Article
|
Open Access
Featured
-
-
Article
| Open AccessGreen spaces provide substantial but unequal urban cooling globally
A 1.5-fold gap exists in green space cooling adaptation between cities in the Global South and North. Enhancing urban green space quality and quantity offers vast potential for improving outdoor cooling adaptation and reducing its global inequality.
- Yuxiang Li
- , Jens-Christian Svenning
- & Chi Xu
-
Article
| Open AccessAir pollution impacts from warehousing in the United States uncovered with satellite data
Using satellite observations, communities in the U.S. containing warehouses experience more truck traffic and increased health-harming pollution with a disproportionate number of racial and ethnic minorities living in these communities.
- Gaige Hunter Kerr
- , Michelle Meyer
- & Susan C. Anenberg
-
Article
| Open AccessUnequal distributions of crowdsourced weather data in England and Wales
Crowdsourced personal weather data are sought to cope with weather data scarcity. But, in England and Wales, more deprived areas are less covered. This limits the potential for climate adaptation of communities living in these environments.
- Oscar Brousse
- , Charles H. Simpson
- & Clare Heaviside
-
Article
| Open AccessEstimating digital product trade through corporate revenue data
This study introduces a method to quantify trade in digital products, like cloud computing and mobile games. It finds that this trade grows rapidly, may impact trade balances, support economic decoupling, and enhance economic complexity measures.
- Viktor Stojkoski
- , Philipp Koch
- & César A. Hidalgo
-
Article
| Open AccessUnravelling the spatial directionality of urban mobility
Zhao P.J. and his colleagues uncover spatial directionality of urban mobility by using new metrics of anisotropy and centripetality. They find monocentric cities have longer commutes with city expansion, while polycentric cities maintain consistent commuting patterns.
- Pengjun Zhao
- , Hao Wang
- & Jingzhong Li
-
Article
| Open AccessEstablishing flood thresholds for sea level rise impact communication
Using machine learning algorithms, this study estimates sea level rise and high tide flooding thresholds every 10 km along the United States’ coasts, complementing conventional linear-/point-based estimates and offering insights for ungauged areas.
- Sadaf Mahmoudi
- , Hamed Moftakhari
- & Hamid Moradkhani
-
Article
| Open AccessUrban development pattern’s influence on extreme rainfall occurrences
Cities that experience compact development tend to witness more extreme rainfall over downtown than their rural surroundings, while the anomalies in extreme rainfall frequency diminish for cities with dispersed development patterns.
- Long Yang
- , Yixin Yang
- & Dev Niyogi
-
Comment
| Open AccessIntegrating science and the arts to deglobalise climate change adaptation
Setting goals that are context-specific, relevant, and collectively shared is critical in adaptation. As necessary elements in target setting, imaginaries for adaptation and the language connected to them remain vague. Visuals produced through art-science collaborations can be great allies to (de)construct imaginaries and deglobalise discourses of adaptation.
- Marta Olazabal
- , Maria Loroño-Leturiondo
- & Josune Urrutia
-
Article
| Open AccessTrade-offs in land-based carbon removal measures under 1.5 °C and 2 °C futures
This study demonstrates how land-based carbon removals and the market-mediated responses are sensitive to mitigation policy strength and scope, illustrating that, despite trade-offs, both forestation and BECCS are integral to cost-effective 2 °C pathways.
- Xin Zhao
- , Bryan K. Mignone
- & Haewon C. McJeon
-
Article
| Open AccessIntranational synergies and trade-offs reveal common and differentiated priorities of sustainable development goals in China
The paper reveals areas of common and differentiated SDG priority at the national and subnational levels in China considering synergy and trade-off. The findings suggest that provincial governments should formulate more targeted policy aligning with national priority to achieve SDGs.
- Qiang Xing
- , Chaoyang Wu
- & Zhenci Xu
-
Article
| Open AccessExploring the variances of climate change opinions in Germany at a fine-grained local scale
Mewes and colleagues show substantial and systematic differences in public climate change opinions across Germany that manifest between urban vs. rural and prospering vs. declining areas. Besides these geographic features, more complex historical and cultural differences between places play an important role.
- Lars Mewes
- , Leonie Tuitjer
- & Peter Dirksmeier
-
Article
| Open AccessGlobal surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in food animals using priority drugs maps
Monitoring antimicrobial resistance in food animals is challenging due to limited surveillance systems. Here, the authors combine data from point prevalence surveys in lower- and middle-income settings to map resistance to seven antimicrobials and predict which are likely to exceed key resistance thresholds.
