Search Results (261)

The Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) is a densely populated, highly connected coastal urban region that is exposed to typhoons, extreme rainfall, flooding, storm surges, heat-related risks, and public health emergencies. Existing studies have clarified many aspects of hazard exposure and spatial vulnerability, but evidence on how residents receive warnings, interpret risks, prepare, evacuate, and contribute to community resilience remains dispersed across disciplines and jurisdictions. This study maps the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of research on residents’ responses to urban disaster risks in the GBA. Following a PRISMA 2020-aligned identification and screening process, 144 records from the Web of Science Core Collection were manually screened. Bibliometric analysis, keyword co-occurrence analysis, a region–hazard matrix, and a BERTopic-inspired topic modelling procedure were then used to identify publication trends, disciplinary sources, spatial hazard patterns, and latent themes. The results show accelerated growth after 2020 and identify six interrelated themes: risk perception and preparedness; evacuation and shelter accessibility; urban flooding vulnerability; typhoon, storm surge, and coastal community risk; community resilience and climate adaptation governance; and health emergency response and psychosocial resilience. The review synthesises these findings into a heuristic framework linking risk information, cognitive appraisal, response action, and community resilience. The GBA is treated as an analytically informative, rather than statistically representative, case of a high-density, coastal, and multi-jurisdictional urban region. The findings suggest that resident-centred resilience planning should connect trusted and actionable warnings with inclusive digital communication, accessible protective resources, and cross-boundary coordination for compound hazards. Full article

Low-cost air temperature and relative humidity sensors are increasingly deployed in dense urban monitoring networks for the characterization of urban heat islands and heat exposure. However, measurement accuracy strongly depends on the performance of the radiation shield protecting the sensor from solar heating. This study evaluates five low-cost radiation shield designs, including naturally ventilated, forced-ventilated, spherical, and chimney-type configurations, under tropical outdoor conditions on Reunion Island. Five calibrated SHT31 sensors were deployed simultaneously alongside a reference meteorological station over a five-week measurement campaign. Shield performance was assessed using standard metrological indicators, daytime–nighttime analyses, error distributions, and two-dimensional irradiance–wind diagnostics. Temperature RMSE values ranged from 0.68 to 1.18 °C, while relative humidity RMSE ranged from 2.65 to 7.39%. The forced-ventilated shield provided the best overall temperature performance, whereas the chimney-type design exhibited the largest errors. Combined irradiance–wind analyses showed that measurement errors were primarily governed by the balance between radiative forcing and convective cooling, with maximum temperature biases exceeding 2.5 °C under high-irradiance and low-wind-speed conditions. Based on these findings, several correction approaches were evaluated. A physically interpretable semi-empirical model reduced RMSE by 50%, while a Random Forest model achieved reductions of up to 66%. These results suggest that low-cost meteorological measurements can be substantially improved through appropriate shield design and meteorologically informed calibration procedures, particularly under tropical conditions characterized by strong solar radiation and limited precipitation. Full article

This study applies the Heat Resilience Framework (HRF) as a methodological approach to assess and compare heat resilience across Mumbai, Thane, and Nagpur. The HRF integrates multiple dimensions, namely Physical, Social, Economic, Institutional, and Environmental, to systematically evaluate vulnerabilities and adaptive capacities at the city level. Using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), indicators within each dimension were weighted and normalized to derive a comprehensive resilience ranking, allowing for a nuanced understanding of intra-city disparities and evidence-based policy interventions. The analysis reveals that Mumbai demonstrates the highest overall heat resilience, supported by strong physical, social, and institutional capacities, although economic resilience remains comparatively weaker. Thane exhibits relatively strong physical resilience but faces challenges in Institutional and Natural dimensions, contributing to a lower overall resilience score. Nagpur demonstrates the strongest economic resilience among the three cities but continues to face challenges in social resilience and adaptive capacity in the Natural dimension. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions, including infrastructure improvements, financial inclusivity, strengthened institutional preparedness, and community-based resilience strategies, to address city-specific vulnerabilities. The study underscores the importance of adaptive measures such as green infrastructure, cool pavements, cooling shelters, and parametric insurance to enhance urban resilience. By leveraging the HRF, this study contributes to climate-responsive urban planning by offering a structured framework for policymakers to develop targeted, data-driven heat-mitigation strategies. Full article

