Authors:Wening Patmi Rahayu, Novia Tri Hapsari, Agus Wibowo, Lutfi Asnan Qodri, Dede Rusmana, Bagus Shandy Narmaditya Abstract: This research aimed to determine the effect of inculcating entrepreneurial values on business independence and sustainability among 216 batik craftsmen. It also aimed to examine the effect of business independence on business sustainability. Additionally, it intended to determine the impact of entrepreneurial values on business sustainability through business independence. The education of entrepreneurial values that are integrated into business independence is theoretically possible to be one of the strengthening factors for business continuity. Sixty-eight samples were selected from the population of batik craft entrepreneurs. The sampling technique uses proportional random sampling. Data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed with Path Analysis. Entrepreneurial values positively and significantly affect business independence and sustainability. Business independence positively and significantly affects business sustainability. Similarly, entrepreneurial values positively and significantly affect business sustainability through business independence. This research shows that the inculcation of entrepreneurial values has a positive and significant effect both directly and through the mediating variables of business independence. It is proven that the inculcation of entrepreneurial values through business independence has a more significant influence than a direct relationship with business continuity. This research offers insight into the importance of inculcating entrepreneurial values on business sustainability directly and through business independence. PubDate: 2023-03-23T00:00:00Z
Authors:Carolina Cruz Castro, João Pedro Gouveia Abstract: Energy Poverty (EP) is a growing concern in EU and national policies. Limited research has been conducted on students' perception of EP and vulnerability to EP, especially on how this may be modified if the student is a local or an exchange university student and how this interacts with the season (i.e., summer and winter). Therefore, the present research aims to deepen this understanding by analyzing and comparing students' perceptions of EP and exploring their vulnerability to EP, considering their background and the city they live in, using Montevideo in Uruguay, Lisbon in Portugal, and Padua in Italy, as case studies. To achieve these aims, two populations of university students in each city were surveyed: one of Local Students (LS) and another of Exchange Students (ES). Responses from 295 students to an online survey with 44 questions covering several aspects of EP and energy awareness, such as energy consumption habits, vulnerability drivers, energy equipment, and lived experience in maintaining comfortable internal temperatures, were collected in 2022. Differences between the perception of LS and ES in each city were analyzed, as well as differences in students' perceptions among cities. Although it is difficult to generalize, comfort levels seem to vary according to location, type of students, and season, but according to the results, there seems to be an interaction between these three factors. According to this research, most students did not identify themselves as living in EP, but several populations perceived discomfort in both winter and summer, showing their vulnerability to EP. PubDate: 2023-03-23T00:00:00Z
Authors:Rui Li, Mikhail V. Chester, Ariane Middel, Jennifer K. Vanos, Danae Hernandez-Cortes, Isaac Buo, David M. Hondula Abstract: Urban heat exposure is an increasing health risk among urban dwellers. Many cities are considering accommodating active mobility, especially walking and biking, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, promoting active mobility without proper planning and transportation infrastructure to combat extreme heat exposure may cause more heat-related morbidity and mortality, particularly in future with projected climate change. This study estimated the effectiveness of active trip heat exposure mitigation under built environment and travel behavior change. Simulations of the Phoenix metro region's 624,987 active trips were conducted using the activity-based travel model (ABM), mean radiant temperature (TMRT, net human radiation exposure), transportation network, and local climate zones. Two scenarios were designed to reduce traveler exposure: one that focuses on built environment change (making neighborhoods cooler) and the other on travel behavior (switching from shorter travel time but higher exposure routes to longer travel time but cooler routes) change. Travelers experienced TMRT heat exposure ranging from 29°C to 76°C (84°F to 168°F) without environmental or behavioral change. Active trip TMRT exposures were reduced by an average of 1.2–3.7°C when the built environment was changed from a hotter to cooler design. Behavioral changes cooled up to 10 times more trips than changes in built environment changes. The marginal benefit of cooling decreased as the number of cooled corridors transformed increased. When the most traveled 10 km of corridors were cooled, the marginal benefit affected over 1,000 trips/km. However, cooling all corridors results in marginal benefits as low as 1 trip/km. The results reveal that heavily traveled corridors should be prioritized with limited resources, and the best cooling results come from environment and travel behavior change together. The results show how to surgically invest in travel behavior and built environment change to most effectively protect active travelers. PubDate: 2023-03-09T00:00:00Z
