The Effect of Stratification on the Aerodynamic Roughness Length and Displacement Height

The roughness length, z _0u , and displacement height, d _0u , characterise the resistance exerted by the roughness elements on turbulent flows and provide a conventional boundary condition for a wide range of turbulent-flow problems. Classical laboratory experiments and theories treat z _0u and d _0u as geometric parameters independent of the characteristics of the flow. In this paper, we demonstrate essential stability dependences—stronger for the roughness length (especially in stable stratification) and weaker but still pronounced for the displacement height. We develop a scaling-analysis model for these dependences and verify it against experimental data.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of Flows over Random Urban-like Obstacles

Further to our previous large-eddy simulation (LES) of flow over a staggered array of uniform cubes, a simulation of flow over random urban-like obstacles is presented. To gain a deeper insight into the effects of randomness in the obstacle topology, the current results, e.g. spatially-averaged mean velocity, Reynolds stresses, turbulence kinetic energy and dispersive stresses, are compared with our previous LES data and direct numerical simulation data of flow over uniform cubes. Significantly different features in the turbulence statistics are observed within and immediately above the canopy, although there are some similarities in the spatially-averaged statistics. It is also found that the relatively high pressures on the tallest buildings generate contributions to the total surface drag that are far in excess of their proportionate frontal area within the array. Details of the turbulence characteristics (like the stress anisotropy) are compared with those in regular roughness arrays and attempts to find some generality in the turbulence statistics within the canopy region are discussed.     

Source attribution of urban smog episodes caused by coal combustion

Stable weather conditions together with extensive use of coal combustion often lead to severe smog episodes in certain urban environments, especially in Eastern Europe. In order to identify the specific sources that cause the smog episodes in such environments, and to better understand the mixing state and atmospheric processing of aerosols, both single particle and bulk chemical characterization analysis of aerosols were performed in Krakow, Poland, during winter 2005.Real-time measurements of the bulk PM10 aerosol during a severe smog episode (PM10 mass > 400 µg m^− 3) showed a stable concentration of black carbon in the aerosol, and an increase in the sulphate and chlorine mass contributions towards the end of the episode. Chemical characterization of single particles further helped to identify residential coal burning as the main source that caused this severe smog episode, consisting of single particles with major signals for carbon with simultaneous absence of sulphate, chlorine and calcium. Particles from industrial coal combustion gained importance towards the end of that episode, after residential coal combustion was switched off, indicated by an increase of the percentage of sulphate and chlorine containing particles. Traffic was not a significant source during the severe smog episode. During a lighter smog episode, residential and industrial coal combustion was still predominant, with an increased contribution of traffic and processed/aged aerosols. On a clean day, particle classes containing nitrate were the most abundant. In addition, the aerosol was more internally mixed showing that there were more sources contributing to the total aerosol population.     

On the Derivation of Input Parameters for Urban Canopy Models from Urban Morphological Datasets

Two techniques are analysed to derive mean street width and mean building width from morphological data of real cities: one based on a two-dimensional simplified morphology, and the other based on a three-dimensional regular simplified morphology. For each simplified morphology (two-dimensional and three-dimensional), the sky-view factors (street-to-sky) are computed and compared with the sky-view factors derived from the real morphology for selected districts of three European and two North American cities. The two-dimensional simplified morphology reproduces the real sky-view factors better than the three-dimensional morphology. Since many urban canopy parameterizations represent the city using simplified morphologies, this can be useful information for the derivation of input parameters for urban canopy parameterizations from real morphological data.     

昆明城市热岛效应变化特征研究

利用昆明周边多个自动气象站观测的2004~2012年温度序列,研究了昆明城市热岛效应的日、季节和年际变化特征,并分析了昆明城市热岛水平分布和变化趋势。昆明城市热岛强度具有明显的日变化,夜间较强,白天较弱。城市热岛强度一般在早上08:00(北京时间,下同)达到最大值,在午后14:00减弱或消失。城市热岛强度在冬季最强,春、秋季次之,夏季最弱。昆明城市热岛强度多年平均值为1.27°C,在2004~2009年期间表现为逐年递减的趋势,其年际变化的主要影响因子是云量。2004~2007年昆明城市热岛中心主要分布在主城区。2008年以后,由于中小城镇经济和人口的迅速发展,昆明城市热岛面积不断扩大,并出现热岛中心向呈贡、石林一带偏移的现象。     

