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Development of MSW collection service on regional scale: spatial analysis and urban disparities in North-Easr Region, Romania
13-18Views:49The cities are facing illegal dumping of municipal solid waste (MSW) because the waste collection facilities do not cover the entire population. Furthermore, this sector is poorly developed in small towns or villages annexed to administrative territory units (ATU) of cities , MSW are disposed in open dumps polluting the local environment. This paper analyzes on the one hand the urban disparities on public access to waste collection services (WCS) in the North-East Region on the other hand, it performs a comparative analysis between 2003 and 2010 outlining the changes made in the context of Romania’s accession to EU. Also, it performs a quantitative assessment method of uncollected waste at urban level and correlated to demographic features of each city. Spatial-temporal analysis of waste indicators using thematic cartography or GIS techniques should be a basic tool for environmental monitoring or assessment of projects from this field in every development region (NUTS 2). The EU acquis requires the closure of noncompliant landfills, the extension of waste collection services, the development of facilities for separate collection, recycling and reuse according to waste hierarchy concept. Full coverage of urban population to waste collection services is necessary to provide a proper management of this sector. Urban disparities between counties and within counties highlights that current traditional waste management system is an environmental threat at local and regional scale.
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Boundless settlements – tendencies and future of urban sprawl in the agglomeration of Budapest
75-88Views:219The Budapest agglomeration is a rapidly changing environment. Urban sprawl has been a prominent process in municipalities around the Hungarian capital, and its pace has significantly increased since the change of regimes. In our paper, we analyse the tendencies of urban development, the role of territorial protection and the types of land use mostly threatened by urban sprawl in two study areas within the Budapest agglomeration. A significant part of the Northern study area – located on Szentendre Island – is under territorial protection, while the Southern study area – located on Csepel Island – has a considerably lower amount of protected areas. We found that the settlements of the Northern study area have been expanding at a much slower pace than their Southern counterparts, where in the absence of effective restrictions, extensive areas – mostly former agricultural fields – have been converted into built-up areas. In addition, the Spatial Plan of the agglomeration allows the same tendencies to continue in both areas in the future as well.
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Landscape shape index, as a potencial indicator of urban development in Hungary
78-88Views:418The study of settlement shape, morphology and structure is a classic topic of urban geography. Since the 1960s multiple shape indices have been developed. Urban patterns were then compared with geometric forms or, alternatively their temporal changes were tracked and analysed. In the current study we adapted the landscape shape index (LSI) to analyse the historical shape development of eight Hungarian cities. The LSI is capable to demonstrate the functional and mutual relationship between the developed area and their immediate physical and natural environment. Over the past 230 years the land area of the studied cities has increased manifold for several reasons: on average, an areal increase of 10.4 to 24.5 was observed for the eight settlements, while their perimeter increased by 8.8 to 30.3 times. Simultaneously with their size growth, the studied cities are characterized by an increasingly fragmented and dissected ground plans. Consequently, due to the longer border between the developed areas and the adjacent natural zones, urban areas have become increasingly sensitive to environmental effects over the past century, while mutual ecological and environmental interactions has also considerably increased between the adjoining zones. In general, cities of hilly and low-mountain areas had the highest LSIs, whereas cities located on relatively flat grounds had comparatively low LSIs. We also investigated the rank correlation of the historical change of LSI of the studied settlements. Cities of high positive correlations (> 0.9) were classified into two major categories. Miskolc, Pécs, Szeged and Kecskemét belonged to the group of higher LSIs, whereas Székesfehérvár and Nyíregyháza fell into the class of medium LSIs and the third category included Debrecen and Győr, cities of low (< 0.9) LSIs. Based on the temporal trends of the LSIs, our results provide applicable information for decision makers in order to monitor, manage and track their investments, city management policies and infrastructural development strategies.
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The scenic value of abandoned mining areas in Poland
132-142Views:57Abandoned Polish mining areas are commonly heavily transformed so that they endanger no longer the environment. A disadvantage is that the newly created areas commonly contribute to the monotonous urban-industrial landscape, rather than providing additional value. This is partly due to legislation that hampers a more diversified management of abandoned mining areas as potentially valuable landforms. One of the legal barriers that restricts the possibilities of making these areas more attractive, regards the utilization of remaining exploitation holes (i.e. land depressions of at least 2 m deep, formed as a result of open-pit mining of energy, chemical, building or metallurgical resources) and waste heaps as important cultural and scenic elements. Such a new use of these old mininginduced phenomena is important if it is intended not only to involve the regional population in the process of exploring and exploiting the earth’s resources, but also to confront them with some negative consequences of these activities, including shaping the landscape in which these objects are situated. The current attitude towards a new architecture for abandoned mining areas should be reconsidered; particularly the present-day approach based on narrow specializations – for instance of experts in mineral exploitation, spatial planning or environmental protection – should be replaced by interdisciplinary action regarding shaping the landscape of abandoned mining areas.
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Environmental educational potentials on school grounds in Budapest
23-30Views:192As nature and greenspaces in urban areas are agreed to enhance children’s appreciation towards nature and so the purposes of environmental education, it is of high importance to create spaces in and around schools that allow students to connect to nature on a daily basis. The aim of the study was to analyse functions and other components supporting environmental education appear in the open spaces of school grounds in Budapest, and to understand the main characteristics of school grounds with the highest potential in environmental education. The study points out that the presence of environmental educational functions often depends on the size, urban context and location of the school grounds, however the curriculum of the school does not necessarily influence its open spaces, while the presence of motivated and engaged teachers does. The study reveals environmental educational functions do exist in school grounds of primary schools in Budapest, however they play only secondary role behind active movement and play functions. The schools with the best potentials in environmental education are without doubt the ones situated on large plots in the suburban zone, mostly with a high proportion of green spaces in and around the school grounds.
