Want To Be Happy? Live Near A Park. As urban planners debate the merits of, say, a new shopping center versus maintaining the local park, they might consider this: over time, parks—and other green spaces—make people feel better about themselves. Or, at least, that is the takeaway from a long-term study of 12,000 people in the U.K. Researchers at the University of Exeter used survey data measuring both life satisfaction and mental distress, then matched that to a map ranking 32,482 areas for their greenness. They found that people living in greener areas were consistently more satisfied, and experienced less distress.
The work builds on previous studies that also found a green space-mental health link, but had selection issues. Researchers couldn’t say whether it was the green space that made people happier, or whether happy people moved to greener areas. Lead author Mat White says at an individual level the effect isn’t huge, statistically. For that reason, White suggests planners take mental health into account. Mid-town miners: The hunt for urban treasure - environment - 05 June 2013. (Image: Peskimo) WHEN Mats Eklund goes metal prospecting he takes his life in his hands. But it’s not raging torrents or grizzly bears he has to worry about. His main concerns are crumbling warehouses and frenzied rush-hour traffic. An environmental engineer at Linköping University in Sweden, Eklund is one of a new breed of prospectors who prefer to head downtown rather than out into the wild.
Eklund has spent several years tracing abandoned cabling and long-lost pipework beneath roads and pavements. Of course, reusing old metals is just a form of recycling, and there’s nothing new in that. But our reliance on recycled metals is different now. Landscape and Urban Planning - Does vegetation encourage or suppress urban crime? Evidence from Philadelphia, PA. Research paper Department of Geography and Urban Studies, Temple University, United States Received 4 July 2011 Revised 21 August 2012 Accepted 23 August 2012 Available online 20 September 2012 , How to Cite or Link Using DOI Abstract There is longstanding belief that vegetation encourages crime as it can conceal criminal activity. Highlights ► Remotely sensed vegetation abundance has a negative association with crime. ► Violent crimes having the strongest negative association with vegetation. ► Vegetation reduces crime through increased public surveillance. ► Vegetation should be considered in urban crime prevention strategies.
Keywords Vegetation ; NDVI ; Crime ; Environmental criminology ; Green space Figures and tables from this article: Fig. 1. Table 1. View Within Article Table 2. Table 3. The t -statistic is given in parentheses. Table 4. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. Residential lawns efflux more carbon dioxide than corn fields, study finds. Apr. 23, 2013 — More carbon dioxide is released from residential lawns than corn fields according to a new study. And much of the difference can likely be attributed to soil temperature. The data, from researchers at Elizabethtown College, suggest that urban heat islands may be working at smaller scales than previously thought. These findings provide a better understanding of the changes that occur when agricultural lands undergo development and urbanization to support growing urban populations. David Bowne, assistant professor of biology, led the study to look at the amount of carbon dioxide being released from residential lawns versus corn fields in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.
His co-author, Erin Johnson, was an undergraduate at the time of the study and did the work as part of her senior honors thesis. Their findings were published online today in Soil Science Society of America Journal . The other factor that Bowne will test in the future is the sequestration of carbon. Media Centre: Feeding nine billion in 2050. During the next 40 years the world’s population is projected to reach more than nine billion people. 12 April 2013, Dublin/Rome - During the next 40 years the world's population is projected to reach more than nine billion people.
Demand for food is expected to increase by 60 percent under business-as-usual assumptions. Competition for land, water, and food could lead to greater poverty and hunger if not properly addressed now, with potentially severe environmental impacts. The Food Security Futures conference will bring together senior researchers from the CGIAR and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), as well as representatives from the private sector, civil society and other research organizations to examine the contribution that public research must make to food security and nutrition, natural resource management, and climate change in order to meet the challenges of the coming years. Energy generating colored glass opens up new opportunities | Built Environment. Colorful glass panels capable of generating electricity have taken a step closer to becoming fully commercialized. Oxford Photovoltaics, a spin-off clean tech company from Oxford University, has announced a £2 million investment from MTI Partners that will enable it to develop its technology, which enables transparent solar cells to be printed directly onto glass in a range of colors suitable for building facades.
