Search Results (16,556)

Urban streets are critical public spaces that support residents’ daily psychological recovery, and their landscape quality is directly related to pedestrians’ physical and mental well-being. In the rapid urbanization process, numerous urban streets have exhibited problems such as excessive building density, cluttered visual interfaces, a lack of natural elements, and an absence of regional characteristics, leading to a continuous decline in the psychological restorative capacity of street spaces and failure to meet residents’ demands for a healthy urban environment. Existing research mostly employs qualitative assessment methods to evaluate walking experiences and psychological restoration levels of street environments, lacking high-precision, pixel-level quantification of street landscape elements and rarely incorporating regional cultural elements into the analytical framework of restorative environments. This study takes Foshan, a famous historical and cultural city in China, as the research object, and selects five typical streets in the main urban area, including comprehensive streets, living streets, landscape streets, commercial streets, and historical–cultural streets, to construct a technical route of “data collection–element quantification–model construction–effect analysis.” Leveraging the pre-trained Mask2Former semantic segmentation model and pedestrian-perspective street-view images (SVIs), combined with field research, the study quantifies 22 street landscape elements across five dimensions: environment, transportation, social interaction, facilities, and culture. Through PCA principal component analysis and K-means clustering, 20 typical photos were objectively sampled, and public psychological evaluations were conducted using the Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS). A stepwise multiple linear regression model was then employed to construct an exploratory explanatory model for street psychological restoration, identifying key influencing factors and their effect intensities. The results indicate the following: (1) Environmental and cultural elements are the core characteristics associated with pedestrians’ psychological restoration, whereas transportation, social, and facility elements are correlated only with certain restoration dimensions and show no significant association with the overall psychological restoration level. (2) Among the 22 element indicators, the Green View Index showed the strongest positive association with psychological restoration (β = 0.681, p < 0.001); historical memory markers and the Blue View Index also exhibited significant positive associations. (3) By integrating the elements associated with pedestrians’ psychological restoration and their association strengths, an exploratory explanatory model of the psychological restoration benefits of urban street landscapes was constructed, with an adjusted coefficient of determination of 69.8%, accounting for 69.8% of the variation in street psychological restoration levels. The findings establish an exploratory analytical framework and furnish empirical evidence for healthy city planning and street renewal in similar historical and cultural cities. Full article

Ammonium precipitation is widely used to recover vanadium from slag-derived liquors as ammonium metavanadate or polyvanadate, but chromium control is often evaluated less systematically than vanadium recovery. This focused process-diagnostic review draws on the topic-guided literature identified from academic literature sources, preliminary literature-discovery tools, and reference-list tracing. It presents a diagnostic framework integrating V/Cr speciation, cake entrainment, washing response, soluble-ion tracers (Na⁺, SO₄²⁻, Cl⁻), and recycle-accumulation assessment to identify whether product chromium originates from retained mother liquor, solid-associated transfer, or recycle accumulation. The analysis shows that high single-pass vanadium precipitation efficiency alone is insufficient; credible process assessment requires product-Cr source diagnosis, Cr(VI) control, purge/salt-recovery planning, and multi-cycle validation. Full article

Contemporary urban development imposes an increasingly pronounced need for aligned spatial transformations with the preservation of natural resources, adaptation to climate change, and the improvement of quality of life. In this context, the concept of green infrastructure has been recognized as an integrative framework that connects ecological processes with spatial and urban planning. However, the ways in which green infrastructure is strategically articulated and operationalized through planning processes vary depending on the institutional and spatial context. The aim of this paper is to identify the dominant strategic approaches to green infrastructure planning and to examine their implications for spatial and urban planning. The research is based on a qualitative comparative analysis of selected European green infrastructure strategies, while the Green Infrastructure Strategy of the City of Belgrade is considered as an analytical case study within the specific institutional and planning context of Serbia. The analysis focuses on three key components of strategic articulation—visions, objectives, and measures—in order to identify recurring patterns that shape the integration of green infrastructure into planning practice. The results indicate a high degree of convergence among strategic approaches, particularly regarding the emphasis on quality of life, ecosystem services, biodiversity conservation, and the strengthening of climate resilience. The identified patterns indicate the need for transformation of regulatory frameworks, the improvement of planning procedures and instruments, and the adoption of a spatial logic based on connectivity and multifunctionality. The analytical examination of the Belgrade Strategy shows that its structure of visions, objectives, and measures encompasses the key regulatory, procedural, and spatial prerequisites for incorporating green infrastructure into planning practice, and at the same time, its operationalization depends on institutional capacities, information systems, financial instruments, and mechanisms of intersectoral coordination. The paper concludes that green infrastructure strategies play an important role in mediating between public policies and spatial planning solutions, while their effectiveness depends on the alignment of regulatory, procedural, and spatial instruments. Full article