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Environment protection and its reflection in the environmental consciousness of the inhabitants in a middle-sized town (Vác, Hungary)
83-94Views:90Abstract The paper presents the role of urban environmental protection in sustainable development while analysing the factors influencing the environmental consciousness of the inhabitants of a middle-sized town based on a general model, together with the role of environmental consciousness in solving environmental protection problems at settlement level. My particular research focused on characterising the environmental state of Vác, with a population of 35000 people, and on the knowledge and environmental consciousness of the inhabitants. In the course of the representative questionnaire survey, 439 people gave assessable answers. Questions were related to the most significant environmental problems (air pollution, water contamination, sewage treatment, waste management). Answers were compared to the real situation based on measurements. Results revealed that the knowledge of the inhabitants on local environmental problems is better than the national average. In certain relations (water contamination, sewage treatment), however, it is deficient, thus information transfer was studied separately as well. It can be stated that local governments should make greater efforts in order to inform inhabitants. Environmental attitude of the inhabitants can be regarded as good. Based on the general model, I analysed the tasks of the settlement to improve environmental consciousness in order to increase efficiency of urban environmental protection.
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The impact of a plastic ban implementation scenario on residents of Tiruchirappalli region
30-41Views:150Plastic was created first for its durability, extended life, and capacity to be moulded into a broad range of items. There are three reasons why plastics are still used in the packaging sector, even though they are harmful to the environment. First, its low economic cost and widespread circulation. The second feature is their capacity to contain air and water while remaining watertight. The third characteristic is its relative inertness. Based on this, respondents were polled to assess their awareness of alternatives and to comprehend the pre- and post-ban situation for plastics. About 370 respondents from different age groups from different sectors from urban and rural dwellers of Trichy were asked about the prohibition of plastic carry bags, its acceptance, the alternatives available and the cost paid. Most respondents were unhappy about the removal of plastic bags and the high cost of cloth or other bags. Due to environmental concerns and their implications, it was revealed that the negative effects of plastics had not entered society sufficiently to allow the people to reject them. However, durability, lightness, flexibility, and low cost still predominate because the consumer requires plastic bags. Strict steps aiming at promoting public knowledge of the damaging consequences of plastics, their negative impact on the environment, and lowering the costs of alternatives should be explored as immediate remedies.
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Monitoring the changes of a suburban settlement by remote sensing
76-83Views:82Satellite images and aerial photos support settlement surveys and provide valuable information of their physical environment. Aerial photos are excellent tools to overview large areas and simultaneously provide high-resolution images making them efficient tools to monitor built-up areas and their surroundings. Aerial photos can also be used to collect complex spatial data as well as to detect various temporal changes on the land surface, such as construction of illegal edifices and waste dumps. The 10 to 30-meter resolution SPOT and Landsat images are usually insufficient for site specific data collection and analysis. However, the recently available 0.5-meter resolution satellite images have broadened the scope of monitoring and data collection projects. Beyond environmental and urban monitoring, the new available high-resolution satellite images simplify the everyday work of local authorities and will facilitate the development of governmental databases that include spatial information for public utilities and other communal facilities.
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Heavy metal loads in the soil of Debrecen
57-67Views:69Results of examinations on the amount, and spatial distribution of heavy metal compounds in the soil of Debrecen, their geographic, pedologic and ecologic aspects are presented in this study. The effects of the differences in traffic conditions, build-up/land use and the density of vegetation on the heavy metal content of the soils have been examined in city of Debrecen and its closer environment. Cadmium-, cobalt-, nickel-, lead-, and copper-contents of the soil samples taken from 88 sites of the sample area have been studied after acidic extraction, using atomic absorption spectrometer with the flame technique. Close-to-background concentrations of heavy metals in unpolluted soils of the forested area of the Nagyerdő were determined. Spatial differences in the heavy metal content of the soils for the whole area of Debrecen have been studied. Influence of soil properties (humus, CalciumCarbonate content, pH and grain size distribution) on the binding and mobility of heavy metals in the soil has been examined. Vertical distribution and mobility of heavy metal compounds in acid sandy soils was determined. Heavy metal content of soil in the most sensitive areas, playgrounds, recreational areas, urban gardens and grazing fields along busy roads has been surveyed.
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Environmental monitoring using linden tree leaves as natural traps of atmospheric deposition: a pilot study in Transilvania, Romania
24-35Views:120Atmospheric pollution caused by toxic elements is an emerging problem of concern. Tree leaves have been widely used as indicator of atmospheric pollutions and they are effective alternatives to the more usual biomonitoring methods. Tree leaves can be used as natural traps of atmospheric deposition. Elemental composition of dust deposited onto leaf surfaces can be used to characterize the urban environment. A pilot survey including 16 Romanian settlements was carried out in order to evaluate the characteristics and sources of air pollutants. Tree leaves (Tilia tomentosa, Tilia cordata, Tilia platyphyllos) were collected and used for the measurements. Elemental analyses were carried out by ICP-OES and ICP-MS. Principal component and discriminant analyses were used to characterizing and estimating the level of pollution. Settlements were grouped on the basis of discriminant function values. Multivariate comparison of chemical data ordered the settlements into 3 main groups, which showed a systematic geographic distribution.