Integrating cellular automata,artificial neural network,and fuzzy set theory to simulate threatened orchards: application to Maragheh,Iran

Urbanization processes challenge the growth of orchards in many cities in Iran. In Maragheh, orchards are crucial ecological, economical, and tourist sources. To explore orchards threatened by urban expansion, this study first aims to develop a new model by coupling cellular automata (CA) and artificial neural network with fuzzy set theory (CA–ANN–Fuzzy). While fuzzy set theory captures the uncertainty associated with transition rules, the ANN considers spatial and temporal nonlinearities of the driving forces underlying the urban growth processes. Second, the CA–ANN–Fuzzy model is compared with two existing approaches, namely a basic CA and a CA coupled with an ANN (CA–ANN). Third, we quantify the amount of orchard loss during the last three decades as well as for the upcoming years up to 2025. Results show that CA–ANN–Fuzzy with 83% kappa coefficient performs significantly better than conventional CA (with 51% kappa coefficient) and CA–ANN (with 79% kappa coefficient) models in simulating orchard loss. The historical data shows a considerable loss of 26% during the last three decades, while the CA–ANN–Fuzzy simulation reveals a considerable future loss of 7% of Maragheh’s orchards in 2025 due to urbanization. These areas require special attention and must be protected by the local government and decision-makers.     

Use of an inside buffer method to extract the extent of urban areas from DMSP/OLS nighttime light data in North China

Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP)/Operational Linescan System (OLS) nighttime imagery provides a valuable data source for mapping urban areas. However, the spatial extents of large cities are often overestimated because of the effect of over-glow from nighttime light if a fixed thresholding technique is used. In the work reported here, an inside buffer method was developed to solve this issue. The method is based on the fact that the area overestimated is proportional to the extent of the lit area if a fixed threshold is used to extract urban areas in a region/county. Using this method, the extents of urban areas in North China were extracted and validated by interpretations from Landsat Thematic Mapper images. The results showed that the lit areas had a significant linear relationship with the urban areas for 120 representative cities in North China in 2000, with an R² value of over 0.95. This demonstrates that the inside buffer method can be used to extract urban areas. The validation results showed that the inside buffer model developed in 2000 can be directly used to extract the extent of urban areas using more recent nighttime light imagery. This is of great value for the timely updating of urban area databases in large regions or countries.     

Application of ICTs in Airspace Management and Collaborative Decision-Making—Analyzing the Risk Avoidance in the Condition of Risky Weather as an Example

The application of ICTs makes structural change of the development and effective utilization of airspace. Next generation air transportation system (NextGen) includes new automation concepts with automated information to support the traffic control decision-making. As a result, in the field of academia and industry, air traffic controllers integrate information automatically while making decisions to change the previous manually integrated and decided pattern. The safety ability of airspace is reduced and airspace system is endangered under risky weather conditions of airspace. So there is an urgent demand for new information and communication technologies. The paper is an overview of the information constitution and support of NextGen and provides the study of the development of technique of airspace collaborative decision-makings to confirm the new features based on ICTs. It contains basic application-the input of data and output of the routes of airspace management and collaborative decision-making, and general application-the choose of probability nets of avoiding risky weather, and special application-the affection in the management of the air routes, which are made up of position and direction. The research shows the accurate schedule characteristics of airspace management and collaborative decision-making based on ICTs, which made the space accurate by time accurate. Second, the visualization of airspace management and collaborative decision-making based on ICTs made the maps of flight path under mobile data quickly generated. This could make the fully development and utilization of national airspace, ensure safety, and reduce air traffic controllers’ workload and the costs in delaying and operating in risky weather.     

若尔盖铀矿田漏失层空心微珠泥浆试验研究

若尔盖铀矿是我国四大基本类型铀矿田之一,矿层为灰岩、硅灰岩,圈团状纵向裂隙发育,长孔段失返性全漏失,泥浆性能难以维护,孔壁失稳,堵漏花费大量的人力、物力。为提高钻进效率,针对地层漏失机理,通过降低漏失压力实现平衡钻进,分别开展了空气泡沫、微泡沫泥浆以及空心微珠等低密度泥浆体系的研究和试验。实践表明,空心微珠低密度泥浆体系是一种适合若尔盖铀矿田漏失层钻进的泥浆体系。     

Analysis of interaction between ship bottom air cavity and boundary layer

The successful designs of hulls for ships employing drag reduction by air bottom cavitation have been based on solutions of inverse problems of the theory of ideal incompressible fluid. However, prediction of the drag reduction ratio, the air demand by ventilated cavities and the cavity impact on the hull–propeller interaction is impossible in the framework of this theory because all mentioned characteristics depend on interaction of air cavities with the ship boundary layers. Because the known CFD tools are not fitted to ventilated cavitation at low Froude numbers, an analysis of this interaction requires a novel flow model. This model includes the incompressible air flow in the ventilated cavity, the compressible flow of a water–air mixture in the boundary layer on cavities and downstream of them and the curl-free incompressible outer water flow. The provided 2D computations employing this model allows for explanations of the earlier observed effects and for prediction of the air demand by ventilated cavities. The computed velocity profiles downstream of cavities are in the accordance with the available experimental data.     