Authors:Usue Lorenz Abstract: This research aims to explore in what extent young people can enhance their individual skills, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors by taking part in urban policymaking co-creation processes. The empirical study conducted within the UPLIFT project is based on two main theoretical influences: co-creation and youth participation in policymaking and the capability approach. The author found that the young participants in the UPLIFT co-creation process in Barakaldo who were encountering vulnerabilities or difficulties in housing, experienced positive individual effects from their participation in the process. Framed in terms of the Capability Approach, the process impacts positively on young people's individual abilities (individual factors) that may influence their opportunities (capabilities) and life strategies (functionings) in the housing domain. In the following lines, I also suggest a set of critical aspects that need to be pursued in a co-creative policymaking process to help increase the vulnerable young participants' knowledge and attitudes toward community planning initiatives in the field of urban policymaking. PubDate: 2023-03-08T00:00:00Z
Authors:Bemmy Jennifer Maharramli, Michele Romolini Abstract: Increasingly, scholars, policy makers, and others have put forth that governance and management of urban environments requires a consideration of cities as social-ecological systems, necessitating involvement from a broad range of actors. Yet the research on environmental governance and development of tools to support it is often completed for rather than with those responsible for carrying out the work. We examined a university-led research effort on urban environmental stewardship in Los Angeles (LA), USA. A university urban research center conducted an environmental Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) in Los Angeles County, which draws upon network analysis and GIS to better understand sustainability relationships, opportunities, and gaps. STEW-MAP is intended to be both a research study examining stewardship organizations across sectors, scales, jurisdictions and geographic space, as well as an application providing tools to facilitate collaborative environmental stewardship. We sought to contribute to a better understanding of how the process of STEW-MAP can leverage sustainability for a more relational ecology with cities approach. To evaluate the process of the LA STEW-MAP, we conducted our conceptual analysis of this stewardship tool by examining co-production of knowledge and co-production of place, drawing particularly from workshops with community partners that took place in 2017 and 2018. This article will show that the LA STEW-MAP process can be improved to better operationalize a relational ecology with cities approach. This research contributes to the urban sustainability governance literature by focusing on how the process of the LA STEW-MAP can be a relational model and advance an ecology with cities' approach that captures and leverages multi-scalar interactions. PubDate: 2023-03-06T00:00:00Z
Authors:Anil Kumar Roy, Meghnad Saha Abstract: Gujarat has been one of the leading states in India as far as the levels of urbanization are concerned. This is due to its pull factors attracting migrations from outside the state. However, the urban population is concentrated in a few districts dominated by large urban centers such as Ahmedabad, Surat, Rajkot, Vadodara, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar. The levels of urbanization in Gujarat have been higher than the national average throughout independent India. It has also experienced rapid urban growth of population during the same period, but the recently emerging concentration and pattern of urbanization have been lopsided, meaning that a few districts contributes more than half of the total urban population of the state. Literature in the thematic areas of urbanization particularly in Gujarat are few and limited. The studies so far have discussed about the impact of globalization and urbanizations, trends and patters of urbanization, dynamics of urban development and migration in Gujarat. This study particularly focuses on establishing a link between migration and urbanization using district level