Submit to IJERPH Review for IJERPH Propose a Special Issue

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Earth Science and Medical Geology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2023) | Viewed by 9237

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Akira Ohgai

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Toyohashi University of Technology, Toyohashi 4418580, Japan
Interests: applications of information technology to spatial analysis, forecast and planning; methods and technology for col-laborative planning towards a sustainable local and regional society; a study on image sharing support method in city planning using information technology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are looking for a sustainable and healthy city around the world. In developed countries, as aging and population declines are progressing, urban form, land use and transportation systems, and the allocation of urban service functions that are easy to live in for the elderly are urgent issues. Oppositely, in developing countries, population growth and rapid concentration of population in cities continues. As a result, there are still various environmental problems (air pollution, noise reduction, safe water supply, sewage treatment, etc.). How to solve these is an extremely important issue of urban or regional planning. In addition, there are many natural disasters around the world, such as earthquakes, frequent floods caused by climate change, and even huge eruptions of volcanoes, and research on a resilient city that is resistant to disasters to protect people’s lives and lives is also progressing.

On the other hand, the rapid development of information and communication technology in recent years is trying to have a significant impact on the research and development of planning technology in the urban planning field. AI, IoT, big data, and digital twins have the potential to bring new developments to planning methods such as spatial analysis, modeling, and planning support systems.

Against such a background, this Special Issue focuses on the possibilities of new planning technologies for sustainable and healthy urban design. Therefore, we welcome novel research and development results of planning technologies, such as the application of AI, IoT, big data, and digital twins to urban planning methods, or new ones of spatial analysis and modeling and planning support systems. The target to apply planning technologies ranges from urban/regional planning processes and practice to natural disaster countermeasures (earthquake, flooding, volcanic eruption, etc.) and environmental management (air pollution, noise, green space, etc.).

Dr. Akira Ohgai
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

spatial analysis and modeling using AI for sustainable and healthy cities
IoT and big data in healthy urban/regional planning
digital twins for sustainable and healthy cities
planning support system using AI, IoT, or big data for sustainable and healthy cities
digital twins and planning support systems for sustainable and healthy cities
AI, IoT, and big data in natural disaster countermeasures
AI, IoT, and big data in environmental management
other planning technologies for healthy urban design

Published Papers (5 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

18 pages, 9265 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study of Landscape Features in the Coastal Area of the Seto Inland Sea Based on Landscape Paintings

by Yichuan Zhang and Shichen Zhao

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(12), 6165; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20126165 - 18 Jun 2023

Viewed by 1070

Abstract

Landscape paintings provide an abundant and objective representation of good and distinctive local scenery, which is widely used in local landscape analysis, so the comprehensive research of landscape paintings is fundamental and necessary for the subsequent landscape planning work. Landscape paintings include both planar information and spatial information. However, there has been little previous work on landscape paintings from both a three-dimensional and planar perspective, and the landscape features of landscape paintings have not yet been comprehensively clarified. Therefore, this paper, taking the Seto Inland Sea area as a case study, aims to comprehensively clarify the landscape features of the paintings and provide a valuable index of “good and characteristic landscapes” in this area based on the two planar features of element configuration and color, along with one spatial feature (element arrangement). To deeply clarify the typical landscape features of paintings, we attempt to propose a classification method by combining the similarity of features in different attributions. The results indicate that Sky, Green, and Sea are the most essential landscape elements, and yellow (orange), blue, and green hues are the most used in the paintings. In addition, the paintings were classified into eight typical landscapes, and seascape and field landscapes were the most significant presented in the landscape paintings in this area. This study presents a method to clarify the landscape features from both planar and spatial perspectives, providing more comprehensive guidance and data support for the subsequent landscape planning work and analysis—especially in regional landscape exploration—and for the development of tourism landscape resources in urban planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

21 pages, 5311 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Evaluation of Geographical Health Facilities Structure in Makassar City, Indonesia

by Adipandang Yudono, Firman Afrianto and Annisa Dira Hariyanto

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(6), 5210; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20065210 - 16 Mar 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2298

Abstract

Cities across the world, during the last period, have been shocked by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The world of planning has since persevered in providing a response, in terms of how to anticipate this outbreak in the future. Various kinds of concepts have been issued, with various views and points of view. However, one of the needs for this planning is an appropriate evaluation of the geographic structure of existing health facilities, in order to properly provide consideration for future urban planning. This study attempts to provide an integrated model of how to evaluate the geographic structure of health facilities with a case study in Makassar City, Indonesia. By combining big data and spatial analysis, it is expected that it will find patterns and directions for acceptable health facilities planning. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

