Browsing by Author "Loures, Luis"
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- Accessibility and connectivity - Movement between cities, as a critical factor to achieve success on cross-border cooperation (CBC) projects. A European analysisPublication . Alexandre Castanho, Rui; Vulevic, Ana; Cabezas Fernandez, Jose; Fernandez-Pozo, Luis; Naranjo Gomez, Jose Manuel; Loures, LuisNowadays, cross-border cooperation (CBC) is an undeniable reality in the space encompassed between European borders. This contributes to economical and social sustainable development, as well as to cohesion for trans boundary areas, which include administrative and territorial units from neighboring countries. A correct conceptual basis for the methodological approach to connectivity lies in the fact that the development of transportation systems, as integrated networks at different scales, is deeply changing their operation and the way they induce urban and regional development patterns. Overloaded transport corridors in the context of changing transportation flows are becoming an important issue for accessibility, impacting CBC indirectly, but harshly. Different modes of transport create different patterns of accessibility, with different influence in CBC accordingly. Throughout the present research, CBC European case studies, where connectivity-movement between cities, has been identified as a key factor for their territorial success, were assessed, described and analyzed. In the period of 2001-2006, improvements and further imbalances have occurred in accessibility development across regions and modes. Some signs indicate that the core-periphery pattern is slowly changing which leads towards an upgrade on the accessibility of places, regions and cities.
- Accessibility dynamics and regional cross-border cooperation (CBC) perspectives in the portuguese—spanish borderlandPublication . Vulevic, Ana; Castanho, Rui Alexandre; Naranjo Gómez, José Manuel; Loures, Luis; Cabezas, José; Fernández-Pozo, Luis; Martín Gallardo, JoséAccessibility plays a major role in achieving sustainable transport, and therefore urban and regional sustainability. The urban public transport system promotes mobility and realizes a large part of urban movements. Moreover, improving accessibility in order to promote sustainable transport requires the application of new concepts and indicators as a powerful tool in the process of creating a balanced urban transport system. In this regard, one of the main goals of this research is to present an overview of the relevant accessibility indicators and assessment of accessibility in regional Cross-Border Cooperation (CBC) in order to transcendence challenges and obstacles for sustainable transportation in these regions along of Portuguese-Spanish border. This paper focuses on the accessibility of cross-border cooperation scenarios along the border regions of Alto Alentejo (Portugal) and Badajoz (Spain) where the Case Study Research Method (CSR) made it possible to recognize accessibility as a key factor in territorial success. Also, accessibility analysis can assess improvements as well as regional imbalances. In addition, this methodology can be used to identify missing links, which requires new investments enabling long-term sustainability.
- Assessing health resources equipped with hemodynamic rooms in the Portuguese-Spanish borderland: cross-border cooperation strategies as a possible solutionPublication . Gómez, José Manuel Naranjo; Castanho, Rui Alexandre; Cabezas Fernández, José; Loures, LuisPortugal and Spain share one of the greatest European borderland areas. This fact has direct impacts on a large territory and consequently on the communities’ living in it. Still, even if the border areas represent an essential fraction of the territory, planning policies have not resulted in specific cooperation programs that could enable sharing general leisure and recreation assets and infrastructures and collaboration in critical domains—i.e., the case of the health sector. The present study aims to assess the territorial accessibility to the hemodynamic rooms by the potential population of the Spanish-Portuguese transition areas that may suffer an acute myocardial infarction. Contextually, this study employed a spatial interaction model based on the three-step floating catchment area method (method-3SFCA). By applying these methods, it was possible to develop a map of accessibility to health infrastructures equipped with hemodynamics rooms on both sides of the border that may answer the Spanish-Portuguese border populations’ needs. Besides, while granting valuable information for decision-makers regarding the need to develop new infrastructures to guarantee that even considering cross border cooperation, everyone gets access to a hemodynamics room within the critical intervention period.
- Assessing spatial and temporal variability for some edaphic characteristics of Mediterranean rainfed and irrigated soilsPublication . Telo da Gama, José; Rato Nunes, José; Loures, Luis; Lopez Piñeiro, António; Vivas, PauloMediterranean soils are particularly threatened by salinization and low levels of organic matter content. In order to assess an edaphic sustainable use, we need to study its characteristics and better understand the temporal and spatial evolution. In this study, a total of 14,852 ha located in a western Mediterranean basin were selected as the study site where 1417 and 1451 topsoil samples were analyzed in 2001/2002 and 2011/2012, respectively, for Soil Organic Matter (SOM) content, pH water (pH(w)) and electrical conductivity (EC). Classical statistics and geostatistics techniques were used and the individual soil samples were related with the cultural system (CS) practiced-rainfed/irrigation-and the Reference Soil Group (RSG)-Cambisols, Calcisols, Luvisols, and Fluvisols. Predictive maps were created by interpolation using the Ordinary Kriging algorithm. The main results of this study were that, when transitioning from a rainfed to irrigation CS, SOM content is maintained in Cambisols but decreases in the other RSGs, pH(w) is maintained and EC increases in Fluvisols, Luvisols, and Cambisols. Over time in the rainfed CS all RSGs maintained SOM and pH(w) but EC increased in Fluvisols, Luvisols, and Calcisols and in the irrigation CS SOM decreased in Luvisols, pH(w) increased in Fluvisols and Calcisols and EC increased in all RSGs.
