Search Results (71)

Post-industrial waterfronts have become key arenas of urban transformation, where heritage, public space and social equity intersect. This study examined the Xuhui Waterfront in Shanghai under the ‘One River, One Creek’ initiative, which converted former industrial land into a continuous riverfront corridor of parks and cultural venues. The research aimed to evaluate whether this large-scale renewal enhanced social equity or produced new forms of exclusion. A tripartite analytical framework of distributive, procedural and recognitional justice was applied, combining spatial mapping, remote-sensing analysis of vegetation and heat exposure, housing price-to-income ratio assessment, and policy review from 2015 to 2024. The results showed that the continuity of the riverfront, increased greenery and adaptive reuse of industrial structures improved accessibility, environmental quality and cultural enjoyment. However, housing affordability became increasingly polarised, indicating emerging gentrification and generational inequality. This study concluded that this dual outcome reflected the fiscal dependency of state-led renewal on land-lease revenues and high-end development. It suggested that future waterfront projects could adopt financially sustainable yet inclusive models, such as incremental phasing, public–private partnerships and guided self-renewal, to better reconcile heritage conservation, public-space creation and social fairness. Full article

This study investigates the influence of geometric parameters—size, proportions, number of floors, and roof shape—on the environmental efficiency of family houses using a simplified life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The analysis focuses on the product stage (A1–A3), commonly referred to as “cradle to gate,” which encompasses embodied emissions and energy. It demonstrates that even within the limited scope of the product stage (A1–A3), geometric parameters such as floor area, proportions, and compactness exert a decisive influence on embodied environmental impacts. In addition to absolute and per-square-meter indicators, the analysis highlights the importance of the shape factor, defined as the ratio of envelope area to heated volume, as a fairer basis for comparing buildings of different geometries. Similar to its established role in operational energy certification, the shape factor provides a meaningful link between geometry and embodied impacts. The findings suggest that future implementation of the Energy Performance of Building Directive IV (EPBD IV, EU 2024/1275), which mandates the calculation of the global warming potential (GWP) of new buildings from 2028 onwards, could benefit from evaluating both primary energy non-renewable (PENRT) and global warming potential (GWP) in relation to the shape factor, once sufficient data become available. The presented study thus contributes to the ongoing European debate on whole-life-cycle carbon assessment while clarifying its novelty as a geometry-based, product-stage method that can be scaled and adapted to different contexts. The proposed simplified, geometry-oriented approach to estimating embodied impacts (A1–A3) with shape factor-based normalisation enables a fair comparison of buildings with different geometries at the concept stage. Full article

The dual Hukou system, originating in China’s planned economy period, structured Chinese society into separate urban and rural segments, thereby generating distinct sets of rights and benefits for agricultural and non-agricultural residents regarding land, social security, education, and healthcare. Urban home purchase is a pivotal indicator of social integration for rural–urban migrants in destination cities. While the literature has extensively examined migrants’ residential conditions in China, the institutional impact of the agricultural hukou system—a core constraint—on their urban homeownership, along with its underlying mechanisms and heterogeneity, remains underexplored. To address this gap, this study adopts a twofold approach: theoretically, it employs the separating equilibrium model in housing markets with incomplete information to verify that agricultural hukou acts as an institutional barrier to migrants’ local home purchases; empirically, it uses data from the China Migrants Dynamic Survey (CMDS) and applies the Fairlie decomposition method to quantify the constraint effect. The empirical results suggest that agricultural hukou exerts a 29.72% suppressive effect on migrants’ urban home purchase behavior. This effect operates indirectly by weakening migrants’ long-term settlement intention, which serves as a mediating variable. Moreover, the hindrance of agricultural hukou varies heterogeneously across groups, differing in education level, generational cohort, and regional distribution. To advance the fair and sustainable development of the real estate market, we advocate accelerating hukou reform by decoupling public services from residence status, fostering inclusive urbanization, and ensuring equitable development of housing markets. Full article