This study focuses on the Northern New District of Liaoyuan City, Jilin Province, and develops an indicator-based relative spatial assessment framework for geological environmental carrying capacity. Fourteen indicators were selected from the geological, ecological, and socio-economic dimensions to characterize spatial differences in regional geological environmental conditions. The weights of the indicators were determined by integrating subjective and objective methods, where the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and the CRITIC method were applied respectively, and the final composite weights were obtained through a game theory-based combination weighting approach. Based on the weighted results, ArcGIS was used to perform spatial analysis, and the geological environmental carrying capacity was classified into four levels: excellent, good, moderate, and poor. The results indicate significant spatial heterogeneity in geological environmental carrying capacity. Moderate-capacity areas dominate the study area, with poor-capacity areas mainly distributed in the central and southeastern regions. The proposed framework provides spatial information for identifying areas with different geological environmental conditions and supports differentiated environmental management and planning in mining areas. Full article

Background: Emergency aeromedical services, including helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) and medical emergency evacuation (MEDEVAC), are critical to time-sensitive care. Dispatch decisions are complex and consequential, determining whether, which, and under what conditions to deploy aeromedical resources. This study reviews modelling approaches for emergency aeromedical dispatch. Methods: Following PRISMA, studies between 2003 and 2026 (June) were screened, yielding 42 studies. Models were classified as predictive and learning-based, sequential decision, and prescriptive optimisation-based, with solution techniques, operational applications, and policy contexts analysed. Results: Markov decision process and approximate dynamic programming models dominate the sequential decision literature, particularly in military MEDEVAC. Prescriptive models support resource allocation, base location, coverage planning, and dispatch optimisation, while predictive and AI/ML-based approaches remain limited but emerging. Key challenges include computational complexity, data uncertainty, policy fragmentation, and ethical concerns. Sequential models reflect dispatch’s dynamic, stochastic nature, where current deployments constrain future resource availability. Priority-aware policies outperform closest-unit rules, but limited real-world validation hinders adoption. Conclusions: This review maps methods and provides evidence-based guidance for researchers and dispatch organisations selecting decision support models. Future opportunities include AI-assisted dispatch, hybrid predictive–prescriptive modelling, real-time adaptive algorithms, sustainability-oriented optimisation, improved helicopter landing zone identification, and standardised ethical and regulatory frameworks. Full article

Refugee camps have evolved from temporary shelters into permanent, complex urban systems, yet policy models often fail to address their long-term systemic marginality. To bridge this gap, this study conducts a comparative qualitative analysis of three protracted cases in the Middle East: Shatila (Lebanon), Yarmouk (Syria), and Jabalia (Gaza). Using a directed qualitative content analysis, the study evaluates secondary data, spatial reports, and institutional archives across five core System Pillars: Governance Configurations, Legal Regimes, Humanitarian Mediation, Spatial Violence, and Grassroots Agency. Findings show that conditions of urban exception are sustained by a self-reinforcing nexus of these processes. Furthermore, a dual-process model of refugee agency emerges, distinguishing short-term adaptive survival tactics (e.g., informal DIY utility grids) from constitutive practices of urban citizenship that reconfigure institutional aid protocols. In post-conflict contexts, physical destruction is systematically coupled with state-led property legislation to enforce permanent displacement. We conclude that protracted camps must be recognized as dynamic, co-produced urban systems rather than static zones of exception. Effectively breaking cycles of socio-spatial marginalization requires international actors to transition from short-term emergency assistance to rights-based metabolic planning, legal tenure protection, and formalized institutional co-production frameworks. Full article