Amid growing global instability and the escalating impacts of climate change, there is an increasing need to develop resilient human habitats, particularly underground environments. At the same time, resource-extraction activities have left behind extensive underground voids in abandoned mines, presenting a valuable opportunity to expand multifunctional spaces that can serve daily needs as well as emergency shelter functions (dual-use), while also supporting urban–rural transformation and sustainable development goals. Due to their geological conditions and mining methods, underground goafs offer inherent advantages for dual-use development. In light of this, this study proposes a theoretical approach to address the three fundamental challenges associated with the dual-use of underground goafs in gypsum mines from the perspective of architectural space creation. This study does not present a completed empirical validation; instead, it develops a conceptual and interdisciplinary methodological framework intended to guide future empirical research and engineering implementation. Specifically, the framework is as follows: (1) defining escape safety capacity under disaster impacts by constructing a dynamic assessment model integrating disaster physics, behavior simulation, and VR-calibrated experiments; (2) elucidating the correlation mechanism between spatial topological features and human response patterns using space syntax and multi-modal psychological experiments to reveal how spatial morphology influences orientation, emotion, and behavior; and (3) moving beyond the traditional notion that space should be adapted to functional requirements, proposing an innovative strategy involving adapting predefined functions to the space. Full article

Current climate change has led to significant changes in precipitation patterns in the Loess Hilly Region, resulting in frequent extreme rainfall events, which have a significant impact on restoring the soil hydrological function of grasslands in this area. This study focuses on the restoration of grasslands through the conversion of farmland in the Loess Hilly Region. Using natural rainfall as the control, seven precipitation gradient treatments were established with rainout shelters: +20%, +40%, and +60% rainfall increases, and −20%, −40%, and −60% rainfall decreases. The changes in infiltration characteristics were then analyzed. Long-term increased rainfall promoted vegetation restoration and improved soil physicochemical properties. Compared with the natural rainfall control, the +20%, +40%, and +60% rainfall increase treatments enhanced the total porosity of the 0–5 cm soil layer by 0.29%, 4.64%, and 3.18%, respectively, and increased the soil organic carbon content by 28.42%, 62.46%, and 63.16%, respectively. Soil infiltration rate was also enhanced accordingly. Relative to the steady-state infiltration rate of the control (4.76 mm/min), the +20%, +40%, and +60% treatments increased the rate by 1.13%, 16.67%, and 22.54%, respectively, with the +60% treatment achieving the highest steady-state infiltration rate of 5.83 mm/min. The macroaggregate content in the +40% treatment was 47.70%, which was significantly higher than that in the other treatments. The increase in infiltration was related to the increase in total porosity, organic carbon, and the content and stability of large aggregates. Moderate rainfall increases can promote organic carbon accumulation and the formation of large aggregates, enhancing soil infiltration capacity; however, rainfall intensities exceeding 60% can damage the soil structure, and infiltration no longer significantly increases. Full article

The Dniester Delta is one of the Earth’s biodiversity hotspots and is home to many fish species of conservation and economic value. This unique complex of aquatic and semi-aquatic wetland habitats is also essential for the diversity of Dniester River and Black Sea ichthyofauna due to its role as a natural safe buffer and as a shelter, feeding, reproduction, and smooth transitional area for numerous fish species. Climate change is causing constant sea level rises in the Black Sea, which is anticipated to impact the vital ecosystems and related biodiversity in the Dniester Delta and other lower flooding areas, including the key ecological taxonomic group of fish. From this sea water rise risk assessment study of a total of 41 fish species, 6 were found to be under very high risk in the studied areas, 12 under high risk, 17 under moderate risk, and 6 under low risk. Positive ecological feedback in fish can stimulate environmental change and is expected to be responsible for changes within the Dniester Delta region complex of ecosystems in the context of sea level rise in the Black Sea, in addition to the diverse matrix of aquatic and semi-aquatic ecosystems in the near Dniester River and Black Sea. Full article

