Waterfront revitalization would be an effective strategy to preserve heritages, conserve the contaminated or abandoned site and inspire the identity and authenticity. However, there is no decision support tool to quantify and evaluate the sustainability accreditation of waterfronts in tourism attraction. This research aimed to identify the most potential waterfront typology in tourism attraction and develop the waterfront sustainable revitalization (SWR) index assessment model. The SWR index can assist policy makers and urban developers to analyze the heritage waterfronts using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method. The research found out the historic waterfront has the highest potential in tourism attraction among other typologies. And, pollution moderator is mostly important sub-criterion in tourism absorption (WC2.2 = 0.1294); followed by Identity (WC1.2 = 0.1272) and Safety and well-being (WC1.3 = 0.1043). The SWR index can be applied in any waterfronts in heritage cities around the world, while this research implemented it as a case study in Bandar Maharani, Muar, Malaysia. It resulted Bandar Maharani was ranked as grade C; means, usable waterfront to which extent environmental, social and physical revitalization are needed. The SWR index can be coupled with other decision-making methods in future, to reduce its inconsistencies and increasing accuracy.

Abstract Structural control under the serviceability limit state is a requirement of design codes to ensure the durability of structural elements. As it is possible to consider fibers to be reinforcement in concrete, UHPFRC can be used to guarantee properly distributing cracks and limiting crack width in the serviceability limit state. This research presents an experimental testing method for direct tensile tests on UHPFRC specimens. The results obtained from the proposed method, such as the specimen’s average tensile stress-strain curve, tensile stress in concrete, number and width of cracks, can be used to consider the behavior and design requirements of UHPFRC under serviceability conditions.

AbstractE‐learning, as a complex system, includes distance learning, teaching materials in various forms and shapes, group and individual learning processes, as well as interactive and tutorial work. To increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the e‐learning system, it is necessary first of all to consider the characteristics of students and their learning styles. Based on the data collected in various ways, in surveys, using the distance learning dystem (DLS) Moodle, based on the subjective assessment of the subject teachers, as well as based on data from the business information system, the student preferences are determined. Then, based on these data, an adaptation is made, a process that adapts the work of the DLS based on student knowledge. The primary goals that can be achieved through the adjustment of the e‐learning system are to improve the design and usefulness of the course, help with finding information on the course, more efficient searching and placement of search results in the context of students' interest, as well as increasing students' loyalty to a higher education institution.

In Latin America, marginality is a complex phenomenon involving various geographically significant factors, including the critical, physical, social, and human aspects. Bouldering areas of cities are often excluded from infrastructural interventions and social policies. In the case of Andean countries such as Ecuador, marginality affects not only rural lands but also in-transition areas between different geographical regions, as in the case of mountainous and coastal zones. These regions are characterized by a wide range of natural resources and climate conditions, and because of their diversity and relative proximity to the major cities, they offer potential for sustainable development. Nonetheless, the lack of infrastructure affects the accessibility of these periurban areas and critically limits their interaction. Drawing on these elements, the paper seeks to investigate whether periurban areas can be considered marginal and what tools can depict an encompassing image of local marginality, stressing its advantages for the local community. Following this idea, the paper focuses on the case of Lloa, a large rural parish in the Metropolitan District of Quito (DMQ), to determine which criteria can better capture its marginality, considering it as a periurban in-transition area. The paper suggests a cross-discipline methodology to push the limits of the field through the review of a significant body of literature and a thorough qualitative and quantitative analysis of the case study. Finally, the paper emphasizes the inadequacy of the current forms of planning to effectively define the marginality of periurban areas as a whole in the region by reflecting on the case study and through an analysis of the existing land use plans.

