重庆市都市区城市土地集约利用评价

从土地投入强度、土地利用效益、土地利用强度和土地利用可持续性方面构建了城市土地集约利用宏观评价指标体系.采用多因素综合评价法对重庆市都市区建设用地集约利用水平进行了评价,并根据土地利用集约度差异对其进行了聚类分析,指出土地利用投入强度、产出效益水平仍需进一步提高,揭示了城市土地集约利用程度与经济发展之间存在明显的相关性,针对性地提出了相关对策.     

衡阳市城市土地集约利用研究

随着衡阳市工业化、城市化和现代化的迅速发展,土地问题已成为制约衡阳市经济发展的关键因素.对城市土地集约利用进行了研究,不断提高城市土地利用效率,有利于城市土地资源的优化配置和合理利用.在介绍衡阳市土地概况的基础上,采用层次分析法,从影响城市土地利用的因素出发,选择土地投入水平、土地利用程度、土地经济产出、社会生态效益四个准则层建立了适合衡阳市城市土地集约利用的评价指标体系.对衡阳市2000-2006年的土地集约利用分值进行了计算,结果表明衡阳市处于基本集约利用的状态,集约利用水平呈曲线上升趋势,并在分析评价结果的基础上提出了实现衡阳市城市土地集约利用的建议.     

土地利用总体规划的环境影响评价指标体系研究

科学合理的土地利用总体规划环境影响评价指标体系既可提高规划的科学性,又可为新一轮规划的修编提供科学依据。运用系统分析法、归纳演绎法、专家咨询法等方法研究建立土地利用总体规划的环境影响评价指标体系,初步将其构建为目标层、准则层和指标层3个层次,包括社会指标、环境指标及资源指标。     

阿坝州土地可持续利用评价

为解决资源对阿坝州经济发展的限制,实现土地资源的可持续利用,本文通过阿坝州2007~2013年的土地利用变化,评价其土地利用的可持续性。采用相关分析法和模糊数学方法,对选取17个指标进行评价,首先确定各项指标权重,再计算指标隶属度与综合指标值,最后综合评价阿坝州土地利用可持续性。研究结果显示阿坝州土地可持续性在2007~2013年期间呈上升趋势,土地质量状况不断改善。     

城市土地利用评价指标体系构建

在阐述指标体系构建原则的基础上，采用目标法建立了由三大主目标、八大子目标和系列评价指标构成的城市土地利用评价指标体系。其中三大主目标是指城市土地利用的高效化、集约化与协调化；八大子目标是指人地资源关系合理化、土地利用集约化、土地利用结构合理化、土地利用高效化、土地利用与人口发展协调化、土地利用与经济发展协调化、土地利用与环境发展协调化、城郊土地利用协调化。     

东北地区资源型城市土地集约利用空间分异及成因分析

基于资源型城市土地集约利用内涵,从土地使用强度、土地利用效益、土地利用程度和土地利用可持续性4个方面构建城市土地集约利用评价指标体系,建立评价模型,并对我国东北地区15个地级资源型城市土地集约利用水平及空间分异特征进行分析.结果表明:我国东北地区资源型城市土地集约利用总体水平不高;省际间空间格局呈现出“南高北低”的特征,东中西地区呈现由东向西依次递增的趋势;单个城市间集约利用水平差异显著;不同类型资源型城市土地集约利用水平具有石油城市＞冶金城市＞煤炭城市＞森工城市的特征.资源型城市土地集约利用水平与城市规模、产业结构高级化程度和经济发展水平等呈正相关,针对如何提高资源型城市土地集约利用水平提出建议.     

基于BP神经网络模型的城市土地集约利用中观评价研究

中观层次的城市土地集约利用评价是以城市功能区为研究对象,通过建立各功能区的评价单元,对城市土地的投入产出效益进行定量分析研究的过程。从土地利用、土地投入、土地产出三个方面构建评价指标体系,借助BP神经网络模型从中观层次对淮安市清河区城市土地进行集约利用评价。结果显示,清河区土地集约利用水平总体较高,仍需加强土地的投入产出效益。研究表明,BP神经网络模型是一种较客观的评价方法,中观评价则能更详细地了解城市内部各个区域的土地利用情况,为政府决策提供更好的依据。     

