Deonie Anthea Allen

Associations between urban greenspace and health-related quality of life in children

With research to suggest that urban greenspace use can affect the health and wellbeing of adults, it is important to investigate this association in children. Compared with factors such as physical activity, research considering greenspace and its association with the health and wellbeing of children from urban areas is relatively rare. This study examined the health-related quality of life of 276 children residing in the city of Edinburgh in relation to quantity and use of greenspace. As much of the existing research has employed parental reports of childrens health, the current study assessed health-related quality of life via self-report, measured using the Kid-KINDL questionnaire (Ravens-Sieberer & Bullinger, 1998). Spatial analysis of greenspace quantity and typology was undertaken using mapping software, ArcGIS (Esri, 2011). In regression analysis, higher greenspace use and having fewer siblings were significantly associated with better health-related quality of life. Further analysis revealed that these variables were also associated with the ‘friends’ sub-scale score of the Kid-KINDL. Higher greenspace use was positively associated with ‘self-esteem’ sub-scale scores. However, the quantity of residential greenspace was not associated with the health-related quality of life of children. This study suggests that increased use of greenspace in urban areas might have a small but positive impact on child health-related quality of life, though future longitudinal and intervention studies are required to confirm these causal assumptions.

Experimental study on the hydrological performance of a permeable pavement

Abstract Permeable pavements play an essential role in urban drainage systems, making them the subject of great interest to both researchers and practitioners. However, previous studies have demonstrated a significant degree of uncertainty regarding both the hydrological performance and the maintenance requirements of this type of pavement. Within this context, the presented research involved the construction of a one metre square surface area of permeable pavement and a laboratory rainfall simulator to investigate the influence of rainfall intensity on the hydrologic response of permeable pavements. The design of the permeable pavement complied with the SuDS Manual guidance and British Standards (BS 7533-13:2009). The laboratory test programme was designed to investigate the influence of rainfall intensity on the hydrologic response of permeable pavements. The results demonstrate that the hydrologic performance varied according to rainfall intensity. The total volume of discharge from the permeable pavement ranged between 8% to 60% of the inflow. More than 40% of the total rainfall from all rain events was temporarily detained within the structure. Permeable pavement design optimisation has therefore been tested in the study. The SuDS Manual guidance has been found to meet current optimisation requirements.

Delivering and evaluating the multiple flood risk benefits in Blue-Green Cities: an interdisciplinary approach

A Blue-Green City aims to recreate a naturally-oriented water cycle while contributing to the amenity of the city by bringing water management and green infrastructure together. The Blue-Green approach is more than a stormwater management strategy aimed at improving water quality and providing flood risk benefits. It can also provide important ecosystem services and socio-cultural benefits when the urban system is in a non-flood condition. However, quantitative evaluation of benefits and the appraisal of the relative significance of each benefit in a given location are not well understood. The Blue-Green Cities Research Project aims to develop procedures for the robust evaluation of the multiple

The short-term influence of cumulative, sequential rainfall-runoff flows on sediment retention and transport in selected SuDS devices

ABSTRACT It is necessary to understand Sustainable urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) sediment retention efficiencies to fully comprehend SuDS pollution removal properties and urban sediment movement from source-to sink. This research presents the detention and transport of a single tagged sediment release through four SuDS devices over 12 months, with the aim of quasi-quantifying these selected SuDS devices sediment detention efficiencies. Field monitoring and mass balance analysis of deposited sediment shows that tagged sediment from the single sediment release moves through the monitored SuDS, with deposition declining over the 12-month monitoring period. Initial retention is high (>80% during the first week of monitoring) but falls below 80% after multiple consecutive rainfall-runoff events (events ≤50% ARI). The field monitoring illustrates retention to generally remain above 50%, suggesting that SuDS are highly efficient at retaining urban sediment pollution but that deposition of a single sediment release may resuspend due to cumulative rainfall-runoff events.