Actualmente en América Latina, la construcción regular de muros de hormigón armado para estructuras de hasta dos plantas es una analogía al método utilizado en los edificios de gran altura. Los muros están diseñados con una doble capa de malla de acero horizontal y vertical. Sin embargo, el uso de refuerzo de doble malla implica una cantidad de acero mucho mayor que la necesaria para los diseños de muros de estructuras de poca altura. Este estudio tiene como propósito realizar pruebas experimentales para evaluar el comportamiento sísmico de muros delgados de concreto armado con un solo refuerzo central. El plan experimental consideró una prueba de 6 muros en una proporción de 1:1. del WSL1 al WSL6, los muros tienen una longitud de 1600 mm (lw), una altura de 1600 mm (hw) y un espesor de 100 mm (tw), todas las muestras se construyeron con una viga superior para aplicar cargas horizontales y una viga inferior para sujetar los muros al suelo. Se ha observado a partir de ensayos experimentales que el comportamiento y falla de los muros se controla mediante el corte. La mayoría de las primeras grietas observadas en la muestra son grietas diagonales. Las variables estudiadas en el análisis de resultados fueron: cuantía de malla de refuerzo, tipo de acero (malla o refuerzo corrugado), cuantía de refuerzos de borde vertical. Además, se analizaron los resultados experimentales para evaluar el efecto del refuerzo de borde, cuantía de mallas soldadas, el tipo de acero y cuantía de armaduras convencionales.

The use of hydrophobic nano-silica particles in concrete for improved corrosion resistance and durability has been explored in recent years, and its potential impact on sustainable urban development and green building practices has been studied. The impact of substituting hydrophobic nano-silica particles for 2% of the cement weight in high-strength concrete mixes was investigated in this research. The study focuses on evaluating the physical-mechanical properties, including compressive strength, tensile strength, modulus of elasticity, and Poisson’s ratio. Additionally, the influence of these mixes on corrosion resistance is examined. The concrete designs feature a high strength of 42 MPa, and the hydrophilic nano-silica particles undergo functionalization processes to obtain hydrophobic properties. Contact angle measurements and water absorption tests confirm the hydrophobicity of the material. Physical, electrochemical, and electrical tests were conducted to determine the corrosion resistance contribution of the nano-silica particles when substituted at 2% of the cement weight. The research findings reveal that concrete containing nano-silica particles demonstrates improved physical-mechanical properties compared to other mixes. Incorporating nano-silica enhances concrete by accelerating hydration, increasing early-age strength, and providing hydrophobicity, resulting in improved physical-mechanical properties over other mixes. However, it was observed that the addition of hydrophobic and non-hydrophobic nano-silica tends to reduce corrosion resistance compared to concrete without these particles, despite exhibiting greater compactness. This suggests a direct influence of nano-silica on the corrosion phenomenon.

Urban rivers play a crucial role in providing ecosystem services (ES) that contribute to the social well-being and quality of life of urban inhabitants. However, rapid urbanisation has led to the progressive degradation of these rivers, affecting their capacity to deliver ES and resulting in significant socio-ecological impacts. This study performs a participatory mapping of the non-monetary social values (positives and negatives), in the urban Zamora and Malacatos Rivers and their ESs, in Loja, Ecuador, to understand community perceptions and preferences in a context of degraded landscapes as a complementary category of analysis to traditional approaches. Methodologically, the collection, analysis and mapping were carried out using public participation GIS (PPGIS) based on surveys. This method facilitated the integration of social data with biophysical variables. The most relevant of the ten social values studied were positives: Learning, Aesthetic, Therapeutic and negatives: Displeasure, Deficient and Inaccessible Infrastructure and Threat of Flooding. We revealed different spatial patterns for each ES social value, where positive value locations exhibited a dispersed pattern, with clusters in peripheral areas, while negative value locations exhibited a clustered pattern in the city centre. The environmental variable with the most significant contribution was the Horizontal Distance to Green Areas. These findings enhance our understanding of the social values and preferences associated with ES in urban river contexts. Furthermore, they provide valuable insights for identifying areas of opportunity and conflict, informing community planning and effective management of the urban landscape.

AbstractDesign codes include serviceability limit state (SLS) provisions for stress, crack, and deflection control in concrete structures, which may limit the structural design. When drawing on reinforced ultra‐high performance fibre‐reinforced concrete (R‐UHPFRC), the process of cracking differs significantly from traditional concretes. Thus, it remains unclear whether the traditional provisions are applicable to R‐UHPFRC or should be reviewed. Uniaxial tensile tie test is an excellent option to analyse and review these criteria. This work proposes a novel test methodology to study the behaviour of R‐UHPFRC under serviceability conditions, which lets the study of the global and local deformation behaviour by using different measurement equipment. Two different types of R‐UHPFRC ties with variant fibre content were tested. The global average tensile stress–strain curve, cracking behaviour, number, and width of cracks were obtained. Promising preliminary results admitted that this methodology can be useful to propose design criteria of R‐UHPFRC under SLS.