As cities accelerate climate adaptation and decarbonisation, municipally owned companies (MOCs) play an important role in delivering sustainable urban infrastructure, accessing transition finance, and supporting Positive Energy Districts (PEDs). However, the expansion of sustainability reporting requirements under the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) raises questions about the preparedness of public infrastructure providers to meet evolving sustainability-information demands. This study examines ESG reporting readiness among Polish MOCs, focusing on current reporting activity, reporting intentions, regulatory awareness, indirect ESG information pressures, sustainable-finance and investment plans, and potential transition-risk exposure. The analysis is based on a Computer-Assisted Web Interviewing survey of 226 municipal enterprises conducted in August 2025. The results indicate substantial reporting gaps. Only 8% of surveyed MOCs had already prepared or planned to prepare a non-financial report. When companies planning EU Taxonomy reporting only were also included, 14% of the sample had some form of current or planned reporting, while the remaining 86% had neither current nor planned non-financial or EU Taxonomy reporting. Reporting readiness was lower among smaller companies, while indirect ESG information pressures arising from business relationships, stakeholder requests, and financing plans were also evident across the surveyed sample. The findings suggest that limited reporting preparedness, when combined with external sustainability-information demands, may contribute to potential transition-risk exposure relevant to municipal investment and financing processes. More broadly, ESG reporting readiness represents an organisational capability relevant to sustainable finance, municipal climate investment, and the development of PEDs and smart cities. Full article

Funeral-service facility relocation redistributes spatial burdens and public benefits among origin-site residents, destination communities, service users, and the wider public. Using the Xihuayuan–Haping Road relocation in Harbin, China, this study applies an LLM-assisted multi-actor scenario reasoning framework, operationalized as a structured comparative scenario analysis, to examine relocation governance from a spatial justice perspective. Six governance variables were organized into a 3⁶ full-factorial design, producing 729 scenarios. Each scenario was generated through a six-actor, six-stage LLM interaction and assessed by a separate standardized post-simulation LLM evaluation for NIMBY conflict intensity, relocation progress, resident acceptance, and spatial justice. The results show that new-site burden fairness produced the largest reduction in conflict intensity and the strongest improvement in resident acceptance, whereas siting-process transparency showed the largest improvement in relocation progress and spatial justice. Repeated runs of nine typical configurations and one case-approximate configuration showed point-score variation but retained the broad contrast between weaker and stronger governance conditions. The case-based findings indicate that relocation planning should combine burden fairness, procedural transparency, psychological buffering, service continuity, and public return rather than rely on technical compliance or site-selection standards alone. Full article

Background: Inflammation plays a key role in atherosclerosis and thromboinflammatory processes involved in ischemic stroke. Colchicine, an anti-inflammatory agent that inhibits microtubule polymerization and inflammasome activation, has demonstrated cardiovascular benefits in coronary artery disease. However, its effectiveness in secondary prevention after ischemic stroke remains uncertain. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) evaluating colchicine in two pre-specified populations: (i) patients with non-cardioembolic ischemic stroke or high-risk transient ischemic attack (TIA), and (ii) atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) cohorts reporting cerebrovascular outcomes, with pre-planned subgroup and sensitivity analyses restricted to stroke/TIA-only trials to address indirectness. Methods: We searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Embase, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) from inception to 20 October 2025, with no language restrictions, using a fully reported strategy combining controlled vocabulary (MeSH/Emtree) and free-text terms for colchicine and cerebrovascular/atherosclerotic outcomes. The primary outcome was recurrent stroke. Secondary outcomes included composite major vascular events, serious adverse events, any adverse events, and treatment discontinuation due to adverse events. A pre-specified subgroup analysis compared stroke/TIA-dedicated trials versus ASCVD trials reporting cerebrovascular outcomes, and a sensitivity analysis was restricted to stroke/TIA-only trials. Random-effects meta-analysis was performed using risk ratios (RR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed using the I² statistic, and the certainty of evidence was evaluated using the GRADE framework. Results: Five randomized controlled trials, including 18,336 participants, were included. Colchicine did not significantly reduce the risk of recurrent stroke compared with control therapy (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.65–1.12). Similarly, no significant reduction in vascular events was observed (RR 0.70, 95% CI 0.40–1.23), with substantial heterogeneity across studies. Colchicine was not associated with a significant increase in serious adverse events (RR 1.14, 95% CI 0.43–2.97). When restricted to stroke/TIA-dedicated trials (CHANCE-3, CONVINCE, COPS), the point estimate for recurrent stroke remained close to the null. Across trials reporting tolerability, colchicine was associated with higher rates of gastrointestinal adverse events and study-drug discontinuation, although the magnitude varied across studies. According to GRADE, the certainty of evidence ranged from moderate for recurrent stroke to low for vascular events and serious adverse events. Conclusions: Colchicine did not significantly reduce recurrent stroke or vascular events in patients with ischemic stroke or transient ischemic attack. Current evidence does not support routine use of colchicine for secondary stroke prevention, and further randomized trials are needed to identify potential subgroups that may benefit from anti-inflammatory therapy. Full article

