Journal of Urban Environmental Management

Abstract The transition from a linear economy to a circular economy in municipal plastic waste management is regarded as one of the pivotal challenges in the sustainable development of contemporary cities. This research has been conducted with the objective of comparatively assessing the performance of the European Union (EU) and Iran in plastic waste management through the lens of the circular economy. The comparison is structured around six key parameters: legal and regulatory frameworks, production and consumption patterns, speed and quality of recycling, collection and disposal systems, adoption of emerging technologies, and precision in source separation and waste categorization. Findings reveal that the European Union is advancing systematically toward a circular economy by integrating preventive legislation, binding quantitative targets (e.g., the 55% plastic recycling target by 2030), and cohesive technical infrastructures. As a result, the plastic recycling rate in the EU has reached 26.5%, surpassing its landfilling rate of 23.5%. In contrast, Iran despite enacting foundational legislation (such as the 2004 Waste Management Act) confronts serious structural challenges, including ineffective policy implementation, the absence of integrated recycling infrastructure, heavy reliance on the informal sector, and a lack of transparency in official statistics. These factors have confined Iran’s plastic recycling rate to below 14%, with over 84% of plastic waste landfilled without prior separation. This study demonstrates that an effective transition to a circular economy in Iran necessitates fundamental reforms specifically, rigorous enforcement of regulations, elimination of administered pricing mechanisms, strengthening of supervisory institutions, standardization of practices, data transparency, and the promotion of informed civic participation rather than merely constructing recycling facilities.

Abstract In this study, three intelligent modeling approaches, including Adaptive Neuro-Fuzzy Inference System, Artificial Neural Network–Multilayer Perceptron, and Artificial Neural Network–Radial Basis Function, were employed to simulate 14 water quality parameters, in the Halil River over a long-term monthly dataset spanning 52 years. Streamflow discharge was used as an input variable in some models. The performance of the developed models was evaluated using statistical indicators including the coefficient of determination (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and Willmott’s index of agreement (d). The results indicated that although all three artificial intelligence models demonstrated high capability in simulating the investigated water quality parameters, the ANFIS model outperformed the other models in most cases. Specifically, for SAR, values of R² = 0.99 and RMSE = 1.04 were obtained; for %Na, R² = 0.99 and RMSE = 3.02; and for SO₄, R² = 0.93 and RMSE = 0.61. Among the input scenarios, model (b), which incorporates five easily measurable parameters, is recommended as a practical and efficient model, as it reduced RMSE by approximately 65% compared to model (a) (based solely on discharge). The findings of this study demonstrate that intelligent machine learning techniques can be effectively used to estimate water quality parameters in cases where direct measurements are unavailable, based on other measured variables, thereby reducing laboratory analysis costs.

Abstract This study was conducted to perform a life cycle environmental assessment of ethylene glycol production in Iran’s petrochemical industry. Using a quantitative and systematic life cycle assessment approach, it aimed to identify and quantify the environmental impacts associated with producing one tonne of ethylene glycol and to determine the key hotspots. The methodology was developed in accordance with the ISO 14040 series. The system boundary was defined as gate-to-gate, and the functional unit was set as “production of one tonne of ethylene glycol.” The results indicated that the environmental impact profile of ethylene glycol production is significantly influenced by utility units and supporting processes. In the global warming impact category, electricity generation—and subsequently steam generation—accounted for the largest share of CO₂-equivalent emissions, highlighting the dominant role of fossil fuel–based energy supply in shaping the product’s carbon footprint. In human health–related categories, including carcinogenic effects and inorganic and organic respiratory impacts, electricity generation was also identified as the primary hotspot, reflecting the substantial contribution of combustion-related emissions and associated pollutants. By contrast, in the non-carcinogenic category, the industrial water production unit was the dominant contributor, underscoring the importance of chemical consumption and management of water-related flows in health-oriented impacts. Overall, the findings confirm that improving the environmental performance of ethylene glycol production requires an integrated approach that simultaneously focuses on optimizing energy use (electricity and steam), reducing combustion emissions, enhancing water and wastewater management, and improving waste management.

