Assessing impacts on urban greenspace,waterways, and vegetation in urban planning

Parks, waterways, and vegetation enhance the well-being of urbanites and thus warrant consideration in planning and policy-making. It is, however, difficult to assess how land-use change may impact these features and how this in turn may impact well-being. I use a case-study approach to present a framework that combines geospatial and economic valuation techniques to generate indicators of the effects of land-use policies that alter these amenities on community well-being. This framework quantifies the impacts of land-use change on urban environmental amenities in a way that could help communities plan land use so as to maintain well-being as they urbanise.     

豫西地区植被覆盖的空间变化研究

应用遥感技术,利用长时间序列的SPOT VEGETATION NDVI数据集,结合改进的像元二分模型,对豫西山区1998年、2003年和2008年的植被覆盖度进行计算。结果表明,豫西山区植被覆盖总体上略有上升,局部地区植被覆盖度有所下降。高海拔区域植被覆盖相对稳定,退化概率较低;低海拔区域植被退化和恢复的概率都相对较高;坡度小的区域植被退化和修复的概率都较高;坡度较大的区域植被轻微退化概率增大,坡度越大,植被覆盖修复的概率越低;南坡和北坡植被覆盖度相对较高,东坡和西坡植被覆盖度较低;西南坡向的植被退化相对严重,东南坡向植被退化概率相对较低。     

文化和旅游的关系网络及其融合路径研究

为破解文化和旅游融合发展过程中的困难和挑战,借鉴共生理论、社会互动理论和互惠规范理论,构建了文化和旅游"共生—共建—共享"的关系网络,并进一步从政府、企业和旅游者角度提出文旅融合发展路径,最终构建了文化和旅游在理念、职能、产业、市场、服务和交流方面的六大融合矩阵。     

Expansion of Urban Space and Land Use Control in the Process of Urbanization: an Overview

Urban expansion brought by the rapid progress of urbanization has caused many problems in China. It is a significant issue to evaluate the extent of urban expansion and to make appropriate controls over the sprawl of urban areas. With a comparative study of international experiences, this article analyzed the mechanism and consequences of urban expansion, reviewed the typical planning and financial policies adopted by other countries for controlling urban sprawl, and discussed the suitable densities of urba...     

自然保护地的文化景观价值演变与识别—以泰山为例

中国的自然保护地具有生态和文化双重价值,文化景观作为自然与文化的交界面,如何识别其价值对中国自然保护地的管理至关重要。以泰山为例,通过古籍文献和实地勘察等方法,从历时性角度对泰山的文化景观价值演变进行剖析。研究发现,泰山文化景观价值经历了山岳崇拜的自然价值、君权神授的政治价值、佛道信仰的宗教价值、祭祀游居的民俗价值及保护利用的综合价值五个阶段。结论认为：自然保护地文化景观价值的演变具有一定的规律性：名山自然保护地的文化景观价值演变是从自然到文化再到综合、从御到民、从单一到多元、从分离到融合的过程;自然保护地文化景观价值的构成要素包括思想基础、环境条件、行为方式及空间结果四部分,具有鲜明的完整性、系统性和动态性特征。文章还对自然保护地文化景观价值的识别策略进行了讨论,为相应类型的国家公园和其他类型自然保护地建设提供参考。     

Environmental injustice of informal e-waste recycling in Agbogbloshie-Accra: urban political ecology perspective

This paper provides additional empirical knowledge of injustice embedded in the urban governance of informal-sector electronic waste (e-waste) recycling in Ghana. It uses Urban Political Ecology and Environmental Justice perspectives to explain how divergent interest and power among diverse actors in the e-waste sector engender social and environmental (in)justice in Accra. Using the case study approach, this paper reveals that the persistent struggles over interest and power which characterise the governance and management of informal e-waste recycling generate inequity, false accusations, misrecognition, disrespect, devaluation, neglect, exclusion, and abuse of freedom and rights. Inclusive of the finding is the development of local resistance and social movement in defence of interests and against state aggression, oppression, domination and neglect. The study concludes to suggest that the governance of urban socio-economic and ecological space of Accra should involve coordination, participation, holistic inclusion of diverse interest, so as to minimise trade-offs and reap synergies.     

