Can floor-area-ratio incentive promote low impact development in a highly urbanized area?—A case study in Changzhou City,China

As an environmental friendly measure for surface runoff reduction, low impact development (LID) has been applied successfully in urban areas. However, due to high price of land and additional expense for LID construction in highly urbanized areas, the developers of real estate would not like to proceed LID exploitation. Floor area ratio (FAR) refers to “the ratio of a building’s total floor area to the size of the piece of land upon which it is built.” Increasing FAR indicates that the developers can construct higher buildings and earn more money. By means of awarding FAR, the developers may be willing to practice LID construction. In this study, a new residential district is selected as a case study to analyze the tradeoff between the runoff reduction goal achieving by LID practices and the incentive of awarding FAR to promote LID construction. The System for Urban Stormwater Treatment and Analysis IntegratioN (SUSTAIN) model is applied to simulate the runoff reduction under various LID designs and then derive the Pareto-optimal solutions to achieve urban runoff reduction goals based on cost efficiency. The results indicates that the maximum surface runoff reduction is 20.5%. Under the extremity scenarios, the government has options to award FAR of 0.028, 0.038 and 0.047 and the net benefits developers gain are 0 CNY, one million CNYand two million CNY, respectively. The results provide a LID construction guideline related to awarding FAR, which supports incentive policy making for promoting LID practices in the highly urbanized areas.

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大连实施垃圾分类回收积极推进垃圾资源再生利用产业化

大连在全国率先创建新型垃圾分类回收体系,实现废旧物资回收与垃圾分类回收在同一个垃圾分类回收站内完成,有利于各类废物资源集中收集、分类回收、资源化利用或处理,彻底改革了我国传统落后的废旧物资回收与垃圾收集处理方式,为废旧物资与垃圾资源再生与循环利用提供了保障条件,也为垃圾处理产业化奠定了坚实的基础。     

浙江省城市污水处理设施运营现状及对策研究

通过大量的调查．深入分析了浙江省城市污水处理设施的运营状况及存在的问题．并对今后的城市污水处理设施运营的发展、建设机制提出相应研究对策。     

Blue carbon in human-dominated estuarine and shallow coastal systems

Estuarine and shallow coastal systems (ESCS) are recognized as not only significant organic carbon reservoirs but also emitters of CO₂ to the atmosphere through air–sea CO₂ gas exchange, thus posing a dilemma on ESCS’s role in climate change mitigation measures. However, some studies have shown that coastal waters take up atmospheric CO₂ (C_atm), although the magnitude and determinants remain unclear. We argue that the phenomenon of net uptake of C_atm by ESCS is not unusual under a given set of terrestrial inputs and geophysical conditions. We assessed the key properties of systems that show the net C_atm uptake and found that they are often characteristic of human-dominated systems: (1) input of high terrestrial nutrients, (2) input of treated wastewater in which labile carbon is highly removed, and (3) presence of hypoxia. We propose that human-dominated ESCS are worthy of investigation as a contributor to climate change mitigation.     

Urbanisation and greening of Indian cities: Problems,practices, and policies

Progress of the Indian economy is threatened by the impact of climate change. Generation of urban heat islands (UHIs), waning of urban green cover, increase in carbon emissions and air pollution deteriorate the living environment. Rise in urban temperatures and heat stress induced mortality remain major concerns. Although the National Action Plan on Climate Change emphasises the national missions of ‘enhanced energy efficiency’, and ‘green India’, little research has been devoted to explore the passive cooling potential of urban greenery in India, thus lending uniqueness to this study. The manifestations of unplanned urban development (UHIs, escalated carbon emissions, air pollution) are discussed and corroborated with identification of contributory factors. Contemporary greening practices and bye-laws in four major Indian cities (New Delhi, Pune, Chennai, and Visakhapatnam) are analysed and compared with global best practices. The findings are used to propose planning guidelines which are expected to assist in consolidating natural sustainability of emerging economies.     

