全球變暖現象在最近幾年的高漲，引發了城市中不斷發生的嚴峻局部炎熱氣候，也令戶外熱舒適度課題不斷得到更多關注。這篇論文中作者從城市設計角度考察熱舒適度的分佈，並且著眼于通過定量模型研究城市形態因子與熱舒適度之間的關係，以模型作爲客觀數據實測和人主觀感受之間的橋梁。文中以荷蘭城市鹿特丹為典型代表研究了輻射爲主情況下城市設計對熱能動力學的影響，用平均輻射溫度為關鍵變量基於SOLWEIG軟件模擬探討這個變量的時空分佈。同時爲了在更長時間段中對熱舒適度作校準，輻射模擬的結果也通過RayMan軟件和氣象學觀測結果結合得出更加符合人體感受的熱環境評判結論。 / 文中主要考慮三种城市形態因子：高寬比，街道方向，和建築物外形。街道被分成中間區域和兩邊行人區域，以力圖得到最接近事實上熱舒適度感覺的結果。通過分析模型輸出和模擬結果，我們確認了城市形態因子對熱舒適度有顯著影響。從不同角度進一步研究不同城市因子的變化和熱舒適度變化之間的定量關係，我們發現所考慮的三种形態因子都會改變熱舒適度的分佈，並且各個因子的影響之間也有相關性。這些影響和相關性讓我們可以從結果中總結出更深層的機理，其中最重要的分別是日間太陽短波輻射的阻擋陰影效果和夜間長波散熱的束縛效果。在這兩個原理的作用下模型結果可以得到統一的解釋歸納，並且給出基於這些結果的城市設計方面的建議，包括在日照最充足的區域減小天空開闊度，通過調整街道方向減少日光直接照射等等。 / 文中所給出的結果和研究方法展現了城市形態對熱舒適度的動態影響，並可以作爲進一步研究的基礎。我們給出了一些可行的擴展，討論了更多可以研究的重要效應，以進一步加深對這些影響的理解和拓寬改善城市熱環境的手段。經由定量建模和多變量分析，城市設計對熱舒適度的影響可以得到更好理解和利用。 / The outdoor thermal comfort is becoming an increasingly important topic in recent years because of the global warming effect and the severe heat events experienced by cities. In this thesis we address the thermal comfort from the urban design perspective and aim at quantitatively modeling the relationship between urban form factors and thermal comfort output from a data-based human-oriented approach. Selecting Rotterdam of the Netherlands as a target city, we focus upon the radiation component of thermal environment when connecting urban design to thermal equilibrium dynamics. The radiation is represented by the Mean Radiant Temperature (Tmrt) variable, and simulated using the Solar Long Wave Environmental Irradiance Geometry (SOLWEIG) model. To evaluate the long-term calibrated thermal comfort using data over longer periods the RayMan model is also used to combine the radiation simulation output with meteorological parameters for a more human-oriented comparison. / The urban form factors considered include the height-to-width ratio (h/w), the street orientations, and the urban forms. To enable a more realistic evaluation of pedestrian thermal comfort we also divide the street into three separate zones so that the center and two side pavement zones can be individually studied and placed together for a comparison. The results confirm the impact of urban forms on thermal comfort and quantitatively evaluate such effects from all different perspectives. We find that all the urban form factors impose variations of the simulated thermal variables, and they also have correlated interactions revealing deeper connections and principles governing such relations. The most significant principles found for the scenario studies are the shading of solar short-wave radiation during the day and the trapping of long-wave emission at night, summarizing all the individual effects into a coherent body of knowledge. Utilizing these discoveries we can make design recommendations toward a better thermal environment, including reducing the sky view factor at the locations with the most solar radiation exposure, orienting the streets to utilize the building shades, etc. / As a precursor into the dynamic nature of urban form impact over thermal comfort, the results and methodology presented in this thesis serve as a foundation of more research in the same direction. Several possible extensions are proposed and more important effects are mentioned, revealing the potential and strength of our approach. Both the current research and possible extensions contribute to the field of urban thermal comfort and provide unique perspectives for rigorous quantitative investigations into a realistic urban thermal comfort model. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Dai, Qun. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2014. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 76-80). / Abstracts also in Chinese.

