Search Results (8,456)

Smart city innovation has emerged as a strategic concept in urban governance to improve the quality of life, requiring collaboration among diverse stakeholders. This study examines smart city development from a stakeholder perspective, focusing on Malang City, Indonesia. A qualitative approach was employed, including in-depth interviews, policy document analysis, and field observations, guided by stakeholder theory to understand how various actors influence policy and implementation. The findings indicate that Malang has implemented several smart initiatives, including e-government services, digital infrastructure, traffic management, and environmental monitoring. These efforts are generally perceived to enhance efficiency and transparency. However, challenges persist, particularly in ensuring inclusivity, strengthening inter-agency coordination, and improving digital literacy. The local government plays a leading role, while the private sector, academia, and civil society contribute technical expertise and community engagement. Overall, smart city innovation in Malang is progressing but remains in its early stages and requires stronger collaboration, institutional capacity, and accountability. This study underscores the importance of stakeholders as supporting actors in advancing collaborative and inclusive smart city governance. Full article

Solidago canadensis L. is a regulated invasive alien species in China and was first recorded in the wild in Jiangsu Province. Despite widespread concern regarding its distribution and ecological associations, province-wide information on its current invasion status and associated plant community patterns in Jiangsu remains limited. To fill this gap, we conducted field surveys at 165 sites across Jiangsu Province and combined hierarchical clustering, plant-community diversity analysis, species-level analysis of accompanying-plant composition, redundancy analysis, and MaxEnt modeling to evaluate invasion-intensity patterns, associated environmental and anthropogenic factors, and plant-community responses in invaded communities. Solidago canadensis was recorded throughout the province, but invasion intensity was highest in southern Jiangsu. Hierarchical clustering classified the 165 sampling sites into three invasion-intensity groups. Group A (74 sites), concentrated in southern Jiangsu, was classified as the severe invasion group and showed generally lower plant diversity within the invaded-site dataset. Group B (60 sites) represented moderate invasion. Group C (31 sites), mainly distributed in northern and coastal Jiangsu, represented light invasion and retained relatively higher accompanying-plant diversity. Within S. canadensis-invaded communities, we documented 183 accompanying plant species from 43 families. Asteraceae and Poaceae were the most species-rich families, and annual or biennial herbs were the dominant life-form category. Species-level analysis further showed that accompanying-plant composition varied significantly along the invasion-intensity gradient (PERMANOVA, R² = 0.035), suggesting that differences in S. canadensis dominance were associated with detectable shifts in local plant assemblages. Redundancy analysis indicated latitude, transportation route density, and floating population density were closely associated with variation in S. canadensis invasion indicators and associated community variables, with soil pH, precipitation of the driest month, GDP, and motor vehicle ownership also contributing to the observed pattern. MaxEnt modeling identified southern and central Jiangsu as the main climatically suitable areas. This pattern was broadly consistent with the concentration of higher invasion intensity in southern Jiangsu. Nevertheless, field records in northern Jiangsu suggest that areas with lower predicted climatic suitability should also remain under continued monitoring. These findings suggest the need for coordinated management, particularly along major transportation corridors and in highly disturbed urban habitats. Control efforts should combine zoning management, source control, repeated removal, and habitat restoration tailored to local conditions. Full article

This qualitative case study examines the feasibility of introducing transformative resilience in the informal settlement of Mohammad Amin Camp in Amman, Jordan. A participatory design approach was adopted, combining community workshops, focus-group discussions, semi-structured interviews, and spatial mapping to explain the urban challenges faced by people living in the camp. Themes associated with data collection were the need for social spaces, better waste management, and greater mobility. The findings suggest that community-defined resilience priorities extend beyond physical infrastructure improvements to include social interaction, accessibility, environmental quality, and local ownership, highlighting the value of participatory design in identifying context-specific resilience needs. Guided by the Enabling–Enacting–Envisioning framework, this study translated community knowledge into actionable urban design strategies, illustrating how participatory design can foster transformative resilience through integrated environmental, social, and governance interventions. Key interventions include the creation of green spaces, improved pedestrian pathways, community gathering spaces, and integrated waste management and fire safety measures. The proposed interventions address immediate urban challenges while strengthening long-term resilience through enhanced social cohesion, environmental adaptability, and community capacity. This study illustrates that participatory, small-scale spatial interventions can inform grounded and context-specific urban regeneration, offering practical insights for planners and policymakers working in informal settlement contexts. Full article