下垫面对雹云形成发展的影响

利用中尺度模式WRF(Weather Research and Forecasting)对2005年5月31日发生在北京地区的一次强冰雹天气过程进行了数值模拟研究,并与观测的雷达回波、冰雹云移动路径和冰雹落区进行比较,在此基础上探讨了城市和农田两种下垫面对雹云的影响。结果表明,由于"城市热岛"效应的作用,城市下垫面的地面感热通量显著增加,有利于雹云的发展增强和大冰雹的形成,使地面累积降雹量增加,但对雹云移动路径影响不大。农田下垫面具有较大的潜热通量,局地蒸发强,有利于大量小冰雹的形成,云中冰雹含量增加,但降雹强度较弱,地面累积降雹量小。     

Globalising initiatives for gender equality and poverty reduction: Exploring ‘failure’ with reference to education and work among urban youth in The Gambia and Ghana

This paper focuses on what observers have perceived to be a failure of development leading to a ‘crisis of youth’ as increasing numbers of young people find it more difficult to gain education, access to health, a job and meet standard of living aspirations. For some, a possible escape is offered by migration to Europe, the United States or Australia, often illegally. For those remaining behind, however, international development agencies offer a ‘globalisation of solutions’ to employment, gender inequality and poverty through the millennium development goals and the programmes to attain them. In this paper we do not take the failures of development at face value but look at local contexts to present a more complex picture of the relation between education, work and social life. Based on fieldwork conducted in urban areas of The Gambia and Ghana, we argue that rather than education as a catch-all solution we need to give more attention to the costs incurred by and for young people in pursuing education and training, to the operation of and actual opportunities in labour markets, and to patterns of gender socialisation which give women limited scope to exercise agency. This paper explores key gender dimensions of work and education among low-income urban youth noting that despite on-going efforts to increase young women’s enrolment in schools and access to employment, gender inequalities have been far from eradicated. Our field interviews reveal how social expectations that women should perform the bulk of reproductive labour in their youth as well as in adulthood and constraints placed on young women’s personal freedom in respect of their social relationships reduce time dedicated to education and establish fewer contacts relevant to securing paid employment. The result is for men to end up with more educational qualifications, more skills, and higher-paying jobs, even if unemployment among young people in general remains a major problem.     

Private sector involvement in urban governance: The case of Business Improvement Districts and Town Centre Management partnerships in England

Although it has many merits, the voluminous literature on urban governance gives scant attention to the actual involvement and positioning of business elites and businesses within Public-Private Partnerships. There is also little consensus among academics as to why the private sector become involved in such schemes. This paper begins to address these issues through a critical empirical examination of how and why the private sector is involved with three English Town Centre Management (TCM) partnerships and the Business Improvement District (BID) subsidiaries all three partnerships have recently developed. In order to do this, the empirical study is guided by a conceptual framework that foregrounds the relationship between (a) the opening up and monitoring of ‘institutional space’ by partnerships and the state, and (b) the motivations and ‘constrained agency’ of the business elites. The paper demonstrates that the positioning of the private sector is more multifarious and fractured than previous studies of urban governance have suggested. It also reveals that business elites and businesses view their participation as an ‘investment’ that needs to accrue significant financial returns and that partnership and state officials are highly selective in their choice of ‘who governs’.     

城乡结合部土地利用变化的信息提取技术与分析--以无锡市为例

作为两种截然不同的生态系统过渡区,城乡结合部是土地利用/土地覆被变化最激烈地区之一,城乡结合部的土地利用情况日益受到人们重视.本文以无锡市为例,利用3S技术提取城乡结合部的范围和土地利用/土地覆被状况信息,提出了确定无锡市城乡结合部范围边界的半自动提取模型和结合部土地利用类型半自动提取模型,并对无锡市城乡结合部土地利用结构及其变化进行分析,揭示了无锡市城乡结合部土地利用/土地覆被变化特征,据此提出城乡结合部土地合理利用的建议.     

甘肃省城市地质调查工作探析

城市地质工作贯穿于城市建设发展的全过程,是城市规划建设和经济社会发展的重要基础支撑,是未来地质工作的重要发展方向。围绕各城市规划建设、运行、转型升级、选址布局、防灾减灾、美化环境等所亟需的自然资源与城镇化进程中面临的各种地质环境问题,结合甘肃省情对地质工作的需求,提出甘肃省城市地质工作在未来8年里的总体战略构想,开展基础性综合地质填图、多要素城市地质调查、城市地质信息化智慧化建设,对城市开发建设、地质资源绿色利用、地方重大工程建设、城市生态安全体系构建,提供地质支撑。