Climate change and urbanization are converging to challenge city drainage infrastructure due to their adverse impacts on precipitation extremes and the environment of urban areas. Sustainable drainage systems have gained growing public interest in recent years, as a result of its positive effects on water quality and quantity issues and additional recreational amenities perceived in the urban l...

The vast rural landscape in the southern United States is conspicuously characterized by the hedgerow trees or groves. The patchwork landscape of fields surrounded by high hedgerows is a traditional and familiar feature of the American countryside. Hedgerows are in effect linear strips of trees, groves, or woodlands, which are often critical habitats for wildlife and important for the visual qu...

This paper summarizes the salient features of the ecologic method, with emphasis on its application in the study of environmental health. Various types of ecologic design are described, with examples. Finally, the main advantages and disadvantages are indicated. A companion paper discusses the methodology of ecologic designs in more detail and describes a census of data sets with potential suit...

OBJECTIVE Even when initially successful, many interventions aimed at reducing the toll of water-related infectious disease have not been sustainable over longer periods of time. Here we review historical practices in water-related infectious disease research and propose an interdisciplinary public health oriented systems approach to research and intervention design. DATA SOURCES On the basis...

there is widespread recognition today that we are living in a period of profound technological, social, economic and political change, and that this process of change is accelerating. yet, there is less certainty about the nature and meaning of these changes—whether they should be regulated or liberalized, supported or resisted— and the kind of world they are leading to. despite these uncertai...

Design and implementation of health-promoting community interventions can advance public health and community well-being; however, realization of such programs is often challenging. Even more challenging is the implementation of ecologic interventions to revitalize built urban environments. A structured intervention entitled ;Intersection Repair; was devised in Portland, Oregon, by a non-profit...

introduction the urban population experienced rapid growth in the recent decades, particularly between 1975 and 2000 when it has reached from 1.5 to more than 2 billion people. by turn of the century; half of the world's populations are concentrated in cities. this would severely affect the quality of life in urban areas. accordingly, cities will be faced with significant challenges in inf...

urban environments rely on the surrounding natural ecosystems remnants as providers of ecosystemfunctions, therefore these areas not only support a unique biodiversity but also have a social value for maintainingpublic health andwellbeing. for this reason, urbanization is considered to be one the biggest threats to ecosystems,leading to native biodiversity simplification and, thus, to a detrime...

introduction this study is dealt with the environmental planning from a bio-cybernetic and hierarchical systems viewpoint within the context of landscape ecology. this viewpoint requires not only knowledge of the science of ecology but also ecological wisdom in order to recognize the place of humankind in nature. the conceptual and practical approach which is provided will help landscape planne...