GCRI · Cities and Built Environment
Methods and uncertainty
The methods Cities and Built Environment relies on: their equations and assumptions, the data they need, how they are validated and the limits of what they can show.
Methods and uncertainty in five parts.
The methods in use.
- 01Structural and earthquake engineeringUrban building vulnerability profiles · Retrofit of schools and housingApplied here
- 02Urban and transport engineeringAccessibility analysis · Safe street design · Flood-resilient transportApplied here
- 03Geospatial information systemsUrban exposure databases · Community mapping · Hazard overlay for planningApplied here
- 04Spatial statistics and geostatisticsSmall-area estimation · Spatial clustering of disadvantage · Interpolating urban temperatureApplied here
- 05Social and behavioural scienceHousing and tenure surveys · Participatory planning research · Displacement studiesApplied here
- 06Earth and geophysical scienceSeismic microzonation · Urban subsidence monitoring · Landslide hazard on urban slopesApplied here
- 07Sensors, IoT and observation networksLow-cost air and heat sensors · Drain and flood sensors · Privacy in urban sensingApplied here
- 08Energy generation, storage and grid technologyBuilding energy and overheating · Rooftop solar potential · Energy poverty mappingApplied here
- 09Water and environmental engineeringUrban drainage design · Sanitation for unserved areas · Waste and drainage linksApplied here
Each method, its role in this field and how it is checked.
- Structural engineeringRole hereStructural and earthquake engineering is the method this platform stewards for the network.Checks appliedField verification of classes; Fragility calibration; Peer review of retrofit designs
- Urban transport engineeringRole hereUrban and transport engineering is the second method this platform stewards.Checks appliedSchedule versus operation; Crash data completeness; Equity analysis
- GeospatialRole hereGeospatial information systems hold the city’s map: land use, buildings, networks, services and hazards.Checks appliedCompleteness assessment; Consent and data protection; Positional accuracy
- Spatial statisticsRole hereSpatial statistics estimate and compare conditions across neighbourhoods where direct data are sparse.Checks appliedModel validation; Uncertainty maps; Multiple testing control
- Social scienceRole hereSocial and behavioural science explains how people experience the city: housing choices, travel, tenure, participation and inequality.Checks appliedSampling coverage; Ethics review; Feedback to participants
- GeoscienceRole hereEarth and geophysical science supplies the ground beneath the city: landslide-prone slopes, soft soils that amplify shaking, subsidence and the geology of aquifers.Checks appliedBorehole verification; GNSS comparison; Inventory review
- Sensing IoTRole hereSensors and connected devices give cities continuous measurements of air, heat, water, traffic and infrastructure condition.Checks appliedCo-location calibration; Data quality flags; Privacy impact review
- Energy technologyRole hereEnergy technologies shape how buildings are heated, cooled and powered, and how much they emit.Checks appliedSimulation calibration; Overheating criteria; Survey representativeness
- Environmental engineeringRole hereEnvironmental engineering designs the water, sanitation, drainage, waste and air quality systems that keep cities healthy.Checks appliedModel calibration; Climate allowance; Service chain review
How the process runs.
Process explorer · Process
Methods and uncertainty: PRISMA 2020 review reporting
10 steps·4 stages
Process
Methods and uncertainty: PRISMA 2020 review reporting
PRISMA 2020 is a reporting guideline for systematic reviews; the steps follow its checklist, not a mandated sequence, and no Nexus document adopts it.
01 Plan
- 01Registration and protocolRecord · The review teamThe guideline asks for registration details, access to the protocol and any amendments.
- 02Eligibility criteriaRecord · The review teamThe guideline asks for the inclusion and exclusion criteria and how studies were grouped.
02 Find and select
- 03Search: sources and strategiesStep · The review teamThe guideline asks for the information sources and the full search strategies. It does not fix which sources are used.
- 04Selection of studiesStep · The review teamThe guideline asks how studies were judged eligible, including how many reviewers screened. It does not fix the number of reviewers.
- 05Flow diagramRecordThe flow diagram shows the number of records found, the number of studies included and the reasons for exclusion.
03 Analyse
- 06Data collectionStep · The review teamThe guideline asks how data were collected from reports and which data items were sought.
- 07Risk of biasStep · The review teamThe guideline asks for the methods and tools used to assess risk of bias.
- 08SynthesisModel · The review teamThe guideline asks for the effect measures and the synthesis methods. It does not prescribe meta-analysis.
- 09Certainty of evidenceStep · The review teamThe guideline asks for the methods used to assess certainty, and reports the result per outcome. It does not name a grading scale.
04 Report
- 10Review reportRecordThe guideline helps authors report why the review was done, what they did and what they found.
ReportsOutline of an externally published reporting guideline, not a Nexus process and not a record of operation. PRISMA 2020 mainly covers reviews of intervention effects. No Nexus page names it. Every programme is at service level R0.
Where uncertainty in urban analysis comes from, and how it is shown.
| Source | Why it matters here | How it is reported |
|---|---|---|
| Built-up extent | Products differ in definition and resolution | Product named, accuracy stated |
| Building inventories | Attributes such as construction type are often inferred | Inferred attributes labelled |
| Urban climate | Heat varies street by street | Resolution of heat products stated |
| Population at night and day | Exposure differs by time of day | Both shown where available |
City-level indicators follow ISO 37120 and 37123 definitions where cities report them.
How uncertainty is reported.
- 01
State assumptions
Each analysis lists its assumptions and the data it depends on.
- 02
Quantify where possible
Ranges and confidence are reported alongside central estimates.
- 03
Validate and compare
Models are checked against observations and, where possible, against other models.
- 04
Publish limits
What an analysis cannot show is stated beside what it can.
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
Are the methods open?
Contribute evidence from this page.
Reports is the Consortium’s quarterly publication. What you know about this subject can become evidence, a case or a correction in the next edition, credited to you and published under CC BY 4.0 where it is your own work.
- EmailGateway GW-GCRISend it from this pageEvidence, a correction, a case, a method, a review, a translation or profile input. It arrives tagged with this page, so the editor who owns it receives it.
- ZenodoOpen depositDeposit it and submit to the communityPublish your own record on Zenodo with your ORCID iD, then submit it to the Reports community there. Curators review it; the DOI stays yours.
- ReportsGCRISee every way to contributeThe contribution types, how each is reviewed, what credit you receive, the licence and what is never accepted.
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