Living the green city: Freiburg's Solarsiedlung between narratives and practices of sustainable urban development

The solar settlement (Solarsiedlung) in Freiburg, Germany, has been widely hailed as an eco-city or green city neighbourhood and a blueprint for sustainable urban development. However, as there is a noticeable lack of critical analysis of what constitutes Solarsiedlung as an “eco-city”, this paper studies narratives and practices of sustainable urban development. First, we look at Solarsiedlung as a best-practice model – a narrative that was produced and perpetuated by architects, urban planners, investors and academics celebrating this neighbourhood as a technologically leapfrogging, economically sound and socially integrated project. Second, we explore the everyday practices and lived experience of the residents in Solarsiedlung. Bringing together these two perspectives, we contribute to a more comprehensive understanding and critical reading of the interplay between the ecological, economic and social dimensions of sustainable development as seen from different viewpoints. Findings indicate that Solarsiedlung as a best-practice model is embedded in growth-oriented neoliberal strategies that are in conflict with the everyday practices and lived experience of the residents. Our findings put into question the widely assumed transferability of best-practice models in sustainable urban development.     

The role of scale in integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation in cities

By using a scale framework, we examine how cross-scale interactions influence the implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation actions in different urban sectors. Based on stakeholder interviews and content analysis of strategies and projects relevant to climate adaptation and mitigation in the cities of Copenhagen and Helsinki, we present empirical examples of synergies, conflicts and trade-offs between adaptation and mitigation that are driven by the cross-scale interactions. These examples show that jurisdictional and institutional scales shape the implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies, projects and tasks at the management scale, creating benefits of integrated solutions, but also challenges. Investigating the linkages between adaptation and mitigation through a scale framework provides new knowledge for urban climate change planning and decision-making. The results increase the understanding of why adaptation and mitigation are sometimes handled as two separate policy areas and also why attempts to integrate the two policies may fail.     

Seasonal Flushing of Pollutant Concentrations and Loads in Urban Stormwater1

Schiff, Kenneth C. and Liesl L. Tiefenthaler, 2011. Seasonal Flushing of Pollutant Concentrations and Loads in Urban Stormwater. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 47(1):136‐142. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2010.00497.x Abstract: Despite broad observations of first flush within storms, the scientific understanding of seasonal flushing remains incomplete. Seasonal flushing occurs when initial storms of the season have greater concentrations or loads than storms later in the season. The goal of this study was to census stormwater concentrations and loads from an arid, urban watershed to quantify seasonal flushing. Samples were collected every 15 min during the 1997‐1998 wet season from the Santa Ana River and analyzed for total suspended solids. Initial storms of the season generated event mean concentrations 3‐10 times the event mean concentration of storms later in the season. Cumulative flow‐weighted mean concentrations were calculated as the season progressed. Early season storms discharged only 6% of the annual volume, but influenced flow‐weighted mean concentrations well past the midpoint of the wet season. Mass‐based estimates also indicated a disproportionate load in the early portion of the year; over 52% of the annual load was discharged in the first 30% of the annual volume from the highly urbanized lower watershed. Other stormwater pollutants, including six trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn), were highly correlated with total suspended solids and also exhibited a significant seasonal flush.     

地铁车站穿越地下大空间及地铁隧道安全分析

随着我国城市土地资源的日益紧缺,地下空间的开发利用越来越受到重视.但地下空间的大量开发又会导致他们之间相互影响和制约.以某市地铁车站穿越地下大空间及既有地铁隧道为例,采用数值分析的方法,对其安全性进行了研究,为工程设计提供参考.