As modern life develops, humans spend most of their time inside buildings. Understanding the effects of different building materials that exist indoors on indoor air quality is crucial to ensure comfort, health, and productivity of building occupants. Indoor air quality (IAQ) is an important field of building science that focuses on studying the existence of different compounds indoors. These compounds include: airborne particles such as dust, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as carbonyls, reactive gases such as radon, ozone and others. Ozone is a strong oxidant gas that has adverse effects on human health, and is highly reactive with building materials that exist indoors. This reaction may reduce its concentration indoors, but may produce other by-products that could be more harmful for human health than ozone itself. In this dissertation, ozone reaction with different building materials is investigated in four studies. The first includes studying the effect of indoor carpet fiber type on ozone removal and carbonyl emissions. This study provides valuable data and knowledge about the importance of selecting carpet type and its effect on indoor environment. In the second study, different indoor plants were tested to evaluate their ability to remove ozone. The results from this study show wide variation between plants tested on ozone removal. Also, the ability of plants as ozone removal agent changes as light levels change. The third part studies ozone removal efficiency of HVAC filters previously installed in air handling units located on green and white membrane roofs of a commercial building. Detailed filter surface analysis using scanning electron microscope (SEM) was performed to understand the nature of deposits on these filters. The reason for differences in ozone removal efficiency of two filters in comparison with new filter is also discussed. The fourth study investigated ozone removal and carbonyl emissions from three different VOC content indoor latex paints. The outcomes from this research show that zero VOC latex paint has the most ozone effective removal capacity and this paint is the least carbonyl emitter. The research presented in this dissertation adds new data, valuable knowledge, and expands the understanding of the importance of selecting indoor materials to raise indoor air quality and make the buildings' indoor environment healthier and safer.

No description available.

The concept of sustainable development is receiving a great deal of attention in industry. However, the operational processes for industrial environmental management are still at an early stage of development and despite the best efforts of operations management and environmental specialists a great many products and services continue to be unsustainable. This presents threats to society and risks for survival to manufacturers. The purpose of the Thesis is to accelerate environmental improvements through the uptake of Cleaner Production concepts by developing a methodology for guiding manufacturing enterprises. The tenets of the proposed methodology include: o oo Reliance on a strategic approach ooo Development of an implementation path similar to those used in introducing other major culture and technology changes ooo Culture and policy change are strategically generated from within manufacturing organisations Specifically, the main objectives of the Project are: 1. to invent a relatively easily implementable methodology for planning for sustainability for manufacturing enterprises of all sizes 2. to address the major industrial environmental management issues at all levels within the enterprise as one seamless process 3. to configure the methodology so that it may be incorporated into an existing body of knowledge, e.g., manufacturing management/manufacturing engineering 4. to minimise complexities by standardising key concepts and terminology The Thesis integrates Sustainability and Cleaner Production concepts, systems and technologies and performance indicators with a planning model to arrive at what has been termed as &quot the Strategy Development and Implementation with Cleaner Production&quot process. This solution addresses the key point of integrating Cleaner Production concepts ii with the manufacturing planning processes, but just as importantly, it also establishes the links between the steps from strategy initiation through to implementation, from the boardroom down to the factory floor. The main modules of the work are: o oo establishing relationships between strategic, business and manufacturing plans using the concepts of Sustainability, Eco-efficiency and Cleaner Production ooo development of links between planning and operations using the concepts of Industrial Ecology and Life Cycle Management ooo development of a classification system, referred to as a Cleaner Production toolkit, to promote optimum selection of hard and soft systems and technologies ooo development of appropriate Cleaner Production Indicators to complete the loop.

The conservation of biological diversity has become one of the most important goals of managing forests in an ecologically sustainable way. In this thesis, I report a comprehensive study designed to examine the long-term effects of commercial logging and high-intensity fire, and the ability of Population Viability Analysis (PVA) models to predict these effects to aid in the conservation and management of multiple species. Initially, I compared the abundance of small mammals (A. agilis, R. fuscipes, A. swainsonii), and lizards (L. delicata, L. guichenoti, E. heatwolei), in sites with different disturbance histories: 18-19 yearold logging regrowth, 28-29 or 33-34 year???old clearfelling regrowth and unlogged forest. All sites had previously been burnt by bushfires. No evidence of long-term effects of logging or fire was found for A. agilis, R. fuscipes, L. delicata or L. guichenoti, and there were not enough data to make conclusions for A. swainsonii and E. heatwolei. Then the effects of a hazard-reduction burn were investigated. There was variation between the species in the effects of the burn, with interactions between year, aspect and burning for A. agilis and R. fuscipes, and interactions between year, disturbance and topography for the Lampropholis species. A. swainsonii became extremely scarce in the forest after the burn and E. heatwolei were generally unaffected. Next, PVA metapopulation models were used to predict the likely abundance and patch occupancy of these species based on historical data. Retrospective testing showed the models were accurate for all species, but best for A. agilis and R. fuscipes. Lastly, PVA modelling was used to rank management options; no management action, a hazard-reduction burn in 2005 or a logging event in 2005. The models predicted that future management is likely to result in the extinction of A. agilis, R. fuscipes and L. guichenoti by 2010. However, no one management scenario was most detrimental to all species. The current management regime for this forest involves commercial logging on a 40-year cycle and regular hazard-reduction burning. PVA modelling predicts that A. swainsonii and L. delicata are at the greatest risk of extinction under this regime, but that it is also likely to lead to the extinction of A. agilis, R. fuscipes and L. guichenoti in the near future. The results of this research indicate that the conservation of multiple species under one management regime is unlikely to be successful.