16 pages, 2313 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

A Method for Locational Risk Estimation of Vehicle–Children Accidents Considering Children’s Travel Purposes

by Kojiro Matsuo, Kosuke Miyazaki and Nao Sugiki

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(21), 14123; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192114123 - 29 Oct 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1517

Abstract

The reduction in locational traffic accident risks through appropriate traffic safety management is important to support, maintain, and improve children’s safe and independent mobility. This study proposes and verifies a method to evaluate the risk of elementary school students-vehicle accidents (ESSVAs) at individual intersections on residential roads in Toyohashi city, Japan, considering the difference in travel purposes (i.e., school commuting purpose; SCP or non-school commuting purpose: NSCP), based on a statistical regression model and Empirical Bayes (EB) estimation. The results showed that the ESSVA risk of children’s travel in SCP is lower than that in NSCP, and not only ESSVAs in SCP but also most ESSVAs in NSCP occurred on or near the designated school routes. Therefore, it would make sense to implement traffic safety management and measures focusing on school routes. It was also found that the locational ESSVA risk structure is different depending on whether the purpose of the children’s travels is SCP or NSCP in the statistical model. Finally, it was suggested that evaluation of locational ESSVA risks based on the EB estimation is useful for efficiently extracting locations where traffic safety measures should be implemented compared to that only based on the number of accidents in the past. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

23 pages, 2334 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of the Elderly’s Preferences for Choosing Medical Service Facilities from the Perspective of Accessibility: A Case Study of Tertiary General Hospitals in Hefei, China

by Zao Li, Yanyan Gao, Li Yu, Charles L. Choguill and Weiyi Cui

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(15), 9432; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159432 - 01 Aug 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1657

Abstract

The accessibility of medical service facilities is a vital influence on elderly people choosing medical treatment. Encouraging residents to seek nearby medical treatment can facilitate the rational layout and diversion of urban medical facilities and reduce health resource waste. However, due to accessibility factors, elderly people may not choose the nearest hospital. In order to investigate such factors, we conducted a questionnaire survey among the elderly from 10 tertiary general hospitals in Hefei, China. On the basis of the origin-destination (OD) cost matrix analysis and statistical analysis of 830 valid questionnaires, this paper analyzed the elders’ selection rules when choosing medical facilities and the factors considered when making a choice. The study found that although 85% of elderly participants valued a short distance to tertiary hospitals, only 31% of them attended the closest hospitals in reality, which correlated with regularity according to their education level, travel activity status, and place of residence. The elderly highlighted road congestion, convenience of public transport stations, and number of transfers as critical in determining whether they sought nearby medical treatment. According to the results, effective ways to encourage the elderly to attend their nearest hospital, from the perspective of accessibility, include easing road congestion, improving the layout of public transport stations, and optimizing urban public transport routes. In particular, when planning future medical facilities, attention should be paid to the elderly with primary school education or below, who cannot travel independently, and those who live far from the city center. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

25 pages, 5445 KiB

Open AccessArticle

How Does the Urban Built Environment Affect Online Car-Hailing Ridership Intensity among Different Scales?

by Guanwei Zhao, Zhitao Li, Yuzhen Shang and Muzhuang Yang

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 5325; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095325 - 27 Apr 2022

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 1521

Abstract

Understanding the effect of the urban built environment on online car-hailing ridership is crucial to urban planning. However, how the effects change with the analysis scales are still noteworthy. Therefore, a multiscale exploratory study was conducted in Chengdu, China, by using the stepwise regression selection and three spatial regression models. The main findings are summarized as follows. First, as the grid size increases, the number of built environment factors that have significant effects on trip intensity decrease continuously. Second, the effects of population density and road density are always positive from the 500 m grid to the 3000 m grid. As the analysis scale increases, the effect of proximity to public transportation shifts from inhibitory to facilitation, while the positive effect of land-use mix becomes stronger. Land-use type has both positive and negative effects and shows different characteristics at different scales. Third, the effects of built environment factors on online car-hailing trip intensity show different spatial variability characteristics at different scales. The effect of population density gradually decreases from north to south. The effect of road network density shows circling and wave patterns, with the former at relatively fine scales and the latter at relatively coarse scales. The spatial variation in the effect of land-use mix can only be observed more significantly at a relatively coarse scale. The effect of bus stop density is only obvious at the relatively fine and medium scales and shows a wave-like pattern and a circle-like pattern. The effect of various land-use types shows different spatial patterns at different scales, including wave-like pattern, circle-like pattern, and multi-core-like pattern. The spatial variation in the effects of various land-use factors gradually decrease with the increase in the analysis scale. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Journal Menu

Journal Browser

Planning Technologies for Sustainable and Healthy Cities

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Special Issue Information

Keywords

Published Papers (5 papers)

Research

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI