In the last days of last month, the death toll tripled in several major European cities in the face of sweltering heat. Milan, Paris, Barcelona and London were the worst hit. With more than two thirds of the world’s population expected to live in cities by 2050, the race to cool them down is on….
How relatedness to nature is linked to well-being is determined by district-level socioeconomic status. The Kobe University analysis is based on survey results from two major Japanese metropolitan areas. Hiking. Camping. Even just walking in the park. Be it a current hobby or a childhood pastime, many urban residents have engaged in activities that have…
A new study from North Carolina State University researchers finds that conversion of forests to urban development or agriculture near streams can have harmful effects on water quality downstream, presenting both health concerns and raising the cost of water treatment. Using a model called the Soil and Water Assessment Tool, researchers mapped out the current…
Increasing urban vegetation by 30 per cent could save over one-third of all heat related deaths, saving up to 1.16 million lives globally from 2000 to 2019 according to a 20-year modelling study of the impact of increasing greenness in more than 11,000 urban areas. The study, led by Monash University Professor Yuming Guo and…
The link between proximity to greenspace — including trees and parks— and healthy birth outcomes is well established. Now new data from researchers at Drexel University’s Dornsife School of Public Health adds to our understanding of these health benefits, accounting for other factors that may influence this link, such as education, income and body mass…
The success of green roofs in Mediterranean areas requires the selection of fast development plant species, able to grow in a shallow soilless substrate also under dry climatic conditions. In this context, the exploitation of native species from marginal sites characterized by limited availability of nutrients and water could be a strategy to select plants….
Bird species that do well in urban areas are more colourful and less brown Urbanization has a huge impact on the ecosystem and poses enormous challenges to animals and plants. The ongoing, worldwide increase in urbanization is considered one of the main causes of the steady decline in biodiversity. Urban ecology is the field of…
In the quiet hills of Tilos island, the rhythmic clatter of bins being sorted and rinsed echoes a community’s commitment to zero waste. On this small Aegean isle, residents meticulously separate their waste into multiple categories, and have traded a traditional landfill for a state-of-the-art recycling center, reportedly helping the island achieve an 86% recycling…
The spatial configuration of urban landscapes, characterized by complex mosaics of fragmented patches subjected to different land uses, shapes biodiversity and, therefore, affects ecosystem stability and functioning. The present study focuses on evaluating the small scale variations of vegetation structural and functional biodiversity in Mediterranean urban ecosystems, in relation to land use and fragmentation. For…
This paper examines Neoclassical architecture, with special attention to some Neoclassical houses in Mytilene, Lesvos, Greece, with a view to articulating the spatio-temporal implications of its characteristic spatial modulations. It is argued that, as the epithet, “Neoclassical”, suggests, its emphasis on geometric forms of a certain kind instantiates an assault on time, and concomitantly an…