This systematic research was conducted as the first comprehensive scientific analysis of ancient lime plaster samples from Anuradhapura, a World Heritage Site in Sri Lanka. Five ancient heritage sites from 1st to 10th Century AD, covering two stupa domes: Abhayagiri (AP01) and Jethavana (AP02), Monk residence building near Ruwanweliseya Stupa (AP03), Deeghapashan Rock Shelter Building of Abhayagiri Monastery Complex (AP04), and Vessagiriya Rock Shelter wall lime Plaster (AP05) were examined by employing Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The current work investigated the composition, mineralogical and microstructural properties, binding media, and organic additives. Our findings indicate that calcareous lime from seashells and river sand are the main raw materials, with ratios of 1:2.7, 1:2.0, 1:2.4, 1:4.4, and 1:3.7 for the AP01, AP02, AP03, AP04, and AP05 samples, respectively. Data also suggest that plant-based materials, mainly wood apple wax, along with nanoscale fibrous materials, were used as the main additives to enhance the properties of lime plasters. This study provides insights into the raw materials, their mixing ratios, and the techniques employed in the lime plastering of ancient Anuradhapura City, and serves as a scientific reference for the conservation and restoration of ancient buildings resilient to climate change. Full article

As coastal communities face escalating climate risks driven by climate change and biodiversity loss, integrating mangrove ecosystems into sustainability-oriented governance frameworks spanning ecological conservation, climate adaptation, and natural capital accounting has become a global priority. However, quantifying their protection values based on spatiotemporal shoreline dynamics under extreme disturbance remains challenging. Focusing on Dongzhai Harbor (China), this study integrates multi-temporal remote sensing (2010–2021), shoreline evolution analysis, and the Replacement Cost Method to assess ecosystem resilience against Super Typhoon Rammasun in 2014. Results show mangroves exhibited substantial post-disturbance resilience, with only 6.10% area loss following Typhoon Rammasun and 46% natural recovery within six years. Bootstrap confidence intervals for the mangrove-shoreline association overlapped zero across all three temporal periods, indicating that the observational data do not support a statistically confirmed causal protection effect at the landscape scale. This finding underscores that spatially co-occurring ecosystem services do not automatically imply causation, reinforcing the need for empirically grounded valuation in sustainable land-use planning. Because mangroves naturally establish in sheltered environments, the observed spatial overlap between mangroves and the shoreline cannot be interpreted as direct evidence of causal shoreline stabilization. Based on this framework, the potential protection value reached 907.65 × 10⁴ CNY yr⁻¹ across 32.57 km of weighted coastline aligned with mangroves. Notably, erosional segments contributed 50.5% of this value despite comprising only 27.3% of the length, indicating that the replacement-cost estimate is concentrated in erosional segments under the assumed parameters. While acknowledging the need for local biophysical validation and uncertainty analysis in scaling, these findings support integrating dynamic nature-based solutions into territorial planning and Gross Ecosystem Product accounting. The resulting valuation framework offers a replicable pathway for advancing multi-dimensional sustainability encompassing climate-adaptive coastal governance, natural capital integration, and evidence-based coastal spatial planning. Full article

