With the shift from traditional planning based on medieval cities to Le Corbusier-inspired innovations of the 20th century, the legacy of both traditions poses major questions about sustainability and conservation for present-day cities. These two design traditions are compared by analysing their approach to urban morphology in categories such as grid, public space network and urban blocks. The analysis is supplemented by a range of examples from across Europe, to provide context for ways these approaches were materialised in Skopje, North Macedonia in during the Ottoman rule 1392-1914 and the ultra-modernist, brutalist post-earthquake reconstruction from 1963. Through the argumentation, it becomes evident that in real life examples, it is difficult to distinguish between modernist and non-modernist planning, making it impossible to fully reject modernist approaches. Still, the modernist failures that can be avoided in planning need to be addressed through climate conscious lens that consider the characteristics of designed area. For Skopje specifically, the strategy of resilience can be based on three pillars - earthquake resilience, environmentally friendly solutions and depoliticised catering for the city's diverse population. In this way, the Balkan capital could again, just like in 1963 for 20th century, become a breeding ground for new ideas in contemporary, 21st century planning.

Studying the microbiological quality of urban surface water in cities like Amsterdam is essential for ensuring safe recreational activities, promoting multifunctional water use, and developing relevant regulations to create sustainable urban environments. Exposure to water contaminated with pathogens can lead to various serious health issues, including gastroenteritis, fever, skin, ear, and eye infections, as well as respiratory diseases. The primary objective of the present research was to improve our understanding of the microbiological water quality during peak recreational seasons in the city of Amsterdam. Additionally, the study aimed to gain a comprehensive understanding of pollution sources for microbiological water quality and correlate these findings with the physicochemical properties of urban surface water in Amsterdam. Hence, we conducted a preliminary assessment of the microbiological water quality along the Amstel River, inner city canals, and key connection points between important surface water ways within Amsterdam. Specifically, locations along the Amstel River and inner canals that receive wastewater treatment plant effluent, sewage overflow following heavy rainfall, and areas with intense swimming activities were chosen for monitoring. In addition, surface water which enters Amsterdam via the Amstel River was monitored for comparison purposes. Throughout the summer, monthly sampling was carried out at six locations, from which a 50-liter water sample was transported to the lab. These samples were concentrated using a Hemoflow system, and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was employed to analyze ten potential pathogens, including bacteria, protozoa, and viruses. These pathogens were selected because they have been reported with high concentrations in urban surface water bodies in Europe, posing high infectious and severe disease risks in Netherlands, and being persistence in the environment. Simultaneously, physicochemical water quality parameters were analyzed to identify potential correlations between the microbiological water quality and physiochemical water quality. Our study provides valuable insights for regulators in the persistence of pathogens in surface water used for recreational activities, enabling these regulators to effectively manage urban surface water and ensure the safety of recreational activities.

Plastic pollution in the natural environment poses a growing threat to ecosystems and human health, prompting urgent needs for monitoring, clean-ups, and new policies. One key aspect is the identification and definition of plastic hotspots to effectively prioritize resource allocation and mitigation strategies. Yet, the delineation of hotspots varies significantly across plastic pollution studies, and a definition is often lacking or inconsistent without a clear purpose and boundaries of the term. In our study, we applied four common hotspot definitions to plastic pollution datasets ranging from urban areas to a global scale. For each scale, hotspots were defined according to 1) values above the average of the dataset, 2) values in the highest interval, 3) outliers, and 4) values exceeding the 90th percentile. Our findings reveal that these hotspot definitions encompass between 0.8% to 93.3% of the total plastic pollution, covering < 0.1% to 50.3% of the total locations. Given this wide range of results and the possibility of temporal inconsistency in hotspots, we emphasize the need for standardized criteria and a holistic approach to describe plastic hotspots. Therefore, we designed a step-wise framework to define hotspots by determining the purpose, units, spatial scale, temporal scale, and threshold values. Incorporating these steps in research and policymaking yields a unified understanding of hotspots, facilitating the development of effective interventions and mitigative measures.