UMI No. 3110307. "Authorized facsimile, made from the microfilm master copy of the original dissertation." Includes bibliographical references. Summary: This research proposes a new site analysis methodology in the form of an integrated framework. The framework separates the site analysis process into different models, incorporates each model, and considers the interaction between them. The most important models are the environmental models (climate, geology, hydrology, topography, and vegetation models), social-cultural models, economic models, and infrastructure models. Each model also contains several important factors.The study identifies and organizes environmental factors within the framework that influence site analysis and design. Based on the applicability of feng shui principles and their interpretations into measurable factors, this research compares and incorporates feng shui and contemporary environmental design theories, and summarizes essential environmental factors. The emphasis on environmental factors from these models may lead to a better understanding of the relationships between humankind and the natural environment.

After many years of research focusing on different aspects of human experience conducted both within design research and outside of it, no clear understanding of experience or ways it might be researched have yet been developed. Many conferences, academic papers, and design studies have described partial structures, formulas and hypotheses that have so far provided inadequate understandings of what constitutes experience and how it might be understood (especially in design){Engage, 2005 #263, p.68}. The first difficulty is that there are no suitable design research methods available to enable design researchers to study experience. Secondly, the nature of what is being studied (what constitutes experience) is unclear and thirdly (due to the absence of the first two) no well reasoned way has yet been found to make this type of information useful to designers. This research project set out to find a way to understand everyday human experience from the point of view of design, but first the tools and methods to do this kind of research had themselves to be researched. The personal experiences of a niche group of transport users were chosen as the research vehicle for an explorative research project. Using hermeneutical phenomenology to guide the philosophical orientation as well as many aspects of the methodological approach, field research was conducted in Australia and Europe. From this approach, taxonomy of the vehicle experience (ToE) was developed. A process of deeply (hermeneutically) exploring the information contained in this taxonomy produced a second set of methods (The SEEing process) that causes a deep understanding of the experience to emerge in the design researcher. Both these methods were successfully trialled in Australia and Germany and an analysis of the results is presented. The ToE-SEEing methodology described in this paper provides firstly, a structured approach to understanding a specific experiential situation. Secondly, the methods enable a fundamental and clear understanding of the deeper essences of the experience to be seen with a degree of clarity, such that informed design can take place. This methodology will be helpful to those for whom it is important to have a deep understanding of the experience they wish to design for, and it will be especially helpful for informing those responsible for decisions (design or otherwise) effecting the quality of others experience with goods or services. ToE-SEEing has been shown to be teachable, learnable and useful as a design methodology. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This inquiry examines aviation futures, within the broad context of sustainable consumption and ecological sustainability. Increasing mobility and rapid growth of road and air transport have been identified as key consumption issues, especially in relation to calls for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Economics and globalisation concerns have dominated recent academic studies of air transport. There is a growing critique, however, of growth-based aviation futures on a range of ecological, resource, security and health grounds. This inquiry adds to that critique. Its primary research aim is to identify and articulate visions and policies for aviation futures within an ecological framework. Analysis of relevant literatures, including those on sustainable consumption, transport and tourism, is complemented by an analysis of aviation and tourism growth trends worldwide, with specific reference to Asia-Pacific and Australian data. A case study of the privatisation and expansion of Canberra International Airport in the Australian Capital Territory is used to provide a global-local link and to address the airport aspects of aviation. The range of visions and policy measures are finally considered within broad consciousness and frameworks strategies for the transition to sustainability. An important conclusion is the strong need for independent institutions such as policy bodies and think tanks - working in conjunction with community groups- to develop and promote policy discourses and futures visions that challenge the prevailing hegemony of the business-political nexus. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

