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PubMedDate not supplied

[An intervention policy for reducing noise pollution in urban areas].

The methodological methods for a reduction of the noise pollution in the urban areas, mainly, can be advised in 8 operative points: 1) reduction of the source's noise; 2) control of the traffic; 3) planning of the urban and regional development; 4) building's shelter against the noise; 5) compensation's and incentivation's interventions for the exposed people; 6) controls activity and restaining of the noise's sources; 7) scientific research; 8) health education. For executive motivations we must, necessarily, divide the intervention turned to a reduction of the noise's emissions caused by fixed source compared to the noise's emissions determined by motor or railway traffic (mobile sources). This operative criteria have been utilized recently (1988) from Italian Department of Ecology for a bill. The controls of fixed source are made by Public Health Services of U.S.L. (Local Sanitary Unit) assisted, in case, by multiarea country's districts. The regulations of traffic can be took in consideration, in short time, only in more simple problems, as the setting up of pedestrian island or the suspensions of the heavy traffic, etc. The traffic's regulation must care same general data: the halved of traffic's flow in same rilevation's point, involve a reduction of only 3 dBA of the sound pressure level previously measured; if the percentage of heavy traffic is higher than 10% of the traffic's flow, the first intervention must be the no thorough fare to heavy lorries. In general, then, the best way for the resolution of vehicular noise pollution is the noisy emission's control of the single vehicle, because only the regulation of traffic's flow doesn't suffice to realise a enough reduction of noise pollution. For the resolution of more complex problems is necessary a preliminary stage to study and to plan those before to can carry out a typology of intervention. This necessity is, of course, more expensive in time and money; in fact, the solution of the problem can be the building of a efficient subway network completed by car parks in the terminal stations. In alternation at this draft, we can pointed out, also, same compromise resolutions like the appoint areas to limited traffic in the town or the break of continuity of the bus-line in the town. The compensation or the incentivation to make defence works against noise is a very expensive way and, moreover, they don't solve the problem for all exposed people in a future.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Automobiles↗
PubMed2004

Chicago wilderness: a new force in urban conservation.

In 1996, a coalition of diverse and determined organizations launched a new initiative in the Chicago region. Our vision? Chicago Wilderness: a thriving mosaic of natural areas, connected by greenways and wildlife corridors, embedded in the nation's third largest metropolis. In this vision, the region's human communities reclaim a cultural tradition of protecting and restoring the globally outstanding natural communities that enrich our lives. Today, more than 170 organizations join forces to transform this vision into reality. A regional biodiversity recovery plan, the result of 3 years of assessment and planning by scientists, land managers, educators, and policy strategists, sets priorities and determines the lines of action for the coalition. This regional agenda stems from our vision and recovery goals for each ecological community; it encourages targeted research initiatives that focus on characterizing our native biological diversity and on analyzing elements critical to its recovery. Ultimately, though, the long-term survival of our natural wealth rests on the support from the public. Although the challenges to conservation educators and communicators are many, Chicago Wilderness allows us to work together in understanding our audiences, channeling our resources, and creating novel approaches to engage the widest public in our conservation efforts.

Chicago↗
PubMedDate not supplied

How to forecast community annoyance in planning noisy facilities.

When planning the development or reduction of large traffic facilities, acoustic calculation procedures are used to forecast the noise load in the affected residential areas. Then, existing dose/response relationships for steady state situations are used to predict noise effects in future years. Planners often assume that (1) noise annoyance reactions of residents do not change over the years, and (2) annoyance is not affected by the change itself. Both of these assumptions are questioned in this paper, and a procedure for estimating future annoyance in changed noise situations is proposed. This includes the analysis of possible statistical trends of the annoyance reactions over the years - even for steady-state noise loads, and with changing state situations, the effects of the change should also be accounted for.

Aircraft↗
PubMed2005

Land use planning in India.