Objectives: This study aimed to synthesize evidence of the influence of multilevel social determinants of health (SDOHs) on asthma and allergic disease outcomes and healthcare utilization in children and adolescents, with a specific focus on how these determinants generate or widen health inequities, through a systematic review of the current literature and evidence. Methods: A literature search was performed in the PubMed, EBSCO, and Scopus databases. The search period for all databases was from 1 January 2020 to 15 January 2025. Studies published in English that evaluated the association between at least one SDOH, as a primary exposure or effect modifier, and asthma and/or allergic disease outcomes and healthcare utilization in children and adolescents aged ≤ 18 years were included. A narrative synthesis was conducted to systematically explore and compare findings across studies, grouped by SDOH domains and disease outcomes. The grouping of SDOH domains was based on the framework established by the Healthy People 2030 Initiative. The selected studies underwent a quality assessment. Results: After the eligibility assessment, 44 studies were included in this review. Regarding study design, twenty-one studies were cohort, followed by eighteen cross-sectional, three ecological, and two case-crossover studies. Disease outcomes covered incidence, severity/exacerbations, lung function, and healthcare use in asthma, and analogous measures also reported for atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, and food allergy. The most frequently studied domain of SDOHs was Neighborhood and Built Environment (n = 26), followed by Economic Stability (n = 24), Social and Community Context (n = 21), Healthcare Access and Quality (n = 12), and Education Access and Stability (n = 10). The vast majority of studies (n = 31) found positive associations between the examined SDOH factors and asthma and/or allergic disease outcomes and healthcare utilization. The most frequently evaluated SDOH with positive associations were neighborhood and residential conditions (n = 10), discrimination (n = 8), parental education (n = 7), housing quality (n = 6), air pollution (n = 6), and household income (n = 5). Risk-of-bias appraisal showed that the evidence base was largely at low risk, with most cohort, cross-sectional, ecological and case-crossover studies rated good quality, and only a few cohort studies classified as fair because of limitations in exposure assessment and residual confounding control. Conclusions: These findings highlight the urgent need for coordinated interventions and policies addressing social, environmental, and economic factors to reduce health disparities and improve outcomes for vulnerable children, while stressing the importance of interventional studies to provide stronger evidence. Full article

High blood pressure, or hypertension, remains a leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease, contributing significantly to global morbidity and mortality, particularly in Caribbean island nations like Curaçao. This pilot study assessed the impact of a health fair led by Community Health Workers (CHWs) or Promotornan di Salú and organized in collaboration with local faith-based organizations to increase hypertension awareness and promote preventive behaviors. The study utilized a cross-sectional design, and data were gathered from attendees at a health fair held on 29 June 2024, at the Iglesia House of Worship in Willemstad, Curaçao. A structured questionnaire was used to collect demographics, event satisfaction, health behavior intentions, and qualitative feedback data from participants aged 12 years and older. Of the 145 participants, 78.6% rated the event as excellent, 83.4% expressed plans to change their health behaviors, 80.6% intended to share information with family and friends, and 59.7% intended to follow up with a general practitioner (GP)/doctor. These findings highlight the effectiveness of culturally tailored, community-based initiatives to raise hypertension awareness, improve health literacy, and promote preventive health behaviors. The success of this intervention emphasizes the potential of CHW-led health fairs as valuable public health strategies and practical training opportunities for reducing the burden of chronic conditions like hypertension. Full article

The Internet of Things (IoT) has become an integral part of today’s smart and digitally connected world. IoT devices and technologies now connect almost every aspect of daily life, generating, storing, and analysing vast amounts of data. One important use of IoT is in utility management, where essential services such as water are supplied through IoT-enabled infrastructure to ensure fair, efficient, and sustainable delivery. The large volumes of data produced by water distribution networks must be safeguarded against manipulation, theft, and other malicious activities. Incidents such as the Queensland user data breach (2020–21), the Oldsmar water treatment plant attack (2021), and the Texas water system overflow (2024) show that attacks on water treatment plants, distribution networks, and supply infrastructure are common in Australia and worldwide, often due to inadequate security measures and limited technical resources. Lightweight cryptographic algorithms are particularly valuable in this context, as they are well-suited for resource-constrained hardware commonly used in IoT systems. This study focuses on the in-house developed ChaosFortress lightweight cryptographic algorithm, comparing its performance with other widely used lightweight cryptographic algorithms. The evaluation and comparative testing used an Arduino and a LoRa-based transmitter/receiver pair, along with the NIST Statistical Test Suite (STS). These tests assessed the performance of ChaosFortress against popular lightweight cryptographic algorithms, including ACORN, Ascon, ChaChaPoly, Speck, tinyAES, and tinyECC. ChaosFortress was equal in performance to the other algorithms in overall memory management but outperformed five of the six in execution speed. ChaosFortress achieved the quickest transmission time and topped the NIST STS results, highlighting its strong suitability for IoT applications. Full article

