Cities profoundly alter biological communities, favoring some species over others, though the mechanisms that govern these changes are largely unknown. Herbivorous arthropod pests are often more abundant in urban than in rural areas, and urban outbreaks have been attributed to reduced control by predators and parasitoids and to increased susceptibility of stressed urban plants. These hypotheses...

A well-known effect of urbanisation is the warming of the local climate relative to surrounding rural areas, creating a phenomenon known as the ‘urban heat island’ (UHI). UHI intensity varies across a city and over time, but temperature differences may reach 9 °C in the UK. Factors that contribute to a UHI include the thermal properties, height and spacing of buildings, the production of waste ...

Photocatalytic self-cleaning “cool” roofs and walls can maintain high albedos, saving building cooling energy, reducing peak power demand, mitigating the urban heat island effect. Other environmental benefits result from their de-polluting properties. Specimens two different photocatalytic architectural membranes a non-photocatalytic control were exposed alongside vertically, facing west, for y...

The island of Jamaica covers an area of 10,991 km2 and lies about 885 kms south of Miami (United States of America) and 145 kms south of Cuba. It is the largest of the English-speaking Commonwealth Caribbean Islands, and the third-largest island in the region. The island is divided into 14 parishes and there are two major urban centers—Kingston on the southeast coast and Montego Bay on the nort...

The need to tackle the urban heat island effect demands implementation of cool surfaces as a mitigation strategy. This study comprehensively reviews evolution this research field from materials perspective. It provides bibliometric analysis relevant literature using SciMAT software processing bibliographic records 1995 2020, for surfaces. results obtained show an increased interest in 2011 part...

To further evaluate the factors influencing public heat and air-quality health, a characterization of how urban areas affect the thermal environment, particularly in terms of the air temperature, is necessary. To assist public health agencies in ranking urban areas in terms of heat stress and developing mitigation plans or allocating various resources, this study characterized urban heat in Cal...

The purpose of this project is to demonstrate the potentiality of satellite images with high spatial resolution (QuickBridII) and GPS system for cadastral applications in a zone so particular in landuse administration like Rapa Nui or Easter Island, located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, lat 27o 07’ long 109o 22’ in front to the Chilean coast. Additionally, the last cartographic informatio...