As high-density cities face severe conflicts between urban expansion and limited ecological space, exploring the potential drivers of carbon sequestration within urban green spaces is crucial. The overarching aim of this study is to establish an interpretable, model-based analytical framework for assessing the Annual Carbon Fixation Rate (ACFR). To address the limitations of linear models and “black-box” machine learning algorithms, this study analyzed 149 urban parks in Nanjing by coupling Sentinel-2 high-resolution data with a Random Forest algorithm and the SHAP framework to model Annual Carbon Fixation Rate. The model achieved high predictive reliability (R² = 0.9690). This study quantitatively identified critical nonlinear thresholds: an impervious surface proportion exceeding 30% is associated with a structural decline in carbon sinks, while the optimal Leaf Area Index interval for maximum efficiency is 2.5–3.5. Moreover, the present research identified a potential model-derived ecological compensation effect; optimizing vegetation community structures under high anthropogenic disturbance showed a 23.9% higher modeled marginal ACFR response compared to low-disturbance habitats. This explainable framework attempts to translate complex model-derived biophysical associations into referenced quantitative thresholds. Importantly, the ACFR and derived thresholds represent remote sensing-based model estimates rather than field-measured ecological causality, serving as exploratory planning references. These findings challenge the assumption that greening is inefficient in degraded environments and provide concrete control indicators for targeted micro-renewal and sustainable urban regeneration. Full article

Background/Objectives: Herbal medicine is one of the most widely used forms of complementary medicine worldwide. Although traditionally associated with rural populations and older generations, its use among urban adolescents and young adults and the factors associated with its use remain insufficiently understood. This study aimed to evaluate herbal medicine knowledge, use, recommendation practices, and their associations with family-based recommendation, social media exposure, and previous experience using herbal medicine together with conventional medical treatment among urban adolescents and young adults in western Mexico. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 144 urban high school students in western Mexico. A structured questionnaire was used to assess sociodemographic characteristics, herbal medicine knowledge, use, recommendation practices, family-based recommendation, social media exposure, and self-reported concurrent use with conventional medical treatment. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors independently associated with herbal medicine use, recommendation, and self-reported knowledge. Results: Herbal medicine use was reported by 36.8% of participants, whereas 31.9% reported knowing what herbal medicine is. Family-based recommendation was independently associated with herbal medicine use (OR = 8.04; 95% CI: 2.99–21.61; p < 0.001), followed by self-reported herbal medicine knowledge (OR = 4.56; 95% CI: 1.97–10.58; p < 0.001). Recommendation behavior was independently associated with family-based recommendation (OR = 3.70; 95% CI: 1.45–9.44; p = 0.006) and previous herbal medicine use (OR = 4.16; 95% CI: 1.75–9.93; p = 0.001). Among herbal medicine users, all participants reported previous experience using herbal medicine together with conventional medical treatment, suggesting the coexistence of both therapeutic approaches within this study population. Social media exposure was associated with self-reported herbal medicine knowledge (OR = 2.97; 95% CI: 1.06–8.27; p = 0.038) but was not associated with herbal medicine use or recommendation. Conclusions: Among this study population, herbal medicine was commonly reported and appeared to be part of complementary healthcare practices among urban adolescents and young adults. Family-based recommendation was independently associated with herbal medicine use and recommendation, whereas social media exposure was associated primarily with self-reported knowledge rather than behavioral outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of considering herbal medicine use during clinical communication and adolescent health education while recognizing the coexistence of herbal and conventional healthcare practices. Full article