分布式认知理论框架下农户土地转出意愿影响因素研究——基于SEM模型的武汉城市圈典型地区实证分析

基于分布式认知理论,从"个人力"、"地域力"、"文化力"三个层次构建农户土地流转认知的影响因素理论框架,利用"武汉城市圈"典型地区土地流转调查数据构建结构方程模型(Structural Equation Model,SEM),定量分析各影响因素在农户土地流转认知中的作用。研究证实:不同农户认知群体之间存在不同流转认知偏好,"无文化的老农民"相对于"有文化的年轻职业者"在土地流转认知中更加保守;农户对土地的需求普遍偏向土地的资产属性和财产权利,农村土地流转具备内在动力;然而,出于对土地社会保障功能的需求,农户不会因为其家庭生产方式和经济来源明显脱离土地而产生强烈的土地转出愿意,农户的家庭生计条件及"土地情节"在一定程度上制约了土地流转;村镇干部"取信于民"是农户获得"安全感",克服风险规避心理促进土地流转认知的最重要因素;流转价格是对农户在土地流转中物质与精神"双重损失"的资金补偿,两者的匹配程度对农户的认知具有重要作用。在此基础上,得出要规范流转程序、健全流转监督机制、保护农民利益,加强农村社会保障制度建设以确保农民获得公平的社会保障,加快推进和支持农村教育以提高农村劳动力素质,建立和完善土地流转制度保障和农业经营扶持机制等政策启示。     

Balancing urban growth and ecological conservation: A challenge for planning and governance in China

China has high biodiversity and is rapidly urbanizing. However, there is limited understanding of how urban expansion in the country is likely to affect its habitats and biodiversity. In this study, we examine urban expansion patterns and their likely impacts on biodiversity in China by 2030. Our analysis shows that most provinces are expected to experience urban expansion either near their protected areas or in biodiversity hotspots. In a few provinces such as Guangdong in the south, urban expansion is likely to impinge on both protected areas and biodiversity hotspots. We show that policies that could facilitate the integration of natural resource protection into urban planning exist on paper, but the prevailing incentives and institutional arrangements between the central and local governments prevent this kind of integration. Removing these obstacles will be necessary in order to safeguard the country’s rich biodiversity in light of the scale of urbanization underway.     

焚烧发电厂垃圾渗滤液与秸秆的中温厌氧消化

为探索秸秆与焚烧厂垃圾渗滤液混合厌氧消化的可行性,进行探索性实验.1L焚烧发电厂的垃圾渗滤液与37.56 g(有机负荷为30 g VS/L)破碎至1～2 cm的秸秆,在中温(35℃左右)厌氧条件下发酵.发现pH为5.0的渗滤液与未经生物、化学处理的秸秆可以进行混合厌氧消化.实验累积产气141 d,累积产气量达43 749 mL,最高产气量2 590 mL/d.生物气中CH4含量在50％以上,最高时可达70.89％.渗滤液消化前COD为70 472 mg/L;产气开始时,秸秆与渗滤液两相消化液COD为83 896 mg/L;产气基本停止时,消化液COD降至14 245 mg/L,COD去除率达到83.02％.本实验将秸秆纤维的转化利用以及渗滤液的厌氧发酵结合起来,提供了一种以废治废的治理思路,对寻找新的绿色能源具有一定的启发作用.     

Are denser cities greener? Evidence from China, 2000–2010

Whether a city develops into a more compact one with a higher density or a more sprawling one may affect multiple aspects of the urban environment, including ecosystem health, greenhouse gas emissions, and quality of life. Using panel data gathered from China's cities from 2000 to 2010, we take advantage of the significant variation in the temporal change of density across cities to estimate the relationship between gross urban population density and multiple indicators of urban greenness. Fixed‐effects estimates support the widely held belief that density improves air quality and reduces the per capita carbon footprint. Results also suggest that higher density reduces the growth of road infrastructure and vehicle ownership and promotes walking. While density often translates into proximity and accessibility, higher density does reduce a city's per capita urban park and green space. This study strengthens the urban policy and planning literature with much needed longitudinal evidence. Our overall findings support higher density as opposed to lower density urban development in China.