José F. G. Mendes

A GIS-based multicriteria model for the the evaluation of territorial accessibility

In most of the land-use planning and management processes location analysis is present and often plays a major role. Accessibility models were developed by many authors as a way to evaluate how easy or difficult it can be to link origins and destinations, adopting different formulations. In this paper, a multicriteria approach for the evaluation of accessibility is presented. The model was developed and implemented within a GIS context and applied to three different typologies of problems: general accessibility evaluation; accessibility evaluation in the context of industrial location; and accessibility evaluation of a University campus.

Route planning for soft modes of transport - Healthy routes

The application of sustainability principles on the definition of policies and actions for urban mobility relies on the promotion of less pollutant, economic, and more equitable modes of transport, such as walking and cycling, also known as smooth modes of transport. In this paper, a methodology is presented and described under the concept of healthy route generation. This integrates the contamination of the smooth modes of transport network, according to the noise levels and air pollution indices of the urban environment in which it is located, with the main objective of reducing the exposure level and the risk of development of respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. Healthy routes can be applied to attract and promote the use of smooth modes of transport in a regular basis in urban environments.

Enhancing 3DSkyView Extension Performance

This paper presents a second version of the 3DSkyView extension. The purpose of that extension was to implement a calculation algorithm for assessment and visualization of sky view factors (SVF) by means of tools available in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The sky view factor is a thermal and geometric parameter pointed out in the specialized literature as one of the main causes of urban heat islands. A 3D-GIS is a powerful tool for reaching the goal of this research because it allows the storage, treatment and analysis of tri-dimensional urban data, in addition to a high level of flexibility for incorporating calculation algorithms. The objective in the 3DSkyView extension is to optimize the determination of that factor, not only reducing its demanding calculation and graphical representation time, but also generating a simplified tool for replacing expensive photographic equipment usually applied on this matter. Enhancing functions of ArcView GIS 3.2, the first version of that extension showed a very good performance allowing the automatic delineation and determination of SVF. That performance was although limited to a single observer point. The simulation of SVF for several view points in urban canyons was only possible by applying the extension as many times as the number of observers considered. Therefore, this second version was now developed in order to allow simultaneous determination of SVF for many view points. In addition, the 3DSkyView new interface is more flexible, in a way that the user may choose the kind of output wanted (graphical and/or tabular). With this new feature it is then easier to create a continuous SVF map for an entire area.

Assessment of energy efficiency in street lighting design

Street lighting design aims to ensure adequate night visibility conditions for both vehicular and pedestrian traffic as well as to improve security conditions for persons, goods and property in the neighbourhood. In addition to this, and in order to meet concerns about environmental protection and sustainable development, the design of street lighting should take into account the optimization of its energy efficiency, as excessive energy usage is associated with an increase in polluting emissions, namely CO2. Considering that street lighting generally presents a significant consumption of electricity that is often possible to reduce, the use of good design practices which will maximize the efficiency of lighting equipments and accessories as well as minimize the upward light emissions and adjust the intensity of lighting according to outdoor needs is crucial. The main goal of this work is to present a new simple tool which can assess street lighting performance in the context of energy efficiency. Three indicators were developed: one to evaluate lighting performance and two others to evaluate energy performance. These indicators were quantified and combined according to weighting and aggregation procedures, resulting in a synthetic score for the street lighting design. The assessment tool was applied to a business park located in Viana do Castelo, in Portugal, and the results are discussed.

Evaluating conflict zones of air pollution in a mid-sized city

The urban argument currently assumes an extreme level of relevance for governments and the society in general, due to the exponential increase of people living in cities and the consequent associated degradation of quality of life. Growth is continuously applying pressures over resources, infrastructures and facilities, affecting negatively the standard of living in cities. In this context, evaluating and monitoring the urban environmental quality has become a main issue, particularly important when considered as a decision-support tool that contributes to more liveable and sustainable cities. Viana do Castelo is a mid-sized city located on the northwest seaside, which undertook the challenge of developing an environmental program leading to the integration in a Healthy Cities European Network. The identification of urban air quality levels and people exposure was considered a priority in this program. The scientific toolbox adopted to develop the studies includes air quality simulation models and a GIS platform. Based on traffic and site physical characteristics, air pollution maps were created and overlaid together with the land-use and population distribution layers. This combination was the basis for the identification of critical zones, both in terms of air quality levels and people exposure to this kind of pollution. Furthermore, the results were used to sort out mitigation measures and priorities, particularly important in a context of limited resources. This paper aims to present the approach, including the theoretical framework, and to discuss the results and their role within the city’s quality of life argument.

