Sustainability assessment of a community open space vision

Abstract

Urban sustainability visions must address diverse challenges spanning social and ecological issues yet urban visions are often weak in sustainability, demonstrating a need for a strong and holistic assessment of visioning processes, their outputs, and outcomes. Through a case study of a community visioning process for an urban neighborhood-scale open space in South Carolina, United States, this paper presents key insights from a novel approach for assessing the sustainability of visioning projects, framed around a program evaluation logic model. It describes a mixed-methods assessment of the case including: (1) a qualitative analysis of the visioning process that inspects the quality of the participatory process that generated the vision; (2) a content analysis of the vision report—the process output—that analyzes the sustainability content of the stakeholders' ideas; and (3) a quantitative natural capital assessment that compares the vision against alternative plausible scenarios proposed by stakeholders to the visioning process' outcomes and evaluates the ecological integrity of the vision. The research finds that the vision was crafted through a fair participatory process that created stakeholder satisfaction, that the vision emphasizes social capital and equity and justice over other sustainability ends, and that the neighborhood vision may generate stronger ecosystem services than other proposed options suggesting opportunity for positive feedbacks. Despite a positive assessment, the assessment used here showed there was room to co-create a stronger vision of a sustainable future that strives to achieve multiple sustainability principles across human and natural systems. Contributing to the literature on urban sustainability assessment, this paper demonstrates a novel and holistic approach to assessing sustainability of local urban planning processes and their outcomes and concludes with recommendations for streamlining such assessments to better inform policy decisions before they are made.

from Energy Ecology Environment Ambio via Terpsi Hori on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2D9uTvD

Assessment of acute toxicity and cytotoxicity of fluorescent markers produced by cardanol and glycerol, which are industrial waste, to different biological models

Abstract

The amphyphylic triazoanilines recently synthesized 1-(4-(3-aminophenyl)-1H-1,2,3- triazole-1-yl)-3-(3-pentadecylphenoxy)propan-2-ol (1) and 1-(4-(4-aminophenyl)-1H- 1,2,3-triazole-1-yl)-3-(3-pentadecylphenoxy)propan-2-ol (2), synthesized from cardanol and glycerol, have photophysical properties which allow their use in the development of fluorescent biomarkers with applicability in the biodiesel quality control. Based on this, the present research evaluated the toxic effects of both compounds in different biological models through the investigation of survival and mortality percentages as a measure of acute toxicity on Daphnia similis and Oreochromis niloticus, larvicidal assay against Aedes aegypti, and cytotoxic activity on mammary cells. Results demonstrate that these triazoanilines 1 and 2 have shown low acute toxicity to the biological models investigated in this study up to the following concentrations: 4.0 mg L-1 (D. similis), 4.0 mg L-1 (A. aegypti larvae), 1.0 mg L-1 (O. niloticus), and 1.0 mg mL-1 (mammary cells). This fact suggests the potential for safe use of compounds 1 and 2 as fluorescent markers for the monitoring of biodiesel quality, even in the case of environmental exposure. Besides all of that, the reuse of cardanol and glycerol, both industrial wastes, favors the maintenance of environmental health and is in agreement with the assumptions of green chemistry.

Graphical abstract

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from Energy Ecology Environment Ambio via Terpsi Hori on Inoreader http://bit.ly/2SxrRuY

Turkey creates its first space agency

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The Domestication of Animals and the Roots of the Anthropocene

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Urbanization-induced glomalin changes and their associations with land-use configuration, forest characteristics, and soil properties in Changchun, Northeast China

Abstract

Purpose

Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP), produced by arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, plays crucial roles in the global carbon cycle and improves soil quality. However, information on GRSP and its contribution to the soil organic carbon (SOC) pool in the process of urbanization is limited.

Materials and methods

In this study, easily extracted GRSP (EE-GRSP) and total GRSP (T-GRSP) were analyzed in an urban-rural gradient, and a detailed survey of greenspace characteristics (soil properties: pH, electric conductivity [EC], bulk density, temperature, and SOC; forest characteristics: tree density, tree size, tree species, and arbor and shrub richness; land use: road, building, greenspace, and wetland and water) in 306 plots was undertaken.