- Cheng Zhao
- , Yu Wang
- & Thomas P. Van Boeckel
-
Article
| Open AccessGlobal transboundary synergies and trade-offs among Sustainable Development Goals from an integrated sustainability perspective
Domestic attempts to advance the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in a country can have synergistic and/or trade-off effects on the advancement of SDGs in other countries. Here the authors demonstrate that while high-income countries make up only 14% of the global population, they drive over 60% of worldwide SDG interactions.
- Huijuan Xiao
- , Sheng Bao
- & Jianguo Liu
-
Article
| Open AccessEnhanced glacial lake activity threatens numerous communities and infrastructure in the Third Pole
The recent accelerated expansion of glacial lakes and increased glacial lake outburst flood activities in the Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings indicate that numerous communities and infrastructure downstream are at a higher flood risk than previously understood.
- Taigang Zhang
- , Weicai Wang
- & Lele Wei
-
Article
| Open AccessUnveiling patterns in human dominated landscapes through mapping the mass of US built structures
Most inhabited areas in the US have more mass in buildings and mobility networks than in plant biomass. Cities are comparably resource efficient, while high material intensity is found in rural areas. Migration reinforces this phenomenon as people leave while built structures remain.
- David Frantz
- , Franz Schug
- & Helmut Haberl
-
Article
| Open AccessEconomic valuation of temperature-related mortality attributed to urban heat islands in European cities
Urban heat islands have the greatest acute impacts on human mortality risk during extreme heat. However, protracted cold seasons result in greater annually integrated protective effects in most European cities under the current climate.
- Wan Ting Katty Huang
- , Pierre Masselot
- & Gabriele Manoli
-
Article
| Open AccessIntegrating human activity into food environments can better predict cardiometabolic diseases in the United States
Previous studies on the connection between food environments and cardiometabolic diseases have yielded inconclusive results. Here, the authors show that integrating human activity into assessments of food environments can better predict the prevalence of cardiometabolic diseases.
- Ran Xu
- , Xiao Huang
- & Xiang Chen
-
Article
| Open AccessUrban land patterns can moderate population exposures to climate extremes over the 21st century
Considering changes in urban land extent, population, and climate over the 21st century, the authors find spatial urban land patterns can reduce rather than increase population exposures to climate extremes, even heat extremes, at regional scales.
- Jing Gao
- & Melissa S. Bukovsky
-
Article
| Open AccessImproved human greenspace exposure equality during 21st century urbanization
A study of 1,028 global cities from 2000-2018 shows increased human exposure to greenspace, reducing greenspace inequality. Notably, cities in the Global South improved nearly four times faster than those in the Global North. These insights can guide city greening strategies.
- Shengbiao Wu
- , Bin Chen
- & Peng Gong
-
Article
| Open AccessGeospatial mapping of distribution grid with machine learning and publicly-accessible multi-modal data
Granular geospatial information of distribution grids is needed for various power system applications. Here the authors develop a machine-learning-based model which can accurately map distribution grids in both the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa.
- Zhecheng Wang
- , Arun Majumdar
- & Ram Rajagopal
-
Article
| Open AccessA spatio-temporal analysis investigating completeness and inequalities of global urban building data in OpenStreetMap
Building data is needed for assessing progress towards urban Sustainable Development Goals. An international team of scientists studies the spatial distribution of buildings in all cities globally and unveils their uneven coverage in OpenStreetMap.
- Benjamin Herfort
- , Sven Lautenbach
- & Alexander Zipf
-
Article
| Open AccessBehavioral changes during the COVID-19 pandemic decreased income diversity of urban encounters
Mobile phone data reveals a significant decrease in the income diversity of urban encounters during the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA, even though overall mobility returned to pre-pandemic levels by late 2021. This was mainly due to persistent behavioral changes including less willingness to explore new places.
- Takahiro Yabe
- , Bernardo García Bulle Bueno
- & Esteban Moro
-
Article
| Open AccessWidespread global disparities between modelled and observed mid-depth ocean currents
Analysis of big Argo data reveals that model representation of global ocean circulation near 1000-m depth is substantially compromised by inaccuracies. Only 3.8% of the mid-depth ocean circulation can be considered accurately modelled.
- Fenzhen Su
- , Rong Fan
- & Fei Chai
-
Comment
| Open AccessThe harmful legacy of colonialism in natural hazard risk
The colonial practices of geoscience have created long term vulnerabilities to natural hazards. In this comment the ongoing consequence are explored of colonialism as well as the actions that are needed to be taken to reduce natural hazard risk.
- Jazmin P. Scarlett
-
Article
| Open AccessSpatial structure of city population growth
A new study finds that city growth in the U.S. is spatially heterogeneous. Inter-city flows concentrate in core areas. Intra-city flows are generally directed towards external and low density counties of cities, and is the main contributor to urban sprawl.
