Assessment of Environmentally Safe Conditions of the Urban

Environment as a Means to Promote the Economic Development of

Urban Planning Systems

Oksana Anatolievna Rastyapina

, Viacheslav Valentinovich Prokopenko

and Olga Aleksandrovna Ganzha

Volgograd State Technical University, Lenin Avenue, 28, 400005 Volgograd, Russia

Keywords: Quality of the urban environment, threats to the favorable development of the urban environment, components

of the urban environment, effectiveness of the urban environment.

Abstract: The formation of favorable living conditions within the urban environment is one of the strategic objectives

of the development of the state. Favorable conditions of the urban environment determine the sustainable

development of not only a single territory but also the state as a whole. The creation of favorable and, therefore,

high-quality conditions for the life of the urban environment contributes to increasing its attractiveness and

further economic development. To create such conditions, it is necessary to analyze the components of the

urban environment. To assess the quality of the urban environment, based on the assessment of the criteria

that characterize the urban environment, taking into account their significance, it is necessary to calculate the

environmental quality indicator. The paper defines threats to environmental safety as criteria that characterize

the urban environment and have a negative impact on the development of the urban environment. Thus, the

influence of all the criteria that characterize the urban environment is determined as positive and negative,

based on the impact on the development of the urban environment. When analyzing all the criteria that

characterize the urban environment, taking into account their potential impact on the development of the urban

environment, it is possible to develop measures in certain areas to improve the quality of the urban

environment and, as a result, achieve sustainable development.

1 INTRODUCTION

The economic efficiency of the state is determined

not only by a number of economic indicators that

characterize the level of development of the state and

its economic activity but also by a number of

indicators that determine the quality of the standard

of living of the population, as well as the level of

technological development. The last two parameters

are determined by the level of development of the

urban environment, environmental parameters, and

the implementation of measures aimed at preserving

the environment. All this meets the requirements of

the modern concept of sustainable development.

Achieving the parameters of sustainable

development, defined on a global scale, inevitably

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contributes to the formation of the economic image of

the state, and, accordingly, economic efficiency. To

achieve this, activities at the global level should be

used to implement a common policy ensuring a safe

and favorable urban environment that contributes to

the achievement of sustainable development. In the

modern urban environment, a person is exposed to

influences that have a negative effect on him,

although the urban environment is created for a

person, and its improvement is aimed at improving

the quality of life in this environment (Marco de

Silva, 2017; Rastyapina, 2020). In various studies,

about 600 situations associated with risk and extreme

living conditions in an urban environment were noted

(Vladimirov, 2017; Cortinovis, 2021; Patinom,

2021). All unfavorable situations can be divided into

groups (according to Vladimirov): situations of

Rastyapina, O., Prokopenko, V. and Ganzha, O.

Assessment of Environmentally Safe Conditions of the Urban Environment as a Means to Promote the Economic Development of Urban Planning Systems.

DOI: 10.5220/0010696100003169

In Proceedings of the International Scientiﬁc-Practical Conference "Ensuring the Stability and Security of Socio-Economic Systems: Overcoming the Threats of the Crisis Space" (SES 2021),

pages 179-183

ISBN: 978-989-758-546-3

179

technogenic nature, natural origin, and environmental

nature. The situations of technogenic nature should

include situations related to transport accidents, fires,

accidents with emissions of harmful substances

(radioactive and biologically dangerous substances),

collapse of buildings, accidents in the utility

infrastructure of the city (communications, electric

power facilities, sewage treatment plants), etc. In

total, about 45 situations are allocated. Situations of

natural origin include processes that occur as a result

of natural factors, such as geophysical, geological,

meteorological, agrometeorological, hydrological,

natural fires, and infectious diseases. Environmental

situations include: changes in the properties and

composition of the air, land (soil, subsurface,

landscape), and hydrosphere. As a rule, most of the

unfavorable natural processes in the urban area

develop under the influence of technogenic factors.