With the rapid advancement of urbanization, the increasing demand and insufficient supply of public service facilities for children have become urgent problems requiring resolution. This study employs the Shannon diversity index, the location entropy, spatial autocorrelation, and the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) to analyze the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of children’s public service facilities in the central urban area of Shenyang. The findings of the study are as follows: (1) There are significant differences in the spatial distribution of children’s public service facilities. Higher quantity distribution and diversity index are observed in the core area and Hunnan District compared to the peripheral areas. The Gini coefficient of various facilities is below the fair threshold of 0.4, but 90.32% of the study units have location entropy values below 1, indicating a supply–demand imbalance. (2) The spatial distribution of various facilities exhibits significant clustering characteristics, with distinct differences between high-value and low-value cluster patterns. (3) The spatial distribution of facilities is shaped by four factors: population, transportation, economy, and environmental quality. Residential area density and commercial service facility density emerge as the primary positive drivers, whereas road density and average housing price act as the main negative inhibitors. (4) The mechanisms of influencing factors exhibit spatial heterogeneity. Positive driving factors exert significant effects on new urban areas and peripheral zones, while negative factors demonstrate pronounced inhibitory effects on old urban areas. Non-linear threshold effects are observed in factors such as subway station density and public transport station density. Full article

Occupational exposures in the agricultural industry globally have been associated with heightened risk for several diseases. Reports written in South Africa in the last decade have raised awareness of the harsh occupational conditions and human rights abuses suffered by farmworker communities in the wine industry. Despite receiving “fair trade” labels upon reentry into the global market in the 1990s, the working conditions on wine farms in South Africa have remained unchanged and exploitative for centuries. Farmworkers remain dependent on substandard farm housing, have insecure land tenure rights, are exposed to toxic pesticides, are denied access to benefits and unionization, and endure long working hours in harsh environmental conditions with low pay. These occupational conditions are linked to interacting disease clusters: metabolic syndrome, problematic drinking, and communicable diseases including tuberculosis, HIV, and COVID-19. This milieu of interacting diseases with deleterious outcomes is an under-considered occupational syndemic that will likely worsen given both the lasting impacts of COVID-19 and more recent shifts in global public health funding. Full article

Managing risk, matching resources efficiently, and ensuring fair allocation are fundamental challenges in both finance and decision-making processes. In many scenarios, participants contribute unequally to collective outcomes, raising the question of how to distribute costs, benefits, or opportunities in a justifiable and optimal manner. This paper applies the Shapley value—a solution concept from cooperative game theory—as a principled tool in the following two specific financial settings: first, in tax cooperation games; and second, in assignment markets. In tax cooperation games, we use the Shapley value to determine the equitable tax burden distribution among three firms, A, B, and C, which operate in two countries, Italy and Poland. Our model ensures that countries participating in coalitions face a lower degree of tax evasion compared to non-members, and that cooperating firms benefit from discounted tax liabilities. This structure incentivizes coalition formation and reveals the economic advantage of joint participation. In assignment markets, we use the Shapley value to find the optimal pairing in a four-buyers and four-sellers housing market. Our findings show that the Shapley value provides a rigorous framework for capturing the relative importance of participants in the coalition, leading to more balanced tax allocations and fairer market transactions. Our theoretical insights with computational techniques highlights the Shapley value’s effectiveness in addressing complex allocation challenges across financial management domains. Full article