- Assessing the effectiveness of precision agriculture management systems in mediterranean small farmsPublication . Loures, Luis; Chamizo, Alejandro; Ferreira, Paulo; Loures, Ana; Castanho, Rui; Panagopoulos, ThomasWhile the world population continues to grow, increasing the need to produce more and better-quality food, climate change, urban growth and unsustainable agricultural practices accelerate the loss of available arable land, compromising the sustainability of agricultural lands both in terms of productivity and environmental resilience, and causing serious problems for the production-consumption balance. This scenario highlights the urgent need for agricultural modernization as a crucial step to face forthcoming di culties. Precision agriculture techniques appear as a feasible option to help solve these problems. However, their use needs to be reinvented and tested according to di erent parameters, in order to define both the environmental and the economic impact of these new technologies not only on agricultural production, but also on agricultural sustainability. This paper intends, therefore, to contribute to a better understanding of the impact of precision agriculture through the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)/remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) and normalized di erence vegetation index (NDVI) techniques in small Mediterranean farms. We present specific data obtained through the application of the aforementioned techniques in three farms located along the Portuguese-Spanish border, considering three parameters (seeding failure, di erentiated irrigation and di erentiated fertilization) in order to determine not only the ecological benefits of these methods, but also their economic and productivity aspects. The obtained results, based on these methods, highlight the fact that an e cient combination of UAV/RPAS and NDVI techniques allows for important economic savings in productivity factors, thus promoting a sustainable agriculture both in ecological and economic terms. Additionally, contrary to what is generally defended, even in small farms, as the ones assessed in this study (less than 50 ha), the costs associated with the application of the aforementioned precision agriculture processes are largely surpassed by the economic gains achieved with their application, regardless of the notorious environmental benefits introduced by the reduction of crucial production inputs as water and fertilizers.
- Assessing user preferences on post-industrial redevelopmentPublication . Loures, Luis; Panagopoulos, Thomas; Burley, Jon BryanThere is a growing interest in post-industrial landscape redevelopment and public participation in urban planning process. This study examined the public preference on post-industrial land transformation projects. A semi-qualitative methodology was used throughout the application of a questionnaire and interviews. Data on public perception of post-industrial landscape that incorporates significant environmental, cultural and historic assets were collected from 450 residents. Results illustrate that community attitudes to brownfield regeneration projects are positive. Urban growth should consider the redevelopment of derelict and/or abandoned areas instead of consuming new green areas. The results illustrated that, according to public perception, the most important aspect in the redevelopment of the study area is the creation of multifunctional areas, and that this aspect is statistically related with touristic activities, mobility and accessibility, use of renewable energies, environmental education, economic redevelopment, and safety/security. The researchers suggest that coupling the information gathered throughout the public preference process with the intrinsic characteristics of each landscape is helpful in understanding community expectations in order to inform urban regeneration projects that consider the economic, environmental and cultural functions of sites.
- Concentrations of available heavy metals in mediterranean agricultural soils and their relation with some soil selected properties: a case study in typical mediterranean soilsPublication . Nunes, Jose Rato; Ramos-Miras, Jose; Lopez-Pineiro, Antonio; Loures, Luis; Gil, Carlos; Coelho, Jose; Loures, AnaThe characterization of the content of trace metals in soils is an instrument in many programs of environmental protection, including the establishment of regional-level standards to detect sites affected by contamination. The objectives of the present study were to study the available levels of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface horizons of agricultural soils in a typical European Mediterranean region, to establish the geochemical baseline concentration (GBC), background level (BL), and reference value (RV) of each of these available metals, and to investigate their possible correlations with soil properties. To establish the GBC and RV values, we used the " standard threshold method". Topsoil samples (0-20 cm) were collected from 630 sites, and extracted with Diethylene Triamine Pentaacetic Acid (DTPA) to determine their available heavy metal concentrations. The GBC values established were: 0.04 to 0.90 mg kg(-1), 0.70 to 2.50 mg kg(-1), 0.10 to 6.30 mg kg(-1), 0.30 to 7.90 mg kg(-1), 0.29 to 4.50 mg kg(-1), and 0.18 to 2.50 mg kg(-1) for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, respectively. Soil properties were found to be correlated with the available heavy metal content, suggesting that the enhanced mobility of heavy metals are related to anthropic activities.