That is why the issue of not only reducing the

technogenic load on the environment but also

conducting an assessment of the environmental safety

of the surrounding urban environment becomes

relevant. Factors that affect the urban environment

should be considered threats to the security of the

urban environment

2 COMPONENTS OF THE

URBAN ENVIRONMENT

Urban planning, urbanized environment is quite

diverse and its safety is determined by many factors.

In this paper, environmental safety is considered from

the point of view of ecology and the degree of

favorability of the urban environment. It is not

enough to comply with the standards for a variety of

environmental parameters. It is necessary to analyze

the factors that contribute to the formation of a safe

(favorable) urban environment. Sustainable

development should not be determined by the stable

pace of space development, taking into account

modern requirements, but by the ability to restore the

natural environment, taking into account its urban

(anthropogenic) development (Benites, 2021).

Sustainable development of the urban environment

should be considered a balanced development of the

anthropogenic and natural environment. Factors that

have an adverse impact on the ecological state of the

city will be considered potential threats to the

development of this environment. Accordingly, to

achieve favorable conditions for the development of

the urban environment, it is necessary to analyze the

factors that affect this environment and are potential

threats (Han, 2021; Briones-Hidrovo, 2021).

Given the diversity and complexity of the urban

environment, the factors that affect it should be

grouped as follows: natural, architectural and

landscape, socio-economic, infrastructural, and

technogenic. The group of natural factors includes

criteria that characterize climatic conditions,

hydrogeological conditions of the territory,

hydrological, topographic conditions, probability of

occurrence of adverse natural processes, under

existing conditions (Table 1). These criteria

determine the degree of comfort of the urban

environment and may be favorable or unfavorable for

the development and formation of the urban

environment. In the case of unfavorable criteria for

development, it is necessary to develop measures

aimed at improving the level of improvement of the

urban area. Favorable natural and climatic conditions

create more attractive conditions for life, and not

favorable ones reduce the attractiveness of the

territory.

Table 1: Group of natural factors.

Factors/criteria Assessment

(impact)

Temperature range

Favorable

(+)/unfavorable (-)

Wind mode

Radiation mode

Groundwater quality

Available groundwater (depth

of occurrence)

Ground conditions

Available reservoirs

Terrain

Adverse natural processes

probability

(-)

The group of architectural and landscape factors

consists of criteria that characterize the natural and

anthropogenic landscape of the urban environment

and the architectural and planning composition

formed during the development of the city.

To assess the degree of security of the territory,

this group includes the following criteria:

architectural (historical, architectural, and cultural

values) and assessment of the landscape features of

the territory. When analyzing landscape criteria, it is

necessary to analyze the value of the landscape, its

suitability for the formation of favorable and safe

living conditions. The presence of such elements will

give a certain color and value to the territory, which

will affect the attractiveness of the territory. The

absence of such elements does not affect the overall

comprehensive assessment of the territory.

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Table 2: Architectural and landscape factors.

Factors/criteria Assess

ment

(impac

Architectural stylistics

presence (+)/absence

Valuable construction elements

Landscape value

Available elements to be

preserved

Historical and architectural

value

Cultural value

Socio-economic factors (Table 3) of the

environmental safety assessment determine the

possibility and efficiency of the implementation of

environmental measures.

Table 3: Socio-economic factors.

Factors/criteria Assessment

(impact)

Street lighting

Comparison with the

number (area of the

environment) with

regional averages of

presence (+)/absence (-)

Pavement quality

The structure of surface

elements of engineering

communications

Quality/availability of

pedestrian paths

Morbidity rate Increase (-

)/Decrease (+)

The criteria of this group are included in the

analysis of the current state of the urban environment

and are compared with previous indicators. It is based

on the calculation of the increase rate that it is

possible to judge the efficiency of the implemented

measures and assess the degree of favorability of the

urban environment. No less important is social

security, in terms of feeling and perceiving the

security of living conditions in the urbanized

environment. To assess social security, it is necessary

to analyze: street lighting, pavement quality (presence

of holes, defects in the pavement, etc.), safety

assessment of engineering communication elements

(closed sewer manholes), presence of pedestrian

paths, sidewalks. To analyze these indicators, it is

necessary to compare them with both the total area

and the number of inhabitants.

