Search Results (7)

Whether young people can equitably access everyday living and shopping facilities has become a key indicator of fairness in youth-friendly cities. However, existing research has paid limited attention to young people’s daily activity spheres, particularly to how linear urban forms may intensify core–periphery disparities in accessibility. Using Lanzhou, a typical Chinese strip city, as a case study, this paper develops a multidimensional evaluation framework integrating coverage, richness, and sharing. Drawing on 1650 youth questionnaires and detailed geospatial data, it applies a preference-based behavioural accessibility model in conjunction with the Gini coefficient to examine the spatial equity of daily shopping facilities. Results indicate that Lanzhou’s facilities exhibit a pattern of central concentration and peripheral scarcity. Chengguan and Anning districts form highly accessible cores, supported by dense commercial areas and university resources. In contrast, Qilihe and Xigu suffer from pronounced facility deficits, with walking coverage rates of five to fifteen minutes below 70%. Accessibility patterns reveal coexisting contradictions of “high supply but low access” and “low supply with difficult access”. Equity metrics indicate a moderate overall level (Gini = 0.272), yet notable inter-district disparities persist, with peripheral areas imposing higher access costs on young residents. The study confirms a persistent spatial dilemma whereby the quantity of facilities does not guarantee equitable access. It argues that urban governance should shift from equal allocation towards demand-responsive and perceived-equity approaches, thereby extending daily shopping opportunities to peripheral zones. Enhancing neighbourhood-scale connectivity through pedestrian and cycling networks would improve both practical usability and spatial fairness for young urban populations. Full article

With the advancement of child-friendly urban planning initiatives, the significance of Active School Travel Spaces (ASTSs) in shaping urban development and promoting the physical and mental well-being of children has become increasingly apparent. This research focuses on 151 public primary schools in the central urban area of Lanzhou City. Utilizing the Amap pedestrian route planning API, we establish a walking route network, evaluate the paths using spatial syntax and street view recognition methods, and analyze their influencing factors using a Geographic Detector model. The results show the following: ① The overall friendliness of ASTSs in Lanzhou City is moderate, with 44% of school districts exhibiting low friendliness. ② The distribution of child friendliness in ASTS exhibits a “core-periphery” pattern. Anning District demonstrates higher friendliness compared to Chengguan District and Qilihe District, while Xigu District exhibits the lowest level of friendliness. ③ Different levels of friendliness have different tendencies for access, safety, and comfort. A high degree of friendliness favors comfort. Low friendliness has the lowest requirements for safety and comfort. ④ Population density and transportation convenience exert a significant positive impact on friendliness, while the size of the school district and the centrality of schools have a negative impact. The synergistic effects among these influencing factors notably enhance the explanatory power of friendliness. Full article

The COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped our daily lives and the way we interact with urban green–blue spaces (UGBS), particularly in the economically challenged regions of Northwest China. Our study, utilizing surveys and social media, delves into the pandemic’s impact on UGBS engagement in this area, offering critical insights for urban planning amidst a global health crisis. We found a gender-balanced but preference-specific engagement in UGBS, with women and married couples in the Chengguan District of Lanzhou city showing affinity. Moreover, educational levels and proximity to academic institutions emerged as key factors influencing UGBS use, pointing to the importance of educational attainment in engagement diversity. Enhancing safety, creating child-friendly and leisure facilities for families, and designing vibrant spaces for socializing are vital, and placing UGBS near educational districts could also promote environmental awareness and scientific learning. Furthermore, the pandemic has reshaped public priorities, elevating the value of accessible, safe UGBS. This shift is evidenced by varied motivations for UGBS visits, with an emphasis on health, nature connectivity, and leisure. Women, older adults, and families, each with their distinct reasons, were drawn to UGBS for activities ranging from recreation to relaxation. Our findings advocate for the creation of multifunctional UGBS that cater to these varied interests, incorporating features such as air-purifying plants, scenic pathways, and zones for family activities, all underpinned by enhanced safety and accessibility. The study also highlights distinct transportation preferences among residents of Chengguan’s northern and southern parts, suggesting a tailored approach to urban infrastructure that accommodates pedestrian access and public transit use. To prevent overcrowding, adjusting facility hours and event timings based on peak visitation times is recommended. Moreover, improving walkways and public transport connectivity is essential not just for convenience but also for ensuring that these green spaces are equitable and financially accessible, fostering inclusive access to these essential urban areas. During the pandemic, social media revealed a growing search for spiritual fulfillment within UGBS, highlighting their importance in societal well-being and coping mechanisms. In response, there’s a compelling opportunity for UGBS to evolve by incorporating designated areas for spiritual relaxation, along with mental health support services. By actively monitoring social media feedback and trends, these spaces can adapt and refine their offerings, ensuring that they meet the community’s changing needs more effectively. Our study highlights the importance of tailoring UGBS to meet diverse community needs, especially during crises. It emphasizes creating multifunctional, accessible UGBS that reflect demographic trends, transportation habits, and public preferences, aiming to boost community resilience and well-being. Drawing from research conducted amidst a worldwide crisis, our study provides key recommendations for the future evolution of UGBS, urging the creation of inclusive environments that bolster the health and well-being of urban populations. Full article