Results and discussion

EE-GRSP/SOC and T-GRSP/SOC decreased significantly by 10% in urban plots when compared with the rural plots. From the rural to urban plots, decrease in pH and increases in SOC, EC, tree height, and under branch height (p < 0.01) were found in this study. These changes in greenspace characteristics were responsible for variation in GRSP, while their relative explanatory power differed (soil properties: 43.8%, forest characteristics: 25.7%, and land use: 18.6%). Forward selection analysis identified that EC, greenspace proportion, pH, shrub richness, diameter at breast height, wetland and water proportion, bulk density, and under branch height had significant explanatory power for the variation in GRSP (all: p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Our findings indicate that urbanization greatly affects the contribution of GRSP to the SOC pool. The changes in greenspace characteristics played key roles in regulating the pattern of GRSP, especially soil properties. The results of this study may be used as a reference for the exploration of GRSP in urban environments and implementation of soil improvement practices by regulating GRSP.

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Trail of feathers to the Neanderthal mind

Trail of feathers to the Neanderthal mind

Trail of feathers to the Neanderthal mind, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00445-x

Bernard Wood explores a claim that our nearest cousins were our cognitive equals — and that birds had a part to play in that.

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Waveguide-coupled single collective excitation of atomic arrays

Waveguide-coupled single collective excitation of atomic arrays

Waveguide-coupled single collective excitation of atomic arrays, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-0902-3

Waveguide quantum electrodynamics is used to couple a single collective excitation of an atomic array to a nanoscale waveguide; the excitation is stored and later read out, generating guided single photons on demand.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2t4GIOU

Daily briefing: American colonization contributed to the Little Ice Age

Daily briefing: American colonization contributed to the Little Ice Age

Daily briefing: American colonization contributed to the Little Ice Age, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00485-3

Epidemics killed so many indigenous Americans that it changed the climate. Plus: 'negligent' management of Australia's greatest rivers and the French National Research Agency's leader tells all.

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Lung tumours swell when prodded by airway microbes

Lung tumours swell when prodded by airway microbes

Lung tumours swell when prodded by airway microbes, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00357-w

Respiratory-tract bacteria stimulate immune cells, which encourages tumour cells to multiply.

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Bitcoin for the biological literature

Bitcoin for the biological literature

Bitcoin for the biological literature, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00447-9

Scientific publishing is increasingly adopting the technology underlying cryptocurrencies.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2HQLh9W

Four steps to food security for swelling cities

Four steps to food security for swelling cities

Four steps to food security for swelling cities, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00407-3

Combine pockets of rural land, reduce food waste, improve farming and encourage urbanites to eat less meat, urge Baojing Gu and colleagues.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2SrJxbd

CasX enzymes comprise a distinct family of RNA-guided genome editors

CasX enzymes comprise a distinct family of RNA-guided genome editors

CasX enzymes comprise a distinct family of RNA-guided genome editors, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/s41586-019-0908-x

CRISPR–CasX represents a distinct RNA-guided platform that is functionally separate from Cas9 and Cas12a and is active for bacterial and human genome modification.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2HO405J

Arctic scientists iced out by US–India radar mission

Arctic scientists iced out by US–India radar mission

Arctic scientists iced out by US–India radar mission, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00278-8

Managers' decision to focus their satellite on the Antarctic has upset some researchers who study ice around the northern pole.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2Gnf9Z4

Links between gut microbes and depression strengthened

Links between gut microbes and depression strengthened

Links between gut microbes and depression strengthened, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00483-5

The once-wild idea that intestinal bacteria influence mental health has transformed into a major research pursuit.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2WGLNL1

Indian government to boost stipend for early-career scientists

Indian government to boost stipend for early-career scientists

Indian government to boost stipend for early-career scientists, Published online: 04 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00477-3

But researchers say the 25% increase is not enough to meet living costs.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2D9zwpc

Daily briefing: Evolution from soup to nuts

Daily briefing: Evolution from soup to nuts

Daily briefing: Evolution from soup to nuts, Published online: 01 February 2019; doi:10.1038/d41586-019-00454-w

An ambitious experiment to illuminate the full process of evolution by natural selection in a wild population, a 3D printer creates an entire object at once and how to master editing an anthology.

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2TvIiFc

Daily briefing: American colonization contributed to the Little Ice Age

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2D3LhNW

Effects of impaction severity of treated palatally displaced canines on periodontal outcomes: a retrospective study

Even though periodontal health was suggested to be not related to the traction technique, some other variables might influence the esthetic outcome of palatally displaced canines (PDC) when aligned, such as th...

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Links between gut microbes and depression strengthened

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2RDOBoj

Waveguide-coupled single collective excitation of atomic arrays

from A via a.sfakia on Inoreader https://go.nature.com/2WHcZt2