data on urbanization. This study is unique in the sense that previous studies have failed to capture the interstate migration and levels of urbanization in the state of Gujarat in India. Recent census data show a substantial increase in the census towns in Gujarat in the vicinity of the developed corridor and within the influence areas of large metropolitan cities. This paper aims to analyze the trends and emerging patterns in the levels of urbanization at the district level. It attempts to understand the inequalities in the distribution of urban population using the GINI coefficient of different size-class towns during the 2001 and 2011 censuses. It also tries to map the distribution of the urban population at the district level to show the emerging pattern. Emerging trends and the existing network of the census towns of 2011 have also been mapped to provide the idea of regional distribution. The existing urbanization pattern in Gujarat matches with the industrial development. It reminds colonial experiences of induced industrialization, attracting colossal in-migration and higher urbanization. The migration pattern during the last two census periods shows that respective districts of the above-mentioned cities are attracting in-migration due to the early post-independence industrialization period. We have calculated the net contribution from migration to the levels of urbanization using D-2 Series migration data from the census of India for the years 2001 and 2011. It shows that Central Gujarat, Saurashtra and South Gujarat have gained more due to migrations from other states to sustain their industrial development, leading to rapid and higher levels of urbanization in these regions. However, the future of urbanization in the state will depend on carefully selecting industrial activities that are sustainable in the long run. PubDate: 2023-03-03T00:00:00Z
Authors:Leila Niamir, Shonali Pachauri Abstract: Anthropogenic climate change is increasingly affecting every city in the world, including through more intense weather and climate extremes. Climate impacts and risks are magnified in cities, which are home to more than half the world's population. Projections show one billion people will live in areas at risk of coastal hazards by 2050. Sea level rise jeopardizes cities to complicated wind, water, and coastal hazards. Potential impacts on wellbeing include damage to housing, transportation, and energy infrastructure as well as human health. Yet, attention thus far has focused on incremental adaptation responses, with a focus more on infrastructure and technology transitions in coastal cities. Comprehensive transformative actions that specifically incorporate behavioral, cultural and institutional options are largely neglected. In this perspective, we emphasize that immediate and massive effort and involvement from individuals to social entities across sectors, institutions, and systems is required for a transformation toward climate-resilient coastal cities. We conclude by emphasizing that dichotomies between ambitious adaptation and mitigation actions need to be bridged to enhance resilience to warming in coastal cities, and that this requires appropriate multi-level governance mechanisms to coordinate across agents and sectors. PubDate: 2023-03-03T00:00:00Z
Authors:Julian Scott Yeomans, Mariia Kozlova Abstract: Urban planning often involves decision-making under highly uncertain circumstances. System dynamics and multi-agent modeling frameworks are commonly employed to model the social phenomena in this type of urban planning. However, because the outputs from these approaches are regularly characterized as a function of time, the majority of studies in this modeling domain lack appropriate sensitivity analysis. Consequently, important insights into model behavior are frequently overlooked. Monte Carlo simulation has been used to incorporate uncertain features in urban planning with the outputs displayed as probability distributions. Recently simulation decomposition (SimDec) has been used to enhance the visualization of the cause-effect relationships of multi-variable combinations of inputs on the corresponding simulated outputs. SimDec maps each output value of a Monte Carlo simulation on to the multivariable groups of inputs or scenarios from which it originated. By visually projecting the subdivided scenarios onto the overall output, SimDec can reveal previously unidentified influences between the various combinations of inputs on to the outputs. SimDec can be generalized to any Monte Carlo method with insignificant computational overhead and is, therefore, extendable to any simulated urban planning analysis. This study demonstrates the efficacy of adapting SimDec for the sensitivity analysis of urban dynamics modeling on a paradigmatic simplified version of Forrester's Urban Dynamics- URBAN1 model. SimDec reveals complexities in model behavior that are not, and can not be, captured by standard sensitivity analysis methods and highlights, in particular, the intricate joint effect of immigration and outmigration on system development. PubDate: 2023-03-03T00:00:00Z
