Inspiring England's urban fringes: multi-functionality and planning

The urban fringe has been described as 'planning's last frontier'; a zone of transition and interface between town and country where a broad variety of land uses and activities come together, and where development pressure is often intense.

In this paper, we argue that the urban fringe possesses special characteristics, making it more than simply a transitional landscape. These characteristics centre on patterns of land use, biodiversity and leisure/development opportunity which are unique to the urban edge and to land extending away from built-up areas. The uniqueness, diversity and particular dynamics of the urban fringe demands a special brand of planning and management response. Therefore we suggest that the principle of 'multi-functionality' provides a framework for action, showing how diversity can be managed and supported. Through brief case studies, we demonstrate how functional interactions at the urban fringe might be promoted in the future.     

Religion and attitudes toward work: A new look at an old question

This study examined the relationship of specific religions and degree of religious beliefs to various job-related attitudes and values such as motivational needs, job satisfaction, work ethic, and work, job and organizational commitment. Subjects were 222(107 male, 115 female) managerial and non-managerial workers in the Rocky Mountain area. Results showed no significant correlations between work-related altitudes and specific religious affiliation or degree of religious conviction. However, religious conviction was significantly finked to organizational rank, with non-managerial employees reporting a higher degree of religious conviction than managerial employees. Protestant workers scored higher in Protestant Work Ethic than did non-Protestants and persons with no religious affiliation had higher need for Power than Protestants, Catholics or affiliates of Eastern religions.     

Citizen or consumer? Reconsidering energy citizenship

ABSTRACT

The transition to more sustainable energy systems has set about redefining the social roles and responsibilities of citizens. Implicit in this are expectations around participation, though the precise contours of what this might mean remain open. Debates around the energy transition have been skewed towards a normative construct of what it means to be a ‘good citizen’, the parameters for which are shaped by predetermined visions of statist and/or market-driven determinations of the energy systems of the future. This article argues that concepts such as ‘energy citizen’ are co-opted to reflect popular neoliberal discourses, and ignore crucial questions of unequal agency and access to resources. Paradoxically, official discourses that push responsibility for the energy transition onto the ‘citizen-as-consumer’ effectively remove agency from citizens, leaving them largely disconnected and disempowered. Consequently, energy citizenship needs to be reconceptualised to incorporate more collective and inclusive contexts for action. Considering how much energy consumption occurs in (traditionally female) domestic spheres, do conventional notions of citizenship (especially with regards to its associated rights and duties) need to be recalibrated in order for the concept to be usefully applied to the energy transition?     

Transforming time into money using water: A participatory study of economics and gender in rural India

When water supply improvements are coupled with opportunity to create income through micro–enterprises, time released from water collection is converted into income earned. This brings several benefits: reduced drudgery, higher household income, and, consequently, greater women's empowerment through changing gender relations within the household. This article documents the performance of one such scheme in Banaskantha District in the state of Gujarat in India, one of poorest districts in the state and the country. Here, due to the efforts of the Self–Employed Women's Association (SEWA), an Indian NGO, poor women are reaping the social and economic benefits of a government–run regional piped water supply scheme, a project funded by Dutch bilateral aid, focusing on women's development. If government policy–makers took the cue and formulated programmes and schemes that combined these two aspects, viz., actions that release time for rural women from daily chores (e.g., collecting water, fuel wood and fodder)and opportunities for sustainable micro–enterprises to convert time saved into income, this could become a reliable route out of rural poverty into gender–sensitive sustainable development.     

The contribution of biological particles to observed particulate organic carbon at a remote high altitude site

Although a significant fraction of atmospheric particulate mass is organic carbon, the sources of particulate organic carbon (POC) are not always apparent. One potential source of atmospheric POC is biological particles, such as bacteria, pollen, and fungal spores. Measurements of POC and biological particles, including bacteria, fungal spores, and pollen, were made as part of the Storm Peak Aerosol and Cloud Characterization Study in Steamboat Springs, CO in March–April 2008. Biological particles were identified and characterized using several methods. The results suggest that biological particles could account for an average of 40% of the organic carbon mass in particles with aerodynamic diameters less than 10 μm. These estimates of POC mass from biological particles are highly uncertain; however, the results suggest that biological particles could be a significant source of organic aerosol in the background continental atmosphere and further observations are needed to better constrain these estimates.     

