The demand for allotment gardens is increasing at unprecedented rates in Beijing, China, and allotment gardens have also shown a trend towards being developed by civilians, but little is known regarding users' characteristics, user behaviors, user evaluations, and their differences, all of which are essential for the improvement of allotment gardens in terms of satisfying their users and being preserved in China's urban areas. The allotment garden's overall evaluation is between good and general, with high evaluations given to landscape and facilities, including public facilities, infrastructures, and landscape environments, with low evaluations given to service and guidance, agricultural festival activities, rent, sanitary facilities, and skilled labor. Users' evaluations about the provision of farm tools, seeds, and fertilizers, as well as sanitary facilities have positive impacts on an allotment garden's overall evaluation. Users are inclined to give positive overall evaluations in case in which the allotment garden is equipped with sufficient and premium farm tools, seeds, and fertilizers, as well as clean sanitary facilities. Overall, the evaluations of northern and southern allotment gardens are statistically significantly different, in that northern gardens are better evaluated than their southern counterparts. There are statistically significant differences in terms of the overall evaluation of allotment gardens among the four operation modes. The consortium mode earned the best evaluation, whereas the individual mode had the lowest evaluation.

Mandalay, which is the second largest city in Burma (Myanmar) today, was the last capital city of the Kingdom of Burma. Mandalay was planned and built by King Mindon in the middle of the nineteenth century. This research examines the chronological processes of Mandalay's city planning, based on the Royal Orders of Burma, and revealed the following characterizations of Mandalay: 1) it was based on Buddha's Prophecy; 2) it was intended to be a City of Buddhism; and 3) it followed preceding city models. The characterizations above indicated that there had been a city model unique to Burma, like the well known Ancient India and China models. The research further examined this possible city model for Burma from four viewpoints: 1) structure; 2) orientation: 3) land use; and 4) size. Consequently, a city model unique to the capital cities in Burma was proposed. One of the unique aspects of the Burmese city model is the eastward orientation, which is seen neither in India nor China models.

For Centuries, local shopping streets in Japan have been central to the lives of communities as spaces for trading, various forms of social interactions, and for cultural festivals. However, uncontrolled motorisation and the convenience of shopping malls is reducing the streets’importance to the everyday life of residents. This study aimed at unearthing the underlying relationships between residents’ attributes and the use of nearby shopping streets. The survey targeted residents in the vicinities of two shopping streets in Tokyo: Honcho-dori street in Adachi Ward and Pearl Centre in Suginami Ward. The results affirm the importance of local shopping streets to the lives of those living in their vicinities; this is evident in the prominence of residents’daily visits to the local shopping streets. Nonetheless, usage is largely restricted to necessary activities of shopping, while optional activities such as strolling and social interactions are sidelined in daily life. Additionally, years lived in the locality, the value placed on social interactions, and respondent’s age are statistically significant in explaining residents’ frequency of meeting acquaintances along the street in both cases although inconveniences and the reasons for choosing alternative destinations were additional explanations in Pearl Centre. We conclude that by evaluating the uniqueness of individual shopping streets and the population dynamics of the surroundings, urban planners can spur positive change for local residents to ensure functional, safe, and comfortable streets while encouraging rather than undermining business.

One of the problems faced by Makassar city is that of street vendors who have become an informal commercial sector within the city. Street vendors are often considered as a cause of traffic congestion, decreased urban aesthetics, and as sidewalk occupations because of their location, physical appearance, and activity. This paper aims to examine the influence of their space utilization and explain the causes and effects of street vendors occupying public space on the sidewalk and roadside with a case study of Andi Pangeran Pettarani Street, Makassar. Their problem basically arises due to the absence of reference spatial products that specifically determine suitable locations for the activities of street vendors in urban areas. Space utilization, not based on location characteristics, leads to conflict, and is consequently regarded as an 'element out of place'.

The results of this study revealed several interesting findings. The study found that street vendors occupied sidewalks and roadsides to form business facilities which is an alternative to conventional job creation and a source of livelihood to the urban poor. Despite this, urban authorities still consider street vendors activity as an illegal and unproductive activity. By revealing the cause of street vendors occupying public space, recommendations are obtained as inputs that can be considered with government support, for the arrangement of street vendors with respect to their physical condition and location. In general, this study presents a strategy for creating a better space where street vendors can work without disturbing the surrounding space.

The widening use of smartphones, which can be used anytime and anywhere, has made daily life more comfortable and convenient. Nevertheless, traffic collisions involving pedestrians using smartphones have become a noteworthy social problem. In recent years, augmented reality (AR) technology has been developed. Applications using AR have increased. Accordingly, a new use pattern of smartphones to portray real space surrounding the device has arisen: The use differs from traditional walking while looking at one hand held smartphone. This study specifically examines distraction during walking while using a smartphone, especially when using AR. To examine the changes of movement of the pedestrian’s point of visual focus and those changes’ effects on spatial recognition, we conducted walking experiments using an eye mark recorder. We examined whether users noticed the check objects addressed in this study. The walking patterns included walking while web browsing, while using the AR applications of two kinds (Point View, Map Fan AR Global), and while not using a smartphone. Actually, the uses of AR in smartphones are diverse. The technology is used for various applications such as games, navigation, and photography. Among them, two AR applications described above were selected in this study because we specifically examined "situations in which the AR technology is used for pedestrian navigation,” which are often used while walking. (Point View displays information about a place (name, address, etc.) on the smartphone screen when it is held in the direction of a building or other object. Map Fan AR Global displays information about the destination direction on the smartphone screen it is held along a road or other landmark.). First, we analyzed movements of participants’ point of visual focus, which revealed that those who were walking while using smartphones viewed surroundings for only 20%–40% of the walking duration. Moreover, the share of duration gazing around while walking using an AR was higher than that for Web browsing. Additionally, with regard to the range of the visual field in the lateral direction, we demonstrated that the Point View is about 90%, Map Fan AR Global is 80%, and Web browsing is only 70% of the figures found for Not using. Examining characteristics of walking by AR to assess the effects on spatial recognition revealed a high rate of those who noticed a “standing pedestrian” ahead, but no significant difference was found. However, the rate of those who noticed other objects, especially a signboard set on the roadside, was low. Results show that walking while looking at real space through AR is as dangerous as walking while web browsing. Apparently, arranging attention information related to the road surface or the roadside is ineffective for pedestrians who are walking while using a smartphone.