- Sandro M. Reia
- , P. Suresh C. Rao
- & Satish V. Ukkusuri
-
Article
| Open AccessSocial inequalities in climate change-attributed impacts of Hurricane Harvey
New study shows that up to 50% of properties flooded after hurricane Harvey flooded because of climate change, with low-income and Latina/x/o neighborhoods experiencing higher climate change-attributed impacts.
- Kevin T. Smiley
- , Ilan Noy
- & Oliver E. J. Wing
-
Article
| Open AccessInequality of household water security follows a Development Kuznets Curve
A new study considering data from 7603 households across 28 sites in 22 low- and middle-income countries show that inequality of household water security follows a Development Kuznets Curve.
- Feng Mao
- , Joshua D. Miller
- & Zeina Jamaluddine
-
Article
| Open AccessPorts’ criticality in international trade and global supply-chains
A new study presents a new global modeling framework to explore the links between ports, maritime transport and global supply-chains, and identifies critical links and dependencies between 1300 ports and the economies that depend on them.
- J. Verschuur
- , E. E. Koks
- & J. W. Hall
-
Article
| Open AccessRevealing global risks of labor abuse and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing
Taking action to reduce risks of labor abuse and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the fishing sector is hindered by a lack of spatially explicit data and an understanding of different drivers of risks. Here the authors combine expert assessments with satellite information to map and quantify risks of labor abuse and IUU fishing at port, at sea and associated with transshipment globally.
- Elizabeth R. Selig
- , Shinnosuke Nakayama
- & Jessica L. Decker Sparks
-
Comment
| Open AccessFacilitating adoption of AI in natural disaster management through collaboration
Artificial intelligence can enhance our ability to manage natural disasters. However, understanding and addressing its limitations is required to realize its benefits. Here, we argue that interdisciplinary, multistakeholder, and international collaboration is needed for developing standards that facilitate its implementation.
- Monique M. Kuglitsch
- , Ivanka Pelivan
- & Elena Xoplaki
-
Article
| Open AccessHigh-resolution population estimation using household survey data and building footprints
A lack of up-to-date population figures may hamper effective decision-making. Here, the authors develop a Bayesian model to estimate population data at high resolution in five provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
- Gianluca Boo
- , Edith Darin
- & Andrew J. Tatem
-
Article
| Open AccessThe role of urban trees in reducing land surface temperatures in European cities
Urban trees influence temperatures in cities. The authors here investigate in spatio-temporal variations in their cooling effect and find 8-12 K decreased temperatures for tree-rich urban areas in Central Europe during hot summers, and up to 4 K for Southern Europe, respectively.
- Jonas Schwaab
- , Ronny Meier
- & Edouard L. Davin
-
Article
| Open AccessA Deep Gravity model for mobility flows generation
The movements of individuals within and among cities influence critical aspects of our society, such as well-being, the spreading of epidemics, and the quality of the environment. Here, the authors use deep neural networks to discover non-linear relationships between geographical variables and mobility flows.
- Filippo Simini
- , Gianni Barlacchi
- & Luca Pappalardo
-
Article
| Open AccessSpatiotemporal prediction of COVID-19 cases using inter- and intra-county proxies of human interactions
Measurements of human interaction through proxies such as social connectedness or movement patterns have proved useful for predictive modeling of COVID-19. In this study, the authors develop a spatiotemporal machine learning model to predict county level new cases in the US using a variety of predictive features.
- Behzad Vahedi
- , Morteza Karimzadeh
- & Hamidreza Zoraghein
-
Article
| Open AccessThe geography of intergenerational social mobility in Britain
Intergenerational preconditions and historical conferment of opportunity play a role in social mobility. This study considers the geography of relative deprivation to show how different family groups across Great Britain experience different intergenerational outcomes.
- Paul A. Longley
- , Justin van Dijk
- & Tian Lan
-
Article
| Open AccessFuture global urban water scarcity and potential solutions
This paper quantifies global urban water scarcity in 2016 and 2050 and explores potential solutions. One third to nearly half of the global urban population is projected to face water scarcity problems.
- Chunyang He
- , Zhifeng Liu
- & Brett A. Bryan
-
Article
| Open AccessGlobal land use changes are four times greater than previously estimated
Quantifying land use change is critical in tackling global challenges related to food, climate and biodiversity. Here the authors show that land use change has affected 32 % of the global land area in six decades (1960- 2019) by combining multiple open datasets to create the HIstoric Land Dynamics Assessment +.
- Karina Winkler
- , Richard Fuchs
- & Martin Herold
-
Article
| Open AccessStochastic models support rapid peopling of Late Pleistocene Sahul
Advanced ecological modelling reveals how Sahul (Australia and New Guinea) was first peopled, suggesting the most probable routes and surprisingly rapid early settlement of this continent by anatomically modern humans starting 50,000 to 75,000 years ago.