- Cross-border cooperation (CBC) in Southern Europe-An iberian case study. The eurocity Elvas-BadajozPublication . Alexandre Castanho, Rui; Loures, Luis; Cabezas, Jose; Fernandez-Pozo, LuisThe experiences of cross-border cooperation (CBC), undertaken not only in Europe but throughout the world, have enabled areas to gain greater importance in recent decades at an international level, showing potential for integrative functions and joint development as exemplified by several CBC projects. The present paper assesses the impact of CBC projects by analyzing a protocol established in 2013 between the cities of Elvas and Badajoz, which induced the creation of the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The paper kicks off with a critical review on territorial factors for success in CBC areas, considering the analysis of several case studies throughout Europe. The lessons learned, taken from the analyzed case studies, and the identified territorial success factors were used as assessment points for the investigation of the target study area, the Eurocity Elvas-Badajoz. The investigation explores public participation perceptions towards the identification of what changes with respect to standards of life with the CBC project, providing the current state of affairs and identifying where to place efforts in order to reach sustainable development for the region. While being a transition area, it presents several opportunities for growth. These opportunities have not yet been object of analysis and debate with respect to lasting, sustainable successful growth. The present research enables the identification of several territorial factors for success in the study area, such as the connectivity/movement between cities and strong political commitment. From the identified critical factors, it was possible to highlight the importance of public transportation as a priority for achieving success in this CBC project.
- Does land use and landscape contribute to self-harm? A sustainability cities frameworkPublication . Vaz, Eric; Shaker, Richard Ross; Cusimano, Michael D.; Loures, Luis; Jokar Arsanjani, JamalSelf-harm has become one of the leading causes of mortality in developed countries. The overall rate for suicide in Canada is 11.3 per 100,000 according to Statistics Canada in 2015. Between 2000 and 2007 the lowest rates of suicide in Canada were in Ontario, one of the most urbanized regions in Canada. However, the interaction between land use, landscape and self-harm has not been significantly studied for urban cores. It is thus of relevance to understand the impacts of land-use and landscape on suicidal behavior. This paper takes a spatial analytical approach to assess the occurrence of self-harm along one of the densest urban cores in the country: Toronto. Individual self-harm data was gathered by the National Ambulatory Care System (NACRS) and geocoded into census tract divisions. Toronto’s urban landscape is quantified at spatial level through the calculation of its land use at di erent levels: (i) land use type, (ii) sprawl metrics relating to (a) dispersion and (b) sprawl/mix incidence; (iii) fragmentation metrics of (a) urban fragmentation and (b) density and (iv) demographics of (a) income and (b) age. A stepwise regression is built to understand the most influential factors leading to self-harm from this selection generating an explanatory model.
- Effects of the European Union agricultural and environmental policies in the sustainability of most common Mediterranean soilsPublication . Rato Nunes, Jose Manuel; Bonito, Antonio; Loures, Luis; Gama, Jose; Lopez-Pineiro, Antonio; Pena, David; Albarran, AngelAgro-environmental measures promoted by the European Union focus mainly on environmental protection by maintaining sustainable levels of productivity that are adequate to the agro-ecological conditions of each region on different Member States. Among these European Union promoted measures the one known as Extensive Forage Systems is particularly relevant for the Mediterranean Region. In order to analyze the impact of this measure and to verify if the high expenditure of communitarian funds, with its implementation in Mediterranean soils, is aligned with the predicted benefits, a seven-year study in a southern Portugal region was conducted. In this regard, several soil chemical parameters such as organic matter, pH, electrical conductivity, available phosphorus, "available" potassium and heavy metal levels (Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn, Mn, Pb and Ni), were assessed, in 1329 different plots in order to represent some of the existing diversity of the Mediterranean environment, identified by the Portuguese Parcel Identification System, and considering the possibility to evaluate the evolution of these parameters on the main soil types of the region. The obtained results enabled us to verify that the application of the agro-environmental measure Extensive Forage Systems did not lead, during the 7 years of the study, to any significant change in terms of organic matter, soil pH and/or heavy metals content. Still it contributed for a small growth on "available" phosphorus and potassium levels and to a significant increase on Soil electrical conductivity (EC). As a final conclusion we can refer that the application of the agro-environmental measure Extensive Forage Systems, in soil, clime and cultural conditions prevailing in this study (Typical Mediterranean conditions from the South of Europe), did not reach its main objective, which was to increase the organic matter content in soils.
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