Soheil Sabri

Inter-Municipal Landfill Site Selection Using Analytic Network Process

Selecting the most suitable landfill site is important to prevent any negative ecological and socio-economic effects. Spatial analysis takes into consideration local environmental regulations and adopted acceptance criteria that are important considerations in site selection. This paper is a case study to determine the suitability of an inter-municipal solid waste landfill site for the city of Khomeynishahr and its six adjacent cities, with a total population of half a million people. A multi-criteria evaluation method emphasising geographical information systems (GIS) techniques was used to identify suitable landfill sites. A combination of Boolean logic, Fuzzy logic and Analytic Network Process (ANP) was used for prioritising the associated criteria and selecting a suitable landfill site. This method is capable of being applied to complex problems with uncertainty and non-hierarchical structure and allows for the consideration of interdependence relationships of decision criteria within and between levels. Taking advantage of the ANP method, the selected landfill site priorities can be identified by considering the variation and relative importance of decision criteria for each site, which cannot be considered in other decision-making methods, such as Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). The results showed the significant importance of residential area and water resources protection in landfill site selection. This study indicates that the integrated method can provide environmental decision makers and planners with a promising tool.

Measurement of 238U, 232Th and 40K in boreholes at Gosa and Lugbe, Abuja, north central Nigeria

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the suitability of different sites as locations for obtaining underground water for consumption. The analysis of ²³⁸U, ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K from rock samples from each layer of borehole at a depth of ∼50 m at Site A borehole, S3L1-S3L6 in Gosa and 40 m at Site B borehole, S4L1-S4L5 in Lugbe, Abuja, north central Nigeria is presented. The gamma-ray spectrometry was carried out using a high-purity germanium detector coupled to a computer-based high-resolution multichannel analyzer. The activity concentrations at Site A borehole for ²³⁸U have a mean value of 26 ± 3, ranging from 23 ± 2 to 30 ± 3 Bq kg⁻¹, ²³²Th a mean value of 63 ± 5, ranging from 48 ± 4 to 76 ± 6 Bq kg⁻¹ and ⁴⁰K a mean value of 573 ± 72, ranging from 437 ± 56 to 821 ± 60 Bq kg⁻¹. The activity concentrations at Site B borehole for ²³⁸U have a mean value of 20 ± 2, ranging from 16 ± 2 to 23 ± 2 Bq kg⁻¹, ²³²Th a mean value of 46 ± 4, ranging from 43 ± 4 to 49 ± 4 Bq kg⁻¹, ⁴⁰K a mean value of 915 ± 116 and ranging from 817 ± 103 Bq kg⁻¹ to 1011 ± 128 Bq kg⁻¹. It is noted that the higher activity concentrations of ²³²Th and ²³⁸U are found in Site A at Gosa. Site B has lower radioactivity, and it is recommended that both sites are suitable for underground water consumption.

Alternative Planning and Land Administration for Future Smart Cities [Leading Edge]

The long-term planning approach with its central aim of changing the urban form using zoning regulations and improving transportation may no longer be the only conceivable solution. Participants in planning and land development processes formulating plans today are predominantly land developers, entrepreneurs, and landlords. However, community groups are increasingly active participants, providing a counterbalance to the profit-driven agenda of corporations. Explores that landscape for current smart city development.

Integrated Geoelectrical And Structural Studies For Groundwater Investigation In Parts of Abuja, North Central Nigeria

Abuja, the capital city of Nigeria, West Africa, is underlain by Precambrian basement rocks consisting mainly of porphyroblastic gneisses, granitic-gneisses, migmatitic gneisses, amphibolites, Pan-African granites and undifferentiated schists. The geology of Abuja, therefore, makes the groundwater conditions in the area very unpredictable. Geophysical surveys were carried out at 12 locations within and around the Gosa area and the results integrated with 88 lineament (fractures) extracted from hill-shaded Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) data. The dominant fracture trend for the area is NNE–SSW and N–S, which corresponds to the Pan-African trends in the basement complex of Nigeria. It is observed that in the Gosa area, whereas fractures exist, they do not possess sufficient interconnectivity; this may have adversely affected the permeability of the fractured zone, resulting in the incidence of dry wells in the area. Moreover, evidence from interpreted two-dimensional (2D) geoelectric sections reveals that in some parts of Abuja, the weathered overburden is not thick enough to support sufficient yield for a viable borehole. Interconnected fractures therefore become the desirable structural feature capable of improving the aquifer potential. This study demonstrates the usefulness of integrating conventional vertical electrical sounding (VES) surveys with structural data derived from enhanced SRTM imagery in a hydrologically complicated terrain.

