Sustainable development as a policy guide: an application to affordable housing in island communities

This article uses sustainability as a lens through which to examine affordable housing policies in geographically-isolated island communities, with the intent of assessing the utility of using sustainable development as a guide to policy decision-making. Focusing on the case of Key West, Florida, the article points to the conflicts that must be reconciled to achieve true sustainability. The study applies criteria to identify policy solutions for the provision and retention of affordable housing in island communities, and at the same time provides an application of the sustainable development concept as a policy guide. Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.     

Urban development and resource endowments shape natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities

Improving the efficiency with which natural resources are utilized is an indispensable for achieving sustainable development and carbon neutrality. By analyzing the utilization efficiency of energy, water, and land, we established a comprehensive natural resource utilization efficiency index (NRUEI). We then calculated the 2016 index for 165 cities in China, and investigated what caused it to vary. We found three main results: (1) the NRUEI varied greatly across China and there were significant positive correlations between urban energy utilization efficiency (EUE), water utilization efficiency (WUE) and land utilization efficiency (LUE); (2) the NRUEI showed a significant positive correlation with a city's population size, economy (Gross Domestic Product (GDP)), and the level of urban social development (GDP per capita); (3) cities in East China have the highest natural resource utilization efficiency, while cities in Northeast China have the lowest. These results indicate that China's increasing urban development is associated with rising natural resource utilization efficiency and that the city's endowment of natural resources is an important factor affecting that efficiency. Further, the results showed that the determinants of a city's NRUEI differed in large and small cities. Lastly, our results suggest that improving EUE is key for improving NRUEI in urban China, and different efficiencies can be improved intertwined. A major takeaway of this study is that there is great potential for improving natural resource utilization efficiency in Chinese cities and we include city-specific suggestions for efficiency improvements.     

Industrial ecology: engineered representation of sustainability

Industrial ecology is a relatively new field of research and academic study and is well established in North America and in several Asian countries. However, it has not yet received the attention it deserves in some other important parts of the industrialized world, including Germany. This paper may contribute to a better appreciation of industrial ecology as a tool in the process of sustainable development of economies, social systems, and of aquatic and terrestrial biotopes under the pressure of rapidly changing conditions triggered by global warming and urban growth. For this reason, methods are needed to quantify the successful application of industrial ecology measures. The “Integrated Sustainability Triangle” is introduced as a promising new possibility of quantification and monitoring. It enables justification of the contributions industrial ecology can make to sustainable development. The aggregation of individual economic contributions is assumed to create an overall impetus to the entire industrial sector including the sector of environmental engineering. Thus, the potential of industrial ecology is discussed from the macro-economic and the engineering perspective using the concept of sustainable development as a guiding principle. But the authors come to the conclusion that finding solutions to the pressing problems of our time requires more than collaboration of economy and engineering. It requires joint efforts of the whole spectrum of scientific disciplines in close collaboration with industrial and political stakeholders.     

The 10-tenets of adaptive management and sustainability: An holistic framework for understanding and managing the socio-ecological system

The three basic principles of sustainable development, relating to ecology, economy and society, have long been embedded within national and international strategies. In recent years we have augmented these principles by a further seven considerations giving rise to the so-called 10-tenets of sustainable management. Whilst theoretically appealing, discussion of the tenets to date has been largely generic and qualitative and, until the present paper, there has been no formal and quantitative application of these tenets to an actual example. To promote the concept of successful and sustainable environmental management there is the need to develop a robust and practical framework to accommodate value judgements relating to each of the tenets. Although, as originally presented, the tenets relate specifically to management measures, they may also be applied directly to a specific development or activity. This paper examines the application of the tenets in both of these contexts, and considers their incorporation into an assessment tool to help visualise and quantify issues of sustainability.     

The authority of science in sustainability governance: A structured comparison of six science institutions engaged with the Sustainable Development Goals

Over the past decades, numerous science institutions have evolved around issues of global sustainability, aiming to inform and shape societal transformations towards sustainability. While these science-based initiatives seem to take on an ever growing active role in governance for sustainable development, the question arises how they can claim any political authority in the first place. We present here a structured comparison of six international science-based initiatives, all engaged in governance processes related to the recently established Sustainable Development Goals. We focus on the material and rhetorical strategies employed by these science institutions to acquire authority by fostering perceptions of salience, credibility and legitimacy among governance actors. We distinguish three modes of scientific authority: an assessment-oriented mode that combines a strategy of salience through integration, with credibility by formal mechanisms of review, and legitimacy through representation; an advice-oriented mode, which appeals to salience through the promise of independent and timely science advice, to credibility through the credentials of the scientists involved, and to legitimacy through formal recognition by governance actors; and a solution-oriented mode, with science institutions claiming relevance based on the promise to contribute to solutions for global sustainability, while credibility is sought by invoking support of the scientific community, and legitimacy through a strategy of participation. Based on this analysis, we provide a framework for reflection on the claims and strategies of science-based initiatives, and their role and responsibility in governance for sustainable development.This article is part of a special issue on solution-oriented GEAs.     

Identification of non-value adding (NVA) activities in precast concrete installation sites to achieve low-carbon installation

The lean production philosophy has been applied in the construction industry to reduce waste and increase efficiency. It is until recently that the lean philosophy has proven to be effective to meet the challenges of sustainable development. Many studies have shown that lean philosophy can be applied in precast concrete factories to lower inventory, reduce waste and increase efficiency. However, the precast concrete installation cycle should not be overlooked following a life cycle perspective. This study adopts a weighted factor model comprising 30 contractors in the Singapore construction industry and a case study. Construction site layout management practices are investigated using the weighted factor model. Strategies to improve the construction site layout are presented in a case study. The results indicated that there are many non-value adding activities in the site layout management practices that contribute to an increase in the carbon emissions level. Little consideration of green building materials, improper specifications of the precast concrete products, lack of an uninterrupted workflow, and inaccurate estimation of seem to be the most important ones. The results provide good practice guidance and can be used as a checklist for contractors to identify the NVA activities in the installation sites to achieve low-carbon installation. The results will also be useful for regulatory agencies to provide recommendations for contractors to improve the installation procedure and reduce carbon emissions.     

国际河流可持续利用思考

水资源缺乏和水环境污染是当今世界许多国家面临的严重问题，国际河流因其独特的地缘关系而与国际政治、经济、外交密切联系受到关注，并出现了许多国际水事争端，据此提出了可持续利用的对策与建议。     

从头越,再创环境质量新高

“九五”以来，昆山市在经济结构调整力度加大、经济总量快速增长的同时，环境保护工作同两个重点、打好“三个战役”、加大了三个力度，建成了国家环境保护模范城市。对今后一段时间环境保护工作提出了新的目标和任务，并在工作中要“实现三个转变、落实三项措施”，以推进昆山市经济和环境的协调发展。     

城市交通系统的可持续发展

从城市交通发展战略、交通规划和交通环境量化评价指标三方面，研究了可持续发展理论如何在城市交通体系中得以体现，同时给出了可持续发展观念下的城市交通规划流程。     

持续农业,气候变化与有害生物持续治理

21世纪，随着世界人口的增加，首先将面临着对粮食及其它农产品的需求量的增加。要达到粮食稳定和人类的需求量，其制约的因素很多。本文就气候变化、有害生物的持续治理、对持续农业的影响进行了探讨。