It has long been recognised that environmental matters are important to the survival of the construction industry. Yet, in general, the construction industry continues to degrade the environment, exploiting resources and generating waste, and is reluctant to change its conventional practices to incorporate environmental matters as part of the decisionmaking process. Building development involves complex decisions and the increased significance of external effects has further complicated the situation. Cost benefit analysis (CBA) is one of the conventional tools used widely by public and private sectors when appraising projects. It sets out to measure and compare the total costs and benefits of different projects that are competing for scarce resources in monetary terms. However, there are growing concerns that the values of environmental goods and services are often ignored or underestimated in the CBA approach which has led to the overuse and depletion of environmental assets. Consequently, CBA's usefulness and relevance in this respect is increasingly controversial. Project development is not just concerned with financial return, but is also conscious of the long-term impacts on living standards for both present and future generations. Sustainable development is an important issue in project decision-making and environmental effects need to be incorporated into the evaluation process. A multi- dimensional evaluation approach attracts increasing attention around the world as the way to incorporate environmental issues in the decision-making process. This approach uses the conventional market approach to monetarise economic aspects of a development, whilst using a non-monetary approach to evaluate the environmental matters. The purpose of this thesis is to critically examine the impact of construction activities on the environment and methods of quantifying environmental matters. This thesis also evaluates the principal sustainable development determinants for modelling, and evaluating long-term environmental performance of buildings during the project appraisal stage. Projects can be assessed using an index system that combines the principal determinants of sustainable development. The four criteria as identified in this research are financial return, energy consumption, external benefits and environmental impact. The derived sustainability index combines the four identified attributes into a single decision-making tool. The attributes are each expressed in units that are best suited to their quantitative assessment. The development of a sustainability index is a way of combining economic and environmental criteria into the decision-making framework. The sustainability index has also been developed into computer software called SINDEX to be used as a benchmarking tool to aid design and the sustainability assessment of projects. SINDEX is a sustainability modelling tool used to calculate and benchmark sustainable performance of proposed buildings, new and existing facilities. Conventional project appraisal techniques measure net social gain to select a project, whilst the sustainability index measures the relative ranking of projects from a sustainable development view. Buildings have a long life, so any improvement in appraisal techniques for choosing the best option amongst the alternatives will significantly reduce their future environmental impact. As such, a methodology that embraces various criteria in relation to project development is crucial in this respect. The development of a sustainability index is a way to combine multiple criteria measured using different units. Using the sustainability index will greatly assist the construction industry to realise sustainable development goals, and thereby make a positive contribution to identifying optimum design solutions.

This research examines ways to assess the built environment (BE) for its impacts on the ecosystems and its sustainability in terms of social, economic and environmental aspects on an urban scale. The examination is based on the argument, acknowledged in the literature, that urbanisation is one of the leading causes of unsustainable development, and that the BE makes a significant contribution to this. In order to accomplish this, urban dynamics are identified and mapped with respect to the built environment, and the relationship between urbanisation, the built environment, and the ecosystem is closely examined. The thesis argues that the common denominator in all efforts to move closer to sustainability is an effective assessment method, which not only quantifies the impacts but also informs and educates. The current methods used for assessment of the impacts of BE are found to be inadequate. An appraisal of contemporary assessment methods addressing sustainability and environmental issues at micro (individual building) and macro (urban system) levels is conducted to understand the mechanics of assessment theories. Based on this, a framework for a new assessment system which has the potential to overcome some of the observed weaknesses of the existing ones is proposed. Using multi-criteria analysis principles, this system uses ecological footprint and spatial analysis as its operational engine. It is then applied to a part of the Sydney Central Business District (CBD) for an integrated sustainability assessment. The ecological footprint of the building stock, transport, roads, waste disposal and water supply is calculated as a measure of the environmental impact of the built environment. In addition to this, ???return on investment??? (rental return on construction costs) as a measure of the economic aspect, embodied energy as a measure of material consumption, and ???proximity to facilities??? as a measure of the social benefit of the building stock, are calculated to assess the study area performance on these aspects. These are used to compute an integrated sustainability index for the study area. Various attributes of the built environment, such as total constructed area, height of building, road density etc., are analysed against the ecological footprint to understand the patterns of relationships between urban morphology and the state of sustainability.