From IFC to 3D Tiles: An Integrated Open-Source Solution for Visualising BIMs on Cesium

The 3D Tiles specification, created by Cesium, is designed for streaming massive heterogeneous three-dimensional (3D) geospatial datasets online using WebGL technology. The program has prevailed in the WebGIS community due to its ability to visualise, interact, and style 3D objects for various scenarios, such as 3D cities, indoor environments, and point clouds. It offers a new opportunity to integrate Building Information Models (BIM) in the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data format with existing geospatial data in a 3D WebGIS platform with open-source implementation. As no open-source solution for converting IFC models into 3D Tiles for online visualization had yet been found, this paper explores feasible approaches and integrates a range of tools and libraries as an open-source solution for the community.

An ontology-based spatial data harmonisation for urban analytics

Abstract Data heterogeneity is one of the most challenging problems in urban data analytics. When obtained from various providers or custodians, datasets for the same domain themes may dramatically differ in formats due to many reasons such as historical legacies, changing definitions or standards across jurisdictions etc. It hinders urban analysts and researchers from understanding and using these data and makes results comparison and interpretation obscure. Ontology, usually created by domain experts, offers a comprehensive representation of knowledge including concepts, relations and properties in a domain. It defines the real world in abstract and offers a universal and stable schema for data harmonisation. This paper proposes a fast, extensible solution for eliminating data heterogeneity by using ontology. Starting from conceptualising domain knowledge to domain ontology, we discuss a two-level mapping mechanism which bonds the nexus between data and ontology using mapping rules. A semantic translation engine is also introduced to automate the data harmonisation process. A real case - urban density indicators computation - also demonstrates the usability of the proposed framework and the results show strong potentials for applying this method to broader urban analytics application scenarios.

An overview of critical success factors of publicprivate partnership in the delivery of urban infrastructure and services

The inability of the public sector to independently meet the increasing demand for infrastructure and services has prompted many governments to adopt Public-private partnership (PPP) as an alternative strategy. In worldwide practices, however, there are mixed results and controversy in the application of PPP model. The Public-private partnership has, for this reason, become an increasingly active research area mainly to establish the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) towards improving the PPP model. This article reviews the current debate on the subject of PPP and compares the findings of different literature regarding the relative importance of CSFs of PPP projects. The authors argue that the CSFs of PPP projects are distinctive to the context of location and time. The article concludes that this subjectivity has implications for the “guaranteed” success of both existing and future PPP projects. Keyword: Public-Private Partnership, Critical Success Factors, Infrastructure and

Spatiotemporal analysis of the spread of meningococcal meningitis in kaduna metropolis, 2007 – 2011

Meningococcal meningitis is an airborne disease that has been a threat to human life for over a century now. This study aims to describe the spatiotemporal spread of Meningococcal meningitis in the population residing in Kaduna metropolis. All the reported cases (suspected and confirmed) within the Kaduna metropolis from 2007 to 2011 were collected from files of the patients. Only patients who are resident in Kaduna metropolis were considered. For each year, the directional distribution, standard distance and the spatiotemporal pattern were explored. The analysis of the directional distribution shows the direction and the angle that the spread is more biased to at the different years. Standard distance shows the different areas of coverage for the spread of the disease for those five years which points to those areas that need more attention. The spatiotemporal results revealed that some specific neighbourhoods within the metropolis had the cases reoccurring within the five year period especially at the western and central parts of the metropolis. This indicates that much more attention is needed in those areas as regards preventive strategies by the policy makers and the stake holders. The spread of Meningococcal meningitis disease in Kaduna metropolis is much more dominant in some specific neighbourhood.