This study analyzes the relationship between verbal interaction and eye behavior among 112 primary school students in urban and rural classrooms in Chile, using wireless eye-tracking technology. The results reveal statistically significant differences based on socioeducational context and sex. Linear regression analyses show that gaze is a significantly more robust predictor of class participation in rural contexts (R² adjusted = 0.671) than in urban contexts (R² adjusted = 0.342). Furthermore, eye behavior explained 71% of the variance in male students, compared to 37.7% in female students. While female students focused their attention primarily on teachers, male students relied on a shared visual distribution between the teacher and peers to regulate their participation in class. In conclusion, the gaze acts as a differentiated scaffolding whose importance intensifies in boys and rural environments. These findings suggest distinct maturational trajectories that require teachers to implement visually intentional instructional strategies to ensure communicative efficiency in the classroom. Full article

Under rapid urbanization and watershed-scale spatial restructuring, urban green-space systems are often treated as residual indicators after construction land has been allocated, which limits the capacity of blue–green networks to act as leading frameworks for spatial structure and development sequencing. Taking the Sanjiangkou New Town Master Plan in Lishui, Zhejiang Province, China, as a case, this study develops the concepts of landscape-flow transformation and locality in urban green-space networks and examines their generative, planning, and participatory mechanisms through planning-document interpretation, visual evidence-chain analysis, sequential scenario construction, and an exploratory public-participation questionnaire survey. The paper proposes an integrated Perception–Cognition–Interaction (PCI) and Ecology–Construction–Program (ECP) framework. The ECP framework clarifies how locality-based landscape ecology constrains network formation, how frontloaded green networks shape urban zoning and mobility structures, and how long-term construction, use, and feedback refine master-planning schemes. The PCI framework explains how the public enters planning communication through embodied locality perception, structural understanding, and interactive feedback. Based on 400 valid questionnaires, the results reveal significant differences between local and non-local respondents in locality perception and planning understanding. The PCI pathway provides exploratory evidence that perception, cognition, and interaction are closely associated in scenario-based planning communication. The study argues that green-space networks should be introduced as an ecological substrate, structural constraint, and dynamic feedback system rather than as post hoc environmental land-use allocation. Its contribution is to reposition locality from a visual character label to a mechanism of pattern generation, phasing, and participatory negotiation. Full article

Smart-city governance increasingly relies on data infrastructures to connect public agencies, digital platforms, and urban services; however, complex emergencies continue to expose fragmentation in information sharing, administrative responsibilities, and cross-boundary coordination. A key unresolved question is whether data-driven policy experimentation can strengthen the institutional foundations of emergency collaboration. In this study, we examine China’s National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zones as a systemic governance intervention and apply a multi-period difference-in-differences model to estimate the effect of pilot-zone construction on the policy-text-based institutionalization of emergency collaboration, using provincial panel data for 30 Chinese provinces from 2010 to 2022. The results show that pilot-zone construction significantly strengthens institutionalized emergency collaboration in provincial policy systems. Mechanism tests provide evidence consistent with two complementary pathways: emergency-related technological innovation, measured by granted patents screened through IPC/CPC classifications and title–abstract keywords, supports task-specific capacities such as risk sensing, early warning, emergency communication, command support, and resource allocation; digital government strengthens administrative interoperability, data sharing, platform-based coordination, and standardized interdepartmental procedures. Heterogeneity analyses show stronger effects in eastern, middle-income, and severely aging regions, suggesting that policy effectiveness depends on implementation capacity, absorptive capacity, and emergency-service demand. This study contributes to systems governance and smart-city research by showing how data-driven policy experimentation can shape the formal institutionalization of emergency collaboration. The findings should be interpreted as evidence of institutionalized policy attention and formal collaborative arrangements rather than direct evidence of field-level emergency response performance. Full article