Authors:Tamsin P. T. Faragher, Kirsty Carden Abstract: Until recently, Cape Town, South Africa's second largest city relied entirely on surface water for water supply. Low rainfall between 2015 and 2018 caused extreme water scarcity and water insecurity, even though the city is located on a number of significant aquifers. Water demand management measures instituted during the drought accelerated the transition to a decentralized, hybrid system. Groundwater played an important role in this transition, particularly for households, the bulk users of utility-supplied water. The current water governance and management is ill-equipped for the emergent hybrid system underpinned by an engineering approach that treats water narrowly as a resource for supply and use. This approach is problematic because it does not adequately consider water as one of multiple systems comprising the environment that supplies critical ecosystem services. Even though the City of Cape Town, as local government, effectively does not have a groundwater management role, its responsibilities for water and sanitation services, spatial planning, land-use management and environmental management all intersect with groundwater management. Significant water governance reform is therefore necessary for sustainable groundwater use and resilience in Cape Town and other South African cities. PubDate: 2023-03-02T00:00:00Z
Authors:Anmar Pretorius, Derick Blaauw Abstract: IntroductionThe South African economy has a long history of mining exploration. The first mining operations were recorded in 1852. Literature has expressed the need to continue exploring the implications of internal and cross-border in-migration on the labor market of destination areas. This paper investigates migration patterns in South Africa by focusing on three mining towns (Postmasburg, Rustenburg and Emalahleni) in three different provinces.MethodsThis paper utilizes survey data from primary sources to investigate the potential link between migration patterns and mining output. The surveys formed part of an interdisciplinary research project under the auspices of the Center of Development Studies (CDS) at the University of the Free State.Results and discussionPostmasburg is the only mining town that experienced recent periods of expansion. This is reflected in the significant increase in the number of migrants moving to Postmasburg during 2011 and 2012, and the shorter average length of stay of migrants in Postmasburg (7.2 years compared to 9.8 years in Emalahleni and 11.0 in Rustenburg). The results resonate with the neo-classical notion of self-interest among younger people as a motivating factor for migration. Migrants in our samples were significantly younger than the locally-born respondents and display higher levels of education. Empirical results confirm this positive return on increased education levels with a positive and highly statistically significant return to every additional year of formal education. In all three towns, the dummy variable included to represent a distinction between mineworkers and non-mineworkers was statically significant. This confirms the general perception that mineworkers in all these communities receive a premium in terms of their monthly earnings-even after controlling for different levels of education. As part of a future research agenda, the role of environmental factors as a driver of migration could also be investigated in depth in Southern Africa. PubDate: 2023-02-27T00:00:00Z
Authors:Joris Hoekstra, Martina Gentili Abstract: For young adults on the Amsterdam housing market the accessibility of housing has been decreasing for years, due to soaring house prices and rents, the shrinkage and residualization of the social rental sector, and the precarization of the labor market. Consequently, many young people struggle to secure an affordable and adequate dwelling and are stuck in insecure and chaotic housing pathways. Current housing policies in Amsterdam are struggling to effectively respond to these challenges. In an effort to better understand and address the specific housing problems of young people, the Municipality of Amsterdam, housing association Lieven de Key, resident organization !Woon, Delft University of Technology and a group of local young people have started a co-creation process within the framework of the H2020 UPLIFT project. The goal of this co-creation process is to unravel the real-life experiences of young people and to co-create new or improved policy initiatives with them. This paper examines the results of said policy co-creation process in order to evaluate its methodology as well as its impact on the participating actors - young people in particular - and on the policymaking approach. We analyze the benefits and limits of this type of participatory practice in addressing housing issues and try to draw conclusions on its applicability in a larger context. PubDate: 2023-02-27T00:00:00Z