Influence of urban expansion on the urban heat island effect in Shanghai

The urban heat island (UHI) effect resulting from rapid urbanization is attracting increasing attention among the global scientific community. This research analyzed the relationship between urban expansion and the UHI effect utilizing an integrated approach, including urban land interpretation and retrieving land surface temperature based on remote sensing, and spatial overlay analysis for revealing the relationship for different time periods between 1984 and 2014 in Shanghai, China. The results show that (1) the spatiotemporal changes in UHI are consistent with the expansion of urban land, and rapid urban expansion leads to an expansion of the UHI, in particular along roadways. (2) The mode of urban expansion is an important factor influencing the UHI effect. Urban sprawl (urban expansion in the edge-expansion way) is a form of typical expansion that leads to the rapid increase in the UHI. When the urban compactness ratio is less than 0.15, a compact design can effectively control the expansion rate of the UHI and mitigate its range of influence and intensity. However, when the urban compactness ratio is greater than 0.15, the urban design has a marked influence on the UHI ratio index: a more compact form produces a stronger UHI effect. So, finding an equilibrium between urban compactness ratio and urban expansion rate is good for effective urban management and planning.     

Emerging Chinese Cities: Implications for Global Urban Studies

Chinese cities are emerging in multiple senses: They have created new physical spaces to accommodate the fast urbanization of the country but have also developed new properties and characteristics along with urban transformation. The novelty created by emerging cities in China is not easily covered by Western urban theory. This article examines the dynamism of Chinese urban transformation, especially political economic changes vis-à-vis so-called neoliberalism, and spatial outcomes as diverse and contrasting spaces of formality and informality. Finally, this article speculates on implications for global urban studies.     

Visualising 30 Years of Population Density Change in Australia’s Major Capital Cities

ABSTRACT

This study uses a novel spatial approach to compare population density change across cities and over time. It examines spatio-temporal change in Australia’s five most populated capital cities from 1981 to 2011, and documents the established and emerging patterns of population distribution. The settlement patterns of Australian cities have changed substantially in the last 30 years. From the doughnut cities of the 1980s, programs of consolidation, renewal and densification have changed and concentrated population in our cities. Australian cities in the 1980s were characterised by sparsely populated, low density centres with growth concentrated to the suburban fringes. ‘Smart Growth’ and the ‘New Urbanism’ movements in the 1990s advocated higher dwelling density living and the inner cities re-emerged, inner areas were redeveloped, and the population distribution shifted towards increased inner city population densities. Policies aimed at re-populating the inner city dominated and the resultant changes are now visible in Australia’s five most populated capital cities. While this pattern has been reported in a number of studies, questions remain regarding the extent of these changes and how to analyse and visualise them across urban space. This paper reports on a spatial method which addresses the limitations of changing statistical boundaries to identify the changing patterns in Australian cities over time and space.     

Measuring Urban Streetscapes for Livability: A Review of Approaches

Increasing interest in urban livability demands that geographers and planners more precisely define what constitutes a livable streetscape, a fundamental building block of urban places. Widespread examination of streetscape livability will require precise and efficient measurements of (1) physical characteristics at the spatial scale of individual streetscapes and (2) indicators of experiential quality based on revealed behavior or stated preference. This article reviews approaches to collecting both types of measurements, showing that innovative methods using geographic information systems (GIS), Internet-enabled surveys, and even social media could be useful complements to traditional qualitative methods for collecting streetscape measurements.     

The Pedagogical Benefits of SimCity in Urban Geography Education

This article investigated the pedagogical potential of the SimCity simulation game in an urban geography course. University students used SimCity to build their own cities and applied a wide range of theories to support their urban structures. Moreover, the students critically evaluated the logic and functioning of the SimCity simulation compared to real-world contexts and urban geography principles. The students believed the SimCity activity provided them with opportunities to promote their geographic creativity, resulting in diverse, unique, and interesting cities. The findings demonstrate that the use of SimCity can be an effective tool for geography education.