India was the first country to provide for the protection and improvement of environment in its constitution. Land use planning (LUP) or siting of industries has been taken up at the State and Central (Federal) levels over the last few decades. LUP is critical for all types of industries and new residential colonies, but is especially so for the chemical industries. With the experience gained, more coherence in LUP policies is emerging. A few prominent cases of siting of industry, some mixed with public outcry, that have affected the policies are noted in the text. Various factors which affect LUP in India are: population density, infrastructure (roads, power, communication, etc.), level of industrialization in different parts, need for creation of jobs, eco-sensitive regions, tribal regions, historical monuments, etc. This paper discusses the current scene in India and the near future aspects.

Building Codes↗
PubMed2001

Prospects, problems and pitfalls of urban water reuse: a case study.

This paper presents a successful water reclamation and reuse project in the San Francisco Bay area. The project, which includes a water reclamation facility and a separate distribution system, is operated by a wastewater utility and reclaims approximately 4% of its dry-weather flow. Project history, its design and implementation are further discussed. Planning, and especially demand analysis, was critical for project development. Earlier attempts of water reuse were not successful because reclaimed water quality did not match the requirements of potential large industrial customers. Current customers are a mix of public, commercial and residential users who apply the reclaimed water solely for landscape irrigation. In addition, a large fraction of the reclaimed water is used internally in the main wastewater treatment plant. Early connection of largest customers, innovative collaboration with a neighboring reclamation project and cooperation of the local water supplier were very important for project success. Distribution of internal process water consumes most energy. The second major energy use is for the treatment of reclaimed water while distribution of reclaimed water to external customers requires least energy.

City Planning↗
PubMed2005

The role of web-based environmental information in urban planning--the environmental information system for planners.

The Environmental Information System for Planners (EISP) is a proof of concept web-based system designed to support decision making within the UK planning framework by making information on environmental issues more widely accessible. It incorporates relevant outputs from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Urban Regeneration and the Environment (URGENT) research programme and from research directly commissioned by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM). It supports three principal planning functions carried out by local authorities: pre-planning enquiries, development control decisions and strategic planning. Eleven environmental science themes are incorporated: Air quality, Shallow undermining, Landslide susceptibility, Groundwater protection, Flood risk, Drainage, Land contamination, Proximity to landfill, Biodiversity, Natural and Man-made heritage. Decision flow diagrams represent detailed analysis of workflow in each theme, taking account of best practice, regulatory responsibilities and planning guidance. Industry-standard web technologies integrate the flows and provide access to the system via secure web pages. Underpinning the system is an environmental geographical information system (GIS) containing up-to-date data, information and models relevant to each theme. The modular system design allows new legislation and local priorities and datasets to be easily incorporated. Web technology delivers information and research data that have hitherto been difficult for the non-specialist to access and have therefore been under-exploited. The study has demonstrated a successful application of the principles of e-Governance in an area where informed decisions commonly require specialist information. The system, if rolled out nationally, offers potential economic benefits and efficiency savings for both planners and developers.

City Planning↗
PubMed2002

How the built environment affects physical activity: views from urban planning.

The link between the built environment and human behavior has long been of interest to the field of urban planning, but direct assessments of the links between the built environment and physical activity as it influences personal health are still rare in the field. Yet the concepts, theories, and methods used by urban planners provide a foundation for an emerging body of research on the relationship between the built environment and physical activity. Recent research efforts in urban planning have focused on the idea that land use and design policies can be used to increase transit use as well as walking and bicycling. The development of appropriate measures for the built environment and for travel behavior is an essential element of this research. The link between the built environment and travel behavior is then made using theoretical frameworks borrowed from economics, and in particular, the concept of travel as a derived demand. The available evidence lends itself to the argument that a combination of urban design, land use patterns, and transportation systems that promotes walking and bicycling will help create active, healthier, and more livable communities. To provide more conclusive evidence, however, researchers must address the following issues: An alternative to the derived-demand framework must be developed for walking, measures of the built environment must be refined, and more-complete data on walking must be developed. In addition, detailed data on the built environment must be spatially matched to detailed data on travel behavior.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed2004

The study of metal contamination in urban soils of Hong Kong using a GIS-based approach.