The interplay between land availability and the housing market highlights the importance of government intervention through land policies. Effective land policies ensure in-time land availability and facilitate private sector involvement in housing development. This study examines how public land policies influence formal housing development by the private sector, with a particular focus on land banking strategies—mechanisms involving the acquisition and holding of land for future use to ensure availability and capture value increases. While land banking policy aims to serve public benefits, private-sector land banking often prioritizes profit, creating governance challenges that shape housing development outcomes. This paper analyzes this phenomenon in the context of Indonesia by developing analytical framework of legitimacy, effectiveness, efficiency, and fairness. As a rapidly growing country with significant housing backlogs and a private-sector-dominated market, Indonesia’s land regulations present a critical case for examining these dynamics. Our analysis shows that while regulatory framework regulations emphasize land consolidation, acquisition, and development as instruments to facilitate private sector involvement in housing development, weak enforcement and regulatory ambiguities often undermine their effectiveness. The findings indicate that private-sector land banking is largely speculative, driven by profit-maximization strategies rather than housing provision, and is reinforced by inconsistent policy enforcement at the municipal level. A municipal case study further illustrates how governance challenges and discretionary compliance allow private developers to prioritize profitability over the affordable housing needs outlined in public policies. While land policies in Indonesia are framed as comprehensive planning tools, their implementation often favors specific beneficiaries, limiting their broader social impact. Full article

Ensuring that “each household has a dwelling” is a fundamental principle in the reform of the rural housing system. Pilot areas for residential reform have achieved positive outcomes in rural collective housing. This paper, based on a field study conducted in District D of Province G, utilizes a case study methodology and the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to explore the driving mechanisms behind the implementation of collective housing in the pilot villages of District D. It comprehensively analyzes the roles of various stakeholders throughout the entire process of “planning, construction, distribution, and management”, and evaluates the effectiveness of the initiative. The findings of the study indicate that collective housing construction can effectively alleviate land scarcity, meet the housing demands of rural residents, and enhance the overall rural environment. To ensure the successful implementation of collective housing projects, the government must assume a coordinating and guiding role, providing necessary financial and land support while streamlining the approval process. Village collectives should actively manage residential land and respect the preferences of farming households. Furthermore, pricing, allocation, and management strategies should be tailored to local conditions to ensure fairness and safeguard farmers’ rights and interests. Policies should remain adaptable, taking into account regional differences in geography, society, and culture, and selectively incorporating collective housing models to achieve the goal of “each household having a dwelling.” Full article

People experiencing, or at risk of, homelessness face challenges that result in poorer health outcomes compared to those in stable housing. This study provides the results of over 40 health measures that capture the health status of a group of people in temporary accommodation due to experiencing homelessness, aged 22 to 84 years, in an inner-city location, invited to participate in a comprehensive assessment of physical and psychological health. Evidence of accelerated ageing was found, with 44.2% of people being clinically frail, 63% having poor functional movement, and 36% having pain associated with oral health. Additionally, 90.6% of participants showed health risks due to nutritional deficiencies, over half reported poor sleep quality, 55.3% reported having psychological distress, and almost half reported fair or poor overall dental health. This study suggests a pathway to providing a relatively easily implemented series of health assessments to help respond to a group of underlying causes for accelerated ageing among a group of inner-city people experiencing homelessness. This work can be used to inform the prioritisation and development of community-based health services to address functional deficits that may contribute to accelerated ageing. Full article