The lack of microbial degradation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from coal-rich soils

Analytical techniques used to assess the environmental risk of contamination from polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) typically consider only abiotic sample parameters. Supercritical fluid extraction and sorption enthalpy experiments previously suggested slow desorption rates for PAH compounds in two coal-contaminated floodplain soils. In this study, the actual PAH availability for aerobic soil microorganisms was tested in two series of soil-slurry experiments. The experimental conditions supported microbial degradation of phenanthrene if it was weakly sorbed onto silica gel. Native coals and coal-derived particles in two soils effectively acted as very strong sorbents and prevented microbial PAH degradation. The long history of PAH exposure and degree of coal contamination apparently had no influence on the capability of the microbial soil community to overcome constraints of PAH availability. Within the context of the experimental conditions and the compounds chosen, our results confirm that coal-bound PAHs are not bioavailable and hence of low environmental concern.     

Defining Chlorophyll-a Reference Conditions in European Lakes

The concept of “reference conditions” describes the benchmark against which current conditions are compared when assessing the status of water bodies. In this paper we focus on the establishment of reference conditions for European lakes according to a phytoplankton biomass indicator—the concentration of chlorophyll-a. A mostly spatial approach (selection of existing lakes with no or minor human impact) was used to set the reference conditions for chlorophyll-a values, supplemented by historical data, paleolimnological investigations and modelling. The work resulted in definition of reference conditions and the boundary between “high” and “good” status for 15 main lake types and five ecoregions of Europe: Alpine, Atlantic, Central/Baltic, Mediterranean, and Northern. Additionally, empirical models were developed for estimating site-specific reference chlorophyll-a concentrations from a set of potential predictor variables. The results were recently formulated into the EU legislation, marking the first attempt in international water policy to move from chemical quality standards to ecological quality targets.     

Ecotoxicologial evaluation of wastewater ozonation based on detritus-detritivore interactions

Advanced oxidation technologies such as ozonation have been proposed to improve removal efficiency of micropollutants during wastewater treatment. In a meta-analysis of peer-reviewed literature, we found no ecotoxicological effects of wastewater ozonation on invertebrates (n = 82), but significant adverse effects on bacteria (n = 24) and fish (n = 5). As information on functional endpoints or trophic interactions is lacking, we applied a bioassay relating to leaf litter decomposition to fill this gap. Leaf discs exposed to ozone-treated wastewater with a high (1.04 mg O₃ (mg DOC)⁻¹, n = 49) ozone concentration were significantly preferred by an aquatic detritivore, Gammarus fossarum, over discs conditioned in wastewater not treated with ozone. This effect might have been mediated by reduced bacterial and elevated fungal biomass, and appears to be the first demonstration of wastewater ozonation impacts on invertebrates and an associated ecosystem process. In accordance with the food-choice trials, chemical analyses revealed significantly decreased concentrations of organic micropollutants in wastewater treated with ozone at high concentrations. Thus, food-choice trials as applied here hold promise to assess environmental effects of advanced oxidation technologies in wastewater treatment and appear to be a valuable complement to the ecotoxicological toolbox in general.     

Use of remote sensing for the characterization of the Mediterranean coastal environment—the case ofPosidonia oceanica

The beds ofPosidonia oceanica, a marine vascular plant species endemic to the Mediterranean, form a major Mediterranean marine ecosystem. These beds are well-developed along the sandy east coast of Corsica, where the continental shelf is wide and extends for ca. 100 km. The upper limit of this ecosystem has been mapped by means of a computer image processing technique using 1/20 000 colour photographs. One of the major problems for image processing in the marine environment is the impact of the water layer (of variable thickness and quality), which can result in variations of the spectral signature for a particular vegetation or bottom type. In an attempt to reduce the impact of this artefact, a processing technique that takes into account bathymetric factors has been tested. Cartographical data obtained for an area extending from Bastia to Solenzara are presented. In the vicinity of the mouths of coastal rivers, a systematic indentation of the upper limit of the seagrass beds has been revealed. On the basis of these results, local variations in the quality of the marine environment can be detected, in particular with regard to salinity, turbidity and/or the impact of sedimentation. The overall surface area of thePosidonia oceanica beds has also been calculated.