This latest investment will allow the firm to build on its experienced technical and commercial teams and construct its own product development and test facilities at the Begbroke Science Park near Oxford. Kevin Arthur, ceo of Oxford Photovoltaics said: “Our company is making huge strides in the scale-up and commercialization of this technology, our new product development facility at Begbroke will incorporate state of the art printing techniques to enable us to manufacture larger modules and begin the technology transfer of our new, high efficiency MSSC technology.
'Bioconcrete' uses bacteria to heal itself. Dutch researchers have developed a self-healing cement that turns water-logged cracks to its advantage. No product evokes a sense of solidity and sturdiness the way concrete does. However, the tiniest of cracks in an otherwise colossal slab will inevitably lead to structural degradation, leakages and costly repairs. It is precisely this problem that two Dutch researchers from Delft Technical University have been working on. Beginning in 2006, Henk Jonkers, a microbiologist, and Eric Schlangen, a specialist in concrete development, sought to develop a self-healing cement [pictured] that would stop cracks from forming in the concrete, thereby extending the life of constructions. Microcracks have a width of just 0.2-0.4mm, but that’s enough for water to leak in, degrading the concrete and the steel reinforcements embedded within it. Jonkers explains that the incoming water activates the bacterial spores, causing them to convert the feed into limestone, which seals the crack.
Green Lifestyle and Sustainable Culture News: Urban Greening May Reduce Crime Rates in Cities. Urban planning is not only important to the strategic design behind a city's infrastructure, but now one study finds that the landscaping itself which emphasizes urban greening and the introduction of well-maintained vegetation, can lower the rates of certain types of crime such as aggravated assault, robbery and burglary, in cities. According to a Temple University study, "Does vegetation encourage or suppress urban crime? Evidence from Philadelphia, PA," researchers found that the presence of grass, trees and shrubs is associated with lower crime rates in Philadelphia.
"There is a longstanding principle, particularly in urban planning, that you don't want a high level of vegetation, because it abets crime by either shielding the criminal activity or allowing the criminal to escape," said Jeremy Mennis, associate professor of geography and urban studies at Temple. "Well-maintained greenery, however, can have a suppressive effect on crime. " Read more at Temple University. High-Speed Trains Provide Environmental, Social Benefits, Study Says. Class-Divided Cities: New York Edition - Richard Florida.
This is the first post in a series exploring class divides across America's largest cities and metros. Social class, an inescapable presence in American life, influences almost every aspect of our culture. It is inscribed on our very geography. Although our cities are more than ever our most powerful economic engines, they also are becoming more divided along class lines, creating distinct experiences within a given city.
This divide is seen most clearly in where members of each class live. A recent report from the Pew Research Center found that residential segregation between upper- and lower- income households has risen in 27 of America's 30 largest metros over the past several decades. This growing socio-economic divide is not just an American phenomenon. To get a better sense of the scale of the divide in American cities, my research team at the Martin Prosperity Institute — relying on data from the U.S. We begin today with New York. The geographic divide is pronounced. Don't have a visa to work here? I have some office space to rent you in the ocean.
By Kai Ryssdal March 14, 2013 | 2:29 PM While the immigration debate is focused primarily on low-skilled workers, the tech world is focused on the scientists, engineers, and professionals from other countries who want to start businesses here. There's no visa for that. To that end, two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have an unusual idea.
Max Marty is the CEO and cofounder of Blueseed, one of the entrepreneurs in question. "We are enabling people from all around the world to connect into Silicon Valley," Marty says. What does Blueseed get out of playing cruise director? "The real value for us, and really, the real value for the world is in the value that those companies are going to produce as they grow, as they produce new technologies, and they create jobs," says Marty. Despite the almost tauntingly close proximity to U.S. waters, Blueseed has had a friendly reception from government so far.