Public Open Spaces (POSs) are fundamental to sustainable urban development, yet their planning and design potential as resilience-generating infrastructure in coastal cities remains insufficiently explored. In tsunami-prone contexts, POSs can be reconceptualized as multifunctional spatial systems that integrate environmental sustainability with disaster-responsive urban design. This study investigates how POSs can be planned and designed as tsunami-responsive infrastructure to enhance coastal urban resilience. Using a grounded theory approach supported by a focused literature review, data were collected through 72 unstructured interviews with tsunami-affected communities, urban planners and designers, disaster resilience experts, sociologists, and coastal environmental planners, etc. The findings identify three resilience-oriented POS typologies: (1) evacuation-integrated open spaces structured as spatial corridors and elevated assembly landscapes; (2) protective and mitigative landscapes employing topographic modulation, vegetative buffers, and water-sensitive design; and (3) adaptive shelter-embedded open spaces designed as flexible civic grounds capable of rapid transformation into temporary refuge infrastructure. The study proposes an architectural and urban design framework that positions POSs as adaptive coastal infrastructure simultaneously serving everyday civic functions while supporting evacuation, mitigation, emergency response, and climate adaptation. This approach advances resilience-focused architecture and risk-informed coastal urbanism. Full article

Hurricanes cause severe impacts on lives, livelihoods, and essential systems. Hurricane Melissa impacted Jamaica as a Category 5 cyclone, resulting in estimated losses of approximately 41% of national GDP (US$8.8 billion) and eliciting widespread damage to housing, healthcare, agriculture, and urban infrastructure. Agriculture sustained heavy losses, with 41,000 hectares of damaged farmland and the loss of more than 1 million livestock animals. These impacts resulted in exposed animal closures with biological hazards. Using systems thinking, the PESTHEEL framework, and a One Health lens, we argue for viewing Hurricane Melissa as series of cascading inter-related One Health threats of waterborne and vector-borne diseases, zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance, degraded indoor and outdoor air quality, chemical pollution, and shifting migration and border dynamics. These each unfold at different timings. A structured synthesis for Jamaica and other Caribbean Small Island Developing States is provided by integrating systems thinking, One Health, and the PESTHEEL framework. Immediate and lagged risk pathways are identified, and practical risk reduction actions are proposed to support anticipatory, multisectoral recovery: enhanced syndromic, laboratory, wastewater, vector, and rodent surveillance; resilient WASH and shelter systems; non-insecticidal and integrated vector management; biosecure aid and border protocols; environmental toxicology monitoring; and climate–health intelligence. Full article

Heating water in outdoor pools is common, particularly in regions with cool or temperate climates. Several factors, including solar radiation, ambient temperature, wind speed, and humidity, influence the pool water temperature. A key design challenge is to determine the collector surface area required to achieve the desired pool water temperature. In this study, a mathematical model was developed that accounts for the aforementioned factors. Under various operating conditions, thermal performance calculations were carried out. Climatic conditions at three locations across Europe, representing different climate regimes, were analyzed. The model was compared with results from the POLYSUN simulation software. Most of the calculations were performed for a pool surface area of 24 m². The calculations showed that wind speed above the pool water surface has a significant impact on heat losses. Locating the pool in a sheltered area results in a consistent reduction in heat losses. It was determined that, under the climatic conditions of Kraków, the installation of solar collectors with a surface area equal to 50% of the pool surface enables the maintenance of daytime water temperatures above 21 °C for approximately 100 days. In the absence of solar collectors, achieving such temperatures is not feasible. Full article

Across California, the seven largest cities—Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, and Long Beach—carry a disproportionate share of the state’s homelessness crisis, even though they operate under the same statewide policy framework. Each city’s homelessness system reflects its own history, political climate, and housing market conditions, and this study shows that a common set of structural forces especially severe housing scarcity, fragmented behavioral–health systems, and uneven local capacity shapes homelessness across these urban areas while producing different outcomes on the ground. Drawing on multidisciplinary research, statewide policy analyses, and municipal data, the analysis compares how cities interpret and implement key interventions, including permanent supportive housing, interim shelter expansion, prevention strategies, and enforcement-oriented responses. The findings make clear that California’s homelessness crisis cannot be reduced to a single cause; instead, understanding it requires a systems-oriented perspective that accounts for the intertwined economic, social, and policy forces shaping conditions in each community. By situating city-level strategies within broader statewide patterns, the study identifies points of convergence and divergence, as well as persistent structural constraints that limit the effectiveness of current responses, underscoring the need for coordinated, scalable, and context-responsive policy solutions. Full article