This study presents a systematic literature review of spatial planning frameworks for coastal hazard mitigation, conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A structured search of two academic databases, Scopus and Web of Science, covering the period 2016 to 2026 identified 368 records, of which 27 peer-reviewed studies were included in the final synthesis. The review pursues four interrelated objectives: analyzing global publication trends in research on spatial planning for coastal hazard mitigation; identifying and describing coastal hazard typologies and their associated mitigation approaches; examining how spatial planning frameworks are integrated with hazard mitigation strategies; and synthesizing cross-cutting constructs that structure an integrative analytical model. Findings reveal a marked intensification of scholarly output over the final third of the review period, with Asia–Pacific and Europe as the most represented regions, while sub-Saharan Africa and small island developing states remain critically underrepresented. Coastal hazards are classified into four categories: slow-onset climate and hydro-geological processes, acute hydro-meteorological events, multi-risk systemic hazard interactions, and ecological and environmental degradation. Three analytically distinct integration families are identified: geospatial and technical modeling, NbS and ecosystem-planning integration, and participatory governance and institutional integration. From these, four cross-cutting constructs emerge inductively across the evidence base, namely spatial risk assessment and geospatial modeling, land-use governance and climate-proof planning, community-based resilience and participatory governance, and ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions, which together constitute an integrative analytical framework. The discussion demonstrates that governance capacity, rather than technical sophistication, is the primary moderator of implementation effectiveness, and that socio-spatial equity in hazard planning represents a cross-regional challenge irrespective of governance capacity level. Limitations include the geographic concentration of the evidence based in high-capacity planning contexts and the predominantly projected rather than implemented nature of effectiveness evidence. Full article

Floor plan design normally depends on architectural training or CAD software, a barrier for homeowners, students, and small practices alike. The author asks a narrower question: can a general-purpose, pre-trained text-to-image model draw a usable floor plan straight from a written brief, and can a building code be folded into that process? To find out, four models, Gemini, DALL-E, DeepAI, and Stable Diffusion, were put through tests using ten descriptions of villas and apartment buildings. Relevant Saudi Building Code (SBC) clauses, covering minimum room sizes, corridor widths, accessibility, and fire-safety provisions, were retrieved and written into each prompt before generation, and the outputs were assessed quantitatively by accuracy and latency, with SBC compliance and realism recorded only as qualitative observations. Gemini was the fastest by a wide margin, averaging 8.3 s per plan against 40.5 for Stable Diffusion, the slowest, and it also scored highest for accuracy; that ordering is not established here, however, because the models were not scored by a common judge, and each description was generated only once. DALL-E drew the most realistic images but was slower and looser on detail. One limitation cut across all four: none reported room dimensions reliably, so compliance can be verified only in part from the image. A case is presented in which Gemini printed area labels directly on the image, yet a pixel-level measurement shows the room with the smallest printed area drawn as the largest of the three, an internal inconsistency that needs no external ground truth to demonstrate and that exposes the core limitation of current text-to-image decoders. On the strength of these results, the best model, Gemini, was built into a Django web application that turns a typed description into a viewable plan. The system is offered as an early-stage drafting assistant, not a code-verified architectural design tool. The study sets out plainly what off-the-shelf models and prompt-level guidance deliver without fine-tuning, and where they still fall short of professional, code-verified design. Full article

Temporary sidewalk disruptions caused by construction, maintenance, or other obstructions can significantly affect pedestrian mobility, particularly for those with mobility impairments. Although accessibility standards and universal design principles exist, temporary pedestrian detours do not always provide safe, continuous, and accessible routes, creating barriers to independent mobility. This study examines how municipalities plan, approve, and monitor sidewalk detours, focusing on accessibility. A qualitative descriptive approach was used, combining a review of guidance documents and grey literature with semi-structured interviews with seven professionals from five municipalities and one transportation organization in Québec, Canada (April–August 2024). Thematic analysis allowed the identification of four main themes concerning the detour design process, the criteria used, accessibility-related challenges, and the use of geospatial technology. The findings show that pedestrian safety and continuity of movement are central concerns, while accessibility is considered unevenly across organizations. Organizations in larger cities described more detailed accessibility-related criteria, such as width, slope, surface condition, curb ramps, and corridor delineation, but even this level of detail did not translate into consistent application. They indicated that applying these criteria is sometimes hindered by existing infrastructure, limited space, time constraints, variable guidance application, and a lack of decision-support tools. These findings provide an empirical basis for understanding current detour design practice and for developing geospatial decision-support tools for accessible detour planning. Full article