As a representative city located in the Loess Plateau region of China, Lanzhou is affected by various environmental and engineering factors, such as precipitation, earthquake subsidence, and building construction, which all lead to frequent geological disasters. Obtaining information on land subsidence over a long time series helps us grasp the patterns of change in various types of ground hazard. In this paper, we present the results of using Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) to monitor land subsidence in the main urban area of Lanzhou from 26 October 2014 to 12 December 2021. The main influential factors leading to subsidence were analyzed and combined via machine learning simulation to assess the land subsidence risk grade distribution of a building unit. The results show that the annual average deformation rate in Lanzhou ranged from −18.74 to 12.78 mm/yr. Linear subsidence dominated most subsidence areas in Lanzhou during the monitoring period. The subsidence areas were mainly distributed along the Yellow River, the railway, and villages and towns on the edges of urban areas. The main areas where subsidence occurred were the eastern part of Chengguan District, the railway line in Anning District, and the southern parts of Xigu District and Qilihe urban area, accounting for 38.8, 43.5, 32.5, and 51.8% of the area of their respective administrative districts, respectively. The random forest model analysis results show that the factors influencing surface subsidence in Lanzhou were, in order of importance, precipitation, the distribution of faults, the lithology of strata, high-rise buildings, and the distance to the river and railway. Lanzhou experienced excessive groundwater drainage in some areas from 2015 to 2017, with a 1 m drop in groundwater and 14.61 mm surface subsidence in the most critical areas. At the same time, extensive subsidence occurred in areas with highly compressible loess ground and most railway sections, reaching a maximum of −11.68 mm/yr. More than half of the super-tall building areas also showed settlement funnels. The area at a very high risk of future subsidence in Lanzhou covers 22.02 km², while the high-subsidence-risk area covers 54.47 km². The areas at greatest risk of future subsidence are Chengguan District and Qilihe District. The city contains a total of 51,163 buildings in the very high-risk area, including about 44.57% of brick-and-timber houses, 51.36% of old housing, and 52.78% of super-tall buildings, which are at especially high risk of subsidence, threatening the lives and properties of the population. The deformation results reveal poor building safety in Lanzhou, providing an essential basis for future urban development and construction. Full article

As the most common method to detect pavement cracks, manual detection has uncontrollable factors such as low efficiency, inconsistent standards and easy to be interfered with by external forces, so it is not suitable for pavement crack detection in today’s intricate traffic network. In order to improve the efficiency of pavement repair and reduce the labor cost of the repair process, this paper proposes an intelligent pavement crack detection and repair algorithm. The algorithm uses image numerical parameters to classify cracks with different geometric features and extracts texture geometric features of various types of cracks based on different filtering strategies. It solves the problem that traditional single filtering algorithms are difficult to extract features according to the different characteristics of the collected image, which leads to the loss of information. Finally, the algorithm establishes a mathematical model for efficient trajectory planning combined with the nozzle size of the crack-repairing machine. In this paper, the robustness and efficiency test of the algorithm is carried out on the pavement image dataset with various types of cracks, and the experiment is carried out on the intelligent pavement crack detection and repair prototype, which verifies the accuracy and reliability of the planned trajectory. Full article

The development of cities in the vertical dimension is important in valley-type cities where physical growth is limited by terrain. However, little research has focused on three-dimensional urban expansion of valley-type cities. Lanzhou is a typical valley-type city in China and Chengguan District is the core area of Lanzhou City. This research is aimed at understanding the development of valley-type cities through the analysis of the three-dimensional urban expansion of Lanzhou Chengguan District and providing a reference for urban planning. We extracted five periods of architectural contours and height information between 1975 to 2018 with the support of multi-source remote sensing and network data. We used overlay analysis and mathematical statistical methods to analyze urban horizontal expansion and used the building density, floor area ratio, vertical expansion speed, fluctuation degree, and skyline to analyze urban vertical expansion. We found that the mode of horizontal expansion of Chengguan District shifted from adjacency to enclave through mountain area reclamation. The area with the fastest vertical expansion speed first appeared in the horizontal expansion completed area, and then in both the rapid horizontal expansion area and in the horizontal expansion completed area. Before 2007, the speed of horizontal expansion increased and reached its peak while the vertical expansion speed was relatively stable. After that, the former decreased, and the vertical expansion increased rapidly and dominated the urban development. The vertical expansion of the valley-type city gradually dominates urban development. Urban planning should consider the three-dimensional expansion, especially in the vertical dimension. Full article

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between female reproductive status and risk of spontaneous abortion among female workers in the Jinchang Cohort. This study used data obtained from a baseline survey of the Jinchang Cohort Study of female workers in Jinchang Industry, the largest nickel production company in China. A standardized, structured questionnaire was used to collect the health status of 18,834 female workers employed by the company from 2011 to 2013. Spearman grade correlation analysis and logistic regression models were used to evaluate the association between female reproductive status and risk of spontaneous abortion. The incidence rate of spontaneous abortion was 6.89%, and fatigue was associated with the risk of spontaneous abortion. The number of pregnancies, age at primary birth and age at the last pregnancy were associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion (r_s = 0.190, p = 0.000; r_s = 0.092, p = 0.000; r_s = 0.061, p = 0.000; respectively). In addition, there was a negative correlation between the number of artificial abortions and spontaneous abortions (r_s = −0.129, p = 0.000). Female reproductive status was associated with an increased risk of spontaneous abortion in this cohort. More studies are needed to confirm this observed association. Full article