The article examines “Towards a Sustainable Future, Cambridge Growth Policy” from strategic planning and urban sustainability perspectives. Towards a Sustainable Future advances planning assumptions and policies aimed at guiding the physical planning of Cambridge. The plan was intended to be utilized by the City’s Planning Board and the Community Development Department to guide development projects, to help review land use decisions, and to determine work programs. The planning document enabled mostly three of four main social functions associated with Urban and Regional Planning in a democratic free market society that comprise (i) the promotion of the collective interests of the community, (ii) considering the external effects of individual and group action, and (iii) the protection of the interests of society’s most needy members. This article does not aim to be an exhaustive analysis of Towards a Sustainable Future. Nonetheless, it provides a general overview of the entire planning document and of the planning process that was behind it, while simultaneously presenting some of the most important connections and inferences that can be established between the plan and a set of selected planning and administrative sciences scholarly papers and books. Cambridge’s current roadmap, “Envision Cambridge,” is also expected to advance not only the three dimensions mentioned above, but also the improvement of the information base needed for public and private decision making in the context of growing concerns associated with the Anthropocene epoch. Full article

The little Neptune grass Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson is common in shallow coastal areas, lagoons and estuaries in the Mediterranean Sea. As a pioneer and habitat-forming macrophyte, it plays an important ecological role and deserves attention for conservation, especially in areas affected by anthropogenic stressors. A C. nodosa meadow located in a marina of the northern Adriatic Sea (Porticciolo di Torrette, Ancona, Italy) was monitored during its seasonal development (May–October 2024). Structural parameters (shoot density, leaf length and width, percentage of leaves with broken apices), plant fertility and composition of the epiphytic community were assessed across five sampling dates. This population exhibited the typical Mediterranean developmental pattern, with a fully developed canopy in summer (July–September). Female flowers were rarely found, whereas male flowers and fruits were not observed, suggesting that the meadow is likely to rely mainly on clonal propagation. Epiphytic communities displayed low diversity; encrusting corallines and filamentous red algae (Ceramium sp.) were the main algal epiphytes, whereas serpulid polychaetes and ascidiaceans were the main animal epiphytes. Overall, structure, phenology and epiphytic assemblages of the studied meadow are similar to those of other Mediterranean Cymodocea meadows, suggesting that this meadow has persisted under long-term urban conditions despite multiple anthropogenic pressures (not directly tested in the present study). Full article

Background/objectives: As Guangzhou’s population ages rapidly, the supply-and-demand gap in elderly care facilities has become severe. We propose a ‘4A’ model that draws on accessibility, affordability, acceptability, and availability from the classic ‘5A’ access framework to optimize nursing home bed allocation from existing facilities. Methods: We applied the ‘4A’ model to 2630 communities/villages and 243 nursing homes in Guangzhou, using linear programming to maximize a matching score under capacity, demand, and occupancy constraints. Inequality was assessed using the Gini coefficient, Theil index, Moran’s I, and hot spot analysis. Four policy scenarios were simulated under resource-scarce and resource-abundant conditions. Results: A total of 753 (28.6%) communities/villages had no access to nursing homes. The unmet demand rates followed a ‘dual-center’ clustering pattern, and hot spots were not only in the urban core, where ‘scale disadvantage’ and ‘matching disadvantage’ coexisted, but also in outer suburban districts to form a ‘supply vacuum.’ Inequity was moderate, and it originated from between-district disparities. Compared with a ‘distance-only variant’ model, our ‘4A’ model allocated 3813 more beds. Policy simulations showed that minimum service ($\alpha =0.1$) eliminated all unserved communities/villages; targeted bed expansion increased satisfaction rates to 74.8% and reduced the Gini coefficient to 0.280; and subsidies and quality upgrades became effective only when bed supply was abundant. The four simulations were phased into a three-phase policy roadmap. Conclusions: The ‘4A’ model transforms the qualitative ‘5A’ framework into a computable allocation matrix, offering actionable recommendations for equitable access to elderly care resources. Full article