Flood disaster risk assessment serves as an important foundation for formulating regional sustainable development strategies. This study establishes a risk assessment model for flood disasters in small and medium-sized rivers based on a theoretical framework integrating Geographic Information Systems (GIS), the Delphi method, and Bayesian networks (Delphi–BNs). An indicator system for the assessment was developed from three dimensions: hazard, vulnerability, and exposure. Hazard is represented by flood inundation area and depth; vulnerability is indicated by population distribution and economic layout; and exposure is reflected by road accessibility. By constructing a GIS-based Bayesian network and employing the Delphi method to create a probabilistic and spatially explicit model, this approach quantifies various sources of uncertainty in the assessment process, enabling a probabilistic expression of risk. Based on the risk assessment results, a stratified, phased flood emergency rescue and personnel transfer plan was established, designating extremely high-risk areas as the core zones for the first phase of personnel transfer, high-risk areas as the second-phase rescue zones, and medium-risk areas as the third-phase rescue zones, thereby providing clear operational guidance for flood emergency response in the basin. The Delphi–BN assessment framework developed in this study focuses on the core elements of flood disaster risk formation, organically integrates expert experience with spatial big data, and effectively overcomes the limitations of traditional assessment methods, such as strong subjectivity, insufficient accuracy, and poor quantification. It achieves a refined and quantitative assessment of flood risk in small and medium-sized river basins in semi-arid regions. The outcomes of this research contribute to a clearer understanding of both the driving mechanisms and the spatial patterns of regional flood risk. Furthermore, they establish a scientifically credible and operationally relevant foundation for key disaster-response decisions, encompassing timely emergency actions, phased population transfers, and the optimized deployment of limited emergency resources. Full article

Multi-agent path planning (MAPP) under partial observability requires agents to coordinate their movements and complete tasks efficiently without access to global information. The planning space and coordination complexity grow rapidly with increasing numbers of agents, targets, and obstacles. We formulate large-scale MAPP as a partially observable networked Markov decision process. Based on this formulation, we propose a decentralized model-based Actor-Critic using the Kronecker-factored trust region (DM-ACKTR) algorithm. The algorithm integrates local model learning with ACKTR-based policy optimization in an independent learning architecture. Each agent learns a local model to predict the next observation and reward. These predictions are used to construct additional transitions for Actor and Critic updates. A neighborhood-based communication mechanism incorporates information from nearby agents into value estimation. Region partitioning reduces each agent’s effective planning space. These improvements enable DM-ACKTR to continue outperforming the baseline algorithms as the scale of the MAPP problem increases. Experiments across three training and five evaluation scenarios show that DM-ACKTR achieves the best overall performance. Among the five evaluated algorithms, it consistently obtains the highest TCR and lowest CR, improving TCR by 2.06–4.35% and reducing CR by 11.26–25.95% relative to the respective best baselines. Full article

During high-speed multi-joint coordination, the nonlinear joint-to-cylinder mapping may increase the velocity and jerk peaks of the hydraulic cylinders, while simultaneous multi-cylinder motion may cause flow-peak superposition and increase the risk of exceeding the pump-flow limit. Addressing the limitations of traditional joint-space trajectory planning, which struggles to balance actuator-space smoothness, nonlinear inverse kinematics robustness, and multi-cylinder total-flow constraints, this paper proposes a multi-objective trajectory-planning method in the hydraulic-cylinder actuator space. First, a kinematic model is constructed based on the modified Denavit–Hartenberg method and hydraulic-cylinder closed-loop cosine mapping to evaluate effective moment arms and transmission sensitivity. Subsequently, a method combining Monte Carlo global search and Levenberg–Marquardt local iteration is adopted to solve inverse kinematics without explicitly computing the Moore–Penrose pseudoinverse of the Jacobian. On this basis, analytic quintic splines incorporating asymmetric perturbation terms are constructed, and a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II bi-objective optimization model for minimizing the motion time and the maximum absolute jerk in the actuator space is established, incorporating the total-flow hard constraint. Simulation results demonstrate that the motion time of the compromise solution is 7.71 s, the maximum absolute jerk in the actuator space is 22.94 mm/s³, and the total flow throughout the process is lower than 105 L/min. This method keeps the planned total-flow demand within the pump-flow capacity and reduces the risk that the planned actuator speeds cannot be maintained because of insufficient flow supply, providing a planning basis for the stable operation of heavy-duty hydraulic demolition robots. Full article