This paper examines the relationship between the knowledge of one’s current location shown by GPS and anxiety. Pedestrian navigation systems on smartphones are assumed to enable us to visualize our current location and make route searches while walking much easier, although the relationship with our mental state while walking has not been studied in detail. In order to investigate how mental states differ while walking when using pedestrian navigation systems or maps for route searches while walking, we applied protocol analysis to the differences in remarks made by subjects while walking towards a destination in a real urban space. The results showed no large difference in the ratio of the number of anxious remarks between the use of maps and the use of pedestrian navigation tools. The points at which anxiety occurred depended on the tool used, and the pedestrian navigation did not necessarily reduce the anxiety of users compared with when using a conventional map. These results suggest that the hypothesis in this research that pedestrian navigation systems, which are usually considered to be convenient, may raise different types of anxiety in the users’ minds from paper maps is reasonable.

Relocating a settlement often becomes a post-disaster solution in cases when a disaster strikes and leaves people homeless. One of the disasters which can bring such kind of impact is a volcanic eruption. The study case on the relocated settlement in Merapi volcano area, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, is considered as one of best practices for a relocation project in Indonesia which was driven by the massive losses incurred from the large eruption in 2010. The project was facilitated by the Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Program Community-based society (REKOMPAK) which had the community play a central role at every decision and action. However, even as the best practices in Indonesia, this project was also obstructed by a major issue which usually occurs in the relocation project, that being project deniers. There were 656 households insisted on returning to their previous house. Moreover, until the end of the second year after the project finished, about 100 additional households also decided to go back from the relocated settlement to their previous settlement.

The objective of this study is to identify the impact of relocating the settlement by comparing the satisfaction of the inhabitants in the relocated settlement with the satisfaction of the inhabitants who declined the project and persisted in building houses on their own. A questionnaire survey was conducted in September-October 2016 to the inhabitants of the both types of settlements consisting of 62 respondents which were the representatives of each local neighborhood. There were 49 respondents from the relocated settlement and 13 respondents from the in-situ reconstruction settlement.

Based on a principal component analysis (PCA) result, the project impact can be observed on six variables which are (1) community participation, (2) new settlement satisfaction, (3) project satisfaction, (4) community empowerment, (5) infrastructure satisfaction, and (6) public facility satisfaction. Built from the value of these variables, the inhabitants of both settlements were classified into five clusters. The interpretation of these clusters shows that the relocation also gave different impacts among the inhabitants within the same relocation project. Even though they moved together to the same relocated settlement, they perceived the different impacts. Furthermore, detailed by the cluster distribution and reconstruction process, the result implied that the location aspect, demography structure, inhabitant’s distribution in the new dwellings, the bonds between neighbors, and community’s participation to the development program are the main problems that occurred inside these settlements. Thus, based on this finding, the result can be used as a consideration for constructing further improvement program.

This research studied the psychological ownership (PO) of ethnobotanical (ETB) plants found near suburban residents’ homes. A mixed methods study was done using site survey, aerial photographs, historical research, interviews, and questionnaire responses. Inquiries regarding recognition, usage, and hopes for increase of 12 selected ETB plants were asked. Results showed the closest relationship of recognition and appreciation was due to gathering and usage. Usage of plants and remembering them also had a deep relationship with wanting to see an increase of them in the surroundings. Interest in commercially available plants and hopes for plants in the future in the surrounding neighborhood is associated with usage knowledge. Interviews confirmed that experiences with plants differ from childhood to adulthood. Children have direct and short experiences, such as picking and eating or playing immediately and observing adults’ usage, whereas adults collect and use plants procedurally. Plant experiences in childhood create deeper opportunities for PO in adulthood due to associated memories. Interviews showed these are often familial or personal experiences. Results also showed that medicinality of ETBs is not well-known, and is based on cultural input rather than association with the plant itself. It was concluded that PO, and consequently interest, come from memories associated with identification and usage knowledge. Further, from the results, it is concluded that ETBs must be readily identifiable in the landscape and that encouraging experiences through events aimed at families or personal experiences could foster the PO of ETBs.

This paper develops a continuous network model for examining the spacing of intersections that connect different levels of roads in a hierarchical network. The model extends a previous model to incorporate inward, outward, and through traffic, thus providing a more appropriate framework for analyzing the intersection spacing. An analytical expression for the total travel time is obtained for a grid road network with two road types. The travel time is dened as the sum of the free travel time and the delay at intersections. The analytical expression leads to a clear understanding of the tradeoff between the accessibility to higher level roads and the delay at intersections. The optimal pattern of intersections that minimizes the total travel time is then obtained. The result shows how the road length, the intersection delay, the travel speed, and the traffic composition affect the optimal intersection pattern.