Treesearch

The computer model presented in this paper is designed to estimate the uptake of air pollutants by forests. The model utilizes submodels to describe atmospheric diffusion immediately above and within the canopy, and into the sink areas within or on the trees. The program implementing the model is general and can be used with only minor changes for any gaseous pollutant. To illustrate the utility of the model, estimates are made of the sink strength of forests for sulfur dioxide. The results agree with experimentally derived estimates of sulfur dioxide uptake in crops and forest trees.

A controversial issue in the city of Kitchener, Ontario, involves the proposed extension of a boulevard through Lakeside Park. A study of this proposal revealed several facets of human interrelations with an urban park. Most important, there was a large gap between the perception and the reality of environmental quality. This has several practical implications in planning parks in the city.

Analysis of the Hong Kong experience of adaptation to urban living can provide insights into some of the problems that can be expected to occur in the rapidly expanding cities of the Third World. Population densities in Hong Kong are among the highest in the world, exceeding 400,000 persons per square mile in parts of Kowloon. Research based upon residence in a worker's dormitory and interviews with workers reveals a variety of adaptive strategies employed by people to cope with the stress of the crowded urban environment. An understanding of the individual's ability to adjust to the...

The effect that land-use relationships have upon perceived quality of the visual landscape is discussed, and a case is made for expansion of fit-misfit theory into what has been called visual land-use compatibility. An assessment methodology that was designed to test people's perceptions of land-use relationships is presented and the results are discussed.

The relations between the physical environment and esthetic dimensions of the New Orleans cultural landscape are examined. The esthetic characteristics associated with New Orleans urban morphology are examined with respect to possible constraints by the physical environment. Salient townscape features such as street grid system, surface-drainage network, and spatial features of selected residential neighborhoods provide instances that demonstrate the varying levels of physical environmental impingement upon the esthetic landscape.

The hypothesis that visual and functional characteristics of neighborhoods influence the psychological well-being of residents was tested. An informal test by a survey of advertising strategies for selling real estate was first used. Second, data from a variety of published sources were used to identify some of the underlying dimensions of residential neighborhoods The dimensions were used as independent variables to predict three different measures of psychological well-being in former mental patients. The results partially supported the hypothesized relationship by demonstrating that...

Use of a land-use-based emissions inventory from which air-pollution estimates can be projected was studied. First the methodology used to establish a land-use-based emission inventory is described. Then this inventory is used as input in a simple model that delineates clean air and buffer zones. The model is applied to the town of Burlington, Massachusetts. Conclusions and recommendations are offered for the model's use and for interpretation of its results.

A simple urban mixing-depth model is used to develop an indicator of downtown pollution concentrations based on emission strength, rural temperature lapse rate, wind speed, city heat input, and city size. It is shown that the mean annual downtown suspended particulate levels in Canadian cities are proportional to the fifth root of the population. The implications of this and other results of the model are discussed.

Alternative control strategies were developed for achieving compliance with ambient air quality standards in Portland, Maine, and its environs, using a modified climatological dispersion model (CDM) and manipulating the sulfur content of the fuel oil consumed in four concentric zones. Strategies were evaluated for their impact on ambient air quality, economics, and fuel oil resources. Based on these evaluations, a control strategy best suited for meeting the needs of the Portland area could be recommended.

A model has been developed for estimating concentrations of fugitive dust downwind of an unpaved road within a factor of 2 for most cases. The model allows for winds oblique to the road and also for extraction of fugitive dust from the plume as it diffuses to the ground. Experiments were performed to determine the accuracy of the model in estimating downwind concentrations of fugitive dust generated by a vehicle travelling on a gravel road.