The group of infrastructure factors includes

criteria for the analysis of transport, utility, and

information infrastructure (Table 4). The analysis of

transport infrastructure (Ryriakopoulou, 2021)

involves considering the accessibility of transport for

the population, coverage of all points of the urban

environment, constancy of routes, variety of

transport, and level of motorization. To assess the

utility infrastructure, it is necessary to evaluate the

following criteria: reliability, safety, energy

efficiency, and durability of civil engineering

systems. The information infrastructure is evaluated

according to the degree of modernity of the

information provision to citizens, the speed and

accuracy of information provided, as well as the

extent and variety of information. The presence of

tourist infrastructure also contributes to the economic

development of the urban environment.

Table 4: Infrastructure factors.

Factors/criteria Assessment (impact)

Transport accessibility

Specific

indicator (per

person or area)

of comparison

with the

regional value,

above the level

(+)

Variety of transpor

Level of motorization

Number of parking

lots

Physical wear and tear

of municipal

structures

More than 50% with

negative impact

Compliance with

modern requirements

(update)

presence

(+)/absence(-)

Tourist attractions

Available information

about transpor

Available information

about events

When analyzing this criterion, it is necessary to

assess the degree of accessibility (transport and

information) of the main tourist attractions.

The factors that make up the technogenic urban

environment (Table 5) can be considered from the

point of view of evaluating all functional zones of the

urban environment for their safe placement and

appropriate mutual placement; the quality of

development. Construction quality parameters

include analysis of the construction material,

construction technology, number of floors of

buildings, and operating time. Landscaping of the

territory has protective functions and contributes to

the creation of a favorable visual appearance of the

urban environment (Zhu, 2021; Hian, 2021). The

analysis of the visual appearance of the buildings is

based on the assessment of the aggressiveness and

homogeneity of the fields.

Assessment of Environmentally Safe Conditions of the Urban Environment as a Means to Promote the Economic Development of Urban

Planning Systems

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Table 5: Technogenic factors.

Factors/criteria Assessment

(impact)

Construction material safe (+)/dangerous

(-)

Tear-and-wear of buildings

(more than 50%)

Number of floors of buildings

(proportionality of

construction)

favorable (+)/(-)

Visual assessment

Species diversity of

landscaping

presence

(+)/absence (-)

Landscaping

Comparison

with

standards,

compliance

(+)/ non-

compliance (-)

Ambient air quality

Acoustic pollution of the

territory

Radiation pollution of the

territory

All factors of the technogenic environment can

have both positive and negative effects. Therefore, to

assess their impact, it is necessary to compare them

with the standard values, if exceeded, the impact

should be assessed as negative. This refers to the

criteria that can be measured (air pollution, water

pollution, soil pollution). The landscaping degree of

the territory is also compared with the standard

values. However, exceeding the standard values of

the landscaping parameters has a positive effect,

while an insufficient value of this parameter is

characterized as a negative effect. The system of

green areas should be diverse, which contributes to

the efficient protection and improvement of the

environment due to the negative impact of

anthropogenic impact.

The analysis of the presented criteria in different

groups, depending on the significance of the criteria,

allows us to determine the quality of the urban

environment. The integrated assessment indicator

will increase with a positive influence, and it will

decrease accordingly with a negative influence. The

higher the indicators of a comprehensive assessment

of the urban environment, the more favorable

conditions are formed for the development and

sustainable functioning of the environment.