Smart cities increasingly depend on chip-centered digital infrastructure, whose resilience is closely linked to the stability of upstream semiconductor manufacturing equipment supply. Disruptions in lithography equipment trade may propagate downstream through the semiconductor supply chain and affect the security and continuity of urban digital systems. Existing studies on semiconductor trade networks have paid insufficient attention to the timing of long-term structural shifts and the mechanisms through which external shocks reshape network organization. Using UN Comtrade data on lithography-equipment-related semiconductor manufacturing equipment from 2010 to 2024, this study develops an integrated topological-spatial analytical framework based on complex network analysis. The framework combines change-point detection, community evolution analysis, node roles and critical channel identification. The results show that the global lithography equipment trade network is increasingly characterized by the concentration of key nodes and critical channels, community differentiation in trade relations, and dependence on cross-community linkages. These findings provide both a complementary perspective and a methodological reference for understanding upstream structural risks in chip-centered urban digital systems. Full article

Inclusive education (IE) for learners with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has become a major policy priority. However, its meaning in everyday school and community contexts remains unevenly understood among different stakeholders. This participatory qualitative study examined how teachers, parents/caregivers, and neighbors conceptualized IE for learners with ASD in three urban public primary schools in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Data were collected from 30 participants using participant-generated photographs, photo-elicitation discussions, and follow-up unstructured interviews. Photographs and participants’ narratives were analyzed together as a single photovoice dataset using reflexive thematic analysis. Findings indicated that participants generally supported IE in principle but negotiated its implementation through conditions related to learner ability, school capacity, safety, educational expectations, and responsibility for support. Participants prioritized practical outcomes over academic success; they valued togetherness, physical presence, and teacher-led responsibility while giving comparatively less attention to broader rights-based dimensions of IE. Parents and neighbors emphasized belonging and acceptance, whereas teachers emphasized feasibility, specialist support, and practical implementation constraints. The study introduces the concept of conditional inclusion to describe a form of support that extends beyond placement decisions by showing how inclusion is negotiated through local assumptions about learner ability, school capacity, safety, educational expectations, and responsibility for support. These findings suggest that locally grounded community engagement is essential for adapting IE policies and practices for learners with ASD in comparable low-resource urban contexts. Full article

The formation mechanisms of Urban Vitality have been constrained by the limitations of traditional linear driving hypotheses, and the fragmented analysis of subjective and objective factors. Integrating the explainable machine learning model XGBoost-SHAP with multi-source geospatial data, this study constructs a systematic analysis framework at the community scale, comprising 275 community units across five administrative districts in Changsha. It constructs a systematic analysis framework that unifies objective environmental conditions and subjective perceptions—a deliberate departure from the fragmented approaches dominant in previous vitality research. Through this objective-subjective integrated lens, it explores the spatial patterns, non-linear driving mechanisms, and variable interaction effects of Urban Vitality. The XGBoost model achieves a cross-validated R² of 0.794 and an RMSE of 0.031, ensuring interpretative reliability for exploring non-linear mechanisms. The results indicate that Urban Vitality exhibits a spatial pattern characterized by “high-value aggregation in the core, gradient decay in the periphery, and local fragmentation,” with a significant siphon effect observed in the core area. Partial Dependence Plot (PDP) analysis reveals that the impacts of variables on vitality can be categorized into four patterns: continuous upward, threshold leap, inverted U-shaped, and weak or sample-concentrated. Univariate dependence plots further delineates fine-grained threshold effects, including “threshold triggering, nterval suitability, high-value suppression, and co-occurrence signals.” Furthermore, bivariate interactions reveal four synergistic mechanisms: Building Density must match road network support; Functional Aggregation should synergize with locational value; transportation nodes must integrate with activity-support capacity; and Street View quality and human demand mutually regulate each other. The conclusion asserts that urban stock renewal must transcend the mindset of single-factor maximization and shift towards a precision governance approach of “threshold activation, synergistic matching, and zoning intervention,” thereby providing a quantitative decision-making basis for human-oriented, fine-grained urban regulation. 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