Authors:Nan Yao, Xiwen Tan, Yuefan Zhang, Yunhan Qu, Xue Han, Zhi Li Abstract: With the rapid development of economy and the improvement of people's living standard, the domestic waste is greatly increasing. Based on the multi-agent evolutionary game theory, an evolutionary game model among the recycling industry, urban management officer and government is established to address the environmental issues of rising municipal solid waste production and low recycling utilization rates in China. Through numerical example analysis, the relationship between relevant factors on the evolutionary stable state of the system is studied. The findings demonstrate that when the likelihood of severe oversight by the government and of significant enforcement by urban management officers grows, the recycling industry becomes more ready to select waste separation strategy. Additionally, the government is far more affected by the likelihood of significant enforcement by urban management officers than the recycling industries are. In addition, effective acceleration of waste sorting may be achieved by giving the recycling industries the proper government subsidies and increasing the recycling industries' profits from garbage sorting. Moreover, the government's increased fines for the urban management officers can significantly lower the incidence of bribery between the recycling industries and the urban management officers. PubDate: 2023-02-21T00:00:00Z
Authors:Chu Donatus Iweh, Yvan Jose Agbor Ayuketah, Samuel Gyamfi, Emmanuel Tanyi, Eric Effah-Donyina, Felix Amankwah Diawuo Abstract: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 2021 report has noted the perceived rise in severe weather phenomena such as heat radiations, hurricanes, flooding, and droughts and the rising scientific evidence attributing these events to anthropogenic sources of climate change. Cameroon as a nation is equally exposed to these climate vulnerabilities, and contributing to global climate efforts is imperative. She has earmarked the integration of 25% renewables in its electricity production mix and a 32% emission reduction, all as part of her commitment to global climate action. The fresh commitments coupled with a rapidly growing power demand have paved the way for a revolutionized approach to electricity generation in Cameroon. However, the imminent changes, as well as their implications, remain uncertain. This study explores how these emission reduction targets can be achieved through the adoption of a more sustainable power transition, which provides realistic solutions for emission reduction, escaping high carbon pathways. The assessment of the level at which long-term electricity generation scenarios in Cameroon could be renewable energy intensive was done using the Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP) tool following a backcasting approach. The study noted that there is an implementation gap between earmarked policy ambitions and existing measures. The study recommended several opportunities in aspects, such as suitable share of technologies, administrative reforms, and required adjustments within the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which the government could exploit in the electricity sector to sail across the challenging trade-offs needed to become a sustainable economy in a carbon-constrained world. It equally examines actions that could help close the gap between earmarked policy ambitions and existing pathways and proposes cost-effective methods that were identified as priorities. PubDate: 2023-02-17T00:00:00Z
Authors:Madhavi Jain Abstract: Warmer global climate and urban heat islands (UHIs) interact, by exacerbating heatwaves and increasing the extreme heat days in cities. The implications of added heat stress in urban environments due to intensifying surface UHIs (SUHIs) is of utmost concern. Seasonal, annual and decadal nighttime SUHI intensities (SUHIIs), from 2001 to 2020, for nine major populated cities of India are analyzed. This includes five megacities- Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore, and Chennai, and four incipient megacities- Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Surat, and Pune. The key role of increasing urbanization (pre- and post-2010) in expansion and intensification of nighttime SUHIs in India is highlighted. For all cities either pre-monsoon (MAM) or winter (December-February; DJF) seasons show the strongest SUHII development. During the 2001–2010, and the 2011–2020 decade, a nighttime SUHII maxima of respectively (i) 2.1°C and 2.5°C for Delhi, (ii) 1.3°C and 1.5°C for Mumbai, (iii) 1.3°C and 1.5°C for Kolkata, (iv) 0.6°C and 1.0°C Bangalore, (v) 1.7°C and 1.9°C for Chennai, (vi) 1.8°C and 2.3°C for Hyderabad, (vii) 2.8°C and 3.1°C for Ahmedabad, (viii) 1.9°C and 2.4°C for Surat, and (ix) 0.8°C and 1.3°C for