Abstract In the present study, biochar derived from cypress cones was surface modified using chitosan, a biopolymer rich in amino functional groups, in order to enhance its performance for the removal of nickel (II) ions from aqueous solutions. To investigate the possible mechanisms involved in nickel removal, both raw biochar and chitosan modified biochar were characterized using BET, FTIR, and FE SEM analyses. BET results showed that chitosan coating increased the specific surface area of biochar from 13.2 to 5.75 m²/g and reduced the average pore diameter from 10.97 to 6.26 nm. FTIR spectroscopy confirmed the appearance of new peaks at 1620 cm⁻¹ (amide C=O group) and 3430 cm⁻¹ (N–H stretching vibration), verifying the successful incorporation of amino and amide groups onto the adsorbent surface. Nickel removal was optimized using response surface methodology based on a Box–Behnken design with four variables: initial nickel concentration, pH, adsorbent dose, and contact time. The reduced cubic model, with a high coefficient of determination (0.98), exhibited excellent agreement with the experimental data for both adsorbents. Under laboratory conditions, the chitosan modified biochar achieved a nickel removal efficiency of 55%, whereas the raw biochar showed only 51% removal. This enhancement is attributed to the synergistic contribution of physical adsorption within the improved porous network, surface complexation with amino/amide functional groups, and ion-exchange interactions.The findings of this study indicate that although chitosan modification of cypress cone biochar leads to a noticeable improvement in nickel adsorption capacity, further investigations are required in real industrial wastewater.

Abstract Urban resilience refers to the capacity of an urban system, over both temporal and spatial scales, to maintain or rapidly return to desired past functionalities in the face of disruptions or changes. Climate change essentially refers to the warming of the Earth's surface caused by the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Urban ecological resilience refers to the capacity of ecological systems within cities to absorb disturbances and maintain necessary and intrinsic feedbacks, processes, and structures. Climate resilience is a subset of urban ecological resilience, denoting a city's potential to address problems arising from sudden weather phenomena and hazards influenced by climate change. Mitigating climate change focuses on five key factors: urban form, construction, artificial environment, urban infrastructure, transportation, and carbon production. Our research aims to contribute to current knowledge and deeper understanding and better identification of climate change and its effects on human life and urban climate quality, utilizing the features of urban green infrastructure, particularly in Tabriz city. We intend to report the effects of climate change and examine the components of resilience using previous studies by evaluating climatic elements. In this study, we employ the Park Cooling Effects method on Land Surface Temperature (LST) using urban green infrastructure. As an example, we sampled from the Bagh-e-Fajr in Tabriz, located in the city center. We have concluded that the presence of green spaces and urban green infrastructure plays a significant role in climate resilience and reducing land surface temperature.

Abstract Evaluating the environmental and social effects of urban projects separately can never show the mutual effects of the environment and the social environment, in other words; At the same time that the environment affects the society, there is no escape from the effects of the society on itself, and vice versa. In this article; The social and environmental effects of the southernmost section of Imam Ali highway - the distance between Daulat Abad freeway and the Shahr Ray ring road and its uneven intersection with the Shahr Ray ring road - located in the 20th district of Tehran municipality, based on an integrated evaluation process with five stages of construction And the operation of the mentioned highway has been integrated. Also, environmental and social mutual effects using the innovative impact assessment matrix, based on the network analysis process in the form of Super Decision software and the Delphi method; And by presenting the social preference coefficient and the environmental preference coefficient, it has been estimated for all environmental and social parameters in both construction and operation phases of the mentioned project. Based on the comparison of the results obtained from the established matrix with the current matrices; by applying the above coefficients, it is possible to quantitatively estimate the mutual environmental and social effects of intervention measures and take a step towards achieving the goals of sustainable urban development.

Abstract Due to the increasing importance of providing security services and measures to prevent and deal with fire incidents and crisis management in cities, fire stations are very important. Undoubtedly, the timely service of fire stations, more than anything else, along with the need to establish them in suitable places in urban environments, requires having the necessary capabilities and equipment to respond to the needs of citizens. Greater Tehran, with a population of more than eight million people, is the largest city in the country, due to the parallel expansion, and also the increase in population, has increased the grounds of fire in the city. The current research is important because its audience is all managers, and fire chiefs and it can be used to investigate management systems and accident command. The research method in this research is the hierarchical analysis process, where the indicators are compared and scored one by one, and the priority between them is determined. Based on the analysis conducted in this research, the operational forces stationed in the fire stations and operational vehicles are not proportional to the capacity of the region, and the firefighting equipment of these stations will not be sufficient for the region during the fires after the earthquake, and this is one of the negative points of the study area that during the earthquake Fire control is almost impossible and we will face a serious crisis.

