the Federal Law and the legislation of the constituent entity of the Russian Federation, is the goal of sustainable development of territories. After the adoption of the design decisions of the master plans, the basis for resolving issues in a comprehensive manner is identified, including the organization of planning structures, territorial and infrastructural development of settlements, socio-economic development, and also includes the development of rules for land use and development and the establishment of a legal regime for the use of territorial zones, determining future areas of investment development, taking into account high-quality software based on all modern requirements for the formation of a high-quality information system to meet all the needs of urban development.

The forecasting of charging demand for electric vehicles (EVs) plays a vital role in maintaining grid stability and optimizing energy distribution. Therefore, an innovative method for the prediction of EV charging load demand is proposed in this study to address the downside of the existing techniques in capturing the spatial–temporal heterogeneity of electric vehicle (EV) charging loads and predicting the charging demand of electric vehicles. Additionally, an innovative method of electric vehicle charging load demand forecasting is proposed, which is based on the weighted measurement fusion unscented Kalman filter (UKF) algorithm, to improve the accuracy and efficiency of forecasting. First, the data collected from OpenStreetMap and Amap are used to analyze the distribution of urban point-of-interest (POI), to accurately classify the functional areas of the city, and to determine the distribution of the urban road network, laying a foundation for modeling. Second, the travel chain theory was applied to thoroughly analyze the travel characteristics of EV users. The Improved Floyd (IFloyd) algorithm is used to determine the optimal route. Also, a Monte Carlo simulation is performed to estimate the charging load for electric vehicle users in a specific region. Then, a weighted measurement fusion UKF (WMF–UKF) state estimator is introduced to enhance the accuracy of prediction, which effectively integrates multi-source data and enables a more detailed prediction of the spatial–temporal distribution of load demand. Finally, the proposed method is validated comparatively against traffic survey data and the existing methods by conducting a simulation experiment in an urban area. The results show that the method proposed in this paper is applicable to predict the peak hours more accurately compared to the reference method, with the accuracy of first peak prediction improved by 53.53% and that of second peak prediction improved by 23.23%. The results not only demonstrate the high performance of the WMF–UKF prediction model in forecasting peak periods but also underscore its potential in supporting grid operations and management, which provides a new solution to improving the accuracy of EV load demand forecasting.

In recent years, the development of urbanization in China has entered a new stage with “quality” as its core. In the process of sustainable urban development, urban planning and construction relics are precious historical warnings and educational resources, and in the stage of accelerated urbanization, social transformation, and industrial upgrading, urban sites face severe pressure and challenges for conservation. This paper presents a summary analysis of various international charters concerning historical and cultural heritage in recent times, and analyzes the urban spatial structure, urban functional zoning, and the differences and evolutionary characteristics of urban construction sites between the pseudo-Manchukuo Xinjing plan and other regions of the world in the same period from a global perspective. The city of Changchun is also used as an example to systematically analyze the existing relics in Changchun using a historical-geographical perspective and spatial analysis methods. The results show that, firstly, the conservation objects of Chinese relics are being enriched and the scope of protection is being expanded, but that there is a lack of protection and utilization of urban heritage and its surrounding environment. Secondly, that the road network system and spatial structure of the pseudo-Manchukuo Xinjing city planning are basically preserved, that the urban green space and functional zoning have been changed, and that the architectural relics show a spatial distribution trend of north-north-east. Thirdly, that the urban functional zoning has been used to construct an urban relics protection area in which three suggestions for the protection of urban relics have been put forward: to establish a holistic protection system for urban planning functional areas; to establish a “district-axis-point” trinity protection model to promote the effective function recovery of urban planning and construction functional areas; and to continue the effective functions of the city. This provides reference for the study of modern urban planning ideas and solutions for current sustainable urban development, upgrading of public service facilities, and green low-carbon urban transformation.

The aim of the article is to find out the presence vs. absence of influence of the location and types (private and state) of secondary schools on reading literacy in Kazakh, Russian and English. Statistical analysis of 297 questionnaires of ninth grade students of the state and private schools of Almaty city was done. Four parameters of variable correlations were used: Pearson linear correlation coefficient (chi-square); p-level; comparison of the expected and obtained results, and median of levels of reading literacy in Kazakh, Russian and English. The research identified complex and coherent mutual relationships between social and economic inequality, and reading literacy. Social and economic inequality made a current and prolonged influence on the condition of the educational process.

Numerous studies have examined land surface temperature (LST) changes in Thailand using remote sensing, but there has been little research on LST variations within urban land use zones. This study addressed this gap by analyzing summer LST changes in land use zoning (LUZ) blocks in the 2012 Chiang Mai Comprehensive Plan and their relationship with surface biophysical parameters (NDVI, NDBI, MNDWI). The approach integrated detailed zoning data with remote sensing for granular LST analysis. Correlation and stepwise regression analyses (SRA) revealed that NDBI significantly impacted LST in most block types, while NDVI and MNDWI also influenced LST, particularly in 2023. The findings demonstrated the complexity of LST dynamics across various LUZs in Chiang Mai, with SRA results explaining 45.7% to 53.2% of summer LST variations over three years. To enhance the urban environment, adaptive planning strategies for different block categories were developed and will be considered in the upcoming revision of the Chiang Mai Comprehensive Plan. This research offers a new method to monitor the urban heat island phenomenon at the block level, providing valuable insights for adaptive urban planning.

Urban functional zones are basic units for human socio-economic activities in cities. Urban functional zones play an important role in a wide range of urban studies, as they are fundamental to urban planning and management, urban resource allocation, as well as urban sustainable development evaluation. However, existing studies of urban functional zone modeling and mapping mainly employ state-of-the-art image segmentation and deep learning classification methods in computer science field to delineate and recognize urban functional zones, but ignore their heterogeneity, integration, multi-scale, and locality characteristics, so that the accuracy of urban functional zone modeling, mapping, and analysis is limited and interpretable, thus cannot comprehensively meet the requirements of downstream applications. This study, however, proposes a geoscene modeling and analysis framework for extracting urban functional zones, which first delineates urban functional zones by multiscale geoscene segmentation, then characterizes them by hierarchical semantic cognition, and finally recognizes their functional categories by linear Dirichlet mixture model. Although this paper does not present the detailed implementations of the geoscene modeling of urban functional zones, it illustrates the importance and the generally strategy of geoscene modeling in urban functional zone mapping and analysis. Additionally, urban functional zone mapping results of Baoshan District, Shanghai, in 2015 and 2020 are presented to verify the effectiveness of the proposed geoscene modeling strategy.