The conversion of Earth's land surface to urban uses is one of the most irreversible human impacts on the global biosphere. It drives the loss of farmland, affects local climate, fragments habitats, and threatens biodiversity. Here we present a meta-analysis of 326 studies that have used remotely sensed images to map urban land conversion. We report a worldwide observed increase in urban land a...

The urban environment characterized by various stresses poses challenges to trees. In particular, water deficits and high temperatures can cause immense drought stress to urban trees, resulting in reduced growth and die-off. Drought-tolerant species are expected to be resilient to these conditions and are therefore advantageous over other, more susceptible species. However, the drought toleranc...

This article relies on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics matched to U.S. census data to explain the factors contributing to homeownership transitions for a sample of renters who first left their parents’ homes during the years 1978 through 1987. The article employs continuous time duration models to explain first-time homeownership transitions as a function of various individual and ...

[1] Since the middle of the last century, global surface air temperature exhibits an increasing trend, with nocturnal temperatures increasing at a much higher rate. Proposed causative mechanisms include the radiative impact of atmospheric aerosols on the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) where the temperature response is amplified due to shallow depth and its sensitivity to potential destabilizati...

the urban squatter settlements is an urban phenomenon which is formed and developed by uncontrolled and irregular urbanization growth in the world and in iran as well and also by migration from the villages towards the cities. urban squatter settlements, as an unbalancing factor in the urban physical equilibrium, is a sign of irregular growth in the cities and the regions and many of the urbani...

Assessment of landscape change is critical for attainment of regional sustainability goals. Urban growth assessments are needed because over half the global population now lives in cities, which impact biodiversity, ecosystem structure and ecological processes. Open space protection is needed to preserve these attributes, and provide the resources humans need. The San Francisco Bay Area, Califo...

Developed for Internet-based simulations, the Urban Growth Simulator allows users to select from a suite of available options for growth management when generating build-out scenarios. With all required data layers for the 15-county region in northeast Ohio freely accessible and available from the simulator's server, planners, government officials, and the general public can use the Urban Growt...