Water scarcity and pollution from anthropogenic activities are major challenges, increasing the need for sustainable wastewater treatment solutions. Constructed wetlands mimic natural wetland ecosystems using macrophytes and substrates, representing a possible nature-based solution aligned with circular economy principles and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. So, this revision integrates recent literature, providing an overview of natural wetlands and examining the design and operation of constructed wetland systems. Also, incorporates a case study that focuses on a constructed wetland implemented at an eco-friendly dog shelter in Portugal—a unique example globally—demonstrating practical wastewater treatment and small-scale water reuse, and offering insights for sustainable management. Performance assessment based on previous work indicates that the system effectively reduces most water quality parameters to levels compliant with national and European irrigation standards. Removal efficiencies exceeded 97% for chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and turbidity, while maintaining low energy consumption and minimal maintenance. Overall, constructed wetlands emerge as a sustainable alternative to conventional wastewater treatment systems; however, several challenges remain to be addressed. Future research should focus on improved aeration strategies, optimized substrate–macrophyte combinations, and long-term monitoring under climate variability, with floating wetlands offering promising opportunities to further enhance treatment efficiency. Full article

Individuals in the southeastern United States of America (USA) have an increasing risk of contracting a tick-borne disease. Land use changes, changing climate, and redistribution of both ticks and their hosts make systematic tick and tick-borne pathogen investigation crucial for public health protection. Prior to 2020, South Carolina had limited data on tick species distribution and tick infection rates. In this work, we describe establishment of a sustainable tick and tick-borne pathogen collaborative network for South Carolina. A major determinant of program success was sharing work effort between the University of South Carolina, the South Carolina Department of Public Health, and key partners including state park employees, local veterinarians, students, and volunteers. The program collected questing ticks from public lands and host-attached ticks from animal shelters. Amblyomma americanum was the most commonly collected tick, with highest density in South Carolina’s southern coastal region. A greater tick species diversity was seen in animal shelter collected versus questing ticks. Pathogen testing results yielded a high presence of Rickettsia amblyommatis among Am. americanum ticks with several other Rickettsia spp. detected including Rickettsia parkeri, Candidatus R. andeanae, R. montanensis, and R. asembonensis. Additional Rickettsiales detected included multiple Ehrlichia and Anaplasma species, with higher presence in the state’s northern region. Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto was detected in one questing Ixodes keiransi from the southern coastal region. The current report presents the initial steps for pathogen and tick species surveillance in South Carolina, providing successes and pitfalls as a model for other states and regions to establish similar efforts to improve national tick surveillance. Full article

This paper investigates how climate shelter initiatives implemented in European cities interact with National Adaptation Strategies (NAS) and National Adaptation Plans (NAP), assessing the degree of vertical integration between local practices and national climate adaptation frameworks. As urban heat increasingly threatens public health and exacerbates socio-spatial inequalities, climate shelters, conceived as networks of safe, accessible public spaces providing thermal comfort and social support, have emerged as innovative adaptation tools; however, their recognition within national policy architectures remains uneven across the EU. This study adopts a qualitative–comparative design structured in three phases: (i) a systematic review of NAS and NAP in the 27 EU Member States through keyword screening and classification of references as explicit, implicit, or absent; (ii) a mapping of climate shelter initiatives across 244 NUTS-2 capital cities; and (iii) an integrative cross-analysis of national frameworks and local implementation patterns. According to our results, only 4 Member States explicitly refer to climate shelters, 11 include implicit references, and 12 show no recognition, while 88 cities implement 97 initiatives, predominantly based on Nature-based Solutions and schoolyard transformations; 5 recurring governance configurations reveal bottom-up, top-down, and hybrid dynamics, demonstrating that local experimentation can anticipate, complement, and potentially reshape national adaptation policies. Full article