Pune is noted. Further, all incipient megacities showed a mean annual growth rate of nighttime SUHII of over 0.007°C/year, substantially greater than in the megacities. High SUHII magnitudes, greater growth rates of SUHII, and huge populations, severely compounds the vulnerability of Indian cities to excessive heat exposure risk, especially during MAM heatwaves. Lastly, the implications of nighttime SUHII findings from the present study, on the increase in heat stress, the loss of labor productivity and the rise in heat-related mortality rate is emphasized. The study recommends implementation of city-specific action plans to mitigate the heat stressed urban environment. Targeted use of cooling strategies in localized hotspots within the urban areas where high intensity SUHIs are likely to form is also suggested. PubDate: 2023-02-16T00:00:00Z
Authors:M. Omar Nawaz, Daven K. Henze, Susan C. Anenberg, Doyeon Y. Ahn, Daniel L. Goldberg, Christopher W. Tessum, Zoe A. Chafe Abstract: As the world becomes increasingly urbanized, growing populations are exposed to poor ambient air quality and at risk of the associated health outcomes. Urban air quality is affected both by local sources of air pollution and sources outside city borders. Policy-makers who develop air quality policies need to know whether it is most effective to focus on local policies or to spend resources fostering larger regional air quality management cooperation. Identifying the fraction of air pollution exposure from emissions as a function of distance from the city is a critical element of air quality management design. We estimate the health burden associated with exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), ozone (O3), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) from county-level anthropogenic sources in and around 14 US cities; this analysis is a test-bed to conduct future global analyses. We use adjoint sensitivities calculated from the chemical transport model GEOS-Chem, high resolution satellite-derived surface concentrations of PM2.5 and NO2, and health impact assessment methods. For the 70.2 million people living in these cities, we estimate that 27,740 PM2.5- and O3-related premature deaths and 126,600 NO2-related new asthma cases were attributable to air pollution exposure in 2011. Development within the GEOS-Chem adjoint framework enables sectoral attribution and policy analysis in addition to the rote assessment of impact. We find that 70% of deaths and nearly 100% of these asthma cases were attributable to anthropogenic emissions. There is great variability in the sources of the anthropogenically-related health impacts; within-urban emissions make up 5% in Austin to 56% in Los Angeles and Phoenix (median: 31%) of urban premature deaths and 18% in Austin to 82% in Los Angeles (median: 59.5%) of new asthma cases, with the remaining portions attributable to emissions from outside the urban area. For each city, we estimate the air quality related health benefits associated with the adoption of a vehicle-miles-traveled fee in that city and in multiple spatial regions surrounding the city. The findings suggest that the proportion of urban air pollution that is regional is greater for premature deaths than new asthma cases and for the eastern US than the western US. PubDate: 2023-02-16T00:00:00Z
Authors:Zié Adama Ouattara, Amos T. Kabo-Bah, Kouassi Dongo, Komlavi Akpoti, Ebenezer Kwadwo Siabi, Malan Ketcha Armand Kablan, Kouamedai Mathias Kangah Abstract: In Cote d'Ivoire, the failure of urban sewage systems is a crucial problem for the drainage of wastewater and rainwater. This failure is due to many factors and therefore, calls for diagnostic studies. The present study aimed at analyzing these networks in order to identify the different factors that contribute to the operational and structural degradation in selected sewerage and drainage networks in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. The method used in the study involved semi-structured interviews, video camera inspection and socio-environmental field surveys (geographical survey and household survey), followed by descriptive statistics. The results revealed that many structural, environmental and behavioral practice contribute to the progressive degradation of urban sewage systems. These factors are essentially those that prevent the normal flow of wastewater in the pipes such as the illegal dumping of solid waste, the unauthorized connection of wastewater networks, unsustainable urban agricultural practices, as well as the high concentration of vegetation on both sides of the network and the dilapidated infrastructure of the wastewater and rainwater networks. It was found that these factors are at the origin of the clogging and degradation of the sewers since 85% of the residents used these sewers as a dumping ground for solid waste. PubDate: 2023-02-10T00:00:00Z