With the aim to characterise the situation of the subsector, 25 poultry farms of the endangered native Utrerana chicken egg-laying-oriented breed (Gallus gallus Linnaeus, 1758) were surveyed in Andalusia (southern Spain) from 2021 to 2023 to investigate the structure of the farms, number of birds, health status, feeding management, and marketing of their products. It was found that the pace of foundation of Utrerana chicken farms accelerated from 2009, and most of the farms were concentrated in the province of Seville. Only 40% of the farms were legally registered. This breed is raised on small farms mainly dedicated to self-supply and raising birds for conformation and their aesthetic values, with limited marketing of eggs and meat, with facilities consisting often of one poultry house and one outdoor enclosure, and with a low number of laying hens per farm (53.5 on average). Current productivity is low, with an average of 139 eggs per hen per year, but hens have a long reproductive lifespan, averaging 4 years. The Partridge variety of the breed was the most common, followed by the Black-barred and Black varieties, while the White variety was very scarce, with only 31 specimens in total. Two-thirds of the farmers also raised other breeds of chickens, in addition to the Utrerana. The management and production system was free-range or backyard, with a certain proximity to the requirements of European Union-certified organic production with regard to stocking densities and generally with a good sanitary status, respect for welfare, and implementation of biosecurity measures on the farms. The feeding of the chickens was based on grazing in outdoor enclosures and on the provision of grains and compound feed, with 40.0% of farmers using commercial compound feed and half preparing feed themselves. Two-thirds of the farmers were affiliated with the National Association of Utrerana Chicken Breeders (“Asociación Nacional de Criadores de Gallinas Utreranas”, ANCGU, in Spanish); almost half of them took part with their birds in fairs and conformation shows, such as the Utrerana Chicken Fair held in Utrera (province of Seville) and more than a quarter of them have sold live birds of the breed at these fairs. The farmers carry out few promotional and advertising activities for their farms and products, predominantly by using social networks, and the market area reached is mainly local. In conclusion, this research has shown that the current alternative production system for Utrerana chicken is similar to that of the hens that originated the breed and consists of a few amateur farms, with a small number of birds, distributed mainly throughout the Andalusian countryside. It has been highlighted that there is a need for the livestock authorities to implement programmes for supporting farmers and promoting the breeding of this endangered avian breed, native to the Spanish zoogenetic heritage. Full article

Recently, urban spatial equity has become a research hotspot, but research focuses on the equity of work commuting from different dimensions. This paper aims to determine the fairness difference of work commuting in Chengdu from three different dimensions by analyzing job accessibility in Chengdu. Firstly, population residence and employment data are obtained by using mobile phone signaling data, real-time travel data are obtained by using Amap API, and regional housing information is obtained from a real estate website. Secondly, the differences in time and cost of job accessibility in different regions are calculated under different time thresholds. Finally, the equity of job accessibility is evaluated by using the Theil index and the Gini coefficient from three new perspectives: transport mode, house price economy, and spatial region. The experimental results show that (1) when time threshold increases, public transport in Chengdu is more equitable, while car traffic is opposite; (2) regions with higher prices are generally fairer; and (3) Chengdu’s equality disparities are more between areas than within areas. In addition to proposing a new accessibility formula based on travel impedance, this study suggests a new method for analyzing equity differences in Chinese cities that can serve as a reference for future researchers. At the same time, the results provide a scientific basis for optimizing the social spatial distribution of public transport services in Chengdu. Full article

In recent years, advanced controllers, including Model Predictive Control (MPC), have emerged as promising solutions to improve the efficiency of building energy systems. This paper explores the capabilities of MPC in handling multiple control objectives and constraints. A first MPC controller focuses on the task of ensuring thermal comfort in a residential house served by a heat pump while minimizing the operating costs when subject to different pricing schedules. A second MPC controller working on the same system tests the ability of MPC to deal with demand response events by enforcing a time-varying maximum power usage limitation signal from the electric grid. Furthermore, multiple combinations of the control parameters are tested in order to assess their influence on the controller performance. The controllers are tested on the BOPTEST framework, which offers standardized test cases in high-fidelity emulation models, and pre-defined baseline control strategies to allow fair comparisons also across different studies. Results show that MPC is able to handle multi-objective optimal control problems, reducing thermal comfort violations by between 66.9% and 82% and operational costs between 15.8% up to 20.1%, depending on the specific scenario analyzed. Moreover, MPC proves its capability to exploit the building thermal mass to shift heating power consumption, allowing the latter to adapt its time profile to time-varying constraints. The proposed methodology is based on technologically feasible steps that are intended to be easily transferred to large scale, in-field applications. Full article