Modeling Energy Savings from Urban Shade Trees: An Assessment of the CITYgreen® Energy Conservation Module

CITYgreen® software has become a commonly used tool to quantify the benefits of urban shade trees. Despite its frequent use, little research has been conducted to validate results of the CITYgreen energy conservation module. The first objective of this study is to perform a familiar application of CITYgreen software to predict the potential energy savings contribution of existing tree canopies in residential neighborhoods during peak cooling summer months. Unlike previous studies utilizing CITYgreen, this study also seeks to assess the software’s performance by comparing model results (i.e., predicted energy savings) with actual savings (i.e., savings derived directly from energy consumption data provided by the electric utility provider). Homeowners in an older neighborhood with established trees were found to use less energy for air-conditioning than homeowners in a recently developed site. Results from the assessment of model performance indicated that CITYgreen more accurately estimated the energy savings in the highly vegetated, older neighborhood.     

Integrated Approaches in Urban Storm Drainage: Where Do We Stand?

Integrated approaches to urban stormwater drainage management are being increasingly advocated as necessary for advancing more sustainable and holistic management of urban water environments. In this paper, the status of integrated approaches in the management of urban stormwater discharges to receiving waterways is summarized. The starting point of the paper is with the recent scientific contributions, revealing that integration is being pursued and implemented predominantly at two conceptual levels. These include 1) integrating the technical system with the receiving waterway environment, and 2) considering the interaction and influence of the human system with the technical system through processes such as stakeholder and public participation. Additionally, it is argued that the evolving shift towards the implementation of water-quality-based strategies advances the need for further development and application of integrated models and approaches. The cases of online physically based models for predictive control and integrated source control and public participation are presented as examples of such ongoing developments in pursuit of integrated urban stormwater management.     

Land Resource Sustainability for Urban Development: Spatial Decision Support System Prototype

Land resource sustainability for urban development characterizes the problem of decision-making with multiplicity and uncertainty. A decision support system prototype aids in the assessment of incremental land development plan proposals put forth within the long-term community priority of a sustainable growth. Facilitating this assessment is the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), a multicriteria evaluation and decision support system. The decision support system incorporates multiple sustainability criteria, weighted strategically responsive to local public policy priorities and community–specific situations and values, while gauging and directing desirable future courses of development. Furthermore, the decision support system uses a GIS, which facilitates an assessment of urban form with multiple indicators of sustainability as spatial criteria thematically. The resultant land-use sustainability scores indicate, on the ratio-scale of AHP, whether or not a desirable urban form is likely in the long run, and if so, to what degree. The two alternative modes of synthesis in AHP—ideal and distributive—provide assessments of a land development plan incrementally (short-term) and city-wide pattern comprehensively (long-term), respectively. Thus, the spatial decision support system facilitates proactive and collective public policy determination of land resource for future sustainable urban development.     

城市交通系统抗灾变研究进展

在总结城市交通系统抗灾变问题及其特点的基础上,综述了城市交通抗灾变研究的国内外进展,并对该问题的研究方向进行了分析.     

城市建设的环境破坏分析及对策框架

随着城市经济的飞速发展，城市建设对环境的破坏日趋严重，本文分析了城市建设中环境破坏的种种类型和环境破坏的根源，提出了以环境规划为先导，排污总量控制为目标，环境监督管理为重点，法律，行政，经济和教育手段的环境对策框架。     

中国城市灾害地学背景研究

根据特征致灾因子的差异，将中国城市灾害类型大体上划分为沿海台风暴雨洪涝地面沉降型、北方干旱缺水风沙地面沉降型和南方洪涝渍害地面沉陷塌陷型等三大类型区。分别用上海、北京、武汉作为三种案例地区，讨论了以上三种城市灾害类型区的主要灾害及其地学背景。指出除了自然地理的因素外，人类在城市灾害致灾因素中也通过开采地下水、设计防洪排涝设施等行为表现出一定程度的作用.     

沈阳市浑河南堤防洪标准的数值模拟计算

浑河原为沈阳南部的一条河流，随着经济的发展，市区扩展迅速，按沈阳市的规划，浑河以南地区不久将发展成为有３０万人口的新区。因此，需在浑河南岸修建堤防，以保护浑南新区不受洪水的危害。但南堤的修建是否会对北岸大堤的防洪安全造成威胁成为防洪规划决策中一个亟待回答的问题。     

从城考结果看城市污水处理的发展趋势

分析了我国十年来重点城市污水处理的发展和现状 ,以及污水处理存在的问题 ,对“十五”期间城市环境综合整治定量考核中城市生活污水处理率和城市生活污水的处理水平提出新的要求     

应用GIS进行城市震害预测的有利性

研究了应用GIS进行城市震害预测,对于解决或者改善其中存在的以下问题的有利性：①缺乏必要的基础数据;②震害的多因素综合效应考虑不够;③生命线震害预测方法还不成熟;④间接损失预测以及指导救灾关注太少．     

我国城市生活垃圾现状及处理对策

就城市生活垃圾的现状及其存在的问题，提出进一步合理处理和利用城市生活垃圾的对策。