区域土地利用的社会效益及其时空特征研究

土地利用的社会效益是社会经济可持续发展的基础。从用地公平、居民生活质量、社会公平和社会保障等四个方面构建土地利用社会效益评价指标体系，采用AHP法、变异系数法和综合评价模型对湛江市土地利用的社会效益进行了评价，并分析了其时空特征。结果表明，1996-2006年湛江市土地利用的用地公平性较高且变化较小，而居民生活质量、社会公平性和社会保障功能都有不同程度的提高，土地利用的社会效益明显增加；2006年土地利用社会效益以遂溪县最高、徐闻县最低。分析了土地利用社会效益的主要影响因素，并提出了相应的对策措施。     

黑龙江省土地利用与生态环境协调度评价

土地利用与生态环境协调度评价是衡量区域可持续发展的重要内容.在构建土地利用与生态环境协调发展评价指标体系的基础上,运用协调度模型,对黑龙江省1999-2008年土地利用与生态环境协调度进行评价.结果表明:黑龙江省土地利用与生态环境协调度和协调发展度均呈现出逐渐上升的态势,但整体发展水平不高,土地生态环境建设压力仍然很大.在此基础上,提出构建生态环境友好型土地利用模式,提高科技投入水平,大力发展生态农业,有效防治工业污染,提高土地生态环境治理投入等对策与建议.     

基于GIS的泗县开发区土地集约利用评价研究

以安徽省泗县开发区为例,从土地利用状况、用地效益、管理绩效和可持续发展状况4个方面构建开发区土地集约利用评价指标体系,运用GIS技术、特尔斐法,选择评价模型确定权重后对泗县开发区进行土地集约利用评价,研究泗县开发区土地集约利用状况.结果显示,泗县开发区土地集约利用总体水平为中等集约利用,土地利用状况和用地效益度方面存在着一定问题.基于反映的问题,提出相应的措施.     

PROFILE: Integrating Sustainability and Environmental Impact Assessment

/ Environmental impact assessment (EIA) has been identified as an important instrument for facilitating sustainability. However, to do so requires the integration of sustainability into EIA theory and practice. The sustainability concept is a valid and important environmental management perspective. However, many issues and obstacles need to be addressed further if the concept is to be translated into practical strategies. Sustainability can potentially infuse EIA with a clearer sense of direction, an ethical foundation, a mechanism for establishing priorities and assessing choices, and a means of linking EIA to other environmental management instruments. Conceptually, EIA and sustainability can be integrated, but frameworks should be refined, adpated to context, and linked to related initiatives. Sustainability should be explicitly incorporated into EIA legislation, guidelines, and institutional arrangements. An experimental approach to testing, assessing, and sharing experiences is suggested.A framework is first presented that defines and characterizes the sustainability concept. A further framework is then described for integrating sustainability into EIA at the conceptual level. The integration of sustainability and EIA at the regulatory level is next addressed through an overview of sustainability initiatives in EIA requirements in Canada. The Canadian examples include many promising initiatives but these and other experiences will need to be monitored, shared, and integrated into comprehensive environmental management strategies. Finally, means of incorporating sustainability into each activity in the EIA planning process are identified.KEY WORDS: Sustainability; Environmental impact assessment     

Assessing the sustainability of water governance systems: the sustainability wheel

We present and test a conceptual and methodological approach for interdisciplinary sustainability assessments of water governance systems based on what we call the sustainability wheel. The approach combines transparent identification of sustainability principles, their regional contextualization through sub-principles (indicators), and the scoring of these indicators through deliberative dialogue within an interdisciplinary team of researchers, taking into account their various qualitative and quantitative research results. The approach was applied to a sustainability assessment of a complex water governance system in the Swiss Alps. We conclude that the applied approach is advantageous for structuring complex and heterogeneous knowledge, gaining a holistic and comprehensive perspective on water sustainability, and communicating this perspective to stakeholders.     

Supplier codes of conduct: Company authorization of subcontractors

Companies continue to build greater sustainability and transparency in their supply chains to increase their business value and to respond to greater stakeholder pressures and expectations to increase sustainability and transparency. As company supply chains have grown and expanded, which presents increased challenges for building greater transparency, it is possible that the use of subcontractors in supply chains has also increased. The amount and impact of subcontracting conducted in supply chains may be of greater concern to certain companies and/or sectors than others, and it may have an important impact on their sustainability efforts. This article assesses the extent to which supplier codes of conduct apply to the use of subcontractors and include a requirement for suppliers to obtain prior company approval or authorization before subcontractors conduct work. Based on a review of more than 50 supplier codes of conduct, the companies that are highlighted in this article for including this requirement are primarily in the apparel/footwear, food, pharmaceuticals, and/or retail sectors. The article asserts that supplier codes of conduct that include requirements for suppliers to protect and safeguard confidential business information could be strengthened to further protect the company's products, integrity, and reputation/brand and increase its competitiveness and resilience by also including a requirement of prior approval or authorization of a supplier's use of subcontractors.     