- Corey J. A. Bradshaw
- , Kasih Norman
- & Frédérik Saltré
-
Article
| Open AccessTracking the global reduction of marine traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 response has led to unparalleled changes in the functioning of human society, from travel restrictions to changes in consumption. Here the authors use high resolution satellite data to track the global reduction in marine traffic during the pandemic, and more recent hints of recovery to pre-lockdown levels.
- David March
- , Kristian Metcalfe
- & Brendan J. Godley
-
Article
| Open AccessInequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology
Not much is known about the joint relationships between social network structure, urban geography, and inequality. Here, the authors analyze an online social network and find that the fragmentation of social networks is significantly higher in towns in which residential neighborhoods are divided by physical barriers such as rivers and railroads.
- Gergő Tóth
- , Johannes Wachs
- & Balázs Lengyel
-
Comment
| Open AccessBuilding resilient Arctic science amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Arctic research faces unprecedented disruptions due to COVID-19. This ‘pause’ gives an opportunity to reflect on the current state and the future of Arctic science and move towards a more resilient, thus equitable, coordinated, safe and locally-embedded Arctic research enterprise. Arctic science has been greatly affected by COVID-19. This comment looks forward to how Arctic science could be conducted in the future.
- Andrey N. Petrov
- , Larry D. Hinzman
- & Alona Yefimenko
-
Article
| Open AccessUncovering temporal changes in Europe’s population density patterns using a data fusion approach
Official data on the distribution of human population often ignores the changing spatio-temporal densities resulting from mobility. Here, authors apply an approach combining official statistics and geospatial data to assess intraday and monthly population variations at continental scale at 1 km2 resolution.
- Filipe Batista e Silva
- , Sérgio Freire
- & Carlo Lavalle
-
Article
| Open AccessGlobal phosphorus shortage will be aggravated by soil erosion
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient critical for agriculture, but because it is non-renewable its future availability is threatened. Here the authors show that across the globe most nations have net losses of phosphorus, with soil erosion as the major route of loss in Europe, Africa and South America.
- Christine Alewell
- , Bruno Ringeval
- & Pasquale Borrelli
-
Article
| Open AccessDemography and the emergence of universal patterns in urban systems
According to Zipf’s law, the population size of a city is inversely proportional to its size rank in any urban system. The authors show how demography explains this law as a time average of balanced migration between cities and how deviations express information about people’s net preferences.
- Luís M. A. Bettencourt
- & Daniel Zünd
-
Article
| Open AccessA simple contagion process describes spreading of traffic jams in urban networks
Predicting and controlling traffic congestion propagation is an ongoing challenge in most urban settings. Here, Seberi et al. apply a contagion model describing epidemic spread in population to model traffic jams, and verify its validity using large-scale data from six different cities around the world.
- Meead Saberi
- , Homayoun Hamedmoghadam
- & Marta C. González
-
Article
| Open AccessHeat health risk assessment in Philippine cities using remotely sensed data and social-ecological indicators
Evaluating the heat risk among city dwellers is important. Here, the authors assessed the heat risk in Philippine cities using remote sensing data and social-ecological indicators and found that the cities at high or very high risk are found in Metro Manila, where levels of heat hazard and exposure are high.
- Ronald C. Estoque
- , Makoto Ooba
- & Shogo Nakamura
-
Article
| Open AccessGlobal projections of future urban land expansion under shared socioeconomic pathways
Shared socioeconomic pathways (SSPs) is a crucial scenario describing the potential of future socio-economic development. The authors here investigate long-term effects of various government policies suggested by different SSPs on urban land and reveal the impact of future urban expansion on other land and food production.
- Guangzhao Chen
- , Xia Li
- & Kangning Huang
-
Article
| Open AccessHierarchical organization of urban mobility and its connection with city livability
The growing availability of human mobility data can help assess the structure and dynamics of urban environments and their relation to the performance of cities. Here the authors introduce a metric of hierarchy in urban travel and find correlations between levels of hierarchy and other urban indicators.
- Aleix Bassolas
- , Hugo Barbosa-Filho
- & José J. Ramasco
-
Article
| Open AccessAn integrative climate change vulnerability index for Arctic aviation and marine transportation
It is important to understand how physical changes in Polar regions influence social systems and populations. Here the authors develop an Arctic Climate Change Vulnerability Index focusing on aviation and marine infrastructure in future climate scenarios and show that transportation system vulnerability varies across the region depending on modeled hazards and transportation infrastructure types.
- Nathan S. Debortoli
- , Dylan G. Clark
- & Emilia P. Diaconescu