Authors:Jay M. Iwasaki, Katja Hogendoorn Abstract: The majority of the human population now lives in urban environments and that proportion is forecast to increase dramatically by 2050. As urbanization increases, the urban environment will increasingly play a role in biodiversity conservation. Floral visitors, often erroneously referred to as pollinators, are integral to the maintenance of ecosystem services and function. Several floral visitors are capable of adapting to urban environments, but for comprehensive protection, management practices must be tailored to specific groups. Urban biodiversity conservation is usually discussed from the northern hemisphere perspective, which has a very different ecology than its southern counterpart. Here we compare and contrast conservation strategies for urban flower visitors in Australia and New Zealand to the northern hemisphere, with a focus on birds and bees. The differences in flower visitors and floral characteristics mean that unique management strategies, which consider the local evolutionary context and integrate native flora, are required to support urban flower visitors. An additional important difference is that neither honey bees nor bumble bees, which reach high local densities in many areas, are native to the region, and thus should be excluded from urban biodiversity schemes. PubDate: 2023-02-10T00:00:00Z
Authors:Zhen Tian, Bowen Zhou Abstract: IntroductionBay Areas are viewed as a complex region with integrated objectives and numerous functions. Despite the increasing interaction between bay area development and urban landscape transformation, the fragmented literature did not address the question: how to achieve sustainable development in the bay area' The objective of this study was to review the literature on four representative bay areas from both the West and the East, including the San Francisco Bay Area, New York Bay Area, Tokyo Bay Area, and Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. This study aimed to address the following two questions: What are the ongoing research trends in the field of bay areas' What are the most critical urban issues for future bay area development'MethodsThis study used a systematic review to examine publications from the Scopus database. Both descriptive and evaluative approaches were employed to analyze the publications on the four representative bay areas. The bibliometric analysis was performed using the VOS viewer to visualize research results and outcomes.ResultsThe results revealed that the majority of the bay area related studies emphasized environmental issues, focused on decentralization and policy interactions, and the field of education received limited attention.DiscussionThis study contributes to the comprehensive understanding of the city-region development and provides policy suggestions for future sustainable bay area development. The findings of the keyword-based bibliometric analysis can be applied to other realms of city studies. PubDate: 2023-02-09T00:00:00Z
Authors:Paschalin Basil, Gladys Nyachieo Abstract: IntroductionWalking and cycling as a form of active travel offer an opportunity for individuals to engage in physical exercises while performing a functional journey. Notwithstanding, the large proportion of the population relying on non-motorized transport (NMT), namely walking and cycling, has not been prioritized. At a time when lifestyle health challenges such as obesity and other non-communicable diseases are on the rise, walking and cycling would provide a window of opportunity and potentially provide exercise and thus improve the general health and wellbeing of the population. More than 75% of total daily trips made by Africa's low-income population are made by walking, compared with 45% by the more affluent people. Walking and cycling, considered low-carbon emission modes of transport, not only enhance urban quality but also boost social cohesion. Despite these potential gains, poor NMT infrastructure systems, low integration with the other modes of transport, and non-committal by law enforcement to protect pedestrians and cyclists still define the NMT ecosystem.MethodsThis study used descriptive methods to explore the barriers to and citizen perceptions of walking and cycling in Kenya's capital, the Nairobi Metropolitan area.Results and discussionPoor or absence of proper NMT infrastructure systems, safety concerns due to poor planning, lack of targeted policies as well as low or no capacity to ride a bicycle are among the predominant factors that undermine the use of NMT in Nairobi. However, a majority of citizens find no positive link between walking and/or cycling and poverty, a significant deviation from some prior studies and report.RecommendationsOther than scaling up walking and cycling facilities, this study strongly recommends the use of participatory city frameworks to support NMT research, transport policy, and the needs of those already using walking and cycling as active modes of transport. PubDate: 2023-02-07T00:00:00Z
Open Access journal