Rapid assessment of sustainability in Mainland China

This paper presents an approach for rapid assessment of sustainability for Mainland China based on a multilayer index system. Efficient assessment is conducted with the basic mapping units at county and city levels. After evaluating a comprehensive sustainable development index, SDI, for each unit, five rankings of sustainability are determined, and a zonation map produced. Regional characteristics and differences are interpreted through macro-analysis of the spatial variation in SDI. A sensitivity analysis is performed by which the weights of the sub-indices are altered by ±20%, and SDI re-evaluated; the resulting grades remain the same, thus confirming the robustness of the technique. Moreover, the accuracy of the proposed approach is indirectly validated by comparison with assessment results from an alternative systems analysis method. It is found that major conurbations such as Beijing have relatively high levels of sustainability, whereas provinces in central and western China require investment to improve their sustainability.     

Planning process influences on sustainability in Ohio township plans

This study examines planning process influences on plan sustainability scores for 46 township plans in Central Ohio, in the Midwestern Region of the United States. Townships face many similar development challenges as exurban communities along with cultures and economies which straddle urban and rural perspectives. The empirical analysis shows that participation breadth is positively related to sustainability scores, while the use of the sustainability concept in the planning process is negatively related to sustainability scores. Based on the findings, we suggest that communities preparing a comprehensive plan should encourage participation by a variety of groups in the planning process. Future research should examine the manner in which the sustainability concept is incorporated into the planning process to better assess its influence.     

The forgotten pillar: a definition for the measurement of social sustainability in American cities

This article provides a timely review of the interdisciplinary and disjointed literature on social sustainability and identifies some readily available measures of this concept for American cities. Based upon a comprehensive review of the literature, four broad dimensions are identified as being reflective of social sustainability: equal access and opportunity, environmental justice, community and the value of place, and basic human needs. Breaking these four dimensions into measurable indicators, this research provides a method for researchers and for American cities to begin to evaluate and to assess social sustainability efforts within their jurisdictions.     

Strategies for competitiveness and sustainability: Adaptation of a Brazilian subsidiary of a Swedish multinational corporation

The competitiveness, in terms of macro and micro levels of an enterprise, is often dictated by its capacity to innovate, ability to respond to the needs of the market, and resilience to challenges from competition. This paper reviews the literature on the adaptation of research and development (R&D) units in subsidiaries of multinational corporations. It focuses mainly on the impact of the technological dynamic on sustainability performance of the Brazilian subsidiary of the Swedish multinational Ericsson. Through a conceptual framework, it explores information and communication technologies (ICT) towards a transversal and comprehensive vision of levels of innovation and sustainability.     

Social Capital and Sustainability in a Community under Threat

Engaging with dialogue concerning the relevance and applicability of social capital to a model of sustainable community development, we illustrate an in-depth case of a community experiencing an ideological clash with the dominant politico-societal structures. We argue that while the exclusivity of bonding social capital has been described as the 'dark side', it may be essential for progressive sustainable community development (PSCD). When faced with a development threat, such bonds are essential for building links, bridges and solidarity, enabling cultural reproduction and promoting environmental protection for sustainability.     

Linking sustainable consumption and production: The government role

Achieving sustainable development depends on comprehensive approaches which integrate consumption and production initiatives. At present, sustainable consumption is being overemphasized to the neglect of the more important production side. This paper examines the role of governments in promoting sustainable consumption and production to identify gaps in national schemes which reduce their overall effectiveness. Public policy tools promoting sustainable consumption and production are discussed in terms of whether they are aimed at correcting: 1) market failures (regulations, taxes, subsidies); or 2) systems failures (labels, communications, education, public procurement). The challenge for governments is to link sustainable consumption initiatives to policies aimed at increasing the sustainability of production in the private sector in both their national and international dimensions. In this way, governments can enlist the aid of consumers in pushing producers towards sustainability and to achieve the ultimate goal of sustainable development.