The study of regional variations and the anthropogenic contamination by metals of soils is very important for environmental planning and monitoring in urban areas. An extensive survey was conducted in the highly urbanized Kowloon area (46.9 km(2)) of Hong Kong, using a systematic sampling strategy with a sampling density of 3-5 composite soil samples (0-15 cm) per km(2). Geochemical maps of 'total' metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn) from strong acid extraction in the surface soils were produced based on geographical information system (GIS) technology. A significant spatial relationship was found for Ni, Cu, Pb and Zn in the soils using a GIS-based analysis, suggesting that these metal contaminants in the soils of the Kowloon area had common sources. Several hot-spot areas of metal contamination were identified from the composite metal geochemical map, mainly in the old industrial and residential areas. A further GIS analysis revealed that road junctions, major roads and industrial buildings were possible sources of heavy metals in the urban soils. The Pb isotope composition of the contaminated soils showed clear anthropogenic origins.

Automobiles↗
PubMed1990

Use of a preferred provider plan by employees of the City of Seattle.

Little is known about the use of services in a preferred provider organization (PPO). We studied a preferred provider arrangement between Pacific Medical Center and employees of the City of Seattle. In the second 12 months of this program 8,529 subjects submitted at least one claim; of these, only 420 (4.9%) ever used the preferred provider. Those who used the PPO at least once differed significantly from those who never used it on age, sex, employee/dependent status, and utilization in the previous year. Outpatient and total charges were higher for PPO users than for nonusers before and after control for those characteristics. Those who used the PPO exclusively were similar to those who never used it. People who used both the PPO and other providers were at higher risk for use of services, and had much higher overall utilization, with or without control for other variables. No differences were found between people who obtained only a small proportion of their services at the PPO and those who had most (but not all) of their use at the PPO. Many of these findings can be explained by a self-selection model. It is important for research on PPOs to have an independent manner of assessing who is a PPO user.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Life cycle assessment for sustainable metropolitan water systems planning.

Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is useful as an information tool for the examination of alternative future scenarios for strategic planning. Developing a life cycle assessment for a large water and wastewater system involves making methodological decisions about the level of detail which is retained through different stages of the process. In this article we discuss a methodology tailored to strategic planning needs which retains a high degree of model segmentation in order to enhance modeling of a large, complex system. This is illustrated by a case study of Sydney Water, which is Australia's largest water service provider. A prospective LCA was carried out to examine the potential environmental impacts of Sydney Water's total operations in the year 2021. To our knowledge this is the first study to create an LCA model of an integrated water and wastewater system with this degree of complexity. A "base case" system model was constructed to represent current operating assets as augmented and upgraded to 2021. The base case results provided a basis for the comparison of alternative future scenarios and for conclusions to be drawn regarding potential environmental improvements. The scenarios can be roughly classified in two categories: (1) options which improve the environmental performance across all impact categories and (2) options which improve one indicator and worsen others. Overall environmental improvements are achieved in all categories by the scenarios examining increased demand management, energy efficiency, energy generation, and additional energy recovery from biosolids. The scenarios which examined desalination of seawater and the upgrades of major coastal sewage treatment plants to secondary and tertiary treatment produced an improvement in one environmental indicator but deteriorations in all the other impact categories, indicating the environmental tradeoffs within the system. The desalination scenario produced a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions due to coal-fired electricity generation for a small increase in water supply. Assessment of a greenfield scenario incorporating water demand management, on-site treatment, local irrigation, and centralized biosolids treatment indicates significant environmental improvements are possible relative to the assessment of a conventional system of corresponding scale.

City Planning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Hospital function and the urban system in Brazil].