An urban environmental monitoring and information system

Evaluating, monitoring and informing about urban environmental quality has become a main issue, particularly important when considered as a decisionmaking tool that contributes to more habitable and sustainable cities. Following a tendency observed in other European cities, the city of Braga (Portugal) has decided to create an infrastructure for environmental data acquisition and a webbased platform as a public information system. Some of the innovations introduced in this new platform include the use of mobile instrumented units, the extensive use of simulation software to create long-term pollution (air and noise) maps, and the presentation of the information through a geographical interface developed over Google Maps technology. This paper discusses some of the critical aspects regarding the conceptual design of such an information system, and presents the actual information system developed for Braga, named SmarBRAGA.

Evaluating critical noise disturbance zones in a mid-sized city

Urban growth is continuously applying pressure over resources, infrastructures and facilities, affecting negatively the standard of living in cities. In this context, evaluating and monitoring the urban environmental quality has become a main issue particularly important when considered as a decision-support tool that contributes to more livable and sustainable cities. Viana do Castelo is a mid-sized city located on the northwest Portuguese seaside, which undertook the challenge of developing an environmental program leading to the integration in a Healthy Cities European Network. Within this program, the identification of urban noise levels and people exposure was considered a priority. The scientific toolbox adopted to develop the studies includes noise simulation models and a GIS platform. Based on traffic data and site physical characteristics, acoustical maps were created and overlaid together with the land-use-based acoustic zoning and population distribution layers. This combination was the basis for the identification of critical zones, both in terms of noise levels and people exposure to this kind of pollution. This paper aims to present the approach, including the theoretical framework, and to discuss the results of a summer scenario of noise exposure in the city center.

A mobile environmental monitoring station for sustainable cities

The aim of this paper is to present a mobile environmental monitoring station to evaluate the urban environment.The different phases of the mobile unit development are presented from its construction and operation mode for handling and sharing the data obtained. This mobile unit measures the following urban environmental parameters: environmental noise (Leq, L10 and L90), air quality (PM10, PM2.5 and Total Suspended Particles) and meteorological parameters (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction). This mobile unit is part of a project developed for the Portuguese city of Vila Real, called SMMART (in English “Municipal System for Monitoring Air, Noise and Traffic”). The municipality accepted the challenge of developing a platform whereby the population could be informed about the quality of the urban environment (air and noise) of the city where they live.

Healthy Routes For Active Modes In School Journeys

In recent years, walking and cycling to school have decreased conversely to the use of private cars due to its greater level of comfort and safety. However, the use of active modes of transport for short journeys is more economically and socially adequate as well as a healthier way of traveling. Active modes of transport can be defined as means of travel and transportation at low speed, which take up little space on the road, are air and noise non-pollutant, thus being regarded as more sustainable and a real alternative to cars. On the other hand, urban sustainable mobility implies the definition of policies and actions that rely on the promotion of less pollutant, economic, and more equitable modes of transport. To promote this modal shift, some policies focus on the facilities and urban form improvements to increase safety, namely for pedestrians. In this paper a different way to promote the use of active modes in school journeys is proposed and presented, which essentially uses and integrates information from noise and air pollution in the route-planning process to generate healthy routes. The concept of generation of healthy routes was triggered by the need to reduce the exposure to noise and air pollution in school journeys, which can affect the childrens health and quality of life. The healthy route model involves the contamination of the distances of the transport network, according to the urban environmental noise levels and the concentration of particles - PM10, thus allowing the definition of the less polluted, less noisy and healthier route for active modes. The performance of the model is assessed by calculating the noise and air pollution exposure rates in the obtained routes, in comparison with the shortest route. To validate the model and its potential for the promotion of active modes, a case study is presented in a city center located in North of Portugal for three different school journeys. KEYWORDS: Active modes, air pollution, cyclists, health, noise, pedestrians, SR2S, PM10. SR2S Language: en

Contribution to atmospheric benzene concentrations of the petrol stations in a mid-sized city

In an urban environment the typical anthropogenic sources of benzene are mainly the road traffic. Other important sources are petrol stations and smallscale industries using benzene as a solvent, such as the printing industry, etc. Petrol stations are the most significant of these additional sources. Evaporative emissions from petrol station operations include contributions due to the filling underground tank operations, due to the underground tank breathing and emptying, due to vehicle refuelling operations and lastly due to spillage. The petrol stations are frequently located in populated urban areas consequently exposing the population to this kind of pollution. The present study assesses the contribution of petrol stations to the ambient benzene concentrations in a midsized city. The scientific toolbox adopted to develop the studies includes an air quality simulation model and a GIS platform. Based on the method and the rate of filling, tank configuration and gasoline properties the evaporative emissions from petrol stations are calculated. This paper aims at presenting the approach, including the theoretical framework, and at discussing the results and their role within the citys quality of life argument.