The main principles of the formation of a modern

urbanized environment are as follows (Rastyapina,

O.A., Polyakov, V.G., Prokopenko, V.V., Ganzha,

O.A., Sabitova T.A., 2020): integrity, harmony,

environmental friendliness, and meaning-making.

The analysis of the marked directions and criteria will

allow determining the compliance of the urban

environment with these principles.

3 THREATS TO

ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY

THAT DETERMINE THE

ECONOMIC EFFICIENCY OF

THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT

The presented analysis of the factors influencing the

quality of the urban environment confirms the

complexity and versatility of the methodology.

Accordingly, economic efficiency cannot be

determined based on only economic indicators or

social indicators that characterize the quality of life of

citizens. It is necessary to conduct a multi-factor

analysis, based on the assessment of criteria that

allow determining the level of development of the

urban environment. The formation of favorable living

conditions following the modern requirements of the

population, introduction of technologies that

contribute to the development of a "smart" urban

environment, development of tourist infrastructure –

all this contributes to the economic development of

the urban environment, as well as sustainable

development.

All the factors presented can have both positive

and negative impacts on the degree of safety of the

urban environment. All the factors that shape the

urban environment and have a negative impact can be

divided into three groups: chemical, physical, and

mechanical. The values of the criteria for a group of

chemical factors are usually calculated based on a

comparison with the standard values. This group

includes: volume of pollution (total and summed,

reduced to a single measurement indicator), index of

atmospheric pollution, area of industrial enterprises

(located directly on the border with the residential

zone), density of the street and road network

(calculated as a specific indicator), area of sanitary

protection zones, area of landfills, area of the

cemetery, and total indicator of soil pollution. To

analyze and determine the favorability of these

indicators, it is necessary to determine the ratio of the

total area of the urban environment. This specific

indicator will be taken into account when determining

the overall assessment of the safe environment, given

the weight factors of the criteria. Physical factors are

included in the analysis of indicators of physical

origin. This group includes: proportion of streets with

a high acoustic background, area of power lines, and

area of heating mains. Certain criteria, such as

transport accessibility and level of motorization, do

not have standard values, but their presence creates

favorable conditions for the development of the urban

environment and forms a source of technogenic

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SOCIO - ECONOMIC SYSTEMS: OVERCOMING THE THREATS OF THE CRISIS SPACE"

182

impact on the environment. These indicators should

be defined as specific, based on the population and

the area of the urban environment. The group of

mechanical factors includes criteria for the formation

of the urban environment that characterize the

qualitative characteristics of the buildings. This group

includes: coefficient of high-rise buildings,

coefficient of visual aggressiveness of buildings,

compliance of the construction with the requirements

and perception of the urban appearance. Depending

on the obtained value determined experimentally, the

criteria can have a positive and negative impact.

The analysis of these indicators will allow us to

identify potential threats to the development of the

urban environment. Taking into account the detail of

the factors presented, to improve the efficiency of the

urban environment, it is necessary to develop

measures aimed at neutralizing the negative impact of

groups of factors on the urban environment and

achieving sustainable development.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The presented analysis of the components of the

urban environment allows us to determine the main

directions of assessing the quality of the urban

environment. When considering the directions, the

criteria for evaluating the urban environment are

identified. All the criteria presented can be considered

as having a positive or negative impact. The degree

of influence should be taken into account when

determining the overall/integrated assessment

indicator with the appropriate mathematical sign. If

the criterion has a positive impact, it increases the

integrated assessment indicator; if it is negative, it

reduces it. Taking into account the diversity of urban

areas and the peculiarities of development, it is

necessary to introduce the weight (significance) of

this parameter for each criterion. The weight factor

should be calculated based on the opinion of experts,

as a weighted average of the significance of the factor

for a specific urban environment. When assessing the

level of safety of the urban environment, taking into

account the analysis of the presented criteria, it is

possible to determine those criteria and parameters

that do not meet the requirements and require the

implementation of measures aimed at improving the

quality of the urban environment and increasing its

economic attractiveness in the future.

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