Do hospital services, like other services and commerce, contribute to the structuring of geographical regions, as proposed by central place theory? This question raises the issue of the rating of hospital facilities in land use planning policies. According to the theory, a polarized region forms around a central place due to the minimization of transport costs by consumers seeking to satisfy their needs. If a center offers more central functions (rare trades, services for individuals and businesses), its level in the urban hierarchy is raised and its area of influence expands. This theory was validated using a model, the variant of the gravitation model proposed by Huff. Brazil is an excellent testing ground for these hypotheses due to the great variety of geographic situations, economic and social development levels and the availability of sufficient data. Geographic research has resulted in the construction of an urban center hierarchy based on central functions, and the Unified Health System (or SUS) systematically records authorizations for hospital admission (or AIH) throughout the country. Processing of the 12 million AIH for 1996 showed that in a quarter of cases, the individual was admitted to hospital in a town other than their town of residence (exogenous AIH). Mapping the percentage of exogenous AIH makes it possible to delimit the area of influence of health services (observed influence) for the whole of Brazil. In Minas Gerais State, these areas of influence were compared with the estimates made according to the Huff model (calculated influence), with adjustment for distance and the number of hospital beds. Differences between the observed and calculated areas of influence are due to factors not taken into account by the model, such as the heterogeneity of many regions in the country. However, the accuracy of the estimation is satisfying, as is the simplicity of the equations. All the results tend towards a single conclusion: hospital services play a major role in the structuring of geographic space, by increasing the attraction potential of urban centers.

Brazil↗
PubMed2002

Crosswalk markings and the risk of pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions in older pedestrians.

CONTEXT: Motor vehicles struck and killed 4739 pedestrians in the United States in the year 2000. Older pedestrians are at especially high risk. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether crosswalk markings at urban intersections influence the risk of injury to older pedestrians. DESIGN: Case-control study in which the units of study were crossing locations. SETTING: Six cities in Washington and California, with case accrual from February 1995 through January 1999. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 282 case sites were street-crossing locations at an intersection where a pedestrian aged 65 years or older had been struck by a motor vehicle while crossing the street; 564 control sites were other nearby crossings that were matched to case sites based on street classification. Trained observers recorded environmental characteristics, vehicular traffic flow and speed, and pedestrian use at each site on the same day of the week and time of day as when the case event had occurred. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Risk of pedestrian-motor vehicle collision involving an older pedestrian. RESULTS: After adjusting for pedestrian flow, vehicle flow, crossing length, and signalization, risk of a pedestrian-motor vehicle collision was 2.1-fold greater (95% confidence interval, 1.1-4.0) at sites with a marked crosswalk. Almost all of the excess risk was due to 3.6-fold (95% confidence interval, 1.7-7.9) higher risk associated with marked crosswalks at sites with no traffic signal or stop sign. CONCLUSIONS: Crosswalk markings appear associated with increased risk of pedestrian-motor vehicle collision to older pedestrians at sites where no signal or stop sign is present to halt traffic.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Managing the unmanageable: public hospital systems.

There are significant challenges to those who work in large public health care delivery systems: political imperatives; resource constraints; sometimes rigid personnel systems; and, the reality that everything occurs in a public forum. The fact that many nations are reviewing and, in some instances, restructuring their national health care systems, has added to the complexity and feeling of continual turbulence experienced by their managers. State run systems like that in the United Kingdom are introducing market forces to increase effectiveness and value for money; while market systems, like that in the United States, are increasing regulatory interventions to achieve the kind of cost control available to countries with large public systems which operate with global budgets. Public hospitals in the United States offer examples of public institutions operating in a highly competitive market environment. A decade of management changes undertaken to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest public hospital system in the United States, is presented as a case study of public health services and public management in a market environment.

Community Health Centers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development and applications of a city-level alcohol availability and alcohol problems database.

Data on alcohol availability and problems in all cities in Los Angeles County were collected from several different sources and linked together to form a Local Alcohol Availability Database (LAAD). The two major purposes of the project are to provide a city-level alcohol availability and alcohol-related problems database needed by local community alcohol policy planners and to collect the data necessary for research on the relationship between these measures. The prevalence of drunk driving arrests is displayed on a map. We describe how the LAAD has been used to guide alcohol policy decisions. A fixed year and city effects regression model suggests that outlet density is positively related to several alcohol-related problems.

Accidents, Traffic↗