Abstract The most important objective of this paper is to provide an appropriate model for selecting best waste-to-energy technology for both private and public sector managers and investors. Urban waste management combined with energy recovery can be the most suitable solution not only for preserving environment but also for producing and supplying energy to urban and rural communities. Determining the most appropriate waste-to-energy technology is a challenging and complex process, requiring consideration of a wide range of diverse criteria. For this purpose, this study tries to apply two of the most widely used Multi-Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) methods, TOPSIS and VIKOR. Anaerobic digestion (AD), incineration, and pyrolysis were chosen as the main options for waste-to-energy conversion technologies. These options were evaluated based on three main criteria: environmental, technical, and economic, each of which included various sub-criteria. The results of pairwise comparisons indicate that among main criteria, environmental criterion holds the highest score and importance, followed by the economic and technical criteria, respectively. To ensure reliability, the options were ranked using three different MCDM models methods: Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), VIKOR, and TOPSIS. The overall results of the decision-making models show that incineration is the best waste-to-energy technology, followed by anaerobic digestion and pyrolysis in respective order.

Abstract Occupational incidents in the oil industry have difficulties and problems in the various phases of construction and operation. In this research, we tried to investigate the effect of oil industry risk in phase construction in one of the largest oilfields in the country, Yadavaran field in Khuzestan province. For this purpose, the FMEA model has been used that is typically used to assess the risk of occupational accidents. According to surveys, interviews and statistics, 47 job incidents were identified during the construction phase of this oil field and the details were collected. According to the obtained results, the value of the risk priority value is obtained by an average of 212. Also, based on the type of events classified, several corrections’ suggestions were proposed, which is expected to decreased the RPN to 133.2 which shows a reduction of 37% of the risk priority number. Although changes have been made in the form of low-cost, continuous and periodic suggestions that showed the positive impact of the reform in this area.

Abstract Rapid urbanization has increased construction and demolition waste (CDW), exacerbating issues around CDW collection, transportation, and disposal in cities lacking efficient management programs. This study applies life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental performance of current CDW management in Tehran and identify critical aspects for improvement. Using Impact 2002+, LCA was conducted for the base case (19.4% recycling), and two alternative scenarios combining landfilling, source separation, sorting, and varying percentages of CDW recycling. The life cycle inventory used primary data from field studies and secondary data from ecoinvent 3.7 and literature. Results demonstrate recycling benefits through avoided impacts from non-renewable energy, global warming, non-carcinogens, and respiratory inorganics and organics versus landfilling. Hence, findings can motivate improved CDW management based on environmental and technical factors, not just economic and political ones. Producers may be compelled to reduce waste sources, while recyclers and stakeholders are encouraged to continuously enhance C&D waste systems across Iran. Additionally, this study provides data to support other LCAs on CDW. Overall, applying LCA reveals critical ways to advance CDW management in Tehran toward a more sustainable system.

Abstract Air pollution is recognized as one of the fundamental challenges in the field of environmental engineering. This study examines the impact of vehicle tires on air pollution and explores methods to reduce it. A significant portion of the energy generated by the vehicle engine is lost through tire rolling resistance. Consequently, reducing tire rolling resistance leads to decreased fuel consumption and, consequently, reduced air pollution. Modifying the formulation of tire tread compounds can be an effective approach to reducing tire rolling resistance. One proposed method for modifying the formulation is the addition of nanoparticles as fillers. In this research, the impact of adding varying amounts of nanosilica to the tire tread compound formulation, which is the main factor contributing to vehicular energy dissipation, has been investigated. The results indicate that the addition of nanosilica increases tire rolling resistance. Furthermore, the influence of tire thickness on its lifespan and rolling resistance has been examined, demonstrating an increase in rolling resistance over time. Additionally, necessary changes in the production process conditions and their impact on the mechanical properties and performance of the produced materials have also been investigated. Rheological analysis reveals that the addition of nanosilica leads to increased viscosity. Moreover, the examination of mechanical properties shows an increase in the modulus values of both 100% and 300% materials with the addition of nanosilica.